Todd Klein's Blog, page 199

And Then I Read: RACHEL RISING Volume 1

Image © Terry Moore.

At the beginning of this book we see a gully in the woods filled with dirt. It begins to move. A hand emerges, and eventually the body of a young woman, dirty but visually unharmed, wearing a black dress. As on the cover, she begins to breathe, and vapor emerges from her mouth. Her eyes are oddly tinted. Is this a zombie story? Well, maybe. Sort of. But not the usual kind. Rachel stumbles out to a road and a passerby takes her home. She showers, and dresses, and begins talking to her cat. “What happened last night? Why can’t I remember?”

As the story develops, it appears that Rachel is technically dead, but in her mind believes herself to be alive, evidence to the contrary like her weird eyes notwithstanding, She feels alive. Her mind seems fine. Rachel sets out to discover what did happen to her, and along the way encounters friends and relatives who have no certain answers, and strangers who might, like a little girl who sees a woman that no one else can see…except Rachel. And every time they see that woman, somebody dies.

It’s an odd story, and a compelling one. Terry Moore is a master at creating believable people, so when a few of them do unbelievable things, it’s all the more disconcerting. I would call this a horror story, except that it has some funny moments and times when the tension lifts and it’s a people story. Really a fine mix and a page turner, with lots of unexpected twists, and many memorable moments.

Recommended.

Mapping My Childhood

I’ve always liked maps, especially ones of places where I’ve spent time. In 1960, when I was nine, our family moved to Somerset County, New Jersey, from a town not too far to the east. Above is part of a map of Somerset County from 1961 that used to hang on the wall of my room when I was a child. On it, marked with thin red drafting tape, are all the roads I rode my bike on from our house on Washington Valley Road in Pluckemin. It’s hard to make out here, but Pluckemin was soon to become the crossroads of two interstate highways: Route 287 and Route 78. They were already marked on this map as thick dotted lines. One of the most memorable rides was taken by my two younger brothers and I from our house (the yellow square) to Martinsville on the lower right. This was a round trip of about 11 miles, which doesn’t sound that bad, but it was a blazing hot day in July by the time we were done, and we foolishly took our middle-aged Labrador Retriever mix Pepper with us. We were all in sad shape when we got back, and Pepper hardly moved for several days.

A closer look at Pluckemin, with out house marked in yellow drafting tape. Too bad so many of the road names are covered, but you’ll see them further down. Note that across the road from our house it’s marked “Washington Camp Ground,” a historic site from the Revolutionary War that I knew about vaguely as a kid, but I did not know the details or exact location. I don’t think the map makers did either.

The area around Bedminster (where I went to grade school) and Far Hills marked the northern limits of my bike explorations, and I didn’t go that far often, even though I had friends there. Usually I was driven by a parent if I visited them, and of course I went there on the school bus. I’ve written extensively about my school days in Bedminster starting HERE.

The other maps of my home territory that hung on my wall as a kid were U.S. Geological survey topographical maps. I had four of these detailed ones joined at the edges into a large quadrangle. This is the section showing Pluckemin and Bedminster-Far Hills. The original surveys are from 1954, these maps found online were added to in 1977 and 1981. A larger version is HERE.

A closer look at the Pluckemin area. Routes 287 and 78 are added in magenta, both were being built throughout my childhood. “Washington Camp Ground” is given a prominent place, but not a definite location. From the closeness of the elevation lines in brown you can see the edge of the Second Watchung Mountains, which were covered in forest when I was a child, and one of the places we loved to explore and play. At the top there were carriage roads from an old estate, long disused, but still navigable by car and on foot. The little triangle is the high point, which we knew as Pig-Tail Mountain, though at a height of about 580 feet above sea level, and only about 380 feet about Pluckemin, it’s more of a hill.

This looks north from our house toward those hills, taken in 1964. There were a few houses on the lower slopes, then all trees.

This photo from around 1970 is taken in a large open field, where it’s marked “Washington Camp Ground” on the map, looking toward Pig-Tail Mountain, though that high point is hidden by closer hills. It was taken on one of my many walks that way. My brothers and I had lots of fun in those woods. And if we went off to explore them for a few hours, no one at home minded.

The topographical map showing the Bedminster-Far Hills area, and the northern end of the hills.

The Pluckemin area from a 1970 Somerset County map issued by the county shows the recently completed interstates, but little detail for Pluckemin, and this map is not particularly accurate anyway. It’s one I had as a young man, and still have. The completion of the interstates brought many changes to the area. It was rural when we moved there in 1960. By the time my mother moved out of our family home in the 1990s, it was much more developed and suburban.

When some of my friends and I began a Bedminster School class reunion at the Clarence Dillon Library’s history room in Bedminster in 2014, I was delighted to find this map of the area dated 1873 to 1939 on the wall there. It shows the property owners and their large blocks of land in the area as well as lots of details not on the maps I grew up with. A larger version is HERE.

A closer look, but still hard to read, go to the larger version for a better view. At the top of this section is the Artillery Park, where archeological excavations in the 1970s and later have found the foundations of the 1778-79 Artillery Encampment of General Washington’s army, which was also America’s first military academy. As you can see, it’s further north than it was marked on the maps we had, and we knew nothing of that area as kids. (This map must have been made more recently after those excavations.) You can read more about it HERE. 

Also there, though hard to read, in the woods where we used to play, it’s marked “Indian Burial Grounds.” Again, we didn’t know about that. If we had, I think we would have found it exciting! In the northeast corner is the Schley Estate, where we used to walk on the old carriage roads, and marked with a + is an Observation Tower from that estate. It was gone by the time we got there, only the foundation remained. It’s at the high point of Pig-Tail Mountain, as shown.

The Bedminster-Far Hills area from the 1939 map. A larger version is HERE.

A closer look with lots of tiny details. The northern end of the Schley Estate is on the right, with the race track that used to be there, and might remain, I’m not sure. It’s hard to make out much of it, but the Dillon Library is worth visiting if you are in the area and would like to see the map yourself. Many of the landowner names on this map were known to me as a child, either through existing estate names, or road names, and even perhaps a few classmates.

On a recent visit to the home of my friend Tim (we’ve been friends since grade school in Bedminster), I found this map of the area from 1919 on his wall. Tim also likes maps, and has some favorites hung in his stairwell. I’d seen this one before, but never really looked closely at it. A larger version is HERE.

Even today the area is “horse country,” with many large estates having a stable of horses for riding and hunting. It was much more so in 1919, and this map was hand-drawn to show bridle paths, all the trails and roads where riders could travel. Newly rich New Yorkers moved out to the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and established their version of an English upper-class countryside. My family and I had no part in this, we were middle class and horse-ownership was well beyond us, but many of my classmates rode, and were in horse shows and fox hunts.

A closer look at the Pluckemin area shows the woods we played in more clearly, dominated by the words “OLD IND. B.G. (INDIAN BURYING GROUND).” I don’t know anything more about that, and can only say we saw no signs of it when we played there. It was hilly, rocky land with a small stream going out to the west. Also there are the words “OLD REV. CAMP” which I suppose would mean Old Revolutionary (War) Camp. Again, this mapmaker did not have a clear idea where it was, but his estimate is better than the maps I had as a child. At upper right is the “Schley Observation Tower.” The Schley Estate was still in existence as a single piece of property when we were kids there, but there were no gates or signs on the carriage roads near us. There may have been some at the northern end, I don’t know. We didn’t get that far. In general, it was open to the public as far as we knew. Those were simpler times.

The Bedminster-Far Hills area on the map. The only place marked is the “Fair Ground & Athletic Club,” which is still there as the Far Hills Fair Grounds, and in use for various events in the warmer months, I think. On the right are the Schley bridle paths and carriage roads through the hills to the actual estate buildings just south of Far Hills. They must have been in their heyday in the 1920s. In the 1960s I never saw a single carriage or horse on them. The carriage roads were not paved, but they were well-made with graded slopes, fieldstone walls where one was needed, and a surface of dirt and traces of gravel that was easy to walk on. There was a lookout point at the northern end of the hills overlooking Bedminster, I think, though it’s been many decades since I was there.

In 1969, the Schley Estate was sold to developers for 2.2 million dollars. It took a while for development to get rolling because zoning laws had to be changed, and many residents were against that, but by the mid 1980s it was underway. A massive housing development now stands there comprising almost 5,000 homes and housing units. As you can imagine, this changed the area forever. The current Google map shows many residential streets north and east of Pluckemin, filling that huge field I took a photo of in 1970, and well beyond it. There is still an area of green called “The Hills Open Space” that remains. I know the Artillery Encampment site is in there, though not open to the public, and hopefully the old Indian Burial Ground is too, though there’s no way to know. I haven’t found any information about that online. It would probably have been from the Lenape indians, who occupied all of New Jersey when Europeans first arrived.

Looking at the satellite map, it’s a good swath of green forest hemmed in by housing developments. I suspect the top of what we called Pig-Tail Mountain is now developed, and I’m sure these woods are much different than when I was young, but at least some are still there. Kids don’t go out in the woods much these days, but perhaps a few can still find some fun in these.

In 1996 I wrote a short story called “Merciless Beauty.” It’s fiction, but it includes a midnight walk through the woods and carriage roads of the old Schley estate that really happened, at least the first part of it. It’s on my website HERE if you’re interested.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this look at maps and memories. More articles you might like can be found on the REMEMBERED page of my blog.

Watching THE PEANUTS MOVIE (2015)

We watched this on Amazon Prime last night and enjoyed it. From stills I’d seen I thought the digital animation might bother me, but it worked okay for the most part. There are some disconnects between the very Schulz-like black lines on the faces and the more sculpted body shapes and hair. Occasionally I found myself looking at that rather than enjoying the story, particularly when things went a bit weird, as in one scene where Schroeder’s eyebrows went over his hair, but mostly I got used to the look pretty quickly and I feel it does capture the Schulz characters at least as well as the old hand-drawn animated features on TV. The digital animation gets into some very detailed backgrounds and landscapes at times that seem too three dimensional and precise, as when Snoopy in his flying doghouse is dogfighting with the Red Baron over Paris, but in all it was visually fun.

The story is well done, a collection of short episodes and gags combined into scenes of varying lengths, but none longer than about five minutes, I think. This helps preserve the flavor of the original comic strip more than some of the later TV cartoons, and much like the original “Charlie Brown Christmas” one. There is some development to the story as it goes along as well, but it’s light enough to work in this format. There are changes from the strip that make sense in a movie, such as having Peppermint Patty and Marcie in the same school and class as Charlie Brown and his gang. And there are two major plot elements that are new or carried much further than the strip, depending on how you look at it: love interests for Snoopy (a female pilot) and Charlie Brown (the little red-haired girl). I found both charming and in a way kind of satisfying.

Charlie Brown and Snoopy get the most screen time. Many of the regulars are here, but Linus gets less screen time than you might expect compared to his large role in the strip, and Lucy is also somewhat sidelined. In all, it was fun and well worth watching right through to the end credits. And Charles Schulz’s line drawings of the characters do make appearances at times throughout, just to remind the viewer of where this all came from, a nice touch.

Recommended.

Rereading: THE TIME TRADERS by Andre Norton

Cover art by Virgil Finlay.

Ross Murdock is a troubled teen in police detention in a near-future American city. Instead of a trial and probable “mental rehabilitation,” he’s offered a chance to join a secret government project, Operation Retrograde. Ross jumps at the chance, but when he’s whisked off by helicopter to a hidden base in the Arctic, he begins to have second thoughts. How can he worm his way out of this? Another new recruit has an escape plan, and the two young men carry it out, but soon Ross learns his new friend is actually a Red (read it as Russian) agent who has infiltrated the project and now plans to get pulled out by his bosses so he can reveal all. Ross does not know much about what the project is yet, but he doesn’t like the way he’s been used. He finds a way to stop the agent, and is soon back at the base, where his future there is now uncertain.

The man who recruited him, Ashe, sees promise in young Murdock, and he’s kept on and begins intensive training that at first makes no sense…until he learns the project is sending men far back in time to find the source of powerful machines and science being brought from there by the Reds. Murdock, Ashe and another agent, McNeil, are to be a team going back  thousands of years to prehistoric Britain. They will be disguised as traders, part of the Beaker People of that period, who wandered all of northern Europe plying their wares, and setting up trading posts. In due time, the three are sent back to begin their mission, but almost before it can start, things go very wrong. When they arrive at the trading post, they find it’s been destroyed by what can only be a Red fighter jet of some kind, and the local people want nothing to do with them, and think them cursed.

From there the story goes on with plenty of action and adventure. Ross Murdock eventually gets separated from his friends, and goes even further back in time to discover the source of the Red’s new science, and a very surprising one it is.

When I was in grade school there was very little science fiction in our local libraries, especially science fiction aimed at young readers. Andre Norton’s books were one of the exceptions, and I loved them, reading all I could find. This was one I liked a lot. Ross Murdock continued into later books, and the second featuring him was a favorite, “Galactic Derelict.” An unfinished review of that from 1963 is HERE. I continued to enjoy Norton’s books into the 1970s, but some time after that many of her newer books began to lose their charm for me, and I stopped reading them. This one held up very well on rereading, it’s a great adventure story with solid prehistoric research woven in convincingly. While the image above is from the copy in my library, I actually found it as a free download online, and read it that way. It looks like many of Norton’s books are now available as e-books, and I’ll probably try more.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: SUPERMAN 48

Image © DC Comics

The opening scene of this comic is at a Presidential Debate, with some entertaining topical moments that might or might not make any sense if you don’t follow politics. A super-assassin, Kingslayer, is attempting to kill one of the debaters, and Superman intervenes. Even without most of his powers, he’s still able to prevail, but Clark wants his powers back, and A.R.G.U.S. has what he thinks might help: the largest collection of Kryptonite on the planet. When he tries to use it, Clark is attacked again at a time when he’s most vulnerable.

I’m afraid this title is losing me as a reader. I stuck with it for a while after the departure of writer Geoff Johns, and then artist John Romita Jr., but it’s getting too far from the characterizations by them that I most enjoyed. Plus, the Superman storyline is now running through this title as well as ACTION COMICS, with other titles like SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN also important to the story. I’m just not invested enough to go there. If you are, hope you enjoy the ride.

Mildly recommended.

A DC Comics Staff Photo 1982

Image © DC Comics. A larger version of this photo is HERE.

Some time in early 1982, the entire DC staff was invited on a company-paid retreat to Montauk, Long Island. This group photo from the event is in “The Bronze Age of DC Comics, 1970-1984” by Paul Levitz, from Taschen. I was there, I’m in the back row on the right, and this photo brought back memories of the event and the people that I thought I’d share.I’ve been narrowing the date of the retreat down with the help of Irene Vartanoff and Laurie Sutton, who were there. I originally thought it happened in the winter of 1982-83, but Irene left staff in the spring of 1982, so that was wrong. Then Laurie found the exact dates in her records, March 15-17, 1982. Thanks to both of them for the help! It had to be off-season at Gurneys Resort, above, where we stayed. We left on a Monday morning, and returned on Wednesday afternoon.  I remember it was a long bus ride from Manhattan that took much of the first day, a full day there with meetings, and very cold and windy when I ventured out to see the ocean. In his book, Paul Levitz writes, “Following the 1981 retirements of Jack Adler and Sol Harrison, much of DC’s editorial and staff came together at an all-company retreat.” That sounds about right. I remember sitting in a meeting room looking at slides of pages and covers from then-current DC comics while the leaders discussed what they did and didn’t like about them, but most of the comments were positive and supportive, as I remember, focusing on what they wanted to do more of. Encouraging us to try new things, be creative, and help DC do its best, that sort of thing. I had joined DC in the summer of 1977. Some time in 1982 I was given the position of Assistant Production Manager under Production Manager Bob Rozakis, who had succeeded HIS boss Jack Adler when Jack left staff. I’m not sure if this had happened yet at the time of the retreat. Overseeing the production department then, I think, was Joe Orlando, but he was not with us that much, having other duties as well.

Here’s a closer look at the left half of the photo. Sitting in front are Vice President & Creative Director (and artist) Joe Orlando and President & Publisher Jenette Kahn. Joe had been working at DC as an artist since 1966, and on staff as an editor since 1968. Jenette came from magazine publishing, and had been on staff at DC since 1976. As Laurie Sutton remembers, “The retreat was Jenette’s idea. To the best of my knowledge, she was inspired by how Japanese companies often took their executives off to relaxing, neutral locales to exchange ideas. I don’t recall what we actually DID at the retreat, but I do remember having teams of some sort and I was team leader of one of them.”

Next I’ll identify the people standing in the group behind Joe and Jenette, those I can. At left in the pink shirt is editor Murray Boltinoff, who had been with the company since 1940, the longest-tenured staffer there. Right of him with glasses is E. Nelson Bridwell, editor/writer and a font of early DC Comics knowledge. He’d been with the company since 1965, the first “fan” to join the staff. The woman right and in front of him is production artist and colorist Nansi Hoolihan, and right and behind her is production artist and colorist Tom Ziuko. Both had joined the staff in the late 1970s after I did. Right of Tom is production artist and colorist/letterer Helen Vesik, who joined the staff in the early 1980s. There’s a man mostly hidden behind Helen I can’t identify. Right of Helen in blue denim is Shelly Eiber the production photographer. She worked in the darkroom with the photostat camera making reduced and enlarged copies of things like logos, also prints of finished comics pages at printed size used by the colorists to make their color guides, and lots of other prep work and images. She’d been with the company since 1973, and just left staff recently when DC moved out of Manhattan. Behind this group, standing in the back, is production artist/letterer/art re-toucher Albert DeGuzman, who started on staff not long after me in the late 1970s. Right of Albert is comics retailer Steve Geppi, one of two invited to the retreat to talk about their end of the business. Below him and mostly behind Shelly is Promotions Manager and fan Mike Flynn. Right of that, with the beard and glasses, is editor/artist Joe Kubert, who had been drawing for DC since 1942, and editing since 1967. Joe is, and was then, a legend, and I remember what a great time I had talking to him at this retreat. When you talked to Joe, he gave you his full attention and really listened. Below Joe is Irene Vartanoff, a long-time fan who worked with Paul Levitz on rights and permissions, writing contracts, and other business office duties. Up from Irene and behind Joe is a face I can’t identify, though Bob Rozakis suggests it might be long-time staffer/letterer Milt Snapinn. Right of that, also behind Irene, is production artist/colorist Bob LeRose, on staff since 1976. The woman in white directly behind Jenette is her assistant Carol Fein. Carol had been with the company since at least the early 1970s. The bald head mostly hidden by Carol’s hair might be that of Julie Schwartz, DC’s long-time fan-favorite editor, who had been with the company since the mid 1940s.

Here’s a much better photo of editor Julie Schwartz with writer Harlan Ellison in 1981, photo by Jackie Estrada. I thought he deserved to be better represented! In 1982-83, Julie was editing the Superman titles.

Moving on to the right half of the photo, seated in front are William (Bill) Sarnoff, head of Warner Books, and the Time-Warner executive that Jenette Kahn reported to, then Vice President and Executive Editor (and artist) Dick Giordano, with Executive Vice President (and writer) Paul Levitz on the right. Dick had been an editor at DC from 1968 to 1971, then returned as Executive Editor in 1980. Paul had begun at the company in 1972. It’s interesting to see that the top people at DC included two artists and a writer with long careers in comics, though Paul’s was not quite so long yet. I’m not sure if the Vice President titles were in place for Joe, Dick and Paul at the time of the conference, but they probably were.

There are more people on this side, so it’s a little tougher to pick them out. Let’s begin with the four standing in the back. At left is comics retailer Buddy Saunders. Buddy recently told me, “Steve Geppi and I got to know each other while riding together in a limo to the retreat. We were invited there to provide advice as to how best DC might meet the growing competition from Marvel.” To the right of Buddy is Leon Knize, who Paul Levitz tells me was “a consultant who was helping reorganize our distribution arrangements.” To his right is production artist/letterer Bob Lappan, and to Bob’s right is myself.

Okay, among the large standing group, beginning at the left, we have Diane Perla from the Accounting Department in the shirt with red collar. Behind her and a bit to the right is her boss, Treasurer Arthur Gutowitz. Right and behind him with beard and glasses is editor/writer Marv Wolfman. (I remember during one meeting there Marv and I trading fanciful logo ideas for his new series NIGHT FORCE. The actual logo was designed by Gaspar Saladino.) Below Marv and above Bill Sarnoff is Corinda Carford from the Marketing Department. Corinda was only at DC a short time, but has had a long music career since including singing with Bruce Springsteen. Right and behind her is Midge Bregman in the blue shirt. Midge had worked with Sol Harrison in the 1940s, and rejoined his DC team around 1973. I don’t recognize the person directly behind and partly hidden by her, but right of that is Production Manager (and writer) Bob Rozakis, my immediate boss at the time. Bob joined the DC staff in July 1973. Below him in the pink striped shirt is editor Karen Berger, though at the time she may have also been Editorial Coordinator, handling coloring and lettering assignments to freelancers. Karen joined DC in 1979. Right and behind Karen is editor/writer Len Wein in the blue shirt. Friends Len and Marv began writing for the company in the late 1960s, and joined the DC staff in 1979-80 after stints at Marvel. Right and behind Len, the bearded man who is mostly hidden, is Design Director Neal Pozner, who had recently taken that position. I don’t recognize the man with glasses in front of him, or the woman in white below that, though again, both faces look vaguely familiar. The woman to their right in the black shirt is Pat Bastienne, Dick Giordano’s assistant. The woman right and in front of her with the magenta shirt and white jacket is proofreader and assistant editor Tamsyn O’Flynn. Between Tamsyn and myself are two more partial faces. I don’t know the man on the left, the woman on the right mostly hidden by Tamsyn is editor/writer Laurie Sutton. Right of that, in the gray jacket and white shirt is editor/artist Ernie Colón. In the April 1982 issue of THE COMICS READER (#200), an article says Ernie had just been hired as a “Junior Editor,” and would work with Marv Wolfman. Right of him with the beard is assistant editor/writer Nick Cuti, who I think started at DC around the same time as Ernie, assisting Len Wein. And right of Nick with the tie and tan jacket is editor/writer/artist Dave Manak. I think Dave left staff in early 1983, and spent many years drawing “Sonic the Hedgehog” at Archie Comics. Below Dave is Andy Helfer, then an assistant editor under Joe Orlando. He started at DC in 1981. Kneeling next to Andy is Licensing Coordinater Mary Moebus.

At the time of the retreat, DC was back on its feet after the disastrous Implosion of 1978 when many titles were cancelled and some staff was laid off. The success of the first two Superman movies helped, and the rise of the direct market was giving DC new places to sell comics at a better profit. The core heroes like Superman and Batman continued to sell. Books like THE NEW TEEN TITANS were doing well, and the company wanted more of that. Did the Montauk retreat help with DC’s continued rising fortunes in the coming years, as they headed toward the success of books like WATCHMEN and THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS? I don’t know, but possibly. I know I felt more a part of the team after events like this.

Here are some memories from Irene Vartanoff: “What I remember the most was the awful cold I had, and the fashionably puffy comforter on the bed in my blessedly single room—which as I recall was built into a cliff. Oh, and how some people dressed in very expensive ‘casual’ clothes. As for any business conducted, any bonding exercises or the like, nada. I think at one point I and others walked on a beach, but why there would be a beach next to a cliff, I could not tell you. As I said, I had a really bad cold. I did campaign in advance to make sure the bus driver did not smoke, as such were wont to do back then.”

As you can see in the above photo, the rooms were sort of built into the side of a hill that was probably originally a huge sand dune.

I don’t know of any other DC group photos from the time I was there, but there was a group drawing of the Production staff by Ray Alma in 1986. Other articles on DC staff and history can be found on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog. Thanks to Bob Rozakis, Irene Vartanoff, Diana Schutz, Paul Levitz, Laurie S. Sutton and Buddy Saunders for identifications and help, and thanks to Jackie Estrada for permission to use her photo.

A DC Comics Staff Photo 1982-83

Image © DC Comics. A larger version of this photo is HERE.

Some time between Oct. 1982 and February or March 1983, the entire DC staff was invited on a company-paid retreat to Montauk, Long Island. This group photo from the event is in “The Bronze Age of DC Comics, 1970-1984” by Paul Levitz, from Taschen. I was there, I’m in the back row on the right, and this photo brought back memories of the event and the people that I thought I’d share.I’ve tried to narrow down the time of the retreat, but without much luck. DC moved their offices from 75 Rockefeller Plaza across the street to 666 Fifth Avenue in November of 1982, officially at the new offices on December 3rd, and between that, Thanksgiving, and the December holidays, it’s unlikely it happened in November or December. October is possible. It had to be off-season at Gurneys Resort, above, where we stayed, so late fall 1982 to early spring of 1983. I don’t recall how long we were there, I’d guess two nights. I remember it was a long bus ride from Manhattan that took much of the first day, a full day there with meetings, and very cold and windy when I ventured out to see the ocean. Probably we came back the third day. In his book, Paul Levitz writes, “Following the 1981 retirements of Jack Adler and Sol Harrison, much of DC’s editorial and staff came together at an all-company retreat.” That sounds about right. I remember sitting in a meeting room looking at slides of pages and covers from then-current DC comics while the leaders discussed what they did and didn’t like about them, but most of the comments were positive and supportive, as I remember, focusing on what they wanted to do more of. Encouraging us to try new things, be creative, and help DC do its best, that sort of thing. I had joined DC in the summer of 1977. Some time in 1982 I was given the position of Assistant Production Manager under Production Manager Bob Rozakis, who had succeeded HIS boss Jack Adler when Jack left staff. Overseeing the production department then, I think, was Joe Orlando, but he was not with us that much, having other duties as well.

Here’s a closer look at the left half of the photo. Sitting in front are Vice President & Creative Director (and artist) Joe Orlando and President & Publisher Jenette Kahn. Joe had been working at DC as an artist since 1966, and on staff as an editor since 1968. Jenette came from magazine publishing, and had been on staff at DC since 1976. I suspect the retreat was largely her idea, but that’s just a guess.

Next I’ll identify the people standing in the group behind them, those I can. At left in the pink shirt is editor Murray Boltinoff, who had been with the company since 1940, the longest-tenured staffer there. Right of him with glasses is E. Nelson Bridwell, editor/writer and a font of early DC Comics knowledge. He’d been with the company since 1965, the first “fan” to join the staff. The woman right and in front of him is production artist and colorist Nansi Hoolihan, and right and behind her is production artist and colorist Tom Ziuko. Both had joined the staff in the late 1970s after I did. Right of Tom is production artist and colorist/letterer Helen Vesik, who joined the staff in the early 1980s. There’s a man mostly hidden behind Helen I can’t identify. Right of Helen in blue denim is Shelly Eiber the production photographer. She worked in the darkroom with the photostat camera making reduced and enlarged copies of things like logos, also prints of finished comics pages at printed size used by the colorists to make their color guides, and lots of other prep work and images. She’d been with the company since 1973, and just left staff recently when DC moved out of Manhattan. Behind this group, standing in the back, is production artist/letterer/art re-toucher Albert DeGuzman, who started on staff not long after me in the late 1970s. Right of Albert is comics retailer Steve Geppi, one of two invited to the retreat to talk about their end of the business. Below him and mostly behind Shelly is Promotions Manager and fan Mike Flynn. Right of that, with the beard and glasses, is editor/artist Joe Kubert, who had been drawing for DC since 1942, and editing since 1967. Joe is, and was then, a legend, and I remember what a great time I had talking to him at this retreat. When you talked to Joe, he gave you his full attention and really listened. Below Joe is Irene Vartanoff, a long-time fan who worked with Paul Levitz on rights and permissions, writing contracts, and other business office duties. Up from Irene and behind Joe is a face I can’t identify, though Bob Rozakis suggests it might be long-time staffer/letterer Milt Snapinn. Right of that, also behind Irene, is production artist/colorist Bob LeRose, on staff since 1976. The woman in white directly behind Jenette is her assistant Carol Fein. Carol had been with the company since at least the early 1970s. The bald head mostly hidden by Carol’s hair might be that of Julie Schwartz, DC’s long-time fan-favorite editor, who had been with the company since the mid 1940s.

Here’s a much better photo of editor Julie Schwartz with writer Harlan Ellison in 1981, photo by Jackie Estrada. I thought he deserved to be better represented! In 1982-83, Julie was editing the Superman titles.

Moving on to the right half of the photo, seated in front are William (Bill) Sarnoff, head of Warner Books, and the Time-Warner executive that Jenette Kahn reported to, then Vice President and Executive Editor (and artist) Dick Giordano, with Executive Vice President (and writer) Paul Levitz on the right. Dick had been an editor at DC from 1968 to 1971, then returned as Executive Editor in 1980. Paul had begun at the company in 1972. It’s interesting to see that the top people at DC included two artists and a writer with long careers in comics, though Paul’s was not quite so long yet.

There are more people on this side, so it’s a little tougher to pick them out. Let’s begin with the four standing in the back. At left is comics retailer Buddy Saunders. Buddy recently told me, “Steve Geppi and I got to know each other while riding together in a limo to the retreat. We were invited there to provide advice as to how best DC might meet the growing competition from Marvel.” I can’t identify the older gentleman to Buddy’s right, though he looks vaguely familiar. To his right is production artist/letterer Bob Lappan, and to Bob’s right is myself.

Okay, among the large standing group, beginning at the left, we have Diane Perla from the Accounting Department in the shirt with red collar. Behind her and a bit to the right is her boss, Treasurer Arthur Gutowitz. Right and behind him with beard and glasses is editor/writer Marv Wolfman. (I remember during one meeting there Marv and I trading fanciful logo ideas for his new series NIGHT FORCE. The actual logo had already been done by Gaspar Saladino.) Below Marv and above Bill Sarnoff is Corinda Carford from the Marketing Department. Right and behind her is long-time staffer Midge Bregman in the blue shirt. I don’t recognize the person directly behind and partly hidden by her, but right of that is Production Manager (and writer) Bob Rozakis, my immediate boss at the time. Bob joined the DC staff in 1974. Below him in the pink striped shirt is editor Karen Berger, though at the time she may have also been Editorial Coordinator, handling coloring and lettering assignments to freelancers. Karen joined DC in 1979. Right and behind Karen is editor/writer Len Wein in the blue shirt. Friends Len and Marv began writing for the company in the late 1960s, and joined the DC staff in 1979-80 after stints at Marvel. Right and behind Len, the bearded man who is mostly hidden, is Design Director Neal Pozner, who joined the staff in the late 1970s. I don’t recognize the man with glasses in front of him, or the woman in white below that, though again, both faces look vaguely familiar. The woman to their right in the black shirt is Pat Bastienne, Dick Giordano’s assistant. The woman right and in front of her with the magenta shirt and white jacket is proofreader and assistant editor Tamsyn O’Flynn. Between Tamsyn and myself are two more faces I can’t put names to. Right of that, in the gray jacket and white shirt is editor/artist Ernie Colón. I believe Ernie started on staff in August or September 1982, and his presence here rules out the possibility of the retreat happening in early 1982. Right of him with the beard is assistant editor/writer Nick Cuti, who I think started at DC around the same time as Ernie, assisting Len Wein. And right of Nick with the tie and tan jacket is editor/writer/artist Dave Manak. I think Dave left staff in early 1983, so that rules out any later date for the retreat. Below Dave is Andy Helfer, then an assistant editor under Joe Orlando. He started at DC in 1981. Kneeling next to Andy is Mary Moebus. I don’t recall her duties, but I think she worked on the business side of things.

At the time of the retreat, DC was back on its feet after the disastrous Implosion of 1978 when many titles were cancelled and some staff was laid off. The success of the first two Superman movies helped, and the rise of the direct market was giving DC new places to sell comics at a better profit. The core heroes like Superman and Batman continued to sell. Books like THE NEW TEEN TITANS were doing well, and the company wanted more of that. Did the Montauk retreat help with DC’s continued rising fortunes in the coming years, as they headed toward the success of books like WATCHMEN and THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS? I don’t know, but possibly. I know I felt more a part of the team after events like this.

Here are some memories from Irene Vartanoff: “What I remember the most was the awful cold I had, and the fashionably puffy comforter on the bed in my blessedly single room—which as I recall was built into a cliff. Oh, and how some people dressed in very expensive ‘casual’ clothes. As for any business conducted, any bonding exercises or the like, nada. I think at one point I and others walked on a beach, but why there would be a beach next to a cliff, I could not tell you. As I said, I had a really bad cold. I did campaign in advance to make sure the bus driver did not smoke, as such were wont to do back then.”

As you can see in the above photo, the rooms were sort of built into the side of a hill that was probably originally a huge sand dune.

I don’t know of any other DC group photos from the time I was there, but there was a group drawing of the Production staff by Ray Alma in 1986. Other articles on DC staff and history can be found on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog. Thanks to Bob Rozakis, Irene Vartanoff, Diana Schutz, Paul Levitz and Buddy Saunders for identifications and help, and thanks to Jackie Estrada for permission to use her photo.

Incoming: WONDER WOMAN EARTH ONE VOLUME 1

Image © DC Comics, Inc.

Just arrived, and should be in shops near you soon, if not already. Grant Morrison re-imagines Wonder Woman from the beginning, with excellent art by Yanick Paquette. Nathan Fairbairn colored, I lettered. This is all new, not a collection of monthlies, a story of well over 100 pages. I don’t usually critique things I work on, but I really enjoyed this, and I suspect many fans will, too. Grant seems to have found a way to incorporate many of Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston’s ideas about the character back into the story. Some may find that controversial, I thought it worked. Yanick’s art is a delight, full of excellent design work, energy, drama, and a joyful celebration of heroics rarely seen in comics these days. I suggest you have a look!

And Then I Read: THE BRONZE AGE OF DC COMICS 1970-1984

Image © DC Comics and Taschen.

This is the third giant coffee-table book spun out of the even bigger book on the entire history of DC Comics by Paul Levitz from Taschen. The years it covers include some when I worked there (1977-84), and in 1970-77 I was an avid collector and sometimes a buyer of old comics for a friend’s used book store, so most of the material in this volume is familiar to me, unlike a lot of the Golden Age volume and some of the Silver Age one. It’s a great collection all the same, with many large examples of comics art from the era, as well as photos of creators, related movie and TV shows, advertising material, and all kinds of rarities, even a few new to me. Paul interviews Denny O’Neil, and does a nice job on an overview of the period followed by spotlights on some of the top creators and genres that often get overlooked. There are a good number of things I worked on inside, mostly uncredited in this book, but still nice to see, and even a photo of me, very small. More on that in a separate blog post. I feel these books are worth the hefty price if you’re interested in comics history, as I am, and I’m glad to have it. While heavy to hold, it provided several evenings of enjoyable reading and browsing.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: SAGA Volume 5

Image © Fiona Staples & Brian K. Vaughan.

I’m only reading this in the collections, and months pass between those, so it’s getting hard for me to keep track of the many characters and plot lines herein. The star-crossed lovers are no longer together, and each has a small entourage. Then there are the people pursuing each of them, and a few others floating around. I’m not enjoying the read quite as much as I did previously, but there are still many fine character moments and plot twists. Lying Cat alone is worth the visit, and there are a number of other characters I’m enjoying, even if I’m not always clear on their stories. I did appreciate the historical synopsis at the beginning of this book, but an outline of the main plot points at the front would be even more helpful. Still, fine writing by Brian, and excellent art by Fiona. The story is always surprising and never boring.

Recommended.