The Frosty Rider by C Lue Lyron I’m holly, jolly soul corn cob pipe, and a button nose and I’ve got two eyes made of coal but I’m not gonna let’em catch me, no not gonna let’em melt Frosty the Snowman Well there must have been some magic in that old top hat I’m wearin’ playin’ with the village children But I’m not gonna let police man, no not gonna let’em stop the Frosty Snowman... On a freezer train with Karen rail to North Pole goes on forever and I’ve got one black magic top hat but I’m not gonna let’em catch me, no not gonna let’em melt Frosty the Snowman Right click and save download direct! Christmas card cartoon to David Anthony Kraft and to my buddy Ed Pettis, who helped me launch the very first Creating Marvels podcast: Merry Christmas True Believers! C Lue

Face front! We're heading back to 1975, alongside the Marvel Bullpenner charged by The Man himself with organizing the whole gasmorgle. Scott discusses the memos and his thoughts on putting together the big weekend of Marvel Comic Con 1975. You can find the lowdown on his career and his podcast, Eating The Fantastic (on iTunes) at Scottedelman.com ! Enjoy! First: you can't get in without this, OK? (Thanks Harold! NOw I'll use this one to get in and double back and hand it back to ya!) HEre be the link where you may download or stream the 36:51 podcast. https://creatingmarvels.podbean.com/e/marvel-con-75-with-bullpenner-scott-edelman/ That's https://creatingmarvels.podbean.com/e/marvel-con-75-with-bullpenner-scott-edelman Convention program scans courtesy of Halcyon Harold Parker! A couple courtesy of Ken Seagal and Wil Alvolis at Marvel Comics 1961-1986 on FB : That's lil' Ken with STan. Boy, it's so hard to save some of these for

sammaronieentertainmentfunhouse.com It's pop culture writer/ photographer Sam Maronie! Hear all about his adventures at the first Marvel Comic Con, the spring which saw the return of King Kirby! IN fact, Sam sat down with Jack Kirby, in addition to attending all the panels. Come back in time... Marvel Comic Con in 1975 was the very first convention hosted by the Marvel Comics Group itself- and Sam Maronie was there! Here's a few minutes with his eyewitness account, including his meeting with Jack Kirby. Sam shot most of the existing high quality photos from the event that you still see today- and continues photographing comics convention the nation over. Sam's also produced a book: Tripping Through Pop Culture: The (Mis) Adventures of a Pop Culture writer, with a cover by the acclaimed Joe Phillips! It's also got a foreword from Scott Edelman, who you see in the silly picture above with legendary inker Joe Sinnott- our next guest on Creating Marvels!

CAP #110 “Alone No More!” From the first panels, we get the essence of noir, and a very cinematic approach: the figure, against a repeating background, advances to the fore. The deft caption tells us it’s Steve Rogers- the man who is Captain America. The star literally walks up from the anonymous streets, towards a concert appearance poster of his star-spangled public identity, hanging on a wall. If you happened to be a lonely young person yourself, this moody opening is a sure-fire grabber. Steve lights a pipe- maybe he was depicted smoking occasionally back then still, it’s so out-of-character for the interpretation with which I grew up, but maybe that one was too lilly-white anyway. The dark overcast on his countenance is the beginning of a recurrent visual, where Cap will be presented in silhouette in key moments where our fearless hero feels angst. I love how literally he becomes ‘alone no more’- but we’ll get to the Hulk’s hands bursting through the wall momentarily.

MARVEL VISIONARIES: Jim Steranko, 1999 Whether you’re talking about transforming the sheer optical design of a comics page as a piece of art, pop culture history writing, graphic novel pioneering, or simply raw ideas, there’s no denying the impact of surf guitarist-turned escape artist- turned graphic designer, Jim Steranko. If I have anything critical to say about any of the gentleman’s work, it’s absolutely within the context of his breath-taking contributions. Comics moved on to different styles, sure, but they evolved under the energetic care of the Pennsylvanian wonder. He was so perfectly charming and gracious in person- I can’t overlook that in light of any of his controversial remarks in recent years. I spent an entire afternoon in his company, at a Comic Con before AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. made him so in-demand. I came back to visit awhile the next day, too- he had read the short story I gave him! This experience could shape anyone’s perceptions of a guy. It’s nothing n

“Interruptions” We’re back on the trail of the Hobgoblin. Problem is, as we’ve seen before, it’s not easy to find- and this time, the crime he begins investigating leads him to an even more powerful menace. Just like “Confrontations” starts with a confrontation- Peter versus the results of his test, which aren’t posted, Dean Sloan popping up, then Lance Bannon tracking down Parker- and keeps going with that idea, you’ll find an issue based on interruptions, here. Nose Norton’s grooming is interrupted by a creeping Spider-Man, who’s interrupted also his plans to cash in on a secret item beneath his bed! Spider-Man’s going to interrupt its exchange, Frog Man’s – Frog Man!- then an interruption of the collar. This is what Spider-Man means by real consequences in the wake of Eugene’s bumbling heroism! And he would know about that! The gang interrupts the security wagon, and Spider-Man interrupts the pay-off- but again, a villain’s scheme has, at least for part one, paid off. I

“The Daydreamers” A person’s daydreams would provide intense insight into a person’s self-concept, and I wrap this up with the single issue you could really call experimental in form, as it’s the only one of its kind in Amazing Spider-Man! I mean, they’re trying some O.P.O. (Other People’s Opposition), but the stories themselves are not experimental, but solidly reliable Spider-work. Here is the one chance they took creating an issue some folks might hate on the principle that nothing really “happens,” betting it’d be what most readers would truly appreciate, as we are hitting a phase at Marvel where “down time” is being honored and welcomed, at least in the letters pages. We’re early in the day I planned to write on “Daydreamers,” and first thing I have to say, as my wife lies dreaming a few feet away, is Roger and John really turn the camera around to catch you on this one! They know that, not only the reading experience, but the quality of daydreams the characters inspire,

“Raw Power: The Donovan Hobgoblin tears open Manhattan!” Standing on the ceiling is part of who Spider-Man both is, and part of his problem approaching the police: he’s blatantly unorthodox! Receptionist Ms. Smithers- a nod to Jan Smithers, a.k.a. Bailey on WKRP?- doesn’t know quite how to dismiss or delay this unnerving presence. He gets attention, but without his full cooperation and accountability- especially, just what IS being stolen here- he’s going to find D.A. Tower unsure of trusting him. Part of that problem is, he’s sure Spidey’s not cluing him in fully, but yeah, Avengers Clearance would be different! The meeting between the D.A. and Spidey is a perfect recap that suits the plot. Spidey’s trying to figure how to use police information, when he won’t share the crucial information that would tip Norman was the Green Goblin. Nothing of value’s been noticed missing, as District Attorney Tower reports. The Hobgoblin’s very existence is really a secret to the publ

Ordeals! Lefty Donovan cruelly leaves the once-heavily-armed crew with whom he stole chemicals to die in burning creosote-soaked timbers. I’m reminded the Hobgoblin mystery’s tension comes from his devious schemes and ability to murder people for his goals! Realistically, he’s still hurt from the first battle with Spider-Man, seems, so using other pawns would be a way to move forward anyway-but he’s also setting up Donovan to BE the Hobgoblin AND to be his test subject for the Goblin serum. Enjoying that the Hobgoblin will be Out There for me these October, 2017 nights, so this can become a time ol’ Fright Face can make memorable, as when I was only ten! His hood and mask make him like a living totem of some horrid demon, beyond the grave and madness. The Goblin takes over the minds of men with this equipment’s power and ruthless destructive power. Something makes them fashion their lives and plans around a secret existence of villainy. The avatar, this time, moves fr

“Confrontations!” From page one, Peter’s life as “boy photographer” (over in Marvel Team-Up, where he encounters some Thinker-constructed androids) has been clashing with his threadbare academic career, so he’s rushing to confront the grade posting following his emergency test-taking after bringing Felicia Hardy to safety, in Peter Parker #76. So, with that really dramatic experience with Black Cat so recent, life’s hurling another beautiful woman at Peter Parker’s location- not even Spider-Sense will save him now! Amy Powell, after nearly a year of stories where she clearly thinks mysterious Peter Parker’s naturally playing hard to get, has gone from dictating their last call to pushing their date straight to his house, and grabs the first opportunity to introduce him to what kind of fun’s on the menu. So- what a scene to find, as MJ to unlocks Pete’s door! But that’s where we end, as romantically-flavored support character stories have replaced the crime comic atmospher

Does the world really need me to make a book about 80’s Spider-Man, cartoons, video games- all of it? I’ll admit freely, if that was paying work, it sounds divine! But who knows. Just like, who knows who is this mystery Osborn Industries prowler, with the dangerous idea to utilize Norman Osborn’s instruments of mayhem- and possibly, the secret of Spider-Man, too? One point worth making: Stern’s underscored how he thinks of the Spider-Sense as Spidey’s unique, defining, most useful power. He’s provided his own set-up for Hobby robbing Spidey of that one secret, most crucial ability. If you’ve been reading all along, he’s set up the more assured, experienced Spider-Man to end his run with the most nuanced, multi-layered challenge yet! Three story lines mingle with the Hobgoblin mystery to provide texture, to build suspense and provide a passage of time the villain uses to grow as a threat. You have the Amy Powell scheme to mix Peter into her open relationship games with his

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #239 The abstract Hobgoblin face in the night sky- the first use of this symbolism for this character- hovers above Osborn Industries, the maker of fine Goblin paraphenalia in the days of Norman O’s secret life. He died with his own equipment- his glider, right, like the first Raimi Spider-Man movie-rammed into his heart. What dramatizes the birth of the new supervillain, the peril as he acquires deadly new equipment, than to have this never-before-seen Battle Van, come roaring out of the heart of Osborn Industries (New Jersey), with a visage of the Hobgoblin lurking at the edge of visibility? The image says he’s still hidden, he’s literally behind the scenes. He’s a smart villain. He will not reveal himself, but be discovered through Spider-Man (and Roger Stern’s) intimate knowledge of Green Goblin operations. Not only would this work as an opening scene- in comics, giving it one page was the way to conserve space for cheesecake and other narrative fabric