RIP Joe Simon

Captain America co-creator and comics industry legend Joe Simon passed away this week at the age of 98.

In 2007, I had the honor and pleasure of conducting an interview with Mr. Simon that I recapped in pretty thorough detail here. It's high up there as one of the most special memories for me of my time in comics over the past seven years getting to have a frank and pleasant conversation with a man who brought one of our most enduring icons to life and helped build this medium. I spoke in my previous post about the way Joe came up with Cap and how I got to be the one to tell him that his old protege Stan Lee eventually killed off Bucky, two stories that still make me smile. I also mentioned the nice note Joe sent me upon my getting hired by Marvel, something I will forever treasure.

Even though I probably only spoke to Joe for 15 minutes, it was more than enough time for him to make a very positive impression on me. Firstly, here was a guy who was already in his mid-90's at the time, but still sharp as a tack, responding to every question I asked him, be it about events that took place nearly seven decades earlier or stuff he was hearing about for the first time, with wit and eloquence. More than that, I thought to myself as the interview went on that this was the kind of ambassador the comics industry needed; a kind, polite gentleman whose words still crackled with the youthful enthusiasm of the guy who came up with the idea for Captain America on a New York City bus because he needed somebody to punch Hitler in the face. Even 70 years later, with a vast expanse of history between, Joe was still excited to talk about Cap and about comics; he maintained his joy for what he had done and the contributions he had made.

Comics lost a pioneer this week, but we also lost a representative of the creativity that should be inspiring us all in its purest form. Hopefully while Joe has passed, his example will not be lost on those who had the privilege to know or speak with him, and he will endure forever through his creations.

Rest in peace, Joe, I will certainly never forget you.

My condolences to Joe Simon's friends and family

RIP Les Daniels

When I was a little kid, my mom would drag me along with her when she went to the Newton Public Library. It was a big, beautiful building that was cool to get lost in, but she'd usually take awhile and I'd get bored. I figured out the computer system that looked up books as well as the map of the joint easy enough, so I'd always be trying to track down stuff that interested me to hold my attention. I'd spend my time leafing through books of Greek myths, art manuals, guides to movies and whatnot, but of course what I really wanted to find was comics.

I searched the magazine section and found nothing. I braved the children's room (hated that place) and came up empty. Finally, tucked away in the center of the big section of books devoted to painting and drawing, in the middle of a big black stack, I found a tiny row devoted to cartoons. Mostly that meant old stuff from the 40's, newspaper strips and a lot of European comics, but when I was lucky and it wasn't checked out, I'd grab the big, bright hardcover with Spider-Man scaling the wall towards you and find a quiet corner that my mom would eventually have to drag me away from.

The book was Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades, written by Les Daniels, who passed away earlier this week. Though I already had tremendous affection for super heroes and their adventures at this point, it was Daniels' writing that first opened the door for me on the realization that there was a place where the comics I read came from and minds behind crafting these stories. While I may have met Spider-Man and Batman through the comics my Dad brought me home from the grocery store, it was quite frankly Les Daniels who introduced me to the comics industry and made me decide it was a place maybe someday I'd like to work.

Five Fabulous Decades tells the story of Marvel, from the Golden Age of Atlas through the birth of the Marvel Universe right up to the then-burgeoning period of 90's excess; it's a tale I've read and heard many times since, but never exceeding the clarity and color Daniels brought to the table.

Daniels' bibliography hardly begins and ends with Five Fabulous Decades. In addition to his own fiction work, he was a legit and accomplished comics historian, from his breakthrough Comix: A History of the Comic Book in America in 1971 through chronicling nearly 70 years of DC in the late 90's and into the current century. I haven't read any of these works, but in remembering the significant contribution just one of his books made to my life, I'm now anxious to.

This is a paltry remembrance for a gentleman who contributed a great deal to the business I work in and fandom I'm a part of (as always, Tom Spurgeon did a better job), but it's my way of saying thank you for giving me a dream to follow, Mr. Daniels, may you rest in peace.

Rasslin' Ramblings: RIP Randy Savage

Many performers in the history of professional wrestling have become stars based on look or charisma and not necessarily needed to work as hard in the ring. Others can go between the ropes but don’t possess the gift of gab. And of course countless hardworking men and women achieve a modicum of success by combining it all, but only go so far. It’s a far shorter list of wrestlers who can talk, wrestle and put it all together to break through to become a cut above merely great.

“Macho Man” Randy Savage was absolutely one of those special few.

Savage was right up there with Hulk Hogan and even The Ultimate Warrior in terms of being able to spin rambling, near-incoherent-at-times promos, but there was a strange seductiveness to his particular brand of unorthodox poetry; if Hogan sometimes made you roll your eyes and Warrior frequently made you laugh, Savage could do both, but usually because that seemed his intention, and more often than not he just mesmerized you.

He had a tremendous look that certainly came in part from gifted genetics, but he accentuated it with the bizarre wardrobe and crazed eyes. There are few people who could make ornate robes, over-the-top sunglasses, seizure-inducing color combos and bedazzled cowboy hats work all at once, but Randy Savage didn’t just pull it together, he made his style awesome as well as iconic.

All that would have been enough to make the Macho Man one of the most memorable characters in the larger-than-life World Wrestling Federation of the 1980’s and carried him through to a successful career, but Randy Savage could also get it done in the ring. His signature top rope flying elbow drop remains a portrait of grace even today when corkscrews and springboards have been added to even the most basic of moves. He could make a bodyslam or a clothesline look like a world beater. His meticulous need to lay out each detail of his every match reportedly drew some opponents nuts, but you can’t argue with the end result.

During over three decades in the business, Randy Savage became one of the all-time legends of professional wrestling, but most folks know he transcended far beyond that. There are few people of my generation whether they watched wrestling or not who don’t know the Macho Man at the very least from his role as the spokesman for Slim Jim; watching him interrupt a performance of Romeo & Juliet with “Art thou bored?! Snap into a Slim Jim!” remains a consistent YouTube guilty pleasure. He also stole the scene as Bonesaw McGraw in the first Spider-Man movie and was fantastic as Space Ghost’s grandfather on Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast and in other various animated roles. He left an imprint on pop culture and there are few people who won’t crack a smile at the mention of his name or when somebody busts out an “Ohhhhhh Yeahhhhh!” People loved the Macho Man.

Randy Savage—whose real name was Randy Poffo—died this past Friday, May 20, 2011, at the far-too-young age of 58. Reportedly, he suffered a heart attack while driving and lost control of his car, hitting a tree.

For somebody who flourishes during the era of professional era Randy Savage did, he had been able to overcome so many of the business’ pitfalls and sad clichés, making his death all the more tragic. While obviously I can’t know for sure what went on in the man’s personal life, all evidence and testimony from those that knew him indicate he did not become a slave to substance abuse problems nor did he mismanage his money as so many members of his generation in wrestling did. He invested wisely and has been able to stay inactive by choice for nearly a decade, never needing to come back for a quick payday and by all accounts wrestling when and where he chose as far back as the mid-90’s.

If any part of Savage’s story seemed tragic, it may have been his romantic life, as his relationship with on-screen manager/off-screen wife Miss Elizabeth ended in divorce—she passed away in 2003 following a drug overdose—but even there he reconnected with and married his high school sweetheart just over a year ago.

It’s a terrible loss first and foremost for Randy Poffo’s family and friends, but also for his countless fans within the world of wrestling and even just anybody who enjoyed him in a Slim Jim commercial or Space Ghost cameo—I’d count myself in both the latter groups.

I’m going to try and throw up a list of some favorite matches and moments later this week, but for now, rest in peace Macho Man--you were one of a kind in a world where that's not easy.