Help ReBuild Len Wein's Comic Collection

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When I first started reading comics and recognizing the names of the creators the first names I noticed was Stan Lee. Later Roy Thomas started popping up in a lot of the comics I read. But after that when the seventies hit two names started popping up in most of the comics I read and enjoyed. Marv Wolfman and Len Wein. Those two names seemed to be connected for a lot of reasons, but taking over the writing for a lot of the comics that I once enjoyed by the aforementioned Mr. Lee and Thomas were these two new and coming gentlemen.

At the time I was pretty much a Marvel Zombie so I missed their work when they would go to DC. When Len created Swamp Thing I was reading Man Thing. But than he came back and helped to create the New X-Men. I remember buying the first issue of the New X-Men. I wasn't even that big a fan of the old X-Men, but at the time I was buying most anything with the Marvel logo on it. This was an interesting group, different than most of the other groups out there at the time.

And I still remember that issue of Hulk that introduced that little runt named Wolverine. I was a big fan of Hulk and was buying every issue so when number 181 came out it was just another in a long series of Hulks stretching back to issue 102 when he took over Tales to Astonish and the book was renamed. At the time I have to admit I didn't see the future for the Candian mutant. If I had I would have purchased about a dozen copies of that issue.

All this is leading up to the fact that Len Wein's house was recently destroyed by a fire. Everyone but their beloved dog got out safely. The insurance is fixing the house, but Len lost a lot of other things in the fire that either the insuarance won't cover or will be almost impossible to track down. One of these things is a collection of all the comic books he has written over the years. Mark Evanier has organized a site to help get these missing comics for Mr. Wein. Go to this site and check it out and do what you can to help.

Palomar

I've had this book sitting on my bookshelf for a long time. I'd pick it up and read a story here and there. When Love and Rockets was first published back in the early nineties I picked it up and fell in love with the stories immediately. I loved both Jamie and Gilbert, but to me Gilbert's work was always a bit more special. His stories of the city of Palomar was unlike anything in comics. In the last week or so I've been re-reading the saga of Palomar. This book is five hundred pages and collects all of the stories Gilbert did between 1993 and 2002. This book will take your breath away. It's that good. This isn't comics, it's literature.

A companion volume Luba is scheduled to come out soon. This five hundred page volume collects the stories since the end of Palomar. I can't wait to get it. These are stories that I missed on their first time out for the most part. After the brothers suspended their regular publication of Love and Rockets I found it hard to keep up with them. So I'm excited that most of these stories will be new to me.

Now it just has to hurry up and come out.

NOLA Comic-Con

New Orleans is getting a comic con! This month in fact. It's not a big star studded event, but at least it's a start. I've always thought New Orleans would be a great city for a comic con. About ten years ago the people behind the Mid-Ohio Con tried it, but it didn't take. I'm not sure why, they seemed to have made a good go of it. Hopefully this could be the start of something. It's on April 25 and last from 11-5 at the Pontchartrain Center in Metairie. See the flyer here. And I'm going to be one of the guests! Been a long time since I've been at a con, sitting behind a table.

Comic Purchases

I went to the comic store today and picked up a few comics. Actually it was just a few. I bought the new issues of The Boys, Greatest Hits, Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam and the latest two issues of Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade. (I didn't realize that Supergirl was only a six issue mini series. That's a shame because it's one of my favorite reads.)

After I got home I realized that my comics this week were pretty much on the two extremes. Kid comics and about as adult except for X rated as can be with The Boys and Greatest Hits.