Tales of Syzpense #48
20 Years in Comics, Harlan Ellison at 90, and the Spinner Rack is Prison-Bound
In June 2004, I walked through the doors at IDW and into a now-20-year comic career. It’s one of those things I would think about at times over the years—my first full decade as their editor-in-chief, then being 15 years in, and so on. Now, as it’s nearing the full two-decade mark since that start, between the sheer fact of being 20 years older than when I started and also the much more precarious position of making comics outside the support of a company in 2024, I try to think about it much less. But twenty years does feel memorable, for the sheer number of great projects I saw get out into the world, and most importantly of all, the massive number of amazing people I’ve met, known, and worked with along the way.
When I do think of the overall arc of this particular story, it does occur to me that I didn't start working in comics the day I started at IDW. I try to stress this point whenever I talk to anyone about breaking in. Your work in comics when you start making comics. It’s not the paycheck or validation from a company or anything else that makes your standing in the comics industry official. It’s the fact of you sitting at a computer or drawing table or whatever other device, paper or electronic, and making a comic that you put out into the world in some form or fashion.
There always was too much importance put on who’s an “official” comic creator and who’s not, in the same way that some annoying parts of the fandom try to rank who is a “real” fan of something or not. You make comics? You work in the comics industry. You like something because it speaks to you in some way? You’re a fan. That’s all that matters in either case.
That said, making comics as part of a team is something I loved and miss — it’s still a team effort now, just in a different way. But to me, the best part of making comics was always the collaboration, the sharing of ideas, the sharing of differences of opinion, the working together to make something great. That’s the part I celebrate when I think about that time in early summer 2004. I was new to San Diego, new to the business of making comics, and new to having a key role in an industry I really cared about. And those early years of discovery still loom large for me.
I’ve loved comics my entire life, and working in comics always felt right and made me care about them and the people that made them in such a deeper way. It’s mostly been a great two decades. Or at least one great decade, another five or so years of “very good,” and then, you know, the sine curves of life and careers bend in both directions. Hopefully I can keep making ‘em for a while longer yet. I’ve got plenty I’d still like to say and do, plenty of projects and creators I want to work on and with, respectively, and that love has never gone away. I don’t think there will be another period of such sustained fun and excitement as there was in my first official decade on the publishing side but much like with any good comic, I’m still eager to turn the next page and see where this story’s headed from here.
So yeah, heading into June always makes me wistful as I think about 2004. Or even June 2001, which is when I started working for filmmaker Kevin Smith, the role that helped position me for the IDW gig when it came up.
One other constant throughout all of this was writer Steve Niles, with whom I worked on the never-happened Epic comic pitch I mentioned a few newsletters back; and it was Niles who then introduced me to the owners at IDW and led me to all that followed. And Niles and I are still working on something together now, so it’s nice that after all this time, the years and the mileage, not all that much has changed after all.
Harlan at 90
Harlan Ellison’s 90th birthday was on May 27, and I’ve missed Harlan greatly in the near-decade that he’s been gone. But like with the June reminder of my start at IDW, Harlan’s 90th birthday was a nice reminder of his birthday a decade ago. When he (or H.E.) turned 80, I presented him with the below poster. It was a group effort, from artists who’d worked with Harlan over the years. Across the top, Paul Chadwick did a piece from Seven Against Chaos, the graphic novel he did with Harlan; John K. Snyder created the image of Jimmy Cricket as Zorro — which was how Harlan always described himself, as equal parts of both of those characters; Alan Robinson did up a nice piece from the Phoenix Without Ashes graphic novel; Eric Shanower brought back the Harlan from Harlan Ellison’s Dream Corridor, and JK Woodward created the beautiful image of Harlan at his typewriter, dreaming up all these and so many other worlds.
I made Harlan two copies of the poster, just in case, but he refused to keep both, insisting instead on inscribing one to me with a very nice note. Which I still have framed in my office.
It’s been nice seeing Harlan’s work get some renewed attention this year through the new Greatest Hits collection and the re-release of his Dangerous Visions anthology. But it’s the real Harlan’s voice I most miss hearing.
The evening of Harlan’s 80th birthday, a group of us headed to dinner. There was a misadventure at Harlan’s house that started the evening off in fine fashion and from there, the dinner was amazing, filled with great food and better stories (mostly from Harlan, but also from fellow raconteur Ed Asner, and a broad array of Harlan’s friends across all parts of his life.) Harlan’s friend and photographer Steven Barber shot video at the dinner, and he happened upon the footage recently. I’d not seen the entire edited affair but Steve sent me a copy, telling me he thought that even after all this time, I’d like to see it. He was so right.
Harlan is only one of dozens upon dozens of amazing people I’ve gotten to know and befriend one the past 20 years in comics. Whatever else has changed, that part never will.
There’s a proper (and fitting) spinner rack theme below but I thought I’d offer as bonus, these nine Harlan-written/inspired/adapted/derived covers in honor of his birthday.
Romnibus Driver
More June nostalgia! The second Marvel Rom Omnibus is being released in 3 weeks. I contributed an introduction to that one, and I just last week turned in my intro for volume 3 (out in November), too. Volume 2 is where the series really kicked into another gear, culminating in the final issue of this Omnibus that remains jarring and impactful to this day. I’m happy to be associated with these books in this way, and even happier that the material will be out in the world in full for everyone to read or re-read.
R.I.P. Tom Luth
Longtime Groo the Wanderer colorist Tom Luth passed away this week, a loss that hit many of us hard. Tom was, of course, much more than the Groo colorist but he was certainly Sergio Aragones’ colorist of choice for well over a hundred issues of that series as well as other Sergio series. And the below images are only the slightest handful of pieces that show Tom’s amazing work. These weren’t pages out of the ordinary, either. Every page Sergio draws has at least this level of details. And Tom kept up with the work in such an impressive way, never cutting corners while still ensuring that the series could ship monthly for years and years. They were an amazing team.
Tom had stepped back from coloring the last few years. I only met him once, at a sparsely attended convention during the pandemic, so it was nice to be able to spend some time talking to him and heaping praise on him for his incredible body of work.
The piece below show a bit of his stuff, as I say. But for the most well-rounded picture of Tom’s life and career, you should read the post his longtime collaborator, writer Mark Evanier, ran at his (always great) site recently. Us Groo fans salute you and raise a chalice of cheese dip in your honor, Tom!
Prison-Bound
For some reason, this felt like a fitting theme to contemplate this week.
The Final Cabinet Final Orders
The fifth and final issue of our series The Cabinet hits its final order cut-off period on Monday, June 3 (in stores on June 26), so there’s still time get in any last orders for the finale.
The covers, by series co-creators Chiara and Raimondi & Jordan Hart, and Marguerite Sauvage, are below.
And finally, we can show all five of Marguerite’s amazing connecting covers as the single image she created at the start. Really beautiful stuff, start to finish.
Happy 20th, Boss!! Some of my favorite years working in comics were thanks to you. The Secret History of BLACK CROWN looms large. And soon! Here’s to 20 more years (and 20 Guinness pints /beers)! Viva comics!
Thanks for sharing about Tom Luth. I would have not heard about his passing as he’d mostly retired from work. A true great. It’s amazing how his art seamlessly added to Sergio’s work helping your eye follow the flow of the page.