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Post by paulie on Aug 20, 2014 15:24:07 GMT -5
I know that TM Maple passed away about 20 years ago and that Cat Yronwode is still quite the public figure. Same with Dean Mullaney.
But does anyone know if some of the great 70s letter hacks still have some sort of online presence?
I'm thinking of Ed Via, Bill Wu, and Uncle Elvis specifically though there were about a dozen good ones.
And yes... I have at lease one Marvel comic with a letter from a Mr. Dan Bailey whom I think we know where to find. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2014 16:01:14 GMT -5
And yes... I have at lease one Marvel comic with a letter from a Mr. Dan Bailey whom I think we know where to find. Prison? |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2014 16:04:33 GMT -5
When this topic came up on the CBR Classics board a few years back, I noted that Jim Kingman had written a 2-part online column in which he looked a few of the bigger-name letterhacks from days gone by ... but last time I tried to dig that up, not that long ago, I couldn't find it to save my life.
I don't think any of the names you cite were included, though. I didn't recognize the names of most of those he contacted.
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Aug 20, 2014 16:07:55 GMT -5
Forgive me for asking, but what do you mean by hacks in this sense?
I did not grow up in the time period but I do frequent the letters pages when reading my classic comics, if only to see who spotted a No-Prize or to read some of the comments. Were there people who were notorious writers? Did they cause issues in the letters pages?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2014 16:09:47 GMT -5
"Letterhack" refers to someone who writes, & of course has published, numerous letters of comment to comics or prozines, especially lengthy &/or thoughtul ones.
I certainly didn't qualify, having had only, I'm pretty sure, 5 letters published by Marvel & maybe 3 or 4 by Warren, as well as 2 in one issue of the fantasy digest Fantastic.
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Post by paulie on Aug 20, 2014 16:19:34 GMT -5
Forgive me for asking, but what do you mean by hacks in this sense? I did not grow up in the time period but I do frequent the letters pages when reading my classic comics, if only to see who spotted a No-Prize or to read some of the comments. Were there people who were notorious writers? Did they cause issues in the letters pages? Letterhack was a term of endearment as explained by Dan. Maybe it was self-deprecating humor?
But I'd argue that some of these folks were essential to many 70s and 80s comics. They are our direct ancestors.
As Shaxper will soon discover in Master of Kung Fu, the letters of Bill Wu and Ed Via will be every bit... every single bit... as important to that title as Moench's scripts and Gulacy and Adkins art.
Now that I've been thinking about it a little bit Malcom Bourne was another excellent hack.
Ralph Macchio and Peter Sanderson as well and they used their letters as sort of a CV/audition for real live Marvel comics work.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2014 16:30:00 GMT -5
Neat write-up in Wikipedia --
The 1994 Squiddy Awards featured a "Favorite Letterhack" category! Some of the most prolific "LOCers" or "letterhacks" include:
Jerry Bails — the "father of comics fandom"
Olav Beemer
Len Biehl
Malcolm Bourne
Brian Earl Brown
Dale L. Coe
Augie De Blieck Jr. — claims to have published over 400 letters
Joe Frank
Paul Gambaccini
Shirley A. Gorman
Elizabeth Holden
Jana C. Hollingsworth
Kashif "Blue Panther" Husain
Guy H. Lillian III — omnipresent 1960s letterhack
Marc Lucas
T.M. Maple (aka Jim Burke) — published over 3,000 letters
Joey Marchese
Rich Morrissey
"Uncle Elvis" Orten
Kent A. Phenis
Peter Sanderson
Bill Schelly — comic book historian
Al Schroeder III
Charles J. Sperling
Irene Vartanoff — omnipresent 1960s letterhack who ended up working behind the scenes for Marvel in the 1970s and 1980s
Delmo Walters Jr.
Some letterhacks gained entrée into an actual career in comics because of their letter-writing expertise. For instance, Bob Rozakis parlayed his frequent published letters to DC comics during the late 1960s and early 1970s into a job as DC's "Answer Man" and eventually a solid career as a DC writer. Kurt Busiek, Mary Jo Duffy, Mike Friedrich, Mark Gruenwald, Fred Hembeck, Tony Isabella, Paul Levitz, Ralph Macchio, Dean Mullaney, Martin Pasko, Diana Schutz, Beau Smith, Roy Thomas, and Kim Thompson are just a few of the many comic book professionals who got their starts as young letterhacks.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 20, 2014 16:43:25 GMT -5
I met Delmo Walters Jr quite a few times in the 90s.He was from the Bronx and would pick up his weekly comics from the same Manhattan store I was frequenting. He was extremely prolific in his writing but I never found him insightful
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2014 16:44:07 GMT -5
I've mentioned before that the '70s letterhack I've always been most curious about was Jackie Frost, simply because he lived in West Monroe, La., which is only a couple of hours from my hometown.
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 20, 2014 16:51:08 GMT -5
Bill Wu, also known as William F. Wu, works at a newspaper in the Antelope Valley in Southern California.
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Aug 20, 2014 16:51:46 GMT -5
Thanks for the info!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2014 16:54:32 GMT -5
If memory serves, there was a bit of a foofaraw* a few years ago in the journalism world about a copy editor in, I think, Florida who'd shown up on some sort of political contributions list. I recognized the name immediately from lettercols & the like from my first stint in comics fandom -- Harry Broertjes, who edited The Legion Outpost.
*Not because he'd given money to the Klan or whatever (though he apparently is a Republican, so perhaps that's next ...), but because journalists are generally expected to maintain at least the appearance of impartiality, though of course in this instance it's not as if a copy editor will ever be in the public eye.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 20, 2014 17:06:06 GMT -5
Paul Gambaccini re-located to London in the early 70s and began a career writing for Rolling Stone magazine and other music publications. He's credited for giving DC the idea of a fictional costume designer who provided the Flash's rogues gallery with their uniforms. The character was named after Paul in his honor and has appeared in DC comics sporadically through the decades
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Post by gothos on Aug 20, 2014 17:31:53 GMT -5
Kim Thompson's career as a letterhack might have been intense but only for a short time: I have the impression his passion for superheroes peaked after a couple-three years. Then he joined the staff of COMICS JOURNAL, and the rest was history.
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Post by paulie on Aug 20, 2014 17:35:08 GMT -5
Bill Wu, also known as William F. Wu, works at a newspaper in the Antelope Valley in Southern California. Good to know. Thanks! I think he published a sci-fi novel or three as well. |
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