Category: Comic Books

Don Heck’s Heartbeat

One more comic book related post for today. There’s a fun video on YouTube from a fellow who posts his stuff under the header The HAPPY SHOW! It’s the Voices of Marvel record, from Stan Lee’s Merry Marvel Marching Society, put to a Flash animation.

The audio for this came from a transfer I made five years ago and posted here on my original Web site. I know it’s my recording because of the thump in the flexidisc that results in a “heartbeat sound” while artist Don Heck is on the phone.

I don’t know where the “Scream Along With Marvel” audio came from, but it’s not mine. The one I made sounds a lot better. I trimmed out most of the gap between the two songs. Did I do that five years ago, already?

[audio:http://209.51.142.186/~dogatco/mmms/mmms67.mp3]

P.S. The HAPPY SHOW! has separate videos for my audio transfer of the Scream Along With Marvel songs. I’ve put them together in a customized YouTube player.

In Search of Steve Ditko

The BBC documentary about comic book creator Steve Ditko is available on YouTube. Being lazy, I waited for Mark Evanier to provide the link. It’s a particularly good link, because it will play through the entire 60-minute program.

[NOTE: Well, this sucks. The playlist is gone and the player is SNAFU. Evanier’s embedded player is likewise broken. Once again I emphasize that when I can download from YouTube I do it. And I’ve done it just now.]

This sort of material is, in a way, validation of a hobby that I held onto so strongly, but only with some difficulty, in my youth. If you knew how tough it was as a 15-year-old to be enthusiastic about comic books back then, you’d appreciate how satisfying it is to see the people who created those comic books treated with the same respect as professionals in any other legitimate business. Much of the credit for that must be given to Stanley Lieber, otherwise known as Stan Lee.

Stan has always been a tirelessly upbeat promoter of the industry, and his praise for the work of others is undeniable. Every single Marvel Comics “Bullpen” artist — from Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, to Gene Colan and John Romita, to Don Heck and Dick Ayers — did some of their best work for, and with, Stan.

As great a creative force as Jack Kirby was, his dialog was extremely stilted, to the point of sometimes being unreadable. As powerful as Kirby’s art was, the editors at Marvel’s competitor DC weren’t wrong in calling his characters ugly. Ditko’s drawings of people were likewise unattractive, to the point of being grotesque. Stan, as editor and art director, was essential to making it possible for Kirby and Ditko to realize their fantastic visions, and for making their work palatable to Marvel’s primary buying audience — children.

Having said that, I was a bit dismayed that Stan’s normally jovial composure broke somewhat when Jonathan Ross pressed him on the point of giving Steve Ditko co-creator status for Spider-Man. I fully appreciate the legal and financial ramifications of saying a character worth hundreds of millions of dollars belongs not to a corporation, but to people. Taking the next step and saying credit rightfully belongs to two people, not just one, further complicates the matter.

In the documentary, Stan explains that Ditko refused to accept use of the word “consider” in a letter that Lee wrote to Steve, acknowledging his contributions to the creation of Spider-Man. Lee seems to want to brush off the word as if it carries no implication, yet he uses it again when Ross insists on a clarification. The adult in me understands and accepts Lee’s position, but the fan in me is disappointed.

When Arnie Kogen Went MAD

Here’s an interesting factoid about comedy writer Arnie Kogen, to whom I am eternally grateful. He went from selling typewriters to banging them — so to speak! This comes from a book I referred to previously, Completely MAD, A History of Mad the Comic Book and Magazine, by Maria Reidelbach.

For over thirty years Kogen has been one of Mad’s most consistent contributors of television, movie, and celebtiry satire, and for almost as long he has been one of the most active television comedy writers in the business. Kogen was selling typewriters on the Lower East Side when he was introduced to Gaines and Feldstein by Paul Krasser, who published The Realist in an office adjacent to Mad’s at 225 Lafayette. Kogen’s start at Mad led to writing for a number of prominent stand up comedians and performers, including Carol Burnett, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Ronald Reagan. He’s also received many awards for his television writing, including three Emmys.

The book is from 1991, so Kogen has now been a Mad contributor for over 45 years! In fact, he wrote the Spider-Man 3 parody in the latest issue. In addition to Ronald Reagan, the list of prominent stand up comics includes, of course, Morty Gunty.

Kogent Kogen

It was October, 1963, and several Mad staffers were sunning themselves on the sands of the Condado Beach Hotel in San Juan. Arnie Kogen emerged from a dip in the ocean and joined his colleagues.

“How’s the water?” asked Nick Meglin.
“It needs salt,” replied Kogen.

    From The MAD World of William M. Gaines, by Frank Jacobs

I first became aware of Arnie Kogen 40 years ago, around the same time I first saw Mark Evanier’s name in print. Arnie Kogen is a comedy writer with a long list of credits, not the least of which is being the father of Jay Kogen, also a noted writer of funny stuff.

MAD Magazine was my introduction to the humor of Arnie Kogen, whose TV resume includes The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and both of Bob Newhart’s sitcoms. (Oops! Let’s not forget Newhart as a cartoonist in Bob! Don’t know if Kogen wrote for that one.) Kogen also wrote for my late mother’s all-time favorite, The Carol Burnett Show, for which he was nominated, and won, a bunch of Emmys.

Mr. Kogen’s first TV writing job was for The Funny Company, a kid’s show in New York, hosted by Morty Gunty. My Morty Gunty story starts here.

I am indebted to you Arnie Kogen, for appearing out of nowhere to assure me that my letter of complaint to Morty was not the reason why he lost his show.

Morty was the first comic I ever wrote for. I did material for his act and then, in 1963, Morty asked me to write for his kiddie show called, “The Funny Company” It was my first TV writing gig. The show had a good run but then some kid wrote a letter — Doug, kidding! You were not the cause of Morty Gunty losing his TV show. The Funny Company had run its course. Morty was a terrific guy and would have understood your dilemma.

I know of course that it wasn’t my fault, but I had to tell the story from the perspective of how I had felt until I was grown up and had seen enough of life to know better. Mr. Kogen’s comments are here.

In an unbelievable coincidence worthy of Dickens, my twin sister Jean (who writes the Jeanie Beanie comments) dated a nephew of Arnie Kogen. On one occasion in the 1970’s, Kogen was visiting his sister when my sister was there. If only she’d known about the Morty Gunty connection! But it’s just as well, because I was a rabid MAD fan, and would have made a major pest of myself; so today, instead of being so nice to me, Mr. Kogen would be saying, “Oh God, no. Not him!”

Thank you, Arnie Kogen! Besides being one heck of a funny guy, you truly are a gentleman and a scholar. And thanks for helping Morty Gunty make The Funny Company funny!

Credit Due, Not Yet Paid

Now that Mark Evanier has clarified the issue of on-screen credits for the creators of Spider-Man, let’s go back to the first Spidey movie. As expected, it’s worded exactly the same way.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/SEP07/Spidey1.flv 448 252]

Something I haven’t noticed before is the first Spider-Man movie has an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, only tiny bit wider than HDTV’s 1.77:1. The second movie is much wider — or shorter, depending on how you consider it — at 2.35:1.

Spider-Man’s Co-Creator Gets His Due

Spider-Man was not created solely by writer Stan Lee. As correctly credited in all three movies, artist Steve Ditko co-created the character.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/SEP07/Spidey.flv 448 252]

I feature some panels of Ditko’s distinctively eccentric, compelling work here and here. Thanks to Mark Evanier, I know that tomorrow the BBC will be showing a Steve Ditko documentary. I’m hoping it makes an appearance on BBC America. If not, I’ll have to scrounge around the Internet, the way I did to find the BBC Petula Clark documentary.

IMPORTANT NOTE: On Newsfromme, Mark Evanier corrects me on the subject of screen credits. Thank you, Mark!

By the way, anybody who’s visiting here thinking I’m the same Doug Pratt who puts out The DVD-LaserDisc Newsletter, I’m merely a subscriber. That Doug Pratt is over here.