Comments on: Marvel’s Fireside Chats, Part 1 – FIRE & WATER #135

By: Kyle Benning

Kyle Benning — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 05:20:49 +0000

No unfortunately I did not. It was an auction that ended really late at night and I ended up falling asleep and missing out!

The hunt continues!

By: Michael Chiaroscuro

Michael Chiaroscuro — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 18:24:06 +0000

Wonderful episode, fellas! I cherished How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way all through my childhood. I’m going to wax nostalgic here for a second. I still remember my grandfather buying it for me at a convenient store near my grandparents’ house when I was visiting them one summer as a kid. I must have been around 8 or 9 years old, so the book had been out for at least 5 years or more at this time. He saw how excited I was when I discovered this book on the rack, so buying it for me must have made him just as happy as it made me. It was like an invite into the secret Marvel Comics club! I pored over it for years, reading and re-reading it any chance I got! I drew and re-drew images from the book, following Stan and John’s lessons to a “t”! Thankfully I still own it to this day and still enjoy flipping through for it a window into a different time in Marvel and comics history, and a window into my own childhood.

Unfortunately I don’t believe I ever owned any of other Marvel Fireside books. The ones you discussed sound like a lot of fun. I’ve been hearing about Origin of Marvel Comics and Son of Origins for so long but I never seem to stumble upon on them at cons or in comics shops, dammit.

And I’m with you, Rob with regards to Doctor Strange. I’ve liked him since I was a kid, and I think the fact that he was typically on the periphery and very mysterious was a big reason why. I’m amped for a Stephen Strange movie.

By: Lucien Desar

Lucien Desar — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 13:20:48 +0000

This was such a great episode! I never even heard of the fireside books but Rob & Kyle presented it in a fun way. I am now looking on ebay for a cheap copy to read. BTW did Kyle ever win his ebay bids?

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 10:28:12 +0000

Growing up in Texas, comic books had the added stigma of southern ignorant prejudice, so there would be no such material in local libraries. I think you could find the Michael Fleisher encyclopedias and other such text heavy, illustration light reference manuals, but the only thing close to a trade paperback was one dear, dear hardcover edition of Jules Feiffer’s The Comic Book Heroes which featured select reprints between editorials. I was also prone to checking out comic strip collections like Garfield & Bloom County with the occasional Peanuts or Doonesbury in the mix (I could barely comprehend the latter.)

Thankfully, Waldenbooks and B. Dalton Booksellers were not as averse to trade paperbacks where nerd dollars were involved. The first trade paperback I ever owned, and the only Fireside Edition, was Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, with its bright orange cover and painted figure. I was already interested in Cap, but seeing him judo throw a sumo wrestler and kick the Hulk in the face (as rendered by the likes of Kirby & Ditko) secured the Star-Spangled Avenger his place as an absolute favorite. While that book left my possession relatively soon via an abandoned/unpaid storage unit, I developed an early appreciation for the format. Trades held up better to rereading and loaning, plus I got a richer reading experience, so I was a trade-waiter before it was cool.

A clarification: Kyle spoke of The Cat returning from cancellation to join the Avengers & Defenders. Aside from a Marvel Team-Up, The Cat didn’t appear again until Greer Nelson was transformed into Tigra, while it was Patsy Walker as Hellcat who joined the super-teams in Nelson’s old Cat costume. Kyle must have missed those episodes of #MarvelSHP

Kyle asked me about Red Sonja on Twitter, and basically since she was created by Marvel and only very loosely related to Howard’s Red Sonya, she woulda-coulda been their copyright if they’d wanted to press the matter (and turned up in this Marvel book) but the rights ultimately went to the Howard spin-off company Red Sonja LLC. I bought a small press black & white Sonja book by Roy Thomas and Steve Lightle during the Marvel bankruptcy, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Thomas had some stake in the LLC as her creator. Sonja stories can take place in the Hyborian Age as a result of a settlement between the LLC and current Howard rights holder Paradox after they sued each other. During discovery, Paradox learned that their claim to the Red Sonya Howard story was very weak, so they agreed to leave Sonja alone and lease the setting to the LLC in exchange for the LLC not making waves and basically helping to prop up Paradox’s Sonya claim.

I wonder if Fireside was a tongue-in-cheek name, given the mass book burning during the Wertham hysteria.

By: Earth 2 Chris

Earth 2 Chris — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 19:36:41 +0000

I never lucked into these books either, although those covers haunted me from ads of the time. I always coveted these and the DC reprint books. Great show guys!

Chris

By: Count Drunkula

Count Drunkula — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 13:17:58 +0000

Great episode, Kyle! I never had any of these Fireside Marvel books, but I always loved the covers to these four collections. Beautiful work!