Sick at home today, trying to recuperate from whatever bug I picked up while traveling. But while it was fresh in my mind, I wanted to report back on last night's MoCCA tribute to Mark Gruenwald.
VP of Operations David Bogart and myself took a cab down to MoCCA for the event, the first time I've ever been to MoCCA. The space was pretty interesting, with originals and reproductions of artwork for their current exhibit on women in comics lining the walls.
In terms of turnout, while there were a few people in attendence who were there for the latest segment in Peter Sanderson's month-long retrospective on the comics of the year 1986, the vast majority of the crowd was a "who's who" of Marvel faces from the past. Among those who showed up (and please forgive me if I forget you in this listing, as I'm working completely from memory here) were Tom DeFalco, Mike Carlin, Bob Budiansky, Carl Potts, Hildy Messnik, Mark Bernardo, Tim Tuohy, Glenn Greenberg, Glenn Herdling, James Felder, Ken Lopez, Renee Witterstaetter, Jim Salicrup and Tom Palmer, as well as Mark's widow Catherine and his daughter Sara. It occurred to me at one point that, had it been any of the other people in the room who had died ten years ago, such an event wouldn't have drawn such a crowd. Only Mark could bring together so many expatriate Marvelites after so many years.
It was an evening reminiscent of Mark's memorial, an event that I'll have to recount at some point in the future, though words won't do it justice. The evening opened with Peter Sanderson condensing his lecture on Mark's SQUADRON SUPREME series and the impact it had on the development of super hero comic book themes down to about twenty minutes, so as to make room for other speakers. Catherine read from one of Mark's old handwritten journals, a eulogy for himself that he had composed sixteen years before his death. In a virtuoso performance, Sara recounted a story Mark had spun for her about the true origins of a piece of costume junk jewelry that somebody had given Catherine at some point. Sara is studying to be a fashion designer, and is a painter, but her facility with words and language was quite adroit. She's definitely got some chops in this area.
From that point, the microphone was opened up to anybody who wanted to recount a personal reminiscence about Mark. Mike Carlin, his former assistant and best friend, opened the night with several humorous stories. Jim Salicrup told of his and Mark's early days at Marvel, before either of them had become well-established. Tom Palmer, the picture of dignified elegance, spoke from the heart and gave a freelancer's perspective on Mark. Carl Potts recounted how Mark and Catherine had met (she had come up to the Marvel offices to audition to be the personal appearances She-Hulk) and what that meant to Mark. Glenn Herdling told of elaborate practical jokes that he and Mark perpetrated on the staff at various editorial meetings. One of the writers of the current Marvel Handbooks (whose name I forget offhand--sorry about that) spoke of how he encountered the original Handbooks back in the '80s, and how that sparked his lifelong interest in the Marvel Universe. Glenn Greenberg spoke of a small and personal act of kindness that Mark had undertaken, unasked, on his behalf. And Tom DeFalco, at the urging of Mike Carlin and other members of the audience, closed out the open-mike portion of the program by telling of the many times Mark made him the target of practical jokes while they were on the convention trail--planting a gun-shaped piece of aluminum foil in the lining of Tom's suitcase (this was well before 9/11); creating signs directing fans to Tom's hotel room and indicating that he'd be available for autographs at any time, day or night; sealing Tom's room with police crime scene tape, and taping all of Tom's undergarmets to the outside wall of his hotel room for all the world to see.
After that, we went to the videotape. Mark was a habitual chronicler, and so he taped or photographed an extraordinary portion of his life. What we saw was a best-of compilation reel, focusing mainly on Mark's convention programming, in which he'd get fans to sing a page of a Marvel comic in mock-opera style, challenge them to see how many marshmallows they could hold in their mouth at once, burst balloons with their butts, bob for comics, do impersonations of Speedball having to go to the bathroom or Dr. Strange with a wedgie, and a dozen other ridiculous things. It's been so long that it's difficult to remember how ridiculous Marvel's convention programming used to be--and how much more entertaining.
Finally, as requested in his self-written eulogy, the evening ended with afriend of Catherine's performing John Lennon's "In My Life" on the guitar (Mark requested either a Beatles song or Ride of the Valkyries.) Afterwards, people mingled for awhile, catching up and just dicussing Mark, life and the industry. The event started at 6:30 and it was close to 10:00 by the time that I finally left.
It was like a strange time machine, like stepping back into the past and re-living the Marvel-that-was more than a decade ago--a time that wasn't necessarily better, but was at least different from the Marvel that exists today. For good or ill, that Marvel will never exist again, largely due to the passing of Mark Gruenwald.
G-Day, August 12th, the tenth anniversary of Mark's passing, is this Saturday. I'd like to encourage anybody who has a love of Marvel Comics, the Twilight Zone, the Three Stooges or the Beatles to take a moment out to express your appreciation to the people around you who make your life worthwhile. If Mark's example teaches us anything, it's that you never know when your final breath will be upon you, and you'll never again have the chance.
More later.
Tom B
that's a funny picture but good r.i.p man
Posted by tarhaun on 2006-08-09 15:26:02
Mark G Those are amazing pranks to play on someone. Mark must have been the coolest dude ever.
Posted by neighbor on 2006-08-09 17:09:45
I always wondered I remember reading somewhere that Gruenwald's last will was that his ashes were mixed with ink and printed in Supreme Squadron's paperbacks. Was that true? or was it one of Mark's pranks? Did it really happen? I think it's a wondeful thing for someone who has dedicated so much of his life to comic-books.
Posted by jack.frost on 2006-08-10 03:47:11
Mark's Bio Nice summary of the event, Tom. It was a powerfully moving tribute to a man I regret never having the opportunity to meet and work with. As I said that night, we of the new Handbook Team often ask ourselves, "What Would Gru Do?" and we can only imagine what writing the Handbooks would've been like had Mark been part of our new Mu-Team today. A highlight for me was meeting Catherine - she's a force of life and energy herself! I told her we have "Gru-Shoes" to fill, and we laughed trying to pronounce "OHotMU!!" as if it's a pronounceable acronym. With me from the new OHotMU Team was Michael Hoskin and Anthony Flamini. Catherine challenged us with pages of one of Mark's trivia contests from an old convention. Hoskin sweeped us all, and got to keep the document.
Another highlight was talking with Peter Sanderson, another of our forefathers on the Handbooks. I'm looking forward to his new Marvel Universe hardcover that should be out by October.
For those who'd like to know more about Mark, I've posted a Handbook style bio of him at: http://www.marvel.com/universe/Creator:Gruenwald%2C_Mark
Thanks to Glenn Herdling, I got to touch Mark's only lasting physical remnant, his captured ponytail, an artifact up there with the Cosmic Cube, the Infinity Gauntlet...and Sara's bracelet. I hope that touch granted me some of Mark's spirit and enthusiasm.
-Mike Fichera, OHotMU! (pronounced "Oh HOT MOO!" )
Posted by MikeFichera on 2006-08-10 10:34:02
Highest Tribute The highest tirbute you can do for anyone after their passing, is to remember them and all they stood for. To keep their legacy alive. I am so glad that marvel as a whole has done this. I'm sure you have all made him very happy by remembering him in this way. And even though it might not mean much to you guys or make much sense to you but...... I am proud of all of you.
And believe me I try my best everyday to let those I hold dear know that I love them and appreciate everything they do.
(P.S. Hope you feel better soon Tom. ^_^ )
Posted by TwilghtDragon on 2006-08-10 13:50:43
Thanks I was one of the non-Marvel staffers who showed up, but I was only there because I saw you mention the event right here on your blog. Growing up I had the Marvel Universe poster on my wall, read Mark's Remarks every month, and generally thought Gruenwald was about the coolest guy with the coolest job in the world.
I never got a chance to meet him, and so in the early goings I felt a little awkward being present for what felt like a pretty intimate, private thing for a bunch of his close friends. But once it turned into a Celebration of Pranking I was really glad I came, it was a great evening.
Thanks again for giving me a heads-up via your very swell blog.
Posted by quimper on 2006-08-10 16:13:17
Thanks for keeping the memory of Mark Gruenwald alive.
Posted by Lonesome Pinky on 2006-08-10 18:05:55
Photos We've uploaded some photos of the Tribute.
Michael Hoskin's photos are here
while my shots are here
-Mike F OHotMU!
Posted by MikeFichera on 2006-08-11 01:34:21
Photos Tribute Photos are at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23781769@N00/sets/72157594230827210
The Best Comic Editor ever! The high standard of excellence set by Mark Gruenwald is the very reason that I expect as much as I do from you, Tom, and I'll call you out on your performance when it doesn't meet those expectations. It's nothing personal at all, as I know he's a hard act to follow. .
Posted by Larry C on 2006-08-11 20:07:46
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About this blog: Ramblings and musings from the mind of Tom Brevoort. "It won’t be clean. It won’t be fun. It mostly won’t be coherent."
About the author: Tom Brevoort is Executive Editor for Marvel Comics, and oversees such titles as New Avengers, Civil War, and Fantastic Four.
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