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Telling Untold Tales
2007-03-22 14:50:34

Untold Tales '96 Annual

Today's Good Comic I Had A Hand In is the 1996 UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL. It maybe doesn't seem quite as progressive today as it did at the time, but in 1996 the idea of Mike Allred working for Marvel was a bit radical.

The story came from a conversation Kurt Busiek had with Paul Dini at a signing they both attended, talking about an old Spidey story and wondering if the situation depicted therein was ever folowed up on, and how. The result was this bouncy tale in which Spidey goes on a date with Sue Storm as a way to get back at his rival, the Human Torch, and winds up enmeshed in a big ol' brawl with Namor the Sub-Mariner as a result.

Mike Allred only agreed to do the story if we could get Joe Sinnott to ink it (though Mike did ink his own cover for the issue.) There was one touch-and-go moment when Joe thought he was going to have to back out of the assignment, citing overwork. I remember having to get Allred and Joe together on the phone, so that Mike could express what having Joe ink the story meant to him, and so convince Sinnott to stay on board.

We also included, in the manner of the earliest Spider-Man Annuals, a gallery of villains, this one devoted to the new characters we'd come up with in the UNTOLD TALES series, as well as a few from the painted AMAZING FANTASY books Kurt had also done in this time period. We got Gil Kane to do one of these, but I wasn't able to convince Steve Ditko to similarly contribute.

The wheatcakes recipe on the last page came from Kurt's grandmother, I believe.

More later.

Tom B

cool
wit a spiey comic u know it's gonna be good

Posted by tarhaun on 2006-08-15 17:11:33

no more civil war for me!
Hey Tom, I was just reading this: http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=80375

and wondering what your thoughts are on Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. Do you want to know what MY thoughts are...? At the moment, they are along the lines of, "RAWR! JIMSKI SMASH PUNY CREATORS! IF JIMSKI'S ASSIGNMENTS WERE THIS LATE, JIMSKI WOULD BE FIRED!"

Posted by Jimski on 2006-08-15 21:13:05

No more Civil War to me either!
Mr Brevoort, the latest news regarding delays in your company crossover Civil War might be the last straw for me. Actually, it is. LATE seems to be the trendy thing to do as far as Marvel is concerned. This is a problem that can be easily fixed, but it seems as if you and your fellow editors have ZERO interest in doing so. As of today, I will spend my money on comics that come out on time... which means I will not be buying anymore Marvel comics. Good day.

Posted by Morrison on 2006-08-15 21:21:48

Please post complaints elsewhere
While I respect the comments of my fellow fans, I really have to mention that this thread is the worst place to voice their comments. It's not pertinent to the discussion and could be unintentionally ignored by Marvel itself. Send your complaints directly to Marvel via email or general mail. Thank you.

Posted by dlote on 2006-08-15 21:36:39

impulse control
I agree that complaints may be best registered elsewhere; I started here because I was specifically interested in Mr. Brevoort's thoughts about the chain-reaction causing Civil War delay given his comments here and elsewhere about Dan Slott's lateness. I'm really looking forward to Civil War. And Ultimates. And Ultimate Wolverine & Hulk. And Daredevil: Father. And retirement.

Posted by Jimski on 2006-08-15 22:36:04

Wow, that looks like a fun issue! I might try to track that one down.

Posted by jonwes on 2006-08-16 01:43:58

ALLRED
Hey Mr. B, is Mike Allred in the works for any future plans at Marvel? Please bring back the ol' X-Statix team - i'd love to see their views on the mutant depowering and civil war.

Posted by dp_lombardo on 2006-08-16 05:00:00

Sinnott
Wow! I didn't realize so much went in to that one issue. Being a huge Allred fan, I grabbed this guy up the day it came out in '96. A few years later, I had the pleasure of getting to know Allred as a comics journalist, and Sinnott as first a comics historian, and then a friend.
I've gotta say, it's all too rare we get to see Joe ink an entire comic book anymore! :)
Chris Irving
www.twomorrows.com

Posted by clirving on 2006-08-16 09:44:27

Loved this issue
As a huge Madman and a huge Untold Tales fan, this was one of my favorite comics in high school. Joe Sinnot definetely helped give it an old school look. Thank for making this happen.

Posted by dimeshop on 2006-08-16 12:03:53

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