Jim Shooter was the Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics during the 1980’s, and has started a blog where he’s posting about his memories of his time in the comics industry. Interesting and oddly funny stuff if you’re a comics geek.
When at conventions I often took con people and creators, especially Marvel creators, to lunch or dinner on Marvel. It was a little thank you for all they did, for representing Marvel at the con, for general good will and PR. You know. So, one afternoon, I asked a couple of Marvel guys if they’d like to have dinner at Lowry’s. Lowry’s is a classy Chicago joint famous for its prime rib, in case you are a vegan and therefore unaware of notable carnivore hangouts.
LenWein and Marv Wolfman overheard me and asked if they could come along. Well…both were DC guys at that point, but, why not? They’d done plenty of dinners’ worth of work for Marvel, and…why not?
Then, later, someone else came up to me and asked if they could come. Then someone else.
Apparently word was spreading that Marvel was throwing a party at Lowry’s. Uh-oh.
That evening, 33 “guests” of mine showed up at Lowry’s. Lowry’s is not a cheap joint.
So, I had a choice: squelch the event. Just say it was a misunderstanding and walk out. Or insist that Marvel wasn’t paying for some of them and they were on their own…but how do you draw that line? “You and you are on the company, but you and you, no.” Or ask everybody to follow me down the street to some cheaper joint….
