Mark Evanier
JACK F.A.Q.s
A column answering Frequently Asked Questions about Kirby
[below] A photo from the filming of Spats And Splats, an 8mm silent comedy made by Barry Siegel, and starring LA Comic Book Club members. You can see the film here: https://youtu.be/ LXrYncpxIfI [left to right] Steve Sherman, Rob Solomon, Mark Evanier, Barry Siegel, Jules Kragen, Bruce Simon, Gary Lowenthal, and Sandy Friedlander. (Jules and Sandy were friends of Barry’s from school, and not members of the LA Comic Book Club.) Steve played the role of “Head Tough” and served as cameraman for the 1970 film. Mark Evanier was the hamburger-flipper.
was the vice president. Rob Solomon was the secretary or the treasurer. Mike Rotblatt was whichever one Rob wasn’t. We had a bunch of fun people in it— Bruce Schweiger, Steve Finkelstein, Bruce Simon, Barry Siegel—a lot of people, some of whom are still friends today, and some of whom haven’t spoken to each other for reasons that flowed from the comic club. One day this fellow named Steve Sherman joined the group, with his brother Gary. I don’t know how he joined or exactly when—we’ll get to that—but we became good friends. Shortly after that, Steve and I were both hired by a company named Marvelmania. We’ll tell you about that. That was around 1969, and some of you who sent money to Marvelmania are probably still waiting for your posters and decal sheets. Shortly after that, Steve and I were hired as the assistants to this man named Jack Kirby. Steve, like me, feels a great obligation to talk about our time with Jack because we were witnesses to a very important time in the life of a very important man in the comic book industry—probably the most brilliant guy who ever worked in the comic book industry, and certainly one of the people without whom there would not have been a comic book industry. So, I invited my friend Steve, who I’ve now known for over half a century, to join us here, and we’re going to talk about what it was like to hang around with Jack Kirby and work with him. Steve, come on in here now. Hello, my friend! How long have we known each other?
Mark Evanier’s conversation with Steve Sherman Conducted online on August 6, 2020
Transcribed by Steven Tice Copy-edited by John Morrow and Mark Evanier [Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, panels such as this one were featured online rather than in-person at conventions. You can view the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5f19VvIApE]
MARK EVANIER: Greetings! My name is Mark Evanier, and I am very pleased to have this guest on here today. In the late Sixties, around ’66 and ’67—there are fistfights still going on over what year it was—we started a club in Los Angeles called, brilliantly, the Los Angeles Comic Book Club. It met every Saturday at Palms Recreation Center, which is still over there on Overland Avenue in West LA, and I was the president of it. Rob Gluckson
STEVE SHERMAN: At least fifty years, probably 51, maybe even more. MARK: Do you remember when you first came to the comic book club? STEVE: Oh, sure, sure, sure. It all came about because Gary Owens did that show on Channel 13 about comic books, the history of comics. [My brother] Gary and I saw that and they showed Hollywood. They showed where the bookstores were. So, we said, “Oh, let’s go down there and take a look.” So we went, and we went into Bond Street Books, and they had Guts [#5 from 1969 shown above], the fanzine that the Glucksons put out. And there was a little ad that said, “Saturdays we meet at the Palms Recreation, blah, blah.” We lived in West LA, so we said, “Let’s go.” One Saturday afternoon 4
