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Irene and I drove to New York Tuesday and spent the night, which as it turned out wasn’t the best time to have done so, because it meant we woke Wednesday to an ice-coated car. (On April 16?) And the long drive home last night, which didn’t get us to bed until after 3:00 a.m., exhausted us. But it was all worthwhile, because the purpose of our trip was to spend another delightful afternoon with dear friend and comic book legend Marie Severin.
We love Marie, and always have. It’s been decades since either Irene or I worked in comics, and since then, she’s the only one we met back in those days whom we make a consistent effort to connect with rather than leaving it to chance encounters during conventions. Marie feels like family, that zany aunt we all wish we had but which most of us only get to meet in movies or on TV.
So yesterday, we took her out to an Italian restaurant (with Marie it’s always either Italian or Chinese food, but lately, Italian has been winning) where we caught her up on on everyone she ever knew comics. Filling her in on all the latest gossip since our October visit meant we touched on sad news for a bit, as this included letting her know about the recent deaths of long-time comics pros such as Fred Kida and Nick Cardy.
But as these photos prove, this was not a somber visit. How could it be? Why do you think Marie’s Marvel Comics nickname was “Mirthful”? Whether giving Irene rabbit ears, or delivering a strong left hook to my jaw, Marie was her usual playful self.
Irene had brought along the many emails we’d received about her recently, and shared your love with her. As usual, she was surprised by your admiration, because she feels there were so many so many artists more deserving of your praise. As she humbly put it, “I was no Johnny Romita.” She was touched extremely touched by it all.
We were with Marie for more than six hours, which as usual, wasn’t enough. It was tough tearing ourselves away from her, because she’s so much fun, and so darn nice, and we never run out of things to talk about. There were many false farewells before we hugged her and started the long drive home, asking ourselves as we pulled away how quickly we could get back.
We miss you already, Marie!
Thank you so much for posting this. I never met Marie in person, but we used to talk weekly. For about 8 months way back in 2008 or 2010. She such a talented & sweet lady. I’ll pass this on to John Romita SR, Herb Trimpe, Frank Brunner, Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler, Joe Staton & Joe Sinnott. My friend Aaron Sulton hopes to visit her soon. He has a DVD I made for her the SDCC panel John Buscema last convention. With Gene Colan, & John Romita SR. I mis-placed her new address. I wanted to mail her a birthday card. She looks happy & doing great. So happy she’s doing well.
Hi Scott
WOW! I just heard back from Roy Thomas who you already sent these pics to I guess. He revealed to me you created the Scarecrow! One of my all time favorite supernatural superheroes. I remember buying Dead of the Night#11. I think the same day maybe GS X-Men #1 came out or X-Men #94. The cover by Gil Kane & Bernie Wrightson blew me away. I wish he had been given his own monthly book right away. With art either by Mike Ploog or John Buscema! I knew your name sounded familiar but I couldn’t place.
If I ever won the lottery I’d try to hunt down that cover & buy it. Or have Bernie redraw it for me. Thank you for creating such a cool & creepy hero.
Best, Mike
I own that cover to Dead of Night #11, but have no plans to sell it until it’s either that or eat cat food. So I guess you’d better hope I’m in danger of the latter someday. 😉
Scott, Thanks for posting this wonderful piece. I’m so jealous of you, being able to rub elbows with all these stars of the Marvel Bullpen. I’d love to see a decent video or audio interview with Marie. I grew up seeing her work in Crazy, Hulk, and other books. Keep up the good work, and thanks for keeping these Marvel stars in the spotlight.
Leonard Grow
Wow, I think how wonderful it is that you stay so close and in touch with her. I have not seen or spoken to Marie since the late seventies, but oh how I remember the crazy fun times with her. I don’t know if she remembers me or not, 35 years is a long time to remember after all. But if it was possible I would love to see her and you guys a s well again. I can understand that you might want to and just have a threesome seeing as you don’t live close. But in any event thanks for keeping me in the loop.