I do try to be open when I post pictures of people, places and events in the grand mash that was Marvel. I do. But here’s a rarity that asks more questions than it answers. Here:
Right off the bat, let me run down everybody here. Left: Editor Creator Danny Fingeroth, Editor Creator Inking Phenom Carl Potts, Editor Sublime Mark Gruenwald, Larry Hama who needs another page to list everything he does—let’s call it ‘Editor’ for now, Endlessly Creative Editor Super Writer Denny O’Neill, Ralph Macchio—yes! that Ralph Macchio who spent a lot of time after the lofty success of The Karate Kid finding his true self at Marvel,* Editing Machine Bob Budiansky and finally THE Top Man, Editor In Chief with many well-worn hats and one well-worn sweater vest, Jim Shooter.
Second off the bat, this is the Jim Shooter’s eye view of his office. I may have been feeling cocky because I seem to have had my brand new 28mm wide-angle lens in use (I was lusting for a 17mm…). Or I may have been standing in Tom DeFalco’s office, which was immediately to the left—through the doorway, where Danny Fingeroth is standing, and had my camera rig all ready to go and in I stepped. I think Tom was not in on this meeting because he was the Executive Editor by now. These guys had to keep secrets from him.
The rarity of this shot is that I really tried not to poke my camera in Jim’s nose that much. Not just that he was the uber-boss or my boss—but I didn’t want to bother the guy. Late in 1983, I think I was still working the typesetting machine. My office was actually right opposite this one with a corridor in between.
There is a terrible time about that point in time, November, 1983, when I was trying not to pester people by poking my camera at them a lot. My “camera” was no modest affair; I had a hand-held flash unit with a separate battery pack that I wore on my belt—all connected to the camera by cables. The camera was modest-sized for the time (for those who know, a Nikon FM) but with the motor-drive, was much more imposing. I say ‘terrible’ because the next few years were exactly the time I should have re-doubled my photographic efforts…
This, then, is the only latter-day picture I managed to take of an Editorial Meeting. Subject? No one can say…
Note that Danny who has arrived late, is greeted with jeers and cat-calls because he has no chair on which to sit. Also of note is that it seems Editrix Supreme Louise Jones is not in attendance. Legendary Clever Editor Art Maven Al Milgrom is absent as well.
*Okay, that is not star of screen, big and small, Ralph Macchio—that is our own accomplished and highly respected Editor Writer Ralph Macchio.