A Terrific Afternoon!

October 9, 1991! A sweet afternoon at Marvel Comic’s Editorial offices, New York City! Little shafts of sunlight play on the otherwise dour office walls of Editor In Chief, Tom DeFalco! The Marvel “coffee table” book has been released. Because it was the first one of its kind, The Myth, The Man, The Legend, Stan Lee came back East to sign a few thousand.

Yes, he is left-handed!

The book itself was a “difficult birth” sort of problem child. I try to stay away from tell-alls and, in truth, this is not really my story to tell, plus I don’t know “all.” Yes, I surely did travel with the originator and at-one-point writer of this book. Traveled a lot with a giant pile of camera equipment (you Marvelites that think my little Nikon with its motor drive, strobe unit and battery pack was a large pile—ain’t seen nothing!) all over this great land. We took pictures of a lot of stuff. Artwork, original comics, super obscure collectibles, things nobody heard of…

The fact that the fellow I traveled with is not the author listed gives an idea of some of the “difficulties” involved.  Like I say, that’s a story for another time. Perhaps a sketchy travel diary might be in order for the next installment.

For now, Stan and this sweetly smiling lady were enjoying a minute or two of time together. Stan, we mostly know. Only Marvel office-dwellers and a huge swath of Marvel freelancers know this lady; she’s Millie Shuriff!

The “Check Lady,” the “Destroyer,” the “Keeper of Gigantic Books!” Oh… yes, she knows when you’ve been bad, she knows when you’ve been good—so be good for goodness’ sake!

Aside from Stan himself, Millie was probably the longest Marvel employee of all time. I delivered envelopes to her when I was a 13-year-old messenger boy in Manhattan of yore. She worked for and remembered fondly, Martin Goodman, the founder of Timely Comics which turned into everything we now think of as Marvel. My sources suggest she was working there since the late 1950s.

I’ve spoken of the central pivot to the freelancer lifestyle at Marvel: vouchers! It was Millie Shuriff and her sweet, moisturized hands through which millions upon millions of dollars passed. I’ve dreamily described the process before, get your work in and voucher submitted by 4:30 on Wednesday (NOT 4:31, buddy! And it’s HER clock, not yours!) and like a slow magic trick, after high noon the following Thursday, one’s check was right there. To be picked up or if one had all the time in the world in as well as not a care—it could be mailed.

But this picture was taken at a truly “excelsior” point in time. [Excelsior, for those who do not know, is Latin for “ever upward!” And it’s also the frizzy wrapping stuff that works well with glassware—Editori-El!] Everything was popping Marvel’s way—who knew how high POGs would go? Entertainment cards? Stickers!!! Up, up, UP! Until all the bad times leading to the untimely and mercifully premature end of Marvel. You know it as “bankruptcy.”

But that “end” was after this picture’s time. The rest of the series of images from that day, show many of the office people coming through with their copy of the book to have Stan sign it. He was in this office for just that purpose. Which was a nice thing. You couldn’t hope for a more genteel and gracious ambassador of comic art than Stan.

And one can see that Stan never had to wheedle and complain to Millie! Nor that Mill ever had to hold Stan’s check for no reason at all! Just look at Millie—rather like a kid meeting her favorite celebrity.