Dear Mr. Gregg,
The story I am about to tell is a happy reconstruction of a very stressful 45 seconds of my life that involved you. I say ‘happy’ because I did get to meet you. Even though I came off as a big dufus.
For the rest of you, let me set the scene:
August 10, 2019 –a Monday, so Marvel could get the (“dark Monday”—an old theater expression meaning: closed) New Amsterdam Theater, NYC, to itself. Stan “The Man” Lee was no longer on this plane (known to Marvelites as 616) and who could say which plane he was on… (the Cool one, I trust).
Thus it was, Stan could no longer defend himself. With that legal mechanism in place, Marvel decided to throw a big Stan Celebration. Which I thought was very nice. Much to my shock, I was invited (my Plus 1 was my son, Nick). Upon arrival, I realized this was much more like a Celebration of Freelancers Too Dumb to Die.
Janice Chiang, Mariano Nicieza, Al Milgrom, Rick Parker, Larry Hama, Fabian Nicieza, Peter Sanderson, Nel Yomtov and in the left-hand quarter, the top of Peter David’s head
Al Milgrom, Jack Morelli, Anne Nocenti, a veritable Rushmore of heads top-to-bottom: Rick Parker, Janice Chiang, Chris Claremont, Peter David and to the right, Peter Sanderson
In this way, it was two things. A remembrance of Stan and a never-to-be-repeated gathering of Marvel Bullpenners.
There was one more level. In addition to us Living Fossils there was a tribute paid by modern Marvel people. Hollywood stars… TV stars… Broadway stars… A whole new West Coast Bullpen filled with stars.
Stars. Charlie “Disney Streaming Daredevil” Cox and Tom “Loki” Hiddleston were TV-ish and movie stars, so conveniently having some legitimate theater time right down the block (in Betrayal). Deborah Ann “Disney Streaming Daredevil AND Relics & Rarities on YouTube’s Geek & Sundry” Woll, Paul “The Vision” Bettany, Ming-Na “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. –Agent May” Wen, Clark “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. –Agent Coulson” Gregg. Plus some underworld figures that have worked in the comic book side of Marvel over time. C. B. Cebulski and Todd McFarlane to name two.
Stan would’ve loved it all. They told some Stan stories and the comic guys told their Stan stories. They were all great, they did a fine nerveless job. They had teleprompters, even the comic bums.
This story is about Mr. Clark Gregg. He did an outstanding job as an introducer, moderator person. No surprise as half his acting is being the personable guy he is.
After the event in the theater, we all marched a few yards West on 42 Street to Madame Tussaud’s Waxworks for a little more celebrating. There was a nice bit of food and drink. The caterers had an elaborate gimmick in the form of a ramp, where sliders are prepared and slid down to a little plate. Worth every penny.
The place was as dark as a tomb but you can just see the worthy loading up a slider (in center picture). And who the hell were these people? Marvel people one would guess.
I picked through my mental “Index Card” of Clark Gregg trivia. Stage actor, TV – for me, a role I remembered was from The West Wing—and movie star. The role of Phil Coulson, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the biggie for me, of course. Like any comic-book reading kid of the 60s, I thrilled to see Sergeant Nick Fury, that battling devil dog of WWII, become an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., in fact the head of the agency. While at Marvel, I introduced the idea of collecting all of those storylines done by distinctive artist Jim Sterenko, in one volume. When I worked on the Marvel Universe, I was delighted to heavily contribute to the back-story of Nick Fury and most especially, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.
For me, Mr. Gregg was the consummate cool spy in The Avengers (2012). Alas, he was killed… but! As an experienced comic professional and aficionado of Joss Whedon (the director of that movie), I knew that, “death is only the beginning…”
That was the scribble on Index Card #1, on #2 was his “resurrection” as the lead star in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (And if you don’t know that story, for shame; it’s a doozie.) The fan buzz around the new “TV” show (whatever TV means any more) was that it was going to be big.
I was fortunate enough to attend the San Diego Comic Con in 2013 and the show’s stars were going to make an appearance. I traveled with my old comrade, Chicago Phil Longmeier and we realized the satanic seating arrangements of the infamous and gigantic Hall H, meant we had to sit there for hours. Sit we did. To get up and leave for any purpose meant abandoning that seat forever.
The view from Row 1255, Hall H during the Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. “panel” 2013 San Diego Comic Con. More like “View From Space.” In this view you can see the actual ants/people in the distance and the just-large-enough stadium screens to let us see anything. There is Writer/Director Joss Whedon, Clark Gregg and Ming-Na Wen.
The online sizzle was about wanting Mr. Gregg back as Agent Coulson. Thus, a big clue were several people in T-shirts that bore the legend “Coulson Lives.” Soon, or rather, hours later, the entire cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. appeared on stage with creator, developer and director, Joss Whedon. Mr. Whedon went through a nice apology for not being allowed to show anything of the new show and then comically relented, running the entire first episode for us all.
Post-It Note on Card #2 was Mr. Gregg revealing in a later interview, that during the show, he had donned a baseball cap and zipped around to the back of Hall H. There, he watched the audience reaction. No one had spotted him.
Index Card #3: he’s married to Hollywood legend Jennifer “Dirty Dancing” Grey, has a kid and liked to dance. Could ask about Thanksgiving Dinners with dad-in-law Joel Grey… Red Flag popped up, and in my stern Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS) voice, No Jokes, No Jokes, No Jokes.
Now, Mr. Gregg was in the mid-stride of his last step to me. I could see highlights on his cheek, a fresh shave and his very nice white shirt collar… all too close.
Index Card #4: Shimmering in front of me was a memory of some of the conversations I’d had with Chicago Phil about that SDCC show and that Mr. Gregg had sought out the audience reaction as many stage actors might, peeking out through a stage curtain to take the mood of the house. I had wistfully yakked about using a time machine to go back and button-hole Mr. Gregg in the back of Hall H to tell him how much I enjoyed the 7-season show.
That—right there, The Brown Editorial Department was smiling– that was the warm and definitely not-fan-geek-rambling anecdote. Right! “Time machine” – that’s not too doofy and indicative of a heavy-breather fan-boy. Chicago Phil had liked it!
Mr. Gregg’s shoe heel was settling on the ground…
Click. The Parking Meter flag popped up, Time Expired. There was Clark Gregg, now 4 feet from myself, gently smiling. I seemed to be his first comic person encounter of the evening. So it had to count. Time machine. Not doofy, not heavy-breather…
The Master Alarm horn was sounding, Action Stations, this was IT, I was going in…
A loud whistling sound filled my head. Ah, I was inhaling. Apparently for the Big One.
Now, Dear Readers, pause for a second. Let me paint a sonic picture for you. Imagine a mid-level auctioneer right in the middle of a fierce bidding war. Imagine all the burbles and lip-pops that fill in the spaces of conversation. All the, “Do I hear 48, yaddyabub 48 to the man in the big hat, do I hear 49—49, 49, 49, going once—” All that. And now, Go Time:
Mr. Gregg it’s so nice of you to come up here and meet with us I’m very happy to be able to tell you in person that I really enjoy your work I was in the audience at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con when Joss Whedon showed the first Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I was telling a friend that I wish I had a time machine to go back in time and get to the back of the room I had heard the story of you putting on a ball cap to go to the back to watch the audience from the back and I would have found you to tell you how much I really enjoyed the show
The situational analytical engine that allows me to walk around, step over impedimenta, etc. saw Mr. Gregg making a sharp head-turn to look left.
Now, ACAS was yelling at me to Shut Up, Shut Up, Shut Up. You Said, ‘Time Machine’
I found I could stop talking; I had also run out of air. I gave a quick look to my right and spotted legendary creator, author, raconteur and tummler, Peter David. He could save me. My on-board Autonomous Nervous System had refilled my lungs.
Yes, Mr. Gregg, let me send you over to Peter David you should talk to Peter David who is much more accustomed to speaking with celebrities and movie stars
Somewhere in the middle of the above sentence, Mr. Gregg gave me an inclined-head, gentle nod and slipped away on the cat’s paws of a seasoned back-stage party-goer.
Foreground: Jim Starlin and Sky. Mid-ground: a smiling, engaged Clark Gregg talking to a sitting Peter David
That was that, I realized. The cabin was full of smoke, but I still had my oxygen mask in place. I had not fainted. The room was not spinning, no matter the immediate effect of that slider. I had just confirmed Mr. Gregg’s commitment to review his contract again to be sure he has to attend these meet-n-greets with comic book people.
What I did not do was get a “selfie” with Mr. Gregg. The thought didn’t occur to me. I was too worried about making sense while talking. Plus my ACAS doesn’t have a warning to Take Picture, Take Picture…
Thus and so, Clark Gregg. The big, wheezing gork standing in front of you that evening was in actuality the very measure of a blooded comic professional. That quivering, burbling man contributed heavily to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, worked hard at almost every Bullpen and Editorial capacity there was.
On the other hand, that teetering bulk did not expect to meet an actor that evening. Taken unawares, he did not make a lot of sense. But in the end, he hopes that you, Mr. Gregg, understood the babble meant a real appreciation for your talent and character within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was not at his best that moment and his feet hurt.
Sincerely,
Eliot R. Brown
PS: The evening ended on a happier note. Later that evening as my son Nick and I were leaving in a freight elevator with about a dozen people. Standing in a shaft of light from an overhead naked bulb was a remarkable blond apparition. My normal reaction to beautiful women is to stand back. I finally recognized Deborah Ann Woll, Daredevil’s Karen Page.
Battered, but still thumbing through my Index Cards, I remembered that my chum Chicago Phil had informed me that Ms Woll was a mad Dungeons & Dragon player. She was the hostess of Relics & Rarities, a YouTube show about all manner of gaming but with her, D&D! While not exactly my thing, I found a couple of her shows, one featuring a totally game Charlie “Daredevil” Cox playing. Obviously, he had apparently never held a deck of cards in his life. She was so well versed in the game that she broke it all down for the man, and me, making us both feel comfortable and informed. She was that good.
A quick System Check told me I could probably talk, so I stepped forward in as un-threatening a manner that one could in a wobbly elevator and croaked out, Ms Woll, I really liked your D&D show.
She surprised me by turning to face me, beaming twin blue laser beams from her eyes, saying an intense, Thank you! Sounding rather like no one else had mentioned it during this evening of comic madness. That allowed me to think I had redeemed all the comic pros around us in her eyes. I felt a bit better after my gibbering in front of Clark Gregg.
You’re welcome, Ms Woll!
I never heard of Clark Gregg and I was there that day. I had arrived eraly with Peter Sanderson and we were actually the first two people in line. And it grew to a mile long in short order. As our former Marvel Co-workers arrived they stopped to talk to us. I mean, like, who’s going to tell Larry Hama that he’s breaking the line? Next thing you know, there was Chris Claremont and his lovely wife. And Fabian Nicieza and Nel Yomtov and Annie Nocenti and Eliot Brown and Jack Morelli. The line behind them kept getting longer and longer, but from the front. After a while, they began letting people inside and gave us a ticket. I asked for an extra one for my son, who is a collector of such things. I found out later that the tickets were selling for over a grand. I could’ve used the money, but I’ve still got mine. Nobody asked me to tell any of my Stan Lee stories! But that’s okay–I’m going to do a graphic novel about working in comics and I’ll include one or two of them in there. And I’ve even got a story about you, Mr. Brown. Stay tuned. Or see you next issue. “To be forewarned is to be forearmed.” Only the Good Die Young.