Let me take you back… back to a time when any war Jim Shooter started would not remain a secret for long, John Byrne was a Marvel Man forever, any crises over at DC were definitely between Jeanette Kahn and editorial, turtles were just y’know… turtles, Star Wars was okay but jeez—I mean Mickey Mouse was bigger! AND I could go on.

This was the sweet and light days of mid-ish-1979. The world of comics was manageable, for cryin’ out loud. The San Diego Comic Convention was a blip on the horizon but not like today (CoVid-19 pendemonium notwithstanding—you just wait for next year!).

So when Black & White Dept. Editor Rick “Silver Tongued Devil” Marschall suggested I travel with him and his Assistant, Ralph Macchio (who I hoped could hook us up with meeting Pat Morita) and of course Artiste/Creator Extraordinaire Peter Ledger—all I had to do was buy an airplane ticket—well, who could say no to that?

[An Editorial aside: This exploration of those early times is kind’a told backwards in Peter’s case. Y’see, Peter was a serious and hard-working freelancer who experienced delays in the production of legendary art pinnacle, Weirdworld. Ehm, he was late with his last pages. How late? Well, at the end of this hilarious trip to the Con, he was winging his way back home to wa-a-ay down under! SO! What he brought with him needed to be finished right here, right now. This explains him working right under the noses of interested fans at the Con. As stated in Pt 1, I do intend to make a real tribute to Peter, all the ‘before’ time—later.]

I gathered up my camera gear, trying to make it “portable” for the first time. Bought ten rolls of film (my lunch budget for a week…) and packed my second best T-Shirt and oh yes, an emergency pair of underwear. Rick reminded me that me most likely asked of me to take pictures—a request I take seriously. In retrospect, that explains the hit and miss coverage of this trip. I had no idea that this would be Marvel Comics’ first official visit to the con floor. Or even the relative importance of the con itself (I was young, mea culpa!).

Rick’s focus when editing is legendary. Gary looks on concerned. Ralph wipes on, wipes off.

Co-Something Or Other Mike Catron can’t help but give Ralph a hug. Other Co-Something Or Other – and late – Kim Thompson is completely hidden by Mike’s big fat head. Co Publisher/Writer Something Gary Groth is holding down the rear trunk hatch of the doughty Comics Journal-Mobile. Mike, Kim and Gary were the big culture critics in the comic world. The Comics Journal was, at this point, only a few years old but still causing a fuss and making waves! Actual monies would be spent on authors not body work.

Gary, a colleague of Rick’s, met us at LAX and graciously drove us down to San Diego! [I wish I could remember more of that trip — it was a 5 hour drive! I apparently was jet-lagged to the point of insensibility!– Zzzzz] He also would be our fourth in the hotel rooms. (Mike and Kim would be taking the CJMobile back to keep the TCJ’s home fires stoked.)

Rick does business! For those interested—one pulls the mattress to the floor and you now have two sleeping accommodations! Nowadays those clever corporate bums have made the “box spring” a thing of the past. Only a rock-hard platform with a mattress on top… spoilsports.

I was stunned to see Rick empty his suitcase full of clothes into the closet and bureau drawers in the room. Such a sophisticated adult thing to do.

This is the Gary I remember, a Seattle Driver in Los Angeles traffic…

In stark contrast to today’s dog-eat-dog entry into SDCC, back then it happened so quickly I did not even take a picture. Here is a rare item—The front cover to the Con Guide!

Seems that the Convention organizers wanted to be as serious and research oriented as possible. This is event is by and for fans! I mean old fans—George Olshevsky, David Scroggy, Valentino—some heavy hitters from back in the day. These guys are hard core—talking about early comics and one-off characters. Obscure.  There’s mostly newspaper strips both reprinted and custom made from many generations.

Because I had hidden my folded newspaper brochure in a recycled envelope for 30 years, I did not quite know what I had. The latter-day slick and super elaborate convention floor guides resembled this the way hieroglyphics on stone resemble the Library of Congress.

Much to my delight, I spotted some familiar chums—even from way back. One in particular is important to these pages, Paul Power, who was an “Oz” chum of Peter’s and who was working at Hanna Barbera (animation studio). Paul is no mean talent himself, he ran a Chesty Bond strip in this guide. More about Paul coming up!

Craig Anderson would be well-known as a Marvel Editor only a few years hence. In this Con Guide, he wrote an article on the history of indie and adult comics with Con organizer and author, David Scroggy.

And dig the tabloid newspaper format. Yikes! Hard to believe it has survived in my moves and in my basement.

Now, hold on to your ribs, your sides will split—here is the “map” of the Con!

Yes! This is IT. No listings, no table-by-table, aisle guide. No list of artists. You came in there and just walked around to meet everybody. And you could!

I would like to bring a wan smile to the faces of all of us from back when “hep” was “hip” and point out the last entry, with “overflow” in the U. S. Grant Hotel—the “Rap Area.” Beretta would understand and Sammy would sing us out…

Finally, to show how things have not changed—

This appears to be détente, comic style. The Marvel page is the back cover and clearly labored over by (Marvel Art Director and fellow charged with making a ton of stuff look good) John Romita Sr. – I mean check out those half-finished squinty eyes. And in truth, the DC page was actually one of the two-page center spread of the 40—FORTY! Page brochure.

Part 3—wait’ll you see the Marvel Booth!