Spider-Man On Parade or Side Gigs 3

I don’t know where Steve Saffel came from, print, journalism or editing somewhere. No idea. He was handed Marvel Age—I think some time in the late 1980s. Marvel Age was an interesting “answer” comic book (like an “answer song” from the good old days of AM radio… “A Boy Named Sue” gets “Father of a Boy Named Sue” etc.) to the Comics Journal. The Comics Journal was a supposedly erudite review of all things comics. I say ‘supposedly’ because I got to know those guys a little.

The short version of how Marvel Age came to be is that Marvel didn’t really think the Journal (affectionately called The Urinal—c’mon, it’s funny) covered this waterfront very well. And so an “in-house organ” was whomped up (yes, that’s the term—add jokes to taste). It basically was filled with announcements and puff-pieces. Now, I love me a good puff-piece, because there are no surprises. One knows what to expect. Who knows– you might could even get some information.

Now Steve is one of those interesting characters one seems to run into in the comic world. Steve sported some well-trimmed facial hair—“Athos” comes to mind (just not as bulky as Mr. Reed from 1973’s The Three Musketeers—really fun film). He didn’t seem to know comics all that much—but he appeared after I was set at liberty and I was never really properly introduced.

But what he did do was edit the hell out of Marvel Age. MA had sort of hit a routine—yes, announcements—yes, puff-pieces but nothing juicy, nothing one could sink their teeth into.

So Steve shook things up a little. He found something one could sink their teeth into! I think everyone in the world knows The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Anyone in comics could, indeed, bite into the gigantic Spider-Man that floated down 7^th Avenue! It was soft and cheesy! I knew the Macy’s store off Herald Square in Manhattan since I was a nipper. Even in these trouble retailer times, it’s still a big deal. They still sponsor the T-Day Parade (and the Fourth of July fireworks!).

This old New Yorker had been dragged to see his first Macy’s Day Parade back in 1962. I can’t remember too many details short of being placed on a Police Call Box so as to see better. I sure can’t remember what figures would have been seen as popular back then, back at the Dawn Of Television! And I’m too lazy to look things up. So I’ll guess: Paul Bunyan, Marie Curie and Abraham Lincoln. To my young brain, this thing seemed like a seething mad nightmare—despite the spectacle I no doubt witnessed—all I have left is the horror of the crowd.

You’ll believe Spider-Man can fly! This was not the first year Spidey took to the skies—I think he was only three years old by 1991. But the traditional red and blue clearly dominates. (Cynical ole me wonders how much money Marvel had to pony up to get him in the line-up…)

Minutes prior to this picture, I had just hustled from where the balloons had been inflated and stored overnight—got a couple of pix of that. Then I struggled against all of New York City’s population to reach the point of view that you see. And that, I thought to myself, is that!

But I try to take that title ‘photographer’ as seriously as I can. I took one look down Central Park West, took in all 250,000 people in front of me and creeped backwards as safely as I could.

It hit me during that “creep for life” that I could hop on the train, jump ahead of Spidey and get several vantage points thus giving Steve a greater choice of images. I made it to 72 Street and found the subway platform almost deserted. End-of-the-world deserted. This was Midtown Manhattan… there should have been more than a few lost tourists. (Which I helped get to the parade, what kind of monster do you take me for? Don’t answer that.) Right above me were tens of thousands of happy, seething people. But they were all holding still! And–! They didn’t need to take several pictures of one balloon.

And that’s how I leap-frogged Spidey. For the price of a few subway tokens—oh yeah, tokens went the way of the carrier pigeon. A “token” is a kind of brass Metro Pass card.

I have whined about my editors’ poor habits concerning the returning to me of my original pictures. So much so, I should just prepare a paragraph and drop it in every story. As clever and original as Steve Saffel was at conceptualizing new directions for MA, he was the usual village idiot when it came to getting my material back to me. What I still have are the “out takes” of the entire shoot.

Of interest in the above pic is that the ground crew – all 90 strong – are wearing Spider-Man red and blue costumes! Some sort of overalls with a tunic and finally a red knit cap.

I believe I popped up, whack-a-mole style, about 4 times, but I only have the images from two vantages.

Finally I made it down to the end of the parade which is very close to Macy’s Department Store.

Later in that cloudy day, Spider-Man takes a nap! Soon he will be deflated and rolled up, trucked off to some vast storage facility in New Jersey and bide his time until next year!

Me? I hot-footed it over to my mom’s on 65^th Street and had a lovely Thanksgiving meal. Eventually, I took a nap. I hear Steve did too.