Title : Heavenly Hauntings By The GHOST Of STAN LEE - Part Six: The UNCANNY X-MEN...
link : Heavenly Hauntings By The GHOST Of STAN LEE - Part Six: The UNCANNY X-MEN...
Heavenly Hauntings By The GHOST Of STAN LEE - Part Six: The UNCANNY X-MEN...
Copyright MARVEL COMICS |
Sometimes I just can't win. Back in the '60s I gave writer Arnold Drake a crack at writing the X-Men, only to later learn that he thought I'd ripped-off his Doom Patrol series for DC Comics. Both mags featured a wheelchair-bound leader of strangely-powered misfits, and each team had a group of baddies they fought on a regular basis. In Doom Patrol's case it was The Brotherhood of Evil, and in the X-Men's case it was The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Doom Patrol debuted around 3 months before X-Men, but it usually took around 6 months to put a new comic together, so the timeline doesn't really allow for Arnold's claim. He tried to get around that fact by claiming I must somehow have learned of his idea before it appeared in print - perhaps in a tip-off from someone at DC.
Then there are those who claim it was Jolly Jack Kirby who dreamed up the X-Men and all I did was dialogue his pages based on his margin notes - yet Jack is never accused of ripping-off the Doom Patrol, only me. So if I had nothing to do with creating the X-Men, how can I have ripped-off the Doom Patrol? And if Jack came up with Marvel's merry mutants, why does he get a pass on having plagiarised DC's team? See what I mean? I lose out either way - it's no wonder I suspect there are some people who just plain don't like me. Anyway, contrary to those calumnious claims, I, along with Jack, created the X-Men, and the Doom Patrol had nothing to do with their birth. It was simply one of those curious coincidences that occur from time to time in the world of comics.
I was the first scripter of the X-Men, followed by Roy Thomas, Arnold Drake, and almost countless others since then. I gotta say I'm proud of Roy, who took on the mag without missing a beat and continued in a style almost indistinguishable from my own. If it hadn't been for the credits, I'd probably never have been aware that I wasn't still writing the strip. (I've got a terrible memory y'know - can't recall whether I've mentioned it before.) Good on ya, Roy. Incidentally, Arnold's up here too and I've forgiven him for his rash claims, so panic ye not, Merry Marvel Maniacs - harmony reigns in these here Heavenly Hills.
Excelsior! And may your amulet never tickle!
Incidentally, if you're interested in reading an informed take on the old 'who did what' debate, Amiable Al McKenzie has published a well-researched post over on his blog, which can be found by clicking this link.
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My very own ish of DP's debut. Copyright DC COMICS |
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