FUN & UNEXPECTED

LegalDispatch 0.89

Howdy.

First up, some scheduling notes…

I missed getting the newsletter out two Fridays ago because I was attending MegaCon Orlando. It was my first time with a table at a convention in a long time and easily the biggest convention where I’ve tabled. I had a great time, meeting some old friends and making new ones. And the crowd was terrific — warm and friendly and delightful to chat with.

My MegaCon Orlando table…

Then I intentionally missed this past Friday’s edition because I wanted to wait to have a preview in hand for Beware the Planet of the Apes #2, which is out this Wednesday (2/14).

With all that out of the way, let’s get into it…

WORK UPDATE

I’ve been up to my eyeballs on a rewrite for Netflix in connection with PROJECT MARBLE. I’m really having a blast with this one, as I feel like I’ve got it in my teeth. I’m racing to the finish line — not so much “racing” per se, but rather, being pulled along by some nice creative momentum.

That’s really what’s been consuming most of my focus these past few weeks and I’m hoping to have a draft by the end of this week — if not slightly sooner.

BEWARE THE PLANET OF THE APES

As I mentioned, Beware the Planet of the Apes #2 is out this Wednesday. Response to the first issue has been really terrific and I’m looking forward to folks getting a chance to see what — and who — is inside the remains of Yankee Stadium.

This preview comes to you from our friends at AIPT.com:

Cover by Taurin Clarke

This beautiful art is the genius work of Álvaro López and Alex Guimarães. The issue drops this Wednesday. You can pre-order on Amazon or pick up a copy at your local comic book store.

MORE APES

Speaking of Apes and MegaCon, a fan had asked me to write some dialogue for his virgin (i.e., blank) variant edition of Beware the Planet of the Apes #1. I told him that the result would be better if I had art to write towards and directed him to my friend and collaborator (PROJECT RECURSION), Sedat Oezgen.

Sedat came up with a great image of an ape from Tim Burton’s 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes “visiting” the original movie. And then I wrote in a little (flowery) speech. You can see the end result below:

FUN & UNEXPECTED

So, this is funny (I think, at least)…

From the 80s to the early Aughts, Marvel published a series of “handbooks” which were directories of its universe(s) of characters. I always loved them and because everything old is new again, Marvel has been steadily republishing the old material in oversized, hard cover “omnibus” editions. The most recent is the first volume of the third iteration of the handbook, known as “The Master Edition.”

So, I ordered my copy (thank you, Amazon) and was flipping through it this weekend. One of the best things about these omnibus collections is the backmatter that Jeff Youngquist and his team manage to dig out of the archives.

The backmatter in question for the first volume of the Master Edition was a little thin, but did manage to include an essay former Marvel editor Mark Gruenwald (the Marvel Handbook was his brainchild) wrote for his regular “Mark’s Remarks” column that used to be published in the Marvel Age magazine. Here’s a look:

Now, the thing about “Mark’s Remarks” is that each column was accompanied by a different caricature of Mark:

Yup. I drew that baby back when I was an intern at Marvel in the early 90s.

And here — presented for the very first time — is the original version (which I can’t believe I still have):

Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

2.12.23