The Eighties were a time for a comic book renaissance. Truly, the direct market was a path to getting money to publishers faster, allowed the fans to find comics better, and the changes included brilliant new formats and much more in depth and interesting content.
Whereas smaller publishers had to fight for shelf space in previous decades, the direct market allowed an ability to provide product to interested customers. Transformed too was the format comics would be offered in. Single done in one stories never before seen were pioneered by books like SABRE and CONTRACT WITH GOD, Marvel comics and DC comics both experimented with limited series, which told finite stories in monthly pamphlet format. And a couple big changes occurred. Large intracompany crossover events such as with the Marvel SECRET WARS and CRISIS UPON INFINITE EARTHS from DC showed publishers that if there is an event people will buy. Also when comic stories were finished the publishers learned that collecting the work in a tradepaperback allowed them to make more money, and, the reader to read a original graphic story, in a single volume.
For me, the most important and enduring aspects of First Comics were the friendships IÕd built during my tenure. When I organized the company I brought in a number of good friends who clearly had the talent to make a major difference Š Mike Grell, John Ostrander, Joe Staton, Howard Chaykin, Rick Oliver, John Workman, and Doug Rice, to name but a lot. It was great to work with them, and those friendships are as rewarding today as they were back in the day.
But even more rewarding were the friendships built with the newer talent that came in with us, folks like Timothy Truman, Mike Baron, Mark Wheatley, Marc Hempel, Julia Lacquement, Len Strazewski, Steve Haynie, and of course the legendary and much-missed Del Close. IÕve had the privilege of repeatedly working with all of these folks since the First days, and IÕll be working with them again soon.
Even Del. His muse is never far from my shoulder, and his laugh echoes forever in my mind.
Sort of a -Son of Sam- thing, I think.
Mike Gold
Some companies did nothing more than vanity projects, self published works that did not in any way linger in memory. Others like Dark Horse, Eclipse and First created work that was very good, memorable and important.
I am remembering here the works of FIRST COMICS. With the help of some First Comics alumni I want you to see how A) good the work was, B) still good today it would be, and C) how much their presence is missed today.
FIRST COMICS is where i began my comics career. My friend, Mike Gold, was starting it with others and he knew of a) my keen interest in writing for comics, b) that I had already written for the stage (he was a big fan of BLOODY BESS -- a play I had co-written with my friend Wm. J. Norris) and c) I knew the comic book play WARP very very well. So he asked me if I was interested in writing an 8 page back-up to the first issue of the comic book
adaptation of WARP (which was also the first comic that First Comics was to publish). I wrote an outline and then broke it down into page and panels and kept rewriting it at Mike's instruction until Mike finally called up and said, 'Congratulations, kiddo. We're going to publish your story!""Gee, " I said, "that's great. Um. . .do I get PAID for this?""Of course, you sap!" Mike replied.
Getting paid for what I wrote? THERE was an interesting concept!
The First Comics offices at that time were in Evanston, not far from where I lived on the northern edge of Chicago, so i would frequent the offices and make a pest of myself. I got some more work and then inherited Mike Grell's STARSLAYER after he brought it over. I happened to be around and knew they were looking for new projects. I'd also been in a plotting session for the first WARP special (like an annual). So I knew about this city of Cynosure that had been created for it and that it was going to be destroyed. I thought that was a waste and I had this character, GRIMJACK , that could be adapted to fit in. Long and short of it, I did, First went for it, and the rest, as they say, is hysteria.
First Comics, especially at the beginning, was an exciting place to be. You had talented people doing the work that would define them -- Howard Chaykin on AMERICAN FLAGG, Mike Grell with SABLE, Tim Truman on GRIMJACK. Mike Baron would later bring NEXUS (largely defined by Steve Rude) and THE BADGER with him. Doug Rice created DYNAMO JOE. Joe Staton reintroduced E-MAN. It was an exciting time for comics in general and First was a big part of that.
Probably too much but there you are.
John Ostrander
The origins of FIRST COMICS was not in fan press, or vanity projects gone large. It was professionally produced high quality work done with a high degree of production quality. While the aforementioned Dark Horse and Eclipse both produced heroic adventures, FIRST produced works that were both familiar and new. They had heroes in costume, but they were not just heroes in costume. NEXUS was an executioner of evil doers. BADGER was an insane lovable martial artist. WHISPER was a ninja. DREADSTAR was a space opera with the title character a leader of the loyalists to the monarchy. AMERICAN FLAGG was a character who was an observer of the new world, in a future dystopic setting, and was a commentary of politics and society. JON SABLE was a hunter, his mask was less to hide an identity as it was to create an altered ego. He was the hunter of prey, personified. Finally there was GRIMJACK, Jon Gaunt a frequenter of bars on an industrial plane called Cynosure. He wore a mercenaries costume, and as such struck no pose, he was the real deal.
The works all were accessible and well done. They competed well with the DC and MARVEL product on the stands, and the company was initially a successful entity.
When Capital Comics decided to sell Nexus and Badger, I was adamant about First. That was the place to be. Got the boys up to a meeting in Madison sometime in July '83 and I was very demonstrative. I forget what I said but Mike Gold remembers. Or not. Dude and I met Rick Obadiah and Mike Gold at the Elgin Oasis straddling I-90 midway between Chicago and Madison. We sealed the deal with some quarter pounders. Mike Gold was and is an outstanding editor. So was Rick Oliver. Then First got these toney offices in the Loop and their overhead increased commensurately. They never should have moved. They'd be in business still. First started missing payments. Obadiah would always hand us a check on the first convention evening, before we had a chance to talk to anyone. They went deeper in the hole. They refinanced and one day I got a check for twenty-three thou. My father was very proud.
Mike Baron
What stood out from the rest of the market about FIRST COMICS was what I would say was a sense of professional comic book joy. The other companies had it in pieces, but the people of FIRST just seemed to like comics. They did not seem to have a political view, they did not have worries over how they compared to other books on the market. They produced quality stories and made sure that the readers were served first.
"First Comics... then drugs, then the babysitter winds up in the freezer."
--Lee Dolezal, Humorist
What the hell were we thinking? A company where creators owned their properties and gained the benefits of their talents, instead of pouring it all into corporate pockets? Royalties on sales? Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen.
Oh, it had been tried - or, at least promised - before with companies like Pacific and Atlas, but it still seemed like a pipedream. Luckily, there were enough of us dreamers with enough talent and determination to take a chance. The result changed the shape of the industry and the way creators are treated by publishers. If you're an artist or writer who gets royalties on your book, you're welcome.
We pushed the envelope about as far as it would stretch, and it was fun. Did I mention fun? There was a great sense that we were blazing trails and wondering if they led to the edge of a cliff... which, eventually, they did, but it sure wasn't because of the quality of the books we turned out. You'd still be hard pressed to find a book that's the equal of AMERICAN FLAGG or GRIMJACK.
Fast forward two and a half decades... through the modern miracle of trade paperbacks and the internet our books are finding readers in a generation that wasn't even born when we began. Somewhere along the line we must have done something right.
What the hell were we thinking? I'm thinking you ain't seen nothin' yet.
Mike Grell
The works from the cast of FIRST COMICS remain. While NEXUS or SABLE or GRIMJACK or the like have not yet made it to film, they very well might. And more, they are owned and controlled by people who still have more stories to share.
My best memories of my 10 years spent doing Nexus for First Comics were probably working with the great staff that helped produce the book and made sure Nexus got out on time. In particular was art director, Alex Wald. Alex was a truly caring person and we had a close friendship as well. Alex cared about the Nexus characters as much as Baron and I did. I also remember Rick Taylor fondly because of his relentless enthusiasm. I've never worked with anyone so upbeat all the time. I also liked Kathy K., their business manager, because she was always so kind and friendly, even when so many people had to bother her about their late paychecks.
When I initially entered First, I was put on a strict monthly schedule for drawing Nexus, something rather new and challenging for me, and somehow I was able to do it. When things got really tight for time, I'd resort to doing the covers in simple b & w rather doing my usual painted ones. My monthly run on Nexus was also interrupted when I accepted some prestigious offers from DC and Comico during that period. Many fill-in artists came in to save the day. Many were quite good. They all cared about the job they were doing .
The main problem I had with First was with getting paid. There were constant cash-flow problems and many people found themselves receiving their checks long after they had turned in the work. I found there was a time when I myself was owed around $10,000 in back pay. I told publisher Rick Obadiah that I refused to continue working until I was paid up. Eventually I was, but many more people got stiffed. I guess I was one of the lucky ones!
Steve Rude
THANK YOU to Mike Gold, Mike Grell, Mike Baron, John Ostrander and Steve Rude. I hope everyone intrigued by this information will support these great creative people, if so more books like those put out at FIRST can happen.
CONTACT ME @
Alex Ness // The Land of Frost
Box 142
Rockford MN 55373-0142
ÓEach second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children.Ó Artist Pablo Picasso
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