Those of you who frequented FantaCo in in the late 1970s and early 1980s will remember Smilin’ Ed. The rat was initially designed as the logo for the comic book store/convention/mail-order house based in Albany, NY. Eventually, there were four comic book issues, plus a story in the X-Men Chronicles. Well, there’s going to be a collection of these, plus items published in The Comics Buyers Guide, the weekly Metroland, and unpublished material.
You can expect narrative pieces, by Raoul’s sister Maria, FantaCo owner/publisher Tom Skulan, and me. Or so goes the plan; this will be a Kickstarter thing. Look for details at SmilinEd.com soon.
I had this whole narrative about the origin of the Smilin’ Ed name in mind for this post, which marks the 36th anniversary of the incorporation of FantaCo, but the piece wouldn’t write itself, so I let it go.
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And FantaCon fans should get ready, get set, MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
FantaCon 2015 will be held on Saturday, August 29 and Sunday, August 30, 2015, at the spectacular Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany, NY. This is the billion-dollar facility where FantaCon was born 35 years ago.
Check for information on this Facebook page.
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Finally, FantaCo’s birth coincidentally coincides with the birthday of the late, great Jack Kirby, who co-created (some would say created) the early Marvel Comics characters such as the Fantastic Four, the original X-Men, and most of the individual Avengers. If you don’t know his significance in current American popular culture – those Marvel characters didn’t design themselves – check here.
I’ve not seen any of the Marvel movies, from The Avengers forward, and this article about Kirby and Marvel explains why.
Art by Raoul Vezina. Smilin’ Ed created by Raoul Vezina and Tom Skulan
Smilin’ Ed™ is a Trademark of and Copyright © 2014 Maria Vezina and Tom Skulan. All rights reserved.
Dear Roger: it only now occurred to me Google might help me find shards of information about my dead friend Raoul Vezina, which led me here. We met at LeMoyne College in Syracuse NY, freshman year, and spent 2 weeks before Finals staying awake crash-studying together. I passed by the skin of my teeth, Raoul failed by the same margin and departed, scotching our plans to room together and form a band, and causing us to fall out of touch for years. The story gets better, then even sadder, but I’m almost out of room. Email me for the rest. Please; I have many questions for you. I am best known in your field for having written, “Librarians are the Secret Masters of the universe. They control information. Don’t ever piss one off.” for the Texas Librarians’ PAC.