Max Gaines and his close friend Sam Irwin were killed when another faster and larger boat crashed into them, on Lake Placid, on August 20, 1947. The 8 year-old son of Sam Irwin (Billy) was thrown clear of the boat after the collision and survived. Gaines and Irwin had been slowly pacing Max's 20 year-old daughter Elaine and a friend as they were swimming across the lake. The larger boat that ran into them, was piloted by Frances Cohen, the daughter of a Supreme Court judge. She had been drinking and was at the wheel of a 38-foot cabin cruiser. It literally ran right thru and over Gaines' 24-foot cruiser. Gaines' body was found quickly. But it took almost a day for divers to recover Irwin's body, because he had literally been tangled up in the propellers of the sunken 38-foot craft. Max Gaines owned a large cottage on the shores of Lake Placid. And the Irwin family often vacationed there, with them. An excellent and very thorough article on the subject can be found in "EC Fan-Addict Fanzine #3" (Dec. 2015) Roger Hill was the author. And even interviews adult Bill Irwin (the crash survivor) for a lot of extra details that weren't published in newspaper accounts..
Oh, man. This might help explain a few things about EC Comics' penchant for stories in which despicable rich people get their just desserts. Here's a 1947 news account -- thecomicsdetective.wordpress.com/2019/08/18/the-death-of-m-c-gaines/ Also, here's info about the owner of the large boat, who was a New York State Supreme Court justice from 1923 to 1930 and had returned to private practice long before the accident -- history.nycourts.gov/biography/joseph-m-proskauer/
I was at the Chicago Con where that Image gathering happened. I remember coming back to the hotel after being in the city for dinner and drinks, and even though it was about 2 a.m., there was still a long, long line stretching out from the tents they had set up outside the building, with the Image guys staying up late to meet the fans. It's was like nothing I'd ever seen.
Thanks for the Bill Gaines retrospective. My mother and ex-stepfather were social friends of him and his wife in the 80s. They were part of some dining club. One night, I must have been about nine or ten, had already started reading some Marvel books by this time, we went to this place in Chinatown in NY and the were there and invited us to sit with them. I ended up next to Bill and he talked to me most of the dinner. Was a very nice, funny guy. At the end, he told me if I ever wanted a lifetime subscription to Mad, all I had to do was send him a letter. Well, stupid me never sent him a letter. And then after he died, I was reading DeBartolo's book about the history of Mad and he said how Gaines would just give random lifetime subscriptions away to people who wrote to him. Stupidest thing I never did.
This shizz is in focus man... full screen 1080p it's like having the magazine in front of me. Can read every word. 1:04:15 I have ALIENS:HIVE on my bedside table right now for a re-read. I never get tired of the 90s ALIENS comics.
Great episode guys. I got to scan a bunch of Kevin Eastman's originals and painted transparencies for our Mirage Covers Book. It was cool to hold that stuff and see it up close.
I started collecting WIZARD from late 1993 until they shut down. I wish I kept all of my issues. I eagerly await your next video of each issue. Fantastic work guys!! Also....love the opening of this video...if you got it..flaunt it!
ARAKNIS (one of the Todd-inspired comics at the 20:40 mark) was a runner up in Larsen's create-your-own-Dragon-opponent contest; it was printed in the letters page. Also! Another Wizard Fan Art veteran, Mike Taylor (the Faust piece), used to be Sam Kieth's assistant and is still plugging away: www.pretendforreal.com/
Just saw your article on boing boing. I drew the Shadow Chi in the My Kind of Hero section. I probably sent 10 submissions in for the cover contest, but I don't think I got in until like issue 50-something. I'm a support tech at Funko now, so I only draw for fun these days. You can see some inktober pics on my instagram(brick_mickasso). These are fun videos. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
I just discover your channel and i´m enjoying it like hell. The Illustration at 1:08:47 is fantastic. I saw the original a few years back during a Comic exhibition in Germany I was speechless like you can imagine. I live in Germany so i don´t have a lot of chances to see original Pages but at that day i saw Pages from Hal Foster, Jack Kiry, Alex Raymond, Steve Ditko, Harvey Kurtzman, Robert Crumb and so on. My brain was melting. It was amazing. keep doing these Videos but don´t forget your own Comics ;)
You guys skipped over the Bowe and Board ad. Bowe and Board was an original comic art gallery/dealer ins Scottsdale AZ. As a kid there was no way I could afford any of the art, but I used to marvel at all the original pages displayed there. It was my first exposure into how to sausage was made, the paste-ups, the corrections in whiteout, the bushstrokes, all of it. That ad brought back a lot of memories.
I have an odd Todd McFarlane sidenote. There is a misprint on the cover of The Outsiders #2 (DC comics, 1985) that lists Roy Thomas and Todd McFarlane as writer and artist. However the work inside is by the usual team of Mike Barr and Jim Aparo. Strange.
I'm almost sure that Araknis character first appeared either in an issue of Wizard or maybe Savage Dragon, some kind of "submit your own character" contest or something.
I have a newer printing of Seduction of the Innocent, it's also available on Amazon(1999 revised edition) for $50 for the hardcover. Terrible book, but what is expected. Thanks for the great video fellas, keep reading comics :)
I just knew Shadow Slasher would come up when McFarlane-esque comics were mentioned. There were eight issues total (#0-7), with a proposed full color ongoing series that never materialized. Odd story, and the final page of the run is firmly in the "wtf" category.
Your guys’ vids are always fun to watch! One question, what issues of wizard had Todd Mcfarlane and Greg Capullo’s comics crash course? I remember having those ones!
"Completely MAD" by Maria Reidelbach is a great read, showing MAD Magazine and american history side by side; insightful for me (European), nothing much new for you
Found this two years late, but that opening Eisner/creaky door bit just cracked me up to no end!
'Hand me that thing over there...' (Passes Ed TWO Eisners) -- Hilarious!
Thanks for the big ups, guys!
Max Gaines and his close friend Sam Irwin were killed when another faster and larger boat crashed into them, on Lake Placid, on August 20, 1947. The 8 year-old son of Sam Irwin (Billy) was thrown clear of the boat after the collision and survived. Gaines and Irwin had been slowly pacing Max's 20 year-old daughter Elaine and a friend as they were swimming across the lake. The larger boat that ran into them, was piloted by Frances Cohen, the daughter of a Supreme Court judge. She had been drinking and was at the wheel of a 38-foot cabin cruiser. It literally ran right thru and over Gaines' 24-foot cruiser. Gaines' body was found quickly. But it took almost a day for divers to recover Irwin's body, because he had literally been tangled up in the propellers of the sunken 38-foot craft. Max Gaines owned a large cottage on the shores of Lake Placid. And the Irwin family often vacationed there, with them. An excellent and very thorough article on the subject can be found in "EC Fan-Addict Fanzine #3" (Dec. 2015) Roger Hill was the author. And even interviews adult Bill Irwin (the crash survivor) for a lot of extra details that weren't published in newspaper accounts..
Oh, man. This might help explain a few things about EC Comics' penchant for stories in which despicable rich people get their just desserts.
Here's a 1947 news account -- thecomicsdetective.wordpress.com/2019/08/18/the-death-of-m-c-gaines/
Also, here's info about the owner of the large boat, who was a New York State Supreme Court justice from 1923 to 1930 and had returned to private practice long before the accident -- history.nycourts.gov/biography/joseph-m-proskauer/
I was at the Chicago Con where that Image gathering happened. I remember coming back to the hotel after being in the city for dinner and drinks, and even though it was about 2 a.m., there was still a long, long line stretching out from the tents they had set up outside the building, with the Image guys staying up late to meet the fans. It's was like nothing I'd ever seen.
I was at that show too - I was like 13. I remember the tent outside, the huge lines etc. It was bananas.
Thanks for the Bill Gaines retrospective.
My mother and ex-stepfather were social friends of him and his wife in the 80s. They were part of some dining club. One night, I must have been about nine or ten, had already started reading some Marvel books by this time, we went to this place in Chinatown in NY and the were there and invited us to sit with them. I ended up next to Bill and he talked to me most of the dinner. Was a very nice, funny guy. At the end, he told me if I ever wanted a lifetime subscription to Mad, all I had to do was send him a letter.
Well, stupid me never sent him a letter. And then after he died, I was reading DeBartolo's book about the history of Mad and he said how Gaines would just give random lifetime subscriptions away to people who wrote to him.
Stupidest thing I never did.
That's a great story!
Classic early Kayfabe!
Wow... Jim. Your "line" is amazing at that age. So awesome to share that!
I cant get over the way Ed says "Commie", its too good.
Best show yet! Loved all the talk and background about EC comics.
This shizz is in focus man... full screen 1080p it's like having the magazine in front of me. Can read every word. 1:04:15 I have ALIENS:HIVE on my bedside table right now for a re-read. I never get tired of the 90s ALIENS comics.
Great episode guys. I got to scan a bunch of Kevin Eastman's originals and painted transparencies for our Mirage Covers Book. It was cool to hold that stuff and see it up close.
that creaking door gimmick :D
I started collecting WIZARD from late 1993 until they shut down. I wish I kept all of my issues. I eagerly await your next video of each issue. Fantastic work guys!! Also....love the opening of this video...if you got it..flaunt it!
i also really love a comic logo that looks hand drawn! just makes me smile inside!!
This was my first Wizard and I bought it because of the cape. I'd never seen anyone draw a cape like that before.
17 mins in....these talks are so great. Thanks for the extra effort guys
Great opening scene! "The door stop."
ARAKNIS (one of the Todd-inspired comics at the 20:40 mark) was a runner up in Larsen's create-your-own-Dragon-opponent contest; it was printed in the letters page. Also! Another Wizard Fan Art veteran, Mike Taylor (the Faust piece), used to be Sam Kieth's assistant and is still plugging away: www.pretendforreal.com/
Just saw your article on boing boing. I drew the Shadow Chi in the My Kind of Hero section. I probably sent 10 submissions in for the cover contest, but I don't think I got in until like issue 50-something. I'm a support tech at Funko now, so I only draw for fun these days. You can see some inktober pics on my instagram(brick_mickasso). These are fun videos. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
I just discover your channel and i´m enjoying it like hell. The Illustration at 1:08:47 is fantastic. I saw the original a few years back during a Comic exhibition in Germany I was speechless like you can imagine. I live in Germany so i don´t have a lot of chances to see original Pages but at that day i saw Pages from Hal Foster, Jack Kiry, Alex Raymond, Steve Ditko, Harvey Kurtzman, Robert Crumb and so on. My brain was melting. It was amazing.
keep doing these Videos but don´t forget your own Comics ;)
You guys skipped over the Bowe and Board ad. Bowe and Board was an original comic art gallery/dealer ins Scottsdale AZ. As a kid there was no way I could afford any of the art, but I used to marvel at all the original pages displayed there. It was my first exposure into how to sausage was made, the paste-ups, the corrections in whiteout, the bushstrokes, all of it. That ad brought back a lot of memories.
I would love to see a Kayfabe Interview series.
I have an odd Todd McFarlane sidenote. There is a misprint on the cover of The Outsiders #2 (DC comics, 1985) that lists Roy Thomas and Todd McFarlane as writer and artist. However the work inside is by the usual team of Mike Barr and Jim Aparo. Strange.
A lot of those anatomy drawings at the beginning are from Loomis!
I'm almost sure that Araknis character first appeared either in an issue of Wizard or maybe Savage Dragon, some kind of "submit your own character" contest or something.
I have a newer printing of Seduction of the Innocent, it's also available on Amazon(1999 revised edition) for $50 for the hardcover. Terrible book, but what is expected. Thanks for the great video fellas, keep reading comics :)
Those Star Wars games ARE difficult!
I just knew Shadow Slasher would come up when McFarlane-esque comics were mentioned. There were eight issues total (#0-7), with a proposed full color ongoing series that never materialized. Odd story, and the final page of the run is firmly in the "wtf" category.
Your guys’ vids are always fun to watch! One question, what issues of wizard had Todd Mcfarlane and Greg Capullo’s comics crash course? I remember having those ones!
I miss you man
Who is " Massa Kelly " ?2nd time ive heard them mentioned
Lol i have every Card that was glanced over in the magazine
Another great deep-dive, I love hearing Gaines testimony at the senate hearings, it’s so goddamn BAD
Damn-sorry, what was the name of Jim’s podcast with the “astounding stories” type title? Thanks kayfabers.
Link is in the notes above.
Hey guys I don't know if it had started yet but in all the contest fine print Wizard was sneaking in random nonsense
The Gerard Jones book is "Men of tomorrow" :)
Alex Serrano, I love that book!
"Completely MAD" by Maria Reidelbach is a great read, showing MAD Magazine and american history side by side; insightful for me (European), nothing much new for you