

But as the years rolled on and I studied the works of Gruenwald in particular, I grokked his sense of management, his employment of grouping and transparency. What’s a DC person anyway and what does that entail? And how’s it so different from being a Marvel person? Not to be glib but isn’t it all the same? Sure, DC was stuffier & proper and Marvel was gloomier & flawed, but those traits weren’t mutually exclusive, so these unspoken differences always baffled me a little. Known for being one of the leading creative spirits for Marvel Comics in the 80s and a top ranking executive overseer in the 90s, in addition to being a freelance writer during the entirety of his tenure, Mark Gruenwald never hid the fact that he was a DC person. One name kept bouncing back to me as I read this modestly drawn entertainment: Mark Gruenwald.

Everything had its place and function in these bright comics. As I was picking up what they were laying down, I caught a familiar scent of organization. It was definitely a newfound fondness for the well-behaved, well-groomed do gooders we all know from cartoons and toy lines. I fell in love with a stack of old comics over the holidays and now I understand what being a “DC person” really means. Two underrated workhorses who defined the adventures of the world’s leading superhero group for decades. JUSTICE LEAGUE of AMERICA – A Mike Sekowsky & Dick Dillin appreciation.Character archaeology as expression, especially to pin a moment in time. JSA/ALL-STAR SQUADRON – A Roy Thomas appreciation.TEEN TITANS Part Two– My enthusiasm for the TT franchise was destroyed by troubling story elements but was resuscitated by the excellent Titans Hunt storyline.TEEN TITANS Part One – My need for colorful, clean-cut super heroics and my obsessive habit to hunt back issues in bulk met at the intersection of Wolfman & Pérez.
