Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Today in Comics History, April 12: Happy birthday, Tama Janowitz!


Born on this day: novelist Tama Janowitz, author of Slaves of New York, A Cannibal in Manhattan, By the Shores of Gitchee Gumee, Area Code 212 and more! She is the only Brat Pack writer who teamed up with Spider-Man, aside from those issues of Spidey Super Stories that guest-star Bret Easton Ellis.


from Spectacular Spider-Man #144 (Marvel, November 1988), script by Gerry Conway, pencils and inks by Sal Buscema, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Rick Parker

To this little stuffed reader's admittedly beady black button eyes, Tama Janowitz spent a tremendous amount of time in that issue flirting with then-married Peter Parker.


She always seemed to want to go out for a meal. Well, maybe she was just hungry.

(PS: you are never allowed to leave a book signing just because you want lunch. That's a big no-no! You don't leave your autograph hunters waiting like that. Friendly bookstore staff will bring you things to nibble on and drinks if it's a food-mergency. Take it from me, a little stuffed book publishing professional veteran.)


Still, if you were puttin' the moves on a married man, Tama, ya maybe shoulda picked somebody else, because…


Was Peter tempted by Tama? Well, sure, we all do! But in the end...


Say, Tama, would you like to appear in a sequel to this comic book? Maybe even become a regular member of the Spider-Man cast?


from Spectacular Spider-Man #151 (Marvel, June 1989)

Happy birthday, Tama!

2 comments:

Blam said...

Whoa. Just had a flashback to the time I mixed up Tama Janowitz and Judy Tenuta, thankfully not to either of their faces.

Bully said...

Tama has better hair, but she can't play the accordion. At least, that's how I keep them separated in my head, or at all those Manhattan cocktail parties I attend.