"Glory of Love" by Peter Cetera (Warner Bros., 1986), from the movie The Karate Kid Part II (Delphi V Productions, 1986), starring Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki "Pat" Morita
No, no, no...that's the wrong Ralph. We're talkin' about comics writer and editor Ralph Macchio (writer on Marvel Two-in-One, Thor, Avengers, X-Men Adventures; editor for Marvel's black-and-white series, Daredevil, Spider-Man line, Ultimate Comics; and much more)!
Sharin' your birthday can be tough, so let's get some Ralph love in here. (Caution: definitions of "Ralph Love" may vary from county to county. Please check local and municipal restrictions before engaging in Ralph love.)
from Marvel Age #36 (Marvel, March 1986), text by Jim Salicrup, pencils and inks by Ron Zalme, colors by Adam Philips
(Well, at least in the year that they got Stan's birthday wrong, Ralph got the day all to himself!)
from Mighty Marvel Calendar 1978 (Marvel, 1977)
Like many a long-time Marvel creator, Ralph was a big fan before he was a pro! Here's an assortment of his letters to Marvel before he came to work for them!
letter columns from (top) Avengers #118 (Marvel, December 1973);
(middle) Captain America #185 (Marvel, May 1975);
(bottom) Jungle Action #13 (Marvel, January 1975)
Macchio begs the Marvel staff not to team up the Frankenstein monster with their flagship character. But, as my good pal and ancient wizard Mick sez, you can't always get what you want, Ralph.
from (top) letter column from Frankenstein #12 (Marvel, September 1974);
cover of Marvel Team-Up #36 (Marvel, August 1975), pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Mike Esposito, letters by Irv Watanabe
And this letter to FOOM showcases his savvy for comics industry matters beyond just the characters.
from letter column in FOOM #4 (Marvel, December 1973)
One of his more critical letters fairly questioned the believability of having Hercules tow the island of Manhattan back into place...backwards.
from letter column in Marvel Team-Up #31 (Marvel, March 1975)
Exactly one hundred issues later, Macchio, now a Marvel editor, is asked to defend this stance. He stlll sticks to his guns. And soon he'd be editor of the whole Spider-Man line. Coincidence? I think not.
from letters column of Marvel Team-Up #131 (Marvel, July 1983)
Pointed out to me by online pal Rob London (and he oughta know!):
from Spider-Man Unlimited (1993 series) #21 (Marvel, August 1998), script by Christopher Golden, pencils by Mike Deodato, inks by Joe Pimentel, colors by John Kalisz, letters by Jack Morelli
(Thanks, Rob!)
Recently promoted editor John Warner welcomes Ralph to Marvel as his assistant:
from The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (1974 series) #27 (Marvel, August 1976)
The first page of an extensive Marvel Age interview with Ralph:
from Marvel Age #59 (Marvel, February 1988)
A frequent focus of our birthday tributes here at Comics Oughta Be Fun! is finding appearances within comics of that creator! Look, he was keeping down another job in construction at the same time he was in comics!
from Marvel Two-in-One #65 (Marvel, July 1980), script by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio, breakdowns by George Pérez, finishes by Gene Day, colors by Carl Gafford, letters by John Costanza
Not to mention crashing a party with ol' Blue Eyes himself! Ralph's in the yellow shirt, with workmates Mark Gruenwald (green checked shirt) and George Pérez (white t-shirt)!
from Marvel Two-in-One #60 (Marvel, February 1980), script by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio, breakdowns by George Pérez, finishes by Gene Day, colors by Roger Slifer, letters by John Costanza
Ralph is a full editor when the infamous Assistant Editors' Month rolls around, and makes TWO appearances within Marvel Comics: first on the splash page of Crystar...
from The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior #5 (Marvel, January 1984), script by Jo Duffy, pencils by Ricardo Villamonte, inks by Dave Simons, colors by Andy Yanchus, letters by birthday twin Janice Chiang
...and that month's Dazzler spotlights his adventures at the San Diego Comic-Con meeting Alison Blaire!
from Dazzler #30 (Marvel, January 1984), script by Jim Shooter, pencils by Frank Springer, inks by Vince Colletta, colors by Andy Yanchus, letters by Janice Chiang
A potpourri of Ralph portraitures!
from Marvel Age #39 (Marvel, June 1986)
from Marvel Age #99 (Marvel, April 1991)
from Marvel Age #104 (Marvel, September 1991)
from What If...? (1977 series) #34 (Marvel, August 1982), script by Mike Carlin, art by Marie Severin
Now that you've seen so many Ralphs, surely you'll have zero problem picking him out of the thousands of Marvel editors on this cover!
cover of Marvel Age #35 (Marvel, February 1986) by James Fry and Tom Morgan
Found him already? You're smart! Now: zero in on him in the very crowded Bullpen!
from Marvel Age #120 (Marvel, January 1993), art by Rick Parker
(Click top picture to Bullpen-size)
In fact, everybody's looking for Ralph Macchio!
from "Where Is Stan the Man When You Need Him?" in Stan Lee Meets Doctor Strange #1 one-shot (Marvel, December 2006), script by Brian Michael Bendis, pencils by Mark Bagley, inks by Andrew Hennessy, colors by Studio F, letters by Dave Lanphear
So wherever you might find Mr. Macchio, be sure to wish him...Happy birthday, Ralph!
"Marvel Pro File" in "Bullpen Bulletins" from Marvel Comics cover-dated December 1987
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2 comments:
I've seen his name routinely listed as a recipient of thanks or special thanks in various Marvel Masterworks editions and probably some other Marvel omnibi. What's that about? I'd like to thank him for those, too!
@Michael: I've seen many Marvel masterwork volumes with an introduction by him, might that be it?
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