Monday, June 26, 2006

Recommended Reading

Gerard Jones on the new Superman movie.

• Posted at 10:39 PM · LINK

Lyle Stuart, R.I.P.

Lyle Stuart, often described as a "renegade" or "maverick" in the world of book publishing, died on Saturday at the age of 83. As delineated in the New York Times obit, Stuart was a colorful figure in his trade, putting out books that no other publisher would touch and becoming embroiled in controversies and fights. It was said that he actually enjoyed being involved in lawsuits and feuds, and that he would sometimes do things to deliberately fan the flames of a battle.

Unmentioned in that obit is the role he played in comic book history. Stuart was a close friend and advisor to William M. Gaines, publisher of EC Comics and Mad, and he served for a time as EC's business manager. The two men met when Stuart was publishing the tabloid mentioned in the Times piece, a direct assault on the then-powerful New York columnist, Walter Winchell. Mad had only been around for a few months and was just beginning to develop a following. When Stuart ordered some back issues, Gaines recognized the name on the order form and sent them with a note that said how much he admired Stuart's courage in taking on the megalomaniac Winchell.

They soon became friends and then Gaines engaged Stuart to help him on a part-time basis in running the company. This was a mixed blessing because Winchell, who'd been attacking Stuart in his column, then began hammering his foe's connection to a publisher of "filth" (i.e., EC Comics) and predicting that the lot of them would wind up behind bars...and indeed, Stuart did. One day, apparently goaded by Winchell, New York police raided Gaines's office, charging that the comic books he published were indecent. Stuart was aware that the fragile Bill Gaines could not handle going to jail so he told the publisher to hide, then got the police to arrest him, instead. The case was eventually thrown out of court but the incident cemented a lifelong friendship between Gaines and Stuart.

According to some accounts, whenever Gaines had a problem in his life, the first thing he would do was to call Lyle. For example, when Mad's original editor Harvey Kurtzman demanded control of the company, it was Stuart who advised Gaines to get rid of him. Earlier, it was Stuart who'd advised Gaines to be a voluntary witness in front of a Senate subcommittee investigating alleged links between juvenile delinquency and the kind of horror and crime comics that Gaines published. The former advice was probably good, the latter was disastrous.

Among the many books Stuart published was the 1972 The Mad World of William M. Gaines by Frank Jacobs, an official biography. It was perhaps the least controversial book to ever come out of Lyle Stuart Publishing but it was reportedly one of Stuart's favorites — partly because of his friendship with the subject and partly because he was mentioned often in it.

• Posted at 8:53 AM · LINK

Today's Video Link

Two minutes of Laurel and Hardy to start your week off right. The deep bass voice you'll hear in this one belonged to actor Chill Wills, who was probably best known for dubbing in the sound of Francis the Talking Mule.

• Posted at 12:54 AM · LINK