THE UNCANNY BUT TRUE
CREATION OF
MARVEL'S MOST POPULAR MUTANT,
THE WOLVERINE
BY
"RASCALLY" ROY THOMAS
AND
JOHN "THE MEGO STRETCH HULK" CIMINO
AND
JOHN "THE MEGO STRETCH HULK" CIMINO
"So with the design in hand by Marvel art director John Romita and the idea and definition under the supervision of Roy Thomas and Len Wein, Herb Trimpe brought the character to life, first as a cameo at the end of Hulk #180, and then as full story material in Hulk's #181 and 182."
Len Wein (2015)
I first wrote an article about the history behind the creation of Wolverine in BACK ISSUE #76 (October, 2014). But for this write-up, I wanted to go a lot more in-depth. While there are many articles and books written on the origins of Marvel's most popular mutant over the years, there is also a lot of misinformation. So much so that fans, historians and even comic creators alike are not fully aware of who was truly behind the creation of the character. So what can a mere-mortal, like myself do to educate the masses on this convoluted mystery? Why not have my good buddy and the co-creator of Wolverine himself, Mr. Roy Thomas help me put an end to the confusion once and for all. No more false information. No more exaggerations. And no more bogus claims. Here are the facts, and nothing but the facts on the true history behind creating one of comicdoms most popular and influential characters ever -- James Howlett aka Logan aka Weapon X aka the Wolverine!
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| The "Let's Get Small" issue of BACK ISSUE #76 (2014) that I first wrote the history of Wolverine in for TwoMorrows Publishing. Without a doubt one of the best comic-book magazines on the market today. |
The idea and concept of Wolverine was birthed by then Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas. Being the successor to Stan Lee as the head-honcho editor of the company were some pretty big shoes to fill. But Roy understood the dynamics of the comicbook business pretty well. He had been a comic fanboy since he was a wee young lad, so to him, the job was pretty simple: make captivating and interesting stories to sell a bunch of comics. Period. In 1974 it occurred to Roy that something like 5% or so of Marvel's
readers were Canadian, so it seemed well past time that there should be a
Canadian superhero in a Marvel comic. And why not base that character
on a tough and fearsome Canadian animal? A wolverine perhaps? Why not.
And Wolverine was a great name! Roy also briefly considered the name
The Badger, but the connotations of the word "badger" included
pestering, bothering... i.e., being annoying. While a wolverine was not
only a fierce little beast that was known to attack animals far larger
than itself--its name also was close to the word "wolf," and thus a much
more dramatic word than "badger." So "Wolverine" it was!
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| Roy's idea for a Canadian character was based on the wolverine (also spelled wolverene). It is also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, and is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids. A solitary animal, it has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself. The wolverine is found primarily in remote reaches of the Northern boreal forests and subarctic and alpine tundra of the Northern Hemisphere, with the greatest numbers in northern Canada. |
Here's Roy explaining the creative process of creating Wolverine:
I told Len Wein to write the character because I had liked the accent he had given Brother Voodoo earlier (Jamaican for a Haitian character, but at least it had character, and Len did it well). I gave it to him because he was one of Marvel's best writers, and because I was busy just being editor and writing the various Conan comics.
I told Len Wein to write the character because I had liked the accent he had given Brother Voodoo earlier (Jamaican for a Haitian character, but at least it had character, and Len did it well). I gave it to him because he was one of Marvel's best writers, and because I was busy just being editor and writing the various Conan comics.
I had only three requirements of the Wolverine, all of which I gave to Len in my office: (1) He was Canadian, and announced as such right away. (2) He was short, because a wolverine is a small animal. (3) He had a quick temper, because wolverines are known for being fierce and taking on beasts far bigger than they are.
-Roy Thomas BACK ISSUE #76 (2014)
That was
the blueprint. The idea. The concept. The groundwork.
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| The advertisement Roy Thomas used to promote THE INCREDIBLE HULK #181 features the coming of the dreaded deadly Wolverine that was seen in three issues: DAREDEVIL #115, MARVEL PREMIER #19 and THE MIGHTY THOR #229. These comics came out a month after THE INCREDIBLE HULK #180 that had Wolverine appear in the last panel of that issue. |
Len Wein went off to write and develop the Wolverine as a character. The costume and look were designed by John Romita, who was
the Marvel art director. It was John who added the claws, and ironically the metal Len wanted
the claws to be made from was Adamantium which was also created by Roy
back in AVENGERS #66 (July 1969).
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| AVENGERS #66 (1969) first introduced the Marvel Universe to the hardest metal on planet earth -- Adamantium. Written by Roy Thomas with art by Barry Windsor-Smith. |
Since art director John Romita remembers me asking him to design a
wolverine costume, I may have looked at it once or twice before Herb
Trimpe drew it into the story. Nor did I have any special contact with
Len or Herb about the character after that. I had done my job by coming
up with the general concept and name of the character called the
Wolverine, who would be introduced as a villain (but, of course, at
Marvel, that didn't mean he wouldn't be a hero any day now, and I
wouldn't have bothered conceiving a Canadian super-character who was
ONLY going to be a villain, would I? That might just annoy Canadians,
when I was trying to give them an extra reason to buy Marvel comics).
After that, Len did his part, which included developing the Wolverine. I
consider that I, Len Wein, John Romita, and Herb Trimpe are all the
co-creators of the Wolverine, in that chronological order--no one else
was involved, unless you want to count the colorist.
-Roy Thomas BACK ISSUE #76 (2014)
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| The Wolverine character sketch conceived by John Romita. |
Artist Dave Cockrum may or may not have shown me his notion of a character called the Wolverine, one of a number of Legion of Super-Heroes types he'd created... I don't recall... but I already knew what a wolverine was. If I had taken the name from Dave, then I wouldn't have been debating in my mind for a short time, before the meeting with Len Wein, about whether to call the hero Wolverine or Badger. I decided on "Wolverine" because that sounded fiercer than "Badger," a word that has the connotation of "to annoy," while "wolverine"
sounds a bit like a wolf. In fact, John Romita has said that when
assigned to design the character, he thought a wolverine was a female
wolf. I chose Len because he was a good writer, but if Len had
preferred not to do so, there would've still been a Marvel Wolverine who
was Canadian, short, and vile-tempered... but he would've lacked Len's
particular virtues.
It was also Len who came up with the idea of making Wolverine a mutant and his claws made out of Adamantium (which I liked, naturally, since I'd invented that metal), John Romita designed the look/costume pretty much independent of Len and me. But certainly, Len did a great job. I knew he would. That's why I had him do the first story rather than someone else. At any rate, in the long run, the most important writer of Wolverine was Chris Claremont, not Len or me... but we were the first.
It was also Len who came up with the idea of making Wolverine a mutant and his claws made out of Adamantium (which I liked, naturally, since I'd invented that metal), John Romita designed the look/costume pretty much independent of Len and me. But certainly, Len did a great job. I knew he would. That's why I had him do the first story rather than someone else. At any rate, in the long run, the most important writer of Wolverine was Chris Claremont, not Len or me... but we were the first.
-Roy Thomas (2014)
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| THE INCREDIBLE HULK #181 (1974) Wolverine is now the Marvel Universe's newest Mutant. |
Herb Trimpe drew what Roy, Len and John formulated in THE INCREDIBLE HULK #180-182 (October to December 1974). And as much as I personally would also like to credit Herb as an "official" co-creator of Wolverine, Marvel does not consider him one. He just got paid for the job and that's all he was legally entitled too. Even Herb himself stated he had nothing to do with the creation of the character. He was just the artist doing what he was told.
Trimpe in 2009 said he "distinctly remembers" Romita's sketch, and that, "The way I see it, [Romita and writer Len Wein] sewed the monster together and I shocked it to life! ... It was just one of those secondary or tertiary characters, actually, that we were using in that particular book with no particular notion of it going anywhere. We did characters in The [Incredible] Hulk all the time that were in [particular] issues and that was the end of them."
-Herb Trimpe (2009)
But Roy insists:
But Roy insists:
I myself have always considered Herb a co-creator of Wolverine. If he isn't, then neither is George Tuska a co-creator of Luke Cage (which I do consider him to be), because he, too, "just drew the story" of a character written by Stan, Archie Goodwin, and myself and visually designed by John Romita.
-Roy Thomas BACK ISSUE #76 (2014)
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| The Wolverine bursts into the last panel of THE INCREDIBLE HULK #180 (1974) and the comicbook world was never the same. |
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| Newsstand cover with John Romita "Hulk face fix." |
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| Original Herb Trimpe cover without John Romita's "Hulk face fix." |
THE INCREDIBLE HULK #184 (1975)
GREEN SKIN'S GRAB-BAG
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| Fan letters for THE INCREDIBLE HULK #180 and 181. |
THE LEGENDS WHO CREATED A LEGEND
Roy Thomas (1940-)
Created the concept and blueprint of Wolverine and had the final say in the overall creative process (subject to publisher Stan Lee, who did not get involved in the process). It was Roy who came up with Wolverine's name, attributes and nationality. He wrote all THE INCREDIBLE HULK covers #180-182 and oversaw and directed THE INCREDIBLE HULK #181 advertisement seen in DAREDEVIL #115, MARVEL PREMIER #19, and THE MIGHTY THOR #229.
Created the concept and blueprint of Wolverine and had the final say in the overall creative process (subject to publisher Stan Lee, who did not get involved in the process). It was Roy who came up with Wolverine's name, attributes and nationality. He wrote all THE INCREDIBLE HULK covers #180-182 and oversaw and directed THE INCREDIBLE HULK #181 advertisement seen in DAREDEVIL #115, MARVEL PREMIER #19, and THE MIGHTY THOR #229.
Len Wein (1948-2017)
The developer and writer of Wolverine as a character in the Hulk story and in the first "New X-Men" story. Len gave Wolverine his voice, made him a mutant, named him Weapon X and had his claws be made out of Adamantium.
The developer and writer of Wolverine as a character in the Hulk story and in the first "New X-Men" story. Len gave Wolverine his voice, made him a mutant, named him Weapon X and had his claws be made out of Adamantium.
John Romita (1930-2023)
Wolverine's visual designer. It was John who gave Wolverine his claws and created the overall look of the character without any input from Roy or Len.
Wolverine's visual designer. It was John who gave Wolverine his claws and created the overall look of the character without any input from Roy or Len.
Herb Trimpe (1939-2015)
He first drew the stories to feature Wolverine, which involved depicting how he moved, reacted, fought, etc. Unfortunately, Herb is not considered an "official" co-creator of the character by Marvel because he just copied the original sketch of Wolverine that John Romita drew in the last panel of THE INCREDIBLE HULK #180.
THE OTHERS
Roy, Len, John and Herb were 4 equal parts in the creation of the Wolverine character. But, as we all know, comicbook characters and stories continually evolve. And when new writers and artist come along and take over stories and concepts, new ideas formulate. These creators listed here were most responsible for bringing Wolverine out of the doldrums of a "back-up" character and changed him into a full-blown Marvel Comics superstar!THE OTHERS
Gil
Kane (1926-2000)
Accidentally changed Wolverine's mask on the cover of GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1 (1975) from the original design that John Romita came up with and gave him that cool "Batman" look that has become so iconic.
Accidentally changed Wolverine's mask on the cover of GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1 (1975) from the original design that John Romita came up with and gave him that cool "Batman" look that has become so iconic.
Dave
Cockrum (1943-2006)
Came up with the idea of the claws being part of Wolverine's body and was the first to draw the mutant unmasked with his funky hairstyle and hairy chest. He also liked how Gil Kane changed Wolverine's mask and kept doing it in the issues making it the standard look.
Came up with the idea of the claws being part of Wolverine's body and was the first to draw the mutant unmasked with his funky hairstyle and hairy chest. He also liked how Gil Kane changed Wolverine's mask and kept doing it in the issues making it the standard look.
John Byrne (1950-)
His art modernized Wolverine/Logan and gave him the iconic look and feel that has become the standard for every other artist to this very day.
His art modernized Wolverine/Logan and gave him the iconic look and feel that has become the standard for every other artist to this very day.
It should be noted that John Bryne also pitched the idea of what Wolverine should look like under the mask before Dave Cockrum had done it in THE UNCANNY X-MEN #98 (1976). The image would later be used for the character Sabertooth who was co-created by John and Chris Claremont the very next year.
Chris Claremont (1950-)
The father of the X-Men wrote and developed the heart and soul of Wolverine. He fleshed out and streamlined the past, present, and future of the character and gave him his Clint Eastwood as Outlaw Josie Wales and Dirty Harry attitude/personality/speech that comic fans adored. "I'm the best there is at what I do. But what I do isn't very nice." Claremont's work is the foundation and the benchmark for who Wolverine is, and all writers just expand on the concepts that he had already laid out. He's also the guy who gave Wolverine the name: "Logan" (and that's a great name, bub) and invented the word/sound "SNIKT!"
The father of the X-Men wrote and developed the heart and soul of Wolverine. He fleshed out and streamlined the past, present, and future of the character and gave him his Clint Eastwood as Outlaw Josie Wales and Dirty Harry attitude/personality/speech that comic fans adored. "I'm the best there is at what I do. But what I do isn't very nice." Claremont's work is the foundation and the benchmark for who Wolverine is, and all writers just expand on the concepts that he had already laid out. He's also the guy who gave Wolverine the name: "Logan" (and that's a great name, bub) and invented the word/sound "SNIKT!"
Hugh Jackman (1968-)
I have to give a mighty shout out to the actor who has superbly portrayed Wolverine on the big screen from 2000-2024. Nobody can claim to have made the character more recognizable to a world-wide audience. Len Wein himself said, "When I got my first glimpse of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, my breathe caught. In that single instant, he was Wolverine." And to be honest, when most people think of Wolverine, they think of Hugh Jackman.
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| Len and Hugh at San Diego Comic Con. |
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| Final Jeopardy question in 2017. Can you answer it? |
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| From a popular Italian gameshow in 2020. "Which superhero has been created because editor Roy Thomas wanted to increase sales in Canada?" |
ICONIC CANADIAN COMICBOOK CHARACTER
Writer: Chris Claremont (co-plotter) Artist: John Byrne (co-plotter) Inker: Terry Austin
Without
a doubt, THE UNCANNY X-MEN #133 (May 1980) is one of the most iconic Wolverine issues ever, and the
one most responsible for cementing him as the fan favorite, breakout
character in the title. While Wolverine had a few "cool" moments to shine since issue #94 as a background character. It wasn't until issue #109 that he really started moving into the forefront of the X-Men stories and began capturing the reader's imagination. Whether you think it was because of Chris Claremont's writing, John Bryne's art, Terry Austin's inks or a combination of all three, Wolverine just kept getting better and better. Like his silent take down
of a guard in the Savage Land in issue #116, his off panel escape from
Alpha Flight in issue #121 and his rising from the sewers in issue #132 saying, "Okay suckers -- you've taken your best shot! Now it's MY TURN!"
(Which is one of the most iconic images and cliff-hangers in comicbook
history). But issue #133 features the extensive of all those moments, as
Wolverine takes on a group of Hellfire Club mercenaries and mounts a
rescue operation all by himself. Thrusting him into the spotlight
for the first time! It put Wolverine onto the path towards becoming
not only the most popular X-Men character, but arguably, the most popular character at Marvel.
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| If there was ever a time for Wolverine to capture readers imagination, THE UNCANNY X-MEN #133 did it in spades! The opening page sent them on a wild ride never seen before in the history of comics. |
In the issue, Hellfire Club mercenaries are searching the basement to confirm Wolverine's death when he suddenly emerges from the shadows and attacks them. Quickly dispatching of the mercenaries, Wolverine intimidates the fourth into surrendering before pressing him for information about the Hellfire Club (this was another truly iconic moment for the Wolverine-mythos and comic-book history in general because never had a superhero used such methods to scare a villain). Wolverine was becoming this new type of darker and more violent hero who would go to extreme methods to get the job done. It was such a bold new concept that readers couldn't help but jump on the Wolverine bandwagon and express to even non-comic-book readers how cool this character was. Wolverine truly was the forerunner of the "anti-hero" that ushered in the Modern Age of Comics and this issue was the beginning of it.
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| It was revolutionary to have a comicbook superhero act so brutal to his enemies. Wolverine was the prototype character to pave the way for all the other anti-heroes who followed and ushered in the Modern Age of Comics. |
ROY THOMAS WITH THE FIRST EVER MENTION OF WOLVERINE'S CREATION IN PRINT (1982)
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| The X-Men Companion by Peter Sanderson |
ROY THOMAS, LEN WEIN AND JOHN ROMITA TALK ABOUT THE CREATION OF WOLVERINE (1999)
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| Wizard Wolverine Special |
HERB TRIMPE TALKS ABOUT THE CREATION OF WOLVERINE (2012)
ROY THOMAS TALKS ABOUT THE CREATION OF WOLVERINE (2013)
HERB TRIMPE TALKS ABOUT THE CREATION OF WOLVERINE (2014)
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| ALTER EGO #124 |
LEN WEIN TALKS ABOUT THE CREATION OF WOLVERINE (2015)
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| The Incredible Herb Trimpe |
THE LOGAN MOVIE GIVES THE CREATORS A SHOUT OUT (2017)
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| Roy Thomas gets a shout out when Logan shows off an X-Men comic book that showcases the villain Sauron. Roy co-created Sauron with Neal Adams. |
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| LOGAN end credits with creator thanks. |
MARVEL 1000 (2019)
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| If you look at the silhouettes closely, you'll notice that it's all the co-creators of Wolverine and what they brought to the character. Panel 1) is Roy Thomas, panel 2) is John Romita, panel 3) is Len Wein and in panel 4) all the co-creators shout for Herb Trimpe to "open the curtain" and present Wolverine to the world (like he did with his art in THE INCREDIBLE HULK #180-182). |
ROY THOMAS SIGNS ORIGINAL WOLVERINE SKETCH (2020)
BUY THE BOOK THAT TELLS THE "OFFICIAL" COMPLETE STORY OF THE CREATION OF WOLVERINE BY MIKE AVILA (2021)
ROY THOMAS RECREATES THE INCREDIBLE HULK #181 COVER (2022)
X-MEN LEGENDS #1 and 2 (2022)
The alteration of Wolverine's mask between THE INCREDIBLE HULK #180-182 and GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1 really has nothing to do with me... or at least it HAD nothing to do with me, until I scripted X-MEN LEGENDS #1-2 in 2022, and used that story to, among other things, give a canon rationale for the change. I was acting as a contractual writer/editor by the time GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1 really got underway, even though I had set the ball in motion in summer of '74... so I had no direct part in the change. What happened, apparently, was that John Romita designed the Wolverine look and costume, which Herb Trimpe penciled faithfully in the three HULK issues. Some months later, while Dave Cockrum was penciling the interior of GSXM #1, Gil Kane drew the main figures of the new X-Men for the cover. Gil, whether from carelessness or because he didn't much care for the Romita mask (I'd guess the former), gave Wolverine a considerably different mask than Romita and Trimpe had drawn, and that Dave was drawing inside. Dave, who was also working on the cover, liked the new Kane look and decided to adapt it into his own drawings, and so Logan's mask changed fairly drastically between the HULK and GSXM issues.
-Roy Thomas COMIC BOOK RESOURCE (2022)
MARVEL LAUNCHES EXCLUSIVE INCREDIBLE HULK #181 FOIL ENHANCED ROY THOMAS ADAMANTIUM EDITION PRINT (2022)
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| Only available at Comic Cons Roy Thomas is attending. |
DEADPOOL WOLVERINE MOVIE CREATOR END CREDITS (2024)
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| Great to see all four creators listed for creating Wolverine. |
READ MORE ARTICLES ON WOLVERINE:
MARVEL ARTICLE ON ROY THOMAS RETURNING TO WOLVERINE
COMIC BOOK RESOURCE ARTICLE BASED ON THIS WRITE UP
SYFY WIRE ARTICLE ON WOLVERINE
THE ORAL HISTORY OF WOLVERINE
MARVEL COMICS: ROY THOMAS'S 10 BEST SUPERHEROES
ROY THOMAS TALKS WOLVERINE AND WRITING X-MEN LEGENDS
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MARVEL FAN-FAVORITE MUTANT WASN'T EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE ONE
15 MOST FAMOUS MARVEL SUPERHEROES STAN LEE DIDN'T CREATE
WHO CREATED WOLVERINE?
HOW MARVEL'S WOLVERINE WAS CREATED 50 YEARS AGO
ROY THOMAS DEFENDS WOLVERINE DEADPOOL CREDIT
WOLVERINE DEADPOOL HAS KICKED UP A CONTROVERSY
Deadpool & Wolverine Has Kicked Up A Controversy That Has Nothing to Do With the Film (gamerant.com)
LINKS TO OTHER "MEGO STRETCH HULK" AND "RASCALLY ROY" HERO ENVY ARTICLES...
THE ROY THOMAS SPIDER-MAN COSTUME
DAYS OF GRIMLOCK, ELVIS PRESLEY AND ROY THOMAS
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2018/05/days-of-grimlock-elvis-presely-and-roy.html
THE "OFFICIAL" MARVEL COMICS ROY THOMAS APPRECIATION PRINT
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-official-marvel-comics-roy-thomas.html
THE SECRET ORIGIN OF THE JIM STARLIN THANOS BUST
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-secret-origin-of-jim-starlin-thanos.html
MY MARVEL CAMEO
https://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2018/11/my-marvel-cameo.html
THE LAST SPIDER-MAN DAILY NEWSPAPER STRIP
https://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-last-spider-man-newspaper-daily.html
THE LAST GATHERING WITH STAN LEE
https://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-last-gathering-with-stan-lee.html
THE OFFICIAL ROY THOMAS CHARACTERS, CONCEPTS AND CREATIONS DATABASE
https://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-official-roy-thomas-characters.html
THE "OFFICIAL" MARVEL COMICS ROY THOMAS APPRECIATION PRINT
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-official-marvel-comics-roy-thomas.html
THE SECRET ORIGIN OF THE JIM STARLIN THANOS BUST
http://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-secret-origin-of-jim-starlin-thanos.html
MY MARVEL CAMEO
https://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2018/11/my-marvel-cameo.html
THE LAST SPIDER-MAN DAILY NEWSPAPER STRIP
https://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-last-spider-man-newspaper-daily.html
THE LAST GATHERING WITH STAN LEE
https://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-last-gathering-with-stan-lee.html
THE OFFICIAL ROY THOMAS CHARACTERS, CONCEPTS AND CREATIONS DATABASE
https://hero-envy.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-official-roy-thomas-characters.html
