Roy Thomas’s Alter Ego magazine is always a great read. But the current issue (#106) is a tribute to the late and very great comics artist/editor Dick Giordano. Download preview here.

It’s a must read if you’re…

—a Giordano fan.

—a Charlton Comics fan.

—a Last Kiss fan with a keen curiosity.

In addition to being my favorite artist from Charlton’s First Kiss (the source material for much of Last Kiss), Dick Giordano was Charlton’s editor for several years in the 1960s. More importantly he acted as mentor and occasional cheerleader to me after I started Last Kiss.

The issue features transcriptions from two comic conventions panels. The first a very entertaining 2009 panel about Charlton Comics featuring Giordano, Roy Thomas and Steve Skeates. The second from the Giordano Tribute panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con–featuring comic luminaries Mark Evanier, Bob Layton, Joe Rubinstein, Pau Levitz, Pat Bastienne and numerous others. (I must admit I was one of the others.)

This is a great issue about one of comic’s best-loved and most influential artists/editors. Dick was one of the kindest and most inspiring people I’ve ever worked with. I strongly recommend this issue!!

My sister Lisa (left) and my mom (right) were travel agents together. Here they are a lifetime ago during a trip to Peru.

My mom (Nina Lustig) always had a plan. She was determined to do things her own way. And in her own time.

For instance, she went in for a mastectomy even though it seemed hopeless. Her doctors told her she had only three months to live. They were only off by…29 years.

On the morning of Jan. 13, 2012 (Friday the 13th) she finally lost her battle with the Big C. But she didn’t give up without a world-class, kick-death-in-the-teeth fight.

She was an incredibly tough and private woman. (And I wouldn’t even dare tell you that much if she was still with us.)
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