News of the passing of Golden Age artist Martin Nodell hit this past weekend. I saw Marty at almost every show I ever attended… and he was always such a sweet, cheerful man who was very proud of his creation of the Golden Age GREEN LANTERN character. Marty’s wife Carrie was always by his side, cheerleading and sharing in the adoration his fans bestowed on him at shows. They were always so grateful and wonderful to the fans that would get Marty to sign and sketch for them. Carrie passed away back in 2004, and it seemed to me that a large part of Marty died with her. He seemed to have lost some of that spark he had when she was with him– he didn’t seem like his old self at the few events at which I saw him after her death. I spoke with him briefly at many of the shows we were both attending…. but I only had one opportunity to spend a large chunk of time with him. I was lucky enough to be at the same table with Marty and his wife at an after-con dinner party one year quite a while back, and it was a delight to hear him talk about not only his time as a comic book artist in the ‘old days’– but also hear tales about his work as a commercial artist…. and as the guy who designed the PILLSBURY DOUGH BOY. When I heard him talking about that, it blew me away.

Two characters… from two completely different worlds… that have stood the test of time, created by one delightful fella.

Rest in peace, Marty.

This is Entry 313.

Mike