Another far-too-brief visit with Marie Severin
Originally published at Scott Edelman. Please leave any comments there.
Irene and I drove to New York Tuesday and spent the night, which as it turned out wasn’t the best time to have done so, because it meant we woke Wednesday to an ice-coated car. (On April 16?) And the long drive home last night, which didn’t get us to bed until after 3:00 a.m., exhausted us. But it was all worthwhile, because the purpose of our trip was to spend another delightful afternoon with dear friend and comic book legend Marie Severin.
We love Marie, and always have. It’s been decades since either Irene or I worked in comics, and since then, she’s the only one we met back in those days whom we make a consistent effort to connect with rather than leaving it to chance encounters during conventions. Marie feels like family, that zany aunt we all wish we had but which most of us only get to meet in movies or on TV.
So yesterday, we took her out to an Italian restaurant (with Marie it’s always either Italian or Chinese food, but lately, Italian has been winning) where we caught her up on on everyone she ever knew comics. Filled her in on all the latest gossip since our October visit meant we touched on sad news for a bit, as this included letting her know about the recent deaths of long-time comics pros such as Fred Kida and Nick Cardy.
But as these photos prove, this was not a somber visit. How could it be? Why do you think Marie’s Marvel Comics nickname was “Mirthful”? Whether giving Irene rabbit ears, or delivering a strong left hook to my jaw, Marie was her usual playful self.
Irene had brought along the many emails we’d received about her recently, and shared your love with her. As usual, she was surprised by your admiration, because she feels there were so many so many artists more deserving of your praise. As she humbly put it, “I was no Johnny Romita.” She was touched extremely touched by it all.
We were with Marie for more than six hours, which as usual, wasn’t enough. It was tough tearing ourselves away from her, because she’s so much fun, and so darn nice, and we never run out of things to talk about. There were many false farewells before we hugged her and started the long drive home, asking ourselves as we pulled away how quickly we could get back.
We miss you already, Marie!