Friday, June 3, 2011

Autobiography Pt. 17


ATLAS
       I worked at Atlas/Seaboard painting covers for their MOVIE MOSNSTERS book, and saw the whole thing unfold, then implode. A fascinating situation  with Chip Goodman and Martin in two offices, Jeff Rovin in another, and Larry Leiber in yet another. John Chilly was their one-man production department and a graduate of Belmont-Tower paperbacks (where I met him). He'd worked in-house on the Tower Comics series. Inker Steve Mitchell was eventually hired as Rovin's assistant.
       Pat Broderick and I went to the offices (a short walk from Continuity) and both got hired on the spot. Pat so too cool for school about the whole thing that I stopped him on Fifth Avenue and said something like "Hey! You just got your first comic series (PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES)...act like you CARE!"
       He refused. Too Cool for School.
       Rovin proved to be the undoing of the company. He alienated many of the creators and I remember Howard Chaykin and I sitting in the hard chairs of the reception room and Howard told me to be careful because he intended to punch-out Rovin when he saw him. Many shouts behind closed doors, but no fisticuffs.  “Thank God I don’t have to break up some flying-fists thing between my boss and my friend.”
I eventually quit, too, and when my W2 came in at the following year it was for far more than I was paid! To be exact $400.00 worth.

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