RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books Flo Steinberg died!

When Jim Steranko strolled into the Marvel Comics offices in the fall of 1966, he entered a world on fire. Stan Lee, the energetic editor of the company and writer of many of its most popular series including The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Avengers, and Daredevil, was, as usual, feverishly working on the scripts for the next month’s comics. In order for Steranko to win an audience with the man who had nearly singlehandedly created the immersive universe of Marvel, he knew he would have to prove he was more than simply one of Lee’s admirers. Lee, working alongside a roster of artists that included, among others, industry warhorse Jack Kirby and temperamental yet brilliant Steve Ditko, had revolutionized the comic book industry starting with The Fantastic Four in 1961, creating an expansive universe populated with deeply flawed heroes. If Jim Steranko was intimidated, he did not show it.

Instead, he strode up to the desk of Flo Steinberg, Lee’s secretary, and simply asked to see Stan Lee. When Steinberg told him that Lee was of course too busy to meet with anyone, Steranko handed her a folio containing his drawings and declared “He won’t be too busy after he sees this!” Steinberg had been around comics long enough to know a special talent when she saw one. After glancing at the drawings, she returned them to Steranko, saying “You’re right! Stan will see you.” Lee agreed with Steinberg’s assessment, calling Steranko’s drawings “crude” but praising their “raw energy.” Due perhaps partially to an acknowledgement that many of his artists were drastically overworked, Lee pointed to a rack containing every Marvel title and asked “What would you like to do for us? Pick one!” Looking at a collection of comics that would have included Avengers, X-Men, and Amazing Spider-Man, Steranko chose a book that was “a Marvel embarrassment:” Strange Tales. Strange Tales was a split book, with each issue featuring a twelve-page story about surrealistic wizard Doctor Strange and a second about Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD. Steranko offered to handle the latter. Explaining his choice years later, Steranko claimed that “on this strip, there was nowhere to go but up!” And up it went.