Keep Calm and Carry on Digging!

For those of you following this blog since my recent feature on Marvel UK in Back Issue, I thought a small update might be in order. I've had some very kind feedback already, and it's great to hear from people with an equal thirst to learn more about this often under-appreciated part of Marvel.

Right now I'm in the sixth month of reading, re-reading, revising and fact-checking the history part of the book which that the BI article was extracted from. At some 250,000 words in total this is no small task. If I was just proofing a novel this would perhaps be less time-consuming, but when you're dealing with such a complicated web of historical events it can be like pulling the thread from a large tapestry and seeing it all unravel.

Even worse, every answer nearly always then leads to another question, and in trying to close off avenues, sometimes new boulevards open up in their place - whether it's looking into London cable companies (check out The Greenwich Phantom for the scoop on this one), Irish V.A.T. rates or the lime-lag between reprints of US stories and their initial US publication. Sigh!

Still, the great thing is I'm half way through and it's really pulling together nicely after the piecemeal additions that have been made to the text over the past few years due to other distractions like re:VOX magazine. That means that I can finally start passing text over to my editor, although hopefully I won't be passing on a headache or two to him as well :)

Oh, and having recently spoken to Maureen Softley, I'm about to receive some information direct from her predecessor Peta Skingley, Marvel UK's second London-based editor... although some of you might know her better as Peter Skingley... or Peter Allen or...

I'll try to bring you another update soon. For now, wherever you are, take care and enjoy the overdue arrival of summer.