Bob Rozakis is a thirty-year veteran of the comic book industry, having spent the first twenty-five at DC Comics.
As a writer, Bob is perhaps best known as the co-creator of 'Mazing Man, but his credits include more than four hundred stories featuring Superman, Batman and virtually every other DC character. In addition to a few stories for Archie Comics, he has done a number of "custom comics" projects for the U.S. Postal Service, Six Flags, Con Edison, OnStar, and the San Francisco Giants. Outside the comic book business, he has written storybooks for educational publishing projects and co-authored The Complete Idiot's Guide to Office Politics with his wife, Dr. Laurie Rozakis.
Bob was DC's Answer Man for several years, using his vast knowledge of the company's history and characters to respond to all sorts of readers' questions. Adapting to the technology, Bob utilized his credentials as a master of comic book history by hosting a weekly trivia chatroom on America Online for more than six years. His daily Anything Goes Trivia Quiz appears online at World Famous Comics and his weekly It's BobRo... The Answer Man! column can be found here at Silver Bullet Comics.
During his seventeen years as head of DC's Production Department, Bob guided his staff into previously unexplored areas of computerized color separations and typesetting, electronic page preparation, and computer-to-plate printing. These efforts earned DC Comics over one hundred awards for printing excellence and resulted in Bob twice being profiled and cover - featured in PUBLISHING & PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE.
In the "real world" Bob is an accountant for Preload, Inc., a firm that designs and builds concrete water tanks and reservoirs around the U.S. He teaches creative writing courses for the Johns Hopkins University / Center for Talented Youth summer program for gifted students and has taught similar courses for the Farmingdale (NY) Youth Council and Sylvan Learning Centers. He plays softball and volleyball, works out at the gym four times a week, donates blood and/or platelets as often as they'll let him, and even sleeps occasionally.
Well, I could talk about the Image but, believe it or not, I might have other uses for him in the future, so I think I'll keep my own council for now. - Len Wein
And I hope you do find a profitable use for him, Len. Meantime, my official unofficial researcher John Wells has dug up every bit of info that has actually appeared:
Much of the groundwork for the Image had been laid in 1984 issues of GREEN LANTERN by Len Wein. They related the story of Clay Kendall (#172), a Ferris Aircraft scientist whose psionics experiments had created a psi-chair (#173), which fueled his desire to become a super-hero (#175). He attempted to do just that when the Demolition Team attacked Ferris, only to have his chair short-circuit and explode (#179), severing his spinal cord (#180). A devastated Kendall was encouraged by his girl friend to rebuild the chair and become a super-hero anyway (#183).
Where all of this was headed had been detailed months earlier in AMAZING HEROES #39 (Jan. 15, 1984), which revealed that Clay's experiments would ultimately come to fruition in the form of the Image, a hero Wein described a "everything that Kendall wishes he was" and whom he hoped would spinoff to his own series. Accompanying the article was Dave Gibbons' portrayal of the Image.
Unfortunately, the Image never made it onstage before Wein left the series with #186. Clay Kendall, for what it's worth,went out with a bang as a representative of the millions killed in Coast City's demolition in SUPERMAN #80 (1993).
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I'm sure there was some version of the DC Hotline that went national pre-August 1978 and was advertised in the comics. I know I called it a few times from my then home in Western North Carolina before I went to college (in August of 1978). And since that was prior to my seeing any sort of fan or pro publication about comics, I'd have to have learned about it from the comics themselves. - Tom Galloway [tyg@panix.com]
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On the subject of dead characters: Bucky and Menthor I'll give you, and MAYBE Proty. But Chris Faris's original question asked which was the first REAL (i.e., permanent) death of a recurring character that had a lasting impact on the series. Impressive as John Wells' list was, I don't think that most of them fit the bill. - Bob Buethe [bobbuethe@hotmail.com]
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Have you actually done any research on your fun facts? You DO NOT burn more calories chewing celery than you get from eating it! Stop propagating the myth. - Lindy [lindypd@escape.ca]
Perhaps YOU don't chew your food enough!
BOBRO'S TRIVIA QUIZ How well do you know the members of various teams and groups? Can you identify the group from the lists (and partial lists) below? 1. Red Ryan, Ace Morgan, Prof Daley 2. Stephen Strange, Bruce Banner, Namor 3. Bulldozer, Little Sure Shot, Long Round and Short Round 4. The Comet, Flyman, The Shield 5. Colonel Crane, Shire, H.E.R.B. 6. Johnny Cloud, Gunner and Sarge, Captain Storm 7. Reed, Sue, Ben, Johnny 8. Al Pratt, Jay Garrick, Rex Tyler, Charles McNider 9. Bewitched, Bothered, Bemildred 10. Gully, Knolan, Garrison 11. Diamondette, Hotshot, Stretch, Mr. Muscle 12. King Kull, Mr. Mind, Ibac 13. Donovan Flint, Jake Hammersmith, Darcy Vale 14. Huey, Dewey and Louie 15. Paul Levitz, Carl Gafford, Allan Asherman
BOBRO'S FUN FACTS TO KNOW & TELL: 1. Despite the fact that there are two teams in the National Football League with New York in their names (the Giants and the Jets), the only team that actually plays in the state of New York is the Buffalo Bills. 2. Ireland is the largest exporter of bananas in the world. (Virtually all the bananas consumed in Europe pass through Ireland; they are then exported from there.) 3. If you put 386 identical socks in a drawer and, with the room dark, remove two, you chance of having a matched pair is 100%.
AND MORE FROM THE EMAILBOX: I'm trying to build a website on which to discuss comics and other stuff and I was wondering how I get the copyright permission from companies like DC, Marvel, and CrossGen to use pictures of their characters? I sent a letter tothe DC webmaster, but got no answer.
If you can provide me with the answers I'm looking for, I'll be very grateful. Thanks very much. - Avi Green [avram10@hotmail.com]
Well, Avi, if you just start using the pictures without permission, you'll hear from the companies soon enough, telling you to cut it out. However, writing to the companies, whether by email or snail mail, is the way to go. Include a description of what you would like to do and also where you intend to get these pictures from.
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Is there a comic story in which a father and son team up? It could be a superhero story and go back to the Silver Age. - Ben Dickow [bdickow@cscmail.org]
One that comes to mind is in a series of back-ups I wrote. "Superman: 2020" featured the original Man of Steel, his son, and his grandson set (at the time) some 35 years in the future. The story "Sun-Death" in SUPERMAN #364 sent all three into action together.
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What will Top Cow do with the rights they got for the A-Team and the Six Million Dollar Man? - Joe Bass Jr. [noonan24_7@hotmail.com]
Well, if they paid for the rights - and I presume they did - one would suspect they'll publish some comic books. On the other hand, if they just like to hand out money, they could send some to me.
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How does Keith Giffen get to stay under the radar? Although he's got huge talent and is one of the best writers, he never gets a mention in WIZARD. And you don't see him doing anything with Alex Ross or on some X-title. Or even a cool JLA title. How does he do that, Bob? I can call you Bob, can't I? Hey, Bob? - Neville Howard [NevilleH@ABSA.CO.ZA]
Keith's name pops up on a project every now and then, but I guess not everyone in the comics world (the folks at WIZARD, to name a few) are as interested in his work as you are.
[Ed's Note: Keith Giffen is set to write Superman/Lobo for a series of one-shots with the theme of famous first meetings... you heard it here first!]
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Any chance of a Challengers of the Unknown Archive. I would even like to see more 50's anthologies of any type from DC. - Don C. [dchrist4@midsouth.rr.com]
Considering some of the other series that have received Archive treatment in the past couple of years and the fact that the series was created by Jack Kirby (whose brief set of Green Arrow stories recently appeared in a trade paperback collection), I'd say that the Challs have a better than average chance of appearing.
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So who currently owns the rights to the Harvey characters? Is Marvel still sitting on them? Did Marvel actually buy the characters or just the publishing rights?
And speaking of copyright ownership, who owns Buck Rogers? - Derrick Williams[derricksw@yahoo.com]
I believe the rights to such comics staples as Richie Rich, Little Dot, Hot Stuff, and Casper the Friendly Ghost are held by the Harvey family/estate/corporation. If that's not the case, I'm sure someone will write to correct me.
As for Buck Rogers, presumably the ownership remains in the hands of the newspaper syndicate that distributed it. And if I could find the book of Buck Rogers reprints I know I have around here somewhere, I could even tell you which syndicate that is!
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Something just occurred to me... I don't see Uncle Elvis writing anymore. This isn't comics related, but I'm sure you know him. Where is he? - Quark [notradio@yahoo.com]
I've heard reports that he's been spotted working in a 7-11 in North Dakota.
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Was there ever a point in which the Silver Age/ pre-Crisis Superman enlisted the aid of Ray Palmer, the Atom, to enlarge the Bottle City of Kandor? - Greg Araujo[Bobandherb@worldnet.att.net]
If there wasn't, everybody missed a sure bet. [Paging John Wells!]
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How can I find a copy of The Illustrated Comics Workshop? - Unsigned
Do you know where I can buy the TEKKEN FOREVER comics? I live In Minnesota do you have any idea? - Brooke Sinna[ArticRider604@aol.com]
How can I get a copy of HEROES by Marvel? Any help would be greatly appreciated. - Judy Buehrle [jojuburly@msn.com]
Are you selling the 911 HEROES edition online? - Jim Duggan [thedoogman@kc.rr.com]
We don't sell any comic books here at SBC. You can check out our advertisers for books you are seeking. Or you can call the Diamond Comic Shop Locater Service, 1-888-COMICBOOK (1-888-266-4226), for the location of shops near you.TRIVIA ANSWERS: 1. Challengers of the Unknown 2. The Defenders 3. Easy Company 4. Mighty Crusaders 5. Black Ops 6. The Losers 7. Fantastic Four 8. Justice Society of America 9. The three bats in Pogo 10. Battle Chasers 11. Hero Hotline 12. Monster Society of Evil 13. Star Hunters 14. The Junior Woodchucks 15. The DC Junior Woodchucks
