Philip Mallory Jones: A Brief Criticism of AVENGERS #74

First, a massive thank you to fellow comics scholar David Palmer, who found, scanned, and shared the 1970 letter columns I include and discuss below. The first letter begins: “Dear Mr. Lee and Mr. Thomas:“I am a black writer and a long-time reader of your often very sophisticated magazines. The following is a brief criticism of AVENGERS #74:” In this case, “brief” means 877 words, which Marvel printed in full (minus, apparently, one “expletive”). The letter ends: “Philip Mallory Jones, 327 1/2 W. Seneca St.Ithaca, N.Y. 14850″ I had never heard of the author, but I googled, expecting to find nothing, and so was surprised. Here’s an excerpt of Philip Mallory Jones’s bio: “Jones … was founder and Executive Director of Ithaca Video Projects, a pioneering media arts center, from 1971 to 1984, and Director of the Ithaca Video Festival from 1974 to 1984. Jones received a B.A. from Beloit College and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Cornell University. Among his numerous awards are grants…

Commenting on Bubbles has been removed. Why? If you want to talk about this post, write to the author, use the comments on their blog if it has them, or reply with a "RE:" post on your own blog. Suggestions? feedback@bubbles.town