Peter B. Gillis Big Comics Readthrough

Researching this blog can lead down unexpected rabbit holes... Peter Gillis mentioned a few times a "disastrous attempt" to start a company New Media Comics, which got me intrigued. Turns out New Media Distribution set up a publishing wing in 1980, hiring Richard Howell and Carol Kalish as production managers, with Peter Gillis as editorial director, spearheading a line of quarterly comics anthologies. Gillis' role turned out to be short lived, according to the press release in NMP's own fanzine, Comics Feature #12/13 (1981): "New Media Publishing, Inc., has undergone yet another editorial shake-up. As of June 1st, Peter Gillis will leave his post as editorial director of the gestating NMP line of Graphic Magazines, and return to freelancing. His place will be taken by Richard Howell, the production manager of NMP. Gillis' change of status was an amicable agreement between him and NMP publisher Hal Schuster regarding their differing attitudes towards magazi...

Continuity buddies Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, Roger Stern and Peter Gillis were intent on injecting Jack Kirby's dormant Eternals into the mainstream Marvel Universe. The Eternals were too numerous and over powered to play nice with other heroes, so between them they conjured a plan to streamline Kirby's gods over the early 80's, laying the groundwork for Gillis' eventual Eternals miniseries. What If #29-30 (1981) - Untold Tales of The Marvel Universe Pencils: Ron Wilson Inks: Joe Sinnott Gruenwald had begun this occasional back up strip to tweak continuity and wrap up loose ends. Gillis contributed this two part Inhumans story, which not only introduced them to The Eternals, but also tied up a lingering thread... Lee & Kirby's 1967 Inhumans backup strip in Thor concluded with Black Bolt in pursuit of a new home for his people. Gillis wanted to know how that story ended, so he finally got to tell his version here, which boils down to The Inhumans moving th...