QUOTE: Gwen wasn't raped, was she?  I thought the whole problem with this retcon was that she willingly slept with Norman Osborne.

I really can't remember myself.  I read those issues once and got rid of them quickly, before their foul stench could contaminate the rest of my collection.

Yes -- but only a teeeeeenie bit. It was more like 3 weeks.

(Sidebar: Many moons ago, when we were still working together, Chris Claremont phoned me up one day. "Someone has written to ask how fast you draw," he said. I replied "Three pages a day of pencils, six of breakdowns." A couple of months later, the issue came out with the letter, and Chris's response, which was something like "John pencils a phenomenal 2 pages a day of full pencils, or 4 of breakdowns." I phoned Chris. "I said 3 and 6," I said, "not 2 and 4." "I know," he replied in his very best God, the ennui is thick in here tone, "but I didn't think anyone would believe your real speed.")

Cmdr. Montgomery Scott would understand Claremont's approach, per his statements about getting a rep as a miracle worker: Never let them know how fast you really work.

Of course, the truth is nice to have too.

How old was she?

JB: Thing is, I wonder how many of the aging fanboys of today read that lettercol, and so, when they later found out I actually do 3 pages, filed it immediately (and perhaps even unconsciously) under the "That's Why His Stuff Looks Rushed Now" heading.

*****

That is a point I had not considered, but it's definitely plausible.

I'm still thinking about two issues in three weeks. Ye gods. In your enthusiasm over this new book, did you perchance skip sleeping during that fortnight?