JOHN OSTRANDER: Pros and Cons

John Ostrander

John Ostrander started his career as a professional writer as a playwright. His best known effort, Bloody Bess, was directed by Stuart Gordon, and starred Dennis Franz, Joe Mantegna, William J. Norris, Meshach Taylor and Joe Mantegna. He has written some of the most important influential comic books of the past 25 years, including Batman, The Spectre, Manhunter, Firestorm, Hawkman, Suicide Squad, Wasteland, X-Men, and The Punisher, as well as Star Wars comics for Dark Horse. New episodes of his creator-owned series, GrimJack, which was first published by First Comics in the 1980s, appear every week on ComicMix.

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6 Responses

  1. Brian Alvey says:

    Loved the title: Pros and Cons.

    One story I remember from San Diego was from Mark Evanier during one of his creator interviews. He was talking about some famous creator that they had dragged out of retirement. In his first appearance at the Con he signed what seemed like a million autographs and was on top of the world. The next year he was disappointed that the fans weren’t lining up like they did that first year. He was disappointed.

    Mark had to explain that these fans had never been able to get his autograph before that first year — ever. In year two, they all already had it!

    So staying away from the comics conference circuit for a couple of years and then returning to make a splash as "legendary comics recluse, John Ostrander" is always a good game plan.

  2. John Tebbel says:

    Don’t get Spam Diego. Homogenized pork shoulder? Unwanted, and in your face? No character, compared to Comic-cons at which you can tell what cut you’re eating of? Opportunistic pun? This geezer in dark (as usual). I was there and the adjectives that come to mind don’t include spam. Rest of the piece completely intelligible (at least I think so; see above). Sign me, John Trouble

    • John Ostrander says:

      I call SD Spam Diego because, afterwards, I tend to feel like a piece of spam — unideitified meat products (I don’t care what the manufacturer of Spam says; I don’t believe what’s in Spam has truly been identified) slammed with some sort of jelly coating into a can. That’s just me. Or, given some descriptions I’ve heard of SD this year, it COULD be the Con — strange meat smushed into a tight container. Your mileage mat vary.

      • John Tebbel says:

        I get it exactly. I am getting over the same symptoms, was looking in wrong direction. Thanks.

  3. Alan Coil says:

    Chicago hasn’t been so "mega" in recent years, but it is far larger than Detroit’s Motor City Conventions.

    I was only at Chicago last year for Friday, and it seemed awfully slow. But on the negative side, Chicago has (so-called) professional wrestlers (and probably extreme fighters now that Wizard is involved in that).

  4. Gary Chaloner says:

    "Another friend met at a Con was Aussie writer, Dave DeVries, who we designated “that mad Australian” as a result of that weekend. We keep in touch still and he’s a good mate. Dave’s also been a pal and a bane to Brother Grell and has one of the best bar stories about him I’ve ever heard. Dave, if you see this, get on the comment line and tell it. Or maybe we can get Grell to do it."John, I'll pass this along to Dave and try to get him to comment. Hope you are well over there… Send my best to Gold, Grell, Baron and Davis!Another Aussie… Gary (Will Eisner's John Law) Chaloner