Shopping Bag People, by Martha Thomases

Martha Thomases

Martha Thomases brought more comics to the attention of more people than anyone else in the industry. Her work promoting The Death of Superman made an entire nation share in the tragedy of one of our most iconic American heroes. As a freelance journalist, she has been published in the Village Voice, High Times, Spy, the National Lampoon, Metropolitan Home, and more. For Marvel comics she created the series Dakota North. Martha worked as a researcher and assistant for the author Norman Mailer on several of his books, including the Pulitzer-Prize-winning Executioner's Song, On Women and Their Elegance, Ancient Evenings, and Harlot's Ghost.

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8 Responses

  1. Rick Taylor says:

    I hear you Martha.This year I shopped for two Christmas parties, one at church and the other the local VFW lounge.In typical un-holiday fashion I bargain-shop the clearance end caps all year long to make the dollar stretch to as many kids as I can.My goal is to done by Black Friday before the craziness starts.My kind of tribute and protest to the holidays.Have fun in Ohio.Kissnoise.

  2. Elayne Riggs says:

    It sounds like you're more than ready for Morgan Spurlock's new docu What Would Jesus Buy?. I guess I'm kind of lucky, I only shop for holiday gifts for my husband, and we sort of combine that with birthday and anniversary gifts as all of those days are in December. As his family is in England and mine's Jewish, we save a lot of money and aggravation by not shopping for Christmas gifts.

  3. John Ostrander says:

    What burns me is that, in recent years, we get sales reports on the first weekend and how good/bad it was with the additional suggestion, if the sales are not what they were PROJECTED to be, we MUST go out and spend more for the good of America or, by ghod, the terrorists will have won.Let me tell you what was maybe the BEST Christmas gift i ever gave. I was really oin the short end of the check (SOP then and now). I was expecting a good check just AFTER Christmas but was short for the day. My sibs and I weren't exchanging presents at that point but my oldest sister had three kids and I was going to be empty-handed. Instead, I created a tcket for each them, hand made, that promised all three an afternoon at the movies with Unca John,their pick, popcorn and soda included and ice cream afterwards. (One of the perks of being an uncle was you get get the nephews and nieces wired on sugar and then hand them back to the parental units.)This worked out so well that, for the next couple of years, it was an annual event. It was the EXPECTED gift. We had such a great time at these outings! And the bonds created by them have lasted right into their adulthoods.– JohnPS Actually, now that i think about it, I gave Kim an engagement ring on Christmas Eve so THAt probably was the best gift I ever gave — or the smartest — but these are right up there!

    • Alan Coil says:

      John, in a moment of brilliance/insanity, I saw that the word you used—ghod—could be pronounced as if broken into 2 separate words…gee hod.Eerily similar to jihad, methinks.

  4. Marilee J. Layman says:

    I realized Thursday that I'd set up a lunch date for Friday at a giant mall. I left half an hour early expecting to wait for a handicapped spot, but one was open. I went in and waited on a bench and people-watched until my friend came and I handed over the wedding attendant hair ornaments for her daugher's wedding while we ate. So I got out of that better than I expected. Handed over the beaded veil to a bride last Saturday; now I'm done with weddings. I'm an atheist so I don't buy presents this time of year.

  5. Walt says:

    I don't think I could love you any more than I do at this moment, Martha. I agree with every word in this article, more than 100% if allowable by law.

  6. John Tebbel says:

    If you made up the story of the American economy, no one would believe you. That signpost up ahead . . .

  7. Liz Glass says:

    re: John's gift above. That is the best gift you can give a child; what a wonderful uncle you are! Martha and Lillian, the movie comrades, know this, for sure.