Mindy Newell: Take Two Aspirin And Call Me Yesterday Morning

Mindy Newell

These days Mindy Newell knows that if she could do it all over again she’d have gone to college for screenwriting and film editing. Instead she became a nurse to please her parents and pleasing your parents was what it was all about for nice Jewish girls who graduated from high school in 1971. But the creative larva was in her soul, and when the cocoon broke and the butterfly emerged, it flew to DC’s New Talent Showcase program. Under the auspices of legendary editors Karen Berger, Len Wein, Julius Schwartz, Paul Levitz, and ComicMix’s own Robert Greenberger, Mindy learned the craft and art of writing comics, including Tales Of The Legion, V, Legionnaires 3, Amethyst, Lois Lane: When It Rains God Is Crying, and numerous other comics, including a Superman story based on a dream Mindy had as a child. She also worked on Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg! and other independent comics. All this time Mindy continued to work as a nurse while being a single mom to her daughter Alixandra, until the late and dear Mark Gruenwald hired her as an assistant editor at Marvel, while writing stories of the Black Widow and Daredevil. She edited NFL Pro Action, a licensed kid’s magazine about football with the NFL until Marvel imploded in 1996. Returning to full-time nursing, she she also co-wrote a story for 2000 A.D. with her then-husband, British artist John Higgins. A few years ago Mike Gold called and asked her to join the team of columnists here at ComicMix, where her topics freely range from comics to pop culture to politics; she even wrote a piece about the great American thoroughbred Secretariat, which caused editor Mike to tell her that she had won the prize for the most off-topic column ever written ComicMix.

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3 Responses

  1. George Haberberger says:

    My wife and I both watch this show but the new season has us a little confused. This season opened with Claire back in her present, the 1940’s. Then she and her husband Frank fly to Boston and as soon as she steps off the plan, she is back in the 1700’s with no explanation. Can you explain this Mindy? We haven’t read the books so if it is explained there, they really should explain it on the show.

    • Mindy Newell says:

      George and Mrs. George, right now all the events after Claire steps off the plane are a flashback, i.e., as she takes Frank’s hand to step off the stairs at the airport, she is remembering taking Jamie’s hand as she stepped off the boat onto the dock at Le Havre. Everything that follows that scene (and in my opinion it was beautifully edited!) is what occurred as she and Jamie attempted to stop the Battle of Culloden.

      By the way, I googled the Battle and the Jacobite rising…it was the culmination of many battles which the Scots won. The British decided to put an end to the Jacobites and the Stuart threat once and for all.

      S*P*O*L*E*R COMING UP:

      THE fact that Black Jack didn’t die at Fort Williams (trampled by cattle) should have made her realize that history can’t be changed, as she knows the date of his death. Remember, she whispered it in his ear.

      The begiinning of this season is dfferent from the way DRAGONFLY IN AMBER opens, a decision made by Ron Moore in order to bring the viewers immediately back into Claire’s story. Also, it was much more dramatic! And one that I totally agree with!