At this year's Comic-Con International: San Diego, Marie Severin did what no one before has ever been able to accomplish: drag my sorry butt out to a Marvel Comics function.

The function in question was the Marvel Bullpen Reunion Panel, where Severin was awarded unofficial recognition as the Marvel staffperson who had created the greatest number of parodic caricatures of the rest of the Marvel staff and stuck them to the fridge. Elsewhere, she joked about selling kisses down at her booth at the Con. Her sharp wit, ready-with-a-self-effacing-joke demeanor, Hell, her damn-near-regal air captured my imagination immediately. What was it like sitting around the Bullpen, kicking around ideas, team-ups, costume changes, plotlines and characters with a woman -- and she is certainly all woman -- like this?

In April of this year, Guest Editor Mary Fleener called Severin for an answer to this very question. After her start at EC, 30 years at Marvel, work on Mad, Not Brand Eccch!, Dr. Strange and The Hulk, Severin's so-called retirement hardly sounds restful. After their easy and hilarious conversation, Fleener mentioned to me that she believes Severin to be her separated-at-birth mother. I hope this turns out to be true; Can I have Thanksgiving at your house, ladies?

FLEENER: So you're currently working on coloring 72 pages for a DC book.

SEVERIN: Yeah, by hand, with brushes and everything. The characters are Bizarro and the other one is spelled MXYZPTLK. M-X-Y-Z....

FLEENER: M-K-Y-B...?

SEVERIN: No. M-X-Y... Z as in zebra, P as in poop, T as in tit, L as in louse, and K, as in koo-koo! Don't ask me what it is, I worked for Marvel for 30 years, I don't know of these characters that well from DC. It's a humor book, y'know, silly, crazy...

FLEENER: Do you still hang out with the Mad magazine artists? You mentioned you had dinner with Mort Drucker and you were all bemoaning the fact that computers were gonna take over the world, and none of you had a chance in hell of ever learning how to use one!

SEVERIN: I didn't know him until just recently. I worked on Mad magazine for only a couple of issues way back in the 1950s. He came later. He knew Gaines very well, but I never worked for Mad again, I would go there and see the guys. I wasn't a "regular" in any aspect of the book. I don't see many of the comic-book people at all -- I see them at the conventions.

FLEENER: Weren't you excited to be sitting at the 2000 Eisner Awards at the table with all the Mad artists, like Bill Elder?

SEVERIN: No. [Fleener laughs.] I thought he was excited to be sitting at the table with me! [More laughter.] We were way over to the side. They were so excited they were all having accidents 'cause they were so delighted having Jack Davis there. Everyone wanted to be at his table.

FLEENER: Well, you know who was sitting behind me, in the dark, was Gahan Wilson.

SEVERIN: I was looking for him! I wanted to meet him! He's one of my most favorite cartoonists, he is absolutely so wonderfully crazy!

FLEENER: He was sitting there with this maniacal look on his face, nursing a glass of white wine, and in the dark he looked as spooky and specterish as his cartoon characters.

SEVERIN: The most favorite cartoon of his is where people are sitting in a balcony in one of these high-rises -- and you know the funny people he draws -- and coming up the side looking over the balcony fence is a little hand puppet and then coming from above, in the upstairs balcony is another puppet, and it's got all the strings and it's dancing and the guy turns to his wife and says "Now the ones upstairs are starting." [Laughter.]

FLEENER: Have you had any drawing assignments in the last year?

SEVERIN: One of the editors at DC [had me] do one of the Batman Black and White, little 6-page stories, and they said, "What technique do you wanna use?" And I said, "I don't care whether I do it semi-straight or do it Not Brand Eecch! style. Hand me a script and I'll do it, y'know?" So that's gonna be coming out, I don't know when. I told them, give me a long deadline 'cause I've been busy.

You don't have any time when you retire! You just don't have any time. You're running around filling in all the things you were never able to do, and they take longer 'cause you're old! [Laughter.] And you also forget where you're going! You're in the middle of the house, going, "What am I doing with these scissors in my hand?" [Laughter.]

FLEENER: Or you're standing there with a knife in your hand!

SEVERIN: And it's all bloody! [Laughter.]

FLEENER: You're going to the San Diego Comic-Con and I hear you're sharing a room with Ramona Fradon at the Marriot. Very nice!

SEVERIN: On the "bayview" side. We're gonna look at the bay! And throw-up off the balcony. No, I don't think they have balconies. [Laughter.] Last year I had a view of the pool, and I didn't care much for that.

FLEENER: You didn't like looking at half-naked tourists? [Laughter.]

So, this year you'll be sitting in Artists' Alley?

SEVERIN: John Buscema and myself. He's one of the guests but I don't think he's gonna draw anything. He's just signing books. He's best known for Conan.

FLEENER: Is there anyone representing you in case someone would want to buy a piece of your artwork?

SEVERIN: No. No.

FLEENER: Do you have any left?

SEVERIN: Not much, and I think it's all dopey.

FLEENER: How about bringing some to the San Diego Comic-Con? Ramona Fradon always has such a huge pile of stuff.

SEVERIN: I don't think there's anything worthwhile because I was vandalized by these guys once, years ago. I had no idea what the stuff would be worth later on, and they came and I sold stuff for $10 a page, $30 a page, [Fleener groans.]

And now we see them at the convention... $450.... Whatever, but remember, I didn't do the volume of work 'cause most of the work I was doing while employed at Marvel was designing, sketching, mastheads and once in a while I'd do a story. Towards the end, I did some children's books, but they weren't superhero books -- no one would be interested....

FLEENER: In the latest issue of Comic Book Artist, there's a letter from Tim Truman. He's an artist and he wrote in his letter: "...As for Severin's work, I'd buy anything that had her inking or pencilling credits on it...."

SEVERIN: Really?!?

FLEENER: "...She is one of the greats in the industry. I always remember that whenever her name was brought up to any of my instructors at the Kubert School, the instructors would invariable preface any comment with 'Severin! What a sweetheart she is!'"

SEVERIN: Well, that's true! [Laughter.] That's very true. How old is this kid?

FLEENER: I think he's a little younger than me.

SEVERIN: Gee whiz, I'm always amazed that anyone knows whether I'm alive or even know my work because I never got much feedback, also I never did much networking. It was almost impossible in my time, y'know? The guys did, but a single woman doesn't hang out and play cards, at least I didn't, and if I would meet some people who like my work I would think, "My! What exquisite taste you have!" [Laughter.] Gee, I'm going to have to look up that Tim guy!!

FLEENER: Let's see, do I have any other dopey questions ?

SEVERIN: "Do you believe in the afterlife of comics?" ...no?

FLEENER: I think we are in the afterlife of comics. [Laughter.]

SEVERIN: Yes. [Chuckles.] Yes, we are.