I still remember when I first published a book of photo humor, Golfers Anonymous, back in 1961. I printed 5,000 copies and they sold out within a week! I thought, “Wow! A sell-out! That’s great!” But I was so busy writing The Fantastic Four and our other super-heroes that it never occurred to me to go back to press with another printing or to follow up with similar books. I’ve never been accused of being the world’s sharpest businessman.

However, a few years later at Marvel Comics, I decided to do a magazine of celebrity photos with humorous captions, mainly because I’ve always gotten a kick out of putting wild captions under serious pix. We called the magazine You Don’t Say and the first two issues sold so well that we were actually tempted to drop the comics and just concentrate on publishing humorous photo magazines, which had a higher cover price and a bigger profit potential.

Not long ago, when I was signing autographs at a convention, someone asked me to sign an old copy of Golfers Anonymous. Since decades had passed, I had almost forgotten about that book. But, seeing it after all those years, made me wonder if that type of book wouldn’t be as well-received now as it was then. In fact, why not a whole series of such books? They could deal with everything people are interested in---politics, sports, music, movies, game playing, travel, etc. The more I thought about it, the more the idea grabbed me.

However, since my work at POW! Entertainment keeps me so busy, I knew I needed someone to help me; someone to find the right photos and arrange for the printing, distribution and all the myriad details needed in publishing a series of books. Luckily, I remembered my friend Tom Filsinger. I’ve long admired that he has been a successful publisher and entrepreneur for years. Even more luckily, when I told him my idea his enthusiasm matched my own.

So now, Tom and I are eagerly planning a new venture based on the type of humor I dig the most. Whereas I’ve spent so many years working with drawings and dialogue in fantasy-filled, action-packed, comicbook panels, I’ll now also be working with photos and dialogue in current, up-to-the-minute, humorous snapshots and panels.

It may seem as though I’ve gotten myself into a rut, but it’s the best rut in the world and I’m loving every minute of it.

---Stan Lee