My name is John R. Thomas, aka Gormuu, and I love comics. You do, too, I presume. There are many things you and I and other folks around here may have in common, but the one thing that has 100% commonality is our love of comics.

I started reading comics at a very young age, and seriously started reading and collecting at around the age of 12- in 1983. I kept reading until around mid-1990, when I returned home from my freshman year of college and just found myself out of tune with the way comics were being written and drawn. So I walked away from comics.

I managed to purchase as many Masterworks as I could, and it was Masterworks that brought me back to reading comics again. During the ComicCraft era, I came back on board right about the time Thor Vol. 1 was brought back to press. A bunch of ebay purchases followed to build my collection, but there was no resource on the internet that compiled information about Masterworks. There were a few comprehensive sites about DC Archives, but not for Masterworks.

I started the website to fill in that gap. The message board came shortly after. A few years later, I can scarce believe the mix of people who have come together through the website and message board: longtime fans who lived first-hand through the "empty years"; lapsed fans- like me- who had slipped away but come back to the fold; and new fans- kids who were just entering comics, or fans who were just now discovering Masterworks! The website and boards have grown in quick proportion to the popularity that these classic comics are enjoying.

This forum is for you. Many have said that it's like Gormuu's house. I'm not so sure that is accurate. If it was really my house, I'd feel obliged to kick all of you out at midnight so I could get some sleep! It's more like it's my clubhouse...like the Legion Clubhouse or the Avengers Mansion or something. I'm lucky enough to have built it, and I'm obligated to maintain it and enforce rules, but it's you who brings the life to the party.

Don't forget that. I sure don't.

My opinion matters no more than yours does. Please don't forget that either! If you find yourself on the opposite side of an issue with me, don't feel like I'm trying to shut you up or tell you your opinion is wrong, out of order, or not welcome. (Please note that this is quite different from suggesting to you that your facts are not correct! Facts asserted is totally different from opinions offered.)

The only agenda I have to push is one that is singularly my own. If you feel I'm wrong, or have a different idea about what is right or proper, guess what? You have the forum to do it...right here! State your case- your words aren't going anywhere. They're right there for everyone to read. And if you state your case well enough, you have the opportunity to change minds and get attention for your good ideas.

Speak your opinions, and I'll speak mine. It'll be a grand time!

UPDATE: (1/5/06)

Yes, I work for Marvel.

No, that doesn't mean you can't say what you want about Marvel, their comic books, or their collected editions. Just follow board rules, be civil about it, and don't be rude and act in a way that you wouldn't to their face. A certain amount of Marvel and DC folks check in on these boards on a regular basis. I expect everyone to be nice to them and respectful of their time. It's a great opportunity we've built here to have access to that time, because we can get our suggestions, questions and complaints in to them much quicker and much easier than ever.

Make no mistake, the only reason we have been able to achieve such a thing is because of the environment here. People are generally informed, eager fans, and we're also polite and inviting. That's not gonna change, even if Marvel may have done something that we don't like. There are ways to express your concerns to them where we don't also turn them off.

As for my role at Marvel, it's pretty simple. I signed a freelance contract to develop the monthly Marvel Spotlight comic. That's it; as of now, it doesn't go beyond that. It doesn't give me any more credibility than you when it comes to making suggestions or complaints. It also shouldn't give you any fear if you ever feel like you disagree with me about any particular issue. Some people feel that my role has somehow changed me. I don't think so. I'm the same guy I've always been. Affable, easy to please, and a pure enough Marvel Zombie that I hold it to be a goal (a crazy goal, but still) to see everything from 1939 through at least 1990 in Masterworks form.

Yeah. You heard me. 1939 to 1990. At least. I'm talkin' Care Bears and all those X-Men minis. In hardcover.

Anyway, these message boards are our forum. I'm moderator. Marvel hangs out here. Let's have fun.
Visit my website and message board: The Marvel Masterworks Resource Home Page!!!