Most of you probably didn't know him but I have a few friends who'll smile to see this photo of Dave Gibson, who was a prominent comic book fan/dealer/entrepreneur in Los Angeles back in the seventies and eighties. Dave passed away within the last ten years — I'm sorry I can't be more precise — and he was a sweet, well-meaning guy who really, really loved comic books. When California introduced personalized license plates for cars, many people ran in and tried to nab the plate that would say COMICS. Dave got it…and he was very proud he got it, proud to drive around town with that on his auto. Years later when he moved out of the state, he continued to renew that plate for a while, just to hold onto it. (I'm not sure who has it now…)
Dave ran a comic book shop in L.A. for a time and he also tried publishing. In 1971, he invested darn near all the money he had in the world in a couple of ventures. One was a deal he made with Bill Gaines to manufacture facsimiles of the old fan club kit that EC Comics had issued in the fifties. Dave turned out a quality product and quickly sold every one he made…but claimed he'd tried so hard to do the thing right and to keep the costs down that he wound up losing bucks on the project.
Another, which turned out even less well for him, was an arrangement he made to reprint the run of Will Eisner's classic comic section, The Spirit, in little black-and-white replicas. Eisner wasn't happy with Dave's production values or with his marketing of the product. I think the problem was that Dave really just wanted to produce the items and be the guy to get The Spirit back into print, where it had not been in a very long time. He didn't care all that much about making a profit…which meant that Mr. Eisner, who was on a royalty deal, didn't make a profit. When Eisner angrily terminated their business arrangement after a year or so, Dave was crushed and I don't think he ever tried publishing anything again.
He had two other claims to fame. Jack Kirby knew him from the local convention circuit and liked him. When Jack took over Jimmy Olsen, he introduced a race of strange people called The Hairies and told Dave he was the inspiration for them. If you'd seen Dave at the time — I took the above photo a few years later when he'd tidied up a bit — you'd instantly perceive the connection, though I suspect Jack dreamed up The Hairies without thinking of Dave and then told him that just to please him. It did. Dave was very proud to have inspired something in any kind of comic book, especially one by Jack Kirby.
But among local fans, Dave will always be remembered for The Dave Berg Incident. This came about shortly after National Lampoon had done its famous parody of MAD magazine in its October, 1971 issue. Someone has posted it to the web at this website and it was seeing it again there that prompted me to tell this story here.
In the grand spirit of giving someone a taste of their own you-know-what, the NatLamp folks skewered MAD but good…and even the MAD staffers admired the effort. Some admitted the satire was dead-on and deserved. One of the most talked-about pages was the spoof/attack (take your pick) on Dave Berg, who did "The Lighter Side of…" section for MAD. It was drawn by Stu Schwartzberg, a very funny gent who did some work for Marvel in the early seventies, occasionally contributing to their comics but mainly operating the world's smelliest photostat machine in the office.
Dave Berg always drew himself into one or more of his cartoons. In the parody, a kid walks up to him and asks, "Say, you aren't the same Dave Berg who draws for MAD magazine, are you?" Dave Berg says, "That's me, young man."
The kid then asks, "No kidding, you're the guy who does that Lighter Side thing?" Dave Berg says, "That's right, youngster."
The kid says, "Hey, you're really putting me on! You really write all that stuff about baby-sitters and blind dates and drive-in movies?" Dave Berg proudly says, "Yes, I do, son."
The kid then says, "Boy, are you an asshole!" Dave Berg reacts accordingly.
Not nice but funny…especially if you recall how Berg manufactured his own, slightly-less-insulting punch lines. So a year or so after it comes out, we're all at one of the San Diego Comic-Cons. My memory is that this occurred at the '72 con, which was the first one at the El Cortez Hotel. I further recall that this took place in the waiting area of the Denny's restaurant just down the hill from that hotel. Gibson walks in with some friends and sees Dave Berg standing there. This gives Gibson an idea that he somehow thinks Mr. Berg will appreciate. He goes up to him and says, "Say, you aren't the same Dave Berg who draws for MAD magazine, are you?" Dave Berg says, "That's me, young man."
Gibson then asks, "No kidding, you're the guy who does that Lighter Side thing?" Dave Berg says, "That's right, youngster."
Gibson says, "Hey, you're really putting me on! You really write all that stuff about baby-sitters and blind dates and drive-in movies?" Dave Berg proudly says, "Yes, I do, son."
Gibson, pleased that Mr. Berg is playing along and following the script, then delivers the kicker. He says, clearly and loudly so all us onlookers can hear, "Boy, are you an asshole!"
There is silence. In fact, of all the silences I have heard in my life, this one most closely approximated the sound of floating adrift in deep outer space. It was finally broken only by the noise of Dave Berg sputtering and fuming and storming off.
Turns out Dave Berg had never seen the National Lampoon parody.