R is for Rutland, VT

In addition to being my hometown, Rutland, Vermont is the site of a large Halloween Parade.  While the parade is still impressive today, it pales in comparison to the production "back in the day."

"Okay, Mr. Mock", you might say, "Get with the comic books...."

Well, what you might not know is that starting with Avengers #83 (Cover date December 1970, on the stands the month I was born in October 1970!), Rutland was the site of about 25 comic book appearances!

In the 1970s, organizer Tom Fagan began giving the parade a super-hero theme, and several comics creators would attend the parade and subsequent parties. This became something of a comics legend after it was written into comic books from a number of companies, notably Marvel and DC but also Whitman, Charlton, and Warp.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Fagan a few times and actually worked one parade with him.

You can read about him HERE.  You can read a synopsis of each of the following issues HERE.

Avengers 83

Batman 237

Thor 206

Amazing Adventures 16

Thor 207

Justice League of America 103

Avengers #119

Freedom Fighters #6


Justice League of America #145


DC Super Stars #18


Freedom Fighters #13


Ghosts #95


Defenders #100

Thunderbunny #5

The following REALLY isn't a "Rutland Issue"...I actually bought it by chance, but in the letters page is a letter that asked  "Does Rutland, Vermont annually become a nexus of realities similar to that existing in the swamp near Citrusville, Florida?" The Watcher's answer was "While the nexus in Citrusville is a natural aperture, the nexus near Rutland is an artificial one that fluctuates in size and accessibility. For reasons that I have not investigated, it has not been opened in recent years."

What If #22