Vindicator goes back to my college days, when he was called the Sentinel, and then the Guardian… I created him in 1970 or 1971… In fact, somewhere Duffy Vohland, I think, has a badly colored page that has Vindicator battling Captain America that dates from those early days.
John shared this story at his forum:
An Amusing Tale About Royalties:
Once upon a time I received the highest royalty check ever paid. Well, up to that time, anyway. And it took two tries.
It was for ALPHA FLIGHT 1, which sold slightly over 500,000 copies (at $1 per issue!), which was also the highest any book had sold in a couple of decades. The royalty was $29995, which I only remember because… . (drumroll)….Marvel’s accounting department cut the check for $2995. They’d never seen a number that big. They dropped the middle 9, thinking it was a mistake!
I called them, and politely pointed out what had happened, and was promptly forwarded the missing money.
I also became the sweetheart of the accounting department. See, freelancers are a superstitious, cowardly lot, and they tend to freak out if they think they are being “cheated”. (I have one pal in the Biz who counts every penny and treats the accounting department as if they are his mortal enemies. He is not well liked down there!) Anyway, my response was calm, cool and measured. I knew it was just a mistake, and, as noted, I’d guessed why it had happened.
From that day forth, I never had another problem with my checks.
