Welcome to the Home of Wayward Souls. A suburban house that just happens to be a wayward stop-off for the lost souls wandering the world.

Let’s meet the characters.

OLIVER

Oliver is a quiet, introverted, and genius kid who avoids people at all cost. He likes to stay in his reading nook with his comics or discovering new devises that could change the world. A nerdy kid that is socially awkward but begins to branch out thanks to the ghost that has bonded to him…

HUEY

Huey is a new ghost to the Wayward Home and has bonded to Oliver. Having lived his life, he misses all the great things one can do when alive and sees it his duty to bring Oliver out of his shell and show him all that life can offer. He’s also a bit fun-loving and reckless now that he can’t die.

EDMUND

Another lost soul, Edmund is a super smart ghost who seems to know way too much disgusting trivia. If you ever need a know-it-all, Edmund is your man…ghost.

MORT

Mort is a lower level grim reaper. He’s the one who will kill your car’s engine in the middle of rain storm, or kill your air conditioning unit on the first day of summer. He’s a fan of all things death and really enjoys the morbid and creepy.

TIFFANY

Tiffany is Oliver’s sister and a narcissistic megalomaniac. She believes herself to be sweet and dainty, but in reality, she has no moral center and dreams of destroying the world and ruling the charred ashes of the world. She tortures Oliver any chance she gets.

MOM AND DAD

Mom runs the Wayward Home and cares for everyone there. She is the calm and thoughtful soul that grounds the home with love. She cares for Oliver, but seems concerned at his inability to enjoy life outside his little bubble. Tiffany sucks the soul out of her.

Dad is the opposite of Mom. He only cares about money and schemes to make more money. He’s cheap, but has no problem funding any of Tiffany’s wildly destructive plans if it means he makes more money.

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Huey: Look at all the lightning bugs! You should go out and catch some!

Oliver: No way!

Huey: Why not?

SFX: ZAT

Oliver: We have history.

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Oliver: Wear dark clothes.

Oliver: Sneak out at night.

Oliver: Hide in the shrubs.

Oliver: Quietly open the mailbox.

Oliver: Quickly sneak back into the house.

Oliver: And that’s how you avoid the over-sharing neigh—

Over-sharing neighbor: Oliver, let me show you my toenail fungus.

The other night I went to the celebration of Jack Kirby Way at the Society of Illustrators. It was a nice experience. There were people there from all through Marvel history. Larry Lieber, Frank Miller, Chris Claremont, Ann Nocenti, editors from years ago all the way through to editors working at Marvel today. I went there to spend time with my Marvel family.

I’ve been with Marvel since 1989. Everyone I worked with the day I started is gone. I love being a part of Marvel and its history. I’ve worked with some of the greatest artists and writers, and I’ve gotten to work on some of the world’s most famous characters.

But, on my way home, I started thinking of the old philosophical thought experiment, the Ship of Theseus. The question is posited that if you pull a ship from the ocean, put it in a museum and replace, one after the other, the planks of that boat as they rot, when you are done, is it still the same ship? The Marvel I was a part of in 1989 had all its planks removed and replaced. So, is it still Marvel?

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What exactly is Marvel? Is it the characters? The stories? The comics? The movies and shows? The IP? The people? I’m not sure. Maybe Marvel is a relay race where we pick up the baton, run with it for a while, then pass it onto the next. I’m not sure.

There were some layoffs at Marvel recently and then it was just announced that Marvel president, Dan Buckley, will be leaving. I don’t know what the future holds for Marvel. I hope we create new and exciting stories, find new and innovative delivery systems, and that we get to continue to pass on the Marvel baton to the next generation.

Whatever happens, it’s been and continues to be an honor to be a part of Marvel…whatever that is.

And like this.