Yes, he is a good sport. And by “he” I mean, of course, guest writer Roy Thomas.

If you don’t know who Roy Thomas is then turn in your Marvel Bullpen score card and hang your mutant head in shape. Then go read this brief summary I wrote about Roy’s career. Or read Wikipedia’s long article about him.

Suffice to say, Roy was a major writer/editor in the early days of Marvel. And he remains an active and admired comics creator. (Among other things, he’s the editor of that fabled tome of comics history Alter Ego Magazine.)

So I was thrilled when Roy agreed to be a guest writer in the Last Kiss Couple-Up dialog contest. Unfortunately—or so it seemed at first—we got our signals crossed. Instead of writing an opening caption, Roy wrote dialogue for the two characters in today’s comic.

Although unsuitable for the contest, it was too good to waste. So, Roy kindly let me use the dialogue in today’s comic. And he even let me add my opening caption to the gag. (My inner fanboy is ecstatic!)

And, yes, Roy is still planning to write a caption for a future Couple-Up contest. So, you’ll have a chance to submit dialog and “collaborate” with Roy too.

In the meantime, the current Couple-Up contest is still going on—with a great opening caption by another legendary comics creator—Jim Salicrup. Don’t miss your chance to submit dialogue and “collaborate” with Jim.

The contest ends Sunday, Feb. 24, 10 p.m. PST. So hurry!

Original art from First Kiss #19 (1961.)