"At last it can be told! The REAL NAME of admirable Adam Austin! Most of you newer readers won't recognize it, but those of you who remember us from the days of our former triumphs will instantly remember who he is - in fact, some of you have already guessed his identity! Anyway, to end the suspense, let's bid farewell to A.A., and welcome gallant Gene Colan to the fold, in all his glory!"When I was a kid, there was this series of hardcover juvenile adventure books featuring a character named Jerry Todd. They were something like the Hardy Boys, but they had a lot of humor mixed in with the adventure. And at the very end of each book, the publisher printed letters from the readers as well as responses from the author himself. It was so informal, so warm...it made me feel like I knew these guys and they cared about what their readers thought. I was surprised at the time other books didn't see what a great idea this was. I don't know if I consciously remembered those books when I set out to do the Bullpen page years later, or if I was unconsciously influenced and only afterwards realized where I got the idea from. I do know that talking to the readers informally and indirectly seemed like the natural thing to do."
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