Jerry Weist, Sam Weller, Edward Summer and Ray Bradbury.

Edward Summer, who passed away November 13, may not have thought of himself as a fan but he had many friends in the SF and comics world and attended the occasional convention. He was best-known for starting the first comic book store in New York, Supersnipe, in 1971, through which he met, got to know and went into business with George Lucas for the accompanying comic book art gallery. He also was a good friend of Ray Bradbury. Summer was 68.

A writer, artist, and film historian, he founded the Buffalo International Film Festival.

His 1966 student film “Item 72-D, The Adventures of Spa and Fon” introduced the actor Hervé Villechaize.

Summer wrote for Marvel Comics from 1972 to 1989 and for DC Comics from 1980 to 1990. He contributed the plot for the first issue of Marvel’s Red Sonja . He later was an associate producer of the first Conan the Barbarian film, and authored the original treatment and screenplay.

Edward Summer, Frank Frazetta, George Lucas.

He edited a collection of Disney cartoonist Carl Barks’ stories, Uncle $crooge McDuck: His Life and Times.

He founded the Digital Nitrate Prize “to encourage the development of methods to preserve historic movies by duplicating the highly defined look of nitrate motion picture film.”

Summer also was a founding member of New York Area Skeptics and belonged to the International Brotherhood of Magicians, Ring 12.

[Thanks to Moshe Feder for the story.]