In S/LSH # 243, Mr. Fatsi questions the LEGION OUTPOST lettercolumn how S/LSH can be on issue # 238, as that would mean the title began in 1949.

Paul Levitz explains that the title DID begin in 1949, but the Legion didn't start to share cover billing until issue 197.

One wonder if Thomas Fatsi is still out there in North Grosvenordale, CT figuring out what year OTHER long-running comics began publishing.

Does he still read Legion, or did he drop the book with the reboot? Did he live? Marry? Get fat? Die?

Maybe Cobie or Povvins can do some research since they're in CT too!

Thomas Fatsi, I SALUTE YOU!

What about Randy Gorman?

Randy Gorman, the letter-writer who wrote in re: S/LSH # 201, requesting the return of Infectious Lass? I salute RANDY GORMAN too!

I knew you would, sweetie!

Thomas Fatsi, I will find you!

And yes, Mr. Fatsi, that IS a threat!

I wonder if the mean kids called him Thomas Fatso?

Jillikers, I hope he was a skinny kid.

He obviously wasn't too bright.

I think it was a legitimate question. Fans, especially young fans, should not be expected to know every detail of the history of every comic they read.

I remember thinking that Captain America had first appeared in AVENGERS # 4, based on a timeline provided in a Marvel calender. I knew that Cap fought in World War II, but not that he was actually published then. So when an issue of INVADERS showed someone holding a CAPTAIN AMERICA comic book, I wrote in to request a no-prize, since characters living in the 1940s should not have a Cap comic. I got a nice postcard from Stan Lee's secretary (I think) correcting my misconception.

Besides, Thomas Fatsi's error wasn't the worst made by a fan in a lettercol. After SUPERBOY # 211 featured a flashback of Star Boy's court martial in ADV. # 342, someone complained that Thom wasn't even in the flashback. The editor dutifully pointed out that Star Boy was indeed in the panel, wearing his original costume.

He probably had the sense to use a pseudonym for his public letter writing: Thomas "Fats" Waller. Makes tracking him down a little hard, though.

Hmm. His address is listed as BOX 409, North Grosvenordale, CT 06255. I wonder if he still has that PO Box? I wonder if we should organize a mass letter-writing campaign asking him to come visit Legion World?

How about renting space on milk cartons: "Thomas Fatsi, Legion Fan, please report to legionworld.net."

(edited to spell his name right. Otherwise he might not respond)

Poppin' hotties!!

When I did a MSN search for "thomas fatsi" I got a link to Uconn.com, which is apparently the website for the University of CT's sports.

Jillikers! UCONN is practically next to Pov, and I spent the major portion of my last five years there! Imagine if Pov or I have meant Tommy Fats before?

I like the mass-letter mailing campaign! We'll recruit to Legion World, one Legion letter writer at a time!

Come home, Thomas Fatsi! Come home!

A quick check on Infospace.com shows a T. Fatsi living at 140 Forest Ave. Fairfield, CT 06824. There is a phone number listed but I don't want to call.


I'm beginning to feel like a stalker.

I drive by Fairfield at least twice a week! Willikers!

Excellent work, Super Lad Kid!

Now, the question is should we freak him out by sending Cobie and Povvins over there to visit, or should I just hand-write him a letter asking if he's the same T. Fatsi that was once a Legion reader...?

It'd be cool if you really right him a letter!

Imagine his shock when Pov and I are at his front door, Legion comic in hand, and telling him to log onto www.legionworld.net immediately to know that fandom has not forgotten him!

He'll be so pleased! Or enraged.

I'm going to write that letter!

I'm betting you really freak him out.

Kewl! How cool would it be if he hadn't bought a Legion comic in years and you're able to bring him back to the fold!

Well, I'd only write a quick note asking if he is indeed the former (or even current) Legion reader who was once published in S/LSH 243. And if he is, I'd include LW's web address...

I don't want to scare the guy...

I think it's pretty cool myself! We'll wait a little while before we start to really scare him...

I'd give him the impression that he isn't being singled out, but that this is part of a greater effort to locate individuals who, at one point, had letters published in the Legion of Super-Heroes to find out if they're still Legion fans. If this was the 50th Anniversary of the Legion, you'd really have an excuse to do it.

I'd actually decided not to do it, as I didn't want to freak him out, but your idea is sound... and maybe I actually *could* make this a regular thing...? The results would certainly prove interesting...

I say do 'em all at once or don't do 'em at all. And by "all" I mean "all that you can find." Have all the addresses ready for a special event, and then start lickin' stamps!

And use a stamp? Ha, ha, ha!!!

I like this idea. I will pick 4 more letter-writers from random issues and do all 5 at once... I might need help from you guys getting current addresses...

What excuse will you give for contacting them? A Legion Letters Page Reunion?

I'd also mention how you found them, so as to reduce the freakout factor. Something else else like, "Back in blah blah blah you had a letter published in Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes # whatever. We put your name in Infospace.com and found out where you are today. In honor of blah blah blah we are now contacting individuals who had letters published and are encouraging them to check out www.legionworld.net for a Legion Letters Page Reunion." Only without the blah blah blahs, of course. And make it seem as though you're representing someone more than yourself, like the Legion of Message Board Posters. That'll make it seem less freaky.

I'd also put something which screams "Legion" on the envelope to really get their attention and make them want to open the letter. It could be as simple as printing a black and white Legion picture on an envelope with your printer. Anything that'll bring back warm fuzzies and drive the dark creepies away!

Excellent ideas and I will follow them!

My obsession with Thomas Fatsi may have subsided, but his legend lives on!

One day he'll find me waiting for him at his doorstep...and he'll have Lash to thank!

Party at Fatsi's pad!

That's probably a rural address.

We can let Tommy pick the next former Legion letter writer who we want to stalk--er, get into contact with!

Hm, I wonder what Thomas Fatsi thinks of the Legion's 50th Anniversary?

Since I punked out of contacting him, we will never know.

It saddens me to think there are some posters here nowadays who don't know who Thomas Fatsi is.

Sadness ABATED.

Recognize and celebrate!

One of the greatest threads in LW history! All Legion Worlders should know who Thomas Fatsi and Grendel are.

(DD and Deirdre get into cheerleader uniforms)

Gimme an F
Gimme an A
Gimme a T
Gimme an S
Gimme an I

What does it spell?

Fatsi, Fatsi,
He's nobody's patsy!

Fatsi, Fatsi,
At least he's not a Nazi!

Fatsi, Fatsi,
Maybe now he's called Betsy!

I missed this thread the first time around!
It's utterly FABOO!!!

Fatsi, Fatsi,
He really is fantastic.

Fatsi, Fatsi,
But he overuses plastics.

Fatsi, Fatsi,
And his letters are bombastic.

F-A-T-S-I, F-A-T-S-I, RAH, RAH, RAH! WHEEEEEEE!

WHAT IF... Thomas Fatsi is a regular poster here at Legion World, but is keeping his true identity a secret??
COME OUT, THOMAS FATSI, COME OUT!!

WHAT IF... Thomas Fatsi somehow discovered the existance of this thread??
Would he join LW just to post and assure us he's still alive and well??
Nahhh, that would never happen!

You tease!!!

Don't spoil it!

Bah! Thomas Fatsi is a myth, like Miss Priss and Almost but Not Quite New Kid!

For the love of God, you people are crazy! FINALLY, one of you got off his ass and found me!

Now, to your queries--I left CT 23 years ago and live in NYC now. And my parents moved out of that house while I was still in college. You wouldn't have found me that way. AND, I hope you wouldn't have even tried. I was back there about 10 years ago and the people who moved into it painted it some HIDEOUS color and screwed up the whole front lawn. I would've hated you thinking that was MY house.

I don't know who that is in Fairfield. I have relatives in the Fairfield/Bridgeport area but this one must be really distant. My hometown was way northeast, closer to Boston.

Also, I am not dead. I am not married. And I am NOT FAT. No one calls me Betsy but I have a very good friend with that name.

NOW, to my letter. I think that was a perfectly reasonable question to ask. I was 14 years old. I knew the Legion didn't exist in 1949. And we didn't have Wikipedia in those days. It was 1978, for God's sake. That's what we did. We wrote letters. And aren't you impressed that I did the math and figured out (correctly) that it was 1949? Clearly, DC thought it was a good question. They printed it.

And no, I know longer read Legion. Should I???

Welcome to Legion World Tom. If you look around, there is all sorts of insanity happening here.

Now... on to totally freaking out Randy Gorman!

TOM FATSI KICKS ASS!

Start reading the Legion again! Everything you missed wasn't all that complicated anyway!

I love that you're here on LW! I totally flipped when I found out!

Rhino was the one who actually found him on Facebook and directed him here!

Tom Fatsi for leader!!!

ps ya'll, he's cute!

BTW, I just reread my post and am mortified that I used "know" where I should've used "no" in the last sentence. I'm usually much more careful. I suspect I was just overwhelmed by all the bells and whistles on this site. What can I say? The 30th century can be a scary place.

Or are we in the 31st now?

Okay then...Mr. Fatsi

When did you stop reading Legion?

Do you read any comics at this point?

Do you like Matter Eater Lad? Ambush Bug? or any other "funny" comic characters?

Actually...he probably would be less confuse than we are with the new #1

YESSS!!! HISTORY IS MADE!!!
So I'm on Facebook & notice the name TOM FATSI on one of my friend's friend lists.
After a shot of tequila and some prodding from Lash, I send Mr. Fatsi a short message asking if he wrote a letter to a comic book years & years ago.
Instead of taking out a restraining order or reporting me to homeland security, Mr. Fatsi graciously responded that yes, he had indeed written a letter to S/LSH in his youth and WHO THE HECK WAS I??
I explained all and send him a link to this thread.
After peeling himself off the ceiling, here's TOM FATSI in the (cyber)flesh, and I couldn't be happier!!
Thanks to LASH for starting this thread and being the lil'devil on my shoulder goading me on, and EXTRA SUPER THANKS to TOM for being such a good sport about the whole, insane situation AND for growing up into such a fabulous adult!!
Now I've got a copy of the Superman & the Legion of Super Heroes graphic novel which I will somehow get into TOM's hands so he can once again read about the adventures of his childhood friends fron the 31st century!!
This has Lifetime Television Movie written all over it.(I want Gabourey Sidibe to play me.)

Questions for Tom:

• Who were your favorite Legionnaires?
• What other comics did you read?
• Cosmic Boy's bustier- yea or nay?

Visual aid:

Tom, how high does this rank up there amongst weird things that have happened to you?

You can edit your post.

This may well be Legion World's finest moment.

Welcome, Tom. Thanks for being such a sport about all this.

This is without a doubt Legion World's finest moment! You are a star Rhino!

Welcome to Legion World, Tom!

I can't believe how this worked out too - what are the chances that Rhino would have a friend who is friends with the one and only Thomas Fatsi whom we've been obsessing over these last few years!?! Miracles do happen.

And so cool of you to sign up here rather than quickly changing your name and moving house, Tom.

More questions for the biggest name in Legion fandom -

* Is this a story you're going to be laughing about with all your friends for many years to come?
* Who were your least favourite Legionnaires?
* Do you have a favourite story?
* How excited were you when you got your letter published?
* What made you quit the Legion? And comics?
* Colossal Boy... is my favourite Legionnaire. Please say something nice about him.

Go Legion!

Yes he is!

Thanks, doll!

Tom, do you, on occasion, enjoy the company of a clown??

I'm back, all. I hope I don't disappoint you but comics didn't really follow me into adulthood. I tried to get back to them a couple times in my early 20's but it didn't take. Not only that, but I really wasn't much of a Legion fan. I bought it for awhile, because I bought all the DC superhero stuff at the time (and ONLY DC), but it wasn't really my favorite. That distinction was reserved for Batman (and family).

Oddly enough, I had just returned from picking up my old comics from my parents' house where they've been stored in the attic when I got Rhino's message. AND, I found that LEGION issue. Most of them are from the mid- to late '70's. But I have a few random ones from '84 & '87. I might throw some names out to you to see if you can tell me what they are and if they've survived. A lot of these characters and series I don't know.

Tom, aside from Rhino and LW, was there any other bizarre or unusual outcome from having a letter published?

I had several published (including two in Legion comics), and the strangest thing that happened was that some guy from California tracked down my phone number, called me up in Missouri, and chatted with me for about an hour concerning my letter and my interest in comics. He was polite enough, but, after that, I started requesting that editors not publish my street address.

This was the only bizarre thing that happened regarding that letter. That was the only letter that I ever wrote to a comic. I can't remember much about it. I'm sure I was thrilled at the time. I do remember specifically putting my address after my name at the bottom of the letter because that's how they were printed. I remember specifically deciding to do that.

BTW, as I said I just brought back all my comics from my parents' attic and I've just spent all day organizing them. As far as Legion goes, I've basically got a bunch of Superboy/Legion starting with #221 and going through #257, and then Legion of Super-Heroes #42 & #43.

Wow! That Superboy/LSH run you have constitutes the bulk of the stories I'm missing from my Legion collection. Weird, huh?

[snip]

I used to get letters from guys in jail who wanted pen pals. That was... awkward. I always wondered whether they knew they were writing to an adolescent/teenager or not.

Those were the days.

More weirdness. Rhino and I met last night. We lived across the street from each other for about 5 years in the early '90's.

What are the odds??!?

Perhaps we should call him Thomas Fate-si?

Si!

This is a coincidence on par with a super-villain you come across oddly being the sister of one of your friends!

are u speaking from experience?


p.s.: i can't believe you crazy fools google stalked some random letter writer from the legion letter column.

wow.

What shenanigans will we get into next?!?!

[looks around nervously]

I reserve the right to disclaim everything I wrote in every letter I ever had published in a comic book. I'm pretty sure that it was all really pathetic and wrong.

At least the internet allows me to embarrass myself much more often and in a lot less time.

I kissed Thomas Fatsi!!(and I liked it.)

It seems we lived on the same street, drank at the same bars, and danced at the same clubs in NYC in the 1990s!!!
Last Monday, he sat at my bar, I plied him with Pinot Noir, and we talked a mile a minute about comic books, life, and this whole hysterical situation!
Thank You, Tom!!! You made my week and I made a FABOO new friend!!

please use your powers for good legion worlders.

This thread FEATURED until Tom Fatsi posts to it again!!

[fans self]

Who knew such wild goings-on could still take place in my old home state?

[secretly wants to make the trek back to Jersey for the next "Legion Letter Writers' Day at Rhino's bar. Kissing totally optional.]

Kissing MANDATORY!!!

Oh, my...

[buys case of breath mints]

I'm posting again.

Welcome back. Are you ready to be celebrity judge for Legion World's KISSFEST 2010?

You decide which of us has the most fun kissing you!

So, did Tom Fatsi buy Legion v6 #1?

Everytime a new post is made to this thread, the world is a better place!

Speaking of a Letter-writers tribute, is anyone going to write letters to DC in regards to the new book?

This thread needs to be made into a Lifetime movie. It's THAT good.

Thomas Fatsi, we who are about to sleep SALUTE YOU!

A Lifetime movie starring me and rhino, giggling for 90 minutes!!

Giggling over Drura's phlegm-sleeves!!

Asking Tom Fatsi which of us he most enjoyed kissing!

"Thomas Fatsi, we barely knew ye" could be the title of your new movie!

I dunno, future king, it makes him sound kind of dead. How about "One Flew With A Flight Ring Over Legion World"?

Tom came to visit me again on Monday!!
This time he brought a pal who grew up reading comic books too.
We clucked like hens about comics and a grand time was had by all!
Nice seeing you again, Tom!

p.s. the tip you guys left me was embarassingly generous!!

That's awesome!!

If we build up Paul Levitz, what kind of tip do you think he'll leave?

Whatever he can spare after we drive him into getting therapy, I presume.

If only you were there Lash!!
You would have turned our threesome into a four-gy!!

New Yorkers are sooooo sexy, it's ridonkulous!

So, I went to NYCC & hung out w/ Tom Fatsi!!
We attended the LGBT comics panel and capped off the evening with margaritas at the Distinguished Macambo- a dive bar near the Javits Center!!
Fatsi is still Faboo!!

Hi y'all, I just went to the launch party for the new 75th anniversary book and told Paul Levitz about this MADNESS! He at least pretended to remember my letter.

Paul has a long memory.

Tom Fatsi and Paul Levitz rock!

Que divertido!

Yes!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM FATSI!!!!