Editors in the News (and Comics)

Michael Kelly, the editor of The New Republic, was fired by Martin Peretz, the owner of the magazine. Peretz, a close friend of Vice President Al Gore, apparently didn't appreciate Kelly's relentless inquiry into the campaign finance scandals that have plagued the Clinton administration.

But, as might be expected, a more creative method of disposing of one's editor was devised by the folks at Marvel Comics. At that publication, associates granted the request of a recently deceased colleague, senior executive editor Mark Gruenwald, who asked that his ashes be blended with the ink used to print the comic books. "He wanted to be part of his work in a very real sense," said Marvel editor Bob Harras.