The very first stories George ever had published were prose superhero stories published in comic book fanzines. These fanzines often featured their own stables of original heroes whose adventures were written about by the fanzines contributors. These amateur productions had a devoted following, with GRRM and Howard Waldrop being two notable writers to come out of that milieu. One character from these fanzines, Dr. Weird, was later taken up by Big Bang Comics, a retro comics publisher. In 1994, Big Bang Comics published the Dr. Weird Special in which GRRM’s story "Only Kids Are Afraid of the Dark” was illustrated by Jim Starlin.
