Uncle Rog,

There's one story which credits you as a contributor in the forthcoming [lilred]What If?[/lilred] trade paperback collection:

http://www.imwan.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=551242#p551242

This is how you're listed in the credits:

Based on Captain America #250. "Based on an idea by Roger McKenzie & Don Perlin, with the creative contributions of Roger Stern & John Byrne."

Could you tell us what constituted those creative contributions?

(Here's what I'm driving at ~ for a reader like myself who wants to maintain a collection of all the stories you've had writing or plotting involvement in, is there enough of your input in this one to qualify as an "official Roger Stern story", and therefore a necessary piece in building a complete Stern collection?)

Whether or not it should be part of a collection of my work would depend upon your own points of view.

Denny O'Neil was editor of What If at the time of that story, and he was looking for stories that were alternate versions of more-recent Marvel issues. In fact, John and I were toying with the idea of producing a "What If Cap became President" story ourselves. When that didn't work out -- because of schedule conflicts -- Mike Barr asked me if we'd mind his writing a version. I seem to recall talking the story over him him, but that issue was pretty much his baby...it was pretty good, too, as I recall.

And it was nice of them to acknowledge us, but the hero's portion of the credit should go to Mike and Herb Trimpe.

Plus, there was that great Marie Severin cover...


(Ya gotta love the idea of Jack Kirby as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court!)

-- Uncle Rog