Rutland Halloween Parade

[1] Tom Fagan (1932–2008),[2] a local writer and comic book fan, is credited with having a hand in the parade's early development and superhero theme.

Strange were roaming the streets of Rutland, along with Batman (presumably Fagan, but like Bruce Wayne, the Caped Crusader wouldn't divulge his identity).

"[3]The 2006 Boston Globe story explains that "... Fagan was friends with many comic book authors and artists, most of whom hailed from New York.

Comic book creators known to have attended the parade over the years include Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman, Bernie Wrightson, Dennis O'Neil, Roy Thomas, Alan Weiss, Wendy and Richard Pini, Dave Cockrum, and Len Wein.

The popular event continued nonetheless, with Fagan and a close personal friend of the 'inner circle', attending as a guest in 2006 and 2007, sitting with the judges.

Due to the nature of the masquerade parade, these issues often saw people dressed as Marvel heroes appearing in DC publications, and vice versa, marking some of the first (unofficial) intercompany crossovers in comics.

[3] Caution was exercised, however, over widespread use of the competition's characters — Fagan (who in real life typically hosted the parade dressed as Batman), was usually drawn as Nighthawk in Marvel-published Rutland Halloween stories.

[4] In the fall of 1972, writers Steve Englehart, Gerry Conway, and Len Wein crafted a loose three-part story spanning titles from both companies.

#22 (August 1980), a reader asked, "Does Rutland, Vermont, annually become a nexus of realities similar to that existing in the swamp near Citrusville, Florida?"