As described in my first blog post on the site, I discovered Russ Johnson’s work in 1993 when I ran across a copy of his 1968 book, Forty Years with Mister Oswald, in a used bookstore in Illinois.  Two years later I was chatting on the phone with Don Petterson, a collector friend in Vermont, who let me know that Russ was alive and well in Gibson City, Illinois.  Don had first gotten in touch with Russ in 1979 after reading an article about Russ and Mister Oswald, written by Max Allan Collins for the old Comics Buyers Guide.  Don ordered a copy of the book directly from Russ ($4.95…