Alter Ego #192

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LEN WEIN’s life as writer/editor from creating Swamp Thing and Wolverine, to MOORE and GIBBONS’ Watchmen, and more! Plus the sad demise of WILL EISNER’s P*S Army Preventive Maintenance magazine, interview with romance and pin-up artist JAY SCOTT PIKE, more of STEVE WILLIS, and SHAUN CLANCY reveals the saga of ADRIAN LOPEZ’s Harpoon/Apple Pie humor mags! FRANK CHO cover!

PAT BRODERICK discusses his career, from the Crusty Bunkers to unforgettable work on Firestorm, Micronauts, Captain Marvel, and more! Plus JACK KIRBY’s humiliating return to Marvel in the ’70s, the 1940s KKK-crushing district attorney FIGHTING LAWYER, profile of PAUL BUHLE, SHARY FLENNIKEN interview, 1972 heroes by WRIGHTSON, REESE, WINDSOR-SMITH, and others for Esquire magazine, and more!

Informative conversation with “Big” JOHN BUSCEMA and a biographical essay about the Marvel legend by JON B. COOKE, including an awesome art gallery. Plus we share about the life and tragic fate of BILL MANTLO (co-creator of Rocket Raccoon and Cloak and Dagger), inside comics printer Eastern Color Printing by SHAUN CLANCY, more with SHARY FLENNIKEN, chat with RIC ESTRADA, and more!

CARMINE INFANTINO radio interview by KEN GALE and ED MENJE, JON B. COOKE on Carmine’s stint as DC editorial director/ publisher, ROBERT KANIGHER’s 1989 conversation with STEVE WHITAKER and TIM BATEMAN, World War 3 Illustrated with PETER KUPER and SETH TOBOCMAN, DAVE COCKRUM’s Aurora model kit pamphlets, GLEN CADIGAN’s interview with horror comics writer JOE HILL, and more!

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Vol. 3, No. 192/March 2025 Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editor Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor

P.C. Hamerlinck J.T. Go (Associate Editor) Mark Lewis (Cover Coordinator)

Comic Crypt Editor

Michael T. Gilbert

Editorial Honor Roll

Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White Mike Friedrich, Bill Schelly

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William J. Dowlding

Cover Artist

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Shane Foley (after Alex Toth)

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Glenn Whitmore

With Special Thanks to:

Shane Foley Heidi Amash Janet Gilbert Pedro Angosto Grand Comics Ger Apeldoorn Database Bob Bailey (website) Mike Bromberg JayJay Jackson Bernie Bubnis Sharon Karibian Susan Burgos Nancy Shores Mark CarlsonKarlebach Ghost Jim Kealy CARTOONIST Steve Leialoha PROfiles Art Lortie (magazine) Nancy Maneely John Cimino Mark Muller Shaun Clancy Martin O’Hearn Comic Book Plus Joe Petrilak (website) Buz Rico Chet Cox John Romita, Jr. Brian Cremins Randy Sargent Wendy Hunt Craig Shutt Dicken Bryan Stroud Mike Dunne Estate of Jack Kirby Dann Thomas Estate of Joe Simon Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Wendy Everett Joe Frank

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Trina Robbins & Roger Dicken

Contents Writer/Editorial: Give Me That Old-Time Revival . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Mark Carlson-Ghost looks at hero comics from TV’s Superman to the Silver Age Flash.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!: We All Have To Start Somewhere! (Part 5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Michael T. Gilbert on the early comics work of Ramona Fradon.

Tribute To Roger Dicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 69 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #251 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 P.C. Hamerlinck & Brian Cremins (& the ghost of C.C. Beck) salute Trina Robbins.

On Our Cover: The fact that there was an entire (and large) super-hero group’s worth of costumed characters revived or created in the mid-1950s sent Ye Editor searching for an homage cover that would do them justice. And there could have been no better choice than Alex Toth’s powerful symbolic cover for DC’s All-Star Comics #41 (June-July 1948), as rendered with an entirely different set of heroes by the super-capable Shane Foley. As for who those eight guys on our cover are—well, fear not if you don’t recognize one or two (or all eight) of them. Mark Carlson-Ghost will fill you in over the following nigh-60 pages. [Fighting American TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby— used with special permission; other art © Shane Foley.]

Above: Two triptychs drawn by John Romita for the “Captain America” story in Young Men #26 (March ’54)—showing the Sub-Mariner, Human Torch, and Captain America about to assemble (on the very next page) for the one and only panel of the mid-1950s that depicted Timely’s revived WWIIera “Big Three” together. Script attributed to Joe Gill. We couldn’t picture Cap, Namor, and the Torch on our cover with heroes published by other companies, but we sure didn’t plan to forget them!

Thanks to Bob Bailey & Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] Alter EgoTM issue 192, March 2025 (ISSN 1932-6890) is published bi-monthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage paid at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Alter Ego, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614.

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2

Article Title writer/editorial

Give Me That Old-Time Revival!

L

ooking backward with the justly infamous 20-20 hindsight, it’s easy now to see the outlines of what Mark CarlsonGhost styles, half-ironically, “The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival.”

It wasn’t nearly that easy to see it when I was just becoming a teenager during that era.

As I’ve reported elsewhere, I’d felt devastated when, around the time I turned ten (at the end of 1950), DC Comics discontinued All-Star Comics, cutting off the two-dimensional (but to me very real) four-color lives of six of my favorite characters, members of the Justice Society of America, with only Wonder Woman surviving to carry on in other titles.

Over the next 2-3 years, I was thrilled each time I encountered a new super-hero—Captain Comet in Strange Adventures, Marvel Boy in his own title (though not for long), Captain 3-D and (old standby) Green Hornet in what unfortunately turned out to be a pair of de facto one-shots. And I was saddened when longtime favorites who looked like they might have managed to beat the odds (like DC’s Shining Knight, Quality’s Doll Man, Hillman’s Airboy and The Heap) abruptly bit the dust formerly tasted by the JSA, Human Torch, Black Terror, and so many others.

All that began to change—or so I thought—the day at age 12 I walked into Osterloh’s Bookstore in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Young Men #24 exploded at me from the shelves. “The Human Torch Returns!” screamed the topline above the comic’s logo. “He’s back from the dead!” shouted a bystander watching the Torch hurl fireballs at a nearby building. And I quickly realized that his compatriots Sub-Mariner and Captain America were back, as well.

Over the next year or so, I bought all 23 Timely/Atlas installments of its “Big Three” revival—plus the 16 Ajax titles that began with an issue starring someone new to me called Black Cobra—plus the 7 wackily wonderful editions of Simon & Kirby’s dazzlingly designed Fighting American—plus all 8 of Magazine Enterprises’ efforts titled The Avenger and Strongman—plus Sterling’s 4 issues of Captain Flash—plus all 3 offerings by Charlton of Nature Boy. I specifically recall picking up Charlton’s “Blue Beetle”-restoring issue of Space Adventures on my way to see Phil Silvers in the movie version of his Broadway hit show Top Banana, and couldn’t wait to get home so I could read it. Hell, I think I even bought one of the two issues of the unpromising-looking Mr. Muscles—and if I’d stumbled upon the other one, I’d have picked it up, too.

Still, it became clear to me, during 1954 and ’55, that this resurgence of super-heroes wasn’t taking hold the way I’d thought and hoped it would. By the end of ’54, only Sub-Mariner remained of the Timely/Atlas trio. And none but one of the five Ajax returnees lasted more than three issues—which covers a total of just four months, when you stop and think about it.

Even so, when, in early July of ’56, I ran across Showcase #4 and its new incarnation of “The Flash,” I dared hope this “revival” would be different from what had gone before.

And thank Crom—this time I was right! Showcase #4 and the DC (and later Marvel) heroes that it begat would give me something to read—and, later, something to write and keep me gainfully employed for much of the rest of my life.

Even so, I still look back nostalgically on that aborted mid-’50s revival—and I thank Mark Carlson-Ghost for accepting my challenge to research that era and bring it to radiant life! Nobody could’ve done it better, Mark!

Bestest,

COMING IN JUNE

193

#

The Great EARLY SUPERMAN Artists!

Art TM & © DC Comics

• EDDY ZENO begins his breathtaking book-length survey of the fabulous Golden Age artists who followed in the crimson bootsteps of JOE SHUSTER! Showcasing the likes of WAYNE BORING, PAUL CASSIDY, FRED RAY, JACK BURNLEY, JOHN SIKELA, LEO NOWAK, WIN MORTIMER, & others!

• Spotlighting detailed appreciations of yesterday’s Man of Tomorrow artists by JERRY ORDWAY, PAUL KUPPERBERG, TONY ISABELLA, DAN JURGENS, RALPH MACCHIO, PAUL NEARY, KEVIN NOWLAN, ROY THOMAS, et al.!

• Plus—FCA spotlight on GUS RICCA, artist of Ibis the Invincible, etc.—MICHAEL T. GILBERT on comics-format forerunners of WILL EISNER’s Sunday “Spirit Section” —& MORE!!

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3

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

by Mark Carlson-Ghost

Dwight D. Eisenhower President of the United States, 1953-1961

Four-Color Heroes From The Age Of Eisenhower This frontispiece was drawn by Shane Foley and colored by Randy Sargent as an homage to Joe Gallagher’s cover and matching splash page for All-Star Comics #21 (Summer 1944). (L. to r.:) Sub-Mariner, Captain Flash, Tomboy, Human Torch, Strongman, Nature Boy, Fighting American, The Flame, Wonder Boy, The Avenger, Captain America. Thanks, guys! [Sub-Mariner, Human Torch, & Captain America TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; Fighting American TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby; other heroes TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

In Like A Wildfire— Out Like A Thunderstorm The mid-1950s “Indian summer” (or was it a “false spring”?) of comicbook super-heroes unofficially began with the autumn publication of Timely/ Atlas’ (future Marvel’s) Young Men #24 (Dec. 1953), behind Carl Burgos’ cover that spotlighted The Human Torch but also featured the Sub-Mariner (minus his hyphen) and Captain America—as colored, reportedly, by early-1960s Marvel colorist Stan Goldberg.

That period ended, with a whimper not a bang, behind the Dick Giordano/ Vince Alascia cover of Charlton’s Nature Boy #5 (Feb. 1957)—actually the series’ third issue, which went on sale in late ’56, only a few months after DC’s Showcase #4 had introduced a brand new incarnation of The Flash.

Thanks to the Grand Comics Database and Michael T. Gilbert, respectively, for these cover scans. [Young Men cover TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; Nature Boy cover TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

T

Captain Midnight, but kept their other Marvel Family titles (five in all) going. But now heroic casualties were piling up at an alarming rate. Street & Smith, Novelty, and Columbia all shuttered their doors, meaning no more four-color adventures of The Shadow, Doc Savage, The Target and his Targeteers, or Skyman. Fox Publications and Standard soldiered on but ceased publication of Blue Beetle and Phantom Lady and Black Terror and Fighting Yank between them.

And, unless you were a psychic, the heyday of the Silver Age that began haltingly in 1956 and reached its height in the 1960s was still a long way off—and probably unforeseen, even undreamed-of.

Several larger companies kept a few of their super-hero comics but dramatically cut back their line-ups. Over at Quality, Modern Comics, Police Comics, and Feature Comics, anthology titles that had cover-featured Blackhawk, Plastic Man, and Doll Man, were either canceled or radically altered their content in 1950. Doll Man’s solo title was axed three years later. (Plastic Man would stretch things out till autumn of 1956, when Quality sold out to DC, but the final two years’ worth of issues featured mostly reprints.)

he Golden Age of super-heroes was fading fast. In 1949 alone, the Sub-Mariner, Green Lantern, and The Human Torch all saw their solo comicbooks canceled. Former stalwarts like Black Terror, Skyman, and Phantom Lady had all disappeared earlier from newsstands. Nor did they leave the scene unescorted by most of their costumed colleagues.

But, in between these two consequential eras, from 1953 to 1956 (or even, technically, into 1957), there was a resurgence of super-hero titles as exciting as it was short-lived. Captain America, Phantom Lady, and Blue Beetle sprang back into action. So did the Sub-Mariner and Human Torch. New heroes like Captain Flash, The Avenger, and Fighting American made promising beginnings.

And then, before you knew it, those colorful heroes disappeared. Again. What happened? What prompted a sudden influx of costumed heroes at a time when readers of comicbooks no longer seemed interested in their adventures? What contributed to their demise? This article attempts a fresh investigation into the 1950s super-hero revival and the cost-saving measures that all too often accompanied it. With the threat of unprecedented censorship lurking in the wings, very little in the industry was on solid footing.

A Bad Time For Super-Heroes As a new decade dawned, readers of super-hero comicbooks had every reason to feel discouraged. 1949 had been a brutal year for costumed adventurers of every stripe. Companies across the industry were abandoning their costumed characters, some of them going out of business entirely.

Scattered cancellations had already begun the previous year.

Fawcett Publications had dropped Mary Marvel, Wow Comics, and

At DC Comics, the situation was only marginally better. The publication of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman continued uninterrupted, but Flash Comics and Green Lantern were both canceled in 1949. “Justice Society of America” stories in All-Star Comics provided some comfort to longtime fans until the turn of 1951, when they too were put out to pasture.

Comic scholars debate just when the Golden Age of comicbooks ended, but one thing is clear: If super-hero adventures weren’t entirely dead, they were in deep decline.

Early Television, Science Heroes, & Costumed Cowboys Though there was no longer a strong market for super-hero comics, other genres like romance, Westerns, crime, and horror flourished. Not only that, with the burgeoning number of households who owned a television, boys and girls were increasingly discovering new heroes to follow, albeit in black&-white. Comicbook publishers were eager to jump on the

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

bandwagon. The first comicbook treatments of television space operas appeared in 1950: Space Patrol, Captain Video, and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.

The creators of super-hero comics seemed reluctant to entirely give up on the conventions of their former headliners.

Or perhaps their new efforts fell under the maxim of “Old habits die hard.” In addition to the world of science-fiction, comicbook writers attempted to transplant super-hero conventions onto Western and (less often) horror comicbooks.

But even as it provided fodder for comicbook adaptations, television was a genuine threat to the comics industry.

Movie-like excitement (however cheesy early television special effects may have been) was now available in homes, and for free! A few sci-fi super-heroes inspired by the likes of these new video spacemen appeared in comicbooks in the very early 1950s, Timely’s Marvel Boy and DC’s “Captain Comet” chief among them.

Mister Universe was a short-lived, four-issue title published in 1951 and ’52 by Media Publications, a.k.a. Stanley Morse, and mostly drawn by Ross Andru. The first-issue splash page hinted at Captain Marvel (or even Wonder Woman) territory: “Possessing the speed of a Mercury, the wisdom of a Zeus, the strength of a Hercules, and the looks of an Adonis, put them all together and you have…

Mister Universe.” But former Marine Tommy Turner turned out to be just an exceptionally put-together young man who wins a Mister Universe contest held in Greece seeking to find the man who comes closest “to having all the qualities of the gods.” Turner promptly becomes a professional wrestler, sporting his new moniker, dispatching enemy agents and crooks as he encounters them. Text features educate the reader about the history of wrestling. By issue #4 Turner has rejoined the military, but it’s too little, too late, to save the title.

5

The Mystery Of The Vanishing Super-Heroes If 1949 was the year by which the great majority of 1940s-born comicbook super-heroes had ended their four-color careers, 1950 was when the cancellation of the once-popular All-Star Comics, starring the seven-member Justice Society of America, put a line under that trend, discontinuing half of DC Comics’ remaining costumed heroes in one fell swoop after issue #57. Cover-dated Feb.-March 1951, it went on sale in late 1950. Pencils by Arthur Peddy; inks by Bernard Sachs. Courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © DC Comics.]

The Marvel & The Mutant Two outliers, released around the same time most other super-heroes were giving up the ghost, were the costumed star of Timely’s Marvel Boy #1 (Dec. 1950), with Russ Heath art—and “Captain Comet,” who debuted in DC’s Strange Adventures #9 (June ’51). To spotlight the latter character, we’ve depicted the cover of the very next month’s SA #10, by Carmine Infantino & Bernard Sachs, because we reprinted #9’s cover in A/E #188. Neither hero would ever attain true stardom, though Captain Comet—the first avowedly mutant comicbook super-hero ever—stuck around considerably longer. Courtesy of Michael T. Gilbert & the GCD, respectively. [TM & © DC Comics & Marvel Characters, Inc., respectively.]

Toby’s Purple Claw was a rare horror super-hero, and the Hand of Fate and Phantom Stranger comicbooks featured supernatural story hosts who occasionally veered into active engagement. Masked cowboys were far more common.

Magazine Enterprises’ Ghost Rider, Red Mask, and Lemonade Kid were among the most conventionally “super-heroic” of the lot, complete with costumes, gimmicks, and colorful villains. Not surprisingly, veteran super-hero writer Gardner Fox penned many of these tales. The Lone Ranger and his horde of comicbook imitators, despite their masked identities, were more clearly traditional Westerns at their core.

Publishers were eager to latch on to any new craze that promised to boost sales. Harvey Publications, for one, bankrolled Simon & Kirby’s response to 1953’s 3-D craze. As the wildly creative pair told the story, 50,000 years ago two races vied for control of the Earth: the D people and the evil Cat People. A dying race, the D people instilled all of their hopes and dreams into The Book of D. Millennia later (i.e., in 1953), teenaged Danny Davis opens the mysterious book

6

From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

and discovers a pair of 3-D-like glasses.

When he dons them, Captain 3-D, the heroic last survivor of the D people, leaps from the book. Alas, Captain 3-D was destined to be a one-shot.

As it happened, the biggest development in the world of superheroes in the early 1950s didn’t happen in comicbooks but rather on television. Adults of a certain age remember a series called The Adventures of Superman with an unmistakable fondness. The program had a huge impact. But, to better understand all of that, a little background is in order.

Lend A Hand—Or Even A Claw—Said The Stranger (Above & right:) Three mystery/horror titles of the early ’50s that featured continuing heroes: The cover of DC’s The Phantom Stranger #1 (Aug.-Sept. ’52) is by Carmine Infantino & Sy Barry; the mysterious hero took part in all stories. [TM & © DC Comics.]

The artist of the cover of Ace’s The Hand of Fate #12 (Aug. ’52) is unknown. This is the first issue on which the spirit of Fate appears as a character, and his intercessions inside were intermittent.

While the artist credits of the cover of Toby Press’ Purple Claw #1 (Aug. ’53) are uncertain, the most likely candidates are interior artists Ben Brown & Dave Gantz. All scans courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Personally, We’d Have Preferred To See Miss Universe (Left:) Mister Universe, penciled by Ross Andru and inked by Mike Espositio for Stanley Morse, wasn’t a true super-hero title but assumed a few of its trappings, though Tommy Turner seldom wore the wrestlers’ togs shown on the cover. The series, whose first issue was dated July 1951, was probably inspired by a movie of the same name (and wrestling/bodybuilder theme) earlier that year and starring TV’s future Ben Casey, Vince Edwards. Andru may have inked the cover of #1. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

7

Ellsworth helped conceive a clever gambit, producing a B-movie starring Superman and featuring actors who were available to star in a subsequent television series devoted to the hero. In essence, the movie served as a pilot to test the viability of the project. Not only that, but revenue from the movie could help offset the production costs of setting up the series.

Two For The Show...?

(Above:) The covers of Simon & Kirby’s (and Harvey Comics’) Captain 3-D #1 (Nov. 1953) and Dell/Western’s stand-alone Green Hornet (a.k.a. Four Color #496. Sept. ‘53), the latter by an unidentified artist. It could be argued that one or both of these de facto one-shots were the start of the “mid-1950s super-hero revival,” since they came out shortly before Timely/Atlas’ Young Men #24. But the former surely owed its existence primarily to the 3-D craze launched by the 1953 film Bwana Devil... and it’s hard to say what Dell/Western had in mind with its Green Hornet singleton—which, incidentally, was drawn within by Frank Thorne and scripted

by Paul S. Newman. [Captain 3-D TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby; Green Hornet TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Superman’s Arrival On The Small Screen As noted, the comics industry was clearly taking notice of television and movie franchises and moved to license kid-friendly properties to be featured in their own comicbooks. DC Comics, along with Dell and Fawcett, was at the forefront in taking advantage of such opportunities on an ongoing basis. In 1950, DC launched The Adventures of Bob Hope and in 1952 followed up with The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. And Dell and Fawcett had over a dozen screen-cowboy titles between them. That said, DC was perhaps the only publisher consistently working to translate their comicbook properties into other media. Indeed, they devoted one of their prime editorial staff to precisely that purpose.

Whitney Ellsworth was DC’s liaison with Hollywood and had been for over a decade. He had worked with Fleischer Studios as a consultant in producing the well-regarded Superman animated shorts in the early ’40s. Ellsworth served a similar role with Columbia Studios’ popular serials featuring Superman, Batman, Vigilante, and Congo Bill. But his most successful move was envisioning a television series for the Man of Steel.

Look! Up In The Sky! (Right:) A vintage poster for the 1951 movie Superman and the Mole Men, which introduced George Reeves as the Man of Steel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Whitney Ellsworth From overall editor of DC Comics for several years—to DC’s Hollywood point man.

Superman and the Mole Men debuted in theatres on November 23, 1951, starring George Reeves as Superman and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. It met with enough success to green-light the TV series, to be distributed through syndication rather than through affiliation with a specific network. While an exact date of the first televised episode is disputed, it aired in September of 1952 with Reeves and Coates reprising their roles. John Hamilton, playing Perry White, and Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen joined the cast.

8

From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

early 1940s was the one that brought Fawcett heroes to life. In 1941, they released an Adventures of Captain Marvel serial, and the next year produced one starring Spy Smasher. But in 1944 they switched companies, releasing a Captain America chapter drama with a lead character who didn’t have much in common with the original other than his costume.

“A Great Metropolitan Newspaper” The main cast members of TV’s The Adventures of Superman. (L. to r.:) John Hamilton (Perry White)… George Reeves (Superman/Clark Kent)… Jack Larson (Jimmy Olsen)… Noel Neill (the second & major Lois Lane.) [Publicity shot TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Republic’s Captain America carried a gun rather than a shield, operated without Bucky as a partner, and was secretly District Attorney Grant Gardner rather than loyal soldier Steve Rogers.

Unlike Rogers, he also had an attractive secretary as a romantic interest. Stedman credibly speculates the original script may have featured another Fawcett hero, Mr. Scarlet, who also carried a gun at times and was secretly a special prosecutor. If so, Scarlet’s declining popularity may have necessitated the change of character.

Curt Swan

It took several months after filming to assess whether the program was significantly successful to justify moving forward with a second season. Long enough that Phyllis Coates had moved on to another project and was now unavailable. She was replaced

by Noel Neill, who had co-starred with Kirk Alyn in the 1948 and 1950 Superman serials. Neill would play the role for the rest of the series.

Overall, though, it would be safe to say that, by the summer of 1953, other comics publishers were aware of DC’s success with the series. And if there was an accompanying bump in sales for the Superman family of comicbooks, Irwin Donenfeld was known to boast. The fact that DC added a Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen comicbook in 1954, after Larson as the cub reporter had become a breakout star, suggests the comics were doing just fine.

Keep that summer of 1953 date in mind. Roy Thomas has long held a theory that it was the success of Adventures of Superman that led Martin Goodman, the publisher of Timely/Atlas/Marvel, to revive his line of super-heroes that same year. But it’s possible that one other, previously unheralded event may have contributed to that decision.

Captain America Returns (To Movie Theatres!)

The success of the Superman television series may have prompted a failing movie studio to try and milk a few additional dollars out of another super-hero property. Republic Pictures informed Martin Goodman of their intention to dust off their 1944 15-chapter Captain America serial, retitling it Return of Captain America. Youngsters might be forgiven for thinking the 1944 chapter-play was a new creation. The serial, featuring Dick Purcell as Cap, was not exactly a faithful rendition. This led film restoration expert Eric Stedman to wonder if an earlier version of the script had featured another character.

It is helpful to realize that, just as Columbia was the exclusive producer of movie serials featuring DC characters, Republic in the

Pal-ing Around The Curt Swan/Stan Kaye cover of Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #1 (Sept.Oct. 1954). This comic title was the first DC result of the success of The Adventures of Superman on TV. [TM & © DC Comics.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

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Senate had established a “permanent sub-committee” to study the problem of juvenile delinquency. Days later, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle ran a story about how members of the Decent Literature Committee Drive were pressuring newsstands to stop carrying “detrimental comic books and other harmful reading material.” In October, news broke of the sub-committee sending out 2000 letters to local and state officials asking whether they thought “radio, television (and) comics” contributed to delinquency.

But by far the most influential publication in this regard was the November 1953 issue of Ladies Home Journal, which ran the article “What Parents Don’t Know about Comic Books” by American (but German-born) psychiatrist Frederic Wertham. The article ran 11 pages, complete with illustrations intended to horrify, but not in a fun way.

Namor, The Torch, & Captain America Redux Return Of Captain America This lobby card for the 1953 re-release of Republic’s Captain America theatrical serial spotlights Dick Purcell as the titular hero—though the (comics-derived?) drawing in its left margin is a more accurate portrayal of what the Sentinel of Liberty should have looked like. Purcell had died very shortly after the filming was completed in 1944.

[Captain America TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Regardless of the serial’s origins, the studio decided to relaunch it with a new title, promotional poster, and publicity stills.

Return of Captain America premiered in theatres across the country in late September 1953. Given its 15-chapter format, that meant it would run in movie houses until early January.

Did Return of Captain America influence Goodman’s decision to relaunch his big three super-heroes? After all, what better time to bring back Cap in the comicbooks than during the four months when boys were being cinematically reminded of his existence? Or were the executives at Republic and Timely just having the same idea at the same time for the same reason—the Superman television series?

What is beyond question is that the atmosphere for publishers of comicbooks was growing increasingly fraught. As for the struggling Republic Pictures, it produced its final movie in 1958.

Growing Concern Over Comicbooks Just how quickly was the national concern over violent comicbooks growing? Beginning in 1953, the number of newspaper articles linking comics and juvenile delinquency grew exponentially. Numbers gathered from the search engine at newspapers.com tell the tale.

In 1952, the number of articles in the website’s database linking the two was only 287. In 1953 that number grew to 751 before peaking in 1954 at a whopping 4986! While it was true that overall concern regarding juvenile delinquency in general also grew during that period, the percentage of articles linking the two went from 1.4% in 1952 to 7.6% in 1954. That said, the trend was readily apparent in 1953 to anyone in the industry who was paying attention.

In April, papers reported that the United States

With all these factors in mind, it’s interesting to consider the timing of the return of Goodman’s “Big Three” super-heroes in Young Men #24 (cover-dated Dec. 1953) and the restructuring of his comicbook line that followed not long after.

Concern over the rising criticism of comics may have impacted Martin Goodman’s decision. Under his and Stan Lee’s direction, Atlas—as the company was now widely known, though that was really just the name of its Goodman-owned distributor—had already begun to tone down the content of its horror titles. Even so, none of them were being canceled. At least not yet. Still, the relatively tamer nature of super-hero adventure surely was a plus.

As for the Return of Captain America serial, if it actually had been a decisive influence, it seems Cap would have been the dominant image on that first cover. Instead, the cover of Young Men #24 spotlighted his fiery pal, accompanied by the blazing headline “The Human Torch Returns!”

It would seem multiple factors were at play for the revival, with the success of Adventures of Superman at the top of that list. That, and a practical

Martin Goodman & Stan Lee The publisher (at left), in 1941, perusing a copy of that year’s Captain America Comics #11 (the first post-Simon-&-Kirby issue)— and (above) his editor, circa late 1953, before a wall of proofs of Timely/Atlas comics covers, including that of The Human Torch #36 (April ’54). Courtesy of the Internet & Ger Apeldoorn.

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

“Back From The Dead!”

Since Carl Burgos’ cover for Young Men #24 (Dec. 1953) bedazzled you back on p. 4, we can concentrate here on its three stupendous splashes—drawn by a total of five awesome artists: The 9-page “Human Torch” tale was basically illustrated by Russ Heath, but Goodman and/or Lee decided they preferred a Burgos Torch in the splash panel, to match the cover—so the Torch’s creator superimposed a figure of his own over whatever Heath had rendered there. The rest of the page, though, is totally Heath’s work. The script, meticulous script analyst Martin O’Hearn feels, was written by Hank Chapman, who was responsible for many of Timely/Atlas’ best Korean War stories.

John Romita drew all six pages of the “Captain America” entry—but his splash panel was replaced by one done by veteran artist Mort Lawrence, probably because JR’s splash illo (seen in A/E #189) was a symbolic one with a figure of Cap towering over The Red Skull.

Panels 2 & 3 are pure Romita, though. Martin O’Hearn believes this yarn was authored by Don Rico, who’d drawn several “Captain America” tales in the ’40s.

Sub-Mariner creator Bill Everett drew (and probably wrote) the 8-page adventure that re-introduced Prince Namor, not to mention his WWII ladyfriend Betty Dean.

“The returns of Timely’s wartime ‘Big Three’ were superbly handled and well-coordinated,” says Roy Thomas, who bought them fresh off a bookstore shelf in fall of ’53, “suggesting that Stan Lee and Martin Goodman took more than usual care in starting the resuscitated series off on the right foot.” All 23 issues of the 195355 Timely/Atlas hero revival were reprinted in three hardcover volumes of Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Heroes in 2007-2008; do yourself a favor and track ‘em down! Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert for the scans. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

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The Creative Teams Of Young Men #24 Alas, we couldn’t locate photos of “Torch” scripter Hank Chapman or “Captain America” splash-panel artist Mort Lawrence… but otherwise here are mug shots for the stalwarts responsible for the three stories in Young Men #24.

Special thanks to CARTOONIST PROfiles magazine, Susan Burgos, John Romita Jr., Buz Rico, & Wendy Everett.

Russ Heath (1950s)

Carl Burgos (1948)

John Romita (early 1950s)

Don Rico (early 1940s)

Bill Everett (1939)

desire to improve the sagging sales of Young Men. Only a year before, the title had exclusively featured war stories, but for the last three issues the subtitle of the comic had read “Hot Rods in Action.”

No bump in readership had been noted. It seemed Charlton and Fawcett had already cornered the teen racer market.

So it came to pass that the cover of Young Men #24 featured The Human Torch hurling fireballs at an unspecified target with explosive impact. [continued on p. 14]

Young Men In Action Exciting sequences from Young Men #25 (Feb. ’54), including Burgos’ Torches in fireball action in the lead story (script attributed to Hank Chapman)—the final Kirby-&-Caniff-influenced John Romita panels of “Captain America” (script attributed to Don Rico), which included an iconic Cold War final panel—and a Bill Everett “Sub-Mariner” grouping whose last panel combines art and creative lettering to suggest the horror of a shark attack, two decades before Jaws. (FYI: The “sharks” turn out to be shape-changing aliens.) With this second outing, Subby trades in the eye-catching blue-scale trunks of YM #24 for regular swim trunks, closer to his apparel from 1939-49; happily, he’ll go back to the more visually imaginative garb a few issues later. Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

Carrying The Torch Burgos drew exciting covers for all five hero issues of Young Men, with those of #25-28 dated Feb., March, April, and June ’54. The Human Torch’s name was given even more prominence on the final two, while Captain America and Namor appeared only on #24 & 25, evidencing that publisher Goodman felt the Torch was the mag’s strongest selling point, even though Captain America had been Timely’s most popular character in the 1940s. Given those two indisputable facts, it’s ironic that it was the third hero, the Sub-Mariner, who lasted the longest this time around!

Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

Joe Gill We found this portrait on Comic Vine website. [© the respective copyright holders.]

Go West, Young Men (No, we know our heading doesn’t make any sense. Horace Greeley’s famous quotation was just hard to resist.)

In Young Men #26 (March ’54), the Torch first encountered the masked Vulture, courtesy of artist Burgos and new scripter Joe Gill.

YM #27 (April ’54) saw the only mid-‘50s panel shared by Captain America, the Sub-Mariner, and the Torch, courtesy of writer Rico and artist Romita.

And #28 (June ’54) saw Namor reconnect with Namora, a fellow underseadweller. She had been his cousin in the original 1939-49 series, but that kinship isn’t mentioned this second time around. Incidentally, Namor soon ditches all his sea-pageant gear except his scaled trunks, which restores the look he’d had in YM #24. Art & story by Bill Everett. Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Can This Cargo Any Faster?

(Left:) “Captain America” splash panel from Young Men #28 (June 1954). Art by John Romita; script attributed to Don Rico.

Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

Solo—So High!

The covers of Timely-Atlas’ first three solo hero issues of the revival: The Human Torch #36 (April ’54) by Burgos, Sub-Mariner #33 (April ’54) by Everett, and Captain America #76 (May ’54)—the latter cover probably (but not for sure) by Burgos. Courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

[continued from p. 11]

“Look!” an anxious bystander exclaims. “He’s back from the dead!”

The gathered crowd is decidedly more fearful than celebratory.

In very small panels at the bottom of the cover, potential readers were informed “Submariner [sic] and Captain America also in this issue,” accompanied by small images of those two heroes.

The hint of horror in the cover of that inaugural issue suggests some hedging on precisely what Atlas was trying to sell. But surging anti-comicbook sentiment quickly shifted editorial focus to straightforward super-hero action.

Alter Ego #35 goes into loving detail about the content of those super-hero-packed issues of Young Men. And those interested in reading the stories for themselves can peruse the first of three 2007-2008 hardcover Marvel Masterwork volumes featuring Atlas Era Heroes. It is interesting to note that in those stories Steve Rogers has resumed his post-war job as a high school teacher, rather than his more dynamic role as an Army private.

It also soon emerged that each of the three heroes was given a recurring arch-enemy. For Captain America, the return of The Red Skull was nearly inevitable, even if he was now a mere shadow of

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Young Men’s Adventures Young Men doubtless had no “June ’54” issue because that was the month when sister Atlas title Men’s Adventures began showcasing the same three herofeatures, albeit at first illustrated in MA #27 by three different artists: Dick Ayers drew (and Joe Gill scripted) “The Human Torch” battling The Jet… Mort Lawrence limned an entire Rico-written “Captain America” yarn, his only full job of the series… and Bob Powell rendered the “Sub-Mariner” tale, wherein Namora suggests she and Namor get married… and in which their sub-sea people (the males, anyway) are drawn like literal frog-men instead of light green quasihumans. The scripter of the latter tale is unidentified. Powell, incidentally, also drew the “Sub-Mariner” 5-pager in The Human Torch #36, the script of which is attributed to Joe Gill.

By the second and final Men’s Adventures hero issue, the artistic lineup would be Ayers, Romita, and Everett. Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Dick Ayers

Bob Powell in the 1960s.

his former maniacal self and only popped up twice (in addition, that once ultra-Nazi was now working for the Soviet Communists).

For their part, The Human Torch and Toro fought a new foe on three different occasions—a criminal mastermind named The Vulture.

As for the Sub-Mariner, the green-skinned Prince Byrrah emerged as his persistent nemesis. Nowadays treated as having been a thorn in Prince Namor’s side since childhood, the newly created Byrrah was the duplicitous stepson of the emperor of the unnamed undersea kingdom (located beneath the South Polar ice fields) that both men called home. Bill Everett brought back Betty

Dean and Namor’s cousin Namora for added interest.

But back to the earliest months of this heroic revival: After only three issues of Young Men in its new format, Atlas launched no fewer than four additional super-hero titles, all centered around the same three features!

In issues dated April and May of 1954, Sub-Mariner, Human Torch, and Captain America were once again awarded their own titles. Namor also served as a back-up feature in Human Torch, while the Torch served as the backup feature in both Sub-Mariner and

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

seem unlikely as the motivation for these actions. The title only lasted two more issues (through #28) before being canceled. To this author, at least, the driving force behind the expansion was an anxious flight from horror content to less controversial super-hero material. As will be seen, other publishers would soon follow suit.

Simon & Kirby Respond With Fighting American It should come as no surprise that the team supreme of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby took note of the revival of Captain America, their keynote creation, in movie theatres and comicbooks.

Simon recalled the conversation between them on page 7 of the introduction to Titan’s complete collection of “Fighting American” stories.

“It won’t last,” Kirby opined.

Simon took this in. “There’s no reason we can’t do our own character again.”

The first issue of Fighting American, published by the Prize Comics Group, was dated April 1954. But, never ones to rest on their own laurels, the pair gave their new patriotic hero a new spin.

If Steve Rogers was now working as a (yawn) high school teacher in those early issues of Young Men, Nelson Flagg—Fighting American’s alter ego—was an investigative reporter. (As an aside, the folks at Atlas soon realized their mistake and had Rogers re-enlist.)

“Don’t Let The World Know How I Died!”

Artist Russ Heath, one of the best draftsmen then (or ever) in comics, rendered The Human Torch aflame with a more realistic look than the more stylized Burgos version. This page from YM #24 recaps the origins of the Torch and his sidekick Toro, and for the first time ties the Torches to the Berlin bunker death of Adolf Hitler in April 1945. (Der Führer’s body was indeed at least partly incinerated, so who knows?) As Marvel’s editor-inchief in 1972, despite his affection for Burgos’ Torch, Roy T. decreed a return to the Heath look for the Johnny Storm Torch in Fantastic Four, which lasted a couple of years. Script credited to Hank Chapman. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Captain America. It was just another sign that The Human Torch was seen as the biggest draw of the iconic heroes. Finally, as a sister title to Young Men, Men’s Adventures was transformed into a second anthology title featuring these same three characters. The Human Torch was once again the cover feature.

From a broader business perspective, it is illuminating to consider which comicbooks were canceled to enable this heroic tsunami.

It turns out that only three Atlas titles were dropped during this same time frame: Adventures in Terror, Menace, and Adventures in Weird Worlds. Nor should it come as any surprise that Men’s Adventures had also been running horror stories prior to its change in content.

Outstanding sales figures for those early Young Men issues

As Fighting American’s rather complicated origin story had it, Nelson Flagg was a feeble-bodied investigative reporter for his brother’s commie-exposing program, The Voice of Freedom, on Station U.S.A. When Johnny Flagg is killed by enemy agents, the government rebuilds his dead body (!) into one revitalized and stronger and asks Nelson to participate in a mind-transfer experiment. The procedure is successful, and Nelson’s mind soon resides in the superior body of his dead brother.

As the new hero, Fighting American—now decked out in red, white, and blue (plus yellow highlights just for good measure)— possesses strength and agility exceeding that of a normal man.

And Fighting American soon gets his Bucky, in the person of Speedboy, an unnamed pageboy who works at Nelson’s television studio.

Simon and Kirby saw to it that there was a lighter tone to these stories compared to other super-hero tales. And while the antagonists from their original work on Captain America bordered on the horrific, the new villains they concocted for Fighting American were often eccentric, bizarre, and not to be taken too seriously. There was Doubleheader, squabbling Siamese twins sharing a single body; The League of Handsome Devils, a group of very ugly criminals who wore handsome face masks; clever propagandist Poison Ivan; and Rhode Island Red, a stout, toughtalking commie broad.

The one thing that remained the same was Simon & Kirby’s trademark slam-bang action.

But even while there were a few scattered signs of renewed life in the super-hero genre, a far more significant event suggested just the opposite.

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

Forget Captain America! Here Comes Fighting American!

No, we don’t really think anybody should forget Romita’s “Captain America”—but Simon & Kirby’s Fighting American #1 (April ’54) made its dynamic debut the same month the solo revivals of Human Torch and Sub-Mariner hit the stands. It was the exciting effort of that duo (who had co-created Cap back in 1940) to show they could do super-heroes better than the company they’d left behind a baker’s dozen of years earlier.

Happily, the entire run of Fighting American was collected in hardcover some years back, and you can probably score a copy on the Internet. [TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.]

Joe Simon & Jack Kirby The action-team supreme, in their heyday. Joe is the one standing.

“Simply The Best…”

(Right & far right:) Two great Simon & Kirby pages (mostly drawn by Jack) from the first issue of Fighting American for the Prize Comics Group: Nelson Flagg’s brain-transference into his late brother Johnny’s revitalized Fighting American body—and the new hero tearing into Johnny’s murderers.

Super-hero comics don’t get any better than this! [TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

A Khakalovitch By Any Other Name…

Although there were numerous serious and dramatic elements in the stories in Fighting American, there were also strong indications of at least semiparody in many of the villains, such as Doubleheader in #2 (June-July ’54), Poison Ivan and Hotsky Trotsky in #3 (Aug.-Sept. ’54), and the foul-smelling Russian Super-Khakalovitch in #6 (Feb. ’55). Despite many good moments in various of the 1950s revival series, especially in those of Timely/Atlas, the Simon & Kirby series was probably the best-written and most visually exciting super-hero comic of the period, to be equaled or eclipsed only when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby teamed up to co-create the Marvel Comics Group in the 1960s. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.]

The End Of The Marvel Family Needless to say, the emerging critical zeitgeist was less than ideal for comicbook publishers who dabbled in even somewhat violent content. And one of the largest in the industry was ready to close up shop.

Circulations were reportedly down for Fawcett titles. The ongoing lawsuit with DC over claims that Captain Marvel was a plagiarized copy of Superman finally proved too much. The company decided to entirely close their comicbook division in late 1953. The last issue they published of The Marvel Family was coverdated January 1954, with the prophetic cover-featured story title “And Then There Were None.”

In an interview with Matt Lage in Fawcett Companion: The Best of FCA, onetime executive editor Will Lieberson spelled out the specifics of the settlement. Fawcett paid DC $400,000 in

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

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including Charlton, would try to recapture some of the magic of the Marvel Family with new super-heroes of their own.

The Assault On Comicbooks Reaches Its Peak Meanwhile, the now-famous Senate hearings on comicbooks and juvenile delinquency began on April 21, 1954. They focused on particularly graphic “crime and horror” comicbooks of the day, and their potential impact on impressionable youth.

It hardly seems a coincidence that Fredric Wertham’s full-length book, Seduction of the Innocent, had made its way into book stores just two days earlier. It was perfectly timed to capitalize on publicity from the hearings. Nor did it hurt that the May issue of Reader’s Digest, the bestselling periodical in the entire nation, ran an excerpt from the book.

To say the hearings didn’t go well for the industry would be an understatement. The dilemma for the purveyors of horror comics was exemplified by EC’s William Gaines’ attempt to describe the tasteful way to portray bloody severed heads on a comics cover.

Or Maybe It’s “Alligator-Infested”?

The crocodile-infested cover of Fighting American #5 (Dec. ’55)—from the team of Simon & Kirby, who else? Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.]

alleged damages and agreed to never again publish Captain Marvel Adventures, Whiz Comics, Captain Marvel Jr., Master Comics, Mary Marvel, Wow Comics, or Marvel Family. In other words, any title that had regularly featured a Marvel Family character. That still left more than half of their comicbook line available for continued publication.

But, rather than continue the rest of their considerable line-up of largely licensed properties, Fawcett sold nearly all of them to Charlton Comics, along with a considerable backlog of unused inventory.

It wouldn’t be long before a few remaining publishers,

Otto Binder & Kurt Schaffenberger back in the day.

“And Then There Were None” Kurt Schaffenberger’s lead splash page from The Marvel Family #89 (Jan. 1954)—the final Golden Age Fawcett comic featuring any of the Shazam heroes.

This mag was on sale while the Timely/Atlas/Marvel stalwarts were making their own bid for renewed life. Script by Otto Binder. Thanks to P.C. Hamerlinck. The cover of TMF #89 was seen in Alter Ego #191. [Shazam heroes TM & © DC Comics.]

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Dr. Frederic Wertham Author of Seduction of the Innocent (1954), the book that nearly destroyed the comicbook industry.

From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

However, what is typically left out of accounts of these Congressional hearings is how closely they were followed by ones that focused on the alleged infiltration of communists into the government. Beginning just a day later, on April 22nd, and presided over by Senator Joseph McCarthy, these hearings were characterized

by Red-baiting tactics and character assassination. But weeks later, on June 9, when McCarthy attacked the reputation of a young man on the flimsiest of premises, it was finally too much for Army attorney Joseph Welch.

“Have you no decency, sir?”

Welch called out McCarthy. “At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”

Atlas Cancels Most Of Its Super-hero Line Welch’s dressing down of the Wisconsin Senator reflected a growing backlash against the hyper-nationalism that accompanied his tirades. John Romita, in an interview with Jim Amash in Alter Ego #35, recalled how the change in the national mood impacted Atlas’ Captain America in particular.

“Stan told me Captain America was canceled because of its politics. Timely got a lot of mail complaining about chauvinism. The American flag was a dirty word in those days.” The recent Korean War was seen by some as a costly overreaction driven by rabid anti-communist sentiment. And if there was any doubt of how the character of Captain America was being pushed, the words “Captain America… Commie Smasher” above his title logo erased it.

themselves on fire. The claim is more credible than one might think at first blush, as it appears that similar concerns soon impacted the treatment of another flame-related hero. More on that shortly.

However much these factors contributed to cancellation decisions, lower than hoped-for sales were always a consideration.

Goodman shuttered the super-hero-heavy Young Men after only five issues, and Human Torch and Captain America after just three.

The new format of Men’s Adventures only managed two. These titles ended in issues dated June through September 1954.

To replace the four departing super-hero titles, seven new Atlas titles appeared in their place, all in tried-and-true, “safe” genres: two war titles (Marines in Battle and Navy Action), three Westerns (Ringo Kid, Outlaw Kid, and Outlaw Fighters), and two jungle books (Jungle Tales and Jungle Action).

It may have provided Simon and Kirby some satisfaction that their patriotic hero, Fighting American, ran for four more issues than Martin Goodman’s. Bill Everett’s Sub-Mariner was the only Atlas super-hero to soldier on. Which begs the question: Given The Human Torch’s seeming greater popularity, why was Namor the lone survivor?

A Sub-Mariner Television Series?

Once again, we turn to Roy Thomas for insight, this time in his introduction to the third volume of Marvel’s Atlas Era Heroes. Negotiations had apparently begun between Goodman and television producers for a live-action TV series featuring the Sub-Mariner. Thomas logically concluded that the interest in the

“People were saying that America was putting the American flag over human safety,” Romita continued, “and that they weren’t going to buy Captain America.” (p. 24) Safety concerns may also have contributed to the demise of The Human Torch’s comic book. In that same issue of Alter Ego, Roy Thomas related Dick Ayers’ belief that Human Torch was canceled due to parental fears that kids might imitate the hero and set

Capping It Off! John Romita’s cover for Timely/Atlas’ Captain America #77 (July ’54) was reprinted later that year in Great Britain by the company L. Miller as its own CA #1—while the Electro that JR drew on the cover of CA #78 (Sept. ’54) looked a bit different from the Soviet super-villain inside (as seen, with numerous other specimens of Romita Cap art, in A/E #189). Thanks to the GCD. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

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project was once again motivated by a desire to emulate the successful Adventures of Superman.

Bill Everett recalled, in a circa-1969 interview with Thomas (printed a decade later in Alter Ego [Vol. 1] #11), how the production company had already purchased equipment to enable underwater filming and had their eye on an actor for the lead role. Said actor, Richard Egan, had recently completed filming RKO’s Underwater. That movie was released in theatres on February 9, 1955, though the public was far more interested in seeing Jane Russell, Egan’s curvaceous co-star, in a swimsuit. Besides having a muscular physique, Egan’s somewhat angular, though still handsome features seemed perfect for playing Namor. That said, accounts vary on how far the would-be producers got in securing Egan’s possible involvement.

Fire Away!

Some inventive if deadly action from artist Dick Ayers and attributed writer Hank Chapman in a Korea-set story in Human Torch #38 (Aug. ’54). A truce had been declared in the Korean War the previous year after the election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, but Timely/Atlas writers loved to tell tales that were still set “behind enemy lines.” Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo.

[TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Hopes for the proposed series likely accounted for Goodman’s decision to keep Sub-Mariner on newsstands longer than the other super-hero titles.

Bill Everett’s detailed and nuanced artwork for the title was among his best. But despite engaging stories and a well-developed cast of characters, once the Sub-Mariner television series was clearly dead in the water, Goodman canceled the comicbook as well.

In all of this, Martin Goodman was quicker than many of his fellow publishers in recognizing the wisdom in jettisoning his horror titles and, later, realizing that titles featuring super-heroes weren’t a viable alternative. More than a few publishers would soon learn the same lessons the hard way.

Mandrake The Magician’s Abortive Star Turn It turns out the Sub-Mariner wasn’t the only super-hero being considered for television.

In August 1954 a press release from ABC Film Syndication went out announcing a forthcoming Mandrake the Magician TV series. The announcement gave every indication that the series was a done deal, declaring: “Mandrake, to be initially comprised of twenty-six half-hour shows, went into production in Bermuda last week…. It is expected that the first Mandrake film will be delivered on or about August 15, and since the series is being shot in blocks of four, it will be available for late fall programming” (The Newark Advocate, August 7, 1954).

Included in the press release were the names of the cast. Coe Norton, a professional magician as well as an actor, was cast as Mandrake. Lisa Howard, playfully called television’s “lady of sin” given a wealth of “other woman” roles, would be Princess Narda. Meanwhile, the African-American press lauded the casting of popular black athlete, professional wrestler, and actor Woody Strode as Prince Lothar. [continued on p. 24]

“And They Wonder Why I’m Bitter!”

(Above & right:) When the surface-men that Namor and Namora had rescued from mechanized killer whales misunderstood the situation and fired at them, the Sub-Mariner was quick to vow revenge—and not for the first time. By Bill Everett, from Men’s Adventures #28 (July ’54). Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

Way Before Sea Hunt (Left:) Everett’s cover for Sub-Mariner #40 (June ’55), the second of only two (out of ten) mid-1950s Namor covers he drew… juxtaposed with a photo of Richard Egan, the actor who, Bill told Roy T. in the 1960s, had agreed to portray the Sub-Mariner in a live-action TV series.

(Below:) In #33, Namor’s creator wrote and drew a superlative origin for his hero, which began with an updating of the scene from Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939) in which the amphibious prince slays two deep-sea divers, believing them to be invading robots. [Pages TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Richard Egan

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For Water-logged Movie Buffs Two Everett-drawn Namor yarns were homages to classic fantasy films.

In Sub-Mariner #33 (above) he encountered a young women’s pet giant alligator, in a tale that paralleled the huge gorilla in Mighty Joe Young (1948)—and in #35 (above right) he battled a double for 1954’s Creature from the Black Lagoon (only this guy’s name was Elmer). The latter story was reportedly written by Paul S. Newman, the former probably by Wild Bill. Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

“When The Light Goes Out!” Carl Burgos’ cover (left) for Sub-Mariner #42 (Oct. ’55), the final revival issue—and Bill Everett’s splash (above) for that mag’s last tale. The title may—or may not—be a nod to the fact that it was a sayonara story.

Courtesy of the GCD and Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, respectively. [Marvel Characters, Inc.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

Syd Shores Courtesy of Nancy Shores Karlebach & Shaun Clancy.

They Had Him Covered!

Some effective-to-spectacular Sub-Mariner covers were rendered by other hands.

(Clockwise from above left:) #35 (Aug. ’54), penciled by Sol Brodsky, inker uncertain… #38 (Feb. ’55), by Syd Shores… and #41 (Aug. ’55), by Joe Maneely.

Thanks to the GCD. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Sol Brodsky From Marvel Tales Annual #1 (1964)

[continued from p. 21] Standing at 6’4’’, Strode had been a college football star and had gone on to play for the Los Angeles Rams between 1946 and 1949. He was handsome, impressively muscled, and articulate.

Hopes ran strong in the black community writ large for a Lothar of whom they could be proud.

It is known that at least one episode was filmed, with Mandrake demonstrating impressive powers of hypnotism. He wasn’t bad at knife-throwing, either. Lothar, for his part, was strong as ever, but also significantly more articulate than in the comic strip.

But, by the end of the year, the promised episodes were nowhere to be found.

Months later, in April of 1955, a new press release announced Strode’s casting as the King of Ethiopia in the upcoming film The Ten

Joe Maneely Courtesy of Nancy Maneely.

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

Wings On His Feet Since the Sub-Mariner had been brought back in 1953 minus the ankle wings that had enabled him to fly in early-’40s comics, it was decided to restore them in issue #38—but to treat them as if they were a brand new phenomenon. Byrrah developed a machine that also returned Namor’s superstrength, which he hoped to use for his own purposes.

Guess how that last part worked out for him. Art & story by Everett. Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [Marvel Characters, Inc.]

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but can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube.

A year later, a final remnant of the failed Mandrake project showed up on newsstands. But we get ahead of ourselves….

The Wider Industry Takes Cover

The summer after the Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency proved to be especially difficult for most of the industry. In 1954, some cities even witnessed the public burning of comicbooks. The September 27th edition of Time magazine breathlessly described how the city councils of Oklahoma City and Houston had banned crime and horror comics. A similar ban was attempted by Los Angeles County but was struck down by the local courts as unconstitutional.

These developments motivated Harvey, Charlton, and Farrell Publications to belatedly follow Goodman’s strategy of seeking a safer mix of titles. Like Goodman, these publishers also had horror titles they needed to cancel, all while trying to maintain their overall

Commandments. It also noted that the actor was presently in South America filming Mandrake. Had financing fallen apart in Bermuda, necessitating a change in locale? Or had something else happened to derail the series? Whatever the reasons, this was the last mention in papers of the ill-fated project. The pilot apparently never aired

Mandrake Gestures Hypnotically…

Things definitely got pretty far along with the aborted 1954 Mandrake the Magician TV series. At left is a photo of Coe Norton as Mandrake and Woody Strode as Lothar that accompanied an article in Say magazine—plus (right) a mag ad from that same year that made use of a Mandrake illo and plugged the “upcoming” show.

Only the pilot now exists, online. [TM & © King Features Syndicate, Inc.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

market share. The Harvey brothers published Tomb of Terror, Black Cat Mystery, Witches Tales, and Chamber of Chills. Farrell had Fantastic Fears, Strange Fantasy, Haunted Thrills, Voodoo, and the recently acquired Horrific (rechristened Terrific) from Comic Media. Similarly, Charlton published The Thing! and two more horror titles it had purchased from Fawcett the year before: Strange Suspense Stories and This Magazine is Haunted.

In the frantic final months of 1954, Charlton and Harvey relied on reprint material to replace their horror content, old stories featuring super-heroes like Blue Beetle, Stuntman, and The Black Cat, as well as a mix of other characters.

As for Farrell, Fantastic Fears would ultimately continue its numbering with a reboot of Samson, an old Fox Comics hero, just as Terrific would morph into Wonder Boy. While not quite a super-hero, a “new” jungle princess named Vooda earned her own self-named title, adopting the numbering of Voodoo.

Finally, new comicbooks devoted to Phantom Lady and The Flame picked up the slack caused by the cancellation of Strange Fantasy and Haunted Thrills.

In this author’s assessment, these moves were not an effort to capitalize on a popular rebirth of super-heroes. They rather represented a desperate Hail

The Hero N The Hood The first thing A/E’s editor recalls seeing, at age 13, of the Ajax/Farrell super-hero line was the full-page house ad at left, which appeared in various of the company’s titles, including Fantastic Fears #8 (July ’54), Strange Fantasies #13, & Lone Eagle #3 (both Aug.-Sept. ’54).

Roy says: “I’d never even heard of Black Cobra before, but I loved that helmet. I was so disappointed when I saw the printed issue on the stands a few weeks later—but, naturally, I still bought it.” Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert, Jim Kealy, Sharon Karibian, & Mark CarlsonGhost for scans and info. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

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Mary pass to try to avoid a fiscal disaster threatened by the uproar over comics.

Before exploring the specific maneuvers of these three publishers, a brief look at Robert Farrell’s background in comicbooks helps to understand his talent at using reprint material mixed in with new stories to provide cheap content. After all, he’d learned from the best (or worst, depending on your perspective), working for the notorious Victor Fox and later the decidedly cheap Harry “A” Chesler. Not only that, but off-and-on during the mid-’40s, Farrell had briefly published a few comics of his own, chief among them Captain Flight Comics.

Beginning in 1947, Farrell went on to work with a Canadian publisher named Superior, packaging material for the American market created by the Iger-Roche Studio. Superior also reprinted (legally or illegally—the jury’s still out) a vast array of American comicbooks for sale in Canada. How much Farrell was involved in that aspect of the company’s endeavors is also unclear.

(Superior is long overdue for a company history, if someone can ever figure out its tangled business ties. Besides its original horror titles, It also issued some previously unpublished content produced by the Bernard Baily studio intended for Rural Home.)

Then, in 1951, Farrell relaunched his own company, now known as Ajax Publications. Ajax-Farrell comicbooks were distributed by Kable News. Unfortunately for Farrell, his horror titles were among his best sellers. Reading the industry tea leaves, Farrell set out to drastically reshape his company’s output by resurrecting a coterie of old super-heroes.

Re-enter Farrell’s Black Cobra Robert Farrell’s first choice for a new super-hero title was curious, launched in full anticipation of the mass of cancellations he knew must follow. Black Cobra was a very obscure character who had only appeared in a total of four previous stories. Seemingly timid Jim Hornsby worked for his judgmental father, who just happened to be the district attorney. But secretly he was the Black Cobra, an athletic but otherwise nondescript mystery man who did sport a distinctive cobra headdress atop his requisite form-fitting costume. He was likely remembered by no one other than Farrell himself.

Black Cobra first appeared in Harry “A” Chesler’s Dynamic Comics #1 (10/41) and didn’t appear again for three years! It was only when Farrell launched Captain Flight Comics on his own that Black Cobra resurfaced. Seeking to save a little money, Farrell decided to reprint that lone “Black Cobra” story in Captain Flight #6 (Jan. 1945). Three less than compelling stories followed, though Hornsby was soon joined by his younger brother Bob as the Cobra Kid. During his brief run in Captain Flight, Black Cobra was only coverfeatured once, in issue #10, oddly enough an issue in which he didn’t appear! Hardly the most auspicious choice to launch a new line of super-hero titles.

Robert Farrell (née Izzy Katz), publisher of the Ajax comics group. Courtesy of David Saunders’ pulpartists.com.

One suspects that the character was created by Farrell himself, who wrote for Chesler in those early years. He clearly seemed invested in the Cobra, resurrecting him yet again. Now publishing comicbooks under the Ajax imprint, Farrell relied on the Iger-Roche shop for new material, an association formed while

Paint It, Black Cobra (Above:) The first splash page of Ajax’s Black Cobra #1 (Oct. 1954). Artist unknown, but surely members of the Jerry Iger Studio. In this incarnation, the story had two titles—but the publisher clearly didn’t believe in hero logos.

(Below:) This splash from the “Black Cobra” story in Captain Flight Comics #8 (May 1945), from Four Star Publications, has clearly been largely re-scripted and artistically altered for its ’54 appearance. Thanks to Mark Carlson-Ghost for both scans. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

“Let’s Get Together, Yay-Yay-Yah!” (Above:) From Black Cobra #3 (Feb. ’55): A “Black Cobra” splash page by an unidentified artist—and the splash of a filler feature starring “Torpedoman.”

The latter is a reprint from 1945’s Captain Flight Comics #8, with art by Paul Gatusso; scripter unknown. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The Cobra Strikes Again!

(Left:) The cover of the Dec. 1954 Black Cobra #2 (officially “#6,” in between #1 & #3!) is attributed by some to artist Robert Webb, who drew many a “Sheena” story for Fiction House.

See Webb’s photo in A/E #190.

One of that issue’s stories (see splash at right) is reportedly by prolific artist Ken Battefield—or at least the pencils are.

Thanks to Comic Book Plus website. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

working together for the Canadian publisher Superior.

Farrell had a clear publishing strategy for his new titles, as evidenced in the first issue of Black Cobra, dated November 1954.

The Iger-Roche studio provided two or three new stories each issue.

Then, to keep costs down, Farrell had Iger-Roche re-letter, re-color, and partly re-draw one or two previously published stories. In the case of that first issue, Farrell recycled a “Black Cobra” story from Captain Flight #8, the evocatively titled “Case of the Screaming Suicides,” now presented with the only slightly more appropriate appellation, “Only the Vile Die Young.”

Black Cobra in this latest iteration was secretly Steve Drake, a “tougher than he looked” FBI agent. As the Black Cobra, Drake possessed superior strength through some chemical effect or other that was only referenced once in the vaguest of terms. This go-around our hero ditched the cobra headgear in favor of a simple domino mask but upgraded his uniform. It was now infused with bulletproof plastic, with boots that sported suction cups that allowed him to walk down walls—neither aspect seeming particularly cobra-esque. Cobra Kid appeared only once in this new iteration, in the rewritten reprint described only as an eager office boy.

Adding to the confusion as to whether the two Black Cobras were meant to be the same character was a repurposed story

29

featuring the Red Rocket, another Farrell hero from Captain Flight Comics. Only, this time, Red Rocket’s secret identity was inexplicably given as Jim Hornsby! It seems sure folly to even attempt an explanation of how and why that happened! [For a look at Red Rocket, see p. 34.]

The Flame Without Much Fire Curious changes also occurred when Robert Farrell spearheaded his second super-hero revival a month later. This was a reboot of The Flame, an old Fox Publications hero originally created by the Eisner-Iger Studio. The Flame hadn’t seen print in comicbooks since 1942, although at one time he had had his own eponymous title. And this version of The Flame seemed even more clearly to be an entirely new character.

For one thing, this Flame (now secretly pharmacist Kip Adams, no longer Gary Preston) had virtually no fire-related powers—just notably above-average strength like the new Black Cobra. The Flame was only shown shooting flame from his hands on one occasion in his three-issue run, and then just a small spurt. Kip explains how he could only power up through moving back-andforth, in essence fanning his inner fire. It was a lot of effort for minimal effect. And even at that, his small spurt of fire served no plot purpose whatsoever. Sure, Kip mentions that fire can’t hurt him

My Old Flame (Left:) The cover of Ajax-Farrell’s The Flame #5—which was actually the first issue, cover-dated Dec. 1954-Jan. 1955. Artist unidentified.

(Right:) The original Flame had debuted in Fox’s Wonderworld Comics, then graduated with Summer 1940 to eight editions of his own title, starting with this one. Artist uncertain. Covers courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

This Battefield Earth

Tread-ing Recklessly

(Above:) The penciling for this “Flame” story from issue #3 is credited to Ken Battefield. Courtesy of CBP. In this issue his garb sports the now-yousee-it-now-you-don’t torch symbol. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

(Above:) While The Flame seemed usually bereft of fiery powers except for his flame gun, he did display super-strength in a (very) occasional sequence, as per this page from #5/#1. Artist and scripter unknown. Courtesy of CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Cover That Flame!

The anonymous covers of the properly numbered The Flame #2 (March ’55) and #3 (May ’55). Artists unidentified. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

on two other occasions, but that’s it as far as flame-related powers.

Curious.

Even more interesting is a narrative blurb in the hero’s third and final issue (May ’55). “Watch The Flame smoke out a crime czar and his motley crew!” the writer entices before adding, “Not with fire, but with fists…”

It was hardly a coincidence that this issue was also the first to sport the stamp of the new Comics Code Authority (CCA).

Did the reviewers of the CCA require that addition, worrying that some impulsive youth might have a flame-related mishap?

Some specifics regarding the Code’s beginnings will follow shortly. But first, the return of a heroine who would have given dedicated censors nightmares in her heyday.

Phantom Lady’s Not-So-Sexy Return Farrell’s third super-hero revival seemed the most promising: the Phantom Lady! And unlike Black Cobra and The Flame, the

31

heroine had only disappeared from newsstands five years earlier.

Phantom Lady had appeared in comics published by two different publishers, but always written and drawn by members of the Eisner-Iger/Iger-Roche art shop. She first appeared as a rather conventional female heroine in Quality’s Police Comics from 1941 to 1943. Secretly Sandra Knight, the daughter of a U.S. Senator, Phantom Lady’s efforts at fighting enemies of America were bolstered by her black-light projector that could bathe her foes in incapacitating darkness.

A far bustier version of the heroine was featured in Victor Fox’s All-Top Comics, as well as in her own title from 1947 to 1949, this time often drawn by the inimitable Matt Baker, at other times

by Jack Kamen. In the Fox version, Sandra Knight was often seen in lingerie and Phantom Lady frequently tied up.

Now, in the shadow of the impending imposition of the Comics Code, Farrell and Iger-Roche brought her back once again, this time for what would turn out to be a short run of only four issues. Her enemies were most often communist spies, and her costume more confining. The bare midriff and exposed cleavage

Phantom, Be A Lady Tonight!

(Left:) That crazy, mixed-up Ajax numbering again! The uncredited cover of Phantom Lady #5 (Dec. 1954-Jan. 1955), the first revival issue.

(Right:) The most celebrated (or notorious, take your pick) of the Fox Comics Phantom Lady covers was that of #17 (April ’48), illustrated by the great Matt Baker. Both scans courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The entire run of “Phantom Lady” stories, from the Quality group through Fox through Ajax-Farrell, was collected by PS Artbooks in 2013 in two hardcover volumes titled Roy Thomas Presents Phantom Lady.

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

The More Things Change…

Inside #5/#1, though her outfit was a bit more sedate, Phantom Lady was still the buxom baddie-buster she’d been at Fox; note her unorthodox use of billiard balls at the climax of its lead story. Her second outing that month (see below right) was actually a 1944 adventure of a non-costumed heroine called Spitfire Sanders (from the Elliott company’s Spitfire Comics) re-purposed into a “Phantom Lady” adventure, with the 1940s Nazis changed to 1950s Soviets! Courtesy of CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again!

(Left:) If the layout of this anonymous cover for Ajax’s Phantom Lady #2 (Feb.-March 1955) seems a tat familiar—take a gander at that of Captain America #77 (aka the British CA #1) back on p. 20 of this very issue! Courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

33

Slip-Up? The imposition of the Comics Code at the turn of 1955 probably didn’t make much difference to the cover of Phantom Lady #3 (April ’55), since her once-risqué outfit had already been rendered less offensive to tender eyes… although her bust did seem to shrink a size or two. And it’s surprising that the panel below of Sandra Knight in a slip, er, slipped through. Maybe the retired schoolteachers who comprised most of the Code’s reviewing staff were still busy wiping their eyeglasses? Courtesy of the GCD & CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Judge Charles F. Murphy First administrator of the Comics Code Authority, pointing out the evils of comicbooks.

of her Fox outfit were eliminated and her bust size was significantly reduced by the house artists at Iger-Roche. All this even before the Code even took effect.

And, as was the case with both Black Cobra and The Flame, old artwork was redrawn and rewritten as needed to save costs and also meet more conservative story expectations. For the first issue of Phantom Lady, the studio drew on a story Iger-Roche had produced for Spitfire Comics in 1944. Published by Farrell and co-owners Al Kanter (the man behind Classics Illustrated) and John Mahon (co-publisher of an earlier iteration of Centaur Comics), that comicbook was an anthology title featuring female Spitfire Sanders as its lead. A few artistic edits and the shapely Spitfire became a modest Phantom Lady who apparently left her black light at home.

Even more modesty was already on deck. With the third issue of Phantom Lady the Comics Code first took effect.

Self-Censorship & The Comics Code While the industry was already increasingly engaging in informal self-censorship, the furor evoked by the Senate hearings and Wertham’s assertions in his book and in Reader’s Digest showed no sign of abating. In response, comicbook publishers formed The Comic Magazine Association of America (CMAA) in September

1954. (Notably absent from the group were the Dell/Western comics group, who felt their sterling reputation would only be sundered by association with the others, and the Classics Illustrated company.)

Seeking a more structured self-censorship to stave off legislative actions, the CMMA hired a New York magistrate named Charles F. Murphy (1920-1992) to begin that effort the following month.

Murphy was a civil administrator who had spent nine years working with programs designed to combat juvenile delinquency.

Murphy and his staff subsequently set out to review comicbooks and require changes based on a “code of ethics and standards” that came to be known as the Comics Code. As recounted by Amy Kister Nyberg’s book Seal of Approval: The History of the Comics Code, Murphy proved to be a far more rigorous enforcer of such guidelines than the publishers had expected.

The two issues of Phantom Lady that underwent the Comics Code Authority’s acute censorial eye provide clear evidence that their concerns went beyond graphic gore and violence. Phantom Lady experienced another notable breast reduction, and her shorts were now lengthened significantly, though this varied a bit from story-to-story. In several, her shorts were lowered to just above her knees. Reviewer standards as to just how much of a bare leg was acceptable apparently varied.

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

produced by the Iger-Roche shop. By this time, the wonder teen had lost his super-powers and any mention of his alien origins. He did boast some early artwork by Matt Baker. It was the 1944 version that Farrell and the Iger-Roche opted to resurrect in the mid-1950s.

Without the alien origin and super-human strength, Wonder Boy was a rather bland and unoriginal character who happened upon more than his share of communist agents. Nevertheless, with the next issue, Terrific was rechristened Wonder Boy. Like Farrell’s other short-lived titles, the remaining two issues of Wonder Boy featured at least one old story that was repurposed, one of which featured Kitty Kelly from a 1944 issue of Captain Flight. Perhaps recognizing the teen needed a little help in the sales appeal department, each of those issues also included a short “Phantom Lady” story.

Samson & Vooda, Jungle Princess In the meantime, Farrell had transformed the last of his horror titles, Fantastic Fears, into Fantastic, a tame fantasy title.

But that version only lasted two issues before Farrell engineered the more drastic change in title and content to Samson with issue #12 (April ’55). Given that timing, each issue of Samson was Code-approved from the start.

Like The Flame, Samson had been one of Victor Fox’s big

The Cobra Rides A Rocket!

Here’s an Ajax-Farrell oddity! This “Red Rocket” story that appeared in Phantom Lady #4 in 1955 was actually a reprint from Harry “A” Chesler’s Dynamic Comics #1 (Oct. 1941)—and the hero had originally been none other than a green-and-yellow-clad Black Cobra, even preceding his exploits in Four Star’s Captain Flight Comics! Was Robert Farrell trying to develop yet another Ajax super-hero—or was it just that, since the Cobra’s title had recently gasped its last, he didn’t want to waste any more space on him? It all makes your head spin! Courtesy of CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The Ever-So-Generic Wonder Boy Even before the Comics Code took effect, Farrell quickly realized the folly of trying to produce tame “horror” content.

With the first Ajax issue of Terrific (#16), a horror title he inherited from the defunct Comic Media, Farrell opted to feature a revival of “Wonder Boy” instead. The adolescent hero debuted in issue #16 (March ’55).

Wonder Boy was an old Iger-Roche hero who had previously appeared in Quality Comics’ National Comics from 1940 to 1942. Created by Toni Blum, the lone woman in the Eisner-Iger Studio, and artist John Celardo, Wonder Boy was originally an alien come to Earth from the planet Viro, endowed with the strength of a thousand men. Given those impressive credentials, the teen didn’t deign to bother coming up with a secret identity.

In 1944, Wonder Boy enjoyed a brief revival in Farrell, Kanter, and Mahon’s short-lived Bomber Comics, once again

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

three super-heroes of the early ’40s, Blue Beetle being the remaining one. And, like The Flame, he hadn’t been seen since 1942.

Promoting Samson as “the original strong man,” Farrell likely wanted to use the former Fox hero to tap into the body-building craze evident in the ads featured on the inside back covers of many ’50s comicbooks. Farrell was hardly alone in this. Two additional bodybuilder heroes were still on the horizon.

That said, Farrell’s iteration of the hero was the most generic strongman possible. In the initial Ajax “Samson” stories, the hero merely wore a form-fitting white T-shirt and red shorts (not trunks), with a thin belt sporting a small “S” on its buckle. Samson simply showed up wherever he was needed, often assisting blue-collar workers with his superior strength. Was Samson the ancient strongman (his blond hair would suggest otherwise) or a modern super-hero whose origins were cloaked in mystery? The reader had no clue. Nor were his opponents much more than standard saboteurs and crooks.

Samson covers colored his tunic red, not white, and the second-

35

issue stories followed suit, but not the third. It all suggested a certain lack of investment in the Ajax line of super-heroes by Farrell and the studio. This time, “Wonder Boy” stories and the ubiquitous repurposed reprints served as backups. In #12, a “Captain Flight” story from 1945 became a generic adventure tale. Issue #13 reprinted a “Rocketman” story. Issue #14 changed a 1949 “Bruce Gentry” story Farrell had produced for Canada’s Superior Comics into one featuring “Mark Mason.”

Ken Battefield is thought to be the artist on both the “Flame” and “Samson” features. More likely than not, stories were handled by editor Ruth Roche.

Compared to Fantastic Fears and Samson, the evolution of Voodoo, a horror title, into Vooda, a jungle title, was a more gradual one. Voodoo #17 (Oct. ’54) still included the catch phrase “weird fantasy tales” above the cover’s logo. Voodoo #18 (Dec. ’54) featured decidedly tamer tales and promised “astounding fantasy” instead.

Voodoo #19’s top-of-the-cover phrase boasted “tales of jungle magic” and featured an array of jungle stories inside. And then—ta-da!—

It’s A Wonder, Boy! (Left:) 13-year-old Roy T. was startled in 1954 when he wrote to Ajax Comics suggesting they come out with a hero named “Wonder Boy”—and someone (probably editor R. Farrell himself) wrote back to say that such a mag was already in the works! And, only a short time later, there was Terrific Comics #16 (March 1955), coverfeaturing Wonder Boy—actually a hero the Iger studio had created for Quality’s National Comics in the early 1940s. Artist unknown. Thanks to the GCD. (In a followup letter, Roy suggested a team-up of Ajax’s five main heroes, but of course they didn’t wind up lasting long enough to form one!)

(Right:) In Quality’s National Comics #1 (July 1940), Wonder Boy was originally a straight imitation of Superman as a juvenile, alien origin and all… but he soon became little more than a young adventurer in costume. Script by Toni Blum; art attributed to John Celardo. Courtesy of CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

He Likes Ike! The cover of Wonder Boy #17 (May ’55) depicted the youthful hero in generic action—but at least, in the accompanying splash from #18 (July ’55), he got to meet an unnamed President Eisenhower. Ike was the Prez during the entirety of the 1953-56 revival period. Courtesy of the GCD & CBP. Writers & artists unknown. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

“Samson Told Deliah, Loud And Clear…”

With apologies to Elvis Presley’s 1958 hit “HardHeaded Woman” from the film King Creole.

(Left:) The uncredited cover of Ajax’s Samson #12 (April 1955, actually the first issue)—formerly Fantastic— which in turn was formerly the horror comic Fantastic Fears. Courtesy of the GCD. (Right:) By coincidence, Victor Fox’s version of Samson had made his debut as the cover star of Fantastic Comics #1 (Dec. 1939), only half a year after Superman had leaped his first tall building. Art by Lou Fine.

Courtesy of CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

37

all—ended up in Charlton’s grubby paws instead of Farrell’s is the unanswered question we turn to next.

Charlton, Sidewalk Sales, & The Blue Beetle In 1954, as other publishers crumbled around them, Charlton was quick to pick up titles and content at fire-sale prices.

Charlton had picked up no fewer than sixteen of Fawcett’s titles, nearly all of the older company’s non-superhero output.

Charlton similarly picked up four titles from Simon & Kirby’s failed Mainline list of comicbooks: Bullseye, Foxhole, In Love, and Police Trap. All four titles ran for two or three more issues, until the inventory that Charlton had purchased ran out. The same thing happened when Charlton bought three titles and related inventory from Comic Media when that company went out

Who’s This Guy Superman?

The uncredited covers of Samson #13 & 14 (July & Aug. 1955). Courtesy of the GCD & CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

the banner at the top of the cover of Vooda #20 (April ’55, the same month Samson appeared) proudly proclaimed “Introducing the Jungle Princess.”

“Introducing,” though, was something of misnomer.

Vooda was just a re-purposed version of Alani, the “South Sea Girl,” who was the most appealing feature in Seven Seas Comics.

That title had run six issues from 1946 to 1947, once again entirely produced by the Iger-Roche studio. The heroine formerly known as Alani was now a jungle princess named Vooda, with her bare midriff covered and any questionable scenes from her adventures neutered. Vooda was also no longer ruler and defender of the Vanishing Isle in the South Pacific but of an African queendom in the Congo—yet of a Congo jungle that abuts the ocean.

Each issue of Vooda featured one new story of the jungle princess and one story from Seven Seas rewritten with new captions and dialogue. Even censored by the Code, the Matt Baker artwork from the original feature remained appealing. Vooda’s second issue also included a reprint of “Zaan,” a jungle hero from three issues of Farrell’s Captain Flight.

A somewhat random observation: Remember how the second iterations of Captain America and Human Torch only managed to last three issues each? Vooda also only ran three issues, which was true of all but one of the new Farrell super-hero titles. Only Phantom Lady managed four. It appears that three issues provided enough sales data for most publishers to have at least some sense of a new title’s viability. Which in the case of every one of Robert Farrell’s new super-hero offerings was not good. With the final issues of Samson and Vooda, cover-dated August 1955, all of them were gone.

One mystery remains. Farrell published three out of four of Victor Fox’s top sellers over the years: The Flame, Samson, and Phantom Lady. But how Blue Beetle—the biggest name of them

But This Samson Doesn’t Get A Chance To Say “Keep Your Cotton-pickin’ Fingers Off My Curly Hair!”

Curiously, many of the mid-’50s Ajax-Farrell stories were extremely heavy on dialogue and captions, as witness this final page of a story from Samson #12. Writer & artist unknown. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

during 1955-56 may make the company’s handling of the Blue Beetle less surprising, if no less nonsensical.

The editors at Charlton must also have been concerned with the monsters commonly featured in pre-Code issues of Space Adventures. With some fanfare, the newspaper-themed cover of Space Adventures #13 (Oct.-Nov. ’54) blared “Extra!! The Blue Beetle Returns!!!” No matter that the reprinted stories therein didn’t have anything to do with outer space or much in the way of sciencefiction. The second and only other issue of Space Adventures to feature Blue Beetle was much the same, though both issues utilized stories with serviceable stories and art. Editors included one science-fiction story in each issue to mollify readers who foolishly expected space opera fare. The sci-fi story in #13 did include the intriguingly named General Loki and Astra as its featured heroes.

No relation to the Timely and DC characters, of course.

Regardless, Charlton still seemed to have plans for the popular Golden Age hero and promoted Blue Beetle to his own, albeit retitled, comicbook. Once again, it remains informative to note which titles the new super-hero content replaced. When Blue Beetle #18 came out, cover-dated Feb. 1955, it was a continuation (and replacement) of The Thing!, one of Charlton’s two horror titles.

Brother Voodoo, Meet Sister Vooda!

The horror title Voodoo transmogrified into Vooda, a jungle girl comic, with issue #20 (April 1955). Much of it consisted of reprints of the “South Sea Girl” feature from the Iger company’s earlier Seven Seas Comics. Artist unknown. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

of business, which included the hardboiled private eye, Johnny Dynamite.

More germane to the subject at hand, Charlton also bought some content that had been previously published by Victor Fox. Just whom they obtained this material from isn’t clear, but it included some crime stories and a scattering of “Blue Beetle” stories written and drawn between 1945 and 1950.

Collectively, these purchases resulted in some strange combinations of content.

A new Charlton anthology title, Danger and Adventure, began with issue #22 (Feb ‘55), its numbering continuing that of This Magazine Is Haunted. Danger and Adventure featured a mix of old Fawcett stories featuring Ibis the Invincible, Nyoka the Jungle Girl, and Lance O’Casey. With issue #24, the title introduced “new” characters Mike Danger and Johnny Adventure. But “Mike Danger” stories were actually altered artwork from Mike Barnett, Man Against Crime, Fawcett’s short-lived private eye title. “Johnny Adventure” stories were repurposed artwork from Fox’s equally short-lived Frank Buck—that is, until Charlton decided to produce new stories of the new character for the final two issues of the title.

This brief account of Charlton’s haphazard editorial policy

Charlton Turns On The Fawcett The “first” issue of Charlton’s Danger and Adventure (#22, Feb. ’55) reprinted 1940s Fawcett stories of “Ibis the Invincible” and “Nyoka the Jungle Girl.” The latter tale (like the cover) was penciled by Alex Blum; scripter unknown. Courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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Am I Blue, Beetle?

When Blue Beetle became a Charlton hero with Space Adventures #13 (Oct.-Nov. 1954), artist Al Fago drew a new cover for the issue, though it was based on an old Fox one—while future Charlton editor Dick Giordano reportedly re-drew the first page of the lead (and only) “Blue Beetle” tale therein, which for some reason was printed in black-&-white on the inside front cover. The rest of that “BB” yarn was a reprint from a 1950 Fox Blue Beetle. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert & CBP, respectively. [Blue Beetle TM & © DC Comics, though these 1950s Charlton stories are in the public domain.]

The new Blue Beetle title would last only four issues. Its chances for success were undermined by the fact that Charlton’s editors initially used stories from 1945, the nadir (art-wise, at least) of the character’s run.

Had the editor used all of his decently drawn “Blue Beetle” stories in the Space Adventures issues?

Al Al Fago Fago

was was best-known best-known for for drawing drawing Charlton’s Charlton’s Atomic Atomic Mouse.

Mouse.

Thankfully, by its third Blue Beetle issue, Charlton utilized new material. The author of the stories is unknown (a good guess would be Joe Gill), but Blue Beetle #21 and #22 enjoyed some of the feature’s best artwork ever. Rendered by Ted Galindo and inker Ray Osrin, the art had a gritty, almost photo-realistic feel. Unfortunately, the stories the talented pair illustrated were rather conventional crime dramas. But for two issues the title showed potential. And then it, too, was canceled. Charlton would not put out another Blue Beetle comic book until 1964. But that’s another story.

Luckily, Galindo and Osrin found further work as the artists assigned to “Rocky Jones, Space Ranger,” the new and more appropriately themed feature that newly inhabited Space Adventures.

Based on the children’s television series, “Rocky Jones” lasted only four issues, even if it did perfectly embody the vice-free content favored by the new Comics Code.

Dick Giordano A detail from the cover of Treasure Chest, Vol. 18, #11 (Jan. 31, 1963). [© the respective copyright holders.]

As for the canceled Blue Beetle title, its numbering would be continued yet again, this time as Mr. Muscles, a hero every bit as uninspired as his name suggested. But first, a look at another company that utilized reprints every bit as shamelessly as Charlton, though this time from its own super-hero past.

Harvey, Stuntman, & Black Cat Western Like Timely/Atlas and Ajax-Farrell, Harvey Publications also found itself in a pinch. Its four popular horror titles, Tomb of Terror, Black Cat Mystery, Witches Tales, and Chamber of Chills, were all in as far as graphic violence was concerned. It was clear that none of them could survive the upcoming censorship. “Terror” was now one of the key words signaling unsuitable content to concerned

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

Elmer Cecil Stoner

In With The New… Charlton’s six-comic “Blue Beetle” revival was an uneasy mixture of reprints and (better) new material. The lead story in Blue Beetle #19 (April 1955) was a Fox reprint drawn by an unknown artist (though the faces appear to be by then-“Beetle” regular E.C. Stoner—while the new lead-off tale in #20 was penciled by Ted Galindo and inked by Ray Osrin; writers uncertain. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [Blue Beetle TM & © DC Comics.]

legislators. So it was only smart to have Tomb of Terror be the first title to be rechristened, as Thrills of Tomorrow, with its 17th issue (Oct. ’54). The “new” title first featured what editors hoped to be more innocuous stories from Harvey’s early horror output. When that turned out to be an unviable strategy, Harvey began running reprints from Simon & Kirby’s 1946 Stuntman series with issue #19 (Feb. ’55). Even then, issue #20, the first to be reviewed by the new Comics Code Authority, still needed minor edits to eliminate elements of the artwork deemed to be too violent. Harvey put out no further issues.

Dealing with Black Cat Mystery was an easier problem to solve. Back in 1949, during the peak of the cowboy craze, Harvey editors had decided to have actress Linda Turner, a.k.a. the costumed-heroine Black Cat, star in a series of cowboy movies, even unofficially retitling her comicbook Black Cat Western for a time. It was a relatively short-lived experiment, running in issues #15-20.

But now it provided the perfect fix for changing the content of what had become a graphic horror series.

With issue #55 (Feb. ’55), Black Cat Mystery became Black Cat Western Mystery and, for two issues after that, simply Black Cat Western. The tastefully appealing artwork of Lee Elias was just what the moment required. Its next two issues passed CCA scrutiny fairly easily. After that, Harvey put the title on hiatus. When it returned in 1956, it quickly evolved into Black Cat Mystic, a sanitized fantasy title without the costumed heroine.

Witches Tales underwent the most unlikely transformation,

becoming Witches Western Tales for two issues, featuring reprints from Simon & Kirby’s Boys’ Ranch title (who knew witches had such a passionate interest in cowboys?) before simply becoming Western Tales. And Chamber of Chills became Chamber of Clues, running reprints of the Kerry Drake comic strip last seen in the detective’s own comicbook, which was canceled in 1952.

While Harvey would continue to venture into fantastic and action-oriented territory over the next ten years, it would increasingly focus on its humor titles. Casper the Friendly Ghost was as close to ghouls and goblins as Harvey chose to get moving forward.

Sterling’s Captain Flash & Tomboy As noted, a new wave of super-hero comicbooks had begun appearing on newsstands during September and October of 1954, the same months in which the Comic Magazine Association of America (CMAA) was formed and, along with it, plans on how to implement the group’s mission of self-censorship. Comicbooks that came out in this two-month period of considerable industry anxiety were cover-dated November and December 1954.

Robert Farrell’s Black Cobra and The Flame debuted in those months. So did the first issue of Space Adventures featuring Blue Beetle. To that list can be added Sterling Publications’ all-new Captain Flash. His first issue was cover-dated November 1954. But, unlike the other titles, which relied on reprint material hastily assembled, Captain Flash showed signs of having been a carefully

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Thrills Of—Yesterday!

Harvey jumped onto the alleged “super-hero bandwagon” with February 1955 issues of Thrills of Tomorrow that featured reprints of Simon & Kirby’s 1946 “Stuntman”—and Black Cat Western (officially still Black Cat Comics) #54. The latter reprinted only the stories of the Lee Elias-drawn heroine in which her alter ego, film star Linda Turner, appeared in Western settings. Neither lasted long. Thanks to the GCD. [Stuntman TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby; Black Cat TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

thought-out creation.

Captain Flash was secretly Professor Keith Spencer, an atomic scientist, accidentally exposed to cobalt radiation during a public demonstration in his hometown of Atom City. While Spencer expects this exposure to spell his doom, it turns out to do just the opposite. His musculature increases dramatically, as do his reflexes.

And his skin becomes nearly impervious to harm.

But as Spencer comes to understand his abilities, he realizes that his powers diminish over time, only lasting two hours. But by clapping his hands, Spencer can trigger a flash of energy resembling lightning, and with it an internal atomic explosion that fully rekindles his powers. Inexplicably, at least in terms of the presented narrative, when Spencer does so, the transformation also includes him appearing in his red, blue, and yellow Captain Flash uniform. And if lightning is not precisely shown in the artwork accompanying the transformation, the lightning bolt insignia on his forehead certainly implies it.

Lightning. Transformation. Substitute handclapping for the

Captain Flash In The Pan?

Mike Sekowsky A decade or two after Captain Flash.

Captain Flash #1 debuted from Sterling Comics with a Nov. 1954 cover date—and an exciting cover by future Justice League of America artist Mike Sekowsky, who had earlier drawn “The Human Torch” and other heroes for Timely Comics. Some speculate that the inker of all the “Captain Flash” material is George Klein, but that is unconfirmed. Oh, and note that the word “I” got left out of the Captain’s cover balloon.

Courtesy of the GCD. The four-issue run of this title was collected by PS Artbooks in the 2014 hardcover volume Roy Thomas Presents Captain Flash. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

word “Shazam!” and Captain Flash seems an awful lot like a science-based Captain Marvel.

Captain Flash is accompanied in his adventures by Ricky Davis, the teen-aged son of one of Spencer’s associates. Ricky was in the crowd when Spencer’s demonstration went awry. He accidentally learns Spencer’s secret and joins him, in a yellow, red, and green costume of his own.

The creative team behind Captain Flash also seems intent on creating a robust rogue’s gallery for the new hero. In his first issue, readers meet Iron Mask, a mystery man who wears an iron gas mask and seeks to stockpile cobalt for unknown reasons, and The Mirror Man, a black-and-white-spotted, shape-shifting alien who can navigate through space via mirrors. Though rather tame in content, that first issue did not feature the stamp of approval of the Comics Code Authority, although all subsequent issues would.

Mirror Man returns in the second issue, along with The Actor,

a master of disguise, and The Black Knight. The Knight, alias Dr. Conrad Krueger, wears black armor, rides a rocket glider instead of a horse, and wields an electrically charged lance. Krueger returns, sans armor, in Captain Flash #4, once again seeking to conquer the world.

Mike Sekowsky supplied the artwork (or at least the penciling) for Captain Flash, and Carl Wessler wrote at least two of his stories.

The comicbook’s editor, Martin Smith, may have written for the character as well.

As it happened, Smith was also a co-owner of Sterling Publications, under his birth name of Martin Winter Grupsmith.

The other owners were listed as Eleanor Grupsmith (likely his sister or wife, given similar ages), Sidney Chenkin, and Peter V. D. Vorhees. Chenkin and Vorhees were likely financial backers, as Martin Smith is the only person with a known history of creative credits.

According to Jerry Bails’ online Who’s Who resource, as well as a 1946 ownership statement, Martin Grupsmith served as a business manager for the American Comics Group (ACG) from 1945 to 1947.

He also wrote for Fiction House, Toby, and Trojan. The suggestion that he also had pulp-era ties to publisher Ned Pines is based on the faulty assumption that Marcus A. Goldsmith (Pines’ business partner) was a pen name. But Grupsmith was born in 1912, while Goldsmith was significantly older.

First Out Of The Gate (Above:) Besides his origin, Captain Flash #1 contained the title hero’s first of two encounters with the other-dimensional Mirror Man. (Coincidentally, only a few years later, DC’s second Flash would duke it out with a super-criminal known as the Mirror-Master.) Pencils by Mike Sekowsky; inker & scripter unknown.

(Right:) Along with a trio of “Captain Flash” tales, that first issue introduced “Tomboy”—one of the very few “young girl” costumed heroines. No superpowers, but her origin was drawn by the fabulous Mort Meskin, and that’s gotta count for something! Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert & Mark Muller for these scans. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Mort Meskin

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Captain Flash #1. The Claw is a maniacal gang leader who sports a mustache, black cape and hat, and gray, animal-like paws complete with claws, hence his name. In her second appearance, Tomboy tangles with Sound Wave, a master of sonic manipulation. Despite a dynamic code name, his attire was nondescript.

The Avenger & Strongman Knight & Daze In his second issue (March ’55), four months after the first, Captain Flash fought another baddie with a name that would resonate in the future—The Black Knight—with the usual exciting Sekowsky cover and interior art— —while yeoman artist Edvard Mortiz took over the “Tomboy” feature for its final three appearances. Scripters unknown. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert for the scans. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

As for “Tomboy,” Captain Flash’s backup feature, she seems to have been thoughtfully conceived as well. Janie Jackson appears to be a girly girl, so her family never suspects she has adopted the action-oriented, masked persona of Tomboy. For all of her spunk and athletic ability, the heroine has no special powers. Despite the intended contrast between Janie and her Tomboy alter ego, Tomboy’s outfit is still pretty feminine in nature, comprised of a green short-sleeved blouse, black skirt and eye mask, and red boots, gloves, and cape.

While Tomboy’s origin is never provided, Janie was presumably inspired by the example of her police lieutenant father.

But Janie is also spurred on by her older brother, who mocks Janie for her apparently meek demeanor. A bit of an odd dynamic is created when her brother begins to idolize Tomboy, enough that his blonde girlfriend goes so far as to pose as Tomboy to recapture his interest. Needless to say, this maneuver doesn’t go well and the real Tomboy needs to rescue her when she’s captured by crooks.

Tomboy also appears to be collecting a modest rogue’s gallery of her own. The Claw is described as Tomboy’s “most deadly enemy,” even though hero and villain only crossed paths once, in

The Avenger is sometimes described as Magazine Enterprise’s only costumed hero, though Jerry Siegel’s Funnyman (1947), Dick Ayers’ Ghost Rider (1949)—hey, nothing says the Old West can’t have super-heroes—Jet Powers, Captain of Science (1950), and The Lemonade Kid (1950) also seem deserving of the designation. But I digress.

As told in The Avenger #1 (cover-dated Feb.-March 1955), when millionaire scientist Roger Wright’s brother and sister-in-law are captured by communists, Roger is inspired by a child’s Ghost Rider mask to adopt the masked identity of The Avenger to rescue them.

As The Avenger, Wright wears a red uniform and cowl, with white gloves, belt, and gun holster. He sports a large red “A” enclosed in a white circle on his chest.

As the origin story unfolds, it emerges that the communists hoped to use Roger’s relatives as bargaining chips to obtain the secret behind his atomic-powered Starjet. Wright defeats the communists, only then realizing they have already killed his kin. After educating the defeated Russian general that “it is the individual man and not the state that is most important,” The Avenger vows to “prevent future crime and oppression you plan to bring upon the innocent people of the Earth.”

Richard Wright proceeds to do just that, devoting his fortune, his scientific expertise, and his physical prowess to defeat communists in their seemingly endless schemes.

The creators of The Avenger appear to have been long-time comicbook writer Paul S. Newman and artist Dick Ayers, though Gardner Fox also wrote for the character from the start. Fox was already writing costumed characters in the Western genre for the company, such as Red Mask and the aforementioned Ghost Rider.

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

Jurassic Parking Lots Captain Flash #3 (May ‘55) spotlighted stories about dinosaurs, sharkmen, and prize-fighters. Courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

You’ve Gotta Hand It To ’Em! (Left & above:) One fascinating coincidence related to Captain Flash is the cover story “The Invaders” in the final issue, #4 (July 1955). Interstellar aliens are revealed to walk amongst humans, detectable only by splotches of green on the palms of their hands. We suspect the palms of the two bystanders shown in the fourth panel from story’s end were supposed to exhibit this trait, but the colorist made their entire figures light green. However, the effect is visible in the yarn’s final panel.

Pencils by Mike Sekowsky; writer unknown. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert.

(Below:) A scene from the identically named 1967 single-season TV series The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes, which had a fairly similar “tell” for that show’s aliens: The fourth fingers on their hands tended to be deformed. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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word everywhere else, including the indicia.)

Of course, the anonymous author (likely either Paul S. Newman or Gardner Fox) and artist Powell did give the fellow an inspirational backstory. As told in Strongman #1 (coverdated April 1955), a young circus aerialist has nearly every one of his bones broken in a fall during a training session on the trapeze sans net. His parents give up hope that he will ever recover, but a midget named the General and a circus strongman named Hercules help him build his body back to near perfection.

After the death of his parents in a storm-related “blowdown,” Strongman quits the circus and opens a school of physical culture. His first heroic actions are to avenge the subsequent murder of Hercules.

And what does a Strongman wear? A yellow leopard skin tunic and calf-high, brown,

Avenger Assemble!

(Above:) All four tales of the title hero in Magazine Enterprises’ The Avenger #1 (Feb.March 1955) were drawn by Dick Ayers (see photo on p. 15). This lead story and one other were written by unidentified scribes; two others, including the origin, were scripted by Paul S. Newman. In the latter 1960s, Ayers told Roy Thomas that, while he was drawing that first issue, fellow ME artist Bob Powell went to publisher Vin Sullivan and offered to illustrate the feature for a lower rate—which resulted in the series being taken away from Dick— (Above right:) —so that Powell wound up doing even the cover of that debut ish, as well as all the artwork for the remaining three issues. Courtesy of CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Subsequent issues were illustrated by Bob Powell, who reportedly maneuvered to obtain the assignment for himself.

All too often generic villains, The Avenger’s communist adversaries didn’t really stand out. The one exception was The Player. To quote the man himself: “I can beat any man alive at any game he plays! For years I’ve devoted myself to sports and games.

I’ve become an expert at everything—and so there’s nothing left.

If only there were someone—somewhere—who could beat me at something!”

When The Player reads about the Avenger, he decides that playing a game of “cops and robbers” with the hero is just the challenge he craves. The Player had all the earmarks of an arch-enemy.

Unfortunately, he made his debut in The Avenger #4, which turned out to be the hero’s last.

As for Strongman, how do you know when a character is meant to be the embodiment of a type? When the character is never given an actual name other than Strongman! (Which, incidentally, is rendered as two words in the logos, and as one

The Super-Spy Who Came In With The Code Paul S. Newman in 2000. Thanks to Joe Petrilak.

The origin of The Avenger, in issue #1, introduced both the hero himself and his Starjet, which helped him battle the Reds behind the Iron Curtain itself. Art by Dick Ayers; script by Paul S. Newman. Thanks to the GCD. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

leather boots. Is that a costume? You decide.

A “showman born,” Strongman promotes his business by

He, Robot Bob Powell’s covers for The Avenger #2-3 (April & June 1955). His cover for #3, as is well known, was provided by writer Roy Thomas to penciler Sal Buscema in 1969 to serve as a model for the new Adamantium body of Ultron-6 in Marvel’s The Avengers #68 (Sept. ’69). Thanks to the GCD. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

driving a gaudy red sports car with leopard-skin side panels and a license plate with only two letters: “SM.” And, much like the muscle-building advocates that provided much of the advertising for the comics industry, the hero expresses a firm belief in everyone’s ability to transform themselves through physical training,

(Photo taken at CCXP23 in São Paolo, Brazil, Dec. 2023)

Besides his exceptional, if entirely natural physical strength, Strongman knew several other useful skills. From his uncle, Wandami the Great, Strongman learned various magician tricks.

From the famed martial arts master, Hirokino, he learned judo.

From Tim Thorpe, rodeo star, he learned how to wield whips and ropes. And from the showman, Professor Wisdom—“the man with the encyclopedic memory”—he developed his intellectual capacity.

Apparently not considering catching crooks his career, Strongman mostly battles crime when he stumbles upon it.

It almost seemed as if the plan was to create a quasisuperhero whom readers averse to the genre might not be put off by.

Despite dramatically different premises, both The Avenger and Strongman only eked out four issues apiece.

Nor was Magazine Enterprises itself destined to survive much longer.

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

Jerry Siegel Tries Again (And Again And Again) With even the possibility of a super-hero revival in the air, it was only natural that some of the original creators of the genre would be central players.

As has been seen, this was true of Bill Everett, Carl Burgos, Simon and Kirby, and Gardner Fox. It was also true of Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman.

Cold War Capers A panel from The Avenger #2 depicting President Eisenhower (one of Ike’s relatively few appearances in super-hero comics)— and an Iron Curtain-related splash page from #3. All art by Bob Powell; writers uncertain. Thanks to CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Perhaps Siegel can be forgiven for always chasing after the idea of creating a new iconic super-hero. Sadly, without much success. But his efforts can usually be recognized by the fact that their names generally sound iconic.

(At least to this writer!)

In 1947, Siegel had created Funnyman for Magazine Enterprises.

Villainous clowns abounded. Why not a clownish hero? Didn’t sell. And in 1950, Siegel tried his hand at Toby Publications with the immortal Jon Juan, “the one and only superlover.” A one-shot, as it turned out. At Ziff-Davis, Siegel created a popular G. I. Joe comicbook long before the toy line. Unfortunately for him, he

Strongman!

He’s Not Just For The Circus Anymore!

More powerful Powell artwork for Magazine Enterprises.

The cover of Strongman #1 (a.k.a. A-1 #130, March-April 1955)—and an introductory page presenting the Herculean hero and his Doc Savagestyle roustabout buddies. Writer uncertain.

Courtesy of the GCD and CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

47

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

Gorillas & Bolsheviks A pair of musclebound splash pages from Strongman #1. Art by Bob Powell; scripters uncertain.

Courtesy of CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

left the title before it had achieved enduring success. Other of his Ziff-Davis creations included Wild Boy, a quintessential jungle feature, and two issues featuring the sci-fi spaceman Lars of Mars.

Well, okay, so not all of his super-hero names were iconic.

In 1954, Siegel tried his hand at a quasi-superhero/juvenile adventurer named Invisible Boy for Archer St. John. Appearing in just one issue, Approved Comics #2 (March ’54), Danny Blake is eager to fight crime like his police commissioner father. In his early teens, Danny is offered use of an invisibility serum by his gifted friend, Professor Willard Crown. (Crown has any number of unique concoctions, including one that can turn lead into gold. By inhaling the fumes of Professor Crown’s serum, Danny can become invisible.

Being the son of a police commissioner allows Danny to get inside leads on the activities of criminals.)

All of which brings us to what was arguably the nadir of Jerry Siegel’s career: his attempt to launch a pair of freshly minted heroes for one of the lowest-paying companies ever.

Nature Boy & Family Jerry Siegel conceived of two new characters, this time for Charlton Comics. One was clearly a super-hero… the other, kind of, maybe, not so much: Nature Boy and Mr. Muscles. (See art on pp. 50 ff.)

His first creation was the more promising. “Nature Boy” was written by Siegel and drawn by John Buscema and Rocco Mastroserio. Long-time Charlton writer Joe Gill mocked the name, suggesting it evoked associations to a nudist colony, hardly a moniker to attract new readers. Then again, the name served real-life wrestler “Nature Boy” Rick Flair pretty well, so the jury’s still out on that assertion.

Nature Boy was secretly David Crandall, an orphaned high school student gifted with divine powers of, wait for it… nature. As told in Nature Boy #3 (cover-dated March 1956), after a plane crash, David’s parents lose their toddler son to the waves. Underwater, the gathered Rulers of the Elements decide to adopt the baby as their own, sensing in him the “seeds of greatness.” Each of them grants the boy “a fragment of control over our mighty powers,” which the boy will only need to evoke.

King Gusto then sends the toddler back to his parents with a mighty gust of wind. Thirteen years later, the Rulers of the Elements revisit David and show him how, with a mere wish, he can transform himself into the costumed Nature Boy. He is charged with the duty to better the existence of humankind.

Now a handsome, dark-haired youth, Nature Boy can control gravity and traverse the heavens riding on an electric bolt of lightning. Nature Boy can also evoke the powers of any of the elemental gods. He most often calls upon King Neptune (to send water), King Electra (to send lightning), King Fura (to send fire), King Gusto (to send gusts of wind), and Queen Vega (to control plant life). Interestingly, on one occasion King Electra is referred to as Thor. Other godly resources include Queen Eartha (ruler of the Earth), King Friga (ruler of the cold), Queen Allura (ruler of love), King Blasto (master of explosives!), and Queen Azura (ruler of the skies).

As David Crandall, our hero can most often be found relaxing out of doors, propping his head against a tree. His parents, who don’t know his secret, see him as being a daydreamer. Nature Boy’s attunement to all things natural allows him to identify threats across the globe. Nature Boy can be heard expressing mystical sentiments, such as “Nature is glorious… powerful… healing!”

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Cover Stories A pair of strong Powell covers for Strongman ##2 & 3, cover-dated May-June & July-Aug. 1955. Courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

If much of this seems rather familiar—a group of gods granting a young man mighty powers and the presence of a magic lightning bolt—keep reading. There are two other heroes who claim the “nature” mantle.

Nature Man appears in only one brief adventure in that first issue, as a man of mystery. “Nature Man can commune with the forces of nature,” the narrative explains, “for his heart is attuned, through the power of love, with nature’s manifold ways.” Nature Man’s costume is identical to that of Nature Boy. Is he a separate hero or is he Nature Boy all grown up? The ambiguity is never resolved, as the hero never appears again beyond that initial two-page story.

And then there was Nature Girl. This teen heroine is able to control gravity and command trees to fling her through the air, one after another. Nature Girl appears to operate out of the jungles of Africa and has a pet elephant named Bonga. Her costume consists of a red skirt and blouse, accented by yellow boots and belt. She also appears to operate alone; at least she does in her lone one-page story in Nature Boy #5. Like Nature Man, her relationship to Nature Boy is not explained.

Did Siegel hope to eventually launch a Nature Family, evoking the spirit of Fawcett’s fondly remembered Marvel Family? The deities that grant Nature Boy his powers do have a Shazam-like quality to them. Equally suggestive of Captain Marvel is how

Nature Boy wills his transformation with an appeal to the gods.

Captain Flash was clearly not the only new hero partially inspired by the Big Red Cheese.

The final issue of Nature Boy, #5, was cover-dated February 1957. His three issues spanned a period of 12 months.

Mr. Muscles, Kid Muscles, & Miss Muscles!

Compared to Nature Boy, Mr. Muscles (see art on p. 53) is a far less interesting character. He first appeared in Mr. Muscles #22 (cover-dated March ’ 56), a title that continued its numbering from Charlton’s four issues of Blue Beetle. Written by Siegel and drawn in workmanlike fashion by Bill Fraccio, his name clearly identifies him as an archetypal bodybuilder. The mystique of the bodybuilder had already inspired three other muscle-bound ’50s heroes: Mr. Universe, Samson, and Strongman.

And, like Strongman, Mr. Muscles’ back story is clearly meant to be inspirational. When Brent Carson was diagnosed with polio as a boy, he was told he would be paralyzed for life. But Carson is determined to prove the doctors wrong, and through physical therapy and determination regains full use of his limbs. Having learned to “never accept discouragement, never to lose faith,” the young man continues to develop his body until he becomes known

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

Jerry Siegel Jerry Siegel Following his and artist Joe Shuster’s mostly unsuccessful lawsuit against National/DC in the latter 1940s in an attempt to regain rights to their character “Superman,” Jerry wrote and edited for several companies, attempting to again catch hero-lightning in a bottle. First came Funnyman #1 (Jan. 1948) for Magazine Enterprises, with a cover by Marvin Stein—and, lastly before his Charlton efforts, “The Invisible Boy” in St. John’s Approved Comics #2 (March 1954). The artist of the latter is unidentified. Courtesy of the GCD & CBP. [Funnyman TM & © Estates of Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster; other art TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

as “the world’s most perfect man.”

As such, Carson earns the appellation “Mr. Muscles.” Possessing exceptional strength and gymnastic ability, his stomach muscles are so taut that a man can jump on them from considerable height and only bounce off. Powerfully built, Carson goes about his activities in an ersatz workout costume with an “M” insignia on his chest. Super-hero?

Exceptional abilities bordering on the super-human (but not portrayed as such), colorful costume (kind of), a code name (of sorts), and fighting crime in his spare time but not as his vocation. Once again, he is a questionable case.

“There Was A Boy…”

John Buscema in 1952. Thanks to Matthew Reynolds & Mike Mikulovsky.

(Right:) John Buscema’s signed cover for Charlton’s Nature Boy #3 (March 1954), actually the series’ first issue. The genesis of the hero’s name probably involved the hit song “Nature Boy” recorded

by Nat “King” Cole in 1948 and utilized as the theme song of the odd little movie The Boy with Green Hair, a film about prejudice (which, despite its subject and title, was in black-&-white). The “Nature Boy” term itself had evidently originated with an organic-eating, communal-living group to which the song’s writer, Eden Ahbez, belonged. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert for the scan. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

“…A Very Strange, Enchanted Boy…” Splashes from the two “Nature Boy” adventures in issue #3, both by writer Jerry Siegel & artist John Buscema. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Carson owns his own gym and holds physical development classes there. In one story he gives a scrawny zookeeper who imprisoned him out of hate and envy for his perfect body the choice: go to jail or be trained by him to obtain the body he always dreamt of. The zookeeper chooses the latter, of course.

Mr. Muscles also squares off against forgettable adversaries like Black Rodgers, a gangster, and Jake Armbuster, a bald and burly professional wrestler who believes he can beat Mr. Muscles in a fight but has to drug him to make it happen.

If Siegel’s attempt to create a Nature Boy family of characters seemed rather feeble, his attempt to create a Mr. Muscles family was equally uninspired. It does, however, add to the sense that Mr. Muscles and his crew qualified as quasi-costumed characters.

There’s Kid Muscles, a muscular teenager who works out at Mr. Muscles’ gym, having been taken under Carson’s

Rocke Mastroserio

“They Say He Wandered Very Far…” The cover of Nature Boy #4 (Aug. 1956), actually the second issue. Art on #4 by Rocco “Rocke” Mastroserio & Sal Trapani. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

51

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

“…Over Land And Sea…” The first pages of the lone “Nature Man” story, from Nature Boy #3 (far left)… and of “Nature Girl” from NB #5 (left).

Scripts by Jerry Siegel; art by John Buscema.

Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert.

[TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

wing. (Kid Muscles’ civilian name is never given.) The young man often aids Mr. Muscles in his adventures, but also has adventures on his own.

His “costume,” if it can be called that, consists of yellow, form-fitting workout gear. Kid Muscles is strong enough to lift up the front end of a car, has gymnastic abilities, and not surprisingly is good in a fight.

And then there’s Miss Muscles, a pretty, auburn-haired young woman whose rigorous work regime imbues her with remarkable strength and qualifies her to aid Mr. Muscles in at least one case. Her civilian name is also never given, but her celebrity and beauty have led to dates with movie stars as well as with Carson himself. Both supporting characters appeared in the scant two issues of Mr. Muscles.

Really—Za Za The Mystic?

Brief mention also needs to be made of Za Za the Mystic, who first appeared in Za Za the Mystic #10 (April 1956), its numbering a continuation from Charlton’s canceled Charlie Chan. Appearing at the same time as Nature Boy and Mr. Muscles, some assumed she was also the creation of Jerry Siegel. It appears this was not the case, as journeyman Charlton writer Joe Gill mentions doing scripts for her character. But more than Gill’s, Za Za the Mystic was the brainchild of publisher Ed Levy, who apparently was infatuated in real life with a female psychic by the same name.

In an interview with Jim Amash for Charlton Spotlight #5, Gill recalled with some humor how Levy returned from a lunch with said psychic and

Fade To Blue (Right:) This “Blue Beetle” story from Nature Boy #3 was the last starring the formerly Fox & Holyoke super-hero to be published by Charlton until it launched a new version in 1964. Pencils by Charles Nicholas, inks by Sal Trapani. Martin O’Hearn attributes the script to Dick Wood. Courtesy of CBP. [Blue Beetle TM & © DC Comics.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

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Muscles-Bound (Left:) The cover of Mr. Muscles #23 (Aug. ’56) was penciled by Charles Nicholas and inked by Vince Alascia. (Penciler Charles Nicholas’ real name was Charles Wojtkoski, and he had apparently co-created “Blue Beetle” for Victor Fox a decade and a half before.) Courtesy of CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

to tell fortunes, but primarily uses her powers of observation to discern hidden truths about others. She also has dreams that appear to anticipate the future, which even she does not totally trust. In everyday life, as drawn by Charles Nicholas, Za Za wears modern, stylish clothes. But while appearing as a psychic, she wears a red gypsy blouse and a full yellow dress with an ornamental yellow headband, gold earrings, and a layered, beaded necklace.

While Za Za operates as an amateur detective, she generally relies on her policeman boyfriend, Lt. Bob Nelson, to handle the actual collaring of criminals. She never reveals whether her psychic powers are real, leaving Nelson perpetually intrigued. Like Mr. Muscles, Za Za the Mystic managed a mere two issues.

Finally, I suspect Jerry Siegel was also the creator of the shortlived Charlton’s Rookie Cop series appearing in this same period.

The character debuted in Rookie Cop #27 (Nov. ’55) and appeared through #33 (Aug. ’57). Siegel favored names that very clearly established the type of hero featured within. Superman, Funnyman, G.I. Joe, and Mr. Muscles, like Rookie Cop, all convey a clear sense of the character without one needing to first read a story.

Regardless, with the end of Siegel’s stint at Charlton, there was really only one place left for him to go.

DC & Signs Of A New, Silver Age declared, “‘We’re going to do a comicbook about Za Za the Mystic. So I had to write all of this crap about Za Za the Mystic.”

In the comics, Za Za is a youthful, dark-haired beauty, the daughter of gypsies. In life, if existing photos are any indication, the real Za Za was considerably older. Her comicbook iteration appears

The Family That Lifts Together—Shifts Together!

Kid Muscles appeared in several stories with his mentor, beginning with the very first yarn in Mr. Muscles #22—and he got his own two-page featurette at that issue’s end—while Miss Muscles popped up only in a two-pager in that same edition.

After #23, all three had gone to that big Gold’s Gym in the four-color sky. Both scripts by Siegel; art by Fraccio. Courtesy of CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

DC Comics had largely sat out this brief revival of superheroes. If the popularity of the Superman television series had been the only trigger for the boom, one might have expected to see more activity from the company in that arena.

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

(more on that in a bit)—a tryout comic magazine named Showcase.

Its entire purpose was to test-run new concepts without devoting the resources necessary to launch a whole new, ongoing title only to have it potentially fail five or six issues later.

DC’s first three Showcase efforts, “Firefighters,” “Kings of the Wild,” and “Frogmen,” proved that such caution was warranted.

Sales figures didn’t justify moving forward with any of those concepts. Those early efforts also suggest that new super-heroes weren’t on the top of DC’s editorial consciousness at the time.

With issue #4 (Oct. ’56), Showcase introduced a new character that would prove to be its first successful launch—but only after three subsequent trial issues: a revised version of one of its most popular 1940S super-heroes—The Flash!

That said, there were a few notable signs of the winds of change prior to Barry Allen’s arrival on the scene.

DC’s successful campaign to push Fawcett’s Marvel Family line of titles off the newsstands, as well as the success of Superman on TV, made the idea of expanding the Superman Family an attractive one. To the existing line-up of Superman, Action Comics, Superboy, Adventure Comics, and World’s Finest was added Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen (cover-dated Oct. ’54). Krypto the Superdog was added to the mix (as Superboy’s pet in the Boy of Steel’s lead feature) in Adventure Comics #210 (March ’55).

As played by Jack Larson, Jimmy Olsen had emerged as a particularly popular character on the television show. The success of his equally light-hearted new comicbook was soon followed by a 1957 Showcase trial run for Lois Lane in issues #9 and #10, and a

Maybe She Was The Third Gabor Sister?

Zaza the Mystic #10 (April 1956) took over the numbering from a Charlton Charlie Chan title, and one of its issues even sported a “Charlie Chan” story, re-lettered to turn the hero into “Louie Lou.” Zaza had no true psychic powers—she was just a keen observer who worked with the cops.

Oh, and apparently the magazine’s indicia spelled her name as two words— “Za Za”—but the logo and stories treated it as one word. Art

by Charles Nicholas & Rocke Mastroserio. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

As already argued, this author’s take is that an equally strong factor in the proliferation of super-hero titles was the need for comicbook companies to find safe harbor in the midst of the increasing furor around horror comics. And, since DC’s mystery comics—House of Secrets, House of Mystery, and My Greatest Adventure (one could hardly call them horror titles)—were so relatively tame, the company really had no need to radically realign their line.

Which wasn’t to say that editorial director Irwin Donenfeld wasn’t ready to explore new directions. Seeing other companies launching and canceling titles at an alarming rate, Donenfeld and his team came up with a modification of Dell’s Four Color concept

Play Za Za The Mystic For Me (Right:) The splash page of one of the two “Za Za” stories in issue #11 (Sept. ’54), which seems to have followed #10 after a five-month hiatus. Stories purportedly by Joe Gill. Art in first story by Rocke Mastroserio; second story penciled by Charles Nicholas & inked by Mastroserio. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

55

boom, understandably perhaps, is the appearance of Mandrake the Magician in a single issue of Dell’s Four Color series, a catch-all repository for trial runs of prospective titles and standalone projects that long preceded DC’s Showcase concept. In the 1940s, reprints of the Mandrake comic strip were a staple of Ace’s Magic Comics, which featured King Feature Syndicate characters from the funny pages. Mandrake also was featured in six issues of David McKay’s Feature Books, devoted to singular collections of comic strip material. But there had never been original stories of the character in comicbooks, nor did any of the comic strip material see print past the ’40s.

But the Dell 1956 one-shot (Four Color #752) was different, boasting a beautiful painted cover by an anonymous artist and “all brand new stories” of the character. Per the Grand Comics Database, Lee Falk provided plots, Paul S. Newman and Marshall McClintock (a longtime writer and editor of books for juveniles) fleshed out the stories, and Stan Campbell (best remembered for his work on Dell’s King of the Royal Mounted and Charlton’s Space Western) took care of the artwork. The nefarious Dr. Phantasmo, a master of hypnotism just like Mandrake, provided the needed villainy.

It seems almost certain that the comicbook was intended as part of a large cross-promotional campaign for the planned television series that never ended up being needed. The initial press release for the series, provided to newspapers for release two years earlier, had spelled out those plans: “Currently, ABC Film Syndication is readying a complete promotion and merchandising campaign to launch simultaneously with the series and plans to

Lois Common Denominator The “Lois Lane” feature that debuted in Showcase #9 (JulyAug. 1957) would soon lead to the bimonthly title Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane. Cover by Al Plastino. Cover courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © DC Comics.]

1958 cover-featured prototype for a Supergirl in Superman #123. By 1959, the same year The Flash would earn his own title, the number of titles featuring Superman or Superboy had burgeoned to seven.

With an increased need for writers who could tell engaging stories about the characters, Jerry Siegel would return to DC in 1958 to augment the efforts of other old pros like Otto Binder.

With that kind of success, the creation of a parallel Batman family was nearly inevitable. Ace the Bat-Hound appeared mere months after Krypto, in Batman #92 (June ’55)—while Kathy Kane, the original Batwoman, made her debut in Detective Comics #233 (July ’56), becoming the second new super-hero to emerge into the narratives of what came to be called the Silver Age. The first super-hero of this new era of comicbooks turned out to be “John Jones, Manhunter from Mars.” Created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa, the shapeshifting alien who first appeared in Detective Comics #225 (Nov. ’55) initially owed as much to the science-fiction genre as he did to the super-hero one. That said, it may come as a surprise to some that DC’s introduction of a Martian secretly operating in our midst actually preceded the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers by several months. But it does seem likely that earlier tales of secret alien invasions, such as Robert Heinlein’s novel The Puppet Masters (1951) or the film It Came from Outer Space (1953, based on a short story by Ray Bradbury) served as inspirations for the idea of the Martian Manhunter.

Mandrake The Magician’s One-Shot Comicbook Left out of most discussions of the mid-’50s super-hero

Holy Bat-Spinoffs!

Detective Comics #233 (July ’56) introduced the first-ever Batwoman. The cover is by Sheldon Moldoff. Courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash

Where Have You Gone, Orson Welles?

Our Nation Turns Its Lonely Eyes To You “John Jones, Manhunter from Mars” (whose Martian name, of course, was J’onn J’onzz) began its long run as a backup to “Batman” in Detective Comics #225 (Nov. 1955). This particular “illegal alien” didn’t reveal his presence on Earth until four years later, when DC wanted him to become a charter member of the Justice League of America. Script by Joe Samachson; art by Joe Certa.

Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © DC Comics.]

origin, just as it had in that of Captain Marvel—and of Captain Flash, for that matter. But this author wondered if it was too much of a leap to once again draw parallels between the red tights and lightning bolt insignia (not to mention similar yellow boots) of the new Flash and the only recently departed Fawcett favorite. After all, a thunderbolt had also been featured on the chest of the original Flash—and Jay Garrick had only been absent from comicbooks since the cancellation of All-Star Comics at the end of 1950.

But, revisiting the reminiscences of a 15-year-old boy in 1956 cast aside that qualm. Roy Thomas, in Alter Ego #60, recalled his reaction upon coming across Showcase #4: “It reminded me, the instant I saw it, of Captain Marvel’s outfit, only with hood instead of cape….”

That said, an intentional evocation of the Big Red Cheese on artist Carmine Infantino’s part seems doubtful. Perhaps it’s best to simply allow that lightning sometimes does strike twice.

In any case, unlike the Golden Age version, lightning actually did strike Barry Allen’s lab, dousing him with just the right combination of chemicals to endow him with super-speed.

In his first adventure he encounters his villainous opposite, the slow-moving Turtle Man. include many exciting premiums which will be developed in conjunction with King Features Syndicate.”

It must also be said that Mandrake’s conjuring gestures on the comicbook cover closely resemble those of Mandrake actor Coe Norton in publicity photos of the time. But, with the failure of the TV pilot, and with Dell having no need to supply the comic as a premium, the company appears to have opted to publish it with a 10¢ price tag to test the water of how saleable a Mandrake title might be.

Since no further Mandrake comicbooks were issued in the next ten years, the takeaway was apparently “not very.”

The indicia for Four Color #752 listed its publication date as November 1956. It Is only fair to note that The Flash’s far more consequential trial balloon was launched the month before.

And Then, Like A Flash…

The new Flash was secretly Barry Allen, a forensic scientist for the police.

It may have been a coincidence that lightning figured into that hero’s

“Now We Make Like Mandrake!”

— Federico Fellini The 1956 one-shot Mandrake the Magician, as Dell/Western’s FourColor #752, sported a beautiful if uncredited painted cover— and a story by creator Lee Falk and scripters Paul S. Newman & Marshall McClintock, with art by Scott Campbell. This material may well have been left over from an intended tie-in to the aborted 1954 Mandrake TV series. Courtesy of Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © King Features Syndicate, Inc.]

The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival

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before The Flash #105, the first issue of his own title, was published in 1959.

It is hard to grasp now that the grand relaunch and re-envisioning of The Flash came a mere 5½ years after the original Flash, Jay Garrick, had hung up his running shoes with the “retirement” of the rest of the Justice Society. And while he was far from an immediate success, the look of the new Flash, as rendered

by Carmine Infantino, was profoundly different, the epitome of a sleek, more modern style.

Two For The Road While it’s basically undeniable that Showcase #4 (Sept.-Oct. 1956) with its reimagined “Flash” was the beginning of the laterchristened Silver Age of Comics, that event was given an extra boost four months later when Showcase #6 (Jan.-Feb. 1957) saw the debut of “Challengers of the Unknown,” as per the cover penciled (but not necessarily inked) by Jack Kirby.

The cover of Showcase #4 was designed by writer Robert Kanigher, penciled by Carmine Infantino, inked by Joe Kubert, and edited (and overseen and de facto co-re-created) by editor Julius Schwartz.

Stan Lee’s Fantastic Four and Amazing Spider-Man are rightfully lauded for the innovation of being about characters vexed with everyday problems and concerns. But regular “Flash” scribe John Broome arguably set the stage for that. His eminently human Barry Allen and reoccurring villains who had actual personalities and relatable motivations were a breath of fresh air.

For better or worse, the other heroes of the Great 1950s Super-hero Revival were largely fading echoes of a lost era, their adventures told in a style reminiscent of the past. So, while the new Silver Age Flash can rightfully be considered part of a mid-’50s zeitgeist, his debut was also something remarkably modern and dynamic.

“Challengers” seems to have been a leftover Joe Simon & Jack Kirby concept that the latter brought to DC; the writer is uncertain, though Kirby himself may well have had a hand in the scripting. Courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Sales figures did not mark the new Flash as an immediate success. But sales were apparently good enough to get him another tryout, and then another. Jack Kirby’s Challengers of the Unknown, introduced in Showcase #6 (Feb. ’57), experienced a similar trajectory. The Flash’s rogues’ gallery, a key element of his appeal, was fleshed out in subsequent issues of Showcase with Captain Cold and Mr. Element.

When Julius Schwartz—the editor behind the revival—was asked by interviewer Paul Kupperberg whether his reboot was part of a bigger push to revive DC’s super-heroes, Julie denied it in no uncertain terms. “We had no idea we’d ever bring back superheroes,” Schwartz recalled in the first volume of The Flash Archives.

“We had moved on to other concepts—the Westerns, funny animals, romance, along with celebrated movie and television characters” like Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, and Jackie Gleason.

In support of Schwartz’s assertion, one fact is worth mentioning. Both The Flash and the Challengers required four Showcase issues before DC felt confident enough to grant them their own comics. Lois Lane needed only two! And, even though her Showcase issues came out after those spotlighting The Flash and the Challengers, Superman’s main squeeze was awarded her own title before either of them. The first issue of Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane came out a year

A multitude of wonders soon emerged.

A new age, indeed!

Carmine Infantino, Julius Schwartz, & Joe Kubert Robert Kanigher

(left to right) on a panel celebrating The Flash’s 75th birthday at the All Time Classic New York Comic Book Convention hosted by Joe Petrilak in White Plains, NY, in 2000. Thanks to Craig Shutt.

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(Above:) An Aquaman and Aqualad commission, date uncertain, but likely drawn when Ramona was in her eighties or later. Outstanding! [Aquaman & Aqualad TM & © DC Comics]

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Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

We All Have to Start Somewhere (Part 5)

C

by Michael T. Gilbert

omics in the ’50s were generally a “boys only” club, at least as far as creators were concerned. But Ramona Fradon broke in on the strength of sheer talent, beginning her comicbook career in 1950 at the ripe old age of 24.

Ramona Dom (later Fradon) was born October 2, 1926, in Chicago. She and her family moved to New York when she was five. Talent ran in her genes. Her father, Peter Dom (born Peter Dombrezian), was a famous commercial artist specializing in lettering. He designed logos for such companies as Elizabeth Arden, Camel, and Lord & Taylor. Additionally, he created the popular typeface, Dom Casual. Ramona’s older brother and an uncle were also in the lettering business.

Ramona’s First Job When interviewed by Jim Amash in Alter Ego #69 (June 2007), Ramona recalled her first comicbook assignment. She had recently graduated from Parsons School of Design, and times were lean for her and her hubby, future New Yorker cartoonist Dana Fradon. A friend told her that comicbook artists could make some real money, and she decided to get some. The only problem was that Ramona, a fan of comic strips, had never read comic books. So… “I bought a whole bunch of comicbooks… and for almost two weeks I immersed myself in all different kinds. I drew a page of Western vignettes and took it to Fox Features first. I didn’t know anything about any of the comicbook companies, but I got

First Offense?

Pretty As A Picture!

Ramona in 1945, at Parson’s School of Design.

(Above:) Decades after the fact, Ramona couldn’t recall the title of her first story (done for Timely/Marvel, before moving on to DC). Michael T. believes that “Escape to Nowhere” in Man Comics #8 (June 1950) may be the mystery story. If so, it’s her first! However, when shown the story, Ramona didn’t recall it as being her work. What do you think? [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Family Affair (Above:) As practice for her first comics job, Ramona’s then-husband Dana Fradon wrote and lettered a series of comic strips (in syndicated comics format), for her to draw. This is Ramona’s very first comic strip. It was never submitted, and the strips remained unpublished until printed in 2013 in Dynamite’s The Art of Ramona Fradon collection. [© Estate of Ramona Fradon.]

We All Have To Start Somewhere: Ramona Fradon

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addresses out of the comicbooks. Fox Features gave me a 12-page script to draw, and then somebody told me they didn’t pay, so I returned the script undrawn.”

Good thing Ramona listened. Fox often stiffed young, hungry newcomers like her. If that had happened at that early stage, Fradon might have quit comics in disgust before she started.

Instead…

“I was scared to death that I couldn’t do it anyway, because I had no idea what I was doing. So I… went to Timely to see Stan Lee, who gave me a couple of stories. The second one was a war story, which I really hated doing, so that didn’t work out. Any time I’ve ever worked for [Marvel], it never worked out. I didn’t like drawing guns and all that kind of stuff. And then I ended up spilling ink on one of the pages. [chuckles]

On To DC “It was sort of a disaster, and I had a feeling that was it. So then I took my samples up to DC. Murray Boltinoff gave me a four-page story to do, and then kept on giving me work.”

A “Knight” To Remember Ramona drew this “Shining Knight” story, “Gadget Doom in Camelot!,” for Adventure Comics #165 (June 1951). It was her first-ever super-hero—and she did a bang-up job! [TM & © DC Comics.]

The story Ramona references was most likely “The Looting of Number Thirteen!” in Western Comics #23 (May 1951), the only 4-pager she drew that early. However, it was not the first to be printed. That honor appears to be “The Invisible Bank Robbers!” from DCs Gang Busters #21 (April-May 1951).

From there, Ramona’s timeline gets a little sticky. She continues: “When I went up there, a white-haired gentleman came out and looked at my stuff. I was in a waiting room and he said, ‘Just a minute,’ and went shuffling inside. Then Murray came out. He looked at my work and said [laughs] something like ‘This isn’t bad for a girl.’ Then he said, ‘Well, let’s give you a try.’ He gave me a ‘Shining Knight’ story, which I did, and it was like all rubber cement and whiteout, and just horrendous. Apparently it was okay, though, so he kept giving me stories after that.”

Lucky “Thirteen”!

(Above:) This 4-page story for Western Comics #23 (May 1951) is believed to be Fradon’s first job for DC, though not the first to see print. Bonus points: It’s dated the month and year Michael T. was born. Wow! [TM & © DC Comics.]

This quote (from the same Alter Ego interview) seems to muddy the question of Ramona’s first DC assignment. The two “Shining Knight” stories she illustrated were six pages, not four.

And her first “Shining Knight” story, “Gadget Doom in Camelot!” from Adventure Comics #165 (June 1951), came out a month after the 4-pager she did for Western Comics #23. But Jim Amash’s interview came out in 2007 (almost 60 years after the fact!), so if Ramona was fuzzy on some details. it’s not surprising.

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Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

In any event, Ramona’s “Shining Knight” story was her first featuring an established DC super-hero. Fradon only drew one more “Shining Knight” adventure before transitioning to a hero she made her own in the Silver Age.

Enter: Aquaman!

Beginning with Adventure Comics #167 (Aug. 1951), Ms. Fradon took over the long-running “Aquaman” strip from John Daly (who had earlier replaced artist and co-creator Paul Norris). In the opinion of many young fans of the day (your humble scribe among them!), she became the Aquaman artist. Ms. Fradon drew the character from 1951 to 1964, in both Adventure Comics and, later, World’s Finest. DC’s Sea King also served an eight-issue stint in Detective Comics, beginning with #293 (July 1961). However, those stories were drawn by Nick Cardy, except for one by Sheldon Moldoff.

Ramona also illustrated Showcase #33 (Aug. 1961), the first comic devoted entirely to Aquaman. Three more Showcase issues followed, featuring Aquaman, drawn by Nick Cardy. But Ramona

Going In Like Gang Busters!

(Above:) “The Invisible Bank Robbers!” in Gang Busters #21, with a cover date of April-May 1951, may be the first Fradon story to see print at DC (though not necessarily the first one she drew). [TM & © DC Comics.]

“Treasure” Map Dom and Dom-er?

Ramona’s dad, Peter Dom, created the popular “Dom Casual” lettering style.

(Above:) This story from Adventure Comics #167 (Aug. 1951) is generally believed to be Fradon’s first “Aquaman” story.

She had been at DC for less than a year at that point. [TM & © DC Comics.]

We All Have To Start Somewhere: Ramona Fradon

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revisited Aquaman in the ‘70s and ‘80s when she signed on to illustrate DCs Super Friends title. And, beginning in 2011, she even illustrated a hilarious Aquaman parody, “Mermaid Man,” for Spongebob Comics.

Returning to her early years: Fradon enjoyed working with editor Murray Boltinoff. But fellow editor Robert Kanigher? Not so much. As she recalled…

“I did a couple of stories for Bob Kanigher. For some reason they decided I should do another war story. And you know, I did it, but Kanigher said that the tanks I drew looked like Toonerville trolleys. It just wasn’t my thing.

“I thought Kanigher was scary, very businesslike and sort of stern. And I just didn’t feel comfortable doing the war stories. I didn’t have a feeling for drawing all the buttons and gadgets and things like [Joe] Kubert did. They had an affinity for the stuff.”

It’s just as well that Ramona steered clear of war comics, considering the quality of at least one of the stories he assigned her. “The Ugly Duckling of Company D” (her second combat story for Kanigher) was a case in point. The unnamed scripter told the tale of Private Duncan… ”Doll-Face” Duncan, who was so ugly “he could have made a fortune hiring himself out to haunt houses.”

A military doctor opines, “I’ve rejected recruits on every rule in the book… but this is the first time I’m tempted to use Regulation 40-115… Unacceptable on grounds of extreme ugliness!” Ouch! Fradon depicted our buck-toothed hero looking like something from Jerry Lewis comics. As the story progressed, he’s set up on a blind date… literally! The lovely lass has bandages over her eyes, as result of an unfortunate cooking accident. What a lucky break for “Doll-Face!” But what will happen when they come off the next day and she sees his ugly puss for the first time? Ulp!

Make That “Mrs. District Attorney!”

“I Battled the Timber Pirates” in Mr. District Attorney #20 (March 1951), another early Fradon effort. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Luckily, “Doll-Face” is called into battle. Unluckily, an errant bomb destroys his face! It looks bad for our boy’s love life. But luckily (miracle of miracles!), when the docs are finished patching him up, “Doll-Boy” looks like a movie star!

Ah, the wonders of plastic surgery! Perhaps the Army motto should have been “Join the Army and get a new face!” With scripts like this, editor Kanigher was the least of Fradon’s problems. In any case, that was one of Ramona’s last war stories for that or any other editor.

That road bump aside, Ramona went on to enjoy a long, acclaimed comicbook career. This despite taking a few years off--from 1965 to 1972—to raise her daughter.

That’s The Spirit!

A Fradon sketch of Will Eisner’s famous creation, The Spirit. In one interview Ramona cited Eisner and Bruno Premiani as her favorite comicbook artists.

It shows, in this homage illo she drew! [The Spirit TM & © Estate of Will Eisner.]

In 1965, shortly before she left, Ramona and Bob Haney created DCs bizarre element hero, Metamorpho (she had already co-created Aqualad). Upon her return, she and inker Bob Smith also collaborated on a new series featuring Jack Cole’s Plastic Man. Additionally, Fradon drew a long run of Super Friends (a kiddie version of the Justice League, based on a popular kid’s TV-cartoon series).

From 1980 to 1995 Ramona began illustrating Dale Messick’s Brenda Starr syndicated comic strip. And in 2006, The San Diego con awarded her an Eisner Hall of Fame trophy. Ramona, a favorite of the comic convention circuit, continued drawing commissions and

64

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

War Is Heck!

One of Ramon’s rare war tales (a genre she disliked), for Star Spangled War Stories #4 (Dec. 1952). Inks by Charles Paris; scripter uncertain. Above is the splash page; at top right, we see Private “Doll-Face” at story’s end. [TM & © DC Comics.]

In Their Element (Above:) Writer Bob Haney and Ramona teamed up to introduce Metamorpho the Element Man in The Brave and the Bold #57 (Jan. 1965).

[TM & © DC Comics.]

Together at Last!

(Above:) Ramona, in later years (above left), penciled two of her most popular characters, Aquaman and Plastic Man, together for DC’s Super Friends #36 (Sept. 1980).

What? No room for Metamorpho? Inks by Vince Colletta; script by E. Nelson Bridwell.

[TM & © DC Comics.]

We All Have To Start Somewhere: Ramona Fradon

65

Great Caesar’s Ghost!

Ramona drew this amazing alternate Superman #4 (“Lois As Editor-in-Chief”) cover in 2023, assisted by Sandra Hope and Trish Mulvihill. This was less than a year before her passing. Not bad for 96! [TM & © DC Comics.]

In The Lions’ Den Ramona surrounded by male DC editors during her 1950s tenure as “Aquaman” artist. Those are Jack Schiff’s hands reaching “playfully” for her throat from behind.

occasional comic stories until her retirement in early January 2024.

A little more than a month later, on Feb. 24, 2024, the 97-year-old cartoonist suffered a fatal heart attack, leaving behind a wealth of brilliant comicbook art and countless fans.

But it all started here! Till next time…

$1,000,000 PAID FOR ORIGINAL COMIC ART! COLLECTOR PAYING TOP DOLLAR FOR “ANY AND ALL” ORIGINAL COMIC BOOK AND COMIC STRIP ARTWORK FROM THE 1930S TO PRESENT! COVERS, PINUPS, PAGES, IT DOESN’T MATTER! 1 PAGE OR ENTIRE COLLECTIONS SOUGHT! CALL OR EMAIL ME ANYTIME!

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Celebrating the 61st Anniversary of FANTASTIC FOUR #1—’cause we kinda blew right past its 60th—plus a sagacious salute to STAN LEE’s 100th birthday, with never-before-seen highlights—and to FF #1 and #2 inker GEORGE KLEIN! Spotlight on Sub-Mariner in the Bowery in FF #4—plus sensational secrets behind FF #1 and #3!

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THE YOUNG ALL-STARS—the late-1980s successor to ALL-STAR SQUADRON! Interviews with first artist BRIAN MURRAY and last artist LOU MANNA—surprising insights by writer/co-creator ROY THOMAS—plus a panorama of never-seen Young All-Stars artwork! All-new cover

by BRIAN MURRAY! Plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and beyond!

An FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) special, behind a breathtaking JERRY ORDWAY cover! Features on Uncle Marvel and the Fawcett Family by P.C. HAMERLINCK, ACG artist KENNETH LANDAU (Commander Battle and The Atomic Sub), and writer LEE GOLDSMITH (Golden Age Green Lantern, Flash, and others). Plus Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt by MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and more!

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ALTER EGO #185

ALTER EGO #186

ALTER EGO #187

Golden/Silver/Bronze Age artist IRV NOVICK (Shield, Steel Sterling, Batman, The Flash, and DC war stories) is immortalized by JOHN COATES and DEWEY CASSELL. Interviews with Irv and family members, tributes by DENNY O’NEIL, MARK EVANIER, and PAUL LEVITZ, Irv’s involvement with painter ROY LICHTENSTEIN (who used Novick’s work in his paintings), Mr. Monster, FCA, and more!

Known as one of the finest inkers in comics history, the late TOM PALMER was also an accomplished penciler and painter, as you’ll see in an-depth interview with Palmer by ALEX GRAND and JIM THOMPSON. Learn his approach to, and thoughts on, working with NEAL ADAMS, GENE COLAN, JOHN BUSCEMA, and others who helped define the Marvel Universe. Plus Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, FCA, and more!

Presenting MARK CARLSON-GHOST’s stupendous study of the 1940s NOVELTY COMICS GROUP—with heroes like Blue Bolt, Target and the Targeteers, White Streak, Spacehawk, etc., produced by such Golden Age super-stars as JOE SIMON & JACK KIRBY, CARL BURGOS, BILL EVERETT, BASIL WOLVERTON, et al. Plus MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, FCA, and more!

Spotlights ANGELO TORRES, the youngest and last of the fabled EC Comics artists—who went on to a fabulous career as a horror, science-fiction, and humor artist for Timely/Marvel, Warren Publishing, and MAD magazine! It’s a lushly illustrated retrospective of his still-ongoing career— plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more

Focuses on great early science-fiction author EDMUND HAMILTON, who went on to an illustrious career at DC Comics, writing Superman, Batman, and especially The Legion of Super-Heroes! Learn all about his encounters with RAY BRADBURY, MORT WEISINGER, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, et al—a panoply of titans! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more!

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JOHN ROMITA tribute issue! Podcast recollections recorded shortly after the Jazzy One’s passing by JOHN ROMITA JR., JIM STARLIN, STEVE ENGLEHART, BRIAN PULIDO, ROY THOMAS, JAIMIE JAMESON, JOHN CIMINO, STEVE HOUSTON, & NILE SCALA; DAVID ARMSTRONG’s mini-interview with Romita; John Romita’s ten greatest hits; plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, & more!

MITCH MAGLIO examines vintage jungle comics heroes (Kaänga, Ka-Zar, Sheena, Rulah, Jo-Jo/Congo King, Thun’da, Tarzan) with art by LOU FINE, WILL EISNER, FRANK FRAZETTA, MATT BAKER, BOB POWELL, ALEX SCHOMBURG, and others! Plus: the comicbook career of real-life jungle explorers MARTIN AND OSA JOHNSON, FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more!

#191 is an FCA (FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA) issue! Documenting the influence of MAC RABOY’s Captain Marvel Jr. on the life, career, and look of ELVIS PRESLEY during his stellar career, from the 1950s through the 1970s! Plus: Captain Marvel co-creator BILL PARKER’s complete testimony from the DC vs. Fawcett lawsuit, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and other surprises!

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67

In Memoriam

Roger Dicken

(April 15, 1939 – February 18, 2024)

“A Maker Of Monsters”

M

by Roy Thomas

y late good friend Roger Dicken will be remembered primarily for his work as a special-effects artist and as a model-maker for such films as When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth and, above all, Ridley Scott’s Alien. He considered himself a maker of monsters.

He was also a collector of comics, especially of those of his native England. He was forever sending me pages photocopied from British comics and the like. He contributed several pieces to Alter Ego, including an in-depth interview with Mick Anglo, creator of Marvelman, the super-hero who’d picked up the slack in the UK in 1954 after the original Captain Marvel had been canceled (and who in the 1980s had become Miracleman).

In his late teens, Roger had worked his way up via jobs such as prop-master at the Royal Court Theatre, London; a stint at the BBC building sets for the British stop-motion kids’ TV series Thunderbirds; and creating monsters for its 1966 movie rendition. In 1968 he provided special effects for the horror films The Blood Beast Terror, starring Peter Cushing, and Witchfinder General with Vincent Price, followed by Scars of Dracula.

In 1969 he landed the key role of model-builder for the film When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, wherein Jim Danforth stop-motionanimated the numerous reptilian creatures Roger had constructed.

This led to more model-building for The Land That Time Forgot (1974) and Warlords of Atlantis (1978).

Roger Dicken (Above:) Roger in the 1980s with his “facehugger” and “chestburster” models.

(Below:) He and “Ripley” actress Sigourney Weaver share what is apparently considered a humorous on-set moment with the “facehugger” during the filming of Ridley Scott’s film Alien. [© the respective copyright holders.]

The height of his film career came with Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien (filmed in Britain), for which he constructed the two famous models known as “the facehugger” and, most notoriously, “the chestburster.” In the movie’s most famous scene, Roger manipulated the chestburster like a puppet from beneath the table on which lay a fake body for actor John Hurt.

Disappointed at not receiving more screen credit for his work, in 1980 Roger moved with his partner (and later wife) Wendy Hunt to the U.S., working on films like Caveman, The Howling, Q the Winged Serpent, and The Hunger. Dann and I met them through comics writer Don Glut. Soon disillusioned with the direction Hollywood films were taking, however, after three years they moved to North Wales in the UK; he spent his latter days on personal projects, making and selling models whose destinies he could control.

I remember as if it were yesterday my wife Dann and me visiting him and Wendy in 1985 at their sprawling place in North Wales and I asked him to show us the “facehugger” and “chestburster” models he retained from Alien. Roger opened a box that housed the latter; I was fascinated, but Dann just stared at it blankly. Roger seemed puzzled—till I explained that she didn’t really recognize the “chestburster,” since during that entire scene she had hidden her face in her hands, so therefore she was now seeing it for the first time! But it didn’t matter that much to Roger. What mattered was, he had scared her! That means a lot to a monster-maker.

Roger saw himself as a bit of a freelance pirate, emulating Errol Flynn and Burt Lancaster’s The Crimson Pirate.

He’ll be missed by just about everyone who ever met him.

UPDATE #1

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69

loving, meticulous job while under an impending deadline. An isolated instance, fine. A way of life?

No. Enjoyed the notion that both Dan Adkins and Tom were an easier sell to Marvel because they’d been affiliated with the departed, yet still respected, Wally Wood. If Wally was so stridently against working for Stan again—as mentioned in the Ralph Reese coverage—how is it he returned, briefly, in 1970 to do “Dr. Doom,” some horror stories, and to ink Cap #127? Was it through an intermediary? Perhaps at a particularly low point in his career, where he desperately needed the work? Or was he open to a second try and, ultimately, didn’t feel it worked out any better than in 1964-65?

Very much appreciated the second portion of the Ralph Reese conversation. An abundance of info on him and Wood.

F

aced with the daunting dilemma of which of this issue’s mid-1950s super-heroes to homage in his “maskot” illo, our Australian ally Shane Foley passed over Timely-Atlas’ “Big Three,” Simon & Kirby’s Fighting American, and the Ajax-Farrell quintet—to center on Strongman, the least standardly super-heroic of Magazine Enterprises’ two brief shooting stars of that period. But it’s easy to see why. Both Strongman and The Avenger were drawn by the great Bob Powell, one of the industry’s true workhorses (and a singular talent as well)—who, in addition, had even drawn a pair of “Sub-Mariner” stories for Stan Lee. I (Roy) have always considered it regrettable that, for some reason, Powell was never given a single story to both pencil and ink during the Stan-styled Marvel Age of Comics; he had to settle for doing whatever Wally Wood didn’t want to do on a couple of Daredevil issues, and for a single penciling job, when inking was at least half his style. Oh well, at least Shane—in concert with his colorist buddy Randy Sargent—shows what Powell would’ve done with Biljo White’s hero Captain Ego! You can’t have everything! [Captain Ego TM & © Roy Thomas & Estate of Bill Schelly; created by Biljo White.]

Now, on to a guy whose stellar career in comics was based, for the most part, on his singular inking style, despite the fact that he contributed a few striking paintings in his later years as well—terrific Tom Palmer, the featured cover star of Alter Ego #184—plus comments on a few other aspects of that issue as well. We start with a reader whose missives seem to pop up in more issues than not, Joe Frank: Dear Roy,

Though I’m familiar with the name Tom Palmer and have seen a range of his work over the last fifty-plus years, I knew very little about his background and work methods. This tribute issue filled in numerous blanks quite nicely. His interviewers came well-prepared.

Appreciated that Tom went out of his way not to deride any of his collaborators. It was all about the work, not the personalities.

Question: If Neal Adams was late on X-Men and Avengers, would the letterer, Tom, and the colorist get partial batches of art to keep them going, or have to wait till all 20 pages were drawn and written? If such circumstances were ongoing, that would make them continually scramble to make up for lost time. Hard to do a

A question about the pro gatherings and parties of the ’60s and ’70s, in New York: We hear about how many people attended, met, and became friends with other professionals in that situation. But what about those pros who’d already taken a dislike to others in the field? Were there awkward meetings, or would one or both parties simply tune out the other—or leave?

Finally, a question about Neal getting The X-Men: Was it really the worst-selling Marvel book? Or, since Doctor Strange, Nick Fury, and Captain Marvel were canceled about that same time, was it simply a low seller but not the absolute worst?

Alter Ego #184 was a particularly insightful issue, not only concerning Tom Palmer but also those with whom he collaborated.

Joe Frank

The Academy of Comic Book Arts gatherings in the first half of the 1970s were occasions when the great, near-great, and hangers-on of the profession were most likely to come into close contact, Joe—and, as one who attended virtually all ACBA’s major functions, I can’t say I ever saw personal grievances come to light. Oh, sure, some would push laborunion-like organizing while others wanted ACBA to be just a social group, and various souls grappled about that at meetings from time to time… but mostly they buried their differences at the annual awards banquets. Plenty of time for sniping the rest of the year, right?

Even though I had access to many of Marvel’s sales figures by the late 1960s, I’ve no idea whether or not The X-Men was really the company’s “worst-selling” title or not, but it was definitely in the running, along with Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, and Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (the latter especially after Jim Steranko departed, though it was never a great seller at any time—just a mag everybody there thought was one of Marvel’s most imaginative). I do know, so far as I can know anything, that there was never any plan on Stan Lee’s part to cancel X-Men in two issues, as Neal often recounted, because Stan wasn’t the guy who canceled books—publisher Martin Goodman was—but that doesn’t mean Stan might not have said something like that to Neal, since he had, just a month earlier, asked me to come back as writer to try to see if we could save the mutant mag from going down the drain. There isn’t always a “true or false” answer to every question, alas.

Next, a few words from another letters-section regular, Bernie Bubnis: Hi Roy,

It’s refreshing to read an interview that covers a professional

70

re:

who has spent most of his career with one company. And Tom Palmer never has a bad word to say about anyone! Not even you!

Kidding aside, he was not only super-talented but also supersecure with himself. It can’t be an act, because he gets plenty of chances to throw shade at a lot of folks.

I also learned a lot about the simple job of inking another’s pencil work. It ain’t simple.

Bernie Bubnis

If it was, Bernie, then guys like Tom Palmer, Joe Sinnott, Frank Giacoia, and several others wouldn’t be as well-remembered as they are in the history of Silver Age comics.

With regard to Tom’s first published comics job, penciling for Wally Wood the story “The Golden Goddess of Thalthor” in Charlton’s Jungle Jim #22 (Feb. 1969), Art Lortie sent this quotation from prominent EC fan Bhob Stewart’s blog “Potrzebie,” dated April 2012:

I arrived at [Wood’s] West 74th Street studio while Wood was looking over Palmer’s penciled pages. Wood said, “His drawings looked like Archie, Betty, and Veronica, yet since he told all the kids in his neighborhood that he’s now a famous comic book artist, I can’t bring myself to reject this. I guess I’ll give him a chance to redraw it.”

Apparently he did, Art. The splash to that “Jungle Jim” story was printed in A/E #184, and another page from it is printed at right. Tom soon went on to pencil a single issue of Doctor Strange (#171), and then to ink the entire 1969-70 run of Gene Colan’s work before the title was sadly canceled after #183. But Tom himself went thereafter from strength to strength, and had a long career in his chosen field. We could only wish it had been even longer!

Off on a slightly different tangent, we hear next from Mike Dunne:

Hi Roy,

I just finished the Tom Palmer interview and it was great.

One quick note: The artist Tom referred to at the close of the interview was Bob Fujitani. Bob and I had corresponded since I met him in San Diego in 2005. Bob’s final residence overlooked the elementary school he attended as a child. When he wrote one year to thank me for the annual Christmas card, he told me it was the only Christmas card he had received. When you are in your 90s, there are not many contemporaries left.

So I resolved to change that and enlisted the third-grade children of Middle Valley Elementary School in Hamilton County to send Bob a Christmas card, along with their Facebook friends.

Bob was overwhelmed with cards that year, and the children of the Middle Valley Marvels continued to send Bob cards every Christmas.

As a thank-you, I donated a Flash Gordon Sunday strip that Bob had ghosted to the school, and every Christmas I donate a reprint of a child-friendly ’60s title to their library.

Mike Dunne

Thanks for your decidedly feel-good letter, Mike! Bob Fujitani was a well-respected artist from the Golden Age of Comics, and deserved to be remembered both in his old age and afterward.

On another front, Shane Foley (yes, the same guy who drew our “maskot” illo a page back) points out that the cover of The Avengers #95 (seen on p. 3 of A/E #194) was actually penciled not by Neal Adams but

by John Buscema. I blush to admit that the error was mine, even though I knew better. By the time I noticed my mistake, though, the issue was already on the presses.

And, before we go, I’d like to make a mild plea for readers to send more letters and e-mails after perusing our illustrious issues. After all,

Working Out At The Jungle Jim The Palmer/Wood splash page of this story from Charlton’s Jungle Jim #22 was seen back in A/E #184—so here’s a later page from the tale, in which the hero performs feats more like those in the Johnny Weissmuller Jungle Jim films than anything found in Alex Raymond’s classic newspaper comic strip. Script by Bhob Stewart. Thanks to Art Lortie. [TM & © King Features Syndicate, Inc.]

why should Bernie, Joe, and a few others have all the fun?

Whatever you have to say, you can send it to:

Roy Thomas e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com 32 Bluebird Trail St. Matthews, SC 29135

And, if you want to join our online chat group about Alter Ego and other things comics-related, you can do so at https://groups.io/g/AlterEgo-Fans. If you have problems signing up, take a short detour to Chet Cox, who moderates the site, at mormonyoyoman.com and he’ll assist you in getting on board.

In addition, we hope you’ll check out The Roy Thomas Appreciation Board, operated by John Cimino on Facebook. A great way to keep in touch with what I’ve been up to lately—or will be, in the not-too-distant future.

If you’re a convention promoter or comic store proprietor who’d like to look into the possibilities of a personal appearance by yours truly, you can contact John, my ever-industrious media manager, at johnstretch@ live.com... if you can catch him at a time when he’s not either working out in the gym or making a deal for us to fly away to some exotic locale.

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The WHO’S WHO of American Comic Books 1928-1999 Online Edition Created by Jerry G. Bails FREE – online searchable database – FREE http://www. bailsprojects.com/ whoswho.aspx – No password required Splash panel (minus logo) of the story “Sky Web” from Sterling Comics’ Captain Flash #4 (July 1955).

Pencils by Mike Sekowsky; inker & scripter unknown.

Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Roy & Gerry appear on March 8 & 9 only

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TRINA, BECK, & FCA A 2-Part Tribute To TRINA ROBBINS

by P. C. Hamerlinck

T

Part I

rina Robbins was one of the many Golden Age comicbook-reading kids who wishfully shouted (or whispered) “Shazam!” and dreamed that the word would turn them into a super-hero.

For many, Trina was a real-life super-hero… a trailblazer of the 1960s counterculture underground comix movement (before saying goodbye to them in 1977 because, as she put it, they had become “yucky”)… to a successful mainstream magazine illustrator and comicbook cartoonist before settling into the role of esteemed and well-respected scholar/historian.

The Mary Marvel Marching Society

I first got to know Trina during the 1980s through C.C. Beck’s “Critical Circle”—a small group of individuals that Beck had handpicked to comment and debate by mail on the various (Right:) In fact, here’s Trina’s Mary Marvel cover comic art essays he was writing art for P.C. Hamerlinck’s self-published FCA #56, at the time. Trina and I were two Summer ’96. [Shazam heroine TM & © DC Comics.] of its members right up until Beck disbanded the Circle on No, I don’t recall meeting Chad, although I may have. However, September 9, 1989, after suffering a stroke which paralyzed his I do recall meeting Walt Disney. Fawcett art director Al Allard sent me entire left side. to a reception for him. I knew only vaguely who he was at the time, and he had probably never heard of me. We looked at each other Upon learning that Trina had passed away (on April 10, 2024), suspiciously and neither of us said a word.

I took a moment to peruse the Beck file material bequeathed to me many years ago, which includes photocopies of correspondence he March 17, 1986: had with so many of us. I took out the folder containing letters he Your Misty stories are as cheerful and entertaining as can be. I’m had written to Trina. Here are some excerpts from a few of Beck’s amazed that you can present them without ever including fights with missives: knives, dope, booze, pregnant teenagers, and all that stuff. And I’m February 5, 1985: more amazed that any publisher will even look at your material.

I’m glad to know that your strip [Misty] is being handled by January 15, 1987: Marvel. How can any company named after the great Captain himself I’m glad to hear that you are still full of vigor in spite of the way be anything but honest, upright, true, steadfast, and so on? I wish they you’ve been treated in the industry. I could very easily imagine what had revived the Big Red Cheese instead of DC. I’ve met Jim Shooter Marvel could do to your Misty—turn her into a six-foot-tall, muscleand Stan Lee and like them both. covered monstrosity wearing pasties and a garter belt. Look at what Trina’s passion for comics history was apparent in her oftenDC did to Captain Marvel. inquisitive letters to Beck. She asked the artist his inspiration for As for your starting a new character, don’t think they won’t try to Billy Batson. stop you. Captain Marvel didn’t look anything like Superman, but DC I based him on Chester Gump and Skeezix… typical boy heroes still sued Fawcett as soon as he appeared. Now that they own the old something like Tom Sawyer or Jim Hawkins, the boy in Treasure boy they’re turning him into another monstrosity.

Island.

The comics field is in its baroque period now. Hype and overkill are in style; honesty and truth are signs of imbecility or, in my case, of She also inquired if he knew Chad Grothkopf, artist of senility.

“Hoppy The Marvel Bunny.”

(Left:) Trina Robbins and C.C. Beck at the San Diego Comic-Con, 1977—the year each of them received an Inkpot Award. Each drew illustrations of Fawcett’s Mary Marvel from time to time, too.

Photo scanned by P.C. Hamerlinck from Beck’s personal scrapbook.

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Trina, as on July 7, 1988: One of my beliefs is that illustrating stories takes a lot of the imaginative quality out of them rather than adding anything to them.

Never draw any more than necessary. If characters can be left out of a panel without hurting anything, leave them out. Show backgrounds once to establish them, then leave them out.

The purpose of illustrations is to show the actions and emotions of the characters, not the details of their costumes and anatomy. The characters must move, roll their eyes, shrug, wave their arms, frown, smile, laugh, cry. Any character who is not doing something should not be shown.

What is not seen is more intriguing than what is seen. Off-panel sounds and voices are more exciting than on-panel ones.

Lines around the outside of objects should be heavier than lines inside them. This is why I don’t like lots of shadows on figures as realistic artists use—they break up the figures.

You probably know all these things and won’t argue with me about them. Many artists did—and still do. The late Don Newton insisted on drawing Captain Marvel with shadows all over him. Some of today’s artists have called my work “stick-figure.”

December 12, 1988: I’m really happy to hear from you. I thought that I might have offended you by expressing some views not in agreement with your more liberal opinions, and that perhaps you had written me off as a hopeless far-right conservative, which i am not. I have been in a fight with narrow-mindedness and bigotry all my life and still am.

Play Misty For Me! Trina’s “Super Misty”—from the sixth (and final) issue of her Marvel/Star Comics series Misty, dated Oct. 1986—was an obvious one-time homage to Mary Marvel. In an earlier story in that same issue, Misty is seen working on a skit at “Station WOW”—a small shout-out to Fawcett’s Wow Comics, which starred Mary Marvel for much of the 1940s. Coloring by Elaine Lee; lettering

by Lois Buhalis; everything else by Trina Robbins. [Misty TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

March 3, 1989: You’re right about our living in a country where we have a right to satire. My opinion is that what we have today is not satire but childish, tasteless, name-calling slander. The laughs we hear today are the laughs that were once heard from the mob every time a head was lopped off by the executioner. I’m not laughing, are you?

March 7, 1986: I agree with you [about] a good artist’s being able to illustrate a poor story and make it acceptable because of their great artwork, as Howard Pyle and some of the great illustrators did with Robin Hood and other old stories. But how many great illustrators are ever around at any one time? Especially working in comic books? There were some terrible artists working on the Captain Marvel stories at times but the stories themselves, thanks to Fawcett editors and writers, were always so good that nobody could ruin them entirely. The same thing can be said of the early Superman and Batman comics; later the art got better, but the stories became worse.

Beck occasionally offered unsolicited drawing guidance to

We got to learn more about Trina after Critical Circle members were

Counterculture & Comix (Above:) Trina strikes a patriotic pose in front of her East Village boutique, NYC circa 1967.

(Right:) In 1970 she produced the first all-woman comixbook, It Ain’t Me Babe, published by Last Gasp.

Pictured are Olive Oyl, Wonder Woman, Mary Marvel, Little Lulu, Sheena, and Elsie the Cow. [Wonder Woman, Shazam heroine TM & © DC Comics; Sheena is a trademark of Galaxy Publishing, Inc., & Val D’Oro Entertainment, or successors in interest; other characters TM & © the respective copyright holders.]

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asked to recall things from childhood.

Beck’s report is dated June 4, 1988:

Trina The Herstorian The Great Women Super Heroes, by Trina Robbins, was published in 1996 by Kitchen Sink. The four stalwarts from left to right are Pines/Nedor’s Miss Masque, Fox’s version of Phantom Lady, Will Eisner’s Lady Luck, and EC’s Moon Girl. [Cover art TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Trina Robbins had an imaginary companion she called Beany. She had sent away for a Captain Midnight decoder ring from Ovaltine. She never liked meat as a child and still doesn’t; her daughter is a vegetarian. She has always loved reading, writing, and drawing.

She was bullied by everyone, and hated cleaning her room.

She wishes she had been born in 1920 so that by 1940 she would have been old enough to get a job drawing comics in the beginnings of the Golden Age.

Wonder Woman was Trina’s favorite heroine, but she was also a lifelong fan of the World’s Mightiest Girl, Mary Marvel. Trina was a subscriber to Fawcett Collectors of America during all its phases. She graciously drew the cover artwork for issue #56 during my self-published

revival of the publication in the mid-’90s.

I was delighted to assist Trina with Fawcett-related material for her book The Great Women Super Heroes (Kitchen Sink, 1996), and she gave me permission to publish a first-draft chapter excerpt from it prior to its release. In that tome she relished the fact that Mary Marvel’s “SHAZAM” acronym stood for Selena, Hippolyta, Ariadne, Zephyrus, Aurora, and Minerva—and that none of the comic’s readers either knew or minded that Zephyrus was a male deity (who was always illustrated as a woman by the artists). She also noted that, like Wonder Woman, many of Mary’s adventures were written with a strong fantasy element and that, by the time Fawcett ceased publishing comics, Mary Marvel had appeared in 172 comicbooks—more comics than any other super-heroine … except Wonder Woman.

The last time I talked to Trina she was running late to one of her panel appearances at the 2016 San Diego Comic Fest, but she still took the time to catch up with me. Her kindness was immeasurable. That was Trina.

A TRINA TRIBUTE, Part II:

“Five Lessons I Learned from Trina Robbins”

T

rina Robbins is and always will be one of my favorite cartoonists. When I was a kid in the early 1980s and got

Super-Doings (Left:) Jack Binder’s cover for Fawcett’s Mary Marvel #13 (June 1947) featured the six goddesses who constituted Mary’s “SHAZAM” acronym… which included one odd choice, as noted in the article. [Shazam heroine TM & © DC Comics.]

(Right:) Trina Robbins illustrated (in Golden Age-style) and co-plotted (with Kurt Busiek) the 1986 4-issue mini-series The Legend of Wonder Woman.

Seen here is the premier splash page of #1 (May 1986); that issue’s cover was depicted in our previous issue. [TM & © DC Comics.]

by Brian Cremins

Trina, Beck, & FCA

my first subscription to the Comics Buyer’s Guide, hers was one of the names I started seeing in letters, in bylines, and in ads for the comicbooks I would track down at Jim’s Comic Book Shop in Waterbury, Connecticut.

I can’t remember exactly, but I think I first saw her work in California Girls from Eclipse Comics, or Misty from Marvel’s Star Comics line. There’s such a joy and simplicity to her work. Her lines dance elegantly across the page, with a sparkle and a musicality that’s unlike any of her contemporaries. As FCA readers will also know, Trina was also a founding member of C.C. Beck’s Critical Circle—an assembly of correspondents with whom he shared his essays and ideas in the last few years of his life. (Erstwhile FCA editor P.C. Hamerlinck was another member of the Circle.)

Mary-Go-Round

77

When I think of Trina Robbins, I think not only of her (Above:) Trina told the FCA editor artwork, but of her impact as a herstorian, her support of that she loved the painting of Mary young artists, writers, and scholars, her love of cats and of Marvel that C.C. Beck made for her in Gene Clark of The Byrds, and, most of all, of her kindness.

1980. Beck based the image of Mary Since Trina’s death on April 10, 2024, there have been many on Marc Swayze’s Wow Comics #9 excellent eulogies praising her life and work. When P.C. cover. This photo first appeared in asked me if I could impart some personal impressions Trina’s book The Great Women Super Heroes. (Photo © 1996 Steve Leialoha, about her for FCA, I have to admit I felt that there was little comicbook artist and Trina’s I could add, and, as I began writing, I also felt another wave longtime partner.) of sadness at Trina’s passing. This essay isn’t about her (Right:) Trina drew this mighty Mary pioneering work as an underground cartoonist, about the Marvel convention sketch for fan romance and super-hero comics she created in the 1980s, Mike Bromberg in 2005. Thanks to or about her work as a writer and herstorian. Rather, to Mike for the scan. [Shazam heroine pay tribute to this comics legend, I’ve decided to share the TM & © DC Comics.] top five things I learned from her. There’s a lot more that I could have listed, but I thought this would be a good start “looked like Prince Valiant.” In that same passage from her book, for readers not familiar with the scope of Trina’s career, or those Trina finds a way to write about folk icon and banjo master Pete looking to explore how wide-ranging and influential her comics, Seeger, cartoonist Hal Foster, and even Theodore Sturgeon’s classic her activism, and her writing have been over the last six decades. science-fiction novel More Than Human. Trina and her friends, she remembers, were thrilled to learn that the band’s original line-up— #1 – That’s For The Byrds!

McGuinn on guitar, Clark on vocals, David Crosby on vocals and rhythm guitar, Chris Hillman on bass and vocals, and Michael You probably already know that Trina is featured in the lyrics Clarke on for Joni Mitchell’s “Ladies of the Canyon,” the title track from Joni’s drums and 1970 album of the same name. Read Trina’s 2017 autobiography Last percussion— Girl Standing and you’ll also learn that The Byrds, another fixture of “were sciencethe 1960s Los Angeles folk-rock and psychedelic scene, was one of fiction fans!” her favorite bands. The Byrds went through many line-up changes over the course of their career, with the only constant being Roger Like McGuinn’s Robbins voice and the herself, chime of his The Byrds, electric 12-string especially on Rickenbacker their early guitar. In one records, wove of the many together memorable all sorts of passages from influences in Last Girl Standing, their music.

Trina remembers They claimed seeing The Byrds the Beatles for the first and Dylan as time at a club influences, “Play A Song For Me…” named Vito’s and of course, Brian Cremins & Trina Robbins The Byrds’ 1965 album Mr. Tambourine Man (CBS Records) thinking that but they [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.] singer Gene Clark in St. Louis, Fall of 2015. also found

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inspiration in folk and country music, blues, the modal jazz of John Coltrane, the classical Indian music of Ravi Shankar, the experimental noise and atonality of postwar classical composers. “Even today, and probably forever,” Trina writes in her autobiography, “when I hear the introductory chords of their ‘Mister Tambourine Man,’ I get chills. There will never be another group like them.”

Want to see and hear the early Byrds at their best? Take a listen to their version of Gerry Goffin and Carole King’s “Wasn’t Born to Follow,” which first appeared on their 1968 album The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and provides the soundtrack to a memorable early sequence in Dennis Hopper’s 1969 film Easy Rider. The lesson here?

Take to the road when you need to, but, as McGuinn and Coltrane and Carole King would remind us, also listen for the changes. Is this a country song? Folk? Can’t you also hear a little punk rock in McGuinn’s flanged guitar, or in Clarence White’s burning Telecaster break as “Wasn’t Born to Follow” draws to a close? Those categories are all for the birds. Just keep your ears open, and keep rolling.

#2 – The Cat’s Meow Trina loved cats. Of the e-mails from her that I cherish, I especially adore the ones where we traded stories about our feline roommates. I enjoyed telling her the story about how a tiny calico named Rosie and I found each other in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the summer of 2004, when I was starting my first teaching job after finishing grad school. As a New Englander, I was miserable in the heat and humidity of the Gulf, but enchanted with the landscape, the River Road to New Orleans, the tiny pink-throated lizards playing in the backyard of the small house I’d rented. One day, on my way out for groceries, I saw a small face peering back at me, one eye ringed in black and the other ringed in orange. Over the next eighteen years, Rosie and I found ourselves on many adventures together, until she passed away from old age in the summer of 2022.

In June 2016, Trina and I were sharing snapshots of our cats. Trina had just sent me and my wife Allison pics of Charlie and Chester, and we e-mailed back iPhone photos

Feline Fun (Above:) The cover of Captain Marvel Adventures #82 (March 1948), featuring writer Otto Binder and artist C.C. Beck’s terrific talking tiger, Mr. Tawny.

Artwork by Beck. [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics.]

(Right:) Rosie—Brian Cremins’ very own “Mr. Tawny.”

of our beloved 23-pound tabby Rocky sitting next to Rosie. In her reply from Friday, June 10, Trina wrote, “Rosie is beautiful, and I know she’s happy to have found a home with you.”

Then, she added a couple of sentences that read like a thumbnail for Booked! a comic strip: Trina at the 1993 San Diego Comic Con, displaying her “Cardboard book A Century of Women Cartoonists (from Kitchen cartons are cat Sink Press), which had just been released that year. traps, as are brown paper bags. I have been told that the way to catch a tiger is to get hold of a humongous brown paper bag and leave it in a clearing in the jungle, and the tiger will crawl right in.”

Wouldn’t this make a fantastic plot for a Whiz Comics feature?

I can see C.C. Beck and Trina sketching it all out, and Otto Binder taking notes. Dr. Sivana’s designed the biggest paper bag ever, and he’s tricked Beautia into capturing Mr. Tawny. Will Billy get there in time? Beck draws Captain Marvel and Trina draws Mary Marvel, and their old pal Harlan Ellison adds some dialogue. How are Billy and Tawny going to bust out of the biggest paper bag the Universe has ever seen? Can we get The Byrds or The Doors to do the music for the book and record set?

As for me, I love rabbits, dogs, spiders, dragonflies, and the robins and hummingbirds and attic finches that perch on our back porch here in Chicago as I write this on a warm, bright, slightly humid July afternoon. But, like Trina, I think cats are the best.

#3 – Herstory!

I’ve been teaching English and writing for going on thirty years now. I’m always looking for essays and poems and stories and passages in which writers share the joy of the writing process. When it comes to writing these days, with the gloomy landscape we find ourselves in, and technology that threatens to both help and overwhelm us, especially in the form of Artificial Intelligence, I find that my main goal in the classroom is to convey the excitement that comes with getting words down, especially when my students are writing about their experiences. One of my colleagues this coming fall semester is teaching a writing course that focuses, for example, on joy! It’s all well and good to talk about writing as a chore, since it’s difficult sometimes, but why limit the young writer to a notion of writing as some gloomy Romantic mystery, one that brings with it pain and struggle and isolation? Why write at all, especially when AI bots can do it for us, if it’s really that painful of a process?

Here’s what Trina says about the prose writing that became her focus starting in the 1980s, first with 1985’s Women and the Comics, her classic book with editor and pioneer comics scholar cat yronwode (another of my comics heroines and role models): “I love writing. I love writing graphic novels for kids, who, despite all those dumb articles that start ‘Comics aren’t for kids anymore,’ had no comics at all aimed at them until recently. I have even gotten to write comics starring my lifelong heroine,

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rest?

Wonder Woman!”

There you have it. It’s the same joy you’ll find in any of Trina’s more recent herstories about comics. It’s the same love you’ll sense if you read the letters C.C. Beck exchanged with her in the late 1980s, as they learned from each other, and as they reached out to each other across political and generational lines. In my classes, I like to pass on the lessons I’ve learned from my favorite writers to my students, now more than ever, especially as the young people in my classes navigate their way in the post-pandemic world in which we live. I hope this message gets through to them, passed along from Trina: “The very act of sitting at the computer pushing keys on the keyboard feels good to me. Could this be how a piano player feels while tickling the ivories? The piano player produces music; I produce words.”

#4 – “She Don’t Care About Time” In the fall of 2015, I got to meet Trina in person for the first time. Comics scholar Dan Yezbick asked if the two of us would be up for doing a presentation and Q&A on Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family in St. Louis, which Dan tells me is filled with old-school Fawcett fans and collectors. Having only corresponded with Trina for a couple of years, I was ecstatic, and terribly nervous, so, as I tend to do, I over-prepared. I had a script! I had questions!

I had images from decades of Captain Marvel comics! I had a slide show with lots of pull quotes from the Critical Circle letters! I had photos of Trina, of Beck, of Binder, of Mr. Tawny. Trina was as lovely and kind and funny as ever, but we’d run into a problem: we’d been booked at the same time as a Watchmen panel!

Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m a fan of the series, I read it issue by issue as it was first published from 1986 to 1987, I’ve published articles about my admiration for Alan Moore’s work, which had a huge impact on me when I was a kid. But I was worried—who was going to be part of our Fawcett panel if everyone was busy talking about Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias and all the

For luck, I’d brought with me two of Famous Cartoonist Series buttons from 1975, one of Trina and the other of Beck.

I’d pinned them to a pencil case I’d bought at the Center for Cartoon Studies during a visit there in 2013. Trina ran her fingers over the two buttons, delighted to see them, and then, Famous Cartoonists—Collect Them All! lingering over Beck’s, C.C. Beck’s Famous Cartoonists Series button said, “He was such a dear from 1975. To see Trina Robbins’ FCS button, man.” A year later, when check out this issue’s FCA cover!

I shared a photo of those two buttons with her, she wrote back, “[I] just looked at the slides, the one of my famous cartoonist button next to CC’s button made me chuckle and then got me a little teary-eyed.

What a dear guy he was! Thank you!”

It turned out I was right, but I was wrong, too. Only a handful of folks turned up at our panel. A couple snuck out to hear Trina talk about her love of Billy Batson and Mary Marvel and of C.C. Beck. Before we got started, I proudly showed Trina the slides I’d made, and the script with questions, and all my other notes, and she gently said, “We won’t need any of that. Let’s just talk!”

One of my favorite Byrds songs is Gene Clark’s “She Don’t Care about Time.” When Trina and I were on that panel together, she wasn’t worried about the crowd, or about how much time we had to share memories of the Big Red Cheese. As soon as I saw the mischief in her eye, I knew we were good to go. Let the boys on the panel next door get all serious and weepy about Watchmen, she seemed to say. We’ll be the ones having fun. And we did!

#5 – “Thank You For Being A Friend” When I started working on my book Captain Marvel and the Art of Nostalgia in late 2012, I immediately decided that I wanted to talk with readers who’d first encountered these beloved Fawcett heroes in the early 1940s, so Trina was at the top of my list. After tracking down her e-mail address, I wrote to her to ask about her love of Mary Marvel, and she replied to my e-mail quickly and enthusiastically, soon mailing me the original copies of all of the Critical Circle letters she had in her files, along with copies of a Beck comicbook script, and even envelopes with some of her rough sketches and pencil drawings.

I just had to promise to make use of the letters, and then send them back to her, safe and sound!

Big Bad Books Of 2017 (Left:) Brian Cremins’ indispensable book Captain Marvel and the Art of Nostalgia (University Press of Mississippi). Cover art by Keiler Roberts [keilerroberts.com].

(Right:) Trina Robbins’ autobiography Last Girl Standing. [© the respective copyright holders.]

After making copies for my files, and quoting extensively from the letters in my book and in other articles I’ve written for FCA over the years, I carefully sent the Critical Circle papers back to Trina. Having the support of one of my life-long role models meant a lot to me, and I mailed Trina a copy of my book when it was published in 2016, complete with a drawing I did for her of Mr. Tawny. I’ve kept the copies of the

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Critical Circle letters carefully preserved in a binder, which now sits open before me as I write this and we time-travel back to 1988.

In Beck’s letter to Trina from that spring, he asks, “How about my lining up a dozen or more people like yourself with whom I correspond and sending them one of my unpublished articles every so often?” Retired at that point, Beck remained an active presence in comics fandom, especially with his letters and columns for The Comics Journal. “I write many more [essays] than are published,” he continued, “and get all sorts of ideas and questions from my correspondents, whose comments I’d like to share with others.”

At first glance, Trina and Beck might appear to be an unlikely duo. However, the two artists admired and respected each other immensely. In another one of Beck’s letters to Trina in the spring of 1989, Beck wrote sincerely of how much he’d learned from her as they exchanged opinions and ideas. Even at those moments when they disagreed, say, about politics, they still admired each other, and learned from those differences of opinion: “I really appreciate your letters,” Beck wrote, “as they help me to understand many things in today’s world. For example, you believe that Reagan was an awful person because he put this country into debt and didn’t do anything about the poor and homeless, while I believe that it was Congress that appropriated all the money that has put us in debt, not the President, who has no power to spend any money. As for the poor and homeless, nobody has done anything for them, in my opinion.” Despite these political differences, Beck added, “But we still respect each other, don’t we? We don’t call each other awful names, do we?”

As creators steeped in a humanist tradition of art and literature, Beck and Trina, of course, shared a lot more in common, notably this sense of compassion for one’s neighbor rooted also in a strong sense of civic duty. In other words, even if they might have come from different points on the political spectrum, both shared a desire for community, one in which all are welcome, and in which a key responsibility is passing on one’s knowledge, love, and experience to a younger generation.

Beck wrote in more detail about the importance of breaking down the illusory walls that separate people—by race, by economic status, by politics, by generational difference—in a follow-up letter

that summer, in which he noted, “I believe you are about the same age as my daughter, who was a child during the Golden Age of Comics.” In the letter, he then adds how proud he is about the “nice assortment of ages and also of ethnic backgrounds” of the members of the Circle, who’d recently shared biographical sketches of themselves with each other. What Beck adds next is also at the heart of what makes his best work on Captain Marvel so endearing and so lasting, a quiet but unshakable faith in the multi-voicedness of American society as celebrated by great poets like Phillis Wheatley and Walt Whitman: “Don’t worry about our different views of things—that’s what makes life interesting. Nothing bores me more than being in a group of people who agree on everything.

That’s why I shun church groups, sports gatherings, and concerts of all kinds. I stopped going to comic conventions because they were getting to be nothing but gatherings of childish fans of this or that Wham Blam Pow comic book hero or other. Yuck!”

In the essay she wrote for the Comics Buyer’s Guide not long after Beck’s passing in 1989, Trina echoed these sentiments from his 1989 letter. This appeal to democratic values, with a strong and diverse community at its heart, was also central to her view of the world, of art itself. Like her friend and mentor, Trina had little use for comics tribalism, and she especially disliked the violence and cynicism that pervaded the comics world in the 1980s. In her moving tribute to her friend, Trina wrote, “C.C. delighted in being a curmudgeon, yet I was very aware that most of his crustiness was an act. He was a believer in and a practitioner of the gentle and humorous in life and comics.” In an e-mail Trina sent to me in the fall of 2015, as I was finishing my Captain Marvel book, she remembered her old friend and mentor, and echoed these lines from the loving essay she’d written about him: “C.C. was a dear guy–I am more of a curmudgeon than he was!”

I don’t know if I agree with Trina that she was a curmudgeon; if so, she was one of the funniest and most loving I’ve ever met. If it’s true, I hope one day to call myself a curmudgeon, too. Like so many others who fell under Trina’s magnificent spell, I’ll be able to say that I learned from the best, that I don’t care about time, either, and that I hope to continue to live in a world of cats and comics and music and kindness. Thank you, Trina.

Trina & Friends (Left:) Trina’s poster for an exhibition of women cartoonists’ art that she put together in 1978.

Thanks to Pedro Angosto. [Art © the respective copyright holders.]

(Right:) Trina, on right, with her life partner Steve Leialoha and their good friend “Fabulous Flo” Steinberg, once Marvel’s corresponding secretary— together in a 1989 photo.

CRYPTOLOGY #2

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CRYPTOLOGY #4

CRYPTOLOGY #5

CRYPTOLOGY #6

ROGER HILL’s conversation with diabolical DON HECK, severed hand films, pre-Code comic book terrors, the otherworldly horrors of Hammer’s Quatermass, a Killer “B” movie classic, plus horror-inspired covers of the Shadow’s own comic book, and more!

Start the ghoul-year with retro-horror done right by FORSHAW, the KRONENBERGS, LEESE, RICHARD HAND, VON SHOLLY, and editor PETER NORMANTON.

See MARS ATTACKS banned cards, model kits, comics, and a few words from the film’s deranged storyboard artist PETE VON SHOLLY! Also, the chilling poster art of REYNOLD BROWN, terrifying puppets from film, and more comic books they’d prefer you forget! Plus, more Hammer Time, JUSTIN MARRIOT on obscure ’70s fear-filled paperbacks, another Killer “B” film, and more to satiate your sinister side!

Get ALEX ROSS’ gory lowdown on his Universal Monsters paintings! Spend Hammer Time with the “Brides of Dracula”, and 3-D horror movies and comics of the 1950s! Learn the origins of slasher films, chill to pre-Code artwork of Atlas’ BILL EVERETT and ACG’s 3-D maestro HARRY LAZARUS, see a Killer “B” movie, and more

by NORMANTON, the KRONENBERGS, LEESE, VOGER, and VON SHOLLY!

SKULL & BONES ISSUE! Ghost Rider from comics to movies, skeleton covers from Atlas Digests and pre-Code horror comics, HY FLEISHMAN’s 1950s skeleton covers and stories, Disney’s skeletons, ’70s Pirates of the Caribbean models and Last Gasp’s Skull Comics, the films of William Castle, and Killer B films: House on Haunted Hill, The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake, plus our Hammertime section!

ZOMBIE ISSUE! The films White Zombie and I Walked With A Zombie, GEORGE ROMERO and LUCIO FULCI’s zombie apocalypses, zombie pre-Code comics, BERNIE WRIGHTSON’s undead creations, horror comics of Brazil, the contributions of black stars of classic horror cinema, Hammer’s The Plague of Zombies, Fantaco’s Night of the Living Dead, France’s Revenant, and more!

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COMIC BOOK CREATOR #38 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #39

ALTER EGO #194

ALTER EGO #195

ALTER EGO #196

RICK VEITCH discusses his career from undergrounds and the Kubert School; the ’80s with 1941, Epic Illustrated and Heavy Metal; to Swamp Thing, The One, Brat Pack, and Maximortal! Plus TOM VEITCH’s history of ’70s underground horror comix, part one of a look at cartoonist ERROL McCARTHY, the story behind Studio Zero— the ’70s collective of artists STARLIN, BRUNNER, WEISS, and others, and more!

THOMAS YEATES career-spanning interview about the Kubert School, Swamp Thing, Eclipse Comics, and adventure strips Zorro, Tarzan, and Prince Valiant! GREG POTTER discusses his ’70s Warren horror comics and ’80s reboot of Wonder Woman with GEORGE PÉREZ, WARREN KREMER is celebrated by MARK ARNOLD, plus part one of a look at the work of STEVE WILLIS, part two of ERROL McCARTHY, and more!

ROY THOMAS celebrates 60 years in comics! Career-spanning interview by ALEX GRAND, e-mails to Roy from STAN LEE, the history of Wolverine’s creation, RT’s 1960s fan-letters to JULIUS SCHWARTZ, and his top dozen stories compiled by JOHN CIMINO! With art by BUSCEMA, KANE, ADAMS, WINDSOR-SMITH, COLAN, ORDWAY, BUCKLER, FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and cover by TONY GRAY!

NEAL ADAMS REVISITED! Interviews by ALEX GRAND and BILL FIELD, as well as EMILIO SOLTERA—and an overview of Neal’s merchandising art for Marvel and DC Comics and in other fields, conducted by JAMES ROSEN! Plus Adams art, as inked

by PALMER, GIORDANO, VERPOORTEN, ROUSSOS, SINNOTT, DEZUNIGA, and others! With FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more!

Concluding our presentation of EDDY ZENO’s book on the early SUPERMAN artists from ALTER EGO #193—with a focus on style-setting WAYNE BORING and classic cover illustrator WINSLOW MORTIMER! Featuring a fabulous, previously unprinted cover by BORING! Also: FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more! Edited by ROY THOMAS.

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KIRBY COLLECTOR #93

KIRBY COLLECTOR #94

SUPPORTING PLAYERS! Almost-major villains like Kanto the Assassin and Diablo, Rodney Rumpkin, Mr. Little, the Falcon, Randu Singh, and others take center stage!

Plus: 1970 interview with Jack by SHEL DORF, MARK EVANIER’s 2024 Kirby Tribute Panel from Comic-Con, neverreprinted Simon & Kirby story, pencil art gallery, and more! Unused Mister Miracle cover inked by MIKE ROYER!

SPACE RACES! Jack’s depictions of cosmic gods and life on other planets, including: how Ego, Tana Nile, and the Recorder took Thor to strange new worlds, OMAC’s space age future, time travelers in Kirby’s work, favorite Kirby sci-fi tropes in his stories, plus: a 1967 LEE/KIRBY interview, MARK EVANIER and other columnists, never-reprinted Simon & Kirby story, robotic pencil art gallery, cover inked by TERRY AUSTIN!

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BRICKJOURNAL #90

THE BIG ISSUE! We get on board MARK STAFFA’s giant (working!) steam engine, and show PAUL HETHERINGTON’s colossal LEGO creations, including the biggest version of It’s A Small World you’ll see outside of Disneyland! Plus BRICKNERD, Issue-by-issue entries on Marvel’s 1961– BANTHA BRICKS: Fans of LEGO Star Wars, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions 1965 output, when gunfighters traveled the West and monsters roamed the Earth!

by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS! (224-page TRADE PAPERBACK) $29.95 (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $12.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-126-4 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Summer 2025

MARVEL COMICS IN THE EARLY 1960s

ZOWIE!

Traces the history of the superhero genre from early films, through the 1960s ADAM WEST Batman TV superhero craze, and its pop culture influence ever since, through collectibles, and interviews with TV stars!

(192-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $43.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-125-7

New from TwoMorrows!

AMERICAN COMIC BOOK RETROFAN #38 CHRONICLES: 1945-49 Tune in to Saturday morning super-heroes

Covers the aftermath of WWII, when comics shifted from super-heroes to crime, romance, and western comics, BILL GAINES plotted a new course for EC Comics, and SIEGEL & SHUSTER sued for rights to Superman! By RICHARD ARNDT, KURT MITCHELL, and KEITH DALLAS.

(288-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $49.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-099-1

RETROFAN #40

RETROFAN #41

Can your mind stand the shocking truth of… ED WOOD CAST CONFESSIONS? Plus: Ideal Toys’ Zeroids, television Tarzan RON ELY, Planters® Peanuts’ Mr. Peanut, CHARLES ADDAMS, TV’s The Fugitive, the forgotten 1981 Spider-Man cartoon, and more! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, ED CATTO, and MARK VOGER.

Here comes TV’s Dennis the Menace, with stars JAY NORTH, GLORIA HENRY, and JEANNIE RUSSELL! Plus: Hogan’s Heroes turns 60, TV Western Have Gun–Will Travel, Big Little Books, The Incredible Hulk in animation, MICKY DOLENZ as Circus Boy, and more! Featuring columns by ED CATTO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER.

We kick off with TV’s original Kung Fu starring DAVID CARRADINE, a NANCY DREW history, Disney animator FLOYD NORMAN, TOM CORBETT: SPACE CADET, collectible ’60s and ’70s cereal premiums, in search of SAM GOODY, and more! Featuring columns and contributions by HERBIE J PILATO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, MARK VOGER, and editor ED CATTO!

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All characters TM & © their respective owners.

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RETROFAN #39

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, The Mod Squad, Hanna-Barbera cartoonists, Jesus Christ Superstar, Mr. Potato Head, ‘Old Yeller” actress BEVERLY WASHBURN, Flying Nun collectibles, and more! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

BACK ISSUE #159

BACK ISSUE #160

BACK ISSUE #161

BACK ISSUE #162

CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS 40th ANNIVERSARY! Pre-Crisis tour of DC’s multiple Earths, analysis of Crisis and its crossovers, Crisis Death List, post-Crisis DC retro projects, guest editorial by MARV WOLFMAN, and more! Featuring BARR, ENGLEHART, GREENBERGER, LEVITZ, MAGGIN, MOENCH, ORDWAY, THOMAS, WAID, and more! With GEORGE PÉREZ’S Crisis on Infinite Earths Index #1 cover.

SUMMER FUN ISSUE! Marvel’s Superhero Swimsuit Editions, Betty and Veronica swimsuit gallery, DC’s Strange Sports Stories, the DC/Marvel softball rivalry, San Diego Comic-Con history, Impossible Man Summer Vacation Specials, DC Slurpee cups, DC/Whitman variants, and more!

Featuring BATES, DeCARLO, HUGHES, JIM LEE, LOPRESTI, MAGGIN, ROZAKIS, STELFREEZE, and more! GUICE cover.

MUTANT MAYHEM ISSUE! BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH’s Weapon X Wolverine, the romance of Havok and Polaris, Rogue and Nightcrawler limited series, Brood and Arcade villain histories, “Mutant Massacre” crossover, and more! With JON BOGDANOVE, JOHN BYRNE, CHRIS CLAREMONT, DAVE COCKRUM, LOUISE SIMONSON, MIKE WIERINGO, and more!

WINDSOR-SMITH cover.

BACK ISSUE GOES MAD! Things get crazy this issue as we cover Madman, Batman: Mad Love, MAD superhero movie parodies, the Mad Hatter, Madballs, and more! Featuring the work of MICHAEL ALLRED, BRUCE TIMM, PAUL DINI, GERRY CONWAY, DOUG MOENCH, MIKE W. BARR, JEPH LOEB, and others. Madman cover by MICHAEL ALLRED! Edited by ROGER ASH.

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BACK ISSUE #158

HEY, MISTER ISSUE! The FF’s Mr. Fantastic, STEVE DITKO’s Mr. A, the 40th anniversary of MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s Mr. Monster, Mr. X, the Teen Titans’ Mr. Jupiter, R. CRUMB’s Mr. Natural, Archie’s Mr. Weatherbee, and a Mr. Freeze villain history! Featuring BYRNE, CARDY, CONWAY, DeCARLO, DINI, ENGLEHART, the HERNANDEZ BROS., MIGNOLA, MOTTER, and more!

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THE CRAZY COOL CULTURE WE GREW UP WITH

Dear TwoMorrows customers, Diamond Comic Distributors has filed for bankruptcy without paying for our December and January magazines and books, leaving us with enormous losses—and we still have to cover our expenses on those items, and keep producing your favorite publications. Until payments from our new distributors begin in a few months, we’re staying afloat with webstore sales. So here are some ways you can help: 1) Order something at www.twomorrows.com!

Anything you purchase directly from us—print or digital—will help us stay in business, and avoid disruptions to our upcoming releases. NOW WITH LOWER INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING PRICES! Download our new 74-page 2025 interactive catalog for easy ordering at: https://shorturl.at/gA9Fv and don’t miss: • Full 8-volume sets of American Comic Book Chronicles hardcovers at 30% off!

• Ultimate bundles with most older issues of our magazines at 50% off, and more!

2) Subscribe or renew! Now with NEW LOWER INTERNATIONAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES! Single magazines ship worldwide for $5 each (pay just $15.95 per issue postpaid worldwide)!

Comics shops could miss some items during our switch to Lunar Distribution, and new tariffs may result in price increases. Save by pre-ordering new items and subscribe or renew your subscription.

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3) Tell your comics shop to switch their Diamond orders to Lunar Distribution!

Diamond has cancelled orders for all our future products, so ask your local comics shop to order through Lunar Distribution, or you can order them from our website. Look for these new TwoMorrows items in the March issue of Lunar’s Next Phase catalog (#39): • Alter Ego #193 • Back Issue #159 • BrickJournal #89 • Cryptology #3 • Comic Book Creator #38 • Jack Kirby Collector #93 • RetroFan #38

• Alter Ego #194 • Back Issue #160 • BrickJournal #90 • Comic Book Creator #39 • Cryptology #4 • Retrofan #39 • Marshall Rogers: Brightest Days & Darkest Knights (hardcover)

4) Tell bookstores to order our books through SCB Distributors & Turnaround Distribution!

Our new bookstore distributor (SCB Distributors) services stores in the US and Canada, and the UK via Turnaround Distribution in London. And our new books will be available on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk giving you even more options for purchasing our books worldwide.

With the help of loyal readers like you, TwoMorrows Publishing will get through this, and emerge even stronger. Thank you for your many years of support. TwoMorrows’ fans are the best!

John Morrow, publisher TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 • USA (919)449-0344 • e-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • web: www.twomorrows.com