Alter Ego #132 Preview

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No.132

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May 2015

BONUS! SPOTLIGHT ON

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ARTHUR PEDDY

Vol. 3, No. 133 / May 2015 Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor

P.C. Hamerlinck J.T. Go (Assoc. Editor)

Comic Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert

Editorial Honor Roll

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

Proofreaders

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Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding

Contents

Cover Colorist

Writer/Editorial: Golden + Silver Anniversary = 75 Years! . . 2 A Streak Of Scarlet—A Glimmer Of Green—And The Beating Of Mighty Wings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

With Special Thanks to:

Remembering Arthur Peddy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Cover Artists

Arthur Peddy or Irwin Hasen, Bernard Sachs, et al.

Kurt Mitchell’s brief history of The Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman (1940-1970).

Tom Ziuko

Heidi Amash Richard J. Arndt Bob Bailey Jean Bails Dominic Bongo Jerry K. Boyd Christopher Boyko Mike Burkey Nick Caputo Mike Catron Bob Cherry Shaun Clancy William Colosimo ComicBookPlus (website) Chet Cox Joshua Cozine Fred DeBoom Jeff Deischer Craig Delich Jeff Dell Al Dellinges Betty Dobson Jim Doty Michael Dunne Mark Evanier Shane Foley Frank Giella Joe Giella Janet Gilbert Golden Age Comic Book Stories (website) Arnie Grieves Larry Guidry Bill Henley Heritage Comics Archives (website) Richard Howell

Nancy Shores Karlebach Jim Kealy Dominique Leonard Mark Lewis Jim Ludwig Elliot S! Maggin Dan Makara Will Meugniot Kurt Mitchell Bart Mixon Brian K. Morris Mark Muller Will Murray Ken Nadle Palantine News Network (website) Fred Patten Barry Pearl Tony Pidone John G. Pierce Michael Posner Francis Rodriguez Bernice Sachs-Smoller Randy Sargent Ed Silverman Anthony Snyder J. David Spurlock Aaron Sultan Tenth Letter of the Alphabet (website) Dann Thomas Toni Torres Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Hames Ware Bill Warren Steven Willis Bill Wormstedt

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Arthur Peddy & Al Feldstein

Richard Arndt talks with Michael Posner, stepson of the Golden Age artist.

“The Will Of William Wilson” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 The Flash and Green Lantern in the legendary lost Golden Age tale of the Justice Society.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! The Mystery Of The Missing Comic (Part Two) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 More by Michael T. Gilbert on Bob Powell’s AWOL Man in Black issue.

Comic FandomArchive: Al Dellinges–“It’s Been A Great Trip!” . . 55 Bill Schelly introduces the ultimate Kubert fan, recalling a lifetime of fan-publishing.

In Memoriam: Al Feldstein. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 67 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #191 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 P.C. Hamerlinck presents Elliot Maggin, John G. Pierce, & Otto Binder.

On Our Cover: This issue’s major cover art is a bit of a mystery—but, just this once, we’ll mostly deal with that mystery in our writer/editorial on the following page. Here, we’ll just note that it was reproduced from a photocopy of the original art for the cover of All-Star Comics #49 (Oct.-Nov. 1949) that was sent years ago to Ye Editor by A/E’s founder, the late Jerry G. Bails, who then owned that art.

For some reason, though, the bottom partial-inch of the art got cut off on that photocopy. Since that “Justice Society of America” art spotlighted The Flash and Green Lantern (plus Wonder Woman), it seemed a natural choice to front this issue that deals in large part with the first three decades of those two hero-concepts. The inker has been identified as Bernard Sachs, while the penciling is by either Arthur Peddy or Irwin Hasen. The Carmine Infantino/Joe Kubert insert of the Silver Age Flash is from Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956), while the Gil Kane/Joe Giella head of the Hal Jordan GL is from an early adventure of that version of the Emerald Gladiator. [Art © DC Comics.]

Above: This color illo of the Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern by the latter’s co-creator, Mart Nodell, was probably done in the 1990s, when Marty was drawing commissions and attending numerous comics conventions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time it’s been printed in color. [Flash & Green Lantern TM & © DC Comics.]

Alter EgoTM is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344.

Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices.

Eight-issue subscriptions: $67 US, $85 Canada, $104 elsewhere. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM of P.C. Hamerlinck. Printed in China. ISSN: 1932-6890 FIRST PRINTING.

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A Streak Of Scarlet— A Glimmer Of Green—

And The Beating Of Mighty Wings A Brief History Of The Flash, Green Lantern, & Hawkman (1940-1970)

by Kurt Mitchell

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utumn 1939: the dawn of the Golden Age of comic books.

Established and newly minted publishers alike are going into the business right and left in the wake of the phenomenal debut of “Superman” the previous year. Among them is All-American Comics, Inc., a fledgling line jointly owned by entrepreneur Max Charles Gaines, the man who a few years earlier, some say, more or less invented the American comic book as we know it, and Jacob “Jack” Liebowitz, part-owner of Superman’s publisher, Detective Comics, Inc.

Frustrated by his DC partner Harry Donenfeld’s reluctance to expand their line, Liebowitz approaches Gaines, who has previously packaged titles for other publishers, about establishing a sister company that will share printing and distribution costs with Detective while maintaining separate editorial offices and

identities. The two companies advertise each others’ books and, as of AA’s June 1940 issues, both lines bear the ubiquitous DC “slug”’ on their covers. AA’s flagship title, AllAmerican Comics, features reprints of newspaper comic strips and original characters like aviator “Hop Harrigan” and two-fisted servicemen “Red, White, and Blue.” Two other AA titles, Movie Comics and Mutt & Jeff, are also on the

All-American Guys M.C. Gaines (1894-1947), recently of the McClure Syndicate (left), and DC accountant/co-publisher Jack Liebowitz (1900-2000) joined forces in 1939—with Harry Donenfeld’s blessing— to create the All-American Comics Group. The photo of Gaines is from Amazing World of DC Comics #5 (1975), that of Liebowitz was found online.

The Last Shall Be First!

(Top left:) The final Golden Age panels that featured The Flash (seen only in a super-speed blur), Green Lantern, and Hawkman were featured on the last two pages of All-Star Comics #57 (Feb.-March 1951). Script by John Broome; pencils by Arthur Peddy; inks by Bernard Sachs. Reproduced from Roy Thomas’ bound volumes of the actual comic.

(Top right:) More than a dozen years and a couple of revivals later, two Flashes, two Green Lanterns, and the Golden Age Hawkman shared the cover of Justice League of America #22 (Sept. 1963) with several other heroes of two ages. Art by Murphy Anderson. The editor of both comic books, a dozen years apart, was the late great Julius Schwartz. Thanks for these and various other comics covers accompanying this article to the online Grand Comics Database (see ad on p. 48). [© DC Comics.]

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A Brief History Of The Flash, Green Lantern, & Hawkman (1940-1970)

newsstands when Gaines and Liebowitz decide to put together a new title, one emphasizing colorful mystery-men (not yet generally called superheroes).

When Sheldons Clash!

All-American Comics editor Sheldon Mayer (1917-1991, seen at left) and artist Sheldon Moldoff (1920-2012) play at mock fisticuffs in the early 1940s. After the latter returned from World War II military service and Mayer refused to give him back the “Hawkman” feature, the bad blood became real. This photo was first published courtesy of Moldoff in Alter Ego, Vol. 3, #4 (Spring 2000), an issue celebrating the first sixty years of “The Flash” and “Hawkman.” It’s still available from TwoMorrows; check it out for more rare art and information about the stars of Flash Comics.

Gaines turns to his right-hand man, AA editor and art director Sheldon Mayer, to determine the specific contents of the new comic. Mayer, a talented artist in his own right whose series about a boy cartoonist, “Scribbly,” is a highlight of AllAmerican, knows a thing or two about supermen: according to some accounts (including his), it was he who discovered sample pages of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s revolutionary “Superman” strip during Gaines’ days with a newspaper syndicate and recommended the feature to DC editor Vince Sullivan.

Although they will never achieve the popularity or universal recognition of the Man of Steel, four of

the super-heroes Mayer helps develop for All-American will become cornerstones of what comic fans of later generations will dub the DC Universe.

This is the story of three of those heroes.

(Wonder Woman being the fourth, of course.)

The Fastest Man Alive!

Gardner F. Fox (1911-1986), writer/cocreator of “The Flash” & “Hawkman,” would soon go on to do the same duties for “Doctor Fate,” “The Justice Society of America,” “Skyman,” “The Face,” and other major comic book concepts. Photo supplied by Fox’s late daughter Lynda some years ago.

Harry Lampert

“Faster than the streak of the lightning in the sky… swifter than the speed of the light itself… fleeter than the rapidity of thought… is The Flash, reincarnation of the winged Mercury… His speed is the dismay of scientists, the joy of the oppressed—and the open mouthed wonder of the multitudes!!”

(1916-2004) drew only the first two “Flash” stories before editor Mayer replaced him as artist, but nonetheless is the visual co-creator of the concept. This photo, taken while he was in the Army during World War II, was supplied by Lampert to accompany his interview in Alter Ego V3#4, which is still available from TwoMorrows.

So reads the opening caption of “The Flash,” the eponymous cover feature of Flash Comics #1 (January 1940). The ability to move at superhuman speed is hardly original (Mercury is but one of many mythological speedsters) and Superman counts extraordinary speed among his many attributes, but no comic has yet to seize on it as a stand-alone super-power. Enter Gardner F. Fox, a moonlighting lawyer who will describe himself in a 1979 letter as “the very first writer hired to do comic book writing.” Fox’s comics credits include early episodes of “Batman” (we have him to thank for the Batarang) and (perhaps) the co-creation of “The Sandman.” He and editor Mayer hammer out a plot about Jay Garrick, who gains super-speed after inhaling “hard water” fumes in a chem lab accident. The science is suspect, but it serves tidily as a deus ex machina, getting us quickly to our fleet-footed hero. Mayer also has a hand in the character’s design, working with the series’ original artist, Harry Lampert, to give The Flash a colorful costume appropriate for a modern Mercury, including winged boots and winged helmet. Lampert, a former inker for the Fleischer animation studio more comfortable with humor than adventure, yields the art chores to Everett E. Hibbard following the second episode.

Hibbard will draw the strip off and on for the next eight years, earning a rare byline alongside Fox.

No Flash In The Pan! (Right:) Sheldon “Shelly” Moldoff’s cover for Flash Comics #1 (Jan. 1940)—and (above) the splash panel of that issue’s “Flash” origin, scripted by Gardner F. Fox and drawn by Harry Lampert—and a “Hawkman” panel by Fox and artist Dennis Neville—both repro’d from DC’s 1975 tabloid-size reprinting of Flash Comics #1. [© DC Comics.]

Early episodes of the series are, superspeed notwithstanding, rather ordinary tales of

A Streak Of Scarlet—A Glimpse Of Green—And The Beating Of Mighty Wings

7

immensely powerful intelligence that inhabits the ancient lantern, appoints Alan its champion. “Power shall be yours,” promises the Flame, “if you have faith in yourself … for will power is the flame of the green lantern!” It instructs him to fashion a ring from its substance, which, if recharged at the lantern every 24 hours, will give him immunity to all metals, as well as the power to fly and walk through walls. Donning a colorful costume “so bizarre that once I am seen, I will never be forgotten,” the newborn superhero takes his sacred oath for the first time: “—and I shall shed my light over dark evil … for the dark things cannot stand the light … the light of the Green Lantern!”

The new series’ powerful premise captures the imagination of its young readers. After all, who wouldn’t want a magic ring that obeys your every command? Indeed, the ring is the whole show at first. Most of GL’s early adventures are prosaic crime dramas enlivened only by the ever more ingenious uses he finds for his power: melting steel, stalling motors, providing electricity to a blacked-out city, and forming objects—a wall, a blade—of solid light. The ring also allows him to read minds and compel confessions. Its most sinister attribute is seen only once: in All-American #22 (January 1941), a crook dons the ring and is immolated on the spot by the Green Flame. Green Lantern operates out of Metropolis at first, then relocates to Capitol City (a thinly disguised Washington, DC) after meeting Irene Miller at the New York World’s Fair in All-American #18 (Aug. 1940). Irene is a secretary at the Apex Broadcasting System, and soon Alan Scott is working there, too. Despite the change in setting, the stories continue to feed GL a steady diet of cheap crooks and corrupt authority figures. Something is missing. The solution comes in the unlikely form of an irascible little taxi driver with an impenetrable Brooklyn accent… Doiby Dickles.

It’s Not Easy Being Green (Lantern) Artist Martin Nodell drew up an initial version of Green Lantern’s origin for All-American editor Sheldon Mayer circa the turn of 1941—but Mayer quickly teamed him with already-veteran writer Bill Finger (who’d worked with Bob Kane on the creation of “Batman”) to rework the tale. Nodell’s original version of one page was printed in A/E #102. Above is a 1989 color drawing Nodell did for collector Aaron Sultan, who kindly shared it with us. Above left: Mayer assigned the first Green Lantern cover of All-American Comics (#16, July 1940) to established artist Sheldon Moldoff. For the “GL” stories from All-American #16-38 and the first three issues of Green Lantern, see DC’s hardcover Golden Age Green Lantern Archives, Vol. 1-2. [© DC Comics.]

Brothers In Arms And Strange Bedfellows

“Green Lantern” artist/conceptualizer Martin Nodell (1915-2006, left) & writer/co-creator Bill Finger (1914-1974, right) in the fuzzy photos that appeared with their bios in Green Lantern #1 (Fall 1941). [© DC Comics.]

As every reader of Alter Ego surely knows, All-Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940) features the debut of the “Justice Society of America,” comics’ first team of costumed super-heroes. The Flash, Green Lantern. and Hawkman are not only charter members of the Society, they successively serve as its chairmen. For the most part, their adventures with the JSA have little impact on their solo strips, Shiera Sanders coming into her inheritance in All-Star #6 being the notable exception (probably because Gardner Fox was writing both the “JSA” and the “Hawkman” feature in Flash Comics). An unspoken—and surreal—dictum of the series is that any hero who stars in his own solo title (i.e., Superman and Batman) is too busy for active duty. Sure enough, the premieres of All-Flash Quarterly #1 (Summer 1941) and Green Lantern #1 (Fall 1941) both lead to their namesakes yielding their seats at the JSA’s round table to other worthy heroes. Both will return to active duty in All-Star #24 (Spring 1945) and remain with the team through the end of the run in All-Star #57 (Feb.-March 1951). For more information about our three heroes’ careers with the Justice Society, see TwoMorrows’ four-volume book series The All-Star Companion.

A Streak Of Scarlet—A Glimpse Of Green—And The Beating Of Mighty Wings

21

Flash Facts (Left:) An Infantino splash page from The Flash #111 (Feb.-March 1960), inked by Murphy Anderson.

Script by John Broome. Thanks to Bob Bailey.

(Right:) Joe Giella inked most of Infantino’s classic Flash work, including the ill-fated attempt in issue #117 (Dec. 1960) to bring back the Three Dimwits as comedy relief. Script by Gardner Fox. Thanks to William Colosimo. [© DC Comics.]

Murphy Anderson (b. 1926) had been the artist of the Buck Rogers newspaper comic strip in the 1950s, and was a top artist on DC’s science-fiction titles. He would become the first penciler and inker of the Hawkman title.

super-speed. As fast as the Scarlet Speedster and infatuated with Iris West, Zoom’s clashes with his heroic adversary are epic … and personal.

Fortunately, The Flash has no shortage of super-heroic help. Iris’ teenage nephew, Wally West, gains speed powers under circumstances identical to those that befell Barry Allen and, with Flash’s encouragement, assumes the identity of Kid Flash in The Flash #110 (Dec. 1959-Jan. 1960).

More independent operative than juvenile sidekick, Wally will star in his own back-up series beginning the following issue, while also frequently teaming with his mentor.

Another ally is The Elongated Man, introduced in #112 (May-June 1960), a sideshow performer named Ralph Dibny able to stretch his body to fantastic lengths. One of the few super-heroes of the era without a secret identity, Ralph soon lands his own long-running solo series in the back of Detective Comics. Schwartz also pairs Flash with Green Lantern in a series of stories that create a bond between the Justice League teammates like that between Superman and Batman, right down to the exchange of secret identities.

The Flash #123 (Sept. 1961), featuring the first modern appearance of Jay Garrick, the Joe Giella Golden Age Flash, is a landmark issue by any measure. Using the old science-fiction (b. 1928) got his start as an inker in the late standby of parallel realities, Julius Schwartz Golden Age, and was a and guest scripter Gardner Fox explain that major DC embellisher Barry and the Justice Leaguers live on during the Silver Age. “Earth-One,” while Jay and his Justice He currently draws the Society cohorts live on “Earth-Two.” The Mary Worth newspaper two Scarlet Speedsters battle side by side strip. Thanks to Joe and many times, in the pages of Flash and in the son Frank. annual JLA/JSA crossovers in Justice League of America, beginning with #21-22 (Aug. and Sept. 1963) of that title. (For more detailed information about the Silver Age adventures of the Earth-Two heroes, see my articles in Alter Ego, Vol. 3, #93-94.)

Of the initial seventy-five issues of The Flash penciled by cocreator Carmine Infantino (including the four Showcase issues and the all-reprint Flash Annual #1), all but four feature a super-villain, a guest hero, or both. With two stories featured in most early issues, there is room for enough alien encounters, interdimensional journeys, bizarre transformations, spy rings, and mobsters to alleviate any potential monotony. Nor do Broome and Infantino

A Streak Of Scarlet—A Glimpse Of Green—And The Beating Of Mighty Wings

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figure construction, detailed backgrounds, and polished finish. His gift for depicting the Hawks against breathtaking vistas, using tall or wide panels to emphasize the freedom of flight, serves Fox’s imaginative scripts well. The change seems to do the trick.

After a four-issue run in MiS, the Pinioned Paladin is finally awarded his own bi-monthly series with Hawkman #1 (AprilMay 1964).

The early issues of the new title are a tour de force by Gardner Fox and Anderson. The Hawks’ exploits send them to exotic locations all over Earth, to Thanagar and other planets, to sub-atomic universes, and to parallel worlds, pitting them against winged gorillas, moth-men, intelligent lizards from outer space, ice giants, and figures from Greek mythology. Fox does not forsake super-villainy, introducing I. Q., a petty crook made super-intelligent by an alien stone; Chac,

Hawkman Finally Wins His Wings!

Two Silver Age Hawkman firsts—after, of course, his debut in The Brave and the Bold #34: (Top left:) The new Feathered Fury got the cover spot when he took over half of the Mystery in Space title with #87 (Nov. 1963)… with a relatively Earthbound adventure. Art in this spot and the next by Murphy Anderson.

(Above:) Partly because of WWII-era paper restrictions, the Golden Age “Hawkman” feature never received its own solo magazine—but the Silver Age Hawkman #1 debuted with an April-May 1964 cover date, soon after this full-page house ad appeared in various DC Comics. Thanks to the Golden Age Comic Book Stories website. [© DC Comics.]

an immortal Mayan chieftain armed with extraterrestrial weaponry; The Shrike, the winged prince of another world raised from infancy by Amazonian Indians; and Lion-Mane, an archaeologist turned savage cat-man. Several issues focus on the Hawks’ bouts with C.A.W. (The Criminal Alliance of the World), another of the ubiquitous super-spy organizations spawned by the mid-’60s James Bond craze. Past foes like the Manhawks, Matter Master, and Shadow Thief return as well, but sci-fi and fantasy remain the strip’s bread and butter.

Let’s Be Original!

Anderson’s cover for Hawkman #16 (Oct.-Nov. 1966), reproduced from a scan of the original art. Courtesy of dealer Mike Burkey, whose ads will be found in this issue on pp. 43 & 66. [© DC Comics.]

Hawkman #4 (Oct.-Nov. 1964) introduces Zatanna the Magician, daughter of the Golden Age hero Zatara, and her quest to find her long-missing father, a storyline that will weave through most of Julius Schwartz’s super-hero books before resolving itself in Justice League of America #51 (Feb. 1967). The Atom and Adam Strange also make appearances, but, alas, there is no team-up with the Earth-Two Hawkman and Hawkgirl. The JLA inducts Hawkman in Justice League of America #31 (Nov. 1964).iv In spite of the extra exposure, Hawkman struggles to hold an audience. It doesn’t help

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A Brief History Of The Flash, Green Lantern, & Hawkman (1940-1970)

back in Showcase #4 had not been random, but the work of a bespectacled nebbish in an oversized robe named Mopee, “heavenly helpmate, initiate tenth class.” Reader reaction to Gardner Fox’s It’s a Wonderful Life riff is mixed, at least as reflected in the letters page, but over time the story becomes regarded as one of the biggest misfires in DC history and is eventually deemed apocryphal. This bump in the road notwithstanding, the Flash title proceeds smoothly until #174 (Nov. 1967) and the departure of Carmine Infantino, newly promoted to DC art director.

Green Lantern #49 (Dec. 1966) begins as a lackluster encounter with a new super-foe, The Dazzler, but ends with a bombshell. Learning Carol Ferris is engaged to another man, Hal Jordan quits Ferris Aircraft and leaves his life in Coast City Friends And Foes Alike behind. Heartbroken, his confi(Left:) Green Lantern battles his greatest foe—the renegade Lantern known as Sinestro—on the cover of issue #52 dence shaken, Hal moves north (April 1967). Art by Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson. Thanks to Betty Dobson & Bob Bailey. [© DC Comics.] to Evergreen City, taking jobs as (Right:) A commission drawing of Green Lantern, Hawkman, and the Silver Age Atom done by longtime GL inker a charter pilot, an insurance Joe Giella for collector Dominique Leonard. [GL, Hawkman, & Atom TM & © DC Comics.] claims adjuster, and a toy salesman. Only his role as Green that DC begins encouraging its artists to use smaller art boards, Lantern continues to give his life meaning, and he plunges into it hampering Murphy Anderson’s bravura storytelling, or that the with renewed commitment. The best stories of this period focus on intimate scenes of Carter and Shiera’s personal lives that gave the the Green Lantern Corps, such as a two-part battle between the early issues such charm are squeezed out by prolonged action Corps and an army of criminals newly escaped from the scenes. Schwartz, forced to conclude that Fox and Anderson’s time Guardians’ prison planet that leaves several Corpsmen dead (#55is better spent on the new Spectre series, eventually hands responsi56), and the introduction of Guy Gardner, the high school gym bility for Hawkman over to other editorial sensibilities.

The Times, They Are A-Changin’ By the fall of 1966, Julius Schwartz’s once-modern approach to super-heroes is beginning to look old-fashioned, especially compared to upstart competitor Marvel Comics’ line of books. Rather than scrap the story elements that made The Flash and Green Lantern bestsellers in the first place, Schwartz changes his titles’ pacing, stretching out fight sequences at the expense of plot, and adds a touch of soap opera. The look of the line changes, as well. Sid Greene, who has been Gil Kane’s inker since Green Lantern #29 (June 1964), assumes the same duties on Justice League of America as of #45 (June 1966) and The Flash with #167 (Feb. 1967). A staple of Schwartz’s sci-fi titles as both penciler and inker, Greene uses boldly inked outlines and a tastefully applied palette of textures to create depth and clarity.

In The Flash #165 (Nov. 1966), Barry Allen and Iris West wed at last, in a ceremony attended by the entire supporting cast. The happy couple move to the Central City suburbs, and Barry is reassigned to the Labmobile, a van specially equipped for performing forensics in the field. The strip has needed a boost, and the change in status quo is a welcome one. Less so is the bizarre revelation in #167’s “The Real Origin of The Flash” that the lightning bolt that struck Allen

Better Late Than…

A pair of dramatic late covers by the Silver Age heroes’ initial artists: The Flash #159 (March 1966) by Carmine Infantino & Joe Giella… and Green Lantern #69 (Oct. 1969)

by Gil Kane & Dick Giordano. Thanks to Betty Dobson. [© DC Comics.]

Remembering ARTHUR PEDDY

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A Talk With The Golden Age Artist’s Stepson, MICHAEL POSNER Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt

A

rthur Peddy (Dec. 26, 1916-May 15, 2002) began his comics career in 1939, illustrating Western, pirate, and adventure yarns for companies like Fox, Fiction House, and Brookwood. His first regular strip was “The White [by #2, ‘Red’] Panther” in Fiction House’s Jungle Comics. In 1940 he made the move to Quality Comics, co-creating the classic character “Phantom Lady” in Police Comics #1 (Aug. 1941). He worked for Quality through 1942, before making another switch to Hillman, where he worked for several months. After a stint in the military during World War II, Peddy returned to Hillman, where he worked on “Airboy” and “The Heap,” among other features. In 1948 he moved to DC, where he spent most of the rest of his comics career. There, he started off drawing “Wildcat” and “The Boy Commandos.” He also did covers for Wonder Woman. Around 1950, he went onto the book that he became most noted for: All-Star Comics, where he penciled “The Justice Society of America,” often drawing the entire nigh-book-length story, usually inked by Bernard Sachs. While still working for DC, he did art jobs for St. John Publishing in the 1950s, where he got his first experience drawing romance comics. He was also regularly doing war tales for both DC and Atlas during this time. From 1954 until the end of his comics career, he worked exclusively at DC, with most of his work in the later years focused on DC’s various romance titles. Around 1967 he left comics behind and moved into television advertising.

Michael Posner, LTC, MC, USA (RET), and his brother Bruce are the stepsons of Arthur Peddy and the sons of the late Jerry Posner and Joanne Posner-Peddy. Michael and his wife of 46 years live on a working farm in the Gettysburg National Park’s “Battlefield Protected Region.”

They moved there in 1984 from the U.S. Academy at West Point.

Michael is an obstetrician/gynecologist and recently retired after 42 years of practice. He and his wife have seven children and fourteen grandchildren. He is an avid fisherman and tries to fish every day on their pond; he is also a deep-sea fishing enthusiast and enjoys surf casting on Assateague Island in Maryland. His son Matthew, recently returned from Afghanistan, is the chief of orthopedics at West Point, following his father’s 1976-1984 chairmanship of that department.

This interview was conducted on February 2, 2014.

RICHARD ARNDT: Arthur Peddy was your stepdad, is that right?

MICHAEL POSNER: Yes, he was my stepfather. I don’t know much about his early life. My father passed away in the winter of

Being Peddy (Top:) Arthur F. Peddy in 1937, at age 20-21, at Pratt Institute. Thanks to Mark Muller & the Tenth Letter of the Alphabet website.

(Above right:) Peddy in later years, with wife Joanne Posner-Peddy on left; between them is Bernice Sachs, wife (later widow) of Peddy’s longtime partner Bernard Sachs. A fuller version of this photo appeared in A/E #121 with an interview with Bernice Sachs-Smoller (whose last name, alas, was incorrectly rendered there as “Sachs-Smollet”). Pic courtesy of Bernice.

(Left:) The Peddy & Sachs splash page of All-Star Comics #55 (Oct.-Nov. 1950), one of the best of the Julius-Schwartz-edited Golden Age issues. Script by John Broome. Repro’d from Roy Thomas’ bound volumes. [© DC Comics.]

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A Talk With The Golden Age Artist's Stepson, Michael Posner

impressed with from his Army days was that he made a lot of drawings, very good drawings that he did just about everywhere he went. He started them in his initial duty station in Florida and continued them in the European Theater. He drew them on military stationary called V-Mail.

RA: Yes, I know those. Very thin paper, almost onion paper or carbonpaper thin.

Michael Posner in his home office.

1984. My mom was living in Connecticut. I was in the Army and stationed at West Point with my family. In the spring of 1987, she came to visit and introduced us to Arthur Peddy. Arthur was smitten with my mother. They were very friendly. They certainly communicated to us that they had been growing close for the last few months or so. They married in April of 1987. That’s when I first met his co-worker from DC Comics, Bernard Sachs, and his wife Bernice. I later met the Sachses on two or three other occasions when they visited Arthur. I loved that interview you did with Bernice Sachs [in Alter Ego #121]—especially the photo that showed my mom with Bernard and Bernice. I loved how she described how friendly Arthur and Bernard were, as well as the wives. They really were great together.

As you may remember from Bernice’s article, my mom worked for “Save the Children,” Paul Newman’s group, for 30 or 35 years in Westport, Connecticut. That’s where their main corporate office is. Mom went all over the world, although her main interest was in South America. When she died, there was a memorial ceremony, and the people from “Save” took a portion of her ashes and distributed them to the countries in South America that she was most involved in. That was pretty touching.

Anyway, Arthur would chat with me about his life prior to DC Comics. A lot of our discussions centered around his days in the Army in World War II. He enlisted in 1942 and was assigned to the 530th 63rd Signal Aircraft Warning Battalion— Company B, 19th Tactical Command, 9th Air Force. He was there from 1942-1945, stationed in England, northern France, Belgium, and parts of Germany. He made the rank of tech sergeant. He was a signal man.

The thing that I was really

POSNER: We had something similar in Vietnam when I was stationed overseas. In Saudi Arabia, too. We had a letter that you could fold into an envelope. I don’t think it has a special name now, but in the 1940s it was called V-Mail. These drawings he did during his service time were really amazing. There must have been fifty or more of them. I donated about twenty of them to the American Army Heritage Museum at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. They put the artwork on display as part of their artifact exhibits of World War II. They hadn’t seen anything like what Arthur drew before. The art is really quite neat.

I gave a bunch of them to one of my sons, who’s currently an orthopedic trauma surgeon in the Army. He’s just come back from Afghanistan. I also gave some to one of my uncles—my mother’s brother. I still have a bunch of them, though. They’re sketches of his buddies—some of them shaving nude, which I thought was interesting. Tanks and scenery and things like that.

Arthur left the Army in 1945. If I recall from some of his statements, in 1939 he started working in the comics. He was drawing for a book called Mystery Men Comics…

RA: That would have been for Fox Comics. Victor Fox, the publisher, had a reputation of being quite a character.

POSNER: He didn’t work there long, though. I believe he was instrumental in creating “Phantom Lady.” From what he told me, he not only did the penciling but also some of the dialogue in that series.

The editorin-chief of DC Comics sent my mother and me a

Peddy In Uniform Arthur Peddy with his rifle during World War II—and with some Army buddies during that period (he’s second from the right).

Thanks to Michael Posner.

44

“The WILL of WILLIAM WILSON” The Flash & Green Lantern In The Legendary Lost Tale Of “The Justice Society Of America”

by Roy Thomas

I

t was around 1943 that Gardner Fox scripted the 48-page “JSA” story titled “The Will of William Wilson,” which then sat on a shelf for a year or two. Circa 1945, editor Sheldon Mayer (or his story editor, Julius Schwartz) seems to have altered two of its six solo-hero chapters so that they starred returning charter members Flash and Green Lantern, and the entire tale was drawn by various artists and slated to appear in All-Star Comics #31 in 1946.

For one reason or another, however, “Will” never saw the light of four-color day.

Individual tiers/rows of panels also survive of the “Flash,” “Green Lantern,” “Atom,” and “Dr. Mid-Nite” chapters (though nothing from those of “Hawkman” or “Johnny Thunder”), in which the heroes individually seek out the “impossible” items named in the “last will and testament” of the tale’s title… and art from the “Flash” and “GL” adventures follows, as colored especially for A/E by collector/artist Larry Guidry. Those segments’ 2/3-of-apage symbolic splash panels were probably sliced up and thrust into the flames nearly half a century ago… but the bottom tier of “page 1” of the “Flash” section is reprinted below. It was drawn by Martin Naydel, also the artist of both full-JSA chapters. (Nearly all the non-splash “Flash” art still exists, mostly as tiers sold to RT by the late Mark Hanerfeld some years back.) The Scarlet Speedster’s “impossible” assignment: to retrieve the sword of the worldconquering Genghis Khan…!

[Art & Story © DC Comics.]

[Art © DC Comics.]

Eventually its shelved pages were mostly sliced up and were either burned in the DC incinerator or (thankfully) carted off in the late 1960s by Marv Wolfman or other young staffers, who distributed them to eager collectors.

A/E’s editor has made it his task for the past decade and a half to try to locate as much art from this story as possible; thus far, we’ve amassed originals or copies of nearly half its 48 pages, usually one tier of panels (each tier making up 1/3 of a page) at a time. The complete, never-sliced-up 5-page “JSA” intro and the nigh-complete 6page “JSA” finale have sporadically seen print in color in issues of A/E, beginning in #109; all art that has surfaced to date was printed, in black-&-white, in one of the four volumes of TwoMorrows’ and my All-Star Companion series.

49

[Pages Š Harvey Publications or successors in interest.]

50

Mr. Monster's Comic Crypt!

The Mystery Of The Missing Comic! (Part 2)

by Michael T. Gilbert

I

was a teenager when I first made the acquaintance of The Man in Black Called Fate. Or Mr. Twilight. Or perhaps you know him as... Death.

No, not the real Grim Reaper, but the Harvey company’s long-running comic book series. Sometime in 1965, I found the strip hidden in the back of a late-’40s Green Hornet comic.

It was love at first sight! Bob Powell’s art on the strips was masterful, full of lush Eisneresqe black inks and dynamic layouts.

The stories were great, too: short morality tales where a tiny twist of Fate forever alters people’s lives. The Man in Black himself was stern, but fair. If he had to claim the life of someone innocent, he felt bad. Sometimes his comic foils, Cupid and Venus, thwarted him. Love conquers all, and stuff like that.

I searched out more “Man in Black” stories and found another three in issues of Green Hornet, each one a graphic masterpiece.

Years later, I discovered that Fate really got around, with

Before And After!

When Michael T. Gilbert discovered Bob Powell’s unlettered, unpublished “Man in Black” preview page (seen at left) on the Heritage Comics website, he decided to complete it, 46 years after the fact (see above art & text.). [© 2014 Harvey Comics or its successors in interest.]

stories in Harvey’s All-New Comics, Front Page Comics, Strange Story Comics, and even an issue of Terry and the Pirates. In the late ’50s, he even had four issues of his own title.

But I didn’t have a clue to any of this in 1965, and no way to find the books if I had. So imagine my surprise, a few months later, when I spotted a new comic from Harvey starring my beloved Man in Black!

The actual title of the anthology comic was Thrill-O-Rama #1, but Fate’s name was bigger than the logo. The first issue had three sci-fi and supernatural stories, but “The Man in Black” was the main feature—at least for that issue. The art was sparer than Powell’s 1940s work, but his drawings of faces and figures were still masterful, and the storytelling remained top-notch.

Two more Thrill-O-Rama issues followed, and then... nothing.

Harvey’s line had been launched amidst a tidal wave of interest in comics, thanks to the popular 1966 Batman TV show. But the general public’s short-lived love affair didn’t translate into sales for other characters. Harvey quickly decided to stick with Richie Rich

The Comic Fandom Archive Presents...

55

Al Dellinges: “It’s Been a Great Trip!”

The Artist, Editor, Publisher, & Kubert Fan Remembers!

by Al Dellinges

CFA

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: When Roy suggested I do an interview with Al Dellinges— perhaps best known as the ghost artist in some issues of DC’s Tor series of the 1970s, and as the publisher of Near Mint magazine—I was all for it. Al had even done a little work for Roy’s All-Star Squadron in 1985.

Shortly after broaching the idea with Al himself, I received an envelope from him full of photos, artwork, and an autobiographical article, appended with a note that read in part: “I really doubt that I would make a good subject for a feature in Alter Ego, as I didn’t even discover comic fandom until the late 1960s, and most people would have no idea who I am. But, if you are determined to do so, you’re welcome to run the enclosed biographical sketch.” I assured him that, while his “story” is different from those of most of the other people I’ve written about or inter-

viewed for CFA, readers would welcome the opportunity to learn about him and the unique way he approaches his interest in comic art.

In order to fill in some gaps in the piece, I interpolated bits of a telephone interview with Al on January 21, 2008, and incorporated material from other things he had published in some of his books. A long time in the making, I’m delighted this piece has finally made its way into the pages of Alter Ego. —Bill Schelly.

I

was born in 1932 in San Francisco, and discovered comic books and the Sunday funnies around 1940. Prince Valiant and Flash Gordon were my favorites. I tried to copy the artwork, but found it much too difficult. I settled for coloring books instead, which were very popular with youngsters during World War II. Soon after that, I started collecting comic books. I didn’t really have favorites, although I did like The Spectre’s green and white costume a lot. I was different from a lot of kids, I guess, because I rarely read the stories. I just picked up the ones that had good art. And, as I got older, I found it was easier to copy the artwork that I liked. However, my general drawing skills had not improved, and trying to study the basics didn’t help at all. I just had a lot of trouble with anatomy. Copying art was fun; studying art was work and produced no satisfaction.

I soon realized you either had to have a special spark, or you had to reach a certain point in your life when you could under-

A Man And His Hawks (From top of page:) Al Dellinges in 1981, and as an aspiring artist in his home studio in 1949—plus a copy of the classic 1946 masks of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, based on artwork by Joe Kubert, and hand-colored by Al. [Hawkman TM & © DC Comics.]

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Comic Fandom Archive

Obsessed with Kubert Such was Al’s devotion to Kubert, and his skill with India ink (and water colors), that he has produced many illustrations based on panels in his favorite “Hawkman” stories. [Hawkman TM & © DC Comics.]

stand things like human anatomy.

What I did learn in high school was how to paint signs, because we did a lot of posters for football games and such. I found I liked it and it came easily to me. I loved lettering with a brush. After high school, I spent the next ten years lettering truck doors and windows, and doing posters as a side job.

Comics. I thought, “Why didn’t I take the comic book with me?” All I could think about was the artwork in that story. The next day after school, I ran back to the shop to get that book, and fortunately, it was still there. I asked the barber if I could buy the book and he said sure, so off I went with this visual treasure under my arm. I couldn’t wait to get home and dissect the panels in each page. I can’t tell you how much I loved that artwork, and still do with just as much intensity.

Soon I was searching out other comic books with Joe’s artwork.

My problem in progressing as a realistic artist is that I never got the right foundation. I never did learn the basics of anatomy and such. I think the only way I could have made it as an artist in, say, the comic strip field, was if I had been taken under the wing of a successful professional, and taught the tricks of the trade. Needless to say, that never happened. I did, however, receive an encouraging letter from Alex Raymond.

I continued doing art copy work as a hobby, because I enjoyed it. It was relaxing and fulfilling, and then became an addiction, too. I couldn’t help it—I’d see something I liked, and I had to copy it. It didn’t matter how long it took. I’d lose track of time. I copied all kinds of comic book covers. Then, in high school, I discovered the work of Joe Kubert.

A Magnificent Obsession I became obsessed with Kubert’s art.

Originally I loved his work on the “Hawkman” strip in Flash Comics, especially his early period on it.

I discovered Kubert’s art in a copy of Flash Comics #76, when I was about 14 in 1946. I was on my way home from school and stopped at the local barber shop to get a haircut. As I waited my turn, I picked up this comic book and began to flip through the pages, from the back cover to the front. I always start at the back of the book because I find it easier to turn the pages. The last page of the book was the last page of the “Hawkman” story that Kubert had illustrated.

[NOTE: The story was titled “The Crazyquilt Crimes.” —Bill.] The artwork was stunning, and I quickly tried to check out the rest of the story. But, before I could finish it, it was my turn in the barber’s chair.

After the haircut, I left the shop to continue my way home, but without the copy of Flash

A Message From The Master Al received this encouraging letter from Alex Raymond in 1952, when he asked the artist how to break into syndicated strips. The creator of Flash Gordon was doing the newspaper strip Rip Kirby at the time.

In Memoriam

About Al Feldstein...

63

A Reminiscence Of A Comics Legend In Three Acts

A/E

by Mark Evanier

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following piece appeared Sunday, July 13, 2014, on the www.newsfromme.com website of comics/ TV writer Mark Evanier. Our thanks to Mark for allowing us to reprint it here, and to Brian K. Morris for a typing assist.]

W

hen Al Feldstein died at the end of April, I was too swamped with work to write a long piece about him. Al was obsessive about meeting deadlines, so I used that as an excuse to defer this piece.

Al was a fascinating, talented man whose career more or less divided into three acts….

Act One: Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein in 1950 Act One came when he was writer-editor of most of the EC Comics from 1948 to 1955. Before that, he was a journeyman comic book artist—not a particularly great one—who was, like most, trying to make a living in a business that seemed stacked against the guys who created the product. Publishers paid X dollars a page. An artist could, if he worked long hours, produce Y number of pages per week. X times Y was not a bad living wage… but it has never been the American Dream to be content with “not a bad living wage” for your entire life and how long can you work long hours, anyway?

It was especially not satisfactory to those who grew up, as Al did, in the Depression. Another of those men, a fine artist named Jim Mooney, said this to me one time in an interview: If I put in a sixty-hour week at the board, I could usually finish seven or eight pages a week. That’s pencils and inks.

That paid decently. I could support a family on that as long as my health didn’t falter and the publisher didn’t go under. I was nervous about relying on those two things. We all were. I wanted to get ahead, to get some cushion in the bank so I wouldn’t be in trouble if the work suddenly stopped or if I got sick. Hell, I just wanted to be able to cut back to forty hours a week. But, doing comics, there didn’t seem to be a way.

That was the dilemma that Mooney faced, that Feldstein faced, that they all faced: How do you parlay this thing you can do into some sort of meaningful financial security? Feldstein took a giant step in that direction in the late ’40s when he connected with William M. Gaines, publisher of EC Comics. He became Gaines’ main editor, and they concocted one of the best-selling lines of comics at the time—Tales from the

Crypt, Crime SuspenStories, and all the rest. Gaines made money and some of that trickled down to Feldstein.

They were good comics, some of the finest ever done. And all the time, Feldstein was looking for what he might do next, what might pay even better. Because, like everyone, he wasn’t content with just making a weekly wage. He wanted that cushion in the bank. He wanted to amass enough funds to see himself and his family through emergencies and for them to live better. He also thought it might be nice to have enough money that he could someday retire.

One of the interesting things to me about those comics is that all the artists in them signed their work. That was not true at any other comic company of the day. Some companies discouraged [signing work], but even at the ones that didn’t care, most artists did not sign what they drew. EC did encourage it and even did little spotlight pages on their artists, promoting them.

Still, in marked contrast to what Stan Lee would do less than a decade later, Feldstein did not put his name on what he wrote. He authored something like 80% of the stories that ran in the comics he edited, but he didn’t slap “Written by Al Feldstein” on any of them in the color comics. He mentioned it from time to time deep in the letter pages, so it wasn’t a secret. He just didn’t call a lot of attention to that because, you know, that was just his current job.

He had fantasies of getting into something else, perhaps some other form of publishing that paid a lot better and offered more possibilities of getting rich. Maybe, if and when that opportunity presented itself, he’d want people to forget he’d written The Vault of Horror. There were some best-selling novelists around then who quietly omitted from their bios that they’d once scripted comic

On EC Street (Above:) Al Feldstein (1925-2014, on right) and EC publisher/managing editor William M. Gaines during the color comics’ heyday.

(Right:) The splash page of a Graham Ingelsdrawn story from Tales from the Crypt #35 (April-May 1953); story by Gaines (plot) & Feldstein (script). The latter is repro’d from the hardcover The EC Archives: Tales from the Crypt, Vol. 4. [Page © William M. Gaines, Agent, Ltd.]

72

Art ©2015 Mark Lewis

There are other much more important events in my life, such as my wedding day, the death of my father, Pearl Harbor. Yes, I remember those things naturally, but they don’t stand out particularly.

They have blended back into a sort of formless curtain of the hazy past. But that one day that I slept, yet was awake, stands out as vividly as if it had happened yesterday.

Part XIII

O

Abridged & Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

tto Oscar Binder (1911-1974), the prolific science-fiction and comic book writer renowned for authoring over half of the Marvel Family saga for Fawcett Publications, wrote Memoirs of a Nobody in 1948 at the age of 37, during what was arguably the most imaginative period within the repertoire of “Captain Marvel” stories.

In the Ten Commandments of a writer, one law states: “Thou Shalt Not Use Coincidence.” Editors throw up their hands in horror if you dare submit a story in which something happens by sheer coincidence. If it isn’t relatable or true to life, they bleat. Everything has to have a cause and effect.

Things just don’t happen because they happen.

Is that so? Perhaps all of you at one time or another have been absolutely amazed and stunned at some unbelievable coincidence that happens—just because it happens.

Right? Let me tell you of one instance of mine.

I once had a cold—the cold to end all colds, so bad that I became voiceless for one day. All I could get out was a low,

Aside from intermittent details about himself, Binder’s capricious chronicle resembles very little in the way of anything that is indeed autobiographical. Unearthed several years ago from Binder’s file materials at Texas A&M University, Memoirs is self-described by its author as “ramblings through the untracked wilderness of my mind.” Binder’s potpourri of stray philosophical beliefs, pet peeves, theories, and anecdotes was written in freewheeling fashion and devoid of any charted course— other than allowing his mind to flow with no restricting parameters. The abridged and edited manuscript—serialized here within the pages of FCA—will nonetheless provide glimpses into the idiosyncratic and fanciful mind of Otto O. Binder.

In this 13th excerpt, entitled “Peepholes into the Past,” Otto shares some intriguing memories from his life—including one incident he had with a desperate comic book artist. — P.C. Hamerlinck.

T

his chapter starts off with reminiscences of my life. Do all of us have certain vivid and undying memories that stand out against the dim backdrop of our past? I think so. Often they are just little things. Things so trivial and meaningless that it seems impossible they should survive. Each of you has such a series of memories, like pictures strung along a movie reel. They flash before our minds at odd moments, and startle us by their vividness.

I still remember the day, as a boy, when I had my first malted milk. I remember its flavor (cherry)… its slightly-bent straw… and I can picture the girl who served it to me. The sweet, nectar-like taste of it hit me like a ton of bricks. Now why should a ridiculous little incident like that stick in my mind as if I had seen an atomic bomb drop?

I was 22. It was the Depression. I was jobless. Who wasn’t? I went to spend the summer on a farm in northern Wisconsin with friends. It was rugged country, less suited for farming than fishing and hunting. One day my friend Matt and I walked seven miles into a forest to fish and hunt. At dawn, we trudged our way home, weary, grimy, cold, hungry. When we arrived back at the farm I collapsed on the grass. I didn’t move the rest of the day. And yet, a vivid memory sticks out to this day, a sensation I never had before.

I slept soundly that whole day, but some part of me was still awake and took in all that went on around me. Nothing like it ever happened to me again.

Penny For Your Thoughts, Mr. Binder?

Otto Binder crafted the early “Mr. Scarlet and Pinky” tale “Crimes For a Penny!” in November of 1941 — the same year he began writing comics scripts for Fawcett. By the time the story was published (in America’s Greatest Comics #2, Feb.-May ’42; art by Phil Bard), Binder was already a few weeks into a 6-month editorial position he accepted with Fawcett before returning to freelance writing. And the rest is history! [Mr. Scarlet TM and © DC Comics.]

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MagginÕs Mob Elliot S! Maggin (on the right, in front of the typewriter) receives some unsolicited advice from Captain Marvel during a scripting session with Cary Bates (the writer on the left) and other ÒfriendsÓ in a piece used for the cover of Uif!Bnb{joh!Xpsme!pg!ED!Dpnjdt #2 (Sept. Õ74); art by Kurt Schaffenberger (seen peeking behind Superman). Mr. TawnyÕs there too! [© DC Comics.]

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