Roy Thomas’ Rapid-Fire Comics Fanzine
RICH BUCKLER FROM DETROIT TO DEATHLOK!
$ TM
8.95
In the USA
No.141 AUGUST 2016
PLUS: MR.MONSTER’S
COMIC CRYPT TH THE 200TH FABULOUS ISSUE OF
COMIC FANDOM ARCHIVE
RAFAEL ASTARITA “ONE OF THE BEST COMIC ARTISTS WHO EVER DREW”
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82658 00055
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Deathlok TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
Vol. 3, No. 141 / August 2016 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
PLEASE READ THIS:
Michael T. Gilbert
Editorial Honor Roll
Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White Mike Friedrich
Proofreaders
Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding
Cover Artists
Rich Buckler
With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Pedro Angosto Richard J. Arndt Bob Bailey Alberto Becattini Larry Bigman Judy Blackman Swayze Gary Brown Robert Brown Bernie & Lucille Bubnis Rich Buckler Nick Caputo Mildred Champlin Shaun Clancy John Coates Jon B. Cooke Comic Book Plus (website) Craig Delich Diversions of the Groovy Kind (website) John Ellis Rocky Fawcett Shane Foley Stephan Friedt Janet Gilbert Grand Comics Database (website) Heritage Comics Auctions
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www.twomorrows.com
Alan Hutchinson Bill Johnson Jim Kealy Robert Kline & family Mark Lewis Art Lortie Jim Ludwig Doug Martin Harry Matesky Raymond Miller Bill Mohalley Barry Pearl Gene Reed Randy Sargent David Saunders Arlen J. Schuler Allen Smith Bryan Stroud Dann Thomas Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. James Van Hise Hames Ware Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999 (website) Steven G. Willis Andy Yanchus Mike Zeck
This issue is dedicated to the memory of
Rafael Astarita & Nat Champlin
Contents Writer/Editorial: History Golden/History Silver . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 “Just Living My Dream!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Rich Buckler talks to Richard J. Arndt about his first decade at Warren, DC, & Marvel.
Rafael Astarita – Comic Book Pioneer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Hames Ware & David Saunders on a great Golden Age artist who remembered everything!
Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Fatman, The Lost Issue (Part 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Michael T. Gilbert on that strange 1967 comic by Otto Binder & C.C. Beck.
Comic Fandom Archive: Remembering RBCC—With Love. . 57 Five fans reminisce about G.B. Love & the Rocket’s Blast-Comicollector.
re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 65 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #200 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 P.C. Hamerlinck presents a celebration featuring Beck, Swayze, Champlin, & a 1940 Hollywood party—attended by Captain Marvel himself!
On Our Cover: While Rich Buckler has drawn, at one time or another, just about every major hero for every major company, he probably remains proudest of his creation of “Deathlok,” the cyborg who starred in Astonishing Tales during the last half of the 1970s and has often reappeared since, including in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC-TV. It was his suggestion that this recent painting of Deathlok become the cover of this issue of Alter Ego, and he didn’t have to ask us twice! [Deathlok TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] Above: This issue, too, we applaud the 200th edition of FCA [Fawcett Collectors of America], 141 of which have appeared in this third volume of A/E. And there’s nobody whose art could better represent FCA than C.C. Beck, artistic co-creator of the original Captain Marvel and the first artist of the “Marvel Family” series. This 1979 painting of Cap, Cap Jr., and Mary came to us courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions. [Shazam heroes 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: $73 US Standard, $88 US Expedited, $116 International. 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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“Just Living My Dream!” RICH BUCKLER On His First Decade As A Comic Book Artist
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Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt
NTERVIEWER’S NOTE: Rich Buckler began his comic book career in 1967 with a back-up tale in Flash Gordon #10. After a two-year gap, he began doing short mystery (for color comics) and horror (for black-&-white magazines) stories for DC, Warren, Skywald, and Marvel. He was soon doing regular backup features in such titles as Batman and Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane. His first work on a lead feature was The Avengers #101 (July 1972) working from a plot by Harlan Ellison (as edited and later scripted by Roy Thomas). Over the next two decades, he worked on nearly every major character and title at DC or Marvel and drew hundreds of covers for both companies. He has also produced work for Archie’s Red Circle characters. He created the Marvel character Deathlok and penciled the first five issues of DC’s All-Star Squadron with Thomas. In recent years, he launched another career doing stunning surrealistic paintings. He is the author of How to Draw Dynamic Comic Books and still frequents conventions, often with Don McGregor, with whom he worked on both “The Black Panther” and “Killraven” series in the 1970s. This interview was conducted via e-mail on December 19-22, 2014.
Portrait Of The Artist As A Very Busy Young Man A self-portrait of Rich Buckler (being painted by his own hand)—surrounded by examples of his work for three mainstream publishers in the early 1970s (clockwise from above right): Warren Publications’ Creepy #36 (Nov. ’70), script by Greg Theakston... “Hawkman” in DC’s Detective Comics #434 (April ’73), inks by Dick Giordano & script by E. Nelson Bridwell... and the cover of Marvel’s The Avengers #101 (July 1972), inks by Dan Adkins. With thanks for the comics-page scans to the Diversions of the Groovy Kind website, Steven G. Willis, & Chris Day, respectively. The portrait, retrieved online, is done in acrylic on a board that measures 13 11/16" x 22¼". [Portrait © Rich Buckler; Creepy page TM & © New Comic Company; “Hawkman” page TM & © DC Comics; Avengers cover TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
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Rich Buckler On His First Decade As A Comic Book Artist
“Comic Books Actually Saved My Life, In A Sense” RICHARD ARNDT: Let’s start this off with some information on your background. I know we’re both originally from Michigan.... RICH BUCKLER: I was born in Detroit, but up to age nine I spent my time in a house built by my father and my grandfather. I mean, they actually built the place from the foundation up. This was in upstate rural Michigan, just off Houghton Lake. The nearest town was Prudenville. When I was ten years old, my family relocated to Detroit. So I’m both country- and city-bred—but mostly city. I have a younger sister Peggy, and a younger brother Ron. My father passed away when I was very young, so we were raised by my mom. RA: What comics were you enthused about when you were a kid? Were there any that made you sit up and take notice? BUCKLER: I started out reading and collecting Superman. That character, and the creations of animator/filmmaker Ray Harryhausen, sparked my imagination in early youth. Then Batman and Justice League and The Flash and eventually all of the DC comics line. Not long afterward, I picked up on Marvel, especially with the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man. By that time I was completely obsessed with comics! By the time I was a teen-ager in Detroit, I was a die-hard comic book collector, and I bought just about everything on a weekly basis.
before he founded the first Detroit Triple Fan Fair, which was in 1965. I took over the publishing of the fanzine Super-Hero from Mike Tuohey, beginning with #4, while I was still in high school. Mike was going off to college, so I took over the journalistic reins and continued to publish both Super-Hero and my other fanzine, Intrigue, which featured amateur comics creations by me and other fan artists. Through networking via telephone and the postal services, I also contributed art to many other fan publications of the time. I was a bit of an overachiever, even at that young age. For the very first Detroit Triple Fan Fair, I worked on the organizing committee. My job was art production and doing liaison work with the comic book professionals. I helped bring in guests like Jim Steranko, Mike Kaluta, Neal Adams, and Al Williamson. At the very beginning, I did all of the convention’s progress reports and program books. I was co-chairman with Robert Brosch for one of the later Detroit conventions. This was all during the late 1960s. I was also very fortunate to have met Jerry Bails. That meeting and the friendship that followed sparked a lot of creativity for me. Professor Bails was sort of the father of the whole organized comics fandom movement. If you could call it a movement. It was more like a relentless phenomenon, one that no one had any idea would grow to the epic proportions that it has today. Professor Jerry Bails was very much an early mentor for me. He thought I was some kind of young genius. I thought he was just being nice. As a matter of fact, it was Jerry who gave me my very first paid art assignment for one of his publications.
Comic books actually saved my life, in a sense. From an early age, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up—a full-time professional in the comic business. My teen years were magical because I was fortunate to fall in with some very key figures in the nascent comic book fandom scene in Detroit.
It was also through Jerry that I met Roy Thomas. This was way back when Roy was an English teacher and was just taking over the publishing of the 1960s version of Alter Ego. Roy was very supportive of my efforts as an artist even in those early fan days, long before he went pro and became Stan Lee’s assistant.
RA: You were very active in the fan scene. How did your involvement in comic fandom come about?
In those early days, I was very actively participating in fan publications. I did art and stories for many fanzines like StarStudded, Rocket’s Blast-Comicollector, The Comic Reader, Comic Crusader, Bombshell, and so many others.
BUCKLER: Actually, I was involved in the organizing of comics fandom in its earliest days. I met Shel Dorf when I was a teen-ager,
Detroit Daze (Left:) Rich Buckler (on the left) and Dr. Jerry G. Bails, founder of Alter Ego and, at least to some extent, of organized comics fandom—both entities being launched in spring of 1961. This photo was taken in Detroit circa the mid-’60s. Thanks to Rich Buckler & Richard Arndt. (Right:) Rich at a Detroit Triple Fan Fair. Both Bails and Shel Dorf were involved in getting that early fandom event begun in 1965, only a year after the first true comics convention ever; Buckler got involved a couple of years later.
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Rich Buckler On His First Decade As A Comic Book Artist
Then, choosing my own words very carefully, I told Dick that my aim was to be a full-time comic book professional. Anything less that that was unacceptable. Then I asked him: “Would it help if I moved to New York?” And he said he couldn’t make any guarantees, of course—but yes, that would greatly improve my chances. That’s all I needed to hear. I decided then and there that I had to make the big move. I say “big move,” because it was by no means a small thing. In fact, moving to New York proved to be lifechanging! RA: I noticed that you seemed to have an understanding and command of how the human body stands and works at a very early age for an artist. Other young artists of that time period—Barry Windsor-Smith, Bernie Wrightson, Michael Kaluta—showed a learning curve for a number of years. Not a lot of years, but for a while. You, however, seemed to advance from promising newcomer to a young pro very quickly. Almost overnight, in terms of how your work appeared to comic readers. Did it feel that way to you? BUCKLER: It might have appeared that way. There is always that learning curve. I started out younger than most of my contemporaries. Back during my school years in Detroit, while other kids were outside playing football or baseball or bike-riding and skateboarding and chasing girls—and I did my share of that, too—I stayed indoors mostly and I read a lot and worked at developing my drawing skills. I remember hearing a story about Frank Frazetta that he told when he was asked about that. He started out very young, too. Because of his youth and inexperience he was having trouble getting anybody to take him seriously even as an assistant. One day, it was put to him that he really needed to learn human anatomy. So, according to Frank, he spent the weekend hitting the anatomy books and practicing, and on the following Monday he arrived ready for work and proclaimed: “Okay, now I know anatomy!”
’Snow Foolin’! Rich did full art on this moody tale from House of Mystery #199 (Feb. 1972). Script by Lynn Marron. Thanks to Steve G. Willis. [TM & © DC Comics.]
and assured him that he would ink my work, so there was nothing really to worry about. So, great. I returned to Detroit with my mission accomplished. Well, sort of. I drew the story on my back porch workplace. I was almost entirely certain then that my comics career was about to take off. So I concentrated on doing my absolute best with that short story, but also drawing it within a normally allotted time. Then I mailed in the artwork. I got paid. Then weeks went by slowly and nothing happened. No follow-through. Nothing. Now, I’d gotten lots of “no’s” in my early try-out years, but this was a case of things just left hanging and who knows what will happen. I was always certain that my unwavering persistence and dedication would pay off. I never doubted that for a moment. I knew I was ready. And I was confident that I had proven that. Well, I just couldn’t stand the suspense anymore, so finally I decided to follow up and call DC. I got Dick on the phone right away. Very carefully choosing his words, he told me that they were happy with the work but unfortunately there were no other assignments forthcoming. That seemed like a bit of a dodge to me. I’m somewhat of a quick study, and I could read between the lines, so I figured out right away what the problem probably was.
Of course, that’s only a story, and maybe in Frank’s case, it’s true. But that kind of mastery of the human figure takes a lot longer for most of us mortals. When I decided to get really serious about my drawing, at about age thirteen or fourteen, I put in serious hours of practice and study. I took out art reference books from the local library. The only problem was that I was under-age and the books I needed were in the adult category. I had to get my Mom to sign them out for me! So my advantage was that I tackled all of the hard stuff first and at a very young age. I studied and practiced diligently and definitely for more than a few weekends! For me it was a total obsession! As I mentioned earlier, I am self-taught as an artist. There is also a very serious side to me, so my approach from the start of things was very focused. To this day, my standard is excellence. So my goal back then was to learn all the fundamentals, so that I could apply that to comics illustration and cartooning. I think my edge was that I never thought of myself as only a cartoonist.
“Sol Brodsky… Was Actually The Only Reason That I Went to Skywald” RA: Mike Friedrich told me that, when Skywald started up as a competitor to Warren Publishing, editor and co-publisher Sol Brodsky asked Roy Thomas about writers and artists that Roy could recommend, and that Roy was delighted to recommend good artists and writers—who didn’t work for Marvel. You did a considerable amount of work for the early Skywald. How did you get so much work so fast? BUCKLER: The short answer was Sol Brodsky. I enjoyed working
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Rich Buckler On His First Decade As A Comic Book Artist
Sample Case Amazingly, Rich still has the two sample pages he first showed to Stan Lee and Roy Thomas, in hopes of getting assignments at Marvel. Hey, guess what? It worked! As it happened, the pages featured Ka-Zar and Black Panther—two characters he would soon be drawing professionally for Marvel. See why Marvel hired ’im? [Ka-Zar & Black Panther TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; other art © 2016 Rich Buckler.]
That was my guess for what Vince was expecting, and when I showed that to him he said: “Now, that’s your style!”
“None Of The Other Artists… Wanted To Work On Team Books” RA: Your first effort at drawing a main title was on The Avengers #101. How did you advance from back-ups to a main feature and on such a major title? You were also following John Buscema, Neal Adams, and Barry Windsor-Smith on the book. Was it intimidating following those three? BUCKLER: Well, Barry Windsor-Smith and I are contemporaries. We both started our careers at Marvel at around the same time, so I wasn’t exactly following Barry. Both Neal Adams and John Buscema were way ahead of me, so yeah, that was a bit challenging. Not intimidating, though, not really. At both Marvel and DC, early on, I made friends fast. I managed to get to know many of the artists from the generation before me—all of whom I admired and respected. I didn’t actually meet John Buscema or Joe Sinnott [who inked most of that Avengers run] until years later. But I did seem to fit right in, at both Marvel and DC. For instance, at Marvel I immediately got along well with Frank Giacoia, Mike Esposito, Marie Severin, Vince Colletta, George
Roussos, and Jack Abel. That was back when there was an actual Marvel bullpen. And you know what? They all accepted me as one of their own! So I wasn’t exactly competing with those artists whose work I admired since my youth. It wasn’t like that at all. I was more like a professional artist who was still very much a comics fan. That always showed and I never apologized for it. Also, I’m not really the competitive type. So I didn’t regard those artists as competition. For me they were colleagues and collaborators. My work on Avengers was due to Roy Thomas deciding to move me up to the main titles. None of the other artists back then wanted to work on team books. Those were always assiduously avoided! Too much work, too many characters, too much of everything. Well, for me, too much is never enough. I was up to the challenge, and Roy knew it. Avengers #101 was titled “Five Dooms to Save Tomorrow!” and was adapted from a Harlan Ellison story. The inking was by Dan Adkins. I remember it well. I was Roy’s first choice for penciler on that assignment. Roy and I are both big science-fiction fans, and both of us were huge fans of Harlan Ellison. So it was a good fit, and this was Roy giving me my first big break and trying me out on a main title. It’s interesting that, in my trade book How to Draw Dynamic Comic Books, Stan Lee boasted in his introduction that he was from
“Just Living My Dream!”
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Two Dooms To Save TwoMorrows! (Left:) The splash page of Buckler’s first major Marvel feature—The Avengers #101 (July 1972), inked by Dan Adkins. He and scripter Roy Thomas adapted a synopsis that science-fiction writer Harlan Ellison had submitted years before to Julius Schwartz—as a “Hawkman” tale. For the story behind this issue, including Ellison’s full plot, see Alter Ego #31, still available from TwoMorrows. (Right:) Buckler and George Tuska teamed up to pencil Avengers #106 (Dec. ’72), which was then inked by Dave Cockrum. Script by Steve Englehart. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
Roy Thomas Pic from the 1975 Mighty Marvel Comic Convention program book.
SPECIAL NOTE: Barry Pearl, besides supplying virtually all of the Marvel art that accompanies this interview, went above and beyond by reading the Buckler interview in advance (as did Bob Bailey) and picking out art that especially fit this section. Roy, who was still valiantly attempting to finish his big book on Stan Lee for Taschen Publishing (out this fall!), needed all the help he could get this issue, and appreciated the lengths to which Barry (and Bob, re DC mags) went to help out!
Steve Englehart was interviewed in depth in Alter Ego #103. Thanks to John Morrow.
the beginning one of my biggest fans and boosters. Well, Stan did give me my first assignment at Marvel, and he was supportive. But, you know, that was typical Stan Lee hyperbole, and it was probably not literally true. Because, as I recall, it was mainly Roy Thomas who gave me all my big breaks [at Marvel]! I just can’t say enough good things about that guy!
Avengers. To be honest, I was more than happy working with Don McGregor and drawing “The Black Panther” for Jungle Action, which was going on at the same time, or maybe just before or after. So I didn’t want to give up drawing “The Black Panther,” either! But there was only so much that one artist could do and keep up with deadlines, too.
It was like that at DC, too, with Dick Giordano and Joe Orlando. Both of those artist-editors were very supportive of my work. At times, we were almost like family.
Like I said, my work on Avengers was due to Roy Thomas moving me up to bigger things. So I had to leave the Avengers book in order to switch to the Fantastic Four—and boy, was I happy about that!
RA: You only did four or five issues of The Avengers before leaving the title (except for doing the covers). Was there any particular reason for this? BUCKLER: I was working eight- to twelve-hour days back then, seven days a week. Just living my dream! I was happy drawing The
I got to do whatever I wanted on my run on Fantastic Four. And what I wanted was, in my own way, to bring back some of the storytelling dynamics and excitement of all those Jack Kirby masterpieces that I grew up on! It was a shameless fanboy sendup—I admit it. But I had a great time doing it.
“Just Living My Dream!”
Ernie Chan was drawing at that time under the name “Ernie Chua.”
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What I really wanted was a new sci-fi action/adventure character that really rocked—one that would not be derivative of anything Marvel was already publishing. My character had drastic differences from the Bionic Man, and I was certain that I could do this as a Marvel series and do it much better than the popular television series—which I found disappointing. So I waited patiently to see how that would play out, and only a few months later Marvel lost that license to Charlton.
I remember when I first heard that news: I met Roy in the hallway at the Marvel offices one day and he stopped me and said: “Rich. Good news. Charlton is doing The Six Million Dollar Man, so that means your project is a go.” I was thrilled. “Only one thing, though,” Roy continued. “The only publishing slot we have open is Astonishing Tales, which is a bi-monthly. So it won’t be a number one, but we could start on it right away. What do you think?” What did I think? I said yes! Didn’t hesitate even for a moment! I was told that I needed to work up a quick formal presentation.
No Wonder They Call It “The Forgotten City”! Rich probably provided just layouts for the 15-page lead story in Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian #40 (July 1974)—but between them, he and inker Ernie Chan/Chua well evoked a time-lost city in a yarn guest-plotted by fantasy author Michael Resnick for scripter/editor Roy Thomas. Thanks to Barry Pearl. [TM & © Conan Properties International, LLC.]
approached Roy Thomas with the idea of doing it as a comic for Marvel. Marvel was bidding on the license for The Six Million Dollar Man then, and Roy told me he liked my concept but we would have to wait and see, because if Marvel got those publishing rights, then they were definitely going with that franchise. I wasn’t interested in starting a franchise, nor was I designing a character that could be merchandized as a toy or a video game or the like. My first love is comics. I just wanted to tell my character’s story.
Astonishing Males The cover and splash page of Astonishing Tales #26 (Oct. 1974). Buckler did full-art chores on the former, while Pablo Marcos inked the latter. The story was co-plotted and scripted by Doug Moench. Thanks once again to the GCD and Barry Pearl. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
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RAFAEL ASTARITA Comic Book Pioneer Two Easy Pieces On “One Of The Best Comic Book Artists Who Ever Drew”
A/E
EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: Comic book or comic strip artists often have a champion who make it his/her business to make certain that that artist is not forgotten, and that his/her accomplishments are noted and documented for posterity. Comics and pulp artist Rafael Astarita (1912-1994) is fortunate in having two such champions, who have pooled their resources in the following pair of entries. Hames Ware, no stranger to readers of this magazine, was originally a voice actor. In the early 1970s he was the co-editor (with Dr. Jerry G. Bails) of the four volumes of the print edition of the Who’s Who of American Comic Books, forerunner of the current online website which lists data connected to the careers of
Hames Ware
Rafael Astarita Photo courtesy of Hames Ware, with thanks to David Saunders.
comic book professionals up through the year 1999. He probably knows more than any man alive about the comics shops/studios from the early days of comic books… and part of what he knows first came from artist Rafael Astarita. David Saunders (born 1954 in New York City) came to his interest in the history of pulp magazines and their artists as a matter of David Saunders birthright: his father was Norman Saunders, a major pulp-mag cover artist. David is, in fact, an artist himself, and has taught at various art schools. His website www.pulpartists.com contains a wealth of information on numerous classic American illustrators, and on the history of the pulps.
I. An Interview With HAMES WARE – Conducted by DAVID SAUNDERS DAVID SAUNDERS: Why is Rafael Astarita important? HAMES WARE: He is important because he was one of the best comic book artists who ever drew. He was a part of the beginning of comics. His first work appears in 1935 in Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson’s titles [forerunners of DC Comics]. He was already drawing in a way that was superior to most of the other work that appeared in those comic books. Generally, the subjects of the comics that he drew were classic legends or fables of historical adventures, which the average cartoonist at that time was not really able to handle, and yet as early as 1935 and 1936 he was already drawing things like “King Arthur” and “Allan de Beaufort.”
I Don’t Want To Leave The Jungle… (Left:) Astarita’s Kaänga cover for Fiction House’s Jungle Comics #47 (Nov. 1943). From the Comic Book Plus website of public domain comics, the ultimate source of several other scans accompanying these pieces, as well. (Right:) Later, for Fiction House’s pulp magazine Jungle Stories (Feb. 1947), he drew this illustration for the “Ki-Gor” lead story; scan courtesy of David Saunders. Both writers unknown. A Ki-Gor by any other name would be Kaänga! [© the respective copyright holders.]
Rafael Astarita—Comic Book Pioneer
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A Hero Sandwich (Left:) By the time Astarita inherited the strip that had begun life as Will Eisner’s “The Hawk of the Seas,” the feature’s name had long since been shortened to “The Hawk.” But “Willis Rensie” remained as the house name (“Eisner” spelled backward, of course), though the actual writer is unknown. Thanks to David Saunders. From Fiction House’s Jumbo Comics #47 (Jan. 1943). [© the respective copyright holders.] (Right:) Although Astarita drew few super-hero stories, he reportedly did this one for Quality’s Doll Man #10 (Autumn 1946). Scripter unknown. Thanks to Jim Ludwig. [Doll Man is a trademark of DC Comics.]
WARE: The reason I mentioned Will Eisner and Lou Fine is because Astarita took over “The Hawk of the Seas” after it was started by Eisner and after Fine had taken it over, so to be designated the person to follow Eisner and Fine was a high honor. That shows how he was respected by the top artists in his field. He was a pioneer in the shops, both with Harry Chesler from about 1936 to 1939, and from about 1939 till the war he was with the Eisner/Iger shop. Anyone who was in any of those shops always mentioned him as one of the top artists. Another artist once recalled Astarita telling him you could actually draw with a matchstick, and the man didn’t believe him, so Astarita lit a match and blew it out and proceeded to draw something with the matchstick! He was appreciated and admired by the artists in all the shops where he worked, but he worked independently and he was not a self-promoter. He did not socialize with other artists in the after-hours. He was already married. DS: What do comic book fans think of when they hear the name Rafael Astarita? WARE: Unlike most artists that worked in comic books, he was not a cartoonist. I would describe him as a dynamic illustrator. His original goal was to illustrate classic adventure literature. I suppose, with his ancestry, he was carrying on the tradition of
Italian art. His work stood out from other artists’ because he drew in the style of an illustrator rather a cartoonist. DS: So he never had his own famous comic book character? WARE: No, and that is part of the reason why he is not better known. He did not work in the super-hero genre enough to be known for that, so he is rarely listed among the better-known comic book artists. He did not draw in a style that fit that genre, nor was he interested in it. For instance “The Hawk of the Seas” does have a hero, but he is not like Superman or Batman. He is more like the adventure hero from Rafael Sabatini’s novel The Sea Hawk. DS: Why is it important to document the life and art of Rafael Astarita? WARE: Well, because of his unique and dynamic style of illustrated drawing. He hit the ground running in 1935 and worked until World War II; then, after the war, he came back and worked until the mid-’50s. He was consistently good, so all of his work was rendered in a polished and finished way. His work always stands out, because he put his best effort into everything he did. DS: Can you list some of the comic features he drew? WARE: He drew the features “Round Table Adventures,” “Daniel
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(Below:) Alan Hutchinson’s cover to Gary Brown’s original article in CPA-alpha #325 and Southern Fandom Press Alliance #163, both from Oct. 1991. [©1991 Gary Brown and Alan Hutchinson; Fatman TM & © Milson.]
[The Brain art © Milson or successors in interest.]
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Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!
Fatman, The Lost Issue (Part 1)
S
by Michael T. Gilbert
ometimes you can get too much of a good thing. Case in point: Fatman, the Human Flying Saucer!
On paper, it must have seemed a stroke of genius. By 1967, Adam West Batmania was in full swing, and every comic publisher
hoped to cash in on the “camp” craze. Harvey Comics had already tapped Joe Simon to create a new “Thriller” line of comics. Tower had their T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and even Archie had launched their Mighty Comics line, scripted by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel. Everyone hoped their hero would be the next Batman. With all that activity going on, it’s no surprise that newcomer Milson Publications decided to throw its cape into the ring. Fawcett scholar P.C. Hamerlinck recently shared some background on the company’s origins: “Will Lieberson was the editor of the first couple of issues,
Fatman To The Rescue! We see not only Fatman in action, but three Milson staff members, too… sort of! From Fatman #3 (Sept. 1967). [© Milson or successors in interest.]
Comic Fandom Archive
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Alter Ego’s Multi-Part Tribute To G.B. Love & RBCC – Part 5
G.B. Love. (1939-2001) Photo by Robert Brown.
Remembering RBCC — With LOVE Five Fans Reminisce About G.B. Love & Contributing To His Classic Fanzine, The Rocket’s Blast-Comicollector Introduction by Bill Schelly
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any, many fans contributed to RBCC in the 1960s and 1970s. We venture that all of them have stories to share about working with, and knowing, G.B. Love. For this installment of our series, we’ve asked five of them to share some memories of those halcyon days.
It’s fitting that we begin with those of Bernie Bubnis, since he contributed a piece to Gordon Love’s very first fanzine, The Rocket’s Blast #1 (Dec. 1961). Bernie is best remembered as the key organizer of the 1964 New York Comicon, as recounted most recently in A/E #137 & 138. We continue with artist Robert Kline, whose covers are among the most memorable to appear on RBCC (and other top fanzines of the era— as well as later in Marvel’s Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction, Savage Sword of Conan, etc.). Next come the reminiscences of Gary Brown, whose “Keyhole” column was one of the zine’s most popular features. Gary later found his calling as a newspaper journalist, while continuing his Ibid contributions to CAPA-alpha to the present day. Then, after a brief piece by our FCA editor P.C. Hamerlinck, we close with Larry Bigman’s affectionate recollection of events leading up to G.B. Love’s life-altering move to Houston, Texas, including Love’s first experience with plane travel.
BERNIE BUBNIS The need to share my comic book fascination was so strong that I eagerly responded to Gordon’s letter in Mystery in Space #72 (Dec. 1961). Along with my dues to the SFCA [South Florida Comics Association], I sent a 226word short story titled “I Loved Her,” about shortcircuiting my robot girlfriend. He told me it was too long and could I shorten it? Then and Now Hey, Gordon, Bernie Bubnis, then (c. 1964) and, more or less, now (okay, I’m a 13-year2014), photographed by his wife Lucille.
Adkins Diet When Bernie’s G.B.-rejected story “I Loved Her” appeared in Yandro #118 (Nov. 1962), it was accompanied by an illustration by Dan Adkins. [© Estate of Dan Adkins.]
old geek just sitting in my room with a few hundred comic books. I’ve got nothing else to do. I’ll write another story with only 80 words. The “Dividing Line,” about a visitor from the fifth dimension, saw print in The Rocket’s Blast #1. “I Loved Her” appeared in Yandro #118 (Nov. 1962), a sci-fi fanzine, accompanied by an illustration by Dan Adkins. Thank you, Gordon.
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Comic Fandom Archive
In RB #3 or 4, G.B. requested ideas on how to increase the size of the newsletter. I used my spirit duplicator to run off about 25 copies of a piece about the original Golden Age Atom. That appeared in #6. I contributed an art-only ditto page (a Kirby tribute) for #8. These were just stapled into the Love-produced pages. So began our postal affair. He never requested any specific type of art or article. As I met and interviewed pros, I would type up an account of it and send it in. It was such a laid-back relationship that I was shocked when Gordon wrote me a very angry letter. Oh, oh, what did I screw up now? I interviewed Jack Kirby and that article appeared in Comicollector. Gordon was disappointed it was not submitted to the Rocket’s Blast. He even referred to me as a member of his “staff” and was disappointed that I had forgotten my loyalties. Who knew? That incident was really the only real interaction I ever had with Gordon Love. I was proud to think I was part of his “staff.” Hence, the bulk of my fan work was published in Rocket’s Blast. I renewed my loyalty and remain a member of the SFCA to this very day.
Fighting Captain American (Above:) Bernie Bubnis’ ditto insert, a tribute to Jack Kirby (but copying a 1954 Romita Captain America), appeared in The Rocket’s Blast #8 (July 1962). Along with Rick Weingroff, Bernie was a frequent contributor to the early issues of Gordon Love’s fanzine, when it morphed from a newsletter into a general fanzine. [Captain America TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; Fighting American TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.]
Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Captain Marvel! (Left & above:) By the time The Rocket’s Blast had reached #19 (June 1963) and #20 (July 1963), it was printed in the “friendlier” ditto process, and becoming known as a competitor to The Comicollector because its regular monthly schedule made it an ideal and timely vehicle for fans’ advertisements of comics for sale, et al. Art by Buddy Saunders and Howard Keltner, respectively. [Miss Liberty, Billy Batson, & Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics.]
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The Mystery Behind The Previously Unseen Version Of C.C. Beck’s Captain Marvel Adventures #2 Cover by P.C. Hamerlinck
A Comic Book Hit (Counter-clockwise from above left:) Captain Marvel Adventures #2 (Summer 1941) original cover art; note that the CM head is a paste-up. The published cover. A photocopy of the original art after the paste-up was removed by Harry Matesky, revealing Beck’s partially-finished first version of CM’s head— accompanied by Mark Lewis’ blue pencils to CM’s face during the restoration process. [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics.]
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Hometown Hero A Vintage 1945 Newspaper Article On Golden Age Great MARC SWAYZE by P.C. Hamerlinck
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DITOR’S INTRODUCTION: No FCA anniversary issue would be complete without the presence of Marc Swayze. Marc, an important part of our family here at FCA/Alter Ego/TwoMorrows, passed away on October 14, 2012, at the age of 99. His continuous narrative, “We Didn’t Know… It was the Golden Age!” graced hundreds of our pages for years, and his colloquial yet illuminating memoirs were unprecedented amongst his Golden Age artist peers.
In case you didn’t previously get to know him in our magazine: Marcus D. Swayze was one of the top artists for Fawcett Publications from 1941-53. The first Mary Marvel sketches emerged from Marc’s drawing table, and he illustrated her earliest tales; but Marc was originally hired by Fawcett to draw “Captain Marvel” stories and covers for Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures. He also wrote several “Captain Marvel” scripts while in the military. After his discharge from the Army in 1944, he made an arrangement with Fawcett to produce art and stories for them on a freelance basis out of his home in Monroe, Louisiana. There he worked on “The Phantom Eagle” featured in Wow Comics, in addition to drawing the Flyin’ Jenny newspaper strip, originally created by his mentor, Russell Keaton, for Bell Syndicate. After the cancellation of Wow in 1948, Swayze produced artwork for Fawcett’s successful line of romance comics. After the company ceased publishing comics, and after a brief stint with Charlton Publications in the mid-’50s, Marc left comics for corporate work. His first “We Didn’t Know …” column appeared in FCA #54 (1996). Now, here’s an opportunity to get to know Marc even more as we present this rare 1945 article showcasing “Monroe’s Comic Creator” from his hometown newspaper, the long-defunct Monroe Morning World. —PCH.
Schoolboy Hobby Becomes Career For Local Artist M.D. Swayze Draws Well Known Comics Flyin’ Jenny, Phantom Eagle
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by Paul Martin
lmost all boys—and girls, too—have at some time in their lives tried their hand at cartoons or other drawing endeavors, but very few have had their schoolboy hobbies develop into careers. One of the few is Monroe’s own M.D. Swayze, descendant of one of the South’s oldest families, who is turning out the well-known comic strip Flyin’ Jenny, which appears daily and Sunday in newspapers from Alaska to Mexico and coast to coast. Swayze was born and reared here and turns out his work in a
Through A Glass, Darkly The front page of the Monroe (Louisiana) Morning World from 1945 featuring hometown hero Marc Swayze—referred to throughout as “M.D. Swayze” by the author of the article. Unfortunately, the photo is of poor quality, having been shot through a glass frame. If you can see it, on Marc’s home studio drawing table is a Flyin’ Jenny original Sunday page he was working on, along with an issue of Wow Comics (#37, July ’45) featuring one of his “Phantom Eagle” stories. Seen on the wall behind him is C.C. Beck’s going-awayfrom-Fawcett gift to him, the original cover art to Whiz Comics #19… and a portrait Marc drew of Mickey Malone, aka “The Phantom Eagle.” Special thanks to Judy Blackman Swayze.
small studio at his home, 2007 South Grand Street, where he lives with his father and two sisters, May and Daisy, who take a keen interest and pride in the work of their son and brother. “Flyin’ Jenny” is a beauteous blonde aviatress whose love for the airways leads her from one adventure to another, and current daily strips find her involved in an interesting experience with two convalescing GIs who are treasure-hunting for Nazi loot. Her adventures are timely with her new thrills, after activities in which she recently was testing jet propulsion planes, having a decided postwar theme.
Hometown Hero
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It’s a full-time job, but he keeps his work several weeks ahead of publication dates and mails his drawings to Bell Syndicate each weekend. The syndicate handles distribution to subscribing papers. Often scenes in his drawings are from actual buildings and places right here in Monroe, and in a recent Flyin’ Jenny daily strip there was a drawing of Conway Memorial Hospital. The scene called for a hospital building in the background, so Swayze drove to the institution a short distance south of his home and sketched the Monroe building. Because his drawings of airships are so up to date and true to actual designs, Swayze is considered something of an authority on planes. Manufacturers of such ships keep him supplied with pictures of new planes and designs they are turning out, and frequently he finds an occasion for sketching the new craft into his strips, much to the pleasure of the plane designers. But Swayze frankly admits he’s not the airship authority some think him to be. “I’ve been up in a plane only three times in my life,” he said. “The first time I was curious. The second time I was indifferent. And the third time I was just bored.”
This Is A Job For—Well, Maybe Not Captain Marvel In his final year, Marc Swayze identified for me that he illustrated “Captain Marvel and the Job He Couldn’t Do!” from Captain Marvel Adventures #13 (July 1942)—but Marc could sure do the job! Scripter unknown. [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics.]
But Jenny is not Swayze’s only endeavor. He is also drawing “The Phantom Eagle” for Wow Comics, a monthly magazine publication, and prior to turning his efforts to Flyin’ Jenny he was a staff artist for Fawcett Publications, New York, drawing and writing the well-known comic character, “Captain Marvel.” Swayze’s partner in creating the Flyin’ Jenny strips, which is also published in two foreign languages, Spanish and French, is Glenn Chaffin, one of the originators of Tailspin Tommy. Chaffin, whose home is in Corvallis, Montana, prepares the script and plot, then Swayze draws it up. Swayze’s sister Daisy assists in the inking and lettering. But she has only been able to lend her aid since the artist’s return here from New York, where he was for some time doing illustrations and commercial art for magazines before taking to the fruitful comic field. The war interrupted Swayze’s work for a while and he served a year and a half with the United States Army before being honorably discharged about a year ago. He has since been elected first vice commander of the L.B. Faulk Post No. 13, American Legion, here. With his Army discharge the young artist returned to New York briefly before heading home with the Flyin’ Jenny and “Phantom Eagle” assignments. For the past year, Swayze has been drawing the Sunday page, but recently he took over the daily strip as well and now has full charge of the artwork, daily and Sunday. “New York is all right for those who like it,” Swayze declared. “But I am all Southerner, and I took to the comic field as a means of being able to come home.”
Educated in the city schools of Monroe, young Swayze found his teachers encouraging, and Miss Louise Moore, art instructor for the city school system, gave him special attention as a student at Neville High School from which he graduated. He was art editor of the Neville yearbook during his senior year. Then he attended Northeast Junior College of I.S.U., where he was art editor of the college yearbook. He is also a graduate of Louisiana Tech, where art was his principal study. The Swayze family is one of the oldest in the South, the first Swayzes settling in this country near Natchez, Mississippi, in 1772, when this part of the country was under South rule. The family has spread out over
Bound For The Big City! Marc Swayze, right before heading to New York City for the first time to meet… Captain Marvel!
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A Farewell To Binder Shop Artist NAT CHAMPLIN (July 14, 1919–March 16, 2015)
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by P.C. Hamerlinck
athaniel Lewis Champlin was one of the Pratt Institute artists who worked at the comic book page-producing Jack Binder shop/barn in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1941 and early 1942, prior to his entering the military during World War II. My interview with Nat appeared in Alter Ego #3 (Winter 2000). Within the shop’s assembly-line process, Nat’s work was piecemeal; he recalled working on such Fawcett comic series as “Ibis the Invincible,” “Golden Arrow,” and others… sometimes doing a layout rough, or inking backgrounds and secondary figures. He also had a hand in pages for “The Black Owl” (Prize Publications) and “Doc Savage” and “Blackstone” (Street & Smith). In our interview, he enlightened readers by detailing which artists did what at Binder’s. Nat was also part of the lunchtime baseball games the artists would play against the Fawcett staff and others. Most of the artists knew each other from Pratt, even before going to work at Binder’s. Nat got to know Kurt Schaffenberger the best, as the two artists had adjoining rooms in a rental home just a few blocks from Binder’s shop. Nat was able to finance a good part of
his Pratt education with what he earned at Binder’s.
Nat Champlin Seen in his Pratt Institute yearbook photo from 1941. Nat would soon see many of his schoolmates working over at Jack Binder’s shop. Thanks to Shaun Clancy.
Drafted into the Army on August 1942, Nat was deployed overseas in October 1943, fought in battles up the boot of Italy to Cassino, and participated in the Anzio Invasion on January 22, 1944—the latter being where he lived in a hole he had dug into the ground during the cold of winter, hoisting a platform inside of it for his sleeping bag. He was honorably discharged on October 26, 1944. After the war he freelanced photography, illustrated schoolbooks, and, as a returning student at Pratt, showcased an acclaimed exhibit of his war art at the institute. His final comic book work was a 4-page filler for Stan Lee at Timely Comics in 1945 called “Sir Gnat, the Dragon Slayer.”
In 1946 Nat became assistant professor of fine and applied art at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and, upon learning he had to obtain a master’s degree to continue his professorship, enrolled at Columbia University Teacher’s College in 1948 under the GI Bill of Rights. After earning the master’s degree, he went on to earn his doctorate in education in 1952. After graduation, he taught individual courses in the New York area: Brooklyn College, New York University, and Hunter College. He was visiting professor in the summer of 1953 at Iowa State University and had a summer appointment many years later at Indiana University. In 1954 Nat was offered a position as assistant professor of history and philosophy of education in the College of Education at Wayne State University in Detroit. In addition, he taught in the theoretical sequence and was chairman of the theoretical staff at Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills, MI, from 1955-65. Nat married Mildred Kautto in 1957 and they had two girls and a boy.
Ibis In The Morning Nat Champlin identified that he inked the secondary figures and backgrounds on this particular Binder Shop-produced “Ibis the Invincible” tale from Whiz Comics #24 (Nov. 1941), wherein the Nazis seize control of the mystical “Ibistick”… only to suffer the consequences! [Ibis the Invincible TM & © DC Comics.]
Nat’s writing appeared in many professional journals, as well as in the New York Times and The Saturday Review. He was a consultant to the Bureau of Research, U.S. Department of Education. Upon his retirement in 1982, the Michigan State Senate issued a concurrent resolution of appreciation for Professor Emeritus Champlin’s contributions to education in the state. The Champlins stayed active over the years and were avid runners. The month before he turned 80, Nat ran a 10-mile race, winning first place in his age group. Another one of his hobbies was digging and diving for antique bottles, and he illustrated
Fawcett’s 1940 Hollyywood wood w Party artyy— With C Ca Captai n Marvel! BY 0 # (AMERLINCK
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This Circulation Director Really Circulated! Roscoe K. Fawcett ready to board his private plane during the Õ40s. The Fawcett Circulation Director routinely travelled around the country to meet with magazine wholesalers, distributors, and dealers. Photo courtesy of RoscoeÕs son, Rocky, and GDB contributor Shaun Clancy. More from Rocky in future issues!
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The Sons Also Rise The cover of Gbxdfuu!Ejtusjcvups Vol. 4 #2, April 1940.