Alter Ego #142 by TwoMorrows Publishing

Roy Thomas’ Conventional Comics Fanzine

SUPER-FAN DAVID SIEGEL ON BRINGING HORDES OF

GOLDEN AGE ARTISTS TO SAN DIEGO!

8.95

In the USA

No.142 SEPT. 2016

STARRING:

RAMONA FRADON CHAD GROTHKOPF HARRY LAMPERT CHUCK CUIDERA SHELDON MOLDOFF CREIG FLESSEL

All hero art TM & © DC Comics.

& MORE!

PLUS: HOW SILVER AGE STAR

JOHN BROOME

GOT TO THE CON! 1

82658 00056

Vol. 3, No. 142 / September 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 Michael T. Gilbert

Editorial Honor Roll

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

Proofreaders

Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding

Cover Artists

Chuck Cuidera, Creig Flessel, Ramona Fradon, Chad Grothkopf, Harry Lampert, & Sheldon Moldoff

Cover Colorist

Tom Ziuko, et al.

With Special Thanks to:

Heidi Amash Pedro Angosto Ger Apeldoorn Richard J. Arndt Bob Bailey John Benson Jon Berk Dominic Bongo Alan Brennert Gary F. Brown Robert Brown Bernie Bubnis Mike Burkey Larry Byrd Bill Cain Mark Cannon Dewey Cassell Bob Cherry Shaun Clancy Pierre Comtois Chet Cox Gerry Conway Brian Cronin Craig Delich John Ellis Jim Engel Shane Foley John Gentil Janet Gilbert Grand Comics Database Bob Greenberger Arnie Grieves Larry Guidry Heritage Comics Bob Hughes Dave Hunt Tony Isabella Charlie Jackam

Eric Jansen Michael W. Kaluta Jim Kealy Jay Kinney Henry Kujawa Tim Lapslay Robert Lorick Mark Lewis Alan Light Robert Lorick Art Lortie Jim Ludwig Mark Luebker Doug Martin Bruce Mason Robert Menzies Kenneth Moldoff Matt Moring Ron Murphy Jim Murtagh Nick Perks John G. Pierce Jay Piscopo Charlie & Joan Roberts Randy Sargent Vince Schmitt David Siegel Howard Siegel Keif Simon Anthony Snyder Scott Stewart Dann Thomas Paul Trumbull John Trumble Jim Van Hise Michael Vance Joe Wise

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Alan Kupperberg,Frederick Hillel Iger, Dexter Taylor, & Rich Morrissey

Contents Writer/Editorial: Fans & Prose & Cons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

David Siegel talks to Richard Arndt about getting 1940s artists to the San Diego Comic-Con.

Clean Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Rich Morrissey on how Golden/Silver Age legend John Broome got to San Diego in 1998.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Fatman, The Lost Issue (Part 2). . 45 Michael T. Gilbert takes a look at Lightning Comics’ Human Flying Saucer.

Comic Fandom Archive: RBCC ’s Last Great Days – Jim Van Hise, Part II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Bill Schelly presents Part 6 of a salute to G.B. Love & his important comics adzine.

Tributes: Alan Kupperberg, Frederick Hillel Iger, & Dexter Taylor . . 61 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 65 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #201 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 P.C. Hamerlinck & John G. Pierce postulate a Shazam! revival published by—Marvel Comics?

On Our Cover: Since this issue’s lead interview is with David Siegel, the comics fan who made it his special mission for a decade and a half to find a way to get legendary 1940s/50s artists invited as guests to the San Diego Comic-Con, layout supervisor Chris Day, publisher John Morrow, and I decided to utilize the work of six artists in a miraculous montage: The Flash by Harry Lampert, Blackhawk by Charles “Chuck” Cuidera, Batman by Sheldon Moldoff, The Sandman by Creig Flessel, Aquaman by Ramona Fradon, and Captain Marvel Bunny by Chad Grothkopf. But they’re only the tip of an incredible iceberg of Golden Age talent awaiting you this time around. [Characters TM & © DC Comics.] Above: One very special guest that Rich Morrissey, Dave Siegel, and others managed to bring to the 1998 San Diego Comic-Con, for his one and only comics convention appearance ever, was Golden/Silver Age writer John Broome. Pictured above are panels from the first story of the new “Flash” that Broome ever wrote—the second tale in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956), penciled by Carmine Infantino and inked by Joe Kubert. Reproduced from the hardcover The Flash Archives, Vol. 1. [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.

writer/editorial

Fans & Prose & Cons

or once, the focus of an issue is divided almost equally between fans and pros—and the principal interface between them in these pages is, as it has so often been in reality, the comics conventions that over the past half-century have become a prominent part of the landscape. It began with Bernie Bubnis and his fandom friends getting Steve Ditko, Tom Gill, Flo Steinberg, and a now-faceless Marvel “intern” to attend that first true comics con in 1964. The next year, Dave Kaler—who would himself soon enter the pro ranks as a scripter on Charlton’s Captain Atom—upped the ante by getting a dozen or so comics artists, writers, and editors to attend, with many of them taking part in severalperson panels that helped set the tone for future gatherings.

Other New York (and out-of-state, such as Detroit) cons soon followed, and in 1970 the San Diego Comic-Con was founded by Shel Dorf and associates, heralding the beginning of the end of the Big Apple’s dominance in that arena, at a time when the comics industry itself still remained mostly centered in Manhattan. Then, nearly three decades ago, even as it was becoming apparent to anyone who paid attention that the first generation of comic book creators were beginning to pass from the scene, David Siegel (as well as Rich Morrissey and a number of other dedicated fans, many of them mentioned in this issue) began to move heaven and Earth to see to it that honor was done to these pioneering giants while they were still around to enjoy it. It’s a story that manifestly deserved to be told, as Dave, Rich, and interviewer Richard Arndt do in these pages… and the fact that it gave us a chance to feature photos and artwork of so many Golden Age pros was just the icing on the four-color cake. We owe those “super-fans”—and a bunch of people like them— a debt of gratitude. Had they not done what they did, when they did, an opportunity would have been missed for all time.

Switching subjects: when I was a comics fan just starting to publish my own edition of Alter Ego back in 1964, I was lucky enough to establish contact with one of the most important writers of the Golden Age—Otto O. (“Eando”) Binder. Otto was every bit as generous with his help and encouragement as Julie Schwartz and Gardner Fox, A/E’s other two “patron saints,” sending private photos and unpublished scripts and comic strips (including six dailies of Mr. Tawny Tiger) that helped elevate the tone and historical tenor of the zine. In the 1930s, Otto had been a well-respected and groundbreaking science-fiction writer… in the ’40s he had become the most important of the writers of Fawcett’s “Captain Marvel” and “Marvel Family”… and in the latter ’50s he had transmuted himself into a valuable scribe of “Superman,” “Supergirl,” and the like. In 2003, Bill Schelly—moderator of the “Comic Fandom Archive” segment in most issues of A/E—wrote a critically acclaimed (and rightly so) biography of Binder, published by his own Hamster Press. Its smallish print run soon sold out, even though the book was neither profusely illustrated nor about a prominent artist. (Indeed, Otto had only rarely received a byline on any of his comics stories. He gained his well-deserved reputation by word-of-mouth, just as Carl “the good Duck artist” Barks did.) Now, happily, Bill’s tome is back in print from North Atlantic Books, under a new title: Otto Binder: The Life and Work of a Comic Book and Science Fiction Visionary. (See ad on p. 59.) Do yourself a favor and buy it. Bill has written two invaluable comics-related biographies since, with Joe Kubert and Harvey Kurtzman as his worthy subjects… but his Binder book deserves to be as widely read and celebrated as either of those. Otto Binder was indeed a visionary… and no one could have told his story better than Bill Schelly has done! Bestest,

COMING IN OCTOBER

143

DON GLUT

Art © Random House, Inc.,

Sorcery At Gold Key—Horror At Warren— Super-Heroes At Marvel!

ia, LLC, under license to Classic Med holders. or the respective copyright

• DON GLUT tells RICHARD ARNDT all about his Silver/Bronze Age comic book work— and some of the most far-out amateur super-hero films ever! The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor—Dagar the Invincible—Twilight Zone—Tragg and the Sky Gods—Creepy— Vampirella—Captain America—The Invaders—What If—Kull the Destroyer, etc.! Art by SAL BUSCEMA • ESTEBAN MAROTO • RUDY NEBRES • HERB TRIMPE • GEORGE TUSKA • ALAN KUPPERBERG • JESSE SANTOS • CHIC STONE • ERNIE CHAN, et al.! • SAL AMENDOLA & ROY THOMAS present a very informal history of the Academy of Comic Book Arts, the 1970s association of comics pros—with photos of STAN LEE, NEAL ADAMS, DICK GIORDANO, ARCHIE GOODWIN, JOE ORLANDO, GERRY CONWAY, STEVE ENGLEHART, and more of comics’ heaviest Silver Age hitters! • Plus FCA—MICHAEL T. GILBERT—& MORE!!

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The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists!

An Interview With Super-Fan DAVID SIEGEL Conducted & Transcribed by Richard J. Arndt

NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: David Siegel is and has been for many years a taxi-cab driver—but he is also an enthusiastic comics fan who, beginning in the late 1980s, made it his mission to track down, invite, and find the financial means to bring long-missing Golden and Silver Age artists to the San Diego Comic-Con. Without use of the Internet, without belonging to any of the San Diego Comic-Con committees, and despite living on the opposite side of the country from many of the artists and writers for whom he searched, Siegel’s efforts between 1987 and 2005 located dozens of Golden Age greats, allowing the formation of many greatly enjoyed and wellattended panels done

at San Diego, hosted by, among others, Ron Goulart and Mark Evanier. For many of the artists whom Siegel found, it became their first convention appearance and brought the realization that they actually had fans for their decades-old work. Siegel received an Inkpot Award for his efforts in 1996, despite never having written or drawn a comic book. He also was involved in getting guests to WonderCon (in the San Francisco Bay area), and helped organize one of the largest Berndt Toast cartoonist meetings ever. I found Dave Siegel to be a very enthusiastic and dedicated fan and greatly enjoyed talking to him. This interview was conducted in Dave’s home in Las Vegas on May 16, 2015....

Siegel Surrounded! David Siegel as he likes it best—surrounded by talented cartoonists, some of whom he helped bring to the San Diego Comic-Con, and by comic art by two iconic illustrators. (Left to right in undated main photo:) Dave… Gill Fox (Quality Comics editor & cover artist)… Creig Flessel (Sandman)… Chad Grothkopf (Hoppy the Marvel Bunny)… Fred Schwab (many cartoons, including the cover of the 1939 Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1)… Bob Weber (1960s comic strip Moose and Molly)… Vin Sullivan (cartoonist who edited Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #27, later founded both Columbia Comics and Magazine Enterprises). Thanks to DS and Charlie Roberts for the 1990s photo. Below that image are photos of the San Diego Convention Center, all decked out for the Comi-Con—and two primo pieces of comic art that hang in Dave’s Las Vegas home: Batman and Robin by Bob Kane, and Captain America by Jack Kirby—a pair of artistic giants who’d hardly have needed Dave’s help and encouragement to get to San Diego. But lots of others did—and it’s a story well worth the telling! Pics by Richard Arndt. [Batman & Robin TM & © DC Comics; Captain America TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

“The First [Comic Book Convention] I Attended Was Back In 1977”

“Wayne Boring Had Never Been To San Diego”

RICHARD ARNDT: David, let’s start out with some remarks on your early life—where you came from, how your interest in comics came about.

RA: So that explains your love for comic-cons, as well. What got you started looking for the Golden Age artists?

DAVID SIEGEL: I was born in Los Angeles. In 1962 I started going over to my cousin’s house. He was much older than I was, but he let me look at his comic books. He was a huge DC fan, so that sort of rubbed off on me. The influence of DC on me was huge. That redone cover behind your head for Batman Annual #7 (Summer 1964) by Sheldon Moldoff, which he did as a commission for me, was one of the covers that just fascinated me. In 1964 I bought my own very first comic book, an issue of The Flash, and that got me started as a big reader of comics. [chuckles] That never left me.

SIEGEL: Way back in 1985, former “Superman” artist Wayne Boring was doing commissions. I happened to look in one of the San Diego souvenir convention books, where they listed all the Inkpot winners, and it dawned on me that Wayne Boring had never been to San Diego or won an Inkpot Award. I had a very good friend named Mark Stadler, who was involved with the Comic-Con there, although I’m not certain now what title, if any, he had. I asked him if he could bring up the name of Wayne Boring to the committee that invited guests for 1986’s con.

RA: When did you go to your first comic book convention?

He did that for me, and the Comic-Con refused. They didn’t give a reason for the refusal. Boring passed away in February of 1987. If they’d invited him, he could at least have had the honor of being invited to the San Diego Comic-Con, even if he couldn’t have attended. That made me very angry inside. I swore that I was

SIEGEL: The first show I attended was back in 1977. It was a small one, out in Los Angeles. I remember it was in the Marriott—on Century Boulevard by LAX [L.A. Airport]. I followed that up by attending a Star Trek convention later that same year, and I was hooked! There was a comic book dealer there by the name of Irving Bigman who had all these cool Golden Age comics that I started wheeling and dealing for. He had a son, Larry, who was also a big comic book fan. Larry, in later years, became an advisor for the Overstreet Price Guide. I bought a fair chunk of his Golden Age collection when he was selling it. I visited my first comic book store in 1974, and there were Golden Age books there, as well. There were influences all around at the time. In 1979 I finally had the money to attend my first San Diego [Comic]Con. The Con was established in 1970, and while it wasn’t anything like what Wayne Boring. it has become, it was still the biggest West Coast comics convention. That was the first time I really talked to comic book artists. I talked to Jim Steranko, who told me his all-time favorite comic book character was Captain America. The most exciting thing for me, though, was meeting Jack Kirby. I thought that maybe he’d be interested in doing an art piece for me. He told me I had to talk to his wife Roz, so I went over and found out that Jack and Roz lived in Thousand Oaks, which was only a thirty-minute drive from my home. The end result was them inviting me to come over to their house to talk about the commission. So, after the Con, I went up to his house to work out the deal for the art piece. Like Steranko, my all-time favorite Kirby character was Captain America. So I wanted Cap, and I’d always liked Baron Zemo. Kirby suggested adding The Red Skull, and the result was that piece on the wall. [NOTE: As seen on p. 3. —RA.] Talking with Jack while I was sitting in his combination living room/drawing room made me want to pinch myself. What was I doing here? We talked about New York. We both loved Jewish delicatessens. We made a connection there, talking about delis. [laughs] The initial price of the piece was to be $300, but it ended up $50 more for the color.

Look! Up In That Comic Book! The “Superman” splash page from Action Comics #342 (Oct. 1966), penciled and inked by Wayne Boring; script by Jim Shooter. Throughout the 1950s and into the ’60s, before being gradually replaced by Curt Swan, Boring had been the Man of Steel’s most important penciler. He’d started out in 1939-40, ghosting the Superman newspaper strip for creators Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster. It was the disinclination of the San Diego Comic-Con to invite Boring to be a guest in 1986 that led Dave to begin his personal crusade to find ways to bring Golden Age artists to the con. Thanks to Doug Martin. [TM & © DC Comics.]

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

Comics Cast & Crew (From Above Left): One of Dave’s favorite photos shows him flanked by artist Creig Flessel and his wife Marie on the left, and by his friends Charlie and Joan Roberts on the right, at a WonderCon, circa 2004. Charlie Roberts is an active fan and collector, who took a number of the pics that accompany this interview. For more about Creig Flessel, see A/E #45—and read on in this issue! Thanks to DS. Shel Dorf, one of the co-founders of the San Diego Comic-Con, pictured at the con in 1982. Photo by Alan Light. Jerry G. Bails in 1997, courtesy of Bill Schelly. In 1961 he’d founded both Alter Ego and, in a sense, super-hero comics fandom—and in the 1970s he’d published and edited the original print edition of the Who’s Who of American Comic Books, which was co-edited by Hames Ware.

going to do whatever I could to prevent that from happening to other people. I wanted to make a difference out there. I wanted to change the course that the Comic-Con committee was on. Like the old saying goes, “If you want to get something done, you’ve got to do it yourself.” Believe me, everything I wanted to do was going to be my way. The first thing I had to do was learn how Comic-Con worked. This is where planning comes to play. I had to work this thing out, find out what I had to understand. Mark Stadler was a huge help in this. He and another gentleman on the committee, by the name of Barry Short, explained to me how the basics worked. I found out that the organization was made up of different committees and so on. It took me a year or more to process. The other thing was how to figure out how to actually find artists. There was no Internet. Many of these people I wanted to find had left the comics industry years, even decades, earlier. The comics companies had no idea where these people might be. My friend Charlie Roberts introduced me to Shel Dorf, who was one of the co-founders of the San Diego Comic-Con. I explained my concept to him and asked where one could find Golden Age artists. Well, Shel was friends with Dr. Jerry Bails, who’d written the Who’s Who of American Comic Books, and probably knew more about comic book artists than I ever would. I asked Shel if I could contact Jerry Bails, because he knew where everybody was at. I was really trying to do the opposite of what everyone else in comics fandom was doing at the time. Most of these people were writing articles and reviews of comics, mostly current comics, and that was not my forte. I’m not a writer. I wanted to do the flipside of what comics fandom was doing. They were writing their opinions of the comics, but I wanted to see the human side of the comics. I wanted to actually bring the creators to Comic-Con. I was an admirer of Phil Seuling’s East Coast conventions, and I’d read how he’d brought artists of the Golden Age to his shows. However, I had no guide of who Seuling had invited to his cons, so my own

guide became that list of Inkpot Award winners. My goal was not to repeat people who’d already been to San Diego. I wanted to get people who’d never been there before. There was a time-frame to consider as well. I was dealing with artists, many of whom had been born before 1920, who would have age problems, health problems, economic problems, so I realized that I was racing against the clock. These people were very much a senior crowd. I wanted to honor as many of them as possible. So Shel Dorf got me in contact with Dr. Jerry Bails and I got to talk to him on the phone to explain my plan. Jerry Bails sent me a page of addresses. At this point, after studying how the committees worked and such, it was 1990, and I was preparing possible guests for the 1991 Comic-Con. I had concluded that if I had to join any of the committees it would be, for me, a nightmare. It would take up a lot of time that I needed for searching and I felt that I would be dealing with people who might not understand or care for what I was doing. I wasn’t looking for contemporary artists. I was digging into the past for the first generation of comic artists. Many comic fans can’t really deal with that.

“[Sheldon Moldoff] Was A Giant Of The Golden Age” RA: Partly because they don’t actually know the history, and partly because for many readers comics history started when they personally picked up their first comic… SIEGEL: Exactly. It became detective work in a way as to who was still out there and who I could find. The very first artist I tried to contact from that list was George Papp, an artist I admired very much. Papp was best known for his 1960s work on Superboy, but in the 1940s he co-created “Green Arrow and Speedy” with Mort Weisinger in More Fun Comics.

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

“Aquaman” had debuted in the same issue. I got his telephone number by calling up information. I talked to his wife, but he’d died in 1988. Then I called up Don Thompson, the editor of the Comics Buyer’s Guide with his wife Maggie. I let him know that George Papp had passed away, because there hadn’t been any obituaries of him in the comics press. [NOTE: Nowadays, the best place for current obituaries of comics professionals is Mark Evanier’s blog www.newsfromme.com. Besides his excellent writing on a large variety of subjects, Evanier’s blog has been doing a real service for comics fans by providing this early information. —RA.] Papp had never been invited to any comics conventions. None. That was sad. That made me even more determined to find a second candidate to invite. I settled on an artist whom I admired very much and who also had never been invited to San Diego— Sheldon Moldoff. I was familiar with his work in the 1960s with “Batman,” but he’d also worked on that character in the 1940s and ‘50s, as well as drawing “Hawkman” and much more. To me, he was a giant of the Golden Age. I’d heard he’d been living in Florida. In those days, you could contact the Post Office and they’d do a reverse address type of thing. They don’t do it anymore because of privacy issues, but they did then, and for five bucks they sent me his address. I was really nervous, actually frightened, about calling him up, because if he was dead, too, I was pretty sure that would have been the end of my efforts to locate the Golden Age artists. It would have been too much for me to handle. Luckily enough, he picked up the phone, alive and well, and I explained to him what I wanted to do—to

Papp’s Blue Ribbon Alas, we’ve long since realized that the photo in A/E #137 that we’d hoped might be one of George Papp showed instead, as we’d feared all along, SF and comics writer Edmond Hamilton. But, if we still lack a snapshot of Papp, we can at least present his artwork related to the two series most identified with him: (a) This early-1940s depiction of Green Arrow may well be the original concept illo for that hero. Papp drew the Emerald Archer’s early stories. We’ve printed it before in black-&-white, so Larry Guidry colored the piece especially for this issue of A/E, for which we thank him. Larry colored GA’s hair brown (as it was in the early 1940s) and added an arrowhead on his shaft, something that was lacking in the original. (b) A page from the “Superboy” story in Adventure Comics #275 (Aug. 1960), in which a young Bruce Wayne goes into action in Smallville as “The Flying Fox”—which is actually a type of bat. Script by Jerry Coleman. Thanks to Bob Bailey. [Green Arrow & Adventure page TM & © DC Comics.]

present him to the Comic-Con committee as a guest for 1991. I never made a promise to people that I could get them to Comic-Con, only that I would try. I explained to him that this was my very first effort in trying to get an artist to Comic-Con. I was a real rookie at this. I went to the next committee meeting and got him nominated as a guest. To help my presentation, I brought along my copies of The Photo-Journal Guide to Comic Books by Ernst Gerber. I believe in the old notion that a picture is worth a thousand words. Instead of explaining Moldoff’s contributions to comics, I brought the books with me to show the committee his many covers so they could see what the hell I was talking about.

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

Only One Of These Guys Can Fly! Montage of Bob Kane-style Batman figures from Sheldon Moldoff’s website, now maintained by his son Kenneth—and Shelly’s “Hawkman” splash page from Flash Comics #29 (May 1942); script by Gardner Fox. Moldoff did a ton of art commissions in the last two or three decades of his long, productive life. He was Bob Kane’s first assistant on the “Batman” feature, and the second (and most noteworthy) artist of “Hawkman” in the first half of the 1940s. Moldoff was interviewed several times for Alter Ego, beginning with Vol. 3, #4. Thanks to Jim Ludwig for the “Hawkman” scan. [Batman & Hawkman TM & © DC Comics.]

Sheldon “Shelly” Moldoff.

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

The Ghost Of Batman (Above:) A Moldoff-penciled splash page from Batman #141 (Aug. 1961), with script either by “Batman” co-creator Bill Finger (or more likely by Jerry Coleman, as per the Grand Comics Database) and inks by Charles Paris— juxtaposed with a Shelly re-creation of his iconic cover for the “Robin Dies at Dawn” issue, Batman #156 (June 1963), from his website. Moldoff was Bob Kane’s major ghost artist from 1953-67. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Parks & Re-Creations (Left: & above:) A valued cover artist in All-American Comics’ early days, Moldoff drew the first covers ever to feature The Flash and Green Lantern. Adapting his work from some slightly later covers, he did these re-creations of The Flash (in 1994, for Robert Lorick) and Green Lantern (in 1985, for Jerry G. Bails). [Flash & Green Lantern TM & © DC Comics.]

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

Mr. Sandman, Send Me A Dream… “Sandman” splash page drawn by Creig Flessel for Adventure Comics #59 (Feb. 1940), as reproduced from the actual comic, courtesy of Bob Bailey—and a 1961 Flessel re-creation of his cover for Adventure #47 (Feb. 1940), done for Jerry G. Bails. The “Sandman” script is attributed to Gardner F. Fox. Creig F. was seen on p. 3; Jim Amash’s interview with Flessel appeared in A/E #45. [Sandman & page TM & © DC Comics.]

This was a big room of people, and I was shouting across the room, but, guess what? I got him nominated as a full guest, which meant they were also paying for his room and transportation to the Comic-Con. To do what I wanted to do at Comic-Con, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to get involved in the politics of Comic-Con. The best way to do what I wanted was to be totally independent from Comic-Con itself. Comic-Con has always relied on people to volunteer for various duties. For me, volunteering was the way to go. For the entire time I got guests, I worked outside the Con’s organizing structures, doing things my own way. Nobody controlled who I looked for or how I got them to the Con. What I was doing was too specialized. So I never joined San Diego Comic-Con in any official capacity. That way I didn’t step on anyone’s toes. I didn’t have any obligations. I didn’t play any political games. I believed then and still believe now that doing it my way got things done. I worked hard, though, not to offend anyone, to be a neutral presence while still having an influence. So I got Sheldon Moldoff for ’91, and then the next thing was, who’s next? I looked in the back of a book I purchased at the 1990 Comic-Con—[DC’s] The Greatest Golden Age Stories Ever Told—for credits. I decided on contacting Creig Flessel. For the second year, I actually missed attending the Guest Committee meeting, so my nomination was actually turned down, but I still got Flessel out.

There was a group that was started back in those days by private collectors called the American Association of Comicbook Collectors. I asked them how they’d like to get Creig Flessel out to San Diego. They were excited about that. The Comic-Con likes sponsorship for guests because it helps with cost, so I let the Comic-Con committee know that the Association, including myself, would pay for Creig’s transportation to San Diego. The Con then picked up the room-&-board. That’s how I got my second person out.

“[Vin Sullivan] Was One Of The Most Important, And Largely Unsung, People In Comics” I started using the Association as the sponsors for transportation costs. For the 1993 Comic-Con they sponsored Vincent “Vin” Sullivan. Sullivan was someone that Creig Flessel told me about who was living in Manhasset, New York. Sullivan’s phone number was listed in the phone book there so I called him up. Vin Sullivan was completely out of the comics business, but he was one of the most important, and largely unsung, people in comics. He was the original editor of National Allied Publications, starting in the very beginning in 1935, which would become DC Comics. He was the editor who made the decision in 1938 to use

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

The Vin Sullivan Show What can we say about a legend like Vin Sullivan? Well, first, that he was seen in the photo on page 3 of this issue. Second, that, though he was the editor of Action Comics #1 and the guy who told young Bob Kane he ought to go home and create a super-hero if he wanted to make more money, we hardly need to show you the covers of Action #1 and/or Detective Comics #27. And third, that in 1940 he co-founded Columbia Comics Group; later, he left that to start his own company, Magazine Enterprises, which published comics between 1944 and 1957. Interviews with him appeared in A/E #10 & 27. Seen at left is the “Skyman” splash page from Columbia’s Sparky Watts #1 (1942), drawn by Ogden Whitney… and at right, a Bob Powell-drawn splash from ME’s Cave Girl #12 (1953). Both stories were probably written by legendary writer Gardner Fox, a schoolmate of Vin’s whom Sullivan brought into the comics field in 1939 to script for DC—and the rest, for both of them, is comics history. Thanks to Bruce Mason for the “Cave Girl” splash. The entire Cave Girl series has been collected in hardcover by Dark Horse. [Pages © the respective copyright holders.]

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Superman strip, which they’d been trying to sell for years, as the lead character in National’s first issue of Action Comics. That single decision turned the comic book business on its ear. Vin had drawn the cover for the first issue of Detective Comics in 1937, and in 1939 he gave Bob Kane the OK to bring “Batman” to life in that comic. Two of the three greatest comic book characters (Spider-Man being the third) came about from Sullivan’s decisions. By this time, I’d started making trips to the East Coast on my vacation times to make contact with artists, and on May 19, 1992, I went to there to visit my friend Charlie Roberts. We made this incredible trip over a 48-hour period where we went to visit E.E. Hibbard, then Mort Meskin. [laughs] Mort Meskin said, “You want to come over and get an autograph? You’ve got to be kidding.” I said, “No!” [more laugher] I got in the door of Mort Meskin! Ron Goulart could never do that. The next day—well, let me go back a bit—in 1992 I was inspired by an article I saw in the Comics Buyer’s Guide where Mark Hamill from Star Wars and Billy Mumy from

Lost in Space had gotten Jerry Siegel, Bob Kane, and Jack Kirby in the same room together. That truly inspired me. So in 1992 I decided to get Creig Fessel, Vin Sullivan, and Fred Guardineer in the same room together. So that started the 48-hour trip to see Hibbard, Meskin…

“The Creator of ‘Aquaman’ Was Living In Oceanside, California!” RA: I assume that E. E. Hibbard turned you down. SIEGEL: Yes, we couldn’t even get through the door! [laughs] He hated comics with a passion. Hated the 1990s Flash TV series, as well. He did comics for seven years, just to make money. He told us that, after seven years, he got a chance to go into advertising and “Boom!,” he was long gone. I can respect that. I did get a picture with him, though. Charlie Roberts took the picture. The next day we went to Babylon, New York, to pick up Fred

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

Two Titans Who Quickly Turned Dave Down You can’t win ’em all—and Dave Siegel couldn’t interest either of this pair of major comic book artists in going to the San Diego Comic-Con. But at least he got his picture taken with them!

Mort Meskin with Dave Siegel in 1992. Photo courtesy of DS & Charlie Roberts. [© Charlie Roberts.]

“Quick” As A “Flash” Mort Meskin (aka “Mort Morton, Jr.”) splash page for the “Johnny Quick” story from More Fun Comics #84 (Oct. 1942). The “Cliff” byline probably means that artist Cliff Young inked or otherwise assisted with this one. Thanks to Ger Apeldoorn. For the “Flash” whom Johnny Quick was virtually as quick as, see right. [TM & © DC Comics.]

“It Can Happen To You…” E.E. (Everett Edward) Hibbard with Dave in 1992—so, despite his memory, Dave actually did get through the artist's front door! Photo courtesy of DS & Charlie Roberts. [© Charlie Roberts.]

Hibbard’s cover for All-Flash #8 (Jan.-Feb. 1948), which took The Flash and the Three Dimwits to Fairyland. And this one wasn’t a ride at Disneyland—which wouldn’t exist for another seven years! Thanks to the Grand Comics Database. [TM & © DC Comics.]

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

Paul Norris signing an “Aquaman” story at a con. Courtesy of Scott Stewart.

Norris Goes Nautical “Aquaman” co-creator Paul Norris—amid a flood of his early splash pages from (clockwise from top left) More Fun Comics #73, 75, 80, & 88—cover-dated Nov. 1941, Jan. ’42, June ’42, & Feb. ’43. The first two (or possibly three) of these stories were scripted by Mort Weisinger, the last by Manly Wade Wellman. Oddly, of the five major pre-“Superboy” superheroes featured in More Fun (including Spectre, Dr. Fate, Green Arrow, and Johnny Quick), Aquaman is the only one who never appeared on a cover. Thanks to Doug Martin, Jim Kealy, and Bob Cherry for the splash scans. An in-depth interview with Norris was printed in A/E #69. [TM & © DC Comics.]

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

Color Me Soggy! Paul Norris drew this Aquaman commission drawing for collector Bob Hughes. We wanted you to see it in its original black-&-white form—and as specially colored for this issue of A/E by Larry Guidry. [Aquaman TM & © DC Comics.]

Guardineer, then to Manhasset to pick up Vin Sullivan, and finally met up with Creig Flessel in New York. Now, Creig was already going to San Diego. The original plan was to bring both Vin Sullivan and Fred Guardineer out to San Diego, sharing a hotel room, but unfortunately Guardineer was not interested in coming to San Diego. After I took Guardineer back to his home in Babylon, we drove down to Manhattan to see if we could meet up with an editor [for Fawcett] named William Lieberson, but that didn’t pan out. But we did get to go up to Joe Simon’s apartment and meet him. So, in 48 hours, we met Hibbard, Meskin, Sullivan, Guardineer, Flessel, and Simon. Not a bad two days! I had moved to San Diego by then, and, thanks to Jerry Bails, I discovered that Paul Norris, the co-creator of “Aquaman,” lived only about 25 minutes away from San Diego in Oceanside, California. I met with him and, as a bonus, I told the Guest Committee that they could get an artist who lived near San Diego, so they wouldn’t have to pay for a flight or room, just a ride to the convention center. I’ve always thought it was fitting that the creator of “Aquaman” was living in Oceanside, California! They were still a little negative on me, but one of the women on the committee said it would be stupid not to invite Paul Norris to Comic-Con. So, because he was local and cheap, they agreed to

have him attend the 1993 Comic-Con with Vin Sullivan. It was at that convention that I introduced Jack Kirby to Sullivan. Kirby was astonished to meet him! I wished I’d taken a picture of that! Will Eisner met Vin at one of the Comic-Cons, as well. It was great to see Sullivan pick up his Inkpot Award. Paul Norris didn’t attend the ceremony; he actually stayed home that day. That 1993 convention was when I first began working on the Golden Age panels with a man named Chris Sturhann, who was a great guy. He’d tried setting a panel up in 1992 with Creig Flessel, but it didn’t pan out. So I got involved in the 1993 Golden Age panel where Vin Sullivan, Julie Schwartz, Gil Kane, Russ Heath, Paul Norris, Marty Nodell—nine people in all—appeared. I was busy! It was on the panel that Marty Nodell [co-creator of the Golden Age “Green Lantern”], a great guy, gave Paul his Inkpot Award; Paul wasn’t aware he was getting one. He stood up and pointed at me and said, “You!” in a rather accusing way. [laughs] That con was a lot of fun. Gary Carter, from Comic Book Marketplace, was the very first host of the Golden Age panel. Gary was the head of that group, the American Association of Comicbook Collectors, so I was going through him. But I was making the decisions on what guests I

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

Brick & Mortar Norris also did stints drawing two popular fantasy comic strips, Brick Bradford and Jungle Jim. (Counterclockwise from above:) The Brick Bradford daily for Nov. 7, 1953, plus a later “Brick Bradford” story in King Comics’ color comic book Mandrake the Magician #5 (May 1967)—the Jungle Jim Sunday for 1-7-51—and the “Flash Gordon” splash page from Dell’s Four Color #190 (June 1948). Norris is also credited with being the writer on most if not all of these. With thanks to Art Lortie for the Bradford art and Ger Apeldoorn for Jim. [TM & © King Features, Inc.]

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

Chad Grothkopf in a special display scan created by cartoonist (and “Chad” fan) Jim Engel.

Rabbit Transit (Above:) One of Chad’s splash pages for Fawcett’s Hoppy the Marvel Bunny #3 (July 1946), which he probably wrote as well as drew. Repro’d from Ye Editor’s bound volume—yes, RT has a bound volume totally devoted to Hoppy! [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics.]

wanted and doing all the work finding these people. The Association only paid for the transportation.

“Chad [Grothkopf] Was A Character!” In 1993 I was talking to Robin Snyder [now the publisher/editor of the magazine The Comics!], first time I met him, and he loved what I was trying to do with artists because he was a great admirer of those same people. I asked him who he’d like to see on a panel and he gave me a great name—Chad Grothkopf, the creator of “Hoppy the Marvel Bunny” for Fawcett. How can you beat that? Chad had been hired by Vin Sullivan way back in 1935-36 for National, and Vin told me one of the reasons he hired Chad was because he looked like the great actor Don Ameche. He was a really good-looking guy. Vin would tell people, “I’ve got Don Ameche working for me!” [laughs]

Sand Gets In Your Eyes While Creig Flessel was the artist who mostly took over the “Sandman” feature when original artist Bert Christman left to join the Flying Tigers in the early stages of World War II, “Chad” drew some of the Morphean Manhunter’s adventures, as well… including this one from the 1940 issue of New York World’s Fair Comics. Script attributed to Gardner Fox; repro’d from the hardcover The Golden Age Sandman Archives, Vol. 1. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Chad was a character! His forte was humor stuff, although he did do the “Sandman” story for National’s New York World’s Fair Comics #2 in 1940. Still, he was best known for his humor—gag cartoons and funny-animal stuff. After National, he left for Timely Comics, working for Martin Goodman and a young Stan Lee, then to Fawcett. In the 1960s he did the storyboard animation for Underdog, the cartoon series. He also worked for Disney, freelance work.

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

I made contact with him, partly though the help of Ron Goulart. I was an admirer of Goulart. I was making acquaintances with these guys who were, I guess the first comic book historians. I got a lot of approval from guys like Ron and Robin. So, on my vacation time, I’d save up, rent a car, and get in a lot of driving time! For a West Coast guy, I got to see the East Coast pretty darn good over the years. [laughs] it was fun! So those guys got me in contact with Grothkopf, who was living up in Westport, Connecticut. Then I went to contact Gary Carter’s committee, who were going to sponsor

Grothkopf’s trip to San Diego, but I could never get in touch with [Gary]. He disappeared on me! I didn’t like how things were going. I didn’t want to have this sort of thing affecting my work with future artists. Promising something that didn’t turn out to be true. Your word is your word, you know? I didn’t like the brush-off I was getting from Gary. I learned later that Gary had moved from San Diego to Chattanooga, Tennessee, to work with Bob Overstreet and the Overstreet Price Guide. However, it turned out to be easy to get Chad to San Diego. I learned that Chad loved to drive across country, and so that’s what he did. He wanted to drive from Westport to San Diego and get there early, before the convention. He made a whole vacation out of it. I don’t think the Association had to pay him anything! Not a dime! But I still was a little upset with Gary and his little game, so I decided to play a little game on him. I asked Chad if, on his trip to San Diego, he’d mind making a little detour to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where Gary now was. I asked Chad if he could give Gary a call while there and tell him where he was going. Sure enough, a few days later I finally got a call from Gary!

Famous For Being Famous We’re only sorry these two Sunday funnies by “Chad” couldn’t be in color! For some time, the artist drew (and probably wrote) the Sunday comic strip Famous Fiction, which adapted such works as Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Under Two Flags by Ouida (a pseudonym of novelist Maria Louise Ramé). Whether he was competing with Disney funny-animal artists or channeling his inner Milt Caniff, Grothkopf was the greatest! Scans courtesy of Ger Apeldoorn. [© the respective copyright holders.]

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

[laughs] I loved Chad. He was a great guy and a wonderful human being. I had a lot of respect for him.

“When I Asked [Harry Lampert] If He’d Co-Created ‘The Flash’… He Went Blank-Faced On Me” 1994 was the last year that Chris Sturhann was going to be the program director for Comic-Con, so I really wanted to do something spectacular for him. As it happens, Jim Whiting was the head of the Cartoonists Society in San Diego. Paul Norris told me that at the most recent Cartoonists meeting Jim Whiting had invited his old teacher to attend, who turned out to be Harry Lampert! Harry Lampert was at the time a professional bridgeplayer, but back in the 1940s he’d co-created the Golden Age “Flash.” Now, Chad had come out early, and I took him and my Gerber book to the Cartoonists meeting, and so Paul Norris and Chad Grothkopf and I all got to meet Harry Lampert there. When I met Harry, I asked him if he’d co-created “The Flash.” Harry went blank-faced on me and then said, “You know, I’d completely forgotten that. I haven’t thought of that in years!” Charlie Roberts, I think, took the photo of all of us together.

“Flash” Splash Harry Lampert drew only two stories of “The Flash”—but they were the very first two. Above, as repro’d in the hardcover The Golden Age Flash Archives, Vol. 1, is his lead-off splash page from Flash Comics #1 (Jan. 1940). Script by Gardner Fox. Harry did many commissions based on that “Flash” pose— with the one he did for Roy Thomas serving as the basis for his art on the cover of this edition of Alter Ego. An interview with Lampert appeared in A/E, Vol. 3, #4. [TM & © DC Comics.]

The Panel That Didn’t Pan Out For the life of him, Ye Editor can’t remember quite why the 1994 pro panel that Dave Siegel mentions didn’t ever quite come to life, but that’s Roy’s recollection, as well. Don’t recall if Harry Lampert was present, but Shelly Moldoff’s nameplate can be seen at left. Seen in the photo (left to right) are RT, Chad Grothkopf, Julius Schwartz, Paul Norris, and EC/Mad editor/writer/artist Al Feldstein. Comics historian Joe Desris’ nameplate is seen, but he must have ducked out—or never shown up! Photo by Tim Lapslay (sp?).

So in 1994 we did our second panel, with Roy Thomas on the panel. The panel was still going through growing pains, though, and I didn’t think the various personalities on that Harry Lampert panel connected well (abive left) with collector/fan Charlie Jackam, who with each other. It provided this pic. It was taken at a con in 2001. was a bit of a disapOnce Harry was “re-discovered” by Dave Siegel, pointment. I think he enjoyed attending comics conventions for the Roy felt that, too. next nigh-decade! He passed away in 2004.

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

“Ramona [Fradon] Had Never Met Paul [Norris]” In 1995 we got Ramona Fradon and Irv Novick. I really wanted to get Ramona, but the Comic-Con told me that they’d tried to get her at least three different times and she’d kept turning them down. She was living out towards Woodstock [New York], in one of those towns with an Indian name. In 1994 I went to visit her at her home and told her that there was a gentlemen in San Diego who would really like to meet her because he was a great admirer of her work, and his name was Paul Norris, the creator of “Aquaman.” Ramona had never met Paul, and that did it. She was willing to come Ramona Fradon Comic-Con to at the 2005 Big Apple Con in New York City. Photo meet Paul. I taken by Jim Murtagh & Keif Simon.

Ramona Meets The Sea King Ramona Fradon’s first published “Aquaman” story, from which these two pages are taken, popped up in Adventure Comics #167 (Aug. 1951); she would draw all the hero’s monthly exploits for the next ten years. Script credited to Jack Miller. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. An interview with Fradon appeared in A/E #69. [TM & © DC Comics.]

contacted Jackie Estrada, who was the head of the Guest Committee, and told her that Ramona was available. The committee agreed to bring her out. Then, through the Association, I got Irv Novick out. I went to his home with Charlie Roberts. Irv was out front when we arrived, wearing a T-shirt that said “The Bat, the Cat, and the Penguin.” He knew what was coming! [laughs] At that point, he’d never been to a comic book convention. Phil Seuling tried to get him for the New York conventions but never managed to do it. So Charlie and I were there, with the Gerber books, to show him that his 1940s work on “The Shield” was still remembered. We had a marvelous time with him and his wife Sylvia. When he got to Comic-Con, it was just so nice to see people running up and shaking his hand. He was just so shocked. It was fun to take Irv to the Archie Comics booth. In his day, he was the Jack Kirby of MLJ Comics. He had a good time. He’d never gotten this kind of attention before in his life. We were in Artist’s Alley, and I asked him why he’d turned down so many previous offers to go to a con and why he finally decided to go with me. He said, “Because you did something nobody else did. You came to see me.

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

Firsts By Fradon Two of Fradon’s earliest jobs for DC were a sagebrush saga titled “The Looting of Number Thirteen!” in Western Comics #23 (May 1951) and a “Shining Knight” epic in Adventure Comics #166 (July 1951), actually her second tale starring Sir Justin. Ramona was clearly drawing in a more illustrative style on the latter, probably because the previous artist had been a young Frank Frazetta, but soon developed her own trademark style. Thanks to Joe Wise for both scans. [TM & © DC Comics.] Seen at right is a fairly recent commission drawing by Fradon of several members of the All-Star Squadron, including two that Ramona has drawn in solo series for DC: The Shining Knight and Plastic Man. This art was found on the Internet by Pedro Angosto, and colored especially for A/E by Larry Guidry. [Liberty Belle, Johnny Quick, Shining Knight, & Plastic Man TM & © DC Comics.]

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

Metamorpho, Sis! (Above:) A DC house ad for The Brave and the Bold #57 (Jan. 1965), the issue that introduced “Metamorpho,” Ramona Fradon’s second signature character (after Aquaman); it appeared in Mystery in Space #96 (Dec. ’64). Inking by Charles Paris. [TM & © DC Comics.] (Top right:) A Fradon commission sketch of Metamorpho and friends, courtesy of original art dealer Anthony Snyder (www.anthonysnyder.com/art)). [Metamorpho, et al., TM & © DC Comics.]

That personal touch. I thought you were a really nice guy.” Sometimes it takes a very simple thing to get someone to do something that both you and they would like. Both the Comic-Con Guest Committee and the Association were a little leery about some Golden Age artists—too obscure, maybe, for modern-day fans, but the truth was that many of the Golden Age artists were also Silver Age artists, like Novick, and if you could show the two organizations that, they were both easier to deal with. I was focused on artists from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, because I believe they played the most important role in the history of comics. These folks laid all the groundwork for the foundation of comics. You’re seeing movies, TV shows nowadays because of these people and their work.

Going Bats! (Right:) Irv Novick was at the top of his form in this action page from Batman #244 (Sept. 1972) by a trio of action specialists: Denny O’Neil (writer), Irv Novick (penciler), & Dick Giordano (inker). Thanks to Jim Ludwig. [TM & © DC Comics.]

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

Irv Novick at a con, holding up a copy of MLJ’s Pep Comics #1 (Jan. 1940), the comic that introduced The Shield to the waiting world. Courtesy of Dave Siegel.

A Much Earlier Agent Of “Shield” (Above:) Irv Novick’s cover for Pep Comics #5 (June 1940). (Right:) The original (autographed) Novick cover art for Pep Comics #17 (July 1941), the issue in which The Hangman made his debut. Shaun Clancy purchased this art from the son of MLJ artist Ed Goggin. We’re not certain who added the colors. [TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.]

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An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

Joe Giella (above left) with Eileen and Craig Mortimer, the widow and son of another Golden Age great, “Superman” and “Batman” artist Winslow Mortimer. Thanks to Dave Siegel.

“It Was Becoming Easier For Me To Do All This Stuff” Now, I’d also heard that Joe Sinnott was coming to Comic-Con that year, and I knew Mark Evanier was a huge Marvel person. So I asked Mark if he could make sure that Joe could be invited to sit on the Golden Age panel. That was a time that was largely preInternet, so I asked Mark if he could use his column in the Comics Buyer’s Guide to list the artists’ names for the Golden Age panel so that people, fans, could be aware of who was attending it. Ron

Giella Ain’t Yella! Joe Giella has had the gumption to ink most of the great comic book heroes (and artists)—and today draws Mary Worth in the newspapers. Here are a couple of his notquite-comics efforts: a drawing of Superman, Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman that may have been done for Nabisco—and (at top left) a drawing à la Gil Kane of Sinestro and Green Lantern, which has been colored by Arnie Grieves. Giella was interviewed for A/E #52. [Characters TM & © DC Comics.]

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

Jim Mooney (On Left) & Irv Novick Thanks to Dave Siegel.

Goulart had just become the new panel moderator—the third one, while Mark would become the fourth. I really wanted promotion for the panel, with the idea that, as it became better known, it would be easier to get approval from Comic-Con for the artists I wanted to get. That publicity Mark wrote up in his column turned out to give us the greatest turn-out we ever had for a Golden Age panel. [laughs] It was a great panel, and people jammed the room to see the first creator of “The Flash.” Ron Goulart did a great job there. You had both Golden and Silver Age artists on the panel. Paul Levitz showed up as a guest! Turned out that Irv Novick was the guy who encouraged Paul to go to college! [laughs] It was becoming easier for me to do all this stuff. I was honing my skills and becoming a better people’s person. Instead of having to do detective work, the contacts for the Golden Age artists were now starting to come to me.

Mooney, Maid Of Steel, & Marvel Maid – And A Cast Of Millions! (Above:) Mooney’s “Supergirl” splash page for Action Comics #272 (Jan. 1961). Script by Otto Binder—who may have meant the name “Marvel Maid” as an homage of sorts to Fawcett’s super-heroine Mary Marvel, whom he had co-created. Thanks to Bob Bailey. [TM & © DC Comics.] (Left:) Richard Arndt snapped a photo of this original Jim Mooney drawing of The Legion of Super-Heroes at Dave Siegel’s home. An in-depth interview with Mooney appeared in A/E #133. [Legion TM & © DC Comics.]

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

Shazamberger! (Above left:) Kurt Schaffenberger, of course, was noted in later years as the artist of Lois Lane (as per this splash page from Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #54, Jan. 1965, from a script by Edmond Hamilton), and for his many stories for Richard Hughes’ American Comics Group— (Above right:) But fans of a certain (advancing) age will always remember him as the artist of numerous fine stories in Fawcett’s The Marvel Family, such as this one from issue #45 (March 1950). Thanks to Jay Kinney. [Shazam heroes & Lois Lane page TM & © DC Comics.]

Kurt Schaffenberger Photo courtesy of Dave Siegel.

Rich Morrissey was a comic historian for comic book writers. His interest was in the writers, as mine was in the artists. Rick gave me the information to contact Joe Giella for the 1996 panel. Jim Mooney, who also was one I contacted for that panel, made it easy for me. He’d placed an ad in the Comics Buyers Guide for commission art. The third guest was Kurt Schaffenberger. I’d gone, on one of my trips east, to Atlantic City to check it out. There was some kind of signing event with Adam West and Burt Ward. Kurt lived in Bricktown, which was very close to Atlantic City, and he’d gotten a table there to sell artwork. So I met him there. I went to the Association meeting, and they sponsored Schaffenberger. Jim Mooney came the regular way through the Con’s Guest Committee. Joe Giella was listed as an alternate if Carl Barks, the first choice, couldn’t come, which is what happened, and so Joe went to his first Comic-Con. Joe got a kick out of seeing Gil Kane again. Jim Mooney was sitting at an artist’s table and someone told him, “I thought you were dead!” [laughs] Kurt Schaffenberger had a great time.

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

“My Own Inkpot Award” That was also the year I got the biggest shock of my life! I’d gone with all three of them to see them get their Inkpot Awards. That’s when I got my own Inkpot Award, following Mort Drucker, Kurt Schaffenberger, Jim Mooney, and Joe Giella! What was going on here? You know, in daydreams, I’d always thought it’d be pretty cool to get an award, but in reality I never thought I’d have a chance. I wasn’t an artist or a writer. It also wasn’t my purpose in doing what I was doing. It was to honor these guys. I don’t really consider myself important in all this. If getting these artists meant I got into the show for free and I got to spend time with these guys, then I was happy. You can’t ask for a better gift than that. I was on Cloud Nine, being with my comic book idols. My heroes. So, getting the award, I nearly got sick to my stomach. I was pale and sweating, and it was clear to everybody that I was overwhelmed. Afterwards, my friend Mike and I ran up to the bar and got doubles! [laughs] It drove me to drink! That was a very, very special day for me. Standing in the group photo with those guys. Those guys! My God! A very special gift. I don’t believe that I deserved to be there, but I’ve got a lifetime free pass to Comic-Con from it, so that’s great!

“After [Dick Ayers], I Did Everything Pretty Much On My Own” Things started changing with the American Association of Comicbook Collectors. For the 1997 Comic-Con, a person named Jon Berk, a Golden Age collector, was kind enough to give me the address of George Tuska. George’s career started all the way back in 1939, with Crime Does Not Pay and all that. Years of great work. I also wanted Dick Ayers, who’d also never been to Comic-Con. However, the Association was starting to change on me. I was just getting a bad vibe from them. It used to be easy to get them to agree to my choices, but now it was starting to get tough. Michael Nieman, a member of the Association, told me they already had a guest they wanted to sponsor, and, while I don’t remember the name of the artist they wanted, I knew that artist was already going to be at the Comic-Con. I thought Dick Ayers was a better choice because he’d never been there before. So I made a deal with the Association—they would get me George Tuska and I would get Dick Ayers on my own. That’s how it worked, but it was the last year I worked with the Association. After that, I did everything pretty much on my own, with no sponsor backing. The reality was that the Association’s priorities had changed. They had come to believe that they were the lead in getting the artists, when in reality it was me. At that point, I decided to let them do whatever they wanted. It was fine with me.

“[Julie Schwartz] Wanted To See John Broome” In April of 1997, while at WonderCon, which was held in Oakland at the time, Julie Schwartz took me aside and told me of someone that he would love to see again. He wanted to see John Broome, the writer. Broome lived in France and, sometimes, in Japan. So, OK, I’m an artist guy, but I’d try to get the writer John Broome. After WonderCon, Julie got me Broome’s address and phone number. So I called Paris on my own dime. I don’t know about now, but back then, that was a lot of money! I talked to Peggy Broome, his wife. I was the first fan in many years to talk to John

Out Of The Inkpot Dave Siegel’s Inkpot Award now stands in Dave Siegel’s Las Vegas home, where Richard Arndt photographed it.

Broome. He’d never been to San Diego. I told him I would go to the Guest Committee and try. Like I said, I never made promises. I always said I would do the best that I could. So, at the 1997 Guest Committee meeting, I was full of gumption, ready to pull out all the stops. Since I’d lost the Association’s backing, I decided to be really nervy and ask for a lot. What did I have to lose? I brought up three names—John Broome, Henry Boltinoff, and Nick Cardy. Tom Horvitz, a good friend and comic book dealer, knew Spencer Beck, who represented Nick Cardy. That’s how I got my contact with Cardy. I had somewhat of a problem with Nick Cardy, though. I had spoken to him several times on the phone, but by the time I got to the committee meeting he had stopped talking to me. I went to Spencer Beck, who began making all these demands on me over the phone, so I hung up on him. I thought he was totally out of line. Remember, I wasn’t an official member of Comic-Con at all. All I really could do was make my best case to the committee. I felt all these demands were really out of place. So I went ahead, even without being able to get a response out of Nick Cardy at all. The best I could do was leave a message on his phone. I never heard back from him. Henry Boltinoff was the brother of Murray Boltinoff, [who’d been] a DC editor. Henry did fillers for DC—“Super Turtle” and the like. He was a gag cartoonist. I loved that stuff. I presented all three to the committee, and the only one they agreed to was Nick Cardy. I talked to John Broome and told him I couldn’t get him the

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

Two For The Show Dave’s final work done with the American Association of Comicbook Collectors on behalf of the San Diego Comic-Con was to help arrange for artists Dick Ayers and George Tuska to be there.

Dick Ayers at the 2008 New York Comic Con—plus a 1983 commission drawing he did of the Magazine Enterprises/Marvel Comics Western hero Ghost Rider— and DC’s El Diablo. Thanks to Dominic Bongo, who retrieved it from the Heritage Comics website. ME’s Ghost Rider has been reincarnated in recent years as first Night Rider, then Phantom Rider… but he’ll always be the original Ghost Rider to us, as he was to Dick! Ayers was interviewed for A/E, Vol. 3, #10. [Ghost Rider TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; El Diablo TM & © DC Comics.]

George Tuska with a Superman commission drawing—and his cover for Iron Man #18 (Oct. 1969), whereon the “old” and “new” editions of Shellhead battle it out. May the best Iron Man win! Tuska was interviewed for A/E #99. [Superman TM & © DC Comics; Iron Man cover TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

Nick Cardy in 2008. In the 1940s he had drawn under his birthname, Nick Viscardi. He was interviewed for A/E #65.

regular way, but that I’d try to come up with a different way. Six months later, I was talking again with Rich Morrissey and told him about how I’d been in contact with John Broome. He dropped the phone on the floor. I told Rich we could get him to Comic-Con and the room wouldn’t be a problem, but the air flight was a lot of money. So I asked Rich if maybe some of his writer fans would be willing to share the cost of an air flight to get John Broome to Comic-Con. Maybe his pals could sponsor the deal. I contributed $100 of my own money. I think Rich, though, contributed the lion’s share to John’s international flight. I called Mark Evanier and told him I’d found a way to get John Broome out to Comic-Con and asked him to contact Jackie Estrada and let her and the committee know. That’s the true story on how John Broome got to Comic-Con! Rich did the heavy lifting, but it started with me. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: See the late Rich Morrissey’s own detailed account of the John Broome 1998 attendance in the article following this interview.]

Back To The High Seas—And Lower Depths! 1998, I got three people out to the 1999 ComicNo fewer than three “Aquaman” artists were among those that Dave Siegel dealt with in his Con. The committee gave me exactly what I days of getting guests for the San Diego Comic-Con… and while Nick Cardy for some reason wanted. I got Chuck Cuidera, the co-creator of proved one of the more difficult of those, we couldn’t miss our chance to showcase his very “Blackhawk” with Will Eisner, Arnold Drake the first “Aquaman” splash page for—well, Showcase! Issue #31 (March-April 1962), to be exact. writer, and Irwin Hasen, the co-creator of He took over the feature after the initial Showcase issue drawn by Ramona Fradon, who “Wildcat.” I had met Irwin in 1993 and already had then temporarily left the field in order to raise her daughter. Repro’d from the hardcover his address. Arnold Drake I got out of the phone The Aquaman Archives, Vol. 1. [TM & © DC Comics.] book. Chuck was not difficult, because Mark Evanier wrote Blackhawk for a run in the 1980s and attendee but not a guest. This anniversary was to celebrate not was an admirer, so he told me Chuck was in Florida, and I got the only the Golden Age Flash but also the Silver Age Flash. Now, contact information from Murphy Anderson. By now, people were Harry lived in Long Beach, which meant the Con wouldn’t have to starting to help me a lot with information. Thirty minutes after pay for a flight, just a room. The only way that Harry said he’d talking to Mark, I had Chuck Cuidera agreeing to come to Comiccome was if he got a free room. The free rooms only go to guests. I Con. By the 1998 season, with those names and the growing told Jackie Estrada a little white lie to get this to come about. I’m turnout for the Golden Age panels, the Guest Committee was probably going to get into trouble for this. [laughs] Harry was making it very easy for me. I didn’t have to fight anymore. I got doing a professional bridge tournament in Long Beach, which just two names passed—Drake and Hasen. Joe Ferrio, of Atlantis happened to end right before Comic-Con, so he could come down. Comics, helped foot a lot of the bill for Cuidera to fly to San Diego. I said to Jackie, “Do you realize that this is the 60th anniversary of Joe was great. Arnold Drake and Irwin Hasen—their sense of ‘The Flash,’ created by Gardner Fox and Harry Lampert? Harry humor was priceless. Beautiful people. wants to come to Comic-Con as a guest. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to have Harry sitting in Artist’s Alley and not be a guest on the 60th anniversary of ‘The Flash’? Don’t you think that will look “The 60th Anniversary Of ‘The Flash’” very bad?” So Harry got to Comic-Con as a guest and got his 2000 was the 60th anniversary of “The Flash.” In 1993, when Jim Inkpot Award on The Flash’s 60th anniversary. Carmine Infantino Whiting brought Harry Lampert to Comic-Con, Harry was an [Continued on p. 30]

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

Charles “Chuck” Cuidera standing behind Dave Siegel. Courtesy of DS. Cuidera was interviewed in A/E #34.

Hawkaaaa! (Above:) Chuck Cuidera proved an excellent artist in the early days of the “Blackhawk” series that he had at the very least co-created… with Reed Crandall becoming the illustrator after the first eleven stories. DC’s Blackhawk Archives, Vol. 1 (and, thus far, only), from which this scan was taken, credits Will Eisner with both co-creation and the script for this story from Quality’s Military Comics #4 (Nov. 1941). Later, Cuidera switched to just inking “Blackhawk” (including in his own title) from circa 1945-68, first for Quality, then for DC, over the pencils of Dick Dillin. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Arnold Drake flanked by David Siegel and Australian fan Anthony Gillies at the 1998 San Diego Comic-Con. Thanks to DS. Drake was interviewed in A/E #17.

Doom & Gloom (Above:) The splash page for the third “Doom Patrol” story, from My Greatest Adventure #83 (Nov. 1963). Script by Arnold Drake, art by Bruno Premiani. Repro’d from the hardcover Doom Patrol Archives, Vol. 1. [TM & © DC Comics.]

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

Irwin Hasen at the 2006 Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thanks to Bob Bailey. For maximum coverage of the co-creator of Dondi and Wildcat, see Alter Ego #140.

A Date (Or Dates) With Irwin Hasen (Above:) Irwin Hasen had drawn a number of “Green Lantern” stories in the early ’40s, before his “limited service” stint during World War II, and returned to the feature after it. Curiously, this splash page from All-American Comics #86 (June 1947) is identical to the cover art—except that the actual art elements are a mirror image of each other, which meant that all the dates on the calendar pages had to be completely relettered! Script credited to John Broome (by the GCD, thanks to researcher Craig Delich). [TM & © DC Comics.]

A Super Writer! (Above:) One of many “Superman” stories scripted by Alvin Schwartz is this one from Action Comics #129 (Feb. 1949). It was penciled by Win Mortimer and inked by Al Plastino. An interview with Alvin Schwartz appeared in A/E #98. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Alvin Schwartz (on left) with Dave Siegel, Roy Thomas, and Arnold Drake, winners of the Paul S. Newman writing award in 2000. Three loquacious writers—who no doubt talked shop with Dave taking notes! Photo thanks to DS.

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

[Continued from p. 27] also came that day. I reminded Jackie that the Inkpot Awards going to official guests was a tradition that started in 1994. Carmine had been a guest in 1993 and hadn’t received one. Jackie looked it up and found out I was right. So when Carmine got his award that year, with Harry Lampert, I was sitting beside him and told him he was finally legit! [laughs]

Hal Sherman (on right) with “Flash” co-creator Harry Lampert. Date and place unknown. Thanks to Dave Siegel.

For the 2001 Comic-Con, I got my information from Rich Morrissey again, which allowed me to get Alvin Schwartz, the great Golden Age writer who worked on “Superman,” “Batman,” “Aquaman,” “Wonder Woman,” “The Flash,” “Newsboy Legion,” “Slam Bradley,” and many more. He scripted the very first Bizarro story for “Superman.” For 2002 I got in touch with Lew Sayre Schwartz [a ghost artist for Bob Kane on “Batman” from 1946-1953] and Hal Sherman, a Golden Age artist for National (DC). Hal’s contact information came from Jerry Robinson, because they’d been partners in the greeting card business for many years. That was pretty cool. I can’t remember where I got Lew Sayre Schwartz’s info from. Hal was in decline at the time, but I wanted to make sure my buddy Hal got his Inkpot Award, too. So I postponed some of that information, so they wouldn’t take back the award. RA: So did Hal actually attend that year, or did he get the award in absentia?

SIEGEL: No, he didn’t attend, but he did get his Inkpot Award. Hal was a beautiful person but, with his health problems, it just wasn’t going to work out.

A Falling Star Hal Sherman’s cover for Star Spangled Comics #5 (Dec. 1942), featuring his artistic co-creations The StarSpangled Kid and Stripesy (conceived by writer Jerry Siegel). After issue #6, however, the Kid would yield the cover spot to Joe Simon & Jack Kirby’s Newsboy Legion and The Guardian, though he would continue in the mag till the latter 1940s. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Hal and I first met in the Empire State Building in New York City. He was a beautiful person, and his illness took so much out of him. When I first met him, he was fully functioning. We went together to Metropolis Comics, where we looked up “The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy” in the Star Spangled Comics there. Some years later, I took him to a tour of the DC offices that Mike Catron, Marc Svensson, and I arranged. Besides Hal, the tour was attended by Arnold Drake, Murphy and Helen Anderson, Joe Giella, and Larry Lieber, who never actually worked for DC! [laughs] I have a video of it. [NOTE: David let me watch the DVD of that event, and while Hal, alas, is in poor shape, Arnold Drake is quite lively, cutting up left and right, while Murphy and Larry appear to be having a great time. Murphy’s wife, in particular, delights in seeing her husband’s art on display in the hallways. Walt Simonson pops up briefly, as do numerous DC staffers of the time, and the New York DC offices were pretty darn cool to see, especially as this interview took place during the time DC was closing them down and moving everyone to California. —RA.] I also met George Roussos, whom sadly I never could get out there. Jerry Robinson helped me a lot with contacts, but he was always amazed at who I could actually get to attend. Over time, I was getting a pretty good reputation for what I was doing. I got a lot of nicknames. Shel Dorf called me the “Lone, Lone Ranger.” Roy Thomas called me “Super-fan.” [laughs]

One Four All And All Four One! David Siegel (on right) with the three artists he helped bring to San Diego in 2003. (Left to right:) Frank Bolle, Frank Springer, and Tom Gill. Thanks to DS.

I got Frank Bolle for 2003. A really nice guy. Vincent Sullivan hired him for Vin’s own comics company—Magazine Enterprises. Frank worked there with Frank Frazetta and Dick Ayers. Frank did a ton of work back in the day, often uncredited, for Dell or Gold Key. He did Doctor Solar, a bunch of work. I was happy to see him recognized and receiving his Inkpot.

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

Bolled Over! Frank Bolle artwork from two different decades: the cover of Magazine Enterprises’ Tim Holt #1 (aka A-1 #14, July 1948)—and the “Magnus, Robot Fighter” splash page from Gold Key’s \Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #30 (Feb. 1982), with script by Roger McKenzie. Thanks to Henry Kujawa (who also restored the colors) and Jim Ludwig, respectively. [Tim Holt cover © the respective copyright holders; Doctor Solar splash TM & © Random House, Inc., under license to Classic Media, Inc.]

In 2004 Tom Gill and Frank Springer were my “gets.” Springer I met at a Berndt Toast Gang meeting. [NOTE: The Berndt Toast Gang was an East Coast collection of cartoonists and comic book artists. — RA.] Tom Gill’s address I got for doing a favor for Joe Sinnott. Tom was Joe’s old art teacher back in the 1940s. Tom Gill was the “Lone Ranger” artist for Gold Key. He had a wonderful time on the panel. Since Paul S. Newman, Tom’s main writer, had gotten his Inkpot Award for his Gold Key work some time earlier, I thought it appropriate for Tom to be getting one as well. Tom didn’t really believe me when I called him up. He thought I was pulling his leg, so I asked Joe Giella to help me convince him I was on the level. They were both Berndt Toast members. Springer was a lovely person, very nice. He enjoyed the panel, and some of his relatives lived out there and were able to come to the panel and see him surrounded by his fans. It was pretty cool. Frank started in the 1950s and did a lot of drawings for DC and Marvel. He did a great drawing of the Batcave. He was one of these wonderful artists who made their deadlines and left an amazing body of work out there. It’s nice to recognize those guys.

“After 2005, I Hung It Up” The 2005 Comic-Con was my last year of collecting guests. I’d met Dan Barry years earlier in 1993 for the first panel I helped organize. I got [his brother] Sy Barry’s information from Joe Giella. Sy and Joe were best friends from when they were teenagers. I thought it would be cool to have The Phantom’s artist out to ComicCon. I also got another artist by the name of Lee Ames as a bonus. I got his contact information from Jim Amash. Ames worked for Quality Comics on characters like “The Human Bomb.” Later, he did Samson for Gold Key. The Samson and Deliah story where she cut his hair. He wrote a lot of children’s books. He did the Draw 50… art books for children that are still in print today. [NOTE: My school library has eight different volumes. —RA.] He only lived a hundred miles away from the con, which was a bonus. After 2005, I hung it up. I’d had enough. Every good thing comes to an end. It had been over sixteen years of my life, and I was losing steam. My drive was gone, and I was getting tired of seeing people that I’d become friends with passing away from old age—more and more, it seemed, every day. It’s a natural thing, but [Continued on p. 35]

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

Filled To The Gills A quartet of Tom Gill pages (clockwise from top left): an action sequence from Toby Press’ John Wayne Adventures #21 (Dec. 1956)… the splash of Gold Key’s The Owl #2 (1967, no month); script by Jerry Siegel… the first page of Dell/Western’s Four Color #1213 (Jan. 1962), adapting the film Mysterious Island… and the same company’s The Lone Ranger #134 (June-July 1960); script by Paul S. Newman. The other two scripters are unidentified. Thanks to Jim Ludwig for the John Wayne and Lone Ranger scans, and to Bob Bailey for Mysterious Island. [Lone Ranger art TM & © Lone Ranger Television, Inc., or successors in interest; other scans © the respective copyright holders.]

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

“The Lone Ranger Rides Again!” A snapshot of Tom Gill with Dave—and a late color sketch of The Lone Ranger and Tonto drawn by Gill. Thanks to Shaun Clancy. [Lone Ranger & Tonto TM & © Lone Ranger Television, Inc., or successors in interest.]

Springer Springs Into Action! (Above:) Some of Frank Springer’s best artwork was in the National Lampoon feature “Phoebe Zeit-Geist” in the early 1970s, outrageously written by Michael O’Donoghue. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.] (Right:) Springer inked the pencils of Frank Robbins in a number of issues of Marvel’s The Invaders in the last half of the 1970s—so when serviceman Bill Cain (a friend of this magazine, as per his George Roussos interview in A/E, Vol. 3, #5) was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1996, Frank S. sent him this illo. Thanks to Bill Cain. [Captain America TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; other art © Estate of Frank Springer.] See Frank Springer himself in a photo back on p. 30!

An Interview With Super-Fan David Siegel

Barry Ames To Please! Stop us before we pun more! But since Sy Barry and Lee Ames were the final two Comic-Con guests that Dave Siegel lined up, in 2005, we thought we’d feature them together.

Comics Phantom Archive (Above:) Sy Barry’s Sunday page for The Phantom, dated March 24, 1968. Thanks to Bob Bailey. [TM & © King Features Syndicate, Inc.]

Sy Barry poses in 2003 outside the famous Sardi’s restaurant in New York City, wearing a Phantom ring.

Lee Ames Photo supplied by Ames and Jim Amash for A/E #28, which featured their in-depth interview.

Branded! (Right:) A “Firebrand” splash page drawn by Lee Ames for Quality’s Police Comics #12 (Oct. 1942). [Firebrand is now TM & © DC Comics.]

The Tracker Of The Golden Age Artists

the first artist to believe me and come to Comic-Con at my request. He’s the one who gave me that drive to continue. It was a wonderful moment last year when Shelly won the Hall of Fame Award at Comic-Con. I was there with his granddaughter to receive the award and I gave a speech for Shelly that really left me choked up. Everything I’ve really done or accomplished as a fan could be attributed to Shelly. There were artists that I dealt with who weren’t a lot of fun, some disappointments, but I gave 100% effort, and when I quit I felt very content with what I’d done. I’ve always wanted to contribute to comic fandom. Jerry Bails sent me a note after I’d won my Inkpot Award telling me just that— that I certainly had contributed to comic fandom. From Dr. Jerry Bails, that’s high praise.

Memories Are Made Of This! A few people who were very special to Dave Siegel. (Left to right with him:) Shelly Moldoff, Marie & Creig Flessel, and Fred Guardineer. Photo courtesy of DS.

[Continued from p. 31] it took a tremendous toll on me. I’d reached a point in my life where I felt very empty going to Comic-Con. I had a great time, though, and I’d like to thank some people, without whom my fun wouldn’t have been possible: the folks at Comic-Con—Jackie Estrada, the head of the Guest Committee. Sue Lord, who was the head of Guests and Relations. Sue loved the people I was bringing in, often better than the new ones they were getting. She was a big help to me. The president of Comic-Con, John Rogers, was also extremely helpful to me. He thought very highly of what I was doing. He liked that I was specializing in an area where other people weren’t doing that much. Gene and Mary Henderson worked on the Hall of Fame at Comic-Con and were always a huge help to me. Chris Sturhann and Mark Evanier were wonderful and extremely helpful. I have great memories of introducing [1940s Timely cover artist] Alex Schomburg to Jack Kirby. I also introduced Murphy Anderson to Joe Shuster. I have cool memories of meeting guys like Curt Swan. Really great memories of all the artists and writers. I didn’t do this to make a name for myself. That was not the goal. This was my way to say thank you for all the pleasures and wonderful entertainment these men and women had given me. It was just sharing. I got wonderful friendships out of this, and I made my dream a reality. I’ll always be grateful to Sheldon Moldoff, because he was

You’re A Star, Man—Both Of You! We thought we’d close with this snapshot of Dave with Golden Age artist Jack Burnley—juxtaposed with a photo of the Starman drawing that Burnley (the hero’s original artist) did for Dave. Pic taken by Richard Arndt at Dave’s home. We suspect that Burnley didn’t wish to attend any comics conventions, or he’d have been very much in demand. [Starman TM & © DC Comics.]

Clean Sweep Or, How JOHN BROOME Got To San Diego In ’98 by Rich Morrissey Rich Morrissey

John Broome

with his Welsh Springer Spaniel, Joanna); photo courtesy of Patricia Floss.

at the 1998 San Diego Comic-Con. From the Internet.

A/E

EDITOR’S NOTE: The story of how the co-creator of the Silver Age Green Lantern and the major writer of the Silver Age Flash became a guest for the first and, as it happened, only time at a comics convention is interesting in and of itself. It also sheds additional light on John Broome and his charming wife Peggy. The talented and devoted comics fan Rich Morrissey wrote this piece not too long before his untimely passing in 2001. Our sincere thanks to his friend Patricia Floss for giving us her blessing to print it here, even if necessarily in a slightly abbreviated form.

have made return appearances in subsequent years. But, as Dave told me in 1998, fewer and fewer of the convention-organizers seem really interested in the old pros each year, being much more interested (or, perhaps, feeling that most of the attendees were more interested) in the “hot” younger talent. In many cases, he admitted, private individuals were chipping in on behalf of old pros: “It’s just impossible to afford the expenses for some people. John Broome would be all ready to go, but the airfare is too high for the con committee.” “John Broome?” I asked, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice.

“Well, he lives overseas,” David explained. “He and his wife go back and forth between t all started in early 1998, Paris and Tokyo. It wouldn’t cost with a call from David that much to bring them over, Siegel. since they’re usually in Paris in the summer, where the fares to David is a former California America aren’t nearly as high, “The Exhibition Is Just About To Open…” fan now residing in Nevada, one and they’re both senior citizens. …and our cast of characters is moving into place: Rich Morrissey of whose ruling passions (which I And Mrs. Broome would really and John Broome, flanking the Broome-scripted splash page from happen to share) is comic books the second story in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956). Robert Kanigher had scripted like to see California, since she’s of the Golden and Silver Age. In the first, which included the origin. Both were penciled by Carmine never been there. But it’d still be an era when more and more Infantino and inked by Joe Kubert. Thanks to Bob Bailey for the “Flash” close to $2000 round trip for comics trade publications tend to scan. [Showcase page TM & © 2006 DC Comics.] them both, since he wouldn’t concentrate either (like The want to go alone. And nobody Comics Journal) on the avantcan really afford that, what with getting Joe Simon and Paul S. garde comics of the limited press or (like Wizard) on the newest, Newman to come this year.” flashiest comics, writers, and artists, David is dedicated to remem-

Touches of Silver

bering the history of the field and the people who produced the comics that influenced so many of us. He’s made a concerted effort over the years to bring an earlier generation of professionals to the major conventions, especially the San Diego Comic-Con. It’s largely thanks to him that such people as Vincent Sullivan, Harry Lampert, Ramona Fradon, George Tuska, Jim Mooney, Bob Haney, and many others had been able to attend in years past. Many of these people enjoyed their visits so much that several

I thought hard. Ever since I’d read the index to Silver Age “Flash” stories in the 1963 Flash Annual #1... the first time I’d stopped to realize that comic books actually had writers... I’d been fascinated by the three men (John Broome, Gardner Fox, and Robert Kanigher) who, it turned out, were the stars of the Silver Age of DC and a good deal of the Golden Age. The fascination became ever greater since, right around the time I was first getting into organized fandom, the names of the first two of these were

Clean Sweep

fading from DC’s credits. The very first time I’d met Julie Schwartz, the original editor of The Flash, Green Lantern, and Justice League of America, I’d asked him where John Gil Kane Broome and With thanks to Dewey Gardner Fox Cassell. were. Broome, he told me, was in Tokyo (a place far beyond my budget at a time when I was still saving up to go to London and see the then-love of my life for the summer), but Fox was in Yonkers, NY, a more accessible locale. I wrote to Fox, he wrote back, eventually I went to see him (bringing along Ken Gale, Al Turniansky, and Mark Gruenwald, who would go on to become a major writer and editor for Marvel); and the following year, in Batmania #23, I published what turned out to be one of a relatively small number of Fox interviews.

A Super-Hero Who Definitely Wasn’t Yellow John Broome wrote both “Green Lantern” tales in Showcase #22 (Sept.-Oct. 1959), which introduced the second GL and was another major milestone in the nascent Silver Age of Comics. Art by Gil Kane—and, all-important both to “The Flash” and “Green Lantern,” editing (and the idea of revamping/updating the hero, in both cases) was the domain of Julius Schwartz. [TM & © DC Comics.]

In the early ’80s, I talked The Comics Journal into letting me interview Robert Kanigher. Robin Snyder, a fellow-member of CAPA-Alpha and Interlac at the time and one of the few fans Kanigher would speak to, helped make the contact; he and my friend Al Turniansky came with me. The resulting interview was published in two parts in TCJ with a fine cover by long-time Kanigher collaborator Joe Kubert.

Only one was left to provide a clean sweep of classic Flash writers met. (Or of any Silver Age Flash writers met, with the exception of the late Frank Robbins, who wrote a handful of stories in 1968 and, like Broome, spent the last decades of his life outside the United States. I’d met E. Nelson Bridwell, Cary Bates, Mike Friedrich, Len Wein, and Mike Barr, who, together with those mentioned above, pretty much complete the list of Barry Allen’s writers in his own book.) No, I desperately wanted to meet, and play a part in interviewing, John Broome. But $2000 was a lot of money to raise alone. “Why don’t I give it a try?” I asked David. He enthusiastically promised to chip in, but since he was already helping to pay for the attendance costs of Joe Simon and writer Paul S. Newman, he couldn’t promise more than $100. I knew I’d let myself in for it, but I already had a good idea whom to ask. There would be a meeting of HEAT very soon.…

Taking the HEAT In the years immediately before what would ultimately be John Broome’s final visit to the country of his birth, his most famous godchild had fallen on bad times. Although he had written for many of the most famous characters in comic books...including

Captain Marvel, Superman, Batman, Flash (both Golden and Silver Age versions), Green Lantern (ditto), and The Justice Society of America, Broome’s actual creations Julius Schwartz had tended From the Julius Schwartz toward the Collection, with thanks to more obscure: Bob Greenberger. characters like Detective Chimp, Captain Comet, The Atomic Knights, and Star Hawkins. Broome had been the head writer on the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen, and had created almost all his classic Rogues’ Gallery and such important supporting heroes as The Elongated Man and Kid Flash (Wally West, who would succeed Barry as The Flash); but Barry himself had officially been created by Robert Kanigher, a writer who stayed with the character for only a short time.

However, Broome’s other major character of the ’60s was to be almost entirely his own creation: Green Lantern. Although that hero’s name and basic powers were derived from his Golden Age namesake created by artist Martin Nodell and writer Bill Finger (Broome had scripted the original Emerald Gladiator in the late 1940s), and science-fiction stories, especially Edward E. Smith’s “Lensmen” series, had possibly provided inspiration for many of the details, the Silver Age “Green Lantern” series was otherwise entirely the creation of John Broome, working with artist Gil Kane and editor Julius Schwartz. Together, that trio created the immortal Guardians of the Universe, their Green Lantern Corps, and Hal Jordan, the fearless test pilot who became the first Earthman to wield the green Power Ring in the cause of justice. It was also Broome who created and fleshed out Hal’s important supporting cast: his lovely female boss Carol Ferris (who soon had a subconscious alter ego of her own as the alienpowered dominatrix Star Sapphire), his mechanic, biographer, and sole confidant Thomas “Pieface” Kalmuku, Tom’s devoted wife Terga, Hal’s brothers Jack and Jim, the inquisitive Sue Williams (ultimately to become his sister-in-law), and a wide selection of other Green Lanterns that ranged from the exotic (the avian TomarRe, the glamorous red-skinned Katma Tui, and many others) to his occasional Earthly backups, the pugnacious Guy Gardner and the dedicated actor Charles Vicker. Schwartz, Broome, Kane, and inker Joe Giella launched “Green Lantern” in Showcase #22 in 1959, and after three consecutive issues (“The Flash” had taken four issues spread out over two years) continued the new “GL” in his own title. From time to time, they would be spelled by other inkers (including Murphy Anderson, Wally Wood, and substantial runs inked by Sid Greene and Kane himself), other writers (usually Gardner Fox, in later years occasionally Denny O’Neil or Mike Friedrich), and occasionally

How John Broome Got To San Diego In ’98

magazine, which had led writer Marz (after receiving a few death threats) to denounce them, in Rich’s words, as a bunch of “sexually frustrated teenagers.” HEAT needed something more positive to do….] I suggested at a meeting of HEAT that we pool our resources to bring the man who had created Hal Jordan, whose legacy we were trying to preserve, back to America, and thus enable comic fans from all over to meet him for the first time. HEAT received the suggestion enthusiastically, and I was promptly drafted to collect the members’ contributions. The money began to roll in, and soon enough had been raised that, with added contributions from David Siegel and myself, I was able to put a pair of round-trip tickets from Paris to San Diego in the mail by June of 1998. David made the rest of the arrangements with the San Diego Comic-Con committee, arranging for the Broomes to be met at the airport on Wednesday, August 13 (the day before the convention officially began), and to have their meals and hotel room picked up by the convention itself. And, he promised, the following morning I’d have my first chance to meet them!

First Encounter Getting ready for what I knew would be the most exciting convention of my life was an adventure in itself. Not only did I have the care of my dog Joanna to worry about during my absence, but I’d recently added a new puppy to my household... threemonth-old Serena, like her adoptive sister a Welsh Springer Spaniel not at all used to lengthy absences by her people. Patricia Floss (a.k.a. “Gail Freeman”), my dogs’ co-owner, had offered to housesit and dog-sit during my absence, since she got along with both my girls. But in a final round of laundering, necessary to provide both enough clean clothes for my five-day trip and enough clean towels to keep three active Welsh Springers clean, I noticed water on the floor….

“Ek-Ek” Marks The Spot The Scarlet Speedster has a problem with ex-wrestler Ek-Ek in The Flash #166 (Dec. 1966). Script by Broome; pencils by Infantino; inks by Giella. Thanks to Jim Kealy. [TM & © DC Comics.]

other pencilers (Mike Sekowsky, Carmine Infantino, Jack Sparling, Sid Greene, and Dick Dillin). Even so, the entire initial team was still present for Broome’s final issue, #75, in 1970: penciler Kane, inker Giella, and editor Schwartz. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: At this point, in the interest of space, we must telescope a part of Rich’s piece. As he writes, the late 1990s were a time of Major Events. After the phenomenal success of the “Death of Superman” storyline the previous year, and with Batman having been temporarily immobilized and replaced by a young anti-hero known as Azrael, it was decided to make drastic changes in Green Lantern, whose sales were ailing. Editor Kevin Dooley, upon consulting with DC higher-ups, decided to destroy GL’s base of operations, the fictitious Coast City, and thereby drive Hal (GL) Jordan into a murderous rage against the Guardians and the Green Lantern Corps “for refusing to do enough to help,” in the “Emerald Twilight” story arc, afterward replacing Jordan with a new GL. For the writer, Dooley turned to Ron Marz, then scripting Marvel’s Silver Surfer. In opposition to the scenario of Emerald Twilight, a fan group known as HEAT (Hal’s Emerald Advancement Team), was formed and “dedicated to the exoneration of Hal Jordan and to his return as a genuine hero, along with… the unfairly destroyed Green Lantern Corps,” with Rich as one of its members. Thus far, the group had done little more than run an ad in an issue of Wizard

Had the washer sprung a leak? It looked like it, so Gail and I hastily moved most of the perishables from my laundry room into the larger downstairs room as I tried to find a plumber who could come. If it hadn’t been for Broomes’ impending arrival, I’d have canceled or at least postponed the trip then and there... but, as it was, I saw to it that Gail was supplied with enough telephone numbers and money to take care of the plumber I’d used before. Even so, we were up until around 4:00 in the morning, and I got a late start only a few hours later. I got to San Diego in one piece and caught a shuttle to the Hyatt, where I’d be sharing a room with the two others David had lined up for me: DC inker Jim Amash and comics historian Robin Snyder, who’d introduced me to Robert Kanigher so long ago. I was glad I’d have a chance to return the favor and introduce Robin to John Broome. The three of us, equipped with pro badges, went downstairs for a free dinner at a reception sponsored by (if memory serves) Dark Horse Comics, then settled down to an exhausted, jet-lagged (in my case) sleep. Thursday morning I awoke bright and early, all jet lag forgotten. Even the plumbing difficulties at my house, talked over with Gail the night before, were forgotten. Today I was going to meet John Broome! Jim Amash had other plans, so Robin and I headed down to breakfast and took our preliminary seats, chatting a bit with longtime “Aquaman” and “Metamorpho” artist Ramona Fradon. Then a tall, rangy man, accompanied by a woman, slowly entered the hotel dining room. I recognized the man at once... I even had along the one comic book I knew of (Detective Comics

Clean Sweep

We Interrupt This Story… This Infantino-penciled caricature of John Broome appeared in Detective Comics #343 (Sept. 1965), in the middle of a Batman/Elongated Man co-starrer, “The Secret War of the Phantom Generals.” Inks by Giella. Thanks to Mark Cannon & Shane Foley. [TM & © DC Comics.]

#343) in which John Broome actually made an on-panel appearance. I checked it... YES! It was the same man Carmine Infantino had once drawn at his typewriter, though 30 years older. I excused myself, and Robin and I joined the two at their table.

had been its co-founder, Harry Phillipo. Alas, a last-minute illness prevented him from attending, but he’d asked if I could have his books signed for him. I assented, having already agreed to do the same for Marty Petkovsek, whose books arrived by mail the same morning. After walking around the con for some time and meeting old friends, I caught up with John Broome (now wearing his new, comfortable shoes) at Artists’ Alley at the con.

Peggy Broome’s eyes lit up as she remembered me from our phone conversations. We were talking at once, comparing our travel stories. John Broome was more taciturn, a bit shyer in conversation, but gradually the topic drifted around to comics... first of all, the writers he’d known. He was delighted to learn that Robin was a friend of Bob Kanigher, whom he asked after, and was intrigued that I’d known “Fardner Gox,” as he said he and his wife had called him. Finally we got to talking about the comics Broome himself had written, specifically a member of Flash’s legendary Rogues’ Gallery.…

Silver Threads It was wonderful to see John Broome reunited with Julius Schwartz, his long-time editor, who’d frequently described him as “the best—my best writer, my best friend, and the best man at my wedding.” The ties between the two went far deeper than those of writer and editor: Julie, in a wheelchair, admitted that he wouldn’t have come if it hadn’t been for the Broomes’ presence. I mentioned David Siegel’s role in his trip, and Schwartz admonished, “Who do you think gave David their address and number, anyway? I knew he could pull this off if anyone could.” Both fans and pros came by in droves; Murphy Anderson and Joe Giella were both nearby, so a fan could have his comics signed by all four. Which is what I did with the Silver Age titles I’d picked up. A great many Silver and even Golden Age titles got signed, but

Captain Cold? Mirror Master? Gorilla Grodd? Captain Boomerang? Abra Kadabra? Professor Zoom, the ReverseFlash? John Broome had co-created all these and many more, but the one I couldn’t resist mentioning was... Ek-Ek, from 1966’s The Flash #166, described in the story as “a crooked wrestler who gave up wrestling... but stayed crooked!” A friend of mine had once made me promise that, if I ever had a chance to meet John Broome face to face, I’d ask him about Ek-Ek... and I did. Surprisingly, both John and Peggy remembered the name, if not the actual character, because it turns out they had once heard or read of a real wrestler by that name. So now we know.

I showed them my copy of Broome’s portrait from Detective Comics #343, and they were highly amused... even impressed by the way the artist had depicted Broome’s affection for his editor by showing a picture of Julius Schwartz tacked to Broome’s bulletin board. (True, Infantino had also showed three darts stuck in the picture.) We finished breakfast, and the Broomes were impressed by its quality and quantity. But not enough for John to forget his highest priority.…

“I haven’t been in America for 14 years,” he announced toward the end of our meal, “and I’m going to get a pair of shoes that fit me!” Japan, it seemed, whose people’s size average much smaller than that of Americans, never had any shoes in his size... nor, for that matter, did France. I told him at once about Horton Plaza, the nearby multi-tiered shopping mall. After we got directions upstairs from the concierge, they decided to walk to the mall, and I returned to my room. Several other members of HEAT had planned to come to the convention, and the one who’d most been looking forward to it

“Atomic” Comics The first “Atomic Knights” splash, from Strange Adventures #117 (June 1960). Splash signed by editor Julius Schwartz. Script by John Broome; art by Murphy Anderson. Thanks to Bob Bailey for the scan. [TM & © DC Comics.]

How John Broome Got To San Diego In ’98

so did a lot of Flash and Green Lantern Archives volumes, and especially the Green Lantern Annual that Julie had recently put together as a “reprint,” as if there’d really been one in 1963, featuring an appropriate collection of stories, mostly from the Silver Age but with one from the Golden Age. Julie had also provided credits in the Annual, all the Silver Age ones being for Broome and Kane. In the case of the Golden Age story “Too Many Suspects!” from Green Lantern (1st series) #37, the credits were less certain. There was no doubt the art was by Alex Toth, but the Annual had credited the story to John Broome. My research partner Martin O’Hearn, the ranking expert on the writing styles of comics professionals, had seen the story in the ’70s and felt it was definitely written by Robert Kanigher. Still, who were Martin and I to quarrel with those who had actually been there at a time neither of us was alive yet? But then a fan raised that question: “You wrote this story, too, Mr. Broome?” “Actually,” admitted Julie, “I couldn’t really remember who wrote that one. But I knew it had to be John or Bob Kanigher, so I just made a guess.” He handed the fan’s copy of the GL Annual to John. “Was this your story?” John looked it over for a few minutes. “I don’t think so. It’s probably Bob’s.” And so Martin’s research was vindicated, after all.

My frequent correspondent and roommate of past years, Gene Phillips, came around to the table and joined in our conversation. The convention was beginning to wind down, so I asked Julie and John if Gene could join us for dinner, and, together with Peggy, we all headed back toward Julie’s hotel. He’d deliberately chosen it because it was convenient to the Eisner Awards, to which he’d been specially invited. He was to be honored that year... as was John Broome, though he hadn’t been told of it in advance. The conversation in the hotel restaurant that evening was delightful, full of comments about old friends Julie and John had once known. Being in awe of John Broome, neither Gene nor I said much, but I do remember Gene bringing up “The Atomic Knights” and commenting on how amazingly well that strip had combined Arthurian lore (complete with names like Gardner Grayle, the first name clearly a tribute to Gardner Fox, but the last taken from the Holy Grail) with a science-fictional background. John and Julie mentioned that at one point... the last time John had been in America, 14 years before... they’d thought of producing one more “Atomic Knights” story, but the spark was apparently gone. It wouldn’t be the last time someone would ask Broome about his writing more for DC, but the answer, regrettably, would always be a noncommittal one. After dinner, we headed upstairs to the Eisner Awards ceremony. On the way we met two DC editors who stopped to chat with Julie... Paul Levitz and Kevin Dooley. Paul had heard there’d still been a deficit of several hundred dollars when I’d sent the tickets to the Broomes, and insisted on adding his own $200 contribution to the fund. “I think I owe it to you,” he told John, “since I’ve probably swiped enough from you over the years.” Kevin Dooley didn’t offer anything, but in a strangely ironic way he perhaps deserved a certain amount of credit. After all, if it hadn’t been for his controversial treatment of Green Lantern, there’d have been no HEAT and no Broome project in the first place. In the way of all organizers everywhere, the convention workers inside the Eisner function room were waving everyone who entered to distant tables, reserving the prime space for big names. To my delight, being in the entourage of not one but two elder statesmen of the comic book field enabled Gene and me to follow in their wake and join Julie, John, and Peggy at a table in the front row. I had a chance to buy drinks for everybody, including Julie’s traditional Manhattan, as we sat through the awards... many of them admittedly for comics obscure even to us, though most sounded intriguing. John Broome was utterly thrilled to get an Inkpot Award, and the ovation for him was matched only by that for another infrequent San Diego attendee, Joe Simon. Eventually we adjourned, and most of the next day we went our separate ways. Both Julie and John had many more people who wanted to meet them, and Peggy assured us they’d have no trouble finding the function room in which his panel would take place. He hadn’t wanted to do more than one, so they made that one special, and the designated moderator, Mark Evanier, wanted a chance to talk to his subject and figure out the best way to go with him. As a seasoned interviewer, Mark had already realized the same thing I had: that John, who had been out of comics for almost three decades, understandably had rather faded memories of those days. But when placed alongside others who’d worked with him— especially his old friend Julie Schwartz—the mutual memories would begin to flow.

Shotgun-Speed Wedding Splash page of the story in which Barry Allen and Iris West got hitched, in The Flash #165 (Nov. 1966). Pencils by Infantino, inks by Giella—and script by John Broome. Thanks to Bob Bailey. [TM & © DC Comics.]

The Main Event So, along with two members of HEAT, I was there bright and early for Broome’s afternoon panel. So were Mark, Julie, and the

Clean Sweep

other two professionals he’d recruited for the panel: Murphy Anderson and Mike Barr. So were an amazing number of professional comics writers... more, Mark would later observe, than he’d seen in attendance at any other panel he’d moderated before or since: Marv Wolfman, Mark Waid, Kurt Busiek, Grant Morrison, Len Wein, Roy Thomas, Mike Friedrich, and Peter David were only a few of those who were there. Marc Svensson, a knowledgeable Boston fan whom I didn’t know at the time but who would later become a good friend, had set up his video camera to record the whole thing for posterity. Everyone was there but the guest of honor and his wife. I quickly offered to find them, and spent the next ten minutes dashing about, calling their rooms, inquiring if anyone else had seen them. But to no avail. I returned to the panel room just as John and Peggy walked in (it seemed they had gotten lost, after all), receiving an enthusiastic standing ovation of a sort I’d never seen any comics pro receive. John took his seat on the panel, and I resumed mine in the audience. I needn’t go into detail about that classic panel, which Mark would later describe as his all-time favorite of those he had moderated. Thanks to Marc Svensson’s recording it for posterity, and Mark transcribing it and publishing it, it has been passed on to and shared by thousands of people who didn’t have the opportunity to experience it firsthand. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: The panel transcript, prepared by Don Ensign, was first printed in Gene Kehoe’s publication, It’s a Fanzine #48. Since Rich’s untimely passing, it was reprinted in Alter Ego #60, which is still available from TwoMorrows Publishing.] But we all learned a few highlights of Broome’s career that hadn’t previously been mentioned by comics historians.

Aftermath Many of the field’s top professionals conveyed their enthusiasm afterwards to John, to Mark and Julie, and even to me (I was thanked by Marv Wolfman and Grant Morrison, for both of whom John Broome had been an all-time favorite). DC editor Dan Raspler took the opportunity to publicly and enthusiastically tell John that, if he ever wanted to do a new story, DC would be delighted to publish it. Only a few of us were able to go out to dinner afterwards, as Mike Barr, Dave Siegel, and veteran DC editor Vin Sullivan arranged to join the Broomes, Murphy and Helen Anderson, Julie, and me for dinner in the restaurant we’d so enjoyed the evening before.

exchanged several letters during the following months.) Saturday morning Harry’s package of comics arrived, and I called the Broomes for permission to bring the books up to their room. They had a present for me, too: My Life in Little Pieces, John’s “offbeat autobio”—so offbeat (since it didn’t have all that much about comics in it) that they had only brought four copies, not figuring most people Smile And The World Smiles With You! would be interested. But they’d given one to Julie, This photo of John B. was taken at the panel in his honor at San Diego. [© Estate of one to David Siegel, one Don Ensign.] to Mark Evanier... and now I was honored with the fourth! John signed Harry’s Green Lantern Archives (at Harry’s request), “To Harry, a legendary Green Lantern fan,” so I asked him to sign his book to me, “To Rich, a legendary Atomic Knights fan.” And he did. I might in retrospect have chosen another inscription, but I was utterly thrilled by the book itself...which turned out to have had only a limited run (from a Japanese publisher, though in English) of 100 copies, so Mrs. Broome and I soon began negotiations to make a second edition available. Most of the rest of the day was spent with other people; John Broome had agreed to spend some time behind the pros’ table at the DC booth. Mike Barr had also requested an interview with Broome (as had I for the following night, which John was still mulling over), so we didn’t hook up again until the annual dinner of the American Association of Comicbook Collectors, an event for which David Siegel had been one of the organizers for many years. On Sunday, the Broomes were still resting up, and were still undecided about the final interview. So I attended other panels, and finally got the go-ahead from John.

There was much more reminiscing during that meal, and even a few comments about the idiocy of the “Emerald Twilight” storyline, once it had been mentioned during the panel. Julie had already had an idea for reversing it, which John and Murphy found intriguing, as I recalled one of John’s old “Green Lantern” stories that fit in perfectly. Perhaps we could indeed present something to Dan Raspler... a story written by John Broome, drawn by Gil Kane (whose own health had prevented him from making the trip, but who was still alive and active) and edited by Julie Schwartz, explaining and even reversing “Emerald Twilight.” But ultimately it wasn’t to be.

My long-time friend Ken Gale is the host of a radio show called ’Nuff Said that runs on New York City’s station WBAI. Each show includes news, call-in opportunities, and usually a professional guest, from mainstream super-hero writers and artists (Stan Lee, Neal Adams, Chris Claremont, Bernie Wrightson, Jim Shooter, Gil Kane, and many more) to newspaper strip people (John Dirks, Lynn Johnston, et al.) to independents like Colleen Doran and Scott Roberts. I had promised Ken I’d try to get John Broome to appear that night, and John hadn’t said yes, but hadn’t said no, either. I’d had Mark Evanier on tap as a backup guest (Mark, too, had been a guest previously). The show then aired at midnight on Sunday... which was a bit awkward for some people, but since midnight in New York was only 9:00 PM in San Diego, it wasn’t too inconvenient for the Broomes.

At one point John asked about his old colleague (and occasional editor) Bob Kanigher, and Julie put in, “You really don’t want to talk to him.” Schwartz and Kanigher had had their differences during Kanigher’s last years at DC, which still rankled Julie; Julie was even irritated with Robin Snyder, who’d had to leave the convention early, for publishing some of Kanigher’s unflattering comments about his co-editor. (Nevertheless, Robin was ultimately able to pass on Kanigher’s address to Broome, and the two

So I set up a pre-interview from their hotel room at about 7:00, and then showed up at the room at 9:00, at John’s own request. He was willing to let Ken interview him, but not to answer listener questions, and had suggested that I do so instead. Ken touched on some very interesting points that had been largely neglected in Mark’s panel (and in Mike Barr’s interview, which ultimately saw print in Comic Book Artist #4), including Broome’s unusually advanced (especially for the time) view of women as heroes and

How John Broome Got To San Diego In ’98

Life’s A Banquet! (Above:) At the banquet of the American Association of Comicbook Collectors, held in conjunction with the 1998 San Diego Comic-Con, John Broome and artist Murphy Anderson (seen on left) share a moment with collector Bill Howard, who holds up the original artwork for a Strange Adventures cover drawn by Anderson—quite possibly from a story scripted by Broome. (Above right:) On the same occasion, Roy Thomas (on left) is probably asking John yet again if he recalls where he came up with the name “Degaton”! John wrote the “Justice Society of America” yarns in All-Star Comics #35 & 39-57—a lengthy run second only to originator Gardner Fox. Thanks to Jon Berk for both photos. Seen at right is a crucial page from All-Star Comics #35 (June-July 1947), written by Broome & illustrated by Irwin Hasen, whereon a time-tossed Green Lantern is reunited with his fellow JSAers in a future ruled by Per Degaton, in “The Day That Dropped Out of Time.” From Roy T.’s bound volumes; hence the slight loss of art at left. [TM & © DC Comics.]

supporting characters. As I bade my final farewell to the Broomes (they had to get to bed because they had an early flight the next morning... as, for that matter, did I), Peggy pressed the Inkpot Award into my hands. She explained that they really didn’t want to carry it back to Paris with them, and that she and John were agreed that I deserved to keep it for them. It still hangs in an honored place on my wall; Peggy insisted I keep it when I raised the possibility of returning it to her. John and Peggy had spoken of returning to America... and of seeing some of their friends and relatives on the East Coast, which they hadn’t had a chance to visit this time... in the spring of 1999. But as it turned out, John never had the chance. On March 14 of that year, while the Broomes were staying in a hotel in Thailand, John collapsed while he was swimming laps in the hotel pool. He was immediately taken to a hospital, but died several hours later. But, though gone, John Broome and his last visit to the United States were far from forgotten. Many fans and professionals who had had their first... and, as it turned out, their only... chance to meet him at that convention turned out to honor him and his work. Thinking back on John Broome’s appearance at his panel... tall, slender (as Barry Allen, conceived as a runner rather than a bodybuilder, traditionally had been), idealistic, good-humored, happily married to the woman who’d been at his side most of his life, and fifteen minutes late, I realized that those of us lucky enough to be there were as close as anyone in this world could be to seeing Barry in the flesh. But all of us would remember, in

months and years to come, the all-too-brief return of John Broome to the world of comics and fandom. He had affected the lives of many of us... and the fate of the entire industry... for the better. The late Rich Morrissey was one of the most avid researchers of Golden and Silver Age comics. For a full transcript of the John Broome panel at the 1998 San Diego Comic-Con, see Alter Ego #60, still available from TwoMorrows Publishing. That issue celebrated the 50th anniversary of Showcase #4.

Clean Sweep

Sidebar:

Paris & PEGGY BROOME A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a very slightly abridged letter I received several years ago from Ireland-dwelling collector/fan Paul Trimble, about his 2006 lunch with Peggy Broome, widow of John Broome….

uring the summer of 2006, my family and I went for a holiday to Paris. While we were there, we were fortunate in being able to spend some time with Peggy Broome. Over lunch in her favorite restaurant, Peggy regaled us with stories of John, his time in comics, and their travels…. She confirmed that John started off trying to write sci-fi stories—he was an intellectual and wanted to write serious stuff. His first comic stories were for Fawcett. During the war, John volunteered for officer training but (at least according to Peggy) was too skinny and got turned down! He was later drafted and posted to the 8th Army. Apparently, his platoon leader was a real nasty piece of work, and the rest of the guys asked John to speak to the lieutenant about it—the lieutenant was also Jewish. However, nothing was done. Not able to put up with the situation, John went to see the Jewish chaplain and ended up being transferred to Memphis to become a chaplain himself! John was then posted to New Guinea and later to Japan after the war. John had a younger brother named Richard, who was always known as Richie. During the war, Richie requested active duty and served as a navigator in the [Army] Air Force. He, too, was stationed in New Guinea. Tragically, while flying over the Sea of Japan, the plane he was in was shot down. Richie wouldn’t bail out and leave an injured colleague, so went down with the plane. John was devastated. When he came home, he wanted to name a son Richie in memory of his brother, but he and Peggy had a daughter, so they decided on Ricky. Not wanting to bring up a child in the city, they bought a house in nearby Wingdale. Peggy affectionately referred to it as “the

broom closet”! The other member of the family was a dog named Buck (named after a jazz singer called Buck Johnson, I think Peggy said), who would look after Ricky if she strayed too far from home. Ricky learnt to milk the cows belonging to a neighboring farmer. Frequent visitors to the house were Peggy’s sister’s family. Their son, Leo, resented Ricky because his parents made a fuss of her. On one occasion, to get back at him, Ricky took Leo into the woods and pretended they were lost!

John & Peggy Broome on an afternoon picnic in 1946, with friend/editor Julius Schwartz seen at left. Taken by Julie’s future wife Jean Ordwein. From the Julius Schwartz Collection, with thanks to Robert Greenberger.

At this time, John would generally write in the mornings. He would travel into the city by train for meetings at DC with Julie Schwartz. John was best man at Julie’s wedding, and the Schwartzes were also frequent visitors at the house in Wingdale. During the ’60s, the Broomes moved to Paris—John loved to travel and they wanted to see the world. Later, he was asked to teach English at a university in Tokyo. Scripts would be posted back to DC. During his travels, John would sketch and paint, and there were three exhibitions of his art in New York. John could turn his hand to anything. He was a fantastic chess player, and since Peggy had been taught to play the piano, he taught himself to play a type of flute so they could play duets. Nowadays, Peggy is still very happy to live in Paris. Ricky and her husband live in Paris, as well, and she has many friends to spend time with. DC treats her well and sends copies of any of John’s work they reprint.

Peggy Broome with Paul Trimble, in Paris, March 2006.

Very topically, since we were in Paris, we talked a bit about [the novel] The DaVinci Code, which she has read and thoroughly enjoyed.

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The Fatman Rocks! C.C. Beck drew the covers to all three Fatman comics. Issue #1 (April 1967), #2 (June 1967), and #3 (August 1967). [Covers TM & © Milson or successors in interest.]

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Fatman... The Lost Issue (Part 2)

by Michael T. Gilbert

.C. Beck was one opinionated S.O.B.

When DC hired him to help revive Captain Marvel in 1973, they had no idea what they were getting themselves into. While Beck’s art was as delightful as ever, Charles Clarence Beck fancied himself a de facto writer and editor as well. This was the case during his stint at Fawcett, where Beck’s editorial expertise was appreciated. Not so at DC. After butting heads with editor Julius Schwartz over scripts he found deplorable, Beck and DC parted ways after a mere ten issues.

Second Cousins? Beck’s heroes must use the same tailor. Any similarity between Captain Marvel and Fatman is purely on purpose! From Captain Marvel #100 (Sept. 1949) and Fatman #1 (April 1967). [Fatman © 1967 Milson; Captain Marvel © 2016 DC.]

I’d always figured that C.C.’s main complaint was that Otto Binder wasn’t scripting the new Shazam! comic. Binder, of course, was his old Golden Age Captain Marvel writing buddy during the good Captain’s glory days. However, Schwartz preferred to use his own stable of writers, which was just as well since Binder was no longer writing comics. So Julie enlisted Denny O’Neil, Elliot S! Maggin, and E. Nelson Bridwell to do the honors. Beck got along with the new guys like oil and water. But Beck’s troubles started even earlier.

The Write Stuff! Last issue we talked about how Beck and Binder re-united in 1967 in order to produce the Captain Marvel-inspired, 64-page Fatman comic for Milson Publications. Otto Binder scripted all three issues, with C.C. Beck providing the art. Beck and Binder hadn’t worked together since Fawcett ended its comic line in early 1954. Both were excited to be collaborating again, under publisher Will Lieberson, one of their Fawcett editors during the Golden Age.

Recently Gary Brown sent me a copy of the remains of an unpublished fourth issue of Fatman, consisting of two completed scripts and xeroxes of partially finished art. I was surprised to discover that Binder didn’t script any of the stories in that aborted fourth issue. Instead, there were stories by former Fawcett editors Rod Reed (who had written “Captain Marvel” tales in the ’40s) and Wendell Crowley. So where was Otto Binder? One possible answer came to mind immediately. The comic would have been cover-dated October 1967, meaning the finished art would most likely have been due that July or earlier. I recalled that Otto’s only daughter Mary (whom Otto had named after Mary Marvel) had died in a tragic auto accident on March 27, 1967. The teenager was walking home from school when a car jumped a curb, killing her. Ironically, Mary was mentioned in an Otto Binder biography in Fatman #1, mere months before her death: “Where Binder’s superheroes roam the world and whole universe, he himself sticks in one place, having lived in his Englewood, N.J., home for over 20 years. His one daughter, age 14, has been his #1 ‘fan,’ reading every word of his total comics production since 1939––and that’s some 3,250 scripts!” The lighthearted paragraph is chilling in hindsight, knowing how soon tragedy would strike the Binder family. Otto never really recovered from the loss of his beloved daughter.

It’s tempting to pin his quitting Fatman to that event. Fatman #3, Binder’s last, was cover-dated August 1967. Otto

Fatman... The Lost Issue (Part 20)

probably handed in that final script shortly before Mary’s death in late March, so the timeline fits. On the surface, Binder’s decision to quit after that seems more than coincidental.

One Opinionated S.O.B! But while corresponding with Fawcett expert P.C. Hamerlinck (who edits Alter Ego’s Fawcett Collectors of America section), I discovered that Binder’s departure may have occurred even sooner, due to conflicts with Beck. In retrospect, the seeds to their creative tensions can be seen in that same Fatman #1 editorial page. It starts off innocently enough. “Fatman, The Human Flying Saucer, can be called the ‘all-Beck book’ as far as art is concerned, for he did not only the stories but the lettering, the cover, and the color-guides! And he makes changes in the story-line and dialog at times that the writer, Binder, always finds an improvement. That was how they worked together in the old Fawcett days, with a close meeting of minds and ‘compatible’ approach to comics.” Apparently, things quickly got a lot less compatible. P.C.H. explained the situation at Milson in a 12/1/15 email: “For whatever reason(s), Binder was done with FM after #3. Beck plotted and Crowley wrote one of the scripts for #4, and Rod Reed wrote the other story for the aborted issue.

A Sketchy Proposition! Beck’s partial pencils illustrating page four of Wendell Crowley’s “The Mystery of the Moon Stealers!” Here, mean moon miners are about to dismantle Fatman in his flying saucer guise! [© 1967 Milson.]

“Crowley was brought in on FM #3 to be the glue and keep things as much like the old ‘Captain Marvel’ stories as possible, but Beck and Binder had already had their falling out, and that was that. According to Beck, at the time Otto was drinking heavily, even before Mary Binder died.” Indeed, Crowley had already written one of the “Fatman” stories in issue #3. P.C.H. went on to suggest the root of Beck’s conflicts with Binder: “Beck’s main squabble with the FM scripts was that Otto was pushing for more modern/Marvel Comics-like elements to be used, with page after page of extended fight scenes and opponents exchanging insults back and forth.” So it seems Beck’s script complaints were there years before his fights at DC, and not even Binder was immune to his criticisms.

Personally, I’ve always found the intensity with which Beck fought with his editors about the scripts a bit odd. In various essays, he seemed to scoff at the very idea of comics being art, or that he was anything more than a good carpenter doing his job.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

If so, why not just follow the orders of the guy paying you to build that cabinet, even if it’s not to your particular taste? But that wasn’t the way Beck rolled. Somewhere in the intervening decades, he’d turned from craftsman to diva. This appeared to be the case at Milson.

A Difference of Opinion On some level it’s possible Beck felt that Fatman was “his” book, and the writers and editors should bow to his expertise. That may have worked in the ’40s, when Captain Marvel was selling millions. But in the swingin’ ’60s it may have caused friction between Beck and the Milson staff. In a 1974 FCA interview Binder discussed Beck’s working methods at Fawcett during happier times. “Among artists, Beck was of course, my favorite. I took great delight in his renditions of my Captain Marvel scripts and thought that he was a bit of a genius. He was the only artist allowed by the Fawcett editors to alter scripts on occasion or to insert or delete certain panels, and change wording. But Beck never took advantage of this; he simply made improvements along the way. We sometimes differed sharply over a particular sequence (he would show me the roughs), but we would always come to a compromise.” Clearly, even after their 1967 dispute, both Binder and Beck still respected each other. When Binder quit after issue #3, the editor assigned stories to two Fawcett veterans, Rod Reed and Wendell Crowley. Beck was now supplying the writers with story ideas, which they were expected to flesh out. It’s unknown if Beck also gave “Fatman” plots to Binder.

Lieberson alias!). From Crowley’s point of view, it appears that Beck’s plot left something to be desired, in part because of a lastminute change in the story’s length. “I had to leave out a lot of Beck’s ideas,” he wrote. “Some of them might be good for later stories...but Hardnose and Eager got left out as unnecessary now that this is not a 3-parter. Also OOB, who seemed to get in the way.” The last comment suggests that Beck planned an Otto O. Binder cameo in the story, indicating that Beck’s synopsis may have originally been intended for Binder. It also suggests that cartoonist Beck was not as strong in the story department as he thought, considering how many changes Crowley made in the final script. It also indicates that the writers were allowed to make changes in Beck’s synopsis, pursuant to the editor’s approval. However, Beck had final say, as he often reworked the story as he lettered it.

Not Long Before The End The arguments between Beck and Binder were ultimately a moot point. Milson’s Lightning Comics line consisted of two comic titles, with a third in the planning stages. Two or three titles just weren’t enough to make a dent in the ’60s comics’ marketplace. Considering the problems with distribution, the shoestring budget, and the retro tone of the book, it’s highly unlikely any script would have saved the comic.

Rod Reed, in a 1974 FCA interview, briefly mentions his Fatman assignment. “Otto Binder was unavailable and they needed an extra story to complete an issue of Fatman the Human Flying Saucer so I wrote it.” Once the finished scripts came in, Beck would change them as needed. Normally, that’s the job of the editor, but it’s indicative of how valuable Lieberson felt Beck’s contributions were, and how reluctant the editor was to antagonize his star artist. A few years later, another editor, Julie Schwartz, was less accommodating. In 1974 Rod Reed commented on the then-recent DC revival of Captain Marvel. “I had heard that Beck was unhappy with the scripts … and that he felt it necessary to alter a number of the stories. Exactly how much fixin’ C.C. did only God and Julie can say for sure.” One thing Beck couldn’t fix was his contempt for the company that had killed Fawcett’s Captain Marvel. Within a year Beck left DC, never to return.

A Peek Behind The Scenes We’re afforded a glimpse of how things worked at Lightning Comics thanks to a letter reprinted here from Wendell Crowley to Milson’s editor/coordinator, Will Parker (another

Fatman... The Lost Issue (Part 20)

In a 1974 FCA interview, mere months before his passing, Binder discussed the company’s birth and death. “There were two Miller Brothers (one named Bernie) who were the financial backers, and former Fawcett editor Will Lieberson was the publisher. I guess the three of them talked over old times and decided to try putting something out to try to capture Captain Marvel’s old charm and appeal. They called in Wendell Crowley as editor, myself as writer, and Beck as artist. “The character Fatman was decided upon after long discussions, but I’m afraid we never recaptured the whimsical essence of Captain Marvel. The comic was not widely distributed, and died after three issues. I also wrote Super Green Beret. We had another character ready to go called Captain Shazam. We had the costume and gimmicks all written out but then the sales reports came in on Fatman and the Millers decided they had had enough. They lost plenty. “No, I really didn’t enjoy writing for Fatman as much as for Captain Marvel. It was fun in a way because he was a good zany character, but somehow he didn’t have the same appeal that Captain Marvel had.” Fatman might well have worked as an eccentric pal to Captain Marvel, like Cap’s blustery Uncle Dudley. But as a leading man, he was a flop. Will Lieberson also gave his take on Milson in a 1975 FCA interview: “In the latter part of 1966, I ran into Bernie Miller, who had been one of the regular writers for Fawcett comics. As we sat down to have lunch and discuss old times, we decided to try to put out some comics ourselves. This turned into being a very costly fiasco...but nevertheless was a lot of fun! These comics were never given a fair chance and $64,000 went down the drain. We still think they might have made it, but so many things were against us, circulation-wise, which would make a story in itself.”

It was also unfortunate for Beck and Binder, who were promised a cut of profits that never materialized.

Unfinished Business All that remains of Milson were two mediocre issues of Super Green Beret and three of the flawed, but ambitious, Fatman comic. And of course, the unpublished fourth issue. Beck only had time to complete a little of the art. There were a few pages of pencils, some partially inked panels. Mostly there were just sketchy pencils to be refined by Beck later in the process. Two “Fatman” scripts were in Beck’s possession when Gary Brown and Wayne DeWald visited him shortly after the book was cancelled. Rod Reed’s 9-page script, “The Secret of Ali Ben Raja!,” featured a Beatles-esqe rock band called The Garbage Collectors, (at one point their band performs right atop Fatman while he’s a saucer!). They’re booked for the Ed Mulligan TV show, which leaves no

room for Ali Ben Raja, a magical swami with a flying rug. He vows revenge, of course. Fatman takes the band to the coliseum where they’ll perform, but after he leaves Ali uses his flying carpet to kidnap the band. He tells Ed that he’ll only release them if Mulligan books him on the show. Fatman not only shows up and saves the day, but even gets to perform with them on Ed’s show! Meanwhile Wendell Crowley’s 11-page “The Mystery of the Moon Stealers!” focused on a band of space aliens who planned to steal all the ore from Earth’s moon. Van Crawford receives a call from Lunita, a beautiful moon maiden, begging for his help. Naturally, Fatman changes into a flying saucer and speeds to the moon. But he gets caught, and when the Martian miners try to pry open the saucer to find who’s inside, they’re shocked to discover the intruder is the saucer! But in the end our hero escapes and saves the day. Those were the only two unpublished “Fatman” stories in Beck’s studio. Either the remaining scripts were lost or never written. One must also consider the possibility that Milson was planning to downsize the fourth issue into a standard 32-page comic, rather than their usual 64-page comic. That would be a

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

logical last-ditch effort to increase sales. It might also explain Wendell Crowley’s letter stating that he’d cut part of Beck’s synopsis due to the story no longer being a “3-parter.” A lastminute page reduction would require a shorter story. But that’s all speculation, of course. In the end, Fatman was a heartfelt, utterly charming failure that seemed to prove the old adage “you can’t go home again.” More importantly, it was a last glorious hurrah from the creators of one of the most beloved characters of the Golden Age. And that alone makes Fatman worth remembering.

There’s No Business Like Shewww Business! The swami gets the boot from this Ed Sullivan clone. Later, we see the British band, The Garbage Collectors, in some of the few inked panels from the Rod Reed’s “Ali Ben Raja” story (originally slated for Fatman #4). Art by C.C. Beck. [© 1967 Milson.]

‘Till next time…

Previously Unpublished Brunner Artwork!

Frank is now accepting art commissions for covers, splash panels, or pin-up re-creations! Also, your ideas for NEW art are welcome! Art can be pencils only, inked or full-color (painted) creation! Contact Frank directly for details and prices. (Minimum order: $500)

Visit my website at: http://www.frankbrunner.net

Batman, Catwoman, & Scarecrow TM & © DC Comics.

ATTENTION: FRANK BRUNNER ART FANS!

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Comic Fandom Archive

Alter Ego’s Multi-Part Tribute To G.B. Love & RBCC – Part 6

RBCC ’s Last Great Days G.B. Love.

Chatting With JAMES VAN HISE – Part II

(1939-2001) Photo by Robert Brown.

Introduction by Bill Schelly

hapters of our multi-part salute to Gordon Belljohn Love and his important and influential fanzine/adzine Rocket’s BlastComicollector (more generally known simply as RBCC) have previously appeared in Alter Ego #133-135 and in #140-141. We began in #133 with the first part of our chat with Love’s eventual partner and successor in RBCC, Jim Van Hise. There was too much ground to cover to get all of our talk with Jim into one issue, because Jim edited and published RBCC for close to a decade after G.B. left the fanzine and moved to Houston. How did that come about, and what was the arrangement between Love and Van Hise for the continuation of the venerable fanzine? I talked with Jim Van Hise on October 8, 2012; our talk was transcribed by Brian K. Morris.

G.B. Moves To Houston SCHELLY: What was G.B.’s personality like? What kind of a person was he?

Jim’s The One In The Middle! Jim Van Hise visits the set of the 1988 movie Return of the Living Dead II. He says it “wasn’t as violent” as the first one. We’ll take his word for it. Thanks to JVH.

VAN HISE: Well, he was very politically conservative. His father was, too. SCHELLY: So he probably didn’t view the hippie and counterculture thing that was going on at the time very positively. [chuckles] VAN HISE: No, he would be probably the opposite of that. He was also very, very tight with a dollar, although he was making decent money from the Rocket’s Blast. He got involved doing some conventions with some friends in Texas, and he made money from that. And that’s where he got enough extra money to move to Texas. At that point, he’d saved enough that he didn’t need to do anything like the RBCC or other publishing. He would work on a Texas convention or two each year, and made enough profit to live on for the rest of the year. SCHELLY: How did it happen that he moved to Houston? VAN HISE: There weren’t a lot of conventions in those days [the early 1970s]. Dallas and Houston had conventions, and they happened to have more of them in the Midwest there, in Oklahoma and in Texas. In those days, conventions showed a lot of movies, like the old serials that weren’t seen any more. Only rarely in certain parts of the country did any of those serials ever get shown on TV. But at conventions, they would show all twelve or

Hangin’ With Don Newton Don Newton’s Hangman cover for RBCC #68, circa 1970. Newton was one of the foremost artists contributing regularly to RBCC, and would soon turn pro. [Hangman TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.]

Comic Fandom Archive

fifteen chapters. A lot of the serials featured comic book characters, or were inspired by comics. I mean there was Superman and Captain Marvel and The Spider and all those. And Zorro… G.B. really liked the Zorro serials. He was a serial fan. SCHELLY: How did his relationship with the Houston group develop?

Gone For Texas! G.B. Love’s “open letter” to fandom in RBCC #113 (probably 1974), Van Hise’s first issue as editor and publisher of the long-running fanzine/adzine. Special thanks to John Ellis for providing this image, which he also illustrated. [© the respective copyright holders.]

Big Name Fan.

VAN HISE: Well, it developed from him first going to conventions and becoming friends with people like Earl Blair. Then, when they decided to do more conventions, they had decided to do them with G.B. Why did they decide to involve him? Maybe they felt, “Gee, why don’t we get G.B. involved in this, because he doesn’t really have anything else to do other than RBCC. Let’s do something together.”

outstanding subscriptions, so basically he said, “Well, I’ll let you take over the magazine, but you’ve got to fill out all these subscriptions. I’m keeping the money.” [Bill chuckles] So that’s the way that was done. SCHELLY: That’s sort of how he got bought out. VAN HISE: Yeah, I fulfilled the subscriptions he had already gotten paid for. SCHELLY: What about the inventory of fanzines and back issues and stuff he had? VAN HISE: As far as all the back issues and such, I was selling them and splitting it with him. SCHELLY: I see. So he had some income coming in from that after he moved. VAN HISE: Yeah. It wasn’t a lot, because these were fanzines that sold for fifty cents or a dollar. SCHELLY: So how did G.B. finally broach the idea of you taking over? Was the first thing [just saying] that he wanted to move to Houston? VAN HISE: Yeah, and the magazine wasn’t making as much money any more because The Buyer’s Guide for Comic Fandom had come along, and it was free. What people don’t remember is—you

SCHELLY: Right, “He’s not working another job, so he’s free.” And also, he’s a

VAN HISE: Yeah, and so maybe it was just the connection that way, that it helped legitimize the conventions, saying, “Oh, G.B. Love’s involved.” SCHELLY: Yeah, exactly. I’m also interviewing Earl Blair for this series of columns on G.B. and RBCC, and I’ll be talking to him about how their friendship developed, because I know they became very close friends. VAN HISE: Apparently, they lived near each other after G.B. moved there.

Taking Over RBCC SCHELLY: How did it progress in terms of your areas of responsibility with RBCC and the SFCA, to the point where you could really take over when the time came? VAN HISE: I was basically doing pretty much everything anyway by the time G.B. decided to move to Houston. There were a lot of

That Wonderful Year 1975 Mike Ploog art from RBCC #122 (1975). [Man-Thing TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; other art © Michael Ploog.]

RBCC’s Last Great Days

The Wrightson Stuff Bernie Wrightson’s artwork graced the covers of these three issues of RBCC, all from the Van Hise era (left to right): #114 (1974), #117 (1975) and #125 (Feb. 1976). [Art © Bernie Wrightson.]

can look it up in the early issues—Alan Light advertised, saying, “Send us your name and address and you’ll get a free lifetime subscription.” But those lifetime subscriptions only lasted a few years and then he said, “Well, gotta start charging for it now.” [Bill laughs] SCHELLY: And so naturally, that had a big effect on RBCC, since it cost money to subscribe to it. VAN HISE: Plus, The Buyer’s Guide was published weekly, which was far more helpful to the advertisers, because they could send in an ad every week and they were getting orders every week instead of every six weeks. SCHELLY: Yeah, you were publishing every six weeks. So, at that point, it wasn’t making as much money, and the conventions maybe looked like a better source of income for G.B. VAN HISE: Yeah, it was like he had the alternative. He’d already been working on the conventions, so he knew how much money he could make for those. It was much more lucrative to stick with that. SCHELLY: Plus, he could move away from living with his parents, which I’m sure he wanted to do as he got older. VAN HISE: Yeah, and the magazine which wasn’t making as much as it had been, say, three years earlier. SCHELLY: Right. How old would he have been at the time? VAN HISE: Well, it was 1974. I would have been 24, so I guess he would have been 34. SCHELLY: What did this mean for you as far as finding a new place to work from and so on, since you’d been working with him in his home office? VAN HISE: Well, instead of the little apartment I lived in, I basically just moved into a bigger apartment and worked from there. That was 1974. Then, a couple years later, I rented a house

because I discovered I could rent a house for the same price as an apartment. And I thought, “Gee, you know, living in an apartment has got its drawbacks, because you’ve gotta listen to the neighbors fighting, and things like that.” SCHELLY: As an employer, how was G.B. Love to work for? VAN HISE: Well, just that it was a very simple operation. I worked for him six days a week. I was paid a flat rate. I got paid once a week, and that was never an issue or anything. He always paid me. SCHELLY: Were you responsible for your taxes? It wasn’t like he was withholding, doing any of that kind of stuff. You were like an independent contractor then, rather than an actual employee? VAN HISE: Yeah. SCHELLY: After G.B. left, would you say that it became the early days of your sword-and-planet books? I mean, it became the first day of the rest of your life. VAN HISE: G.B. and I had been doing some small conventions in Miami, and I continued doing those every few months, and as well as the publishing.

Branching Out SCHELLY: But didn’t you begin to branch out and get more into the pulps and other science-fiction then? VAN HISE: I was also doing a Star Trek fanzine, too, called Enterprise Incidents. I started that as a sort of companion magazine. I was doing RBCC every six weeks or bimonthly, and I was doing Enterprise Incidents quarterly or thereabouts. SCHELLY: Naturally, you did most of the writing in RBCC, but there were also some excellent columns, such as the one by Howard Siegel. VAN HISE: Both Howard Siegel and Raymond Miller continued to contribute their columns.

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Two by Zeck (Above:) The art of still another pro—Mike Zeck—appeared on the covers of RBCC #126 (1976) and #135 (1977). [Blue Beetle TM & © DC Comics; other art © Mike Zeck.]

SCHELLY: Let’s see, who else? There was Gary Brown. I know that he had been working for Steranko and made a lot of contacts then, so I imagine his “Keyhole” column was pretty popular. Were you at all friends with Gary and Alan Hutchinson and those guys who lived in Florida? VAN HISE: I knew Gary. Alan Hutchinson lived in a different part of Florida, as I recall. SCHELLY: Were these contributions done gratis, I mean, like things people did for other fanzines? VAN HISE: Right. The only people I actually paid were like Steve Fabian or different people who did cover art.

RBCC Moves To California SCHELLY: Moving ahead, when did you finally move to California? VAN HISE: I moved to California in 1978. SCHELLY: And, of course, you were still doing RBCC at that point. How did the move come about? VAN HISE: I had started going to the San Diego Comic-Con in

Sutton Place (Left:) A moody Tom Sutton color piece graced the cover of RBCC #130 (1976). [Art © Estate of Tom Sutton.]

RBCC’s Last Great Days

Two From Column A… (Left:) Howard Siegel, seen on right, with G.B. Love. Siegel was a regular columnist for RBCC in the 1970s. Photo courtesy of HS. (Above:) The logo of Gary Brown’s regular “Keyhole” column. A photo of Gary appeared last issue. [© the respective copyright holders.]

1975, and I became familiar with the San Diego area. I decided I’d rather live there than in Florida, because I had lived in Florida for eight years, and I liked California more.

was having me do other things, because I worked for him from like 1980 until 1994, I think it was. I did all kinds of packaging and editorial work for New Media.

SCHELLY: It’s got a better climate compared to the humidity of Florida, and there are more fans there, too.

SCHELLY: And the name of their person there was…?

VAN HISE: The San Diego Comic-Con then was obviously much smaller than it is now, but it was a really nice convention and very enjoyable.

VAN HISE: That was Hal Schuster. It’s not spelled the same way

SCHELLY: Did you have tables when it was in the El Cortez Hotel? VAN HISE: Yes, I did.

The End Of RBCC SCHELLY: Let’s talk about the last days of RBCC, and how the end of the magazine came about. You actually went through a period of ending it, but edited some issues through another publisher? VAN HISE: Originally, the publisher was called New Media Publishing. They only did a few issues. They did like #152 and #153, and then I did others for them. I did an issue of Rocket’s Blast that was a Russ Manning issue, and they turned it into an issue of Comics Feature. [Bill chuckles] But if you go through Comics Feature #26 (1983), the interviews say that the person asking the questions in the interviews is “RBCC.” SCHELLY: [laughs] So they weren’t a detail-oriented publisher. VAN HISE: No. I think he did it that way because, using it in an issue of Comics Feature, he wouldn’t have to send it to RBCC subscribers. Plus, he was trying to just push his own magazine, Comics Feature. He wanted Comics Feature to be as well-known and respected as Rocket’s Blast, but it was a completely different approach than I was doing with Rocket’s Blast. He was never able to—even though he got newsstand distribution for Comics Feature and all that, it was like he was trying to appeal to everyone at once, rather than trying to just focus in one direction. SCHELLY: What would you say is the reason you stopped doing RBCC? VAN HISE: Originally, I stopped doing it because the publisher who had taken it over stopped doing it, and he

Sword-And-Saucery Steve Fabian’s cover for RBCC #123 (Nov. 1975). [© Steve Fabian.]

Comic Fandom Archive

The Lord Helps Those Who Help Them Elves! This wraparound cover by Wendy Pini, featuring characters from the Ralph Bakshi animated film Wizards appeared on RBCC #149 (1979), its “Special Animation Issue.” There were only a few more issues of the fanzine after that one. [TM & © Ralph Bakshi Productions.]

as Joe Shuster, co-creator of Superman. SCHELLY: Why did you go with another publisher? Was it to save the energy and work of publishing? You know, initially, when he took over RBCC, you did that because someone else could handle all that part of it and you could just do the creative side of it. VAN HISE: Well, in 1980, the printer I was using announced a rate increase. Rather than hunt around for a new printer, New Media was interested in publishing it. That sounded good, because I wouldn’t have to do the layouts and I didn’t have to do all of the business stuff. Schuster was a distributor as well as a publisher. SCHELLY: Did he come to you or did you propose it to him? VAN HISE: He came to me. That was at a time when there were distribution wars. The distributors were trying to get exclusive distribution on a publication, and I guess his way of doing it was to just become the publisher. Like, he became the exclusive distributor of Elfquest for a few issues, and actually, at one point, he claimed that he was the publisher, which he wasn’t. And when Wendy and Richard Pini decided, “We think we could do better with making this available to everyone else, not just selling it through you,” he got mad at them and wouldn’t distribute it for a couple issues until his customers said, “Gee, you don’t have Elfquest anymore, so we’re buying it from other people and we can get other stuff from them, too.” Then he relented and started carrying it again.

SCHELLY: To be clear, the last issue titled RBCC was #153 in 1981, right? VAN HISE: Yeah, that was it. SCHELLY: Cool. I have the impression that you currently make your living selling on eBay. Is that correct? VAN HISE: Yes. SCHELLY: You’ve done a fair amount of publishing over the years… VAN HISE: I did the books, the pulp books—The Pulp Heroes of the Thirties, Pulp Magazine Thrillers, The Pulp Masters, and then The Fantastic Worlds of Robert E. Howard, Fantastic Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft, and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Fantastic Worlds. I published all of those, and then I’ve done just the four revival issues of Rocket’s Blast. I still intend to do another one. I’ve also done some fanzines over the last few years. I’ve done ten issues of a fanzine called Sword and Fantasy, which is basically a sword-and-sorcery and fantasy publication with articles on sword-and-sorcery-related things, including comics. I reprint articles from obscure fanzines and things like that. Sword and Fantasy #9 has a reprint of that Frank Frazetta strip “Diamonds & Pebbles” from Happy Comics #33, which for some reason hadn’t been reprinted anywhere else. It’s a fantasy strip that Frazetta did in the style of Hal Foster. I’ve printed it in black-&-white, but also, for a few dollars more, they can get it in color. And it’s really

RBCC’s Last Great Days

amazing work, but it was in this oddball humor comic called Happy Comics [that came out in] 1949. It’s amazing work. SCHELLY: How do people find you on eBay? Do you have an eBay store name? VAN HISE: Yeah, my eBay seller name is Jim Van Hise, so you look up “sellers” under “Jim Van Hise.” SCHELLY: I guess that’s pretty much it. Thanks for talking to me, Jim. Would you say that G.B. kind of gave you your start? VAN HISE: Absolutely, because I started working for him in 1970, and got a lot of experience that I wouldn’t have been able to get any other way. I learned how to be an editor and publisher, and what was involved in dealing with the printer, and the things you had to understand about shipping and just self-publishing and all that. In many ways, he was my mentor. NOTE: We realize that this interview doesn’t do justice to Jim’s own stellar run as sole editor and publisher of RBCC. That’s because this series is primarily a tribute to G.B. Love. Perhaps in the future we can add a third part to Jim’s interview. Next, however, in A/E #144, we offer a revealing interview with Earl Blair, Jr., G.B.’s best friend in his later years, when Love was a pillar of Houston fandom. Comments on Comic Fandom Archive columns can be sent to Bill Schelly at hamstrpres@aol.com.

A Long Time Ago… The film Star Wars (now referred to, Lord help us, as Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) was released in America on May 25, 1977, and became the cover image on RBCC #139 (Oct. 1977). Art by Ralph Fowler. [Star Wars elements TM & © Lucasfilm; other art © Ralph Fowler.]

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“Aquaman” splash page drawn by Ramona Fradon (scripter unknown), done for Adventure Comics #266 (Nov. 1959). [TM & © DC Comics.]

In Memoriam

Dexter Taylor

(1931-2015) “He Turned [His Dream] Into A Lifetime Career”

by Gary F. Brown

exter Taylor, the man who wrote and drew more “Little Archie” stories than anyone else at Archie Comics, died April 13, 2015. He suffered a stroke several years ago and since then had been unable to do what he loved most—to write and draw comics stories. He was 84. Taylor’s popular bigfoot cartooning style emerged in 1966, after writing and drawing many “Little Archie” stories along with Bob Bolling, trying to emulate Bolling’s style of scripting and illustrating stories so he could get a permanent job as an artist in the Archie office. He was successful enough that, after Bolling was moved to work on the “big” Archie titles, he was handed the reins of The Adventures of Little Archie and drew almost every story,

cover, and gag from issue #39 in 1966 until the title was canceled with issue #180 in 1983. Afterwards, he continued to contribute “Little Archie” stories for the digest line of books. Born in Canada, Taylor lived much of his early life in Massachusetts, Big Comics About Little Archie where he drew for Dexter Taylor in 2002, and his cover for The his high school Adventures of Little Archie #39 (Summer 1966), newspaper and featuring Archie Andrews and his gang when they then went to the were kids. The latter is credited in the Grand Comics Vesper George art Database to his predecessor, Bob Bolling, but Gary F. school. It was there Brown says that Taylor ID’d this cover as his work, inked by Bob White. Photo by GFB. [Cover TM & © that he met Bob Archie Comic Publications, Inc.] White, who had just gotten a job at Archie Comics. Taylor said White helped him get a job at Archie, where his first assignment was to work on Archie’s Mechanics. He moved on to doing one-page gags for Archie’s Jokebook and then a story or two in Super Duck. About the time Little Archie went from a regular 10-cents comic to a “giant” at 25¢, Taylor was given some stories to do. At the time, he and Bob Bolling were roommates in New York City. “I was strong on ideas, so I wrote a story and Bob Bolling helped me. I also penciled it and Bob White inked it.” Taylor’s early “Little Archie” work followed the trend that Bolling set—from some typical “Archie” stories to the adventure type. He and his wife Jackie moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, in the mid-1990s, but he continued to do work for Archie. In 2005, along with Bolling, Taylor was a guest at the San Diego Comic-Con and was awarded the convention’s Inkpot Award. He also appeared at MegaCon in Orlando. He always enjoyed swimming, and in his later years he painted for his own enjoyment. Dexter was a friendly person with a vast knowledge of Archie Comics and of the people who worked there. I asked his help several times in identifying Archie artists. He was proud of his work and deservedly so. His dream was to work in comics as a writer and artist, and he turned that into a lifetime career.

In Memoriam

Alan Kupperberg

(1953-2015) “He Could Do It Fast And He Could Do It Well” by Tony Isabella

y friend and occasional collaborator Alan Kupperberg died on July 16, 2015, of the thymus cancer he’d been battling for some time now. Every time I think the next one of these damn things will hurt less than the last one, I learn anew that they all hurt and that every one of them hurts more than the last one.

Alan was a comic book and comic strip writer and artist. He was a good letterer and could handle every phase of comics production. He worked on all sorts of things. A partial list of his comics credits would include Amazing Spider-Man, Blue Devil, Invaders, Defenders, and the newspaper comic strips Howard the Duck, Incredible Hulk, and Little Orphan Annie. He worked in animation and advertising. He assisted several artists on projects, sometimes almost entirely ghosting the projects. He did commis-

Alan’s Heroes Alan Kupperberg with his cat Romana— juxtaposed with two pieces of his art that weren’t intended for actual comic books: one done in 2001 for Marvel artist/art director John Romita… and a commission piece featuring Golden Age heroes that he drew in 2010. We’re only sorry we didn’t have a color scan of the former. [Little Orphan Annie & Sandy TM & © Tribune Media Services, Inc.; Spider-Man TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; other characters TM & © the respective trademark & copyright owners; other art © Estate of Alan Kupperberg.]

In Memoriam

sions for fans and had a good reputation in that field. Basically, if it involved comics, Alan could do it. He could do it fast and he could do it well. Memory fails—it often does—but Alan and I probably met through his brother Paul, also a dear friend of mine who has done a lot of terrific things in comics and related fields. The Kupperberg family lived in the same Brooklyn neighborhood that I lived in when I came to New York in 1972. Paul Levitz and Carl Gafford lived there, too. As did the parade of other young comics creators who would end up on our couches when they first came to New York. Alan was a cocky, funny guy. Most of us were back then. We hit it off from the start. He lettered a handful of my scripts back in the 1970s: Incredible Hulk, Ghost Rider, and “The Living Mummy.” I have a vague memory of him doing some additional lettering and other work for me when I was the editor of Marvel’s British weeklies and some of the company’s black-&-white comics magazines. You could always count on Alan to come through for you. Digression. Somewhere in my Vast Accumulation of Stuff is a cover Alan drew for a fanzine I was planning. It poked fun at DC’s habit of doing covers and stories in which their super-heroes would age into doddering old wrecks. You know, like the doddering old wreck I have become as a result of my 43 years working in comics. It was a hilarious piece and, as soon as I come across it, I’ll be sharing it with my beloved Bloggy Thing readers.

In the 1990s, Alan drew 5½ of my stories. Editor Jim Salicrup had him draw the second half of a “Sandman” story started by Ross Andru, a “Spider-Man” story for the Charleston Chew professional comic book, and four “Rocket Racer” stories. Alan did a great job on all those assignments, but I’m especially fond of the “Rocket Racer” stories. He nailed the action and the humor of those short stories perfectly. Alas, my attempts to launch an ongoing Rocket Racer book with Alan as the artist fell on uncaring ears after Salicrup moved on to other adventures beyond Marvel Comics. Alan and I reconnected on Facebook a while back. I’d always hoped I would get a chance to work with him again. His death at way too young an age has ended that hope. What hurts much worse is that I will never get another chance to hang out with him and laugh at his smart-ass quips. Unless, of course, there really is some comic book heaven for us comics guys. I could see Alan spending his time with the greats, making them laugh and having a fine time. After all his hard work, after his struggles with the cancer that took him from us, he deserves that. Rest in peace, Alan. We’re gonna miss you. The above tribute from longtime comics writer Tony Isabella appeared on the Internet blog Tony Isabella’s Bloggy Thing, and is reprinted by permission with minor editing. One other thing Tony mentioned: Alan’s precise birthdate, which was May 18, 1953.

In Memoriam

Frederick Hillel Iger (1924-2015)

“[Harry] Donenfeld Bought ACG For Fred As A Wedding Present”

by Michael Vance adio producer, comic book publisher, and commercial printer Frederick Hillel Iger died on April 10, 2015. He was 91 years old.

Born on July 12, 1924, Iger initially became comic book publisher B.W. Sangor’s business manager in 1947. Sangor was the owner of the Sangor Shop, producing comic book art and story during the formative years of comic books. He also created the American Comics Group (ACG) that published comic books beginning in 1943 and owned it until his death. Frederick Iger went on to become ACG’s publisher after Sangor’s death in about 1955. Iger was briefly the son-in- law of Harry Donenfeld, principal owner of National/DC, and Iger was co-owner of National/DC from 1948-1961. His initial connection to B.W. Sangor and eventually to ACG started with his relationship to Sangor’s friend, Harry Donenfeld. From around 1939 to 1941, Iger worked at National/DC Comics with Bob Maxwell, the producer of the radio shows Hop Harrigan and The Adventures of Superman. Iger became an apprentice at about 15 or 16 years of age, learning the radio end of Donenfeld’s publishing empire until he went into the Army. On leaving military service, Iger invested with Sangor through Donenfeld’s offices, forming the B&I Corporation that published several titles under ACG’s corporate umbrella. Artist Kurt Schaffenberger stated: “When I got to ACG, Fred Iger was the owner and publisher. Fred was the son-in-law of Harry Donenfeld, owner and publisher of DC Comics; and as Harry already had his son, Irwin, working at DC, Harry bought ACG for Fred as a wedding present and to keep peace in the family.” Iger was first married to Harry Donenfeld’s daughter, Sonya, also a co-owner of National/DC Comics. His second marriage was to his brother Irwin’s ex-wife, Arlene. Initially, there was some ambiguity about Iger’s own position as business manager at ACG. Working with ACG editor Richard E. Hughes, he was actually learning the business end of comic books, editing and managing artists and checking over copy. Sangor ran the business end of ACG while Iger learned how to buy paper, negotiate with printers, and handle tax situations. When B.W. Sangor died unexpectedly, Donenfeld bought ACG from Sangor’s widow Frances. Iger eventually became the sole owner of ACG.

The American Way Frederick Hillel Iger in 1960—and the cover of the American Comic Group’s most important publication, the first issue of Adventures into the Unknown (Fall 1948), the first regularly published horror comic book. Cover attributed to Edvard Moritz; thanks to the Grand Comics Database. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright owners.]

In addition to being publisher at ACG, Iger also wrote single-page “filler” pieces, including a series on “strange” customs around the world. The success of the American Comics Group led to a separate imprint, Custom Comics, also called Culver Comics (1954). Custom was an arm of ACG that produced special-purpose comic books for major commercial companies and governmental agencies to be used in public relations and sales promotions. After ACG ceased publishing mainstream comic books in 1967, Iger continued to publish Custom Comics for commercial accounts through the mid-1980s. He later operated Film Reproductions (1993-1997), based in New York City. The company took TV commercials, clipped out the salient scenes, and arranged them in comic book form. They were called “photoboards” and were used for sales presentations. Film Reproductions eventually became four-color printers. The rights to the stories originally published by ACG were sold to a Canadian publisher, Roger Broughton, before Iger’s death. A memorial service was held for Iger at the Hellman Memorial Chapel in Spring Valley, New York. Michael Vance is a freelance writer and the author, among numerous other books, of Forbidden Worlds: The History of the American Comics Group (1996), which was serialized in Alter Ego, Vol. 3, #61-62.

Viewing the cover’s subject through the eyes of startled kids, he claimed, made the covers seem more menacing. He eagerly discussed it at great length with me. Though he may have been being nice to me because a display of his sketches for sale had just crashed down on me. LOL. Vince Schmitt 4114 W. Olive St. Tampa, FL 33616

Perhaps the most famous precursor of those DC covers, Vince, was Wally Wood’s for EC’s Weird Science #16 (Nov.-Dec. 1952), in which hiding, terrified kids watch grotesque aliens come out of flying saucers.

ith such a cornucopia of colossal comics artists to choose from this time, artist Shane Foley decided on one of the earliest of them all—Harry Lampert, first illustrator/co-creator of “The Flash” in All-American’s Flash Comics—as the ultimate source of this issue’s “maskot” drawing. Thanks to Shane, and to colorist Randy Sargent! [Captain Ego TM & © Roy Thomas & Bill Schelly; created by Biljo White.]

Now on to e-mails and letters related to Alter Ego #131, which coverfeatured Gerry Conway, who for much of the 1970s was one of Marvel and DC’s major writers (as well as being Marvel’s editor-in-chief for a few weeks in 1976), beginning with this appreciation from regular FCA (including this very issue) contributor John G. Pierce: Hello, Roy,

I enjoyed reading the interview with Gerry Conway in #131. He was a writer I didn’t appreciate as much back in his heyday as I do now. Passage of time—and the material coming from later writers—can seriously change one’s perspective.

Even more than his comics work, I’ve liked Gerry’s TV scripts that I’ve seen, especially one of my favorites, Diagnosis: Murder. I believe this is the series you meant when you wrote “Prescription: Murder” on page 42. Although, you know, “P:M” sounds like a great name for a new series! John G. Pierce

We can see it now, John—a two-fisted pharmacist who goes above and beyond the call of duty in filling prescriptions to get personally involved with his customers—and to solve crimes. Sort of like Jack Klugman, aka Quincy, M.E., the forensic pathologist who did likewise. Afraid my basic unfamiliarity with network TV led to my typo on Diagnosis: Murder, but I’m sure Gerry wrote it ably and well. Next, Vince Schmitt on one point brought up in Gerry’s interview:

Roy,

Over on page 12, the interview mentions Neal Adams drawing children on many of his mystery covers. It wasn’t because DC was trying to appeal to younger kids that he did that. I specifically asked him about why he put kids on his mystery/horror covers a few years ago. He said it was due to the restrictions of the Comics Code. He was not permitted to draw actually scary things, so to make the covers appear scarier, he plopped in children.

That Gerry Conway interview made erstwhile TwoMorrows author/editor Pierre Comtois long for a particular kind of follow-up: Roy,

Just a quick note to tender my appreciation for the lengthy interview with Gerry Conway in Alter Ego #131! Richard Arndt did a good job covering all the bases, but that still leaves an opportunity at some future date for a “pro 2 pro” dialogue between you and Gerry, right? I’m sure the both of you could still find plenty of stuff to talk about not thoroughly covered in this piece. Still, this was an interview that was long in coming. Don’t know if it was Gerry’s desire or what, but it seems to me that a good, lengthy interview with such a key figure in the transitory years between the Silver and Bronze [Ages] has been noticeable by its absence. Pierre Comtois

As I explained in a recent “writer/editorial,” Pierre, I half-consciously shortchanged the Silver Age a bit in the first hundred issues or so of this third volume of A/E, partly because I wanted to carry interviews with as many Golden Age figures as possible before time and age had made that impossible. With the help of others, in particular Jim Amash, A/E carried out that mission as well as we could… and we’ll continue to cover the Golden Age, whether with interviews with relatives or associates, with articles, or whatever in the future. But you’ll find an increased emphasis in these pages on the Silver Age, as well… continuing with next issue’s long-awaited interview with my old friend Don Glut, who during the 1960s and ’70s scripted comics for Gold Key, Marvel, Warren, et al. Well, it had to happen, didn’t it? If Gerry Conway was interviewed, something would have to come up about the death of Gwen Stacy. Surprisingly, the e-mailer who brought it up was none other than longtime Marvel inker Dave Hunt, who got his start assisting Joltin’ Joe Sinnott, and who even has a connection of sorts to those crucial issues, as you’ll see below: Hi, Roy—

Read with interest the interview with Gerry Conway. I was hoping that it would answer a question I’ve had for a long time about the infamous “death of Gwen” Spidey issue. It didn’t. I was the colorist on Amazing Spider-Man at that time, and as usual I read the pages in the office. Gerry had the Goblin saying, “…she was

[correspondence, comments, & corrections]

“Furrin” Feathers Collector Ron Murphy scoured the Internet and came up with these covers—and a goodly number more—for foreign editions of The Amazing Spider-Man #122 (July 1973). You tell us what countries they came from! [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

re:

Split Infinitive We can say two things with certainty about this splash page from “British Marvel’s” Super Spider-Man #169 (May 8, 1976): (1) That it was produced when the story from Amazing Spider-Man #120 (May ’73) had to be cut in two to be printed in the weekly black-&-white publication. (2) And that the art was adapted by staffers (with a few changes plus some new text) from that issue’s more vertically inclined splash page by the above-named Marvel stalwarts. Oh, and (3)—that it was provided to us by Robert Menzies. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

dead before your webbing reached her! A fall from that height would kill anyone—before they struck the ground!” I remember pointing out to Gerry that day that even some of the staff members in the office had gone skydiving and had survived. My question is this: did Gerry at that point have the sound effect of the webbing breaking Gwen’s neck added, or did I just not see the sound effect and Gerry thought I was a total idiot? But then why did the Goblin make that speech?

Elsewhere in the interview, Gerry points out that back then we wouldn’t have believed our work would still be remembered and reprinted 40 years later. He says, “We were working to impress ourselves and some fans. That was pretty much it.” Reminds me of when I first started working with Joe Orlando at DC. I asked him what was the reason for the astounding but seemingly thankless work turned out by those at EC. Joe’s simple answer: “We did it for each other.”

BTW, that Spidey splash page for the British Weekly Spider-Man #171 was penciled and inked by me. Also, the caption for the illo of the “Ms. Marvel” splash on page 25 credits both Sinnott and me as the inkers. How did the caption writer know that I had assisted Joe? Dave Hunt

I knew because there are folks—fans, collectors, even comics professionals—who research and keep track of such things, Dave. I blush to admit that I’m not certain which of several people provided your name re

that British Spider-Man reprint, but I’m glad (and not particularly surprised) to be assured that the attribution was accurate! I may not be able to name my source in this instance, but I don’t want to take credit for seeming that knowledgeable myself! The estimable Gerry Conway himself responded to such queries with an e-mail to me: Hi Roy,

One thing I’ve learned over the years (and, thankfully for my sanity, it’s been confirmed by psychologists doing research into how people form and maintain memories) is that my memory of events isn’t infallible—in fact, it often changes subtly and in response to things I learn later and then reintegrate into my own “experience.” How and why and when the “snap” sound was added to the Gwen death scene is one of those memories I can’t trust. Everybody involved seems to have a slightly different recollection. It’s like Rashomon without the deeper meaning. I’ve given up trying to remember the actual facts. Like a better writer than me once said, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” (But I’m probably remembering that wrong, too!) Gerry Conway

No, Gerry, you remember it right. It comes, of course, from the very end of the 1962 Western film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Myself, I’ve long railed against anybody taking that quotation seriously, since I consider it anathema to the practice of history. Whether it’s tales of

[correspondence, comments, & corrections]

before), and it impressed the hell out of more than a few of my Clarion classmates. Alan Brennert

I remember hearing all about Clarion from Gerry at the time, Alan. If Gerry hadn’t opted for the comics instead, and you for TV and the like, both of you might have wound up as major writers in the science-fiction field. There are many paths… and a lot of them are worth the journey.

And now, a few comments from proto-fan Bernie Bubnis, who often has interesting and relevant things to say about features in A/E, including several in #131: Hi Roy—

Thanks for alluding to your split with Conway and then ignoring the explanation. I love dirty laundry. I am not one of the “enough” people who know the story, so I am sure this is a tale for another day.

Conway comes across as an interesting subject. Is it that good writers also talk a good story? Arndt was just great. Just enough prodding, and letting the interviewee just riff on his own. But gee, I always liked Kirby stories. I think his New Gods stuff were the only comics I bought during those years. Guess I wasn’t paying too much attention to the writing. The ideas and characters kept me glued. I always thought Darkseid was a great creation. What do I know? Conway’s memory of Mr. Tough Guy Julie Schwartz was interesting. I remember Julie two ways:

(1) Mr. Nice Guy, who invited me up to tour the DC offices in ’59 or ’60. Our tour ended by a table loaded with original art, and he urged me to take what I wanted. I took some Joe Kubert “Viking Prince” pages. (TANGENT: Years later, I’m embroiled in a knockdown brawl with Steve Ditko because he wrongly thinks DC sent this pre-’60s “Viking Prince” art over to the ’64 con and I allowed it to be thrown away to the attendees.)

Hint Of Horror Kelly Freas’ cover for the Gerry Conway-edited second (and final) issue of Marvel’s digest-sized short story magazine Haunt of Horror. Unfortunately, the mag fell victim to the inability of Curtis to figure a way to distribute a Marvel publication of a different size and format. Marvel soon re-used the title for a black-&-white comic, but Gerry wasn’t associated with it. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Nero fiddling while Rome burned or something far more recent, we should be looking for truth, not legend. You’re right, of course, when you intimate that getting at the historical facts is usually difficult, and often impossible. But that doesn’t mean that we should “print the legend”— unless, at the same time, we acknowledge that it is a legend.

The only thing I can add—not from memory but from looking at the “SNAP!” sound effect in the “death panel” mentioned by both Dave and Gerry—is that it sure looks to me like the work of the issue’s letterer of record, the late great Artie Simek, rather than the more slapdash type of sound effect often lettered by a harassed production worker.

A minor addendum/correction to the interview from Gerry’s fellow TV (and occasionally comics) writer Alan Brennert:

Hi, Roy,

Gerry’s interview is quite fascinating. I wish that Haunt of Horror hadn’t folded before it published that story of mine Gerry bought—it was a cool little magazine. One small correction: that wasn’t my first professional sale; I had sold two previous stories to Bob Hoskins for his Infinity anthologies. But I did get the news of the sale while I was attending the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop in 1973 (which Gerry had himself attended, years

(2) Mr. Tough Guy, who threw me out of his office in ’64 after throwing a copy of the ’39 SF Con Booklet at my head. I did pick it up and took it with me. Many years later, I run an ad, trying to sell this booklet as the Holy Grail of Fanzines. Julie calls me to chide me that it was not a fanzine and where did I get it? “You threw it at my head.” “Then it’s mine and I want it back!” He gave me (I think) his daughter’s address. I sent it back and now I don’t have the Con booklet or the “Viking Prince” original that somebody stole that day at the ’64 con. You are not the only (“by any stretch of the imagination”) poor manager. Let Conway know, there are (at least) two of us. Honestly, I could never manage the complexities of assembling just one issue of Alter Ego. I think Conway got (at least) this part wrong.

Side story to the Web of Horror mention: Charles Moll was art director for an issue or two. He was once the top commercial illustrator in NYC. Tons of book covers, national ads, and movie posters (Logan’s Run, The Sting—the good version), and loads more work. He woke up one morning and felt depressed. That “feeling” never went away. He slid backwards and the only “work” he could get was X-rated movie posters. He had an affair with a porn star (?), Kandi Barbor, and did a stint at Web on his way down. He now drives a school bus. (Jesus Christ, I felt a little depressed this AM. I don’t want to drive a school bus!)

Plague!!! What a find. GREAT DITTO ILLUSTRATONS. Wow, too bad he didn’t stick around fandom. Larry Byrd is a great artist, also. I was doing the covers for a little horror zine (The Garden Ghouls Gazette—the editor lived in Forest Hills Gardens, hence the name), and that career came to a crashing halt as soon as Larry contributed his first pen-and-ink cover. Gee, am I starting to feel

re:

developed into pro-grade work, had his interests and responsibilities guided him in that direction. The same was true of both Val Klishevich and Charlie Scarborough, but Val’s work came too easily for him to trust or respect it, and Charlie only drew for his own and his friends’ amusement. For some odd reason, Charlie was content to be a postal clerk until he retired. Val went on to become an architect, but couldn’t keep a job due to alcoholism. Val passed away many years ago, and Charlie has become lost to us somewhere in the past year.

Don’t Call Him “Dub-ya”! Michael W. Kaluta in 1971—and his beautiful cover for Adventure Comics #425 (Dec. 1972-Jan. 1973). Photo courtesy of MWK. [Cover TM & © DC Comics.]

depressed? I coulda been driving a school bus.

“Mr. Monster,” great as always. Liked the Parker piece, also. And “re:” was touching; it was worth the year’s wait. Bernie Bubnis

Thanks, Bernie. We never intentionally try to shortchange A/E’s noncover features, so we’re always glad when letter-writers like yourself single them out. We’re proud to have been able to print the material provided by Michael T. Gilbert, Bill Schelly, and P.C. Hamerlinck in virtually every issue!

One error I made somehow in #131 was to refer to a certain artist (and longtime friend) as “Michael J. Kaluta.” But since—as I well knew and should have remembered—his actual middle initial is “W.,” I dropped him a line in advance of the issue’s coming out to apologize for the error. Here’s his response—and it just goes to show that sometimes, even when you make a mistake, you learn something from it: Roy—

Neechevo Ne Zhnanou… (Don’t think about it—it is nothing.) Bernie, Al Weiss, Jeff Jones, and I would always jokingly add a “J.” into someone’s name when singling them out during a conversation. I can’t remember the springboard that inspired the jape way back when, but it is so a part of my inner memory-life that I didn’t blink when I read it in the digital edition of A/E a few days ago.

A terrific issue: I’ve yet to read anything in depth, but even the hour I spent with the magazine had me right back in the thick of it, when work and life were the most fun! Michael W. Kaluta

Yeah, they were good times, Michael—not just for their future (meaning present-day) nostalgia value, but for the fabulous work that you and the above-named artists (and numerous others) contributed to one of America’s quasi-indigenous art forms.

This update from Larry Byrd, one of the artists covered during his fannish days in Bill Schelly’s presentation on the fanzine Plague: Dear Roy—

Though Jiro is not in the comics mode these days, he had more than one art style back in the day that could easily have

comics work myself.

I still draw, after a checkered career as a graphic artist and illustrator, and though I have always loved most of the great comic artists, I was never motivated to do

Larry Byrd

Thanks for that update on several folks mentioned in A/E #131, Larry. Now, a few fast, final comments:

A/E associate editor and longtime interviewer Jim Amash e-mailed: “The picture of [artist] Tom Sawyer that you used on page 50 of the new A/E [#130] is really Leonard Starr, not Tom.” Also, he mentions that the correspondent who signed himself “jgbook” stated that “my credit for Fran Matera writing Steve Roper was inaccurate and that ‘Perhaps Jim just took the credits literally.’ It was Fran Matera himself who told me that he was writing the strip. I just took his word for it. Had no reason not to.” John Benson says: “Thanks for crediting me with the photo of Ralph Reese at the top of page 44. I did take the picture and I did put on the 1966 convention, but that picture was taken at the 1968 Phil Seuling convention. I didn’t take any pictures in 1966, and I feel certain Ralph was not at the 1966 con.” Hey, at least I ID’d Ralph correctly, right, John? Give me some credit! Send those brickbats, bouquets, and bromides to:

Roy Thomas e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com 32 Bluebird Trail St. Matthews, SC 29135 The Alter-Ego-Fans online group is cleverly hidden at group.yahoo.com/group/alter-ego-fans. Yahoo Groups has eradicated its “Add Member” tool for moderators, so if you want to join this magazine’s online chat group and find that it won’t let you in, please contact Chet Cox at good ol’ mormonyoyoman@gmail.com with your name and a little bit about yourself. On the A/E list, we discuss the Silver Age, the Golden Age, and Alter Ego itself, and Roy T. himself is often there with advance news, requests for help re keeping A/E a repository of Silver and Golden Age knowledge., etc., etc. It’s fun, educational, and it’s carb-free!

Edited by ROY THOMAS The first and greatest “hero-zine”—ALL-NEW, focusing on GOLDEN AND SILVER AGE comics and creators with ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, UNSEEN ART, P.C. Hamerlinck’s FCA [Fawcett Collectors of America], MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY’S Comic Fandom Archive, and more!

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CAPTAIN MARVEL headlines a Christmas FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) Fantasmagoria starring C.C. BECK, OTTO BINDER, MARC SWAYZE—and the FAWCETT FAMILY (presented by P.C. HAMERLINCK)! Plus: Comic book/strip star artist DAN BARRY profiled, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom history, and more! Cover by C.C. BECK!

GERRY CONWAY interviewed about his work as star Marvel/DC writer in the early ‘70s (from the creation of The Punisher to the death of Gwen Stacy) with art by ROMITA, COLAN, KANE, PLOOG, BUSCEMA, MORROW, TUSKA, ADAMS, SEKOWSKY, the SEVERINS, and others! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom history, and more!

75 YEARS of THE FLASH and GREEN LANTERN (a crossover with BACK ISSUE #80)! INFANTINO, KANE, KUBERT, ELIAS, LAMPERT, HIBBARD, NODELL, HASEN, TOTH, REINMAN, SEKOWSKY, Golden Age JSA and Dr. Mid-Nite artist ARTHUR PEDDY’s stepson interviewed, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom history, and more!

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ALTER EGO #135

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Gentleman JIM MOONEY gets a featurelength spotlight, in an in-depth interview conducted by DR. JEFF McLAUGHLIN— never before published! Featuring plenty of rare and unseen MOONEY ART from Batman & Robin, Supergirl, Spider-Man, Legion of Super-Heroes, Tommy Tomorrow, and others! Plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

Celebrates SOL BRODSKY—Fantastic Four #3-4 inker, logo designer, and early Marvel production manager! With tributes by daughter and Marvel colorist JANNA PARKER, STAN LEE, HERB TRIMPE, STAN GOLDBERG, DAVID ANTHONY KRAFT, TONY ISABELLA, ROY THOMAS, and others! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Cover portrait by JOHN ROMITA!

LEN WEIN (writer/co-creator of Swamp Thing, Human Target, and Wolverine) talks about his early days in comics at DC and Marvel! Art by WRIGHTSON, INFANTINO, TRIMPE, DILLON, CARDY, APARO, THORNE, MOONEY, and others! Plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), MR. MONSTER’s Comic Crypt, the Comics Code, and DAN BARRY! Cover by DICK GIORDANO with BERNIE WRIGHTSON!

BONUS 100-PAGE issue as ROY THOMAS talks to JIM AMASH about celebrating his 50th year in comics—and especially about the ‘90s at Marvel! Art by TRIMPE, GUICE, RYAN, ROSS, BUCKLER, HOOVER, KAYANAN, BUSCEMA, CHAN, VALENTINO, and others! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER’s Comic Crypt, AMY KISTE NYBERG on the Comics Code, and a cover caricature of Roy by MARIE SEVERIN!

Incredible interview with JIM SHOOTER, which chronicles the first decade of his career (Legion of Super-Heroes, Superman, Supergirl, Captain Action) with art by CURT SWAN, WALLY WOOD, GIL KANE, GEORGE PAPP, JIM MOONEY, PETE COSTANZA, WIN MORTIMER, WAYNE BORING, AL PLASTINO, et al.! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Cover art by CURT SWAN!

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Science-fiction great (and erstwhile comics writer) HARLAN ELLISON talks about Captain Marvel and The Monster Society of Evil! Also, Captain Marvel artist/ co-creator C.C. BECK writes about the infamous Superman-Captain Marvel lawsuit of the 1940s and ‘50s in a double-size FCA section! Plus two titanic tributes to Golden Age artist FRED KIDA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

JIM AMASH interviews ROY THOMAS about his 1990s work on Conan, the stillborn Marvel/Excelsior line launched by STAN LEE, writing for Cross Plains, Topps, DC, and others! Art by KAYANAN, BUSCEMA, MAROTO, GIORDANO, ST. AUBIN, DITKO, SIMONSON, MIGNOLA, LARK, KIRBY, CORBEN, SALE, SCHULTZ, LIGHTLE, McKEEVER, BENDIS, and more! Cover by RAFAEL KAYANAN!

Golden Age great IRWIN HASEN spotlight, adapted from DAN MAKARA’s film documentary on Hasen, the 1940s artist of the Justice Society, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Wildcat, Cat-Man, and numerous other classic heroes—and, for 30 years, the artist of the famous DONDI newspaper strip! Bonus art by his buddies JOE KUBERT, ALEX TOTH, CARMINE INFANTINO, and SHELLY MAYER!

From Detroit to Deathlok, we cover the career of artist RICH BUCKLER: Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Black Panther, Ka-Zar, Dracula, Morbius, a zillion Marvel covers— Batman, Hawkman, and other DC stars— Creepy and Eerie horror—and that’s just in the first half of the 1970s! Plus Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLY, FCA, and comics expert HAMES WARE on fabulous Golden Age artist RAFAEL ASTARITA!

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Marvel Comics Had Been The Publisher That Revived The Original Captain Marvel? by John G. Pierce Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION: Okay, we all know what really happened. About how Fawcett Publications relinquished its comics line in late 1953, and signed an agreement with National (DC) not to publish, or allow anyone else to publish, Captain Marvel and Family. And how, in 1966, Myron Fass published a character who stole Captain Marvel’s name, but that inevitably didn’t last long. And how, shortly thereafter, in 1967, Marvel Comics came out with its own hero named Captain Marvel. (The first of several that company has done.) And how, in 1972, DC brought back the original Captain Marvel, but because Marvel now owned the trademark on the name, they had to call their magazine Shazam!, although inside the book the character could still be referred to by his rightful name. But—what if history had gone a little differently? What if Marvel Comics had been the ones to revive the original Captain Marvel? Let us journey from Earth-Real to some other Earth —we’ll call it Earth-Maybe-Marvel— and observe what might’ve been….

The Giants Of Marvel The 1960s titans of Marvel Comics—and the old master of the original “Marvel”—Captain, that is. (On left:) Stan Lee and C.C. Beck at MiamiCon II, which took place at the Miami Holiday Inn, April 1979 … and Jack Kirby (background above) and Beck at the San Diego Comic-Con held at the El Cortez Hotel in July 1977. (Some guys named Kurtzman, Kubert, Barks, and Caniff were also part of the 4,000 attendees at the latter.) Both photos were deemed significant enough by Beck to be included in his personal photo album—from which they have been directly scanned. Seen at left is a detail from the cover of The Comic Reader #100 (the final issue produced by Paul Levitz), featuring Kirby’s mighty rendition of the World’s Mightiest Mortal. [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics.]

t was Jack Kirby who first suggested, in 1972, that Marvel try to obtain the rights to Captain Marvel. Jack’s mind was always bursting with ideas, so much so that he once ran his car into a ditch because his mind was so preoccupied with new notions! (Indeed, in 1970 he’d almost left Marvel for DC so that he could develop some of them there,

FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America]

“All in Color for a Dime” section of the science-fiction fanzine Xero, as well as his own Alter Ego (the first volume). Roy didn’t need any persuading to join Jack’s mini-crusade to get Captain Marvel into the hands of the Marvel Bullpen. And he had his own way of persuading Stan. “Look, I like what Otto Binder and C.C. Beck and others did with the original,” he told Stan, “but I don’t think that approach will work nowadays. I can bring the hero back, make him recognizable, but still turn him into a modern-day Marvel character. I think he’d make a great addition to The Avengers!” So, finally, Stan was convinced, and Martin Goodman set about having Marvel’s lawyers pursue the due diligence required to bring the original Captain Marvel to Marvel, which included not only negotiating with Fawcett but also with Myron Fass and DC. And so, through some previously overlooked loophole (the arcane

A Captain Marvel Is A Captain Marvel Is A… We don’t have to imagine what a collaboration between Roy Thomas (story plot) and Gil Kane (artwork) on the original Captain Marvel would’ve been like, because it really happened!—in DC Comics Presents Annual #3 (1984), although RT got too busy to dialogue it and Joey Cavalieri wound up handling that end. (But of course the story would’ve looked, and largely even read, the same way, whoever wrote the dialogue and captions.) You can enjoy the thrilling adventure once again in the 2013 trade paperback Superman vs. Shazam! Of course, the Thomas-Kane team had earlier worked on Marvel’s “Mar-Vell” version of its Captain Marvel. [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics.]

but Stan Lee had kept him aboard by giving him an increased say in Marvel’s creative affairs.) Jack, after all, believed not only in coming up with fresh concepts, but in dusting off old ones. And since he had worked on the original character, way back in 1941, even though for only one issue, Captain Marvel had a natural appeal to him. Ah, but selling the idea to the bosses—that was the problem. It was here that Jack played his ace. “This was the top-selling superhero of the 1940s,” he pointed out. “For a while he outsold even Superman, and his own title was published bi-weekly.” And since publishers are in the business to sell books and make money, the appeal was obvious. Martin Goodman was sold on the idea. Stan Lee was skeptical, however. Captain Marvel was different from anything that Marvel was doing at the time. Not that Stan was really all that familiar with the original. He knew about the Fawcett line of comics from years ago, and had some vague idea of the original Captain Marvel. But it wasn’t difficult at that time (late ’60s) to obtain some 1940s Fawcett comic books and go over some of the stories. Nonetheless, Stan just wasn’t sure it could be made to work. However, this is where Stan’s right-hand man, Roy “the Boy” Thomas, entered the picture. Roy unabashedly confessed to having been a great fan of the character in his youth. He’d even written articles about Fawcett characters for various fanzines, including the

Next Stop: Captain Marvin Adventures! Who says Roy Thomas doesn’t have a sense of humor? C.C. Beck did, but many of the readers of “Where Stomps the Scent-ry!” in Marvel’s Not Brand Echh #9 (Aug. 1968) by writer RT, penciler Gene Colan, & inker Frank Giacoia might disagree. This ticklish tale starring “Captain Marvin” spoofed Marvel’s then-new Captain Marvel comic and featured a few surprise comedic cameos by the original Big Red Cheese and cohorts. Billy Batson, the Seven Enemies of Man, and even Mr. Mind popped up in other panels in the yarn. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

What If... Marvel Comics Had Been The Publisher That Revived Captain Marvel?

With One Magic Hammer… On Earth-Maybe-Marvel, the Mighty Thor and the World’s Mightiest Mortal find they have much in common, particularly in this two-page extravaganza by Nick Perks (nick-perks.deviantart.com), where the two heroes are transformed into a singular amalgam during a clash with the menacing Red Skull. Mr. Perks had a desire to draw something “epic,” as well as to honor the late Captain Marvel artist Marc Swayze by imbuing into his piece Marc’s personal philosophy of creating dialogue-less storytelling art “that even a child who couldn’t read yet could get a story out of it.” [Billy Batson ^& Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics; Thor TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; other art ©2016 Nick Perks.]

details of which are beyond us ordinary mortals who are not equipped with Juris Doctorates, so we shall not go into them here), Marvel cleared the way to revive Captain Marvel. There was little question as to who would write the new series. As associate editor, Roy held the highest rank among the Marvel Bullpenners, except for Stan himself, who wasn’t interested in writing it. If others had expressed any interest, Roy would simply have steamrolled over them. “No one could have talked me out of doing it,” Roy exulted. But then came the challenge of finding the right artist. If anyone gave any thought to contacting C.C. Beck, Captain Marvel’s original and defining artist and in essence the co-creator of the character, to do the job, the idea was never voiced. Roy felt that Jack Kirby “would’ve been a natural,” but Jack wasn’t keen on the idea of working with Roy, because of the latter’s stronger plotting style and dialog-heavy stories. At that stage, if he wasn’t going to write the story himself, Kirby would have shared a byline only with Stan Lee himself. Luckily, Marvel had a lot of good artists available to them at the time, including Rich Buckler, the Buscemas, and Jim Starlin.

Ultimately, the job went to an artist who, like Roy, had been a fan of the original character and of C.C. Beck’s artwork, the incomparable Gil Kane. Beck himself later said of Kane that “he is a great cartoonist, but he tends to put tremendous action into every panel.” Gil Kane had already won fame for his work at DC, some years earlier, in reviving Green Lantern and The Atom (although the latter was so different from the earlier Golden Age version that he was essentially The Atom in name only). Kane eschewed the use of capes and belts in his costume designs, feeling that they “break up the flow of the body.” (As someone once stated, Gil might as well have said that clothing breaks up the flow of the body!) He’d been forced to utilize a belt on the Silver Age Atom’s costume because the controls for Ray Palmer’s size changes were located in his belt, according to the scripts, but had somehow managed to prevail over legendary editor Julius Schwartz’s preference to give the Silver Age Green Lantern a cape. As with the original versions of Green Lantern and The Atom, Captain Marvel had worn both a cape and Kane’s other great bugaboo, a belt, or more specifically a sash. So it is not too surprising that this became an area where Roy and Gil had some

FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America]

something of a compromise style between the Beck approach and his own natural artwork. Purists among the fans of the Golden Age version were split on the results, but most conceded that it was probably the best that could be managed, barring having Beck or former Fawcett (but by then DC) artist Kurt Schaffenberger on the job. But what about the writing? Although Roy Thomas felt that the Golden Age-whimsical approach wouldn’t work for a latter-day audience, he, as with the costume, didn’t want to strip away quite everything which had made the original feature distinctive. Although Beck once opined that Roy “has no sense of humor,” those who had read his delightful spoof “The Bestest League of America” in the early issues of Alter Ego or his parodies in Marvel’s Not Brand Echh knew better. Years later, working at DC, Roy would unleash even more zaniness in the form of Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! So, for his take on Captain Marvel, Roy injected bits of humor into the stories, while eschewing the more fanciful approach of many of the Golden Age adventures. While there would be no stories in which all the color in the world was under the control of a gnome living in a cave, or in which inanimate objects narrated the tales, or with characters who had names such as “Gottsum Talentte” (a take-off on Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore), nonetheless there were laughs.

A Marriage Made In Comic Book Heaven For Aunt May and Uncle Dudley, it was love at first sight on Earth-Maybe-Marvel—and there was nothing Peter Parker or Billy Batson could do about it! Artist John Trumbull (johntrumbull.deviantart.com) drew this May/Dudley (as opposed to May/December) wedding scene for Brian Cronin’s “The Line Is Drawn” #112 on “Comics Should Be Good!” ( goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/category/the-line-it-is-drawn/) during a tribute week when Captain Marvel artist Marc Swayze had passed away. Trumbull, who is also a regular contributor to TwoMorrows’ Back Issue magazine, says this piece is a “semi-homage to the cover to Amazing Spider-Man #131, where Aunt May is marrying Dr. Octopus. (You’ll notice that Aunt May’s wedding gown is the same).” [Shazam hero, Uncle Dudley, Tawny Tiger, & maybe Freddy Freeman TM & © DC Comics; Peter Parker, Aunt May, & J. Jonah Jameson TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

disagreement, because in spite of Roy’s desire to turn Captain Marvel into more of an updated, Marvelized character, he didn’t want to jettison everything about the original. Roy’s preference was to keep the World’s Mightiest Mortal’s standard 1940s outfit, complete with cape and sash. So, much as it went against his grain, Gil drew Captain Marvel in his familiar costume. And also to his credit, Kane strove diligently to work out

And really, humor was not antithetical to the overall Marvel Comics approach, anyway. Beck once praised Stan Lee for bringing humor back into comics, although Stan’s laughs were more in the form of witty repartee among the characters, a trait noticed especially in the early “SpiderMan” tales. While Roy didn’t use that particular style for Captain Marvel, he did manage to inject bits and pieces of amusement, some of which would be caught mainly by Golden Age cognoscenti, if no one else.

As in the original, Billy Batson met the ancient wizard Shazam in an underground tunnel, although the tunnel had some sort of link to a location in Egypt. However, whereas Captain Marvel’s first Fawcett foe had been Dr. Sivana, this time he was up against both that villain and old Shazam’s mistake of centuries before, Black Adam. The origin story was serialized over the first five issues.

What If... Marvel Comics Had Been The Publisher That Revived Captain Marvel?

Of course, part of being a Marvel character meant crossing over with other heroes, and early on Roy set his sights on a battle/teamup with Cap’s closest Marvel analog, he who also made a magical transformation via unearthly lightning, viz., the Mighty Thor. Perhaps one of the cleverest tales concerned a crossing of paths of the two sets of lightning, resulting in a Billy Batson who turned into Thor and a Don Blake who became Captain Marvel! On a different occasion, while in combat with The Red Skull, the two heroes were transformed into a singular amalgam of each other. Roy felt that the idea of a kid (whether pre-teen or teen) residing alone and working an important job such as news broadcaster would be even more of an anomaly in the 1970s than it had been in the 1940s, so he placed Billy Batson in the care of his Uncle Dudley (a true relative this time around). And Billy was in school, something which had been true in the Golden Age only on those few occasions when it suited the plot. However, Billy often found it difficult to manage both school and super-heroics. In order to help balance these aspects of his life, he found a big brother figure and mentor in the form of an older teen, Peter Parker, whose double life Captain Marvel discovered in an early team-up.

storyline featured a battle between Thor’s Norse deities and Captain Marvel’s Graeco-Roman elders, with the two heroes caught in the middle. By contrast, Captain Marvel’s meetings with Spider-Man were far less cosmic in scope, and often consisted of nothing more than a brief meeting of the two for conversation about their respective trials and tribulations, in the midst of other adventures. These two heroes who were thought by the public to be older than they really were constituted a natural pairing. Occasionally, Captain Marvel called upon Peter Parker’s scientific prowess for help in defeating some new weapon that had been developed by his arch-foe, Dr. Sivana, who also sometimes collaborated with some of Spidey’s foes, most notably The Green Goblin. But what about the rest of the Marvel Family? Although Roy Thomas had been a fan of all of them back in his childhood, he was caught in a bit of a dilemma about reintroducing them. The whole idea of kid sidekicks by then enjoyed considerably less favor than it had back in the ’40s, with only a few Golden Age holdovers at

(There was a bit of unspoken— indeed, virtually unknown—irony in this situation, in that Spider-Man had been inspired in part by the earlier Archie Adventure Comics super-hero The Fly, who in turn had been inspired by a Joe Simon/C.C. Beck stillborn feature called “The Silver Spider,” who in turn had been inspired by none other than Captain Marvel. It was as if SpiderMan was repaying a debt that he didn’t even know that he owed to Captain Marvel!) After Aunt May got married to Uncle Dudley, Peter and Billy bumped into each other more frequently, and their encounters developed into a friendly rivalry of sorts to see which one could out-scoop the other for news stories, which always ended up involving their super-hero alter egos. Another unintended and unknown irony came in the form of numerous team-ups of Captain Marvel with the Human Torch. At the time, no one had any idea that, only a few years earlier, in 1964, the original Captain Marvel had joined with the original Human Torch in a strange adventure. The reason that no one had any idea is because it appeared in a Brazilian comic book. (This adventure has been recounted and translated in earlier issues of Alter Ego.) Still, the most natural and most-oftenoccurring crossovers were those with Thor and Spider-Man. Organically, yet in very different ways, they were the closest analogs that Marvel had to the World’s Mightiest Mortal. One extended

Red-Hot Team-Up In Black-&-White On our Earth, in a beguiling land where one can turn a blind eye to foreign copyright laws, the original Captain Marvel actually met the original Human Torch in a 1964 issue of Almanaque do O Globo, published in Brazil. Art by Rodriguez Zelis; from the collection of John G. Pierce. The story was serialized in Alter Ego #52-60; translation/lettering: Mark Luebker; art restoration by Matt Moring & John Gentil. And thanks to light-fingered Larry Guidry for coloring it especially for A/E! [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics; Human Torch TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America]

The World’s Mightiest Groupie— On Earth-Maybe-Marvel! (Clockwise from top left:) There’s a new but familiar-faced Captain Marvel in town, and he’s now a card-carrying member of The Avengers! The Adaptoid sits this one out, as Ultron and Mr. Atom provide more than enough mayhem for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Captain Marvel #50 faux cover by Eric Jansen; cover component layout/coloring by Mark Lewis. Ultron steps in for Nebulon this time, on Jansen’s reconfiguration of the cover of The Defenders #34 — with interim Defender, the original Captain Marvel, probably wishing his teammate Dr. Strange had showed up for work that day! Cover elements set-up by Mark Lewis. What if Captain Marvel had been part of the WW II-era exploits of The Invaders? At right is Jansen’s re-imagining of the cover of The Invaders #8, with CM taking over center stage formerly belonging to British super-hero Union Jack. Cover component layout/coloring in all three faux covers by Mark Lewis. [Shazam hero & Mr. Atom TM & © DC Comics; Captain America, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Beast, Ultron, Hulk, Nighthawk, Dr. Strange, Valkyrie, Bucky, Human Torch, Toro, & SubMariner TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

What If... Marvel Comics Had Been The Publisher That Revived Captain Marvel?

DC (Robin and Speedy, and the newer Aqualad) being extant. But at Marvel, such ideas were rejected out of hand, with Timely’s own two most notables, the original Human Torch’s partner Toro, and Captain America’s Bucky, being explained away. (Bucky hadn’t just been explained away; he was officially dead for the past nigh-decade’s worth of comics and looked to remain that way forever, a rarity in comics circles.) Nevertheless, Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel were not exactly sidekicks, but fully functioning characters in their own right, more like Supergirl, Kid Flash, and to a much lesser degree Wonder Girl at DC. But offshoot characters were likewise not part of the Marvel tradition. While obviously developed to capitalize on the popularity of Spider-Man (and to prevent the name from being utilized by anyone else), Spider-Woman was not really connected to Peter Parker. And the alternate-world stories of Peter’s daughter, Mayday “May” Parker, aka Spider-Girl, would come along much later. Eventually the decision was made to put Junior on hold indefinitely, but at least to try for a new version of Mary Marvel. Not, however, under her original name. Instead, she would be called Ms. Marvel, and like her brother she would change from teen to adult when transforming. Another touch of originality was added by having her, at least initially, forget all about her heroic activities once she resumed her normal form. Although Roy didn’t have time to write Ms. Marvel, he did join forces on her earliest adventures with friend and fellow Marvel staffer Gerry Conway. Many times heroes are defined by their villains, and the original Captain Marvel Tag Teams had some of the best of them all, Back on Earth-Maybe-Marvel, Dr. Sivana and The Green Goblin share some laughs in this daydream of including Dr. Sivana, Mr. Mind, King a real (Captain) Marvel Team-Up with our favorite friendly neighborhood web-slinger, brilliantly brought to you by frequent FCA contributing artist Jay Piscopo. [Shazam hero & Sivana TM & c DC Comics; Kull, Mr. Atom, and Black Adam. Because Spider-Man & Green Goblin TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] Marvel already published a character named King Kull (a barbarian, with no suited one for membership, and the World’s Mightiest Mortal connection to the Fawcett villain except that Otto Binder had became a time-honored, integral affiliate of the team. named the Fawcett villain after the Robert E. Howard hero), Roy passed over that one, but did manage to generate new, albeit Additionally, Captain Marvel spent several months with The somewhat darker, versions of many of the others. (This was not Defenders, and also banded together with The Invaders for two totally without precedent. Some relatively early “Captain Marvel consecutive World War II-era missions. Years later, when Marvel Jr.” stories had featured a darker, more pseudo-realistic, version of acquired the rights to Miracleman, and after finally coming to an Dr. Sivana. This was before Sivana Jr. was created to be Freddy acquiescence with writer Alan Moore, it was inevitable that CM Freeman’s arch-foe.) Sometimes Captain Marvel’s foes battled other and his British progeny would finally meet face to face and share a heroes in the Marvel Universe, but one may be sure that Roy kept a momentous adventure together. tight rein on any other uses of “his” characters! There were various team-ups of villains, including that of Mr. Atom with Ultron. As his editorial responsibilities grew, Roy found it difficult to continue writing various features, but he always insisted on Captain Marvel was finally invited to join The Avengers after he scripting Captain Marvel. Eventually, however, when circumstances had rescued Captain America from a trap set by a Red Skull caused him to make a break with Marvel Comics, he confessed that imitator. The blue-suited captain gladly recommended the red-

FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America]

When One Of Those “A’s” In “Shazam” Stood For… On our Earth, when former Marvel Family/Lois Lane artist Kurt Schaffenberger was temporarily “let go” by DC after he voiced displeasure over the lack of health benefits for himself and his fellow artists, he sought comic book work elsewhere, and even briefly freelanced for Archie Comics in the early ’70s. Above is a Schaffenberger-drawn page from a story called “Luck Struck” found in Archie’s Pals ’n’ Gals #73 (Oct. 1972). Throughout the story, Kurt drew Archie Andrews wearing a red tank top with Captain Marvel’s bolt insignia. It’s the nearest the Big Red Cheese ever got to Riverdale. [TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.]

the hardest part was leaving the World’s Mightiest Mortal behind and in other hands. While never quite matching his immense popularity of the 1940s and early ’50s during the original run with Fawcett Publications, Captain Marvel had still prospered once again, flourishing to great prominence in the Marvel Universe through comics, movies, television, toys, clothing, and more. To this day, under Marvel’s banner, his name—and his magic word—are recognized and known around the world. Can you imagine a character named Captain Marvel being published by anyone else other than Marvel Comics? Yet, there are those fans who wonder what comics history might have been like if, instead of Marvel, DC had been the company to revive Captain Marvel. Would he still be the likable, iconic hero that he is today, standing as equals alongside Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman? We will never know the answer. (DC came close to reviving the original Captain Marvel. In the mid-1950s, artist Carmine Infantino had generated an idea for a pseudo-revival of CM, to be called Captain Whiz. When that idea didn’t “fly,” Infantino made use of his Captain Whiz costume design for the Silver Age Flash, instead.) On the other hand, in the early ’70s, the best-selling comic book character was America’s favorite perpetual teen, Archie Andrews. And one has to wonder what Archie Comics might have done with Captain Marvel? Possibly a team-up with… Captain Pureheart?

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MLJ COMPANION

THE MLJ COMPANION documents the complete history of Archie Comics’ super-hero characters known as the “Mighty Crusaders”—THE SHIELD, BLACK HOOD, STEEL STERLING, HANGMAN, MR. JUSTICE, THE FLY, and many others. It features in-depth examinations of each era of the characters’ extensive history: THE GOLDEN AGE (beginning with the Shield, the first patriotic super-hero, who pre-dated Captain America by a full year), THE SILVER AGE (spotlighting those offbeat, campy Mighty Comics issues, and The Fly and Jaguar), THE BRONZE AGE (with the Red Circle line, and the !mpact imprint published by DC Comics), up to THE MODERN AGE, with its Dark Circle imprint (featuring such fan-favorites series as “The Fox” by MARK WAID and DEAN HASPIEL). Plus: Learn what “MLJ” stands for! Uncover such rarities as the Mighty Crusaders board game, and the Shadow’s short-lived career as a spandex-clad superhero! Discover the ill-fated Spectrum line of comics, that was abruptly halted due to its violent content! See where the super-heroes crossed over into Archie, Betty, and Veronica’s world! And read interviews with IRV NOVICK, DICK AYERS, RICH BUCKLER, BILL DuBAY, STEVE ENGLEHART, JIM VALENTINO, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, KELLEY JONES, MICHAEL USLAN, and others who chronicled the Mighty Crusaders’ exploits from the 1940s to today! By RIK OFFENBERGER and PAUL CASTIGLIA, with a cover by IRV NOVICK and JOE RUBINSTEIN.

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COMIC BOOK FEVER

GEORGE KHOURY (author of The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore and Kimota: The Miracleman Companion) presents a “love letter” to his personal golden age of comics, 1976-1986, covering all the things that made those comics great—the top artists, the coolest stories, and even the best ads! It covers the phenoms that delighted Baby Boomers, Generation X, and beyond: UNCANNY X-MEN, NEW TEEN TITANS, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, LOVE AND ROCKETS, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, SUPERMAN VS. SPIDER-MAN, ARCHIE COMICS, HARVEY COMICS, KISS, STAR WARS, ROM, HOSTESS CAKE ADS, GRIT(!), and other milestones! So take a trip back in time to re-experience those epic stories, and feel the heat of COMIC BOOK FEVER once again! With cover art and introduction by ALEX ROSS.

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ALTER EGO #141

ALTER EGO #143

ALTER EGO #144

DRAW! #32

BRICKJOURNAL #41

DON GLUT discusses his early years as comic book writer for Marvel, Warren, and Gold Key, with art by SANTOS, MAROTO, CHAN, NEBRES, KUPPERBERG, TUSKA, TRIMPE, SAL BUSCEMA, and others! Also, SAL AMENDOLA and ROY THOMAS on the 1970s professional Academy of Comic Book Arts, founded by STAN LEE and CARMINE INFANTINO! Plus Mr. Monster, FCA, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

MARK CARLSON documents 1940s-50s ACE COMICS (with super-heroes Magno & Davey, Lash Lightning, The Raven, Unknown Soldier, Captain Courageous, Vulcan, and others)! Art by KURTZMAN, MOONEY, BERG, L.B. COLE, PALAIS, and more. Plus: RICHARD ARNDT’s interview with BILL HARRIS (1960s-70s editor of Gold Key and King Comics), FCA, Comic Crypt, and Comic Fandom Archive.

Super-star DC penciler HOWARD PORTER demos his creative process, and JAMAL IGLE discusses everything from storyboarding to penciling as he gives a breakdown of his working methods. Plus there’s Crusty Critic JAMAR NICHOLAS reviewing art supplies, JERRY ORDWAY showing the Ord-Way of doing comics, and Comic Art Bootcamp lessons with BRET BLEVINS and Draw! editor MIKE MANLEY! Mature readers only.

OUT OF THIS WORLD LEGO! Spacethemed LEGO creations of LIA CHAN, 2001: A Space Odyssey’s Orion space plane by NICK DEAN, and Pre-Classic Space builder CHRIS GIDDENS! Plus: Orbit the LEGO community with JARED K. BURKS’ minifigure customizing, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art, MINDSTORMS robotics by DAMIEN KEE, and more!

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BACK ISSUE #89

BACK ISSUE #90

BACK ISSUE #91

BACK ISSUE #92

BACK ISSUE #93

“Bronze Age Adaptations!” The Shadow, Korak: Son of Tarzan, Battlestar Galactica, The Black Hole, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Worlds Unknown, and Marvel’s 1980s movie adaptations. Plus: PAUL KUPPERBERG surveys prose adaptations of comics! With work by JACK KIRBY, DENNY O’NEIL, FRANK ROBBINS, MICHAEL W. KALUTA, FRANK THORNE, MICHAEL USLAN, and sporting an alternate Kaluta cover produced for DC’s Shadow series!

“Eighties Ladies!” MILLER & SIENKIEWICZ’s Elektra: Assassin, Dazzler, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), Lady Quark, DAN MISHKIN’s Wonder Woman, WILLIAM MESSNER-LOEBS and ADAM KUBERT’s Jezebel Jade, Somerset Holmes, and a look back at Marvel’s Dakota North! Featuring the work of BRUCE JONES, JOHN ROMITA JR., ROGER STERN, and many more, plus a previously unpublished cover by SIENKIEWICZ.

“All-Jerks Issue!” Guy Gardner, Namor in the Bronze Age, J. Jonah Jameson, Flash Thompson, DC’s Biggest Blowhards, the Heckler, Obnoxio the Clown, and Archie’s “pal” Reggie Mantle! Featuring the work of (non-jerks) RICH BUCKLER, KURT BUSIEK, JOHN BYRNE, STEVE ENGLEHART, KEITH GIFFEN, ALAN KUPPERBERG, and many more. Cover-featuring KEVIN MAGUIRE’s iconic Batman/Guy Gardner “One Punch”!

“Bronze Age Halloween!” The Swamp Thing revival of 1982, Swamp Thing in Hollywood, Phantom Stranger team-ups, KUPPERBERG & MIGNOLA’s Phantom Stranger miniseries, DC’s The Witching Hour, the Living Mummy, and an index of Marvel’s 1970s’ horror anthologies! Featuring the work of RICH BUCKLER, ANDY MANGELS, VAL MAYERIK, MARTIN PASKO, MICHAEL USLAN, THOMAS YEATES, and more. YEATES cover.

“All-Captains Issue!” Bronze Age histories of Shazam! (Captain Marvel) and Captain MarVell, Captain Carrot, Captain Storm and the Losers, Captain Universe, and Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers. Featuring C. C. BECK, PAT BRODERICK, JACK KIRBY, ELLIOT S. MAGGIN, BILL MANTLO, DON NEWTON, BOB OKSNER, SCOTT SHAW!, JIM STARLIN, ROY THOMAS, and more. Cover painting by DAVE COCKRUM!

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TwoMorrows. The Future of Comics History.

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #13 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #14

KIRBY COLLECTOR #68

KIRBY COLLECTOR #69

MICHAEL W. KALUTA feature interview covering his early fans days THE SHADOW, STARSTRUCK, the STUDIO, and Vertigo cover work! Plus RAMONA FRADON talks about her 65+ years in the comic book business on AQUAMAN, METAMORPHO, SUPER-FRIENDS, and SPONGEBOB! Also JAY LYNCH reveals the WACKY PACK MEN who created the Topps trading cards that influenced an entire generation!

Comprehensive KELLEY JONES interview, from early years as Marvel inker to presentday greatness at DC depicting BATMAN, DEADMAN, and SWAMP THING (chockful of rarely-seen artwork)! Plus WILL MURRAY examines the nefarious legacy of Batman co-creator BOB KANE in an investigation into tragic ghosts and rapacious greed. We also look at RAINA TELGEMEIER and her magnificent army of devotees, and more!

KEY KIRBY CHARACTERS! We go decadeby-decade to examine pivotal characters Jack created throughout his career (including some that might surprise you)! Plus there’s a look at what would’ve happened if Kirby had never left Marvel Comics for DC, how Jack’s work has been repackaged over the decades, MARK EVANIER and other regular columnists, and galleries of unseen Kirby pencil art!

KIRBY’S PARTNERS! Cap/Falcon/Bucky, Sandman & Sandy, Orion & Lightray, Johnny & Ben, Dingbats, Newsboys, plus features on JOE SIMON, MIKE ROYER, CHIC STONE, DICK AYERS, JOE SINNOTT, MIKE THIBODEAUX — even ROZ KIRBY! Also, BATTLE FOR A 3-D WORLD, the 2016 Comic-Con Kirby Tribute Panel, MARK EVANIER, and galleries of Kirby pencil art! Cover inked by JOE SINNOTT!

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