Alter Ego #173 by TwoMorrows Publishing

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THE IRRESISTIBLE RISE OF

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No. 173

Art TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

January 2022

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GOLDEN AGE—

SILVER AGE—

MARVEL AGE—

& BEYOND!

Vol. 3, No. 173 / January 2022 Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editor Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor

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

Comic Crypt Editor

Don’t STEAL our Digital Editions!

Michael T. Gilbert

Editorial Honor Roll

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

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William J. Dowlding David Baldy

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Cover Artists

Jack Kirby (w/Joe Sinnott) Billy Graham Gene Colan (w/Joe Sinnott) Rich Buckler (w/Frank Giacoia)

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Tom Ziuko, et al.

With Special Thanks to:

Sharon Karibian Paul Allen Jim Kealy Heidi Amash Jack Kelly Richard J. Arndt Mark Lewis Bob Bailey Jim Ludwig Bernie Bubnis Mike Mikulovsky Glen Cadigan Barry Pearl Colin Cameron Ken Quattro Nick Caputo Mark Reznicek John Cimino Randy Sargent Chet Cox David Saunders Justin Fairfax Jim Shooter Shane Foley William Foster III Amber Stanton Tony Tallarico Stephan Friedt Dann Thomas Janet Gilbert Jim Thompson Alex Grand Grand Comics Database (website) Bruce Guthrie Keith Hammond JayJay Jackson William B. Jones, Jr.

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Joye Kelly, Carl Gafford, & Norman Saunders

Contents

Writer/Editorial: Black Is The New Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Black Heroes—Silver Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 A new look at the “Silver” & “Marvel” Ages by Barry Pearl.

“You Need Somebody To Give You A Sense Of That History” . 37 And William Foster III is the man to do it, say interviewers Alex Grand & Jim Thompson.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Don’t Get MAD—Get ANGRY! . . 57 Michael T. Gilbert on Mad’s black-&-white competitors—and imitators.

Tributes to Carl Gafford & Joye Kelly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 65 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #232 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 P.C. Hamerlinck presents Part II of David Saunders’ spotlight on artist Norman Saunders.

On Our Cover: Since the main thrust of Barry Pearl’s lead article is how black heroes, both super- and other, came to Marvel, DC, and other mainstream comic companies, primarily over the course of the 1960s and ’70s, it was all but inevitable that (as neither DC nor Marvel wants us to “mix and match” its characters with those of its rival on our covers) we piece together one made up of Marvel stalwarts— since DC had relatively fewer such during that period. The Black Panther figure is by Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott… The Falcon by Gene Colan & Joe Sinnott... Luke Cage by Billy Graham… and Black Goliath by Rich Buckler & Frank Giacoia. [Art TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] Above: But don’t worry—DC Comics and other companies get their fair share of four-color coverage from Barry (as well as from interviewee William Foster III) in this issue, from Lobo to Fast Willie Jackson. And here’s one of the biggest of them all—Black Lightning, as drawn by Rich Buckler & Vince Colletta for the month of August in the 1978 Calendar of Super-Spectacular Disasters. [TM & © DC Comics.] Alter Ego TM issue 173, January 2022 (ISSN 1932-6890) is published bi-monthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage pending at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Alter Ego, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. 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. Six-issue subscriptions: $68 US, $103 Elsewhere, $29 Digital Only. 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. FIRST PRINTING.

writer/editorial

Black Is The New Black

perspective, and which discussed black creators as well as characters.

ome issues of Alter Ego are born great— —and others have greatness thrust upon them!

That last is pretty much what happened to this particular issue. Some months ago, regular A/E booster and helpmeet Barry Pearl sent me a link to a new article he had written for his blog “Barry’s Pearls of Comic Book Wisdom.” It dealt with the evolution of the comicbook field in the 1960s and ’70s with regard to handling (or even simply introducing) black and/or AfricanAmerican characters… super-heroes, cowboys, teenagers, spies, the whole megillah. I liked the piece, on which he had been assisted by his fellow Yancy Street Gang member, Nick Caputo. It was basically an overview of the field during those two decades, with a bit of prelude related to the 1950s. Not a detailed look at the characters and situations, but a bird’s-eye glimpse at what was going on… not just at DC and Marvel, but at Archie, Western, Charlton, and every other mainstream company. So I e-mailed Barry and we quickly came to an agreement that the study would be the cover feature of this edition. Oh, sure, I’ve made a few minor editorial emendations, as is my wont: a new title (the one he’d given it suggested political overtones that I didn’t feel like dealing with in a comics-history magazine; nor, for that matter, did Barry—his title really had little to do with the article itself)… plus some re-arrangement of paragraphs in an even more chronological order.

I had met William briefly a few years back, when some folks who were filming a documentary about diversity in comics flew me up to a warehouse-cum-film-studio somewhere in New York City so that I, like him, could be a talking head. Happily, I got the chance to sit in a “green room” and observe an hour of him being filmed and recorded… and after he was done, we exchanged a few friendly words before he moved on and my own turn before the cameras came. Our paths haven’t crossed since then, and I’m sorry about that, because although we probably don’t agree on everything (what two comics fans do?), we’d clearly have a lot to talk about and I suspect we’d have a high old time doing it. Which is precisely what Grand and Thompson clearly had when they interviewed William, who is currently retired from a long career as a college teacher. Unfortunately, because of A/E’s commitments to its regular departments, each of which is worthwhile in its own way, I wasn’t able to squeeze all the Foster interview into this issue. However, the second half—which deals primarily with the 1970s—will be a featured highlight of #174, two short months from now, and we think you’ll find it well worth the wait. And why not? After all, I’ve been waiting years now to do this sort of “theme issue”—just biding my time till a handful of talented people did most of my work for me by putting together an article and an interview that they could dump in my lap.

Then, only a few days or so after Barry and I came to our meeting of the minds, reader Alex Grand sent me the transcribed text of an interview that he and his buddy Jim Thompson had conducted with William Foster III, the author of 2005’s out-of-print Looking for a Face Like Mine, which had been arguably the first book ever to deal with comicbooks from an African-American

I hope they all like what the TwoMorrows team and I have done with them.

Bestest,

COMING IN FEBRUARY #174 C.C. BECK, CAPTAIN MARVEL, & FOUR-COLOR CASTLES IN SPAIN!

Art TM & © DC Comics.

(Or At Least In Spanish!)

• Cover illo by BECK, co-creator of Billy & the Captain! • FCA [Fawcett Collectors of America] Phantasmagoria, with an illustrated essay by the ever-irascible C.C. BECK—plus the whole Shazam! crew in a series of dramatic tradingcards from Spain—many never before seen! • Extra added attractions! WILLIAM FOSTER III–Part 2 of his interview on black heroes, artists, and writers in comics, from Lobo to Fast Willie Jackson to Black Lightning— MICHAEL T. GILBERT on Mad and its ire-inducing imitators (finale)—the haunting of JOHN BROOME—& MORE!!

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Black Heroes—Silver Pages A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages by Barry Pearl, F.F.F. (with special thanks to Nick Caputo, F.F.F.) A/E EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: This piece appeared earlier, in a slightly different form, on Barry Pearl’s blog “Barry’s Pearls of Comic Book Wisdom.”

his is not the history of African-Americans in comics. It is a chronology of African-American characters in the Silver and Marvel Ages of Comics, between 1956 and 1977.

During that double era, I did not have the African-American experience of growing up and living in America. But many of my closest friends did. And I read comics with them! Growing up, and even in adulthood, I saw and heard their concerns about isolation, exclusion, housing, schooling, jobs, and personal safety. We had read comics, and my friends were looking for someone to relate to. Often, Spider-Man was their favorite, because his mask covered his full face and he could be anyone behind it.

From Waku To Jefferson Pierce (Left:) Although his primary focus in the following piece is the late 1950s through the latter ’70s, author Barry Pearl gives a shout-out to the “Waku, Prince of the Bantu” series that ran in all seven mid-1950s issues of Timely/Atlas’ Jungle Tales. This splash page from #1 (Sept. ’54) is by Ogden Whitney; writer unknown. The “Waku” yarns dealt with Timely/Atlas’ version of the historical Bantu people in an era that seems to pre-date contact with whites; its all-black cast were not portrayed as the primitive, superstitious tribesmen on display in most other 1940s-50s jungle comics. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] (Above:) As a necessarily arbitrary bookend to his article, Barry chose DC’s Black Lightning series, which made its debut with a date of April 1977. Cover art by Rich Buckler & Frank Springer. Except where otherwise noted, all art accompanying this article has been supplied by Barry Pearl. [TM & © DC Comics.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

The term “African-American” refers to Americans with ancestors from Africa. In science-fiction I use the term “black” (whether capitalized or un-) because we often don’t know the nationality of the character—or even what planet he is from. William H. Foster III’s book Looking for a Face Like Mine is relevant. Mr. Foster explains why it was so important to him to have black characters in comics even if they were stereotypes. Mr. Foster writes: The images of black characters in mainstream comics in the 1960s and ’70s were almost non-existent, terribly

stereotypical, but didn’t represent any models worthy of emulation. All in all, people like me just didn’t seem to exist in comics. And, while this didn’t destroy my enjoyment of comics, it did leave me with a disquieting feeling that people who look like me weren’t welcome, not just in comics, but society as well. There were a few black supporting characters before 1960, but I am discussing the Silver and Marvel Ages—two somewhat indistinct (and partly overlapping) terms. In the early 1960s it was impossible for me to read the defunct newspaper comics section that had starred Will Eisner’s The Spirit and featured Ebony… or Atlas/ Timely/Marvel’s 1954 Jungle Tales with its series “Waku, Prince of the Bantu,” a dignified take on an African prince and perhaps a model for T’Challa, Marvel’s Black Panther.

Baby Steps (Clockwise From Above) While Ebony White was drawn and written in stereotypical fashion in Will Eisner’s acclaimed Sunday-supplement comicbook The Spirit, he was nonetheless treated as a sympathetic, admirable, and often triumphant character. In addition, as per the episode for Oct. 13, 1946, it should be noted that the young lady who’s the object of Ebony’s affections is no more a caricature than are The Spirit and Commissioner Dolan on the same page. Reproduced from DC’s Will Eisner’s Spirit Archives, Vol. 13. [TM & © Will Eisner Estate.] In a real rarity for the Golden Age at a major comics company in that era, the black hero “Waku, Prince of the Bantu” was spotlighted on the covers of all seven Jungle Tales issues, with each of the mag’s four series given its own box. Issue #3 (Jan. 1955) cover by Joe Maneely. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] And then there’s “Voodah,” drawn by African-American artist Matt Baker (writer unknown). Ken Quattro, in his book Invisible Men: The Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books, refers to Voodah as “the first clearly Black hero to have his own feature in a comic book,” starting with McCombs Publications’ Crown Comics #3 (Fall 1945), whose splash is pictured here… though Voodah’s and others’ skin tones print lighter here than on subsequent pages. Ken, who’s written several studies for Alter Ego, reports that Voodah appeared, but “white-skinned,” on the cover of Crown #5—then was colored as a Caucasian both on covers and in stories from #6 onward. More about Matt Baker next issue! [© the respective copyright holders.]

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

The Happy Days Syndrome

The Invisible Men Subtitled Trailblazing Black Artists of Comic Books, Ken Quattro’s excellent study went on sale in 2020. [Cover TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Early on, TV networks would produce a particular episode to show they were inclusive. The popular 1970s-80s series Happy Days contained an episode in which an African-American family moves in next door and encounters bigotry. But the leather-jacketed teenager Fonzie likes them, and then everyone does, and at the end of the episode they have dinner with the Cunninghams…. …AND THEY ARE NEVER SEEN AGAIN.

Another aspect of this syndrome is that black characters must appear in plots involving prejudice. There were hundreds of innocuous plots on Happy Days about dating, cars, staying out late, etc. However, when a black character shows up, the story has to be about prejudice.

Late 1950s & Early 1960s In the late 1950s into the 1970s, DC would often print publicservice announcements about friendship, equality, and brotherhood.

Oh, Happy Days! The Fonz (Henry Winkler), recent arrival Bill (Jack Baker), and Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) in “Fonzie’s New Friend,” the first Happy Days installment (season 3, episode 12) to deal with racial prejudice. It aired Nov. 25, 1975. Happy Days ran on TV from 1974 to 1984. Thanks to Barry Pearl. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

characters, who are included in the British version. DC, however, not only re-colored the black characters to make them white; it had their faces redrawn to look Caucasian. (An earlier adaptation of Doctor No had been produced as a comic strip in Great Britain’s newspapers in 1960, drawn by John McLusky. There, too, black characters had been left intact.) An example of the Happy Days Syndrome: The “Sgt. Rock” feature introduced a one-shot black character, Jackie Johnson, in Our Army at War #113 (Dec. 1961). The cover showed only the back of his head, which was partly swathed in a bandage, making it easy

Even so, there were no AfricanAmerican people working at The Daily Planet or attending Superboy’s school in Smallville. Justice League of America and the Legion of SuperHeroes had green people, purple people, orange people, but no black people for years. There were no black youngsters at Supergirl’s orphanage or anywhere else. Mr. Foster points out that there was one story about black people on Krypton—and they lived on an island. “Even on Krypton,” Mr. Foster said, “we were segregated!” [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: By happy coincidence, the first installment of an interview with William Foster III follows this article. Meanwhile, an image from the aforementioned story can be seen on p. 34.] DC’s Showcase reprinted Doctor No, an adaptation of a James Bond novel that had first been published in Great Britain’s edition of Classics Illustrated. Much of the story takes place in Jamaica and spotlights Jack Schiff several black

“People Are People” Superman starred in these two early-’50s anti-prejudice “public-service” pages reportedly written by editor Jack Schiff. The one on the left, drawn by Al Plastino, appeared in Action Comics #143 (April 1950), as well as in other DC titles… while the other, drawn by Win Mortimer, popped up in, among other places, Mystery in Space #13 (April-May ’53). Since in the former the boys are reacting primarily to the Jewish name “Levy,” it’s likely that many readers had no idea exactly what kind of prejudice the lads were displaying! (Antisemitism, of course.) [TM & © DC Comics.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

not to notice that he was AfricanAmerican. After that single issue, he is not seen again in the series until nearly four years later, when, some time after the debut at Marvel of Sgt. Fury and Gabriel Jones, Jackie Johnson would reappear in Our Army at War #160 with a cover date of November 1965. (More about that story in a little bit.) At Charlton Comics, an African witch doctor Nguta Lmu saved the day during an alien invasion in “A Look at a Backward Planet” in Space War #18 (Sept. 1962). But, perhaps as a sign of the times, his face is never shown.

1963 The first African-American to appear as a recurring character in a nationally distributed comic was the aforementioned Gabriel Jones in 1963’s Sgt. Fury, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Stan Lee in an NEA Interview with Jo Reid, 2008:

Doctor, No! The UK-published adaptation of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel Doctor No (seen on left in the two pairings of pages printed above) appeared first in the British edition of Classics Illustrated (#158A, Dec. 1962), illustrated by Norman J. Nodel and perhaps scripted by Alfred Sundel—both Americans, since the material was prepared in the U.S. A number of black Jamaicans appear therein, including the famous “three blind mice” who are also featured in the opening sequence of the 1962 film starring Sean Connery in his first licensed-to-kill stint. Connery’s likeness was used for Agent 007 in the comicbook. When DC reprinted that adaptation in Showcase #43 (March-April 1963), as Barry Pearl notes (see pages on right), the Jamaicans were all redrawn (and colored) as white men. Curiously, at the same time Stan Lee was having blacks drawn into Marvel comics, DC’s powers-that-be apparently decreed they be taken out. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

[W]e tried as much as possible to give the feeling that bigotry is a terrible thing. In fact, I remember I did a book called Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, which was a very popular series of war stories. [It was set] in World War II, and Sgt. Fury led this commando squad, and this was the first as far as I know ethnically mixed platoon in literary history. I had a black fellow named Gabriel Jones, a Jewish fellow named Izzy Cohen, an Italian, Dino Manelli, and on and on. The whole platoon was totally racially mixed, and everybody said to me, “Stan, that book won’t sell in the South. It won’t sell in the East. It won’t sell in the North or the West, on Mars.” But it sold all over. It was one of our best-selling books, which gave me a great feeling about the real American public. In a Marvel promotional magazine, Stan said that during the war both he and Kirby served with brave African-Americans, and

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

Joe Kubert

Color-Blind? Joe Kubert’s cover for Our Army at War #113 (Dec. 1961). The story inside was scripted by Robert Kanigher, with art by Kubert. While Jackie Johnson may have been originally intended as a one-time supporting character, it was still a step forward to introduce him at all, for which Kanigher (who was also the comic’s editor) deserves credit. Perhaps it wasn’t his decision to wait four years before Jackie rejoined Easy Company? [TM & © DC Comics.]

Robert Kanigher thought they should be recognized for their efforts.

In Sgt. Fury #1, however, Gabe was printed with the skin tones of a white man rather than a black one. Stan Goldberg, then Marvel’s colorist, explained to me that while he indicated what color was to be used, “minimum-wage” workers in another facility had to apply those colors prior the printing process—so things did not come out correctly..

they wanted the spaceman not to be a Negro? That is simply not true…. What they objected to, which I couldn’t understand, was the beads of perspiration on the Negro’s forehead. This to them was a very distasteful thing. I refused to remove it, and it became a cause célèbre for a little while. I threatened to take it to the Supreme Court, and they relented and the story was printed….” We may suspect that the industry’s perception of the Code’s attitude may have contributed to its rarely including black characters in its comics. While there were no black students at Superboy’s graduation, there were several at Peter Parker’s and throughout Ditko’s Amazing Spider-Man run. At the same time Stan was having Marvel artists put black faces into crowds, DC was taking them out. Roy Thomas

This was a bigger step then than we can imagine today. Comicbook publishing was a business, and making money was a prime concern. Alienating Southern retailers was not profitable. In 1955, an EC Comics story titled “Judgment Day” had been rejected by the recently established Comics Code, whose mission was to oversee content to ensure that stories were suitable for young readers. The story, slated for Incredible Science Fiction #33, portrayed a black astronaut—sweating. All these years later, the reason for the rejection is still not clear. Al Feldstein, EC’s primary editor, said in a taped conversation on December 29, 1955, that the reason the story was rejected was that “[T]hey wanted a white man.” He is quoted in the book Tales of Terror: The EC Companion: “[Judge Charles Murphy, head of the Comics Code] said it can’t be a Black [person]. So I said, ‘For God’s sake, Judge Murphy, that’s the whole point of the Goddam story!’ So he said, ‘No, it can’t be a Black.’ Bill [Gaines, EC’s publisher] just called him up [later] and raised the roof.” However, as quoted in Squa Tront magazine #8, on a 1972 EC science-fiction panel at a comics convention, Gaines gave a quite different version of the story: “Is that according to The Monster Times [issue #10] that the Code turned down ‘Judgment Day’ because

Which Doctor? We see the hands of Nguta Lmu in panel 1 of this page in Charlton’s Space War #18 (Sept. 1962), but not his face. On other pages, his features are hidden by his witch-doctor mask. Art by Bill Molno; scripter uncertain. [© the respective copyright holders.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

[Marvel editor-in-chief 1972-74] said for this article: Stan had been insisting, before I got there, that artists draw—and colorists (i.e., Stan Goldberg!) color— people in crowds as “Negroes,” as the expression then was. That seems a small thing, but it was more than most if not all other comics companies were doing then. I became aware of that policy very shortly after being hired, and it was one I applauded. Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact was published from 1946 to 1972 and was distributed in Catholic schools. The stories therein contained religious and moral themes, and it was one of the first comics to feature stories about African-Americans. For example, in 1952 they related the biography of Olympics star Jesse Owens. In the 1960s-70s they printed several series that contained black youth. In 1964 Treasure Chest ran a continued story about the fictional Governor of New York, Timothy Pettigrew, running for President of the United States. After ten issues the surprise ending

Blow, Gabriel, Blow! The Jack Kirby/Dick Ayers cover of Sgt. Fury #1 (May 1963) depicted all seven of the original Howling Commandos, with Gabriel Jones fairly small in the background. However, he was featured prominently on one page of a two-page spread in the story itself. Unfortunately, the color separators (who didn’t work under direct Marvel supervision or at the same physical locale) decided Stan Goldberg’s coloring of Jones as a “Negro” on the Marvel-provided color guides must have been a mistake, so they “corrected” it—without bothering to check—and made Gabriel Jones as pale as the others (except, somehow, in a single panel on story page 4). It was left to editor Lee—at least, Roy T. thinks that’s Stan’s handwriting—to make certain Gabe would be the correct hue in future issues. Roy remembers production manager Sol Brodsky often dealing with an “Al Garvin,” who was probably in charge of the separator outfit, Chemical Color. At any rate, all subsequent reprintings of Sgt. Fury over the past six decades have been colored as originally intended. (See p. 40) This memo appeared in the Taschen tome The Stan Lee Story by RT. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

In My “Judgment”… The final panel of “Judgment Day” from EC Comics’ Incredible Science Fiction #33 (Jan.Feb. 1956). Script by Al Feldstein; art by Joe Orlando. This reprinting of a story from the company’s Weird Science #18 (March-April 1953) has been the source of controversy, since even editor Feldstein and publisher/ managing editor William M. Gaines disagreed publicly on why the Comics Code refused to approve the tale’s reprinting. [TM & © William M. Gaines Agent, Inc.]

Al Feldstein

William M. Gaines

Joe Orlando

The writer/editor, publisher, and artist of “Judgment Day,” in photos that appeared in various early-1950s issues of EC Comics. [TM & © William M. Gaines Agent, Inc.]

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

“We’ll Have These Moments To Remember” (Left:) The graduating class in Clark Kent’s Earthly hometown had apparently been an all-white bunch, if we can go by this page from “Superboy’s Last Day in Smallville,” in Superman #97 (May 1955). Script by Jerry Coleman; art by Wayne Boring & Stan Kaye. [TM & © DC Comics.] (Above:) However, when Peter Parker graduated from high school in Amazing Spider-Man #28 (Sept. 1965), writer Stan Lee & artist Steve Ditko saw to it that there were black faces, as well, in the crowd. Thanks to Barry Pearl. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Four-Color Integration Ditko panels that included black Americans from (above) Amazing Spider-Man #13 (Nov. 1964) and (right) #24 (May ’65). Scripts by Lee. Numerous other examples from this period could have been depicted. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Steve Ditko Photo taken by Amber Stanton; acquired from Internet.

Stan Lee From Marvel Tales Annual #1 (1964).

Another County Not Heard From (Above & below:) Alas, if there was a black face in any of the crowds in the 26 issues of Marvel’s Fantastic Four published in 1964-65, Ye Editor must’ve missed it! These panels from the 1964 FF Annual #2 and FF #35 (Feb. ’65) would’ve given penciler Jack Kirby and/or colorist Stan Goldberg—as well as editor/writer Stan Lee—a chance to toss in people of color; they perhaps illustrate a lost opportunity for them all. Of course, Reed Richards’ kookie quartet spent a lot more time off-world than Spider-Man did, but even so…. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

was that Governor Pettigrew was black. Joe Sinnott told me that drawing for Treasure Chest was one of his most enjoyable experiences. (And they paid well, too.) To this day, he said, his stories are reprinted around the world. Classics Illustrated featured many adaptations of literary classics. The series was created by Albert Kanter and ran from 1941 to 1969, producing 169 issues. Originally called Classic Comics, the publication was in a sense a forerunner of the graphic novel, but its issues also contained numerous other features. Over the years they printed many stories and short articles featuring AfricanAmericans. They constantly reprinted many of their adaptations of the classics, and their comics were not “rotated” (i.e., dated) on the stands like most others, so their dates of availability are vague. Gabriel Jones’ first appearances as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent (as opposed to a Howling Commando) was in Strange Tales #137 with

Jesse Owens—Olympian! Earlier, Edwin Hunter had illustrated the story of the 1936 Olympics trackand-field champion and winner there of four gold medals as representative of the U.S., for Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact, Vol. 7, #20 (June 5, 1952). Writer unknown. [© the respective copyright holders.]

a street date of July 8, 1965. The popular TV series I Spy premiered on NBC two months later, on September 15, 1965, with Bill Cosby as an American spy. So, Gabe was the first national African-American spy! In Our Army at War #160: Captured by the Nazis, Jackie Johnson returns to prove that not only is he a superior fighter but that his blood is red, meaning he is just as human as his Nazi captors. It’s the Happy Days Syndrome all over again: It’s mandatory that his first story in several years must be about racism.

“Ladies And Gentlemen… The Next President Of The United States!” From Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact, Vol. 19, #20 (June 4, 1964)… the finale of the ten-issue story of a fictional New York governor seeking and winning his party’s nomination for U.S. President in the future year of 1976. Only on the last page is it revealed that the candidate is an AfricanAmerican. The final caption says that whether or not he is elected President will depend upon the voters in that election—then twelve years distant. In the real world, of course, it would be another 44 years before a black man would be nominated (and elected) President… but Treasure Chest set the stage early. Script by Barry Reece; art by Joe Sinnott. [© the respective copyright holders.]

Gold Key Comics published M.A.R.S. Patrol Total War for ten issues from July 1965 to August 1969. The first two issues were titled Total War, with Wally Wood as artist. Sgt. Joe Stryker of M.A.R.S. Patrol was an African-American who was a demolitions expert and paratrooper. The first black hero to have his own nationally distributed comic was Dell’s Lobo by writer D. J. Arneson and artist Tony Tallarico in 1965. The Western series ran for two issues but was canceled because Southern distributors would not distribute it.

Joe Sinnott

Collector’s Times, Aug. 2006, Tony Tallarico:

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

Illustrated Classics (Above, left to right:) Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin was adapted by writer Evelyn Goodman & artist Rolland H. Livingstone for Gilberton’s Classic Comics #15 (Nov. 1943). That edition’s cover depicted sadistic overseer Simon Legree pursuing an escaped slave. For the 1954 edition, John William Parker painted the fugitive-slave scene from a different angle. By then, the series’ name had been changed to Classics Illustrated, to minimalize association with the dreaded term “comics.” The cover of the 1969 edition of Cabin, by an unidentified artist, combined painting and pen-and-ink in a symbolic cover. Thanks to William B. Jones, Jr., for this and the preceding scan. [Classics Illustrated trademarks & associated copyrights are the property of First Classics, Inc. All rights reserved.]

Black History Month, 1969 (Left:) Maybe it was high time? Classics Illustrated #169, Negro Americans: The Early Years (Spring 1969), in a departure from its usual format, didn’t adapt a work of fiction. Instead, behind Norman Nodel’s cover painting, readers found comicsstyle biographies of Crispus Attucks, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, Arctic explorer Matthew Henson, and a half-dozen or so other prominent early African-Americans. Naturally, there was no entry for Nat Turner. [Classics Illustrated trademarks & associated copyrights are the property of First Classics, Inc. All rights reserved.]

Getting The Old Gang Back Together Again (Above:) Gabe Jones returned to his old Sarge’s side in the “Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.” series in Strange Tales #137 (Oct. 1965)—on sale two months before Bill Cosby debuted as the co-star of TV’s I Spy. Script by Stan Lee; layouts (& co-plotting) by Jack Kirby; inks/finishes by John Severin. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

My Huckleberry Friend (Above:) William B. Jones, Jr., author of two editions (with a third in the works) of the essential study Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History, points out a significant difference between Gilberton’s 1944 and 1956 adaptations of Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. In Classic Comics #19 (April 1944), the slave Jim “is presented as a positive character, but the artist [Louis Zansky] lapsed into some mid-’40s stereotypical representations.” Script by Evelyn Goodman. (Right:) Twelve years later, with Roberta Strauss now Gilberton’s de facto editor, a re-adaptation of #19, with new interior art by Mike Sekowsky and Frank Giacoia, was published. From Jones’ book: “Strauss’ primary concern was to see the humanity of Jim. [The artists] accorded the runaway slave a measure of dignity and some complexity, treating him not as a comic foil but as a mature mentor…. On a single page, Jim gives Huck, who has played an irresponsible practical joke on his friend, a moral education in brief: Sekowsky and Giacoia reveal a range of emotions in Jim’s features, from outraged disbelief through profound disappointment to loving forgiveness…. The unidentified 1956 scriptwriter retained Jim’s grammatical form… but, undoubtedly at Strauss’ direction, dropped the heavy dialect.” And of course there was no use of the “N-word” in either adaptation. Thanks to Bill J. for the accompanying scans. [Classics Illustrated trademarks & associate copyrights are the property of First Classics, Inc. All rights reserved.]

I had an idea for Lobo. And I approached D.J. Arneson and he brought it in and showed it to [Dell editor-in-chief] Helen Meyer…. She loved it. She really wanted to do it. Great, so we did it. We did the first issue. And in comics, you start the second issue as they’re printing the first one, due to time limitations…. All of a sudden, they stopped the wagon. They stopped production on the issue. They

discovered that, as they were sending out bundles of comics to the distributors, they were being returned unopened. And I couldn’t figure out why. So they sniffed around, scouted around, and discovered [that many sellers] were opposed to Lobo, who was the first black Western hero. That was the end of the book. It sold nothing. They printed 200,000; that was the going print-rate. They sold, oh, ten or fifteen thousand.

Blood Brothers (Left:) In the climax of the “Sgt. Rock” story “What’s the Color of Your Blood?” in Our Army at War #160 (Nov. 1965), Jackie has to give a racist German soldier a blood transfusion—which finally proves the “color” of his blood in graphic fashion. Script by Robert Kanigher, art by Joe Kubert. [TM & © DC Comics.] (Above:) As it happened, a very similar scene had occurred a year and a half earlier in Sgt. Fury #6 (March 1964), when Gabriel Jones had to give blood to save a white American soldier who had previously been characterized as a racist bigot. (He didn’t like the Jewish Howler, Izzy Cohen, either.) Script by Stan Lee; art by Jack Kirby & George Roussos. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

Wally Wood A 1965-66 photo, courtesy of Colin Cameron.

Leo Dorfman

A Man From M.A.R.S. (Above:) Wally Wood drew and Leo Dorfman wrote Gold Key/Western’s M.A.R.S. Patrol #3 (Sept. 1956), featuring Sgt. Joe Stryker. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Tony Tallarico received a Pioneer Award from Temple University in Philadelphia for his work on Lobo. This photo, courtesy of the artist, appeared with the final part of Jim Amash’s interview with him, which was spread over Alter Ego #106-109.

D.J. Arneson vigorously disputed Tallarico’s claim to have originated Lobo… but both men had a right to be proud of their accomplishment, however short-lived.

Rio Lobo Tony Tallarico’s cover for Lobo #1 (Dec. 1965), and his splash for #2 (Oct. 1966), from a script by D.J. Arneson. The doomed Dell comics title with “the first black hero to have his own nationally distributed comic” was canceled after just two irregularly published issues— because, as it turned out, in that day and age, distributors in the American South wouldn’t handle it. The Grand Comics Database attributes the penciling of both these pages to Tallarico’s oft-partner Bill Fraccio; it was Tallarico who generally received the assignments from editors, then sometimes had Fraccio pencil material that Tallarico would ink. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

D. J. Arneson, in a 2010 interview, disputed this version of Lobo’s creation and discussed where the idea for a black cowboy came from: Tony Tallarico illustrated Lobo. He did not create the character. He did not plot the storyline. I did. And he did not approach me with the original concept or idea…. I developed the original premise for Lobo (originally Black Lobo, a title Helen Meyer rejected as inappropriate at the time) from the book The Negro Cowboys by Philip Durham and Everett L. Jones…. On reading that book in 1965, I recognized the potential for a black comicbook hero based on historical fact…. I added other elements to the original black Lobo character concept, e.g., Robin Hood, The Lone Ranger, etc., as well as the familiar adventurous spirit of the American cowboy of popular Western novels and cowboy movies of that time….

1966 Bill Foster, a character conceived by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck, was introduced in The Avengers #32 (Sept. 1966) as Henry Pym’s brilliant lab assistant. He would later become a giant part of the Marvel Universe. (You’ll see!) Before this time, black characters were often portrayed as silly stereotypes. This changes at Marvel; black characters are often now the smartest guys in the room. Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby were the publisher and creators of The Black Panther. As we saw with Lobo, this was at a time when it was a questionable thing to do. Goodman was risking real money. This was probably the reason the Panther originally wore a full-face mask. The Marvel Black Panther was thought up nine months before the political organization of the same name was founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966. The latter organization lasted until 1982, and of course T’Challa had no connection to it at all. In fact, T’Challa briefly changed his name to The Black Leopard in 1972 (Fantastic Four #119) because, as he said of “Black Panther”: “[T]he latter term has political implications. I neither condemn nor condone those who have taken up the name— but T’Challa is a law unto himself.”

Roy Thomas, for this article: Apparently, even before I came aboard in mid-1965, Stan and Jack had played with that Coal Tiger idea, a rather ridiculous name and outfit, but they couldn’t use him in a split-book as planned because of Independent News’ limit on the number of [Marvel] titles. Then they brought him out as Black Panther… just in time for the African-American group to be founded and get itself a reputation as a radical organization, so that [Marvel] felt it best not to push the character. I was not happy when Stan decreed that T’Challa just be called “The Panther” when he joined The Avengers (both things were Stan’s idea, I believe), but I understood the reason. I was even less wild later about the “Black Leopard” thing, but a black panther is nothing but a black leopard, after all. I was glad when it could be swiftly changed back, though. Until this time, characters named “Black” in comics were always white, such The Black Knight, Black Cat, Black Canary, and Black Widow. The Black Panther was introduced in 1966 in Fantastic Four #52-54. The Panther was not just the leader of the Wakandas; he was a brilliant scientist who led a brilliant team. African villages had previously always been depicted in comics and movies to be primitive. The inhabitants of Wakanda, ingeniously (courtesy of Lee and Kirby), are the most technically advanced people in the world. They hide that fact by pretending to be primitive to keep the outside world out. With stories by Denny O’Neil and Stan Goldberg, fashion model Jill Jerrold was introduced in Modeling with Millie #48 (Aug. 1966) as a recurring character. This was just three months after The Black Panther had debuted. She is featured on the cover of issues #48 and #51. Also in 1966, following the passing of the Voting Rights Act, the NAACP [National Association for the Advancement of Colored People] commissioned Marvel to create a stand-alone comic titled Your Future

Big Things In Store African-American Bill Foster, who migrated from Stark Industries to the lab of Hank (Goliath) Pym, made his debut in The Avengers #32 (Sept. 1966)—primarily so he could be assaulted by the KKK-influenced Sons of the Serpent. But he was destined, later, to play a greater part in the Marvel Universe. Script by Stan Lee; art by Don Heck. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Don Heck From 1969 Fantastic Four Annual.

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

Wakanda Forever! (Above & below:) Jack Kirby’s spectacular splash page for Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966)—plus the introduction of T’Challa, and the FF’s first look at the hidden world of Wakanda. Script by Stan Lee; inks by Joe Sinnott. The Black Panther figure from the cover of FF #52 was seen on the cover of this issue of A/E. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Jack “King” Kirby From the 1969 Fantastic Four Annual.

A Model Character (Left:) Stan Goldberg’s cover for Marvel’s Modeling with Millie #48 (Aug. 1966). Inker uncertain. The story inside was scripted by Denny O’Neil as “Denny-O.” Jill Jerold appeared in a number of the later “Millie” comics at Marvel. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

Evolution Of A Revolution Before and after (and before again!) the name “Black Panther” stuck, Marvel’s—and American comics’—first black super-hero had several other incarnations. (Clockwise:) Coal Tiger: As drawn and colored by Jack Kirby. Reportedly, circa 1965, Marvel publisher Martin Goodman wanted a couple of new features created overnight to compete with a feared explosion of super-heroes that might soon be unleashed by Jack’s ex-partner Joe Simon for well-heeled rival Harvey Comics. Lee and Kirby came up with The Inhumans and the Coal Tiger. Independent Distribution, however, wouldn’t allow Marvel to expand at that time, so the former group appeared piecemeal in Fantastic Four (if they hadn’t already commenced to do so), while the Coal Tiger went onto the shelf—to metamorphose, when FF #52 rolled around, into The Black Panther. The Panther: Writer Roy Thomas remembers it being Stan’s idea that T’Challa join The Avengers in #52 (May 1968)… that he be referred to therein only as “The Panther” in order to avoid the aforementioned political connotations… and that, at the last minute, after John Buscema had penciled the entire issue with T’Challa sporting his usual full mask, part of his face be visible, so that, even with his mask on, readers would know he was black. Roy liked only the first of those three marching orders… but march he did! Inks by Vince Colletta. The Black Leopard: Even less than “The Panther” did scripter Roy like the notion of rechristening T’Challa thusly, though he understood Stan’s rationale. Relevant panels from Fantastic Four #119 (Feb. 1972), with art by John Buscema & Joe Sinnott. Fortunately, Stan soon relented—and The Black Panther returned. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Roy Thomas & John Buscema From the 1969 Fantastic Four Annual.

Rests… in Your Hands! This magazine explained how to register to vote. It was written and drawn by Larry Lieber.

1967 By 1967, newspapers had begun to notice what was happening at Marvel. San Antonio Express and News, Jan. 7, 1967:

Larry Lieber From the 1969 Fantastic Four Annual.

If writing intelligent comics qualifies as an industry first, so do other Marvel breakthroughs. Lee was the first comics editor to integrate his books. Now Negro superheroes like Gabriel Jones and The Black Panther stalk [the streets] in partnership

Hands On! This Marvel-produced, NAACP-commissioned one-shot on voting was scripted and illustrated by Larry Lieber in 1966. [TM & © NAACP or the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

with old established [hands] like the Avengers, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four.

Daily Bugle. He was often the voice of reason and actually a guy you would want to work for.

Over at DC, Showcase #66 (Jan. 1967) introduced “B’wana Beast,” a white man who had the power to adopt the abilities of animals and to talk to them. A black African, Rubert Kenboya, his friend and college roommate, is the narrator of the stories. Very typical: in Africa, once again, a white guy gets to be the hero.

DC’s Justice League of America #57, “Man, Thy Name Is Brother!” (1967), and Marvel’s Daredevil #47, “Brother, Take My Hand!” (1968), were published within a year of each other. They are linked in my mind not just because of timing, but because both dealt with twin themes of racism and blindness, and had the word “Brother” in their titles. In both stories an African-American is falsely accused, because of his color, of a crime he did not commit. The Flash in JLA and Daredevil in the courtroom prove the men’s innocence. A bit heavy-handed, yet both are feel-good stories. The black characters, of course, are not seen again in the Silver Age.

A major difference had emerged between Marvel and DC. Bringing a white man into Africa to be a champion had been a popular concept ever since Tarzan of the Apes in 1912—and in comics since 1929. Timely/Marvel’s Tarzan clone, Ka-Zar, was introduced in Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), after first appearing in three pulp magazines. When Lee and Kirby brought him back in X-Men #10 (March 1965), they changed him completely, stepping away from the stereotype. No longer “King of the [African] Jungle” saving stereotyped natives, Ka-Zar was placed in the Savage Land, the land that time forgot, in the middle of Antarctica. It was a place filled with dinosaurs, sabertooths, and other prehistoric beasts. Many times, Ka-Zar was presented out of the jungle and in “Big City” adventures. In addition, Robbie Robertson first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #51 (Aug. 1967) by Stan Lee and John Romita. Robbie, nameless in his first appearance, was a high-ranking editor at the

1968 In a major breakthrough in comic strips, Charles Schulz, at the behest of a Los Angeles schoolteacher, Harriet Glickman, introduced African-American Franklin into his Peanuts comic strip. Schulz was concerned that he would not represent an African-American child correctly and encouraged other creators, such as African-American cartoonist Robb Armstrong, the creator of the comic strip Jump Start, to create a better platform. When Schulz needed a last name for Franklin for a TV special, he used Armstrong.

Jungle Hi-jinx (Left:) The splash page of the “B’wana Beast” origin story in Showcase #66 (Jan.-Feb.1967). Script by George Kashdan; pencils by Mike Sekowsky; inks by Joe Giella. [TM & © DC Comics.] (Right:) Splash of The X-Men #10 (March 1965), which introduced Ka-Zar, lord of a prehistoric jungle in (where else?) Antarctica. Script by Stan Lee; pencils by Jack Kirby; inks by Chic Stone. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

Robbie, We Hardly Knew Ye! (Above left:) Unnamed and unidentified in a single panel in Amazing Spider-Man #51 (Aug. 1967), an African-American journalist with an unspecified position tries to advise the irascible J. Jonah Jameson.

John Romita

(Above, right two panels:) In #52 (Sept. ’67), we learn he is Robbie Robertson, the Daily Bugle’s city editor… pipe in teeth and ready to become one of the series’ most engaging ongoing characters! Scripts by Stan Lee; art by John Romita & Mike Esposito (as “Mickey Demeo”). [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

From the 1969 Fantastic Four Annual.

Brother/Hood (i.e., A Brother & A Guy Wearing A Hood) (Above:) A black youth, though falsely accused of wrongdoing, agrees to help a temporarily blinded Flash in Justice League of America #57 (Nov. 1967). Script by Gardner Fox; art by Mike Sekowsky & Sid Greene. [TM & © DC Comics.] (Right:) Daredevil and Willie Lincoln help each other in Daredevil #47 (Dec. 1968). Script by Stan Lee; pencils by Gene Colan; inks by George Klein. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

In The Avengers #52, The Black Panther (as “The Panther”) became the first black member of the group of “the world’s mightiest heroes,” replacing Captain America. And, in a move perhaps just as significant in its own way, Marvel now felt comfortable enough to introduce a black villain. Artist/writer Jim Steranko, always innovating, introduced the first black bad-guy of the “Marvel Age”: The Centurion, in Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #2 (July 1968).

1969 The Falcon (Samuel Thomas Wilson) was created by Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan in Captain America #117 (Sept. 1969). He was Marvel’s first African-American super-hero, and the first black super-hero to have his name in a title logo of a nationally distributed comic. Up until then, super-heroes mostly did not have partners; they had sidekicks. Sidekicks were often teenagers with abilities similar to those of the main hero, such as Robin, Speedy, and Bucky. Some super-heroes had stereotypical sidekicks, such as

Pieface, Ebony, and Chop Chop. Sam was a full partner and was even given a full backstory! Gene Colan wrote in his introduction to Marvel Masterworks: Captain America, Vol. 4: [I]n the late 1960s, [news of the] Vietnam War and civil rights protests were regular occurrences, and Stan, always wanting to be at the forefront of things, started bringing these headlines into the comics…. One of the biggest steps we took in this direction came in Captain America. I enjoyed drawing people of every kind. I drew as many different types of people as I could into the scenes I illustrated, and I loved drawing black people. I always found their features interesting and so much of their strength, spirit, and wisdom written on their faces. I approached Stan, as I remember, with the idea of introducing an AfricanAmerican hero and he took to it right away…. I looked at several African-American magazines and used them as the basis of inspiration for bringing The Falcon to life.

Paying Him Off In Peanuts The new kid Franklin first appeared, with zero fanfare, in the July 31, 1968, daily of Charles Schultz’s Peanuts. He endured for the following three decades, but never became a truly major player in the immensely popular comic strip. [TM & © United Features Syndicate, Inc.]

Jim Steranko From the 1969 Fantastic Four Annual.

Gene Colan At Least They Didn’t Call Him “The Black Centurion”! Dr. Noah Black, a.k.a. The Centurion, battles the titular Sarge-turned-spy in Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #2 (July 1968). Script & pencils by Jim Steranko; inks by Frank Giacoia. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

From the 1969 Fantastic Four Annual.

Fly Like A Falcon! The Falcon’s pre-Captain America life is examined in his first appearance, in Captain America #117 (Sept. 1969). Script by Stan Lee; pencils by Gene Colan; inks by Joe Sinnott. More of The Falcon will be seen accompanying the following interview with William Foster III. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

Roy Thomas, for this article: Stan and Gene, of course, conceived The Falcon on their own, with Gene Colan designing and drawing. Unless Romita drew an initial sketch, nobody else was involved. But I think that Stan felt him not quite strong enough for a stand-alone character. I myself never thought the name Falcon particularly went with Captain America… but then, The Falcon made his debut not as Cap’s partner, so it makes sense that way! Amazing Spider-Man #78: Marvel now felt comfortable enough to introduce a black villain in its mainstream super-hero titles. A down-and-out African-American kid, Hobie Brown, tried to make a fast buck as The Prowler. John Romita, Jr., designed The Prowler for his father. That first appearance was written by Stan Lee and drawn by John Romita. On another front: “Focus: Danger” appeared in Charlton’s Strange Suspense Stories #3 (Sept. 1968). It was an I Spy-inspired strip. Charlton credited it as “Created, written and drawn by Don Perlin” because they weren’t “gonna give him more money anyway!” As Don told Nick Caputo: “It was intended to be a series. But due to

On The Prowler The cover and a key page showcasing The Prowler from Amazing Spider-Man #78 (Nov. 1969). Script by Stan Lee, pencils by John Romita, inks by Jim Mooney. Thanks to Barry Pearl & the Grand Comics Database, respectively. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

power changes, it never happened.” Nick asked about possible influences of TV’s I Spy or Sea Hunt and he replied, “You got it. I Spy!”

Licensed Comics

Don Perlin Bringing It All Into Focus “Focus: Danger” was a feature written and drawn by Don Perlin, future artist of Werewolf by Night, Ghost Rider, and other Marvel titles. It appeared in Charlton’s Strange Suspense Stories #3 (Sept. 1968). [© the respective copyright holders.]

An interview with this longtime comics veteran will appear in a near-future issue of Alter Ego. Photo by JayJay Jackson is courtesy of Jim Shooter’s blog.

Licensed TV shows and movies of the 1960s and ’70s that were adapted into comics format are not a major focus of this article, but they are relevant. These are characters and stories owned by TV, movie, and literary personnel or companies and were not originally created for comics. Most often, the comics could not deviate from the screen’s or book’s continuity. Often the stories had to be approved by the license-holder. But comics of that sort that featured black characters should not be ignored. Room 222, Mission Impossible, I Spy, Hogan’s Heroes, and Mod

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

Squad were among the shows to have black co-stars, and they were featured in the comics. At this time, in the licensed Gold Key run of Star Trek, Uhura, played on TV by Nichelle Nichols, was only on the cover once—in issue #8. She appeared in a mere two further stories in issues #9 and 26.

Burroughs who has starred in comic strips since January 7, 1929. Although Tarzan strip reprints began appearing in comicbooks later that same year, the jungle lord also starred in all-new comicbooks published by Dell/Western, beginning in 1947, and later Western/ Gold Key Publishing, Charlton Comics, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Dark Horse Comics.

Uhura had a better run in the British newspaper strips, where she appeared regularly. (The American Star Trek strip did not begin until 1979.)

Race relations in Tarzan would be a long article all by itself. The white bias is obvious, and we don’t need to discuss that here. (See Alter Ego #129 for extended coverage of ERB’s work, if not particularly of its racial aspects.)

The longest-lasting licensed character in the comics is the aforementioned Tarzan, a popular hero created by Edgar Rice

“Brothers of the Spear” was a long-running backup feature in the Tarzan comicbook series. This was an original series and not

TV Or Not TV Dell or its former partner (now Western/ Gold Key) published the following comicbook adaptations of popular TV series (clockwise from top left): Room 222 #1 (Jan. 1970) – art by Jack Sparling; scripter unknown… Mission Impossible (probably #1, May ’67) – script by Paul S. Newman, art by Sparling… I Spy #1 (Aug. ’1966) – scripter unknown; art by Al McWilliams… published by Western/Gold Key… Hogan’s Heroes #3 (Dec. ’66) – script by Newman, art by Steve Ditko & Sal Trapani… Mod Squad #3 (Oct. ’69) – scripter unknown; art by Jose Delbo. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

Charlton Comics had occasional stories with black characters, as in the Steve Ditkodrawn The Phantom #39.

The Final Frontier? Lt. Uhura in comics features in two countries: (Left:) Gold Key’s Star Trek #9 (Feb. 1971) comicbook, by writer Len Wein & artist Alberto Giolitti. (Above:) A panel from the UK newspaper comic strip version, from 1970—art by Harry Lindfield; scripter unknown. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Thank God It’s Friday! (Above:) An early Friday Foster Sunday newspaper comic strip, by writer Jim Lawrence & artist Jose Longarón. (Right:) The splash page of the first (and only) issue of Dell/Western’s Friday Foster comicbook, dated Oct. 1972. Script by Joe Gill of Charlton fame; art by Jack Sparling. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

licensed. It was published by Western Publishing, then through Gold Key Comics. This series was centered on two young men, Dan-El and Nantongo, one white and one black. Both were kings in neighboring countries and both had had their thrones usurped. The pair had adventures helping people across their lands.

1970 Friday Foster, a newspaper comic strip, was introduced in this year. It was created by Jim Lawrence and artist Jorge Longarón. It ran for four years and was notable for featuring an AfricanAmerican woman as the title character. (Jackie Ormes’ Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem predated it, in 1937.) Dell/Western published a single issue of a Friday Foster comicbook (dated Oct. 1972), written by Joe Gill and illustrated by Jack Sparling.

At DC, Green Lantern #76 (April 1970) is famous for a scene where a distressed black resident says to the titular hero that he’d helped out “blue skins” and “orange skins,” “Only there’s skins you never bothered with… the black skins!” This is the only appearance of an African-American neighborhood in that series to that date, and it is in great contrast to Superman’s Metropolis. There is crime and poverty all over. Once again, the black residents are looking for a white savior. The Guardians of the Universe allow GL to help, but they halve his powers as punishment for wanting to help these people. No black character appears again in GL until issue #86 (Oct. 1971), in a story about drug addiction.

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

Lift Up Your Spears! Splash page from Gold Key/Western’s Brothers of the Spear #1 (June 1971), which featured a rare and welcome equality between the races in a so-called “jungle” comic. Plot by Russ Manning; script by Jerry O’Hara; art by Jesse Santos. [TM & © Random House, Inc.]

Jumping ahead just a little: John Stewart is introduced as a “backup Green Lantern” in issue #87 (Dec. 1971) in a one-shot appearance that is another example of the Happy Days Syndrome. He does appear in Justice League of America #110 (April 1974), but it would be five years before he appeared again in a second GL issue, #94 (May 1977). He is then unemployed until Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #3 (July 1981). DC had many heroes without super-powers between 1968 and the early ’70s: Batman, Challengers of the Unknown, The Secret Six, the Blackhawks, and Sea Devils, to name a few, which perhaps it’s best to deal with here as a group, almost a genre. As a non-super-hero, Black Molo made his first appearance in Sea Devils #23, 1965, with pencils by Howard Purcell. August Durant made his first appearance in Secret Six #1, 1968. Mal Duncan made his debut appearance in Teen Titans #26 (March-April 1970). Not a super-hero at the start, he gained powers by issue #44, in 1976. Many count Mal Duncan as DC’s first bona

“Denny O’Neal Adams” That’s what some fans (and even pros) jokingly called the team of Denny O’Neil (left) & Neal Adams (right) when they worked together on series like “Batman” and the “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” issues of Green Lantern. Both are depicted in the early 1970s. Thanks to Mike Mikulovsky.

“What Did I Do To Get So Green, Black, & Blue?” (Above:) Perhaps the most famous panel sequence from the early 1970s: Green Lantern is stumped by a black man’s simple question in Green Lantern #76 (April ’70). Script by Denny O’Neil; art by Neal Adams. . (Right:) The cover of GL #87 (Dec. ‘71-Jan. ‘72), by the same O’Neil/Adams team. John Stewart was often referred to affectionately, by fans and pros alike—but not by Hal Jordan or the Guardians of the Universe—as “Black Lantern.” [TM & © DC Comics.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

Group Dynamics (Clockwise from top left:) The diver Black Molo makes his first appearance, in Sea Devils #23 (May-June 1965). Howard Purcell, pencils; Sheldon Moldoff, inks; writer uncertain. August Durant was one of The Secret Six right from the first issue, cover-dated April-May 1968. Script by E. Nelson Bridwell; art by Frank Springer. Mal Duncan made his dynamic debut, minus costume and super-powers, in Teen Titans #26 (March-April 1970). Script by Robert Kanigher; art by Nick Cardy. Flippa-Dippa has joined the revived Newsboy Legion in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 (Oct. 1970), Jack Kirby’s first published outing as writer/ penciler after his jump to DC. Inks by Vince Colletta. [TM & © DC Comics.]

fide black super-hero. (Don’t tell Black Lightning!) At this point DC’s few black heroes were part of gangs or groups. That includes Walter Johnson, Jr., alias “Flippa-Dippa,” known for his diving suit and swimming abilities. He first appears in Kirby’s Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 (Oct. 1970). In November 1970’s Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #106, “I Am Curious (Black)!,” Lois visits the black neighborhood of “Little Africa” and is ignored because she is white. Using Superman’s Kryptonian gadgets, she transforms herself into a black woman. Returning to the neighborhood, she witnesses the problems of those who live there. However, at the end, once again, a black person needs her as his white savior. What got to me was the splash page. Lois asks Superman if he would marry her now that she was black. There should be no shock here, because, at that time, he refused to marry her when she was white!

1971 He wasn’t a major star, but Jack Kirby’s “Fourth World” introduced Vykin in Forever People #1 (Feb.-March 1971). He was the first black super-hero ever to appear in a DC comicbook.

Black Like Lois Lois Lane finds a science-fictional way to become a black woman—in search of a news story, natch. The story’s title was a nod to a popular (and critically acclaimed—at least by some critics) X-rated film then making the movie-house rounds, titled I Am Curious (Yellow). Incidentally, the word “Yellow” in that title had no racial overtones. The comics story in Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #106 (Nov. 1970) was by Kanigher (script), Werner Roth (pencils), & Vince Colletta (inks). [TM & © DC Comics.]

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

Kirby would soon create The Black Racer, a near-clone of The Silver Surfer, just over a half a year later in New Gods #3. The Racer was Willie Walker, a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran. (In 1971, Kirby also produced a complete first issue for a proposed black romance magazine titled Soul Love—but DC Comics chose not to publish it.) Meanwhile, over at Archie Comics: Chuck Clayton is introduced as a friend of Archie’s in Life with Archie #110. Valerie of Josie and the Pussycats predates Chuck by nearly two years. She had been introduced in issue #45 in 1969. She eventually enters the Archie Universe and become friends with Archie. The first black super-heroine in a comicbook or related magazine is Butterfly. She debuted in the first issue of Hell-Rider from Skywald Publishing in 1971. She was created by writer Gary Friedrich and artist John Celardo. Rich Buckler drew the second of the series’ two episodes. This was four years before Storm’s first appearance in X-Men. Once again, this was not an easy task. Rich Buckler has said that Skywald felt that Butterfly was “too black”: “I got flack for this, and [artist] Bill Everett was hired to touch up many of the faces (to make them look more white—go figure), and I quit when I saw the final

result.” In the first issue, Butterfly fights the henchmen of a costumed drug-dealer, The Claw; in the second and final issue she defeats a racist, Klan-inspired organization, the Order of the Crimson Cross. Also in 1971, Charlton published a story, illustrated by Steve Ditko, entitled “The Last Life.” Stereotypically, it features an African native in the jungle (never in a house) resorting to mysticism. Even so, it was still rare to see black people in a Charlton comic.

1972

Everything’s Archie! Valerie (above) first appeared in Archie Comics’ Josie and the Pussycats #45 (Dec. 1969), art by Dan DeCarlo & Rudy Lapick… and Chuck Clayton (below) popped up in Life with Archie #110 (June ’71), art by Bob Bolling & Jon D’Agostino. Both scripts were by Dick Malmgren. [TM & © Archie Comics Publications, Inc.]

Forever And A Day! Vykin the Black was introduced, along with the rest of the crew, on Jack Kirby’s cover for his The Forever People #1 (Feb.-March 1971). Inks by Frank Giacoia. [TM & © DC Comics.]

At Marvel: Luke Cage was the first black super-hero to star in his own nationally distributed comic, Hero for Hire, for June 1972. He was created by a Marvel “committee” composed of Stan Lee, Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita. The name of the title was changed in issue #17 to Power Man. He was created at the start of the blaxploitation movie craze, a period that saw such hits as Shaft and, later, Superfly. Marvel’s character was more than that. The stories (originally written by Goodwin, though the basic concept had been Lee’s) had a “film noir” element going for them, as he was a detective whom people paid to solve their problems. It was very unusual at this time for comicbook heroes to accept payment for their deeds of derring-do. Also, super-heroes, including Batman and Spider-Man, did fight crime in the worst parts of their home cities, but they didn’t live there… but Cage did. Luke Cage, however, was an escaped prison convict, continuing a pattern that African-American characters had to be flawed. This concerned Tony Isabella, who would write for this series and would later create Marvel’s Black Goliath and DC’s Black Lightning.

I have heard speculation that The Black Panther was not chosen to be the first black super-hero to receive his own Marvel Comics title because people associated that name with the political group.

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

Gary Friedrich From the 1969 Fantastic Four Annual.

John Celardo

Float Like A Butterfly… (Left:) “Butterfly” splash page from Skywald’s Hell-Rider #1 (July-Aug. 1971) by writer Gary Friedrich and artists John Celardo & Mike Esposito. In A/E #169 the art in this debut of the first black super-heroine was accidentally attributed to Ross Andru, who penciled the “Hell-Rider” lead feature. (Right:) Later in ’71, Rich Buckler, who had penciled the second (and final) “Butterfly” tale in Hell-Rider #2, drew this sketch for a projected issue meant to reprint both yarns, but it never materialized. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Roy Thomas said for this article: Stan decided, after Shaft hit, it was time to create an African-American hero, so he, Archie, and I—and, design-wise, Romita—came up with him. Stan guided the whole project from start to last… it was not a case of me, or even Archie as writer, pursuing his own ideas except as details (supporting characters like D.W. Griffith, etc.). Sure, I made up the name Cage (at least, I accidentally lifted it from Gil Kane) and the level of invulnerability (from the hero of Philip Wylie’s 1930 novel Gladiator) and the title Hero for Hire (but only after Stan said he wanted this super-hero to work for a living), and I later grafted the name Power Man onto him… but Stan guided the thing, and it was his idea (not his most original, but still good) to have him be an escaped (innocent) con. I suspect most of the details, though, were Archie’s.

Super-Heroes Get The Shaft! John Romita’s powerful cover for Hero for Hire #1 (June 1972), which reflected the Luke Cage outfit he had visually co-created, with a bit of kibitzing from Stan Lee and Roy Thomas. Roy still unabashedly feels that Cage’s offbeat costume fit the early-’70s period perfectly—and was really no more inherently ludicrous than, say, Spider-Man web-swinging around in red and blue spandex. Thanks to the GCD. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The costume, derided today, fit perfectly in the milieu of 1970s blaxploitation pics that soon followed Shaft, and the kind of garb that was going around following the flower children of the ’60s. The people being all cutesy about the costume today probably wouldn’t have done any better, back in the day. George Tuska had zero to do with the character’s creation, but penciled the early stories, so he gets counted as a co-creator. Stan gets the “shaft” on that one, since he wasn’t listed as a co-creator on the Netflix show, even though he was really more important than any of us in Cage’s creation. I consider one of my more important contributions to Cage to be the suggestion that Billy Graham ink the book (although that may have been a joint suggestion of Archie’s and mine), and we always knew that Billy might eventually pencil it… which he did, even though he made more of a mark on the “Black Panther” strip with Don McGregor.

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

Tony Isabella, for this article: I wish I’d had a longer run on Luke Cage. There were things I wanted to change. I never liked the idea that he was an escaped convict and fugitive, albeit a man who was framed for the crimes of others. The introduction of Stiletto and Discus, who were the sons of a Seagate Prison warden, was meant as part of a storyline that would see Luke cleared of all crimes. My further plans were to have Luke go back to college. I was figuring on sending him to the same one Peter Parker attended. Tony was not the only one who disliked Cage’s stereotype. David Anthony Kraft began writing The Defenders with issue #44, and by issue #46 Luke Cage departs. David Kraft, for this article: Roger [Slifer] and I wrote him out immediately, because while I stayed true to established speech patterns and character traits, no black person or any person I knew ever talked the phony jive established for Luke…. I couldn’t write “Sweet Christmas,” etc.—I just couldn’t do it. Out he went! In 1976, in Fantastic Four #168, Luke Cage was made a member, temporarily, of Marvel’s “First Family.” Gunhawks, introduced in 1972, was Marvel’s second series with a black lead. Before the TV mini-series Roots by Alex Haley in 1977, slavery was often presented as not being cruel, violent, and inhumane. Movies (such as Gone with the Wind) and TV shows often made slavery look not so bad and even suggested that people from Africa, who in reality were tortured by it, often benefited from it. In 1972 Marvel published Gunhawks, a six-issue Western run that could never be have been published after Roots. It featured the son of a rich plantation owner, to be known as Kid Cassidy, and Reno Jones, a slave. Here, the plantation owner is said to have taken a liking to Jones and brought him up as a son. Jones’ enslaved parents are never seen. Where are they? Were they sold? How did they live? Did Jones get wages for his work… was he beaten? Everything about the cruelty of slavery was left out. Jones goes on to join the Confederacy!! It is the Union soldiers who are portrayed as the bad guys. Kid Cassidy was later shot and killed by Grey Fox, a Cheyenne chief. This actually meant that Gunhawks (soon retitled Gunhawk, singular) was a comic with an African-American star. As time went by, his storyline did not sit well with Marvel. In the year 2000 Marvel revisited the characters in the four-part Blaze of Glory. Here, Jones explains that the previous stories were products of “dime novels,” and nothing like that had happened. Slavery was terrible, and his master may have been better than some, but was still a slave-owner, and Jones himself was still treated as a slave. He also explains that he never joined the Confederacy. Spiriting Ahead: The Spirit had appeared in newspapers (as part of a comicbook-style Sunday supplement) beginning on June 2, 1940. The hero’s sidekick, black Ebony White, was controversial because of the stereotypical way Will Eisner visually presented him. Eisner was criticized for his depiction, especially his facial features, which were typical of racial caricatures common throughout the “Jim Crow” era. In later years Eisner did portray African-Americans more accurately. In 1972, when The Spirit was being brought back in comicbooks, Eisner did give Ebony a rationale of sorts.

Billy Graham Not the evangelist—the comicbook artist! From the 1975 Mighty Marvel Comic Convention program book.

1973 Beginning in Marvel’s Jungle Action #6, The Black Panther finally stars in his own series, by Don McGregor and Rich Buckler. This is the series that introduces Killmonger.

Luke Cage Fights To The Debt! Even before Hero for Hire #9 (May ’73), AfricanAmerican artist Billy Graham had become the full artist on several Luke Cage covers. Inside, he was still inking George Tuska’s pencils, but that would soon change. Steve Englehart’s story therein was one of the early series’ most memorable: Cage stubbornly tracks Dr. Doom all the way to Latveria to collect a fee owed him. Thanks to the GCD. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

This is not Lee and Kirby’s Black Panther, who acted primarily as Head of State for Wakanda. Here, after spending one year battling evil in Africa (#6-18), T’Challa spends half of the next (#19-24) in America fighting a variant of the Ku Klux Klan, when he should be in Wakanda, serving as their monarch, which is a full-time job. As with Namor (prince of Atlantis), when a leader is away for a long time, someone tries to fill that royal vacuum… and he is always a bad-guy. With issue #24 (Nov. 1976), in the middle of a storyline, the series was canceled and Kirby’s Black Panther title was launched. The Jungle Action story arc is not referenced again until two years later in Black Panther #14 & 15, after Kirby has left the comic… and then in Marvel Premiere #51 two years after that. It appears that the ruler of Wakanda was away from home for five years. In the later series, T’Challa is the Wakandan ambassador to the U.S. This story does not reference Kirby’s issues #1-13, and never shows him returning to his homeland. Roy Thomas, for this article: Don McGregor’s vision of the “Black Panther” strip was never a strong seller… probably I should have moved him to another strip, in the interest of sales. But I knew McGregor felt passionately about what he was doing, and worked hard at it, so I put off relocating him. Had I returned as editor-inchief in ’76, though, I’d have probably had to rotate him to a different strip, since if Jack Kirby hadn’t been available to take over, the mag would most likely have been canceled.

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

One Down… (Left:) Splash page of Gunhawks #1 (Oct. 1972). Script by Gary Friedrich; art by Syd Shores. (Right:) By the same time the next year, Reno Jones rode alone and the name of the mag had been changed to Gunhawk. Issue #7 (Oct. ’73) was produced by Gardner Fox (writer), Dick Ayers (penciler), & Frank Giacoia (inker). [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The More Things Change… The Less They Stay The Same! (Near right:) The original backstory of Reno Jones by Gary Friedrich & Syd Shores from 1972’s Gunhawks #1… and (far right) the greatly revised version in Blaze of Glory (2000) by John Ostrander (script) & Leonardo Manco (art). [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

A Spirit-ed Defense (Above:) Ebony’s first appearance following the end of The Spirit Sundaycomics feature in 1952 occurred in this single panel in a 5-page black-&white “Spirit” story Will Eisner wrote and drew for the Jan. 9, 1966, edition of The New York Herald Tribune Sunday Magazine. Here, Ebony has gained a few years (and pounds), shed his racial-stereotyped look, and gotten involved with Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited, a real-life “social activism organization” in the Gotham of the day. (Right:) By contrast, in a b&w 1972 underground comic, Ebony had aged only slightly since ’52 and basically retained his original look, but his creator now emphasized the positive aspects of the character’s role in The Spirit—and eliminated most traces of his shuffle-along dialect. [TM & © Will Eisner Studios, Inc.]

Will Eisner Contrary to the occasional rumor, the Jungle Action comic was not deep-sixed just to make room for the returning Kirby… but Gerry Conway, during his few weeks as editor-in-chief, asked me for advice on what to do about the book’s poor sales, and that was my suggestion.

Hyphen The Terrible The Buckler/ Giacoia cover of Jungle Action #6 introduced Erik Killmonger, though the cover copy hyphenated his name. Thanks to the GCD. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Brother Voodoo, who has mystic powers, began his run in Strange Tales #169 (Sep. 1973). In the jungles of Haiti, Dr. Jericho Drumm returns home to discover that his brother Daniel is dying from the curses of the evil Damballah. Damballah, also spelled without the “h,” was a long-established voodoo spirit (loa). Jericho’s brother, who was the first Brother Voodoo, sends him to Papa Jambo to gain powers and seek revenge. Perhaps a little stereotypical, the story, characters, and voodoo seemed to be influenced by 1973’s then-current and popular Live and Let Die, a James Bond movie.

Doctor Strange and Brother Voodoo were both men of science, physicians who did not believe in the mystic arts until tragedies drove them to learn. They both had ethereal forms that could come out of their bodies and could use spells. It is probably not a coincidence that Voodoo replaced Strange in the revived Strange Tales. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Actually, it was!] Blade the Vampire-Slayer was introduced in Tomb of Dracula #10. Writer Marv Wolfman: I had no intention of creating Blade, I had no intention of anything, he just popped into my head. In one step, walking down Main

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

Have Crown, Will Travel T’Challa opened his first solo series in Jungle Action #6 (Sept. 1973) fighting evil in his native Africa (above), as written by Don McGregor, with art by Rich Buckler & Klaus Janson—but a year or so later, he’d switched to the mean streets and back alleys of America, as per the anti-KKK page by McGregor and artists Billy Graham & Bob McLeod from issue #20 (March ’76), at right. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Street, Flushing, this is no joke. In one instant, the entire character, his costume, the look, his origin, and everything popped into my head, without my even expecting it to, because I’d only been on the book three issues at that point.

Don McGregor & Rich Buckler reunited at a Rhode Island comics convention in 2015.

Gene Colan (in Comic Book Artist #13): The visuals. Marv told me Blade was a black man, and we talked about how he should dress, and how he should look (very heroic-looking). That was my input. Marv might’ve said, “Put boots on him,” I don’t know. The bandolier of blades—that was Marv’s idea. But I dressed him up. I put the leather jacket

Do, Do That “Voodoo” That You Do To Me Splash page of the “Brother Voodoo” debut in Strange Tales #169 (Sept. 1973). Script by Len Wein; art by Gene Colan & Dan Adkins. The revival picked up the numbering from the end of its previous run in 1968. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert & Barry Pearl. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

In Worlds Unknown #1 (May 1973), Marvel published a great story titled “The Day after the Day the Martians Came.” The Gerry Conway script, adapted from a prose story by Frederik Pohl, is a throwback to the exceptional era of EC’s science-fiction comics.

Marv Wolfman From the 1975 Mighty Marvel Comic Convention program book.

Nubia, Wonder Woman’s black Amazon sister (made from dark clay), is introduced in Wonder Woman #204 in 1973 but slowly fades away.

1974

Mod Wheels was published by Western Publishing. It featured a group of young people, in great cars, solving crimes and having adventures.

Going Out In A Blade Of Glory Blade made his dramatic entrance in Tomb of Dracula #10 (July 1973), as written by Marv Wolfman, penciled by Gene Colan, and inked by Jack Abel. He calls himself “the vampire-killer” in this panel. When editor Roy Thomas wrote the cover copy, he styled him as “the vampire-slayer.” You pays your money and you takes your choice of anti-bloodsucker label! [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

on him, and so on…. [I based him on] a composite of black actors. [Ex-NFL running back] Jim Brown was one of them. I knew it was good, this character. Blacks were not portrayed in comics up to that time, not really. So I wanted to be one of the first to portray blacks in comics. There were black people in this world, they buy comicbooks, why shouldn’t we make them feel good? Why shouldn’t I have the opportunity to be one of the first to draw them? I enjoyed it! Marv Wolfman, for this article: I wanted to add a more action-style character to Dracula, someone with abilities that could actually challenge him. Most vampire-hunters were powerless against him. Blade would be something better. He’d also be different from the more traditional vampire-hunters. I don’t remember speaking to anyone about the fact that Blade was black. Marvel already had several black characters, so I don’t think there needed to be a reason to clear that first. I wanted him to be black and I didn’t think anyone at Marvel would have problems with that. And nobody did. Obviously, I had to speak to Gene [Colan, the artist], so he would know to draw Blade as black. Gene certainly didn’t have any problems with it, either. The fans seemed to like him from the get-go. Blade was using a knife, so the nickname Blade made sense. It was also a strong word. I never thought it was his real given name, but I assumed the different vampire-hunters in his group gave themselves fake names so vampires would not know where their families lived. Tomb of Dracula was very special to me.

“Deathlok the Demolisher” first appeared in Astonishing Tales #25 (Aug. 1974). In issue #27 it is revealed that Luther Manning (Deathlok) was married to a black woman. In Deathlok’s feature in Marvel Spotlight #33, his adversary, the Devil-Slayer, also had a mixed marriage.

1975 Bill Foster, introduced a decade earlier as Hank Pym’s assistant, finally shows that he is no background player. In Luke Cage, Power Man #24 (April 1975) he becomes the second Marvel character to assume the giant-size identity pioneered by Hank Pym. The Black Goliath persona was created by Tony Isabella and George Tuska. Tony Isabella, 2018: I don’t use the Black Goliath name anymore because I hated it back in the 1970s and I hate it today. Most parts of the name are stupid. I mean, [the Biblical] Goliath was a villain. I wanted to call him Giant-Man, but since Giant-Man was stinking up the sales before he was booted from Tales to Astonish, I was told I couldn’t use that name. Tony felt strongly that we needed more black super-heroes, and he always gave his heroes a strong moral background. This will come into play very strongly when he creates Black Lightning. Tony Isabella, for this article: Black Goliath was another stepping-stone on my path to creating Black Lightning. He was a brilliant scientist with inner-city roots. Scientist was an occupational step up from Times Square hero for hire. Black Goliath received his own comic in February 1976, but it only lasted five issues. The hero joined the Isabella-created Champions with issue #11.

Amazons Prime Nubia makes her dazzling debut as Princess Diana’s more or less equal in Wonder Woman #204 (Jan.-Feb. 1973). Script by Robert Kanigher; pencils by Don Heck; inker uncertain. [TM & © DC Comics.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

Martian To The Beat Of A Different Drummer The lead-off story in Worlds Unknown #1 (May 1973) was a 6-page adaptation of science-fiction author Frederik Pohl’s award-winning short story “The Day after the Day the Martians Came” by scripter Gerry Conway and artist Ralph Reese. The Martians looked sufficiently menacing on page 1… but by yarn’s end they had become little more than the butt of “Martian jokes,” replacing the tasteless “Polish jokes” and other racial/ ethnic insult humor that had made something of an undeserved comeback in those years. [Original story © Estate of Frederik Pohl; adaptation © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

1975 Misty Knight is another creation of Tony Isabella’s, this time with artist Arvell Jones. Misty Knight first appears in Marvel Spotlight #21, in an “Iron Fist” story. She is a former NYPD officer, whose arm was amputated following a bomb attack. After receiving a bionic prosthetic from Tony Stark, she starts a privateinvestigation agency with close friend Colleen Wing. Knight was influenced by the blaxploitation and kung fu crazes as well as the bionic Six Million Dollar Man. Misty never rises to be more than a supporting character. If the bionic arm makes her a super-heroine, she could be considered Marvel’s first African-American superheroine, but most consider that to be Storm. Readers often refer to her kissing Iron Fist as the first interracial kiss in comics, in Marvel Team-Up #64, drawn by John Byrne & Dave Cockrum. THEY ARE WRONG!!! The pair are the same race (the human race), just different colors. Superman from Krypton kissing Lois Lane was the first interracial kiss. Tony, from his blog: Misty was not created to be a romantic interest. She was created to be his partner, someone to talk to,

Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Deathlok! Luther Manning had been a white man with a black wife. His becoming a cyborg called Deathlok the Demolisher in Astonishing Tales #25 (Aug. 1974) made their union even more of a “mixed marriage.” Here, in a page from AT #27 (Oct. ’74), the pair have their first close encounter after Luther’s recent “operation.” Plot & art by Rich Buckler; script by Doug Moench. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

someone who could hold her own in any fight, someone who wouldn’t take any nonsense from the often naïve Danny Rand and who would let him know in no uncertain terms when he was being stupid. But mostly she was created so that I would never have to write those asinine secondperson captions that had become the standard narration for the series. I love Misty Knight. Her original appearance was based on actress Pam Grier, whom I also love. By most standards, Storm was Marvel’s first black superheroine. She enters riding hurricane winds in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975). She becomes part of an international and diverse team of outcasts, better known as mutants.

Some Big Changes (Left:) Bill Foster first adapted and improved Hank Pym’s Giant-Man/ Goliath formula in Power Man #24 (April 1975), wherein Luke Cage discovered Bill was his ladyfriend’s ex-husband. Cover art by Gil Kane (pencils) & Frank Giacoia & Mike Esposito (inks). (Right:) By cover-date Feb. 1976, Black Goliath was starring in his own comic. It lasted only five issues, but he went on to guest-star in numerous other Marvel mags. Cover by Rich Buckler & Frank Giacoia, et al. Both interior stories by Tony Isabella, who can be seen on p. 35. Thanks to the GCD. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

Draw Misty For Me! Arvell Jones in a recent photo.

Misty Knight does her first drop-in, in the “Iron Fist” series in Marvel Spotlight #21 (March 1975). Script by Tony Isabella; art by Arvell Jones & Vince Colletta. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Bronze Tiger’s first DC Comics appearance was in Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #1 (April-May 1975). Here is certainly a hero, but not a super-hero. Bronze Tiger first appeared as a supporting character in Dragon’s Fists, a novel by Dennis O’Neil and Jim Berry (under the joint pseudonym “Jim Dennis”), whose lead character was named Richard Dragon.

Storm Warning Storm (Ororo) sure knew how to make a first impression: semi-nude and riding the roiling winds. Marvel’s first black super-heroine first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975), with script by Len Wein & art by Dave Cockrum. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

black characters in comics. All these heroes and more have succeeded because Fantastic Four #52 led the way in showing readers that what mattered in a hero was something found beneath the surface. –Mitchell Brown. This new Black Panther title re-establishes Kirby’s vision of T’Challa being the King of Wakanda. Kirby leaves with issue #12 and a new crew has to finish his story.

Fist, Mist, Kissed

Black Lightning: Tony Isabella pulled off a rare achievement, done only by a relative handful of comics creators such as himself, Jack Kirby, Bill Everett, and Carl Burgos. When a comic character is rebooted, it is most often done by a different writer and/or artist. Still, Jack Kirby (albeit with Stan Lee as writer/editor) brought

Ben Turner comes Despite Barry Pearl’s tongue-in-cheek from a middle-income commentary in this article, the smooch black neighborhood in between Iron Fist and Misty Knight in Marvel Team-Up #64 (Dec. 1979) Central City, home of The probably was the “first interracial kiss Flash. At age ten, he stops in [American] comics,” by most reader’s a burglar in his home by standards. But what about Señor Muerte/ stabbing him. To control Mister Death and his girlfriend in Hero his anger, Ben studies the for Hire #11 (July 1973)? If someone martial arts and teams with has another candidate, we’ll be happy Richard Dragon as Bronze to stand corrected. Script by Chris Tiger. This is important Claremont; art by John Byrne & Dave because, too many times, Cockrum. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] DC and other companies portrayed black families only in poor neighborhoods. The series would also portray women martial-arts fighters.

1976 Fast Willie Jackson Comics was published by Fitzgerald Periodicals, which wanted to show a more diverse “Archie”-type universe. Archie had many imitators over the decades. Willie Jackson lives in a diverse neighborhood and adapts the Archie style to the black experience. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Much more about this title next issue!] When Tyroc becomes a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superboy says: “When it comes to race, we’re color-blind.” Still, it took them 20 years to get a black member into the Legion. But they finally get one in Superboy #216.

1977 Since Panther’s first appearance there have been many

Another Bronze Bomber Ben Turner, a.k.a. Bronze Tiger, had been a major character in Dennis O’Neil & Jim Berry’s 1974 novel Dragon’s Fists, and made the leap into Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #1 (April-May 1975). Script by Denny O’Neil; art by Leo Duranona. [TM & © DC Comics.]

A New Look At The Silver & Marvel Ages

back Captain America in The Avengers #4. Bill Everett and Carl Burgos revived the Sub-Mariner and Human Torch, respectively, in Young Men #24, though that was in late 1953, only four years after their “demise.” Tony has been asked twice—once in 1995 and again in 2018, to reboot Black Lightning. As Tony has written:

Fast Food For Thought (Above:) Fitzgerald Periodicals’ Fast Willie Jackson adapted the quasi-generic “Archie Comics” style to relate the humorous adventures of a group of black teenagers. African-American publisher Bertram A. Fitzgerald created the series, and may or may not have written it; the art was by Gus Lemoine. Seen above is the cover of #1 (Oct. 1976); the series lasted seven mostly-bimonthly issues. This series (and the Golden Legacy title from the same publisher) will be dealt with in greater detail in William Foster III’s interview, which begins on p. 37. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Everything important about Jefferson Pierce, Black Lightning, and their world was created by me, just me, before I pitched the series to DC Comics. That’s why I had sole creator credit on the feature, up to the day I inquired about buying Black Lightning back from DC.

Doin’ What He Oughtter

Black Lightning was the result of my building towards what I wanted in an African-

Roy T., as the guy who suggested to editor-in-chief Gerry Conway that Kirby take over the “Black Panther” series to try to save it saleswise, feels it’s unfortunate that, as writer/artist, Jack immediately jettisoned all the elements of Don McGregor’s preceding storyline with such an audible thud that faithful readers might’ve been confused or even turned off. Even so, it was worth a shot to have the hero’s co-creator produce Black Panther #1 (Jan. 1977), even if “King Solomon’s Frog” turned out to be no Maltese Falcon. Inks by Mike Royer. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

30th-Century Inclusion (Left:) Tyroc joins the Legion of SuperHeroes in Superboy #216 (April 1976). Script by Cary Bates; art (including cover) by Mike Grell. Tyroc was featured on several Legion covers afterward… but alas, the series (temporarily) became a thing of the past after #230 in ’77. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Rock-a-Zula Baby (Right:) Also created in 1977 was Zula, the black barbarian/mesmerist, introduced in Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian #84 (March ’78) by writer/ editor Roy Thomas and cover artist John Buscema. In 1983, Roy and co-screenwriter Gerry Conway would create a female black warrior named Zula, portrayed in the film Conan the Destroyer by their suggestion for the role, singer Grace Jones. [TM & © Conan Properties International, LLC.]

Black Heroes—Silver Pages

Over the years, three readers have told me my Black Lightning comics inspired them to become teachers. One of these readers chose to teach in inner-city schools because he wanted to be a Jefferson Pierce to those students. These were proud and humbling moments for me…. As for Black Lightning being an inspiration to readers, that just becomes more mind-boggling every year. Several years ago, a woman came up to me at a convention and hugged me with tears in her eyes. Black Lightning was the first comic she bought for herself, because it was the first time she saw herself in a comicbook. Comicbook heroes need to inspire and to give and show hope. Young people can relate to teachers and can even aspire to be one. They can’t be royalty such as The Black Panther. William Foster III looked for a face like his in many places, including comics, to encourage him to go on to do great things. Maybe you can’t be a super-hero, but you might go on to be President or Vice-President.

Black Lightning Strikes Twice! (Above:) The splash page of Black Lightning #1 (April 1977). Script by Tony Isabella; art by Trevor von Eeden & Frank Springer. The cover was seen on p. 3. (Top right:) A second series of Black Lightning—scripted, like the first, by Tony Isabella—began with a #1 dated Feb. 1995, behind a cover by Eddy Newell. Interior work was by Isabella, Newell, & inker Ron McCain. [TM & © DC Comics.]

American super-hero. I wanted a positive character who was neither a foreign king nor an ex-criminal. I wanted a hero to whom young readers could relate. That’s why I made Jeff Pierce a schoolteacher. Every child knows what a schoolteacher is, and the lucky ones have had great ones.

Barry Pearl was awarded the MMMS status of “Fearless Face Fronter” by Stan Lee himself for his book The Essential Marvel Age Companion: 1961-1977. A full blog of the latter can be found at https:// forbushman.blogspot.com. He has written for Taschen Books, TwoMorrows, and various other sites and companies. He has also written introductions for editions of Marvel Masterworks and PS Artbooks’ Pre-Code Classics reprint series.

Tony continues: When DC and I were negotiating an agreement a while back and the restoration of my solo credit was on the table, I chose to include [artist] Trevor [von Eeden]. The correct credit line is “Created by Tony Isabella with Trevor von Eeden.” I did that in recognition of Trevor’s work on the series and to make sure he kept getting royalty payments on the character. Black Lightning [TV] showrunner Salim probably put it best: “Tony created Black Lightning, and Trevor showed us what he looked like.” Tony Isabella’s thoughts are the perfect way to conclude this piece:

Tony Isabella A photo taken in the Marvel Bullpen, October 1976. Tony had earlier co-created Black Goliath for Stan Lee & company.

Trevor Von Eeden Artistic co-creator of Black Lightning.

Like A Bolt From The Black Trevor von Eeden’s first (of his two) covers for the original Black Lightning series is this one for issue #4 (Sept. 1977). Inks by Colletta. Isabella, of course, scribed the story inside. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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Art by Kyle Baker Captain America TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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“You Need Somebody To Give You A Sense Of That History” Author WILLIAM FOSTER III Talks About AfricanAmericans In Comics—Both As Characters & As Creators Interview Conducted by Alex Grand & Jim Thompson

A/E

Looking For A Face Like Mine EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: William Foster III’s much-lauded 2005 William Foster III was, for years, trade paperback on blacks in comics to quote from TheRumpus.net’s is unfortunately out of print, and used transcription of a 2013 comics symposium, a “longtime copies command a premium price writer, educator, and researcher.” He was formerly an English these days—so we’re fortunate to have instructor at Naugatuck Valley Community College, and his this recent interview with the comics official title now is “Bro/Prof. Emeritus.” He has also been historian by Messrs. Grand & Thompson the consultant for several comics-history exhibitions and to cover at least some of the same is the author of the sadly out-of-print books Looking for ground, over the course of this A/E issue and the next. Cover art by Omar a Face Like Mine and Dreaming of a Face Like Ours. Bilal; thanks to WFIII for the ID. [Art © As that website paraphrases his words: “The importance the respective copyright holders.] of recognizing [early comics history and the stories of its creators] is even more urgent because it is in danger of being JT: And where did you lost in obscurity.” Alter Ego wishes to thank Alex Grand move to? and Jim Thompson for making available in print this transcription FOSTER: Oh, dude, from their recent conversation how much time have with Foster on their Comic Book you got? [chuckles] Historian Podcast. The text has I went to school in been lightly edited, omitting Massachusetts, and then small portions of back-and-forth moved to Connecticut. and brief interjections… and, I was working for Weekly Reader, except where otherwise indicated, of all places. It doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, but it was a lot of fun. all accompanying photos and And that’s where I am now, in Connecticut. Love it here. illustrations were provided by Alex Grand and, in some cases JT: Okay. All right, so no other parts of the country. Never lived in the indirectly, William Foster III. This South or anything like that? interview is being presented in two parts, with the second to follow in FOSTER: No. Detroit for a minute… and that was a blessing. our next issue, just two months [chuckles] I’m sorry. That’s wrong. But no, I got to tell you, I love from now…. New England, man. It really has an allure of its own. William Foster III ALEX GRAND: Today, we have a very special guest, Professor William Foster III, a historian in comics who specializes in African-American representation in the medium. I’m Alex Grand, with my co-host Jim Thompson. Professor Foster, thanks so much for joining us today. WILLIAM FOSTER III: Listen, it’s my absolute pleasure. Thank you, gentlemen, for extending the invitation. AG: We’re going to start with your early involvement in comics. Then we’re going to talk about your book, that we both enjoyed very much… Looking for a Face Like Mine. [It features] different articles on black representation in comics, which I found really moving and just really great history. Jim, go ahead and start. JIM THOMPSON: So, Professor Foster, where are you from? FOSTER: Originally, Philadelphia.

JT: That’s nice. Yeah, I’m from Virginia, originally, so I’m a Southerner. But… FOSTER: That’s where my dad’s from. Richmond. JT: Where in Richmond? Because which side of the river makes a great difference. FOSTER: [laughs] Doesn’t it always? Isn’t that true for every city? AG: I lived in Detroit for a year,

Alex Grand & Jim Thompson See the skinny on our intrepid interviewers at the end of this issue’s installment.

William Foster III Talks About African-Americans In Comics

but I was in Boston for a year, and you’re right. There is something about that New England vibe. I do love it, too. It’s multicultural, it’s really interesting. FOSTER: I’m telling you, it’s part of that New England… that Northeastern brain trust that goes on in our country. I love that. JT: So, let’s talk about your entry to comics. When did you start reading? What books or lines were you interested in? FOSTER: I started reading comics when I was about 11. But I was a voracious reader. You know that old insult that you’d give somebody, “Eh, go read the encyclopedia.” That was me. I was the, “Eh, read me the encyclopedia”… I couldn’t get enough. And comicbooks were just great. I mean, they told a story vividly, and in bright colors. Superman and Batman were my two favorite characters in the comics I could afford. And I was lucky that I had a couple of buddies who are twin brothers, and their parents were a little higher financial scale, so they bought them all the new comics, as soon as they came out. And I would come over and they’d let me read them. I’d say, “Hey, you guys are all right. I don’t care what anybody else says about you.” JT: What era of Superman and Batman are you reading? Because I don’t know your age. FOSTER: Silver Age. It was like the early ‘60s, and Curt Swan is my favorite Superman artist. AG: So, what’s the year of your birth, then? FOSTER: 1953. AG: Yeah, okay. This is kind of the approximate year of birth of a lot of our guests, it seems. Early ’50s, yeah. FOSTER: It was free, and cheap, entertainment. Everybody told us we were going to die and go to hell if we read comics. It was a great

time. Actually, it got better after people said that, because that way, now we really wanted to read them. [chuckles] JT: So, you were reading Curt Swan-drawn Superman, and you were around during the “New Look” Batman right before the time of the [TV] shows, so Infantino’s new look. FOSTER: Absolutely, but you know the Batman Annuals were reprinting stories from the ’50s before I was old enough to read them. Man, I ate those up, because Batman was just more dynamic. I mean, you couldn’t cross a roof without having a giant toothbrush or a razor, or something… It was great. JT: So now, did you limit yourself to those two characters at that point? Or did you step into Justice League, and The Flash, and all those other characters? FOSTER: Every Superman title I pretty much read, including Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. World’s Finest, of course, was obviously combining my two heroes; I loved that one. But my parents cleverly got me into Classics Illustrated. And then my cousins read all the Harvey Comics books—Hot Stuff, Spooky—and my sisters loved Archie… yeah, my sisters, it wasn’t me… never me… [chuckles] I had a really wide range of comics I was looking at. Even some Charlton Comics occasionally would drop by my way. Some old EC… my dad brought home a box of those, one time. It had a real heavy mildew smell. Like I cared… I just went through those, man. JT: So, which ones, the horror books, or the science-fiction? FOSTER: All of them. Had a nice selection. I used to love the fact that… this is something that the critics of comicbooks never got… something bad would happen to you, but only if you weren’t a good person. If you were an evil person or you had an evil plan, if you kill somebody for their money or you kill somebody’s husband so you could go out with their wife, you know what’s coming for you. And that’s the part us kids were looking for. JT: Oh, yeah. EC was really good about that, too. That if you were cheating on your girlfriend, you were probably going to end up with your head taken off and used as a bowling ball. FOSTER: Yeah, or served up to somebody with the eyeballs still in it. [chuckles] JT: Yeah, don’t sell tainted meat because you’re going to get it. AG: [chuckles] Tainted meat, that’s so true. JT: All right. So, it’s interesting, you haven’t mentioned Marvel yet. Did… FOSTER: When Marvel came out, I was hooked. But before that, I was a big DC fan, or a lot of different publishers. But when they brought out Spider-Man, Fantastic Four… those are two I kind of read. “Doctor Strange” I loved.

Your Two Favorite Heroes—SUPERMAN And BATMAN—In Separate Stories! Two more covers from the prof’s childhood: Superman #126 (Oct. 1962), with art by Curt Swan & George Klein (the classic story inside was scripted by Edmond Hamilton)… and Batman Annual #3 (Summer 1962), whose main “Gorilla Boss” cover scene is adapted from a 9-year-old cover by Winslow Mortimer and Lew Sayre Schwartz. Thanks to the GCD. [TM & © DC Comics.]

And then, as they moved into more titles… “Captain America” was okay, I liked him. “Thor,” not so much. “Iron Man,” okay. But Spider-Man primarily. Because, first of all, as history tells us, he was the first teenage super-hero, if you don’t count Superboy and Robin. They were sidekicks. Spider-Man was on his own, and he had a real complex life. JT: Now, with the EC Comics, they actually dealt with

“You Need Somebody To Give You A Sense Of That History”

and every stereotype’s in play, but in the first two pages of the book, they had this ad talking about “We’re all brothers.” I say, “Hmm… Yeah… I see that. Right now, I see the ‘brothers’ thing.” [chuckles] JT: Some of the genres, even in the DC comics and in the Marvel comics, allowed for black representation. I’m thinking of Gabe Jones and the Howling Commandos, and Sgt. Rock. There was one black soldier and… FOSTER: Sure… Gravedigger. JT: Yeah… Well, there was Gravedigger too. So, you had some of that stuff. Did you seek those books out? Were you happy or pleased to see black representation or did it matter? FOSTER: I noticed that it was missing but it didn’t actually detract from the story. But, it’s funny you should mention that because… the non-super-hero characters I saw that were people of color were in Marvel. Peter Parker’s high school had a black kid in it. Peter Parker had walked through … JT: Yeah, and Robbie Robertson. I mean, he had a real job. FOSTER: They had a black cop. You know, like you’d see them at any point in time, and it wasn’t like, “Well, you have to wait till some Negroes come along so you can go arrest them.” I mean, he was doing his job. And that was what stuck out in Marvel. AG: Yeah. It seemed like Stan Lee was more progressive than Carmine Infantino when it came to stuff like that. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Actually, this period largely pre-dates Infantino’s tenure as DC Editorial Director.] FOSTER: I met Neal Adams at a show. I brought my entire

“’Tain’t The Meat… It’s The Humanity!” That’s the title and theme of the lead story from EC Comics’ Tales from the Crypt #32 (Oct-Nov. 1952) about which interviewers and interviewee share a good laugh, referring both to its punnish-ing title and to its grisly “shock ending.” Script by Al Feldstein; art by Jack Davis. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © William M. Gaines, Agent, Inc.]

race, especially in Shock SuspenStories and things. But in others, too, they actually acknowledged that there were other people. Not so much with the comics that you’re talking about. FOSTER: It’s true. Now, that’s funny… in DC Comics, as I got older, and I started looking at the images over and over again, I noticed that the only time they had black person in a DC comic was when they were at the UN. And then they weren’t AfricanAmericans, they were Africans. JT: Yeah, had the whole… all the iconographic images of it. FOSTER: Yeah, but ironically, they used to do a bunch of public service announcements in the books. And there, you could see people of color. Of course, they’re in poor countries, being served food, and building schools and stuff like that… but that was pretty much it for the longest time. AG: Yeah, Jack Schiff was [writing] a lot of those ads in DC comics. FOSTER: I did a piece on those at the Popular Culture Association in Nashville Convention, and I just had the time of my life, because I had all these examples. And people who had never seen them didn’t know what I was talking about, but they had some good advice: Be a good citizen. Be open to other cultures. That was good, but that was the only time you saw it. In fact, I read a Superboy comic where Superboy goes to Africa

Present At The Creation Panels from the very first appearances of Foster’s two favorite Marvel concepts—Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961), by writer Stan Lee, penciler Jack Kirby, & a still-unidentified inker who is probably George Klein… and Spider-Man’s debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962) by Lee & artist Steve Ditko. While both pencilers certainly contributed to the plotting, the above phrasing is still probably the best way to credit those seminal comicbooks, since the extent of each man’s contribution is disputed and unlikely to ever be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. Thanks to Bob Bailey for the latter scan. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

William Foster III Talks About African-Americans In Comics

collection of comicbooks, and different stuff, too, in New York. And I didn’t know who he was, but he introduced himself to me, and his son. And he said he was standing in one of the [DC] editors’ offices, and it was like they were asking for a new Green Lantern. And they were talking about him doing another blond guy. And he said, “I’m like, I’m sick of this, so I said, ‘Listen, do me a favor, come with me, over to the window. We’re in New York City. Look out there,

A Real Schiff Show The above “public-service ads” featuring Batman and Superman appeared in various DC Comics in 1950, and were most likely written by DC editor Jack Schiff. The Batman art is by Winslow Mortimer, Superman’s by penciler Wayne Boring and (probably) inker Stan Kaye. Two more such “ads” can be seen on p. 5 of this issue. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Re-Blow, Gabriel, Re-Blow! (Above:) Back on page 8, we reproduced the half of the two-page spread from Sgt. Fury #1 (March 1963) that “introduced” Gabriel Jones, jazz trumpeter and Howling Commando—and on which he was accidentally colored like a so-called “Caucasian.” Future editions and reprintings of that issue, such as this one, got it right. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Africa Screams—Or At Least It Whispers (Above:) The Superboy issue Foster refers to on p. 39 is #93 (Dec. 1961)… and while “native African bearers” are indeed a stereotype, they appear in only three panels in the story “The Great Super-Hunt!” and are not physically caricatured. In his 2005 book he refers to these Africans as being portrayed as “cowardly jungle porters,” but he must’ve been thinking of some other issue, since the Africans in #93 are never depicted showing fear of anything. The “superstitious native” thing definitely was a staple of early comicbooks set in the African jungle, however. Art by Al Plastino; scripter unknown. (Left:) The public-service page in #93 titled “People Are People!,” probably written by Jack Schiff. The GCD attributes the art to Lou Cameron. Thanks to Sharon Karibian, Michael T. Gilbert, & Jim Kealy for these scans. [TM & © DC Comics.]

“You Need Somebody To Give You A Sense Of That History”

Can You Dig It? On Ed Davis’ cover for DC’s Men of War #1 (Aug. 1977), the face and race of the soldier code-named Gravedigger are kept a secret, prior to his debut inside—but by #2 (Sept. ’77), Joe Kubert’s cover portrays him front-and-center. Men of War was the successor to the perhaps too-jingoistically titled All-American Men of War. Thanks to the GCD. [TM & © DC Comics.]

what do you see?… You see people with every ethnicity. Why are we only representing one?’ I said, ‘Look, man, you got to help us out. You know we have to represent what the reality is. That’s what comicbooks have the opportunity of doing.’” And he said that’s how he got Stewart as a black Green Lantern. AG: Yeah, John Stewart. Yeah. He’s a great character. FOSTER: Oh man, still to this day. JT: That run, for me, changed things. Probably, growing up as a Southerner, I was 11 or 12 when that first “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” with the “You done a heap for the ‘orange skins’ and the ‘purple skins’…” That was a defining moment for me. I always list that as one of the things that changed my life, in terms of, it woke me up—in a real way. FOSTER: I like the cover, where they show John Stewart without a Green Lantern mask. And how Jordan asked him, “Well, why aren’t you wearing a mask?” He said, “Look at me, dude, you think nobody’s going to know I’m black [chuckle] when I put a mask on? No, I’m not doing that, get out of here.” He had some bite to him. He had some flavor. Because let’s face it, Hal Jordan was kind of like a tight-ass. [chuckles] JT: Oh, totally. And they got that. Denny O’Neil understood that, and that’s what he did with the character. In The Avengers, when Professor Bill Foster actually appears in the comics… FOSTER: 1967. Never forget it. JT: Were you there?

The Green And The Black (Above:) The three famous panels from Green Lantern #76 (April 1970) and the ironically titled “No Evil Shall Escape My Sight,” in which a black man asks a masked Hal Jordan what he’s ever done for “black skins” were printed back on p. 23. Here’s the follow-up panel, at the top of the next page of Green Lantern #76 (April 1970), from one of the many reprintings of the ironically titled “No Evil Shall Escape My Sight!” Script by Denny O’Neil; art by Neal Adams (Right:) John Stewart has his own take on accepting the responsibilities of being a Green Lantern, in GL #87 (Dec. 1971-Jan. 1972). Script by O’Neil; pencils by Adams; inks by Dick Giordano. [TM & © DC Comics.]

So, you read that? Because that was a stand-out character, too… a scientist. And it wasn’t like just a one-issue appearance. He became, not a significant part of the Marvel Universe until later when he gained powers, but he was a recurring character. FOSTER: Actually, people kind of hit me to that, because I didn’t really notice that until later. And I started looking back when he became Black Goliath. That’s when I kind of got it, because he had the introduction at the top of the page; in the first page of every book, on all the five issues. And I just went back in time to see who he was and where he was. And it turned out that he’s the guy that Henry Pym asked, “How can I get this? I’m having difficulty with controlling my size thing.” I said, “Whoa, that’s just outrageous. That’s sweet.” JT: They introduce him and then they bring in the Sons of the Serpents. Marvel’s doing stuff that’s very different from any of the other companies. FOSTER: And then you got Black Panther coming out in 1966,

William Foster III Talks About African-Americans In Comics

Tell us about that next stage, now that you’re like a little bit older. FOSTER: I was a voracious reader, like I said, and science-fiction was a major genre. I mean, I went through my school’s library like a wildfire. [Robert] Heinlein was one of my favorites… [Andre] Norton, Samuel Delaney… I read all of those guys. I love their work. Comicbooks were taking me the same way. It’s given me a world of fantasy, but… it helped me in science class, if you can believe it or not. Junior high school science class, one day, my science instructor says, “Okay, I’m going to give you guys a property of a metal, you tell me what metal it is.” I was the only guy in class, thanks to reading Metal Men, who knew every metal. I got the answers right. But at the same token, I had people… not my parents… people… I was from a big church-going family, so you’re always going to have somebody with an opinion and didn’t know how to shut up… they were telling me that that kind of books are going to rot my brain. “It’s a waste of time. Don’t read those funnybooks.” And I just said nothing. But I say a bunch now, because I’m still thinking, “Yeah, you were right. They’re not going to take me anywhere, except to Germany, China, Australia, Britain… Yeah, I didn’t go nowhere. I should put those comicbooks down. I wasted my life.” [chuckles]

Big, Bigger, Biggest You saw, on p. 14 of this issue, how Bill Foster was introduced in The Avengers #32 (Sept. 1966). He worked alongside Dr. Hank Pym in an attempt to master the latter’s size-changing formula. And master it Bill did, all on his own, in Power Man #24 (April ’75), just in time to clash with Luke Cage under his new super-hero moniker, Black Goliath. By then Bill had also become both husband and ex-husband to Luke’s old flame Claire Temple! Script by Tony Isabella; art by George Tuska. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

which is like “Whoa!”… Where were we in America in 1966? JT: Were you reading that in real time? Or is that something that you discovered after? FOSTER: Oh, dude… They introduced him in The Fantastic Four… how was I not going to read that? It was great. And it’s funny that, even then, there were people who had never picked up a comicbook who were actually convinced Stan Lee was naming him after the Black Panthers Political Party. It’s close, if you look at the timelines for both, but no, there was no way that was a crossover. AG: Yeah. Timewise, [Black Panther may have appeared] three months before the political group. I think it was a coincidence, because there’s a delay in printing by the time it got out anyway. JT: But I think there was a reference to the party, in a newspaper or a magazine, that may predate it. I’ve argued with Arlen Schumer about this before, and that was fun. FOSTER: Oh, man. [laughs] But it’s funny… I clued you guys in on the [fan] geek boys. They don’t like coincidences. They don’t. It’s amazing. When they [Lee & Kirby] took the Fantastic Four to Wakanda, they’re super-scientific and the spear that’s not a spear, it’s a ray gun. They have rituals and a fine tradition. I was just like, “What a time—they couldn’t have timed it better.” JT: Back to your history, because we can get lost in the comics, and we’re going to for the next hour or so… Educationally speaking, so you’re reading comics. Do you put them aside and move on to science-fiction or some other thing? Or do you stay in comics and continue reading that? And what happens in terms of: Do you decide you want to be a professor? Do you decide you want to write? Did you ever want to work in comics?

But yeah, I was a simultaneous reader. Like I said, I couldn’t not read. Once I’ve picked that stuff up, and found out that, opening up a book, I can go into another world, that was it for me. I even tried reading novels from other eras, and novels not necessarily written for boys. I was a big Nancy Drew fan: See if I can figure out the mystery before anybody else in the room. Then I come to find out the books I was reading were like, what… they were 20 years old, and they’re still producing Nancy Drew. JT: Were there any genres that you just thought, “I just can’t handle this because it’s just too damn white? There’s no reference to my…” FOSTER: [laughs] There was a lot of them. JT: I’m thinking of fantasy especially. I mean, Tolkien is awfully white. FOSTER: True. JT: In all of that— and I love it—but there is no space… Whereas, with sciencefiction, even if it’s by metaphor, it slips in all the time. And I don’t think it does in fantasy, nearly as much. FOSTER: No. No, it didn’t. It’s

Panther’s Prey The Jack Kirby/ Joe Sinnott cover of Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966), featuring the world’s first glimpse of The Black Panther. Thanks to the GCD. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

“You Need Somebody To Give You A Sense Of That History”

interesting. My awareness of people who look like me in books was kind of like… It was kind of dulled for a long time. But you asked me what genres I read. This was about the time—late ‘60s, early ‘70s—when Zap Comics came out. And they didn’t care who you were, everybody’s made fun of. Drugs, sex, and rock ‘n’ roll… I got to tell you, I just said, “Whoa.” I read a book that featured Richard “Grasshopper” Green, and I said, “This guy must be black because he’s just too damn funny.” People were afraid to talk race, and he talked about it up front.

Robert Crumb

JT: So, when you’re reading and you would see these images from people like Crumb… you were good with that? FOSTER: I know some people, like if you said “Good morning,” they would’ve said, “What do you mean by that?” That wasn’t me. The idea is, I had a sense that he [Crumb] understood. He ironically grew up in Philadelphia, or just outside. I’m looking at somebody, and I just got a sense when somebody is trying to be hurtful in what they’re saying or not. And I’ve never felt like that. He was being funny. And I can’t stop laughing till I start choking. And then I get, “Oh, hey, that’s offensive.” “No, it wasn’t.” But I’ve met some people who are just like, everything is offensive. Then I can’t help you, because that’s not how I roll.

Crumbs Of The 1960s An R. Crumb panel from late-’60s/early-’70s underground comix. [TM & © R. Crumb or successors in interest.]

FOSTER: Yeah, I think that’s a bit much. I think that we had people who were censoring comicbooks. We had people who were having comicbook burnings. Gad, that was an awful image. What country did that take us back to? And I didn’t feel that was necessary at all. There were all kinds of comicbooks. There were religious comicbooks, and I read those because I came from a very religious family. I love the books that were written about the lives of Jesus or the great prophets.

AG: That’s something you mentioned in the book… because there’s some younger people that look at [Crumb] as a bad person. You analyzed him in your book, “Well, he offended everybody equally,” and that it was because of that that you appreciated kind of where he was coming from in that sense. And you don’t feel like he should be canceled in some way, over the stuff he’s done. Is that right?

“Grass” Green

So, I had a full rounded education, in terms of things that I could reach for. It wasn’t like comicbooks were evil and death. Besides the fact that comicbooks of the ‘60s, and the ‘50s were kind

The Green, Green Grass Of Comix Richard “Grass” Green, one of the pre-eminent comics-fandom artists of the 1960s, was once slated to co-publish/co-edit the first volume of Alter Ego with artist-pal Ronn Foss in 1963, but at the last minute begged off in favor of devoting his full time to writing and drawing fan-comics, eventually also doing a bit of mainstream-comics work. Seen here are Grass’ cover and several panels from his 1972 Super Soul Comix #1. His early nickname “Grasshoppper” was soon shortened to “Grass.” [TM & © Estate of Richard “Grass” Green.]

William Foster III Talks About African-Americans In Comics

of mild. The idea is that you never really saw anybody kill anybody, unless it was an imaginary story. Lex Luthor was a bad guy, but he only killed Superman, in an imaginary story. Nowadays, who knows what could happen? That’s why the Comics Code was in place. But no, I never came after guys… Particularly since I’ve met guys later on, and I’m very fortunate, like Larry Fuller, and Richard “Grass” Green again—and they’re talking about what they did those days, they’d just laugh.

DC was trying to get with it, Marvel was just going, you know… They had women super-heroes, and they had…

JT: I want to get you into college. Tell us about your education, like what did you want to do as a career? And how did you go about it?

FOSTER: I’m sorry. It was just funny, bro. Come on… “Little Africa,” give me a frigging break. [chuckles] Okay, Lois Lane turns black for 24 hours. Man, that should do it… 24 hours is long enough! And how fortunate for her, her boyfriend, who happens to be Superman, can change her from white to black. And the interesting thing was, that wasn’t the only place that story was

FOSTER: It’s funny. I started writing very young. I didn’t start writing well till I got through college. I started writing for the school newspaper, for the literary magazine, I wrote for the news service, editorial… it was an explosion for me. I’d been writing stories since I was young because I was inspired by the books I was reading.

AG: Now you’re talking in the 1970s, right? FOSTER: Absolutely, bro. I graduated in ’75. JT: So was that good or grimacing, when you would read, “I Am Curious (Black)!” or you would see Little Africa in Metropolis…

So, when I got to college, mass communicationjournalism was a straight forward run for me, I knew exactly. I had friends that didn’t know what the heck they would do in college. [For] my parents, college was serious. If you’re going to go to college, you better have something there to do. So, I took it very seriously. And I’d met all kinds of people there as well. In fact, one of the guys who became the founder of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles went to UMass at the same time I was there. And you think about Connecticut. Something that I didn’t realize when I moved here is that a lot of cartoonists and comic writers live here. Once they’d make it big, out of New York they came… right up the road to Connecticut… and just took the commuter train down there. So that worked out really well for me to meet people. JT: When did you first do something related to comics, on a professional level? FOSTER: I think I must’ve started writing about them in college, because I had this interest. Okay, I got to tell you a story that you’ve heard more than one time: My parents threw all my comicbooks out after I moved out. JT: Oh, yeah… FOSTER: I’ve forgiven them now, thanks to the therapy. But I had to start my collection all over again, so I’m starting in a brand-new era. And I had… No, please don’t get me started on what I had. I’ll just tell you where I went from there, because that would be a long story by itself. But no, I had started reading everything again, and like you said, there’s the new flavor in comics.

Curiouser & Curiouser The cover and a key page from Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #106 (Nov. 1970), “I Am Curious (Black)”—including the cover by Curt Swan & Murphy Anderson and an interior pages drawn by Werner Roth & Vince Colletta. Script by Robert Kanigher. (See more on p. 24 of this issue of A/E.) Thanks to the GCD, Alex Grand, and Barry Pearl. [TM & © DC Comics.]

“You Need Somebody To Give You A Sense Of That History”

taking place. I have a copy of True Confessions magazine from that same era. And on the front, they have a white woman, blonde hair, blue eyes, you know, attractive. And she says, “I turned black!” And there’s another picture where… “Who would be fooled that you were a black person?” [chuckles] They just darkened the skin and put a wig on her. I said, “That’s just funny.” And it’s just like a training on stereotypes… that black people, of course, would be speaking in very stereotypical language. They wouldn’t talk to her, like they didn’t talk to Lois Lane. But once they think she’s black, it’s all, everything is cool. That just makes you ignorant. But I also appreciate it, because we go through stages. We go through tokenism. We go through patronism. We try different images, and the freedom to try that, I think, is what we should be. Just look at what they did for women. I mean, women were… How many years, Sue Storm, when she was like just cute and posing and… let’s face it, kind of dumb? As time goes on, she’s become like the leader, more than one time. JT: Oh, yeah. But those early days, the Thing would take her over his knee and spank her. I mean, [chuckles] they’re horrible. AG: Yeah, because Stan and Jack were kind of doing romance comic stuff in that Fantastic Four. FOSTER: That reminded me of something… Marvel Girl, when she first joined The X-Men, it was the same thing. And two, somebody just made me realize that, in one of his thought balloons, Professor Xavier is saying he’s in love with her.

AG: Yeah. I had an epiphany as well. There’s a whole, another side to comic history. I had that in Trina’s Women in Comics book, and your Looking for a Face Like Mine. No one else is looking at it in that way. You’ve run museum exhibits on this. You’ve been in a couple of documentaries, Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle, and then Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked, both nationally aired. This particular area is a specialty of yours. Let’s go through kind of a timeline, starting with the Yellow Kid, and moving to the present a little bit. The Yellow Kid, 1895, Hogan’s Alley… Now, a lot of the early comics strips like the 1890s—I’m talking about before everything was nationally syndicated and homogenized and kind of whitewashed in a way—in the 1890s, they were showing like local New York life in the Yellow Kid, and you were mentioning that there’s like a gang of kids and the Yellow Kid was one of them, and there’s some African-American kids. Tell us about that scenery, and then move us forward through time with Krazy Kat and stuff like that. FOSTER: Oh, no problem, brother… Krazy Kat… how much time you got? [chuckles] The Yellow Kid… basically, if you look at the neighborhood photographs, it’s like… you can’t tell somebody’s Irish by looking, unless he’s got one of those little white pipes in his mouth… or the Jewish kid has a yarmulke, and the black kid, obviously a little more obvious for him, you can tell. Sometimes you couldn’t even tell if the girls were girls because they’d be wearing pants like the boys. But, the idea is that these are just kids. And they’re coming from different places, they’re speaking differently, but they’re getting along. Now, the adults can’t do it but the kids

JT: Yeah, that’s creepy. AG: That confused me many years later. I was like, “What?” FOSTER: Creepy. [chuckles] And not just a little bit… Whoa, Professor… Whoa! JT: Now, Marvel’s got like a bunch of those creepy things, whether it’s Clea sleeping with Ben Franklin, or it’s the Ms. Marvel thought-rape. AG: Yeah, that’s the kind of freedom [where] they had a little more freedom to do whatever. FOSTER: When you first introduce the characters, you’re trying to figure what’s going to work out. But I had kind of a clear sense of what’s important and what’s not, because I was working on those same issues. That someone doesn’t look like me—does that mean that they deserve to be treated less than me? Well, I had been treated less than… And I didn’t like it. So, I’m not going to do the same thing to somebody else. I got to do better. And when the comicbooks showed that, that was great... JT: But at some point, did you decide: Nobody has written about AfricanAmerican comic characters in the way that they should because… We interviewed Trina Robbins, a couple of times, and… FOSTER: Oh, big fan of hers. JT: And Trina said nobody was writing about [women cartoonists], and so… it wasn’t that she set out to be a writer, but she said, “Nobody else was doing it, so I had to.” Did you feel that way? FOSTER: Yeah. I had to kind of bring attention to [blacks in comics] because no one else was. The best thing where I am right now, where I sit right now in comics, is that I’d be able to find all kinds of writers. People who like had gone off into obscurity and I’ve pulled them back. Young people I see at shows. I immediately go to the table, “This is who I am. Please send me copies of your work.” So, I become the lodge stone, and that’s a role that doesn’t upset me at all. But back in the day, not so much, my brother. Really not.

The Yellow Kid… And Kids Of Other Shades Surely one of the earliest appearances of a black person in something resembling a comic strip has to be this 1896 Hogan’s Alley page by R.F. Outcault, featuring the so-called Yellow Kid. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

William Foster III Talks About African-Americans In Comics

can do it. In fact, Our Gang made that main town center team. It’s kind of an American team. And you’re right, because in the city… I used to kid with my students of my communication class that, if you’re living in an apartment next door to somebody, you know exactly what’s going on there. You know when there’s a funeral. You know when there’s a wedding. You know when there’s an argument. The walls are paper-thin. And here you understood that everybody was the same. All those—blah, blah, blah—”They always fight”… “Yeah, you were doing the same thing last night.” So, you get the chance to have the sense of how our experiences are pretty much the same. We’re going through the same thing. Nobody was really rich, but then nobody was really poor. And if you ask me, I’d tell you my family wasn’t poor, but if you look at, compare us to somebody else or contrast somebody else, that was true. So, they started with that. Now, you’re moving to the 1920s, 1930s, and comicbooks have taken on a place of their own. Everybody was in bootlegging and making all kinds of illegal money, and then the IRS came by. Suddenly, comics became a place where they could hide those profits. No one said that about DC, no one says about… that suddenly, they had all this cash. In fact… can you guys see this?… I don’t know. The Red Mask. First black hero in a comicbook. A year before Negro Heroes, All-Negro Comics came out. No one knows who wrote it. No one knows who drew it. And when people found out he was a black super-hero, they tried to put out another one where he

turned white. And that just disappeared off the face of the Earth. AG: Yeah, I noticed that the coloring was inconsistent. After a couple of issues, I’m like, “What is this?” Now, George Herriman, there is some discussion that he had some African-American heritage. He did stuff also before Krazy Kat kind of became his thing. But there is one, I think it was called Musical Mose or something like that. It was about a black character who was trying to pass himself as white, in a white society. And there were some physical bloopers that happened. Do you feel he’s expressing something? And what’s your take on that form of comedy back then? FOSTER: Well, here’s the interesting thing: Herriman came out of Louisiana, I think probably really near New Orleans. Of all the places in this country, that place is where race-mixing was taking place on a regular level. But if you were white, it didn’t matter what you were. So, people said, he was trying to act like he wasn’t black. I suppose he kept his hair cut short, and he always wore a hat. But then, you had people who would say, “Well, you’re crazy. He took it off whenever he felt like it.” He was a dark-skinned guy. But it talks about the kind of… what’s the word I want?… the kind of sickness about race that we have in this country, about you can’t be too dark or people passing. I had to explain to my students what “passing” is. They have no idea… they have seen it, but they didn’t know it was called that. Okay. I had to explain to them what the paper bag test was. They didn’t know what that was, either. In Louisiana, believe me, that went on all the time. Some of my favorite novels are about those days where it would be like…

Take It As Red! (Top right:) The original “Red Mask” comics feature—no relation to the later Magazine Enterprises cowboy title—first appeared as a 1936 comic strip from Syndicated Features, with a credit for “Geo. West”—and its protagonist was definitely a black (or at least brown) man. (Above:) Best Comics #1 (Nov. 1939), one of the first publications from Ned Pines’ Better (later Nedor, then Standard) comicbook line, reprinted much of the “Red Mask” material. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

I love Krazy Kat. Of course, my introduction to it was, when I was a young kid, the animated Krazy Kat. It was made by the same people who made Popeye. So, you know, you just move from one to the other. But no, I don’t feel anything like skullduggery was going on, that he was trying to hide who he was. Unless… I think his kids said the same thing. And the South… I don’t even want to put it on the South. In America, if you’re having kids, and suddenly one of the kids was dark, a couple of things could’ve happened. But what do people think of, first thing? They think of the worst possible scenario. And men never got blamed; women always got blamed.

“You Need Somebody To Give You A Sense Of That History”

And that’s kind of like the legacy of slavery and racism, as well as against women. So I just think it’s just people kind of caught up with that. I don’t know if anybody ever took it seriously. I don’t know if he ever lost any jobs; he was just too damn good. JT: When you first heard his name, when you first saw pages of Krazy Kat, did you know at that time that he was black or mixed race? Or was it something you found out later on?

George Herriman in 1922, juxtaposed with a colored 1925 illustration of his immortal Krazy Kat done for an acquaintance—and with an earlier Musical Mose strip by Herriman (who was partly of African-American descent) that starred a caricatured black man who attempted, comically and without success, to impersonate various types of white males. In a sense, Herriman may have been poking fun at himself. [TM & © King Features Syndicate, Inc.]

FOSTER: Actually, something that people were discussing later… Like I said, I go to the Popular Culture Association Conferences… and there’s always somebody doing the extreme, long, and not necessarily interesting paper on that as the major theme. I’m like, “Uhmm, I guess that’s an interesting point…” But in the end, I had to make the same decision I made about Superman and Batman: love their books, just notice that there were no black people there. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t love their books.

JT: Once you found out, did you read Krazy Kat, the characters, as black? FOSTER: No. I did read to see, but maybe I had missed something because I longed for that possibility. That maybe something was being said, or he was saying some message… But no, I didn’t get any… I didn’t, and I’ve read some stuff where the subtext was a lot less subtle, and I said, “Whoa, somebody here has a problem.” One of my students wrote his own comicbook. And the title of the book is called Whigger, effectively, white n****. I thought it was brilliant. Because, first of all, nobody around would even say that word, because they’re so afraid of being brushed with the tar brush. But he was a good writer. He told the story very well. He said he gets tired of being the white guy surrounded by black guys, but he makes that really cool, so the only people complaining are the white people or black people who didn’t know him. His buddies would just look at him and laugh. So, the idea is, how do we get along? Which is that ultimate message on what we read and what we promote? It’s got to be the most important thing a story is telling us. Nowadays, you can be as nihilistic as you want to be in the

William Foster III Talks About African-Americans In Comics

One Man’s Dreams… (Clockwise from left:) A panel from Winsor McKay’s revived Little Nemo Sunday strip in 1915. By then, the strip’s official title was In the Land of Wonderful Dreams. An early Henry by Carl Thomas Anderson. The comic strip was launched in 1932.

telling of a comicbook story or a Long before she became the darling of the great comicbooks graphic novel story. But I was raised by John Stanley, Marjorie Henderson’s Little Lulu was the in the age where, if we’re not saying star of a gag panel in the popular magazine The Saturday something that’s going to promote us, Evening Post, beginning in 1935. [TM & © the respective then what are we doing? I understand trademark & copyright holders.] the apocalyptic is interesting reading, but in the end, maybe there ought to FOSTER: Yeah. be some stories that kind of balance that off. Okay? And that’s what That’s exactly right. I’m looking for, is the balance. AG: And how AG: Yeah… I like you have a positive attitude about a lot of this stuff. amazing is it that she was doing this in JT: But in terms of, you look at Krazy Kat, and you look at Little Nemo, 1937? and they both are two masterworks of that era, and… Do you hit a point where you say, “I like Little Nemo but it’s hard to get past the racist FOSTER: Yeah, I am telling you, it was an interesting period of aspect of it”? The African kid who’s got the bone in the nose, or… certainly time, and she was very prolific in that. And how she portrayed the looks like that, even if it doesn’t actually have the bone. character… an environmentalist, a nurse… went back down South AG: In the ‘90s cartoons, they replaced him with a squirrel or something like that. JT: Squirrels are good. FOSTER: It’s interesting. I think one of the reasons I read a bunch of old cartoon strips is because I was interested in what lifestyle was like back in that period of time. My parents talked about it. My grandparents talked about it. I didn’t know anything about it. But the race thing, yeah, you kind of notice that. Who are the major characters? And when you show a black character, what do you show him as? Do you show him as speaking slow and Pidgin English, and not being clever? But then, I did a piece for Hogan’s Alley magazine where I talked about Henry, the kid who never talked, never had a mouth… never had a conversation balloon. In a surprising number of his strips, he’s got black friends, or black kids in the neighborhood. In fact, he even had one place where he sees the black man with four kids going into the ice cream parlor, Henry stops next door to the shoeshine parlor, comes back out, he’s a black kid. He used shoe polish on himself because he wanted free ice cream… You see, that’s funny. Now, here’s one that I don’t know if anybody has ever mentioned. Little Lulu, when she was appearing in [gag cartoons] in Saturday Evening Post—a lot of anti-black in “Little Lulu.” Only once or twice in her animated cartoons did you get a chance to see it. But I was stunned by that. Saturday Evening Post, whoa… what the heck? AG: Let’s talk a little bit about Jackie Ormes, 1937 going to 1940, and then there’s a later run. The Torchy strip. So that’s just kind of amazing that we have a female African-American cartoonist doing newspaper comic strips, and they’re syndicated. Is it mainly by black newspapers? Is that what was going on?

and came back. I can tell you, from my family, when they left the South, there was nothing that would get them back. But she had an appreciation, there was a call, and a calling, and that’s what she did. So, she’s a character much to be truly admired. And then, Jackie Ormes as a female cartoonist… you’re right, dude, that was a speck amazing. AG: Yeah. She just had the artistic storytelling drive, which is amazing that that had happened. Let’s talk a little bit about Will Eisner’s Ebony character. [chuckles] You said there were five categories of black representation in films. You apply that to comics as well. Ebony represents one of these five categories that you laid out in your book. There is also a 1973 “conversation” with Ebony White by Will Eisner that you applauded in your book. What’s your take on the Ebony character? The movement that some of the younger people are saying, that we should get [Eisner’s] name removed off the comic industry awards… First, what’s your take on Ebony? What was your impression on his 1973 conversation? Tell us about that. FOSTER: I’ll tell you what, I’ll start off my conversation with Will Eisner. I don’t know how I got lucky enough to do this. At San Diego Con, he was always swamped, and so I decided I’d come back later. I came back and like, literally, there was no one… It had to be lunch time. Nobody was around his booth. So I said, “Mr. Eisner, I’m a big fan of your work…” and I talked to him about… I said, “What do you think about how people felt about Ebony?” He kind of paused for a second, because it’s obvious that’s the first time he’s been asked. And he said, “Well, depends on when you ask me.” He said, “Sometimes, people have said that it was a great idea to be inclusive, and other people said how dare you have a despicable image of us.” And he said he got awards from the NAACP at one point, and he said, “At another point, they completely condemned it.”

“You Need Somebody To Give You A Sense Of That History”

Jackie Ormes The black female cartoonist seems to have used herself as a model for her lead character Torchy Brown in the Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem (later Torchy in Heartbeats) comic strip that ran from 1937 through 1956 in numerous AfricanAmerican newspapers. The Sunday strip consisted of half story, and half cut-out pinups in the mode of the later Katy Keene. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

That’s interesting to me. He also had a black police officer who was in more than one strip, in more than one comic. And he had one where Ebony, because a black girl turns him down, decides he’s going to go back to school to get rid of his Southern accent. He said he doesn’t want to be recognized as a minstrel. You have black soldiers. So, if I was drawing characters, I would be real careful about who I painted. But at the same token, I don’t know if you guys remember the creator of Dennis the Menace… JT: Hank Ketcham. FOSTER: Yup. Hank Ketcham came out with a black character, [Jackson] about a year, maybe two, after Charles Schulz introduced his black character, Franklin. [NOTE: See p. 19.] And he did not get the same reaction as Charles Schultz had got. People came after him with almost guns and knives. He was in Europe at the time, and he got a wire saying, “Get back over here.” They’re crashing in the offices, destroying property. His goal… his response was this, he said, “Wait a minute, every cartoon character is a caricature of somebody. Find somebody who looks like Mr. Wilson with his big ass. [chuckles] Dennis’ father, who has a nose like a nose cone. Or Dennis himself, who looks like a tramp with a load in his pants. That’s what I’m doing.” Your critics are big, but the idea is, as I said, I can’t make anybody less sensitive than they are, when they see an image that they think is really negative. So, Ebony… I didn’t feel insulted because, on top of everything else—I got a question for you guys, like I used to do for my

Ebony—No Ivory The Dec. 9, 1945, splash page of the 7-page Spirit feature by Will Eisner, which headlined a long-running comicbook-style Sunday newspaper supplement. Ebony, both in the ’40s and in later, less stereotyped incarnations, was also seen back on p. 29. [TM & © Will Eisner Studios, Inc.]

William Foster III Talks About African-Americans In Comics

students. You remember the old TV show I Spy? Robert Culp, Bill Cosby. Okay, here we go. I want you to think about a typical episode. They’re getting into a car, who’s driving? Is it Cosby or is it Culp? If it’s Cosby, is he the servant? If it’s Culp, it’s because he’s the master? Or does it not make a difference? AG: Right… because sometimes people will get their own impression of something. FOSTER: And so, I think that’s the same. And we’re going to see it continuously, until somebody comes out with a character that’s just so stereotypical that they’re just going to be done for that point, okay? Because there’s got to be artistic freedom on one side, and you got to be telling the story on the other side. And we all think that every point has to be… You have to hit these numbers on every story you do. When has that ever been true? Because that’s been changing dramatically.

Threat—Or Menace? The daily Dennis the Menace panel on the left, dated 5-13-70, caused a severe backlash… probably because writer/ artist Hank Ketcham (who lived in Switzerland by that time) was tone-deaf enough to draw Jackson in a horribly stereotypical fashion. He tried again a bit later with the cartoon on the right—but, although this rendition of Jackson was no more a caricature than Dennis or any of the other folks in the series, some (perhaps overwrought) people still managed to be offended, so Ketcham gave up on Jackson. [TM & © Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.]

Think about a character like Spawn, who was a black guy when he was alive—but now, the skin’s burned off. But people still think of him as a black super-hero. I have a friend who says, “No, I don’t want no dead guy as a super-hero.” So, it’s such a yin and yang. But for me… when was the last time I was offended by a character?

wasn’t trying to be nice to nobody. You’re trying to make a real important statement about what you think about other races and other religions. And the more cruel and violent you were to those members of those races and those religions, the more you thought you were making your point. Got you. Not lost at all.

Oh, okay… I collect all kinds of comicbooks. So I collected one that was put out by the American Nazi Party. And so, you’re going to have a kind of appreciation of what kind of characters they showed on there… that I just screamed. You know, you

FOSTER: Oh, no…

JT: But you don’t really have to go all the way back to the Nazis to be offended by…

JT: I mean, like there’s American comics that I’m sure… FOSTER: Oh, God, yeah. [Blacks] never had an important role, they were only shown for surface… protection, like on the cover, never seen inside the book. There weren’t any black super-heroes. There

Why Spy? Robert Culp and Bill Cosby in the late-1960s TV I Spy—a breakthrough series in that a black actor shared equal billing. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Todd McFarlane & Spawn The star writer/artist’s Image super-hero had been, in life, a black man. [TM & © Todd McFarlane or successors in interest.]

“You Need Somebody To Give You A Sense Of That History”

were no black heroines. And yeah, so the absence, and then people who did appear, were they something to be admired? Nope, not for the longest time. You’re absolutely right. AG: Yeah. I noticed you had kind of two perspectives, kind of happening at the same time, and they’re valid, and they’re both true. There’s that one aspect of “We should be represented better,” but then there’s another aspect of, and you said this in your book, “It’s better than nothing and I love the comics for its form and I love the history of it.” And that you appreciate it for where it was. It’s kind of interesting that you have both of those happening at the same time. FOSTER: The world’s a big place, and one of the biggest problems we have right this minute, this time in history, is that if you don’t think the exact same way that I do, not only must you be punished, but you must be punished severely. I think that’s horrible. But here’s the thing… I’ve seen enough of people of color creating their own comicbooks, and that’s the excitement for me, and it never ends. And then I see them move into mainstream comics and do their own books. So, we’re at the point where you used to have nothing on the screen, and now you have any number of points of view, and that’s the only way it can be. No one black person can represent the entire race. No one woman can represent the entire gender. And yet, somebody will always say, “Well, we got one.” Now, that’s called tokenism, and that’s not a good idea. AG: Yeah. Right. True. Now, in talking about African-Americans making their own comics… as a segue into it, you mentioned that, in 1945, World’s Finest Comics #17, there’s actually a tribute to AfricanAmericans serving in World War II called “Johnny Everyman.” That was pretty cool. Then a couple of years after that, you mentioned it earlier, All-Negro Comics. It was [published] by Orrin Evans. You had an excitement in the way you wrote about it… African-Americans having control over their own imagery. And you had mentioned that that was something that was especially meaningful. Tell us about the significance of All-Negro Comics. FOSTER: Orrin Evans was a reporter, and he was more than just a reporter. He was actually the guy who created the Negro journalism organization. He was not afraid to get into a cop’s face, which even then, at that point in time, would have been horrendously dangerous. He got tired of seeing comic strips that didn’t have people like him. So, when the paper he was working for went out of business, he— We’re pretty certain that all the guys he got were black. But he got a bunch of guys who he knew could do the job, and they put out their book. He was told and pressed that he couldn’t sell this book. He sold this for 15 cents while almost every other comicbook was selling for 10… which was a major thing to do. In full color, he did the book. Not only the color but the inside. He did a great African king, he did a black detective, he did black fairies… he took the story to wherever he could. I think that was amazing. It only lasted one issue. I happen to have one copy, because I happened to be at the right place at the right time. That’s how it gets done. And then, you get other people to sign on, maybe we ought to try this. So, you get Negro Heroes. Who was that? And then you have in 1965… AG: Lobo? FOSTER: Yep. First comicbook that features a black character as a main character. Now, I met both the guys who put that book together. I got lucky. I happened to be doing an exhibit on Long Island, and this guy walks up and he says, “Hey, that’s my work.” [chuckles] “I thought you guys were dead!” And then I met the other one, because I did a couple of shows

“Johnny Everyman” was a World’s Finest Comics feature that debuted in the latter part of World War II and ran for several years. It was reportedly prepared in concert with the East and West Association, a group founded circa 1940 by Pearl S. Buck and dedicated to helping Americans understand the people of Asia, particularly China and India. The famous novelist and author of The Good Earth was also, by an amazing coincidence, a member of DC/All-American Comics’ Editorial Advisory Board. This splash page is from WFC #17 (Spring 1945). Script by Jack Schiff; art by John Daly. [TM & © DC Comics.]

when I was teaching at my college, and the guy shows up. He lived not very far from where we’re doing it, and I couldn’t believe it. There’s a big black comicbook convention out in Philadelphia every May. I had him come down, and they gave him a Founders Award. He’s a white guy, but he was the guy who said he read a book called The Black Cowboys, and he said, “We need to do something.” [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Clearly writer D.J. Arneson. See p. 15.] AG: Yeah, because that’s a real thing in history, that should be told. JT: And there were black Westerns all the time. I mean, that was very common… African-American Westerns during the [movie] serial period. FOSTER: But sadly, they were only shown in black theatres, and only one night a week. But yeah, it was like a specialty film. It took me years to figure this out, because by the time I was going to the theatre, you’d go anywhere. But to be only allowed to go to the “crow’s nest” and only on certain days of the week… and they would cut certain scenes out of the movies so it didn’t look like the black folks and white folks are getting along. I thought, “Geez, people before me had to go through all those!” Through a lot of troubles, a lot of mistreatment.

William Foster III Talks About African-Americans In Comics

All-Negro Comics #1 (Far left, left, and below right:) The cover, inside front cover, and first splash page from the comic’s first (and only) issue, coverdated June 1947. The art is by John Terrell. The ifc includes a photo of and “mission statement” by publisher Orrin Evans. (Below center:) Also in ANC #1 was “Lion Man,” a jungle strip starring a black hero for a change, drawn by George J. Evans—not the same artist who later drew for EC Comics, et al. Scripter unknown. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Negro Heroes Both issues of this Parents Magazine Press series—one dated Spring 1947, the other Summer 1948— seem to have been composed mostly if not entirely of material reprinted from the company’s other titles: True Comics, Real Heroes, and Calling All Girls. Thanks to the GCD. [© the respective copyright holders.]

“You Need Somebody To Give You A Sense Of That History”

Spangled War Stories, Sgt. Fury. And you mentioned in the book that you weren’t sure why, but war stories tend to be a fertile ground for a racial discussion. Why is that? First, what’s your impression? And then maybe Jim can weigh in on what he thinks it is. FOSTER: Oh, no problem. In fact, real early in the run of Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, they had a guy who joined their commando unit. They had an Englishman, they had an ItalianAmerican, they had a Jewish guy, they had a black guy, and they had a Southern guy. And they had Sgt. Fury, who is from New York, like from Hell’s Kitchen. And this new guy, when they bring him into the barracks, they say, “Here, you’ll be sleeping next to this guy.” “I’m not sleeping next to a black guy.” “Get that Jewish guy…” [chuckles] And they call him on it. They said, “You’re a bigot. We work as a team. If we don’t, we all die.” And sure enough, this guy, because he wants to be a hero and he’s like struggling to fight when they’re right in front of the Germans, and it’s like they’re all going to get killed… he gets the message, but it’s not so obvious: “Oh, gee, fellas, that’s great… it’s a small world… “ That’s not what happened. The idea is that he gets it but he can’t admit it to them. That I liked about the story. Now, on the other side of that, in terms of realistic, there was never an integrated unit in the United States Army, ever [during WWII]. Least of all the Commandos. But despite that, I loved the fiction. I ate it up. They all had separate skills. They worked together. They looked out for each other. Come on, who wouldn’t want to be part of that gang? AG: Yeah, that’s true. Jim, what’s your take on the war genre and racial discussion?

Rio Lobo Artist Tony Tallarico’s splash page for Dell Comics’ Lobo #1 (Dec. 1965). Script by D.J. Arneson. See more art and text concerning this groundbreaking comicbook on pp. 10-14 of this issue. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

And I never understood that. Because it wasn’t my experience. It’s like riding at the back of the bus, if I could put that point in. It’s that, when I was a kid, back of the bus is where the fun was. That’s where somebody was playing cards, that’s where somebody had a guitar, or somebody was passing around a bottle of something. But before us, it was never like that. And you need somebody to give you a sense of that history. AG: Before we jump too deep in the ‘60s, because the ‘60s and ‘70s are their own pretty amazing story—in the ‘50s, there are a couple of notes. One, you mentioned Batman #57: Batman and Robin stand up for sportsmanship. Jack Schiff’s statement that racial fighting weakens our country. So, that was an interesting thing. It’s cool that you found all these, and that you put them in your book like that. Then you also mentioned, and Jim will find this interesting because it’s 1964-ish, you have the war comics. You have Our Army at War, Star

Oh, And By The Way—In the Middle Of The Story The Howlers Take On The Nazi “Desert Fox”! (Left:) These two sequences from Sgt. Fury #6 (March 1964) illustrate the (limited) growth of a vilely prejudiced soldier. Newcomer George Stonewell has already snubbed Jewish Izzy Cohen and Italian-American Dino Manelli… but the sight of Gabe Jones really sends him over the edge. (Above:) After Gabe gives him a blood transfusion (see p. 12 of this A/E), Stonewell doesn’t make a perhaps-unrealistic 180-degree turn… but there is some sign of progress. Edited & scripted by Stan Lee; penciled and co-plotted by Jack Kirby. Inks by George Roussos as “George Bell.” Thanks to Barry Pearl. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

William Foster III Talks About African-Americans In Comics

JT: Well, I think in comics, it was really clear. Because, I think of Blackhawk and Chop Chop, and Young Allies, where Kirby does a horrible black kid. Whereas when they bring in Sgt. Fury, Gabe is as competent as anybody, and one of the cooler characters. It’s a little silly with the trumpet, but… FOSTER: The trumpet, yeah. JT: But it’s OK. Later, they use him, in terms of music, and that story that takes place in France and the treatment of black men. That’s kind of brilliant. So, they were good on that. The story that the professor is talking about, doesn’t that end with Gabe actually giving blood to the racist? It’s a little heavy-handed in terms of the last comments, the final panel, but it’s good. And I think, in film, you don’t get a lot of that until probably after Fury and Rock and those stories. I think comics are leading the charge, so to speak. FOSTER: Absolutely. Well, I think it’s also that… you guys were talking about Marvel earlier, that they felt that they could do it. DC, maybe not so much, but Marvel ran with it. Maybe they could make a change about something. All of a sudden, Sgt. Fury is like black, one day. But the idea is that he encourages his men to have an appreciation for each other. And I don’t know if DC was, at that point in time, I don’t know… was open to that kind of storytelling. JT: But none of it compares to that EC story where the white guy is being celebrated and he finds out that his fellow black soldier is buried somewhere else and is not honored. And he calls them all out on race. That’s ahead of its time like nothing else.

is that still a powerful story? [NOTE: See p. 8.] FOSTER: That reminded me… I couldn’t tell who inspired it, but I’m guessing that they later inspired The Twilight Zone, where Rod Serling told stories about racial inequity all of the damn time. It must have made the censors crazy. But yeah, the idea that… it’s like you don’t want to tell the story but you got to tell the story. No one censoring you: “Well, we’re not prejudiced, but we’re not talking about it.” Then you’re prejudiced. Shut up, okay? [chuckles] They just couldn’t get it. So, I love that story, and it’s surprising to me how well-known that story has become. I have a friend I just sent a copy of the comics page. In the next issue, where people wrote letters about what they thought of the story. It was interesting that it was kind of an even mix on what people thought they liked and what they didn’t like. And one guy says, “Well, if you like n******s so much, why don’t you go live with them?” Whoa! How do you find a pen? And then, somebody else said, “Thank you for telling the story like you told it.” They took the chance. If they hadn’t, nobody would have said anything, but I think the world would have been poorer for not having heard it. JT: Since you brought up The Twilight Zone, can we just for a second talk about “The Big Tall Wish”? FOSTER: Go for it.

FOSTER: Love that story. I love it because you had to read it carefully, and you had to keep up where he was going with the story. AG: Speaking of EC, did you like that “Judgment Day” story? Where the astronaut… This is 1953 now… comes to the robot planet and there’s one color robot versus another. There is this kind of bigotry going on, and then the astronaut says, “You guys aren’t quite ready yet.” And he takes off his helmet, he’s an African-American man. And then there’s some weird thing with Bill Gaines, and the Comics Code was saying [re the proposed reprinting in 1955], “Well, you can’t have sweat beads on an African-American’s head, it’s too sexual.” And they gave him all this hell and they wouldn’t distribute the comic over it. Or not that they wouldn’t distribute, but the Comics Code wouldn’t approve it, so the newsstands wouldn’t distribute it, until he complained enough. What’s your take on that story? And

Sidekicks (Left:) The Jack Kirby/Syd Shores cover of the Simon-&-Kirby-produced Young Allies #1 (Summer 1941) did the cause of tolerance no favors. Sure, the white kids are broadly caricatured, too, especially the overweight one—but the treatment of Whitewash Jones, on the cover and between covers, was particularly regretful. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] (Right:) Chop Chop was generally treated as comedy relief in the wartime “Blackhawk” stories in Quality’s Military Comics— and that continued after the war, as per Al Bryant’s cover for Blackhawk #17 (Winter 1947)—but at least he was written as courageous. Even so, he tended to fight with a cleaver rather than with a firearm, and was the only one of the seven Blackhawks who never got his own fighter plane! Thanks to the GCD for both scans. [Blackhawk & Chop Chop TM & © DC Comics.]

“You Need Somebody To Give You A Sense Of That History”

EC Does It! (Left:) The final page of the story “In Gratitude” from EC Comics’ Shock SuspenStories #11 (Oct.-Nov. 1953) was admittedly one of what publisher Bill Gaines called the company’s “preachies”—but it was also one of the strongest pleas for racial tolerance made to date in a comicbook. Script by Al Feldstein; art by Wally Wood. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © William M. Gaines, Agent, Inc.]

JT: The boxer that becomes a… FOSTER: Ahh… was that Ivan Dixon? JT: Yeah, with the little boy and dreaming and things. That’s just an example of what Serling was doing, but it’s just amazing. FOSTER: It’s just so sad that the main voice of the story is his [Serling’s]… his feel for the story. It took years for somebody to come back with that same feel. Because the one that they did back in the ‘80s was like… ah oi, not good. JT: Well, there were a couple of good episodes, and there’s a few I really like. But no, it’s not the same. Neither was the [Jordan] Peele one that was on CBS. It’s hard to put that back. I was as big a Twilight Zone fan as you probably are. In fact, my son’s name is Willoughby. FOSTER: [chuckles] You are a big fan. This interview with William Foster III will be concluded in the next issue of Alter Ego, with emphasis on the comics and creators of the 1970s. Alex Grand is a comics history consultant for Marvel Studios, Lego, and The Today Show. He appears in documentaries such as Slugfest and Life According to Stan Lee, writes and animates an ongoing comics history docuseries, and co-hosts “The Comic Book Historians Podcast.” Jim Thompson is a film scholar/lecturer, an attorney, and a co-host of “The Comic Book Historians Podcast.” He has presented comics-related papers at numerous academic conferences and is currently a judge for the 2021 Eisner Awards.

Stay Tuned! Next issue, William Foster III—seen here in a photo taken around the time his first book Looking for a Face Like Mine was published— gives his take on everything from Luke Cage to Fast Willie Jackson. At right are Billy Graham’s first cover for Hero for Hire (#3, Oct. 1972) and Fast Willie Jackson #2 (Dec. ’76), drawn by Gus Lemoine. [HFH cover TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; FWJ art TM & © Fitzgerald Periodicals, Inc.]

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T’Challa dons his Black Panther garb, to prepare for “welcoming” Reed Richards & Co. to Wakanda in The Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966). Script by Stan Lee; pencils by Jack Kirby; inks by Joe Sinnott. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Don’t Get MAD… Get ANGRY! By Michael T. Gilbert

l Feldstein was fed up. After Harvey Kurtzman abandoned Mad in an attempt to catch lightning in a bottle a second time (with Trump magazine), Feldstein had the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of the man who was the heart and soul of the ten-cent Mad comicbook (and later, briefly, Mad the 25¢ black-&-white magazine).

Enough Is Enough! Feldstein finally had enough, and commissioned a two-page article in Mad #41 (Sept. 1958), purporting to make it even easier for imitators to copy Mad. He began by reprinting Jack Davis’ stunning Mad #27 cover (from April 1956), instructing the competition to “design a cover for your imitation that looks like Mad. Here’s an old Mad to copy. Note the border. Note the confusion. Note that our covers don’t even look like this anymore!” And indeed,

Though failure seemed inevitable, under Feldstein’s editorship Mad actually increased its already impressive sales and firmly secured its place as America’s #1 humor magazine. And what thanks did he get? Why, imitations, of course, sprouting like weeds. Over a dozen of them. Shoddy knockoffs with names like Thimk, From Here to Insanity, Snafu, Cracked, and Zany. One publisher even stole the name of Feldstein’s own Panic, after EC dropped that title. Now that’s chutzpa! Of course, this was nothing new. Mad creator Harvey Kurtzman had faced the same problem earlier. He had responded with his wicked “Julius Caesar!” parody in Mad #17 (Nov. 1954), a story both brilliant and audacious. In that eight-page tale, Kurtzman and artist Wally Wood deconstructed one of their own stories, demonstrating panel by panel precisely how to do a cheap Mad knockoff. I wonder what Al Feldstein thought of Kurtzman’s parody, knowing it was also aimed at EC’s own Mad clone Panic, which he was editing? Now, a few years later, as the editor of Mad itself, Al was in the same position, with imitators nipping at his heels.

What, Me Copy? From Mad #43 (Dec. 1958), the first page of their article “How to Put Out an Imitation of Mad.” Writer uncertain. [© E.C. Publications, Inc.]

Don’t Get Mad—Get Angry!

under Feldstein the ornate Kurtzman border had been eliminated, streamlining the magazine’s appearance. Mad also helpfully provided a listing of Mad synonyms, including “crazy, cracked, nuts, loco, frenzy, panic, wild”—all of which were actually used by the Mad copycats. Ironically, the listing even included the words “trump” and “humbug,” two of Kurtzman’s subsequent satire magazines!

Let’s Get Plastered! (Right:) Cracked’s mascot, master plasterer Sylvester P. Smythe, on the cover of Cracked #15 (Aug. 1960). Art by John Severin. [© Major Publications.]

Mad likewise took a swipe at the competition’s mascots,

instructing the copycats to create someone like Alfred E. Neuman… but different. “You could use a plasterer or a cat that drinks whiskey, or… a crutch… you know, really funny stuff like that.” The “plasterer” line was a clear swipe at Cracked’s Sylvester P. Smythe, who began his career plastering the cracks on the covers of the early issues, before morphing into a (very!) simple janitor. A Mad reprint of the issue’s actual index page followed, complete with handydandy liner notes to help future would-be thieves imitate Mad. It was an amusing in-joke, but if Feldstein and the article’s uncredited writer hoped it would end there, they were sadly mistaken.

Take That, Mad! Judging from the angry response from the competition, Mad hit its target squarely between the eyes. From then on, it was war!

All The Angry Young Men “How to Put Out an Imitation of Angry, the Sorehead Magazine,” from Thimk #4 (Dec. 1958). Artist (mercifully!) unknown. [© the respective copyright holders.]

The most direct response was from Counterpoint Publishing’s Thimk #4 (Dec. 1958). Appearing three months after the offending Mad article, Thimk basically published a point-by-point rebuttal under the title “How to Put Out an Imitation of Angry, the Sorehead Magazine.”

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Using the same format as Mad’s original article (naturally!), they ragged on the fact that Feldstein’s Mad had bragged about featuring articles by famous TV and radio humorists like Bob and Ray, Andy Griffith, Ernie Kovacs, and others. Thimk skewered Mad by advising them to “Always run several names of well-known comedians across the top of your cover. Only make sure that most of the stuff you print by them is old material that they have been using on TV and in night clubs for years.” Pow! Take that, Mad!

“Unfair! All magazines producing satire are treading on our toes.”

Another accusation leveled by the competition was that Mad made “extravagant claims”—specifically Mad’s belief that “the satirical magazine is entirely your invention despite the fact that this type of publication was very big back in the 1920s.”

Adding insult to injury, one of Mad’s founding artists, Jack Davis, also contributed to that issue of the Charlton title.

The satires included a Mort Drucker-inspired Bob and Ray parody, another imitating Mad’s Don Martin, and a third spoofing Mad’s TV show parodies. The latter was drawn in the style of Joe Orlando, and signed “Joe Or Lana.” Now that’s what I call a very targeted satire! Wally Wood wasn’t forgotten, either, with a spoof of his spoof of Ripley’s Believe It or Not (signed “Holly Would”).

The only writer listed on the contents page was Gary Belkin.

They were referring to humor magazines such as Judge, Puck, and various college humor magazines. Indeed, one can find examples of earlier versions of Mad’s popular “Scenes We’d Like to See” as early as 1920 in Cartoons Magazine.

And So… Thimk closed the article by accusing Mad of “Self-pity.” In the original Mad article, the writer advised those aping Mad to “cash in on Mad’s six years of hard work building a reputation in the humor and satire field!“ Thimk was having none of that! “Refer tearfully to your ‘six years of building a reputation in the humor and satire field,’” they sneered, adding… “Do not mention that the editor who got the whole thing going has long since left your payroll.” They were, of course, referring to Mad creator Harvey Kurtzman, who quit the magazine in 1956. Clearly, the Thimk writer was familiar with the history and inner workings of Mad. The article’s author wasn’t specifically credited, but the writing staff that issue consisted of Bob Drews, Bob Wood, and Paul Laikin. Oddly enough, beginning in 1957, Laikin would himself write for Mad. If Mr. Laikin was indeed the author of the article, he was wise not to sign it!

From Mad To Bad! Thimk wasn’t the only Mad wannabe to take offense. The folks behind Charlton’s This Magazine Is Crazy really went to town, devoting over six pages to a scathing Mad parody in Vol. 4, #8 (March 1959). Inside was a phony Mad cover (changing the logo from Mad to Bad). A thinly disguised version of Mad mascot Alfred E. Neuman was shown wearing a sandwich board saying

Don’t Get Mad…Get Frantic! Frantic magazine #2 (Dec. 1958) came up with this clever retort to Mad’s page… thereby proving the point that their imitators were only capable of copying Mad! But Frantic wasn’t the only parody mag that had that same original idea. Take THAT, Mad! [© the respective copyright holders.]

Don’t Get Mad—Get Angry!

Belkin, who died in 2005, was credited with providing jokes for Sid Caesar, Carol Burnett, and one of my favorites, the 1961 TV series Car 54, Where Are You? According to comics/ TV scribe Mark Evanier, “One credit you won’t find in that article is Mad magazine, but that was okay. Gary didn’t often mention that he was one of the earlier writers for Mad after Al Feldstein assumed editorship of the publication from Harvey Kurtzman. His job there didn’t last long, as he quarreled with publisher Bill Gaines over Mad’s insistence on owning all rights and refusing to pay royalties or reprint fees.” If Belkin did indeed Filigree Fun write the article, that The article in Mad #43 used Jack Davis’ cover from Mad #27 (April 1956) as an example of how best to copy their magazine. could explain a lot Cracked took them at their word with this detailed John Severin cover for Cracked #3 (July 1958). They even swiped Harvey about the issue’s gleeful Kurtzman’s (long-gone) ornate borders! [© E.C. Publications, Inc., and Major Publications, respectively.] skewering. Rounding up things were some phony Mad-centric comments in Dear Editor, the issue’s “Letters to the Editor.” A bunch of us are getting together to start our own magazine. Since CRAZY is our ideal, we thought we’d get the benefit of your thinking. Can you suggest a title? Billie Laiki and Molly Ed. Note: How about calling it MAD? The phony “Laiki” signature may have been a possible “shout-out” to Thimk and Cracked writer Paul Laikin. Then there was another missive in Charlton’s This Magazine Is Crazy from some New York letter hack who signed himself … (ahem!) … “Albe B. Feldste”: Dear Editor, I think your publication is the best, funniest, most satirical magazine in the humor field. You are so much better than your imitators that I wonder how they even have the nerve to keep coming out with imitations. I hope you folks over at MAD keep up the good work. Wow! Now that’s what I call a successful Mad imitation! Of course, not everyone was fooled, as this letter demonstrates. Editor:

Their Name Was Mud! Parody of Mad publisher Bill Gaines and friend from Loco #2 (Oct. 1958). “Mud magazine?” HA! HA! [© the respective copyright holders.]

Who are you trying to kid? I never wrote you a letter and I never intend to write you a letter. Please stop putting my name after letters that you think are funny. I do not want my name to appear in your rag. I didn’t even write you this letter. Alfred E. Neuman Pseudonymousville, N.Y.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

The “Science” Is Settled! (Above left:) Radio comedy stars Bob & Ray’s “Mr. Science,” drawn by Mort Drucker for Mad #34 (Aug. 1957). [© the respective copyright holders.] (Above right:) That seflsame article’s parody from Charlton’s This Magazine Is Crazy Vol. 4, #8 (March 1959). Art by Tony Couch, Jr. [© Charlton or successors in interest.]

There were similar razzings from Frantic (“SAD magazine”) and other Mad wannabes, but we’ll save those for later. However, if you Mad/Bad/Sad fans can’t wait, I recommend my friend Ger Apeldoorn’s great book on the subject, Behaving Mad-ly! or John Benson’s The Sincerest Form of Parody. They’re Mad-ly entertaining. Till next time…

Tales Calculated To Drive You… BAD! Mad parody from This Magazine Is Crazy, Vol. 4, #8 (March 1959). Art by Tony Couch, Jr. [© Charlton or successors in interest.]

In Memoriam

Joye Hummel Murchison Kelly (1924-2021)

by Richard J. Arndt

oye Hummel Murchison Kelly was born April 4, 1924, and passed away on April 5, 2021, one day after her 97th birthday. She was known in the comics field for her 1944-47 work as a writer on “Wonder Woman,” not only in the character’s own title but for stories that appeared in Sensation Comics and Comic Cavalcade. Her identity was largely unknown to her readers and to most comics professionals for the greater part of her life, until the 2014 publication of Jill Lepore’s book The Secret History of Wonder Woman, which also included a checklist of Joye’s “Wonder Woman” stories. She came to the attention of Dr. William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman, in 1944, when she took a class in psychology taught by him at the Katherine Gibbs School of Secretarial & Executive Training in New York City. He was so impressed by her answers to a composition test that, after her graduation, he offered her a job. At that time Marston was also writing all of Wonder Woman’s appearances in Wonder Woman, Sensation Comics, and Comic Cavalcade and was gearing up to write the character’s upcoming newspaper comic strip. He needed another writer who was in tune with both his philosophy of a strong female and his writing style. Young Joye Hummel fit the bill. She went to work for his private shop/studio in the spring of 1944. She started co-writing stories with him and soon graduated to writing stories on her own. When Marston was stricken with polio in August 1944, she found herself, through necessity, not only the Amazon’s co-writer but also the contact person with Sheldon Meyers (Marston’s editor at All-American Comics, soon to be permanently merged with National/DC Comics); the co-ordinator with “Wonder Woman” artist H.G. Peter; and the unofficial head of the office, as Marston could no longer travel from his home in Rye, New York, to New York City. She was twenty years old. For the next three years she worked, wrote her own stories, typed all of Marston’s, and spent a great deal of time traveling between Rye and Manhattan. Joye’s stories were identifiable from Marston’s because hers were more in the nature of fairy-tales and, to a certain degree, more innocent than Marston’s efforts. Because credits were given only sporadically in 1940s comics (Marston himself was credited only as “Charles Moulton,” a combination of his and publisher M.C. Gaines’ middle names), Hummel never received credit for anything she wrote during the 1940s. When Marston died in May 1947, she took over as the writer of nearly all “Wonder Woman’s” stories, except for a handful scripted by Robert Kanigher. But when she married David Murchison in late 1947 and became the stepmother of his daughter, who had recently lost her

Joye Hummel in 1943, while a student at the Katharine Gibbs School, shortly before she went to work for Dr. William Moulton Marston— and the lead splash page from Wonder Woman #13 (Summer 1945), one of her earlier solo stories. Art by H.G. Peter. Thanks to Richard Arndt & Jim Ludwig for the scans. [Page TM & © DC Comics.]

own mother, Joye abruptly decided to leave the job and the comics world behind and become a full-time mother. The first time anyone outside the industry learned that she was the first female writer of “Wonder Woman” was in 1972, when she sent a letter to comics fandom pioneer Jerry G. Bails stating that fact for his original print Who’s Who in Comic Books project. Portions of that letter were reprinted in G.B. Love’s adzine RCBB #88. She was not mentioned again until the publication of Lepore’s book in 2014. In 2018, through the efforts of Roy Thomas, Paul Levitz, and myself, Alter Ego contacted her for her first and only interview for a comics-history magazine [A/E #157 (Mar. 2019)]. As that interview was in preparation, Mark Evanier, David Siegel, and Jackie Estrada arranged for Joye and her second husband, Jack Kelly, to be special guests at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, and to appear on one of the very last panels featuring a Golden Age creator. She was also presented with the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Writing. During the course of her Golden Age panel she received four standing ovations. Joye told me later that her reception at the Con had her “walking on air.” Joye Kelly was smart, talented, sweet, and strong-minded She disliked what later writers did with Wonder Woman after they dumped Marston’s (and her own) feminist philosophy regarding the Amazon. She loved Gal Godot’s portrayal but otherwise didn’t care for the first “Wonder Woman” movie. She appreciated and respected Dr. Marston’s work, philosophy, and beliefs all of her life. She forged three separate careers and married two men she loved and respected. She lived to see her work enshrined in the Smithsonian. She was the first female writer of “Wonder Woman.” We readers got lucky.

In Memoriam

Carl Gafford, a.k.a. Douglas Jones (Nov. 23, 1953 – July 13, 2020)

“A True Fan of Comicbooks”

by Stephan Friedt he comics industry recently lost Carl Gafford (a.k.a. Douglas Jones) due to complications from diabetes.

Carl had been a true fan of comicbooks from an early age. He contributed to several fanzines, wrote his own dittomachine fanzine Minotaur (from 1968-1972), and contributed to amateur press publications during his teenage years. He even established a cooperative of mini-comic creators through his company, Blue Plaque Publications. Although he disbanded Blue Plaque in 1972, it would morph into today’s UFO (United Fan Organization), a dedicated group of self-publishing fanzine producers and mini-comic creators. Carl started his career in professional comics in 1973 as an

“Gaff” That’s what most of his friends called him—both before and after he changed his name (legally, they think) to Douglas Jones a couple of decades back—so that’s how we’ll label him here. Also seen is the cover of Adventure Comics #380 (May 1969), one of many “Legion of SuperHeroes” covers he colored during his long career. Pencils by Curt Swan; inks by Mike Esposito. Courtesy of the GCD. [Cover TM & © DC Comics.]

assistant proofreader in DC’s production department. He would soon add coloring to his talents, beginning with Justice League of America #115. “Gaff,” as he was affectionately known both before and after his formal change of name, was promoted to assistant production manager in August 1974 and began work on DC’s in-house fanzine The Amazing World of DC Comics, for which he handled editing, writing, production work, and color separations. Carl moved to California in 1976 and worked as a writer and colorist for Marvel’s line of Hanna-Barbera titles. He also worked in the layout department for H-B on the series Godzilla and Super Friends. In 1978 he would return to New York City and the Marvel offices as a freelancer and then the staff typesetter. In early 1981, he went full freelance and colored for both Marvel and DC, but was back on staff at DC by that summer, and soon became Len Wein’s assistant editor. He would go on to be the editor of Adventure Comics Digest. It was during this time that Carl began a multi-year run as the colorist for the Legion of Super-Heroes: 125 regular issues, giants, miniseries, and two different Legion books a month for a year. He would also add freelance coloring to his tasks for Marvel and DC, once again, in 1982. In 1990, Carl jumped ship, moved back to California, and went to work for Disney Comics, producing many of their short-lived series before the license reverted to Gladstone.

Before There Were “Apps”—There Were Apas! CAPA-Alpha, founded in the mid-1960s by Jerry Bails, was the first “comics apa”—with “apa” short for “amateur press alliance,” in which various fans mimeographed and sent in their own brief “magazines” and a “central mailer” assembled them and sent them out to all members. While it finally went all-digital a year or two ago when Gaff had to step down as long-time central mailer, k-a, as it’s called for short, has thrived for nearly 60 years. Gaff drew and colored this cover for its 627th issue, dated January 2017. [Characters TM & © DC Comics; other art © Estate of Carl Gafford/Douglas Jones.]

In March of 1993, he moved back to New York to work with Jim Shooter on his new line, Defiant Comics. In June of 1993, he went to work for Jim Salicrup at the new Topps Comics, where he would remain until it folded in 1997. In 1994 Carl would revert to writing and drawing his own anthropomorphic stories for publishers like Antarctica, Radio Comics, Shandy Fantasy Arts, and Big Bang Comics, where he returned to super-heroes. Carl is survived by his former wife, fellow one-time comics colorist Sharon Ing, and their son.

few fanzines I have saved from that era. Actually, I was introduced to Amra by Margaret Gemignani, who was a fantasy & SF fan in Rochester [NY], in addition to being well-known in comics fandom. I only met her once, when I visited her home as a starry-eyed high school student in ’63 or ’64. She was a gracious host and really broadened my horizons about the fantasy and SF fields. This afternoon I dusted off my bound volumes of Amra and searched for Dave’s art. I found four illustrations: One of a centaur talking to a topless girl in Amra, Vol. 2, #51, dated November ’69. One of a guy fighting skeletons in armor in Vol. 2, #71, dated April ’71—hard to tell if it’s from The Moon Maid or of John Carter. One of a guy and a girl from issue #71—I’m guessing it’s Red Hawk from Burroughs’ Moon Maid trilogy. One of a guy with a sword from Vol. 2, #55, dated December ’71—does not look like John Carter, but looks strangely like some of the headgear used in the Marvel four-color Conan comic. Paul Allen Thanks, Paul. Amra, the long-running fanzine which took its name and raison d’être from the name (supposedly meaning “lion”) that Conan took while sailing with the black corsairs in the Robert E. Howard story “Queen of the Black Coast,” was an unending treasure trove of art and information concerning the sword-and-sorcery genre… and also served as a training ground for several future comics stars such as Dave, Dan Adkins, and perhaps a few others… when it wasn’t running eye candy by already-established talents like Roy G. Krenkel. Into each issue of A/E, it seems, a bit of rain must fall… in the form of mistakes that creep in, one way or another. But since we want to correct all such mistakes, we were glad to hear from longtime reader Glen Cadigan….

irectly above, in this issue’s “maskot” illo, Shane Foley juxtaposes Biljo White’s 1964 creation Captain Ego, whose origin appeared in Alter Ego [Vol. 1] #7, with Voodah, the black jungle king first drawn by the great African-American artist Matt Baker back in Crown Comics #3 (Fall 1945), as noted earlier this issue. Now, if this was a Marvel comic of the 1960s (or 1970s, or 1980s, or…), the two of them would undoubtedly be about to clash in a furious free-for-all… but because this is Alter Ego, they’re probably just going to head out together to get a beer. Thanks to Shane and colorist Randy Sargent for this powerful pairing. [Captain Ego TM & © Roy Thomas & Estate of Bill Schelly; other art © Shane Foley.]

Our “re:”-splendent spotlight falls on A/E #163, which coverfeatured some of the earliest artwork of the wonderful artist and all-round nice guy Dave Cockrum, although there were other treasures contained within its colorful covers as well. And what better way to start out our letters section than with an e-missive from Paul Allen, who corresponded with Dave in 1969-70, at a time when both were young men in the U.S. Navy, and who provided the cornucopia of Cockrum Edgar-RiceBurroughs-oriented artwork that formed the core of that 2020 issue. And wouldn’t you just know—he’s got a few more goodies for us!... Hi Roy, What a delight to see the Dave Cockrum issue in print at long last! I was amazed at how many of the letters you reproduced in addition to the artwork. Your photo captions very nicely related Dave’s early work to his later professional career. Not having followed the latter, that’s something I couldn’t really attempt. I noticed you highlighted Dave’s mention of having “finally made” Amra in his early-1970 letter to me. Amra was one of my favorite fanzines throughout the ’60s and ’70s, and is one of the

Hi Roy, If there are two aspects of Dave Cockrum’s career that are overlooked, they are his love of all things ERB and model kits. In one fell swoop, Alter Ego #163 covered both of these topics, making the issue the perfect complement to your previous Dave Cockrum spotlight (#78). I enjoyed it so much that I hate to mention a few errors that crept in, but one leads to an interesting story, so… On page 3, regarding the creation of Storm, Dave mentions “a bird lady called Ketzil” whose face was used as the model for Storm’s face. That should be spelled Quetzal, but, as her design sheet shows (see follow-up e-mail), her name was originally Flamingo. Why the name change? I asked Dave about it and this is what he said: “I have no idea why I wanted to call her Flamingo first, but Sergio Aragonés looked over my shoulder one day when I had the designs at DC and said, ‘Are you nuts? Flamingos aren’t green. Call her Quetzal.’ Sometimes one can’t see the obvious even when one has stubbed his toe on it and fallen and bloodied his nose.” Page 3 also said that Dave created or co-created “various members of DC’s Legion of Super-Heroes,” but he only created one: Wildfire. The rest were costume re-designs. On page 4, Giant-Size X-Men #1 is credited to Chris Claremont and Dave; obviously, that should be Len Wein. And, just before it, the rise of Sue Richards to be “in many ways the most powerful of the Fantastic Four” is estimated to take place in the ’70s. That was actually under John Byrne in the ’80s. Finally, the Captain America sketch on page 8 was for the novel Holocaust for Hire, written by “Joseph Silva” (actually Ron Goulart) and published in 1979. Dave did do a cover for a Captain America reprint collection, but that’s not it.

[correspondence, comments, & corrections]

Amra-Kadabra! Here, courtesy of Paul Allen, are four ERB-oriented Dave Cockrum illustrations from 1969-71 issues of the eminent sword-and-sorcery fanzine Amra, published by George Scithers. Getting into Amra had been one of young Dave’s main ambitions! [Art © Estate of Dave Cockrum.]

re:

12-chapter “Blue Beetle” series, that proposal, including some concept art, was recently published by Robin Snyder in two publications: The Hero Comics #26 (Spring 2018) and #29 (Autumn 2019). It provides a fascinating look at what he planned for the character. The books are still in print and info on how to purchase them (and other Snyder/Ditko books) is available at http://ditko. blogspot.com/p/ditko-book-in-print.html... or you can contact Robin Snyder directly at SnyderandDitko@icloud.com. Nick Caputo Robin Snyder’s various efforts, including his long-established publication The Comics, are indeed a source of many Ditko masterworks. In David Drake’s piece on pulp and comics writer Manly Wade Wellman, the former remarks that Wellman often referred to the early comicbook super-villain The Claw as “The Green Claw,” and Keith Hammond wrote to straighten out that little matter for us…. Hi, In regards to the Manly Wade Wellman story, I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about this talented man. By coincidence, I just read a Daredevil and Claw public-domain reprint book from Gwandanaland. The Wellman story about The Green Claw intrigued me, so I researched it. Not only did I find in Silver Streak #6 The Claw’s return to his “jabbering” followers, but I found that the first panel does identify the strip as “The Green Claw”! I just remember The Claw myself, but credit Wellman with a tremendous memory! Keith Hammond

You Say “Ketzil,” I Say “Flamingo” Glen Cadigan, besides correcting the spelling Cockrum employed for his original conception of a character called Quetzal, even sent us a scan of Dave’s color sketch of same! Note that the word “Flamingo” is crossed out below it—evidently at the suggestion of Mad artist Sergio Aragonés. Thanks, buddy! [Art © Estate of Dave Cockrum.]

Of course, none of these boo-boos take anything away from the importance of his correspondence with Paul Allen! What a find! Glen Cadigan

Probably better than he even wanted to have, Keith, since clearly Wellman, like most established pulp-magazine writers who later labored in the comicbook vineyards, tended to look down on things he had scribed in the four-color medium. But, like I’ve said before, writers and artists may (or may not) be the best judges of the work they have done… especially in a popular medium. Something else I’ve basically said before: We should probably be paying Bernie Bubnis as an article-writer for Alter Ego, since not only does he contribute so regularly to our “re:” section, but he usually provides rare tidbits of information about the early days of comics fandom, since he was a major co-host of the very first comics convention ever, in the summer of 1964.

Thanks for the additional information, Glen. We (that’s Roy and his ever-watchful proofreaders) should’ve caught the several mistakes that crept into the transcription of Joe Kramer’s interview with Dave and Paty Cockrum. Of course, Dave actually did create/design a whole bunch of potential members of DC’s Legion of Super-Heroes… it’s just that several of them wound up instead, in one form or another, in The X-Men! And we’re glad to know the correct source of that penciled Captain America drawing. Incidentally, your fellow readers Mark Reznicek and Nick Caputo also pointed out the latter mis-ID. The just-mentioned Nick also sent a few other comments on that issue: Hi Roy, Nice to see Peter Normanton represented in the pages of A/E. I’ve always enjoyed his From the Tomb. A nice look [in FCA] at Manly Wade Wellman, another author whose comics writing is unfortunately largely unknown. And, of course, a fine tribute to Malcolm Willits in Bill Schelly’s final “Comic Fandom Archive,” sadly. I can answer Pierre Comtois’ question in the letters section about the unpublished Ditko material intended for DC’s Comics Cavalcade Weekly. While DC rejected Ditko’s proposal for a

It’s Not Easy Staying Green! Proof positive! A photo of the splash panel of “The Green Claw” story from Silver Streak #6 (Sept. 1940), from Your Guide Publications. Art & script by Jack Cole. On the cover, though, the giant arch-villain was referred to simply as “The Claw.” Thanks to Keith Hammond. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

[correspondence, comments, & corrections]

Hi Roy, I SAW THE WHOLE THING! I was there. They laughed out loud at him. “WHAT?... you gotta be kidding!” As Phil Seuling hunched forward holding his stomach, his laugh filled the entire room. Bill Thailing made a face and looked away. Claude Held smiled broadly, saying, “You’re asking too much.” Loud words from a man who rarely raised his voice. Holy cow—even Howard Rogofsky said to him, “Your prices are too high.” Roy, I was watching a train wreck. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: By way of elucidation for the young: All four of the aforementioned gentlemen were 1960s dealers in used comicbooks, and Rogofsky in particular was noted for charging some of the highest prices then going, because he purchased occasional ads in the comics themselves to increase his reach.] It was the 27th day of July 1964, and Malcolm Willits was ending his cross-country car trip from California at a small comics convention in New York City. Since I promised him that other dealers would be present, he had intended to make a few comicbook sales. Simple enough. The cardboard box he carried contained three comicbooks: Action #1, Detective Comics #27, and Captain America #1. Simple enough. All he wanted… let me repeat this in Phil Seuling’s [gruff] voice: “All he wanted… was $500!!” I did mention that it was 1964, didn’t I? Not so simple, but Malcolm and his friend Tom Wilson took it all with a smile. No doubt Malcolm saw the future and inflation. He knew a good thing when he saw it in his cardboard box and drove those comics (and Tom) back to California. I was able to sell him some early “for African American movie theaters only” movie posters (Pigmeat Markham, etc.) that I could not give away in 1964. Today, they are worth a pretty penny, and just like those three comicbooks… hold on for tomorrow. Now, about the rest of #163:

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Great cover! Logo and lead surrounding Dave with great graphics below. It’s a real eye-catcher. I started to totally lose comics and fandom around 1972. Hence, I sure missed a lot of great stuff from Dave Cockrum. The graphics accompanying these three articles is amazing. It almost seems he drew the entire 24 hours of each day. Interesting to see how “creating” a character could be fun, if it wasn’t so depressing to realize that, the moment your boss takes the idea, you lose the idea. Not just because Hollywood could make a movie using that idea and ignore your birthing rights, but just because… just because it really belongs to you. Wow!! From the Tomb is off to a good start. Great idea to make this horror-comic concept a part of Alter Ego. I thought another Biro piece was going to be too much, but I was wrong. Mr. Gilbert combines lost graphics with good storytelling for a pleasant look at this fascinating guy. FCA, David Drake, and Richard Arndt fit right into this issue of A/E, with their piece on Manly Wade Wellman. Surely something for everyone in this issue. Bernie Bubnis Can’t help smiling at the thought of the outrage of my old friend Phil Seuling (who later hosted numerous big New York City comics conventions, beginning in the late ’60s) at the thought of someone charging a whole $500 for those three seminal comics. Of course, if someone had purchased them and hung onto them (assuming they were in reasonably good shape, as they probably were), he/she might stand to sell the trio today for seven figures. Not a bad investment! Got a kudo or a correction or even (sob!) a complaint concerning Alter Ego? Drop a line via USPS or cyberspace to: Roy Thomas 32 Bluebird Trail St. Matthews, SC 29135

roydann@ntinet.com

Also, for more exchanges of opinions and info, seek out https:// groups.io/g/Alter-Ego-Fans chat group. If you can’t locate it, or can’t get in to join, please contact moderator Chet Cox at mormonyoyoman@gmail.com and he’ll help you navigate your way over the rapids. This discussion group deals with many comics-related matters, and I try to pass on a few tidbits (and, admittedly, requests for help) from time to time. If you’re on Facebook, check out what moderator/manager/pal John Cimino has named the Roy Thomas Appreciation Board. John keeps it up to the minute on my comics convention appearances, occasional comicbook forays, and sightings at the local Mexican restaurant. All this, and it’s interactive, too!

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ALTER EGO #164

ALTER EGO #165

DIEDGITIIOTANSL BLE

AVAILA

ALTER EGO #159

ALTER EGO #162

ALTER EGO #163

Peter Cannon–Thunderbolt writer/artist PETE MORISI talks about the creative process! Plus, read his correspondence with comics greats JACK KIRBY, JOE SIMON, AL WILLIAMSON, CHARLES BIRO, JOE GILL, GEORGE TUSKA, ROCKY MASTROSERIO, PAT MASULLI, SAL GENTILE, DICK GIORDANO, and others! Also: JOHN BROOME’s bio, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and BILL SCHELLY!

WILL MURRAY presents an amazing array of possible prototypes of Batman (by artist FRANK FOSTER—in 1932!)—Wonder Woman (by Star-Spangled Kid artist HAL SHERMAN)—Tarantula (by Air Wave artist LEE HARRIS), and others! Plus a rare Hal Sherman interview—MICHAEL T. GILBERT with more on artist PETE MORISI—FCA— BILL SCHELLY—JOHN BROOME—and more! Cover homage by SHANE FOLEY!

The early days of DAVE COCKRUM— Legion of Super-Heroes artist and co-developer of the revived mid-1970s X-Men—as revealed in art-filled letters to PAUL ALLEN and rare, previously unseen illustrations provided by wife PATY COCKRUM (including 1960s-70s drawings of Edgar Rice Burroughs heroes)! Plus FCA—MICHAEL T. GILBERT on PETE MORISI—JOHN BROOME—BILL SCHELLY, and more!

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ALTER EGO #166

ALTER EGO #167

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WILL MURRAY showcases original Marvel publisher (from 1939-1971) MARTIN GOODMAN, with artifacts by LEE, KIRBY, DITKO, ROMITA, MANEELY, BUSCEMA, EVERETT, BURGOS, GUSTAVSON, SCHOMBURG, COLAN, ADAMS, STERANKO, and many others! Plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt with more on PETE MORISI, JOHN BROOME, and a cover by DREW FRIEDMAN!

FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA (FCA) Special, with spotlights on KURT SCHAFFENBERGER (Captain Marvel, Ibis the Invincible, Marvel Family, Lois Lane), and ALEX ROSS on his awesome painting of the super-heroes influenced by the original Captain Marvel! Plus MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s “Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt” on Superman editor MORT WEISINGER, JOHN BROOME, and more! Cover by SCHAFFENBERGER!

Salute to Golden & Silver Age artist SYD SHORES as he’s remembered by daughter NANCY SHORES KARLEBACH, fellow artist ALLEN BELLMAN, DR. MICHAEL J. VASSALLO, and interviewer RICHARD ARNDT. Plus: mid-1940s “Green Turtle” artist/creator CHU HING profiled by ALEX JAY, JOHN BROOME, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and Mr. Monster on MORT WEISINGER Part Two, and more!

Two RICHARD ARNDT interviews revealing the wartime life of Aquaman artist/ co-creator PAUL NORRIS (with a Golden/ Silver Age art gallery)—plus the story of WILLIE ITO, who endured the WWII Japanese-American relocation centers to become a Disney & Warner Bros. animator and comics artist. Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, JOHN BROOME, and more, behind a NORRIS cover!

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ALTER EGO #169

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ALTER EGO #171

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Spotlight on Groovy GARY FRIEDRICH— co-creator of Marvel’s Ghost Rider! ROY THOMAS on their six-decade friendship, wife JEAN FRIEDRICH and nephew ROBERT HIGGERSON on his later years, PETER NORMANTON on GF’s horror/ mystery comics, art by PLOOG, TRIMPE, ROMITA, THE SEVERINS, AYERS, et al.! FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and Mr. Monster, and more! MIKE PLOOG cover!

JACK KIRBY is showcased cover-to-cover behind a never-before-printed Kirby cover! WILL MURRAY on Kirby’s contributions to the creation of Iron Man—FCA on his Captain Marvel/Mr. Scarlet Fawcett work—Kirby sections by MICHAEL T. GILBERT & PETER NORMANTON—Kirby in 1960s fanzines—STAN LEE’s colorful quotes about “The King”, and ROY THOMAS on being a Kirby fan (and foil)!

PAUL GUSTAVSON—Golden Age artist of The Angel, Fantom of the Fair, Arrow, Human Bomb, Jester, Plastic Man, Alias the Spider, Quicksilver, Rusty Ryan, Midnight, and others—is remembered by son TERRY GUSTAFSON, who talks in-depth to RICHARD ARNDT. Lots of lush comic art from Centaur, Timely, and (especially) Quality! Plus—FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, JOHN BROOME, and more!

ALFREDO ALCALA is celebrated for his dreamscape work on Savage Sword of Conan and other work for Marvel, DC, and Warren, as well as his own barbarian creation Voltar, as RICH ARNDT interviews his sons Alfred and Christian! Also: FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, PETER NORMANTON’s horror history From The Tomb, JOHN BROOME, and more!

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Norman Saunders, Fawcetteer–Part II

by David Saunders

FCA INTRODUCTION: David Saunders, besides being an artist in his own right (and a historian of pulp art), is the son of the much-respected pulp-magazine and comicbook cover artist Norman Saunders. Last issue, David related the early history of Fawcett Publications in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and how his father came to work for the company in 1926. His career as an artist for the company was just taking off when Fawcett was struck by the Great Depression in 1929-30….

hen the banking system failed, the pace of manufacturing slowed, and that shut off the golden spigot of advertising that fueled the publishing industry. Nevertheless, Fawcett Publications continued to make a profit during those hard times by keeping a tight grip on overhead, packing every issue with cheap thrills, and depending on newsstand sales instead of corporate advertisers. In 1931 Norman Saunders and Fawcett’s Technical Editor, Weston (Westy) Farmer, joined forces to create Mechanical Package Magazine, which came in a paper carton with prefabricated parts to assemble a small machine, such as a steam engine, an electric motor, or a telegraph key. Hobbyists in that era were already fascinated with building model airplanes, so the magazine soon became a wildly popular craze. Devoted fans formed “Mech

The Men & The Magazines (Above:) A look inside Fawcett’s Robbinsdale, Minnesota, offices (“just one trolley ride from downtown Minneapolis”) in 1932, a year before the publisher’s move to the East Coast. At left, against the wall, is Fawcett’s future longtime art director Al Allard; in the middle of that row is artist Norman Saunders; forefront man unidentified. On the far right is artist Allen Anderson. (Below:) Norman Saunders’ cover(s) for Vol. 1, #2 (April 1932) of the unique Mechanical Package Magazine. It consisted of a stiff-paper box (below left) about the same size as a comicbook but about ½ inch thick. Inside that was a magazine (below right) that contained small parts that could be assembled into a little mechanism, such as a steam engine or model airplane. Saunders co-created the magazine with Fawcett’s technical editor, Weston Farmer, who was depicted in A/E #172. Thanks to David Saunders and P.C. Hamerlinck for all scans printed with this piece, unless otherwise noted. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Pack Clubs” all over the nation. In 1933 Westy and Norm produced another visionary magazine for Fawcett, called Technocrats, which proposed a new socio-economic order based on the supremacy of the inventor. (See Saunders’ cover for that magazine’s Jan. 1933 issue in A/E #172.) Westy had a formative influence on Norm’s ideal of creativity. In addition to illustrating covers and articles, Saunders also wrote articles under his own byline in Modern Mechanics, Mechanical Package, and Technocrats. In one such essay he wrote, “It is with a lusty cheer The Editors of this magazine congratulate modern interior decorators for kicking outmoded designs into the dump heap, and setting up a style that is as modern as tomorrow, based on the practicality of geometrical elements. Modern man does not wear mediaeval

Fawcett Collectors Of America

In 1933 the new Empire State Building was open to the thrill-seeking public, and Rockefeller Center was beaming nightly radio broadcasts from “high atop the Rainbow Room” to a mesmerized national audience. The NYC pulp magazine industry was booming, and Donenfeld’s “spicy” pulps had expanded into aviation, adventures, mysteries, detectives, and Westerns. In order to remain competitive, Fawcett decided to move to New York City. They kept most of their staff in Minnesota, where the labor costs were lower, but they opened executive offices at 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, next to Grand Central Station, and they also opened a printing plant in Greenwich, Connecticut. In the summer of 1934, Norm Saunders and fellow staff artist Ralph Carlson both quit their full-time jobs at Fawcett and went freelance! They boarded the train for NYC, and within a week were making a living. Ralph drew story Man & Machine At Work! illustrations for Dime Mystery, Dime Western, and Norman Saunders’ cover painting for Fawcett’s Modern Mechanics and Inventions magazine Ace High Western. Norm sold pulp covers to Dell, (July 1932)… along with a historic photo of the artist at work creating that cover image. Street & Smith, and Ace Magazines. He also sold [Cover TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.] work to longtime Fawcett rival Harry Donenfeld, but Norm wanted to remain on good terms with armor! Why then should his home be furnished with slavish copies Fawcett, so he used a fake name for those jobs and signed with only of antiquities?” his middle name “Blaine.” In addition to needing an in-house art staff to assemble Thanks to Norm’s hectic years with Fawcett, he was ready paste-ups and draw story illustrations, Fawcett also needed for the grinding challenge of the New York publishing world. He full-color covers to attract newsstand sales. This was a special field, so they had to hire professionals from New York City, such as Harry Parkhurst (1876-1962), Marland Stone (1895-1975), Zoe Mozert (1907-1993), Rafael De Soto (1904-1992), George Rozen (1895-1973), and his twin brother Jerome Rozen (1895-1987). These jobs were typically budgeted for $125. To save on this cost, Fawcett invited his staff artists to use their spare time to create prospective cover paintings for his approval, and if he liked one, he would pay $75 for it. Saunders jumped on this offer. He soon delivered six candidate covers, and a week later was told they were all accepted! Starting in May 1932, Saunders painted seventeen consecutive monthly covers for Modern Mechanics. This extra income made him the highest-paid artist at Fawcett. After signing one particularly large paycheck, [publisher] Captain Billy made a grandstand show of hand-delivering it to Saunders at his desk, while loudly announcing for everyone’s benefit, “I just wanted to ask you in person how the hell are you making more money than me?” This taste of success gave Saunders the desire to compete in the “big leagues” as a New York City illustrator. He knew that all magazine publishers closely watched their competitors’ products, so he soon began to wonder if his reputation was already growing beyond Minneapolis. To test the theory, he created some covers for NYC magazines and mailed them to the publishers for consideration. He was soon rewarded with several sales to George Delacorte at Dell Magazines, Lincoln Hoffman at Ranger Publications, and Harry Donenfeld at Trojan Publishing. Most artists were happy to have steady employment during the Great Depression, so freelance illustrators were considered reckless mavericks, because their life entirely depended on the visual appeal of their latest painting. Only a handful of freelance artists earned enough to thrive as “hired guns.” When Saunders discovered that his paintings appealed to some art directors in New York, he wanted to seek his fortune in “the big time.”

Ralph Carlson Saunders’ Fawcetteer friend Ralph Carlson was one of the primary artists on the Rocky Lane Western comicbook, as evidenced by this splash page from issue #3 (July ’49). Carlson’s employment at Fawcett was terminated after the FBI informed the publisher of the artist’s alleged ties to the Communist Party. [Page TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Norman Saunders, Fawceteer—Part II

Wasn’t The Future Wonderful? Lead illustrations by Saunders for Fawcett’s Modern Mechanics and Inventions: on “electric air trolleys” (May 1930), on a predicted future of robot boxers (Jan. 1931), and re all-purposes cameras (Jan. 1934). [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

studied the newsstands to devise cover ideas that would appeal to each specific magazine. He would make six finished paintings “on spec” and bring them to the editor’s office, usually selling most of them. After respectfully noting the editor’s suggested revisions for the unsold paintings, he would take them back to his studio—stopping off along the way at every other publisher in hope of a random sale of the rejects. In this way, his cover paintings soon appeared on magazines from Dell, Ace, Martin Goodman, Donenfeld, Street & Smith, Fiction House, Popular, Blue Ribbon, and

Fawcett Collectors Of America

Ralph Daigh. When the two Fawcetteers used the names “Captain,” “Billy,” and “Whiz” for this new project, they were commemorating the Fawcett company’s origins in its long-running flagship title Capt. Billy’s Whiz Bang. Assigned by Daigh to writer William Lee Parker and artist Charles Clarence Beck, Captain Marvel and his alter ego Billy Batson first appeared in the February 1940 issue of Whiz Comics (officially #2), which was published in December 1939.

The Horse’s Name Is Topper—Or Is It Butch?

And Godzilla’s Still Two Decades Away!

During Saunders’ cover for Fawcett’s Hopalong Cassidy #38 World War II, (Dec. 1949). [TM & © the respective trademark & Captain Marvel’s copyright holders.] comics outsold Superman’s. Fawcett expanded their comics line with Spy Smasher, Captain Midnight, and later, Nyoka the Jungle Girl, but none of these publications had any need for Norm’s talent, until Fawcett

This Saunders-illustrated page from the April 1933 issue of Modern Mechanics and Inventions demonstrated how “movie magic” created the illusion of a gigantic King Kong carrying Fay Wray to the top of the new Empire State Building—a year before the artist split to find fame and fortune in the Big Apple. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Thrilling. He firmly believed that a freelance artist could only survive if his painting style, and not his painting subject, identified him: “The last thing you want to be is pigeonholed as an expert at only one thing!” Saunders was soon recognized as a top freelance artist, who consistently produced sensational pulp covers for every subject. Fawcett nemesis Donenfeld also operated Independent News Distributing, an affiliate of ANC Distributing, which was crooked. In defiance, Fawcett started their own distribution company. This also meant that they were immediately privy to any developments in newsstand sales. By 1940, the publishing industry was in an uproar over the explosive sales of millions of comicbooks featuring “The Man of Tomorrow”—Superman. Echoes from that blast still reverberate today, every time a wealthy collector pays a million dollars for a copy of Action Comics #1. Superman was written by Jerry Siegel and drawn by Joe Shuster, but the copyright was owned by Harry Donenfeld. Captain Billy died in 1940, but his son, Roscoe Kent Fawcett, had earlier called a meeting of his creative team and demanded, “Give me a Superman, only have his other identity be a ten-totwelve-year-old boy rather than a grown man.” He put Al Allard in charge of the project, with assistance from editorial director

Love & Marriage This informal photo from September 1946 was taken on Norm Saunders’ wedding day in New York City. (Standing left to right:) Norm’s younger brother Duane Saunders and (in shadow) “Fawcetteer” Ralph Carlson, with his left hand on Norm’s easel. (Seated l. to r.:) abstract painter Gerald Coarding; Ellene Politis Saunders, artist’s model and bride; groom Norman Saunders; “Fawcetteer” Allen Anderson, with Maid of Honor Dotty Wexland seated on his lap.

Norman Saunders, Fawceteer—Part II

Let’s Play Dominoes! While Saunders would later paint a number of covers for Fawcett, he never created one for Captain Marvel or the company’s other super-heroes. For May, August, and November of 1936, however, he had fetchingly illustrated the masked Domino Lady on the covers of issues of Fiction House’s Saucy Romantic Adventures and Mystery Adventure Magazine. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.] In the photo, the highly-sought-after magazine cover artist Norman Saunders is ready for a night on the town— in New York City, 1938.

expanded their line of comics with Westerns and other genres. In 1948 Saunders began to paint covers for Fawcett comicbooks Bob Swift Boy Sportsman, Hopalong Cassidy, Tom Mix Western, Bill Boyd Western, and Real Western Hero. These were all freelance assignments. Norm was not a staff artist, so he only dropped by the offices to deliver work. Ralph Carlson was a staff artist and regularly drew Rocky Lane Western for Fawcett comics. By 1950 Fawcett Distributing noticed that newsstand sales of paperbacks with covers painted by James Avati (1912-2005) were skyrocketing. Fawcett started their own line of paperbacks, Gold Medal Books, with the innovative concept of printing first-run material. Until then, paperbacks were exclusively a secondary market, after the big bucks had been made selling hardcover copies as Christmas presents. Instead of waiting in line to reprint a condensed version of the next blockbuster, Fawcett offered lucrative deals to authors for first-run rights. This revolutionized the paperback market. It paid off right away. Fawcett made millions of dollars with Gold Medal paperbacks, so they branched out with three other imprints, Red Seal Books, Crest Books, and Premier Books. Saunders painted several prospective covers for Fawcett paperbacks, but they preferred artists who worked in the Avati style, since he was the goose laying the golden eggs, so they hired Baryé Phillips (1924-1969), Mitchell Hooks (1923-2013), and James Meese (1917-1971).

At the same time, Ziff-Davis, a Chicago pulp publisher, had decided to move to New York City to start a new line of comicbooks. They first hired Jerry Siegel as art director, but he was soon replaced by Herb Rogoff (1927-2018), a sports cartoonist. Most of their comicbooks sported painted covers, and they used some of the top pulp artists, such as Norman Saunders, Allen Anderson, Ralph DeSoto, and Clarence Doore. In 1952 Fawcett hired Saunders to paint several nightmarish covers for Fawcett’s line of horror comics: Unknown World, Strange Stories from Another World, and Worlds of Fear. This last title once featured Norm’s classic cover of a tormented man with empty eye-sockets shrieking in a creepy land of giant staring eyeballs. This gruesome cover was exhibit “A” in Senator Estes Kefauver’s U.S. Senate Subcommittee investigation of connections between comicbooks and juvenile delinquency—a hearing which altered the history of the comics by codifying decency. Around that time, Fawcett was informed by the FBI that they were monitoring Ralph Carlson for his connection with the Communist Party, so he was fired. He was subpoenaed to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee, where he refused to name names, after which he was jailed for contempt of court and blacklisted from the comicbook industry. The only person who would hire him was his faithful old art teacher, Walt Wilwerding, so Ralph moved back to Minneapolis and taught cartooning at his old correspondence art school for the rest of his life. The final blow came for Fawcett when they lost the publishing rights to their top seller, Captain Marvel, who was appearing in several monthly comics. Fawcett had finally succumbed to a vindictive lawsuit by their oldest competitor, Harry Donenfeld, who

Fawcett Collectors Of America

The Best Defense…? Fawcett Publications made headlines defending its comicbooks in this June 9, 1948, newspaper article accompanied by a photo of Fawcett VP/GM Roger Fawcett (left) and Treasurer Gordon Fawcett (right) looking on as editorial director Ralph Daigh (center) inspects a copy of their recently published Captain Marvel Adventures #87, cover-dated August ’48. Daigh and Norman Saunders had been roommates in their early “Fawcetteering” days.

Mixing It Up! All Eyes (?) Were On… Worlds of Fear #10 (June 1953) spotlighted Saunders’ legendary painted cover depicting multiple eyeballs staring at an anguished man with empty eye-sockets. The Fawcett issue would be in the spotlight at the infamous Kefauver Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency investigation of comicbooks in ’54. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Fawcett’s Tom Mix Western comicbook, issue #20 (Aug. 1949); cover painted by Norman Saunders. His covers for two other issues were seen in A/E #172. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

claimed Captain Marvel too closely resembled DC’s copyrighted and trademarked Superman. Fawcett ceased publishing their entire line of comicbooks. By 1953, the old Fawcetteers, Saunders, Carlson, and Anderson, were all running seriously low on freelance assignments, while the publishing industry fought a losing battle against the rising dominance of television. Saunders continued to visit Ralph Daigh and Al Allard in the Fawcett executive offices, looking for work. The best they could offer was an occasional illustrated story for Modern Mechanics, which had been retitled Mechanix Illustrated. While trying to make ends meet, Norman Saunders introduced his wife, Ellene Saunders (1922-2006), to Fawcett Publications, where she was hired in 1958 as a proofreader for minimum wage. She rose through the ranks over the next twenty years to become Chief Executive Editor of Woman’s Day Special Interest Magazines. Fawcett Distribution had the brilliant idea

Norman Saunders, Fawceteer—Part II

Hoppy, Bill, & Me Hopalong Cassidy on the cover of Fawcett’s Western Hero #80 (July 1949)—and William Boyd on the cover of Bill Boyd Western #2 (April 1950); both covers painted by Norman Saunders. More than any other Western star in their lineup except maybe Tom Mix, actor William Boyd—who portrayed Hopalong Cassidy in all the films—had the greatest amount of exposure in Fawcett’s comics, since he starred in two titles (as both Hoppy and himself), as well as appearing in many issues of Western Hero. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

A Boy’s Life (Left:) Fawcett comicbook Bob Swift Boy Sportsman #3 (Sept. 1951). Swift, by the way, was a totally made-up character, unlike most of Fawcett’s Western heroes, who were usually the stars of Saturday-afternoon cowboy movies. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

to market magazines in racks next to supermarket cashiers. These “impulse sales” proved phenomenally successful. In 1977 CBS purchased Fawcett Publications for fifty million dollars, mainly because of the lucrative advertising in Woman’s Day Magazine. Mrs. Saunders finally retired in 1982. Her retirement present was a gold-plated whiskey glass with an embossed image of Whiz Bang Magazine, but it was her pension from Fawcett that kept the Saunders family most grateful to Captain Billy!

Go West, Young Lady! A 1958 photo taken in the art studio of Norman Saunders, who is holding his wife, Ellene Politis Saunders, in his arms, while their three-year-old son, David Saunders (the author of this article), goofs around on the floor. This image was a reference photo for pulp magazine cover Western Romances (July ’58) for Columbia Magazines. Ironically, Ellene Saunders herself would work for Fawcett (and its buyer, CBS) from 1958 through 1982. [Cover TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Fawcett Collectors Of America

FAWCETT PUBLICATIONS COMICBOOK COVERS BY NORMAN SAUNDERS

A World’s Worth Of Horrific Worlds Fawcett’s Unknown World #1 (June 1952) and Strange Stories from Another World #3 & #4 (Oct. & Dec. ’52) were all fronted by Saunders covers. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Strange Stories from Another World # 2, 3, 4, 5

Bill Boyd Western # 2

Tom Mix Western # 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23

Bob Swift Boy Sportsman # 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Unknown World # 1

Hopalong Cassidy # 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41

Western Hero # 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83

Real Western Hero #74

Worlds of Fear # 10

For this two-part article, interviews were conducted with Norman and Ellene Saunders (the author’s parents), Ralph Carlson, Allen Anderson, Al Allard, Donald Cooley, and Herb Rogoff. Archival research was conducted at the New York Public Library, the U.S. Census, the Social Security Administration, and the archives of The New York Times.

Images From Three Decades Norman Saunders’ 1966 passport photo—and a pic of him with his son David in New York City in 1979— plus, at left, the elder Saunders’ painted cover for Fawcett’s Strange Stories from Another World #2 (Aug. 1952). Page scan courtesy of Grand Comics Database. [© the respective copyright holders.]

OUR ARTISTS AT WAR The first book ever published in the US that solely examines War Comics published in America! It covers the talented writers and artists who supplied the finest, most compelling stories in the War Comics genre, which has long been neglected in the annals of comics history. Through the critical analysis of authors RICHARD J. ARNDT and STEVEN FEARS, this overlooked treasure trove is explored in-depth, finally giving it the respect it deserves! Included are pivotal series from EC COMICS (TwoFisted Tales and Frontline Combat), DC COMICS (Enemy Ace and the Big Five war books: All American Men of War, G.I. Combat, Our Fighting Forces, Our Army at War, and Star-Spangled War Stories), WARREN PUBLISHING (Blazing Combat), CHARLTON (Willy Schultz and the Iron Corporal) and more! Featuring the work of HARVEY KURTZMAN, JOHN SEVERIN, JACK DAVIS, WALLACE WOOD, JOE KUBERT, SAM GLANZMAN, JACK KIRBY, WILL ELDER, GENE COLAN, RUSS HEATH, ALEX TOTH, MORT DRUCKER, and many others. Introduction by ROY THOMAS, Foreword by WILLI FRANZ. Cover by JOE KUBERT. (160-page FULL-COLOR TRADE PAPERBACK) $27.95 • (Digital Edition) $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-108-0 • NOW SHIPPING!

JOHN SEVERIN: TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST A spirited biography of the EC COMICS mainstay (working with HARVEY KURTZMAN on MAD and TWO-FISTED TALES) and co-creator of Western strip AMERICAN EAGLE. Covers his 40+ year association with CRACKED magazine, his pivotal Marvel Comics work inking HERB TRIMPE on THE HULK and teaming with sister MARIE SEVERIN on KING KULL, and more! With commentary by NEAL ADAMS, RICHARD CORBEN, JOHN BYRNE, RUSS HEATH, WALTER SIMONSON, and many others. By GREG BIGA and JON B. COOKE. NOW SHIPPING! (160-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 • (Digital Edition) $14.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-106-6

AMERICAN TV COMIC BOOKS (1940s-1980s)

Hot on the heels of Back Issue #128, AMERICAN TV COMIC BOOKS (1940s-1980s) takes you from the small screen to the printed page, offering a fascinating and detailed year-by-year history of over 300 television shows and their 2000+ comic book adaptations across five decades. Author PETER BOSCH has spent years researching and documenting this amazing area of comics history, tracking down the well-known series (Star Trek, The Munsters) and the lesser-known shows (Captain Gallant, Pinky Lee) to present the finest look ever taken at this unique genre of comic books. Included are hundreds of full-color covers and images, plus profiles of the artists who drew TV comics: GENE COLAN, ALEX TOTH, DAN SPIEGLE, RUSS MANNING, JOHN BUSCEMA, RUSS HEATH, and many more giants of the comic book world. Whether you loved watching The Lone Ranger, Rawhide, and Zorro from the 1950s—The Andy Griffith Show, The Monkees, and The Mod Squad in the 1960s— Adam-12, Battlestar Galactica, and The Bionic Woman in the 1970s—or Alf, Fraggle Rock, and “V” in the 1980s—there’s something here for fans of TV and comics alike! (192-page FULL-COLOR TRADE PAPERBACK) $29.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-107-3 • SHIPS SPRING 2022!

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CBA BULLPEN

Looks back at JACK KIRBY’s own words, as well as those of assistants MARK EVANIER and STEVE SHERMAN, inker MIKE ROYER, and publisher CARMINE INFANTINO, to show how Kirby’s epic came about, where it was going, and how he would’ve ended it before it was cancelled by DC Comics! (160-page FULL-COLOR TPB) $26.95 (Digital Edition) $14.99 • Now shipping! ISBN: 978-1-60549-098-4

HOLLY JOLLY

Collects all seven issues of JON B. COOKE’s little-seen fanzine, published just after the original COMIC BOOK ARTIST ended its TwoMorrows run in 2003. Interviews with GEORGE TUSKA, FRED HEMBECK, TERRY BEATTY, and FRANK BOLLE, an all-star tribute to JACK ABEL, a new feature on JACK KIRBY’s unknown 1960 baseball card art, and a 16-page full-color section!

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Fourth World, and hidden worlds of Subterranea, Wakanda, Olympia, Lemuria, Atlantis, the Microverse, and others! Plus, a 2021 Kirby panel, featuring JONATHAN ROSS, NEIL GAIMAN, & MARK EVANIER, a Kirby pencil art gallery from MACHINE MAN, 2001, DEVIL DINOSAUR, & more!

Spotlighting the artists of ROY THOMAS’ 1980s DC series ALL-STAR SQUADRON! Interviews with artists ARVELL JONES, RICHARD HOWELL, and JERRY ORDWAY, conducted by RICHARD ARNDT! Plus, the Squadron’s FINAL SECRETS, including previously unpublished art, & covers for issues that never existed! With FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and a wraparound cover by ARVELL JONES!

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STARMEN ISSUE, headlined by JAMES ROBINSON and TONY HARRIS’s Jack Knight Starman! Plus: The StarSpangled Kid, Starjammers, the 1980s Starman, and Starstruck! Featuring DAVE COCKRUM, GERRY CONWAY, ROBERT GREENBERGER, ELAINE LEE, TOM LYLE, MICHAEL Wm. KALUTA, ROGER STERN, ROY THOMAS, and more. Jack Knight Starman cover by TONY HARRIS.

BRONZE AGE RARITIES & ODDITIES, spotlighting rare ‘80s European Superman comics! Plus: CURT SWAN’s Batman, JIM APARO’s Superman, DAVID ANTHONY KRAFT’s Marvel custom comics, MICHAEL USLAN’s unseen Earth-Two stories, Leaf’s DC Secret Origins, Marvel’s Evel Knievel, cover variants, and more! With EDUARDO BARRETO, PAUL KUPPERBERG, ALEX SAVIUK, and more. Cover by JOE KUBERT.

Extensive PAUL GULACY retrospective by GREG BIGA that includes Paul himself, VAL MAYERIK, P. CRAIG RUSSELL, TIM TRUMAN, ROY THOMAS, and others. Plus a JOE SINNOTT MEMORIAL; BUD PLANT discusses his career as underground comix retailer, distributor, fledgling publisher of JACK KATZ’s FIRST KINGDOM, and mail-order bookseller; our regular columnists, and the latest from HEMBECK!

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The final complete, unpublished Jack Kirby stories in existence, presented here for the first time, in cooperation with DC Comics! Two unused 1970s DINGBATS OF DANGER STREET tales, plus TRUE-LIFE DIVORCE, and SOUL LOVE (the unseen black romance magazine)!

OLD GODS & NEW: KIRBY COLLECTOR #82 “THE MANY WORLDS OF JACK KIRBY!” A FOURTH WORLD From Sub-Atomica to outer space, visit COMPANION (TJKC #80) Kirby’s work from World War II, the

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