Alter Ego #57 by TwoMorrows Publishing

Roy Thomas ’ Ever-Timely Comics Fanzine

SPECIAL ISSUE!

FROM THE

GOLDEN AGE OF MARVEL! TM

6.95

In the USA

No.57 March 2006

Art & Artifacts by:

JAY ANACLETO AL AVISON DICK AYERS ALLEN BELLMAN RICH BUCKLER CARL BURGOS JOHN BUSCEMA GENE COLAN BILL EVERETT AL FELDSTEIN RON FRENZ RUSS HEATH DON HECK DAVE HOOVER GIL KANE JACK KIRBY ALAN KUPPERBERG MORT LAWRENCE STAN LEE JOE MANEELY BOB POWELL FRANK ROBBINS JOHN ROMITA ALEX SCHOMBURG MIKE SEKOWSKY JOHN SEVERIN SYD SHORES JOE SIMON LEE WEEKS BASIL WOLVERTON & MORE!! PLUS:

Lavishly-Illustrated! Mike Nolan’s

INDEX of EVERY TIMELY/ MARVEL SUPER-HERO TALE TM

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TwoMorrows.Celebrating The Art & History Of Comics. (& LEGO! ) TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com

Vol. 3, No. 57 / March 2006

™

Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor

P.C. Hamerlinck

Comic Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert

Editors Emeritus

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

Production Assistant

Eric Nolen-Weathington

Cover Artists

Jack Kirby & Pete Von Sholly

And Special Thanks to:

Heidi Amash Stan Lee Michael Ambrose Mark Luebker Jay Anacleto Jon Mankuta Ger Apeldoorn Harry Mendryck Mark Austin Raymond L. Miller Allen & Roz Will Morgan Bellman Matt Moring Jack Bender Brian K. Morris Daniel Best Roger Mortimer Bill Black Frank Motler Dominic Bongo Ray Mueller Richard Boucher Jess Nevins Dwight Boyd Michelle Nolan Jerry K. Boyd George Olshevsky Tom Brevoort Robert F. Palki Nick Caputo John G. Pierce Gene & Adrienne Warren Reece Colan Ethan Roberts Mike Costa Mike Royer Teresa R. Davidson Eric Schumacher Rich Donnelly Rick Shurgin Steve Fischler Joe Simon Creig Flessel Marc Swayze Shane Foley Dann Thomas Rudy Franke Stuart Vandal Ron Frenz Dr. Michael J. Greg Gatlin Vassallo Janet Gilbert Pete Von Sholly Matt Gore Greg Theakston Jennifer Hamerlinck Hames Ware Mark Heller Lee Weeks Heritage Comics Robert Wiener Dave Hoover Darrin Wiltshire Greg Huneryager Marv Wolfman Dan Kocher Vern Yu Alan Kupperberg Rodrigo M. Zeidan Thomas C. Lammers David Zimmerman

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Martin Goodman,

Founding Publisher of Timely/Marvel

Contents Writer/Editorial: O.K. Axis–––And Commies–––Here We Come! . . . . 2 The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Mike Nolan’s lavishly-illustrated skeleton key to the Golden Age of Marvel.

“They Depended On [The Super-Heroes] To Keep Us Afloat”. . . . . . 65 Super-artist Gene Colan talks to Jim Amash about the late-1940s Timely/Marvel bullpen.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! ––– Have They No Shame? . . . . . . . . . . 71 Michael T. Gilbert walks us through some blatant ripoffs from the 1940s to the ’60s.

FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) #116. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 P.C. Hamerlinck, Marc Swayze, & Hames Ware on the Jack Binder shop—plus our comics section.

About Our Cover: Thanks to A/E associate editor Bill Schelly for allowing us to utilize the Captain America sketch done especially for him by the late great Jack Kirby—and to Pete Von Sholly for turning same into a strikingly painted image! By an amazing coincidence, TwoMorrows also puts out a mag called The Jack Kirby Collector—and has published two Halloween editions of Pete’s Crazy Hip Groovy Go-Go Way-Out Monsters. Check out his website at www.vonshollywood.com Thanks also to the Jack Kirby estate. [Painting ©2006 Pete Von Sholly; pencil sketch ©2006 Estate of Jack Kirby; Captain America & background art TM & ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.] Above: If the art at the top of this page seems vaguely familiar, it could be because it’s the original version of one of the two covers done a couple of years back for Alter Ego #33 by Ron Frenz, artist on Thor and other titles for much of the 1980s & ’90s. We’d asked for a Mike Sekowsky homage for that issue, and Ron delivered a great one—only, Ye Editor really wanted all five (adult) heroes of the 1946 All Winners Squad on that cover. So, with Ron’s permission, Sal Buscema changed Namora into Miss America when he inked the illo. But we saved a photocopy of Ron’s original pencils, so you could see that version, as well, at the first opportunity. Thanks again, Ron! [Art ©2006 Ron Frenz; Captain America, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, Whizzer, & Namora TM & ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Starro TM & ©2006 DC Comics.]

Alter EgoTM is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $9 ($11 outside the US). Twelve-issue subscriptions: $72 US, $132 Canada, $144 elsewhere. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM of P.C. Hamerlinck. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING.

Title writer/editorial

“O.K. Axis–And Commies–Here We Come!”

all it an experiment—or the fulfillment of an ambition—or simply a quirk. For several years, I’ve been wanting to reprint Mike Nolan’s 1969 Timely Comic Index—with some corrections and additions— and the time has finally come.

Regular readers will instantly notice that this issue is a bit unique. No lengthy interview this time—only a fairly brief one with Gene Colan, with Jim Amash’s questions limited to Gene’s work as a young artist at Timely/Marvel in the late 1940s. (A fuller interview with Genial Gene is still available from TwoMorrows in A/E #6.) We’ve dropped the letters section (we plan to double up in #58), and Bill Schelly graciously agreed to delay the continuation of his thorough look at the 1966 “Benson con” till next time. Of A/E’s regular features, only the “Comic Crypt” and FCA will be found in these pages

So what does this Index consist of? Well, it begins with a nostalgic introduction by Michelle Nolan, followed by a listing of the various Timely/Marvel heroes of 1939-1957, the names of heroes, and the number of stories in which they appeared. But the real meat of the Index is section III—“The Comics”—an issue-by-issue account of each of the hundreds of comics covered therein, with each issue’s date and number, the names of its hero features and their stories (if they had titles), and the number of pages in each story.

What it doesn’t contain—and some would prefer that it did—is the names of the artist(s) of each story. That information wasn’t given in the original Index—at least partly because far less was known at that time— and, being aware that we would’ve had to spend untold hours trying to track down that info for many hundreds if not thousands of stories, and still come up short, we opted not to try to add it here.

One thing this version of the Index has that the original didn’t is pictures. And it is in the captions under those pics that the reader will find considerable (if still far from complete) information about the artists, writers, and/or stories themselves—whenever we have it. Of course, it was impossible to work in as many images as I’d have liked, even though the Index takes up more than 60 pages. I’ve tried, for the most part, to include art that has not appeared in previous issues of A/E, though some slight repetition was unavoidable. I can’t speak for other readers, of course—but I’ve always enjoyed simply reading the story titles—letting them suggest to me what they will about the nature of the tales they represent, as well as about the compulsions, prejudices, and preoccupations of the writers and editors who dreamed them up. Try it. Read this Index—whether in one long sitting or over a period of days—and let the titles roll off your tongue:

“Sinister Secret of the Sewer Snakes”—“Unmask a Gestapo Rabbit” (yes!)—“The Queer Case of the Murdering Butterfly and the Ancient Mummies”—“Blood of Dr. Necrosis”—many an unfortunately-titled tale like “The Jap Scourge of the Pacific”—“Horror of the Doll-Devil”—“The Washington Murder-Go-Round”—“The Tick Tack Toe of Death”—“I Hate Me”—“Five Million Sleep-Walkers”—the list could go on and on. And it does, in the 62 pages that follow.

Read ’em and savor, effendi! We thank Michelle Nolan for permission to reprint and revise what is both an authentic document of 1960s comics fandom—and a contribution to the ever-growing knowledge about this field we all know and love! Bestest,

COMING IN MAY

THE X-MEN MOVIE THAT NEVER WAS! Plus Other Mutant Merriment! • GIL KANE’s immortal cover pencils for Giant-Size X-Men #1—now lavishly painted by MARK SPARACIO! • The “Lost” X-Men Movie! GERRY CONWAY & ROY THOMAS on their 1984 screenplay for Orion Pictures—plus notes on both script & the history of Marvel’s mutants by CHRIS IRVING! Featuring rare art by DAVE COCKRUM, NEAL ADAMS, JOHN BUSCEMA, JOHN BYRNE, GIL KANE, JACK KIRBY, DON HECK, JOHN ROMITA, BILL SIENKIEWICIZ, MARK GLIDDEN, and others! • 1950s Timely/Marvel artist VIC CARRABOTTA interviewed by JIM AMASH— & artist ALLEN BELLMAN on the 1940s Timely bullpen! • Special tributes to MORT LEAV & BILL FRACCIO! • Plus: FCA with MARC SWAYZE & “Fawcett 1943”—ALEX TOTH—BILL SCHELLY presents a 1966 symposium on 1950s comics—MICHAEL T. GILBERT on Magnus/Tarzan artist RUSS MANNING—letters on A/E #48-49—& MORE!! Edited by ROY THOMAS Marvel Characters, Inc.; acio; background art ©2006 [New art ©2006 Mark Spar Characters Inc.] X-Men TM & ©2006 Marvel

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The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age of Marvel by Mike Nolan Nature Red In Torch And Claw The covers of the first and last issues covered in this index: Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), drawn by noted pulp-mag artist Frank R. Paul—and Yellow Claw #4 (April 1957), by the incomparable John Severin. With thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo for the scan of the latter. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A/E

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following work was originally published in 1969 under the title The Timely Comic Index. It has been slightly retitled for re-publication here, since it was designed only to cover Timely/Marvel’s super-hero material, plus a few series (“Jimmy Jupiter” and its ilk) that ran in predominantly super-hero mags such as Marvel Mystery Comics. Few changes have been made to the original Index, except for (a) the correction of a few (mostly minor) errors; (b) the addition of several story titles that didn’t make it into the ’69 edition; and (c) the additional indexing (by Michelle Nolan and a few generous souls mentioned in the text and captions following) of a handful of series that were considered outside the scope of the first edition. The latter include The Witness (not really a super-hero title, but featuring a lead character and even sharing a name with an early Timely hero), Venus (that most genre-shifting of series, which began as humorous romance and wound up as a horror comic, with a semi-super-hero stage in between), Black Knight (a quasi-super-hero in the days of King Arthur), and Yellow Claw (the Fu Manchu-style villain whose mag closes out this reprinting—and whose cancellation coincided with the near-demise of the entire Martin Goodman/Timely empire). Interestingly, except for The Witness, the four above-named characters found renewed life in the Marvel Comics of the 1960s and since. And perhaps The Witness should be listed in Overstreet as a prototype for The Watcher?

Although the Index made no attempt to catalog the artists (let alone writers) of the various series, or to cover the origins, powers, and/or careers of the various characters, some of that information will be found in the captions for the illustrations, which were not a part of

the original edition. We’ve also added info on when and where this material may have been reprinted (in the sections beginning with “REP” for “reprint” that follow each issue-by-issue entry), although we haven’t killed ourselves trying to find every single instance of a reprint. Oh, and special thanks to Brian K. Morris for retyping and rearranging the text in chronological order, by the cover date of the first issue of each title. —Roy.

1969 Introduction And Acknowledgements

You hold in your hands the result of many long hours of research— research that has been plenty of work, but also lots of fun. It goes back some five years; it’s taken that long to get complete data on the nearly 400 comics published by Timely. And, as always, I have to thank the dozens of fans who have helped me in this and other projects. As with my other indexes, this one could never have been published without so much fine help. Though I can’t list everybody who helped, let me thank the following special people the proverbial million times:

Rudy Franke, Raymond Miller, Phil Seuling, Bill Thailing, Rick Durell, Dick Hoffman, M. C. Goodwin, Victor Topper, Len Brown & Collectors Books, Burt Blum and Cherokee Books, Steve Edrington and Bond St. Books, and as usual the whole San Jose crowd, who’ve suffered through more than the rest combined. In this paragraph are the guys through whose help this index has been made largely possible. Any corrections, additions, and/or comments welcome.

—Mike Nolan

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

A Timely Reappearance by Michelle Nolan (2006)

It’s difficult to believe that 37 years have passed since I published the Timely Comic Index—just as it’s even more difficult to realize that I’m now celebrating 50 years as a comic book collector! I think you’ll agree that feat of endurance and enthusiasm deserves an exclamation point—or even two!! And I’m highly flattered that Rascally Roy—as I will forever call one of the first fathers of comic book fandom—thinks enough of my primitive but enthusiastic efforts to rescue the original Index from the dustbin of fandom history. When I began the Timely project in the mid-1960s, that legendary Golden Age company’s comic books were less than 30 years old, but somehow they seemed absolutely ancient. Perhaps it was the influence of the far more evolved characters flourishing during the Marvel Age of Comics, as Stan Lee called the era of the “sizzling ’60s.” Younger collectors don’t realize that, in those days, 10-, 20-, and 30-year-old comics were darned tough to find in an era when comic book conventions were just beginning. The most likely means of acquiring old comics was through the mail from a small network of dealers and collectors, and/or from a handful of antique retailers and used-book stores that stocked them. During the 1956-65 period, I eagerly unearthed a few dozen Golden Age comics, but my knowledge of the period was still woefully weak outside of DC, Dell, Quality, and EC.

comic books except to dig up the information yourself, either through letter and fanzine exchanges or by buying the books. Working for the minimum wage of $1 per hour as a reporter for a weekly newspaper during my freshman year at San Jose State University, I couldn’t afford many Golden Age comics, even at the going rates of $1 to $5 for the vast majority of issues at that time. So I decided to combine my interests in travel, people, and comics with my decision to become the first collector to produce an issue-by-issue Golden Age index.

Thanks to the late Barry Bauman, who had unearthed a treasure trove of the then-exotic Nedor comics, I made that company my first project and, in 1968, I quickly fulfilled my ambition to produce the first issueby-issue index of a 1940s company. The MLJ and Timely indexes followed in 1969, partly because it took a little longer to acquire the information and partly because I couldn’t afford to print more indexes in the old offset style until I earned more money, after spending my entire bank account to print the Nedor Index. Profits from the latter—I printed 500 copies and quickly sold more than 400 of them for 75¢ or $1—enabled me to print the next two indexes.

How did I gain the information? I traveled coast-to-coast and border-toborder in the summers of 1967 and 1968 (by Greyhound bus!) and 1969 (in my fondlyremembered cool white 1964 Chevy after I turned 21 and gained my parents’ permission). I visited dozens of collectors and dealers, not to mention making frequent trips up and down the West Coast. Several collectors were also kind enough to fill in data on a few issues through the mail.

It wasn’t until Lee revived several of Timely’s Golden Age characters that I became fully aware of the legends of Captain America, Sub-Mariner, and The Human Torch, among others. It was fascinating to learn about the hundreds of other characters created in the two decades before I “Nolan’s Notebook” Lives! began reading and collecting comics in For several years, this caricature of Michelle Nolan graced her column 1956 at age 8, especially since those in Comic Book Marketplace magazine. It’s by the great Golden Age characters were nearly all gone by then.

Much of the information for the Timely Comic Index came from the late Rick Durell, a memorably friendly Southern California artist Creig Flessel, who was interviewed in Alter Ego #45. In this collector. He patiently let me take updated version, she is holding a copy of the original 1969 Index, with The first time I ever saw a large hundreds of pages of notes about his its effective cover by prominent West Coast fan-artist Rudy Franke, group of Golden Age comics was at fabulous collection—still the finest which featured Timely's 1940s “Big Three.” [“Nolan’s Notebook” art the first comic book “convention” held group of comics I have ever seen. I ©2006 the respective copyright holders; “Timely Index” art ©2006 on the West Coast—a one-day also received immense help from the Rudy Franke; heroes TM & ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.] gathering of a few dozen collectors at late New York convention impresario Rudy Franke’s home in Oakland, Phil Seuling, who welcomed me into California, in January 1966. It was the same month the Batman TV his Brooklyn home in 1967 and 1968, then hired me (and my Chevy) to show debuted, and shortly after my parents gave me Jules Feiffer’s help run his first major convention in 1969, after he succeeded with a milestone The Great Comic Book Heroes as a Christmas gift. It was smaller gathering in 1968. only a year earlier, as a high school junior in January 1965, that I had After returning from two months on the road during the summer of accidentally met an older collector who had amassed about 100 then1969—including a never-to-be-forgotten journey to Florida to see the obscure Golden Age issues, including titles from Timely, Nedor first manned launch to the moon—I quickly finished my Timely index. I (Standard/Pines), and MLJ (the predecessor to Archie). I had been began sending it out in the fall, just as my senior year started at San Jose thoroughly captivated—so enchanted, in fact, that I became an instant State U. Money was still dribbling in—and thankfully paying for comic book “historian,” though I’m sure I never thought of myself in meals!—by the time I graduated in June of 1970. that way. I just wanted to know what was in the darned books! I always loved sharing the information—and I still do. Although I didn’t know it at the time, my Timely Comic Index was not quite complete. Thanks to Howard Keltner’s wonderful Golden Other than the landmark title-by-title DC Index from Jerry Bails Age Index—which I was privileged to help him finish before he passed and Howard Keltner in 1963, there was no way to learn what was in the

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) away—I have been able now to include a handful of issues I did not know existed. I will always consider Howard Keltner and Jerry Bails the ultimate comic book indexers, and I gratefully dedicate this “Timely Reappearance” to them.

Issues I left out of the original index include Astonishing #5-6 (with “Marvel Boy” stories), Miss America #3-5 (with “Miss America” stories), Comedy Comics #11 (with “Vagabond” and “Stuporman” stories), Blackstone the Magician #2-4 (with “Blonde Phantom” stories), and Marvel Tales #97 (with a 2-page “Sun Girl” story). These are all included in this edition. I also did not include the pre-Marvel Comics #1 one-shot Motion Picture Funnies Weekly, since it was not really a Timely publication. I also did not include the black-&-white super-thick reprints of Marvel Mystery and Captain America.

Some collectors have told me I should also have included Venus #119 from 1948-52, plus the 1949 Witness one-shot, along with “Witness” stories in Ideal #4 and Amazing Mysteries #32… and indeed information on all these has been added this time around, by Roy Thomas, Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, and others. Other collectors are convinced I should have incorporated Jungle Tales #17/Jann of the Jungle #8-17, Lorna the Jungle Girl #1-26, and Jungle Action #1-6 with Leopard Girl (the latter, at least, being a secret-identity character). Still other collectors insist I should have included the Timely-published Miss Fury #1-8, which contained newspaper reprints by the talented artist Tarpé Mills. About 15 years ago, I had the privilege of salivating over the only complete Timely collection ever amassed, before San Diego collector George Olshevsky broke it up to sell it. As I recall, he needed about ten years to complete the set and finished it with Blonde Phantom #22 in

1978. I still treasure his catalog, which in effect became the first truly complete listing of all Timely issues ever produced. To this day, I know of no other collector who ever owned every single Timely comic book.

In recent years, many collectors have asked me why I didn’t include art credits. My answer is: (a) because I couldn’t come close to completing them, since most stories were unsigned, and (b) because I frankly didn’t care at the time. I just wanted everyone to know what characters were in the books! In retrospect, of course, I look amazingly short-sighted, and I guess I was. I typed the Index on my parents’ portable Royal typewriter from the 1950s, and I wasn’t eager to pound those keys any more than I felt I needed to, especially since I was already pounding a lot of typewriter keys as a newspaper reporter. To this day, some collectors consider me crazy in that, even in those prehistoric times, I was more interested in the evocative nature of the story titles than in who produced the art. Other collectors have told me how helpful my little essay was at the end of the Index: “For those with $$$—Collecting Timely.” I just wish I could have had the cash to follow my own advice. That hasn’t changed in 37 years—Timely issues remain the most expensive, on average, of all Golden Age companies. I am still convinced that they were not distributed and/or did not sell nearly as well as comics from DC and Dell, among other companies. That out-of-date essay has been omitted from this edition, due to lack of space. As I write this, Rascally Roy tells me the reprinting and updating of my Timely Comic Index will be lavishly illustrated and annotated. What can I say but thanks?

Who Was That Lady I Didn’t See You With Last Night? Two colorful costumed females whom we didn’t include in this updating of the Index were: Miss Fury—whose 8 quarterly issues (Winter 1942-Winter 1946) were merely Timely reprintings of Tarpé Mills’ newspaper comic strip, which ran for most of the 1940s; seen here is the cover of #2 (Summer 1942). [©2006 the respective copyright holders.] “Leopard Girl”—a secret-identity jungle heroine, drawn by Al Hartley of Patsy Walker fame in Jungle Action #1-6 (Oct. 1954-Aug. 1955). Thanks to Greg Gatlin for the scan from the first issue. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.] Incidentally, we also left out Basil Wolverton’s Popeye-powered humorous hero “Powerhouse Pepper”—but here’s a 1940s panel repro’d in The Basil Wolverton Reader (2003). [Restored art ©2006 Pure Imagination.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

I. The Heroes And Their Stories

[A/E EDITOR’S KEY: Below is a listing of all super-heroes (plus The Yellow Claw and one or two other peripheral characters) published by Timely/Marvel between 1939 and 1957. The characters are listed in descending order based on the number of stories about the character published during that period. That number, in parentheses, follows the character’s name. E.g., surprisingly, even though he was clearly less popular than Captain America or The Human Torch, The Sub-Mariner actually appeared in more stories during these 18 years than any other Timely hero: a total of 292. Of course, a few Timely stories were only two pages long—and others ran, like, 45! Following each name is a list of, so far as we can ascertain, each and every comic in which that hero appeared. The comics are listed in the order in

which the comic book titles themselves were launched, not necessarily the order in which the hero first popped up in them. If he/she appeared in more than one comic book, the magazine series in which the character first appeared (as judged by cover date) is preceded by an asterisk (*). The issue in which a hero’s origin, if any, was first related is listed in parentheses on that same line; the lack of such information means there was no origin story. Origin information is taken from Dr. Jerry G. Bails’ monumental work Collector’s Guide: The First Heroic Age, which, by coincidence, was also published in 1969. Hero appearances in those 2-page text stories the P.O. required aren’t counted. You have to draw the line somewhere!]

Sub-Mariner (292)

* Marvel Mystery #1-91 (origin #1) Daring Mystery #9-12

The Human Torch #2-33, 36-38 Captain America #20, 68, 70 Sub-Mariner #1-42

All Winners #1-19, 21; #1 (2nd series) Kid #4

All-Select #1-5, 10

Blonde Phantom #13-15, 17-22 Namora #1-3

Young Men #24-28

Men’s Adventures #27-28

The Human Torch (280)

* Marvel Mystery #1-92 (origin #1) Daring Mystery #9-12 Human Torch #2-38

Captain America #19, 21-67, 69, 76-78 Sub-Mariner #23, 29, 33-35

All Winners #1-19, 21, #1 (2nd series) All-Select #1-10

Mystic (2nd series) #1-2 Young Men #24-28

Men’s Adventures #27-28

Captain America (277)

Marvel Mystery #80-84, 86-92 The Human Torch #35

* Captain America #1-74, 76-78 (origin #1) Sub-Mariner #31

All Winners #1-19, 21, #1 (2nd series) USA #6-17

All-Select #1-10

Blonde Phantom #16 Young Men #24-28

Men’s Adventures #27-28

The Quintessential Timely Cover Artist Pulp-mag icon Alex Schomburg was easily Timely’s most popular cover artist during the World War II years… and his admirers were still clamoring for his work decades later. [Both these pieces of art ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.] (Above:) In 1977, writer/editor Roy Thomas commissioned Alex to pencil and ink the cover of The Invaders Annual #1— but the Comics Code forced Marvel to remove the small pool of blood at bottom left, under the fallen Nazi officer’s arm. This pre-censorship version, reproduced from a photocopy, has never before seen print. Alex also drew that issue’s “Human Torch” chapter. (Isn’t that the only time Schomburg ever illo’d an actual story of one of Timely’s Big Three?) That mini-classic was recently reprinted in the trade paperback The Avengers: Once an Invader. (Right:) Schomburg re-created his cover for All Winners Comics #8 (Spring 1943) for the 1991-92 edition of The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, which celebrated a half century of Captain America.

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

Flash and Johnny Quick—Move Over! Timely, like DC, had a pair of Golden Age super-speedsters: “Hurricane” (née “Mercury”) continued to run in place after creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby ankled Martin Goodman’s company for bigger rival National/DC, as per this splash for a Stan Lee-scripted tale from Captain America #11 (Feb. 1942), the first post-S&K issue. And “The Whizzer” (right), with various permutations in his costume, stayed in the race till 1946; here’s a half-page from USA Comics #4 (May 1942). Artists of both pages uncertain. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Angel (107)

Miss America (48)

The Vision (37)

Sub-Mariner #1-21

All Winners #19, 21

Kid #3

* Marvel Mystery #1-79 All Winners #1

Mystic (2nd series) #1-3 Daring #10

The Young Allies (62) Marvel Mystery #75-83 Sub-Mariner #22

* Young Allies #1-20 (group origin #1)

* Marvel Mystery #49-85 (origin #49) All-Select #11

Blonde Phantom #12-14

The Secret Stamp (18)

Sun Girl # 1

USA #7-9

Miss America #1-5

Venus (46) Venus #1-19

Kid #2-10

The Destroyer (41)

Mystic (2nd series) #4

All Winners #2-12

Amazing/Complete #1-2

The Patriot (53)

Marvel Mystery #21-45, 49-74 (origin #21) * The Human Torch #3-4

Blonde Phantom (50) Marvel Mystery #84-91

* Mystic #6-10 (origin #6) USA #6, 8-14, 16-17 Kid #4-6, 9-10

All-Select #6, 10

Amazing/Complete #1-2 Daring #11-12

Mystic (2nd) #1-4

Sub-Mariner #25-28, 30

The Whizzer (38)

Blonde Phantom #12-22

* USA #1-2, 4, 6, 8-12, 14-17 (origin #1)

Namora #2

All-Select #3-5, 7

All-Select #11 Sun Girl #2-3

Blackstone the Magician #2-4 All Winners (2nd series) #1

* Marvel Mystery #13-48 (origin #13)

All-Winners #2-5, 7-11, 13-19, 21 Kid #7, 10

Amazing/Complete #1-2

* Captain America #13-27 (origin #13)

Marvel Boy (17) (1950s hero) * Marvel Boy #1-2 (origin #1) Astonishing #3-6

The Yellow Claw (15) The Yellow Claw #1-14

Black Knight (14) Black Knight #1-5

Sun Girl (13)

Marvel Mystery #88-90 The Human Torch #34

* Sun Girl #1-3

Marvel Tales #97

[NOTE: Other appearances of Sun Girl in Marvel Mystery and Human Torch were as a supporting character in “Human Torch” stories.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel Dynamic Man (4)

Mystic #1-4 (origin #1)

The Fiery Mask (4)

* Daring Mystery #1, 5-6 (origin #1) The Human Torch #2

Flexo, the Rubber Man (4) Mystic #l-4 (origin #1)

Jack Frost (4) USA #1-4

Mr. Liberty/Major Liberty (4) The Human Torch Wasn’t The Only Hothead At Timely

Hurricane (12) (including as Mercury)

(Left:) The Blue Blaze wasn’t really a fiery hero, but he had a hot name, anyway—and was the lead feature in Mystic Comics #4 (July 1940). Art by “Harry Douglas,” which may be a pseudonym.

Father Time (9)

(Above right:) After a brief materialization at the climax of the Kree-Skrull War in The Avengers #97 (March 1972), The Blazing Skull returned to Marvel continuity in writer Roy Thomas & penciler Dave Hoover’s The Invaders #2 (2nd series, June 1993). With thanks to Dave for photocopies of his original pencils. [Both pages ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

* Captain .America #6-12 (origin #6)

The Black Widow (5)

The Witness (8) (1948-49 character)

USA #5

* Red Raven #1 (origin, as “Mercury”) Captain America #1-11 Mystic #10

Young Allies #3 (see pp. 60)

The Black Marvel (6) * Mystic #5-9 (origin #5)

* Mystic #4-5, 7 (origin #4) All-Select #1

The Blazing Skull (5) Mystic #5-9 (origin #5)

All-Winners #1

The Blue Blaze (4)

* Daring Mystery #7 (origin)

The Defender (4)

The Challenger (6) Mystic #6-10

Namora (6) Namora # 1-3

[NOTE: One of the 3 stories featuring Namora in each of the above issues was technically a “Sub-Mariner” story. She also appeared in “Sub-Mariner” stories in: * Marvel Mystery #82, 84-91 (origin #82), Human Torch #31, and SubMariner #33-42]

The Terror (6)

Mystic #5-10 (origin #5)

Mystic #1-4 (origin #1)

USA #1-4 (origin #1 as Mr. Liberty; Major Liberty in #2-4)

Rockman, Underground Secret Agent (4) USA #1-4 (origin #1)

The Vagabond (4) Comedy #11

* USA #2-4 (origin #2) Young Allies #4

Captain Daring (3)

* Daring Mystery #7-8 (origin #7) USA #7

Captain Terror (3) USA #2-4 (origin #2)

The Falcon (3) * Daring Mystery #5-6 Human Torch #2

USA #1-4

A 1940 Twosome (Left:) This “Falcon” splash from Human Torch #2 (Fall 1940) was reprinted in last year’s Marvel Masterworks edition of HT #2-5—but we picked it up from a copy of the actual comic. Art by Paul Reinman. (Above:) “The Invisible Man,” a.k.a. Dr. Gade, according to the website www.internationalhero.co.uk, from which this image is also taken, was rendered by chemicals not only invisible but fireproof. Learn more about this website and its own generous sources on p. 54. Artists uncertain. [Both images ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) Fourth Musketeer (2)

* Comedy #10 (first as Fourth Musketeer) USA #5 (named changed to Blue Blade)

Hercules (2)

Mystic #3-4 (origin #3)

Human Top (2)

* Tough Kid Squad #1 (origin)

The Fin (3)

* Daring Mystery Comics #7-8 (origin #7) Comedy #9

Invisible Man (3) Mystic #2-4

Silver Scorpion (3)

* Daring Mystery #7-8 (origin #7) Comedy #9

The Thunderer/ The Black Avenger (3)

* Daring Mystery #7-8 (origin #7)

All Winners #6 (retitled “The Black Avenger”)

The Witness (3) (1941-42 hero) Mystic #7-9

The Blue Diamond (2)

Daring Mystery #7-8 (origin #7)

Captain Wonder (2) Kid #1-2 (origin #1)

Citizen V (2)

* Daring Mystery #8 (origin) Comedy #9

Flying Flame (2) Daring Mystery #6

Tough Kid Squad #1

Marvel Boy (2) (1940s hero)

Strictly speaking, “The Flying Flame” wasn’t a super-hero; that was just the name of fighter pilot Red Ruff’s warplane, whose fiery special effects evidently scared the bejeezus out of Nazi pilots. Chalk this up to just another instance of publisher Martin Goodman trying to frighten competitors away from impinging on his “Human Torch” trademark! Artists uncertain. Thanks to Dan Kocher for the scan from Tough Kid Squad #1. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

* Daring Mystery #6 (origin) USA #7

Purple Mask (2)

Daring Mystery #3-4

Subbie (2) Kid #l-2

Victory Boys (2)

* Comedy #10 (origin)

USA #5 (first in costumes)

Monstro the Mighty (1) Comedy #10

Moon Man (1) Mystic #5

The Phantom Bullet (1) Daring Mystery #2 (origin)

Red Raven (1)

Red Raven #1

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Red Raven #1 (origin)

Roko the Amazing (1) USA #5 (origin)

Sub-Earth Man (1) Mystic #5 (origin)

Super Slave (1) Mystic #5 (origin)

The Thin Man (1) Mystic #4 (origin)

The Young Avenger (1) USA #1

American Avenger (1) USA #5 (origin)

The Black Avenger (1) [see The Thunderer, above]

Blue Blade

[see Fourth Musketeer, above]

Captain Dash (1) Comedy #9

Dynaman (1)

Daring Mystery #6

The Laughing Mask (1) Daring Mystery #2

Mercury (1)

[see Hurricane, above]

Microman (1)

The Human Torch #2 (origin)

Quoth Red Raven: “Nevermore!” Joe Simon has claimed Red Raven #1 (Aug. 1940) was the worst comic he ever worked on (he edited it and perhaps drew the cover with partner Jack Kirby)—but was it really any worse than dozens of other mags then on the newsstands? No matter. With #2, the mag’s title was changed to—The Human Torch. Artist uncertain— but definitely not Simon & Kirby! [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

II. The Abbreviations

To save space in the issue-by-issue listing below, a series of abbreviations has often been used in the individual listings. When an abbreviation is not used for the name of one of these feature characters, it is because the story was not otherwise titled. AN – The Angel

PT – The Patriot

BP – Blonde Phantom

SM – Sub-Mariner

BK – Black Knight BS – Blazing Skull

CH – The Challenger DS – The Destroyer FT – Father Time

GA – Captain America

HT – The Human Torch JB – Jap-Buster Johnson JJ – Jimmy Jupiter

MA – Miss America

MB – Marvel Boy (both 1940s & 1950s heroes) NA — Namora

SG – Sun Girl

SS – The Secret Stamp TR – The Terror

TT – Tommy Tyme TV – Terry Vance VN – The Vision VS – Venus

WS – The Witness

WZ – The Whizzer YA – Young Allies YC – Yellow Claw

A Timely Notice The 1941 house ad at right appeared while Mystic Comics was still a going concern, but when Daring Mystery Comics had already been transmogrified into Comedy Comics. With thanks to Roger Mortimer. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

III. The Comics Marvel Comics (Marvel Mystery Comics from #2 on)

[NOTE: The cover and story contents of the first four issues of this title were reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Marvel Comics, Vol. 1 (2004).]

#1 – Oct. 1939 (2nd edition dated Nov. 1939) Human Torch (origin)

Sub-Mariner (origin)

Angel

Masked Raider

Story “Jungle Terror” Ka-Zar

[REP: The “Torch” origin was first reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #9 (June 1967), later in the trade paperback The Golden Age of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1999). The first 8 pages of the “Sub-Mariner” origin were first reprinted in The Invaders #20 (Sept. 1977), later in the trade paperback The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1, 1997). The issue’s cover and stories were first reprinted in the hardcover Marvel Comics #1 (1990).]

Sunken Treasures Since a Torch drawing led off this Index, we’ll let The Sub-Mariner launch this issue-by-issue listing. Here, Namor and his creator/writer/artist Bill Everett look on as, in Marvel Comics #1, Princess Fen tells her merman son of his previously-unknown origins. Well, actually, this page is repro’d from photocopies of the 1939 black-&-white Motion Picture Funnies Weekly, which showcased the first 8 pages of the 12-page “Sub-Mariner” tale that would soon be printed in Marvel #1; thanks to Robert Wiener. The portrait of Wild Bill (by himself and Dan Adkins) appeared in Chamber of Darkness #8 (Dec. 1970), and is repro’d from photocopies of the original art; Bill’s circa-1971 Namor sketch was provided by collector Robert F. Palko. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) #2 – Dec. 1939 Human Torch

Sub-Mariner

Angel

Masked Raider

American Ace

Ka-Zar

#3 – Jan. 1940 Human Torch

Angel

Sub-Mariner

Masked Raider

American Ace

Ka-Zar

[REP: The “Sub-Mariner” story was first reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #7 (Feb. 1977).]

#4 – Feb. 1940

Sub-Mariner

Electro

Masked Raider

Ferret

Ka-Zar

[REP: The “Sub-Mariner” story was first reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #9 (June 1967).]

#5 – March 1940 Human Torch Angel

Electro

Masked Raider Ferret

8 6

Ka-Zar

Human Torch

Sub-Mariner

Electro

#6 – April 1940 Angel

Masked Raider Ferret

8 8 6

Ka-Zar

Human Torch

Sub-Mariner

Electro

#7 – May 1940 Angel

Human Torch Angel

Sub-Mariner

Masked Raider Ferret

Ka-Zar

8 8 6

[REP: The “Sub-Mariner” story was first reprinted in Jules Feiffer’s grounding hardcover volume The Great Comic Book Heroes (1965).]

#8 – June 1940

SM “The Human Torch and The Sub-Mariner Meet!!!” 10 12 8

Human Torch

Masked Raider

Angel

An Historical Wrong Righted At Last! Since Marvel Comics became Marvel Mystery Comics with its second issue, there never was a Marvel Mystery #1—until 1999, when editor Tom Brevoort put together an 80-page giant (plus covers) with that title and number, composed of reprints of 1940s stories, and sporting the late-’40s “Marvel Comic” symbol (with an added “s”)! Its Schomburg-drawn cover was picked up from MMC #74. This little-heralded collection is one of the very best Golden Age/Timely compilations ever. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Electro Ferret

Ka-Zar

[REP: The “Sub-Mariner” story was reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #1 (Oct. 1966)—the “Torch” story in The Golden Age of Marvel

Electro—It’s A Marvel He Ever Existed! The Name Sounds Familiar… A thrill must’ve run through readers when, at the end of the “Sub-Mariner” story in Marvel Mystery #7, policewoman Betty Dean mentioned The Human Torch to Namor—who replied that he’d “heard of him”! This was very definitely something new in the superhero firmament! The two heroes’ encounters in #8-9 and the first page of #10 were reprinted in the 2005 Marvel 65th Anniversary Special. These panels, though, are repro’d from a photocopy of the original art. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

This pic of the robot “Electro, the Marvel of the Age” from his (its?) Marvel Mystery #4 debut is to remind you that you can glom that title’s early backup features— “Ka-Zar,” “Masked Raider,” “The Ferret,” et al.—by latching onto the Marvel Masterworks volume that reprints Timely’s first four comic books ever. That book had its reproduction problems—but it’s still worth every penny. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel standoff at the end of #9, which became the first page in #10, was first reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #8 (April 1967) as an adjunct to “The Battle of the Comic Century,” later in Marvel 65th Anniversary Special #1 (2004). The “Sub-Mariner” story was reprinted in The Invaders #21 (Oct. 1977).]

#11 – Sept. 1940 Human Torch

Masked Raider

Sub-Mariner

Ka-Zar

Angel

Terry Vance Electro

#12 – Oct. 1940

7 8

Human Torch

Angel

Sub-Mariner Terry Vance Electro

Masked Raider

7 8 6

Ka-Zar

Human Torch

Vision (origin)

#13 – Nov. 1940 Sub-Mariner Terry Vance Electro Angel

Ka-Zar

10 7 8 9

[REP: The “Vision” origin was reprinted in The Golden Age of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1999).]

#14 – Dec. 1940

Victory At Sea Original art from early Timely comics is rare as halibut’s teeth, so we appreciate collector/dealer Steve Fischler’s sharing this Everett “Sub-Mariner” page from MMC #15. Check out his website at www.metropoliscomics.com for comics and original art. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

(Vol. 1)(1997). Both the “Sub-Mariner” and “Torch” tales were reprinted in Marvel 65th Anniversary Special #1 (2004).] Human Torch & Sub-Mariner “The Battle of the Comic Century” 22

Angel

Electro

Masked Raider Ferret

Ka-Zar

8 6 9

[REP: “Battle of the Comic Century” was first

#10 – Aug. 1940 Angel

Masked Raider

TV “The Murder of a Man without a Will” Ka-Zar

[REP: The solution to the Torch/Namor

Terry Vance 11

Electro

Angel

Vision

Human Torch Sub-Mariner

Sub-Mariner

reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #8 (April 1967)—later in Marvel 65th Anniversary Special #1 (2004).]

#9 – July 1940

Human Torch

10 8 8

Electro Ka-Zar

#15 – Jan. 1941

7 7 8 9

Human Torch

Terry Vance

Sub-Mariner Vision Angel

8 7 8

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

A Mighty Marvel Mystery What’s this panel from Human Torch #5 doing here, you may well ask? Well, since that legendary battle issue featured not only the Torch vs. Namor but also cameo appearances by The Angel, The Patriot, and even Ka-Zar, Ye Editor has long believed that that book-length free-for-all was originally planned as a 1941 issue of Marvel Mystery Comics, and only became a Torch comic at the last minute. Not that there’s any way to prove—or to disprove—that hypothesis at this late date. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#19 – May 1941 Human Torch Sub-Mariner Ka-Zar

With Enemies Like These, You Don’t Need Friends! The initial more-or-less friendly team-up of the Torch and Namor, from MMC #17, was reprinted in the first Golden Age of Marvel trade paperback; but we wanted to repro its splash here, from photocopies of the original art. Art by Burgos & Everett. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Electro Ka-Zar

#16 – Feb. 1941 Human Torch Sub-Mariner Electro Vision

Terry Vance Angel

Ka-Zar

#17 – March 1941

10 15 12 6 7 7 7 8

HT & SM “Fighting Side by Side”

Angel

Electro

Terry Vance Vision

Ka-Zar

Terry Vance

12 5

Electro

Angel

Vision

[REP: The “Torch” story was reprinted in Jules Feiffer’s The Great Comic Book Heroes (1965).]

#20 – May 1941 Human Torch

Vision

Sub-Mariner

TV “Mystery of the Radio Robberies” AN “Tombs of Torture” Ka-Zar

#21 – July 1941 Human Torch Sub-Mariner

10 15 12

TV “The Transport Crashes”

Patriot (origin)

Vision

Ka-Zar

AN “Weird Ghost of Amber Swamps”

#22 – Aug. 1941

6 9

Human Torch

Ka-Zar

Sub-Mariner

TV “Mystery of the Phantom Killer”

Vision “Vs. Khor”

Patriot Angel

[REP: The “Vision” story was reprinted in Marvel Mystery Comics #1 (1999).]

#23 – Sept. 1941

5 9

HT “Highway of Mystery”

Patriot

SM “The Vanishing Convicts” VN “Vs. Shark God, Kai-mak” Ka-Zar

6 6

7 7 8

[REP: The “Torch & Sub-Mariner” story was first reprinted in The Invaders #24 (Jan. 1978), minus the wrap-up final page; it was later reprinted in full in The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1)(1997).]

#18 – April 1941 Human Torch

Ka-Zar

Sub-Mariner Terry Vance Electro Vision

AN “Claws of Death”

12 7 6 6 9

Talk About A Giant Dose of Bad Luck! In MMC #19, Namor spied on Americans and Germans alike—by flying around inside a giant artificial “Trojan albatross,” a.k.a. the “Trojatross.” Well, Wild Bill always did say he took part of The Sub-Mariner’s name from that epic Rime by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, wherein an albatross was likewise very important! With thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel Vision

TV “The Goa Mine Skeleton”

Ka-Zar

PT “Smashes the Japanese Spy Ring” 5 AN “The Armless Tiger Man”

[REP: The “Torch” and “Angel” stories were reprinted in Marvel Mystery Comics #1 (Dec. 1999)—“Sub-Mariner” in The Golden Age of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1999).]

Another Mighty Marvel Mystery We’ve long wondered why Simon & Kirby didn’t sign the early “Vision” stories, like this one from MMC #24. Did Jack do that series separately from his S&K partnership? Early in 1941, the secretly-moonlighting Jack and Joe had produced art and story for a Captain Marvel solo mag—and by year’s end would be turning out “Sandman,” “Manhunter,” “Newsboy Legion,” and “Boy Commandos” for National/DC. Jack wouldn’t return to Goodman’s company till the late 1950s—Joe, never. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

TV “Mystery of the Green Diamond” Angel

[REP: The “Sub-Mariner” story was reprinted in Marvel Mystery Comics #1 (1999)—“Vision” in The Golden Age of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1999).]

#24 – Oct. 1941

HT “Meet the Parrot”

SM “Battles the Undersea Blitzkrieg” Terry Vance Patriot

Ka-Zar Vision Angel

Angel

#26 – Dec. 1941

HT “The Parrot Strikes Back”

Sub-Mariner “Smashes a Nazi Uprising”

AN “Death Rings the Bell” Ka-Zar

5 9 6

[REP: The “Sub-Mariner” story was reprinted in The Golden Age of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1999).]

Vision

7 6 7 9

Vision

TV “Voodini’s Last Laugh—the Grave” 7

Patriot

Ka-Zar

HT “The Poison Pill Suicides”

Terry Vance

Vision

HT “The Crime King Syndicate” Sub-Mariner

Sub-Mariner

12 7 6 7 9 15 12

SM “Vs. the Flying Dutchman” PT “The Green-Faced Man” TV “The Deadly Letters” Jimmy Jupiter

AN “Horror of the Haunted Cathedral”

#29 – March 1942

HT “The Moonlight Murders” SM “Item of the Mad Artists” Vision

TV “The Stinging Death” Jimmy Jupiter

AN “The Wolfman Terror”

PT “Death Stalks the Shipyard”

[REP: The “Patriot” story was reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #16 (Sept. 1968).]

#30 – April 1942

HT “March of the Metal Mobsters”

PT “The Flying Corpses”

Vision

TV “The Pharaoh’s Eye”

JJ “In the Land of Nowhere”

AN “In the House of Slaughter”

#31 – May 1942

HT “Scuttles the Japs”

VN “Plague of the Jelly Men”

SM “Case of the Jilted Japs”

PT “Insects of Sudden Death”

TV “The Murdered Ghost”

Jimmy Jupiter

AN “Cargo of Death”

HT “The Statues of Doom”

VN “Secret of the Sharks”

#32 – June 1942

HT “Solves the Flaming Arrow Murders”

15 #28 – Feb. 1941

[REP: The “Vision” story was first reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (March 1968), later in The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1) (1997).]

#25 – Nov. 1941

PT “Death to Spies”

#27 – Jan. 1942

SM “Reprisal Revenge”

12 6 7 6

15 12 7 7 6 8 6

Sub-Mariner

JJ “Land of the Fun People”

TV “The Phantom Robberies”

PT “Iron-Clawed Monster”

AN “The Ogre and His Man-Eating Boboes”10

#33 – July 1942

HT “Exposes the Dynamite Saboteurs”

Vision

SM “Slugs the Sahara Scavengers”

PT “Treachery Deals a Double-Cross”

TV “Bogus Stamp Salesman”

JJ “The Tunnel to China”

Angel

#34 – Aug. 1942

Human Torch

VN “The Beast of Cactus Canyon”

Sub-Mariner Patriot

Terry Vance

Jimmy Jupiter

AN “Case of Professor Torture”

#34 – Sept. 1942

12 6 7 7

Human Torch

Jimmy Jupiter

SM “The Missing Cargo Ships” Patriot

VN “Garden of Death”

TV “Monkey Business”

AN “The Banquet of Blood”

6 7 7

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

June (1942) Is Busting Out All Over The splashes of the “Torch” and “SubMariner” tales from Marvel Mystery #32 were printed in A/E #32. Here’s more art from that issue, beginning with creator Carl Burgos’ third-from-last “Torch” effort before going into the Army—and the first post-Everett Namor foray, probably drawn by Carl Pfeufer. In the selfsame ish, a successor artist of the “Vision” series still emulated S&K’s work—while Al Fagaly strove to make “The Patriot” a worthy rival to “Captain America”—and The Angel tangled with a rather comical-looking Ogre. “Vision” & “Angel” artists uncertain. All this, plus “Terry Vance,” “Jimmy Jupiter,” and a Mickey Spillane text story! [All art ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#36 – Oct. 1942 Human Torch

TV “Boom Doggling”

SM “Tanks with Tusks” VN “World beneath a World” Patriot

AN “Polly Wants a Murder” Jimmy Jupiter

12 7 6

10 7

#37 – Nov. 1942 Human Torch

JJ “His Halloween Adventure”

SM “The Copper Plague”

PT “Returns the Dough to the USO”

VN “Dead End Dynamite”

AN “Marvello the Mystic”

TV “The Invisible Clue”

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

World War II—Times Two! Published more than two decades after the end of World War II but set in 1941-42, The Invaders was conceived by writer/editor Roy Thomas in 1975 to relate brand-new events from Timely/Marvel’s Golden Age. At left, he, penciler Frank Robbins, and inker Vince Colletta relate a bit of history in Giant-Size Invaders #1 (June 1975). This and the above cover of Invaders #21 (Oct. 1977), penciled by Gil Kane & inked by Frank Giacoia, are repro’d from photocopies of the original art, courtesy of Ray Mueller & David Zimmerman. The latter cover also featured the “retro” characters Spitfire (an English super-heroine) and the Third Reich’s own Master Man. David informs us that, in the page from GSI #1, President Roosevelt’s face has been “whited out” and redrawn (probably by John Romita). He also says one figure on the cover of #21 was likewise “whited out” and thus didn’t appear on the published cover: a German soldier whom Cap is whacking in the head with his shield. So (as seen in inset detail at right) David inked that soldier’s head, torso, and leg just as Gil had penciled it. [All art ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#38 – Dec. 1942

HT “Crime Marches On”

SM “A Whale of a Whopping Story”

TV “The Terrible-Tempered Tycoon” VN “Robot’s Revenge” Jimmy Jupiter

PT “Shadows over India”

12 12 7

7 7 6

AN “Death Comes Humming”

HT “Smugglers of Death”

Jimmy Jupiter

#39 – Jan. 1943

SM “Case of the Blinding Lights” Patriot

VN “Dialogue of Death”

12 6

TV “The Fat Man’s Folly”

AN “The Missing Fishermen”

#40 – Feb. 1943

Human Torch

TV “The Eager Diplomat”

SM “The Morale Murder Menace” VN “Monster of Negley Hall” Jimmy Jupiter

PT “Trapping the Code”

TV “Dr. Watson’s Call to Fame”

Human Torch

Jimmy Jupiter

HT “Prescriptions for Death”

TV “Case of the Missing Link”

SM “Terror of the Boiling Seas”

7 10

7 7

AN “Curse of Baron Trembiew”

#42 – April 1943

SM “Metal Monsters”

VN “Master of Madness”

AN “The Missing Stars”

#41 – March 1943

Patriot

Vision

Jimmy Jupiter

PT “The Disappearing Spies”

AN “Quarantine for Murder”

7 6 6

[REP: The “Sub-Mariner” and “Angel” stories were reprinted in The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1)(1997).]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

They Might Be Giants In 2005, Roy was pleased as punch when Marvel editor Tom Brevoort invited him to script the lead feature of Giant-Size Invaders #2 (there’d only been a GSI #1 in 1975, before The Invaders was turned into a regular-size comic). And he had a stellar team to work with—Jay Anacleto on the cover, and Lee Weeks penciling the interior art. Everybody got into the spirit of the mag’s title—with giant-size Invaders on the cover, and giant-size Nazi invaders (lower-case “i”) on the inside! The comic itself may still be on sale at this point, but we thought you’d enjoy seeing the lads’ pencils for cover and splash. Let’s do it again anytime, fellas! [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#43 – May 1943

HT “The Air Raid Spotters”

SM “Mystery of the Vanishing Sub” PT “Suicide Headline”

VN “Crypt of Good and Evil”

TV “Black Market Boogie Woogie” AN “The Death That Walked” Jimmy Jupiter

#44 – June 1943

12 12 6 7

10 7

HT “The Phantom Strikes”

TV “The Circus Mystery”

SM “Niagara Falls Power Plot” JJ “Land of the Rubber People” VN “The Gem That Blinded” Patriot

AN “Case of the Laughing Death”

12 7 7 6

#45 – July 1943

HT “Message from a Corpse”

SM “The Phantom of the Air”

TV “The Poison That Didn’t Exist”

12 12

JJ “In the Valley of Time”

AN “Sabotage at the Ferry Base”

VN “The Vision’s Secret”

#46 – Aug. 1943

HT “The Glass Tube of Death”

Terry Vance

SM “Dead Men Don’t Talk” Vision

Jimmy Jupiter

AN “The Blackout Kidnapping”

#47 – Sept. 1943

HT “Underground Demons”

12 7 7 8 12

SM “Invisible Monster of the Fog”

VN “The China Mission”

TV “The Missing Chinaman” Jimmy Jupiter

AN “The Unwilling Corpse”

#48 – Oct. 1943

7 7 8

HT “Horror of the Masked Fiend”

TV “The Spy Master’s Quiz”

SM “Decoy for Death”

JJ “Visits the Playing Card Castle” Vision

7 7

AN “Ghastly Secret of Castle Mood”

HT “Flight of the Deadly Boomerang”

TV “The Talking Thread”

#49 – Nov. 1943

SM “Unveiling Evil Eyes of Death”

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel Angel

Human Torch

#54 – April 1944 SM “Devil’s Playground” Terry Vance

Patriot

MA “Masked Murder”

Angel

#55 – May 1944

HT “The Terrorists of Time”

Terry Vance

SM “The Flying Graveyard”

Boys Will Be Boyish

Patriot

For several years, two regular features in Marvel Mystery took up space that many readers would’ve preferred to see filled by super-heroes: “Terry Vance, the School Boy Sleuth” and “Jimmy Jupiter.” But, since we had b&w copies of these two splashes from MMC #42, we figured we’d give you this one fleeting glimpse of them. No, don’t ask for more! Artists uncertain. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Angel

MA “Scourge of the Nazis” (origin – Pt. I) PT “Black Mamba Murder” AN “A Lesson in Murder”

SM “Eerie Howl of the Wolf Pack” TV “Deadline Dawson’s Payoff” 7 MA (origin — Pt. II)

Angel

PT “Introducing Miss Patriot”

#51 – Jan. 1944

7 8

#50 – Dec. 1943

HT “Battling the Nazi Vultures”

12 12

#53 – March 1944

HT “Master Plan for Destruction”

Terry Vance

SM “Octopus of the Pacific” MA “Flaming Hate” Patriot

12 7 7

MA “Chain Murders”

#56 – June 1944

7 8

HT “Berlin’s Master Spy”

Terry Vance

SM “Hoggo’s Great Secret”

Patriot

MA “Peddler of Doom” Angel

HT “Torch & Toro Unmask the Masquerading Mr. Grim” 12 SM “Horror on Ositu Island”

MA “The Bridge of Death”

Terry Vance Patriot Angel

#52 – Feb. 1944

7 7 8

HT “Tyrants Must Die” 12 SM “Sinister Secret of the Sewer Snakes”

Patriot

Visions Of Far-Off Places

Here She Comes… Miss America!

Terry Vance

MA “Pinheaded Killer” 7 Angel

7 7 8

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

“The Bambi Photo” That’s what some oldtime pros and knowledgeable collectors call this invaluable photo. As many Marvelficionados know, most of the early stories and artwork for Timely’s comics was supplied by Lloyd Jacquet’s comics studio Funnies, Inc., which also produced work for other publishers. When this 10” by 12” photo (slightly cropped here) was auctioned off by Stan Lee through Heritage Comics a couple of years back, the following statement was appended: “Stan Lee recalls: ‘On August 14, 1942, Martin Goodman, owner and publisher of Timely Comics, together with Lloyd Jacquet, owner of Funnies, Incorporated, took their staffs to see Walt Disney’s new animated feature Bambi, because at the time they were producing comics which featured animated cartoon characters, and because those comics were proving to be very profitable. After the movie, Martin and Lloyd took some of their staffs to dinner at New York’s Hotel Astor to celebrate the occasion. While I can’t remember all the names, the ones I can identify are—Left side (from the bottom moving up), all Timely unless otherwise labeled: Ernie Hart, editor, writer, and artist; Vince Alascia, inker of adventure strips; Mario Acquaviva, letterer; unknown; Moe Worth, animation artist; Dick LaScalzo; Ray Gill, writer and Funnies, Inc., executive; Stan Lee; Jim Fitzsimmons, Funnies, Inc., business executive; Frank Torpey, Martin Goodman’s friend and “man Friday”; Lloyd Jacquet, Funnies, Inc., owner. Center: Martin Goodman, Timely publisher and owner. Right side (from the top moving down): George Klein, penciler and inker; Don Rico, editor, writer, and artist; Ed Winiarski, penciler; Mike Sekowsky, penciler; Syd Shores, penciler and inker; Bill King, layout artist; Dennis Neville, penciler; Jim Mooney, penciler and inker; and Gary Keller, letterer and Head of Production.’” (Jim Amash adds that Jim Fitzsimmons’ title at Funnies, Inc., was “production manager.” And Stan Lee told Ye Editor recently that he thinks LaScalzo's first name was spelled "Dic"; Stan thinks he was an artist, but isn't certain.) By mid-1942, two of Funnies’ biggest guns, Bill Everett and Carl Burgos, had long since departed for in the armed services, and “Angel” artist Paul Gustavson was gone, as well. The generally-accepted story is that, using this movie-and-dinner as an entrée, Goodman hired away most of Jacquet’s main artists almost immediately after this dinner to work directly for him instead of through a middle-man… though he apparently left the “Human Torch” and “Sub-Mariner” accounts and a few others with Funnies, Inc. The whole affair smacks a bit of the classic scene in Citizen Kane in which Charles Foster Kane looks at a photo of all the talented people working for a major rival newspaper—an image which dissolves into one of those very same men, posing for another photo but now working for Kane!

Thanks to Daniel Best and Frank Motler for bringing this photo and its Heritage Comics IDs to our attention, and to Frank for sending us a nice big scan of it. Daniel, who’s completed his forthcoming volume on Andru & Esposito, is now planning a book on the career of artist Jim Mooney. Jim, though present at the “Bambi” dinner, told Daniel he was “so hung over that he can barely recall being there.” Actually, what’s remarkable to Ye Editor is that Smilin’ Stan Lee remembered so many of those names and faces from more than 60 years ago!

20 #57 – July 1944

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

HT “Death Rides the Rails”

Terry Vance

SM “Cold Wave for Conquest” MA “Corpse That Walks” Patriot

AN “The Lamp Post Murder”

#58 – Sept. 1944

12 7 7 8

HT “Vs. Nazi Super Spy”

MA “Black Widow”

SM “The Cult of Cannibals” PT “Miss Liberty Takes a Hand” AN “Wanted—The Angel”

#59 – Oct. 1944

12 7 8

HT “Madman of Terror Mountain”

MA “Horror of the Secret Weapon”

SM “The Electric Killers”

PT “The Vanishing Head”

AN “The Talking Corpse”

#60 – Dec. 1944

12 7 8

HT “Death Spins the Wheel”

MA “Vs. Murder, Inc.”

SM “Human Bombs of Horror” PT “What Price Freedom?” Angel

#61 – Jan. 1945

12 7 8

HT “Secret of the Masked Horror”

MA “Eyes of Doom”

SM “Paradise of Horror”

PT “Mystery of the Bogus Bonds” AN “Secret of the Blind Idol”

#62 – March 1945

12 7 6

HT “Dolls of Death”

MA “Triple Mysteries”

SM “Fountains of Flame” PT “The Million Dollar Loot” AN “Epicure of Crime”

#63 – April 1945

12 7 8

HT “Killers Incorporated”

MA “Black Flag of Doom”

SM “Vanishing Killers”

PT “Vs. the Master of Death”

AN “Horror of the Catwoman”

12 7 8

#64 – June 1945

HT “The Bogus Bride Groom” 12 SM “On the Island of Ghosts” 11

MA “Miss Bluebeard” 7 PT “21 Inches from Death”

Angel

#65 – July 1945 HT “Worthless Beads”

MA “Clue of Witches’ Rook”

AN “The Tangled Web of Death”

SM “Boy Who Knew Too Much” 12 PT “The Whispering Death” 7

#66 – Sept. 1945 HT “Devil’s Mutineers”

Miss America

SM “Vs. the Murderous Zako” 12 PT “The Jigsaw Death” Angel

#67 – Nov. 1945

The Bell(man) Tolls For The Patriot The splash page of the one “Patriot” story which, to date, has been positively identified by Doc Vassallo as featuring the artwork of bullpenner Allen Bellman: Marvel Mystery #62. Allen feels this story, whose splash was also seen with his interview in A/E #32, may have been the very first comics tale he ever penciled, as opposed to simply drawing backgrounds for other artists. It’s difficult to ID Timely art from much of the Golden Age, since often several pencilers and/or inkers worked on the same story, in the frantic hustle to get things done. And, as Allen said back in #32: “As soon as the war was over, so was ‘The Patriot’!”

HT “Death Bird of Thunder Mountain”

MA “The Fox and the Vixen”

SM “The Lost Soldier”

PT “Death Strikes from the Deep” AN “Cargo of Doom”

#68 Jan. 1946

HT “The Wolf of Gotham” SM “The Pawns of Satan”

MA “Clue of the Chinese Ticket” PT “Golden Wraith of Walgrave” AN “Blind Man’s Booty”

#69 – Feb. 1946

HT “Laughing Sneak Thief”

SM “The East Side Tornadoes” Miss America

PT “The Rocket Will Glare”

AN “The Haunted Heritage of the Gobbling Ghost”

12 7 8 12 12 7 7 8 12 12 7 7 8

#70 – March 1946

HT “The Frightened Felon”

MA “The Sing Sing Slayings”

SM “A Madman’s Rampage”

PT “Through the Camera’s Eye” AN “The Blue Goose”

#71 – April 1946

7 8

HT “A Formula for Murder”

MA “Thrust of Death”

SM “The Cobra Strikes to Kill” PT “Nobody’s Children” Angel

#72 – May 1946

7 8

HT “Conquest of Death”

MA “Cyclops”

SM “Spawns of Destiny”

PT “A Farewell to Larceny”

AN “Adventure at the White Rabbit Inn”

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

The War Winds Down…Slowly Surprisingly, Marvel Mystery #69, with its cover date of Feb. 1946, still contained some stories with World War II themes! Jimmy Thompson’s “Human Torch” art (we printed the splash of this story in an earlier A/E) had a light-hearted look; still, the tale deals with thieves who plot to sell stolen bicycles at “black market prices.” The “Sub-Mariner” entry was a riff on the 1937 movie Dead End and the “Dead End Kids” B-movies that followed it. While Miss America and The Angel fought apolitical criminals that issue, The Patriot was still battling “Axis” spies with German accents, even though Nazi Germany had surrendered in May of the previous year! This must’ve been one of the last Timely stories with a war theme. Except for Thompson and regular “Miss America” artist Pauline Loth, we’re uncertain who drew these stories, though Mike Roy may have had a hand in Namor’s exploits. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

“Okay, Axis—Here We Come!” For the final issue of Marvel’s first Invaders series (#41, Sept. 1979), Alan Kupperberg drew this two-page spread depicting every super-hero who’d appeared in its 40-plus issues. While several of the characters depicted had actually been created in the 1970s and shoehorned into tales set in 1941-42, a baker’s dozen were authentic WWII Timely heroes: the Torch and Toro, Sub-Mariner, Captain America and Bucky, The Patriot, Miss America, Red Raven, Blue Diamond, Jack Frost, The Whizzer, The Thin Man, and The Destroyer. The first seven heroes named above had been featured at some time in Marvel Mystery Comics. At top right are The Crusaders, a group of retroactively-conceived heroes (Captain Wings, Spirit of ’76, Ghost Girl, Thunderfist, Dyna-Mite, and Tommy Lightning)—at middle right are Union Jack and Spitfire, created by Roy T. and Frank Robbins as British Invaders—while Roy & Frank’s new, younger Sun Girl (Japanese-American) and Human Top (African-American), seen at lower left, teamed with Bucky and Toro as the Kid Commandos. Later Marvel heroes Black Panther, Yellowjacket, and the Silver Age Vision are shown because their time-hopping encounter with Cap, Torch, and Subby in The Avengers #70 had been expanded in the 1977 Invaders Annual— while Thor had been briefly materialized in the series by German dictator Adolf Hitler and tricked into fighting for the Nazis. (The Golem, from Invaders #14, could’ve been pictured, as well—but the “Major Victory” seen in #16 was only a comic book character!) Of course, that’s Japanese General Tojo (or is it Emperor Hirohito?), Der Führer, and Italy’s Duce Benito Mussolini at top center. Repro’d from a photocopy of the original art, courtesy of Alan K. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#73 – June 1946

HT “Killer Boss of Westport” SM “Politician’s Plunder”

MA “The Ghoul on the 13th Floor” PT “The Gagging Gangster” AN “The Missing Weapon”

#74 – July 1946

12 12

6 8

HT “Escape from Doom”

Miss America

SM “Sting of the Bat”

PT “The Ambassador of Death” AN “Saga of Sunshine O’Hara”

#75 – Aug. 1946

HT “The Ventriloquist’s Vengeance”

7 7 12

SM “The Headless Killer”

YA “Mad Monster of the Island”

Miss America (serial, Pt. I)

AN “Sight Unseen”

7 7

SM “Murder with Music”

#77 – Oct. 1946

YA “Jeff Goes High Hat”

SM “Last Voyage of Captain Frome”

YA “Menace at Midnight”

MA “Message from the Dead” AN “Killer Ghost of Harmon Castle”

#76 – Sept. 1946

HT “The Queen of Crime”

HT “The Golden Calf Murders”

MA “An Unwelcome Visitor” (II)

AN “Without Warning”

12 7 8

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) #78 – Nov. 1946

HT “3000 Years Dead”

Miss America (III)

SM “The Witch of Capetown” YA “Jewels of Despair”

AN “Murder by Magic”

#79 – Dec. 1946

12 7 7

HT “The Mother Goose Robberies” 12 SM “The Strange Dr. Feerce”

YA “Death at the Wheel”

MA “Vanishing Spies” (IV)

AN “Case of the X-Ray Eyes”

#80 – Jan. 1947

HT “Murder Melodies”

MA “Flaming Death” (V)

SM “The Mad Hatter Mystery” YA “Murder for a Laugh”

CA “The Howling Mummy”

#81 – March 1947

HT “The Crimson Terror”

SM “The Laughing Killer”

YA “Mother Goose Murders”

MA “The Password Is Murder” (VI) 7

CA “Prison Plunder”

HT “The Laughing Killer”

#82 – May 1947

SM “The Coming of Namora” MA “Ticket to Hades” (VII) YA “Puzzle of Evil”

CA “24 Hours of Terror”

#83 – June 1947

7 7

HT “The Photo Phantom”

MA “Danger Trail” (VIII)

SM “Mystery of the Haunted Pool” 12 YA “Terror at Twilight” CA “The Devil to Pay”

#84 – Oct. 1947

HT “Terror in Baghdad” SM “The Vanishing Venuses”

BP “Menace of the Mad Magicians” CA “Phantom of the Planetarium” MA “Beginning of the End” (IX)

7 7 12 12

Now The War Is Over… By issue #86 (March 1948), The Patriot, The Vision, Miss America, and even interim co-stars The Young Allies were long gone from Marvel Mystery—their places in a now-slimmer comic taken by Captain America and the new Blonde Phantom, who fought crime in the unlikely attire of an evening gown. The “Torch” artist is uncertain, though Ye Editor wonders if he detects a touch of early Gene Colan—ex-soldier Bill Everett is back in fine form on “Sub-Mariner”—various artists (including Syd Shores) may have had a hand in “Captain America”—and “Blonde Phantom” was often drawn by Shores, though it’s not known if he did this story. With the Axis powers defeated, Timely’s titans had to content themselves with fighting mundane criminals, fewer of whom deserved to be roasted alive and/or drowned. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel Too Little, Too Late In the final issue of the by-now-bimonthly Marvel Mystery, “Sub-Mariner” was dropped in favor of a “Witness” story—but Stan Lee and company made up for it by relating the origin of The Human Torch for only the second time (or third, if you count the splash-page recap in #2). Ye Editor recalls that, though by 1949 he’d been reading Timely comics for several years, this was the first he knew that the fiery felon-catcher was actually an android— whatever that was! Clearly, MMC #92 and the Namor origin in Sub-Mariner #32 (see p. 45) were meant to launch a revitalization of the company’s super-hero franchise—but it came too late. Martin Goodman pulled the plug, and mutated his flagship title overnight into—a horror comic! See p. 70 for the cover of the rechristened Marvel Tales #93. Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo for the scan of this landmark cover. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#89 – Dec. 1948

HT “The Granite Bandit”

SM “Decision, No Contest” SG “The Terrifying Ghosts from the Unknown”

10 2 9

SM “My Friend Gilly”

CA “The Imp of the Violin”

HT “The Giant of the Alps” (with Sun Girl)

BP “Unmasked”

BP “Benefit Show for Horror” 6

#90 – Feb. 1949

SM “War Cry of the Jungle”

#85 – Feb. 1948

HT “Murders from the Past”

SM “Blackbeard—Scourge of the Seas” MA “Final Reckoning” (X)

SG “Vengeance of the Space Monster”

SM “The Disappearing Watchman”

BP “Staged for Murder”

8 12

CA “Boy Who Couldn’t Study”

BP “Mad Music Moans a Devil’s Dirge”

#88 – Oct. 1948

CA “Would No Man Could See”

SG “Doomed—One Town”

BP “Alone with a Killer”

#92 – June 1949

HT “Birth of the Torch” (origin)

CA “The Man Who Wouldn’t Give Up”

WS “The Choice”

[NOTE: With issue #93, the magazine’s title was changed to Marvel Tales, and it became a horror comic. However, one last super-hero

BP “Clown Who Couldn’t Laugh”

CA “Death Waits a Million Years”

HT “Lethal Lollipops”

SM “Black Oil of Doom”

VS “The Statue That Came to Life”

HT “Master of Murder” SM “Lost Atoll”

SM “Terror at Sea”

HT “Carnival of Crime”

#87 – Aug. 1948

HT “Trapped by Dizzy Daze”

#91 – April 1949

12 8

CA “Lightning Cult”

BP “The Dummy Is No Dummy”

#86 – June 1948

CA “Death Mask Dance”

A Place In the Sun, Girl Marvel Tales #97 (Sept. 1950)—the fifth issue of the horror title that had superceded Marvel Mystery Comics— contained the last Timely super-hero story featuring any 1940s characters before the brief 1953-55 revival. (Not that Human Torch’s ladyfriend Sun Girl ever displayed any true super-powers.) It’s tempting to suspect this two-page “Special Feature” was edited down from a longer tale left on the shelf after her own mag’s threeissue run—for no adventure in Sun Girl had been shorter than five pages. Repro’d from the 1960s Australian b&w comic Astounding Stories #67, which featured reprints of “Spider-Man” and several Timely (and Charlton!) suspense stories. With thanks to Will Morgan. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) story was printed in it, perhaps from inventory, nearly a year later—one of the very few 2-page comics-format stories of a costumed character published in the history of Timely:]

Marvel Tales #97 – Sept. 1950 SG “Danger in the Sun”

Cover Features (Marvel Mystery Comics #1-92)

Sub-Mariner #4, 9-10, 14-15, 17, 20, 22, 26, 33, 35, 37, 80, 82, 84, 88

Whirlwind Carter of the Interplanetary Secret Service

G-Man Don Gorman

Trojak the Tigerman

The Fiery Mask

K-4 & His Sky Devils

Monako, Prince of Magic 10

Trojak the Tigerman

Blonde Phantom #84-88 Captain America #84

Monako, Prince of Magic 8

Sun Girl #88

Marvex, the Super Robot 8

Daring Mystery Comics

Whirlwind Carter

Little Hercules

Breeze Barton “Rebuilding the World” 7

#1 – Jan. 1940

FM “Fantastic Thriller of the Walking Corpses” (origin)

Texas Kid

Monako, Prince of Magic

Phantom of the Underworld “Case of Perrone”

8 7

[REP: The “Fiery Mask” origin was reprinted in The Golden Age of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1999).]

#2 – Feb. 1940

#5 – June 1940

Angel #2-3, 6, 8, 12

Barney Mullen, Sea Rover

K-4 & His Sky Devils

Breeze Barton “World of Savages” 7

Human Torch #1, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15-19, 21-25, 27-92

Flash Foster

The Purple Mask

Marvex, the Super Robot 8

[NOTE: On some covers more than one hero was featured.]

John Steele, Soldier of Fortune

#4 – May 1940

The Falcon

#6 – Sept. 1940

Marvel Boy

Stuporman

The Fiery Mask

Flying Flame The Falcon

Monako, Prince of Magic

7 7

Dynaman

Tiger Man

“V” Is For “Variety” When Daring Mystery was brought back after a seven-month absence, #7 was ballyhooed on the inside front cover of Human Torch #5 (the second one). As revealed by its playing up newie Citizen V, this house ad was clearly meant to promote DMC #8, which would sport a Jan. 1942 date! [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

8 8 6

Zephyr Jones & His Rocket Ship

#7 – April 1941

Trojak the Tigerman

The Fin (origin)

Silver Scorpion

The Phantom Bullet

K-4 & His Sky Devils Mr. E

The Laughing Mask

#3 – April 1940 Dale of the FBI

Breeze Barton “In the Miracle City” The Purple Mask

Phantom Reporter

Trojak the Tigerman

Marvex, the Super Robot Captain Strong

10 10 10 8 8

8 8

13 7

The Thunderer (origin) The Blue Diamond (origin) Mr. Million

Captain Daring “In the Underground Empire” The Challenger (origin)

#8 – Jan. 1942

Citizen V (origin)

8 9 6

12 9

The Fin

Lil Professor & Rudy the Robot

The Thunderer “Death Rides the Air Waves”12 Silver Scorpion

Captain Daring “The Return of Mad Dog Hitler”

Blue Diamond “The Hypnotized Ghosts”

[NOTE: With #9, Daring Mystery became Comedy Comics, but the change was not complete until Comedy #12, since the “Vagabond” feature appeared in #11. Daring was revived with #9 in 1944 (minus the word “Mystery,” listed elsewhere) and lasted through #12.]

Comedy Comics

#9 – April 1942

Lil Professor & Rudy the Robot

Comedy Kids

Silver Scorpion

Splash Morgan

Captain Dash “Scourge of Fear” Citizen V The Fin

8 6

12 10

[REP: The “Citizen V” and “Fin” stories were

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

Daring-Dos & Daring-Don’ts The eight early-’40s issues of Daring Mystery Comics might better have been titled Boring Mixed-Bag Comics, since—as a cursory glance at either the listed contents or these covers clearly shows—the mag’s cast varied wildly from issue to issue. Only the last two issues showed any real continuity of cast. #6 and #8 had Simon & Kirby covers. Oddly, “The Challenger” originated in DMC #7, and his origin was recounted both there and when he jumped ship to Mystic Comics #6. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

The Lady Has a Stinger! The Silver Scorpion was one of Timely’s rare early costumed heroines—though she had no real superpowers. At left is Harry Sahle’s splash from Comedy Comics #9, as reprinted in the 1999 Marvel Mystery Comics #1. At right: she was partly reimagined (and even given an origin) by Roy Thomas and Dave Hoover in The Invaders (second series, #2, June 1993), as per Dave’s original pencils—where she faces Strong-Man, Spider Queen, and The Human Meteor, three early-1940s super-heroes from other publishers whom the lads discourteously turned into villains. Roy considers that four-issue mini-series one of his favorite creative experiences of the 1990s, and remains grateful to editor Mike Rockwitz for making it happen! [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

reprinted in The Golden Age of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1999)—“Silver Scorpion” in Marvel Mystery Comics #1 (1999).]

#10 – June 1942 Educatin’ Otto

Archy the Gruesome

Daffy and Duffy

The Fourth Musketeer Monstro the Mighty Victory Boys

Kid Columbus Wheezy

Cannonball Brown

#11 – Aug. 1942 (“Sept.” on cover) Stuporman

The Vagabond

[NOTE: For this issue, only the two superhero-related titles are listed.]

Cover Features (Daring Mystery Comics #1-8)

[NOTE: Comedy Comics from #9 on had humorous covers.] The Fiery Mask #1

The Phantom Bullet #2 The Purple Mask #3

G-Man Ace #4 The Falcon #5

Marvel Boy #6

The Thunder #7 (w/cameos of Fin, Challenger, Blue Diamond, Captain Daring) Thunderer, Fin, Citizen V, Captain Daring, Blue Diamond, Silver Scorpion #8

Mystic Comics

7 7 8 8 5 6 5 7

#1 – March 1940

Flexo the Rubber Man

Blue Blaze

Deep Sea Demon

Zephyr Jones & His Rocket Ship Dakor the Magician “The Blooded Ruby of Chung”

10 8

Dynamic Man

Blue Blaze

Taxi Taylor & His Wonder Car

#2 – April 1940 Flexo the Rubber Man Space Rangers

Excello, Master Mind Dakor

7 6 7 7

Super-Hero Hare Apparent You can see Ed Winarski’s Vagabond (who was soon transformed into a straight comedy character) in A/E #13. Not that super-doers were entirely AWOL from Comedy after it superceded Daring Mystery, as per this cover for #22 (March 1944) where Super Rabbit foils a swinish stand-in for Hitler, in an issue with an “Atlas Publication” sigil. Thanks to Doc Vassallo. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

I Get Mystic Although “The Blue Blaze” burst forth on the covers of Mystic #1 and #3, it took six issues before the publisher settled on a hero—Stan Lee and Jack Binder’s “Destroyer”—who was deemed worthy of being on two covers in a row. And was the launching of “The Black Marvel” at the turn of 1941 a reaction to the rising popularity of Fawcett’s Captain Marvel during the previous year? Given Martin Goodman’s attitudes toward pre-empting the competition whenever possible, it seems highly likely—and, of course, “Marvel Boy” had already debuted in Daring Mystery #6. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Zara of the Jungle

Dynamic Man

Invisible Man

#4 – July 1940

Dynamic Man

#3 – June 1940

Blue Blaze

Flexo

Hercules

Space Rangers Excello Dakor

Zara of the Jungle

7 6 7

7 7

Invisible Man

7 7

Blue Blaze

The Thin Man

Hercules

Flexo the Rubber Man

7 6

Black Widow (origin)

Merzah the Mystic

Invisible Man

Dynamic Man

6 9

#5 – March 1941

Black Marvel (origin)

Adventures of Super Slave Sub-Earth Man1

12 8 0

The Terror (origin)

The Moon Man

Black Widow

The Blazing Skull (origin)

8 9

[REP: The “Black Marvel” origin was reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #15 (July 1968).]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) #6 – Oct. 1941

The Destroyer (origin)

The Destroyer

Black Marvel

TR “Dolls of Death”

The Challenger (origin)

Blazing Skull

#7 – Dec. 1941

#8 – March 1942 Black Marvel

Davey & the Demon

The Terror

WS “Gems of Doom” Blazing Skull

CH “League of Crime”

#9 – May 1942

Black Widow

The Witness

Blazing Skull

The Challenger

Davey & The Demon

Black Marvel

The Terror

The Destroyer

DS “The Machine of Death” The Witness (origin)

8 7 7 8

The Destroyer

TR “Poison, Incorporated”

Davey & the Demon Black Marvel Gary Gaunt

BS “Mystery of Red Valley”

CH “Horror Mansion”

#10 – Aug. 1942

DS “Battling the Underground Factory Fiend” The World of Wonder

6 5 8 6 7

FT “Legend of the Headless Executioner”

Red Skeleton

The Challenger

Davey & the Demon The Terror

Cover Features (Mystic Comics #1-10)

Blue Blaze #1, 3

Dynamic Man #2

29 Comet Pierce

Magar the Mystic “Recreator of Souls” Eternal Brain

Black Marvel #5

#2 – Fall 1940 (real #1)

HT “Introducing Toro, the Flaming Torch Kid” (origin of Toro) 19 SM “Crashes New York Again”

Microman

The Falcon

Destroyer—Duck!

FM “The Strange Case of the Bloodless Corpses”

Red Raven (origin)

#3 – Winter 1940-41 (real #2)

Human Top

Mercury in the 20th Century

10 8

Human Torch

Sub-Mariner

Human Torch

[REP: This issue’s “Sub-Mariner” story was reprinted in Giant-Size Defenders #4 (April 1975), where it was erroneously labeled as being from HT #4.]

#4 – Spring 1941 (real #3)

HT “Mystery of the Disappearing Criminals”20 Human Torch (Part II)

The Patriot

HT (Human Torch/Sub-Mariner Battle)

[REP: The “Torch” story was first reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #11 (Oct. 1967).]

Red Raven Human Torch Comics #1 SM “Blitzkrieg of the Living Dead” (becomes The Patriot The Human Torch with #2) #5 – Fall 1941 (real #5)

#1 – Aug. 1940

Mantor the Magician

HT “The March of Death”

“The Destroyer” became Mystic’s cover star with #6, and even appeared in two stories in that debut issue. This is the splash of the second tale, likewise drawn by Jack Binder and (probably) scripted by Stan Lee. (The origin splash was seen in A/E #55.) This blue-masked battler’s shtik was that, after swallowing a Captain America-style serum, he spent the whole of World War II fighting behind enemy lines in Hitler’s Fortress Europa. No Stan Lee super-hero co-creation would approach The Destroyer in popularity till 1961, when a little skiffle group called The Fantastic Four would be launched. Thanks to Warren Reece for the photocopy from this super-rare issue. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

[NOTE: Besides other listings below, the entire contents of The Human Torch #2-5 (the first version of the latter) were reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Human Torch, Vol. 1 (2005).]

#5 – Summer 1941 (real #4)

Destroyer #6-10

[REP: The “Red Raven” origin was reprinted in The Golden Age of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1999)— “Mercury” in Marvel Super-Heroes #14 (May 1968).]

Sub-Mariner

Hercules #4

20 10 10

Part I

Part III

Part II

[REP: This issue’s cover and story were reprinted in their entirety in Timely Presents: Human Torch (1999).]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

Lucky #7 Collector Dan Kocher kindly sent us scans of seven of the eight features from Mystic #7. Seeing this montage is almost like owning a copy all your own to flip through, isn’t it? Hey—we said “almost”! Dan says his incomplete copy of the issue doesn't contain a single page of the "Blazing Skull" story! [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#6 – Winter 1941-42 HT “Secret Arsenal”

SM “Murder Afloat”

Human Torch

#7 – Spring 1942

HT “Meet the Agent of Death”

HT “The Case of the Attempted Dreadnaught Disasters”

Sub-Mariner

20 18 20

#8 – Summer 1942 (Battle Issue) “Human Torch Vs. Sub-Mariner” I

“The Fiery Monster” III

“The Python’s Power” II “The Python Strikes” IV

“Underground Terror” V

“The Amazing Awakening” VI

#9 – Fall 1942 Human Torch

7 8

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

Hot Time In The City (Above:) Anybody out there remember how, back in A/E #49’s coverage of Torch creator Carl Burgos, we printed a number of unused 1941-42 cover and/or splash page sketches done by Burgos and/or others from Lloyd Jacquet’s Funnies, Inc., shop? Sure you do! Well, on reading our lament that we hadn’t been able to score a copy of the Torch/Namor battle in Human Torch #8, collector Dan Mankuta surprised us by sending us glorious color photocopies of several pages from that monumental issue. (Thanks to Raymond L. Miller for some nice b&w images from that ish, as well.) Here are the chapter 1 splash and a fight page—in which an oversize, Pythoncontrolled Torch gives Subby a hot time! Art by the Funnies, Inc., shop—including quite possibly Carl Pfeufer, who became the major “Sub-Mariner” artist when Bill Everett went into the Army in early 1942. Oh, and if The Python looks familiar, it may be because you’ve also seen him in recent FCA segments, renamed “The Cobra” in a 1955 Brazilian story in which he and the Torch encountered the original Captain Marvel! [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Sub-Mariner

HT “Queer Case of Johnny Clostro”

#10 – Winter 1942-42

(Human Torch-Sub-Mariner Battle)

20 18

Chapter I

Chapter III

Chapter II

Jimmy Jupiter

15 10

#11 – Spring 1943

HT “Mystery of the Blue Diamond” 18 HT “Blackout for Doom”

SM “Hitler’s Hoax”

#12 – Summer 1943 HT “Riding a Rocket to Doom” 19

We Can Dream, Can’t We? Since the first four issues of Human Torch (#2-5) are available in the volume Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Human Torch, Vol. 1, we’re limiting ourselves to this house ad for #4 from another Timely mag. With thanks to Warren Reece. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel SM “Yellow Fang’s Unholy Mission”

#16 – Fall 1944

HT “Yellow Monkeys of Death”

#20 – Fall 1945 HT “Cult of Evil”

SM “The Carnival Murders”

HT “Death Writes a Diary”

SM “Murder in Blackout”

HT “The Sentence of Death”

HT “The Fatal Fifth Bullet”

HT “Witness to Murder” 12

HT “The Sons of Evil”

#21 – Winter 1945-46

SM “Journey to Death”

HT “House That Changed Color”

HT “Vs. the Robber Baron” 7

#17 – Winter 1944-45

HT “The Ghostly Horror” 12

#22 – Spring 1946

HT “Devil’s Double”

HT “Pawnshop Murder”

HT “The Skulking Killer” SM “The Zombie Terror”

#18 – Spring 1945

HT “The Amazing Swindle”

SM “Dungeon of Terror”

HT “Firebug Terror”

#19 – Summer 1945

HT “Blackmailer of Death” 10 HT “Vs. the Chamber of Horrors”

SM “Holiday with Murder” 12

12 12

#23 – Summer 1946

SM “The Doomed Fisherman”

HT “Death Plays the Violin”10

HT “Death Takes a Journey” 7

HT “Jekyll-Hyde Murders”

SM “Politicians in Crime”

HT “The Werewolf Horror”

#24 – Fall 1946

Is The Black Terror’s Washline Missing A Shirt? On p. 21 we showed you a “Torch” story page by artist Jimmy Thompson. Here’s a splash page by Thompson from Human Torch #25. With thanks to Matt Moring. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

HT “Unmask a Gestapo Rabbit”

SM “Lair of the Pig Boats”

HT “The End”

SM “Deep Sea Lair of the Murdering Octopus”

#13 – Fall 1943

HT “Purple Ghost and His Reign of Terror” 12 HT “Smashing New York’s Black Menace” 12

#14 – Winter 1943-44

HT “Horror of the Mad Dogs”

HT “Smashing the Bloody Plasma Pool”

HT “Wings of Death”

SM “Message to Moscow”

#15 – Spring 1944

12 16

HT “Big Brain”

HT “Dog-Tag Horror”

HT “Nazi Poison Fiend”

Stop Laughing Like A Hyena! We’re Doing Asbestos We Can The Torch and Toro originally locked horns with Asbestos Lady and The Hyena only in the postwar years, but both villains were later backdated into World War II by writer/editor Roy Thomas for The Invaders #22 (Nov. 1977) and that year’s Invaders Annual. Here are an action page from Human Torch #27, as the Torches close in on the flameproof female felon, and a splash from HT #30—well, actually, from the 1974 reprint mag Human Torch #2, where the 1948 “Hyena” story shared space with a 1960s Johnny Storm exploit. Artists uncertain. Thanks to Matt Moring for the HT #27 scan; we printed the splash of the Asbestos Lady adventure in an earlier issue. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) HT “The Invisible Terror”

SM “The Statue of Death”

HT “Trapping the Masked Monster”

HT “The House Killer”

#25 – Winter 1946-47 HT “Death by Prophecy”

HT “The Lost Son Fraud”

12 7

SM “Ghost Hangman”

HT “Her Diary of Terror”

Colan And Sekowsky—Golden Age Style

(Left:) When he sent these scans, Doc V. told us he believes Gene Colan, Silver/Bronze Age artist of Captain America, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, Sub-Mariner, Tomb of Dracula, et al., had at least penciled this Golden Age “Torch” tale from Human Torch #31. What did Gene the Dean have to say about it? Read the brief interview with him on his Golden Age work that begins on p. 66, and find out!

#26 – Spring 1947

HT “One of Us Is the Killer” HT “The Ghost of Shadow Manor”

SM “Fatal Curse of the Sea Witch”12

#27 – Summer 1947

HT “Meet the Asbestos Lady” 12 HT “Mystery of the Old Curiosity Shop”

SM “Murder Deadline”

(Right:) In past issues, we’ve reprinted various panels from the “Sub-Mariner” story from HT #31—and here’s another. Doc V. has ID’d it as being penciled by bullpen mainstay Mike Sekowsky, who in the 1960s would become the original artist of DC’s Justice League of America. Namora co-stars, as she did in many of her cousin Namor’s late-’40s sagas. With thanks to Matt Moring & Doc V. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#28 – Fall 1947

HT “The Twins Who Weren’t”

HT “Dead End” SM “Case of the Bends”

#29 Winter 1947-48

HT “Daredevil of Crime”

HT “You’ll Die Laughing” SM “Pirates of the China Sea”

#30 – May 1948

12 12

HT “He Gambled on Death”

HT “Man Who Could Foresee Doom”

SM “Troubadour of Terror”

#32 – Sept. 1948

HT “Double Cross in Death” (w/Sun Girl) 10 12 6 7

HT “Gay Nineties Gamble” 10 SM “Beast of the Bowery Barge” 8 HT “The Hyena Strikes”

#31 – July 1948

[REP: “The Hyena Strikes” was reprinted in The Human Torch #2 (Nov. 1974).]

SM “The Roulette of Destiny”

HT “Jazz Murders” (w/Sun Girl)

#33 – Nov. 1948

HT “The Ray of Madness” (w/Captain America & Sun Girl)

SM “A Jinx for Georgie Jenks”

HT “Horror Hotel”

[REP: “Ray of Madness” was reprinted in Giant-Size Avengers #1 (Aug. 1974)— “Horror Hotel” in The Human Torch #1 (Sept. 1974).]

#34 – Jan. 1949

HT “The Flat of the Land”

SG “The Brain Monster”

HT “They All Died Laughing”

“I’ve Never Tried Anything Like This Before!” That gross understatement was uttered by the Torch in the lead story in HT #33, one of his wackiest adventures ever, when he flamed on and flew to Jupiter (through airless space!) to tackle aliens who’d turned their “Ray of Madness” on the Earth, causing people to be attacked by friends or even pets. Torch’s new partner Sun Girl waited with Captain America for his return, and—well, pick up the 1974 reprint and see! This was one of the few crossover stories produced by Timely once the early excitement of the Torch/Namor slugfests had worn off. Thanks to Matt Moring for the scan. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel #35 – March 1949 HT “Flame of Fury”

HT “Flaming Victory” HT “The Killer Ray”

CA “The Outer World of Doom”

#38 – Aug. 1954

HT “The World’s End”

SM “Meets the Octopus Men”

HT “In Korea”

HT “Flame On”

6 6

[REP: “The World’s End” was reprinted in The [NOTE: With #35, The Human Human Torch #4 (March 1975)—“In Korea” in Torch was discontinued for four HT #5 (May 1975)—“Flame On” in HT #6 years. It was revived in 1954 for (July 1975).] three issues:] [NOTE: A 5-page “Human Torch” story titled

#36 – April 1954 Human Torch

Sub-Mariner

Human Torch Human Torch

#37 – June 1954

Sub-Mariner

HT “The Menace of the Unhuman”

The Fabulous Fiery ’50s

HT “Vampire Tale”

HT “A Spy There Was”

We’ve reprinted lots of art from the Timely/Atlas super-hero revival of 1953-55, especially in A/E #35 and with our John Romita interview in #9—so we’ll let this single splash page, from HT #37, represent the trio of Eisenhower-era Torch issues. The splash panel seems to be the work of Carl Burgos, while the other three panels (like the rest of the story) are by Dick Ayers. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

“The Un-Human!”—probably intended for either Captain America #79 or Sub-Mariner #36—was discovered in the latter 1960s and first printed in Marvel Super-Heroes #16 (Sept. 1968); it was later reprinted in The Human Torch #8 (Nov. 1975). See Alter Ego #35 for details.] Red Raven #1

Cover Features

Human Torch #2-38

Sub-Mariner featured on #5, 8, 10

Captain America Comics

[NOTE: Besides other listings below, the entire contents of Captain America #1-4 were reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Captain America, Vol. 1 (2004).]

Present At the Creation A hardcover reprinting of the contents of Captain America Comics #1-4 is currently available, and all “Cap” stories from #1-10 were published not too many years back in the two-volume set Captain America: The Classic Years, so we’re concentrating on less accessible images. Still, Cap co-creator Joe Simon himself was kind enough to send us a pristine black-&-white Photostat of original art from issue #1 (seen at left). Thanks, Joe! You’re one of the greats—and always have been! [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.] Also, just for kicks, ever-diligent Australian fan-artist Shane Foley drew this rendition of Simon & Kirby’s endlessly-reprinted cover for C.A. #1, so our super-hero “maskots” Alter Ego and Rob Lndsay could have their own go at one of the 20th century’s greatest monsters. Nice job, Shane! Alter Ego: The Graphic Novel, the entire 128-page full-color 1986 Golden Age tribute comic by Roy Thomas and Ron Harris, is still available from Heroic Publishing; visit its website at www.heroicpub.com. [©2006 Shane Foley.]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) #1 – March 1941

Captain America (origin)

Captain America

Hurricane, Master of Speed

Captain America

CA “The Riddle of the Red Skull” Tuk, Caveboy

CA “The Queer Case of the Murdering Butterfly and the Ancient Mummies”

Hurricane

[REP: Cap’s origin was first reprinted in Jules Feiffer’s The Great Comic Book Heroes (1965), later in The Golden Age of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1999). The cover and all “C.A.” stories from this issue were reprinted in Captain America: The Classic Years, Vol. 1 (no date). “Hurricane” and “Tuk” were reprinted in The Golden Age of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1999), the former also in Marvel Mystery Comics #1 (1999).]

#2 – April 1941

CA “The Ageless Orientals Who Wouldn’t Die”

CA “The Wax Statue That Struck Death”

CA “Trapped in the Nazi Stronghold” Tuk “The Valley of the Mist”

Hurricane

CA “Return of the Red Skull”

#3 – May 1941

CA “The Hunchback of Hollywood and the Movie Murder” (S??) Tuk

CA “Gruesome Secret of the Dragon of Death”

CA “Terror That Was Devil’s Island”

[REP: “Hunchback of Hollywood” and “Murdering Butterfly” were first reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #3 (June 1966), with substantial censoring by the Comics Code Authority, which included changing the word “Murdering” to “Plundering.”]

#4 – June 1941

CA “The Fake Money Fiends”

Tuk

CA “Horror Hospital”

CA “Killers of the Bund” Headline Hunter Tuk

Hurricane

10 5 4 8

[REP: “Ringmaster,” “Dragon,” and “Killers” were first reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #5 (Oct. 1966), with censorship by the Comics Code Authority.]

CA “The Unholy Legion” CA “Ivan the Terrible”

Hurricane “The Pirate and the Missing Ships” 7

#6 – Sept. 1941

CA “The Camera Fiend and His Darts of Doom” CA “Meet the Fang, Arch Fiend of the Orient”

FT “The Grim Reaper Deals with Crime” CA “The Hangman”

Headline Hunter “Battles the Engine of Destruction”

16 9

5 [REP: “Horror Hospital,” “Fake Money Fiends,” and “Ivan the Terrible” were first Hurricane 7 reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #4 (Aug. [REP: “Fang” was first reprinted, with consid1966), with considerable censorship by the Comics Code Authority, including changing the erable changes dictated by the Comics Code title of “Horror Hospital” to “The Menace of Dr. Grimm!”]

#5 – Aug. 1941

CA “The Ringmaster of Death”

Mighty Marvel Mysteries Without End Here’s a curiosity from the early days of Captain America, courtesy of 1970s Marvel staffer (and major Timely collector) Warren Reece, and his Chamber of Fantasy: The inside front cover of Young Allies #1 (Summer 1941), partly shown at left, boasted a small image of the cover of C.A. #7, spotlighting The Red Skull. However, on the published cover (center), he was replaced by a nondescript Nazi—even though that issue’s lead story did indeed feature the Skull, as per the splash-panel image used in the house ad at right. Contrary to his usual habit, did Martin Goodman fear over-exposing The Red Skull, since he’d also appeared in #6—though not yet on a cover? [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel (Oct. 1967)—“Spy Ambush” in FM #9 (June 1967).]

#11 – Feb. 1942

CA “The Squad of Mystery”

Hurricane

CA “The Feud Murders”

FT “Battles the Scourge of Crime”

CA “Combats the Symphony of Terror”

CA “Pygmies of Terror”

The Imp

#12 – March 1942

CA “Rozzo the Rebel”

FT “Nemesis of Evildoers”

Headline Hunter “Silent Death”

The Shield Must Go On! When Joe and Jack quit Timely in late 1941, Martin Goodman and his hastily-appointed new young editor Stan Lee had to cast about hurriedly for replacements. The joint genius of Simon & Kirby couldn’t be duplicated, of course, but they found capable continuers in penciler Al Avison and inkers Al Gabriele and Syd Shores. All three had already been working on various Timely series, probably even assisting on “Cap” stories. There were no credits in that first post-S&K issue, Captain America #11, but before long Avison & Gabriele were listed as the creative team. This dramatic cover and splash for #11 illustrate the same story. The two other “Cap” splashes from that ish were seen in A/E #32 & #35. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Authority, in Fantasy Masterpieces #6 (Dec. 1966).]

#7 – Oct. 1941

CA “Horror Plays the Scales”

Hurricane

FT “Race against Doom” Headline Hunter

#13 – April 1942

CA “League of the Unicorn” CA “The Black Witch”

Father Time

CA “The White Death”

15 7 7 5

#8 – Nov. 1941

CA “Strange Mystery of the Ruby of the Nile and Its Heritage of Horror” 13 Headline Hunter “Plague of Death”

Hurricane “Carnival of Crime” 7

#9 – Dec. 1941

CA “Man Who Could Not Die”

Headline Hunter “Death in the Alps”

13 5

Hurricane

Father Time

[REP: “The White Death” was reprinted in Marvel Mystery Comics #9 (1999).]

#10 – Jan. 1942

CA “Spy Ambush”

[REP: “The Red Skull” was first reprinted, with CA “Hotel of Horror” Comics Code censorship, in Fantasy Headline Hunter Masterpieces #6 (Dec. 1966)—“Death Loads the CA “Phantom Hound of Bases” in FM #7 (Feb. 1967)—“Horror Plays Cardiff Moor” the Scales” in Fantasy Masterpieces #8 (April Hurricane 1967), also with considerable Code censorship, including changing the word “Horror” in the FT “The Man Who title to “Death.”] Could Forecast Doom”

CA “Murder Stalks the Maneuvers”

CA “Case of the Black Talon” 18

CA “The Red Skull”

CA “Death Loads the Bases”

[REP: “Phantom Hound” was first reprinted, with Code censorship, in Fantasy Masterpieces #6 (Dec. 1966)— “Hotel of Horror,” with the title changed by the Code to “Hotel of Death,” in FM #11

13 5

The Timely Father Time C.A. #11 also featured “Hurricane” (see p. 7) and “Father Time”— both scripted by Stan Lee, with these pencils attributed to Mike Sekowsky. And somehow, even as he began a stint as Timely/Marvel’s editor which would last for three decades (if we count his 2-3 years in the Army during World War II, during which he still moonlighted for the company and was listed on numerous contents pages), Stan found the time to write #11’s two-page text filler, as well! [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) Captain America’s Shining Shores Circa the late 1960s, Syd Shores, then working for Marvel primarily as an inker on Captain America, Daredevil, et al., drew this nice pen-and-ink sketch for fan-turning-pro Marv Wolfman. Thanks for digging out that old sketchbook, Marv! [Art ©2006 Estate of Syd Shores; Captain America TM & ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Secret Stamp

CA “The Tunnel of Terror”

CA “The Invasion from Mars”

#15 – June 1942 The Imp

Secret Stamp

[REP: “Tunnel of Terror” was reprinted in Marvel Visionaries: Stan Lee (2005).]

#16 – July 1942

CA “Red Skull’s Deadly Revenge”

Secret Stamp

#17 – Aug. 1942

CA “Monster from the Grave” 12

Headline Hunter

The Imp

The Secret Stamp (origin)

CA “Battles the Horde of the Vulture”

The Imp

#14 – May 1942

CA “The Petals of Doom” Elmer

CA “Horror of the Seas” The Imp

CA “The Lighthouse of Horror”

Rookie McQuirk

The Fighting Yank

CA “Sub-Earthmen’s Revenge” 20 CA “Machine of Doom” Secret Stamp

#18 – Sept. 1942

CA “Bowling Alley of Death” 15

CA “Tomb of Horror”

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly This page from “The Vault of the Doomed!” in C.A. #22 displays both the attempt to continue the Simon & Kirby look (right down to the irregular panel borders and overlapping figures) and the unfortunate racial stereotyping which was endemic to most U.S. popular culture in the 1940s, even as the nation fought those ultimate racists, the Nazis. Repro’d from one of George Henderson’s Canadian reprintings of b&w Photostats in his magazine Captain George’s World. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.] Incidentally, alert A/E reader Nick Caputo recently e-mailed us: “I was reading a fascinating book—The Lost One – A Life of Peter Lorre by Stephen D. Youngkin— when I came across this passage: ‘In September 1941 Variety carried notice that Jack Barry’s New York-based Minoco Productions would make ‘Captain America,’ its first full-length feature film, based on the popular comic book hero. Frank Wisbar was scheduled to direct from an original story by himself and Marily Barry, the producer’s wife. Minoco had planned to star Lorre, presumably in a villainous role. However, commitments on the West Coast apparently blocked his involvement in the independent production.’” Of course, we all know there was a Captain America movie serial in 1944—but was Cap available for it only because this feature film deal didn’t come off?

7 7

37 CA “The Mikado’s Super Shell”

SS “The Costumed Crooks”

Fighting Fool

#19 – Oct. 1942

CA “The Crocodile Strikes”

CA “Your Life Depends on It”

Human Torch

CA “On to Berlin”

SS “Roddy’s Double Trouble”

#20 – Nov. 1942

CA “Spawn of the Witch Queen”

SS “The Killer Shylock”

Sub-Mariner

CA “Fiend That Was the Fakir”

CA “Case of the Clammy Things”

CA “The Creeper and the Three Rubies of Doom”

Dippy Diplomat

#21 – Dec. 1942

HT “The Cobra Strikes”

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

CA “Satan and the Sorcerer’s Secret”

CA “Battling the Deadly Snapper”

Secret Stamp

CA “The Idol of Doom”

CA “The Vampire Strikes”

CA “Meet the Eel of Horror Harbor”

Secret Stamp

Dippy Diplomat

#22 – Jan. 1943

CA “Vault of the Doomed”

CA “Battles the Reaper”

SS “War Bond Vengeance”

HT “Sabotage of the Supply Trains” CA “The Cobra Ring of Death”

[REP: The “Reaper” story was reprinted in The Invaders #10 (Nov. 1976)—“Cobra Ring” in The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1)(1997).]

#23 – Feb. 1943

CA “Mystery of the 100 Corpses” HT “Terror at the Ship Yards”

17 7

SS “The Bund’s Bonds”

#24 – March 1943

HT “The Monument Murder” Dippy Diplomat

#25 – April 1943

7 8

CA “Princess of the Atom” - Part I

CA “The Murdering Mummy and the Laughing Sphinx”

HT “The Films of Death”

SS “Mystery of the Airmail Marker” 7 Dippy Diplomat

#26 – May 1943

CA “Princess of the Atom” - Part II 25 CA “The Russian Hell-Hole” HT “Deposits of Death”

24 7

SS “The Ration Book Counterfeits” 4

#27 – June 1943 CA “North of the Border”

HT “The Man-Hole of Death” CA “Blitzkrieg to Berlin”

SS “Roddy Colt Steps Out”

#28 – July 1943 CA “Challenge of the Mad Torso”

HT “Black Voodoo Murders”

Also from C.A. #22 (or some issue around that time) is this page from “The Secret Stamp”—the series starring a kid hero who more or less personified the selling of U.S. War Bonds and Savings Stamps during WWII. Though the artist here is uncertain, the 1970s Who’s Who lists Don Rico as drawing the feature in 1942, Bob Oksner in 1943. The hero was evidently the brainchild of Stan Lee—perhaps at governmental request? [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

7 22 6

23 7

CA “Vultures of Violent Death”

CA “The King of the Dinosaurs”

#29 – Aug. 1943

Help Stamp Out Nazis!

HT “Carnival of Doom”

CA “The Phantom Engineer”

CA “The Headless Monster”

#30 – Sept. 1943

12 13

CA “House of the Laughing Death”

CA “Case of the Yellow Scourge”

HT “The Nazi Cleaver”

CA “The Saboteur of Death”

#31 – Oct. 1943

CA “Terror of the Green Mist”

CA “Canal of the Lurking Death”

HT “Murder!”

CA “The Coughing Killer”

#32 – Nov. 1943

CA “Menace of the Murderous Mole-Man” 13 CA “Alibaba and His 40 Nazis”

HT “Mind Smasher”

CA “The Vulture”

#33 – Dec. 1943

CA “Mother Wong”

CA “Master of the Killer Mongoose”

HT “Meets the Japanese Beetle” CA “The Symbol of Doom”

#34 – Jan. 1944

CA “The Cult of the Assassins”

CA “Invasion Mission”

CA “The Stage of Death”

HT “The Mad Mole’s Folly”

#35 – Feb. 1944

12 7

CA “The Gargoyle Strikes”

CA “The Steel Mask”

HT “The Horrible Hermit” CA “Case of the Horror Monkey”

#36 – March 1944

CA “Blood of Dr. Necrosis”

CA “The Leopard Woman”

HT “Meet the Director of Death” CA “The General of Death”

#37 – April 1944

CA “Chambers of Dr. Agony”

CA “Frozen Death”

CA “The Seven Sons of Satan” HT “Flaming Steel”

13 7

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) #38 – May 1944

CA “Castle of Doom”

CA “Frozen Death”

HT “Murder for Profit” CA “Peril of the Past”

#39 – June 1944

CA “Terror of the Ghost Harpoon”

CA “Rockets of Doom”

CA “Riders of Death”

HT “Tarbu’s Mission of Death”

#40 – July 1944

13 7

CA “The Jester of Death”

CA “The Auction of Death”

HT “The Bloody Assassin” CA “The Floating City”

#41 – Aug. 1944

CA “Killer Beasts of Notre Dame”

CA “The Murder Brain”

HT “Vs. Berlin’s Mistress of Death” CA “The School of Horror”

#42 – Oct. 1944

CA “Tojo’s Terror Masters”

CA “Waters of Death”

HT “Spy Master of the Third Reich” CA “The Baron of Horror Castle”

#43 – Dec. 1944

CA “Shadows of Death” HT “The Wingless Bat”

16 7

CA “The Death That Came from Nowhere” 10 CA “The Sea Dragon”

#44 – Jan. 1945

CA “The Prophet of Hate”

CA “The Graveyard of Ships”

HT “The Bandit Murder Gang” CA “Midnight Means Murder”

#45 – March 1945

7 9

CA “Dynamos of Death”

CA “The Thing in the Swamp”

HT “Vs. the Walking Corpse” CA “The Human Beast

#46 – April 1945

CA “Invitation to Murder”

”8 18

HT “Five Traitors from Berlin” 7 CA “Shadow of the Monster” 10 CA “The Puff-Adder Skulls”

CA “The Crime Dictator”

#47 – June 1945

HT “Horror in Room 1705”

CA “Monster of the Morgue” 17

#48 – July 1945

CA “Mark of the Satyre”

CA “Corpse That Wasn’t There”

HT “The Collector of Death” 7 CA “Battles Colosso and His Murder Marionettes”

#49 – Aug. 1945

CA “The League of Hate”

CA “Symphony of Death”

HT “The Gem of Destruction” 7 CA “Murder by Proxy”

#50 – Oct. 1945

CA “The Walking Dead”

CA “The Eyes of Death”

HT “The Mad Sculptor” CA “The Leopard and His Killer Mob”

#51 – Dec. 1945

CA “The Atomic Boomerang” 16 HT “Killer from the Grave”

CA “Fraternity of Fat Fellows” CA “The Blonde Bombshell”

#52 – Jan. 1946

CA “The Telepathic Typewriter” CA “Beauty and the Beast” HT “Vs. The Catman”

CA “The Hermit’s Heritage”

#53 – Feb. 1946

Out Of Uniform—But Not Out Of Costume After the end of WWII, Pvt. Steve Rogers was mustered out of the service and became a teacher at the Lee School (hmm… wonder who it was named after! Maybe Robert E.?), with Bucky (and “Snipe,” whoever he was) as his students, as per this ad from Joker Comics #25 (Nov. 1946). With thanks to Eric Schumacher. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

CA “Scarface and the Script of Death”

#55 – April 1946

12 15 7

CA “The Robe of Evil” - Part I

HT “Killer Who Died Twice”

CA “The Robe of Evil” - Part II CA “Murder Etched in Stone”

#54 – March 1946 CA “The Big Guy”

HT “The Wish of Death”

12 13 12 7

CA “Murder Mountain”

CA “The Hands of Sensitivo”

CA “Just What the Doctor Ordered” HT “The Rest Home Mystery”

13 12

CA “The Merry Widow Murders”

CA “The Casbah Killer”

HT “The Chiming Tree”

#56 – May 1946

CA “A Name for an Old Doll” CA “Murder on the Campus”

#57 – July 1946

CA “Death on the Downbeat” CA “The Monkey’s Curse”

HT “The House That Haunts”

CA “Beware the Medicine Man”

9 13

9 8

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

#58 – Sept. 1946

CA “Crime on Cue”

HT “The Wax Doctor”

CA “The Sportsman of Crime” CA “The House of Hate”

#59 – Nov. 1946

12 13

CA “The Private Life of Captain America” 16 CA “Pennies from Heaven”

CA “House of Hallucinations”

HT “The Borrowed Eyes”

#60 – Jan. 1947

CA “The Human Fly”

CA “Last Case of Inspector Leeds”

CA “The Big Fight”

HT “The Catman Murders”

#61 – March 1947

CA “The Red Skull Strikes Back”

HT “The Green Mask Killer”

CA “The Bullfrog Terror”

CA “Death Enters—Laughing”

CA “The Kingdom of Terror”

#62 – May 1947

CA “The Dance of Death”

HT “Case of Blank Benny”

10 7

CA “Melody of Horror”

CA “Tenpins of Terror”

HT “Threat of the Asbestos Lady”

#63 – July 1947

CA “The Parrot Strikes”

#64 – Oct. 1947

CA “Sparkles Strikes Back” CA “Diamonds of Doom”

Crime Does Not Pay—While Captain America’s Around

With the Second World War ended, and with crime comics like Lev Gleason’s Crime Does Not Pay gaining in popularity, Cap and Bucky fought ordinary criminals instead of Nazis. But the everresilient Red Skull proved that war criminals, too, could fight on in the postwar world. This cover to C.A. #61 is probably at least partly by Syd Shores. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

HT “Death Is the Highest Bidder”7 CA “Terror at the Fair”

#65 – Jan. 1948

CA “When Friends Turn Foes” (intro Golden Girl) 12 CA “Meet the Matador”

HT “Death Swings a Bat”

CA “The Menace of Mirth”

CA “Golden Girl”

CA “Swords of the Cavaliers”

#66 – April 1948

HT “Tusks of Terror”

#67 – July 1948

CA “Secret behind the Mirror” 10 HT “Design for Death”

CA “Singer Who Wanted To Fight”

“For A Golden Girl Knows When You’ve Kissed Her…” That’s a line from the song “Goldfinger,” in case you didn’t recognize it. There must’ve been something in the water cooler at the comic book companies circa 1947! Over at DC, Black Canary was deemed a crook when she first gate-crashed “Johnny Thunder” stories in Flash Comics—and The Golden Girl was actually shown shooting Bucky on the cover of Captain America #66, after her debut an issue earlier. By #67, the boy ally was allegedly recuperating and The Golden Girl, whose real name was Betsy Ross, had somehow replaced him as Cap’s partner. But she never got her own book like Sun Girl and Namora did! Art by Syd Shores? [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#68 – Sept. 1948

CA “Enigma of the Death Doll” (w/Golden Girl) 10

Captain America

SM “My Son Is a Thief”

#69 – Nov. 1948 CA “Weird Tales of the Wee Males”

CA “No Man Is an Island” HT “Bargain of Death”

#70 – Jan. 1949

CA “Worlds at War” (w/Golden Girl)

SM “Scavengers in the Desert”

CA “Man Who Knew Everything”

#71 – March 1949

CA “Trapped by The Trickster”

WS “Fate Fixed a Fight”

CA “Terror Is Blind”

#72 – May 1949

CA “Meets Murder in the Mind” (w/Golden Girl)

CA “Tricks of The Trickster”

WS “The Magnificent Failure”

#73 – July 1949

CA “The Outcast of Time”

CA “The Deadly Dreams” (w/Golden Girl) 10 10

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

41 Human Torch

Captain America

#78 – Sept. 1954

CA “His Touch Is Death”

HT “Playing with Fire”

CA “The Green Dragon”

CA “The Hour of Doom”

Cover Features

Captain America #1-74, 76-78 With Bucky #1-66, 76-78

With Golden Girl #67-68, 70-72 Horror Story Scene #75

Sub-Mariner

Captain America Goes To Hell Yep, that’s what he did, all right—literally—in the mag rechristened Captain America’s Weird Tales with #74. And who should he find waiting for him down there but The Red Skull—in a story that had odd parallels to the final issue of Doc Savage pulp magazine, which was dated Summer 1949—only a couple of months earlier. Cap’s next and final issue kept his name in the title, but there was no sign of the ol’ shield-slinger inside. It seemed as if the career as the most famous red-white-and-blue-clad character this side of Uncle Sam had come to an inglorious end. Issue #75’s cover was by youngster Gene Colan. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#74 – Oct. 1949 (comic renamed Captain America’s Weird Tales) CA “The Red Skull Strikes Again”

Story “Thing In the Swamps”

Story “The Frozen Ghost” Story “Tomb of Terror”

Story “Hoofprints of Doom”

Story “The Bat”

[NOTE: With #75, Captain America Comics was canceled; it was revived for three issues in 1954 as Captain America—no word “Comics” this time:]

#76 – May 1954

CA “The Betrayers”

Human Torch

CA “Captain America Strikes” CA “Come to the Commies”

#77 – July 1954

CA “You Die at Midnight”

CA “The Man with No Face”

#1 – Spring 1941

SM “Fighting Single-Handed the World’s First Deep-Sea Blitzkrieg” 20

Sub-Mariner

AN “House of Horror”

20 20

[REP: The lead story was reprinted in Giant-Size Invaders #1 (June 1975).]

#75 – Feb. 1950 (as Captain America’s Weird Tales – no Capt. America) Story “Thing in the Chest”

[NOTE: Besides listings below, the cover and stories from Sub-Mariner #1-4 were reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age SubMariner, Vol. 1 (2005).]

6 6 6

Cap In The Fabulous ’50s (Left top:) When Young Men #24 ushered in Captain America’s return in late 1953, Steve Rogers was still teaching at the Lee School—and Bucky was still his student. The Red Skull, though, had metamorphosed from Nazi mastermind to gang boss to playing ball with the “Commies.” Art by John Romita, who believes at least some of the 1950s “Cap” stories he drew were scripted by Stan Lee. (Left bottom:) When Cap got his own mag again in early 1954, Steve and the Buckster were both back in uniform for the Cold War—though when real trouble called, they climbed back into basic red, white, and blue. Captain America #76 pencils by John Romita, inks (probably) by Jack Abel. Thanks to Frank Motler. [Both art spots ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

42 #2 – Summer 1941

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

Sub-Mariner

AN “Slaves of The Python”

Sub-Mariner

#3 – Fall 1941

SM “Mystery of the Disappearing Island” Chapter I 20 SM - Chapter II

AN “Death Draws a Comic Strip”

#4 – Winter 1941-42

SM “Murders by Ghost Light”

AN “Death’s Merry-Go-Round”

SM “The Horror That Walked”

#5 – Spring 1942

SM “Raps the Japs in the Pacific”

AN “The House of Evil Dreams”

SM “Smashes an Uprising at Manila”

#6 – Summer 1942

SM “The Missing Finger Mystery”

AN “Death Sees a Doctor”

SM “Fights the Periscope Peril”

#7 – Fall 1942

SM “Piracy on the Ocean’s Bottom”

SM “Death ’Round the Bend”

Sub-Mariner

AN “Genius for Murder”

AN “The Firing Squad”20

#8 – Winter 1942-43 Sub-Mariner

#9 – Spring 1943

SM “Terror of the Floating Fortress”

Dr. Dimwit

SM “The Green Island Menace”

#12 – Winter 1943-44 SM “Stunning Blow to Nippon”

SM “The Battle of Kwangto”

SM “Mystery of Sabotage City” AN “Charity Bazaar Murders”

#13 – Spring 1944

#14 – Fall 1944

SM “Fog of the Living Death” SM “The Shriveled Young” SM “Spawn of the Sea”

AN “Tell-Tale Cigarette”

#15 – Winter 1944-45 SM “Pirates of Doom”

SM “Death Holds the Stakes”

AN “The Parrott Murder Secret”

SM “Web of Pain”

AN “Give the Devil His Due”

12 7

12 12

#16 – Spring 1945

SM “Black Dragon of Death” 12 SM “Rendesvouz with Death”

AN “Mystery of the Horror-House” 8

#17 – Fall 1945

AN “Case of the Beggar Prince”

SM “Moudini the Marvel”

SM “The Ghost of Sea Island” 12

AN “Killer’s Last Stand”

AN “Adventure of the Generous Fence” 8

SM “Namor Meets the Mysterious Dr. Suki” 19

SM “Ghosts Can’t Kill”

AN “Two-Faced Corpse”

SM “Crime’s a Cinch”

SM “The Den of Serpents”

#11 – Fall 1943

SM “Case of the Fleeing Heiress”

AN “The Devil’s Imposter”

SM “Noah’s Ark”

SM “The Battle for New York Harbor”

SM “Master Plan For Destruction”

SM “Wizard of Crime”

#20 – Summer 1946

SM “The Mask of Treachery”

#19 – Spring 1946

SM “Deciphers the Code of Death”

AN “Shadow of the Noose”

SM “Dead Who Swim”

AN “The King of Castle Island”

#10 – Summer 1943

SM “The Water Front Phantom”

SM “Pirate Treasure”10

#18 – Winter 1945-46

SM “The Fantasy of Hate” 12 SM “The Ghost Ship”

“Uncle Sam Wants U-Boats” Although the first four issues of Sub-Mariner have recently been reprinted in hardcover form, we figured you wouldn’t mind seeing a page from #1 repro’d from photocopies of the original b&w art, as Namor tackles a Nazi sub. Art & probably story by Bill Everett. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

43 SM “House of Horror”

YA “The Clown Who Killed for a Laugh

”7

SM “The Shark Strikes”

HT “Reptile’s Revenge”

SM “Mr. X—Master of Crime”

#23 – Summer 1947

SM “Trophies of Terror”

[REP: The issue’s final story was reprinted in The Human Torch #3 (Jan. 1975).]

#24 – Winter 1947-48 SM “Viking’s Vengeance”

SM “Invitation to a Murder”

SM “In the Harbor of Madmen”

#25 – Spring 1948

SM “Firebrand, the Scourge of the Pacific” (w/Namora) 12 SM “Murder through the Mind”

SM “Murder Motor Mart” (w/Namora)

SM “Terror in the Lost Colony”

#26 – June 1948

BP “Framed for Crime”

“U” Is For “Untersee” In the 1970s, writer/editor Roy Thomas and penciler Frank Robbins personified the Nazi Uboat (German Unterseeboot = “Undersea-boat”) in The Invaders #4 (Jan. 1976). U-Man was a super-strong Atlantean equivalent of DC’s Aquaman, able to telepathically control sea creatures. Issue #4’s cover is by Jack Kirby (pencils) & Frank Giacoia (inks). Thanks to Dominic Bongo for retrieving the cover art from Heritage Comics’ archives. Check out the latter’s website at www.HeritageComics.com. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#21 – Fall 1946

SM “The Card Killers”

SM “Sub-Mariner vs. Greenout”

SM “The Tiger Queen”

AN “School for Maniacs”

SM “The Black-Hooded Monster”

#22 – Spring 1947

Retro Revisited Though Bill Everett passed away in 1973, Roy T. strove to keep his legacy alive in The Invaders—and later in the 12-issue Saga of The Sub-Mariner series, with beautiful pencils by Rich Buckler and inks by his son Rich Jr. and others. This page from Saga #5 (March 1989) recaps The Invaders’ battles with some of their greatest foes—all added, incidentally, by retroactive continuity. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

BP “You Can’t Get Away with Murder”

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

#27 – Aug. 1948

SM “The Frantic Fisherman”

SM “Monument to Murder”

BP “Back from the Past”

#28 – Oct. 1948

SM “A Case of King’s Ransom”

BP “The Test of Fear”

SM “Kids, Kids, Kids”

SM “Crime Makes the Winter”

#29 – Dec. 1948

4 5

#30 – Feb. 1949

SM “Doom from the Sun” 10

SM “Sleuths under the Sea” 6 BP “Studio of Terror”

#31 – April 1949

SM “The Lost Land”

SM “The Dirge of Death”

SM “The Sea Wolf”

#32 – June 1949

HT “Flame That Wouldn’t Die”

SM “Peril in New York”

SM “Professor and the Mermaid”

#36 – Nov. 1954

Captain America

SM “The Man Who Grew” 7

SM “Mystery of Pirate Cove”

SM “Deadly Game of Captain Black”

Daniels’ hardcover history Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World’s Greatest Comics (1991)—and the “Torch” tale in The Human Torch #7 (Sept. 1975). “Dawn” was reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #15 (July 1968).]

#33 – April 1954

8 4

Sub-Mariner

#34 – June 1954 Sub-Mariner Sub-Mariner

Human Torch Sub-Mariner

6 5

[REP: The lead story was first reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #11 (Oct. 1967)—the final “SubMariner” story in the issue in Marvel Super-Heroes #16 (Sept. 1968).]

#35 – Aug. 1954 SM “Invasion”

SM “The Dawn of The Sub-Mariner” HT “Human Torch— Fugitive at Large” SM “Vengeance”

Sun-Day Funnies Namor and Namora fight The Brain and his parrot-beaked undersea monstrosity in Sub-Mariner #30. In a 1969-70 A/E interview (see A/E #46), Bill Everett told Ye Editor that he felt many of the postwar menaces he had have to his hero face were “beneath his dignity.” Here, at least, he got to save the planet from “Doom from the Sun.” Thanks to Doc Vassallo. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

8 3 5 7

[REP: “Invasion” was reprinted in Hero for Hire #15 (Nov. 1973)—both “Vengeance” and the “Human Torch” in Marvel Super-Heroes #16 (Sept. 1968). “Vengeance” was also reprinted in Les

3 7

[REP: “Hidden World” was reprinted in Marvel Feature #2 (March 1972)—“Courage!” in Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (Jan. 1969).]

#37 – Dec. 1954 Sub-Mariner

Story “Killer Whale”

Sub-Mariner

SM “Double Trouble”

SM “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie” Human Torch

Story “Shark Bait”

SM “War of the Poles”

[NOTE: With #32, Sub-Mariner was canceled, and revived for three issues in April 1954:] SM “The Origin of The Sub-Mariner”

SM “Courage!”

SM “Birth of Sub-Mariner” (origin retold)

SM “The Hidden World”

4 7

[REP: The issue’s first “Sub-Mariner” story was reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #14 (May 1968).]

#38 – Feb. 1955

SM “The Sub-Mariner Strikes!”

Story “Shark”

SM “Wings on His Feet”

SM “The World Destroyers”

[REP: This issue’s first “Sub-Mariner” story was reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (Dec. 1967)—the second in MSH #17 (Nov. 1968)—the third in Giant-Size Defenders #3 (Jan. 1975).]

#39 – April 1955 Sub-Mariner

3 7

SM “Gets a Lesson in Humility from Namora”

SM “The Long Night”

Story “Octopus”

[REP: “Lesson in Humility” was reprinted in Sub-Mariner #54 (Oct. 1972).]

#40 – June 1955

SM “The Secret Tunnel”

Story “Man Who Loved the Sea”

SM “Meets a New Enemy—Fire!” SM “and the Icebergs”

4 7

[REP: “Fire!” was reprinted in Marvel SuperHeroes #20 (May 1969)—“Icebergs” in Marvel Feature #1 (Dec. 1971).]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

Just Like Starting Over The second tale in SubMariner #32 repeated the cover scene, which had been at most partly drawn by Everett. Otherwise, however, the issue was entirely illustrated (and probably written) by Wild Bill. After an offbeat lead story that related an adventure of his father, Antarctic explorer Leonard MacKenzie, and his mother, Princess Fen, in the sub-sea realm before Namor was born, this follow-up yarn retold events from the pages of 1939’s Marvel Comics #1 and Marvel Mystery #2, as the young prince and his cousin Dorma head north to attack the surface world. Presumably, Stan Lee and/or Martin Goodman decided in 1949 that the best way to restore the popularity of both SubMariner and The Human Torch was to return to their roots—but alas, this turned out to be comic’s final issue for four years. With thanks to Vern Yu. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#41 – Aug. 1955

SM “The Big Freeze” SM “Bird of Prey” Story “Swordfish”

SM “Return of the Nautilus” 8

Heroes #13 (March 1968)—“Light” in SubMariner #45 (Jan. 1972).]

Cover Features

Sub-Mariner #1-42

All Winners Comics

[REP: “Bird of Prey” was reprinted, minus the splash page captions and logo, in Giant-Size Defenders #1 (July 1974)—“Nautilus” in SubMariner #53 (Sept. 1972).]

[NOTE: Besides listings below, the entire contents of All Winners #1-4 were reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: All Winners Comics, Vol. 1 (2006).]

SM “Invasion”

Human Torch

#42 – Oct. 1955 Sub-Mariner

8 4

#1 – Summer 1941

Black Marvel “The Order of the Hood”

13 Story “The Last of the Vikings” CA “Case of the Hollow Men” 4 Sub-Mariner 12 SM “When the Light Goes AN “Case of the Mad Out” 7 Gargoyle” 12 [REP: “Invasion” was [REP: The “Torch,” “Cap,” and “Black reprinted in Marvel SuperMarvel” stories were reprinted in The Golden

Sea Change In the post-WWII years, Namor had gradually grown less powerful and had lost his ability to fly—and, when brought back in 1953, even the tiny wings on his feet. The lead story in Sub-Mariner #38 restored all those things with a vengeance. His mag was still cancelled a few issues later, when a projected live-action TV series starring Richard Egan fell through; but it was a glorious finish, with good stories and some of Everett’s best artwork ever. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

Age of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1999)—“Sub-Mariner” in Giant-Size Invaders #2 (2006).]

#2 – Fall 1941

HT “Carnival of Death”

Destroyer

SM “The Ghost Fleet”

CA “The Strange Case of the Malay Idol” Whizzer

[REP: The “Torch” and “Captain America” stories were reprinted in Giant-Size Invaders #2 (2006).]

#3 – Winter 1941-42

HT “The Black Dragon Society”

WZ “Terror Prison”

CA “Canvas of Doom”

SM “The Ship of Horrors”

DS “Secret Tunnel of Death”

#4 – Spring 1942

HT “The Terror of the Slimy Japs”

Whizzer

Destroyer

Human Torch

Whizzer

CA “The Sorcerer’s Sinister Secret” SM “Combats the Sinister Horde”

#5 – Summer 1942 CA “The Vampire Strikes”

SM “The Hermit’s Island of Glittering Gold”12 Destroyer

HT “Hot Stamp Mob”

Captain America

#6 – Fall 1942

DS “The Stone Man Slayer”

Black Avenger

SM “Spies Use Their Heads”

12 10 12

#7 – Winter 1942-43 HT “Death for Breakfast”

CA “Return of Doctor Crime”

SM “Smashing the Jap Trap” Destroyer Whizzer

#8 – Spring 1943

12 13 12

HT “Invasion by Ice” 12 Captain America

Destroyer

SM “Changes the Face of the Earth” 11 WZ “Holdup, Robbery, Murder”

Human Torch

#9 – Summer 1943 CA “Case of the Sinister Hun”

SM “Namor Cracks the Whip”

All Winners—You’re Aces With Us! All Winners Comics had originally been advertised as All Aces Comics, but the name was changed for some reason before the first issue was published. This house ad for #2 spotlighted the cover penciled by Al Avison. Photocopy supplied by Warren Reece. [©2006 Marvel Characters.]

DS “The Flight from Peril” Whizzer

#10 – Fall 1943

HT “Bloody Talons of the Feathered Fiends”12 CA “Kito the Mad Jap”

Destroyer

SM “Alibi for Grim Deceit” WZ “Terror of Triple Destruction”

HT “Sky Demons over America”

SM “Terror in Tokyo”

#11 – Winter 1943-44

CA “The Yellow Fire Monster” Destroyer Whizzer

#12 – Spring 1944

12 8 7

HT “Horror of the Ghost Fiend”

SM “Smash the Tunnel of Terror”

CA “The 4 Trials of Justice” DS “The Beachhead Blitz”

12 6

[REP: The “Destroyer” story was first reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (Dec. 1967), later in The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1) (1997).]

#13 – Fall 1944

HT “Case of the Masked Strangler”

SM “Waterfront Terror”

CA “Gardens of Doom”

WZ “The Maze of Madness”

#14 – Winter 1944-45

12 7

SM “Twenty Million Missing”

WZ “Kidnapper’s Folly”

CA “Monstro, the Mad Ape”

#15 – Spring 1945

SM “The Man Who Killed Himself”

WZ “Lightning Strikes Twice”

CA “The Masked Trio of Death”

#16 – Summer 1945

SM “The Fabulous Racket”

WZ “Meteor III”

CA “Dead Man’s Shoes”

#17 – Winter 1945-46

Captain America

SM “The Black Phantom”

HT “The Voodoo Doll Murders”

WZ “The Bank Jobs”

11 7

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

47 #21 – Winter 1946-47

[“All Winners Squad” feature-length story – “Menace from the Future World”]

Introduction

CA “The Green Plague”

SM “Wave of Destruction”

WZ “Murder in Slow Motion”

MA “The Living Death”

HT “Flames of Fury”

Conclusion—“War between the Worlds” 4

[REP: This second and final “All Winners Squad” story was first reprinted with the cover and the words “The” and “Squad!” added to the splash logo, in two halves, in Marvel Super-Heroes #17-18 (Nov. 1968Jan. 1969).]

Cover Features

Captain America #1-19, 21

Sub-Mariner #1-19, 21

#18 – Summer 1946

SM “The Case of the Baffling Neptune”

Human Torch

CA “The Silk Stocking Strangler” 12 WZ “A Joyride to Death”

#19 – Fall 1946

[“All Winners Squad” featurelength story – “The Crime of the Ages”]

Introduction—Chapter 1

WZ “The Iron Age”

CA “The Age of Bronze”

HT “The Steel Age”

SM “The Ice Age”

MA “The Stone Age” Conclusion—Chapter 7

[REP: The full “All Winners” story—with the words “The” and “Squad!” added to the splash-page logo—was first reprinted, with art rather poorly restored, in Fantasy Masterpieces #10 (Aug. 1967)—then in a facsimile edition, from the original comic, in Timely Presents: All Winners (Dec. 1999).] [NOTE: There was no All Winners #20.]

The All Winners Squad—“The Lost Story” Since the publisher skipped All Winners #20 before putting out the final #21, Roy Thomas added that “missing story” in What If #4 (Aug. 1977), a tale that “counted” in Marvel continuity. Therein, in 1946, while the original Captain America is still frozen in ice, The Spirit of ’76 (from The Invaders) takes over Cap’s identity and costume just long enough to get killed by a power-mad android who attacks young Congressional candidate John F. Kennedy—and The Patriot comes out of retirement to “become” Cap in the postwar years. Art by Frank Robbins & Frank Springer, as reprinted in the 2004 trade paperback What If Classic, Vol. 1. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

One Day During The War… With the newly-launched Invaders title selling well, Roy shoehorned Cap, Torch, and Namor into a time-travel story in 1976’s Fantastic Four Annual #11, with pencils by John Buscema. Capable as Sam Grainger’s inking is, panel 1—the first we saw of the Golden Age trio in the issue—was even more splendidly moody in its penciled form, and Ye Editor wishes he’d managed to save a photocopy of it! Thanks to Vern Yu for the scan. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel “Cavern of Doom” 1 1

“Into the Monster’s Den”

“Fighting the Nazi Lamp of Death”

“Showdown with Hitler”

“Comet of Doom”

“Tunnel of Terror”

Untitled (Chapter IV) 9 “Battle with Nazi Invaders”

Filler – “Unsolved Mysteries”

#3 – Spring 1942

9 11 2

[5-chapter YA story:] “The Coming of the Khan” “Trapped in the Swampland”

8 8

“Terror Underground”8

“Riddle Of The Demented Dwarf”

“Sabotage at School”

[4-chapter YA story:]

“The Horrible Quest Begins” “The World at Stake”

7 6

YA Extra – “The Week after Pearl Harbor”

[2-chapter YA story:]

#7 – April 1943

“Meet the Ambassador of Death” “The Fire Death”

Yep, that was the politically-incorrect cover title of the second and last Golden Age “All Winners Squad” story (in All Winners #21), as opposed to the more sedate title given on the splash. The quality of the restored art in the tale’s late-’60s reprinting was inferior to that in the 1999 Timely Presents edition of AWC #19—but since the latter is more easily accessible, here are three climactic panels from the final page of #21’s book-lengther, as seen in Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (Jan. 1969). [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Human Torch #1-13, 17-19, 21

“The Yellow Invasion Begins” 8

The Angel #1

The Black Marvel #1 Whizzer #2-4, 19-2l Destroyer #2-4

Miss America #19, 21

[NOTE: All seven members of the All Winners Squad, including young allies Bucky and Toro, appeared as a group on the covers on #19 & #21.]

Young Allies

“The Coming of Agent Zero” “The Graveyard of Doom”

“Voyage to No-Man’s Land”

“Outwitting the Blood-Thirsty Tyrants”

“Trapped in Nazi-Land”

“Captain America and Human Torch to the Rescue” Filler – “Unsolved Mysteries”

#2 – Winter 1941-42

[6-chapter full-length YA story:] “Fate Spins An Evil Web”

“Trapped in the Whirlpool of Death”

Father Time

Story Casey McKanis 5 “Captain John P. Kelly”

#4 – Summer 1942

“Young Allies vs. The Red Skull, the Most Amazing Story of All Time” 45

#1 – Summer 1941

[6-chapter full-length YA origin, starring Bucky & Toro]

“Fight to the Finish”

Pedro the Peril

Vagabond

YA “Young Allies “Horror In Hollywood”

Hocus Pocus

#5 – Fall 1942

CA “Your Life Depends on It”

Norman the Doorman 6

#6 – Jan. 1943

[4-chapter YA story:]

“School for Sabotage” 6

The Boys An’ The Bund Guess Bucky figured that, if Cap got to slug Hitler on the cover of Captain America #1, his kid partner should get a crack at both Adolf and The Red Skull, as in this house ad sent by Warren Reece. The Simon & Kirby-launched Young Allies—named for the Boy Allies series of World War I books for youngsters— proved very popular. Still, it’s sad today to see the racially-stereotyped Whitewash on the cover of the first issue, above a tagline about how these “fearless American boys” were “fighting for democracy.” Happily, Whitewash was dropped in the feature’s last year or so. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) [4-chapter YA story:]

“The Scratch of Death”

“The Tunnel of Terror”

“Hirohito Entertains The Young Allies” “The Stroke of Doom” Tommy Tyme

Norman the Doorman

#8 – July 1943

[4-chapter YA story:]

8 7

“Invasion”

“The Red Badge of Courage” TT “& The Spirit of ’76” [4-chapter YA story:]

“Terror of the Rising Sun” “The Air Duel of Death”

“In the Lair of the Beasts”

“The Dungeons of Doom”

#9 – Fall 1943

[4-chapter YA story:]

7 6 8 6 5 5 7

“The Bloody Henchman”

“Mission to Rome”

“Meet Benito”

Story – no title

TT “Battles Attila the Hun” [3-chapter YA story:]

5 6 6

“Toward the Land of the Condemned”

“At Home with The Headsman”

“The Chopping Block”

#10 – Winter 1943-44 [4-chapter YA story:]

“The Horror of the Doll-Devil”

“The Shadow of Doom”

“The Curse of the Evil Eye” “Last of the Voodoo Cult” Tommy Tyme

[4-chapter YA story:]

6 6 7

“The Coils of The Python”

“The Ring of Death”

“The Pit of Terror”

“The Python Strikes”

#11 – Spring 1944 [4-chapter YA story:]

“The Spawn of Death”

“Ghosts of the Maginot Line”

TT “Black Magic of Merlin”

“Wings of Disaster” YA “Osaki the Murderous Jap”

#12 – Spring 1944 (2nd Spring Issue) [4-chapter YA story:]

“North Africa Ahoy”

“The Scourge of the Desert”

“Underground of Death”

6 4

8 4

“The Terror of the Jap Head”

“The Guerillas vs. The Head”

Tommy Tyme

“Head of Horror”

“Terror of Tokyo” [4-chapter YA story:] Chapter 1 – no title

“The Spiked Chariot of Destruction”

“The Steel Monsters”

“The March of Murder”

#13 – Summer 1944 [3-chapter YA story:]

“Coffins for Six”

“I’ll Mow Ya Down!”

“Reward for Treachery”

“Into the Jaws of Death” TT “The Arabian Nights”

TT “Battle of the Giants”

YA “The Land of Death” 15

#14 – Fall 1944

YA “The Green Death” YA “Rays of Death”

TT “Visits the Colosseum”

YA “Mystery of the Sacks of Death”

18 7

YA “The Monster and the Maniac Murders” 16

#15 – Spring 1945 [3-chapter YA story:]

“The River’s Revenge”

TT “The Mad Countess”

YA “The Witch Doctor’s Curse”

#16 – Summer 1945

6 4 9

“The Mysterious Book of Death”

“The Bloodthirsty Battalion”

YA “Massacre of the Mannikins”

#18 – Winter 1945-46 [3-chapter YA story:]

“The Flaming Avenger”

4 5 8

“Eeney, Meeny, Miny-Murder”

“Sky High Killer”

“Cannon of Death”

YA “The Mummy of Death”

“The Mad Prince Shinto and His Suicide Battalion”

“Phantoms of Amajo Suki”

TT “The Fightin’ Era”

[3-chapter YA story:] “Ambush of Death”

[3-chapter YA story:]

TT “Battalion of Death”

“River of Fire”

“Flaming Death”

#17 – Fall 1945

#19 – Spring 1946 [3-chapter YA story:]

“Death Solves a Puzzle”

4 4 8

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

USA, USA... Despite its proud title, USA Comics #1 was a pretty lackluster Timely entry. The “Defender” interior title page at top left has a touch of the Simon & Kirby feel—but the panel next to it, from the actual story (by either “C. Wostkoski” or George Klein, sez the 1970s Who’s Who), is pretty blah. “Mr. Liberty,” by Syd Shores (artist) & Phil Sturm (writer), was a bit better. “Young Avenger” (by “Michael Robard,” perhaps a pseudonymous house name?) showed mild promise… and Mike Sekowsky’s “Jack Frost” (scripted by Stan Lee) demonstrated why Big Mike would go on to have a several-decades career in the comic book field. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Rock Around (Or Maybe Beneath) The Clock “Rockman, leader of the inhabitants of Abysmia, a strange, unknown subterranean world deep in the Earth’s ancient, gas-formed caverns,” in USA #1, enjoyed the unique artwork of Basil Wolverton, who was less than ideally suited to draw a super-hero feature. Indeed, the splash panel has almost certainly been redone by another artist. The other panels shown display the Wolverton style that would influence underground comix artist R. Crumb and others. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) Chapter 2 – no title

YA “The Mad Man of Horror Mountain”

YA “The Ghost Walks Softly”

Chapter 3 – no title Tommy Tyme

#20 – Oct. 1946

[3-chapter YA story:]

5 6

“Dreams for Sale”

Chapter 3 – no title

Chapter 2 – no title YA “Pie-Eyed Plunder”

TT “The Mad Monarchs of Rome” YA “The Crown of Quexacoatl”

Cover Feature

Story “Hills of Horror”

Fighting Hobo

Roko the Amazing

5 5 7

Defender

Jack Frost

7 7

Captain Terror “The Magic Crystal of Death”17

Powers of the Press

DS “The Den of Horror”

Vagabond

Jack Frost

Victory Boys

Rockman

Captain Terror “Battles the Fiends of the Seas”

The Defender “The Monster Who Couldn’t Be Stopped”

CA “The Ghost’s Gaze of Death”

#2 – Nov. 1941

Vagabond

Whizzer

[REP: “Whizzer” was reprinted in The Golden Age of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1999).]

Major Liberty “The Headless Horseman”

American Avenger

#3 – Jan. 1942

Corporal Dix

Sgt. Dix

Young Avenger

Whizzer

Rockman “Labarbe the Killer” 7

Gypo

Rockman

Captain Terror

Vagabond

Blue Blade

Mr. Liberty

Major Liberty

Black Widow

Jack Frost

Defender

Rockman “The Tunnel That Led to Death”

Jack Frost “Adventure of the Frozen Corpses”

#5 – Summer 1942

USA Comics

Whizzer (origin)

Major Liberty

Young Allies #1-20

#1 – Aug. 1941

#4 – May 1942

7 7 7 6

#6 – Dec. 1942 Terror Squad

Story “Death in the Coral Sea” 5 Jeep Jones Whizzer Sgt. Dix

5 8

Jap-Buster Johnson

#7 – Feb. 1943

See The USA While It’s Still Okay Since Roy owns a coverless, incomplete copy of USA Comics #4 which is fast falling apart, he figured he might as well share a few of its pages with A/E’s readers before it disintegrates entirely! Here’s one from the “Captain Terror” story therein. Artists uncertain—at least in this corner. “Whizzer” art from this issue was seen on p. 77. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

6 9

#9 – July 1943

CA “Puppets of Death”

Jeep Jones

DS “Death Rides the Rails” JB “Signal for Death”

CA “Case of the Flying Submarine”

Marvel Boy

Sgt. Dix “Man behind the Tank”

Whizzer

Captain Daring & His Sky Sharks Disk-Eyes the Detective

SS “The Up-to-the-Minute Men” Jeep Jones

Jap-Buster Johnson

#8 – May 1943

9 5 5 9

CA “Invasion of the Killer Beast”

Jeep Jones

DS “Death Strikes Back” Jap-Buster Johnson

Story “200 to One” Whizzer

SS “Diamonds for Victory” Sgt. Dix

7 9 5

Barney Ross “The Winner and Still Champion”

SS “Case of the Poisoned Stamp”

#10 – Sept. 1943

6 7

CA “The Cylinder of Death”

Jap-Buster Johnson

Destroyer

Thunderbird

Sgt. Dix “Firebrand of Evil”

WZ “The Diamond of Death”

#11 – Jan. 1944

DS “The Commandos Strike”

7 5 6 7

CA “The Washington Murder-Go-Round” 14

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

The Captains And The Kid Three dramatic splashes from USA Comics #7. ’Nuff said? Not quite. We have to thank Jim Amash and Teresa R. Davidson for the scans from the collection of Mark Austin—though we’re uncertain of the precise artists! [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Give Me Liberty Legion, Or Give Me… Well, You Know (Above:) Cover art by Jack Kirby & Frank Giacoia for Marvel Premiere #29 (April 1976), which introduced a retroactive-continuity combo composed of Bucky leading seven minor Timely heroes in search of the captured Cap, Torch, and Namor. Clockwise from bottom left: The Whizzer, Thin Man, Red Raven, Miss America, The Patriot, Jack Frost, and Blue Diamond. Repro’d from a photocopy of the original, Kirby-autographed art sent by Jerry K. Boyd. The story in the two “Liberty Legion” issues (MP #29-30) interwove with The Invaders #5-6 (March & May 1976). (Right:) With Invaders off to a strong start, Roy Thomas, who’d conceived both it and the Legion, got the go-ahead to begin work on a Liberty Legion bimonthly. But artist Don Heck had penciled only about half of the first issue when the plug was pulled. Most of Don’s art was eventually utilized in Invaders #36 (Dec. 1978)—except for this splash page, which is repro’d here for the first time anywhere, courtesy of Rick Shurgin. [Both pages ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) Jap-Buster Johnson

The Bombing Fools

Sgt. Dix “Jitterbug Jitters”

WZ “The Five Million Dollar Robbery” 7

#12 – Spring 1944

CA “The Toll of Death” Destroyer

JB “Jap Scourge of the Pacific”8 Jeep Jones

Whizzer

Sgt. Dix

#13 – Summer 1944

CA “Curse of Frankenstein” 16 DS “Hour of Doom” JB “Ghost Pilot”

Jeep Jones “The Rocket Jeep” 5 Sgt. Dix “The Bogus Kapitan”8

#14 – Fall 1944

We’re uncertain who drew the “Whizzer” story in USA #14, but Jim Amash and Teresa R. Davidson sent us this scan from the collection of Mark Austin—so we’re passing it on to you, mach schell! [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#15 – Spring 1945

CA “The Doom of Metal”

WZ “The Link Mob”

JB “Luminous Death”

#16 – Summer 1945

WZ “Murder by Remote Control”

DS “Battles the Bloody Baron”

#17 – Fall 1945

DS “Murder in Chinatown”

WZ “The Whizzer vs. the Black Streak”

Defender #1

Cover Features

Major Liberty #4 Victory Boys 5

Captain America #6-17

Tough Kid Squad

#1 – March 1942

Flying Flame

Sgt. Dix “The Ghost Zero”

Captain Terror #2, 3

JB “Invitation to Death”

DS “The Jap Serpent Strikes” 8

CA “The Blood-Thirsty Baron”

CA “Riddle of the Totem Pole”

CA “Riddle of the Stolen Buddha” WZ “The Death Singer”

If Ever A Whiz Of A Whizzer There Was

Tough Kid Squad (in a 6-chapter story)

Human Top

Cover Feature

Tough Kid Squad

Kid Komics

#1 – Feb. 1943 Captain Wonder (origin)

Trixie Trouble

Subbie

Knuckles and Whitewash Pinto Pete

Life Is Tough, Kid Although two of the young heroes of the Tough Kid Squad wore masks on the cover (to resemble Bucky, mayhap?), inside the group was just a clone of The Young Allies minus Bucky and Toro. Martin Goodman decided to cut his losses after a single issue. The Squad, which battled the evil Dr. Klutch, consisted of “the two ‘Danger Boys,’ Tom and Wally [whose last name really was Danger], a chubby kid called Butch, the tough guy Derrick Dawes, and a Native American kid called Eagle.” (With thanks to Stuart Vandal, et al.—see p. 54.) Also in TKS #1-and-only were “The Flying Flame” (see p. 9) and “The Human Top.” [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Breezy and His Glider Patrol Flap Flipflop

#2 – Summer 1943

9 7

Captain Wonder “The Gaze of Death” 15 YA “The Suicidal Saboteurs”

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

Pinto Pete

Gullible’s Troubles

Happy Daze

Subbie “Death Trap in the Atlantic”

#3 – 1943 (no other date)

6 7

YA “Caught in the Tune of Death” - chapter I6

SM “Monster of the Sharks”

YA “Mad Fiend of Horror Castle”

TT “The Defense of New Orleans”

#5 – 1944 (no other date) DS “The Phantom Invaders” Jeep Jones

Yankee Guns “Allies on the March”

The Good Family

YA “The Sons of Doom” - chapter II

Vision

#6 – 1944 (no other date)

Daredevils 3

DS “The Dealers of Hate”

YA “Into the Jaws of the Monsters” – chapter III 8 Jeep Jones

Billy Hill

Red Hawk

#4 – 1944 (no other date)

YA “The Scourge of the Jap”

Jeep Jones “The Invisible Jeep”

DS “The Wings of Death”

Swoo Vs. Boo “The Battle of the Century”

8 3

TT “The Three Trials of Death”

JB “Case of the Flying Coffins” Sgt. Dix “The Silent Death”

#7 – Sept. 1945

8 7 7

YA “The Mystery of the Sinister Black Bag” Chapter I 6 YA “Spectre of Death” - Chapter II

TT “The Mad Beast”

YA “Hidden Plunder” - Chapter III

#8 – Summer 1945

YA “Dragons of Death”

TT “A Lesson in Justice”

YA “The Corpse Came F.O.B.”

DS “The Robot Boomerang”

JB “Mission Completed”7

#9 – Fall 1945

JB “The Vanishing Island”

Back in the 1960s, Stan Lee often referred to SubMariner as “Subby”—but here’s the real thing: the young hero Subbie, who made his debut in Kid Komics #1. According to Stuart Vandal’s informative website www.internationalhero.co.uk, Subbie had “superhuman strength” and was “able to survive underwater and swim at great speeds. Unlike his larger counterpart, The Sub-Mariner, he could not fly. Allegedly the nephew of ‘Father Neptune,’ Subbie went to his uncle because he was bored and was given a sailor’s uniform and a small ship, which he used to take on the Axis forces. In spite of the obvious resemblance, no link was confirmed between The Sub-Mariner and Subbie,” and he vanished after Kid #2. Stuart credits Jess Nevins’ online Golden Age Heroes Directory (http://ratmmjess.tripod.com/gold/page.html) and Richard Boucher’s & Darrin Wiltshire’s online PR Publications (pr-publications@msn.com) for much of his information. Thanks to one and all! [Art ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

YA “Sinister Jap Secret Weapon”

WZ “Vs. the Death Trap”

Subby, Meet Subbie

#10 – Spring 1946

YA “Wonder Wheel of Crime”

DS “Corpse in the Gilded Cage”

WZ “Murder in the Telephone Booth” JB “The Lone Wolf”

TT “Meets Pancho Villa”

Cover Features

13 7

7 7

Captain Wonder #1-2 Young Allies #2-10

CA “Mystery of the Human Bats”

HT “Corner The Clutching Claw”

Jeep Jones

Story “The Sub That Went to the Races” Black Widow

SM “Battles the Bloody Baron”

CA “Saboteurs in White”

Jeep Jones “The Walking Jeep”

#2 – Winter 1943-44

HT “Black Market Death” Jap-Buster Johnson

SM “Horror of the Yellow Men”

CA “Keeper of the Monsters”

#3 – Spring 1944

HT “Vanishing Oil Tank Cars” WZ “Speed to Spare”

SM “Satan Pulls the Strings”

CA “Mystery of Hangmen’s Island”

WZ “Death Rides the Rails”

#4 – Summer 1944

HT “Village of Vultures”

SM “Raging Rockets of the Rising Sun”

CA “The Bamboo Knife Butcher”

#5 – Winter 1944-45

All-Select Comics

#1 – 1943 (no other date)

HT “Vs. the Shadow of the Stalking Death” 12 WZ “Speed for Sale”

SM “The Mystery of the Great Lakes”

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

Maybe Its Name Is Erasmus B. Dragon? The splash and p. 4 from this unique-looking “Sub-Mariner” story from All-Select Comics #2 were seen in A/E #11 & #13—and here’s page 5. We’re not quittin’ till we find out who drew this tale of a sea serpent (which does turn out to be mechanical, after all). The art seems to have been penciled in a fairly cartoony style—but then inked lushly and in great detail, with many delicately thin lines and lots of nice solid blacks. Anybody out there got any ideas whodunnit? Repro’d from photocopies of the original art, courtesy of Rich Donnelly. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#6 – March 1945

HT “Black Marketeers of Death”

CA “Battles Yellow Claw and the Mole Men”

DS “Master of Murders”

#10 – Summer 1946

CA “Masters of Evil”

HT “A Message from the Dead”

WZ “Death Head Scott”

DS “Agony of Death”

HT “Vs. the Merchant of Death”

#7 – Spring 1945

HT “The Swanky Swindlers”

#8 – Summer 1945

CA “China Wall Mystery”

JB “Air Base”

HT “Death Cargo”

#9 – Fall 1945

CA “The Tick Tack Toe of Murder”

JB “Vs. Kito, Japanese Fighter Pilot”

CA “Crime Takes a Cruise” 10 SM “Horror Island”

#11 – Fall 1946

BP “The Atom Spells Doom”

MA “Unlucky Seven”

Mysterious Dr. Wu “Murder at Midnight” 8 BP “The Scarlet Scorpion”

[NOTE: With issue #12, All-Select became Blonde Phantom:]

#15 – Fall 1947

Blonde Phantom

BP “Skyride to Doom” - Chapter I 9 BP “Skyride to Doom” - Chapter II 9 The Mysterious Mr. Wu “Murder at the Opera” 8

BP “Death after Dinner”

#13 – Spring 1947

BP “Peril from the Past”

SM “Cruise of Death”

BP “Horror at Haunted Castle”

MA “Death Drops the Curtain” Blonde Phantom

#14 – Summer 1947

What Mag Is This, Anyway?

BP “Horror in Hollywood” MA “Burning Witness”

SM “The Brain Strikes Back” BP “Tune of Terror”

BP “Death Deals in Stamps”

BP “I Hate Me”

#12 – Winter 1946-47 (real #1)

MA “Scourge of the Spider-Men”

BP “The Man Who Deserved to Die”

8 5

BP “Glamour Can Be Fatal”

#16 – Winter 1947-48

4 8

BP “Modeled for Murder”

BP “The Sultan Strikes”

BP “Best Man for Murder”

CA “Murder at the Mardi Gras”

#17 – Spring 1948

SM “Case of the Deep Sea Swindle”

BP “The Cop and the Kid”

Blonde Phantom

#18 – July 1948

BP “The Last Man”

BP “Murder in Print”

SM “The Terror of The Tattler”

#19 – Sept. 1948

BP “Justice for Jimmy Sullivan” BP “Her Double Trouble”

5 7

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel Gentlemen Prefer Blonde Phantoms We printed the splash of this story from Blonde Phantom #14 in our 2004 Halloween issue, A/E #41—so here are two more primo examples of Syd Shores’ combined “good girl” and super-hero art at its apex. Thanks to Doc V. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Daring Comics

DS “The Vanishing Ghost Gun”

Cover Features

#9 – Fall 1944

Sub-Mariner #9-12

SM “The Nazis Take Little America”

SM “Messengers of Satan”

HT “Vs. the Nazi Wolf”

HT “The Bloody Butcher”

#10 – 1944-45 (no other date)

AN “The Devil’s Doorway”

#11 – Summer 1945 SM “Payment in Death”

HT “The Stolen Republic” DS “Floating Death SM “Battles the Playboy Killer” BP “Rhapsody in Death”

#20 – Nov. 1948

4 8

BP “Laughter on Judgment Day”

SM “Science Says No”

BP “Came the Spring”

BP “The Mental Maelstrom”

#21 – Jan. 1949

#12 – Fall 1945

SM “Vs. Home Front Renegades” SM “Diamond of Death”

HT “The Devil’s Murder Web”

Hunan Torch #9-12

SM “Death from the Unknown” 16 HT “Horror Rides the Rails”

7 8

12 7

12 12

Miss America

#1 – 1944 (no other date)

MA “Battles Shinto the Gouger”

MA “Murders by Yogi”

MA “Mystery of the Monster Men”

#2 – Nov. 1944

MA “The Mystery of The Shocker”

[NOTE: Miss America continued after #2 as an all-girls type comic with features designed for girls, plus Patsy Walker comics stories. Three more issues after #2 contained stories of Miss America in costume.]

#3 – Dec. 1944 Miss America Miss America

9 9

BP “Kidnapped into the Future”

SM “The Metal Men of the Moon”

BP “Trapped under the Earth”

SM “Death Lurks in the Pool”

BP “The Thing That Haunted Hawkins Lake”9

#22 – March 1949

BP “Jackpot of Death”

BP “Doomed for Death”

Cover Features

5 8

Captain America #1-10 Human Torch #1-10

Sub-Mariner #1-5, 10

Blonde Phantom #11-22

There She Goes, Miss America From first to last, Pauline Loth was the “Miss America” artist. Here’s a great double-page action spread from the first issue of the super-heroine’s own comic—even though she wasn’t destined to play a major role in it for long. With thanks to Dennis Mallonee, head honcho of Heroic Publishing. Besides Flare and several other full-color titles, Heroic issued Ye Ed’s own Alter Ego: The Graphic Novel and is currently publishing his WWII-era Anthem series—see ads on pp. 65 & 78. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

7 7

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

57 #3 – 1944-45 (no other date)

AN “Clue of the Burning Ice”8 AN “The Bride Who Married Death” 8 TT “The Day of the Great Khan”

DS “The Isle of Mysterious Death”

#4 – 1944-45 (no other date)

7 7

YA “The Walking Dead”

YA “The Dead That Kill”

YA “The House of Horror” 8

The Name Of The Game Is Namora Bill Everett did nice work on two stories in Namora #2, while a “Sub-Mariner” filler co-starring his cousin (see above) was given a light, frothy touch by another artist. Thanks to George Olshevsky. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

DS “Robot Revenge”

Cover Features

The Angel #1-3

Young Allies #4

Namora

#4 – Jan. 1945

MA “Case of the Crystal Unicorn”

#5 – Feb. 1945

MA “The Cherub”

Cover Feature

14 14

WZ “The Mad Minute”

Complete Comics #2 – Winter 1944-45 [3-chapter YA story:]

“Mystery of the Frozen Death”

JB “Death Gas”

Cover Feature

7 7

#2 – 1945 (no other date)

AN “The Killer at Large”

NA “Shadow over Shanghai”

#2 – Oct. 1948

7 7

SM “Dressed to Kill” (w/Namora) 4

#3 – Dec. 1948

NA “The Mystery of the Sleeping Ship” 8 SM “The Last of the Vikings”

SM “Some Fish Story” 2

AN “Blueprint for Destruction”

HT “Vs. the Laughing Cadaver”

This Time, It Didn’t Pay To Advertise

DS “The Transparent Death” TT “Attila Rides Again” Terry Vance

SM “The Kingdom beneath the Sea” (w/Namora)

NA “Doomed in the Desert” 10

Tommy Tyme

NA “The Lost City of Yucatan”

BP “Curtain Call for Crime”

Terry Vance

#1 – Aug. 1948

NA “Terror in Turkey” 10

Human Torch

DS “Jap Juggernaut”

“The Torture Trap”

Sgt. Dix “The Voice of Doom”

DZ “Tokio’s Toll of Death”

AN “The Legend of the Murderous Falcon” 16

Amazing Comics #1 – Autumn 1944

DS “The Face Master of Evil”

#1 – Oct. 1944

[NOTE: This comic lasted only two issues, each of which had a different title.]

“Mass Murder by Magic”

WZ “The Speed Traps”

“The Mist of Death”

Mystic Comics (2nd Series)

Amazing Comics & Complete Comics

“Horror of the Murdering Magician”

Young Allies #1-2

Miss America #1-2

[3-chapter YA story:]

“The White Monster”

8 7 7

10 10 9

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

NA “Terror Rides the Waves”

Cover Feature

Namora #1-3

Sun Girl

#1 – Aug. 1948

SG “Flying Fists and Glamour”

MA “Murder Makes a Record”

SG “Menace of the Monster” SG “A Jolt for Johnny”

#2 – Oct. 1948

SG “The Menace of the Sparks of Doom” SG “The Death That Waits” BP “The Phantom Case”

Venus, If You Will…Please Send A Little Girl For Me To Thrill…

Venus shifted genres several times in the course of her 19issue career. The light romantic comedy of #1 showed her as goddess of love, ruling the planet named for her, and with powers such as walking through walls…but when she came to Earth, she found she’d lost those special abilities, with comic effect. Artists uncertain. Thanks to Matt Moring for the scans. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

6 4

SG “The Crystal Monsters”

SG “Bokk the Beast”

BP “Meets The Spoiler”

#3 – Dec. 1948

SG “The Leap of Doom”

NOTE: A 2-page “Sun Girl” feature also appeared in Marvel Tales #97 (Sept. 1950), the continuation of the magazine which had been Marvel Mystery Comics for its first 92 issues. Sun Girl #1-3

Cover Feature

Blackstone the Magician

#2 – May 1948

BP “Spotlight on Murder”

BP “Identity Known”

#4 – Sept. 1948

All Winners Comics (2nd Series)

#1 – Aug. 1948 (2nd Series) HT “Gay Blade of Terror”

BP “Personal Appearance for Murder”

CA “Double Identity”

Blonde Phantom

#3 – July 1948

SM “Murder at Marlin Mansion”

[NOTE: Only one issue of the second All Winners series ever appeared with super-heroes. It became All Western Winners with issue #2. All four characters were featured on the cover of #1.]

#1 – Aug. 1948

Venus

Story “Hedy’s Picture Problem”

Venus

Filler “Hey Look”

VS full-page pin-up

You’ve Stayed Too Long In The Sun, Girl Namora was called “The Sea Beauty” on her mag’s covers, so Sun Girl became “The Mysterious Beauty.” Actually, the mystery to Roy as a kid in the late 1940s was that Timely/Marvel replaced Toro with this blonde called Sun Girl but didn’t bother to give her any super-powers! Ju-jitsu doesn’t count. Thanks to Jim Amash for the loan of Sun Girl #3. Somebody must’ve thought Sun Girl was hot stuff, though—as per this ad from Crimefighters #3 (Aug. 1948), sent by Ger Apeldoorn. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

1 1

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

59 #7 – Nov. 1949

VS “The Romance That Could Not Be!” VS “The Dreadful Decision!” Story “Leave Me Never!”

[NOTE: The first two “stories” are actually the chapters of a 17-page tale.]

#8 – Feb. 1950

VS “The Love Trap!”

VS “Love Conquers All!”

VS “Prisoner of Love!”

Venus, Meet The Dev—Er, I Mean Loki Things soon got more serious. In #6, Venus attended the Mardi Gras parade to plug Beauty Magazine—and discovered one of the revelers was none other than “Loki, the prince of evil.” Of course, he was clearly intended to be Satan—but in that day and age it was easier to say he was Loki! Scans by Matt Moring. (Timely art expert Doc V. sees in this story the work of “diverse hands” such as Don Rico, Pierce Rice, Chu F. Hing, and Pete Tumlinson—and possibly some inking by Violet/Valerie Barclay.) [Art ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#2 – Oct. 1948

VS “Way Out West!”

VS “Venus Stops the Presses!” Story “Birthday Blues”

5 4

VS “Between Two Worlds”

VS “Venus Interviews: The Handsomest Man in the World!”

VS “Special Feature”

#3 – Dec. 1948

Story “Money Mad”

Filler “Hey Look”

VS “Oh, Doctor!”

#5 – June 1949

VS “Her Perilous Quest!” VS “Defeat!”

VS “The End of the Quest!”

Story “The Heart within Me—Dead!”

[NOTE: The first three “stories” are actually the chapters of a 19-page tale.]

#6 – Aug. 1949

VS “The Earth Is in Danger!”

Story “Stolen Love”

VS “The Wrath of a Goddess!”

[NOTE: The first three “stories” are actually the chapters of a 19-page tale.]

VS “Whom the Gods Would Destroy!” VS “It’s All in the Mind!”

VS “The Day the Sun Stood Still!”

#4 – April 1949

VS “Face to Face with the King of Evil!”

6 6 7 5 7 4

The Horror Of It All For its last few issues, Venus became an out-and-out horror comic. Virtually all the “Venus” art in these issues, and possibly the writing, was by Bill Everett, at the top of his form. The cover scan was sent by Matt Moring—the gorgeously/horrifically-detailed page at right is repro’d from #17’s cover story from photocopies of the original art. We showed the splash back in A/E #41. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Story “Without Love”

[NOTE: The first three “stories” are actually the chapters of a 17-page tale.]

#9 – May 1950

5 6

VS “A Pact with the Devil!”

VS “Back to Earth!”

VS “The Gods in Danger!”

Story “The Wrong Choice!” VS “A Dream Is Born!”

VS “The Gods Look Down”

Story “I Was a Slave to a Promise”

5 3 5 5 6

[NOTE: The first three “stories” are actually the chapters of a 19-page tale titled “The Man She Dared Not Love.” The 4th & 5th “stories” are actually the chapters of a 10-page tale with the overall title “Beauty for Everyone!”]

60 #10 – July 1950

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

VS “The Devil Strikes!”

Story “The Last Rocket!”

VS “Terror on Earth!”

VS “The Plot That Failed!”

VS “Journey to the Moon!”

VS “Trapped on the Moon!”

5 7 4 6

[NOTE: The first two “stories” are actually the chapters of a 10-page tale titled “Venus and the Son of Satan!” The last two “stories” are also chapters of a 10-page tale.]

#11 – Nov. 1950

VS “The End of the World!” Story “The Plot!”

VS “Beyond the Third Dimension”

#12 – Feb. 1951

12 4 6

VS “Trapped in the Land of Terror” (2 chapters)

VS “The Lost World!”

Story “The Strange Rocket!”

#13 – April 1951

VS “The King of the Living Dead!”

[REP: “Gargoyles” was reprinted in Marvel Spotlight #2 (Feb. 1972).]

VS “The Last Day on Earth!”

#17 – Dec. 1951

VS “The Creeping Death”

VS “The Cartoonist’s Calamity!”

Story “Invasion from Mars!”

#14 – June 1951

VS “Fountain of Death”

Story “The Little Man Who Wasn’t There!”

VS “Hangman’s Horror”

VS “Meets the Lady Killer”

#15 – Aug. 1951

5 6

VS “The Graveyard Waxworks”

Story “Escape from Death”

VS “The Day That Venus Vanished” VS “The Living Dolls”

#16 – Oct. 1951

VS “Where Gargoyles Dwell!” VS “The Ashes of Death!” Story “Through the Lens”

VS “The House of Terror!”

VS “Tower of Death!”

Story “The Storm!”

VS “The Stone Man!”

[REP: “Cartoonist’s Calamity” was reprinted in Weird Wonder Tales #18 (Oct. 1976).]

#18 – Feb. 1952

VS “The Sealed Specters”

Story “The Little Man”

VS “The Mad Mountain!”

VS “Tidal Wave of Terror”

[REP: “Mad Mountain” was reprinted in Weird Wonder Tales #17 (Aug. 1976—“Tidal Wave” in The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1)(1997).]

VS “The Kiss of Death!”

Story “The Madman’s Music”

6 4 5

#19 – April 1952

VS “Demon from the Deep!”

VS “The Box of Doom!”

[REP: “Kiss” was reprinted in Weird Wonder Tales #16 (June 1976)—“Box” in Tomb of Darkness #20 (May 1976).] [NOTE: Special thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo for much of the information re the Venus series.]

The Witness

#1 – Sept. 1948 The Witness The Witness

The Witness

[NOTE: The Witness also appeared in:]

Ideal #4 (Jan. 1949) – 7 pp.

Captain America #71 (March 1949) “Fate Fixed a Fight!” - 7 pp.

Captain America #72 (May 1949) – 4 pp.

Amazing Mysteries #32 (May 1949) – 9 pp. Marvel Mystery Comics #92 (June 1949) – 3 pp.

Witness For The Persecution The Witness, though he shared a name with a masked character from early-’40s Mystic Comics, wasn’t technically a super-hero but only a mysterious narrator—scion of the original radio Shadow, et al., and predecessor to The Watcher in 1960s Marvel. Shown here are the cover of The Witness #1 and a page from the third story therein. Publisher Goodman canceled the mag after that single issue, and leftover “Witness” stories were diaspora’d among other comics over the following year. Thanks to Doc V. for the scans—and for others seen in our Gene Colan interview following. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Marvel Boy

NOTE: Marvel Boy lasted only two issues; the title was changed to Astonishing with issue #3. “Marvel Boy” stories appeared in Astonishing through #6.]

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957) #1 – Dec. 1950

MB “The Lost World”

MB “Eyes of Death!”

Story “Panic!”

[REP: “Lost World” was reprinted in Marvel Tales #14 (March 1968) and later in Marvel Super Action #4 (Nov. 1977). “Eyes of Death!” was reprinted in Marvel Tales #14 (May 1968).]

#2 – Feb. 1951

MB “The Zero Hour!”

Story “Planetary Error”

MB “Blast of Doom!”

MB “Circus Terror!”

Astonishing

#3 – April 1951

Make Mine Marvel, Boy

MB “Mister Death!”

Story “Fright!”

MB “The Runaway Planet” MB “Time-Bomb Terror!”

#4 – June 1951

Hopefully, you savored Russ Heath’s cover and origin splash for Marvel Boy #1 with his in-depth interview in A/E #40—and if you didn’t, your fingers should walk not run to www.twomorrows.com to order a copy! Above are a couple of other incredible images from the short-lived Golden Age career of this young man reared on the planet Uranus (by his father, fleeing the horrors of WWII), then returning to Earth with wristbands that emitted powerful force-beams: panels from Russ’ origin story in #1; and Bill Everett’s cover for #3, the issue in which the title was changed to Astonishing. Everett drew (and possibly scripted) all “Marvel Boy” stories from that point on, with an increasingly horrific feel. Thanks to Vern Yu for the scan. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

4 6

MB “Screaming Tomb!”

Story “The Nightmare”

MB “When a Planet Dies!” MB “Walking Ghost”

5 6

#5 – Aug. 1951

MB “Caves of Doom”

Story “Death from the Sky”

MB “The Serpent Strikes!”

Story “Menace from the Moon” MB “The Deadly Decision!”

5 2 6

[REP: “Caves” was reprinted in Marvel Tales #15 (July 1968) & Marvel Super Action #4 (Nov. 1977)—“Serpent” in Marvel Tales #16 (Sept. 1968)—“Decision” in MSA #4, and later in The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1)(1997).]

#6 – Oct. 1951

MB “Murder by Magic”

MB “The Coffin”

MB “The Phantom Pen” MB “The Unseen Terror”

5 6

Young Men

#24 – Dec. 1953

HT “Return of The Human Torch”

Sub-Mariner

CA “Back from the Dead”

[REP: The cover and stories from this issue were first reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #20 (May 1969), later in The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1), 1997.]

[REP: “Murder by Magic” was reprinted, with #25 – Feb. 1954 the title changed by the Comics Code Authority to “Verdict by Magic,” in Marvel SuperHT “The Return of The Human Torch” Heroes #19 (March 1969.]

Go South, Young Men–and One Woman Since no stories from Young Men #27 have ever been reprinted, here are panels from each of its features: “Human Torch” by creator Carl Burgos, who did some of his best work during the too-brief renascence before Timely’s “Big Three” were canceled for a second time—“Captain America” by John Romita, who’d return to the hero in the 1960s—and “Sub-Mariner” by creator Bill Everett, who in this well-drawn story brought Namora back into the series. The 1953-55 revival deserves a Marvel Masterworks series all its own! [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel

Another Terrific Trio On The “Big Three” Three other artists who did fine work on the mid-’50s resurgence, all in Men’s Adventures #27, were: Dick Ayers, as per this “Torch” panel (repro’d from photocopies of the original art, courtesy of Ethan Roberts)—Mort Lawrence on “Captain America”—and Bob Powell on “Sub-Mariner,” with males of Namor’s undersea race drawn like humanoid frogs, perhaps before Bill Everett had re-established what they should look like. [Art ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

CA “Top Secret” Sub-Mariner

[REP: The “Torch” tale was reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #17 (Nov. 1968). The “Captain America” story was first reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (Dec. 1967).]

Cover Features

8 Human Torch #24-28 (w/cameos of Capt. [REP: The “Human Torch” story was reprinted America & Sub-Mariner on #24-25) in Marvel Super-Heroes #14 (May 1968)— “Captain America” in MSH #13 (March Men’s Adventures 1968)—“Sub-Mariner” in Giant-Size Defenders #2 (Oct. 1974).]

#27 – May 1954

#26 – March 1954 HT

Sub-Mariner

CA “Captain America Turns Traitor!”

[REP: The “Torch” story was reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #19 (March 1969)— “Captain America” in Marvel Super-Heroes #15 (July 1968), later in The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1) (1997)—“Sub-Mariner” in MSH #19.]

#27 – April 1954 Human Torch

Sub-Mariner

Human Torch

SM “The Land below the Sun”

CA “Return of The Red Skull”

#28 – June 1954 CA “The Cargo of Death”

[REP: “Captain America” was reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #16 (Sept. 1968).]

Cover Feature

Human Torch #27-28

Human Torch

Sub-Mariner

CA “The Girl Who Was Afraid”

Black Knight

#1 – May 1955

BK “The Menace of Modred the Evil” [REP: The “Human Torch” story was reprinted (origin) in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (Dec. 1967)—the The Crusader “Captain America” tale in Marvel SuperBlack Knight Heroes #14 (May 1968).]

#28 – July 1954 Human Torch

SM “Killer Whales”

CA “Kill Captain America!”

A Torch Re-Lit—And How! Alter Ego has reprinted so many great images from the 1953-55 Timely/Atlas super-hero revival—particularly in A/E #9 & #35—that we won’t add many here. However, since Russ Heath’s only “Human Torch” art, in Young Men #24, got printed way too dark in the first Golden Age of Marvel trade paperback, here’s a panel from it, showing the flaming android gaining his freedom after four years of entombment—plus the same scene as realized by Rich Buckler (penciler) and Romeo Tangahl (inker) in The Saga of the Original Human Torch #3 (July 1990); script by Roy Thomas. Thanks to Doc V. for the scan. Rich did some amazing work on both that four-issue series and on The Saga of The Sub-Mariner that preceded it. The lads have always regretted they didn’t get the green light to do the follow-up Saga of Captain America series they suggested! [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

10 5 8

The Timely Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1957)

One Brief And Shining Moment This full-page house ad from Journey into Unknown Worlds #27 (May 1954) illustrates the early success of the mid-’50s revival—and that publisher Goodman did indeed want the reading public to identify the name “Atlas” with his comics, not just his distribution company. Sadly, after this high-water mark, in which Timely’s three major Golden Age heroes briefly appeared in no less than five comics series, the tide swiftly receded. By year’s end all but Sub-Mariner had been canceled; Namor would dog-paddle along for another year, till his TV prospects were torpedoed. With thanks to Tom Lammers. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Black Knight

The Crusader

#5 – April 1956 Black Knight

The Yellow Claw

[REP: The cover and first, Maneely-drawn story were reprinted in Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu #1 (Sept. 1974)—the second and third in GSMOKF #2 (Dec. 1974).]

#2 – Dec. 1956

BK “Men of the Shadows”6 YC “Concentrate on Chaos” The Crusader “The Scent of YC “The Mystery of Cabin 361” Treason” 5 The Yellow Claw BK “The Invincible Tartar” 6 Story “Footsteps in the Dark” YC “Temujai…the Golden Goliath” [REP: “Men of the Shadows” was reprinted in Conan the Barbarian #11 (Oct. 1971).]

Yellow Claw

#1 – Oct. 1956

[REP: “Menace of Modred” was reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #11 (Oct. 1967). The second “Black Knight” story was reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (Dec. 1967)]

#2 – July 1955 Black Knight

The Crusader

Black Knight Black Knight

Story “For Services Rendered”

The Yellow Claw

#3 – Feb. 1957

YC “The Microscopic Army”

5 5 4 4

YC “Introducing UFO the Lightning Man”

Story “The Trap”

YC “The Yellow Claw Captured”

YC “The Coming of The Yellow Claw”

YC “The Sleeping City”

4 5

[REP: “The Microscopic Army” was reprinted in The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1)(1997)— “UFO” in Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby (2004).]

6 6

[REP: The first story in this issue was originally reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (March 1968), later in The Golden Age of Marvel (Vol. 1) (1997). The second “Black Knight” story was reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #14 (May 1968).]

#3 – Sept. 1955 Black Knight

The Crusader

Black Knight Black Knight

6 6

[REP: The lead story in this issue was reprinted in Marvel Super-Heroes #16 (Sept. 1968)—the “BK” tale in MSH #19 (March 1969).]

#4 – Nov. 1955 Black Knight

It Was A Dark And Stormy Knight These final panels of the origin tale in Black Knight #1, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Joe Maneely, are repro’d from a b&w Australian reprint, with thanks to Shane Foley. This series represents some of Maneely’s finest artwork—and gave Stan a chance to practice on the Arthurian/Shakespearian cadences that would become so familiar to readers of Thor in the 1960s and early ’70s.[©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of Marvel You’ll Wonder Where The Yellow Claw Went…

Yellow Claw lasted only four issues before the so-called “Timely Implosion” of 1957, but it gave a number of major talents the opportunity to show what they could do with a series that was basically a modern retread of Sax Rohmer’s Dr. Fu Manchu. Several of the best images from the run have been seen in previous issues of A/E, but here are a few that weren’t—all but the last repro’d from photocopies of the original artwork: (Top right:) By the end of #1’s lead story, the series’ main characters were all in place: the Claw himself—his niece Suwan—his henchman Voltzmann—and FBI agent Jimmy Woo. Art by the versatile Joe Maneely; script by Al Feldstein, who after this single issue would return to EC to helm Mad magazine and help turn it into one of the great publishing successes of the 20th century. (Center:) Penciler (and perhaps writer?) Jack Kirby brought his own irrepressible sense of fantasy to Yellow Claw #2-4, as seen in these two impressive pages repro’d from photocopies of the original art. Doc V. feels this page from #2 was probably inked by Jack himself, with assistance from wife Roz. (Far right:) John Severin (who’d drawn the covers of #1, 2, & 4 on his own) added his superbly detailed, realistic inks to Kirby’s pencils in all four “Yellow Claw” tales in the final issue. With thanks to Harry Mendryck, Frank Motler, & Doc V. [All art ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

#4 – April 1957

YC “The Living Shadows”

YC “Five Million Sleep-Walkers”

YC “The Screemies”

Story “The Locked Room” YC “The Thought Master”

5 4 5

As detailed by Tom Lammers in A/E #49 and in his own 2005 limitededition publication Implosion Tales, the company that had been known variously as Timely, Atlas, and even Marvel nearly went out of business in 1957, due to a combination of general industry factors and a catastrophic business decision or two. Tom’s previously-unprinted first version of the cover of Implosion Tales—which the monster at left is clutching in its mitt—pretty much sums up the situation! (For a copy of Implosion Tales, contact Tom at tlammers@new.rr.com; you’ll need to have $12 in your checking account.) Fortunately, over the next few years, Goodman and his editor Stan Lee slowly regrouped, with particular aid from Kirby-drawn giant monsters—and, when Stan and Jack came up with Fantastic Four #1 in 1961, finally lurched into an approach to super-heroes that would revolutionize not only their own company, but the entire comic book industry—and whose reverberations are still being felt today.

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“They Depended On [The SuperHeroes] To Keep Us Afloat” GENE COLAN On The Late-1940s Timely/Marvel Bullpen Interview Conducted by Jim Amash

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

ene Colan is known as one of the most stylish comic book artists of all time, although, like most others, he didn’t start out that way. This interview is a look at the budding artist’s early days at Timely and what it was like for Gene in the bullpen. —Jim

JIM AMASH: When did you start working at Timely?

GENE COLAN: I think it was 1946. Stan Lee hired me as a staff penciler. I had made up a sample of my work that I penciled and inked and even lettered and put some wash on it. I just didn’t know how to approach it, and I liked to draw small, not realizing that comic book art in its original form was quite big. My samples were not much bigger than a postage stamp. [mutual laughter] Not really, but Stan saw something in that. That was my break, and Stan was able to see something that needed to be nurtured, so he took a chance on me. I started out at about $60 a week. JA: Did you have any certain quota of pages you had to get done?

COLAN: No, they left me pretty much alone—and everybody else in the bullpen. Fast as you did one assignment, you’d get another, and they never based anything on whether the books were selling or not selling because of your work, like they do today. I got to draw a lot of crime stories.

Syd Shores was the art director. He took on the responsibility of making sure that the work was done properly. If there were any problems, he’d help out the artist, especially someone like me who was as green as grass when I came on. Al Sulman was the one who first saw my work, by the way. I was in the waiting room, and he came out to look at my work. We had never met each other before, and I could tell by his attitude that he wanted to go in with it and show someone, and that was my first feeling of good news. So I just waited there until he came back. He took a while, certainly a good fifteen minutes, and that was another good sign. And when he came out, he says, “Come on in. The main man here wants to see you.” That was Stan Lee.

The atmosphere at Timely was very good, very funny. The guys were always talking about politics up front. It was a big art room and there were

Colan And The Captain Gene Colan, in a self-portrait (with a few friends) from the cover of 1996 Gene Colan Treasury, juxtaposed with one of his early super-hero pages—from Captain America #72 (May 1949). Chances are he only penciled this page, for reasons revealed in the interview. All comic book images accompanying this interview are courtesy of Dr. Michael J. Vassallo unless otherwise noted. To learn if the Treasury is still available from Aardwolf Publishing, e-mail them at aardpub@aol.com. [Art at left ©2006 Gene Colan; art above ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Captain America, Iron Man, & Howard the Duck TM & ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Batman TM & ©2006 DC Comics.] Incidentally, we sent Gene specimens of the “Cap” and “Torch” art used with this interview, to see if he could confirm that it was his. He said he believed that “maybe 90%” of it was, though others may have pitched in here and there. In particular, he said, “Syd Shores was always there if I needed help in drawing something, and there’s probably something of him in there.” Check out Gene’s website at www.GeneColan.com

Gene Colan On The Late–1940s Timely Bullpen about twenty artists in there, all stacked up. Syd was in the last row on my side, and there was another row on the other side. Dan DeCarlo was there, several other people—Vince Alascia was an inker; Rudy LaPick sat right behind me. JA: Rudy gave you a tattoo, I understand.

COLAN: Yeah. [mutual chuckling] We were always clowning around, Rudy and I. He was quite a mimic. I always thought he missed his calling. He should have been in show business; he was so good at it. And one time, when I was sitting in front of him, he called me: “Gene, I want to talk to you.” So I spun around, and he had his inking pen in his hand and it jabbed me in my wrist, and that’s where the tattoo remains. JA: Was Mike Sekowsky in that room?

67 COLAN: No, no one really did. Once in a while, he’d come strolling into the bullpen, just to see what was happening. Outside of that, no. Hey, if you wanted a raise or something, or felt that you needed more money, you would go in and ask. That, to me, was a nightmare. I hated to face him with that. I’d be nervous as could be.

JA: We all have an image of Stan Lee today. What was he like then?

COLAN: Very boyish. He always kind-of reminded me of Jack Lemmon. [mutual laughter] He would think nothing of standing on a table to get a point across of how he would want the super-heroes to look. You know, “Take on this type of position and do this,” and he would act it out. You know, he was very much a boy.

JA: But you said you were nervous COLAN: No, he was in another room. I about asking for a raise. I wondered loved his work. In fact, I tried to imitate whether that was just you, or was it it because I was young, I hadn’t been because there was something about fully formed with a style at all. I had Stan back then? nothing and was always looking for ways to improve. I admired Mike for his COLAN: No, it was me. I would have free-handedness with his work. It looked been nervous in front of anybody, very loose, which is the way I love to asking for an increase. I didn’t want to work. No one can describe to you how get into any conflicts or any disagreeto do that. You either lean towards it or ments about anything, but it comes to I, Witness you don’t. But he was fast as hell. He a point where you have to. More a crime-story narrator than a super-hero, The Witness had could turn out a job before you could his own mag for one late-’40s issue, after which a handful JA: While you worked in the bullpen, blink your eye. He was a good kibitzer, of (probably) inventory tales were utilized in other titles. One did you do any freelance at home at you know? He clowned around a bit, of those was Gene’s “Witness” effort (above) which appeared in night? talked a lot. You could have a whole Ideal Comics #4 (Jan. 1949). [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.] conversation with him, and at the same COLAN: We were allowed to take time, he was turning out a page of art. He was so fast; pleasant and home stuff if we wanted to get extra pay for it. But by the time we were helpful. through at the end of the day, we didn’t want to look at any more pages. JA: A lot of people describe him as being sarcastic.

COLAN: I don’t remember that aspect. I didn’t like his brother, George Sekowsky, who I think was an inker or a colorist, I don’t know which. George would pass some remarks in my direction which I didn’t like and I noticed something about him, which was kind-of nasty on my part. His face was always very red. I passed a remark about the color of his face, and he wanted to throw me out the window. He just reacted violently. JA: Who decided what your assignments were going to be?

COLAN: Either Stan or someone else. As soon as we were finished with one, we had to show it to Stan, and then someone, either Stan himself or someone else, would pass a comment on it, and then give us the next story. JA: Did you ever have to do, in those days, much redrawing?

COLAN: Not a heck of a lot, no. Syd Shores would oversee a lot of stuff, and if there was anything left glaringly wrong, he would help us correct it. I don’t remember redoing pages... maybe a panel or two, but nothing much. I never knew who was going to ink my work. I cared, but not all that much, because I knew I didn’t have much to say about it, if anything. JA: So did you deal much with Stan while you were in the Bullpen?

I would take home work to do with the best of intentions and never get it done. So I’d take the pages back to work and do them there. JA: How tight were your pencils back then?

COLAN: I experimented a lot. I was influenced, as I said, by Mike Sekowsky’s flowing style. I certainly was influenced by Syd. I loved his work, just loved it, and for quite a while there, I tried to imitate his style. Eventually I got my own style, but it was a struggle.

Syd Shores was a very quiet man. He would come in with kind-of a very slow walk, with a cup of morning coffee in one of these spiral cups and a cigarette in the other hand. Big smoker. He would say hello to everybody very quietly, and sit down. He had been in the war with Germany, and sometimes I’d try to feel him out about it. He never wanted to talk about it. Very quiet fellow, but a sweet, sweet guy, and very helpful; very unassuming. JA: Do you remember Don Rico?

COLAN: Yes. He always reminded me of a riverboat gambler. He was a good artist, yes. JA: Rudy told me that you had one of the early tape machines, and you also had a wire recorder, and you used to tape radio shows.

COLAN: Yeah, I did. Dragnet and Suspense and all that stuff, which I’d play at work. Not only that, I would record soundtracks from films

“They Depended On [The Super-Heroes] To Keep Us Afloat”

because I had a sound projector in those years, and I would rent films— Westerns or whatever—and record them as if you were listening to a radio program, because you didn’t have television then. And I’d bring it in and try it out on the art department to see if anybody liked it or not. JA: Did you know Robbie Solomon or Mel Blum?

COLAN: I don’t remember Solomon, but Mel Blum was a real muscular fellow that worked on the men’s magazines. Sam Kahan also worked on those magazines. He was a wonderful artist and helped me out a lot; he would tell the funniest jokes. To me, he was like a grandfather. [mutual laughter] He would look at my work and say, “Well, you know, fingers don’t really look like that. You’ve got them looking like loaves of bread. Study the human finger, and when you interpret it, try to make it look realistic, the way it really is. Don’t pretend.”

JA: Since Kahan was in the magazine department, what was he doing talking to you since you were in the comic book department? COLAN: Well, we weren’t that far apart in an office, and I just got to know him. Also, he lived in an apartment house not far from where my parents were living. Once, I did an illustration and sweated bullets for that. Sam helped me through it. JA: At the time you were working there, what was considered Timely’s bread and butter in terms of the comics they were publishing? Since they also published many crime comics, Westerns, romance… COLAN: Well, the super-heroes: Captain America, Sub-Mariner, all of those. And that’s what they depended on to keep afloat. But they did a lot of stuff, I know that. I really wanted to get on a popular book instead of getting these 6-page crime stories. I wanted to get a character that I could work with, live with, that sort of thing. And eventually I did get it, but it took a while.

JA: You know Captain America became Captain America’s Weird Tales for its last two issues. And in the last issue of Captain America’s Weird Tales, you drew the cover, but there’s no Captain America anywhere in it.

COLAN: Huh, I can’t remember that either. I don’t know what happened. [NOTE: But Gene drew the cover of that final issue. See p. 41.]

JA: You also drew a few “Human Torch” stories.

COLAN: Yeah, I did a few. There wasn’t much to it. Once he flamed up, there was nothing, very little form, just an outline.

There was a very popular artist on board: Joe Maneely, who was very good, especially with Westerns. In fact, he never really outlined much of anything with a pencil. He just went right in with a brush or a pen and drew. I don’t know how he ever did that, and Stan idolized him. Stan also loved George Tuska’s work, and he asked me once to imitate Tuska’s style. I said, “Nope. If you want George Tuska to do it, that’s fine. But not me.” JA: Rudy said he was let go in February of 1950, but most people tell me they were let go at the end of ’49.

COLAN: It could have been then, yes, because I never suspected that anything was going to happen. That particular weekend, I had decided to stay out for a few days because I heard there was plenty of freelance out there. I never had any idea that Timely was going to fold. I went out for several days, maybe a full week, and when I came back on a Monday, I discovered that there were no jobs. The guys were just milling around, bewildered. JA: A few people recall that Stan had an intercom, and about once a week he would call someone on the intercom and he would fire them, until finally everybody was let go.

JA: I know you did a couple of “Captain America” stories in the late ’40s. Do you remember anything about them, because going from crime stories to “Captain America” is a departure, obviously.

COLAN: I don’t remember that, either, but I do know that when I came back for work, there was no work and the guys were devastated. Fortunately for me, I had looked for work and picked up a few good accounts, so I had work to do.

COLAN: Yes, a big one. I knew it was a leap, but in the right direction. I would annoy Stan about it. I would say, “Look, give me something else like that. I’m always doing these crime stories and I’d love to get a book I could call my own.” So that’s kind-of how it started.

JA: I’d like to ask you about a few more people out of there, and one of them is Dan DeCarlo.

COLAN: A very good-natured guy, full of laughs, and excellent at what he did. He worked a lot in blue pencil. He would sketch out the characters in blue and then would go over it with a regular pencil. I tried working in blue pencils once, but I didn’t like it.

JA: Since Syd Shores was the main “Captain America” artist, you must have used his work as a guide for drawing Captain America? COLAN: Oh, sure. How could you not? He was so good at it. I would study his work and try to pick up on some things that I could learn something from, but it was a gradual thing. It just came about gradually.

Crime On Their Hands The splash of the story Doc V. has identified as being penciled by Gene for Captain America #72. Interesting that at the top of the splash page for a story titled “Murder in the Mind!” is the name of a psychiatrist who’d been hired by the publisher to act as an advisor to Timely, during a time when crime comics were under increased scrutiny. This page was sent by both Doc V. and Michael T. Gilbert. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

JA: Do you remember Allen Bellman?

COLAN: Yes. I still speak to him. In fact, I was on the phone with him the other night. A good-natured guy; he tried to get everybody to

Gene Colan On The Late–1940s Timely Bullpen invest in plastics, when they were just coming on and nobody paid any attention to them. But he did, and he made quite a bit of money through it. He disappeared like everybody else. Carl Burgos was another guy; I never knew whatever became of him. And I was particularly fond of an inker named Bob Stuart. I’ve always wondered whatever became of him. What a guy he was! He was full of knowledge about a lot of things. You could talk to him about anything, especially politics. Bob and Pierce Rice were always in a heated political debate.

Bob Stuart took me under his wing. He liked to help me because he knew I was in need of some advice with my girlfriends at that time— things like that. He was a peach, and I hope he’s around. He was a huge smoker so I have my doubts. I’d really do anything to find out if he’s alive or what. I just knew he lived on Long Island, and had a wife and son. He once told me, “If you see a bum in the street, lying flat out, don’t assume that he’s a no-good bum. He may have been suffering from a heart attack, for all you know.” So he was that kind of guy, you know. I admired him for it. JA: Do you remember Tom Cook?

COLAN: Tom Cook was in the art room, but he did some movie work, I think. He was not nice. I was clowning around with Rudy one day, making some noise or something, and it irritated the hell out of Tom, so he threw an eraser at me, and clipped me in the back of the head with it. [chuckles] So I turned around and threw it right back at him. We were ready to go at it. He was volatile. JA: A couple of artists have told me that they were paid in cash at times. Were you?

COLAN: I think so, in the beginning. Yeah, in the beginning we were. I didn’t really think much about it. I was too young and too involved with my career in art, and so however they paid me was fine.

was bad enough to come out and start to pencil a story. But to add inking to the mix... it was a little too much for me. So I did what I thought I did best. I never knew how anyone would ever ink it. I always hoped they would put the right inker on it, and sometimes they did. Frank Giacoia finally came aboard. I loved his work. I don’t think he loved mine, though. [mutual laughter] That’s the rumor.

JA: When you got a script back then, did you stick close to what you were handed?

COLAN: Yes. I didn’t have any involvement with the stories until the 1960s. JA: Did you know George Klein back then?

COLAN: Oh, yeah! Dapper, good-looking guy—could wear a homburg real great. He did a lot of inking, and he inked a lot of my stuff, and I loved his inking. He was good friends with Chris Rule, who was kind-of like a Santa Claus; a roly-poly guy who was very funny. JA: Artie Simek.

COLAN: He was a real Norman Rockwell character. Artie Simek would play the spoons. He’d have two spoons in his hand, and he would flip them around, they would bop up against each other, and before you knew it, there was a melody there. He was wonderful. I remember people like Mario Acquaviva and Marty Nodell from those days, but no stories come to mind. JA: Did you know Bill Everett back then?

COLAN: Not personally, but he’d come in the office and he once corrected something that I did, and it was a good correction.

JA: I believe John Buscema started not too long after you did.

JA: What do you remember about Vince Alascia?

COLAN: He was an extremely nervous guy. When he was inking, he would make funny sounds like he was sucking in air, or letting out air, or something. He just got so taken with his responsibility of turning out a good job that he reacted to it. But he was a nice guy; mild-mannered, and wouldn’t hurt a fly.

COLAN: Yes, that’s right. A very nice guy. He always reminded me of Robert Mitchum, if you’ve seen any of his old films. You know, that attitude, that swagger. John was another who worked very rapidly. He could carry on a conversation with you, and before you knew it, a whole page was drawn. He had a lot of confidence in himself, a lot. That, I did notice.

JA: Do you remember a letterer named Freddy Eng?

JA: Rudy told me that John used to brush his hair a lot. [laughs]

COLAN: Well, he had a lot of it to brush. [mutual laughter] Yeah, black wavy hair until the very end. He had that head of hair. I don’t think he lost one single hair. JA: Was there a time while you were working in the bullpen that you would have liked to have penciled and inked your own work—done the whole job?

COLAN: Oh, yeah, I went through all that, sure. Then I tried my hand at it and it made me very nervous, because if you make a mistake in ink, it’s not so easy to take out. It was a big responsibility. It

COLAN: Yeah! When you opened up the door to get into the art room, he was the first one you’d see. I’ll tell you a little story: We’d start out on Monday with the desks evenly distributed, one behind the other, with space in between to get in front of a desk. You could walk between them and right on to the very back, which is where Syd was. Behind Syd was a big window, and you’ve got to remember we were very high in the Empire State Building [14th floor]. You could even feel the sway, sometimes, of the height of the building. By the time Friday rolled around, all the desks were pushed back, and it’s a lucky thing that Syd didn’t go out the window, because his back was right to the window. You know—the guys getting up to leave would pull the chair back and then

“They Depended On [The Super-Heroes] To Keep Us Afloat” just knock-outs. I just couldn’t believe it. I thought, “Do I have lots to learn!” I was a big Milton Caniff fan, before I ever got into comics. I loved his spotting of blacks, and the drama of it all. And my biggest influence has always been film, motion pictures.

they’d pull the desk back because the desk then was out of reach when they came back. And so it went on and on like that till Friday. And there was Freddie Eng, with plenty of room behind him. He was practically on top of the door, so he didn’t have any problem with space, but everyone behind him certainly did! [mutual chuckling]

JA: How much did film noir influence you?

JA: Was Sol Brodsky working there in the 1940s?

COLAN: A lot. Those were the years of black-&-white films and the Phillip Marlowe-type detective stuff. You remember an actor by the name of Chester Morris? He was usually in those films. There was something about them. They were usually mostly night scenes, very dramatic, rainy scenes, wet sidewalks. I loved it and I just got swallowed up into that world, and it consumed me. I just wanted to capture that feeling, and I wanted so badly to turn my work out to look like a film on a screen.

COLAN: Yes. He was a hard-working guy, a regular fellow; eventually, he became like an editor, and that’s what I remember of him. He was once at my house when I lived in New Jersey, and so were a lot of other people. I had a party there one time and I invited the guys and I ran off a film. I was always into films. JA: Did very many of the staffers socialize after work?

COLAN: I don’t think so, but I’m not sure. One time after work, somebody brought in an X-rated movie and we all stayed well after 5:30, and waited until everybody left and we doubled back into the art department to see it. [mutual laughter] I remember that. JA: Were there any instances where maybe you guys talked too much and they’d tell you, “Hey, work and don’t talk”?

JA: Well, it seems like you’d made that decision, I think, relatively early.

Good-Ghoul Art Gene had the task of drawing not only the cover of the last issue of the first series of Captain America (CA’s Weird Tales #75), but also that of Marvel Tales #93 (Aug. 1949). The latter was actually the first issue of the horror mag that continued the numbering of Marvel Mystery Comics, which for the previous decade had been the company’s flagship title. [©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

COLAN: Nah, maybe sometimes Syd might say something. Sometimes the room would get out of hand and nobody was working. JA: Was Rudy the only person that you developed a lifelong friendship with from your bullpen days?

COLAN: Yes. He was going with Mary then—they got married later— and my first wife and I would go out on dates with them. We were all together, and he was just a happy-go-lucky funny fellow. JA: When you worked in the bullpen, by the way, did they have a swipe file there?

COLAN: Not that I knew of. The artists were on their own. The guys would pick out clippings from newspapers, magazines, anything, if they were working on a particular story and there some anything in it they thought they could use. That’s kind-of how I got started with the whole filing system. I used to keep it in a shoebox. Before I knew it, it was covered to the brim with all subject matter. Sure, it was handy, and I never thought it would go much beyond that. I was too new in the game, but before I knew it, I outgrew it and got another shoebox, and of course I realized then that I had to have a filing system. JA: Now by the time you left Timely in ’49, you had started on the path to the Gene Colan that we know today in terms of style and mood. You weren’t fully formed by ’49, but you were on the way. You were looking at art with more of the use of black and white and gray. What was influencing you? What was leading you on this path?

COLAN: Milton Caniff’s work, Reed Crandall’s work... I remember looking at original Reed Crandall. He did the Blackhawk series. Eventually, I worked for Quality Comics, and I saw originals lying around the office in pencil that Reed Crandall had drawn, and they were

COLAN: Yes, I was getting there. I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn’t quite know how to do it. I kept experimenting, fooling around. I did a lot of this stuff, too, before I ever got my first single job. I would entertain myself with a script that I had thought up at home— not written down, but in my mind, and I would entertain myself with it.

JA: I have one last question about the Timely bullpen: it obviously was a great training ground for you, a great place to learn. How much of that do you credit towards your development?

COLAN: I would say quite a bit. The bullpen straightened me out on a few things. I had a problem on a particular crime story with a woman in front of a mirror, putting lipstick on. I just couldn’t get the image, I couldn’t get a figure, and I stayed up all night trying to do it. And the next day, I came in, and showed it to Syd. In two seconds, he corrected it and showed me how to do it. Those were the things that Syd helped a lot with, just the naturalness of a pose. And he never used reference for anything. He could figure out—he knew more about the horse than Remington. He very seldom relied on any kind of outside information. He was a natural. JA: Would you say he had a photographic memory?

COLAN: I would think so. Indians, cowboys, holsters, stagecoaches... he drew all that stuff superbly. And what a nice fellow he was to me. You could be working with a very difficult person on a thing like that. Some people are so full of themselves that they can’t get past it. I’ve had a few editors like that, I don’t mind telling you. If you’re in the business long enough, you can say, “I did it all.” Everything was a challenge; I wasn’t really up to a lot of it. I took it because it was work and that was important. If they accepted my work, if they continued to hire me, then they must feel I could do it, and therefore it’s my responsibility to get whatever information I could on it. Yeah, that’s the only way. Never let them know that you can’t. And eventually, you learn how to do your job correctly.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Twice-Told Tales: Have They No Shame? by Michael T. Gilbert

What do you get when you combine Harvey’s Spooky and Casper? Why, Spunky, of course—as seen below. Wasn’t Ajax Publishing hoping scared kids would confuse their Spunky the Smiling Spook with Casper the Friendly Ghost? Or was that the whole point? Shameless!

And of course Timely/Marvel had to get on the “Dead Kids” bandwagon, too, with Homer the Happy Ghost. Hmmm! If these spooks are so “Friendly,” “Smiling,” and “Happy,” why do they look so miserable? For shame!

Have They No Shame?!

Ahh! That’s better! Boy, wasn’t St. John’s Li’l Ghost shamefully cute?

And then there was Charlton’s Timmy the Timid Ghost. Were the publishers praying that kids would mistake Timmy, Max, and Wilma the Witch for Harvey’s Casper, Spooky, and Wendy the Good Little Witch? If so—Shame on them!

Dennis the Menace had his share of doppelgangers, too––one of the more shameless being Al Fago’s Li’l Menace. Say, is that Good Ol’ Mr. Wilson in the TV? Shocking!

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Of course, Marvel had its own Dennis clone, Joe Maneely’s Melvin the Monster! This title lasted seven issues in 1957––though Melvin changed his name to Dexter the Demon with #7, the final issue. However, when Marvel reprinted some of the stories in the ’70s, Melvin became Peter the Little Pest! As you can see from the example, Timely even swiped Dennis’ dad’s pipe. In some strips (though not in this one), they even stole the strip’s distinctive lettering style! Positively shameless!

And say, did you know there were two totally different characters called Dennis the Menace? Hank Ketcham’s Dennis debuted on March 12, 1953, in the US. Three days later, a second Dennis the Menace appeared-in England, courtesy of cartoonist David Law. A shame they never met? Or maybe just a shameful coincidence!

Have They No Shame?!

Ah! There’s that famous Hank Ketchum-style lettering—nicely swiped by Timely’s letterer. What a shame it’s just a knock-off!

How many kids picked up the comic at right, thinking they were getting accident-prone Donald Duck and his mischievous nephews—and instead wound up with accident-prone Super Duck and his mischievous nephew... Ugh!... Fauntleroy? Oh the shame!

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Bonus points! Believe it or not, the steamy lingerie ad at right appeared as part of a 4-page insert in a kids’ comic! Marvel’s Li’l Kids #5 (May 1972) also featured reprints of 1949 Timely stories starring Little Aspirin and similar kiddie fare.

Which begs the question: Who exactly was their intended audience—sexually precocious 5-year olds? Sheesh! Mr. Monster can only shake his head and ask… Have They No Shame?!

That’s all for now, kids. I’m ashamed to admit it, but we’re out of room! Thanks to Doc V. for the Little Aspirin cover scan. Next issue: Russ Manning’s late-’40s fan art! Till next time…

Missing a Back Issue? Got a hole in your Mr. Monster collection? We’ll gladly e-mail you a free Mr. Monster EEEK-Mail Catalog! Just Contact Michael T. Gilbert at:

mgilbert00@comcast.net

For a printed version, send one dollar to Michael T. Gilbert, P.O. Box 11421, Eugene OR 97440

March 2006

No. 116

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79 Binder? I have never said that. I have never claimed knowledge of his career before or after he came to Fawcett in late ’41 or early ’42.

He and Ray Harford came at the same time, spoke frequently of their days at Pratt Institute, and were assumed to have come directly from the school. They may have worked someplace else, like Binder’s shop, first, of course. I recall distinctly a friendly remark by Ray Harford on the occasion of my departure for the military at the end of ’42, and have never questioned in my mind that Boyajian was still there, also.

I suspect that some folks have accepted as absolute fact a report in the Ware-Bails Who’s Who, Vol. 1 (1973) that Boyajian was with the Binder shop from 1941 to 1943. I don’t want to arouse anyone’s disfavor, but we must be careful here. That same book has me born in 1920… at the age of 7…and attending Los Angeles Tech, a school that, as far as I know, never existed. [NOTE: Much of the data in the 1970s four-issue Who’s Who in American Comic Books, edited by Jerry Bails and Hames Ware, has been corrected over the past three decades, as new and further information became available. —PCH.]

[FCA EDITORS NOTE: From 1941-53, Marcus D. Swayze was a top artist for Fawcett Publications. The very first Mary Marvel character sketches came from Marc’s drawing table, and he illustrated her earliest adventures, including the classic origin story “Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel” (Captain Marvel Adventures #18, Dec. ’42); but he was primarily hired by Fawcett Publications to illustrate Captain Marvel stories and covers for Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures. He also wrote many Captain Marvel I don’t question that Boyajian went to work at Binder’s in ’41…but scripts, and continued to do so while in the military. After leaving the his working there continuously until 1943 is simply not so. service in 1944, he made an arrangement with Fawcett to produce art 1942 was the year of the Fawcett-Binder ball games… those hardand stories for them on a freelance basis out of his Louisiana home. fought scraps on the diamond, followed by fun and fellowship. There he created both art and story for The Phantom Eagle in Wow According to Wendell Crowley, when Jack Binder opened his studio in Comics, in addition to drawing the Flyin’ Jenny newspaper strip for Englewood, New Jersey, and Bill Ward, layout artist, began to hire Bell Syndicate (created by his friend and mentor Russell Keaton). classmates and friends from Pratt, noontime sandlot games began in After the cancellation of Wow, Swayze produced artwork for earnest. When Rod Reed became executive editor of comics at Fawcett, Fawcett’s top-selling line of romance comics, including Sweethearts the first team was assembled… and the games began… in 1942. and Life Story. After the company ceased publishing comics in 1953, Marc moved over to Charlton Publications, In 1943 the Binder shop shut down. Reed left where he ended his comics career in the midFawcett. There were a couple of occasions in later ’50s. Marc’s ongoing memoirs have been a popular FCA feature since his first column appeared in FCA #54, 1996. This time around, with Marc’s permission, we’ve handled things a bit differently than usual. Because Roy and I hoped in this edition of FCA to focus on the Jack Binder comics shop, Marc graciously allowed us to edit portions of a 2005 letter of his, written in response to my own letters dealing with that shop, into this issue’s installment of Boy, Oh, Boyajian! “We Didn’t Know….” He also supplied us We know, we know: this is just a grainier version of photos with all the photos we have from the 1968 of Marc Swayze and the early-1940s Fawcett art reunion dinner of Binder shop personnel, department which we’ve printed before, courtesy of and these are dispersed over the next seven Marc… but this time, he’s circled Bob Boyajian’s head in pages, to help make up a very special FCA both shots—and labeled a few others, as well, notably Chic section. The comments below are addressed Stone, Paul Pack, Irwin Weill, Ray Harford, Pete Costanza, to Yours Truly. —P.C. Hamerlinck.] Marc himself—and an elbow he believes to be that of a

fter re-reading your paragraphs re the Jack Binder shop, the baseball team, Hames Ware and Jerry Bails’ list of employees during the wartime years… that Bob Boyajian did indeed work for Binder in 1941…and that Hames got the shop records directly from Wendell Crowley… I think there may be some slight misunderstanding about something I said in an earlier letter about Boyajian’s work for Binder. Are you (or Hames) thinking that I believe Bob Boyajian never worked for

school-age letterer named Meyer Tuckschneider, whom they called “Tuck,” and who in later years penciled highly stylized portraits for Time and other popular publications as “Richard Deane Taylor.” Marc adds, “The backgrounds in these photos are definitely the definitely the ‘old’ art department… predominantly non-comics. Around the end of ’42, a wall was thrown up overnight or over a weekend, separating the comics and non-comics people.” The Swayze “Phantom Eagle” art at right from Wow Comics #32 (Jan. 1954) was reprinted, with gray tones added, in AC Comics’ Men of Mystery #21—still available from Bill Black’s great reprint line. See AC’s ad on the next page. [Restored art ©2006 AC Comics; Phantom Eagle TM & ©2006 the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

“We Didn’t Know... It Was The Golden Age” And A Marvel-ous Time Was Had By All

Marc notes that only three gents shown in this pair of photos, of all those who attended the 1968 Binder shop reunion dinner, ever worked directly for Fawcett. The others’ art and story for Fawcett was all done and delivered through Jack Binder’s studio. (Left:) 1944-1953 “Captain Marvel” editor Wendell Crowley on the left, and longtime “CM” scribe Otto Binder, partially glimpsed. (Right: ) Artist Pete Costanza, seen in foreground, was of course part of the BeckCostanza shop, which produced most of the “Captain Marvel” material for Fawcett in the early days. The man in the background is fellow artist Vince Costello. The page of later art juxtaposed with these photos is from a story on which Crowley, Binder, and Costanza all worked, in concert with main “CM” artist C.C. Beck—an action sequence from “Captain Marvel Fights the Fatal Fog” in Captain Marvel Adventures #144 (May 1953), in the same year in which Fawcett threw in the towel re the comics biz. Afterwards, Crowley went into the family lumber business, Otto was soon writing “Superman” stories for DC, and Costanza eventually became a “Jimmy Olsen” artist. [Art ©2006 DC Comics.]

years when the Reeds invited any and all they could contact up for a weekend at Pine Bush, New York, their home community. These were enjoyable gatherings that included some feeble attempts at baseball. But those memorable games were over…in 1942.

You asked if there were more names on the long list of Binder personnel that I recall. Only Jack and Otto, of course… Ken Bald, for his ability with bat and glove… Pete Riis, as a ball player, plus being a courteous, honorable individual…Charley Tomsey for his competitive spirit.

Of the photos given me by Wendell Crowley—snapshots of a 1968 Binder reunion—I had to return them to Wendell for individual identification. Those pen and ink notes in the margins are my questions and his answers. I’m also including other material we’ve been talking about. About those reunion photos: only three of those shown ever worked directly for Fawcett—Pete Costanza, Wendell Crowley, and Otto Binder. The others did Fawcett characters at the Binder shop or the Beck-Costanza shop. Pete Costanza may have been an invited guest on the occasion of the reunion.

We sincerely thank Marc for his conscientious interest in historical accuracy—an interest we fervently share. Marc will be back next issue with more memories of the Golden Age.

Monthly! The Original First-Person History!

Write to: Robin Snyder, 3745 Canterbury Lane #81, Bellingham, WA 98225-1186

Who Was Who In The Jack Binder Shop (1940-43) A Captain Marvel’s-Eye View Of Peerless Personnel

Introduction by Hames Ware

hen I told the late Wendell Crowley, longtime and beloved editor of Fawcett Comics, of my interest in the comic art shops and asked for his help in trying to identify who’d done what at the Binder Shop where he had worked, he groaned and laughed at the same time:

“Hames, that’d be like going to one of the Detroit automakers and trying to track down who’d assembled your granddad’s Studebaker!”

The reason Wendell was less than optimistic about specific credits for the studio was that, unlike the other three major shops of the comics’ golden era, the Binder Shop truly did often function more on the assembly line basis than the Eisner-Isher shop (later simply the Iger shop), the Jacquet shop (Funnies, Inc.), and the precursor to all the shops, that of Harry “A” Chesler.

Yank-ee Doodle Dandy Vince Costello, who figures in several of these photos, was both a letterer and artist for the Binder shop during 194142. We’re not saying he necessarily lettered this “Commando Yank” splash from Wow Comics #8 (Dec. 1942), let alone contributed to the art—but then again, we can’t say for sure he didn’t! [Art ©2006 DC Comics.]

To characterize in a general fashion: in 1936 Chesler opened up what could be called (and has been called) a “sweat shop.” Rafael Astarita was the second artist hired there, and, thanks to his photographic memory, Jerry Bails and I had the best input possible on both the Chesler and Eisner-Iger shops, because Rafael worked at both and was considered one of the top artists at each.

At Chesler, the idea was that most of the artists would work at the shop itself, doing complete jobs most of the time, and that then the letterers, also in-house, would complete the work, though this sequence might vary. Chesler’s shop serviced his own titles, Star and Star Ranger and the earlist Cook-Mahon pre-Centaur titles, but one can find Chesler shop people at early MLJ, in a few Fiction House titles, and in Fawcett features now and then, after Chesler rebounded from Cook-Mahon’s titles going into receivership along with his own. He came back in 1942 with more titles of his own and continued to service a few other clients. The Eisner & Iger shop had the cream of the artist pool, with Lou Fine, Eisner himself, Astarita, Reed Crandall, and many, many others. As with Chesler, some artists did complete jobs, but it became more expedient for a number of artists to work on each other’s jobs at times. Using made-up bylines allowed different art styles to come and go, and had the secondary effect of keeping artists anonymous so that they wouldn’t be hired away…especially by the publishers, who might learn that the fans’ favorites were working for less than they, the publishers,

were willing to pay them directly. Of course, the byline ploy seldom worked for long, and thus both Chesler and E&I artists were indeed hired to work directly for publishers, the former by MLJ and the latter by Quality and Fiction House.

The odd shop out was Funnies, Inc., shop, where, although there were some artists working in-house at times, most of Jacquet’s artists picked up assignments, completed, and returned them—and, thankfully for us “shop detectives,” were often allowed to sign their work, primarily at Novelty and the true Centaur line of “Uncle” Joe Hardie.

Perhaps this overview can be expanded into a more in-depth article in a future issue of Alter Ego. But, suffice it to say, these four shops between them accounted for a tremendous amount of what appeared at most comics publishing houses. Now, before someone asks about National/DC, it’s true that when Jerry and I were first working on the original 1970s Who’s Who in American Comic Books, it was becoming obvious to us that bylines like “Bob Kane” had a plethora of people behind them—ditto for “Siegel & Shuster”—so were those to be included as shops? We were, after all, aware that we were defining parameters in those early days, and so we

A Captain Marvel’s-Eye View Of Peerless Personnel

arbitrarily decided to make a distinction between “shops” (a dozen or more people working in, for, or out of a specific location, under an ownerprovider) and “studios,” where some amount fewer than that arbitrary number were working for an individual or individuals, who were often themselves artists…and thus we decided that the latter would also include Beck-Costanza, Simon & Kirby, and a number of other studio arrangements.

As stated, these decisions and definitions were arbitrary. There were later shops—the Schoffman, for instance—that might have qualified. But for our purposes then, and for this specific article now, let us just agree that the Binder Shop was one of the “Big Four.”

Bald & Bulletman #8—Together Again (For The First Time?) Ken Bald (on left), when interviewed in A/E #55, found it difficult to say to what stories he contributed, but we do know he did layouts for a lot of “Bulletman” stories. Could he have contributed to this splash from Bulletman #8 (Oct. 1942)? The gent in the foreground at right is Vince Costello again. [Art ©2006 DC Comics.]

And what a shop it was!!

Picture a lot of fun-loving pioneers, mostly young and enthusiastic, who at break time would haul out the sports equipment and lose themselves in sandlot baseball games.

Picture, too, the most assembly-line set-up in early comic book history, where literally a dozen people’s hands might be involved in one feature: one artist drawing the main figures’ heads, other artists concentrating on backgrounds, another artist penciling most panels, several artists following up with the inking, and then the letterers…and don’t forget the writers, who started the whole ball rolling in the first place…and there you have the Binder Shop overview.

The Lineup (Above left:) Otto Binder, Bill Ward, and Charles Tomsey. (Above right:) Continuing down that side of the table, the next photo shows Tomsey again, on the left, with Carl Pfeufer.

But… to be sure, some artists completed whole jobs, from start to finish.

For instance, the art of Jack Binder himself can best be studied by looking through the many “Mary Marvel” stories he continued to draw postwar. And, though Wendell’s premature passing prevented his being able to savor Jerry’s coup in acquiring some of the Binder Shop records, there was actually a brief period in 1942 wherein the art credits are listed at the bottom of the splash pages themselves. And so, Wendell, God bless you, we at least are able to say which artist added which part to which feature in which comic, during a fleeting period at that amazing and wonderful place…the Binder shop!

Who Was Who In The Jack Binder Shop (1940-43)

Binder Shop Personnel

[NOTE: The following is adapted from information provided by Jerry G. Bails from his Who’s Who in 20th-Century American Comic Books website, which in turn is based on the original Who’s Who in American Comic Books series edited by himself and Hames Ware in the 1970s. Those wishing to know when the updated version of the Who’s Who will be available should e-mail him at JerryBails@aol.com; then will be notified when it is ready. Key: (a) = artist; (p) = penciler; (i) = inker; (bkgd) = background artist; (lay) = (layout artist); (w) = writer; (let) = letterer; (dir) = director; (ed) = editor; (asst) = assistant. The abbreviation “c.” means “circa” or “about,” of course.] Abel, Ray (a) 1942

Darr, Walter (a) 1942-43

Frollo, Frank (a) 1941

Altman, Gerald (bkgd) 1942

Davignon, Sid (a) 1941

Golden, Robert (a) 1942

Daugherty, Harry (a) 1942-43

Alderman, Jack (a) 1942

De Muth, Martin (let) 1942

Anderson, Harry (a) 1942-43

De Stephano, Nick (bkgd) 1942-43

Arnous, Elsa (w) 1943

Dowd, Victor (a) 1941-42

Bald, Kenneth (dir/lay) 1941-43

Duca, Alfred (i) 1941

Bard, Phil (a) 1943

Ellison, H.C. (a) 1943

Bare, Al (a) 1941-43

Eng, Fred (let) 1942

Barry, Dan (a) 1942

Beens, David (a) 1942

Binder, John R. (head)(a) 1940-43

Binder, Michael “Curly” (w) 1941-42 Binder, Otto (w) 1941-42

Fairfield, R. (let) 1942

Fanshaw, Dan [pen name?](a) c. 1940-43 Fitch, Ken (w) 1942

Formes, Carl (w) c. 1941

Frank, Leonard (a) 1942-43

Borne, Bernard (i) 1942-43

Froehlich, August (a) 1942

Boyajian, Robert (a) 1941

Brewster, Ann (a) 1942-43 Brioso, D. (a) 1943

Brooks, Samuel (a) 1941 Brown, George (bkgd) 1942

Butler, Howard (a) 1942 Butts, Bob (a) 1941-42

Cameron, Don (a) c. 1940

Canales, Ralph (i) 1942-43 Cassale, Nick (a) c. 1942 Cerney, Rose (let) 1943)

Champlin, Nat (a) 1941-42 Chapman, Walter (a) 1942 Colacchio, D. (let) 1942

Coll, Charles (a) 1942-43 Costello, Vince (a/let) 1941-42 Costi, Al (bkgd) 1942

Cross, Lincoln (a) 1943

Ward-ing Off Bullets Otto Binder (left) and artist Bill Ward, who would go on to draw Blackhawk, Torchy, and others for Quality Comics after leaving Binder’s shop. This “Bulletman” splash has been attributed to Ward. It was reprinted, with gray tones added, in GoldenAge Men of Mystery #14, which is still available from AC Comics—see its ads elsewhere in this FCA section. [Restored art ©2006 AC Comics; Bulletman TM & ©2006 DC Comics.]

Crowley, Wendell (ed/w) 1941-42

Gallante, J. (w) 1942

Hamden, Gus (a) 1941-42 Harford, Ray (a) 1941

Harrison, George (a) 1942

Hausman, George (bkgd) 1942-43 Hearne, Jack (bkgd.) 1942

Hicks, Arnold (a) 1941-43 Hill, June (bkgd) 1942

Hollingsworth, Al (a) early 1940s Holmdale, Red (a) 1940-42

Infantino, Carmine (bkgd) 1942-43 Jackson, Ken (p) 1942

Kamen, Gloria (a) 1942-43

A Captain Marvel’s-Eye View Of Peerless Personnel

Kane, Gil (a) 1942

Kathe, Betty (bkgd) 1942 Klein, Bernard (a) 1940

Koste, Frank (i) 1942-43

Kostuk, Alex (bkgd) 1942 Kritch, Glen (let) 1942

Landy, Jerry (let) 1942

Laposopa, Charles (a) 1942 Le Blanc, André (a) 194142 Loth, Pauline (a) 1942

Lufkin, Ray (a) c. 1942 Lynch, John (let) 1942

Marko, George (a) 1942 McCay, Bob (a) 1941

Menczer, Kurt (bkgd) 1942-43 Middleton, Owen (a) 1942-43

Scarlet Letters Another shot of Charles Tomsey (left) and Carl Pfeufer. Pfeufer became the major “Sub-Mariner” artist at Timely/Marvel in 1942 after Bill Everett joined the armed services, but while he isn’t named in the current Who’s Who listing of Binder shop personnel, he showed up at the dinner—and Marc Swayze and Wendell Crowley concurred that he worked for that shop at one time. The “Mr. Scarlet” page from Wow Comics #56 (July 1947) is attributed to Pfeufer by AC Comics in its reprinting in Men of Mystery Comics #21. [Restored art ©2006 AC Comics; Mr. Scarlet & Pinky TM & ©2006 DC Comics.]

Moneypenny, David (a) c. 1941 Nee, Ben (a) 1941

Nicholas, Charles (a) 1941 (unconfirmed) Nisenson, Sam (a) c. 1942

Paddock, Munson (a) 1942-43 Panesis, Nicholas (a) 1941-42 Parkinson, Rod (a) c. 1940

Peckover, Edmund (a) 1942 Plastino, Al (a) c. 1940

Popp, Walter (bkgd) 1942

Smile! You’re On Comic Book Camera! We’re determined to print all of the photos Marc Swayze supplied from the 1968 reunion, even though they merely show different angles of people seen in earlier shots. [Clockwise from above left:] (L. to r.:) Otto Binder, Bill Ward, and Charlie Tomsey. (L. to r.:) C. Tomsey, Carl Pfeufer, and Ken Bald. (L. to r.:) Ward and Tomsey. (L. to r.:) Ken Bald and Vince Costello. And a good time was had by all! But hey, it just occurred to us—where was Jack Binder in this Binder shop reunion dinner? His brother Otto attended—but how about Jack himself?

Who Was Who In The Jack Binder Shop (1940-43)

Potter, Jim (asst art dir) 1941

Poucher, Edward (a) 1941-43 Rico, Don (lay) early 1940s

Riis, Pete (art dir) 1941-43 Rogers, Jesse (a) 1942

Rosen, David (bkgd) 1942-43

This Means War! (Above left:) One artist who reportedly worked for the Binder shop in 1941-42 was Kurt Schaffenberger, who would later draw The Marvel Family for Fawcett, as per this Korean War-era page from MF #86 (Aug. 1953). Note probable scripter Otto Binder’s sly reference to The Human Torch—a character he also wrote from time to time. [©2006 DC Comics.] (Top right:) Phil Bard drew “Minute Man’ in Master Comics #22 (Jan. 1942). Repro’d from a photocopy of the original art. Courtesy of Jack Bender. [©2006 DC Comics.] (Right:) During the war years, the Binder shop produced much of the art for these Wow Comics heroes. This ad appeared in Whiz Comics #33 (Aug. 1942). [Mr. Scarlet TM & ©2006 DC Comics; Commando Yank & Phantom Eagle TM & ©2006 the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Rosmonde, Babette (ed) 1941 Ross, Richard (bkgd) 1943

Rousch, Clarence (art asst) 1941 Rule, Christopher (a) 1943 Rylands, Richard (a) 1941

Sauterel, Georgette (bkgd) c. 1941 Schaffenberger, Kurt (p) 1941-42

Snyder, Marcia (a) 1942-43

Sokol, Karl (bkgd) 1942-43 Spranger, John (a) 1942

Stackel, Herman (a) 1942 Stoner, E.C. (a) 1940-41

Thompson, Bernard (a) c. 1942 Thompson, Jimmy (a) 1942-43

Schmitz, Arnold (bkgd) 1942

Thurston, George (bkgd) c. 1942-43

Schwartz, Milt (bkgd) 1942

Townsend, Ernest (a) 1942

Schrotter, Gustav (a) 1942 Scott, Arthur (a) 1942-43 Seiden, Art (a) 1942

Smith, Bob (let) 1942

Tomsey, Charles (i) 1941-43 Ward, William (lay) 1941-42

Weisbecker, Clem (a) 1942-43 Westlake, John (a) 1941

Wilkerson, Rod (a) 1941

More about Fawcett comics in future editions of Alter Ego.

OUR USUAL SPECIAL BRAZILIAN BONUS! Two more pages from the 1964 Almanaque do O Globo Juvenil in which the comics of Brazil continued spinning yarns of the Big Red Cheese for years after Fawcett stopped telling them in 1953. In this unique story, Cap met Timely/Marvel’s original Human Torch—even though, in the USA, those characters were published by two different companies. Last issue, the World’s Mightiest Mortal freed the captive Torch from the evil Cobra’s dungeons and took him to a hospital. Now, he has returned to the villain’s undersea hideout…. [Captain Marvel TM & ©2006 DC Comics.]

“Captain Marvel Meets The Human Torch” (Continued)

Looks like the Torch is on the mend already. Well, after all, he’s an andoid, right? But doesn’t his doctor look a little like Junior Sivana? Thanks to John G. Pierce for unearthing this tale, which has been translated from the Portuguese and relettered by Mark Luebker. The 1964 art is by Rodriguez Zelis, with modern-day art restoration and gray tones by Matt Moring—and where have we heard that name this issue? With special thanks to Rodrigo M. Zeidan and Matt Gore. [Captain Marvel TM & ©2006 DC Comics.]

“Captain Marvel Meets The Human Torch”

[See more pages of this offbeat Brazilian classic in future issues of A/E & FCA.]