Alter Ego #66 by TwoMorrows Publishing

Daredevil & Sub-Mariner TM & ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Atoma & caricatures ©2007 Estate of Bob Powell; Sheena TM & ©2007 Paul Aratow/Columbia Pictures; The Shadow TM & ©2007 Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc./The Condé Nast Publications; Mr. Mystic TM & ©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc; other art ©2007 the respective copyright holders

Roy Thomas’ Daring Comics Fanzine

THE PEERLESS POWER OF

BOB POWELL

PLUS:

In the USA

6.95

No. 66 March 2007

Vol. 3, No. 66 / March 2007

™

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

Editorial Honor Roll Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ross Foss, Biljo White

Editor Emeritus Mike Friedrich

Production Assistant Chris Irving

Circulation Director Bob Brodsky, Cookiesoup Periodical Distribution, LLC

Cover Artist Bob Powell (adapted by Michael T. Gilbert]

Cover Colorist Tom Ziuko

With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Denis Kitchen Bill Aguilera Ed Lane Dave Baker Jim Ludwig Alberto Becattini Bettina Lussier Jack Bender Bruce Mason Bill Black Shelly Moldoff Dominic Bongo Frank Motler Chris Brown Dave O’Dell Nick Caputo Dennis O’Neil Gregg Clifford Edith Penty John Cochran Jay Piscopo Mike Conroy John Powell J. Randolph Cox Kyle Powell Mike & Carole Robert Powell Curtis Seth Powell Al Dellinges Ken Quattro Tony DeMaria Ethan Roberts Blanche Fago Herb Rogoff D’Ann Calhoun Fago Scott Rowland Michael Feldman Ramon Schenk Florence Feustel Jim Simon Gary Friedrich Joe Simon David George Marc Swayze Janet Gilbert Stan Taylor George Hagenauer Dann Thomas Jennifer Hamerlinck Anthony Tollin Paul Handler Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Peter Hansen Dr. Michael J. Heritage Comics Vassallo Roger Hill Hames Ware Jonathan G. Jensen Cat Yronwode

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Bob Powell

Contents Writer/Editorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Expert Ed Lane on one of the most prolific (and best!) artists of the Golden Age.

The Flyin’ Fool Cover Art. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Roger Hill tells how a long-lost Powell illo was finally restored—and published!

Bob Powell: A Brief Stopover In The Marvel Age . . . . . . . . 42 Nick Caputo investigates an enigma: Why didn’t Powell ever draw a solo Daredevil tale?

Comic Crypt: The Powell Family Album! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Michael T. Gilbert hosts a family reunion with photos—four sons and two Mrs. Powell.

“Make Mine Magazine Management!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Editor David George on the “good ol’ days” at Martin Goodman’s magazine empire.

“We’ll Just Get It Done!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Jim Amash talks to Blanche Fago about Al & Vince Fago and Charlton Comics.

FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 P.C. Hamerlinck presents Marc Swayze, a Marvel Family mystery—and Bob Powell! On Our Cover: As detailed on pp. 43-44, Bob Powell worked with another master comic artist, Wally Wood, on several 1965 issues of Daredevil, but always inked by Wally. Since so much of Powell’s style depended on his powerful inking, both Michael T. Gilbert and A/E editor Roy Thomas wondered what a “purely Powell” DD would’ve looked like. Thus, since the mid-1950s Magazine Enterprises hero The Avenger looked so much like Daredevil, Michael used digital magic to transform the one into the other for this issue’s cover… also peopling the page with [left to right] Shock Gibson, Atoma, Sub-Mariner, Avenger (as himself this time), Scarlet Arrow, baby John Powell (see pp. 46 & 51), The Man in Black, Sheena & her chimp Chim, Black Cat, The Shadow (minus mask), The Spirit of ’76, and Mr. Mystic—plus a selfcaricature of the artist. Something for everybody! [Daredevil & Sub-Mariner art ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Sheena art ©2007 Paul Aratow/Columbia Pictures; Mr. Mystic art ©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.; other characters art ©2007 the respective copyright holders.] Above: The hopefully familiar cover of The Avenger #3 (a.k.a. A-1 Comics #133), Magazine Enterprises’ short-lived 1955 super-hero, drawn by Bob Powell. This “robot robber” (also seen on p. 13) is one of the best-designed robots in any vintage comic… and, Roy T. admits, was the major visual inspiration of “the Ultimate Ultron” in The Avengers #68 (Sept. 1969). Thanks to Mike Conroy and Ken Quattro for the scan. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.] 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 ($11.00 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. ISSN: 1932-6890 FIRST PRINTING.

writer/editorial

Putting The “POW” In “Powell” B

Robert, John, Kyle, and Seth—a deluge of photos which Michael T. Gilbert has turned into a double-length edition of “Comic Crypt.” Between all those pics, the Powell pieces written by Roger Hill and Nick Caputo, and a cascade of images sent by several generous collectors, we wound up with far more art and photos than we could print—

ack in the day, Bob Powell never ceased to amaze me.

During the 1950s, he seemed to be literally everywhere! Well, maybe not at National/DC (although evidently he did a turn or two for them, as well), but Powell’s signature with that distinctive squiggle at the end of the final “L” was emblazoned on stories in many of the comics I picked up. He even did a pair of “Sub-Mariner” tales for the 1954 super-hero revival—and I saw a fair amount of his work for Harvey, as well.

But it was for Magazine Enterprises in particular that he drew a sizable percentage of the comics I purchased when I could scrape together enough spare dimes. The short-lived The Avenger (after one issue by another artist I liked, Dick Ayers) and Strong Man—the voluptuous Cave Girl and Thun’da (the latter after the difficult-tofollow Frazetta)—Westerns like Bobby Benson’s BBar-B Riders: when Powell expert Ed Lane, in this issue, calls the artist’s ME work “the epitome of Powell,” he knows whereof he speaks. It’s an especial pleasure to have been supplied by the four Powell sons—

—with the unusual result that, next issue, Michael and I will feature a fabulous Powell follow-up to this issue’s already-stupendous selection. (See next-issue ad below; our letters section will return next month, too.) I’m also proud to present editor David George’s memoir of his time at Martin Goodman’s Magazine Management during the 1960s & ’70s. When I went to work for Stan Lee in 1965, Marvel Comics was at most one-third of that larger, multi-faceted company—and it didn’t seem that proportion was likely to shift anytime soon. It did—but I feel an examination of Goodman’s magazine empire is long overdue. So I’ll get out of your way and let you get to it…. Bestest,

COMING IN APRIL

LEAVE IT TO

BOB OKSNER! FROM JERRY LEWIS TO THE JUSTICE LEAGUE! • Jolting OKSNER cover art of the JLA—and friends! • BOB OKSNER tells JIM AMASH all about his Golden & Silver Age work on Supergirl, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, All-Star Comics, Hawkman, Leave It to Binky, Angel and the Ape, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, & Shazam!—also about SHELLY MAYER, JULIE SCHWARTZ, CARMINE INFANTINO, C.C. BECK, GIL KANE, IRWIN HASEN, LEE ELIAS, JOE ORLANDO, et al.! • BOB POWELL—Part II! MICHAEL T. GILBERT continues paging through the Powell Family Album—and Alter Ego examines letters exchanged between POWELL, WILL EISNER, & Quality publisher BUSY ARNOLD! • Plus—FCA with JEFF SMITH, MARC SWAYZE, & C.C. BECK—BILL SCHELLY on the boys at the Yancy Street Journal—& MORE!! Edited by ROY THOMAS

Comics, Inc.]

NOTE: IF YOU PREFER A SIX-ISSUE SUB, JUST CUT THE PRICE IN HALF!

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

The Peerless Power Of BOB POWELL A Remembrance Of One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists A Personal Appreciation by Ed Lane (with special thanks to Peter Hansen)

et me begin this article by momentarily indulging in some personal nostalgia. I became addicted to the art of Bob Powell in about 1946. At the time, I thought that he was one of the best comic book artists in the business—and now, over 55 years later, I am still convinced my judgment was correct. Even today, his work still ranks with the best. For twenty years, Powell was so prolific that I could not keep up with buying all his work off the newsstands. But I doggedly stuck to my task, and this two-part article sees the publication of all of the data I have accumulated in the intervening time frame. The first part of this article deals with Powell the artist: Who was he? Where did he come from? How did he get started? Who worked for him? This section includes a sampling of the very few interviews Powell ever gave on his life and art.

Cheesecake, Beefcake, & Bob Powell The artist, circa 1960, in his Williston Park studio—flanked by primo examples of his art drawn 15 years apart: (Left:) Splash for Fiction House’s Jumbo Comics #25 (March 1941). Powell signed the final page of this “Sheena” tale; “W. Morgan Thomas” was a house name. The identities of the scripters of most stories mentioned in this article are unknown. (Right:) The wordless cover art for Magazine Enterprises’ 1955 The Avenger #4 (a.k.a. A-1 Comics #138), as restored for AC Comics’ The Avenger #0 – Special Ashcan Edition (1996). Thanks to Jonathan G. Jensen and Bill Black for the respective art scans, and to Seth Powell for the photo. [Sheena TM & ©2007 Paul Aratow/Columbia Pictures; retouched Avenger art ©2007 AC Comics & estate of Vin Sullivan.]

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

With a brush, his style became a less stilted, more flowing, and dynamic one, which epitomized those golden years from 1945 to 1955. A great many early comics characters bore the Powell moniker, such as “Dr. Fung” and “Secret Agent D-13” at Fox; “Gale Allen,” “Camilla,” and “Inspector Drayton” at Fiction House; also “Abdul the Arab,” “Lee Preston,” “Betty Bates,” and “Spin Shaw” at Quality. Many early Powell stories have the by-line “W. Morgan Thomas,” which was an Eisner shop name that Powell adopted for himself. Early “Sheena” and Mr. Mystic stories carried the “Thomas” credit, but Powell’s tiny signature can often be found discreetly tucked away in a panel of the story. When Eisner started his own studio after dissolving his partnership with Jerry Iger, Powell went with him. Powell went freelance in 1941, starting his own studio and working for the Harvey brothers before joining the Army in 1942. After leaving the service in late 1945, he relaunched his studio, working mostly for Harvey, but also for Street & Smith, Timely/Marvel, and other publishers. When the bottom fell out of the comic book market in the mid-’50s, Powell turned his focus to commercial art. In the early ’60s he did some work for Sick magazine, and in the mid-’60s drew a number of stories for Marvel Comics. From January 1966 until his death, Bob Powell was art director at Sick, which in its February 1966 issue printed an article about his joining the magazine. That piece is reprinted in full on p. 47 of this issue of Alter Ego.

A Letter To Jerry DeFuccio

Powell Was No Dummy Reportedly, Powell’s first professionally published work was this “Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy” story (part of a movie adaptation) from Jumbo Comics #2 (Oct. 1938). By coincidence, though this issue hit the newsstands a month or so before that cover date, October 30, 1938, is the night on which Orson Welles’ infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast panicked much of America—when people listening to the far more popular Bergen & McCarthy program changed stations during a commercial, and suddenly found themselves bombarded by “eyewitness” reports of an invasion from Mars! Thanks to Bruce Mason for the scan. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

The second part discusses the voluminous amount of artwork he produced, which I have compiled into an Index of his work (see end of article for how to obtain a copy). The Bob Powell Index data listed represents probably 95% of the artist’s work through 1960.

Who Was Bob Powell? Stanley Robert Pawlowski, who legally changed his name to S. Robert Powell in 1943, was born October 6, 1916, in Buffalo, New York, and died on October 1, 1967, in Huntington, New York, at the age of 51. Powell’s earliest comic book work was done in 1938 when he worked in the Eisner-Iger shop, which supplied comics to Fiction House, Fox, and Quality, among other publishers. From the very beginning his work had a distinctive style which can be instantly recognized today as one peruses comic books of that era. The major difference seen between his early-1940s style and his late-1940s style is due to the fact that he switched from pen to brush inking, though his stylistic flair remained the same.

Few interviews were ever done with Powell, and those that exist give only a slight insight into the man himself. One such is the following letter from Powell in response to queries sent by mail in 1966 by Mad magazine associate editor Jerry DeFuccio, a lifelong historian of the Golden Age of Comics. From the tone of his responses, Powell was obviously still put out by the commercial art establishment, which had nothing but disdain for mere comic book artists. This piece saw print in Alter Ego, Vol. 3, #10 (2001), but is repeated here. In it, Powell recounts: You caught me unawares with your letter and I must say that this resurgence in comic book sales and the avidness of the fans is somewhat ridiculous, albeit nicely rewarding. For years we were bums and most of us had to learn to redraw in order to make a living, and now all of a sudden we are little tin gods. I’m afraid I’m not impressed, but because of our long friendship I’ll try to run off some of my checkered career. However, at best, my memory isn’t very good, and ye gods, after reading your letter and some of the things you mention, you should be telling me! In 1938 I started with Eisner and Iger. With them I did various and sundries, the most known of course was “Sheena.” God, we must have had over a hundred characters before Chuck Mazoujian and I split off with Bill Eisner to do Spirit, [Mr.] Mystic, and Lady Luck. Busy Arnold, bless his little old thieving heart, gave me the opportunity to break off from old pinchpenny and go on my own. I’ve been freelance ever since. That was what? 1940-1? Harvey came into the picture then and when MM [Mr. Mystic] folded I did all the ones you mentioned, along with “Tommy Tween” and “Chickie Ricks.” “Man in Black” was my favorite, of course, and my baby exclusively (though Harvey owns, natch). I understand it’s coming out again, but because of an agreement I made with Stan Lee, I’ve refused to take it over again. Along came marriage, a son, and the war. I was hot to be a flyer, so before I got too goddam ancient (I was 26), I enlisted and was sworn in three days after my son’s first birthday. (Incidentally, he is an ensign in the regular Navy as a career officer and is about to get his wings as a jet pilot. He’s married and has presented me with the

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

greatest grandson ever conceived. What a heart stealer.) But to get back to the business at hand: I made the flight program and while in the second stage of training was sent to Milwaukee State Teachers (now part of the U. of Wisconsin) and while there was asked to do a strip for the weekly school paper. It gave me excellent training for satire and humor writing as I was given free rein to lampoon training and the officers and I had a ball. The strip was titled Kent Doodid and was sort of a Private Hargrove in pics. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: See Here, Private Hargrove by Marion Hargrove was a bestselling humor account of life in an Army camp during World War II.] Then my advanced training began and I did nothing until after I earned my wings and my commission. They immediately made me an instructor, which kept me out of the shooting, but even to this day I remember that I deserved the “Battle of Texas” medal…with teardrop cluster. Mustered out (on my birthday), I was still in my uniform when the Harveys put me right back to work. I had had an assistant before the war and now with things booming after, I took on several more. Street and Smith came along, together with Magazine Management and a couple of others, tho’ I can’t remember who, and my staff grew to six. I did the writing, penciling, and faces. Howard Nostrand and Marty Epp did the inking. Marty also did the lettering, George Siefringer, the old souse, did backgrounds. Other casuals did cleanup, errands, and created ulcers. Came TV and everything folded. But to regress: Shadow, Doc Savage, Nick Carter, and Dr. F. [Dr. Fung] were all done under Street and Smith. Then they folded. And boom! Dead. Kaput. Bum. And, oh, do I remember the years of struggle when art directors would say “Ah, yes. Very nice, Mr. Powell, but you were a comic book artist, weren’t you?”’ Finally I was able to break the style of drawing and started to make a decent living and again a damned good one and now what? Everyone’s knocking down the door and begging us to do comics again. I can’t get quite as enthused. Yes, I do some. I like the money. But I’d rather do illustrating, book and mag and the cartoons that your good offices acquired for me at Topps. Jerry, I don’t know if this will be of any help. I swear, you know more about my career than I do. As for getting originals or silver prints, I can’t help. Incidentally, we forgot to mention Vin Sullivan and Magazine Enterprises. I did a lot of work for them. Bobby Benson and the B-BarB Riders [sic], Red Hawk, etc. HEY! I also did a year’s syndicated strip of Bat Masterson. I hated it. I enclose several things for your amusement. They’re all pretty valuable to me and I’d appreciate their return. And most especially the two pictures. One shows me the day I got back to NY after the army with Leon Harvey, Buddy [Ernie] Schroeder, his wife, and an old school friend, Nancy Nelson. The other shows my chief gremlins. From top, counter-clockwise: Epp, Siefringer, and Nostrand. I’m remarried and have a son Kyle besides R.R., the ensign, my second son John, an art student at Syracuse U. I’m fat, getting old, drive a Stingray, we’re restoring a ’35 Hubert Johnson cabin cruiser with our own little hands, and why the hell don’t you come out and split a booze? Thanks for all the compliments and the very best on your book. Please send me a copy. But why the hell you want me in it, I don’t know. As ever,

Red Hawk Is Red Hot “Red Hawk,” a feature about a young Native American, graduated from Magazine Enterprises’ Western titles into a special issue of his own mag in 1953. This page from Red Hawk “#11” is reproduced from a photocopy of the original art; courtesy of Ed Lane. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

As a closing sidebar, it has been said that Powell was a tremendously fast worker and that he often worked all night. Reputedly, under these circumstances, he sometimes worked barefoot with a pail of ice water next to him. When he started to fall asleep, he stuck his foot into the pail to snap himself back to consciousness.

The Joe Simon Interview The following is an interview with Joe Simon recorded by Ethan Roberts on January 16, 1983, with additional comments by Cat Yronwode. In this interview Simon answered questions from a list that had previously been submitted to Cat, and some of his comments refer to her answers to the same questions. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Our thanks to Ethan Robert and Cat Yronwode for permission to utilize this interview, and to Joe Simon for his blessing.] SIMON: Our studio in Tudor City was in the next building from Eisner’s studio, and I didn’t even know Powell was there. We were there for several years doing all the DC stuff during World War II, for example “Sandman,” “Boy Commandos,” and “Newsboy Legion.” We were really pushing out the stuff. [Simon refers to the list of questions.] Q: When did Powell work for Eisner’s shop? Had he done any comic book work previously? What were his special talents?

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

Military Bearing A pair of features from Quality’s Military Comics. (Above:) Though Powell is usually credited only as co-writer (with Will Eisner) of the very first “Blackhawk” story, and original artist Chuck Cuidera claimed to have written some early tales himself, we wonder if Powell wasn’t involved in scripting other adventures, as well. In Military #2 (Sept. 1941) his real first name, Stanley, became the basis of Blackhawk’s fellow Polish aviator, Stanislaus. Art by Chuck Cuidera; script attributed to Will Eisner. Repro’d from The Blackhawk Archives, Vol. 1. (©2007 DC Comics.] (Right:) As “Bud Ernest,” Powell wrote and drew the humorous adventure series “Loops and Banks”—in this instance, for Military Comics #5 (Dec. 1941). Thanks to Jonathan G. Jensen. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

SIMON: Powell joined the Eisner shop in about 1937-38. He left Eisner in December of 1939 to go to Quality, although inventory material by him and Eisner continued to appear in Fiction House, Fox, and other Eisner-Iger accounts for several months thereafter. Powell was both a penciler and an inker, good at both. Eisner says he soon learned to write as well and enjoyed doing so (on “Sheena” and Mr. Mystic, etc.). But his first works were scripted by others, notably Toni Blum, daughter of Alex Blum, another Eisner-Iger Fiction House artist. He liked to draw airplanes and machinery, according to Eisner. While Eisner’s shop was producing the “Blackhawk” strip, Powell suggested that the Polish member of the squadron, Stanislaus, be named after himself, since his name was Stanley. The Andre character in the strip was named after Andre LeBlanc, and Chuck after Chuck Cuidera, who were also both artists in Eisner’s shop.

SIMON: No, I don’t know any of them. Q: How were stories processed in the shop? SIMON: Powell had some good artists that did their own work. Cleanup and lettering was Tex Blaisdell, or Marty Epp, one of them. Who was the letterer, Ethan?

Q: Whom did Powell work for after he left Eisner’s studio?

ETHAN ROBERTS: I think it was Epp.

SIMON: Powell followed Eisner into service in 1942; and when he returned, he never worked with Eisner again.

SIMON: I know the one who did the lettering lived out in King’s Park.

Q: Where was Powell’s shop? How big was it? Did the artists work there? SIMON: At that time Powell was married. Before the war he had his own shop and did a lot of work for the Harvey line. His shop was located in Oyster Bay Cove, Long Island, in a very upper-middle-class house on the water, a lot of land, very rustic, very modern. He had married early, and lived there with his wife, two sons, and 12 cats. Then he divorced during the Kefauver investigations at the time of the “comic book bust” in the mid-1950s. He got divorced and married a local divorcee who was about 20 years younger than he. They lived happily until Bob died. At that time he had worked for Sick magazine until we sold it, and then he did those risqué things, which were the best things he had ever done. I’m going to try to get hold of them. Q: Who were the artists who worked for Powell? SIMON: I knew Howie Nostrand, Tex Blaisdell, Marty Epp. I don’t know of any other assistants, but I’m sure he had others. Q: Did you know Siefringer, O’Connor, or Elliot?

Q: Who wrote the stories, or were they provided by the comics’ editors? SIMON: Both. Powell wrote the stories, except when they were provided by the comics’ editors, which was mostly the case, as far as we were concerned. He was a good writer. He had “The Man in Black,” which he wrote. I think it was one of his finest series. ROBERTS: That series got started back in 1945, and your company put out four or five books of that title. SIMON: Yes, I was the editor there, but Powell wrote them. Q: Who were the comic publishers that Powell’s shop worked for? SIMON: He did work for Harvey. ROBERTS: Didn’t he do Black Magic Comics for you? And some movie spin-offs for Fawcett such as Lash LaRue, and Rocky Lane? SIMON: Yes, he did some romance comics for us and the Lash LaRue and Rocky Lane for Crestwood Publications, which had a lot of affiliates like Pioneer and Prize. He also did a couple of covers for Sick. I

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

think I used one and threw out the others. We always paid for stuff we didn’t use if we had ordered it. I should have saved those covers, because they might have been of some value today. [laughs] But I didn’t. We couldn’t save everything. Q: Did Powell or his shop do any other commercial art?

Q: He seemed to have been drawing for a couple of companies, and he drew a number of airplane strips for these companies such as “Loops ’n’ Banks” and “Spin Shaw.” SIMON: Now I didn’t know Powell when he worked for those other companies. When he did “Sheena,” what company was that?

SIMON: They did some local things, very small jobs. They did whatever came up; they wouldn’t turn anything down. I remember one of the things they did was a Michelin tire advertisement. However, when comics did go bad, Powell founded a company that did displays, and almost made a living at it. He also did some architectural rendering for a local architect. He was a very active member of the Antique Automobile Club and always had a collection of antique sports cars no matter how bad things were. Powell had “class”; he always liked living like a king. In the end he gave it all up and settled for one of those plastic cars—what do you call them—a Corvette Stingray. I remember he showed me a copy of a couple of the Association’s publications he had put out, and another publication with a story about himself, with pictures, and how he turned to these fibreglass cars.

Q: He worked for Quality and Eisner-Iger. Meskin did the first couple of “Sheena” issues and then Powell took over. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: “Sheena” originally appeared in Fiction House’s Jumbo Comics.] When did you get to know him well?

Q: Lots of the early-’40s “Powell-looking” art, such as in Wonderworld Comics, very much resembles Eisner’s style. The work from Powell’s shop also had a very characteristic style for many years. In light of the fact that the works were often shop efforts, do you think it is generally impossible to try to assign a particular artist credit for specific stories? How was the Eisner or the Powell “look” achieved with such a variety of artists working in assembly line fashion?

Q: What about his death?

SIMON: When I was living in Woodbury, we were always just a couple of towns apart on Long Island. When he moved to Suffolk County, he had a beautiful home. I remember a huge boat in his yard that he was refinishing, where he would spend his spare time doing carpentry and fibreglass work. It was beautiful, almost a yacht, and about 30 or 35 feet long. That was there when he died. I got to know him well in about 1959-60, when he was in Oyster Bay and I was in Woodbury. I saw him about 3, 4, or 5 times a week when I was doing Sick magazine. We were very close.

SIMON: Powell was a dedicated worker, starting work at six or seven in the morning. He had an intercom between his studio and the house, and if someone came to see him he wouldn’t see them. Even if I came over, he wouldn’t see me until he was through with his work or

ROBERTS: The way Eisner described it to Cat, his method was to throw in a correction at each stage, at the script stage, the pencil stage, and the proofreading, fix-up stage. He thus firmly imprinted his “look” on all Eisner shop work. SIMON: I would assume so. Now, these people also did work for me, doing other things like Sick. You mentioned the boss/employer relationship, where other people had been fairly critical of how Powell ran things and treated people. This seems to be par-for-the-course with employer/employee relationships, but all of them were very loyal to Powell. Any time he called them to come and help him out, they would come back and do whatever he asked. This shows the guy had something. As for Wonderworld Comics, which was done in Eisner’s studio— ROBERTS: It was sued as an imitation of Superman. SIMON: You know, a lot of us were pretty crude when we started, and some of us developed more over the years than others. Cat is probably right—the stories and covers were done by a team in a shop. I would have to see the original artwork to see if it’s possible to assign credit to certain artists for specific stories. Q: What about Powell’s background? SIMON: I think Bob was from Buffalo, and I was from Rochester, New York. Q: What years would you say you knew him best? What year did you first meet him? SIMON: We met in the middle of the war years. He was with the US Army Air Corps, and he might have been on leave. I remember to this day, we met at Harvey’s and went out to lunch together with his first wife. They were both from Buffalo. Then I met him again after the war when he was working for Harvey. He did some beautiful airplane drawings. Did you ever see them? I have some here that he did for Harvey.

Johnny Cash He Ain’t Powell wrote that his favorite series to work on was “The Man in Black”— and it shows! The title character introduced stories of suspense, as in this moody splash page from Green Hornet Comics #31 (Nov.-Dec. 1946). Scan courtesy of Chris Brown. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

All Horror Comics Are Black In The Dark (Above left:) An unused Joe Simon & Jack Kirby cover for an issue of Prize/Crestwood’s Black Magic Comics. Repro’d courtesy of the Heritage Comics archives, with special thanks to Dominic Bongo. [©2007 Joe Simon & estate of Jack Kirby.] (Above right:) Powell drew for Black Magic—and also for Harvey’s long-running Black Cat Mystery, as per this splash from issue #36 (June 1952), sent by Chris Brown. Now that’s a creepy face! [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Pulp Fiction—Powell Style Powell’s early work for Victor Fox’s comics line resembled Eisner’s early work, as both men developed their increasingly distinctive styles. (Left:) A “Dr. Fung” page by “Arthur Dean” (Powell) from Wonderworld Comics #9 (Jan. 1940). (Right:) A “Secret Agent D-13” splash from Mystery Men Comics #3 (Oct. 1939). Powell signed the last page of both stories; thanks to Jonathan G. Jensen. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

Plane Speaking—And Drawing Bob Powell as a kid in his homemade airplane—then as a USAAF navigator on a B-24 bomber during World War II—plus his Korean War-era war cover for Magazine Enterprises’ American Air Forces #8 (1953?), a.k.a. A-1 Comics #65. (ME’s odd numbering system will drive you crazy if you let it!) Photos courtesy of Seth Powell. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

taking a break for lunch, and he was working for me! [laughs] But he had to put his day in. If the newspaper boy came to the house, he wouldn’t talk to him. Nothing bothered him; he just kept on with his work. He enjoyed his work very much. The rest of us couldn’t work a 10-hour day because you had to pick up the kids, do some shopping, doorbells going off. But he had that licked—none of us others did. Powell was 51 years old when he died. I was at his funeral. He died of intestinal cancer of some kind. The worst thing—I remember— was that he couldn’t drink anymore. He learned about it about a year before. He was buried in Huntington Station at a chapel—his ashes, that is. He was cremated, but it was a completely non-religious

ceremony. He had no belief in religion, and he made that very well known. He was a complete atheist. The story is told of Powell’s last job, which was some advertising work for Topps Gum Company. He called their office to report that he would not be able to meet the deadline. When the secretary asked why, Powell said he was dying of cancer. [Reported in the Howard Nostrand interview by Bhob Stewart in Graphic Story Magazine #16, 1974.]

The Powell Studio Powell did work for just about every comic book publisher I ever heard of while he was alive. I don’t know if he did any work for Disney, but I would not bet against it, since he had applied for work with Disney Studios early in his career. on a piece of artwork was more than just an artist’s signature. It represented an organization; Bob Powell had several skilled assistants in his studio during the period that it operated from between the end of 1945 to the mid-1950s. This is the period that I consider to have been his Golden Age. Of all his many assistants, the following artists were probably the ones that had the longest tenure with him: George Siefringer, Martin Epp, and Howard Nostrand. A typical routine would probably go something like this: Powell would usually pencil the story to be sent to the publisher for editing. Then Powell inked the faces, Nostrand inked the figures, and Epp and Siefringer finished the backgrounds and did the lettering.

Sick Of Tarzan A Powell page from an issue of Sick magazine, which Joe Simon says was for some time the #2 competitor to Mad, ahead of even the longer-lived Cracked. With thanks to Ed Lane. [©2007 Joe Simon.]

Howard Nostrand assisted from 1948 to 1952. He also freelanced for Harvey comic titles in the early 1950s. His was the “Davis-esque” style that some dealers refer to and which some tend to confuse with Powell, and understandably so. Nostrand left comics in 1953 to do commercial art, and after an absence of some 20 years returned to do fine work on Atlas’ short-lived Targitt title in 1975. According to The Comics Journal #93, he died on Aug. 27, 1984, of lung cancer, at age 55. (Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert for the latter information.)

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

All For One… (Above:) Powell and his talented crew of assistants. (Left to right:) Marty Epp, George Siefringer, Bob Powell (wearing his famous eyeshade, of which more next issue), & Howard Nostrand. Photo courtesy of Seth Powell. (Right:) Nostrand’s solo art often resembled a cross between Powell and EC artist Jack Davis. Thanks to Dave O’Dell for this scan from Harvey’s Black Cat Mystery #46 (Oct. 1953). But that title adjective should’ve been spelled “BLOND”! [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

A Whole Slew Of Slewfoot (Left:) “Slewfoot Jones Meets VD.” This Powell page from Street & Smith’s True Sport Picture Stories, Vol. 4, #2 (July-Aug. 1947), says Ed Lane, who sent it to us, “has to be the most outrageous put-on in comics. Note the movie star’s initials ‘VD’ prominently displayed on her luggage and breast pocket. Slewfoot makes her acquaintance and takes her to get a milkshake and… but, remember, this is a wholesome sports comic, so you know that nothing bad will come of their friendship.” By the way, the lady’s name turns out to be Vivian Doheaver. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.] (Below:) In the late ’40s or early ’50s, Powell worked on a Slewfoot Jones daily strip for possible newspaper syndication, but to no avail. The “Willum de Grouch” in this first daily was based on a real-life Street & Smith editor, William de Grouchy. From the Ed Lane collection. [©2007 Estate of Bob Powell.]

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

George Siefringer got out of comic art and went into business, and reportedly did very well. Marty Epp may have stayed in the profession of commercial art. No other information has been discovered about Powell’s other assistants; they mostly labored in anonymity, created fine comics, and disappeared from the comics industry. Regardless of what happened to them after the comics industry collapsed in the mid-’50s, they left a legacy of beautiful comic art. They were a team that produced consistent, top-quality, distinctively-styled comic art. Their art is their best testimonial. My Powell Index is my testimonial to them, the anonymous craftsmen— and to Bob Powell, who melded them over the years into a team that produced art that will never be forgotten. [NOTE: Ernest “Buddy” Schroeder said in A/E #42 that he assisted Play Mystic For Me Powell during the WWII Photo of (l. to r.) Will Eisner, Nick Viscardi (a.k.a. last-issue interviewee years. Perhaps his name Nick Cardy), and Bob Powell, from the 1982 Kitchen Sink volume The Art of was even the source of the Will Eisner—juxtaposed with Will’s and Bob’s two turbaned heroes. (Above right:) “Yarko the Great” was an early Eisner magician in Fox’s “Bud Ernest” byline on Wonder/Wonderworld, et al. This composite of Eisner images was done by “Loops and Banks,” as seen Bill Black and co. for AC Comics’ Golden Age Men of Mystery #12 (1999); see on p. 6. —Jim.] AC’s ad on p. 37, since most of its rapturous reprint publications are still

in print. (Below right:) The Oct. 13, 1940, Mr. Mystic page by Powell. Mr. Occasionally these Mystic was virtually a continuation of “Yarko.” Repro’d from a photocopy backroom boys did get their of the original art. [Photo & art ©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.] names in print. Not in splash-page credits, but as ingredients in the “comic games” that comic book artists seemed to indulge in since the first comic books. A good example of some of these “comic games” can be found in Street & Smith’s True Sport Picture Stories, issues Vol. 4, #11; Vol. 4, #12; and Vol. 5, #2. The main character was “Slewfoot Jones,” a tall, gangly, hayseed pitcher for a baseball team. This strip was strictly for laughs, so anything went. In 4/11 and 4/12 the opposing team’s catcher is called “Epp,” and in 5/2 the opponents’ second baseman is called “Siefringer.” They make themselves the butt of several boo-boos in the games in many of the stories. Also, I suspect there were some self-caricatures in the main cartoon figures. In fact, so taken was Powell with the Slewfoot character that a daily strip was planned, which, sadly, never made it to publication.

The Will Eisner Interview Some idea of what it was like to work in one of the early comic book production shops can be gleaned from the many interviews with artists that have been published over the years. With respect to Powell’s early career, I am indebted to interviews with Will Eisner, some of whose reminiscences I have excerpted in the following paragraphs from Panels Magazine #1, 1979. Our thanks to Denis Kitchen and the Eisner heirs for permission to reprint it here. [This interview is ©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.] EISNER: The shop was an apartment and we all worked cheek and jowl. The living room was the studio, and the bedroom was my office. I sort of worked apart, and there was a lot of changes back and forth, a lot of conversation during the day. When Eisner was questioned his having written all of the Spirit sections before World War II, except where Powell or Nordling wrote their own material, he replied: “That’s right. I think occasionally we… there was a writer named Dick French who we would buy stories from every once in a while for Lady Luck, and occasionally Mr. Mystic.”

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

A Jumble Of Jumbo And Jungle A pair of Fiction House covers attributed to Bob Powell: Jumbo Comics #14 (April 1940) and Jungle Comics #7 (July ’40). Al Dellinges, who provided a photocopy of the latter, says Jungle #7 is the only cover Powell drew for that title. Jumbo #14, one of that title’s few super-hero covers, was provided by Jonathan G. Jensen. [Sheena TM & ©2007 Paul Aratow/Columbia Pictures; other art ©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

With regard to the assembly-line nature of the shop in 1939, Eisner said, “It was the only way I could maintain the large output of product. I was writing the stories. We had a writer on staff, a girl named Toni Blum. Bill Bossert was also a writer, and he later married Toni. We had George Tuska, Jack Kirby, a fellow named Bryant, Lou Fine, and Bob Powell all working there. A whole bunch of tremendous people.” To me, it seems that a lot of the early work attributable to Powell has the look of Eisner about it and vice versa. In response to my letter inquiring about there being a “shop look” with respect to the production techniques in his studio, Eisner replied: Any shop built around the vision or direction of one person will inescapably reflect his standards. But, in all fairness, keep in mind that the talented people you refer to were talented to begin with and were willing to learn from each other as well as share their know how. In the early Eisner-Iger shop I would sit at the head of a long assembly line, roughing out ideas, splash pages, or whole stories. These were passed around for penciling, inking, backgrounds, and lettering. Later, people like Bob Powell (who took on ‘Sheena’ after Mort Meskin) wrote their own stories. Toni Blum wrote for Tuska, Kirby, and Lou Fine. There were only two rooms and little in way of privacy. People in the studio could hear what was going on in the front office if they cared to listen. Later, in the Tudor City studio (actually a two-room apartment), Lou Fine, Chuck Cuidera, Bob Powell, Chuck Mazoujian, who all came with me when I sold my half of Eisner-Iger, worked in a more comfortable atmosphere. That is to say, they could freely talk politics, sports, or whatever, because it was a smaller shop and there was no

difference in status. There was a remarkable and quiet kind of camaraderie—lunching together, some socializing. There was great protectiveness for ‘little’ Joe Kubert (14 years old), who was the shop go-fer. There was a lot of exchanging of skill and information. Kubert was always asking questions which were patiently answered. But, above all, we had to get out a 16-page comic supplement completely by ourselves every week, and two 64-page comic books every two months, and there was no room for slippage.

Powell In The Golden Age, Continued In light of Eisner’s comments, it is understandable why some EisnerIger shop art was attributed to Powell and some to Eisner, since, in fact, it was a shop effort, with several contributing artists imparting a “sameness” to the overall appearance of the work. These factors alone make identification of early Powell work in some Fox, Quality, Fiction House, or other comics suspect, unless the work was signed or specifically identified by the actual artist. Powell’s work for Fiction House spanned about 18 months, from 1939-1941. A notable credit during this period is his rendition of “Gale Allen” in Planet Comics #4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 (all 1940). Powell was the acknowledged top artist in the early days of “Sheena” (after Mort Meskin’s early efforts), with his work reportedly evident in Jumbo #7, and #9-27 (1939-1940). Work also attributed to Powell included Jungle Comics, with “Camilla” in #5-9, 12, 14-16, “ZX-5” in #11,12, and 14, and “Inspector Dayton” in #11-13, and 22. Powell’s cover work reportedly included Planet Comics #5-7, Jungle #5-8, Fight #5-7, and

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

Jumbo #7-17, and 19. During the early 1940s, Powell also contributed to Eisner’s Spirit section. In its early format this section had 16 pages—usually 7 or 8 pages of The Spirit, 4 pages of Lady Luck, 4 or 5 pages of Powell’s Mr. Mystic. The latter feature ran from June 2, 1940, until May 14, 1944. The logo initially had “Morgan Thomas” as a byline; but on March 16, 1941, the first Powell byline appeared alongside the house name. This strip was a revamp of Eisner’s earlier Yarko the Great, even down to the same costume. Mr. Mystic was initially scripted by Eisner; later, Powell took over the strip completely until October 3, 1943, when his last byline appeared. Fred Guardineer, originator of DC’s “Zatara the Master Magician,” took over the strip after Powell and was an excellent successor. Between 1946-1949 Powell did a considerable amount of work for publishers Street & Smith in such comics as The Shadow, Ghost Breakers, Air Ace, Red Dragon, Top Secrets of the FBI, True Sport Picture Stories, and Buffalo Bill. Powell’s work in The Shadow rates as some of the best of his vintage work. At the same time he was producing material for their comics, he was also producing material for Street & Smith’s Shadow pulp magazine. From 1950 to 1954 Powell’s work centered on Magazine Enterprises’ comics lineup, with him doing all of the art on Africa #1, American Air Forces #5-12, The Avenger #2-4, Bobby Benson #1-13, Jet #1-4, Cave Girl #11-14, I’m a Cop #1-3, Red Hawk #11, Strong Man #1-4, Thun’da #2-6, and one story each in Straight Arrow #2-55. He also provided covers or fillers for many other ME titles. A complete set of Powell’s work for ME encompasses practically every comic book genre and demonstrates his mastery of each. These ME comics are the epitome of Powell.

Do-Mystic Bliss (Above:) Powell’s last Mr. Mystic title page, from the Oct. 3, 1943, newspaper Spirit section. As sender Ed Lane writes: “Powell bowed out with a lighthearted final story… which was obviously a proud papa’s tribute to his son Robert…. After several silly escapades, the crooks are thwarted by the toddler’s shenanigans.” Thanks to Ed Lane. [©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.]

The Avenger Is Mine! There was a bit of competition, whether conscious or not, between two of Magazine Enterprises’ most prolific artists—Dick Ayers and Bob Powell. E.g., Ayers drew all the stories for The Avenger #1—then waited for scripts for #2 to arrive. They never did… because, Ayers reported in A/E #31, Powell (who also drew the cover for Avenger #1) had offered to draw the series at a cheaper rate. Whatever minor rivalry there may have been, however, both men were top talents. (Left:) An Ayers splash from issue #1. (Right:) Powell’s interior version of the cover scene of #3. [Retouched art ©2007 AC Comics.]

At the same time he produced material for Street & Smith and ME, Powell was also drawing for Fawcett. From 1949-1955, he worked on at least 21 titles. Fortunately for Powell collectors, this was his peak period. Fawcett, like other comic publishers, had a lineup of titles encompassing science-fiction, Western, romance, horror, war, adventure, and mixes (e.g., [continued on p. 17]

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

“The Epitome Of Powell” That’s what Ed Lane calls Powell’s 1950-54 work for Magazine Enterprises—and here, juxtaposed with a photo of the artist a few years later, no doubt contemplating his past creations as he strolls along a beach—are some items offered in evidence which some folks might just consider “proof positive”! Photo courtesy of Seth Powell. [All art ©2007 the respective copyright holders; retouched Avenger art ©2007 AC Comics.] (Clockwise from top left of facing page:)

• Jet (that was the title, period) spotlighted the science-

•

• A cheesecake-at-war page from a “Mike Battles” story in American Air Forces #11, a.k.a. A-1 Comics #79 (1953). Thanks to Jonathan G. Jensen. • The Avenger may have been clad almost entirely in red, but as a “Commie-smasher” this mid-’50s ME hero gave that decade’s Captain America a run for his money! This restored splash page appeared in AC’s The Avenger #0 – Special Ashcan Edition.

•

fictional adventures of white-haired adventurer Jet Powers, who looked as if modeled after movie actor Jeff Chandler. This is the splash of the first story in Jet #1 (1951). The writer was Flash/Hawkman/JSA cocreator Gardner Fox, who’d been a childhood friend of ME publisher Vin Sullivan (see A/E #27). Splash panel from the origin tale in 1953’s Cave Girl #11 (a.k.a. A-1 Comics #82). Only this fur-clad heroine, of the myriad of jungle queens in Golden Age comic books, might’ve sparred with Sheena for her crown, but she entered the game too late. Another page from Red Hawk #11 (1953), probably written by Gardner Fox. Repro’d from a photocopy of the original art, courtesy of Ed Lane. Strong Man was a quasi-super-hero, with a physique like those of the wrestlers trained by Powell’s father (see next issue’s “Comic Crypt” section). Thanks to Bruce Mason. Frank Frazetta drew Thun’da #1; Powell took over for #2-6. The premise was basically Tarzan in a primeval setting. This splash was sent by Bruce Mason. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.] Major Inapak the Space Ace (1951) was a 16-pagesplus-covers commercial comic produced by Magazine Enterprises with all-Powell art. The “Space Ace” name was shared by a totally different sf hero who also starred in one issue of his own comic.

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

The Spectres & Sports Of Street & Smith Here’s a sampling of Powell’s work for Street & Smith’s pulp magazines and comics. He drew this first “Doctor Neff – the Ghost Breaker” tale for Red Dragon Comics #3 (May 1948). Thanks to Chris Brown. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.] The “double-truck” (i.e., two-page) illo at top right, from a 1946 issue of The Shadow pulp mag, depicts the two-fisted, two-.45-toting avenger that was the character’s original print incarnation— while on the page at right from Shadow Comics Powell does the clouding-men’s-minds bit, a carryover from the later radio version. All drawings of the “invisible” Shadow were rendered in colorheld blue overlays—hence their ghostly look here. Thanks to pulp and old-time radio expert Anthony Tollin. [The Shadow TM & ©2007 Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc./The Condé Nast Publications.] The two sports-comics images below display Powell’s versatility even in that specialized arena. At left is a page about Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play in baseball’s Major Leagues (beginning in 1947), from True Sport Picture Stories, Vol. 4, #6 (March-April 1948)—while Powell’s cover for TSPS, Vol. 3, #10 (Nov.-Dec. 1946) combines baseball and a feeling of murderous dread. Thanks to Bruce Mason. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

All Hail The Harvey Heroes! Even in the 1940s, Powell tackled super-hero work with a vengeance. (Far left:) In Green Hornet Comics #19 (July 1944), The Spirit of ’76 takes a symbolic kick at Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo. Given the rampant patriotism in WWII-era comics, he probably had to stand in line! (Near left:) The “atom-electric”powered Shock Gibson beat Vic Torry into space by a couple of years, in Green Hornet #37 (Jan. 1948). Thanks to Jonathan G. Jensen for both photocopies. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

[continued from p. 13] Western romance). Powell’s art in Fawcett comics was enhanced by the sophisticated color screening processes the company used. At that time, Fawcett was one the few remaining publishers that still used more combinations of color separation screens, which could produce subtle shadings compared to the large areas of flat monotonous color in later comics. Powell’s Fawcett stories usually were much longer than the 4- or 5-pagers in most comics; 10 or even 12 pages was not unusual. Powell’s work for Fawcett compares with the best of the material he produced for other publishers at the time. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: See this issue’s FCA section for more on Powell at Fawcett.] Powell’s longest stint with any publisher was that with Harvey’s comics line, from about 1942 to late in the 1950s. Research indicates that his work appeared in almost every Harvey title, either as originals or as reprints, at one time or another during that period. Harvey played the reprint-juggling game so often that it is maddening to try to track down Powell’s work through nearly 20 years of titles. The Harvey horror titles contained some of the best examples of his art for the genre. The Powell characters, backgrounds, and settings created goosepimple atmospheres to augment the plots, which, for the most part, were quite good. The surprise or ironic ending was the rule for these tales, and the Powell art went a long way to heighten the mood.

Powell Humor No Powell index would be complete without reference to his endless bent for injecting humor into his art. Many vintage Powell stories from the early 1940s to the 1950s contained elements of his unique style of humor. I call it unique because I have never seen its

There’s No Fool Like A Flyin’ Fool Chickie Ricks, “The Flyin’ Fool,” was popular enough in other Harvey comics that he nearly got his own mag. In fact, the solo title was advertised at the end of the “Flyin’ Fool” story in All-New Comics #14 (Nov. 1946). It never came out—even though there was yet another cover prepared for it by Powell, as Roger Hill details on pp. 38-41. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

“V” Was For Vic Torry Powell turned in a virtuoso science-fiction/adventure performance on the 1950 Fawcett one-shot Vic Torry and His Flying Saucer. Its hero, a test pilot, encounters a UFO inhabited by an alien—and winds up commandeering it! In certain ways, the plot foreshadows the origin of DC’s Silver Age Green Lantern! Reprinted here from Michael T. Gilbert’s 1987 Mr. Monster Super Duper Special #5 for Eclipse. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Spellbound For Glory— Or Is It Gory? Even while he produced tons of work for Magazine Enterprises and Fawcett, Powell also found time to draw a number of stories for Timely/Marvel. Seen here, from left to right, are Powell’s splashes from Spellbound #19 (Feb. ’54) and #32 (Feb. ’57). With thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Menace, Anyone? Timely/Marvel/Atlas also claimed a portion of Powell’s mid-1950s work, as witness this page from “Locked In!” in Menace #11 (May 1954). Repro’d from a photocopy of the original art, courtesy of George Hagenauer. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

equal by any other adventure artist, either in style, quantity, or its span of over 20 years.

another with “SP.” Chamber of Chills #24: On the splash panel, way in the background, is a dilapidated sign on a building proclaiming once again, “Elect Honest Bob Powell”; a sign on another building says “EPP.”

The humor constantly varied. For example, some of his stories in the romance comics were blatantly humorous, tongue-in-cheek jibes at the subject matter of the genre. On the other hand, the “Chickie Ricks—The Flyin’ Fool” stories were always serious-comical adventures with lots of flying scenes with Chickie bumbling through, all the while having fun at the villain’s expense. Harvey apparently planned to produce a Chickie Ricks comic book at one point, based on house advertisements showing the planned cover. This cover art resurfaced, and Eclipse used it for the cover of its 1989 Powell reprint comic called Bob Powell’s Timeless Tales #1. Another character in the Chickie Ricks mold, who appeared in several issues of True Sport Picture Stories, was Slewfoot Jones. He was a gangling, freckle-faced hayseed, who was the pitcher for a bumbling baseball team, whose naiveté formed the crux of the story plots. The following excerpt should be read with the knowledge that this was a “serious” comic book about sports. The editor was usually on a soapbox in every issue, preaching about fair play, practice makes perfect, and all the other juvenile sports clichés that young teenagers were thought to “lap up.” (See p. 10 for a classic page from this series.)

Crime Detective, Vol. 1, #10: The letters “GEO SIE” (for George Siefringer) are scratched into a prison cell’s walls as graffiti. Dotty Dripple #3: “Marty” Epp as a cool 1950s-style teenager is in a roller skating contest with Tommy Tween. Tommy beats Epp and wins a date with Marty’s girl. Down with Crime #2: On a splash panel a hotel has a neon sign saying “Howard” (Nostrand). First Love Illustrated #5: Minuscule letters in a newspaper article say: “Seifringer, Epp, Nostrand begin preparations to take over.” First Love Illustrated #61: Moving van with “SRP TRUCKING.”

Space For One More “Powellism” Here’s a bit of playful namedropping which Ed Lane planned to point out in text, but we figured one picture is worth a thousand you-know-whats: the rocket on the cover of Jet #1 sports the insignia “SR-1”—and, of course, Powell’s first two initials were “S.R.” What’s more, Ed says a space ship on the cover of Jet #4 bore the sigil “SRP-2.” [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

“Powellisms” Another type of comic art humor is one I have termed “Powellisms.” While not unique to Powell, it was certainly something he and his team participated in to the full. A Powellism is something of a personal nature that he subtly slips into the art to “put you on.” The “VD” initials in the “Slewfoot” story are one type of Powellism, and I have listed a few more below for your entertainment. These examples will also show you the extent to which the artists went to poke fun at each other! Can you find others in your own personal collection? As you search for them, keep in mind that they can appear in the most unexpected places. Here are some “Powellisms” that I’ve spotted over the years: Airboy, Vol. 2, #2: On two political posters you will see “Vote for Honest Bob Powell” and “Ward Healer Siefringer.” Black Cat #32: “Nostrand Moving Service” on the side of a van. Black Cat #48: Siefringer’s name is on a business card. Chamber of Chills #21: An announcer in a radio station uses a mike with the call letters “WRSP.” Chamber of Chills #23: Tombstone featuring the letters “EPP,” and

First Romance Magazine #3: Young girl branded as being shameless because she flirted with the Nostrand boy and the Epp brothers. G.I. Joe #8: In this improbable war story, a sappy soldier carries an accordion into battle. In the second panel the maker’s name, written on the accordion, is “POWELL.”

Hi-School Romance #39: In this love story, Pete Hardy is a champion boxer. A newsboy is seen hawking a paper whose headline proclaims “Hardy KO’s Siefringer.” Hi-School Romance #47: Headline on newspaper says: “Epp Wins.” Humphrey #6: Sign at a carnival says: “Win $100, Stay One Round With Killer Nostrand.” Interestingly, Tommy Tween is victorious yet again when he KO’s Killer Nostrand in the story. Which begs the question: Is Tommy Tween a member of the team? Perfect Crime #4: Handbill on a fence says: “Vote for Epp, O’Connor, Siefringer, Nostrand.” The end of this story is signed “PENSO,” which appears to be an acronym for Powell, Epp, Nostrand, Siefringer, and O’Connor (?). Yet another team member may have been Bill O’Connor, who worked as a scripter/colorer/artist for various companies in the 1940s, including National/DC, Timely/Marvel, ZiffDavis, and Harvey. Real Clue Crime, Vol. 4, #11: On a police booking sheet is listed: “Offense: Theft — Name: George Siefringer — Address: Fairview Blvd — Age: 23 — Occupation: None.” The Shadow, Vol. 8, #7: On page 2 of the last “Shadow” story, a wealthy man narrates to Lamont Cranston the details of a murder that he supposedly committed while he was drugged: “I left then… determined to get to the bottom of my lost Saturday…. I went to the

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

helmet has “Siefringer” stencilled on it, while a bombardier’s helmet has “Nostrand,” and a pilot’s has “Epp.” Witches Tales #7: Powellisms are everywhere in this story. On the splash page Satan is raising a flaming ghost out of a grave in the cemetery; one of the tombstones has “Nos” engraved on it, and another in the background reads “Epp.” On another page a large vampire bat is sitting on a tombstone on which is engraved “Epp 1791-1862.” Another panel shows a dark street, with the camera angle looking down past the cornice of a building; slapped on its side is a frazzled handbill proclaiming “Fun at the Strand, Nostrand, Epp, Jr.” Worlds Beyond #1: Has the initials “SRP” embossed on a doctor’s black bag. Worlds of Fear #2: Tombstone on splash panel has parts of the names Powell, Siefringer, Nostrand, and Epp on it.

Technique Often, in the course of producing a story, Powell did something out of the ordinary that added an extra dimension to the art. One example of this appeared in Joe Palooka Comics #15, which featured his oneshot fantasy strip “Atoma.” Atoma was a woman of the future, who took a young boy on a tour of her futuristic city. One unusual aspect of the story was that there were no backgrounds or incidental art in any of the panels. It was simply true fantasy, and it did not attempt reality.

“R.I.P.” Means “Ripe In Powellisms” This page contains several of the “Powellisms” Ed Lane mentions—a tombstone marked “Epp” in panel 5 (and see text at top right concerning panel 4!). Repro’d from a photocopy of the original art from Harvey’s Witches Tales #7 (Jan. 1952), courtesy of George Hagenauer. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

address my unknown caller gave me and after being admitted into the dirty backroom of a dirty shop, by a dirty character called ‘Pop,’ I was greeted by a typical comic book gangster who wasted no time in pulling out a trunk…. It was mine alright.... and in it was the brutally gashed body of my friend, Howard Nostrand.” The Shadow, Vol. 8, #11: “Nostrand” on the tombstone in the “Nick Carter” story. Also the names of Epp, Siefringer, and Nostrand are on a piece of paper. Tomb of Terror #11: Headline on a newspaper is “Epp beats Powell.” Top Secrets #7: Headline in a newspaper says “Nostrand, Epp, and Siefringer are in …. Powell dusted.” Treasure Chest, Vol. 11, #16: This one is by far Powell’s most devilish and is outrageous, considering it appears in a religious Catholic comic, in a story about a saint of the Catholic Church. One panel is the interior of a streetcar, and an advertisement plaque above the window says, “Good Old Oyster Bay” (where Powell lived)—but the advertisement next to it says “Drink Gin”! Two Gun Western #7: Barber shop sign advertising “Powell Hair Oil.”

Cry Havoc—And Let Slip The Cats Of War!

Warfront #3: In this World War II aviation story, a P-51 fighter pilot’s

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

Additionally, the paneling on the pages was laid out to form full-size numerals on each page, something I have never seen in another comic. [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Michael T. Gilbert will deal with this feature in detail, next issue.] Another of Powell’s techniques used in creating atmosphere was his use of screened blue images, which he first employed in Mr. Mystic. This is a printing plate photoengraving technique that, when printed, produces a light blue “see-through” or transparent effect. It is a technique that is very effective in simulating invisibility, which Powell utilized later on The Shadow. Other nice items to discover in Powell’s art are the relatively rare times when he casts a famous From “Airplane” To “Zeppelin” movie star in a stereotyped Bob Powell could draw aerial action with the best of them! Here is the lead splash page from The American Air Forces #5 role in a story. I have (a.k.a. A-1 #45), dated 1951—and a splash of World War I action from AAF #11 (May 1953). Thanks respectively to Seth Powell positively identified two and Jonathan G. Jensen. USAF Capt. Johnny “Jet” Powers bore the same name as the star of Jet… and indeed, AAF #5 picked stars, and they are superbly up the numbering from Jet after the latter’s #4 issue. Apparently the fighter pilot inherited the name, though the two were totally different characters. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.] done. In Dead End Crime Stories (Kirby Publishing Bend area of Texas. The time was current (1950), and along with four Co., 1949), Powell did a great caricature spoof of Edward G. Robinson constant companions (his riders) he becomes embroiled in many as a crime czar. Also, Sydney Greenstreet appeared in a story in a Cave dangerous situations from cattle rustling to tiger hunts. Everywhere in Girl comic as a crooked lawyer. When I saw this character, I immedithis comic is the gorgeous Powell Western background scenery. ately remembered his role in the movie Casablanca. So good is the likeness that I can only think that Powell had a movie still on his board In the best tradition of the Saturday matinee, western hero Bobby while working on the pages. I have spotted what I think are other had a comic sidekick called Windy Wales. Windy was in my opinion movie stars, but so far I have been unable to put names to the faces. one of the most memorable of the species. He was a lanky, bowlegged, yarnin’ (windy) galoot. One piece of trivia: on the radio show Windy Powell’s work incorporated virtually all of the comic genres, and he was played by the then-unknown comedian Don Knotts. At the time I was a master of all, as can be seen in the sections that follow, which are remember I faithfully followed both the radio show and the comic far from all-inclusive: series, and I can say with great authority that Windy, as drawn by Powell, with his fiery red hair and dishevelled appearance, caught the War Series comic-relief spirit suggested by Knotts’ voice. American Air Forces BBBBBR wasn’t too far along before a Powellism got slipped into Powell loved planes, and boy, could he ever draw them! This series the story—in fact, in issue #1, page 2, there is a freight car of the “SRP was made to order for him, and it is obvious that he put a lot of care & EPP” line sliding by. into it. The airplanes and the flying scenes are illustrated with beautifully detailed draftsmanship. The stories involved the Korean War, The Lemonade Kid which held center stage at that time. If you like planes, flying, aerial combat adventures, this is your series. It’s a continuation of the Jet This was an interesting masked hero who appeared in each issue of series #1-4, as proved by American Air Forces #5, which introduced BBBBBR #1-13. Costumed in a bright yellow and green outfit, his “Army Air Force Ace Jet Powers,” using the name of the hero from the drink was lemonade, and he was a cowboy “Sherlock Holmes” who Jet title. Powell did every issue totally, except for 6 pages in issue #7 beat the badhats as much by mental prowess as by muscle. and 7 pages in #10, which were by unknown artists. Because of his status as a hero in costume, his stories provided contrast to Bobby’s more straightforward cowboy stories. In this way Cowboy Series he could become involved with bizarre and imaginative criminals. One of his best stories, in issue #4, involved a master criminal who dressed Bobby Benson’s B-Bar-B Riders in a striking costume. Powell drew a tremendous cover for this issue This comic was a spin-off from the popular Western radio show. showing the Kid battling The Spider in his web. Bobby Benson is a teenage cowboy who owns a huge ranch in the Big

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

Just A Couple Of Kids Playing Cowboy (Left:) Art from a house ad for Bobby Benson’s B-Bar-B Riders. (Right:) The oddly-monickered Lemonade Kid fights a costumed owlhoot called The Spider. Both these Magazine Enterprises heroes were reprinted by AC. [Retouched art ©2007 AC Comics.]

Red Hawk Powell did one “Red Hawk” story in each issue of Straight Arrow Comics #2-55. In issue #1 he did only a one-page filler. In this long-running series Powell reached one of his peaks. If one considers the series as belonging to the genre of “Indian Lore,” then Powell set the standard for any artist who wishes to draw this particular genre. The stories of Red Hawk, a young Cheyenne warrior, were wellwritten, exciting, and imaginative. They were set in the American West prior to the coming of the white man, and usually pitted Indian against Indian or Indian against the environment. Most of the stories ring true because of the weaving of factual Indian lore into the plots. Because of the number of stories, it is not possible to describe all of them here. However, for those who are not familiar with the series, I will outline the following “bait stories” to hook you. All of these appeared in Straight Arrow Comics. Straight Arrow #27’s “The Claws of Death” was the first of several stories whose plots revolved around bizarre villainesses. In this issue it was panther women and men who held thrall on an isolated mesa. In #30’s “The Black Arrow of Death,” a witch-woman called Cat Eyes took her revenge by strapping victims to a large missile shaped like an arrow and catapulting them from a giant crossbow. This story was followed up in #31 with one called “The Flying Horror,” whose villainess The Flying Cat Woman fell upon her victims by gliding in an Icarus-like costume with huge feathered wings. And so it continued with “The Women Warriors” in issue #35, an Amazonian tribe who capture Red Hawk. On reading this story, my reaction to these these female warriors was “make love not war,” so well did Powell portray them.

Science-Fiction Jet As he did with stories involving aviation, Powell stood out among

An Ace In The (Black) Hole The splash page from the 1951 ME-produced Major Inapak the Space Ace. It may have been a giveaway, but there was nothing cut-rate about the art. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

Moving Clockwise At Jet Speed… (From upper left:) Jet Powers defeats the green-skinned Oriental mastermind Mr. Sinn in the lead story in ME’s Jet #1. In that issue’s third “Jet Powers” tale, he faces a super-intelligent man-sized insect from outer space (and defeats him with DDT!). In Jet #2, the white-tressed hero battles 3,000,000-year-old men… apes who serve Mr. Sinn’s henchperson Su Shan… and creatures made of living metal. Who says the life of a scientist is boring? Not when Gardner Fox writes it, and Bob Powell draws it! Thanks to Bruce Mason for the scans from Jet #2. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

artists who did science-fiction and space yarns. One reason was the excellence of his technical backgrounds; his machines were so realistic they hummed. You could hear the glassware clink in a lab scene; his spaceship interiors were functional, not just artsy busy-work. Representative works that show Powell’s mastery of this genre are Jet, Major Inapak, and Vic Torry. All were of such length that Powell could pull out all the stops and indulge in free-wheeling action scenes and vast vistas of space art— things that would be simply impossible to do in the cramped pages of a typical 4- to 8-page comic story. Jet was a short-lived (4-issue) series that related the derring-do exploits of “Jet Powers, Captain of Science.” He wasn’t exactly a costumed super-hero, but he certainly was a superdoer. In four issues of Jet he saved the Earth six times and Mars twice! These comics were definitely science-fiction, but not of the Buck Rogers variety; rather, they were set in the present with present-day technology, plus a little. Many of the exaggerated plots were not all pure fantasy, but what you might expect with only a slight surrender of one’s credibility. This type of science-fiction story, where the events depicted seem within grasp of a decade or two, definitely deserve a four-star rating. When such stories are illustrated by Powell, they are elevated to a five-star rating. This extremely well-done series is a must for any science-fiction fan, and an absolute must for any Powell collector. Major Inapak This was a 16-page, one-shot giveaway comic, total Powell, that involved a flight to the Moon to save the Earth from invaders from another world. The comic is one of Powell’s better science-fiction stories, fast-paced, with lots of action, and chock full of great space

vistas. The 16 pages gave Powell an opportunity to go all out with action and background and was undoubtedly a rather pleasant way to take your Inapak Malted Milk drink. Vic Torry and His Flying Saucer A 32-page one-shot comic, again totally Powell, that contained one complete science-fiction story. Vic Torry (the hero) uses a captured flying saucer to save the Solar System from being overrun by a Mercurian dictator. This comic had a very well-written, though not very original, plot, and some of Powell’s best art. Again because of its length, this is probably the best of the Powell science-fiction stories with imaginative, futuristic scenery and exciting camera angles. Another Powellism in this one: in one scene Vic’s plane has “SRP” on its rudder.

Crime/Mystery/Suspense The Man in Black “The Man in Black” was an outstanding series created by Powell. It spanned 21 years, from 1945 to 1966, and appeared on-and-off in various Harvey titles. In its original format it was called The Man in Black Called Fate. The character “Fate” (or Death, or Mr. Twilight, his other names) was a clever story-telling device, since he could either conveniently stand outside the story panels and narrate the plot, or he could enter the story and actively participate. The early stories were usually related to wartime aviation adventures, with Fate calling the shots in life-or-death situations. Fate’s role mellowed in later stories, where he became mainly a narrator and

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

Crime Be A Lady Tonight If The Man in Black had ever wanted a date, he’d have had to look no further than Lady Crime, who appeared in two issues of Harvey’s Kerry Drake Detective Cases, which was devoted otherwise to reprinting the newspaper strip about that hard-fisted crime-stopper. This splash is from KDDC #8 (May 1948). Thanks to Ed Lane. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Lady Crime “Lady Crime” was a robust female counterpart to “The Man in Black,” except that she represented the evil side of mankind’s nature. She was a true femme fatal, in her red French beret, red off-theshoulder dress, and absolutely white skin and hair, always with a cigarette dangling from her white lips. She was a spirit, similar to Fate, who stood outside our reality and manipulated men’s fates…. always men… and always persuading them that crime was where it was at! Note her macabre motto in the splash on this page.

Coming In On A Wing And A Powell Powell possessed the ability to seamlessly combine exciting action (plus a well-drawn early jet aircraft) with humor and caricature, as per this page likewise reprinted in the 1990 Man in Black #1. [©2007 Lorne-Harvey Publications, Inc.]

participated in free-for-all frivolity among the various cupids, goddesses, and gremlins that vexed him. These later stories also tended to lean towards ironic twists of fate that changed (or could have changed) history. An excellent in-depth review of this series appeared in Marty Greim’s Comic Crusader #17, discussing his appearances in All-New Comics #11 & 14, Front Page #1, Green Hornet #31-34, Kerry Drake #10,11, Man in Black #1-4, Terry and the Pirates #11, and Thrill-O-Rama #1-3.

The archetype of this concept of personified lawlessness was, of course, Charles Biro’s “Mr. Crime,” the ghost-white, top-hatted, fangskulled spectre who haunted Crime Does Not Pay comics, and who was finely delineated by George Tuska. Leave it to Powell, however, to provide the concept with a great sense of irony—a beautiful woman as the ultimate spirit of evil. Unfortunately for Powell fans, “Lady Crime” appeared only in a couple of four-color issues of Kerry Drake Detective Cases. This was definitely one character I wish Powell had been more prolific with.

Good Girl Art Thun’da, Cave Girl, and Africa “Good Girl Art” has always been a winning formula in comics, for obvious reasons. No better examples of that genre can be found than in the trio of ME (Magazine Enterprises) titles listed above. It’s also true

Looking Good, Girl! The artist rarely missed a chance to do “Good Girl” art—as witness this Mister Ken Doodid strip by “Aviation Student S.R. Powell” from the Jan. 26, 1944, issue of the Echo Weekly at Milwaukee State Teachers College in Wisconsin. Thanks to Seth Powell. [©2007 Estate of Bob Powell.]

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

Looking Good, Girl! – The Sequel Some of the most affordable (and mouth-watering) collections of vintage Powell art reside in AC Comics’ stillavailable run of Good Girl Comics—and its occasional specials like Amazon Warriors #1. [Restored art ©2007 AC Comics.]

exactly what they were; simply put, they were eye candy. In these stories Powell’s heroines and villainesses were all voluptuous, with a capital V. Their costumes usually consisted of imaginative bandaids! Cave Girl first appeared in Thun’da Comics #2-6 as a filler strip, and she got her own book with Cave Girl #11-14. Number 11 is total “Cave Girl,” but #12-14 each had a “Thun’da” filler strip. The one-shot comic Africa #1 should have been Cave Girl #15 but was released to say that, as in most other aspects of comic art, Powell excelled at good girl art— and how! Fans, if you lean towards bee-yoo-tee-full, ba-zoomy white goddesses swinging through the jungle wrapped in tight animal skins, then you can’t be without these comics. Thun’da #1 was total Frazetta—’nuff said. But issues #2-6 were total Powell. Cave Girl #11-14, and Africa #1 were all Powell, too, including the covers. Although Thun’da’s mate, Pha, was definitely good girl art, she played only minor roles in the Thun’da comics. So, for the edification of you slobbering fan boys, I will concentrate on Cave Girl. She was a statuesque, pneumatic, blonde Queen of the Jungle. Her costume was a striped zebra skin, which, in reality must have been made of wet silk from the way it clung to her body. Obviously the “Cave Girl” strips were designed from scratch to be Good Girl Art, and that’s

What Not To Wear – The Prequel (Left:) A fairly lurid romance splash page by Powell from a 1951 issue of Harvey’s First Love; thanks to Bruce Mason. (Right: ) But Powell couldn’t resist getting creative, even in love mags—as per this page from Harvey’s First Love Illustrated #1 (1949). The last dialogue balloon includes a line from the popular tune sung by Bob Hope and Jane Russell in their hit movie comedy Paleface. Thanks to Ed Lane. [Both pages ©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

Daliesque surrealistic panels. (See opposite page.) For many years, the romance genre of comic books was neglected or simply dismissed by the “serious” collector. Today, however, romance comics are a field of intense interest all of their own. One good reason was the revelation that they are full of “Good Girl Art,” often by the best artists in the business, such as Powell, Wood, Baker, Elias, and Kirby, to name but a few. After all, along with “Good Girl Art” came sex—and that’s always interesting. At least, that’s the way it was before the Comics Code Authority came along. The clear differences between pre- and post-Code material is an aspect of the genre that I find very interesting, and often amusing. Pre-Code romance comics were typified by explicit art and passionate, pulsating, prurient prose, all very suggestive of S-E-X, which has always been equated with “romance” by hormone-riddled adolescents.

Cupid, Draw Back Your Bow The Eisneresque “Scarlet Arrow” splash spotlights Roxanne, who was modeled after the first Mrs. Bob Powell—while the other page dramatically introduces the hero, whose shafts (unlike those of DC’s Green Arrow) were sometimes used to lethal effect! Both pages are from the same 1947 issue of Harvey’s Black Cat Comics, as reprinted in The Man in Black #2 (1991). For more on The Scarlet Arrow and Roxanne, see Michael T. Gilbert’s expanded “Comic Crypt” section, beginning on p. 46. [©2007 Lorne-Harvey Publications, Inc.]

with a new logo. This one-shot ended the careers of both Cave Girl and Thun’da, perhaps because of the pressure of the censors, as this was the first and last “Cave Girl” appearance under the aegis of that protector of youthful morals, the Comics Code Authority. Undoubtedly the art of Africa #1 was heavily edited to delete all references to sex and violence, as noted by blackened-out changes in Cave Girl’s costume, deleted spear points, and such like. The Comics Code Authority killed good comics such as these, along with the real trash.

Romance Ah, yes, Powell fans, I’m afraid our hero earned his bread and butter by doing advice-to-the-lovelorn. However, I’m also glad to report that his art was of the same high standard. In fact, many of the stories I have seen were equal to his best, if you disregard the company they are in. For example, his work in those issues of First Love Illustrated that I have tabulated in the Index are what I would call beautiful vintage Powell art. It reminds me of the great work he did for The Shadow, Doc Savage, and Nick Carter comics. Some of the characters in the First Love Illustrated stories closely resemble Margot Lane and Nick Carter (seems as if Powell was “swiping” his own stuff!). One story in FLI #1 has Powell’s special blend of serious comic art with some

Harvey reprinted its pre-Code romance comics ad nauseam after the Code, as can be seen by the listings for romance comics in the accompanying Checklist. The pre- and post-Code versions of the same stories illustrate how the Code’s censorship changes most original stories into near comedies! Typically, censorship consisted of quick, cheap, and dirty tricks, such as blacking out any exposed female skin, from skirts above the knees, two-piece bathing suits, shorts, sleeping garments, or lingerie, and breast reductions of a type that would horrify any plastic surgeon today. The dialogue boxes and explanatory notes were often heavily rewritten, often to the point of absurdity. If you are lucky enough to have a collection of Harvey romance comics, you can have hours of amusement by tabulating stories and noting the ludicrous Code changes intended to sanitize the stories. NOTE: My own more detailed POWELL INDEX, listing hundreds of comics with Powell art, is available from: Ed Lane, 11 Winchelsea Court, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971. Cost is $6.50 postpaid. For those interested in seeing Powell’s superb artwork without having to spend a fortune on back issues, I highly recommend the reprint material being published by Bill Black through AC/Paragon Comics at: www.accomics.com. See AC’s ad on p. 37. ED LANE is now retired from two professions—geologist and interior designer—but is still hard at work playing golf. It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it. He still enjoys reading his vast collection of Golden Age comics, most of which he bought off the newsstands, in another galaxy, far, far away, in another era. He recently started passing parts of his collection on to future generations via eBay; you can find them at his PedigreeCollection site. He says, “I’ve only been a good steward in preserving my books for posterity.”

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

BOB POWELL Checklist [This Checklist is adapted from information appearing in the online Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999, established by Jerry G. Bails. See p. 32 for information on how to access this invaluable website. Names of features which appeared both in comic books of that particular title and also in other comics are generally not italicized. Reprinted material is only sporadically listed—more this time than ordinarily, however, because of the voluminous Harvey romance reprints mentioned in Ed Lane’s article, which reflect instructive changes dictated beginning in 1955 by the Comics Code Authority. Some data below has been added by Bob Powell and his son Seth R. Powell, by Ed Lane and Peter Hansen—and the detailed issue-by-issue listings below in some areas are adapted from a voluminous checklist of their own sent by Alberto Becattini and Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Key: (a) = full art; (p) = pencils only; (i) = inks only; (w) = writer; (d) = daily newspaper strip; (S) = Sunday newspaper strip; (rep) reprint] Name: Stanley Robert Powell (born Stanley Robert Pawlowski) (1916-1967) (artist; writer)

Magazine Annual (Pyramid) early 1960s; Man’s World (Atlas) early 1960s; Rage (Natlus) 1961-64; South Sea Stories (Counterpoint) 1961-64; Sportsman (Atlas) early 1960s

Pen Names: Gregory Torey (house name at Brookwood/Harvey 1939-40); Terrence Macauley (house name at Quality, 1940-41); Powell Roberts; S.T. Anley; Major Ralston; Henry Ralston (?); S.R. Powell; Arthur Dean; Buck Stanley; Bob Stanley; Bud Ernest, Rex Smith; W. Morgan Thomas

Commercial Art & Design: displays for convention exhibits 1960s Other Career Notes: teacher: Pratt Institute

Education: Pratt Institute; Milwaukee State Teachers College (now part of University of Wisconsin) Member: Long Island Old Car Club (president) Books (as artist): Adolph Pupp’s Basketball Guide 1967; Picture World Encyclopedia 1959; Art Linkletter’s Children’s Encyclopedia 1961; Harwyn Picture Encyclopedia 1958; Yogi Berra’s Baseball Guide 1966; Science Is in the Air: An Inspirational Textbook Told Almost Exclusively in Pictures 1947 Trading Cards (all for Topps): penciler: “Mars Attacks” 1962, “Batman” 1966-67; penciler: trading cards “Civil War” 1962 (all painted by Norman Saunders) Magazine Illustrations: Action for Men (Atlas/Diamond) early 1960s; Action Life (Atlas) 1963-64; Adventure (New) early 1960s; Escape to Adventure (Escape) early 1960s; How Champions Play (Street & Smith) 1948; Man’s Daring (Candar) 1959-66; Man’s Magazine & Man’s

The Illustrating Man This moody illo by Powell was clearly done for a non-comics book or magazine—but which one, we’ve no way of knowing. Thanks to Seth Powell. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Syndicated Comic Strips: Bat Masterson (S)(a) 1959-60 for Columbia Features (writer: Ed Herron); D-13 (S)(a)(w?) 1939-40 for Fox Features Syndicate (rep of comic book stories); Dr. Fung, Master Sleuth of the Orient (S)(a)(w) 1940 for Fox Features Syndicate (rep of comic book stories); Lady Luck (S)(w only) 1940-41 for Register & Tribune Syndicate; Mr. Mystic (S)(a)(w on most) 1940-43 for Register & Tribune Syndicate in The Spirit section; Secret Agent D-13 (rep of comic book stories) (w)(a) 1939-40; The Spirit (S) (assist. w) 1940, some (a); (assist. a)(assist. a)(some w) 1943-44, for Register & Tribune Syndicate; Teena a Go Go (S?)(a) 1966 (writer: Bessie

This Was Sandwiched In Between Blondie And Peanuts? The subject matter of this Teena a Go Go Sunday strip may seem a bit offbeat for your average newspaper—but hey, it was the ’60s! Thanks to Anthony Tollin. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

To Languish Unseen—Till Now A daily by Powell for an unsold Nick Carter newspaper comic strip, starring the famous detective hero of the early pulps. Thanks to Anthony Tollin & current owner J. Randolph Cox. [©2007 estate of Bob Powell.]

Little) Comics in Other Media: Mister Ken Doodid (w)(a) c. 1943 weekly at Milwaukee State; various features (w)(a) for men’s magazines

(a) 1950-54; True Confidences #4 (a) 1950; True Sweetheart Secrets #4, 5 (a) 1950; Vic Torry and His Flying Saucer [no #] (a) 1950; Worlds Beyond #1 (a) 1951; Worlds of Fear V1#2, 4, 5 (a) 1952-53?; Young Marriage #1 (a) 1950

Promotional Comics: Buster Brown Comics #9 (giveaway)(a) 1945; Major Inapak, the Space Ace (a) 1951 premium for Magazine Enterprises Trading Cards: Topps – Batman cards (p), painted by Norman Saunders Comics Studio/Shop: Eisner and Iger Studio (art dir) 1938-39; Eisner Studio (w)(a) 1940; Powell Studio (head)(w)(a) late 1940s to early 1950s COMIC BOOK CREDITS (Mainstream US Producers): Archie Comic Publications: The Adventures of The Fly #3, 4 (i) 1959-60; Blue Ribbon Comics (reprint of Fly)(a) 1984; The Shield (i) 1960 Charlton Comics: cars (a) 1954, 1957; Clint Curtis (a) 1954, 1957; covers (plot, p) 1955; jungle (a) 1956; Nature Boy #4 (Pecos Bill)(w)(a) 1956; Soldier and Marine (a) 1954; The Thing! #17 (a) 1954; This Magazine Is Haunted #3-5, 11, 12, 17 (a) 1957-58; Western (a) 1955 Cross Publications: crime (a) 1950, 1954 (?); The Perfect Crime #1, 2, 4 (1949-50) DC Comics: Strange Adventures #4 (a) 1951 Dell Publications: covers (a) 1950s; Henry (p) 1961 Fawcett Comics: Battle Stories #2 (a) 1952; Beware! Terror Tales #1, 2, 8 (a) 1952-53; Cowboy Love #10, 11 (a) 1959-51, reprinted by Charlton 1955; Down with Crime #2, 4 (a) 1952; Exciting Romances #8-10 (a) 1952-53; Fawcett Movie Comics #7-8 (w/Rocky Lane, Lash LaRue, Monte Hale (a) 1950; Hot Rod Comics #1-7 (covers & stories)(a) 1952-53; Lash LaRue (a) no date; Life Story #13, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 39 (a) 1950-53; Love Mystery #3 (a) 1950; Motion Picture Comics #104, 105 (Rocky Lane, The Red Badge of Courage); On the Spot [no #] [#1](a) 1948; Red Badge of Courage (a) 1951; Romantic Secrets #5, 7, 12, 16, 17, 20, 26, 29, 33, 34, 36, 37 (a) 1950-53; Romantic Story #7, 8, 16, 20, 30 (a) 1950-53 (some reprinted by Charlton 1955); Romantic Western (a) 1949; Strange Suspense Stories #1, 4 (a) 1952; Sweethearts Diary [# uncertain] (a) 1950; Sweethearts #90, 101, 106, 107, 113, 117, V2#26

Clearly It’s Not “Take An Indian To Lunch” Week These four drawings of Western ritual torture by Powell (preserved in rare pencil form!) look as if they, too, were destined for trading cards—what used to be called “bubble gum cards,” in the days when the companies still put gum in the packets. Courtesy of Seth Powell. Our apologies to the great Stan Freberg for our caption heading. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

What a Work! V1#17; The Merry Martyr V11#11-20?) (a) 1954-56 (science, biography, and sports features) Harvey Comics: Adventures in 3-D #1, 2 (a) 1953-54; Alarming Adventures #2 (a) 1962; Alarming Tales #4-5 (a) 1958; All-New Comics #3-5, 7, 8, 13 (Man in Black Called Fate in #11, 14) (a) 1943-47; All New Short Story Comics #3 (a) 1943; Atoma (in Joe Palooka Comics #15) (w)(a) 1947; B-25 (a) no date; Babe Ruth Sports Comics #1-3 (a) 1949-50; Black Cat in Black Cat #1 (a) 1946-47; Black Cat (a) 1943; Black Cat Mystery #32-36, 40, 41, 43-53, 57, 61 (p) 1951-58 (most inks by Nostrand); Blonde Bomber (a) 1946-47; Boy Heroes (a) 1945; Captain Freedom (a) no date; Chamber of Chills #5-8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18-21, 23-25 (a) 1951-55; Chickie Ricks the Flyin’ Fool (in Joe Palooka Comics #7-10, 12, 14-17, 19)(a) 1940s, 1946-50; covers (a) 1957-58, 1965; filler (a) 1951; Dick Tracy #43, 44, 51, 101, 104, 108, 109, 145 (a) fillers 1951-61; Dotty Dripple #3 (Tommy Tween)(a) 1946; Fighting Fronts! #2, 3 (a) 1952-53; First Love Illustrated #1-5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13-17, 19-24, 26-29, 33, 35-41, 43, 45, 46, 50, 54, 55, 57, 58, 61-63, 65, 71-73, 76, & reps in #79, 82, 84 (a) 1949-58; First Romance Magazine #1-5, 7 (rep), 8-10, 14, 15, 18, 20-22, 24, 25, 28, 35 (rep), 36, 39, 40 (rep.), 42, 44, 46, 48, 49, 51 (a?p?) 1949-57; Flash Gordon #2, 4

Kenya Dig It? Nope—we couldn’t do it! We couldn’t get through an entire Bob Powell Checklist without including another “Sheena” page. This one’s from Jumbo Comics #21 (Nov. 1940). Funny—Ye Editor was in the Mount Kenya area in 1994, and didn’t see anything remotely resembling her—except Dann, of course! Thanks to Jonathan G. Jensen. [Sheena TM & ©2007 Paul Aratow/Columbia Pictures.]

Feature/Crestwood: Black Magic V7#6, V8#1-5, cover V8#1 (a) 1961; Sick (a) 1960-67, 1980, (art director some years) (a)(some w?); Sick #12 cover Fiction House Comics: covers (a) 1940; Fight Comics #7 (cover), #11, 12 (Spencer Steel)(a) 1940-41; Gale Allen (a) 1940-41; Inspector Dayton (a) 1939-40; Jumbo Comics #2 (Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy), #2, 3, 5-28 (Sheena); #15-17, 19 (covers), #22 (Inspector Dayton) (a) 1938-41; Jungle Comics #5-9, 12-14 (Camilla), #7, 8 (covers), #11, 12, 14 (ZX-5), #11-13, 22 (?) (Inspector Dayton) (a) 1940-41; text & illustrations (w)(a) early 1940s under name “Buck Stanley”; Planet Comics (Red Comet in #3-5; Gale Allen in #4-6, 8, 10; Capt. Nelson Cole in #7, 8; Auro, Lord of Jupiter [no date?])(a) 1940-41; Sheena, Queen of the Jungle #1 (a) 1942; various features (w)(a) 1942-43; ZX-5 (a) 1939-41 Fox Comics: Blue Beetle (Yarko rep in 2 issues), #5 (Dr. Fung)(a) 1939-40; Dr. Fung (in The Flame #3) (w)(a) 1940; Fantastic Comics #2, 3 (text illustrations) 1940; Mystery Men #1-20 (D-13), #24; Samson #16 (Samson in #1-6, Dr. Fun in #2)(a) 1940-41; Secret Agent D-13 (in The Green Mask #3 (w)(a) 1940 (syndicate rep); various features (w) 1939-41, written for other artists (remembered by Pierce Rice); Wonder Comics #1, 2 (Dr. Fung)(a) 1939; Wonderworld Comics (K-51 in #3, 13; Yarko the Great in #4; Dr. Fung in #5?) (a) 1939-40 George A. Pflaum: Treasure Chest (text illustrations V9#19, V10#11;

“My Husband, The Cat!” Maybe we should’ve attached a “spoiler warning” to this final page of that Powell story from Harvey’s Black Cat Mystery #43 (April 1953)—but we already printed its splash page back in A/E #11, and some folks have been waiting since 2001 to see how it turned out! Repro’d from a photocopy of the original art, courtesy of Paul Handler. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

Holy Bazooka, Batman! (Left & above:) At the height of the Batman TV craze, Powell penciled a series of trading cards for Topps Chewing Gum; these were then painted by wellknown pulp & magazine artist Norman Saunders. This bat-sampling is courtesy of Seth Powell. Roy Thomas, who wrote the text for the backs of some of the series, feels fortunate to have had a chance to work with Bob Powell, thanks to his friend Len Brown, then a young exec at Topps. [©2007 DC Comics.]

“Shock” Illustrated Waiter, There’s A Fly In My Comic Book! Though Joe Simon & Jack Kirby created and developed The Adventures of The Fly, Powell was on the scene by #3 (Nov. 1959) to draw this story. The first four issues were collected in a nice trade paperback in 2004. [©2007 Archie Comic Publications, Inc.]

(Left:) This Powell-drawn “Shock Gibson” story from a Golden Age Harvey comic—be it Speed, All-New, or Green Hornet—was reprinted in 1990 in black-&-white in The Man in Black #1. [©2007 Lorne-Harvey Publications, Inc.]

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

Black Cat #5-6)(a) 1947; Sharp Stuff the Judge (a) no date; Shock Gibson (a) 1947; Shocking Tales Digest #1 (rep) 1981; Speed Comics (Ted Parrish #1-11; covers #1, 6, 7, 8, 10-12, 38; Black Cat #27, 28; Shock Gibson #32, 34; Captain Freedom #38; Johnnie Upbeat #43, 44) (a) 1939-47; Speed Taylor (w)(a) 1940 (imprint: Worth); The Spirit of ’76 (a) 1941-44, 1946-47; Super Luck (a) 1966; Strange Story #1 (Man in Black) (a) 1946; Sweet Love #3, 5 (p) 1950; Ted Parrish (w)(a) 193940 (imprint: Worth); Teen-age Brides #1, 2, 3, 6 (p) 1953-54; Terry and the Pirates (Tommy Tween in #5-10; Man in Black in #11; Plane Talk in #12, 14-17) (a) 1947-79; Thrill-O-Rama #1-3 (a) 1954; Thrills of Tomorrow #17, 18 (rep)(a) 1954; Tomb of Terror #1, 3-5, 9-16 (p only on most) 1952-54; True Bride-to-Be Romances #17, 21, 23, 24, 29 (a) 1956-58; True Love Problems and Advice Illustrated #1, 4, 11, 19, 20, 27, 34, 40-42 (a) 1949-51; True 3-D #1, 2 (a) 1953-54; War Battles #1-3, 5, 7 (a) 1952-53; Warfront #1-6, 9-11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 25-28, 30, 31, 34, 36, 38 (plus #12, 13, 15 w/Nostrand) (a) 1951-58, 1965; War Victory Adventures #2-3 (Chickie Ricks) (a) 1943-44; The Weaver (a) 1966; The Whistler (a) no date; Witches Tales #1, 3-7, 10, 11, 14, 17, 19, 27, (#14 & 17 w/Nostrand)(a) 1951-54 Hastings Associates: Eerie Tales #1 (a) 1959 Health Publications: Panic [no number, rep in V2#10, 11 (art dir.)(a) 1958-59, 1965 Hillman Periodicals: Airboy Comics (V7#2-3, V8#1, 6, & 10) sports fillers (a) 1950-51; All Sports #2 (a) 1948; All-Time Sports Comics V2#5 (Tiger Town)(a) 1949; crime (a) 1949-50; Crime Detective Comics #10, 11 (a) 1949; Joe College #1, 2 (a) 1949-50; Perc, Private Eye (a) 1940s; Real Clue Crime Stories V4#11 & 12, V6#5 (1950, 1953); Real Sports #1 (a) 1948; Western (a) 1950 Holyoke Publications: Ted Parrish (w)(a) 1939-40 [also listed under

Undersea, No One Can Hear You Scream When Powell needed to tell a story in pictures, with few or no words, he was more than equal to the task—as in “Devils of the Deep” in Harvey’s War Battles #1 (Feb. 1952). Thanks to Heritage Comics’ archives & Dominic Bongo. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

(Stories behind the Stars)(a) 1950-51; Flip #1-2 (a) 1954; Flyin’ Fool (w)(a) 1946-48; Front Page Comic Book (Man in Black)(a) 1945; Glowing Gladiator (in Double-Dare Adventures #1)(a) 1966; Green Hornet (a) 1946; Green Hornet Comics (Spirit of 76 in #7-18, 20-25, 27-33; Blonde Bomber in #22-24, 32, 33, Man in Black Called Fate in #31-33)(a) 1942-46; Green Hornet Fights Crime (Man in Black in #34, Blonde Bomber in #34, Spirit of 76 in #34-37, Shock Gibson in #37, 38)(a) 1946-47; Harvey Hits #6, 12 (a) 1958; Hi-School Romances #13, 58, 8, 12-16, 18, 21-23, 25-27, 30-34, 36, 37, 39, 45-48, 50-52, 57, 58, 60, 64, 65, 67, 69 (a?p?) 1949-57; Hi-School Romance Datebook #1 (p?a?) 1962; Humphrey Comics #1-3 (True-Thrilling Sport Short) (w)(a) 1948; Joe Palooka Comics #7-10, 12, 14-17, 19, 26-45, 47-53 (a) 1946-52 (some w/Nostrand); Joe Palooka’s Battle Adventures #68, 7073 (w/Nostrand), 75 (a) 1952-53; Kerry Drake [Detective Cases] #6, 8 (Lady Crime), #10 (Man in Black), #11-13, 28, 29 (Kitty Carson), #22 (Jackie Page), #28 (How Good a Detective Are You?) (a) 1948-52; Landor, Maker of Monsters (w)(a) 1939-40 (imprint: Brookwood); Li’l Abner #61, 65 (a) 1947-48; Love Lessons #2 (p) 1949; Love Problems (p) 1949-51; Major Inapak the Space Ace (a)(giveaway) 1951; The Man in Black #1-4 (Man in Black & The Weaver), covers for #1-2 (a) 1957-58; The Man in Black Called Fate (a) 1945-48, 1966; Pocket Comics #1-3 (Spirit of 76)(a) 1941-42; Race for the Moon #1 (a) 1958; Ripley’s Believe It or Not Magazine [no number] (a) 1953; Romance Stories of True Love #45, 46, 48-51 (a) 1957-58; The Scarlet Arrow (in

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The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

3-D Or Not 3-D—That Is The Question These two pages from the b&w 1990 reprint The Man in Black #1 were originally printed as one page in a mid-1950s Harvey 3-D comic. If you covered the green lens of your 3-D glasses, you saw one story—if you covered the red lens, you saw the other. Nice gimmick, huh? Oh, and if you covered both lenses, you didn’t see anything. [©2007 Lorne-Harvey Publications, Inc.]

Stories #4 (a) 1950; Golden West Love #13 (a) 1949-50 Lev Gleason: crime (a) 1955; Red Fire (a) no date

Harvey] I.W./Super Publications (all reprint): Blazing Sixguns #18 (Red Hawk)(a) 1964; Dream of Love (rep of ME’s Dream Book of Love)(a) 1958; Foxhole #15, 16 (a) 1964; Great Western (rep Red Hawk)(a) 1958; The Gunfighters (rep Red Hawk)(a) 1964; Jet Powers #1, 2 (rep Jet Powers)(a) 1958, 1964; Mike Battles, Marine Corps Pilot (a) 1964; Red Hawk (a) 1958, 1964; War Story filler (a) 1964 Kirby: Dead End Crime Stories [#1, no number](a) 1949; Golden Love

A Giant Find! From off the Internet, collector George Hagenauer sent us this scan of a (colored!) model sheet penciled and inked by Bob Powell in 1964 for his re-design of Giant-Man's costume. See pp. 42-44 for more on Powell's short Marvel sojourn. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Lorne-Harvey (reprints of Harvey material): Black Cat #8 (Blonde Bomber)(a) 1992; The Man in Black #-2 (rep Man in Black in both, Johnnie Upbeat & Shock Gibson in #1, The Weaver, Spirit of ’76, & Scarlet Arrow in #2); The Silver Scream #1 1991; Totally Rad Tales (a) 1992; War Sirens and Liberty Belles #1 (a) 1991

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

1955; Astonishing #34, 38, 43, 44, 48, 62 (?)(a) 1954-56; Battle #53, 55 (a) 1957; Battlefront #19, 21, 25, 29, 32, 40, 47 (a) 1954-57; The Black Rider Rides Again #1 (a) 1957; Blonde Phantom #12 (Mr. Wu)(a) 1946; Captain America #57 (p?i?) 1946; Combat Casey #29-31, 34 (a) 1956-57; Cupid #2 (a) 1950; Daredevil #9 (p)(w/layouts), #11 (p) 1965; filler (p) 1955; G.I. Tales #6 (a) 1957; Giant-Man (in Tales to Astonish #65-67) (a) 1965; horror (a) 1949, 1953-55; Human Torch (Human Torch in #16)(a) 1944, (Sub-Mariner in #36)(a) 1954; Human Torch & Thing (in Strange Tales #130-133) (p) 1965; The Incredible Hulk (in Tales to Astonish #73-74) (p) 1965; Journey into Mystery #20, 27, 30, 32, 34, 43 (a) 1954-57; Journey into Unknown Worlds #42, 44, 53, 54 (a) 1956-57; Justice #43 (a) 1954; Kid Colt Outlaw #75 (a) 1957; Kid Komics #6 (Tommy Tyme), #10 (Jap Buster Johnson)(a) 1944-45; The Kid from Texas #1 (a) 1957; Loveland #2 (a) 1950; Lovers 27, 30 (a) 1950; Love Romances #37 (a) 1954; Love Tales #45 (a) 1950; Marines in Battle #10 (a) 1956; Marvel Tales #133, 136, 137, 145, 146, 150, 154 (a) 1955-57; Menace #11 (a) 1954; Mr. Wu (p) 1946; mystery/occult (a) 1959; My Own Romance #14 (a) 1951; Mystery Tales #21, 29, 37, 38, 47, 48 (a) 1954-56; Mystic #52, 54-56 (a) 1956-57; Mystical Tales #1, 4 (a) 1956; Navy Action #1 (a) 1954; Navy Combat #20 (a) 1958; romance (a) 1951, 1954; Police Action #7 (a) 1954; Quick-Trigger Western #14 (a) 1956; Sgt. Barney Barker #1 (a) 1956; Six-Gun Western #3 (a) 1957; Spellbound #19, 20, 32 (a) 1954-57; Sports Action

What’s Black-&-White And Red All Over? We’ll confess it—Ye Editor loves Powell’s The Avenger almost as much as his “Sheena” and Cave Girl! This restored splash appeared in AC’s black-&-white The Avenger #0 – Special Ashcan Edition. [Retouched art ©2007 AC Comics.]

Magazine Enterprises: The Adventures of Robin Hood #7 (a) 1957; Africa #1 (Cave Girl & Thun’da)(a) 1955; American Air Forces #5-12 (a) 1951-54; The Avenger #1-4 (a) (cover only on #1) 1955; Best of the West (Bobby Benson in #1; Red Hawk in #12)(a) 1951, 1954; Bobby Benson’s B-Bar-B Riders (Bobby Benson #1-13, Lemonade Kid #1-13, Ghost Rider #1-12, Red Hawk #13-16, covers #1-8, 10, 12)(a) 1950-52; Cave Girl #11-14 (a) 1953-54; covers (a) 1950-54; Danger Is Their Business #11 (a) 1952; The Dream Book of Love #1 (a) 1954; Durango Kid #18 (a) 1952; Great Western (rep) 1954; Home Run #3 (a) 1953; I’m a Cop #1-3 (a) 1954; Jet #1-4 (Jet Powers)(a) 1950-51; 1950-52; Lemonade Kid (a) 1950-52; Major Inapak (a) 1951; Red Fox #15 (a) 1954; Red Hawk (a) 1950-53; Red Hawk #11 (a) 1953; Riders (a) 195052; Straight Arrow (fillers #1, 6; Red Hawk #2-55; Bobby Benson #13, 15) (a) 1950-56; Strong Man #1-4 (a) 1955; Thun’da (a) 1953-55; Thun’da, King of the Congo #2-6 (covers, Thun’da, Cave Girl); Undercover Girl #6, 7 (cover a) 1954; United States Marines #5-7 (a) 1952-53; various features (w) 1950-56; war (a) c. 1950-56; Western (a) c. 1950-56 Marvel/Timely Comics: adventure (a) 1950; Adventure into Mystery #1, 4 (a) 1956-57; All-Select Comics (Human Torch in #2, 3)(p)(inks by Allen Bellman) (Sub-Mariner in #4-5)(a) 1943-44; All Winners Comics [first series] (Captain America in #3, 4, 8,19)(i) (Copertina in #5)(i) 1943-44; All Winners Comics [2nd series] (Sub-Mariner in #1)(p) 1948; Amazing Comics #1 (The Whizzer)(a) 1944; Apache Kid #14 (a?p?)

Unless You’ve Been Living In A Cave… Hey, we said “almost”! This page from Cave Girl #13 (a.k.a. A-1 Comics #116) displays a bit less of our half-clad heroine than some. But we couldn’t miss a chance to repro it from a photocopy of the original art, courtesy of Ed Lane. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

#2 (a) 1950: Strange Stories of Suspense #8, 16 (a) 1956-57; Strange Tales #36, 42, 44, 49, 51, 52, 54, 64 (a) 1955-58 (plus 1965 penciling of super-hero features, listed separately), cover of #131 (p); Sub-Mariner (in Men’s Adventures #27) (a) 1954; Strange Tales of the Unusual #1 (a) 1955; Sub-Mariner #26 (a?p?i?) 1948; Suspense #1 (a) 1949, 1957; Tales of Justice #54, 60 (a) 1955-56; Tales of the Marines #4 (a) 1957; Tales of the Watcher (p) 1965; Tomb of Darkness #17 (rep)(a) 1974; Tough Kid Squad #1 [part] (a) 1942; Two-Gun Kid #38, 102 (a) 1957, 1972 (latter is rep); Two Gun Western #7, 11 (a) 1956-57; True Adventures #3 (a) 1950; True Western #2 (a) 1950; Uncanny Tales #12, 18, 34, 36, 38, 43, 50, 56 (a) 1954-57, 1957; Vault of Evil (rep)(a) 1974; Venus #8 (a) 1950; war (a) 1954-57; War Comics #31, 41 (a) 1954-56; War Is Hell #1 (rep)(a) 1973; Weird Wonder Tales #3, 7 (rep)(a) 1974-75; Western (a) 1950,

They Call It A Teenage Crunch Bob as a teenager in the 1930s—and a page from the teen humor comic he drew (and wrote) for Myron Fass/Country Wide in 1966-67. This splash is from the third issue of Henry Brewster, one of many Archie wannabes that have crowded the newsstands over the decades. Thanks to Jim Ludwig for the art scan, and to Seth Powell for the photo. [Art ©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

1954-56; Western Gunfighters #22, 23 (a) 1956; Western Gunfighters [2nd series] #11 (rep)(a) 1972; Western Outlaws #1, 3 (a) 1954; Western Thrillers #4 (a) 1955; Wild Western #50, 51 (a) 1956; The Witness (a) 1941-42; World of Fantasy #4-6 (a) 1956-57; World of Mystery #1, 4 (a) 1956; World of Suspense #6 (a) 1957; Worlds Unknown #4 (rep) (a) 1973; Wyatt Earp (a) 1957; Young Allies (Tommy Tyme in #13, 17) (a) 1944-45 McCombs: filler (w)(a) 1949; romance (a) 1949 Myron Fass Enterprises/Country Wide: Henry Brewster V2#1-7 (in all?)(w)(a) 1966-67 Parents’ Magazine Press: True Comics #80 (incl. cover) [& other issues?] (a) 1947-48

Don’t Get Your Tentacles In An Uproar During the mid-1950s Timely/Marvel super-hero revival, Powell drew two “Sub-Mariner” tales, starting with Men’s Adventures #27. This octopoid splash is from Human Torch #36 (April 1954); the Namor figure on this month’s A/E cover is from the same story. Original art from these two sunken sagas was seen in A/E #22 & 35. Scripter unknown, but probably not SubMariner creator Bill Everett. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Pierce Publishing Company: Frantic V2#1 (a) 1958-59 Prize Comics: All for Love V3#2-3 (a) 1957; Going Steady V3#4 (A) 1960; Personal Love V3#2 (a) 1959; Young Love V3#5, V4#3, 6, V5#1, 4, 5, V6#1-6, V7#1 (a) 1960-63; Young Romance V13#1, 6, V14#2, 4, V15#1-5, V16#1-4 (a) 1961-63

One Of The Most Skilled And Prolific Of Golden Age Artists

Quality Comics: Betty Bates (in Hit Comics #4)(a) 1940; Crack Comics #1 (a) 1940; Lee Preston (a) 1940; Loops and Banks (in Military Comics #1-13)(a) 1941-42; Smash Comics #11-12 (Abdul the Arab) (w)(a) 1940-41 Spin Shaw (in Feature Comics #29-37, 63-73)(a) 1940, 1942-43 St. John Publishing: Amazing Ghost Stories #15 (a) 1954; Approved Comics [Crime on the Run] #8 (a) 1954; crime (a) 1954; Nightmare #13 (rep)(a) 1954; Tor 3-D #2 [2 editions] (a) 1953 Street & Smith Comics: adventure (a) 1948-49; Bill Barnes (in Air Ace V2#7 & 8, V3#47)(a) 1946-47; Buffalo Bill Picture Stories #1, 2 (a) 1949; covers (a) 1947-49; Doc Savage (a) 1947-49; Don Quickshot (a) 1949; Ghost Breakers #1, 2 (covers), #1 (Dr. Neff), #2 Ghost Breakers #2 (a) 1948; Nick Carter (a) 1947-49; Red Dragon Comics [series 2] (Dr. Neff, the Ghost Breaker V1#2, 3; Col. Tim McCoy V1#4; Red Dragon V1#5; The Magic Tassel V1#7; covers V1#3, 5, 7)(a) 1948-49; The Shadow Comics (covers V6#12, V7#1, 3, 4, 6-12, V8#1-12, V9#1-5; The Shadow V6#12, V7#1, 3, 4, 6, 11, 12, V8#1-3, 5, 7, 8, 12; Nick Carter V7#1, 3-6, V8#12; You Won’t Believe It—But V7#1 [also (w)]; Parson Pete V7#3;

Portrait Of The Artist As A Storyteller Powell drew himself (in two panels on this first page) narrating the “Loops and Banks” story in Military Comics #10 (June 1942). Thanks to Al Dellinges. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

A Shadow Of His Former Self (Above:) A spot illo of Lamont Cranston, one of The Shadow’s many alter egos, from 1946—the post-WWII period of digest-sized pulps. (Right:) Powell’s rough sketch for a Shadow Comics cover—juxtaposed with the published cover that most resembles it, that of issue #72 (a.k.a. Vol. 6, 12) for March 1947. Somebody figured it’s always a good idea to toss in a dame! Thanks to Anthony Tollin for the scans. [©2007 Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc./The Condé Nast Publications.]

The Peerless Power Of Bob Powell

“Z” Is For Ziff-Davis (Left:) Powell also did a bit of work for Ziff-Davis’ comics line, under editor Herb Rogoff… including this splash for Weird Thrillers #3 (JanMarch 1952), repro’d from Herb’s bound volumes. Rogoff was interviewed in A/E #42. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

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Doc Savage V7#4, 6, 7, V8#12 (a) 1947-50; Top Secrets of the FBI #110 (The Shadow & crime stories #1-10; covers #1-3, 5-10); True Sport Picture Stories (Slewfoot Jones in V3#10, V4#1-4, 6-8, 10-12, V5#1, 2; covers V3#11, V4#3-7, 9-12)(a) 1947-49 Toby Press: Great Lover Romances #8 (a? uncertain) 1953; Soldier and Marine Comics V1#11 (a) 1954; Tommy Tween (a) 1948 Trans-World Publications: horror (a) 1948; Mysterious Traveler #1 (a) 1948 Youthful: Super Western Comics #1 (1950) Ziff-Davis Comics: Baseball Thrills #2 (a) 1951; Eerie Adventures #1 (a) 1951; Football Thrills (a) 1951; G.I. Joe V2#7, 8, 11, 16 (a) 1952; He-Man #1 (a) 1952; horror (a) 1952-53; Paul Bunyan (a) 1952; science-fantasy (a) 1951; sports (a) 1951; Tops in Adventure #1 (1952); war (a) 1952-53; Weird Thrillers #3, 5 (a) 1952

The Flyin’ Fool Cover Art How A Long-Neglected Powell Illustration Was Restored—And Finally Published! by Roger Hill

’ve been doing my own art restoration for over twenty years now and find it to be most rewarding. It can also be very frustrating and time-consuming, but is always worth the effort in the long run. It’s a proud accomplishment when you can take a dirty, scuffed-up, stained page of old original comic art and return it to a state very near its original condition. Every piece of art is different, of course, and has its own unique problems, which must be solved during the restoration process. Since I collect many older comic covers from the 1940s and 1950s, I’m almost always faced with replacing the title logos and other, smaller cover stats or blurbs that have fallen off over the years. This is also true with interior pages that have lost a pasteover word balloon or lettering of some kind. These things are minor obstacles and can usually be overcome quickly by locating a copy of the comic, and using that image to work from. Once you’ve scanned or re-photographed the logo off the comic, it’s just a matter of blowing it up to the correct proportion in size to the original art, then cleaning it up and eliminating the color residue to convert it back to a black-&-white image. This clean-up process can be done by various methods; one of the most accepted these days is using a computer with Photoshop capabilities. If you have the patience and skills to use the process, you can produce a title logo that looks just as good as the original. The logos are usually the easiest thing to deal with. The other things like paper-loss, rubber cement, coffee stains, tears, dirt, grime, warping, etc. are another matter, indeed. By at least replacing a title logo when it’s missing, I feel it’s a worthwhile contribution to the overall look and survivability of any comic cover. If you don’t replace the logo, then you have to live with a bad glue stain, which can be very distracting from the overall beauty of the piece. I have collected Bob Powell original artwork and his published work in pulps, comic books, magazines, and wherever else I could find it, for over thirty years. I consider him one of the greatest and most prolific comic artists ever to have worked in the genre. He had a unique style, unlike anyone else I can think of. His work may not demonstrate the power and forcefulness of Jack Kirby, or a fine line delineation of Lou Fine or Frank Frazetta, but two things he was capable of: he could draw anything required of him and make it look easy, and he could visually tell a story ten times better than many of his peers. Because of his heavy output during the early to mid-1940s, I’ve always thought of him as one of the fastest artists in the business and certainly one of the most easily identified styles in comics. It was during the 1987 Chicago Comic Con that I first saw an original piece of cover art by Powell that I didn’t recognize. I knew it had to be a piece of Harvey Comics art because, at the time, a lot of 1940s art had been turning up out of the Harvey warehouse deal. The Harvey warehouse inventory of artwork was originally purchased by Steve Geppi and Harry Metetsky and was beginning to make its way into the hands of collectors all over the country through different dealers. I was a bit disgusted when I first saw this original, because the entire upper third of the piece was only a huge rubber cement stain where the title logo had been. As much as the art itself appealed to me, I was not familiar with the characters portrayed in the image. So I knew right away that tracking down the comic was going to be a little

First Glimpse Of A Flyin’ Fool Roger Hill writes: “This is the cover as it looked when I first saw it, with bad glue stain at upper logo area. Note [the] ‘P’ in lower right-hand corner—odd way for Powell to sign something, but then, Harvey didn’t allow some artists to sign their work.” All art accompanying this article was provided by Roger, except where otherwise stated. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

more difficult than usual. Another problem was the white-out on the piece. Powell was known to be a heavy user of white-out paint to more or less smooth out rough edges, or to make last-minute changes, before he turned a piece of art in to the publisher. The white-out on this cover was flaking off rather badly, too. But that’s never been a problem for me to replace. A steady hand and a number 2 sable brush will do it every time. Fortunately, when white-out flakes off a page of art where it’s been for over forty years, it leaves a track you can follow in order to lay it right back down again. This cover also didn’t sport the usual “Powell” signature seen on a lot of his work, but instead just a “P” placed in the lower right corner, also applied with white-out. It was also beginning to flake-off. The art

The Flyin’ Fool Cover Art

Victory Adventures #2, dated August 1943, drawn by Powell. This was followed by his second appearance in #3; then he wasn’t seen again until All-New Comics #7 (March 1944). After brief appearances in All-New #13 (July-Aug. 1946) and a 2-page text story in #14 (Jan.-Feb. 1947), he finally wound up being serialized by Powell in Joe Palooka #7 -#25 (except for #15, which had his “Atoma” one-shot story instead).

The Flyin’ Fool’s Test Flight A half-page Harvey house ad from Speed Comics #43 (May-June 1946). Note the Flyin’ Fool cover next to one for Black Cat Comics at right. Harvey had quite a lineup in those days, including Stuntman and Boy Explorers and occasional other features by the Simon & Kirby team! [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Along with his letter, Ed also sent me a Xerox copy of the story from Joe Palooka #8 (Feb. 1947). The interesting thing about this particular story is that the scene depicted on my cover actually appears in this story. In the story, Chickie Ricks actually gets nicknamed “The Flyin’ Fool” because he maneuvers his plane—an Australian-built Bristol 152 Beaufort—close enough to strike and kill “Tatar,” yet not injure “Maylene.” It’s also very apparent in this story that Chickie Ricks has just met up with his old Marine buddy “Gootch.” During the final panels of the story, they decide to gang up with “Maylene,” who has become Chickie’s newfound girlfriend. So, this appears to be an introductory story for leading off the “Flyin’ Fool” series, and the Flyin’ Fool comic book. Not having seen the stories that preceded this one, I can’t be positive about it. But that was my theory.

was what I would call a basket case, but I couldn’t pass it up. Even with all the problems it had, I couldn’t walk away from it. I considered it a real challenge and knew that, if I walked away from it, it might never get restored. So I paid the dealer’s price and took it home. Naturally, the first thing I did with the cover when I got home from the convention was to throw it in a drawer and forget about it for six months. But eventually I dug it out and began researching the piece, which led me to pull out a copy of Ed Lane’s Bob Powell Index. Ed Lane, for those who might not know, is probably the world’s foremost authority on Powell’s work in comics, magazines, gum-cards, and everything else. Looking through his invaluable index and checklist, I spotted several war or aviation comic titles on which this cover could have been used. Because the art was signed with a “P,” I suspected Powell had drawn it sometime in the mid-1940s. I say that because most everything I’d seen by him from about 1947 on was boldly signed with his full last name. Since this was in the days before Ernie Gerber came out with his Photo-Journal Guide to Comic Books, I wasn’t having much luck finding this cover on a comic. After going through everything in my collection, I decided to send a letter off to Ed Lane, along with a Xerox of the cover art. Shortly afterward, his response arrived back in the mail and informed me that the unidentified art was the cover of an unpublished Harvey comic called Flyin’ Fool Comics. As Ed explained in his letter, this cover was first advertised by Harvey in several house ads. He even sent me a Xerox copy of the house ad from Joe Palooka #6 (Oct.-Nov. 1946) and told me the ad had run in issues #6 through #9, and in various issues of Green Hornet. Later, while digging through my own collection, I found an earlier-dated house ad for that issue in Green Hornet #30 (May-June 1946). This helped me with my bestguess of when Powell might have drawn the cover. I eventually concluded it was between late 1945 and early 1946. Ed identified the characters on the cover, whose names I had not heard before. They consist of the pilot Chickie Ricks, his bumbling sidekick Gootch, and Maylene, a beautiful outlaw who lived in an Oriental country near Tibet. The Cossack-looking villain on the horse, with his rope around Maylene, is “Tatar the Terrible.” Further research revealed that the “Flyin’ Fool” had first debuted in Harvey’s War

Grounded! The first page of the “Flyin’ Fool” story from Joe Palooka Comics #8 (Feb. 1947). This story was doubtless originally intended to be printed in Flyin’ Fool #1. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

A Long-Neglected Powell Illustration

For reasons we may never know, Harvey decided to shelve the Flyin’ Fool comic, and run the stories in Joe Palooka instead. More than likely, the Flyin’ Fool comic became another victim of wartime paper rationing that definitely played havoc with production schedules and new title development at Harvey Publications during World War II. As you can see from the house ad reproduced here, the original cover art had never gotten past what I would call the “semi-mocked up” phase. That is, other than the title logo itself, no other paste-ons, such as issue number, date sticker, price tag, etc. had been put on. So the question became: should I just replace the title logo and leave it at that? Or take it a step further and try to visualize what the cover might have looked like had the editors at Harvey finalized the logo paste-ups? I decided on the latter. To imagine just what this final cover might have looked like, I went back through my collection and studied the cover logo designs to various issues of All-New Comics, Black Cat, Dick Tracy, Green Hornet, Joe Palooka, and Speed Comics dating between 1943 and 1948. In doing so, I discovered several commonalities between the different titles—one of them being that Harvey titles usually featured, as part of the logo, a head shot or full figure shot of the main character or lead hero inside the comic. This was no doubt Harvey’s way of assuring their young buying audience of easily spotting the comic buried among hundreds of other titles on the newsstands. Even if a young child couldn’t read the title of a comic, he’d be sure to recognize an image showing Joe Palooka or Green Hornet. Some of the earlier Harvey covers even boasted about what issue number they were. The blurbs “1st Great Issue,” “2nd Great Issue,” “3rd Great Issue,” etc., were used on different titles, along with the usual 10¢ price tag and Harvey emblem. I liked the emblem, which showed an “H” within a circle of lettering that spelled out “Harvey Publications,” with little marks that looked sort of like pointed wings on each side. The title logo was the most meticulous work involved on the whole restoration project. First, I made an enlarged Xerox copy of the mocked-up “Flyin’ Fool” cover from the Harvey house ad. Since there was just enough of the cockpit of the airplane showing in the house ad, this allowed me to gauge what the size of the original logo had been. Once I knew that size, all other elements or paste-ons could be estimated in relation to it. Next, I enlarged the image of the “Flyin’ Fool” logo from the first page of the story in Joe Palooka #8 to a matching size of the house-ad enlargement. After this, I was ready to go in and begin the clean-up work. I knew the original lettering for the cover might have been hand-drawn, or a good black-&-white stat. Either way, the new logo had to be crystal-clear as far as the linework went. Since this was in the days before computer technology and PhotoShop, I spent about eight hours doing everything by hand, cleaning up the logo with white-out and ink and touching up and eliminating any color residue and graininess present from the comic book. Thank goodness, next to the “Flyin’ Fool” logo in Joe Palooka #8, Powell had drawn a cute little head-portrait of Chickie Ricks. It was exactly the image I needed to enlarge and fit next to the logo on the cover. I’m sure Harvey’s production people would have used this character image in the upper left hand corner on the cover. So I spent more hours cleaning the color residue out of the portrait of Chickie, and positioned it where it should have gone. Next I dug around in my files of stats and Xeroxes and came up with a good clear image of the cover to All-New Comics #7, which a fellow art-collector owned and had sent me years earlier. From this I was able to convert the “7th Big Issue” lettering into “1st Big Issue” without too much difficulty. Also, on the All-New cover, the lettering of “Comics” seemed to be very close to the lettering shown in the Flyin’ Fool house ad, if not exactly the same. So I borrowed that, along with the “featuring” lettering at the top. I liked the idea of having the

character’s name running across the top of the cover, as Harvey had done on many of its titles. I still needed the lettering of “Chickie Ricks” which would follow the word “featuring.” Finally, after looking through later issues of Joe Palooka, I found the perfect style and size required. A little more clean-up work, and I was just about ready to go. The ten-cent price sticker and Harvey colophon were both borrowed from the original cover art to Black Cat #11 by Lee Elias, which a friend of mine owned and provided. Now all that was left to do was to give the art itself a general cleaning-up. Since only small pieces of Powell’s original white-out were missing, it wasn’t too difficult to go in with some fresh white-out and replace it. All the lettering and other bits and pieces which I had cleaned up were now ready to go to the photographer. I had a new Photostat shot of my final paste-up, which I then stained slightly to give an “aged” appearance, before finally mounting on the cover art. Then, a few final touch-ups with brush and black ink in a couple of worn spots, and the cover was completed. All said and done, the Flyin’ Fool cover had cost me about 15 hours of labor and $15 for other expenses. Not too bad for transforming what was once a dismal-looking piece of art into something I could proudly frame and hang on the wall. Shortly after this restoration was completed, in January of 1989, I heard about Eclipse Publications making plans to bring out a reprint comic featuring a special selection of previously-unreprinted Bob

The Flyin’ Fool Cover Art

“1st Big Issue”—In More Ways Than One The finished product! Below: Bob Powell’s cover for Flyin’ Fool Comics #1 as it was, says Roger, “when I got done working on it.” On the right are a couple of the “logo parts” he used to help him replace the missing blurbs, publication information, etc. (from Joe Palooka #8 & All-New Comics #7, respectively) —while at lower right is the cover of Eclipse’s 1989 one-shot Bob Powell’s Timeless Tales, which utilized the fully restored art! Thanks to Ed Lane for the Timeless Tales scan. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Powell stories from the 1940s and 1950s. Being the big Powell fan that I was, and also being curious about what they had lined up for the project, I called Eclipse and talked with Editor Cat Yronwode about it. She told me at the time they had several great stories lined up, all shot from the original art, but were in a dilemma over the cover. No one seemed to have anything available that they could use! Ah-hah! My timing couldn’t have been better. When I informed Cat that I had just completed restoration on what could very well be the only unpublished 1940s Bob Powell cover still around, she practically fell over from shock! I was more than happy to send her a full-size black-&-white Photostat image of the cover. Naturally, the Flyin’ Fool logo area was dropped out from the art image for use on their new reprint comic, which came out later that year with the title Bob Powell’s Timeless Tales. And it looked great! I must confess something, though. Before I sent that Photostat off to Eclipse, I changed one thing on the stat, which was not originally there, and probably would not have been included if Harvey had

printed the cover. At the last minute, I decided to add Bob Powell’s classic “Powell” signature down in the lower right corner of that cover, covering up the “P.” I never quite understood why Powell would sign something with just a “P,” anyway, and I never saw him do that on any other published covers during his long career at Harvey or elsewhere. The editors at Harvey didn’t allow a lot of their artists to sign their names to their work. There were exceptions, of course, such as Alex Schomburg, Lee Elias, Al Avison, and others. For some unknown reason, Bob Powell didn’t get to draw a lot of covers for Harvey Publications, and the few he did did not have his signature on them. I think most of us who collect and appreciate the artists of the Golden Age don’t have a problem identifying the work of this very fine and prolific artist. We never really needed Powell’s signature to know who drew it. For me, his work was always unique and stood out on the comic racks of America, with bold depictions of action and adventure, with heroes and cowboys and Indians and spacemen and monsters and… well, I think you get the point. He could draw anything and make it look real. Judging from the amount of work he produced during his thirty-year-plus career, he must have been a workaholic. Or, even more likely, he probably just loved his job. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.

Bob Powell: A Brief Stopover In The Marvel Age The Golden Age Virtuoso Never Quite Found His Footing In The “House of Ideas”

by Nick Caputo

ob Powell was an extremely talented and versatile artist who had been in the business since 1938, drawing war, Western, crime, horror, and super-hero features with a unique flair. He worked in the EisnerIger studio, notably on “Sheena,” and for Eisner on the comic strip Mr. Mystic. Powell also worked for Harvey Comics (e.g., on “The Man in Black”), at Magazine Enterprises (The Avenger, et al.), and drew effective, atmospheric covers for Street & Smith’s Shadow comic book. In the mid-1940s Powell opened his own studio. In the 1950s he worked on many short stories for Stan Lee on Timely’s genre books, and even drew two “SubMariner” stories. In late 1964 Powell returned to the newly christened Marvel Comics, where editor Stan Lee gave him jobs to pencil and co-plot. It appeared as if Powell would be firmly embedded in the Marvel line-up, but circumstances turned out quite differently. Powell had a distinctive style; he produced strong layouts and drew expressive characters. One important ingredient was missing, though: at Marvel, Powell was not inking his own work. Powell had used uncredited inkers in the past, but this had been under his own supervision. At Marvel, practically everyone had a crack at inking Powell, and his pencils suffered from the erratic results. Powell took over the “Giant-Man” feature beginning in Tales to Astonish #65 (March 1965), which debuted “The New Giant-Man.” Stan Lee never seemed to get a grip on that character and made another attempt by giving Hank a cybernetic helmet and a slightly different costume to spice things up. [NOTE: See Powell’s model sheet on p. 33. —Roy.] Lee apparently had (excuse the pun) high hopes; the credit box read: “Produced by Marvel’s newest creative team.” Don Heck inked the strip, and while his work was distinctive, it was incompatible with Powell’s design and inventive layouts. Powell had a strong sense of perspective, which made the adventures of a character who had the ability to change size exciting, and his use of multiple panels was different and effective. Surprisingly, he was able to present a very menacing, ugly spider, which grew in size and threatened a normalsized Henry Pym for several pages. This was quite a feat under the then-powerful Comics Code. It was a promising debut for the ailing strip.

One Giant Takes On Another The lead tale in Tales to Astonish #66 (April 1965) was perhaps the most artistically successful of “Beamin’ Bobby Powell’s” five “Giant-Man” forays. Not only did he deliver a nice splash-page schematic, but, thanks to Frank Giacoia’s faithful embellishing, Madame Macabre more nearly resembles a classic Powell female than anything else in the artist’s short Marvel sojourn. All Marvel art accompanying this article is from black-&-white Essentials volumes. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The “Giant-Man” story in Tales to Astonish #66 opened with a wonderful splash page of the hero viewed through two floors of a building, fixing a rooftop antenna. Frank Giacoia (under the pseudonym “Frankie Ray”) inked this issue, and his crisp lines were complementary to Powell’s style. The latter’s use of multiple panels and busy pages continued, although the story, featuring a minor-league female Mandarin named Madame Macabre, was less than compelling. Powell’s (and the series’) final three “Giant-Man” adventures were weakened considerably by incompatible inking. Neither Chic Stone (Jack Kirby’s primary inker in this period) nor Vince Colletta nor John Giunta (his only work at Marvel, I believe) added anything to Powell’s art. Lee scripted all but the final tale, which was penned by Al Hartley. What appeared to be a strip for which Powell was ideally suited never got off the ground. Perhaps, with time, Powell and Lee might have found their way, but “The Sub-Mariner” replaced Hank Pym in Tales to Astonish, and somehow Lee and Powell never seemed to mesh.

Bob Powell: A Brief Stopover In The Marvel Age

When the Fab Four Met Half Of The Fantastic Four (Above:) We’ve always wondered—-did Marvel get formal permission for Powell to pencil the phenomenally popular Beatles in Strange Tales #130 (March 1965), or did Stan Lee simply assume they could be depicted because of their supercelebrity status? Of course, not many years later, Paul McCartney mentioned Magneto and Titanium Man in a song… and didn’t we hear that Smilin’ Stan himself is doing something-or-other with Ringo Starr, even as we speak? Inks by Chic Stone. The photo of Stan is from Marvel Tales Annual #1 (1964.) [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.] (Right:) Bob Powell did a more faithful rendition of the Liverpool lads in one of his Teena a Go Go strips from the 1960s. Thanks to Anthony Tollin. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Powell concurrently drew “The Human Torch and The Thing” strip in Strange Tales, beginning with #130 (March ’65), the infamous “Meet the Beatles!” story. Powell was again burdened with revolving inkers: Chic Stone, Dick Ayers, Mike Esposito (as “Mickey Demeo”)—-for a whole two issues—-and, finally, a teaming with the great Wally Wood. Unfortunately, these stories were even less compelling than GiantMan’s, which isn’t saying a lot. Lee, along with Larry Ivie (in Strange Tales #132), turned in pedestrian stories with the likes of The Mad Thinker and The Puppet Master. Powell’s final “Torch and Thing” story was his best, enhanced by the inking of Wally Wood, whose lush lines added luster to Powell’s pencils. Powell seemed to be cursed with working on strips that were headed for cancellation. Both “Giant-Man” and “The Human Torch and The Thing” were gone in the same month, replaced by “Sub-Mariner” and “Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD.” Powell was again teamed with Wally Wood for three issues of Daredevil. He began penciling over Wood’s rough layouts, with Wood then inking (Daredevil #9, Aug. 1965). While Wood’s style is strong, there is a good sense of Powell throughout the book, and the team turned in a suitably moody job in a tale that featured knights and castles.

Men Without Peer After three Daredevil issues fully credited to him, Wally Wood (seen in 1977 photo) decided to work with another penciler on the mag… though whether the particular addition of Powell was suggested by Wally or by Stan Lee is unknown. In their last of three teamings, in DD #11 (Dec. 1965), “Bobby Powell” is duly listed as penciler… but Stan, who’d been promoting Wally as a Marvel star for the past year, cannily laid out the credits so that his and Wood’s names appeared in tandem. The cover of this issue of A/E, of course, shows how an all-Powell Daredevil might have looked. Thanks to Richard Pryor for the Wood photo. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Golden Age Virtuoso In The House Of Ideas

Krash! Bamm! Pow—ell! (Above:) Powell’s penciling over Jack Kirby’s layouts for the first and last pages of the “Incredible Hulk” 10-pager in Tales to Astonish #74 (Dec. 1965). With thanks to John Morrow and the Kirby estate. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The following two issues had Powell providing layouts over Wood finishes (#10) and finally doing complete pencils, with Wood inking (#11). These changes were more than likely due to Wood’s growing dissatisfaction with his lack of compensation for plotting stories. Towards the end of his run, Wood was relegated to inking, until he left Marvel to work for Tower Comics. Powell did a fine job on the sightless hero, but he was gone after Wood’s final issue. Powell had a concurrent gig on “The Incredible Hulk” strip (Tales to Astonish #s 73-74, Nov.-Dec. 1965), but this time he worked over Kirby layouts and under Esposito inks. Perhaps Lee was attempting a last-ditch effort to get Powell to adapt to the Marvel method. Powell had written as well as drawn in the past, and perhaps his ideas were not on the same wavelength as Lee’s. Whatever the case, comics dated December 1965 would be Powell’s last for Marvel. Gene Colan and John Romita returned to the fold, and adapted quickly to the Marvel method. Lee worked comfortably with both men for many years. Nick Caputo grew up in the Marvel Age. At an early age he discovered a paperback edition of Jules Feiffer’s The Great Comic Book Heroes and has been fascinated with the history of comics ever since. He has a good eye for identifying art styles and has contributed greatly to the Grand Comic Book Database, among other places. His articles have appeared in Comic Book Marketplace, The Jack Kirby Collector, and of course Alter Ego. He has been tolling away for many years on a book analyzing the early days of Marvel Comics.

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THE POWELL FAMILY ALBUM!

by Michael T. Gilbert et’s begin with this tongue-in-cheek Bob Powell biography—by Bob himself! This originally appeared in Sick #42 (Feb. 1966).

Who Was Who In 1945 Ed Lane has ID’d most of the following Golden Age heroes in the 1945 drawing on the facing page: Maylene (a “Dragon Lady” type in early “Chickie Ricks” stories)… an unknown masked swashbuckler (anybody recognize him?)… The Scarlet Arrow (from early Black Cat)… probably Banks Barrow (aviator in bkgd., USMC pilot from “Loops ’n’ Banks” in early Military Comics)… diminutive professor who hosted an educational series on “The Human Body” in Treasure Chest… Susan (sometime love interest) & The Spirit of ’76 from Green Hornet… The Man in Black… Sheena (’nuff said!)… Powell’s infant son John (see p. 50 for details) Abdul the Arab from early Smash Comics… Black Cat… Chowderhead (red-headed comic relief) & Mr. Mystic, both from the latter feature. [Characters TM & ©2007 the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Next we have a letter from Mr. Powell’s first wife, Mrs. Florence Feustel, (originally Florence Marie Dzimian from Buffalo, New York). She was briefly Mrs. Bob Pawlowski, before the name change to Powell. They divorced in 1960. Dear Michael, John did say that you would contact me in reference to Bob Powell. Let me think back and see if I can be of any help, as after all these years I have a dim memory of many things past. Bob and I were friends in high school in Buffalo, NY. He was a big man on campus as a football player and in ice hockey. After that we had no contact the four years of college. Bob attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. I resided in Buffalo, and in the late ‘30s his comic strip Mr. Mystic appeared in the Buffalo Evening News. [MTG NOTE: Mr. Mystic actually appeared slightly later, as a back-up feature in Will Eisner’s first Spirit section on June 2, 1940.] At the time Bob was working for Will Eisner in NYC. We met again in 1941, married and moved to Williston Park, L. Is. [Long Island], NY. Bob worked for Will Eisner commuting to NYC. When World War II broke out Bob was getting a bit old, A picture-perfect Christmas, starring Bob, Florence, Rob, and John Powell age 25, for the Air Corps, which he preferred, so he enlisted (at bottom of photo), taken in 1946. in the Air Corps in 1942. His basic training was in Mississippi?? There on to Milwaukee for Navigator training not remember) mailed story lines which Bob illustrated in between and a commission. There to Santa Ana, Calif[ornia], for more training. flying time. Again, I have no recollection of the comic books. Next move to San Antonio, Texas, where he instructed Navigation to Bob ended his service career in Idaho, discharged Oct. 1945. cadets, including black cadets. While in Texas the publisher (who I do Used VA money to buy a house in Williston Park, L.I. There was a studio upstairs where he and two assistants drew comic books. We had a house built on Laurel Hollow, L. Is. And moved in in 1949. Bob had a separate studio, with 2 assistants, drawing comic books until 1959. Of course, I do not remember any titles. Bob was interested in cars. Besides a Jeep we had a “Siata,” an Italian sports car. [It was] uncomfortable and unreliable. For transportation we had a station wagon [Studebaker] to haul kids and dogs around. We had a 1920 “Model T” Ford which preceded the 1909 “Hupmobile” in the antique category. Bob belonged to the “L.I. Antique Car Club,” and the “Sports Car Club Of America.” He had a Porsche that he drove in the Bridgehampton, L.Is. Race track. [MTG NOTE: Son Robert recalls that Bob’s race was actually at the Suffolk Air Force base.] The Bridgehampton race track was established by Bob and several other sports car enthusiasts. My favorite car was the 1955 Ford “Thunderbird” which we had for several years. Sorry I have no memory of comic book titles Bob drew. Good luck in this venture. Best wishes, Florence Feustel

“That old gang of mine!” The Bob Powell studio on Long Island, looking at the splash to the 1951 Magazine Enterprises comic American Air Forces #5. [Clockwise:] Howard Nostrand (leaning over), George Siefringer, Marty Epp, and Bob Powell (seated).

In a letter to Seth Powell a few years back, Bob’s colleague Will Eisner mentioned Mrs. Feustel, recalling how Bob once “brought ‘his girl’ (later his wife) to the studio. I remember her as red haired and very pretty.” Indeed she was. According to their sons, The Scarlet Arrow’s beautiful lover Roxanne was based on her.

The Powell Family Album!

(Above:) Bob, age 14, circa 1931. “Baseball and hockey were his universe as a kid,” says son John. “He had an offer to play hockey professionally.”

(Top:) Bob and his beloved Siata. His interest in cars came in handy illustrating Fawcett’s Hot Rod Comics! (Seen at right is the cover of issue #4, Aug. 1952.) Directly above is a photo of Powell racing his Porsche 356 (lucky #26) at Suffolk Air Force Base in 1954. [Art ©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

(Left:) Previously-unpublished drawing featuring The Scarlet Arrow and Roxanne. They debuted in Black Cat #5 (April 1947), and made one final appearance the following issue. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Bob and Florence’s marriage produced two bouncing baby boys— Robert R. Powell (born in August 1942), and John Douglas Powell (in September 1945). The previously-unpublished group drawings here and on our intro page were both done in 1945, featuring Powell’s newest creation, son John (he’s the one wearing diapers!).

Who Was Who In 1945 – Part II In 1945 Bob drew two group-shots featuring some of his most famous characters. It was believed that the one below was done to mark the birth of John, born in 1945 (note the lucky baby drawn next to The Black Cat!), with the second version belatedly commemorating Rob’s birth in 1942.

Robert made a career as a Navy carrier pilot, while John was a successful copywriter, commercial illustrator, and producer of TV ads. As you can see from the picture of the aircraft on the facing page, John inherited some of his dad’s considerable drawing skills! What follows are some of their slightly-edited e-mails, in which they share memories of their father.

However, John Powell recently spoke to his mother, Florence Feustel, who says that Bob had been negotiating for a proposed newspaper strip, the premise being the adventures of a child who interacts with comic book characters. It was a frustrating experience, with Bob drawing and redrawing numerous versions at the editor’s request. Ultimately the deal fell through.

[2/2/05, from John Powell]

Another version of the picture appears on our introduction page. Both were done in full color, and appear here for the first time. It’s interesting to see The Scarlet Arrow among the group, as his first published appearance was in 1947—meaning that Bob Powell developed the character at least two years before publication! Perhaps it was another strip he’d hoped to sell? [Sheena TM & © 2007 Paul Aratow/Columbia Pictures; Mr. Mystic TM & ©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.; other characters TM & ©2007 the respective trademark and copyright holders.]

I’ve read with great interest and appreciation all your input and desire to write about my dad, Bob Powell. As I have told my halfbrother Seth, you fellows probably know more about him than I do, although I sat 5 feet away from him “slaving” away on grunt work in the studio that was in our home. He started me on very basic things around the age of 11 (according to my mother), since he realized I had a tiny bit of talent and would continue in some type of creative field. Eventually he had me tracing “swipes” for the Topps cards,

Gentlemen:

The Powell Family Album!

various comics, and the pulp magazines. He even let me do some penciling and develop ideas. Attached are some things you may not know existed. The first is a bound book that combines much of 1941’s chapters of Lady Luck by Ford Davis, The Spirit by Will Eisner, and of course Mr. Mystic by Dad signed as W. Morgan Thomas, then a combination of names, and finally just S.R. Powell. The 17" x 7.5" compilation for my birth in 1945 shows all his characters at the time. He may have done something similar for my older brother. The other is a personal favorite, The Scarlet Arrow and Roxanne. My mother was the model for Roxanne. If there are any questions, I might have the answers, so please do not hesitate to write and I look forward to whatever you produce. He died too young and before this type of art was truly important. It would break all of your collective hearts to know how much material was thrown out, used as packing material, or even flipped over so I could draw on “big” paper.

Like father, like son! John also started his career as an illustrator, and as a gift drew the RA5C Vigilante piloted by his brother Rob. “Have you seen any of John’s work?” asks Robert. “He’s got the talent genes!” [©2007 John Powell]

I have the original studio shots of him with his 3 assistants and other photos if you need other images. I may be offering the book for sale but want to check out the market for such things. Sincerely, John

[NOTE: Later, John decided to keep the book in the family. Smart move!]

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

[2/3/05 from John Powell] Gents, Some history as I remember... this will probably come in pieces so I hope you will indulge me. Mike, you asked what I thought of Dad’s work and that is very easy for me to answer since I was in awe of what he did. Being a budding (and stumbling) artist myself, I often stood behind him waiting for my next set of orders and would grin ear to ear watching what he did to empty boxes on those huge sheets of illustration board. The whole process amazed me, and when Marty Epp or Howard Nostrand were in residence it was even more fun. Even while I did the grunt work of cutting boards down from their huge delivered size (from Lewis Artists Materials) or the dreaded ZIPTONE [sic] applications, I never thought what this would mean one day. Beyond the experience of knowing what to do, the discipline he instilled has served me throughout my own career as an art director. He also was FAST. I learned quickly that he not only demanded accuracy but speed. If I didn’t erase a page properly after inking, I would find it back on top of the heap of pages along with pointed comments. I actually hated erasing those big pages...hey! I was just a kid. Somewhere in the 60s he discovered some new type board that was chemically treated and supposedly would do away with ZIPTONE. You would brush on this dreadful smelling solution and there would be the dots. Another solution produced lines. Another crosshatching. The brushes had to be cleaned in a special solution and at day’s end it was my job to clean ALL the brushes, even though the guys would clean them as they worked. Joey Simon and Dad had started Sick and were absolutely thrilled with what they wrote and drew. I thought it was a dreadful ripoff of Mad and made the mistake of saying so. I think he had me do a lot of extra work for days after that and he made sure I worked on every page of whatever Sick issue was going on that week.

The Powell boys at John’s daughter Erin’s wedding, Sept. 2006. From left to right: Seth, John, and Rob.

Craftint paper had shading hidden in the paper, made visible by a liquid that smelled like rotten eggs. Powell used this technique on this drawing from Harvey’s The Man In Black #1 (Sept. 1957). [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

The Powell Family Album!

Bob wrote and drew Mr. Mystic under the pen name “W. Morgan Thomas” originally as a back-up feature in the Will Eisner Spirit Section. The 16-page comic book supplement appeared in Sunday newspapers throughout the country. This bound volume contains strips from 1941. Man, how cool is that! [Mr. Mystic ©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.] Bob colored this car using colored ink. [©2007 Estate of Bob Powell.]

He had an old surplus metal file cabinet that was loaded with swipes. Things from magazines he thought would be relevant and could be traced into the appropriate project. The best files were from those old “pulp” mags of semi-naked women. It was my job to keep those files neat and current as they were used a lot. I took special care after work with those lovely b&w images of those wanton women. On occasion he would hire models and would also do some photo shoots on his monthly trips into NYC. He had one of the first Polaroid cameras, which saw a lot of use. One thing that stuck firmly in my teenaged brain: he would lament the fact that he didn’t believe he could do anything with color. He really struggled with that and was never happy with the final product. But boy, could he draw. What a draftsman. All for now. If you have any specific questions, Rob or I can hopefully fill you in. Best regards, John

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

[2/3/05 from Robert Powell] John, One of our “problems” was by the time we were old enuff to be aware of what we were doing, the glory days of comic books were fading if not gone. Boy, do I remember scrubbing those boards with those big, green Eberhard erasers and cleaning up all the “lint.” You have a better insight into a lot of what he did, as he was proud that you wanted to be an artist and he taught you. Me? I was a pilot wannabe from the beginning. Even as little kids my drawing efforts were three-view style (but good), while you were into perspective and shadowing. Ah, the swipe files. I honestly don’t remember the semi-nekkids; his own work was more than enuff for my pubescence. Used his technique of soft pencil over the backside and traced the drawing over the years meself. The wartime issues of Flying I have still have, various pages covered in graphite. Your comments on color are interesting. Even at the height of the comic book “factory” it was all black and white. He did do a small painting of an old black man late in life just for the fun of it. He did do some car paintings in colored ink. The one I have is attached. I don’t think he was into photos until he was doing magazines. He started with Unc Hooley (Hewlett Treadwell, a talented amateur photog) doing shots for him. Then Polaroid instant became available

Bob wasn’t satisfied with his use of color—not that you could tell from this lovely World War I illo (which we can only print in black-&-white, unfortunately). [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

The Powell Family Album!

and he used that. Somewhere I have the original of my airplane models posed on sticks that he turned into a color painting. Once he was in Roslyn, you and I were his models. Things like charging across the yard wearing pots or Kyle’s toy helmet until we became a charging platoon. I was usually in gym shorts (so he could use my musculature—those were the days). Once I (with John?) pulled on a rope tied around a tree in five different ways until I was a group dragging a cannon out of the mud. The neighbors thought we were crazy. We probably were, but what fun! Cheers, Rob [12/28/06 from John Powell]

John says this early-’40s picture with Robert was one of Bob’s “absolute favorites.”

I think you have as much from me as I remember as to particular work, but maybe I can pass along what it was like being around the studio and actually working there as a kid. I believe kids never know their parents as well as their friends and peers do, and I’m sure that is my situation, but hopefully there is a personal touch here no one else could ever know. He had a pretty strict regimen at the Laurel Hollow house and would be at the board as early as 6, take a break around noon to grab a quick lunch, and then take a nap for 30-45 min. I don’t think he did that when Howard Nostrand or Marty Epp were in the studio, but those naps were sacrosanct and God forbid I or my pals were allowed to play outside those bedroom walls. He always had on classical music, which brought my appreciation for that at an early age, plus he would take the occasional pot-shot out the studio windows at the “tree rats” (grey squirrels) that got too close, or the annoying crows that landed nearby. I don’t think he ever killed a crow, but he was pretty good with an old automatic .22 against the squirrels. Both Rob & I were put to work early, but my jobs consisted of erasing pencil after pages were inked, finding swipes from his vast reference collections, and when I got older doing some rough penciling (more like tracing stuff from

those swipes), blocking out frames for pages, cutting in “ziptone,” and general all-purpose grunt work. I spent more time working there than my big brother, as I had a lot more interest in drawing and little did I know that all that discipline and getting things right the first time (and quickly) would be of such incredible value in my own career as an art director, writer, and eventually creative director in the ad world.

At 4 he would allow himself a first cigarette and at 5 I would build him a Dewars & water (with a twist) that would take him through till he took off his green-eye shade, washed out his brushes and pens, and clicked off the fluorescent light that was covered with black ink and white paint, since he would sometimes dab his brushes there till he felt the “weight” was right. It was amazing to watch him work, and after he left the studio at 6 or 7 I would putter around cleaning up and sitting in his big, worn wooden chair with its paint-spattered arms and tatty pillow. There was an aroma to that studio I will never forget. Of all the work I did, I best remember working on the little drawings that went on the back of Topps baseball cards, his passion for Sick and all that was put into those pages, a football book for Frank Gifford (whom I got to meet... big thrill), and a baseball book. Also a strip that never sold called The Boatwrights that had characters modeled after friends and the private beach we had at our disposal. There were many happy visits to Joey Simon on the Sick collaboration, and I felt like quite the adult with them both and admired their deep and long friendship. Of course, like anything long gone I wish I had kept those boards (from Lewis Artists Materials, NYC) that he let me do my drawings on after the pages came back from the printer. They were just more garbage to him, but some remarkable comics and illustrations were tossed away over the years. Many of these were his illustrations for the pulp magazines that are rarely discussed in the bios I’ve read. Some of that work was truly great illustration and there are very few of those around. I look forward to seeing AE #66 and what you have added to his legacy. Sincerely, John

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Bob married his second wife, Bettina Hollis, on September 30th, 1961—a marriage that would last until his tragic death six years later. Bob had one adopted child, Kyle, and one by birth, Seth. Here are brief comments from both. [6/14/06 From Kyle Hayward Powell] Dear Michael, Seth told me a bit about your project and that I might hear from you. Have you been working on this tribute long, and who else have you been in touch with? After all this time, I find your idea to be both intriguing and a little exciting. Just to give you a small perspective, I’m 48 now and my dad died just a month after my tenth birthday and about 6 weeks before Seth was born. My memories may be a bit fuzzy, but I’d be happy to share them with you. The attached JPEG is a picture of me with my dad on a friend’s boat on Long Island Sound in probably 1964 or 5. I’m afraid I’ve changed considerably. My work as a photographer keeps me busy during the afternoons and evenings, so late at night and mornings are usually my best times to do computer work. Thanks for your interest. I’ll look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Kyle Seth Powell was born on Nov. 14, 1967. Tragically, he never knew his father, who passed away just weeks before his birth. Since then, Seth has become a devoted fan and the unofficial “keeper of the flame” for his father’s legacy. Professionally, he sells and promotes biodiesel fuel. [8/25/06 from Seth Powell] If any of my brothers can shed light, it will be John. John, as a kid/teenager actually “worked” in the studio with him doing odds and ends. He will soon turn 59 to my junior 37....

One thing that truly amazes me is the amount of people out there that admire his work. For me, I am just a novice. There are many people out there that know more about our father’s work than we do. So we will always listen, read, and help, so we/I can learn more. I truly like hearing from people who actually worked with him. So far the only two that I have heard from directly are Will Eisner (whom I think he had a falling out with) and Joe Simon, who was truly a friend. Joe has been very kind, as has his son Jim. I have an 8-year-old son that gets a kick out of telling his friends that his Granddad drew Batman. [MTG NOTE: The Topps Batman cards in the mid-1960s.] Spider-Man is his favorite, and I believe Stan Lee and my father collaborated on some comics in the ‘60s. I would like to get to a comic book convention to meet some of these people, but I don’t know where to start. It’s a learning curve! [9/7/06 from Seth] Greetings Michael, I thought the obits might be of interest. Dad was born October 6, 1916, and died on Sunday, October 1, 1967, at home in his own bed of cancer. My mother and he celebrated (probably not much celebration) their 6th anniversary on September 30, 1967. I was born November 14, 1967.

Bob and Kyle Powell around 1964.

You’ll notice 3 names in the obits. Rob, John, and Kyle. Rob and John are his boys and my half-brothers from his first marriage. Kyle is my half-brother on my mother’s side whom he adopted, or at least gave his last name to and considered one of his own. Dad’s first wife is still alive and a very active 84. My mother is a very-very active 73. [MTG NOTE: Mrs. Feustel turned 89 last August, and Mrs. Lussier turned 75 in July.] In the event of a more complete bio of Dad, I am sure they would contribute some neat stories. Joe Simon wrote of Dad in his recent book, I am sure you are familiar with it. Recently I have been in touch with Jim, Joe’s son, about doing some more Powell stuff. Do you happen to know these gents? More to come when I can get to

The Powell Family Album! Two Powell obituaries. The photo had also appeared earlier in Bob’s Sick magazine interview, reprinted on page xx.

it. Take care thank you again, Seth And, finally, Roy Thomas forwarded me this letter from Bettina Lussier, Bob Powell’s second wife, dated Dec. 18, 2006. Dear Roy— It has been so many years since I was married to Bob Powell and it was only a sixyear marriage because of his death from pancreatic cancer. At the time he was trying to establish himself in the field of illustration (early 1960). This, of course, was because TV was usurping the popularity of comic books. Bob had a most important quality—one I see lacking in so many creative people who try to be “free-lance”—and that is a disciplined work habit. He stuck to the routine of starting work in his studio about 5:30 or 6:00 AM each day. He would draw until noon and take a lunch break, which included a “Bloody Mary.” He followed with an hour’s nap and then returned to the studio until 6:00-7:00 PM. He loved classical music and was always tuned in to WQXR in NYC while he worked. I remember the occasion of his telling Joe Simon of his impending death due to the cancer and responding to Joe’s sadness by saying, “It’s OK, Joe! Life’s a great big beautiful balloon (very popular song at the time) and I hate like hell to see it burst.” He faced death without self-pity and he died the day after our 6th anniversary and 7 weeks before Seth was born. Bettina Lussier Mrs. Lussier’s final paragraph says volumes about her late husband. I can’t think of a more fitting ending to our Powell Family Album. Our sincere thanks to John, Rob, Kyle, and Seth Powell. We’re especially grateful to both Mrs. Feustel and Mrs. Lussier for providing us with an invaluable glimpse into Bob Powell, the man and the artist. The family’s generosity in sharing these rare photos and the unpublished art in this article is also greatly appreciated.

Till next time... Next Issue: Still More Unpublished Bob Powell Photos & Art! Be here! And check out my website at: www.michaeltgilbert.com or

“Make Mine Magazine Management!” The Good Ol’ Days At MARTIN GOODMAN’s Colorful Magazine Empire by David George

A/E

EDITOR’S INTRO: On the day in early July 1965 that I went to work for Stan Lee at Marvel, I had never heard the very phrase “Magazine Management.” Probably few people had, if they didn’t either work for that organization or have some sales connection with it. But, by the 1950s, that had become the overall name for the publishing company owned by Martin Goodman, which included the Timely (and later Marvel) comic books, but, far more importantly to him, a sizable group of men’s adventure, confession, crime, movie, cartoon, “girlie”-photo, and even crossword puzzle magazines whose cover prices (and thus potential profits) dwarfed those of “funnybooks,” even by the mid1960s when Lee, Kirby, and Ditko had revitalized the line. Sometime in the first year or so I worked for Stan, I recall being told (by whom, I don’t recall) that the comics represented at most one-third of Magazine Management’s value. Who’d have guessed then that, less than a decade later, Marvel Comics would bestride the comic book world like a four-color colossus… while most

Isn’t Anyplace In New York City Safe? David George (above)—and (at right) an early-1950s pic of Martin Goodman, founding publisher of Timely/Marvel and its umbrella company Magazine Management. Some felt that, with his silver hair, Goodman strongly resembled actor William Boyd, a.k.a. Hopalong Cassidy. The recent photo of David was taken by Bill Aguilera; that of MG was supplied from Male [magazine], Vol. 3, #10 (Oct. 1953), by Stan Taylor. Juxtaposed are two MM covers with May 1967 dates: For Men Only, Vol. 14, #5… and The Amazing Spider-Man #48. The former is by Mort Künstler, who went on to achieve fame as a painter… while the latter, drawn by rising comics star John Romita, introduced a new and younger Vulture to torment Marvel’s most popular hero. [For Men Only cover ©2007 the respective copyright holders; comic art ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

“Make Mine Magazine Management!”

of those “real” magazines were in the process of disappearing forever from the face of the Earth? Even so, the non-comics part of Magazine Management—a sizable dog which was not yet being wagged by its four-color tail—has a rich history of its own, one that both intersects with Marvel’s and is, in its own way, just as fascinating. Some time back, through Gary Friedrich (who worked for both the comics and magazine branches of “MM” at one time or another), I re-established contact with a talented and amiable MM editor I’d known slightly during my time at Marvel: David George. David agreed to scribe some memories of his Magazine Management days for us, and sent some mags and photos to illustrate his reminiscences. I haven’t been able to resist adding a bit of personal commentary to the accompanying pics and artwork… and David and I hope the combination will add appreciably to the picture of pioneer comic book publisher Martin Goodman and his color-splashed kingdom. —Roy.

Welcome To Martin Goodman’s World It was a warm, humid day in June when I climbed the subway steps and made my way west up 59th Street. The year was 1964 and I was headed for 625 Madison Avenue and the offices of Magazine Management. It had been an eventful year, or as author Jon Margolis, former political reporter for the Chicago Tribune, referred to it in his book, The Last Innocent Year, “the beginning of the ’sixties.” It was the year the Civil Rights Act became law. Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston. China tested her first atomic bomb. The US Surgeon General warned against cigarette smoking. Nelson Mandela began serving a life sentence for opposing Apartheid. Honda diversified into car production. A World’s Fair opened in New York’s Flushing Meadows. Chemotherapy was first used in the treatment of cancer. The Berlin Wall went up. Liz Taylor married Richard Burton. Timothy Leary set out on his psychedelic journey. And the Beatles arrived in America. While young men started burning their draft cards, rioting black men set fire to neighborhoods, and women began to wonder if the male sex was their oppressor, I hurried up 59th Street to keep my own date with destiny. As I neared the corner of 59th and Madison, a pigeon indiscriminately deposited its finest droppings on the sleeve of my new, olive-green lightweight summer suit. “It’s good luck,” Noah Sarlat responded as I sat in his office a few minutes later, chuckling good-naturedly while I rubbed furiously at the black-and-white splotch with a wet paper towel. Noah was one of two editorial directors at Magazine Management. I had interviewed with him following a cold call I’d made on the advice of my friends Bob Shea, who had been an associate editor with me at

Sarlat, Stag, Sin, And Soldiers

Fawcett’s True magazine, and Larry Shaw, an editor at Lancer Books.

(Left:) This 1951 paperback, issued by Goodman’s Lion imprint, announced inside that its text was “taken from full-length articles that originally appeared in Male, Stag, and Eye magazines. Not one word has been censored from the magazine pieces that startled Americans from their lethargy in the face of syndicated crime.” Noah Sarlat is credited within as “editor of Male and Stag”; he was also editor of the paperback line. The “71” beneath his cover byline represents a sequential numbering device (similar to that of the comics) to help distributors and retailers track new releases and newsstand returns… while Eye was originally one of MM’s cheap photo mags loaded with “girlie” shots. The Lion paperback line was discontinued in 1956, when Goodman dissolved Atlas Distributing so the rest of his output, including the comic books, could be handled by American News Company—only to see ANC close down its national periodical distribution division six months later, nearly spelling an end to Goodman’s empire. Thanks to Michael Feldman for much of the above info. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

“I don’t have anything at the moment,” (Right:) In the early 1960s, editor Sarlet presented Mort Noah had Künstler’s original cover painting for the Dec. 1961 issue advised me of Stag to Gen. Curtis LeMay in the latter’s Pentagon over the office. The accompanying story had been titled: “The phone, “but I American General Russia Fears Most—Air Force Chief of suspect there Staff Curtis LeMay.” [Photo ©2007 the respective might be an copyright holders.] opening any day now.” And sure enough, a few weeks later, following the resignation of a young associate editor, Noah called me in for an interview and promptly hired me.

The men’s magazine department was split up into two divisions, with the associate editors divided into two separate “bullpens” of six each, plus one secretary. Noah headed up my group, which consisted of Stag, For Men Only, Complete Man, Action for Men, and Sportsman. The other group was presided over by Bruce Jay Friedman and included Male, Men, Man’s World, and True Action. There were other titles published from time to time, including so-called “annuals” twice a year. These annuals consisted primarily of reprints from the major titles, Male, Men, Stag, and For Men Only. They were simply repackaged with new titles, different photos and/or art. Blurbs and captions were also rewritten to give the issues a “fresh” look. Action for Men, True Action, Man’s World, and Sportsman also ran a lot of recycled material, although some original articles were included. Noah put me right to work that day, writing blurbs and captions for a four-page Stag spread that featured at least two dozen World War II photos, each demanding a two-line caption. But first he introduced me to Vera Jirsa, managing editor of Stag at the time.

Martin Goodman’s Colorful Magazine Empire

“Vera,” he said, taking the pipe out of his mouth to speak, “will show you where everything is.” He smiled then and added, “But be careful not to show him everything; he’s still wet behind the ears.” (I was 25.) Noah winked at us both then and sauntered back to his office, pleased with his doubleentendre. It was the kind of humor we all came to expect from Noah on a daily basis. Every morning at about 11:00, with a regularity usually reserved for train schedules, Noah would grab his copy of the New York Herald Tribune and head for the men’s room located outside the suite of offices around the corner from the bank of elevators. “I’m off to the library,” he would announce to Pearl Hammer, his secretary, within earshot of all six editors sitting in the large bullpen area.

I’ve Got You Covered!

But Noah, sophomore humor (Left:) Of this cover for the April 1967 For Men Only, David George writes: “This is the issue in which the cover illo was first commissioned and painted, after which I was told to write a story that fit the illustration.” notwithstanding, had worked at [©2007 the respective copyright holders.] MM for a long time and had Of course, writers working for DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz often did the same thing. A probable example: come to be known as “Mr. this Carmine Infantino/Murphy Anderson cover for The Flash #126 (Feb. 1962). [©2007 DC Comics.] Magazine Management.” It was Noah, more than anyone else, Of his “Nitro-Navy” byline of “George D. Robinson,” Dave says: “Since my name was on the masthead [of the magazines], I usually wrote under names such as David Lloyd and George D. Robinson (Robinson being who had devised the way the my middle name), although from time to time I used other pseudonyms. My total freelance credits while I was at MM, men’s books were put together, including various columns, numbered in the hundreds.” and like Stan Lee with Marvel Comics, he made Martin rabid monkeys, or killer boars. Often, the story would involve a “lost Goodman a lot of money over the years. jungle tribe.”

The Magazines The men’s adventure magazines were offshoots of the old pulps of the ’20s and ’30s. Developed during the 1940s, the books proliferated in the ’50s, appealing primarily to the blue-collar worker. The “meat” of the magazines consisted of stories dealing with man against nature, man against beast, man against man. While some of the material had a basis in fact, most of it was the product of fertile imagination. World War II, for example, did indeed take place. But later writers like Mario Puzo of The Godfather fame, himself a Magazine Management editor for a number of years, would create entirely mythical battles in which he would dream up a cast of hundreds of thousands of nonexistent combatants. And very often, an illustration for just such an article would be assigned and completed before the article was even written. I remember receiving an assignment from the editor of For Men Only in the form of a title: “Black Beret Raid on the Viet Cong NitroNavy.” Less than a week later, before I had even put together a basic plot outline, the editor showed me the finished illustration he had assigned, which would run on the cover of that issue. I made a copy of the illo, took it home, and fleshed out a plot, then wrote the story— making sure to include a scene that jived with the illo. Another favorite staple of the men’s books was people being mauled, bitten, or ravaged half to death by armies of ferocious weasels,

Sex had a prominent place in the men’s adventure mags, but until the early to mid-’70s, a lot was promised but none of it fulfilled. For years, one of Martin Goodman’s taboos was using the word “whore” in copy. There was even a brief period of time when he outlawed the use of the word “sex” in titles and blurbs. Try coming up with euphemisms for sex that have the same meaning and impact. In a nutshell, the sexual content was very tame in the early years. Perhaps in copy one might get away with “a glimpse of her dark triangle,” but that was about as strong a description as we could use. Cheesecake sets were black-&-white, with no hint of nipples or pubic hair. And if we wanted to use photos in articles with a sexual theme and a nipple happened to be peeking out, our resident retoucher, Murray Shapiro, would airbrush in a bra or something to cover it. The editors would also have Murray airbrush the faces of various staff members onto the bodies of actors involved in action scenes taken from movie stills. Photos of each of us were used many times as “hero shots.” When there was a new hire, no matter whether it was in editorial, accounting, even the mailroom, a camera was dispatched and a photo taken to be used to depict the next hero GI, plane-crash survivor, or arms smuggler. And if someone broke a leg skiing, or wound up with his or her arm in a sling after falling from a ladder, poof! went the flash camera. Later on, toward the end of the ’60s, fewer hero shots were utilized,

“Make Mine Magazine Management!”

carving on the beautiful birch tree she was holding onto in one of her poses. And probably no one on staff ever would have seen it had it not been for a concerned reader who tore out the page and sent it to the editor. Carved into the tree inches from the model’s hands was the crude rendering of a male sex organ, accompanied by a terse, three-word engraved bit of advice about what to do with it.

He’s A “Volunteer,” All Right! (Above:) One picture accompanying the “‘Don’t-Give-a-Damn’ Hospitals” article in the May 1967 For Men Only purports to be a “seized researcher’s photo of mental ‘volunteer.’ Man, up for release, became suicidal, reported as hopeless.” There’s a good chance, though, that this guy was actually a professional model— or even an MM staffer, helping to keep costs down by grimacing for the camera. In the 1960s, even Marvel staffers were asked to pose for spurious MM photos from time to time. “Sub-Mariner” creator Bill Everett was solicited because, the mag editor said, “You look like a doctor”; turns out his likeness was to head a piece about back-street abortionists! Roy Thomas played a poor schlemiel flunking an IQ test in an academic-scandal piece; to amuse himself during the photo shoot, Roy grabbed a round peg and tried to stick it into a square hole. (Right:) Denny O’Neil, a Marvel staffer in 1965-66, was asked to portray a gay (though that term wasn’t yet in common usage) lurking in a darkened doorway. “Don’t worry,” the MM editor assured the future writer and editor of Batman, “we’ll make sure nobody recognizes you.” A few days later, Roy was strolling down the MM hallway, glanced to his left (through a window) into the magazines’ art department—and instantly spotted Denny in the aforementioned photo—even though it was upside down! So much for clever obfuscation! Denny writes: “I don’t have a copy of That Picture. But I remember it well. It ran under this headline: ‘America’s Growing Army of Homosexuals.’ A few years later, a St. Louis friend asked [my wife] Anne if we were having, you know, uh, marital problems. Seems she found this magazine in the attic of a house she’d just bought…. Hope you and Dann are well.” [Neal Adams art ©2007 DC Comics.]

primarily because one female editor complained when a shot of her and another staffer was used in conjunction with a story showing them as felons who were wanted dead or alive! She worried aloud that someone might recognize her on the street and shoot her. Another reason, of course, was the eventual fading out of adventure stories and the transformation into skin books. Hero shots simply weren’t needed. Murray was as good as the editors who gave him instruction. For the most part, editors were responsible for marking up photos with a black or red crayon to indicate what they wanted taken out, altered, or added. There were a couple of memorable goofs. A layout in For Men Only, for example, which used a still from an obscure movie to illustrate a sex exposé, showed two naked women dancing outdoors around a pole. Murray was instructed to put black bars over the nipples, eyes, and bare buttocks. Both women had their eyes banded when the issue came out, but one girl had a band over her nipples but no such band over her rear end. The other woman’s backside was dutifully banded, but her nipples were left for all the world to see. Another classic case of “can’t see the forest for the trees” occurred when a black-&-white cheesecake set was used in Stag. The model was wearing a modest bikini that covered everything we couldn’t show, but apparently the editors, as well as Murray, never paid attention to the

We didn’t receive a lot of mail from readers, but there were letters from time to time, mostly from World War II vets pointing out discrepancies in some of our facts. Amazingly enough, I don’t recall anyone ever writing in to challenge us on something that was totally fabricated—like my story “Black Beret Raid on the Viet Cong Nitro-Navy.” We used to run photo features in all the magazines, utilizing photos from the various wire services like Wide World and UPI (United Press International). One month we ran a photo of a man sliced in half by a train. It wasn’t as gory as it sounds, and the man’s facial features were fairly well indistinguishable, but nevertheless a woman wrote in asking for more details. She was positive it was the body of her missing husband, who’d gone out for a can of soup and never returned. There never was a strict dress code at MM. During the ’60s, I guess, most of the men on the editorial staff wore ties and slacks, but we eventually discarded our ties and traded in our slacks for jeans. My “uniform,” for the most part, became buttoned-down shirt open at the collar, jeans, and a well-tailored blazer. While actually working in the office, I would hang up the jacket and roll up my sleeves two turns. Of course, there was always someone who would abuse the privilege, just as it often happens in today’s enlightened, laid-back office environment. I remember the day one of the younger editors came into the office dribbling a basketball and wearing attentiongetting cut-off jeans, sneakers, and a T-shirt with a two-word expletive emblazoned across the front. Chip Goodman, who was running the company at the time, naturally, had a fit. A memo went out immediately. Something to the effect, “While we don’t expect employees to wear white shirts and ties as they do at IBM, certain people have started coming to work looking like they’re on their way to Fire Island. Please understand this is a work environment, a business office, and we all should dress accordingly.” Later, sometime in the early to mid-’70s, the magazines dropped their adventure themes and morphed almost overnight into slick men’s books with strong sexual content. Those of us who had been “moonlighting” by writing freelance articles on things like “How to Spot the Car-Repair Vultures” and mildly sexual exposé stories, in the evening and on weekends, were handed a new set of rules. Almost abruptly, we were asked to write hard-core porn. It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do in publishing. Not that I’m a prude. It was just hard to switch gears and write nothing-left-to-the-imagination smut. Eventually, it became second nature, and I grew quite prolific at the task. Salaries at Magazine Management had always been on the low side, but the lucrative freelance opportunity was basically what kept most of us going for years. Switching to porn was simply not going to deter any of us from continuing to earn a living.

Martin Goodman’s Colorful Magazine Empire

Echhs Marks The Spot David mentions that, during his time at MM, he got to know such Marvel madcaps as (clockwise from top left): writers/editors Gary Friedrich and Roy Thomas… artist/colorist Marie Severin… Stan Lee’s corresponding secretary Flo Steinberg… and artist & later production manager John Verpoorten. Most of this quintet did their bit for Not Brand Echh #8 (June 1968), as per this contents page: Gary scripted “The Echhs-Men” and “Agents of SHEESH,” the latter being drawn by Marie—RT penned “The Revengers”—and John Verpoorten, who drew the issue’s “Forbush-Man” tale, probably drew Irv here, to boot. As for Flo, by then she’d wised up and jumped ship! Pics from Marvel photo-features in 1964 & 1969 annuals. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Marvel Connection I remember the first time I saw Gary Friedrich. It was in the later 1960s and Gary was writing scripts for Rawhide Kid, Sgt. Fury, and Daredevil. He immediately caught my attention. Because of his long hair and beard, he bore a striking resemblance to Jesus Christ. He also wore shiny brown leather pants, which at the time I thought were pretty cool. We eventually became good friends and spent many an evening drinking our troubles away at the Coral Bar. Years later, I hired Gary on as an associate editor to help me with For Men Only, which lasted a relatively short time. We remained friends, with Gary often coming out to the house where he would entertain my children with his Brer Rabbit-Brer Bear mimicry, among other endearing amusements. I probably met Roy Thomas through Gary. I recall chatting with Roy from time to time, and seeing him socially at parties, but one incident stands out. I used to bring home two copies of every Marvel comic book published, for my son and daughter. My son David loved Spider-Man, and one day I mentioned this to Roy, lamenting that having arrived at MM a year after The Amazing Spider-Man title began, I didn’t have the early issues. Roy offered to sell me a copy of Amazing Spider-Man #1 for $100. At the time, that was a lot of

money, and I just couldn’t raise the dough. Last time I looked, a near-mint copy of #1 was listed in Overstreet at $32,000. (Roy tells me he finally sold that near-mint spare copy circa 1990 for $500—just before prices really started escalating.)

I also became friendly with Big John Verpoorten, because he was a close friend of Gary’s. And because Fabulous Flo Steinberg was just such a breath of fresh air, I think everyone considered her a friend. I also was friendly with Marie Severin, a sweet, very talented person. As most comic buffs know, Marie had been the colorist on the old EC Comics line, and her brother was none other than John Severin, a prolific EC artist, and since I was an early, card-carrying, numbered EC Fan-Addict, the connection was instant. There may have been one or two men’s magazine staffers who looked down their noses at the Marvel division, but most of us realized and appreciated what Stan and company were doing.

The Goodmans The first time I met Martin Goodman, I was virtually petrified. The silver-haired, bespectacled man had a certain presence about him that silently commanded respect. I remember how he often wore dark sunglasses, even when he strolled the corridors, and this seemed to render his persona almost Mafia-like. He could look at you and utter the fewest of monosyllabic words, and the effect would be chilling.

“Make Mine Magazine Management!”

Few addressed him by his first name. The company joke was that even his brothers called him Mr. Goodman. I recall my first face-to-face with the man. I had just left the art department and was headed back to the bullpen when he suddenly emerged from his secretary’s room and stood in front of me. “They tell me you can do it all, kid.” “O-Oh,” I think I managed to stammer out weakly. “Well, keep up the good work.” But despite my working in abject fear of Martin Goodman for the major part of 13 years, I can honestly state here that I never had anything but respect and admiration for the man. Martin Goodman, as I knew him, was an honorable, decent man who, according to his own accounts, rode the rails and slept in boxcars during the Great Depression. I had been working late one night and he had come into the bullpen and graciously invited me to have a drink with him. As we sat in his large, richly appointed, plush-carpeted corner office, complete with treadmill and fully stocked bar, this soft-spoken gentleman recounted his early days. We were drinking 101proof Wild Turkey and so much of what he said was flushed away with the booze. I do recall him telling me about being in therapy and how he had taken a bottle of bourbon to his last group therapy session. “If you can’t drink in group,” he said defensively, “where else can ya drink?” Martin Goodman was never predictable. One of the associate editors, Ivan Prashker, wrote a fictional short story for Playboy magazine that was published in 1970. I think the story was called “The Boss’s Son.” The setting was not a publishing company but there was no mistaking the thinly disguised principal characters of Martin Goodman and his son Chip, whose depiction was less than flattering. Ivan had been on vacation in Europe when the Playboy issue hit the newsstands, but when he got back to the office, he walked around trembling, positive that his days at MM were numbered. He had initially planned on taking a job with another company before the story was published, but the opportunity for the position had fallen through. The word spread quickly, and just about everyone in the company had either read or knew about Ivan’s magazine story. About a week after the magazine came out, Ivan was stopped in the hallway by Martin Goodman, who smiled and said, “Nice piece of writing, Ivan.” And that was that. Martin was apparently more impressed with Ivan’s sale to the prestigious Playboy than he was concerned about any possible slight to his son Chip. I believe it was around 1968 when Martin Goodman sold the company to Perfect Film and Chemical Corp. (later bought by Cadence Industries), pocketing a reported $13 million. Cadence was an international conglomerate that owned, among other subsidiaries,

“Men’s Sweat” Harvey Kurtzman, the genius cartoonist who later created Mad and Little Annie Fanny, wrote and drew for Timely/Marvel in the late 1940s. Many people feel that Mr. Schlock, the head of Schlock Publications in the satirical 1959 Harvey Kurtzman’s Jungle Book, was based on Martin Goodman—who was no relation to the book’s hero, Goodman Beaver. No one who’s read this paperback comic book has ever again thought of the kind of “men’s adventure” titles MM published as anything other than “men’s sweat” mags. Thankfully, Kurtzman’s landmark work was reprinted in the 1980s by Kitchen Sink Press. [©2007 Estate of Harvey Kurtzman.]

Perfect Pencil and Hudson Vitamins, etc. For months on end, an army of accountants would march through the hallways, sticking their faces into the various offices, seemingly searching for the company’s “assets.” They never quite realized that the assets were us, the editors, writers, and artists. When the company was sold, Martin Goodman shared a little of the wealth with his employees. While he was generally tight-fisted when it came to salaries, he had always been generous at Christmas time. What people received varied according to your position and how long you had been with MM. My Christmas bonus had reached $1,300, and this was the amount I received in August or September of the year the company was sold, sort of an extra Christmas bonus. The two department heads, Bruce Jay Friedman and Noah Sarlat, of course received considerably more, as they also did at Christmas. But there was still some griping among the senior members of MM who’d been with Martin Goodman for more than 25 years. They felt he could have afforded to be a lot more generous. Martin stayed on as president of MM for a while, eventually turning over the position to his son Chip. I think it was sometime soon after that the company relocated its offices a few blocks south, at 575, still on Madison Avenue. Marvel Comics, of course, had meantime become a separate entity and had relocated over to Third Avenue. Charles “Chip” Goodman had lived his life in the shadow of his father and obviously did not have an easy time of it. The other Goodman son, whose name I can’t recall, refused to have anything to do with Martin Goodman’s publishing empire and went off to pursue a career on his own. For whatever reason, Martin Goodman respected his other son for this independence and, conversely, openly expressed disdain for Chip, who was not the sharpest pencil in the drawer. While the elder Goodman had a knack for titling and almost a sixth sense for what would sell and what would not, Chip didn’t have a clue. Over time, Chip learned a lot about the business, but he most certainly never attained the natural “feel” his father had. He would change a word now and then, or ask that a photo be replaced, but he obviously did it only because he remembered his dad had done so. More often than not, when Martin Goodman made a change, it proved to be a positive move.

Martin Goodman’s Colorful Magazine Empire

The Son Also Rises When a Bruce Jay Friedman article dealing with his days as an editor at Magazine Management was reprinted in Adam Parfrey’s enjoyable 2003 volume It’s a Man’s World, it was accompanied by several photos taken at a dinner party given for Friedman in 1966 when he left MM to pursue a freelance writing career. (L. to r., seated:) Publishing heir apparent Charles “Chip” Goodman… Martin Goodman… and Jo Eno (Friedman’s secretary). [©2007 the respective copyright holders.] David George mentions Stan Lee signing his early-’70s memos “Excelsior!” A/E’s editor, in turn, recalls a memorable memo from Chip Goodman when he was publisher of MM and Marvel circa 1971. Roy has to guess at the precise holiday and date, but the memo’s opening sentence otherwise read: “The office will be closed to members of the Jewish faith on Oct. 9th for Yom Kippur.” Roy referred to this as a “lox-out.” Still, he always kindof liked Chip; the guy was in there trying, and it’s hard to be the #2 son.

I recall Chip summoning me to his office one afternoon, complaining about a layout. “I don’t like this shot,” he said, pointing to a small photo of an airplane. “Kill it and replace it with something else.” Then, as an afterthought, he said, “And I don’t wanna see another photo or text or art. Figure something else out.” Well, of course, he had eliminated all possible options, so I simply dropped the photo and had the art department reconfigure the layout. I never heard another word about it. Cadence later reneged on its promise to Martin Goodman to keep his son Chip installed as titular head of Magazine Management and kicked him out. Martin was furious and vindictively started up a rival publishing company, Atlas/Seaboard, to publish comics to compete with Marvel, but eventually it failed. Chip, with his father’s help, subsequently started up his own company, taking along Stag and reviving the slick men’s magazine Swank, the latter a title Martin Goodman owned and had once published with little success. Meantime, Marvel Comics’ own Stan Lee actually took over as acting president for a while. Stan, nee Stanley Lieber and a cousin-inlaw of Martin Goodman, had been with MM for many years. So the comic book guru actually was my publisher for a short time. I’ll never forget the steady stream of memos in which he never failed to sign off with “Excelsior!” Incidentally, though it’s not generally known, Stan Lee reportedly did some writing for Martin Goodman’s men’s adventure magazines back in the ’40s.

The Good Ol’ Days From the summer of 1964 through the rest of the turbulent ’60s, I looked forward to coming to work. Sure, we all knew the days of the men’s adventure magazines were numbered, that we were writing and editing anachronisms. But no one seemed to be worried. For the most part, we were a capable cadre of editors who had fun with the work and who enjoyed the company of each other.

Probably Chip’s most infamous decision while Marvel’s publisher—aside from sticking Stan Lee and John Romita’s original Spider-Man comic strip samples in a drawer and not showing them to any syndicates, thus delaying the debut of the Spidey strip by several years—involved a Western reprint cover. He insisted that several bandits shooting at the hero be redrawn wearing animal masks…which had nothing to do with any story inside. When asked why the animal masks, he replied, “Maybe it’ll make the book sell better.” It didn’t.

gave rise to fits of laughter that echoed into the night. They were, indeed, the good ol’ days. A pity, though, that no one told us at the time. I’d give anything for a chance to go back and relive those wonderful moments.

The Artists Today, men’s adventure magazines are a lot more valuable than they were when they were being published. As collectibles, the appeal certainly isn’t the writing, despite many of the stories having been penned by highly successful authors. And it surely isn’t the screaming, sensational headlines that once enticed a monthly readership in the hundreds of thousands. Quite simply, it is the outrageous illustrations. True, one has to look at the whole package to get a better grasp of the appeal, for it was the whole package that the readers bought. But the fact that a single copy of For Men Only from 1968 sells on eBay today for nearly $40 has to be attributed mainly to the artwork. Scantily-clad women prevailed, often rendered in poses that included the bondage tools of ropes and shackles, and always in danger from menacing Nazis, knife-wielding bad guys, or vicious animals. The art was always realistic and painstakingly detailed. The artists I remember doing the lion’s share of the art for MM included Mort Künstler, Norman Saunders, Earl Norem, Bruce Minney, Gil Cohen, and Charles Copeland. There were certainly many others over the years, but these are the guys I’d constantly run into in the hall or in the art department.

At least once a week, someone would break out a bottle of Scotch from his desk and we’d sit around sipping whiskey and trying to Atlas Shrugs Again solve the world’s problems. There were exceptions, but most of the When Cadence replaced Martin Goodman’s son Chip as publisher with Stan Lee in 1972, the angry MG launched his own competitive comic editors had at least a bachelor’s book line, Atlas (a.k.a. Seaboard), with Chip as line publisher, with its degree, and the conversations were first titles appearing in late 1974. Most were imitations of Marvel’s often quite intellectually stimulating. comics, but a few had possibilities, such as The Scorpion (art by And the humor… usually dark… Howard Chaykin). The “Atlas” came from the name of Goodman’s 1950s distribution company. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Mort Künstler was always one of my favorites. Today, his Civil War paintings command thousands. An excellent book, Jackson & Lee, Legends in Gray, published in 1995 by Rutledge Hill Press, collects many

“Make Mine Magazine Management!”

never altered. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year. I remember one afternoon following Vera’s phone order, George Penty, then editor of For Men Only, swung around in his chair and looked right at me, eyes bulging, a desperate expression plastered on his face. “Let’s go to lunch,” he said. Downstairs, as we turned the corner and headed for the Coral Bar, George said, “How many ****ing years do we have to listen to the same lunch order? Doesn’t this woman have a life?”

He-Men Of New Guinea—And The Hyborian Age Earl Norem, who painted many a men’s-magazine cover, did the interior illo above for the May 1971 For Men Only— and the cover at right for The Savage Sword of Conan #31 (Oct. 1977); the latter was reprinted in 1989 on Conan Saga #31. Norem painted covers for Savage Sword, The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, and other Marvel black-&-whites in the ’70s; he’s also noted for his Transformers paintings in the 1980s. [FMO cover ©2007 the respective copyright holders; Conan art ©2007 Paradox Entertainment, Inc.; Red Sonja TM & ©2007 Red Sonja Properties, Inc.]

of his finest paintings. Understandably, the book jacket copy pointedly does not mention Mort’s prolific Magazine Management output.

The Editors and Writers Vera Jirsa, a tall, thin woman with an easy smile from Shaker Heights, Ohio, taught me more than I could ever have learned from an army of English professors. The managing editor of Stag could take a manuscript seemingly written by a Neanderthal (and a few of our outside freelance writers certainly fit that category) and pencil-whip it into some of the most readable copy on the planet. And when I missed correcting an obvious gaffe, or smoothing a syntax-poor passage, Vera would let me know without making me feel like Edgar Bergen’s Mortimer Snerd. But Vera was socially reclusive. A creature of habit, she almost never left the building for lunch. Instead, she would call down to the Schrafft’s coffee shop in the lobby of the building and order lunch that would later be delivered to her desk. “Hi, Georgia, Vera,” she would speak into the phone. “Fine, thank you. Yourself? Yes, sliced steak, medium. White bread. Coffee light. Change for a ten. Thanks.” The words never changed, the greeting stayed the same. The order

We proceeded into the Coral, sat at the bar, and ordered hamburgers. We washed them down with more than a few gin and tonics and forgot all about Vera, Georgia, and Schrafft’s sliced steak medium. George Penty had a talent for spotting a trend before it happened. He had written a book on the Kennedys back in the 1950s, long before JFK reached the White House. A speechwriter for Adlai Stevenson, George had cut his political teeth as a labor organizer in Southern Klan country. But George was as colorful as he was intellectual. In addition to his passion for politics, coupled with his fondness for aged whiskey, George loved to recount funny stories about real people. His speech accompanied by winks and sprinkled with innuendos, George would tell his tales in a series of ellipses. Often, he would jump to his feet in the middle of a story and imitate the manner in which a person walked or carried himself. Despite his serious political side, George was better than any standup comedian today, and this is what endeared him to the rest of us. I remember one morning when George came in wearing a new silk tie he had purchased at Bloomingdale’s over the weekend. It was obviously an expensive tie, costing far more than what he usually paid for a tie even though he professed to having bought it on sale. It was also the morning that Martin Goodman had called him into his office to discuss For Men Only’s latest sales figures.

Martin Goodman’s Colorful Magazine Empire

come up with the check to pay for it. It later became known as the only MM party in which the booze was “rented” for a few minutes.

Unfortunately, Martin Goodman, millionaire publisher, was wearing the very same tie. So picture it. There stood Martin Goodman and George Penty facing each other, belly to belly, tie to tie. As one eyewitness later recounted the story, Martin Goodman glanced down at George’s tie and smiled. “Glad to see you’re doing so well, George.”

Mel was also the only editor I have ever known to wear a green eyeshade when he proofread. In truth, his proofing left a lot to be desired, which is no doubt why the word got around that underneath that ubiquitous eye shade, Mel was able to catch up on his much-needed sleep.

George came back into the office redfaced, tore off the tie, and stuffed it into the bottom drawer of his desk. He never wore it again.

Plenty Of Penty Melvin B. Shestack, the so-called “gentle con man,” earned that nickname because he was always concocting wild stories or offering “a great deal” that existed only in his vivid imagination. It wasn’t that Mel did so for his own enrichment. To my knowledge, he never made any money on his “deals.” Because of whatever emotional hang-ups he possessed, Mel simply had to try and convince people that his elaborate schemes were legit.

(Above:) MM editor George Penty; he passed away in 2006. (Right:) Penty in a captioned photo portraying a “job shark” for a story titled “America’s Job Gyps” in the May 1967 issue of For Men Only. The story was written by Carl Sifakis— who signed his real name. With special thanks to Edith Penty.

For example, I remember that he had half the people in the office convinced he had signed a lucrative contract with a major publishing house to write a definitive history on famous Jewish gunfighters of the Old West. A staggering number, I’m sure.

Or the time he had persuaded both Martin Goodman and Stan Lee that he would be able to get some of the Marvel super-heroes into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade as balloons. Remember, this was long before Spider-Man and his cohorts had attained nationwide fame and respectability. Of course, no such arrangement existed—except in Mel’s mind. Oh, balloon figures of the comic book characters had been manufactured, to be sure. At considerable cost to MM. But when a phone call was made to parade officials, no one knew anything about it. Needless to say, no latex Marvel superheroes floated down Broadway that year. I also vaguely recall Mel taking it upon himself to make all the arrangements for the company’s annual Christmas party. There were some snacks to nibble on while everyone awaited the delivery of the booze. The hooch arrived all right, only to be taken right back to the store from whence it came. Somehow, Mel could not

Mario Puzo was considered MM’s World War II expert. His knowledge came from long hours of research at the library. And when he needed to enhance a story he was working on—well, as stated earlier, he used his imagination. (One of his aliases was “Mario Cleri.”) Before his success with The Godfather in 1969, Mario wrote two other critically acclaimed novels, Dark Arena in 1955 and The Fortunate Pilgrim in 1965. He also penned a children’s book, The Runaway Summer of Davie Shaw, an inscribed copy of which my son still treasures today. Mario worked on “the other side,” in Bruce Jay Friedman’s division, so I had minimal contact with him. But I certainly remember the day The Godfather made the Hollywood connection. It was all over the newspapers. Martin Goodman, who truly hated to write checks, was always giving Mario a hard time about his freelance. Especially when Mario would come into his office and ask for an advance on a story he had yet to write. But on the day Mario’s book was sold to the movies, Martin Goodman stood in the doorway of our

Mel-lifuous (Left:) Bearded Mel Shestack (at the aforementioned 1966 MM dinner party) presents the departing Bruce Jay Friedman with a gag cover of Male. David George relates a tale of Shestack’s convincing Martin Goodman that he could arrange for Marvel’s rising heroes to be a part of the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in Manhattan. (Above:) Roy T. never heard anything about any big balloons shaped like Marvel characters—but, soon after he went to work for Stan Lee in 1965, he was given beautifully-crafted costumes of Spider-Man, a Fantastic Four member, Medusa, and The Wasp… and was told Marvel’d had them professionally made, to be worn by “actors” in an earlier Macy’s parade. The way Roy heard it, the actors were paid in advance and never showed up. That’s probably Roy in that Spidey costume here, seen at Dave Kaler’s 1966 New York Comicon (see A/E #64). He also wore it for the sold-out Carnegie Hall “Evening with Stan Lee” in January 1972, at which young ladies danced onstage in the other leftover outfits… and in a photo reproduced in 1968’s Not Brand Echh #11. Well, at least Marvel got something for all the dough it spent on those costumes! Photo from the Mark Hanerfeld collection.

“Make Mine Magazine Management!”

Super-Mario, Brother! While freelancing for MM, Mario Puzo (seen on left in the photo with Bruce Jay Friedman at that 1966 dinner party) wrote a well-reviewed novel, The Fortunate Pilgrim; but with the publication of The Godfather in 1969, he became an authorial superstar overnight. It in turn led to a pair of high-profile Hollywood gigs: the screenplay for The Godfather (1972), starring Marlon Brando—and the first draft of Superman: The Movie, with Christopher Reeve—and Brando again. Reportedly, little if any of Puzo’s script was used in the final Superman screenplay; his name was mostly used as bait to get Brando aboard. [1966 photo ©2007 the respective copyright holders; Godfather photo ©2007 the respective copyright holders; Superman photo ©2007 Time-Warner.]

bullpen, grinning from ear to ear. Obviously bursting with pride, he exclaimed, “I never said Mario couldn’t write!” Mario also penned the screenplay for The Godfather II, which some consider even better than the first film. He also wrote the first draft of the script for the first widely successful Superman movie. A couple of other Mario Puzo incidents come to mind. Mario, who lived on Long Island with his wife and five children, often drove his car into work. Sometimes he would park in front of the building, right on Madison Avenue, and pay someone in the mailroom to go down and feed the parking meter every hour. I’m not sure how it happened, but one day a cement truck pulled alongside his car and somehow tilted over and smashed his vehicle as flat as a Frisbee. Mario loved to eat, and the evidence was overwhelming. What the short, bespectacled man lacked in height, he made up for in girth. So going to lunch with Mario was quite an experience. I remember eating two slices of pizza that afternoon; Mario ate two pizzas. One day, Mario brought in a whole cheese, offering to share it with the rest of the bullpen. The problem was he didn’t have anything to cut it with. That’s when one of the young editors, Martin Sage, opened a desk drawer and pulled out a folded white towel. He laid the towel down on the desk and opened it. We all stared in shock as the overhead fluorescents caught a glint of shiny steel. It was the largest butcher knife any of us had ever seen.

Circa 1966-67, Puzo talked to Stan Lee about writing for Marvel. Mario felt that switching from doing prose articles for MM to scripting comics might give him more time to work on his current novel (which, of course, we now know was The Godfather). Roy recalls meeting Puzo and gathering a stack of current issues for him to peruse. But Mario soon begged off; he told Stan he’d realized that to master the comics’ style and backstory would’ve taken far more time than continuing to scribe for the men’s mags! In the early 1970s, at the first big public meeting of the professional Academy of Comic Book Arts, Stan read a telegram from Puzo thanking Marvel Comics “for teaching my children to read when the public schools failed.”

screenplay for The French Connection. Ernie worked at Magazine Management for a relatively short time, writing a few freelance articles that were pretty bad. So bad, in fact, that we kept them in inventory and never used them. But on his feet, Ernie was head of his class, a real charmer. And when you’re as glib as Ernie was, you can get pretty far. One night, I was enjoying a few drinks at Chance’s, a secondfloor bar on West 58th Street between Madison and Fifth. I got into a conversation with a guy who turned out to be Eddie Egan, the detective on whose life The French Connection was based. When he found out I worked alongside Ernest Tidyman, he launched into a tirade, telling me what I already knew, that Ernie was a sloppy-ass writer. He claimed that both he and the director of the film had actually reworked Ernie’s script and that they, not Ernie, should have received the Oscar. Bill Smith, a.k.a. Martin Cruz Smith, author of bestsellers Gorky Park and Nightwing among others, is yet another MM alumnus. Bill, as we knew him when he was managing editor of For Men Only, with his boyish good looks and unbridled enthusiasm, could have been called the George Stephanopoulos of Magazine Management.

Years after the fall of MM, I found myself editor of Adelina, the American edition of Italy’s Playmen, Europe’s largest-selling men’s magazine, and in dire need of some big names for the cover. I wrote to Mario Puzo and suggested he write a piece on food for me, or on any subject he wanted. He responded that, though he appreciated my offer, he would have to decline. He felt he had paid his dues many times over and that his goal in life was to do as little work as he could possibly get away with.

But Bill Smith, Ernie Tidyman, and Mario Puzo are merely the tip of the literary iceberg when it comes to former MM staffers turned novelists.

Ernest Tidyman was hired as an editor sometime during the late ’60s. He was immediately given his own office, and we soon learned that Ernie wasn’t quite like the rest of us. The first thing he did was bring in a small, green-shaded library lamp for his desk and turn off the recessed ceiling lights. This gave his office a kind of soft, dark, “private” look.

Being a member of Noah Sarlat’s group, I didn’t have much direct contact with Bruce. But I recall one time Bruce coming into our bullpen to ask if I would condense a book for him. Most real books were too long to run in the magazines, so we would cut them down to the length we had room for. Noah paid $75 for a book condensation, which was considered a freelance task, but for some reason Bruce’s budget allowed for $100.

The second thing Ernie did was create the fictional black detective, Shaft. The third thing Ernie did was win an Oscar for writing the

In addition to the successful off-Broadway play Steambath and a number of brilliantly funny Esquire stories, Bruce Jay Friedman wrote the highly regarded novels Stern, A Mother’s Kisses, and the Lonely Man series. He actually accomplished most of these while still working at MM.

“I hear you’re a whiz at doing book condensations,” Bruce said as he approached my desk, a big grin on his face. “Do ya have time to do one for me?”

Martin Goodman’s Colorful Magazine Empire

Cage Gets The Shaft Ernest Tidyman (below left), an MM editor in the late 1960s, created John Shaft—and the 1971 film Shaft became the first movie mega-hit featuring an African-American hero (played by Richard Roundtree, as per this Italian poster). Shaft, in turn, inspired Hero for Hire, the Marvel title starring Luke Cage (later christened Power Man), the first African-American super-hero. Cover art for issue #1 (June 1972), repro’d from The Essential Power Man, Vol. 1, was penciled by John Romita and inked by Billy Graham. [Shaft TM & ©2007 the respective copyright holders; Hero for Hire art ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

“Sure, Bruce,” I said, jumping at the chance to earn an extra $25. “When do you need it?” “Aw, take all the time ya need,” he said, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Just have it back to me in the morning.” Before my time, Jim Thompson reportedly was Martin Goodman’s top paperback writer when MM was publishing Lion Books. He moved on to the West Coast and is now an acclaimed Hollywood “noir” writer. Even Mickey Spillane, who hit it big in the late ’40s and ’50s with books like I, the Jury and My Gun Is Quick, first wrote comic book stories for Martin Goodman’s Timely Comics. He also wrote for the men’s adventure magazines, which included Male and Stag Annual. George Fox, one-time managing editor of Male and Men, also made the literary spotlight, sharing screenwriting honors with Mario Puzo for Earthquake. Carl Sifakis was another MM staffer with whom I had the pleasure of working for many years. In addition to working on Stag with Vera, I also teamed up with Carl to put together a number of issues of Sportsman. Carl, a Columbia journalism graduate and veteran newspaperman, not only imparted great wisdom and knowledge based on his years of experience; he also provided a never-ending source of entertainment. When titling the stories in Sportsman, Carl and I would try to see who could come up with the best double-entendre. For instance, a jungle adventure involving tigers wound up with the title “Blind Date with a Man-Eater.” Because of a newsstand sales increase in magazines about guns, Martin Goodman decided to change Sportsman into a gun book, changing the magazine’s name to Sportsman & Guns. The majority of articles were written by the same man, Gil Paust, I believe, and almost every one started with the same lead. The author would recount how a friend would come over and verbalize his wish of converting this or that gun into something more powerful, or something that had a better

sighting device. And Gil would say, “Funny you should mention that. I have just the thing in a vise down in my basement workshop that I’m converting.” This was then followed with the technical description and outcome. Those issues were never any more successful than prior issues of Sportsman. The gun enthusiasts just never discovered us. The fact that we still had the same “Fredericks of Hollywood” and familiar truss ads in the back of the magazine didn’t score any credibility points with the readers, I’m sure. But Carl and I had fun doing them. It was a real challenge to try and come up with synonyms for rifle, such as “smoke pole” and “firestick.” How many times can you use the words rifle or gun in a blurb without sounding redundant? When Bruce Jay Friedman left to pursue his successful writing career, Carl eventually took over his position on “the other side” as editorial director, and, after a brief stint as editor of For Men Only, I became Carl’s managing editor. Today, at 80, Carl continues to write various books for Facts on File, drawing upon a talent he cultivated as a newspaper reporter before joining Magazine Management. He is the author of The Catalogue of Crime, The Encyclopedia of American Crime, The Dictionary of Historic Nicknames, and American Eccentrics, among many others. David Ivins worked with me as an associate editor on Male magazine. David carved out his own little niche at MM by writing articles centered around motorcycle gangs. A motorcycle owner himself, David became quite prolific at the task. In the beginning, we thought nothing of calling outlaw bikers Hell’s Angels—until one day several representatives from the real Hell’s Angels showed up at the MM offices and “suggested” that we cease and desist. It turns out that

“Make Mine Magazine Management!”

the name is copyrighted or trademarked and that we could not use it without permission. Only in America. Following that, David kept the biker gang names generic. David also wrote several nonfiction books, including a comprehensive tome on woodburning stoves. But David’s biggest claim to fame was bringing the Newspaper Guild in to represent Magazine Management employees. When Cadence had taken over, there may have been a reduction in freelance rates, and perhaps some other moves we were not happy with. But the proverbial straw was none of these things. The air conditioning was not working properly and we were constantly complaining that it was too warm and humid in the office. The apathy on the part of management continued until, one day, David picked up the phone and dialed the Newspaper Guild. After months of meetings with the Guild’s representative, David finally succeeded in bringing the opportunity to vote for union representation to Magazine Management. Cadence management was furious. They tried everything legally possible to persuade us to vote the Guild down, but in the end MM became a union shop. It was also the beginning of the end, but I’m getting ahead of myself. George Glassgold was the “book editor” for quite a while, in charge of receiving review copies of new books, reading and evaluating them for possible condensation. He also was responsible for obtaining reprint rights from the various publishing houses.

associate editor. Pete referred to himself as an “article doctor” when the managing editor of Men confronted him about there being no punctuation in a 58-word lead sentence in a piece he was supposed to have copyedited. Pete promptly took it back to his desk and worked feverishly on the manuscript for another hour. “What’s this?” the managing editor asked after looking it over again. “Whaddya mean?” “What do I mean? I mean, you’ve got commas next to periods, for crissakes.” “You wanted punctuation.” “I see,” said the managing editor. Pete left that day and never returned. Another associate editor, a young black man we’ll call Steve because I can’t recall his real name, signed on with Male magazine and worked diligently for a few months. From all reports, he displayed good editorial sense and probably would have stayed on indefinitely—if the MPs hadn’t come in and taken him away. Apparently Steve was in the Army Reserve and was supposed to report to camp for two weeks’ active duty. When he didn’t show up, he was listed AWOL, tracked down, and taken to the stockade to await court-martial. As art director, Larry Graber ran the art department at MM for many years. A likable, even-tempered guy with an easy laugh, Larry possessed a high degree of artistic talent in addition to being quite knowledgeable in production.

Unfortunately, George spent a good deal of his time finding ways to avoid reading the books. Instead, he would pile the review copies into large shopping bags and schlep them down to the famed Strand Bookstore, where he would resell them and pocket the money. George was eventually replaced with a young blonde woman with a British accent. Patricia didn’t last very long, though. She was appalled by what she termed “the crudeness of the sweaty, vulgar men’s magazines.” Her downfall, however, can be attributed to her interpretation of what constitutes sex. In a less-than-exciting book she recommended for excerpting, she claimed the sex scenes were hot and heavy. Martin Goodman took a cursory look at the book and got the feeling it was not appropriate for the men’s books. He called me in and asked if I would take it home and give it a fast read, which of course I did. I confirmed his suspicions. Evidently, Patricia’s idea of oral sex, for example, was a woman blowing her sweetheart a kiss from the train. Pete Fine was another young man who didn’t quite make the cut as an

One morning, while a vendor from one of the stat houses sat in a chair in front of Larry’s desk, a set of progressive proofs for one of the cheesecake sets arrived. It was now the ’70s and the open-legged shots left nothing to the imagination. Larry laid the proofs out on his table and began marking them up with a red crayon. Peering over his shoulder, the vendor smacked his lips and said, “Gawd, I could eat that!” Larry, without blinking an eye, looked back at the vendor and said, “Go ahead, I’ve got an extra set.”

“Even The Rhinos Were Nymphos” This 1950s photo of Bruce Jay Friedman in his Magazine Management office accompanied his above-named article (referred to on p. 63), which colorfully detailed his years working for Martin Goodman. Friedman’s novels such as Stern and A Mother’s Kisses and the play Steambath (which was later filmed for TV) put him on a short list of America’s foremost practitioners of “black humor”—in the sense of Joseph Heller, not Richard Pryor. One of his sons, Josh Alan Friedman, is a writer and musician; another, cartoonist Drew Friedman, has a new anthology, Old Jewish Comedians, available from Fantagraphics. At age 13, Drew actually worked for Marvel for a week in 1972, as part of a school work study assignment. He recently e-mailed Roy and remembered his “telling me you had attended my dad's retirement party in 1966.” Must've been an informal office gathering, not the formal affair seen in photos accompanying this article. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Art Paul was another one of those New York City eccentrics who haunted the halls of Magazine Management over the years. A diminutive cartoonists’ agent who called his one-man company “Laughs Unlimited,” Art would drop off batches of cartoons several times a week. While other cartoonists would mail their submissions along with a stamped return envelope, Art would deliver them in person to the editors responsible for selecting cartoons.

Martin Goodman’s Colorful Magazine Empire

During the holidays, Art, who stuttered and had a tendency to spit when he spoke, would seek out the cartoon editors and bestow the tackiest of gifts upon them during Christmas week. Things like cheap ties with stains on them, or bottles of odd-smelling cologne. But Art needn’t have bothered with his feeble attempts at bribery, for invariably we’d discover some real gems among his offerings. Obviously, Art’s cartoons consisted of rejects that cartoonists ultimately turned over to him, but the sheer volume of submissions resulted in many sales for him. I continued to purchase cartoons from Art for other magazines long after I had left Magazine Management. Another young associate editor, who will have to remain anonymous here, approached me with several manuscripts he was supposed to copyedit before sending to the typesetter. That’s right, I said typesetter. The days of PCs had not yet arrived, with most of us still using manual typewriters. I can still hear the clackety-clack din of multiple typewriters in action. All copy, after it was edited, was sent out to our contracted typesetter, who would then return galleys for proofing. Anyway, this editor offered to pay me so much per manuscript if I would take on the task of editing them. I agreed, and wound up doing this for him on a regular basis for the better part of a year. I don’t know if he had any basic editorial skills or not, but he certainly did not lack for ideas or high-minded goals. He eventually wound up leaving MM and forming his own publishing group on the basis of a new magazine idea (not men’s adventure), and was highly successful. Milton Schiffman, or Milton “Paperclips” as he was more commonly known by veteran MM staffers, was Magazine

Management’s comptroller. Milt was friendly enough when passing the time of day, but compassion and empathy were not part of his emotional makeup. He had nothing but disdain for those less fortunate than he. Sol Brodsky (Marvel’s production manager) and Roy Thomas (its associate editor) were walking down the hallway with Milt, headed toward Martin Goodman’s office to get a Marvel Comics freelancer paid early because of a financial crisis at home. As they walked, Milt pushed his horned-rim glasses back up his nose and shook his head in disgust. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have any sympathy for anybody who doesn’t have at least a coupl’a thousand in the bank.” Milton also freelanced on the side by doing MM staffers’ income taxes, for a fee. The problem was that Milt never got anyone a refund, ever. He went strictly by the book, and when there was room to hedge, Milt always gave the benefit of the doubt to the IRS.

The Drug and Alcohol Connection Most of the MM staffers enjoyed a few drinks during lunch or after work, including those on the comic book side. A few enjoyed it a bit too much, this reporter included. Some of us eventually got help, and some didn’t. I knew several editors who are no longer with us because they could not, or would not, stop. One associate editor we’ll call Hal used to duck out of the office at least a dozen times a day, whipping around the corner to the Coral Bar for a couple of quick shooters. He would spend only a few minutes in the place, then bolt back to the office. He never bothered with any nourishment and eventually died as a direct result of his chemical dependency. Another older editor, Gil, a published poet who was separated from his wife, sat at his desk in the rear of the bullpen and nursed a bottle of vodka day after day, week after week, until finally succumbing to the ravages of alcohol poisoning. And one young editor, who quit MM just before my arrival, sat home and drank himself into a stupor for months and months until he died. Doctors who later performed an autopsy said they had never seen a swollen, diseased liver in such a young man. Even one of the MM secretaries used to fill her empty can of Coke with vodka and sip it through a straw during the day. She survived, but not before she endured the horrors of detox.

The Lineup David writes that this photo layout from My Confession (May 1975)—for a spicy article titled “Help! There Are 18 Men in My Marriage Bed!”—features a number of guys from Magazine Management’s art and editorial departments, some of whom he could ID. (L. to r.:) Joe Gonzales, an associate editor…David himself (wearing glasses)… unknown… Alan Rudnick of the art department… unknown… Bob Toye, one of the men’s books editors (“He went on to work for Walter Zacharius as editor of Knave, a slick men’s magazine”)… John Tido, another men’s mag editor (“He went on to work for Chip Goodman, who took Stag with him and also resumed publishing Swank)… unknown. Continued on the 1975 page overleaf was the rest of the marriage-bed lineup, including Halsey Munson, “another men’s mag alumnus.” Apparently, even just a couple of years before MM struck its tents forever, staffers were still serving on occasion as unpaid models! David writes that at one time or another he himself portrayed “a hit man, adventurer, credit reject, and proprietor of a love zoo, among other things.” [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Marijuana smoking was also popular and certainly not as lethal as alcohol, but cocaine developed into a problem for a few who will have to remain nameless here. One enterprising editor eventually had to start selling the stuff to help pay for his addiction. He was a close friend, and I’m sad to say his dependency eventually led to his demise before he was 35.

The Consultant In my opinion, if there was any one man responsible for hastening the end of MM’s men’s adventure magazines, it was Selwyn James. Hired by Chip Goodman as a consultant in the early ’70s, Selwyn James came in and immediately began second-guessing the editors as to the content of the men’s books. I can’t recall what Selwyn’s credentials were, if any. His full-time job had something to do with marketing. A blond, somewhat effeminate man with an annoying British accent, who hailed originally from South Africa, Selwyn would come in on his lunch hour and meet with the

“Make Mine Magazine Management!”

Big John Verpoorten. No one ever sat in the lobby and waited to catch a glimpse of the men’s books’ editors and writers, or of the artists whose marvelous illustrations graced the pages of those colorful magazines. But we were there, every day, for years. And we had fun. They were the good ol’ days, dammit. And we loved every minute of them. David R. George worked as an associate editor on True magazine in the early ’60s while attending Hunter College in the evening. After a 13year stint at Magazine Management, from 1964 through 1977, he Look Out, VC, Here We Come! went on to serve as As the war in Southeast Asia heated up, both divisions of Magazine Management jumped on the (short-lived) Vietnam War-story editor of a number of bandwagon, as per these 1965 covers for Male (April) and Tales of Suspense #61 (Jan.). Captain America, who in 1953-54 had slick men’s magazines, been a star-spangled Cold Warrior, soon switched to a pure diet of super-villains like The Red Skull and The Super-Adaptoid. [Male cover ©2007 the respective copyright holders; TOS cover ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.] including the American edition of various editors one-on-one. He would go over their prospective lineItaly’s Playmen, Europe’s best-selling publication of that type. ups for the upcoming issue, and then rip them apart. Among his regular contributors were James T. Farrell and Stephen King. David also edited Hugo Gernsback’s venerable Sexology for In the ensuing months, he actually succeeded in feminizing the several years. In 1986 he left New York for the greener pastures of men’s adventure magazines, which of course caused several editors to Asheville, North Carolina, where he and his wife Josephine resign in utter frustration. The rest of us suffered in silence and vowed founded, published, and edited a 40-page seniors-oriented tabloid, to live to irrigate his grave. Carolina Senior Citizen (whose title was later changed to 39 Plus), for eight years. In 1996 the Georges moved to Las Vegas, where The ultimate demise of MM’s men’s magazines, however, and David is currently senior copy editor for R&R Partners, the ad eventually Magazine Management itself, was no doubt brought about agency that created the much-quoted line, “What happens here, by the onset of the Newspaper Guild. The events at the end are stays here.” He and Josephine have written a novel, Stardust Dads, somewhat hazy. I left in 1977, receiving a week’s severance pay for each which—surprise!—features a men’s adventure magazine year of employment, thanks to the Guild’s contract. For some editor in New York whose life is being subtly manipulated unexplained computer glitch, Cadence couldn’t issue me one check and by his late father. The novel is currently under considerI wound up sitting in front of a suspicious suit at the bank while he ation by a New York agent. investigated why I had 13 checks, each for the same exact amount. After I left, Stag was eventually resurrected by Chip Goodman’s new company, while the rest of the men’s mags went belly-up. I don’t know if any of the movie or confession magazine titles were sold, but Magazine Management, as I knew it, ceased to exist. Martin Goodman, rest his soul, succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease in the late 1980s. I think it was around 1994 when Chip passed away. He was a relatively young man in his 50s, but the details of his death seem to be shrouded in secrecy. There were other personalities, other stories in the Magazine Management saga. What I’ve written here are just a few of the memories that have lingered within me for more than 40 years. Some of the memories are hazy. Many are vivid, as if they happened yesterday. Right now I can see and hear Fabulous Flo filling in at the reception desk, greeting the kids who haunted the lobby hoping to catch a glimpse of their heroes Stan Lee or Roy Thomas or Johnny Romita or

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“We’ll Just Get It Done!” BLANCHE FAGO On Her Comic Book Career With The Fago Brothers & Charlton Comics

Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Jim Amash

lanche Fago’s comic book days were short-lived, consisting solely of her being an editorial assistant at Charlton Comics to husband Al, an artist. Her brother-in-law, artist (and wartime editor-in-chief of Timely/Marvel Comics) Vince Fago, prompted me to interview Blanche in 2001; Vince’s own interview appeared in Alter Ego #11. This long-delayed printing finds us in the position of not knowing the whereabouts of Blanche; we hope someone can put us back in touch with her. In the meantime, here’s a candid look at her and Al’s days in comics, mostly at Charlton. —Jim. JIM AMASH: There’s not much known about your late husband, Al Fago. In fact, it’s not generally known that you had worked for Charlton, too. BLANCHE FAGO: I still have fans who write me about my husband, who’s been dead since 1975. He did a lot of his comic book work for Charlton Press in Derby, Connecticut. They were publishing other things besides comics, but I didn’t follow up on what

happened to Charlton, because the two men who were the head of the company died [John Santangelo and Ed Levy]. I lost track of all the artists who worked for us, too. JA: A couple of years after the company closed, the building that housed Charlton was torn down for a shopping center and a parking lot. FAGO: They did? Well, you’d be surprised that we were all in that building in the Fall of 1955 when Connecticut had major floods, and Derby was down at the bottom of all that. The water got up on that particular building to about 18 feet, and the people were still in there. My husband was up on the roof, helping people out and getting them on helicopters so they’d be safe. He was the only one with a hand camera, and no one believes that. That flood destroyed everything, and was one of the worst ones that Connecticut ever had. [NOTE: See a photo of that flood in A/E #64.] I can’t tell you too much about Charlton, but my husband also worked for an animation studio that was owned by The Saturday Evening Post. That was the early days. He also drew Elsie the Cow for Borden for several years, and some designs for the Sunbeam Girl, who’s been around for many years. I once had some of the originals, but lost most of his art when I moved from Orange, Connecticut. The people who were supposed to

Blanche, Two Brothers, And A Mouse (Top center:) Blanche & Al Fago in the 1950s, and (above) Vince Fago in 1974, at age 60—juxtaposed with a vintage “Atomic Mouse” splash reprinted by Charlton in Funny Animals #1 (Sept. 1984). The latter mag was an reprint-laden attempted relaunch of the title they’d bought from Fawcett circa 1953; it even utilized the original logo. The photo of Al & Blanche appeared in SFA Spotlights Atomic Mouse #11 in 2001, published by Mike & Carole Curtis of Shanda Fantasy Arts. The pic of Vince was sent by VF himself when he was interviewed by Jim Amash for Alter Ego #11; Vince passed away in 2002. “Atomic Mouse” is the most noted of the many features on which Al Fago worked; his brother Vince, also a cartoonist, maintained that he himself created and did considerable work on the character, though it never bore any signature but Al’s. “It was okay for him to take credit,” Al said in the 2001 SFA mag, “as he was the editor.” Blanche, in this interview, says that Vince “helped” Al with Atomic Mouse and Atomic Rabbit. [Atomic Mouse art ©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Blanche Fago On Her Comic Book Career

eight years, and I was Personnel Director when I left. And Al, like many other comic book people, had other interests. He was an inventor and also collected antique furniture. He’d go downtown every Saturday morning and buy radio parts, so he could make radios. This business takes so much out of people for very little reward, as you know. And it’s terrible. The money’s very little payback for what you put into it. But it’s very easy to fall into that trap. JA: When Al started up the studio, do you recall who worked for him?

Voyage Of The Space Beetle Al Fago in 1934, at age 30. This photo, likewise sent by Vince in 2001, shows his older sibling “in front of a graph (squares) of a rug he was designing for Alexander Smith-Bigelow-Sanford.” At right, from the days when Al & Blanche were editing at Charlton, is the Al-signed cover of Space Adventures #13 (Oct.-Nov. 1954); this issue reintroduced the Golden Age Fox super-hero The Blue Beetle in that era when The Adventures of Superman was the hottest kids’ show on TV. (And our abject apologies to the ghost of A.E. Van Vogt for our mutation of the title of his vintage sciencefiction masterpiece The Voyage of the Space Beagle.] [Blue Beetle is a trademark of DC Comics.]

bring it to me somehow lost it, and I don’t have the energy to fight it. I’m a very old lady now. [NOTE: Blanche Fago was 91 at the time of this interview.] Al worked very hard as a youngster, and he went to Pratt Institute at night, where he got a college education on a scholarship. He also designed rugs for the Bigelow Rug Company. JA: How did you meet Al? FAGO: His mother and my mother were friends. Al was five years older than me, and he was born in Yonkers, New York. We knew each other most of our lives. He’d go to the “Y” and we’d see each other. Then I grew up and we went to different schools. Then he married and went off in a different direction. I married a newspaperman, so Al was my second husband. We married in 1949. We dated when we were teenagers, before we went separate ways. Al had a daughter from his first marriage who came to live with us. I had two girls from my first husband. Al and I never had any children together. When we met each other again, Al was freelancing for Borden. JA: Was Al working in comics when you got together again? FAGO: No. But we started a studio on 42nd Street in New York City, and we were buying art to sell to comic book companies. Then we went to work for Charlton Press and moved to Connecticut. JA: Was Al doing much of the art himself? FAGO: Yes. He always did that; Al and his brother Vince both did that. He also did oil paintings for private collectors. They all were sold, so we never had any for our family. Supporting yourself as an artist was difficult to do, especially during the Depression, but Al managed to do it. He must have done all right, because when we met again, he had money in his pocket. I had a job with the Research Institute of America in New York for

FAGO: There were several people, but I can’t remember their names. There was one fellow who did science-fiction, and he was excellent because he went on to other things, though I don’t remember where. Two or three guys did the romance stories, but I don’t remember their names, either. I thought Vince might remember.... JA: He doesn’t. FAGO: ....but he’s pretty old, too. And he looks it! [laughs] He looks like Father Time! But he always looked like that! Even when he was a kid, he looked like that. He built his own home and all that crazy stuff. Vince is a very nice guy and a fundamentally great person. A very sweet person. And so is his wife [D’Ann]. A great lady. JA: Did the studio have a name? FAGO: It wasn’t there that long. It was just Alfred V. Fago Studios, I guess. It was on 55 West 42 Street in New York. He did lots of humor work for a lot of places. He started at Charlton in 1952. JA: What did he do for a living in between the studio and Charlton? FAGO: He continued to do package comics. In fact, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster came around looking for work because they were starving. They always looked like a couple of vagrants. They lost the Superman account—which they created—and we took them in and gave them some work. That’s when we went on staff at Charlton Press. We had already been working for them while we were living in New York, packaging comics. Charlton was our one big client. I was there all the time, helping Al with the business end. I also helped edit the stories, especially the two-page text stories. I bought stories from one writer who went on to become famous: Ray Bradbury. He sent in those two-pagers and we put them in the books. He came in once in a while and was very nice. Same for Joe Gill, who wrote tons of stuff for us. Siegel and Shuster just did stories for us on a freelance basis. I was the one who decided whether or not to hire them, which I did. This was before we were at Charlton, because they didn’t do any work for us once we were on staff at Charlton. [NOTE: Actually, Siegel and Shuster did a small body of Charlton work in the 1950s, though not as a team. —Jim.] I didn’t get to know them. They were just the usual kind of “schmoes.” They weren’t outstanding in any way that I ever noticed, and I don’t think their work was that outstanding. They were just trying to stay in the comic book business. And no one was really inter-

“We’ll Just Get It Done!”

husband would check on the art and the writing. He would also check on the lettering and the books, once they came off the press. I would look at things, too, to make sure the books were what we wanted. JA: Was this a nine-to-five job? FAGO: Oh, yes. We had a couple of assistant editors. One helped me with the art and the other helped Al. I don’t remember their names. JA: Was Dick Giordano one of them? FAGO: Yes, he was. He was the one who was in the romance end of things. He had his brother-in-law Sal Trapani helping him. Trapani was not that good an artist, but Dick was very good. Dick hadn’t been married long when we knew him. He was a good-looking man, and a hard worker. JA: What were the Santangelos like? FAGO: Oh! [laughs] We quit working for them because we found out about their crime background. We had never run into anyone like that before, and we didn’t want to continue. I remember that John Santangelo left Italy because he had killed someone or had been involved in it. He came to America and worked on the subway system in New York back in the 1920s. I don’t know how he got to Connecticut, but I know he was working with all the Irish and Italians who had worked on the subway system. There were constant fights and other stuff going on. When John Santangelo died, his son took over for a very short time. Edward Levy was his partner, and Ed’s nephew, Bert, inherited from him. Bert was a lawyer, as was Ed. Ed Levy and John Santaglo were the ones who hired us. Businesswise, John Santangelo was a crook! And he couldn’t change his colors. He had a family and a girl or two on the side, but that’s beside the point. He had a big family with a lot of kids and a house with a big balcony. We could see it from where we worked. Santangelo wanted to see this business that he had built, so he built a balcony onto his house

Shuster In Space Superman co-creator Joe Shuster had fallen upon evil days by the time he penciled this story for Space Adventures #11 (May-June 1954)—but, at least as inked by young Dick Giordano, did Joe’s art really suffer by comparison to lots of other Charlton artists? Thanks to Bob Bailey. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

ested in buying their work after Superman. JA: Do you remember what work they did for you? FAGO: No. It was just run-of-the-mill stuff. Whatever we had to get done was what they did. Their stuff wasn’t very good. We quit using them after the second time they came in. I know they were really suffering. They were very mild people. It was too bad because they were not business people. My husband and I were not really, either. Anybody could have taken us over, because we were not shrewd about what we did. JA: Did Al do much writing? FAGO: He did some for the humor comics. He also wrote some poetry for me. He also had some talented people writing for him. I don’t remember people’s names that much from so long ago. I’m more interested in my grandchildren, which I have a lot of. JA: Why did you two give up the studio and edit directly for Charlton? FAGO: Because they asked us to. They offered Al a lot of money—and me, too. I left my job, which I told you about. We moved to Connecticut and built a home in Orange. This was in 1953. He was editor-in-chief, and I was in charge of buying the art. The other people at Charlton had nothing to do with the comics. We did it all. My

Easy As “Eh!”-B-C Noted artist Dick Giordano drew (and signed) this 4-page parody “Buck Hodges of the 26th Century!” for Charlton’s color Mad wannabe Eh! #1 (Dec. 1953), more than a decade before he himself became Charlton’s editor. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

so he could watch. He had all the feelings of a Benito Mussolini, he really did! He was awful to do business with, I’ll tell you that. When we came up to look for a place to live, we were going to build a house to live in. Santangelo said, [faking an Italian accent] “I’ll take you to a beautiful place and you can move right in.” He took me to some places like you’d never seen in your life. In New Haven, Connecticut. He took me to some cold water flats; they had no heat, no hot water, no bathrooms, no nothing. The gas heater was in the kitchen. He wanted us to move into a flat like that, so I said, “Goodbye.” But that was the kind of man he was. He had no couth. He was just a peasant who had reached a position where he had a lot of money.

Blanche Fago On Her Comic Book Career

FAGO: Yes, he did. Al was basically kind. He would see an artist who was struggling and trying to make it through. And he never liked to tell any of them that they were not good at what they were trying to do. He would always, in a very quiet way, say that they should find something else to do. He never fired them… but he should have. JA: Vince told me that Al was more temperamental than he was. FAGO: That’s true. Vincent was a typical Greenwich Village type. Vince lived there a long time, as did I with my first husband. Vince was easy-going and very kind to everybody. My husband would get impatient with Vincent, because he was ten years older than Vince, and thought Vincent could do better for himself. But Vincent did what he felt was best for him.

When we had that flood that I told you about, Santangelo had so JA: But I can see there was much money in flood insurance for genuine love between the two of things that were never in that them. Did you or Al ever building. Mr Levy never put his experience editorial interference name on anything. Levy stayed in the from your bosses? background; he didn’t want anyone to know he was connected to this FAGO: No. Never. We were given business. He invited us to his free rein. They didn’t know a thing Woodbridge Country Club. Never about what the books looked like. There’s Plenty Of Space Out West! with John. Levy was trying to be They just wanted to get them out. Perhaps the most notorious comic to come out of Charlton during kind to us. He knew we were the Fagos’ editorial tenure was Space Western #40 (Sept.-Oct. 1952)— different than John. We went there JA: What do you remember about rivaled only by issue #41, two months later! On this splash page quite often with Mr. Levy and Dick Giordano? drawn by John Belfi, cowboy Spurs Jackson and his soon-to-be enjoyed that. We went to Florida to Space Vigilantes prepare to fend off an invasion by flying saucers FAGO: We never questioned visit with some of his people down from another planet. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.] anything he ever did. We gave him there. Levy paid for our trips. Even work, and from time to time, he though he stayed in the background, he made all the final decisions. would question a story we gave him. But he had a right to do that, and Then he brought in Bert, who was the lawyer in the family, and I think he always did good work. We never had to supervise him. Personally, that’s when John decided to retire. we liked him a lot, though he kept to himself a lot. And he wasn’t too JA: Did you like Ed Levy that much? happy with his brother-in-law Sal Trapani, because he couldn’t vouch for his work. Dick was a strict disciplinarian about his own work. Sal FAGO: I didn’t like him at all. He was a real shnook, but he was smart. was a little more slipshod. And we didn’t want to be too tough on Sal I didn’t think John was stupid, but he was a crook. They all brought in because of Dick, who was very valuable to us. their family to work in the business. Levy and Santangelo met in jail. John was really bad news, but Levy must have thought they could JA: I’d like to ask you about a few people. Do you remember Vince make money together. Levy wouldn’t do anything without thinking Alascia? about it first. FAGO: Vaguely. He was a sloppy kind of a guy. He was kind-of a jerk JA: How much interaction did Al have with these people? I guess he and stuck in my craw a little bit. He was one guy I really had to dealt with them everyday? supervise. Al didn’t give him too much to do because he wasn’t happy with the results. FAGO: He had to. Al was a very quiet person, like his brother Vince. And they didn’t look anything like each other. Al was a very small man JA: Charles Nicholas. Alascia inked a lot of his work pencils. and very neat. Al was an inventor at heart. He and a friend invented a FAGO: I don’t really remember him. He did a little bit of everything long-playing record machine before such a thing was on the market. for us, but his work wasn’t top-notch. They never got anything out of their invention. Al made our first television set out of a schematic map. It worked for a long time before JA: Pat Masulli? we decided to get a new one. Al really could do things. When there was a situation where no one else could find a solution, Al could do it. He FAGO: Yes. He took over the books when we left. He hadn’t been was methodical and he had patience. The patience of a saint. there too long. He was interested in the business end of things, and he was young and bright. He was a nice guy, clean-shaven and niceJA: Did he deal with his freelancers the same way? looking. He was a little bit of an operator. He caught on to things very

“We’ll Just Get It Done!”

JA: Did the advent of the Comics Code affect the way you handled the comics?

quickly. He was left holding the bag when we quit. JA: There was a guy who had something to do with Charlton named Frank Comunale.

FAGO: Not too much. Because we didn’t use any of the language they use now. We had very little trouble with them, but we did go down to the Code offices every so often. The owners thought we should cooperate with the Code, which we did. Nobody ever censored our books. The problem started because there were too many small companies who put out books with a lot of trash in them.

FAGO: I didn’t know him. There was a guy who did science-fiction and mystery stories for us. His first name was Steve. JA: Steve Ditko? FAGO: Yes. What is he doing now? JA: He still does comics that his friend Robin Snyder publishes. He also writes articles for Robin’s newsletter, The Comics! He was the co-creator of “Spider-Man,” and created many other characters.

JA: What were your husband’s feelings towards the comic book business? FAGO: He was devoted to it. He had done comics even back when he worked at the rug company. Al always found the time to freelance for the comic books. He even helped Vince on the Peter Rabbit newspaper strip. It wasn’t unusual for Vince to call Al at midnight and ask, “Hey! The deadline’s tomorrow at noon. What are we going to do?” Al would say, “We’ll just get it done!”

FAGO: He was a very good artist. A very nice, quiet person. He didn’t want anyone to know what he did in his private life. He was ill for a while, and didn’t want anyone to come and visit him. We never knew what was wrong with him. We lost track of him when he left Charlton. I often wondered what he had done, because he had so much promise! JA: He lived up to his potential, that’s for sure. Steve’s had a long, honorable career. Charlton was where he started to make a name for himself in the business.

Just One Of Those Things! One of the most notable alumni of the Fago era at Charlton is a guy named Steve Ditko. Here’s his splash for the horror comic The Thing! #13 (Feb. 1954). Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, and even Captain Atom were still years in his future. With thanks to Frank Motler. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

FAGO: That’s right. He came in one day and showed us his work and we hired him. We didn’t know know anything about him prior to his working for us. JA: Did he write his own stories? FAGO: Some of them. I remember that he had certain ideas about the stories he did. He was very professional about deadlines. He didn’t socialize much at all. He was a private man. We didn’t even know where he lived or anything about his family. I remember something about him coming from Pennsylvania.

JA: He was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania—about 30 miles from where I was born.

JA: Is it fair to say that Al had a passion for comics?

FAGO: It wasn’t a passion. It was a way of making a living. Al had other interests besides comics. It was just a means to an end, but it became a passion. He was always illustrating things for children. One time, Al was called to the NBC studios to come on a television show and draw Howdy Doody. He got right up the stage with Buffalo Bob Smith, and drew on a large pad of paper for the kids. JA: Why did you two quit working for Charlton? FAGO: Because we found out about the backgrounds of the owners. And we were supposed to be building up a pension, which didn’t happen. We made some demands, and they said they couldn’t meet them, so we left. But Al continued to freelance for them, because he felt he had left them in the lurch. It was like a slave market. We just couldn’t stay there.

FAGO: He was always very friendly to me, but he didn’t talk to the other people at Charlton. They left him alone. When we first came to Charlton, we still lived in Long Island, until we were able to sell our house. And we would pick up artists along the way. We drove a Cadillac then, so we had room. The highways weren’t as crowded as they are now. And we needed the people to come up with us and do the work. We would pick up Steve, who picked out a place on the road where we could meet him, so he could go to Charlton with us. Steve Ditko was one of the nice guys. I liked him a lot—a real gentleman. He was smart and knew what he was talking about. One of the few people I remember fondly from those days.

JA: Do you remember what you paid the creative help?

JA: Did Al create Atomic Mouse and Atomic Rabbit?

FAGO: No, I just wrote the checks. I was like a personnel director. Al would decide what artists were compatible with what stories. He would also let the artists decide what genre they wanted to work in.

FAGO: Yes. Vince helped him on those. Al also created Li’l Ghost and Timmy the Timid Ghost. Timmy was cute.

FAGO: No. I used to know, because it was my job to get people to work for us. People would recommend people to me, and I’d decide whether or not to hire them. JA: Sounds like you and Al were co-editors. FAGO: We were. Not only was I in charge of the artists, but I also proofread the stories to make sure there were no misspellings. JA: Did you do any writing?

Blanche Fago On Her Comic Book Career

FAGO: No. It affected both arms. That’s what made him the saddest person in the world. He couldn’t do a thing. And, two or three years later, he was stricken with Parkinson’s Disease. But he never complained. Never! He didn’t change much in appearance, and the stroke didn’t affect his ability to walk. It was just his arms. You know, Al could build a house. He had that kind of ability. When we bought our house on Long Island, before we moved to Connecticut, Al redid the whole thing. We’d invite the artists to come over with their easels and draw. We had a wonderful time. JA: You said Al died in 1975. What did he die of?

Atomic In the Comics There must’ve been something in the air—like maybe U-235!? Al Fago’s Atomic Mouse #1 debuted with a March 1953 cover date; Atomic Rabbit #1 bore the date Aug. 1955. With thanks to Ramon Schenk for the scans. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

JA: Vince told me that he helped your husband with his art for Charlton. FAGO: He might have. I don’t remember that. JA: In 1958, Al and Vince published their own comic books. The company was called Fago Publications. FAGO: I had forgotten about that. I wasn’t involved with it. It must not have made any money. I guess it was a fleeting thing. Poor distribution must have hurt the company. JA: None of the books lasted very long. Shortly after that, you two started a copy center. When did you open for business? FAGO: 1958. We were preparing for that business before we started it. When we quit doing comics, we had 5,000 comics at the house, so we had a sale and sold them for a penny apiece. JA: Did Al miss doing comics when he left the field? FAGO: He did, but he was a practical man. The copy center started slowly, but we had some money to help us through. Al did ad work and drew a cookbook, too. I did all the typing for it. By the time Al had a stroke in 1963, we had the first Xerox machine in Orange, Connecticut. It took up half the room in our front office. It was a huge machine and printed seven copies a minute. We’d stand there and wait for these copies to come out of the machine. It was crazy. JA: Was Al able to draw after he suffered that stroke?

A Failed Fago Launch Alas, Fago Publications, begun by brothers Al & Vince in the late 1950s, lasted just long enough to publish eight comics, including two issues of Atom-Age Combat (whose title is unhyphenated in the indicia). Seen above is the cover of #3 (March 1959), actually the second issue; there was no #1. The other issue’s cover was printed in A/E #11. Artist uncertain. Thanks to Ramon Schenk. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

FAGO: That’s hard to say, because he had complications because of the stroke. He went to the hospital many times over the years. I took care of him for twelve years. One morning, he went to sleep and never woke up. He didn’t suffer except for the fact that his health had affected his ability to do the things he liked to do. He was 70 when he passed away.

#125 March 2007

Hollywood scripter Keaton had sought out to relieve him of the pressures of that chore, had, himself, after eight months, requested relief. The replacement was Glenn Chaffin, cocreator of an earlier aviation strip, Tailspin Tommy. The work of neither writer was under criticism. We were at war, and Russell Keaton, a licensed pilot, wanted to be a part of it! In the spring of ’44 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps Reserves. The Bell Syndicate retained the services of Gladys Parker to continue the Flyin’ Jenny art. By [Art & logo ©2007 Marc Swayze; Captain Marvel © & TM 2007 DC Comics]

[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 scripts, and continued to do so while in the military. After leaving the service in 1944, he made an arrangement with Fawcett to produce art and stories for them on a freelance basis out of his Louisiana home. There he created both art and story for The Phantom Eagle in Wow Comics, in addition to drawing the Flyin’ Jenny newspaper strip for Bell Syndicate (created by his friend and mentor Russell Keaton). After the cancellation of Wow, Swayze produced artwork for Fawcett’s top-selling line of romance comics, including Sweethearts and Life Story. After the company ceased publishing comics, Marc moved over to Charlton Publications, where he ended his comics career in the mid-’50s. Marc’s ongoing professional memoirs have been FCA’s most popular feature since his first column appeared in FCA #54, 1996. Last issue, Marc discussed the approach he took in drawing Captain Marvel during the Golden Age. This issue he sets the record straight regarding his work on the Flyin’ Jenny newspaper strip. —P.C. Hamerlinck.]

he woman just wouldn’t stay out of my life. Without a word of encouragement or persuasion, she kept popping up all along the way. And she belonged to somebody else!

I’m talking about Flyin’ Jenny, fairhaired aviatrix of the newspapers, the creation of veteran comic strip artist Russell Keaton. Jenny had been appearing in daily and Sunday papers only a month or so when I reported for my first employment in the business, in 1939 … as a very green assistant.

Parker was a good artist. Her Mopsy was one of the finest one-panel newspaper features of the day. Her ability to produce six drawings a week, year after year, and never to sink into a boresome similarity, was incredible. But to expect her to become suddenly a continuity comic strip storyteller was absurd. Flyin’ Jenny was indeed in need of help … and the Syndicate insisted I was the one to provide it. When I eventually agreed, it was with the conviction that the inclusion of a credit line justified the decision. I suspect, though, that a feeling of loyalty might have had something to do with it … like a covenant … with Flyin’ Jenny. Taking the Sunday page art was not a wise business deal. It meant giving up one of the two Fawcett features I had counted on, and settling for a fraction of the income previously expected. And there was the question of whether the name credit would ever become as beneficial to the career as thought. As best I’ve been able to piece together the events of 1944, when I took over the Sunday page art in May, Gladys Parker continued the daily strip art … until July. By that time Russell Keaton announced his Corps duties had been arranged so as to allow him to resume the daily strip art. It was a valiant gesture. It must have been a very weary artist who sat at the drawing board night after night … after a full daytime schedule as a flying instructor. Weary … and, although it wasn’t known at the time … ill. In August Keaton received his honorable discharge from the Air Corps Reserves … but asked that I continue the Sunday page art. When he requested in December that I draw the daily strip as well, while he went to the hospital … for tests. I agreed, with the understanding that no money be involved. His death in February was deeply felt. I had lost a true friend, and to a great extent, an ideal. I didn’t want Flyin’ Jenny. I was comfortable doing the art and much of the writing of the Phantom Eagle in Fawcett’s Wow Comics. But the insistence of the supervising executive at The Bell Syndicate, and the attorney representing Mrs. Keaton, was powerful … and convincing.

And here she was again … five years later … this time in the offices of the Bell Syndicate … and Keaton miles and miles away. A report of that occasion, published elsewhere, pictures my having crept in, hat in hand, humbly begging for work. The fact is, I was quite satisfied with the arrangement I had with Fawcett Publications, and was there simply to speak briefly with those I knew at the Syndicate. The warmth of their greeting was surprising. Flyin’ Jenny, apparently, was in trouble. And it wasn’t due to the writing of the strip. Col. Frank Wead, the

Smile And Say “Big Red Cheese!” Marc Swayze and P.C. Hamerlinck pose before a painting by Marc of Captain Marvel, during P.C.’s visit to the Swayzes’ home in 2005. Photo by Jennifer Hamerlinck.

I enjoyed drawing Flyin’ Jenny … both the daily strip and the Sunday page. And collaborating with easygoing, thoroughly professional Glenn Chaffin was a pleasure. It was my opinion that when the story had Jenny stranded on an island with friends Timber, Scoop, Red Richmint, and the wild man, “Unk” … we were producing top grade, post-war continuity comic strip. I thought so then … and as I look back over it … I think so now!

“We Didn’t Know... It Was The Golden Age!”

Flyin’ High With Flyin’ Jenny

Marc considers the Nov.-Dec. 1945 episode of which these eight dailies are a part to be among his favorite work on the Flyin’ Jenny newspaper strip:

FCA [Fawcett Collectors of America]

Marc Swayze’s memories of the Golden Age of Comics will continue in the next issue of Alter Ego.

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“The Wall Of Flesh” by John Cochran Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

“T

he Wall of Flesh,” the 1950s Bob Powell-illustrated tale from Fawcett’s This Magazine Is Haunted, has all the classic elements of the comic book horror story: a ghoulish top-hatted host, a mad doctor (with a humpback, no less), a damsel in distress, a wounded war hero, and a pulsating wall of human flesh that’s as ravenous as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. To top it off, Powell even gives the story a touch of Salvador Dali, who used a melting timepiece in his painting The Persistence of Memory. Powell tries the same technique, joining the damsel with the face of a clock and “the wall of flesh.” It is a striking image, surely the most striking in the story, emphasizing the passage of time. These images appear three times, each one with the victim further disappearing into the wall. Powell favored thick, muscular, and sinewy lines more than any other technique that characterized his work, and there’s an abundance of that here. If the writing is a little overwrought (“She recoiled from his moist and icy hand”), Powell does his best to realize the horror of the madman who has fashioned his own flesh bank. “There have been blood banks—even eye banks—but human flesh, never!” Powell (assisted during 1948-52 by Howard Nostrand) gave his stories dimension by shifting perspectives and dropping in and out of

The Doctor Is In Bob Powell’s splash panel to the classic horror story in This Magazine Is Haunted #12 (Aug. 1953). Sheldon Moldoff created the concept and title This Magazine Is Haunted and designed its “ghoulist, top-hatted host” Dr. Death. All art from “The Wall of Flesh!” seen here is from AC Comics’ reprint, with art retouched and gray tones added; see AC’s ad on p. 37. Thanks to Frank Motler and Scott Rowland for issue identification. [Restored art ©2007 AC Comics.]

panels. (By the time the damsel realizes she’s in a fix, she erupts in a scream outside the box.) And while he was known for solid backgrounds—particularly in his Fawcett romance comics—all he has in “The Wall of Flesh” are the basics: hallways with lined floors, stairs, a lab table, a storage area, and a single glimpse of a darkened street lit by a lamppost. Yet his use of perspective and shadows gave the story the edge it needed. [A reprint of “The Wall of Flesh” is available from accomics.com]

BOB POWELL FAWCETT INDEX Battle Stories #2 Beware! Terror Tales #1, 2, 8 Cowboy Love #10 Down with Crime #2, 4 Exciting Romances #8-10 Fawcett Movie Comic #7 (“Gunmen of Abilene”/Rocky Lane), #8 (“King of the Bullwhip”/Lash LaRue), #9 (“The Old Frontier”/ Monte Hale) Hot Rod Comics (featuring Clint Curtis) #1-7

Life Story #13, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 39

“The Wall Of Flesh”

Motion Picture Comics #104 (“Vigilante Hideout”/ Rocky Lane), #105 (“Red Badge of Courage”) Romantic Secrets #5, 7, 10, 12, 16, 17, 20, 26, 29, 33, 34, 36, 37 Romantic Story #7, 8, 16, 20, 30 Strange Suspense Stories #1, 4 Sweethearts #101, 107 This Magazine Is Haunted #3-5, 11, 12 True Sweetheart Secrets #5 Vic Torry & his Flying Saucer (one-shot) Worlds Beyond #1 Worlds of Fear #2, 4, 5

NOTE: A more complete checklist of Powell’s work can be found on pp. 28-37; this list is simply intended to highlight his art for Fawcett.

A Running Fawcett Bob Powell did other work for Fawcett Publications, as well. [Clockwise from above left:] A panel from Sweethearts #106 (Dec. 1951). [This & next two art spots ©2007 the respective copyright holders.] An insert head of hero Clint Curtis from Hot Rod Comics. A splash page from the Fawcett 1950 one-shot Vic Torry and His Flying Saucer, reprinted in Eclipse’s (and Michael T. Gilbert’s) Mr. Monster’s Super Duper Special #5 in January 1987. And a Powell splash from Fawcett Movie Comic #8, featuring an adaptation of the Lash LaRue oater King of the Bull Whip, as reprinted in AC Comics’ Great American Western #6. [Restored art ©2007 AC Comics.]

A Marvel Mystery by Gregg Clifford Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

t appeared one day amongst a hundred old comic books … delivered in a grocery bag.

In May 2006 my friend Dave Baker, owner of Comic Collectibles in Burton, Michigan, acquired an assorted lot of comics from the 1946 period. About a dozen of the books were promotional or “giveaway” comics, but there was one oddity that stood out. At first glance it appeared merely to be a ragged copy of Fawcett’s Marvel Family Comics #1 from December 1945. But upon closer inspection we discovered the book contained only 16 pages, and its interior pages had entirely different contents from Marvel Family #1. The book’s front cover features the color cover art from Marvel Family #1 without price, number, month, or any other of the original cover verbiage (which includes the “Mighty Marvel Family Joins Forces vs. Black Adam” text box and “A Fawcett Magazine,” which was immediately below the “M” in the title logo). However, it retains the names of Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Mary Marvel, and Uncle Marvel on the large book depicted leaning against Shazam’s

The cover of the “Marvel Mystery” edition of Marvel Family Comics… largely derived from the 1945 cover of Fawcett’s Marvel Family Comics #1, by C.C. Beck & Pete Costanza. [All art in this section ©2007 DC Comics.]

throne (though it is stripped of “In Full Color” above the names from the original cover). Interestingly enough, “Copyright 1946 Fawcett Publications, Inc.” is added in the lower left hand corner of the rare book. The paper for the covers is unfinished, non-glossy pulp stock. The story, “The Marvel Family Moves a Town,” begins on the inside front cover. The first six pages are in black-&-white; the last two pages are in color. This story was originally the lead story in Marvel Family #3, July 1946.

The back cover art of the mystery comic consists primarily of Beck & Costanza’s front cover art for The Marvel Family #3 (July 1946).

Next, page 10 features b&w cover art from Captain Marvel Adventures #51 (Jan. 1946), with no title logo, number, month, or the cover blurb/text box. Page 11 is b&w cover art from Captain Marvel Jr. #42 (Sept. 1946), again with no original cover verbiage; page 12 is b&w cover art from Mary Marvel #5 (Sept. 1946) (with no text); page 13 is b&w cover art from Captain Marvel Adventures #53 (Feb. 1946) (no text); page 14 is b&w cover art from Captain Marvel Jr. #36 (March 1946) (no text); page 15, the inside back cover, is b&w cover art from Mary Marvel #3 (July1946) (no text).

“A Marvel Mystery”

The back cover features color cover art from Marvel Family #3 (July 1946), again without title logo, price, number, and month. The text box remains intact, but its original opening line, “Stirring Action with the,” is deleted. The book is not listed in the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. So what exactly was this Marvel Family sampler? A freebie given to customers who purchased some product … with its black-&-white interior pages intended for kids to color? Or perhaps it was a magazine-

distributors-only publication designed to entice them to carry Marvel Family titles? (Even the “bindery” is suspect, as the pages appear to have later been “restored” together with an ordinary stapler.) And did the item originate here in the US, or could it have been circulated in the UK, Canada, or even Australia? This is one Marvel mystery that remains unsolved. [Comic Collectibles is located at G-4383 S. Saginaw St., Burton, MI 48507. (810) 7430161]

The “Marvel Family” story inside the Marvel Mystery mag, like the back cover, comes from The Marvel Family #3, only reproduced in black-&-white. Art by C.C. Beck.

C.C. Beck’s cover of Captain Marvel Adventures #51, minus all copy, has been transformed into a pin-up….

…as has Bud Thompson’s cover art of Captain Marvel Jr. #42.

FCA [Fawcett Collectors of America]

(Above:) Jack Binder’s exquisite cover art for Mary Marvel #5, minus copy.

(Above:) Beck & Costanza’s cover art for Captain Marvel Adventures #53, converted into a text-less pin-up.

(Above:) Cover art for Captain Marvel Jr. #36, by Thompson.

(Above:) Mary Marvel #3 cover, minus copy, by Jack Binder.

So there you have it, folks—as Billy Batson would say. Anybody with any clues concerning publishing information on our “Marvel Mystery” tome should contact P.C. Hamerlinck.

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JOHN ROMITA... AND ALL THAT JAZZ! “Jazzy” JOHN ROMITA talks about his life, his art, and his contemporaries! Authored by former Marvel Comics editor in chief and top writer ROY THOMAS, and noted historian JIM AMASH, it features the most definitive interview Romita’s ever given, about working with such comics legends as STAN LEE and JACK KIRBY, following Spider-Man co-creator STEVE DITKO as artist on the strip, and more! Plus, Roy Thomas shares memories of working with Romita in the 1960s-70s, and Jim Amash examines the awesome artistry of Ring-a-Ding Romita! Lavishly illustrated with Romita art—original classic art, and unseen masterpieces—as well as illos by some of Marvel’s and DC’s finest, this is at once a career overview of a comics master, and a firsthand history of the industry by one of its leading artists! Available in Softcover and Deluxe Hardcover (with 16 extra color pages, dust jacket, and custom endleaves). (192-page softcover) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905757 • Diamond Order Code: APR074018 (208-page hardcover with COLOR) $44.95 ISBN: 9781893905764 • Diamond Order Code: APR074019

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ALL- STAR COMPANION VOL. 2 ROY THOMAS presents still more secrets of the Justice Society of America and ALL-STAR COMICS, from 1940 through the 1980s, featuring: A fabulous wraparound cover by CARLOS PACHECO! More amazing information and speculation on the classic ALL-STAR COMICS of 1940-1951! Never-before-seen Golden Age art by IRWIN HASEN, CARMINE INFANTINO, ALEX TOTH, MART NODELL, JOE KUBERT, H.G. PETER, and others! Art from an unpublished 1940s JSA story not seen in Volume 1! Rare art from the original JLA-JSA team-ups and the 1970s ALL-STAR COMICS REVIVAL by MIKE SEKOWSKY, DICK DILLIN, JOE STATON, WALLY WOOD, KEITH GIFFEN, and RIC ESTRADA! Full coverage of the 1980s ALL-STAR SQUADRON, and a bio of every single All-Star, plus never-seen art by JERRY ORDWAY, RICH BUCKLER, ARVELL JONES, RAFAEL KAYANAN, and special JSArelated art and features by FRANK BRUNNER, ALEX ROSS, NEAL ADAMS, GIL KANE, MIKE MIGNOLA, and RAMONA FRADON—and more!

NEW FOR 2008

(240-page trade paperback) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905375 Diamond Order Code: AUG063622

ALL- STAR COMPANION VOL. 3

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In this third volume, comics legend Roy Thomas presents still more amazing secrets behind the 1940-51 ALL-STAR COMICS and the JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA! Also, there’s an issue-by-issue survey of the JLA/JSA TEAM-UPS of 1963-85, the 1970s JSA REVIVAL, and the 1980s series THE YOUNG ALL-STARS with commentary by the artists and writers! Plus rare, often unseen art by NEAL ADAMS, DICK AYERS, MICHAEL BAIR, JOHN BUSCEMA, SEAN CHEN, DICK DILLIN, RIC ESTRADA, CREIG FLESSEL, KEITH GIFFEN, DICK GIORDANO, MIKE GRELL, TOM GRINDBERG, TOM GRUMMETT, RON HARRIS, IRWIN HASEN, DON HECK, CARMINE INFANTINO, GIL KANE, JACK KIRBY, JOE KUBERT, BOB LAYTON, SHELDON MAYER, BOB McLEOD, SHELDON MOLDOFF, BRIAN MURRAY, JERRY ORDWAY, ARTHUR PEDDY, GEORGE PÉREZ, H.G. PETER, HOWARD PURCELL, PAUL REINMAN, MIKE SEKOWSKY, HOWARD SIMPSON, JOE SINNOTT, JIM STARLIN, JOE STATON, RONN SUTTON, ALEX TOTH, JIM VALENTINO and many others! Featuring a new JLA/JSA cover by GEORGE PÉREZ! (240-page trade paperback) $26.95 ISBN: 9781893905801 • Diamond Order Code: SEP074020

Edited by ROY THOMAS The greatest ‘zine of the 1960s is back, ALL-NEW, and focusing on GOLDEN AND SILVER AGE comics and creators with ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, UNSEEN ART, P.C. Hamerlinck’s FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America, featuring the archives of C.C. BECK and recollections by Fawcett artist MARCUS SWAYZE), Michael T. Gilbert’s MR. MONSTER, and more!

2007 EISNER AWARD WINNER Best Comics-Related Periodical

Go online for an ULTIMATE BUNDLE, with all the issues at HALF-PRICE!

DIEGDITITIOANL ONLY!

ALTER EGO #1

ALTER EGO #2

ALTER EGO #3

STAN LEE gets roasted by SCHWARTZ, CLAREMONT, DAVID, ROMITA, BUSCEMA, and SHOOTER, ORDWAY and THOMAS on INFINITY, INC., IRWIN HASEN interview, unseen H.G. PETER Wonder Woman pages, the original Captain Marvel and Human Torch teamup, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, “Mr. Monster”, plus plenty of rare and unpublished art!

Featuring a never-reprinted SPIRIT story by WILL EISNER, the genesis of the SILVER AGE ATOM (with GARDNER FOX, GIL KANE, and JULIE SCHWARTZ), interviews with LARRY LIEBER and Golden Age great JACK BURNLEY, BOB KANIGHER, a new Fawcett Collectors of America section with MARC SWAYZE, C.C. BECK, and more! GIL KANE and JACK BURNLEY flip-covers!

Unseen ALEX ROSS and JERRY ORDWAY Shazam! art, 1953 interview with OTTO BINDER, the SUPERMAN/CAPTAIN MARVEL LAWSUIT, GIL KANE on The Golden Age of TIMELY COMICS, FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, and SCHAFFENBERGER, rare art by AYERS, BERG, BURNLEY, DITKO, RICO, SCHOMBURG, MARIE SEVERIN and more! ALEX ROSS & BILL EVERETT covers!

(80-page magazine) SOLD OUT (80-page Digital Edition) $2.95

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DIEGDITITIOANL ONLY!

ALTER EGO #4

ALTER EGO #5

ALTER EGO #6

ALTER EGO #7

ALTER EGO #8

Interviews with KUBERT, SHELLY MOLDOFF, and HARRY LAMPERT, BOB KANIGHER, life and times of GARDNER FOX, ROY THOMAS remembers GIL KANE, a history of Flash Comics, MOEBIUS Silver Surfer sketches, MR. MONSTER, FCA section with SWAYZE, BECK, and SCHAFFENBERGER, and lots more! Dual color covers by JOE KUBERT!

Celebrating the JSA, with interviews with MART NODELL, SHELLY MAYER, GEORGE ROUSSOS, BILL BLACK, and GIL KANE, unpublished H.G. PETER Wonder Woman art, GARDNER FOX, an FCA section with MARC SWAYZE, C.C. BECK, WENDELL CROWLEY, and more! Wraparound cover by CARMINE INFANTINO and JERRY ORDWAY!

GENE COLAN interview, 1940s books on comics by STAN LEE and ROBERT KANIGHER, AYERS, SEVERIN, and ROY THOMAS on Sgt. Fury, ROY on All-Star Squadron’s Golden Age roots, FCA section with SWAYZE, BECK, and WILLIAM WOOLFOLK, JOE SIMON interview, a definitive look at MAC RABOY’S work, and more! Covers by COLAN and RABOY!

Companion to ALL-STAR COMPANION book, with a JULIE SCHWARTZ interview, guide to JLA-JSA TEAMUPS, origins of the ALL-STAR SQUADRON, FCA section with MARC SWAYZE, C.C. BECK (on his 1970s DC conflicts), DAVE BERG, BOB ROGERS, more on MAC RABOY from his son, MR. MONSTER, and more! RICH BUCKLER and C.C. BECK covers!

WALLY WOOD biography, DAN ADKINS & BILL PEARSON on Wood, TOR section with 1963 JOE KUBERT interview, ROY THOMAS on creating the ALL-STAR SQUADRON and its 1940s forebears, FCA section with SWAYZE & BECK, MR. MONSTER, JERRY ORDWAY on Shazam!, JERRY DeFUCCIO on the Golden Age, CHIC STONE remembered! ADKINS and KUBERT covers!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN001713

(100-page magazine) SOLD OUT (100-page Digital Edition) $2.95

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL002003

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ALTER EGO #9

ALTER EGO #10

ALTER EGO #11

ALTER EGO #12

ALTER EGO #13

JOHN ROMITA interview by ROY THOMAS (with unseen art), Roy’s PROPOSED DREAM PROJECTS that never got published (with a host of great artists), MR. MONSTER on WAYNE BORING’S life after Superman, The Golden Age of Comic Fandom Panel, FCA section with GEORGE TUSKA, C.C. BECK, MARC SWAYZE, BILL MORRISON, & more! ROMITA and GIORDANO covers!

Who Created the Silver Age Flash? (with KANIGHER, INFANTINO, KUBERT, and SCHWARTZ), DICK AYERS interview (with unseen art), JOHN BROOME remembered, never-seen Golden Age Flash pages, VIN SULLIVAN Magazine Enterprises interview, FCA, interview with FRED GUARDINEER, and MR. MONSTER on WAYNE BORING! INFANTINO and AYERS covers!

Focuses on TIMELY/MARVEL (interviews and features on SYD SHORES, MICKEY SPILLANE, and VINCE FAGO), and MAGAZINE ENTERPRISES (including JOE CERTA, JOHN BELFI, FRANK BOLLE, BOB POWELL, and FRED MEAGHER), MR. MONSTER on JERRY SIEGEL, DON and MAGGIE THOMPSON interview, FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, and DON NEWTON!

DC and QUALITY COMICS focus! Quality’s GILL FOX interview, never-seen ’40s PAUL REINMAN Green Lantern story, ROY THOMAS talks to LEN WEIN and RICH BUCKLER about ALL-STAR SQUADRON, MR. MONSTER shows what made WALLY WOOD leave MAD, FCA section with BECK & SWAYZE, & ’65 NEWSWEEK ARTICLE on comics! REINMAN and BILL WARD covers!

1974 panel with JOE SIMON, STAN LEE, FRANK ROBBINS, and ROY THOMAS, ROY and JOHN BUSCEMA on Avengers, 1964 STAN LEE interview, tributes to DON HECK, JOHNNY CRAIG, and GRAY MORROW, Timely alums DAVID GANTZ and DANIEL KEYES, and FCA with BECK, SWAYZE, and MIKE MANLEY! Covers by MURPHY ANDERSON and JOE SIMON!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY012450

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(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN022737

ALTER EGO #17 Spotlighting LOU FINE (with an overview of his career, and interviews with family members), interview with MURPHY ANDERSON about Fine, ALEX TOTH on Fine, ARNOLD DRAKE interviewed about DEADMAN and DOOM PATROL, MR. MONSTER on the non-EC work of JACK DAVIS and GEORGE EVANS, FINE and LUIS DOMINGUEZ COVERS, FCA and more!

ALTER EGO #14

ALTER EGO #15

ALTER EGO #16

A look at the 1970s JSA revival with CONWAY, LEVITZ, ESTRADA, GIFFEN, MILGROM, and STATON, JERRY ORDWAY on All-Star Squadron, tributes to CRAIG CHASE and DAN DeCARLO, “lost” 1945 issue of All-Star, 1970 interview with LEE ELIAS, MR. MONSTER on GARDNER FOX, FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, & JAY DISBROW! MIKE NASSER & MICHAEL GILBERT covers!

JOHN BUSCEMA ISSUE! BUSCEMA interview (with UNSEEN ART), reminiscences by SAL BUSCEMA, STAN LEE, INFANTINO, KUBERT, ORDWAY, FLO STEINBERG, and HERB TRIMPE, ROY THOMAS on 35 years with BIG JOHN, FCA tribute to KURT SCHAFFENBERGER, plus C.C. BECK and MARC SWAYZE, and MR. MONSTER revisits WALLY WOOD! Two BUSCEMA covers!

MARVEL BULLPEN REUNION (BUSCEMA, COLAN, ROMITA, and SEVERIN), memories of the JOHN BUSCEMA SCHOOL, FCA with ALEX ROSS, C.C. BECK, and MARC SWAYZE, tribute to CHAD GROTHKOPF, MR. MONSTER on EC COMICS with art by KURTZMAN, DAVIS, and WOOD, and more! Covers by ALEX ROSS and MARIE SEVERIN & RAMONA FRADON!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB022730

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: APR022615

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY022386

ALTER EGO #18

ALTER EGO #19

ALTER EGO #20

STAN GOLDBERG interview, secrets of ’40s Timely, art by KIRBY, DITKO, ROMITA, BUSCEMA, MANEELY, EVERETT, BURGOS, and DeCARLO, spotlight on sci-fi fanzine XERO with the LUPOFFS, OTTO BINDER, DON THOMPSON, ROY THOMAS, BILL SCHELLY, and ROGER EBERT, FCA, and MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD ghosting Flash Gordon! KIRBY and SWAYZE covers!

Spotlight on DICK SPRANG (profile and interview) with unseen art, rare Batman art by BOB KANE, CHARLES PARIS, SHELLY MOLDOFF, MAX ALLAN COLLINS, JIM MOONEY, CARMINE INFANTINO, and ALEX TOTH, JERRY ROBINSON interviewed about Tomahawk and 1940s cover artist FRED RAY, FCA, and MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD’s Flash Gordon, Part 2!

Timely/Marvel art by SEKOWSKY, SHORES, EVERETT, and BURGOS, secrets behind THE INVADERS with ROY THOMAS, KIRBY, GIL KANE, & ROBBINS, BOB DESCHAMPS interviewed, 1965 NY Comics Con review, panel with FINGER, BINDER, FOX and WEISINGER, MR. MONSTER, FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, RABOY, SCHAFFENBERGER, and more! MILGROM and SCHELLY covers!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG022420

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: OCT022884

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV022845

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL022370

ALTER EGO #21 The IGER “SHOP” examined, with art by EISNER, FINE, ANDERSON, CRANDALL, BAKER, MESKIN, CARDY, EVANS, BOB KANE, and TUSKA, “SHEENA” section with art by DAVE STEVENS & FRANK BRUNNER, ROY THOMAS on the JSA and All-Star Squadron, more UNSEEN 1946 ALL-STAR ART, MR. MONSTER on GARDNER FOX, FCA, and more! DAVE STEVENS and IRWIN HASEN covers! (108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: DEC023029

ALTER EGO #22

ALTER EGO #23

ALTER EGO #24

ALTER EGO #25

ALTER EGO #26

BILL EVERETT and JOE KUBERT interviewed by NEAL ADAMS and GIL KANE in 1970, Timely art by BURGOS, SHORES, NODELL, and SEKOWSKY, RUDY LAPICK, ROY THOMAS on Sub-Mariner, with art by EVERETT, COLAN, ANDRU, BUSCEMAs, SEVERINs, and more, FCA, MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD at EC, ALEX TOTH, and CAPT. MIDNIGHT! EVERETT & BECK covers!

Unseen art from TWO “LOST” 1940s H.G. PETER WONDER WOMAN STORIES (and analysis of “CHARLES MOULTON” scripts), BOB FUJITANI and JOHN ROSENBERGER, VICTOR GORELICK discusses Archie and The Mighty Crusaders, with art by MORROW, BUCKLER, and REINMAN, FCA, and MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD! H.G. PETER and BOB FUJITANI covers!

X-MEN interviews with STAN LEE, DAVE COCKRUM, CHRIS CLAREMONT, ARNOLD DRAKE, JIM SHOOTER, ROY THOMAS, and LEN WEIN, MORT MESKIN profiled by his sons and ALEX TOTH, rare art by JERRY ROBINSON, FCA with BECK, SWAYZE, and WILLIAM WOOLFOLK, MR. MONSTER, and BILL SCHELLY on Comics Fandom! MESKIN and COCKRUM covers!

JACK COLE remembered by ALEX TOTH, interview with brother DICK COLE and his PLAYBOY colleagues, CHRIS CLAREMONT on the X-Men (with more never-seen art by DAVE COCKRUM), ROY THOMAS on All-Star Squadron #1 and its ’40s roots (with art by ORDWAY, BUCKLER, MESKIN and MOLDOFF), FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more! Covers by TOTH and SCHELLY!

JOE SINNOTT interview, IRWIN DONENFELD interview by EVANIER & SCHWARTZ, art by SHUSTER, INFANTINO, ANDERSON, and SWAN, MARK WAID analyzes the first Kryptonite story, JERRY SIEGEL and HARRY DONENFELD, JERRY IGER Shop update, ALEX TOTH, MR. MONSTER, and FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, and KEN BALD! Covers by SINNOTT and WAYNE BORING!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN032492

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB032260

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR032534

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(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY032543

ALTER EGO #27

ALTER EGO #28

ALTER EGO #29

ALTER EGO #30

ALTER EGO #31

VIN SULLIVAN interview about the early DC days with art by SHUSTER, MOLDOFF, FLESSEL, GUARDINEER, and BURNLEY, MR. MONSTER’s “Lost” KIRBY HULK covers, 1948 NEW YORK COMIC CON with STAN LEE, SIMON & KIRBY, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, HARVEY KURTZMAN, and ROY THOMAS, ALEX TOTH, FCA, and more! Covers by JACK BURNLEY and JACK KIRBY!

Spotlight on JOE MANEELY, with a career overview, remembrance by his daughter and tons of art, Timely/Atlas/Marvel art by ROMITA, EVERETT, SEVERIN, SHORES, KIRBY, and DITKO, STAN LEE on Maneely, LEE AMES interview, FCA with SWAYZE, ISIS, and STEVE SKEATES, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Covers by JOE MANEELY and DON NEWTON!

FRANK BRUNNER interview, BILL EVERETT’S Venus examined by TRINA ROBBINS, Classics Illustrated “What ifs”, LEE/KIRBY/DITKO Marvel prototypes, JOE MANEELY’s monsters, BILL FRACCIO interview, ALEX TOTH, MR. MONSTER, JOHN BENSON on EC, The Heap by ERNIE SCHROEDER, and FCA! Covers by FRANK BRUNNER and PETE VON SHOLLY!

ALEX ROSS on his love for the JLA, BLACKHAWK/JLA artist DICK DILLIN, the super-heroes of 1940s-1980s France (with art by STEVE RUDE, STEVE BISSETTE, LADRÖNN, and NEAL ADAMS), KIM AAMODT & WALTER GEIER on writing for SIMON & KIRBY, ALEX TOTH, MR. MONSTER, and FCA! Covers by ALEX ROSS and STEVE RUDE!

DICK AYERS on his 1950s and ’60s work (with tons of Marvel Bullpen art), HARLAN ELLISON’s Marvel Age work examined (with art by BUCKLER, SAL BUSCEMA, and TRIMPE), STAN LEE’S Marvel Prototypes (with art by KIRBY and DITKO), Christmas cards from comics greats, MR. MONSTER, & FCA with SWAYZE and SCHAFFENBERGER! Covers by DICK AYERS and FRED RAY!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUN032614

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(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG032604

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: SEP032620

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: OCT032843

ALTER EGO #32

ALTER EGO #33

ALTER EGO #34

ALTER EGO #35

ALTER EGO #36

Timely artists ALLEN BELLMAN and SAM BURLOCKOFF interviewed, MART NODELL on his Timely years, rare art by BURGOS, EVERETT, and SHORES, MIKE GOLD on the Silver Age (with art by SIMON & KIRBY, SWAN, INFANTINO, KANE, and more), FCA, ALEX TOTH, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom, and more! Covers by DICK GIORDANO and GIL KANE!

Symposium on MIKE SEKOWSKY by MARK EVANIER, SCOTT SHAW!, et al., with art by ANDERSON, INFANTINO, and others, PAT (MRS. MIKE) SEKOWSKY and inker VALERIE BARCLAY interviewed, FCA, 1950s Captain Marvel parody by ANDRU and ESPOSITO, ALEX TOTH, BILL SCHELLY, MR. MONSTER, and more! Covers by FRENZ/SINNOTT and FRENZ/BUSCEMA!

Quality Comics interviews with ALEX KOTZKY, AL GRENET, CHUCK CUIDERA, & DICK ARNOLD (son of BUSY ARNOLD), art by COLE, EISNER, FINE, WARD, DILLIN, and KANE, MICHELLE NOLAN on Blackhawk’s jump to DC, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT on HARVEY KURTZMAN, & ALEX TOTH on REED CRANDALL! Covers by REED CRANDALL & CHARLES NICHOLAS!

Covers by JOHN ROMITA and AL JAFFEE! LEE, ROMITA, AYERS, HEATH, & THOMAS on the 1953-55 Timely super-hero revival, with rare art by ROMITA, AYERS, BURGOS, HEATH, EVERETT, LAWRENCE, & POWELL, AL JAFFEE on the 1940s Timely Bullpen (and MAD), FCA, ALEX TOTH on comic art, MR. MONSTER on unpublished 1950s covers, and more!

JOE SIMON on SIMON & KIRBY, CARL BURGOS, and LLOYD JACQUET, JOHN BELL on World War II Canadian heroes, MICHAEL T. GILBERT on Canadian origins of MR. MONSTER, tributes to BOB DESCHAMPS, DON LAWRENCE, & GEORGE WOODBRIDGE, FCA, ALEX TOTH, and ELMER WEXLER interview! Covers by SIMON and GILBERT & RONN SUTTON!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV032695

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: DEC032833

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN042879

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB042796

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR042972

ALTER EGO #37

ALTER EGO #38

ALTER EGO #39

ALTER EGO #40

ALTER EGO #41

WILL MURRAY on the 1940 Superman “KMetal” story & PHILIP WYLIE’s GLADIATOR (with art by SHUSTER, SWAN, ADAMS, and BORING), FCA with BECK, SWAYZE, and DON NEWTON, SY BARRY interview, art by TOTH, MESKIN, INFANTINO, and ANDERSON, and MICHAEL T. GILBERT interviews AL FELDSTEIN on EC and RAY BRADBURY! Covers by C.C. BECK and WAYNE BORING!

JULIE SCHWARTZ TRIBUTE with HARLAN ELLISON, INFANTINO, ANDERSON, TOTH, KUBERT, GIELLA, GIORDANO, CARDY, LEVITZ, STAN LEE, WOLFMAN, EVANIER, & ROY THOMAS, never-seen interviews with Julie, FCA with BECK, SCHAFFENBERGER, NEWTON, COCKRUM, OKSNER, FRADON, SWAYZE, and JACKSON BOSTWICK! Covers by INFANTINO and IRWIN HASEN!

Full-issue spotlight on JERRY ROBINSON, with an interview on being BOB KANE’s Batman “ghost”, creating the JOKER and ROBIN, working on VIGILANTE, GREEN HORNET, and ATOMAN, plus never-seen art by Jerry, MESKIN, ROUSSOS, RAY, KIRBY, SPRANG, DITKO, and PARIS! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER on AL FELDSTEIN Part 2, and more! Two JERRY ROBINSON covers!

RUSS HEATH and GIL KANE interviews (with tons of unseen art), the JULIE SCHWARTZ Memorial Service with ELLISON, MOORE, GAIMAN, HASEN, O’NEIL, and LEVITZ, art by INFANTINO, ANDERSON, TOTH, NOVICK, DILLIN, SEKOWSKY, KUBERT, GIELLA, ARAGONÉS, FCA, MR. MONSTER and AL FELDSTEIN Part 3, and more! Covers by GIL KANE & RUSS HEATH!

Halloween issue! BERNIE WRIGHTSON on his 1970s FRANKENSTEIN, DICK BRIEFER’S monster, the campy 1960s Frankie, art by KALUTA, BAILY, MANEELY, PLOOG, KUBERT, BRUNNER, BORING, OKSNER, TUSKA, CRANDALL, and SUTTON, FCA #100, EMILIO SQUEGLIO interview, ALEX TOTH, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and more! Covers by WRIGHTSON & MARC SWAYZE!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: APR043055

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(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL043386

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG043186

ALTER EGO #42

ALTER EGO #43

ALTER EGO #44

ALTER EGO #45

ALTER EGO #46

A celebration of DON HECK, WERNER ROTH, and PAUL REINMAN, rare art by KIRBY, DITKO, and AYERS, Hillman and Ziff-Davis remembered by Heap artist ERNIE SCHROEDER, HERB ROGOFF, and WALTER LITTMAN, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and ALEX TOTH! Covers by FASTNER & LARSON and ERNIE SCHROEDER!

Yuletide art by WOOD, SINNOTT, CARDY, BRUNNER, TOTH, NODELL, and others, interviews with Golden Age artists TOM GILL (Lone Ranger) and MORRIS WEISS, exploring 1960s Mexican comics, FCA with MARC SWAYZE and C.C. BECK, MR. MONSTER, ALEX TOTH, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom, and more! Flip covers by GEORGE TUSKA and DAVE STEVENS!

JSA/All-Star Squadron/Infinity Inc. special! Interviews with KUBERT, HASEN, ANDERSON, ORDWAY, BUCKLER, THOMAS, 1940s Atom writer ARTHUR ADLER, art by TOTH, SEKOWSKY, HASEN, MACHLAN, OKSNER, and INFANTINO, FCA, and MR. MONSTER’S “I Like Ike!” cartoons by BOB KANE, INFANTINO, OKSNER, and BIRO! Wraparound ORDWAY cover!

Interviews with Sandman artist CREIG FLESSEL and ’40s creator BERT CHRISTMAN, MICHAEL CHABON on researching his Pulitzer-winning novel Kavalier & Clay, art by EISNER, KANE, KIRBY, and AYERS, FCA with MARC SWAYZE and C.C. BECK, OTTO BINDER’s “lost” Jon Jarl story, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom, and ALEX TOTH! CREIG FLESSEL cover!

The VERY BEST of the 1960s-70s ALTER EGO! 1969 BILL EVERETT interview, art by BURGOS, GUSTAVSON, SIMON & KIRBY, and others, 1960s gems by DITKO, E. NELSON BRIDWELL, JERRY BAILS, and ROY THOMAS, LOU GLANZMAN interview, tributes to IRV NOVICK and CHRIS REEVE, MR. MONSTER, FCA, TOTH, and more! Cover by EVERETT and MARIE SEVERIN!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: SEP043043

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: OCT043189

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV043080

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: DEC042992

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ALTER EGO #47

ALTER EGO #48

ALTER EGO #49

Spotlights MATT BAKER, Golden Age cheesecake artist of PHANTOM LADY! Career overview, interviews with BAKER’s half-brother and nephew, art from AL FELDSTEIN, VINCE COLLETTA, ARTHUR PEDDY, JACK KAMEN and others, FCA, BILL SCHELLY talks to comic-book-seller (and fan) BUD PLANT, MR. MONSTER on missing AL WILLIAMSON art, and ALEX TOTH!

WILL EISNER discusses Eisner & Iger’s Shop and BUSY ARNOLD’s ’40s Quality Comics, art by FINE, CRANDALL, COLE, POWELL, and CARDY, EISNER tributes by STAN LEE, GENE COLAN, & others, interviews with ’40s Quality artist VERN HENKEL and CHUCK MAZOUJIAN, FCA, MR. MONSTER on EISNER’s Wonder Man, ALEX TOTH, and more with BUD PLANT! EISNER cover!

Spotlights CARL BURGOS! Interview with daughter SUE BURGOS, art by BURGOS, BILL EVERETT, MIKE SEKOWSKY, ED ASCHE, and DICK AYERS, unused 1941 Timely cover layouts, the 1957 Atlas Implosion examined, MANNY STALLMAN, FCA, MR. MONSTER and more! New cover by MARK SPARACIO, from an unused 1941 layout by CARL BURGOS!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB053220

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ALTER EGO #50 ROY THOMAS covers his 40-YEAR career in comics (AVENGERS, X-MEN, CONAN, ALL-STAR SQUADRON, INFINITY INC.), with ADAMS, BUSCEMA, COLAN, DITKO, GIL KANE, KIRBY, STAN LEE, ORDWAY, PÉREZ, ROMITA, and many others! Also FCA, & MR. MONSTER on ROY’s letters to GARDNER FOX! Flip-covers by BUSCEMA/ KIRBY/ALCALA and JERRY ORDWAY!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY053172

ALTER EGO #54 ALTER EGO #51

ALTER EGO #52

ALTER EGO #53

Golden Age Batman artist/BOB KANE ghost LEW SAYRE SCHWARTZ interviewed, Batman art by JERRY ROBINSON, DICK SPRANG, SHELDON MOLDOFF, WIN MORTIMER, JIM MOONEY, and others, the Golden and Silver Ages of AUSTRALIAN SUPER-HEROES, Mad artist DAVE BERG interviewed, FCA, MR. MONSTER on WILL EISNER, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

JOE GIELLA on the Silver Age at DC, the Golden Age at Marvel, and JULIE SCHWARTZ, with rare art by INFANTINO, GIL KANE, SEKOWSKY, SWAN, DILLIN, MOLDOFF, GIACOIA, SCHAFFENBERGER, and others, JAY SCOTT PIKE on STAN LEE and CHARLES BIRO, MARTIN THALL interview, ALEX TOTH, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more! GIELLA cover!

GIORDANO and THOMAS on STOKER’S DRACULA, never-seen DICK BRIEFER Frankenstein strip, MIKE ESPOSITO on his work with ROSS ANDRU, art by COLAN, WRIGHTSON, MIGNOLA, BRUNNER, BISSETTE, KALUTA, HEATH, MANEELY, EVERETT, DITKO, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, BILL SCHELLY, ALEX TOTH, and MR. MONSTER! Cover by GIORDANO!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUN053345

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MIKE ESPOSITO on DC and Marvel, ROBERT KANIGHER on the creation of Metal Men and Sgt. Rock (with comments by JOE KUBERT and BOB HANEY), art by ANDRU, INFANTINO, KIRBY, SEVERIN, WINDSOR-SMITH, ROMITA, BUSCEMA, TRIMPE, GIL KANE, and others, plus FCA, ALEX TOTH, BILL SCHELLY, MR. MONSTER, and more! ESPOSITO cover!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: SEP053301

ALTER EGO #56

ALTER EGO #57

ALTER EGO #58

Interviews with Superman creators SIEGEL & SHUSTER, Golden/Silver Age DC production guru JACK ADLER interviewed, NEAL ADAMS and radio/TV iconoclast (and comics fan) HOWARD STERN on Adler and his amazing career, art by CURT SWAN, WAYNE BORING, and AL PLASTINO, plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, ALEX TOTH, and more! NEAL ADAMS cover!

Issue-by-issue index of Timely/Atlas superhero stories by MICHELLE NOLAN, art by SIMON & KIRBY, EVERETT, BURGOS, ROMITA, AYERS, HEATH, SEKOWSKY, SHORES, SCHOMBURG, MANEELY, and SEVERIN, GENE COLAN and ALLEN BELLMAN on 1940s Timely super-heroes, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and BILL SCHELLY! Cover by JACK KIRBY and PETE VON SHOLLY!

GERRY CONWAY and ROY THOMAS on their ’80s screenplay for “The X-Men Movie That Never Was!”with art by COCKRUM, ADAMS, BUSCEMA, BYRNE, GIL KANE, KIRBY, HECK, and LIEBER, Atlas artist VIC CARRABOTTA interview, ALLEN BELLMAN on 1940s Timely bullpen, FCA, 1966 panel on 1950s EC Comics, and MR. MONSTER! MARK SPARACIO/GIL KANE cover!

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ALTER EGO #55 JACK and OTTO BINDER, KEN BALD, VIC DOWD, and BOB BOYAJIAN interviewed, FCA with SWAYZE and EMILIO SQUEGLIO, rare art by BECK, WARD, & SCHAFFENBERGER, Christmas Card Art from CRANDALL, SINNOTT, HEATH, MOONEY, and CARDY, 1943 Pin-Up Calendar (with ’40s movie stars as superheroines), ALEX TOTH, and more! ALEX ROSS and ALEX WRIGHT covers!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: OCT053396

ALTER EGO #59 Special issue on Batman and Superman in the Golden and Silver Ages, ARTHUR SUYDAM interview, NEAL ADAMS on 1960s/70s DC, SHELLY MOLDOFF, AL PLASTINO, Golden Age artist FRAN (Doll Man) MATERA and VIC CARRABOTTA interviewed, SIEGEL & SHUSTER, RUSS MANNING, FCA, MR. MONSTER, SUYDAM cover, and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: APR063474

ALTER EGO #60

ALTER EGO #61

ALTER EGO #62

Celebrates 50 years since SHOWCASE #4! FLASH interviews with SCHWARTZ, KANIGHER, INFANTINO, KUBERT, and BROOME, Golden Age artist TONY DiPRETA, 1966 panel with NORDLING, BINDER, and LARRY IVIE, FCA, MR. MONSTER, never-before-published color Flash cover by CARMINE INFANTINO, and more!

History of the AMERICAN COMICS GROUP (1946 to 1967)—including its roots in the Golden Age SANGOR ART SHOP and STANDARD/NEDOR comics! Art by MESKIN, ROBINSON, WILLIAMSON, FRAZETTA, SCHAFFENBERGER, & BUSCEMA, ACG writer/editor RICHARD HUGHES, plus AL HARTLEY interviewed, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more! GIORDANO cover!

HAPPY HAUNTED HALLOWEEN ISSUE, featuring: MIKE PLOOG and RUDY PALAIS on their horror-comics work! AL WILLIAMSON on his work for the American Comics Group—plus more on ACG horror comics! Rare DICK BRIEFER Frankenstein strips! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY on the 1966 KalerCon, a new PLOOG cover—and more!

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ALTER EGO #63

ALTER EGO #64

ALTER EGO #65

ALTER EGO #66

ALTER EGO #67

Tribute to ALEX TOTH! Never-before-seen interview with tons of TOTH art, including sketches he sent to friends! Articles about Toth by TERRY AUSTIN, JIM AMASH, SY BARRY, JOE KUBERT, LOU SAYRE SCHWARTZ, IRWIN HASEN, JOHN WORKMAN, and others! Plus illustrated Christmas cards by comics pros, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

Fawcett Favorites! Issue-by-issue analysis of BINDER & BECK’s 1943-45 “The Monster Society of Evil!” serial, double-size FCA section with MARC SWAYZE, EMILIO SQUEGLIO, C.C. BECK, MAC RABOY, and others! Interview with MARTIN FILCHOCK, Golden Age artist for Centaur Comics! Plus MR. MONSTER, DON NEWTON cover, plus a FREE 1943 MARVEL CALENDAR!

NICK CARDY interviewed on his Golden & Silver Age work (with CARDY art), plus art by WILL EISNER, NEAL ADAMS, CARMINE INFANTINO, JIM APARO, RAMONA FRADON, CURT SWAN, MIKE SEKOWSKY, and others, tributes to ERNIE SCHROEDER and DAVE COCKRUM, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, new CARDY COVER, and more!

Spotlight on BOB POWELL, the artist who drew Daredevil, Sub-Mariner, Sheena, The Avenger, The Hulk, Giant-Man, and others, plus art by WALLY WOOD, HOWARD NOSTRAND, DICK AYERS, SIMON & KIRBY, MARTIN GOODMAN’s Magazine Management, and others! FCA with MARC SWAYZE and C.C. BECK, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, and more!

Interview with BOB OKSNER, artist of Supergirl, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Angel and the Ape, Leave It to Binky, Shazam!, and more, plus art and artifacts by SHELLY MAYER, IRWIN HASEN, LEE ELIAS, C.C. BECK, CARMINE INFANTINO, GIL KANE, JULIE SCHWARTZ, etc., FCA with MARC SWAYZE & C.C. BECK, MICHAEL T. GILBERT on BOB POWELL Part II, and more!

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ALTER EGO #68

ALTER EGO #69

ALTER EGO #70

ALTER EGO #71

ALTER EGO #72

Tribute to JERRY BAILS—Father of Comics Fandom and founder of Alter Ego! Cover by GEORGE PÉREZ, plus art by JOE KUBERT, CARMINE INFANTINO, GIL KANE, DICK DILLIN, MIKE SEKOWSKY, JERRY ORDWAY, JOE STATON, JACK KIRBY, and others! Plus STEVE DITKO’s notes to STAN LEE for a 1965 Dr. Strange story! And ROY reveals secrets behind Marvel’s STAR WARS comic!

PAUL NORRIS drew AQUAMAN first, in 1941—and RAMONA FRADON was the hero’s ultimate Golden Age artist. But both drew other things as well, and both are interviewed in this landmark issue—along with a pocket history of Aquaman! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and more! Cover painted by JOHN WATSON, from a breathtaking illo by RAMONA FRADON!

Spotlight on ROY THOMAS’ 1970s stint as Marvel’s editor-in-chief and major writer, plus art and reminiscences of GIL KANE, BOTH BUSCEMAS, ADAMS, ROMITA, CHAYKIN, BRUNNER, PLOOG, EVERETT, WRIGHTSON, PÉREZ, ROBBINS, BARRY SMITH, STAN LEE and others, FCA, MR. MONSTER, a new GENE COLAN cover, plus an homage to artist LILY RENÉE!

Represents THE GREAT CANADIAN COMIC BOOKS, the long out-of-print 1970s book by MICHAEL HIRSH and PATRICK LOUBERT, with rare art of such heroes as Mr. Monster, Nelvana, Thunderfist, and others, plus new INVADERS art by JOHN BYRNE, MIKE GRELL, RON LIM, and more, plus a new cover by GEORGE FREEMAN, from a layout by JACK KIRBY!

SCOTT SHAW! and ROY THOMAS on the creation of Captain Carrot, art & artifacts by RICK HOBERG, STAN GOLDBERG, MIKE SEKOWSKY, JOHN COSTANZA, E. NELSON BRIDWELL, CAROL LAY, and others, interview with DICK ROCKWELL, Golden Age artist and 36-year ghost artist on MILTON CANIFF’s Steve Canyon! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

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ALTER EGO #73

ALTER EGO #75

ALTER EGO #76

FRANK BRUNNER on drawing Dr. Strange, interviews with CHARLES BIRO and his daughters, interview with publisher ROBERT GERSON about his 1970s horror comic Reality, art by BERNIE WRIGHTSON, GRAHAM INGELS, HOWARD CHAYKIN, MICHAEL W. KALUTA, JEFF JONES, and others FCA, MR. MONSTER, a FREE DRAW! #15! PREVIEW, and more!

FAWCETT FESTIVAL—with an ALEX ROSS cover! Double-size FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) with P.C. HAMERLINCK on the many “Captains Marvel” over the years, unseen Shazam! proposal by ALEX ROSS, C.C. BECK on “The Death of a Legend!”, MARC SWAYZE, interview with Golden Age artist MARV LEVY, MR. MONSTER, and more!

JOE SIMON SPECIAL! In-depth SIMON interview by JIM AMASH, with neverbefore-revealed secrets behind the creation of Captain America, Fighting American, Stuntman, Adventures of The Fly, Sick magazine and more, art by JACK KIRBY, BOB POWELL, AL WILLIAMSON, JERRY GRANDENETTI, GEORGE TUSKA, and others, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

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ALTER EGO #74 STAN LEE SPECIAL in honor of his 85th birthday, with a cover by JACK KIRBY, classic (and virtually unseen) interviews with Stan, tributes, and tons of rare and unseen art by KIRBY, ROMITA, the brothers BUSCEMA, DITKO, COLAN, HECK, AYERS, MANEELY, SHORES, EVERETT, BURGOS, KANE, the SEVERIN siblings—plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

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ALTER EGO #78 ALTER EGO #77 ST. JOHN ISSUE! Golden Age Tor cover by JOE KUBERT, KEN QUATTRO relates the full legend of St. John Publishing, art by KUBERT, NORMAN MAURER, MATT BAKER, LILY RENEE, BOB LUBBERS, RUBEN MOREIRA, RALPH MAYO, AL FAGO, special reminiscences of ARNOLD DRAKE, Golden Age artist TOM SAWYER interviewed, and more! (100-page magazine) $6.95 Ships May 2008

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DAVE COCKRUM TRIBUTE! Great rare XMen cover, Cockrum tributes from contemporaries and colleagues, and an interview with PATY COCKRUM on Dave’s life and legacy on The Legion of Super-Heroes, The X-Men, Star-Jammers, & more! Plus an interview with 1950s Timely/Marvel artist MARION SITTON on his own incredible career and his Golden Age contemporaries! (100-page magazine) $6.95 Ships June 2008

ALTER EGO #79

ALTER EGO #80

SUPERMAN & HIS CREATORS! New cover by MICHAEL GOLDEN, exclusive and revealing interview with JOE SHUSTER’s sister, JEAN SHUSTER PEAVEY—MIKE W. BARR on Superman the detective— DWIGHT DECKER on the Man of Steel & Hitler’s Third Reich—plus the NEMBO KID (Italian for “Superman”), art by BORING, SWAN, ADAMS, KANE, and others!

SWORD-AND-SORCERY COMICS! Learn about Crom the Barbarian, Viking Prince, Nightmaster, Kull, Red Sonja, Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser, Beowulf, Warlord, Dagar the Invincible, and more, with art by FRAZETTA, SMITH, BUSCEMA, KANE, WRIGHTSON, PLOOG, THORNE, BRUNNER, and more! New cover by RAFAEL KAYANAN!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Ships July 2008

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12-ISSUE SUBSCRIPTIONS: $78 US Postpaid by Media Mail ($108 First Class, $132 Canada, $180 Surface, $216 Airmail). For a 6-issue sub, cut the price in half!

THE RETRO COMICS EXPERIENCE!

Edited by MICHAEL EURY, BACK ISSUE magazine celebrates comic books of the 1970s, 1980s, and today through recurring (and rotating) departments such as “Pro2Pro” (a dialogue between two professionals), “Rough Stuff” (pencil art showcases of top artists), “Greatest Stories Never Told” (spotlighting unrealized comics series or stories), and more!

Go online for an ULTIMATE BUNDLE, with all the issues at HALF-PRICE! 6-ISSUE SUBS: $40 US Postpaid by Media Mail ($54 First Class, $66 Canada, $90 Surface, $108 Airmail).

BACK ISSUE #1

BACK ISSUE #2

BACK ISSUE #3

“PRO2PRO” interview between GEORGE PÉREZ & MARV WOLFMAN (with UNSEEN PÉREZ ART), “ROUGH STUFF” featuring JACK KIRBY’s PENCIL ART, “GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD” on the first JLA/AVENGERS, “BEYOND CAPES” on DC and Marvel’s TARZAN (with KUBERT and BUSCEMA ART), “OFF MY CHEST” editorial by INFANTINO, and more! PÉREZ cover!

“PRO2PRO” between ADAM HUGHES and MIKE W. BARR (with UNSEEN HUGHES ART) and MATT WAGNER and DIANA SCHUTZ, “ROUGH STUFF” HUGHES PENCIL ART, STEVE RUDE’s unseen SPACE GHOST/HERCULOIDS team-up, Bruce Jones’ ALIEN WORLDS and TWISTED TALES, “OFF MY CHEST” by MIKE W. BARR on the DC IMPLOSION, and more! HUGHES cover!

“PRO2PRO” between KEITH GIFFEN, J.M. DeMATTEIS and KEVIN MAGUIRE on their JLA WORK, “ROUGH STUFF” PENCIL ART by ARAGONÉS, HERNANDEZ BROS., MIGNOLA, BYRNE, KIRBY, HUGHES, details on two unknown PLASTIC MAN movies, Joker’s history with O’NEIL, ADAMS, ENGLEHART, ROGERS and BOLLAND, editorial by MARK EVANIER, and more! BOLLAND cover!

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BACK ISSUE #4

BACK ISSUE #5

BACK ISSUE #6

BACK ISSUE #7

BACK ISSUE #8

“PRO2PRO” between JOHN BYRNE and CHRIS CLAREMONT on their X-MEN WORK and WALT SIMONSON and JOE CASEY on Walter’s THOR, WOLVERINE PENCIL ART by BUSCEMA, LEE, COCKRUM, BYRNE, and GIL KANE, LEN WEIN’S TEEN WOLVERINE, PUNISHER’S 30TH and SECRET WARS’ 20TH ANNIVERSARIES (with UNSEEN ZECK ART), and more! BYRNE cover!

Wonder Woman TV series in-depth, LYNDA CARTER INTERVIEW, WONDER WOMAN TV ART GALLERY, Marvel’s TV Hulk, SpiderMan, Captain America, and Dr. Strange, LOU FERRIGNO INTERVIEW, super-hero cartoons you didn’t see, pencil gallery by JERRY ORDWAY, STAR TREK in comics, and ROMITA SR. editorial on Marvel’s movies! Covers by ALEX ROSS and ADAM HUGHES!

TOMB OF DRACULA revealed with GENE COLAN and MARV WOLFMAN, LEN WEIN & BERNIE WRIGHTSON on Swamp Thing’s roots, STEVE BISSETTE & RICK VEITCH on their Swamp work, pencil art by BRUNNER, PLOOG, BISSETTE, COLAN, WRIGHTSON, and SMITH, editorial by ROY THOMAS, PREZ, GODZILLA comics (with TRIMPE art), CHARLTON horror, & more! COLAN cover!

History of BRAVE AND BOLD, JIM APARO interview, tribute to BOB HANEY, FANTASTIC FOUR ROUNDTABLE with STAN LEE, MARK WAID, and others, EVANIER and MEUGNIOT on DNAgents, pencil art by ROSS, TOTH, COCKRUM, HECK, ROBBINS, NEWTON, and BYRNE, DENNY O’NEIL editorial, a tour of METROPOLIS, IL, and more! SWAN/ANDERSON cover!

DENNY O’NEIL and Justice League Unlimited voice actor PHIL LaMARR discuss GL JOHN STEWART, NEW X-MEN pencil art by NEAL ADAMS, ARTHUR ADAMS, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, ALAN DAVIS, JIM LEE, ADAM HUGHES, STORM’s 30-year history, animated TV’s black heroes (with TOTH art), ISABELLA and TREVOR VON EEDEN on BLACK LIGHTNING, and more! KYLE BAKER cover!

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BACK ISSUE #9

BACK ISSUE #10

BACK ISSUE #11

BACK ISSUE #12

BACK ISSUE #13

MIKE BARON and STEVE RUDE on NEXUS past and present, a colossal GIL KANE pencil art gallery, a look at Marvel’s STAR WARS comics, secrets of DC’s unseen CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS SEQUEL, TIM TRUMAN on his GRIMJACK SERIES, MIKE GOLD editorial, THANOS history, TIME WARP revisited, and more! All-new STEVE RUDE COVER!

NEAL ADAMS and DENNY O’NEIL on RA’S AL GHUL’s history (with Adams art), O’Neil and MICHAEL KALUTA on THE SHADOW, MIKE GRELL on JON SABLE FREELANCE, HOWIE CHAYKIN interview, DOC SAVAGE in comics, BATMAN ART GALLERY by PAUL SMITH, SIENKIEWICZ, SIMONSON, BOLLAND, HANNIGAN, MAZZUCCHELLI, and others! New cover by ADAMS!

ROY THOMAS, KURT BUSIEK, and JOE JUSKO on CONAN (with art by JOHN BUSCEMA, BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, NEAL ADAMS, JUSKO, and others), SERGIO ARAGONÉS and MARK EVANIER on GROO, DC’s never-published KING ARTHUR, pencil art gallery by KIRBY, PÉREZ, MOEBIUS, GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, BOLLAND, and others, and a new BUSCEMA/JUSKO Conan cover!

‘70s and ‘80s character revamps with DAVE GIBBONS, ROY THOMAS and KURT BUSIEK, TOM DeFALCO and RON FRENZ on Spider-Man’s 1980s “black” costume change, DENNY O’NEIL on Superman’s 1970 revamp, JOHN BYRNE’s aborted SHAZAM! series detailed, pencil art gallery with FRANK MILLER, LEE WEEKS, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, CHARLES VESS, and more!

CARDY interview, ENGLEHART and MOENCH on kung-fu comics, “Pro2Pro” with STATON and CUTI on Charlton’s E-Man, pencil art gallery featuring MILLER, KUBERT, GIORDANO, SWAN, GIL KANE, COLAN, COCKRUM, and others, EISNER’s A Contract with God; “The Death of Romance (Comics)” (with art by ROMITA, SR. and TOTH), and more!

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BACK ISSUE #14

BACK ISSUE #15

BACK ISSUE #16

BACK ISSUE #17

BACK ISSUE #18

DAVE COCKRUM and MIKE GRELL go “Pro2Pro” on the Legion, pencil art gallery by BUSCEMA, BYRNE, MILLER, STARLIN, McFARLANE, ROMITA JR., SIENKIEWICZ, looks at Hercules Unbound, Hex, Killraven, Kamandi, MARS, Planet of the Apes, art and interviews with GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, KIRBY, WILLIAMSON, and more! New MIKE GRELL/BOB McLEOD cover!

“Weird Heroes” of the 1970s and ‘80s! MIKE PLOOG discusses Ghost Rider, MATT WAGNER revisits The Demon, JOE KUBERT dusts off Ragman, GENE COLAN “Rough Stuff” pencil gallery, GARCÍALÓPEZ recalls Deadman, DC’s unpublished Gorilla Grodd series, PERLIN, CONWAY, and MOENCH on Werewolf by Night, and more! New ARTHUR ADAMS cover!

“Toy Stories!” Behind the Scenes of Marvel’s G.I. JOE™ and TRANSFORMERS with PAUL LEVITZ and GEORGE TUSKA, “Rough Stuff” MIKE ZECK pencil gallery, ARTHUR ADAMS on Gumby, HE-MAN, ROM, MICRONAUTS, SUPER POWERS, SUPER-HERO CARS, art by HAMA, SAL BUSCEMA, GUICE, GOLDEN, KIRBY, TRIMPE, and new ZECK sketch cover!

“Super Girls!” Supergirl retrospective with art by STELFREEZE, HAMNER, SpiderWoman, Flare, Tigra, DC’s unused Double Comics with unseen BARRETTO and INFANTINO art, WOLFMAN and JIMENEZ on Donna Troy, female comics pros, art by SEKOWSKY, OKSNER, PÉREZ, HUGHES, GIORDANO, plus a COLOR GALLERY and COVER by BRUCE TIMM!

“Big, Green Issue!” Tour of NEAL ADAMS’ studio (with interview and art gallery), DAVE GIBBONS “Rough Stuff” pencil art spotlight, interviews with MIKE GRELL (on Green Arrow), PETER DAVID (on Incredible Hulk), a “Pro2Pro” chat between GERRY CONWAY and JOHN ROMITA, SR. (on the Green Goblin), and more. New cover by NEAL ADAMS!

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BACK ISSUE #19

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BACK ISSUE #23

“Unsung Heroes!” DON NEWTON spotlight, STEVE GERBER and GENE COLAN on Howard the Duck, MIKE CARLIN and DANNY FINGEROTH on Marvel’s Assistant Editors’ Month, the unrealized Unlimited Powers TV show, TONY ISABELLA’s aborted plans for The Champions, MARK GRUENWALD tribute, art by SAL BUSCEMA, JOHN BYRNE, and more! NEWTON/ RUBINSTEIN cover!

“Secret Identities!” Histories of characters with unusual alter egos: Firestorm, Moon Knight, the Question, and the “real-life” Human Fly! STEVE ENGLEHART and SAL BUSCEMA on Captain America, JERRY ORDWAY interview and cover, Superman roundtable with SIENKIEWICZ, NOWLAN, MOENCH, COWAN, MAGGIN, O’NEIL, MILGROM, CONWAY, ROBBINS, SWAN, plus FREE ALTER EGO #64 PREVIEW!

“The Devil You Say!” issue! A look at Daredevil in the 1980s and 1990s with interviews and art by KLAUS JANSON, JOHN ROMITA JR., and FRANK MILLER, MIKE MIGNOLA Hellboy interview, DAN MISHKIN and GARY COHN on Blue Devil, COLLEEN DORAN’s unpublished X-Men spin-off “Fallen Angels”, Son of Satan, Stig’s Inferno, DC’s Plop!, JACK KIRBY’s Devil Dinosaur, and cover by MIKE ZECK!

“Dynamic Duos!’ “Pro2Pro” interviews with Batman’s ALAN GRANT and NORM BREYFOGLE and the Legion’s PAUL LEVITZ and KEITH GIFFEN, a “Backstage Pass” to Dark Horse Comics, Robin’s history, EASTMAN and LAIRD’s Ninja Turtles, histories of duos Robin and Batgirl, Captain America and the Falcon, and Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, “Zot!” interview with SCOTT McCLOUD, and a new BREYFOGLE cover!

“Comics Go Hollywood!” Spider-Man roundtable with STAN LEE, JOHN ROMITA, SR., JIM SHOOTER, ERIK LARSEN, and others, STAR TREK comics writers’ roundtable Part 1, Gladstone’s Disney comics line, behindthe-scenes at TV’s ISIS and THE FLASH (plus an interview with Flash’s JOHN WESLEY SHIPP), TV tie-in comics, bonus 8-page color ADAM HUGHES ART GALLERY and cover, plus a FREE WRITE NOW #16 PREVIEW!

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BACK ISSUE #28

“Magic” issue! MICHAEL GOLDEN interview, GENE COLAN, PAUL SMITH, and FRANK BRUNNER on drawing Dr. Strange, Mystic Art Gallery with CARL POTTS & KEVIN NOWLAN, BILL WILLINGHAM’s Elementals, Zatanna history, Dr. Fate’s revival, a “Greatest Stories Never Told” look at Peter Pan, tribute to the late MARSHALL ROGERS, a new GOLDEN cover, plus a FREE ROUGH STUFF #6 PREVIEW!

“Men of Steel!’ BOB LAYTON and DAVID MICHELINIE on Iron Man, RICH BUCKLER on Deathlok, MIKE GRELL on Warlord, JOHN BYRNE on ROG 2000, Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman, Machine Man, the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes comic strip, DC’s Steel, art by KIRBY, HECK, WINDSOR-SMITH, TUSKA, LAYTON cover, and bonus “Men of Steel” art gallery! Includes a FREE DRAW! #15 PREVIEW!

“Spies and Tough Guys!’ PAUL GULACY and DOUG MOENCH in an art-packed “Pro2Pro” on Master of Kung Fu and their unrealized Shang-Chi/Nick Fury crossover, Suicide Squad spotlight, Ms. Tree, CHUCK DIXON and TIM TRUMAN’s Airboy, James Bond and Mr. T in comic books, Sgt. Rock’s oddball super-hero team-ups, Nathaniel Dusk, JOE KUBERT’s unpublished The Redeemer, and a new GULACY cover!

“Comic Book Royalty!” The ’70s/’80s careers of Aquaman and the Sub-Mariner explored, BARR and BOLLAND discuss CAMELOT 3000, comics pros tell “Why JACK KIRBY Was King,” “Dr. Doom: Monarch or Menace?” DON McGREGOR’s Black Panther; an exclusive ALAN WEISS art gallery; spotlights on ARION, LORD OF ATLANTIS; NIGHT FORCE; and more! New cover by NICK CARDY!

“Heroes Behaving Badly!” Hulk vs. Thing tirades with RON WILSON, HERB TRIMPE, and JIM SHOOTER; CARY BATES and CARMINE INFANTINO on “Trial of the Flash”; JOHN BYRNE’s heroes who cross the line; Teen Titan Terra, Kid Miracleman, Mark Shaw Manhunter, and others who went bad, featuring LAYTON, MICHELINIE, WOLFMAN, and PÉREZ, and more! New cover by DARWYN COOKE!

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NEW STUFF FROM TWOMORROWS!

ROUGH STUFF #8

BACK ISSUE #28

WRITE NOW! #18

DRAW! #15

BRICKJOURNAL #2

Features an in-depth interview and cover painting by the extraordinary MIKE MAYHEW, preliminary and unpublished art by ALEX HORLEY, TONY DeZUNIGA, NICK CARDY, and RAFAEL KAYANAN (including commentary by each artist), a look at the great Belgian comic book artists, a “Rough Critique” of MIKE MURDOCK’s work, and more!

Celebration of STAN LEE’s 85th birthday, including rare examples of comics, TV, and movie scripts from the Stan Lee Archives, tributes by JOHN ROMITA, SR., JOE QUESADA, ROY THOMAS, DENNIS O’NEIL, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, JIM SALICRUP, TODD McFARLANE, LOUISE SIMONSON, MARK EVANIER, and others, plus art by KIRBY, DITKO, ROMITA, and more!

BACK TO SCHOOL ISSUE, covering major schools offering comic art as part of their curriculum, featuring faculty, student, and graduate interviews in an ultimate overview of collegiate-level comic art classes! Plus, a “how-to” demo/ interview with artist BILL REINHOLD, MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS’ COMIC ART BOOTCAMP series, a FREE WRITE NOW #17 PREVIEW, and more!

The ultimate resource for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages spotlights blockbuster summer movies, LEGO style! Go behind the scenes for new sets for BATMAN and INDIANA JONES, and see new models, including an SR-71 SPYPLANE and a LEGO CITY, plus MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATIONS, BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS, tour the ONLINE LEGO FACTORY, and more! Edited by JOE MENO.

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SILVER AGE SCI-FI COMPANION

BEST OF WRITE NOW!

BEST OF DRAW! VOL. 3

In the Silver Age of Comics, space was the place, and this book summarizes, critiques and lovingly recalls the classic science-fiction series edited by JULIUS SCHWARTZ and written by GARDNER FOX and JOHN BROOME! The pages of DC’s science-fiction magazines of the 1960s, STRANGE ADVENTURES and MYSTERY IN SPACE, are opened for you, including story-bystory reviews of complete series such as ADAM STRANGE, ATOMIC KNIGHTS, SPACE MUSEUM, STAR ROVERS, STAR HAWKINS and others! Writer/editor MIKE W. BARR tells you which series crossed over with each other, behind-the-scenes secrets, and more, including writer and artist credits for every story! Features rare art by CARMINE INFANTINO, MURPHY ANDERSON, GIL KANE, SID GREENE, MIKE SEKOWSKY, and many others, plus a glorious new cover by ALAN DAVIS and PAUL NEARY!

Features highlights from the acclaimed magazine about writing for comics, including interviews from top talents, like: BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, WILL EISNER, JEPH LOEB, STAN LEE, J. M. STRACZYNSKI, MARK WAID, GEOFF JOHNS, TODD McFARLANE, PAUL LEVITZ, AXEL ALONSO, and others! Plus “NUTS & BOLTS” tutorials feature scripts from landmark comics and the pencil art that was drawn from them, including: CIVIL WAR #1 (MILLAR & McNIVEN), BATMAN: HUSH #1 (LOEB & LEE), ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #47 (BENDIS & BAGLEY), AMAZING SPIDERMAN #539 (STRACZYNSKI & GARNEY), SPAWN #52 (McFARLANE & CAPULO), GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1 (JOHNS & VAN SCRIVER), and more! Also: How-to articles by the best comics writers and editors around, professional secrets of top comics pros, and an introduction by STAN LEE! Edited by DANNY FINGEROTH.

Compiles more of the best tutorials and interviews from DRAW! #5-7, including: Penciling by MIKE WIERINGO! Illustration by DAN BRERETON! Design by PAUL RIVOCHE! Drawing Hands, Lighting the Figure, and Sketching by BRET BLEVINS! Cartooning by BILL WRAY! Inking by MIKE MANLEY! Comics & Animation by STEPHEN DeSTEFANO! Digital Illustration by CELIA CALLE and ALBERTO RUIZ! Caricature by ZACH TRENHOLM, and much more! Cover by DAN BRERETON!

MODERN MASTERS VOLUME 16: MIKE ALLRED

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KIRBY FIVE-OH! (JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #50) The regular columnists from THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR magazine celebrate the best of everything from Jack Kirby’s 50-year career, spotlighting: The BEST KIRBY STORIES & COVERS from 19381987! Jack’s 50 BEST UNUSED PIECES OF ART! His 50 BEST CHARACTER DESIGNS! Interviews with the 50 PEOPLE MOST INFLUENCED BY KIRBY’S WORK! A 50PAGE KIRBY PENCIL ART GALLERY and DELUXE COLOR SECTION! Kirby cover inked by DARWYN COOKE, and an introduction by MARK EVANIER, making this the ultimate retrospective on the career of the “King” of comics! Edited by JOHN MORROW. (168-page tabloid-size trade paperback) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905894 Diamond Order Code: JUL078147 Now Shipping

Go to www.twomorrows.com for FULL-COLOR downloadable PDF versions of our magazines for only $2.95! Subscribers to the print edition get the digital edition FREE, weeks before it hits stores!

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

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DRAW!, WRITE NOW!, ROUGH STUFF (4 issues)

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ALTER EGO (12 issues) Six-issue subs are half-price!

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Features an extensive, career-spanning interview lavishly illustrated with rare art from Mike’s files, plus huge sketchbook section, including unseen and unused art! By ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON. (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905863 Diamond Order Code: JAN083937

COMICS GO HOLLYWOOD Unveils secrets behind your FAVORITE ONSCREEN HEROES, and how a character goes from the comics page to the big screen! It includes: Storyboards from DC’s animated hit “THE NEW FRONTIER”, JEPH LOEB on writing for Marvel Comics and the Heroes TV show, details on the UNSEEN X-MEN MOVIE, a history of the JOKER from the 1940s to the upcoming Dark Knight film, and a look at Marvel Universe co-creator JACK KIRBY’s Hollywood career, with extensive Kirby art! (32-page comic) FREE! at your local comics retailer on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, May 3, 2008!