Alter Ego #67 by TwoMorrows Publishing

Roy Thomas’ Demanding Comics Fanzine

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In the USA

No. 67 April 2007

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Vol. 3, No. 67 / April 2007

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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

Contents

Mike Friedrich

Production Assistant Chris Irving

Circulation Director Bob Brodsky, Cookiesoup Periodical Distribution, LLC

In Memoriam: Leave It To Bob Oksner! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 “My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Bob Oksner talks to Jim Amash about drawing Angels, Apes, & everything in between.

The Powell/Eisner/Arnold Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Cover Artist Bob Oksner (with help from Bill Morrison)

Roy Thomas examines vintage letters from Bob Powell, Will Eisner, & Busy Arnold.

Cover Colorist

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! The [Bob] Powell Family Album! Part II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Tom Ziuko

With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Michael Ambrose Miki Annamanthadoo Marty Arbunich Dick Arnold Bob Bailey Jean Bails Mike W. Barr Alberto Becattini Allen & Roz Bellman Jack Bender Ron Berger Alyssen Bills Dominic Bongo Craig Delich Al Dellinges Jay Disbrow Don Markstein’s Toonpedia Bill DuBay Harlan Ellison Ron Frantz Janet Gilbert Kathleen Glosan Andreas Gottschlich Grand Comic Book Database George Hagenauer Jennifer Hamerlinck Irwin Hasen Fred Hembeck Heritage Comics Al Jaffee

Jonathan G. Jensen Denis Kitchen Ed Lane Karen Lane Dan Makra Jose Marzan, Jr. Bruce Mason Fran Matera Scotty Moore Brian K. Morris Bill Morrison Ken Nadle Kevin Nowlan Bob Oksner Joe Petrilak John Powell Kyle Powell Rob Powell Seth Powell Hart Rieckoff Dorothy Schaffenberger Jeff Smith Anthony Snyder Marc Swayze Dann Thomas Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Greg Vondruska Hames Ware Morris Weiss Alex Wright Cat Yronwode Eddy Zeno

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Bob Oksner, Sam Burlockoff, & Joe Gill

More photos & art featuring the Golden/Silver Age artist—continued from last issue.

Marty Arbunich And Bill DuBay Remember. . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Two prominent 1960s fans interviewed by Bill Schelly for the Comic Fandom Archive.

Tributes to Sam Burlockoff & Joe Gill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 re: [comments, correspondence, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 71 FCA (Fawcett Collectors Of America) #126 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Paul Hamerlinck presents Jeff (Bone, Monster Society) Smith, a Marc Swayze comic strip, and a feisty essay by C.C. Beck. About Our Cover: This issue’s spotlight falls on Golden/Silver Age artist Bob Oksner, who’s noted more for drawing humor comics and beautiful women than super-heroes… “Supergirl” to the contrary notwithstanding. But recently I got hold of a photocopy of the original art of his cover for Adventure Comics #423 (Sept. 1972), on which the Maid of Steel crashes a meeting of the Justice League of America—literally. When I mentioned to Bill Morrison that I hoped to use that art as the cover of this issue of Alter Ego, but with Binky (from a 1948 issue of Leave It to Binky) and the late-1960s Angel and the Ape tossed into the mix, the Bongo Comics editor—though also busy with producing duties on an obscure little show called The Simpsons—volunteered to find just the right Oksner poses of those three and add them to the scene. He did it, too—and beautifully! Turns out Bill’s as big a Bob Oksner fan as are several other collectors who sent us a gaggle of goodies by the artist! Thanks a heap, Bill! 1950s photo courtesy of Ken Nadle. [Art ©2007 DC Comics.] Above: Along with other scans of original and even never-published art you’ll admire in the pages that follow, pro artist Kevin Nowlan e-mailed us this scan of a penciled Supergirl figure by Bob Oksner, from the backside of a page from Adventure Comics #414 (Jan. 1972). Kevin writes: “It looks like he sometimes used a light box to refine his drawings in reverse.” [©2007 DC Comics.] Alter EgoTM is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $9 ($11.00 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.

In Memoriam—& In Celebration

Leave It To BOB OKSNER!

ob Oksner passed away on February 18, 2007… while this issue of Alter Ego, celebrating certain aspects of his life and achievements, was in the final stages of preparation. He was four months past his 90th birthday. I’ve enjoyed his work since long before I knew who drew those early issues of Leave It to Binky, one of the better Archie-style titles of the late 1940s. As a youngster in the 1940s and ’50s, I must have purchased dozens, maybe hundreds, of comic books containing Oksner art, since he drew in so many genres: teenage humor (Binky)… licensed-celebrity humor (Bob Hope, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Sgt. Bilko, Miss Beverly Hills of Hollywood—even, Lord help me, Miss Melody Lane of Broadway)… science-fiction (Strange Adventures, Mystery in Space)… and of course Golden Age superheroes (one “Hawkman” and a “JSA” chapter in All-Star Comics #38, in addition to inking some “Flash” and “Green Lantern”). As an adult, I continued to admire his output, particularly the zany “Angel and the Ape.” While he’s probably right when he says, in this issue’s interview with Jim Amash, that super-heroes weren’t his strongest suit—and he candidly admits that may even be one reason he didn’t like drawing them—he was more than up to the task. His contributions to the “Supergirl” series are especially noteworthy… and when I first ran across the Supergirl/JLA cover of Adventure Comics #423 which became the basis of this month’s A/E cover, I fleetingly thought it might consist of Irv Novick pencils under Dick Giordano inks. In his own way, Bob Oksner could do it all.

I don’t believe Bob and I ever met, but I enjoyed our few brief phone conversations over the past year. He was full of life and spirit, for a guy rounding out his ninth decade, and quite enthusiastic about the upcoming interview, volunteering to look over any art sent him, with an eye toward whether he’d done it or not. Jim and I took him up on that. In fact, the morning Mrs. Oksner phoned to tell me Bob had gone into the hospital some days before, I was on the verge of calling him to ask about a feature called “Kid Click” which I’d found in a 1944 issue of the obscure Camera Comics. I had mailed him photocopies of the 4-pager, since Jerry Bails’ online Who’s Who attributes some “Kid Click” to him, and I wondered if it was his work—admittedly, only if it had been batted out on a bad day. Mrs. Oksner informed me that, right before he went into the hospital, Bob asked her to call and tell me that he didn’t think he had done that particular story. Now that’s a pro. We’ll miss your tremendous talent, Bob… and we’ll miss you, even more. Bestest,

COMING IN MAY

Titanic Tributes To Two Stellar Phenomena!

JERRY G. BAILS— & STAR WARS! “The Father Of Comic Book Fandom”— & The 30th Anniversary of Marvel Comics’ Adaptation Of A Movie Masterpiece! • Never-before-published JSA cover by GEORGE PÉREZ! • Spotlight on Alter Ego founder JERRY G. BAILS & his importance to comics fandom— & to pro comics! Accolades by DAVE GIBBONS, MIKE VOSBURG, PAUL LEVITZ, TONY ISABELLA, JOHN WRIGHT, JIM AMASH, BILL SCHELLY, et al.—plus rare art by KUBERT, two KANEs, INFANTINO, ANDERSON, SEKOWSKY, HASEN, KIRBY, DITKO, CARDY, DILLIN, TOTH, PETER, ORDWAY, BUCKLER, STATON, & many more! • Bonus! Never-seen interviews with JERRY BAILS and co-editor HAMES WARE on the landmark 1970s Who’s Who of American Comic Books! • Marvel’s STAR WARS Comic at 30! The full story of the adaptation that preceded the film! ROY THOMAS tells about working/interacting with HOWARD CHAYKIN, GEORGE LUCAS, HARRISON FORD, MARK HAMILL, STEVE LEIALOHA, DAVE STEVENS, RICK HOBERG, BILL WRAY, ALAN KUPPERBERG, & others! • MICHAEL T. GILBERT on JERRY BAILS—FCA with BAILS, SWAYZE, BECK, etc. Edited by ROY THOMAS ©2007 DC Comics.] [Justice Society of America

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“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces” Cartoonist Par Excellence BOB OKSNER Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

Conducted by Jim Amash

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris humor. No one deserved an extended interview any more than Bob, and I’m sorry he isn’t here to see it, especially considering how much this meant to him. All of us who knew Bob will miss him. He was an extraordinary, gracious, patient man. Special thanks to our mutual friend, cartoonist Morris Weiss, for contacting Bob for me, and our deepest condolences to the Oksner family on their loss... and ours. —Jim.

ob Oksner was one of the best cartoonists in comics. He started out with the Lloyd Jacquet shop before moving on to Cinema Comics, where he became the shop’s art director. From there, he moved on to a 40-year association with DC Comics, where he drew Sgt. Bilko, Leave It to Binky, The Adventures of Bob Hope, The Adventures of Jerry Lewis, Angel and the Ape, and Welcome Back, Kotter, in addition to various super-hero features such as Shazam!, “Supergirl”, Lois Lane, and inking Curt Swan on “Superman,” among others. He also had several tries at newspaper syndication with Cairo Jones, Soozie, and I Love Lucy, as well as co-writing Dondi with his close friend Irwin Hasen. Bob could draw anything and do it with glamour and taste. Unfortunately, Bob passed away the very day I proofread this interview I had done with him. He was a true gentleman of distinction with a striking physical presence, and a quiet, gentle sense of

“My Mother Caught Me Outside With A .38…. I Think I Started To Draw Then” JIM AMASH: We have the tape running now, so please tell me the story you had started.

The Adventures Of Bob Oksner Bob Oksner—juxtaposed with examples of both his “silly” and ”serious” sides. (Left:) The cover of The Adventures of Bob Hope #84 (Dec. 1963Jan. 1964), sent by collector Bob Bailey. (Right:) The artist’s cover for Supergirl #10 (Sept.-Oct. 1974), repro’d from a photocopy of the original art; courtesy of dealer/collector Anthony Snyder, whose website is www.anthonysnyder.com/art [Art ©2007 DC Comics.] Collector Bob Bailey writes of the snapshot: “This is the first photo I ever took of Bob Oksner. I took it in the fall of 1978, while Bob was teaching. I was working at the K-Mart in Randolph, NJ, part-time and going to the [Joe] Kubert School (then in Wharton, NJ) fulltime. The picture may be a little washed-out due to the cheap K-Mart film I used. I stopped using it shortly after that.” Hey, we’re just happy you took it, Bob!

BOB OKSNER: All right. My last name is basically German, O-C-H-S-N-E-R, but my folks lived in Poland, and at that time, it was Russia and you spelled it that way with a “K”: O-K-S-N-ER. And that’s the difference.

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

When I was a little boy, I drew airplanes—biplanes, in those days—and soldiers. All my uncles were in World War I, and when they came back, they were unmarried. They were kids, practically—the oldest, possibly in his early twenties. They lived with my parents, but they were so young that they hadn’t set up a home for themselves, so they lived for at least a year or so with my folks until life settled down after the war, and they brought back their souvenirs. I had so many bayonets and gas masks and helmets, which I wore on Halloween. We had revolvers, too, until one day my mother caught me outside with a .38 and that was the end of the revolvers. So I think I started to draw then. Let me tell you a very fascinating story at the very beginning. During World War II, we were the only Oksners in Manhattan, the only one in the phone book. And I was home with my wife in our apartment and a man came by and told me he had credentials to speak for the man he’s speaking for. It was a Nazi general that was captured— Joseph Ochsner—and he claimed to be a long-distance relative. And my father had told me this story about parts of our family living in Germany and converting from Judaism to Catholicism, and they were doing business together across the border in upper Silesia. Of course I would do nothing to help this captured German Nazi general, who claimed he had Jewish relatives in Manhattan. I regret having being so abrupt with this man whom I practically threw out, because now I want to know what the connection was. I was foolish... though not foolish at the time. It was wartime, about 1944, and sure enough, shortly afterwards in The New York Times, I saw Joseph Ochsner’s name on a list of captured German generals. I’m glad my wife was there, because nobody else would believe the story. [chuckles] As I say, now I could kick myself for not giving some time for this man and finding out what exactly what the connection was.

Also, there was an airfield, Teterboro, in New Jersey. Now it’s a private airfield for private airplanes. Fokker, which was a German firm, had a building there and manufactured planes, and there would always be a Fokker plane there. Of course that was the big plane during World War I for the Germans. My father would take me there every now and then on a Sunday, and we’d watch the airplane shows. So I would draw the airplanes. That’s the only way I could figure out how I got into drawing, because I had the material there and I think almost every boy draws soldiers at the beginning of—especially, it wasn’t that long after World War I.

“All These Classics” As a child, Oksner devoured such comic strips as Billy DeBeck’s Barney Google, George McManus’ Bringing Up Father, and Winsor McKay’s Little Nemo in Slumberland. Here are samples of each from, respectively, 1923, c. 1930, & c. 1909. [Barney Google & Bringing Up Father ©2007 King Features Syndicate; Little Nemo in public domain.]

JA: Well, you had a human reaction to a vile... OKSNER: Right, right. I’m not going to be too angry with myself. JA: A lot of people would have done worse to him than you did. OKSNER: [chuckles] Well, I’m a very sweet guy. JA: [laughs] That’s what Morris Weiss says. Okay, let me ask you a very basic question. No peeking now... when and where you born? OKSNER: That’s a very easy question. I spilled out at a very early age. [Jim laughs] I was born in Manhattan, New York City, 1916, October 14th. Want me to give you my Social Security? JA: [laughs] Just the checks, Bob. OKSNER: Okay. We moved, before I was a year old, to Paterson, New Jersey, where I was raised, really, until I went to college. And I lived there when I went to college, but I spent more time in New York than I did at home.

When I was too young to read well, I’d get in bed on Sundays and my father read the Sunday comics to me. Barney Google and Bringing Up Father, all these classics. And Little Nemo... the great ones. But I never thought I would be drawing strips. You know, that was for entertainment.

I took a drawing course in high school. I was drawing in high school because I liked to draw. It’s as simple as that. By now, I wanted to be an artist. My parents had a four-family building, right in the best part of Paterson, right next to a hospital. They wanted me to be a doctor and I had no ability, and no desire to be

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

a doctor. Then they settled for me being a lawyer. [Jim laughs] They were very much afraid that I would starve... you know, being an artist in those days—first of all, it was at the beginning of the Depression. I went to high school in 1930 and my parents had a friend who was an artist in Greenwich Village and he was literally starving. He had to depend on his sister and his family to support him. My parents wanted me to have a profession so they sent me to college. I was sent to an art school.

“I’d Draw In The Evening And Then Do My Homework” JA: Was that New York University? OKSNER: Yes, and I had gone out to St. Louis. I had a large family there in the summer of ’34 and they wanted me to go to Washington University in St. Louis, which was an excellent school. All my cousins out in St. Louis went there. That’s how I got into college.

anything and arrange it so it sounded great. JA: You went to New York University and got a Bachelor’s degree. Did you go straight to Columbia from there? OKSNER: No, that was later. I got a Bachelor’s and then went to the Art Students League for two years. My parents were not satisfied. They wanted me to be able to make a living, and I had majored in History and Economics and minored in Economics and English. They wanted me to be a teacher, so they sent me to qualify for teaching at Columbia at their school of education for an M.A. But I had no desire to teach. But to please my parents, who were laying out the money, I did that for a year and then I was living in New York. I couldn’t afford the dorms at Columbia. My uncle was manager of a hotel that my cousins owned on 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, which is right where the burlesque houses were.

Now I suspect it was more than I drew cartoons for a humor simply a place where burlesque magazine: N.Y.U. Varieties. But that Timely Terry queens stayed, because I was warned got me into art school because, Oksner says he created the “Terry Vance” feature, and even named its by my uncle never to speak to any having fulfilled my family’s hero after—well, read the interview. This splash from Marvel Mystery women on the elevator. [Jim laughs] requirement, namely the graduate in Comics #26 (Dec. 1941) was sent by Bob Bailey. Script by Ray Gill. And he went around with a .38, Pre-law, and being a member of the [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.] [more laughter] and he had set up a honorary Pre-law Society, they then target in the basement for us to shoot at. And then I learned about a allowed me to go to the Art Students League. But while I was in job opening, painting flowers on lampshades. I had no idea how to do college, I decided to become an illustrator. Illustration was very big at it, but I applied for the job and I got it. It was at the Hotel Mayflower. that time. Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s... all the magazines had illustrators who were magnificent artists. Anyway, I figured out a way JA: What year was that? to meet an illustrator. I was one of the editors of a magazine and I thought, “If I have a beauty contest and invited illustrators to be OKSNER: Either 1939 or ’40. I went to the Art Students league in ’39. judges, I’d get to meet them.” Which I did. I invited Russell Patterson Let me finish with the hotel. When I came home from school in the and Arthur William Brown, both of whom I admired very much. They evening, I would set up and draw comic book stories for Lloyd were both so nice to me. Brownie became sort of a mentor to me when Jacquet. Not for much money, but I’d draw in the evening and then do I went to art school, and Russell Patterson got me my first job. And my homework. I worked with Lloyd Jacquet at Funnies, Incorporated, they did pick a girl who wasn’t that beautiful, but what the hell. She from 1940, possibly, to ’42. I worked on several features with writer was happy and I was happy. Mickey Spillane. By the way, Sy Reit [creator of Casper the Friendly Ghost] was my co-editor on the magazine. He was a Philosophy major and I always was in awe of anybody who was a Philosophy major. He was very sweet, a wonderful guy. His father and uncle were both lawyers. His uncle was a judge and they worked for burlesque—Minsky. Sy would get passes to Minsky’s Burlesque. He wasn’t permitted to attend, so he gave me the passes, for a year at least. Every Friday, after the week was over, before I went back to Patterson, I would go to a burlesque and I got to know all these strippers and comedians. In college, I played the piano at that time and I wrote songs for our class at the senior dance and things like that. At the dances, they had bands like Woody Herman’s. You ever hear of Larry Clinton? He’s a lesser—anyway, they would come in and make arrangements of the tunes I wrote and we’d dance to it. And it sounded so good the way they played it, you know. [mutual laughter] They would take

JA: Was Jacquet the man who hired you? OKSNER: I don’t remember, but Jacquet was the only fellow I knew there. I never worked in the bullpen. I was there to pick up scripts and to deliver, so I didn’t get to meet people there. As for pay, it was maybe $7 a page, for pencils and inks, no lettering. I never knew where my stuff was going to appear. I did write some of my features, but no details come to mind now.

“‘Terry Vance’… I Created That One” JA: Well, I don’t expect you to remember all the features you did, but I’m asking just in case something here rings a bell. A lot of the work you did saw print in Timely’s comics. OKSNER: Could be, since I didn’t read the comics and never got the

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

OKSNER: No, I was happy enough to have a job, and doing it at night when I came back from school. I just went through the stories, and did it good enough to be paid. JA: How did you come to create “Terry Vance”? Were you asked to? OKSNER: I don’t know whether I was asked to or not, but a boy detective was something I could handle, [chuckles] rather than a sophisticated Philo Vance. So it was easy enough. I guess I did it because someone may have asked for it, I don’t know. JA: Did you have to submit a script first? Were there any story conferences? [Bob says “no.”] You knew you had, say, 7 pages to fill and you filled it and brought the work in, right? OKSNER: Right. I brought in the pencils, the pages were lettered, and then I inked them.

“A Man Named Ned Pines” JA: What do you remember about Lloyd Jacquet? OKSNER: He was a very well-dressed man who was kind to a novice. I didn’t know that was the way he made his living. I had no idea as to how the system worked, so I was happy to have a job while I came back from school at night. And I didn’t bother analyzing it. I never had any complaint, let me put it that way. Had there been a complaint, I might have a better insight as to his character.

Timeless Terry Since Oksner was working for Lloyd Jacquet’s Funnies, Inc., comics shop when he did “Terry Vance” for Timely, here’s an illustrative splash from Marvel Mystery #30 (April 1942), supplied by collector Bruce Mason. Bob was improving by leaps and bounds! Scripter unknown. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

magazines. I don’t remember most of the features I did, though I do recall “Terry Vance,” because I created that one. There was a detective called Philo Vance, and I figured I’d take that name, “Vance.” And “Terry” I guess I must have clipped off from Terry and the Pirates. Terry was a boy detective. JA: When you started working for Jacquet, how long was it before you started writing? Can you recall? OKSNER: No, because I always wrote. Not for comic books, but in college, I wrote for the magazine (whose name I can’t remember), and so I fancied myself a writer. I welcomed the opportunity to write, so I don’t know when I really started writing for Lloyd Jacquet. I know that, if there was an opportunity, I’d grab it. That $7 I mentioned didn’t include the writing I did. JA: Okay, so when you started working there, then you were working off of scripts by like, say, Mickey Spillane or Ray Gill. Did you ever meet those men? OKSNER: I met them both. I remember Mickey was short and squat and he told me he played football. And he had an air about him of an adventurer. He was like a little powerhouse. Ray Gill was just a nice guy, but Mickey Spillane put on an air that I remember. JA: When you drew somebody else’s stories back then, I take it you just did a literal interpretation. You didn’t do any rewriting, did you?

I know exactly when my first real job took place: when I was married in 1942. Because my brother-in-law, who was not my brotherin-law yet, was a good friend of a man named Ned Pines. And before I met Ned Pines, I worked for True Comics and Classic Comics. It was just a couple of assignments. I went up to Pines’ office a few weeks before I was to be married. He gave me a comic assignment, and I finished by the time of my wedding day. I took it with me to the wedding. We were going down to Williamsburg for our honeymoon, we were staying over in a hotel in Manhattan, and I brought it to his office before I took the train to Williamsburg. And that was my very first real job. JA: Before I get into that, let me ask you a question about working for True Comics, because that was for Parents’ Magazine. What do you remember about this company? OKSNER: Well, I think their editor was Al Capp’s brother, Elliot Caplin. I know I did a story about a Dr. Kotch. I did several 19thcentury doctors, and that’s about all I remember, because I left that. That wasn’t much fun. The research slowed me down. I enjoyed doing it because, on two levels, I saw it was worthwhile. You know, it was teaching children something. And I enjoyed doing my research. JA: So you got the job with Ned Pines. I have you listed as being art director, 1942 to 1945. [Bob agrees] What did your parents think of this, since they wanted you to be a lawyer? And here you are now, you’ve become an art director in the comics? OKSNER: I think they were satisfied I could earn a living. As art director, when young kids or older men came in... because, though it was wartime, it was still the Depression and jobs were not plentiful except in wartime industries... I would look at their work, and either I could offer them work or make suggestions to help them improve, and that was basically my job. But I remember this one young man, Everett [Raymond] Kinstler, who is a great portrait painter. He came in and he literally sketched, did black-&-white almost like a halftone. If you remember, I’m sure you’re familiar with the comic books of those days; the paper was terrible and the ink would blot on. And I told him that he could draw wonderfully well, but he’d have to use a brush and no pen, and I couldn’t hire him at first, though he did come to work for me.

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

JA: Okay. Ned Pines’ company had so many different names over time. They were known as Cinema, they were known as Standard, they were known as Nedor—for Ned and Dora Pines, I think. They were known as Pines, and as Better Publications. OKSNER: Right, I remember Standard and Better. JA: Ray Kinstler told me that he worked in the office. Did you get to spend a lot of time with him? OKSNER: Not much time, because I was drawing as well. I just had a room which I shared with a writer, whose name I don’t recall. Anyway, I admired Kinstler’s work very much, but it didn’t suit the medium. JA: There was a writer that worked in the office named Patricia Highsmith [later a noted novelist]. What do you remember about her? OKSNER: She was lean and angular, not too friendly. I didn’t know her sexual orientation at that time and I couldn’t care less, but she wouldn’t let anyone get too close to her. There may have been conversations which were, more or less, perfunctory. She did write in the office, because she had her own desk. She also worked at DC Comics. JA: Was she writing stories or was she writing text fillers? Or was she doing both?

I would look at artists’ work, but there weren’t many changes to be made. If there were any gross errors, I would call the artist’s attention to it, and he’d make changes. There wasn’t that large a staff, and I guess from the very fact that I became the art editor with very little experience, that tells you how capable the firm was. JA: Do you happen to remember how much you got paid for being on staff? OKSNER: No. $70 a week sounds right, but that’s for taking care of the other stuff. In those days, I made very good money, comparatively. I was making 150 a week, 250 a week, depending on how much drawing I was doing, besides the staff work. I drew some stories on company time and some I brought home. I didn’t have much respect for the company because I knew that they never really created characters on their own. For example, DC had “The Boy Commandos,” so we immediately had “Commando Cubs,” which I drew. But that came out of someone else’s original thinking [Joe Simon & Jack Kirby]. JA: Did you feel creatively stifled? OKSNER: I didn’t feel stifled because I didn’t feel like a creator. I was just pulling my weight and doing the drawing. I was very fast. I could

OKSNER: She was writing stories. I don’t know exactly what she was writing, except that she was a writer there and she was so cold and standoffish; I didn’t look over her shoulder. The bullpen wasn’t large and I wasn’t in it. I had my own office. I remember there were South American artists there and a letterer named Ed Hamilton. God knows where he is now, because he was maybe in his thirties at that time or a little older. In those days, they came in with a shirt, tie, and jacket and I remember that. He was very professional. Dave Breger worked there. He was an excellent cartoonist, and a very, very close friend of mine and lived near me. He did Private Breger during the war and he bronzed his Army shoes; that’s the term that they use when loving parents of children take their little baby shoes and have them made so they’ll always remain—bronzed. He bronzed his Army shoes! [Jim laughs] They originally came from Chicago and were in the meat business. And the motto of the business was “Our wurst is the best.” Dick Hughes, who edited the entire line, had his own office as well. I seldom conferred with him. We were good friends, social friends as well as a—I never thought of it as a “business.” I guess I was very naïve at that time. [Jim laughs] Yeah, he would simply say, “Do you have some new stories?” or, “Do you have new characters?” Generally, they would look at what was selling elsewhere and develop characters along the same mode.

“I Didn’t Have Much Respect For The [Pines] Company” JA: Did you hire the artists? OKSNER: Well, I would send them to Dick and he would actually do the hiring. JA: So if you didn’t like them, they didn’t get to Dick Hughes, right? OKSNER: No, if I didn’t like them, I would tell them why, because I was a fellow artist and I wanted to help them. And then they would come back again and if it still didn’t work out, then hopefully, they’d come back again. Now I could feel for them, let me put it that way.

Mekano-cal Aptitude “Mekano,” with Oksner art, debuted in Better/Nedor’s Wonder Comics #1 (May 1944), with a 15-page origin story—then never appeared again! Sender Bruce Mason writes: “A young scientist invents a mechanical man that is almost human, but the Nazis steal him and plan to use him as a weapon. Mekano beats the Germans and saves the day.” Whew! That was a close one! [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

“DC Had ‘The Boy Commandos,’ So We Immediately Had ‘Commando Cubs’” The script for the Better/Nedor series was by Richard Hughes, who was profiled in A/E #61’s extensive coverage of Ned Pines’ company, the Sangor art shop, and the American Comics Group. Bob Oksner supplied these photocopies—which may be from their debut tale in Thrilling Comics #15 (July 1943). Alas, no kid group was complete in those days without its racial stereotype, which Bob later regretted. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

probably do two complete pages a day, pencil and inks. And I knew I wasn’t going to remain there, because I wanted to do a syndicated strip. I think that’s what every comic book artist really wanted to do. I worked for Standard from about June 1942 until the winter or spring of 1947. While on staff, I didn’t work anywhere else. JA: Well, actually, I have you listed as working for Orbit Publications. According to Jerry Bails’ online Who’s Who, you did “Cannonball,” “Crash Kid, Crime Crusader”—that has a question mark, actually—you did some covers, and “Gail Porter” also has a question mark. Does any of that sound familiar? OKSNER: I can’t remember that, but my memory is so poor in that era that I can’t say no, nor can I say yes. What I remember is that I left them in 1947. I left Standard and I was getting about 7 or 8 dollars a page in 1942 from Standard and later, about 1945, which is a keystone, about $10 a page. Of course, in 1945, I sold Cairo Jones to Associated Newspapers. JA: Before you get into Cairo Jones... I was curious, why weren’t you in the military service? OKSNER: I had a punctured eardrum and I had a fight when I was 1A. I was an early draftee in about 1940. I was one of the first ones, and we weren’t at war at all, and I tried to get out of the service. I was 1-A all the way through until I had to be sworn in. And at that point, this surgeon who operated on me—I had mastoids—he said, “What the hell

are you doing here?” And I said, “Well, I don’t know, I’m 1-A.” He says, “No, you’re 4-F,” and I got out. And fortunately, because those kids, my schoolmates from Paterson, in 1940 were sent to the Philippines and they had a very rough time. Many of them didn’t come back; four of them did not come back. And I was grateful that this doctor was there; I bless him every day.

“Let Me Tell You About [Ben] Sangor” JA: Do you remember Ben Sangor? OKSNER: I knew him very well. He was Ned Pines’ son-in-law. Benjamin Sangor was a good friend, because he knew that his son-inlaw was a friend of my brother-in-law. In other words, it was all in the family. But he was an older man who had been in theatre before, who had been a producer of some sort and was friends of various Broadway actors who would come up to the office. I didn’t work for Pines directly. I worked with Sangor. Anyway, let me tell you a story about Sangor. It has nothing to do with the interview, but Ben thought of himself as being my mentor, and he may have been about 30 years older than I, but he was in competition with my father-in-law who also thought of himself as my mentor. And each one of them would take me to the Hotel Astor, and they would take me and teach me about cigars. [Jim laughs] They would take me to the cigar counter, and in those days a good cigar was like

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

50¢ or 40¢. Sangor would recommend one cigar, one brand, and my father-in-law would take me there and recommend another, and ask me what I’m doing with the one that Sangor recommended. [laughter] Yeah, those were the days.

dropped.

JA: Where was Standard’s office located?

OKSNER: I don’t know. It was one office that I know and that was it. He may have had many—there were sub-companies that were—I don’t know. I remember doing “Brad Spencer, Wonderman,” “Bart Bradley,” “Commando Cubs,” “Lance Lewis,” “Pepper Smith,” which I created, and “Sandy of the Circus.” There may have been others, but I don’t remember them. Dick Hughes wrote most, if not all, of the ones I didn’t. He also created the features that I didn’t.

OKSNER: I think it was 44th Street, off Fifth Avenue. When I was there, and some of the returning soldiers and generals of World War II were coming down Fifth Avenue, I would run out and wave a flag. JA: Now tell me about Cairo Jones. OKSNER: By 1945, after I sold my strip, I was paid about $10 a page. I guess they had more respect for me. I did Cairo Jones at the same time—it was just a Sunday page then—for $75 a week. Cairo Jones was originally supposed to be a man, but the syndicate, Associated Newspapers, had a girl strip, Miss Fury, which they stopped for some reason. So they wanted me to do a girl strip to take over for Miss Fury, but I wasn’t a “good girl artist.” So what I did was buy a magazine called Beauty Parade which had photographs of burlesque queens, heavily clothed. You had to figure out what was underneath all that stuff, and I bought that for reference. I drew the poses from that, and that got me through the first parts of Cairo Jones. However, having worked for the syndicate must have impressed Ben Sangor, because he upped my page rate to $10 a page. Then, about 1946, the syndicate wanted me to do dailies as well as the Sunday page, which I wanted to do. By doing the dailies, I couldn’t do much freelance work, so I made a deal with Sangor where I could use the office that I had there, and whatever I could do freelance, I would do. And that was our deal until the strip died and I left them. [chuckles] I really had no respect for the firm. I looked upon them as a third-rate publication, which I guess they were. JA: Especially when compared to some of the other companies like DC Comics or Dell. In regard to Cairo Jones, you wrote it as well.

JA: Getting back to Standard, what exactly was the relationship between them and Sangor’s shop?

JA: Was Hy Smith was doing some writing? OKSNER: He may have been, but I wasn’t aware of doing any stories that he’d written. Gerry Albert wrote some stories, and I may have drawn some of his. JA: It’s called the Sangor Studio, so it was managed by Sangor. OKSNER: I guess so, but it wasn’t owned by him. JA: It was owned by Ned Pines. Richard Hughes was an editor there. And you said that Gerry Albert was also editing. OKSNER: Yes, but Richard Hughes was the chief editor. Gerry Albert was a writer. He was there because his father had owned that complex of offices—or rented, I guess he didn’t own it—before Sangor took over there, and they gave Gerry a job. Gerry was a very nice guy; quiet, well read, spoke good English, and kept to himself, mostly. I don’t know anything about his private life. I don’t know how much editing he did, but he definitely wrote.

The Name Is Familiar, But I Can’t Place The Gender The cover of Croyden Pub.’s comic book collecting the Miss Cairo Jones strip drawn and created by Oksner—so we figure it’s probably by Bob. According to the website “Don Markstein’s Toonpedia,” Bell Syndicate editor John Wheeler liked Oksner’s art on submitted samples of a strip called Cairo Jones, but had him change his “two-fisted he-man” lead into a woman, and brought in writer Gerry Albert to script. The strip debuted from a Bell subsidiary on July 29, 1945. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

OKSNER: Yes, at the beginning. Up at Standard, I shared an office with Gerry Albert, who was a writer and an editor, too. He wrote it for the first couple of months. I laid out the plot because I really didn’t have time to write it. But he wrote it at the beginning and his name is on the first few Sunday pages. Later on, when I did the dailies, I did all of the writing and drawing, and I didn’t do any work for Standard. JA: So now the strip folded because...

OKSNER: The tone of the strip wasn’t my style. I wasn’t bent that way, [Jim chuckles] so I changed the concept to a humor strip and I used comedians—comics—funny stuff, but the feature had been sold as an adventure strip. I was naïve and wrong in doing that, so it was

JA: What else about Sangor do you recall?

OKSNER: I recall he acted. He had been a theatrical producer, and there was a family called Talmadge— Constance Talmadge and her sisters— in the Broadway theatre. Sangor was a good friend of theirs and their father, who was a great old actor and passed away before my time. Sangor carried himself like a Broadway producer with a cigar. I remember that he introduced me to Charles Atlas. I don’t know, I think he was a Greek, but he took the name “Charles Atlas,” and I was introduced to him as “Charles Atlas.” [NOTE: Atlas’ real name was Angelo Siciliano. — Jim.] He was, I’d say, about five-ten, broad, big chest. He was wearing a suit and he was an older man by about that time, 1945. A nice guy, I could see him probably 20, 30 years younger, having a great physique. And he still had it. JA: What did Sangor look like? OKSNER: He was, I’d say, medium height, I’d guess about five-eight

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

The Wonder Years—Oksner Style (Above:) No, this isn’t the Fox “Wonder Man” that DC sued out of existence in 1939, but a later hero introduced by Better/Nedor—and drawn, on this occasion, by Bob Oksner for Wonder Comics #14 (Sept. 1946), as he battles the insidious Dr. Voodoo. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.] (Top right:) A few years later, Bob drew this historical feature in Wonder Woman #45 (Jan-Feb. 1951). Thanks to Bruce Mason for this & the previous scans. (Right:) In the 1970s he finally got a crack at the Amazon herself, as per this cover from Wonder Woman #212 (June-July 1974). The story inside was penciled by Oksner, inked by Tex Blaisdell. Thanks to both Bruce Mason and Bob Bailey. [Both WW scans ©2007 DC Comics.]

or -nine, a little stout, but not fat; and stood erect. He made a classy impression, and was in the office most of the time. He didn’t have a sense of humor, at least not with me. The thing I remember about him most was that—I forget what year it was that MGM was celebrating an anniversary—and one of their top executives was also a songwriter. I can’t think of his name, but I got to meet him and I proposed that we, Standard, do a comic book delineating the history of MGM. I thought it was a great idea to draw the characters, draw the actors, and draw everything else of the past fifty years, and he agreed. But Sangor turned it down. He didn’t want to get involved. I thought that was a poor business decision, because it would have been great publicity for the company, and could possibly have made some money as well. Maybe because I thought of it, you know. Sometimes, that happens. When a subordinate thinks of it, you don’t want it.

“I Never Had A Day Without Work” JA: Let’s talk about Richard Hughes. His real name seems to have been Leo Rosenbaum. I wonder if he changed his name because it was too Jewish. A lot of people did that back then. OKSNER: I would suspect that’s what he did. He was very amiable, and we became

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

very close friends. He lived up in the Bronx on University Avenue, and my wife and I used to visit him and his wife Annabelle. And he’d come down to where we lived in Teaneck. And I know that… I don’t know how to put this, but he was very sexy [mutual laughter] when the girls were around, or he tried to be. He didn’t have the looks to be a ladies’ man, but he may have fancied himself as one. Let me put it this way: he and his wife were a very sophisticated couple. JA: I understand what you’re saying. [laughs] What did he look like? OKSNER: He wore glasses, smoked a pipe most of the time. He did not have fine features. His features were rather—I wouldn’t say coarse, but not fine. He was medium height, and not too broad. He was my boss, but I never thought of him that way. As I said, when I entered that office, I entered as a friend of the owner, Ned Pines. And Sangor treated me as if I were an upper—more socially— more important than I really was. JA: What did you think of his writing? OKSNER: I thought it was ordinary comic book work. JA: When he had a feature that he wanted you to draw, he’d just say, “Bob, here’s a new feature”? OKSNER: Right, exactly. He would tell me I had more work and that would be it. As I said, the way that I felt about that place is that it was, “They’re great,” and they were paying me decent money, and I never had a day without work, so I hung on. JA: Let me ask you about Ned Pines, because his reputation seems to be of the type of man just out to make a buck. OKSNER: I guess that’s probably right. He wasn’t in the office very much, not once I started working there. He had his own office, but in a much finer building. I don’t remember where it was, but it was a better section of town. JA: Standard got material from the West Coast, but you guys wouldn’t have dealt with that, wouldn’t you have? OKSNER: No, I would not have. JA: Who was responsible for the coloring? OKSNER: Probably one of the girls that worked there. Some of them inked and some of them colored. But no names come to mind. JA: I know how you felt about working at Sangor’s, but you felt that way about the company. Did you feel the same way about your work as you felt about the company?

Leave It To Sheldon The All-American line’s editor Sheldon Mayer in the early 1940s, seen with his two most famous humor creations, Scribbly and Binky. Scribbly was a teenage cartoonist (as Mayer himself had been just a few years earlier), depicted above left drawing that new super-hero sensation The Red Tornado in All-American Comics #20 (Nov. 1940). Leave It to Binky, drawn by Bob Oksner, debuted with a Feb.-March 1948 cover date, as per this house ad. The early Binky panel was sent by Bill Morrison; scripter uncertain. Photo courtesy of Sheldon Moldoff. [Art ©2007 DC Comics.]

OKSNER: [chuckles] Well, I felt I wasn’t too good an artist, let’s put it that way. I was doing war stories, and I was doing them quickly, and they never complained.

“[Whitney Ellsworth] Looked At My Work And Sent Me To Shelley Mayer” JA: I want to back up, because there’s something I forgot to ask you about the Art Students League. Did you study under George Bridgman? OKSNER: Yes. He was wonderful. As a matter of fact, I sat next to John Cullen Murphy, who was about ten years younger than I, but had been to art school all his life. That’s where I met my wife Patricia, in Bridgman’s class. [NOTE: John Cullen Murphy became the original artist of the newspaper strip Big Ben Bolt, and eventually took over Prince Valiant after Harold R. Foster retired. —Jim.] Bridgman would come by... he was a marvelous draftsman, as you know. He would get up in front of a big drawing board and draw in charcoal, which was at the end of a stick. Then he would come by and look at your drawing, take a chamoise, and lightly erase what you did and go over it with his drawing. And you’d sit there, and watch it, and marvel. He was really good. JA: You know, Morris told me the same story about the chamoise. In fact, he met his wife Blanche there. By the way, Morris told me that you were the one who got him to start inking with a brush. OKSNER: That may be because he was doing it with a pen. He had done syndicated stuff. I forget whether it was Joe Jinks, and he was using a pen and he couldn’t get the flow. I suggested he use a brush because you make freer lines with it.

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

JA: So Cairo Jones folded in 1947, and you left Standard then.

over from there. And it didn’t bother me that I wasn’t allowed to sign the work. Doing the job was all that mattered.

OKSNER: Yes. I’m trying to think who recommended me to go to DC. It was a friend, obviously. It may have been Irwin Hasen, but I can’t vouch for it. I went to Whitney Ellsworth who was the main editor. He looked at my work and sent me to Shelly Mayer.

JA: You drew covers for Shelly. Describe the process for me. OKSNER: Shelly would give me the gag—or whoever was writing it or whoever was editor at the time—he’d give me the gag and I’d go home and draw it.

JA: What did you think of Shelly when you met him?

JA: So you never sat in the office and worked out cover roughs?

OKSNER: He was very easy to work for. We became very good friends in a short period of time. I think he left at the end of ’47 or early ’48. But, during that period of a few months when we worked on Leave It to Binky, we became very close and I thought, in some ways, [chuckles] he was very useful. He imagined himself to be a Hollywood director, and he’d walk around with a polo stick which he kept in a corner of his office. Later on, I found out that he would go through ranches and tourist ranches, and ride a horse with Irwin Hasen, who was his close friend at the time, and I guess take his polo stick. [chuckles] I had no idea what he’d do with it. Sometimes, he swung it around the office. JA: Well, I know that he and Irwin sometimes would have like little swordfights, not with swords, but with T-squares.

OKSNER: I worked for DC from 1947 to 1986, and I never sat in the office and discussed anything with an editor. As a matter of fact, at one time, when I was working with Murray Boltinoff, I had a little red Alfa Romeo. I lived in Teaneck, New Jersey, which is about a half an hour or so from the DC offices. I would call up Murray, tell him I’d be in at 2:30, and he’d wait downstairs on the corner of 52nd Street. I’d drive up in my car, pull some of the finished work, and he’d give me a script for the next story. I think he liked the idea of getting out of the office. And I liked the idea of not having to park my car.

Everything Happens To Bob With Leave It to Binky a solid success, Oksner was assigned to a later but shorter-lived teenage title, Everything Happens to Harvey. Here’s his cover for #7 (Sept.-Oct. 1954), which inspired provider Bob Bailey to write: “It’s a great example of his fascinating sense of composition. That’s what he tried to drum into our dumb little heads at the Kubert school. He was a great teacher who really cared about the students. He probably ties Murphy Anderson for being the nicest professional in comics!” [©2007 DC Comics.]

OKSNER: That may be. Irwin complained that Shelly would take his pages and throw them up in the air and on the floor, but he never did that to me. I was bigger than he was. [Jim laughs] I remember once—I’ve forgotten why, but in front of an elevator, we had a little fight, and I hit him, and his glasses fell off. I don’t remember why, because I’m a very peaceful guy, so it’d be something most unusual and most hurtful that would prompt me to hit him. He picked up his glasses and we both got on the elevator. JA: And he continued to hire you? [mutual laughter] OKSNER: Yes. He didn’t fire me, and that’s the only time, outside of public school, that I ever hit another guy, and I can’t remember why. He was my only editor until he left, and then I dealt with Larry Nadle.

JA: In 1947, ’48, I have you as doing some work on “The Justice Society” in All-Star Comics. You might have penciled some stuff there, and also did inks on “Green Lantern” and “The Flash.”

OKSNER: Possibly. I remember working on that. I don’t know if that was 1947 or ’48. I remember working on “Green Lantern,” “The Flash,” and I did them later on, too, in the early ’70s. I may have done some inking on their solo features back then too, but it all runs together now. I do remember doing an All-Star cover. [NOTE: This is usually considered to be the cover of All-Star Comics #50 (Dec. 1949-Jan. 1950), but art-ID specialist Craig Delich now believes that its Arthur Peddy-penciled art was actually inked by Joe Giella. But perhaps it was that, or another, JSA cover that Oksner inked. —Roy.] That was the first time I inked someone else’s pencils. JA: How did you feel about that? Did it matter?

JA: Shelly created Leave It to Binky, right? [Bob agrees] And you penciled and inked it from 1948 to 1949, and then ’55 to ’57.

OKSNER: No, they were very good artists. I loved inking Curt Swan in the 1970s, too. He was great.

OKSNER: Exactly. You know, this morning, I’ve been trying to think who wrote Binky, and I have no idea. He [Mayer] must have written the first few issues, because Binky was partly based on the “Scribbly” feature he’d previously created. Many items in Binky came almost directly from “Scribbly.” I artistically created the characters under Shelly’s approval, but he did all the writing at the beginning and I took

JA: Did you ink Carmine back then? Or Alex Toth or Irwin Hasen? OKSNER: Not Carmine. I inked Irwin Hasen, I believe, at one time. I don’t know the name of the feature. It could have been “Green Lantern.” JA: But nothing really comes to mind of that work, does it?

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

OKSNER: No, except that I really despised working on super-hero stuff, because I didn’t like the super-hero books. One reason I left DC later on was that humor was out and I was inking super-heroes. Things like “Ghost Patrol” ring a bell with me, but that’s as far as my memory goes.

“In The Future, Never Work For DC Without Getting Paid”

memories of his father in a near-future issue. —Roy.] JA: Did he have had a lot of power there? OKSNER: I don’t know how much power he had. I guess he was a good con man. He certainly conned me. But he was so good, I liked him even though... you know, he’d have to be talented that way. JA: Yeah. So you forgave him then?

OKSNER: I knew Larry very well. He had been in show business, though I don’t know exactly what he did. Vaudeville or burlesque? I have no idea. Larry was a gambler and was, in many ways, financially profligate, but a very sweet guy. He had a lovely wife [Sylvia] and we’d go and play cards together, and he’d come to my house and we’d entertain. He was a very nice guy.

OKSNER: Oh, yes. I’ll tell you whom I didn’t forgive: Robert Kanigher. Let me tell you the story about him. [After Larry Nadle’s death] it was discovered that Larry had somehow taken some money and had taken kickbacks, and that I had written stories for which I wasn’t paid. I was in an office with Kanigher and Irwin Donenfeld, who was much younger than both of us, but was the former boss’ son. Kanigher said, “Fire him,” meaning me. “Fire him right now. Fire him.” [chuckles] And Donenfeld said, “Go back to your office.”

JA: I’ve heard that he took kickbacks from his freelancers.

JA: [laughs] Why did Kanigher want you fired?

OKSNER: Well, you heard correctly. I’ll tell you a story that happened with me. There was a fellow, Lin Streeter, whose work I loved. They did a syndicated strip for the [New York] Herald Tribune, I believe. Larry told me Lin was in great debt to DC. Larry had told DC that Lin had written stories, but he hadn’t written them. DC had paid Lin for work that he hadn’t performed. And presently, Lin was out in Las Vegas and was ill. So I wrote Jerry Lewis, so that Larry could bring my stuff to DC and say, “Lin Streeter wrote this.” [Jim laughs] I wouldn’t be paid for it. You know, I liked Lin; he was in trouble, so I’d help him out. I did that until Larry died.

OKSNER: Because he assumed I’d stolen the money.

JA: Tell me about [DC humor editor] Larry Nadle.

JA: Conviction without a trial.

And then, searching through his financial records, they found out that I had done this work that had been paid for, but Larry got the money, not me. They called me in, thinking I was part of the plot. Fortunately, I had all the [thumbnail sketches] that I had done at home on newsprint pads. Jack Liebowitz, who was the boss at that time, called me in, and I told him I did the work and I really wasn’t paid for it. He said, “Prove it.” I said, “Fine, I’ll bring it in tomorrow.” I brought in several pads of Jerry Lewis books. And he said, “In the future, never work for DC without getting paid.” [mutual chuckling] Of course, he didn’t have to tell me that. JA: But he didn’t offer to pay you for the work. OKSNER: No. [chuckles] And the truth is, I had fun writing it, because I could write what I wanted to draw. JA: Irwin Hasen told me that he thought that Larry Nadle was like a haunted man. OKSNER: I didn’t feel that way until after he died and I learned why he may have been a haunted man, because he was doing illicit things. Such a very, very good expression. [NOTE: Ken Nadle, son of Larry N., will relate his own variant

Oksner Lights The Lantern Collector Craig Delich, who IDs art for DC’s Archives volumes, tells us that “Oksner drew the covers to Comic Cavalcade #25 & #26 (Feb.-March & Oct.Nov. ’48), inked the cover to #28, and inked [Irwin] Hasen’s GL story pencils in #29,” as per the page seen above. With #30, CC was mutated into a funny-animal title—but even Nutsy Squirrel and company never had any more fun than Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern did on their CC covers! “GL” scripter unknown… probably Robert Kanigher or John Broome. [©2007 DC Comics.]

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

If You’ve Drawn One Super-Hero… You’ve Drawn Them All! And Bob Oksner did draw just about all of the old All-American line’s major super-heroes, during the latter 1940s: (Above:) He’s probably forgotten that he penciled and inked an 8-page “Hawkman” story for Flash Comics #91 (Jan. 1948), from a script credited to John Broome. Nobody ever made Hawkgirl look any sexier! Thanks to Al Dellinges. (Right:) He drew six heroes in an 11-page chapter of the “Justice Society of America” adventure “History’s Crime Wave!” in All-Star Comics #38 (Dec. ’47-Jan. ’48). Script by Robert Kanigher. [©2007 DC Comics.]

OKSNER: Right. So what Irwin did was call Uncle Jack—Jack Liebowitz, whom Irwin called “Uncle”—and he got me that meeting with Jack Liebowitz, and of course I was held on. But Kanigher was, in many ways, a wretch. I hate to speak about a dead man that way. JA: That’s one of the nicer things I’ve heard him called. [laughs] OKSNER: Well, let me tell you what really annoyed me. He would have, according to his stories, affairs with some of the women in the office, and tell everybody about them. Having affairs is one thing, but opening your mouth and telling everybody about it makes you a cad. But as far as the work, he was my editor on the romance comics. I never had a problem with him professionally. He respected me. Kanigher used to visit us when we lived up in Saugerties, New York. We had a really large country place, and he would come up to visit and I offered him coffee, or whatever, and sent him on his way. [Jim laughs]

“I Greatly Enjoyed Doing The Bob Hope And Jerry Lewis Comics”

OKSNER: And the way we worked that: they would send me photographs and, on a sheet of paper, I would draw their faces and their figures in different positions and send it out to the Coast. Then they’d come back approved and I’d do the books. And that was almost routine.

JA: You also did Sgt. Bilko, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis— before the team split up, of course.

JA: Since I heard they approved the artwork too, did you ever have to make changes or anything on these?

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

OKSNER: No. I worked there about 45 years, and I never had to make a change. There was only one cover, when I did “Superman,” that someone else made a change on the face. Someone else did a paste-up. But I’ve never had to make a change. JA: Okay, so you never had problems when you wrote. Did you ever have problems with the Bob Hope people or the Jerry Lewis people? OKSNER: No, no. The Bob Hope book was originally done by Owen Fitzgerald, and he was just a great guy, a great cartoonist. So I followed his drawings and that was that. Jerry Lewis was originally done by someone else whose name I can’t remember. Sometimes I didn’t quite follow him. I put my own style into it. The reference material came from the studios. The total figures, all the characters who were getting paid to be in the book. And there wasn’t that much reference; maybe ten photographs. I don’t remember ever needing anything else. What I wanted was their physical proportions as they stood next to each other, but then I saw the television shows, too. Later, there was another company I was working for—not DC—on a comic that never appeared, but they sent me the videos of the show. Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. I had the videos and I did a great job on it, [chuckles] and the writer—Allen Saunders, who also wrote Mary Worth—did a wonderful job. I did that strip for a little while. It must have been the same syndicate I did Soozie for. JA: Did you find it harder to write stories for real characters? Well, not that Jerry Lewis in the comics was ever a “real” character, but you know what I mean.

Silvers’ Threads Among The Gold So popular was Phil Silvers’ TV series Sgt. Bilko in the late 1950s that Oksner wound up drawing both a Bilko comic and its spin-off Pvt. Doberman. This house ad, for which Bob drew special art, appeared in comics with mid-1958 cover dates. The artist’s caricatures of comedians Silvers and Maurice Gosfield are right on target! Thanks to Bob Bailey. [Art ©2007 DC Comics.]

OKSNER: Well, I didn’t develop the characters. The characters were already developed on television, so I knew how they would speak, and what they would do. They were very strong characters, so there were no problems. For instance, Bob Hope’s character was very welldeveloped: the cowardly braggart. I greatly enjoyed doing the Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis comics. It was a comic—light drawing, exaggerated movement—and you could go anyplace you wanted with the story. JA: You obviously had to get your stories approved. When you wrote the stories, did you write a full script first? OKSNER: I didn’t have to have the stories approved. Larry let me do what I wanted. I’d write the story on the board, draw it, take the pencils to the office, and have them letter it while they gave me another feature. And when I turned that in, I’d pick up the previous story and ink it at home. My ideas for stories generally came from the newspapers. If I saw a good story in the paper—I mean a real story—I would develop it into fiction. For Jerry Lewis, I would make him the idiot detective or whatever, and that was a feature I wrote, mostly.

Oks Liked Ike! Oksner also contributed, in 1956, to President Eisenhower’s Cartoon Book. As the book’s caption shows, he was asked to do so not as a comic book artist, but because he drew the I Love Lucy strip. With thanks to pro comics artist Kevin Nowlan. [©2007 Bob Oksner.]

In the summer of 1963—or maybe it was ’62—I took an eight-week vacation. I traveled all over the country, I read the newspapers, and I wrote stories all while I was away. That was fun. And then, when I lived up in Saugerties, which was much later than that, I would get in the swimming pool on a float and write Dondi. It was a good life.

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

“The Only Thing I Didn’t Like Was… Super-Heroes” JA: Okay, I have you listed as drawing Danger Trail in 1951 and ’52. OKSNER: I have no memory of it. I did pencil and ink some “Black Canary” stories. JA: Bob Kanigher wrote those stories. What did you think of his writing? OKSNER: Well, at that time, I was not judging. I was just judging what to draw. I thought his writing was good, much better than the stories I drew at Standard. A little dramatic… overly dramatic. I did Leave It to Binky until 1957. I really was depressed, because it’s something I started with at DC, and it ended. At that point, Mad magazine called me up and asked me to work for them. But I realized Mort Drucker was there, and I had this wonderful contact with DC, so I never went over to Mad, but they did invite me.

The Delicate Delinquent Meets The Dynamic Duo (Top center:) A Bob Oksner’s photo and bio appeared in The Adventures of Jerry Lewis #73 (Nov.–Dec. 1962). (Above:) Over the course of many issues of the Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis series, Bob was occasionally called on to draw super-hero guest stars—as in Jerry Lewis #97 (Nov.-Dec. 1966), done at the height of the Batman TV craze. Repro’d from a photocopy of the original art, sent to us by Alley Oop artist/co-writer Jack Bender; Jack notes that panel 1 shows Batman and Robin in a “classic running pose from the TV intro.” Script by Arnold Drake. [©2007 DC Comics.]

JA: Well, let’s face it, you were the best cartoonist at DC, in my opinion. OKSNER: Well, I guess I was. JA: I think that most people think that you were. Were you made to feel like you were important to the company? OKSNER: No. The only way I knew I was important was that, as I told you before, I never had a day where I didn’t have work in comics. At DC, if I didn’t have humor comics to draw, they’d give me romance work. I always had something to do. JA: Your romance style is different from your humor style, and frankly, you made that transition look effortless. Did you feel it was easy?

A Flash Of Jerry Lewis Oksner also got a crack at drawing both The Flash and his Barry Allen alter ego in The Adventures of Jerry Lewis #112 (May-June 1969), in a tale scripted by E. Nelson Bridwell. Thanks to Bob Bailey. [©2007 DC Comics.]

OKSNER: Yes. This happened a little bit later—when I left the humor and went and did some Adventure and “Superman” stuff. Joe Orlando helped by telling me to not have a thick line, but to use a thinner line in

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

It’s A Bird… It’s A Plane… It’s A Movie Star! Superman popped up in DC’s licensed movie-star humor comics from the outset, as per the fantasy panel above from The Adventures of Bob Hope #1 (Feb.-March 1950), drawn by the series’ first artist, Owen Fitzgerald. Nearly two decades later, Oksner drew the cover and story in The Adventures of Jerry Lewis #105 (March-April 1968)— except for the Superman figures, which look to have been by Wayne Boring & Stan Kaye (cover), and maybe Kurt Schaffenberger (splash), respectively. JL #105 script by Arnold Drake of Doom Patrol fame. And hey—does that badguy on the cover look to you a little bit like DC production guru Jack Adler, who was interviewed back in A/E #56? With thanks to Bob Bailey. [©2007 DC Comics.]

Be Original! (Left:) A partial-page of original art from Jerry Lewis #112 (MayJune 1969), courtesy of Bob Bailey. Script by E. Nelson Bridwell. (Above:) “Windy and Willy” in Showcase #81 (March 1969), Bob Bailey informs us, was really a reprint of The Many Love of Dobie Gillis #26 from a few years earlier, with the art and story altered to avoid paying a royalty! Repro’d from the original art, courtesy of pro artist Jose Marzan, Jr. [©2007 DC Comics.]

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

Can’t Be Bob—He Hated Drawing Super-Heroes A cartoonist who looked a lot like Bob Oksner even became a super-hero himself—The Fearless Tarantula, no less—in Adventures of Jerry Lewis #84 (Sept.-Oct. 1964). Script by Arnold Drake. Thanks to Bob Bailey. [©2007 DC Comics.]

drawing. But it was very easy. The only thing I didn’t like was supermen, super-heroes. JA: Was that because you couldn’t identify with the concept? OKSNER: Not only that, but I didn’t think I was as good as some of the other fellows who were doing it. At least in humor and romance, I knew I was as good as anyone else. But you like to feel that you’re as good as anybody, or better. JA: Do you remember the Miss Beverly Hills and Miss Melody Lane features? OKSNER: Those were the two features that writer David Hajdu told me that DC presented during the hearings in Congress. Of course, the stories were so innocent and so wonderful, and they dealt with real-life characters from Broadway or the movies. Pat Boone was fun. Pat Boone himself lived in our town at that time in Teaneck. I met him and I did his Christmas cards. And as, I guess, a reward, he invited me to his TV show. That’s why he was living in Teaneck, because he was working on that. And so we went there. I brought my 15- or 16-year-old daughter, and she was in a catatonic fit. Boone presented me with a watch on the show, with the inscription “Happy times. Pat.” Of course, when I show it to anybody, they think my wife gave it to me. Her name is Pat.

Maybe He Preferred Super-Heroines? Oksner says he drew at least one “Black Canary” story. If so, it was probably actually this “Johnny Thunder” tale in Flash Comics #87 (Sept. 1947)—only her second appearance—repro’d here from The Black Canary Archives, Vol. 1, where the art is (obviously incorrectly) credited to Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella. Script by Robert Kanigher. [©2007 DC Comics.]

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

More Stars Than There Are In Comic Books In 1949-50 DC tried to add to its licensed luster with the cleverly-titled Miss Beverly Hills of Hollywood and Miss Melody Lane of Broadway. The former lasted just 9 issues, the latter only three; but that was long enough to give Bob a chance to hone his caricature skills inside, drawing movie and stage stars like William Holden, Burt Lancaster, Lucille Ball, Sid Caesar, Dinah Shore, and many others—with their or their studios’ permission, one assumes. (Above right:) All five issues of Pat Boone were drawn by Oksner... except for the photo covers. [Line art ©2007 DC Comics.]

JA: On another topic, you did Mystery in Space and Strange Adventures for editor Julie Schwartz from 1951 to ’53, pencils only. Why didn’t you ink those stories? OKSNER: Because I was doing other things. I was doing so much work that I guess they figured it was more efficient to have me do the pencils and I could work on more projects. JA: Well, when you were doing things like the science-fiction and the romance, how many pages a day of that were you doing, as opposed to humor? OKSNER: Not as many. If I did one complete page a day, I’d be happy. On Jerry Lewis and the other humor books, I could do one and a half, at least—pencils and inks. I would do about two penciled pages a day, and when I got them back, I’d ink them. JA: What do you remember about “Angel and the Ape”? OKSNER: I loved that series. It started out as some satire and humor. I did that with Joe Orlando at the beginning when Soozi died. One wonderful thing about DC—whenever I was doing a syndicated strip and left them, and when the strips died, I came right back to where I left with them. That was great. When I came back from Soozi, Joe Orlando and I got together and he bought me dinner, and he’d talk about the books he was doing. JA: What was Joe Orlando like as an editor? Because he was different from the others. OKSNER: Well, he was a cartoonist. He was a very good artist. He told me a great story. When he was young, he was always, I’d have to say, ashamed that Italians weren’t professionals, at least within his range or within his knowledge. But one day, he saw a name of a doctor and he ran to his father and said, “Daddy, I saw this Italian name. He’s a doctor.” And his father said, “What’s his name?” He said, “Shapiro.” [Jim laughs] Yeah, that’s a touching story. JA: You worked for Julie in the 1970s as well as the ’50s. What it was like to work for him?

OKSNER: As I said, I never had any problems or much discussion with any of the editors. None of them. Julie would always be amazed that I’d tell him that I’d be there at 2:00 and he was always amazed because I was there at 2:00. He said, “How did you do it? How do you do it?” [mutual laughter] I didn’t know how I did it, but I was always there. And that was about the only discussion I had with him. He was an excellent bridge player, and a very bright man. I’d say he was all business, because I had very little business with him and nothing else, excepting when he was ill. I know he liked navy bean soup and they had a lovely woman there, Marilise Flusser. Her husband is Allen Flusser, a men’s designer, really big time. And she would make him soup and bring it to his house. She was a great high society girl who lived in the Hotel Carlisle, which is one of the top hotels in Manhattan. Her dad was the manager.

“Humor Books Were On Their Way Out At DC” JA: Whose idea was it for you to do super-heroes? OKSNER: I guess it was Carmine’s, once Jerry Lewis was canceled. Humor books were on their way out at DC. Carmine was a friend of mine and liked my work, so he gave me super-hero pencils to ink. I inked Curt Swan on “Superman,” which I enjoyed because Curt was a fantastic draftsman. After that, I began doing “Superman” covers, but I never thought they were any good. I was ill at ease drawing super-men. JA: Carmine was laying out the covers, wasn’t he? OKSNER: Yes. He’d give me it on a sheet of typing paper and I would take it home, put it in an Art-O-Graph, blow it up, and draw it. Of course, his drawing was not complete, but it made it easy for me. JA: And his drawing style was different from yours. He was more designy. Your anatomical drawing was more realistic than his. Did you feel you had to bend your style towards his when you were working over his layouts?

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

The Strange Adventures Of Bob Oksner Oksner was appearing in editor Julius Schwartz’s science-fiction titles from the beginning… in one way or another. He penciled (and Bernard Sachs inked) the story at left for Strange Adventures #26 (Nov. 1952), which was scripted by Gardner Fox… and the Murphy Anderson-drawn art above from SA #122 (Dec. 1960) features an Oksnerdrawn page from The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis #4, which had gone on sale a couple of weeks earlier. Thanks to Bob Bailey for both scans and the info. [©2007 DC Comics.]

Got A Date With An Angel—And An Ape “Angel and the Ape” debuted in Showcase #77 (Sept. 1968), and was awarded its own mag in 1968. At right is the splash of Angel and the Ape #5 (JulyAug. 1969), repro’d from a b&w photocopy supplied by Kevin Nowlan. The editor was Joe Orlando. [©2007 DC Comics.]

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

OKSNER: Carmine was a great designer and a great composer of covers. I kept his layout to some degree, but not his figure work. JA: Whose idea was it for you to follow C.C. Beck on Shazam!? OKSNER: I don’t know. I think I was picked for the job because I was doing light stuff and “Captain Marvel” was really lighter than the super-heroes with all the muscles bulging. I liked drawing “Mary Marvel”; it was fun, but I know I wasn’t the best “Captain Marvel” artist there was. I had no frame of reference with “Captain Marvel.” I never read it, never saw it, so I didn’t know Beck’s work. What they did was give me some magazines of “Captain Marvel” and they said, “This is our feature. This is good.” The implication was, do it the way that it had been done. I felt a little bit more at home with him than with “Superman,” because it was a lighter feature. “Captain Marvel” was more fun than “Superman.” JA: You said you were friends with Irwin Donenfeld. How close were you before the Nadle incident? OKSNER: We were very good friends. Irwin would come to my home in Teaneck and visit me. He and his wife would come, and when they were divorced, he would come. When he had a new car, he drove it over to show me. He came to my house, but I never went to his. When I first met him in the office, he was a gofer... just a kid. I think he either came out of the Army or he came out of college. He would bring coffee to people, the editors and such. JA: Did you ever have any dealings at all with his father, Harry? OKSNER: No, I would see his father around. I had more dealings with Jack Liebowitz. Liebowitz would say hello, and I’d sort-of pop into his office every so often to say, “Hello, Jack.” JA: Did you feel that he was the guy really running the company? OKSNER: Yes, without a doubt. If even Irwin Donenfeld called him “Uncle Jack,” and of course he wasn’t Irwin’s uncle, then you know he was running the company.

“I Shouldn’t Have To Introduce Myself To Kids Who Are Younger Than My Grandchildren” JA: You worked for romance editor Zena Brody. OKSNER: Yes, Zena I knew. She was married to a physician, and she was a young woman when she died. I don’t know what she died of, but I know that she wasn’t there. She was a very nice girl. Ruth Brant also edited romance books. She was lovely. And, of course, Kanigher said he slept with her, too. But she went back to South Dakota. That’s where she came from. JA: Okay, tell me about Murray Boltinoff. I know you didn’t have many dealings with the editors, but can you contrast him with the others? OKSNER: I felt Murray was a very timid man. He was always fearful that something was going to happen to him in the office. His brother Henry told me that Murray was a very frugal man, and saved every penny he earned. As far as my working with him, I told you how compatible he was. He’d run downstairs to pick up my work. He wasn’t all business. He would talk about his problems. I think he had a son. I know he was very fearful in later years. And his brother Henry told me that Murray was “retired” from DC. So I guess he had something to be fearful about. JA: Apparently they wanted younger editors, partly because some people are intimidated by those who are older than them and have

It Only Hearst When I Laugh Sam Simeon (whose name was based on San Simeon, the famous California estate once owned by William Randolph Hearst) in solo action in Angel and the Ape #5. Repro’d from a scan of the original art, courtesy of Kevin Nowlan. Script generally credited to Sergio Aragonés & Bob Oksner, sez Bob Bailey. [©2007 DC Comics.]

been at a place longer. OKSNER: Right. Well, in the late ’70s, the early ’80s, when I went into the office, I’d wear, as my generation’s custom, a jacket, a shirt, and a tie. And I was told not to do that. I was told to come informally dressed, which I did. And then later on, when Julie retired, he told me I’d better look around to the other editors and introduce myself. And at that point, I decided this was it. I felt that, after working there for 44 years or so, I shouldn’t have to introduce myself to kids who are younger than my grandchildren. It wasn’t for me. JA: What can you tell me about Henry Boltinoff? OKSNER: Henry was delightful, funny, and humorous. You know he did cartoons, single- panel cartoons and single pages for DC. He was a much better artist than his work would let you know, when he wanted to really draw. He was totally different than his brother. As his brother was timid, Henry was outgoing and a socializer, a good tennis player. He was an excellent cartoonist and he had a wonderful set-up with King Features where he would draw a panel of his own design, and his own gag, and send it to King, and they would delete objects that he drew and print their version and his version together and the reader had to find the seven errors or six errors.

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

Support Your Local Movie Star! Along with super-heroes, DC tried monsters and new supporting characters and other guest stars to boost sagging sales of its licensed movie-star mags. (Left:) Oksner’s cover for Bob Hope #101 (Oct.-Nov. 1966); thanks to Bob Bailey. (Right:) A page from Bob Hope #105 (June-July 1967) featuring Super-Hip—and that other guy sure looks like Jerry Lewis! Thanks to Jose Marzan, Jr., for the scan of the original art. [©2007 DC Comics.]

He was a warm, friendly guy and had a lovely wife who passed away before he did. Henry was the kind of fellow who’d go to a good restaurant and be happy. As he said, there was a difference between “dining” and “eating out,” and he liked to dine. His brother Murray would never dine. [chuckles]

And I wanted to get a good violin solo that everybody would know which would just be a great one. And I went to Jack and he told me Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, which I used in the story. I don’t know if that’s a great story. [mutual laughter] But Jack was a sweet guy and I liked him.

JA: So there were no other office people there that you really knew, right? Because I know Julie used to play cards with Milt Snappin, for instance.

I also knew Win Mortimer, who was really a delightful, pleasant, lovely gentleman. He was a Canadian, as you may know, with a lovely wife, a lovely house, and he collected old guns. We’d just go up there every now and then. After he left DC—or they left him, I don’t know how it worked out—he worked for Neal Adams’ advertising agency, Continuity. Neal had called me up to work for him, too, but I didn’t want to. But Neal did send me back, about four years ago, a Pat Boone story that I had done, maybe 14 or 15 pages that he’d kept all these years, and I appreciated that.

OKSNER: I knew Milt Snappin. And Sol Harrison, and Jack Adler, who was Sol Harrison’s assistant. As a matter of fact, I have a story. Once, when I was up in the office there—I have gray hair, prematurely gray, I guess. From the time I was like 35 or 40, I was gray. I guess this must have been about maybe late ’60s or early ’70s, and Jack Adler was Sol’s assistant. He took my photograph where, sort-of, the light hit my hair. My face was almost in shadow, but my hair is very prominent. So I knew them quite well. [NOTE: The photo Bob mentions may well be the one on p. 16.]

“Bam, Bam, Bam” JA: Any stories here that we can put on the record? OKSNER: Yes, Jack Adler was a classical music fan, and I was doing a story for Dondi about a street violinist who played classical music.

I have a lot of respect for Neal not only as an artist, but as a person. I felt he was in the forefront of looking out for other lesser-gifted comic book artists, and that’s a wonderful thing to do. He did a lot for Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, as you know. JA: Tell me about Lee Elias. OKSNER: I knew him quite well. He was a very good violinist, and of course we all started out drawing like Milton Caniff. Most of us didn’t draw like Alex Raymond because Alex Raymond was too good, the

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

Couldn’t She Have Just Knocked? Look familiar? This is the original cover of Adventure Comics #423 (Sept. 1972), before it was altered by Bill Morrison and TwoMorrows for the cover of this issue of Alter Ego by adding Binky, Angel O’Day, Sam Simeon —and its artist, Bob Oksner. From a layout by Carmine Infantino? Repro’d from a photocopy of the original art. [©2007 DC Comics.]

Team Effort Infantino penciled and Oksner inked a tale or two, as well, such as this one from Supergirl #3 (Feb. 1973). Both scans provided by “Miki,” which the generous supplier says is short for his real name, Valmiki Annamanathadoo. [©2007 DC Comics.]

Don’t Look Beck! (Above:) Artist C.C. Beck famously quit DC’s Shazam! book, refusing to draw two stories, one of them being “Invasion of the Salad Men” in issue #10 (Feb. 1974). Oksner inherited that assignment, also drawing the issue’s cover and “Mary Marvel” exploit—but #10 also contained Beck’s last “Captain Marvel” tale. Repro’d from the omnibus volume Showcase Presents Shazam! [©2007 DC Comics.]

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

OKSNER: When I was doing more than one book a month, and I really couldn’t do it well; that was a lot of work. He was certainly helping me by the mid-’60s, and almost all the way up to the time I quit, maybe 1980. And we really loved him. He was so nice, it felt good. Very intelligent; you could talk politics or religion with him, or anything else, and we felt part of the family. He used to look forward to my wife’s cooking. JA: You told me off-tape that you shared an office with Alex Toth. OKSNER: The office I shared was with Irwin. I went out to California with Joe Kubert, and there was an empty desk there and facilities, and Alex came in. He was twelve years younger than I am. But he was so talented; and at that time, he wore boots. I saw him as a wild Hungarian. And I’d watch him and he’d watch me. It was good. I can’t remember anything specific that we talked about or did at the office. And I know he always made comments about how I had my desk straight up. The angle was almost like 80 degrees, pretty close to 90 degrees. Well, not that close, but in his head, it was; and how neat and clean it was. But he was equally neat and clean and fast. He wasn’t wild in the sense of being primitive, or like that... just the energy he had. You could feel the energy in his drawing and in him. But this was a very short-lived arrangement.

It’s A Bird—It’s A Plane—It’s A Turtle, This Time! Between our Oksner and Powell features this issue, we got considerably pushed for space, so we’ve had to forego printing photos of many of the pros Bob Oksner and Jim Amash discuss. So we’ll let their work speak for them. This “Super Turtle” page by longtime DC mainstay Henry Boltinoff appeared in Superboy #130 (June 1966)—but we confess we kinda think somebody else drew the Boy of Steel… probably George Papp, who drew the rest of that issue. Thanks to Fred Hembeck & Michael T. Gilbert. [©2007 DC Comics.]

hardest for me to copy. [mutual laughter] At the beginning, I copied Milton Caniff. Lee Elias was very good in spotting blacks and things like that. Personally, he was erratic. I believe he divorced his wife. We used to go out to the Poconos together and we each had .22s, and we’d help our landlady by killing skunks. We’d stay up at night with a garbage pail out in front of us. The skunk would come—bam, bam, bam—that was the end of that skunk. [mutual laughter] Speaking of Alex Raymond, he was very kind to me. He was more or less a fan, if you can imagine. [chuckles] He seemed to know everything I did, and I don’t know how he knew it. He was a gentleman. During the war, he was in the Marines, I think as an officer. You know, someone who tells you how good you are is going to be your pal. When Soozie died, Al Capp called me up. He knew before I knew that Soozie was not going to be renewed, and he offered me a job to come out and work in Boston. Knowing all the fellows who had worked for him and left him, I knew I could never do it. JA: Tell me about Tex Blaisdell. OKSNER: Tex Blaisdell was a very tall fellow, about six-three or -four. And he was a very, very sweet, intelligent man. He also liked to drink, and that, I feel, held him back. And from really having his own strip, or doing other things, he did backgrounds, primarily. He was a fine inker, wonderful brushwork, and as he called himself, a “bigfoot cartoonist.” I know he did backgrounds for Stan Drake on The Heart of Juliet Jones, he did backgrounds for Irwin for Dondi, and he did backgrounds for me on almost everything I did. He’d get to my house about 12:00, in time for lunch, bringing a bottle of rye with him. And by the time he left, that bottle was empty. Then he drove home all the way back to Queens or wherever he came from. He would ink the figures and I would do the heads. I drew the faces and the hair and things like that. JA: When did he start working for you or with you?

The Cat’s Meow Artist Lee Elias drew “Green Arrow” for DC in the 1950s & ’60s, but is perhaps best remembered for his latter-1940s rendering of Harvey’s Black Cat. This page was reprinted from black-&-white proofs in The Original Black Cat #7 (Nov. 1991)—one of a dozen or so comics that came out around that time featuring vintage tales of that masked heroine. [©2007 Lorne-Harvey Publications, Inc.]

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

Gil Kane and he asked me, “What about Gil Kane?” And I told him he did very good anatomy, but I felt that he didn’t have any soul, any spirit in his drawings. They’re all perfectly drawn and laid out, but some artists like Irwin Hasen—who doesn’t have that anatomical skill—put feeling into their drawings. And I also knew Howie Post, who was extremely talented, and creative, and unappreciated. He lived not too far away from me in New Jersey, just in Livonia, which is a community of artists and writers and actors and college professors. He had a nice big home and a wonderful wife who passed away, unfortunately. They gave really great parties. Some of the people at the parties were Alan Alda and Freddy Bartholomew, the child actor, who was a stock salesman at that point. Howie could play the piano really well. What can I say? A wonderful fellow to know. JA: How did he get to mix with people like that? OKSNER: I don’t know… his personality. Now, I lived close to Pat Boone, but other than drawing him, and drawing his family, and going to his home, we were never socially close, but Howie was.

“[The Original Art I Got Back] Went Into The Barn” JA: In the 1970s, you did some Lois Lane comics. Did you feel a little bit more comfortable with that because there’s not so much Superman in those stories? OKSNER: Yes, I enjoyed that. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the inker, Vinnie Colletta. But they gave it to him. I wasn’t going to interfere. JA: Why wouldn’t you complain? OKSNER: Well, I don’t know. I didn’t want to make a complaint.

No Love Lost Bob wasn’t wild about Vince Colletta’s inking of his work, but this cover for Young Love #126 (July 1977) clearly pleased the romance editor. Repro’d from a scan of the original art, retrieved from the Heritage Comics Archives by Dominic Bongo. [©2007 DC Comics.]

JA: You also knew Gil Kane. OKSNER: Yes, a very interesting man, also a very tall man. His relationship with me was that of a fan, but also of a philosopher. He would explain to me why I did what I did. [chuckles] And for me, it began to be very funny because I would draw—this was mostly in humor, not in the super-people—for instance, I would draw a Jerry Lewis figure, and he would analyze it and tell me why I drew it that way. For a while, it was humorous, but then it began to be a pain in the neck. I did it because I did it! JA: Was any of his analysis correct? OKSNER: [chuckles] I paid no attention to it. But he was very nice— he was a philosopher, in a way, and I guess, very sensitive. At the 2002 Comicon in San Diego, I was interviewed by Mark Evanier. He asked me who were the cartoonists I most admired and appreciated as being staples in the cartoon field, and I gave three or four names. I left out

JA: Now, by sometime in the ’70s, DC starts returning original art to artists. How did you feel about that? OKSNER: I loved it. JA: Had you not wanted your art before? OKSNER: Since it had been the custom, I didn’t ask for it. Interestingly enough, when you’re doing it in quantity, it has no value to you. As a matter of fact, when Morris Weiss started his collections, he used

Gil Kane Does Bob Kane (Right:) We’ve featured lots of photos of Gil Kane over the years—lots of samples of his stellar art, as well. Here’s a sample of the latter—a sketch from the back of a 1977 flyer that tireless researcher/ benefactor Dominic Bongo turned up somewhere. [Batman TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

did come in: Leonard Maltin. His father was a judge and his mother had been a singer in a band, and he had a brother. Leonard Maltin wanted to be a cartoonist when he was a kid. And he would come over to our house, and sit in my studio, and watch me draw. And then he obviously thought better of it [mutual laughter] and became a millionaire. [NOTE: Leonard Maltin is now a well-respected film critic. –Jim.] JA: I didn’t ask you about working on Jimmy Olsen. Your penciler was Jose Delbo. OKSNER: That was later. I penciled that feature at the beginning. It was like working on a B-picture instead of an A. I didn’t think he was a great character. He had no problems that a young man would have; he was just a secondary person to Superman. I did it because that’s what I had to do.

Welcome Back, Oksner! Welcome Back, Kotter was a big TV hit during the 1970s—so there was Bob Oksner again, drawing funny males and beautiful females. Thanks to Bill Morrison for the scan of original art from issue #3 (March 1977), with art by Ric Estrada (pencils) & Oksner (inks), and script by Tony Isabella. [©2007 DC Comics.]

to visit illustrators. We’d give him originals. It had no value to them, either, because I guess they figured that this is what they did and they did it every day. Now I didn’t mind not having it, once I had them. For that matter, why didn’t I insist that my name appear on them? JA: That’s right, because you could have signed your covers even in the ’70s, and you didn’t. OKSNER: I did sign a couple of them, but I didn’t think about it. JA: What did you do with the art when you got it back? OKSNER: We had a big barn. We lived up in the country. It went into the barn. It was a huge barn, two stories tall, and the art was on shelves, and stored in their original paper envelopes. But when we moved down here, I called a dealer—or he called me—and he took a lot of pages. And then the rest: I brought some down, but not much. JA: Wherever you lived, did your neighbors know—would your kids tell the neighbors, “Hey, my dad draws”? OKSNER: [chuckles] Well, my kids never told the neighbors. But the neighbors in Saugerties—out in the country, we didn’t have very close neighbors. They were living, at the very closest one of us, maybe a quarter of a mile away, and the next one probably half a mile away. The kids did come in to watch me draw. I’ll tell you one of the kids who

Cruising Along Down Lois Lane Cover of Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #120 (March 1972), which Bob Bailey believes was probably penciled by Oksner and inked by Dick Giordano (though the Grand Comic Book Database credits it entirely to Giordano)—repro’d from a photocopy of the original art, sent by Jose Marzan, Jr. Jose tells us that “originally Lois’ belt had some large hanging medallion that came down just past her crotch! Very phallic looking. It was whited out and only the belt remains, but you can see the white-out on the original, and see the art underneath, when you hold the cover up to the light! How they thought that that thing would get past the Code is beyond me!” Maybe the change is why there’s a big “LATE!” scrawled on the bottom!? [©2007 DC Comics.]

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

Profiles In Pulchritude Like Jim says, Bob Oksner was famous for drawing beautiful women—and he got in plenty of practice even in the 1980s. (Left:) A “runway” page from the “Lois Lane” backup tale in The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #3 (Jan. 1983). (Right:) Oksner’s last work for DC was inking Ron Wagner’s pencils in Elvira’s House of Mystery #1 (Jan. 1986). Both pages were sent by Eddy Zeno; the former is repro’d from photocopies of the original art. [©2006 DC Comics.]

JA: Did you ever get the feeling, while you were doing Jimmy Olsen or Lois Lane, that a lot of times the reader was just waiting for Superman to come out of the wings? OKSNER: Yes. Lois Lane, I enjoyed more because I was drawing a woman. Jimmy Olsen was, I guess, a teenage kid of 18, and he didn’t do anything that teenagers did. I don’t remember him having a girlfriend. JA: He did have a girlfriend… Lucy Lane, Lois’ sister. OKSNER: Well, I didn’t have to draw her. Anyway, Jose Delbo was a very good artist. I enjoyed inking his pencils because they were welldrawn, and he could draw girls, too. His pencils were sharp and clean. JA: Do you remember doing Ambush Bug? OKSNER: Yes. I loved the character. I loved the satiric approach, an ironic... satiric more than ironic. I thought the writing was brilliant, and I loved Keith Giffen’s comments on society. And I loved his layouts. JA: You also did Welcome Back, Kotter in the ’70s. Time had passed since you had done humor with real-life characters. But it seemed like, there again, you just stepped right into that very easily, because you were doing “Superman,” and then all of a sudden you’re doing Welcome Back, Kotter. OKSNER: Which I enjoyed very much. The last thing I did at DC was Elvira. I kept the originals of the last story that I did because it was the last thing I did for DC. I think Joe Orlando edited that book. Joe was a

wonderful editor for me. First of all, he understood me. The other one who did was Giordano. He was a good editor, too.

“My Wife… Was Miss Ulster County Of New York” JA: You are known for drawing some of the prettiest women ever in comics, in my opinion—some of the sexiest, certainly. The Oksner Woman? Where did she come from? OKSNER: My women had Saturday night bodies and Sunday school faces. And very fortunately, God gave me three beautiful daughters, besides a beautiful wife. When I met my wife, she was Miss Ulster County of New York. I met her about three years after she won that contest. My daughters were very, very pretty and had great figures. When they were in their mid-teens, I would pose them, my wife took the pictures, and I used the photos for reference. JA: Okay, because your women are just so distinctive, I figured they had to come from somewhere, whether it was real or it was a type you particularly preferred. OKSNER: Well, I guess some of that was in there, but mostly they were my own children. JA: Earlier, we were talking about the difference between drawing humor and drawing straight or drawing super-heroes. And they, of course, obviously demand certain different kinds of exaggeration. I’d

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

Bob Loved Lucy Bob Oksner drew and DC editor Larry Nadle wrote the I Love Lucy comic strip. This daily is from April 19, 1954, as reprinted in Eternity Comics’ I Love Lucy #2 (Nov. 1990). [©2007 King Features Syndicate.]

like to get your thoughts about that. OKSNER: Well, of course, the action would be exaggerated on the figure. I’m looking at a Jerry Lewis comic now, and he’s wearing Superman’s costume. [NOTE: See p. 17.] The way he stands: his legs are bow-legged, the feet are turned, one to the left and the other one to the right. The posture is that of a burlesque comic. With Bob Hope, it was a little different. He was not as crude, I mean physically, as Jerry Lewis, but you put him in cowardly poses, excepting when he was bragging. And then, drawing straight, the way I thought about it was almost illustrative for a comic book. The other way was the burlesque version of the action. The hero’s exaggeration, of course, was in the musculature of the hero, and the pose of a hero, and the fact that you made him at least nine heads tall. Small head and a big chest, a big body. And on Jerry Lewis, sometimes I made the head a little larger. I’m looking at a drawing right now where the head is large, you know, too large for the body. Narrow shoulders, skinny arms; normally, I drew him about seven heads tall. While the expressions in the super-hero faces would vary—whether he’d be angry or suspicious or whatever—they were done within the range of reality, whereas in Jerry Lewis or Bob Hope, when he’s frightened, he’s really frightened. The eyes are popping and his mouth is open, and he conveys the fear. And if he’s bragging or whatever his emotion is, it’s exaggerated in a humorous way. If you think in terms— at least I did—of burlesque comics, then you have an idea of how I thought about doing a comic character. This is off the subject, but maybe it would be interesting to you. When I went to college, I tried to apply for a scholarship because I was getting good grades. But it was the Depression and they wouldn’t give me a scholarship because my father owned property. You know, he was fairly well-to-do. But they gave me a job at the National Youth Administration for 50¢ an hour. I worked in the math department on Wednesdays and on Wednesdays, Lou Costello, of Abbott and Costello, had a matinee in Manhattan, and he would meet me on the corner, because he didn’t live too far from me, and drive me into New York. [mutual laughter] Now he was a burlesque comic before that and of course, he didn’t make any jokes in the car. But that’s what I mean by being with burlesque. And another side to that story: when Costello wasn’t there and I was going in to New York, there was a young Roman Catholic priest who was the accountant for the diocese of Newark, and he drove up in a Cadillac convertible. He gave me a ride into the city all the time, and he would listen to a program in New York called The Make Believe Ballroom. They played Big Band music, and he had that on all the time. It was great. It was wonderful, riding in this big Cadillac with a nice, good-looking young priest who may have been ten years older

than I, at the most. And Costello drove in a rinkydink old car. [mutual laughter] Anyway, that’s my story.

“Desi Complained That I Was Making Lucy So Pretty” JA: You did the I Love Lucy newspaper strip from 1953-55. How did you get that job? OKSNER: I got it in the office from Larry Nadle. How he got it, I don’t know. It must have come through the office, because DC knew we were doing it. Larry was the writer and I was the cartoonist. He signed it “Robert Lawrence”—or “Bob Lawrence,” I think it was. It was something I did along with everything else; you know, the other books I was doing. But I enjoyed doing it. I got a wonderful letter from the president of King Features, telling me how great I was. Anyway, that was an interesting experience, because Desi Arnaz would come into New York periodically and invite me to lunch at 21, which was a fancy restaurant. Desi complained that I was making Lucy so pretty, but I was not making him handsome. And I’d have to tell him, “I think you’re handsome, but the drawings don’t do you justice. I’ll try to make you more handsome next week.” [mutual laughter] JA: Of course, Lucy was pretty. OKSNER: Oh, she was. I’ve got a great story about her. After Lucy and Desi divorced, she appeared in a Broadway play called Wildcats, and I figured, gee, I’d like to go see her. So I took my oldest daughter and my wife to a matinee. And before we went inside the theatre, I wrote a note to the doorman at the stage door and said, “Please give this to Miss Ball.” And he says, “Nobody’s allowed in there before the show. After the show, you can go see her.” So I said, “Give it to her anyway.” I wrote my name, Bob Oksner, “I drew the ‘Desi and Lucy’ strip.” And he said okay, he would give her the note. He came back and says, “She wants you to come right in.” So we went right in. She was not yet made up. She sat my daughter on the stool, and sat me down with my wife, while she was being made up: the cosmetics, the wig, the hair, everything. This wasn’t heard of in show business. [chuckles] You don’t do this before strangers. She was wonderful. She was so solicitous, so informal, she was absolutely, unbelievably great. And of course, after she was out, she was ready for the performance, and we went to our seats. But I’ll never forget that. And of course, my daughter will never forget that, either. It was wonderful. She was a beautiful woman, tall and slim, and she was older at this point. She was no longer a young woman. She must have been in her late 40s or early 50s and had no hesitation in letting us see her without makeup. JA: That’s a great story. Why did you use a pen name on this

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

feature? Why not sign it “Larry Nadle/Bob Oksner”? OKSNER: Oh, I don’t know why. I guess it was because we were doing other things. You’re asking me a question I never thought about and can’t answer now. JA: I would think, if you’re going to be in the newspapers, you’d definitely want your name on that. OKSNER: Right, that’s true. But I have no idea why we didn’t put our names on it. Maybe DC had some input on why Larry didn’t put his name on, I don’t know. But we decided to do it that way. JA: Since you were still doing the comics as well as the dailies on Lucy, did you have an assistant? OKSNER: My wife Patricia. She used a pen and did some of the figures in the backgrounds. I did, of course, the faces and finished up. Otherwise, I couldn’t do all that work. I have to tell you, there were a lot of inkblots on the page. [mutual laughter] The pay was adequate. I know that when Lucy gave birth on the program to the child—I guess it was Desi, Jr.—the strip appeared on the first page of the New York Journal. On the very first page, which was very unusual, which shows you how popular that show was. And it’s very rare that an occasion arises where a comic strip appears on the front page.

“I Was Delighted [When Soozi Was Dumped] JA: Tell me about the Soozi newspaper strip. The date I have on Soozi is ’67 and ’68. Did you write it? OKSNER: No. There’s an interesting story there. There was an agent, Toni Mendez. She was everybody’s agent at one time. [mutual laughter] Andy Anderson was the president of Publishers Syndicate.

Now, what connection he had with the writer, whose name was Don Weldon, I don’t know. But Toni called me up and said that she has a writer, and the strip is almost pre-sold to Publishers Syndicate, and would I draw the characters? Soozi was supposed to be an active young modern woman. At the beginning, they had me draw publicity pictures to take to the syndicates. Then I saw the material. The material wasn’t active at all. It was a girl, a dumb blonde, you know, circa 1930 maybe or 1920. And the jokes were malaprops, and that was the joke. JA: Sort of like My Friend Irma. OKSNER: Exactly. So I went to Andy Anderson. I said, “This isn’t going to work.” He said, “Don’t worry, you just do it. You’ve got a contract.” And his expression was “the coin of the realm.” So all right, I went home and did it. Don Weldon was a very nice guy, very softspoken, but I felt he couldn’t write a gag strip. He did write for magazines, humorous articles and things like that. But to write a gag in three panels and keep the character in there... he can keep the character because the character was simply a well-known dumb blonde, which goes way back. So we had to hire other writers. I wasn’t earning anything because Don and I had to pay the writers. So when Bob Hall of the Post Syndicate bought out Publishers, he dumped Soozi, and I was delighted because I was bound by a contract and I was paying other writers—and also, Toni Mendez was getting her cut. I was very happy to be rid of it. So I went back to DC and they had “Angel and the Ape” all waiting for me. I thought it was the best thing I did, or one of the best things. JA: You did some writing on that, too. OKSNER: I don’t know. I don’t think so. I may have done some writing in some of the issues, I don’t know. I didn’t write a whole issue, let me put it that way. JA: What was it about “Angel and the Ape” that you liked? OKSNER: I liked Angel O’Day, I liked drawing her. At the beginning,

If You Knew Soozi The Soozi comic strip only lasted from 1966-67— just long enough to give Bob a chance to draw some more of the Oksner Women. Script: Don Weldon. Thanks to Bill Morrison. [©2007 Publishers Syndicate or successors in interest.]

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

Dondi Esta Researcher Dan Makara tells us: “Irwin [Hasen] sez that Bob Oksner developed the plots for the later Dondis… Irwin wrote the dialogue.” The 1957 photo shows Hasen with original writer Gus Eden in 1957; thanks to Bruce Mason. The March 21, 1981, daily is courtesy of Irwin and Dan. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

He had a date. As you know, Irwin’s short, but he went out with tall, beautiful girls and we shared a studio at the Times. And he went up before lunch, and he was going to take her out, and he went out and bought himself liquor, bought himself gin and vermouth, and made a big bowl of martinis. They may have had a drink—I don’t know what they had— then they went out. And I’m sitting there at my desk, I’m seeing all that liquor and I’m saying, “What a waste of money. Yeah, I’m going to try this. I’ve never had one in my life.” I’d never had a martini and I tried it, and I tried it again, and I tried it, and I started to laugh and I couldn’t stand up straight, and I had to go to the toilet.

it was a social commentary, almost, on different things. Unfortunately, I saw the sneaks concerning their own little politics into the strip, figuring nobody would care about it. They had somebody like Shelly Mayer at one point in one of the stories, and it was unfortunate. I think it was also as an aside. Speaking of strips, I did a few weeks of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. It was going to be syndicated, but the actress who played Mary Hartman [Louise Lasser] had some problems and the strip was dropped before it was even launched. I got Joe Sinnott to do some inking on it. He was a terrific inker, one of the best there ever was.

“When I See Billy Crystal, I Think Of Irwin [Hasen]”

And the office next door to us... I don’t know if you remember the comedian Jerry Lester. Well, he put his father in business, and the name was Goldberg. That was their real name and they had a mouthwash that he put his father in as a distributor and manufacturer and they called it “Armand’s.” Anyway, I didn’t want the old man to see me drunk, so I crawled along the floor to the toilet. [Jim laughs] And I got there and, of course, did my business, and I was laughing all the way. Crawled back… he didn’t see me. I just sat back, fell on the chair next to the desk, and I just sat there, laughing. Irwin came up and he started to laugh, too, because I was just giggling. I was drunk and happy, and that was my first experience with a martini.

JA: You know I’ll agree with that! Now, let’s get to Dondi. This is the information that I have: I have you inking the Sunday and the daily, just in 1969. OKSNER: ’69? Never did that. I never inked Dondi. JA: Okay. I have you as the writer from 1967 to 1983. OKSNER: Oh, no, earlier. You have to get the date when Gus Edson died, because I took over almost immediately, somewhat, from the day he died. JA: When Gus Edson died, what made Irwin Hasen think of you as the writer, since you were doing mostly artwork? OKSNER: When Irwin started the strip about 1953 or ’54, somewhere around there, he had to get ahead on the dailies. He’d get about eight weeks ahead, you know. And I worked with him then, laying out a week or so of dailies. I didn’t ink them, just laid them out, at the very beginning of Dondi. Obviously, we were already friends. We shared a studio in The New York Times Building. I’ve got a great story about that one. Irwin was a bachelor and I was married.

JA: [laughs] Not your last, huh? OKSNER: No, not my last. We have one every night. JA: Okay, [laughs] thanks to Irwin. Now the Irwin Hasen that I know: he’s always funny, witty, very socially at ease. Was he always like that?

Going Ape After Soozi, Bob says, he was ready to get back to DC and start drawing “Angel and the Ape,” originally in Showcase. Here’s a page from Angel and the Ape #2 (Jan.-Feb. 1969), as inked by Wally Wood, no mean hand at drawing pretty ladies himself. [©2007 DC Comics.]

OKSNER: Yes. Irwin, basically, is a performer, an entertainer. When I see Billy Crystal, I think of Irwin, because they have the same kind of personality. Irwin’s a very funny guy, wonderful company.

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

Super-Teams Supreme Oksner was a team player! (Clockwise from above left:) In the 1970s, he inked the pencils of Curt Swan in a 1979 Superman pop-up book—Jose Delbo in Adventure Comics #418 (April 1972)—Mike Sekowsky (with script by Steve Skeates) in Adventure #421 (Oct. 1972)—and Tony DeZuniga in Adventure #424 (Oct. 1972). Thanks to Bob Bailey for the pop-up pic, and to Miki for the others. [©2007 DC Comics.]

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

and read it to him over the phone, laying out the action, and the dialogue, and everything else. And we did it that way from 1977 until the mid-1980s. JA: Irwin told me that when he worked with you in the studio, and he watched you draw, he said it, in a way, it would deflate him, because you were just so good and so much better than him. He just didn’t feel like he could keep up in the business as an artist because of your ability. OKSNER: Irwin always thought of himself as an amateur, not being professional. But he was a professional. He was not an amateur, but he always, in that sense, put himself down. I don’t know why he did it, but no one pays attention to it. Irwin’s personality comes out in his drawing. He has a warm personality and his drawing is warm. Well, if you’re familiar with Dondi, you see how that comes through in the strip. A little boy is great. JA: Don’t you think there was a little of Irwin in Dondi? OKSNER: Very much so, more than a bit. And then, of course, not meaning a psychological attachment, but Dondi was Irwin’s claim to fame. That was Irwin. When he had his Thunderbird, soon after they first came out—and his license plate was “DONDI.” It was hard for him to give the strip up, because Dondi was him.

We Hope They’re Both Teachers… Another gorgeous Oksner cover—this one repro’d from the original art for Young Romance #174 (Sept. 1971), courtesy of Kevin Nowlan. Bob Bailey tells us: “I think Bob inked himself on the cover. Either that, or it’s one of Vinnie Colletta’s best jobs!” [©2007 DC Comics.]

JA: He sure is. I see him at the Heroes Convention in North Carolina every year and we always spend a little time talking. Actually, I think I end up doing more talking than he does, and he covers his ears. [mutual laughter] God bless Irwin. He’s such a good guy. So Gus Edson died, and because you shared the studio with Irwin, he turned to you. OKSNER: Irwin may have turned to me because he knew I was writing over at DC, and he knew I had written Cairo Jones. We were truly shocked when Gus Edson died, because Gus Edson was really the moving spirit of Dondi—not only writing, but [in the beginning] he made a crude sketch of how he thought Dondi should look. And Irwin picked that up and, of course, improved on it. But Gus Edson had the experience of having written and drawn The Gumps. Irwin was in shock [when Edson died], and I helped him out by writing, by taking right over. And I remained there until the strip ended in 1986. JA: Tell me about your on the writing on the strip. OKSNER: Well, when I lived in Teaneck, which was about half an hour away from where Irwin lived in Manhattan. I would drive in with a big newsprint pad. Of course, on mine, I knew where I was going with the story. And I would lie on a couch and Irwin would sit at his desk and draw, and I’d write the story there and then Irwin would look at it. We might change the words, but generally we kept the plots that I laid out. And Irwin was a wonderful host. He would fill me up with martinis, and he had a lovely apartment with a balcony, and he’d put a steak on the grill, and then we’d eat a quart of ice cream. That’s why I had a heart bypass in 1979. [mutual laughter] He took care of me. He was a wonderful host and a wonderful friend. And that’s how I worked. When I moved to the country, which was about an hour and a quarter away, I didn’t come in. I would lay out the story on the paper

Sugar—With Spice! Oksner gave this drawing to Bob Bailey in 1978, when the latter was a student at Joe Kubert’s school. It was a sketch for a proposed comic strip to be called Sugar. [©2007 Bob Oksner.]

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

Three For The Road Bob may have retired, but he’s still surrounded by art from three of his favorite all-time titles to draw: Angel and the Ape #2 (Jan.-Feb. 1969)… Sgt. Bilko #1 (May-June 1957)… and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis #1 (June 1960). Thanks to Bob Bailey for the JL and DG scans. Dobie Gillis was a popular TV show based on humorous stories by Max Shulman. Photo provided by Bob O’s son-in-law, Ron Berger. [Comic art ©2007 DC Comics.]

“You Keep Working And I’ll Write To You From Paris” JA: Why did you retire? OKSNER: I retired from writing and drawing at the same time. Personal. This is about 1985 or ’86. At that time, the comics’ humor magazines were on their way out. I was doing super-heroes, which didn’t offer me any satisfaction. I came into a bit of money, which negated any reason to work, so I quit. Actually, I wanted to continue, but my wife was the one who said, “Look, you keep working and I’ll write to you from Paris [Jim laughs] and I’ll send you postcards from London.” Yeah, I said, “All right, all right. I’m going with you.” JA: Did you miss doing this for a living once you stopped? OKSNER: Not at all. I did it for so long—from 1940 to 1986. There was no satisfaction in what I was doing anymore. Without having any satisfaction, there’s no point. I didn’t need the money, so I quit. JA: What did you do with yourself, creatively, once you quit? OKSNER: Played tennis, rode the tractor, and picked up trash. JA: So you didn’t turn to doing any fine art or anything? OKSNER: No, no, no. I was a lousy painter in art school. We started traveling. And then we came down to Florida and we wintered here until it came time to sell our place up North and buy a house down here, which we have now. By the way, I have a lot of files of art stuff— you know, my autographs, things like that. I gave it all to that younger cartoonist, Joe Staton, who works for DC. I gave him my desk, I gave him everything, because I had no need for it. He came and picked it up in a van. JA: So when you retired, you really retired. OKSNER: That’s right. I’ll tell you a great story. I have a friend who

was the president of one of the largest clothing manufacturers in the country, Campus Clothes. After I retired, he called me up to do a sketch that they wanted to put on their shirts for kids. I think it was a bear or something like that. You know, Polo has horses and he wanted to do that. I told him, “Chuck, I’m retired.” He’s like, “Go out and get yourself a brush and bottle of ink. There’s $5,000 in it for you.” I said, “Chuck, I don’t care how much there is. If I start, if I buy myself a brush and ink, I’ll be working again.” He says, “What about Irwin?” Of course, he knew Irwin. And I said, “Irwin would be great. Call him up.” And he did and Irwin did a little drawing and got $5,000. JA: Good for Irwin! When did you teach at the Kubert School? OKSNER: 1978. I only taught one year. It was too much of a ride to come down from Saugerties, New York, to his place in Dover. I taught composition. JA: Do you have a favorite period in which you worked, or a favorite feature that you did? OKSNER: I’d say a favorite period was the ’50s and the ’60s—because I enjoyed what I was doing—into possibly the beginning of the ’70s. I was starting to do the adventure stuff, like Superman stuff, and the only high point of that time was when I did Welcome Back, Kotter. As for favorite features, let’s start with Angel and the Ape, Sgt. Bilko, and Dobie Gillis. There must be another one, but that would be the best, for me—the most fruitful period. I think I did my best work then. JA: How do you feel about the fact that your work is so wellremembered, and that people hold you in such high esteem? OKSNER: I don’t understand that. I don’t understand why they should hold me in high esteem. I thought I was very good at humor stuff. I thought, in my own head, that I’m the best. [mutual laughter]

Bob Oksner Drew Angels, Apes—And Everything In Between!

But other than that, I enjoyed my work, but I took it very lightly. I didn’t take it very seriously. So when Gil Kane would come over and philosophize with me, you know, I thought, “Don’t go back, [mutual laughter] don’t go back.” JA: But you did win a few awards. You won the Academy of Comic Book Arts, the SHAZAM Award in 1970… OKSNER: And The National Cartoonists Society Award in 1960 and ’61. And what’s interesting, Irwin did it at about the same time for Best Strip. JA: Those awards… you must have had a personal satisfaction, winning them. OKSNER: Yes, especially the first one. The second one, you get bored. [mutual laughter] The first one has a funny story there, because I had no plans on attending the Cartoonists’ Dinner. And the phone call came in the afternoon, “You come to the hotel,” probably the Plaza or the Waldorf. And I knew it was formal. I had a tuxedo, but I didn’t have dancing shoes. [Jim laughs] So my oldest daughter, Rebecca—I sent her out. I measured my foot with my hands. She was very young and very lovely, a very good figure. My foot came to the size of her waist. I held her hands, each hand on the side of her waist—that was my shoe size. I sent her out with that. She came back with shoes that fit and I wore them to the dance. [chuckles] Put that story in!

That Jerry Lewis Knows Everybody! (Left:) Our last chance to show Oksner drawing both humor and heroes! The splash from The Adventures of Jerry Lewis #97 (Nov.-Dec. 1966). Thanks to Bob Bailey. [©2007 DC Comics.]

BOB OKSNER 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 next page for information on how to access this invaluable website. Names of features which appeared both in comics books of that title and in other comics are generally not italicized. Some data in this Checklist has been provided by Bob Oksner and/or Jim Amash. Key: (a) = full art; (p) = pencils only; (i) = inking only; (w) writer; (d) = daily newspaper comic strip; (S) = Sunday newspaper comic strip.] Name: Robert (Bob) Oksner (1916–2007) (editor; writer, artist)

Comics In Other Media: various features (w)(p)(i) 1970 supplements for movie magazines

Pen Name: Bob Lawrence

Promotional Comics: advertising comics (w) for Howard Johnson’s Plastic Man (a) 1970 for Union Carbide; Supergirl (i) 1986 premium for Honda and US Dept. of Transportation

Education: Art Students League; B.A., New York University; M.A., Columbia University Influences: Arthur William Brown, Russell Patterson

Comics Studio/Shop: Funnies, Inc. (p)(i) 1940-42; Sangor Studio (art director)(w)(p)(i) 1942-47

Member: National Cartoonists Society

COMIC BOOK CREDITS (Mainstream US Publishers):

Print Media (Non-Comics): artist, magazine teenage publications; inker, juvenile books – 1983 How to Draw Super-Heroes Other Career Notes: Teacher at Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Arts Honors: Academy of Comic Book Arts Shazam – best penciler, humor 1970; National Cartoonists Society, Best Comic Book Artist 1960/61

Looking For Marlon Brando?

Better/Nedor/Pines/Standard: Bart Bradley (a) 1946; Black Terror (a) 1946; Commando Cubs (a) 1943-47; Crash Carter (a) 1946; It Really Happened (a) 1944; Jack Manning (a) 1940-49; Lance Lewis (a) 1944-48; Mekano (a) 1944; Miss Masque (a) c. 1945; Pepper Swift (a) 1943; Phantom Detective (a) 1946, 1948; Real Life Comics (a) 1943-45; Sandy of the Circus (a) 1948; Trouble-Shooter (a) 1946-47

Syndication (Newspaper Comic Strips): Dondi Angel minus the Ape… thanks to Bill Morrison. [©2007 DC Comics.] Croyden Publications: covers (a) 1945; Miss Cairo (d)(S)(i) 1969 for Chicago Tribune-New York News Jones (a) 1945 (reprint of newspaper strips) Syndicate; Dondi (d)(S)(w) 1967-86 for same; I Love Lucy (d)(a) 1952-55 for King Features Syndicate; Miss Cairo Jones DC Comics & Related Imprints: The Adventures of Bob Hope (S)(d)(a) 1945-47 for Associate Newspapers – also (w) 1946-47; (w)(a)(i) 1960-67; The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Soozi (a) 1967-68

“My Women Had Saturday Night Bodies And Sunday School Faces”

(a) 1955; The Adventures of Jerry Lewis (w)(p)(i) 1958, 1960-71; AllAmerican Men of War (p) 1953; Ambush Bug (i) 1984-86; Angel and the Ape (p)(some w) 1968-69; April O’Day (p)(i) 1951; Batgirl (p) 1979; Binky (a) 1948-49, 1955-57; Binky’s Buddies (a) c. 1968; Black Canary (p)(i) 1947-48 (pencils on one story); Brat Finks (a) 1966; Cookie and Penny (a) 1968; covers (p)(i) 1948-86; Cynthia and Penelope (a) 1968; Danger Trail (p) 1950-51; Date with Debbie (a) 1971; A Date with Judy (a) 1960; Elvira’s House of Mystery (a) 1986; Everything Happens to Harvey (a) 1953-54; The Flash (p)(i) 1948; Ghost Patrol (p)(i) 1947-48; Girls’ Love Stories (p)(i) 1950-65, 1972; Girls’ Romances (p)(i) 1958-59; Gotham City (p) 1980; Green Lantern (i) 1947-49; Hawkman (a) 1948; Hawkman [2nd version] (i) 1960s; House of Mystery (p)(i) 1972; Justice Society of America (i)(some p) 1947-49; King Faradays (a) no date; Kitty, a.k.a. Kitty Carr (a) 1949; Lady Danger (p)(some i); Leave It to Binky (p)(i) c. 1947-c. 1956, 1967; Lucy (a) 1948-49; The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (p)(i)(some w) 1960-64; Mary Marvel/Shazam! (p)(i) 1974-75; Maynard (a) 1960; Miss Beverly Hills (a) 1949-51; Miss Melody Lane (a) 1950; Mr. and Mrs. Superman (p) 1980; Mystery in Space (p) 1951-53; Nightwing and Flamebird (i) 1979; Our Army at War (p) 1952; Pat Boone (a) 1959-60; Plastic Man (p) no date; Plop! (i) no date; Private Doberman (a) 1958-60; The Private Life of Clark Kent (i) 1973, 1976-76; Private Lives (i) 1988; public service pages (p)(i) 1950-52, 1954, 1956-58, 1960, 1964; Romance Trail (a) 1949-50; 1964-65; Romance, Inc. (a) 1951; Secret Hearts (p) 1952, 1964; Secret Origin: Challengers of the Unknown (i) 1987; Sensation Mystery (p) 1953; The Seraph (p)(some i)(some w) 1980-81; Sgt. Bilko (a) 1957-60; Shazam! (p)(i) 1974-75;

The WHO’S WHO of American Comic Books (1928-1999) FREE – online searchable database – FREE http://www.bailsprojects.com No password required

A quarter of a million records, covering the careers of people who have contributed to original comic books in the US. Created by Jerry G. Bails Bob Oksner cover for Adventure of Jerry Lewis #86 (Jan.-Feb. 1965). Thanks to Bob Bailey. [©2007 DC Comics.

Stanley and His Monster (a) 1966-68; Strange Adventures (p) 1951-53; Strange Sports Stories (i) 1973; Super Friends (p) 1980-81; Superboy (p)(i) 1982; Supergirl (a)(i) 1971-72, 1982-84; Superman (i) 1973-76, 1984-86; Superman & Ambush Bug (i) 1985; Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane (p)(i) 1979-84; Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen (i)(some p) 1972, 1977, 1981; Swing with Scooter (p)(some i) 1968, 1970; Tales of Gotham City (p) 1980; Vixen (p) 1978; Welcome Back, Kotter (i)(some p) 1975-78; Who’s Who in the DC Universe (i) some entries 1985-87; Windy and Willy (a) 1969; Wonder Woman (i) 1973; Young Romance (i) 1971 George A. Plfalum: Treasure Chest (p)(i) 1946-47 Aesop’s Fables Harvey Comics: Speed Taylor (w)(a) 1941 Hillman Periodicals: Mach Duff (w)(a) 1941; Spy (a) 1952; Western (p)(i) 1948 Marvel/Timely: Breezy and His Glider (w)(a) 1943; crime (a) 1954; The Destroyer (a) 1942-43; horror (p) 1942 (typo for 1952?); Marvel Boy (w)(a) 1943; The Secret Stamp (w)(a) 1943; Terry Vance (w)(a) 1940-44; The Whizzer (i) 1943-44; Zoo to One (a) 1943 Spotlight Comics: Ship Ahoy (a) 1944 Orbit Publications: Cannonball (a) 1945; covers (a) 1945; Crash Kid (a) 1945; Crime Crusader (a) 1945, unconfirmed; Gail Porter (a) 194445, unconfirmed Parents’ Magazine Press: True Comics (a) c. 1940-41 US Camera: Kid Click (p) 1944 Ziff-Davis Comics: romance (a) 1952 Cover art for Supergirl #9 (Dec. 1973-Jan. 1974), by Bob Oksner. Repro’d from original art, courtesy of Miki. [©2007 DC Comics.]

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The POWELL/EISNER/ARNOLD Connection A Treasure Trove Of Communications Between A Trio Of Golden Age Greats!

by Roy Thomas Present At The Creation

sually—not always, mind you, but most of the time—the best source for information about what happened during the Golden (or any other) Age of Comic Books is the testimony of the creators themselves: the artists, writers, editors, publishers, et al., who actually produced the material. Of course, human beings, being fallible, have imperfect and occasionally downright false memories of events, especially after many years… so the earliest records, when they exist, are generally the best.

Jerry Bails in 1971, around the time he began work in earnest on the Who’s Who of American Comic Books, which would be coedited by Hames Ware. With thanks to Bill Schelly.

Luckily for historians of comics, in the early 1970s Dr. Jerry G. Bails, founder of Alter Ego and prime mover behind so many comics

fandom “firsts,” began work on what would eventually become his magnum opus—the 4-volume Who’s Who of American Comic Books (1973-76), which evolved into today’s online Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999. Shortly after Jerry’s untimely passing this past Nov. 23, his wife Jean loaned us copies of numerous of his papers, many of them gathered in the course of collecting the biographical and publishing information for that monumental project. Comics researchers will reap the benefits of Jerry’s work, and of Jean’s generosity, over many future issues of A/E. For starters: we were astonished to find, in the very first batch of papers, copies of Jerry’s early-’70s correspondence with Everett “Busy” Arnold, publisher/owner of the Quality Comics Group (1937-56). Almost equally amazing: also in this cache were letters exchanged in 1942 between Arnold, Spirit creator Will Eisner, and artist/writer S.R. “Bob” Powell! Thus, as a postscript to last issue’s copious coverage of Powell, and as a companion piece to Michael T. Gilbert’s “Comic Crypt” which follows on page 45, we’ve printed below the missives concerning Powell and his relationship with the pair who were his employers at the time.

Everett “Busy” Arnold We begin with what seems to be the publisher’s very first communication to Jerry Bails, a response to the latter’s request for a summary of Quality’s personnel. Arnold’s compilation of the list was complicated by the fact that much of the work done for his company had been “farmed out” to the Eisner-Iger (later Iger) comics shop. We’ll let Arnold’s letter—and his list (in which the

Busy Arnold Was A Doll, Man Everett “Busy” Arnold circa 1941—and his Quality company’s very first super-hero, the dynamically diminutive Doll Man. The Mighty Mite debuted in Feature Comics #27 (Dec. 1939), apparently the creation (or at least co-creation) of Will Eisner, and was soon illustrated by Lou Fine, Reed Crandall, and others—including Fran Matera, who was interviewed in A/E #59. This new pencil drawing by Matera comes courtesy of both Fran and collector Greg Vondruska, who has built a Fran Matera website as a tribute to the artist’s career. Fran, who still does a few art commissions, can be reached via that website: http://penandbrush.net/MATERA. Arnold photo courtesy of Jay Disbrow. [Doll Man TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

Communications Between A Trio Of Golden Age Greats!

meanings of the abbreviations “a,” “w,” & “ed.” are obvious, while “adv. mgr.” probably stands for “advertising manager”)—speak for themselves, with their references to Powell, among many others:

“I’ve Got One Word To Say To You: ‘Plastic’!” Quality’s most popular hero in the 1940s/50s was Blackhawk, but Jack Cole’s creation Plastic Man was ultimately the most enduring—and endearing. This panel from a 1964 Super Comics reprint of Plastic Man #21 (Jan. 1950) shows why DC’s Plastic Man Archives is up to eight volumes and counting! [Plastic Man TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

Arnold’s letter and personnel list, sent to Jerry G. Bails in 1972. All correspondence accompanying this art is printed by courtesy of Jean Bails. Busy Arnold’s letters also appear courtesy of his son Dick Arnold, who was later a Quality editor and was interviewed in A/E #34. Hey, check out the reference on the list to high schooler “Joey Kubert”! (We only wish we could print all these letters bigger— but we think you’ll find them worth a squint!)

The Powell/Eisner/Arnold Connection

A few weeks later, doubtless at Bails’ prompting, Arnold wrote Jerry a second letter concerning the artisans of Quality:

Apparently, Jerry soon prodded yet one more response out of the very accommodating Busy Arnold:

when Eclipse Comics was reprinting Eisner’s Spirit stories, copublisher Cat Yronwode (pronounced “ironwood”) found the following letters in Eisner’s files; she seems to have both annotated them and sent copies to Jerry Bails. Her undated Powell-related paragraph reproduced below apparently refers to scripts done by Powell—not for the Mr. Mystic feature he drew and (mostly) wrote for the Comic Book Section from 1940-43, but to scripts for the lead Spirit feature. Here’s the relevant part of Cat’s note to Jerry:

Powell & Eisner, 1942 And now, working our way down the food chain, we reach a 1942 exchange between two talented men who were producing much of that work for and with Arnold—both for Quality Comics, and for the newspaper supplement officially known till 1949 as the Comic Book Section; the latter had been launched in mid-1940 in a partnership between Arnold and Will Eisner. Unfortunately, Bob Powell didn’t date his letters. Luckily, Eisner did date his, which helps us place them in something approaching chronological order. Also: at some time in the 1980s or early ’90s,

Even if an error or two has crept into his list or recollections (and we’re not saying they have), comics historians owe the late Everett “Busy” Arnold a debt of gratitude.

A Spirit-ed Trio This early-1940s photo of (l. to r.) Will Eisner, Nick Viscardi (= Cardy), and Bob Powell was printed last issue—but where else are we gonna find Eisner and Powell in the same pic? Between them, at the time, this trio were producing all three features in the weekly newspaper Comic Book Section: The Spirit, Lady Luck, and Mr. Mystic. From the 1982 Kitchen Sink volume The Art of Will Eisner, used by permission. [©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.]

Communications Between A Trio Of Golden Age Greats!

Thus, Bob Powell is confirmed as one of Eisner’s “ghost writers” on The Spirit over its decade-long existence. As you’ll see, however, even when he wasn’t scripting all the Spirit stories, Eisner exercised a close editorial control over them. The earliest of the letters in this Bails treasure trove is one from Powell to Busy Arnold—obviously in response to a communication from the publisher asking him to put more work into the word balloons of his Mr. Mystic stories. Powell was clearly less than ecstatic with this request, as he interpreted it:

referred to several times in Powell’s letter is none other than William Eisner. While he generally signed both his comic book work and The Spirit as “Will Eisner,” it would seem that virtually no one who knew him personally ever actually called him “Will” in those days. In later years, the “Bill” was dropped, and the artist became “Will Eisner,” for once and for all. At the time of this letter, Eisner had been drafted and was working to get things in order on The Spirit and its backup features before his looming induction into the Army. (Hence Powell’s reference to “Bill leaving and all.”) Eisner responded both to Powell’s letter to Arnold, and to material Powell had submitted to Eisner himself:

Sidebar: The 4th paragraph of the preceding missive indicates that Powell scripted more “Blackhawk” stories than simply writing (or at least co-writing) the aviator’s origin for Military Comics #1 (Aug. 1941). As Cat’s note makes clear, the “Blackhawk” plot synopsis he refers to must have been “a remake of the 1st Spirit he worked on (12/29/40), ‘The Leader.’ That story deals w/aircraft and sabotage in Mexico….” Incidentally, the “Bill”

Blackhawk Down DC’s Blackhawk Archives, Vol. 1, credits the lead story in Military Comics #17 (March 1943) to Bill Woolfolk, and other 1942-43 scripts to Woolfolk or Dick French. But these letters exchanged between Powell and Eisner show that the former was still in there pitching “Blackhawk” ideas in spring of ’42. Art by Reed Crandall. [©2007 DC Comics.]

The Powell/Eisner/Arnold Connection

Cat’s note at the top of the letter, written decades after the missive itself, refers to this idea of Powell’s as “the ‘twins’ story”—a plot which she couldn’t reconcile with any published Spirit episode. She also observes, re point (3), that in spring of 1942 it was “almost 2 yrs since Pappy Dolan was first introduced (by Eisner).” One thing that makes us tentatively place this letter before those which follow is Eisner’s mention that Monday is “a big day” in Powell’s life… most likely his first anniversary, since he and his first wife Florence had been wed in 1941.

“Loops And Banks… Pays You $15 A Page Sans Lettering”

Probably just a few days later, on a Tuesday (the day after the anniversary Monday?), Powell sent Eisner the “plot and [penciled art] breakdown” for what he called “MM #23.” We’d be tempted to assume this means Powell’s 23rd Mr. Mystic story—only he’d been drawing that feature from the beginning of the Comic Book Section, and the 23rd of those had seen print on Nov. 3, 1940, a year and a half earlier. Never mind: Powell mailed Eisner the story, and the following letter:

Not that there is any lettering in the final panel of this two-panel sequence by Powell for the “Loops and Banks” story in Military Comics #5 (Dec. 1941). Thanks to Jonathan G. Jensen. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Eisner both clarifies and defends Arnold’s request to Powell—then discusses an idea the latter had submitted for a Spirit tale. He also refers to a matter he calls “the yo-yo fiasco”—which Cat’s note to Jerry Bails says “apparently refers to a Spirit story [of Powell’s that] Will refused to buy.” Eisner also seems concerned to make certain Powell’s new Spirit notion isn’t derived from a prose story previously published in a major national magazine. (Had he been burned by plagiarism before—not necessarily by Powell, but by some writer?) We may be missing a letter at this stage—or have one in the wrong order—but the next one in the sequence might be this one from Eisner, sent three days after the previous missive. It records a de facto resolution to the word balloon problem, and contains comments from Eisner about the Spirit story Powell was plotting:

’Twould seem that, on their anniversary, the Powells spent the evening at Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe, a lavish nightclub opened by that famous promoter in 1938 in the basement of the Paramount Hotel off Times Square. Whatever Mrs. Powell may have gotten out of the show, Bob clearly enjoyed the scenery. He also mentions the gifts he and his wife gave each other… which helps us date the next couple of letters.

Communications Between A Trio Of Golden Age Greats!

Getting In The Spirit Of Things On April 19, 1942, just three days before Eisner wrote the letter below, this Eisnerdrawn sequence depicting The Spirit and Commissioner Dolan appeared in newspapers all across the country. All Spirit art accompanying this article is reprinted from DC’s Will Eisner’s Spirit Archives. [©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.]

Eisner responded in a note dated six days after his preceding one:

Charity Begins At Home (Right:) Splash for the story “The Charity Ball,” which appeared in newspapers on March 5, 1944. At that time, with Eisner in the Army, art chores on the feature fell to Lou Fine, Jack Cole, and others—and scripts to a number of other folks, including Gill Fox. But was this story, perhaps, prepared from a Bob Powell script written in 1942? [©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.]

Girls, Girls, Girls Bob Powell may have admired the chorus girls at the Diamond Horseshoe, but he could draw a mean wench himself, in this “Sheena” panel from Fiction House’s Jumbo Comics #19 (Sept. 1940). Eisner co-created the “Queen of the Jungle” with original artist Mort Meskin. Thanks to Jonathan G. Jensen. [Sheena TM & ©2007 Paul Aratow/Columbia Pictures.]

The Powell/Eisner/Arnold Connection

Cat’s notation atop Eisner’s letter suggests it may refer to a story called “The Charity Ball,” which has a “(similar plot) BUT—that didn’t see print until 3/5/44!” She can’t think of any other Spirit episode “which follows this plot.” Eisner’s first sentence is a bit cryptic. If he’s “in receipt” of Powell’s “Mr. Mystic drawings”—most likely the breakdowns for a story—then why does he have to “hope they are better than recent stuff”? Hasn’t he looked at the art yet? And one needn’t have been personally acquainted with Bob Powell to feel him bristling, across nearly two-thirds of a century, at Eisner’s mild putdown with regard to his “recent stuff.” Or are we misinterpreting something here? Eisner goes on to comment on the Powells’ exchange of gifts—and on the fact that he himself is due to enter the Army only eight days later. After this point, others, particularly artists Lou Fine and Jack Cole, would inherit major artistic responsibility for The Spirit during the remainder of World War II. The final two letters we have from this period are both written by Powell, dated “Friday” and “Saturday.” The Saturday one (see next page) was almost certainly typed on April 25, 1942… and if this Friday note is from the day before, that may merely be because, in those pree-mail days, letters often crossed in the mail:

“I Put A Spell On You—Because You’re Mine” Mr. Mystic ensorcells a prizefighter in the same 1943-44 story seen below. This particular tale by Powell has a very “Damon Runyon” flavor; the humorous fiction of that colorful New York author formed the basis of the legendary musical Guys and Dolls (and of a myriad of movies) and was wildly popular in the 1940s. Powell must’ve liked the Mr. Mystic character—he named their new puppy after him! Ye Editor hopes that the, ahem, spirit of the late great rocker Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (whom he used to enjoy talking to at parties at comics writer Don Glut’s home in Hollywood) won’t mind our using a line from his most famous recording to head this caption. [©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.]

Powell’s comment on the humor in a letter of Eisner’s probably refers to the latter’s remark about sending the Powells’ new puppy a fire hydrant from the Philippines… and to his reporting, no doubt jokingly, that he’d drawn half a dozen Spirit stories on a stack of blank drawing paper Powell had sent him by mistake. Cat’s note says this letter “must be [from] April 1942 (because only after Will moved to Stamford [CT] did Powell write to him”—i.e., as opposed to phoning or speaking to him in person. (Cat’s note on p. 39 says Eisner lived in Connecticut during the month of April 1942.) Cat also says that an idea for a new Spirit adventure that Powell mentions “sounds like ‘Keep Mum on Ship Movement,’ 1/17/43.” She then re-read that episode, and added a confirmation: “It’s a Powell script for sure. Sticks out like a sore thumb.” Apparently neither Eisner nor his later Eclipse reprint publisher felt that Powell ever found quite the right approach to writing The Spirit, as opposed to Mr. Mystic. By 1943, Eisner was editing stories for the Comic Book Section when he could spare time from his duties as a Chief Warrant Officer in the US Army. Assuming Powell did write the “Keep Mum” tale sometime in 1942, it could’ve sat on the shelf for a while. Perhaps there was a bit of “crossing in the mail” between letters, since Powell’s next epistle seems to be a response to Eisner’s suggestion in his April 22 communique that Powell “do it up” [the Spirit story] without further delay….

Getting All Mystic-Eyed (Above:) Splash panel from a Powell Mr. Mystic story, circa 1943. Repro’d from ACE Comics’ black-&-white comic Fantastic Adventures #2 (Oct. 1987), which was published by Ron Frantz. [©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.]

Communications Between A Trio Of Golden Age Greats!

Powell is blunt about being reluctant to start “writing copy” before his plot is formally approved. Considering the changes asked for by Eisner in the course of the previous letters, it’s easy to see why… which is not to say that Eisner was wrong in insisting on the changes, of course. In the third paragraph, Powell expresses his suspicion that, since men in “class three” (presumably his own ranking in the military draft—probably young marrieds in good physical condition) are to be re-classified depending on “the importance of their jobs in defense,” he’ll probably be joining Eisner in uniform ere long, in this post-Pearl Harbor world. After all, comic books, unlike movies, were hardly likely to be deemed “essential to the war effort.” And, indeed, Powell soon found himself in the US Army Air Corps—or, as it was rechristened, the US Army Air Forces. Over the course of the next year he became a navigator on a B-24 bomber (see photo on p. 56). In the last letter we have from this exchange, Powell seems eager to bury the hatchet with Eisner over their past conflicts, both in person and by mail, which he feels may have been exacerbated by comments Powell made while “boiling mad” and which might have been related to Eisner by fellow artist Phillip “Tex” Blaisdell. Powell’s statement that “it’s too bad that we’ll never be able to be real friends again” comes as a bit of a jolt… since we are coming in, after all, only on the tail end of disagreements which aren’t as well documented as the preceding exchange. The fact remains, however, that, after the war’s end, Bob Powell and Will Eisner never worked together again. And with that final letter, we emerge once more into the realm of imperfect recollections and colored remembrances and calculated guesswork. But it was good, even for a little while, to be able to draw aside the dark curtain of the past and see what was actually said and thought at the time. A time when there was no gleaming historical period called the Golden Age of Comics to recall and celebrate… but only talented men and women, laboring at the workaday task of filling the nation’s comic books and newspapers with graphic stories that would one day be “such stuff as dreams are made on.”

Keep Mum About Scripting Credits (Top left:) Chief Warrant Officer Will Eisner in 1943. (Bottom left:) 2nd Lt. Bob Powell, navigator, USAAF, in a photo which his son Robert Powell feels was probably taken in spring of 1944. These two talents flank the splash page of the (reputedly) Powell-written Spirit story for Jan. 17, 1943. Did Cat Yronwode deduce that this tale had a Powell script because it’s more of a straight waradventure tale than the usual Spirit fare? Art by Lou Fine, et al. [Spirit page & Eisner photo ©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.]

PHOTOS: Bob Powell (Pawlowski), age four, in 1921, and Bob with his parents that same year. John Powell says this about Bob’s drawing: “His mother had it near her and displayed till the day she died. After Dad died she was heartbroken like any mother, but her grief was more intense since he was her only child.”

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

THE POWELL FAMILY ALBUM! PART II by Michael T. Gilbert Stanley Robert Powell was a comic book dynamo. From 1938 until his death from cancer in 1967 at age 50, he brought life to high-profile heroes like The Shadow, Doc Savage, Sheena, The Spirit, the Blackhawks, Sub-Mariner, The Hulk, and Daredevil. But Bob Powell also put his stamp on lesser-known gems such as The Man in Black Called Fate (his signature character), Mr. Mystic, The Avenger, Shock

Gibson, The Scarlet Arrow—and a little lady called Atoma!

Atoma Atoma had a very brief career—precisely one story, hidden in the back of Joe Palooka Comics #15, in the spot usually reserved for Powell’s humor strip, “Chickie Ricks – the Flyin’ Fool.” But what Atoma lacked in longevity, she more than made up for in originality. Powell’s basic premise was quite clever: Atoma, an historian from the future, befriends Dusty Rhodes, an ordinary 20th-century kid who accidentally blows himself 500 years into the future. Atoma’s waiting for him to arrive, having read his memoirs of his visit to the future—

The Powell Family Album! Part II

memoirs he has yet to write! Together, they team up in Atoma’s first and only adventure to save the world of 2446 AD from a robot run amok. Powell’s new character was innovative on a number of levels. Most obvious were the page layouts, each designed to form giant numbers. Page 1 is shaped like a big 1, page 2 like a giant 2, and so on. But that was just the start! More impressively, “Atoma” may be the first “virtual” comics feature. I say virtual, because throughout most of the story, Powell draws absolutely no backgrounds. Atoma describes the magnificent “City of Peace” and the futuristic machinery within to Dusty, but Powell purposely refrains from illustrating what she describes. “Here we are!!” Atoma tells Dusty, as they enter the city. “Let’s go in through this lower gate.” The two stoop to avoid an imaginary door. It’s a clever idea, reminiscent of the radio shows of the day that required listeners to fill in the blanks. In lieu of backgrounds, Powell filled his empty panels with color, keeping visual clutter to a minimum and making the giant pagenumber designs pop out. Though Atoma’s career began and ended with that single story, it unquestionably demonstrated Bob Powell’s brilliant imagination. And this for a 7-page backup story in a Joe Palooka comic, no less! The Atoma sketches on the previous page are printed here for the first time, courtesy of Bob’s son Seth Powell. Not surprisingly, there are some differences between this first draft and the printed version, including Atoma’s pal Dusty, who was originally named Rusty.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

(Across this page & the next:) Bob’s hand-painted lampshade, one of several given as gifts to his friends. Too bad we can’t print this in full color. What a beauty! [Art ©2007 Estate of Bob Powell; Mr. Mystic TM & ©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.; Sheena TM & ©2007 Paul Aratow/Columbia pictures; other characters TM & ©2007 the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Powell’s Naughty Lampshade! Bob Powell’s talents weren’t confined to comic books. At least one lucky collector has acquired what may be among the rarest of Powell pieces. Some time back, George Hagenauer managed to uncover a truly one-of-a-kind Powell original—a hand-painted Powell lampshade from the mid-1940s, decorated with some of the artist’s most famous characters! George spotted the lampshade on a sales list from collector and art dealer Jerry Weist. Here’s George’s description of his purchase: (Below:) The back of the shade, reversed. Hidden cheesecake is revealed when the light is turned on. [©2007 Estate of Bob Powell.]

“The lamp shade is hand-painted, two feet long and 6 inches high with 16 characters drawn in ink and watercolor on the front. It is signed S. R. Powell. Unfortunately, the inscription to the original owner had been erased. The edges of the piece had evenly spaced metal rings for attaching it onto a frame to suspend over a lamp.” George was convinced the piece was authentic. He’d known Jerry Weist since they were teenagers 40 years back. But he wanted to know more. After researching the piece, he discovered that Bob had done the lampshade as a gift for a friend back in the ’40s. “Jerry knew little about the piece except that it was from the Jerry DeFuccio estate,” says George. “DeFuccio was a Mad staff person who had spent hours tracking down Golden Age artists and collecting their art. His prior ownership of the piece lent it a lot of legitimacy. Jerry Weist also said that it was in the original envelope that DeFuccio stored it in. The envelope was signed by DeFuccio and mentioned Bill Emerson. (It seems DeFuccio had gotten the piece to cover a bet from a poker game!) My research showed a W.K. Emerson, who was an assistant editor at the Iger Shop where Powell had worked.

The Powell Family Album! Part II

“The shade included some of my favorite Powell characters: The Shadow, Mr. Mystic, The Spirit of ’76, Sheena, and The Man in Black, as well as many minor characters, like Nick Carter, Slewfoot Jones, and others. “The Shadow was especially exciting. Art from the Street & Smith Shadow comic book is rare. Even rarer are pieces with The Shadow on it, since to make him ‘invisible’ in the comic, he was usually printed as a blue color hold. What this meant was that the Shadow figure in costume was actually drawn on a separate overlay so he could be printed completely in blue. In the few pages of Powell Shadow art I’d seen, the overlay and thus The Shadow was missing. “Because so much of Powell’s art for Harvey Comics is available, he tends to be undervalued. Figuring the minor characters at $25-$35 and the major ones at $75$150, the piece was worth more than the opening bid (of a few hundred dollars). So I offered the opening amount and was the only person to make an offer—though a number of people who hesitated to bid later asked me if it was available for sale or trade. “It isn’t—though now I’m struggling with how to frame it! It’s too stiff (and too valuable) to use as lampshade. I’ve never cut a curved mat before, and then there are the drawings on the back I’d also like to see…. After the auction I made a number of additional discoveries. First, the shade is painted on both sides. Powell painted all the women nude on the back of the shade, so when you turn the light on they show up nude! “Powell did them as a hobby—some were of comic characters given as gifts— others were landscapes or other scenes. As such, my lampshade is not the only one—though the rest may not have survived if they were used for a long time.” A color-hold Shadow, from Street & Smith’s Shadow Comics, Vol. 7, #4 (July 1947). [©2007 Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc./The Condé Nast Publications.]

Quite a hobby, George! Seth Powell later confirmed that his father had indeed drawn this and other shades as gifts.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Cards and Strips And speaking of gifts, here’s one Bob did for a relative. Here’s Seth again: “I can guarantee you that this illustration has never been seen by my father’s fans. It is a picture of an original work that he did for my grandfather (my mother’s father) when he went in for a gall bladder removal. It’s quite comical. I have the original as well and it is rather

large in size. I have few of these original works in my collection. This is one of the best.” Later, brother John sent this: “Michael, here’s another one in the family collection. The pitch by dad said: “’Dr. Endaul Kryme. The meek little international detective that solves murders and thefts before your eyes. All clues will be given the reader and will be asked (à la Ellery Queen) if he knows the guilty

Bob, Florence, and John at Shelter Island, early 1940s.

The Powell Family Album! Part II

party before DR KRYME gives out the solution. Excitable, brilliant, he will solve the most difficult problems and explain them in his own cold logic. “’Homely, aging and small, he is a man of enormous conceit who with colossal luck stays out of bodily harm. Pure detective stressing humorous twists and emphasizing the photo-crime technique that will keep the reader guessing.” John attached a picture of Dr. Kryme, who, to my knowledge, never appeared in comic books or newspapers. However, Bob was involved with a number of syndicated comic strips, beginning with Mr. Mystic and The Spirit in the early ’40s. He also drew the Bat Masterson newspaper strip in the ’50s, and the shortlived humor strip Teena a Go Go a decade later. In between, Bob was busy pitching other strips. Last issue, we printed two newspaper samples featuring many of his comic book characters. That one failed to sell. Neither did Mike Mallet, a detective parody of Mickey Spillane’s popular hero Mike Hammer that Powell drew in the early ’60s.

Bob and John at Shelter Island. Baseball fan Bob reads a book about the Detroit Tigers, while John poses for the camera.

(Top to bottom:) Bat Masterson (based on the popular TV show about a real-life Western lawman), Teena a Go Go, and Mike Mallet were a few of the newspaper strips Powell illustrated. Unfortunately, Mike Mallet didn’t sell, but some of those strips were eventually printed in Panic Publications’ Panic, Vol. 2, #11, cover-dated Feb. 1966. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

The Boatwrights And then there’s The Boatwrights. Seth Powell sent us scans to this unsold feature, along with this bit of background on the series: “Please find attached a couple of things you may find interesting. The Boatwrights was something he was peddling in hopes of getting it picked up. Names in there are close to home. Stanley was obviously Dad’s first name, which he despised, Madelyn is my mother’s middle name, Dick was his cousin and best friend, Hollis was my mother’s maiden name (and my oldest daughter’s middle name), Haywood is a modified form of Hayward, which is my brother’s middle name. Cat is cat? Gorgeous is named for his prized and very beloved English bulldog, Gorgeous George, who was a family pet for years.” A concept drawing for the unsold Boatwrights strip, with a cameo by Gorgeous George, the wonder dog! Photo of George at right. [©2007 Estate of Bob Powell.]

The Animal Lover “Dad was a great, great animal lover, and growing up there were always many cats and at least one dog,” says brother John. “We were raised with an English Bulldog named Gorgeous George who was an absolutely wonderful pet. Dad doted on him and would only feed him ground horsemeat.” Older brother Robert agrees: “Gorgeous George was major part of our father’s life for eleven years (heck, he was a major part of all our lives!) and would appear in much of his artwork. Gorgeous was a pedigree English Bulldog—Dad would have it no other way. I think he had plans to show him. He had a “carrot” tail unlike the “pig curls” popular these days. Gorgeous never left the unfenced yard. That is, unless John or I went somewhere. Then he would stay with us—ever the guardian. He was always playful and happy until the end. He developed lumps under his baggy skin and was obviously in pain. Dad took him to the vet, one last time. When he came home, Gorgeous was in a bag in Dad’s arms. He asked me to dig a grave in the woods because he couldn’t face doing it.” Of course, Bob had other fourlegged buddies, too. Check out the picture of young Bobby in his wagon, with pals Mike and Buster. Robert adds: “While I was an infant there was a cocker spaniel named Mr. Mystic, also called Misto.”

Bob loved dogs—and cats, too! Here he is as a kid with Mike and Buster.

Though The Boatwrights didn’t sell, Bob created similar characters for the Henry Brewster comic book in the mid-’60s.

The Powell Family Album! Part II

Bob and his dad, Stanley Pawlowski, in 1929.

Wrestle-Mania The photo above shows Bob and his dad, Mr. Stanley Pawlowski. John Powell recently shared a little background on his granddad: “The wrestlers managed by his [Bob’s] dad were semi-famous, and the fellow 4th from the right was named Zbysko or something like that, who was nationally known. I will Google him eventually. They must have trained in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, since there’s lots of shots in that area.” A little Googling turned up a wrestler named Stanislaus Zbyszko, who was a popular wrestler in the 1920s and passed away in 1967. He was a two-time world champion, and also appeared in the 1950s film

Night and the City. I sent John a link, and asked if this was the wrestler John to which he had referred. His reply: “Michael, it certainly looks like him. I would love to find out more about the wrestlers he managed. He [Bob’s father] was also a bank exec in Buffalo and had a variety of other careers. Wonder if he was not able to hold on to anything? He was quite a raconteur, apparently, which rubbed off on his grandsons....” Bob’s comics sometimes featured wrestlers and other beefy bodybuilder types, which he drew quite convincingly. His super-heroes were equally buffed up. Indeed, it’s worth noting that when I created Mr. Monster in 1984, I based his body type on Bob Powell’s bulky Avenger from Magazine Enterprises! (See opposite page.)

Bob Powell’s dad (on left) with his wrestlers in the early ’30s. One of them, Stanislaus Zbyszko (photo at far right), appeared in the film Night and the City.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Memories John also shared these memories of his father: “Another obscure bit: the lunch routine was sacrosanct. He would invariably eat a liverwurst sandwich, lots of mayo on white and a glass of milk. If our cleaning lady, Coreen, didn’t make it, Mom would, and if she was out, he did, but invariably constructed sandwiches based on liverwurst with strange additions. Absolutely NO booze till after 4:30, and Mom & he would share a martini or more likely Dewars & water (with a twist of lemon) before dinner.” (Above:) Powell’s beefy Avenger, from

John recalled his dad’s teenage Magazine Enterprises’ The Avenger #2 (April years: “He went to East High 1955). (Right:) On the cover of last month’s A/E, School, which was right behind MTG digitally altered the ME hero, as per the their home on 158 North Parade. cover of Avenger #3, into Marvel’s Daredevil to It was across the street from prove a point. This time, Michael altered that 1955 cover to star his own Mr. Monster—since, Lincoln Park, which once upon a as he confesses on the preceding page, he time was very pretty. I haven’t originally modeled MM’s super-musculature on been back but understand the that of Powell’s earlier hero. [Avenger art area suffers badly from ‘inner ©2007 the respective copyright holders; Mr. city blight.’ I remember the Monster TM & ©2007 Michael T. Gilbert.] house well, and she owned it until moving to Long Island in a very nice and separate townhouse Dad built on to the house at 97 Oldfield Rd., Huntington.”

A HardDriving Man Oldest son Robert talked about Bob’s love of cars:

John also mentions the fact that Bob “was a very ‘natty’ dresser and enjoyed his once a month visits into Manhattan to stay at the [Hotel] Pierre and go to places like Le Pavillion. He was also well known at both Sardi’s and PJ Clarke’s.”

(Above:) “Natty” Bob Powell. “Check out the Porsche,” says son John. “Taped-on numbers, antennae left hanging out there, and he’s going to go racing with cloth overalls and loafers! I love it!” Seth has titled this photo “Dad as Juan Fangio,” the latter being a five-time Formula One racing winner during the 1950s. (Left:) Bob and his 1909 Hupmobile, in 1957.

“Dad, of course, was an automobile fan. Outside Detroit iron, a Crosleyengined, Italian Siata (red, ’natch) was first, followed by one of the very first Porsche roadsters (Silver) in the US. The only ’55 T-Bird with a spare on the trunk (we were told) got him ribbed by purist pals, but it was a lovely car (black) that had toured Europe and had a bronze plaque as a prize in a Concours d’Elegance. “The car set met regularly at a restaurant called the

The Powell Family Album! Part II

Bella Vista and became the cadre of LISCA (Long Island Sports Car Association). About then, he was shilling at an auction of antiques and came home with a Model-T which he restored. Caught by the bug, a basket case 1909 Hupmobile followed. I do remember working on that hour after hour with a wire brush in a hand-drill. The Hup was the first car I ever drove—in a field during a Gymkhana. The T-Bird eventually went about the time I was away at school and was replaced with a boattailed Corvette, (’60?), in dark blue. The ‘Vette was his last fun car. “They used VA money to buy a new house at Marcellus Ave. in Williston Park. There was a studio upstairs where he and his assistants drew comic books. The Laurel Hollow house was built and we moved in in 1949. (John and I rode in the moving van—a real thrill!) Bob, an avid racing enthusiast, helped design the Bridgehampton Race course in 1954. Dad and architect John Jansen designed the house. The house looked great, but had no privacy. “The Siata replaced the Jeep and Mom hated it. Besides [being] early The majority of the living area had huge picture-windows, and the sports car uncomfortable, it was Italian-unreliable. On the way to a driveway and entrances were visible from the studio. Dad always must-attend party at Dad’s publisher in Connecticut, the Siata broke answered the single phone-line in the studio. Summers were spent on down on the Whitestone Bridge.” Shelter Island and Dad commuted on weekends. The farm next door kept peacocks, which we stole feathers from. Dad bought a surplus “Bridgehampton [racetrack] was his life for a few years,” adds Jeep and a snowplow so he could plow the driveway in the winter. He brother John. “And he actually designed the course, the graphics, etc.” tried once and scraped up most of the gravel—gave it up. The Jeep Bob’s expertise came in handy when illustrating Fawcett’s Hot Rod went to Shelter Island in the summers and later was our back and forth Comics and similar titles. from Laurel Hollow beach.

(Left:) Powell drew this beautiful cover for Fawcett’s Hot Rod Comics #5 (Oct. 1952). (Above:) His sporty Siata appeared in the same issue, in a spotlight drawing. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Victory Through Air Powell! (Above left:) BP’s dramatic cover to Street & Smith’s Air Ace, Vol. 3, #8 (Feb. 1947). (Top right:) Powell as a B-24 navigator, circa 1943. (Right center:) Two high-flying panels from ME’s American Air Forces #7 (Aug. 1952). [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

of models and Rob’s eventual career as a pilot.”

Flying High Powell’s art was always convincing, in part because he drew what he knew. His war comics were among the best—and no wonder! “He was very proud of his service as a Lt. in the Army Air Corps as a navigator in the B-24 Liberator,” says son John. “It was his interest in airplanes that hooked both Rob and me on building lots (I mean lots)

Bob, the “Second Looie,” hard at work.

Brother Robert adds, “Dad chose navigator over bombardier because the training was shorter. Therefore he’d be commissioned—and paid more—sooner.” Seth adds: “As you may know Dad was a huge aviation fan. He was a navigator on B-24s but never saw European action. Rob followed in his footsteps and became a dynamite Navy pilot, seeing action in Vietnam and beyond. Even today he manages to fly Lear jets for a charter company. Just more history for the books.”

Bob (on left) and Dick Pawlowski in 1936. A few years later, both changed their names to Powell.

“Dad and Uncle Dick, 1936,” reads the caption to the photo at near right. “Uncle Dick” was Bob’s cousin Richard, who joined the Marines in 1940. In 1943, the two best friends changed their names to Powell about the time Bob enlisted. John says of the family name: “I have seen it as Powlowski, Pawlowska, and Pawlowski in news articles, paperwork, and engraved on his father’s sport medals (he was quite the local jock) from the early 1900s.”

The Powell Family Album! Part II

(Left:) Bob as a baseball catcher, with friend. (Right:) This dramatic page and cover both appeared in Street & Smith’s True Sports Picture Stories, Vol. 4, #3 (Sept. 1947). [Art ©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

The Jock Bob’s dad wasn’t the only athlete in the family. According to Powell’s first wife, Mrs. Florence Feustel, Bob “was a big man on campus as a football player and in ice hockey.” Son John adds: “Baseball and hockey were his universe as a kid, and he had an offer to play hockey professionally.” Bob’s experience came in handy drawing stories for True Sport Picture Stories—even fanciful ones featuring baseball-playing goats!

(Left:) This 1933 photo shows Bob (center), his dad (right), and one of the wrestlers Bob’s father managed. Bob was 16 when this pic was taken. John believes his grandpa died soon after.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

And Finally... We hope you enjoyed exploring the Powell Family Album as much as we did. Let’s look at a few final photos before we go. First, here are Bob and his parents Stanley and Jacqueline (Jakubina) Pawlowski around 1920. Mrs. P’s smile was unusual, says grandson John. “She was somewhat dour,” he explains. At bottom is a more typical pic of Bob and his mom from 1919. At far right we have Bob Powell holding Kroopka! Could this kid be any cuter? And finally, at bottom right, here’s Bob with the future Mrs. Powell in 1936, two years before beginning his comic book career. He was 16 when they began dating. Our sincere thanks go to the Powell family for sharing their memories and memorabilia. Thanks also to Ed Lane, Roy Thomas, and George Hagenauer for their generous assistance.

(Left:) Bob and his parents, Stanley and Jacqueline Pawlowski. (Right:) Did this kid star in The Little Rascals? Bob sure looks the part here!

Those interested in reading some of Powell’s best stories should check out the August 2007 issue of The Comics Journal, which will feature a full-color comic section reprinting some of that artist’s greatest horror stories—personally chosen by yours truly. Coming Two Issues from Now: Powell’s shockingly adult early-’60s Mike Hammer pastiche, Mike Mallet! (Next month’s “Crypt” will feature a special tribute to fandom—and Alter Ego—founder Jerry G. Bails.) Till next time...

Check out my websites at: www.michaeltgilbert.com and www.mrmonster.com

19-year-old Bob Pawlowski and Florence Dzimian, the future Mrs. Powell, in 1936.

Two-year-old Bob and his mom in 1919.

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Comic Fandom Archive

MARTY ARBUNICH and BILL DuBAY Remember The Good Old Days Of Comics Fandom Edited by Bill Schelly [NOTE: This interview is reprinted from the pages of Bill’s out-of-print 2002 volume Comic Fandom Reader. All photos & art provided by Bill Schelly.]

hen I initially got in touch with Marty Arbunich and Bill DuBay around Thanksgiving of 1994, during the process of researching my book The Golden Age of Comic Fandom, I found out that these two guys—who had teamed up to produce numerous comics fanzines in the early 1960s—were still the best of friends. Some of the publications for which they were known were: Fantasy Hero, Yancy Street Journal, Voice of Comicdom, Comic Caper, Fandom Presents, and All-Stars. Along with their friends Rudi Franke and Barry Bauman, they formed a publishing consortium called Golden Gate Features. I think it was Marty who suggested that he and Bill sit down and make a taped interview for me. I would supply a list of questions, and they would do their best to answer them. The finished tape was a sheer delight, not only for the information imparted, but for the way it captured the free-wheeling spirit of their friendship. Thus, I’m very pleased to print the transcript here—with very little editing. That way, their memories and repartee are presented in their most unvarnished and charming, form. I hope you enjoy it! —Bill. MARTY: Hi, Bill [Schelly]… this is Marty, and this is how I sound. BILL: …and this is how I sound. MARTY: So it’ll be up to Bill [Schelly] to figure it out, because he’s gonna have to transcribe this, not me. Let’s see. His first question is, “How and when did you meet?” That’s an easy question. BILL: Were you six or seven? Didn’t I kick your butt in the schoolyard? MARTY: It was in St. Paul’s Grammar School, right? BILL: That’s right. MARTY: What grade did we start at together? When did you first go to St. Paul’s Grammar School? BILL: First grade. MARTY: So I guess we started out in first grade, continued all the way through 8th grade. We both graduated from that… establishment. Moved on to a Catholic high school together, called Sacred Heart High School. I made it through four years, Bill made it through … two? That right? Before you got to the Big House? [laughs] BILL: Three. I decided, enough parochial school. Sacred Heart was an

all boys’ school, and I wanted at least one year of dating girls in high school. As I recall, Marty, you didn’t have one date for the entire four years. [laughter]

MARTY: No, that’s not true. BILL: Okay, there was that one. MARTY: I hope he doesn’t write all this stuff down as being fact. You can only tell the truth, Bill. Don’t exaggerate. Let’s make this real. Uh, so we answered question #1 for you. Question #2: “How and when did you first hear about comic fandom?” BILL: I read about it in the letters pages of some comic book and wrote away for my first fanzine, Alter Ego #5, March 1963, edited by Ronn Foss. When that arrived, my search for old comics shifted into high gear. That’s when the ongoing treasure hunt began in earnest. MARTY: Treasure hunt meaning… BILL: …the continuous search for old comics. I’d go into old bookstores and scrounge around in any corner that looked like it might be even remotely harboring some dusty old periodicals. A lot of the old bookstores in San Francisco used to sell cast-off comics in cellophane wrappers, two for a nickel. I think the treasure hunt is really what got you interested in comics, Marty. MARTY: Actually, it seemed like I got interested at the end of grammar school a little bit, ’cause I would come over to your house. BILL: No, we didn’t really get tight until high school. MARTY: You were living at 57 Chenery Street then. BILL: Right. We were in the same upper class at Sacred Heart. MARTY: Yeah, 9-B together. For me the thing that made it kind of interesting was, I guess you had brought up the idea of publishing our own fanzine. The idea of producing something… even though comics were kind-of interesting for me… it seemed that what was even more interesting was the production end of it—making something. Also, I quickly developed an appreciation of comics, and “collecting” fit into my lifestyle, still does to this day with other things. We had that common interest. I’m just trying to think, when we first started publishing, were you publishing something before I came along? BILL: I’d just started publishing Fantasy Hero. MARTY: Was it already out by that point? BILL: I don’t remember if I’d finished the first issue, or if we somehow came together in the process. I just remember that you had this intense

Marty Arbunich and Bill DuBay Remember The Good Old Days Of Comic Fandom

fanzine envy. Then you said something like, “Wow! If you can do this, anybody can.” (I always loved your subtle compliments.) My take was, “This is hard work! And this boy sounds like he can be finessed into doing some of the grunt load.” I drew strips for that thing, and wrote it cover to cover on those awful purple ditto masters. It was eventually printed in the high school basement by your favorite journalism teacher, Richard Perkins. He thought it was great for a kid to be so ambitious. MARTY: At the high school? BILL: Yeah! Tom Sawyer had nothing on me! And that ditto machine—when I saw it working away, I knew I had to have one. MARTY: We’re still talking about the first issue of Fantasy Hero here. BILL: Exactly. MARTY: Okay, let’s just take the questions in sequence. “Bill, you had a very unique art style. Who were your influences? Did you take art in school?” BILL: [laughs] No. We didn’t have art classes at Sacred Heart. It was all college prep; hard-core math, Latin, and Bible study. I was just a very adept thief. I stole from Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino, Steve Ditko, then finally progressed to Wally Wood. MARTY: So the answer is, you never took an art class or went to art school. How did you develop your style, then? How did you become so good at drawing? BILL: Thank you for the compliment. I never considered myself to be any good. I just keep working on learning how to draw… for about thirty years now. There have been times when I’ve actually had delusions of adequacy… but then I’ve come to my senses. Mostly, I just try to keep art fun. MARTY: “Were there any local clubs where you would get together with other fans in the very early days before comicons?” The only thing that I can remember that kind-of got me involved with other fans was the science-fiction convention that was out here, probably in 1964… there were a lot of comic book people there, a lot of sciencefiction people there, there were a lot of people that we eventually got involved with. And it was kind-of exciting because there was a buzz… there was something going on. That’s where we met Steve Perrin, if I’m not mistaken. BILL: No, we actually met him after he bought a copy of that first fanzine. He was attending classes at San Francisco State and just called one day. We got on well, but he was on his way out of town… to some Eastern college.

MARTY: And I think we did that with Steve; he was kind-of our hook to State College. That was probably in ’64 or ’65, if I’m not mistaken. BILL: We did this all through high school, Marty. ’63 through ’66. We were always into something. Remember Roger Brand, Tom Conroy? Then there was the other side, John Belfi and Jack Burnley. [sighs] We lived some adventures. MARTY: This leads to the next question: “How did you meet Rudi Franke and Barry Bauman? Who was the oldest, and youngest, of the Golden Gate four?” BILL: Rudi was the oldest. You were the youngest. By days.

MARTY: This is in what year?

MARTY: Me, you, and Barry were about the same age.

BILL: I’m remembering stories here. Leeway on the chronology.

BILL: Rudi was a schoolteacher… 28, 29… livin’ across the Bay… a whole world away. All of us liked comics. They dug the value. We jizzed on the art. All of us liked basketball. They kicked ass. We loved to play.

MARTY: This was right after we started publishing? BILL: Yeah. Sometime around then. I liked who he was, his ideas, the way he wrote. He knew stuff we didn’t. Especially about Burroughs. He introduced us to some awesome artists. I wish he would’ve stuck around longer. MARTY: We used to go out to SF State College to see the Captain Marvel serial. BILL: Every week. One episode at a time. With every aspiring hippie in the city…and some awesome smokin’ air. We were a couple of virgin Catholic school boys getting a preview of San Francisco’s Summer of Love. [sighs] Not somethin’ I’ll forget.

MARTY: Yeah, but I think that was discovered afterwards. I think when Heroes’ Hangout #2 came out, we got in touch with them. We just arranged for a meeting. “Let’s get together.” Because we were in the same, uh …line of work [laughs] And if I’m not mistaken, I think we hopped on a bus and went over to Oakland. It seemed like we went on this long voyage, and we got together with Rudi and Barry, and just marveled at their comic collections, because by that point, they had discovered that store.… BILL: Fort Knox.

Comic Fandom Archive

books. And he was the best I’ve ever seen at it. MARTY: It was weird. About three years ago, I ran into Barry Bauman down here on Clement Street in San Francisco, getting ready to audition for “open mike” at a comedy club! The guy was a nice guy back then and all, but I don’t remember him as being a card. BILL: Barry was wry. I can see him doing stand-up. A second-string Lenny Bruce. MARTY: As far as the publications go, I don’t think he had much input. Maybe he did more for the Heroes’ Hangout stuff. He was there when we met, but… BILL: Barry liked to see his name in print. And I think Rudy didn’t like making that drive across the Bridge alone. MARTY: I hope that answers your question there, Bill [Schelly]. Okay, “In 1964, you decided to merge Fantasy Hero and Heroes’ Hangout. Why?” Bill and I still wanted to continue publishing on our own, which we wound up doing with Yancy Street Journal. But we wanted to see what it would be like. I guess for me, what was exciting was the idea of having four people together, and kind-of mix their talents together. And I thought it was really exciting, and especially the idea of Rudi and Bill drawing something together, which in reality sort-of turned out as kind of a disaster. BILL: I wouldn’t call it a disaster. It’s an interesting memory. MARTY: Your styles didn’t really go that well together, but in theory I thought it was going to be really exciting, and it kind-of was there for a while. Golden Gate’s Fandom Presents (1964) attempted to provide an index of all the amateur super-heroes created in fanzines by that time. The DuBay/ Franke cover featured several of the most prominent: Ronn Foss’ The Eclipse, DuBay’s Gray Grasshopper, Black Scorpion, The Changling [sic], and Biljo White’s The Eye, among others. It was one of the thickest fanzines produced up to that time, with 100 pages! [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

MARTY: …a goldmine of comics in a store up in Sacramento called the Liberty Book Store. They wound up making a fortune off of that stuff, or at least they had a big enough collection that they could eventually make a fortune off of it. One of the things that we wound up doing is playing basketball, so Bill and I would be the San Francisco guys against the Oakland guys. I think Bill and I would win most of those games. BILL: I remember getting my butt kicked more often than not. [laughs] Marty was Wilt the Stilt. I was a spastic Meadowlark Lemon. Those East Bay boys were playground sharks that could tear you up on the court. MARTY: I think I was about six-one by then. Through those meetings, I would borrow comics from them, which would give me a reason to go over there, and we’d say, “Hey, how about producing something together?” BILL: Rudi wanted to collaborate. I smelled Tom Sawyer karma, but I still bit. He was a teacher, for God’s sake. I was a Catholic school boy, pre-programmed for a positive response to authority figures. I acquiesced. We published a few things. MARTY: I do remember that obviously you were writing and drawing, I was doing some writing… Rudi pretty much was drawing. What did Barry do?? [laughs] I don’t recall Barry having a special talent, or actually even wanting to get involved in producing these things. He was always kind-of on the side selling stuff, y’know? Or he had some little scam going on, am I right? BILL: Barry was dealing. He dealt in the commodity of old comic

BILL: Rudi and Barry expanded our horizons in a lot of ways. Whole East Bay opened up to the Catholic boys. The people, the scents, the journey. We were exploring. MARTY: Well, yeah. But I also thought that that came about by way of our getting our hands on all those other fanzine publications, and we could see how other people operated, and I think that’s where we got some of our ideas. BILL: Ideas were everywhere. We were growing. MARTY: Pretty much. It was pretty contrived, I thought, but it was fun. BILL: Fun. MARTY: Okay, next question. “The newspaper format of Voice of Comicdom and eventually Yancy Street Journal was unique. Who did the lay-outs and paste-ups?” BILL: Look. I’m a Capricorn, a Catholic, first son of a first son from a long line of way-too-responsible Aristocratic French. The newspaper format looked clean, easy, do-able. And it intrigued me. Printing cost us 2H¢ a copy. We charged 50¢ or so. It all made sense to me. MARTY: I hadn’t seen Yancy Street Journal for quite a while, but I thought that… BILL: Marty typed up every column of every page in every issue of the Yancy Street Journal. Layouts and designs are all his. He was particularly proud of the little printer’s bugs that he put at the end of every article. He’d hunt new ones down as avidly as he hunted funnybooks. MARTY: Really? I did the layouts on that? BILL: Yes, you did. I remember going to your place one day and you being so pleased with what you’d done. You’d seen me pasting up type and designing pages for years and here, finally, you’d done a whole page, all on your own. You were in blushing hog heaven.

Marty Arbunich and Bill DuBay Remember The Good Old Days Of Comic Fandom

MARTY: …I’d leave block areas where you could drop in the drawing. BILL: Wherever your article ended, that’s where it ended, and I’d get a hole to fill. MARTY: There was kind-of a squared-off look to the pages, and I would just leave an open, area, and say, “Bill? Do somethin’ nice, y’know?” Or I may have had my own idea. I may have said, “I want a picture of Spider-Man, and he’s gotta be hanging from a tree….” That sounds more like me. BILL: You were pretty demanding. But, I usually had a good time working up your art. What I hated doing was typing and retyping those columns of type for Voice of Comicdom. Remember that? We’d rework entire pages of type just so the columns were justified. MARTY: Oh, man… BILL: Nightmare! MARTY: We had to count the spaces. Well, we were really concerned about the look of things, and we knew we were only going to do it once, and we wanted it right. Even though it didn’t always look right, but … dealing with ditto masters.… BILL: We’re talking about Voice of Comicdom and Yancy. No ditto masters by that point. MARTY: Right, but when we were dealing with ditto masters, there were a lot of limitations, and we had to, at some point, give up. There were times when we’d be running the thing off, and the ditto master would start to split, and we’d start to pull our hair out, and we’d continue to print it, because no way in the world were we gonna re-do that. BILL: Every page a work of original art, complete with all that typing. MARTY: Which brings to mind that we did, eventually, buy a ditto machine. It was set up in my parents’ garage, which became our publishing headquarters. Though, in the very beginning, our writing and drawing was done at Bill’s house from what I remember…which was only a few blocks away. After we were publishing about six or eight months, we bought a ditto machine. We started off with a mimeo machine; we had one in our possession. BILL: I remember that. The baby mimeo. For postcards, matchbooks, and fake IDs. MARTY: Though I don’t remember ever publishing anything on mimeo. But the ditto machine was in my parents’ garage, or basement, and we spent a lot of time down there, just grinding it out, with reams and reams of paper. BILL: The makeshift print shop dungeon. MARTY: But as for the layouts on Yancy Street Journal, I did them, and for Voice of Comicdom, most of the layouts were done by you, right? BILL: Marty was into Marvel. My interests were more diverse.

(Right:) To publicize their “publishing consortium” called Golden Gate Features, the foursome put together this ad sheet, which was unique at the time for its use of “intimate” photographs. [Art ©2007 Bill Dubay.]

MARTY: I guess we’ve answered his next question, “Was there a Golden Gate Features office?” At Bill’s typewriter at his house, and I think after we got a ditto machine, I spent less time over at his house and did most of my writing at home, because I eventually got a clunker typewriter, an Underwood, of my own. Next question: “Did you four have regular Golden Gate meetings?” BILL: Only on the basketball court. MARTY: Most of them were over at the East Bay at Rudi’s house. It was his parents’ house. But it was comfortable because we could go in back in the shed and have our meetings. BILL: I wouldn’t call that comfort. MARTY: Well, you could get away from other people. And there was also a basketball set-up right outside. “Did you live in close proximity so it was easy to get together?” Bill and I lived about five minutes away from each other… Bill on Chenery Street, three different locations on that street… and I lived on a street called Gladys. BILL: This in San Francisco’s notorious Mission. MARTY: “Any details on how you operated as a foursome would be appreciated.” How did we do the production…? BILL: Like Huck and the boys. We did the interviews, research, articles, art, design, layout, print production, and fence-painting.

Comic Fandom Archive No way could we reproduce this first page of Voice of Comicdom #4 (April 1965, but “published irregularly”) big enough for you to read! But at least it suggests the kind of thing “comicom’s first newspaper” was all about. By the way, the gent at top left of the page is pro artist William Overgard. [Steve Roper art ©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

[NOTE FROM BILL SHELLY: This is the end of the uninterrupted transcript. What follows are my italicized paraphrases of parts of the conversation, interspersed with quotes from the tape.] BILL: I always liked Micky Martin. Last I heard he was a TV columnist for The Sacramento Bee and producing an annual book of movie reviews. Steve Kelez also lived in the city for a while. He was into films and old radio shows. They wonder if he perhaps had published The Gotham Gazette, a sort of supplement to Biljo White’s Batmania. There was also what one of them calls “a loud-mouthed midget named Bob Metz.” Bill says he’d have loved to strangle that kid. They knew him from Catholic school. BILL: It was like we were on a perpetual scavenger hunt. There probably wasn’t a day Marty and I didn’t venture out exploring. We were joined at the hip at that point. MARTY: Our biggest find, which doesn’t compare to Rudi and Barry’s Liberty Book Store avalanche, was a store on 24th Street called Al Fry’s Five-and-Dime. And Al hadn’t been open in 25 years, but we used to always stare in the window, and there was a little sign that said, “If You Need Assistance, Call Al in the Alley.” So, we decided to call him. So we yelled, “Alllll!” Fifteen minutes later, this old guy came down, and said, “What do you want?” We asked if he had any comics. He said, “Oh, I think I’ve got a few. But you have to come back next week.” To make a long story short, we wound up with about 100 copies of Detective Comics #59, at a price of two for a nickel! All in perfect mint condition! BILL: We traded them for everything under the sun. Added some real gems to our collections. Rudy and Barry would ask us how it was coming. I remember one awful time when Marty diligently spent months reading, cataloging, and writing this lengthy supposed-feature dissertation on the most horrible line of comics anyone had ever dredged from a newsstand.… MARTY: It was Nedor Comics. BILL: Rudi and Barry supplied you with the comics, hoping your article would make the books popular enough to dump on a hungry market. Didn’t work. MARTY: I figured that, since Rudi and Barry had almost the entire line of Nedor Comics, if there was ever anyone who was going to write a definitive retrospective history.… BILL: That you would even attempt to do such a thing astounds me to this day. MARTY: We were pretty good about deadlines. We would set deadlines for ourselves, and we would say, we want to have this thing out by August, for example… and we were good at crunching it away, and staying up until all hours until it was done. BILL: Discipline’s one thing good Catholic boys’re usually pretty righteous about. We’re also pretty good at being suckered. Rudy and Barry, God love ’em, knew that.

MARTY: It was fun spending time hunting comics together, scouring through, oh, about twenty bookstores. BILL: We loved the medium, story and art—as well as the discovery of new/old material. Larger print runs, they say, were they reason they went to photooffset printing. With ditto, they could only do 200-300 copies; all their offset publications, starting with Voice of Comicdom #2, were produced in runs of at least a thousand copies, and even more on later issues. As to why they didn’t do more issues of All-Stars, they say that that zine was “the beginning of the end” as far as their interest went. A lot of production delays soured them on publishing. A friend of Barry’s was to do the printing, and ended up causing the fanzine to be about a year late. MARTY: “Question: How did you manage to get Ditko to do that great front cover for All-Stars?” Steve Ditko was someone I was in touch with. We exchanged letters, and he was always happy to help us out. [Ditko’s All-Stars #1 cover has been reprinted in the Golden Age of Fandom and elsewhere.] In his senior year, Bill says he went to another school, Balboa High School. He discovered girls. Marty was the editor of the Sacred

Marty Arbunich and Bill DuBay Remember The Good Old Days Of Comic Fandom

Heart High School newspaper. In early 1966, Marty got involved in the San Francisco music scene, and Bill got married in 1967. Once Bill left town, went into the Army, Marty lost interest in comics fandom.

MARTY: But it didn’t come out often enough. What did it come out, every six months?

When Bill was discharged from the Army, where he had edited the Fort Bragg newspaper for two years, he returned to California and entered college. Marty and Bill hooked up again to publish the short-lived Bay Area Entertainment, a local newspaper of movie reviews, interviews, and record reviews, while both were maxing the journalism courses at separate colleges. They remained best friends the entire time.

MARTY: If it was monthly, I could live with it, but it just didn’t work that way.

Then Bill, who was freelancing for Jim Warren’s magazines, was offered a staff position in New York. He left California and worked as editor of Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, The Rook, Goblin, and the Warren Film Specials for twelve years before again returning. Marty opened, owned, and operated a popular San Francisco record store for 17 years. Collecting records replaced collecting comics. He founded two record labels and reissued music from the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s.

BILL: My interests were… expanding at that time.

BILL: People seemed to like it. It got a good reception. It wasn’t criticized. And it was a prelude, of sorts, to our later collaborative newspaper work. MARTY: Although I was proud of it all, I guess I was especially proud of Fantasy Heroes’ Hangout. With the idea that we merged with these other guys to put this thing out, and that to me seemed really exciting. BILL: Makes me wince. But the memories are nice. MARTY: Yeah, it wasn’t that good. But, just the idea that we merged talent, so to speak. Another Bill Schelly question: “Is there anything you’d like to add about the feel or atmosphere of those old days of fandom?”

MARTY: Question: “What was your favorite of all the fanzines you guys did?”

BILL: It was punctuated with the sweet smell of innocence and naiveté. We were on a perpetual treasure hunt for old stories, artists, history. And we loved sharing that with each other.

BILL: I liked the Yancy Street Journal. I wasn’t into Marvel, but you were… and your enthusiasm was always contagious. I liked that. I also liked the idea that you got your mother to do a lot of the grunt work.

MARTY: We never really collected because of value.

MARTY: She was distribution manager, right? BILL: And chief cook and bottle washer. You toed her line. And you published on time! All remembered fondly. MARTY: I’d say that YSJ was my favorite… but I don’t think it was necessarily the best thing that we put together. I always thought that Fantasy Hero had a lot of meat; you could read that thing for days. I think that was our best. That was catching what we did in our prime, you know? When we were most excited about publishing. BILL: I enjoyed the Voice of Comicdom’s newspaper-style comic strips. Having Biljo White, Ronn Foss, Tom Conroy, and Roger Brand come together as contributors. I loved their work.

BILL: It was about discovery, art, history. And all of it awed us. Once I discovered comics, there was never any question about what I wanted to do with my life. While still in high school, I submitted to every publisher and eventually was assigned a script by the editor at Charlton. I was paid the grand sum of $20 a page, plus $2 for lettering. Go-Go Comics. 1966. Only lasted until my high school graduation because the Army took me. That’s when Marty and I went our separate ways. POSTSCRIPT FROM BILL SCHELLY: I also chatted with Barry Bauman around this time, though I didn’t have the presence of mind to record that conversation. I regret that all the more because, a few years later, Barry was tragically killed in an automobile accident.

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In Memoriam

SAM BURLOCKOFF A/E

(1924-2007)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Golden Age artist Sam Burlockoff, who passed away recently, was interviewed in Alter Ego #32 by Jim Amash. That issue also featured a talk with his contemporary and good friend Allen Bellman. Each of these gentlemen wished to pay a few last respects to Sam.

“I’ll Miss Sam A Lot” by Jim Amash For many years, Sam Burlockoff was just a name on a list of Quality Comics inkers that I saw in Steranko’s History of the Comics. His last name stuck in my mind because it was unusual. Since I was totally unaware of his style or anything else about him, I never gave him much thought. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who made that mistake. I had never seen a Sam Burlockoff interview, and, as I later learned, only one person had ever bothered to contact him before I had—and that person didn’t bother to interview him. When I started interviewing Quality Comics people, I decided it was time to talk to Burlockoff. Here’s a little of what I learned. Sam started doing comics while still in high school, on a “Human Torch” story, with Chic Stone and Allen Bellman working from Sam’s layouts. From there, he went to Lloyd Jacquet’s Funnies, Inc., comics shop, inking “Sub-Mariner” for a while, until fellow staffer Harry Sahle convinced Sam to work with him for MLJ. With and without Sahle, Sam inked “Archie” (over Bob Montana), “The Shield”(over Irv Novick), “Dusty,” and “The Web.” At Lev Gleason, he drew some Crime Does Not Pay stories, and in the late 1940s he inked others by Dan Barry and Mike Roy, with whom Sam shared a studio. Sam met Paul Reinman at MLJ, inking him on several features for

that company, as well as on DC’s “Green Lantern” and “Wildcat.” From 1943 to 1946, Sam served in the Army Air Forces. When he came back to the States, Sam resumed his comics career, inking Harry Sahle on Quality’s “Candy” feature. He also became a footnote in history when, along with Mike Roy, Harry Sahle, and Mickey Spillane, he participated in the startup of a new comics company. Its first comic was going to be Mike Danger Mystery Comics, and Sam drew one, possibly two, “Mike When Good Friends Get Together Danger” stories, before Sam Burlockoff (left) and Allen Bellman met the venture fell through. again for the first time in decades in 2003, Immediately afterwards, when each learned about the other from Spillane found fame and someone who was interviewing him for fortune by turning Mike Alter Ego #32. Photo by Roz Bellman. Danger into Mike Below left, a Burlockoff page from the story Hammer. In 1953, one of “Murder Will Out!” in Timely’s Uncanny Tales Sam’s “Mike Danger” #10 (July 1953); with thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. The splash of this tale was reprinted stories was inexplicably in A/E #32. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.] printed in Crime Detector #3, unheralded by the publisher, and virtually unnoticed by the world. In the meantime, Sam found steady employment at Quality, inking Jack Cole, John Spranger, and Alex Kotzky on “Plastic Man,” while also inking Reed Crandall on “Blackhawk,” and later on “Ken Shannon.” He also inked other features there before moving on to other companies such as Eastern Color [Famous Funnies], Fawcett [inking Destination Moon for Dick Rockwell], Hillman, Timely, St. John, Toby Press, and DC. At some of these firms, Sam inked his friends Mike Roy, Dan Barry, and Alex Kotzky. He also inked them, respectively, on the Saint, Flash Gordon, and Apartment 3-G newspaper strips. After an altercation with DC editor Robert Kanigher, Sam went to work drawing coloring books and ad work, before landing a job (on Mike Roy’s recommendation) with the United States Information Agency, Press and Publication. One of Sam’s bosses was heading an agency division known as The Voice of America; his name was Edward R. Morrow. Sam never tired of talking about the great onetime CBS News legend, whom he found to be charming and completely downto-Earth. It was a career highlight for Sam. He worked for the USIA until retiring to a life of painting and relaxation. Sam and I were very close friends, always talking family, baseball, comics, and politics. He was a devoted family man; a positive-thinking, laid-back, gentle man, who seldom showed any temperament or negativity. Only twice did he offer negative opinions on people: Robert Kanigher, and an art dealer whose rudeness in trying to buy a Crandall

Sam Burlockoff

“Blackhawk” original (as well abrasively asking questions after Sam declined to be interviewed) was such that Sam lost any interest in comics fandom, outside of Allen Bellman, Roy Thomas, and me. I’ll miss Sam a lot. Good people leave a void when they depart from this world, but as long as they exist in the memories of those who knew them, they tend to stay around a bit longer. Thankfully.

“You Will Always Be ‘Sammy’ To Me” by Allen Bellman I first met Sammy when we were students at William J. Gaynor Junior High School in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. He liked to draw, I liked to draw, and we soon became close friends. We were in our early teens, and at times we discussed which of us was going to be the first to lose his virginity. But art was really our first love, and we both admired Milton Caniff, whose Terry and the Pirates comic strip was very popular among adults and young aspiring cartoonists such as us. I can remember well when Caniff was to appear on a radio program as a guest. Well, we couldn’t let this pass us by, but we didn’t have tickets, so we pulled an Abbott and Costello routine in front of the tickettaker. Pretending to be bewildered and searching my pockets, I turned to Sammy, asking him if he had the tickets. Sammy took his cue and replied, “No, you had them,” and this went on for a couple of minutes

until the ticket-taker, with a smile on his face, told us to go on in. Sammy had lots of talent in his ability to draw; he had this knack which for other artists took longer to achieve. His work with Quality Comics was recognized by such greats as Reed Crandall, Alex Kotzky, Jack Cole, and many others. If any of them needed help, they would call on Sammy. Though he had his own work to do, he never said no to his fellow artists. He worked for the very best, including DC, Marvel, etc. When he and his future wife Dolores met, she told me that Sam wooed her by singing love songs to her. He had a great sense of humor and always had a smile on his face. They married and had a daughter named Barbara. In the late 1950s, Sammy received a call from artist Mike Roy, asking him to come to Washington, DC, to work under Edward R. Murrow in a government-sponsored program publishing comic books in both Japanese and Russian. He accepted, and shortly afterward the Burlockoff family were on their way to the nation’s capital. As the years passed, Sammy and I lost track of each other. Through a freak happening, we were united 50 or 60 years later by writer/artist Jim Amash and Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, a New York dentist, comic collector, and comics historian. Michael was doing an interview with me for Alter Ego while Jim was doing the same with Sam Burlockoff. I mentioned Sammy many times to “Doc,” not knowing if he was still alive, and not knowing that he (Sammy) was saying the same to Jim Amash. It was by chance that both men mentioned our names in conversation, and then it was the miracle of all times that reunited us, in a story that couldn’t even happen in fiction. I cannot remember who called first. I learned that they lived in Spring Hill, a town just above Tampa in Florida, but that didn’t stop us from getting ready for this six-hour trip—of course, by invitation. It was a tough ride trying to stay away from the large trucks, but we were fueled by the anticipation of seeing Sammy and his wife after all these years. I had met his family when we lived in the town of East Meadow, NY, when we were, oh, so young, and their daughter Barbara was about two or three.

Drawing Wars Hot And Cold (Above:) Burlockoff illustrated war comics for both Timely and DC. This page from “Flare-Up in Fuchon” appeared in the former’s Battlefront #12 (July 1953); its splash, too, saw print in A/E #32. Thanks to Doc V. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.] (Top right:) After he left comics, Sam worked for years for The Voice of America, started by Edward R. Murrow. These panels are from one of the many comics-style features he drew for that agency. Sam himself supplied this art in 2003. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Finally we were approaching the Burlockoff home, and there, waiting for us in their driveway, were the Burlockoffs. “Jeez, that can’t be Sammy, he must have grown since I saw him last.” Where was his thick head of hair? But one thing that hadn’t changed was his voice. He was not Sammy any more; he had earned the right to be called Sam. It just didn’t seem right to refer to him as Sammy, no, indeed. We had so much to talk about, specially when he said he remembered my mother’s pickled lox and how I enjoyed eating Kielbasa in his parents’ home. Sammy—yes, my friend, you will always be “Sammy” to me—has left us, and I wonder if they print comic books in Heaven.

In Memoriam

JOE GILL (1919-2006)

He “Enjoyed Writing A Lot Of Comics”

by Michael Ambrose

he comics field lost a giant when Joe Gill passed away on December 17, 2006, at age 87, following a short illness. His comics career spanned forty years, with stories for every major publisher, including Timely, DC, Dell, Western, St. John, and, most famously, Charlton. He is widely but unofficially recognized as one of the most prolific comics writers of all time. But Joe scripted much more than just comic books; he also wrote comic strips (Mickey Spillane’s Mike Danger), magazine features, short stories, novels, technical manuals, even college dissertations to order. By any objective criteria, he should be ranked as one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century.

Joseph Paul Gill was born July 13, 1919, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and grew up in nearby Minooka. He later moved to Brooklyn, New York, and worked odd jobs during his youth, at one of which in 1940 he met his lifelong friend Mickey Spillane. Joe enlisted in the Coast Guard in September 1941, saw duty in the North Atlantic, was later attached to the Navy as a radioman first class, and saw action in the Pacific during World War II. As communications chief on board attack transport USS APA 37 Cavalier, Joe was responsible for getting out the signal that saved his ship following a Japanese torpedo attack in January 1944. Discharged in November 1945 and intending to reenlist, he spent his off-time helping Spillane and brother Ray Gill set up a studio to service comics supplier Lloyd Jacquet’s Funnies, Inc. As Joe related in his long interview with Jim Amash in July 2005 (published in Charlton Spotlight #5, Fall 2006), Ray and Mickey told him that one of the new desks was his. “I had never even dreamed of writing comics,” Joe said, but he began his new career with a will. Joe’s first work was text stories for the “Edison Bell” series in Novelty Press’s Blue Bolt Comics and sports fillers in Don Fortune, both in 1946. He then began writing comics scripts for Stan Lee at Timely, doing Westerns, adventure, and leading super-hero characters Captain America, The Human Torch, and The Sub-Mariner. Comics publishing retrenched in the late 1940s, and Joe went back into the service. In 1947 he enlisted in the merchant marine, serving on ships returning the bodies of fallen soldiers from Europe. He was a staff sergeant in the Air Force Reserve during the Korean War and was called up to active duty, stationed in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. Joe continued to write comics and began developing a legendary reputation for speed and quantity. In 1955, tired of pounding the streets for assignments and the uncertainties of payment, Joe was recruited by comics packager and Charlton Comics editor Al Fago as a staff writer for Charlton Press in Derby, Connecticut—a fateful move. He soon became chief writer and held that post for the next thirty years. “They asked me if I could write 25 pages a week, and I said, ‘I’ll try,’” he said with a chuckle. Joe quickly ramped up to a steady pace of 125 or more pages a week, for one of the lowest page rates in the industry. The advantage to Joe and Charlton’s stable of freelance and staff artists was

Fame And [Don] Fortune (Left:) Joe Gill at the typewriter, probably late 1950s. Photo courtesy of Joe. [©2007 Estate of Joe Gill.] (Right:) Cover of Don Fortune Magazine #2 (Sept. 1946), which featured Joe’s “Wet Track Trouble,” a 4-page text story. Artist unknown. Image courtesy of the Grand Comic Book Database. [©2007 the respective copyright holder.]

that Charlton paid on time, every week, and work was plentiful. At Charlton, Joe wrote for every comics title published, in every genre: Westerns, war, adventure, science-fiction, mystery, horror, crime, kid and teen humor, hot rods, animated, romance, and anything else he was called on to do. “I did a weekly shopping list,” said Joe. “I’d probably have five comics down there. I just started at the top and worked my way to the bottom.” Joe originated almost all the continuing characters and series Charlton published, including most famously “Captain Atom” (with Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko), “Peacemaker,” “The Fightin’ Five,” and Doomsday+1 (with a young John Byrne). He scripted Blue Beetle, Hercules, Sarge Steel, and The Phantom, as well as comics based on live-action TV series Emergency!, Space: 1999, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Bionic Woman. He wrote the Popeye series and all the Hanna-Barbera titles, plus many special projects for King Features Syndicate. At the same time, he wrote for DC’s Hot Wheels, Secret Six, and House of Mystery; at Dell, he did Mission: Impossible and T.H.E. Cat, among other licensed properties. In addition to Ditko and Byrne, Joe collaborated with Al Williamson, Alex Toth, Sam Glanzman, Joe Staton, Dick Giordano, Jim Aparo, Tom Sutton, Pat Boyette, Chic Stone, Mike Zeck, Don Newton—a who’s who of topflight artists. Joe was proud of the quantity of his work but had no illusions about its quality. “I’d just as soon not be identified with a lot of those books!” he said candidly. “I was important to [Charlton] because I was churning out this crap at a phenomenal rate for a very low rate. They needed me.” Joe also wrote for Charlton’s magazine line, the real moneymakers for the company (comics were always a Charlton sideline), in a wide range of genres—history, adventure, true confession, boating,

Joe Gill

Up An’ Atom, Cap’n (Left:) Splash of the Joe Gill-written World War II story “Academy Man!” from Attack #54, 1958 (a Charlton 100-page giant); art by Sam Glanzman. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.] (Right:) Perhaps Gill’s most famous co-creation was the early Silver Age super-hero Captain Atom. Seen here is co-creator Steve Ditko’s cover for Space Adventures #37 (Dec. 1960). The complete run of Gill’s “Captain Atom” work can be seen in DC’s The Action Heroes Archives, Vol. 1, published in 2004. [©2007 DC Comics.]

automotive, police procedural, you name it—sometimes providing the entire package. When Charlton ceased publishing original comics in 1976, Joe stayed on with the company, continuing to package and edit for the magazine line. He finally retired from Charlton, and from professional writing, around 1990. I first got to know Joe when I launched my magazine Charlton Spotlight in 2000; Joe contributed commentary about Pat Boyette for the first issue and was an enthusiastic supporter of succeeding outings. At one point I approached him about writing his autobiography, which I would happily publish. Joe demurred, citing an inability to do that much typing anymore, but I think the real reason he declined was that he thought nobody would be interested. Joe had seen a lot of tragedy and struggle in his life, including a long battle with alcoholism and the loss of his wife and son, but the stories he could tell about the early days of comics publishing and the personalities he’d known could easily have filled a long book. He told me that he wrote half a dozen novels in his first few years of retirement, “just to keep busy,” but I don’t think he ever submitted them to an editor. I did manage to devote the lion’s share of Charlton Spotlight #5 to a celebration of Joe’s career. In his last years, Joe devoted his time to daily poker and pool sessions with pals at the local senior center. He was sharp to the end. Joe’s niece Carol Anderson (eldest daughter of brother and fellow comics pro Ray Gill) said that Joe “could tell you all the baseball stats

and knew to a soldier how many had been lost in Iraq. He even told me his Morse Code skills were in fine shape, and if they would take him (and if they still used Code) he would volunteer in a second!” In his Spotlight interview, Joe said, “I enjoyed writing a lot of comics. I enjoyed writing the animated books. I’d sit there laughing to myself when I wrote something funny.” Joe is survived by two nieces, a nephew and a cousin. He was laid quietly to rest in Bridgeport, Connecticut, alongside his wife and son.

Thanks for sharing such memories as you had, Al. Lessee—we started with an illo from Germany, then a missive from America—and now, from Italy, comes an e-mail from the selfsame Alberto Becattini who helped us compile the massive Bob Powell Checklist seen last month. It seems we can’t publish an issue that Alberto can’t improve on—and we thank him for his time and trouble, even if it was a whole year ago! A Happy New Year 2006 to you and Dann, Roy! Following are a few notes about A/E #55: Ken Bald Interview: On p. 16, Bald says that he drew the Judd Saxon strip until the end of 1961, and that was right after he started drawing Dr. Kildare. Now, that all actually happened in 1962, because Judd Saxon (written by Jerry Brondfield) ran daily from 8 April 1957 until 8 October 1962. Dr. Kildare started in daily form on 15 October 1962 (a Sunday page followed on 19 April 1964).

ncoming! Roy Thomas, as usual—to thank Andreas Gottschlich for the above Kirbyesque rendering of our “maskot” Alter Ego and an unidentified ladyfriend (either that, or else Rob Lindsay has undergone a startling transformation). Our buddy over in Germany did this drawing especially for our letters section. [Art ©2007 Andreas Gottschlich; Alter Ego TM & ©2007 Roy & Dann Thomas.] Alter Ego #55 was a Fawcett special, from our Alex Ross Marvel Family cover through our interviews with onetime Fawcett artists Ken Bald, Vic Dowd, and Bob Boyajian through P.C. Hamerlinck’s doublesize FCA section, which spotlighted a 1973 conversation between Jack and Otto Binder, a piece by Marc Swayze, et al.—with other sterling items in between. And then there was our last-to-date “flip” section, a “brand new 1943 pin-up calendar” digitally rendered by Alex Wright, plus some pros’ Christmas art. The flip cover of World War II lovely Veronica Lake as Liberty Belle—who in fact was almost certainly modeled after the blonde with the peekaboo hairstyle—earned me an ecstatic message left on my answering machine by writer Harlan Ellison, who was clearly delighted to see it. Your response alone made the whole project worthwhile, Harlan. (So why wasn’t I smart enough to transcribe your message for running in this letters section, before it got deleted?)

Still, on p. 16, Bald says he doesn’t remember who wrote the Dark Shadows strip. Well, there’s nothing certain about that, but my guess are Jerry Caplin (Al [Capp] and Elliot’s older brother) or Howard Liss. Both were staff writers at NEA. What is certain is that Judd Saxon and Dr. Kildare and Dark Shadows were all lettered by Ben Oda. Comic Crypt – John Stanley, Part III: The picture on p. 43 portrays the members of the Kay Kamen Merchandising Dept. in 1937, and precisely: (back row) Lou Dunette, Fritz Mochow, Clarence Allen, Henry Bausili, John Stanley; (front row) Al Pearson, Lou Lispi. By the way, this became the Disney merchandising department after Kay Kamen’s tragic death in an air crash in 1949. Alberto Becattini Hey, looks like we got off kinda light in #55, Alberto. Only three

Now, on to things that were written down about A/E #55, even if only in ephemeral e-mails, starting with this note from Al Jaffee, perennial artist/writer for Mad and, three-score years ago, for Timely/Marvel (as per his interview in A/E #35): Roy, You asked if I knew certain people associated with Timely years ago. The answer is yes and no. In the late ’40s I was on staff at Timely and most of the people you mentioned were freelance. However, when Ken Bald, Vic Dowd, and Gene Colan came in to deliver work, we were all eager to see their latest opuses (or is that “opi”?). These fellows were top illustrators, and Stan Lee hoped their work would inspire the rest of us. I did often see Ken, Vic, and Gene, but only enough to say hello. Ken and Vic were two very handsome gents who looked like they’d stepped out of fashion ads. Gene was very young (I think about 18 when I first saw him) and impressively talented. Another reason I did not get to know them better is that I dealt entirely in humor and teen comics, and their dealings were in romance and adventure. The Binder names are very familiar, but I don’t recall meeting them. Also, Boyajian and Carrabotta are not recalled by my evanescent memory. Al Jaffee

The Wright Stuff This composite by Alex Wright features the dozen WWII-era Hollywood stars and pin-ups who portrayed DC/Quality/Fawcett super-heroines in his “1943 calendar,” which was featured in A/E #55. [Composition ©2007 Alex Wright; characters TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

[comments, correspondence, & corrections]

names or initials into the features one way or another. The “Blackstone” page featured in the Vic Dowd interview [on p. 25] contains a teeny tiny “dowd” amongst the otherwise little “o’s” that dot the base of the pillars of the pin-up page. What was really great was that Jim V. owns the issue Super Magician #5 for May 1942 and was able to send the whole page to A/E and blow up the sneak… and, when he was doing so, Jim asked his Karen if she could spot the sneak… and, lo and behold, she pointed to yet another sneak!!… one both Jim and I had missed entirely…so please credit Karen Lane for being a sneakfinder par excellence. Her find can be seen near the holster.

The Bald Truth These two specimens of Ken Bald’s work demonstrate his amazing versatility: a splash page from Cindy #24 (Fall 1947), actually the first issue of that Timely teenage title… and the cover of the American Comic Group’s Adventures into the Unknown #31 (May 1952). With thanks for the respective scans to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo and Scotty Moore. [Cindy cover ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.; AITU cover ©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

paragraphs of additions and corrections! One of our regrets about A/E #55 is that, although Hames Ware and Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., provided a delightful sidebar on both Vic Dowd and great “sneaks” of artists’ signatures in general, somehow the actual piece of Dowd’s “Blackstone” art that was to be spotlighted wound up detached from what Hames called “the wonderful sneak I discovered as a teenager… which is shown but as if it’s from some different piece”… and the sidebar itself somehow got misplaced. So Hames Ware did his level best to re-create that short piece, which we’re printed below before something happens to it:

“Sneaks” by Hames Ware Interviewee Vic Dowd may well hold the record for the tiniest sneak ever done in comics! Back when I was a kid, as I’ve written about at other times, I operated under the premise (later of course to be proven wrong) that every artist signed… somewhere. And thus my young eyes would often pore over every nook and cranny of an apparently unsigned comic feature. Amazingly, I was often rewarded with happy results, as a number of cartoonists, for a variety of reasons, often did work their

“Sneak” Attack! We printed this pin-up, credited to comics shop head Jack Binder, from Street & Smith’s Super Magician #5 (May 1942) back in A/E #55; but at that time we failed to point out the sneaks clearly enough… so we’ll let Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., do it this time, expanding upon Hames Ware’s missive on this page. “Sneak One is at the bottom of the pillar on the right side of the drawing,” he writes, “and Sneak Two is on the handle of the pistol in Blackstone’s holster (which is the one Karen found).” See the insets for a closer look. Thanks to Jim V. for the scan. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Again, when a kid, I also found another wonderful sneak in this same issue. Background artist Clarence Rousch put his last name with a variant spelling (“Roush”) on the beautifully ornate centerfold that seemed to be a specialty of the [Jack] Binder shop at Street & Smith. Oh, and just a few other notes: that’s Ken Battefield on the drawing of Minute-Man striding along on p. 26. That’s Harry Anderson on “Lance

re:

Rousch Hour This great double-page spread of Blackstone (who was a real-life stage magician) from Super Magician #5 contains a “sneak” by Binder shop background artist Clarence Rousch, as noted in the blown-up detail…only for some reason he left the “c” out of his name. Go figure! Thanks again to Jim V. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

O’Casey” on p. 38. And no need to wonder any longer what Clement Weisbecker’s art looked like. The man was prolific and his art instantly recognizable, and Jim V. can supply you with ample examples. [Fawcett editor] Wendell Crowley recited hilarious stories about Weisbecker, who, Wendell said, would often hold up a piece he was working on and say, “Fellas, ain’t this the prettiest blankety-blankety-blank piece of blankety-blank you’ve ever laid eyes on!!??” And may I echo Vic Dowd’s praise of Jack Hearne. Hearne is mostly unknown to comics fans, due to his choice of working at companies like Novelty via Jacquet’s shop, but if you want to see just how good he is, take a look at the original Classics Illustrated edition of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. He also did many hardcover illos… several for the Alfred Hitchcock series of The Young Investigators. There was another Fawcett artist who was killed in World War II, and a superb artist he was. His name was Gregor Duncan, and Wendell considered him one of the best ever. He also illustrated books such as Treasure Island. We’ve tried to do a bit better this time around, Hames, elsewhere on this page and the previous one. You and Jim V. (as well as several other folks) really put yourself out for Alter Ego, and it always pains us when our somewhat slapdash production methods (mine, not layout guru Chris Day’s, mind!) cause something to get lost or omitted. We’re working all the time at getting better organized, honest… hey, we’ve only been at it for 67 issues in this incarnation! We always welcome a letter from Dorothy Schaffenberger, whose late husband Kurt was, of course, one of the bright lights in the later Fawcett years, later moving over to the “Superman” group of comics at DC: Dear Roy: The latest issue of Alter Ego arrived today and I stopped everything, curled up in my favorite chair, and spent the afternoon reliving old memories of my friends and acquaintances from the Golden Age of Comics. What a wonderful issue and what a treat at the holidays. I do have one small correction for the record. Kurt and I were not married before Ken and Kaye Bald. (Had that been true, the honeymoon wouldn’t have been much to write home about, as Kurt

was already overseas.) Ken and Kaye Bald were married on October 30, 1943. Kurt and I were married on March 30, 1946. Otto Binder’s wife Ione was my matron of honor, and Jack Binder and Ken Bald were ushers. Dorothy Schaffenberger We appreciate the correction, Dorothy. Anytime you have any reminiscences of the comics, we hope you’ll jot ’em down and send ’em in! Next up: Alysen Bills enlightens us as to a few points re Ken Bald’s comic strip version of the TV hit Dark Shadows: Dear Mr. Thomas: In the interview with artist Ken Bald in Alter Ego #55, you stated that the “vaguely Gothic Dark Shadows [personally, I’d call Dark Shadows über-Gothic myself!] became a sleeper hit in the early ’70s.” Actually, the show premiered in 1966 and became a national obsession with the introduction of Jonathan Frid as vampire Barnabas Collins in April of 1967; by 1971 (the year Mr. Bald’s Dark Shadows comic strip began), the show was already off the air. Also, you neglected to mention that Mr. Bald’s complete run of the Dark Shadows strip was reprinted in the 1990s in a lovely book entitled The Dark Shadows Comic Strip Book, published by Pomegranate Press, P.O. Box 17217, Beverly Hills, CA 90209. Alyssen Bills 92 Danforth St., Apt. #1 Portland, ME 04101 Dunno how we got the dates of Dark Shadows wrong, Alyssen, since I was a huge fan of that show in the late 1960s. On the days I wrote at home instead of editing in the office, the staff (except for Stan Lee, of course) had standing orders not to phone me while it was on— from 4:00 to 4:30 in the afternoon, as I seem to recall. I’ll have to check and see if that book reprinting the strips is still in print… and thanks! Mike W. Barr, who wrote Batman and the Outsiders, Camelot 3000, and several other popular comics in the 1980s, has become nearly as regular a fixture in these pages as our magniloquent “maskots,” because he always has an interesting point to make—in this instance, concerning popular mystery writer Rex Stout and Fawcett’s postwar

[comments, correspondence, & corrections]

hero Radar the International Policeman…. Dear Roy, I’m always glad to see a mention of Rex Stout in connection with his World War II work, as in the FCA section of A/E #55. I first read about Stout’s involvement with the Fawcett character Radar in Steranko’s History of the Comics, then learned more in John McAleer’s 1977 bio of Stout. Despite this, Stout always had a “strong distaste” for comic books and comic strips, and once wrote to me that he had to ask his lawyer to stop publication of the Nero Wolfe comic strip. (And in so many others ways, he was such a cool guy!) According to his first installment in Master Comics #50, Radar the International Policeman also had “radar eyes” which enable him to see confidential radio messages transmitted for him alone from a secret radio station atop Mount Mysto in the Alleghenies. Captain Marvel offers to go along with Radar on his first solo case, but Radar, of course, refuses such aid. He’s got more guts than I do! Mike W. Barr I think you’ll agree, Mike, that coverage of Radar was far too brief. We’ll have to bring that most unique of heroes back for an extended look one of these days, either in FCA or in A/E proper. Any volunteers out there to do an in-depth look at him? Whether re that, or anything else, please send your comments to: fax: (803) 826-6501 e-mail:

Next Issue: Jerry G. Bails & the secret origins of Marvel’s Star Wars comic, 1975-77!

If A Camel Is A Horse Created By A Committee… Radar, the Interpol-style cop, was a trenchcoat-wearing Fawcett quasi-superhero whose adventures were “supervised” by a WWII-era committee which included mystery author Rex Stout (see A/E #55 for more details). In Master Comics #74 (Aug.1946), Radar must demonstrate his mind-reading powers to policemen in the South American country of “Argenia”—because a villain called The Butcher has been impersonating him. Artist unknown. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

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It wasn’t so much a matter of their coming out of their world and joining you … you joined them! That’s how I got to know this fellow Christopher Chance. And know him well. You could have put him into any kind of situation and bet your bottom dollar that I’d be ready to give you a fair idea of how he would act … what he would say. And he wasn’t really my character. He belonged to Glenn Chaffin.

Glenn had come up with a proposal for a newspaper strip … the hero a roving reporter. Great idea … a newsman at large … the world as a stage … no limit to the story locales! Correspondence, as we knew it in those days, was not by phone or wire … too expensive. Or by fax or e-mail … too yet unheard-of. We communicated by regular mail … between Louisiana and Montana … involving a bit more time than might be imagined. So it was through the exchange of letters that I got to know, not only the character, Christopher Chance, but the creator, Glenn Chaffin … and Harry, away at school … and Tommy, just beyond the typewriter waiting to go fishing. And, oh yes … Mae, nearby with steadfast assistance in every way … like my June.

[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 I don’t think I was ever more dissatisfied with my own efforts than Captain Marvel scripts, and continued to do so while in the military. in this case. Nothing like the familiar ease when developing my own After leaving the service in 1944, he creations … where a clear image of the made an arrangement with Fawcett to lead character was always fixed in mind produce art and stories for them on a with the concept … before a pencil was freelance basis out of his Louisiana raised. I suspect, now, that Christopher home. There he created both art and Chance may have been fixed in another story for The Phantom Eagle in Wow mind … Glen Chaffin’s. In Glenn’s Comics, in addition to drawing the story outlines I saw in the character a Flyin’ Jenny newspaper strip for Bell quality of maturity … an air of Syndicate (created by his friend and confident capability … considered mentor Russell Keaton). After the essential … but not easily drawn. cancellation of Wow, Swayze produced artwork for Fawcett’s top-selling line of After kicking sketches back and romance comics, including Sweethearts forth we eventually arrived at a starting and Life Story. After the company point … and took off into the land of ceased publishing comics, Marc moved Christopher Chance. And it was a over to Charlton Publications, where he pleasure … working once again with ended his comics career in the mid-’50s. one so professional … so talented … so Marc’s ongoing professional memoirs experienced in the business … so patient have been FCA’s most popular feature and considerate … as Glenn Chaffin. since his first column appeared in FCA About midway the project was #54, 1996. Last issue Marc set the interrupted by an accident in my record straight regarding his work on Chaffin At The Bit family, after which it seemed imposthe Flyin’ Jenny newspaper strip. This Of Glenn Chaffin (pictured here in the summer of 1943), Marc sible to get back in stride. The correissue he looks back at Christopher writes: “It was a pleasure… working with one so professional… spondence began to dwindle … and Chance, the scrapped syndicated strip so talented… so experienced in the business… so patient and finally ceased altogether. considerate.” Photo courtesy of Marc Swayze. collaboration with writer Glenn Chaffin. –P.C. Hamerlinck.] Glenn and I lost touch … but Christopher Chance still hangs around. He’s clearly seen now and then, standing before me, hands on Ever thought about it … the way the Golden Age of comic books hips, a slight scowl on his face. The dialogue balloon: “Well … what coincided with the war … WWII, that is? And the valor with which have you got to say for yourself?!!” those super-heroes fought their way up the ladder to top-rung reader attention … despite such competition as battlefront news? Tough I repeat … those characters are weird! Ask any comic strip writer or bunch, those guys. Oh … and gals. artist!!! Tough bunchs also, those who worked in the trade, those artists and writers who kept banging away with their fictional adventures and Taking A Chance On Chance characters as if nothing were happening outside. I can assure you firstSometime during the World War II years, writer Glenn Chaffin and artist hand they were there … else how could the comic books have Marc Swayze teamed up to produce two weeks of dailies, plus a Sunday, survived? It was peculiar. You couldn’t work on those comic strip characters very long without getting to know them pretty well. At least I couldn’t.

for the projected adventure comic strip called Christopher Chance. Circumstances conspired to prevent more story and art from being produced, but the strips that survive are well worth a look—on the next 3 pages. [©2007 Glenn Chaffin or successors in interest & Marc Swayze.]

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

FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America]

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

Marc Swayze’s memoirs of his days in the comics field will continue in the next issue of Alter Ego.

Monster Mash! JEFF SMITH On Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil Interview by Chris Irving

Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

eff Smith is the award-winning writer and artist of the Bone comic book. Recently, he produced a Shazam! limited series—on sale even as these words are written—about Captain Marvel and Mr. Mind’s Monster Society of Evil, whose original 1943-1945 Fawcett serial was covered in detail in Alter Ego #64. —PCH. CHRIS IRVING: What was your initial goal with Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil? JEFF SMITH: My goal was to look at what made Captain Marvel the most popular comic book character of all time. He was more popular than Superman, than Mickey Mouse comic books ... [he] was the most popular super-hero ever, really. I went back and read a whole bunch of the “Captain Marvel” comics, [watched] the Republic serial [and the Fleischer Superman cartoons], and thought what it was about comic books back then that appealed to people. I just wanted to get Captain Marvel back to being a super-power that just comes when you’re in trouble. When Billy’s in trouble, he’s a little kid, and kids can’t protect themselves, but suddenly he has a magic word and he’s the world’s most powerful man and can’t be hurt. That, to me, was the real essence of what Captain Marvel is: that ability to just be invincible with a magic word.

I Dream Of Genie Jeff Smith: “I view Captain Marvel as a genie. It’s an Aladdin story.” Here’s Smith’s cover art for Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil #1. Thanks to Kathleen Glosan, who provided all the Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil art that accompanies this article. [©2007 DC Comics.]

CI: I think C.C. Beck once said that Captain Marvel was really a Billy Batson comic book that Captain Marvel appears in every once in a while, like a genie. SMITH: I view Captain Marvel as a genie. It’s an Aladdin story. He is Billy, and they’re one and the same (or become one and the same). The “Shazam!” magic and the power of that word summon this guardian power for Billy. You will see a lot of Billy in my version. It really is a Billy Batson comic where Captain Marvel makes many appearances. CI: Well, he’s a kid. Ever since DC brought him in after Crisis, they’ve made him a teenager, maybe even a preteen, at earliest. Your Billy looks like he’s eight.

Fairy Tales Can Come True…

SMITH: I was shooting for around eight, without actually saying it. I looked at the very first Whiz Comics, and he looks pretty young there, an

Monster Mash!

orphan living on the street, and I ran with that. It plays with that polarization between being the mightiest human being on Earth who can fly and have bullets bounce off of him, and the opposite of that is being a boy who is homeless and orphaned [and] just trying to survive. I pushed it a little further. He looks pretty young in that first Whiz Comics, and it doesn’t say, but he’s not like Tintin, boy reporter. CI: I think lots of people have forgotten that, over the years. My personal feeling is that he doesn’t fit into the DC Universe. In the Whiz material he’s almost like a parody of Superman and the superhero genre that was emerging. Where does your “Captain Marvel” fit? Is it in its own continuity? SMITH: First off, I really don’t think they were poking fun at superheroes. I think they just had their own twisted view on super-heroes. It was a different kind of storytelling that was able to have its own humor. His powers are absolute and nothing hurts him … everything tickles. It’s so simple in terms of foundation, and the powers and mythology around the Captain Marvel character. It’s so clean that it almost reminds me of a fairy tale. They don’t really explain everything. As far as the [shared] universe goes, I totally agree with that. My first question, when I was talking to [editor] Mike Carlin for the first time, was, “Would I have to have any other super-heroes in it?” When I was a kid, the kind of super-hero stories I liked were the ones where there was just that super-hero: just Batman and Robin, or just Superman. I didn’t like Superman and Batman getting together, and I definitely didn’t like the Justice League. I read them as a kid, but they didn’t really act like themselves when they were with the other superheroes … they were almost dumber. Any time someone worries about the continuity between the different characters in a universe, they lose me a bit. It wasn’t so much that I thought Captain Marvel had to be separated from everyone else; I just think all super-heroes should be separated from everybody else, or you just start getting bogged down. [laughs] CI: I think they got dumber because, in the solo story, the hero has to be the smartest one in the story. But, in order for a team dynamic like in JLA or Fantastic Four, they have to think together. For that to be feasible, they have to be dumbed down a bit. SMITH: Yeah, they have to follow a pecking order of the club or society. Whenever there are big super-hero events with all the superheroes in it … that just feels like a big “Justice League” story. I just wanted a good old-fashioned [solo] super-hero story. CI: Having said that, are we going to be seeing The Marvel Family in your story? SMITH: I picked the ones I wanted … that were interesting to me. I really did just want to do a finite story with a beginning, middle, and end, and not do an ongoing series. I thought the four-issue prestige format series was a good format to jump into. As I looked at the characters, I thought that the ones that were interesting could be useful in a story with a 200-page life. Captain Marvel has to have his nemesis, so I picked Dr. Sivana … and I wanted to do a remake of “The Monster Society of Evil,” so you have Mr. Mind in there also. I love Tawky Tawny, who I think is the greatest. [laughs] It’s one of those things where people were saying, “You’re not going to do Tawky Tawny, are you?” But Tawky Tawny was one of the selling points for me. I also thought I would use Mary, because that would give me a story for Billy, who is searching for his lost sister. That way, at the beginning of the story he’s alone, and, at the end, he has a family. CI: What time period is this set in? Is it an ambiguous time period, or modern day? SMITH: It’s a bit ambiguous, but not so much that you can’t mistake it

for the 1940s. It’s in present-day New York City (though I agreed not to call it New York City so that if it’s important for you to think it’s Fawcett City, you can), and it takes place mostly in the Lower East Side and Central Park. It starts off with Billy living in an abandoned building under the East Bridge. CI: Is there any one version of Captain Marvel that you latched on to? SMITH: Again, I cherry-pick. I took a little bit from everybody. I think the main model for me was the Golden Age Captain Marvel: a real stalwart super-hero guy. In Alex Ross’ version, he portrayed Tawky Tawny to look like a real tiger, so I took a cue from that, and Tawky Tawny looks like a real tiger. He doesn’t look like “Tony the Tiger.” There was an element from Jerry Ordway’s Power of Shazam! series that I loved, in that the big black-hatted stranger that lures Billy into the subway is Billy’s dad. I thought that was beautiful and suggested that it was Billy’s dad leading him in. I cherry-picked everything I liked. I didn’t like the loose-fitting shirt from [the] Jerry Ordway and Alex Ross versions, but I kept the flap. I just went and found all the elements that jumped out at me and kept them together to make him Captain Marvel. CI: Do you have plans to ever revisit “Captain Marvel”?

FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America]

SMITH: When I was first offered the job in 2002, nothing was really happening with Captain Marvel at that time. I think the people in editorial at DC knew that Bone was winding down and that I’d be free, with nothing to work on. They thought it might be a good match. What ended up happening was that Bone took two years longer to end than I thought it would. It was an extremely painful process to get all the story threads to come together. I didn’t even start the “Captain Marvel” mini-series until late 2004, which was when it was supposed to come out in the first place. During that time, editorial changes happened at DC and new people came in who had their own ideas on

A Tiger By The Tail Smith on cherry-picking: “In Alex Ross’ version, he portrayed Tawky Tawny to look like a real tiger, so I took a cue from that.” (Above:) Cap and Tawny from Shazam! Power of Hope, painted by Alex Ross. (Right:) A Smith Shazam! TMSOE panel, from the original art. [©2007 DC Comics.]

SMITH: I have talked a lot with Mike Carlin over at DC. I think the door would be open if I wanted to do something else, but I have a lot of other stories in my head that I want to do before I do another “Captain Marvel” story. CI: I think it’s funny that your book is out at the same time the “new and improved” version of Captain Marvel is coming out from DC.

how to deal with Captain Marvel, and they’re doing things with him now. I think that’s kind-of fun, and I like the fact that they’re both out. CI: I admit I’m biased towards the classic stuff, which is why I connected to your upcoming book. While The Trials of Shazam! might be a really good story, I just can’t get past my bias. SMITH: I haven’t seen this much interest in the character in years, in a generation. I think what’s happening is very exciting. I don’t know how long Captain Marvel will stay in his new state … it doesn’t really matter to me, but I just think it’s fun that everybody’s talking about the character again. My Captain Marvel isn’t an All-Star book; it’s in continuity, but a different stage of his career … we just don’t know exactly when. I think that’s fun. You, the reader, can decide which one is happening now and which is out of time. Of course, I think it’s mine that’s in time! [laughter] [Pick up Jeff Smith’s Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil today at your favorite comic book store.]

Crocodile-men—or are they alligator-men—then and now. (Above:) A panel by artists C.C. Beck and Pete Constanza from the original “Monster Society of Evil” series—to be exact, from Captain Marvel Adventures #43 (Feb. 1945). Script by Otto Binder. (Right:) A panel from Jeff Smith’s new miniseries. [©2007 DC Comics.]

Bob Newhart, Move Over! by C.C. Beck Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck [A previously unpublished essay from 1985 by Captain Marvel’s co-creator and chief artist – from the vaults of PCH’s Beck estate files.]

was in a restaurant ordering lunch with a friend one time, and when I ordered a bowl of oyster soup he looked at me with some surprise. “I didn’t know you were so fond of oysters,” he remarked. “I’m not particularly fond of them,” I said. “They’re better raw, on the half-shell, actually.” “Then why order them in soup?” he asked. “Because I’m very fond of hot milk with butter and salt in it,” I explained. “The only way you can get that in a restaurant is with oysters floating in it. If I ordered just a bowl of hot milk without the oysters, people would think I’m crazy.” FCA editor P.C. Hamerlinck found this rough sketch along with the accompanying Beck essay. It shows C.C. My friend has since become very fond about to join comedian/actor Bob Newhart on a park bench. But, like the painting described in the piece, the of relating this incident to others as proof above illustration, too, never went beyond the preliminary stages. [©2007 estate of C.C. Beck.] that I really am crazy, or at least “a little touched in the head,” as people used to opinion, the picture was already overloaded with unnecessary elements, say. To me I seem more like comic Bob Newhart who, in a recent Time and that adding more would turn it into a hodgepodge of junk. I magazine article, said that he feels like “the last sane man left, reeling enclosed a detailed full-size tissue sketch of how I was going to handle against a world of crazies.” the finished painting, pointing out that I had used three vanishing Recently, a man who had grown up reading comic books back in the points in its construction, had done research on the planet Saturn as it Golden Age wrote to ask if I would make him a painting of his favorite is now known to look according to the latest photos from space, and as childhood comic character, Captain Marvel. He was especially far as I was concerned I had now completed 80% of the work involved impressed with the “clean” way I had illustrated the “Captain Marvel” in making a picture. stories and he assured me that anything I could do in the way of a He wrote back that he was “amazed” that I had gone ahead without painting for him would be acceptable. further consultation and help from him. The picture was way too small, I sent him some tissue sketches showing Captain Marvel in various he said; he had expected one at least a foot-and-a-half by two feet in scenes, just as he had appeared back in the ’40s at the peak of his career. size, and I was going to make one only eleven by sixteen inches. He sent them back, asking me to make some new sketches instead. My Captain Marvel was “too thin,” he complained; he liked the What he wanted, he explained, was a new picture, not an old one. Captain Marvel from my “best period,” 1946 and 1947, when he was He then went on to explain that he wanted not only Captain Marvel much “stockier” (this was the period when other artists were still but Sivana, Mr. Mind, Billy Batson, the moon, the planet Saturn, a mad drawing him, by the way). “Sometimes,” he advised me, “artists are so scientist’s laboratory, a huge gun aimed at the earth, and a few other close to their work that they may not fully realize what makes it things (including a Nazi armband on Sivana) in the picture and sent me unique or what the fans and collectors appreciate most in their work.” a sketch showing me how to compose my picture for best results. By return mail I sent the man a check for the amount he had sent me I sent him a sketch with most of the things he wanted in it, and he as a deposit ($300) and closed the account. Either he was crazy to think sent it back in the next mail. He had cut my sketch apart, pasted it that I would follow his instructions and make a painting that I would together in a new arrangement, and drawn in more things that he now have been ashamed to sign, or I was, for wasting my time trying to wanted—a space ship, some crystal mountains, an aurora in the sky, please him by catering to his irrational demands. some patches of ice on the ground, and a few buildings. If I could not Bob Newhart, move over. You have a friend. get everything in, he wrote, whatever I did would be perfectly all right, as he trusted my judgment of what would make a good picture.

I wrote back saying I could not follow his revised sketch, as, in my

FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America]

…And Could You Maybe Work In A Line Of Chorus Girls? Charles Clarence Beck’s 1985 sketch for a commission painting, before it was mutilated by the (former) client. [Captain Marvel, Billy Batson, Dr. Sivana, & Mr. Mind TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

Monthly! The Original First-Person History!

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

TWOMORROWS BOOKS by ROY THOMAS NEW FOR 2008

ALTER EGO COLLECTION, VOL. 1 Collects ALTER EGO #1-2, plus 30 pages of new material! Behind a new JLA Jam Cover by JOE KUBERT, GEORGE PÉREZ, DICK GIORDANO, GEORGE TUSKA, NICK CARDY, RAMONA FRADON, and JOE GIELLA, there’s: GIL KANE, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, and GARDNER FOX on the creation of the Silver Age Atom! “The STAN LEE Roast” with SAL BUSCEMA, JOHN ROMITA, PETER DAVID, CHRIS CLAREMONT, JIM SHOOTER, et al.! MICHAEL T. GILBERT on WILL EISNER’s 1966 Spirit story! ROY THOMAS, JERRY ORDWAY, and MIKE MACHLAN on creating Infinity, Inc.! Interviews with LARRY LIEBER, IRWIN HASEN, & JACK BURNLEY! Wonder Woman rarities, with art by H.G. PETER! Plus FCA, new sections featuring scarce art by GIL KANE, WILL EISNER, CARMINE INFANTINO, MIKE SEKOWSKY, MURPHY ANDERSON, DICK DILLIN, plus all seven of our super-star cover artists! (192-page trade paperback) $21.95 ISBN: 9781893905597 Diamond Order Code: APR063420

ALTER EGO: THE BEST OF THE LEGENDARY COMICS FANZINE

(10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION) In 1961, JERRY BAILS and ROY THOMAS launched ALTER EGO, the first fanzine devoted to comic books and their colorful history. This volume, first published in low distribution in 1997, collects the original 11 issues (published from 1961-78) of A/E, with the creative and artistic contributions of JACK KIRBY, STEVE DITKO, WALLY WOOD, JOHN BUSCEMA, MARIE SEVERIN, BILL EVERETT, RUSS MANNING, CURT SWAN, & others—and important, illustrated interviews with GIL KANE, BILL EVERETT, & JOE KUBERT! See where a generation first learned about the Golden Age of Comics—while the Silver Age was in full flower—with major articles on the JUSTICE SOCIETY, the MARVEL FAMILY, the MLJ HEROES, and more! Edited by ROY THOMAS & BILL SCHELLY with an introduction by the late JULIUS SCHWARTZ.

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!

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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!

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ALTER EGO #1

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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!

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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!

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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: NOV012568

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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

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(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

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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

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL032570

(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

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY043050

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUN042972

(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

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN053133

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

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR053331

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: APR053287

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

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL053293

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG053328

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!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: DEC053401

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN063429

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR063545

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!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY063496

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JUN063522

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG063690

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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!

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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

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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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“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

(144-page trade paperback) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905818 Diamond Order Code: JUL073885

(160-page trade paperback) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905924 Diamond Order Code: FEB084082

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Now Shipping Diamond Order Code: FEB084188

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:

(256-page trade paperback) $29.95 ISBN: 9781893905917 Diamond Order Code: JAN083936

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JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR (4 issues)

$44

1st Class Canada $56

$64

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BACK ISSUE! (6 issues)

$40

$54

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

$26

$36

$44

$60

$72

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

$78

$108

$132

$180

$216

BRICKJOURNAL (4 issues)

$32

$42

$50

$66

$78

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!