Alter Ego #69 Preview

Roy Thomas’ Water-Logged Comics Fanzine

THREE CHEERS FOR

RAMONA FRADON, PAUL NORRIS, & AQUAMAN !

TM

PLUS:

06 1

82658 27763

5

Aquaman TM & ©2007 DC Comics

$

6.95

In the USA

No. 69 June 2007

Vol. 3, No. 69 / June 2007

™

Editor Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor P.C. Hamerlinck

Comic Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert

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

Editor Emeritus Mike Friedrich

Production Assistant

Contents

Chris Irving

Circulation Director Bob Brodsky, Cookiesoup Periodical Distribution, LLC

Cover Artist

A pocket history of Aquaman, DC’s Sovereign of the Seven Seas, by John Wells.

John Watson (from a drawing by Ramona Fradon)

With Special Thanks to: Jack Adams Heidi Amash Ger Apeldoorn Paul Bach, Jr. Rodrigo Baeza Bob Bailey Jean Bails Marty Baumann Jack Bender Murray Bishoff Jerry K. Boyd Tom Bradley Gary Brown Len Brown Adam J. Brooks Zack Buchanan Mike Burkey John Cochran Teresa R. Davidson Craig Delich Shel Dorf Michael Dunne Chris Fama Michael Feldman Ed Fields Stuart Fischer Dana Fradon Ramona Fradon Todd Franklin Keif A. Fromm Bill Fugate Carl Gafford Russ Garwood Jeff Gelb Janet Gilbert Laura Gjovaag Lew Glanzman Mark Glidden Scott Goodell Arnie Grieves Jennifer Hamerlinck Matthew Hawes Allan Holtz Richard Howell Bob Hughes Richard Kyle Stan Landman Bill Leach

Writer/Editorial: Seeking Sea Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Maritime Passages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Alan Light Bill Lignante Jeffrey Lindenblatt Matt Lorentz Mike Machlan Joe & Nadia Mannarino Sam Maronie Bruce Mason Harry Mendryk Brian K. Morris Mark Muller Jim Murtaugh The New Yorker Paul Norris Rick Norwood Jerry Ordway Jake Oster Ken Quattro John Powell Kyle Powell Rob Powell Seth Powell Nancy Ready Hart Rieckhof Dominic von Riedemann Charlie Roberts Ethan Roberts Herb Rogoff Alex Saviuk John Schwirian Craig Shutt David Siegel Keif Simon Anthony Snyder Bhob Stewart Scott Stewart Joe Staton Marc Swayze Dann Thomas Anthony Tollin Michael Uslan Trevor Von Eeden John Watson John Wells Christopher Wheeler Robert Wiener Joseph Wise

“Take Your Foot In Hand And Come To New York!” . . . . . . 15 Artist Paul Norris took Milt Caniff’s advice! Interview by Shel Dorf.

“It Was A Daily Identity Crisis” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Ramona Fradon talks to Jim Amash about being a comic artist and a housewife & mother.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt: The Powell Family Album, Part III. 55 Michael T. Gilbert and Bob Powell’s sons revisit the life of the great Golden Age artist.

JSA: Sunset At Dawn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Roy Thomas’ letter/proposal for a Justice Society/Infinity, Inc. series that never was!

Come BECK, Little Comicon! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 The Calvin Beck Con of 1967 really did happen! Bill Schelly’s got proof!

Tributes to Joe Edwards, Jack Burnley, & Joseph R. Barbera . 71 re: [comments, correspondence, & corrections) . . . . . . . . . 75 FCA (Fawcett Collectors Of America) #128 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 P.C. Hamerlinck presents Marc Swayze, Bill Fugate, & Captain Marvel’s cities tour, Part II. On Our Cover: A couple of years ago, when she was being interviewed for A/E, Ramona Fradon sent us photocopies of a number of commission drawings she had done. One humongous pencil illo in particular immediately caught our eye as the perfect design for the cover of this issue about Aquaman and two of his greatest artists—so, through his then-agent Keif A. Fromm, we were lucky to persuade John Watson to turn that sketch into a full-color painting. Gorgeous, no? Also, for a look at Ramona’s pencil version, see p. 37. [Aquaman TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

Above: Just one of the many great pencil sketches Ramona Fradon has done in recent years.

Looks to us like she’s better than ever! [Aquaman TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

This issue is dedicated to the memory of Joe Edwards, Jack Burnley, & Joseph R. Barbera 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.

2

writer/editorial

Seeking Sea Kings I

’ve never made any bones about the fact that, both as kid and adult, I always preferred Timely/Marvel’s Sub-Mariner to DC’s Aquaman. So why an issue of Alter Ego that is virtually dedicated to the latter—or at least, to a couple of artists noted for drawing him?

2. Aquaman has arguably been, up to the present, at least as successful a character as Sub-Mariner, with a part of that good fortune owing to his palling around with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, et al., in Justice League of America since 1960 and in TV cartoons beginning in the 1970s.

3. Alter Ego is, after all, more a vehicle for comics history than for pure nostalgia… and a hero like Aquaman who’s been around since 1941 and is still going strong has a lot of history.

Several reasons.

1. From a personal viewpoint: whatever my quirks and preferences, I like both characters. Aquaman always had a lot going for him—a cool costume (till recently) and his meaningful relationship with creatures of the sea. And I had/have a special fondness for the artwork of Ramona Fradon. (I came of age way too late to read Paul Norris’ early work, though I find it quite vital.)

So put on your waterwings and get set to dogpaddle up Comic Book Creek!

Bestest,

A Face-To-Fish Encounter One of the most charming of Ramona Fradon’s commission sketches, with thanks to Russ Garwood. [Aqualad TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

COMING IN JULY

#

70

You Asked For It—So It Serves You Right!

ROY THOMAS ON THE 1970s AT MARVEL COMICS! • All-new Invaders cover by GENE COLAN—colored directly from his pulsating pencils!

• RASCALLY ROY talks to JIM AMASH about the sensational ’70s at Marvel—in a humongous interview studded with rare art by ADAMS, ADKINS, ANDRU, both BUSCEMAS, BRUNNER, CHAYKIN, COCKRUM, COLAN, EVERETT, KANE, KIRBY, PÉREZ, PLOOG, ROBBINS, ROMITA, the SEVERIN siblings, SMITH, THORNE, TRIMPE, WRIGHTSON, & many others—not to mention some writers named CONWAY, ENGLEHART, GERBER, GOODWIN, MOENCH, SHOOTER, WEIN, WOLFMAN, and a guy called LEE! • A special (if way too brief) celebration of Golden Age artist LILY RENÉE (The Lost World, Señorita Rio, Werewolf Hunter, etc.) by TRINA ROBBINS! • MICHAEL T. GILBERT concludes his look at BOB POWELL—FCA with C.C. BECK, MARC SWAYZE, & ROY THOMAS’ 1981 Shazam! debut—& MORE! Edited by ROY THOMAS rica, Sub-Mariner, & The Red [Human Torch, Captain Ame Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Skull TM & ©2007

SUBSCRIBE NOW! Twelve Issues in the US: $72 Standard, $108 First Class (Canada: $132, Elsewhere: $144 Surface, $192 Airmail).

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

TwoMorrows. Celebrating The Art & History Of Comics.

TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com

3

Maritime Passages A Pocket History Of The Sovereign Of The Seven DC Seas

by John Wells [Abridged and edited, with emphasis on the years 1941-75, from his fanzine Destination Cool! in CAPA-alpha #500 (June 2006); ©2007 John Wells. Sorry that, because of our twin interviews, we didn’t have room to print his indexes of villains and full slate of the hero’s appearances—or even more “Aquaman” artwork!]

W

Wading Into The Water

ith a few alterations in the pages of comics history, Aquaman might well have reached a crossroads in 1963.

Published consecutively in a succession of magazines since 1941, he had survived as Golden Age heavyweights like The Flash, Green Lantern, Captain America, and others had fallen by the wayside (though most were now back in new incarnations). With his solo berth in World’s Finest Comics now gone, appearances with the Justice League of America were the most he could hope for.

That was, in fact, the fate of Green Arrow, who’d been the Sea King’s stablemate since both characters had debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (Nov. 1941). Aquaman, however, had been starring in his own comic book since 1961. The loss of the secondary feature, far from an ending, signaled the beginning of real momentum in his career.

More Fun #73 had established the basics: Aquaman thrived underwater, had command of sea life, and was strong enough to put his fist

A Sea King, A Sea Prince, And A Sea Shell Ye Editor decided to indulge himself in choosing the illustration to lead off this issue’s triple-threat coverage of Aquaman and his artists—by showcasing an original pencil drawing by Ramona Fradon from his own collection. Ramona is interviewed in depth beginning on p. 31.

[Aquaman & Aqualad TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

through a submarine. Characteristic of a number of World War II-era heroes, he also had no compunctions about dispatching Nazis, drowning or blowing them up without a second thought.

Look Homeward, Atlantean Aquaman’s first origin, from More Fun Comics #73 (Nov. 1941)—at least as per DC’s Millennium Edition reprint. Script by Mort Weisinger, art by Paul Norris— whose interview by Shel Dorf begins on p. 15. Minor query: In the 2001 reprint, the hero has green gloves. Was that as per that first story, or was it an error made by a colorist who didn’t check the original story, since the gloves were nearly always yellow till the turn of the 1960s? [©2007 DC Comics.]

At right is a circa-1940 photo of “Aquaman” original writer/co-creator Mort Weisinger, from James Gunn’s 1975 book Alternate Worlds: The Illustrated History of Science Fiction. [Photo ©the respective copyright holders.]

A minimalist three-panel origin attributed his amphibious abilities to Atlantean science, discovered by his explorer father in the ruins of the fabled city. Described as “internationally renowned,” the scientist kept himself and his son in virtual seclusion in their watertight home beneath the sea until his death. Bereft of companionship, Aquaman (so named by his dad!) ventured to the surface, altruistically vowing to seek out and punish the wrongdoers of the “upper world.” (Aquaman’s late father would be mentioned once more, in More Fun #80.)

Clad in a scaled orange shirt and green tights, Aquaman would maintain the same basic uniform for most of his first five decades. The primary alteration was the coloring of his gloves, which were yellow until the end of the 1950s. The ankle fins on his tights, also initially

4

A Pocket History Of The Sovereign Of The Seven DC Seas

“The Water Is Full Of Sharks” [Clockwise from above left, in the order in which they took the plunge into comic books:] First came Bill Everett’s Sub-Mariner in 1939—seen here in a panel from Sub-Mariner #1 (Spring 1941), repro’d from a Photostat of the original art. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.] Not long after Namor’s debut, and actually beating him into a color comic by a few weeks, came Lew Glanzman’s The Shark. This panel is from Amazing-Man #10 (March 1940). See in-depth interviews with both Lew and Wild Bill in Alter Ego #46. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Everett’s Hydro-Man erupted out of a firehose to rescue a damsel in distress on the cover of Heroic Comics #3 (Nov. 1940). [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

The Fin, yet another Everett creation, took his third and final Golden Age swim in Comedy Comics #9 (April 1942), but was more frogman than fish-man. Repro’d from the 1999 trade paperback The Golden Age of Marvel, Vol. 2. [©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

yellow, eventually moved up to his calves and were changed to green.

Aquaman was evidently created in response to Bill Everett’s SubMariner. Introduced in Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (April 1939), the earlier aquatic hero’s origin was reprinted and expanded later in the year in Marvel Comics #1. Prince Namor, as the half-breed (half human, half undersea being) was called, made the other rough-andtumble vigilantes of the day pale in comparison. His war with the surface-dwellers spilled through the 1940 issues, leading to memorable confrontations with one of the book’s other stars, The Human Torch.

With the intervention of the Torch and a New York police officer named Betty Dean, Namor’s rage was eventually focused on Nazis.

Aquaman, by comparison, was pretty benign.

The Sub-Mariner’s success was rewarded with his own title in early 1941. Surprisingly, a fairly similar character, Lew Glanzman’s hero The Shark, who was the son of Father Neptune himself, had premiered in Centaur’s Amazing Man #6 (Oct. 1939)—one month before Marvel Comics #1 (though of course some months after MPFW #1)! Everett himself created two Namor-imitators of sorts: The Fin, who survived underwater by means of an aqualung for three Timely/Marvel issues, beginning with Daring Mystery Comics #7 (April 1941), and the earlier Hydroman, who could transform himself into water and debuted in Eastern Color’s Heroic Comics #1 (August 1940).

Hydroman ran through 1944, while The Sub-Mariner made it into 1949. After a 1953-1955 revival, by which point Namor was relatively sedate, he would remain in limbo until Fantastic Four #4 in 1962. But that’s another story.

Aquaman and Green Arrow, himself derided in later years as a knock-off of Batman, owed their continued survival to the man who created them: Mort Weisinger. Best remembered today as the legendary editor of the 1950s and 1960s “Superman” family of titles, Weisinger retained the two strips as the second bananas of Adventure Comics and World’s Finest Comics after More Fun converted its contents to humor.

The Golden Age In addition to Weisinger, other writers on the series during the 1940s included Manly Wade Wellman, Joseph Greene, Joe Samachson, Ruth Kaufman, Paul Talbot, Don Cameron, George Kashdan, Otto Binder, and Jack Miller. Initially illustrated by Paul Norris, the strip’s art chores passed on to Louis Cazeneuve (1942-47) and John Daly (194751).

The second episode of the series (More Fun #74) introduced the man who would be Aquaman’s nemesis throughout much of the Golden Age. Dressed like a pirate of old, complete with mustache and beard, a purple bandanna, and a patch over his left eye, Black Jack sailed “the raider ship Nemesis” with his crew and plundered yachts of wealthy vacationers. “Nations are at war,” he declared. “All their ships are busy sinking each other. Bold lads can go out and loot wealthy cargoes.” His pirate garb was for psychological effect. “When we jump a ship, they take a look, know what their in for—and give up easy.”

Though he managed to overpower Aquaman with a gas grenade, Black Jack was convinced that a man of his abilities would be ideal for his crew and offered the heavily shackled hero a job. The response was not in the affirmative, and, at the end of the day, Aquaman had sunk the Nemesis and left its skipper and crew to drown. But, on a distant reef, a shivering, beaten Black Jack made a promise to settle the score.

By his fourth appearance (#86), Black Jack had traded in the bandanna for a sailor’s cap, and the eyepatch was gone by Adventure Comics #107. All told, he made twenty appearances, the last of them in Adventure #151 (1950).

Maritime Passages

Let’s Play Black Jack!

Paul Norris’ splash from More Fun Comics #80 (June 1942) featured another escapade featuring the piratical Black Jack. Scripter unknown. Thanks to John Schwirian. [©2007 DC Comics.]

More Fun #75 revealed that Aquaman lived in an air-filled “seafortress” (#75), later explicitly identified as a “temple of the lost city of Atlantis” (#82) and clearly the same structure where he’d grown up (#73). By issue #84, a sinister marine biologist even determined—based on regular sightings of Aquaman—the general location of the hero’s home base; he launched a “Raid on Atlantis,” captured the hero, and put him on public display. Kept docile by a will-inhibiting gas, Aquaman found the strength to rebel and turned over the revenue from his exhibition to the Navy Relief Fund. As a consequence of his enforced public tour, though, Aquaman was now a genuine celebrity, even agreeing to a Hollywood production that followed his round-theworld tour, the profits again going to the Navy (#86).

In late 1942 (#87), a stunned Aquaman found a lost colony of Atlantis, its occupants having existed in an air-filled bell jar beneath the sea since their descendants erected it centuries earlier. Curious about the outside world, the Atlanteans quickly found themselves overwhelmed by the ferocity of the upper world’s wildlife and its modern criminals and chose to return to seclusion.

Issue #82 was notable for its climactic sequence wherein Aquaman

The In-Betweeners A pair of splashes by the two talented artists who handled “Aquaman” between Paul Norris and Ramona Fradon. Louis Cazeneuve drew the dramatic splash below, for More Fun Comics #90 (April 1943)... and John Daily did the one at bottom right, featuring the first of several "Aquagirls" in the series, for Adventure Comics #132 (Aug. 1948). Scripters unknown. Thanks again to John Schwirian. [©2007 DC Comics.]

5

6

A Pocket History Of The Sovereign Of The Seven DC Seas

Aquaman Makes A Splash A quartet of Golden Age splash pages starring the Sea King, between the Norris and Fradon eras. (Clockwise from above left:) More Fun Comics #103 (May-June 1945), with art by Louis Cazeneuve—and three splashes by John Daly: Adventure Comics #138 (March 1949)— #142 (July ’49)—& #152 (March 1950). The first was scanned for us by Bruce Mason, the latter trio by John Schwirian. [©2007 DC Comics.]

15

“Take Your Foot In Hand And Come To New York!”

That Was Ace Artist Milt Caniff’s Advice To Young Artist PAUL NORRIS—And He Took It! Interview Conducted by Shel Dorf

A/E

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

EDITOR’S NOTE: Shel Dorf, one of the cofounders of the San Diego Comic-Con, had this little talk with artist Paul Norris on Sept. 1, 1992. Shel didn’t worry about where it might be published, or when. He simply held on to the tape. And, a few years ago, he and I were talking on the phone when he mentioned he had done unseen interviews with Norris, Sheldon Moldoff, and one or two other illuminiaries, and might Alter Ego be interested in transcribing the audio tapes and publishing them? We sure would!

However, one thing after another intervened—but now, 15 years after it was recorded, this cogent conversation sees the light of day at last. And you know what? That’s the great thing about doing a mag that deals with history: history’s just as valid one year, or one decade, as another! Oh, and special thanks to Paul Norris himself, for going over the transcript a year or so back and correcting a few of the unintelligible parts. If a few words or phrases remained undecipherable—well, you can fill in the blanks with your own guesses, right? —Roy.

Water And Brick Paul Norris (above right) and Shel Dorf, in January 2002—flanking art representative of both Paul’s comic book and comic strip work: the splash pages of the very first “Aquaman” story, from More Fun Comics #73 (Nov. 1941), as reprinted in the 2001 Millennium Edition—and of a “Brick Bradford” adventure from The Phantom #28 (Dec. 1967), published by King Comics. Love that Time Top! (For an example of Norris’ actual Brick Bradford comic strip work, see the following page.) Mort Weisinger scripted Aquaman’s origin— while Norris wrote, drew, and even lettered the “Bradford” 4-pager. Thanks to Shel for the photo, which was taken by Matt Lorentz, and to Hart Rieckhof for the King art. [Aquaman art ©2007 DC Comics; Brick Bradford art ©2007 King Features Syndicate.]

16

Young Artist Paul Norris Took Milt Caniff’s Advice

have, back in the ’30s; it crashed in eastern Ohio.

“The Thing That Got Me Started” SHEL DORF: This is Shel Dorf , recording from Oceanside, which is only fitting, since we’re with Paul Norris, original artist of “Aquaman,” and retired cartoonist. Paul, let’s have a quick overview of your career; then we’ll go back and go into detail.

Starting with your first printed drawing—what was that?

SD: A lot of great comic artists come of Ohio, for some reason. The part I came from had the rich, black ground which was supposed to have been the richest, the most fertile ground in a non-irrigated, agricultural area in the United States. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it.

PAUL NORRIS: My first printed drawing was a political cartoon in the “Letters to the Editor” section of the Dayton Daily News, 1932. It was promoting FDR [Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was elected President in November of that year]. He didn’t need any promotion by me, but that’s how it worked.

NORRIS: There was Clarence Gray, the original artist of [the comic strip] Brick Bradford. And Noel Sickles [artist of the strip Scorchy Smith] came from Chillicothe. I used hear a story that, when he was growing up in Chillicothe, he’d go down to the railroad yards and sit there and draw trains. That’s why he was so good at drawing tanks in World War II, and the material he did for Life magazine. He just had a natural feeling for the mechanics of those things.

SD: And the first extended run of anything, any cartoons that you did?

NORRIS: Well, Scoop Lenz was a Sunday page I wrote and drew from 1937 to 1940; it’s actually the thing that got me started. It was printed on the back page of Camerica, a magazine section of the Dayton Daily News. Scoop was a newspaper photographer, carrying around a real Graphlex camera. Back in the ’30s, that’s what all the newspaper people used.

I got into contact with Milt [Milton Caniff, creator of the strip Terry and the Pirates], who was also from Dayton, through Scoop. My wife worked with Milt’s mother in Donnenfelds, a ladies’ department store in Dayton. Mrs. Caniff was a buyer and salesperson; my wife Ann worked in the office. They became very good friends, which helped in the developing of my relationship with Caniff. I was nine years younger than Caniff. I also knew George, Milt’s cousin.

SD: What profession was your father in?

NORRIS: He worked for General Motors in Detroit, in the axel division. I didn’t really know my father. I grew up with my maternal grandparents in Palestine, a little town of about 150 people. That was an agricultural area where people did everything except sit down and draw. The only people in town who could draw were the village idiot and myself. [laughs] And he was a pretty nice guy.

SD: [laughs] But he could draw!

NORRIS: He’d do everything, if it came into his mind, I guess. I can’t attach any subject matter to it, but he was pretty good at it.

I tried to participate in every form of athletics I could, and I did, simply because, in my free time, I would sit around and draw. And I didn’t want anyone to think, “Aw, he’s a sissy.”

Artists and actors tended to be looked down on. But I had some very understanding grandparents as the best parents, and a spinster aunt that was so good to me. My mother died when I was born.

That’s why I wound up with my maternal grandparents.

SD: Maybe we should start biographically. You were born in Dayton, Ohio?

NORRIS: No, I was born in Greenville, Ohio, which is 39 miles north of Dayton, on April 26, 1914. That’s a famous place to have been born, because that’s where Annie Oakley came from, and Lowell Thomas. And a guy you’ve probably never heard of: Zachary Lansdown. He was the commander of the Shenandoah, one of the Zeppelins the Navy used to

SD: You know, it’s ironic. I once interviewed Bill Everett, the man who

A Scorch-ed Brick Two masters of the adventure strip at work: the Clarence Gray-drawn Brick Bradford Sunday for Jan. 2, 1937, repro’d from the wonderful 1995 illustrated history The Comic Strip Century, edited by Bill Blackbeard & Dale Crain—and (bel0w) Noel Sickles’ Scorchy Smith daily for June 22, 1936. [Brick Bradford art ©2007 King Features Syndicate; Scorchy Smith art ©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

“Take Your Foot in Hand And Come To New York!”

created “Sub-Mariner”... and he said his father was a seafaring man, a sailor, and a very macho guy, and here he had his son who sat around and drew pictures, and his father berated him for doing it and called him a sissy-boy. And his mother was the one who nurtured his career and encouraged him, and he had a great career as a comic book artist. You both did water characters.

But let’s get back to your youth. An incredible number of cartoonists have printers for fathers: Will Eisner’s father was a printer, and Milton Caniff’s father was a printer. And the kids used to spend some time at the print shop, drawing on scraps of paper, but this wasn’t your experience. Can you remember the earliest things you liked to draw?

NORRIS: I just always liked to draw people, characters. And to go around, drawing in the print shops, I used to get wrapping paper from the stores. Any package that would come in, my grandparents would make sure it was nice and clean. And that’s what I salvaged and drew pictures on. My grandmother had a big old cabinet, and there was a breadboard—it was about a 12-inch bread drawer under the thing—that I could pull out; it was as big as some drawing boards. I would sit at that breadboard in the kitchen when my aunt and my mother weren’t busy, and draw. It made an excellent place to work.

17

“I Wanted To Study Journalism” SD: So when you got into college—well, let’s name your high school back in Ohio.

NORRIS: Palestine High School. It was a regional high school that no longer exists. They took about three towns and put them together. I guess it was Hollansburg, New Madison, and Palestine. When I was in high school, they used to play basketball against us, because they all had their individual high schools. I was tall and gangly. As a matter of fact, I grew too fast, and in my freshman or sophomore year in high school, I decided to best all my friends. I felt awkward, I really did, to be walking around heads and shoulders above them.

And I think, at that time, it caught up with me.

I attended Midland College in Freemont, Nebraska, and that, of course, was to find a profession. The first year out of high school, I wrote to J.C. Penney in Greenville. I got a job there because I was supposed to be a card-writer and paint small price cards for small items that were on sale in the store. The reason I went to Nebraska is that I had a cousin who was head of the Journalism Department, and through his influence I got to Midland. I’d really given up hope of ever going to college. To me, it was just a dream I had to throw away.

SD: Why did you want to go to college? In those days, not a lot of people did.

SD: I like that. When you got into the school system, you were the kid that probably did the school posters and things for the yearbook, or anything like that.

NORRIS: I drew pictures, yeah. I got whipped for them. I got tattled on to the teachers—for drawing when I shouldn’t have been. [laughs] But no, we didn’t have an art department, or a yearbook when I was in high school. I didn’t get involved in that kind of thing until I got into college. I hated to paint signs, but I found I could make a little money at it, so I made signs. I mean, a barbershop window and dentistry or a sign on the hallway with a hand pointing towards his office—I did that.

SD: I was told that sign-painting is strictly American—that, in Europe, sign-painters have to be able to draw things, as well, because of all the different languages. So a store would have a hangout sign with a pair of scissors for a barbershop, or the visual image of what that business was all about. A bakery had loaves of bread; they were selling pictures as well, because they were multi-lingual.

But when you got to the United States, everything was in English, so the sign-painters did not really have to be artists.

NORRIS: That is interesting, because when you think of all the old inns and pubs and so on, in Europe, they always had a fox head or a boar’s head or some other illustration.

Forbidden Tarzan Since we don’t have any samples of Paul’s Scoop Lenz strip to show you, how about these Norris drawings of a slightly more famous character?

Here, repro’d from photocopies of the original art courtesy of Alley Oop artist Jack Bender, are a page from Norris’ Gold Key/Western adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel Tarzan and the Forbidden City in Tarzan #190 (Feb. 1970), as inked by Mike Royer—and a personalized drawing Paul sent to Jack some time back. [©2007 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.]

24

Young Artist Paul Norris Took Milt Caniff’s Advice

was in February, and I remember I was staying in a place in New Jersey. I had rented a room over there from a lady I knew, and went back over a weekend and did those. But I’ll never forget walking down Broadway into Times Square, there’s a light snow coming down, and I thought, “Boy, I have a guarantee for $250 worth of work,” something like that. I did it. That’s a lot of pages. That was 25 pages. I was doing the whole thing… even writing it and lettering it. This was “Power Nelson” and “Yank and Doodle,” which we were creating—between Reece and myself.

His real name was Maurice Rosenfeld, and he was from Texas originally. We got along great. So I did more for Prize Comics than I did for DC. But in the meantime, Whit Ellsworth called me and said he had something for me, which was “The Crimson Avenger.” He gave me copies of what had been done with the character, and I produced the strips. So between the two companies, I was pretty busy. And then he asked me and a number of artists for some ideas that might be developed into their own features. I came up with an idea called “The Vigilante,” but it was an underwear character, wearing an outfit like Superman did.

Yank And Doodle Went To Town Another “Yank and Doodle” splash by Norris. “America’s Fighting Twins” ran in Prize Comics from 1941-48; beginning in 1943, they were joined by their father, who took over the mantle of another Prize headliner, and the feature often ran as “Yank and Doodle and The Black Owl.” That reminds us—they also appeared in Headline Comics #1 (Feb. 1943). That’s our subtle way of admitting that provider Bruce Mason couldn’t tell us which issue of Prize this splash came from; but Norris drew the series in 1941-42. [©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

I turned it in to Whit, and he said, “Gee, I like the name.” Ellsworth didn’t want another underwear character, so that’s when “Vigilante” became a Western, and he got Mort to write it. I couldn’t hold onto it, because it’s a name and I’d just mentioned it. So I think that’s what got me “Aquaman,” because Whit had this idea about a character that could breathe underwater. He had Mort Weisinger write the script.

When I read The Encyclopedia of American Comics, it lists Mort Weisinger and me as the creators of Aquaman. This was true, but I didn’t know Mort at the time... although I lived in North Bergen, New Jersey, and he lived in Fort Lee, which was the next town. He lived maybe two miles, at the most, from me. We used to ride the bus into New York. I knew him by sight, but I didn’t know he was writing the strip. We finally got acquainted, and then we’d ride back and forth on the bus together. It was down to the Lincoln Tunnel and across—no, we rode down to the Weehauken Fairy House. It might have been an hour, I don’t know. I found out, here’s the guy that’s writing the script for this thing, and we’re co-creators of “Aquaman.”

SD: You didn’t know. But how did “Aquaman” start?

NORRIS: Well, Whitney Ellsworth called me in to discuss it and told me what he had in mind. He had done a sketch of a guy, a little cartoon character with a big cigar in his mouth and fins on his feet, and I think

were terrible.

SD: So you had a weekend to do it? What was your attitude towards doing comic books?

NORRIS: Well, Milt told me one thing in the beginning, I’ll never forget it: “Put your name on it. Get it big and bold so people can read it.” That’s what he believed in, and I put it in after that. Well, actually, I used the name “Roy Paul” on “Power Nelson,” because I knew I was going to use my name on “Yank and Doodle.” Prize Comics would let me do that, but at DC Comics, you didn’t sign them.

Bob Kane was the only one, in those days, who was I Second That Emotion permitted to sign.

SD: These fly-by-night companies were hiring away these guys, because they were very much in demand. If they had a guy’s name, they could trace him down and offer him a better deal, steal him away from another company.

NORRIS: Well, once King Features got me, they stole me away from the newspaper PM. [laughs] But we’ll get to that. So anyway, I walked out of there, and this

In Sept. 1993 Paul Norris sent collector Charlie Roberts a note expressing his pleasure at meeting him and receiving an Inkpot Award at that year’s San Diego Comic-Con. According to this (color) sketch Paul drew on the missive, a certain sub-sea sovereign agreed with his assessment. [Aquaman TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

“Take Your Foot in Hand And Come To New York!”

Mr. Sandman, Bring Me A Dream A quartet of important “Sandman” splashes from 1941-42 Adventure Comics. (Clockwise, starting at top left, all ©2007 DC Comics:) Adventure Comics #68 (Nov. 1941) sported the last Golden Age story of Sandman in his gasmask and business suit. Norris is credited with penciling and inking “Sandman” in Adventure #65-68, making these some of Paul’s earliest DC assignments.

In Adventure #69 (Dec. 1941), both the new purpleand-yellow costume (complete with cape) and Sandy the Golden Boy were introduced.

Collector/DC art expert Craig Delich feels #69-71 were penciled by Norris and inked by Chad Grothkopf. At one time Paul reported that he was instructed to imitate Bob Kane on this pivotal story.

Was it perhaps because it introduced a Robin-style kid sidekick?

Adventure #70 (Jan. 1942) owes less to the Kane approach (as does the unshown #71), though the artists were still reportedly Norris and “Chad.”

Thanks to Bob Mason for this scan.

Adventure #72 (March 1942) introduced the new art-and-script team of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby, who’d just come over to DC after doing Captain America Comics #1-10 for Timely/Marvel. They dropped the heroes’ capes. Thanks to Harry Mendryk.

The scripters of #68-71 are uncertain, but Bob Hughes says that another comic expert, Jerry Bails, “lists Mort Weisinger as the writer of those pivotal ‘Sandman’ stories.” Perhaps Martin O’Hearn analyzed them? A fascinating piece by Martin on his comics-writing detective work is slated for the first available issue of A/E.

25

32

“It Was A Daily Identity Crisis” RAMONA FRADON Talks About Being A Comic Book Artist And A Suburban Housewife & Mother In The 1950s Interview Conducted by Jim Amash

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

R

amona Fradon is one of the true cartoon talents in comics.

From “Aquaman” to “Metamorpho” to Super Friends, mystery stories, a few Marvel tales, and more, her drawing style lent itself to a variety of genres. Ramona may not be impressed with her own work, but the rest of us certainly are! Her blend of cartooning with supposedly realistic super-hero theatrics lent a sense of fun for readers of all ages, creating its own authenticity. Ramona’s thoughts on her career and the business in which she was involved are candid and multi-dimensional. Her Hall of Fame induction in 2006 was long overdue, a fitting tribute to a great career. —Jim

“I Always Drew” JIM AMASH: Do you mind telling me when and where you were born?

RAMONA FRADON: [laughs] Why, yes! I don’t mind at all. I was born in Chicago in 1926, a long, long time ago, October 2nd.

JA: I see your father was a letterer for Elizabeth Arden.

FRADON: He [Peter Dom] was a freelance lettering man. He designed, among other things, the Elizabeth Arden, Camel, and Lord and Taylor logos—ones you still see around. And what else did he do? He designed type faces: the Dom Casual font, among others.

JA: You had a brother who was also a letterer, right?

FRADON: Jay died about seven years ago. He was a couple of years older than me. My father’s side was Armenian, and Dom is a shortening of an Armenian name. My mother’s name was Irma. She was Swiss, so I’m Swiss-Armenian.

“I Contain Multitudes” Ramona Fradon may not have particularly enjoyed drawing super-heroes, but she’s done plenty of them in the past half-centuryplus—and she still gets many requests to draw them, as per this photo taken at the 2005 Gateway Con in St. Louis. Above is a fairly recent commission sketch done for collector Bill Leach showing some of the most noteworthy of them! The quotation, of course, comes from Walt Whitman’s poem Song of Myself. [Aquaman, Metamorpho, Batman, Robin, Plastic Man, Aqualad, Superman, & Wonder Woman TM & ©2007 DC Comics; photo ©2007 Sam Maronie.]

“It Was A Daily Identity Crisis”

33

Titian. He was definitely a Renaissance guy and was interested in tone rather than color.

“Meaningless statistics were up one-point-five per cent this month over last month.”

All In The Family Dana Fradon, Ramona’s then-husband, realized his dream of becoming a regular and prominent cartoonist for the prestigious magazine The New Yorker—as per one of his most famous cartoons, from the Jan. 31, 1977, issue. Reprinted by permission; check out The New Yorker cartoons at www.cartoonbank.com/pro. Special thanks to Zack Buchanan. [©The New Yorker Collection 1977 Dana Fradon from the cartoonbank.com. All rights reserved.]

JA: Since your father and brother were artists, is that what got you interested in drawing?

FRADON: I always drew. We used to watch my father at the drawing board, so I was very familiar with the accouterments of drawing. I drew naturally, doodling figures all the time. I never thought of being an artist, I just drew, but my father wanted me to be one, so he steered me in that direction.

I didn’t take high school seriously, and by the time I graduated, I doubt if I could have gotten into a college. I started at Parsons School of Design in New York City. I went there for a year, but I found it to be superficial in terms of learning how to draw. We had life drawing once or twice a week, and the rest was all about technique and an overview of the different commercial fields. I felt I wasn’t learning anything that I needed to learn, so I switched to the New York Art Students League. I could never have been an interior decorator or a fashion artist anyway. I was drawn to the League because it was totally unstructured. You had to provide your own motivation. There were no tests, no grades, no diploma, no nothing. You just went there, and if you wanted to learn, you could learn, and that appealed to me. And we drew from a model every single day.

I also painted, but was really bad at it. Like, all the colors I mixed came out brown for some reason. Maybe it was Kenneth Miller’s influence, I’m not sure. [mutual laughter] But it just wasn’t for me. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Miller’s work. He didn’t acknowledge that there was an artist after Rubens, or maybe even

I studied Fine Art at the Art Students League and wasn’t very good at it. I had absolutely no ambition, but I found myself doing it anyway. [chuckles] And then I met Dana Fradon there, who was an aspiring cartoonist. His goal was to get into The New Yorker, and he encouraged me to try cartooning, which I thought was a total fall into degradation. [laughter] People are very snotty in art school, so it just seemed like the most degrading thing in the world. But I had a talent for it. We were broke when we got married, so Dana and a friend of ours encouraged me to make some comic book samples. I did and that’s how it started.

JA: The friend who helped get you into comics was George Ward. What can you tell me about him?

FRADON: I believe he was lettering comics at the time we knew him, and then he became Walt Kelly’s assistant on Pogo. I think he inked for him, and maybe lettered, too. Kelly had a character called “the bug from Scranton,” and I think George inspired it, because Scranton was his hometown. He loved cartooning and thought he was doing me a big favor by encouraging me. We were practically starving, and George used to tell us how much money Joe Maneely was making. I guess he was making, I don’t know, maybe $20,000 a year at that time. It was phenomenal.

JA: Stan Goldberg told me that Joe’s nickname was “Joe Money.” [mutual laughter] FRADON: I gather he was work, work, work, work, work all week, and on the weekends, he’d go out and get roaring drunk, and then go back and work some more. So I figured well, gee, if there’s money to be had, maybe I ought to try this. But I never met him.

“I Was Scared To Death That I Couldn’t Do It” JA: What comic samples did you do, and who did you do them for?

FRADON: I bought a whole bunch of comic books, because I’d never read comics, and for about two weeks I immersed myself in all different kinds. I drew a page of Western vignettes and took it to Fox Features first. I didn’t know anything about any of the comic book companies, but I got the addresses out of the comic books. Fox

The Bear Necessities Though George Ward drew cartoons on his own, he’s best remembered for his work as Walt Kelly’s assistant on the newspaper comic strip Pogo.

Ward was particularly known for drawing the bear depicted with Howland Owl and Albert the Alligator in these panels from the June 16, 1957, Sunday strip; indeed, it’s said Kelly let Ward totally handle many Sundays, which can supposedly be identified by the presence of the bear, whom Kelly apparently never drew. (Did the bear even have a name?) [ ©2007 Selby Kelly.]

34

Ramona Fradon Talks

Sagebrush And Swordsmen Ramona says her first assignment for DC was a “4-page story” drawn for editor Murray Boltinoff—then recalls, a moment later, Murray giving her a “Shining Knight” tale to draw almost immediately. Could the 4-pager be the one from Western Comics #23 (May 1951), whose splash is pictured above left—or even the 2-page “Incredible City in the Sky” from Western Comics #38 (March-April 1953), which might’ve sat on the shelf for a time? Below, as well, are the splash pages of her two tales of Sir Justin, from Adventure Comics #165 & 166 (June & July 1951). Thanks to Mark Muller down Australia way for the “Incredible City” page from a 1966 b&w reprint—to Joseph Wise for the other three pages—and to P.C. Hamerlinck for the Boltinoff photo from an early-1970s issue of The Buyer’s Guide for Comics Fandom. [Art ©2007 DC Comics; photo ©2007 Krause Publications, Inc.] When we told Ramona we were mailing her copies of two “Shining Knight” stories for confirmation as to whether she’d drawn them, she professed horror…but she had to admit, after she’d received them, that they were a bit better than she’d remembered. We think they were just fine, Ramona—holding their own in that late era when the warrior’s exploits were being drawn by the likes of Frank Frazetta and Ruben Moreira.

“It Was A Daily Identity Crisis”

A Peaceable Kingdom John Watson did an excellent job of turning this full-size pencil drawing by Ramona Fradon into a painting for this issue’s cover—but we wanted you to see her original art, as well. Fabulous stuff! We’re glad DC has reprinted scads of her late-1950s art of late in the hardcover Aquaman Archives, Vol. 1, and the black-&-white Showcase Presents Aquaman; that way, rather than show you work from her last year or two on the feature, we can concentrate on her early stories and on original art, including commissions. [Aquaman TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

37

Photos courtesy of Robert and Kyle Powell.

Above: Bob Powell outside his studio in the mid-’60s, in the 1909 Hupmobile he and his son John restored. Bob also restored a Model-T! Top right: Grandpa Bob with Robert Powell’s son, Sean.

Bottom right: Relaxing with fellw auto-buff Austin Clark in Bob’s Laurel Hollow home.

56

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

The Powell Family Album!

Part III

by Michael T. Gilbert

I

n August 2004, in preparation for an upcoming issue (#66) devoted to Golden Age cartoonist Bob Powell, Alter Ego editor Roy Thomas forwarded me the e-mail address of Powell’s son Seth. During Bob Powell’s incredible 30-year career, he’d illustrated numerous features, including Mr. Mystic, Doc Savage, and The Shadow in the ’40s, and “Giant-Man” and “The Incredible Hulk” for Marvel in the ’60s. But little was known about the artist’s personal life.

Sadly, he died of cancer at age 50 on October 1, 1967, leaving behind only a couple of brief interviews. Powell was an artist I’d long admired, and I was excited by the opportunity to hear Seth’s stories about his dad.

Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed when Seth Powell told me his dad had died shortly before he was born. Then Seth suggested I talk to his three older brothers, and soon a lively round-robin e-mail correspondence began, culminating in my two-part “Powell Family Album” article, published earlier this year in A/E #66 and 67.

When the articles appeared, Bob’s sons John and Robert (from his first marriage, to Florence Feustel) were well represented, as was Seth Powell (from Bob’s second marriage, to Bettina Lussier). But my inquiries to Seth’s half-brother Kyle produced only a single photo and a brief e-mail. Bob married the second Mrs. Powell on September 30, 1961, and later adopted Kyle. Today Kyle, 49, is a professional photographer.

(Above:) A young Kyle Powell in the mid-1960s proudly rides big brother John’s 1956 T110 Triumph motorcycle. This shot was taken at Bob’s house at 7 Center Drive in Roslyn, NY.

Luckily, even without Kyle’s input, we didn’t lack material. In fact, we were so blessed with a flood of rare photos, art, and personal reminisces that the 6-page article I’d originally planned expanded to two 12-page installments, spread over two issues.

Organizing the material proved to be daunting, and I sighed with relief when I finally mailed it out just before deadline. Ahhh! Finished at last!

Or was I? Days after I sent Roy my article, I received another message from Kyle. I’d sent him scans of my upcoming Alter Ego article, and his brothers’ memories had sparked some of his own, including the time he and his young buddies inspired one of his dad’s stories. Unfortunately, it was already too late to include his comments in “The Powell Family Album.”

But Kyle’s e-mail gave me the perfect excuse to add a third part to our series. What follows are mainly Kyle’s comments, as well as more Bob Powell art and photos we weren’t able to squeeze in before. So, without further ado, let’s once again open up –– The Powell Family Album!

Topps asked Bob Powell to redo the sketch at left for a 1966 Batman card, possibly penciled by another artist—though Len Brown, who was overseeing assignments for Topps at that time, feels he or his boss Woody Gelman probably just wanted different Batman and Robin figures and that the pencils are most likely Powell’s. Either way, Powell redesigned the published card (right), which was painted by Norm Saunders. According to Bob’s son John, Powell enjoyed working for Topps on sports cards and other projects: “I don’t know what the pay schedule was, but the cards were lucrative and he produced them at a prodigious rate. He churned them out and commented how they paid for a boat, a car, or any one object. While his tongue was firmly in cheek, he did indicate they were ‘easy money,’ and he never ran out of baseball players.” [©2007 DC Comics.]

61

JSA: Sunset At Dawn A Letter/Proposal For A Justice Society/Infinity, Inc. Series That Never Was

by Roy Thomas

W

hat follows is a concept for a limited comic book series— originally written more or less in the form of a letter— starring the Justice Society of America.

In fall of 2005, I was contacted by a major DC editor—not the regular editor of the JSA books, I should make it clear up front—and informed that, inasmuch as the company had had good luck re-teaming Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers on a Batman series (for the current All Stars series of mini-series, I take it—I never saw those comics), he thought it might be a good idea for Roy Thomas and Jerry

Ordway to re-team on a 6-issue series about the Justice Society, perhaps with Infinity, Inc. (which Jerry and I had co-created, with Mike Machlan) thrown in. Jerry was enthusiastic about the notion, as was I. Jerry soon e-mailed me that he had mentioned to that editor that a good approach might be to show how the JSA returned from that Ragnarok/Götterdämmerung Mobius strip on which artist Dave Ross and I had left them at the end of the Last Days of the Justice Society Special #1 in 1986. As I recounted in The All-Star Companion, Vol. 2, DC’s powers-that-be had intended, for a very short time, that that would be the last JSA appearance anywhere… though of course the 10issue Justice Society of America series of 1992-93 brought them back from Valhalla only a few years later.

Justice On The Run Pencil roughs for a commission drawing Jerry Ordway did of the JSA plus Johnny Quick for collector Michael Dunne, which became a cover for Alter Ego #50. In this earlier version, Hawkgirl is at far right, rather than at far left as in the finished artwork. Several of the other figures are likewise slightly different from the final version. Thanks to Jerry O. [JSA TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

62

A Justice Society/Infinity, Inc. Series That Never Was

While I had other ideas I might have preferred to develop rather than revisit the Götterdämmerung thing, I was quite content to work up a concept for a 6-issue series from that angle. From that point on, I worked without further input from Jerry. (This is by way of absolving Jerry from any blame for anything in the letter/concept that follows.) I was determined that, if I were going to do a “JSA” adventure, it would be a “JSA” story handled the way I handled them in the 1980s: I wrote, and the artist drew. And, in Jerry’s case, drew very well indeed.

Spangled Kid hurled out of that dimension. As per events that officially happened between 2 to 4 years ago, Hawkman—Hawkgirl—Green Lantern—Starman—Flash—Johnny Thunder & his Thunderbolt—Wildcat— Sandman & Sandy—Dr. Mid-Nite— Atom—and Hourman remain, battling Surtur. Who can say whether these heroes-as-gods are killed and rise again to fight on one time, or 12, or a thousand thousand? We see the Waverider free them from that situation—I’m told some demons took their places (if not, we can restore the actual Teutonic gods themselves in some way)—but we don’t have the JSAers return directly to our Earth. Not that they realize that at once.

The concept I wrote didn’t find favor with the editor for whom it was intended, or apparently with his superiors, but, since DC never paid for it (not that I claim What Are You Doing After The World Ends? they should have… I didn’t bill them), and since it’s really only a letter-style At the same time, we see the heirs After Ragnarok, most of the JSAers face the towering demon Surtur, in the Last Days of the Justice Society Special #1 ancestor of a proposal, not a story per se, I to the Hall fortune—if no Hector Hall (1986). Script by Roy Thomas; art by David Ross & Mike figured I’d print it in this issue of Alter anymore, then Lyta—or is she dead, too?

Gustovich. [©2007 DC Comics.]

Ego. Naturally, nothing in what follows, Well, anyway, the members of Infinity, Inc., more or less as they were at the end sent to DC in late 2005, was meant to be of the last issue of Infinity, Inc. (Star-Spangled Kid/Skyman dead, etc.) the final word on what the series might become… it was only an opening shot, so to speak. (In what follows, it’s understood that the are there—with private eye Jonni Thunder, who’d become a friend— JSA/Justice Society of America, Infinity, Inc., & all hero and secret when they see the figurines on the Hall mansion mantle quiver and identity names and concepts are trademarks of DC Comics.) I began vanish—and they wonder what that means for the JSAers who are their with a brief introduction, before I went into my usual “notes toward a relatives and mentors. They’re determined to find out—and we’ll get plot” for the proposed 6-issue series: back to them later, perhaps in between some of what follows on the next few pages, before we pick them up in earnest again later.

Before we begin, I need… not to apologize, but to explain. The situation Jerry suggested for the setting and theme of the story—what occurs to a dozen JSAers between their Götterdämmerung scenario in the 1986 Last Days of the Justice Society and the 1992 Justice Society of America #1 in which they return to Earth—means that it occurs between events in comics published by DC between 1986-92. I’ve kept things basically consistent with the DC Universe of that period, except treating those events as if they happened between 4 and 2 years ago, as per the timeline in JSA Files & Origins #1 (1999). If some details are in error, they can be adjusted at the next stage. I’ve avoided most digressions below, but in some cases I felt a need to anticipate questions by answering them at once. This concept, after the first page or so, contains only the story’s broadest strokes, since it made little sense to worry about details before the concept is approved. Later we’d have 120 pages to take care of business. Now, onward… beginning with the admission I’ve not yet read the Armageddon Inferno series, but I’m assuming any conflicts with that story can be reconciled with what follows.]

Now we CUT TO an instant a few seconds “earlier”—where the young (engaged?) couple of Carter Hall and Shiera Sanders are throwing a posh party in the very same Hall mansion; only it’s on a

JSA: NEW DAWN On Earth, we see 12 small figurines of the JSAers, which appeared (created by displaced energy) at the end of Last Days, lying on the grass at Dr. Fate’s feet on the Hall estate. (We didn’t see a figurine of Johnny Thunderbolt, but it would have been off-panel. And regretfully, a caption or two left off by an editorial assistant damaged the reading of that page somewhat.) The figurines sit on a mantle in the mansion of the vanished Carter Hall, on whose grounds they were found. In the darkness, they suddenly begin to glow.

We zero in on—and as if through them into another dimension— to see scenes depicting how the JSA wound up on their Mobius-strip Götterdämmerung to save the various worlds from the doom threatened by the Spear of Destiny, with Spectre ultimately responsible for both threat and salvation, and Dr. Fate, Power Girl, and Star-

Comin’ Right Atom Atom sketch by Alex Saviuk. Alex currently pencils the Sunday Spider-Man newspaper strip, and inks the dailies. Looks like he took his cue from a 1960s two-Atoms story by Gil Kane, in which the burst shape on the Mighty Mite’s chest was replaced by a circle. Nice illo, though! Courtesy of the artist & Michael Dunne. [Atom TM & ©2007 DC Comics.]

A Comic Fandom Archive Special Addendum

69

Come BECK, Little Comicon!

The Calvin Beck Con Really Did Happen!

We’ve Got Proof!

Part X of “1966: The Year Of (Nearly) Three New York Comics Conventions”

by Bill Schelly & Roy Thomas

W

ho’d have thunk it? Only four months ago, we printed all the commentary and art we figured we’d ever be able to put together about the fabled and infamous Calvin Beck (alias Castle of Frankenstein) Convention of—well, not actually quite 1966, but early in 1967—and concluded that was pretty much the end of it. Even Bill, who’s spent well over a decade researching the early history of comics fandom, didn’t recall ever seeing a written reference to it beyond the few we pulled together in Alter Ego #65. Then, without warning, Bill stumbled across the following “review” of the BeckCon in On the Drawing Board Calvin’s Castle #58, the March 1967 issue of the Conmeister Calvin Beck—in a vintage comics newszine begun by Jerry G. photo borrowed from the accommodating Bails in 1961, then being published by website www.bmonster.com, courtesy of the Gateway Comic Art Fan Club, Marty Baumann—holds up a copy of his and edited by Bob Schoenfeld (on Castle of Frankenstein 1967 Annual. whom more at a near-future date). It Thanks again to Michael Uslan for sending had been written by Stan Landman, a us a dog-eared copy of the issue; and member of the legendary New York special thanks also to Bhob Stewart. [Art area TISOS (The Illegitimate Sons of ©2007 the respective copyright holders.]

Superman) club…and Stan was amenable to its being reprinted. (It’s ©2007 by Stan Landman, by the way.)

And you wanna know what the most amazing thing is to us? In A/E #67, attendee Carole Seuling revealed the place where the BeckCon was held: the 23rd Street YMCA in Manhattan, New York City… but no one was able to pin the dates of the event down any closer than “early 1967.” Finally, Stan Landman has verified that it was held on Feb. 11-12, 1967—a pair of dates that will not live, apparently—not even in infamy! And now, here, hopefully, is the last word on the Con That Beck Spawned…!

The Calvin Beck Comicon A review by Stan Landman I suppose the first crud-comicon was an inevitable occurrence, but it still came as quite a shock to me. The thing that I found most shocking, however, was not the lack of organization nor the fact that pros scheduled to appeared didn’t, but rather the mercenary and “I don’t give a damn” attitude shown by Calvin Beck, con chairman and editor of Castle of Frankenstein.

The con was scheduled to get underway at 1:00 p.m. on February 11th [1967], but Beck himself didn’t show up till 3:00 pm! Phil Seuling was forced to take charge of admissions to the con (and did a fine job of it), because Beck was not present.

The first program was scheduled to start at 3:00, and when it had not yet begun at 4:15, I went over to Beck’s mother and asked, “When

does the program start?” Mrs. Beck referred me to the printed schedule, and when I pointed out to her that it was now 75 minutes late, she bluntly replied, “It doesn’t matter.” Perhaps it didn’t matter to Mrs. Beck, but to the fans who paid four bucks to attend it certainly did!

After this, I conferred with fellow fans Marvin Wolfman, Ron Fradkin, Len Wein, Elliot Wagner, Mark Hanerfeld, Richard Rubinfeld, and Ellen Vartanoff (who had come all the way from Maryland to participate). We agreed that a protest was in order. I went to look for Beck and was told that he was eating. Yes, while 75 fans cooled heels waiting, Beck was satisfying his stomach!! This goes to demonstrate his true concern for the fans attending the con.

When Beck returned, I led a small delegation to greet him. I patiently inquired as to when the con would begin, mentioning that, unless circumstances changed, we would ask for our money back. Beck brushed this off casually, saying the program was subject to change at his discretion, and that we were holding up the con’s progress. We were

Art by Bill Fugate.

[Captain Marvel & Billy Batson TM & Š2007 DC Comics. Mentor TM & Š the respective copyright holders.]

84

How’re You Gonna Keep Cap Down On The Farm…?–Part II More Of Captain Marvel’s American Cities Tours—1944-78 Article by John Cochran

Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

L

ast issue, John related how Fawcett writer Rod Reed inaugurated the notion of having the Big Red Cheese travel to a different US city in each issue of his own title, beginning with Captain Marvel Adventures #24 (June 1943), encountering landmarks and meeting with dignitaries (and magazine distributors!). Part I covered the first 16 stories in that series.

Without further ado, let’s pick up from there, shall we…and follow it with a note about the revival of that concept in DC’s 1970s Shazam! comic….

Boston (CMA #40, Oct. 1944) – In “Captain Marvel and the Mayor For a Day” Captain Marvel Is Full Of Beans (also without a full opening splash panel), Cap This truncated splash panel led off the Boston story in Captain Marvel Adventures #40 (Oct. 1944). sees a lot of sights during his sojourn in Boston: Presumably, all art in this section is by the C.C. Beck/Pete Costanza Studio. [©2007 DC Comics.]

North Station, City Hall, Bunker Hill Monument, Faneuil Hall, and Franklin Park … and he meets a though it’s sidetracked a bit by crooks who talk like the Three Stooges’ host of notable locals, including the owner of the university distribCurly (“Soitinly!”). uting company, the mayor, and two radio station broadcasters from WNAC and WEEI. (WEEI is still around, but WNAC eventually Dayton (CMA #41, Nov. 1944) – “The Adventure of the Two suffered the same fate as Fawcett’s comic book line!) Billy specifically Heroes in Dayton, Ohio”—one of the three cities visited in Ohio—was visited Boston to attend the “Boy-Mayor-for-a-Day” celebration—even one of the few city stories involving the Japanese, all of whom were portrayed as sneaky and sinister buck-tooth types who didn’t use any articles when they spoke and sometimes bypassed subjects. (“Americans escaped! But at rally, perhaps will not be so fortunate!”)

When Cap discovers that they’re out to sabotage a war bond rally, he becomes a one-man Homeland Security Department. (“A crowbar!

Someone is out to kill these soldiers! I’ll have to be more vigilant! But I must be careful not to send the crowd into a panic!”) While catching such sights as Main Street and the University of Dayton, the Big Red Cheese also catches a saboteur who has inadvertently set fire to himself and wants to take a war plant with him (“For the glory of the Mikado!”). In gunning down one Japanese saboteur, a soldier gloats, “This is just like shooting Japs out of Saipan cocoanut trees!” Editors of two newspapers (The Dayton Daily News and the Journal-Herald, the latter of which merged with the News in 1987) make cameos, as does the mayor (who is identified but unseen).

The Do’s And Don’ts Of Dayton (Get It?) Okay, so “Dayton” and “datin’” as a pair of homonyms is a cheap joke.

What do you want at these prices—Oscar Wilde? This splash is from CMA #41 (Nov. 1944). [©2007 DC Comics.]

St. Paul (CMA #42, Jan. 1945) - Billy finally made it back to Fawcett’s home state in “Captain Marvel in St. Paul, Minnesota.” While the story involves garden-variety crooks with such monikers as “Leadpipe Malone” and a corrupt newspaper photographer, it ends with a house ad caricature of a sweating Hirohito and the rhyming message “Hirohito’s looking mighty glum ‘cause the bonds that you are buying will soon make him a bum and send him home a-crying!”

While shuttering the shutterbug, Billy/Cap meets the mayor, the head of the St. Paul news agency, and an announcer for KSTP … and sees the Union Station (“Holy Moley! This station is big enough to be a city in itself!”), the state capitol, and the state fair super speedway.

How’re You Gonna Keep Cap Down On The Farm...? — Part II

85

The Whole Rhythm Section Was A Black Spot Gang!

The “Black Spot Gang” was probably a takeoff on Illinois’ infamous “Purple Gang”—last immortalized, perhaps, in the Lieber & Stoller/Elvis Presley song “Jailhouse Rock” in 1957, as paraphrased in our heading. From CMA #43 (Feb. 1945). [©2007 DC Comics.]

The Gospel According to St. Paul, Minnesota From CMA #42 (Jan. 1945). [©2007 DC Comics.]

Chicago (CMA #43, Feb. 1945) - The World’s Mightiest Mortal screws up a lot in “Captain Marvel Battles the Black Spot Gang of Chicago,” including letting two different criminal suspects slip through his fingers, one of whom gets away by slapping a bag on his noggin. A chagrined Marvel exclaims, “Gone! These modern gangsters are much trickier than the old ones!” Billy and his alter ego get to see a lot of “the queen city of the Midwest,” including its Union Station (where he’s greeted by the city’s periodical distributor), Michigan Boulevard, State Street, the stockyards (where Cap loses the other suspect), and the Stevens Hotel (which is now the Chicago Hilton). Billy also makes the acquaintance of a columnist for the since-defunct Herald-American. A panel of newspaper front pages shows other dearly-departed papers: The Chicago Sun (now the Sun-Times) and the Chicago Daily News.

Washington D.C. (CMA #44, March, 1945) - Hirohito’s acolytes return in “Captain Marvel and Washington’s Haunted Embassy!”

While in the nation’s capital ferreting out a secret Japanese agent (who is only pretending to be a lowly gardener so he can climb in the windows of government offices) and Admiral Yamomoto—a prime architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor—Billy and Cap get to see yet another Union Station, the Trans-Lux Building, “home of radio stations WMAL ands WRC,” “the famous Washington’s cherry trees,” President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s digs on Pennsylvania Avenue, and the Department of Justice. Cap also makes the acquaintance of FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, the mayor, and the periodical distributor. Cap goofs up a bit during his efforts to find the bad guys when “the gardener” waltzes off dressed as a tree in front of a flummoxed Big Red Cheese. Clever, those Japanese.

Kansas City (CMA #54, Feb. 1946) – The city stories resume with “Captain Marvel Visits Kansas City, Missouri,” where Cap faces down some bad and low-level kids, the same kind of mix he faced previously in Omaha. Naturally, he dispatches them easily and gets the bullies to straighten up and fly right. Along the way, Billy/Cap meets the owner of the local news agency, a sportscaster for KMBC, a judge, and an “executive of the Boy Scouts and American War Dads.” Landmarks include the Jackson County Court House, the Municipal Auditorium, Swope Park, the Pickwick Hotel, the General Post Office, and the Municipal Air Terminal. What—no Union Station!?

Captain Marvel Prevents A Capitol Offense Wonder if he came from a “red” state, and Superman from a “blue” state?

Anyway, this splash comes from CMA #44 (March 1945). [©2007 DC Comics.]