Alter Ego #75 by TwoMorrows Publishing

Roy Thomas’ SHAZAM-STUDDED Comics Fanzine

THE

SHAZAM CURSE!

ALEX ROSS, MARC SWAYZE, C.C. BECK, & P.C. HAMERLINCK ON THE MANY DEATHS OF A LEGEND

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BONUS! MARVIN LEVY

6.95

In the USA

No. 75 January 2008

Vol. 3, No. 75 / January 2008 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 Mike Friedrich

Circulation Director Bob Brodsky, CookieSoup Periodical Distribution, LLC

Cover Artist Alex Ross

With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Mrs. Jill Baily Mrs. Regina Baily Alberto Becattini Bill Black Dominic Bongo Richard Boucher Mike Bromberg Shane Foley Ron Frantz Janet Gilbert Ian Hamerlinck Jennifer Hamerlinck David G. Hamilton Roger Hill Heritage Comics Carmine Infantino William B. Jones, Jr. Marvin & Barbara Levy Arthur Lortie Bruce Mason

Peter Meskin Philip Meskin Brian K. Morris Nick Noble Eric NolenWashington John G. Pierce Charlie Roberts Bob Rogers Herb Rogoff Alex Ross J. David Spurlock Henry Steele Marc Swayze Dann Thomas Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Michael Vance Delmo Walters, Jr. Hames Ware Jerry Weist Alex Wright

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Paul Norris & Mike Wieringo Top right: As noted, the double-size FCA section for this issue begins on p. 65— with a dynamic illustration by Alex Ross. But Alex also sent us pencil versions of several of the drawings that appear in his piece “Call My Name— Shazam!”—and we couldn’t resist using one of those on our cavortin’ contents page, as well! [Shazam! characters TM & ©2008 DC Comics.]

Contents Writer/Editorial: Turning Off The Fawcett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The Alter Ego 1943 Calendar Goes 2008! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Alex Wright re-casts pulse-pounding WWII pin-ups as the super-heroines DC & Marvel can’t buy!

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist!” . . . . 12 A candid conversation between Golden Age artist Marv Levy and Jim Amash.

Maxwell Elkan—The “Hard Luck” Unknown . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., and Hames Ware on a 1940s-50s “Great Unknown.”

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Twice-Told Marvel Heroes (Part 3). . 51 Michael T. Gilbert presents the Golden Age answers to Giant-Man and The Wasp.

Tributes to Paul Norris & Mike Wieringo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 re: [comments, correspondence, questions, & corrections] . . 59 FCA (Fawcett Collectors Of America) #134 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 P.C. Hamerlinck presents and presides over an in-depth look at the many demises of Captain Marvel by Alex Ross, Marc Swayze, C.C. Beck—and himself. On Our Cover: Super-star artist (and occasional A/E contributor) Alex Ross pays homage to Michelangelo’s Pietà, carved by the legendary sculptor in 1498-99 for St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, Rome. And, considering how many times Captain Marvel has died and been reborn/re-imagined/re-defined/etc. by everybody and his brother since Fawcett ceased publication of the World’s Mightiest Mortal in 1953, this striking illustration makes the ideal cover to accompany a recounting of “The Shazam Curse,” as FCA’s editor calls it.. We were quite content with it just as Alex painted it—and you can see it that way in some advance ads— but, as per Alex’s preferences, P.C. Hamerlinck and John Morrow added to it a myriad of Cap figures drawn by various talented artists over the decades (clockwise from top center): Tom Mandrake, Jerry Ordway, Joshua Middleton, Bob Oksner, Alan Weiss, Kurt Schaffenberger, Marc Swayze, Howard Porter, C.C. Beck, and Don Newton. The Newton CM was inked by Kurt S. [Shazam! characters TM & ©2008 DC Comics.]

Alter EgoTM is published 8 times a year 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 US ($11.00 Canada, $16 elsewhere). Twelve-issue subscriptions: $78 US, $132 Canada, $180 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.

THE

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Companion VOLUM E THREE

a.k.a. ALL THIS AND EARTH-TWO! Ed ited by ROY THOMAS • STILL MORE sensational secrets behind the 1940-1951 JSA! • Fabulous new JSA-JLA cover by GEORGE PÉREZ, drawn especially for this volume! • Spotlight on the 1963-1985 JUSTICE LEAGUE/ JUSTICE SOCIETY Team-Ups! The 1970s ALL-STAR COMICS REVIVAL! The 1980s YOUNG ALL-STARS!

All characters TM & ©20 07 DC Comics.

• Rare, often unpublished art & artifacts by CARMINE INFANTINO * JOE KUBERT * ALEX TOTH * JERRY ORDWAY * GIL KANE * RICH BUCKLER * JACK KIRBY * JULIUS SCHWARTZ * MICHAEL BAIR * IRWIN HASEN * MIKE SEKOWSKY * DICK DILLIN * JOE SINNOTT * DICK GIORDANO * MIKE GRELL * MICHAEL LARK * DON NEWTON * CREIG FLESSEL * SEAN CHEN * DON HECK * HOWARD PURCELL * H.G. PETER * SHELDON MOLDOFF * ARTHUR PEDDY * MART NODELL JOE GALLAGHER * BOB LAYTON * MARTIN NAYDEL * PAUL REINMAN MIKE W. BARR * JOE STATON * JIM VALENTINO * JOE GIELLA ROY THOMAS, and many others! • PLUS—THE SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY—JOHNNY PERIL— SHELLY MAYER’S RED TORNADO—the 16th-century progenitors of the JSA—the very first All-Star Comics #58— & MORE! 240-page TRADE PAPERBACK $31 postpaid in the US ($35 Canada, $43 elsewhere) ON SALE NOW!

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Article Title Topline writer/editorial

Turning Off The Fawcett!

nce each year, the rest of us at Alter Ego take a bit of a breather and let P.C. Hamerlinck carry the ball with a double-sized edition of FCA (that’s Fawcett Collectors of America, for you newcomers). And those skeptics who predicted, in the early 1960s, that comics fandom would run out of things to write about in a couple of years, tops, would be startled to learn that this is the 134th edition of FCA, under a mere handful of editors, since 1973—almost exactly 35 years ago.

Mortal to the position of World’s Mightiest Moneymaker. Some of what they have to say on pp. 65-86 may sound a bit negative toward the Captain’s publishing company of the past threeplus decades. You or I may agree or disagree with opinions expressed by Alex or P.C. or even that late lamented curmudgeon C.C. Beck— but that is to be expected.

The emphasis this time is divided between FCA’s most common turf—the comics produced by Fawcett Publications between 1939 and 1953, when the company gave up the ghost after the long, lethal lawsuit by National/DC—and its other coin of the realm, post-1953 takes on Captain Marvel and his fabulous Family. In the past, that mag-withina-mag has spotlighted Shazam! renditions both realized and un-, by the likes of Alex Ross, Jerry Ordway, Don Newton, Michael Eury, et al. This time, as you probably noticed by our color-splashed cover, it’s Alex once more; and he’s always welcome in these pages, whether FCA’s or those of Alter Ego proper. There’s even an unaccustomed theme to this issue’s FCA—namely, the many “deaths” that Cap and crew have died, especially in the years since DC arranged, in the early ’70s, to license the Fawcett heroes. PCH refers to it as the Shazam Curse—the failure to date to garner any big sales numbers for the hero who for several years in the 1940s outsold even Superman. Although we hear the Big Red Cheese is scheduled for yet another “redefinition,” each of the contributors to this edition of FCA has his own notion of what might be needed to restore the World’s Mightiest

Just don’t miss the central point: that each of that trio (as well as the more soft-spoken Marc Swayze) has seen Captain Marvel as something important, both in his own life and in the life of the comics industry. And none of them is motivated primarily by money. (If they were, they wouldn’t be writing and contributing artwork to Alter Ego)! So read and savor. We briefly considered making FCA the opening salvo in this issue—but finally decided you’d appreciate it even more as the Cap-stone to what we hope will otherwise be an equally enjoyable journey through the hallowed halls of comics history. Along the way, you’ll be able to savor Alex Wright’s 1943/2008 calendar, populated with some masked beauties of four-color and Technicolor alike… an art-laden interview with Golden Age artist Marvin Levy… a retrospective on a relatively unknown 1940s-50s artist, Max Elkan… tributes to two departed talents from different eras, Paul Norris and Mike Wieringo… and a few other surprises along the way. There’ll even be a few non-FCA samplings of Fawcett art here and there along the way, just to see if you’re paying attention. Bestest,

COMING IN MARCH

SIMON SAYS! A Fantastic Focus On JOE SIMON— As Half Of SIMON &KIRBY, And As A Solo Star! • Fighting American cover designed by JOE SIMON—featuring one of the greatest creations of SIMON & KIRBY! • JOE SIMON does a sensational show-and-tell, co-starring JACK KIRBY—BOB POWELL—CARMINE INFANTINO—GIL KANE—JOE KUBERT—STAN LEE—GEORGE TUSKA—AL WILLIAMSON—JERRY GRANDENETTI—ANGELO TORRES—CREIG FLESSEL—AL AVISON—MORT MESKIN—& others, in a blockbuster JIM AMASH interview! Tons of Golden & Silver Age and unpublished art! • BOB ROZAKIS’ “Secret History of All-American Publications”! • MICHAEL T. GILBERT showcases 1940s Fiction House artist AL WALKER! • At last! No more delays! BILL SCHELLY & HOWARD SIEGEL on Silver Age Australian fan & author JOHN RYAN! • FCA with C.C. BECK & MARC SWAYZE—& MORE!! Edited by ROY THOMAS te of Jack Kirby.] [Art ©2008 Joe Simon & Esta

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10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION!

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The Alter Ego 1943 Calendar Goes 2008! T

hird time’s the charm—not that the first two were anything to sneeze at, mind you! In December of 2005, A/E #55 spotlighted a “1943 calendar” created by Alex Wright, utilizing Golden Age DC, Quality, and Fawcett super-heroines as pin-ups for a New Year, as “portrayed” by stars, starlets, and models of the World War II years. It was all in fun, and readers loved it and clamored for more—not knowing that, in point of fact, the wondrous Mr. Wright had already prepared ample images for no less than two more such calendars! In issue #64 (Jan. 2007), we were proud and pleased to present Alex’s second twelvemonth of costumed cuties—the lovely and lethallypowered ladies of 1940s Timely (future Marvel) Comics.

This time around, we’re equally happy to showcase another delightful dozen of Alex’s colossal compositions…wondrous women [mostly] from ’40s comic book companies besides DC, Quality, Fawcett, and Marvel! (Yes, believe it or not, there were other publishers featuring super-doers in those days—quite a few of them, in fact!) So here we go—with commentary by both Alex and Ye Editor:

Ann Blyth as Moon Girl

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After appearing on Broadway in Lillian Hellman’s 1941 drama Watch on the Rhine, diminutive Ann Blyth broke into Hollywood musicals in 1944 (Chip off the Old Block). But she achieved her greatest success—and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress—as Joan Crawford’s ungrateful daughter in the tearjerker Mildred Pierce in 1945. In 1949 she starred in both the fantasy movie Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (with William Powell)—and as herself (who was maybe also a mermaid) alongside Superman, no less, in Action Comics #130 (March 1949)! Here, her likeness is loaned to EC Comics’ Moon Girl, who starred (moonlighted?) in her own comic from 1947 to 1949, written by Gardner Fox and mostly drawn by Sheldon Moldoff—a Wonder Woman wannabe if ever there was one! Alex says: “I chose Moon Girl as January’s pin-up because a new moon represents a new start. Ann Blyth had a warm smile that seemed right for the character.” [Moon Girl TM & ©2008 William M. Gaines Agent, Inc.]

Third Times The Charm!

Yvonne DeCarlo as The Woman In Red

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Alex writes: “I decided to do a ‘Film Noir’-style Valentine’s Day for February. Yvonne DeCarlo always had a sultry look to her, and I thought she might suit the role of The Woman in Red.” Indeed—since DeCarlo emerged as a star doing a torrid dance in the 1945 film Salome Where She Danced. She also had a good femme fatale role opposite Burt Lancaster in Criss Cross, but it is as Lily Munster in the 1964-66 TV series The Munsters that she’s most remembered. As for The Woman in Red, that character can be considered the earliest comic book super-heroine, except that she had no super-powers, only a mask and costume. She appeared in Pines/Nedor’s Thrilling Comics and America’s Best Comics between 1938 and 1945. [Woman in Red TM & ©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

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Carole Lombard as Lady Luck Though Lady Luck appeared in Smash Comics and its continuation Lady Luck from 1943 to 1950, she was owned not by “Busy” Arnold’s Quality Comics Group but by Will Eisner. The comic book stories were merely reprints from Will Eisner’s Spirit Section, a newspaper supplement during the 1940s. “March’s biggest holiday is St. Patrick’s Day,” says Alex Wright, “and what heroine better embodies ‘the luck of the Irish’ than Lady Luck herself?” He couldn’t resist tossing in her chauffeur, as well. Carole Lombard could’ve used some of that fabled luck, even after she became a movie star with 1940’s One Million B.C. Still, she was a pinup favorite during World War II, and in 1944 wrote the book Four Jills in a Jeep based on one of her USO tours, and it was made into a movie that same year. [Lady Luck TM & ©2008 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.]

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The Alter Ego 1943 Calendar Goes 2008!

Jane Russell as Phantom Lady Jane Russell shone in Alex’ first “1943 calendar” as Wonder Woman, while model Betty Page was seen as Quality Comics’ Phantom Lady. Victor Fox’s quite independent version of the latter heroine (because it was the property of Jerry Iger Studios) seemed a good excuse to feature Miss R. a second time. Alex says, “Since the base picture I used of Jane had her sitting down, I couldn’t resist having her seated on a giant Easter egg for April.” Jane, of course, is famous for roles such as The Outlaw (1946) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)—Phantom Lady for her 1947-49 stint as star of her own comic and of All Top Comics. [Phantom Lady is now a trademark of DC Comics.]

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Gene Tierney as Phantom Lady

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“Armed Forces Day falls in May,” scribes Alex, “and I wanted to use a character who saw action in the skies, so I immediately thought of Black Angel. ‘Sultry’ and ‘sexy’ are words that I associate with both Black Angel and Gene Tierney, so Gene was a natural for the part.” Ms. Tierney herself is best remembered for playing the title role in the 1944 film classic Laura, but also garnered an Oscar nomination for Leave Her to Heaven (1945). As for the less well-known Black Angel, she was a costumed aviatrix in Air Fighters Comics from 1942 to 1945, though she never achieved the popularity of lead star Airboy. [Black Angel TM & ©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

Third Times The Charm

Gene Tierney as Yankee Girl “I’m embarrassed to admit,” says Alex, “but I didn’t do the months in order, and thus ended up using Gene Tierney twice—ironically, for two consecutive months! I really wanted to use Yankee Girl for Flag Day in June, and no other actress came to mind when I was casting the role.” Well, no complaints here, Mr. Wright. Yankee Girl wasn’t one of the most memorable of Golden Age heroines, but she did appear in Dynamic’s Captain Flight, Red Seal, and Dynamic Comics between 1945 and 1947. Her alter ego was Kitty Kelly—no relation to the slander-mongering “biographer” of more recent vintage. [Yankee Girl TM & ©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

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Ann Miller as USA, The Spirit Of Old Glory What? You’ve never heard of USA, The Spirit of Old Glory? Well, she popped up in seven stories in Quality’s Feature Comics in 1941— which actually makes her a character now probably owned by DC Comics (if by anyone)— springing into action against saboteurs whenever a certain American flag drooped. She’s portrayed here by singer/actress/tap-dancer Ann Miller, who started out in movies in the 1930s at age 13, but made her mark in the late 1940s and early 1950s, in MGM musicals such as Easter Parade, On the Town, and Kiss Me, Kate. In 1979 she and Mickey Rooney were a smash on Broadway in the musical play Sugar Babies. Old Glory would’ve waved proudly to see them! Alex says that USA was “a shoo-in for the 4th of July. Ann Miller was so vibrant and full of life that she seemed to embody the spirit of America quite well.” [USA TM & ©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

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The Alter Ego 1943 Calendar Goes 2008!

Esther Williams as Rocketgirl The month of August “commemorates” the birth of the Atomic Age in 1945, and, as Alex says, “though we now look on [the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki] with sadness and grief, back in the day the rocket was an answer to a lot of prayers.” Of course, Fat Man and Little Boy were not delivered by rocket, but the preceding August Nazi buzz-bombs had been falling on London. Rocketgirl was the partner of Rocketman in 1940s issues of Scoop Comics and Punch Comics from Harry “A” Chesler’s Dynamic group, and their adventures were briefly reprinted in the ’50s in the Zipjet title. Esther Williams, the Olympic swimmer who parlayed her skills into MGM movie musicals, was also seen as Namora in last year’s calender—but we guess she would’ve looked good swimming through the skies, as well. [Rocketgirl TM & ©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

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Jennifer Jones as Leopard Girl

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If we can toss in one potentially-DC-owned heroine, we might as well have one from Marvel, as well… or at least from Timely. Leopard Girl was basically Sheena crossed with Batman, and appeared in Jungle Action #1-6 in 1954-55. Why is she here? Alex writes: “Don’t ask me why, but I really liked Leopard Girl’s costume. So even though it has nothing to do with Labor Day, I decided to use the character here.” Jennifer Jones, after a role in a B-movie and the serial Dick Tracy’s G-Men, became a star (and 1944 Oscar winner) for The Song of Bernadette. Her major movies also include Duel in the Sun and A Farewell to Arms, adapting Ernest Hemingway’s novel. [Leopard Girl TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Third Times The Charm

Ann Sheridan as Spider Queen

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Ann Sheridan was supposedly cast as The Asbestos Lady in our 2006 calendar… though Harlan Ellison feels (rather strongly) that it wasn’t her image that was actually used. Hopefully, this time we’ve better with the onetime “Oomph Girl” who co-starred with Ronald Reagan, Cary Grant, and others during the 1940s. Wright writes: “The most appropriate character for Halloween seemed to be Spider Queen with her witch mask and disguise. Since looking at a crone didn’t seem particularly appealing, I decided to show her donning her mask. I used Ann Sheridan because she had a ‘What are you looking at?’ expression on her face.” [Spider Queen TM & ©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

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Bette Davis as Miss Masque “I seem to remember,” reports Alex, “that Miss Masque [a Pine/Nedor/Standard heroine] wore a Pilgrim-like hat at one point, so I thought I’d use her for Thanksgiving. As I was looking at reference materials, I saw an Eisner [Eisneresque?] drawing of MM with her name written in the smoke of her guns. So this is a nod to Mr. Eisner’s genius. Couldn’t think of a tougher ‘broad’ than Bette Davis for the part.” Good point, Alex. Miss Masque appeared at various times in Exciting Comics, America’s Best Comics, Fighting Yank, and Black Terror— while the truly legendary Ms. Davis won Oscars for her starring roles in Dangerous (1935) and Jezebel (1938). ’Nuff said? [Miss Masque TM & ©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

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The Alter Ego 1943 Calendar Goes 2008!

Lana Turner as Black Cat

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Today’s readers know the name “Black Cat” as a Marvel character…but to fans of 1940s comics, there’ll always be only one Black Cat—the Harvey heroine who was featured in Pocket Comics, Speed Comics, All-New Comics, and her own title between 1941 and 1951, with the latter especially well handled by artist Lee Elias. Here she’s shown on her way to deliver a captured crook—female, of course—to the cops. Alex again: “Black Cat has always been one of my favorite Golden Age heroines. So I couldn’t resist saving her for last. Since [her alter ego] ‘Linda Turner’ was an obvious spoof of Lana Turner, there could be no one else to play her. I spent a lot of time creating the scene— cutting out modern buildings and adding vintage cars to cover the modern ones. This is well and truly a labor of love.” Lana, nicknamed “The Sweater Girl,” was a major WWII pin-up, but her greatest role was opposite John Garfield in the 1946 film The Postman Always Rings Twice. Well, if Lana (or Linda) Turner was behind that door, wouldn’t you? [Black Cat TM & ©2008 LorneHarvey.]

Thanks to Wikipedia and other 2 3 4 5 6 sources for some of the filmographical 9 10 11 12 13 information in this section. 9 20 16 17 18 1 6 27 23 24 25 2 COMICS’ 30 31

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Monthly! The Original First-Person History!

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

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“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist” A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist MARVIN LEVY Interview Conducted by Jim Amash

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

arvin Levy’s comics career wasn’t overly long, but it sure took some interesting turns along the way. Starting out as an apprentice at the Harry “A” Chesler shop, Marvin also spent time in the Bernard Baily and Lloyd Jacquet [Funnies, Inc.] studios, rubbing shoulders with luminaries such as Carmine Infantino, Mort Lawrence, and Mac Raboy. Sandwiched around those stops, Marvin freelanced for Harvey Comics, Ziff-Davis, Spark Publications, Centaur, and Standard Publications, before leaving the field for advertising. I found Marv’s recollections to be fascinating and occasionally revelatory, and I think you will, too. Special thanks to Herb Rogoff (Marvin’s former Ziff-Davis editor and my good friend) for giving me the contact information for Marvin. —Jim

A Burnt-Out (Berndt-Out?) Christmas Marv Levy, in a Dec. 1997 photo, views his exhibited work—including art from the Christmas giveaway comic pictured below—as it hangs alongside that of fellow “Berndt Toast Gang” cartoonists at the “Firehouse Gallery” at Nassau County Community College, NY. The Berndt Toast Gang is the Long Island, NY, chapter of the National Cartoonists Society, named after artist Walter Berndt. Photo courtesy of Barbara Levy. (Left:) “While still in high school,” Marv writes, “I drew this presentation page for the [Human] Torch in 1942. (Lloyd Jacquet rejected it—obviously!)” He notes that “three years later, after WWII service, I did lots of work for Jacquet [Funnies, Inc.]—but not ‘Torch’!” This previously unpublished page shows, actually, that the 17-year-old Levy would surely have developed into a good super-hero artist, had that been his inclination. A couple of nice touches: the Torch turning off the fire from his legs in panel 2 so he won’t burn the floorboards, and Toro’s comment in panel 5 that he’ll “break my neck flaming off like this some day.” And besides, the artist’s name was “Marv L.”! [Human Torch TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.; other art ©2008 Marv Levy.] (Left:) One of a series of covers for Christmas comic book giveaway premiums done by Levy between 1951 and 1965. See details on pp. 38-41. The store’s imprint would be added to the publications’ front or back cover. The editor of Woolworth’s Jolly Christmas Book, he reports, was Stella Rose. [©2008 Promotional Publishing, or successors in interest.]

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

See You In The Funny Papers! Three vintage newspaper comic strips that strongly influenced Marv Levy. (Clockwise from above left:) A 1929 daily from Sidney Smith’s The Gumps, launched in 1917 and credited as the first strip to tell a continuing story. The domestic misadventures of Andy and Min were as closely followed as those in any later radio or TV soap opera. [©2008 The Chicago Tribune—NY News Syndicate, Inc., or successors in interest.] This undated drawing by George McManus, creator of Bringing Up Father, was used as a chapter heading in a 1973 collection of that name. [©2008 King Features Syndicate, Inc.] In this panel from only the fourth Li’l Abner daily by Al Capp, from 1934, the Yokums prepare to leave Dogpatch for the big city… while Daisy Mae pines for Abner, as she would for several decades, till they were finally married. [©2008 Capp Enterprises, Inc., or successors in interest.]

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist” JIM AMASH: You know what I’m going to ask you first. MARVIN LEVY: When and where was I born? [mutual laughter] I was born February 21st, 1925, in Albany, Georgia. Actually, my parents were living in Pelham, Georgia, at the time, but the hospital was in Albany. We lived there until I was eight, when my parents moved to New York in 1933. I think I always knew I wanted to be a cartoonist. I was inspired by the newspaper comics. I showed some talent, at least to my teachers, in drawing. That’s where I began to feel that I wanted to do comics as more or less what I had seen in the newspapers, like The Gumps, Bringing Up Father, and some others. Later on, Li’l Abner became a big inspiration to me. At that time, there was one comic book which was not really a comic book. It was a giveaway by Gulf gas stations called The Gulf Weekly. It was a folded-over sheet, a few times, and it was about the size of a comic book. I remember my father would go to the gas station and I would say, “Dad, I’d like to get a comic book.” That’s when I first saw the newspaper strip reprint comics, like Tip-Top Comics and Famous Funnies. I saw myself more as a humorist, rather than as an illustrator, because most of the super-heroes didn’t come around until later, after “Superman.” I started doing my own comic book on regular typing paper in 1933, right after we moved to New York. I was also very interested in flying at that time, so I thought I would try writing and drawing a little war adventure story, rather than something funny. When I look back now, I realize how juvenile they were. Of course, we had no television. We had radio, which was good for the imagination, and the movies. Most of my inspiration came from the movies or from listening to the radio, the adventure serials at the time, or from the comic books of that period. JA: You went to the High School of Music and Art from 1939 to ’43. Did you know Dave Gantz? LEVY: Dave Gantz was ahead of me. He entered the school in, I think, the first year it opened. Music and Art was set up, I think, in 1936 or

‘37 as a specialty school for talented children, either in music or art, and it was split up as a part of the parochial school in where it was located in upper Manhattan, around 135th Street. They only could take a certain amount of students and, of course, they figured that the socalled talented ones wouldn’t be less in number than a regular high school. So they gave tests for you to get in, and Gantz, I know, went to school with Al Jaffee, Harvey Kurtzman, John Severin, and Will Elder. I didn’t know these fellows at the time because [chuckles] when you’re a freshman and they’re a junior, there’s very little contact. [NOTE: See Alter Ego #13 & #35 for interviews with and photos of Dave Gantz, Al Jaffee, et al., in those days.] As a matter of fact, comics were not the kind of thing that the school thought too much about. Those of us who did go into it did it on the side. The great thing was that, after school, you could go down to the publishers, knock on doors, and maybe get an editor to look at your work and give you a critique. Then you went home, fixed it up or did it over, or added something, and then came back another day. That was great. And if you were lucky enough, as I was, to find an editor who would look at my work and critique it, I thought I was learning something. This was not known to the schoolteachers, because they frowned on anything like that. The teachers saw me as an artist, and I always got prizes and was picked out as the artist of the school or that particular class, or whatever it might be, so I had already been making a little bit of a reputation for my industrious efforts.

“Harry Chesler Was Sort-Of A Learning Process” JA: As far as I can tell, you started with Harry Chesler while still in school. LEVY: Harry Chesler was a sort-of a learning process. In those days, there were quite a few ads for cartoonists under the “Artists” heading in The New York Times, and I would go down and show samples of my work. I may have been told by an editor, “This is not the way we do things,” or “Keep it up, you need a little more drawing experience,” whatever it may have been. So that particular summer, when I was 16, I went to Chesler’s. He saw some promise in the fact that I was

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

If At First You Don’t Succeed… (Above:) Marv says this was his “first comic book attempt—‘Larry Condell’—1934, age 9 (unpublished).” It’s wonderful that he’s held onto this early work all these years! (Right:) His second attempt at writing and drawing that feature, at age 13, in 1938, with, says, “unimproved spelling.” Also unpublished. (Below:) And here’s Marv’s first work to see print—a strip submitted to the School Bank News in 1938, and published in January of 1941. [©2008 Marv Levy.]

Norman Maurer was a cohort of Kubert’s. They were in class together and worked as a team. One penciled and the other one inked, I guess. The same with Frank Bolle and Leonard Starr. I didn’t know that there was a penciler and an inker until I got to Chesler’s, and I didn’t realize, also, that the creator of a particular feature didn’t do it himself. I was amazed to see that everybody could copy that particular style. dedicated, because of all the samples I had done. He said, “Do you want to work here for the summer? You’ll learn a lot, working with the other cartoonists.” I said, “Oh, great,” just to find out what it was like. I was working with people like George Tuska. When I say “working with,” I was there with him; I wasn’t actually working. What I was doing was cleaning up their pages and ruling panel borders. I did a lot of menial things until I could draw, maybe, a little background like a little house with some trees or leaves; things like that. Some of the others were only a little older than me, not quite eighteen; and those who were over 18 were drafted into World War II. But there were some others who were much older, like Charlie Sultan. Al Plastino, who was closer to my age or a little older. And let’s see, I can’t think of the others just off-hand. I know that Joe Kubert worked there—I think he may have worked before me at the location because I think he was in a semester or a year ahead of me in school.

I believe Charlie Sultan was doing “Bulletman,” and I would talk to him. If someone took a break, or sat back in their chair, if they rested their eyes or something, I would ask a question or show them something, and someone would show me something about how to do it differently. They said that everybody should ink with a brush, but I was using a pen. They said, “Well, you gotta use a #2 Windsor-Newton brush,” so I started to practice with it. Chesler said the artist that everybody was following was Terry and the Pirates’ Milton Caniff. But Chesler also said that Flash Gordon was inked with a Japanese brush, and he showed me how to use it. I didn’t feel very comfortable using it; it seemed to hold me back. I had a tendency to work a little fast, and you had to be very careful in the lines, to keep the line as thin as it would make and accent it with the back of it. So anyway, he taught me that, and I said to myself, “Well, I’m not going to do that. I’m just going to take a #2 brush and I’m going to use it as fine as I can do it.” So I stayed with the #2. I felt that was more comfortable and faster to work with.

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

“I Believe Charlie Sultan Was Doing ‘Bulletman’” So says Marv Levy of the days when he worked in the Harry “A” Chesler shop. Charles Sultan probably did do much of the art on this “Bulletman” splash from Master Comics #18 (Sept. 1941). As retouched by Bill Black and crew, with gray tones added, this story appeared, credited to “the Chesler Shop,” in AC Comics’ Men of Mystery #43 (2003). Nearly all of AC’s product, reprinting Golden Age comics, is still available; see ad on p. 11. [Bulletman TM & ©2008 DC Comics; retouched art © 2003, 2008 AC Comics.]

JA: Did Chesler actually pick up a Japanese brush and show you how to ink with it? I’ve never heard of him ever doing anything artistic at all. LEVY: I was practicing some brush strokes and I had just a little bit of a figure drawn. He came over one day and he saw me doing this with the #2 brush. Chesler asked me if I liked Alex Raymond’s work? And I said, “Yes.” He said, “Well, let me show you how he does it.” He took a brush, and even with his stubby fingers—he was sort-of a swarthy man who smoked cigars [chuckles]—I remember he took the cigar out of his mouth because he had to lean over and we both would have to smell his smelly cigar. [mutual laughter] He put it on the tabaret, he bent over and showed me how to ink a straight line. He didn’t go too far with what he was showing, and then he said, “Now you practice with it.” That was all he did. Nobody there used it, and where he came up with the brush from, I don’t know. It must have been in his desk drawer. JA: Chesler had a nickname: “Chesler the Chiseler.” Did you see instances of him being that cheap? LEVY: No. Actually, I didn’t even get paid, because I didn’t even want the money. I think he offered something like $5 a week, or something like that, just to pay for my carfare. I said no, I felt I wasn’t able to produce anything. I was just so happy that he would take me on, and so it would only be for a few weeks in the summer. The guys working there didn’t seem too unhappy to me, except that some of the younger ones, some like myself and others that came

It Was A Famous Victory In 1944 and ’45, Chesler himself published three issues of Major Victory Comics, featuring the super-hero who had appeared in several 1941-42 issues of Dynamic’s titles Dynamic Comics and Yankee Comics. Charles Sultan drew the stories of this hero, who gained his powers from “Father Patriot.” [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

Levy The Kid (Left:) The first page of a 6-page filler story Levy wrote and drew in 1941 as a sample. Previously unpublished—but it probably helped get Marv a paying job! [©2008 Marv Levy.] (Above:) A 1941 postcard from James Fitzsimmons of Funnies, Inc., requesting submission of artwork. This card came, says Marv, “seven weeks before Pearl Harbor.”

along, would have seen that, yeah, they could probably do better elsewhere. JA: What else do you remember about Charles Sultan? LEVY: Not too much. He was sort-of a steadfast guy. I don’t remember him joking too much. I remember Tuska was joking quite a bit, even with his bad hearing, and Al Plastino did a lot of kidding around. The shop was on 7th Avenue; on the second floor with a large front window. Across the street, there were a lot of girls working at some office there. It looked like a manufacturing office, people sewing or whatever it might have been; a lot of girls in rows. And also at that time, it was in mid-summer and very hot. We didn’t have air-conditioning, it didn’t exist then, but we had some fans. Everybody worked in their t-shirts or undershirts or no shirts at all. I still remember Rafael Astarita getting up to walk to the window and showing his bare chest to the girls, trying to get their attention. Tuska got into the act, too, and I think Tuska was bigger than Plastino. He also did these muscle-man positions, and little by little I saw the heads of the girls across the street turning, looking, and they’re talking to each other and pulling others over. And they all started to stand at the window across the street to watch these guys posturing in our window. I don’t know what it looked like from the street, [mutual laughter] but Chesler, I don’t think, was there at that moment. Otherwise, he would have pulled some of them back to work. Chesler wore a suit with a vest, smoking his cigar and wearing a black homburg hat. It just seemed out of place with the fact that a lot of the guys worked in their undershirts or bare-chested. It seemed like he was just overly dressed for the circumstances, but I think at the time, it must have been because he still had to do the legwork and go

out and see clients, and had to be dressed for the occasion. We worked 9-to-5, with a lunch break. And then, about three o’clock, Chesler would announce, “Okay, take a break,” and everybody would leave the boards and go downstairs where there was a very small entranceway soda stand and have a soda, and he would pay for them. Yeah, everybody said, “Take a break and have a drink.” I always thought that if Chesler tried to show that he was a tough hombré, it was all on the surface, because somebody had to be in charge. There’s all these artists, kidding and fooling around, but you had to get work done and the pressures were pretty high, and he knew that. But he wanted to feel like he was treating his people right, and it added a certain humanity to him. As a matter of fact, years and years later, when Joe Kubert opened his school in Dover, he had a birthday party for Chesler. I think it was Chesler’s 80th birthday. Joe knew my name, primarily because he had seen it associated with Chesler. He never knew that I went to Music and Art and had known him. I knew him more than he knew me. When I got to the party with my wife, and Joe realized that we had gone to school together, he remembered that we had known each other. But the funny thing was that I got to talk to Chesler, and he seemed pretty much the same. JA: Was he still smoking a cigar? LEVY: Oh yes. Charlie Sultan was there, and I think Tuska was there. Sultan didn’t remember me, but I told him how many things went on there that I remembered and he was involved with. I thought Chesler was a very nice man. I didn’t hear any real criticism of him. That little term, “Chesler the Chiseler,” was just some name [someone] coined just to get him[self] some notoriety.

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

JA: Before I move away from Chesler, is there anything else about the studio or the people there that strikes you offhand? LEVY: No, all I can tell you is I learned in a very short time how to prepare the page, how to make it saleable, how to anticipate what an editor would look for. And really, for someone of my age at the time, considering what happened to me as the years went by, it was such a great learning experience. I was very fortunate to have been there just to watch and be around the people. JA: By the way, I’ve heard Charlie Sultan was an art director there at one time. LEVY: I don’t remember if he was the art director, but I remember he was the one that Chesler always talked to about what was going on with the work. JA: Essentially, Chesler didn’t have an overseer of the studio. He usually did that himself, correct? LEVY: When artists finished something, they took it to Chesler. I don’t remember them going directly to Sultan, because he was always working at the board, busy with what he was doing. They handed Chesler the penciled pages, and he would take them to the letterer before the pages were inked. I don’t remember the lettering being done at Chesler’s. He’d go to wherever the pages were lettered, and come back with a finished batch, ready to be inked.

JA: Henry C. Keifer—he was an older man. LEVY: Keifer? Yeah, I remember him. In fact, I ran into him later, doing work with Lloyd Jacquet. To be honest, I didn’t think he was that great an artist. It just didn’t look as careful—I mean, it looked to me like he was so loaded with work, he just had to rush it out. He was drawing, I think, a lot of long stories. I think it just got tiresome to him. But I know he did some covers for some of the books I was in when I did some for Lloyd Jacquet.

“Centaur Was Known As Comic Corporation Of America” JA: In 1941 and ’42, I have you as working for Centaur. Did you go to work for them directly or did you get that work through Chesler? LEVY: I worked directly for them. This came out of the experience I had at Chesler. Centaur was known as Comic Corporation of America when I went to work there. I went up there because I had heard from Chesler that if I wanted to break in, try and do a filler first, and that way an editor would get a chance to know your work. This was the summer of ’41. In September of ’41, when I got back into school, I began to take what I had learned and wrote a two-page filler, “Kisko ‘Sid,’” which was a take-off of The Cisco Kid. I thought of the play on the words, turned it around, and made it sort-of sound like a Jewish character.

“Hey, Kisco, The Sheriff, He Is Getting Closer!” Marv writes that this “Kisco ‘Sid’” tale in Stars and Stripes Comics #6 in 1941 was his first professionally published comic book work, done for the Comic Corporation of America, the company that soon metamorphosed into Centaur Publications, Inc. He was 16 years old at the time. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

Original Art From “Earth-22” “Earth-22” is the name Ye Editor uses as a catch-all (maybe we should say, “Catch-22”) name for some parallel world on which the comics industry took a different turn—as per this trio of previously unpublished pages from a pair of stories Marv Levy (as “Marv Lev”) wrote and drew on spec in 1941 and 1942, respectively. The two pages above introduce “Mann Mountain and Moal Hil,” a pair of “American aviators” in a common mold of the day. Marv tells us it was done for Lloyd Jacquet’s Funnies, Inc., though never bought or used. The second splash page heralds the debut of the even more imaginatively named “Bill of Rights and Liberty Belle”—though he didn’t say if it was done for Jacquet or Chesler. Here Marv was even more on target, if anything, as costumed heroes were the coin of the comic book realm in 1942. It would be the following year before DC would launch its own quite different “Liberty Belle” feature in the first issue of Simon & Kirby’s Boy Commandos. If Marv’s series had found a quick berth, Libby Lawrence might never have been created, or would probably have sported a different monicker and look! While this pair of stories never appeared in an actual comic, it’s probably as much by sheer happenstance as anything else. They’re just the type of feature that the Chesler, Jacquet, and other shops were turning out for the comics companies during this era. [©2008 Marv Levy.]

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

Khaki Wacky—Not Too Tacky! The cover and the interior indicia page from Khaki Wacky #5 (May 1942), published by the Comic Corporation of America at 215 Fourth Ave., NYC, NY. Marv says: “My first series of b&w gag cartoons [was] published in Khaki Wacky and Yoo Hoo wartime cartoon books.” Marv did the cartoon below; the color cover was done by Walt Munson. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

“This Little Association With Harvey” JA: Is there anybody from that company that you remember? LEVY: Myron Strauss and Lew Glanzman—but I didn’t get to know them or see many people there. On the rare occasion when I worked for Funnies, Inc., I would meet a freelancer like Maurice Del Bourgo or Bill Everett.

I also drew up a bunch of gag cartoons, and I took the whole batch with “Kisko ‘Sid,’” not knowing which I might be considered for, if at all. Now at that time, I didn’t have a telephone in my home. I had to go down to the candy store and make a call,and if they had to call me, they had to call the candy store. Someone would have to run over to the house or my apartment and yell upstairs for me, “There’s a call for you at the candy store.” Oh, those were kind-of attrition days, but things worked out somehow. I went up there with my portfolio and I see this editor, show him the two pages, and he said, “This is very nice. We could use a filler.” I was elated. I mean I didn’t care if they didn’t pay me for it. I was grateful that somebody would want to publish it. I think the editor’s name was Kelly. It was an Irish name, I don’t know for sure. Anyway, I’m there and I have my portfolio on my lap while he’s looking at the two pages, and he said, “Let me show it to my boss.” He came back with it in a few minutes and he says, “They seem to like it, and they think they could use it in a book.” And I didn’t know what books, specifically. I knew they had done Stars and Stripes Comics and Amazing-Man. And of course, this was a humorous filler, so it didn’t fall into the genre of the super-hero character. But as fillers, they would take little funny things. So anyway, while I’m waiting there, it happened that my portfolio was on my lap and I had these other little gag cartoons in the portfolio. And he came in, and I turned around as he walked in the door, and some of the cartoons slipped out of the portfolio. And he said, “Oh, I see you’ve got some gag stuff. Let me take a look.” He took a look and said, “I think we can use these.” He took a whole batch and paid me $3 a cartoon for the gags, and $5 a page for “Kisco ‘Sid.’” I did everything on it: the same for Khaki Wacky and Yoo Hoo. My lettering was acceptable, but it wasn’t consistently done the way most of the balloons are. I always marveled at the guys who could do it. It took up too much time for me to deal with. I wanted to draw. I became more of a letterer years later when I took it more seriously. But I only worked for Comic Corporation of America a few months.

My biggest wish was, of course, that I would someday have a newspaper comic strip. The comic books really felt like a ceiling or stepping-stone and not to be taken too seriously or literally, that this is the way to go. The summer of ’42, I decided I had to make some more money, so I got a job as a waiter/busboy at some hotel out in the mountains in Spring Valley somewhere, so I wasn’t drawing anything. Later in 1942 to ’43, however, I started up again and I wrote my first story, which I then sold to Harvey. The first one was “The Adventures of the Handy Dwarf.” “The Ogre of Merryville,” I think, was the last story I gave him. I only did one story for Harvey before 1945, the reason being that in ’44 I went into the service and didn’t come out until January ’45. JA: “Prince and the Catfish.” Did you do that in 1945? LEVY: Oh, yeah. Definitely. I did a “Reggy” filler in 1943, as well as “Young’Un and Tagalong,” though they may have been published while I was in the service. I had a very hard editor at Harvey, Bev Sousa. I never forgot her; she was a taskmaster. I really owe her a lot in the way of writing. She took my work and really went over it with her fine-tooth comb and really got it to spark up. When I came out of the service, she was still with Harvey. But not long afterwards, she told me she was marrying somebody and going to South Africa. I had to have her approval on scripts before I drew a story. I usually gave her a synopsis. It was a pretty long synopsis because I never knew, even writing a synopsis, should I leave this out or leave that out? If I left this out, maybe that’s the thing that’ll make it work. [chuckles] I always thought everything I wrote was important. As for my synopses, I did a pencil layout on letter-size paper, just a quick breakdown. It was with doodle figures in panels. I think I did that with the actual manuscript, finally, because the manuscript wasn’t really a manuscript, now that I think about it. From the synopsis, I did this breakdown with well-defined dialogue. Now, I had written a whole story up on “The Handy Dwarf” in eight pages, pencils and

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

Levy Dwarfs His Previous Efforts “The Handy Dwarf” was, Levy reports, “the first published 6-page story/art” he did, under editor Bev Sousa, for Family Comics Publications (i.e., Harvey). It appeared in All-New Comics #4 (Aug. 1944). By then, Marv was finding that his major strength lay in humorous comics rather than adventure features. Thanks to Dominic Bongo for retrieving scans of the original art from the Heritage Comics Archives. The editors changed the logo and title in the published version to “The Adventures of the Handy Dwarf.” [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

inks. So I brought it up to them after school, and I showed it around to others too, and no one was too interested in a little fairy tale. I didn’t know Harvey was putting out a book called All-New Comics. I knew they had others like Green Hornet, but I took a chance and the receptionist looked at it and said, “Oh, this is cute. Let me show it to the boss.” She showed it to him and she came back with it and said, “He likes it.” But the boss wanted his editor to look at it, so I left it there. I came back the next day or so, and Leon Harvey said, “It’s very nice. Would you mind making it into a 6-page story?” Now this was a full 8-page finished story. I didn’t care. I mean draw, draw, draw, and they’ll pay me for it. I think also, in this case, I got $10 a page for the drawing and $5 for the writing. So I was moving up in the world. [chuckles] I did it over in pencil, and they approved it. I inked it, they did the lettering, and that was the first story. It came out in about April of ’43. JA: You were creating your own features. When you came in with a new one, did you just come in with the synopsis or did you come in with the drawings and say, “This is a new character that I want to do”? LEVY: “The Handy Dwarf,” as I mentioned, was a fully-drawn page. The whole story was fully done, so I showed them that and

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

A Real (Cat)Fish Story These four pages from All-New #14 (Jan-Feb. 1947) were written and drawn in 1945, but not published till approximately one year later. Dominic Bongo trolled these files from the Heritage Comics Archives. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

Spelling The Main Features Marv seems to have had a bit of trouble deciding how the name of his filler feature was spelled. It was “Young’Un and Tagalong” in Family Comics/ Harvey’s Green Hornet #18 (May 1944), and “Youngin’ and Tagalong” in Speed Comics #33 (July 1944). Both pages were drawn in 1943 for editor Bev Sousa. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

the character, of course, was established and the continuity, the consistency of the character, and things like that. And since it was a so-called one-time story... all the stories appearing there were not continuation characterizations, so any new story coming was new unto itself. I wrote some other stories and showed them some other work, but some of the things I had, like “The Prince and the Catfish,” they had looked at earlier, before I went into the service, but I didn’t have time to work it up before I went into the service. I let it hang around until I came out. JA: What do you remember about Leon Harvey at Harvey Comics? LEVY: Leon was a very easy-going guy, very apt to tell you that you can do this another little way or you can change this or that, and try to help me. I looked at Chesler as sort of a grandfather figure, [chuckles] and Leon like a father figure, because Leon was younger and being that he had taken over from Alfred. I didn’t know Alfred, but I gathered that he was running the operation. We discussed the kind of things that he liked. Once, Leon put his arm around my shoulder and said, “You stay with me and I’ll make you another Milt Caniff,” not knowing, of course, that I was not really interested in being another Milt Caniff, because Chesler was going to make me another Alex Raymond. After a book came out with “Handy Dwarf,” he asked me to do some more and I said, “Well, I have this one story which Bev Sousa was going to look at.” And he said, “Well, if you don’t have time to finish it...” I said to him. “I think I’m going to be going into the service right after I graduate high school so I don’t know if I’m going to have time.”

So he said, “Well, maybe you can just do some fillers.” I came up with this character of “Young’Un and Tagalong” and “Reggy.” So that worked out. A sidelight to this little association with Harvey is that when I graduated high school, I went into the Army in September 1943, and I went to basic training, and then I was shipped overseas to England with the 9th Infantry Division. Even in basic training, I was doing sketches about what was going on around me in my training, exercises, and on shipboard going overseas. In England, I did some sketches of the countryside and some of the soldiers and the caricatures and cartoons which I sent home. At that time, we had V-Mail. The guys around me in the service were very much intrigued by the fact that I could do their caricatures, which they would send home to their wives or girlfriends. After that I went into Normandy, I went right after D-Day, and a week later, I was wounded and they took me back to England, where I was hospitalized for quite a few months. During the latter part of that period, oh, I’d say somewhere around—I was wounded on June 23rd and the 30th, I was back in England, or the first of July, and I was there until November in a few hospitals. At the last hospital, I was pretty much recuperating, and doing drawings of my experiences in combat. Well, one day, I was at the end of the ward. We had about, let’s say, 20 bunks or cots on either side of a Quonset hut. I was at one end and at the far end, which was the closest to the entrance, was the first cot, and I saw they were passing out some newspapers, and I see a comic book go into one of the hands of the guys down at the end. I was busy [Continued on p. 26]

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

World War II Drawings: Shipboard and England Marv Levy in uniform, age 18½, September 1943, while training as a rifleman at Fort McClellan Infantry Replacement Training Center in Alabama. He writes of these sketches: “These [the sketches on pp. 24-25] are only a few of the 45 drawings in pencil and pen & ink of my combat experiences in Normandy, June 1944, rendered in an Army hospital in England, while recovering from wounds [between July 15 and September 12]. I am currently working on a book about the campaign entitled Take Cherbourg!, in which the drawings and historical account are presented. In 1994, I produced a 46-minute video after returning to Normandy in 1983 to film the same locations seen in the drawings. “NOTE: The drawings of ‘Shipboard’ and ‘England’ were left in my field pack when I was wounded June 23, 1944. The drawings were found and returned to me by the Army Quartermaster—two years later!—after the war was over. “Most recently, I was interviewed with the drawings for the PBS series War Stories, which can be seen on the Internet at: www.omn.org/partners/WNET/WarStories/.” You didn’t ever need to draw heroes, Marv. In our minds, you are one! [©2008 Marv Levy.]

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

World War II Drawings – D-Day And Counting

(Above:) Marv is shown mounting his WWII drawings in a Merrick Library exhibition for the 1994 50th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944. On these facing pages are the cover and illustrations from his work-in-progress Take Cherbourg! This book will utilize sketches of combat in France in which he took part, beginning only a week after D-Day. He says: “After being treated for wounds I was shipped to an Army hospital in England on July 1, 1944. From July 15 to September 12 I rendered in pencil and pen & ink on drawing paper which nurses supplied. Captions and dates for the drawings were written years later, after researching my unit's daily record during the war.” [©2008 Marv Levy.]

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

I got back home and went right back to checking up with Harvey, and with Bernard Baily, and some others to see where there might be some work. Sure enough, I started to get work from Harvey, and Baily, and Lloyd Jacquet [Funnies, Inc.]. JA: So then you came back to Harvey. Now the rest of your Harvey credits, this is what I have: “Five Princesses of Pompadoonk,” 1945. Is it just that one year, is that right? LEVY: Let’s see, I’m looking at a list here. Well, in the order that I did them... “The Prince and the Catfish” was the first one I did in February, ’45. I had told you I had gotten out in January, so about a month later, I had this story, “The Prince and the Catfish.” And then the second one was “The Legend of the Sun Eclipse.” JA: I have that as 1948. That’s kind-of late. LEVY: Well, yeah. See, well, I’m looking at, first, the date that I’d finished and delivered it. It was published in Black Cat Comics #9 in 1948. I didn’t know that it was going to be held back for so long. But this is all after the war now, so it’s possible a lot of my work was printed in different books which normally would have been in AllNew Comics. “The Legend of the Sun Eclipse” and “The Five Princesses of Pompadoonk” came out in ’46, but were done in ’45. “Ogre of

“Cartoonist In Good Hands!” That’s how Marv labeled this “V-Mail” drawing he did, apparently on Sept. 30, 1944, for his family Stateside. V-Mails are defined in Richard R. Lingeman’s fine 1970 book Don’t You Know There’s a War On? The American Home Front (1941-1945) as “letters to overseas troops—microfilms of regularsized letters that were blown up again [to a 4" by 5" Photostat] after overseas transit” and “received wide usage because of the government’s request to reduce shipping space”—but were probably utilized for mail going in both directions. [©2008 Marv Levy.]

[Continued from p. 22] drawing my own stuff at this end. And when the guys got finished with the comic book, they passed it down from one cot to the other. And as it came down to the next cot to me, I just happened to glance at the guy’s just receiving it from the other guy and I see, of all things, the title of the book was All-New Comics. Of course, I became very excited. So when they got finished with the book, I got hold of it and sure enough, there was the single page of “Reggy,” and I let out a whoop, and remember, I’m still only about 19 years old, so I guess I had the right to be childish about it. [laughs] I said, “Here it is, one of my comics!” And then the guys started up again to look at it and they said, “You did that?” And not that it was such great shakes, but it was just the fact that here I found it in England of all—the only comic book I’d ever seen in all the time I was in the Army, and it was the one that I had worked on. In my record book... let’s see right here—“Reggy” was done January ’43 and appeared in September of 1944. I received a medical discharge because they couldn’t do much with me any more. I was disabled to some degree, and they put me out to pasture by discharging me in January ’45 [classified as “Total Disability”]. Fortunately, my arms, my hands, and everything else about me were viable, so I went back to doing comics as soon as I could. They still needed artists at the time. Still, a lot more of them were going into the service. This was also about the time of the Belgian Bulge [generally known as the Battle of the Bulge], and they were having a lot of casualties, and a lot of guys were being pulled into the Army and to the infantry like I was.

A Fish Story—And A True Story The writer/artist reports that he first saw this “Reggy” one-pager in print in September 1944, while recovering in an Army hospital from wounds received during the Normandy Invasion of the previous June. It appeared in All-New Comics #10 (Sept. 1944), which had appeared on newsstands in mid-summer. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

Fairytales And Legends Splash pages for two stories done for editor Bev Sousa. These 8-pagers appeared, respectively, in All-New Comics #12 (1946) and Black Cat Comics #9 (Jan. 1948), from Family Comics and Home Comics—both names for the company we know as Harvey. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

Merryville,” by the way, I just found published more recently. I couldn’t believe that that story was on a shelf all those years before they decided to use it, because I had spoken to Harvey before they moved out the California. I told editor Sid Jacobson that I didn’t have all the books with my work in them and wanted to find them. He said, “Oh, we can’t find them now. All those records are gone.” I said, “Well, maybe the artwork is around.” “No, we probably would have thrown it all out,” or I guess they would have sold it to the conventions or whatever. But anyway, it did show up at one time, and I was very happy about that. At least I have that in my possession. So anyway, the number of features for Harvey was eight. [NOTE: The Harvey art was warehoused and eventually sold. Much of that art is currently being auctioned through Heritage Galleries. See pp. 20-21. —Jim.] As I said, I was picking up a lot more work from Lloyd Jacquet and Bernard Baily. I wasn’t writing the stories. I began to realize that the more I wrote, the more time it took me, so I stopped writing and spent more time drawing.

“I Worked With Bernard Baily For A Few Weeks” JA: I have you down as working for Bernard Baily, inking and doing backgrounds, in 1943.

LEVY: That’s right. That was the summer before I went into the service. I’d just gotten out of high school and I worked with Bernard Baily for a few weeks, just doing backgrounds. When I came out of the service, I went back to him, and this time I was working on the features from February 1945 until December of ’45. JA: How did you find out that Baily had a shop? Since he wasn’t publishing comics, there must have been word of mouth, or did he put an ad in the paper? LEVY: I hadn’t thought about that before, so I can’t tell you for sure. JA: Did Baily have a studio like Chesler’s or just a room where people worked, like a hotel room or a loft? LEVY: In 1943, I believe he was on Sixth Avenue, 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue, near the corner of Sixth Avenue, about one building in. There was a tight little walk-up to the third floor. The office was like a double room, and was very small. He had a lot of people there. The 1943 layout was this: it was one room plus another room, which was split in two-thirds. Mac Raboy worked in the one-third side, which was Baily’s office. Baily worked on a desk on a drawing board, which was sort-of a business desk, as well. In the room that I worked in—I would say in terms of dimensions, “the big room,” so-called— would have only been about, I think, maybe nine feet across by twelve. He had a doorway that opened into where I was located, and next to me was one desk. There were three desks across the way, so you had

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

five artists there, one of whom was Mort Lawrence. There were others, but I don’t remember their names. There were no letterers or writers there. Mac Raboy was working on “Captain Marvel Jr.” The page layout was done by one of the artists—Mort Lawrence or one of the other guys—and then Mac would take the page and tightly pencil the Marvel Jr. figures. JA: So Raboy did not do the breakdowns? LEVY: No, not the ones that I saw at this time. He did his own breakdowns later when I met him again at Ken Crossen’s. He finished the pencils only on the Captain Marvel Jr. figures. Then it went back to the someone who rendered the rest of the characters and backgrounds. Then it was given to me to tighten up the backgrounds. I was just doing background work then. Then it went to the lettering man, and when the work came back to us, I inked the backgrounds and some secondary characters, if they weren’t that important to the story. In one particular story, I remember there were germs, enlarged germs in the US, [chuckles] and some of the weird characterizations by one of the other artists. I did some of the inking on that. JA: Your Fawcett work was done only through Baily, then. LEVY: Right. I also did some “Captain America” work. JA: There was a guy named Rubin Zubofsky, who later changed his name to Bob Rogers. This is the story he told: he also served a similar function for Raboy later. A lot of times, because Raboy was so slow, they would do stats of the Captain Marvel Jr. figures and paste them up on the pages that other artists did. Did you have to do any of that? LEVY: No, no. Raboy was slow partly because he was so meticulous. And, he not only did that feature, but also illustrations for Look magazine. I remember one he was doing had to do with a flight of American planes in the South Pacific attacking either some Japanese planes or a Japanese convoy, which he rendered in black-&-white wash. A whole series of drawings, almost in comic page form, which was used more like a strip; he did a lot of those, meticulously, because he rendered very carefully. Raboy stayed pretty much by himself; almost a recluse. He smoked a lot and seemed very sad. I never really had a chance to talk to him except when I brought a page over from one of the other artists for him to take a look at and he’d just sort-of look up and grunt, “Yeah, okay,” without any enthusiasm or excitement. Bernard Baily, or someone, told me that he had been drinking and was a very unhappy person. I don’t know whether it was his personal life or what, but he just seemed to be keeping himself busy. On occasion, I saw him looking out the window, just mesmerized and looking into space. But he never got up to come out and say anything to the guys or banter at all. Mort Lawrence was just the opposite: a fun guy. He would tell jokes while working and he was a good-looking guy, married to a showgirl. He had also been in the Army for a short time and something happened to him. I think he hurt himself and they discharged him while he was still in the States. JA: I’ve heard his last name was really “Snyder” and that “Lawrence” was his middle name. Do you know anything about that?

When Raboy’s Art Soared Mac Raboy (photo) and his elegant splash from Fawcett’s Master Comics #34 (Jan. 1943). This was the issue in which, as the cover blurb said, “Captain Nazi Flies!” But, even aloft, lacking super-strength, he was no physical match for Captain Marvel Jr. The photo, taken circa 1942 by Bob Rogers (nee Rubin Zubofksy), was provided by the latter and Roger Hill to accompany an article on Raboy in A/E V3#6. [Shazam! characters TM & ©2008 DC Comics.]

LEVY: No. Of course, a lot of the Jewish names were changed, and I don’t know whether that did anything more for some of the people, but somehow, in the course of events, they did change their names. JA: Lee Ames’ real name was Leon Abramowitz. When he was finally allowed to sign something—he was working for Jerry Iger— Iger said, “You can’t use Abramowitz, it’s too Jewish.” And Iger himself was Jewish. Lee’s comment was “You didn’t expose that kind of condition,” which is an interesting phrase. But I guess there was anti-Jewish sentiment back then. There were a lot of “anti”-things back then. LEVY: As a matter of fact, when I signed my work, I didn’t sign it as “Levy.” Some of it was signed, I remember, as “Marv Lev,” and a few years later, I signed it “Lev.” JA: Why not “Levy”? LEVY: Well, at the time, I thought “Lev” was just a little bit more artysounding than “Levy.” JA: So it wasn’t because you were Jewish. LEVY: No, no. “Lev” was a Jewish name, but it just sounded short and direct. Also, when I first signed my work, I was in school, and I

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

Fighting Fire With—Shield In Captain America Comics #59 (Nov. 1946), a postwar Steve Rogers became a teacher and Bucky one of his students, in “The Private Life of Captain America,” which also recapped his 1940 origin. In this sequence, the heroes fight a different enemy—fire. Thanks to Ger Apeldoorn, who feels the story’s main penciler may be Mike Sekowsky. Mort Lawrence also drew “Cap” during this period, and again in one story in 1954. [©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

somehow had the feeling I didn’t want my name as seen in the comic book be the one that was in high school and my teachers. [mutual laughter] JA: Tell me about Bernard Baily. LEVY: Bernard Baily was kind-of a large guy, kind-of round and paunchy. He had a big black handlebar mustache and a little bit of curly black hair. He had a great voice; his speech was clear and very educated. Whether he was or not, I don’t know. He was working on a strip at that time, and I never knew how he happened to open a shop with Fawcett. But he was working on a strip just like Mac Raboy was working on another project besides doing the comics: “The Whill of the Whisp,” or something like that. I remember seeing the drawings. JA: He had also done “Hour-Man” and “The Spectre” for DC. Do you remember him working on “The Spectre”? LEVY: Yes, and I remember “The Spectre” coming out of the mists like a ghostly character. I didn’t have anything to do with it. JA: Do you know if he had other people helping him do “The Spectre”?

LEVY: Not that I know of. The only work that I remember doing in ’43, in that shop, was “Captain Marvel Jr.” and “Captain America.” JA: Do you remember who penciled the “Captain America”? Was it Mort Lawrence? LEVY: I believe so, and I was very surprised, because at that time, I’d just begun to appreciate what Simon & Kirby were doing, and I was surprised they were not working on it. Mort’s pencils were very complete. I was very impressed with the fact that he would do a rough figure sketch, and go straight to detailed penciling with very little erasure. And when that figure was finished, he’d draw whatever backgrounds the situation called for. I don’t remember whether Lawrence inked anything, because he was so good and fast at what he did that Baily just kept him penciling, except that I know that I worked on his backgrounds. I was paid $2 a page for backgrounds. I don’t know who did his inking. JA: I once heard that his wife helped run the studio.

A Man Of The Hour Bernard Baily and a 1940 Hour-Man drawing he did to be awarded as a prize in a DC contest; the latter was offered at a Sotheby’s auction during the 1990s. The 1940s photo is courtesy of Mrs. Regina Baily & Mrs. Jill Baily. Thanks to Roger Hill and Jerry Weist for the copy of the art. [Hour-Man illo ©2008 DC Comics.]

LEVY: I don’t remember ever seeing her. Bernard Baily was the editor. He got the scripts in and handed them out to others. He checked the art out to see if there was something that might have been overlooked... he checked against the script. I don’t remember who took the material to the letterers or publishers.

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

The Going Rates - 1946 We should all thank our lucky stars that Marv Levy was such a packrat, in the best sense of the word! Here’s a 1946 list of comic book companies’ page rates, which he’s saved for more than six decades! Marv isn’t sure who composed the list.

“Very Few Writers Got Any Recognition” JA: So are there any other personal Bernard Baily stories? LEVY: When I entered the service, I found myself in the Infantry during basic training. I wanted to transfer to the Air Force. I saw myself as a glamorous cadet, flying. But to do this, I needed a statement from my former employer to attest to my character and reliability, and all this stuff. I wrote my mother, “Can you go up to Bernard Baily’s studio and get a letter of recommendation?” She went up there, and he signed this form, and she sent it on to me. So I put in an application for transfer to the Air Force. You had to take four tests, and I took three tests, one which each time I came to the bulletin board, and I passed the first test, the second test, and the third test. The fourth time we’re supposed to take a test, there’s a notice saying, “All transfers canceled.” JA: Were things any different with Baily when you came back to work for him? LEVY: Baily had moved to a much larger office. It was in an elevated building on, I think, 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue. It was a corner

building that had an elevator, and he was up on the fourth floor. It had a wide open windowed office like a dance or an art studio. He was in

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

one big room and there were a couple of smaller rooms—cubbyholes, actually—he was the only one in that room. It was a big office that he was in, like you had to walk 20 feet to get to his desk. He was at the far end of that room and yet there was not another soul that I remember there. I think there might have been one little art table on the side, but nobody sat there. In the other room, the one room that I saw, was Carmine Infantino. I had known Carmine from my brother who had gone to the High School of Industrial Arts and had introduced me to him one time. I got to know Carmine pretty well. He had a very distinctive bass baritone voice. He was a strong presence and big. Baily had a writer that was working there named Jerry Gale— which, by the way, brings up a point that I’ve always had a sort-of a sadness about, the fact that very few writers ever got any recognition. JA: You’re right. I always try to fix that whenever possible. But the problem is, since artists seldom signed their work and writers even less frequently, it’s virtually impossible to know who wrote the stories. LEVY: Well, the reason I mention it is, probably a lot of the writers went on to bigger and better things, and maybe they didn’t want it known they were doing comics. JA: There’s some of that, too... Mickey Spillane, of course, being an exception. LEVY: Well, he’s the one. In fact, I have an original script of his. [NOTE: See next page.] I sent Spillane a copy of the script and he never acknowledged it. [chuckles] The reason I sent it to him is because I knew another mutual friend who worked with Mickey Spillane way back when, and he thought that Mickey might be interested. I said, “You know, it’s a funny thing that when the script came to me, it didn’t come from him directly. It came from the editor at Lloyd Jacquet’s and it had Mickey Spillane’s byline.” JA: Who else was there? LEVY: Well, there was an old-time cartoonist who used to do a newspaper ad called “Two-fer Nickel.” I think it was for Hostess Cupcakes or something like that. I guess they were two for a nickel and he had his character, Two-fer Nickel. I was introduced to the artist by Carmine Infantino, who happened to be there the day that I came up to Baily’s for something or other. That’s all the people I saw. It didn’t look like he had a shop any more. It just looked like it was his own art studio, with space arrangements where maybe the artist paid for a desk to have a location, maybe like Carmine did, to do his own work or maybe some work for Baily. I don’t remember what Carmine was working on at the time. I don’t know if he was doing it for Baily or if he was doing his own work and renting the space. [NOTE: Carmine states that he was working for Bernard Baily, and not renting space. –Jim.] Carmine was very affable and sincere. If he shook your hand and smiled at you, he was glad to know you. He was a very pleasant guy. Over the years, we would bump into each other and he’d say, “Hi, Marv, how are you? How’s your brother?” JA: What do you remember about Jerry Gale? LEVY: Jerry was a fast thinker. I was on furlough, and came up to say hello to Bernard Baily; Jerry was there. I had just done a sample humor page to get my hand back into the style of things. Baily said, “We have an idea for a comic book that we’re going to be putting out.” I think it was going to be published by Feature. [NOTE: That company was also known as Prize and/or Crestwood. –Jim.]. It was Wonderland Comics. He said, “We could use a story on a character Jerry wrote

How Do You Get To Wonderland? Clearly, During A Gale! The splash from the 6-page “Fantastic Ferdy” tale in Wonderland Comics #3 (Feb.-March 1946), produced by the Bernard Baily studio for Feature Publications. The writer, Marv says, was Jerry Gale. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

called ‘Fantastic Ferdy,’ a little medieval Jack the Giant Killer kind of a character. I want you to work up a page.” I went home and drew a page. A couple days later, I went back and Bailey said, “That looks good. What do you think, Jerry?” And Jerry said, “I think it’s great. Why don’t I write the story around that?,” because I had just made up a little situation for a story. Jerry wrote a story around it, incorporating that page. We did five stories of that feature. Howard Post was the key artist on that magazine. He did the covers and stories. Howie went to Music and Art with me, and he left after the third year because he had a problem with his family. He had to help support them and he had to find a way of getting work quickly, so he became an animator and then a director of animation for Famous Studios in New York. The funny thing was, we had been in touch before I went into the service, and then one day while I was overseas in the hospital, I received a rolled-up comic book and it was his first comic book that he had work in—it was Prize Comics. He had sent me his first comic book just to show how far he had made it in comics, as well as the fact that he’d been in animation. During the war years, a lot of comic book companies were fly-bynight operations. One of the key issues was the matter of who got the paper. Paper was rationed, and if you were a bigger publisher like DC and Timely, then you got your paper quota. If you wanted to come out with something and you were not in the publishing business, then you had a problem.

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

The Evolution Of A Comics Feature (Left:) The first page of a script written in 1945 by the late Mickey Spillane (seen in photo), creator of the world-famed Mike Hammer. It was done for the Funnies, Inc., feature “Smarty Pants”—but that name has been crossed out at top left, and it has been rechristened “Jackie the Slick Chick.” (Below:) Marv Levy retained copies of the original art of these two splash pages of 5-page “Jackie” stories, done for Lloyd Jacquet’s shop in ’45. He has no idea if either was ever published. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.] (Below left:) A letter to Marv from Funnies, Inc., editor Irv Weinstein re the name change, 1945. Note the “fi” symbol on the letterhead— and the once-familiar “Special Delivery” stamp on the envelope.

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

that happened with Ziff-Davis and all the others who jumped into it. But that’s getting ahead of our story. JA: Let’s finish up with Baily here. What else did you do in 1945 for Baily? I have you working for a company called Continuity Comics, doing “John Quincy the Atom,” “Nomie and Hoiman”—this is in ’45 and ’46.

“Enoch Sly Cuts A Pie!” Splash of a 7-page “Enoch Sly” episode done for Golden Lad #4 (April 1946), for Ken Crossen’s Spark Publications. The writer, Marv reports, was Bruce Elliot. The issue’s cover at right was drawn by the legendary Mort Meskin, seen in photo. Pic of Meskin courtesy of sons Peter and Philip. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

But the other aspect was the Interborough News Company and, I forget—the Metropolitan, or whatever it was—these outfits decided to get into the business, too. They cut some deals where they were able to get paper, and then got outfits like Baily’s and Funnies, Inc., to put the stuff together, because they didn’t know anything about the art and the writing. They didn’t care. All they wanted was to get a business out of it. The packages were the thing that put these people in business, and that’s why they were short-run, and a lot of the work done on them was not great, including mine. There’s a lot of stuff that I did that I wasn’t too keen about afterwards, because I rushed it, and the pressure was tremendous. With some, I was more inspired with than others. When World War II ended, so did the whole comic industry. Most of the comic books were not sold to the general population, but to the armed services. I learned this later when I got a call from Lloyd Jacquet, five years after the war was over, and he said, “Do you have any stuff that you haven’t had published yet?” And I said, “Why do you ask that now? Five years ago, when I worked for you, you said everything had come to a standstill. You still have a lot of my work there that never saw print.” He said, “Don’t you know there’s a war on again?” [Jim chuckles] I said, “The Korean War.” He said, “Well, that’s the reason.” So when the Korean War came about, the comics picked up again, and

LEVY: I did those through Lloyd Jacquet. For Baily, there were two other features which I never saw in print, which were delivered and paid for. It was called “Ali.” This is Ali like in The Arabian Nights, and Ali was a fearless genie. They were 6-page features which I created. He asked me to come up with an Arabian character, so I did and they bought it. I believe Jerry wrote them. That’s all I did for Baily. At the same time, I was doing work for Jacquet, and for Spark Publications— that was Ken Crossen—I did “District Attorney.” I did two stories; the second one wasn’t published. “Enoch Sly” I did three stories of, which were published in Golden Lad Comics. Well, the last of the “Enoch Sly”—I don’t have it noted here that I found where it was published, if at all. The first one, “District Attorney,” was in Atoman. They paid me $20 a page, which was, at that time, all right because a lot of the socalled top ones were getting $25 and more, I guess. But that seemed to be okay with me. JA: Also, if you were doing humor, they always paid a little less for humor features than, say, for adventure. LEVY: Yeah, but the “District Attorney” wasn’t humorous, and I wasn’t too comfortable with that, anyway.

“The Cartoonists Are Thinking About Forming A Cartoonists Guild” JA: Who wrote the work you did for Crossen? LEVY: The editor might have written some, I’m not sure. Her name was Vera Cerruti. One day, she asked me, “Would you be interested in going to a meeting? The cartoonists are thinking about forming a Cartoonists Guild.” I said, “Sure.” So I went the evening it was called for, and who was going to be the main speaker but Burne Hogarth? Outside of the fact he was not in comic books, of course, he was a big name because he did the Tarzan newspaper strip. I was there, Dan Barry was there, and some other guys, I can’t remember them all. Then Hogarth starts talking about how the cartoonists have to get together and consolidate the business because the publishers are playing one against the other for rates. A guild would get a good rate for everybody. That sounded good, and then all of a sudden he started to talk about how, in Russia, things were better because the artists were protected and everybody got the same money. The next thing I knew, he was talking more about the Soviet Union. This was 1946 and the Cold War hasn’t quite started, but there were

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

rumblings about Russia giving us a hard time in Germany with the splitting of Berlin and all that. The Iron Curtain hadn’t fallen yet, but we were supposed to be allies with all the help that we gave Russia. Anyway, I’m listening to this and looking around the room. I saw people looking at each other and having the same reactions. This didn’t sound like the kind of thing that we were to discuss here. Before it was over, we had a break, and we all started walking out. I walked out with Dan Barry—we happened to be going on the same subway. Dan said, “Boy, did you hear the way he was talking? Could you believe it was Burne Hogarth having a leftist leaning like that?” And I said, “No, I couldn’t believe it. And why was he that imbued with the whole idea of forming a Communist group?” Why espouse the Russian form of organization? I mean, you had the CIO, you had all the other things around that could do it, and of course, they had tried to get the Artists Guild, which was very hard to do because everybody was independent. You couldn’t get all these people together. The freelance comic book artists were not the same as animation artists, and there were, as I learned later, a lot of shenanigans going on with the publishers and the individuals and all that stuff. JA: The publishers all knew what the others were doing. They were all in bed together. In fact, DC may have had their hand in Prize Comics, and they had a piece of ACG. So yeah, it was all very incestuous. Martin Goodman, the publisher at Timely, played golf with DC’s Harry Donenfeld and Archie’s John Goldwater, though maybe not on the same days. This is really odd to me. I knew Dan Barry later in life, and he was definitely leftist when I knew him. He must have changed. LEVY: Maybe he didn’t know what my position might have been, but I think the thing was that I had just come out of the service, having fought for this country and been wounded. I was concerned about my country, above all else. Now, whether Dan had that same attitude or not I don’t know, because he told me at the time—and I spoke to his brother Sy about this before, and Sy didn’t remember him ever mentioning it—but Dan told me that, when he was in the service (he was in the Marines or in the Army in the South Pacific), he was drawing comics and mailing them back from the foxhole. Now Sy said that it was a good story—it was very impressive, dramatic—and, knowing what it would have taken to do comics and mail something back from the South Pacific, who knows how long that would have taken? But he said, “Well, it’s possible.” Dan was in a headquarters group, where I think he was in radio. It was not a combat or a rifle situation where he was in danger every moment of the time. He might have been like [Bill] Mauldin was, in headquarters, drawing

the Behind the Lines. He could have done that, possibly, but Sy said that he didn’t think that what Dan told me was true. And I looked at him when he told me that and I didn’t know whether he was saying it tongue-in-cheek or just trying to see what my reaction would be, but he didn’t realize that I had been in service, and I knew what it was about. You weren’t going to be able to do comics while you’re in combat. JA: I want to see if you know about any of this as far as this meeting’s concerned, because the story I read in Steranko’s History of the Comics was that Mort Leav, Jack Cole, and George Brenner went to this meeting, and that they were really incensed by the fact that it was basically a thing for the American Communist Party, essentially, and that they helped break up the meeting. Would you have seen those guys there? LEVY: The names that you mentioned, I know their names in the business, but I don’t know if I would have recognized them because I didn’t know them personally. JA: There was an artist named Pierce Rice who apparently had helped set up this meeting, perhaps unaware of what Hogarth was going to do. LEVY: I don’t remember him; I don’t know if the others would have known what the meeting was really about. When I saw Vera later, we talked about it, and she was just as surprised as I was about the way the meeting went. I don’t know who was in charge, but as I said, there was a point where there was a break, and the others must have stayed on and broken up that meeting themselves after I had left. As a matter of fact, I think they wanted you to sign up at the time. I don’t remember for sure, but I think there was a form and none of us, that I saw, signed it.

“Crossen’s Offices” JA: Tell me about Ken Crossen. LEVY: I can’t tell you too much about him. He was the one I saw when I brought up my samples. He had me do “The District Attorney” and “Enoch Sly.” He was an easygoing guy, and very pleasant. He wasn’t hypercritical. I thought, at the moment, it probably would have been better had he been. I think he was just maybe a little bit too easygoing, because of the things I did in “District Attorney” that I wasn’t too happy with when I got to inking it. “Should I change it or not? But he saw it already,” were some of the thoughts that came to mind. There’s a time when you look at the pencils again, and think, “Well, I’ll correct this.” Maybe one eye was not on the same level as the other eye, you know, little things like that. I inked the pages as soon as

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

I could and didn’t take enough time to study some of the pencils I had done, which were accepted, but could have been better. A lot of the stuff was done while I was going to Pratt Institute in the daytime for a while. Then it got to be so much pressure working at night that I decided to switch over to night school, and draw during the day, which gave me more time. I saw Mac Raboy at Crossen’s, sitting in a little room by himself, drawing The Green Lama. At this time, he was experimenting with a Craftint Board. What he was trying to do was get some tonality in the work that he was doing where he could control the halftone himself, rather than leave it to the engraver. But the Craftint was only going to be on the black plate. So he was putting tone on a black plate, which in newspaper printing, especially at that time, was not very good for printing halftones. It looked kind-of muddy. Crossen’s offices were small, a little office with a little secondary office that almost looked like a closet with a window. He worked in there. Crossen’s office itself was just two desks, one of which was for Cerruti.

After 1947, I was not picking up any comics, so I decided to go into advertising. After a period of a few years in advertising, learning the trade and becoming an art director, I did not have my head in comics, so I was really putting my head to the board, learning layout and lettering and all the other stuff that went with it. From 1947 to ’50, I worked for small advertising agencies, and then decided to open up my own studio: “This way, maybe I’ll get comics again, or maybe I’ll just pick up advertising freelance.” In 1950, I got the call from Lloyd Jacquet about my old stuff. He didn’t ask me about doing any new stuff—it was did I have any old stuff? He was in such a bind to get stuff done that he would take anything he could find. I said I had a few things I had never presented because it all fell apart before I had a chance the last time. So that’s where I got started with him again for a short time in ’51. The biggest output that I had was about fifteen features with him in that year. JA: You did a story for Charlton Comics called “Filipino Kid” in 1946. LEVY: Charlton Comics was the company that published it? I didn’t know that. I know Yellowjacket was the name of the comic book. And I have here “Consolidated.”

“I Was So Eager To Work That I Didn’t Care About [Copyrights]” JA: They had several names during the 1940s. LEVY: Yeah, I didn’t know that Charlton was one of them, because I have “Consolidated” written here for most of the stuff I did for Jacquet. Jacquet was obviously packaging for them. I did a sample page of “The Human Torch,” but they weren’t too keen on it, I guess, because they didn’t give me any “Torch” work. Jim Fitzsimmons and Lloyd Jacquet weren’t there then. In that period, his wife Grace was running the shop, and I came in with the 6-page story of “The Three Goblins.” I came with an inked page and a pencil page and a synopsis of the rest of it, and she told me to go ahead and finish it; and she bought it, which, as it turned out, they shelved. It was put on the shelf and didn’t show up anywhere. Eight years later, the story returned to me when I had, at that time, done Christmas Comics as a promotional publishing. The publisher found out that the “Goblins” had never been published, so he bought it back from Lloyd Jacquet when Jacquet was back in the business in 1950. He brought it back to me to change it—it was a Halloween story now turned into a Christmas story. And then I added another story to it to fill out a book. I was doing Christmas giveaway comics for about five years or more. That was for Woolworth’s and McCrory’s. [NOTE: See pp. 38-39 for more details. –Jim.] JA: Once you were hired at Jacquet’s, who generally gave you the assignments? Was it Grace or Jim Fitzsimmons?

“In Lama-Land, There’s A One-Man Band…”

LEVY: The first time around, Fitzsimmons did not give me work. His editor, Irv Werstein, did. In fact, the script that I saved of Mickey Spillane’s was sent to me by Werstein with notes on it about a change— that this script, which was written for a little girl character called “Smarty Pants,” should be changed to “Jackie, the Slick Chick,” which I had done three stories on already. Werstein wasn’t just an editor; he also wrote.

A Mac Raboy page from the story “Toymaster of Crime!” in Crossen/Spark’s The Green Lama #8 (March 1946)—which was basically a reprint of a story from GL #3 (March 1945). The script is credited to Ken Crossen. The heading above, by the way—with “llama” changed to “Lama”—is from the Cahn/ Van Heusen song “Come Fly with Me,” made famous in the late 1950s by Frank Sinatra… or did you know that already? [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

Grace was slim, blonde, always had a smile on her face. She wore small glasses and was very pleasant, a gentle person. It was strictly a business relationship. Grace liked the way I drew ears. [Jim chuckles] “You draw ears very nicely, and hands.” She was very complimentary. I don’t know how much she knew about being an art director and all, but she liked my humor work. She laughed at everything I showed her.

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

Yellow(jacket) Fever Marv wrote and drew “Fip—the Filipino Kid” for Yellowjacket Comics #7 (1946), from Frank Publishing Co., an ancestor of Charlton. His records show that he delivered the art to Lloyd Jacquet on Sept. 17, 1945. Yellowjacket, the comic’s titular star, was a bee-keeping super-hero, as per the Ken Battefield page at right from issue #4 (Dec. 1945), which contained two “YJ” tales. Thanks to Hames Ware & Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., for the latter ID. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

I don’t how she was on the more adventurous stuff. I didn’t know it at that time, but they bought most of this stuff without showing it to the client. They ordered it, put it in their package, and went out to sell it to their clients. So if Charlton said, “I need a 4-page filler for this issue or that issue,” and Grace told me to do a 4-page, I’d write a brief synopsis for her, and then draw the story. JA: By the way, you were creating all these features. Didn’t you ever think about copyrights? LEVY: No, because I didn’t know that much about copyrights. I was so eager to work that I didn’t care about it. JA: Is there anything else about Irv Werstein that you recall? LEVY: Well, I’ll tell you one little story. He asked me to have lunch with him one day when I came in to deliver something. At that time, I lived in Brooklyn and I had to travel in by subway to get there. He said, “I want to get your feelings about an idea I have.” So we had lunch and he said afterwards, “I’ve got an idea for a story of a guy. Since you returned from the service, and I know you were wounded and all, I don’t know if it’s going to bother you or if you think it’s too much.” And he told me a story about this G.I. who came home and ran into a lot of problems with con men and whatnot, which was going on at the time. You know, everybody was trying to get into something. However, this fellow had been wounded in the head. He had a steel plate in his head and I thought, “Well, he’s going to become a super-character like a marathon man or a hundred million dollar man.” I figured it was going to be something heroic like that. It turned out the end of the story—and this is what threw me—was that this character was at Grand Central Station, and he was knocked to the ground and the plate broke off from his head and his brains spilled out.

Archie’s Rival Ernie? This “presentation page” for a feature called “Ernie,” says the writer/artist, spotlights “an Archie-type character… created in 1950.” It has never before been printed. [©2008 Marv Levy.]

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

The Good Humor Man A filler page and a “Sir Lancelittle” splash (for a 5-page story), both done for Funnies, Inc., in 1950 and 1951, respectively. The title logos were to be added later, but Marv doesn’t know if the material ever saw print. [©2008 Marv Levy.]

The image was such that I was so flabbergasted by what he told me that I said, “Irv, I can’t see that as being something in a comic book. That’s too gory. I mean, if you’re asking my opinion, I couldn’t work on anything like that.” And he said, “Well, I just wanted to get your feeling, being an ex-G.I.” I said, “It isn’t even a matter of that. I mean it’s just the mere fact that it could have been somebody else that’d been injured in an industrial accident.” He may have even told me the ending, which was something not having to do with that moment, but I didn’t listen—I didn’t hear it because I was so taken aback by what he told me. So I said, “No, I don’t think so.” He said, “Okay, I just wanted to get your ideas, maybe it was too much, too startling.” I imagine, later, he might have written some of that in the 1950s. He could have included that story in some of the blood-and-guts comics. JA: When Lloyd Jacquet came back from the service, did he run Funnies, Inc., or did Grace continue to handle most of it? LEVY: I think he pretty much took over. I don’t think she was there any more, or at least I didn’t see her. The thing about him that always got me was that he had his corn pipe, and looked very much like Douglas MacArthur, and carried himself in that manner. He was in the service... I don’t know whether he was a commander or a commodore, but he had a very good position, I believe. And so when he came back, I guess he just couldn’t adapt to all the people that he had to deal with who did not have the military bearing he had, especially artists and writers. He maintained his proper attitude whenever I spoke to him. He didn’t laugh when he looked at humor work. But Fitzsimmons and

some of the other people would give a chuckle or acknowledge it. I couldn’t tell you how the others felt about him. JA: So there was never a problem getting paid on time? LEVY: When I came in with the pencils, they paid me immediately for the pencils, and when I brought the inks in, they paid me for the inks. I think there was one time when I delivered the work where Jacquet wasn’t there and they had to mail me a check. I think he was the only one who wrote the checks.

“Here It Was Again!” JA: I have 1951 as your first date working for Ziff-Davis, on “The Greedy Dog.” LEVY: ’51, yeah. On “The Greedy Dog”? Well, these were Aesop’s Fables. There were just a couple of them. I was also doing these advertising cartoons, and I had an account with a little agency called Reet Films. It was a plastics company, and that was the trade name for this plastic company. At that time, plastics was just beginning to take off, and it happened that they wanted something that was a little more memorable to put in their trade papers, rather than a picture, because what can you show for a piece of plastic? So they thought a cartoon character might be the thing, because they had to run these little ads for a year or more, just to keep their name in front of the trade.

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

Third Goblin’s The Charm! Marv tells the story of the odd publishing history of “The Three Goblins”: (Above left:) The original, never-before-published version of the splash page of his story, which was done for Funnies, Inc., in 1945. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.] (Above right:) The published page, from 1952, which saw print in a Christmas giveaway comic, with a new title (and season). Marv writes: “Note added snow and Christmas wreath.” [©2008 Promotional Publishing Co. or successors in interest.] (Right:) The letter Marv received from Grace Jacquet, who at times ran Funnies, Inc., on behalf of husband Lloyd Jacquet. Marv reports getting $5 a page for the tale; those are his figures on the bottom of the letter.

Anyhow, this agency asked me to design a little campaign for them, so I did. I did these cartoons, once a month, in a different style than my comics work. One day, the receptionist asked, “Did you ever do anything in comic books?” I said I had and she said, “I have a niece who works for a comic book company who produces Christmas comic books, and they’re looking for stories. I told them that I knew you were doing work for us, but I didn’t know whether you did anything in that area.” So I said, “Yes, I’ve written my own stories and I’m sure I could handle something like that. But let’s see what it‘s all about.” The company was Promotional Publishing, owned by Horace Bernstein, and he had published quite a number of Christmas giveaway books for different department stores. I wanted to show him an original sample, so I pulled out photostats of “The Three Goblins.” He looked at that and he said, “That’s what I’m looking for, that kind of work.” I did a story, and they printed it. The following year, Bernstein called me up and said, “Marv, I’ve got a story that’s already been done, but I need a 4-pager to fill out the book. You think you can do that?” I said, “Of course. Bring the story along.” So he brings in a package of

comic pages on boards. These are not done, by the way, on the two-ply Bristol board that we normally used. This was done on the heavyweight board. And what had he brought with him? My “Three Goblins” story. He had seen the style in the “Three Goblins” photostat that I left him, and he saw the name of Funnies, Incorporated, on the back, so he went to Lloyd Jacquet and asked if that story had ever been used. Jacquet said, “No, we still have that on the shelf.” He pulled it out

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

So Where’s Terry? Marv’s cover and an interior page from Santa and the Pirates, done in “storybook format,” a Yuletime giveaway comic done in 1952 for Promotional Publishing. [©2008 Promotional Publishing or successors in interest.]

from the shelf and sold it to Bernstein, who had pretty visionary thoughts on some things. He saw that this style had what he liked; but being it was a Halloween story, he figured if I would just change a lot of the decorations in the background and all, I could just fill it up with a lot of Christmas motifs; Christmas trees, wreaths, whatever I could do; [Jim laughs] change the title from “Three Goblins” to “A Christmas Story,” whatever we wanted, change the dialogue a little bit. That’s what we did. And you can imagine when he put that on my desk, I couldn’t believe this was done eight years before and here it was again! [mutual laughter] I brought it back for a renewal. From that point, every year, I did a book for him. I could have done more, but I didn’t have time to do it. There was just too much pressure. But at least I did one a year until 1966. That was at a point where I just started to give up the studio and go into the agency.

“Ziff-Davis” JA: How did you start working for Ziff-Davis? LEVY: Editor Herb Rogoff remembered that I had done a lot of fairy tale stuff, and he needed a few artists for the Hans Christian Andersen book. Irv Novick was going to pencil the realistic parts, and Bob Stuart

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

Three By Hans Christian Andersen (& Friends) Ziff-Davis editor Herb Rogoff (left) contemplates a trio of Levy-drawn pages from the Hans Christian Andersen comic book done in conjunction with the 1952 film. The page below is from “Thumbelina.” Herb was interviewed in depth in A/E #42. [©2008 the respective copyright holders]

was going to ink it. I didn’t see the activity on that part because my part had to do just with my section. I did three stories, written by Herb: “The Little Mermaid,” “The Little Match Girl,” and “Thumbelina.” And when I brought the work to Herb, he showed me some of the work that had come in from Novick and Stuart, which I thought was fabulous work. Novick drew the star, Danny Kaye, realistically, but with a certain clean style that wasn’t overdone. It was beautiful. That was the only thing I did for Herb Rogoff until this newspaper strip situation with The Snowman’s First Christmas came up in 1952. JA: What was it like to work with Herb? LEVY: Oh, I thought he was such a likable guy. I had known Herb in high school; I was a senior and he was a sophomore. But on occasion, we would see each other and talk about that fact. He knew that I had my first book published when I was in my senior year. It got around school, and all the students interested in cartooning wanted to know more about

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

The Snowman’s First, Second, And Third Christmases Artist Marv Levy (left) and writer Jim Miele (right) and the first week of strips from their joint effort, The Snowman’s First Christmas. In A/E #42, Herb Rogoff said he rewrote the story from one done for a ZiffDavis comic book and had Levy draw the new version in 1953—for Press Features, Inc., which folded without printing it. The holiday feature appeared in newspapers from Thanksgiving to Christmas in 1955, then again in 1956 and 1957. The photos were taken circa 1952. Note that Marv’s last name is written as “Lev.” [Art ©2008 George Matthews Adams Service or successors in interest.]

it, how I got the job, etc. So I had some contact with him then—besides which, we both traveled from Brooklyn to upper Manhattan to the schools. A long trip, an hour and a half each way. He lived in my neighborhood, but we didn’t pal around because he was two years younger than I. I thought it was a remarkable thing that Herb was able to edit so many different books, and also write. He was very lucky in the position to take advantage of it. And so while there, as I mentioned, he came up with this thing about the comic strip. Well, somebody came to him, a syndicate that thought they could do something, and offered for somebody to do this thing pretty much on speculation. He thought of me, and he was figuring that, well, at least I had a studio, another income, and maybe he wouldn’t feel so badly if it didn’t work out. [chuckles] He said, “You know, I can’t promise that this thing is going to take off, but at least maybe—” JA: Jim Miele wrote Snowman’s First Christmas, right? LEVY: Yes. I think it was in the original comic book of the Santa’s Parade, or maybe the one that had a couple of fillers that I did, based on fables. I think Jim also illustrated it. I drew the version that appeared in the newspapers. Jim was very pleased to see the way it looked. He didn’t expect the amount of work that I had put into it. I don’t think Herb did, either, because the first strip of the presentation of this little town with the snow falling and the animals on the next panel was something that they thought really captured the setup for this whole story. I had a lot of fun playing around with it. Herb was very affable. Whatever I brought to him, he seemed to be pretty satisfied with, and he chuckled over some things. When an editor likes what you did, it gives you a lot of stamina and a lot of feeling that you can go further. He knew my style in general, but he didn’t know exactly how I was going to draw this. I would say that I don’t know of anybody who ever had a problem with Herb. He was very, very likable and very accommodating, and very complimentary. I know he was going through some awful times in his first marriage.

When Ziff-Davis canceled their comic book division, I gave him some mechanical work to do for my advertising work. He came to the studio and asked if he could do something like that, because he didn’t know whether he was going to be able to get work again in the comics, not that there was any work. After that, he started working for Grumbacher, and he seemed to be pretty happy. He was very happy dealing with people.

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

“My Last Stop In Comic Books” JA: You worked for Standard Publications, and I’m wondering if this is stuff that was drawn earlier, but printed later. I have you doing Winky Dink in ’56 and ’57 and Let’s Take a Trip in 1958. Are those dates correct? LEVY: Yes. I was just looking at my record book here. That entry came much later on, in this book that I don’t have in front of me. That would have been ’56, ’57. The Winky Dink book—you seem to have found a couple of different names than I had. JA: Yeah, they had several names. I have you as writing these. LEVY: No, I didn’t write those. Except for the Christmas comics, that was my last stop in comic books. I went to New York to work for an ad agency as an illustrator, and eventually became an art director. I packaged work for Disney, and for Screen Gems on their Flintstones characters. I also did a lot of TV licensing games, the package capsule boxes for a lot of famous TV stories at that time, and also some movie work like Around the World in 80 Days, Gunsmoke, among other things. I got to be pretty well known for packaging in the TV licensing business. My business was called Marvin Levy Advertising Art.

Whitman and Art Peddy. When I got to know Mort, I got talking about the old days and the comics and how our paths never really crossed, but we’re in the same books and I told him how much I thought of his work and I wondered why he was now doing storyboards. He said he just couldn’t take the deadline pressure of comics anymore, and he wasn’t getting regular work. Here, he had a regular 9to-5 job. There were deadline pressures at times, but it wasn’t like comics where nobody seemed to care about what you were doing, and you didn’t have any benefits. Mort had a real job that would have given him benefits he didn’t have before. One day, somebody came in to see Mort about a storyboard he was doing. This writer had delusions of grandeur, and it seemed that whatever Mort did, he didn’t like it. He would say, “Well, why don’t

I ran into Bernard Baily around 1967, when I was an art director at the Ted Bates advertising agency. He was doing girlie photo books, which were pretty popular at the time. They were mostly black-&white books. In 1973, he was in upstate New York, doing a newspaper for the chicken farmers. No longer in the comics and no more girlie books, he had become a chicken farmer publisher. [laughter] I asked him if he had any old records that might indicate where some of the work that I had done might have showed up so I could try and find it, and he told me no, that he was out of the business so long already, that he didn’t care about it any more. JA: You told me off-tape that you worked at BBD&O from ’66 to ’70, and you met Mort Meskin there. What did you think of him? LEVY: When I came to BBD&O, I came in as an art director on New York Telephone and Campbell Soups TV ads. At that time, they had separate art directors. They had a TV art director and they had print art directors. An art director on TV primarily is responsible for getting the storyboard done with the writer and following up with the producer, and to go to Production, to be at the production to watch whatever had to be watched or noted and give any help, or whatever, needed, or answer questions that, as the art director, you had to discuss with your superiors and the clients. I went into the bullpen, and who did I see there but Mort Meskin? Not to mention Maurice

Winky Dink Wants You! Winky Dink and You was a CBS-TV kiddies’ show from 1953-57 which had a weird gimmick: through the mail, the young viewer ordered a transparent piece of plastic he/she could temporarily adhere to a TV screen while the show was on. Two or three times during each episode, he/she was asked to connect numbers that appeared on the screen (with a special utensil also purchased) to help out Winky Dink—e.g., drawing a bridge across a chasm so Wink could escape a pursuer. Ye Editor always wondered how many kids drew directly on the family TV screens with crayons, without benefit of Wink’s special plastic sheets!? Marv drew the Winky Dink comic book for Pines and says this cover and page are from 1956 or ’57… but somehow we doubt there actually were 75 issues! More likely, the numbering was picked up from a defunct title. [©2008 Literary Enterprises & CBS-TV or successors in interest.]

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

we do it this way and do it that way?” It started to annoy Mort; he was perturbed over this and became very sullen. One day, another art director said to this writer, “Do you know who you’re talking to? This is Mort Meskin. Does the name mean anything to you?” He says, “Well, the name’s on the door.” The art director said, “Mort Meskin is one of the greatest comic book artists of all time. Did you ever read ‘Sheena [Queen] of the Jungle” or the books that he worked on? You never saw his name?” The writer said, “No, I didn’t notice.” The art director said, “Well, he’s the one who did all that.”

Is This Trip Really Necessary? Marv got a chance to be a bit more adventurous with this 1958 art in Let’s Take a Trip, another Pines comic—and likewise based on a CBS-TV children’s show. [©2008 Literary Enterprises & CBS-TV or successors in interest.]

And the writer said, “That Mort Meskin?” He says, “Yes.” Well, then there was a complete change. He came over to Mort, apologized, and they got along, supposedly, very well after he realized who Mort was. I worked for various ad agencies until 1988. At the last agency, they put me out of pasture in ’88, and I went back to freelance storyboard work, until recently. Now, I’m doing some gag cartoons, hoping to sell in this shrinking market. And I still do some comp art for agencies.

A Couple Of Romances That’ve Had A Real Half-Life! (Above:) A page from “John Quincy the Atom” in Key Comics #5 (1945), put out by Consolidated Publishing. Marv produced it for Funnies, Inc., under editor Irv Werstein. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.] (Right:) Marv and Barbara Levy in a recent photo. Marv gives his age as 82, his wife’s as 73. Many happy returns to the happy couple!

Comic books sure have changed in the last few years. I can’t believe what Superman looks like today, the way it’s being done, the way it’s being drawn. It’s just unbelievable where it’s gone. [chuckles] It’s so highfalutin’, it’s hard to understand the stories. They’ve become so stylized in the art. The layouts are very dramatic, and with the computer coloring—it’s unbelievable work the colorists are doing. Unbelievable. I’m very happy to see some of this.

A Candid Conversation With Golden Age Artist Marvin Levy

MARV LEVY Checklist The following Checklist is adapted from information that appears in the online Who’s Who of American Comic Books (1928-1999), established by Jerry G. Bails. See p. 66 to learn how to access this invaluable website. Names of features which appeared both in magazines with that title and in other magazines, as well, are generally not italicized below. The source of some data below is Marv Levy himself, adding to and correcting the Who’s Who. Key: (w) = writer; (a) = full art; (p) = pencils only; (i) = pencils only; (bkgds) = backgrounds; (d) daily newspaper comic strip, Monday through Saturday; (S) Sunday newspaper strip. Name: Marvin Levy (1925- ) (artist, writer) Pen Name: Marv Lev Education: High School of Music and Art (NYC); Pratt Institute Member: National Cartoonists Society Performing Arts: Art Director: BBD&O—TV advertising: 1966-69 Commercial Art & Design: Art Director: advertising agency 194650; TV Art Director: BBD&O 1966; TV Art Director: Osborn Advertising Agency (late 1960s); Art Director: Ted Bates Advertising: 1973+; Art Director: Kornhauser & Calene (date uncertain); Art Director/TV Producer: Doyle Dane Bernbach 1970-73

Syndication: Snowman’s First Christmas (w)(a) 1955 (reissued 1956 & ’57) Promotional Comics: Christmas in Space (w)(a) date uncertain; Christmas Roundup (w)(a) 1960; Christmas Story Book (w)(a) 1952; Christmas USA—through 300 Years (w)(a) 1956; cover (a) 1952 for Santa’s Toytown Fun Book; Santa and the Pirates (w)(a) 1952 (and cover for reprint 1959); Santa on the Jolly Roger (w)(a) 1965; Santa’s Circus (w)(a) 1964; Woolworth’s Jolly Christmas (a) 1951 (and cover for reprint 1954) Comics Studio/Shop: Bernard Baily Studio (i, bkgds) 1943, 1946; Harry “A” Chesler Studio (apprentice) 1941; Funnies, Inc. (p)(i) 194651; Levy Studio (head) 1951-65 [doing promotional comics, ad cartoons] COMIC BOOK CREDITS (Mainstream US Publishers) Better Publications (a.k.a. Nedor/Pines/Standard): Let’s Take a Trip (w)(a) 1958; Winky Dink (w)(a) 1956-57 Centaur Comics (or Comic Corporation of America): Khaki Wacky (w)(a) 1941-42 [cartoon books]; “Kisco Sid” (w)(a) 1951; Yoo Hoo (w)(a) 1941-42 [cartoon books] Charlton Comics (& Related Imprints): Fip, the Filipino Kid (w)(a) 1946 Consolidated Publishing: John Quincy the Atom (w)(a) 1946; Nomie and Hoiman (w)(a) 1945-46 Fawcett Publications: (through Baily shop) Captain Marvel Jr. (i) 1945-46 Feature Comics: Fantastic Ferdy (w)(a) 1945-46 Harvey Comics: Five Princesses of Pompadoonk (w)(a) 1945; Handy Dwarf (a) 1943; Legend of the Sun Eclipse (w)(a) 1948; Ogre of Merryville (w)(a) c. 1942-45; Prince and the Catfish (w)(a) early 1940s; Reggy (w)(a) c. 1943; Young’Un and Tagalong (w)(a) 1944 Lloyd Jacquet [Shop, for various publishers]: Bill of Rights and Liberty Belle (w)(a) 1942 [not published]; The Cub and the Eagle (w)(a) late 1940s; Jackie the Slick Chick (w)(a) c. 1946; Jerry and Perry (w)(a) late 1940s; Mann Mountain and Moal Hil (w)(a) 1941 [not published]; Sir Lancelittle (w)(a) 1951; Smarty Pants (w)(a) late 1940s Marvel/Timely Comics: (through Baily shop) Captain America (i) c. 1943 Spark Publications: District Attorney (w)(a) 1946; Enoch Sly (w)(a) 1946 Ziff-Davis Comics: The Greedy Dog (w)(a) 1951-52; Little Match Girl (a) 1953; The Little Mermaid (a) 1953; Raven and the Jackal (w)(a) 1952; Thumbelina (a) 1953

“I Think I Always Knew I Wanted To Be A Cartoonist”

And, Last But Not Least… Two splash pages for 4-page stories done by Marv Levy for Consolidated Publishing in 1945, through Funnies, Inc.: “Nomie and Hoiman” from Lucky Comics #3 and “John Quincy the Atom” from Key Comics #4, done for Funnies, Inc., editor Irv Werstein. Marv writes that the latter feature “was created to offset the horror of the Atomic Bomb used in World War II.” The original Atoms-for-Peace kid, apparently. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

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“The Great Unknowns” Part V

MAXWELL ELKAN— The “Hard Luck” Unknown Fawcett Editor Wendell Crowley Never Revealed Why He Called The Artist That, But… by Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. & Hames Ware

axwell Elkan? You may believe you’ve heard that name before, but you’re probably not sure where. Well, as a “Great Unknown,” Elkan is easily the most traveled of any that we’ve featured to date, so it could have been in relation to any of the major comic book companies: Quality, Fiction House, DC, EC, Standard, Fawcett, Dell, Hillman, or Ace—as well as many of the notso-major ones. He even signed a story here and there over the years. So why is he so obscure? Years ago, Hames ran a myriad of comic book artist names past longtime Fawcett editor Wendell Crowley. In that list, he included the name of one of the many obscure artists whose work he had found to have that something special that made it unique and distinctive: Maxwell Elkan.

From Sappiness To Sagebrush What? You were expecting maybe a photo of one of the subjects of Jim and Hames’ “Great Unknowns” series? What kind of “Unknowns” would they be if we knew what they looked like!? (Not that we wouldn’t be delighted if someone out there suddenly sent us a photo of the esteemed but obscure Max Elkan, you understand.) This pair of images, however, clearly demonstrates the artist’s versatility—a one-page gag filler for Standard’s Real Life Comics #41 (Sept. 1947), and the cover of Avon’s Western Adventures #2 (Dec. 1948), featuring The ross-Draw Kid, whose unusual way of wearing his pistols (back-to-front in the holster— check it out) doubtless owes something to B-movie star Wild Bill Elliott, who did the same thing even in his Red Ryder Saturday afternoon oaters. Incidentally, the scripters of all art used with this article are sadly even more unknown than Max Elkan! [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

Maxwell Elkan—The “Hard Luck” Unknown

Study Elkan’s vivacious Dale and supporting cast, then look at the hohum work by succeeding artists who finished out and finished off a comic that had started off with zest and style—thanks to Max Elkan (and perhaps the able assistance of the brilliant Ray Willner). Elkan rarely signed, but his creativity was clear from the outset, as can seen on “Lightning” and “Tom, Dick, and Harry” in Jumbo Comics at Fiction House, as well as simultaneously on “Samar” in Feature Comics at Quality (where it is possible that collaborative work with Reed Crandall influenced his sparkling style). The very earliest we can confirm his art is in Feature #47 (Aug. 1941), where he looks to be just another young Crandall-inspired Iger Shop artist. In issue #48, the last panel is initialed “MDE”—albeit not so clearly. (For years this signature was interpreted as “MOE,” and the art thought to be by Clare Moe.) This early phase of his career lasted for two years and probably ended with service in the military during World War II, which may explain why we don’t see his style again until 1946. In that year he returned to Quality and began his series of short stints with a variety of high-profile publishers:

A Master Of Comic Art This is the one piece of Max Elkan art in this article that we’ve run before: a “Nyoka the Jungle Girl” splash page from a late-1940s issue of Fawcett’s Master Comics, as restored and reprinted in AC Comics’ Jungle Girls #10 (1992); see ad for Bill Black’s “All-Old” comics company of vintage reprints on p. 11. Fawcett editor Wendell Crowley once referred to Elkan to Hames Ware as a “little guy”—but then, Crowley was nearly seven feet tall! [Retouched art ©2008 AC Comics.]

Elkan hadn’t really done that much at Fawcett, so it was surprising when Wendell actually nodded his head and replied, “Good artist... who had some hard luck.” One manifestation of that “hard luck” seems to be that he never stayed very long in any one place and never became associated with any one company. Yet he seemed to make an impression on many of his fellow artists. Beyond Wendell’s cryptic musing, other personal memories came from Rudy Palais and from Louis Zansky’s widow. Palais, who rarely, if ever, collaborated, recalled having done so with... Maxwell Elkan. This was at the Iger Shop where solo work was the exception, but all those years later Rudy Palais remembered Elkan. And at Ace, Elkan made such an impression on Zansky (who probably deserves his own “Great Unknowns” column) that even his widow remembered the name. Another unsung but dynamic collaboration occurred in 1948 with Ray Willner, when they worked together on early issues of Blazing West at ACG, on Western Adventures at Ace, and on Dale Evans at DC. To see the contrast an artist like Maxwell Elkan could bring to a feature, just take a look at Dale Evans #1 at DC, a company where Elkan worked anonymously on a number of features over the years.

Happy Trails To You An Elkan-drawn page from Dale Evans Comics #1 (Sept.-Oct. 1948). Jim V. and Hames suspect fellow artist Ray Willner may have had a hand in this work. During this period, as we’ve mentioned, it would’ve taken a three-company teaming to have movie co-stars Roy Rogers, his wife Dale, and comedy sidekick George “Gabby” Hayes in the same comic book, since their comics were then published by Dell, DC, and Fawcett, respectively. [©2008 DC Comics.]

“The Great Unknowns,” Part V

You Can Hide A Lot Of Things In That Jungle Foliage Note the “MDE” signature in this final panel of the “Samar” story in Quality’s Feature Comics #48 (Sept. 1941). In case you can’t tell, Samar was a Tarzan wannabe. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

“Tom, Dick, And Harry” (Above:) Elkan may have been no better known than any Tom, Dick, or Harry when it came to his mostlyunsigned artwork—but that was the name of the aviation-adventure feature he drew in Fiction House’s Jumbo Comics #32 (Oct. 1941). [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

Maxwell Elkan—The “Hard Luck” Unknown

Go West, “Little Man” An Elkan “Cross-Draw Kid” page for Avon’s Western Adventures #1 (Oct. 1948)—and his “Buffalo Belle” splash for ACG’s Blazing West #3 (Jan-Feb. 1949). [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

1946 was Quality. 1947 was Fawcett, where Wendell Crowley met and remembered him. 1948 was back to Fiction House (for a couple of issues of Fight Comics, where he did two marvelous episodes of “Señorita Rio”), DC for the aforementioned Dale Evans stories, Ace (where he drew “The Cross-Draw Kid” for early issues of Western Adventures), and ACG (the “Buffalo Belle” series in Blazing West). Several of these strips were done with Ray Willner and are well worth scouting out for some high-energy, extremely well-crafted comic book art. He was in top form… but nothing lasted. The work was plentiful, but whatever “hard luck” Wendell Crowley was referring to must have manifested itself around this time, as almost every assignment seems to have lasted for only one or two issues. And the high-profile publishers seemed somehow mostly out of bounds. There was a story for Treasure Chest, one or two for Trojan, something for Star, one science-fiction tale for EC, a few jobs for Harwell and Charlton, and then he disappears from comics around 1953. ACG seems to have been his most reliable source of assignments, and bits of his work appear sporadically at that company throughout the 1950s. He shows up again at Charlton, doing a few stories in 1958, then surfaces for a last couple of hurrahs at Classics in 1961 and at Dell (doing what was likely the longest single story of his career, on Dracula) in 1962.

Whatever the “hard luck” was that Wendell Crowley alluded to, it is to our good fortune that Maxwell Elkan added some zeal to everything he worked on, as witnessed here via examples from the Vadeboncoeur collection. And thanks, too, to Henry Steele for having pioneered the Fiction House and Quality comics checklists, whose benefits continue to pay dividends to all comic art enthusiasts, and to Bud Plant and Lee Boyett for helping us see Elkan’s work in early comics.

Addendum: A “Great Unknown” Of Fandom One of the most oft-quoted and least-known of comics fandom’s own important figures is Henry Steele. What? Did we just hear another resounding round of “Who?” If you were part of the chorus, you’re not alone. Henry is one of the seminal indexers in fandom, yet he’s maintained a low profile since he began documenting the Fiction House and Quality comics he bought off the stands beginning in the early 1940s. In the wilds of Houston, Texas, he and his friends would buy, study, and try to identify the artists in all of the titles from both companies. The friends eventually moved on, but Henry persevered through to the end of each company. There was no fandom then, no market for the information, and no way to confirm its accuracy, but month after month he recorded his impressions on his index charts—knowledge kept simply for its own sake.

“The Great Unknowns,” Part V

Face The Music—And Draw! Two later, off-trail works by Max Elkan—from Fawcett’s This Magazine Is Haunted #8 (Dec. 1952) and Charlton’s Unusual Tales #11 (March 1958). Actually, by the latter date, it was near the end of the trail of Elkan’s pro-comics career… but he left behind an honorable legacy of four-color fantasy. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

In the 1960s, long after he, too, had moved on, a gent named Tom Bellhouse got a job at Rice University, where Henry worked. Tom and his wife got to know Henry and Janet Steele, and when Tom discovered that Henry was interested in comic books, he mentioned that he had gone to high school in Arkansas with a guy named Hames Ware who was a comic book “expert.” As Henry tells it, “I didn’t learn about comics fandom until early 1965, when a Newsweek article featured the role of Jerry Bails in stimulating the super-hero revival. I had very extensive correspondence with at least a dozen collectors at the time, but I didn’t meet Hames until Tom ‘introduced’ us. I got my first letters from Hames in late 1968, and he visited me in Houston in the summer of 1970.” The data that Henry had recorded from his Quality and Fiction House comics and

shared with Hames became a large part of the backbone of the initial Who’s Who of American Comic Books, edited by Jerry Bails and Hames Ware and published in four volumes during the 1970s. At present, we’re updating Henry’s Fiction House data for the Grand Comics Database. Yes, Henry is still active and still has all his original comic books. With the help of Bud Plant and Lee Boyett, Henry, Hames, and Jim V. are going through every story in every issue of every Fiction House title and recording our best current estimation of the artists at work there.

Detective, Comics That's how our two authors might be listed in the yellow pages. Our two comic book sleuths are: (left) Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., shown here with his friend Karen Lane in Paris (photo by Ken Steacy); and (right) Hames Ware, pictured doing a recording voice-over a few years ago. Thanks for the photos, guys.

Take a look on the GCD at entries on Rangers Comics or Planet or the first 75 issues of Jumbo or Wings or Fight to see the depth of information being recorded, and watch as they progress through the 800+ issues. And say a little thank-you to Henry Steele for getting this ball rolling, all those years ago.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Twice-Told Marvel Heroes! (Part Three) by Michael T. Gilbert

n the previous two issues, we explored some unusual Golden Age super-heroes that bore an uncanny resemblance to some familiar Silver Age heroes, starting with Daredevil in A/E #73.

In #74, we discussed Quality’s Bozo the Robot, often referred to as Iron Man. This Iron Man was a flying robot controlled from within by two-fisted adventurer Hugh Hazzard. Bozo began his 41-issue career in Smash Comics #1 (Aug. 1939). That same year, Fox’s Weird Comics #1 depicted another familiar super-hero—Thor, God of Thunder! This time, Grant Farell (a delicate blond fellow) was granted all the powers of Thor by the thunder god himself. He fought crime for five issues with his mighty hammer. Sound familiar? It’s not surprising, since these early heroes are remarkably similar to characters Stan Lee co-created for Marvel in the early 1960s. Which is not to suggest anything questionable on Stan’s part. Far from it!

Rubbing Out Super-Heroes Ant-Man got super-sized in Tales To Astonish #49 (Nov. 1963). Art by Don Heck. This must be the month in Alter Ego for villains to erase super-heroes! See p. 68. [©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Most of the characters shown here date from 1941 or before, and Stan only began his comic book career at Timely in that year, decades before he started the 1960s Marvel revolution. It’s possible Stan saw these obscure heroes as a teenager and that a tiny seed was planted, waiting to sprout decades later. However, it’s more likely that he never saw them at all. In any event, with hundreds of heroes out there battling evil, there was bound to be a little duplication. But just how many precursors of Stan’s original Avengers were there? We’ve already checked off Iron Man and Thor. Next, lets take a look at...

The Golden Age Giant Man! What do you get when you graft Stan’s size-changing Goliath with Tarzan, king of the jungle? Why, you wind up with Kalthar, MLJ’s own Giant Man! As told in Zip Comics #1 (Feb 1940), Kalthar’s father died saving a tribe of savage natives from Arab slavers. In gratitude, the Ugarnas raised the boy, and named him “Kal-Thar,” or “God-son.”

When the youngster reached manhood, the natives made him chief. The tribe’s witch doctor, Ta-Lo, whipped up some “magic” grains, allowing Kalthar to grow fifteen feet tall and to shrink back to normal later. This was two feet taller than Marvel’s hyphenated Giant-Man in his first Silver Age appearance.

Twice-Told Marvel Heroes (Part Three)

Life’s A Picnic! Ant-Man tries out his new costume in Tales to Astonish #35 (Sept. 1962). Art by Jack Kirby (p) & Dick Ayers (i). Plot by Stan Lee, script by Larry Lieber. [©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Later, when the slavers returned, Kalthar fought them with his great strength and size. When even that proved insufficient, Kalthar (in true Tarzan fashion!) called upon his animal friends to lend a hand, and together they defeated the villains. Decades later, Stan, Larry Lieber, Dick Ayers, and Jack Kirby did their first “Ant-Man” story in Tales To Astonish #27 (Jan. 1962). At first, Hank Pym shrank vial a chemical concoction. This was quickly changed to an easier-to-handle shrinking gas, once his series got running. By the time Hank became Giant-Man in Tales To Astonish #49 two years later, he was back to popping growth-pills, much like his Golden Age counterpart. On the surface, L.R. Streeter’s giant bears little resemblance to Stan’s version beyond the name. Both, however, are ordinary men who fight evil and can change size with the help of chemicals.

Kalthar’s career was short-lived. He only appeared in MLJ’s Zip Comics #1-9 (Feb. to Nov. 1940) before fading into comic book limbo. Still, it wouldn’t be, er, stretching a point to say Kalthar was the Giant Man of his day. Maybe if his strip had had a snappier title than “Kalthar the Giant Man - King of the Jungle,” he’d still be fighting evil slavers today!

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Of course, there were other early giant-size heroes, such as the star of Green Giant Comics #1 in 1940. But Kalthar was certainly the most unique of his breed! All he was missing was a sexy sidekick named...

The Wasp! Literally swarms of comic book characters in the ’40s called themselves The Wasp. We’ll focus on the one in Silver Streak #1, created by Art Pinajian, who also drew “Madame Fatal” for Quality’s Crack Comics. It’s easy to see why Pinajian used the pen name Jay Fletcher for The Wasp. To be honest, publisher Lev Gleason’s Wasp was easily one of the lamest heroes of the Golden Age. Don’t believe me? Listen and learn, readers!

This poor man’s Shadow was in reality “star reporter Burton Slade,” whose calling card was a buzzing wasp. Cheaper than business cards, I guess.

So why was he called The Wasp? Well, one loquacious crook in the origin story opined that the masked avenger got the name because “his cape looks like a pair of wings! The Wasp––enemy of crime and the underworld!!” Ooo-kay! The Wasp buzzed briefly in Silver Streak #1 (Dec. 1939), before flying off to oblivion. A different Wasp appeared in Harvey’s Champ Comics #19 (June 1942) and Speed Comics #12-13 (March to May 1941). Strangely, this Wasp was also a newspaper guy named Burton—newspaper editor Dan Burton! Could The Wasp have flown to the competition? Would they have wanted him?

And She Probably Really Is A White Anglo-Saxon Protestant! Apparently Stan Lee plotted and H. E. Huntley (a pseudonym of Ernie Hart’s) wrote the first “Wasp” story in Tales To Astonish #44 (June 1963). Art by Jack Kirby and Don Heck. [©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

In November 1940, the Hooded Wasp fought crime with his kidsidekick Wasplet, in Street & Smith’s Shadow Comics, Vol. 1, #7. Later they were joined by a curvy cutie named Honey! Groan!

A Wasps’ Nest Of Heroes (Left:) The first Golden Age Wasp, from Lev Gleason’s Silver Streak #1 (Dec. 1939)… in the tradition of The Green Hornet and looking very much like DC’s Crimson Avenger. Bylined artist “Jay Fletcher” was actually Art Pinajian. (Right:) A not dissimilar but apparently unrelated Wasp from Harvey’s Champ Comics #19 (June 1942). Artist unknown. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

Twice-Told Marvel Heroes (Part Three)

Bad Wasps! (Above:) This silly-looking fellow fought Quicksilver In Quality’s National Comics #67 (August 1948). Art attributed to Dan Zolnerowich. (Above:) A few years earlier, The Yellow Wasp fought Wildcat in DC’s Sensation Comics #20 (August 1943). Art attributed to Paul Reinman; script may be by Wildcat co-creator Bill Finger. [©2008 DC Comics.]

And Honey, I Miss You… (Above:) A spooky splash and panel from Street & Smith’s The Shadow, Vol.1, #9 (March 1941), starring The Hooded Wasp and Wasplet. Later, as per panel at left, Honey (a female crime-fighter, natch!) joined the team! But isn’t it bees that gather honey? Oh, well…. Artist(s) unknown. Scans courtesy of Richard Boucher. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

Villains liked the name, too. Quality’s Quicksilver fought The Wasp in National Comics #67, while Wildcat tangled with The Yellow Wasp in DC’s Sensation Comics # 20, and again in #66. All of which goes to prove that Stan picked a pretty popular name when he christened Janet Van Dyne “the wondrous Wasp” way back in Tales To Astonish #44 (June 1963)! But Marvel’s Wasp shared only the name with earlier incarnations. So we’ve found Golden Age counterparts for Thor, Iron Man, GiantMan, and The Wasp. But we’re missing somebody. What about the final member of the original Avengers? What about... The Hulk?

The Hulk Called... Heap! Unlike the other Avengers, the Hulk has no direct Golden Age counterpart, or at least no one called the Hulk. But The Heap comes pretty darn close, with his similar-sounding name. And the similarities don’t end there. In The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962), Stan Lee told of Bruce Banner, a meek scientist who turned into a monstrous Hulk when bathed in gamma radiation from a bomb blast. The Heap’s origin was quite different. In his first story, written by Harry Stein and drawn by Mort Leav, The Heap was a villainous bog-monster who battled air ace Sky-Wolf in the back of Hillman’s Air Fighters Comics #3 (Dec. 1942). But the creature had star quality, and soon got his own series in Airboy Comics (which was Air Fighters with a name change).

As Opposed, We Suppose, To “That Hulk” The Heap returns to battle Sky Wolf in Air Fighters, Vol. 2, #10 (Fall 1945). Note the phrase “this hulk” in referring to the Heap! The GCD attributes the art (with a question mark) to John Belfi. Any other information out there? [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

A Heap O’ Hulks (Left:) Hillman’s Heap gets musical in this splash from Airboy Comics, Vol. 4, #4 (May 1947). Art attributed to Arthur Peddy (pencils) & Bernard Sachs (inks). (Right:) Splash from The Incredible Hulk # 2, with art by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko; script by Stan Lee. [Heap art ©2008 the respective copyright holders; Hulk page ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Heap began as Baron Von Emmelmann, a German WWI flyer who crashed into Poland’s Wausau Swamp and died. But his story was far from over! “Baron Emmelmann’s will to live has been a powerful force...” reads a caption from that first tale. “Time passes… and brings an unearthly transformation that has drawn its oxygen food [sic] from the vegetation... a fantastic heap that is neither animal nor man...” After rotting in the swamp for twenty years, The Heap had returned! The Heap’s origin seems to have been at least partly inspired by Theodore Sturgeon’s 1940 story “It,” though back in A/E #19 the late Mort Leav denied being aware of that story. During the ’70s, The Heap similarly

inspired Marvel’s Gob and Man-Thing and DC’s Swamp Thing. Skywald briefly revived the character in 1971, as did Eclipse in 1986 (where he and Mr. Monster once duked it out!). More recently, Todd McFarlane published a different version of The Heap, retaining only the name. Like The Incredible Hulk, the Heap was a monster who usually helped the good (though not always intentionally!) and destroyed evil. And, like the Hulk, The Heap was plant-green for part of his career. In one of his first adventures, in Air Fighters V2#10 (Fall 1945), The Heap is even referred to as “this hulk” on the splash page. The Heap’s last Hillman appearance was in the final issue of Airboy (Vl. 10, #4) in May 1953. Here’s one final connection between the two that you might find of interest: In Stan Lee’s first “Hulk” story, Bruce Banner became the Hulk while saving hot-rod loving teenager Rick Jones, who returned as an ongoing character. In the late ’40s, The Heap had his own recurring character––a car-crazed teen also named Rick! True, one was Rick Jones and the other Rickie Wood, but still, that’s one weird coincidence! On that eerie note, we’ll sign off. We hope you enjoyed rummaging through the Comic Crypt with us, imagining how Marvel’s Avengers might have looked as Golden Age heroes. And speaking of The Avengers, let me take a moment to thank Stan Lee, a few weeks after his 85th birthday, for all the marvelous comics he co-created in the ’60s, along with Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and their fellow bullpen members. I fell in love with them as a kid––and never stopped!

A Tales Of Two Rickies (Left to right:) Rickie Woods from Airboy Comics V4#4 (May 1947), and Rick Jones from The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). [Heap art ©2008 the respective copyright holders; Hulk panel ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

’Till next time...

PS.: For more Golden Age fun, stop by my website at: http://mrmonster.com/

In Memoriam

Paul Norris (1914-2007)

“Gentleman’s Gentleman” by Charlie Roberts

aul Norris, 93, passed away Monday night, Nov. 5, 2007, at 10:30 p.m. at Tri-City Medical Center near his home in Oceanside, California. His sons Reed and Mike were at his bedside.

Paul was born in Greenville, Ohio, in 1914. He grew up with a love of cartooning and acting, and attended Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, Nebraska, from 1934-1935, leaving in his sophomore year to work for a small newspaper syndicate in Ohio, which eventually folded. Finding himself out of college and out of work, he began attending the Dayton Art Institute, where he met his future bride Ann, who coincidentally worked in an Ohio department store with Milton Caniff’s mother. Paul married Ann, his wife of 61 years, in 1939. His comic strip Scoop Lens appeared in The Dayton Daily News newspaper that same year. In 1940 he moved to New York City, landing a job at Prize Comics, where he created “Power Nelson,” “Futureman,” and “Yank and Doodle.” By 1941 he was at National/DC, working for editors Mort Weisinger and Whitney Ellsworth. With Weisinger he co-created “Aquaman,” who first appeared in More Fun Comics # 73 (Nov. 1941). During this period Paul created and drew the comic strip Vic Jordan for the newspaper PM. Drafted in 1943, he wound up doing cartoon propaganda leaflets for the Allied effort. After the war Paul went to work for King Features Syndicate, drawing Jungle Jim and Secret Agent X-9. He also worked for Dell Comics, doing Flash Gordon, Tarzan, and The Jungle Twins. When Clarence Grey retired, he took over the Brick Bradford comic strip, which he drew from 1952 to 1987. The last daily ran on April 25, 1987, and Paul retired with it. He and Ann moved to Oceanside, California in 1967. In 1986 he and

Norris And Bradford Paul Norris at his 93rd birthday celebration. The artist not only drew the Brick Bradford comic strip for 35 years, but also drew the hero’s adventures in comic book form in King Comics’ Mandrake the Magician #7 (Sept. 1967); with thanks to Arthur Lortie for the scan. [Brick Bradford page ©2008 King Features Syndicate, Inc.; photo ©2008 Charlie Roberts.]

cartoonist and longtime friend Jim Whiting organized the Southern California Cartoonists Society (SCCS), which brings together San Diego County cartoonists and writers for informal monthly meetings. David Siegel, a fan of Golden Age artists, was responsible for bringing Paul to the 1993 San Diego Comic-Con, where he was presented with an Inkpot Award. Midland College honored Paul in 2006, and the SCCS celebrated his 93rd birthday with a large party on April 26, 2007. It’s been my great pleasure to have shared many weekly lunches and monthly dinners with Paul Norris and friends over the last six years. I can’t recall him ever saying an unkind word about anyone. The phrase “Gentleman’s Gentleman” surely applied to Paul. A true Class Act with a smile and a gentle laugh, Paul was easy to be friends with, and he will be greatly missed. On Nov. 14, we held a celebration of Paul Norris’ life and art at his favorite meeting place, Grandma’s Hilltop Café, in Oceanside. The event was filmed by the husband of Karyl Miller, screenwriter and president of the SCCS, and Paul’s son Reed set up a major exhibit honoring the artist.

In Memoriam

Mike Wieringo (1963-2007)

“He Was Always Striving To Be Better” by Eric Nolen-Weathington

n Sunday, August 12, 2007, Michael Wieringo died of a heart attack at the far too young age of 44. Mike was in excellent health. A few years ago, he started having back problems, thanks to the many hours spent hunched over his drawing table. So he started working out, and from then on he went to the gym several times a week. And Mike was a vegetarian, though that decision was made from his love for animals and his desire to never cause another living, thinking creature harm. The health benefits were merely an added bonus. Mike also loved comics. At an early age, Mike knew he wanted to be a comic book artist. In 1991, he finally got his chance with Millennium’s Doc Savage: Doom Dynasty mini-series and two backup stories in Justice League Quarterly. And then came... The Flash.

In teaming up with Flash writer Mark Waid, Mike found a kindred spirit. For Mike Wonders By Wieringo not only loved The pencil illo at left was done for the program book comics—he of the 2006 Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC. Photo thought they by Todd Dezago. [Superman TM & ©2008 DC Comics; should be fun. Captain America TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.] And amidst the storm of post-Watchmen, post-Dark Knight Returns grim and gritty comics, Mark and Mike’s run on The Flash shone like a beacon of hope that, in fact, super-heroes could still be fun. Mike held that beacon high throughout his career, whether he was drawing Robin, The Sensational Spider-Man (written by his best friend, Todd Dezago), or Fantastic Four (again with Mark Waid), with penciling full of energy and emotion. But it was with Tellos—the series he created with Todd Dezago—that he found his greatest joy. As much as Mike loved the super-heroes he had grown up with, creating his own stories with his own characters was his greatest desire. All the more tragic, then, that he passed away just when he was he was close to being able to fulfill that desire again. A Tellos movie deal had been struck, which would have allowed Mike and Todd to return to the world of their own making for the foreseeable future. When Modern Masters, Vol. 9: Mike Wieringo was announced, I saw many doubters on the Internet questioning the decision. “What’s he really done?” “Has he done enough to justify it?” I’m sure Mike—who seemed to be everywhere online, making friends wherever he went—saw them, too. And a large part of him probably doubted his qualifications, as well. When I first asked him about being part of the series, his response was, “Why would you want to do a book about me?” And that was not false modesty on his part... that was how he truly felt. But that was what made him such a terrific artist. He was always striving to be better. He was never satisfied. More importantly, it’s what made him a terrific person. He always put the needs of others ahead of his own. He was selfless, supportive of other artists regardless of their level of talent, and he had a great laugh that he loved to share with others. He was the type of person we should all strive to be. And I am proud to have been his friend. Eric Nolen-Weathington is the editor of TwoMorrows’ Modern Masters line.

re:

In the July issue (#70) of Alter Ego, Roy Thomas describes a lunch Stan Lee and I shared. At this meeting, according to Roy, Stan and I discussed advising each other by phone when a talent sought a raise by attempting to join the rival company—and by this method we could hold prices in line. The situation as Roy related was not totally accurate. It is important to preface any discussion of the subject with the following information, which I believe inspired Stan’s invitation to meet: The year in question, DC Comics did extremely well financially! Combined with the financial success came critical praise, including DC winning every category at ACBA—the comic industry award ceremony! During my tenure as Publisher at DC, my good friend, Mad magazine publisher Bill Gaines, served as a constant and trusted consultant and advisor. I spoke to Bill about my desire to share the success with the talent. We decided to share the bounty by giving substantial raises! In addition, we started paying reprint money and, possibly most importantly, started returning original art to the artists! I believe these changes at DC were all firsts for any major comics company. We were really on a roll!

oy here, as usual—this time with a double helping of Shane Foley’s “maskot madness”: a drawing of Alter Ego and Rob Lindsay, plus Alter & Captain Ego, à la Gil Kane’s dynamic cover for Marvel’s Captain Marvel #17 (1969), done in honor of the “Curse of Shazam” theme of this issue in general and P.C. Hamerlinck’s article of that title in particular—and, at the end of this section, you’ll find a drawing related to A/E #62, the issue we’re (finally) getting around to covering. Thanks twice over, Shane! [Alter Ego TM & ©2008 Roy & Dann Thomas; Alter & Captain Ego created by Biljo White, TM & ©2008 Roy Thomas & Bill Schelly.] But before we wade through the mail and e-mails we received on our 62nd edition, I feel obliged to deal with one item of business related instead to a more recent issue, #70, which spotlighted a long interview with Yours Truly. In it I spoke at some length with Jim Amash about what I remember as the precise circumstances under which I stepped down as Marvel’s editor-in-chief in August of 1974… circumstances which involved both my boss, Marvel publisher/president Stan Lee, and DC’s editor-in-chief and publisher, Carmine Infantino. Carmine, an old friend of mine of some decades’ standing, has recollections which disagree strongly with my own account of things, and forwarded his comments to me through our mutual colleague J. David Spurlock. I felt it best to print Carmine’s letter as close in time as possible to my own remarks, so here are his comments, just as he wrote them:

In those days at DC, we had an interoffice newsletter. Just a week after we announced the year’s success and the new policies in our newsletter, I got a surprise invitation from Stan Lee—inviting me to lunch at his club, The Friars. I agreed to come but advised him that it had to be short because of an important meeting I had that afternoon. I didn’t mention it to Stan, but the meeting was with the Salkinds, who were coming to discuss producing what became the Superman movie! I asked Bill Gaines to entertain the Salkinds until I returned from lunch with Stan. At The Friars we began with some pleasantries, and then Stan went into the dialogue about what Roy mistakenly accused us both of! I listened without saying a word—except to remind Stan that I had to leave for an important meeting. I was surprised by his idea but wasn’t interested in talking about anything but a Superman movie; so I ate and quickly left for my meeting without agreeing to anything. When I got back to DC, Bill had the Salkinds and Pierre Salinger waiting in my office. Bill would not let me go into the meeting until I told him what my conversation with Stan was all about. Once I explained it, he asked if I thought Stan realized he was describing an illegal action. I said I didn’t know what he thought, but since I wouldn’t participate, it didn’t matter—and with that I ran into my meeting. Now, all these years later, imagine my surprise when I read Roy’s report that I was somehow a participant in Stan’s proposal. Anyone that mis-reports the situation as Roy did is simply incorrect. The fact is DC and I never participated with any such idea, as noted by Roy himself when he stated that his immediate replacement editor, Marv Wolfman, said he never even heard of the idea. I think it would have been nice, responsible, and proper if, before putting such insinuations in print, Roy Thomas had contacted me, or even Bill Gaines, who lived long afterward, to find out what was really said. A simple phone call

[comments, correspondence, questions, & corrections]

chief, it should surprise no one that details of that event would be imprinted on my memory. In addition, I discussed the matter soon afterward with several other people, including Marv Wolfman, and no one has ever stepped forward to tell me that I misremembered in A/E #70 what I told them at the time. Thus, I think we’ll just have to conclude that there was a failure of communication somewhere along the line between Stan and Carmine— hardly unthinkable, considering the many things that were on both gents’ minds at the time—and let it go at that. Except as a detail of history, the whole thing is long since over and done with… and no matter what actually happened, I’m quite content that things turned out as they did. Now, on to issue #62, our 2006 Halloween issue which spotlighted a short talk with artist Michael Ploog, Jim Amash’s interview with the late Rudy Palais, and several pieces related to the previous issue’s reprinting of Michael Vance’s book Forbidden Adventures: The History of the American Comics Group. First up: although he had sent a few corrections in connection with what he called “Michael Vance’s wonderful essay” in #61, comics historian Alberto Becattini found additional things to comment on concerning added coverage of ACG and the Sangor art shop the next month. What follows is compiled from two e-mails Alberto sent us: Dear Roy: A/E #62 is another great issue. I’m sending a few additions and corrections concerning the Sangor/ACG listings. Please note that most of the animators who worked for Sangor are listed in my Animators’ List, to be found at: www.immaginariofiorentino.com/albertopage/. Here we go: Writers: Cal Howard, circa 1945-50, was one of the main writers. He created “The Hepcats” (drawn by Jack Bradbury), among others.

An Artistic Battlefield A “Fighting Yank” page drawn by Ken Battefield (not, as Alberto Becattini points out, “Battlefield,” as per a typo in A/E #61—though that name would’ve certainly fit the artist in this particular instance). It’s from Startling Comics #43 (Feb. 1947). [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

would have cleared up this bizarre version of what happened and saved Alter Ego the journalistic embarrassment of printing hearsay! Carmine Infantino DC Comics Publisher Emeritus August 30, 2007 My response:

Martha Hultgren (“c. 1944-54”) co-wrote most of the stories by her husband, Ken Hultgren. Artists: Ken Battlefield is actually Ken Battefield. Alkan G. Benedict is Alan G. Benedict. John Bentilella is John Bentilella. Franklin Carr might be Frank Carino, a.k.a. Frank Carin. Di Mattia might be Edward (Ed) DeMattia. Irving Dressier is Irving Dressler. Filmonro is Phil Monroe. Owen Fitsgerald is Owen Fitzgerald.

The last thing in the world I want to do is drag out this dispute over events that happened more than three decades ago. No, I take that back—that’s the second-from last thing. Even more importantly, I don’t want anyone to think that my comments in A/E #70, which I won’t repeat here because merely explaining them would take up far too much space, were intended to cast any disparagement on either Stan or Carmine, two of the finest talents to emerge from the comic book field, and two men I admire greatly. Even so, the following must be noted:

Don Gunn worked for Sangor/ACG from about 1946 until 1953, with a possible hiatus in the late ’40s. I know he was in California till about 1949; then he moved to NYC. He also worked for Fawcett (with Chad Grothkopf on Funny Animals) and for Western Publishing Company (Disney, Warner Bros. strips, The Little People, Francis the Talking Mule, Santa Claus Funnies, et al.)

Since I wasn’t present at that 1974 lunch, I can’t vouch for what was said between the heads of the country’s two largest comics companies, nor was there a third person there to give his/her own account. I know only what was related to me almost immediately afterward by Stan, and that is what I recounted, as accurately as I could, in #70. Without doubting that Carmine’s recollection of their conversation is sincere, I don’t wish to amend what I said five issues ago. Since that was the occasion and direct cause of my leaving my job as Marvel’s editor-in-

Melvin Miller is actually Melvin (Tubby) Millar, former animation story-man and excellent letterer.

A.J. Hubbard is Allan (Al) Hubbard.

Sidney Fillet is Sidney Pillet. E. Smith is Edward (Ed) Smith (Disney and Fleischer animator). W.B. Smith—I doubt if it is Webb Smith, as he was a writer, not an artist. Milton Snapinsky is now known as Milt Snappin (he lettered the

re:

Three “Hogarthian” Images For The Price Of One William B. Jones, Jr., refers on the next page to the Classics Illustrated/The Pioneers cover by Rudy Palais as “Hogarthian”—by which he referred to the work of William Hogarth (see Bill’s letter on this selfsame page). We hope the image he sent us of what he calls “the ‘Skimmington’ plate from [Hogarth’s] Hudibras” shows up clearly enough at top right for comparison purposes. But Palais’ creatively contorted figures on the CI cover also bring to mind the work of Tarzan artist Burne Hogarth, as per the panel at right from the Sunday newspaper strip for Sept. 5, 1948. So we thought we’d print all three together. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of WBJ’s hardcover study Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History, with Illustrations, published in 2002 by McFarland & Co., Inc. [Classics Illustrated art ©2008 Frawley Corporation and its exclusive licensee First Classics, Inc., a subsidiary of Classics International Entertainment, Inc.; Tarzan panel ©2008 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.]

syndicated strip The Phantom for years). Ben Soloman is Benjamin (Ben) Solomon (Lantz and Famous Studios animator). Ralph Wolfe is Ralph Ellison Wolfe. Writers/Artists: Tom Barton is Tom Baron. Don Christenson is Don R. (“Don Arr”) Christensen. Thurston Harper’s dates are 1943-46 (not 1943-16). Ken Platt is Kin Platt. ACG Personnel: Ed Ashe is Edd Ashe. Hy Eisman—his comic credits also include The Katzenjammer Kids (Sunday page), and The Ministers is actually The Munsters. Ruben Moreria is Rubén Moreira. Robert Turner was a writer, not an artist, as far as I know. Also, a few more belated corrections re A/E #61: P. 17: Whitman (Western Publishing) managing editor was Eleanor Packer (note spelling), a former MGM Public Relations woman. P. 25: Re Jim Davis’ career: He was at Harman-Ising (note spelling), headed by former Disney staffers Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising, and at Jam Handy (note spelling), owned by Jamison Handy in Detroit. Alberto Becattini

We regret all the typos, Alberto—which is what most of those errors clearly were—which had largely found their way into the original book, among all the thousands of names mentioned therein. Still, we should’ve weeded out a few more of them on our own. Thanks for lending your usual helping hand!

Jerry DeFuccio, longtime associate editor of Mad magazine, was a Golden Age comics fan and historian for an even longer time; he passed away a few years ago, and so much arcane knowledge went with him. I’m not certain at this late date who forwarded it to me [perhaps Michael Vance? Ron Frantz?], but I wanted to share with you a letter Jerry wrote to someone on Nov. 26, 1973, on the death of ACG artist Ogden Whitney, which was mentioned in Vance’s interview with artist Al Williamson: I passed Ogden Whitney’s apartment house last week. I recalled what a big letdown I had gone through with Whitney, about eight years ago. He did me a very poor Skyman original for my “hard cash.” I didn’t want to say anything in front of his lovely wife Anne. She had a good job as an executive secretary and was obviously paying all the bills. He failed at doing storyboards, and his comic book samples precluded his return to comics. As I passed the place the other night, a friendly doorman returned my “Good morning!” so I was encouraged to ask him if Ogden Whitney still lived there. No [the doorman said], after his wife died he hurled whiskey bottles at the walls, behaved like an animal, and was carried out of the building, never to be seen again. Remember Fred Guardineer’s prophetic phrase: “I did considerable artwork for the Army in the Philippines. I shared the same tent with numerous spiders, lizards, and Ogden Whitney.” A sad end, if the account is accurate, to the life and career of a very talented man, and a mainstay of ACG for much of its existence.

We also received this interesting epistle concerning interview subject Rudy Palais. It came from William B. Jones, Jr., author of the essential book on the Classics Illustrated comics: Dear Roy, I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the recent article

[comments, correspondence, questions, & corrections]

on Rudy Palais. With reference to that piece [and a quotation from my book therein], the “Hogarth” I had in mind when writing about the “Hogarthian energy” of Mr. Palais’ cover art for Classics Illustrated #37, The Pioneers, was William Hogarth, the great 18th-century artist and caricaturist. I own several prints by Hogarth that were taken from the Heath collection (considering by many to be among the best strikings). The boisterousness that animates the original line-drawing cover of The Pioneers reminds me of parts of The Rake’s Progress or the “Skimmington” plate from Hudibras. William B. Jones, Jr. Funny, Bill—that’s just what I was going to say. (See art spot on preceding page.) A/E #62 also printed an article by former DC staffer Anthony Tollin noting the 75th anniversary of The Shadow pulp magazine… which Anthony is currently reprinting (along with that of fellow Street & Smith star Doc Savage) in beautiful two-stories-per-book editions. That got us this letter from Richard E. “Nick” Noble: Dear Roy,

The Shadow Nose?

I really enjoyed “The Shadow: Masked and Unmasked” in the October issue of Alter Ego. I have always loved the character, and it brought back a lot of great memories of stories read and adventures shared. On page 64, you mention that The Shadow “had several identities in the comics as well,” and you share some terrific Mike Kaluta art from the 1973 DC run, along with a panel from the Street & Smith Shadow Comics of the 1940s.

A quartet of Archie/Radio Shadow-related images, as per Nick Noble’s letter, with all art by Paul Reinman: (Top center:) A panel from The Shadow #2 (Sept. 1964), showing the hero in nearly-authentic garb and with blond hair… but without the large nose he sported on the old pulp covers. (Top right:) The super-heroic Shadow, as per the cover of issue #6 (May 1965). (Above:) Walter Gibson (photo courtesy of Anthony Tollin)— whom Nick feels is a dead ringer for artist Reinman’s version of Lamont Cranston, as per— (Right:) A panel from The Shadow #3 (Nov. 1964). [All Shadow art ©2008 Archie Comic Publications, Inc.; The Shadow TM & ©2008 Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc./The Condé Nast Publications.]

But missing (perhaps understandably so) was any mention of the 1964-65 run of The Shadow by Radio Comics (Archie’s line of superheroes series), when they licensed the character from Condé Nast. In the first couple of issues, despite the stereotypical “super-hero” costume worn by The Shadow on the covers (by Paul Reinman), the interior stories were a little more traditional. He was a handsome, blond Lamont Cranston, but I do not recognize the artist. By issue #3, however, Paul Reinman was handling all the art chores. The stories were an odd mix of Cold War/Yellow Peril/pulp/super-hero adventures, featuring a traditional Shadow supporting cast: Margo Lane, et al. Each story would end with some variation on the classic Shadow catch-phrase: “The Shadow knows!” The Archie series was not very inspiring, and lasted just eight issues. Interesting, though, was Reinman’s drawing of a black-haired, bespectacled Lamont Cranston. He looked an awful lot like Shadow creator Walter Gibson.

My almost-17-year-old son Jon and I have a collection of about 6000 comics (mostly his, mostly newer), but we have an interest in the various manifestations of the MLJ-Archie (Radio Comics)-Red CircleDC Impact characters. I’ve only been reading Alter Ego for a few years. Have you ever had a story about the MLJ-Archie characters and/or their creators? Nick Noble

Sadly, Nick… not really—at least, not the 1940s versions per se. We’re wide open to someone writing one… but so far no one has stepped forward. We do have a few plans in that direction, however, and perhaps they’ll come to fruition in the next year or so. Meanwhile, however, Howard Keltner’s Alley Award-winning 1962 article on the MLJ heroes is reprinted in the upcoming TwoMorrows 10th anniversary edition of Roy Thomas & Bill Schelly’s trade paperback Alter Ego: The Best of the Legendary Comics Fanzine. See ad on p. 4. Bruce Mason, who sent us several of the scans of Palais art we printed in the issue, added this comment as part of an e-mail about #62: Roy, Sorry you didn’t have room for the horror story pages (“Death Kiss”) and “Red Comet” splashes I sent. The horror story was signed and a clear Palais story, but I wondered about “The Red Comet.” The “Boomerang” scan was also sent by me (mislabeled by your legend). Bruce Mason Sorry for any mis-crediting, Bruce; Jonathan G. Jensen also sent us several scans that were used with the Rudy Palais interview. As for some of the other art you sent—see the opposite page. P.C. Hamerlinck, who ably puts together the FCA section for each and every issue of A/E, informed us right after the publication of #62 that

re:

Playing The Palais We didn’t have room in Alter Ego #62 to print these two illustrations, but this letters page seems the perfect place. The splash page above left from Artful/Comic Media’s Horrific #5 (May 1953) bears Rudy Palais’ signature… but we can’t be 100% sure if the “Red Comet” splash from Fiction House’s Planet Comics #20 (Sept. 1942) is by Palais or not. Any info out there? Bruce Mason, among others, is waiting! [Art ©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

he’d found “a few goofs in FCA Oct…. which should be noted in a future A/E”: Dear Roy, P. 85: In “Bulletman” caption—that story did not appear in AC Comics’ Men of Mystery #21, nor has it ever been reprinted anywhere before. Story is from Master Comics #16 (Feb. 1943). P. 86: The America’s Greatest Comics #3 cover is not by [Mac] Raboy. While it looks like a Raboy layout, it’s not his work. P.C. Hamerlinck Now for a couple of last-minute notes from notables: Mike Bromberg pointed out that “the Cat-Man cover reprinted in the issue isn’t [that of] #27; it’s actually #25.”

“Ego By Night” Like we said on p. 59, we’re blissfully bookended this letters section with images composed by Shane Foley, who gave this piece the above title, since, this time, Shane drew a lycanthropic transformation of co-“maskot” Captain Ego, who was created in 1964 by the late Biljo White. Shane drew this illo in honor of A/E #62’s Halloween theme, and as a salute to Mike Ploog’s “Werewolf by Night” splash for Marvel Spotlight #3 (May 1972). Harrrooooooo! [Werewolf by Night TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Captain Ego TM & ©2008 Roy Thomas & Bill Schelly; other art ©2008 Shane Foley.]

Delmo Walters, Jr., whose letter about The Saint and artist Lew Sayre Schwartz appeared in A/E #62, wrote that “the copyright info for The Saint is © The Estate of Leslie Charteris.” We apologize if we got it wrong. Want to help us out with some comments or corrections of your own? Send ’em along to: Roy Thomas e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com 32 Bluebird Trail fax: (803) 826-6501 St. Matthews, SC 29135 Last issue, we paid tribute to Stan Lee. Next time, we’re honoring Stan’s first editorial boss in comic book, none other than Joe Simon. If you miss it, you’ve only yourself (and an unhappy childhood) to blame!

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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 Captain Marvel specialty illustration, 1972, by C.C. Beck. With thanks to Dominic Bongo and the Heritage Comics Archives. [Shazam! characters TM & ©2008 DC Comics.]

[FCA EDITORS NOTE: From 1941-53, Marcus D. Swayze was a top artist for Fawcett Publications. The very first Mary Marvel character sketches came from Marc’s drawing table, and he illustrated her earliest adventures, including the classic origin story, “Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel (Captain Marvel Adventures #18, Dec. ’42); but he was primarily hired by Fawcett Publications to illustrate Captain Marvel stories and covers for Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures. He also wrote many Captain Marvel scripts, and continued to do so while in the military. After leaving the service in 1944, he made an arrangement with Fawcett to produce art and stories for them on a freelance basis out of his Louisiana home. There he created both art and story for The Phantom Eagle in Wow Comics, in addition to drawing the Flyin’ Jenny newspaper strip for Bell Syndicate (created by his friend and mentor Russell Keaton). After the cancellation of Wow, Swayze produced artwork for Fawcett’s top-selling line of romance comics, including Sweethearts and Life Story. After the company ceased publishing comics, Marc moved over to Charlton Publications, where he ended his comics career in the mid-’50s. Marc’s ongoing professional memoirs have been a vital part of FCA since his first column appeared in FCA #54, 1996. Last issue Marc looked back at his very first syndicated comic strip attempt, Judi the Jungle Girl. In this installment he joins in on this issue’s theme by reflecting on the demise of our favorite hero in red. —P.C. Hamerlinck.]

Flying Into Comics Marc Swayze’s first job as an artist was assisting Russell Keaton, creator of the syndicated newspaper comic strip Flyin’ Jenny. Years later, Marc became the feature’s artist of record. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

don’t know how the others in this game took it, but my memories of the characters I wrote and drew in the Golden Age linger on as though they had been real people … each representing a distinct period in the career.

Flyin’ Jenny, for instance, is remembered as having been the means of my getting into comics … to be employed by a seasoned pro whose unending encouragement began that very first day when my assistance was hardly more than sweeping the studio floor. Mary Marvel was the opportunity to create graphically a new featured character that was to continue in popularity and eventually head up her own book. Absolutely unforgettable is Mickey Malone, the Phantom Eagle, with whom was spent a most spacious span of the career, during which was realized a home, a family, and a very pleasant life style … all for which I am truly thankful today. Most memorable among those “people” I knew so well stands the World’s Mightiest Mortal … you know … Captain Marvel. It is he who is fondly recalled as having dislodged me from a comfortable seat in the Southland and replaced me high over Times Square in the heart of Manhattan where, the advice had been, I ought to be … in the swim of things.

Sisterhood Is Powerful The original sketches of Mary Marvel came from Marc’s drawing board, and he drew her first two stories, in which she guested in Captain Marvel tales before spinning off into her own series in Wow Comics. [Shazam! heroes TM & ©2008 DC Comics.]

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

Endurance Flight Mickey Malone, the Phantom Eagle, was Marc’s regular assignment during the mid- and later 1940s, up till the day the Wow Comics feature was cancelled. It was his longest ongoing assignment in comic books. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

“Memories… Pressed Between The Pages Of My Mind” “My preference was to remember him just as I had drawn and written him in the Golden Age….” A rare Captain Marvel illustration by Marc Swayze. [Shazam! heroes TM & ©2008 DC Comics.]

And I am thankful for that. Was I disturbed in the early ’50s, at the report that Captain Marvel was to be discontinued forever? Of course not. I simply refused to believe it. Captain Marvel was not one to be rubbed out with a single sweep of the eraser! And Fawcett, not an organization to permit it! But they were. And he was. We learned that later. And I was disturbed by it. Captain Marvel was one of those fictional friends I knew best. To be perfectly frank about what happened to him … I’m sorry. Who wouldn’t be? I never followed those later attempts to revive the super-hero. A glimpse now and then told me it was not the jovial guy we had known down the street. My preference was to remember him just as I had drawn him and written him in the Golden Age, always easily seen at the end of the pencil or pen in my hand. And we know he’s out there yet, somewhere, don’t we? Waiting to come to the rescue if we need him. And all we have to do is utter that magic word, “SHAZ: … you know! More of Marc Swayze’s memories of the Golden Age will appear in our next issue.

The Shazam Curse The Post-Fawcett False Starts & Fizzles Of The Fabulous Marvel Family History And Opinion by P.C. Hamerlinck

“C

urses!” cried the World’s Maddest Scientist as the World’s Mightiest Mortal hauled him off to jail. The first curse inflicted upon Captain Marvel, the best-selling comic book character of the Golden Age, wasn’t the scornful words of his nemesis Dr. Sivana—but the years where lawyers bickered back and forth before a bored judge during a contentious courtroom circus. Fawcett Publications’ decision to stop the bleeding from that battle and sacrifice any further production of stories of “Captain Marvel” and “The Marvel Family” at least enabled the company to get on with its life of publishing profitable magazines and paperbacks. Despite a desperate-appearing move to incorporate then-trendy horror themes late into its run, VP/circulation manager Roscoe Fawcett once assured me that sales of Captain Marvel Adventures were “still very healthy and profitable” (Fawcett Companion, p. 12) in 1953, before the company determined that the super-heroes’ better days were long gone and that the ongoing expense of fighting for the Marvels in court would have wiped out their publishing empire. Captain Marvel, once one of the most popular comic book characters in America, became a mostly forgotten figure of fiction ... a folklore hero exiled to Brazil, cursed to lie dormant for years in his homeland as precious time slipped away wherein he could have been developing, growing, and maintaining his legendary iconic status. Yet, hindsight later revealed that Captain Marvel’s greatest curse was caused by his own proverbial “revival” conducted in 1972. Cap’s well-intentioned but ultimately flawed false start subsequently caused a vast, repetitious chain of unfortunate fumbles and outright failures which have spanned the course of 35 years (over twice as long as the original Fawcett run). These foibles have resulted in the character being unable to regain even a slight slice of his once widespread popularity.

“Curses!” Just in case you doubt our word that Dr. Sivana actually did spout the above epithet on occasion, here’s Exhibit “A,” a panel from what is considered by many to be one of the best-ever tales of the Big Red Cheese: “Captain Marvel Battles the Plot against the Universe!” from Captain Marvel Adventures #100 (Sept. 1949). [©2008 DC Comics.]

One of the accursed judgment calls from the early planning stages of the revival was that, instead of going with their initial gut instinct to develop an updated Captain Marvel for the modern 1970s audience— one that would fit snugly next to a Curt Swan Superman (“Make Way For Captain Thunder!” in Superman #276, June ’74, reveals that such an approach would have stood a good chance of succeeding)—DC chose instead to travel down memory lane. The nostalgia crowd was going to pull this book … so they thought … and hopefully grab new readers along the way with a funny, light derivative of the Captain. (The majority of readers at that time—small children to college students—had no idea what Shazam! meant or stood for.) The decision not to mature Cap after all those lost years, but rather to keep him as a throwback from another era, waiting to be plucked out of “suspended animation,” ultimately became the foundation that cemented a curse for future generations. The original Captain Marvel of the Golden Age was beautifully perfect … but to survive in modern times, a new strike of lightning was needed to successfully transform him into today’s world. (In contrast, Captain America seemed to better acclimate himself after his 1960s defrosting.)

Carmine Infantino, artist-turned-editorial-director-turned-publisher, initiated the acquisition for one of his old personal favorite characters. Since The Creeper and the like weren’t exactly penetrating Marvel Comics’ dominance of the marketplace, Infantino turned instead to obtaining ancient properties in an attempt to rejuvenate the DC line. As irony played itself out, the very people who helped give Captain Marvel a ride to the cemetery would be the inevitable Dr. Frankensteins to plunder his grave and raise him from the dead (thanks to the old decree stating that Fawcett couldn’t do anything with Cap without the consent of Supie’s publisher). A unique licensing deal between the two companies was struck, and Cap would soon emerge into the 1970s.

Additionally, another setback occurred because the new magazine couldn’t bear as its title the name of its main character! DC would probably have titled the comic Captain Marvel (whether they had started with a #1 or had picked up Fawcett's old numbering sequence from Captain Marvel Adventures), but the ever-astute Marvel Comics, insuring that no else could use that Marvel-ous name, had already intervened when rights to the CM handle had lapsed by trademarking the name for themselves in 1967, and launching its own “Captain Marvel,” a Kree warrior created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan. DC editor Julius Schwartz suggested Shazam! as a compromise title, and unfortunately, from then on, Captain Marvel has been cursed by being referred to all too often by the name of the old Egyptian wizard who gave him his powers. Even Schwartz stamping “With One Magic Word...” above the title wasn’t enough to assist the already-confused public.

However, DC didn’t foresee the perils of handling a character from the past ... and moreover, one that had been so sharply written with its own individualized style. Thus began a long series of multi-layered curses profligated upon the character.

Another cursed decision had christened Julie Schwartz as Shazam! editor. Even his editorial assistant E. Nelson Bridwell bemoaned the fact that Schwartz (already with a string of several successfully resurrected DC heroes under his belt) wasn’t a Cap fan, as ENB himself

The Post-Fawcett False Starts & Fizzles Of The Fabulous Marvel Family

“Make Way For Captain Thunder!” (Above:) In Superman #276 (June 1974), penciler Curt Swan and inker Bob Oksner rendered a promising hero who was the original Captain Marvel in virtually everything but name and a couple of costume details. Script by Elliot S! Maggin. [©2008 DC Comics.] (Above right:) Since 1986, “Captain Thunder” has meant the super-hero created by Roy & Dann Thomas. He and son Blue Bolt have returned of late, as per original CT&BB artist Dell Barras’ cover for Champions #38 (Aug. 2008), with two more issues since and more in preparation. They’re available for $4 each from Heroic Publishing, at www.heroicpub.com/orders. [Captain Thunder & Blue Bolt TM & ©2008 Roy & Dann Thomas; Huntsman TM & ©2008 Heroic Publishing.]

Past Perfect? (Right:) An unused cover drawn by Charles Clarence Beck for Shazam! #8 (Dec. 1973). The four scenes within the circles were Photostatted from Fawcett comics of the 1940s and ’50s. They were used on the published version, but with a new Beck drawing of Captain Marvel alone. [©2008 DC Comics.]

The Shazam Curse

was, and may never have really had a vested interest in the character. Schwartz added a curse of his own to the mix by assigning two of his favorite writers to the book: Denny O’Neil and Elliot Maggin, neither of whom had ever read a single issue of Captain Marvel Adventures before spearheading the project. Many wondered: If C.C. Beck was being brought back as artist, why not also writer Otto Binder, author of over half the tales of the Captain Marvel mythos during the Golden Age—a scripter who had even previously worked for DC (including alongside Schwartz and Bridwell) from the mid-1950s until he retired in 1969. But the tragic death of Otto’s daughter Mary had taken its toll on Binder—and his having once joined a movement petitioning DC for improved benefits hadn’t exactly endeared him to management or encouraged further assignments from them. In addition, in an interview published in FCA #5, Oct. 1974 (reprinted in the book Fawcett Companion), he told Matt Lage that he would never begin to try to recapture “the whimsy and gaiety we used 30 years before.”

produce well-crafted, fulfilling scripts in 8 or fewer pages, the new writers were working in an era where longer stories, prolonged fights, and deeper characterization were emphasized. With their ingrained formula—and with fewer pages in which to construct anything interesting—the new stories had to be sliced and diced to the bare bones, leaving only trite and trivial matters standing. It became painfully obvious early on that the Shazam! writers were cursed never to construct anything resembling a welldeveloped plot.

To further add salt to the widening wound was the new reduction of original art page size, which prevented Beck from using too many panels or very much detail. Beck was certainly one of the medium’s major proponents of simplicity in storytelling art, but with Shazam! he appeared to be creating work that was too simple ... Off On A Binder literally vacant of backgrounds (quite Beck caricatured his old Fawcett colleague Otto O. Binder unlike the deceptively simple yet stylized (rhymes with “cinder,” not “finder,”) in the first story in artwork he had done for Fawcett). While Shazam! #1 (Feb. 1973). [©2008 DC Comics.] Beck has been criticized for the highly simplistic style DC’s 24-page format at the time of Cap’s revival—ideal for an he used in the exciting book-length tale—was definitely a curse if one is trying to new stories, he cram three stories into one issue, as DC tried to do. (Well, at least one was flying solo of the stories was a Fawcett reprint.) While longtime fans were thrilled on Shazam! to see their beloved Captain Marvel again in new stories—illustrated (just as he had by Beck, his chief artist and co-creator—it wasn’t long until the the previous nostalgic novelty of it all grew immensely thin. The shortcomings of decade on writers O’Neil and Maggin in handling Captain Marvel, and Milford’s Schwartz’s limiting 3-stories-per-issue format, had reared their ugly Fatman; hence composite head. The Shazam! characters were never given anything the stylistic very exciting to do in their brief stories. Even though Golden Age similarity of writers like Otto Binder, Bill Woolfolk, and others had been able to the two), working without his “My Salad Days, When I Was Green In former assisJudgment” tants who had A panel from the infamous (among vintage Fawcett fans, handled anyway) story “The Invasion of the Salad Men” from backgrounds, Shazam! #10 (Feb. 1974). Art by Bob Oksner (p) & Vince inking, and Colletta (i). Script by Elliot S! Maggin. [©2008 DC Comics.] lettering. When I once asked Beck why his Shazam! artwork was simplified so much as compared to his Golden Age work, he said the art merely reflected the “infantile” tone of the stories he was given; drawing more-realistic artwork wouldn’t have made any difference or improved the stories. That same year also saw another per-issue page reduction at DC— this time from 24 to 20 (it would drop three more pages even after that, allowing additional room for revenue-raising advertising). Yet Schwartz still stuck with the insufferable 3-stories-per-issue format. (Even a 10page Marvel Family reprint had to be continued into the next issue.)

At His Beck And Call Beck’s art in Shazam! was far simpler and more “cartoony” than his work on late Fawcett tales, which was often done in concert with Pete Costanza. He maintained the new art merely reflected the “infantile” tone of the stories. Still, Beck drew himself into this panel in Shazam! #4 (July 1973). [©2008 DC Comics.]

Beck’s being driven away from Shazam! by insipid scripts and Schwartz’s editorial tactics has been well-documented over the years in the pages of FCA and elsewhere. Dave Cockrum also begrudgingly left the book after drawing only one “Captain Marvel Jr.” story, which he had to re-draw after Schwartz complained that it wasn’t modern-

looking enough. While Cockrum (a fan of the original Captain Marvel) quietly departed DC for greener pastures (i.e., Marvel), Beck, on the other hand, virtually overnight related his dismay and disputes to fanzines only too eager to print how his relationship with DC had soured so quickly. Fandom began to clearly understand Beck’s outrage when stories like “The Invasion of the Salad Men” (Shazam! #10, Feb. ’74) began to appear in print.

The Post-Fawcett False Starts & Fizzles Of The Fabulous Marvel Family

to the title by meshing attributes of the Shazam! TV show with Cap’s old city-visiting theme (see “On the Road Again,” A/E #69/FCA #128, June ’07). Uncle Dudley, first modeled after artist Jack Binder back in the Golden Age, was now modeled after TV’s “Mentor” character, as Bridwell’s sojourn developed better stories and instinctively less silly ones. Shazam! wasn’t selling any better, but was still serving a need for its small readership and for merchandising to be produced, thanks to the TV series. (The top-rated TV show was much more successful than the Shazam! comics ever were.) When new editor Jack C. Harris implemented his ambitious “new look,” time was quickly running out on the title. Bridwell’s scripts remained solid, but the first “new look” art team, Alan Weiss and Joe Rubinstein, rendered a peculiar realistic/caricature hybrid, reconciling the character’s traditional faces with their over-detailed style (a look that served as a bit of a precursor to the Image Comics house style, wherein the human form is given abundant, anatomically incorrect, non-existent muscular structure). The art team never did another story again.

An aura of negativity now surrounded the book. The early speculators who had gobbled up as many copies as they could find Travelin’ Van of Shazam! #1 had long lost Comic book art imitates television, in a quest for survival, interest in the product, and with in Shazam! #26 (Dec. 1976)—as scripter E. Nelson Bridwell fandom now viewing it as nothing sends Billy and Uncle (“Mentor”) Dudley on a trip around more than a superfluous bomb, the country, not unlike what youngsters were seeing on the Shazam! show on the small screen every Saturday sales figures dropped so low that morning. Maybe the pair should’ve run into “Captain the book was losing DC money— America”—no, not the Marvel hero, but the motorcycling normally a cause for instant Easy Rider, played by Peter Fonda, who was “looking for The obnoxiously titled Superman vs. Shazam! cancellation. But, due to the America and couldn’t find it anywhere” in the 1969 film. tabloid-sized comic (Schwartz’s final association licensing agreement with Fawcett, Art by Kurt Schaffenberger. [©2008 DC Comics.] with Captain Marvel, with one of the weakest cover it was kept on life support, designs ever concocted) should have been a resorting to a quarterly reprint memorable meeting of the two heroes, but the book was cursed from status (so as to lose as little dough as possible). its start. Gerry Conway and Rich Buckler couldn’t muster up an interE. Nelson Bridwell brought the last breath of life esting story in the larger, supposedly more dynamic format. (The logical choices to draw the book would have been Kurt Schaffenberger or Bob Oksner, two Shazam! artists who had also illustrated “Superman” for years; Gil Kane, Curt Swan, or Murphy Anderson would also have been more-appropriate artist choices.)

“Captain Sivana” (Above:) Superman, a Shazam-powered Dr. Sivana (in a green rendition of the traditional Fawcett Marvel Family costume), and Cap mix it up in DC Comics Presents Annual #3 (1984). Art by Gil Kane; plot by Roy Thomas; script by Joey Cavalieri.]

Captain Muscle (Left:) Alan Weiss’ cover for Amazing World of DC Comics #17 (actually #16) (April 1978) featured what PCH calls “a peculiar realistic/caricature hybrid” of the World’s Mightiest Mortal. [©2008 DC Comics.]

The Shazam Curse

Subsequent meetings of the two heroes by other creators have been generally more tolerable, such as ones appearing in DC Comics Presents.

Newtonian Physiques PCH feels that Don Newton’s rendering of The Marvel Family, illustrating scripts by E. Nelson Bridwell, was “Cap’s strongest post-revival run yet.” This panel is taken from a Brazilian reprint of the “Shazam!” story in World’s Finest Comics #253 (Nov. 1978). With thanks to John G. Pierce. [©2008 DC Comics.]

Don Newton took over art chores on the character at the close of Shazam! … and as the feature was relegated to a back-up feature in World’s Finest Comics. Two original Cap-fans-turned-pros, the Bridwell/Newton collaboration produced overall some of the most entertaining Marvel Family exploits since the revival began. Even though a wrong editorial decision was made to strip Cap of his familiar facial features, ENB & Newton proved that with a strong, illustrative feel, with more delineation done within self-contained stories, his adventures needn’t be totally lacking wellbalanced humor. They also proved that Captain Marvel needed to be taken seriously in such a way that you could write whimsical or ironic stories about him (as had been done in the Golden Age) rather than simply writing silly stories about silly characters (as had been done previously throughout the ’70s). While it was Cap’s strongest postrevival run yet, it was cursed to come to an end ... but at least Bridwell and Newton delivered the goods before

their own untimely deaths. Since then, a wide array of Captain Marvel interpretations have come and gone … some which are more noteworthy than others. Roy and Dann Thomas had the aptitude to know that a completely new start was needed, and their 4-issue mini-series from 1987 (with artist Tom Mandrake) truly gave the character A New Beginning. Purists decried the series’ distinctively darker tone that modern readers (and DC management) desired, and the new interpretation in which Billy Batson’s personality was retained after his transformation to Captain Marvel. After a brief follow-up serial in Action Comics Weekly with art by Rick Stasi, the Thomases’ plans weren’t allowed to develop any further. Despite reportedly strong sales, Shazam! TNB had been cursed, without warning, to an abrupt halt. With the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths integration, Captain Marvel has been brought into various DC group settings over the years—in an often-awkward effort to blend him in as “one of the guys.” But Captain Marvel is a leader—not a follower—whose destiny seemed so much greater than to be cursed to play supporting roles … lost in the backgrounds of over-crowded panels with other

Even Magic Lightning Couldn’t Penetrate These Shadows A darker Captain Marvel (and even Billy Batson), as powerfully drawn by Tom Mandrake in Shazam! The New Beginning #4 (July 1987). Script by Roy & Dann Thomas. One unkind reviewer said the series was “toilet paper”—but the mini-series sold well. Roy and then-managing editor Dick Giordano agree that DC “dropped the ball” by failing for more than a year afterward to assign a viable artist to draw a follow-up regular series. For details, see A/E V3#9. [©2008 DC Comics.]

The Captain And The Crew A 1986 DC house ad for its new Justice League series, which picked up where Justice League of America had left off, with Captain Marvel (among others) added to the team. In the early ’80s, Roy Thomas had wanted Cap to be a member of the All-Star Squadron, but DC hadn’t yet purchased the hero outright and preferred not to pay a licensing fee for merely a member of a group. By the time of the new JL book, DC owned CM lock, stock, and barrel, so the way was clear. [©2008 DC Comics.]

The Post-Fawcett False Starts & Fizzles Of The Fabulous Marvel Family

The White Stuff Mary Marvel’s costume in the Power of Shazam! series was colored white and yellow, with no red, making her relatively colorless. To top it off, though you can’t see it here, in all three of these panels much of the background was also white—rendering her all but invisible. And Cap Jr. was referred to as “CM3.” Nice artwork, though, by Pete Krause (p) & Dick Giordano (i), to go with a solid Jerry Ordway script… and PCH does admit that “there was this great character in The Power of Shazam! #40 (July 1998)… some guy called Agent Hamerlinck!” [©2008 DC Comics.]

team players. (Cap’s unfortunate portrayal of a overly-naive, goodytwo-shoes imbecile in Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis’ 1987 Justice League series was a curse all in itself.) Jerry Ordway’s The Power of Shazam! graphic novel got people talking about the character again, but its subsequent monthly series was burdened by stretched-out storylines, unnecessary cosmetic changes, and the feature being creatively robbed of its overall uniqueness by the annoying preoccupation to appease “DC Universe” continuity. Still, the Ordster gave it all he could; there were some brilliantly-rendered

covers, and many loved having classic Fawcett characters dusted off and utilized again … but it wasn’t enough to satisfy either old or new fans, and the series was cursed not to quite make it to 50 issues. Captain Marvel was a force to be reckoned with as a brainwashed crony for Lex Luthor in Mark Waid and Cap-fan Alex Ross’ Kingdom Come. And what Captain Marvel aficionado could resist the scene depicting Cap and Tawny’s friendship ... or the breathtaking sight of Cap triumphantly soaring away from the Rock of Eternity in Ross’ Shazam! Power of Hope? Jim Krueger, Doug Braithwaite, and Ross also gave Cap quality time in their recent Justice series, proving that a traditionally-portrayed CM is still possible and viable today. The frustrating curse upon these projects was that Captain Marvel’s notoriety still couldn’t benefit to reach a higher level of elevation from them.

“Quality Time” That’s how PCH refers to the Doug Braithwaite/Alex Ross version of Captain Marvel in Justice. This panel, also spotlighting The Flash and Plastic Man, is from issue #11 (June 2007). Back in the 1940s, a drawing like this would have been impossible, since Cap, Flash, and Plas were published by three entirely separate comics companies! [©2008 DC Comics.]

Jeff Smith’s Shazam! Monster Society of Evil initially seemed like a dream character/creator match. Smith had done his homework to learn what made Captain Marvel special over the years—and there were certainly moments that reflected that, along with injecting his own sense of delightful humor, characterization, and high adventure. But, in retrospect, one can’t help but wonder if his heart really wasn’t fully into working

The Shazam Curse

on someone else’s property—especially one from the super-hero genre. Roughly the same period saw the release of The Trials of Shazam!, a recklessly conceived desecration of the Shazam Mythos … a foolhardy and deplorable embarrassment for DC … another cursed concept that should hang its head and sheepishly wobble away. Trials essentially makes The Marvel Family’s rich past irrelevant. The Shazam magic is played up and turned into junk mysticism (with such rites that require “the blood of seven virgins”). In his search for the scattered powers that he needs to become the new hero in red, a very differentlooking Freddy Freeman battles various vile deities … while poor Billy Batson is more or less phased out as a white-haired heir to the old wizard’s throne. Amongst this hopelessly forced pathos, we find the Wisdom of Solomon within a female tattoo artist from New York, and the strength of Hercules within a prison inmate. The artwork has the appearance of bad urban graffiti. There’s definitely no heart in Trials. Since the creation of the original Captain Marvel, the transformation-via-magic-word motif—and the inherent adolescent wishfulfillment of instantly changing to a powerful adult premise—had (and has) been repeatedly reinvented, reinterpreted, regurgitated, and rehashed ... sometimes even orchestrated by acclaimed masters of the

medium. But—as with most wannabe characters—they too fell short, and thus share in the Captain’s curse. But there were a few creations that rose above the curse, even if temporarily. One of the more successful Silver Age characters, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Mighty Thor—with Asgardian lore a-plenty—could be seen as a thinly disguised rendition of Captain Marvel as crippled Donald Blake (à la Freddy Freeman) strikes his cane against the ground to transform with a blinding flash into the god of thunder. Mike Moran uttered “Kimota!” to become Miracleman in Alan Moore’s 1980s updating of Britain’s Marvelman. In the critically acclaimed series, in which readers weren’t spared moments of sheer brutality, Moore took the superhero concept to logical conclusions, asking, if people actually had such powers, wouldn’t some of those individuals abuse it? Moore’s unique vision eliminated any

Which Of These Is Truly “The Mightiest Man In The Universe”? The World’s Mightiest Mortal—and the World’s Mightiest Imitator! The covers of America’s Whiz Comics #121 (May 1950), with art by C.C. Beck, and of Great Britain’s Marvelman, Vol. 2, #102 (July 30, 1955). Thanks to John G. Pierce for the latter scan. [Whiz cover ©2008 DC Comics; Marvelman cover ©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

The Post-Fawcett False Starts & Fizzles Of The Fabulous Marvel Family

Marvel Is As Marvel Does Marvel Comics’ first three versions of Captain Marvel (clockwise from top left): (1) Captain Marvel (Kree name: Mar-Vell) as he appeared when he first came to Earth. Luckily, copies of the pencils of a number of Gene Colan’s pages for Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (March 1968, his second outing) were preserved by David G. Hamilton and were printed in the 2005 hardcover Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel, Vol. 1. Then-publisher Martin Goodman directed editor Stan Lee to create a Captain Marvel, so there could never again be a competing comic book titled Captain Marvel. The eventual result, of course, was DC’s Shazam! (2) Mar-Vell got a major retooling by Roy Thomas (w), Gil Kane (p), & Dan Adkins (i) in Captain Marvel #17 (Oct. 1969), complete with a science-fictional nod to the origin of the Fawcett hero. This is the same team’s splash for #19 (June 1970). Eventually, the title was taken over by a young and dynamic Jim Starlin, who carried it in a new direction. (3) African-American Monica Rambeau became Marvel’s second Captain Marvel, co-starring in The Avengers and other mags to keep the trademark alive. There’ve been several other Marvelous Captains Marvel since. This art is by John Romita, Jr., from The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. With thanks to Ian Hamerlinck. [©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

pointless endeavor to simply imitate the 1950s Marvelman (itself having been a very weak imitation/continuation of Captain Marvel); a radically different approach was called for—and it worked. Unfortunately, Miracleman is now cursed to be trapped in years of litigation over the character’s rightful ownership. (The ever-versatile Moore then turned around and wrote the satirical, upbeat Supreme—which, in some ways, was the Captain Marvel of the ’90s, being a satire of Superman and, to a lesser degree, of the entire genre.) Alongside Erik Larsen’s Mighty Man and other CM imitators, Gerard Jones and Len Strazewski’s Prime was clearly another homage to Captain Marvel, but dug deeply into defining heroism while exploring more esoteric themes. Any future success of Prime became cursed when its publisher, Malibu Comics, was bought out by Marvel Comics merely to obtain Malibu’s high-tech coloring system. [FCA EDITOR’S NOTE: A rundown of other imitators and perpetrators to the Captain Marvel myth can be found in John G. Pierce’s “The Over-Extended Marvel Family,” in Alter Ego, Vol. 3, #8, Spring 2001.] Similarly, even the act of securing the use of the very name “Captain Marvel” itself—whether its benefactors “Split!” their body parts in

various directions as in Carl Burgos’ silly, short-lived character … or, as cosmic creations with cleverly-spelled variations of the name—also proved that, even by indirect application, the curse still is not lifted. In the case of Marvel Comics’ “Vells,” their sole means of existence comes down to a name being trademarked at the right moment. Because of this—despite a devoted fan following and various top creative teams taking turns on them—the characters are forever cursed in the annals of comicdom as incidental footnotes. The first Mar-Vell

The Shazam Curse

Rock Around The Rock A dramatic Alex Ross shot of Captain Marvel doing a victory lap around the Rock of Eternity, from the giant-size Shazam! Power of Hope (2000). For more of Alex’s take on what was once the best-selling comic book character in the world, keep reading this special section of FCA! [©2008 DC Comics.]

version of Captain Marvel, created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan, was an alien military officer from the Kree Militia sent to scout the Earth. In the need for something stronger, Mar-Vell was revamped during a run by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, which borrowed the most from Fawcett’s original CM. Jim Starlin brought in his cosmic concepts to the table, but even when he killed off Mar-Vell with cancer in an attention-seeking graphic novel, it still didn’t bring forth a conclusive declaration of validity to the character (nor did any of Marvel’s later versions, including the energy-transforming Monica Rambeau, a female AfricanAmerican Coast Guard lieutenant from New Orleans … GenisVell, the genetically-engineered, insane son of Mar-Vell … Peter David’s Phyla-Vell, Genis-Vell’s younger sister … and the mostrecent incarnation, named Mahr Vehl). With the need for a new creation … in unison with a return to the quintessential originality that first gave Captain Marvel his unequaled charm and reverence, could the projected major motion picture from New Line Cinema be the event that will finally eradicate the Shazam curse? Whatever that breakthrough project turns out to be, fans of the World’s Mightiest Mortal wait patiently in quiet prayer for it. A/E EDITOR'S NOTE: Since Alex Ross and Yours Truly come in for a kinder assessment at P.C.’s hands than do a number of other latter-day Shazam! re-interpretors, I was a bit uneasy as I prepared his article for publication. I felt I had to make certain that he wasn't going easy on Alex and me just because it's “my” magazine and because Alex had donated the issue's cover and a major article. P.C., however, assured me that his evaluations were just as he saw them—so that was that. I'll leave it to ofttimes FCA contributor John G. Pierce to take issue with me about my 1980s versions of Captain Marvel.... —Roy.

The Death Of A Legend The Final Funeral Of A Fawcett Fable by C.C. Beck Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck [In 1987, two years prior to his own death, artist C.C. Beck wrote this “obituary” of the character he had co-created with Bill Parker back in the Golden Age. This previously unpublished 1987 essay was unearthed from the vaults of PCH’s Beck estate files specifically for this issue’s theme. —PCH.

he news that the legendary Captain Marvel, one of the most successful and best-loved characters in comic books, has shuffled off the mortal coil comes as a shock, but not a surprise. After all, he was known as “The World’s Mightiest Mortal,” not immortal. He had been in failing health for some time, and his end, when it came, was a blessing. Now, as was said at Abraham Lincoln’s deathbed, he belongs to the ages. A myth had grown up during Captain Marvel’s lifetime that he had been the first super-hero to use comedy in his stories. This myth was without foundation. Captain Marvel was not a super-hero; he was simply a large, powerful man. The super-heroes were a grim lot, stern faced and solemn. Captain Marvel was an amiable young fellow, and was drawn in cartoon style, not in the heavy-handed, realistic style used in the super-hero comics. He could smile, laugh, and enjoy a good joke now and then, just like any other mortal.

Four Decades And A Funeral

But Captain Marvel was not a wisecracking In Captain Marvel Adventures #88 (Sept. 1948), Charles Clarence Beck (with the aid of Pete Costanza) buffoon, spouting one-liners and making a fool drew a story titled “Captain Marvel’s Funeral!” In his 1987 article printed here, he felt that funeral had come about under somewhat different circumstances nearly 40 years later. [©2008 DC Comics.] of himself, as many supposed. There was humor in the “Captain Marvel” stories, but it was situation humor, not standup-comic style menagerie of other-than-human characters in the stories. Because the humor. Captain Marvel himself was not funny, but he got into some feature was drawn unrealistically, anything could happen—and did, laugh-provoking situations at times. usually in a funny way. The basis of humor is incongruity. Two of Captain Marvel’s deadliest enemies were Sivana, “The World’s Maddest Scientist,” and Mr. Mind, “The World’s Wickedest Worm.” Sivana was old, bald, and about five feet tall. Mr. Mind was an armless, legless worm who wore glasses and spoke through a loudspeaker hung around his neck. Just seeing either of these villains in the same panel with Captain Marvel was laugh-provoking, because the sight of a small, feeble villain and a large, powerful hero about to engage in mortal combat was so ridiculous that it was laughable. It was the David and Goliath tale turned upside down!

There is no need to cite examples; everyone familiar with the original “Captain Marvel” stories published in the 1940s can find them for himself. Those who knew the World’s Mightiest Mortal only from the comics of the 1970s and 1980s (when he was under the control of a different publisher and was sometimes called “Shazam”) will find examples of what the new editors considered to be humor but was really the worst kind of non-humor, because the new editors and writers were under the impression that Captain Marvel had been a funny super-hero who cracked jokes and acted like a clown.

Because the “Captain Marvel” stories were drawn in comic strip style, secondary characters could be cartoon-like, with shoe-button eyes and potato noses and other outlandish features. They could be inhuman: there were talking tigers and crocodile men and a whole

Although humor is based on incongruity, merely saying or doing things that are unexpected or out of context will not automatically bring laughs from an audience. Wearing a silly costume and making funny faces, running around knocking things over, doing pratfalls, and tossing off puns and stale jokes is not amusing when there is no reason

The Death Of A Legend

“The Basis Of Humor Is Incongruity” So writes Beck—and there were few things more incongruous than the World’s Mightiest Mortal locked in combat with Dr. Thaddeus Budog Sivana, “old, bald, and about five feet tall” and Mr. Mind, “an armless, legless worm who wore glasses.” Sivana had started out as a standardly evil mastermind in Whiz Comics #2 in 1940, but had evolved into a combination of villainy and comedy relief long before Whiz #122 (June 1950)—while Mr. Mind was both from start to finish in his 1943-45 serial. Below is a panel from Captain Marvel Adventures #33 (March 1944), drawn by C.C. Beck and his art staff and written by Otto Binder. For the full story of Mr. Mind and “The Monster Society of Evil,” see A/E #64, still available from TwoMorrows. [©2008 DC Comics.]

for such behavior. A big, handsome hero who acts like one of the Three Stooges isn’t amusing … but a small, funny-looking villain who acts like John Wayne is hilarious. Doing funny things is proper only when the situation is funny, not when the situation is serious. Then it will bring groans and cries of outrage from an audience. In the original stories Captain Marvel had been the straight man, not a baggy-pants burlesque comic who cracked the jokes. Every competent actor and writer knows that writing and acting out comic material is extremely difficult; acting the part of the leading man or a villain is child’s play by comparison. Originally, Captain Marvel had been a sort of master of ceremonies who acted as a foil for the talking tigers, mad scientists, intelligent worms, and other comic characters who cracked the jokes when he fed them their cues. In the new publisher’s comics Captain Marvel was the one cracking the jokes, and he was terrible. He was so awful that he was embarrassing. Jules Feiffer, author of the book The Great Comic Book Heroes, had been a child during the Golden Age of the super-heroes. He didn’t like Captain Marvel, whom he mistakenly took to be a super-hero. He writes, “I had the vague feeling that Captain Marvel was making fun of me. I was not prepared for frivolousness on the part of my super-

Beck Quotes Feiffer (Right:) C.C. took issue with satirist/cartoonist Jules Feiffer’s comments, which were quoted in Beck’s FCA/SOB #2 (FCA #13) in June of 1980. [Art ©2008 Jules Feiffer; Shazam! characters TM & ©2008 DC Comics.]

The Final Funeral of A Fawcett Fable

childish-minded as Jules Feiffer had been at 10years-old, but surely the publishers couldn’t have been. I think they had a more sinister purpose in mind. When Captain Marvel went out of business at the end of the Golden Age, Superman’s publishers must have heaved a great sigh of relief. The greatest threat to their line of super-hero characters was dead and buried—they thought. But the World’s Mightiest Mortal hadn’t died in 1953. People everywhere still remembered him, and in Brazil he continued to appear for many years, looking and acting as he always had (but now speaking in Portuguese). The old Captain Marvel movie serial was played over and over, and fans dressed up like him at comic conventions. Old comic books featuring the original “Captain Marvel” stories brought fantastic prices, as they were better than any of the comics then on the market. Something had to be done. What Superman’s publishers did was bring Captain Marvel back into publication. They dressed him up in an old super-hero costume and sent him on stage with no carefully plotted stories to act out but some old Henry Youngman routines or a bunch of old Milton Berle Vaudeville skits to perform. They were trying to kill Captain Marvel, bury him, and drive a stake through his lifeless body.

Too Much Monkey Business Beck felt that DC turned Captain Marvel into “an oafish klutz who seemed to think he was the World’s Greatest Comedian,” as in this splash from Shazam! #9 (Jan. 1974). But—correct us if we’re wrong—didn’t Cap do some pretty silly things in the Golden Age, as well? [©2008 DC Comics.]

heroes! When he finally went out of business in 1953 I couldn’t have cared less.” Feiffer’s misconception of Captain Marvel can be excused on the grounds that he was only a child at the time, but there is no excuse for carrying such misconceptions on into adulthood. He was right about not liking frivolousness on the part of super-heroes; nobody does. But Captain Marvel was not a super-hero, and he was never frivolous— other characters in his stories were. If Captain Marvel had been a super-hero instead of just a big, amiable-looking fellow, he would never have cracked a smile and there would have been no humor at all in his stories. The new publishers, who also published the Superman comic books, turned Captain Marvel into a super-hero, complete with a painted-on costume which revealed every one of his steroid-enhanced muscles, a cape which flapped around him like Count Dracula’s, and the vocabulary of a sixth-grade dropout. They turned him into an oafish klutz who seemed to think that he was the World’s Greatest Comedian. Why they did this may be attributed to their ignorance of the facts. The new editors and writers and artists may have been as ignorant and

The Malady Lingers On FCA editor P.C. Hamerlinck, of course, chose the “Captain Marvel” artwork which accompanies this 1987 article, including the obituary-minded pieces at its beginning and end. But C.C. Beck would no doubt have approved. This panel is likewise from 1948’s Captain Marvel Adventures #88. [©2008 DC Comics.]

Now, at last, they have succeeded.

The 2005 Proposal To Bring Back The Real Captain Marvel by Alex Ross Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck [Alex Ross has made a career out of rekindling his childhood enthusiasm, beginning with his part as the artist/painter of the 1990s series Marvels, which has since been followed up by such DC series as Kingdom Come. It is no exaggeration to say he is today one of the bestknown people in the comics field. As both a long-time fan of the original Captain Marvel and something of a modern-day advocate for that hero’s rightful and prominent inclusion in high-profile projects, he continually reinterprets the World’s Mightiest Mortal for today’s world. While others have essentially buried the Beckinspired version, with the recently rejected/ignored pitch of Ross’ Say My Name – Shazam!, unveiled here for the first time, the artist reveals that he still shares with many others the hope that a classic rendition of Captain Marvel will soon return. —P.C. Hamerlinck.]

n early 2005, many changes were bouncing around the DC Universe, particularly around the continuity-redefining Infinite Crisis series. As part of this, there would be many characters killed, rebooted, and/or created from whole cloth. (Earlier in the year, fan favorite Blue Beetle was murdered for the sake of just such a reboot.) I was working at the time on my largest project to date, the 12-issue series Justice. Maintaining a very focused work schedule of painting 14 pages a month (a bi-monthly comic book) didn’t allow me much time to collaborate on other projects. It was around the time leading up to my book’s, and then Infinite Crisis’, release, that I was contacted about Shazam! DC was looking for a costume

Father To The Man (Left:) Alex Ross at work. (Above:) Concept drawings of Billy Batson and Captain Marvel done by Alex Ross to accompany his proposal for Say My Name—Shazam! And yes, the above title logo for this piece was also designed by Alex. When he’s enthusiastic, he’s enthusiastic! [Shazam! characters & phrase TM & ©2008 DC Comics.]

Alex Ross’ 2005 Proposal To Bring Back The Real Captain Marvel

creative equality to those icons. In later works, I’ve always tried to incorporate him more strongly in the classic Justice League, giving him a substantial role in the recent Justice series. At one time, all of this seemed like enough for me, even though I had many recurring delusions of a traditional comic book run that I would somehow do with Shazam! DC awoke a passion in me that was always there, lying dormant. DC’s letting me know that they were effectively destroying the Billy Batson/C.C. Beck-style/Fred MacMurray-inspired lead hero I had always loved was too much to bear. I was self-assured that I could somehow save Captain Marvel. Well, I was wrong. But here’s what I came up with to try to change their minds. First, I thought through how one might “touch up” the classic Captain Marvel outfit without really changing anything. Previously, both Jerry Ordway and I had simultaneously channeled our love of the original buttoned-jacket design back from his more military dress uniform inspiration. I additionally adopted the sash and gold fabric look featured in the 1940s Tom Tyler movie serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel. These details served the purpose of returning Marvel to his roots but not necessarily to my first point of contact with him: Jackson Bostwick, whose portrayal of Captain Marvel on the mid-70s Shazam! TV series was the formation of my love for the character.

…But Have You Ever Seen Them Together On TV? Jackson Bostwick as Captain Marvel and Michael Gray as Billy Batson, from the 1974 Shazam! CBS-TV series. That program was Alex Ross’ introduction to the Big Red Cheese. [©2008 DC Comics.]

redesign as well as enlightening me of the idea of Captain Marvel Jr. taking over in the lead role. Moving the players around, as Jerry Ordway had suggested in future-based stories that Captain Marvel would ultimately take over for the wizard Shazam, was an immediate road that DC wanted to take. As anyone can now be aware, the position of red-costumed lead did go to Junior (Freddy Freeman), as well as the actual name Shazam, for the obvious reasons of having the word most people associate with the character finally be his actual name. Upon hearing this plan, I was aghast at the possibility of it and argued passionately against the complete change-over of my favorite corner of DC Comics’ library. Charged by that love of the character and his mythos, I began contemplating a pitch to save Captain Marvel. Much like Roy Thomas and many other creators, I always had designs on how I thought the Marvel Family characters could be successfully interpreted for a modern audience. Also like Roy, I had my hand in a number of uses just short of an extended series. When I was first working on the four-issue Marvels series, I had done a certain amount of planning and designing for a post-Crisis (the 1985 one) Shazam! re-presentation series intended for the bookshelf format. Jerry Ordway’s Power of Shazam! graphic novel and eventual followup ongoing series pre-empted the possibility of my plans coming to fruition. Captain Marvel’s appearance as a threatening counterbalance to Superman in the Kingdom Come Elseworlds series was a fairly visible use of the character, making the kind of impact I wished to make with him, as well as a chance to associate myself with the Fawcett heroes. My creative road led to a series of oversized one-shot graphic novels where Captain Marvel was featured on a short list with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, indicating his historic and

I had always toyed with doing a rebooted design that hearkened back to that inspiration. If one is trying to “sex up” a costume, two things come to mind: enhancing the naked muscular form of the human body, and showing off its power. If the Marvels are sired by magical lightning, then why not let electrical tendrils dance around them, accompanying their look? Letting the classically-colored-yellow costume parts glow with an unearthly light that sparks off additional energy was the driving force of my new design. Why should The Flash be drawn with these little lightning accents of power, and not Captain Marvel? Embracing the ’70s era of letting his hair down, I lengthened the Captain’s hair, but had it spiking upward as if he had his own personal wind machine that he sat on top of, creating an impish, hornhaired appearance. Artistically I imagined the leaner body shape, but more exaggerated muscular definition, of Neal Adams’ style. By having a glowing chest emblem, his face could appear constantly up-lit; and, adding to this, lightning power is seen within his eyes. The overall look from all of these effects combined in a very SubMariner-like “dark hero” quality. Aging Billy Batson up to a 16-yearold modern long-haired kid (à la Michael Gray, TV’s Billy Batson) enhances his ability to relate to modern teens, as well as to the idyllic age many readers fondly recall. These visual points of inspiration opened the door for my storyline, which intended to fulfill part of the goals for which DC’s various Shazam! series had strived. DC’s wish was (and has been) to have Freddy Freeman rise up to multiple tasks that mirror the Twelve Labors of Hercules to win back the powers of Shazam (thus the name The Trials of Shazam!). My idea focused on teenaged Billy Batson, de-powered following their Days of Vengeance saga, begrudgingly drawn to reclaim the Shazam power, letter by letter, from different individuals who acquired these gifts of the gods. Presumably the various powers were scattered across the Earth following the events in DC’s plan to shatter all magical forces. My plan’s little wrinkle was that each Shazam gift empowered a fullydeveloped character, each based on only one-sixth of the magic word. This idea provided six new super-humans, including: For Solomon (wisdom): A cosmically aware young AfricanAmerican man who spreads his will like a virus. For Hercules (strength): A gawky, Hispanic teen who becomes a distorted, hulking powerhouse.

Say My Name—Shazam!

For Atlas (stamina): A young Asian man who transforms himself into a sleek metallic giant. For Zeus (power): With a worst case scenario, an established DC Universe supervillain (I was thinking of Atomic Skull at the time), who gains lightning-wielding to add to his existing abilities. For Achilles (courage): A soldier’s bereaved mother, who gains a youthful, gladiatorial presence and sword with which to avenge her loss. For Mercury (speed): an angry, ambitious fellow in a war-torn European region, upon whom falls the power to swiftly remake the land into one under his own control. Billy’s crusade would place him in harm’s way, having to approach each of these people and lay hands directly on them to bring their gifts back into himself. All the while, he regains no part of the Shazam power until all parts are reclaimed. I had intended Billy to get exceptionally hurt, be arrested, and go through a teen romance and break-up in pursuit of this goal. My hope was to have readers fall in love with the concept of Billy Batson all by himself before it seemed he had the crutch of becoming the adult, costumed hero. If I could make you (and DC) like him, then I would have done an incredible service to his and Captain Marvel’s legend. Billy’s plight was intended to be a complex one, where the various characters’ abuses of power showed a range from confused heroism to outright villainy. In some cases, Billy would be conflicted about retaking his power.

Surfin’ Shazam Safari Cap and Billy. Note Billy’s Shazam surfboard! Concept art by Alex Ross. In the separate 3-page “Shazam! Pitch” the artist/writer shared with us, there was a reason for it: “The dismantling of The Marvel Family’s power and the wizard Shazam’s apparent destruction leaves a void in the lives of our young heroes. Seeking to fill that void by moving on with his life is how we find Billy, a handsome 16-year-old kid taking his time to see how people his own age live. Having abandoned his former Northeast city for the West Coast beaches, Billy seems to be in middle of a long ‘lost weekend,’ spending his time surfing and working a menial job to get by. His twin sister Mary tracks him down here to confront him about his disappearance from her and Freddy Freeman’s lives.” [Shazam! characters TM & ©2008 DC Comics; “Shazam! Pitch” text ©2008 Alex Ross.]

For my own fannish-precociousness, each character was a thinly veiled version of modern heroes whose concepts owe a debt to Captain Marvel’s invention (including Captain Mar-Vell, Prime, Ultraman, Ghost Rider, Thor, and Miracleman). At the result of this crusade, Billy Batson can finally become the electrically charged version of Captain Marvel that my designs illustrate. Having seemingly more power than before, and possibly living in a wizarddevoid DCU at the time, Marvel can re-gift the powers to the rest of The Marvel Family, similarly lighting them up like a Christmas tree. On top of that, Marvel would seek out the one new character from the bunch granted with Shazam gifts, in order to bestow a fourthmember status to the Marvel Family tree (ignoring Dudley and the Lieutenants). Roy Thomas once wanted to do it, and here I tried it again: to put a black man into Fawcett’s first family. My spin was that this young man— previously gifted with the wisdom of Solomon, who only used it to spread a peaceful calm amongst his community and unify it—gave the gift back willingly. Billy was able to repay that kindness and relieve his own guilt by granting

Alex Ross’ 2005 Proposal To Bring Back The Real Captain Marvel

Billy’d Better Say Something Fast! (Right:) Alex’s sample cover for his projected Say My Name— Shazam! series. Again, quoting from Alex’s “Shazam! Pitch”: “The path to reclaim the Shazam gifts puts Billy’s own courage, cleverness, and tenacity to the test.” [Shazam! characters TM & ©2008 DC Comics.]

Say My Name—Shazam!

him the full Shazam power. Upon being robed like the rest of the Marvels, he decides to magically alter the look to something more personal, with a mask, naming himself after the Roman god of fire—Vulcan! Blatantly, I was trying to insert a Super Friends television character into the DC mythos, despite Black Lightning. (Ed Brubaker’s run on The Uncanny X-Men took the name Vulcan for a third Summers brother we’d never heard of, so there went that opportunity.) Either way, my prospects for doing the series were probably doomed from the start. At first the pitch was to be written by a thenwilling Geoff Johns, who encouraged me greatly during the process and spoke at great length with DC to push this idea of saving the main Marvel himself. I would have then only designed, co-plotted, and done covers for the potential series. This would have allowed it to get started almost immediately, though, matching DC’s needs for a post-Infinite Crisis launch title. Geoff was under contract with DC and could only push so much before being told to drop it. Being independent, I could annoy anyone as much as I wanted, continuing efforts

Vulcan-ized! (Above:) Alex Ross’ conception of a potential African-American member of The Marvel Family—Vulcan. Alex mentions being preempted by an X-Men baddie, but actually, as detailed in the now-on-sale All-Star Companion, Vol. 3, a super-villain called Vulcan, Son of Fire, had appeared in All-Star Comics #60-61 (May-Aug 1976). [Art ©2008 Alex Ross.]

“Justice, Like Lightning, Shall Appear” (Right:) Alex Ross studies of Cap, with a lightning aura. To quote from his written “Shazam! Pitch”: “With a new visual hook of static lightning flickering around our hero, first appearing when he absorbs the missing powers, then finally remaining when the costume is reacquired, Captain Marvel will seem like an elemental force and with a much more aggressive quality to his classic look.” [Shazam! characters TM & ©2008 DC Comics; “Shazam! Pitch” text ©2008 Alex Ross.]

Alex Ross’ 2005 Proposal To Bring Back The Real Captain Marvel

potential project while I’m preoccupied with my present one. At the earliest stages of Justice, it seemed a possibility to imagine jumping onto another full series, immediately following the other’s completion, for me to both write and draw. Other than the humbling experience of receiving no reply from DC on my Shazam! pitch (which I know they received before they even wrote an outline, let alone found an artist), I found fulfilling my duties on a long series collaboration draining and all-consuming. Ultimately, DC may have done me a favor by subduing some part of my ambition and sense of entitlement to control the corporately-owned toys. Basing too much of your creative desires on something that someone else can say no to is a mistake. Captain Marvel and company are still in my thoughts, and who knows what the future may bring? More than likely, a present-day DC continuity classic Captain Marvel will come back relatively soon, with potential movie and other media uses demanding his return. My version may not have been the best revision to apply to these characters, any more than anyone else’s. I just hope that—due to their creative contributions to pop culture—The Marvel Family is rewarded one day with a popularity rebirth.

Say “Big Red Cheese!” Two rough pencil studies of Captain Marvel by Alex Ross. As to where he intended to take the hero, these final sentences from his “Shazam! Pitch” may give a clue: “As for what comes next, their story raises the alertness of old enemies, most importantly Black Adam, who would certainly seek out the Marvels to reclaim his own pat of that heritage and possibly the new charge of being able to pass on their gifts to one of his own choosing! The gods themselves may take special note of how the powers function differently and raise suspicion of what alien force may have grafted itself into the powers of Shazam when Billy reclaimed them. “Finally, a later, greater tale of uniting the lightning-sired characters of DC into an army of purpose, tying the Shazam family and the Flash family together along with many, many others whose true calling may be for a universe-spanning conflict, putting Captain Marvel clearly at the center.” Where he most definitely belongs, Alex, as I’m sure we all agree! [Shazam! characters TM & ©2008 DC Comics; “Shazam! Pitch” text ©2008 Alex Ross.]

to write a three-page outline with an abundance of design illustrations. I should have let it go more easily, but the way in which the story gripped me as it wrote itself in my head night after night demanded my attention. I always wondered when I might simply pencil and ink a traditional comic, and this tale began to lay itself out as that time in my career. It’s been common in my experience to obsess about the next

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! 2004 EISNER AWARD NOMINEE for Best Comics-Related Periodical.

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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!

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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!

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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!

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Focuses on TIMELY COMICS (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!

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! BUSCEMA covers!

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: SEP012273

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: NOV012568

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JAN022737

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(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: APR022615

ALTER EGO #16

ALTER EGO #17

ALTER EGO #18

ALTER EGO #19

ALTER EGO #20

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!

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, tributes to DAVE BERG and VINCE FAGO, FCA and more!

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, and FOX, MORT WEISINGER, MR. MONSTER, FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, RABOY, SCHAFFENBERGER, and more! AL MILGROM cover!

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: MAY022386

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JUL022370

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: AUG022420

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: OCT022884

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: NOV022845

ALTER EGO #21

ALTER EGO #22

ALTER EGO #23

ALTER EGO #24

ALTER EGO #25

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! STEVENS & HASEN covers!

BILL EVERETT and JOE KUBERT interview 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 the “CHARLES MOULTON” scripts), BOB FUJITANI and JOHN ROSENBERGER interviewed, 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 cover!

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 AllStar Squadron #1 and its ’40s roots (with art by ORDWAY, BUCKLER, MOLDOFF, and MESKIN), FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more! Cover by TOTH and COLE!

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: DEC023029

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JAN032492

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: FEB032260

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: MAR032534

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: APR032553

ALTER EGO #26

ALTER EGO #27

ALTER EGO #28

ALTER EGO #29

ALTER EGO #30

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!

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 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, ROY THOMAS on the ’60s JLA (with rare art by SEKOWSKY and DILLIN), the super-doers 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!

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: MAY032543

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JUN032614

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JUL032570

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: AUG032604

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: SEP032620

ALTER EGO #31

ALTER EGO #32

ALTER EGO #33

ALTER EGO #34

ALTER EGO #35

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!

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!

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: OCT032843

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: NOV032695

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: DEC032833

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JAN042879

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: FEB042796

ALTER EGO #36

ALTER EGO #37

ALTER EGO #38

ALTER EGO #39

ALTER EGO #40

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!

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!

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: MAR042972

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: APR043055

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: MAY043050

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JUN042972

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JUL043386

ALTER EGO #41

ALTER EGO #42

ALTER EGO #43

ALTER EGO #44

ALTER EGO #45

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!

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 JOE KUBERT, IRWIN HASEN, MURPHY ANDERSON, JERRY ORDWAY, 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!

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: AUG043186

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: SEP043043

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: OCT043189

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: NOV043080

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: DEC042992

ALTER EGO #46

ALTER EGO #47

ALTER EGO #48

ALTER EGO #49

ALTER EGO #50

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!

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!

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) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JAN053133

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: FEB053220

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: MAR053331

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(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: MAY053172

ALTER EGO #51

ALTER EGO #52

ALTER EGO #53

ALTER EGO #54

ALTER EGO #55

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!

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!

JACK and OTTO BINDER, KEN BALD, VIC DOWD, and BOB BOYAJIAN interviewed, FCA with SWAYZE and EMILIO SQUEGLIO, rare art by BECK, WARD, and 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 cover!

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JUN053345

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JUL053293

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: AUG053328

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: SEP053301

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: OCT053396

ALTER EGO #56

ALTER EGO #57

ALTER EGO #58

ALTER EGO #59

ALTER EGO #60

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!

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 interviewed, the first comic book Thor (not the one you think!), SIEGEL & SHUSTER, FCA, MR. MONSTER, SUYDAM cover, and more!

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!

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: DEC053401

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JAN063429

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: MAR063545

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: APR063474

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: MAY063496

ALTER EGO #61

ALTER EGO #62

ALTER EGO #63

ALTER EGO #64

ALTER EGO #65

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!

Tribute to ALEX TOTH! Never-before-seen interview with tons of TOTH art, including sketches he sent to friends! Art by Toth’s influences: CANIFF, SICKLES, COLE, KELLY, BECK, ROBINSON and others! Articles about Toth by TERRY AUSTIN, JIM AMASH, SY BARRY, 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 BACK ISSUE #20 PREVIEW!

NICK CARDY interviewed on his work in the Golden & Silver Ages, with CARDY artwork, plus art by WILL EISNER, NEAL ADAMS, CARMINE INFANTINO, JIM APARO, RAMONA FRADON, CURT SWAN, JOE ORLANDO, BOB HANEY, MIKE SEKOWSKY, and others, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, new CARDY COVER, and more!

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JUN063522

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: AUG063690

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: OCT063800

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: NOV063991

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: DEC064009

ALTER EGO #66

ALTER EGO #67

ALTER EGO #68

ALTER EGO #69

ALTER EGO #70

Spotlight on BOB POWELL, the artist who drew Daredevil, Sub-Mariner, Sheena, The Avenger, The Hulk, Giant-Man, Green Hornet, and others, plus art by WALLY WOOD, HOWARD NOSTRAND, DICK AYERS, JOE SIMON, JACK KIRBY, CHARLES CUIDERA 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, Jerry Lewis, and more, plus art and artifacts by SHELLY MAYER, IRWIN HASEN, LEE ELIAS, C.C. BECK, CARMINE INFANTINO, GIL KANE, JULIE SCHWARTZ, and others, FCA with MARC SWAYZE and C.C. BECK, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, and more!

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 a FREE ROUGH STUFF #5 PREVIEW!

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ALTER EGO #71

ALTER EGO #72

ALTER EGO #73

ALTER EGO #75

ALTER EGO #76

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 of the Northern Lights, The Penguin, Thunderfist, The Dreamer, The Brain, Johnny Canuck, et al.! Features 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!

FRANK BRUNNER on drawing Dr. Strange, interviews with CHARLES BIRO and his daughters, ROY THOMAS’ 1971 synopsis for the origin of Man-Thing, interview with publisher ROBERT GERSON about his 1970s horror comic Reality, art by BERNIE WRIGHTSON, 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 WALT GROGAN and 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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T H E U LT I M AT E C O M I C S E X P E R I E N C E !

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 money-saving BUNDLES, including an ULTIMATE BUNDLE with the entire run at HALF-PRICE! “I learned something on darn near every page. It’s a terrific magazine!” Tony Isabella on BACK ISSUE!

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

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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 #14

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!

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!

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BACK ISSUE #15

BACK ISSUE #16

BACK ISSUE #17

BACK ISSUE #18

BACK ISSUE #19

“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 (Green Arrow), PETER DAVID (Incredible Hulk), a “Pro2Pro” chat between GERRY CONWAY and JOHN ROMITA, SR. (Green Goblin), the unproduced She-Hulk movie, and more. New cover by ADAMS!

“Unsung Heroes!” DON NEWTON spotlight, GERBER and COLAN on Howard the Duck, CARLIN and 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!

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JAN063431

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BACK ISSUE #20

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BACK ISSUE #22

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BACK ISSUE #24

“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!

“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!

(104-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: NOV063993

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BACK ISSUE #25

BACK ISSUE #26

BACK ISSUE #27

BACK ISSUE #28

BACK ISSUE #29

“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; interview with ALAN WEISS; spotlights on ARION, LORD OF ATLANTIS; NIGHT FORCE; KING KONG; and more! 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 P REZ, and more! New cover by DARWYN COOKE!

“Mutants” issue! CLAREMONT, BYRNE, SMITH, and ROMITA, JR.’s X-Men work; NOCENTI and ARTHUR ADAMS’ Longshot; McLEOD and SIENKIEWICZ’s New Mutants; the UK’s CAPTAIN BRITAIN series; the Beast’s tenure with the Avengers; the return of the original X-Men in X-Factor (and the revaltion of Nightcrawler’s “original” father), a history of DC’s mutant, Captain Comet, and more! Cover by DAVE COCKRUM!

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(100-page magazine) $9 US Ships March 2008

(100-page magazine) $9 US Ships May 2008

(100-page magazine) $9 US Ships July 2008

UPCOMING BOOKS: MODERN MASTERS SERIES Edited by ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON, these trade paperbacks are devoted to the BEST OF TODAY’S COMICS ARTISTS! Each book contains RARE AND UNSEEN ARTWORK direct from the artist’s files, plus a COMPREHENSIVE INTERVIEW (including influences and their views on graphic storytelling), DELUXE SKETCHBOOK SECTIONS, and more!

Vol. 14: FRANK CHO

Vol. 15: MARK SCHULTZ

Vol. 16: MIKE ALLRED

(120-page TPB with COLOR) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905849 Ships October 2007 Diamond Order Code: AUG074034

(128-page TPB) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905856 Ships December 2007

(120-page TPB with COLOR) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905863 Ships February 2008

MORE MODERN MASTERS VOLUMES ARE COMING IN 2008: GAIJIN STUDIOS AND JOHN ROMITA JR.! SEE OUR JANUARY CATALOG FOR DETAILS!

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KIRBY FIVE-OH! (JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #50) 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.

Picks up where Volume 1 left off, covering the return of the Teen Titans to the top of the sales charts! Featuring interviews with GEOFF JOHNS, MIKE MCKONE, PETER DAVID, PHIL JIMENEZ, and others, plus an in-depth section on the top-rated Cartoon Network series! Also CHUCK DIXON, MARK WAID, KARL KESEL, and JOHN BYRNE on writing the current generation of Titans! More with MARV WOLFMAN and GEORGE PÉREZ! NEAL ADAMS on redesigning Robin! Artwork by ADAMS, BYRNE, JIMENEZ, MCKONE, PÉREZ and more, with an all-new cover by MIKE MCKONE! Written by GLEN CADIGAN.

(192-page trade paperback) $26 US ISBN: 9781893905887 Ships February 2008

(224-page trade paperback) $31 US ISBN: 97801893905870 Ships March 2008

TITANS COMPANION VOLUME 2

The publication that started the TwoMorrows juggernaut presents KIRBY FIVE-OH!, a book covering the best of everything from Jack Kirby’s 50-year career in comics! The regular columnists from THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR magazine have formed a distinguished panel of experts to choose and examine: The BEST KIRBY STORY published each year from 1938-1987! The BEST COVERS from each decade! Jack’s 50 BEST UNUSED PIECES OF ART! His 50 BEST CHARACTER DESIGNS! And profiles of, and commentary by, the 50 PEOPLE MOST INFLUENCED BY KIRBY’S WORK! Plus there’s a 50-PAGE GALLERY of Kirby’s powerful RAW PENCIL ART, and a DELUXE COLOR SECTION of photos and finished art from throughout his entire halfcentury oeuvre. This TABLOID-SIZED TRADE PAPERBACK features a previously unseen Kirby Superman cover inked by “DC: The New Frontier” artist DARWYN COOKE, and an introduction by MARK EVANIER, helping make this the ultimate retrospective on the career of the “King” of comics! (A percentage of profits will be donated to the JACK KIRBY MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTER.) (168-page tabloid-size trade paperback) $24 US ISBN: 9781893905894 Ships January 2008

HOW-TO MAGAZINES

DRAW! is the professional “How-To” magazine on cartooning and animation, featuring in-depth interviews and step-by-step demonstrations from top comics professionals. Edited by MIKE MANLEY.

WRITE NOW! features writing tips from pros on both sides of the desk, interviews, sample scripts, reviews, exclusive Nuts & Bolts tutorials, and more! Edited by DANNY FINGEROTH.

ROUGH STUFF features never-seen pencil pages, sketches, layouts, roughs, and unused inked pages from throughout comics history, plus columns, critiques, and more! Edited by BOB MCLEOD.

DOWNLOAD DIGITAL EDITIONS OF OUR MAGS FOR $2 95! GO TO WWW.TWOMORROWS.COM FOR DETAILS!

NEW MAGS: T H E U LT I M AT E C O M I C S E X P E R I E N C E !

BACK ISSUE celebrates comic books of the 1970s, 1980s, and today through a variety of recurring (and rotating) departments, plus rare and unpublished art. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

ALTER EGO focuses on Golden and Silver Age comics and creators with articles, interviews and unseen art, plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), Mr. Monster & more. Edited by ROY THOMAS.

BACK ISSUE #23

BACK ISSUE #24

BACK ISSUE #25

BACK ISSUE #26

“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!

(108-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: MAY073880

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JUL073976

(100-page magazine) $9 US Ships November 2007

(100-page magazine) $9 US Ships January 2008

ALTER EGO #72

ALTER EGO #73

ALTER EGO #74

ALTER EGO #75

ALTER EGO #76

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!

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: JUL073975

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: AUG074112

(100-page magazine) $9 US Ships December 2007

(100-page magazine) $9 US Ships January 2008

(100-page magazine) $9 US Ships March 2008

DRAW! #15

WRITE NOW! #17

WRITE NOW! #18

ROUGH STUFF #6

ROUGH STUFF #7

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 B.P.R.D.’S GUY DAVIS, MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS’ COMIC ART BOOTCAMP series, a FREE WRITE NOW #17 PREVIEW, and more!

HEROES ISSUE featuring series creator/ writer TIM KRING, writer JEPH LOEB, and others, interviews with DC Comics’ DAN DiDIO and Marvel’s DAN BUCKLEY, PETER DAVID on writing STEPHEN KING’S DARK TOWER COMIC, MICHAEL TEITELBAUM, C.B. CEBULSKI, DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF, Nuts & Bolts script and art examples, a FREE BACK ISSUE #24 PREVIEW, and more!

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!

Features a new interview and cover by BRIAN STELFREEZE, interview with BUTCH GUICE, extensive art galleries/commentary by IAN CHURCHILL, DAVE COCKRUM, and COLLEEN DORAN, MIKE GAGNON looks at independent comics, with art and comments by ANDREW BARR, BRANDON GRAHAM, and ASAF HANUKA! Includes a FREE ALTER EGO #73 PREVIEW!

Features an in-depth interview and cover by TIM TOWNSEND, CRAIG HAMILTON, DAN JURGENS, and HOWARD PORTER offer preliminary art and commentaries, MARIE SEVERIN career retrospective, graphic novels feature with art and comments by DAWN BROWN, TOMER HANUKA, BEN TEMPLESMITH, and LANCE TOOKS, and more!

(80-page magazine with COLOR) $9 US Diamond Order Code: AUG074131

(80-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: AUG074138

(80-page magazine) $9 US Ships January 2008

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: AUG074137

(100-page magazine) $9 US Ships January 2008

A NEW MAGAZINE COMING FEBRUARY 2008 FROM TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING: BrickJournal magazine is the ultimate resource for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages! Edited by JOE MENO, it spotlights all aspects of the LEGO Community, showcasing events, people, and models in every issue, with contributions and howto articles by top builders worldwide, new product intros, and more! Produced with assistance from the LEGO Group. Volume 1, #18 are available NOW as downloadable PDFs for only $3.95 each, and #9 is available FREE so you can try before you buy! Go to www.twomorrows.com to order. The first print issue ships February 2008—order now! 80 pages, full-color! SINGLE COPIES: $11 US Postpaid (add $2 US First Class or Canada, $7 Surface, $9 Airmail). 4-ISSUE SUBSCRIPTIONS: $32 US Postpaid by Media Mail ($42 First Class, $50 Canada, $66 Surface, $78 Airmail).

BrickJournal #1 (Volume 2) BrickJournal #1 (Volume 2) features reports on some of the top events worldwide that are held by the LEGO community, including Northwest Brickcon in the US, and events in Denmark and Germany. There's also interviews with LEGO set designers and other adult LEGO builders, including LEGO Certified Professional Nathan Sawaya! Plus there's stepby-step instructions, new set reviews, and other surprises in every issue!

TwoMorrows Publishing

DOWNLOAD A FREE DIGITAL EDITION OF VOL. 1, #9 NOW AT www.twomorrows.com

TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Dr. • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 FAX: 919-449-0327 • e-mail: john@twomorrowspubs.com • www.twomorrows.com

MODERN MASTERS SERIES Edited by ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON, these trade paperbacks and DVDs are devoted to the BEST OF TODAY’S COMICS ARTISTS! Each book contains RARE AND UNSEEN ARTWORK direct from the artist’s files, plus a COMPREHENSIVE INTERVIEW (including influences and their views on graphic storytelling), DELUXE SKETCHBOOK SECTIONS, and more! And don’t miss our companion DVDs, showing the artist at work in their studio!

MODERN MASTERS DVDs (120-minute Std. Format DVDs) $35 US EACH

GEORGE PÉREZ

ISBN: 9781893905511 Diamond Order Code: JUN053276

MICHAEL GOLDEN ISBN: 9781893905771 Diamond Order Code: MAY073780

VOL. 1: ALAN DAVIS

V.2: GEORGE PÉREZ

V.3: BRUCE TIMM

V.4: KEVIN NOWLAN

V.5: GARCÍA-LÓPEZ

(128-page trade paperback) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905191 Diamond Order Code: STAR18345

(128-page trade paperback) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905252 Diamond Order Code: STAR20127

(120-page TPB with COLOR) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905306 Diamond Order Code: APR042954

(120-page TPB with COLOR) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905382 Diamond Order Code: SEP042971

(120-page TPB with COLOR) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905443 Diamond Order Code: APR053191

V.6: ARTHUR ADAMS

V.7: JOHN BYRNE

V.8: WALTER SIMONSON

V.9: MIKE WIERINGO

V.10: KEVIN MAGUIRE

(128-page trade paperback) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905542 Diamond Order Code: DEC053309

(128-page trade paperback) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905566 Diamond Order Code: FEB063354

(128-page trade paperback) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905641 Diamond Order Code: MAY063444

(120-page TPB with COLOR) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905658 Diamond Order Code: AUG063626

(128-page trade paperback) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905665 Diamond Order Code: OCT063722

V.11: CHARLES VESS

V.12: MICHAEL GOLDEN

V.13: JERRY ORDWAY

V.14: FRANK CHO

V.15: MARK SCHULTZ

(120-page TPB with COLOR) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905696 Diamond Order Code: DEC063948

(120-page TPB with COLOR) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905740 Diamond Order Code: APR074023

(120-page TPB with COLOR) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905795 Diamond Order Code: JUN073926

(120-page TPB with COLOR) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905849 Diamond Order Code: MAY078046

(128-page trade paperback) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905856 Ships December 2007

COMING SOON FROM TWOMORROWS!

ROUGH STUFF #7

DRAW! #15

WRITE NOW! #17

BACK ISSUE #26

BRICKJOURNAL #1 (V2)

The ultimate resource for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages, showcasing events, people, and models! #1 features an interview with set designer and LEGO Certified Professional NATHAN SAWAYA, plus step-by-step building instructions and techniques for all skill levels, new set reviews, on-the-scene reports from LEGO community events, and other surprises! Edited by JOE MENO.

(100-page magazine) $9 US Ships January 2008 Diamond Order Code: NOV073966

(80-page magazine with COLOR) $9 US Ships November 2007 Diamond Order Code: AUG074131

(80-page magazine) $9 US Ships November 2007 Diamond Order Code: AUG074138

KIRBY FIVE-OH! (JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #50)

SILVER AGE MEGO 8" SUPERSCI-FI COMPANION HEROES: WORLD’S In the Silver Age of Comics, space was the GREATEST TOYS!TM

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) $24 US ISBN: 9781893905894 Diamond Order Code: JUL078147 Ships February 2008

place, and this book summarizes, critiques and lovingly recalls the classic sciencefiction series edited by JULIUS SCHWARTZ and written by GARDNER FOX and JOHN BROOME! The pages of DC’s sciencefiction 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!

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!

(144-page trade paperback) $24 US ISBN: 9781893905818 Diamond Order Code: JUL073885

(100-page magazine) $9 US Diamond Order Code: NOV073948

Lavishly illustrated with thousands of CHARTS, CHECKLISTS and COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS, it’s an obsessive examination of legendary toy company MEGO (pronounced “ME-go”), and the extraordinary line of super-hero action figures that dominated the toy industry throughout the 1970s. Featuring a chronological history of Mego, interviews with former employees and Mego vendors, fascinating discoveries never revealed elsewhere, and thorough coverage of each figure and packaging variant, this FULL-COLOR hardcover is the definitive guide to Mego. BRAD MELTZER raves, “I’ve waited thirty years for this magical, beautiful book.” And CHIP KIDD, internationally-recognized graphic designer and author of BATMAN COLLECTED, deemed it “a stunning visual experience.” Written by BENJAMIN HOLCOMB. (256-page COLOR hardcover) $54 US ISBN: 9781893905825 Diamond Order Code: JUL073884

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

ALL- STAR COMPANION V. 3 More amazing secrets behind the 194051 ALL-STAR COMICS and the 1941-44 SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY—and illustrated speculation about how other Golden Age super-teams might have been assembled! Also, an issue-by-issue survey of the JLA-JSA TEAM-UPS of 1963-85, the 1970s JSA REVIVAL, and the 1980s series THE YOUNG ALL-STARS and SECRET ORIGINS, with commentary by the artists and writers! Plus rare, often unseen art by KUBERT, INFANTINO, ADAMS, ORDWAY, ANDERSON, TOTH, CARDY, GIL KANE, COLAN, SEKOWSKY, DILLIN, STATON, REINMAN, McLEOD, GRINDBERG, PAUL SMITH, RON HARRIS, MARSHALL ROGERS, WAYNE BORING, GEORGE FREEMAN, DON HECK, GEORGE TUSKA, TONY DeZUNIGA, H.G. PETER, DON SIMPSON, and many others! Compiled and edited by ROY THOMAS, with a new cover by GEORGE PÉREZ! (224-page trade paperback) $31 US ISBN: 9781893905801 Diamond Order Code: MAY078045 Surface

Airmail

JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR (4 issues)

$44

1st Class Canada $56

$64

$76

$120

BACK ISSUE! (6 issues)

$40

$54

$66

$90

$108

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

(80-page FULL COLOR magazine) $11 US Ships February 2008 Look for it in December’s PREVIEWS

MODERN MASTERS VOLUME 14: FRANK CHO Features an extensive, career-spanning interview lavishly illustrated with rare art from Frank’s files, plus huge sketchbook section, including unseen and unused art! By ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON. (120-page TPB with COLOR) $19 US ISBN: 9781893905849 Diamond Order Code: AUG074034

MODERN MASTERS: MICHAEL GOLDEN DVD Shows the artist at work, discussing his art and career! (120-minute Std. Format DVD) $35 US ISBN: 9781893905771 Diamond Order Code: MAY073780

For the latest news from TwoMorrows Publishing, log on to www.twomorrows.com/tnt

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