Alter Ego #80 Preview by TwoMorrows Publishing

Roy Thomas’ Barbarian Comics Fanzine

No.80 August 2008

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In the USA

SWORD-&SORCERY

IN THE COMICS

82658 27763

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EXTRA! CLASSIC LOU CAMERON

Vol. 3, No. 80 / August 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 Productions

Cover Artist & Colorist Rafael Kayanan

With Special Thanks to: Jack Adams Rob Allen Sergio Aragonés Heidi Amash Ger Apeldoorn Bob Bailey Jean Bails Matt D. Baker Manuel Barrero Nick Barrucci George Wilson Beahm Alberto Becattini Jack Bender John Benson Alex Bialy Christopher B. Boyko Adam Brooks Chris Brown Len Brown Frank Brunner Ken Bruzenak Mike Burkey Lou Cameron Nick Caputo Ray Cuthbert Al Dellinges Anthony DeMaria Michaël Dewally Betty Dobson Peter Duxbury Mark Evanier Michael Feldman Shane Foley Todd Franklin Bruce J. Friedman Dave Friedman Carl Gafford David George Janet Gilbert Don Glut Bob Greenberger Lawrence P. Guidry Jennifer Hamerlinck John Haufe Bob Hughes

William B. Jones, Jr. Rafael Kayanan Gene Kehoe Robert Kennedy Sam Kujava Henry Kujawa Alan Kupperberg Richard Kyle Arthur Lortie James Ludwig Dan Makara Leonard Maltin Bruce Mason Ulises Mavridis Pat Mason Doug McCratic Brian K. Morris Jake Oster John G. Pierce Bud Plant Gene Reed John Romita Fred Robinson Paul Samms Ben Samuels Steve Sansweet Scott Sheaffer Dave Sim Philip Simon Atula Siriwardane Ted Skimmer Anthony Snyder Marc Swayze Dann Thomas Mike Tiefenbacher Anthony Tollin Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Joe Vucenic Hames Ware Bill Warren John Wells Barry Windsor-Smith Alex Wright Spiros Xenos

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Jim Mooney

Contents Writer/Editorial: The Savage Sword of Robert E. Howard. . . 2 Sword-And-Sorcery In The Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Overview of Robert E. Howard’s legacy in four colors, and in black-&-white, by John Wells.

“What Am I Doing Here?”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Part II of Jim Amash’s interview with the colorful, controversial, and talented Lou Cameron.

Secret History of All-American: Lightning Striking Again! . 55 Remember when Superman was revived and revamped in 1956? Bob Rozakis does!

Found! “New” Photos From The 1965 New York Comicon! . . 61 Bill Schelly annotates Jerry Bails’ treasure trove of pics from that granddad of conventions.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! The DC Alphabet . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Michael T. Gilbert & Arthur Lortie look at some alphabetized ads from the 1940s.

Jim Mooney: “The 1960s ‘Supergirl’ Artist” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 re: [comments, correspondence, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 74 FCA (Fawcett Collectors Of America) #137 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 P.C. Hamerlinck presents Marc Swayze—and John G. Pierce on “The Cult of the Curse.” On Our Cover: One of A/E editor Roy Thomas’ happiest collaborations during the 1990s was with artist Rafael Kayanan on Marvel’s short-lived Conan the Adventurer… so we’re naturally over the moon (iron shadows and all) that Raf let us use this powerful barbarian painting as our cover—even though it’s not specifically REH’s swashbuckling Cimmerian. Alas, since we’ll be covering that ’90s title in a near-future edition of our “Sword-and-Sorcery in the Comics” series, there’s nothing else by Raf in this issue—but that just gives you something to look forward to, right? [©2008 Rafael Kayanan.] Above: If this half-inked drawing looks familiar, it’s because it was John Buscema’s unfinished preliminary sketch of the cover for Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian #44 (Nov. 1974), which gueststarred Red Sonja, who was based on a heroine in a non-Conan short story by REH. Maybe Big John didn’t finish Big Red (including her “iron bikini”) or the heroes’ weapons because he decided to depict them atop a huge skull, as per the published cover. End result: 34 years later, we get a great “new” illustration, courtesy of original art dealer Anthony Snyder, whose ad appears on p. 82. [Conan TM & ©2008 Conan Properties International, LLC; Red Sonja TM & ©2008 Red Sonja, LLC.] 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.

writer/editorial

The Savage Sword Of Robert E. Howard Y

ou’d have thought I’d have done this a long time before now, wouldn’t you? Devote an issue of Alter Ego to sword-and-sorcery in comics, I

mean. Somehow, though, despite touching on the subject in the interviews Jim Amash did with me for issues #50 & 70, in covering the career of the late great John Buscema in #15 & 16, and in a few other places from time to time—well, I just kept putting it off. It’s a big subject, after all, because, much as I’d like to think otherwise, comic book s&s didn’t start with Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian #1 in 1970—or even with the couple of forerunners at DC (“Nightmaster”) and Marvel (“Starr the Slayer”) in the previous twelvemonth. In fact, since “sword-and-sorcery” is itself an outgrowth in part of Arthurian legend, and of the myths of ancient Greece and even Mesopotamia, the genre itself—or at least something very much akin to it—has been around since the dawn of literature, just waiting for Gutenberg to invent the printing press and for Harry Wildenberg and/or M.C. Gaines to think up a way those presses could produce magazine-size pages sporting four-color images. Still, Gilgamesh and Hercules and Gawain aren’t quite what we think of as true sword-and-sorcery. That had to wait for a young Texan named

Robert E. Howard to come along in the late 1920s and early 1930s and think up first Solomon Kane—then Bran Mak Morn and Kull—and, most importantly, a bronze-hued barbarian called Conan—so he could write the tales of sword-slashing adventure that he loved… and have a Khitaiman’s chance of selling them to a pulp mag titled Weird Tales, which specialized in things that went bump in the night (and even during the day). And thank Crom he did! “Sword-and-Sorcery in the Comics” proved way too big a subject to cover in one issue—the more so since we also had our regular features, and the second half of Jim Amash’s in-depth interview with 1950s comic artist Lou Cameron, to accommodate. In the end, because we wanted to illustrate nearly every one of the examples of the game we were discussing, we found ourselves with only room for the s&s overview I talked John Wells into writing especially for this magazine. Not to worry, though—only three issues from now, in A/E #83, Part Two will be slashing its way toward you. After that, we’ll keep the s&s segments coming, every few issues, till we’ve covered the genre the way we always intended to! We figured it’s high time. Bestest,

COMING IN OCTOBER

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Sword-And-Sorcery In The Comics Part I Of A Study Of Robert E. Howard’s Legacy In Four Colors—And In Black-&-White Article by John Wells

“A

nd at the last, O Prince, there came to pass that which all the plots of Ascalante the Rebel had failed to bring about, and for which the grim shade of Xaltotun had been conjured in vain from the moldering dust of his Acherontic tomb, and which even the hell-spawned sorceries of Yah Chieng, the Yellow Wizard of nighted and demon-ridden Khitai, had failed to accomplish; and Conan of Aquilonia gave over the crown and the throne of the mightiest kingdom in all the West, and ventured forth into the Unknown, wherein he vanished forever from the knowledge of man.”

—The Nemedian Chronicles (as interpreted by Roy Thomas, in the Marvel b&w comic Conan the Savage)

The King Is Dead! Long Live The Barbarian! 1936: Robert E. Howard was dead, and with him had perished a host of literary creations from the rough-and-tumble pulp magazines, among them Puritan adventurer Solomon Kane, Atlantean-turnedking Kull, the Pict ruler Bran Mak Morn, and, greatest of all, a barbarian from a fictional land called Cimmeria. His name was Conan. Conan had been the pinnacle in Howard’s prolific career, building on rejected stories—nine of his eleven Kull tales were turned down for publication in Weird Tales pulp magazine during the writer’s brief lifetime—and a mutual admiration society with fellow writer H.P. Lovecraft and his own combination of weird horror and swashbuckling adventure. What Howard conceived was an entire world, a Hyborian Age where magic and strange lands and barbaric action all intertwined. Overlaying this concept on an unsold Kull adventure, the younger writer struck gold. “The Phoenix on the Sword” (Weird Tales, Dec. 1932) was the first of seventeen Conan stories to appear over the next four years. The precise nature of what Robert E. Howard had created wasn’t actually christened for a few more decades. In 1961, a print conversation between Michael Moorcock (who would soon create his own sword-and-sorcery series hero Elric of Melniboné) and Fritz Lieber (whose Howard-tinged Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser dated to 1939) culminated in the latter’s suggestion of the phrase “sword and sorcery.” It was an apt description and one that quickly took hold.

REH: A Man And His Myths Robert E. Howard (1906-1936), surrounded by four (or, some would say, five) of his most famous creations. (Clockwise from top left:) Solomon Kane… Bran Mak Morn… Conan the Cimmerian… Red Sonja… and King Kull. Sonja, of course, is a comic book (originally Marvel) permutation of a heroine named Red Sonya who appeared in a single quasi-historical pulp-mag adventure written by REH. The illustrator, Atula Siriwardane, is a commercial artist in Sri Lanka, who has done comics work forthcoming from two independent publishers. [Solomon Kane TM & ©2008 Solomon Kane, Inc.; Bran Mak Morn TM & ©2008 Robert E. Howard Properties, Inc.; Kull TM & ©2008 Kull Productions, Inc; Conan TM & ©2008 Conan Properties International, LLC.; Red Sonja TM & © Red Sonja, LLC.]

Robert E. Howard’s Legacy In Four Colors—And In Black-&-White

soon need new worlds to conquer. Anyone surprised to learn that he traveled to the planet Zutar in issue #20?

Valiant Is As Valiant Does Sorcery was abundant in the early days of Harold R. Foster’s Sunday strip Prince Valiant. In this panel from April 23, 1939, Val faces Time itself (himself?). [©2008 King Features Syndicate, Inc.]

The Prince Valiant influence assured regular appearances by Merlin and/or King Arthur and company in all sorts of comics throughout the 1940s. They showed up with everyone from the Young Allies (Young Allies #11) to Kid Eternity (Hit Comics #32) to Batman (Batman #36). The most notable, though, was a time-lost fellow called The Shining Knight, whose early adventures took place exclusively in the 1940s (starting in Adventure Comics #66, Sept. 1941). Eventually, however, Sir Justin was able to make return visits to the days of King Arthur, complete with occasional stories which were pure sword on sword with just a dollop of sorcery—tales like 1950’s “The Ten-Century Lie” (Adventure #150) and “Duel of the Flying Knights” (Adventure #153), both illustrated by a guy named Frank Frazetta who would figure significantly into the future of sword-andsorcery.

Fortune Favors The Valiant In the late 1930s and 1940s, though, the general public might well have called it “that Prince Valiant stuff.” Conceived by writer-artist Hal Foster, Prince Valiant (which debuted the year after Howard’s death) was one of the loveliest things on the newspaper page, and likely as not the first place many a young reader discovered the legends of King Arthur and Merlin. There was plenty of swordplay therein as young Val grew up to take his place among the Knights of the Round Table. And there was sorcery, as well, starting with the early Sunday page wherein the witch Horrit prophesied that the teenager’s adventurous life would be tempered with great sorrow and discontentment. Most of Prince Valiant would be played straight with realistic situations (albeit with major and intentional anachronisms), but magic was far from unknown, most conspicuously in the presence of Merlin himself. The sorceress Morgan Le Fey showed up for the first time in March of 1938, while the enchanted Singing Sword fell into Val’s possession later that year. Soon after, Horrit recoiled at the sight of the blade, revealing it as a sister to King Arthur’s Excalibur. Its magnificent power was wonderful if used by the pure of heart for a noble cause, she declared, but a ghastly curse if used for ill. Prince Valiant, of course, had nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, the infant comic book field was getting its footing with multiple genres often represented in the pages of each title. And while there were no Conan types among them, there were a few strips that could fairly be called sword-and-sorcery. Such was the case with a feature called “The Golden Knight,” credited to Grieg Chapian and appearing from Fox’s Fantastic Comics #1 (Dec., 1939) to 20 (July, 1941), with a final installment in The Eagle #2 (Sept., 1941). The Golden Knight, otherwise known as Sir Richard of Warwick, was a Crusader in the Holy Land whose battles with the Saracens gave way to menaces like witches and sorcerers. Luckily, Sir Richard received an enchanted cloak and a magic ring from a mage named Kara, and that more than evened the odds. Led to routs, really, as in #6, where the magic ring enabled the Knight to brush aside monsters conjured by Bdula Khan, incapacitate his warriors, and finally humiliate the wizard himself by transforming him into a statue of a hyena! Clearly, Sir Richard would

It Was A Dark And Golden Knight Richard (no “Sir” in this tale), the titular Golden Knight, battles a reptilian sea monster from a 1940 edition of Fox Publications’ Fantastic Comics. Sorry, we don’t know the exact issue number, since Ye Editor’s copy is coverless. Art by Grieg Chapian. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

Sword-And-Sorcery In The Comics

since infancy. Sandra and Geoffry had only one more issue to search for answers before the comic was cancelled. Though primarily a publisher of paperbacks and comics, Avon had its roots in the pulps and explored a hybrid in 1950 with a short-lived fantasy/sf pulp called Out of This World Adventures. The twist was that a 32-page color comic was inserted in the middle of the prose magazine—a mix of futuristic space opera, present-day fantasy, and ancient sorcery. The former two categories were ably brought to life by a young Joe Kubert, a circumstance that made John Giunta’s journeyman art on the third pale in comparison.

A Knight In Shining Armor Though Creig Flessel and others drew him first in the 1940s, DC’s “Shining Knight” is most remembered for a handful of latter-day exploits drawn by a young Frank Frazetta, before his glory days as a Conan cover painter. This tale first appeared in Adventure Comics #155 (Aug. 1950). Scripter unknown. [©2008 DC Comics.]

Avon Calling—With Slave Girl And “Crom The Barbarian” Avon’s Slave Girl Comics #1 (Feb. 1949) was a basically sorcery-free comic (penciled by Howard Larsen) but for one key element—a signet ring that could bridge time, at least in a virtual-reality sense. The ring was owned in the story’s opening sequence, set in 1948, by flame-haired socialite Sandra Worth; but archaeologist Geoffry Garth instantly recognized its power and knew the ancient spells to prove it. So it was back to the past for the duration of the comic, where Garth, an emissary of the kingdom of Ormuz, discovered their long-lost Princess Malu (Sandra) as a slave girl in the hostile realm of Tarko. Over five stories, the couple escaped and rode towards Ormuz, freeing other slave girls from a tyrant and being targeted by villains seeking the hidden powers of Malu’s ring. By the end of the issue, Malu had been freed from slavery again and now faced the task of proving her identity to the father who hadn’t seen her

Slaving Away Since the sorcerous signet ring in the story isn’t all that visually exciting, we’ll settle for showing you Howard Larsen’s splash for Avon’s 1949 Slave Girl Comics #1—and John Severin’s illustrative cover for the IW reprint done as Malu in the Land of Adventure in 1964. Severin, of course, would later be a prime delineator of Howard’s King Kull, and even of Conan. Thanks to Gene Kehoe. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

Robert E. Howard’s Legacy In Four Colors—And In Black-&-White

A Prince Of A Fellow (Above:) National/DC’s entry in the “knight in shining armor” sweepstakes, The Brave and the Bold, initially featured no real hint of sorcery—unless it was the mystery of how The Silent Knight’s armor wound up hanging out in the Forest Perilous! Issue #1 was cover-dated Aug.-Sept. 1955. (Top right:) The late Robert Kanigher with some of his abstract paintings—and Joe Kubert at his studio, a few years back. Photos sent by RK and Al Dellinges, respectively. (Right:) The splash of Brave and Bold #17 (April-May 1958), which featured the Ice King and his legion of walking snowmen. This is Joe Kubert at his artistic best, illustrating a Robert Kanigher story which perhaps owed something to REH’s oft-imitated “Frost Giant’s Daughter,” and definitely gave an IOU to “The Sleeping Beauty” in its climactic scenes. Jon the Viking Prince was revived later for a time-tossed story or two in DC’s comics set during World War II. [©2008 DC Comics.]

Sword-And-Sorcery In The Comics

Conan The Blond Barbarian Outside the borders of the USA, at least one person not only recognized The Viking Prince as a proud heir to the Conan tradition—he saw Jon as an actual replacement for the Cimmerian! Such was the bizarre saga of a 1950s-60s Mexican comic book called La Reina de la Costa Negra. That translated to “The Queen of the Black Coast,” and it’s no coincidence that this was the title of a 1934 Conan short story. In this comic, the plundering wasn’t just happening on the printed page! Unbeknownst to the copyright holders of Robert E. Howard’s properties, the black-haired Conan had been recast as a blond Norseman who played sidekick to the comic’s titular heroine Bêlit. Filling out the cast was an adventurer named Yanga, his name a twist on a crewman named N’yaga in Howard’s tale. The astute reader has begun to grasp that this was not a terribly faithful adaptation, and, indeed, most issues had no relation to Howard’s epic. The climax of the REH story, however, formed the basis for #16, where the spirit of Bêlit came back from the dead to save Conan from a winged ape. In true Hollywood form, the comic delivered a feel-good ending quite different from the book: Bêlit lived. (She was the title character, after all.)

Weird Doings On The Black Coast In the May 1934 issue of Weird Tales pulp magazine, cover artist Margaret Brundage and interior artist Hugh Rankin gave the world its first look at Bêlit, Queen of the Black Coast, while illustrating REH’s then-new Conan story. By today’s lights, neither artist did a great job of depicting either protagonist, or the ape-like winged thing that killed the female pirate… though at least Rankin’s version of the creature looks reasonably demonic. Note that (a) Conan’s name doesn’t appear on the cover (it never did, on any of the two dozen or so issues of WT that featured the hero)—and (b) the phrase “Conan the barbarian” is used by editor Farnsworth Wright in the below-the-title description on the story’s first page. So far as A/E’s Editor was ever able to determine, Howard himself never used those three words as a phrase in any of his tales of the Cimmerian. [Conan TM & ©2008 Conan Properties International, LLC.]

In the beginning, names aside, the comic was pretty blatantly taking its cues from “The Viking Prince,” with cover art and selected interior panels and situations lifted straight from The Brave and the Bold. The covers of issues #3 & 4 reworked the splash pages of B&B #2 and #11’s “Viking Prince” stories. And La Reina #2 (Oct. 8, 1958) is a dead-on steal from “The Secret of Odin’s Cup” in B&B #20 (Oct.-Nov. 1958). One has to admire the sheer guts it took to swipe art from the current issue of Brave and Bold!

After two issues published in 1952 (see next page), La Reina de la Costa Negra was published weekly from October 1, 1958, through January 1959 (11 issues) as a 32-page digest-sized black-&-white series. Credits on those early issues cited Riol de Man as writer and Salvador H. Lavalle as artist. The indicia identified Lavalle as the Art Director and Ediciones Joma as the name of the company. Artists such as J. Kstro [sic] and A. Ramirez contributed to later issues of the series, with R. Silva Quiros getting a writer’s credit. [Continued on p. 17]

Robert E. Howard’s Legacy In Four Colors—And In Black-&-White

Conan Goes South—Way South Actually, the origins of the Mexican comic La Reina de la Costa Negra (“The Queen of the Black Coast”) go back all the way to 1952! The 8th through the 11th issues of a comic called Cuentos de Abuelito (Grandad’s Stories), which launched the series, related the beginning of “Queen,” as seen above—as a tale told by an old man to a young boy. Its page dimensions were 6 inches by 4 inches. Dig out your old copy of the Thomas/Buscema version of that REH tale in Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian #58 (Jan. 1976)—or its reprinting in Dark Horse’s The Chronicles of Conan, Vol. 8, a couple of years back—and you’ll instantly spot the resemblance to not only the action on the pages below—but even the costuming in the two renditions. That’s because each creative team was following Howard’s description of events and attire in the early pages of the original story; only the hero’s hair color had been changed, to blond. Script for the 1952 comic by Loa and Victor Rodriguez; art by Salvador Lavalle and Hector Gutierrez (the latter signed the cover as “Hecky”). With thanks for the scans and info to Ulises Mavrides of Baja California, Mexico—and to Pat Mason for the translation of the comic’s title. [Conan & Bêlit TM & ©2008 Conan Properties International, LLC.]

Robert E. Howard’s Legacy In Four Colors—And In Black-&-White

Waiting For Conan In retrospect, April 1970 was a big month for Marvel writer/associate editor Roy Thomas, as least cover-date-wise. Because that—or more likely circa January—was when no less than two pre-Conan the Barbarian sword-and-sorcery co-creations of his hit the nation’s newsstands. Roy is seen at left in June 2006, at the Robert E. Howard Day Celebration in Cross Plains, Texas, where he was guest of honor on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of REH’s birth. Incidentally, this photo was taken by Paul Samms, who at that time was waiting for his book on Conan the Phenomenon to come out from Dark Horse. (It took a while longer, but it was well worth waiting for.) (Below left:) Arkon the Magnificent was an other-dimensional villain who owed as much to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars as to anything by Robert E. Howard, but in retrospect he does seem a sword-and-sorcery character— even if those lightning-arrows in his quiver may have been on loan from DC’s Weaponers of Qward. Art by John Buscema & Tom Palmer. (Below right:) This oft-reprinted quasi-prequel to Conan the Barbarian, featuring Starr the Slayer, was conceived by Roy partly to see how young Barry Smith would handle an s&s story. Damn well, as it turned out! In the tale, the hero’s arch-enemy is actually Len Carson, the man on our Earth who writes prose adventures of Starr—named after sf/fantasy writer Lin Carter. Soon after this story was produced, Roy pursued the rights to Lin’s hero Thongor (also half REH, half ERB) to become Marvel’s first ongoing s&s character. That didn’t work out and Roy happily first latched onto Conan instead. [©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Conan (Finally!) Comes To American Comics Marvel Comics had been AWOL through all this, and fans were bombarding the company with letters asking why. Reassessing his initial reaction to Conan, Roy Thomas was increasingly coming to the realization that his company needed to get into the sword-and-sorcery pool… and soon. And Stan Lee, as well, was noticing all the mail coming to their Madison Avenue offices asking for Conan or someone like him to be added to the company’s lineup. Imagining that Conan himself would be too expensive a prospect, Lee and Thomas first set their sights on

Thongor, a Howard-Burroughs pastiche hero created a few years earlier by author Lin Carter. Carter was interested, but his agent dragged his feet in the negotiations. Perhaps a Marvel-created barbarian? Thomas conceived two—an other-dimensional warlord called Arkon the Magnificent drawn by John Buscema (Avengers #75-76, April & May 1970) and a virtual Conan called Starr the Slayer with Barry Smith (later Windsor-Smith) in Chamber of Darkness #4 (April 1970). Neither was really created to be an ongoing hero, however—indeed, Arkon was a villain—although Starr could easily have become a regular feature. As it turned out, neither solution was necessary. Licensing Robert E.

Sword-And-Sorcery In The Comics

A Barry Good Year (Above:) A real find! A/E reader Adam Brooks recently sent us this early pencil sketch of Conan by Barry Smith (now, of course, celebrated as Barry WindsorSmith)—and it kinda knocked us for a loop. Why? ’Cause it’s really early— dated 1969, which means that it was done over half a year before Conan the Barbarian #1 debuted circa July of 1970. Was this perhaps one of Barry’s tryout drawings for the Cimmerian stalwart? Well, if so, he had no need to wonder, as John Lennon once famously did, “I hope we passed the audition!” He sure did—and went on to ever greater heights. Thanks to Barry for permission to print this previously unpublished drawing, and to his assistant Alex Bialy for his help. [Art ©2008 Barry Windsor-Smith; Conan TM & ©2008 Conan Properties International, LLC.] Above right is Barry at the 1973 Academy of Comic Book Arts awards banquets, where Conan the Barbarian had just won the 1972 Shazam for “Best Continuing Feature.” From the ACBA Newsletter, Vol. 1, #21 (June 1973), courtesy of Flo Steinberg.

Howard’s greatest creation proved not nearly the problem everyone had expected, and Conan the Barbarian #1 hit the stands in the summer of 1970, with an October cover date. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Like we said before: more on that in A/E #83.] By coincidence, CTB’s first two issues overlapped with DC’s Wonder Woman #190-192, wherein Diana Prince fought alongside Ranagor the Barbarian in the other-dimensional city of Chaldonor. The story was perfectly entertaining and good-looking (courtesy of Mike Sekowsky and Dick Giordano), but the approach was so different that it was like comparing apples and oranges. There’s nothing like the real thing!

Wonder What Happened to Him! (Left:) A Mike Sekowsky/Dick Giordano page from Wonder Woman #190 (Sept.-Oct. 1970), which introduced Ranagor the Barbarian for a three-issue stand. Big Mike wrote the script, as well. [©2008 DC Comics.]

“Comics Were A Stop On The Way To Somewhere Else” Part II Of Our Interview With The Colorful, Controversial— And Talented—LOU CAMERON Conducted by Jim Amash

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

ou Cameron’s career as a comic book artist during the 1950s began, as he related last issue, with his work for Story/Master/ Premiere/Merit, Ace Periodicals, and St. John Publishing. We pick up the interview at the point where I was asking him about some of the artists and other creative types he met while doing work for Ace. And thanks again to Hames Ware and Arthur Lortie for their contributions, as detailed last month. —Jim.

“I Wasn’t Working On The Superman-Type Things“ JA: Tell me about [artist] Lin Streeter. CAMERON: He worked for Archie, and for Ace. We used to meet at Ace. Lin lived in New Jersey. I think he and his wife lived in a fairly large place. because he came in with a bunch of tomatoes for everybody during tomato season. When you’re growing tomatoes, you don’t know what to do with them—or zucchini, either. [mutual laughter] He was very popular. He used to come into the city in a station wagon. We all had kids, but Lin used to bring all his kids with him. He had like four or five kids, and they were well behaved. He’d leave them out in the reception room when he went in and talked to the editor. He was a very nice guy—a blond, Scandinavian-type guy. He’d been a lifeguard, and he and his wife, among other things, grew Christmas trees over in Jersey. About 1956, I think it was, he had a sudden heart attack. He just suddenly dropped dead. It shocked us all. There was no sign, no warning—he’d had no health problems. He was a big, healthy guy. He looked like [movie actor] Wayne Morris. At one point, he said he could get a couple of us into Archie Comics, but their rates were not that good. And you had to draw in the “Archie style,” and I decided not to work there. Later, I had a similar problem at DC. I had my own style, which editor Jack Schiff was happy with, but they wanted to me to do the tight underwear-type guys. Every strip that they had—I wasn’t working on the Superman-type things—but everybody in all of their strips had to look like that. It was the same style of inking. JA: At that time, DC’s house style was kind-of like Dan Barry or Alex Toth. Would they actually tell you to draw like Dan Barry or Toth? CAMERON: Yes, they wanted that style. I preferred to do highcontrast art, but they liked the color-separation type of work. For instance, Alice Kirkpatrick, whom we talked about before, was a great inker, and inked her own stuff. And I saw her pencils. It would be at Bob MacLeod’s

Fated To Be A Comic Book Artist—For A While As a reminder of what Lou and Jim talked about last issue: here’s our sole recent pic of Lou Cameron, eyeing his splash page for Ace Periodicals’ The Hand of Fate #19 (Aug. 1953). Thanks to Lou for the photo, and to Michael T. Gilbert for the page scan. [©2008 the respective copyright holders.]

being lettered, and the panels were full of stick figures. There was practically nothing there, just basic indications of where the balloons went. And then she would take these figures and, working freehand—she had sort-of a semi-dry brush effect--she would just put dots in and they would turn into a face and she’d have no outline. The coloring people had trouble

“Comics Were A Stop On The Way To Somewhere Else”

listed in the Checklist following this interview. —Jim.] JA: Do you remember any of the writers at Ace? CAMERON: No. The writers were trying to go on to greater things, too. They were getting $50, $75 a script, hoping to get into grownup writing, and they didn’t sign their stuff. A lot of stuff was not signed. This is what makes it so difficult in talking to guys in your generation, because a lot of the work that I did—a lot of the people involved, no names were exchanged. They were like people you meet in the whorehouse. [mutual laughter]

“I Went Down To The Kefauver Hearings” JA: Except all the guys are “John Smith” there. Do you remember how much Ace paid you? CAMERON: They paid $30 a page, and they went to $32. Then they cut back when things got tight, and they went back down to $30, and that’s about the time I left. Things got tight because of Dr. Wertham and Senator Kefauver, and that crap. Now that was disgusting. That, more or less, caused me to ask myself, “What am I doing here?” I went down to the Kefauver hearings. I went down to testify against Dr. Wertham because I had done a Classics Illustration adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. And Wertham, on the radio—we were listening—said, “In this Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Mr. Hyde murders this little girl, and he’s not brought to justice.” I said, “Schmuck! I mean, he’s killed! He’s lying dead on his laboratory floor. What do you mean, he wasn’t brought to justice? Plus, he never killed any little girl. I drew the damned thing! It may be in the book, but I didn’t draw a picture of a little girl being killed.” So I took a copy of it down there, and they didn’t want to hear from me. I wanted to put it in as evidence. I said, “I want to put this in as Exhibit XYZ,” and they wouldn’t let me play. JA: When you went down there, who did you talk to?

The Strange Case Of Dr. Wertham And Mr. Hyde Cameron’s splash page for the Classics Illustrated #13 re-adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, originally published for Oct. 1953. Lou says that, when he heard Fredric Wertham discussing that comic book on radio, he wondered if he’d ever actually read it—but maybe the good Doctor was talking about the earlier version of that tale drawn for CI (then still called Classic Comics) by Arnold Lorne Hicks. That edition took a few more liberties with the original story. For a quintessential history of the CI series, order a copy of William B. Jones, Jr.’s, book Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History, with Illustrations, from McFarland Press. [©2008 First Classics, Inc.; by permission of Jack Lake Productions, Inc.]

with her stuff, because it was more like a pulp illustration from the old pulp magazines. She would have been better at that stuff. And a lot of times, instead of drawing a lapel on a suit, she would just have one shadow. You could tell the guy had a lapel because you could see the shadow, but when you looked closer, there wasn’t any lapel drawn in. She would ink the slash down the chest, and then the notch. She would do two little dashes of black, and that was it. She was a fantastically good artist. JA: While you worked for Ace, you said your first writing was with Bernard Baily. Did you write any of your stories for Ace Comics? CAMERON: No, I don’t believe I did. For Bill Friedman [at Story] I did mostly horror stories. I’d tell him what I was going to do. And then I went home and did it. I wrote a couple of Westerns: “Pawnee Bill,” and I did a “Something-Arrow.“ I guess it was “Golden Arrow,“ a feature about a kid that grew up as an Indian, but he was a white kid and he had blond hair. [“Golden Arrow“ was a Fawcett feature; either Lou drew that character or else a similar one for Friedman—probably the Golden Warrior title

CAMERON: The bailiff. You couldn’t get to Kefauver. He was very important. Whomever I talked to didn’t want to be confused by facts. Then the Army-McCarthy thing came up, and the Kefauver Committee never found anything out. They left! They went to lynch McCarthy, and the case against comics was never decided one way or the other. The publishers chickened out. They set up this board to certify that the stuff was pure, nobody was being bad in the thing, no pornography, and a lot of the stuff that Wertham had sobbed about. I was loaded for bear. I wanted to know how many comic books Billy the Kid or Attila the Hun or Jack the Ripper ever read. Comic books were causing all the crimes, and I said, “Sure!” Yes, a deranged person could read a comic book or hear a joke—I mean, these terrorists in the Middle East right now, they’re reading the Koran. There’s nothing in the Koran that tells them to blow themselves up, but they’re doing it. I was disgusted with the Wertham business. I was also disgusted with the wimpiness of the publishers, and I said, “Why don’t they fight?” Well, Fred Gardener tried to fight them. Fred Gardener was a prince of the Catholic Church. He had some title, and the Archdiocese of New York went into a thing about the romance comics, and so forth and so on. [chuckles] As a matter of fact, Gardener called the Archbishop and said, “Your Holiness, this is Fred Gardener at Ace Comics. What’s this crap about our comics being bad for kids? Where in our comics have any rapes occurred? We have never done that stuff ! For Christ’s sakes, they’re put out by Ma Wyn! There are no illegitimate children, there’s no incest, there’s nothing going on! This is pure housewives’ escapism, for housewives who can’t read.” They got carried away there for a very short time and it was the fad; comics were causing all the bad things that were happening.

hat if... instead of selling his share of All-American Publications to Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz in the mid-1940s, M.C. Gaines had bought DC Comics from them?

Just imagine... a comic book industry in which Green Lantern and The

Flash and Wonder Woman are the premier early heroes—stars of comic books, radio, movies, and television—rather than Superman and Batman. Not a dream, not a hoax… just an imaginary story of an alternate universe and...

The Secret History of All-American Comics, Inc. T

heodore Paul (“Ted”) Skimmer worked in the editorial and production departments of All-American Publications from 1944 through 1997. During his 53-year career, he had a front-row seat for the history of the company, a history he has agreed to share with me… and you. All artwork on the next six pages, by the bye, is ©2008 DC Comics.

This chapter, adapted from an article that appeared in The Dynamic World of AA Comics #2 in 1974, was co-written by Ted and yours truly, based on his memories of the events leading to the Silver Age of Comics. —Bob Rozakis.

Book One – Chapter 4: Lightning Striking Again! “Maybe we should try bringing back one of our super-heroes,” said Julie Schwartz during an editorial meeting in early 1956. The other editors did not react, but instead looked at their publisher at the head of the conference room table. “It’s your issue to fill,” said Shelly Mayer, the editorial director. “There’s certainly a market for Green Lantern, thanks to the TV show….”

A Nine-Pack Of Serial Speaking of Green Lantern—here’s a choice item composed by archivist Alex Wright that we couldn’t squeeze into A/E #79: a montage of lobby cards from Chapter 2 of Columbia’s 1948 Green Lantern movie serial, featuring blond-wigged Kirk Alyn as Alan Scott/GL, Noel Neill as Irene Miller, and Edward Brophy as Doiby Dickles. Only Neill would return in the hit TV series a few years later—as Irene’s successor, Cathy Crain—and even Noel had to wait for the show’s second season! The other two actors were replaced on TV, of course, by George Reeves and Joe E. Ross, as related last issue.

“I’d like to think that I have something to do with those sales,” interrupted Mort Weisinger. “We’d still only have him in two titles if I hadn’t pushed to expand—“ “Yeah, yeah, Mort,” snorted Robert Kanigher, “all those pimply tenyear-olds wait breathlessly for every issue of Doiby Dickles.”

Lightning Striking Again!

Julie, Julie, Julie AA editor emeritus Julie Schwartz (center) in a circa-2001 photo, flanked by Bob Rozakis (on right) and radio personality Howard Margolin. Recently, Bob talked about this “Secret History” series on Howard’s radio program Destinies on station WSBU. Julie, sad to say, passed away in 2004… but his legend endures, primarily because of his revival of Superman and other lost Golden Age heroes of the absorbed National/DC. (A photo of Julie’s longtime friend and sometime rival Mort Weisinger appeared last issue— and there’ll be more of him next time around.)

reader base for all comic books, a reduction that seemed to hit the super-hero titles most of all. And, since the “Superman” and “Batman” magazines did not provide the level of sales that a few others still did, both versions vanished from the stands after a year of losses on both sides. [NOTE: See Alter Ego #76 for a more detailed discussion of the above events.]

“More than wait for any issue of Wonder Woman,” replied Weisinger. “Need I remind you how sales of Sensation Comics went up when I replaced her with Kid Lantern?” “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” snapped Kanigher. “Probably bought all the extra copies yourself—!” “That’s enough, gentlemen!” The silence that followed the words of Max Gaines, the publisher, left no doubt about who was in charge. “Did you have a character in mind, Julie?” “I was thinking of Superman.” “Superman?” Weisinger said with a derisive snort. “We beat that horse to death ten years ago. Besides, if you bring him back and get any interest, Siegel and Shuster would probably revive their version. It’ll be 1947 all over again.” There was no need for Weisinger to say anything further; the men around the table knew what he was referring to. As related in Alter Ego #76, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman, had sued in 1946 for the return of the rights to their character. Though they had sold those rights to the company for $130 along with their very first story of that hero, they felt they had been cheated out of their fair share of the profits. Despite the claims by DC’s owners that Siegel and Shuster were being “handsomely rewarded” while doing a minimal amount of work on the “Superman” stories—Siegel had, in fact, done none of the writing while serving during World War II, and the severely sight-impaired Shuster had mostly just overseen his dwindling art shop—the writer and artist were convinced they were due much more. And there seemed to be no end to the list of attorneys who were in agreement with them. A lengthy court battle ensued. The judge, citing what he felt was a similar situation, followed a ruling that had been made years earlier regarding the comic strip The Katzenjammer Kids. DC (and later AA) retained the trademark on the name of the character and was allowed to hire other writers and artists to continue producing “Superman” comic books. Siegel and Shuster could produce their own version, utilizing the same characters, but could not use the name or logo. Before long, readers found the familiar Superman and Action comic books side-by-side with Man of Steel comics produced SSK Publishing (the “K” standing for Bob Kane, who had joined them with half of “Batman” in tow). However, the end of the war had brought a shrinking

“I’m thinking we should try a new version of Superman,” Schwartz explained. “New origin, new costume, new everything. All we keep are the name—which we own—and the basic powers.” “Max,” said Weisinger, “I don’t know that I agree with this. Nobody else is doing any new super-hero books right now. If we start putting more of them out, we could be cannibalizing our own sales.” Though Weisinger was his oldest friend, it was obvious that Schwartz was upset by his colleague’s attempt to keep his territorial claim on one section of the market. “Mort, there’s room for more than one costumed character.” “We’ve got more than one! On top of Green Lantern, Jack’s still doing The Flash and Bob’s got Wonder Woman!” “We’re talking one issue of Showcase here,” Gaines interrupted. “If it sells, then we’ll worry about what to do!” As soon as the meeting ended, Julie Schwartz knew he would have to get started on his Superman revival quickly. Though he and Weisinger had been friends since boyhood, a rivalry had been growing since Mort had been brought into All-American by the buyout of DC Comics by Gaines. Julie knew that comic books that sold well were the goal, but Mort seemed obsessed with being the best in everything. So he had made sure that he had control of the entire Green Lantern “franchise” these past few years, realizing that the television series would drive character recognition and, therefore, greater sales. While the other editors were trying different genres—romance, Westerns, science-fiction, humor, etc.—Mort steadfastly stuck with Green Lantern, introducing tales of Kid Lantern first in Sensation Comics and then in his own title, and spinning GL’s sidekick, Doiby Dickles, into his own book in the early ’50s. “That fat s.o.b. is going to try an end run,” Julie told his office-mate, Bob Kanigher, when they were back in the room they shared. “I want you to write me a script at lunchtime, and I’m getting Carmine in here this afternoon to pick it up.” Normally, Schwartz would have turned to one of his regular writers, Gardner Fox or John Broome, to furnish the initial script, but he knew Kanigher was fast… and capable. For the next few minutes, they batted around some ideas. The hero would be a police scientist, and one night while he is working late, a lightning bolt strikes his lab and bathes him in electrically charged chemicals. As a result, he gains lightning speed, incredible energy, and an ability to repel objects by creating an “opposite charge.” Inspired by comic

Comic Fandom Archive

Found! “New” Photos From The 1965 New York Comicon! A Recently Discovered Time Capsule of Pics From “The First Full-Service Comics Convention”

by Bill Schelly

everal years ago—in Alter Ego #20 (Jan. 2003), to be exact—we offered extensive coverage of what seems to us to qualify as the first full-service comic book convention. We were able to present transcripts of the panels at the comicon which featured such professionals as Gardner Fox, Otto Binder, Bill Finger, Gil Kane, and many others. And in the text, along with a full recounting of the events of the three-day affair, and the inclusion of memories of many of its attendees, we were able to recreate the atmosphere in the seedy Hotel Broadway Central where this seminal event took place in Manhattan on July 31 and Aug. 1, 1965. But the one area where we met with a certain frustration in our researches was finding photographs. Yes, we had a few in A/E #20—and they were good ones—featuring Fabulous Flo Steinberg and Dave Kaler cutting the comicon cake, and primo “Captain Marvel” writer Otto Binder posing with Phil and Carole Seuling, who were garbed as Captain and Mary Marvel…. but there were a mere handful.

Thus, we were thrilled when Jean Bails discovered among her late husband’s effects a cache of photos that had evidently been tucked away somewhere and had managed to elude Jerry’s searches over the years. Yes, folks, in a way, these photos represent Jerry Bails, in a sense the founder of modern comic fandom itself, reaching across the abyss of time, through his lovely wife, to contribute once more to the pages of this magazine which he founded in spring of 1961. The images are a variable lot, and some of them are slightly out of focus, alas. But among them are some superb pictures, and some provide visual evidence of things that are relatively important from a comicshistorical point of view. A few, we hasten to add, have previously seen print, but have been reprinted here for completeness. We’ve included photos taken of the con itself first, while those of its precedent-setting first comicon masquerade will be seen next issue. Unfortunately, we cannot provide photo credits. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the mostly “lost photos” from the 1965 New York comicon! (Left:) A good place to begin is with this shot of our fearless founder, Jerry G. Bails, ensconced behind his own dealer’s table at the con. During this period, Jerry often sold off Golden Age comic books after he had committed their pages to microfilm, so that he would have funds to buy other vintage issues for similar purposes. Too bad no one can ID any of the fans talking with him—or can they?

(Right:) Rick Weingroff (on left) and Mark Hanerfeld. Weingroff was best known in fandom as the editor and publisher of the fanzine Slam-Bang, and as the writer of the “Rocketeer Gossip” column for Rocket’s Blast-Comicollector (RB-CC). Seated next to him in front of the official comicon cake is Mark Hanerfeld, a mainstay of New York fandom who assisted Dave Kaler in organizing this and future comic book conventions. Mark was later an editorial assistant at DC and scripted at least one “Spectre” story.

Comic Fandom Archive

(Above:) One of this convention’s claims to being the first “full-service” comics conventions was the fact that so many comic book professionals were in attendance, while the 1964 mini-con had sported only one or two (even if one of those had been Steve Ditko!). Murphy Anderson, depicted here, was always a fan favorite. During this general period he drew tales of “Hawkman,” “Adam Strange,” and “The Spectre,” as well as various covers, and inked The Atom… not quite all at the same time, of course. Alas, so many other pros who were in attendance at the two days of that con, such as Gardner Fox, Bill Finger, Mort Weisinger, and Will Elder, among others, don’t seem to have been captured by anyone’s camera. (Above:) Dealers as well as professionals converged upon the Hotel Broadway Central. Here we find one of the earliest persons to sell back issues: Bill Thailing of Cleveland, Ohio.

(Above:) E. Nelson Bridwell (on left) was a combination of both fan and pro, though certainly his professional status—as Mort Weisinger’s editorial assistant on the various “Superman” titles beginning in 1964— was secure. Here, a nattily-dressed Nelson chats with an unfortunately unidentifiable fan.

(Above:) (L-to-r:) Unknown fan… Bill Harris (who had only recently resigned as editor at Gold Key, and would later edit the King Comics line)… and Mark Hanerfeld. It’s tempting to speculate that the fellow on the left might be Wayne Howard, popular African-American fan artist of the 1960s who became one of Wally Wood’s assistants and a mainstay at Charlton comics in the early 1970s…. but that would only be a guess on our part. Or it might be Dave Kaler’s buddy Bobby Van. Can anyone help?

* *See page 69!

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

ack in the 1940s, presumably to comply with new mailing regulations, National Periodicals began to carry educational features scattered throughout the pages of its comics.

This created several mini-series of related factoids, often tied together

under an umbrella title. One such feature, written and drawn by unidentified creators [and likely consisting merely of pasted up art by the production department], was the always interesting “Animal Alphabet.“ These were vertical half-pages pairing a cartoony animal with a short rhyme—with a plug for a current comic thrown in for good measure. The animals themselves were often DC characters, as well, with Fauntleroy Fox, J. Rufus Lion, and a cat from a Milt Gross-illustrated strip identifiable. And—as far I can tell—every DC comic was plugged in at least one of these entries except for Superman, All-Flash, and Wonder Woman. Published sequentially over 26 months, from October 1945 to December 1947, these were usually found on the inside front cover in black-&-white. I found five entries with an alternate color version [K, L, O, Q, S], plus three published in color only [N, P, V].

In Memoriam

Jim(1919-2008) Mooney “In The ’60s, Mooney Was The ‘Supergirl’ Artist” by Mark Evanier

ne of the most prolific artists ever to draw comic books passed away in Florida on Sunday, March 30, 2008. Jim Mooney was born in 1919 and had been in failing health for some time, especially since the passing of his wife Anne in 2005.

Reared in Los Angeles, Mooney moved to New York City in 1940 and was a part of the comic book industry almost from its inception. His first job was probably drawing “The Moth,” a Batman imitation, for Fox Publications’ Mystery Men Comics. He also worked for the legendary Eisner-Iger shop—which he soon left, he said, because he was intimidated by how good all the other artists there were. He next worked for Fiction House and began freelancing for Stan Lee at Timely Comics (later

Marvel), starting an association that lasted off and on for the next halfcentury. At first he drew funny-animal strips, but Lee soon found out that Mooney, along with being very dependable, was a utility infielder who could do a little of everything. He was especially good at drawing cute ladies, and a lot of his assignments were chosen with that in mind. (Asked how he drew such beautiful women, he usually pointed out that his sister had been a Ziegfield Girl, so he often found himself around beautiful women.) Circa 1946 he began getting work from National/DC, where the editors were so impressed with his work on “The Moth” and other Batman imitations that they hired him to draw “Batman.” He was one of many artists whose work appeared on that feature under the signature of Bob Kane, though he never actually worked for Kane. For DC he did many other strips, including “Tommy Tomorrow,” “The Legion of Super-Heroes,” and the “Superman-Batman” team-ups in World’s Finest Comics, but his two most famous DC runs were on “Dial H for Hero,” which appeared in House of Mystery in the 1960s, and his long stint as the artist on “Supergirl” in Action Comics. For those who grew up reading comics in the ’60s, Mooney was the “Supergirl” artist. He was assigned to the feature for the most prosaic of reasons—her strip replaced the “Tommy Tomorrow” strip in Action Comics, and it was easier on the schedule to keep the same artist on that slot. Al Plastino drew the first installment of “Supergirl,” but Jim took over after that, making the character his own and drawing her from 1959 to 1968. During much of this time he lived in Los Angeles, managing an antiquarian bookstore on Hollywood Boulevard and drawing pages there when he wasn’t waiting on customers. At one point, he hired some young art students to help around the store, and they occasionally inked backgrounds for him, as well. By 1968 he’d moved back to New York, just in time to quarrel with DC editor Mort Weisinger, who was seeking a “fresher, more modern” look for the Superman-affiliated titles. Mooney phoned his old boss, Stan Lee, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Marvel was on the verge of expanding, and Stan needed new artists. He especially needed someone who could get the right look on The Amazing Spider-Man, and that’s what Mooney wound up doing primarily for the next few years. At first he inked the pencil art of John Romita or finished rough layouts. Later he penciled “Spider-Man” stories himself and also branched out to other strips, working on almost everything Marvel then published at one time or another. He enjoyed an

A Truly Super Artist Jim Mooney shares this page with one of his early assignments and an archetypal panel from a DC “Supergirl” story. At left is the “Magno the Magnetic Man” splash page from Ace Periodicals’ Super-Mystery Comics, Vol. 2, #6 (Feb. 1941), with thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [Superman/Supergirl panel ©2008 DC Comics.]

[ÂŠ2008 DC 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 talked about how he first got acquainted with Captain Marvel. In this issue he discusses the importance of “doodling.” —P.C. Hamerlinck.]

[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 stories 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,

oodling … rough, hasty scribbling, over to one side, for one’s personal benefit … in search of graphic solutions to graphic problems where mere words just wouldn’t do it. I called the sketches “doodles” and have kept many over the years, some from as far back as my first days at Fawcett. When I showed up at those offices in 1941, I already had a year and a half of experience in comics, but it was not comic books. It was newspaper comics. I learned much that day … about the company I was with and the super-hero I’d be drawing. At the first opportunity I stopped at a newsstand to see what other publishers, and other super-heroes, were doing … what sort of life they lived. I was surprised … at so much bitterness and violence … snarling faces behind huge fists so well-drawn in perspective aroused a tendency to dodge and fight back. The game … the contest … it appeared, did not, after all, involve the characters in the books and on the covers … but was among the artists … the objective being to determine who could draw the most intensive rage and hate.

That’s Karate, Kid! Marc Swayze writes: “Mary Marvel executing a vicious back-handed Karate chop is an example of the rough sketches that were never intended for print.” Until now, that is. 1940s drawing from Swayze’s sketchbook. [Mary Marvel TM & ©2008 DC Comics.]

The Cult Of The Curse The Story Behind The Other Golden Age “Captain Marvel” Serial by John G. Pierce Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

The Coming of “The Cult Of The Curse”

ack in the 1940s, there were three great sources of entertainment for kids. One was comic books, while the other two were radio programs and the cliffhanger movie serials. This last-named, also known as chapterplays, presented a story spread out over 12 or more episodes—with each chapter except the last ending on a dramatic moment, usually with some imminent danger posed to the hero or leading lady, with the escape being revealed only at the beginning of the following week’s episode.

Fawcett Publications’ Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher both starred in excellent chapterplays from the king of the serialmakers, Republic Pictures. And Fawcett licensees Captain Midnight, Nyoka, and Don Winslow also appeared in movie serials.

Cover Me! C.C. Beck’s cover for Captain America Adventures #61 (May 24, 1946). Having the cover spot got “The Cult of the Curse” off to a fine start, but, alas, it soon fizzled—at least by comparison to “The Monster Society of Evil.” But then—what wouldn’t have? [©2008 DC Comics.]

But the cross-pollination worked both ways, as such serials not only borrowed from the comics (and radio, for that matter), but also influenced them. In particular, Captain Marvel Adventures had two comic

book serials, the first being “The Monster Society of Evil” which appeared in CMA #22-46 (1943-1945). This serial, designed (from its splash page onward) to call to mind the great movie serials, introduced one of Cap’s most notable villains, the tiny worm named Mr. Mind—who still fires up writers’ imaginations these many decades later (as witnessed by Jeff Smith’s recent mini-series). But there was a second, shorter, less-remembered serial, running from CMA #61 (May 1946) to #66 (Oct. 1946). After an opening splash panel designed to simulate the Saturday matinee movie viewing experience (similar to the feel of the beginning of the previous “Monster Society” epic), this second serial, “The Cult of the Curse,” and its first chapter, “The World’s Mightiest Mortal versus the World’s Mightiest Immortal,” begins with the discovery of a temple in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. A prospector, who claims to own the mountain, is confronted by a strange being with pointed ears and wearing a toga, who introduces himself as Oggar. (Perhaps Otto Binder, the author of the story, named him Oggar as a play off the word “ogre,” which would be a good descriptive for this villain.) Oggar claims to have come from ancient Egypt, labels himself “the World’s Mightiest Immortal,” and is ready to launch something he calls

Ifs, Ands, & Butts (Above:) In this panel from the first chapter of “The Cult of the Curse” serial, in Captain Marvel Adventures #61 (May 1946), Oggar kicks butt. (Right:) Later in that same chapter, Cap and Oggar are about to butt heads this time. In all panels reproduced for this article, the story/script is by Otto Binder, the art by C.C. Beck and staff. [©2008 DC Comics.]

FCA (Fawcett Collectors Of America)

the Cult of the Curse. And he proceeds to demonstrate his power to carry out his wishes by magically killing the prospector’s donkey. Frightened but defiant, the prospector flees to get some help. But, of course, his story is not believed. “Temple? World’s Mightiest Immortal? Ha, ha! Go tell that to Capt. Marvel!” he is told, so he decides to do just that, traveling in his jalopy to the city to see Billy Batson, who “knows Captain Marvel.” Billy is skeptical, but agrees to travel with the prospector, in his jalopy, to the mountain. There they confront Oggar, who gives them the boot (or the sandal, as it may be), causing Billy to yell “Shazam!” Billy is being kicked through the air when he yells the word, so when Captain Marvel appears, he is on the ground humorously with his rump sticking up in the air, affording Oggar the opportunity to “kick butt.” But, of course, that doesn’t work against the World’s Mightiest Mortal, who, however, finds that his own blows don’t affect Oggar, either. Suddenly, it becomes clear to Oggar who the red-suited interloper is, as he seems to know about Shazam and the source of Cap’s powers. He is about to reveal something important, but instead decides to dispatch Cap with lightning from his fingertips. But that just changes Captain Marvel to Billy, who quickly changes back to Cap. In the ensuing fight, the two can’t make much headway against each other, so Oggar retreats into his temple, while surrounding it with a an invisible force-field to keep Cap out.

crown for Cap’s head. “Pah!” says Cap, rejecting the villain’s offers. “Well, what do you want?” Oggar asks. “I just want to keep punching your chin, that’s all!” Cap answers straightforwardly. But Oggar suggests a one-hour truce, so that he can tell Cap his story. So Oggar tells of how, millennia ago, Shazam was the leader, not of six great heroes, as Cap has always believed, but of seven, with Oggar himself having been the seventh. In fact, the old wizard’s name had been SHAZAMO. However, Oggar rebelled, so Shazamo banished him to the “mortal world,” and removed the “O“ from his own name, while predicting that in the 20th century he would pass on and leave his powers to a new hero, a boy named Billy Batson, who would become Captain Marvel. “So I lay low for 3000 years, while old Shazam and the six heroes passed, one by one, into the higher world. Then, five years ago, old Shazam himself went, as you know.” (This is an intriguing example of “real time” in comics, because it had indeed been about five years since Captain Marvel had first appeared in Whiz Comics. It also offers a curious view of the six benefactors, sometimes alluded to as “gods” or “elders,” who by this reckoning would be mortals with super-powers, rather than deities, per se. So, theoretically, at least, Oggar, being labeled an “immortal,” actually had a bit of an advantage over the others. But hadn’t Shazam said that he was banishing Oggar to “the mortal world,”

Upon consulting Shazam, Billy learns that the old wizard has a history with Oggar, though the details will have to wait for another time. But Shazam somewhat cryptically tells Billy that Oggar has one weakness. The chapter ends, not on a cliffhanger, but certainly on a note of suspense, as Billy makes his radio broadcast.

“The Arena of Horror” Chapter 2, titled as per the above heading, finds Oggar capturing and gagging Billy, and flying him back to his temple dwelling. Along the way in, they pass by statues of Oggar’s own “Seven Deadly Enemies,” which are the six Shazam heroes plus Captain Marvel himself. Oggar hurls a magic dagger at Billy, but the boy has been gnawing away at his gag (apparently without being noticed) and manages to say his special word just in time. And even though the dagger is magic, it has no effect on Cap. Oggar tries to summon lightning, but that doesn’t work, so a slugfest results. Since one can’t prevail against the other, Oggar offers Captain Marvel the opportunity to join him, instead, producing a coffer of gold. Cap rejects that, so Oggar magically creates a