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No.87 July 2009

MICK ANGLO’S (AND ENGLAND’S)

MARVELMAN! THE HERO WHO FLEW WHERE CAPTAIN MARVEL DARED NOT TREAD —

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—AND CAME OUT THE OTHER SIDE AS MIRACLEMAN!

PLUS:

Marvelman/Miracleman TM & ©2009 the respective trademark & copyright holders

Vol. 3, No. 87 / July 2009 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

Writer/Editorial: I Smell the Blood of an English Super-Hero . 3 From SHAZAM! to KIMOTA! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Cover Artist Rick Veitch

Cover Colorist

Derek Wilson’s overview of England’s Marvelman—the hero who became Miracleman.

Tom Ziuko

With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Mick Anglo Frank Bolle Lee Boyette Anthony DeMarias Michaël Dewally Roger Dicken Michael Dunne Earl Evans Mark Evanier Jon R. Evans Jean-Michel Ferragatti Todd Franklin Shane Foley Janet Gilbert Walt Grogan Lawrence P. Guidry Jennifer Hamerlinck

Contents

Wendy Hunt Jim Kealy Jay Kinney Bruce Mason Harry Mendryk John G. Pierce Bob Rozakis Dr. Peter Schilder Anthony Snyder Marc Swayze Dann Thomas Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Hames Ware Brett Weiss Derek Wilson Jim Ludwig James Zanotto

Off to Meet the Wizard! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Mick Anglo, creator of Marvelman, talks to Roger Dicken about his long and colorful career.

Centaur Spread – Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Lee Boyette continues the scintillating saga of the amazing, mysterious Centaur Comics Group.

"I'm Just Glad to Have Been an Artist" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Frank Bolle tells Jim Amash about working for Gleason, Timely, Western, and a zillion newspaper strips.

The Secret History of All-American Comics, Inc. – “The End of the Beginning!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Bob Rozakis’ account of a lost era—when Green Lantern was Super-Hero #1.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Dr. Lauretta Bender: Comics’ Anti-Wertham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Michael T. Gilbert begins the fascinating tale of the head of DC’s 1940s Editorial Advisory Board.

In Memoriam: Jack Kamen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Comic Fandom Archive: The OAF 40th Anniversary Reunion . 76 Bill Schelly, Brett Weiss, and members of the long-lived Oklahoma Alliance of Fandom.

FCA [Fawcett Collectors of America] #146 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Marc Swayze—plus P.C. Hamerlinck & John G. Pierce on Captain Marvel & Marvelman.

On Our Cover: Rick Veitch, one of the most celebrated artists of the Eclipse’s 1980s Miracleman series, recently drew this commission illo of the hero—who of course is England’s 1954-63 Marvelman under a necessarily new name. Besides being a fine piece of art in its own right, it can be appreciated as an homage to Wayne Boring’s oft-reprinted cover for Superman #32 (Jan.-Feb. 1945), seen at left.

Hmm… from Man of Steel to Marvelman to Miracleman—not an unfamiliar segue, wot? With thanks to Rick Veitch & collector Derek Wilson. [Marvelman TM & ©2009 the respective copyright holders; Superman cover ©2009 DC Comics.]

Above: This illustration of the UK’s successor to Captain Marvel Jr., drawn by Don Lawrence, appeared on the title page of the 1957 Young Marvelman Annual, published by L. Miller & Son Ltd. With thanks to Jim Kealy. [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Jack Kamen

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: $88 US, $140 Canada, $210 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.

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From SHAZAM! To KIMOTA! The Sensational Story Of England’s MARVELMAN – The Hero Who Would Become MIRACLEMAN

by Derek Wilson

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Larue, Monte Hale, Rocky Lane, Rod Cameron, SixGun Heroes, Tom Mix, Tex Ritter, Spy Smasher, and Captain Midnight, as well as the various Captain Marvel-related series—Adventures of Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., The Marvel Family, and Mary Marvel, which were their best sellers—and being just as successful in the UK as in the United States in attracting a large young audience for two weeklies (CM & CMJ) and one monthly comic (MF). Mary Marvel didn’t survive beyond a few Photogravure issues. In an earlier series, Master, Whiz, and Wow were also being reprinted.

arvelman was born of necessity on 3rd February 1954, after Captain Marvel lost his 12-year battle with Superman.

National Comics Publications (now DC Comics) took out a lawsuit against Fawcett Comics in 1941, claiming that the latter’s costumed hero Captain Marvel was an infringement of copyrights and a direct copy of DC’s Superman, despite the obvious differences in the characters. (E.g., Superman was an alien from another planet whose secret identity was merely a change of clothes with his adventures occurring in the “real” world, while Captain Marvel’s alter ego was magical, since he Slipping You A Mick changed back and forth from being a young boy, and Mick Anglo circa 1952—i.e., not long before The largest-circulation periodical in the his storylines were more in the realm of fable and the creation of Marvelman. We’ve avoided, Miller library could not be allowed to die—at fantasy.) The fact that Captain Marvel Adventures so far as possible, repeating images that was outselling Superman for some time in the midleast not without a successor—so writer/artist appeared in the 2001 (but long out of print) 1940s is most likely the real reason the lawsuit refused Mick Anglo was recruited and given the job of TwoMorrows volume Kimota! The Miracleman Companion, by George Khoury; but a few to die, but sales made no difference to the eventual creating an alternative character because the repeats, such as this photo, were outcome, and Fawcett “Captain Marvel” material was unavoidable. Actually, this version of the was forced to hang up running out fast. Anglo’s photo was sent to us from the UK by Roger the cape of the previous work had been with Dicken, whose interview with Anglo begins World’s Mightiest Arnold Miller’s Arnold Book on p. 17, but we preferred to feature it earlier Mortal in 1953 after Company, producing covers rather than later in the issue (though we an expensive struggle for the Len Miller’s “L. will be repeating it later—to show you what that had lasted a Miller & Son” comics. he’s smiling at!). dozen Arnold’s were years. publishing comic titles such as Capt.

Valiant, Space Commando, Ace It’s interesting to note Malloy, and Space Commander that even Mad comics Kerry. were giving the The injunction obtained in the lawsuit attention at US had no jurisdiction over here that time, by having in the UK, but of course the their spoof character supply of “Captain Marvel” stories Superduperman defeat would run out before long. The Captain Marbles, who first name change suggested— had given up fighting and most obvious one—was crime to become a finally adopted, with Captain criminal.

Marvel becoming Marvelman, In Britain, L. Miller although other names were & Son were reprinting seriously considered, including the Fawcett titles such as Bill Miracleman and Capt. Miracle, Boyd, Bob Steele, Hopalong which were registered as possibilities; Cassidy, Ken Maynard, Lash and Captain Marvel Jr. became Young

Two Of A Kind Fawcett’s original Captain Marvel (drawn by C.C. Beck) and L. Miller’s Marvelman (drawn by Don Lawrence)—side by side. With thanks to Derek Wilson for the images. But then, he informs us that from the entire original Marvelman-and-Family run of 770 comics and 24 annuals, he is missing only two Marvelman issues. We “Americanized” a few English spellings in his article, since the majority of our audience is in the USA. [Shazam! hero TM & ©2009 DC Comics; Marvelman TM & ©2009 the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

From SHAZAM! To KIMOTA!

Marvelman rather than Marvelman Junior.

[NOTE: Captain Miracle eventually made it into his own title in 1960 under Mick Anglo’s guidance after he had left Miller’s and the Marvelman titles were on the decline; but Captain Miracle consisted primarily of “Marvelman” stories reprinted with subtle changes made to the artwork to eliminate his blond hair and the MM logo. It ran for only 9 issues.]

The story came full circle in 1985 when the US company Eclipse Comics renamed “Marvelman” as “Miracleman” when they began reprinting and continuing the brilliant new “Marvelman” series written

by Alan Moore, which had originally begun appearing in Dez Skinn’s Quality Comics Warrior magazine in 1982, with superb artwork by Garry Leach and Alan Davis. The name change to Miracleman was to avoid the petty muscle-flexing from Marvel Comics regarding having the word ‘marvel’ on the cover.

The Costumes The uniform change was relatively easy. Captain Marvel’s red suit became Marvelman’s blue one—while Captain Marvel Junior’s blue suit became red for Young Marvelman. The capes disappeared, (which made the artwork easier), and the dark hair became blond. [continued on p. 8]

Color Me Marvelous!

(Clockwise from below left:) One of the archetypal covers of the British series: Marvelman, Vol. 2, #138, in his trademark mostly-blue costume—the red-garbed Young Marvelman, Vol. 1, #44 (“for week ending June 19th 1954”)—and Marvelman Family, Vol. 1, #1 (Oct. 1956), which adds Kid Marvelman, who could’ve been nicknamed “The Yellow Kid.” The YM cover is from Ye Editor’s own tiny collection of English comics; the other two were provided by Roger Dicken. [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

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The Sensational Story Of England’s Marvelman

It’s A Miracle, Man! When Marvelman was revived in the British comics magazine Warrior in the 1980s, then was transmogrified into Miracleman in answer to legal objections from Marvel Comics, he was blessed not only by Alan Moore’s writing but by some of the best of the young artists. (Left to right on this and facing page:) Garry Leach—John Totleben—Alan Davis—Rick Veitch— & Alex Ross. Thanks to Derek Wilson for samples of art from his own collection. [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

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Off To Meet The Wizard!

A Colorful (Colourful?) Conversation With MICK ANGLO, Creator Of Marvelman Interview Conducted by Roger Dicken

Transcribed with the aid of Wendy Hunt

INTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION

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arly one morning in August 2008 I set out on a journey from the historic town of Windsor in Berkshire, where I was staying with friends, having travelled there by train from my home in Wales. I passed the famous royal castle, shrouded in damp February mist, and it was with some trepidation I soon entered the yawning motorway (freeway) entrance signposted for London. The reason for this is, quite simply, I was driving an unfamiliar hired car, and I am the worst navigator in the world!

Marvel-Men Mick Anglo (on left) with fellow artists Don Lawrence (center) and Ron Embleton at a 1970s comics convention held at the Mountview Hotel near Harrow, Mick’s stomping grounds—flanked by (a) an Anglo-drawn 1954 splash panel (“Big Rock Candy Mountain”); (b) “The Black Magic of Benjamin Pip” by Don Lawrence; & (c) the strangely-spelled “Litening” from 1948’s Big Flame Wonder Comic [sic]. Photo courtesy of Mick Anglo. P.S.: All art & photos accompanying this interview have been provided by Roger Dicken (with special help from Wendy Hunt), unless otherwise stated. [Pages ©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

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A Colorful (Colourful?) Conversation With Mick Anglo, Creator Of Marvelman

My destination was the county of Middlesex, where I had arranged to visit an absolute legend from the 1950s English comic book and publishing world, one Mick Anglo. He was responsible for entertaining myself and millions of other kids with his imaginative talent in story and art at a time when television did not, as now, dominate our homes or young minds.

Although his best-remembered character is Marvelman (the English successor to the original Captain Marvel), during his career he has been responsible for a colossal output of not only comic artistry, but magazines and books of every conceivable kind.

Prior to and during the austere post-World War II period in England, reading comics was an absolutely huge entertainment factor for many kids (if publishers could obtain the paper to produce ’em) all the way up from tots to teens. “Swoppin’” them (trading) was a heap big pastime for us juveniles, and this medium of artistic escapism, in which I had been totally immersed in my formative years, was undoubtedly an enormous factor in influencing my own eventual career creating sfx [special effects] for the television and movie industry.

I first made contact with Mr. Anglo via the telephone, after luckily obtaining his number, whereupon I had the good fortune to strike up an enjoyable acquaintanceship with this somewhat reclusive man; but up to this time it had only been conducted via the wires and pigeon post.

For some while I had been promising our ed., my good friend Roy Boy Thomas, that if I ever got together with this multi-talented ex-dynamo, I would endeavor to obtain his story for Alter Ego. Now, very much looking forward to the occasion, I was at last on my way to actually meet “The Wizard,” Unfortunately, having resided in the wilds and serenity of North Wales for 24 years, my unease, as mentioned, re “freeway” driving, soon proved well founded, and although in my past profession I had been proficient in handling the likes of prehistoric monsters, Dracula, alien creatures, etc., it was not long before I was totally frazzled. With thundering Brontosaurussized continental delivery trucks, multiple junctions, unfamiliar mindblowing signs pointing north, south, east, west, right, left, up, down, and around, I was soon mumbling to myself, “Beam me up, Scotty!” Finally, with the irate wail of a car horn behind me, yours truly lurched into a wrong exit. In the words of the White Rabbit’s song in the classic Disney Alice in Wonderland, I was now cursing, “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!”

cap of this extremely versatile entrepreneur of yesteryear.

During the interview, I soon discovered that, unlike in the States, due to the way the medium was given little acclaim by the British “Establishment,” Michael was actually not too enamored with his past input into the world of comics and seemed somewhat less than enthusiastic about his contribution. I hastened to inform him that he was probably the only fellow to helm a small viable private studio of artists specializing in this kind of work at that time. He created the British equivalent of the 10¢ US-style publication longed for by thousands of postwar kids here, myself included (albeit they had black-&-white interiors only), who wanted American-style comics as opposed to the British larger format “funnies.” He was also basically responsible for producing an immense number of the Miller family’s comic empire products and thus competed successfully with the mainstream publishing houses. This is evident by the extensive runs of the likes of Marvelman and countless other characters, original and otherwise, that poured forth from his fertile imagination at his first, not too salubrious, premises in the 1950s.

Before long the “Wiz” started to pull out some items to show me from a solitary, somewhat disorganized box of paper treats appertaining to his career. Much to my pleasure I perused a number of M.A. loose war comic pages, a set of copies of his color covers for a series of pocket war comic stories, a faded order from a publisher for four books, each of x thousand words, some reprint 1950s Miller Co. Marvelman, and US Six-Gun Hero sixpenny comics. Next, a rare gem, an M.A. original wartime cartoon he drew for the 1945 services magazine S.E.A.C., together with a 1956 Miller Co. pocket Can-Can photo pin-up magazine #1, a series of which he had been editor. This contained four fine girly toons signed with two of his non-de-plumes of which I was unaware. Further, there was a Miller Co. Flix pocket film magazine he had edited and a Classics Illustrated M.A. “comical” version of a Baron Munchhausen comic (with which he presented me) that was published by another company, Thorpe and Porter Ltd., London, price one shilling! Also other interesting miscellanea from his past.

Since he has been retired for many years, and though he produced an extraordinary amount of artistry, sadly, Michael does not possess very

Eventually, after a nail-biting detour and with the dashboard clock confirming my folly, I found myself ringing a bell at a very smart complex of apartments, hoping he hadn’t given up and gone out. To my relief the door opened and I was greeted by the “Wiz” himself, a diminutive figure with a warm smile. As I made my apologies, Michael welcomed me with a firm handshake to his spacious and well-laid-out pad with its impressive picture window flooding the room with light. I was soon unwinding and quenching my parched throat with a tall glass of cool orange crush— perfect!

At this, my very first meeting with Michael (a man of some 92 summers), whilst chatting away I was reminded that, sadly, today he lives alone, as his wife Minnie now resides in a nursing home. As we discussed this and that appertaining to his work, I was interested to see a large wellstacked bookcase along one wall, stuffed with numerous non-comics publications, many with the spines bearing the author’s name. On top of this, prominently displayed, was a large American resin model of Miracleman (a.k.a. the 1980s US version of Marvelman), plus various photos of his family and of Michael as a young wartime soldier. Along with a few pinup pics by other artists, there was a large 1950s colored “good girl” artwork of Michael’s depicting a truly luscious babe. This was the last remaining original of a number of covers he had drawn for a series of US-style detective yarns he also wrote. Yet another feather in the

The Real MickCoy A photo of Mick Anglo taken by Roger Dicken, February 2008.

Off To See The Wizard!

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much of his prolific lifetime’s work. I was extremely sorry to hear him relate the old, old horror story that one day some time ago when moving house, a massive clear-out of original Mick Anglo treasure trove art was lost forever when—wait for it—it was dumped, to end up compressed under tons of refuse in a landfill site………

Amazingly, at such an advanced age and after so much “eye work” over his lifetime, Michael can still read small print without spectacles!

Unfortunately, he can no longer draw, and frustratingly he could recount vividly concerning many aspects of his career but on others drew a total blank. However, anything he could and did relate was totally interesting and gratefully appreciated.

The following interview is a compilation, encompassing stories related to me during my actual meeting with “the Wiz” on the 11th February 2008, interspersed with information acquired during numerous telephone conversations both before and after, as we have kept in regular contact. I trust readers will accept that I cannot confirm the date order of many of his recollections.

“Keep Your Fingers Crossed!”

ROGER DICKEN: So, Michael, we meet at last, and I must say it’s a great pleasure.

MICK ANGLO: The feeling is mutual, but I expected to see you with a beard.

RD: A beard? Why would you think I’d have that? [chuckle] ANGLO: Well, I thought that anyone who’d been around long enough to know what I got up to all those years ago would surely have one. I’m 92, you know!

RD: I admit I have a few years under my belt, but no, I’ve never had a beard and I’m not ready for one yet. Yes, I know you are 92, but I always say you are as young as you feel.

ANGLO: Sometimes I feel a hundred and two. Perhaps I should have a beard! [mutual laughter].

RD: At least you are still here, Michael, and in this very pleasant apartment you have. It’s so bright.

ANGLO: Yes, but I get very lonely now since my wife Minnie went into a care home at the beginning of the year. We were together for 67 years, and I visit her every day if I can. Anyway, one must soldier on, but it’s difficult.

I have a son Brian, but he lives in Spain. However, I’m lucky to have a fine lady called Roseanne who comes in every day to help here; she’s very good. Okay, fire away, but keep your fingers crossed.

RD: What for?

ANGLO: That I can remember what you want to know! [mutual laughter] RD: Okay. Firstly, where were you born?

ANGLO: In Bow, London, registered as the 19th June 1916, but in actual fact it was the 14th, as my father was late in registering my birth. He was a bespoke tailor who served in the First World War in the Royal Army Medical Corps, stationed in Silencia, between Greece and Bulgaria. His specialty was producing outfits for visiting American show biz artists.

RD: So you grew up in London?

ANGLO: Mostly, but at one period, early on, the family left “The Smoke” and moved to a large flat on Castle Street, Brighton, because my father’s sister lived there with her big family, and he continued in his business by commuting to London. When we moved in, the flat had a lot of curios in

Can Do! Anglo’s career covered a lot more than comics. Here’s an ad for the second issue of L. Miller’s pin-up mag Can-Can, which he edited at one time. Thanks to Mick Anglo. [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

it—stuffed snakes, etc., that had been left behind by the previous tenant, who had presumably moved out in a hurry, and I was fascinated by all this stuff… but my mother hated it and threw it out!

RD: So how did your education go?

ANGLO: First I went to a Catholic Infants school there, St. Margarets, and my teacher was a Miss Elphinstone. Later I was well up in my class, and I recollect that around eight years of age I was given a picture of a man on a horse to copy. I did so, and this was probably my first real drawing, though I recall I didn’t seem to want to do my best, in case they wanted me to do more. [mutual laughter] I suppose even then it was my anti-authority attitude clicking in. When I was around ten, we moved back to London and lived in a house near Aldgate Station.

RD: You were something of a rebel, it seems. What about brothers and sisters?

ANGLO: Yes, I was the youngest of five boys, and I was always called Sonny. I’ve only two brothers left now—Andrew, who became a book reviewer and lives around the corner, and Sidney, who was a Professor of Ideas and lives near Brighton. Stanley, who had a china and glass company, and Richard, who was in the Air Force, have both gone.

RD: Were you always artistic and imaginative?

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Centaur Spread Part II Continuing The Scintillating Saga Of The CENTAUR COMICS GROUP

by Lee Boyette

In The Centaur Ring The above full-page house ad proclaimed 1940 “the year for Centaur”—but, as Lee Boyette points out, by year’s end nearly all the titles heralded on it had been trampled under the hooves of time—and competitors. But why the monkey mascot rather than a centaur?? [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

A/E

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: Two issues ago, we printed the majority of Lee’s bird’s-eye (or maybe we should say, “Eye’s-eye”) view of the Centaur Comics Group and a couple of related companies—but we ran out of room. So, rather than crowd the last part and skimp on illustrations, we held it off till this time around. Actually, Lee also provided a list of Centaur’s comics publications, etc., which we’ll get to in a few months, as well… but meanwhile, here is the conclusion of the article proper, with all the illos we could squeeze in! In Part I, Lee finished up with an account of the most famous comic book associated with Centaur—Amazing-Man Comics—which, he pointed out, technically wasn’t published under the Centaur name. And now, with all art provided by Lee Boyette and his colleague Jon R. Evans, unless otherwise noted—let’s gallop along…!

Of Fantoms And Fantasies

The Amazing “Surhomme” As we mentioned in A/E #85, much of the Centaur material was soon reprinted in France, with the shapes of the pages altered… as per this early Bill Everettdrawn “Amazing-Man” story. Thanks to Jean-Michel Ferragatti, who will cover these French re-presentations in depth in a future issue. [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

About the time Amazing-Man Comics got going, Star Comics and Comic Pages (formerly Funny Picture Stories) and Star Ranger Funnies were all cancelled. The latter ended with the October 1939 issue, Star with August, and CP with December. Several reprint books (of superheroes this time) saw the light of day in 1940.

The first of these—Amazing Adventure Funnies—is one of Centaur’s best issues ever. Dated June 1940, AAF #1 reprints the first three “Fantom of the Fair” stories by Paul Gustavson—“Speed Silvers,” also by Gustavson—Bill Everett’s first “Skyrocket Steele” story—the initial

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Continuing The Scintillating Saga Of The Centaur Comics Group

The Horror Of It All Two horrific tales from Masked Marvel #2: a page from “Kardo the Monster Maker” and the splash page of Tarpé Mills’ “The Vampire.” [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

episode of Everett’s “Dirk the Demon”—Carl Burgos’ “Air-Sub DX”— “Stony Dawson”—and “The Arrow” by Gustavson.

With #2, Amazing Adventure Funnies became Fantoman, featuring Gustavson stories starring that mysterious hero, though every issue also contained Cole’s “Little Dynamite,” “Air-Sub D-X,” “The Arrow,” and text illustrations by Everett. The cover is a blow-up of a panel inside. (Issue #3 contains an ownership statement from Star Ranger Funnies!)

After Fantoman #2 was published, another issue of Amazing Adventure Funnies (Sept. 1940) came out—minus super-heroes, let alone any explanation of why or how it came to be. It contains two Western stories and two “Sand Hogs” stories by Gustavson (from Amazing Mystery Funnies), among other reprints. Some are from the Cook-Mahon days.

Masked Marvel earned his own title (though his chapters are all reprints) in September 1940. In issue #2 (Oct.) there appears a new story

by R.L. Golden, who had done a couple of rip-offs of Hal Foster’s newspaper Tarzan strip, complete with dinosaurs, called “Jungle Battles,” in AMC #7 & #9. The new entry, titled “Kardo the Monster Maker,” opens with Dr. Kardo receiving a package containing body parts, while he is in the process of aping Dr. Frankenstein and assembling his own monster on the premises. Wrapped in bandages and possessing a green body, the creature awakes and attacks Kardo and his associates, only to be killed at the end. If this is not the first horror story in a comic book, then another Tarpé Mills creation in the very same issue, called “The Vampire,” surely must be!

Also during 1940, a house ad appeared proudly proclaiming: “For 1940 It’s The Centaur Group” and extolling the greatness of their lineup of Funny Pages, Amazing-Man Comics, Amazing Mystery Funnies, and Keen Detective Funnies. Ironically, all of these except Amazing-Man saw cancellation during that year. FP’s final issue was dated Oct. 1940, and those of both AMF and KDF were dated September.

The Arrow got his own title, with two issues in 1940 and an additional one in ’41.

This is where things really get weird.

The Stars And Stripes Forever?

The first issue of The Arrow (dated Oct. 1940), and #2 (Nov.) are pretty standard. But #3 features one of our favorite bizarre characters. In “The Rainbow” by Al Plastino, a guy named Jim Travers, while reading a copy of “Acme Comics,” gets the idea to become a super-hero. He goes into a costume shop and emerges as a crime-fighter wearing a red helmet topped with a green fin, a green cape, a red shirt open at the front, yellow gloves and belt, and green tights.

Eddy Herron (author of the earliest Red Skull stories in Timely’s Captain America Comics) scripted this tale. Naturally, The Rainbow saves his girlfriend and her kid brother from “arch enemy” Black Rufus. A single story (although more were promised) is all that ever saw print of this fascinating premise. So, with the humorous, Western, and all other titles defunct, Hardie now made an incredible move.

Centaur Spread—Part II

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…Whose Broad Stripes And Bright Scars…

(Above:) An action-filled page from the “Black Panther” story in Stars and Stripes #2, with art by Paul Gustavson, who also drew “The Angel” for Timely’s Marvel Mystery Comics—and the flamboyantly patriotic cover of S&S #4 (Nov. 1941) by Lou Fine clone Myron Strauss. [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

From the beginning, Amazing-Man Comics was listed as being published by “The Comic Corporation of America,” not Centaur. But, with #22 (May 1941), which sports Gustavson’s famous Nazi war-gorilla cover, the book went on hiatus. “Amazing-Man,” “The Shark,” and others were moved to a new book called Stars and Stripes Comics, which also lists The Comic Corporation of America (hereafter CCA) as the publisher.

In addition, The Arrow #3 (CCA) has an ownership statement for the canceled Star Ranger Funnies. There was no #1 for Stars and Stripes; it began with issue #2 (May 1941)—the same month as Amazing-Man #22.

No announcements were made as to why this was done. Issue #2, dated July ’41, contains Gustavson’s “Black Panther,” a muscular guy who went around shirtless, with a panther skin (complete with a tail) draped over his torso. Only a single story of this character ever saw print.

When There’s No Getting Over This Rainbow!

(Above:) You saw The Arrow in A/E #85—but popping up all resplendent in The Arrow #3 was Al Plastino’s “The Rainbow.” Plastino, of course, would go on to a long career in comic book and strips, including many tales of “Superman.” [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

Beginning with #4 (Sept.1941, actual #3) and in keeping with the patriotic theme running through comics at that time, three men formed a group called “The Stars and Stripes.” They were all former concentration camp prisoners who escaped and now battled Nazis using a tank and other wartime machinery. The cover art and stories were by Myron Strauss. (His art in Quality’s Uncle Sam #2 is incorrectly identified as that of Lou Fine by The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.)

Amazing-Man Comics picked up again with issue #23 (Aug. 1941),

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“I’m Just Glad To Have Been An Artist” FRANK BOLLE On His Years In Comic Books And Strips – Part II

I

Interview Conducted by Jim Amash

NTRODUCTION: Last issue, Frank related tales of his years in the Army during World War II, of his initial comics partnership with Leonard Starr (later creator of the comic strip On Stage), and

The Story So Far! Frank Bolle (seen here in a pic taken some years back) surrounded by specimens of his early work: “The Heap” from Hillman’s Airboy Comics, Vol. 5, #2 (March 1948)—“Robotman” from DC’s Detective Comics #167 (Jan. 1951)—“Tim Holt” (a.k.a. Redmask) in an unspecified 1950s issue of Magazine Enterprises’ Tim Holt. With thanks respectively to Michaël Dewally, Michael T. Gilbert, and James Zanotto for the art scans—and to Frank for the photo. [Robotman page ©2009 DC Comics; other art ©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris his early work in comic books for Hillman (“The Heap”), DC (“Robotman”), et al.—particularly Magazine Enterprises (Tim Holt/Redmask, Black Phantom). Here he moves on to his later career.

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Frank Bolle—Part II

“I’ll Open [An Old Comic Book] And I Don’t Even Remember Illustrating It” JIM AMASH: During the time you worked for Magazine Enterprises, you also did some work for Lev Gleason Publications. Charlie Biro and Bob Wood were the editors. I have you doing romance comics in ’51 and ’52, and also “The Little Wise Guys” in 1955.

FRANK BOLLE: Yeah, I do remember doing them, but I don’t remember anything else about it. [chuckles] Biro and Wood were two guys who you didn’t want to be friends with. I’d go in there sometimes and Bob Wood would look like he was beaten up in an alley. From what I understood, he was a heavy drinker and would get into fights with people. Charlie Biro was the one I usually dealt with. He was a wheeler-dealer, a very shifty character. In fact, I think he still owes me money. I think I did probably a whole book that he never paid me for.

JA: Was it because they closed up and Gleason Publications didn’t finish paying?

BOLLE: Right. I’m sure other guys were in the same situation.

JA: How’d you find out they’d closed up?

BOLLE: I went there. [chuckles] Nobody was there, and I was told the company had closed down. And the next thing I heard, Charlie Biro got a job with NBC-TV. I knew a guy who was one of the producers there. He

told me that Biro was always coming over and saying to him, “Look, if you need anything special done, you can always count on me. And if you need anything else that you can’t get in the open market….” [chuckles] So I said, “Oh, okay.” [Jim chuckles] So Charlie hadn’t changed.

JA: For Biro, Wood, and Gleason you did some Crime and Punishment and some Crime Does Not Pay stories and some “Crimebuster.” There was a time on “Crimebuster” when Biro wouldn’t let the people draw the main character’s head. He insisted on drawing that head himself, and I was wondering if that happened to you.

BOLLE: No, that didn’t happen to me. I think I heard about that, but I don’t know the details. He never criticized my work at all. I don’t remember ever anyone telling me how to lay out a page. So I always followed the script and I would do it my way and it seemed that I was always doing it the right way.

Once I stopped dealing with them, I was on to other things. And even while I was working with Magazine Enterprises, that was sort-of towards the end of my comic book days. I’d already started working on syndicated newspaper stuff.

JA: In the ’50s, you started working for Timely Comics, and I have quite a list of things that you did for them. Caught!, G.I. Tales, Battle, Gunsmoke Western, Journey into Mystery, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Marvel Tales, Mystery Tales, Mystical Tales, it goes on, doesn’t it? Mystic, Spellbound, these were filler stories. You did some Westerns, Two-Gun Westerns, Tales of Justice, Uncanny Tales, War Comics, Western Outlaws, Western Trails, Wild Western. What do you remember about working for that company?

BOLLE: I remember that I never really dealt with Stan Lee. I always used to say hello to him when I walked past him in his office, but I worked with one of his editors. I can’t remember her name now.

JA: There were a couple of women who edited: Bonnie Hano and Jo Ellen Murdock. That’s interesting that you didn’t deal with Stan.

BOLLE: Well, he always looked at the stuff, but I didn’t really sit down and discuss anything with him. He was always busy with something else.

But he still recognizes me, and we talk every time I see him at a big convention or a cartoonists dinner.

JA: How did you feel about the Senate investigations and Dr. Wertham and the Comics Code? How aware were you of that?

BOLLE: I was aware of it, but it didn’t bother me at all because none of the stuff I did was sexually explicit or bloody, gory, or anything like that.

JA: Would you have done such material if it’d been handed to you?

BOLLE: Possibly, but with good taste.

JA: I know that Timely quit publishing for a brief while in ’57, and I’m assuming that’s why you stopped working for them. Do you remember that period?

BOLLE: I sort-of remember it, but not really. I already was into newspaper comic strips. I was working on more than one.

JA: I also have you doing a couple of stories for EC’s War against Crime.

Crime After Crime An “FWB”-signed splash from Lev Gleason Pub.’s Crime and Punishment #43 (Oct. 1951), companion title of its trend-setting Crime Does Not Pay. Thanks to Bruce Mason—also to Jim Ludwig & Jay Kinney. We appreciate their help! [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

BOLLE: I remember Al Feldstein was editing there, but nothing else. I’ll tell you what: sometimes I’m dusting in my old studio and I’ll find a comic book or a novel or something, and I’ll open it up and I don’t even remember illustrating it. I’ve illustrated so many things, from children’s books to comic books to novels to magazines, that I said, “What? This looks great!” And I did it! [Jim laughs] I won’t remember when or how or where was I when I did it. But I recognize my work and I’m always proud of it. [mutual laughter]

“I’m Just Glad To Have Been An Artist”

Just In Timely A trio of dynamic splashes by Bolle from Timely mags, all from 1957, not long before Martin Goodman’s comics company just about went under for the third time: Journey into Unknown Worlds #56 (April)—Spellbound #34 (June)— Gunsmoke Western #42 (Aug.). With thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [©2009 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

JA: During the time you worked in comics, did you have any assistants?

BOLLE: Never. I always did everything myself.

“I Worked For [Dell &/Or Western] For Probably Ten Or Fifteen Years” JA: In 1961, I have you doing the On Stage comic for Dell Publications.

It was a comic book version of [Leonard Starr’s] On Stage newspaper strip. I have you doing Mysterious Island in 1964 and doing some Big Valley, which was an adaptation of the television show. Do you remember who your editor was at Dell? Could it have been Matt Murphy?

BOLLE: It might have been him or Wally Green. I worked with both of them. I used to see Wally Green at conventions. Matt Murphy’s still around, but he’s retired and been gone from comics for a long time. He’s not interested in those days now, from what I hear. Talking about comics would make him cranky.

JA: In the ’60s, I have you doing some Flash Gordon for King Comics, ’66 and ’67. And in ’66 you did some stuff for Tower Comics: Fight the Enemy and Undersea Agent. Why did you do those comics? Were you looking for some extra money around that time?

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60

W

hat if, instead of selling his share of All-American Publications to National/DC co-publishers Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz in 1945, as happened in The World We Know, AA co-publisher Max Charles Gaines had instead bought DC from them?

being cancelled) the AA characters Green Lantern, The Flash, and Wonder Woman had become instead the surviving Golden Age superheroes—stars of comic books, radio, movies, and TV? (Even so, in Our World, all art on the next 6 pages features characters trademarked and copyrighted 2009 by DC Comics.)

Just imagine…a comic book industry in which (due to legal problems with Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and Bob Kane which resulted in there being two competing versions each of Superman and Batman on the national newsstands in the late 1940s, with both renditions eventually

Not a dream (precisely)…not a hoax (because we tell you about it up front)…just an imaginary tale of an alternate universe we call Earth-22, and of…

The Secret History Of All-American Comics, Inc.

by Bob Rozakis

Book One – Chapter 8: “The End Of The Beginning!”

[NOTE: This chapter’s interview with Ted Skimmer, longtime AA production man, has never before been printed.]

BOB ROZAKIS: A couple of major things happened in 1969 and 1970.

That was the beginning of the turnover.

TED SKIMMER: Yes, it was, and it started because of bad weather.

Charlie was living in a big house out on the north shore of Long Island and he had a driver named Gavin, who would bring him back and forth every day. It was a really nice place, off this long winding road through the hilly woods. Well, in mid-February, there was a blizzard…

BR: Oh, I remember that storm. It was my senior year of high school.

Everything was closed for a week. It took days for them to plow even the major roads. My friends and I went sledding on the Cross Island Parkway!

TS: I don’t know how Gavin got to Charlie’s house, but he told Charlie the roads were already really bad. The way I heard the story from Billy, his father insisted they could make it to the city despite Gavin’s misgivings. So off they went. Maybe a mile from Charlie’s house, they skidded and got stuck in a snow bank. Gavin tried everything he could, but he could not move the car. And since it was a relatively undeveloped area, there was no other traffic… and no other houses nearby… and, of course, this was way before cell phones, so no way they could call anyone. They had no choice but to get out and walk back to Charlie’s house. Uphill. In a blizzard. It took them hours. By the time they got there, both of them were covered in snow and ice. Charlie ended up with bronchitis and was sick for two weeks. Gavin got pneumonia and was in the hospital for I don’t know how long. Anyway, Charlie decided he’d had enough. He was moving to Florida. He called up Billy and said, “I’m done. You’re in charge now.”

BR: Just like that?

TS: [laughs] As soon as they reopened the airport, Charlie was on the first plane out. He said he’d had enough of snow and cold weather and winter.

Of course, he still owned the company, so it wasn’t like he was giving up anything except coming to the office.

BR: How did Bill react?

TS: I think he wished it had happened a couple of weeks sooner. At the

Putting Their (Post)Cards On The Table This type of art-splashed postcard, featuring Green Lantern, Stretch Bando, Wonder Woman, The Flash, the revived Superman, and Metamorpho, was sent out in the late 1960s to those who wrote letters to DC mags. Layout by Neal Adams. From the joint collection of Lawrence P. Guidry & Shane Foley.

“The End Of The Beginning”!

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The AA Universe In The Latter Days Of Weisinger (Left:) The cover of Julie Schwartz’s All-Flash #171 (Dec. 1966) reflected the popularity—fabulous, if fleeting—of The Flash TV show, which had debuted at the turn of the year. Art by Carmine Infantino & Joe Giella.

(Right:) Meanwhile, Mort Weisinger chugged right along with the Legion of Lantern Pets in Sensation Comics #311 (Jan. 1968). Art by Curt Swan & Stan Kaye.

With special thanks to Lawrence P. Guidry & Shane Foley for supplying both covers from their cacophonous joint collection.

beginning of the year, the industry was faced with having to raise the cover price from 12¢, and the logical step was to 15c. Charlie wanted to keep the 32-page package, maybe replace a couple of house ads with story pages. Billy wanted to go back to 48 pages and jump the price to 20c. His argument was that they could use reprints in the extra pages, and the readers would feel they were getting more for their money. There was a lot of shouting behind closed doors, but ultimately Charlie prevailed. AA, and the rest of the companies, raised the price with the books that came out in April. Whenever Billy and I used to talk about it, he used to shake his head and say, “I wish that blizzard had been in January.”

BR: After Charlie moved to Florida, the next big thing was Mort Weisinger’s retirement?

TS: Mort was always threatening to retire. I think he started doing it around 1960, about the time Bill took over as managing editor from Shelly Mayer. Mort would go in to a meeting with Charlie and Billy and say, “I’m tired of doing this. I want to retire and write some TV shows and screenplays, maybe a novel.” Didn’t matter that Mort no longer had any connections in Hollywood. He would name people he’d met while he was out there in the early days of the Green Lantern TV show in the ’50s and that would be enough. Or he’d just lie and say he’d gotten an offer from Sam Goldwyn!

And every time he did it, he pushed Charlie into panic mode. How could Mort dream of giving up Green Lantern? Surely more money would entice him to stay. And, of course, it would. And that was how Mort kept getting big raises every year. Julie used to say that when Mort died, his gravestone would read, “Here lies Mort Weisinger… as usual.”

BR: [laughs] I’ve heard Julie say that.

TS: So it’s December ’69 or maybe early 1970 and Mort sits down with Billy for yet another round of “I’m going to retire,” but this is the first time he’s doing it with Billy alone. Well, sales on the Lantern books were down a bit, though they were still the best-selling in the company. Mort took great delight, by the way, in pointing out how the Lantern books started outselling Julie’s books again once the Flash TV show went off the air in ’68.

Anyway, maybe Billy was tired of the ploy or maybe Mort really did want to retire. Or it may just have been that Billy did not like Mort from the time Mort tried to co-opt the horror comics idea back in ’49. In any case, when they came out of that meeting it was announced that Mort would be leaving the company at the end of his current contract.

All of a sudden, there’s chaos among the editors. What is going to happen to all the Green Lantern books without Weisinger to guide them?

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68

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Introduction

Dr. Laurette Bender: Comics’ Anti-Wertham Part 1

by Michael T. Gilbert

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umerous articles have been written about Dr. Fredric Wertham, the comic industry’s most notorious critic. His 1954 bestselling book Seduction of the Innocent promoted the idea that mass media, and comic books in particular, were harmful to children’s mental health. The ensuing furor led to a Congressional inquiry into the comic book industry and to the creation of the Comics Code later that same year.

Comics fans know far less about Dr. Lauretta Bender, though her career parallels Wertham’s in many ways.

Both were highly respected in their fields. Wertham was senior psychiatrist for the New York City Department of Hospitals from 1932 to 1952, as well as director of the mental hygiene clinics at Bellevue Hospital and Queens Hospital Center, and was in charge of the Court of General Sessions Psychiatric Clinic. He also fought racial inequities in the mental health care system and was instrumental in opening the Lafargue Psychiatric Clinic in Harlem, one of the few institutions dedicated to serving the African-American community.

Bender practiced child neuropsychiatry at New York’s Bellevue Hospital from 1930 to 1956 and was an early advocate of the oftencontroversial electroshock therapy. But she’s best known for creating the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test (a.k.a. the Bender-Gestalt Test), which has been used for decades by school and clinical psychologists to measure motor skills and development and neurological intactness. It still ranks among the top five tests for diagnosing emotional problems. Dr. Bender was also particularly proud of the work she did on Childhood Schizophrenia.

Wertham was greatly influenced by Sigmund Freud, who was a contemporary of Bender’s first husband, Paul Schilder, a Viennese

Lauretta Bender, 1953. [Photo ©2009 Peter Schilder.]

psychoanalyst. The Benders married in November 1936. According to their son Peter, Dr. Schilder was “the typical absent-minded professor” who made the mistake of crossing a busy street while engrossed in a book. He died in 1940, shortly after the birth of their third child. But Lauretta Bender carried on as a single parent, raising three children (Michael, Peter, and Jane) while continuing her career.

Both Dr. Bender and Dr. Wertham were experts in the field of child psychology. Both practiced at the same hospital and genuinely cared about children.

There the similarities end.

If Wertham was comics’ harshest critic, Bender was one of its greatest champions. She actually defended comics during the infamous 1954 Congressional Hearings, and often advocated using comics as a healing tool for children. Dr. Bender also headed DC Comics‘ Editorial Advisory Board, a job she took very seriously. Her byline doesn’t appear in any comics before July 1944, though The Who’s Who of American Comic Books states that she held that position from 1942-1954. Her stamp of approval was seen in thousands of DC comics in the ‘40s and ’50s.

While Seduction of the Innocent has largely been discredited, Bender’s work holds up surprisingly well almost 70 years later. The following article was originally published in The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, XI (July 1941), and had been presented in a paper a year earlier before the National American Neuropsychiatric Association. It was written with Reginald S. Lourie, a renowned child psychiatrist and pediatrician, and is reprinted with the permission of Dr. Peter Schilder, Lauretta Bender’s son. Our thanks to Dr. Schilder, The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, and my wife Janet, who originally brought the article to my attention. We’re reprinting the piece in its entirety, keeping the original archaic spellings. We have added art where appropriate to illustrate a point.

This is a fascinating article, one of the first to defend the popular new art form. You’ll find references to the contemporary super-heroes of the time, including Hour-Man, Hawkman, and The Justice Society. But be warned, there are also graphic case histories of abused children who used comic books to help them heal.

Dr. Fredric Wertham, reading the first issue of EC’s Shock Illustrated (Oct. 1955).

Dr. Laurette Bender: Comics’ Anti-Wertham—Part 1

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The Effect of Comic Books on the Ideology of Children* *Presented at the 1941 meeting. From the Psychiatric Division of Bellevue Hospital, the New York University Medical School and the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Hospital

by Lauretta Bender, M.D., and Reginald S. Lourie, M.D In the last four or five years, the comic book, a new medium aimed at the pre-adolescent child, has made an appearance on the American scene and taken its place alongside the movies and radio in children’s interest.

Ten to twelve million copies of about 100 different “funny” books are sold each month and the secondary circulation is even greater and includes many adults. This relatively uncensored visualized form of literature deals chiefly with adventure and mystery (spies, detectives, fifth columnists, superhuman feats, the supernatural, the pseudo-scientific, the horrible, and the gruesome). There is occasionally a conscious propaganda effort and in general a swing with sociological trends.

Our present study was undertaken not only because of a growing concern on the part of parents and educators as to the role these books should be allowed to play in the child’s daily life, but also because of what seemed on the surface to be direct repercussions in the symptomatology of some of our patients following the reading of this new form of “literature.”

Most early comics, such as Dell’s Popular Comics #3 (April 1936), reprinted newspaper strips. Those that didn’t printed new features that were designed to look like newspaper strips. [©2009 Western Publishing or its successors in interest; characters TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Tracing back the origin of comics it was found that they were started in Germany about 1880 as newspaper circulation boosters and at that time were entirely in pantomime. Probably the origins could be traced even further back to the caricature employed in puppetry which was popular through Europe in this period. From 1887, when comics were brought to this country, until the middle of the First World War, the emphasis was on straight humor, but in 1915 adventure strips were started and caught the public’s imagination. Up to this point the comics did not particularly cater to children but, with a few changes, were read and enjoyed by most age groups.

Editor Vince Sullivan drew this eye-catching cover for More Fun Comics #22 (July 1937), published by DC’s predecessor, Nicholson Publishing Co. (a.k.a.

National Allied Publications). [©2009 DC Comics.]

Five years ago two of the syndicates, purely for financial reasons, started to put some of the complete adventure stories into magazine form, reprinting old plates, necessarily reducing their size, which made the early books difficult to read. These comic books caught on immediately and gradually increased in circulation until a peak of 12,000,000 copies per month was recently reported. When individual publishers sprang up in the field two years ago they introduced what has been called “adventure of an advanced nature” with material much more vivid and exciting than that formerly produced. Although most of the magazines at present use the same general themes, some try to avoid gruesomeness and horror as much as possible, while other do little more than take material from the more lurid pulp-magazines and movies, like Frankenstein, and put it into picture form. Some of the former try to “improve” the minds of their readers by using book reviews and educational articles, whose chief purpose seems to be to make logical their often fantastic stories, using

Comic Fandom Archive

76

The OAF 40th Anniversary Reunion Members Of The Oklahoma Alliance Of Fandom Celebrated Their Proud Heritage in 2007!

by Brett Weiss

INTRODUCTION: Bill Schelly, here, happy to step aside to make room for Brett’s account of a reunion every bit as momentous, in its own way, as the 1997 Fandom Reunion in Chicago. It’s easy to lavish attention on the New York comicons of the 1960s, or events in Detroit or Chicago, giving the impression that they were “where the action was” in those halcyon days. But fans in other regions of the US were just as enthusiastic, and just as active, whether they be in St. Louis, or Miami, or San Francisco—or, in this case, the Sooner State. Read on!

Back in 1966, a small group of fans based in Oklahoma City met in a two-car family garage to do a little comic book trading.

According to Brown, “Hundreds of comics traded hands that day,” and thus a fan club was born.

Since they knew most people would make fun of comic book fans anyway, the group indulged in a little self-deprecating humor by calling themselves “OAFs.” Prior to the formation of OAF, Brown didn’t know any other adults who collected comics.

Indeed, at that first swap meet, he was a 25-five-year-old surrounded by teenagers. Yet he found it reassuring to meet with others close to his age who shared his passion for the four-color adventures of Flash, Spider-Man, Superman, and other heroes. The reason for the formation of OAF, Brown explained, was simply to “get stuff.” He claimed they “were

A

ccording to Webster’s, an oaf is “a clumsy, stupid person.” Robert A. Brown, a founding member of OAF (the Oklahoma Alliance of Fandom), is neither clumsy nor stupid. In fact, he is something of a visionary.

Once An OAF… (Top left:) The venerable Robert A. Brown, an original OAF if ever there was one, is master of all he surveys!

(Center:) In the early days, OAF’s newsletter was printed by spirit duplicator, which had a homemade—if unsophisticated—appeal. The first issue was launched in March 1967, and the zine lasted an astonishing 63 issues! [Cover art ©2009 Larry Latham.]

(Top right:) OAF ringleader Bart Bush has a smile for everyone attending the OAF 40th Anniversary Reunion in Oklahoma City. The Prozac is working! For the record, the original OAFs were: Bart, Matt Curtis, Paul McSpadden, Robert A. Brown, Bruce Shults, Larry Latham, John Wooley, Lee Whittlesey, Jim Elsey, Charles Rice, Danny Hutton, Wilt Conine, Steve Fears, and David J. Smith.

The OAF 40th Anniversary Reunion

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Feeling Their OAFs Four clockwise covers: OAF Flashes #5 (Nov. 1973), from the early days: OAF #23 (March 1969), featuring Roger Hill’s EC-flavored cover—OAF #32 (Feb. 1970), with its Vaughn Bodé cover—and OAF #55 (Aug. 1996), in the decade when the zine returned in photo-offset digest-sized format. The first issue of the fanzine was launched in March 1967, and it lasted an astonishing 63 issues! [Cover art ©2009 its unidentified artist, Roger Hill, Estate of Vaughn Bodé, & the respective copyright holders, respectively.]

[Art by Robert Hack (roberthackstudios.com), colored by Walt Grogan; Shazam! hero TM & Š2009 DC Comics; Marvelman TM & Š2009 the respective copyright holders.]

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By [Art & logo ©2009 Marc Swayze; Captain Marvel © & TM 2009 DC Comics]

[FCA EDITOR’S 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, 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 revealed the letter he received during the ’40s from an upset mother of a young comic strip reader. In this installment, the artist discusses the urge he had to be in front of both drawing board and the typewriter. —P.C. Hamerlinck.]

I

t was a long continuous story told in picture panels, just as were the funnies, but there was nothing laughable about this one. It is difficult to recall ever knowing what Terry’s last name was … or who the Pirates were. The credit name on it is remembered as Milton Caniff. The feature is remembered as one of the most popular newspaper comic strips of the 1930s and ’40s: Terry and the Pirates.

The distinctive art style, judging from the number of imitators in and around the profession, must have been the ideal of many. What had peaked my attention, though, was not so much the

“Real People, Real Trouble” What had riveted Marc Swayze’s attention to artist Milton Caniff’s influential Terry and the Pirates comic strip was “not so much the art, as the writing … that seemingly endless story [of] real people … getting into … real trouble.” A Terry Sunday from Sept. 24, 1939; scan courtesy of Heritage Comic Auctions. [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

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Holy Macaroni! Marvelman Had His Own “Rock Of Eternity”!

A Secret Word Wasn’t The Only Thing MM Had In Common With Captain Marvel

by John G. Pierce

Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

I

n general, it could be said that, while the British Marvelman character was a direct imitation of Captain Marvel, the stories themselves were not exact duplicates of the World’s Mightiest Mortal’s Fawcett adventures. True, some covers were based on previously published Fawcett panels or covers. For instance, the cover to Marvelman #33 shows a scene obviously traced from that of page 5, panel 2, of “Captain Marvel Battles the World” in Captain Marvel Adventures #148 (Sept. 1953), later reprinted by DC Comics in the “Shazam!” Limited Collector’s Edition #C-35, May ’75). But, though the copying was blatant, it was done somewhat out of context, with no actual, organic connection to the original.

However, there was at least one “Marvelman” tale which did indeed take up, if not a Fawcett concept, then at least its name, and utilize it.

That story was the lead tale in Marvelman #305 (June 24, 1959), entitled “Marvelman and the Rock of Eternity.”

Before we examine that particular story, however, let’s do a quick overview of the original “Rock.” The Rock of Eternity first appeared in The Marvel Family #7 (Dec. 1946), in “The Marvel Family Reaches Eternity,” as the dwelling place of the spirit of the ancient wizard Shazam.

Various subsequent adventures would utilize it as a focal point—a place from which any spot in the Universe as well as virtually any year in time (past or future) could be accessed. “The Rock” was a creation of writer Otto Binder, who based the idea on reading he had done regarding the ostensible Big Bang—a theory held by some about the creation of the Universe. The Big Bang Theory necessitated that there be a center point to the Universe, to which Binder added the concept of the Rock as a powerful visual. While it never became quite the ubiquitous presence that, say, Superman’s Fortress of Solitude would become in his stories years later, nonetheless the Rock of Eternity was there to be utilized as needed. And incidentally, in that initial outing (which was reprinted in DC Special #21, May ’76), the Rock was also used to imprison Shazam’s former foes, the Three Evils. It was later carried over into the Marvel Family’s revival at DC and, in recent years, it has been blown apart and its fragments scattered, creating some problems with the dissemination of magic in the DCU. Returning our attention to the Marvelman “Rock” story, its splash panel quickly reveals that this isn’t exactly the same rock which the Marvel Family sometimes visited. Rather, this one, while looking somewhat similar to Shazam’s Rock, was not situated out in space, but rather on Earth—growing out of the Arizona desert, in fact. (Its appearance reminds me slightly of the rock formation seen in “The Marvel Family Battles the Sneaking Doom,” from Marvel Family #59, May, 1951—reprinted in Shazam! #16, Feb. ‘75.)

The opening inset panel informs readers that the story takes place in “the not-too-distant future” and begins with the crash and explosion of “one of the latest unmanned counter-gravity rockets.” The situation is serious enough that an off-panel voice issues an order to “Get

Owning Their Own Piece Of The Rock A “Marvelman” adventure which snatched yet another Captain Marvel concept—but used it quite differently. Splash page of the lead tale in Marvelman #305 (June 24, 1959): “Marvelman and the Rock of Eternity,” published by L. Miller in Great Britain. [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]

Marvelman!” Apparently it is known that he can be reached through the newspaper offices of The Daily Bugle, whose editor (no, not J. Jonah Jameson, but rather a fellow who is more favorably predisposed toward super-heroes than JJJ ever has been) calls in copy-boy Micky Moran to alert him that “Marvelman is wanted at the U. S. S. P. L.” Micky recalls, “It’s only three months since he got them out of trouble.”

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“When One Door Closes…”

How Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. Said “Cheerio!”

To Their British Chums—And Ushered In The Marvelmen

by P.C. Hamerlinck

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hen the time comes for parents to explain that immutable law of nature known as death to their young children, it can often be an arduous task. But UK publisher L. Miller & Son Ltd., London—the purveyor of “Captain Marvel” and “Captain Marvel Jr.” reprints from the US of A—simply avoided such unpleasant encounters by having their top-selling super-heroes themselves cheerfully bid the British boys and girls a fond farewell ... and soon the magic words “Shazam!” and “Captain Marvel!” became “Kimota!” and “Marvelman!”—without even a week’s break in publication.

Len Miller’s company watched its profits soar after securing the British license to reprint various Fawcett Publications’ comics material—resulting in their immensely popular, weekly-published, 32-page Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. comic books. However, a foreshadowing dark cloud of inevitable and substantial income loss loomed over the Western horizon when news of the untimely demise of Fawcett’s comic book line traveled over to the shores of Great Britain.

Miller’s Fawcett black-&-white reprint titles, varying in size and length (often accompanied with newly drawn covers and filler features, courtesy of artist Mick Anglo’s Gower Street Studio), included Bulletman, Captain Midnight, Captain Video, Don Winslow of the Navy, Fawcett Movie Comic, Fawcett’s Funny Animals, Gift Comics, Golden Arrow, Hopalong Cassidy, Lance O‘Casey, Lash Larue, Life Story, Master Comics, Nyoka the Jungle Girl, Rocky Lane, Slam Bang Comics, Spy Smasher, Tom Mix, Whiz Comics, Wow Comics, and many others. But it was Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. which had quickly become Miller & Sons’ topselling comic books after their initial, simultaneous releases on Aug. 19, 1953. The two titles flew off British newsstands during each of their 24issue runs—right up until their atomic-powered facelifts.

After learning about the death of Fawcett’s Mightiest Mortals—but unwilling to immediately surrender the proven money-making Marvel magic—Miller called upon the dependable services of Anglo to quickly create new super-heroes in a similar vein, to keep the devotees reading.

And Anglo delivered the goods, making the new characters just enough different from the two male Marvels to avoid potential legal attacks: Marvelman and Young Marvelman (the latter, temporarily known as Marvelman Jr., had been re-named Young Marvelman by the time of his first appearance; a younger Kid Marvelman would be added later and become part of the Marvelman Family.)

But how did L. Miller explain to its readers the sudden retirement of the beloved Captain Marvel and Marvel Jr. and persuade kids to inarguably accept the new Marvel-named heroes that were going to be filling their boots? It all transpired on the “Club Pages” of Miller’s Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr.—in both series’ issues #19—just two days before Christmas, 1953. It was on those pages that Miller—er, I mean, each hero—broke the big news to readers in a “personal” letter.

Here was Captain Marvel’s message to his faithful fans, from L. Miller’s Captain Marvel #19: Dear Boys and Girls, I can hardly wait to tell you of the most startling and astounding

L. Miller’s Gift To You Among British publisher Len Miller’s successful line of Captain Marvel/Fawcett B&W reprints was a 1952 rendition of Fawcett’s annual-sized Gift Comics, a compilation of various Fawcett comic features, with a Britproduced new cover on thick cardstock. Like its US counterpart, each issue contained returned comics bound together, with widely varying contents.

[Shazam! hero TM & ©2009 DC Comics; all others ©2009 their respective copyright holders.]

news I’ve ever had the good fortune to announce. Seeing as how this is Christmas week, it has come at a most fitting time.

Holy Moley! I can almost hear you saying, get on with it or we’ll never know what it’s all about. Sorry, chums, it’s just that I’m a bit excited—but here it is.

Boys and girls, it is my great pleasure to introduce Marvelman— what, another of the Marvel family—well, yes, in a way, for you see Marvelman is going to step right into my shoes. He is to follow the Marvel tradition of finding and fighting evil wherever it exists.

“When One Door Closes...”

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Now I guess you’re all wondering where I fit into this; please allow me to explain. For an awful long time I’ve been worrying about Billy Batson. Billy, as you know is a grand boy, and I feel he is not being given a break. In other words, a chance to grow up. I went along to old Shazam and told him my worries, and between us we’ve decided to give Billy the chance to settle down. In order that this might be achieved, I shall soon be returning my powers to old Shazam and changing into the character of Billy Batson for the last time. This will give this grand lad a chance to develop into the type of citizen that I know you’ll grow into.

Naturally we couldn’t leave the door of the world wide open for evil — hence Marvelman of whom I feel you’re just busting to know more.

What could be better than to ask him to say a few words to you. It’s all yours, Marvelman: “Well, this is great. I mean my being able to introduce myself even before my adventures are being read, and I sincerely trust that you will follow them as closely as you’ve followed Captain Marvel’s, especially as some of them take place right here in England. You can rely on me to fight evil wherever it exists. All for now, your new and true friend Marvelman.”

Thank you, Marvelman. I’m certain that the boys and girls will be just itching to read your first comic which will be appearing shortly.

“… Mind How You Go With the Pudding” Captain Marvel Jr.’s “personal letter” to his young British “chums” announcing his retirement. From the inside back cover “club page” of L. Miller’s Captain Marvel Jr. #19, Dec. 23, 1953. [Shazam! hero TM & ©2009 DC Comics.]

Well, that’s all for this week chums, except to say have a good Christmas and mind how you go with the pudding.

Your sincere pal, Captain Marvel Holy Moley, indeed! If Captain Marvel’s eyebrow-raising letter wasn’t enough for his young pudding-devouring “chums” across England to digest ... over on the Club Page of Captain Marvel Jr. #19 (Dec. 23, 1953), Miller ran the exact same letter (except replacing CM’s name with Captain Marvel Jr.’s, Billy Batson’s name with Freddy Freeman’s, and Marvelman’s name with Marvelman Jr.).

Christmas Surprise The cover for L. Miller’s Captain Marvel Jr. #19, Dec. 23, 1953 (artwork traced from Fawcett’s Captain Marvel Jr. #14 cover art by Mac Raboy). This issue—with the same issue date, number, and similarly worded and shocking club page announcement as L. Miller’s Captain Marvel #19, marked the beginning of the end for the Shazamic heroes in Britain.

[Shazam! hero TM & ©2009 DC Comics.]

The next four issues of both Miller’s Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. continue to hype the upcoming replacement heroes. Miller’s issues #24 (Jan. 24, 1954) of both Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. showed further signs of the impending hero switches; the title of the former had briefly become The Captain Marvel Man and The Marvelman, Captain Marvel—and the latter briefly became The Young Marvelman, Captain Marvel Jr. On the back covers of the issues were urgent reminder ads: “Don’t forget the Marvelman/Young Marvelman Adventures start NEXT WEEK — Order your copy NOW!” Both comic books, by issue #25 (Feb. 3, 1954) were now officially titled Marvelman and Young Marvelman.