Back Issue #35 Preview by TwoMorrows Publishing

VILL AINS! VILL AINS! AND MORE VILL AINS!

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HOBGOBLIN ! MAGNETO ! KOBRA ! LUTHOR AND BRAINIAC’S MAKEOVERS SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS ! THE JOKER ! MIKE VOSBURG INTERVIEW

Volume 1, Number 35 August 2009 Celebrating the Best Comics of the '70s, '80s, '90s, and Today!

The Retro Comics Experience!

EDITOR Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow DESIGNER Rich J. Fowlks COVER ARTIST Mike Zeck COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg

BACK SEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

SPECIAL THANKS Michael Aushenker Michael Bailey Mike Bair Cary Bates Ned Beatty Jerry Boyd Trent Caldwell KC Carlson Ernie Chan Gene Colan Gerry Conway Peter David Tom DeFalco J. M. DeMatteis Ric Estrada Funky Flashman Shane Foley Ramona Fradon Ron Frenz Dick Giordano Grand Comic-Book Database Glenn Greenberg Robert Greenberger Lawrence Guidry Jack C. Harris Heritage Comics Auctions Dan Johnson Rob Kelly Todd Klein David Anthony Kraft Joe Kulbiski

Paul Levitz Marvel Comics Brad Meltzer Metropolis, Illinois, Chamber of Commerce Ian Millsted Brian K. Morris Karla Ogle Dennis O’Neil Martin Pasko George Pérez Jerry Robinson Tone Rodriguez John Romita, Jr. Bob Rozakis Rose Rummel-Eury Paul Ryan Jim Shooter Anthony Snyder Bob Sprenger Joe Staton Roger Stern Tom Stewart Mike Vosburg John Wells Marv Wolfman Write Now Mike Zeck

PRO2PRO: In Our Sights: Kraven’s Last Hunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 J. M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck relive one of Spider-Man’s most chilling tales PRO2PRO ROUNDTABLE: When Hobby Met Spidey: A History of the Hobgoblin . . . .10 David, DeFalco, Frenz, Romita, Jr., Shooter, and Stern unmask the Spider-foe with the identity crisis CHECKLIST: Wanted, The World’s Most Dangerous Villains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 A quick look back at DC’s 1970s reprint series BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: Secret Society of Super-Villains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Antagonists Assembled! The story of DC’s trouble-making team INTERVIEW: From Vixens to Villains: Mike Vosburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Why he hated Secret Society of Super-Villains, and other tales told by the top talent FLASHBACK: The Joker’s Not So Wild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 The Clown Prince of Crime in his own magazine THE JOKER ART GALLERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Six sizzling pages of Joker art by Chan, Estrada, Giordano, Pérez, Rogers, Ryan, and more! BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: Magneto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 He’s bad, he’s good, he’s bad again—the history of the mutant Master of Magnetism BRING ON THE BAD GUYS PINUP: Big-Headed Bad Guy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 Genial Gene Colan’s awesome rendition of Captain America’s enemy, MODOK FLASHBACK: Kobra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 The Kirby creation that slithered into his own short-lived series INTERVIEW: Ned Beatty: Time Out with Otis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 The acclaimed actor discusses Superman’s not-so-arch foe in this exclusive interview FLASHBACK: What Not to Wear: The Luthor and Brainiac Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 The ’80s makeovers that time (and creators) won’t allow us to forget GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: The Secret History of All-American Comics, Inc. . .78 Book Two, Chapter Seven of Bob Rozakis’ fantasy comics history reveals a “Crisis on Fanboy Earth” BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85 Reader feedback on “Teen Heroes” issue #33 BACK ISSUE™ is published bimonthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor, 118 Edgewood Avenue NE, Concord, NC 28025. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Six-issue subscriptions: $40 Standard US, $54 First Class US, $66 Canada, $90 Surface International, $108 Airmail International. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Mike Zeck. Spider-Man and Kraven the Hunter TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2009 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing. BACK ISSUE is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING. Villains Issue

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PROOFREADERS John Morrow and Eric Nolen-Weathington

Dan Johnson

conducted March 18, 2009

Sometimes a comic-book character can exist for years—even decades—without making much of an impression on readers. Then, all of a sudden, the right writer and artist come along and find just the right approach to presenting a previously underestimated or underused character and make him a sensation. This was the case with Kraven the Hunter when J. M. (Marc) DeMatteis and Mike Zeck created “Kraven’s Last Hunt” (a.k.a. “Fearful Symmetry”), which ran through Web of Spider-Man #31–32, The Amazing Spider-Man #293–294, and The Spectacular Spider-Man #131–132 (Oct.–Nov. 1987). In this saga, readers witnessed Kraven’s descent into madness as his final battle against Spider-Man unfolds. At the end of the story, he takes his own life. Recently BACK ISSUE got DeMatteis and Zeck in its crosshairs and got the lowdown on Kraven the Hunter’s swansong. – Dan Johnson DAN JOHNSON: J. M., how did “Kraven’s Last Hunt” come about? J. M. DeMATTEIS: There is a long history to this story. I’d had this “back from the grave” story brewing in the back of my head for a while. About three years before Kraven, I had actually pitched Tom DeFalco an idea for a Wonder Man miniseries. I worked up something where Wonder Man gets killed, or so his brother, the Grim Reaper, thinks, but six months go by and Wonder Man comes up out of the grave and then they have their final confrontation. DeFalco, thank God, said no. He didn’t like it, and if I had done it then, the story would have been okay, but nothing special. Then I pitched the idea to Len Wein over at DC as a Batman story, which took it another step closer to what ultimately became the Kraven story. [In this version,] the Joker believes he has killed Batman, and while Batman is “dead,” the Joker’s mind snaps and he becomes sane. The Joker then lives out this normal life as a sane human being until the moment Batman comes back from the grave. I

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are Detail from the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #294, part 5 of “Kraven’s Last Hunt.” Art by Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod. (inset) Kraven’s first appearance in issue #15 (Aug. 1964). © 2009 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Beginnings:

First sale: “The Lady Killer Craves Blood!” in House of Mystery #282 (1980) First in print: “The Blood Boat” in Weird War Tales #70 (1978)

Milestones:

Moonshadow / Blood: A Tale / Greenberg the Vampire / “Kraven’s Last Hunt” Spider-Man arc / Justice League / Brooklyn Dreams / Abadazad / I Can’t Believe It’s Not the Justice League

Works in Progress:

The Life and Times of Savior 28 (IDW) / Metal Men (with Keith Giffen and Kevin Maguire) / Hero Squared: Love and Death (Boom! Studios) / editor-in-chief of Ardden Entertainment, publishers of the new Flash Gordon series /multiple episodes of the Cartoon Network’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold / Imaginalis, a young adult novel (2010, HarperCollins)

Cyberspace:

www.amazon.com/gp/blog/ A2WH67KVWUHJP9/ref=cm_pdp_blog_blog

j.m. dematteis

Beginnings: Illustrations for text stories appearing in Charlton Comics’ line of animated titles (1974)

Milestones: Master of Kung Fu / Captain America / Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars / Punisher: Circle of Blood limited series / Punisher: Return to Big Nothing graphic novel / “Kraven’s Last Hunt” Spider-Man arc / Legends of the Dark Knight / Damned / covers for numerous titles

Works in Progress: Many Style Guides and other licensee art for DC Comics’ licensing department / commissioned illustrations through website

Cyberspace: www.mikezeck.com

mike zeck 4 • BACK ISSUE • Villains Issue

did a whole backstory on the Joker and his new life as a normal person, but then Len told me, “We’re developing this new story called The Killing Joke with this English writer, Alan Moore, and [your two stories] are kind of similar. Since we already have Moore’s story in development, we can’t do your story.” (I eventually developed the Joker elements of that pitch into “Going Sane,” which ran in Legends of the Dark Knight in the mid-’90s.) A year goes by and Len leaves the staff and I pitched another variation of the idea to Denny O’Neil, who took over the editing of the Batman books. I took the Joker out and I used Hugo Strange. As I recall, the reason it got rejected then was that DC already had a Batman graphic novel for that year. This was probably in 1985 or 1986, and the whole graphic novel thing was so new then that DC was only doing one a year. So now I’ve been rejected three times by three of the best editors in the business, but this idea really would not let go. I really believe that stories have lives of their own and timing of their own. No matter how much I may try, the story is the one in control, and it’s going to come out when it is ready to come out and in the form it wants to come out. So, I popped the idea on the back burner. What happened next, and this was in late 1986, was Tom DeFalco, who was [editor-in-chief] Jim Shooter’s right-hand man, and Jim Owsley, who was the Spider-Man editor at the time, took me out to lunch and asked me if I wanted to write The Spectacular Spider-Man. That’s when I got the idea to do the back-from-the-grave concept with Spider-Man. To me, Peter Parker, is the richest and most multi-layered of the superhero characters out there. He is the most human and the most three-dimensional. The wedding [between Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson] was being planned, so by the time my story was going to see print, Peter would have been married and the idea of doing this story with a married Peter Parker just added a whole other level of emotional quality to the story. I had this Batman story with Hugo Strange, so I thought I would come up with my own version of Hugo Strange, my own crazed guy who is obsessed with Spider-Man. So I cooked up this new villain, and to this day I have no clue what I created. I didn’t save my notes and I don’t remember anything about this character. I developed the story, all the major beats, and pitched it to Owsley who totally loved it and said, “Let’s do it!” So we were all ready to go and it was about Spider-Man and this villain whose name I don’t even recall. JOHNSON: How did Kraven get involved? DeMATTEIS: As I was getting ready to work on the story, I was sitting in my office and looking through a Marvel Universe Handbook and came across the entry for Kraven the Hunter. To this day, I don’t know if this was something that was established in continuity, or if whoever was writing the Handbook entry made it up, but they mentioned that Kraven was Russian. For me, a total Dostoyevsky fanatic, the idea that Kraven was Russian and had the same tortured, Russian soul that the great Dostoyevsky characters had, unlocked this door in my head and suddenly I had a new understanding of this character. I thought about Kraven and the forces that had driven him to be who and what he was. This was a character I had never had any interest in whatsoever. I always thought he was one of the stupidest Spider-Man villains ever, but suddenly I had this whole new take on the character.

He exploded onto the scene in 1982, a mystery man who tantalized readers with his hidden true identity and a storyline that brought a level of excitement and energy to the world of Spider-Man that had not been seen in years. He quickly rose to prominence as one of the web-slinger’s most popular foes, and each subsequent appearance was met with great enthusiasm as more clues were dropped about who he really was. The mystery continued for several years, through a number of different writers and artists, until it was finally resolved in a story that would satisfy few and disappoint many. And to get there, much behind-the-scenes drama transpired, including personality clashes, interoffice politics, and even possible creative sabotage. His name is the Hobgoblin, and this is the story of his creation, development, downfall, and eventual rebirth, as told by the key figures responsible: Roger Stern, who co-created the Hobgoblin and wrote the initial stories; Tom DeFalco, originally Stern’s editor and then his successor as writer; Peter David, who was tasked with writing the issue in which the Hobgoblin’s identity was revealed; John Romita, Jr., the Hobgoblin’s other co-creator, who drew the original stories written by Stern; Ron Frenz, artist on the issues written by DeFalco and on the project that brought Stern back to the character; and Jim Shooter, Marvel’s editor-in-chief during the Hobgoblin’s first five years of existence. Editor James Owsley, now known as Christopher J. Priest, could not be reached for comment. However, his article, “Oswald: Why I Never Discuss Spider-Man,” posted on his website (www.digital-priest.com), discusses this subject matter in detail and provides his point of view. All comments from Owsley/Priest included herein were taken from that article and applied within context. – Glenn Greenberg

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Glenn Greenberg

Fearsome First Appearance (left) John Romita, Jr.’s initial costume designs for the Hobgoblin. All JR Jr. Hobgoblin character designs are courtesy of Glenn Greenberg. (below) Hobby’s premiere, in Amazing Spider-Man (ASM) #238 (Mar. 1983). Cover art by the Romitas (Jr., pencils, and Sr., inks). © 2009 Marvel Characters, Inc.

PART ONE: BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT!

In 1982, Roger Stern was in the midst of his run as writer of The Amazing Spider-Man, paired with penciler John Romita, Jr. Earlier, Stern had written issues of its sister title, Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man, where the first seeds for the Hobgoblin had been planted—though Stern didn’t realize it at the time. The creation of the Hobgoblin was actually a response to reader demands. ROGER STERN: There was a huge amount of fan mail from readers who wanted all of the classic villains back: Doctor Octopus, Kraven, etc. That was fine, but they had all appeared not that long before I started writing Spider-Man. I didn’t want readers to say, “Here they are yet again.” Most of the mail asked for the return of the Green Goblin, who at the time was dead. There had been other guys who wore the costume, but I called them “fake Goblins.” One was Harry Osborn, who wasn’t really the Green Goblin—he had a psychotic episode and thought he was the Green Goblin (Amazing Spider-Man #136–137, Sept.–Oct. 1974). And the other was Harry’s crazy psychiatrist, Bart Hamilton (Amazing #176–180, Jan.–May 1978). These two guys weren’t really the Green Goblin because neither of them was super-strong—how did they avoid horrible groin pulls while they were flying around Manhattan straddling a jet engine? Hamilton was dead, Norman was dead, Harry I liked— I didn’t want to put him through this crap again. He had grown into a really good friend for Peter. And I was not into bringing dead guys back and it never occurred to me to bring Norman back. I was more interested in bringing in some new characters, particularly a new, really strong villainous character. I decided to meet the fans halfway—I would come up with a new character who had stolen the Goblin’s equipment and part of his schtick, but he would be a very different character. The one thing that would be similar to the Green Goblin was that no one would know who he was. Unlike Norman, who was as crazy as a soup sandwich, this guy would be frighteningly sane. A megalomaniac, sure, but he knows exactly what he’s doing. He doesn’t do stupid things. He does coldly rational things, which makes him even scarier.

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TOM DeFALCO: Originally, when Roger proposed the idea of the Hobgoblin, I think it was supposed to be the thief who found all the stuff. Now, the way I remember it, I said to Roger, “Why don’t we keep it a mystery? The guy who finds the stuff, let him go to somebody else mysterious, and then we go from there.” I would love to take more credit, but the truth is, all the creativity came from Roger. STERN: I plotted that first story (Amazing #238, Mar. 1983) with no strong idea of who the Hobgoblin was. As I was scripting those gorgeous pages from JR (John Romita, Jr.), particularly the last third of the book, and developing the Hobgoblin’s speech pattern, I realized who he was. It was Roderick Kingsley, that sunuvabitch corporate leader I had introduced in my first issue of Spectacular (#43, June 1980). A high and mighty pain in the ass. Corporate leaders and Wingnut Republicans are my favorite villains. They write themselves! DeFALCO: At one point, I said to Roger, “Do you know who he is? Because it’s important for you to know that, so that you can build the mystery accordingly.” And Roger said he knew, and we decided to just keep it a complete secret, even from each other! We weren’t even sure that anyone would give a s**t when we started this thing! But I told Roger, “I’m going to keep a list of suspects and I’m going to cross off guys as their times come, and when it comes time to reveal, you’ll tell me who you think it is, and if I agree, that’s who it’ll be. And if I don’t agree— well, I’m the editor!”

STERN: Kingsley started out as this sort of effete guy in the fashion industry. I beefed him up and made him more of a corporate raider who had taken over a cosmetics company and I established that he had a lot of other corporate holdings. If things had gone on any longer, he probably would have bought a comic-book company. Imagine that—a guy in cosmetics getting into comics! JOHN ROMITA, JR.: First thing I did when I heard the name “Hobgoblin” was cringe. I didn’t care for the name, but I didn’t care for the Green Goblin, either. I thought both of their names were goofy! And when I first saw the Green Goblin, I thought he was too much like the Joker. But once you get used to it, you buy into the premise. And once we actually started working on the Hobgoblin stuff, I accepted it and bought into it. But I prefer the more realitybased, street-level type of supervillains. When things got too exotic and too weird, it bothered me. I didn’t like Mysterio. I disliked Venom severely. Doc Ock was okay, because there was a certain mechanical reality to him. I loved the Kingpin. For me, the best thing about the Spider-Man series was the amount of reality in it. If not for Roger Stern, the Hobgoblin stories probably wouldn’t have been good. Roger’s take on Spider-Man was consistent with Stan Lee’s and what I grew up on. STERN: JR came up with the costume. I don’t know who came up with the color scheme—all I said was, “Just no green or purple!” The only instruction I gave to JR was that maybe he make it a little more medieval-looking and make his face a little creepier. And he did! ROMITA, JR.: “Base it on the Green Goblin and knock yourself out!” That was the extent of the conversation. I just designed the costume and that was that— which is not saying a whole lot, since it’s based so much on the Green Goblin! I don’t remember who came up with the color scheme. Amazing #238 was inked by John Romita, Sr., and represented one of his earliest professional collaborations with his son. ROMITA, JR.: It was a thrill to be working with my father. I think it was a thrill for him to be working with his son. He made me look so good! In terms of the Hobgoblin, I was doing everything based on what my father and Ditko had done with the Green Goblin. STERN: I decided I was going to give the Hobgoblin the same powers as the Green Goblin. He was going to use the serum that gave Norman Osborn his super-strength (as revealed in Amazing #40, Sept. 1966), but he would do it under a controlled situation, unlike Norman. So the Hobgoblin wouldn’t go crazy. For some reason, the story in which the Hobgoblin gained his super-strength appeared not in Amazing but in Spectacular, which at that time was being written by Bill Mantlo. Stern consulted on the story, which ran in Spectacular #85 (Dec. 1983), but he objected to a line of dialogue that he feared would give readers the mistaken impression that taking the serum had driven the Hobgoblin just as insane as Norman Osborn had been.

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Robert Greenberger

Imagine, if you will, the mighty Justice League of America, trapped by a band of their most dangerous foes, and forced to endure a personality swap. What could have happened during those hours when the villains inhabited the bodies of the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes? That’s exactly what happened when the JLA fought the Secret Society of Super-Villains in three titanic issues of Justice League of America #166–168 back in 1979. While the heroes triumphed, it fueled the imagination of readers who imagined what happened between panels. One such fan became obsessed with the concept, imagining the villains unmasking the heroes and posing for photos, the ultimate in blackmail material. Such a moment became a pivotal revelation in 2004’s Identity Crisis, written by comics fan turned bestselling novelist Brad Meltzer. As Meltzer tells me via e-mail, “I’m so sad, I’ve been carrying that idea around since nearly the first moment I read it as a kid. Just made no sense to me. As for the title, it was the evil Justice League? How could that not be appealing?”

MOB MENTALITY

In 1975, Gerry Conway was hired as an editor at DC Comics and quickly created “Conway’s Corner,” where he mixed series revivals such as Blackhawk with new titles including Secret Society of Super-Villains (SSOSV) in early 1976. At this point, DC’s villains had teamed up in small groups, usually seen in Flash’s Rogues’ Gallery stories. No real lasting group of evildoers had been around since the Injustice Society back during the 1940s. The first example of individual foes of a superhero uniting as a group took place in America’s Greatest Comics #1 (Mar. 1941) when six of Mister Scarlet’s old enemies teamed up with a seventh newcomer as the Death Battalion. In the Silver Age, editor Julie Schwartz

A Bunch of Baddies Detail from the cover to DC Special Series #6 (Nov. 1977), headlining the stars of this article, the sinister Secret Society. Art by Rich Buckler and Jack Abel. TM & © 2009 DC Comics.

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Rejected Reprobates Two pages from the Carmine Infantinorejected first issue of Secret Society of Super-Villains; note that Clayface was intended to be a member. From Amazing World of DC Comics #11. TM & © 2009 DC Comics.

and writer Gardner Fox gathered foes of the JLA members into periodic one-shot teams (including Justice League of America #5, 14, 28, 35, 61), mostly unnamed groups save for the Crime Champions (#21–22). Archie Comics brought together the many adversaries of Thomas Troy’s alter ego as the Anti-Fly Gang in 1962’s Adventures of the Fly #21–23. Barry Allen’s foes were first declared “Flash’s Rogues’ Gallery” in 1964’s 80-Page Giant #4 but didn’t join forces in a story proper until 1965’s Flash #155. While not featuring an entire conglomeration of bad guys, Marvel’s Super-Villain Team-Up, launched in 1975, was a counterpart of sorts to DC’s SSOSV. “Well, it was DC (specifically, Julie Schwartz) that introduced the concept of a supervillain Rogues’ Gallery,” Gerry Conway says. “Obviously, this was lifted from Dick Tracy, but having costumed villains with a shared goal—even if it was simply the destruction of their common enemy—seems to be something that was unique to DC. Marvel’s villains rarely teamed up in groups larger than two (at least, back in the ’60s and early ’70s), but DC seemed to do a number of stories where groups of villains—usually Batman villains— ganged up to plot their revenge. This may or may not have been true, but it was an impression I had at the time, and creating a team of supervillains that existed as a kind of ‘evil’ Justice League struck me as a fun idea.”

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Selecting the villains to use proved more challenging as each editor was somewhat protective of their bigger-named opponents. As a result, Conway sifted through the DC print library for inspiration while thumbing through the recent releases to see who might form such a team. He also needed a leader, and with the obvious choices such as Lex Luthor initially off the table, he looked to the heavens and used Darkseid. By that time, Jack Kirby’s initial cycle of Fourth World stories had ended and no one was using the New Gods, so Darkseid was available and a solid choice. As a result, readers saw the initial team composed of Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang, Captain Cold, and Gorilla Grodd from Flash; Shadow Thief from Hawkman; and Sinestro from Green Lantern. They were joined, cleverly, by one of the not-dead-yet Manhunter clones along with Copperhead, who had appeared only once before in The Brave and the Bold #78, and by a brand-new and mysterious woman using the Star Sapphire persona. “I don’t really recall the exact rationale,” Conway admits, “but my guess is, I used the villains that other editors let me use. I think I also approached it from an aesthetic point of view—which villains would look good together, which seemed to ‘fit’ in a group, and so on. These were villains who weren’t particularly active in their host titles.”

Working for DC and Marvel, two things stuck with penciler/inker Mike Vosburg: his reputation for drawing superheroines … and Vince Colletta. The artist’s organic career has taken him from drawing myriad female superheroes for the Big Two, to his independently published Lori Lovecraft, and storyboarding Hollywood blockbusters. His latest portfolio, Heroine Addiction (available through his website: www.vozart.com) bursts with all of the superwomen he’s done … and the ones that got away. Needless to say, there’s more to the mighty Mike than superheroines. Vosburg illustrated such titles as DC’s Blackhawk Special and Justice League Quarterly, Tales of Evil featuring Man-Monster #3 for the ill-fated Atlas Comics, and books in Marvel’s creator-owned Epic line. And, of course, in the spirit of this issue’s theme, there is the infamous Secret Society of Super-Villains, a series that drove Mike to the brink. The following interview was conducted at Vosburg’s Tujunga, California, home, where he resides with wife Annie. On a sunny Southern California afternoon, the two Mikes––Vosburg and Aushenker––sat down inside the former’s studio and discussed his career over Diet Cokes after Vosburg gave a tour of his house, adorned with original art by his heroes: Robert McGinnis, Bob Fawcett, Bob Peak, Leonard Starr, and Alex Toth. Modest and matter-of-fact, Vosburg spoke his mind on working for DC and Marvel during comics’ Bronze Age, how his career got interesting and lucrative after he left comics, and what he really thinks of that ding-dang Secret Society of Super-Villains. Candor is a Vosburg hallmark––this is, after all, the man who once dramatically exited a Comic Art Professional Society gathering in the early 2000s by picking up his portfolio case mid-meeting, declaring to a packed room of cartoonists and animators that “Comics are dead,” and walking out. – Michael Aushenker MICHAEL AUSHENKER: Let’s start with your upbringing… MIKE VOSBURG: I was raised in the Midwest in Pontiac, Michigan. I didn’t have a TV when I grew up. Comics were my form of entertainment, with movies. You had mystery comics, Western comics, superhero comics, funny animal comics, hillbilly comics. AUSHENKER: And comic strips? VOSBURG: We’d get the Sunday paper, so I’d see the kind of standards you see over the years. AUSHENKER: What fired your imagination? VOSBURG: I loved the Prince Valiant stuff. The first strip that excited me was something called Tim Tyler’s Luck. It was an adventure strip. As I got older, my favorite thing was On Stage. My two big influences were Leonard Starr and Joe Kubert. At the time, I thought they were both very different artists, but I look at them now and the only difference is that Joe’s line is a little rougher. AUSHENKER: Which Kubert work? VOSBURG: Hawkman made me really want to draw comics. When I was five years old, I remember getting

Live and Let Fly The many women of Mike Vosburg, who poses à lá Roger Moore from the poster drawn by one of his all-time favorite illustrators, Robert McGinnis. Of course, Vosburg’s favorite woman is his wife, Annie. Photo by Michael Aushenker. Characters © their respective owners.

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Michael Aushenker conducted on March 2, 2008

this comic about a caveman with a giant squid and a giant albino caveman. It scared the sh*t out of me and I went, “Whoop!” I couldn’t even read it. AUSHENKER: When I interviewed John Romita, Sr., he was amazed and frustrated that Kubert was only two years older than him. VOSBURG: When I got into fandom, I learned that Kubert started at 14. I used to send him letters. AUSHENKER: So did comics become an escape from Detroit? VOSBURG: What I learned at Pontiac is that you worked in the auto industry. You worked on the line and if you were smart, you worked in the office. I went to college in a little school called Oakland University. The college I went to was closer to home than the high school I went to. It was in Rochester. College was about two miles away and Catholic school was five miles away. The weather was always cold but the other thing about growing up in that environment was I was going to be the oddball. AUSHENKER: The oddball of your family? VOSBURG: In my family, in general. Moving to L.A., I’m still an oddball, but everyone out here is an oddball so you fit right in. AUSHENKER: Did you always want to be a comicbook artist? VOSBURG: The idea of being a comic-book artist, it was fantasy. Growing up with the idea you would be a cartoonist had as much reality as becoming a movie star. What really brought it home to me was that, in Detroit, there was a huge group of comics fans including Starlin, Milgrom, Rich Buckler, Terry Austin, Mike Nasser. Jim [Starlin] was a guy I knew since I was a teenager. Jim and Al [Milgrom] were best buddies. I was teaching school when I saw that Jim got a job working in comics; it made it real for me. If you wanted to pursue that, you could. In my youthful ignorance, I went full steam ahead. I was headed anywhere but the US Army. AUSHENKER: What did your parents do? VOSBURG: My dad was a janitor. I’m a big anti-talent person. People say, “Oh, you’re lucky to have talent!” The only talent I had was that my parents encouraged me. He’d never worked for the auto industry. As a janitor, [Dad] liked the autonomy. There were too many [auto industry] strikes. AUSHENKER: How supportive were your parents of your artistic direction? VOSBURG: They thought it was great. Jim started working, then about a year later, Al was working and I’d go to New York and stay at their place. AUSHENKER: A big crash pad? VOSBURG: Yeah, there were two or three of them along the way. Mike Friedrich was there, Bill DuBay, Steve Skeates. I had whatever couch was available. I’d go to New York for three or four days a week and make the rounds. The first house was in Staten Island. Later, Allen had an apartment in Queens with [Walt] Simonson and then [Bernie] Wrightson and [Howard] Chaykin were in the same building. We were all a group, so anyone who was doing stuff, you showed them your work. You’d wind up doing a little bit of stuff, a figure here or there. Oddly enough, I never got work from anyone I knew from fandom. I got work from Gold Key from someone who obviously had no idea what he was doing because he hired me. I showed him my portfolio and he thought I was a nice young man. I did some work in underground comics before that. I came fresh from teaching school at St. Michael’s to doing work for Bizarre Sex for Denis Kitchen. It took me about six months to a year after I left

Beginnings: First published work: Denis Kitchen’s Bizarre Sex (early 1970s) First mainstream work: Twilight Zone and Boris Karloff Presents (Gold Key/Western Publishing, 1974)

Milestones: House of Mystery / Tales of Evil featuring Man-Monster / Starfire / The Mighty Isis / Secret Society of Super-Villains / Savage She-Hulk / Ms. Marvel / Team America / Sisterhood of Steel / Offcastes / G.I. Joe (comic book and animated series) / animation storyboards for Jem, Bionic Six, and others / Bloodshot / Archer and Armstrong / Tales from the Crypt (HBO TV series) / storyboards for many films including the Narnia movies / music video storyboards

Work in Progress: The graphic novel Retrowood

Cyberspace: www.vozart.com

mike vosburg Funny, She Doesn’t Look Like a Teen Titan… DC’s first Starfire was the Russian superhero (later called Red Star) who was first seen in 1968’s Teen Titans #18. Before the golden-skinned current holder of the name debuted in 1980, DC’s second character to be named Starfire was this sword-wielding beauty. Cover art to Starfire #3 (Dec. 1976–Jan. 1977) by Mike Vosburg and Vinnie Colletta. TM & © 2009 DC Comics.

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I’ve said before in these little excursions into obscure DC history that the late ’60s to mid-’70s was a time of great experiment, change, and a tryit-and-see-if-it-works mentality. Editorial director, later publisher, Carmine Infantino was looking around for something that would garner attention on the stands, now thick with Marvel titles (Marvel pumped out a ton of reprint books trying to shove the Distinguished Competition off the racks). For the next several years he would try reprints, revivals of older characters, new characters, spinning off backups and secondary characters into their own titles, and licensing Tarzan and other Edgar Rice Burroughs characters in an effort to play catch up, all the time assured of the superiority of the DC brand. The books now, more than ever, new and old, would live and die by the numbers. Running down that numbers list, it couldn’t escape notice that one of DC’s most consistent-selling characters, one created in 1940 and guest-starring (special guest-starring?) in several titles, books, movies, and a prominent role in one of the most popular TV series of the ’60s, never had his own series. The Joker, kicking around for over 30 years, bearing the scars of many jailbreaks and Batarangs, never had a place to call his own (the Ha-Hacienda doesn’t count). The numbers told the story: Batman would have a spike in his titles when the Joker appeared. Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ recent revival of the original Joker, the insane homicidal clown with a need for crime and for taunting Batman, in “The Joker’s FiveWay Revenge” in Batman #251 (Sept. 1973) brought new life to the character, and new interest from the fans. As O’Neil says, “It works, it continues to work!” The Joker’s team-up with Batman in The Brave and the Bold #111 (Feb.–Mar. 1974) was one of the best-selling issues the title had up till then. Psycho killer be damned! Here was a character just crying out for his own title, and Infantino, editor Julie Schwartz, and writer O’Neil would give it to him!

Rip Off (Poster) Artist The Clown Prince of Crime mocks his pernicious peers on the Dick Giordano-illustrated cover to The Joker #1 (May 1975). (inset) The popular Batman/Joker team-up from Brave and the Bold #111. Cover art by Jim Aparo. TM & © 2009 DC Comics.

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Tom “The Comics Sava nt” Stewart

“I COULD SENSE THE PROBLEMS…”

Denny stopped by the DC offices on his usual day, dropping off work and looking to talk to any editor who might want to talk to him. “It would sometime be Murray Boltinoff, or one of the others, but it’d usually be Julie,” O’Neil says. By the early ’70s, Denny had established himself as the closest thing DC had to a prestige writer, heading (along with artist Neal Adams) the revamping of Batman, the award-winning Green Lantern/Green Arrow, and the effort to update Superman (Denny never felt comfortable on Superman), all for editor Julie Schwartz. He was becoming Julie’s guy to start, or re-start, things, including the Joker. “We’d been successful with a few projects [that] had garnered some attention,” O’Neil says. “Well, back in those days when hippies walked the earth and the mountains bubbled, there were no set writers, there were no contracts, it was a very informal arrangement. It was about being reliable. ‘It may not be good, but you’ll have it on Thursday.’” So, how did the Joker get his own series? Denny? “Ha! I have no idea! I stopped by Julie’s office, and he said, ‘We’re going to do a Joker book.’ I know that alarms went off, I could sense the problems that such a thing would entail … but it was a job. I didn’t see myself as a Batman writer. Julie kept giving me assignments and they were usually about Batman.” And Denny’s thoughts on the character? “He was and is the great trickster figure in all of pop culture, maybe in all of storytelling. But in order for the Joker to work, in my opinion, he can’t be a nice guy, he can’t be amusing like a clown. There has to be a real element of danger. He might turn on you in a second. He is the antithesis of the Sherlockian detective. He represents totally irrationality.” Which is why giving him his own series was something of a minefield. The last time a villain had his own series was the ’50s, with the Jack Kirby/Joe Maneely/John Severin Marvel series Yellow Claw. It ran from Oct. 1956 through Apr. 1957, a short four-issue run. And that was with Kirby!

LIVE BY THE CODE

At this point, even though it had been weakened, the Comics Code Authority (CCA) was still around, and publishers still felt the need to have that “Approved by the Comics Code Authority” stamp in ever-shrinking prominence on their covers. Rules had been loosened (Drugs! Zombies! The word “Weird” appearing again on covers!), but no one was really sure how loose they had become. Here’s Denny O’Neil: “Comics were supposed to be totally unobjectionable to everyone on the planet,” aimed squarely at the eight-year-old boy with a quarter burning a hole in his pocket. “The reason we could push the envelope as much as we did was because nobody knew what worked. When that’s the situation, they’re a lot more open to experimentation. My first impression of [DC in the mid-’60s] was that it was a bunch of colorless guys who didn’t enjoy themselves much. Julie was heads above the crowd, but I don’t think he knew it. “Nobody knew what worked,” O’Neil says. Not only were comics changing, but the audience for them was as well. Comics were being read by an older, and more vocal, crowd. The distribution system that had served comics for over 30 years was breaking down,

What a Cut-Up!

forcing publishers to find new ways of getting their books to that new audience. Publishers were feeling their ways in new territory where the old rules weren’t working and nobody knew what the new ones were. So, what of the Comics Code? “Well, that was one of the alarms that went off in my head,” Denny reveals. “If you adhere to the letter of the letter of the Code, the bad guy has to be caught at the end of the story; there has to be a strong suggestion that justice will be served. We have a continuing character that, by his very nature, is a criminal. He’s not the Joker if he’s Simon Templar the Saint, or Boston Blackie, guys who are ‘bad’ but are actually Robin Hoods. He’s the Joker—he’s got to be a vicious, unpredictable criminal. Okay, now fit that into the Comics Code as it was back then. I don’t think whoever made the decision to give him his own series realized that it was a huge problem. Maybe they were thinking about the Joker of the ’50s, the rottenest thing he did was maybe try to figure out someone’s secret identity.”

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Ian Millsted

A character with enough charisma and empathy to open a successful X-Men movie franchise before being developed for his own solo movie, Magneto was not always as interesting a character. The 1980s have become notorious in the comics industry for introducing superheroes to leather accessories, lethal weaponry, and a more ruthless manner as the good guys became grittier in an effort to seem more interesting and mature. As the superhero concept approached the bloody excesses of the early 1990s, Magneto began an opposing flirtation with the side of the angels after years as the X-Men’s primary nemesis. These years revealed the psychological underpinnings of Magneto and created a more complex, sympathetic character.

EARLY ATTRACTIONS

Introduced in X-Men #1 (Sept. 1963), Magneto was a powerful mutant able to control magnetic fields who wanted to ensure mutants’ survival by placing them in control over the rest of humanity. This brought him into conflict both physically and philosophically with Professor X and the X-Men’s dream of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants. This dynamic would later often be compared to the Martin Luther King, Jr. vs. Malcolm X schools of philosophies regarding civil rights, but was not as politically allegorical as stories from later decades. A fairly one-dimensional villain in the Dr. Doom megalomaniacal manner who lacked either an origin or true identity, Magneto would soon appear as a threat in other Marvel titles, and it was in one such appearance that Magneto’s long road to redemption would begin.

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A Mutant’s Mission Although it predates BACK ISSUE’s ’70s/’80s purview, we couldn’t resist running this pulsepounding page from X-Men #1, where readers learn—for the first time— of Magneto’s goals. Art by Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman. Scan courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions. © 2009 Marvel Characters, Inc.

During X-Men’s publishing hiatus (the title was canceled due to low sales even as figures later came in to show that Roy Thomas and Neal Adams’ classic run on the series in the late 1960s had created a new spike in sales), the Len Wein/Sal Buscema-produced Defenders #15–16 (Oct.–Nov. 1974) saw Magneto using rediscovered ancient technology to create Mutant Alpha, the ultimate mutant who was intended to help him claim dominion over the Earth. Alpha would instead become Magneto’s betrayer, reducing him to an infant so that he could start his life anew with another chance to make choices for good. The following year saw the team of mutant heroes regain their (initially bimonthly) title with a new lineup, and it wasn’t long before writer Chris Claremont and penciler Dave Cockrum introduced them to the master of magnetism in X-Men #104 (Apr. 1977). When the new roster of X-Men visited the Muir Isle in Scotland to check the safety of its custodian Jamie Maddrox, they were ambushed by Magneto. It was revealed that he had been staying at the island under the

supervision of Moira MacTaggert, a scientist friend of the X-Men who was also researching mutants. An agent of the alien Sh’iar race called Eric the Red wanted to create a diversion for the team and attacked Muir Island solely to restore Magneto to adulthood, but in a younger, more powerful body than before his alteration by Mutant Alpha. Easily winning the upper hand until a showdown with Cyclops, Magneto left the island while his adversary chose to tend to his fallen teammates in order to rush back to New York to save Professor X from Eric the Red rather than defeat Magneto. Magneto returned at the climax of X-Men #111 (June 1978), whisking the titular team away to his lair beneath a volcanic chamber in Antarctica to seek revenge for his confinement at Muir Isle as a child by imprisoning the X-Men within chairs that neutralized their powers and physical abilities to that of six-year-olds, their every need tended to by a robotic nanny. The team inevitably escapes for another showdown with Magneto, but when his lair nears destruction from the lava above, he flees and is not seen again until a brief but important appearance in X-Men #125 (Sept. 1979). A short circuit in Magneto’s computer banks projected the image of his late wife Magda, making him muse, “How deeply it hurt when you ran away from me. But that was long ago.” As well as the first hint of a more sympathetic Magneto, this issue also suggested to astute readers (who may have picked up on their physical similarities or read details from a concurrent issue of The Avengers) that Magneto and Magda were the true parents of Pietro and Wanda, a.k.a. Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, former members of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants who had reformed and joined the Avengers. [Editor’s note: See BI #29 for more information regarding this revelation.]

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

The classic “Days of Future Past” storyline in (the now officially renamed Uncanny) X-Men #141–142 (Jan.–Feb. 1981) portrayed a dark future where the few surviving mutants are kept in concentration camps and are forced to wear power-inhibiting collars. An aged Magneto is wheelchair-bound (thus echoing Professor X) but an accepted member of the small team of former X-Men. The positive change in the character’s attitude was the only positive note in a bleak apocalyptic future, but the turning point in Magneto’s path to reformation resulted during a subplot building from Uncanny X-Men #145 (May 1980). Following the death of Phoenix, her lover (and team leader) Cyclops quit the X-Men to grieve, eventually joining the crew of the Arcadia, a fishing vessel captained by the beautiful Aleytys (usually called “Lee”—probably as her name was spelled differently nearly every issue!) Forrester. Hit by a storm at sea, Cyclops and Lee washed up on a remote island within the Bermuda Triangle. With Cyclops’ dangerous optic powers now revealed to his new friend and held back only by bandages that kept his eyes closed, things looked bleak until a mysterious island appeared a mile from shore. Exploring the ancient alien city on this new island, Cyclops is alarmed to discover it is the current base of operations for Magneto. Fearing for his life should Magneto discover his true identity, Cyclops is given freedom to roam the city while struggling to find a way to escape with Lee when Magneto reveals that he knows who Cyclops really is and that he is

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Rob Kelly

KOBRA! When you see that name, who do you think of? Well, you probably think of that organization of vaguely competent bad guys led by Destro, but that’s not the Kobra we’re talking about—in this case, we’re talking about Kobra (also known—mostly to himself—as King Kobra), the DC Comics madman bent on world domination, who debuted in his very own title, Kobra, the first issue of which hit the newsstands in November 1975. Kobra is in many ways your archetypal supervillain: He wants to take over the world, talks about himself in the third person, and murders his own henchmen over their slightest mistakes. That last trait sounds a lot like a certain Clown Prince of Crime, doesn’t it? The similarities don’t end there: One of the reasons Kobra has always stuck with me as a character is because he was a villain who had his own comic book—something you see fairly regularly nowadays, but was almost unheard of in the 1970s. And while the Joker did earn his own book earlier in 1975, he was then (and arguably still is) the most famous comic-book bad guy of all time. Kobra, on the other hand, was a completely unknown entity, yet DC’s then-head honcho Carmine Infantino let Kobra slither past 1st Issue Special tryout stars like Dr. Fate, Lady Cop, and the Dingbats of Danger Street directly into a solo title. Maybe that’s because Kobra was the creation of the legendary Jack “King” Kirby, who wrote and penciled the first issue’s story, “Fangs of the Kobra!” The first story was done (according to the man who would assume the writing of the book, Martin Pasko— more about him in a moment) as a prototype issue, more a proposal for the series rather than an actual first issue. It concerned two men—King Kobra and Jason Burr, twin brothers separated at birth but who retained a psychic connection to one another. The proposed series (originally to be titled King Kobra) sat in DC’s inventory for over a year. In the meantime, Kirby had left DC to return to Marvel. Eventually DC editor Gerry Conway handed the material over to Pasko, who was told, “Do something with this.” Pasko read the book and was not impressed, thinking it was little more than a “toss-off” by Kirby, who at the time had one foot out the door at DC (Kirby told Pasko as much a few years later). Pasko had new stats made of the art, with all the dialogue whited out so he could rewrite the story as much as possible. Necessary art changes were then made by Pablo Marcos. Pasko retained the Corsican Brothers angle, developing a new backstory and details about the cobra cult from his own research on India. Pasko’s thinking was that if Infantino gave him and editor Conway the marching orders to do a regular book, “We wanted to be able to live with it.”

If Looks Could Kill Jason Burr reflects upon his fate on the cover of Kobra #2 (Apr.–May 1976). Original cover artwork by Ernie Chua, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © 2009 DC Comics.

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Servitor Strikes Notice artist Pablo Marcos’ facial redrawings in panels 1 and 2 of this this bombastic Jack Kirbypenciled page from Kobra #1, otherwise inked by D. Bruce Berry. As evidenced by the artboard’s top line, Kirby had intended for this series to be titled “King Kobra.” TM & © 2009 DC Comics.

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Michael Eury

conducted on June 14, 2008 Morris and transcribed by Brian “Red K”

One of my most enjoyable experiences in recent memory was being a guest writer at the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Illinois, in mid-June 2008, thanks to the book I wrote (with the help of guest contributors) and edited, The Krypton Companion. On the Saturday afternoon of the threeday weekend event, while I was chatting away with super friends new and old, my wife Rose nudged me with news she had just received: “Get to the Chamber— now!” Obediently, I chimed, “Right away, Mista Lewtor!” That “Chamber” was not some Kryptonian Council Room, but instead the Metropolis Chamber of Commerce office, where three Hollywood guests were signing autographs: the original live-action Lois Lane and grand dame of Metropolis, Noel Neill; Smallville’s Chloe Sullivan, the adorable Allison Mack; and the man I had arranged to interview for BACK ISSUE (through the kind and sincerely appreciated coordination of Superman event planner Karla Ogle), Ned Beatty.

Right away, Mista Lewtor! (left) Actor Ned Beatty on June 14, 2008 in Metropolis, Illinois and (inset) Beatty as Superman’s Otis. All Metropolis photos in this interview are by Michael Eury. Superman: The Movie TM & © Warner Bros./DC Comics.

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Beginnings: Deliverance (1972)

Milestones: Movies: The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean / White Lightning / Nashville / Network (1977 Oscar nomination) / Silver Streak / Gray Lady Down (with Christopher Reeve) / Superman: The Movie / Superman II / Back to School / The Big Easy / Switching Channels (with Christopher Reeve) / Captain America (unreleased, 1990) / Where the Red Fern Grows / Shooter / Charlie Wilson’s War / In the Electric Mist Television: guest appearances on numerous series including Kojak, Gunsmoke, M*A*S*H, Hawaii Five-0, The Rockford Files, and CSI / recurring appearances on Roseanne and Homicide: Life on the Street / Emmy nominations for the telefilms Friendly Fire (1979) and Last Train Home (1990)

Works in Progress: Toy Story 3 (voice, 2010)

ned beatty

Superman Celebs (top) Beatty tells a story to a fan. (bottom) Smallville’s Allison Mack and Beatty.

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Since his breakout performance as Bobby Trippe in director John Boorman’s disturbing but unforgettable backwoods drama Deliverance (1972), Louisville, Kentucky, native Beatty has become one of Hollywood’s most familiar faces in a diverse range of character roles. Despite his myriad successes on screen and stage, one character of Beatty’s remains most beloved among comic-book fans: Otis, the bumbling but endearing henchman of Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor in Superman: The Movie (1978) and Superman II (1980). And so I zipped (not faster than a speeding bullet, mind you, but still at an impressive clip) past a legion of fans lining two city blocks anxiously awaiting their moment to say hello to the stars, to be ushered into a back room to conduct the following brief interview with the accommodating Mr. Beatty, who could have taken this time to relax but instead chose to spend his “break” chatting with me. No wonder we all love Otis, even though he hangs with a bad crowd! – Michael Eury MICHAEL EURY: What do you think about this Superman Celebration? NED BEATTY: I think it’s kinda fun. I thought being in the [Superman] movie was a great deal of fun. It was a big thrill to see it and see that it had such life and such romance and a lot of sweetness in it. I loved that. When I started as an actor, I wanted to work for Disney because I thought I really liked movies with kids and dogs. [chuckles] And did you know that Disney never hired me. [gesturing to his shirt] Well, this is a shirt I got from the people at Pixar, and I’m doing a movie with them [Toy Story 3]. EURY: That’s a Cars shirt, isn’t it? BEATTY: Yes. So they sent me a shirt of it. I thought, well, heck, I’d wear it and make a good target. [Michael laughs] But [with Superman], I got the offer from them for some sort of a mean character and I thought, “I don’t play a bad guy. I want to be a nice guy with kids and dogs.” [chuckles] EURY: Otis might have been a villain’s henchman, but he was a nice guy. BEATTY: Yeah, and I think it was kind of sweet because I honestly believe that Dick Donner, the director, created the character, and he just very simply told me what he wanted me to do, and I did everything he asked me to do. He wanted me to be a comedian in every scene. He said I always had to be eating and usually some kind of junk food, candy bars, anything like that. “Oh-kay, Dick. I can do that. I can do it.” [Michael laughs] But I just got the idea from that first scene that you wanted a person who was just childlike as possible. I had a wonderful time with a young actor I was working with. He was about ten or 11 at the time we were doing this thing called All the Way Home at USC. He had seen Superman, he liked Superman, and I asked him how he felt about Otis. “Oh,” he said, “I liked Otis. Otis was fun. I liked him.” I said, “Well, did you think Otis was a bad person?” He said, “Well, yeah, Otis did some bad stuff, but he’s a good person.” I said, “What do you think his problem was?” And he said, “Well, his problem was a lot of kids are like this. They’re good kids, but they get in with the wrong people. It’s their hero that’s not so good.”

Lex Luthor and Brainiac. In Superman’s rogues’ gallery they rank in the upper part of the top ten. Premiering in 1940 and 1958, respectively, these two villains have since continued to vex, bedevil, and otherwise try to kill the Man of Steel time and again. By the ’80s, they had managed to make their marks on the small screen, with Luthor even making it into the movies. But in comics, these two titans of terror couldn’t fight against the march of time and a decision was made that would change both characters … “forever.” They were going to get a makeover.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

In 1983, DC rolled out a number of “anniversary” issues for several of its longer-running titles. These issues had extra pages and shared similar trade dress at the top of the covers, noting which fabulous year or issue number the titles were celebrating. Superman received his anniversary issue in the form of Action Comics #544 (June 1983), which celebrated the 45th year of the title. This issue was where the big change happened. Lex Luthor was at that time mainly sporting a purple-and-green number that was decked out with gadgets and even had rockets on the boots. Brainiac looked very much as he had in his first appearance, with a pink/purple shirt complete with a white flare collar and bare legs. With styling threads such as those, why would the creators need to change things up? The reason was simple: The editor of the Superman line at the time, Julius Schwartz, wanted a fresh take on some old concepts. Marv Wolfman, who was writing Action, remembers, “All I was told by Julie was that he was looking for new ideas on both Luthor and Brainiac and I came up with one for each of them.” Cary Bates, the main writer on Superman during that period, has a similar recollection about being asked to redo Luthor. Julie gave the

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Michael Bailey

Luthor assignment to Bates while Marv Wolfman was asked to produce his Brainiac revamp. While working with Marv Wolfman on New Teen Titans at the time, artist George Pérez was tapped to design Luthor’s look, and artist Ed Hannigan handled the new and improved Brainiac. Both designs were reproduced in Action #544 as pinups.

LUTHOR UNLEASHED

The genesis of Lex’s redesign dated back two decades in a story titled “The Showdown Between Luthor and Superman,” which appeared in Superman #164 (Oct. 1963). In that Edmond Hamilton-written tale, Luthor challenges Superman to a good, old-fashioned fist fight on a distant planet under a red sun, where Superman was bereft of his superabilities. Luthor tries to help the primitive civilization that lived there and with the aid of Superman brings fresh water back to that world. The citizens declare Luthor a hero, while Superman was seen as the villain. This concept was not forgotten and eventually the planet renamed itself Lexor. Luthor even found romance on the planet in the form of Ardora, who would wait patiently every time her true love was taken back to Earth. Twenty years later, “Luthor Unleashed,” written by Cary Bates with art by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson, was the first story in Action Comics #544. It opens with Luthor grievously injured after a particularly fierce battle with Superman. RX99, one of Luthor’s robots, helps Lex to a rocket and Luthor travels to Lexor where Ardora sees to his medical care. After recovering, Luthor discovers that he has a son by Ardora and Lex seeks to put his sordid past behind him and settle into family life. Back on Earth, RX99’s actions lead Superman to discover where Lex has escaped, and the Man of Steel begins a journey to Lexor.

New Looks

In the meantime, Lex finds a hidden lab full of ancient technology, a discovery he keeps to himself. He goes on to build a “neutrarod” which stabilizes Lexor’s core, saving it from its eventual destruction. Around this same time, a mysterious, armored marauder wreaks havoc on Lexor. When Superman arrives on Lexor, Lex reveals that he was the marauder using the armor he had found in the hidden lab. Using the suit’s ability to mix energies he fires an energy meld at Superman, which bounces off the Kryptonian’s chest and strikes the neutrarod. This sets off a chain reaction and despite his best efforts to save his wife and son, Lex watches as his family and the rest of Lexor are destroyed in a violent explosion. Thanks to his armor Luthor survives and swears vengeance on Superman. This vengeance carries over into Superman #385–386 (July–Aug. 1983), where Lex sets up another neutrarod to destroy the Earth just as Lexor was destroyed. Superman manages to stop the chain reaction, but Luthor escapes. Villains Issue

(above) Lex Luthor’s previous togs are about to get junkheaped on this Curt Swan/Murphy Anderson page from Action #544. (left) There’s no hint of humanity left in the new Brainiac, as seen on Gil Kane’s cover to Action #545. TM & © 2009 DC Comics.

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What if … instead of selling his share of All-American Publications to Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz in 1945, Max Charles “Charlie” Gaines had purchased National Comics (DC Comics) from them? That’s the premise of this fantasy series being divided between the pages of BACK ISSUE and its TwoMorrows big-sister mag Alter Ego and set on “Earth-22,” where things in the comics business happened rather differently than the way they did in the world we know. Just imagine: a comic-book industry in which the Golden Age Green Lantern and Flash, rather than Superman and Batman, are the premier heroes of comics, media, and merchandising. The author, Bob Rozakis, a longtime writer, editor, and production manager for DC Comics, has imagined just that in…

The Secret History of All-American Comics, Inc. The Story of M. C. Gaines’ Publishing Empire Book Two – Chapter Seven: Crisis on Fanboy Earth

The arrival of Michael Uslan in 1981 was the beginning of a sea change for the staff at AA. While Bill Gaines was initially concerned about having a “corporate overseer,” he knew Uslan and trusted him. Gaines also realized that things were going to have to change on his editorial staff. The men who had been there since his youth—Julie Schwartz, Murray Boltinoff, and Robert Kanigher—were all over 65 years old. Kanigher wanted to retire; he told Gaines he would continue to write but no longer wanted to commute to the city and sit behind a desk. Schwartz and Boltinoff could not be expected to carry the editorial loads they’d handled for decades. Even Gaines’ latter-day additions would need attention. Jack Kirby had moved to California, Joe Kubert wanted to devote his energies to his school, and Joe Orlando wanted to be the company’s art director so he could develop new talent. Adding to this was that the succession plan that had been put into place with the arrival of the “Woodchucks” in the early 1970s was no longer viable. After years as assistant editors with no positions to move up into, the “kids” had mostly moved on. Bob Rozakis had taken over the production department following the retirement of Sol Harrison. Guy Lillian had moved to New Orleans to go to law school. Allan Asherman had become the company librarian. Only Jack Harris remained in the editorial department, and he wanted to be a freelance writer. Working together, Gaines and Uslan began rebuilding. One of their first candidates was Dick Giordano, an artist and former editor for Charlton Comics, who had partnered with Neal Adams to form Continuity Studios. When the negotiations bogged down over buying out Giordano’s share of Continuity, Gaines commented that, “In the old days, my father would have bought the whole thing and brought both of them in!” Warner corporate, however, was not interested in making such a deal and Giordano did not join the staff.

She’s Dead, Alan The turning point of the Crisis on Infinite Earths and one of the most memorable events in comics: the death of Girl Lantern. Art courtesy of Larry Guidry and Shane Foley. (Unless otherwise noted, all comics images in this article are © DC Comics.) 78 • BACK ISSUE • Villains Issue

Bob Rozakis

THE AA COMICS EDITORIAL LINEUP 1986: Julius Schwartz

All-American Comics Ambush Bug The Brave and Bold Green Lantern ’Mazing Man

Murray Boltinoff and Joe Kubert (co-editors) G.I. Combat Sgt. Rock

Joe Orlando

Angel Love Elvira’s Tales from the Crypt Jonah Hex New Talent Showcase Weird Science featuring Swamp Thing

Jack Kirby and Mark Evanier (co-editors)

Blue Demon Captain Victory Challengers of the Unknown Kid Kamando Silver Star Super Powers

Len Wein

Batman Comic Cavalcade Justice League of America New Teen Titans New Teen Titans Spotlight Superman

Mike W. Barr

All in the Family With negotiations underway for a new Flash movie, AA added this new title to feature Flashette, Kid Flash, and other members of the “family.” Art courtesy of Larry Guidry and Shane Foley. A number of the other candidates had been editors at Marvel and AA was successful in adding Len Wein and Gerry Conway to the roster, though they failed to entice Archie Goodwin to come along. Their biggest success, as far as Gaines was concerned, was the signing of Roy Thomas. Gaines and Thomas had been friends since Roy’s two-week tenure as Mort Weisinger’s assistant back in 1964. “Whenever we had lunch,” says Thomas, “Bill would say, ‘So, when are you going to let me hire you?’ After I stepped down as editor-in-chief at Marvel, I agreed to start writing for AA. And finally, when he offered me the chance to edit the Golden Age characters, I had to agree to take the staff job.” To ease the workloads on the senior editors, Boltinoff and Kubert became co-editors of the war books, with Kanigher their primary writer. Schwartz’s workload was cut to only the Green Lantern titles (and an occasional miniseries, such as Rozakis’ ’Mazing Man). Kirby’s longtime assistant, Mark Evanier, was promoted to co-editor. Orlando’s first step toward becoming art director was the creation of New Talent Showcase and a reduction in his editorial load.

AA Comics Presents All-Flash E-Man Flash Comics Flash and the Outsiders Lantern Legion

Roy Thomas

All-Star Comics Arak, Son of Thunder Infinity, Inc. Wonder Woman World’s Finest Comics

Bob Greenberger

Aquaman Atari Force Booster Gold Secret Origins Star Trek Who’s Who in the AA Universe

E. Nelson Bridwell

AA Blue Ribbon Digest Best of AA Digest Silver Age Spectacular

1990: Martin Pasko

Adventures of Green Lantern All-American Comics The Brave and the Bold E-Man Green Lantern Kid Lantern

Roy Thomas

All-Star Comics The Atom and Electron Comic Cavalcade Time Masters Wonder Woman World’s Finest Comics

Barbara Randall AA Comics Presents All-Flash Flash Comics The Huntress Lantern Legion L.E.G.I.O.N. ’90

Paul Kupperberg

Batman The Batman Corps Justice League of America Justice League Everywhere New Teen Titans Superman

Bob Greenberger

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dragonlance Secret Origins Sgt Rock Star Trek Star Trek: The Next Generation

Joey Cavalieri

Hellblazer Sandman Swamp Thing Tales from the Crypt (featuring the Doom Patrol) Weird Science (featuring Animal Man) Weird Western Tales (featuring El Diablo)

Mark Evanier

Blackhawk Challengers of the Unknown Kirby’s Kingdom Manhunter Mister Miracle Suicide Squad

Allan Asherman

AA Blue Ribbon Digest Best of AA Digest Silver Age Spectacular

Michael Uslan

Crisis on Infinite Earths Villains Issue

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