Back Issue #111 by TwoMorrows Publishing

EARTH X’s 20th Anniversary with ALEX ROSS & JIM KRUEGER!

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ALTERNATE REALITIES: What If? • Bronze Age DC Imaginary Stories • Elseworlds • Marvel 2099 • PETER DAVID & GEORGE PÉREZ’S Hulk: Future Imperfect

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#5: Interviews with MARK HAMILL and Greatest American Hero’s WILLIAM KATT! Blast off with JASON OF STAR COMMAND! Stop by the MUSEUM OF POPULAR CULTURE! Poke fun at a campy BATMAN COMIC BOOK! Plus: “The First Time I Met Tarzan,” MAJOR MATT MASON, Moon Landing Mania, SNUFFY SMITH at 100 with cartoonist JOHN ROSE, TV Dinners, Celebrity Crushes, and more fun, fab features! SHIPS JUNE 2019! #6: Interviews with crazy creepster SVENGOOLIE and Eddie Munster himself, BUTCH PATRICK! Call on the original Saturday Morning Ghost Busters, with BOB BURNS! Uncover the nutty Naugas! Plus: “My Life in the Twilight Zone,” “I Was a Teenage James Bond,” “My Letters to Famous People,” the ARCHIEDOBIE GILLIS connection, the PINBALL Hall of Fame, Super Collector DAVID MANDEL’s comic art collection, Alien action figures, the RUBIK’S CUBE fad, and more fun, fab features! SHIPS SEPTEMBER 2019! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazines) $8.95 (Digital Editions) $4.95

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THE CRAZY, COOL CULTURE WE GREW UP WITH! LOU FERRIGNO interview, The Phantom in Hollywood, Filmation’s Star Trek cartoon, “How I Met Lon Chaney, Jr.”, goofy comic Zody the Mod Rob, Mego’s rare Elastic Hulk toy, RetroTravel to Mount Airy, NC (the real-life Mayberry), interview with BETTY LYNN (“Thelma Lou” of The Andy Griffith Show), TOM STEWART’s eclectic House of Collectibles, and Mr. Microphone!

HALLOWEEN! Horror-hosts ZACHERLEY, VAMPIRA, SEYMOUR, MARVIN, and an interview with our cover-featured ELVIRA! THE GROOVIE GOOLIES, BEWITCHED, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, and THE MUNSTERS! The long-buried Dinosaur Land amusement park! History of BEN COOPER HALLOWEEN COSTUMES, character lunchboxes, superhero VIEW-MASTERS, SINDY (the British Barbie), and more!

40th Anniversary interview with SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE director RICHARD DONNER, IRWIN ALLEN’s sci-fi universe, Saturday morning’s undersea adventures of Aquaman, horror and sci-fi zines of the Sixties and Seventies, Spider-Man and Hulk toilet paper, RetroTravel to METROPOLIS, IL (home of the Superman Celebration), SEA-MONKEYS®, FUNNY FACE beverages, Superman and Batman memorabilia, and more!

Interviews with the SHAZAM! TV show’s JOHN (Captain Marvel) DAVEY and MICHAEL (Billy Batson) Gray, the GREEN HORNET in Hollywood, remembering monster maker RAY HARRYHAUSEN, the wayout Santa Monica Pacific Ocean Amusement Park, a Star Trek Set Tour, SAM J. JONES on the Spirit movie pilot, British sci-fi TV classic THUNDERBIRDS, Casper & Richie Rich museum, the KING TUT fad, and more!

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Volume 1, Number 111 April 2019 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTIST Alex Ross COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Rob Smentek SPECIAL THANKS Mike W. Barr Jim Joseph Jerry Bingham Barbara Kesel Charlie Boatner Karl Kesel Eric Bresler David Anthony Kraft Jonathan R. Brown Jim Krueger Richard Bruning Paul Kupperberg Bob Budiansky Bob Layton Sal Buscema John Paul Leon Jarrod Buttery Marvel Comics Ed Catto Brian Martin Howard Chaykin Christy Marx Brian Cronin Ron Marz Peter David Jim McLauchlin Tom DeFalco David Michelinie Zedric Dimalanta Luigi Novi Colin Dorman George Pérez Jo Duffy Bill Reinhold Michael Eury of Alex Ross Earth-Two Bob Rozakis Danny Fingeroth Scott Rubin Peter B. Gillis Rose Rummel-Eury Don Glut Scott Shaw! Grand Comics Walter Simonson Database Evan Skolnik Steven Grant Beau Smith Dan Greenfield Jerry Smith Butch Guice Roger Stern Jack C. Harris Roy Thomas Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Mike Tiefenbacher Heritage Comics Michael Uslan Auctions Mark Waid Rick Hoberg Alan Weiss Sean Howe John Wells Tony Isabella Marv Wolfman

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FLASHBACK: What If?: Infinite Alternate Realities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Numerous creators recall their contributions to Marvel’s original What If? series PRINCE STREET NEWS: Alternate Alternate Realities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Imagine that! Karl Heitmueller, Jr.’s at it again! FLASHBACK: Rethinking the Imaginary Tale for the Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 The transformation of DC Comics’ out-of-continuity stories OFF MY CHEST: Alan Moore’s Amazing Sequel to the Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Charlie Boatner’s guest column connects a classic tale to a modern one PRO2PRO: Peter David and George Pérez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 The colossal combo confabs about their epic Hulk tale, Future Imperfect FLASHBACK: DC Comics’ Elseworlds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 The imaginary-story brand’s ups and downs FLASHBACK: Marvel 2099 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 An overview of the House of Ideas’ ill-fated futureverse FLASHBACK: EARTH X AT 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Alex Ross and friends look back at the trailblazing future-Marvel series BACK TALK will return next issue. BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Eight-issue subscriptions: $76 Economy US, $125 International, $32 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Alex Ross. Captain America, Spider-Man, Thor, and related characters TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2019 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows, except Prince Street News, © Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

Alternate Realities Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

“First off, please don’t call them ‘imaginary stories’!” In his editorial in What If? #1 (Feb. 1977), Roy Thomas explained how he created the book. “The way Stan would plot most of those early issues was to ask himself the kinds of questions the readers must be asking themselves. What if, for instance, the Hulk and Thor fought it out? What if the Fantastic Four went broke? What if some of the Avengers left the line-up and other super-heroes joined? “Only one problem with that approach,” continued Thomas: “There are some stories you just can’t do in our ‘normal’ books.” Thomas emphasized that he didn’t want to do imaginary stories, but rather stories that occur on parallel worlds: “These stories are ones which actually do take place—not in our dimension or time continuum, but in worlds coexisting alongside ours. The stories don’t happen in our world—but they do happen!”

FANTASTIC FIVE

In Amazing Spider-Man #1 (Mar. 1963), Spidey, looking to make some money, attempts to join the Fantastic Four but is told the FF is a nonprofit organization. But what if Reed Richards had said yes? “What If Spider-Man Had Joined the Fantastic Four?” was the question asked in What If? #1 (Feb. 1977). In this particular alternate universe, Spidey’s inclusion pushes Sue even further into the background—so much so that when Namor comes a’wooing, Sue accepts the offer. This issue establishes the format followed by almost every subsequent issue: an introduction, a precis of established events, and a turning point—narrated by the Watcher (although this is the only issue with a Kryptonian cameo!). What If? #1 entrenches the title’s double-sized, bimonthly schedule. “The larger size was available and Stan and I agreed that that was needed for What If?” explains Thomas to BACK ISSUE. “Jim Craig, as a new artist, did a nice job on #1 with the story I just knew had to start the series. And I’m glad I had the idea to have the Watcher narrate the stories, so that they were tied, however loosely, with Marvel continuity.”

“HULK CHAT!”

“What If the Hulk Had Always Had Bruce Banner’s Brain?” followed in What If? #2 (Apr. 1977). Classic Herb Trimpe Hulk artwork adorned this butterfly-effect issue. An intelligent Hulk helps the Fantastic Four in curing Ben Grimm (the FF disband). The rational Hulk doesn’t fall for Loki’s tricks (no Avengers). Banner and Reed Richards form a research team, soon to be joined by Charles Xavier (no X-Men). Thus, Earth has few defenders when Galactus arrives…. This issue hosts the first letters page: “Why Not?” (named by Marv Wolfman), featuring a letter from Mark Gruenwald. All of Gruenwald’s suggestions for future stories eventually saw print and he later became an editor on the book. “I don’t think Mark ever had any particular relationship to What If? while I was on it, unless he was handling a few of the assistant-editor chores while I was in L.A.,” recalls Thomas.

Team Expansion Spidey joins the FF in What If? #1 (Feb. 1977)—and a new Marvel concept begins. Cover by John Romita, Sr. and Joe Sinnott. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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by J a

rrod Buttery

DISASSEMBLED

At the end of Avengers #2 (Nov. 1963), the Hulk quit the team. What if everyone else went their separate ways, too? “What If the Avengers Had Never Been?” Of course, in Avengers #3, the Hulk and Sub-Mariner unite to destroy mankind—but in What If? #3 there is no Avengers team to stop them. Jim Shooter and Gil Kane present Tony Stark’s solution. Although Thomas was the creator and editor of the book, issue #3 caught him by surprise: “Once Marvel stuck in #3 without telling me in advance, I got kind of soured on it (and them) and eased off doing them all—first farming some out to Don Glut and then leaving the series entirely. The third issue might have been a fine story—I’ve never really read it—and Gil Kane’s art is always nice… but I considered it a betrayal by Marvel’s editorial department.”

INVADERS

Interviewed in Alter Ego #70 (July 2007), Thomas chuckled, “ ‘What If the Invaders Had Stayed Together After World War Two?’ Hey, guess what—they did! I’m happy that my view of that being a What If? that actually counted in Marvel continuity has prevailed. That story didn’t even really belong in What If?, but I did it anyway.” Thomas’ editorial in What If? #4 (Aug. 1977) asserted: “Because it wouldn’t fit anywhere else!” Indeed, at that time, the monthly Invaders title was going strong and there was no need to show the end of WWII. However, a story in What If? could show the end of the war and the events thereafter. We get to see the original Human Torch incinerate Hitler, the heroes’ reactions to the news that Captain America and Bucky have been (presumably) killed in action, and the men who took their places to continue the legend.

Nosy, Ain’t He? From page 1 of issue #1, writer/editor Roy Thomas makes it clear through the inclusion of the Watcher that What If? features glimpses of parallel worlds, not “disposable” imaginary stories. Interior comic scans accompanying this article courtesy of Jarrod Buttery. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

BUCKY LIVES

However, “What If Captain America and Bucky Had Both Survived World War II?” We find out in What If? #5 (Oct. 1977). As both characters mature, Steve Rogers eventually becomes head of the newly formed S.H.I.E.L.D. and Bucky takes over as Captain America. This was the first issue written by Don Glut. As Thomas explained in Alter Ego, “Don Glut needed work at the time, so I would come up with some of the ideas and he would write them. And after a little while, I drifted off totally from What If? once I’d done the handful of stories I thought up at the outset.” Glut agrees: “Yes, back in those days I always needed work and spent more time hustling for it than actually doing it. Roy was (and still is) a very good friend who was always looking out for me and throwing as many gigs as he could my way. (Thanks, Roy!) I think he explained the concept as something like—but different from—DC’s ‘imaginary stories.’ Unlike those, the What If?s actually happened, only in a parallel universe. That was an intriguing premise and opened many doors.” Glut had written some early sword-and-sorcery titles, but admits, “I was way more interested in doing the What If? stories, because they involved the Marvel superhero characters I’d been reading about as a fan. And I knew that, living on the West Coast, I’d probably never write any of Marvel’s first-tier superhero books. Writing these What If?s gave me a chance to try my hand at writing stories—albeit alternate universe versions—of some of the ‘big guns’ like Spider-Man, Thor, Daredevil, and Captain America. I did enjoy using characters I’d liked reading about as a fan and re-routing their lives along my own sometimes bizarre directions.”

Hulk… Smart! We’d say this Herb Trimpe/Tom Sutton splash page from What If? #2 is smashing, wouldn’t you? Courtesy of Heritage Comic Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Alternate Realities Issue • BACK ISSUE • 3

Dysfunction Junction (left) And you thought the Defenders were Marvel’s non-team? Writer Jim Shooter’s What If? #3 (June 1977) featured dynamite Gil Kane art, inked on the cover by Joe Sinnott and inside by Klaus Janson. (right) Beautiful original cover art (courtesy of Heritage) by penciler Rick Hoberg from What If? #5. Inks by Sinnott. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

FABULOUS FOUR

Thomas scripted “What If the Fantastic Four Had Different Super-Powers?” in issue #6 (Dec. 1977), with “invaluable plotting contributions from Christy Marx, Rick Hoberg, and Don Glut!” Glut elaborates: “As I recall, coming up with those different powers was a group effort that Rick, Christy, and I discussed at one of Rick’s parties. I seem to remember Rick coming up with the Mandroid concept— you know, stemming from Johnny’s interest in cars.” “That’s a completely accurate account,” agrees Hoberg. “My wife and I threw lots of great parties in those days, and on this particular occasion, Christie, Don, and I had a blast coming up with the new FF. The three of us were basically Roy’s West Coast bullpen at that time. Tremendous creative energy!” Hoberg also drew most of the issue, after Jim Craig penciled the opening salvo. “Roy gave me the chance to prove myself with this assignment, after having given me some work on books like Savage Sword of Conan,” Hoberg explains. “Jim Craig was going to begin work on the 3-D Man [in Marvel Premiere] for Roy immediately, so I came in to pinch-hit. And I must have at least gotten a double, because more work was quickly forthcoming.” Christy Marx (creator of Jem and the Holograms) was credited as “Kristy” in this issue. “Yes, that was me. It was a brief, passing phase,” confirms Marx. “Rick and I pitched the idea to Roy at a party, but I also followed up with a written document that laid out the plot, which I gave to Roy. I have a transcription I made of the original typed pages. You’ll see that my name is correctly spelled on the outline.”

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SPIDER-PERSONS

What If? #7 (Feb. 1978) asked, “What If Someone Else Had Become the Amazing Spider-Man?” Don Glut elaborates: “As memory serves me, I think Roy just said three other people without specifying who they should be. The ones I used [Flash Thompson, Betty Brant, John Jameson] were the most obvious choices, although I probably could have picked Harry Osborne or J. Jonah Jameson. But the three I picked seemed to allow for the best opportunities for portraying the Spider-candidates differently.” Its artist, Rick Hoberg, laments, “This Spider-Man assignment came to me so quickly after the previous story that I have to admit I was completely unprepared for the volume of work needed to do it justice. I hired an assistant who completely dropped the ball on me, creating more anxiety than I was already experiencing from deadline pressure. To be frank, I did as much reference work as I could from my comic collection, but ended up feeling like I did a terrible job on the story. Still, Roy seemed to feel it was more than adequate and we went on to the next job. To this day, it’s difficult for me to look at the art I did for that issue, even though lots of fans seem to love it.”

AND A BLIND MAN…

“I know the Daredevil idea was mine alone and Roy, at the outset, was a bit skeptical as to how such a minor thing as people knowing he was blind could build into a meaningful and exciting story,” states Glut.

“I think that the Captain America and Thor stories were also original ideas by yours truly.” Indeed, in What If? #8 (Apr. 1978), Electro asks Daredevil, “What color is my costume?” leading to “What If the World Knew Daredevil Was Blind?” and the first Daredevil What If? with a happy ending. This was also the first issue with a backup story, as Scott Shaw! pondered, “What If the Spider Had Been Bitten by a Radioactive Human?” Shaw! explains: “For about a year, I managed the American Comic Book Company in Studio City, California. I had already written and drawn a number of underground and ‘ground-level’ comic-book stories, but nothing yet for the mainstream publishers. Roy was one of my regular customers and we became friends. I think that Roy invited me to pitch him ideas for humorous backup stories for What If?, and this was the first one I came up with. The concept was just a flip of the original, so it wasn’t that brilliant on my part, but it gave me another opportunity to draw funny animals, a genre I was starting to build a reputation for.” Not content with Webster Weaver, the ’Mazing Man-Spider, Shaw! name-dropped another 20+ characters, such as Fishterio and Octo Doctorpuss! “The writing aspect came easily,” he admits. “Roy likes puns, I liked puns, and I was very familiar with Spidey’s history and foes up to that point in time. I should point out that the ‘radioactive human’ was based on Dr. Roger Freedman, a physics professor who’s one of my best friends and who lettered a lot of my early comics. It’s also noteworthy that my friend and neighbor Dave (The Rocketeer) Stevens penciled and inked the ‘straight’ panel of Peter Parker getting bitten by a radioactive spider.”

AGENTS OF ATLAS

Issue #9 pondered, “What if the Avengers Had Fought Evil in the 1950s?” Roy Thomas admits, “I wish I had written the 1950s Avengers story myself, simply because I really wanted to… but that’s not to fault Don’s [Glut]

story, which was very much along the lines of what I wanted. [Penciler] Alan Kupperberg worked hard on it, too, though his art wasn’t as developed at that stage as I’d have liked. I think that usually my input was just a general plotline, a concept, or at most a couple of sentences. Even with the 1950s Avengers I only had the general idea, and that 3-D Man, Venus, and Marvel Boy would be in the book. Gorilla-Man and Human Robot were Don’s additions, which I think worked very well. I don’t recall if I told him to add another character or two, but I can’t imagine that I wanted the group to be fewer than five people.” Don Glut confirms, “Yes, Roy would sometimes come up with a basic idea—like an Avengers group existing in the 1950s—and let me run with it. Roy told me not to use Captain America, Sub-Mariner, or the original Human Torch, who all existed in 1950s Atlas stories. I don’t recall why, other than maybe he had ideas of his own for those characters, or maybe because he wanted to give more space to some of the lesserknown heroes. “My favorite What If? has always been the 1950s Avengers one,” Glut reveals. “I’d grown up in the ’50s, which wasn’t such a long time ago when I wrote the story. So I had many fond memories of that era and was able to insert a lot of in-jokes and references.”

A Whole New You (Times 4) (left) Hoberg’s cover to the FF-starring What If? #6 (Dec. 1977). (right) A page from Christy Marx’s plot contributions to that issue, courtesy of the writer. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Alternate Realities Issue • BACK ISSUE • 5

IF SHE BE WORTHY…

Suppose Don Blake’s nurse accompanied him to Norway in Journey into Mystery #83 (Aug. 1962)? Suppose she found Mjolnir? Suppose Marvel asked, “What If Jane Foster Had Found the Hammer of Thor?” “What If? #10 (Aug. 1978) was really liberating for me,” affirms penciler Rick Hoberg. “It was a chance to do complete no-holds-barred Marvel comics. I feel it was a complete success, and allowed me to put issue #7 in the rear-view mirror. Don and I had become personal friends as well as collaborators, so it was a very easy working relationship. Don did the usual great Marvel-style story breakdown, and I just did the art as I wanted, adding to the plot with an extra punch here and there. But Don’s work was so complete, I just had fun with it. I got to draw all of Thor’s greatest hits: Odin, Loki, Asgard, the Stone Men from Saturn, Mangog, and the Avengers! It was heaven! And yes, I’m fully aware of the female Thor in some of the recent comics, and thought they did a great job with it.”

EXCELSIOR!

In an (presumably) alternate universe, the Skrulls deliver a mysterious box to the Marvel offices. The box activates, emitting cosmic rays, and transforming Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Sol Brodsky, and Flo Steinberg into the Fantastic Four! Again in Alter Ego #70, Thomas explained how he assigned What If? #11 (Oct. 1978) to Jack Kirby to write and draw: “I’d had the idea for four of us to become the FF, with me being the Human Torch. Jack took it and cut me out, making Sol Brodsky the Torch—but actually that was a good idea, because in the really early days of the FF, Sol was already at least an informal production manager, and even inked issues #3–4. I don’t think Jack did it because of hostility towards me.”

“RICK SMASH!”

“What If Rick Jones Had Become the Hulk?” in issue #12 (Dec. 1978) gave us Teen Hulk over a year before Crazy Magazine did a comedy strip with that concept. And why wouldn’t there be an alternate universe where Rick Jones pushed Bruce Banner to safety, only to be caught in the gamma-bomb blast himself? Don Glut provides a rollercoaster script involving the Avengers, Captain America, and Captain Marvel. Hulktacular pencils were provided by Sal Buscema, who was asked about this issue (and #44), but admits to BACK ISSUE, “We’re talking a long time ago, my friend. At my age I barely remember what I did five minutes ago. Wish I could be more of a help, but I just don’t remember these stories.”

CONAN TODAY

After two years of waiting, in What If? #13 (Feb. 1979) we finally discovered, “What If Conan the Barbarian Walked the Earth Today?” in a tale by Conan regulars Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and Ernie Chan. “John may have been pulled off working on this story to do other things… I can’t recall… but I can assure you he was not at fault,” promises Thomas. In Savage Sword of Conan #7 (Aug. 1975), our barbarian hero escapes the Well at the Center of Time—but Conan is transported to contemporary New York. He’s mistaken for [original movie Conan] Arnold Schwarzenegger, narrowly bypasses Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, and eventually encounters female cabbie Danette. “This is (along with issue #4) my favorite of the What If?s,” exults Thomas. “I knew that Arnold was first in line to be Conan. The movie project got going in 1975 or ’76 while I was still in New York City, when my friend Ed Summer suggested Conan to Ed Pressman as a vehicle for Arnold. The thing I was most pleased about in What If? #13, besides [Roy’s wife] Dann

Beware of Radioactive Humans (top) A page of Scott Shaw!’s Spidey spoof (with a li’l assist from Dave Stevens) from What If? #8. Shaw! fans should check out his “Oddball World” column in each issue of TwoMorrows’ new RetroFan magazine! (inset) The Atomic Age’s version of the Avengers, in Don Glut’s What If? #9 (June 1978). Cover by Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott. (bottom) From the collection of Jarrod Buttery, a commission of Marvel starlet Venus, by artist David Yardin. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

6 • BACK ISSUE • Alternate Realities Issue

(then Danette) being used as the model for the cab driver, was the idea that, since Conan’s previous time-travel adventure had begun in a ziggurat, he draws a picture of it for Danette—upside down from her—and when she sees it, the first thing she thinks of is New York City’s Guggenheim Museum, which from the first has often been referred to as resembling ‘an inverted ziggurat.’ “And yes, Dann and I were already an item by then,” Thomas adds. “We own a couple of the interior pages of Conan and Danette together, mostly the romance scenes… [we] got them because Ernie Chan had done such a good job on Dann’s head from photos (John had the pics, too, but he did just layouts, which didn’t look as much like Dann as Ernie’s finished versions).”

WWII IN SPACE

What if Leonardo da Vinci’s ideas were actually built and utilized? Mankind would’ve progressed to the stars much faster and, by the year 1941, we would have asked, as shown in What If? #14 (Apr. 1979), “What If Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Had Fought World War II in Outer Space?” The script was by Don Glut, from a plot by Gary Friedrich. Thomas remembers, “I thought Sgt. Fury in outer space was a funny idea, ridiculous as it might have been, but one that I had little desire to write.” “I don’t remember why Gary didn’t finish it,” concedes Glut. “All I remember is Roy telling me that Gary couldn’t and asking me if I could do it—and then giving me the penciled artwork over which to write my dialogue and captions. I’d only read about a half-dozen Sgt. Fury stories, mostly the very early issues, so I just did my best to imitate them. It was basically faking it all the way, but I’m fairly adept at imitating other writers’ styles.”

NOVAE

Similar to issue #7, What If? #15 (July 1979) asked, “What If Someone Else Had Become Nova?” Richard Rider’s first solo series ended with issue #25 (May 1979), but his story continued in the pages of Marv Wolfman’s Fantastic Four. “I don’t think this What If? was done as Nova’s last hurrah. The FF was,” recalls Wolfman. A framing sequence by John Buscema introduced four stories where someone else received the Nova powers— illustrated by Walter Simonson, Carmine Infantino, Ross Andru, and George Pérez. Wolfman explains: “The idea was to use different artists. That I know. Using five or so artists not only helped tell different stories but also helped on deadline. All the stories could be done at the same time.” It was nearly 40 years ago, and Simonson admits, “At this point, I don’t really remember much about it. I think somebody offered me the job. It wasn’t the entire comic book, so I had the time to do it along with whatever else I was working on at the time. I enjoyed it, but beyond that, I don’t think I have anything else I can tell you.”

SWAPPING SIDES I

In the midst of his acclaimed run on Master of Kung Fu, Doug Moench wrote “What If Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, Had Remained Loyal to Fu Manchu?” for What If? #16 (Aug. 1979). This was the final issue for Rick Hoberg, who tells BACK ISSUE, “The Shang-Chi assignment was offered to me by Roy as part of my regular work at the time on What If? While never a big fan of martial-arts films and such, I really loved the Master of Kung Fu series, particularly because of the legacy of the Fu Manchu stories from the 1920s and 1930s. He was a really sinister villain, even though in retrospect, it is a very racist character. But the Moench and Gulacy stories were respectful, very exciting, and so very well done. It was great fun referencing Bruce Lee, Sean Connery, and others as models for some of the main characters à la Gulacy.”

SWAPPING SIDES II

“What If Ghost Rider, Spider-Woman, and Captain Marvel Had Remained Villains?” might be more accurately described as “…Not Become Heroes?” All three may well have been initially perceived as villains, but they weren’t necessarily villainous. Regardless, What If? #17 (Oct. 1979) portrays Johnny Blaze accidentally killing his foster-father, Jessica Drew accidentally killing Nick Fury, and Mar-Vell remaining loyal to his superiors. Steven Grant scripted the tale and recalls to BACK ISSUE, “As far as I recall, Mark Gruenwald was either writing Spider-Woman, or knew he was getting the assignment, and wanted to get her more attention. He wanted to use her in What If? but knew she was too minor a character to anchor the book. I’m pretty sure it was Mark who came up with the umbrella concept. We then needed characters who could fit the premise. I always liked the initial Mar-Vell concept of him being a Kree spy, so I suggested him. I never cared much about Ghost Rider one way or another, but he had a regular book and he fit the requirements. I’m pretty sure Mark had input into the Spider-Woman chapter, but for better or worse the rest was mostly me.”

SWAPPING SIDES III

What if Dormammu sensed the innate abilities of Stephen Strange and engaged Mordo to recruit the vain and arrogant doctor?... or, “What If Dr. Strange Had Been a Disciple of Dormammu?” What If? #18 (Dec. 1979) was

Thunder Goddess (top) For those of you who thought a lady Thor was a recent idea, think again. (bottom left) What If? #10 cover by Big John Buscema, with interior art by Hoberg and Dave Hunt. (bottom right) One of What If?’s most ambitious stories, #11, supplanted four of real-world Marvel’s mightiest for the company’s flagship crimefighters. Cover by Kirby and Sinnott. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Modern Cromance Roy Thomas’ significant other, Dann, is romanced by a popular, time-displaced barbarian in the Thomas/Buscema/ Ernie Chan curiosity, What If? #13. Its cover is at the right. What If? TM & © Marvel. Conan TM & © Conan Properties LLC.

the first issue written by Peter Gillis, who informs BI, “Dr. Strange was my favorite character, bar none. If I were told that I could write one and only one core Marvel character, it would be the doctor. I also was pushing for Tom Sutton as the artist, since I thought he would do a fantastic Dr. Strange, and he didn’t disappoint.”

WITH GREAT PUBLICITY…

In the following issue, Gillis explored “What If Spider-Man Had Stopped the Burglar Who Killed His Uncle?” As in our universe, Peter Parker initially uses his powers for TV fame. However, in What If? #19 (Feb. 1980), he seizes the chance to stop a burglar as a publicity opportunity— and becomes an even bigger star than before. “To get at the core of a character, you have to ask what they would be like under different circumstances,” posits Gillis. “That’s where What If? has greater potential than anywhere else. With both Strange and Spidey, I mainly reminded people that they both started out as jerks. To understand both of them, exploring what they would have been like had they not learned the lessons they learned in their origins was a great opportunity.”

RICK DIES

Rick Jones was integral to the denouement of the Kree– Skrull War. But what if Ronan killed Rick in Avengers #96 (Feb. 1972)? “What If the Avengers Had Fought the Kree–Skrull War Without Rick Jones?” Well, the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Inhumans, Asgardians, S.H.I.E.L.D., Spider-Man, Daredevil, Hulk, and more would join the call to defend Earth, in What If? #20 (Apr. 1980). Writer Tom DeFalco pulled all the pieces together. “I believe the idea was given to me by the editor [at this point, Denny O’Neil],” DeFalco recalls. “I was new at Marvel and given this assignment because the company wanted to keep me busy. I remember that I had to go out and buy the comics from the original Kree–Skrull War and they cost me more than I was paid for the initial plot. That’s when I realized it was important to continue with my non-comic-book writing work.”

TWO AGAINST ATLANTIS

A sequel! What If? #21 (June 1980) depicts not another alternate world, but a sequel to the Earth visited in What If? #1, an issue billed as “What If Invisible Girl of the Fantastic Four Married the Sub-Mariner?” Writer Bill Mantlo and penciler Gene Colan present one of the darkest portrayals of Reed Richards as, driven by bitterness and jealousy, he enlists Johnny Storm in a campaign against Atlantis— bordering on genocide.

DOOMED

Don Glut’s final What If?, issue #22 (Aug. 1980), branded as “What If Dr. Doom Had Become a Hero?”, brings us another origin variation as Victor von Doom heeds Reed Richards’ advice. Avoiding the accident that scarred him, Doom succeeds in freeing his mother’s soul from Hell—an action that does not go unnoticed by Mephisto….

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Weird War Tales (left) Surely, What If? #14 (Apr. 1979) ranks among the series’ most offbeat offerings. Cover by Trimpe and Sinnott. (right) Whose side are these guys on? Jumpin’ Jack Abel produced this cover for issue #17. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

“The Dr. Doom story was my own pitch,” confirms Glut. “That was just after [then- editor-in-chief Jim] Shooter came into power at Marvel. We were on the phone a lot going back and forth with the plot before he actually gave me the go-ahead to proceed with the writing— so unlike the way I’d worked with Roy, Shooter was always adding his own ideas to my original plot, which changed it substantially from what I originally pitched. The Doom story turned out to be not the most pleasant of experiences.”

JARELLA LIVES

Jarella is to the Hulk what Gwen Stacy is to Spider-Man, but with a fraction of the recognition. Jarella doesn’t even get a mention on the cover of What If? #23 (Oct. 1980). Inside, Gillis and Trimpe asked, “What If Hulk’s Girlfriend Jarella Had Not Died?” With the help of Hank Pym, the couple return to Jarella’s world and encounter an ancient foe—in a confrontation that finished rather quickly. “Space was always a consideration,” explains Gillis, “but there was also the fact that I didn’t want to go to much length showing a battle that was pretty much a duplicate battle done in the regular book. (And I had reeeeally wanted to do a Hulk story with Herb.)” This issue presented the first of the “Untold Tales of the Marvel Universe” feature. Were these the brainchild of Mark Gruenwald? “Absolutely!” confirms Tom DeFalco. “Mark wrote them and I edited them.” This debut instalment detailed the initial visit to Earth by the Celestials. “What If? was always a production problem,” continues Peter Gillis, “because it was double-sized and Mark and Ralph both wanted to do the book with top-flight art. It was kind of like running an additional set of Annuals year-round. Mark’s solution was to do multiple shorter stories and backups. And while it wasn’t perfectly in sync with What If?’s mission statement, clearing up Marvel’s continuity was a passion for us guys—and it burned brightest for Mark. He was working to accomplish a lot: reconcile the Celestials, Eternals, Titans, Kree, and the Inhumans.” As an additional backup, Steve Skeates and Alan Kupperberg had fun with “What If Aunt May Instead of Her Nephew Peter Had Been Bitten by That Radioactive Spider?”

GWEN LIVES

The cover to What If? #24 (Dec. 1980) screamed: “At last! The Most Eagerly Awaited What If of All!”—“What If Spider-Man Had Rescued Gwen Stacy?” The premise was certainly mooted in the editorial in issue #1, so why did it take so long? Writer Tony Isabella elaborates: “Before the first What If? came out, I think Roy asked me if I would like to write an issue. I pitched him on ‘What If Gwen Stacy Had Lived?’ and we went for it. I plotted the issue early on, but, once Roy was no longer editing the title, it was a while before the new editors decided to use it. It’s also possible they were waiting for Gil Kane to be available to draw it. “I was and remain a big fan of Gil Kane’s art, but he only did layouts for this story and I thought they were very sketchy. Frank Giacoia was a favorite of mine, but because so much additional penciling and such had to be done on the issue, he had to bring in some help. My memory is Kane was somewhat slow on the layouts and I had to script the issue quickly. Gil was always the intended artist because it just made sense for him to draw this story.” The issue progresses to Gwen and Peter’s wedding—which is fatefully interrupted. “It was always my intention to do a sequel because I’d put so many cool elements into play. I plotted a sequel but could never convince a subsequent What If? editor to let me do that story—which baffled the heck out of me. The issue sold very well and the story was very well received. We got lots of letters demanding a sequel and a couple wanting me to write an ongoing ‘Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man’ title set in the world of my original story. I would have jumped at the chance to write a sequel and an ongoing series.” This issue’s “Untold Tales” details the rise of the Eternals, their civil war, and the banishment from Earth for the losers.

THOR VS. ODIN

In the early years of Thor’s own title, he loved the mortal Jane Foster. Eventually, he petitioned his father for Jane’s hand in marriage. As a test, Odin set Jane a nigh-impossible task. She was subsequently sent back to Earth and written out of the series for many years. But what if Thor opposed this action? “What If Thor Fought Odin Over Jane Foster?”, enlisting the Avengers and Asgardians to his side, appeared in What If? #25 (Feb. 1981). Alternate Realities Issue • BACK ISSUE • 9

“As a fan, I’d hated the end of the original Jane Foster storyline,” maintains Peter Gillis. “I thought it colossally unfair to Jane. I felt the same way about the Hulk and Jarella, and decried the universal recurrence of the ‘Destruction of the Inconvenient Girlfriend’ trope. I got to fix both of those—though they both turned out to be very different in their outcomes.” In the third “Untold Tale,” brothers Zuras and Alars discover the Uni-Mind. In their telepathic bond, they realize the Eternals can only have one leader. Alars leaves Earth. He would eventually settle on Titan and bear the sons Eros and Thanos.

PRESIDENT CAP

Captain America considered running for the U.S. presidency in issue #250 (Oct. 1980) of his own book and decided against doing so. But What If? #26 presented “What If Captain America Were Elected President?” Writer Mike W. Barr explained in BACK ISSUE #41 (July 2010) how he campaigned for the assignment: “The original story fairly cried out for the What If? treatment.” Barr’s tale is a fitting final story for Steve Rogers. This was followed by “What If the Man-Thing Had Regained Ted Sallis’ Brain?” Writer Steven Grant admits, “To tell the truth, I don’t remember a thing about it, except that I wrote it because whoever was editor at the time asked me to. That was often the case with What If? I took the stories seriously at the time I was writing them, but they rarely involved any characters or situations I had any deep interest in. They paid the rent.” The banished Eternals from issue #24 find their way to Uranus in What If? #26, and discover an ancient Kree outpost.

JEAN LIVES

Jean Grey died (or so we thought at the time) in Uncanny X-Men #137 (Sept. 1980). Less than a year later, What If? #27 (July 1981) asked, “What If Phoenix Had Not Died?” Writer Jo Duffy remembers, “There was almost a rush to get it out. Every chapter was inked by someone different. Marvel suddenly realized that the Phoenix stuff was hotter than anything they could’ve imagined. This book was pulled out of whenever it was supposed to be run and it was a case of, ‘This is gonna be the next one that goes to the printer, no matter what it takes to make it happen!’ ” As detailed in Phoenix: The Untold Story #1 (Apr. 1984), the planned ending for the Dark Phoenix Saga had Jean stripped of her powers but very much alive. What If? #27 carries that story to its frightening conclusion. Duffy was asked if she pitched for this issue. “Indeed I did, and I had a great time writing it.” The opening pages of What If? #27 depict Jean’s psychic lobotomy, overseen by Lilandra, as would have happened in the original plot (and later shown in Phoenix: The Untold Story). Did Duffy have access to that original story? “Absolutely! I had access to the original Chris [Claremont]! I was a huge X-Men fan and, as an actor, Chris loved coming into the office and acting out the stories he was writing. So I knew precisely what was due to happen and I knew that he got shot down on it. Knowing what Chris had intended, I wondered, ‘Let’s see how that would’ve played out.’ And suddenly I had this awful, evil story. It was my tribute to Chris and John [Byrne], and all the work they did, which— at the time—we didn’t know would ever see the light of day.” What If? #27 was penciled by Jerry Bingham, who remembers, “I was pretty new there at Marvel. I had worked with Mark Gruenwald on a number of titles and I believe he asked. I recall I was working hard at not screwing up, but I have to admit I was still on a bit of a high just getting to draw my childhood superheroes. From Kirby to Adams, the legacy of the X-Men was powerful stuff to the young me and fueled my enthusiasm.” Bingham, too, had access to the original Uncanny X-Men ending. “It’s polite to say I ‘homaged’ the original story. I’m sure I’d have done things differently if it were even a few years later, but I was still a beginner. When the writer called for me to revisit the original story in flashback, I decided Byrne told it best.” With Jean alive, the X-Men’s relationship with Lilandra changed. When Galactus threatens a planet under Lilandra’s protection, she asks the X-Men for help. Faced with impossible odds, Jean’s powers re-emerge. “I love the Fantastic Four,” admits Duffy, “particularly the issues Stan and Jack did. And if I wanted to show how big Phoenix was, she has to fight a big gun—and the big gun was Galactus.” In a multiverse of infinite realities, there are probably many instances where Jean and Scott live happily ever after (e.g.: What If? #34). However, that was not to be the case in What If? #27. “I saw the way the Dark Phoenix story went,” continues Duffy. “Everybody was heartbroken. But then, was it really such a tragedy when you consider the alternative? Obviously, the alternative is that Phoenix eats the universe! Here’s what would’ve happened if we’d got the supposed happy ending that we thought we were looking for.” “Untold Tales” (Episode V) depicts the Eternals on Uranus after destroying a Kree Sentry. Their megalomaniacal leader, Uranos, decides to use Kree technology to build a ship that will take him and his followers back to Earth. Some Eternals remain on Uranus, while the ship carrying Uranos and his group is destroyed mid-flight by an investigating Kree fleet.

AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D.

Although Matt Murdock was featured prominently on the cover of What If? #28 (Aug. 1981), the first story asked, “What If Ghost Rider Were Separated from Johnny Blaze?” Azaziah, the Crimson Mage, split Blaze from his demonic alter ego in Ghost Rider #43 (Apr. 1980). Here, Azaziah commandeers the demon’s powers in an attempt to destroy civilization.

That’s Show Biz! Pat Broderick and Joe Rubinstein’s original cover art (courtesy of Heritage) to What If? #19. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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In a mere 12 pages, writer Mike W. Barr co-plotted “Matt Murdock, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.” in issue #28, with penciler Frank Miller. Most know that a young Matt Murdock was blinded by a radioactive isotope thrown from a truck crash, and that Matt’s remaining senses were heightened phenomenally. In What If? #28, the truck had been followed—just in case—by industrialist Tony Stark. Witnessing the accident, Stark flew Murdock immediately to the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. Barr praises What If?: “In the early ’80s, I was a young freelance writer, desperately trying to make ends meet in a field where established writers jealously guarded their gigs. Some Marvel writers wrote multiple books per week, often while working on screenplays in their spare time, because they were sick of being in comics (but still liked taking up all the work). I was delighted to be in comics, but could barely get arrested. Titles like What If?, which had no regular creative teams, became important to my financial survival, though even by 1981 it was becoming more and more difficult to come up with good ideas [for the title]. “Somehow—maybe due to my friendship with Daredevil penciler and co-plotter Frank Miller—I came up with the idea of Matt Murdock taking his super-career in another direction,” Barr continues. “I originally pitched this as, ‘What If Matt Murdock Became a Private Eye?’ but could never think of a really good story to go along with it. “Then I remembered that Frank had wanted to slightly revamp DD’s origin so Matt would spend some time in an isolation chamber after the accident that blinded him, perhaps inspired by the 1980 film Altered States. But the Marvel Continuity Cops wouldn’t permit what was seen as a major revision of DD’s origin. So I had the inspiration of coupling Frank’s desire with my premise—now-revised and more commercial—and came up with ‘What If Daredevil Became an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.?’ Frank even became agreed to pencil it, which I won’t deny was my desire all along. It’s one of our very few collaborations, and proved popular enough to occupy the majority of the cover of WI #28, despite the rather lackluster Ghost Rider feature that was, I think, twice its length. It’s also my most-reprinted story, though I have no illusions as to why that is. But I have nothing but fond memories of it, as it represents the salad days of my career, when—at least in hindsight—every sunset was roseate and every dawn was golden.” The sixth “Untold Tales” details the aftermath of the Eternals’ encounter with a Kree expedition. One slain Eternal is collected by the Kree, examined, and found to be a genetically altered human. Realizing humanity’s malleability, the Kree travel to Earth, conduct their own experiments, and thus spawn the Inhumans. In space, the surviving Eternals settle on Saturn’s largest moon and found a colony as the Titans.

AVENGERS SUPREME

Courtesy of some mesmerism and time-travelling shenanigans, the Scarlet Centurion convinces the original Avengers team to smite all other superpowered beings in Avengers Annual #2 (Sept. 1968). This fascistic behavior is redressed when the then-current Avengers visit this alternate timeline. What If? #29 (Oct. 1981) explored a reality where the current Avengers did not intervene, in “What If the Avengers Were the Last Superheroes on Earth?” Writer Steven Grant recalls he was assigned the story. “Seems to me it was Mark [Gruenwald] again; he and Denny O’Neil were editing What If? when the story was generated, but it went to Tom DeFalco before it was published. Mark was the deep continuity maven; this was exactly the sort of story he wanted What If? to tackle. By that time the big problem with What If? was finding premises, because the really obvious ones were all used up.” Grant was asked if he felt the story was restricted for space: “There was rarely ever enough room in What If? stories and it was a struggle to find a plot for it. The premise itself was ‘What If the Avengers Defeated Everyone,’ which meant that that was the precipitating event that leads to the story. Of course, the flaw with that is it isn’t the precipitating event; it’s their encounter with the Scarlet Centurion that goes sideways. So the whole thing is pretty flawed. I personally do not feel that story was one of my successes.” Steven Grant was happier with his second story in that issue. When Johnny Storm decides not to visit a particular flophouse in the Bowery, we discover “What If the Sub-Mariner Never Regained His Memory?” Grant tells BI, “That was one of my favorite jobs of my early Marvel stint. That idea was completely mine, and I managed to sneak it through. As I recall, Jim Shooter absolutely hated it, and held it up as a model of exactly what a What If? story should not be. That’s exactly what it was meant to be. It’s my Jack London/Herman Melville adventure story. The precipitating event is not an event, it’s something that doesn’t

Second Chances (top) Victor von Doom, good guy, in What If? #22 (Aug. 1980). Cover by Rich Buckler and Bob McLeod. (bottom) Do-overs for Gwen Stacy and Phoenix in What If?s #24 and 27. Covers by John Romita, Jr. and McLeod, and Frank Miller, respectively. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Alternate Realities Issue • BACK ISSUE • 11

Last Men Standing

happen, and it doesn’t even not happen on panel. The rest of the story has virtually nothing to do with Marvel Comics or its continuity at all.” Astute readers will recognize the significance of Namor’s continued amnesia: “Yes, the kicker on the thing was Captain America,” explains Grant. “In continuity, Namor accidentally frees Cap from his iceberg after fighting the Avengers. Take Namor out of the equation, Cap stays frozen, and the whole future of Marvel changes. Marvel tended back then to view ironic endings as unheroic. But it was a story that did pretty much everything I wanted it to do and virtually nothing Marvel wanted it to do. It was worth it.” “Untold Tales” continued with Peter Gillis as scribe: “My contribution was a labor of fanboy love: The feature that followed ‘Tales of Asgard’ in the back of Thor was ‘Tales of the Inhumans,’ ” Gillis says. “When the decision was made to end those backups, Stan and Jack ended it with Black Bolt flying off and a ‘Next: The Search for the Great Refuge!’ Well, that never showed up and, by Odin, it may have been two decades later, but I was going to give the readers that promised story! There was absolutely no indication what Jack (mainly) had in mind, but I was going to come up with something, while tying up more loose ends.” Indeed, Gillis and Ron Wilson portray Black Bolt’s encounter with Ikaris of the Eternals and collaboration to find a home for the Inhumans.

Eye-grabbing Michael Golden original cover art for What If? #29 (Oct. 1981), starring the Avengers. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Tom DeFalco was impressed enough with the result that soon after I finished penciling that issue, Tom hired me as the regular penciler on Ghost Rider, a character that fans associate me with till this day! And this happy outcome all came about as a result of my having the opportunity to draw Wolverine killing the Hulk—’nuff said!” The book’s second story, “What If There Was No Fantastic Four,” was scripted by Roger Stern, from a plot by Bill Mantlo. “I really don’t know why Bill wasn’t available to finish the story,” admits Stern, “but either Tom DeFalco or Mark Gruenwald would have asked me to script it.” The story presents a classic butterfly effect when Ben Grimm refuses to join the Fantastic Four after the group gain their powers. With no sanctuary, Ben is misunderstood and set upon. In the commotion, Peter Parker is scared away from a science exhibit, Don Blake misses his flight to Norway, and Tony Stark and Bruce Banner are recalled from their projects. “I don’t remember much about the details of the plot, but it was fairly straightforward,” continues Stern. “There was at least one thing that I changed: Originally, the plot called for a teenaged Matt Murdock to be diverted away from the accident that led to his blindness. But Matt would have been older— already blinded and in law school— by that time. So, I just treated the gent who was supposed to be Matt as an ordinary bystander, and added a note to the colorist to make sure his hair was colored anything but red.”

CLONE SAGA

In another case of foreshadowing, What If? #30 (Dec. 1981) asked, “What If Spider-Man’s Clone Survived?” Events progress as anticipated, with a rare happy ending for a What If? story. In the final “Untold Tale” in this theme, Gillis depicts the relocation of the isle of Attilan—home of the Inhumans—to its new location in the Himalayas in “Moving Day!”

LOGAN WINS

Wolverine’s first appearance in Incredible Hulk #180–182 (Oct.–Dec. 1974) came as a response from the Canadian military when the Hulk entered Canada. The subsequent skirmish was interrupted, but suppose Wolverine lost control and specifically targeted the Hulk’s neck? The result? “What If Wolverine Had Killed the Hulk?” in What If? #31 (Feb. 1982). The lead story had a script by Rich Margopoulos and art by Bob Budiansky, the latter of whom shares, “I don’t remember the precise circumstance that led to me getting that assignment. Tom DeFalco was the editor and he must have been familiar with my work to some degree. I had been penciling Ghost Rider covers for a while (I think Tom was the editor for at least a few of those covers). I had penciled a backup story or two, so I was a known quantity—one of those up-and-coming pencilers waiting for an opportunity to pencil a monthly title. So I assume Tom was impressed enough with my work to give me the What If? assignment. “As an admirer of John Byrne’s work on the X-Men, I was happy to be illustrating a story featuring such a high-profile character as Wolverine, and I’m sure I used John’s X-Men work as reference in depicting the character,” Budiansky continues. “Ditto for looking at Herb Trimpe’s Hulk. So any similarities between my rendering of the Hulk and his are purely intentional! The main impact of penciling that issue is that I succeeded in my goal—

KORVAC WINS

“The Korvac Saga” in Avengers #167–177 (Jan.–Nov. 1978) reaches a tipping point as Korvac—having slain most of the Avengers—reaches out to his love, Carina, for support to continue. She hesitates. Korvac restores the Avengers and loses his will to live. But what if Carina didn’t hesitate? What if Korvac killed all the Avengers and restored them as his minions? What If? #32 (Apr. 1982) pondered, “What If the Avengers Had Become the Pawns of Korvac?” The story portrays a cosmic confrontation unique for its time as Galactus, the Stranger, the Watcher, the Shaper, the In-Betweener, and others amass to deter Korvac. Galactus himself has been rebuffed several times via the bluff of the Ultimate Nullifier. Here we see it actually used and things end… poorly. For the second time in a handful of issues, a universe is lost. Mark Gruenwald provided the script and layouts (with finished art by Greg LaRocque). Interestingly, each character in the book had a separate inker. Editor DeFalco remembers, “It was a logistical nightmare. Mark wanted specific inkers to ink specific characters and we ad-libbed a bunch of characters, pulling in some people who weren’t working for Marvel at that time. Mark and I also had an army of people working on the backgrounds. Figuring out the vouchers was even more of a

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nightmare, so much so that I did the one thing no editor should ever do. I paid a few guys in cash out of my own pocket. Talk about stupid! I just couldn’t figure out any other way to pay a guy who only inked a few figures. I kept a record of how much I spent, figuring I’d try to find a way to make it up somewhere along the line.”

FAR FROM HOME

What If? #33 (June 1982) contained two stories, given equal space and cover-billing. Danny Fingeroth scripted “What If the Dazzler Had Become the Herald of Galactus?” Fingeroth had written the original story in Dazzler #10–11 (Dec. 1981–Jan. 1982) where Dazzler—possessing light-generating powers—was enlisted by Galactus to retrieve errant herald Terrax from a black hole. Terrax is forgiven and continues his service to Galactus. In Fingeroth’s alternate version, Terrax is banished and Dazzler is blackmailed into becoming the new herald of Galactus (to save Earth). Fingeroth was asked how the story originated: “I’m pretty sure Tom DeFalco, who was editing What If? and had written Dazzler, asked me to do the story. I think their (his and his then-assistant Mark Gruenwald’s) strategy was to try to do What If?s soon after the mainstream continuity stories they dealt with appeared.” Steven Grant wrote the second half of What If? #33, “What If Iron Man Had Been Trapped in King Arthur’s Time?” Grant says, “Not that I had anything against David [Michelinie] and Bob’s [Layton] Iron Man, but I don’t think I read [their similar] story when it originally appeared. I had to find it. It was another story I was asked to write. I see Mark was assistant-editing the book again by then; I guess he’d’ve been the one to ask me. I don’t remember much about it now except the ending. It was a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court riff.”

WHAT THE…?!

(Sorry, wrong book.) But Marvel’s alternate universes went crazy in What If? #34 (Aug. 1982). “My favorite issue was What If? #34, that was nothing but short comedy pieces,” laughs Jo Duffy. “You get a little punch-drunk sometimes in conferences and people were constantly coming up with these silly ideas. I don’t recall who said, ‘All right, enough, let’s just put ’em together and do an issue,’ but the minute they did, then suddenly it was, ‘Oh, well, there’s something I’ve always wanted to do with Daredevil!’ And David Michelinie—those lines: ‘Tony Stark was a man with a Twinkie on his back!’ ‘Waiter, I’ll have a cow, medium-rare—and a Tab.’ It’s been 35 years and I still remember those jokes! “I thought that issue was one of the silliest and most enjoyable projects ever. I’m delighted to have been a contributor to that—although my contribution was a complete sight gag, a bit of visual nonsense that Terry Austin was good enough to illustrate for me. The one thing I could think of was, ‘Well, if these are all alternate universes, doesn’t each one have its own Watcher? Who watches the Watchers?’” Michelinie discusses “What If Iron Man Had an Eating Problem Instead of a Drinking Problem?” and hints at some lost panels: “Yes, that one-pager was worked up by me and Bob [Layton], and I wrote the script. The reason there’s no writer credit is that my script was eight panels, and I assume the editor didn’t want such small panels so cut the last two. My original ending had a kind of conclusion, whereas the way it stands now the sequence just sort of stops. I imagine I asked them to take my name off because it was no longer the story I had written. I don’t remember the original conclusion offhand, but if my ‘Twinkie’ line is actually Jo’s favorite, maybe I should keep my mouth shut and let people think that was my intention.” Bob Budiansky also contributed several pieces, including “What If Ghost Rider Owned a Fast Food Franchise?” He recalls to BACK ISSUE, “I definitely remember coming up with the line ‘Because Our Burgers Taste Like Hell.’ It’s been a while but I vaguely remember a person or people going around asking everyone around the office for ideas, and the

funniest ones made it into the book. I’m pretty sure that person was Mark Gruenwald, since this entire issue fit well within his brand of humor.” “I’m a big comedy fan,” volunteers Danny Fingeroth, who wrote “What If Dazzler Had Become a Stand-Up Comedienne Instead of a Singer?”, but concedes, “the only thing that works even worse than music in comics is stand-up comedy in comics.” “Jo [Duffy] is correct,” states What If? #34 editor Tom DeFalco. “There had always been joke What If?s floating around the office. I don’t know what possessed me, but I decided to put my Archie Comics background to work and do a comedy issue of What If? I invited submissions and made suggestions. Mark and I were very collaborative with our people. I was surprised how many creators wanted to be part of the issue and we were flooded with pitches. Mark and I probably discussed the pitches and made the final decisions together.” Already a writer and editor extraordinaire, DeFalco actually contributed artwork to What If? #34! He wrote, penciled, inked, and colored “What If the Silver Surfer, White Tiger, Night Rider, Iceman, and Moon Knight Fought Wendigo in a Snowstorm?” and “What If the Black Panther Fought the Shroud in a Coal Mine?” DeFalco explains: “This is how I found a way to make up the money I spent on issue #32. I remember I turned in a voucher for some ridiculous amount—something like $168 for script, pencil, ink, and coloring. Since I was the editor of the book, I needed Jim Shooter to approve the voucher. He asked me how I arrived at that figure and I told him about paying inkers in cash. Let’s just say he wasn’t pleased with me. However, I later heard from the company’s accountant who wanted me to write, pencil, and ink a monthly title because my rate was sooooooo low.” Roger Stern confesses, “In a way, I almost feel responsible for What If? #34. I was just a lowly assistant editor at Marvel in 1976—when Roy Thomas got the ball rolling with What If?—but some of us in the editorial

Logan’s Run Wolvie’s clash with Ol’ Greenskin from the landmark Incredible Hulk #181 took a different turn in What If? #31 (Feb. 1982). Cover by Bob Budiansky and Bob Wiacek. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Bullpen were already starting to suggest story ideas for the title. I had always loved Marvel’s old parody comic, Not Brand Echh, so—only half in jest— I proposed that we should produce a humor issue of What If? In fact, I suggested that we even call it ‘What if Marvel Comics shamelessly used X-Men, Avengers, and Amazing Spider-Man to sell what is really just an issue

of Not Brand Echh?’ The cover would have been mainly the logos of the aforementioned titles, with a tiny figure of Forbush-Man at the bottom, sort of shrugging. Everyone in the Bullpen had a good laugh, and we moved on. “Anyway, after a few years, somebody thought, ‘Hey, maybe there’s actually the germ of an idea there.’ And when Tom DeFalco decided

Marvel Goes Mad What If? #34 (Aug. 1982), an all-comedy issue, featured short gags like these. (inset) Its cover, by Bob Layton. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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No Beauty, This Beast Writer/artist Alan Weiss put X-Men-turned-Avenger Beast through the wringer in this tale in What If? #37 (Feb. 1983). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

to run an all-gag issue, he challenged all of the writers and artists within earshot to come up with a strip or two that the readers would— hopefully—find funny. “Since Terry Austin and I had been producing one-page Hulk gags to back up the Hulk reprints in Marvel Super-Heroes, our coming up with a couple more pages was almost expected. And, of course, it’s always fun working with Terry. He deserves the credit for the really funny stuff.” Stern continues, “Spidey Intellectual Stories grew out of a joke I’d once made about coming up with something that readers would find more challenging than Spidey Super Stories. And Ed Hannigan really made it work. “ ‘What If Doctor Strange Were an Ordinary Magician?’ was basically just a setup for the punch-line; it wouldn’t have been nearly as funny without Marie Severin’s great art. And ‘What If Black Bolt Were a Rock Star?’ was just me being silly; but it was always great to work with Bob Budiansky and Jack Abel. All in all, it was great fun. As I said, I got to work with a lot of wonderfully talented people, and I had an outlet for a lot of humor that was too goofy for an issue of Spider-Man.”

ELEKTRA LIVES

What If? #35 (Oct. 1982) presented “What If Bullseye Had Not Killed Elektra?” Writer/artist Frank Miller turned the What If? structure on its head, featuring the Watcher as an active contributor to the story rather than just a host. We are told of an alternate reality where Bullseye is killed while attempting to escape prison—and the subsequent ramifications. Another happy ending for Daredevil? Depends upon your point of view. Issue #35 also asked, “What If Yellowjacket Had Died?”, in a tale by Alan Zelenetz and Greg LaRocque. We see how a mourning and vengeful Janet van Dyne becomes the Black Wasp after her husband is killed in battle with the Elfqueen, from Avengers #212 (Oct. 1981). Roger Stern ties the origin of the Cat People into a specific and deadly point in history in a final “Untold Tale”: “As I recall, Mark Gruenwald asked me to come up with the story,” Stern explains. “He knew that I was fluent in what had so far been revealed about the history of the Cat People, and asked if I could take those bits and pieces and make a coherent short story out of them. That he was able to get Steve Ditko to draw it… well, that really made it special.”

CHALLENGERS OF THE FANTASTIC

At the height of his run on Fantastic Four, John Byrne went back to the birth of the Marvel Age in What If? #36 (Dec. 1982). Heeding the words of his best friend, Reed Richards decides to delay his space flight until his ship has better shielding. Subsequently, we discover, “What If the Fantastic Four Had Not Gained Their Powers?” Asked about this issue on his website, Byrne commented that most What If? stories resulted from pitches: “I pitched the FF one I did, for instance.” After Nova’s original series ended, Richard Rider fought Skrulls on Xandar. Longing to return to Earth, Rider was asked to return the Nova powers in ROM: Spaceknight #24 (Nov. 1981). But suppose he refused? “What If Nova Had Not Given Up His Powers?” Bill Mantlo and Mike Vosburg explore the fallout in this backup story.

TRANSMUTATIONS

In the pages of Marvel Two-in-One, Tom DeFalco resolved a long-running subplot about Giant-Man’s (Bill Foster’s) radiation sickness. Along the way, Ben Grimm is infected by Virus X (developed by A.I.M.) and begins to mutate even further. Giant-Man finds an antidote, which could have cured his own illness, but he uses it to save Ben, in MTIO #82 (Dec. 1981). Soon after, DeFalco wrote “What If the Thing Had Continued to Mutate?” in What If? #37 (Feb. 1983). This was a textbook example of an original writer revisiting his own story. DeFalco was asked if he considered a What If? while writing the original, but admits, “I’m afraid I don’t remember anything about that particular story. While I consider various endings for every story write, I doubt I considered doing a What If? story while I was doing Two-in-One.” Regardless, this story goes in

the “Happy Ending” basket, with Ben Grimm fully cured and Bill Foster taking Ben’s place in the FF. Also in What If? #37, writer/penciler Alan Weiss asked, “What If the Beast Had Truly Become a Beast?”, as Hank McCoy not only becomes blue and furry, but increasingly animalistic. Weiss remembers, “Peter Gillis, longtime friend and a fine writer, had been writing several What If?s. He mentioned that coming up with original stories with any true impact was not as easy as might be thought because so many concepts had been explored in the characters’ own books. I took that as a challenge and decided to try to come up with an original What If? “I have no recollection of being aware of the Thing-continuing-tomutate story in the same issue before coming up with my story,” Weiss adds. “Might’ve been mere coincidence, but it’s likely Gruenwald figured the basic theme would work with each character, and put both stories in the same book. “I’d loved the X-Men since the first issue, and had always wanted a crack at them. Of course, they were very popular at the time. The key to ‘What if the Beast Became a Beast?’ was how tragic it would be if Hank gradually regressed, devolved, losing his brilliant mind, to become a dangerous, potentially man-killing animal. This would have been a parallel of Flowers for Algernon, but with a far more dangerous possible outcome. “After defeating the other X-Men without killing them, the Beast confronts his mentor, Professor X. Hank is fighting for the last vestiges of his human mind. Could he retain enough of it not to tear him apart? I felt the resolution of the scene dramatically satisfying. “The answer to the logical follow-up question, ‘Now what do we do with him?’ was another problem. The Angel, to whom the freedom of flight is so important, cannot bear the thought of his friend ‘…locked up in a cage in the basement of the X-Mansion!’ So, what to do

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Hammer vs. Sword Marvel’s mighty God of Thunder went at it with Robert E. Howard’s wildest warrior in What If? #39 (June 1983). From Heritage’s archives, original cover art by Ron Wilson and Mike Mignola, signed by Wilson. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Conan TM & © Conan Properties LLC.

with him? Cut to the Savage Land, a place where a totally bestial Beast could live his life naturally, alongside Ka-Zar, another sort of beast-man, and his sabre-toothed tiger. So, a happy ending to a potential X-tragedy. The farewell shot is somewhat reminiscent of the final scene in the original Mighty Joe Young.” Readers are probably aware that Galactus exiled the Silver Surfer to Earth after the Surfer’s betrayal in Fantastic Four #50 (May 1966). However, David Anthony Kraft and Mike Vosburg considered, “What If Galactus Had Turned the Silver Surfer Back into Norrin Radd?” Reed Richards petitions the Watcher for help and Norrin returns to Zenn-La, only to find that Galactus got there first…. Kraft was asked if he was a fan of the Surfer: “Yeah, that was my classic time growing up. I remember being a kid reading the Galactus Trilogy. Those comics brought a tear to my eye. And when Stan launched the Surfer’s own book, I was there. Later, I wrote Spidey, and I actually liked writing Spider-Man, but Spidey never did it for me the way the Surfer did. So it was fun to get a

shot at him. And What If? was a good opportunity. At that time, the bureaucracy grew so great that it started to be as much of a job to deal with the politics at Marvel as it was to actually do the freelance work. Books like What If? were good because you could pitch something here or there to try to keep some work going.” No happy ending for Norrin? “That wouldn’t be in keeping, I don’t think. It’s a tragic, self-sacrificing feature. It was kind of an obvious idea to switch it—Norrin returned home but Shalla-Bal had made a similar sacrifice. He was ready but she was whisked off.” As in Kraft’s Savage She-Hulk, Mike Vosburg provided art. Kraft explains, “Very rarely did you get the opportunity to choose the artist. Most of the time, if you submitted a plot, it went to whomever they elected to give it to. And in the case of that What If? story, it was sheer coincidence that it went to Mike.”

WHAT MIGHT?

Issue #38 (Apr. 1983) is unusual in that it doesn’t explore turning points, but rather, possible futures. “The Leaving” by David Michelinie and Paty Cockrum is a beautiful story about a life-long love. Fifty years in the future, the Avengers consists of Thor, Jocasta, Sunturion, Michael Rhodes (son of Jim) as Iron Man, and the Vision. We bear witness to an aged Scarlet Witch at the end of her days, and a sacrifice from Jocasta that puts her humanity beyond doubt. Michelinie was one of the earliest writers to use Jocasta, and is certainly responsible for her humanization, but admits to BI’s readers, “I remember doing a short What If? story back in the early ’80s, but until I reread it I had no memory whatsoever of what it was about. I agree that it was kind of a heart-tugger, but I have to assume that it was an assignment offered to me, rather than something I sought out. I was a comics fan, but not the kind who wonders, ‘Okay, I liked that story, but what if this had happened?’ But projecting what might happen in the future is always fun, so I imagine that’s why I accepted the assignment. I did very little work for [then-What If? editor] Ralph Macchio, so I don’t think I would have been the first name to pop into his head when he was looking for a writer. This may have been shortly after I wrote the Avengers’ monthly title, and that might have been why he thought of me to do an Avengers segment.” The second story in the issue, by Rick Margopoulos and Dan Reed, is set 30 years in the future and asks, “What If Sharon Carter Had Not Died?” The answer is that she and Captain America marry, have a couple of kids, and fight the Red Skull and the Skull’s son. Alan Kupperberg provided story and art for “Daredevil: 2013,” wherein U.S. Vice President Foggy Nelson and his attorney, Matt Murdock, welcome the president of the new Russian Republic, Natasha Romanoff, to the United Nations. Her speech is interrupted by terrorist ninjas at the behest of the Kingpin, and our heroes must don their costumes one more time….

CONAN VS. THOR

In the eighth Thor Annual (1979), the Thunder God enters a mystical tunnel and emerges in the midst of the Trojan War. Zeus does not take the intrusion well. In What If? #39 (June 1983), by Alan Zelenetz and Ron Wilson, Thor takes a different path and emerges in Corinthia, prompting the issue’s crossover, “What If Thor Battled Conan the Barbarian?” As the title suggests, Thor and Conan tussle before becoming buddies. But an amnesiac Thunder God feels the tug of something otherworldly and he seeks out Crom— with disastrous consequences. 16 • BACK ISSUE • Alternate Realities Issue

MORDO SUPREME

Peter Gillis returned in What If? #40 (Aug. 1983) to show how Baron Mordo becomes a sleeper agent of Nightmare and keeps his head down (for the moment) in “What If Dr. Strange Had Not Become Master of the Mystic Arts?” Stephen Strange visits Tibet, finds insight, and returns home. Thus, Mordo becomes Sorcerer Supreme. The journey is markedly different, but the setup is similar to Gillis’ previous Strange tale. “The similarity of starting at the origin was kind of a built-in hazard of the book,” Gillis says. “(I know that when they revived the [What If?] book, they tried to get away from just redoing origins, but it’s still basic to the whole idea.) This one actually started with the image that ended up on the cover of the book: Mordo in Strange’s costume. One of the subtler points I wanted to tackle was that the Ancient One chose Baron Mordo for a reason—and what was that? “This was one of Butch Guice’s first art jobs for Marvel—and I was ecstatic to be working with him,” Gillis beams. “As the pages for the book came in, people in the office began to notice, and by the time we were about two-thirds through, he put in a little background poster that said, ‘Avengers Annual coming soon by Mantlo/Guice’—an assignment he’d gotten due to the sensational nature of the pages.” “I remember the assignment fondly—it was an absolute delight to work upon—but with little specific clarity, I fear, after 30-plus years,” concedes Guice. “Peter’s script was very exciting to draw—and certainly helped inspire me to push myself artistically. In fact, my personal opinion is that it is one of the very bestwritten What If? stories of the title’s run. I wish Peter and I could have collaborated on many more assignments together. It’s very hard to recall anything more specific about the art, other than my approach to Mordo (and much of the story) was built entirely on Steve Ditko’s brilliant original version.”

ATLANTIS SURVIVES (TEMPORARILY)

Alan Zelenetz and Marc Silvestri presented “What If Destiny Had Not Destroyed Atlantis?” in What If? #41 (Oct. 1983). By acting a little more quickly, the Sub-Mariner defeats the villain called Destiny. Sadly, upon returning to Atlantis, Namor is beset by political intrigue from Byrrah and Krang. Storming off, Namor initially refuses to intercede when Attuma attacks—returning only when he receives tragic news. Too late… Namor regains an empty throne.

SORROW

“What If Susan Richards Died in Childbirth?” in What If? #42 (Dec. 1983)—billed on the cover as “What If the Invisible Girl Died?”—was both beautiful and heartbreaking. “It’s perhaps my favorite single issue of a comic I’ve done,” states writer Peter Gillis. “It incorporated everything I felt about the Fantastic Four. And Joe Sinnott’s inks—when [issue #42’s penciler] Ron Frenz and I saw them, we said, ‘We’ve been at this company for a while, but we’ve finally done a Marvel comic!’” Reed Richards is—inarguably, irrefutably—a cornerstone of Marvel-Earth. If you want something done, you go to Reed. That insight reminds us that Reed Richards is also perhaps the most dangerous man on Marvel-Earth. Once he puts his mind to something, not Annihilus, not his friends, not self-preservation, can stop him. In delineating that, Frenz and Sinnott may well have given us the single best image of Mr. Fantastic ever. Gillis is adamant that “Reed’s fate was the only possible one. Not that Ralph would have even suggested an alternative, but if anyone had, I would have refused to write it.”

Mystic Master Mordo What If? 40 (Aug. 1983) featured a Michael Golden cover and interior art by newcomer Jackson “Butch” Guice. (inset below) Cover to issue #41, also by Golden. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

CONAN VS. CAP

At the end of What If? #13, Conan returned home. But what if he didn’t? What If? #43 (Feb. 1984) queried, “What If Conan the Barbarian Were Stranded in the 20th Century?” Writer Peter Gillis explains, “Like the Jane Foster and Jarella issues, this came out of my dissatisfaction with the Alternate Realities Issue • BACK ISSUE • 17

A Stretch at Vengeance A no-holds-barred Reed Richards as portrayed by Peter Gillis, Ron Frenz, and Joe Sinnott, in What If? #42 (Dec. 1983). (inset) Its cover, by Michael Golden aping Kirby. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

original story. I wanted to remind readers that Conan was a thief and an assassin and a mercenary and would gravitate to the dark and criminal side of our society—and, fortunately, people loved it.” Forced to survive and adapt, Conan indeed flourishes in the city’s underbelly—eventually drawing the attention of Captain America—with art by Bob Hall. What If? #43 also contains perhaps the most unexpected sequel of all time! How can you have a sequel in a universe that Korvac nullified? Writer/penciler Mark Gruenwald found a way: Back in What If? #32, Korvac banished Dr. Strange, Phoenix, and the Silver Surfer from our universe. Eventually, they find each other in the void, as well as the only remaining item from our universe— the Ultimate Nullifier. The trio postulate that if they use the Nullifier to nullify the nothingness, it should bring back something… perhaps everything. Dare they try?

NAZIS IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Although What If? #44 (Apr. 1984) was written 35 years ago, it is frighteningly prescient. If the Sub-Mariner swam further south in Avengers #4 (Mar. 1964), he would not have inadvertently caused the thawing and

return of Captain America from suspended animation in ice. (One side effect is that the Avengers disband soon after.) Later, as in our universe, an anonymous worker frees the 1950s fascist Captain America and Bucky from suspended animation. Seizing an opportunity, certain politicians enlist this Cap’s endorsement for extreme policies, couched in phrases like “Set America Right Again!” Eventually, our Cap is found, and we learn “What If Captain America Were Not Revived Until Today?” Peter Gillis affirms, “Every single What If? I wrote was a pitch by me. No assignments. The closest was when Ralph one weekend at his place said, ‘I bet you you can’t come up with a Captain America What If? now.’ It took me a little over an hour, but I did it.” As the true Cap confronts his Nazi imitator (powerfully penciled by Sal Buscema), he gives a speech about freedom and equality for all men, which is regularly cited as one of Captain America’s greatest moments. “I think I may be becoming a Fourth of July Facebook tradition—all these folks reprinting that last speech—and I wish it weren’t as scary as it is today. Like the Fantastic Four issue, this was my stab at doing the ultimate Captain America story. I think I came close.”

BERSERK

What if Bruce Banner didn’t get Rick Jones to safety? What if both men were exposed to the Gamma Bomb? What if a mental connection was forged between the two—a connection that allowed the Hulk to “experience’” Rick’s subsequent torture and death? What If? #45 (June 1984) asked, “What If the Hulk Went Berserk?”, behind a stunning Bill Sienkiewicz cover. Writer Peter Gillis heaps praise upon the issue’s artist, penciler Ron Wilson: “The impulse for this started with my love for Ron Wilson’s comics work. We knew each other, and I said to him more than once that we should do a Hulk story where I would let him pull out absolutely all the stops. And boy, did he deliver. Even Kirby didn’t have the Hulk throwing ICBMs at people! “But in order to do it right, I had to pull out the cords that restrained the Hulk—which, at the beginning, was Rick Jones,” Gillis says. “And I set the story up so that Thunderbolt Ross’ ghastly cruelty was seen as a backs-against-the-wall thing. It was the origin of the Hulk as a real monster movie. I think this one works—and Ron Wilson was most of it.” Quite apart from the terrible death of Rick Jones, an unrestrained Hulk shows no mercy to several of Earth’s other defenders.

UNCLE BEN

Perhaps the Marvel character with the greatest influence yet least “screen time” (five panels and two word balloons in Amazing Fantasy #15) is Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben. Ben Parker survived in What If? #19 but was quickly written out of that story. What If? #46 (Aug. 1984) asked “What If Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben Had Lived?” after Aunt May—not Ben—fatefully gets out of bed in the middle of the night to investigate a noise. “I cheated a bit, since there was absolutely no indication of what Uncle Ben was actually like,” writer Gillis observes. “But one of my insights about Spider-Man (and I’m talking about the Lee/Ditko Spider-Man) was that it’s a book and a hero (another one: there are lots 18 • BACK ISSUE • Alternate Realities Issue

Hulk Gone Wild, and Iron Man Gone Bad (left) Bill Sienkiewicz’s startling, stunning cover to What If? #45 (June 1984), a Hulk-a-rific issue. (right) What If? Special #1’s retro cover, by Al Milgrom and Jack Abel. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

out there) without a father figure. Actually, the father figure in those books was J. Jonah Jameson. He provides the income for the family. He’s the Bad Father, the Arbitrary Tyrant, the Fallible Authority that Peter Parker needs, fears, and despises. So the real title was, ‘What If Spider-Man Had Had a Father?’ And I think I was able to get at a lot of who Peter Parker really was with it. There’s this one page of JJJ thinking over Ben Parker’s offer that is as good a J. Jonah Jameson scene as I’m ever going to do. And Ron Frenz visualized it perfectly.”

RAGNAROK

Peter Gillis wrote seven of the last eight What If? issues (plus several others) primarily because editor Ralph Macchio liked his pitches. “It was basically that I had all these ideas that both Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio liked,” Gillis notes. “Ralph did want a variety of writers on the book (as did Mark)—so there was no job security—[but] I just kept coming up with them.” Was it now Thor’s turn? “Well, sheer practicality dictated that sales would be maximized by using the big guys,” explains Gillis. “I wasn’t necessarily feeling restricted by that—yes, it was fun to handle the guys that other folks wouldn’t let me near—but if I had come up with a really great Brother Voodoo idea, I would have pitched it to Ralph.” What If? #47 (Oct. 1984) asked, “What If Loki Found Thor’s Hammer First?” The answer? Well, the Stone Men from Saturn would make short work of Don Blake. With Thor’s soul consigned to the afterlife, and Balder preoccupied with finding his friend, the door was opened for Ragnarok— interpreted in this issue by penciler Kelley Jones. Abruptly, What If? #47 was the final issue of the series. (Issue #48 was solicited, without details, in Marvel Age.) Peter Gillis laments, “As I said, doing a regular double-sized book and plundering top-tier artists for it was a major production headache. By all accounts, sales were good. But the axe came quickly and unexpectedly. I had gotten paid for the [touted] two-issue double-sized X-Men monster, which was more or less Magneto forming the X-Men. I am fuzzy about the details of the story, and don’t have the thing itself, but I was looking forward to working with Jerry Ordway with a hunger that passeth all understanding. It would have been so damn good. But we did have our revenge….”

EPILOGUE

What If? Special #1 (June 1988) supposed that Tony Stark’s armor wasn’t ready in time. Stark is subsequently delivered to Chinese scientist Chen Lu, who installs remote controls in Stark’s life-giving chest-plate, forcing Stark to bend to Lu’s whims, in “What If Iron Man Had Been a Traitor?” Gillis remembers, “We already had the Iron Man What If?—the one drawn by S*T*E*V*E D*I*T*K*O—in the can when the book was cancelled. And since Marvel had already paid all that money for it, they eventually decided to put it out as a one-shot. As it turned out, the book sold so well that—as it got told to me, and I can’t vouch for this absolutely—they were told to revive the book. Except that by then, I was on my way out the door from Marvel, for a whole mess of reasons.” For fun, an informal survey on BACK ISSUE’s Facebook page voted What If? issues #9 and 35 as joint favorites. An updated second volume of the series, What If…?, ran for 114 issues from 1989 through 1998 (issue #34, Feb. 1992, was another comedy issue), and What If? Specials have appeared sporadically ever since, with more solicited as of this writing. Appropriately, fond final words go to Roy Thomas: “I’m happy that the What If? concept has endured, one way or another, for so many years!” The author would like to express his sincere gratitude to Mike W. Barr, Jerry Bingham, Bob Budiansky, Sal Buscema, Tom DeFalco, Jo Duffy, Danny Fingeroth, Peter Gillis, Don Glut, Steven Grant, Butch Guice, Rick Hoberg, Tony Isabella, David Anthony Kraft, Christy Marx, David Michelinie, Scott Shaw!, Walter Simonson, Roger Stern, Roy Thomas, Alan Weiss, and Marv Wolfman for their generous help. JARROD BUTTERY lives in Western Australia. He has written over a dozen articles for BACK ISSUE. He wonders What If he could’ve had more space for this article!

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MERCS AND ANTIHEROES! Deadpool’s ROB LIEFELD and FABIAN NICIEZA interviewed! Histories of Cable, Taskmaster, Deathstroke the Terminator, the Vigilante, and Wild Dog, plus… Archie meets the Punisher?? Featuring TERRY BEATTY, MAX ALLAN COLLINS, PAUL KUPPERBERG, BATTON LASH, JEPH LOEB, DAVID MICHELINIE, MARV WOLFMAN, KEITH POLLARD, and others! Deadpool vs. Cable cover by LIEFELD!

ALL-STAR EDITORS ISSUE! Past and present editors reveal “How I Beat the Dreaded Deadline Doom”! Plus: ARCHIE GOODWIN and MARK GRUENWALD retrospectives, E. NELSON BRIDWELL interview, DIANA SCHUTZ interview, ALLAN ASHERMAN revisits DC’s ’70s editorial department, Marvel Assistant Editors’ Month, and a history of PERRY WHITE! With an unpublished 1981 Captain America cover by MIKE ZECK!

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GOLDEN AGE IN BRONZE! ’70s Justice Society revival with two Pro2Pro interviews: All-Star Squadron’s ROY THOMAS, JERRY ORDWAY, and ARVELL JONES (with a bonus RICK HOBERG interview), and The Spectre’s JOHN OSTRANDER and TOM MANDRAKE. Plus: Liberty Legion, Air Wave, Jonni Thunder, Crimson Avenger, and the Spectre revival of ’87! WOOD, COLAN, CONWAY, GIFFEN, GIORDANO, & more!

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ARCHIE COMICS IN THE BRONZE AGE! STAN GOLDBERG and GEORGE GLADIR interviews, Archie knock-offs, Archie on TV, histories of Sabrina, That Wilkin Boy, Cheryl Blossom, and Red Circle Comics. With JACK ABEL, JON D’AGOSTINO, DAN DeCARLO, FRANK DOYLE, GRAY MORROW, DAN PARENT, HENRY SCARPELLI, ALEX SEGURA, LOU SCHEIMER, ALEX TOTH, and more! DAN DeCARLO cover.

BRONZE AGE AQUAMAN! Team-ups and merchandise, post-Crisis Aquaman, Aqualad: From Titan to Tempest, Black Manta history, DAVID and MAROTO’s Atlantis Chronicles, the original unseen Aquaman #57, and the unproduced Aquaman animated movie. With APARO, CALAFIORE, MARTIN EGELAND, GIFFEN, GIORDANO, ROBERT LOREN FLEMING, CRAIG HAMILTON, JURGENS, SWAN, and more. ERIC SHANOWER cover!

SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE 40th ANNIVERSARY! CARY BATES’ plans for unfilmed Superman V, ELLIOT S. MAGGIN’s Superman novels, 1975 CARMINE INFANTINO interview about the movie, plus interviews: JACK O’HALLORAN (Non), AARON SMOLINSKI (baby Clark), JEFF EAST (young Clark), DIANE SHERRY CASE (teenage Lana Lang), and Superman Movie Contest winner ED FINNERAN. Chris Reeve Superman cover by GARY FRANK!

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by J o

hn Wells

What if Clark Kent and Lois Lane got married? Would the legacy of Batman be carried on by Dick Grayson? How would the world react to the death of Superman? By 1970, all of those questions had been asked and answered—sometimes on multiple occasions—in the pages of DC comic books by way of a concept that editor Mort Weisinger dubbed the “Imaginary Tale.” The concept of alternate history was not new, even then. In Joanot Martorell’s Tirant lo Blanch (1490), the city of Constantinople did not fall to the Turks as it had in the reality of 1453. French writer Louis Geoffroy imagined Napoleon Bonaparte’s conquest of England in an 1836 tome and Noël Coward’s 1946 play Peace in Our Time posited Nazi occupation of the United Kingdom following victory in the Battle of Britain. World War II figured into DC’s earliest alternate histories, starting with a two-page fantasy by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in Look Magazine (February 27, 1940) wherein Superman snatched up Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin for judgment by the League of Nations. Once the U.S. had actually joined the war effort, 1942’s Action Comics #52 and Batman #12 each grimly postulated a United States that had fallen to the Nazi scourge. Meanwhile, Superman tilted toward lighter subject matter in several prototypical “imaginary tales.” In issue #19 (1942), for instance, had Clark Kent dreaming that Lois Lane had discovered his identity in one tale mort weisinger while another had them impossibly attending © DC Comics. the then-new theatrical Superman cartoon. A 1943 story transplanted Lois and Clark to the Gay Nineties (Superman #24), while a 1944 episode sent the Man of Steel back in time as a “StandIn for Hercules” (Superman #28).

SILVER AGE SUPPOSITIONS

The potential of such out-of-continuity stories wasn’t truly recognized until the late 1950s, when the aforementioned Mort Weisinger launched an all-out campaign to expand and enrich the core details of the Superman series into a bigger, grander mythology. Along with establishing more malleable characters like Supergirl and locales like the Phantom Zone and Kandor, the veteran editor also realized there was nothing to stop him from running stories that completely broke away from its most enduring conventions. Hence, a series of stories were Lois and Clark were husband and wife (beginning in 1960’s

Same As It Ever Was At the dawn of the Bronze Age, goofy imaginary stories like this one in Superman #224 (Feb. 1979) teetered into absurdity. Cover art by Curt Swan and Jack Abel. Comic scans in this article courtesy of John Wells. TM & © DC Comics.

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Lois Lane #19), carefully identified as an “imaginary series” to preserve the sanctity of the Clark/Lois/Superman triangle in the official Superman continuity. In 1983’s Amazing Heroes #29, cartoonist and future Image Comics co-founder Jim Valentino penned what still stands as the definitive study of this sub-category. “An imaginary story is any story which alters or in any way repudiates any preexisting continuity,” he wrote, “ergo creating a completely self-enclosed continuity in the process. In no way do the events in an imaginary tale affect or alter existent storylines; they are, in essence, purely speculative—or, if you will, fictitious. “Imaginary tales can be further sub-divided into four basic categories of definition. The first of these four is the most numerous, and shall be termed ‘actual’ imaginary tales. These are stories which proclaim (usually on both the cover and splash page) that they are imaginary tales and, in fact, comply with the above definition. “ ‘Inferred’ imaginary tales are those not claiming to be so, yet which correlate to the above definition. ‘Recited’ imaginary tales are stories that use a narrative device to tell the story (such as Superman’s super-computer or Batman’s butler, Alfred). The [former] was used in Superman #132 [in 1959], the first imaginary tale [in the Silver Age revival of the concept]. The final and least common is the ‘false’ imaginary tale. Such stories claim on the cover and/or splash page to be imaginary tales, but do not create their own continuity or fail in any way to depart from pre-established continuity.” The imaginary tale concept was an immediate hit, one that produced such classics as the tragic “Death of Superman” (1961’s Superman #149) and utopian “Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue” (1963’s Superman #162). Wonder Woman writer/editor Robert Kanigher countered with a series of “impossible stories” that united the toddler, teenage, and adult incarnations of the Amazing Amazon as side-by-side teammates with their mother (1961’s Wonder Woman #124 and others). Meanwhile, Batman editor Jack Schiff dabbled with the concept himself, notably in a recurring run of stories wherein an adult Robin and Bruce Wayne’s son became Batman and Robin II (1960’s Batman #131 and others). There was an important distinction between the Kanigher and Schiff approaches and the Superman office. The former were less about “What if?” than simply ongoing alternate realities. With rare exceptions, each Weisinger imaginary tale stood on its own, positing a different scenario each time.

WANTED: NEW IMAGINATION FOR IMAGINARY TALES

Tall Tales of the Trinity Superman wasn’t the only Silver Age DC hero hosting imaginary stories—(top left) Batman #131 (Apr. 1960, cover by Sheldon Moldoff) and (top right) Wonder Woman #124 (Aug. 1961, cover by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito) were among the publisher’s other “impossible” adventures. (bottom) The Bates/Swan/ Adkins splash to Superman #230 (Oct. 1970), launching a two-part imaginary tale that signaled the end of retiring editor Mort Weisinger’s long reign. TM & © DC Comics.

By the end of the 1960s, though, those scenarios had mostly been played out. The Wonder Family and second Batman and Robin team were long gone and virtually every Superman-related imaginary tale was another variation on a Lois Lane marriage and her offspring. Such was the case with “Beware the Super-Genius Baby” (Superman #224, on sale in December 1969). Scripted by Robert Kanigher, the plot involved evil scientist Professor Ulvo bathing a pregnant Lois in a ray that mutated her fetus into a super-genius with an oversized bald head to hold his prodigious brain. At a week old, the ungrateful brat was already lecturing Lois on her poor housekeeping and cooking while taking Superman to task for irresponsible behavior in stopping disasters. Written as farce, Kanigher’s story would have benefited from the cartoony, expressive stylings of Kurt Schaffenberger, but the former Lois Lane artist was now assigned exclusively to the Supergirl feature in Adventure Comics. Instead, veteran penciler Curt Swan drew the script straight while inker George Roussos gave the finished product a frankly tired look. Kanigher’s next imaginary tale came off a bit better, illustrated this time by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito (Action Comics #391–392, on sale in June and July 1970). The subject was again Superman’s son, but this version of the character was as inferior to his famous father as the super-genius had been superior. Frustrated by Superboy, Jr.’s well-intentioned bungling and Batman’s repeated needling about his own overachieving offspring, Superman finally snapped and used gold kryptonite to permanently remove the 14-year-old’s powers. In the second chapter, remorse set in and the Man of Steel ultimately used Kryptonian science to transfer his powers into Junior… at the expense of his own. Uncharacteristically for imaginary tales, Kanigher played coy on the identity of Superman’s wife, directing that her face appear only in shadow and that she always wear a blonde wig lest she be assumed to be the dark-haired Lois or red-tressed Lana Lang. The two-parter also represented the final two issues of Action Comics that Mort Weisinger ever edited. Retiring on April 1, 1970, Weisinger handed off the title to Murray Boltinoff while Julius Schwartz was slated to succeed him on Superman a few months later. Like Action, Weisinger’s run on Superman closed with a two-part imaginary tale in issues #230 and 231. On sale in August and September 1970, the issues finished their production process in the hands of editorial assistant E. Nelson Bridwell. That explained such details as writer and artist credits on the stories, a rarity in the Weisinger era.

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Along with signature Superman writer Cary Bates and penciler Curt Swan, those credits included a fresh name in the form of Dan Adkins. A one-time assistant to the legendary Wally Wood, Adkins brought an inky polish to the two-parter that elevated the production as a whole. The splash page, for one, was an eye-catching composition that included Superman explaining the concept of an imaginary tale atop the Daily Planet globe above an Eisner-esque sculpture of the story’s title: “Killer Kent versus Super Luthor.” In this reversal on the normal order of things, young Lex-El—bald after exposure to a radioactive mineral—fled to Earth with his father to escape the destruction of Krypton. In this account, Jor-El was actually responsible for the planet’s doom, unleashing an apocalypse because he insanely blamed the planet’s government for the accidental death of his wife Lara. Meanwhile on Earth, Jonathan and Martha Kent were no more respectable. Here, the couple were notorious Bonnie-and-Clyde-type bandits who were on the run from the police when a plummeting rocketship—guess who?— caused a fatal car crash. Inevitably, their son Clark grew up to fight the heroic Superman (a.k.a. Lex Luthor) but came to a tragic end. At a collective 44 pages, the Super Luthor story was one of the longest imaginary tales to date, but it nonetheless had all the earmarks of a classic Weisinger-edited effort. The plot was packed with ironic parallels and twists that were best appreciated by readers familiar with the Superman mythology.

Action Comics editor Murray Boltinoff had a much clearer vision. First and foremost, each plot needed to have a compelling hook that would make for a great cover image. Those plots also needed to stand on their own, independent of Superman’s mythology and devoid of the sort of ironic reversals that typified murray boltinoff most Weisinger alternate histories. By coincidence or design, the first IMAGINE… © DC Comics. A CONTINUITY MESS Boltinoff-edited imaginary tales avoided Ironically, it was a lack of familiarity with said mythology that the “What if?” foundation of Silver Age efforts by being resulted in the first imaginary story of the post-Weisinger era. set a decade or more in the future. Hence, a two-parter in Action Comics #396–397 Writer/artist/editor Mike Sekowsky had been charged with giving a makeover to Supergirl in the pages of Adventure (on sale in November and December 1970) opened in Comics and he arrived just issues before the title’s 35th the then-distant 1990s where the Man of Steel had been anniversary. As discussed in greater detail in BACK ISSUE reduced to being “The Super Panhandler of Metropolis.” #69, Adventure Comics #400 (on sale in October 1970) was Readers soon discovered that no one actually knew what a trainwreck from a continuity standpoint. had become of Superman, including his old friend—and “Return of the Black Flame” reintroduced a villainess last current WMET-TV executive—Jimmy Olsen. Unknown seen in 1963’s Action Comics #304 and found her trying to to all, the lost hero was still in town, confined to a slay Supergirl with newcomers L. Finn, the Inventor, and the wheelchair, disguised in shabby clothes, and reduced Toymaster. Their ultimate weapon was gold kryptonite, to begging for change. a substance that normally removed a Kryptonian’s powers A humiliating incident exposed his plight to the public permanently. Here, though, it only weakened the heroine. but also led to a touching reunion with Jimmy. With his Meanwhile, the city of Kandor—located in a bottle within old pal’s help, the former Man of Steel discovered that his Superman’s Fortress—was now on a planet of its own… seemingly lost powers were still there. A doctor theorized as was the Phantom Zone, said here to house criminals that a series of bungled missions had caused a psychosofrom many galaxies rather than just those of Krypton. matic block in Superman’s brain. A crisis ultimately awoke In the wake of a pile of letters pointing out the goofs, the hero’s abilities, but he remained convinced that the the text page in Adventure #405 contained this announcement: diligent public servants of the 1990s had made him “We are getting [Superman scholar E. Nelson Bridwell] redundant. Taking his leave of Earth, the Man of Steel to check our stuff now.” Adventure #400, incidentally, vowed to find a planet that actually needed him. was a perfect example of what Valentino described as Three decades later, DC collected editions editor the inferred imaginary tale, not actually intended as such Robert Greenberger earmarked the two-parter for but too messed up to be anything but. inclusion in DC’s Greatest Imaginary Stories trade Adventure #401’s “The Frightened Supergirl”—by paperback (2005), based on a nomination by Mark Waid. Sekowsky and inker Jack Abel—was meant to be imaginary, DC president Paul Levitz said no, however, characterizing though. Under the influence of a fear serum administered the story as “too depressing,” and Lois Lane #51’s “Three by Lex Luthor’s niece Nasthalthia, the Girl of Steel went Wives of Superman” (1964) replaced it. While a story on a rampage throughout the community of Stanhope. in which Superman watched three successive spouses Even the villains perished during the reign of terror, but die sounds infinitely more tragic, Levitz did have a point. the chaos abruptly stopped on page 14 when Linda The jam-packed Weisinger plots were crammed with Danvers sprang up in her bed. It had all been a dream. humor, happiness, and mythology, along with the tears. Intentional or not, neither Supergirl story was a Stripped of those devices, “Wheelchair Superman” was good example of the imaginary tale concept. New a downer from start to finish.

Weird Adventure Comics (left) Writer/artist/ editor Mike Sekowsky’s gooffilled Supergirl story in Adventure Comics #400 (Dec. 1970) made DC’s resident continuity guru E. Nelson Bridwell wish it into imaginary status. (right) Action #396’s (Jan. 1971) “Super-Panhandler” imaginary tale was later designated a super-bummer. Cover by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson. TM & © DC Comics.

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EDGIER TALES IN THE BRONZE AGE

There was nothing wrong with that, of course, and it gave these earliest Bronze Age imaginary tales a distinct tonal flavor. The artwork also helped sell the approach. One of Boltinoff’s most inspired decisions was pairing veteran Superman penciler Curt Swan with inker Murphy Anderson. The latter brought a sleek gravity and seriousness to the adventures of Superman that immediately distinguished it from the Silver Age series. Boltinoff continued to enjoy the services of two Silver Age writers on his stories. Leo Dorfman penned the aforementioned “Wheelchair Superman” while Cary Bates joined “Swanderson” on the next two imaginary tales. The first Action #405 (cover-dated Oct. 1971) asked “Superman: Bodyguard or Assassin?” Set at an indeterminate point in the future, the plot found the President of the United States marked for death by a mystery assassin calling himself Marsepun. A series of mind-games ensued with a Gemini terrorist attempting to convince Superman that he’d developed a split personality and was trying to execute the POTUS himself. After questioning Superman’s sanity for much of the story, readers were assured in the climax that it had all been an act to flush out the insidious General Trevis. “Regardless of the editor, the hardest part was finding a new premise worth pursuing,” Cary Bates tells BACK ISSUE. “Because imaginary stories were outside regular continuity, it literally meant ‘anything goes’ (within reason, although not always). Mort pretty much invented the genre and he published more imaginary stories than anyone else, whereas for Julie and Murray they were exceptions not the rule. Also, Mort was difficult to please even on a good day, and because he was the prime mover behind so many of these stories, it would be a challenge coming up with an imaginary twist or plot hook he himself hadn’t already used. “For what it’s worth, my very first professional sale was an imaginary story, ‘The New Superman-Batman Team,’ in which Lex Luthor became Superman and Clark Kent became Batman. Mort bought the script in late 1966. It appeared in World’s Finest #167.” Bates’ next Bronze Age imaginary tale also explored the possibility of a split personality, but this time the subject was “the Satanic Son of Superman” (Action Comics #410, on sale in January 1972). There had been multiple stories about Superman’s potential offspring over the years, but Bates departed from all of them by ignoring the usual prospective mothers like Lois, Lana, or even Lori Lemaris. Instead, the bride of Clark Kent was Krysalla, a literal witch who worried about how a mixture of magical and Kryptonian DNA would affect their unborn child. Not well, it turned out, at least for Krysalla, who died in childbirth. By 1984, their ten-year-old son Krys had been implicated in a succession of disasters and Superman seemed prepared to kill the boy to stop the threat. In fact, Krys had an invisible demonic twin who was the true culprit—and was conveniently killed by android villains so that Superman didn’t have to deal with him. Afterwards, the Man of Steel explained that the supposed weapon he used to “kill” Krys had merely cryogenically frozen him in order to draw out the evil. “This was an homage to the Tom Tryon novel The Other,” Bates reveals, “which was a bestseller at the time. As in the Tryon book, one of the plot elements was an invisible evil twin.”

JUNGLE FEVER AND SUPER SONS

Bad Boys (top) Scribe Cary Bates drew inspiration from the popular novel The Other (inset) for his “Satantic Son of Superman” tale in Action #410. (bottom) The Baby of Steel went ape in Superboy #183 one month before DC’s Tarzan (inset), by Joe Kubert, hit the stands. TM & © DC Comics, except for The Other © Thomas Tryon and Tarzan © ERB, Inc.

On sale the same week, Superboy #183 (by Leo Dorfman, Bob Brown, and Murphy Anderson) returned to the classic “What if?” approach with “Karkan the Mighty— Lord of the Jungle.” Specifically, it detailed what might have happened had the infant Kal-El’s rocket landed in the African jungle rather than rural Smallville. The parallels to Tarzan were anything but a coincidence. DC had recently acquired the comic-book rights to the legendary ape-man and editor Boltinoff managed to get his riff on the character a month before Joe Kubert’s first issue of Tarzan hit the stands. Like Edgar Rice Burroughs’ famed creation, Karkan was raised by apes. Unlike Tarzan, he flew like a bird and fashioned a red-and-blue toga from his Kryptonian baby blankets… complete with an “S” emblem to represent the serpent he once slew. By the end of the story Karkan had met his Jane—a girl named Toni—and joined her en route to the United States after being ostracized by his ape family. A sequel in May 1972’s Superboy #188 continued the saga as the “Super-Savage” performed feats like pulling a giant metal worm— actually a subway train—from the earth. The Karkan saga never made it to a third installment, but patient readers eventually saw him again. In 1999, Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett united the current version of the Boy of

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Steel with counterparts from a plethora of other realities. One of them—glimpsed in Superboy #61 and 64—was a jungle-boy named Karkan. Back in 1972, editorial shuffling resulted in Julius Schwartz acquiring Action Comics, while Murray Boltinoff claimed World’s Finest Comics. The latter’s first course of action (so to speak) was to introduce a new series featuring the teenage Super Sons of Superman and Batman. Despite their disregard for continuity in the Man of Steel and Dark Knight’s other titles, writer Bob Haney was emphatic that the stories were “not imaginary, nor fantasy, but real, the way it happened.” Fans concerned with such things were apoplectic, but no explanation for the Super Sons’ place in canon was forthcoming anytime soon. (See BACK ISSUE #87 for much more on the subject.)

FUTURE VERSIONS OF THE WORLD’S FINEST DUO

Imaginary tales in general weren’t forthcoming. “The number one weapon used by the ’60s Marvel vs. DC crowd in every fanzine article, at length and repeatedly,” former Comic Reader editor Mike Tiefenbacher tells BACK ISSUE, “was to bring up imaginary stories. A certain segment of fandom had no use for them, particularly as done by Mort Weisinger, and weren’t shy about saying so, which actually makes their survival into the Bronze Age stories all the more remarkable, since so much of what happened in the ’70s was a matter of giving fandom exactly what they’d asked for (since the

companies were hiring those fans), at least among the editors who were listening.” Those editors included Julius Schwartz. The only alternate realities that his books typically trafficked in were the parallel worlds of Earth-Two and the occasional off-shoots like Earth-X or Earth-S. Only 1974’s Justice League of America #114—wherein a villain called Anakronus boasted of an adventure that never happened— ventured into that territory. “I think he disliked the term ‘imaginary story’ (or ‘tale’) because of its ties to the Weisinger era,” Schwartz writer and assistant Bob Rozakis tells BACK ISSUE. “While Julie was never locked into everything tying into continuity—he would occasionally overrule Nelson when a story point would contradict something that happened in an issue 20 years earlier— he preferred to stay away from tales that were completely outside it.” When an imaginary tale finally did appear in a Bronze Age Schwartz title, it was a special occasion: Superman #300. Even here, the editor resisted using the Weisinger name. Instead, he asked readers in the cover copy to “just imagine…” First used as the title of a speculative feature in Real Fact Comics during the 1940s, “Just Imagine” was also used by Schwartz in ads promoting the new Justice League of America feature in 1960. Superman #300’s “ ‘Superman 2001’ did stand alone in Julie’s canon,” co-writer Cary Bates concedes. “Since it was written for a milestone issue, maybe

Superman 2001 and The Last Batman Story (left) The 300th edition of Superman (June 1976), written by the Bates and Maggin team, imagined what would happen if Kal-El landed on Earth “today” (that is, 1976). Art by Curt Swan and Bob Oksner. (right) The original cover art for Batman #300, by Dick Giordano, courtesy of John Wells. TM & © DC Comics.

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that our 1976 conception of what life in 2001 might be like proved to be way off-base, even more so than the 2001 portrayed in the movie.” “Superman 2001” had a profound effect on one reader, incidentally. The international conflict over Kal-El resonated in the mind of young Mark Millar for two decades before he wrote a reversal on the 1976 premise: What if the Soviets had gotten to the rocket first? Millar and artists Dave Johnson and Andrew Robinson’s Elseworlds story Superman: Red Son #1–3 explored that topic at length in 2003. The Man of Steel’s tricentennial also made enough of an impression on its editor to prompt Julius Schwartz to schedule another imaginary tale for 1978’s Batman #300: “The Last Batman Story…?” Scripted by David V. Reed, the story was set a few decades in the future and followed an older, grayer Batman and Robin on a quest to take down the Spectrum cabal that had struck Wayne International. Along the way, readers were teased with the fates of several key villains and supporting cast members before the final pages teased that Bruce Wayne intended to propose to an unnamed woman, hang up his cape, and perhaps run for governor. Dick Grayson—now wearing the popular Neal Adams-designed alternate costume otherwise seen in All-Star Comics—was said to be the father of twins Bruce and James. Fans were invited to infer that the latter was named after his grandfather Commissioner James W. Gordon… and that Dick had married his daughter Barbara. The day-in-the-life aspect of Batman’s last case may have seemed unconventional at the time, but it now serves as a nice contrast to the rote operatic tragedies that most superheroes end their careers on. The fine art job—by Walter Simonson and Dick Giordano—is lovely to look at, too. (Both Superman #300 and Batman #300 were covered in more detail in 2013’s BACK ISSUE #69.)

Lady Flash and Earth’s Other Supergirl (top) Barry Allen’s assistant in a dashing appearance in DC Special Series #1 (1977). By Bates, Irv Novick, and Frank McLaughlin. (center) In Superman Family #192, young Jor-El and Lara were rocketed to Earth, where (right) in issue #193 Lara grew up to be Supergirl. TM & © DC Comics.

SPEEDSTERS, MARVELS, AND KRYPTONIANS

he decided to go with an imaginary story to commemorate the occasion. FYI, in 1967 I wrote the script for Superman #200, which featured an imaginary story showing what might have happened if Krypton never exploded and Kal-El grew up on Krypton with a younger brother.” The joint effort of Bates and Elliot S! Maggin (with artists Curt Swan and Bob Oksner), “Superman 2001” envisioned the arrival of Kal-El’s rocket in present-day 1976, a world where satellites would have detected the craft ahead of time and inspired a race between U.S. and Soviet forces to recover its contents. Claimed by the United States, the mysterious Skyboy remained a point of contention that nearly ignited World War III. After averting that catastrophe, the teenager vanished only to emerge in 2001, when a new crisis called for a Superman. Moving and dramatically staged, the story had an epic feel appropriate for the occasion. “I recall the upcoming Bicentennial being the impetus for a story kicked off by the provocative idea of there being a competition between the USA and USSR over which country would claim baby Kal-El,” Cary Bates said in BACK ISSUE #69. “The fact that 1976 was also the year that Superman #300 came out was just serendipity. In retrospect, I’d have to concede

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In between the two anniversary issues, Cary Bates penned an engaging twist on the imaginary tale in 1977’s DC Special Series #1 (a.k.a. 5-Star Super-Hero Spectacular). Years earlier, Barry Allen had become the Flash after lightning struck a shelf in his police lab and bathed him in chemicals. As “How to Prevent a Flash” began, Barry was horrified to see the same thing take place again to his new assistant Patti Spivot. Like her predecessor, the young woman wasted no time in becoming a costumed speedster, but with explosive side effects. Her chemical bath contained countless different toxins than those that doused Barry, and the results were catastrophic. As all seemed lost, the Flash swept in to rescue Patti before the lighting struck. “Although many people say they can ‘think fast on their feet’ in times of crisis,” Bates concluded, “only the Fastest Man Alive could’ve imagined a whole sequence of events in a mere hundredth of a second.” Bates “deliberately plotted ‘How to Prevent a Flash’ to be different from the super-speed stories normally in the Flash’s own mag,” editor Paul Levitz explained on the one-shot’s text page. “No supervillain is featured—and the strong supporting cast that is a Flash trademark is absent. Instead, the story plays up the dimension of the Flash’s powers— an area rarely explored in recent years. Since the story was counter to the ordinary, we chose the regular star artists of The Flash—Irv Novick and Frank McLaughlin—to balance that out.”

“Barry’s chemical/lightning accident also played a key role in a much better-known story,” Bates says, “ ‘1981: a Flash Odyssey’ (The Flash #300). The basic idea was that the fateful lightning strike actually left Barry horribly scarred and bed-ridden for life, thus all his Flash adventures were just fantasies concocted in his mind—certainly a premise worthy of an imaginary story, only in this case it turned out Barry was being gaslighted by a magic spell cast by Abra Kadabra.” The most ironic use of imaginary stories in 1977 came in an ongoing title called What If?, the subject of an article elsewhere in this issue, published by the very company that—via Stan Lee—laughed at the concept in the 1960s: Marvel Comics. Writer/ editor Roy Thomas admitted in What If? #1 that he “rather liked the idea [of DC’s early alternate histories], at least at first. Of course, when every second or third story became an imaginary tale, its newness and appeal palled—to me, if not to newer, younger readers.” Mike Tiefenbacher adds, “kids who grew up with Marvel post-’77 probably never had the slightest idea that they weren’t supposed to embrace non-continuity stories.” No Bronze Age DC imaginary tale evoked the Weisinger era more than a two-parter in Superman Family #192 and 193 (on sale in August and October 1978). Nominally scripted by Gerry Conway (with pencils by Kurt Schaffenberger), the story showed extensive input from editor E. Nelson Bridwell in the abundance of Kryptonian and Smallville lore

packed into its collective 17 pages. The trivia began on page one when Superman entered the Fortress of Solitude to use a computer simulator that projected how his history might have turned out differently. It was this device, Bridwell declared in a footnote, that the Man of Steel had used to view those World’s Finest Super Sons adventures. The premise built on what might have happened if Krypton had been destroyed a generation earlier than it actually had. With the help of a dormant alien spacecraft, the fathers of Jor-El and Lara managed to shuttle their infant offspring to Earth before the planet was struck by a comet. On Earth, Lara was adopted by Henry and Willa Clark (parents of Martha) while Jor-El was taken in by Jonathan Kent’s father Matt. (The Krypton sequence had been meant to echo details in the Bridwell-driven World of Krypton trilogy scheduled for Showcase in the summer of 1978, but the rescheduling of Superman: The Movie to December resulted in WoK being postponed until 1979.) The second chapter skipped ahead several years, by which point Lara (a.k.a. Laura Clark) had taken the persona of Supergirl. She’d also taken a romantic interest in Jack Kent, unaware of their common alien origins. Her adoptive parents were compelled to tell her the truth since—as far as they knew—the two infants had been siblings. Determined to learn the truth, Supergirl approached brilliant scientist Jack to do genetic testing that calmed her fears: they weren’t related. Even in this timeline, Superman’s parents would still have fallen in love.

Superman Family Affairs (left) A bleak turn of events for Superman in Action #492 (Feb. 1979). (right) A happier future was projected for the Man of Steel’s loved ones in Superman Family #200 (Mar.– Apr. 1980). TM & © DC Comics.

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FUTURES BLEAK AND BRIGHT

The traditional alternate-reality treatment of the imaginary tale contrasted sharply with Action Comics #492’s thoroughly unconventional “Superman’s Secret Afterlife” (cover-dated Feb. 1979, on sale in November 1978). Scripted by Cary Bates with art by Curt Swan and Frank Chiaramonte, it had the three-act arc of a Silver Age “novel”: Lois Lane tragically died but Superman rebounded to marry Lana Lang and restore the Bottle City of Kandor to full size. After accidentally killing Lana and their children, the shattered Man of Steel resolved to commit suicide. In reality, Superman was being telepathically manipulated by Phantom Zone criminals to believe he was experiencing a Kryptonian near-death condition in which one flash-forwarded to the life he might have had. The Zoners overstepped in their suicide detail, however. Snapping out of his trance, the hero vowed that he would never kill anyone, even himself. The future looked much brighter a year later when Superman Family reached its 200th issue in December 1979. Once again, editor Julius Schwartz used an anniversary issue to “just imagine” the future and looked in on the book’s regular features circa 1999. Supergirl was now Superwoman, while her Linda Danvers alter ego was governor of Florida. Meanwhile, Jimmy Olsen was the cigar-chomping editor of the Daily Planet and husband to Lucy Lane. And finally, Superman’s wife Lois Lane prepared to celebrate her anniversary to Clark Kent as their daughter Laura discovered at the onset of puberty that she’d inherited her father’s powers. Scripted entirely by Gerry Conway, each chapter spotlighted a different feature with artists including Bob Oksner, Alex Saviuk, Kurt Schaffenberger, and Win Mortimer. A subplot running through the issue dealt with Lois’ frustration over a new pregnancy just as she was planning to resume an active journalism career. Clark solved the problem by retiring from the Daily Planet to be a stay-at-home dad. “You always were the better reporter of the two of us anyway,” he smiled.

Conway’s depiction of a mysterious detective boyfriend for Superwoman fueled considerable speculation from fans that her lover was a grown-up Dick Grayson, but the writer insisted (via issue #203’s letters column) that he had no specific subject in mind.

ALTERNATE SUPERMEN AND TITANS TOMFOOLERY

In Superman #353 (cover-dated Nov. 1980), “Just Imagine” got its own logo for the first part of a Bob Rozakis-scripted trilogy starring “Bruce (Superman) Wayne.” In a classic reversal scenario, Kal-El’s rocket landed near Gotham City, leading to the toddler’s discovery by patrolman Jim Gordon and his adoption by Thomas and Martha Wayne. In this account, gunman Joe Chill was no match for a superpowered Bruce Wayne and his adoptive parents lived to see adulthood. After saving his family from Chill’s vengeful boss Lew Moxon, the 21-year-old Bruce decided to use his powers for the greater good as Superman. The second installment (Superman #358) played up Bruce’s attraction to Gotham librarian Barbara Gordon, while the concluding third (Superman #363) opened with their wedding. There were few smiles after that, as Lex Moxon returned to murder newly installed Commissioner Jim Gordon. Adopting the persona of Batwoman, Barbara hunted down her father’s killer, only to see him suffer the same fate as his counterpart in the mainstream counterpart in 1956’s Detective Comics #235: He ran into the path of an ongoing truck. Bob Rozakis tells BACK ISSUE that editor Julius Schwartz had no aversion to running with the alternate-reality concept. “If a writer could come up with something really interesting—like Bruce (Superman) Wayne—he was willing to go with it, at least for a little while. I think I pitched a couple more stories, but he decided that three were enough to milk that particular theme.” Schwartz saw greater potential in “Superman 2020,” Rozakis’ multi-generational alternate-future series that ran in Superman #354–355, 357, 361, 364, 368, and 372 (1980–1982). The concept of Bruce Wayne as Superman—first touched on in a parallel world story in 1963’s World’s Finest #136—was explored again in 1993’s Superman: Speeding Bullets. Written by J. M. DeMatteis

When Clark Bruce Met Barbara (left) Bruce (Superman) Wayne marries Barbara Gordon on this original art page from Superman #363 (Sept. 1981), courtesy of Heritage. Signed by its penciler, Rich Buckler. (bottom) The New Teen Titans creative team supreme of writer Marv Wolfman and penciler George Pérez played with imaginary tales beginning with the TTs’ preview adventure in DC Comics Presents #26. Shown here, Marv and George even managed a cameo in NTT #20. TM & © DC Comics.

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and drawn by Eduardo Barreto, this Elseworlds tale took a very greeted with enthusiastic responses and additions to the lists from the different approach than Rozakis had, but still ended with its hero likes of future pro Mark Waid and Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel. becoming Superman. Rosa had opined that 1978’s Superman #330 should have been an Published a month before Superman #353, DC Comics Presents #26 imaginary tale. Scripted by Martin Pasko and drawn by Curt Swan and included an imaginary tale that alternated with a “real” one. Elated over Frank Chiaramonte, it asserted that Superman—with the aid of Kryptonian Marv Wolfman and George Pérez’s imminent New Teen Titans book, glasses—subconsciously hypnotized anyone he met to perceive his Clark DC publisher Jenette Kahn requested a preview to be published in July Kent persona as skinny, balding, and frail. This prompted a response to 1980. Since the team members didn’t actually meet until NTT #1, Rosa from E. Nelson Bridwell that ran in TCR #202: “There is another Wolfman had to devise a means of showing the Titans in action and you can add to your list. Julie [Schwartz] and I have agreed the glasses introducing their T-shaped headquarters without contradicting what story you deplored in Superman #330 is not part of the official Superman was to come. His solution was to essentially write a Robin solo story, mythology—so it can enter the list of imaginary tales!” wherein the Teen Wonder worked a case while repeatedly The premise had originated with fan Al Schroeder III and his wife Barb felt obligated to defend his original idea in TCR succumbing to a dream—induced by the mysterious Raven— #212 (Aug. 1983). “Al never meant to imply that people wherein he met a new team of Titans. see Clark as this story showed they did. Heavens, no! Two years later, Wolfman and Pérez produced a He wanted folks to see Clark as slimmer, less muscular rather different imaginary tale, a gag five-pager in than Superman. Not that less handsome! […] The which they actually met their creations. “A Titanic Tale difference between Chris[topher] Reeve in his preof Titans Tomfoolery” appeared in March 1982’s New Teen Titans #20 (cover-dated June 1982). Superman role days as opposed to how he looked That same month, the Jimmy Olsen story in after he built himself up for the part. […] See, Al’s Superman Family #219 (by Paul Kupperberg, Jose concept was that due to the super-hypnotizing, people Delbo, and Joe Giella) seemed to be an imaginary tale. would be more apt to look at Clark Kent and think, ‘Gee, Superman’s pal was now a star reporter for the Metropolis if this guy would work out, he’d look a lot like Superman.’” Eagle and his editor challenged him to get the biggest Superman Special #2 (on sale in December 1983) story of his career: Superman’s secret identity. On the was rejected from the official canon for an entirely julius schwartz last page, former JLA villain Brain Storm was revealed different reason. 1982’s Action Comics #530 had ended as the instigator of the plot. Having implanted this with Brainiac trapped in the core of a monstrous hallucination in Jimmy’s head, he intended for the Photo by Beth Gwinn. © Julius Schwartz Estate. “planet-eater.” Absolutely no one believed that the reporter to go out into the real world and learn the truth. Luckily for villain was gone for good, least of all Cary Bates, who wrote a 46-page Jimmy and Superman, that didn’t happen in the remaining two adventure (drawn by Gil Kane) that returned him to prominence. chapters… which were not imaginary tales. The story was originally produced for the German market with the expectation that it would eventually appear in the United States. A HYPNOTIC SUPER-STORY MAKES READERS SEE RED In the interim, though, Marv Wolfman (also working with Kane) Meanwhile, nostalgia for the imaginary tales of old was flowering. came up with a different solution as part of a Brainiac revamp in 1983’s A digest collection of Silver Age stories—plus “Superman 2001”— Action Comics #544, and that left the original Bates adventure in limbo. was published in September 1981’s Best of DC #19, while Don Rosa Julius Schwartz ultimately ran it at the end of the year—with three compiled an index for The Comic Reader #199 (Feb.–Mar. 1982). pages cut—as a standalone issue. Rather than try to work his preferred Valentino built on Rosa’s research for his more detailed article in the “just imagine” phrasing into the preexisting splash page, Schwartz aforementioned Amazing Heroes #29 (Aug. 15, 1983), and each was defaulted to Weisinger and called it an “imaginary story.”

Banished to Imaginary-dom (left) The infamous Superman #330 (Dec. 1978), which attempted to explain why no one recognizes Superman when he wears glasses, was assigned to an outof-continuity berth. (right) This Bates/Kane adventure produced for the European market earned an “imaginary” label when finally published in the States as Superman Special #2. TM & © DC Comics.

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Happily Never After? (top) Writers Kupperberg and Maggin, respectively, imagined these alternate realities for the Man of Steel in Superman #404 and #417. (bottom) From Superman #423, page 1 of “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” TM & © DC Comics.

HOOKED ON CLASSICS

Although the formal imaginary tale was still a rarity, the concept was alive and well at DC in the early 1980s. Wonder Woman #300 (Feb. 1983) and Legion of Super-Heroes #300 (June 1983) each explored roads not taken in short pieces that were part of a bigger story. Likewise, Superman #400 (Oct. 1984) was composed of tales that examined how the Man of Steel would be remembered in the future. The imaginary tale returned in its classic form for Superman #404 (Feb. 1985), by Paul Kupperberg, Carmine Infantino, and Bob Oksner. The star of the story—as indicated by Eduardo Barreto’s fine cover—was really Clark Kent, now happily married to Lana Lang with a two-year-old son and a successful career overseeing a grocery store chain. He was also strictly human and had been—as flashbacks gradually filled in—since a catastrophic battle with Lex Luthor as Superboy when he was 16. Best friends Pete Ross and Lana Lang had protected his alter ego, but Clark Kent still spent a decade in a coma before reclaiming his life and reuniting with very-much-alive adoptive parents. Despite the happiness he’d belatedly achieved, Clark still longed for his lost powers. In the adventure’s final act, he pulled out his stillinvulnerable costume and augmented it with a power-belt when Lex Luthor returned for new acts of terror. Even with his limitations, the long-lost Superman defeated his old enemy, only realizing afterward that he’d lost his power-belt somewhere along the line. “That’s one of my favorite Superman stories that I wrote,” Kupperberg tells BACK ISSUE. “I always found writing Clark a lot more interesting than Superman, so this story was like writing a Clark Kent, superhero story instead of another Superman tale. Also, Infantino and Oksner knocked it out of the park with the art. “As I recall, by the time I pitched ‘Born to be Superman’ to Julie, he was focusing on single-issue stories, even multiple stories in an issue. This one was an easy sell, pretty much pitched as, ‘Clark loses his superpowers when he’s a teen, stays in Smallville, takes over the general store, and turns it into a successful chain of supermarkets (Julie loved the double meaning of ‘super’markets), marrying Lana and raising a family. Then Luthor, who believes he killed Superboy years earlier in the incident where he lost his superpowers, returns and Clark has to put on the costume again and take on his archenemy without his powers because, yes, Virginia, Clark was ‘born to be Superman!’ ” If Schwartz had any reservations about doing an old-fashioned imaginary tale, he didn’t let on. “This issue was less than a year before Crisis,” Kupperberg continues, “so I guess we already knew the end was near for the current version of Superman. In which case, Julie might’ve just figured, sure, why not, what did he have to lose? Besides, he would often let me do ‘pet stories’ that he didn’t necessarily understand or didn’t fit his parameters; the Superman/Madame Xanadu story in DCCP [DC Comics Presents #65] was another one of those. “As I recall, he referred to them as imaginary stories, or what if stories. I wrote in the page one caption, ‘It is a story we imagine might have happened if things had been different,’ but it wasn’t explicitly labeled on the cover or inside as an ‘imaginary story.’ ” A year later, Elliot S. Maggin took his turn at an imaginary tale in Superman #417 (Mar. 1986). Once again, baby Kal-El’s rocket ship was diverted, not to the African jungle or Gotham City… but to Mars! Maggin’s version of the red planet owed less to DC’s J’onn J’onzz than the fierce warriors of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter stories and recalled a time before space exploration when life on Mars wasn’t entirely implausible. Claimed by the Martian house of Norr (whose trademark resembled a certain stylized “S”), Kal-El (dubbed Skaggerak) was key to helping his adoptive father conquer the planet. With that accomplished, he then flew to Earth to gather intelligence for an invasion. Instead, the pink Martian found himself touched at the compassion that humans displayed toward one another, whether feeding the poor in soup kitchens or donating to Salvation Army kettles. “I learned that you will not invade this planet,” he reported to Norr. “I also learned that this soft green world is my new home.” Writing with tongue in cheek throughout, Maggin paid homage to Superman: The Movie in one late scene, as Perry White declared that he wanted “the name of the Daily Planet to go with the flying Martian like love and marriage… death and taxes… politics and corruption.” When Lois Lane finally suggested Superman, her editor sighed, “Well… we’ll think of something.” [Editor’s note: This story page, in original art form, was shared with readers a mere two issues ago in BACK ISSUE #109, our Superman: The Movie 40th Anniversary issue.]

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THE LAST SUPERMAN STORIES

There were no laughs to be had in the final Superman imaginary tale of the Bronze Age. DC announced with great fanfare that star Marvel Comics creator John Byrne would be rebooting the Man of Steel in mid-1986 and the continuity most recently shepherded by Julius Schwartz and E. Nelson Bridwell would come to an end. Considering content for his final issues (Superman #423 and Action Comics #583, both on sale June 1986), Schwartz decided to pretend that he was editing the last Superman stories ever and asked Jerry Siegel to write them. The hero’s co-creator momentarily agreed only to back out over having to sign a work-for-hire contract. Instead, superstar Alan Moore virtually demanded to write the finale in Siegel’s absence, and Schwartz happily agreed. A year earlier, the writer had explored the imaginary tale concept with artist Dave Gibbons in Superman Annual #11 (“For the Man Who Has Everything”), wherein Mongul thrusts Kal-El into a vivid fantasy in which Krypton never exploded. “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” (penciled by Curt Swan and inked by George Pérez and Kurt Schaffenberger) was something else altogether. Enchanted by the concepts and characters that drew him into the Superman mythology as a boy, Moore revisited them all in his grand finale by applying the adage that a writer must “kill your darlings.” Over the course of 48 pages, many of Superman’s greatest friends and foes were systematically murdered, culminating with a showdown in the Fortress of Solitude. With no other recourse, the Man of Steel killed the mastermind (a demonic Mxyzptlk) and, having broken his vow to never take a life, gave up his powers in the glow of gold kryptonite. A framing sequence followed Lois Lane’s recollection of those horrible days to a reporter while a coy wink from her non-descript husband confirmed that the former Superman had found a new kind of happiness. Moore’s story opened with a passage whose last words have been quoted repeatedly in the years since: “This is an imaginary story (which may never happen, but then again may) about a perfect man who came from the sky and did only good. It tells of his twilight, when the great battles were over and the great miracles long since performed; of how his enemies conspired against him and of that final war in the snowblind wastes beneath the Northern Lights; of the two women he loved and of the choice he made between them; and how finally all the things he had were taken from him save one. It ends with a wink. It begins in a quiet midwestern town, one summer afternoon in the quiet midwestern future. Away in the big city, people still sometimes glance up hopefully from the sidewalks, glimpsing a distant speck in the sky… but no: it’s only a bird, only a plane. Superman died ten years ago. This is an IMAGINARY STORY… “Aren’t they all?” Although widely acclaimed and frequently reprinted in the past three decades, the story was not without its detractors. Writing in The Comics Buyer’s Guide #659 (July 4, 1986), co-editor Don Thompson described it as “an unpleasant story that I would rather not have read. […] While there are a few moments which will haunt me, there are others which […] are examples of wretched excess, completely at variance with the tone of the series over its 48 years of existence. It’s as though someone decided to wrap up Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies by having Elmer Fudd gun down Bugs, Porky, Foghorn Leghorn, and Daffy Duck and have them for a mixed grill dinner.” The last imaginary story of the 1980s was a downer in its own right, albeit in a series where death and despair were always close at hand. By 1987, Robert Kanigher was approaching the end of his incredible 29-year-run on Sgt. Rock and that may have inspired the two-part “Sons of Easy” in Sgt. Rock #417 and 418 (on sale in May and July 1987). In the preceding decade, the veteran writer had begun to declare that his enduring combat hero had not survived World War II. There was no reason, Kanigher decided, why Rock couldn’t dream of a life past 1945. Illustrated by Andy and Adam Kubert, the first chapter followed Easy Company as they returned home and started families before

Rock On Even in the wake of DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, Sgt. Rock got into the imaginary-tale game in 1987’s issues #417 and 418. TM & © DC Comics.

war returned with a vengeance in chapter two. The crew lost Worry Wart in Korea and faced the grim prospect of their kids fighting in Vietnam. An embarrassed Wildman was forced to admit that his son had burned his draft card and moved to Canada. When many from the original Easy Company joined their kids on the frontline, one character after another was killed. Awakening just as he and Bulldozer were about to die themselves, a shaken Rock admitted that his visions had been terrifying. “What could be worse than this war?” the real Bulldozer asked. “Maybe,” Rock replied, “it’s not learnin’ a lesson from this killin.’ ” Comics—and the world they inhabited—only got darker, but that didn’t blunt the attraction of roads not taken and worlds that never were. In Outsiders #19 (on sale in February 1987), Mike W. Barr and Dan Spiegle reminded readers that the imaginary tale need not be tragic. Charm and humor were qualities to aspire to, as well, and those were certainly on display in “Halo, Senior and Katana, Junior.” A homage to Detective Comics #218’s “Batman, Junior and Robin, Senior,” the dream sequence permitted a chance for the teenage Halo to outrank her dour mentor just once. The Dynamic Duo of the 1950s would scarcely have recognized the Gotham City of the 1980s, particularly in Batman: The Dark Knight #1–4, Frank Miller’s influential 1986 version of a last Batman story. The classic imaginary tales often tilted in darker, more tragic directions, but hardly on the scale of Miller’s violent, adult-themed opus. Even the physical package of Dark Knight had an impact, its square spine and cardboard covers soon adopted for prestigious projects from DC and other publishers. As content and presentation evolved, the imaginary tale evolved with it. Readers wouldn’t have to just imagine the next phase of DC’s alternate-history stories. Rebranded as Elseworlds, the age-old concept flourished anew in the 1990s (as explored elsewhere in this issue). JOHN WELLS is a comics historian specializing in DC Comics who has served as resource for projects ranging from Kurt Busiek’s The Power Company to Greg Weisman’s Young Justice animated series. He is the author of the TwoMorrows books American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960–1964 and 1965–1969.

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by C h a r l i e

Boatner

You Asked for Moore! The Silver Age classic “The Amazing Story of SupermanRed and Superman-Blue”— read by many Bronze Age babies for the first time in 1973 in DC 100-Page Super Spectacular #DC-18—had a sequel, of sorts, in 2003 in Alan Moore’s Tom Strong #20. Covers by (left) Nick Cardy and (right) Chris Sprouse and Karl Story.

alan moore

TM & © DC Comics.

Fimb.

Although Alan Moore has retired from writing comic books and has written little in years, his influence is strong. He pushed the boundaries of what mainstream comics publishers would portray in imagination, spectacle, violence, and sex. Yet, some of his stories were affectionate, closely observed interpretations of the heroes of his childhood. To children growing up in the late ’50 and ’60s, Superman was the benevolent, impossibly powered hero of Mort Weisinger’s editorial direction. Superman lived in a fanciful world filled with both mythical beings and science-fiction aliens. When that world was too small, Weisinger allowed his writers to step outside of the series’ premise. As long as they labeled it an “imaginary story,” the writers could defy the limits of the franchise for one story. Moore famously wrote the last story explicitly labeled as “imaginary” in “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”, which ran in Superman #423 and Action Comics #583 (both Sept. 1986). However, this was not the end of Moore’s exploration of the ’60s version of Superman, and it was not Moore’s last “imaginary story” featuring the hero.

THE ORIGINAL SUPERMAN-RED AND SUPERMAN-BLUE

One of the best-remembered imaginary stories is “The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue,” a three-chapter story filling Superman #162 (July 1963). In it, Superman creates, arguably, a perfect world. It begins with the hero’s frustration at not being able to solve all problems of his fellow Kryptonian survivors in the city of Kandor and the world in general. (Only his cousin Supergirl suggests that he expects too much from himself, but his hubris is not a plot point.) To increase his brainpower, he tries an experiment on himself, but it has an unintended side effect. He is twinned—he becomes two duplicate Supermen, both with increased intelligence, differentiated only by the color of their costumes. Calling themselves Superman-Red and Superman-Blue, they immediately set out on his agenda, and a series of wonders results: • his home planet Krypton is restored • all diseases are cured • evil impulses are erased (Luthor and Brainiac are among those reformed) • the end of criminality means that the prisoners of the Phantom Zone may be released • the mer-people of Atlantis are transported to a new watery world of their own.

Finally, all of their challenges met, the Supermen choose wives. The contenders are his sweetheart from his teens and his fellow newspaper reporter. At the time the story was published, Lana Lang and Lois Lane were friends and rivals—“Betty and Veronica” to Superman’s “Archie.” Since there are two Superman, the twins reason that they each can propose to one woman, but the gentlemanly heroes go to great effort to be impartial about who gets to choose first. But the problem seems to resolve itself when Superman-Red muses that he would choose Lois, given the chance. “Blue” replies that he would choose Lana. There is a triple wedding (Lois’ sister Lucy gets married to Jimmy Olsen). Lois and “Red” go to live on New Krypton, although “Red” will have no powers there. Lana and “Blue” stay on Earth. As the story ends, everyone seems happy, although Lucy seems doubtful. A final caption asks, “Suppose this imaginary story really happened? Which couple do you think would be happiest?”

COMMENTS AND REFERENCES

In the letters to the editor three issues later, a reader named John McGeehan wrote, “I think you showed… that if the forces of good were to triumph in every respect, eliminating all crime and disease from the world… and all the other problems solved—there could be no new stories… So thank the editor this was only an imaginary story!” The editor replied, “We think you got the message!” I like to think that Alan Moore took Lucy’s doubts and John’s comments as a challenge. He was certainly aware of the Red/Blue story. In 1996, he started writing a playful Superman pastiche in the Supreme comic book published by Image Comics. In Moore’s first issue, Supreme encounters imaginary versions of himself called Supreme-Gold and Supreme-White. But that was a cameo, and the idea was not further developed there.

TWILIGHT OF THE SUPERHEROES

Earlier, around 1987, while Alan Moore was still writing for DC, he proposed a crossover event featuring many DC heroes called “Twilight of the Superheroes.” Several Internet sites have hosted documents (essentially identical) which they identify as Moore’s proposal. A 12-issue series in the mood of Watchmen, the proposal described a near-future dystopia in which the heroes divide into several clans—the House of

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Steel, the House of Titans, the House of Lanterns, etc. The clans fight until the death or disappearance of most super-beings. Several elements in “Twilight” are relevant to this article. For instance, one describes a “temporal fluke”—“Within the fluke, there are maybe worlds where the imaginary stories happened: What would the world of Superman Red/Superman Blue be like if you were to visit it twenty years on?” (http://fourcolorheroes.home.insightbb.com/twilightfree.html, referenced May 2, 2013) In 1999, Moore began another series about a super man, Tom Strong, although this one owed as much to the pulp hero Doc Savage as to the comics. Like Doc, Tom has credible human strength, a supporting cast of amusing assistants, and a scientist father who had experimented on him. Like Superman, Tom has a genius archenemy and two lovers. Paul Saveen is his “Luthor.” Greta Gabriel is Tom’s girlfriend during his early heroics in Millennium City. Dhalua is an acquaintance from his childhood on the West Indian island of Attabar Teru, who he eventually rediscovers and marries. It was in the Tom Strong series that Moore wrote the sequel to the story that readers and editor said was impossible to continue.

people into good people.” Each new hero joins the common cause. Tom Stone says, “Instead of wasting time on each other, we could really clean up America. Plus, we could share discoveries…” The Cobweb replies, “…your picture of a villain-free utopia is very temping.” The project reaches beyond Earth when Saveen saves another planet. Its superhuman population also joins the mix. On the personal side, Stone marries Greta Gabriel and Saveen marries Dhalua in a double ceremony. Saveen’s children join the children of the other heroes and rehabilitated villains to form a new generation of amazing beings. Page 16 of issue #21 shows a sky like a fairyland, suggesting the wonders of the world that the Stone-Saveen team has created. I’m reminded of page 4 of the second chapter of the Red/Blue story, showing the Atlanteans swimming through a waterspout in space. “An underwater journey through space! Our descendants will think this wondrous journey was a myth… a legend!” These events bring the reader to a point in the storyline equivalent to the conclusion of Superman-Red/Superman-Blue. The hero is “twinned,” the two create a science-fiction Golden Age, and they marry. However, for Tom Stone, a chapter remains.

TOM STONE

TWILIGHT OF THE SCIENCE HEROES

TOM STRONG

“How Tom Stone Got Started” appeared in Tom Strong issues #20 through 22. (Due to the increasing “decompression” in comic-book storytelling over the years, a three-part story took three issues to tell in 2003.) Art was by Jerry Ordway, who later drew a cameo of Superman-Red/ Superman-Blue in Infinite Crisis #5 (Apr. 2006). The story is told to Tom and the reader through the device of a visitor from an alternate timeline. (Although “imaginary stories”—formally titled as such—had ended in 1986, superhero comics continued to tell “What if?” stories, using the multiverse theory that came from quantum physics by way of science fiction.) In such stories, the event that causes the original and alternate timelines to diverge is crucial. This divergent event is the timing of a sea voyage, which results in the Caucasian scientist Sinclair Strong dying instead of Tomas Stone, a Jamaican sailor. Tom’s mother marries Tomas instead of Sinclair. The son, Tom Stone, has the same early experiences on Attabar Teru that prompted Tom Strong to become a “science hero,” but cannot inherit Sinclair’s cold intellect and is not subjected to the gravity experiments that augmented Strong’s strength. When Stone relocates to Millennium City, he quickly meets Paul Saveen. However, they do not become enemies. Because their intellects are not in competition, Stone is able to persuade Saveen that life would be more rewarding if he used his genius for the public good. They become a team.

Stone and Dhalua begin an affair. Spying for Saveen, the Modular Man discovers them in bed and threatens them. Dhalua shoots him with an electromagnetic pulse gun that essentially kills the android. Things quickly spin out of control, as some of the heroes want revenge on Stone and Dhalua while others want to protect them. A reporter asks one hero, “…how has your science team become involved in, well, a marital dispute?” The hero replies, “It’s more than that… The whole science community has chosen sides.” As the narrator describes it, “…the cracks in [the] utopia were widening into a chasm. And that chasm would eventually swallow everything.” The story ends with the idea that the war between superheroes is intolerable—that it might expand to destroy everything. Better that the Golden Age had never existed. Better to erase that timeline with some time-travel handwavium.

THE AMAZING SEQUEL TO THE STORY OF SUPERMAN-RED AND SUPERMAN-BLUE

So you can see how Moore might have continued Red/Blue. The cover of Superman #162 shows Blue with Lana, watching Red and Lois on a screen. He says, “I wonder if Lois Lane regrets marrying Superman-Red! When they chose to settle on New Krypton, they all became just ordinary people!” I assume she would. Lois fell in love with a superman, not an ordinary person. At the same time, Moore might have asked, if Red and Blue were identical, why would they choose different wives? Lois seems the

THE STONE-SAVEEN TEAM

The story runs quickly through the origins of Tom Strong’s traditional enemies, with the variation that each becomes a hero. Often, a helping hand avoids the resentment that could turn a character into a villain. For instance, Saveen helps an ailing scientist create a better android body than he could on his own, resulting in a friendlier Modular Man. The narrator explains that, “a warmer and more human Tom Stone managed to turn bad

Two Supermen Are Better Than One (inset) Superman #162 (July 1963), where our story begins. Cover by Kurt Schaffenberger. (left top) Superman is twinned. (right top) The Supermen choose their life mates. (bottom) A triple wedding. Panels from Superman #162, by Leo Dorman, Curt Swan, and George Klein. TM & © DC Comics.

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Double Wedding Ring any bells beyond wedding ones? Panel detail from Tom Strong #20 (June 2003), by Alan Moore, Jerry Ordway, and Karl Story. TM & © DC Comics.

likely choice for the original, since our hero’s affection for her formed when he was an adult. We might imagine that, when Red voiced his preference for Lois, Blue’s decision became obligatory. Blue chose Lana in a selfless attempt to keep the peace. If Blue and Lois regretted their choices and were attracted to each other, they might fall into each other’s arms, mirroring the events in the conclusion to “Tom Stone.” Brainiac (no longer a villain) or one of Superman’s robots might discover the affair. Lois would destroy the android. Friends of the two Supermen would choose sides. Superman-Red’s fellow Kryptonians might back him and become superpowered again when they attacked Blue on Earth. Friends, teammates, and former enemies of the original Superman would probably fight on the side of Earth and Superman-Blue. In the terminology of “Twilight of the Superheroes,” it would be the House of Red versus the House of Blue. Moore’s work suggests two possible endings. In “Tom Stone,” the timeline was erased. However, we may not have that luxury with an imaginary story. I suspect that his Red/Blue sequel would end like “Twilight”—with the superpowered clans eliminating each other, giving Earth back to ordinary and Earth-born creatures (but leaving an unknown level of destruction).

THE FALL OF CAMELOT

Of course, the idea of a utopia undermined by a betrayal between friends is familiar— it is the basic plot of the King Arthur legend. Arthur founds Camelot on a chivalric code of mercy and honesty; an affair between Arthur’s wife and best knight triggers a civil war. Moore’s interest in King Arthur may be seen in the “Twilight” proposal. One part reads, “To complicate things, Captain Marvel, Jr. and Mary Marvel are having an affair behind the Captain’s back, Guinevere and Lancelot style, which has every bit as dire consequences as in the Arthurian legends.” The Arthur legend and the stories it has inspired suggest that Heaven-on-Earth is impossible because of human nature. Whatever humanity’s best intentions, our passions are unpredictable and more powerful.

Back in the “Tom Stone” story, when the android discovers the tryst, he says, “We had a Golden Age… Utopia! Now you two have thrown it all away, and you did for cheap sex!” It makes sense that an android would see it this way, because a utopia in an imperfect world must be built on good intent and law, as an android’s mind is built of instructions. However, Dhalua objects, “We did it all for love.” As I assume Lois would have said in her version. Moore seems to say that passion rejects Camelot, but is also consolation. His final word, through the Tom Stone narrator, is, “Love is all we have… in any universe.” CHARLIE BOATNER’s last appearance in BACK ISSUE was an interview in #72, discussing his Batman/Metal Men story in The Brave and the Bold #187. Read more of his stories at www.BureauofBeasties.com.

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conducted by

Jerry Smith

transcribed by Brian Martin, with Rose Rummel-Eury

Evil Twin George Pérez’s powerful covers for the prestige format two-issue epic from late 1992 and early 1993, The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

What is your favorite Incredible Hulk story? The Hulk’s property-destroying battles with the Thing, Thor, or the Sub-Mariner? His adventures in the subatomic world of K’ai and the tragedy of Jarella? His ongoing conflict with the military and General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross? His time in the Defenders? For my money, the greatest era of The Incredible Hulk was the run by writer Peter David and a cadre of superstar artists. And the finest story from that era was Future Imperfect. It’s a simple and elegant concept. The Hulk—now a perfectly merged Bruce Banner/Hulk resulting in a super-intelligent but aggressive mix of both— is confronted by a band of time-travelling rebels and convinced to come with them to fight a future tyrant. The group is led by Janis, who bears more than a little family resemblance to Hulk sidekick Rick Jones. The group then transports the Hulk to a future ruled by a superpowered dictator known as… the Maestro. Who is the Maestro? How did he conquer the world and destroy all its heroes? And why is the Hulk the only one who can defeat him? The answers are revealed by David and one of the all-time great superhero artists, Mr. George Pérez. I had the great fortune to speak to both comic pros about their work on this groundbreaking story. Future Imperfect made its debut on comic-book stands with the first issue of a two-part prestige format miniseries in December 1992. It has been lauded, reprinted, and celebrated ever since. This is the story of that story. (SPOILER ALERT! In the interests of an honest and revealing discussion, plot details regarding Future Imperfect, including the resolution of the tale, are revealed below.) – Jerry Smith

JERRY SMITH: Peter, I believe your epic run on the monthly Hulk comic began in ’87… PETER DAVID: No, it started earlier than that. People ask me what was my first issue of Incredible Hulk, and if I’m being strict in my response, the answer is #328 (Nov. 1986), because that’s the first issue of The Hulk that I ever wrote. However, my regular run on the book started three issues later, with issue #331 (Feb. 1987). SMITH: When Future Imperfect #1 came out in December of 1992, you had been on Incredible Hulk for five years or more. What inspired you to add to your workload with another high-class Hulk tale? DAVID: Bobbie Chase, my editor on the series, came to me and said that she wanted to develop a project with this Italian artist who was interested in working for us, and his strength was doing stories that were set in dystopian futures. So she wanted to know if I could come up with a dystopian future tale of the Hulk. In thinking about that I said, since we’re talking about a book that’s going to be largely set in the future, why don’t we simply flip-flop Terminator? Instead of having a hero from the future coming into the past to help save the world, I would have the Hulk from the present day being transported into the future to save the world. And then I started thinking, well, what kind of menace could there be that only the Hulk is the one who can deal with? Why not Thor, why not Captain America, why did it have to be the Hulk? And that’s where I came up with the idea of the Maestro. If there’s one person who can take out a future evil version of the Hulk, it’s going to be the present-day Hulk. SMITH: George, how did you get involved with Future Imperfect?

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Not the Tomorrowland You Were Expecting? At least you can find Waldo, if you’re eagle-eyed. Pages 4–5, a double-page spread from Future Imperfect #1. Script by Peter David, art by George Pérez, and colors by Tom Smith, here and throughout. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

GEORGE PÉREZ: There would not have been collaboration when he had his own magazine. I enjoyed the basic between Peter and me if my wife Carol had not read his primal nature of it. Imzadi novel that he did based on the characters from SMITH: Do either of you remember the name of the Italian Star Trek: The Next Generation. She was enamored with artist who was originally considered for the project? Peter’s style and said, if you ever had a chance to start DAVID: No. Absolutely no clue. If you contact Bobbie working with this guy, you should collaborate with him. Chase at DC, she might be able to tell you. The Italian So if it hadn’t been for my wife, I wouldn’t have guy dropped out for reasons that I never learned. gotten on to this project and had one of the [Writer’s note: Unfortunately, the artist’s name is landmarks of my career. lost to time. Neither the creative team nor original SMITH: Peter, were you always a Hulk fan? FI editor Bobbie Chase could remember the artist in question.] Then, for a little while, DAVID: In my younger days, not so we were thinking of using Sam Kieth. much, because the Hulk seemed kind I remember I was at lunch in San Diego of one note to me. He would basically wander around until somebody made [at Comic-Con] with Bobbie Chase and the mistake of trying to attack him, Sam Kieth discussing Future Imperfect, and then the Hulk would beat on them and indeed, it’s at that lunch that I until they stopped moving, the end. finally came up with the end to the story. Consequently, the intrinsic sameness of [When I explained it,] Bobbie was going, “Oh, my God, that’s brilliant! That the stories did nothing to respect me sounds fantastic.” as a reader, and apparently I was not But then Sam wasn’t interested in alone because when I came onto The peter david doing it. He read over as much as I had Hulk, the sales of the book were not © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. done—I think I had written the first half exactly stellar. SMITH: George, how about you? Did you like the Hulk? at that point—and he read it over and he said he just didn’t PÉREZ: I enjoyed reading him in the early 1960s when know how to approach it artistically. Those were his words— it came out. He was always a character that was a big he didn’t know how to approach it artistically—and I’m bruiser, not much more than that. I enjoyed his backup going, “Okay, I’m not entirely sure what that means, but feature when he came into Tales to Astonish and then okay.” And then I ran into George. And I mean that almost

38 • BACK ISSUE • Alternate Realities Issue

Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys? From Thor’s hammer to the Beast’s pelt, future Rick Jones has collected it all. From issue #1. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

literally. I was back at home and I was in one of these things that are PÉREZ: Remember, since it was originally conceived for another artist— generally referred to as a Docs in a Box. Do you know what those are? it was already written—there was no development time. The story was pretty much there. As my relationship with most writers, it was a plot of SMITH: No! DAVID: The 24-hour medical clinics that are fairly small. They’re not hospitals, which I would adapt my way and then Peter would dialogue based on the but they’re medical clinics, and they’re open 24/7 if you need a doctor. visuals and pacing so that I am involved in the storytelling to some degree, So I was sitting there at the Docs in a Box with my daughter Gwen, emphasizing certain stuff, delineating something Peter may have suggested and who should be sitting there but George Pérez? And I’m going, “Holy or left open—becoming a pure collaborative effort, which is what I do enjoy. crap, George!” And he said, “Peter, how’s it going?” So we’re sitting I don’t enjoy it as much when I get a full script because I do like to there chatting and George says to me, “You know, I’ve always contribute. Most people do like working with me on the plotting wanted to work on a project with you.” And I said, “Really? side of the script because they get the best of George Pérez. As it so happens, I have a project.” He said, “Well, tell me.” SMITH: Peter, I’d like to ask you about the world building in Future Imperfect… It’s such a bleak, dystopian place. And I proceeded to tell him the basic story of Future I specifically wanted to ask about the two-page Imperfect. And, unlike Sam, who had no idea how to approach it artistically, George said, “I’m in, absolutely.” marketplace scene that opens the book. It is a stunning piece I said, “Great.” Now, keep in mind, this is before the that establishes the entire world in one two-page scene. era of cell phones, so I had to wait until I got home to How depressing and dark did you want that world to be? call Bobbie Chase to say, “Bobbie, I’ve got us an artist DAVID: I don’t know what was going through my mind for Future Imperfect.” And Bobbie wasn’t quite sure how a couple of decades ago. All I can tell you is that George to react because I said to her, “I’ve already told him he’s drew pretty much exactly what I described. We weren’t got the job.” She’s like, “Peter, you really don’t have the going for Blade Runner 2121 here, but I actually saw it on kind of Mad Max level. That, to my mind, is pretty authority to do that,” and I said, “Trust me.” She said, much the gold standard for a post-apocalyptic world. “Who is it?” I said, “George Pérez.” And she said, george pérez “Okay, we’ll do that.” I knew there was no way on So I was envisioning it like, the city where © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. God’s green Earth Bobbie Chase was going to go, Thunderdome was, was Bartertown. I was thinking “You know, George Pérez, I don’t really see him doing this.” No freaking way. it was Bartertown, and that’s pretty much exactly what he gave me. PÉREZ: Little did I know that working on Future Imperfect would turn Look at the insane amount of detail that’s in the two-page opening of the first issue, in which George shows a busy marketplace in the middle out to be one of the highlights of my career. DAVID: Hold on, hold on. [to his wife Katherine] “George said that of dystopia! Oh, my God, there’s like, a hundred people in that thing! working with me on Future Imperfect with me was one of the highlights PÉREZ: I wanted it to look dirty and futuristic. of his career! That is so sweet.” Okay, I just told my wife! SMITH: It’s a wonderful establishing shot that sets the tone for the SMITH: [laughter] Peter, what was your relationship like with George entire story. on the book? PÉREZ: I’ve seen a lot of old movies, and seen the casbah, a middle-Eastern DAVID: Oh, it was purely sexual. marketplace where everything is crowded, with an Asian influence. SMITH: [laughter] Even in America, in Brooklyn we had street markets where everyone DAVID: No, no, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. George is a writer’s artist. is selling their poultry, produce, and other items. I wanted to get that That means that you can toss things over to him and he will take it feeling, and also the feeling of the fear of congestion and world war. and run with it and score every time. I wanted to be able to draw something gritty. As far as that doubleSMITH: George, please describe your working relationship with Peter. pager goes, Peter described it as a “Where’s Waldo?” page where there Alternate Realities Issue • BACK ISSUE • 39

Anyone Got a Giant Penny to Spare? (left) Hulk is shocked to meet the aged Rick of the future. From issue #1. (right) The hypersexed overlord of our little drama, the Maestro, as revealed to the reader on page 19 of Future Imperfect #1. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

are so many people, you feel like you should be looking for Waldo. So I drew him in there. SMITH: I remember hearing that, so I recently got out my magnifying glass and found Waldo in the opening splash pages of Future Imperfect! DAVID: I actually point [Waldo] out to people on occasion if they bring copies for me to autograph, depending upon what kind of a line there is and whatever my mood is. But yes, that is absolutely true. I looked at this mob scene, I looked at the pencils, and I said to George, “You know what this needs? It needs Waldo.” And sure enough, he fricking drew in Waldo! Now, he didn’t color him. If people are going to go for their copies of Future Imperfect to check it out, we didn’t color him in because the guys in legal wouldn’t let us do it. He just got blued. But if you look around you can find him. SMITH: The most famous scene in the story and my personal favorite is, of course, Rick’s trophy room with items from the decimated Marvel Universe. You’ve probably heard from many fans about how many collective hours they’ve spent identifying and cataloging every item in

40 • BACK ISSUE • Alternate Realities Issue

that magnificent two-page spread. Regarding that scene, Peter, can you tell me what was in the script as opposed to what George added artistically? DAVID: In the first issue I had the Hulk go into the trophy room of Rick Jones, who, by this point is, like, 110 years old. He’s all shriveled and sitting in a wheelchair. And I said, “This is Rick’s trophy room. He has picked up trophies and memorabilia from every freaking superhero.” I said, “The only things that absolutely have to be in there are Captain America’s shield, Silver Surfer’s board, Wolverine’s skeleton—you know, his adamantium skeleton—and I think there was one other thing, I don’t remember offhand what it was. Oh, yes, Thor’s hammer. Those four things must be in there, must be visible in this shot. You can put in whatever else you want to. PÉREZ: The main items I can remember, because they did play roles in the course of the story, were the Silver Surfer’s surfboard, Cap’s shield, and the snuffbox that contained the ashes of the Wasp. Yes, I believe Wolverine’s skeleton was also in the script. But after that, Peter said, “Just wing it.” DAVID: If you look at that thing, there’s a hundred things in there! He’s got dozens of capes, costumes, weaponry, not to mention he had things from other comic books. He had Archie Andrews’ Riverdale sweater. PÉREZ: As I was going along, I thought, “It’s a one-shot, and as long as we don’t call hyper-attention to it, you know, [using] special coloring, why should I just stick to the Marvel Universe?” It’s an inside joke. SMITH: The bottle city of Kandor! DAVID: He had Kandor! PÉREZ: We had the bottle city of Kandor [from Superman], it was in the background. It was never used in the action, it was never referred to in dialogue, it was just there. It was there as eye candy. As were a lot of other things. Herbie Popnecker’s lollipops, Archie Andrews’ Riverdale sweater, and other things from across universes including a couple that were actually added by the colorist, Tom Smith. At one point, in one framed picture that I didn’t draw anything in, [Tom Smith] himself

painted a picture of Nexus, [Mike] Baron and [Steve] Rude’s character. It became just a fun thing. And one of the things I did enjoy, which I try to do with a lot of my work—and this one was, of course, a prime example—is that it made you read the story, but then you’re going to want to come back to find something you missed! And you can read it a few times and probably still find something new with every reading. As I started doing more and more, I used the layout of a real museum exhibit that I found in a book, so that was my layout. I said, okay, let me now start bringing stuff into the displays and adding extra walls in order to be able to put stuff on the walls, including the pelt of the Beast… which was a nice little grim trophy when you think about it. I was just having a grand time. DAVID: He wound up having a pile of bricks in one corner of it with a green brick on top of it. And everyone’s wondering, “What’s with the green brick?” I wound up making a whole story out of that green brick when I wrote Captain Marvel. You can count on George to take this stuff and just go and keep going. He is a writer’s artist, because whatever you have in there, he’s going to top whatever it is that you pictured in your head. PÉREZ: Where I put a bunch of bricks that were just the remains of Avengers Mansion, Tom colored in one brick as green to establish that as a kryptonite brick that just happens to be there. He colored the entryway green so that now, because of the way it was shaped, it looked like a Green Lantern power battery. I think Tom just loved green. DAVID: He had Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo! He had absolutely every freaking thing you can imagine in this room. PÉREZ: Peter loved it, and it was a fun thing for me to do. Of course, like a lot of things that I draw that I said I’m going to get very ambitious and draw, I think, “Okay, this has to continue on for the rest of the story.” So I had to draw some of the things again to show where the characters are in the action. Of course, if I do a turn-around to a wall that you couldn’t have seen from that angle, I added new things into it. Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot from Mystery Science Theatre 3000. It was a lot of fun and it was just me taking Peter’s wonderful story, but adding to it in order to provide more fun not only for the reader but their enjoyment in knowing that George himself must be having the time of his life. Because I’m always of the belief that if they can tell that the artist and writer are having a good time, it adds to their enjoyment, becomes infectious. The fact that Peter, after the release of the book, then had a contest of sorts in his CBG [Comic Buyer’s Guide] column for anyone who can identify all the items that were shown in the museum, just added to the fan participation. And, of course, it made me have to remember what I just threw in there and list everything. I had to list them after I had already finished it. Also, because of the fact that some of the stuff was added in color, I had to go back to the color comic and not just my line artwork in order to add up some of the things that were added by Tom Smith. SMITH: That scene is incredibly fun and one of my favorite pieces of comic art of all time. Let me switch to the Maestro for a moment. I think he is a most impressive villain. His look, his aura. Peter, can you address his creation and how you wanted readers to react to him? DAVID: Well here’s the thing. It was only, relatively speaking, a year or two earlier that I had created the merged Hulk, that I took all of the personalities of Bruce Banner, and the Hulk, for that matter, and hypnotically merged them into a single being who I tended to refer to simply as the Merged Hulk. One of the reasons that Bruce was uncertain about becoming

Now, That’s a Cliffhanger! Peter David thought we’d see this coming, but many readers were blown away by this concluding page of issue #1. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

a single individual, though I don’t know if he really ever said this or articulated it, was that his father was a real bastard. And Bruce was always worried that if he became a solid gestalt being, he might at some point become his father, because to some degree sons generally always become their fathers. Now, the Hulk and Bruce could not become Robert Banner [Bruce Banner’s father] as long as his personality was fractured. But if his personality was whole, then we were seeing the full person that Bruce Banner could have been in all these years. And my attitude was that as the world fell apart and the rockets flew, and the Maestro managed to survive, the longer time went on the more that the aspect of his personality that reflected his father came to the forefront. Until by the time he was the Maestro, he was basically Bruce Banner’s father in the Hulk’s body with Bruce Banner’s scientific knowledge. SMITH: George, I know the Maestro’s design was somewhat set when you started on the project, but what type of reader reaction were you hoping for with your version of the character? PÉREZ: In addition to being obviously older, atomically ravaged—despite the fact that he became even stronger, bigger, and more menacing, and a touch insane—he had blisters, he had a roughness that the younger Hulk in the past did not have. And the idea of making him bald with a lion-like mane of hair coming down the back of his skull as opposed to the top of his head emphasized how much older he was. One thing not in Peter’s plot was the fact that he was sexually voracious character. He was using women like tissues, a much more adult-oriented story than they probably would have allowed at the time in a regular comic. It was a lot of fun to do because, yes, this was a gigantic savage. He was also—like the current Hulk—smart, and that’s what made him even more dangerous. SMITH: Exactly. I was terrified of him when I first read the book, and still am. So far as the younger Hulk, the hero of the story, goes, he’s not drawn as Jack Kirby’s thickheaded brute, but more of a lean, very large, leading-man hero. Can you describe how you approached his appearance for Future Imperfect? PÉREZ: I was basing it on the current look of the Hulk in his regular comic. At that time Gary Frank was going to be the artist and Dale Keown had his version of the Hulk, so that’s what I was going for. The lean-jawed character with the little tuft of the hair on the top and, of course, as his eyes betray, an intelligence, as opposed to looking brooding and foreboding. But, of course, at all times, when he does get angry and does fight, he does have that inner savage which still makes him deadly to fight, but [Maestro] was a version of himself that was far more savage than he is. If this was the Hulk who was the savage brute who went into the future, it might have been a fight that would have been more savage, but it would have taken away from the differences between the two characters. SMITH: Peter, you and George did a terrific job making the Maestro deliciously evil, down to the red coloring in his eyes when he was angry. As George mentioned, he was also a very sexual villain. He surrounded himself with women. He had a large harem… he tried to seduce our modern Hulk with sex.

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DAVID: Not only that, when the Hulk was in the Maestro’s capture, the Hulk basically got raped. SMITH: By the slave girl ironically called “Betty” [as in Betty Ross, Bruce Banner’s girlfriend, dating back to the original Incredible Hulk #1—ed.]. DAVID: Right. And she called for help, because she said, “I’m going to have to do a lot to make you happy,” and she called in help and Bruce is screaming because he doesn’t want any of this. And it really freaked him out. The merged Hulk was basically raped by the Maestro’s harem. SMITH: Peter, let me ask you about the supporting cast. They not only had wonderfully diverse looks from Mr. Pérez, but Janis, Dakord, Pizfiz, and the rest of the rebel group all have distinctive personalities that make the reader identify with them and care about their mission. Can you talk about creating them? DAVID: When you’re creating supporting characters, you basically try to create characters whose personalities are various aspects of your hero. Each of them reflected in some way an aspect of Bruce Banner, and he would interact with them on that basis. The personalities always have to engage each other. So I made one a hardened warrior, one who was just hoping that things would work out, one who was convinced that nothing would ever work out. You just come up with divergent personalities so that if you put them in a room together, they’ll argue, because that’s what drama is. When you get right down to it, it’s just pure argument. Two people wanting the same thing, but they’re conflicted in how they’re going to go about achieving it. SMITH: George, the Janis character, Rick Jones’ granddaughter, is futuristic, rebellious, and attractive, all rolled into one. The other characters resonate as people readers care about. Can you talk about designing those characters, especially Janis? PÉREZ: In case of the visuals for Janis, the one thing I contributed that was not part of her description was her hairstyle, in particular the very long braid that she had that was weighted down with a metal cuff. That was based on a dear friend of mine at the time, a young woman named Eileen Haggerty, who directed me in some community theater shows. She had this long braid of hair. I do remember one time when I came up behind her and I was trying to get her attention, and she swung her head around and that braid slapped me in the face! It wasn’t weighted with a metal cuff, so I, of course, wasn’t hurt. I always remember when Janis uses her braid as a weapon, it was inspired by the event with Eileen. For the other characters, I had basic prototypes: the basic sterner-looking woman with her square-ish face who gets shot in the face and the older gentleman [Pizfiz] for whom I was channeling the actor Michael Jeter, whom I had seen on Broadway in Grand Hotel. He had that rather emaciated look that I thought was fun to try to capture a character that way. SMITH: Peter, you alluded to the end of the story and how it came to you. Could you address that a bit more? DAVID: You know, people say, “Where do you get your ideas?” And the bottom line is, when you’re a writer, they just come to you. I’d written the first half of the comic; I hadn’t written the second half because I didn’t know how I was going to end the thing. I was just trying to think like the Hulk, and the Hulk tried to outthink the Maestro. And I thought if the Hulk were trying to outthink the Maestro, he’d be trying to lure him into some sort of trap. But what trap could he possibly lure him into that would take the Maestro out? And suddenly I thought, “Wait a minute. I’ve established that the rebels have Dr. Doom’s time machine. If he gets the Maestro to step onto Dr. Doom’s time machine, he can send him to wherever he wants to send him so they won’t have to worry about it.” And I thought, “He’s not going to be arbitrary and send him into a volcano or the far future because [Maestro] could survive pretty much anything that Bruce sends him to, and if he’s in the future he’ll rule in the future.” You know, it’ll make miserable the life of anybody then, and Bruce didn’t want to fob that problem off. So it occurred to him, “Wait a minute, if the Maestro was at ground zero when the gamma bomb went off, that would kill him.” And I even established that in the dialogue. I have the Maestro specifically say, “If I was at ground zero at a nuclear event, I’d be in deep trouble. That would obliterate me. But short of that…” So I set it up so that when [Bruce] then sends [Maestro] to ground zero of the gamma bomb, the Maestro had already set up the fact that he could not survive that kind

The Mirror Crack’d (the Jaw, too) (top) Pérez’s expert staging, coupled with David’s sharp script, made the Hulk vs. Maestro battle in Future Imperfect #2 one of comicdom’s greatest smackdowns. (bottom) “Betty” “pleasures” the incapacitated Banner in this disturbing sequence from issue #2. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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of an impact at that kind of proximity. I only later thought about the fact that, “Wow, it’s actually kind of poetic that the Hulk is created and destroyed in the same instant.” I think that George pulled it off beautifully, as on one side of the page he showed the very classic three-panel sequence that shows the gamma radiation enveloping Bruce Banner from a distance, and to the right we see for the first time the sequence where it overwhelms the Maestro and reduces him to ashes. SMITH: It was not only poetic justice, but wrapped up the story perfectly. George, what did you think of the resolution of the story? PÉREZ: Oh, I loved it! I thought it was an ingenious little ending, because I didn’t know how [Peter] was going to get out of this, particularly because he established the Maestro as such an incredibly powerful character that it was going to be something that brute strength was not going to do. So that wonderful bit of a full-circle feeling—okay, this is the Hulk at his end, and he is defeated by his beginnings, so that it came full circle. The Hulk was destroyed by the very same thing that created him. Which I thought was a wonderfully ironic and appropriate ending for Future Imperfect. Peter was definitely firing on all cylinders on that story. SMITH: What kind of feedback did you receive from Marvel on the story? DAVID: Oh, they freakin’ loved it! First of all, Bobbie Chase loved the story, and who could not be ecstatic with the pages that George Pérez turned in? They were the absolute best that I could possibly have conceived of. Bobbie was very excited about it, and it came out and the fans just frickin’ ate it up. Because they had no idea what to expect. And indeed, although I thought the conclusion of the first issue was kind of obvious, when the two Hulks are facing each other, the Hulk and the Maestro, and both of them say, “Dr. Banner, I presume,” there were quite a few fans who were totally startled, who read the entire 48 pages and didn’t have the slightest idea that the Maestro was the Hulk! Remember, if you go back and read it, I never explicitly state it. The Maestro is simply the ruler of dystopia. He doesn’t talk about his origins, nobody calls him Bruce or the Hulk… they all address him as Maestro. I played him as a totally new character, so that when it got to the end and did the reveal, there were some fans out there who went, “Holy crap, that’s the Hulk?!” I would have thought his skin color would have been a good tipoff, but you know, whatever. If the fans are surprised, I’m perfectly happy with that. And fans loved the ending. They loved the notion that he tricked him onto Doom’s time machine and catapulted him to the gamma bomb. And because I had set it up earlier in that issue, nobody to my mind questioned the notion of, would even a gamma bomb be enough to destroy the Maestro if he was standing at ground zero? I had the Maestro say that it would be, so everyone believed him. SMITH: Even the best writers can write themselves into a corner, but you achieved a satisfying, full-circle payoff. George, do you remember the feedback you generally received from Marvel and the fans on the art? PEREZ: Yes, they were just astounded every time I sent in pages. And it was also a rarity for me to be inking my own work. At that time that was the longest project I ever penciled and inked on my own. It was a labor of love, and every time anyone saw a page they just loved it. The reception was incredibly positive. Towards the end, it got a little rough. In order to get the book out on time I had to rush through it. The last few pages I finished in three days without sleep. My wife nearly—when she found me unconscious, sitting in front of the TV set, totally out cold, she was scared because she’s never seen me fall asleep in front of the TV.

She thought, “Oh, my God, he had a heart attack or something,” perhaps just from sheer exhaustion because I was determined to get that book out on time. I think the roughness in the inking, particularly towards the last few pages, seemed to work for the story because it was also the scenes where there was a lot of fighting, a lot of destruction, so the roughness kind of worked for it. It gave it a bit of a sense of looseness and a dirtiness that seemed to fit that dystopian scenario. SMITH: Peter, you have returned to the Maestro and his world a few times since the original story. Is there a reason that the character resonates so deeply with you? DAVID: He’s a great antagonist. I’ve brought him back in the pages of The Hulk, but he was inhabiting the Destroyer armor, which was actually not the best story I ever wrote. I brought him back in Captain Marvel, I remember that. And then Marvel approached me about doing a four-issue Future Imperfect series that tied in with that big crossover thing that they were doing. I’m forgetting now the name of it [“Secret Wars” (2015)]. It’s so easy to forget these things as you get older.

Helpless Hulk Pérez artistry in original art form. Page 22 from Future Imperfect #2, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Right Back to Where I Started from Hulk outsmarts Maestro in this climactic two-pager from Future Imperfect issue #2. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

But yes, we did a four-issue [series] with that. The one where it looks like Odin is wandering around the Earth and the readers are going to be going, “Wow, Odin’s in this; this could be interesting.” Then it turns out, no, that’s just what Bruce Banner looks like, that’s what the Maestro looks like when he becomes Bruce Banner. Fun stuff. SMITH: Believe it or not, Future Imperfect is now over 25 years old, and it’s still being reprinted. Looking back on it, what are your impressions today of the story? DAVID: I’m sorry, I don’t do impressions, I’m a writer. SMITH: [laughter] DAVID: Sorry. What are my impressions of the story? Whenever you’re a writer and you envision a story as you’re writing the script, you have in your mind what it’s going to be like and how it should affect the readers when it finally comes out. On your average comic-book story, if you get 60 to 70% of what you imagined in your head, you call that a win. Future Imperfect is like one of like two comic-book limited series I’ve ever done that hits it at 100%. That is everything I could have wanted and more. SMITH: As a fan, I agree with that. May I ask you the other story that hit 100%? DAVID: The Atlantis Chronicles, which I did for DC. [Editor’s note: That was spotlighted recently in BACK ISSUE #108.] Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of other stuff that I am singularly proud of, but I would say that Future Imperfect and the Atlantis Chronicles are the two best limited series I’ve ever done.

SMITH: George, what about you? Impressions ... er, thoughts on the story? PÉREZ: For me, it was just something I wanted to do, [and] I wanted to work with Peter. Obviously, we would work together again on Sachs and Violens, a totally different type of story. But I had been working on so many team books, [Future Imperfect] was one of rare times I was working on a single-character book. Yes, there were a lot of characters in it, but it primarily spotlighted two characters, the Hulk and the Maestro, with support by the aged Rick Jones and his granddaughter Janis, plus a couple of other characters in there. But primarily it was just a hero and a villain. So that was unusual for me. But again, it was one of those, “Okay, I have two single characters, they have to have a world that is around them,” so that was a lot of fun. And Peter was very, very clear in the type of world he was looking for, and it made it an easy one to design because he described it vividly; I can play with that. When I created the first page showing the castle of the Maestro, I said, “Okay, this is the evil Wizard of Oz. This is the Emerald City in a decadent society,” because I was channeling Oz when I created that and, of course, it being colored green emphasized the point. If I hear [Maestro’s] voice, I can actually hear the amplified Frank Morgan voice when he was doing the head version of the Wizard, the same bombastic sound. The writer would like to graciously thank Peter David, George Pérez, and Bobbie Chase for assistance with this interview. Special thanks to Mr. Pérez for the extra time he volunteered due to a technical glitch. It is a pleasure to discover your heroes are also nice people. JERRY SMITH is a sales geek, freelance writer, and lifelong comic-book reader from northern Kentucky.

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by E

d Catto

Did it all start with Christmas? There is an argument that alternate-reality stories began with Charles Dickens’ famous tale, A Christmas Carol. A Christmas Story in Prose: Being a Ghost Story of Christmas is the actual title, but, much like San Diego Comic-Con, no one really uses the real name. (SDCC, anyone?) In Dickens’ tale, the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, serves as both villain and hero. Amidst ghosts and rattling chains, he is shown an alternate path that his life may take. Indeed, he’s destined for a grim fate if he doesn’t change his ways immediately. Scrooge sees his life and his actions in a new light, of course, and seeks to mend his ways. Lost upon most readers is the fact that this story was in line with the efforts of Knickerbockers like Washington Irving (originally writing under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker), Clement Clark Moore, and John Pintard, as a way to harken back to the good old days and eschew modern traditions. The fascinating part is that there were really no “good old days.” They were just a fiction. Although a classic, Dickens’ story suffers from a lack of cohesive branding. Is it a Christmas tale, a ghost story, or an alternate history? That conceptual blending was the genius, and the ultimate undoing, of DC Comics’ “Elseworlds” brand. Elseworlds was designed as an umbrella stamp to help readers instantly identify DC’s alternate histories with existing characters.

ELSEWORLDS PRECURSORS

There were several other cultural touchstones that paved the way for Elseworlds. Christmas again ushered in a famous example with Frank Capra’s perennially favorite film It’s a Wonderful Life, starring James Stewart and Donna Reed. In the third act of this story, the hero is granted a front-row seat of what the world would be like if he had never been born. It’s a chilling and heartwarmingly masterful story, reinforcing the “it’s not so bad” mentality. Jerome Bixby’s “Mirror, Mirror” episode from the original Star Trek TV series offers the premise: “What if all the good guys are now the bad guys?” The regular protagonists, along with the viewers, are given a guided tour of how wrong things could go by simply draping this premise over the existing world-as-we-know-it. This may be a bit of a stretch, but the 1938 movie version of The Wizard of Oz is essentially an alternatehistory story, although seldom branded as such. While the book documents young Dorothy’s trip to an actual, albeit whimsical, land, the movie version simply presents an alternate world where familiar faces are established in completely different guises and settings.

JUST IMAGINE!

DC Comics was the first to brand these types of stories as “imaginary stories,” so that readers could easily seek them

Imagine That… …a Victorian Era Batman. A Gotham by Gaslight specialty piece illustrated by Mike Mignola at the 1989 San Diego Comic-Con and colored by an artist who signed his work “Newman.” Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). Batman TM & © DC Comics.

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Branded Alan Brennert and Norm Breyfogle’s Batman: Holy Terror, touted in this 1991 DC house ad, officially kicked off the Elseworlds imprint. Scan courtesy of Ed Catto. TM & © DC Comics.

out. Or perhaps it was to help young readers avoid being blindsided or confused. And, like any brand, this one provided a quick shortcut for consumers so the idea wouldn’t have to be explained to them again and again. Readers would see the “imaginary story” blurb and instantly understand that the ground rules (and characters, situations, and settings) had changed. There was also the implicit assurance that the regular storyline would return the very next issue. These wild stories could stretch the status quo, and oftentimes seemed as if they were inspired by a focus group of kids on a playground in Small Town, USA. One can imagine them screaming, “We want to see what happens when Batman and Superman are brothers!” [Editor’s note: Actually, Silver Age Superman comics editor Mort Weisinger, chief overseer of DC’s imaginary stories, sometimes consulted focus groups of children.] Stories would often explore the ramifications of continuity-altering situations (such as a hero getting married), often with disastrous results. Young readers would be relieved that that crazy turn of events didn’t actually really happen. One quick note: As his professional star was rising exponentially, British comics writer Alan Moore famously pondered the fact that every story was in fact, an imaginary tale. He would draw the paradoxical conclusion that everything published is an imaginary tale, thus rendering the “imaginary story” branding irrelevant. Fans would get the idea that his question was asked more to ruminate aloud about perplexing nomenclature rather than to invalidate a well-loved brand.

FROM IMAGINARY STORIES TO PRE-ELSEWORLDS

Most Popular Elseworlder The Dark Knight starred in more Elseworlds than any other DC character, including this trio of titles. TM & © DC Comics.

Mark Waid is a successful writer and creator who started out as a very dedicated fan. In fact, he loved the old imaginary stories so much that as a high school student, he created his own index of every one that DC published. In the late ’80s, Waid, then an editor at DC Comics, was working on an 80-page Secret Origins Annual. The idea was to include four imaginary stories with different heroes in this special issue. He had an idea for a Superman story, but needed help with the others. Waid called his great friend and co-worker, Brian Augustyn. Augustyn had an idea for a story with MARK WAID Batman and Jack the Ripper. The notion blossomed until this concept overshadowed © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. the original idea of being just one of four stories in an anthology. It would be its own important comic. From there, things happened very quickly. As luck would have it, as Waid and Augustyn were passionately planning the project, rising star artist Mike Mignola walked into the office to deliver his final pages of Cosmic Odyssey. After a bit convincing, Mignola was onboard. Waid then went to the editorial office of the man in charge—Dick Giordano. “He was a mentor,” says Waid. “I started acting it out. Dick was always an encouraging manager. He signed off on it and it was a go!” The project grew into what we know today as Batman: Gotham by Gaslight.

WRITERS RUMINATING ON ELSEWORLDS

The idea of alternate-reality stories would resonate with both fans and creators. Former DC editor and writer Jack C. Harris has a love for comics, a strong Elseworlds credit, a great memory and a concise way of framing comics history. “The Elseworlds concept grew out of Mort Weisinger’s ‘Imaginary Story’ concept in the Superman line; stories that did not fit into the issue-by-issue continuity of the regular titles,” says Harris. “This allowed him to present stories of a ‘What if?’ nature: What if Superman married Lois Lane?; What if Jimmy Olsen married Supergirl?; What if Luthor murdered Superman?; etc. The concept was expanded into Elseworlds, which could involve any character in the DC Universe and just about any idea was allowed to fly.

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“As a fan, I loved the idea [of imaginary stories]. Characters could be put into totally different situations and adventures that would be impossible in their regular titles.” As a writer, Harris notes, “it was a great challenge, and you didn’t have to create a whole parallel world to explain the setting of your tale. I think everybody from freelancers, to editorial to corporate, loved the idea since it opened up endless possibilities. Later on, [imaginary stories] led to epic tales and concepts such as Watchmen and Kingdom Come.” “Being able to tell stories outside the bounds of long-standing continuity is a huge creative boon,” says writer Ron Marz. “Things like The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen were, essentially, Elseworlds stories when they first appeared, even through they didn’t wear that label. The danger, of course, is when setting replaces story. You know, ‘What if Batman was in ancient Egypt?’ If there’s not an enticing story to go with it, it’s nothing special. But when there’s a compelling narrative, you wind up with things like Superman: Red Son or Gotham by Gaslight, which are classics.” Writer Barbara Kesel agrees. “The Elseworlds were fun. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight led the way, and some of them were profound and some were stupid, but it was always fun to see the alternatereality game being played.”

He joined in DC Comics in 1985 and contributed to the important design sense of the Elseworlds brand. “I think one of the biggest catalysts [of Elseworlds] was the prestige format,” recalls Bruning. “At that time, the prestige format had been used for Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns.” Shortly after joining DC’s staff, Bruning was introduced to Miller at the Chicago Comic-Con, Richard’s first convention as a DC pro. “I had just met Frank. And he noted that was a hunger for more prestige series. “I was awarded Adam Strange, and that was a big deal for me,” said Bruning. “Getting a prestige was prestige.” [Editor’s note: Bruning wrote a three-issue Adam Strange miniseries, published in 1990 in the prestige format, collaborating with artist Andy Kubert.] Bruning’s office was right next to editorial ambassador Julie Schwartz’s office, and he soon learned about a project called Gotham by Gaslight. He learned it was to be written by Brian Augustyn and edited by Mark Waid, both up-and-coming professionals.

Pulp Fiction (left) Bruce Wayne, spy, is Detective No. 27 in this celebrated Uslan/Loughridge Elseworlds. (right) This kitty-kitty knows who’s behind the pointy-eared cowl in this jaw-dropping Howard Chaykin original art page from Batman: Dark Allegiances. TM & © DC Comics.

ELSEWORLDS BY DESIGN

There’s been a lot written about the early days of Gotham by Gaslight as the classic work that essentially launched the Elseworlds line. Richard Bruning provides a fresh look at those early days. With his strong background in design, Bruning’s first comics work was as editor-in-chief and art director for Capital Comics. This scrappy ’80s indie publisher produced groundbreaking independent comics such as Nexus, Badger, and Whisper.

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Shiver Me Timbers! (top) Pirate Batman, cover-featured on 1994’s Detective Comics Annual #7, one of numerous DC Annuals to borrow the Elseworlds theme. Cover art by Alcatena. (bottom) Moody promotional art by Kelley Jones spotlighting the perennially popular Elseworlds tale Batman & Dracula: Red Rain. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.

The artist, Mike Mignola, was just starting out, too. He had recently completed Jim Starlin’s Cosmic Odyssey. “That took a lot of people by surprise,” says Bruning. “[Mignola] did not draw superheroes as they were doing them in the ’80s.” As work progressed on Gotham by Gaslight, professionals behaved like fans when Mignola’s original art pages came into the office. According to Bruning, they all wondered, “How do they get away with it?” The answer was always: “It’s an imaginary story.” And this was all familiar to readers of Batman: The Dark Knight [Returns]. “We weren’t going to say it was Batman’s ultimate future,” Bruning says. “If it had come out a different time, it would have been an Elseworlds story.”

EXPANDING THE ELSEWORLDS BRAND

These stories were different and more adult. “There was a lot of debate,” says Bruning. “Would people even understand?” DC, it seemed, always had a problem with how far from the norm to take its characters. In 1990, Bruning left DC, and when he returned in 1996 there were almost too many Elseworlds books. “The thing that bothered me was that prestige format had been developed for the top-of-the-line book,” he states. From Bruning’s standpoint, the over-saturation of Elseworlds books was akin to slapping a label onto regular comics. “They were just putting regular-format comics into these,” he contends. “It’s a problem for the big companies that own the archetypes that never go away. You have to reinvent [the characters] but not change them too drastically.” Bruning cites DC’s ambitious 1985–1986 crossover as another catalyst for the evolution of Elseworlds. “Crisis [on Infinite Earths] was a breakthrough for establishing the characters. But after ten years you have to reinvent. How to sell as fresh material? Perhaps Elseworlds was the answer.” At DC, Bruning explains, creators often recycle from the past. “That’s our shtick with the characters.”

BRANDING ELSEWORLDS

Elseworlds was, initially, very clear about what an Elseworlds story was. The credo—in essence, a mission statement—was plainly visible at the outset of each story. And backed into the proceedings was the notion that Elseworlds stories were going to be something special. The days of the reader being cheated or gypped by an imaginary story were over! There was also an unstated benefit to Elseworlds stories. The reader didn’t need to have a graduate degree in DC Comics lore. Byzantine continuity wasn’t necessary to enjoy these Elseworlds stories. Oh, there may be Easter eggs dropped here or there that enhance the experience for longtime readers, but, by and large, it just wasn’t necessary. This was in contrast to Marvel’s What If? As a brand unto itself, What If? started as a way to tell stories that diverged from established continuity at one defining point [revisiting a significant Marvel event through the perspective of an alternate reality, as explored elsewhere in this issue—ed.]. From there, readers would soon see the ramifications of the changes. Interestingly, What If? soon strayed from its brand premise. One story about the Marvel World War II heroes (Captain America, Human Torch, etc.) at the end of the war actually told an in-continuity story. And then another issue presented Marvel’s quintessential combat heroes, Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, in an interstellar adventure that revealed, “What If Sgt. Fury Had Fought World War II in Space?” Even longtime fans moaned as the brand premise started showing cracks from abuse. Dan Greenfield is a thoughtful pop-culture expert and editor of the long-running 13th Dimension comics news site. He also sees the lineage between Elseworlds and some of the other alternative-history brands. “I’ve long thought of Elseworlds as a cousin to Marvel’s What If?, though the differences are obvious,” Greenfield reflects. “You get a chance to see your favorite characters in bizarre circumstances without the awkward weight of having to explain how they got there. 48 • BACK ISSUE • Alternate Realities Issue

And I think the concept’s liberating nature is why the imprint gave us outright classics like Kingdom Come, Red Son, and, retroactively, Gotham by Gaslight. Hell, The Dark Knight Returns should be considered an Elseworlds story.” And that’s the issue with Elseworlds. What makes an Elseworlds story? And as the Elseworlds brand eventually became bloated and sloppy, what did readers think? How do editorial custodians keep a brand like Elseworlds where it needs to be? “I fully embrace brands continually evolving and growing to meet consumer demand and to remain competitive in their markets,” says Jim Joseph, author, professor, and Global President of Brand Communications Agency BCW. “But they must do so purposefully and they must remain true to the brand definition. If brands evolve too quickly or stray too far from their essence and offering, then consumers will just as quickly get confused and stray away from the brand as well. They have to know the brand’s sweet spot, and to evolve cleverly from it while staying consistent with it as well.” So with that in mind, let’s explore the secret stories behind, as well as the branding triumphs and stumbles of, DC Comics’ Elseworlds.

PUTTING A LITTLE REALITY IN YOUR FICTION

Although Elseworlds usually presented radically different, often whimsical, or forebodingly dark versions of established characters, sometimes the stories were more real than imagined. Batman: Scar of the Bat (1996) is a perfect example. This outstanding Elseworlds tale places Batman in the center of the historical battle between gangster Al Capone and G-Man Elliot Ness. Longtime mystery writer and organized crime expert Max Allan Collins provided the vision and scripting. The legendary, late Eduardo Barreto was its artist. He was an illustrator who could render anything and make it beautiful, but his ability to bring gangland Chicago to life in this book was especially impressive. Over the years, the legend of Elliot Ness had been stretched by TV’s The Untouchables, 1987’s Brian DePalma movie The Untouchables, cable TV dramas, and even Collins’ own detective novels. In any Ness story, on screen or published, it has become difficult to tell the truth from the fiction. continued on page 51—

“I SHALL BECOME A…”

“You can tell any story with Batman you want. Elseworlds proved that!” – Mark Waid The groundbreaking Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (1989) is generally considered the first real Elseworlds story. It was the favorite of many creators, too. When queried about his favorite, writer Roger Stern is quick to answer, “The very first one—Gotham by Gaslight is still a classic. Great story and gorgeous artwork. Very evocative of the whole era.” With the publication of Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, editor Mark Waid knew they had created something special. It was the single most profitable issue published by DC at that time. “It did so well,” Waid remembers, “that they said, ‘Let’s do more!’ “So I called Alan Brennert and he pitched Holy Terror.” Batman: Holy Terror (1991) by writer Brennert and artist Norm Breyfogle was the first official Elseworlds story— that is, the first one to use the “Elseworlds” brand logo and the Elseworlds “mission statement.”

MISSION STATEMENT

Focused companies and occasionally brands have strong mission statements to which they adhere. Sometimes they are just guidelines, other times they are cultural mandates that are figuratively written in stone. Elseworlds had a mission statement of its own, and would print it before each and every story: In Elseworlds, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places—some that have existed, others that can’t, or couldn’t, or shouldn’t exist. The result is stories that make characters who are as familiar as yesterday seem as fresh as tomorrow. Batman would become the character most frequently used in Elseworlds over the years. Some Elseworlds entries would soar, some would stumble. “You’d have Caveman Batman, Sneeze-Guard Batman… to our horror,” Waid jokes. But so many times in Elseworlds stories the character of Batman brought out the best creatively, and added a luster to the imprint. Here are a few of the best Batman stories that made Elseworlds become a fan-favorite brand:

It’s Alive! (top) Writer Jack C. Harris and artist Bo Hampton paired off to meld the Batman and Frankenstein myths into Castle of the Bat. Note the Elseworlds mission statement on the back cover. (bottom) The Man of (neck-bolted-)Steel got into the act, too. TM & © DC Comics.

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BOB LAYTON ON ELSEWORLDS CATTO: Your Batman: Dark Knight of the Round Table [Editor’s note: Artist/writer Bob Layton, certainly no stranger to seems like it was a labor of love. How did this one come about BACK ISSUE readers, started to attract the eye of fandom with his and in retrospect, what do you think of it? How did you end work on the ’70s fanzine CPL, which morphed into the Charlton up working with Dick Giordano on this one? Bullseye [see BI #100]. He is best known for his trailblazing, LAYTON: That two-part story was one of the most movie-influencing work on Marvel’s Iron Man [BI #25], as satisfying assignments of my career, for a variety well as his contributions to the Justice Society of America of reasons. Most importantly, I had the revival in All-Star Comics [BI #106], Hercules opportunity to finally work together artistically [BI #53], Valiant Comics, and Future Comics. with my dear mentor and friend Dick Giordano, In 1998 he partnered with penciler Dick for the first time in my long association with Giordano to write and ink the two-issue Elseworlds him. “Dickie” was the closest thing to a series Batman: Dark Knight of the Round Table, father I’ve ever known, and we had been wherein young Bruce of Waynesmoor battled the friends since I was a boy of 19 years old. tyranny of King Arthur and the magic of Ra’s al Being an only child, Dick always said I was the Ghul. In 2001 he followed this up with another little brother he never had. That was the Giordano collaboration, the three-issue Elseworlds nature of our 40-year-long relationship. Batman: Hollywood Knight, set in Tinseltown’s bob layton But throughout our relationship, we never Golden Age, featuring a dangerous struggle © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. worked at the same company—at the same between the rival Gotham and Arkham movie time. During the period of time that I was on contract to studios. Layton sat down with BACK ISSUE’s Ed Catto for this Marvel, and then, editor-in-chief at Valiant Comics (ranging exclusive, quick chat about his two Elseworlds projects.] from 1979 to 1996), Dickie was managing editor [and later, editorial director] at DC Comics. Even after he retired ED CATTO: What did you think of Elseworlds as a brand and from DC and he came to work at Valiant, I was too busy as a concept? with my executive duties to take on any freelance work. BOB LAYTON: Personally, it was a relief to not be burdened It wasn’t until the late ’90s that both of us were free to do by copious DC continuity. To me, that was one of the attractions to the Elseworlds series. The writers had a free rein whatever we wished. Dickie always loved my writing and wanted to do a to take the adventure to anywhere they could imagine Batman story with me. But I told him of my hesitance to without editorial consequences.

(left) Character model sheet for Batman: Dark Knight of the Round Table, by and courtesy of Bob Layton. (right) Giordano and Layton’s cover art for an unpublished version of the cover of issue #1 of Batman: Hollywood Knight. Courtesy of Bob Layton. Batman TM & © DC Comics.

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However, Batman: Scar of the Bat is careful to drape the Elseworlds trappings over a solid and well-researched framework of real-world facts. Over the years, Collins often relied on Chicago experts like George Hagenauer and Mike Gold to help understand regional history, and he does so here as well. In fact, Collins wrote in the afterword, “Ironic as it may all seem, Scar of the Bat is probably one of the most accurate depictions of Elliot Ness and his war on Al Capone.”

DARK APEX

(left) Rough by Layton for alternate, unused version of the cover for Hollywood Knight #2, and (right) a finished, but unpublished, Layton cover for issue #2. Courtesy of Bob Layton. Batman TM & © DC Comics.

jump into the DC continuity pool. That’s when he suggested doing an Elseworlds story. To me, it was a total labor of love. Not only did I finally get to work directly as the writer and inker with the great Dick Giordano, but I also had Denny O’Neil and Archie Goodwin as my editors and the covers created by the magnificent José Luis García López. Talk about a dream team! Ed, you know of my love for the Arthurian Tales. They have always inspired me, since I was a small boy, and helped to shape the revitalization of Marvel’s Iron Man during my long run on that series. So, it wasn’t a stretch to take the Batman back to the days of King Arthur. Besides, Dickie loved to draw Batman and horses. It all seemed like a no-brainer. CATTO: How did the concept of Batman: Hollywood Knight come about? LAYTON: Hollywood Knight, it was inspired by Dick’s love for the old movie serials he adored as a child. He showed me the god-awful Batman serial from the ’40s during one of my visits to his studio. On the drive home, I started thinking about Hollywood in the 1940s and how I could incorporate it into a Batman story. Given that a real-world superhero would be considered a nut job, the premise of a brain-damaged actor, believing he was actually the Batman, came into fruition. The rest, as they say, is history. CATTO: What was your favorite Elseworlds story—beyond your own—and why? LAYTON: I don’t regularly read comics. Never have. I can’t really answer that Elseworlds question. Sorry. Comics has always been my job, not my hobby. That was also something that Dickie pounded into my head as an apprentice. His philosophy was, as a creator desiring a long career, you needed to find your inspiration from the real world in order to have genuine impact to your stories, not regurgitating the same stuff being published by your contemporaries. So, the week after becoming his apprentice, I got rid of my comic-book collection.

One of the highpoints of the Elseworlds offerings, Batman: Dark Allegiances (1996), written and illustrated by Howard Chaykin, is a film noir-ish thriller served with a smug, wry smile and upbeat sense of purpose and mischief that imbue the whole offering as impudent—familiar themes for anyone who is familiar with Chaykin’s work. From a branding perspective, Batman: Dark Allegiances is the intersection of three very strong brands: Elseworlds, Batman, and Howard Chaykin himself. And from the outset, fans knew that Chaykin, as the creative force, was going to stretch the other two brands. “Let’s face it,” recalls Chaykin to BACK ISSUE, “at its core, Batman is about a rich guy who had a bad day when he was eight… and the idea of turning that tiresome trope of a One-Percenter coming to save us from ourselves on its head and making Batman the product of progressives and radicals, a common man who’s made millions by his actual efforts, has always had an enormous appeal to me. “It can’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me or knows my stuff that I’m interested in the 1930s— as a social, cultural, and political tipping points in modern history. “And placing this adventure in an disrupted and disruptive time as the 1930s, when the country was in danger of succumbing to any one of a number of terrifying ideologies, was too tempting to pass up. Add that classic Golden Age Batman trope of giant typewriters, and this onetime Golden Age Batman collector had no defense against the possibilities.” In this story, Chaykin has full mastery of all his storytelling techniques. It is as if he was trying not to create anything splashy here, but with his natural strong composition, sense of style, and innate pacing, the payoffs come and keep coming. Chaykin’s hero’s shots “clang” with an arresting immediacy as Batman and allies Alfred and Catwoman attempt to thwart an assassination plot that could topple the nation into war. On the other hand, the other characters on the stage are deftly moved around to show their own foibles and shortcomings. All the while, Chaykin is able to teach fans a little about U.S. history and the danger of fascism, racism, and more, without being pedantic or preachy. Chaykin seemingly shrugs off the unwritten rules of the Elseworlds imprint with his main characters, despite the fact that the Joker, the Catwoman, the Penguin, and Two-Face are all in this story. The unique names they have within this adventure, for the most part, don’t have that cleveryet-corny tether to their comics-world secret identities. Chaykin even adds fresh new bits to the Bat-mythology (devising a way for Bruce Wayne to bring the Batmobile across country) while keeping a level of fan-familiarity (clever use of giant props). Howard Chaykin wasn’t one to stop with Dark Allegiances. As the writer of the 1997 Elseworlds one-shot Batman: Thrillkiller, he would partner with painter Dan Brereton to develop stylish early ’60s thriller series starring hepcat versions of Batman, Batgirl, and Robin. A sequel, Thrillkiller ’62, would propel the characters even further. These gorgeous stories essentially became a brand of their own, complete with collected editions, action figures, and several vinyl figures.

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THE PULPINESS OF DETECTIVE No. 27

Michael Uslan got his Elseworlds turn at bat with 2003’s Batman: Detective No. 27. On the surface, its premise is simple: Bruce Wayne becomes a detective without the traditional Batman costume. But actually, it’s a very clever and wellthought-out reimagining of a beloved character, where Bruce becomes Detective No. 27 in the pulp traditions. The project’s title is also a nod to Batman’s debut in the 27th issue of Detective Comics. Peter Snegjbjerg supplied the interior artwork, while designer Terry Marks created a clever, if non-traditional, cover. But Batman: Detective No. 27 is clearly Uslan’s vision. Uslan was a rabid fan that started at DC as an intern and the driver of the Comicmobile [see BI #100] who went on to forge one of the most incredible careers in comics, not only producing comic-book movies (the Swamp Thing and Batman franchises), but also teaching the first college comic course. He has written quite a few comics along the way too. Uslan harkens back to his days as a reader to explain the genesis of this Elseworlds story. “It all began when I was a kid in the ’50s with Mort Weisinger and the concept of imaginary stories,” recalls Uslan. “Superman had married Lois Lane, or Lana Lang. One thing after another. It was meant for a juvenile audience. We never absorbed the fact that all Superman stories are imaginary. “I started my career writing Batman in Detective Comics,” Uslan continues. “After I wrote two issues of The Shadow, Julie Schwartz was walking down the hall and said, ‘I read your Shadow script. It didn’t stink. How’d you like to take a shot at writing Batman?’ “Many years later, I thought about writing michael uslan Batman some more. So they put me in the hands of the great [DC editor] Mike Carlin. Courtesy of Michael Uslan. He’s smart, savvy, and loves this stuff with unbridled passion. He knows this business. He has a love and affection for the characters and stories.” Uslan reveals to BACK ISSUE that Detective No. 27 began when he said to Carlin, “I’d love to do a pulp version of Batman. There was Operator 5, Secret Agent X-9—what about we do Bruce Wayne as Detective No. 27?” Uslan also reveals that some of two other characters in this story have real-world analogs:

Two Wild and Crazy Guys (top) Igor Kordey’s incredible painted cover art for the trade paperback collection of the DC/Dark Horse Elseworlds crossover Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Cat-Woman. (bottom left) Roger Stern and Eduardo Barreto tossed Superman into the Civil War in A Nation Divided. (bottom right) Elliot S! Maggin, Alan Weiss, and José Luis García-López did the same with Batman in The Blue, the Grey, and the Bat. Superman and Batman TM & © DC Comics. Tarzan TM & © ERB, Inc.

• Mr. Freeze, a.k.a the poet Robert Frost This bit was a nod to Uslan’s eighth-grade English teacher, who impacted his life and helped him discover writing. She also taught him the value of re-writing, turning him over to her sister for more writing guidance. She wouldn’t let Uslan off the hook for assignments until they were perfect. Those two women helped Uslan realize he was different from all his friends. “The whole concept of taking the road less traveled and following my passions was my guidepost,” says Uslan. “I again used it as the central device in Archie. It’s been a strong influence.” • Alfred the doctor “I always thought he was the most under-underutilized character,” says Uslan. For Detective No. 27, he wanted Alfred to be very involved. “For me, he was Bruce’s father. But for Alfred, Bruce could have gone over that dark line. “What I did for Alfred was to make him my dad. Those are my dad’s words. I had my dad in my head. My father passed away in 2001—[Detective No. 27] became a personal tribute to my dad.” Uslan came up with the idea of Alfred earning his medical degree when Bruce was abroad. “He couldn’t have been dusting every single day.” And in the story, Alfred becomes a great red herring to one of the story’s biggest surprises. “I have [an Elseworlds] story that I am dying to tell,” Uslan confides to BACK ISSUE, “Our Father Who Art in Heaven, starring the Spectre and Batman. The idea is that the Spectre inhabited Thomas Wayne at his murder…”

THE BRAVE AND THE ELSEWORLDS: BAT-TEAM-UPS

The Elseworlds brand was meant to put characters into unique settings, not necessarily serve as a parking spot for a character’s non-continuity adventures when he would cavort with non-DC characters. Nevertheless, Elseworlds often times did just that. It sometimes became a place for team-ups. And the results were mixed. Batman & Dracula: Red Rain (1991) begins as a team-up but very quickly becomes so much more. Kelley Jones’ creepy art starts with its requisite long, lush ink lines reminiscent of Bernie Wrightson, but then the artist turns the world upside-down with his elongated and exaggerated illustrations. Jones’ unique style is perfect for telling this tale of Batman meeting the Lord

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Three Visions of Superman The lore of Superman was blended with Russian history, Arthurian legend, and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, respectively, in this trio of Supermanstarring Elseworlds. TM & © DC Comics.

of the Vampires, especially when combined with the solid scripting of longtime Bat-scribe Doug Moench. Originally planned as a standalone story, the concept, as envisioned by these two creators, spawned two sequels, an animated feature, a Mattel action figure, and a collectible statue. The vampiric Batman is even a playable role in the Infinite Crisis video game. Batman & Dracula: Red Rain actually inspired Jack C. Harris’ Elseworlds story. “My own contribution, Batman: Castle of the Bat (1994), came about like this: Writer Doug Moench had written a tale of Batman meeting Dracula,” recalls Harris. “I was in the elevator on my way up to the DC editorial offices thinking about that story. It occurred to me that other classic monsters could also cross paths with the Batman. I exited the elevator, walked straight to editor Denny O’Neil’s office, stood in front of his desk, and said, ‘What if Bruce Wayne was Dr. Frankenstein? Instead of becoming Batman, he builds him!’ Taken by surprise, Denny leaned back in his chair and said, ‘That’s a good one. Write that up!’ “After about two drafts, I handed in the script,” Harris continues. “I wrote it with Bernie Wrightson in mind, but Bernie was too busy with other projects to tackle a whole graphic novel at the time. Months went by. For an afternoon or so, artist Mike Mignola was slated to take it on, but that fell through. Then, many months later, I was attending a convention in Philadelphia and ran into my old friend, artist Bo Hampton. I told him about the project and he seemed interested. As luck would have it, Batman assistant editor Jordan Gorfinkel was also at the convention. We put the idea of Bo doing the Castle of the Bat by him and, by convention’s end, the assignment was Bo’s. The finished script had been in DC’s hands for a year. I believe Bo took a sabbatical from his art teaching job to paint the whole story. At the time, I was laid up with a broken leg and Bo would send me full-size color copies of each page as he completed them. He was so in synch with my script that I thought some of the pages he sent I already had. In reality, he had merely matched my mind’s-eye view of the page.

Crime Alley Reimagined J. M. DeMatteis and Eduardo Barreto merged the origins of Superman and Batman in the Elseworlds outing Superman: Speeding Bullets. Here’s an original art page, courtesy of Heritage, showing a familiar story with a distinct twist. TM & © DC Comics.

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An Elseworlds Dynasty Writer/artist John Byrne’s Generations became a multigenerational, multi-character saga for Elseworlds. Some World’s Finest faves grace this beautiful page from issue #1 of the original Generations series. TM & © DC Comics.

“When the book came out in 1994, it was the top-selling book for DC that month and was well received by fans and critics. I plotted a sequel and Bo did some presentation art (Batman: Return to the Castle of the Bat), but DC didn’t pick up on it. “The whole graphic novel was reprinted in a Batman Elseworlds collection in 2016, so I was glad another generation of readers was about to see it,” Harris concludes. The DC/Marvel crossover Batman & Captain America, written and drawn by John Byrne and released in late 1996, proudly bears the Elseworlds imprint, but it feels as if that was shoehorned in. The book’s dual adventures take place in 1945 and 20 years later in 1965, as the Caped Crusader and Star-Spangled Avenger battle the Joker and the Red Skull. Although not identified as such, these stories are part of the Byrne’s expansive Generations series, and in fact are now considered to take place on a parallel world, Earth 3839.

ME TARZAN. YOU BATMAN.

Writer Ron Marz remembers Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Cat-Woman, a 1999 four-issue DC/Dark Horse Comics crossover illustrated by Igor Kordey: “Making Batman/Tarzan an Elseworlds tale allowed me the freedom to make it a period piece, setting it in an era when the ‘historical’ Batman and Tarzan existed, in terms of their publishing histories. Both characters have pulp origins, so it seemed fitting to make the story an artifact of that time. I didn’t have to worry about continuity demands, or modernizing Tarzan, I was able to just tell the best story I could tell.” The Man of Steel would have his turn with the Lord of the Jungle in Superman/ Tarzan: Sons of the Jungle in 2001. Batman: Manbat [instead of the traditional Man-Bat spelling of the character in his DC Universe incarnation—ed.] by Jamie Delano and John Bolton pairs two very strong

EDUARDO BARRETO: THE UNSUNG MVP OF ELSEWORLDS he paid you back a thousand times over. If you were Looking back at Elseworlds, it’s easy to see that artist the friend of Eduardo Barreto, then you truly felt the Eduardo Barreto was the unsung hero of the brand. closest form of a perfect friendship this earthly world His wonderfully solid, yet dynamic art brought a joy, could provide. Eduardo’s actions made you want to freshness, and familiarity to every story he worked on. become a better person. We all are better people, And he worked on so many, including Batman: Scar of just from knowing him.” the Bat, Batman: Master of the Future, Superman: A Writer Roger Stern recalls his glee Nation Divided, and Superman: Speeding Bullets. learning from his editor that Barreto was Beau Smith, longtime comic writer and going to illustrate his Superman Civil War creator of Wynona Earp, was a friend and Elseworlds, A Nation Divided. “When Joey collaborator of Barreto’s and shares his [Cavalieri, editor] told me he had lined thoughts about the artist’s contributions: up Eduardo Barreto, I said, ‘You mean I’m “Eduardo Barreto = Purist. doing a story about the Civil War “Eduardo Barreto = Pure Professional. and you found me an artist who can Eduardo was nothing short of the purest actually draw horses?’ ” form of professional you would ever find. Stern remembers just how impressive In his talent, his manners, his civility to eduardo barreto an artist Eduardo was. “I wish we could’ve others, he had no peer. done more [together].” “Eduardo Barreto = Pure Talent. Eduardo Eduardo Barreto by Michael Netzer. Art © Michael Netzer. Barreto also excelled at period pieces, prided himself on the craft of storytelling and while his style never seemed dated or stodgy, he through his artistic abilities. I don’t mean pride in an was able to render a competency that made the reader arrogant way—arrogance was not in Eduardo’s wheelhouse. comfortable for the big events unfolding. If Elseworlds He was as modest as he was brilliant. If you worked with was all about taking heroes from their usual settings, Eduardo, then you knew you worked with the very best. Barreto seems to have relished the opportunities of “Eduardo Barreto = Pure Friend. Eduardo was the illustrating so many Elseworlds stories, away from his kind of friend that you only dream or hear legends of. He was selfless and never sought our thanks or applause. usual setting, and rendering gorgeous art that was always as fresh as tomorrow. Your return friendship was his reward, and with his, 54 • BACK ISSUE • Alternate Realities Issue

Two of the Finest (left) Elseworld’s Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl, by B. Kesel/ Haley/Simmons, and (right) Kingdom Come, by Waid/Ross. TM & © DC Comics.

creators with two very strong characters. This curious jumble of a story doesn’t place either character in an unfamiliar setting. In fact, it seems very much as if this story just needed a place to be published, as it contradicted existing continuity. The three prestige format issues were released in 1995 and collected in 1997, but efforts like this, ignoring the brand concept, was slowly tarnishing the luster of the Elseworlds concept. Marvel published an Elseworlds graphic novel in 1997: Daredevil/ Batman: Eye for an Eye, by writer D. G. Chichester and artist Scott McDaniel. When it was DC’s turn to host the crossover party in 2000 with Batman/ Daredevil: King of New York, written by Alan Grant and the artist Eduardo Barreto, the sequel curiously did not carry the Elseworlds branding. As Elseworlds became a stronger and stronger brand, several stories inspired sequels, essentially becoming sub-brands themselves. Batman & Dracula, as mentioned, quickly became a brand unto itself. Elseworlds became less of a brand and more of a quick explanation, or a graphic footnote, to simply justify an out-of-the-ordinary story to continuity-obsessed readers and retailers.

STRANGE VISITOR FROM ANOTHER (ELSE)WORLD

Superman’s foray into the realms of Elseworlds produced some memorable stories. Many of them involved his Kryptonian rocket losing its way to crash land in somewhere other than Kansas. One time it landed near Frankenstein’s castle, another time it landed on Darkseid’s planet Apokolips. In 2003’s Superman: Red Son, the Mark Millar/Dave Johnson/Andrew Robinson three-issue collaboration that has become one of the best-loved Superman Elseworlds stories, the rocket from Krypton crash lands in the Ukraine. This memorable story has inspired toys and video games. Several of the Superman Elseworlds stories are standouts, including Superman: Kal, a Knights of the Round Table-type story written by Dave Gibbons, and writer Steve Vance’s Superman, Inc., both beautifully rendered by José Luis García López. Superman: A Nation Divided (1998) serves as an example of the quintessential Superman Elseworlds story. It’s a strong and simple concept (Superman in the Civil War) with a spectacular artist (Eduardo Barreto) that gives the whole affair a feeling of being a special event. Writer Roger Stern remembers developing the story: “As I recall, [DC editor] Joey Cavalieri asked if I was interested in doing more stuff. And he asked if I had ideas for an Elseworlds story.” Stern did have an idea, and the inspiration was Kevin Burns’ Civil War PBS documentary. It had been made years before, but had recently been rerun. In fact, the documentary inspired “the whole format of the story—told from different viewpoints.” One thing that Stern marvels at was “how disconnected the nation was. No TV, no phones, etc. The most wired the U.S. was then was by the telegraph. And that was for only a few. Most contact for people was through personal correspondence. “That gave me the idea and the format of the thing,” Stern explains. “The basic idea was, What if Krypton had exploded a century earlier?” The historical setting created challenges and opportunities for the author. “It was fun getting to write dialog for Lincoln and Frederic Douglas. I had written for FDR before, but never for Lincoln.” Like so many Elseworlds creators, Stern had an idea for a sequel. “I had an idea for more, and I already saw the next couple of chapters…

This one is a complete story, but there is a sort of a cliffhanger, as Atticus Kent is off to find his destiny. If there had been a second chapter, Custer would have been a villain. The battle would have turned out different. The whole evolution of the West would have been different.” Looking back, Stern notes, “I think that Superman: A Nation Divided was one of the last Elseworlds that was done. Joey told me he wanted to get this done as they were wrapping up.” Superman: Speeding Bullets (1993) is the Elseworlds story that raises the question, How would things change if baby Kal-El from Krypton was found by Thomas and Martha Wayne instead of the Kents? It’s a superb blending of the Superman and Batman mythologies, written by J. M. DeMatteis, with lush illustrations by Eduardo Barreto. This story won the Comics Buyer’s Guide award for Favorite Original Graphic Novel in 1993. There were numerous times when Superman or Batman might drop in on the other during an Elseworlds adventure. One of the most memorable meetings includes Detective No. 27, as Bruce Wayne is visited by Superman. The two characters, along with Wonder Woman, shamelessly crosspollinate in the Elseworlds trilogy based on German Expressionist Cinema, Superman: Metropolis, Batman: Nosferatu, and Wonder Woman: Blue Amazon by Randy Lofficier, Jean-Marc Lofficier, and Ted McKeever.

FILLING THE GENERATION GAPS

Many of the best Silver Age imaginary stories featured Superman and Batman together, in the pages of World’s Finest Comics. Readers would learn what happened if Superman and Batman were brothers (World’s Finest #172) and they’d mourn with Superman and Robin over the apparent death of Batman (World’s Finest #184). While readers first learned about the future Superman of 2965 (secretly Klar-Ken T-5447) in Superman #181, the thrills really started when he teamed up with the future Batman in World’s Finest #166 to battle the mutant Muto (how long did writer Edward Hamilton struggle to come up with that name?) and the Joker of the future. The biggest, broadest team-up of Batman and Superman was the basis of John Byrne’s Elseworlds, called Superman & Batman: Generations. Less a traditional comic and more an epic, multi-part maxiseries, Superman & Batman: Generations was so big it overshadowed the Elseworlds imprint. John Byrne is a talented creator with a lasting impact on the medium. Just one part of his impressive career is focused on rebooting heroes and updating their continuities. Sometimes Byrne’s reboots have been overt, like with 1986’s Man of Steel and his subsequent stints on Superman and Action Comics. Other times his reboots ae subtler, including his less-obtrusive character reimagining during his stint on Fantastic Four in the 1980s. On the other hand, his drastic changes on other titles, such as 2004’s Doom Patrol at DC, didn’t take hold with readers and are now relegated to a sort of “lost classic” category. Byrne dips his toe into the Elseworlds pond with Generations (1998). The idea is simple, and has been done before, but was made fresh and important by Byrne’s masterful storytelling. Generations tells the stories of Batman and Superman over the years as if they and their supporting cast aged appropriately. Untethered to the notion that a hero must always be young and vibrant, Byrne takes hold of an expansive canvas and tells a tale that sprawls over many years and generations.

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He’d repeat the trick in 2001 with Superman & Batman: Generations 2 and reveal to readers alternate versions of other DC mainstays. Yet Byrne still finds a way to focus on the tumultuous lives of core characters from the Superman and Batman mythologies. One would have thought that the idea had run its course, but in his third bite of the apple, Superman & Batman: Generations 3, Byrne skips from century to century. This 2003 series was presented as a standard 12-issue limited series, and seemed to have more in common with Byrne’s clever but largely ignored Marvel: The Lost Generation from 2000 than other Elseworlds. Indeed, by this point Byrne’s Generations concept and the artist/writer brand of John Byrne himself greatly overshadowed Elseworlds.

ELSEGIRLS

A Whole Lotta Heroes (top) Wraparound cover art by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer for the TPB collection of JLA: The Nail. (center) Tom Veitch and Frank Gomez took both Kamandi and Superman to Earth’s End in an Elseworlds miniseries and follow-up one-shot, (bottom) while this 80-Page Giant was yanked from distribution due to a controversial Superbaby story therein. TM & © DC Comics.

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Supergirl and Batgirl almost had their first alternate-world team-up in 1967, in the memorable World’s Finest #169’s “The Supergirl–Batgirl Plot.” Something is clearly amiss as the title’s usual heroes, Superman and Batman, struggle to change a flat tire on the Batmobile while the two superheroines gleefully spy on them. Thirty-one years later, in 1998’s Elseworld’s Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl, the superheroines take center stage in an official Elseworlds story. Artists/co-plotters Matt Haley and Tom Simmons and writer Barbara Kesel craft a memorable story that almost seems like a prelude to the gender-bending cosplay craze of today. “This particular story came about because Matt and Tom like drawing girls,” recalls writer Barbara Kesel. “Tom had a bunch of sketches of ‘his’ versions of some of the [DC] female characters and a very rough idea of how to build a story out of them, and I was looking for more things to write (Matt and I were supposedly working on an Ultra Boy story and a Void story, or but those never ended up happening). And it was the ’90s, where every woman character was pretty much wearing two band-aids and a cork, so I loved the irony of Matt and Tom managing to create uber-sexy women who were covered head to toe. (And you can see that Tom had a crush on Princess Diana at the time!) “So the [project] started as a way to let them draw lots of girls (and have a cool story, of course!). As the story progressed, we had a rule that every iteration of a major DC character would be an ‘alternate’ to the most common, so there’s no Batman (although Bruce does muse that Barbara ‘has something he lacks’—yep, his origin) but there’s a Batgirl; no Superman (and I think the reason why might have been why it never got reprinted until recently) but a Supergirl; Barda instead of Mr. Miracle; Abin Sur never died; etc. And there’s one character that has no analogue in the DC Universe because the boys made her up.” Kesel recalls, “And the idea of a world of superheroes who were mostly women or non-white men was a shocking change from the current normal.” She adds this anecdote about one of the project’s most memorable scenes: “And to show what a badass Barbara Gordon was (and how low Bruce had fallen), the ‘suit me’ scene wasn’t supposed to have the added-at-last-minute black bikini. No Calvin Kleins between her and the nano-tech Batsuit.” It’s no surprise that Elseworld’s Finest was both a critical and economic success. “I got a call from DC on the day it went on sale congratulating me, because it had sold out!” says Kesel. “‘Um… no,’ I said. ‘Congratulate me if it sells out on Day 30 of a sales month.’ I asked when it was going back to press. But it wasn’t: The initial order numbers were too low. (It had that infamous word ‘girl’ in the title, and the rule of the day was ‘girl comics don’t sell,’ so we’ll never know how well it could have done!) It was finally reprinted in the JLA Elseworlds TPB, to my shock and surprise, so it’s available again.“ Kesel has one last thought to add: “I keep getting asked if that’s me on the last page. No, it’s Matt’s then-girlfriend Marilee.”

The Elseworlds brand was stretched thin when its format was compromised. DC Universe Annuals in 1994 would position themselves as Elseworlds offerings, with mixed results. There were some spectacular entries, such as Batman as the pirate Captain Leatherwing in Detective Comics Annual #7 and Robin as a samurai in Robin Annual #4. Others, like the Shadow of the Bat Annual #2, were less focused and have not proven to be memorable. Likewise, the ongoing series The Batman Chronicles embraced the Elseworlds brand for issue #11 in 1998 and again (sans the official Elseworlds logo) for issue #21 in 2000. The Batman Chronicles #11 bursts with creativity and reinforces the Elseworlds concept. This issue features three stories. In the first one, writer/artist Paul Pope leverages his unique style to present the story of the “Berlin Batman.” “The Bride of Leatherwing,” by Chuck Dixon and Quique Alcatena is a sequel to the pirate Batman from the 1994 Detective Comics Annual. And rounding out this treasure is “Curse of the Catwoman,” a Val Lewton-esque noir beauty by John Francis Moore and Kieron Dwyer.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF ELSEWORLDS

The Justice League of America was late to the Elseworlds party. Although this super-team was baked into many other Elseworlds stories, it wasn’t until DC’s 1994 Elseworlds-themed Annuals that the “World’s Greatest Super-Heroes” joined the fun. Both Justice League and Justice League International took a stab at Elseworlds Annuals, with little charm. There was a continued story in The Adventures of Superman Annual #6. The JLA invited Superboy along, and it all wrapped up in Superboy Annual #1. The brand of Elseworlds sagged under the weight of these Annuals. Elseworlds stumbled again in 1996 with the “Legends of the Dead Earth” Elseworlds-esque tale in Justice League Annual #10. But 1997 was a big year for the Elseworlds brand and for the Justice League in Elseworlds. The debut of the epic Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross was arguably the biggest thing to happen to either franchise. As this groundbreaking story was embraced as a comic, a toy line, and even and audio book, it transcended the Elseworlds notion. Kingdom Come would both set the tone and raise the bar for the industry. It wasn’t necessarily the JLA in an Elseworlds as much as a possible future of the DC Universe—not necessarily the ultimate possible future. That’s one of the things that drives author Mark Waid “nuts”: “It’s just an allegorical fable,” he tells fans reading BACK ISSUE. “Stop acting like we were supplying a roadmap. It’s not a roadmap.” Also published in 1997, Justice Riders, written by Chuck Dixon and gloriously illustrated by J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray, was certainly an Elseworlds tale. This tale replants the Justice League characters (all but ignoring Superman and Batman, for a pleasant change) into the Old West. Alan Davis grabbed the reins for 1998’s three-issue Elseworlds series JLA: The Nail. This admittedly wonderful adventure is more of a What If? story than an Elseworlds tale. It’s predicated on the notion of how a small change could have big consequences. It asks and answers the question, What if the Kents didn’t discovery baby Kal-El? A sequel was published towards the end of the Elseworlds era, in 2004. Then there was a glut of JLA Elseworlds. The year 2000 saw the publication of JLA: The Island of Doctor Moreau, JLA: Created Equal, JLA: Secret Society of Super-Heroes, and JLA: Act of God. JLA: Riddle of the Beast followed in 2001. By 2002, the cover of JLA: Shogun of Steel greatly diminished the “JLA” notation (it didn’t even use the real logo) and deftly presented itself to be more of a Superman story than a JLA Elseworlds.

GO FIGURE “DC’s Elseworlds comics have been extremely popular with readers for a lot of reasons, not least of which is the fantastic talent on both writing and art, but at the end of the day it’s all about story,” notes Scott Rubin, the figures. com toy reviewer. “Elseworlds stories give us peeks into what might have been and what never should have been in equal measure, from alternate versions of our favorite characters in various timelines to heroes fighting amongst themselves, cosmic horror, and much more. “All of those reasons are also why Elseworlds toys and collectibles are so compelling,” explains Rubin. “Thought the idea of Batman as a winged vampire was cool? Elseworlds has just that. Soviet Superman and his girlfriend Wonder Woman vs. an American Bizarro and U.S. Air Force Green Lantern? Check! While other companies have tackled the property, DC Direct is the best known and probably the best example of figures from these alternate worlds done to perfection. Instantly recognizable as variants of the characters we all know, these heroes and villains have unique appearances due to their radical storylines, and even better they accurately reflect the varying styles of the artists on those books.” Elseworlds creativity would inspire many toys and collectibles. “DC released a total of 19 figures in four series for this line from 2007–2008 and one boxed set,” says Colin Dorman of Action Figure Resources. “The rarest and most expensive seems to be the Red Son Batman from Series 2. “The first series of action figures was released by DC Direct in 2004 and features five figures: Batgirl (Thrillkiller), Batman (Crimson Mist), Batman (Thrillkiller), Superman (Red Son), and Wonder Woman (Red Son). Each of the figures came in a J-Peg clamshell package with the Elseworlds logo in the background and the profiles of the characters in each series on the backing cards. The figures themselves each featured an average of five to seven points of articulation depending on the character. However, the articulation on several of the figures was often stiff or hindered by the clothing, making them unusable. The paintwork on these, although better than some of DC’s past attempts, was also still sloppy and fairly mediocre. “Overall, the Elseworlds line is a fairly average line of figures with nothing I would consider particularly collectible,” says Dorman. “That said, though, if you’re a big Batman fan and DC collector, then these are definitely worth picking up, as MOC [mint on card] most are fairly reasonably priced on the secondary market, if you’re patient.” And as Kingdom Come has become such a brand unto itself, those toys are often not even regarded as an Elseworlds toys by experts. “Each Elseworlds figure, then, is not just a perfect snapshot of a comic-book moment in time, but a dynamic collectible that reminds you of the infinite possibilities of the medium,” adds Rubin.

ELSEWORLDS AS CONVENTIONAL COMICS

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Batman Beyond Writer Byron Preiss (with Steve Ringennberg) and artist P. Craig Russell posited a 31st Century where the Wayne family’s legacy was the mantle of the Batman, in the vein of the Phantom. From Robin 3000 #1 (of 2). TM & © DC Comics.

Like the other team-up stories discussed, Planetary/JLA: Terra Occulta was just a cross-company team-up looking for an empty bed to crawl into. After that, it was just JLA: Age of Wonder, a Victorian-based two-parter in 2003, and JLA: Destiny in 2004, a gritty four-parter, plus the already-mentioned JLA: Another Nail, and then it was lights out for Justice League Elseworlds. For whatever reason, the Justice League generally didn’t work well in Elseworlds stories. There were exceptions, like Justice Riders, but the biggest successes, Kingdom Come and The Nail, weren’t beholden to the Elseworlds brand. Like a teenager who had outgrown her favorite youthful outfit, they didn’t quite fit into Elseworlds.

THOSE OTHER JUSTICE GUYS

The Justice Society of America enjoyed forays into the realm of Elseworlds, but each seemed to grow into its own brand. The two-issue JSA: The Liberty File presented the Society as a WWII special-operations team, with highly stylized art by Tony Harris, who co-wrote the series with Dan Jolley. In its sequel JSA: The Unholy Three, they got the band back together for one more gig. While branded as an Elseworlds story, writer James Robinson’s and artist Paul Smith’s The Golden Age, another Justice Society adventure, was subsequently incorporated into DC continuity by Robinson in his Starman series. Scribe Geoff Johns would follow suit in his ongoing Justice Society series. Like Marvel’s What If? #4, The Golden Age was almost too good to let languish as unofficial. These JSA tales could not be easily described as Elseworlds stories and minimized the brand. Indeed, the heroes were not in unfamiliar places—they were in very familiar places. Both The Liberty File and The Golden Age became brands of their own, shrugging off their Elseworlds raiment and dismissively rendering the brand either unimportant or superfluous.

IT’S A BIG TOYBOX

Elseworlds offerings for other DC heroes were hit or miss. Robin 3000 (1992), for example, was an early Elseworlds and its lovely art by P. Craig Russell made fans sit up and notice. But in general, the misses seemed to have outnumbered the hits. The time Steel was thrown into the Deep South during the days of slavery (in Steel Annual #1) didn’t quite click with fans. Likewise, Tom Veitch and Frank Gomez’s Kamandi: At Earth’s End (1993), a six-part Elseworlds series published as a standard comic book, failed to catch on. Interestingly enough, a bearded and bedraggled Superman would play a similar role in Veitch and Gomez’s Superman: At Earth’s End in 1995, with similar creative results. And then there were the times the brand got into trouble. An Elseworlds 80-Page Giant featuring the Super-Sons of Superman and Batman was

recalled and most of its print run scrapped due to inappropriate material in one of its stories. [Editor’s note: That would be Kyle Baker and Elizabeth Glass’ infamous—and insanely funny—“Letitia Lerner, Superman’s Babysitter,” which featured a controversial, comical scene of baby Superman in a microwave oven.] A 2003 Teen Titans Swingin’ Elseworlds Special by original Titans writer Bob Haney and artists Jay Stephens and Mike Allred was never published despite pleas from fans. [Editor’s note: It eventually saw print in 2008, although as a “Lost Annual” and not as an Elseworlds book.] As far as fans were concerned, the bland overuse of the Elseworlds concept signaled that the brand was running on empty.

STAND BY YOUR BRAND

Elseworlds was an enduring concept that grew too fast, and too frequently became a holding spot for unrelated creative endeavors. It’s tough when a brand gets away from its custodians. In the ’90s, while working at Nabisco in brand management, I argued for establishing guidelines for the OREO brand. The fear was that it would become just a flavor, and not the experiential cookie that was shared by one generation to the next. Senior management agreed with my point of view. But a few short years later, the quest for short-term profits drove a rash of odd OREO variants (Birthday Cake OREO, Pina Colada OREO, Kettle Corn OREO). A brand that had once meant something special to consumers, and to the company, morphed into a wacky platform for silly flavors. And that’s ultimately what happened to Elseworlds. “There was a running spreadsheet of Elseworlds in development,” remembers Mark Waid. “Some were ridiculous: Flash in the Trojan War, Batman 33 A.D.” Waid feels strongly that when Elseworlds proposals included the Flash in the Crimean War, it had all gone too far—“At that point, you have to refocus.” By 2003, the Elseworlds brand ultimately disappeared. DC has created other “alternate reality” brands over the past two decades, with varying degrees of success, including RealWorlds (stories set in the ordinary world), Just Imagine (Stan Lee’s versions of DC heroes), Tangent (reimagining DC heroes in a different, yet cohesive universe), Amalgam (merging DC heroes with Marvel characters), Hypertime (overlapping alternate timelines), DC One Million (future stories), and more recently, 2018’s Metal (grim versions of Batman). Even Elseworlds itself was rebooted in 2010 with the miniseries Superman: The Last Family of Krypton, yet at this writing no further Elseworlds projects have been released. The original brand’s missteps and overuse do not mean that there weren’t glorious Elseworlds stories told. Or that there are others left to tell. There just might be a few more opportunities to make characters who are as familiar as yesterday seem as fresh as tomorrow. Who knows what the future might bring? ED CATTO is a marketing strategist with a specialty in pop culture. As co-founder of Bonfire Agency, Ed is dedicated to connecting brands with the “Geeks of the World” in innovative and authentic ways. And as a “retropreneur,” Ed leads a team specializing in rejuvenating brands (including Captain Action) for today’s audiences.

58 • BACK ISSUE • Alternate Realities Issue

by J o n a t h a n

Rikard Brown

The future has come, gone, and left its imprint on Marvel Comics. During the comics boom of the 1990s, Marvel would launch a new imprint called Marvel 2099. This imprint would consist of titles that told the story of what would happen to the Marvel Universe in 100 years. The stories created for this new line drew on themes often seen in the steampunk and dystopian genres. The line between human and computer has been blurred. A major corporation has garnered enough power and wealth to be the true force running the world. In the middle of this new world are new versions of the superheroes of old. In this article we will take a behind-the-scenes look at how the line developed, its rise in popularity, and its eventual demise. We will also look at the impact the line has had on the comics medium and superhero genre in modern history. So buckle up and get ready. Where we are going, we don’t need roads. We are going back to the future.

FROM WORLD OF TOMORROW TO NEXT MEN

Marvel fans’ first taste of the future would come from the man who was a foundational figure in its past, Stan “The Man” Lee. In his “Stan’s Soapbox” articles for Marvel Age, at that time the company’s self-published fanzine, in 1990 the seminal creator began to tease an upcoming future-based project. The first tease came in Marvel Age #90 (July 1990), stan lee where Stan wrote, “These past few Gage Skidmore. months I’ve received lots of mail from puzzled true believers asking why I’ve been writing so few comic books lately. Of course, they never quite made it clear whether they’re happy about that or not! But being an incurable optimist I figured, ‘Wow! Maybe some readers actually miss me!’ That’s why I recently had a pow-wow with one of today’s most popular artist/writers. (No, I won’t tell you who until later. It’s too good a surprise to spill now!) We decided to create a whole new superhero world—based on a unique concept that will give Mighty Marvel an entire array of heroes and villains such as you’ve never seen before! And best of all—they’ll be an integral part of the Marvel Universe, even though they’re totally different.” In the next “Stan’s Soapbox” from Marvel Age #91 (Aug. 1990), it was revealed that Lee was working with John Byrne to create a graphic novel. Byrne would co-plot the series, alongside Lee, and provide art. The story would focus on a Stan Lee-created character called Ravage and be entitled The Marvel World of Tomorrow. The title would be set in the Marvel Universe, but a little more than 100 years in the future. It is here we see the time setting of 2099 first being introduced. Stan would continue to tease the project in the following months’ “Stan’s Soapbox” articles. In the April 1991 cover-dated article, Lee would write his final tease for the project, stating that the real title would soon be coming, but that he would talk less about the project.

Tomorrow Today A Marvel house ad from 1992 announcing the first four titles in its 2099 line. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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In the Year 2099 Launching Marvel’s 2099 line: (top) Spider-Man 2099 #1 (Nov. 1992), with a foil cover. Art by Rick Leonardi and Al Williamson. (bottom) While writer Peter David detoured from the Lee/Ditko original in creating his futurist Spidey, one aspect carried over, as shown in this page from issue #1: friction with the authorities. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Sadly, this project would not come to reality in this way. However, it would be a foundational moment for the 2099 imprint, specifically with the title Ravage 2099 and the seed for John Byrne’s graphic novel 2112, which introduced Byrne’s Next Men characters. In “Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed” #27 on CBR.com, Brian Cronin reported that in a forum post, John Byrne wrote, “In 1990, Stan Lee contacted me and asked me if I would like to be ‘editor-in-chief’ of a whole new line he was going to create at Marvel—a line which would be set in Marvel’s future, unconnected to the Marvel Universe as we knew it. As it happened, I had been giving some thought to a ‘Futureverse’ of my own, and, being flattered by Stan’s offer, I suggested that what I had come up with (but at that time thought I had no place to develop) would fit the bill for his project. To this end I plotted (Stan was to script) and drew a 64-page ‘pilot.’ “When Stan saw the pilot pages, he asked for more specific MU references. I’d tried to keep the thing ‘clean,’ so as not to turn the whole MU into a Superboy story, but Stan thought we SHOULD at least HINT at what had happened to some of the folk we knew from the present continuity. Fortunately, since my story was told in the 64 pages, this meant only adding some 12 additional pages and some bridging material to make them fit. Thus, when I took the project back it was, luckily, not a case of re-writing or re-drawing, but simply of removing pages I had not wanted in there in the first place. I’d taken a set of concepts, bent them slightly to fit Stan’s needs, and then had only to ‘unbend’ them to get back to my own original material. Stuck with 64 pages and no thought of where to put ’em—I did not want to offer the book to DC, since that seemed vaguely scabrous somehow—I mentioned my dilemma to Roger Stern, who suggested I give Dark Horse a call. I did. They accepted the proposal with open arms. I also pitched NEXT MEN, which had been floating in my brain for a while, and which they also liked. [Editor’s note: Dark Horse Comics published 31 issues of John Byrne’s Next Men from 1992 through 1994.] I then realized the tiniest bit of tweaking in the dialog would make my graphic novel—now titled 2112—into a prequel/sequel pilot for JBNM.”

ZIGGING WHERE LEE AND DITKO ZAGGED

While this project fell apart, there was still potential in telling stories set in the future of the Marvel Universe. Marvel’s editorin-chief Tom DeFalco would assemble another team to take a stab at taking Marvel into the future. In the book Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, Sean Howe wrote, “With pressure to beat 1991’s astronomical sales figures, DeFalco and the editorial staff focused on its big launches… A discarded Stan Lee/John Byrne project about Marvel characters in the year 2099 was retooled into an entire new line of comics: future versions of Spider-Man, the Punisher, and Doctor Doom provided plenty of collectible product.” Before the line of comics could be written, the right editorial presence had to be put in place to shepherd the line. Enter Joey Cavalieri. The former DC Comics staffer was brought on as the line editor for the Marvel 2099 titles. Sarra Mossoff would serve as the line’s first assistant editor (others would follow). Cavalieri’s first job would be to assemble the creative talent to launch the line. He began to invite pitches from various writers for the upcoming titles. One of the writers that was asked to pitch was Peter David, who was asked to submit a proposal for a Spider-Man story set in a hundred years in the future. “The first thing I did was decide that he would not be a descendant of Peter Parker,” David tells BACK ISSUE about the experience. “Instead I decided to zig everywhere that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko zagged. Peter was a standard white guy. I gave [Spider-Man 2099] a mixed ethnicity, picking Irish/Mexican because I wanted to give him two backgrounds that didn’t remotely seem to go together. Peter was an orphan. Miguel (named after actor and friend Miguel Ferrer) O’Hara would have a mother. Peter was an only child. Miguel would have a brother. Peter was in his teens; Miguel would be in his mid-20s. Peter had no idea how to approach girls. Miguel would have a fiancée. Peter basically scaled walls via magic. Miguel would have talons. Spider-Man web-swung; Spider-Man 2099 would, much like 60 • BACK ISSUE • Alternate Realities Issue

parachute spiders, glide on air current via webbing that was on his back (an anti-grav material I cooked up). Spider-Man cracked wise in order to distract his fear. Spider-Man 2099 cracked wise when he was Miguel, but when he was in a fight, he didn’t speak because he was concentrating on the battle. Spider-Man had some mystical thing called spider-sense; Miguel would have accelerated vision so he could see danger coming. Spider-Man created mechanical web-shooters. Spider-Man 2099 would have biological spinnerets, although I chose to put them on his forearm rather than his buttocks. “I came up with some generalized story arcs and villains and sent it off.” It appears Marvel felt it had egg on its face from prematurely announcing The Marvel World of Tomorrow. The new 2099 line of comics would not be announced until late in 1992, in the form of the cover story for Marvel Age #117 entitled “2099: A Marvel Odyssey”— a mere month before the premiere of Spider-Man 2099 #1. The article would detail how DeFalco decided to pick up the Lee/Byrne project and entrust Cavalieri and Mossoff to turn it into a line. The article announced that the Marvel 2099 line would premiere with four books: Ravage 2099, Spider-Man 2099, The Punisher 2099, and Doom 2099. The story would feature quotes from Cavalieri about picking the four titles that would come to make up the launch titles for the new line. The article stated, “Creating a new cast to match the classic Marvel Heroes was not an easy task. The lineup that began Stan’s new character Ravage, expanded as it was decided that the other three series would star new versions of popular modern-day characters. Spider-Man and the Punisher, Joey says, were ‘naturals.’ For the fourth slot Marvel editorial chose not a fan-favorite hero, but Marvel’s leading villain. During a discussion at an editorial meeting, editor Ralph Macchio came up with Doom 2099. ‘How can you resist that?’ Joey asked. ‘It’s very difficult to structure a book around somebody who’s traditionally thought of as a villain, but I think you’ll be able to see him in a different light.’ ” The first title out of the gate was Spider-Man 2099, the flagship title in the line and the book with the longestlasting impact on Marvel Comics. The first issue, published in September 1992 with a cover date of November 1992, was written by Peter David, penciled by Rick Leonardi, and inked by Al Williamson; that artistic dream team stayed on the book for most of its first 25 issues. David tells BACK ISSUE, “A week later [after submitting my pitch], I got a call from Joey Cavalieri, the editor of the 2099 line, telling me they loved my pitch for Spidey 2099. ‘To begin with,’ he said, ‘you’re the only writer who didn’t make him a descendent of Peter Parker.’ They sent me a bonus of a few grand and offered me the writing gig. Naturally, I took it on. “A month later, I was in a room with the other 2099 writers and artists, sitting next to Stan Lee, who was going to be writing Ravage,” David continues. “We later broke into smaller groups. I’ll never forget sitting there next to Rick Leonardi, telling him what I wanted the costume to look like while he sketched it and made suggestions for changes. It was one of the best creative experiences I ever had.” Spider-Man 2099 would go on to introduce several key aspects of the 2099 Universe to readers. As noted earlier, one of the threads that united the Marvel 2099 line was the notion that a large corporation would be a central and powerful figure. Spider-Man 2099 #1 introduced the entity known as Alchemax, a company that had weaseled its way into almost every aspect of human life in year 2099. Alchemax would act as a backdrop and impact almost every corner of the 2099 Universe.

Spider-Man 2099 was a resounding success for Marvel. Comichron reports it was the fourth highest-selling book of 1992, a year that saw high sales due to launch of Image Comics and DC publishing The Death of Superman. The original series ran for 46 issues, making Spider-Man 2099 the most successful book of the 2099 imprint. Newsarama reported that Spider-Man 2099 #1 is the highestgrossing single issue Peter David has ever written. Even as the 2099 line began to draw fewer dollars, interest in the Miguel O’Hara character remained strong. The character would later have a role in the Exiles comic series. Spider-Man 2099 would also be featured in several video games and be the cover star of Lego Marvel Superheroes 2, which was released in 2017. Peter David would leave the series after issue #44, right before its cancellation; several artists worked their way in and out of the series in its third and fourth years. However, David would return in 2014 to spearhead two more volumes of Spider-Man 2099. In its own time, Spider-Man 2099 would serve as an appetizer that left readers wanting more from this futuristic dark Marvel world.

Stellar Art Team David’s creative inspiration may have given birth to Spider-Man 2099, but the pitch-perfect Leonardi/Williamson art team brought the writer’s shockers to life. Original art to the cover of issue #11 (Sept. 1993). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Ravage Revealed (left) Paul-Phillip undergoes a transformation in the Stan Lee-createdand-written Ravage 2099 #1 (Dec. 1992). Art by Paul Ryan and Keith Williams. (right) Lee passed the torch to writers Pat Mills and Tony Skinner beginning with Ravage 2099 #8 (July 1993), and Grant Miehm succeeded Paul Ryan as penciler. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

STAN THE MAN’S RAVAGING RETURN

The next book to appear on store shelves was Ravage 2099, the only title in the 2099 Universe that did not have a regular Marvel Universe analog. The initial issues were written by Stan Lee. It is interesting to note that the role of penciler almost went to Spider-Man co-creator and comic legend Steve Ditko. This would have been a reunion of epic proportions. On July 15, 2018, CBR.com published the article “Comic Legends: Did Lee and Ditko Almost Do Ravage 2099 Together?” In the article, Brian Cronin cited an article from Wizard: The Comics Magazine #124 stating that Tom DeFalco set up a meeting with Lee and Dikto, and that DeFalco said this about the reunion: “Stan said he’d love to work with Ditko again, so I gave Steve a call, and he agreed to come in and meet with Stan. The fan in me was thinking, ‘I’m going to watch history unfold—Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in the same room together. Steve came in, very flattered to be asked. The guys started to shake hands, then gave each other a big hug. It was a very warm reception between the two of them, and it was obvious these were two guys who really liked each other and really respected each other. “Stan laid out his ideas for the series, they had a really terrific discussion going back and forth,” DeFalco continued. “A lot of Steve’s discussions had been fiery, but this one was just so warm and friendly. The meeting ran its course, and ended with Ditko cordially turning

62 • BACK ISSUE • Alternate Realities Issue

down the project. He just didn’t agree with some of the philosophical underpinnings. Stan thanked him a lot, and they opened the door for future work together. Steve walked away, and I could tell he was really thrilled to have seen Stan.” Though many comics fans will probably lament the missed opportunity of one last collaboration of the all-star duo, the project still progressed forward. Paul Ryan would be tapped to provide pencils for Stan Lee’s last original creation for Marvel Comics. Ravage 2099 was the closest in concept to the cancelled Lee/Byrne The Marvel World of Tomorrow graphic novel of all of the books in the 2099 line. It focused on a mutated and framed former CEO of an Alchemax subsidiary-turned-vigilante whose alter ego was named Paul-Phillip Ravage. It is interesting to note that the story marked the return of Stan Lee to writing a monthly series for Marvel. In the series Lee would attempt to return to crafting comics that spoke to the social concerns of the time. Ravage 2099 would attempt to frame environmental issues and corporate threats inside the superhero genre. The project, launching with Ravage 2099 #1 (Dec. 1992), would be short-lived for the creator. Stan Lee only wrote seven issues before leaving the book, plotting issue #8 for co-scripters Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, who took over the writing chores with the following issue. Paul Ryan also quickly departed, with Grant Miehm and

Joe Bennett pulling stints as Ravage 2099 artist. The book initially experienced high sales, but it was the lowest selling of the four 2099 books. As the series continued, interest and sales declined. The series ran for a total 33 issues, ending with an August 1995 cover-dated issue with Ian Edginton mopping up scripting duties from Mills and Skinner. In that final issue, the Ravage character would be killed off in an attempt to streamline the 2099 Universe and shift attention on higher-selling characters and new Marvel 2099 books.

FROM LATVERIA WITH LOVE

John Francis Moore and Pat Broderick would serve as the initial creative in the next 2099 book launch, Doom 2099. This title ripped Dr. Victor von Doom from the present day and placed the Fantastic Four villain into the year 2099… or maybe it didn’t. Moore would add a bit of mystery to whether or not the Doom of 2099 was actually the Dr. Doom of regular Marvel continuity. Dr. Doom found himself in the future Latveria and was forced to battle corporate forces that had invaded and conquered the kingdom in his absence. Eventually, John Francis Moore would leave the title to focus on another Marvel 2099 story, seguing off the book by plotting his last two issues, #24 and 25. Doom 2099 would become the book in which Warren Ellis would make his Marvel writing debut, dialoguing Moore’s final two issues before taking over as scribe with issue #26 (Feb. 1995) and remaining on the series throughout the rest of its run. Ellis would double down on the political intrigue that our protagonist was entangled in. Eventually, Doom 2099 would serve as the foundation for the 2099 crossover event “One Nation Under Doom,” published in 1995. In this arc, Doom would depose Alchemax as the prominent power in the United States

and take over the country. Each title in the 2099 line reflected the new status quo of the “free world” being at the hands of Doom. Writer/artist Ernie Colón spelled the regular creative team on issues #9 and 16, and Enrique Alcatena provided fill-in art on issue #13, but for most of Ravage 2099’s run, penciler Pat Broderick would prove the book’s stalwart, illustrating it through issue #30 (June 1995). In the mid-’90s, the bubble popped in the comic-book speculators’ boom and sales dropped for all publishers, including Marvel. Like all of the 2099 line, sales of Doom 2099 had steadily declined. Comichron reports that by the start of January 1995, the sales of Doom 2099 had decreased to a tenth of what they had been for the first issue in 1992. Warren Ellis would eventually leave Doom 2099, citing creative differences. He would be replaced by a succession of writers: Tom Peyer, Evan Skolnick, and Tom DeFalco. John Francis Moore would return to pen the final two issues, #43 and 44 (Aug. 1996).

Back to the Future (left) Vile Vic lands in 2099 in Doom 2099 #1 (Jan. 1993). Story by John Francis Moore, art by Pat Broderick. (right) Original cover art by Broderick (who graces our next issue with his Firestorm cover) for Doom 2099 #2. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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CHAOS IN THE PUBLIC EYE

The final book to launch in the initial 2099 lineup was published in December 1992 with a cover date of February 1993. This was Punisher 2099. The book was written by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner. Tom Morgan provided pencils for the initial issues, inked by Jimmy Palmiotti. Punisher 2099 focused on Jake Gallows, a cop who worked for a subscription-based law agency called Public Eye, a subsidiary of Alchemax. In the series, the reader was shown how money can wipe away any problems with the law, as citizens were even allowed to buy murder passes instead of facing jail time. In this world, Jake Gallows’ entire family was murdered, not unlike the origin of Frank Castle, the Punisher of the Marvel Universe. Gallows studied how the original Punisher had waged war on crime and decided to take on the corrupt world of 2099 as the new Punisher, skirmishing with frightful figures such as Blue Max, Manitou, Vendetta, and Jigsaw 2099. Mills and Skinner, both British writers, seemed to be inspired by the UK comic-book series Judge Dredd. Both Punisher 2099 and Judge Dredd examined a futuristic world where a cop figure fought crime and corruption outside of the established legal system. [Editor’s note: Judge Dredd is one of the sci-fi superheroes spotlighted in the upcoming BACK ISSUE #115.] Tom Morgan provided an appropriately gritty art style for Punisher 2099, with fill-ins from artists Art Nichols (#12) and Will Simpson (#14), but before long the look of the book was constantly changing. Simon Coleby became Punisher 2099 artist with issue #20, leaving with #25 but returning again for another issue, #28. Along the way readers would see artists Joe Bennett (#26), the returning Will Simpson (#27), and Enrique Villagran (#29). Writers Mills and Skinner would leave the series with issue #29 (June 1996), two issues into the “One Nation Under Doom” crossover. Chuch Dixon would take over writing duties with issue #30, joined by artist Rod Whigham. At the end of the Pat Mills/Tony Skinner run, Jake Gallows would become an agent in Doom’s newly reestablished S.H.I.E.L.D. With issue #28 (May 1995), the book’s logo was changed to The Punisher 2099 A.D., Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. New writer Chuck Dixon soon put Gallows in conflict with S.H.I.E.L.D. in issue #32, and the old logo returned with issue #33. Eventually, Jake Gallows would be killed in the Warren Ellis-penned, late-1995 one-shot 2099 A.D. Apocalypse in an attempt to streamline and refocus the 2099 imprint. When it premiered in late 1992, Punisher 2099 was the second-highest-selling book in the line, no doubt enjoying some of the popularity of the Marvel Universe’s Punisher at the time. However, like its 2099 sister series, Punisher 2099’s sales would decrease over the next few years. Punisher 2099 would be cancelled in 1995, and #34 (cover-dated Nov. 1995) would serve as its final issue.

MUTANTS OF TOMORROW

Blast from the Past (top) Jake Gallows, the Punisher of 2099, drew inspiration from the original Punisher, Frank Castle, for his war against corruption. Page 3 of Punisher 2099 #1 (Feb. 1993). Written by Mills and Skinner, with art by Tom Morgan and Jimmy Palmiotti. (bottom) American Flagg creator Howard Chaykin was tapped to produce this cover for Punisher 2099 #31 (Aug. 1995), during the book’s Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. phase. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

The launch of Marvel 2099 books was fairly successful, with each title initially selling well in the crowded marketplace of 1992. As the line was off to a roaring start, readers began to ask about a next set of 2099 books and fan mail speculated about future versions of other beloved Marvel properties, with an X-Men 2099 book being the most popular idea among readers. On paper, X-Men 2099 seemed like a no-brainer. The X-Men franchise was one of the consistent highest sellers for Marvel. It would make a lot of sense to pair a hot new line with a long-running successful franchise. Plus, the X-Men books had previously played with the possibility of the Marvel mutants facing a dystopian future where the ruling class had effectively culled the mutant population, most famously “Days of Future Past” in Uncanny X-Men #141 and 142 (Jan. and Feb. 1981). However, a no-brainer on paper seemed to be a headache when making an X-Men 2099 title materialize in the real world. In the early 1990s, Marvel’s X-Men line was in a state of flux. X-Men scribe Chris Claremont ended his long run (by editorial direction) to pass the torch to artist/writer Jim Lee. Lee, along with several bestselling Marvel artists, would leave a short time later to found Image Comics. Editor Joey Cavalieri was faced with trying to build a connection between his future continuity and a group of X-books that constantly upended the status quo. Cavalieri and his creative team solved this problem by creating a new X-team and a new situation that produced mutants in the future. In 2099’s world, where corporate powers forcibly drove an unsurmountable wedge between the lower and upper classes, mutation become a product. Commentator Zedric Dimalanta stated in his thegeekverse.com blog “A Marvel 2099 Retrospective” that “Cavalieri, in an article that appeared in Marvel Age #125 (June 1993), described Marvel 2099’s mutants as ‘a slave class, born to poor families who couldn’t afford to have their child born without the mutant “message” in its DNA.’ While X-Men 2099 would retain the tension of the human-mutant racial divide that helped define the original X-Men books, this was folded into Marvel 2099’s overriding theme of a future North America ruled by amoral and profit-driven business conglomerates. In the world of Marvel 2099, the genetically distinct mutant population is just one of many economically and politically disenfranchised groups that make up North America’s overwhelmingly indigent majority.” From this defining concept, Cavalieri recruited 2099 veteran John Francis Moore to write X-Men 2099 and Ron Lim to provide pencils, with Adam Kubert on inks. Moore and Lim crafted new mutants that drew inspiration the from the past to create a future. Chief among them was Xi’an Chi Xan, a Professor X-like figure that drew mutants to him for the purpose of changing the world’s perceptions and creating a mutant utopia. Other members of the original X-Men 2099 team were Bloodhawk (a fierce figure with talons and wings), Metalhead (with the power to adopt the properties of metals), Serpentina (a stretching mutant), Krystalin (a mineral manipulator), Cerebra (a controller of others’ nervous systems), Skullfire (an energy absorber), and Meanstreak (a speedster). Unlike the other 2099 books, writer Moore stayed on through the series’ final issue, #35 (Aug. 1996). Although Kubert left, replaced by other inkers (most

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X Marks the Spot (left) X-Men 2099 in a pinup from series artists Ron Lim and Adam Kubert. From the “Enter the World of 2099” insert in X-Men 2099 #1 (Oct. 1993). (below) Halloween Jack—a.k.a. Loki 2099—as illo’ed by Titanic Tim Sale on the cover of X-Men 2099 #21 (June 1995). Original art courtesy of Heritage (www.ha.com). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

notably Henry Candelario), Lim lasted until issue #31 (Apr. 1996), followed by the series’ final penciler, Jan Duursema. Dimalanta also blogged, “X-Men 2099 had a strong debut—the series’ first issue, cover-dated October 1993, was the 25th best-selling comic of the year, according to Diamond Comic Distributors’ direct market preorder data. While not a breakout hit, X-Men 2099 sold well through its second year of publication: in 1994, it moved over three times as many issues in the direct market and through subscription (368,867) as Punisher 2099 (120,615), and it was poised to overtake Spider-Man 2099 as the Marvel 2099 imprint’s flagship title. That success proved unsustainable. Orders fell off a cliff in 1995, with combined direct market and subscription sales amounting to just 128,316 copies, a reduction of 65 percent from the previous year. After 35 monthly issues and two specials (including one painted by the Hildebrant brothers), X-Men 2099 was cancelled in late spring of 1996.” It is important to note that X-Men 2099 did have a direct spinoff title in 1996, entitled X-Nation 2099, written by Tom Peyer and penciled by Humberto Ramos. The first issue had a cover date of March 1996. The book focused on Doom and Cebera of X-Men 2099 fame coming together to form a team (Clarion, December, Nostromo, Twilight, Uproar, Willow, and Wulff) to search for a new Mutant Messiah. However, this quest would be short-lived as the title only lasted six issues, and the original creative team left after issue #3 as a part of a 1996 mass exodus of creators from the 2099 line, which will be chronicled later in this article.

EXPANDING THE MARVEL 2099 UNIVERSE

At the start of 1994, the sales of the Marvel 2099 line were beginning to wane. In an attempt to combat this, editor Cavalieri organized the line-wide crossover “Fall of the Hammer.” While the books had common ties, like Alchemax, each book in its first year had existed in its own corner of the universe. That all changed here. The Punisher would confront Spider-Man, and Ravage would team up with the X-Men. This crossover centered around Alchemax attempting to create Valhalla in the year 2099. The event also saw the introduction of Thor 2099. In Marvel Age #132, Joey Cavalieri said this about the event: “I want to show that these books are not merely this concatenation, and everybody is all together. The crossover changes the status quo. These characters can no longer operate in secret. … The second Heroic Age has begun.” The crossover did not do much to slow declining sales of the 2099 books, but it did help cement that these characters lived in a shared Alternate Realities Issue • BACK ISSUE • 65

universe. This allowed the reader to wonder who would show up in each title every month. The next title to launch was 2099 Unlimited. The book did not have a central protagonist or regular creative team. This 64-page title was an anthology series that allowed new “toys” to be introduced into the 2099 Universe and was a place for creators to play with ideas instead of interjecting them into the ongoing books. The book ran quarterly and began with a July 1993 cover date. The first six issues’ feature story centered on Hulk 2099, penned by Gerard Jones and penciled by Dwayne Turner, followed by penciler J. J. Birch. In these stories, John Eisenhart was a movie producer who was a product of the greed and class warfare that permeated the air in 2099. Eisenhart began to see the error of his ways after he aided in devastating the ranks of a Hulk-worshipping religion known as the Knights of Banner. He converted to the religion and fought against their oppression. In one battle, Eisenhart was exposed to gamma radiation, gaining the ability to transform into a green monster that was more lizard-like than his regular Marvel Universe counterpart. These six stories generated enough interest that an ongoing spinoff title was created, starting with Hulk 2099 #1 (Dec. 1994). Jones continued to write the stories and was joined in by Malcolm Davis on art. Spider-Man 2099 was also a frequent feature in 2099 Unlimited, co-launching the title with Hulk 2099 and appearing in its final issues. Along the way, the anthology’s diverse contents included Lychryma 2099, Duke Stratosphere, Hazzard 2099, Doom 2099, Galahad 2099, Midsummer Knights 2099, Public Enemy, Steel Rain, and Machina Jones, among other features, with numerous writers and artists contributing stories. However, both 2099 Unlimited and Hulk 2099 were cancelled after ten issues. This Hulk character, like so many others, would be killed in 2099 AD: Apocalypse, alongside Ravage and Punisher.

GHOST IN THE MACHINE

Ghost Rider would be the next Marvel Character to race into the future. Ghost Rider 2099 #1 (May 1994) began with Len Kaminski writing and Chris Bachalo on pencils. Kaminski would remain on the book for its entire 25-issue run. Ghost Rider 2099 took a lot of inspiration from the cyberpunk genre. It told the story of Kenshiro “Zero” Cochrane, a hacker who was executed by a company called D/Monix for stealing information. Before his death, Zero was able to upload his mind to cyberspace. In cyberspace our character found a sentient portion of the Web called Ghostworks. Ghostworks aided Zero in downloading himself into a robot body and set him on a path of vengeance. In his new form, Zero recognized his similarities to a hero of the past and took the name Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider 2099 was the first Marvel 2099 book to not be edited by Joey Cavalieri. That assignment fell to Evan Skolnick. Skolnick tells BACK ISSUE, “Due to the success of the 2099 line of books up to that point, it was decided by management that a Ghost Rider 2009 series would be a good idea. Bobbie Chase was the Ghost Rider group editor at that time, and so the assignment fell to her to delegate. I was an associate editor working under Bobbie, and she decided to give the assignment to me. I was very excited, as it was the first new series I was tasked to launch as an editor.” Skolnick was instrumental in planting the seeds that would steer Ghost Rider 2099 away from the mystical routes of its present-day counterpart to a more cyberpunk feel. He states, “When I requested proposals from my group of hand-picked writers, I made it clear to them that I did not want to see something along the lines of the very obvious premise that the Spirit of Vengeance simply rises again in 2099. I felt this would have been too easy, too predictable, and too similar to the existing Ghost Rider series. I wanted something surprisingly different and more tied to science fiction than horror or fantasy. All of the writers came back with excellent proposals, but Len Kaminski’s was the standout to me.” BACK ISSUE asks Skolnick what is was like working alongside the other 2099 line creators and editors. “To be honest, the situation was a bit awkward because up until that point, Joey Cavalieri—the editor who had launched all the 2099 titles—was still editing them all, and in fact was in fact the group editor of that line,” Skolnick responds.

New Mutants (left) More future mutants are introduced to readers on this page from the first issue (Mar. 1996) of the X-Men 2099 spinoff, X-Nation 2099. Written by Tom Peyer, penciled by Humberto Ramos, inked by Palmiotti. (right) Hulk 2099 adventures began in 2099 Unlimited #1 (July 1993), with Gerard Jones and Dwayne Turner originally at the helm. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Revving On Chris Bachalo, Ghost Rider 2099’s original artist, left the book’s interiors with #3 but remained on board as its cover artist through this issue, #8 (Dec. 1994). Autographed original art courtesy of Heritage. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

“So Ghost Rider 2099 represented not only the first 2099 series to not be edited by Joey, but also the first one that would be under the auspices of a different group editor. This awkwardness was probably compounded by the dark, cyberpunk approach we were taking Ghost Rider 2099, which was a tonal departure from the existing 2099 titles.” While the experience may have presented challenges and uncomfortable working situations, Evan Skolnick still looks back at series with fondness: “I was very proud to be a part of this series. The initial creative team I was fortunate enough to assemble was stellar, and even after we lost penciler Chris Bachalo right after the first issue, I felt we recovered splendidly on the visual side thanks to the talented Mark Buckingham, Kyle Hotz, and Peter Gross. I couldn’t wait to see Len Kaminski’s plots and scripts every month, and I barely touched them because they were just so strong. True to the series’ cyberpunk theme, I really wanted Ghost Rider 2099 to push the technology envelope as well. We were the first regular-price Marvel comic to feature interior computer coloring, the first to feature an all-CGI cover, and the first to publish a letters page consisting only of emailed messages. To this day, over 20 years later, I still get people telling me this series was one of their favorites.”

THE FUTURE’S GREATEST COMIC MAGAZINE

The next book to launch in the Marvel 2099 franchise brought Marvel’s first family into the 21st Century. Fantastic Four 2099 debuted with a cover date of January 1996. It would be the last book to launch in the line with Joey Cavalieri as editor. The creative team behind launching the FF into the future was writer Karl Kesel and penciler Rick Leonardi. Karl Kesel tells BACK ISSUE, “I was very excited to work on the book. Joey Cavalieri called me, and said he had been given the go ahead to do a FF 2099 book. He knew I loved those characters, and my only Karl Kesel’s run on Fantastic Four 2099 was fairly short. question was, ‘Could it be the real Fantastic Four?’ He said, “No, we can’t say that, but we can pretend He wrote only five issues, and the series would only last eight. it is between us.’ And we went from there. I was very In explaining his early departure he admits, “Quite honestly, excited. In reading across the line I was very impressed it comes down to the fact that Joey Cavalieri was let go. with what Warren Ellis was doing over in Doom 2099. I and a number of other people walked off our 2099 evan skolnick books in protest.” Regarding the reason for Cavalieri’s That book was very exciting. It was really fun to play dismissal, Kesel offers, “All I can tell you is, I respect in that playground for a bit.” Joey. I enjoy working with Joey and Marvel. I don’t Kesel continues, “This was the opportunity to do www.evanskolnick.com Fantastic Four the way I wanted to do Fantastic Four. The differences know what the background politics were that were going on. But one day would be that they were on the run as opposed to being respected. I got a call that said, ‘Joey has been let go. Joey has been fired.’ It seemed They are the central figures of the Marvel Universe. So when they wake very unfair to me. I thought he was doing a very good job. I thought up in Doom’s world, it’s a very different world. They were on the run, and 2099 books were the most exciting they had ever been since the launch. I don’t know if that was a first time for them, but that was not a situation You know, I was much more loyal to Joey than I was to the books.” It is here Kesel hits on what appears to be the death nail of the Marvel we see them in very often. That was very interesting to see in that position. In many ways, looking back on it now, I think of it when the FF first 2099 line. The books continued to decline in sales, and a frequent appeared in the ’60s, Reed and Ben were supposed to have fought in practice of the publisher during the aftermath of the industry’s steep World War II. Now, what war they fought in is questionable, but they have decline was to abruptly change creative and editorial staff. In 1996, some sort of war history. And I saw that expertise really coming to the Joey Cavalieri was let go from Marvel and thus removed from the position forefront in the 2099 book. Because they were suddenly at war again.” of 2099 editor. Karl Kesel and Peter David both confirm that Cavalieri’s BACK ISSUE asks Kesel about coordination between the 2099 books, firing is why they left their books. Spider-Man 2099’s David states, in particular his FF 2099 and Doom 2099. “I talked with Warren [Ellis] “I have zero idea why the fired Joey. But all the writers felt Joey was the briefly one time,” he says. “I don’t know if Joey [Cavalieri] was sending heart and soul of 2099 and, as I recall, we all left when he was let go.” This course of events was disappointing for Karl Kesel. A good friend him my scripts on to him. Joey was really the central point. He was making sure everyone was playing nice with each other, and not and colleague had lost his job, and in the process a lot of amazing talent stepping on each other’s toes. I don’t remember a lot of coordination walked away from potentially great stories set in the Marvel 2099 Universe. on my end or Joey saying, ‘Don’t do this. Don’t do that.’ It seemed Kesel shares some of the ideas he had in mind for Fantastic Four 2099: like when you pick the right people for your different projects, there is “Joey was concerned about the book finding its own voice beyond the generally not a lot of negotiation involved. Hopefully, your people all core, present-day FF. There was a planned event that Joey was calling ‘Fast play well together. I think Joey did.” Forward,’ where all the 2099 books would skip a year and be set in the Alternate Realities Issue • BACK ISSUE • 67

It’s Clobberin’ Time (in 2099) Our fearless, fantastic foursome, as seen in Fantastic Four 2099 #1, pairing writer Karl Kesel with the original Spider-Man 2099 art dream team, Rick Leonardi and Al Williamson. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

year 2100. The idea we would have done with the Fantastic Four was that something had happened to revert all of them to teenagers, except Ben. Ben would still be Ben. Johnny would have been a 12-year-old kid with a book of matches. He would have been a very dangerous and irresponsible boy. Reed would be like Luke Perry on Beverly Hills 90210, where he is the quiet, laconic guy. He would use his amazing mind to tinker on hotrods. I thought Sue would be a real rebel, doing things like sneaking out. She is invisible—of course she would sneak out at night! Then she would get into a lot of trouble that way. It would be Ben trying to ride herd over all of them. The core of this story would be to see Reed and Sue fall in love again. They would still have their powers, but no memories. They are not married. They are teenagers, and they don’t know each other. In the original book they already started as boyfriend and girlfriend. So I always thought it would be real interesting to see how these very different personalities came together and become the couple they became. “I was really excited because I thought there was a lot of interesting stuff to do. What Ben would be doing was being the one saying, ‘I am going to find a way to cure you guys.’ This would be a reversal on what Reed always tells Ben.” This was not how the future would play out for the Marvel 2099 books. By the end of 1996, all of the remaining books in the line would be cancelled in one last-ditch effort to keep the continuity on life support. The entire 2099 line was reduced to one book, 2099: World of Tomorrow. The first issue’s cover date was September 1996. The book boasted a humongous cast that included, but was not limited to, Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, X-Nation, and Doom. The book attempted to end dangling threads left from the demise of the line and bring all of the remaining 2099 readers to one title. 2099: World of Tomorrow was written by Joe Kelly and Ben Raab and had a rotating group of artists. In Joey Cavalieri’s absence, James Felder would serve as editor. This failed to reignite fan enthusiasm for the world of 2099, and after eight issues the series was cancelled. In 1998, Marvel published the final story of the 2099 line in the one-shot 2099: Manifest Destiny. Len Kaminski wrote the tale and Mike McKone served as penciler. Tom Brevoort edited this last dance in the original 2099 line. The story focused on giving the remaining characters a send-off and shutting down the future world of 2099.

The 2099 line of comics began with a bang and cascaded into silence. The books did leave an impact on Marvel Comics. We have already spoken about the lasting impact of Peter David’s Spider-Man 2099, but it is not the imprint’s only mark. Marvel 2099 would serve as inspiration for new creators to attempt their versions of what a future Marvel would look like. In 2004, Robert Kirkman of The Walking Dead fame would create his own version of 2099 in Marvel Knights 2099. In recent years, Marvel 2099’s evil corporation, Alchemax, has begun to appear in regular Marvel Universe continuity. Secret Wars (2015) included characters from the 2099 Universe. Peter David wrote a tie-in book called Secret Wars 2099 and introduced a new set of Avengers that were sponsored by Alchemax. In 2016, Gerry Dugan began to write stories about Deadpool existing in the 2099 Universe, as a part of the ongoing series Deadpool (inset). The 2099 franchise also showed Marvel the value of having a line with a basic streamlined continuity for new readers, a concept the publisher would use when it launched the Ultimate line in the early 2000s. The future may have only lasted six years at Marvel Comics, but its impact remains bright to this day. JONATHAN RIKARD BROWN holds an MA in Religious Studies from the University of Georgia and an Mdiv from Emory University. He currently serves as the assistant pastor of Atlanta First United Methodist Church. His interests include comics (obviously), video games, modern expressions of religion, and professional wrestling.

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karl kesel

by E

ric Bresler

Marvel Comics closed out the 1990s with the epic “What If?” that is 1999’s Earth X maxiseries, a successful, high-profile project spearheaded by Alex Ross that would go on to influence two decades’ worth of superhero storytelling. Set in a dystopian future in which all of humanity has gained super-abilities, the project allowed Ross to reimagine an entire company’s worth of characters while also, with the assistance of co-writer Jim Krueger, providing an origin for the Marvel Universe itself. The project is as ambitious as it sounds, with deep roots in continuity arising from a love for the source material and a storytelling scope that was unlike anything else on the stands at that time. In honor of the book’s 20th anniversary, BACK ISSUE will look back at the unique origins of the series as well as its development and legacy.

alex ross

ORIGINS

The origin of Earth X can be traced back to a 1996 editorial meeting at Wizard, Courtesy of Alex Ross. the industry’s most popular comicscentric print magazine for two decades (1991–2011). The hottest book on the stands that summer was Kingdom Come, an alternate-future tale of the DC Universe developed, painted, and co-plotted by Alex Ross alongside writer Mark Waid. This was two years after the blockbuster success of Marvels, the Ross-painted miniseries that saw his stunningly realistic style applied to the existing origins of the Marvel Universe. Marvels dealt with the company’s established, continuity-fueled past, while Kingdom Come allowed Ross the creativity to populate a future filled with new legacy characters and revamps of established ones. Ross’ return to Marvel would allow him to take a similar approach to its universe, though simply stating that Earth X featured “Kingdom Come-ized” versions of Marvel characters would be a gross oversimplification. Jim McLauchlin, then senior staff writer at Wizard, recalls, “It really all started at a staff meeting when I was working at Wizard. Kingdom Come had just come out and it was certainly all the rage; it was very much these sort of alternate-future versions of DC heroes. So when planning out feature articles for a future issue we said, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be great to see Alex Ross do that same sort of thing with Marvel? Let’s do Kingdom Come, but make it the Marvel version.’ I got in touch with Alex and said, ‘Hey, man, we’re looking to do this feature… Here’s what it is, are you interested? Let your mind run wild.’ ” Ross’ initial reaction wasn’t a positive one. “I scoffed at it,” Ross tells BACK ISSUE. “I took it with a sense of insult. There was something about it that just didn’t sit well with me, that I should take what worked in this DC series and apply it as a paintbrush to any group of characters. In some ways it would undermine the integrity of what I’d done with Kingdom Come. After a year to percolate, I thought giving it a shot could be fun; there was an aspect of getting over myself that came to mind. Something

Marvel’s Future… and Past Logo-less Alex Ross cover to the Earth X Special Edition, distributed with Wizard magazine. Scan courtesy of Alex Ross. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Not What You Imagined? (top) From a stunt-driving Daredevil to the even-newer X-Men, Ross’ Earth X concept sketches. (bottom left) A plump Peter Parker in Spider-Man concept sketches. (bottom right) Alex’s stark take on a battle-scarred Steve Rogers. Courtesy of Alex Ross. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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needed to emerge beyond just my first instinct of not all entries relating to Earth X include Daredevil with a high characters are going to wear the same costumes and that, collar and horns à la the character’s reinvention courtesy getting older and heavier as people do, you’d have an of Tim Sale (#5, May 1996), Dr. Doom by future Earth X out-of-shape Spider-Man. That was the smallest thought penciler John Paul Leon (#6, June 1996), and a Machine that I had when first sitting down with a piece of paper. Man revamp by Dave Johnson (#21, Sept. 1997). “Once I started to visualize making Captain America Krueger recalls his first conversation with Ross about somebody who looked like he had suffered the scars of the project. “He said, ‘So, Wizard contacted me wanting all these years of fighting and that in a way he had torn me to do what the Marvel characters would look like old away everything, the costume was ripped to shreds, and changed in the future… I have some sketches of things I’ve been thinking of and my basic idea is the skin was itself a patchwork quilt of scars, and then using the flag as a drapery on him, we’re gonna call it Earth X, the world has gone it suddenly took form as, ‘Oh, this isn’t a Earth X-Men, everyone has mutated. I don’t have any other ideas beyond these sketchsilly idea, there’s actually something here.’ So one decent concept on a character es and that. You do these ‘Time Slip’ stories; reinvention led to another and another. why don’t you do a thing on these characters?’ So I wrote a little paragraph on All these ideas just blossomed and then it seemed like, ‘Oh, okay, I’m not each of the characters doing to them laughing at this anymore and there’s what I did in ‘Time Slip.’ ” something visually dynamic here.’ ” Ross remembers, “As soon as I did that first sketch page I called Jim up asking if Ross reached out to writer Jim Krueger early on in the creative process. he would contribute some stuff to this. They had initially met in 1993 during I thought that he could write some the promotion for Marvels (Krueger notes, some background material in this jim krueger worked in the Marvel offices at the sketchbook, that would ground it with a little more depth. And that led to him time), and the pair quickly bonded over Courtesy of Jim Krueger. a shared love of Machine Man and 1970s Marvel-era Jack proposing a large reason for why, from my original premise, Kirby. Ross was an admirer of Krueger’s self-published book ‘If the entire world is all-mutant, how did that happen?’ ” Foot Soldiers, as well as his ongoing “Time Slip” feature in That very idea of a mutated populace was formed Marvel Vision. A kind of two-page What If?, “Time Slip” by Ross as a reaction to the ongoing success of Marvel’s featured reinventions of Marvel characters by an all-star X-Men. “The name Earth X is not strictly some kind list of artists including the likes of Mike Allred, Paul Pope, of rip-off of the alternate earth from DC’s timeline,” and Bill Sienkiewicz. Krueger would then pen origins for explains Ross. “It’s actually meant to be a reflection the characters based on the artists’ interpretations. Notable of the over-popularity of Marvel’s X-Men for 20 years

The Devil You Say! (left) A spooky concept sketch for Daredevil, by and courtesy of John Paul Leon. (right) Ross’ lumpy Logan and Jean Grey character studies. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Royal Family Leon’s interpretation of Earth X’s Inhumans. (inset) The Earth X Sketchbook. Cover by Ross. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

“I basically didn’t understand just how many people I was putting in a bind with that,” Ross continues. “There was half a consideration from Marvel to possibly sue Wizard over it because, ‘We don’t want you guys to print your own comics of our characters and this is more or less that.’ Marvel was shown it at some early stage so there was this begrudging allowance. So in a way we began on the worst foot, except for the fact that the then-president of Marvel, Joe Calamari, had previously reached out to me the summer before to offer me whatever I would want to work on to come back to the fold. I didn’t mention [Earth X] by name, but I said, ‘Look, I’m gonna have a prototype of this project for you that I’d like to do.’ It was because of him that the whole thing got pushed through. He wanted to make it happen. He wanted to make it a return to the company for me and he pushed it through while some of the business people there were begrudging the way it happened.” The 16-page Earth X Sketchbook came polybagged with the January 1998 issue of Wizard (#77). Featuring sketches by Ross with accompanying text by Krueger, the issue introduces the overall concept of Earth X and fleshes out the characters that would define the series. It ends with the question, “Will Earth X be published as an actual, live, honest-to-Stan-Lee-Presents Marvel comic? Wait and see. We’re betting it will…”

at that point. You couldn’t get away from them, they were too popular. If you blow that out full-sized, if you make the whole world mutants, then the X-Men are dead. There’s no point in people helping one another, they’re just simply part of the general population.” Inspired by Krueger’s creativity and fueled a bit by the slight of DC moving ahead with a follow-up to Kingdom Come without his involvement (The Kingdom, which would be released in late 1998), Ross soon realized that he had the beginnings of an epic new work on his hands. Wizard’s Jim McLauchlin recalls seeing Ross’ initial designs at a convention in Chicago: “He had drawn out all of these Kingdom Come-ized versions of Marvel characters and he walked through them quickly explaining his concepts. ‘This isn’t like a Kingdom Come-ized thing,’ he told me. ‘I really have a different idea about where I can take this and I’m putting my head together with Jim Krueger jim mclauchlin and we’re gonna pitch Marvel on it, see if they can make ART CHORES Courtesy of John Paul Leon. it a series.’ From there Alex did some larger drawings “It’s a fair question to consider, why wasn’t I the one and we decided that this was so cool, so big, that instead of doing it doing all of that work?” admits Ross in reference to not handling as a magazine feature we decided to do it as an out-sert comic.” the book’s interior art chores himself. “The practicality of 14 issues, This decision led to some controversy behind-the-scenes. Ross recalls, given the number of pages it adds up to—not that it would just about “That’s a major thing on its road to existence as a series, the fact that kill me, but the delay time if it was done in that style of painted comics— [Wizard] would choose to make it an extra printed sketchbook. The oddity would be too slow to keep anybody interested in the narrative.” of the thing was that we already had a concept related to it, we had a Earth X penciler John Paul Leon recalls, “I was working on Challengers title, we had what seemed like an intellectual thing gripping it together, of the Unknown for DC [the incarnation which began in late 1996 and and it turned into Wizard Publishing doing a divergent book without ran 18 issues—ed.] and Bill Reinhold was inking me… I was on pencils. Marvel’s input. It led to all kinds of drama behind the scenes. It’s my understanding that Bill was living near Alex at the time, I think Ross continues, “Wizard’s deciding to make it its own thing, that’s them it was Bill that showed Alex my stuff. Bill is a very accomplished artist embracing its potential sales encouragement. Marvel’s working with the on his own, I was very happy with what he was doing over my stuff situation to try to turn it into its own thing, that’s the high profile nature of it. on Challengers. He’s got a lot of range as an inker.” 72 • BACK ISSUE • Alternate Realities Issue

He’s a Machine, Man (top) A John Paul Leon illustration of X-51, a pivotal character in Earth X. (bottom) Alex Ross based the appearance of “another Hitler” Skull on his then-teenage nephew. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Ross was immediately taken by Leon’s distinct style: “I fell deeply in love with Challengers. If you remember much about the period of the late ’80s going into the ’90s, there was this dearth of strong, direct draftsmanship. People like [John Paul Leon] had this realistic draftsmanship; they were like these jewels in the rough. You wanted to basically prove to the rest of the comicbuying public that this was what good drawing looks like. It was certainly what I was trying to do as an artist, especially since the mainstream art style at that point in time had removed itself so much from reality.” “I think I was the one who said to Alex that we should get John Paul, and Alex was like, ‘Do you think John would do it? We should totally ask him, this could be amazing,’ ” recalls Krueger. “We knew that we wanted Earth X to look different than your typical comic book, different than typical heroes, because it was gonna be very dark before any hope pushed through.” “Alex came to me one day and he said, ‘I’ve got john paul leon this idea for a project,’ and he started telling me about Courtesy of John Paul Leon. it and my eyes were kinda rolling back into my head because it was such a massive story it was hard to take it all in,” admits Earth X inker Bill Reinhold. “Then he said he would like John and I to do it together, and that’s when I first heard of it becoming a series.” Although both artists had previously worked with Marvel—Leon having penciled the miniseries The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix and the one-shot Logan: Path of the Warlord, and Reinhold having worked on a number of high-profile books as both penciler and inker including The Punisher and Daredevil—neither of them had yet tackled a project as epic and demanding as Earth X.

WELCOME TO EARTH X

Earth X is set in a dystopian Marvel Universe 20 years in the future. The original concept, which Ross admits was not fully conveyed, was to portray the characters as if they had naturally aged since their debuts in the early 1960s, but most readers at the time of its release regarded the book as a jump in time from then-present continuity (the sequel series that followed would firmly position Earth X as an alternate future). Inspired by 1970s Kirby concepts, particularly his work on Marvel’s The Eternals, Krueger integrated Ross’ concept of a superpowered general populace into a much larger narrative that explained the origins of mankind. Krueger recalls: “I had my daughter two years before [Earth X]. I was home one night reading through comics, and I looked at this crying baby and I started thinking about how Vibranium could be placenta, and how Earth is not a perfect circle—and what if it was an egg? And thinking about Alex and my conversations from the beginning about our love for Machine Man, and just thinking about heroes and humanity and inhumanity all being prepared to be the planet’s saviors for the sake of what was in the planet, not for the sake of everyone who lives on the planet. It kind of became fully formed in a moment, and I remember calling up Alex that night and leaving message after message after message. And then I think after my fourth or fifth message Alex called me back and we talked it through some more and he was like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s the real story.’ ” To elaborate on the cosmic concept behind it all, it turns out that the Celestials use planets, like Earth in this case, as giant eggs that will host a Celestial embryo until it hatches, destroying its shell in the process. The Celestials implant “seeds” into these planets’ life forms, transforming them into unknowing protectors of the embryo. These protectors increase in ability as the evolutionary process rolls on, thus explaining the original superheroes as well as the innate potential for all humans to gain superhero-like powers. Alternate Realities Issue • BACK ISSUE • 73

In the Spirit of Kirby (top) Courtesy of John Paul Leon, the artist’s pencil art for an impressive two-page from Earth X #O (Mar. 1999). (bottom) Machine Man—X-51—is summoned into duty by the blinded Watcher from that same issue. Featuring the inks of Bill Reinhold. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

“The biggest theme of the whole thing is this single science-fiction answer for why you had this world, this Marvel Universe, of superheroes,” explains Ross. “So now we’ve got a single reason, a single root, this Celestial Seed being planted in mankind, that basically humankind is turned into a sort of aggressive white blood cell count for the planet, the planet being a mother to the gestating Celestial in its core.” Guiding the reader through this epic landscape from the surface of the Moon are Machine Man (a.k.a. X-51) and a blind Uatu the Watcher, bickering narrators who each have their own part to play in the overall design. “I convinced Alex that we should start this with Machine Man,” remembers Krueger. “He had thought that maybe Medusa would narrate it, maybe the Inhumans have been gone for a long time and they come back and Medusa should be the narrator. But we had this shared love of Machine Man. I told him, ‘We can still have Medusa and the Inhumans, but we should start this with Machine Man.’ We had the idea of the birth with the Watchers becoming midwives and you always want to mess with a concept by going to the opposite, so it was like, ‘The Watcher is blind, he needs someone for his eyes, he’d go to someone who has the capacity to understand this.’ ” “The point of having Machine Man talking to the Watcher is, you’re actually getting the full truth now, you’re learning the things the Watchers never shared,” elaborates Ross. “It’s been hinted at for years that the Watcher has all this knowledge that would blow our minds. Well, now we’re getting our minds blown by what was always going on behind the scenes. It cast the Watchers as a group in a negative light—they’re being passive by observing this corruption of other life forms and the plundering of planets by this alien life form. Which is basically another spin on the classic Giger Alien: you plant a baby inside of somebody and then it bursts out of you.” As the Celestials advance towards Earth to begin the gestation process, another battle of more terrestrial-proportions is brewing across the Terrigen Mist-powered United States. The Skull, a ruthless teenager clad in a shirt featuring a red Punisher logo, uses his newfound abilities to lead a mind-controlled army across the country to New York where he will claim the presidency from Norman Osborn. Ross explains the concept behind the villain: “Captain America calls the Skull ‘another Hitler’ and he responds, ‘Who?’ So for Captain America, his greatest villain is coming back at him symbolically, and the kid has no idea who that could be. That was actually reflecting a lot for me, because I knew that teenagers weren’t really being raised with a lot of knowledge of WWII like most of us growing up earlier who were immersed in all of that from entertainment and such. The Skull, as we called him, was the equivalent of putting my dad in as the main character in Kingdom Come; 74 • BACK ISSUE • Alternate Realities Issue

I was putting my nephew into the series. My nephew was a teenager at the time, and when I’d seen him at some point in ’96 or ’97, his manner struck me as this kind of representation of modern teenagers. Basically, I was having a dim view of my nephew that thankfully would turn out to be completely incorrect about the person that he is or even was. But it inspired me to think that it would be a crazy thing, you have all these awful mutated-looking characters, but the most powerful of all is just this young kid who has the power to control everybody else. Now my teenage nephew is a man in his mid-30s, who is a personal trainer. He has as much muscle as I’ve ever drawn on a superhero character, that’s what’s become of the real Skull kid.” This new Skull has sacrificed the mind of a battle-scarred Steve Rogers, allowing him to witness the destruction of the country that he holds so dear. Along for the ride are new, but familiar heroes including Wyatt Wingfoot as Redwing, the human embodiment of Falcon’s sidekick, and the death-defying, motorcycle-riding Daredevil, an homage to Marvel’s late 1970s Human Fly, whose true identity was highly debated, but never revealed (at least not yet). Readers are also introduced to a bevy of radical new takes on familiar heroes, from a retired and outof-shape Peter Parker to a female Thor, the result of Loki’s traditional trickery. One interesting spin on a classic concept was the creator’s splitting of the Hulk and Bruce Banner into two beings, the latter in the form of a child. “Jack Kirby’s style [for the Hulk] in ’63 looked sort of ape-like; I wanted to go back to the most extreme, subhuman appearance the Hulk could have,” explains Ross. “And then the idea that you’ve split the two characters;

all of the animal, all of the rage stuff goes into the Hulk creature, and all of the intellectual stuff goes into the kid. It’s like if you’re talking about everything that’s male, that’s testosterone, is removed and put into separate characters, and that’s why you don’t have Bruce Banner as a man, you have him as a child. And in its own way it becomes a weird homage to Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy.” Krueger elaborates, “I was drawing on some of the amazing things that Peter David had done. I think it was [Incredible Hulk scribe] Bill Mantlo who originally suggested that Banner was abused as a child and had this hidden rage.” On the other hand, there were some characters of note that didn’t fare as well in the future, including the lazy, couch-bound Wolverine. “I wanted to kind of poke fun at Wolverine,” explains Ross. “I really wanted to bring Wolverine down a peg because I was so sick of the attitude-driven characters who were nothing but all this adolescent rage and attitude.” “We were really mean to Wolverine,” admits Krueger. The series is steeped in continuity, allowing appearances for such obscure characters as Woodgod, Omega the Unknown, and Texas Jack, the latter being a Kirby-created supporting character from Captain America. “Basically the reason it’s such a hard read and got progressively harder with the following series is that we wanted to take the time to acknowledge virtually everything we could think of in Marvel history,” admits Ross. “There are so many characters and fun ways to reflect them back, to show some twist in the way to perceive them.” The book culminates in two epic battles as Captain America gathers an army to take down the Skull and a

A World, Mutated (left) Original Leon/ Reinhold art featuring Medusa and the Inhumans, from Earth X #1 (Apr. 1999). (right) Earth X’s Hulk— seen here on a page from issue #4— borrows from both Jack Kirby’s original primal version of the character and Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy, as well as writer Bill Mantlo’s psychological take on Bruce Banner. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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rejuvenated Reed Richards formulates a plan to defeat the returning Celestials by enlisting the help of Galactus, who has actually been destroying Celestial-implanted-specific planets all these years. “We’re less than ants to the Celestials,” explains Ross. “But in the context of the story we triumph because we grew outsized enough so that one of our own… becomes the new Galactus. And really what happens at the very end of the series is that Galactus aborts the Celestial fetus, but saves the mother. The only way to save this mother in effect is removing that child, that’s a pretty wild concept that you can only spell out so clearly in a comic book. So we kind of made a pro-choice metaphor in the context of a Marvel comic book.” Ross continues: “Everything about the whole of the series is really a reflection of the things Alan Moore introduced in the early ’80s. Captain Britain in the UK, Swamp Thing is the most famous example, telling the audience that everything you know is a lie. Everything you thought isn’t true, and here’s the real story behind this character. And that became popularized in comics— Grant Morrison did a ton of that, like Kid Eternity— and it was such a conceit of comic-book writing that we took that to a universe-sized level. So that’s really the difference between an Earth X series and say something like Kingdom Come that doesn’t get into that level of over intellectualization of everything.”

and we’ll end with an X. Marvel had to put together advertising for it to promote it and there was definitely some confusion there.’” “We thought it was funny,” admits Ross. “We thought it’d be cool. It turns out that it’s not a great idea because by the time they were advertising the 12th issue they hadn’t really let people know that it wasn’t really the last issue. The entire audience is so confused when they get to the last page of the 12th issue, ‘So Galactus shows up and that’s it, that’s the end of the whole series?’ There was no tag saying, ‘But wait, there’s more! Look next month for issue #X!’ We’d have been better off saying it was a 14-issue series.” Leon recalls the challenge of working on a monthly book of this magnitude: “I was ready to dive right in, but I was also overwhelmed by the amount of work that it required. It was being done on a monthly schedule. I remember I blew out my wrist on issue #1 so that was a slow recovery. By the time issue #2 was wrapping up my wrist was back to normal. I was doing extremely tight pencils at the time, overly tight, maybe just unnecessarily tight, but I was kind of a control freak and this was my way of trying to control the finished product. “I was on such tight deadlines on Earth X that even though I lived across the river in Brooklyn I rarely got into the office,” continues Leon. “I remember reading the scripts and loving the ideas although sometimes I would FROM O TO X get pissed off because there would be double-page spreads Earth X had an interesting, and somewhat problematic, with 20 characters on them and that kind of stuff is numbering system. First in February 1999 came the easy to write, but not so easy to draw.” Earth X Sketchbook, a 50-page extended edition of “We used to live and die by FedEx back then,” bill reinhold the original Wizard supplement. This was followed by recalls Reinhold in reference to meeting deadlines. Earth X #O in March, #1–12 on a monthly schedule Courtesy of Bill Reinhold. “There were pages where John was like, ‘I’m just from April through April 2000, and then after a one-month break going to ink these two or three.’ There was one time when Alex was came the double-sized #X finale in June. That same month also saw the brought in to do some penciling.” release of #1/2, which Bill Reinhold both penciled and inked, as a “I know that we got under the gun so badly with the deadlines that Wizard supplement. in a couple instances I inked my own pages,” elaborates Leon. “There was “I had broken things down to 14 issues along the O and the X, an instance where Alex penciled a page based on my layouts and the ‘O’ for ‘Origin’ and the ‘X’ for ‘The End,’ I guess,” recalls Krueger. another instance where Alex laid out a page and I penciled it based “That was Alex: ‘Let’s start with an O issue, everyone has a 0 issue, on his layout and Bill inked it… to me these pages are very obvious,

Steranko-A-Go-Go Bill Reinhold penciled and inked 2000’s Earth X #1/2, recounting the story of our favorite Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury. (inset) Its cover, by Alex Ross. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Earth X Rough Stuff (top left) John Paul Leon’s pencils for a Hulk/Dr. Strange (Clea) encounter from issue #5. (top right) Bill Reinhold’s inks for that page. (bottom left) John Paul Leon’s preliminaries for page 21 of Earth X #10, which were (bottom right) penciled by Alex Ross. Courtesy of Bill Reinhold. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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All Together, Now! A montage of all 14 of Alex Ross’ breathtaking Earth X covers. (bottom inset) Buzz and Chuck, a.k.a. the Brothers Grimm, sons of the Thing and Alicia Masters. Brothers Grimm T-shirt design by John Paul Leon. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

but I’m not sure if they are to other people. I was overwhelmed throughout the entire process, and to this day if I ever look at it I feel like I dropped the ball in some instances. There was so much to do and I’m very critical of my own stuff, especially the older stuff.” Ross disagrees. “I was kind of John Paul’s biggest fan; I loved his art style. I was always complimenting him on how well I thought it came together… I don’t think that he felt he rose up to all of the challenges that were there before him, but I certainly felt that he did.” The readership seemed to agree, as Earth X proved to be a success. “It was a big hit right away,” remembers Bill Reinhold. “John Paul was definitely a big part of that and Alex’s covers were selling like hotcakes. Even though he didn’t do the interior and some people were disappointed, it just wasn’t how the series was designed.” “It’s always going to hurt a project, as the sort of frontis artist, if I’m the window dressing that the expectation of it is that it’s going to be that style inside,” explains Ross. “And that’s always been an issue with me doing covers and designs for projects that I didn’t do the interiors for.” “Marvel did not expect it to succeed because Alex wasn’t painting it, and then when it stayed in the Top Ten the entire time they were really happy with it,” recalls Krueger. “I remember at one point they really weren’t looking at our scripts so much. I think at the time editorial was like, ‘Look, this is one of the few books making money right now, making us look good, so let’s not mess with something that’s working.’ ” “I seem to remember everybody being very supportive with the first series,” recalls Ross. “We had not just the general support but we had the numbers too. This series was a decent investment for Marvel and they did well with it. I’d say in general there was a lot of positivity that I experienced with meeting the fans and the general sense of people being excited by this, the sense that there was a big idea going on here.”

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AN IMPRESSIVE FOLLY?

The story doesn’t end there, as the completion of Earth X led to the creation of a suitably ambitious oversized limited edition collection of the series courtesy of Graphitti Designs. Ross recalls the project’s origins: “Bob Chapman and Graphitti Designs were very close to me as we’d already worked on two hardcover editions, Marvels and Kingdom Come, and both of those were very involved projects that had a lot of extra stuff added to them. Bob was a very good friend that I was able to talk into my schemes and nobody was putting the brakes on me to help realize that, ‘Look, people liked Earth X well enough, but it’s not Kingdom Come. It’s not Marvels. You need to relax, this is not as popular as you think it is.’ ” “I remember Alex working really hard on it, it was pretty much his baby,” recalls Krueger. “Alex pretty much did it all and at one point called it his folly. But it’s really cool.” Limited to 6000 copies, a major incentive of the collection was the inclusion of a new five-page epilogue penciled by Ross that featured Reed Richards’ solemn return to Doom’s castle shortly after the book’s conclusion. In an unusual move for a mainstream comic, the art in this collection is presented in black and white in an oversized 8 1/4” x 12 5/8” format. “I thought a wonderful way to present the work in its purest state would be to show it in this largerthan-comic size where you could really appreciate John Paul’s craftsmanship,” explains Ross. “And because I became so obsessed with that idea I pushed for this fancy expensive hardcover being done that way, which is stupid; if somebody is going to pay as much as we got out of them for that hardcover then they should get a color version and a black-and-white version.” “It was fantastic!” exclaims Reinhold. “I’m an artist; you love to see your stuff in black and white just because that’s the way you see it when you put it on the page. It changes when it’s colored—it changes depth, it changes the feel. Seeing it in black and white, especially John’s style on that series, the stark contrast in light and shadow, it really looks great that way.” The book is housed in a translucent box featuring a three-dimensional Machine Man figure that matches up with a metallic drawing of the character on the book’s cover. “I sculpted that,” explains Ross. “That’s the rawest equivalent of me painting on top of John Paul because there’s a three-dimensional sculpture on top of a John

Anniversary Celebration (top) Book design for the Earth X limited edition. (bottom) Original Ross art for the Earth X Trilogy Omnibus: Alpha cover. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Paul sketch that he did right at the outset of the project. I loved that pen-and-ink sketch he did for its kind of Bill Sienkiewicz-ness, and I said, ‘Let’s print that in reverse, silver on black background with foil red for the eyes, and it’ll be so artsy and cool.’ It was way, way too out-there; basically somebody should have been having a real conversation with me saying, ‘Just stop it, stop it, just relax.’” Perhaps the most ambitious part of the collection is the inclusion of two compact discs that feature both music and video. The instrumental music, inspired by the series, was composed by Scott Vladimir Licina, who had previously given the soundtrack treatment to a Brian Pulido Purgatory comic that made an impression on Ross. The videos featured some casual chats and goofy antics with the creators, including the building of a human pyramid, as well as an ambitious music video directed by Ross that features both actors in costumes and CGI. “Alex really wanted to do this animated film part of it, and as far as I know he financed all that himself because he so much wanted to see it happen,” recalls Reinhold. Ross explains, “I saw the video when it was completed. It was kind of cringe-worthy because it’s a lot of digital animation that wasn’t quite there yet. I thought we could do these basic character constructions either with a person in a costume or these CG creations so we could show a whole cast of characters that in my thinking it would be so amazing to be brought to life… we had a premiere party for the music video at one of the Wizard World conventions in Chicago. There were decorations, my artwork. I had my seamstress who had made a number of costume props for me make an entire Daredevil costume. So I was way ahead of myself and invested my own money in this mess, but y’know, this is how you learn, by making giant, loud mistakes for everyone to witness.” Krueger recalls: “The only thing I regret are the videos that are now online of us forming an all-male human pyramid, that’s so awful. That’s definitely a moment in time that still haunts me.

LEGACY

Concepts realized within Earth X have made their way into various Marvel storylines over the past 20 years, from Osborn’s rise to power to the marriage of Storm and Black Panther to the blinding of the Watcher. Krueger is well aware of the project’s influence: “There was this article that was going around that got something like 100,000 hits online, ‘20 ways in which Earth X told us what the future of Marvel would look like.’ We could go through any of them, certainly the most recent, that didn’t work out as well as it did in Earth X, was the releasing of the Terrigen Mists.” “Whenever I read something new that someone does with, say, the Celestials, whether its Neil Gaiman or Jason Aaron, there’s this feeling of, like, ‘Oh, God, that’s not right,’ ” laments Ross. “When you contribute something of value to a group of characters you then screw yourself out of being able to read anyone else’s take on the same material. You get such a fixed idea, unless they do exactly what you did. And then you’re probably unhappy if they follow what you did to the letter sometimes. I think that’s what all creators who contribute a lot to a certain set of characters start to feel.” The business side of Marvel has also made a point to not forget about Earth X and the creative team’s accomplishments. The Earth X Trilogy Companion was released to celebrate the project’s 10th anniversary in 2008. Its contents include the original sketchbook plus notes, covers, the #1/2 issue, and supplements from the limited edition hardcover. On the eve of the project’s 20th anniversary, Marvel Comics released Omnibus editions of the entire Earth X trilogy (the sequel series Universe X debuted in 2000, Paradise X in 2002) and an Earth X-branded set of Heroclix figures will debut in 2019.

Leon looks back on the series with fondness: “It’s the most epic thing I’ve ever had a chance to draw. It’s got the largest scope of anything I’ve had to draw and I had a chance to play with all of the Marvel toys.” “It’s definitely my love letter to Marvel and I feel like it’s a major accomplishment,” concludes Krueger. “It’s definitely still one of my top calling cards in the industry. And when I say it’s my thank-you to the Marvel Universe it’s also such a giant thank-you to Alex, as he pretty much let me be a kid in a candy store. It’s amazing that turned out so well.” ERIC BRESLER is an award-winning art curator and film programmer who currently runs the Philadelphia Mausoleum of Contemporary Art (PhilaMOCA). He is also the director of programming for the annual Cinedelphia Film Festival and is the founder of the Philadelphia Psychotronic Film Society. He occasionally blogs about his unique comic collection at comicbookoddities.com.

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JACK KIRBY’S DINGBAT LOVE

In cooperation with DC COMICS, TwoMorrows compiles a tempestuous trio of never-seen 1970s Kirby projects! These are the final complete, unpublished Jack Kirby stories in existence, presented here for the first time! Included are: Two unused DINGBATS OF DANGER STREET tales (Kirby’s final Kid Gang group, inked by MIKE ROYER and D. BRUCE BERRY, and newly colored for this book)! TRUE-LIFE DIVORCE, the abandoned newsstand magazine that was too hot for its time (reproduced from Jack’s pencil art—and as a bonus, we’ve commissioned MIKE ROYER to ink one of the stories)! And SOUL LOVE, the unseen ’70s romance book so funky, even a jive turkey will dig the unretouched inks by VINCE COLLETTA and TONY DeZUNIGA. PLUS: There’s Kirby historian JOHN MORROW’s in-depth examination of why these projects got left back, concept art and uninked pencils from DINGBATS, and a Foreword by former 1970s Kirby assistant MARK EVANIER! SHIPS OCT. 2019! (160-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $14.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-091-5

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In the latest volume, KURT MITCHELL and ROY THOMAS document the 1940-44 “Golden Age” of comics, a period that featured the earliest adventures of BATMAN, CAPTAIN MARVEL, SUPERMAN, and WONDER WOMAN. It was a time when America’s entry into World War II was presaged Look for the 1945-49 volume by the arrival of such patriotic do-gooders as WILL EISNER’s Uncle Sam, HARRY SHORTEN and in early 2020! IRV NOVICK’s The Shield, and JOE SIMON and JACK KIRBY’s Captain America—and teenage culture found expression in a fumbling red-haired high school student named Archie Andrews. But most of all, it was the age of “packagers” like HARRY A CHESLER, and EISNER and JERRY IGER, who churned out material for the entire gamut of genres, from funny animal stories and crime tales, to jungle sagas and science-fiction adventures. Watch the history of comics begin! SHIPS JUNE 2019!

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AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: 1940-44

OR -COL FULLDCOVER HAR RIES SE nting me f docu ecade o d y! each s histor ic m co

(288-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $45.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-089-2

MAC RABOY Master of the Comics

Beginning with his WPA etchings during the 1930s, MAC RABOY struggled to survive the Great Depression and eventually found his way into the comic book sweatshops of America. In that world of four-color panels, he perfected his art style on such creations as DR. VOODOO, ZORO the MYSTERY MAN, BULLETMAN, SPY SMASHER, GREEN LAMA, and his crowning achievement, CAPTAIN MARVEL JR. Raboy went on to illustrate the FLASH GORDON Sunday newspaper strip, and left behind a legacy of meticulous perfection. Through extensive research and interviews with son DAVID RABOY, and assistants who worked with the artist during the Golden Age of Comics, author ROGER HILL brings Mac Raboy, the man and the artist, into focus for historians to savor and enjoy. This FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER includes never-before-seen photos, a wealth of rare and unpublished artwork, and the first definitive biography of a true Master of the Comics! Introduction by ROY THOMAS! ISBN: 978-1-60549-090-8 • SHIPS AUG. 2019! (160-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 • (Digital Edition) $14.95 Roger Hill’s 2017 biography of REED CRANDALL sold out just months after its release—don’t let this one pass you by!Pre-order now!

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TwoMorrows. The Future of Comics History. TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA

NEW

BACK ISSUE #112

BACK ISSUE #113

BACK ISSUE #114

AMERICAN COMIC BOOK COMIC BOOK IMPLOSION ORAL HISTORY OF DC COMICS CHRONICLES: The 1990s AN CIRCA 1978! Marking the 40th anniver-

NUCLEAR ISSUE! Firestorm, Dr. Manhattan, DAVE GIBBONS Marvel UK Hulk interview, villain histories of Radioactive Man and Microwave Man, Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy, and the one-shot Holo-Man! With PAT BRODERICK, GERRY CONWAY, JOE GIELLA, TOM GRINDBERG, RAFAEL KAYANAN, TOM MANDRAKE, BILL MORRISON, JOHN OSTRANDER, STEVE VANCE, and more! PAT BRODERICK cover!

BATMAN MOVIE 30th ANNIVERSARY! Producer MICHAEL USLAN and screenwriter SAM HAMM interviewed, a chat with BILLY DEE WILLIAMS (who was almost Two-Face), plus DENNY O’NEIL and JERRY ORDWAY’s Batman movie adaptation, MINDY NEWELL’s Catwoman, GRANT MORRISON and DAVE McKEAN’s Arkham Asylum, MAX ALLAN COLLINS’ Batman newspaper strip, and JOEY CAVALIERI & JOE STATON’s Huntress!

BLACK SUPERHEROES OF THE 1970s! History of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire! A retrospective of artist BILLY GRAHAM, a TONY ISABELLA interview, Black Lightning, Black Panther in the UK, Black Goliath, the Teen Titans’ Mal and Bumblebee, DON McGREGOR and PAUL GULACY’s Sabre, and… Black Bomber (who?). Featuring MIKE W. BARR, STEVE ENGLEHART, ROY THOMAS, and a BILLY GRAHAM cover!

sary of the “DC Implosion”, one of the most notorious events in comics (which left stacks of completed comic book stories unpublished and spawned Cancelled Comics Cavalcade). Featuring JENETTE KAHN, PAUL LEVITZ, LEN WEIN, MIKE GOLD, and others, plus detailed analysis of how it changed the landscape of comics!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95 • Ships May 2019

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95 • Ships June 2019

Year-by-year account of the decade when X-MEN #1 sold 8.1 million copies, IMAGE COMICS was formed, Superman died, Batman had his back broken, and Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN led to the VERTIGO line of adult comic books. Go behind-thescenes in that era of gimmicky covers, skimpy costumes, and mega-crossovers. By KEITH DALLAS and JASON SACKS.

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95 • Ships July 2019

(288-pg. FULL-COLOR Hardcover) $44.95 (Digital Edition) $15.95 • Now shipping!

(136-page paperback w/ COLOR) $21.95 (Digital Edition) $10.95 • Now shipping!

ALTER EGO #158

ALTER EGO #159

ALTER EGO #160

DRAW #36

FCA SPECIAL! Golden Age writer WILLIAM WOOLFOLK interview, and his scripting records! Art by BECK, SCHAFFENBERGER, BORING, BOB KANE, CRANDALL, KRIGSTEIN, ANDRU, JACK COLE, FINE, PETER, HEATH, PLASTINO, MOLDOFF, GRANDENETTI, and more! Plus JOHN BROOME, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and the 2017 STAR WARS PANEL with CHAYKIN, LIPPINCOTT, and THOMAS!

Peter Cannon–Thunderbolt writer/artist PETE MORISI talks about the creative process! Plus, his correspondence with JACK KIRBY, JOE SIMON, AL WILLIAMSON, CHARLES BIRO, JOE GILL, GEORGE TUSKA, ROCKY MASTROSERIO, PAT MASULLI, SAL GENTILE, DICK GIORDANO, and others! Also: JOHN BROOME’s bio, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and BILL SCHELLY!

REMEMBERING STEVE DITKO! Sturdy Steve at Marvel, DC, Warren, Charlton, and elsewhere! A rare late-1960s Ditko interview by RICHARD HOWELL— biographical notes by NICK CAPUTO— tributes by MICHAEL T. GILBERT, PAUL LEVITZ, BERNIE BUBNIS, BARRY PEARL, ROY THOMAS, et al. Plus FCA, JOHN BROOME, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Spider-Man cover by DITKO!

MIKE HAWTHORNE (Deadpool, Infinity Countdown) interview, YANICK PAQUETTE (Wonder Woman: Earth One, Batman Inc., Swamp Thing) how-to demo, JERRY ORDWAY’s “Ord-Way” of creating comics, JAMAR NICHOLAS reviews the latest art supplies, plus Comic Art Bootcamp by BRET BLEVINS and MIKE MANLEY! May contain nudity for figure-drawing instruction; for Mature Readers Only.

(100-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $5.95 • Ships April 2019

(100-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $5.95 • Ships June 2019

(100-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $5.95 • Ships August 2019

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95 • Ships Spring 2019

BRICKJOURNAL #56

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #19 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #20

KIRBY COLLECTOR #75

MIKE GRELL

LIFE IS DRAWING WITHOUT AN ERASER

Career-spanning tribute covering Legion of Super-Heroes, Warlord, & Green Arrow at DC Comics, and Grell’s own properties Jon Sable, Starslayer, and Shaman’s Tears. Told in Grell’s own words, with PAUL LEVITZ, DAN JURGENS, DENNY O’NEIL, MARK RYAN, & MIKE GOLD. Heavily illustrated! (160-page FULL-COLOR TPB) $27.95 (176-page LTD. ED. HARDCOVER) $37.95 (Digital Edition) $12.95 • Now shipping!

KIRBY COLLECTOR #76

LIFE-SIZE LEGO and what it takes to build them (besides a ton of LEGO brick)! HELEN SHAM’s sculptures of giant everyday items, MAGNUS LAUGHLO’s GI Joe®-inspired models, military builds by ERIC ONG, plus “Bricks In The Middle” comic by KEVIN HINKLE, “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd’s DIY Fan Art, Minifig Customization by JARED K. BURKS, & more!

Celebrating the greatest fantasy artist of all time, FRANK FRAZETTA! From THUN’DA and EC COMICS to CREEPY, EERIE, and VAMPIRELLA, STEVE RINGGENBERG and CBC’s editor present an historical retrospective, including insights by current creators and associates, and memories of the man himself. PLUS: Frazetta-inspired artists JOE JUSKO, and TOM GRINDBERG, who contributes our Death Dealer cover painting!

NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOES! Interview with JOSEPH MICHAEL LINSNER (CRY FOR DAWN, VAMPIRELLA), a chat with JOE SINNOTT about his Marvel years inking Jack Kirby and work at TREASURE CHEST, JOE JUSKO discusses the Marvel Age of Comics and his fabulous “Corner Box Collection,” plus the artists behind the Topps bubble gum BAZOOKA JOE comic strips, CRAIG YOE, and more!

KIRBY & LEE: STUF’ SAID! The creators of the Marvel Universe’s own words, in chronological order, from fanzine, magazine, radio, and TV interviews, painting a picture of JACK KIRBY and STAN LEE’s relationship—why it succeeded, where it deteriorated, and when it eventually failed. Includes a study of their solo careers after 1970, and recollections from STEVE DITKO, WALLACE WOOD, & JOHN ROMITA SR.

FATHERS & SONS! Odin/Thor, Zeus/ Hercules, Darkseid/Orion, Captain America/ Bucky, and other dysfunctional relationships, unpublished 1994 interview with GIL KANE eulogizing Kirby, tributes from Jack’s creative “sons” in comics (MUMY, PALMIOTTI, QUESADA, VALENTINO, McFARLANE, GAIMAN, & MILLER), MARK EVANIER, 2018 Kirby Tribute Panel, Kirby pencil art gallery, and more!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95 • Now shipping!

(100-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $5.95 • Now shipping!

(100-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $5.95 • Ships Spring 2019

(160-page trade paperback) $24.95 (Digital Edition) $11.95 • Now shipping!

(100-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $5.95 • Ships Spring 2019

DVD & BLU-RAY DISCS

LORD OF THE JUNGLE - NEW TO BLU-RAY!

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