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DC: The Lost 1970s • FRANK THORNE’s Red Sonja prelims • LARRY HAMA’s Fury Force • MIKE GRELL’s Batman/Jon Sable • CLAREMONT & SIM’s X-Men/Cerebus • CURT SWAN’s lost pages for ED HANNIGAN’s Skull and Bones • ENGLEHART & VON EEDEN’s Batman/ Mad Hatter • AUGUSTYN & PAROBECK’s Target • the ill-fated Impact reboot by PAUL KUPPERBERG • with unpublished art by CALNAN, COCKRUM, HA, NETZER & more!

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Edited by MICHAEL EURY, BACK ISSUE magazine celebrates comic books of the 1970s, 1980s, and today through recurring (and rotating) departments like “Pro2Pro” (dialogue between professionals), “BackStage Pass” (behind-the-scenes of comics-based media), “Greatest Stories Never Told” (spotlighting unrealized comics series or stories), and more!

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FOURTH WORLD AFTER KIRBY! Return(s) of the New Gods, Why Can’t Mister Miracle Escape Cancellation?, the Forever People, MIKE MIGNOLA’s unrealized New Gods animated movie, Fourth World in Hollywood, and an all-star lineup, including the work of JOHN BYRNE, PARIS CULLINS, J. M. DeMATTEIS, MARK EVANIER, MICHAEL GOLDEN, RICK HOBERG, WALTER SIMONSON, and more. STEVE RUDE cover!

DEADLY HANDS ISSUE! Histories of Iron Fist, Master of Kung Fu, Yang, the Bronze Tiger, Hands of the Dragon, NEAL ADAMS’ Armor, Marvel’s Deadly Hands of Kung Fu mag, & Hong Kong Phooey! Plus Muhammad Ali in toons and toys. Featuring JOHN BYRNE, CHRIS CLAREMONT, STEVE ENGLEHART, PAUL GULACY, LARRY HAMA, DOUG MOENCH, DENNY O’NEIL, JIM STARLIN, & others. Classic EARL NOREM cover!

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.

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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!

MAKE MINE MARVEL! ENGLEHART’s “lost” issues of West Coast Avengers, O’NEIL and INFANTINO’s Marvel work, a WAID/ NOCENTI Daredevil Pro2Pro interview, British Bronze Age Marvel fandom, Pizzazz Magazine, Speedball, Marvel Comics Presents, and backstage at Marvel Comicon ’75 and ’76! With DeFALCO, EDELMAN, KAVANAGH, McDONNELL, WOLFMAN, and cover by MILGROM and MACHLAN.

ALTERNATE REALITIES! Cover-featuring the 20th anniversary of ALEX ROSS and JIM KRUEGER’s Marvel Earth X! Plus: What If?, Bronze Age DC Imaginary Stories, Elseworlds, Marvel 2099, and PETER DAVID and GEORGE PÉREZ’s senses-shattering Hulk: Future Imperfect. Featuring TOM DeFALCO, CHUCK DIXON, PETER B. GILLIS, PAT MILLS, ROY THOMAS, and many more! With an Earth X cover by ALEX ROSS.

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!

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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 TREVOR VON EEDEN, STEVE ENGLEHART, ROY THOMAS, & a BILLY GRAHAM cover!

SCI-FI SUPERHEROES! In-depth looks at JIM STARLIN’s Dreadstar and Company, and the dystopian lawman Judge Dredd. Also: Nova, GERRY CONWAY & MIKE VOSBURG’s Starman, PAUL LEVITZ & STEVE DITKO’s Starman, WALTER SIMONSON’s Justice Peace (from the pages of Thor), and GREG POTTER & GENE COLAN’s Jemm, Son of Saturn! With a Dreadstar and Company cover by STARLIN and ALAN WEISS!

SUPERHEROES VS. MONSTERS! Monsters in Metropolis, Batman and the Horror Genre, DOUG MOENCH and KELLEY JONES’ Batman: Vampire, Marvel Scream-Up, Dracula and Godzilla vs. Marvel, DC/Dark Horse Hero/Monster crossovers, and a Baron Blood villain history. With CLAREMONT, CONWAY, DIXON, GIBBONS, GRELL, GULACY, JURGENS, THOMAS, WOLFMAN, and a cover by MICHAEL GOLDEN.

SUPERHERO STAND-INS! John Stewart as Green Lantern, James Rhodes as Iron Man, Beta Ray Bill as Thor, Captain America substitute U.S. Agent, new Batman Azrael, and Superman’s Hollywood proxy Gregory Reed! Featuring NEAL ADAMS, CARY BATES, DAVE GIBBONS, RON MARZ, DAVID MICHELINIE, DENNIS O’NEIL, WALTER SIMONSON, ROY THOMAS, and more, under a cover by SIMONSON.

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Volume 1, Number 118 February 2020 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

PUBLISHER John Morrow DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTIST Alex Ross COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Rob Smentek SPECIAL THANKS Brian Augustyn Alex Ross Mike W. Barr Jim Shooter Dewey Cassell Dave Sim Ed Catto Jim Simon Chris Claremont Anthony Snyder Comic Book Artist Bryan Stroud Steve Englehart Roy Thomas Tim Finn Frank Thorne Paul Fricke J. C. Vaughn Mike Gold Trevor Von Eeden Grand Comics John Wells Database Mike Grell Larry Hama Ed Hannigan Jack C. Harris Heritage Comics Auctions Paul Kupperberg Paul Levitz Ed Lute Marvel Comics Michael Netzer Joe Norton Luigi Novi Mike Parobeck Appreciation Society

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GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: Alex Ross and the Fantastic Four That Wasn’t. . . . . . .2 An exclusive interview with the comics visionary about his pop art Kirby homage ART GALLERY: Marvel Goes Day-Glo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Inspired by our cover feature, a collection of posters from the House of Psychedelic Ideas GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: The “Lost” DC Stories of the 1970s . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 From All-Out War to Zany, DC’s line was in a state of flux throughout the decade ROUGH STUFF: Unseen Sonja . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 The Red Sonja prelims of Frank Thorne GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: Cancelled Crossover Cavalcade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Remember the Cerebus/X-Men and Batman/Jon Sable crossovers that weren’t? GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: Larry Hama’s Fury Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 The journey from Nick Fury, Jr. to a Real American Hero GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: The Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Guest columnist Brian Augustyn recalls his unpublished project with the late, great Mike Parobeck OFF MY CHEST: Steve Englehart and the Batman Movie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 The superstar writer reveals his involvement with THE movie of 1989 in a guest editorial GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: Impact Comics: The Little Imprint That Was Left Out in the Cold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Guest writer Paul Kupperberg’s behind-the-scenes exploration of DC’s attempts to revitalize the Archie Comics superheroes GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: The Lost Curt Swan Pages of Skull & Bones. . . . . . . .66 Behold, unpublished art by the Superman artist supreme for Ed Hannigan’s Cold War series GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: ‘Top Hat and Nails’: An Untold Story of the Batman . . . .73 Steve Englehart and Trevor Von Eeden’s unpublished Mad Hatter tale BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 Reader reactions PLEASE NOTE: Due to ongoing international trade issues, to remain economically viable, we were forced to raise the cover price of Back Issue. Thanks for your understanding, and continued support of this magazine!

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: $89 Economy US, $135 International, $36 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Alex Ross. Fantastic Four TM & © Marvel. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2020 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

Fantastic Four TM & © Marvel. Art © Alex Ross.

2 • BACK ISSUE • Greatest Stories Never Told Issue

interview by M i c h a e l

Eury

conducted by phone on April 25, 2019, and transcribed by Rose Rummel-Eury

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine.” For most BACK ISSUE readers, Fantastic Four was just that, one of the first Marvel superhero titles we read during our youth and one we followed loyally for years, even decades. Yet in the mid-2010s, what was once the flagship title of the Marvel Universe fell out of favor with many readers, and after a conga line of creative teams paraded through the book and its reboots, Fantastic Four was cancelled. Enter Alex Ross. The superstar creator known for Marvels, Kingdom Come, Earth X, and photorealistic cover art had an idea of how to move the FF forward by looking backward, to the explosive artwork of the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine’s original artist and co-creator, Jack “King” Kirby. Yet Alex Ross’ imaginative version of Fantastic Four was not meant to be. Why? Alex—one of BI’s most dedicated readers, we’re proud to say—sits down with ye ed to share the details behind this colorful, heartfelt “Greatest Story Never Told.” – Michael Eury

I was picturing the best way to depict the FF for a modern generation was to translate Kirby’s work into a ’60s pop-art graphic, combined with my realistic rendering, thinking that it’s impossible to fully de-code Kirby, especially with my style, but you could apply abstract elements like the coloring being flat and vibrant like black-light posters with an interpretation of his faces that matches. With that, you could hopefully find the spirit of Jack’s FF in there. EURY: I think you can. Yours is certainly an out-of-the-ordinary perspective, but it circles back to the era in which Jack and Stan co-created these characters. It certainly has that “retro” feel to it. ROSS: The thing is, “retro” can feel like a negative unless you come up with a way to make it fresh and new to modern eyes so it’s not just about an aesthetic of clothing and retro styles. It’s about something intellectually from that ’60s era that you can identify and sort of pull out and getting to the soul of what was the ’60s, what was there, going on. EURY: Things that come to mind that were going on in the ’60s were the Cold War and the Space Race— at least when I think of the Fantastic Four. ROSS: Right, in terms of the topics of the stories and MICHAEL EURY: Where did your FF concept start? narratives. The key thing is, what will work for people ALEX ROSS: For me, it started in early 2017, and I today that will hold on to an almost subliminal had two key influences from where I was drawing aspect of the ’60s that people will be entranced with? alex ross this Fantastic Four pitch. It wasn’t called a “pitch,” That’s where I felt this artist Aco had really connected Courtesy of Alex Ross. because it didn’t have a storyline attached to it. If [the that successfully, which, by the way, is about the Sam FF] were coming back in the near future, in what way could I represent Jackson version of Nick Fury, not the old one we grew up with. it graphically that would be kind of a bold new take or something that EURY: Let’s talk about the casting of your Fantastic Four… would link back to this original type of comic? ROSS: Basically, it’s one of the biggest influences on the whole idea in So, two people have credits I’d like to give here: a friend of mine, getting it going. The original way I did it for several years was to use the Ron Murphy, had sent me a Fantastic Four full-color comic album, likeness of Russell Johnson from Gilligan’s Island as Reed Richards. Certainly printed in England, which was made in the late ’60s. It was recolored as a child, I thought the Professor on Gilligan’s Island reminded me of Mister with these bizarre Day-Glo colors and it created a whole impression in Fantastic. And now that I was an adult, nobody was telling me “no” when my mind of how you could sort of break up the pop iconography of I was doing it in Marvel Comics, probably because he also wasn’t having the ’60s comic with this incredibly weird representation. his face plastered on covers. I got to do it within the issues of Marvels. Then there was an artist named Aco, who was doing a pop-art But, some years ago, a fellow TwoMorrows’ contributor, George retro-’60s Nick Fury series. This series, which came out in 2017, was a Khoury, had given me a book on science-fiction television where I first prototype for the way I thought you could do the FF. saw a picture of Gary Conway, from the Land of the Giants TV series.

Color Me Spy One of Ross’ influences for his Fantastic Four palette was Marvel’s 2017 Nick Fury: Deep-Cover Capers six-issue limited series, written by James Robinson, illustrated by Aco and Hugo Petrus, and colored by Rachelle Robinson. TM & © Marvel.

Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 3

Giant-Size Reed and Sue (above and opposite) Alex was inspired by Land of the Giants actors Gary Conway and Deanna Lund for his interpretations of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman. Fantastic Four TM & © Marvel. Land of the Giants © Irwin Allen Properties, LLC/20th Century Fox.

EURY: …Which was one of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid! When I saw your drawings, it was clear to me that your Reed Richards was based upon Gary Conway. ROSS: Well, I think that Gary’s resemblance to Kirby’s face of Reed was a revelation. It’s the face. I had previously thought of Jack’s leading men as ciphers… and the women in many cases, too. That’s true of other artists. The male and female leads have repeated facial structures that are of a certain type. But the thing is, it wasn’t true. As an example, the way Jack drew Ikaris from the Eternals is different from his other blond, long-haired heroes. His unaltered Superman faces didn’t look like anything he had been drawing at Marvel. Looking at Gary Conway, I felt like I understood Reed as a very specific person with distinctive, intense features, and this inspired me to think I could capture the real guy as Kirby had designed him. EURY: You did, from what I’ve seen from these illustrations. It’s not a generic face. It’s a face with intelligence and integrity, and Conway did have that as well. On Land of the Giants, even though the special effects one-upped the actors, Gary Conway was the anchor of the show; he was the glue and certainly embodied the characteristics of a strong leader. I think you captured that pretty well. ROSS: Thank you. EURY: You’re welcome. If you were going to cast Reed today because Gary Conway wasn’t an inspiration for whatever reason, whom would you cast? ROSS: I’d say Anson Mount, who has been playing Captain Pike on Star Trek: Discovery. He would be perfect. Even though he would possibly be discounted because he played Black Bolt on the Inhumans show. But that same situation didn’t prevent Chris Evans from going

4 • BACK ISSUE • Greatest Stories Never Told Issue

into playing Captain America after playing the Human Torch in separate films… EURY: Evans was in a third comic-inspired movie, The Losers, based on the Vertigo version. ROSS: Yes. And Josh Brolin, who’s now Cable and Thanos. He got held back because he was Jonah Hex in a movie that didn’t do well. We’ve got Affleck with Daredevil and Batman… EURY: …And Superman, as far as Hollywoodland is concerned. ROSS: Right! [chuckles] EURY: Essentially, he can fight himself if you combine footage from Hollywoodland and Batman v Superman for an “all-Affleck” version. I’ll let someone else spend time putting that together. [laughs] Back to FF, what were your inspirations for the other characters? ROSS: Ironically, from even the same book and the same photo of Gary Conway, I looked at the actors next to him and thought, “That’s the facial structure of Kirby females.” Since going to back to Marvels as well, I’ve always tried to draw the Jack Kirby prototype face where it’s Sue Richard’s. Since I saw the pictures from Land of the Giants, I’ve been using Deanna Lund as the basis for my Sue Storm. EURY: That’s very clear to me, too. Deanna Lund… a lot of boys had crushes on her back in the day. Have you had a chance to actually watch Land of the Giants since you discovered it in that book? ROSS: Oh, yeah. EURY: Did you ever see Land of the Giants reruns when you were a kid? ROSS: No, and there are a lot of series like that and Time Tunnel that just did not get featured in syndication across the United States.

EURY: Time Tunnel ran only one season. Those poor guys were just left out there, time-looping around without a resolution! ROSS: [chuckles] EURY: The producer behind those shows, Irwin Allen, was another visionary who piqued the curiosity and imagination of viewers in the ’60s. His stuff was great. But you’re right; they were not heavily syndicated. It was only later, when cable networks like SyFy would occasionally run them, that post-’60s kids discovered them. Aren’t those shows currently on MeTV? ROSS: Land of the Giants is currently on MeTV. I have a connection to that station because they’re operating out of here—out of Chicago. My friend, Rich Koz, is the horror host on Svengoolie. EURY: He was interviewed and is cover-featured in RetroFan #6. Really nice and funny guy. ROSS: Actually, an aside thing… A couple of weeks ago, when George Pérez was in town for his last con visit in Chicago, with his retirement, he wanted to see a taping of the show, and through Rich’s benevolence— I’ve been on the show before—I was able to come in and meet my hero for essentially one last time. After this year, George won’t be going to conventions anymore because he’s retiring, but I was able to pass on one of my new [Marvelocity] books to him and give him my gratitude for helping to make me the artist I am today, as one of my formative influences.

EURY: It’s nice that you had that opportunity. ROSS: Those are rare things, to meet your heroes. I’ve had a chance to meet the majority of my heroes, which is weird. I’ve had dinner with the majority of my heroes, which is odd, too! [chuckles] Intimate times spent. It’s enough for me that I have a photo of myself—at age 22— with Jack Kirby! That’s kind of a miracle. EURY: One of the magical things about comics is the intimacy of the creators. I mean, you can’t just meet Mick Jagger if he influenced you! As a comics fan, when you’re up and coming, you have an opportunity to approach creators at conventions and connect with them, and be inspired directly by them, not just inspired indirectly by their work. ROSS: Oh, yeah. Even, weirdly enough, for the eccentric tastes of who are my favorite actors. I’ve spent time with Sam Jones or Jackson Bostwick… and even Mark Hamill. I’ve met all these men and had real conversations with them. People get to stand in line to speak with them, but I’ve had unique, very fortunate circumstances to connect with those people who had such a seminal influence in my life. EURY: Wonderful experiences for you, I’m sure. Let’s spin back to Fantastic Four. I’m curious about your Johnny Storm. Is he based upon anyone specific?

Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 5

The Torch and the Thing Character studies of Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm. TM & © Marvel.

ROSS: He’s really not anybody too specific. I could not think of a specific model or celebrity from the ’60s who would have felt like the right physicality or face type. I mostly have looked at pictures of a male model who has a strong jaw structure, once I realized that the late-’60s interpretation of Johnny Storm as Kirby had kind of evolved him was a physically thicker figure. The teen we think of from 1961—you might say that the homogeny of how Jack might have drawn the figure—started to grow in that direction, but I wanted to nail that it was that late-’60s or 1966 Kirby art style, and it’s important to have that exact shape and form. EURY: I think you succeeded. I’m looking at him right now. He looks like… Johnny Storm. As far as the Thing is concerned, this is a classic Kirby Thing. There’s no mistaking that. ROSS: That’s a credit to another artist. A sculptor I know named Lou Cella is a fellow who created this Thing bust entirely on his own, based upon his study of the art style of the ’60s and capturing that specific look. When I was presented with this bust—it wasn’t a business thing I was presented with, just that I was given a look at this thing as a, “What do you think of it?”—I was glowing about it, “My heavens, you’re showing me the perfect translation of Jack Kirby’s Thing!” At the time of the early 2000s, we had a bust line that was being created by Dynamic Forces, and I was able to get that put in there as one of the busts that we released. We had to undergo an alteration where [Thing’s] cigar had to be removed. They [Marvel] have instituted new rules against smoking. All characters that used to smoke, Nick Fury or Wolverine, they don’t anymore. EURY: [chuckles] Howard the Duck? ROSS: Everybody. I don’t know if they make exceptions for the movies anymore. Even though they showed cigars with the first couple of X-Men movies, they made a point of telling Wolverine in, I think the second film, that he shouldn’t when he was going to light up in front of Professor Xavier. EURY: As we know, in the era in which these characters were created, smoking was commonplace. Growing up in the South, in tobacco country, I had a running joke: In Southern restaurants you have two sections: “smoking and chain smoking.” [laughter] And flying—sorry to digress here—the first flight I was on was in the ’80s, and there was still smoking in the back of the plane! The entire cabin was filled with smoke. ROSS: The weird thing is, I don’t have any love for the indulgence, but as far as the character representation, I feel that it has its purposes in identifying behavior from people and their choices and I hate removing that completely, because it is in the way the character was constructed. They eventually got rid of Reed and Bruce Wayne having pipes. So, everything can evolve a bit, and in many cases these characters didn’t have those things for very long. EURY: Some of those evolutions I definitely agree with, both with Reed and Wayne losing their pipes, especially given the physicality with their rooftop-jumping and Negative Zone-hopping. But still there is something iconic about the cigar with the Thing, and I would also argue Howard the Duck. Those two, in particular, the cigar seems to be part of their personal iconography and costuming, and to having them missing is a little weird. ROSS: One thing I should mention, about the Ben Grimm… Since Lou Cella created that and we released it as a bust, I’ve used that ever since as the basis for all illustrations I do of the Thing. I photograph it or look at it as a bust on my desk and study it for its details. The gritty way that the stone was rendered and the kind of authenticity of the shapes matching Kirby’s art style is something I use as my template. I feel like I get a lifelike quality to capturing that version. EURY: You do. I’m looking at a few images of the Thing now. His brow has a tremendous amount of depth and it casts a shadow over his eyes. One of the images I’m seeing here, where the Thing’s head is tilted down, you don’t even see the whites of his eyes. I like that a lot. Out of the Fantastic Four logo designs you prepared, one borrows from the logo of the film version of Fantastic Voyage. ROSS: That’s the one I felt the most in love with… the feeling that it captured the right tone of the ’60s and feeling it had a slick quality. You put that on the cover of the book and I had a feeling it would really jump out at people. Especially that mockup I’ve

6 • BACK ISSUE • Greatest Stories Never Told Issue

In the Mighty Marvel Manner (top left) This Kirby page from “The Master of Planet X” in Fantastic Four #7 (Oct. 1962) was repurposed, and recolored, as a black-light poster in 1971 and also sold as a puzzle (top middle). (top right and bottom) Ross’ interpretation of that image. TM & © Marvel.

got there with the heads of the figures in Reed’s hands. I think that would be a very striking book cover. EURY: Tell me how you submitted your FF to Marvel. ROSS: I submitted it to my Marvel editor, Tom Brevoort, who would normally edit FF if it came back. I hoped he would keep me in mind as a person who would help return it to publishing. It was turned in in the Spring of 2017, and I’d define it as kind of an aesthetic proposal. It wasn’t linked to an outline or a story concept, but it was about the look of the thing, the graphic of it, a way to re-present these things in a bold fashion. EURY: You didn’t offer any direction about where it was to go, you were just giving Fantastic Four a whole other look and presentation? ROSS: Yeah. I wanted to keep myself open in case I could be combined with any other person who could come into play with it as a writer. And then what happened, the Fox absorption by Disney was announced by the end of that year. My agent got a call from Marvel’s new editor-in-chief, who asked, what do I want to do? It was sort of a nice outreach to me in particular. I mentioned taking complete charge of the Fantastic Four’s return with a four-part relaunch of big, 48-page inaugural issues using notable talents, all doing their best tribute to the team. This possibly would have included Steve Rude, Bill Sienkiewicz, and others who I would have tried to get roped in, starting with the first one by me. I even dangled the idea of Mark Waid and me working together again as almost a Kingdom Come reunion. But let’s just put in parentheses there: (Mark was not consulted.) If he reads it here, it will be the first time he’s heard of it. Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 7

FF Logos Fantastic Four trial logos by Ross. His font choice was inspired by (inset) the logo for the classic sci-fi movie Fantastic Voyage. Fantastic Voyage teaser movie poster courtesy of Heritage. Fantastic Four © Marvel. Fantastic Voyage © 20th Century Fox.

[chuckles] I just figured Mark would be open to it; I was a big fan of his [FF] run. We had seen each other a year before that and I thought he would be amenable to doing something like this. EURY: I assume that Bill Sienkiewicz and Steve Rude would also have jumped at the chance if this had gotten the green light. ROSS: They’re both friends. Bill is represented by the same agent that I have, and he’s very good friends with him, and Steve Rude has always been a good friend for the last 25 years. I regularly talk to Steve and I know I could’ve gotten Steve in on it. Or I think I could have gotten Steve. I hoped to import this pop-art book, at first with mine, and then hopefully with the ongoing series. Then, along the way, maybe the artist who inspired me—Aco— would do a project for a run of issues and show how it’s done. EURY: Was all this re-imagination, this pop-art presentation, was it all for the love of the Kirby FF comic, or was there another motivation here? ROSS: I was also hoping to influence the next cinematic or likely streaming television iteration of Fantastic Four. I honestly hoped that if I could have done this for the series, it would be seen by Marvel Studios’ head Kevin Feige and would help shape the next adaptation they do of this material. I was hoping to help push them closer to the design aesthetics of Jack Kirby. I was thinking that if I made certain visual translations of Jack’s style into a realistic physicality that it would be easier to see how they could cast this and design it truer to the characters’ original template. Basically, whenever Marvel films are made, they often translate the most recent design done by Marvel Comics, despite the longer history of design details. Regarding Captain America, they were

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TM & © Marvel.

designing his character based on the Ultimates series. They gave Thor sleeves in the comics in order to cover up what would likely be an actor’s shortcomings, in filling in for his enormous biceps. That sleeve look was put right into the film’s designs. Then they found Chris Hemsworth, who filled out the part, who wouldn’t need that. It was one of those things where you can see them planning for this other material in the comic-book medium. Both of the Fantastic Four’s cinematic presentations worked off the Ultimate FF series that only existed in this new century. Neither one of them were pulling from the core, original design of the book. So, if I had my way, they would have set them in the ’60s in film or television, which they have yet to do with any of their characters, and embrace the whole Mad Men era of their origins. Retelling the best of FF history in their original context while still being able to cross over with the present-day timeline through time travel. They did it often enough, and they could even go back and forth. So you’d have your modern era in their approach. EURY: So, what was Marvel’s reaction to all of this? ROSS: I found out somebody got there before me. I had been in touch with my agent and the editor-in-chief within a week or two of the big Fox acquisition announcement. I knew it meant the Fantastic Four would have this self-imposed embargo lifted against them being published again, with Marvel requiring full and complete rights, so the time was right to strike. But Marvel’s most popular writer was wise enough to renegotiate his exclusive contract to have the option of a first-pass on handling the FF, should it return. He probably renegotiated a full year before this whole thing happened, this whole turnaround with Fox. It’s entirely possible that at the same time, I’m working up my little pitch that I’m turning in for the rainy day in case they bring the FF back, he’s renegotiating his contract. The two things are almost running cross-purposes. EURY: That explains it. Marvel’s failure to pick up your FF proposal was a head-scratcher for me. You obviously have a proven commercial and creative track record, and a tremendous affinity toward Kirby’s work and toward the property, and this is a really novel approach. It made me wonder, “How could they pass on this?” ROSS: [Marvel said,] “We could introduce you to him and you talk and see if you could work together.” The way that it does work at Marvel and DC, they assume the writer is the mastermind and the leader on any project, unless you are a proven artist/writer like Frank Miller or

John Byrne. So, I have this immediate thing that is influencing me, which is the feeling of Jack Kirby hanging over everything I’m doing. Given the creative origins of the Fantastic Four are mired in controversy by how much writing was done in the Marvel-style approach with Jack plotting and executing so much before the words were applied as a finished coat, the idea of trying to fit my inspirations into another person’s writing was immediately discouraging. EURY: What happened next? ROSS: They didn’t shut me down. Basically, I had in my initial offering to them, the approach focused strongly on the original four heroes, giving a reminder of who defines this book and who provides the essential DNA and value. I didn’t dislike the two kids that Reed and Sue had, Valeria and Franklin, and I know a lot of great work has been done with them as part of the last 20 years of continuity. I just wanted to slow down that aspect of the family taking over the narrative. It turns out that it is exactly what they were looking to expand upon at Marvel, from on high, editorially, and the chief writer, they intended to put the kids formally into the group, which makes no sense. It’s a complicated thing, when you have a number as part of the title of the group. It went against my instincts. I was turned down from my pitch immediately, which was right before Christmas. My version of the book was something that couldn’t exist when they had this deal with the writer that had been doing it. But they did offer me a cover gig and showed me the series’ first-year outline. From there, it was a case of respecting what they were going to do, thinking it was a decent approach, just not what my instincts were. Even being offered the cover gig was kind of setting aside the graphic approach I was really offering. I wasn’t even thinking about my normal painted style to be applied for covers or even interiors. I wanted to try a whole new thing with a realistic grayscale rendering with minimal blocky coloring, similar to works done by Darwyn Cooke on various projects. The book they were going to make and have made would be a good book and a worthwhile use of the characters; it just wasn’t open for the approach I would have liked to assign to it. EURY: Is there a possibility to do your FF as a standalone project off in its own little corner? ROSS: Yes, but nothing done there would reach nearly as many people as the main series’ return, and there was only one of those.

Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 9

These days, special projects, like the kind my career is based on, are not seen by the shrinking readership as “essential to purchase.” The loudest megaphone you can have is to be in the main continuity. The reintroduction of the main book is a platform I would be missing out on. So, I felt I could only give my best effort if I had some control of the biggest stage. EURY: You were able to put some of your FF presentation art in your Marvelocity book. ROSS: Right. With that, I was able to put it out in… “Here is a coffee table book, a retrospective of my history” at the same year I was getting turned down for the FF. So I got it out there, just not in the way I would have hoped. Maybe the fates conspire to keep me from doing this kind of thing. In the past, I’ve tried to pitch myself for a few other things like Shazam! The proposals I put in a lot of work and a lot of concepts for, but for whatever way they collided with the direction intended by editorial, I couldn’t leverage whatever my importance was to change their minds.

EURY: Emotionally, how did you react to this? You’re a professional and have been at it for a while, and have had a lot of successes… but like just about every other creative artist, sometimes things don’t pan out. ROSS: Well, certainly, I’m working well with Marvel on a number of things. It’s not that they had no intentions or interest with me, it’s just this one thing didn’t work out. I’m currently working on new Marvels pages, which are going in a one-shot that Kurt Busiek and I are working on that is coming out in July [2019]. I have to paint the entire story in the next month! I still think about this, almost obsessively, because I still tinker with the costume designs. I’ve been playing with this sort of standard FF outfit where it looks like a distillation of Jack Kirby’s inks, squiggles, and muscle markings as if they were a pattern in the material, and I can’t seem to let it go. It’s how my mind exercises a certain amount of creativity, playing with it. I will likely get over thinking about this once I see what they do with it, with any new TV or movie iteration. The second I see them adapt details from the redesign I didn’t do in the comics, like the bearded Reed look, it will be all over for me. I won’t care anymore.

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TM & © Marvel.

I’ll feel like the chance to cast people who resemble Jack’s art and that design will be gone forever. The last of us who care about that will have aged out of the audience they’re trying to sell it to. EURY: Is it blasphemous for me to ask if your FF style, its palette, could instead be applied to something else? ROSS: Maybe. You know, occasionally those books come into mind and when I think about independent projects, where I think about the one I’ve kept on the shelf for decades, I think about my “great American graphic novel” that I intend to do one day. I’m looking to jump on inspiration when it’s right, and this is one case that didn’t work out, and I have a number of those in my past. I’m just lucky that a number of them do get produced along the way that people have seen and that people can connect to. Things I get really excited over—“I’ve got to be in charge of Captain Marvel or FF!”—they just don’t line up. They don’t work out, whether it’s because I’m not enough of a name they can count on, or because I haven’t promised that I can draw every issue of a series, which would be greater leverage, presumably.

EURY: I guess that would have. It’s interesting to learn that you’ve had some near misses, too. It’s often difficult for people to discuss them, as we’ve learned the hard way with BACK ISSUE’s “Greatest Stories Never Told” features. From day one when we launched the concept and throughout the past 16 years, we’ve inadvertently pulled some scabs off old wounds and stepped on a few landmines when innocently, curiously approaching some creators about unrealized projects… but your attitude is very optimistic and nice to hear and upbeat. Sometimes with these articles, it’s sobering to hear about 40-year-old grudges. ROSS: I connect with that stuff when I read it. It means a lot to me to learn about it. To see people’s perspectives on things that aren’t always so forgiving is illuminating. A lot of things that have happened to me in my 30 years in the business are the same things that happened 50 years ago to people who were an influence on me. It’s always the same, isn’t it? Very special thanks to Alex Ross for his time, his provision of artwork, and this issue’s fantastic cover.

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The Third Eye, Inc. of New York, New York, utilized Mighty Marvel artwork for a series of black-light posters retailed in 1971. Additional products including jigsaw puzzles and greeting cards were also produced. Gathered here is a garishly groovy grab bag of Marvel pop-art posters, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions. (BACK ISSUE and TwoMorrows Publishing are not liable for any reader eyestrain or retina damage occurred from staring at these far-out pinups.) All images TM & © Marvel.

Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 13

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 DEC. 2019! (160-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $14.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-091-5

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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 • NOW SHIPPING! (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! Get yours now!

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by J o h n

Wells

Superman had to prove himself. Batman did, too. For over three decades, DC Comics exercised caution in giving an action hero their own book. Only after Superman, Batman, and even backup characters like Congo Bill had established themselves in anthology titles were they awarded their own titles. Although there were several humor and media tie-in first issues released during DC’s first decades, only five non-licensed adventure characters (and one group) were awarded their own books without preliminaries. The Adventures of Rex, the Wonder Dog (1952), Capt. Storm (1964), Secret Six (1968), and Brother Power, the Geek (1968) featured original characters, while Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen (1954) marked the first spotlight on the Superman supporting cast member and Plastic Man (1966) revived the Golden Age Quality Comics hero. In 1956, DC introduced Showcase, a comic book that made it possible for DC to avoid the expense of producing several issues of an ongoing title before sales figures came in. In Showcase, DC produced mock issues of new titles and, if the character or concept was a dud, the publisher had risked little. The idea worked so well that The Brave and the Bold was converted to a companion tryout title from 1959 to the early 1960s.

KIRBY IS COMING… AND SIMON, TOO

By 1968, an appearance in Showcase had become a mere formality. Characters like the Creeper and Bat Lash, whom DC had already committed to releasing in ongoing titles, first made token appearances in the tryout book. Such was the case with Jack Kirby’s New Gods in 1970. DC fully intended to release the title and its companions as ongoing series, but nonetheless began to go through the motions of preparing Showcase #94 to introduce the series. At some point, DC came to realize that, if they weren’t going to use Showcase to gauge a title’s sales potential, they might as well not use it as all. joe simon Consequently, Kirby’s New Gods and Forever People became the first © Kendall Whitehouse. un-established superheroes in DC’s history to win titles without any kind of preview. The downside of Showcase’s cancellation was that it had eliminated DC’s early warning system for unsuccessful concepts. The end result was a succession of short-run titles from the 1970s to the present, comic books that were often cancelled so abruptly that completed issues were left unpublished. The proliferation

This One Flew Away Uninked cover for Guardian Angel, via Joe Simon’s archives. Artist unknown. Original art courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). Most art scans accompanying this article are courtesy of John Wells. © Joe Simon estate.

Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 15

of comics news-zines during the same period made it possible for readers to confirm that a title had been cancelled and, in many cases, to learn where its inventory would end up. Even then, some projects remain a mystery. Case in point: Joe Simon’s Guardian Angel. Amidst the legendary comics creator’s archives was a DC cover mock-up that featured the aforementioned hero emerging as a woman summoned a demon. Simon’s son Jim tells BACK ISSUE, “Guardian Angel was a concept I wrote up and gave to Joe, who liked it and had a cover drawn. Not sure if this is his art [but] it’s his

handwriting. It was probably late ’60s, early 1970s. I assume Joe kept the artwork and put the copyright on it in 2005.” Unlike the mysterious Guardian Angel, considerably more information exists about the “lost” Aquaman #57, continuing threads from its last published issue in January 1971. As covered in more detail in BACK ISSUE #108, the issue was meant to launch a four-part story wherein its title character lost his signature aquatic powers, joined forces with Green Arrow, and fought a new menace called the Marine Marauder.

No Case for Showcase (top left) Jack Kirby’s first issue of New Gods might have been trotted out as a Showcase “trial” prior to its series launch. A Showcase #94 mock-up, via Amazing World of DC Comics #10. (top right) This house ad introduced many DC readers to Mattel’s Major Matt Mason space figure line. DC’s pilot for a Mason spin-off comic was cannibalized to become (bottom) “Commander Glenn Merritt” in From Beyond the Unknown #7, which continued into issue #8. (To learn more about Matt Mason, see ye ed’s other TwoMorrows mag, RetroFan #5.) Major Matt Mason © Mattel. New Gods and Glenn Merritt TM & © DC Comics.

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Wasting no time, Aquaman writer Steve Skeates adapted his plots for Warren Publications via a new character called Prince Targo. Stories in Eerie #36 and 37 were built around plots meant for the teenage Aqualad, but issue #40’s episode reworked the material intended for Aquaman #57. In the revision, Prince Targo’s powers were attributed to an enchanted ring that had been stolen by a surfacedwelling lover. She, in turn, passed the object on to a villain who became a whale-controlling thief. In 1976, Skeates returned to the plot one last time with the character it was original meant for when Aquaman fought the Marine Marauder in Adventure Comics #449. (In between, Skeates penned a sly sequel to the published Aquaman #56 in Marvel’s Sub-Mariner #72, 1974, itself the final issue.) Meanwhile, a complete Aqualad short story by Skeates and Jim Aparo—also meant for Aquaman #57— was belatedly inserted into 1971’s Teen Titans #36. The notion of changing a character’s name to salvage a story also came into play in 1970’s From Beyond the Unknown #7 and 8. Amidst science-fiction reprints from the 1950s and 1960s, those issues featured a new space hero with a genesis that began on toy-store shelves. Soon after the 1969 cancellation of Captain Action, based on the Ideal action figure of the same name, DC made plans for a title based on Mattel’s Major Matt Mason line of figures. The deal fell through, but not before Denny O’Neil and Murphy Anderson had completed a 23-page pilot. Rather than junk the story, editor Julius Schwartz split it in two for FBTU. Mason became Commander Glenn Merritt, in honor of astronaut John Glenn and Cape Kennedy’s launch site, Merritt Island. Mason’s companions, Sgt. Storm and Capt. Lazer, were changed to Sgt. Kevin Tempest and Capt. Quazar. On sale just a few weeks after FBTU #7, Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #133 marked the hugely anticipated DC premiere of superstar Jack Kirby. Before the comics giant’s split with Marvel earlier in 1970, editor Murray Boltinoff had been poised to take over JO but had yet to do any work on the book. He did, however, inherit one unpublished Olsen story by Leo Dorfman and Pete Constanza that was wholly incompatible with Kirby’s new direction. Forgotten for decades, “The Invaders from Space?” (complete with an appearance by Richard Nixon) was finally published in Silver Age 80-Page Giant #1 in May of 2000.

MAGAZINES AND DIGESTS

Kirby progressively accumulated his own share of unpublished and postponed material, starting with ambitious plans for a line of slick, color magazines aimed at an adult audience and racked accordingly. He faced immediate pushback from DC head Carmine Infantino, who would only authorize black-and-white magazines on newsprint. Beyond the format, Kirby was also frustrated in his intended return to the romance genre that he and Joe Simon pioneered in 1947. His initial proposal of True-Life Divorce transitioned into the African-American-themed Soul Love before DC abandoned the title altogether. In the Days of the Mob and Spirit World at least made it into print, but DC’s ongoing bout of cold feet ensured that their second issues were never published. With its chronicles of 1930s gangsters, the material meant for Mob #2 didn’t readily fit into any DC anthology title and mostly sat unused save for stories published in the fan-targeted Amazing World of DC Comics #1 (1974) and 10 (1976), as well as Robin Snyder’s The Comics vol. 6 #6 (1995). Spirit World #2’s inventory fared better thanks to the popularity of DC’s horror comics in the early 1970s.

Indeed, veteran cartoonist Howard Purcell had also been asked to write and draw his own supernatural title for editor Mort Weisinger in 1969. “I turned the whole book out from cover to cover and I have a beautiful cover on it,” he told Joe Mosca in Fantastic Fanzine #13 (1971). “[DC is] a little concerned about the reproduction of it because I used the fine-screen Craftint [art paper for special effects] and they’re hoping that it won’t lose [anything in print].” After Purcell’s project was killed, its contents and that of Spirit World #2 were handed off to editor E. Nelson Bridwell with the intent of using their collective inventory in the first three issues of a new color comic book entitled Weird Mystery Tales (starting in May 1972). Another Kirby story was used in Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion #6 (1972) while the cover that Purcell was so proud of appeared on Weird Mystery #2. Ultimately, all the content meant for the two Kirby second issues was assembled in one place in a pair of DC hardbacks: Spirit World (2012) and In the Days of the Mob (2013).

Calling Superman! Title page from Silver Age 80-Page Giant #1, intended for Jimmy Olsen #133. This was, incidentally, the last known story ever drawn by Pete Costanza. TM & © DC Comics.

Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 17

That Sinking Feeling DC’s superfluous Bronze Age softhorror books like Weird Mystery Tales provided a home for cancelled work, including (top left) issue #2’s cover artist Howard Purcell and (bottom) Jack Kirby’s Spirit World #2. TM & © DC Comics.

You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling Kirby’s unfinished cover for Soul Love #1. (See TwoMorrows’ new book Jack Kirby’s Dingbat Love for more unpublished Kirby work.) TM & © DC Comics.

True-Life Divorce and Soul Love seemed doomed to obscurity until articles and art reproductions in issues of The Jack Kirby Collector finally brought them into fan consciousness. In 2019, the two issues were finally published by TwoMorrows—in cooperation with DC—in the hardback Jack Kirby’s Dingbat Love, which detailed the full saga of the lost magazines. Also included in the book were two complete episodes of “The Dingbats of Danger Street.” Part of a trio of stories created by Kirby in the fall of 1973, only the first adventure of the kid gang was ever published by DC in 1975’s 1st Issue Special #6. Like the magazines, digests were also a non-starter for DC. Taking note of Gold Key’s success with the format, DC released the first and only issue of Tarzan Digest in July 1972. As seen in advertisements in Adventure Comics #423 and Weird Western Tales #14, it was supposed to have accompanied Larry Harmon’s Laurel and Hardy Digest. Like the 32-page comic book released in June, the 160-page digest would have primarily reprinted stories first published in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, DC discovered that they didn’t have the licensing rights to Laurel and Hardy and were forced to cancel both titles immediately. The art for both the digest and L&H #2 survived as part of the collection of renowned DC production man Jack Adler. Also left unrealized was Sheldon Mayer’s proposal for a digest for his beloved baby creations Sugar and Spike or, as he dubbed it, a “pocket treasury.” 18 • BACK ISSUE • Greatest Stories Never Told Issue

BEYOND CAPES

The fate of DC’s other humor comic books in the early 1970s was more benign than a licensing flap: nothing more than low sales. Six years after its cancellation, Binky #82 made a surprise appearance to burn off some of its inventory in 1977. Once DC had achieved successful lift-off on a digest line in 1979, it was eventually able to use more unpublished teen humor tales meant for Date with Debbi #19 and Swing with Scooter #37. These last stories included “It’s a Gas,” “Love That Chick,” and “Wanted” (Binky), “Oh, Doctor” (Debbi), “The Silent Type” and “Witch Ring?” (Scooter), and “On the Job” and “In the Woods” (Sonny) in The Best of DC #28 (1982), and “Hat’s All, Folks” (Debbi) and “Kenny’s Fate -- Is a Date” (Scooter) in Best of DC #45 (1983). Along with magazines and digests, DC had also tried expanding most of its line into 48-page comic books that were a hybrid of new material and reprints from mid-1971 to mid-1972. Notable exceptions were Tarzan and Korak, Son of Tarzan, properties that DC began licensing from Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. in 1972. These two comic books were made up almost entirely of new material. In addition to its title character, each issue of Tarzan also contained a new John Carter story. Korak also contained adventures of both David Innes and Carson of Venus. When DC reverted to the 32-page format, the Burroughs books were left with a dilemma. The problem was solved in the summer of 1972 by the creation of a new comic book called Weird Worlds. Its first issue housed the David Innes story prepared for Korak #47 and the John Carter episode intended for Tarzan #210.

Superman vs. Ollie (top) Henry Scarpelli’s cover for the unpublished Laurel and Hardy #2. (bottom) Unused mystery pages via Heritage: a Ramona Fradon tale likely slated for either House of Mystery or House of Secrets and a Gerry Conway/ Alex Toth story commissioned for The Witching Hour. Laurel and Hardy © CCA. Other material this page TM & © DC Comics.

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Unrequited Romance (top) Tony DeZuniga pencils for the Kanigher-scripted “Wandering Wedding Gown,” via Robin Snyder’s The Comics vol. 8 #2 (Feb. 1997). (bottom) Splash for the unpublished Johnny Peril tale “Chain of Fury.” Script by George Kashdan and art by John Calnan and Vince Colletta. TM & © DC Comics.

The Burroughs incarnation of Weird Worlds survived only until the summer of 1973, and Korak itself was suspended late that fall. The Korak lead and Carson backup intended for issue #57 were instead dropped into Tarzan #230, which had been expanded into a 100-page Super Spectacular. Inevitably, when the giant-sized comics had run their course, Tarzan returned to its traditional page count with #236 and Korak resumed publication with #57 in the spring of 1975. For some genres, there was simply no place to run inventory stories. The demise of DC’s romance line in the mid-1970s left no home for leftover love stories. Such was the case with a trilogy entitled “The Wandering Wedding Gown” (by Bob Kanigher and artists Ric Estrada and Tony DeZuniga) that was prepared for one of editor Joe Orlando’s romance books circa 1969. The first two 11-page installments, both only partially completed, appeared in Robin Snyder’s The Comics vol. 8 #2 and 3 (1997). Another Kanigher story (drawn by Nestor Redondo) fared better. Created during DC’s brief foray into gothic romance, the 36-page “Nightmare Castle” had been meant for Sinister House of Secret Love #6 in 1972 but had enough of a horror angle to warrant its publication in November 1974’s House of Mystery #229. The horror anthologies had an enormous backlog of material commissioned from the late 1960s through the 1970s. When books like House of Mystery, The Unexpected, et al. shut down in the early 1980s, hundreds of pages were left in inventory. Several of them represented creators at the start of their careers and they were grateful that those stories remained buried. Len Wein, for one, often spoke of his relief that his first effort—“The Final Day of Nicholas Toombs,” sold to Joe Orlando on March 28, 1968— never saw print in House of Mystery. In the digital age, nothing stays hidden, however, and Jack Sparling’s original art for the story surfaced in 2012 at Heritage Auctions. Paul Levitz tells BACK ISSUE that he has “no real idea” how much leftover content remained but that there was “probably a fair pile. Some of it would have been the jobs that kept getting shuffled to the bottom of the pile (i.e., ones the then-current editor didn’t think were good or suitable), but some was probably good current inventory as those titles usually kept a stack of stories to use rather than commissioning each issue sequentially as the heroic titles would have. Since that line shrank over a couple of years’ period, the inventory probably piled up a bit.” Two stories originally written for the short-lived “Adventurers’ Club” strip in Adventure Comics (seen in #426, 427, and 430) were left homeless after the Spectre took over the book in the fall of 1973. As reported at the time in The Comic Reader #101 and 104, the episodes were recycled (minus the strip’s host, Nelson Strong) in Weird War Tales #28 (“Isle of Forgotten Warriors”) and 43 (“The Year 700 After the Bomb”). Alternately, a pair of Johnny Peril episodes slated for late 1969 or early 1970 were simply shelved once editor Murray Boltinoff opted to drop recurring characters from The Unexpected. No less than four letters columns in the title (#118, 122, 124, and 127) claimed to have the tales resting in inventory, one of them illustrated by Sid Greene and the other penciled by John Calnan. In 1979, the latter (written by George Kashdan and inked by Vince Colletta) saw print in APA-I #9, a collective of small-press publications devoted to indexing comic books. The art for the 12-page “Chain of Fury”—wherein Johnny Peril helped a man cursed with assuming another man’s pain—had been purchased by APA-I member Gene Reed. Two leftover Doctor Thirteen adventures—displaced when the “Spawn of Frankenstein” feature replaced it in The Phantom Stranger #23 (1972)— were luckier. One subsequently appeared in Adventure Comics #428 (1973) and the other in Phantom Stranger #34 (1974). 20 • BACK ISSUE • Greatest Stories Never Told Issue

Castle Relocated Kanigher and Redondo’s “Nightmare Castle,” intended for Sinister House of Secret Love #6, was instead published in House of Mystery #229. TM & © DC Comics.

DC GETS ZANY

A more comedic version of Terry Thirteen—as Dr. Ghost-Breaker—showed up between the two stories in issue #6 (1974) of DC’s new gallows-humor book Plop! In 1977, new DC editor Al Milgrom discovered those In its formative stages, the comic book had gone through pages along with two unpublished Simon/Grandenetti/ the preliminary titles of Black Humor and Weird Humor Flessel episodes of “The Green Team” (introduced before acquiring the tentative name of Zany. in 1975’s 1st Issue Special #2) and an unused According to Paul Levitz in Amazing World of Michael Fleisher/Jack Kirby/Mike Royer tale DC Comics #13 (1976), “Zany was much meant for November 1975’s Sandman like the other two, except that for the first #7. The quartet wound up in 1978’s time the magazine included parodies of in-house, photocopied compilation other DC characters… or was supposed Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1 and 2. to, anyway. Only one was ever finished, Milgrom had originally intended to a four-page Jonah Hex rip-off by the incorporate the Kirby Sandman story series’ creators, John Albano and Tony into 1978’s Kamandi #61, but that DeZuniga.” That story and another by book’s own cancellation put it back in Steve Skeates, Steve Ditko, and Wally Wood limbo. The episode finally achieved appeared in that issue of Amazing World. four-color publication in 1981’s The Best of DC #22 and was reprinted in By that point in the fall of 1976, Plop! The Jack Kirby Omnibus #2 (2013) had expired with its 24th issue. paul levitz and Kamandi Challenge Special #1 Plop!’s 1973 debut came shortly before a nationwide paper shortage © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. (2017). Meanwhile, Prez #5 was that compelled DC to cancel several of its lower-selling finally put into print in the 2016 trade paperback, titles in late 1973. Four completed comic books slated Prez: The First Teen President. Appearing on the schedule in place of Sandman #7 for release in November of 1973 (Secret Origins #7; Supergirl #10; Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #137; in 1975 had been Kobra #1, the story of a serpentine and Weird Worlds #10) were put on hold until the summer international villain and his heroic brother. The co-creation of 1974, but Joe Simon, Jerry Grandenetti, and Creig of Steve Sherman and Jack Kirby, the story in issue Flessel’s Prez #5 was buried in a file drawer. #1 had originally called its title character King Kobra.

What the Hex? A Zany page by John Albano and Tony DeZuniga spoofing their Jonah Hex, from Amazing World of DC Comics #13. TM & © DC Comics.

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Just Say No (left) Title page to the unfinished Wonder Woman tale. Art by John Rosenberger. (right) Title page to the unpublished Batman anti-drug tale. Art by Frank Robbins. TM & © DC Comics.

In the Kirby account, the villain’s brother was an older Interpol agent named Philip Snow, but he’d become college student Jason Burr in the published version. Indeed, when editor Gerry Conway looked over the pages, he asked writer Martin Pasko to rework the story as he saw fit. He junked the original dialogue and a good deal of Kirby’s art (replaced or altered by Pablo Marcos), preferring to head in their own direction for an ongoing series. Pages from the unaltered King Kobra #1 have appeared in issues of The Jack Kirby Collector—notably issue #22 (1998)— with Steve Sherman’s account, but the full story remains unpublished.

THE LEGION OF UNPUBLISHED SUPERHEROES

A new direction is one possible explanation for a mysterious Wonder Woman story written by Denny O’Neil in 1974 and penciled by John Rosenberger (pages 1–3) and Curt Swan (pages 4–10). Purchased by WW collector Joel Thingvall, the 10-page “Countess of Dreams” was commissioned by Julius Schwartz— based on job numbers—shortly after he assigned Len Wein to revamp the Wonder Woman comic book with issue #212 (on sale in March 1974). The sticking point is that Wein set up a formula wherein a member of the Justice League would shadow the Amazing Amazon for the next year… and the unpublished WW story didn’t take that into account.

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Did the editor briefly have second thoughts on the JLA guest-stars? That seems unlikely. A better explanation emerges once one discovers that O’Neil also wrote an unpublished ten-page Batman adventure (“The Deadliest Enemy of Gotham City,” drawn by Frank Robbins) at the same time. Its job code (S-1725) is only four digits apart from the Wonder Woman tale (S-1729). The Batman ten-pager’s existence was unknown until fan Paul Handler posted the original art for the entire thing at Comicartfans.com on June 5, 2016. When he purchased the pages, Handler was told by the dealer that there’d been two other stories in the set but the original pages for those were already sold and gone. The dealer also believed that the pages were from 1970, but the job number pegged it as 1974. Former DC president Paul Levitz—in a 2016 email to me—vaguely recalled that the story was created for an anti-drug promotional comic book and pointed out a detail on the splash page that definitively eliminated an earlier date. “The crossed-out rubber stamp (‘No borders, balloons, etc.’) is something I made for Frank [Robbins] as a present when he was doing horror stories for Joe Orlando. Frank used to handwrite those instructions on every page, and I had the stamp made to make his life easier. That also guarantees that the art was done after July ’73 when I went on staff… no idea specifically when I made the stamp.”

Levitz also thought that then-publisher Carmine Infantino had assigned the stories for the custom comic to DC’s three full-time editors of the time: Julius Schwartz, Murray Boltinoff, and Joe Orlando. According to Paul Handler, the original art dealer identified the other two stories as a Jimmy Olsen piece drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger (which would have come from Boltinoff’s office) and a Win Mortimer-illustrated romance tale with no recurring characters (presumably edited by Orlando). The Wonder Woman story, whose villains were international cocaine smugglers, fit the anti-drug theme of the issue and may have been part of the same package. For reasons that will likely never be known, the project was killed and the stories written off. Also abandoned was a separate anti-pollution five-page Superman story, written by Len Wein and penciled by Neal Adams. The origin of the tale is unknown but it was eventually published in The Amazing World of DC Comics Special Edition #1 (1976). The unused Wonder Woman story was one of two that John Rosenberger could not complete. Fighting liver cancer (to which he succumbed in January 1977), the veteran artist was only able to draw four pages for 1975’s WW #217 before begging off the assignment. Instead, Dick Dillin and Vince Colletta stepped in as replacements. Rosenberger’s unused art was reproduced from his pencils in The Amazing World of DC Comics #15 (1977). Wonder Woman #217 had, incidentally, been planned as a giant issue, a continuation of DC’s reprint compilations that dated to the 1960s. By 1974, such issues included a new lead feature along with the reprints. DC abandoned the “annuals” in May of 1975, with Kamandi #32 proving to be the last. Several other titles had been slated for the giant treatment but appeared, sans reprints, as regular-sized issues. House of Secrets #134, as described in Amazing World of DC Comics #5, lost four reprints: “Don’t Move It” and “House of Secrets” (from issue #81), “Eyesore” (from #88) and “Double or Nothing” (from #84). The fourpage “The Last Out” replaced the originally scheduled seven-page “Harder They Fall” (which eventually appeared in #137). Swamp Thing #19 was to have contained a new 25-page story, considerably longer than the standard format’s 18 pages. Expanding the plot by 11 pages, the tale became a two-parter that concluded in issue #20. The intended reprinting of 1972’s Swamp Thing #1 was delayed until 1977’s DC Special Series #2. Similarly, Weird Western Tales #32’s lead Jonah Hex story was extended and spread between issues #32 and 33. The giant would have been filled out with an inventory El Diablo story prepared in 1973 (which did make it into #32) and unspecified reprints. Superboy #212’s 20 pages of new material necessitated the removal of the eighth page of the lead Legion of Super-Heroes story and the issue’s letters column. The story page, by Jim Shooter and Mike Grell, appeared in Amazing World of DC Comics #9 that winter. In 2001, “Last Fight for a Legionnaire” was reprinted in Legion of Super-Heroes Archives #11 and the lost page was finally restored to its proper place in the story.

RESCUED FROM LIMBO

The Superboy reprint (from Adventure Comics #270) originally slated for the issue, along with the reprints intended for The Flash #235 (a redrawn story from All-Flash #22) and Wonder Woman #220 (from Sensation Comics #17), were used as three-quarters of the features in December of 1975’s Four Star Spectacular #1. Also, in the spring of 1975, Adventure Comics’ controversial Spectre series was replaced with Aquaman following a climactic two-parter in #439–440. Issue #442’s letters column indicated that writer Michael Fleisher had penned subsequent Spectre stories, something confirmed in 1988 when those three scripts were finally penciled by Jim Aparo. They were published in Wrath of the Spectre #4, the last issue of a miniseries that had reprinted the body of the character’s Adventure run in its first three volumes. Joining the Spectre in limbo by the end of 1975 were Man-Bat, whose self-titled comic book was axed after two issues, and the Patchwork Man, cut down after a single installment in House of Secrets #140. Writer Martin Pasko reworked the plot of Man-Bat #3 for a two-parter in Detective Comics #458–459. A completely illustrated second Patchwork Man adventure by Gerry Conway and Nestor Redondo never appeared domestically but later surfaced in Finland in a 1983 edition of the long-running DC anthology Gigant. More on both stories can be found in BACK ISSUE #36. Several original art pages from that Patchwork Man tale have since turned up at Heritage Auctions, as have the entirety of the story meant for the unpublished Kong the Untamed #6 (meant to have gone on sale in January 1976). Entitled “Deathwings,” it was written by Conway with pencils by David Wenzel.

Earl Escapes If the mid-1970s “Spectre” series had continued in Adventure Comics, recurring reporter Earl Crawford would have ended up in a mental hospital. In Michael Fleisher’s script for Adventure #442, Crawford escaped as the Spectre looked on. Newly illustrated by Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo for (inset) Wrath of the Spectre #4. TM & © DC Comics.

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Brassshh Behavior (top row and bottom left) Pages from Gerry Conway and Nestor Redondo’s second Patchwork Man story, intended for House of Secrets #141. Courtesy of Heritage. (bottom right) The splash for Kong the Untamed #6, via Heritage. Script by Conway and pencils by David Wenzel. TM & © DC Comics.

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Another Conway-written title—Secret Society of Super-Villains—had its first issue completely rewritten and redrawn. The original version immediately cast its bad guys as anti-heroes in opposition to the larger evil of Darkseid. “I clearly recall Gerry coming back down the hall to his office, confused,” Paul Levitz recalled in BACK ISSUE #35, as Carmine [Infantino] had gone through the issue wanting to see the villains’ clubhouse or headquarters, and when that wasn’t in the book, asking to redo it.” After the new version was published, the rejected incarnation ran in The Amazing World of DC Comics #11 (1976). Jenette Kahn’s replacement of Infantino as DC’s publisher in early 1976 cast more stories into limbo. Swamp Thing #25 was yanked from the schedule at the last minute, its Hawkman crossover unpublished to this day. Details on “The Sky Above” (by David Anthony Kraft, Ernie Chan, and Fred Carrillo) can be found in BACK ISSUE #66. Meanwhile, The Joker #10—written by Martin Pasko and penciled by Irv Novick—was meant to kick off an ambitious trilogy guest-starring the Justice League. Cancelled rather than end the series on a cliffhanger, the penciled pages were presumed lost until Pasko discovered stats in 2011 and sold them on eBay. DC finally brought the story to the printed when it included the pencils in 2019’s Bronze Age Joker Omnibus.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO…?

Along with existing series, several project proposals never made it off the ground. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table was poised to shift DC’s tabloid editions from reprints to original content with a four-part epic chronicling the life and death of the legendary leader of Camelot. Developed in 1975 by writer Gerry Conway, artist Nestor Redondo, and editor Joe Orlando, the project stalled. Completed issues for “King Arthur” and Sheldon Mayer’s “Rudolph’s Easter Parade” each went unpublished as did “The Story of Jesus” (by Mayer and Redondo), a sequel to 1975’s all-new “Bible” tabloid. More on “King Arthur” can be found in BACK ISSUE #11. Also cast into limbo was Conway’s Ninja the Invisible, produced for editor Murray Boltinoff. Building off a 1969 Batman/Deadman team-up (The Brave and the Bold #86), the origin followed 18-year-old Ki Lun in his quest to avenge his father’s death at the hands of the Sensei and the League of Assassins. Endowed with invisibility powers created by his dad (and denied the League), the mysterious Ninja crossed paths with Superman and Batman in his quest before gaining the wisdom to appreciate that his objective shouldn’t make him as bad as those he sought. Boltinoff tapped one of his most prominent artists of the period—John Calnan—to draw the pilot, but Ninja never moved further. Conway no longer recalls the project at all, but Boltinoff’s then-assistant Jack C. Harris offered this insight for BACK ISSUE:

Ninja is Visible (this and following page) Uncovered at last, artwork from DC’s once-touted, then forgotten Ninja the Invisible, by Gerry Conway and John Calnan. Courtesy of Heritage. Note that the first page’s footnote to Brave and Bold #79 was actually referring to B&B #86 (both B&Bs were Batman/Deadman team-ups). TM & © DC Comics.

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“I remember giving the script a once-over after Murray The prolific Kanigher (with editor Joe Kubert) found edited it and I liked it. Not to shed any bad light on anyone, several other pitches also rejected by Jenette Kahn in 1976, I believe one of the reasons the story never saw the light of but each made it to the art stage. Illustrated by Doug day was that some people in charge were not happy with Wildey of Jonny Quest fame, Savage World told stories from the finished art. They didn’t think it was up to standards for the perspective of different animals. Its human leads were a new character. Beyond that, I can’t really reanthropologist Allan Payne and his assistant Jan Diamond, who had a secret crush on him. member any further details, except that nobody thought that it was worth redrawing.” The Nestor Redondo studio drew Sextet, Given Ninja’s Superman and Batman a series about six female adventurers guest-appearances, Boltinoff planned to who were unwittingly funded by a male repurpose the story for an issue of World’s chauvinist. “My concept was of beautiful Finest, but he was replaced as that book’s astronauts, all of whom had qualified for editor before it could happen. In 1981, the rigorous training,” Kanigher detailed a reader request for a ninja character in in The Comics vol. 6 #8 (Aug. 1995). The the letters column of G.I. Combat #228 six were: Shirley, an American Jewess; prompted Boltinoff to reminisce about Moon, of Chinese ancestry; a Black; a Conway’s unused hero. Working with Hispanic; a Caucasian beauty, Rose; writer Robert Kanigher and artist E. R. and another I’ve forgotten. Their special Cruz, the editor introduced a recurring space mission scratched for monetary jack c. harris ninja adventurer called Kana the Shadow reasons, the six advertised that they Warrior in issue #232. were willing to go anywhere for people The Conway-edited Black Bomber never even made who needed their special talents.” it to the art stage. As conceived by Robert Kanigher Only Kanigher and artist Lee Elias’ Panzer made it under the original title of Black and White, it was the into print after a fashion. Two completed episodes— story of a Caucasian Army vet—and virulent racist— featuring Nazi tank commander Helmut Kass—were who transformed into an African-American superhero folded into an oversized Sgt. Rock adventure in 1978’s dressed like a basketball player. Tasked with somehow DC Special Series #13. Outside of Kanigher’s orbit, Gorilla City was a pilot by salvaging such a horrifying premise, Tony Isabella countered with a proposal for a hero that DC could be proud of: Cary Bates and Elliot S. Maggin (with art by Joe Barney, Carl Potts, Terry Austin, and Bob Wiacek) that hoped to Black Lighting. For more, see BACK ISSUE #114.

Born to Be Wild Pages for Bob Kanigher and Doug Wildey’s Savage World via Robin Snyder’s The Comics and Heritage, respectively. TM & © DC Comics.

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capitalize on the popularity of Flash menace Grodd. Excerpts from the story were later published in BACK ISSUE #16 (Apr. 2006). Other 1976 pitches died at the conceptual stage, among them Johnny Lopez (a Puerto Rican plainclothes cop, penciled by Vince Colletta), Mister Miracle (by Martin Pasko, Ric Estrada, and Joe Staton), National Comics (with Uncle Sam) by Denny O’Neil, and Seven Soldiers of Victory (a World War II-based version of the Golden Age team… with a new roster). Elliot S. Maggin and Mike Grell’s Green Arrow and Black Canary story produced for early 1976’s 1st Issue Special #14 was eventually slotted into October 1977’s Green Lantern #100. Editor Julius Schwartz also dug into his inventory for the double-length issue’s lead. When Schwartz resumed control of the title in 1976, he had intended to drop Green Arrow as the book’s co-star and commissioned a script for issue #94 in which GL acquired a new sidekick named Air Wave. When Jenette Kahn decreed that GA remain in the title, the Air Wave script went into a drawer until it was finally illustrated by Alex Saviuk and published in GL #100. Relocation was also the fate of a two-parter illustrated by the soon-to-be-fan-favorite team of Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin. Under editor Gerry Conway, a “Tales of the Great Disaster” backup feature had been added to Kamandi in 1976. After the first serial (#43–46), incoming editor Jack C. Harris chose to return the book’s title character to full-length episodes. In late 1976 and early 1977, the completed Rogers and Austin “Tales” adventure was moved to Weird War Tales #51 and 52 for publication.

AN EXPLOSIVE DEVELOPMENT

The Super Six (top) Joe Kubert’s cover to Sextet #1, courtesy of Mike W. Barr and Comic Book Artist. (bottom) A page from Sextet #1 via Robin Snyder’s The Comics. Script by Bob Kanigher, with art by the Redondo Studio and inks by Kubert. TM & © DC Comics.

Another great disaster was looming for DC as 1978 began, but no one could anticipate what would happen that coming summer. In short, publisher Jenette Kahn had ambitious plans to increase the page count and price of the line’s comic books in June, optimistically seeking to stop the attrition that had progressively been eating away at the ratio of story pages to ad pages for years. “The DC Explosion” promised great things for readers, but Kahn and company reckoned without their bosses higher up in the Warner Communications empire. At May’s annual budget review meeting, executives were horrified at the sales downturn of the preceding winter even though it had been a consequence of unusually severe weather conditions. The problem came when they looked back over the past few years and realized that sales had been steadily dropping on individual titles, a detail concealed by the fact that DC had published more books to offset the decline. Warner’s verdict was to stop the line expansion immediately and pare its comics to the bestsellers until sales stabilized. By that point, it was too late to stop the first three months of the 50-cent/40-page format, but DC’s standard titles converted to a 40-cent/32-page package once September arrived. Completed stories went back into editorial drawers until new homes could be arranged and a number of readyto-publish issues with no obvious sanctuary were bundled together in a pair of photocopied compendiums—print-run: 40—called Cancelled Comic Cavalcade that were distributed to creators who had content inside. To be fair, some of the cancellations predated that fateful budget meeting and new homes had been found for their existing inventory. A Doom Patrol/Supergirl team-up meant for Super-Team Family #16 ended up in Superman Family #191– 193 later in 1978, while the climactic New Gods #20 instead ran as a two-parter in Adventure Comics #459 and 460. Cancelled with issue #35, Shazam! resumed in July’s World’s Finest #253. The decision to abandon an adaptation of The Wiz—an African-American version of the Wizard of Oz—was likewise unconnected. Edited by Joe Orlando, the project was initially assigned to Len Wein and Sergio Aragonés before winding up with Mark Evanier and Dan Spiegle. Once Spiegle had penciled the story and inked more than 20 pages, DC decided to pull the plug. Advance word had it that the movie—

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premiering in October 1978—was going to flop and the publisher cuts its losses. Comprehensive details on the fate of the comics affected by the mid-1978 cutback can be found in Keith Dallas and my book Comic Book Implosion, so I won’t recap that here. CBI also recounted a shake-up of DC’s Dollar Comics that took place during the summer of 1979. In short, the publisher planned to launch a new superhero anthology title called Five-Star Super-Spectacular, while reverting the then-oversized World’s Finest Comics to a standard 32-pager with issue #259. A last-minute look at sales figures argued for keeping WFC as a Dollar Comic while shuffling Five-Star’s content back into its pages. Meanwhile, sales on another Dollar Comic—Adventure Comics—necessitated reverting it to a 32-page package instead and the stories scheduled for issue #467 were pulled. Instead, Adventure became a double feature, initially with Plastic Man and Adam Strange before the latter was replaced by a new version of Starman (see BACK ISSUE #115 for more Starman info). Two non-superhero Dollar Comics were launched without incident in the summer of 1979, but neither survived for long. All-Out War ran for six issues, but the ubiquitous Robert Kanigher was two issues ahead on scripts. Although issue #7 was completed, its Viking Commando story was the only thing published elsewhere (in 1982’s Unknown Soldier #266–267).

RECYCLED STORIES

Time Warp was cancelled after five issues (with Michael Kaluta’s cover for issue #6 depicted in TW #5’s letters column). Three months later, in mid-1980, its remaining inventory began appearing in a revival of Mystery in Space (with issue #111). That book was, in turn, cancelled with issue #117. Most of the material planned for January 1981’s MIS #118 was redistributed over the course of 1981 in Madame Xanadu #1 (“Falling Down to Heaven…”), Weird War Tales #103 (“A Little Knowledge”), and #108 (“Jasper Pepperdyne, Defender of Time and Space”). Joey Cavalieri, Trevor Von Eeden, and Carl Potts’ “Escape Proof” and Joe Kubert’s cover never appeared. The cover and lead story likely intended for #119 (“Captain Spaceman Will Be Waiting”) were eventually used in Weird War Tales #123 (1983). A Gerry Conway/Carmine Infantino revival of “Space Museum,” touted in the letters columns of Mystery in Space #115–117, never appeared, although its splash page (possibly inked by Gary Martin) surfaced on page 75 of The Amazing World of Carmine Infantino (2000). The Western genre fared no better than war and science fiction. When DC inaugurated a digest line in mid-1979, they hoped to widen their audience to include fans reading Old West paperbacks by the

All-Out War No More Kanigher-scripted pages intended for All-Out War: (left) from the Force 3 story intended for #7 (art by Jerry Grandenetti) and (right) the Dick Ayers-penciled Black Eagle tale planned for #8. Courtesy of Robin Snyder’s The Comics vol. 15 #9 and Heritage, respectively. TM & © DC Comics.

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likes of Louis L’Amour. Unfortunately, Jonah Hex and Other Western Tales was an evident flop, yanked from the schedule so quickly that there wasn’t time to pull an ad for its never-published fourth issue in November. Its contents would have consisted of “Showdown with the Dangling Man” (reprinted from Weird Western Tales #25), “The Killer’s Last Wish” (WWT #13), “Gunfight At Wolverine” (WWT #31), “Death Stalk” (WWT #42), “Call Him Satan—Call Him Saint” and “Death Deals the Cards” (both from All-Star Western #3), “The Replacement” (WWT #14), and a filler, “The Outlaw Trail” (by Bob Rozakis and Joe Orlando). The issue’s exterior painting was subsequently used as the cover of The Comics Journal #56 while its back-cover art appeared (in black and white) in TCJ #59. Meanwhile, a prospective new Western title collapsed for a different reason. Tentatively titled “Dakota,” the feature was meant to depart from the unconventional Jonah Hex and Scalphunter with a classic “white hat” hero named Marshal Jeremiah D. Hart. Editor Len Wein had another idea that he preferred to develop, though, and pitched it to Jenette Kahn alongside Marv Wolfman. DC’s publisher was skeptical until Wolfman floated the possibility of Marvel artist George Pérez jumping ship to join them. Suddenly, The New Teen Titans was a going concern and “Dakota” was abandoned. After guest-starring in 1980’s Jonah Hex #42–44, J. D. Hart returned to limbo with no series of his own to move into. The character returned as a supporting-cast member in Jonah Hex #78 (1983) before ultimately being killed off in issue #90 (1985).

Let’s Not Do the Time Warp (top left) Michael Kaluta’s cover art for Time Warp #6, as published in issue #5’s letters column. (top middle) Luis Dominguez’s cover for the unpublished Jonah Hex and Other Western Tales #4, instead used on The Comics Journal #56. (top right) Mystery in Space #118’s unpublished cover. (bottom) A panel of Conway and Infantino’s unpublished Space Museum story intended for Mystery in Space, via The Amazing World of Carmine Infantino. Jonah Hex TM & © DC Comics. The Comics Journal © Fantagraphics.

1980 became something of a do-over for DC. The line expansion that was cut short two years earlier finally went forward without interruption. The New Teen Titans was critical to reshaping fan opinion of DC’s potential and fresh projects proliferated in the years that followed. “Lost” stories and abandoned series didn’t stop in the decade ahead, but those are stories for another time. This one has come to an end. 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, and co-author (with Keith Dallas) of the book Comic Book Implosion.

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by D

ewey Cassell

For most of us, when it comes to our jobs, we wouldn’t think of doing the same thing twice. You might check over a spreadsheet or a report to make sure it was correct, but you wouldn’t do the same spreadsheet or report more than once, unless you lost it. But people in creative professions often do the same thing more than once. Painters frequently do a preliminary sketch (a.k.a. “prelim”) or even a rough painted version before rendering the final painting. Writers typically go through multiple drafts and revisions before submitting the final manuscript. The creative process is an evolutionary one. However, the process of creating comic books doesn’t always allow for much evolution. In the early days, the production of comic books was often more like an assembly line, with less concern over quality than quantity. Deadlines are frequently the enemy of creativity. Even in the Silver Age of Comics, the only aspect of a comic book that might have required a prelim was the cover, ensuring it had sufficient eye appeal to compel the reader to pull it from the crowded rack. Add to this the fact that comic books were typically illustrated based on a full script, which described panel by panel what the artist should draw. What creativity existed in the comic-book process lie primarily with the writer. That is, until the advent of the “Marvel Method.” At one time, Stan Lee was writing most, if not all, of the comic books produced by Marvel. To handle the workload, Lee switched from writing full scripts to plot outlines or synopses. He was working with a stable of talented, experienced artists who were more than capable of fleshing out the details of the stories. The end result was a more collaborative effort in which the artist exercised greater creative control. For years it was the de facto method of writing Marvel comics, even after other writers joined the Bullpen. Some artists did not enjoy working under the Marvel Method. Why should they do the writer’s job? Other artists reveled in it, including Jack Kirby, John Buscema, Herb Trimpe, and a host of others, including Frank Thorne. But Thorne took it one step further. In 1973, Marvel introduced Red Sonja in the pages of Conan the Barbarian #23. Created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, the character was loosely based on Red Sonya of Rogatino from the 1934 Robert E. Howard short story “The Shadow of the Vulture.” After being well received, Red Sonja began headlining the comic book Marvel Feature in 1975. After seven issues, Sonja received her own title, which ran until mid-1979. Thorne recalls how he became involved with the fiery redhead: “Archie Goodwin, newly at Marvel after years at DC, gave me Sonja in 1975. [I] loved REH’s work for years before landing Sonja. It was my first and my only series at Marvel.” Thorne wasn’t the first artist to draw Red Sonja, nor the first to draw her in the famous scale-mail bikini armor. (That was Esteban Maroto.) But Thorne is arguably the artist who made Red Sonja and her costume famous. His version of Sonja is considered by many fans to be the definitive one, setting the standard for all the artists who have followed. Thorne was new to Marvel, but he certainly wasn’t new to comics, as he explains: “My youth—I was 45 years old when I took on Sonja— was the vital element. I was ready, having paid my dues with a small number of stories for DC and several other lesser publishers.” Thorne took over drawing the adventures of Red Sonja with issue #2 of Marvel Feature, written initially by Bruce Jones and later by Roy Thomas and

A Thorne We Welcome Marvelites’ first look at Frank Thorne’s Red Sonja (albeit with a John Romita, Sr. face alteration), on the cover of Marvel Feature vol. 2 #2 (Jan. 1976). And just wait’ll you get a look at Frank’s work, unplugged, in this article! Red Sonja © Red Sonja LLC.

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Art in Transition (top left) Frank Thorne, at his drawing table. Photo courtesy of Mr. Thorne. (top right) Thorne’s preliminary for the splash page of Marvel’s Red Sonja #8 (Mar. 1978). (bottom left) Note the layout changes that have occurred in this color guide for that page (colors by Thorne). (bottom right) First page of the Thomas/Noto plot for issue #8. This and all remaining images in this article are courtesy of Dewey Cassell. © Red Sonja LLC.

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A Frown is Just a Smile Turned Upside-Down (top tier) A prelim panel from RS #8, with an editorial “no smile” marginal note. In the published panel, it’s clear that Thorne followed that directive. © Red Sonja LLC.

colored by a variety of colorists, while Thorne penciled, inked, and lettered them all. When the Red Sonja title began, Thorne assumed the coloring duties as well, exercising significant creative control over the end product. Thorne comments, “My long-held theory is that doing the penciling, inking, lettering, and coloring is the only way to retain a work’s originality.” Thorne also drew the covers. The stories in Red Sonja were “co-written” by Roy Thomas and Clair Noto (credited as “Clara Noto.”) Thomas explains how Noto became involved with Red Sonja: “I met Clair Noto one day when, I believe, I ran into her and her then-friend Ed Summer (proprietor of the Supersnipe comic store near my Manhattan apartment, and a friend for the past couple of years) at a movie… and she had a copy of the first Red Sonja issue of Marvel Feature, which she’d bought at Ed’s. Later, Ed plotted Red Sonja #1 and I had Clair dialogue it with my editing/co-writing. I ‘needed’ assistance mainly because I was kind of burned out on writing comics, having left the NYC environs… and she needed to pay for her rental car while she was doing rewrites on a screenplay she’d sold… so we worked it out. Her only connection to Marvel was me.” Thomas goes on to explain their approach to writing the Red Sonja stories: “I think our procedure varied, but for at least some months, maybe a year, Clair did

the basic plot after perhaps a brief discussion with me. I went over it, made any corrections or changes (usually slight), and sent it on to Frank. She wrote the first draft of the dialogue. I retyped that draft totally, making changes as I went, but it was really more like editing than co-writing in most cases. The last few stories before the cancellation of Red Sonja were my script from Clair’s plotting (approved by me in advance, of course).” With much of the creative control given to Thorne, it is interesting that for each of the Red Sonja stories, he penciled prelims of every page on 8.5 x 11-inch paper. The prelims were not a requirement of Marvel, but rather the artist’s choice, part of his evolutionary creative process. As Thorne explains, “I chose, on my own, to do the prelims. I had done these quick development sketches from the beginning. Never could afford models, cameras… and film developing were beyond my reach financially and took too much time, so the drawing was, and still is, done free-hand with some reference for backgrounds and costumes, etc. The placement of captions and word balloons are the first consideration in the preliminary sketch. This rough was preceded by several very quick thumbnails, which didn’t survive. Note how fresh and spontaneous is this step in development. I did my own lettering, which gave me critical choice in unifying each page. Total control of the

If At First You Don’t Succeed… (bottom tier) Shown here are two different Thorne prelims for page 2 of Red Sonja #4 (July 1977), and the page’s color guide (colored by Frank) showing the layouts chosen. © Red Sonja LLC.

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Wanted: More Panels When laying out this page from Red Sonja #5 (Sept. 1977), Frank Thorne at first imagined fewer, larger images, but this scan from the published comic book shows, he opted for multi-panels and accelerated pacing. © Red Sonja LLC.

page is paramount. The Sonja stories were well written by gifted storytellers, but I hold to the theory that the best in comic-book creation is by one craftsman having total control of story and art.” Thorne submitted the prelims to Marvel for review. Thomas recalls, “He submitted pencils… probably rough ones, since he was going to ink. Clair wrote from those, and I went over and retyped her script. I’m not sure I ever saw (or wanted to see) finished pencils on Red Sonja from Frank… it was the same with other artists who inked their own roughs. For the most part, I only needed to see the storytelling. I knew the artists could draw finished pencils.” The Red Sonja prelims created by Thorne can be described in four basic categories: 1) Prelims that closely matched the finished art. At least half of the prelims fall into this category. Thorne wasn’t given free reign when it came to Red Sonja, but there was an editorial appreciation of his vision and interpretation of the character, so many pages were unchanged. 2) Prelims that vary from the finished art due to editorial changes. Sometimes, Noto or Thomas would make comments in the margins of the prelims. It might be a simple comment, such as “no smile” on the prelim for page 2 of Red Sonja #8, referring to a single character in one panel. Other times, the changes would be more significant, including striking through panels and asking for them to be redrawn. In some cases, the editorial changes were corrections to a drawing that did not match the plot. In other cases, the editorial changes were simply the result of a different interpretation of the material. It is worth noting that on rare occasion, Thorne ignored the editorial comments when drawing the final version. 3) Prelims that vary from the finished art due to artistic changes. Sometimes, the finished art varied from the prelim, even though there were no editorial comments. In one case, Thorne redesigned the layout of the splash page to the story “Vengeance of the Golden Circle,” from Red Sonja #8. More often, Thorne made subtle changes in perspective, frequently highlighting Sonja, as he notes, “Important is the closeup. I tried to place one on every page.” Thomas was largely accepting of this artistic license, reflecting, “I didn’t mind if he made some changes… as long as the end story worked and it wasn’t meant to undercut what Clair (or Clair and I) had done. If he went too far with alterations, I could get the work redone… and he never had anything like carte blanche over the scripts, certainly. Occasionally, I seem to recall, he wanted to go in a somewhat different direction than Clair and I, and I had to say no. But I trusted him to do a good job within his lights.”

4) Prelims that were not used or bear no resemblance to the finished art. This is the least common category. In one case—page 2 of Red Sonja #4—Thorne drew two different prelims for the same page. In other cases, select panels were simply omitted from the final version of a page. The Red Sonja prelims offer fascinating insight into Thorne’s creative process. Many of the prelims are quite detailed and offer a glimpse at an unseen Sonja. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I believe that the prelim drawings were sometimes superior to the finished versions. For example, the prelim for page 15 of Red Sonja #5 is simpler in design with fewer panels than the published page. Issue #11 of Red Sonja would be Thorne’s last, as he notes, “The reason I left Sonja after some 18 issues is that the Marvel editors wanted me to surrender my inking, lettering, and coloring to make the series look like all the others in the lineup.” So much for creativity. While the prelims are rarely seen, the classic Red Sonja comics by Thorne have been collected in a variety of formats, including a three-volume Artist Edition reproducing the original artwork in actual size. Dynamite Entertainment, which obtained the publication rights in 2005, recently celebrated Red Sonja’s 45th anniversary, and the character continues to appear in comics today. [Editor’s note: For more on the relationship between Frank Thorne and Red Sonja, read author Dewey Cassell’s article “(Red) Sonja Con” in BACK ISSUE #43, available in digital format.] Thorne was certainly not the only artist to draw prelims, nor the only one to exert such influence over their work. In fact, it ultimately spawned a new era of creator-owned comic properties by pioneers like Howard Chaykin and Mike Grell. Thorne’s desire for creative control took him away from mainstream comics and into other formats, including success with new female characters like Lann, Moonshine McJugs, and Danger Rangerette, appearing in Heavy Metal, Playboy, National Lampoon, and other adult-oriented publications. Still, nothing can quite compare to Thorne’s rendition of the “she-devil with a sword.” Many thanks to Roy Thomas and Frank Thorne for their invaluable insight. DEWEY CASSELL is the Eisner Award-nominated author of over 40 articles and four books, including Mike Grell: Life is Drawing Without An Eraser.

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by E d

Lute

In 1975, rival comic-book publishers DC Comics and Marvel Comics did something unexpected: The Big Two got together to produce their first intercompany (or cross-company) comic book. However, the comic they published didn’t feature any of their iconic superheroes. It was instead the treasurysized adaptation of MGM’s Marvelous Wizard of Oz. Both companies had been working on their own adaptions of the story, with Marvel using L. Frank Baum’s first Wizard of Oz novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, as the basis for their comic, and DC basing their version on the classic 1939 film. Then, Marvel publisher and editor Stan Lee and DC publisher Carmine Infantino got together and decided the two companies should collaborate on an adaption. The comic, written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by John Buscema, was a well-regarded adaption of the movie… but this initial Marvel/DC collaboration is what has made this edition a lasting comic-book legacy. Soon, the two companies were collaborating again, using some of the most popular and beloved comics of the Bronze Age. One year later, their most popular characters faced off in Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man (Jan. 1976). This “Battle of the Century” was written by Gerry Conway, penciled by Ross Andru, and inked by Dick Giordano, with some uncredited assistance from pencilers Neal Adams and John Romita, Sr. and inkers Terry Austin and Bob Wiacek [as revealed way back in BACK ISSUE #13—ed.]. While this was the first superhero intercompany crossover of the Bronze Age, it wasn’t the first intercompany crossover featuring superheroes. That distinction goes to All-American Publications’ All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940), which featured All-American Comics’ Hawkman, the dave sim Flash, the Atom, and Green Lantern alongside National Allied Publications’ the Sandman, Hour-Man (later Hourman), Doctor Fate, and the Spectre, teaming up for the first appearance of the Justice Society of America. These two companies would later merge to become DC Comics. During the early 1980s, there were several other outstanding cross-company crossovers, such as a repeat meeting between DC’s big blue boy scout and Marvel’s web-headed superhero in Marvel Treasury Edition #28’s Superman and Spider-Man (July 1981), a Batman and Hulk crossover in DC Special Series #27 (Fall 1981), and Marvel’s

Hey, Bub! Dave Sim’s “Wolveroach” lampoon in the pages of his long-running opus Cerebus the Aardvark led to a brainstorming session about a Cerebus/X-Men crossover that went south. Original art scan of Sim’s autographed 2005 recreation of his cover for Cerebus #55 (Oct. 1983), courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). Cerebus © Dave Sim.

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Meet Scribbly A page of random notes by Dave Sim regarding the proposed X-Men/ Cerebus crossover. Scan courtesy of Ed Lute. © Dave Sim.

merry mutants and DC’s teen superheroes in The Uncanny that they wouldn’t normally interact with). With the X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1 (Jan. 1982). These popularity of Mirage Studios’ Teenage Mutant Ninja crossovers were a comic-book fan’s dream. Not only did Turtles in the 1980s, the Heroes in a Half-Shell made they feature some of the biggest characters in superhero crossover appearances, including one with Aardvarkcomics, but they were written and illustrated by some of Vanaheim’s Cerebus the Aardvark in Teenage Mutant the top talent in the field at the time including Jim Shooter, Ninja Turtles #8 (July 1986). As the 1990s dawned, these Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, Chris Claremont, José Luis crossovers remained popular with fans. It was during this García-López, John Buscema, Walt Simonson, Terry Austin, period when one of the major publishers released another Klaus Janson, and Bob Layton. [Editor’s note: For the intercompany crossover—although it wouldn’t be with full details behind these epics, see BACK ISSUE #61.] the other major publisher. In 1991, DC Comics and While a crossover between DC’s Justice League Fleetway teamed to co-publish Batman/Judge Dredd: of America and Marvel’s Avengers and a sequel Judgment on Gotham. This comic was the first to the X-Men/Titans crossover were discussed, intercompany crossover between one of the they never saw print, although the George Big Two and an independent publisher. It almost wasn’t the first, though… in Pérez-penciled JLA/Avengers book was fact, if fate had not intervened, it might well underway before being shelved have been preceded by two others: due to creative disagreements between the two houses [see BI #1’s inaugural Mike Grell’s proposed Batman/Jon Sable “Greatest Stories Never Told” for the crossover and Chris Claremont and Dave scoop—and for unpublished Pérez Sim’s Uncanny X-Men/Cerebus team-up. art!—ed.]. Yet the next crossover between Both of these ideas featured popular DC Comics and Marvel Comics wouldn’t characters and interesting concepts, so why take place until over a decade later, didn’t they happen? Let’s find out! when Batman and the Punisher butted heads in 1994. UNCANNY X-MEN/CEREBUS chris claremont Independent publishers were willing THE AARDVARK © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. to pick up on the idea of intercompany Uncanny X-Men was one of Marvel crossovers (and new intercompany crossovers are still Comics’ biggest-selling titles during the 1980s. Prior to being published and remain popular because they feature 1975, though, X-Men had been a bimonthly reprint title fan-favorite characters interacting with other characters that faced cancellation. Fortunately, 1975’s Giant-Size X-Men #1 by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum set the world on fire, but it was writer Chris Claremont, who started writing the regular X-Men series with issue #94 (Aug. 1975), that helped guide the X-Men from its bimonthly status to a monthly one and into one of the biggest comic-book series from the Bronze and Copper Ages. Along with Claremont, a succession of talented artists such as Cockrum, John Byrne, John Romita, Jr., and Paul Smith, and many others, wove together some of the most celebrated Marvel comics. Writer/Artist Dave Sim first brought Cerebus the Aardvark to readers in 1977 in a self-published black-andwhite comic book [see BACK ISSUE #75—ed.]. Cerebus the Aardvark #1 (Dec. 1977) was published by AardvarkVanaheim. The series was initially a parody of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian series but became a long-running title featuring social commentary. In a 2016 interview on Jamiecoville.com, Sim recounted, “The decision to do Cerebus was based on my insight that what had made Howard the Duck successful was the ‘funny animal in the world of humans’ motif, whereas everyone doing work for [the indie anthology] Quack! (my intended market) was doing all funny-animal strips. Since Howard had modern-day sown up, that, to me, left the possibility of a science-fiction ‘funny animal in the world of humans’ or a sword ’n’ sorcery ‘funny animal in the world of humans.’ Science fiction required drawing a lot of straight edges and learning how to use French curves properly, so that left only one possibility. The fact that it was successful was a very hard lesson in what happens when you do something, because you think it’s commercially viable rather than being what you want to do. I was stuck going through the checklist of sword ’n’ sorcery clichés and was quickly running out of them.” While one comic featured a band of outcast mutant superheroes, the other had a sentient aardvark. How did a crossover between these two disparate comic-book properties come to be? On Brian Michael Bendis’ message board, Sim recalled the genesis of this project: “Chris Claremont and I both got invited to a store signing in Prince George, British Columbia, so we

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decided we would plot the whole book on the way out on the plane. This really involved me taking dictation from Chris to make sure all of his stuff was covered—I could figure out where the Cerebus stuff would fit in on my own and bounce it off him later. It’s really in such shorthand notes from that, it’s virtually incoherent. “All that exists of the Cerebus/X-Men crossover is notes in one of my notebooks at the time.” Sim’s notes provide a glimpse into how the writing workload would have been divided up between the two creators: “Chris does an outline from our notes. Chris does X-Men dialogue. I do the Cerebus dialogue.” So, who would have done the artwork? From Sim’s notes, it would’ve been a jam project: “Terry Austin for inker – Key pencilers Brent Anderson, Paul Smith, John Romita, Jr., Me. I take the penciled and lettered pages, pencil and ink the Cerebus characters and a few X-Men just for fun, then send it on to be finished up.” According to Sim’s notes, the crossover would have been “32 pages” with “28 pages of story and art.” Xavier would regard Cerebus as “the essence of mutation itself.” Magneto, Sebastian Shaw, and the Hellfire Club were going to appear alongside Cerebus and the X-Men. With such an interesting premise, why didn’t this crossover take place? From the same message board post Sim recalled, “It became obvious talking to [then-Marvel Comics editor-in-chief] Jim Shooter that this was a project Marvel was doing to keep Chris happy. Whatever Chris wants Chris gets, but they—as a corporation—really didn’t think the book would sell worth sh*t. I could see their corporate point, but it certainly deflated any real interest I had in doing the book. It had ‘file in a drawer marked ‘H-freeze over’ written all over it.” Sim’s notes and an illustration that Sim and artist Paul Smith completed for the proposed crossover are all that remain, apparently all that comic fans are going to get of this fascinating crossover. Sim continued, “I suggested it to Chris at Maplecon in Ottawa in front of a bunch of people. As anyone in the business can tell you, there are a lot of projects that sound really good over a few drinks after the Saturday of a con that are in the ‘WHAT was I THINKING?’ category when you get home and remember how much of your own work you have to do.”

BATMAN/JON SABLE

Batman has been a comic-book mainstay since the late 1930s. Even many non-comics fans know the character, and some may even be able to recount his origin due to his various appearances in other media including a campy 1960s television series, an award-winning animated series, and several popular movies. Writer/artist Mike Grell’s Jon Sable made his debut in First Comics’ Jon Sable, Freelance #1 (June 1983). How does he compare to the Darknight Detective? Grell tells BACK ISSUE, “Jon Sable is the opposite of Batman. Batman fights for the greater good while Sable has no secret identity and doesn’t fight for the greater good. His only motive is money. He is actually the anti-superhero. I created him to be a real guy in a real world. He’s a violent mercenary that wants to get paid for his services. He is also a children’s book author. That’s his mask; his alter ego. Not the mercenary part.” These two characters are very different from each other. One fights villainy because of the murder of his parents while maintaining an oath never to kill, and the other kills for profit. So how did this proposal come about? “It was quite simple,” Grell reveals. “I first came up with the idea in ’84 or ’85. I thought it would be hilarious to have these two characters play off of each other.” The proposed plot of the story had the two characters teaming up to find out… if Bruce Wayne is Batman. “The story takes place in New York City, where Jon Sable operated from,” Grell reveals. “It would have started with a knock on Jon Sable’s door. He answered it and there was a well-dressed man there. The man tells Sable that he was attacked but has no memory of who he is. Sable checks the man’s wallet and tells

When Worlds Collide! (top) Paul Smith’s conceptual art for the Cerebus/X-Men crossover. (bottom) Jon Sable, Freelance (see BACK ISSUE #10) was a popular series for First Comics and spawned a shortlived live-action TV series. Cerebus © Dave Sim. X-Men TM & © Marvel. Sable © Mike Grell.

mike grell Dr. Dan Yahnian/Mike Grell.

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him his name is Bruce Wayne and he lives in Gotham City. The man tells Sable that’s all well and good, but what about this? The man then opens his shirt and shows Sable a Batman suit underneath. Sable tells Wayne maybe you were going to a comic-con or costume party. Wayne says, ‘Maybe, but what if I’m really Batman?’” Grell wanted the story to be a fun adventure story. He tells BACK ISSUE, “The story was going to be an action/adventure/comedy with them conducting a mutual investigation. Wayne was trying to prove he was Batman and Sable was trying to prove otherwise. Sable thought that Bruce Wayne just couldn’t remember why he was wearing the costume because he had suffered a traumatic brain injury. Sable keeps mentioning that someone would have to be nuts to dress up like a bat and fight crime as Batman. At one point they get into Sable’s car, which was a ’53 Studebaker. That’s the car I’ve always wanted. I’ve always lived vicariously through my work. Bruce Wayne continuously referred to Sable’s car as the ‘Sablemobile’ during their adventure together. It was going to be a very fun crossover to do.” First Comics co-founder Mike Gold was involved in plotting the crossover with Grell and would have served as its editor. Gold tells BI, “That Sable/Batman crossover would have been a hoot. Mike and I plotted some of that out. It would have been great fun to happen. I’ve been pining for that one for about a third of a century!” The end of the story would have revealed that there was a villain behind the whole plot. Batman has one of the best rogues’ galleries in all of comics. So, who did Grell pick as the crossover’s antagonist? “I was undecided who the major villain was going to be at the time,” Grell admits. “I was leaning towards the Joker being behind everything.” Beginning in the 1990s and beyond, intercompany crossovers became common between major and mike gold independent publishers. However, during the mid- to late 1980s they weren’t very common. In fact, if this crossover had seen publication when planned, it would have been the first one. “Yes, this would have been the first intercompany crossover between a major publisher and an independent one,” states Grell. “This would have been an historic pairing. Unfortunately, sometimes higher-ups don’t see the historic significance. I feel I’ve pulled editors and publishers into the 20th Century. I think I got them up to about 1897,” Grell laughs. While best known during this time as the creator behind Jon Sable, Freelance, and earlier, for his fan-favorite DC work (Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, Green Lantern/Green Arrow, and The Warlord), Grell was no stranger in Gotham City. He had penciled Detective Comics #455 (Jan. 1976) and Batman #287–290 (May–Aug. 1977). With a great concept for the crossover and a popular creator who had experience working on both characters, why didn’t the crossover see print? Grell recalls, “In short, because of the lawyers. Both publishers wanted to do it. It was during negotiations that the idea broke down. It just wasn’t going to be fun anymore. “Independent comics and comic shops were new at the time, so DC had the luxury of putting a book on the schedule any time it wanted. First [Comics] didn’t have that luxury,” Grell explains. “First wanted it done quickly. The time frame was about 60 days. DC wanted a 30-day approval at every stage of the process. So if pencils took two weeks you add 30 days to that, and then another two weeks for inks plus the 30 days for approvals, and then two weeks for colors plus the 30 days, you were looking at more like six months than 60 days to get the book out. Our counterproposal was ten days for approvals at each stage, and if we hadn’t heard back from them we would assume it was approved. DC came back with everything was disapproved until we heard back from them. So you can see why it just wasn’t fun anymore.” Unfortunately, it seems that the chances of this crossover ever taking place are slim to none. Grell states, “This will likely never be revisited. Only if Warner Bros. picked up Jon Sable as a movie would the crossover be possible. Or if Jim Lee would phone me today and say, ‘Let’s do this.’ I’d jump on it in a minute.”

Night Stalkers Decades later, we’re still jonesing for that planned Batman/Jon Sable crossover! Shown here are Iron Mike’s original cover art for Jon Sable, Freelance #41 and the Batman pinup from Batman #400. Both, courtesy of Heritage. Jon Sable © Mike Grell. Batman TM & © DC Comics.

It is unfortunate that these outstanding proposals never happened, and probably never will. They join the cavalcade of cancelled comic proposals that have never seen print. The author would like to thank Mike Grell and Mike Gold for their invaluable assistance with this article. Thanks also go out to Chris Claremont, who replied to a query for this article but was unable to assist with it. ED LUTE loves intercompany crossovers and wished he lived in an alternate universe in which these two crossovers actually saw print.

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by E

d Lute

In the early 1980s, then-Marvel Comics editor Larry Hama FURY FORCE presented then-Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter While Hama is now known primarily for writing comics, with a proposal for a new series set within the Marvel his first work for Marvel was as an artist. Iron Fist debuted Universe. Hama’s proposal dealt with a Special Forces in Marvel Premiere #15 (May 1974), illustrated by co-creator team with each member having a codename and a Gil Kane. Hama penciled the second appearance of specialty. The team would operate from a headIron Fist, in Marvel Premiere #16 (July 1974). He also quarters under the motor pool of a military base. penciled Iron Fist’s next two appearances in The proposed series, called Fury Force, Marvel Premiere #17 and 18. would feature Nick Fury, Jr. as the leader When asked about how he came to work of the Fury Force team… but the series for Marvel in the first place, Hama tells was never to see print. However, with so BACK ISSUE, “This would take a hundred many excellent ideas in the pitch, pages. Here’s the condensed version: some of the concepts from the proposal Before coming to Marvel, I worked would be repurposed in another comicfor DC. [Hama penciled the Steve book series—G.I. Joe: A Real American Skeates-written story “Losing His Head” from DC’s Secrets of the Sinister House Hero. Based on Hasbro’s toy line, G.I. Joe would be one of the most popular comic#10, Mar. 1973, with inks by Neal Adams.] book series ever. Hama would even go Shortly after that, I came over to Marvel on to write the new series. and did Iron Fist in Marvel Premiere.” So, why didn’t Fury Force materialize? Hama eventually became an editor larry hama Read on as BACK ISSUE takes a look at at Marvel. “Marvel offered me an editor Hama’s proposal for Fury Force, why it Alex Lozupone. position. [First,] I was an editor at DC didn’t see print, how some of the elements from the until the [DC] Implosion. I had edited Mister Miracle, proposal made it into G.I. Joe, and how Hama remained Super Friends, and a few others for them.” a part of the toy-based comic-book series, helping it to It was after his return to Marvel that he originally came become a fan-favorite bestseller. up with the concept of Fury Force. Hama tells BI, “It was

A Prototypical American Hero Larry Hama’s Fury Force proposal for Marvel had concepts that were soon repurposed for the publisher’s licensed G.I. Joe series. This sketch, which originally was published in BACK ISSUE #16, is courtesy of Tim Finn. Art © Larry Hama. Fury Force © Marvel.

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“Introducing the Pulse-Pounding Penciling of Larry Hama!” That’s what the credits of Marvel Premiere #16 (July 1974), starring Iron Fist, proclaimed, and we agree, as this dynamic page from that issue shows! Inks by Dick Giordano. Original art scan courtesy of Heritage (www.ha.com). TM & © Marvel.

1980 or 1981? I can’t remember exactly. I was editor of Crazy at the time.” Crazy was Marvel Comics’ entry into the satire and humor magazine realm popularized by MAD magazine. It ran for ten years, from 1973 until 1983. When asked how he originally came up with the concept of Fury Force, Hama states, “Really? Another hundred pages! It was a secret elite military team like Delta Force that has its HQ under the Chaplain’s Assistants motor pool in Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island. I did all the concept art, designed the characters, and made a diagram of the Pit. I’ve forgotten the rest.” With a series named Fury Force set in the Marvel Universe, you would think it would feature super-spy Nick Fury. However, this wasn’t going to be the case. The Fury Force team was going to be led by Sgt. Nick Fury, Jr. At the time of Hama’s proposal, the senior Nick Fury wasn’t currently starring in a comic-book series and would have been available for Fury Force. Hama no longer recalls the exact reason why the famous Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was replaced with his son in the lead. When asked if Fury, Sr. would have made cameo appearances, Hama says, “I didn’t think about having him in the series. I try not to get too far ahead of myself when I’m working on something. I thought about the basic concept, but didn’t get much further than that at the time.” Hama also created new characters to fill out the rest of the roster as well. The team would feature Shadow, Spook, Jelly, and Louie Louie. “I based all of the characters

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on people I knew,” he tells BACK ISSUE. “Some of them were based on my Army buddies; some on other people I knew. And before you ask—no, I’m not going to tell you who specifically they were based on.” One of the most engaging aspects of the proposal was that the team would have operated in the regular Marvel Universe, interacting with the Marvel superheroes and their supporting casts. Hama also had in mind some worthy adversaries for Fury Force, “generic terrorists or some vaguely fascist paramilitary organization like Hydra.” Hydra, with its unending supply of masked followers and its global reach, would have made an interesting adversary for the Marvel Universe-based paramilitary team. Despite his background in illustrating comics and having drawn the concept art for the proposal, Hama

Go, Fury! Some of Larry Hama’s developmental art for Fury Force, and his altered concepts’ eventual home: G.I. Joe #1 (June 1982, cover by Herb Trimpe and Bob McLeod). Fury Force scans courtesy of Ed Lute. Art © Larry Hama. Fury Force © Marvel. G.I. Joe © Hasbro.

A Hit for Marvel (inset) Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter at the 1982 San Diego Comic-Con. Photo by and courtesy of Alan Light. That same year, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero went on to be a smash for Marvel, including in mail subscriptions. Document © Marvel.

had no intention in drawing Fury Force. He tells BI, “I wanted to write the series. I didn’t want to pencil it.” After creating the proposal and completing the concept art, Hama pitched it to Marvel. The idea of an elite Special Forces team operating from a hidden base in the Marvel Universe sounds like an amazing idea. So Marvel jumped on it right away, right? “I pitched it to Jim Shooter, and he rejected it,” Hama recalls. According to Shooter on his blog, “Editor Larry Hama had been working on a reactivation of Nick Fury. He had a lot of ideas. Fury as the head of a top secret, elite strike force, a headquarters in sub-basements below the Chaplain’s quarters, I think. Anyway, he had a lot of stuff going. At some point, he’d told me what he was working on. But I don’t think it was ready to go yet, and we hadn’t yet committed to it—that is, I hadn’t circulated a new project memo and scheduled the thing.” So Hama’s outstanding proposal was rejected and never turned into a series. However, this wasn’t the end of Fury Force.

AMERICA’S MOVEABLE FIGHTING MAN

Marvel Comics feature some of the most recognized characters in pop culture. The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Iron Man, and many others grace the pages of their comic books, toy aisles, and movie theatres. These Marvel characters and many others have become pop culture icons known around the world. With many popular characters in their pantheon, you would think they wouldn’t need to produce comics based on licensed properties. However, Marvel Comics has also produced some of the most popular and well-received comic books based on licensed toy properties, including Micronauts and ROM: Spaceknight. Both of these series took the basic concept of the toy lines and developed them into a tapestry of great storytelling and fantastic artwork that went well beyond the concept of the toys. Some of these comic books are better remembered than the toys themselves. In the early 1980s, Marvel was always looking for more licensed properties to add to its comic-book line. One day, Jim Shooter went to a meeting with Hasbro executives regarding a new toy line they were developing based on an inactive action-figure brand. Hasbro’s original G.I. Joe toy line, featuring “America’s Moveable Fighting Man,” first appeared in 1964. These articulated action figures were 12 inches in size and featured various branches of the United States military including the Army. The original line was rechristened G.I. Joe Adventure Team in 1969 before being discontinued in the late 1970s. During the early 1980s, Hasbro made plans to relaunch the toy line in a 3 ¾-inch size that was popularized by Kenner’s Star Wars action figures. On Shooter’s blog he recalled, “A few days after his fateful meeting with [Hasbro Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steven] Hassenfeld, [Marvel Comics Group President James] Galton asked me to accompany him to a meeting with Hasbro. It was downtown somewhere. Not at Hasbro’s toy district office. Way downtown. I don’t remember exactly. Their lawyers’ offices? I don’t know. Anyway, there were a few people from Hasbro present, boys’ toys execs. [Hasbro Marketing Vice President] Bob Prupis was there I think. Could be wrong. I don’t think anyone from Griffin-Bacal was there. Could be wrong. They were all eager to meet the editor-in-chief that Galton had apparently highly touted.” Griffin-Bacal was an advertising firm formed by Tom Griffin and Joe Bacal in 1978. Hasbro was one of the advertising firm’s clients. “They showed me what they had,” Shooter continued. “A logo: ‘G.I. JOE, a Real American Hero.’ That was about it. They didn’t want to revive the big doll. Yes, I know it was verboten to use the word ‘doll.’ and I didn’t in front of them. They were thinking about three-andthree-quarters-inch figures, like the Star Wars figures, but they hadn’t even settled on that yet. And they wanted a line of figures, not just

one. Someone said, ‘So, besides G.I. JOE, do we have G.I. George, G.I. Fred…?’ I said how about if ‘G.I. JOE’ is the code name for the unit? Call in ‘G.I. JOE?’ They liked that. I also said it should be an anti-terrorist team. Not a ‘war’ toy. That was obvious to everyone, I guess. They were sold. They wanted us to proceed and develop a concept. Everybody shook hands and Galton and I took a cab back uptown. Later, Marvel’s licensing and business affairs people worked out the deal.” You are probably wondering why an article about Hama’s Fury Force concept is discussing Hasbro’s G.I. Joe line. Well, stand by, the connection is coming soon.

G.I. FURY

Shooter realized he already had the perfect idea for Hasbro concerning their rebooted G.I. Joe series in Larry Hama’s Fury Force proposal. On Shooter’s blog he wrote, “Back at Marvel, I went straight to Larry’s office. He, with his military background, was the obvious choice to do the heavy lifting. I told him what happened. He thought, and I agreed, that much of what he’d already cooked up for Nick Fury could be adapted to the project.” So, was Fury Force simply rebranded as G.I. Joe? “I get asked this all the time and people always get it wrong,” Hama states. “It wasn’t changed into G.I. Joe. I just used elements of it in the new project.” In an interview on QKTheatre.com, Hama discussed the origins of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero: “There were a lot of holdovers from the ‘Fury Force’ concept that I had been developing for Marvel at the time. The whole idea of a secret base under a motor pool, for instance. I even had a ‘Snake-Eyes’ type character who didn’t speak, had his face covered with a cowl and was a mysterious assassin type [Fury Force’s Spook]. He carried a pump shotgun and a commando knife in his boot and was actually inspired by the Pahoo-Ka-Ta-Wah (Wolf Who Stands in Water) character in the old Yancy Derringer TV show.” Yancy Derringer was a 1958–1959 Western TV series starring Jock Mahoney that ran for one season of 34 episodes on CBS. Pahoo-Ka-Ta-Wah was portrayed by the actor Jay X. Brands (also known as X Brands); his character was silent, just like G.I. Joe’s Snake-Eyes.

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Reviewing Hama’s original concept art provides a glimpse into which Fury Force characters became which G.I. Joe characters. Nick Fury, Jr. was the precursor for Hawk. Hama’s Israeli girl named Lila Gaul, codenamed Shadow, became the basis for Scarlett (albeit with a different nationality). The character of Stalker was based on Fury Force’s Jelly. Louie Louie wouldn’t be featured in the first wave of the G.I. Joe toy line, but later became the character Tunnel Rat.

Evolution Larry Hama’s appreciation of (top left) actor X Brand’s role in the TV Western Yancy Derringer imprinted (bottom left) his Fury Force silent warrior Spook, who ultimately begat (middle) G.I. Joe breakout character Snake-Eyes. Sketch courtesy of Heritage. (right) Marcus Johnson—Nick Fury, Jr.—on the cover of Battle Scars #6 (June 2012). Cover by Carlo Pagulayan and Jason Paz. Yancy Derringer © CBS. Fury Force © Marvel. Snake-Eyes © Hasbro. Battle Scars © Marvel.

MARVEL’S G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO

Marvel’s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #1 (June 1982) was a hit, and was even advertised on television, making it the first comic book to do so. With Hama’s Fury Force concepts being used for the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, you would think he would have been the first person asked to write the series. However, Hama tells BACK ISSUE, “I got the job writing the series because no one else wanted it. I was the literally the last person they asked. I was an editor at the time trying to get some writing work. It was hard getting writing work. Comics based on licensed properties like toys were looked down upon, so no one else wanted it. It also tended to pay less. The licensing fee was taken off the top. I would’ve taken just about any writing job they offered.” With a few exceptions Hama would write most of the series. The final Marvel Comics issue was #155 (Dec. 1994). Hama would also write many of the spin-offs, including G.I. Joe: Special Missions and G.I. Joe: Order of Battle. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero was one of Marvel Comics’ bestselling titles during the 1980s. According to a May 8th, 1985 Marvel memo regarding subscription titles, G.I. Joe was listed as the number-one subscription title with 43,173. The next bestselling subscription was The Amazing Spider-Man with 28,107 subscriptions. [Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #16 for our original G.I. Joe coverage.] While most of Hama’s ideas for Fury Force were repurposed for G.I. Joe, one aspect was used (albeit not as Hama envisioned) in the regular Marvel Universe. Nick Fury, Jr., a black character, was added to the Marvel Universe in Battle Scars #1 (Jan. 2012). He was introduced as Marcus Johnson in the issue, but his true identity was soon revealed. Fury, Jr. is not to be confused with the Samuel L. Jackson-esque Nick Fury of the Ultimate Universe—and Marvel Studios film franchise. Marvel Comics created him

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to be able to use an African-American Nick Fury in the regular Marvel Universe so that movie audiences wouldn’t be confused by seeing a black Fury on screen but an older white Fury in comics. Although this character doesn’t have any connection to Fury Force beyond the name, it shows that Hama’s ideas still resonate with creators. Hama’s Fury Force concepts weren’t only used for the comic-book series. They were incorporated into the toy line, animated series, and eventually, movies. What would the G.I. Joe toy line and animated series have looked like if it didn’t feature Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, and the multitude of others created by Hama for Fury Force and beyond? Hama helped to create the backgrounds of the characters and much of the mythology of the Joes that is still beloved by fans today. Would Hama like to revisit the Fury Force concept someday? “No! I’m done with Fury Force,” he emphatically tells BACK ISSUE. “I was done with it a long time ago.” Larry Hama didn’t originally intend to write a comic-book series based on a toy line but he did, and in doing so he used some of his Fury Force concepts to write one of the most engaging, longest-lasting comic-book series based on an action-figure line. His stories and characterizations elevated the source material to a new height previously unseen for tie-in comics. The toy line wouldn’t have been as widely loved if it hadn’t been for the background information created by Hama, appearing in file cards on the action figures, to make the characters more realistic than other characters in the toy aisle. While Fury Force never became the comic book Hama intended, the end result was a comic-book series, toy line, animated series, and more that wouldn’t have been the same without him. Special thanks go out to Larry Hama for his recollections regarding Fury Force and for writing some of the most memorable comics of the Bronze Age. Thanks also go out to Joe Norton, who has proofread my articles from the beginning and offered suggestions that have made them better.

by B r i a n

Augustyn

It’s hard to believe that after 30-some years in the comics business that there was a time in the dim mists of memory when I was merely a determined wannabe. Growing up in Chicago, a big city to be sure, the comicbook business seemed a million miles out of reach; comics professionals lived near or in New York City, where the then few publishers were located. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. But the 1980s is where the ice began to crack to allow dreamers from outside of the East Coast to glimpse their dreams coming true. At the end of the ’70s, Jack Kirby moved from Long Island way across the country to settle in Pasadena, California—this while at the top of mike parobeck his form and in demand; and thus, requiring cross-country shipping. Thank goodness for DHL, UPS, and FedEx. Suddenly, creators could live anywhere—even Europe or South America—and (hopefully) meet deadlines. In the mid-’80s, thanks to self-publishing innovators, Dave Sim (Cerebus) and Wendy and Richard Pini (ElfQuest), the black-andwhite comics era began. After some early attempts to enter the business— contributing to fanzines, pitching proposals to publishers (especially First Comics in Chicago, etc.)—I didn’t gain much ground, but did garner a wider range of contacts. Still Chicago-bound, I focused my efforts on building a local creative community. First stroke of luck was meeting Paul Fricke and Scott Beaderstadt, as they were in the early stages of creating/developing what would become TrolLords, an early entry in the black-and-white independent comics boom—briskly on the heels of a little title known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Thankfully, TrolLords was a hit and it launched us closer to legit comics success. In 1986 or so, I organized a pair of benefit comics for Literacy Volunteers of America, which went on to raise quite an impressive return for the worthy charity (sadly, I have no memory of how impressive). Several generous creators from the B&W boom volunteered to lend their work and their characters to the cause. For one anthology slot, I turned to a young artist we had just met. A very talented 22-year-old guy, who loved and wanted to work in comics, but was laboring unhappily in the advertising biz. I had been blown away by the guy’s samples—just incredible! In other words, enough about me, let’s talk about that brilliant young artist: Mike Parobeck. Mike was born somewhere in Ohio, went on to earn an art degree, and moved to Chicago to pursue a career in the soul-destroying business of advertising to specialize in the selling of canned tuna and sports cars—and who knows what-all. Mike was perhaps the sweetest and warmest person I ever knew—and easily the most naturally talented artist I ever knew (and I have known many). Mike was a tall, thin redhead with a million freckles and the brightest smile I have ever known.

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Public Domain Heroes (top) The original Target and the Targeteers, as rendered by artist Dick Hamilton for the cover of Target Comics #11 (Dec. 1940). (bottom) Parobeck’s logo design for The Target. Courtesy of the Mike Parobeck Appreciation Society. Target Comics © 1940 Novelty Press. The Target © 2020 Brian Augustyn.

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Somehow, in the matter of most good things, Mike’s breakthrough happened organically, through quality work— which is the way Mike would go on to establish himself; through hard work and constant improvement. Mike turned in his chapter of the benefit comic and blew us away! With the attention the benefit books achieved, Mike arrived on the smaller stage of independent comics with a terrific splash, steadily moving on and decidedly upward. About this time, in early 1987, Mike joined me on an independent comic project designed to bring back some lesser-known Golden Age heroes in an early exercise of what we now know as Public Domain, currently popular with such luminaries as Alex Ross at Dynamite Comics, and others. My life-long pal, Dave Studzinski, a talented amateur artist and writer, approached me with the idea for the comic to create modern takes on some classic comics characters. He suggested I look at the hero known as the Target, due to my fondness for 1941 street-level heroes. The Target was created in 1940 by Dick Briefer for Target Comics, from Novelty Press. The hero was introduced in the tenth issue of the anthology comic coincidentally sharing the hero’s name. The Targeteers, his two sidekicks, were introduced in the 11th issue. Together they would headline Target Comics through its 95th issue. Over the span of the publication history, artists Dave Wood, Jerry Robinson, and George Roussos followed Briefer as artists on the title. Under the mask was Niles Reed, a metallurgist, who created an absolutely impervious, lightweight bulletproof metal. When his brother was wrongly convicted and then killed in a jailbreak, Niles created his masked identity as the bulletproof Target to avenge himself against the gangsters responsible for his brother’s grim fate. Shortly thereafter, Nile’s business friends, Tom Foster and Dave Brown, joined Niles in identical Target outfits as the Targeteers. Each wearing a (vaguely consistent) signature color (Niles in yellow, the others in red or blue), the men were essentially interchangeable crimebusters. I enlisted Mike to join me in creating a Target for the modern day, and we quickly hammered out our approach. I admit that I especially was inspired by Frank Miller’s Daredevil run, and Mike was happily on board. As you can see from the pages following, Mike’s early style is a strange but effective mix of Jaime Hernandez, with a dollop of John Byrne stirred in, but in black and white, Mike’s art is remarkably moody. As the future would soon attest, Mike Parobeck demonstrated himself to be a terrific draftsman, and a fantastic storyteller—a young man ready for comic-book stardom. Mike’s work was stunning, delivering a great superhero/crime comic. Alas, New Golden Age Comics, the comic for which our Target was created, never saw the light of day; money and distribution issues shut things down before it got to press. It was unfortunate, not least because Mike’s art would go unpublished. But not, ultimately, unused. Fortunately, I was soon after brought to DC as an editor, and one of the first things I set out to do was find professional work for Mike Parobeck! So, using the unpublished Target art, I championed Mike’s art to anyone at DC to anyone who’d listen. I received lots of interest and compliments for Mike. The first editor to offer Mike an assignment was Mark Waid, then helming Secret Origins. Mike drew the origin of Invisible Kid of the Legion of Super-Heroes—and, of course, did it wonderfully. Other SO stories followed, then came El Diablo, sort of a modern-day Zorro, set in a Texas border town—where still-current issues of immigration and interracial tensions seethed. Mike was still inspired by Hernandez and Byrne, but his art was clearly evolving and maturing. From El Diablo Mike moved on to The Fly, a rethinking of the classic Simon & Kirby character from Archie

Artistic Maturation (top left) Page 10 of Augustyn and Parobeck’s Target. Note how, years later, Mike’s artistic skills had improved when he drew (bottom) this undated illo of this issue’s cover stars, the Fantastic Four, and (top right) these covers for DC Comics. The Target © 2020 Brian Augustyn. Fantastic Four © Marvel. Batman, Justice Society, El Diablo © DC Comics. The Fly © Archie.

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The Target: “Full Circle” (this page and opposite) Enjoy the unpublished Target story, in its entirety. Courtesy of Paul Fricke and the Mike Parobeck Appreciation Society. The Target © 2020 Brian Augustyn.

Comics. And then on to The Justice Society of America, a modern-day tale of DC’s Golden Age heroes, now senior citizens. I’m proud to say that I was the editor of those projects, but humble enough to say that Mike’s greatest work was still ahead with a different DC editorial office. Through all the work Mike was doing, it was obvious that his art was evolving and expanding in breadth. Also, Mike was honing his style, simplifying to the essential. Most importantly, he was boldly mixing more cartoony elements, which made him the perfect artist for the newly launched Batman animated comic book, The Batman Adventures. Editor Scott Petersen of the Batman editorial office was one of many growing legion of Parobeck fans, and the editor of the TV tie-in comic. In many ways, Mike’s developing art anticipated the graphic noir style of the brilliant Batman Adventures. And as much as Mike had attracted a lot of deserved attention from fans and pros alike, with the Bat-book his star shot to the stratosphere! Forgive me a little personal reflection and some tales told out of school—but Mike Parobeck was forever downplaying his own talent, and seemed perpetually unable to accept a compliment. There was also a melancholy about Mike that I always, wrongly, thought was a product of his shyness and his diminished ego. But it would turn out to be much more complex. It was not merely shyness, but a deeper pain that Mike kept absolutely hidden. That pain is not something appropriate for detailing here, but it is to say that Mike lived with a sadness that interfered always with his happiness. Work made him happy, and Batman Adventures made him as happy as I ever knew him to be. That happiness kept him going for the last few years he sadly had left. In addition to his hidden sadness, Mike struggled with his health, which was also his well-guarded secret, though a few of us did learn about it. In August of 1996, Mike Parobeck passed away at age 29 of complications from Type I Diabetes. Nothing was more startling, more tragic among Mike’s many fans. Even now, 25 years later, it’s difficult to talk about. But Mike and I had had the pleasure of creating a small, neverpublished comic about the obscure Target character, and somehow that forgotten project led to comic-book careers for both of us—and for Mike, gave him the only lasting joy he knew. Maybe that’s my delusion, but I dearly want to believe that he was happy. He deserved it. [Editor’s note: For more about Mike Parobeck, visit the Mike Parobeck Appreciation Page on Facebook and see our earlier tribute to his work, including his Batman Adventures art, in BACK ISSUE #99.] BRIAN AUGUSTYN is a writer and editor with 35 years in the comicbook business. He has worked for DC on staff and as a freelance writer, and also written for Marvel, Wildstorm, Dark Horse, Event, and currently for Archie Comics.

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All characters TM & © their respective owners.

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teve Englehart

I don’t like blowing my own horn. I do it when I have to, but I prefer to let the work speak for itself. Under “when I have to,” I thought I’d made it clear over time that I was the backbone of the Batman movie in 1989. Whenever I’d hear some alternate attribution, I’d step right up and correct it. So BACK ISSUE #113 was like a thunderbolt for me. A whole issue about the movie that barely mentioned my comics story, let alone my movie work, and contained this quote from Sam Hamm: “I don’t think we borrowed much from it.” So here’s a horn, which Michael Eury has generously provided. It’s gonna be loud because I’d like it to be heard. steve englehart And for the record, I stand behind steveenglehart.com. every word of it. But if you want to check, the comic run, Detective Comics #469–476, is available as a digital bootleg at steveenglehart.com, along with the second and unpublished third runs. The movie is all over the internet. Afterward, I hope I never have to do this again. Okay. In 1976, Jenette Kahn brought me to a DC that was rapidly losing ground to Marvel, to write the Justice League “like the Avengers.” DC’s heroes were avatars, not people, and Jenette knew, if she was going to save the company, that she needed to make them people, and she needed some Marvel heat. I was down with all that, but I also wanted to do the Batman on his own, because he’d always been my favorite. She agreed, but the trick there, she said, was that people still thought of Batman as the campy TV show. So I thought about the Batman—the essence of the Batman. And my thinking was as follows: (1) We need to know Bruce Wayne to really appreciate what it means to be the Batman. (2) Bruce is an adult man, and it has always bugged me that adult heroes blush and stammer when a pretty girl comes onto them. So Bruce should be recognizably adult, and that means a sex life. (3) The woman involved should be a strong woman, and a player on the Gotham scene, to be able to hang with Bruce Wayne. (In 1976, the Comics Code still forbade sex lives, so I had to be creative. The Code was the main reason no one else had thought of it before; it was deemed unthinkable.)

“The Definitive Batman” Among writer Steve Englehart’s many accomplishments as a Bat-scribe: adding more depth to Bruce Wayne’s personality and introducing love interest Silver St. Cloud. Signed original Marshall Rogers/Terry Austin art page from Detective Comics #474 (Dec. 1977), courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © DC Comics.

Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 49

In addition, (4) I resurrected the pulpy darkness that reigned during the Batman’s first year. And (5) in that darkness lived a legitimately crazy Joker. Every single one of those was a major change from what had been going on in the strip for the previous 35 years, and certainly the TV show. Because the resulting run was immediately labeled “the definitive Batman,” every single one of those concepts is now so basic that a lot of people seem to think they’ve been around forever. They haven’t. I was a Marvel writer, so I didn’t like writing scripts in advance, but I had to for the Detective run because I was leaving for Europe at a certain date. And I found that it helped control the pacing, to get the exact feel I wanted, so I was very happy with what I turned in on my way out the door. But I was fearful that DC had so little talent that the art would kill it. I was therefore out of the loop when [editor] Julie Schwartz handed the art to Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin, who were the absolute perfect people to hand it to. I honestly said, when a package from DC arrived in Majorca and I first saw their art, “Thank you God!” So everybody loved the Detective run. Some of the stories immediately went into The Greatest Batman Stories and The Greatest Joker Stories. And Michael Uslan, who had produced the Swamp Thing movie, said, “I can see how to do a superhero film for adults.” Soon I heard that he’d started to do just that. Well, fine. I knew nothing about that business. I was writing a novel by then. And then as time passed, there was no further mention of the movie. I went to work for Atari, and then back to comics, to write Green Lantern Corps for DC and three books for Marvel (one of them was Silver Surfer with Marshall). And then… …in 1986, ten years after the Detective run, I got a call from Jenette. It seemed that several Hollywood screenwriters, and director Tim Burton, had tried adapting my stories over the decade, but “none of them could capture what you did.” She offered me $10,000 to serve as script doctor for Batman. Okay, so this is important: that deal broke several Writers Guild of America rules. First, because the money’s not what Guild rules mandate, and second because it was made by a cut-out, instead of the production company itself. I did not find this out until 1997, when I joined the Guild to write for the Nightman TV show, and the rules also include a statute of limitations; in 1997 it was too late to do anything about it. But I knew nothing of Hollywood in 1986. I was psyched to be able to shape a movie version of my story. I was psyched to get $10,000, which was decent money back then. I did ask Jenette if I could take a crack at writing the screenplay, and she said no. Well, that was not a deal breaker; I signed on happily. (Now, in what follows, I have to talk about “they,” because my only point of contact was DC. I have no idea who was making decisions on the film side. I have never met Tim Burton or Sam Hamm or anyone else from the production, except for Mike Uslan. I dealt with Jenette or her office.) The first thing I did was read the existing scripts. The main thing there is, they all based themselves on Batman, the Joker, and Silver St. Cloud. But then they all committed the same mistake: they couldn’t resist sliding into “comic book movie” shtick—making things funny that, if you actually thought about them, were much better serious. Easing the vibe rather than pressing it. I said as much to Jenette, so DC sent me the then-current script to doctor. I don’t remember if Hamm was involved or not; the writers were just names to me then. I was focused on my character. I marked up that script pretty good, so the next request was to plot out the entire Batman film as I would see it—except that in addition to Batman, the Joker, and Silver St. Cloud, it had to include the Penguin and Robin. I said that was too much to stick in one movie, but they insisted, so I wrote that treatment. After reading it, they decided they agreed with me, and I should do another treatment with just Batman, the Joker, and Silver St. Cloud. I did that, culminating in a finale that was drawn from my original but more of a showcase for Keaton and Nicholson. Soon after, they sent me a script that followed my second treatment’s points, with a few embellishments. It seemed to me that a lot of the embellishments were on the beam then, so my mark-ups were much fewer. After that, DC told me that was all they needed from me. Thanks a lot, Steve. It felt like a job well done.

Steve Englehart asks, “Kim Basinger was cast and styled to play one of these characters. Which do you think it was?” TM & © DC Comics/Warner Bros.

Three years passed, and Batman hit the screens. DC sent me a voucher to cover the cost of one ticket, and I found out for the first time that Silver had had her name changed to Vicki Vale, and Boss Thorne had had his name changed to Boss Grissom. There was a lot more shtick than had been in the last script I saw, but still a lot less than had been in superhero movies to that point. There was no mention of me or Marshall or Terry. There was also no request for more Batman comics to compliment Batman. In fact, reissues of the Detective run were out of print, and they stayed out of print for another ten years (till Strange Apparitions, which you’ll have to admit was not titled to make the contents obvious.) Okay, I knew enough by this time to know that DC never likes individual creators to be associated with their characters. If you do a riff on the character, okay, but if you do the actual character, no. So I thought it was sh*tty to treat me like that, but freelancers put up with all sorts of sh*t and move on. I was writing children’s books by then, and later, I was co-creating the Malibu Ultraverse. Batman faded into the past, for me and everyone else, since each of the following Batman movies, which didn’t involve me, was worse than the one before. Then, in 1997, I learned about the non-compliant contract, and suddenly the complete media blackout made a lot more sense. I have no idea if anyone at DC knew what it meant at the beginning, but the guys who handle the contracts and comply with Guild rules on the film side had to know from day one. At some point, they had to tell DC to keep my involvement quiet, and they had to tell them why. So even though Marshall and Terry and I had done the “definitive Batman,” and I had driven the story that is now being credited as the first superhero summer blockbuster, the three of us together weren’t offered any more Batman work between 1977 and 2005. Marshall did the newspaper strip for a while. I did a three-parter with Dusty Abell. I did a sweet little one-shot with Javier Pulido. I also did a two-part Mad Hatter with Trevor von Eeden that was never published (see elsewhere in this issue), and a one-shot Joker that was never published, and a Batman as Hamlet Elseworlds that was never published. That ain’t much Batman for 30 years, and you’ll have to admit, not publishing half the stories is an unusual trait for a publisher. Now, I had plenty of other series to work on during those years, and they can speak for themselves, so the Batman thing to me was

50 • BACK ISSUE • Greatest Stories Never Told Issue

an irritant—but to Marshall, especially, it was much more than that. He loved the Batman as much as I did, but he didn’t have other series to fill his time or his bank account, so he worried more about being locked out of the series he was most identified with. I firmly believe (but obviously cannot prove) that it contributed to his heart attack at the age of 57. But around 2005, when Marshall was still with us, DC was working on a new round of Batman movies and Dan DiDio showed up, taking over Jenette’s old job. He was very ingratiating, and he wanted me and Marshall and Terry to come back and do what he said we were born to do: more Batman. So we did Dark Detective (which we called Dark Detective II), and the crowd went wild… and we weren’t asked to do any more. It took almost a year of resisting fan demand before DC finally, grudgingly, asked us for a third series. I wrote the six scripts, Marshall almost finished the first issue’s pencils, and then he died. Other artists volunteered to finish out his run as a tribute, and DC said no. While Marshall was being eulogized across all media as one of the best Batman artists ever, an editor who can remain nameless told Terry, to the best of Terry’s memory, “There are people up here who hate what you and Steve and Marshall accomplished with Batman, and those people were dancing in the hallways when Marshall died because that means that version of Batman can be walled off forever.” You’ll have to admit, not publishing is an unusual trait for a publisher.

TM & © DC Comics/Warner Bros.

Then I saw The Dark Knight. In Dark Detective II, Bruce and Silver are dancing at a masked ball when the Joker strolls in. Same thing happened in The Dark Knight. Here’s that dance (below), first in the comic and then in the film, using Marshall’s exact layout.

TM & © DC Comics/Warner Bros.

In Dark Detective II, I created a handsome, blond, upright politician who had become the significant other to the Batman’s former girlfriend, and Marshall designed his look. Here’s Marshall’s guy (below left), and then Dark Knight’s exact copy. In Dark Detective II, that handsome, blond, upright politician on the left—Evan Gregory—was a brave guy who fought crime in Gotham City because it was the right thing to do. He thrust himself into a fight with the Joker to save the woman he loved, and paid a horrible price for it as his left arm and leg were sliced off in the Joker’s house.

In the next segment, Dark Detective III, Evan was extremely depressed over losing both his left side and his woman. Then Two-Face came to him and had a heart-to-heart, in which Two-Face convinced him that life is meaningless, that the woman in his life is beyond his reach, and that the handsome, blond, upright politician should make a 180 degree turn to the dark side. Which he did. In Dark Detective III, it’s Two-Face talking to a guy who’s also been heavily damaged on the left side, another “golden boy” politician, so it makes sense that Two-Face can convince Evan Gregory to join him. They share a bond. In The Dark Knight, it’s the Joker talking to Harvey Dent (the guy on the right there). Those two have nothing in common, and Dent has hated the Joker the entire movie. Plus, who takes career advice from the Joker? Especially Heath Ledger’s Joker? It was a storyline they liked, in search of a reason to be in their movie. And so there it was. Once again, DC was making movies out of Marshall’s, Terry’s, and my work without movie money or movie credit. And they could certainly say, “Hey, we own it all, so we can do whatever we want with it.” They certainly did say that to Siegel and Shuster, and to Bill Finger, for as long as they could. Another decade went by, and then last year, DC emailed me about doing a story for Detective #1000 with Neal Adams. You have to understand that Neal is my ultimate idol. He gave me my first break in comics (as an artist), and he was a great friend while doing it. I had never written a story for him, and this was a character I still love. His Batman and my Batman—it would be really fun, I thought. But when I sat down to write the story and climbed back inside the Batman’s head, all of the above came flooding through. I had to call Neal and then the company to say no, I could not bring myself to write any more Batman for DC. By the time Batman came out, 13 years had passed since my run. Some people thought the film was based on Frank Miller’s Dark Knight, because it was hot then and there’s a hat tip to it in there. But Frank’s story is about an old Batman, not a young Michael Keaton. The official line is that Batman was based on a bunch of runs, including mine, Marshall’s, and Terry’s. There are certainly hat tips in other directions, but all anyone has to do is read the comics and then watch the movie. And, of course, they needed me, and only me, to get the movie made. So, to sum it all up, I created the adult Batman (which Marshall and Terry turned into the comic), and in so doing, I created the blockbuster superhero movie (which the film guys turned into the film). I kept Batman as close to what had inspired everyone as I could while operating through a conduit, and the movie does focus on a Bruce Wayne with a shadowed inner life, a strong sexy woman who is Silver St. Cloud except in name, a crime boss who is Boss Thorne except in name, and a truly insane Joker, all in a pulp-dark milieu. Traditional “comic book movie” stuff padded it out, but there it is. And once it was released, everything about my under-the-table centrality disappeared from the company line, along with Batman assignments for Marshall and Terry and me. Right up until they wanted to make another good Batman movie. Hey—I wonder if they were having trouble figuring out how the Batman works last year… Like I say, I’ve been involved in other things that went well, so at the end of the day, I can survive if nobody knows what happened with the Batman comics and blockbuster superhero movies. I’ve done so for 30 years. Why cause a fuss, I thought, especially with that “non-compliant contract” can of worms? But you’ve got to admit, both Batman and blockbusters are a pretty big deal, and I did love figuring out the character, and when the anniversary rolled around and I saw people going, “I don’t think we borrowed much from it”— So here’s my horn blast, as loud and as clear as I can make it. I hope now I can go back to letting the work speak for itself, with everybody finally knowing what the work was. The views expressed in “Off My Chest” guest editorials do not necessarily reflect those of BACK ISSUE magazine or of TwoMorrows Publishing.

Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 51

It’s GROOVY, baby! Follow-up to Mark Voger’s smash hit MONSTER MASH! All characters TM & © their respective owners.

From WOODSTOCK to THE BANANA SPLITS, from SGT. PEPPER to H.R. PUFNSTUF, from ALTAMONT to THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY, GROOVY is a far-out trip to the era of lava lamps and love beads. This profusely illustrated HARDCOVER BOOK, in PSYCHEDELIC COLOR, features interviews with icons of grooviness such as PETER MAX, BRIAN WILSON, PETER FONDA, MELANIE, DAVID CASSIDY, members of the JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, CREAM, THE DOORS, THE COWSILLS and VANILLA FUDGE; and cast members of groovy TV shows like THE MONKEES, LAUGH-IN and THE BRADY BUNCH. GROOVY revisits the era’s ROCK FESTIVALS, MOVIES, ART—even COMICS and CARTOONS, from the 1968 ‘mod’ WONDER WOMAN to R. CRUMB. A color-saturated pop-culture history written and designed by MARK VOGER (author of the acclaimed book MONSTER MASH), GROOVY is one trip that doesn’t require dangerous chemicals! (192-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 • Digital Edition: $13.95 • ISBN: 9781605490809 Diamond Comic Distributors Order Code: JUL172227

LOU SCHEIMER

CREATING THE FILMATION GENERATION Hailed as one of the fathers of Saturday morning television, LOU SCHEIMER was the co-founder of FILMATION STUDIOS, which for over 25 years provided animated excitement for TV and film. Always at the forefront, Scheimer’s company created the first DC cartoons with SUPERMAN, BATMAN, and AQUAMAN, ruled the song charts with THE ARCHIES, kept Trekkie hope alive with the Emmy-winning STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES, taught morals with FAT ALBERT AND THE COSBY KIDS, and swung into high adventure with TARZAN, THE LONE RANGER, ZORRO, HE-MAN, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, live-action shows SHAZAM!, THE SECRETS OF ISIS, JASON OF STAR COMMAND and others. Now, LOU SCHEIMER tells the entire story to bestselling author (and RETROFAN columnist) ANDY MANGELS, including how his father decked ADOLF HITLER, memories of the comics of the Golden Age, schooling with ANDY WARHOL, and what it meant to lead the last all-American animation company through nearly thirty years of innovation and fun! Profusely illustrated with PHOTOS, MODEL SHEETS, STORYBOARDS, PRESENTATION ART, looks at RARE AND UNPRODUCED SERIES, and more—plus stories from TOP ANIMATION INSIDERS about Scheimer and the story behind Filmation!

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HERO-A-GO-GO!

All characters TM & © their respective owners.

Welcome to the CAMP AGE, when spies liked their wars cold and their women warm, good guys beat bad guys with a pun and a punch, and Batman shook a mean cape. HERO-A-GO-GO celebrates the camp craze of the Swinging Sixties, when just about everyone—the teens of Riverdale, an ant and a squirrel, even the President of the United States—was a super-hero or a secret agent. BACK ISSUE magazine and former DC Comics editor MICHAEL EURY takes you through that coolest cultural phenomenon with this all-new collection of nostalgic essays, histories, and theme song lyrics of classic 1960s characters like CAPTAIN ACTION, HERBIE THE FAT FURY, CAPTAIN NICE, ATOM ANT, SCOOTER, ACG’s NEMESIS, DELL’S SUPER-FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA, the “Split!” CAPTAIN MARVEL, and others! Featuring interviews with BILL MUMY (Lost in Space), BOB HOLIDAY (It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman), RALPH BAKSHI (The Mighty Heroes, Spider-Man), DEAN TORRENCE (Jan and Dean Meet Batman), RAMONA FRADON (Metamorpho), DICK DeBARTOLO (Captain Klutz), TONY TALLARICO (The Great Society Comic Book), VINCE GARGIULO (Palisades Park historian), JOE SINNOTT (The Beatles comic book), JOSE DELBO (The Monkees comic book), & more! (272-page FULL-COLOR TRADE PAPERBACK) $36.95 • (Digital Edition) $13.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-073-1 Diamond Comic Distributors Order Code: JAN172100

TwoMorrows. The Future of Pop History.

TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA

By M EURY ICHAEL , edito r of

Phone: 919-449-0344 E-mail: store@twomorrows.com Web: www.twomorrows.com

by P a u l

Kupperberg

Archie Heroes in Crisis In late 1992 the once-hopeful Impact! Comics imprint attempted a dramatic reinvention including this six-issue miniseries, Crucible. Cover art by Joe Quesada and Joe Rubinstein (#1–2) and Dick Giordano (#3–6). Unless otherwise stated, all images accompanying this article are courtesy of Paul Kupperberg. Characters © Archie Comic Publications, Inc. DC logo and Crucible TM & © DC Comics.

[Editor’s note: Paul Kupperberg originally pitched this Impact Comics article as a two-part feature, serialized in two consecutive editions of BACK ISSUE. Once this issue’s “Greatest Stories Never Told” theme availed itself as the perfect vehicle for this feature, I opted to bundle both parts into one issue, but have maintained Paul’s two-part story structure. Enjoy this insider’s view of a relaunch that could have been.]

major commercial hit. The industry as it presently exists will not support efforts with as many negatives as [this project has].” Posing such questions and making bold statements of defeat right off the bat aren’t usually the way to a project go-ahead. But in the case of DC Comics editor Jim Owsley’s proposal for the relaunch of the revamped Impact Comics line, he knew he was dealing with a hostile audience and couldn’t afford to be accused of “Why bother?” “wishful thinking” in his pitch for The American Shield, The Let me start by offering this Pro Tip: When you’re Mark of the Black Hood, and The Wrath of the Comet by an editor writing a proposal to pitch a new multi-title confidently predicting great, or even moderate, sales success. project to your publisher, it’s usually not a good idea The need for a relaunch after only about a year and a half of the original six Impact! titles made that to lead with “Why bother?” You should also avoid CHRISTOPHER PRIEST such information, even buried in the proposal’s sixth claim impossible. He mentions some of the reasons (JAMES OWSLEY) paragraph, that the project “…isn’t going to sell. Let me he believed the line failed, including the lack of “a consistent editorial point of view and voice” that say that again. [It] will not, even in the long term, be a Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons. Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 53

resulted in some titles “presenting material juvenile in some instances and extremely graphic in others” and failures in marketing. Indeed, the eight-page memo contains a running sidebar, called “It’s Never Been Boring…,” about which Owsley notes, “The following (more for my own benefit) is a brief-recap of the Impact relaunch nightmare-onwheels”; it is a footnoted timeline (in 8-point type) beginning with a disastrous Impact! Comics creative summit in Chicago on November 12–15, 1991 to about a month after the January 7, 1993 launch of Crucible: Final Impact #1 (the six-issue miniseries that was to serve as the lead-in to the relaunch), when the editor is still butting heads with administration and marketing over getting the project done. But despite the negatives, Owsley’s memo, entitled “Is Impact Dead? Notes on the Impact Relaunch,” went on to enumerate the reasons why DC should keep the line going, including the belief that the original “target audience… [of] boys aged eleven to fourteen… the bulk of our target audience, and boys aged eight to eleven who are somewhat precocious” it was designed to reach was still out there, a potential market still waiting to be tapped.

BUT FIRST...

A disclaimer: I was the editor of two of the original Impact! titles (Len Strazewski and Mike Parobeck’s The Fly and Mark Wheatley and Rick Burchett’s The Black Hood) and wrote several issues of The Crusaders and The Web, and was involved in the relaunch in both an editorial capacity (“October 19–21, 1992 – Waid, Augustyn, Kupperberg and I blow off three days and plot the relaunch books. Morale is very low.”) and as the writer of the five-page Steel Sterling backup series that was scheduled to run through the relaunch titles. And some background: In late 1989, the DCU’s Development Group pitched the idea for a kid-friendly line of comics, a separate imprint for younger readers. “We certainly will be attracting a large number of traditional super-hero readers… however they generally look to DC Comics for a different type of story. We must not take this built-in audience for granted,” a later proposal warned, but always keep in mind the mission was to attract a new audience to the generally dwindling ranks of young comic-book readers. The new imprint was to be “kid friendly,” an antidote to the growing industry trend of “grim and gritty” heroes and stories. Rather than depending on a lineup of newly created characters to headline the new imprint, the choice was made instead to license an already existing cast of heroes from another publisher. To that end, DC approached the publishers of Archie Comics and struck a deal to license their dormant superheroes, which had last seen light in their short-lived 1983–1985 Red Circle Comics. Impact! Comics launched in July 1991, beginning with The Fly, and followed by The Comet, The Legend of the Shield, Jaguar, The Web, The Black Hood, and The Crusaders. The talent on these books was considerable—artists Mike Parobeck, Rick Burchett, Tom Lyle, David Antoine Williams, Grant Miehm, Rags Morales, and Tom Artis, and writers Mark Waid, William Messner-Loebs, Mark Wheatley, Len Strazewski, and Brian Augustyn—but after an initial rush of enthusiasm and promotional support, Impact! Comics began a steady, troubled 17-month slide to cancellation. Creative issues and deadline problems

had been common almost from the start; as early as February of 1991, one of the creators wrote a one and one-half page letter outlining his concerns about previously agreed upon ideas that he felt had been “lost or thrown aside” and ended by confessing that his “enthusiasm and commitment to [his title] has been severely reduced by the problems I’ve outlined above.” By the end of 1992, after numerous editorial and creative changes, 79 monthly issues, four Annuals, one Winter Special, and three issues of Who’s Who in the Impact! Universe, the Comet had destroyed Evergreen, a major city in the Impact! U, the rest of the superheroes had mysteriously vanished from Earth, and Impact! Comics was history.

OR… WAS IT?

In the early 1990s, DC editor James Owsley put together a document entitled “Edited by Owz: A Comprehensive Guide to Surviving the Jim Owsley Experience (Previously Published as ‘Do It My Way or Die’),” a sort of editorial guide and brief treatise on the care and feeding of this particular editor. It’s an entertaining read (which DC’s editorial administration forbade him from distributing to his freelancers), beginning with an introduction, “What Do You Want? Or, I’m Not Your Mom,” for which Jim lifted a portion of a text piece I had earlier written for the letters page in the Owsley-edited Arion the Immortal miniseries: “[Owsley’s] door is usually closed. More often than not there’s a bevy of freelancers circling with lost looks outside his door, peering nervously through the pebbled glass panel at the hunched over, hell-bound editorial figure silhouetted in the eerie glow of his halogen desk lamp…. Owsley is a man with an attitude, and that attitude is, ‘I’m in hell!’” Jim Owsley (who now goes by the name Christopher J. Priest) began his career at Marvel Comics as an intern when he was 17; by 22 he was in charge of the Spider-Man line as the first African-American editor for a major US comic publisher, and in 1990, the editor and writer moved over to DC Comics, where he found fresh levels of hell when he assumed the control of Impact! Comics. While some of the titles plodded along with relatively little fuss, others ran into creative disputes, deadline pressures, and personality conflicts. For various reasons, the books were being handed off to editors who hadn’t been Not-So-Deep Impact in on the planning and birth of the line (myself DC’s first wave of Impact! included), and Impact!’s titles included this trio of much-vaunted cohesion quickly eroded as the all-readers titles. original supervising editor’s attention drifted to other, Characters © Archie Comic Publications, Inc. Impact! Comics TM & © DC Comics. newer projects. Scan courtesy of Heritage. Comic-book heroes can survive any foe except low sales. By the end of the 1991, the writing was on the wall but DC had decided to give the Impact! Comics line a second shot, based on Owsley’s publishing plan, “Is Impact Dead?” In the “It’s Never Been Boring” sidebar, he notes on December 17, 1991, “The Impact Relaunch plan… submitted to

54 • BACK ISSUE • Greatest Stories Never Told Issue

Dick. The plan calls for an interruption of all Impact titles concept of Impact; to his mind, the lack of a single except The Crusaders, which should provide a continuity guiding editorial vision and creative voice were major out of which the new series would launch.” On February causes behind the failure the first time around. 27, Owsley notes, “[Executive VP and Publisher] Paul For an artist, Owsley’s decision was guided by marketing. [Levitz] suggests rather than continuing Crusaders, He wrote that on March 6, “Paul wants to announce launch a mini instead. [VP-Sales and Marketing] Bruce something—anything—good about Impact at the following week’s sales meeting. At 3:30 PM Friday he [Bristow] agrees, preferring a bridge to an ‘isthmus.’ asks me if I can sign on name talent and get a Paul further suggests the mini needs to piece of display art ready in time for the [sales encompass the changes to the Impact Universe, rather than just deal with our meeting] cruise, which [departs] on Monday. current heroes’ long journey home.” I contact Joe Quesada and Joe Rubinstein The Impact relaunch (one of the first and call in a truckload of good faith.” things Owsley did was lose the juvenileThe following day, a Saturday, Owsley looking exclamation point from a “orchestrate(s) the creation of a sales re-designed logo) was “designed and book page for Evergreen [the miniseries’ executed to capture the imagination working title]… Quesada finishes the promo art (in a big hurry) and takes a of younger readers and to provide them cab to Brooklyn so Rubinstein can ink.” with a sophisticated, cohesive universe with which to introduce them to superQuesada, a rising star in comics, hero comics.” That effort began with thanks in part to his run on the OwsleyMARK WAID a six-issue miniseries, Crucible (Feb. edited The Ray and as co-creator with Denny O’Neil of Azrael over in the 1993) that picked up the story of the © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. Batman line, had agreed to do the Impact Universe six months after the disappearance of the heroes. layouts for the miniseries, which told the story of a world transformed by a miraculous technology created by INTO THE CRUCIBLE Mr. Jordan, a supposedly benevolent genius and the To write the miniseries and the subsequent ongoing inventor of the Room Temperature Semiconductor, monthlies, The American Shield, The Mark of the Black and the machinations of the Tomorrow Men. The latter Hood, and The Wrath of the Comet, Owsley tapped Mark were a group of businessmen who had discovered the Waid and Brian Augustyn, two of the members of the Crucible, a place at the center of time, and were employing original Impact! creative crew. The use of a single team the futuristic technology they found there to make of writers sharing the workload was key to Owsley’s themselves rich and control the destiny of the world.

“The Final Impact” Owsley-written promo copy on a trio of proposed Crucible house ads. Art by Quesada and Rubinstein. Characters © Archie Comic Publications, Inc. Graphics TM & © DC Comics.

Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 55

Owsley made an official request to “go to first issue,” i.e., start work on Crucible #1 on March 24, and the next day, according to the timeline, “Dick [Giordano] stops Paul Kupperberg in the hall and says, sure it’s okay to go to first issue.” The next step was to lock in a penciler to finished Quesada’s layouts, but as with most steps on the road to the Impact Comics relaunch, this one met with its own share of stumbles. The editor wanted to give the assignment to Chuck Wojtkiewicz, a solid, dependable artist and storyteller who had more than earned his place at the relaunch table for his hard work on the original line. But according to Owsley’s timeline, Joe Rubinstein, who was already onboard to ink the miniseries, “won’t do it” if Wojtkiewicz was chosen. The inker and Quesada had suggested Steve Carr, but as of April 16, “Steve Carr refuses to do Crucible unless his partner, Daryl Skelton, is [also] credited. Rubinstein reminds me he won’t do it unless Carr does. I speak to Paul [Levitz], who grabs his head and sighs loudly, but agrees to Daryl’s inclusion.” By mid-June, the plots for the first four issues of Crucible were approved and Quesada had delivered the first of his layouts, which were passed to Steve Carr. Meanwhile, the editor had submitted a “second request for official paper on our ‘go to first issue’ for the relaunch titles” since, without paperwork, no matter who says what to whom in the hall, nothing was actually official; the wheels of administration finally, slowly ground it out by September 1.

THINGS FALL APART SOME MORE

In the meantime, the drama surrounding the creation of the miniseries continued to be every bit as tense as the storyline itself. On August 4, Steve Carr’s first five pages arrive, but they are, according to Owsley, “out of sequence, and he’s modified my design specs for one of the characters. I ask him for corrections, and Steve demands to be paid. He also refuses to work in sequence.” After more give and take, Owsley is “at an impasse. I remove Steve and Daryl from the Crucible project.” The following day, Owsley shared his decision with Giordano, reminding him that Carr and Rubinstein had come to the miniseries as a package. “Dick sez you’re the editor,” Owsley wrote, “but goes down to talk to Paul. Paul agrees to let Dick handle it.” Dick, as was his practice, backed the decision of his editor. “Chuck is in. Rubinstein walks. Jimmy Palmiotti comes aboard as inker.”

On August 10, a memo from editorial administration reminded the editor that as “no paperwork exists for a ‘go to first issue’ for the relaunch titles… none of my creative people can be paid.” Even while that was being straightened out, the question of kill fees and new deals and payments for the replacement talent had to be addressed, rising the temperature inside the Crucible between editorial and administration. The marketing of the miniseries was also proving problematic. Their plan was to price the first issue at 99¢ and go with the slogan, “Great New Story! Great Low Price!” As Owsley noted on September 22, “The morale of everyone involved takes a major hit.” Owsley countered with a house ad of his own “the Quesada sales book piece modified somewhat,” but marketing felt it was too “quiet” and wanted to take a more traditional superhero approach. I resisted the suggestion, explaining that superheroes—no matter how well drawn—will look much the same. The Quesada piece involves “puzzlement as to what we’re up to.” Nonetheless, his house ad “vanishes from circulation, replaced by the superhero one. My morale takes another hit.” The last hit comes on February 2, 1993, when Owsley notes, “citing over-commitment and delays on our end (true), Joe Quesada reluctantly resigns from doing Crucible layouts, although he will remain on covers.” It’s left in Chuck Wojtkiewicz’s able hands to provide his own layouts for the final two issues of Crucible. All the body blows aside, momentum, perseverance, and luck kept the Impact Comics team moving forward and, in the first week of January 1993, Crucible: The Final Impact #1 (priced at 99¢) landed in comic shops across the country. Three weeks later, on January 28, Owsley noted that a member of the marketing group “is seen, by me, wandering the halls grinning as he recounts the lack of reorder activity on Crucible.” In “Is Impact Dead?” Owsley expressed his hope “that Impact may exist as three or four titles, off in a corner somewhere, existing quietly and without hype.” But to accomplish that, he first had to get the first issues of the three relaunch titles finished in order to prove he had the goods. The nightmare-on-wheels rolled on.

Mission: Aborted DC Comics production schedule for the relaunched Impact titles. © DC Comics.

For more on the Impact line, read TwoMorrows’ MLJ COMPANION! 56 • BACK ISSUE • Greatest Stories Never Told Issue

by P

aul Kupperberg

On the face of it, it didn’t seem that complicated: revamp and relaunch DC Comics’ failed Impact! Comics imprint. In fact, considering all the individual elements of the relaunch, it probably should have been a slam-dunk. It was being overseen by James Owsley (who now goes by the name Christopher J. Priest), an experienced editor and talented writer in his own right, plotted and written by Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn, and featured art by veterans Steve Carr, Chuck Wojtkiewicz, newcomer Gene Ha, and industry legend Dave Cockrum, creating what Owsley had earlier described in a project memo as “three or four titles, off in a corner somewhere, existing quietly and without hype” starring a lineup of known and beloved characters. DC’s first attempt at the Impact! Comics line (distinguished here by the exclamation point in the name) had been exhaustively researched and methodically planned to appeal to younger, entry-level readers who would grow into readers of the more “mature” DC Comics line. Impact! launched in July of 1991, but the seven titles (The Fly, The Comet, The Legend of the Shield, Jaguar, The Web, The Black Hood, and The Crusaders) struggled to find a place in the marketplace and by the end of 1992 were on their way to cancellation, as detailed in Part 1 of this feature. The superheroes anchoring the Impact! line were, in effect, rentals, on license from their owners, Archie Comics. In the years before the red-headed, freckle-faced teen icon took over the company’s corporate and public identity, Archie Comics had been known as MLJ Comics and, like the rest of the industry in the early 1940s, focused its publishing efforts on superheroes like the Shield (whose first appearance in Pep #1 in January 1940 pre-dated Timely’ Captain America as comics’ first star-spangled hero by almost a year), the Hangman, the Black Hood, the Comet, the Web, and others; the Fly and Jaguar debuted in the 1950s, during one of Archie’s several attempts at reviving the superhero characters. DC still had time to left on its contract with Archie, so it was agreed that editor Owsley would relaunch a reduced line of titles following the six-issue Crucible miniseries that would reset the Impact Comics universe. But the initial reception of Impact! Comics had somewhat soured the company’s administrative and marketing sides on the imprint, which, coupled with creative and personnel difficulties, made the entire year and a half experience an ordeal for almost everyone involved.

EARNING ITS PLACE ON THE RACKS

Direct Currents Retailer sell-sheet for Wrath of the Comet, featuring art by Michael Netzer. Characters © Archie Comics Publications, Inc.

“I’m saddened by the overall lack of confidence exhibited from nearly every quarter of DC with regard to Impact. It seems most everyone around here remains predisposed towards regarding Impact as substandard work and a commercial failure,” Owsley wrote in a February 9, 1993 memo outlining the troubled relaunch timeline. “Certainly the failure of Impact has created inestimable negatives within DC, as well as in the marketplace. My experience, however, is the market has high hopes DC will improve its entry-level line, while, within DC, Impact is typically the subject of ridicule.”

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No one working on the relaunch had any expectation of bestselling success. Owsley’s written proposal for Evergreen (the miniseries published as The Crucible that transitioned readers from the Impact! with an exclamation point to Impact without, named after the city that the Comet had destroyed at the end of the original run) had made that clear up front, warning his bosses it “…isn’t going to sell.” In his “Guidebook to the Impact Relaunch,” the editor clearly states he expects “the line will have to earn its place in the racks, and win an audience that will support it.” But to do that, he wanted to steer clear of “a major hype campaign [that] may potentially polarize this market. Only the quality and consistency of the work itself will win Impact its rack space.” He also warned that such terms as “‘entry level’ or ‘for younger readers’ MUST ABSOLUTELY BE AVOIDED. This is death for the line… they must not seem whimsical or cute. These are serious comics for serious readers….” But, “in light of the friendless environment Impact’s being reborn into, it’s absolutely my opinion that less is more. That includes our marketing approach. Let’s get it out there and see if we make any friends.” Crucible: The Final Impact #1 (Feb. 1993) began occupying rack space on January 7, 1993. In a running chronology he maintained of the efforts to get first Crucible, then the relaunch—which he referred to as a “nightmare-onwheels”—off the ground, Owsley noted that nearly three months earlier, on October 19–21, “Waid, Augustyn, Kupperberg and I blow off three days michael netzer and plot the relaunch books.” I had been an editor on and writer for the original Impact! and was the “backup” Elite Avni-Sharon / Wikimedia Commons. writer on the relaunch titles. Waid and © Michael Netzer. Augustyn were co-writing The American Shield, Mark of the Black Hood, and Wrath of the Comet, and I was assigned the five-page backup Steel Sterling feature that would run through all three titles.

OUR STORY THUS FAR…

The groundwork for the relaunch titles had begun being laid during the final days of the original Impact! line, leading into the bridging Crucible miniseries. According to the “Guidebook to the Impact Relaunch,” “The linchpin of the relaunch effort is the total and complete breakdown of The Comet. Arguably the most consistent and focused of the Impact! titles… [it] dealt with Rob (The Comet) Connors’ progressive loss of his humanity [which had] been stripped from him by alien explorers. The Comet winds up its run (#18, Dec. 1991) with [him] wanted for a murder he did not commit, bereft of family and betrayed by his friends, apparently sacrificing his life in a final heroic effort. “In the final issue of The Crusaders (#8, Dec. 1991), the team is dispatched to arrest the Comet… on the murder charge.” But before they even begin their

Revitalizing the Archie-verse (this page and opposite) Stunning model sheets by Michael Netzer and Art Nichols, for the principal characters in the Impact relaunch. Characters © Archie Comic Publications, Inc. Impact logo TM & © DC Comics.

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hunt for him, the dispirited team learns the Comet is dead. “The straw breaking the camel’s back, the Crusaders decide to disband. They step into their teleportation device… and vanish from the face of the Earth.” Crucible, written by Waid and Augustyn, with layouts (on the first four issues) by Joe Quesada and finished art by Chuck Wojtkiewicz and Jimmy Palmiotti, picked up months after the disappearance of the heroes, chronicling a world revolutionized by one man, kindly old Mr. Jordan, inventor of the Room Temperature Superconductor, a source of limitless, near-free energy. But Mr. Jordan is not the benevolent figure he appears and, unknown to the rest of the world, is engaged in a battle for world domination with the Tomorrow Men, men from Earth’s past who had stumbled onto the extra-dimensional, time-defying Crucible, a source of great, but not endless, power that enables them to see into the future. The Tomorrow Men manipulate the relationship between the Black Hood and the Comet to bring about one of their visions of the future in which the Comet expends all his energy to recharge the waning Crucible, and, in the process, destroy Evergreen. An interesting side note: A story element in Crucible was described in the relaunch document: “In the years that follow Evergreen’s devastation the US Congress enacts the Super Hero Registration Act (SHRA). Essentially a monitoring provision, the law provides any individual carrying out civilian police actions must be licensed by their local governments…. Project Shield becomes the official SHRA enforcement arm of the US Justice Department. This provides friction between the Shield and the Hood (who refuses to comply with the legislation).” Years later, Marvel Comics, under editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, would base their 2006–2007 company-wide crossover (and later major motion picture) Civil War on the conflict between heroes on the Marvel Universe Superhero Registration Act.

FIRST ISSUES

In the summer of 1991, Owsley commissioned Michael Netzer and Art Nichols to create a series of remodeled model sheets for the relaunch. Gone were the grinning, “kid-friendly” heroes and secret identities. “There’s been a lot of talk about ‘mainstreaming’ Impact. Making it as dark and edgy as typical DC books…. We are, in fact, creating the illusion of mainstream DC or Marvel, while guaranteeing product accessibility to readers on the younger end of our demographic.” The revised American Shield is beefed up on the exterior, while his secret identity of Stephen Barnes is of a withered, scarred man, crippled by violence, barely able to stand on his own outside of the advanced Project Shield Model 87 suit, which is powered by Mr. Jordan’s RTS technology. He’s a straight-up Boy Scout who quotes and follows rules and regulations to the letter. The Black Hood is still Nate Cray, but the kid who once wore that mask has grown into a man who has embraced what the hood has turned him into. The Hood is hardcore, “the best covert sneak-thief-super-hero there ever was. His resourcefulness is practically boundless. He has little but contempt for The Shield (who he refers to as ‘the Sheriff’), a government lackey who is more talk than action.” Under his mask, the Comet no longer wore a human face and has lost any vestige of his former humanity, assuming the identity of the relentless and ruthless “power broker and corporate bad boy,” Hit Coffee (a former wearer of the magical Black Hood). “The Comet isn’t necessarily evil per se,” the Guidebook states, “he just pretty much lives for now and for himself and could care less about anybody else [and] accomplishes his goals (power, money, broads) through both illegal and legal channels. When all else fails, he’ll don his Comet outfit and simply vaporize the competition.”

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Coming Attractions Retailer sell-sheets for The Mark of the Black Hood and American Shield, featuring art by Michael Netzer. Characters © Archie Comics Publications, Inc.

First up on the relaunch schedule was The American put a big dent in a robbery gang’s operation… and shut Shield #1, written by Brian Augustyn and Mark Waid down a phony superhero. I was supposed to register and penciled by Steve Carr and Deryl Skelton. “We sent this… good guy.” The question of the mysterious man Major Stephen Michael Barnes down in a fiery in the trench coat is still plaguing him, until he sees the deck of cards Becky is playing with. “Of course! helicopter crash back in Legend of the Shield #15. That’s who it is!” he thinks. The fact is, he really wasn’t very good at being the Shield. Well, all that’s changed,” Here, the story becomes a little more Owlsey wrote for the title’s sales piece. difficult to follow, as only the first 11 pages The story opens with a costumed hero of the penciled art were lettered before called Hotshot rescuing two children the plug was pulled on the project. from a blazing casino hotel fire. But the But from the remaining seven unlettered fire and Hotshot’s heroics are merely pages, we see that what Barnes a cover for the Casino Raiders, a crew remembered leads him to the rooftop of high-tech, fire-resistant, suit-clad of a Las Arenas casino where, as the crooks who have been terrorizing Las Shield, he finds the mystery man in the Arenas, a fact revealed when the Shield trench coat electronically eavesdropping swoops in to save the day. That day on the men in an office below. The Shield knows who the man is… and saved, the Shield teleports away, but not before taking note of a familiarwho he used to be—Blackjack, another chuck wojtkiewicz looking “guy in the trench coat” in early 1940s MLJ costumed hero—and Courtesy of Chuck Wojtkiewicz. the watching crowd. comes bearing the man’s costume The Shield’s teleportation device lands him in the and an offer for them to work together. basement of “the Barnes house, somewhere in middle Before Blackjack can get his pants on, a couple of America,” where he changes from his exo-skeleton thugs burst through the door onto the roof, guns blazing. armor to his civilian identity, Stephen Barnes. His wife The Shield holds them off easily enough until Blackjack Shari and adolescent daughter Becky are setting the gets his footing and joins the fight. The heroes go table (“Good old daddy, always on time… and never crashing through the skylight into the offices below, late for dinner!”) when he comes in, responding to then quickly take out the gun-wielding toughs occupying their “How was your day?” with “Same old-same old… it. Even as they’re congratulating one another on their

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Boyz in the Hood Sample pages from the unpublished Mark of the Black Hood #1. Written by Brian Augustyn, penciled by Chuck Wojtkiewicz, and lettered by Steve Haynie. © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

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Cockrum’s Comet (this page and opposite) Beautiful pencil work by Superboy Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes and X-Men fan-favorite Dave Cockrum from issue #1 of the unpublished Wrath of the Comet #1. Written by Mark Waid and lettered by Steve Haynie. © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

teamwork, Blackjack is cut down by off-panel energy finally sick of competing with the Black Hood for his blasts. When the Shield looks to the shattered skylight time and attention. “There’s got to me more to your above, he sees the culprits: a trio of heavily armed and life than that stupid hood! All I expect is a little of your armored supervillains leaping to the attack… which, precious time. If you really loved me, you’d want the same thing.” of course, was to be continued. Mark of the Black Hood #1, written by Brian Augustyn Perhaps he did, but not enough to get off the and penciled by Chuck Wojtkiewicz, was next up on telephone with his police contact and follow her out the schedule. “Although he no longer has superthe door, especially when, a moment later, the TV powers, the Black Hood (Nate Cray) is the news in interrupted by a special bulletin single most powerful character in the about the Comet. “The Comet! Blast! Why Impact Universe…. Shown an apocalyptic do I have to be haunted by him… now?! vision of the future by the enigmatic Of course, he wouldn’t be bothering anybody… if only I’d dealt with him Tomorrow Men, a future in which the Comet is a deadly scourge, the Black when I had the chance [in Crucible].” Hood set out to insure that future That night, following up on the gangs involved in the stolen weapons, never came to pass… Now a wealthy socialite, the Black Hood is haunted by the Hood traces them to their hideout… the guilt he feels for his role in driving just in time to get caught in the middle the Comet further into his dementia.” gang war fought with military-grade The Black Hood is “compelled by the weapons. Attempting to save a little boy also caught in the crossfire, the mystical, ancient mask to do what Black Hood finds himself and the kid he knows is the right thing—which dave cockrum plummeting to their dooms and the isn’t always the same as obeying the tale to be continued. law—[and] takes special pleasure in Portrait by and © Michael Netzer. ruining the Comet’s plans.” “The systematic dehumanizing of Rob Connors results Following an informant’s tip, the Black Hood begins in the single biggest change in the Impact Universe— his new series by doing the right thing in tracking the Comet is now a villain,” the sales sheet for Wrath of down a shipment of stolen military weapons in the the Comet #1, written by Mark Waid and penciled by hands of a street gang. Returning home, Nate discovers Dave Cockrum, tells us. “The Comet… is struggling his girlfriend’s suitcases packed and her ready to leave, with the remnants of his own humanity. His choices are:

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(a) embrace his humanity and build on that… or, (b) completely deny his humanity, giving in to the blackness that consumes him.” Rob Connors chooses option (b), and he’s in full denial as the issue opens, waging an attack on the Web surveillance drones spying on him under the protective dome that now sits over the irradiated ruins of Evergreen. “The Web can’t send human agents in here! The radiation will strip the flesh right off their bones! News flash: that’s why I irradiated Evergreen City in the first place! Now you want to check up on me with your pathetic flying spy-eyes!” After destroying the drones, the still enraged Comet flies “home”… or to what had been home for Rob Connors in Evergreen before the Comet destroyed the city, stopping only long enough to vaporize a solitary flower that had somehow managed to grow up through a crack in the irradiated landscape. He enters his old home, calling out, “Mom? Dad? I’m home!” and is “answered” from other rooms, words spoken by the memory of his long-gone parents. In a childish tantrum, he raves, “I didn’t ask for these powers. I didn’t ask to be stuck in this stupid alien body. I didn’t ask to have everything taken away from me. My identity. “My humanity,” he says, as he strips off his mask to reveal his eyeless, alien features. “Now, son,” one of the voices responds, “you’re still plenty human on the inside. Deep down, you’re still our Rob.” The voices suggest that rather than denying humanity, he should “spend some time with other people.” The Comet agrees. “Maybe I will go out and play,” he says. “But on my terms…” Several weeks later, we’re introduced to the former Black Hood, businessman and criminal kingpin Hit Coffee, the self-described “man in Seaside City,” although he’s currently involved in a violent war with a rival gang. An impertinent henchmen is berated by Coffee for not obeying orders before being told to “Get out, but first… wipe that stupid look off your face.” The henchman wipes his entire face off his face, revealing himself to be the Comet in disguise. “I’m a shape-changer, Coffee… or didn’t you read that on my job application?” The Comet tells Coffee, “You actually impress me. You’ve climbed a long ladder in the rackets. From errand boy to kingpin… with only a brief stop along the way as the Black Hood.” But the Comet has no interest in the gang leader’s short-lived stint as a hero. “It’s about control. I’m wresting full control over your operation. And frankly, I don’t expect any trouble,” he says, shape-shifting into Coffee himself, “in getting your complete cooperation.” The scene cuts to the door outside his office, where a scream brings some of his other henchmen running with guns drawn. But “Coffee” sends them away, then sits at his desk, thinking “By night… the Comet. By day… Hit Coffee, gangland ruler of the eastern seaboard. Life is good.” Or it would have been if at that moment an assassin’s bullet hadn’t come through the window and shot Hit Coffee dead, with his fate left to “to be continued” that never was. Rounding out the first issues was an ongoing backup feature starring Impact strongman, Steel Sterling, written by yours truly and penciled by Gene Ha. Josh “Steel” Sterling was a construction worker who’d been rewarded for saving the beloved Mr. Jordan’s life during the events of the Crucible miniseries with a job as the great man’s bodyguard. But Josh has been troubled by dreams of the Crucible and his immersion into its molten core and then, one day, the effects of those dreams turn real and Steel’s body transform into a literal thing of steel. Freaked out by the transformation, Joshua rushes to Mr. Jordan for help, despite the less than benevolent plans the construction worker thought he’d overheard the inventor make while they were trapped in the Crucible. Jordan is amazed: “You’ve transmuted your flesh to some sort of organic metal!” He promises to help find a cure for the young man’s condition, but as soon as Joshua is out of sight, he makes a call: “Joshua Sterling’s just left my office. I think he might soon become a problem for me. I believe it would be best were he erased!” That evening, Joshua arrives home… only it’s no longer his home, and he no longer has the keys to the door or possesses any identification… that even his car has disappeared. Racing back to the office, he’s denied entrance by the

Agent of Shield Sample pages from the unpublished American Shield #1. Written by Brian Augustyn and Mark Waid, penciled by Steve Carr and Deryl Skelton, and lettered by Steve Haynie. © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

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Man of Steel

same security guard he’d earlier been bantering with but now no longer recognizes him. Joshua Sterling has become a “non-person” and ceased to exist in his own reality, removed by Mr. Jordan utilizing the time-spanning powers of the Crucible. The only thing remaining of his previous life, including his relationship with his wife Nancy, are his memories. When he finally finds Nancy, it’s through a newspaper article about her exploits as a crusading assistant district attorney currently prosecuting a high-level gangster. Having been wiped from her existence, she has no memory of Joshua when he confronts her outside the courthouse, but he’s on hand to save her from an assassination attempt. And though she doesn’t remember him, she knows his name now, “this term, be a major commercial hit,” man who saved my life… his name is he had written in the project proposal. gene ha Sterling… Steel Sterling!” It turned out that Impact Comics The blurb at the bottom of the was more complicated than he had last panel read, “To be continued in © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. imagined after all. two weeks in American Shield #2!” But there wouldn’t be a #2 for any of the Impact heroes… and those #1’s PAUL KUPPERBERG, former editor at DC Comics and Weekly would never see the light of day. Sales on Crucible World News, has written over 1,000 comic-book stories, had been even weaker than anticipated and the from Aquaman and Archie to Superman and the Simpsons, intertwined storyline that had been set up in the including Life With Archie, Supergirl, miniseries and was to begin to play out in the three The Doom Patrol, Checkmate!, Vigilante, and Arion, Lord of Atlantis. relaunched books ended without resolution. He’s the author of more than three DC attempted one more unsuccessful revival of dozen books of fiction and nonthe licensed Archie heroes in 2007–2011, this time fiction for all ages, and publishes trying to integrate the characters into the DC Universe. with Crazy 8 Press (www.CrazyAfter that, the Mighty Heroes reverted to Archie 8Press.com) and Charlton Neo Comics, which relaunched them in the mature-labeled Comics (MortTodd.com/Charlton), Dark Circle Comics in 2015. including Charlton Neo Comics Editor Owsley had warned DC and the creators of Presents Paul Kupperberg’s Guide the Crucible miniseries and the relaunch titles that Impact to Writing Comics. You can follow Comics was going to be a hard sell right from the start. Paul on Facebook, Twitter, and at “It… isn’t going to sell…. [it] will not, even in the long PaulKupperberg.com.

Sample pages from the unpublished Steel Sterling backup, which would have been serialized throughout the aforementioned trio of titles. Written by Paul Kupperberg, penciled by Gene Ha, and lettered by John Costanza. © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

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What happened to Ed Hannigan’s 1992 magnum opus, Skull & Bones? Why do some readers love it? Why is it only a ’90s comics trivia question for so many others? And what if there was a sequel planned to make everything right? The solution may lie in these mysterious Curt Swan pages accompanying this article, which have surfaced in recent years on Heritage Auctions and with art dealer Anthony Snyder. It all begins with the simple, and obvious, observation: these pages are gorgeous. But the full story behind these enthralling pages involve a hot Bronze Age artist (fresh off two big, successful comics), a specialized format that signaled “big hit” to the industry, one of the most prolific artists to ever work in American comics, and an international thriller that a sales department left to fizzle with retailers. But could these pages have been the spark that would have lit an explosive sequel? Might these pages have been the next adventure for a character that deserved a second chance? We all love a mystery! Let’s investigate these mysterious Curt Swan Skull & Bones pages.

by E

d Catto

MAKE NO BONES ABOUT IT

Skull & Bones was a short-lived, three-issue series (coverdated May–July 1992) that still lingers in the minds of fans who were able to find it and read it. “Ed Hannigan’s Skull & Bones was one of my favorite comic projects from that era,” explains J.C. Vaughn, Vice-President of Publishing at Gemstone Publishing. “Although steeped in the political realities of that time, its story, storytelling, and craft are timeless. The brilliant pacing and captivating design serve the story in compelling fashion, and a healthy dose of Russian fatalism gives the right feel. It’s infused with the despair, hope, corruption, change, and tumult that surrounded the fall of the Soviet Union.” Vaughn’s reaction is not atypical. “Rather than being dated by an era that has passed, Skull & Bones stands the test of time,” he adds. “There are lessons still be learned from this miniseries.” Surprisingly, Skull & Bones landed with a thud. The work is strong, and the excellent story is well regarded. How could it have failed? In Sherlock Holmes fashion, let’s (metaphorically) trot out our magnifying glass and deerstalker hat to solve this mystery. But before we do… a bit of setting the stage. One must really understand the forces that led to Skull & Bones, especially the successes that creator Ed Hannigan enjoyed just before it, and the tragic shuffling offstage of another beloved artist.

Superman (Artist) to the Rescue! The unpublished Curt Swan pencil art to page 1 of Skull & Bones #3 and (inset) Ed Hannigan’s published version of same. Pencil scan courtesy of Heritage (www.ha.com). Skull & Bones © Ed Hannigan.

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ON TARGET

In the 1980s, DC’s prestige format miniseries were a big deal. Whenever a character was awarded one, it signaled that something special was going on. In 1987, a long-running character got his chance, being called up from the minor leagues. Green Arrow was always a bridesmaid but never a bride, in that headlining an ongoing series was an honor that was elusive for too long. Mike Grell’s Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters brought a grown-up sensibility to the Green Arrow character. One could argue that, along with Batman and Green Lantern, writer Denny O’Neil and artist Neal Adams had provided the Emerald Archer with a more adult—or at least less childish— treatment in the late ’60s and ’70s. But Grell’s prestige miniseries, along with trailblazing editor Mike Gold, was a step up from that. It might be hard for today’s readers to understand how fresh and new the gritty urban vigilante treatment was that the time. After all, that’s essentially what millions of viewers have been enjoying on the long-running CW television series, Arrow. In the late ’80s, The Longbow Hunters explored a more real-world version of a superhero, more akin to a thriller novel than a traditional comic. [Editor’s note: To discover more, see our Grell interview in BACK ISSUE #18.] Mike Grell and Mike Gold continued these adventures of the Battling Bowman in a new, ongoing Green Arrow series, debuting in 1988. This series would showcase Oliver Queen and Dinah (Black Canary) Lance in Seattle as they persevered in a world filled with ill-defined good guys and bad guys. They both also struggled with the complexities of middle age. Grell was still scripting it but had walked away from the artist duties. So editor Gold recruited Ed Hannigan. Ed hannigan It was here that Hannigan spread his artistic wings. His art was powerful and memorable. Marvel Database. More than that, the storytelling had such a different pace than any other comic series out there. There’s no doubt that playing in this sandbox for two years prepared Hannigan for his own series, Skull & Bones. But there was one more stop along the way for Hannigan before Skull & Bones.

Skeletons Are the Key (left) His design of the costumed bad guys on his Tony DeZuniga-inked cover for DC’s Jonah Hex #84 (May 1984) later influenced Ed Hannigan when designing (right) the look of Skull & Bones’ protagonist Andrian. From issue #1. Jonah Hex TM & © DC Comics. Skull & Bones © Ed Hannigan.

LEGENDARY SUCCESS

Spurred, in part, by the blockbuster success of the prestige format Batman: The Dark Knight by Frank Miller, DC launched a new, ongoing Batman monthly series, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight [chronicled in BI #113—ed.]. The original intent of this new title was to tell stories from the early days of Batman’s career, with a rotating line-up of creators. The first five-issue arc was called “Masks,” scripted by Dennis O’Neil, inked by Scott Beatty, and penciled by Ed Hannigan. While it may be commonplace today, the arrival of a new Batman series was a huge event in 1989. Foreshadowing what would become standard business practices, the first issue was printed with several different variant covers. Aside from the marketing gimmicks, the story was exciting and compelling, too. Like the Green Arrow series, Hannigan would again be illustrating a series with a more grown-up take on a costumed hero. It was another blockbuster. Sales went through the roof. According to Comichron, “In 1989, DC had launched a new Batman series with a first issue, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #1, that had so many (retail) preorders that the publisher decided to stagger the shipments across multiple weeks with a differentcolored cover on each week’s version. It was a tactic intended to provide retailers some novelty to market in case it turned out they over-ordered on the issue; instead, it set off a craze in variant covers that continues, in modified form, to this day.” Ed Hannigan tells BACK ISSUE, “After those Batman royalty checks, I thought everything I touched would turn to gold.” With these two enormous hits under his belt, both with a slightly more “real world” take on adventuring heroes, is it any wonder that Ed Hannigan was ready to venture forth and create a series on his own? Greatest Stories Never Told Issue • BACK ISSUE • 67

DC’s Red Scare (top row) Covers to Skull & Bones #1–3 (Mar.–July 1992), written, penciled, and inked by Ed Hannigan, with colors by Alex Wald. (bottom) DC Comics publicity photo from 1986 of legendary Superman artist Curt Swan passing the Super-pencil to The Man of Steel’s John Byrne. Skull & Bones © Ed Hannigan. Photo. © DC Comics.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

Skull & Bones debuted in 1992. “He was a Zorro-Batman type,” explains creator Ed Hannigan. “It was set in Soviet Union pre-Gorbachev.” Right away, the reader understood that this story was special and would have a real-world feel to it. Although the protagonist dressed in a skeleton costume, Skull & Bones is less of a superhero outfit and more of a paramilitary uniform. The reader immediately gets the sense that we’ll be dealing with real-world geopolitics, and a certain level of knowledge is expected. And there will be no talking down to the audience—the reader is clearly expected to keep up. Skull & Bones tells the story of Andrian Troflimovich Linov, a highly trained Spetsnaz (Special Ops) officer. He becomes the leader of the infamous Skull & Bones commando unit. After growing disillusioned with the military and his country, he returns to Moscow and plans to blow up the Kremlin, employing his stealth and commando skills. Kozakhov is the villain of Skull & Bones. He’s a ruthless Russian who’s risen far in the military-industrial complex that rules the county. Like every great villain, he comes complete with a creepy, if not unsympathetic, backstory and a focused, immutable vision. Andrian is soon reunited with his boyhood friend, Feliks, now known as Electric Feliks, a hacker who leads a shadowy network of dissidents. Together they collaborate to stop the villainous Kozakov’s byzantine plot to unleash a radical killer virus. Along the way, they are joined by Kozakhov’s niece, Nadejda Petrovna Kozakhova. Her boyfriend is assassinated and though whisked away for her own safety, she quickly wishes to be part of the clandestine efforts of Andrian and Electrik Feliks. And like every great Cold War thriller, several real-world characters, now regarded as “historical figures,” make appearances.

WHEN IS A SUPERHERO NOT A SUPERHERO?

In 1992, Hannigan’s Skull & Bones was pushing the boundaries and trying to straddle genres at the same time. It’s easy to say it has the feel of a Bond thriller, but more appropriate comparisons can be made to thrillers by Robert Ludlum (most notable to today’s readers for Jason Bourne) or Tom Clancy. Clancy had burst onto the scene in 1984 with The Hunt for the Red October and followed it up with a string of post-Cold War thrillers, each jam-packed with complicated characters, both from the US and from Russia. Unlike most superhero comics, Skull & Bones isn’t the name of the hero’s masked identity. It refers to the hero’s commando unit codename. This elite force used the macabre skeleton imagery to instill “shock and awe” in a tactical manner to overwhelm adversaries. Andrian, the lone survivor, continues to use the uniform in his own adventures. There’s a sense of history and familiarity to be sure, but the skeleton costume also serves to disguise his identity and, later in the story, actually inspires others. But no one really calls Andrian “Skull & Bones.” Several characters speak about the rumored skeleton man who is “fighting against Kozakhov.”

Like today’s movie superheroes, the costume gets its own variant, after a fashion. After a smoky battle, the uniform is filled with soot that just can’t be washed out. The white bones of the suit are now gray. In the final act, Nadejda reminds Andrian that he’ll be needing this lovely thing, referring to the costume. “It’s pretty grimy,” teases Nadejda. “Good! That’s the way I like it… more frightening!” exclaims Andrian. This skeleton man, Andrian in his Skull & Bones outfit, could be interpreted in couple of different ways. Superhero fans might put him into that “basically regular guy” category of hero like Nightwing, Green Arrow, or Daredevil. Fans of men’s adventure thrillers would concede that he needs to wear this fearsome uniform as a nod to his history, training, and fallen comrades. While it may not be a surprise, Hannigan revealed some of the inspirations for the costume came from the international villain, Kriminal (also called Satanik), and the villains on the Jonah Hex #84 cover.

GREATEST STORY NEVER TOLD THAT NEVER WAS

The adventure moves at a brisk pace, and careful readers will notice in the third issue, although story and art are both credited to Ed Hannigan, there’s a “special thanks to Curt Swan and Grant Miehm” note. Upon further examination, one can see the bones (no pun intended) of Curt Swan’s iconic layouts and figures in several pages. With just a little squinting, it’s easy to see the classic Curt Swan version of Superman angrily shouting as part of a Russian crowd on the splash pages. Curiously, these mysterious penciled pages don’t appear in the series.

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When creating the series, Hannigan was in the thick of it. “At the time, my daughter was [age] one. I was spending every waking moment on it. I was complete wreck,” Ed laments. Like so many artists, Hannigan was missing his deadlines. Something had to be done. So they called in the Marines. In this case, the Marines were legendary artist Curt Swan. But to fully understand this mystery, let’s review the curious case of Curt Swan at this time.

SWAN SONG

It almost seems like the quintessential Americana line of “Mom and Apple Pie” should be amended to included Curt Swan (1920–1996). Swan was a classic comics artist who spent the majority of his career rendering the most classic American character—Superman. But as the industry changed, and it needed to change, DC decided it was time for a reboot the Superman mythology, commencing in 1986 with writer/artist John Byrne’s The Man of Steel. It was a big, bold idea back then. (We thought it was a once-and-for-all-type of thing. How naive we all were! We never could have imagined it would happen in the Modern Age with such an alarming frequency.) Former DC Comics editor Mike Gold explains his theory that “Curt Swan was one of the last artists of the generation where if you did a consistently good job, and met your deadlines, you’d have work. That was the implicit covenant for so many years, but by the mid-’80s that noble tradition was metaphorically walked to the precipice and unceremoniously pushed over the edge. The demands of an informed consumer base, with fickle and ever-evolving demands for the newest flavors, i.e., the hot new artists, would rule the day.

“He was the first artist to get it in the back like that,” laments Gold. It’s hard to imagine, from today’s POV, how important Curt Swan’s artwork was to comics. We frequently celebrated the boundary smashing of Jack Kirby, or the inky vision of Wally Wood, or the extreme belief system of Steve Ditko, but seldom does Curt Swan get his due. “Curt’s pencils are a sight to behold,” proclaims Gold. Back in the ’80s, celebrating Curt Swan would kind of be like celebrating vanilla ice cream. At that time, the super-premium and customized mix-in ice cream craze was just starting, sparked by Steve’s Ice Cream of Somerville, a Boston suburb. That was where the action was. On the other hand, standard vanilla ice cream was dependable, it was always available, it was an all-time favorite and it evoked a powerful sense of nostalgia. But we tended to take this delicious concoction, standard vanilla ice cream, for granted. We felt the same way about Curt Swan’s artwork. By the end of his career he may have set a record with 18,865 pages (there’s some dispute among comic historians). There is no dispute that Curt Swan produced an astounding quantity of comics pages during his career. Swan knew it was coming. His decades of illustrating Superman, and all the characters in his orbit, would come to end in the two-parter called “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” It was a grand sendoff for the classic Superman… as well as for Curt Swan. Written by Alan Moore, the breakout writer of the day, it wrapped up the “final fates” of the Superman cast in a special and unusual (for the time) two-part crossover between Action Comics and the Superman title. Like a lead actor after a beloved, long-running TV series ends, there was a sense of, What’s next for Curt? Gold understood the realities of the industry but didn’t like the way it played out for Swan. Neither did his boss, Dick Giordano, then a big cheese at DC Comics. Gold recalls one incident that leads into this mystery of the Skull & Bones “lost pages”: On his first day of working for Giordano, Gold was assigned editorial duties for a new licensed series. This toy franchise from Kenner, called M.A.S.K., detailed the adventures of spy organization, which, like U.N.C.L.E., evidently went to the acronym school of brand-name development. So did the opposition. This M.A.S.K. team of elite professionals existed to fight the Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem, more commonly referred to as V.E.N.O.M. This looked to be a silly, but fun, series. Gold told his new boss he’d only sign onboard as editor if Giordano authorized Gold’s first and only choice of artist for the series. Cautiously, Giordano asked, “Who’s that?” To which Gold replied, “Curt Swan…” The two men smiled together. They both knew Swan would be perfect.

Comics Comrades (left) Swan’s unpublished pencils for page 3 of Skull & Bones #3, and (right) Hannigan’s published version. Pencil scan courtesy of Heritage. © Ed Hannigan.

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Swan Song (this page and pages following) Courtesy of Anthony Snyder (www.anthonyscomicbookart.com), signed, unpublished Curt Swan penciled pages produced for Skull & Bones #3. Skull & Bones © Ed Hannigan.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE PENCILED PAGES

Given all that this story had going for it, and all the missed opportunities with retailers, was Curt Swan hired to create a Skull & Bones sequel? Might there be a sequel floating around somewhere, waiting to be discovered along with more pages? That’s the dream of every fan who enjoyed Skull & Bones. Sadly, the reality of the situation is much more mundane. Hannigan reveals that there was no follow-up ever planned. When Swan was brought in to help, Hannigan remembers, “The figures [drawn by Curt] were solid. A little conventional, but very solid faces and figures….” In fact, it’s hard to tell where one artist’s layouts begin and the next begins. “You can’t really tell the transition from my artwork.” Some of the obfuscation may be attributed to Hannigan’s inks unifying it all. He humbly insists he provided “bad inking” to the project. (Most readers disagree.) Hannigan explains he has a “skritchy-scratchy style” and has “never been a professional inker.” Hannigan was so immersed in this project, and so driven to create the best product possible, that he was drawing and redrawing many of the pages. “I was drawing it over and was always late,” he says. Many of the pages were completely redrawn, and several of the original pages must be these lost pages. “The pages have survived,” explains Hannigan. “The stuff I have refigured… I returned the [pages rendered only in] pencils.”

FAILURE TO LAUNCH

The series seemed to have so much going for it. “It was really Ed’s chance to shine,” says Gold. “He was a good writer and a good storyteller. You could tell he was a 70 • BACK ISSUE • Greatest Stories Never Told Issue

good storyteller from looking at his work and DC and Marvel. He deserved to be a superstar.” But Skull & Bones didn’t click with retailers. “The book didn’t get the support it deserved,” remembers Gold. He explains that the head of the DC sales department at that time couldn’t seem to sell anything to retailers that wasn’t Batman-focused. “Nobody knew it was there… but retailers weren’t encouraged” to order the series, either. “They didn’t do anything to promote it,” reinforces Hannigan. “There was just a one-page house ad in fan magazines.” But it seems as if there must have been plans for more Skull & Bones. That’s why these lost Curt Swan pages are so intriguing. Having enjoyed this story, one can only wish for more. In fact, it’s hard to believe that no one’s shopping Skull & Bones around to Netflix and Showtime as cable’s next adventure drama. “While it would have been wonderful to see more of these characters, that they existed at all is encouraging enough,” reflects J. C. Vaughn. 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.

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“For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been’!” From Maud Muller, by John Greenleaf Whittier

by B r y a n

D. Stroud

With the unveiling of this Steve Englehart-written and Trevor Von Eeden-drawn story, readers will at last be able to see what might have been when the Batman is pitted against one of his oldest nemeses, the Mad Hatter. An acclaimed Batman storyteller, Steve Englehart has had notable successes in mining the most senior in Batman’s rogues’ gallery ranks, to include Professor Hugo Strange and the all-but-forgotten Deadshot, who battled the Batman back in the early ’40s and ’50s, respectively. Similarly, the Mad Hatter, a.k.a. Jervis Tetch, the co-creation of writer Bill Finger and artist Lew Sayre Schwartz and inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Hatter character in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, first entered Gotham City in Batman #49 (Oct. 1948). With a total of five more appearances in the next three decades, the Mad Hatter was not a character with a great deal of depth, but Steve Englehart and Trevor Von Eeden would show us the way.

THE STORY

In a moody splash-page setting at midnight along the Gotham City wharf, Batman is running up a mooring line attached to the good ship Sprang, where he is investigating a potential theft. Instead, our hero is promptly ambushed by a macabre group of circus freaks, each wearing a tiny hat. In the midst of the melee, one of those miniscule hats is dislodged, revealing a wicked nail extending from the interior of the hat and a matching hole in the top of the freak’s bald head. After shouting “Hatter! Dagobert!”, he and the other freaks writhe in agony as a bolt of energy seems to be entering each of their heads. Batman pauses, thinking, “Hatter? Mad Hatter? He’s dead.” There is little time to ponder events, however, as another scream is heard at the waterline and a submarine is revealed, possibly containing the Hatter or Dagobert, but as most of the freaks escape, the World’s Greatest Detective decides to take two of his attackers

Englehart and Von Eeden Sprang into Action Original Bat-art by Von Eeden from the opening page of Part One of “Top Hat and Nails,” signed by both creators. Note the ship’s name, a nod to Golden Age Bat-fave Dick Sprang. Original art scans accompanying this article are courtesy of the creators. TM & © DC Comics.

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Sneak Attack Page 2 from Englehart’s “Top Hat and Nails” script, and the page (sans completed story title), as interpreted by Von Eeden. Script page courtesy of Steve Englehart. Batman TM & © DC Comics.

to Gotham General’s emergency room to try and learn more of what is happening with the help of the attending physician, Dr. Austin. The good doctor soon explains that each of the diminutive hats contains a spike or nail that is in actuality a high-frequency transmitter that stimulates a part of the cerebellum. The scene then fades to a Victorian English locale where Musetta Sands, daughter of the Earl of Sands, is in attendance at a royal ball where she soon encounters a prince who is sweeping her off her feet. In moments, however, the vision is shattered when the prince’s visage fades into that of the Batman, who asks the woman on the gurney what she’s seeing. Sands, in real life one of the misshapen freaks, shrieks for her hat before being sedated. Dr. Austin speculates that the nail in the hat stimulates a pleasure center where she can be beautiful. In the next scene, the Darknight Detective runs a computer search on Dagobert Tressor. Only one record is found, reporting that Dagobert, an innocent bystander, died during a struggle between the Gotham police and Jervis (Mad Hatter) Tetch at the Kane Candy Company, 1939 National Boulevard (a business name and address containing Batman and DC history homages). This segues into a flashback sequence relating the scene as Tetch, cornered by the cops, uses his patented hat gimmicks to fight his way out. Gunshots fly wild, and one bullet strikes the Hatter in the neck, then barrels into the top of Dagobert’s skull. Both seemingly die from their wounds. Post-flashback, the Batman is next seen in a cemetery investigating Tressor’s grave, which is actually a tunnel that our hero enters, only to have it cave in on him. Batman awakens in an underground chamber, bound and surrounded by the freaks and… Dagobert Tressor, the new

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Mad Hatter. Dagobert survived the earlier shooting, bribing a doctor to proclaim him dead, and then took over the Mad Hatter’s guise. The bullet to his skull left a hole leading into his brain through which he can now, quite insanely, stimulate brain functions and fantasies with no more than his fingernail. He also uses the nails in the freaks’ hats to manipulate their brain impulses, cultivating a legion completely loyal to this new, very mad Hatter. Hearing enough and using a handy tool, the Batman breaks free. He attempts to remove the Hatter’s top hat, who resists for all he’s worth. More fighting ensues with the freaks, who view themselves as normal thanks to the nails in their headgear and ultimately, Batman departs through the tunnel. Determined to help Musetta, Batman tries to reason with her to forsake the lure of the hat, but she is so very hooked on being normal, she will not listen to reason. Her love for her fantasy world has overshadowed everything. Elsewhere, a prize fight is happening at Gotham Garden. Large sums of cash are being sorted in an underground safe room and soon two of the freaks are making their way in to steal it, using their lack of appendages to full advantage in the airshaft. Mad Hatter himself joins in but before they can escape, the Batman arrives. He cautions the Hatter to let them go as they don’t know what they’re doing, but of course the villain rebuffs our hero and we are privy to what the mind control hats continue to accomplish when one of the freaks is envisioning himself as a noble knight battling a bat-monster. Batman understands what’s happening, but can only use physical force and ultimately triumphs in this latest round. Later, back at Gotham General, Dr. Austin explains that the pleasures they are experiencing go straight to the brain.

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He further relates that the fantasies provide their heart’s desire. The prognosis is soon evident when Musetta, observing Batman and Dr. Austin, is again in her perfect fantasy as the belle to her handsome prince. She successfully seizes some keys and retrieves her coveted hat and nail and promptly slams it onto her head to fully retreat to her fantasy world. Meanwhile, Batman and Austin discover she’s escaped and that the hat is also gone. The Hatter has not been idle as he works his way to Gotham General and uses his fingernail, plunging it into his skull to activate his own fantasy where he is now a Russian dandy dancing with the Lady Musetta and also measuring the radio frequency of the hat in the real world. The fantasy world really begins to take off now with a mash-up of American Civil War meets Czarist Russia while the two figures dance in a grand waltz. Things then turn ugly as the blurred lines between fantasy and reality lead the conversation to Musetta suggesting they’ve lost their humanity. An enraged Dagobert attacks her as she says that she loves another. Before his deadly chokehold kills her, he feels the full impact of the Batman, who releases Musetta from the Hatter’s death grip with a powerful swinging kick. Dagobert flees, but tells the Dark Knight that her mind will soon short out. Batman decides to help Musetta, removing the hat from her head and she tells him she knows the villain is headed to the wax museum before slipping into an exhausted unconsciousness. Soon it’s the final showdown inside Haney’s Wax Museum, where the Batman is fighting off the freaks who come at him from all sides until it’s just he and the Mad Hatter. The Batman drags Dagobert into an elevator as the Dark Knight states that the Hatter needs a covering for his head and the more the better. The Hatter becomes ever more desperate as they reach the rooftop. The exposure is driving him literally over the edge as he leaps off the building. The freaks down below are watching and use their bodies to cushion his fall. Having survived, the Hatter declares that he is alive, but that his pain is gone and he staggers off into the night. In the final scene, Batman is back at Musetta’s bedside at Gotham General. Dr. Austin, having learned that the Mad Hatter is gone, states that Musetta is gone, too. “Her last hallucination—it was too powerful. She slipped into her own private world—I don’t think she’s ever coming out.” The smile on Musetta’s face, however, reveals that she is content. “And Musetta Sands, youngest daughter of Colonel Earl Sands, lived happily ever after with her beloved rogue, Bat Masterman…”

BEHIND THE SCENES

Writer Steve Englehart recalls that the assignment for this story came via a call from DC editorial. It was originally to be a 40-page Batman tale, possibly for publication in the Batman Chronicles, a DC series that ran from 1995–2001 (and was revived a few years later), but was later divided into a two-part story. “I love the Batman,” Englehart tells BACK ISSUE. “And it was a chance to do the Mad Hatter. I’d done the Joker, I’d done the Penguin, so I wanted to do somebody else and came up with the idea for the Mad Hatter.” Englehart also recalls being pleased with the selection of Trevor Von Eeden as the artist: “I was very happy with Trevor’s stuff. Marshall [Rogers] and Terry [Austin] are my favorites, but I really liked what Trevor did. Marshall and Terry had that real gritty, detailed world which I thought was perfect for Batman. Trevor’s is more operatic, but it was very nice art.” Similarly, Von Eeden remembers his pleasure at working from Englehart’s script: “This was my first and only time working from a Steve Englehart script. Steve was one of my favorite writers in my early, comics-devouring teen years. Drawing a script he’d written was a dream cone true… unfortunately a dream that no one but myself ever saw. At least I take pride in knowing that I did a good job.” Steve was obviously having a good time with the multiple Easter eggs throughout this story, beginning right off the bat with the good ship “Sprang,” as in Golden Age great Dick Sprang, beloved for his Batman and World’s Finest Comics art. Englehart relates, “the Batman is a seminal figure for me. I really loved him and I got a chance to write him and as soon as I did, I started throwing in little Easter eggs about Gardner Fox and Bill Finger and so forth, and this was the time I was going to mention

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Hats Off to Steve and Trevor “Top Hat and Nails” would’ve provided Englehart—whose Joker, Penguin, and Deadshot stories from the late 1970s still influence creators today—a chance at make more of a menace of the Mad Hatter. Art by Von Eeden. Pages 10, 11 and 14 of “Top Hat and Nails.” (bottom left) Writer Steve Englehart, in a 1982 San Diego Comic-Con photo by and courtesy of Alan Light. (bottom right) Young Trevor Von Eeden (left) in 1976 with his Black Lightning editor, Jack C. Harris. TM & © DC Comics.

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Lasting Impressions (top) Englehart’s script for page 1 of the concluding chapter of “Top Hat and Nails.” Courtesy of the writer. (bottom left) Englehart’s short but enduring Detective Comics stint remains a celebrated Bat-era. Golden oldie Deadshot was revitalized in this issue, #474 (Dec. 1977). Cover by Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin. (bottom right) Von Eeden’s art on Batman Annual #8 (1982) excited fandom. Batman TM & © DC Comics.

[Dick] Sprang. It was pretty much, in retrospect, definitely Sprang who made me a Batman fan. The stories weren’t anything to speak of back in those days, but Sprang’s art was just so bizarre and so much fun, it really solidified me as a fan. So, I thought that was appropriate to recognize him in the story.” When queried about the challenge of working on a lower-level antagonist like the Mad Hatter, Steve offers, “It’s tricky. Speaking as a Batman writer, you’ve got the Joker, and then a good number of Batman villains are crazy in one way or another, but you’ve got to try to come up with different ways to be crazy. You’ve done the laughing fish. You can’t do the laughing hats with the Mad Hatter. You’ve got to figure out some other way of doing it.” Englehart summarizes his thought process on the script as looking for a fresh angle: “It was all these people who had very great difficulty functioning in society, and once you nailed something into their head, which made them think they were handsome or beautiful and normal, that worked for them. That’s just the kind of stuff that interests me. Finding something new to do or a different avenue to explore.” While the decisions made by DC Comics editorial may never be known definitively, the obvious question is, why wasn’t the story published? Steve Englehart theorizes that some office politics might be to blame. “The deal was that after 1989—when they made the movie based on my original run, that I script-doctored so it could get made—DC really did not want Batman to be associated with Englehart, [Marshall] Rogers, and [Terry] Austin. DC doesn’t like it when people attach specific creators to their characters. So Englehart, Rogers, and Austin didn’t get offered any more Batman stuff after the movie based on their material came out. Except, over time—we’re talking about decades—new editors would come in and go, ‘Well, hey. I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we get those guys to do something?’” So, perhaps the powers-that-be overruled printing a new Batman story associated with Steve Englehart after all. Nevertheless, with the generous help of Trevor Von Eeden and Steve Englehart, we readers are now privileged to know, at last, what might have been in this multi-faceted psychological thriller. BRYAN STROUD is a longtime fan of DC Comics, particularly the Silver and Bronze Ages, and is a reviewer of classic comics and an interviewer of creators who made those works great.

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2019 EISNER AWARD WINNER!

Since BACK ISSUE is produced with a generous amount of lead time, this lettercol, being written on August 1, 2019, is my first opportunity to share with you that this magazine is the proud recipient of the 2019 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for “Best Comics-Related Publication/Journalism.” Actually, we tied with PanelxPanel magazine for the award. Of the five nominees in the category, BI was the only print publication. This was our third Eisner nomination but first win. The award was presented at the Eisner Awards banquet at Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, on Friday, July 19, 2019. Accepting the award for ye ed was our esteemed publisher, John Morrow, who read on my behalf my acceptance speech (I was hopeful!), which follows: The opportunity to explore the stories behind the stories of the comic books that shaped my adolescence has long been a reward unto itself. Yet this Eisner Award signifies that others value the mission of BACK ISSUE magazine, and for that I am eternally grateful. I wish to share this award with the people who help me produce each edition of BACK ISSUE: the talented and dedicated freelance writers, designer Rich Fowlks, cover designer Michael Kronenberg, cover colorist Glenn Whitmore, proofreader Rob Smentek, Facebook administrator John Trumbull, publisher John Morrow, and the many Bronze Age comic creators who so graciously share their oral histories and artifacts. Thank you. Guardians of the Galaxy © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Allow me to add to my list you, the BI reader and retailer. We’re now in our 17th year of publication and literally would not be here without your support. Cheers, friends! Next issue: Guardians of the Galaxy! A universe of comics stars discuss Marvel’s white-hot space team in lavishly illustrated Guardians interviews, including an in-depth chat with JIM VALENTINO, plus TOM DeFALCO, KEITH GIFFEN, ROB LIEFELD, AL MILGROM, MARY SKRENES, ROGER STERN, and more. Plus: Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon: Before the Guardians, featuring the work of SAL BUSCEMA, JOHN BYRNE, CHRIS CLAREMONT, AL GORDON, TIMOTHY GREEN, BILL MANTLO, MIKE MIGNOLA, DOUG MOENCH, and TOM PALMER. With a Bronze Age Guardians cover by their Copper Age artist, Jim Valentino, inked by CHRIS IVY. Don’t ask—just BI it! See you in sixty! Your friendly neighborhood Euryman, Michael Eury, editor-in-chief

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A 25 Year Celebration! th

THE WORLD OF TWOMORROWS

In 1994, amidst the boom-&-bust of comic book speculators, THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #1 was published for true fans of the medium. That modest labor of love spawned TwoMorrows Publishing, today’s premier purveyor of publications about comics and pop culture. Celebrate our 25th anniversary with this special retrospective look at the company that changed fandom forever! Co-edited by and featuring publisher JOHN MORROW and COMIC BOOK ARTIST/COMIC BOOK CREATOR magazine’s JON B. COOKE, it gives the inside story and behind-the-scenes details of a quartercentury of looking at the past in a whole new way. Also included are BACK ISSUE magazine’s MICHAEL EURY, ALTER EGO’s ROY THOMAS, GEORGE KHOURY (author of KIMOTA!, EXTRAORDINARY WORKS OF ALAN MOORE, and other books), MIKE MANLEY (DRAW! magazine), ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON (MODERN MASTERS), and a host of other comics luminaries who’ve contributed to TwoMorrows’ output over the years. From their first Eisner Award-winning book STREETWISE, through their BRICKJOURNAL LEGO® magazine, up to today’s RETROFAN magazine, every major TwoMorrows publication and contributor is covered with the same detail and affection the company gives to its books and magazines. With an Introduction by MARK EVANIER, Foreword by ALEX ROSS, Afterword by PAUL LEVITZ, and a new cover by TOM McWEENEY! SHIPS DECEMBER 2019! (224-page FULL-COLOR Trade Paperback) $34.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-092-2 (240-page ULTRA-LIMITED HARDCOVER) $75 Only 125 copies available for sale, with a 16-page bonus Memory Album! HARDCOVER NOT AVAILABLE THROUGH DIAMOND—DIRECT FROM TWOMORROWS ONLY! RESERVE YOURS NOW!

JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #78

(SILVER ANNIVERSARY ISSUE!)

(100-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (DELUXE EDITION with silver sleeve) $12.95 • (Digital Edition) $5.95

2019-2020

AND DON’T MISS THE EXPANDED 2ND EDITION OF STUF’ SAID, OUT NOW! SUBSCRIPTION RATES Alter Ego (Six issues) Back Issue (Eight issues) BrickJournal (Six issues) Comic Book Creator (Four issues) Jack Kirby Collector (Four issues) RetroFan (Six issues)

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Published 25 years after the launch of THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #1, this special SILVER ANNIVERSARY ISSUE shows how Kirby kickstarted the Silver Age of Comics with Challengers of the Unknown, examines how Jack revamped Golden Age legacy characters for the 1960s and beyond, outlines the lasting influence of his signature creation The Silver Surfer, and more! It includes special shout-outs to the fan and pro contributors who’ve helped publisher/editor JOHN MORROW celebrate the life and career of the King of Comics for a quarter century. And echoing John’s fateful choice to start this magazine in 1994, we’ll spotlight PIVOTAL DECISIONS (good and bad) Jack made throughout his comics career. Plus: A Kirby pencil art gallery, regular columnists, a classic 1950s story, and more! The STANDARD EDITION sports an unused Kirby THOR cover with STEVE RUDE’s interpretation of how it looked before alterations, while the DELUXE EDITION adds a silver cardstock outer sleeve featuring the Surfer with RUDE inks. SHIPS WINTER 2020!

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ER EISN RD AWA ER!! N WIN

ALTER EGO #163

ALTER EGO #164

BACK ISSUE #119

BACK ISSUE #120

DRAW #36

The early days of DAVE COCKRUM— Legion of Super-Heroes artist and co-developer of the revived mid-1970s X-Men—as revealed in art-filled letters to PAUL ALLEN and rare, previously unseen illustrations provided by wife PATY COCKRUM (including 1960s-70s drawings of Edgar Rice Burroughs heroes)! Plus FCA—MICHAEL T. GILBERT on PETE MORISI—JOHN BROOME—BILL SCHELLY, and more!

Spotlight on MIKE FRIEDRICH, DC/Marvel writer who jumpstarted the independent comics movement with Star*Reach! Art by NEAL ADAMS, GIL KANE, DICK DILLIN, IRV NOVICK, JOHN BUSCEMA, JIM STARLIN, HOWARD CHAYKIN, FRANK BRUNNER, et al.! Plus: MARK CARLSONGHOST on Rural Home Comics, FCA, and Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Justice League of America cover by NEAL ADAMS!

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY ISSUE! A galaxy of comics stars discuss Marvel’s whitehot space team in the Guardians Interviews, including TOM DeFALCO, KEITH GIFFEN, ROB LIEFELD, AL MILGROM, MARY SKRENES, ROGER STERN, JIM VALENTINO, and more. Plus: Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon before the Guardians, with CHRIS CLAREMONT and MIKE MIGNOLA. Cover by JIM VALENTINO with inks by CHRIS IVY.

HEROES OF TOMORROW! Mon-El hero history, STEVE LIGHTLE’s Legionnaires, and the controversial Legion of Super-Heroes: Five Years era. Plus SEKOWSKY’s Manhunter 2070, GRELL’s Starslayer, Charlton’s Space: 1999 tie-in, Paradox, and MIKE BARON’s unfinished Sonic Disruptors series. Featuring the BIERBAUMS, BYRNE, GIFFEN, MAYERIK, SIMONSON, TRUMAN, VOSBURG, WAID, and more. LIGHTLE cover.

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.

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ER EISN RD AWAINEE! NOM

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!

ER EISN RD AWAINEE! M O N

COMIC BOOK IMPLOSION KIRBY & LEE: STUF’ SAID WORLD OF TWOMORROWS AMERICAN COMIC BOOK EXPANDED SECOND EDITION—16 EXTRA Celebrate our 25th anniversary with this CHRONICLES: The 1980s retrospective by publisher JOHN MORROW PAGES! Looks back at the creators of the

AN ORAL HISTORY OF DC COMICS CIRCA 1978! Marking the 40th anniversary 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!

Marvel Universe’s own words, in chronological order, from fanzine, magazine, radio, and television interviews, to paint a picture of JACK KIRBY and STAN LEE’s complicated relationship! Includes recollections from STEVE DITKO, ROY THOMAS, WALLACE WOOD, JOHN ROMITA SR., and other Marvel Bullpenners!

and Comic Book Creator magazine’s JON B. COOKE! Go behind-the-scenes with MICHAEL EURY, ROY THOMAS, GEORGE KHOURY, and a host of other TwoMorrows contributors! Introduction by MARK EVANIER, Foreword by ALEX ROSS, Afterword by PAUL LEVITZ, and a new cover by TOM McWEENEY!

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NEW PRINTING with corrections, better binding, & enhanced cover durability! KEITH DALLAS documents comics’ 1980s Reagan years: Rise and fall of JIM SHOOTER, FRANK MILLER as comic book superstar, DC’s CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, MOORE and GAIMAN’s British invasion, ECLIPSE, PACIFIC, FIRST, COMICO, DARK HORSE and more!

(288-pg. FULL-COLOR Hardcover) $48.95 (Digital Edition) $15.95 • Ships Feb. 2020

TwoMorrows. The Future of Comics History.

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #21 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #22

KIRBY COLLECTOR #77

ERIC POWELL celebrates 20 years of THE GOON! with a career-spanning interview and a gallery of rare artwork. Plus CBC editor and author JON B. COOKE on his new retrospective THE BOOK OF WEIRDO, a new interview with R. CRUMB about his work on that legendary humor comics anthology, JOHN ROMITA SR. on his admiration for the work of MILTON CANIFF, and more!

P. CRAIG RUSSELL career-spanning interview (complete with photos and art gallery), an almost completely unknown work by FRANK QUITELY (artist on All-Star Superman and The Authority), DERF BACKDERF’s forthcoming graphic novel commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Kent State shootings, CAROL TYLER shares her prolific career, JOE SINNOTT discusses his Treasure Chest work, CRAIG YOE, and more!

MONSTERS & BUGS! Jack’s monster-movie influences in The Demon, Forever People, Black Magic, Fantastic Four, Jimmy Olsen, and Atlas monster stories; Kirby’s work with “B” horror film producer CHARLES BAND; interview with “The Goon” creator ERIC POWELL; Kirby’s use of insect characters (especially as villains); MARK EVANIER and our other regular columnists, Golden Age Kirby story, and a Kirby pencil art gallery!

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KIRBY COLLECTOR #78

SILVER ANNIVERSARY ISSUE! How Kirby kickstarted the Silver Age and revamped Golden Age characters for the 1960s, the Silver Surfer’s influence, pivotal decisions (good and bad) Jack made throughout his comics career, Kirby pencil art gallery, MARK EVANIER and our regular columnists, a classic 1950s story, KIRBY/STEVE RUDE cover (and deluxe silver sleeve) and more! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (DELUXE EDITION w/ silver sleeve) $12.95 (Digital Edition) $5.95 • Ships Winter 2020

TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, NC 27614 USA 919-449-0344 E-mail: store@twomorrows.com

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RetroFan: The Pop Culture You Grew Up With! If you love Pop Culture of the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties, editor MICHAEL EURY’s latest magazine is just for you!

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RETROFAN #1

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RETROFAN #2

RETROFAN #6

RETROFAN #7

RETROFAN #9

Interviews with MeTV’s 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 ARCHIE-DOBIE GILLIS connection, Pinball Hall of Fame, Alien action figures, Rubik’s Cube & more!

Featuring a JACLYN SMITH interview, as we reopen the Charlie’s Angels Casebook, and visit the Guinness World Records’ largest Charlie’s Angels collection. Plus: an exclusive interview with funnyman LARRY STORCH, The Lone Ranger in Hollywood, The Dick Van Dyke Show, a vintage interview with Jonny Quest creator DOUG WILDEY, a visit to the Land of Oz, the ultra-rare Marvel World superhero playset, and more!

NOW BI-MONTHLY! Interviews with ’70s’ Captain America REB BROWN, and Captain Nice (and Knight Rider’s KITT) WILLIAM DANIELS with wife BONNIE BARTLETT! Plus: Coloring Books, Fall Previews for Saturday morning cartoons, The Cyclops movie, actors behind your favorite TV commercial characters, BENNY HILL, the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, 8-track tapes, and more!

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RETROFAN #3

RETROFAN #4

RETROFAN #5

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, & 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 way-out 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!

Interviews with MARK HAMILL & Greatest American Hero’s WILLIAM KATT! Blast off with JASON OF STAR COMMAND! Stop by the MUSEUM OF POPULAR CULTURE! 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!

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RETROFAN #8 (NOW BI-MONTHLY!)

RETROFAN #8 features interviews with the Sixties’ grooviest family band, THE COWSILLS, and TV’s coolest mom, JUNE LOCKHART! Plus: MARS ATTACKS!, MAD MAGAZINE in the Seventies, the FLINTSTONES turn sixty, ELECTRA WOMAN AND DYNA GIRL, HONEY WEST, the POPEYE PICNIC, the SMILEY FACE fad, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ERNEST FARINO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, MARTIN PASKO, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, and SCOTT SHAW! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.