Back Issue #130 Preview

BRONZE AGE PROMOS, ADS, and GIMMICKS er 202

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WHATEVER HAPPENED TO…

SUPER-STARS SOCIETY?

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Wonder Woman and all characters TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

THE

Hostess comic ads • DC Hotline • Popeye Career Comics DC 16-Page Previews • Marvel’s little-known Quarterly Reports & more!

Volume 1, Number 130 September 2021 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTIST Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano (Unpublished alternate cover art from DC Comics’ 5 Star Super-Hero Spectacular, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions.)

COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Heritage Comics Michael Kronenberg Auctions Tony Isabella George Khoury PROOFREADER David Anthony Kraft Rob Smentek Paul Kupperberg Sven Larsen SPECIAL THANKS Legion Lad Mark Arnold Paul Levitz Mike W. Barr Ed Lute Howard Bender Paul Macchia Eric Bresler Maddy Madrazo Kurt Busiek Andy Mangels Michael Catron Mike’s Amazing World Mike Chen of DC Comics Joe del Beato Dan Mishkin Jo Duffy Tom Morgan Scott Edelman Mark Pacella John Eury Jimmy Palmiotti Mark Evanier Donnie Pitchford Danny Fingeroth Sean Reiley Bruce Fisher Bob Rozakis Gary Fishman Rose Rummel-Eury Robert Loren Jim Salicrup Fleming Scott Shaw!

Mike Gold Merrie Spaeth Grand Comics Roger Stern Database Terry Stewart Fred Grandinetti Laurie Sutton Walt Grogan Roy Thomas John Hebert John Wells Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Marv Wolfman Glenn Herdling John Workman

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OFF MY CHEST: Guest editorial by Paul Kupperberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The writer/editor looks back at his long tenure writing DC Comics promo material FLASHBACK: Hostess Comic Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 You’ll get a big delight in the story behind one of the Bronze Age’s craziest ad campaigns BEYOND CAPES: Popeye Career Guidance Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 An articulate Sailor Man as a vocational counselor??

GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: Whatever Happened to the DC Super-Stars Society? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 The story behind DC’s ill-fated Bronze Age fan club PRINCE STREET NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Cartoonist Karl Heitmueller, Jr.’s wayback machine of Bronze Age comic promos BACKSTAGE PASS: The DC Hotline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 DC’s phone-in Direct Currents source—with transcripts of select messages!

FLASHBACK: DC 16-page Preview Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 From New Teen Titans to M.A.S.K., many early ’80s DC series started as free inserts WHAT THE--?!: Marvel Quarterly and Annual Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 It’s unlikely you’ve ever seen these unusual Marvel publications from the ’90s IN MEMORIAM: Steve Lightle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Reader reactions 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: $90 Economy US, $137 International, $36 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano. Wonder Woman, Shazam!, Green Arrow, Black Lightning, and Plastic Man TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted.

All editorial matter © 2021 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows except Prince Street News © 2021 Karl Heitmueller, Jr. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

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Bronze Age Promos, Ads, and Gimmicks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 5

Twinkie photo by Evan-Amos. All Hostess products and logos © Hostess Brands, LLC. Characters © their respective copyright holders.

Michael Eury

While comic characters speak a universal language—through word balloons and narrative captions—they are segregated into many different publisher-related universes. Each realm might share some similarities (such as a signature tycoon, be it Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark, Richie Rich, or Hiram Lodge), but only the most uninitiated reader would have difficulty differentiating these universes. The only thing, say, Gotham City has in common with Riverdale is its medium of origin.

And a sweet tooth.

During the halcyon days of the Bronze Age, “Great Krypton!” and “It’s clobberin’ time!” made room for another popular catchphrase in comic books: “You get a big delight in every bite.”

This was an era where the mere sight of a Twinkie®, cupcake, or fruit pie could easily vanquish the most sinister supervillain, persistent poltergeist, antagonistic alien, or roadrunner-ravenous coyote.

When five competing publishers participated in a single advertising initiative. When an ad starring a Marvel or Harvey Comics character could appear in a Gold Key comic.

Hope you’re hungry, dear reader, because you’re about to feast upon the tasty tale of the Hostess Comic Ads!

Foot Soldier This AAU Shuperstar comic ad appeared in 1977 and was one of many similar promos marketing directly to the young readership of comic books.

AAU Shuperstar © Intermark Shoe Company.

TWINKIE, TWINKIE, LITTLE STAR

It seems impossible to imagine a shared bond between the powerring-wielding spacecop Green Lantern and the good little witch Wendy, but from 1975 through 1982, they—and many other superheroes and cartoon characters—became spokespersons for scrumptious snack foods produced by Hostess Brands in a series of comic advertisements appearing in the very comic books themselves.

Hostess is known as one of the most successful packagers of baked sweet goods, its brands including Ding Dongs, HoHos, Sno-Balls, Chocodiles, and Hostess Fruit Pies. Hostess dates back to 1919, when its “CupCake” first popped out of the oven. In 1930 baker-businessman James Alexander Dewar (1897–1985) cooked up a cream-filled yellow sponge cake that would ultimately become not only a snack-food favorite but a pop-culture icon: the Twinkie®, its name inspired, says the legend, by a then-popular promo for Twinkle Toe Shoes footwear. Hostess eventually developed its own cartoon character, the cowboy-hat-wearing Twinkie the Kid, to hawk the product.

Twinkies have so captured the minds (and taste buds) of the general public that the “Twinkie Defense” has entered the unofficial legal vernacular, albeit with a horrific backstory. According to Law.com, the “Twinkie james Defense” is “a claim by a criminal defendant that at the time of the crime he/she was of diminished mental capacity due to intake of too much sugar, as from eating ‘Twinkies,’ sugarrich snacks. The defense was argued successfully by a defense psychiatrist in the notorious case of former San Francisco County Supervisor Dan White, who shot and killed San Francisco Mayor George Moscone

HOSTESS POP QUIZ THE ANSWER:

this day-for once and for always-- i declare

war

on the human race-6 • BACK ISSUE • Bronze Age Promos, Ads, and Gimmicks Issue

--for copyright infringement!

© Marvel.

© Paramount Pictures.

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY CALL A TWINKIE IN MEXICO?

and County Supervisor Harvey Milk, resulting in White’s conviction for only manslaughter instead of murder.”

Over the decades, Hostess has had different parent corporations (during the era of the comic ads it was ITT Continental Baking Company), and weathered mismanagement and a late-2012 bankruptcy filing, where manufacturing plants were shut down and over 18,000 employees axed. This disruption caused a Twinkie shortage that incited Rapture-like pandemonium, with some sugar-shocked enthusiasts hoarding the creamfilled treats. (Are these the same people who snatched up all of the toilet paper during 2020’s coronavirus lockdown?) In 2013 Apollo Global Management and Metropolous & Company acquired and resuscitated Hostess Brands, and soon Twinkies and its baked brothers were available for sale once again. Global chaos was quelled, leading many Twinkie lovers to shower investor Dean Metropolous with gratitude.

“People walk up and thank me for bringing back Twinkies,” he was quoted as saying in his coverfeatured profile on the May 4, 2015 edition of the dewar finance magazine Forbes.

Today, Hostess Twinkies and other baked snacks remain perennially popular in grocery aisles. The Twinkie is such an iconic treat that family Halloween costumes are available with a “Hostess with the mostess” aproned outfit for Mom and a kid-sized “Twinkie pack” costume that will hold two children!

COMICS AS ADVERTISEMENTS

Back when comic books emerged as an entertainment medium in the mid- to late 1930s, it didn’t take long for advertisers to appreciate the value of marketing directly to the audience by producing ads in the comics format. Illustrated product ads became commonplace in comic books.

An early example was Captain Tootsie, from the original Captain Marvel’s creative team of writer C. C. Beck and artist Pete Costanza, created to be the superhero spokesperson for Tootsie Rolls. Perhaps no use of the comic medium in an ad is more legendary than “The Insult That Made a Man Out of Mac,” which for many decades flexed for the Charles Atlas bodybuilding program.

Comic illustrations were used to hype cheesy toys and novelties that never quite lived up to their promise (I highly recommend Kirk Demarais’ 2011 book, MailOrder Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic Books, from Insight Editions). The Silver Age featured numerous comic-art ad campaigns, sometimes drawn by noted comic artists, like Irv Novick’s G.I. Joe ads and Kurt Schaffenberger’s Captain Action ones. Not only could you see Bullwinkle hawking Cheerios on animated TV commercials, Saturday morning’s famous moose and his pal Rocky the Flying Squirrel also sold the breakfast cereal in illustrated ads appearing in comic books.

Superman kept busy throughout the 1960s in a DC Comics house-ad campaign promoting the New Jersey amusement park Palisades Park (forgive the plug, but

you can read all about Palisades Park in my 2017 book from TwoMorrows, Hero-A-Go-Go: Campy Comic Books, Crimefighters, and Culture of the Swinging Sixties).

Kids of the Space Age couldn’t wait for Mattel’s Major Matt Mason or Ideal’s Zeroids lines thanks to the comic ads that hyped them.

The trend continued in the 1970s: Kubert School students—and their chief instructor, Joe Kubert himself— illustrated lots of superhero product ads for Marvel and DC throughout the decade. Evel Knievel action figures and miniatures (see RetroFan #15) were promoted not only in comic ads but via a specialty Evel Knievel oneshot giveaway comic book produced by Marvel Comics (to be covered in BI #134). The decade witnessed other memorable—and not so memorable—comic ads promoting everything from Stretch Armstrong to Easy Bake Oven, from Duke the Super Action Dog to Big Jim. Manufacturers and their ad agencies created their own superheroes to sell their products in comic ads, such as Intermark Shoe Company’s AAU Shuperstar.

There was no denying the appeal of using the comic medium and its four-color favorites as a means to sell products to its young audience.

Early HCAs Two famous firsts, (left) DC’s first Hostess Comic Ad, starring Batman (art by Dick Giordano), and (right) Gold Key’s first ad, starring the Road Runner (art attributed to John Costanza).

Batman TM & © DC Comics.

Road Runner TM & © Warner Bros.

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

And thus, the comic-ad format was selected as the medium for Hostess to reach young consumers.

Five major publishers comprised the initiative: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Harvey Comics, Archie Comics, and Gold Key Comics (Gold Key, publisher

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TM

by

Mark Arnold

Take Your Swee’pea to Work Day Popeye the Perfect Enunciation Man traded the Seven Seas for the asphalt jungle as a career guide in a series of unusual 1972 one-shots produced

by Charlton Comics but bearing the King Features brand.

Popeye TM & © King Features Syndicate (KFS).

The iconic Popeye the Sailor Man first appeared in an infamous 1929 episode of the Thimble Theatre comic strip by Elzie Segar, a strip that had already been in publication for ten years.

Though primarily known for spinach, in subsequent years Popeye has shilled pasta, oatmeal, chicken, and more. He has also frequently appeared in comic books, with adventures published over the years by Dave McKay, Dell, Gold Key, King Features, Charlton, Whitman, Harvey, Ocean Comics, and most recently IDW, in conjunction with Yoe Books.

Lesser known during that lengthy comic-book run is Popeye’s turn as a vocational guidance counselor through a series of comic books and other products published in 1972, designed to help individuals with their careers.

Popeye expert Fred Grandinetti tells BACK ISSUE, “This was part of an educational series produced by King Features Syndicate. There were different artists on the series and in several issues, Popeye wore his white sailor’s uniform, although drawn as he appeared in the comic strip at the time. The white sailor’s suit, primarily seen in the later theatrical cartoons and 1960–1962 television films [see RetroFan #12—ed.], was used to expedite the artwork, white being easier to color in than black.”

Who actually published the Popeye Career Guidance comics? They look like Charlton comics,

even though it says King Features all over them.

Grandinetti explains, “All production was done at Charlton. George Wildman was in charge of the project and assigned Joe Gill to write the scripts.

I’m pretty sure they received a list of topics and probably a lot of information from the educational advisors employed by King. These comic books spawned a board game and a filmstrip series.”

George Wildman was an artist who had a lengthy tenure as the illustrator of Popeye when Charlton published the title from 1967–1977. From 1971– 1985, Wildman was a top editor at Charlton Comics.

He also produced Popeye artwork for various products due to the continued popularity of the character.

While at Charlton, Wildman remarked of the Popeye educational project, “We’re producing a series of Popeye Career Guidance books. They guide young children, 4th- to 6th-grade level, as to what endeavor in life they might like to become involved.

Say, if you want to be a plumber, a doctor, a dentist, a toolmaker, a painter. We worked with the Department of Education and the Department of Labor, as well as various universities. We have eight Learn to Read books which involve many of the King titles, and now we’re getting into bilingual comic books.”

A major criticism for using Popeye in the series was that he suddenly spoke perfect English, which was felt to be out of character by fans.

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In the Golden Age of comic books, fan clubs were ubiquitous, whether the Junior Justice Society of America, Captain America’s Sentinels of Liberty, or the Captain Marvel Club. Membership dues—typically a dime—bought treasures such as certificates, cloth patches, and an all-important key to the secret code messages that were appearing in each respective hero’s comic books of the 1940s.

Few of these mushrooming groups were as popular or longlived as the Supermen of America, however. In the July 1946 issue of Coronet, future Superman editor Mort Weisinger placed its membership in the 1,300,000 range! At the club’s height, Anthony Tollin reported in 1975’s Amazing World of DC Comics #8, it “required a full-time staff employee just to process the memberships and count the dimes.”

As the Supermen of America faded away in early 1966, DC Comics’ rival Marvel Comics was a year into its own fan club, the Merry Marvel Marching Society. By all accounts, the MMMS was a great success, another avenue for writer-editor Stan Lee to promote the

John Wells

TM & © DC Comics.

by

Marvel brand. Publisher Martin Goodman merely saw the club as a drain on profits and the Marching Society membership kits wound up absorbed into a licensed mail-order business based in California. The rechristened Marvelmania International proved to a disaster, one that saw the licensee pocket much of the profits before skipping town. Alerted by prominent fans (and Marvelmania employees) Mark Evanier and Steve Sherman, Marvel was forced to disavow the operation in its December 1971-dated issues.

At DC, its then-Vice President Sol Harrison remained convinced that the comic-book fan club could make a comeback. “I prepared a new membership kit for the Supermen of America some time ago,” he revealed in 1975’s Amazing World of DC Comics #8, “but we lacked the facilities to put it into operation. I’d like to see the club return in conjunction with the upcoming Super DC Convention, and the idea seems to have strong support throughout the office.

Perhaps sometime soon, the Supermen of America will return, bigger and better than ever before.”

Bronze Age Promos, Ads, and Gimmicks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 27

NO MERE SUPERMEN OF AMERICA REVIVAL

Were You a Charter Member? (top) A sampling of DC Super-Stars Society applications. (bottom) Michael Catron at his desk in DC’s editorial department, 1979.

Photo by José Luís Garcia-López and courtesy of Mr. Catron.

TM & © DC Comics.

Paul Levitz tells BACK ISSUE that it “came in from someone who was supposedly a wise mail order By the time the convention took place in February 1976 maven.” Mike Gold—then-DC’s publicist—adds, [see BACK ISSUE #100], DC’s President and Publisher “It was an outside deal licensed by Sol Harrison, Carmine Infantino had been ousted. In the aftermath, with his oversight.”

What developed was far more ambitious the 58-year-old company man Harrison found than a mere resurrection of the Supermen himself sharing top billing with 28-yearof America. Published in all DC titles on old Jenette Kahn, as President to her sale in September 1977, a full-page Publisher. While Kahn placed her focus “Important Notice” announced that on the comics themselves, Harrison “applications are now being taken continued to deal with licensing for the following chapters of the DC and merchandising matters that had Super-Stars Society.” In short, this been prominent in his VP post. would actually be 12 different clubs By late 1977, enthusiasm for the devoted to Batman, Black Lightning, Kahn-era DC Comics was building DC Battle Stars, the Flash, Green and plans were afoot for a major Arrow and Black Canary, Green Lantern, expansion of the line in June 1978. The the Justice League, the Justice DC Explosion would add additional Society, the Legion of Super-Heroes, pages and content to each title as Shazam!, Superman, and Wonder paul levitz well as take advantage of anticipated Woman. interest in the Superman movie © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.

“Send a long stamped selfslated to premiere in the summer.

For Harrison, this represented an opportunity to addressed envelope with your name, address and finally revive a DC fan club. Like the Marvelmania the chapter you prefer,” the text continued. “You deal, it seems to have originated with an outside will receive a detailed application form explaining the DC Super-Stars Society, the items in your chapter’s agency, but no one recalls details. membership package, and your special chapter questionnaire, testing your knowledge of your favorite DC Super-Stars.”

The lineup of subjects is superhero-centric, with the DC Battle Stars the conspicuous exception. Absent were such period headliners as Jonah Hex, Kamandi, and Warlord. Curiously, Aquaman—then a familiar presence from TV’s Super Friends as well as his own title—was also missing. In a nod to their fan-favorite status, Green Arrow and Black Canary were granted their own chapter. Although the power couple didn’t have their own book, they were co-stars in Green Lantern, regulars in Justice League of America, and prominent in their own features in World’s Finest Comics.

Michael Catron, who was hired as Mike Gold’s assistant in 1977, wasn’t involved in the first phase of the project and tells BACK ISSUE that he wasn’t aware of how the chapter lineup was selected. “I think it was a pretty robust group to get things rolling. Given the time period, I think [Hex, Kamandi, and Warlord] would have been good candidates for a second round of chapters, Warlord especially. If the project had been successful, I’m sure chapters would have come and gone as time went by.”

House ads continued to tout the Society through the end of 1977, resuming in June and July 1978 once the DC Explosion was underway. Unknown to readers, however, the Explosion had become an Implosion after Warner Communications’ higher-ups forced DC to abandon the expansion and scale back its publication slate. Remaining creative assignments were shuffled as necessary, jobs were lost, and a pervasive sense of gloom settled over the DC office.

Mike Gold left his publicist job as of August 18.

“I was expecting to be fired, too,” Michael Catron recalls, “but instead, Sol put me in charge of the DC Super-Stars Society. I was to fulfill all the plans and promises of the club, so I was supervising and coordinating all the details, kind of like an editor would oversee a comic book (though this was less complicated). I reported to Joe Orlando and Sol Harrison.”

Catron put together a dozen four-page applications that followed the same template. Page one featured spot art with the star of the respective

28 • BACK ISSUE • Bronze Age Promos, Ads, and Gimmicks Issue

chapter, a note on the interior trivia quiz, and a plug for the contents of the official membership packet: “For only $4.00, you get a poster, transfers for your T-shirt (or wherever you want to put them), a DC patch, membership card and certificate, and more! You’re even entitled to discounts to subscriptions to our fan publications, The Amazing World of DC Comics and Direct Currents, and many of our comics, as well as many items of DC superhero merchandise.”

Page two featured an “application quiz,” comprising 12 multiple choice trivia questions. “Be careful— some questions may have more than one correct answer!” Page three was an illustrated promotion of the contents of the membership packet, which included the DC Super-Stars Society shield and the revelation that the poster was illustrated by José Luís Garcia-López. The final page included more spot art and a coupon to mail-in for the packet. Readers were expected to abide by the honor system and include their quiz score on the coupon.

“I wrote the quiz questions,” Catron said, “and I had a lot of fun doing it, too! They were easy multiple-choice questions, and I amused myself (and, hopefully, the potential club members) with some of the incorrect choices offered as answers.

“Joe reviewed and approved everything I wrote except for one thing. That was the use of ‘Appassionata von Climax’ as one of the wrong answers. I argued for it, even starting out by explaining who the character was, but then I caught myself and shut up. As if Joe Orlando had never read Li’l Abner! Boy, did I feel dumb. I lost that one, but I still thought it was funny. Maybe even funnier, I no longer remember what the question was. (I’d been in my high school’s production of the Broadway play— I played Evil Eye Fleagle—so the name just came to me naturally. Even Al Capp wondered how that name got past the syndicate and America’s newspaper editors. Well, it didn’t get past Joe Orlando.)

“I also did the paste-up on those things. Sol told me to write up an invoice, and when I handed it in, he said that that was too much and cut it in half.

(As far as I’m concerned, DC still owes me 20 bucks.)”

Catron adds, “Art was ready to go for the decal.

I don’t think any decals or patches were made. But that poster was a big project for me at the time. I made a list of the characters who were to be on it and gave that list to José Luis García-López, who penciled it. (He asked me which of the Legionnaires could fly. I told him all of them. Flight rings, you know.) Then I had to take it around to each of the editors for them to approve ‘their’ characters. Joe Kubert gave out a deep laugh, whipped out his pencil, and re-drew Sgt. Rock’s machine gun on the spot. Others may have made other corrections.

Once it was inked, I never saw it again. (You can bet Sol didn’t slash José’s invoice!) It’s good to hear that it saw print eventually, but that was after I’d gone.

That’s one souvenir I’d like to get a copy of.”

“As for the number of people who received the introductory mailing, the number that sticks in my mind is 2,000 spread over the 12 chapters. Whatever the number, it was too low to support the project.

Which is kind of sad, because that was still more than my annual salary at the time ($7,500 plus a certain amount of freelance work).

“I don’t know what the print runs were,” Catron continues. “But I believe they all saw print. It was likely all one big print order, but that doesn’t necessarily mean an equal number of copies were printed for each chapter.

YOU’LL BELIEVE A FAN CLUB CAN’T FLY

In August, the decision came down to delay the launch of the club. On further reflection, The Comics Journal #44 (Jan. 1979) reported, DC opted to cancel the project altogether. All the membership fees were refunded along with letters of apology. Also cancelled at the same time was the in-house fanzine Amazing World of DC Comics, which had been published sporadically since 1974.

Michael Catron adds, “The Comics Journal #42 reported that DC had conducted a survey earlier that year that said Jonah Hex had the oldest readership (high school to college), the war books had the youngest (approximately 12 and almost exclusively male). The average age for the superhero reader was about 15. The mystery books had an odd split. About half were around 12 years old. The other half were about 20, but nearly two-thirds of that second half were female. Maybe those age groups were just too old for a fan club. Maybe the $4.00 membership price was too high. (The minimum wage in 1978 was $2.65 an hour. DC’s main titles had jumped from 35¢ to 50¢—with a few more pages added— and then the Implosion happened, and DC dropped the extra pages and dropped the price down to 40¢.)

Or maybe the whole idea of fan clubs was passé.

“The big issue seems to have been that the response didn’t meet DC’s expectations. DC had had great success with the Supermen of America

Are You a Batfan?

All four pages of the DC SuperStars Society’s Batman Chapter membership application.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Steven Thompson

I Am Curious, Yellow Box (below) A Direct Currents column header from a 1966 DC title.

TM & © DC Comics.

In the mid-1960s, National Periodical Publications (DC Comics) began utilizing a lightning-logo’d yellow box labeled “Direct Currents” to plug upcoming comics.

“DC,” get it? The title and logo were revived in the 1970s for a column in issues of the company’s house fanzine The Amazing World of DC Comics. In the 1980s, it was done up yet again as a free subscription newsletter. In between those last two incarnations, however, in 1976, came the Direct Currents Hot-Line (herewith Hotline)!

It was a time of big changes for the publisher, with National finally, officially rechristened as DC Comics and Jenette Kahn chosen as the new captain of the four-color ship. The DC Explosion was upon us.

The idea for the Hotline originated with Mike Gold. New to DC at the time, in an interview some years later he said, “This was a whole different kettle of fish. Jenette wanted me to be DC’s first in-house PR and marketing department.”

Thinking outside of the box, he came up with the Hotline.

The way it worked was, you called the Hotline telephone number (which was updated once a week) and you were regaled by one of your favorite DC creators with news and information about upcoming comics and related topics via the modern miracle of tape-recorded messages. A few years later this would have been a pay call, but back then it was a toll free 1-800 number.

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When you called during the day or early evening, you would almost always get a busy signal (remember those?), so you would have to keep trying over and over. I usually called when I woke up at 6 a.m. By March of 1977, the Hot-Line had more than tripled its initial number of callers and it was reported that a second line was installed.

Once you did get through, it was a treat to be able to attach voices and accents to the names you had seen for years in the comics. Each message lasted about five minutes, and some folks were better than others when it came to delivering them.

According to writer Paul Kupperberg, “For time and clarity’s sake, they were scripted.”

Kupperberg remembers the low-tech process for making the weekly recordings.

“As I recall, they were made on a cassette tape recorder in someone’s office.”

Longtime DC “Answer Man,” writer Bob Rozakis, adds that, “…it was really annoying when I’d get through the whole thing without a mistake and discover I’d run over by two seconds.

We learned to speak very quickly.”

As soon as I saw the ad in the comic books about the DC Hotline, I began to dial it regularly and got through nearly every week. I always jotted down all the information on a telephone pad! What follows here, then, though incomplete and subject to both my poor penmanship and the occasionally indecipherable recordings of the writers, artists, and editors involved, is a checklist of what was actually reported on the legendary Direct Currents Hotline. #1, Monday, Nov. 29, 1976 There may have been a couple before this, as some sources indicate the Hotline began on November 1, 1976, but this

was the one that was up when I first saw the ad in a then-current comic book. [Editor’s note: According to Walt Grogan’s Hotline transcripts that follow, Nov. 29 was indeed the first GREAT HERA! Hotline.] Writer Martin Pasko spoke, hawking ANOTHER BUSY DC Super-Stars, presentSIGNAL? ing the news that Superboy would begin appearing in Adventure, and that Aquaman’s title was returning. #2, Monday, Dec. 6, 1976 Denny O’ Neil reported that Superman Family and House of Mystery were now to be Dollar Comics and then plugged his own title, Kung-Fu Fighter. #3, Monday, Dec. 13, 1976 Newly appointed managing editor Joe Orlando hyped Jonah Hex, Scalphunter [in Weird Western Tales], Black Lightning, and artists Sergio Aragonés, Ed Davis, Gray Morrow, Howard Chaykin, and Alan Weiss. #4, Monday, Dec. 20, 1976 Publisher Jenette Kahn plugged the new line of Dollar Comics as having Neal Adams covers and then wished all of us fans a Merry Christmas. #5, Monday, Dec. 27, 1976 Editor Jack C. Harris told us that Inspector Henderson (from TV’s Adventures of Superman) was now a regular in Black Lightning, and plugged an upcoming team-ups of Batman and Deadman, as well as Kamandi and OMAC.

“Live,” from New York… …it’s the DC Direct Currents Hotline! This Kurt Schaffenbergerdrawn house ad from late 1976 got many of us to pick up the phone for the latest DC scoops!

(Phone number no longer valid.)

TM & © DC Comics.

Bronze Age Promos, Ads, and Gimmicks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 39

SELECT DC DIRECT CURRENTS HOTLINE TRANSCRIPTS

by Walt Grogan

The DC Hotline was so popular that getting through to it was a hit-and-miss endeavor. It occurred to me that I should record these messages for easy playback and to avoid spending time re-dialing the number just to hear the weekly message over and over again. Using my trusty Panasonic RQ-414S Cassette Recorder, I recorded several of the messages.

Unfortunately, I didn’t record all of them and, in some cases, accidentally recorded over them. These nine messages have been sitting on an old cassette tape for over 40 years, which I recently unearthed from my collection. Enjoy.

DC Direct Currents Hotline #2 – Dec. 6, 1976 – Denny O’Neil – 00:40.12

© DC Comics.

Hi, this is the Hotline and I’m Denny O’Neil coming from DC’s offices in downtown Metropolis. I’d like to tell you about our big Dollar Comics, specifically Superman Family, which I happen to edit.

Let’s see… it’s 80 pages of all-new material and it’s got stories about Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Krypto (Superman’s pet), Superbaby (who was Superman when he was a cuddly, cute, little kid), and a really terrificlooking Supergirl.

You mystery freaks might be interested in another Dollar title, House of Mystery.

And in our regular-size comics, the specialty of the week is something I wrote, Kung-Fu Fighter. And in this issue, Richard Dragon battles the man who studied with Bruce Lee. Hey, thanks a lot for calling in and, uh, catch us next week, okay?

DC Direct Currents Hotline #3 – Dec. 13, 1976 – Joe Orlando – 00:38.52 Hi, DC fans, this is Joe Orlando!

If you think our new Dollar Comics are our only Christmas surprises, wait ’til you see Jonah Hex, now in his own comic. Weird Western will now premiere Scalphunter, a new breed of Western hero that Sergio Aragonés and I created and is written by Mike Fleisher, drawn by Dick Ayers and George Evans.

And first of the year, watch out for the adventures of our brand-new superhero, Black Lightning—written by Tony Isabella and drawn by our new, young super-artist, Trevor Von Eeden!

And speaking of super-artists, some of the new artists now working for DC are Gray Morrow, Howie Chaykin, Ed Davis, Al Weiss.

Thanks for calling… and call again next week.

ORLANDO? I WAS HOPING FOR SOL HARRISON!

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Today there are numerous ways comic companies can reach fans to promote their new and upcoming books. There’s Facebook and Instagram, YouTube and Twitter, Previews magazine, and every publisher’s website promoting new and upcoming titles.

This hasn’t always been the case. During the Bronze Age, most new titles from comic-book publishers were promoted through house ads or, in the case of Marvel and DC, through Bullpen Bulletins and Direct Currents, respectively. In 1980, DC Comics, which was running behind Marvel Comics in sales, came up with an ingenious way to promote new books: a free 16-page preview of upcoming titles exclusively placed into editions of popular series.

These previews weren’t only great because they were free (although that was a plus), but also because you couldn’t get them anywhere else.

Barring one exception, these weren’t just pages that had been recycled from other comics. The

stories were totally new and introduced readers to the characters or concepts that were coming their way. The previews (sometimes referred to as prevues) were inserted into specially marked DC Comics cover-dated October 1980 through September 1985 and normally contained a cover, 14 pages of story, and a preview of the first issue cover. And did I mention they were (usually) free?

While most of the previews were for superhero books, readers also found previews of a horror title, a sword-and-sorcery book, a funny-animal comic, and comics based on licensed properties.

Readers never knew what they were going to get with each individual preview. Sometimes it would be an origin story, sometimes a story that took place before the first issue but left out key details in order to surprise readers with the first issue, and sometimes even a story that took place chronologically after the first issue to give readers a feel for what the new series was going to be like.

Ed Lute

Pulse-Pounding Preview Premiere!

The Superman/GL team-up is often overlooked in DC Comics Presents #26 (Oct. 1980) due to the issue’s preview of The New Teen Titans! DCCP cover

by Jim Starlin, NTT preview cover by George Pérez and Dick Giordano.

TM & © DC Comics.

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PREVIEWING THE DC UNIVERSE

So, just where did the idea for the previews come from? Then-DC Comics manager of business affairs (and later publisher) Paul Levitz tells BACK ISSUE, “The idea could have come from [then-DC Comics publisher] Jenette [Kahn], Dick [Giordano], Bruce Bristow (marketing exec around the time, if he’d started by then), or me.

I’d love to think it was mine, but I can’t recall that.”

Former DC Comics’ Answer Man Bob Rozakis recalls, “The reason behind [the free previews] was to bring readers to a new title by doing the preview in one of the better-selling books. I don’t know that they were able to track how much of a difference it made.”

DC put a lot of faith in these previews, even promoting them heavily on the front cover of the books they appeared in. Many times, the preview would be mentioned in a border running down the left side of the cover. Sometimes the preview was promoted via other parts of the cover… but in two cases, no mention was even included on the cover at all.

The previews were inserted into a wide variety of titles. How were the previews paired with their host comics? According to Levitz, “Probably a combined editorial and marketing conversation.”

Not all of the new comics that premiered during this time period received the free preview treatment. Levitz reveals, “Generally previews were for things we thought could be breakthroughs.”

Now, on to the previews themselves!

Cover Copy Some previews, like Dial “H” for Hero, were touted on diagonal copy strips across the covers, as seen here from Legion of SuperHeroes #272 (Feb. 1981). Many were promoted with lettered blurbs like these excerpted examples for All-Star Squadron, Wonder Woman, Captain Carrot, and Blue Devil.

TM & © DC Comics.

NEW TEEN TITANS

In 1980, writer Marv Wolfman, artist George Pérez, and editor Len Wein came up with a revival of the Teen Titans titled The New Teen Titans. Although not sold on the concept initially, publisher Jenette Kahn was eventually convinced that the new book could work and ordered the concept to series. However, this new series didn’t make its debut in The New Teen Titans #1 (Nov. 1980) but instead in a specially produced preview comic that was inserted in the Superman team-up book DC Comics Presents #26 (Oct. 1980).

The preview reintroduced Teen Titan mainstays Robin the Boy Wonder, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl, and occasional Titan (and Doom Patrol hanger-on) Beast Boy (now called the Changeling).

It also introduced a trio of new characters that would quickly become fan favorites—Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire. The revival of the teenage superhero team was a hit and would even rival Marvel’s merry mutants, the Uncanny X-Men, for popularity.

Underneath an exciting cover by Pérez with inks by artist Dick Giordano, the preview contained more action-packed artwork by the two dynamic artists, paired with a complex but inviting story

by Wolfman that quickly brought the readers into the action and had them wanting more. Robin, while battling terrorists inside of Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories (S.T.A.R. Labs), keeps having visions about a new incarnation of the Teen Titans including the bizarre new members. While the mystery surrounding these new characters and the reformation of the team would have to wait until the ongoing title began, the preview did a nice job of introducing the new characters, reminding readers about the already-established ones, and setting the tone for the series that paid respect to the previous incarnations of the teen group while paving the way to make these heroes more than just sidekicks.

Wolfman recounts to BACK ISSUE, “DC publisher Jenette Kahn really liked what George Pérez and I did with the first issue of New Teen Titans marv wolfman and she wanted to find a way to get reader’s attention. I’m not sure if it was Jenette or Paul Levitz who came up with the idea of doing a 16-page prequel story of the new Titans group that readers would get it as a free bonus in the back of DC Comics Presents. This was great for us as it allowed us to come up some backstory to the group that we hadn’t had enough room to do earlier [in issue #1].” While the preview was written after the first issue, Wolfman’s craftsmanship was so good that readers were unable to tell that was the case.

DIAL “H” FOR HERO

The Legion of Super-Heroes #272 (Feb. 1981) featured the second free preview, for a Dial “H” for Hero reboot. Dial “H” for Hero made its original appearance in House of Mystery #156 (Jan. 1966).

In its original incarnation, teenager Robby Reed used an unusual rotary dial to spell out the word “HERO,” causing him to be turned into a different superhero each time. In the new series, teenagers Chris King and Vicky Grant each had a dial that would turn them into a variety of different superheroes. The preview was written by Marv Wolfman, with art by Carmine Infantino, Frank Chiaramonte, and Dennis Jensen.

“Once the Titans preview did well, DC decided to introduce other new titles that way,” Wolfman tells BI. “There’s nothing of any great interest; it was just the regular ‘write and draw a 16-page prequel story,’ and we did it.”

During the preview, the teenagers turned into a succession of different superheroes, including Chris turning into the Moth and Mega Boy while Vicki turned into Futura and Sunspot.

The superheroes were new creations and not based on any preexisting DC characters. Instead, these superheroes were created by fans. The Dial “H” for Hero preview had a form for readers to fill out to submit their superhero ideas to the DC offices for characters that Chris and 46 • BACK ISSUE • Bronze Age Promos, Ads, and Gimmicks Issue

Vicky could turn in to. If an idea was used, the creative fan would get a Dial “H” T-shirt and have their name printed in the comic listed as the creator of the superhero. DC retained all rights to the superhero creations, though.

The preview ended on a cliffhanger that was resolved in the first issue of the ongoing Dial “H” series as Sunspot and Mega Boy battled the Flying Buttress. Like the original incarnation of the title, the reboot wasn’t featured in its own self-titled comic but could be found in Adventure Comics #479–490 (Mar. 1981–Feb. 1982) before moving on to the New Adventures of Superboy #28–49 (Apr. 1982–Jan. 1984) as a backup feature.

ALL-STAR SQUADRON

To the fans of TwoMorrows’ publications, it’s no secret that writer Roy Thomas is a huge fan of Golden Age comics. He was also no stranger to reviving Golden Age characters for the Bronze Age when he co-created the All-Star Squadron title for DC because he had previously written for Marvel new World War II-set adventures of Captain America, the original Human Torch, and the Sub-Mariner as the super-team called the Invaders.

Thomas, aided by penciler/co-creator Rich Buckler and inker Jerry Ordway (credited here as Jeremiah), gave readers an exciting preview of the All-Star Squadron book in Justice League of America #193 (Aug. 1981).

The creators delivered page after page of action and intrigue as Wonder Woman, Flash (Jay Garrick), and Green Lantern (Alan Scott) battled Solomon Grundy; Sandman (Wesley Dodds), Starman, and Johnny Thunder battled pirates on a floating pirate ship; Dr. Fate battled his foe Wotan; Batman, Robin, and Superman battled Professor Zodiak; and Hourman, Hakwman, and the Atom battled a creature that called himself the Monster. While the other heroes were defeated by their foes, Hourman, Hawkman, and Atom beat the Monster, who soon vanished but not before muttering the name Degaton.

Who, or what, was Degaton? Readers would have to wait until the ongoing series to find out the answer to this question as well as to see which characters from the preview would make it into the ongoing title, as the final page presented the first issue cover which teased, “Who will be the heroes of the All-Star Squadron?”

The preview story took place on December 6, 1941, the eve of the day that would live in infamy. Thomas tells BI, “I wanted All-Star Squadron to cover WWII, so, while fighting had been going on since 1939 (longer in Asia), I felt the eve of Pearl Harbor was the ideal place to start… even earlier than I started in The Invaders at Marvel.”

Thomas sheds light on an editorial decision that affected the covers of both the preview issue and the first issue of All-Star Squadron, as well as later covers on the new series.

“Even with the All-Star Squadron preview, I had nothing to do with the interior cover, as I was just asked there to do a 14-page story, plus space for an ad on the back ‘cover.’ Len Wein came up with the front ‘cover,’ which is shown by the fact that it never occurred to him there (or on that All-Star Squadron #1 cover, come to that) that Starman should be on both of them.

Particularly egregious was the preview cover, because instead of Starman Len had Rich Buckler draw the Shining Knight, who was never a member of the JSA unless one counted a 1970s issue or two (where he was never said to be in the group; he just popped up). Len was a great talent, and both covers were well done, especially the one for Squadron #1. But I think he resented the fact that the powers-that-be had told him that I was to be pretty much left alone so far as the storyline went, and I stuck my oar in (had to) re the art as well… so he held on firm to the covers, and wouldn’t discuss them with me or show them to me till they were done. I think it was too late to change the Squadron preview or #1 cover by the time I saw them. It was also his idea (which Rich particularly objected to, and helped lead to his leaving the book soon after) to have Joe Kubert do the covers… which I rather liked, in some ways, but I would’ve had Rich do the covers, because (a) he wanted to, and was a good cover artist, and (b) because I was not convinced that Kubert, though he was and is one of my favorite artists ever, would sell a

Create a Hero, Get a T-shirt (top) Cover to the Dial “H” for Hero preview. Art by Carmine Infantino and Bob Smith. (bottom). This release form concluded the preview, encouraging character submissions.

TM & © DC Comics.

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TM

by

Eric Bresler

Throughout the first half of the 1990s, a period of unprecedented growth and change within the comic-book industry, Marvel published a scarcely remembered series that was equal parts What If…? and What The--?!. The Marvel Quarterly and Annual Reports are set in a Marvel Universe where heroes and villains are primarily concerned with their parent company’s financial activities. “Gross margins increased due to the favorable sales mix of publications and higher licensing revenues,” booms an enthusiastic Hulk as he rips off his business suit.

“Toy Biz’s 1994 infant and pre-school line is based on its Gerber License!” exclaims an excited Wolverine.

“Doom needs to learn why Marvel Entertainment’s ’92 net revenues increased 94% to $224 million— compared to $115 million in ’91!”

The series, a unique collaboration between corporate and creative, begins in the latter half of 1991, a landmark time for both sales and profitability, and ends in 1996, the year that Marvel filed for bankruptcy. Featuring a stellar list of experienced artists and attractive covers that could catch the eye of the most flippant of non-comic reading businessmen, the Marvel Quarterly and Annual Reports are forgotten gems that should be of interest to multiple readerships: They track the incentive-filled years of the speculator market for comic historians, supply an archive of storylines and incentives for the nostalgic collector, and provide a figure-filled timeline of big business maneuverings for the financially inclined. This article will eschew financial figures and commentary on corporate decisions in favor of a look at the series as a first-hand archive of a remarkable time period in Marvel’s history.

A MARVELOUS TIME OF CHANGE

Marvel entered the 1990s under the new ownership of successful Wall Street investor Ronald Perelman, a talented businessman who had little interest in comic books themselves. “Ronald really wanted to be in the media world and he started with Marvel. His intention was to be in television and movies and comics were the feeder line to get there,” recalls Terry Stewart, president and COO of Marvel from 1989 through 1994. “They saw it as terry stewart an opportunity to take the largest comic franchise, which is Marvel, buy it, and build it into a giant and then move that into the film and television world.”

Web-Slinging on Wall Street Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man visits the New York Stock Exchange on the cover of the first Marvel Quarterly Report, 3 Qtr 1991.

Original John Romita, Sr. cover art courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © Marvel.

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Keeping Watch (left) Marvel’s first Annual Report, from 1991, featured this Mike Harris/Jimmy Palmiotti charactercrowded cover at the NYSE. (right) From inside: Brand Echh’s sales graphs might have been boring, but not Mighty Marvel’s!

TM & © Marvel.

Stewart is a lifelong comic-book reader whose become the first publicly traded comic-book company, collection began in 1948. He’d worked as a lawyer and commemorated by a Spidey-suited actor visiting the a banker and was in the mergers and acquisitions field floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

The year 1991 also marked the formation of in 1989 when he caught the eye of Perelman. “I was specifically hired by Ronald and his team because I had Marvel’s first marketing department, under the a business background and was a comic-book reader leadership of Sven Larsen, who joined Marvel in 1989 as their Retailer Liaison and went on to spearhead and collector. They thought that was critical to a bevy of memorable incentive covers. the success of the business. They wanted “The day of the IPO was a big one,” us to exercise the elements of collecting, remembers Larsen. “For staff, the IPO to make it part of a marketing plan. was met with equal parts anticipation That’s kind of unusual. I always say and dread. There was a lot of concern there was me and a guy from Utah, a about how going public would impact very small subset of people who had the content of the books. But a lot of a financial background and still read people were also excited to own a and collected comics.” piece of the company and place their While new corporate hires began money and faith in the future of a populating the Marvel offices, the company they dearly loved. publishing division was reaching “On a personal note, the day of formerly unheard-of levels of success. the IPO was a relief for me since I’d In June of 1990, Todd McFarlane’s sven larsen been drafted to help with all the Spider-Man #1 sold a record 2.5 filing documents that take place million copies thanks to several variant covers that catered towards collectors and investors and before the actual offering,” Larsen continues. “This would lead directly to the decade’s speculator bubble. ended up being a ton of work and it was also how In 1991, Jim Lee’s X-Men #1 and Rob Liefeld’s X-Force Gary [Fishman] and I started collaborating. I recall #1 sold 8.2 million and 3.6 million respectively, making sitting on a PATH station platform on a rainy Sunday them the two bestselling comics in history. It was that morning editing some SEC document and wondering same summer that Marvel made the historic jump to how the hell a 25-year-old former comic-shop employee could be dealing with stuff like this.”

Gary Fishman, like Stewart, was a lifelong comicbook fan with a background in business. After acquiring a journalism degree from Boston University, where he developed a superhero comic strip for the newspaper, the B.U. Avenger, he worked in the public-relations field, which led him to the investor-relations field in the early 1980s. During that decade he had done some business work for Rick Obadiah’s First Comics and wrote an unpublished story for Neal Adams’ Continuity Comics title Toyboy. By 1991, Fishman had founded the Hudson Stone Group, an investor and publicrelations firm. He had heard that the House of Ideas was going to go public and reached out to Marvel CEO Bill Bevins, a key member of Perelman’s team.

62 • BACK ISSUE • Bronze Age Promos, Ads, and Gimmicks Issue

“I’ll never forget what Bill said,” recalls Fishman. “You know, my problem with Marvel is that I meet a lot of people that know comic books, and I meet a lot of people who know business, but it’s hard to find business people who understand comics.’ He wanted me to talk to Terry Stewart and [Terry] said that they might use me for a project.

Later I get a telephone call from him, ‘We’re working on our first quarterly report for shareholders and we want you to come be in on the meeting.’”

When a company goes public, it is required to send both quarterly and a year-end annual report to shareholders. gary fishman The content of these reports includes income statements, balance sheets, cash-flow statements, and other financial data that would put a non-business-minded comic reader to sleep.

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW, Fishman continues, “So ICLICK went in, it LINK was Terry, Marvel THIS CFO THE TO ORDER Bob Riscica, and Mark Erickson, who was in charge of licensing.

ISSUE IN PRINT OR DIGITAL FORMAT! They show me an initial design for a quarterly report. I remember the inside was a picture of Ghost Rider with no real background and an empty word bubble. And the next one was Iron Man, the next one was Spider-Man. So I’m looking at this and I didn’t quite get what they were trying to do. Terry explained, ‘We want to convey to people that Marvel Entertainment isn’t just a comicbook company. We’re an entertainment company. The reason why is that we think our heroes and villains have far greater legs than people realize. They’re personalities, they’re characters, which can drive entertainment revenue, toys, movies, televisions shows, in a way people have never quite appreciated.’ I replied, ‘So why are you doing it this way?’ ‘So we can show them the different personalities.’ ‘I know what you’re saying, but this looks cut and paste. I don’t know whether that’s going to accomplish what you’re trying to do.’ Everybody sits back and Bob Riscica goes, ‘What are you talking about? BACK Like Hulk and#130 Spider-Man ISSUE talking about the numbers?’

‘Yes,AGEthat’s exactly what I’m talking BRONZE PROMOS, ADS, AND GIMMICKS! The aborted Society fan DC about!’ And you could see DC theSuper-Stars light bulbs goclub, onHostess over Comic theirAds, heads.

16-page Preview Comics, rare Marvel custom comics, DC ‘Okay, let’s give it a try.’ I had to write up a memo that described Hotline, Popeye Career Comics, early variant covers, and more.

Featuring BARR, HERDLING, LEVITZ, MAGUIRE, MORGAN, what became the Quarterly Reports and they assigned Glenn PACELLA, PALMIOTTI, SHAW!, TERRY STEWART, THOMAS, Herdling to be in charge of making it happen.”

WOLFMAN, and more!

Glenn Herdling was editorial(84-page director of Marvel’s Custom FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 Publishing division at the time, a newly(Digital developed department Edition) $4.99 that specialized in educational, social, and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=1620 product tie-in comics. Herdling started at Marvel in 1986 as an assistant to Carl Potts and had worked in the editorial and production departments since then. Herdling remembers, “Gary was essential because he was the only guy who could translate the financial data into something I could understand. He was also a fan.”

“Glenn was perfect,” responds Fishman. “He was in custom comics. He did the whole production; we used the Marvel glenn herdling Method. They didn’t get involved in money matters. Part of my job was to write it in such a way that fit the format and communicated a story accurately. It was all reviewed by the CFO’s team, Terry Stewart had to like it, the attorney had to approve it, Perelman’s people in the townhouse had to approve it. Everybody had to make sure they were on board with it.”

“Gary had to make sure that he clearly told everything that we needed to tell in an annual report for a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange, which means you can’t be as

Adventure into Fleer (top) Back and front covers to the 1992 Annual Report. (bottom) Dr. Doom demands an explanation for the increase in annual net revenues on the issue’s splash page.

TM & © Marvel.

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