Back Issue #153

STOP YER CRYIN’! OUR BIG BABY ISSUE IS HERE! Augus

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MEET THE MARVELOUS MUTANT MOPPETS

X-Men TM & © Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

X-BABIES

Sugar and Spike • Franklin Richards • Superbaby Dennis the Menace • Marvel’s kid humor comics Baby Snoots • Harvey Comics & more

Satiate Your Sinister Side!

“Greetings, creep culturists! For my debut

All characters and properties TM & © their respective owners.

issue, I, the CRYPTOLOGIST (with the help of FROM THE TOMB editor PETER NORMANTON), have exhumed the worst Horror Comics excesses of the 1950s, Killer “B” movies to die for, and the creepiest, kookiest toys that crossed your boney little fingers as a child! But wait... do you dare enter the House of Usher, or choose sides in the skirmish between the Addams Family and The Munsters?! Can you stand to gaze at Warren magazine frontispieces by this issue’s cover artist BERNIE WRIGHTSON, or spend some Hammer Time with that studio’s most frightening films? And if Atlas pre-Code covers or terrifying science-fiction are more than you can take, stay away! All this, and more, is lurching toward you in TwoMorrows Publishing’s latest, and most decrepit, magazine—just for retro horror fans, and featuring my henchmen WILL MURRAY, MARK VOGER, BARRY FORSHAW, TIM LEESE, PETE VON SHOLLY, and STEVE and MICHAEL KRONENBERG!” (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

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CRYPTOLOGY #2

CRYPTOLOGY #3

CRYPTOLOGY #4

The Cryptologist and his ghastly little band have cooked up more grisly morsels, including: ROGER HILL’s conversation with our diabolical cover artist DON HECK, severed hand films, pre-Code comic book terrors, the otherworldly horrors of Hammer’s Quatermass, another Killer “B” movie classic, plus spooky old radio shows, and the horror-inspired covers of the Shadow’s own comic book. Start the ghoul-year with retro-horror done right by FORSHAW, the KRONENBERGS, LEESE, RICHARD HAND, VON SHOLLY, and editor PETER NORMANTON.

This third wretched issue inflicts the dread of MARS ATTACKS upon you—the banned cards, the model kits, the despicable comics, and a few words from the film’s deranged storyboard artist PETE VON SHOLLY! The chilling poster art of REYNOLD BROWN gets brought up from the Cryptologist’s vault, along with a host of terrifying puppets from film, and more comic books they’d prefer you forget! Plus, more Hammer Time, JUSTIN MARRIOT on obscure ’70s fear-filled paperbacks, another Killer “B” film, and more to satiate your sinister side!

Our fourth putrid tome treats you to ALEX ROSS’ gory lowdown on his Universal Monsters paintings! Hammer Time brings you face-to-face with the “Brides of Dracula”, and the Cryptologist resurrects 3-D horror movies and comics of the 1950s! Learn the origins of slasher films, and chill to the pre-Code artwork of Atlas’ BILL EVERETT and ACG’s 3-D maestro HARRY LAZARUS. Plus, another Killer “B” movie and more awaits retro horror fans, by NORMANTON, the KRONENBERGS, LEESE, VOGER, and VON SHOLLY!

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Volume 1, Number 153 August 2024 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTIST Arthur Adams (Art originally appeared as a variant cover for Return of Wolverine #1, Nov. 2018. Scan courtesy of Tiang Woon Meng.)

COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Kevin Sharp SPECIAL THANKS Arthur Adams Ann Nocenti Jim Amash Eric NolenMark Arnold Weathington Terry Austin Joseph Norton Cary Bates John Schwirian Bernie the Brain Louise Simonson Tom Brevoort Roy Thomas Dewey Cassell John Wells Gerry Conway Marv Wolfman Tom DeFalco Addisyn Fowlks Heritage Auctions King Features Syndicate, Inc. Christopher Larochelle Paul Levitz Ed Lute Alissa Marmol-Cernat Marvel Comics Tiang Woon Meng

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BACKSEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 FLASHBACK: Franklin Richards: Marvel’s First Son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Life hasn’t been easy for Reed and Sue’s firstborn TERRY’S TOONS: Here’s Pie in Your Eye!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Superstar artist Terry Austin ribs a beloved comics ad campaign BEYOND CAPES: The Last Days of Sugar and Spike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Whatever happened to cartoonist Sheldon Mayer’s talking toddlers?

FLASHBACK: Harvey Comics in the Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Richie Rich’s not-so-hostile takeover of Harvey Comics’ publishing line BEYOND CAPES: Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 The cow-licked cut-up was no stranger to Bronze Age spinner racks BACK IN PRINT: Marvel’s Bronze Age Menaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Meet Homer the Happy Ghost, Peter the Little Pest, and pals BEYOND CAPES: Baby Snoots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Gold Key Comics’ precious pint-sized pachyderm FLASHBACK: Me Am Superbaby. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 The adventures of Superman when he was an infant WHAT THE—?!: Superbaby in Action Comics #466. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 If you thought the notion of a Superbaby was forgotten by the mid-1970s, think again FLASHBACK: X-BABIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Marvel’s mini mutants have got the mojo to keep coming back again and again BACK TALK: Reader Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 BACK ISSUE™ issue 153, August 2024 (ISSN 1932-6904) is published monthly (except Jan., March, May, and Nov.) by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage paid at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Back Issue, c/o TwoMorrows, 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: $97 Economy US, $147 International, $39 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover artwork by Arthur Adams. X-Babies, the X-Men, and Wolverine TM & © Marvel. All Rights Reserved. All editorial matter © 2024 TwoMorrows and Michael Eury.

Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

TM & © Marvel.

Babies and superheroes don’t mix, some of you might argue.

Judging from this issue’s contents, you’d lose the argument.

Tying a cape around one’s neck and pretending to fly is a near-universal rite of passage in the real world… so why does such a visual give some of us pause when we see it in a comic book? Certainly contemporary comics creators and readers have no such compunction, as comics and comics-related media have shown us in the past couple decades. From Powerpuff Girls to The Incredibles to Tiny Titans to Mini Marvels to Superhero Squad to Funko Pop figures and the many miniature muscle-mites in between, if today’s fan has an itch for a superbaby, there’s one waiting to be “adopted” for a read, a viewing, or a spot on a collectibles shelf.

Comics’ baby business goes back to long before our cover-featured X-Babies—to the Golden Age. DC Comics’ Superbaby—Superman as an infant— has been around (at least in flashbacks) since Superman’s origin was first told… but did you know that competitor Timely Comics— that’s Marvel Comics to us today—had its own “Super Baby”? This diapered dogooder, who premiered in late 1942 in Comedy Comics #13, was a pint-sized patriot that battled not only the Axis Powers but also troublemakers like the Horrible Horror and the Wild Man of Bronxeo! It’s uncertain as to who his creators were, but beyond a smattering of stories in Timely’s Comedy Comics (also the home of Super Rabbit—just sayin’) and Krazy Komics, Super Baby also squeezed in an appearance in Bailey Publication Co.’s Cisco Kid Comics #1 (Winter 1944).

Another obscure superbaby you’ve probably never heard of is Super-Brat, a 1950s comic book headliner that was essentially Dennis the Menace with superpowers. The child was actually holy terror Ollie Orwell, who, while being punished, found a ratty old cape that gave him abilities far beyond those of mortal brats. Illustrated by Harry Betancourt, Toby Press’ Super-Brat ran for four issues in 1953 and 1954 and was later reprinted.

And while we’re sharing baby superhero trivia with you, did you 2 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

ichael Eury

TM & © Marvel.

by M

know that ye ed wrote several “Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham” stories when that was a backup feature in Marvel Tales in the late 1980s? One of them, from Marvel Tales #219 (Jan. 1989), featured Spider-Ham’s journey to an alternate world where all the superheroes were babies—including the Fantastic Four Tots, shown on this page (art by Alan Kupperberg and Joe Albelo). How can you not adore Sweet Thing’s catchphrase of “It’s slobberin’ time!”?

The aforementioned Dennis the Menace, cartoonist Hank Ketcham’s standard bearer for bad behavior we somehow can’t help but love, illustrates the other type of “baby comic” you’ll read about this issue, all-ages humor comics starring toddlers and children. The popularity of Dennis as a comic strip (as well as a TV series, comic book star, and merchandising force) inspired no end of imitators, although Pat the Brat and the myriad other clones lacked Dennis’ staying power.

Most of those types of books were becoming archaic at the dawn of the Bronze Age, and the few that hung on seemed out of place amid spin racks filled with vampires and monsters, kung fu, sword and sorcery, and, of course, superheroes.

Their decline—particularly DC’s charming Sugar and Spike— is explored this ish.

A few baby-starring comics have been previously featured in our pages, so if you wish to read about the following characters we kindly refer you to these issues: • • • • • • • •

Bat-Mite (not really a baby, but close enough…) (BI #73) The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot (BI #72) Dennis the Menace (Marvel Comics) (BI #59) Muppets Babies, Flintstones Kids, etc. (Marvel’s Star Comics line) (BI #77) Power Pack (BI #38) Richie Rich (BI #19, 32, 69, 71, 85, 124, 136) Superboy (including the Bronze Age Superbaby) (BI #142) Super Jrs. (and the Baby Brigade) (BI #76)

In the meantime, I’m putting this issue to bed… so it’s time for you to babysit!

Franklin Richards:

Marvel’s First Son

by J o e

Norton

Better Put on Your Big Boy Britches Young Franklin Richards faces a monstrous challenge in Fantastic Four Annual #14 (1979).

Cover art—pencils and inks—by Joltin’ Joe Sinnott.

TM & © Marvel.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 3

A New Addition (right) 1968’s iconic FF Annual #6. (left) From inside, the FF meets the newest member of the family! By the unmatchable Stan Lee/Jack Kirby/ Joe Sinnott.

Franklin Richards, son of Reed and Susan Richards— Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four—has had a storied life since his first appearance (and birth) in Fantastic Four Annual #6 (Nov. 1968). In the 56 years of his character’s life from infancy to his teen years, Franklin has been accelerated and then de-aged (twice), placed in a coma, served as an X-Man, been a freedom fighter in an alternate timeline (twice), been babysat by Agatha Harkness, and a god, with many stops in between. While placing children in dangerous situations and cliffhangers is a staple of the comics medium, certainly being the son of two superheroes meant a stressful life ahead for Franklin. But it wasn’t only the demands of the storytelling that exposed Franklin to danger, it was the ever-changing stable of creators that struggled to find a specific role for the child.

Each character eventually settles into a stereotype or two (Johnny Storm is the hotheaded teen

TM & © Marvel.

Stuck in the Middle with You (opposite page) Bashful Benji Grimm gets an ego boost when learning newborn Franklin’s middle name. Lee/Kirby/Sinnott in original art form, courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com), from Fantastic Four #94 (Jan. 1970).

TM & © Marvel.

rebel, Peter Parker is the down-on-his-luck underdog) and all stories build off those traits. Franklin never got a chance to establish himself as a stereotype, and consequently never really took off as a character despite being a member of Marvel’s First Family and playing a part of so many major Marvel storylines over the years (“Heroes Reborn” and “Days of Future Past,” to name two).

Creators had no real template for Franklin and, as you will see in this article, did what they wanted, either completely ignoring what came before or benching him—with the exception of character defining run in another family team’s book. Which is unfortunate, as no character was better positioned for a long and exciting comic book life than Franklin Richards.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN YOUR BABY’S FIRST YEARS

Franklin’s birth was as exciting as you’d expect.

Already aware that the cosmic rays that created the Fantastic Four are jeopardizing both mother and child, Reed takes Johnny and Ben into the

4 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 5

Uncanny Nanny Yikes! Readers— and the FF—meet Agatha Harkness, in Fantastic Four #94.

TM & © Marvel.

Negative Zone and battles Annihilus for the Cosmic Control Rod in order to… you get the drift.

With typical Silver Age Kirby/Lee bombast, Reed saves the day and Sue gives birth to a healthy boy.

The baby is named Franklin Benjamin Richards in FF #94 (Jan. 1970), and in a nod to the dangers of being the son of two adventurers, given a nanny in Agatha Harkness (who herself exposes him to more danger, as we will soon find out). Having a name and a nanny were about the only normal parts of childhood Franklin would ever have. The first glimpse of Franklin’s ever-changing and ever-nebulous powers came in FF #130 (Mar. 1971) when, with a twinkle in his eye, he seems to wake up his incapacitated Uncle Ben, allowing him to free himself from the Frightful Four’s Trapster’s grasp.

This is described unknowingly by Ben as “I feel like somebody’s inside my head an’ marchin’ through it.”

Writer Roy Thomas gave Franklin some vaguely telepathic powers.

Unsure of where the character was going at this point, Thomas tells BACK ISSUE, “I think there are zillion different gradations of ways the situation could have been handled, many of them equally valid.” At the beginning of his time as an active supporting character, creators had roy thomas no read on Franklin yet.

IMDb.com.

Following up on Thomas’ lead, writer Gerry Conway, who penned the Fantastic Four from issue #133 to 152 (Apr. 1973–Nov. 1974), started to seed Franklin’s burgeoning power into the storyline until it finally grew to world-ending strength, attracting the attention of Annihilus, who attempted to harness that energy himself. Reed uses some of his patented Richards-tech and incapacitates Franklin before his power grows too strong, forcing the boy into a coma so Reed can figure out how to save his son.

This family trauma begins another split in the FF’s membership, this one having Sue file for divorce.

This is resolved after a mental attack by Omega and Ultron in FF #150 (Sept. 1974), when Franklin’s mental power is reawakened and he delivers a deus ex machina telepathic blast that defeats the villains and drains his own power to a safe level, resetting the board for new creators.

When asked about his time with Franklin, Conway states, “To me, he was a thematic device more than a person, not having kids of my own at that point in my life. That’s probably why I had Reed put him in a coma.” Conway introspectively concludes, “I’d probably be much more interested in him today, and certainly wouldn’t treat him as cavalierly as I did.”

This Kid’s No Pushover (top) An early glimpse at li’l Franklin’s burgeoning power, from Fantastic Four #130 (Jan. 1973). (bottom) A vengeful Franklin powers up and prepares to give Blastaar the what-for. From FF #216 (Mar. 1980).

TM & © Marvel.

6 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

GROWING UP IN THE ’80s

see an adult Franklin in Chris Claremont and John After Conway’s decision to throttle Franklin’s Byrne’s classic “Days of Future Past” story in Uncanny X-Men #141 (Jan. 1981). Although he is quickly nascent abilities, the child’s role as just a killed by Sentinels, the reader feels the loving and adored son in the Richards importance of Franklin as a character family grew in the early 1980s. But even in the brief minutes of fighting after lengthy runs written by Thomas, alongside Magneto and the X-Men. Marv Wolfman, and Len Wein Franklin’s nebulous superpower with Franklin as just a bystandgets more traction during writer er in the world of the Fantastic Doug Monech’s run of Fantastic Four, Franklin’s power is hinted Four when in issue #223 (Oct. again in Fantastic Four #216 (Mar. 1980) it again is used to save the 1980), where he uses it to blast the team from established threats villainous Blastaar back into his Nicholas Scratch and the Salem’s Seven, native Negative Zone, again to alien threats like the Brain unbeknownst to his parents. AnParasites in issue #227 (Feb. 1981). other use of his still-undefined gerry conway After testing the limits of Franklin’s powers is in FF Annual #14 (Dec. power in FF #228 (Mar. 1981), an 1979), when nanny Agatha Harkness’ son, Nicholas Scratch, kidnaps the FF alter ego emerges (another soon-to-be-exploited and Franklin uses his power to awaken Uncle Ben trope). Reed defeats Ego Spawn but realizes and save the team. Once again, in anger or fear, Franklin’s power is too much for the outside world.

Franklin manifests his power to save the day. Or Uncle Ben. Utilizing Franklin as the deus ex machina seemed to be the going stereotype to date. When asked about Franklin for this article, Marv Wolfman admitted to having little recollection of him as a character, further cementing the notion of Franklin as an afterthought or plot device.

Even as we see Franklin as just a child watching Saturday morning cartoons or encountering the Impossible Man with his Uncle Ben in Marvel Two-in-One #78 (Aug. 1981) and 86 (Apr. 1982), little by little we still see his power growing, despite still being depicted as nothing more than an undefined blast of mental energy. Promisingly and setting the stage for future uses of Franklin, we

Bewitched All powered up and rarin’ to take on the Salem Seven, Franklin scores a rare cover appearance! FF #223 (Oct. 1980) cover and interior page

by Bill Sienkiewicz and Joe Sinnott.

TM & © Marvel.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 7

In writer/artist John Byrne’s momentous run on Fantastic Four, Franklin gets a promising start in a similar vein of him exhibiting his powers in his anger. That comes to a head when he ages himself into an adult in Fantastic Four #245 (Aug. 1982). After restoring his Uncle Ben to a more familiar shape, Franklin expends his power and de-ages himself back to a child. Reed describes for all readers the obvious: “Franklin’s power was too much for his undeveloped mind and body so he put psychic dampers up in his brain.” Again, a narrative device is used to throttle Franklin’s powers as opposed to dealing with them. Instead of clarifying Franklin’s power set, more explanation is given as to why the lad chose to keep his beloved Uncle Ben in his lovable but horrific rocky form of the Thing instead of transforming him back to human Ben Grimm.

With such power at his command, Franklin as a comic book character and member of the FF family needed guidance and development to craft him into a strong and memorable piece of the Marvel Universe. It was not to be. Even in the hands of Byrne, critically considered as the creator of one of best runs of Fantastic Four history, Franklin is once again shelved. What

X-ed Out Future Franklin perishes! From the landmark Uncanny X-Men #141 (Jan. 1981), by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Terry Austin.

TM & © Marvel.

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a revoltin’ development! When Franklin finally is taken off the shelf, we get perhaps the finest use of him in the entirety of his 56-year career.

In Fantastic Four #282 (Sept. 1985) we see Franklin’s powers manifest themselves now as precognitive dreams, leading him into what is the most consistent use of his powers and him as a character, as a member of Power Pack.

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS

Franklin’s time with Power Pack proved to be his finest and most consistent hour to date. Not only did he find himself a surrogate family, but he also fit in well with the Power Pack superhero team when facing off against the forces of Limbo, Mutant hunters, alien invasions, and some old Fantastic Four foes.

Created by writer Louise Simonson and artist June Brigman, Power Pack was a mainstream title straddling the line between mainstream superhero comics and lighter all-ages fare epitomized at the time by Marvel’s Star Comics line.

Power Pack was a group of four siblings (Alex Powers, Julie Powers, Jack Powers, and Katie Powers) who, after stumbling

into a misadventure in space, are given superpowers. After establishing themselves as a force in the Marvel Universe, Power Pack quickly accepts Franklin into their ranks as the hero Tattle-Tale in issue #17 (Dec. 1985) after meeting the team the previous issue. He would hold this role on and off for the entirety of Power Pack’s run.

[Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #38 for a Power Pack Pro2Pro interview with Louise Simonson and June Brigman.]

So why alter the Powers’ family dynamic and add a new member to the team?

According to Simonson, “I felt sorry for him. His parents were always going off into space or other dimensions and leaving him alone with Jarvis. [Agatha had stopped being Franklin’s nanny way back in FF #232 (July 1981).] Poor little guy didn’t even have any other kids to play with. So June and I thought he should meet Power Pack. They lived right across the park, and Katie was close to his age.

It just seemed a natural.”

A natural fit it was. Franklin took to the team dynamic immediately. Simonson tells BI, “Once he met Power Pack, in issues #16 and 17, it seemed natural to include him, to make him an official, if part-time, member of the team. Katie’s jealousy/ rivalry with him—she was no longer the youngest superhero—was especially fun to write.” And what fun they all had.

Katie was the one who named him Tattle-Tale. It really wasn’t an appropriate name for Franklin—he’s not a tattling kind of kid—and probably not a name he’d choose for himself. But he’s so glad to be part of the team, it didn’t seem important.

Now that Franklin was a main character and functioning member of a team, his vague telepathic powers needed fine tuning, if not for the character’s sake, for the purpose of a good story.

His adventures with the team ran through several major storylines, in particular, Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars II and the “Mutant Massacre” X-Men crossover.

In Power Pack, Simonson also played with the notion of Franklin as a mutant since he was born with the powers he exhibited. Though in most recent comics the question “Is Franklin a mutant?” has been definitively settled as “No,” in his time as Tattle-Tale, Franklin is treated as one and hunted as depicted in the “Fall of the Mutants” storyline. Throughout Franklin’s time in Power Pack we get great dialogue showing him adopting the teamwork he learned watching his real family for his own superhero team.

We also get some great characterization of Franklin in Power Pack #54 (Mar. 1990).

In a particularly strong and humorous issue, penned by Juliana Jones with art by Brigman, we see Franklin’s Tattle-Tale face off against his parents’ longtime nemesis the Mad Thinker. The story shows a

A Tasty Treat Let’s not forget this daffy diversion for young Master Richards as he joined forces with Peter Parker’s Aunt May— as the galaxygallivanting Golden Oldie—in Marvel Team-Up #137 (Jan. 1984) that riffs on the beloved Hostess Comic Ads from the late ’70s and early ’80s (see BI #130 for the Hostess Comic Ads story).

Cover by Ron Frenz and Mike Esposito.

TM & © Marvel.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 9

glimpse of Franklin’s anxiety when he mistakes the Thinker for his father before ultimately defeating him—certainly a moment of insight into the young Franklin’s mind, never really given him in what should be considered his own book, Fantastic Four.

Louise Simonson created an a newfound stability for Franklin Richards. Power Pack and Tattle-Tale faced many threats and adventures.

Franklin grew as a character and hero in the spotlight of a different family. Simonson states, “June and I, and then [artist] Jon Bogdanove, just tried to figure out how a lonely little kid—with a power so scary his parents put a damper on it—would feel. He loves and admires his parents, and they love him, but their focus is often on saving the world. They’re often away fighting cosmic battles. And he’d worry, if his power was that scary, then there was something wrong with him. We wanted him to experience friendship, trust, and normal family life... sort of. And, in interacting with this normal—sort of—family, he finds himself involved in adventures of his own, with fates of worlds at stake, and learns he’s his own kind of hero.”

TEEN SPIRIT

The next time we get to see Franklin used effectively (and consistently) is in writer Tom DeFalco and artist Paul Ryan’s run of The Fantastic Four [FF #376 (Sept. 1991)–416 (Sept. 1996)]. After the intermittent use of Franklin in FF and his featured role in Power Pack, DeFalco decided to maximize the use of the Fantastic Four family and its supporting cast.

DeFalco tells BACK ISSUE that when he and Ryan joined the book they treated it “like a soap opera… Dallas in space. We went through each character trying to figure how to make their life miserable in the story context.” When asked specifically about Franklin, he says, “Paul and I, we had a serious talk what to do about Franklin—we didn’t want to harm the kid.”

Playing with the timeline again, we see Franklin get snatched out of his time by his grandfather Nathaniel Richards and return immediately after as Psi Lord, a teenaged version of the superpowered child we have watched grow up over the years. Reed had once again disappeared and Franklin, although not filling in, was used quite regularly for the entire run. According to DeFalco, “He’s a member of the family and he was a supporting character, and I thought everyone should have their louise simonson own story.”

At first greeted with mistrust and outright hostility © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. by his mother, Sue, Franklin’s Psi Lord is welcomed eventually into the family and becomes a team leader in his own book, Fantastic Force, which ran for 18 issues from coverdates November 1994 until April 1996. The Fantastic Force featured a mixture of characters including Franklin as Psi Lord, Huntara (Franklin’s other-dimensional aunt, Tara Richards), the Wakandan Virbraxas, and the Inhuman Devlor. The book contained many callbacks to FF history with the team fighting classic villains such as Diablo and Klaw. Over the course of the series, Franklin was given the opportunity to lead his own team and meet several versions of himself. Overall, Fantastic Force lent a little classic FF fun to a typical ’90s book. Fantastic Force writer Tom Breevort informs BI, “I kept those issues [DeFalco’s run] of Fantastic Four starting with #376 close at hand all during the period when I worked on that book. But we did try to reflect the whole of Franklin’s history, which is why you’d get appearances from him as Daydreamer or the aged-up John Byrne version, or the Ego-Spawn wrestler incarnation.”

DeFalco discuses his thoughts on Franklin’s use over the years and why he chose to go and accelerate his age. “Children are hard to write, especially in a big science fiction book where a lot of crazy

A Whole New Family (top) Franklin drops in, in Power Pack #16 (Nov. 1985). Cover

by June Brigman. (bottom) The Power sibs have a new pal in Tattle-Tale. Issue #17 cover by Brigman and Bob Wiacek.

TM & © Marvel.

10 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

exist within. You might think that a character with this kind of pedigree and power would be used more regularly, but not so. To this day Franklin’s powers and age seem like they are on a sliding scale, used for whatever a story needs.

Franklin was also given a sibling with the birth of sister Valeria THE ROLLER COASTER RIDE Richards in Fantastic Four vol. 3 CONTINUES #54 (Apr. 2002). But even that Franklin’s erratic character arcs was a narrative mess, as earlier don’t stop after his time as Psi Franklin had used his powers to Lord. Eventually he is de-aged play a part in saving his sister from (again) at the end of DeFalco’s what had been earlier thought of run, but his powers are shown as as a Sue Storm miscarriage in FF exponentially increasing in the #267 (Mar. 1984). Franklin’s ensuing years. Featured in several characterization in 21st Century major events over the past two Marvel comics is no more tom defalco decades, Franklin’s limitless and consistent than it was in the 40 Hildy DeFalco. undefined power is used in years previous. the “Heroes Reborn” event when he creates As readers of comics, we are all used to what a pocket universe, saving Earth-616 as we Tom DeFalco calls the “wild roller coaster rides” know it. Franklin also plays major roles in of the characters we love. It comes with the events like “Secret Invasion” and “Dark territory and is built into our enjoyment. Even so, Reign” and uses his universe-shaping power Franklin Richards’ story goes above and beyond to its greatest effect in 2015’s “Secret Wars” even the extremes we expect to get when event where he saves, for lack of a better word, we grow up with our characters. Franklin was everything and everyone by creating a brand- never allowed to grow as a character with any new universe for all remaining universes to consistency. Even Marvel great Roy Thomas things are happening, because you don’t want to keep putting the child in danger.” DeFalco avoided that trap by making Franklin the teenaged Psi Lord and gave readers a glimpse of how powerful a hero he really could be if handled properly.

A Real Stinker Longtime FF enemy the Mad Thinker has little patience for Franklin in Power Pack #54 (Feb. 1990). Story by Judy Bogdanove, art by Jon Bogdanove and Hilary Barta.

TM & © Marvel.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 11

Mama’s Little Man Armored, adult Franklin Richards embarks on a personal mission in writer Tom DeFalco’s FF #383 (Dec. 1993).

Original Paul Ryan/ Danny Bulanadi art page courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © Marvel.

12 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

Too Cute 2K Kids (top left) Franklin—as Psi-Lord—leading his fellow members of Fantastic Force. Issue #1 (Nov. 1994) cover by Dante Bastianoni. (top right) Fantastic Four Presents Franklin Richards #1 (Nov. 2005), one of a handful of all-ages specials starring Reed and Sue’s firstborn. (bottom) The Richards siblings— Franklin and Valeria—face front on the Alan Davis/Mark Farmer cover to Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #3 (Sept. 2003).

TM & © Marvel.

felt the tension on how to use Marvel’s first son.

“It would’ve been interesting see Franklin seem like a normal child, unaffected by his parents’ cosmic ray-influenced genes,” Thomas laments. “That would still have begged the question: Would Franklin exhibit superpowers when he got older? There were any number of directions the writer and Marvel could have gone.” Any number of ways, indeed.

From the beginnings of Franklin Richards’ appearances we see that there has never been a clear direction for the character’s development.

Little investment has been made into growing him as anything more than an issue’s plot device or last-minute story fix. With the exception of the two times those aforementioned writers were allowed time to have Franklin live and breathe outside the shadow of the Fantastic Four, young Master Richards was never given a strong personality or anything close to a character arc.

Franklin remains stuck between his (unlimited) potential and his need to stay a child for the purposes of his parents’ adventures. Instead of growing Franklin into his own man, Marvel has been inconsistent in portraying Franklin’s age and powers, and his role as a son and superhero. It’s no surprise that this character that originated over five decades ago is still a child, trapped in the panels.

The author would like to thank the writers who were interviewed for this article. From Roy Thomas who first gave Franklin a glimmer of possibilities to Louise Simonson, who will revisit Franklin and Power Pack in a 2024 miniseries, this author was fortunate to discuss Franklin with many of his creators. Much appreciation to Roy, Louise, Marv Wolfman, Gerry Conway, Tom Breevort, and Tom DeFalco (who contributed greatly to this article). BACK ISSUE would be incomplete without the input of these great voices!!

Born only two weeks after Franklin’s first appearance in 1968, author JOE NORTON somehow always missed him in the hallways of their elementary school growing up. While Franklin clearly favored field trips to New Salem and the Negative Zone with his Uncle Johnny and Uncle Ben, the author was stuck with his Uncle Tom with trips to the Foodtown. This is his fifth article for BACK ISSUE.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 13

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by J o

hn Wells

New Kid on the Block One of DC’s earliest African-American characters was Raymond, introduced by cartoonist Sheldon “Shelly” Mayer as a supporting cast member of Sugar and Spike with issue #94 (Feb.–Mar. 1971).

Unfortunately, the addition of Raymond did not keep the series from being cancelled soon thereafter.

TM & © DC Comics.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 17

Look Who’s Talking (left) Mayer launched his chatterbox children’s adventures in Sugar and Spike #1 (Apr.–May 1956).

His other creation for DC Comics, The Three Mouseketeers, got a 1970 revival as a reprint title which included an additional collection of oldies in (right) Super DC Giant #S-18. Cover

by Phil Mendez.

TM & © DC Comics.

[Author’s note: The quotes from Sheldon Mayer and his daughter Merrily Mayer Harris in the following article—unless otherwise specified— come respectively from their interviews with Anthony Tollin in 1975’s Amazing World of DC Comics #5 and Bill Alger in 2001’s Comic Book Artist #11. The latter interview is also the source of the anecdotes in paragraph one.]

ducing the adventures of teen cartoonist Scribbly, the young man also changed the course of history by successfully arguing that an oft-rejected feature called “Superman” ought to be published in a new title called Action Comics. Tiring of the editorial grind that included oversight of the likes of Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern, Mayer stepped down in 1948 to return to his first love of cartooning.

The baby was stillborn. In a Harlem Observing in the mid-1950s that room on April Fool’s Day 1917, the humor titles “had been counting too boy’s grandmother desperately much on gags and not enough on swaddled the lifeless body first character development and human in wet cold towels and then interest,” the cartoonist was tasked warm ones until her prayers were

by National Comics [a.k.a. DC answered. The baby grew up to Comics] President Jack Liebowitz to be man and, likely when he was come up with two new books. Mayer in his 20s, his doctor diagnosed delivered The Three Mouseketeers him with terminal cancer. “You’ll (a reconceived version of a 1940s feel fine for a while,” the medic feature) but struggled to develop sheldon mayer told him. “Just live.” Suffering in a kids comic “to compete with Self-portrait from Sugar and Spike #85. silence with his death sentence, the rash of Dennis the Menace the young man eventually learned that there had imitations that were then flooding the market.” been a mistake. His blood test had been mixed up Dennis the Menace cartoonist Hank Ketcham with someone else’s and he was perfectly healthy. had found inspiration in his real-life son, but The fragility and wonder of life would never be lost Mayer’s kids were nearly teenagers. Pulling out on Sheldon Mayer. silent movies of daughter Merrily and son Lanney Working as an assistant to cartoonist Ving Fuller as tots in the 1940s, the cartoonist “observed at the age of 14, Mayer found early employment in that they seemed to be communicating with each the nascent comic book industry. Along with pro- other. On this silent film, you would swear they

18 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

The Next Generation (top left) Mayer’s Golden Age feature “Scribbly” was popular enough to spin out of (top right) All-American Comics into its own title.

Scribbly #1 (Aug.–Sept. 1948). (bottom) A dozen years later, Scribbly— with his son, Scribbly, Jr.—reappeared in Sugar and Spike #30 (Aug.–Sept. 1960).

TM & © DC Comics.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 19

And You Thought ‘TT’ Stood for ‘Teen Titans’…

Mayer couldn’t resist the superhero mania swelling the globe in the mid-1960s. In Sugar and Spike #69 (Feb.–March. 1967), the babies’ pal Little Arthur becomes… Tornado-Tot! TM & © DC Comics.

20 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

were having an involved conversation. And yet I knew that they had not been able to talk when I shot the films. I was so absorbed with this strange phenomenon that it was almost ten minutes before I realized I had found what I was looking for.”

On sale in February 1956, Sugar and Spike (S&S) #1 introduced readers to the infant Cecil “Spike” Wilson, whose life changed forever when a baby girl named Sugar Plumm moved in next door. Listening to the tots excitedly jabber (“Glx! Sptzl! Glaah!”), the parents had no idea that Sugar and Spike were communicating in their own way. “We both talk baby-talk,” the little girl informed her new playmate.

“It’s the only language that makes any sense!” As the series progressed, it was also established that babytalk was common among all infants, both human and animals. Sugar’s Great Gran’pa Plumm was so old that he was bilingual and could speak baby-talk, too!

Mayer gradually established a string of unique words that included the yak-yak box (telephone) and eating wheels (cookies), recapping several in issue #19’s “Baby-Talk Dictionary.” In S&S #13, the tots both wound up sitting in the corner after repeating two construction workers’ “stupid idiot” to their mommies as “toopit idjit.” Watching her mother’s reaction when she used the grown-up phrase “I sowwy” after breaking things in S&S #4, Sugar concluded that it meant “the cat did it.”

The gender dynamic of the kids was a departure for the era, with the domineering Sugar the undisputed leader of the duo. Spike, her “Doll Boy,” was comparatively cautious and sweet.

In a time when comic book letter columns were rare, Mayer used them as a formidable tool for communicating with his readers and drawing inspiration from their questions and requests. Stories were dedicated to individual fans and a regular paper doll feature (“Pint-Size Pin-Ups”) was composed of reader designs. Further kid participation was encouraged through pages to color and gag sequences with empty word balloons (“Write Your Own Comic Page”). The cartoonist even revisited his alter ego Scribbly, revealing in issue #30 (June 1960) that the former kid cartoonist now had a baby of his own.

On a spinner rack filled with derivative comics, Sugar and Spike was unique and early sales figures reflected that. With June 1957 (S&S #9), its frequency was bumped up from six to eight issues a year. The accelerated schedule required Mayer to give up Three Mousketeers, which continued in the hands of Rube Grossman. The latter, along with several other DC humor books, was discontinued in the summer of 1960.

Sugar and Spike’s own sales dipped enough to reduce it to a bimonthly schedule again, half of each year’s output now devoted to the reliably commercial Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and Christmas holidays.

As sales weakened again in the mid-1960s, Mayer looked at the success of 1966’s Batman TV series and shifted the series toward fantasy and adventure.

A quarter-century earlier, in his Scribbly feature, the cartoonist had parodied the superhero craze with a housewife who was secretly the Red Tornado. He revisited the idea in S&S #69, this time having the tots’ neighborhood nemesis Little Arthur assume the guise of Tornado-Tot. Inevitably, Sugar and Spike ended up in the costume themselves and defeated a criminal mastermind called the Lion.

Smarter Than the Average Babe (top left) Sugar and Spike’s resident boy genius, Bernie the Brain, is introduced to readers via this cover blurb from 1967’s issue #72. (bottom left) Mayer’s in fine form on this delightful splash page featuring Bernie, from Sugar and Spike #77 (June–July 1968). (top right) A guest appearance

by Superman—well, not really, but it’s a cool cover, ain’t it?— on the cover of Sugar and Spike #83 (June–July 1969). (bottom right) You can still be small and be a Giant!

Mayer’s cover to the double-sized issue #85.

TM & © DC Comics.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 21

Doll-Boy the Paper Doll (Sugar, too!) (top) “Pint-Size Pin-Ups” was a a reader-participation feature that made paper dolls out of our stars—and in this case, from Sugar and Spike #91, the kids sub for a couple of JLAers. (bottom) From the same issue hails an example of the book’s other bonus feature, “Write Your Own Comics Page.”

TM & © DC Comics.

BERNIE THE BRAIN

Larger-than-life villains became the order of the day, with master thieves and would-be world conquerors showing up nearly every issue along with wild inventions that could turn the tots into giants and more. When reader George DeKay observed that some babies developed reading and speaking skills before they turned two, he challenged Mayer to have Sugar and Spike meet a “genius” like that. The cartoonist complied an issue later in S&S #72 by introducing the bushy-haired Bernie the Brain. Less than a year old, the tot had already conceived a multitude of inventions and was fluent in 32 languages. He was also crushed to learn that he was considered a freak and that others his age were nothing like him.

Seeking out “normal” babies at the beach, he met Sugar and Spike, quickly figured out baby-talk and became fast friends with the duo.

With Bernie, Mayer had a vivid character who could facilitate the wild adventures that Sugar and Spike were increasingly becoming involved with. The kid genius returned a year later in May 1968’s S&S #77 and was featured in every issue through S&S #86 in August 1969. Rewiring Sugar and Spike’s toy phones to work like real ones in his first return engagement, Bernie invited his pals on a playdate while leaving robotic duplicates (“parentsitters”) in their place. Bernie’s robotics business BTB had also attracted the attention of the evil Baron Von Grabbe, who made follow-up appearances in S&S #78, 80, 82, and 86.

“Sugar and Spike weathered several drops in circulation,” Mayer recalled, “but each time I was able to introduce a new twist, or a new character (as with Bernie the Brain) and the sales were revived.”

Meanwhile, Mayer also acquiesced to constant reader pleas on another matter. Although adults were a regular presence in the feature, the cartoonist had made a point of not showing the faces of the tots’ parents (Bill and Barbara Plumm, and Harvey and Peg Wilson) since the early days. By popular demand, their faces were revealed once more in S&S #75, looking completely different than they had in the 1950s. Rather than hide their visuals again, Mayer kept them on-panel in the series for the duration of its run.

22 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

That’s Snow Way to Go The kids pull a fast one on grownup skiers on Mayer’s delightful cover to Sugar and Spike #95 (Apr.–May 1971).

Original art courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 23

Everybody Loves Raymond Sugar and Spike’s newest pal, in a story all his own.

From issue #97.

TM & © DC Comics.

More exciting for longtime fans was March 1969’s “Poof! You’re a Teenager!” Readers had long speculated on what the kids might look like as adults, and S&S #82 delivered. In far-flung 1986 (home of flying cars and Superman-style fashions), the 18-year-old Bernie sent Sugar and Spike back to 1969 on a two-pronged mission to solve a financial crunch and prevent Harvey Wilson from being crippled. It was delightfully goofy and not something Mayer ever repeated. The phrase “Tomorrow’s Teen-Agers”—added to the covers with issue #79—remained until S&S #91.

Issue #83 was strictly a tease, its cover depicting the kids holding up a Superman costume.

As promised, one of the trio—Spike—acquired superpowers for the length of the story, but no DC hero appeared in the tale. An issue later, though, Bernie’s Ego-Flater enabled him to look like the Man of Steel for one panel. Otherwise, the only glimpse that kids got of DC’s costumed characters during that period were kiddie outfits based on Hawkman, Robin, and Wonder Woman in “Pint-Size Pin-Ups” (S&S #91, 93) and a glimpse of Batman on TV (S&S #92).

Sugar and Spike had never been quite successful enough to warrant a square-spined reprint giant during the 1960s, but that finally changed with the release of July 1969’s “Giant Summer Fun” edition. Along with a reprise of the fairly recent Bernie the Brain origin (tweaked with a new splash page), the 64-page Giant also featured a

24 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

two-page Q&A with Sheldon Mayer and a quartet of tales from 1959, 1962, and 1963. It was a different, more down-to-earth version of the feature than many fans were used to, and one that Mayer seemed ready to revisit.

BRONZE AGE BABY-TALK

With 1970 looming, sales were dipping industrywide and Mayer received—unbeknownst to him—unwanted scrutiny. When Mayer retired as editor in 1948, he had negotiated a pension/ insurance package in exchange for DC getting full ownership of Scribbly. That deal was now being questioned by DC’s new corporate owners.

“This guy was an important editor here for a long time,” editorial director Carmine Infantino countered, “and he deserves some respect.”

Relating the story to Jim Amash in Carmine Infantino: Penciler-Publisher-Provocateur (2010), the cartoonist reported, “They hemmed and hawed and then said, ‘Well, alright. Keep him on.’ I kept Sugar and Spike going so they couldn’t give me a hard time about Shelly.”

Meanwhile, Sugar and Spike largely went back to the basics, eschewing the fantasy adventures of recent years. In issue #88 (on sale in December 1969), the bratty Little Arthur once again matched wits with the tots and a visit to the museum inspired hijinks but no criminal masterminds.

Bernie the Brain resurfaced in issues #89 and 90, but his adventures now were much smaller in

Pocket-Sized Plans (top left) Cover art, (top right) interior art, and (bottom) table of contents prepared in the early 1970s by Mayer for a proposed Sugar and Spike Digest. The project failed to reach completion at this stage, but digests starring Sugar and Spike would be following in the next decade.

TM & © DC Comics.

scope. Aside from the comical Bernie creation called the Flumsh (S&S #90), the most outrageous character the kids had to contend with was a battery-operated doll named Zelda (S&S #91, 95).

Issue #94’s cover story represented Sugar and Spike at its charming best, a simple mix-up scenario that—atypically—was progressive in its way. A comedy of errors resulted in Spike’s mom driving to the bus station to pick up a tot she wrongly believed to be her nephew. In a burst of civility, Spike and little Raymond Smith gifted one another with their snowsuits and the distracted Mrs. Wilson assumed that the largely concealed Spike was actually Raymond. The twist is that Raymond was Black and actually the nephew of neighbor Mrs. Schofield. Race was never referenced in the entire story.

The new cast member—along with Bernie—returned in issue #95, but the “hundreds” of letters from readers were so encouraging that Mayer created Pint-Size Pin-Up pages exclusively for Raymond in issues #96 and 97 and a 13-page solo story in the latter. The charming tale related how the tot inadvertently helped an angel keep his wings. It was also the first story in DC Comics history—aside from some recent Henry Boltinoff fillers—to star an African-American character.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 25

Mayer Mania (left) Bronze Age readers got to witness Mayer’s genius when he created the mysterious superheroine Black Orchid in the pages of Adventure Comics #428 (July–Aug. 1973).

Cover art by Bob Oksner. (See BI #52 for our coverage of Black Orchid.) (right) The Golden Age great was cover-featured in the fifth issue (Mar.–Apr. 1975) DC’s house zine, The Amazing World of DC Comics.

TM & © DC Comics.

As part of DC’s shift to a larger line-wide format in mid-1971, Sugar and Spike began retailing for 25¢ with issue #96 and featured a generous helping of classic reprints along with new stories.

It also instituted a cover promotion (continuing through #98) for “Write Your Own Comic Page,” inviting kids to submit their work and compete for a $10 prize. “The enormous mail response on the first contest,” Mayer later noted in an August 6, 1971 letter, “did nothing for the sales.”

E. Nelson Bridwell took over as editor with issue #95, succeeding Dick Giordano (#94), Murray Boltinoff (#53–93), Larry Nadle (#22–52), and Whitney Ellsworth (#1–21). It’s debatable whether any of them affected the content at all.

Sugar and Spike was Sheldon Mayer’s baby.

Mayer’s daughter Merrily recalled that her father’s only real complaint was the coloring, the sole production task that was out of his control. Referencing the comprehensive color notes on his original art, she noted that “he was a stickler for detail. It meant something to him. When you color over something, you lose some of the detail. Like, if you’re going to have spaghetti on a plate and tablecloth and the spaghetti was red. You wouldn’t want a red plate and a red tablecloth, because you wouldn’t know what it was. They would do stupid things like that, and it would upset him.

That’s the kind of thing that would bother him that they wouldn’t notice.”

26 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

Increasingly, Mayer’s ability to recognize such things was impaired. In 1967, he was diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes. Given the risk that surgery might be unsuccessful, doctors traditionally waited until a patient’s vision was nearly gone.

“So, there I was,” Mayer recalled, “waiting for the surgeon to decide to operate, not knowing if I could work again when I did. I was still writing and drawing Sugar and Spike but seeing a little less each day.”

“He’d shut his eyes and practiced drawing in case he went blind,” daughter Merrily added.

“He would draw with his eyes shut. And he’d draw these incredible things with his eyes closed!

He said, ‘It only works if I don’t take my pencil off the paper.’”

“In 1971, Sugar and Spike sales were down again,” Mayer noted. “The book needed another new shot-in-the-arm but this time, I just couldn’t manage it. I stopped drawing Sugar and Spike, and we dropped the book.” Even as the final issue (#98) was going on sale in August 1971, the 54-year-old cartoonist was formulating a plan for the series to live on. Tantalized by rival Gold Key’s success with a digest line of comics, Mayer envisioned “The Pocket-Sized Treasury of Sugar and Spike Stories” as a thick reprint package with material from S&S #7, 14, 27, and 33. It would also include the winning entry of S&S #96’s first “Write Your Own Comic Page” contest by 12-year-old Allen Varney.

Fandom Fun (top) Cover to the Mayer tribute fanzine Glx Sptzl Glaah! (Our proofreader’s gonna go nuts over that that name.) Cover artwork by Mark Evanier. (bottom) From inside the zine, Rick Taylor’s “Pint-Size Pin-Ups” spoof featuring Little Legion of Super-Heroes costumes.

Sugar and Spike and related characters TM & © DC Comics.

In an August 6, 1971 letter to Carmine Infantino, the cartoonist wrote, “I attempted to make [the cover mock-up] look as much like a book as possible rather than simply a smaller-size comic mag. If you agree with this notion, you can further the book illusion by setting my byline in small black type (as is done on novels) and put it somewhere near the logo.” The digest ultimately came to nothing although one of its non-reprint pages (“Spike vs. the Football”) later ran in 1976’s Amazing World of DC Comics #13.

As a young artist in the 1940s, Infantino had cherished Sheldon Mayer as his editor.

With Warner Communications executives once again pressuring him to sever Mayer’s insurance/pension plan, DC’s newly installed publisher fought back again. “I went upstairs,” Infantino recalled to Jim Amash in his 2010 biography, “and said, ‘If it makes you feel better, I’ll pay for it. Take it out of my salary.’ They let it alone, but I never told him. It would have made him very upset if he knew all this was going on. He was so good to me.

Why shouldn’t I reciprocate? He deserved it for all he did for DC.” With the aid of a tape recorder and a typewriter, Mayer remained active at DC, writing scripts for various anthology titles and even creating the enigmatic heroine Black Orchid for Adventure Comics. His cataract surgeries finally took place in 1973 and he was eventually able to draw again. His principal assignment on that front was the annual Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer tabloids in DC’s Limited Collectors’ Edition format, whose initial 1950s Rube Grossman reprints had been a hit. “Now I had to adapt [Grossman’s] style,” Mayer laughed, “as he had learned mine for The Three Mouseketeers.”

With Sugar and Spike no longer a presence on spinner racks, it fell to older fans to keep the flame alive. The in-house fanzine Amazing World of DC Comics #5 spotlighted Mayer’s career, not only reprinting the seminal first two pages of Sugar and Spike #1 as part of a fine Anthony Tollin piece, but Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 27

Baby Come Back (top row) Sugar and Spike’s Big ’80s comeback, as headliners of several editions of The Best of DC digest series. (bottom) Indie comics’ aardvark barbarian—writer/ artist Dave Sim’s Cerebus, star of his own long-running series (see BI #75)—has his hands full with Doll-Boy in this 1984 specialty illo by Sim and collaborator Gerhard. Watch your back, fella— Sugar’s drawing bead on ya!

Sugar and Spike TM & © DC Comics.

Cerebus the Aardvark © Dave Sim.

also featuring a loving S&S tribute article by Jack C. Harris and two previously unpublished shorts starring the tots.

It was followed in 1977 by Glx Sptzl Glaah!, a self-described “fanzine devoted to the artistry of Sheldon Mayer” and edited by Jay Zilber and Ken Gale. Sugar and Spike were prominently featured on Mark Evanier’s cover and a Legion of Super-Heroes–themed “Pint-Size Pin-Ups” (drawn by Rick Taylor) was among the treats within. The zine closed with “How to Write Effective Letters to Save Sugar & Spike,” a helpful article designed to encourage DC’s executives to revive the title. Sadly, even the completed second issue of the fanzine was never published and, seemingly, its campaign was a failure.

Surprisingly, however, Sheldon Mayer did return to work on new Sugar and Spike stories circa 1978… just not for United States consumption. The tots remained very popular in overseas markets, so it only made sense to hire their creator to write and draw more material. American fans had no idea.

Mayer also threw himself into a proposal for a Sugar and Spike newspaper strip. He’d put together an earlier package circa 1960 but hoped—in the wake of DC’s 1978 World’s Greatest Superheroes launch—that the timing was finally right. Regrettably, like pitches for Jonah Hex and Plastic Man in the same period, newspaper syndicates didn’t bite.

Incredibly, Sugar and Spike also appeared on TV between 1979 and 1981 as part of a very obscure Nickelodeon series called Video Comics. Consisting of footage of actual DC comic book stories (including S&S) with dialogue delivered by actors, the program is largely lost to history although bits and pieces can be found on YouTube.

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Move Over, Peanuts! (this page and next) Sample newspaper strips, in various stages of completion, written and drawn

by Sheldon Mayer for a proposed Sugar and Spike syndicated comic.

TM & © DC Comics.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 29

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Meanwhile, DC finally made a go of a digest line, starting in 1979. Although primarily superherocentric, June 1982’s Best of DC #28 revived the publisher’s old teen humor characters in “Binky’s Summer Fun.” For many fans, the real excitement was the presence of two Sugar and Spike reprints in the mix. They were a precursor to Best of DC #29’s full-fledged S&S edition, wherein editor Carl Gafford cannily added four of the new Mayer stories (and an unpublished “Stanley and His Monster” tale) into the mix.

Mobilized by the news that Sheldon Mayer was still creating Sugar and Spike stories, fans demanded more. A year later, July 1983’s Best of DC #41 delivered a full digest of material from the European file. Touted in fanzines that summer, the issue sold well enough to warrant three further collections in 1984 and 1985 (Best of DC #47, 65, and 68) along with a Super Jrs. edition (#58) that included three S&S Christmas reprints.

Although the later digests all sported new Mayer covers, the interiors were strictly reprints.

It was a conscious effort on DC’s part to hold the stockpile of new stories in reserve so that they could be used in an ongoing standard format Sugar and Spike comic that was meant to be the cornerstone of a new DC children’s line. Likely echoing the sentiments of his predecessors, editor Nicola Cuti remarked in Amazing Heroes #39 (January 15, 1984) that “you don’t really edit

Shelly Mayer. You just let him do what he wants, and it all comes out great. I’ll just be acting as his liaison [with DC].” Regrettably, despite plans for a late 1984/early 1985 launch, the publisher abandoned the new kids’ imprint.

Mayer continued to create the occasional Sugar and Spike story at least as late as 1988 (“One Saturday Afternoon at Sugar’s House”), but none of them would be published domestically during his lifetime. Mayer’s wife Ruth was stricken with lung cancer that required 24-hour nursing care, Jim Amash reported in Alter Ego #21 (Feb. 2003), and the cartoonist himself was terminally ill. The pension/ insurance package he negotiated in the 1940s helped pay his medical bills.

“He was very, very glad to have the opportunity to do what he loved doing,” Merrily declared.

“They were good to all of us. When my parents were very, very sick, DC was good to them. […]

He didn’t have any regrets for working for DC. He would’ve loved to have owned the stuff, but he was a practical person, and, in the end, it paid off for him and them.”

THE SUGAR AND SPIKE LEGACY

Sheldon Mayer died at the age of 74 on December 21, 1991, followed by his widow Ruth on May 10, 1992. At the time, DC Comics was ending its long association with World Color Press in Sparta,

Now, Where Have You Been Hiding?? (this page and next) Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, a trio of original art pages from an unpublished Sugar and Spike story, plus a personally typed and signed note from writer/artist Shelly Mayer about the work.

TM & © DC Comics.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 31

Welcome Back! (top) Among the single-issue reprints in DC’s Silver Age Classics initiative of 1992 was the publication—at last!—of Sugar and Spike #99, as the S&S series had been cancelled in 1971 with issue #98. (bottom) Unpublished files courtesy of Paul Kupperberg.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Illinois, and arranged to have them print a set of DC Silver Age Classics as a final tribute. Amidst the reprints was Sugar and Spike #99, consisting of unpublished stories from the overseas archive. At the last minute, multiple tributes to Mayer were added to the issue, on sale in February 1992.

In the years since, the first issue of Sugar and Spike has been offered in a facsimile edition (2002) and the first ten collected in an Archive edition (2011). A trio of stories were also included among other industry elite in Abrams’ Toon Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics (2009).

The balance of stories created for overseas clients remains unpublished, although pieces of original art have made their way into the collectors’ market. In the 1990s, former writer/editor Paul Kupperberg came across 110 pages of photostats from those lost S&S tales in the DC offices and thankfully made copies for himself before they were lost forever.

An oft-repeated internet story asserts that Sheldon Mayer had a deal with DC that prohibited anyone but him from doing a Sugar and Spike series. Former DC President Paul Levitz tells BACK ISSUE that he was unaware of any such arrangement, “though I probably would have stopped anyone who tried during my tenure on general principles.”

Cameos abounded, however, as early as 1978’s Showcase #100 (Sugar and Spike), 1984’s Blue Devil #9 (Spike), and 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths #9 (Bernie the Brain).

The kids have been mascots at a theme park (1992’s Justice League Spectacular #1), got their own lunchbox (1998’s Superboy #1,000,000), and had both Wonder Girl and Clark Kent as babysitters (1996’s Wonder Woman #113 and 2014’s Adventures of Superman #14), among many other glimpses. In a development that would surely have horrified Mayer, Sugar and Spike even appeared as adult detectives in 2016’s Legends of Tomorrow #1-6.

None of that changes the incredible body of work created by Sheldon Mayer. Given a second chance on the day of his birth, he ran with the opportunities that life gave him. Through the adventures of Sugar and Spike and his other creations, Mayer gave joy and laughter to generations of readers.

That’s a legacy to be proud of.

Art scans illustrating this article are courtesy of John Wells and Heritage Auctions.

A real-life Johnny DC, JOHN WELLS is a comics historian specializing in DC Comics.

He is the author of the TwoMorrows books American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-1964 and 19651969, and co-author (with Keith Dallas) of the book Comic Book Explosion.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 33

SUGAR & SPIKE

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COVER GALLERY

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 35

Sugar and Spike Forever Over the years, many DC creators have ignored the so-called Shelly Mayer curse and cameoed Sugar and Spike in different series, including: 1) Showcase #100, 2) Blue Devil #9, 3) Crisis on Infinite Earths #9, 4) Justice League Spectacular #1, 5) Superboy #1,000,000, 6) Adventures of Superman #14, 7) Wonder Woman #113, and 8) Batman: The Brave and the Bold #14.

2

1

4

5

6

TM & © DC Comics.

7 36 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

3

8

by M a r k

Arnold

Comic book titles and characters experience peaks and valleys in terms of popularity. Harvey Comics in the Bronze Age was no different. While there was nothing really specific to signify the beginning and the end of the Bronze Age at Harvey Comics, it seems that the true beginnings of the heavy Richie Rich expansion began in 1971 just after the Bronze Age started. By 1985 when the Bronze Age completed, the entire original Harvey Comics company had already imploded in 1982 before being resurrected in 1986 by younger family members, and then sold off three years later to outside investors.

During this Bronze Age for Harvey, while Richie Rich expanded its line, many other long-running titles and characters were cancelled or at the very least, reduced to a bimonthly schedule and a shrinking page count. The largest implosion occurred from 1974–1976, with the cancellation of many titles featuring Casper, Hot Stuff, Little Audrey, Little Dot, Little Lotta, Nightmare, Sad Sack, Spooky, and Wendy.

Probably the best way to tackle this subject is to explain the rise and fall of each character through their comic book publishing history.

Traditionally, the sign of a successful title or character for any publisher was to create a spinoff title. For example, at DC, Action Comics begat Superman; Detective Comics begat Batman; and both of those begat New York World’s Fair Comics, which became World’s Best Comics and finally, World’s Finest Comics.

Harvey Comics practice of spinning off titles was an early occurrence for the company, with the first such spinoff title being The Black Cat, spinning off of Pocket Comics and later Speed Comics in June 1946.

Next, Joe Palooka Comics spun off Humphrey Comics in October 1948 and Little Max Comics in October 1949. Blondie Comics begat Dagwood Comics in September 1950 and Daisy and Her Pups in June 1951. Also in June 1951, Nutty Comics became Rags Rabbit.

The Harvey characters that were awarded their own titles and respective spinoffs during the Silver and Bronze Age include Baby Huey, Buzzy, Casper, Gabby Gob, the Ghostly Trio, G.I. Juniors, Herman and Katnip, Hot Stuff, Jackie Jokers, Little Audrey,

The Gang’s All Here (But Not for Long…)

Harvey Comics’ pantheon is well represented in this detail from Warren Kremer’s cover art for AstroComics #1, an American Airlines giveaway title featuring Harvey reprints.

Despite flying high in this visible format, Casper and company’s popularity began a slow slide during the Bronze Age. © Classic Media, LLC.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 37

An Embarrassment of Richies Harvey’s poor little rich boy may have been a minor character in his early days, but beginning in the early 1970s Richie Rich spinoffs became common—including these first issues: (top) Richie Rich Fortunes #1 (Sept. 1971) and Richie Rich Riches #1 (July 1972); (center) Richie Rich Diamonds #1 (Aug. 1972) and Richie Rich Money World #1 (Sept. 1972); (bottom) Richie Rich Bank Book #1 (Oct. 1972) and Richie Rich Jackpots #1 (Oct. 1972). © Classic Media, LLC.

Little Dot, Little Lotta, Muttsy, Nightmare, Richie Rich, Sad Sack, Spooky, Stumbo, and Wendy.

Sad Sack Comics was the first series that eventually got incorporated into the Harvey world. Starting out as a pantomime strip in 1942, Sad Sack began at Harvey in September 1949 as a pantomime civilian strip. He soon returned to the Army with the 22nd issue in February 1953, and with that, Sad Sack also began to speak.

Although other newspaper reprint strips got their own titles at Harvey like Blondie, Dick Tracy, and Joe Palooka, those stars tended to stay separate from the other characters in their own universes. Not so for Sad Sack, who eventually crossed over with Casper, Richie Rich, and others.

Over time, due to his ongoing popularity, Sad Sack Comics spun off into Sad Sack’s Funny Friends (Dec. 1955); Sad Sack and the Sarge (Sept. 1957); Sad Sack Laugh Special (Winter 1958); Sad Sack’s Army Life Parade (later called Sad Sack’s Army Life Today) (Oct. 1963); Little Sad Sack (Oct. 1964); Sad Sad Sack World (also Oct. 1964); Sad Sack Navy Gobs and Gals (Aug. 1972); Sad Sack with Sarge and Sadie (Sept. 1972); Sad Sack U.S.A. (Vacation) (Nov.1972); and Sad Sack Fun Around the World (1974).

Most of these spinoffs were cancelled by 1976.

During the final years of the original Harvey company, only Sad Sack Comics and Sad Sack and the Sarge were published regularly through 1982.

Gabby Gob, G.I. Juniors, and Muttsy were all Sad Sack character spinoffs that were all part of the Harvey Hits (1957) series. None ever got their own title, although Gabby Gob was later a star of Sad Sack Navy Gobs and Gals in 1972.

Meanwhile, after Harvey got the rights to publish the characters in 1952 from St. John Publishing, they quickly resumed publishing Little Audrey with issue #25 (Aug. 1952) and Casper, the Friendly Ghost with issue #6 (Oct. 1952), and added a third title called Paramount Animated Cartoons, which debuted as Harvey Comics Hits #60 (Sept. 1952).

These three titles continued through 1956, when Harvey acquired the Famous Studios characters from Paramount Pictures. Paramount Animated Cartoons became Baby Huey, the Baby 38 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

Giant, and was eventually restarted with #1 (Sept.

1956). Little Audrey was cancelled in 1957 and became Playful Little Audrey, again starting over with #1 (June 1957), and Casper, the Friendly Ghost was cancelled in 1958 and started over with #1 (Aug. 1958), as The Friendly Ghost Casper.

More on these three titles later.

At the same time, Harvey started their own character titles with designs very similar to the Famous Studios characters. Little Dot was first, although she originally appeared in a vastly different design in the back pages of Sad Sack Comics as early as its first issue in 1949. By September 1953, Little Dot was redesigned and achieved her own title, with Little Lotta and Richie Rich debuting in her back pages.

Little Dot expanded over the years to include Little Dot’s Uncles and Aunts (Oct. 1961) and Little Dot Dotland (July 1962), before all of her titles were cancelled including the eponymous title by April 1976. She remained a backup character for the Richie Rich titles and apart from a one-shot issue of Richie Rich and Dot in October 1974, Dot became part of Richie Rich and his Girl Friends in April 1979.

Little Lotta graduated to her own title in 1955 and eventually spawned Little Lotta in Foodland (Sept.

1963). Both titles were also done and cancelled

by March 1976. Although a Little Lotta issue #121 was advertised for May 1976, the final issue was #120. Lotta also remained a backup feature for the Richie Rich titles and became part of Richie Rich and His Girl Friends.

As for Richie Rich, his slow rise to fame in becoming Harvey’s most popular character is a story that non-Harvey fans are even aware of.

Richie, as mentioned before, started in the back pages of Little Dot and later Little Lotta and their respective spinoff titles. He even appeared in the pages of Little Max Comics and the various Mutt and Jeff titles. Unlike Hot Stuff, who debuted with his own eponymous title, Richie starred in a pair of Harvey Hits issues in November 1957 and May 1958 before finally graduating to his own title in November 1960.

Once this happened, the Richie Rich title was soon joined by Richie Rich Millions in September 1961, then Richie Rich Dollars and Cents in August 1963 and Richie Rich Success Stories in November 1964.

Everything was steady for the remainder of the decade for all of these Harvey characters as Harvey chose to expand into the superhero field with editor Joe Simon’s “Thriller” line before focusing again on the Harvey World characters by 1971.

Same As It Ever Was While competitors’ comic books of 1975 reveled in hot subject matter such as horror, sword & sorcery, and kung fu, Harvey Comics remained family friendly—like they’d always been, such as Wendy, the Good Little Witch #91 and Playful Little Audrey #119, both cover-dated December 1975. © Classic Media, LLC.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 39

From the Harvey Vault (top left) Before the modern age of facsimile editions and trade paperbacks, fans had to seek out reprint titles like Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics to read out-of-print earlier material. Issue #1 (Dec. 1965). (top right) Harvey followed the trend in the Bronze Age by launching Harvey Collectors Comics (HCC), which reprinted Richie Rich #1 and 2 in its first issue (Dec. 1975). Most of HCC’s 16 issues starred Richie, but Casper, Wendy, and even Sad Sack managed to grab some issues along the way.

Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics and related characters © Marvel.

Richie Rich © Classic Media, LLC.

He’s Pretty Happy, Actually Despite a growing anti-war sentiment in the early 1970s, Sad Sack maintained a toehold on the stands with several Harvey titles… and in 1975, this rarely seen LP was released featuring Sad Sack radio show broadcasts from 1946. Cover art by George Baker. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com). © Sad Sack, Inc.

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Richie Rich Fortunes made its debut in September 1971, followed by the first Richie Rich explosion in 1972, with the debuts of Richie Rich Riches (July 1972), Richie Rich Diamonds (Aug. 1972), Richie Rich Money World (Sept. 1972), Richie Rich Bank Book(s) (Oct. 1972), and Richie Rich Jackpots (also Oct. 1972).

Richie Rich and Jackie Jokers followed in November 1973, and then Richie Rich and Casper (Aug. 1974); Richie Rich Cash (Sept. 1974); Richie Rich Gems (also Sept. 1974); Richie Rich and Dot (Oct. 1974); Richie Rich Billions (also Oct. 1974); Richie Rich Profits (also Oct. 1974); Richie Rich Vault(s) of Mystery (Nov. 1974) in 1974; Richie Rich Gold and Silver and Super Richie (both Sept. 1975); and Richie Rich, Casper and Wendy (June 1976) and Richie Rich Zillionz in 1976.

Amazingly, almost all had runs until the end of 1982, except Richie Rich and Dot and Richie Rich, Casper and Wendy (both one-shots), and Super Richie (now Superichie), which ended in January 1979 after 18 issues. [Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #142 for the lowdown on Super Richie!]

In 1977, after the cancellations of Playful Little Audrey, Little Dot, Little Lotta, and Wendy, Richie Rich expanded again with Richie Rich and Dollar the Dog (Sept. 1977); Richie Rich and Gloria (Sept. 1977); Richie Rich Meets Timmy Time (Sept.

1977); Richie Rich and Billy Bellhops (Oct. 1977); Richie Rich and Cadbury (Oct. 1977); Richie Rich Inventions (Oct. 1977); Richie Rich Best of the Years Digest (Oct. 1977); Richie Rich Digest Stories (Oct. 1977); and Richie Rich Digest Winners (Dec. 1977). The Billy Bellhops and Timmy Time titles were one-shots.

After a break in 1978, Richie Rich and his Girl Friends and Richie Rich and his Mean Cousin Reggie both debuted in April 1979, with the Reggie title only lasting three issues. Richie Rich Holiday Digest debuted in January 1980, Richie Rich Million Dollar Digest in October 1980, and Richie Rich Treasure Chest Digest in April 1982.

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

Culled from the archives of Heritage Auctions, (top) original Warren Kremer art produced for a 1977 Harvey house ad to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the publication of the “Famous Cartoon” characters. (bottom left) By 1977, Casper, the Friendly Ghost had settled into second banana status at Harvey, enjoying the occasional giveaway comic while still maintaining a presence on the newsstand. (bottom right) Meanwhile, Richie Rich continued to prosper.

And his dog got his own comic book! © Classic Media, LLC.

So, what happened to those Famous Studios characters? Playful Little Audrey added Little Audrey Clubhouse (Sept. 1961), Little Audrey and Melvin (May 1962), and Little Audrey TV Funtime (Sept.

1962). All were cancelled, too, by April 1976 with Little Audrey ending up in a sort of limbo before being added to Richie Rich and his Girl Friends.

Baby Huey continued on with his own title and added Baby Huey and Papa (May 1962) and Baby Huey in Duckland (Nov. 1962) before all were cancelled by October 1972. The Baby Huey title made a one-shot return in October 1980.

Buzzy, plus Herman and Katnip, made appearances in the back pages of the Baby Huey titles and TV Casper and Company, but only starred in Harvey Hits issues.

Of course, Casper became the original breakout star and spun off Casper’s Ghostland (Winter 1958); Nightmare and Casper (later Casper and Nightmare) (Aug. 1963); TV Casper and Company (also Aug. 1963); Casper Space Ship (later called Casper in Space) (Aug. 1972); Casper and Wendy (Sept. 1972); Casper and Spooky (Oct. 1972); Casper and the Ghostly Trio (Nov. 1972); Richie Rich and Casper (Aug. 1974); the one-shot Richie Rich, Casper and Wendy (June 1976); Casper Strange Ghost Stories (Oct. 1974); the oneshot Casper Halloween Trick or Treat (Jan. 1976); Casper TV Showtime (Jan. 1980); Casper Digest Stories (Feb. 1980); and Casper Digest Winners (Apr. 1980). Spooky, Nightmare, and Wendy made backup appearances in the Casper titles and then they, too, graduated to their own titles.

The ghost horse Nightmare appeared in the back pages of Casper issues as well as in the stories before making starring appearances in Harvey Hits.

She got her own title called Nightmare and Casper [see BI #151 for details—ed.].

Spooky begat Spooky Spooktown (Sept. 1961), Tuff Ghosts (July 1962), and Spooky Haunted House (Oct. 1972), while Wendy begat her own title in August 1960 after a March 1958 Harvey Hits debut and Wendy Witch World in October 1961. Wendy was cancelled in April 1976, while Spooky made sporadic appearances through September 1980.

The spinoffs were all cancelled many years earlier.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 41

Looking for Some Hot Stuff? (left) Hot Stuff, the only Harvey star to debut in his own title. Hot Stuff #1 (Oct. 1957), cover art by Warren Kremer. (right) By 1982, the little devil’s days as a comic book star were waning… but future revivals from Harvey awaited! Hot Stuff #164 (Aug. 1982). © Classic Media, LLC.

Hot Stuff was a unique situation as he debuted in his own title without appearing previously somewhere else or in a Harvey Hits tryout issue.

He eventually added Hot Stuff Sizzlers (July 1960), Devil Kids (July 1962), and Hot Stuff Creepy Caves (Nov. 1974). Hot Stuff was also unique in that his own title and Devil Kids were published until the very end of the original Harvey company run in 1982.

Stumbo started in the back pages of Hot Stuff, then had a number of issues as part of the Harvey Hits series in October 1961. He never had a regular title of his own, but did get a giant-sized spinoff called Stumbo Tinytown (Aug. 1963), which ran until November 1966.

Jackie Jokers was the last original Harvey character to earn his own title (in March 1973) without being paired with the increasingly popular Richie Rich, but eventually Harvey succumbed and Jackie Jokers was cancelled after four issues, being replaced by Richie Rich and Jackie Jokers.

What caused this Harvey implosion and Richie Rich explosion in 1976 after a full line expansion during 1972–1974? The recession of 1975 and 1976 had something to do with it. Other publishers like DC had a similar mass cancelation of titles, which led to their Cancelled Comic Cavalcade [see BI #2—ed.]. Comic books were escalating in price faster than any other

42 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

time in history, starting at 15 cents in 1970 and ending the decade at 50 cents a copy.

There were other noticeable changes for the remaining Harvey comic books published during 1976. The width of the comics became narrower, and the paper stock became thinner and tended to bleed through the printed pages. The number of giant-size books was reduced, so titles that formerly were giant-sized like Richie Rich Millions were now standard 36-page books.

By the time Harvey closed its doors for good in 1994, the idea of a comic book company sustaining multiple titles starring their characters had pretty much run its course, with only Archie Comics maintaining the practice. Strangely, it was at this point that Marvel and DC, the Big Two, heavily increased the amount of titles starring their characters… but that’s a story for another time and another columnist.

MARK ARNOLD is a pop culture historian with over 15 books to his credit, including two on the history of Harvey Comics. His most recent books are about MAD magazine and the Turtles music group, and he is currently working on a TV Cartoons That Time Forgot book.

TM

Fawcett’s 1970 -1979 Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine

by E d

Lute

Everyone’s Favorite Troublemaker When it comes to imps, there’s no menace we love more than Dennis, and this original art from the Hank Ketcham Studio proudly touts his top-dog status.

Produced as the cover for Fawcett’s Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine Series #187, from 1979.

Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com).

Dennis the Menace © North America Syndicate.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 43

Dennis “the Menace” Mitchell is one of the most popular comic strip characters ever. The Dennis the Menace strip, which first appeared on March 12th, 1951, featured the adventures of the titular character, his parents, his friends, and his often-put-upon neighbors, the Wilsons (most especially Mr. Wilson). It was created, written, and illustrated by Hank Ketcham.

The strip was unlike many other comics appearing in the pages of your local newspaper.

While most strips were multi-panel ones, the daily Dennis comics contained a single panel.

The Sunday comics used the more common multi-panel format.

If Dennis had only appeared in newspapers’ comics pages across the country, the Menace still would have been popular due to Ketcham’s skills at showing the humor caused by a curious, uninhibited child. However, Dennis also successfully made his way into other media, most

Visible Threat Many of us grew up with Dennis the Menace on television, including (top) the 1959–1963 live-action Dennis the Menace weekly sitcom.

This publicity photo is autographed by Dennis himself, Jay North, and actress Jeannie Russell, who played Margaret. (bottom) You Bronze Age babies may recall animated TV ads featuring Dennis and the gang stumping for Dairy Queen! Autographed photo and animation cel courtesy of Heritage.

Dennis the Menace © North America Syndicate.

44 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

famously as a long-running television series starring Jay North as the title character. The TV series originally ran from October 4th, 1959 until July 7th, 1963, but could regularly be seen in reruns for decades. In 1993, a big-budget Warner Bros. movie starring Mason Gamble as Dennis and Walter Matthau as Mr. Wilson hit the screens, showing that even decades after his debut, this pint-sized troublemaker was still huge.

Like many other popular comic strips, Dennis also made his way into the comic book format on several occasions. One of his longestrunning series was the reprint book Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine from Fawcett; it ran for almost 100 issues.

However, Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine didn’t start out with that name.

It also didn’t start as a reprint book, instead following a winding road to get to that title and format. BACK ISSUE takes a look at the history of this book as well as the contents to show why it remained a popular reprint title for longer than some books containing new materiel.

DENNIS THE MENACE GIANT SPECIALS

The comic book that would eventually become Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine started off as Dennis the Menace Giant Summer Special and Dennis the Menace Winter Special. Both of these 100-pagers were published in 1954, but they weren’t just reprints of the one-panel comics that appeared daily in newspapers.

These comics contained stories that varied in length from four to eight pages, “allnew stories” as proclaimed on the covers.

Publisher Standard Comics was formed

by Noah Lewis “Ned” Pines. Pines also published comics under the Better, Nedor, and Pine Comics imprints.

The next issues of Dennis the Menace Giant Specials were published under the Pine Comics imprint in 1955. As with the two previous specials, these new titles were published twice a year with one a summer vacation and the other a Christmas issue. Unlike the previous issues, these were numbered. Issues #2, 4, and 6 were published as Giant Vacation Specials.

Issues #3 and 5 were Giant Christmas Specials.

These contained 100 pages each and featured new stories. The sixth issue proved to be a popular one. It was a tribute issue to the then-recently added 50th state, Hawaii. It received several printings from Pine Comics as well as Fawcett when they obtained the Dennis the Menace license.

As with many titles of the time, there were not any creator credits listed other than Hank Ketcham’s name on the covers. Although these comics were not single-paneled like the daily newspaper strip, they contained the same type of humor, with Dennis causing problems for his parents and neighbors. Dennis’ pal Joey, dog Ruff, and gal pal Margaret were also featured prominently in the comic.

The title made its way to Fawcett Comics with a new #6 (Dec. 1957). It initially kept the

Groovy Grab-Bags of Dennis-dom Themes for Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine/Big Bonus Magazine varied with each issue, but no matter the subject, readers could always count on family fun. Covers for (top) issues #76 (Jan. 1970) and 129; (center) #145 (Aug. 1976) and 156; and (bottom) #179. © North America Syndicate.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 45

Book ’em, Denn-o!

Dennis hangs ten on the cover of Dennis the Menace Big Bonus Series (formerly Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine) #174 (1978), an issue where the Mitchell family travels to Maui, Hawaii.

Original cover art and cover courtesy of Heritage. © North America Syndicate.

46 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

same summer and winter publishing format. Issue #8 (Dec. 1959) was the last one with 100 pages and all-new stories. With the next issue, the page count dropped to 84, with no mention of new material on the cover. The page count would continue to fluctuate.

Issue #18 (Dec. 1962) even went back up to 100 pages for another reprinting of the Hawaii issue. However, the new stories didn’t return. Spring specials with new themes including Dennis the Menace Television Special (issue #22) were added to the mix.

The final issue under the Dennis the Menace Giant heading was the Christmas-themed issue #75 (Dec. 1969). By that time the page count had dropped to 68.

‘DENNIS THE MENACE BONUS MAGAZINE’

With issue #76 (Jan. 1970), the title switched to Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine. The cover proclaimed “Dennis in the Caribbean.”

However, there wasn’t any mention of these being all-new stories.

Like the former issue, it was 68 pages. Other than the title change, this was the same comic that Fawcett had been publishing for years.

What could readers expect to find within the pages of this comic?

Like the previous incarnations, it contained short stories of between four and eight pages in length. Unfortunately, these were not new stories but reprints from the various Dennis the Menace Giant Specials that had appeared for years. This wasn’t a bad thing, though, because Dennis and his antics have a timeless appeal. While some of the language and technology may have changed, these stories retained a universal appeal.

Readers could easily pick up any issue and dive in whether they knew Dennis from the television, the newspapers, or had never encountered him before.

As with the comics published under the Standard and Pine banners, one of the most popular themes remained Christmas. Other themed issues included fall, sports, and the circus.

In 1976, as the United States of America celebrated its bicentennial, Fawcett steered from its usual reprint format for Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine and published the Dennis the Menace Bi-Centennial Special. Therein, Dennis visited famous American historical spots such as Plymouth, Boston, Lexington, Valley Forge, and Philadelphia. The bicentennial special appeared in Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine #145 (Aug. 1976).

How did a reprint book last for almost 100 issues? The short answer is, it was simply a great book! The stories were lighthearted and above all, fun.

Each issue featured wholesome, family fun with characters that parents knew. With the loosening of the Comics Code in the 1970s, many titles contained more mature material that might not have been the most kid friendly. Titles such as Tomb of Dracula and Werewolf by Night from Marvel Comics and Charlton’s Scary Tales

‘Pocket Full of Fun’ While you were bugging your folks for money for Dennis the Menace Bonus Magazine, you were also eyeing Fawcett’s Dennis the Menace digests, which brought Dennis reprints to many 1970s supermarkets and newsstands. © North America Syndicate.

and Haunted could be found on spinner racks around the country. Parents knew that with a Dennis the Menace comic, they didn’t have to worry about the content being too scary for their children.

Issue #173 was the last Dennis the Menace Bonus Book but not the last Dennis reprints from Fawcett.

‘DENNIS THE MENACE BIG BONUS BOOK’ AND BEYOND

With #174, the title switched its name for the final time, becoming Dennis the Menace Big Bonus Book. Just as with the switch to the Bonus Magazine title, the only change was the title with the contents remaining the same. The Big Bonus Book lasted until #194 (Oct. 1979).

Marvel Comics picked up the license to produce Dennis the Menace comics after that [see BI #59]. Marvel’s Dennis the Menace title lasted for 13 issues, cover-dated Nov. 1982–Nov. 1983.

Unlike the previous series, this was not a reprint book but contained all new material.

The story and art were credited to Hank Ketcham. This would be the last ongoing Dennis the Menace comic book series.

Although Dennis doesn’t seem to have any media presence like he once did with the TV series and movie, he still remains a popular, iconic character. Hank Ketcham’s former assistant Marcus Hamilton continues to create new daily strips while Ron Ferdinand and Ketcham’s son, Scott Ketcham, produce the Sunday ones. Whether in the newspaper strip, reruns of the television show, or the comic books, perpetually young Dennis the Menace continues to bring humor through his wide-eyed, uninhibited view of the world.

Educator ED LUTE wasn’t a menace as a child.

That’s his story and he’s sticking to it, but others might have a different view. He was lucky enough to meet, speak with, and get an original Dennis the Menace illustration from the outstanding Marcus Hamilton at the 2023 HeroesCon.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 47

by D e w e y

Cassell

Double Trouble (left) No relation to Spider-Man’s alter ego, Peter, the Little Pest #1 (Nov. 1969) was an odd entry to Marvel’s late Silver Age/early Bronze Age lineup. That cover’s art was altered from (right) artist Joe Maneely’s cover to the series’ source material, the oldie Melvin the Monster #5 (Nov. 1956).

TM & © Marvel.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

For years, those are words you could find on virtually every bottle of shampoo. Is it because your hair is so dirty that it needs to be washed twice? Probably not, but it does sell more bottles of shampoo.

Comic books have had a similar strategy over the years, only the words are different: Read. Reprint. Repeat.

Its origins lie with the earliest of comic books, which began as reprints of newspaper strips. As comics began to feature new material, publishers looked for ways to leverage their investment.

Over the years, comic stories would be reprinted in annuals, specials, digests, and trade paperbacks. Comic stories were also reprinted in foreign editions. Warren Publishing, known for its horror magazines like Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella, would sometimes have the word balloons pasted onto acetate overlays, so the same artwork could be reused with a different script.

Reprinting was a popular path to profitability.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Marvel expanded its line of comics into a variety of new genres to reach a broader 48 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

audience. For example, they produced several comic books targeted at female readers, like Night Nurse, Shanna the She-Devil, and The Cat. They catered to the sword-andsorcery crowd with Conan the Barbarian. And, in addition to trying out new stories, they made a concerted effort to leverage their substantial catalog of older material. This included reprinting vintage horror stories in titles like Beware!, Crypt of Shadows, and Uncanny Tales. Marvel did the same thing with the romance comics Our Love Story and My Love, which were launched with new material but which soon began to include reprints from classic titles of the 1940s and 1950s.

And they used the same approach with comics for kids.

When it came to profitability for comic book publishers, a close second to reprinting was imitation. If one publisher found success with a character, rest assured the racks would soon be full of knockoffs from all the other publishers.

Interestingly enough, most of the copying—even when blatant—was taken in stride, with the notable exception of one red-caped fellow.

HOMER, THE HAPPY GHOST

So, beginning in the late 1960s, Marvel launched several comic books aimed at younger readers. And they were not only reprints, but they were reprints of knockoff characters. The first title, which debuted in 1969, was Homer, the Happy Ghost. It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out that Homer was a not-sosubtle knockoff of Harvey Comics’ Casper the Friendly Ghost. Casper started as a cartoon in character in 1945, making his first comic book appearance in 1952.

Homer debuted three years later.

As a side note, the whole concept of a ghost of a child seems bizarre. I suppose it looked cute and being a ghost opened up new story ideas, but it seems that comic book publishers were banking on kids not giving the idea much thought.

If they had, they would have realized that the main character was dead. This irony was brought to light in a parody called “Kaspar the Dead Baby,” which appeared in issue #8 of Crazy Magazine in 1974. And yet, Casper Halloween costumes were a perennial bestseller.

Come On, Get Happy (top) Homer, the Happy Ghost vol. 2 #1 (Nov. 1969).

Its cover art, by Archie Comics great Dan DeCarlo, was repurposed from its original use for (inset) Homer, the Happy Ghost vol. 1 #20 (July 1958). (bottom left) From 1958, page 3 of Homer #18. (bottom right) That same page, updated and altered for publication in the reprint book Homer #1. Scans courtesy of Dewey Cassell.

TM & © Marvel.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 49

Dig That Crazy Ghost!

Autographed original art to the title page of Marvel’s Madcap Marv Wolfman and Mirthful Marie Severin’s zany 1974 sendup “Kaspar the Dead Baby,” winner of a Shazam Award. From Crazy Magazine #8.

Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © Marvel.

50 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

Homer, the Happy Ghost was written by Stan Lee and illustrated primarily by Dan DeCarlo. (An occasional story was drawn by another artist.)

DeCarlo would go on to draw countless Archie and the gang stories for Archie Comics. He also created the character Josie and co-created Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. The stories he drew in Homer were short—typically four to six pages in length, though sometimes only a single page—and usually featured the title character and his ghost pals, some of whom were knockoffs of supporting Casper characters. The gang included Dugan the DeadEnd Ghost—spitting image of Harvey’s Spooky, the Tuff Little Ghost—plus Melvin the Mixed-Up Ghost, Alice, and Snappy the ghost dog, as well as a witch named Zelda and an invisible friend called Irwin, causing all sorts of mischief. Most of them appeared in solo stories as well. Other recurring characters included Gobby the Goblin and Homer’s parents, Momma and Poppa. Some issues also included a brief text story. Homer was published bimonthly and ran for 22 issues over three and a half years. He even had a spinoff series called Adventures of Homer Ghost that lasted two issues.

Not a bad original run for a knockoff character.

When Marvel launched a reprint title with the same name in 1969, they didn’t reprint entire issues, but rather cherry-picked stories from multiple issues and repackaged them behind one of the original covers that was typically altered in some way. The cover for the first issue of the reprint book came from issue #20 of the original series.

Of note is that DeCarlo’s name was removed from the cover and interior stories, perhaps to avoid having to pay him royalties. Another curiosity is that Melvin’s name was changed to Morton in the reprinted stories.

Among the stories chosen for the first issue of the reprint title was one in which Homer and the gang, after reading about themselves in Homer, the Happy Ghost comic books, decide to take a trip to visit Stan Lee and Dan DeCarlo in New York City, with humorous results. This fun story appeared in issue #18 of the original title.

In theory, the new Homer series would appeal to a new generation of young readers. But the reprinted Homer did not enjoy the same success as the original, lasting only four issues before being cancelled. After decades of Casper appearances for Harvey Comics, the resurrected Homer was pretty much dead on arrival.

PETER, THE LITTLE PEST

But Homer was not the only new comic for kids released at the time. The same month that Homer debuted, Marvel launched Peter, the Little Pest.

Like Homer, the covers and stories in Peter were reprints from Marvel comics of the 1950s. And like Homer, the title of the book and character were a knockoff, in this case of Hank Ketcham’s Dennis the Menace, which began as a comic strip in 1951 and expanded into comic books.

However, unlike Homer, the name and appearance of the character were changed from the original publication. The character (and comic book) was originally called “Melvin the Monster,” and he had blond hair. For reasons lost to time, the character’s hair color was changed to red and his name changed to Peter. Other minor alterations were made to the art and the creator credits were omitted from the reprints.

Melvin the Monster was written by Stan Lee and drawn by Joe Maneely, a surprising artist

joe maneely

Making a Nuisance of Himself (top left) Another redo of a Joe Maneely cover, for Peter, the Little Pest #3, reusing cover art originally published in 1957 (top right) for Melvin the Monster #3. (bottom left) Peter, the Little Pest was rebranded Petey for its fourth issue. (bottom right) That wasn’t the first time this kid had renamed, as Atlas/ Marvel’s original Melvin the Monster mopped up its run with the title Dexter the Demon!

TM & © Marvel.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 51

selection for this assignment. Maneely’s artwork typically featured a very realistic appearance and exceptional detail. He co-created characters like the Black Knight and the Ringo Kid. He would likely have been a major contributor to the Silver Age of Marvel Comics, but he died in a commuter train accident in 1958 at the age of 32.

The Melvin the Monster stories were typically only a single page or half page, although some were four pages in length. Other characters appearing in the series included Melvin’s parents, as well as his dog Lightning and a girl named Brunhilda. Each issue also included one or more stories featuring a character called Little Zelda—essentially a female version of Melvin. The character was renamed Little Pixie when the stories were reprinted. Like Homer, the Melvin issues often included a text story. The original bimonthly series lasted seven issues, the title changing to Dexter the Demon for the final issue.

The Peter, the Little Pest reprint comic shared one other thing in common with Homer— it was cancelled after only four issues. The title was changed to Petey with the last issue, but the content was the same.

There was one distinct difference between Peter/ Melvin and the character he resembled, Dennis the Menace. While the behavior of Dennis was a frequent source of frustration for his parents, as well as their neighbor, Mr. Wilson, Dennis’ intent was usually a positive one, often aimed at helping someone, which made him an endearing character. By contrast, the behavior of Peter/Melvin seemed less innocent and sometimes malicious, making it a challenge to like the character. Peter/Melvin truly was a pest, and more of a menace than Dennis. Perhaps that distinction contributed to the early demise of Peter, the Little Pest, while Dennis the Menace remains a syndicated comic strip to this day.

LI’L KIDS AND LI’L PALS

By now, you have likely picked up on the other key strategy of comic book publishers, in addition to reprinting and imitation—alliteration. Peter the Pest, Melvin the Monster, Gobby the Goblin, Invisible Irwin, Peter Parker, Matt Murdock, Reed Richards, Scott Summers, the list goes on. And it certainly wasn’t confined to Marvel. Let us not forget Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Lex Luthor, and Wonder Woman, to name but a few. The only thing that might trump alliteration, at least when it came to appealing to children, was to make it little.

Which brings us to the other two Marvel reprint titles aimed at kids that debuted during this same

Young Allies (top) Marvel dug deep into its vault of Golden Age kids comics like Little Lenny and Little Lana when updating their reprinted adventures in the early Bronze Age in Li’l Kids. (bottom) Li’l Kids #1 (July 1970) presented those li’l ones and their pals with this slick new cover possibly drawn by Marvel production ace John Verpoorten.

TM & © Marvel.

52 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

time period—Li’l Kids and Li’l Pals. Eight months after Homer and Peter started, the first issue of Li’l Kids hit the newsstands.

The length of the Li’l Kids stories ranged from a half page to as much as ten pages. Creators who contributed to the stories include Stan Lee as writer (not always credited but presumed) and artists Stan Goldberg, Horace Elmo, David

Gantz, Vic Dowd, Howie Post, and Al Jaffee, creator of the MAD magazine fold-in. John Verpoorten may also have had a hand in the artwork. Goldberg went on to have a long career with Archie Comics, and Post drew Hot Stuff, Spooky, and Wendy the Good Little Witch, as well as Casper, for Harvey Comics. Dowd was a sergeant in the 603rd Camouflage Engineers, part of a

Try Your Luck Original cover art to 1972’s Li’l Kids #8 by the incredible Stan Goldberg. Courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © Marvel.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 53

Passing the Buck (top left) Marvel’s Buck Duck had ‘em rollin’ with laughter in various Golden Age titles including It’s a Duck’s Life! (top right) Kooky critters presented anew in Li’l Pals #1. Cover

by Stan Goldberg. (bottom) Before Howard the Duck came Buck Duck, seen here in a reprinted page from Marvel’s Li’l Pals #1.

Scan courtesy of Dewey Cassell.

TM & © Marvel.

“Ghost Army” of artists and engineers who used inflatable rubber tanks and loudspeakers broadcasting the sound of marching troops to try to fake out the German army in World War II. Like the Peter comic, the Li’l Kids title was new. The stories reprinted in Li’l Kids began with a late 1940s comic titled Li’l Willie, featuring a lead character of the same name. But unlike Homer and Peter, Li’l Kids featured stories from a variety of vintage sources, including Little Lana, Little Lizzie, Little Lenny, and Frankie Fuddle. In addition to the title characters, others featured include Awful Oscar, Little Aspirin, and Patty Pin-Head. (There was nothing politically correct about kids’ humor comics in the late 1940s.)

54 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

Calvin’s Creator “Calvin” cartoonist Kevin Banks (right), with Marvel stalwart Morrie Kuramoto, in a photo from the fanzine FOOM #2 (1973). Courtesy of Dewey Cassell.

TM & © Marvel.

Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals, began as a series of short theatrical films in 1922 and remained popular for years. Starting in 1942, Dell began producing Our Gang Comics featuring the Little Rascals. So, the “little” comics that were later reprinted in Li’l Kids may have originated with the Little Rascals in some way, but the title of the reprint comic was likely just an amalgamation of its component parts.

Publication of Li’l Kids was initially sporadic. The second issue did not appear until three months after the first, and the third issue wasn’t published until a year later. After the fourth issue came out in early 1972, the publication became more regular.

It wasn’t until late 1972 that the Li’l Pals title debuted. Similar in format and appearance to Li’l Kids, Li’l Pals featured anthropomorphic animals in humorous situations. Many of the characters were knockoffs of Disney characters including Buck Duck, plus Buck’s girlfriend Dotty and nephew Monty. The source material for the reprints came from early 1950s titles, including It’s a Duck’s Life, The Monkey and the Bear, and Buck Duck. The list of contributing artists was similar to Li’l Kids, including Post and Goldberg, as well as Ed Winiarski. There is some suggestion that Winiarski may have not only drawn, but also written the Buck Duck stories. Both Li’l Kids and Li’l Pals featured new covers, drawn primarily by Stan Goldberg.

There were two important distinctions, though, between Li’l Kids and Li’l Pals. For one, Li’l Kids ran for 12 issues, the longest of the reprint titles introduced during this time period. (Li’l Pals only lasted five issues.) The reason for its longevity may have been the second distinction—the later issues of Li’l Kids included some new material, along with the reprints.

Beginning with issue #10 of Li’l Kids, the focus shifted to a new character, an African-American lad named Calvin. Calvin appeared on the cover and in several interior stories of the last three issues. The stories were written and drawn by Kevin Banks. Banks was a young African-American intern at Marvel, for whom this appears to be his only contribution. It is uncertain what inspired Banks to create his Calvin character, although he bears some similarity to the Fat Albert cartoon characters appearing on television at the time. Sadly, even this creative contribution could not save the Li’l Kids title, which was cancelled with issue #12. [Author’s note: For more on Kevin Banks, check out this article by Nick Caputo: https://nick-caputo. blogspot.com/2012/08/the-mystery-of-kevin-banks.html.]

Sometimes, knockoff characters surpass the original in terms of popularity or success. Such was not the case with the Marvel Bronze Age Menaces. Of the four titles profiled here, Homer, the Happy Ghost was the most appealing, the Calvin stories in Li’l Kids notwithstanding. The overall lack of success of these comics may have menaced the editors at Marvel, but it’s doubtful the competition found them much of a threat. They remain, however, an interesting footnote in the history of Marvel and their attempt to find a way to reach all audiences in the Bronze Age of Comics.

No, that’s not baby Homer before he became a ghost! It’s DEWEY CASSELL, a Bronze Age menace at heart, the twice Eisner Award-nominated author/co-author of four books and over 50 magazine articles.

Calvin Makes the Scene Cartoonist Kevin Banks’ “Calvin” feature, starring one of Marvel’s earliest AfricanAmerican headliners, became the highlight of the end of the run of Li’l Kids.

TM & © Marvel.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 55

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by J o

hn Schwirian

Just past the Scarewood Forest lies the town of Trunksville, USA. There, at 711 Maple Street, you will find the home of the Elephant family: Elbert Elias Elephant (better known as Papa Dear), his wife Mama Dear, their son Baby Snoots, and “houseguest” Uptite Mouse. Baby Snoots and family entertained children four times a year for 22 issues from 1970 to 1975 as one of the few company-owned properties at Gold Key Comics.

Out of approximately 500 comic titles printed

by Gold Key, only 5% were not licensed properties. Gold Key Comics, an imprint of Western Printing and Publishing, relied heavily on established characters from live-action television shows, movies, and animated features from studios like Walt Disney, Looney Tunes, and HannaBarbera. While the use of highly recognizable characters resulted in higher sales, licensing fees cut into the profits from these comics. In 1966, Charlton Comics won the contract to Popeye and the rest of King Features and, in 1970, likewise took a large part of the HannaBarbera characters for various Charlton titles.

With Marvel and DC flooding the market, Gold Key needed to find a way to stay competitive.

Between 1967 and 1973, Gold Key launched 13 new series wholly owned by Western Publishing.

While these comics sold well, Western failed to license these characters to other markets, a revenue source that boosted profits at Marvel and DC. Therefore, when 1975 proved to be a rough year for the comics industry, Gold Key began dropping marginal titles and, by the start of 1979, had cancelled all house properties as well as its formerly highly successful digest line.

We can thank editor Chase Craig for many of these titles. According to his obituary, printed in a Ventura County, California, newspaper, “He created many originals for the Gold Key line such as The Little Monsters, Baby Snoots, The Jungle Twins, and Magnus Robot Fighter. In each of these comics, he worked closely with his staff of writers and artists to maintain the highest possible standards of quality.” Baby Snoots was inspired by the Fanny Brice character Baby Snooks, a child persona Brice first performed in vaudeville in 1912. She later used the character on stage and film, but it worked best on the Baby Snooks radio show (running from 1944 to 1959). While Baby Snooks was a rambunctious troublemaker, she was not mean-spirited or obnoxious.

Aside from the names and the personalities for Baby Snoots’ parents, the concept for Baby

Pint-sized Pachyderm Baby Snoots #1 (Aug. 1970), from Western Publishing’s Gold Key Comics, one of a handful of series created and owned by Western. Cover artist unknown (although there are theories… keep reading!).

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 57

She’s a Funny Girl Comedienne Fanny Brice as Baby Snooks, in a 1940 NBC promotional photo for the Baby Snooks radio show. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. © NBCUniversal.

Snoots only slightly resembled Fanny Brice’s Baby Snooks. The comic book chronicled the misadventures of elephant toddler Baby Snoots, a sweet, innocent, and trusting child who likes everyone he meets. He lives with his parents Papa Dear and Mama Dear, retired Bungling Bros. Circus performers who want Snoots to become a more refined star and someday play Carnegie Hall. Snoots’ best friend, Uptite Mouse, is streetwise and tries to look out for Snoots’ best interests.

The series featured several running jokes. The primary one, which most children would probably miss, is that Snoots and crew are anthropomorphic, talking elephants and mice that are accepted as normal by humans. No one questions the presence of a baby elephant in their neighborhood (or anywhere else in the world). Most of the plots are dependent on humans interacting with Baby Snoots and Uptite Mouse like there is nothing unusual about it at all.

The primary in-joke revolves around the premise that “an elephant never forgets.” This statement (originally made by early African explorers observing annual herd migratory routes) becomes Papa Dear’s catchphrase. Many stories feature Papa and Snoots’ poor memories and how that creates chaos. Early issues show Snoots as being extremely forgetful, but later ones shift to Papa Dear’s selective memory.

In Baby Snoots #2, Professor Higgins tries to teach Snoots memory techniques, to no avail. Snoots then goes to Dr. Botz, whose diagnosis after examining Snoots’ brain is that “must be something discombooberated dere.” He prescribes pills that fix the problem too well, as Snoots now remembers in great detail all the things Papa Dear has neglected to do.

Evidently, the pills have some lingering effect, as Snoots’ memory gets more reliable in following issues while Papa Dear grows more absent-minded.

Papa Dear frequently informs the readers that elephants are famous for their trumpeting. While this refers to the sound of elephants in the wild, Papa Dear’s statement is a punny double-entendre as he is encouraging Baby Snoots to practice playing the orchestral trumpet. Snoots is expected to master the brass instrument, but his playing is disastrously loud and destructive. It is so bad that it turns music professors Fortissimo, Blowsky, and Tootit into nervous wrecks.

Another pachyderm premise the series plays with is the legend that elephants are afraid of mice. Actually, any small thing scrabbling around their feet makes them uneasy. While Snoots is fond of mice, all other elephants (and some people too) fear them. After their initial meeting at the circus, Baby Snoots and Uptite Mouse become best friends, and Uptite moves in with the Elephants, much to Papa Dear’s chagrin.

Many episodes focus on Papa Dear’s schemes to rid his home of the pesky rodent. The continuing conflict between Papa Dear and Uptite generates humorous exchanges between the pair, with Uptite usually outsmarting “Fatso” (his name for Papa Dear).

Forget Me Not There goes that Papa Dear, bragging about his sharp memory again! Original art from Baby Snoots #3 (Feb. 1971). Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com).

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The cover art for the series typically featured jokes based on the use of Snoots’ trunk. Often his trunk sprayed water or manipulated items while his hands were doing something else.

Uptite appeared on every cover, with Papa Dear joining in for two issues.

Baby Snoots lives in a very strange world filled with a wide variety of kooky characters.

The Elephant family lives in a modern-day suburban home, yet magical and medieval elements appear freely throughout the land. Baby Snoots frequently visits castles and encounters dragons, fairy godmothers, genies, and sorcerers like Sneedly the magician, El Zappo the wizard, and P. Pennypacker (the seventh son of the seventh son of a long line of magicians). Fellow Gold Key comic book star Wacky Witch appears in three stories (#7, 10, 11), with her foe the Midnight Knight joining her in #11. This is a rare crossover event, as Gold Key’s original characters hardly ever interacted (although oddly, Little Lulu’s Tubby—a licensed character— showed up once in Gold Key’s O.G. Whiz ). This is especially strange, because Snoots lived in 1970s America, but Wacky Witch’s stories were set in the Middle Ages.

Snoots and Uptite often found themselves entangled in the affairs of humans. From the circus came the three ringmasters C. B. Bigg, George, and Harold Hihat, as well as the devious Smedley Sneaky, holder of the mortgage on the Bungling Bros. Circus. On different

occasions Baby Snoots was the guest of Angus McThrifty, Tenth Laird of Eddystone Castle; Bucky Upton, child actor, and his bear Dum-Dum; Zuky, of the kingdom of Katuki on Cloud Nine; and several rajahs. Likewise, they were drawn into the schemes of such antagonists as Pistachio Nutto, a famous bandit from south of the border, and Professor Squeakenut, inventor of the better mousetrap.

The writer(s) explored Baby Snoots’ family tree and shook loose many a nut. Primary among Baby Snoots relatives is Papa Dear, whose legal name is Elbert Elias Elephant. Son of a great explorer, Elbert attended Pachyderm University (P.U.) and became an actor, juggler, and acrobat with the Bungling Bros.

Circus, where he met and married fellow circus performer Mama Dear (no other name given).

He is an egotistical boaster with memory problems, but clearly he loves his family and is very protective towards them.

Sadly, we don’t know much about Mama Dear. She is a loving, caring mother and wife who dotes on her only child. She welcomes Uptite into her home because the mouse makes her son happy. Her mother (Grandma) makes a brief appearance in #13.

Papa Dear’s family provides the fodder for many a bizarre adventure. Papa Dear’s father was an explorer who discovered the lost city of Pachydermia, located where the Pokey Pokey River meets Boonga Bay. Grandfather Elephant’s brother is Sneaky

Groovy Giveaway Western Publishing’s comic book giveaway title March of Comics hosted a diverse array of characters during the series’ enviable run from 1946 through 1982.

Millions of copies were distributed during that time.

Baby Snoots starred in several of them.

Shown here, from the Heritage archives, are the original cover art and printed cover for Baby Snoots starring in 1972’s March of Comics #371.

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Elephant and Cousin Herman is Sneaky’s son.

Colonel Flab Elephant, Papa Dear’s older brother, makes several appearances. As king of Pachydermia, he is at war with the Queen of Sherbert, a pink elephant who wants to marry King Flab and unite their kingdoms. It is often said that Snoots is his favorite nephew, implying that Flab and Papa Dear have another sibling that has one or more sons.

These stories are reminiscent of Uncle Scrooge stories where the ducks explore exotic lands.

Other elephants make their marks including: Igar the Great, a circus aerialist and friend of Papa Dear; Mrs. Van Plus, president of Mama Dear’s literary club; Snoots’ fairy god-elephant; the children and counselors of Camp Ritzy Woods, an exclusive retreat for privileged pachyderms; residents of Pachydermia; wild African elephants; and the wooly mammoths (also called hippy elefinks) of the Hidden Arctic Valley.

In addition to the antics of the titular hero, Baby Snoots comics included “Uptite Mouse Tales” (#622) and “Elefink Jokes” (#7-10). The latter, using Uptite’s word for elephant, printed riddles with a pachydermish slant. “Uptite Mouse Tales” was a solo feature for Snoots’ co-star that often told of Uptite’s encounters with cats and/or visits from relatives. Members of Uptite’s wacky family include Cousin Packie (a trade rat who exchanges junk for valuables), Uncle Sinbad Mouse (a one-eyed sailor), Cousin Batty (a mouse with bat wings), Cousin Elmer (who lives in a castle), Cousin Aussie (a rather large Australian mouse), Uncle Tinky (a fix-it man), country mice Hiram and Matilda, and Uptite’s Fairy Godmouse.

Theories abound about who the writers and artists were. Unfortunately, no records survive from Western identifying creative personnel on Baby Snoots. The Grand Comics Database (GCD, found online at comics.org) lists writers Vic Lockman for #7 and Bob Gregory for #17. Likewise, it identifies the following pencilers: Ralph Heimdahl (#1-2), Kay Wright (#3, 4, 13), John Carey (#4), Phil de Lara (#6, 8), Roger Armstrong (#7, 9, 15), and John Costanza (#7, 10, 14, 16, 17, 18). The John Costanza entries are based on data from Jerry Bails’ Who’s Who of American Comics. The GCD points to Larry Mayer as the inker on #3 and Bill Spicer as the letterer for the entire series. I hesitate to trust these statements, especially since one entry identifies the characters as Baby Snoots, Papa Snoots, and Mama Snoots! Their last name was Elephant, not Snoots, and the parents were identified with the honorific Dear. Having gotten this simple fact wrong may cast doubt on the veracity of the rest of their data.

While the Heritage Auctions website displays several pieces of Baby Snoots art, stating they were drawn by “Bugs Bunny veteran Ralph Heimdahl, the dominant artist on Baby Snoots,” I could find no evidence that Heimdahl ever worked on the series.

Comics historians contradict each other with their

Trunksville Trio Three cute Baby Snoots covers: (top left) issue #9 (Aug. 1972), (top right) #13 (Aug. 1973), and (bottom) #20 (May 1975).

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theories, leaving no firm ground to stand on.

Former Gold Key staffer Mark Evanier feels that GCD’s listings were off the mark. Several people point to Pete Alvarado as the artist, especially since he drew Wacky Witch. Yet Alvarado’s website makes no mention of Baby Snoots. It’s possible that the Wacky Witch stories were drawn by Pete Alvarado, who was unaware that they were not published in Wacky Witch.

Discussion with fellow researchers John Wells and Mike Tiefenbacher did shed some light on the subject. Tiefenbacher says, “My guess at the artist is Joe Messerli, with inks by various people, at least from my limited viewing. I see no Costanza-penciled/inked stories in the limited number of issues that are online despite what the GCD and Bails may say. Costanza was a New York–based artist who would have lettered anything he inked. I also see no Phil de Lara, Ralph Heimdahl, Kay Wright, Roger Armstrong, or John Carey in GCD-credited covers (and stories I haven’t seen as well), but who really knows if they shared one inker? (Other than Costanza, those are all west coast artists). All the issues I see are lettered by Bill Spicer, who was based in Los Angeles, which is the biggest clue.” In other words, the book was produced in California, which rules out the East Coast crowd.

Further digging revealed that Joe Messerli listed the 1974–1975 issues of Baby Snoots on

his website. This reflects a clear change in art style starting in #16 (May 1974). Prior to this, the artwork had a Disney or Looney Tunes look to it (check out the alley cat in #5—looks like he stepped right out of The Aristocats). Starting in #16, the art has a more DePatie-Freleng Studios look—like the Pink Panther comic, which was also drawn by Messerli. Sadly, it seems that we’ll never know for certain who Baby Snoots creative folk were.

After 22 issues, Baby Snoots came to an end in 1975, foreshadowing the overall fate of Gold Key Comics a few years later. The pachyderm toddler and his trusty rodent pal starred in 12 issues of the giveaway March of Comics, but there would be no further antics for the pair.

Unable to adapt to changes in the industry, Western Publishing/Gold Key Comics was sold to Mattel in 1979 and eventually closed down completely in 1984, bringing an end to a “golden” era of comics.

He’s Outasite, That Uptite!

Page 1 of the Uptite Mouse solo stories from Baby Snoots #13 (left) and 21 (right).

JOHN SCHWIRIAN is a retired English Professor who now spends his time researching comic book history, except for when he is chasing children off his lawn and talking about the good old days.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 61

by J o

And You Thought Your Toddler Was a Handful…

Detail of Li’l Kal-El/ Clark Kent— DC Comics’ Superbaby!—from the cover of Superboy #112 (Apr. 1964). Art

by Curt Swan and George Klein.

TM & © DC Comics.

hn Wells

The premise was there almost from the start. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s vision of an infant waving furniture over his head appeared three panels into 1939’s Superman #1, echoed five years later, in 1944, in More Fun Comics #101’s first Superboy tale. By the time Superman’s origin was revisited in 1948’s Superman #53, the orphanage sequence had been expanded to seven panels of destructive hilarity. The concept of a Superbaby was comedy gold.

Indeed, writer Alvin Schwartz and artists Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye had already played with the idea in the Superman newspaper feature.

A Sunday sequence running from October 1947 through January 1948 found atomic radiation reducing the Man of Steel to infant-size, with “Superbabe” adopting a new costume until the effects wore off. The story seems to have been intended as a stealth promotion for a licensed

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Superbabe doll that was offered to select retailers that fall as a prospective Christmas gift.

Superboy #8 (May–June 1950) brought the concept to comic books. Writer Bill Finger (joined by artists Curt Swan and John Fischetti) recalled “When Superboy Was a Superbaby,” taking a subdued approach to the idea. In this account, the infant Clark Kent’s powers didn’t truly manifest until he was one year old, and his vocabulary was limited to a few stray words.

The Tot of Steel’s first big adventure found him innocently thwarting a gang of jewel thieves.

Finger also included the crucial detail that Ma Kent fashioned a red and blue playsuit out of the baby’s impervious Kryptonian blankets since he wore out Earthly clothing so quickly. Superboy #26’s (June–July 1953) cover-featured sequel (“The Super-Tot of Smallville”) used a verbal shorthand to convey little Clark’s toddler state of

Bouncing Baby Boy (top left) That Kent kid sure can heave furniture over his head! From 1939’s Superman #1. (top center and right, middle row) The Little Fella of Steel, from the Superman Sundays of late 1947 and early 1948. (bottom right) The hard-to-find Superbabe doll, and (bottom left) an ad for ordering it.

TM & © DC Comics.

NOT NECESSARILY SUPERBABY

TM & © DC Comics.

Not be confused with the “real” Superbaby of Earth-One discussed in this feature, Superman has upon occasion been transformed into a child— as you’ll read in the next article—including (left) this humiliating outing in Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #32 (Apr. 1962). Cover by Curt Swan and John Forte. (right) Numerous imaginary stories have depicted various superpowered children of the Man of Steel, most often in stories involving Lois Lane’s marriage fantasies involving Metropolis’ most superpowered bachelor. An example: Lois Lane #23 (Feb. 1961). Cover by Swan and George Klein.

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SUPERBABY CHECKLIST

The following lists all of Superbaby’s pre-Crisis appearances. Note that stories featuring only the tot on Krypton are specified as “Kal.” Issues wherein Superman regressed to infancy, or which featured the Man of Steel’s baby offspring, are not included.

• • • • • •

Superbaby (Kal-El, a.k.a.

Clark Kent of Earth-One): Action Comics #281, 288, 303 (Kal), 314 (Kal), 325 (Kal), 329 (Kal), 337, 399, 500, 558 Adventure Comics [first series] #173, 210 (Kal), 221, 231, 240 (Kal), 287 (Kal), 311 The Amazing World of Superman The Best of DC #1 The New Adventures of Superboy #11, 14, 17 (Kal), 19, 24, 27–28 (Kal) Superboy [first series] #8, 26, 51, 59, 71, 73, 76–78, 79 (Kal), 83, 87 (Kal), 90, 97, 100, 102, 104 (Kal), 105–106, 112, 117 (Kal), 119–120,

• •

• • • •

124, 126 (Kal), 130, 133, 137, 140 (Kal), 157, 167, 169 (feature), 178, 187, 189, 192, 196 Superboy and the Legion of SuperHeroes #255 (Kal) Superman [first series] #106 (Kal), 113 (Kal), 137, 146, 152, 154 (Kal), 164 (Kal), 173, 211, 286 (Kal), 328, 369 The Superman Family #182, 196 (Kal), 216 Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #18, 56 (Kal), 88 (Kal), 101 (Kal) World of Krypton [first series] #2–3 (Kal) World’s Finest Comics #87 (Kal)

Superbaby (variant appearances): Action Comics #281, 299 Adventure Comics #299 Elseworlds 80-Page Giant #1 Free To Be… A Family Superboy [first series] #95, 183 Super Friends [second series] #9 Superman [first series] #90, 132 (Kal), 200 (Kal), 300 • Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #59 (Kal) • Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #36 (Kal) • • • • • • •

Cover Kid (top) An early cover appearance of a Superbaby story, in Superboy #26 (June–July 1953). Cover by Win Mortimer. (bottom) Nick Cardy’s Superboy #196 (July 1973) was the last cover of the series to spotlight Superbaby.

TM & © DC Comics.

mind (“Me move house. Make Mommy happy”). It became a signature element of Superbaby, even as teens and adults scoffed that no kids actually talked like that.

The detractors weren’t editor Mort Weisinger’s target audience, though. Increasingly aware of the character’s conceptual appeal to younger children and less-jaded older ones, he committed to the Superbaby name and featured him on periodic covers. Superboy #71 (Jan. 1959) marked the first story that didn’t bother using a Superboy sequence as a framing device. Moving into the Silver Age, it was Superbaby tales that introduced Beppo the Super-Monkey (1959’s Superboy #76) and Gold Kryptonite (an imaginary tale in 1962’s Adventure Comics #299).

There was also retroactive continuity, such as Superboy #102 (Jan. 1963) pairing Clark with toddler versions of Lana Lang, Pete Ross, and Lex Luthor. Superboy #106 (July 1963) contrived to briefly make Kal-El a Superbaby while on Krypton through an encounter with Brainiac, while issue #133 (Oct. 1966) revealed Superbaby’s first adventure on Earth before the Kents could adopt him. Syntax aside, Clark’s vocabulary and mobility by this point marked him as more than two years old and hardly a true infant.

Moving into the 1970s, DC tried to distance itself from some of the more juvenile aspects of its Silver Age successes. Editor Murray Boltinoff, however, resisted writing off that segment of the audience and revived Superbaby for half a dozen mostly cover-featured tales between 1970 (Superboy #167) and 1973 (#196). The giant-sized Superman Family comic kept the fire burning with occasional reprints, now sporting a newly created Superbaby logo. A new story was commissioned for Superman Family #182 in 1976, and the Tot of Steel returned for five more short stories in New Adventures of Superboy between 1980 and 1981. Bob Rozakis wrote a final Superbaby Christmas story for December 1981’s Superman Family #216.

In the four decades since, Superbaby has been almost invisible in the DC line. He was famously revived for a delightful story by Kyle Baker in 1999’s Elseworlds 80-Page Giant #1, but most of its print run was pulped thanks to a scene with little Clark in a microwave oven. (The story—which earned Baker an Eisner Award in 2000—has since been twice reprinted.)

Meanwhile, though, other vintage concepts that were once laughed off by older readers—the Legion of Super-Pets, for one—are enjoying a resurgence in popularity thanks to marketing to modern kids. Taking that into account, a revival of Superbaby isn’t just inevitable, it’s overdue.

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by A l i s s a

Marmol-Cernat

Past the height of that first wave of superheroics we now know as the Golden Age of Comics, stories featuring aged-down versions of pre-existing characters briefly became all the rage in an attempt to appeal to younger readers… and DC’s mainstay books were no exception. It was a transitional period for the industry and in keeping up with the times, the Silver Age saw the introduction of Wonder Girl in Wonder Woman #105 (Apr. 1959) and that of Wonder Tot in #122 (May 1961), the girl Superbaby in Action Comics #260 (Jan. 1960), and Bat-Baby in Batman #147 (May 1962). In fact, beloved heroes were getting de-aged all over the place, with the Legion of Super-Babies showing up in Adventure Comics #338 (Nov. 1965), and even Ma and Pa Kent getting the youngster treatment in Superboy #145 (Mar. 1968).

However, by the mid-1970s, the trend had long come and gone and heroes had matured along with their audiences—or so it would seem. It was in this changing landscape of the medium that Action Comics #466 (Dec. 1976) materialized on newsstands with an eye-grabbing Neal Adams cover showing Lex Luthor throwing around a Superboy younger than his teenage counterpart had ever been, and boasting of having already killed Batman and the Flash. It was a Superbaby story almost ten years past the prime of such tales, and it remains perhaps the most exciting of its ilk.

THE BIRTH OF THE SUPERBABY

At first glance, Action Comics #466 presents all the hallmarks of the “cover-first” storytelling editor Julius “Julie” Schwartz had popularized over the course of his long tenure at DC Comics—it’s flashy, it’s compelling, it introduces all the elements later explored within the story. That being said, Neal Adams’ artwork is also something of a red herring: the saga of the de-aged heroes starts two issues earlier, under two seemingly less evocative Bob Oksner covers.

Sharing some insights with BACK ISSUE about the process behind the three-part arc, writer Cary Bates recalls, “Julie was typically very ‘hands on’ when it came to the stories in his books. Not just in the plotting process with a writer, but in editing the final copy. Usually I’d come in with several basic story ideas, then he’d pick out the one(s) he liked.

From there, we’d iron out the plot details together. As you may know, I got into the business at age 15 selling cover ideas to DC, and continued to provide cover ideas throughout my career for many of the stories I would write. But that said, looking back I can’t say for sure whether the cover scene Neal drew for #466 came from me (or Julie or Carmine Infantino, or maybe even Neal himself).”

To that effect, this Superbaby tale is a pleasant mix of wellestablished tropes and burgeoning Bronze Age sensibilities.

Action Comics #464 (Oct. 1976), the real beginning of this three-parter, starts off with the debut of the Purple Pile-Driver as Superman’s latest punching bag in a routine fight through the streets of Metropolis. It’s not until the next evening that we get a hint of the “most harrowing adventure” that the first page promises, as newscaster Clark Kent reports on a murder that turns out to be eerily similar to Batman’s origin—a conclusion the Man

Why Don’t’cha Pick on Somebody Yer Own Size?

Lex Luthor—certainly no contender for “Father Figure of the Year”—wallops a moppet-sized “Man” of Steel while his JLA teammates fare no better on Neal Adams’ gorgeous cover to Action Comics #466 (Dec. 1976).

TM & © DC Comics.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 65

Trouble Brewing for the Man/Teen/Boy/ Baby of Steel Writer Cary Bates’ three-parter began with these issues: (left) Action Comics #464 (Oct. 1976)

by Bob Oksner, pitting Superman against the villain you may have forgotten, the Purple Pile-Driver; followed by (right) the next month’s Action #465, whose cover by penciler Ernie Chan and Oksner as inker prepares readers for Luthor’s de-aging of his foe.

TM & © DC Comics.

of Steel himself reaches as he visits the surviving scheme Luthor has ever dreamed up” and child in a local orphanage and discovers a make- engaged in a losing battle with his suddenly far shift Batarang made out of a toy boomerang and more experienced foe. rope. Superman has little time to dwell on that It is this middle chapter that first shows revelation though, as he’s soon called to the Superman’s transformation is mental as well scene of an accident at S.T.A.R. Labs involving as physical, raising the stakes past Superboy’s a teenage assistant, this time mirroring usual adventures in his own self-titled book— the Flash’s origin. Trailing this junior renamed Superboy and the Legion of speedster, Superman comes face-toSuper-Heroes with the release of issue face with the child sized Batman #222 (Dec. 1976) that very same and Flash, both claiming to year—by having Superbaby go be the genuine article as a against the mature Lex Luthor of mysterious off-screen voice his present day. Notably, the psyassures Superman he’s next. chological nature of his change The following issue, Action also hints at the real explanation Comics #465 (Nov. 1976), loses behind Superman’s de-aging. no momentum as we pick up The concluding act of this where we left off, and the young three-part arc is also its first fullBatman and Flash successfully sized one, as Action Comics #466 prove their identities to Superman forgoes any backups in favor of cary bates right before Lex Luthor’s latest 18 pages of Curt Swan’s dynamic © DC Comics. invention hits him with a strange pencils, with Tex Blaisdell’s inks. ray. Initially unaffected, Clark Kent only discovers From the very beginning, the reader is treated the device’s delayed effect as he grows to Lex Luthor’s thorough defeat of Superbaby, progressively younger while at a party with and the story suggests that the entire motivation the Galaxy Communications and Daily Planet behind Luthor’s scheme is his own perceived crew. Narrowly avoiding detection, the humiliation at Superboy’s hands in their younger Superman-turned-Superbaby soon finds himself days. Soon after, the aged-down heroes all caught in the midst of “the most diabolical come together for one final stand, but Luthor

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Super Jrs. Superman is stymied by his JLA teammates-turnedkids, Batman and the Flash, on the splash page to Action #465. Original Curt Swan/Tex Blaisdell art courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 67

seemingly disintegrates the Flash and Batman, and his friends’ apparent deaths send the Boy of Steel reeling.

It’s only once he’s brought to this breaking point that the young hero realizes Luthor’s plan is nothing more than an attempt to exploit a new weakness—his “super-mind.” As it turns out, Superman hadn’t been de-aged at all, but rather hypnotized. Buoyed by that revelation, he deals Lex Luthor a finishing blow as his real self and goes to tell the actual Batman and Flash all about this latest adventure.

And thus finishes the story that had seen the Man of Steel’s confidence shaken to its core, only for him to eventually prevail through willpower and friendship—it is, after all, his insistence that not even Batman would be indifferent in the face of a fellow Justice Leaguer’s death that unravels Luthor’s whole plot.

AGE BEFORE BEAUTY

Punchy, Ain’t He? In this page from Action #466’s climax, Luthor tricks a junior-sized Superman into a kryptonite gloved face-punch-fest. (inset) Of course, the joke was on Lex in 1989 when Toy Biz released this action figure of the villain whose “power- punch” allowed him to smack himself in the eye!

TM & © DC Comics.

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Action Comics #466 and its preceding chapters call into question a number of misconceptions revolving around what exactly constitutes the Man of Steel’s effectiveness as a crimefighter, and invite readers to contemplate the difference between Superboy and Superman.

Examining his fondness for the younger incarnation of the iconic hero, Cary Bates reveals to BACK ISSUE, “I was about ten years old when I began reading comics, and I remember being fascinated by the blurb that accompanied all Superboy stories back in those days: ‘The Adventures of Superman When He Was a Boy.’ So, it’s fair to say some of that enthusiasm stayed with me as an adult when I was an actual Superboy writer. Even though I believe I wrote my last Superboy story for DC in the early 1980s, the character re-entered my career in a major way in 1989 when I broke into TV writing to become a story editor and writer for Ilya Salkind when he was producing Viacom’s syndicated Superboy TV-series.”

But, of course, this is no standard-fare Superboy tale—what might have been a one-issue, one-off story a decade before ends up a tightly plotted three-part arc benefiting greatly from Bates’ familiarity with the character and his usual flair for innovation. One of the story’s more fascinating aspects is the analysis of how brute strength amounts to very little without an experienced mind behind it.

“After re-reading Action Comics #464–466 all these years later,” explains Bates, “I think one of the themes we were trying to explore was how much did age and experience factor into how well superheroes were able to perform. Certainly Luthor’s scheme pivoted on the assumption that an adolescent Superman would be a lesser opponent.”

Indeed, it is precisely this theme that makes this Bronze Age adventure stand out against the backdrop of all those other Superbaby stories spread across the years. Ultimately, the excitement of it never falters and the arc remains a definite highlight of an already fanfavorite Superman run.

ALISSA MARMOL-CERNAT is a Londonbased aspiring filmmaker and freelance writer. A longtime reader of DC Comics, she spends most of her time hunting down back issues.

by C

hristopher Larochelle

Mite-Sized Mutants Readers met the X-Babies in X-Men Annual #10 (1986).

Its cover, by the one and only Arthur Adams, homages 1975’s Giant-Size X-Men #1 cover. (title above) Crayon artwork prepared specially for BACK ISSUE by Addisyn Fowlks.

TM & © Marvel.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 69

“We don’t perform… unless we get what we want!”

1986: the year that brought Frank Miller’s Dark Knight, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen, and many more signs that American comics were suddenly getting a little darker all around. In Marvel’s X-Men line, the “Mutant Massacre” crossover [the subject of an article forthcoming in BI #161—ed.] played out, bringing new foes to the stories who pushed the X-Men and their allies to the limit in a tale that featured quite a bit of indiscriminate slaughter, lasting and drastic changes to characters, and an overall sense of foreboding to the stories of Marvel’s mutant teams. Fans of the X-Men might very well point to the “Mutant Massacre” as being where their favorite series acquired an extra helping of darkness that never went away.

However, writer Chris Claremont’s singularly impressive run from 1975 to 1991 on X-Men didn’t succeed because of any kind of “rinse and repeat” strategy. No, Claremont’s run is full of variety, and some welcome levity arrived in Uncanny X-Men Annual #10 (cover-dated Jan. 1987 but released in Sept.

1986), a special issue that was released as the Mutant Massacre storyline was trickling out in individual issues.

Yes, it was the X-Babies that allowed Chris Claremont and artist Arthur Adams to stretch out and tell a story that has as much humor in it as the Mutant Massacre tale has gloom. In “Performance,” the X-Men and the New Mutants join forces against the threat of Mojo, a villain who up to that point had only been seen in the chris claremont Longshot miniseries (Adams’ big break into comics, written by Ann Nocenti). © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. Mojo has an idea for introducing havoc into the X-Men’s lives by teleporting Longshot directly into the heroes’ training area, the Danger Room. Arriving in a strange balloon of ectoplasm that bursts on the whole team, Wolverine knows something bad will follow: “Weird scent on this goop makes me edgy.” It turns out that all who made contact are soon regressing into baby versions of themselves. In the midst of a double-sized Annual story, the baby versions of the X-Men truly don’t get the spotlight for too many pages. They are soon restored to adulthood during a battle with the New Mutants, who suited up to save their friends. The story in Annual #10 really does come across as a “testing of the waters” for expanding the idea of these characters later on down the line.

An easy argument can certainly be made that the true debut of the X-Babies was in Uncanny X-Men Annual #12 (1988). Since the previous story was about the regular X-Men being turned into babies, this second story is where readers find what would prove to be the lasting concept: the X-Babies are performers who are made by Mojo himself to be his biggest stars. Again, it’s Chris Claremont and Arthur Adams who tell the story in “I Want My X-Men!” This brief story only runs for 14 pages, but it’s jam packed with the kind of zany fun that

School for Gifted Goo-Goos X-Men Annual #12 (1988), reintroducing the X-Babies. Cover art by Arthur Adams.

TM & © Marvel.

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Their Reunion Was a Longshot Longshot creative team Whilce Portacio, Ann Nocenti, and Arthur Adams, at a 2015 convention. © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.

Mojo’s appearances are known for. In this tale, Mojo has a real problem on his hands: the X-Men, the biggest stars for his media empire, are now dead (yep—it was another X-Book crossover called “Fall of the Mutants,” and nope—the X-Men weren’t really dead). The X-Men can no longer be captured on video, through photos, or picked up on by any technological means, so it really is difficult to track them down.

As Mojo’s servile assistant, Major Domo, puts it: “You’re a victim, Mojo, of your own success.

You’ve created an insatiable demand for X-Men product. But the audience isn’t satisfied with reruns… they want original programming.” Mojo doesn’t know how to solve his little problem, and he calls in some advisors… all of whom certainly bear a strong resemblance to people involved on the other side of the fourth wall! Chris Claremont, Ann Nocenti, Arthur Adams, Bob Wiacek, Tom Orzechowski, and Bob Harras are all there to make comments, and it’s Ann who says that replacement X-Men might just do the trick. Mojo quickly passes this off as his own idea, and much of the rest of the story is made up of Mojo reacting to various riffs on the general concept. An X-Men team made up entirely of X-Women, with the male characters all genderbent? Mojo isn’t impressed. X-Men Transformers? Again, rejected. X-Men in “naughty” attire… antrhopomorphic X-Men… all are not quite cutting it for the ratings-minded Mojo. Far more possibilities are mentioned in Claremont’s narration than can be seen in Adams’ art, but things come to a standstill as the author declaims: “Just when he thought things couldn’t get worse… they’re young! They’re proud! They’re cantankerous! They are—the Mighty X-Babies!” Mojo’s main concern for the rest of this short story is trying to round up and maintain some semblance of control over his latest “stars.”

Speaking with George Khoury and Eric NolenWeathington in the fantastic Modern Masters:

Arthur Adams book published by TwoMorrows in 2006, the artist credited with bringing the X-Babies into existence was asked if the characters were his idea. Emphatically, Adams replied in the negative. “Those were Claremont. Claremont called up and thought that this would be a great merchandising idea for Marvel to do X-Babies.

I think someone might have given either him or Dave Cockrum a little baby version, a stuffed doll of Nightcrawler. Chris thought that would be a great idea to get Marvel to do all of the X-Men characters as these weird little baby characters.

Heck, I think this may even have been before Japanese toy companies started doing their various super-deformed characters. You know, with all the cute-sified, little big-headed things.” According to Adams, “that apparently did all start out as a scam

by Chris to get some X-Men merchandise going.

Which, of course, Marvel never, ever did. We don’t know why.”

Rough Stuff A pencil sketch

by Arthur Adams, circa the mid-1980s but signed by the artist in 2006, of the X-Babies and Spiral, with a mirthful Mojo sketch in the top corner. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com).

X-Men TM & © Marvel.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 71

INTERLUDE: ALL ABOUT MOJO

Oh, no, it’s Mojo! (left) Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem #1 (1989) returns the X-Babies to the public eye.

Mojo’s eye, too.

Cover by—who’d you expect?—Arthur Adams (and ain’t it a doozy?). (right) Ricochet Rita has her hands full as the X-Babies’ keeper in Mojo Mayhem.

TM & © Marvel.

Since his debut in 1985’s Longshot miniseries [which BACK ISSUE covered in issue #29— ed.], Mojo has been a fairly consistent menace for the X-Men to face. In the miniseries, the connections to the X-Men corner of the Marvel Universe had not yet been made. Folding Mojo and his entire Mojoverse into the aforementioned annuals gave the characters and locales of Longshot an obviously sturdy roof to stay under. The X-Men mythos also expanded as the material introduced by Nocenti and Adams brought along something just silly that hadn’t been there too often beforehand (aside from the occasional story like “Kitty’s Fairy Tale” from Uncanny X-Men #153 and Dave Cockrum’s Nightcrawler miniseries). Mojo is a villain whose main pursuit is the complete control of the people who live in his Mojoverse… through the endless entertainment programs that really do enslave them!

“Mojo opened a door, and anything goes when he’s around!” says Ann Nocenti. “Because he was so zany, you could do things like Spiral’s body shoppe, and I remember Spiral gave Psylocke the bionic eyes so she could be the spy on the X-Men for Mojo… one of the great things about the Mojoverse was that it gave us a wacky place to play.” To see how Mojo’s accomplice

72 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

Spiral pulled all that off, spend some time with New Mutants Annual #2 (1986).

Arthur Adams was interviewed by Peter Sanderson for Marvel Age #71 (Feb. 1989), in which he spoke a bit about the visuals for Mojo, which certainly do set him apart from, well… anything else in the X-Universe! “Mojo came about one day when I was visiting Marvel. I was sitting in Ann’s [Nocenti’s] office… and I wouldn’t go away. We wanted to make a main villain for Longshot. Longshot’s Doctor Doom. So we wanted to make him a big, fat, gross guy. But I wanted him to have something extra. Just a few days before that I had seen Malcolm McDowell on the David Letterman show. He was talking about how in the movie A Clockwork Orange in one part he had his eyes held open for a long time, and that it caused scarring on his corneas.

And I thought that was a terrible thing, so naturally it went on Mojo’s head! Those wires holding his eyelids open are so he can’t blink. All that other stuff on his head is to control his chair.”

Speaking to Mojo’s exploitation of mass media, Nocenti says, “Mojo represents consumer culture.

We all want to be entertained and something to entertain us. Mojo feeds the needs that people have for endless stories. When we came up with Mojo, it was TV… seems so innocent now.”

Do You Dare Enter…?

Jaw-dropping original art by Arthur Adams and Terry Austin for page 5 of Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem #1 (1989), with the X-Babies and Ricochet Rita.

Courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © Marvel.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 73

Mo’ Mojo!

Okay, this page ain’t full of X-Babies, but nonetheless let’s take another gander at the beauty of the Adams/Austin team in original art form (courtesy of Heritage), from Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem.

TM & © Marvel.

In the decades since his debut, Mojo’s domination of entertainment and communications have really only gotten more relevant as technology continues to develop. “The next thing for Mojo would be to start using AI,” says Nocenti. And on that chilling note…

THE X-BABIES AND EXCALIBUR

Chris Claremont and Arthur Adams’ biggest X-Babies story would see print as Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem, released in December 1989. It made perfect sense… Excalibur was the book that featured characters made famous in the pages of Uncanny X-Men, but they were isolated from the other stories (the team was based in England, far from the Xavier Mansion in Westchester, New York). The book was tonally unique in the line of X-Men comics, serving as an outlet for Claremont’s more zany story ideas, matched perfectly with the art of Alan Davis).

74 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

This time, the X-Babies are on the run, and they have Ricochet Rita with them, another character who debuted back in the Longshot miniseries. The lineup of the kids this time makes them all versions of what’s commonly referred to as the “Outback Era” team: Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Havok, Dazzler, Longshot, and Psylocke are the stars in this appearance. When the pint-sized heroes appear to be inside a building that collapses, Mojo, if not quite mourning the loss, exclaims: “So’s my glorious monument to myself—smashed all to rubbly bits!”

“The audience will eat it up, Mojo, all yummyyumyum, just the way you love them to,” replies Major Domo. “Large-scale gratuitous destruction and the seeming obliteration of their favorite characters always makes for top ratings.”

To get his runaway performers back, Mojo calls in a shadowy, armored figure called the Agent.

Guaranteeing success, Mojo’s hunter is soon on the trail.

No, the X-Babies didn’t really die in the building collapse—the glowing light they saw brought them to the Marvel Universe proper. It’s Kitty Pryde who meets them first, as they disturb what should have been her perfectly good night’s sleep. The babies really just want some help to find Rita, who didn’t make it through the energy field with them.

During the chase between the Agent and the X-Babies, there’s another “self-insert” scene featuring Chris Claremont, Ann Nocenti, and some other “major comic book creators,” as Kitty puts it.

Even though their logo is on the cover, the Excalibur team isn’t really given much to do until the climactic battle scene in the story’s final pages.

Mojo Mayhem is an X-Babies book through and through, and Kitty Pryde is probably the next most essential character in the mix. Irony comes into the story when it turns out that the person the X-Babies spent the whole story running from was actually the person they were hoping to reunite with all along, as the Agent is revealed to be a very confused Rita. It was all a ruse on Mojo’s part, and now there’s a demand that Rita is returned to him.

Led by Storm, the X-Babies trade their own freedom for that of Rita’s, and Mojo agrees. The X-Babies will return to Mojoworld, perform in Mojo’s shows, never try to escape again… it sounds pretty bad, honestly. While Rita can’t believe the price that was paid for her freedom, it’s Kitty who sees the full picture. Even if Mojo wanted the kids back in his service, he’s going to have a lot of headaches dealing with the whole batch of demanding, whining, obnoxious performers! The final page of the story sells this perfectly, as the panels are crowded with all kinds of interjections, and Mojo looking completely overwhelmed by his little superstars.

Despite being another fun X-Men story for readers, Arthur Adams has shed some light on his experiences working on Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem.

In TwoMorrows’ Comic Book Artist #17 (Jan. 2002), Adams reflected on some mixed good news an bad news: “The one Marvel book that actually made a ton of royalties for me was the Excalibur special I did, which, surprisingly enough, is the book I hate the most that I’ve done!” Adams continued: “At this point in the series, everyone thinks the X-Men are dead, so [Kitty Pryde’s] like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s

These Mutants Are Merry!

Excalibur: Mojo Mayhem’s playfulness was a breath of fresh air in a marketplace whose general subject matter was growing increasingly grim.

TM & © Marvel.

the X-Men, but they’re babies!’ Very peculiar. It was one of those when I didn’t have a good time with the editor, because the deadline kept changing.”

A few years after the publication of Comic Book Artist #17, in his expansive interview for 2006’s Modern Masters book, Adams had much the same to say about working on Mojo Mayhem.

Asked why it was such a tough project, Adams replied, “because the editor on it just kept changing the deadline on me. Because I’m a slow guy, and I take as much time as you give me, so if you tell me I have a month more than I actually have, that’s not going to work out well. So I ended up really cranking out, like, at least ten of those pages got done in a week, and I think even the last page I drew in that book, I think I drew in a half-hour.

And looking at it now, it’s hard to believe that I drew it in a halfhour. It’s not the most horrible page that’s ever been printed in the history of comic books, but it was still a really—it was just an unhappy experience.” While the credits page in the actual book is sorely lacking (really, all that gets mentioned is that Excalibur was created by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis—Arthur Adams doesn’t even get a mention!), various online sources might reveal the editor whom Adams clashed with.

THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE X-BABIES

The X-Babies have had several appearances since the tales written by Chris Claremont, but no one could ever really say that the characters have been overused. It would be over five years after the Mojo Mayhem one-shot before they would be seen again (or, more accurately, some new version of X-Babies—like in Mojo Mayhem, the characters who turn up are often a new riff on the idea, with different mutants represented). It was in X-Men #46 (Nov. 1995) that the X-Babies made their triumphant run. In the years since X-Babies of any kind appeared, so much about the X-Men had changed, both on- and off-panel. Chris Claremont’s epic run had come to an unceremonious end, and by November 1995, writer Scott Lobdell was helming both Uncanny X-Men and X-Men. Within the pages of the comics themselves, Mojo had actually been dethroned from running the Mojoverse in superstar artist Jim Lee’s final storyline, which had unfolded back in X-Men #10–11. It’s that story that’s referenced as a whole slew of X-Babies are on the run from Mojo’s taskmasters Gogg and Ma’Gogg. By the end of X-Men #47 (Dec. 1995), Dazzler is there to bring the X-Babies back to safety. In Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 75

After a Time-Out… …Marvel’s mutant moppets were back! Original art (courtesy of Heritage) from X-Babies: Reborn #1 (Jan. 2000). Pencils

by Juvaun Kirby and inks by Caleb Salstrom; script

by Ruben Diaz.

TM & © Marvel.

Lobdell’s story, the X-Babies seen include hardly any of the characters represented previously: besides Storm and Rogue, newcomers include Gambit, Archangel, Cyclops, Bishop, and Iceman.

Like how Uncanny X-Men Annual #10 was a tonal palate cleanser for the grim Mutant Massacre storyline, the return of the X-Babies in 1995 came at a significant time. Just months prior, the X-titles had all been replaced for four months by limited series that each told a piece of the overarching “Age of Apocalypse” mega-event, in which readers found out that a future dominated by mutants really wouldn’t be any happier than one in which mutants are oppressed. With that story just recently wrapped up, subplots in the pages of X-Men #46 and 47 allude to the next huge story that brought the whole stable of Marvel characters into conflict with Onslaught, a villain who could be described in a reductive, simple way: “Charles Xavier turned evil.” Again we see the X-Babies serving as a way to bring some nice variety with the X-Men stories: in between a giant-sized story centered around a worst-possible future and the X-Men facing their own leader as an out-of-control force of destruction, the X-Babies spend a couple of issues wreaking havoc in the main Marvel Universe, on the run from their Mojoverse pursuers.

A few more years passed before the X-Babies would return. Pint-Sized X-Babies: Murderama (Aug. 1998) featured a team of counterparts of the

76 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

“All-New, All-Different” X-Men from 1975: Cyke (Cyclops), Boyo (Banshee), Wolvie (Wolverine), Creepy Crawler (Nightcrawler), Shower (Storm), and Colossusus (Colossus). This is where things really change for X-Babies stories. In the previous stories, the X-Babies always found themselves mixed into some kind of trouble with their “grown-up, real X-Men” counterparts. The story of Murderama focuses just on the pint-sized heroes as they run into trouble with Mojo and Arcade. Writer Ruben Diaz and penciler J. J. Kirby put together an entertaining story, but things are a little different when the X-Babies are isolated from the larger Marvel Universe.

Diaz and Kirby returned about a year later to create another X-Babies one shot in X-Babies Reborn #1 (Jan. 2000). Once again, there’s a new team of X-Babies that’s featured. This team doesn’t match up perfectly with any particular set of issues of Uncanny, but there are a lot of mid-1980s X-Men represented: Shadowkitty (Kitty Pryde) in her X-Men training uniform; Creepy Crawler and Wolvie in their classic looks (brown and tan costume for Wolvie); Shower returns (featuring her punk/mohawk look in this appearance); Sugah (Rogue) wears a different costume in the story than she does on the cover (she went through a lot of costumes in the ’80s!); Colossusus returns (wearing the costume that Colossus is

More X-Babies… Please! (top) Courtesy of Heritage, original cover art

by Andy Kubert and Cam Smith for X-Men #46 (Nov. 1995). (bottom left) Pint-Sized X-Babies: Murderama #1 (Aug. 1998). Cover

by J. J. Kirby. (bottom right) X-Babies #1 (Dec. 2009). Cover by Skottie Young. (inset) Young’s cover to A-Babies vs.

X-Babies #1 (Dec. 2012).

TM & © Marvel.

seen wearing on the cover of Uncanny #192, his third distinct look); and Psychilde (Psylocke) joins the ranks, in a costume corresponding to Psylocke’s when she joined the X-Men in Uncanny #213.

X-Babies Reborn is an enjoyable tale with wonderful art, and once again the kids are desperately trying to stay a few steps ahead of Mojo.

It continues to be the case that years go by between appearances of the X-Babies. The niche audience for these characters had perhaps best been served by the fourissue miniseries released in 2009–2010 (written by Gregg Schigiel and pencilled by Jacob Chabot). In 2012, a oneshot featured the branding of the “Avengers vs. X-Men” mega-crossover… mini versions of characters from both teams clashed in a story written by Scottie Young and drawn by art team Gurihiru. The pattern of X-Babies being largely removed from the mainline Marvel saga continued.

“X-Babies were such a silly phenomenon,” says Ann Nocenti. “There was an open door for silly ideas, when Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, and I would get together for plotting sessions for the X-books. Years later, when I started to see Funko Pop! figures at stores, I wondered if the idea for those might have come from X-Babies.”

There’s no doubt that the X-Babies brought a nice injection of something that was indeed “all-new, all-different” to one of Marvel’s biggest titles when they appeared on the scene. The X-Babies showed that there was room for more silliness and just plain fun in the X-Men comics, and whenever they’ve returned, it’s been a blast for the readers!

The author would like to thank John Wells for his kind assistance in sourcing the Arthur Adams interviews quoted in this article.

CHRISTOPHER LAROCHELLE is a lifelong comics fan (really, it wasn’t too long after this picture was taken when he got started!) whose first article for BACK ISSUE appeared in #62.

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 77

Send your comments to: Email: euryman@gmail.com (subject: BACK ISSUE) Postal mail: Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief • BACK ISSUE 112 Fairmount Way * New Bern, NC 28562

Find BACK ISSUE on

ADAM STRANGE, LOST IN CYBERSPACE

Ye ed’s trusty iMac, purchased in late 2007 and the nerve net for the production of the majority of the editions of BACK ISSUE to date, computed for the last time in early December 2023. Its hard drive failed and some material in progress which was not backed up was lost. Regrettably, this included several letters from readers about BI #148, the DC Super-Stars of Space issue. A few of you wrote enthusiastically about the issue, mainly about John Wells’ superb history of the spacefaring Adam Strange. We regret that those letters cannot be shared but sincerely appreciate those who took the time to write.

In the meantime, so that DC’s jetpack-ing jet-setter knows we love him, allow us to share this gem from the Heritage Auctions archives: a 1985 Adam Strange illo by Murphy Anderson produced for an auction at the San Diego Comic-Con.

Wanted to correct my old collaborator Rich Larsen on a couple matters in his interview in #149 [about their indie co-creation, Whisper—ed.].

While we both ended up working for Sal Q Productions by 1978, we weren’t introduced through Sal. That was Mike Friedrich, circa 1975–1976, because I lived in Madison, Wisconsin, and Rich lived in Minneapolis, and that’s pushing 300 miles; from Mike’s California coastline perspective, that was practically right next door to each other. As Rich mentioned, we did a couple short stories (the first was pretty deliberately… how did he put it?... “profoundly impenetrable”… I was playing around with things) and developed a space opera that New Media took some interest in before they went under that never saw the light of day. I still have Rich’s lovely poster for it around here somewhere.

Rich can also sleep easily: His work on Whisper had nothing to do with the publishing company closing up shop. Though I never got any sales figures, as far as I know sales were pretty good.

Capital’s problem was they were a branch of Capital Distributing, and other publishers in the day were more than a little annoyed that a distribution company was publishing its own comics. That was generally viewed as unfair competition, and Capital was warned to knock it off or companies would be taking their business elsewhere. While they were having fun producing comics, the real money at the time was in distribution, so… not Rich’s fault in any way.

— Steven Grant We appreciate the info, Steven. Always great to hear from you.

PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN

Just wanted to thank you for your article on Mark Verheiden’s The American series in BACK ISSUE #149. In my opinion, it’s one of the best of that era’s indie comics, such a great concept… it’s a shame the American movie never got made because it’s tailor-made for the big screen. This book is the very definition of an overlooked gem. It was great to learn a little more of the backstory behind it. Thanks again!

— Brad Page You’re welcome! We also enjoyed The American back in the day and were happy to revisit the series and the excellent work of Mark Verheiden and Chris Warner in particular.

TM & © DC Comics.

LOVE THOSE INDIE HEROES!

78 • BACK ISSUE • Big Baby Issue

Just finished BACK ISSUE #149. It was my favorite issue in a long time because it covered 1980s indie comic publishers.

The interviews were a pleasant departure from Marvel/DC coverage. Don’t get me wrong, I love both companies and proud of the work I’ve done for both of them over the decades. My only hangup is that, being in my mid-50s, some articles offered little new info to geezers like me. But I fully understand that there are thousands of comic book fans who are learning for the first time. And it’s important to preserve comic book history for newer generations.

The 1980s indie scene was such a shot in the arm to the industry. Eclipse, First, Dark Horse, etc. However, the issue was bittersweet because so many comics you covered didn’t last long.

Whisper © Steven Grant and Rich Larson.

A WHISPER FROM STEVEN GRANT

The checklist of a series like Trekker was wonderful for a completist like me.

I hope you explore this subject more in future issues because there were tons of exciting indie books. The Liberty Project, Ralph Snart, Miracle Squad, Somerset Holmes, Strange Days, Hero Alliance, Wonder Comics (Terraformers, G.I. Rambot, Power Factor), and Hot Comics (Chrome), with a ton of creators who later became big names such as Chuck Dixon, Tom Lyle, James Fry, Kelley Jones, Ron Lim, etc.

— Drew Geraci Glad you liked the indie issue, Drew. We hope to eventually work our way through your list of 1980s titles, but kindly refer you to BI #63 for our Strange Days coverage and issue #90 for our look at Somerset Holmes.

REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD

Re BACK ISSUE #149: No, I haven’t read it yet; I didn’t buy it to read it, really. I bought it as it tributes a whole lot of my favorites— flipped through it, savoring the gathering of my old friends, comics I bought at the outset and’ve reread now and again ever since. So thank you for organizing the reunion; I will be happy making re-acquaintances throughout the week.

— Matt Levin By now, Matt, you’ve read the issue. Hopefully that “reunion” you were anticipating was a blast. It was for us!

HIDDEN TREASURES

“Eighties Indie Heroes?” Is this quiz open comic book or can I sit near someone smart?

I’m not hostile to the subject, just not particularly knowledgeable.

I was around, back then, but none of the books covered was on my radar or pull list. Nothing against them. Not a negative judgment call. Just that I was buying other books by different artists.

I do like the idea, however. Something other than superhero crossovers or strip-mining the same character in multiple titles per month. Thankfully, 40 years later, that’s not a problem, right?

So, am I writing for double-my-money-back? Not at all.

I found aspects to enjoy.

The main thing I liked was the various talents discussing what they learned in the creative process or how ideas evolved along the way.

In that category, my favorite was the look at Zot! You gave us the rough sketch, early versions of the logo, and acknowledgement that not everything was immediately set. Creator Scott McCloud noted some of the early issues were raw. Sounding-board Kurt Busiek mentioned pointing out areas that could be improved. Sort of a quasieditorial role, without the firm title or authority to correct anything.

But it shows that a comic isn’t just one perfectly formed idea. It’s innumerable choices, from conceptual to visual.

How they all work together, in service of All characters TM & © DC Comics.

BACK ISSUE TM & © TwoMorrows.

the story, or how some might benefit from subsequent ideas and course deviations.

Those series that worked, eventually, we may still remember.

I’m thinking Concrete and The Rocketeer. Others? Forty years later, they might well be forgotten even by BACK ISSUE. Also enjoyed how different companies, then and now, gave the talent other publishing options and outlets besides Marvel and DC. No inevitable dealing with one of two questionable choices. With new firms and different contracts, they could have ownership and retain the properties they built if they had subsequent contention with editorial or the publisher hit the skids. It’s why Doug Moench’s Aztec Ace could, in theory, be revived and completed, rather than being a casualty of the original publisher’s demise. It’s why Journey could continue on when it changed publishers.

I’d mistakenly believed that most of these runs were shortterm. Not the case. Journey was 27 issues. Zot! was 36. Quite respectable. Especially in comparison to DC, which was quick on the trigger. Two issues of Brother Power, the Geek? One issue, each, of Jack Kirby’s black-and-white magazines?

So, more an informative issue than something covering particular favorites. That’ll be next time, when you focus on Walt Simonson, Alex Toth, and Bernie Wrightson.

— Joe Frank “Forgotten even by BACK ISSUE”?? Impossible, Joe! If we remember Baby Snoots, we certainly won’t forget those gems (and even the duds) of the Big ’80s. Still, glad you found lots to love about an issue whose theme didn’t excite you.

HOW ABOUT AN RPG ISH OF BI?

The ’80s Indie Heroes Issue of BACK ISSUE was really fantastic. I enjoyed reading the Trekker © Ron Randall. interviews with Don Simpson, William Messner-Loebs, and Ron Randall about Megaton Man, Journey, and Trekker. Also, I enjoyed the articles about Dynamo Joe, Aztec Ace, Evangeline, The American, and Zot! By the way, I want to see a superhero role-playing gamethemed issue of BACK ISSUE very soon. Keep up the good work!

— Allen Christopher Trembone Allen, you’re not the first person to request an issue devoted to RPGs. There’s most certainly a strong article in that topic, but is there enough reader interest to sustain an entire edition of BI? Readers, what do you think?

Next issue: From team players to wannabes, meet the Bronze Age NotReady-for-Primetime DC Heroes! Black Canary, the Elongated Man, Lilith, Metamorpho, Nubia, the Odd Man, Ultraa of Earth-Prime, Vartox, and Jimmy Olsen as Mr. Action! Plus: Anybody remember Jason’s Quest? Featuring the work of MIKE W. BARR, CARY BATES, STEVE DITKO, BOB HANEY, DAN JURGENS, DENNY O’NEIL, MIKE SEKOWSKY, MARK WAID, and more ready-for-primetime talent. Retro cover by NICK CARDY! Don’t ask—just BI it. See you in thirty!

Your friendly neighborhood Euryman, Michael Eury, editor-in-chief

Big Baby Issue • BACK ISSUE • 79

19942024 UPDATE #2

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ZOWIE!

THE TV SUPERHERO CRAZE IN ’60s POP CULTURE

by MARK VOGER

HOLY PHENOMENON! In the way-out year of 1966, the action comedy “Batman” starring ADAM WEST premiered and triggered a tsunami of super swag, including toys, games, Halloween costumes, puppets, action figures, and lunch boxes. Meanwhile, still more costumed avengers sprang forth on TV (“The Green Hornet,” “Ultraman”), in MOVIES (“The Wild World of Batwoman,” “Rat Pfink and Boo Boo”), and in ANIMATION (“Space Ghost,” “The Marvel Super Heroes”). ZOWIE! traces the history of the superhero genre from early films, through the 1960s TV superhero craze, and its pop culture influence ever since. This 192-page hardcover, in pop art colors that conjure the period, spotlights the coolest collectibles and kookiest knockoffs every ’60s kid begged their parents for, and features interviews with the TV stars (WEST, BURT WARD, YVONNE CRAIG, FRANK GORSHIN, BURGESS MEREDITH, CESAR ROMERO, JULIE NEWMAR, VAN WILLIAMS), the artists behind the comics (JERRY ROBINSON, DICK SPRANG, CARMINE INFANTINO, JOE GIELLA), and others.

Written and designed by MARK VOGER (MONSTER MASH, HOLLY JOLLY), ZOWIE! is one super read!

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MARVEL COMICS In The EARLY 1960s

AN ISSUE-BY-ISSUE FIELD GUIDE TO A POP CULTURE PHENOMENON All characters and properties TM & © their respective owners.

by PIERRE COMTOIS This new volume in the ongoing “MARVEL COMICS IN THE...” series takes you all the way back to that company’s legendary beginnings, when gunfighters traveled the West and monsters roamed the Earth! The company’s output in other genres influenced the development of their super-hero characters from Thor to Spider-Man, and featured here are the best of those stories not covered previously, completing issue-by-issue reviews of EVERY MARVEL COMIC OF NOTE FROM 1961-1965! Presented are scores of handy, easy to reference entries on AMAZING FANTASY, TALES OF SUSPENSE (and ASTONISH), STRANGE TALES, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, RAWHIDE KID, plus issues of FANTASTIC FOUR, AVENGERS, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and others that weren’t in the previous 1960s edition. It’s author PIERRE COMTOIS’ last word on Marvel’s early years, when JACK KIRBY, STEVE DITKO, and DON HECK, together with writer/editor STAN LEE (and brother LARRY LIEBER), built an unprecedented new universe of excitement!

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COMIC BOOK IMPLOSION (EXPANDED EDITION) by KEITH DALLAS & JOHN WELLS

NOW IN FULL-COLOR WITH BONUS PAGES! In 1978, DC Comics launched a line-wide expansion known as “The DC Explosion,” but pulled the plug weeks later, cancelling titles and leaving dozens of completed comic book stories unpublished. Now, that notorious “DC Implosion” is examined with an exhaustive oral history from JENETTE KAHN, PAUL LEVITZ, LEN WEIN, MIKE GOLD, AL MILGROM, and other DC creators of the time, plus commentary by other top pros, examining how it changed the landscape of comics forever! This new EXPANDED EDITION of the Eisner Award-nominated book explodes in FULL-COLOR FOR THE FIRST TIME, with extra coverage of LOST 1970s DC PROJECTS like NINJA THE INVISIBLE and an adaptation of “THE WIZ,” JIM STARLIN’s unaltered cover art for BATMAN FAMILY #21, content meant for cancelled Marvel titles such as GODZILLA and MS. MARVEL, and more! NOW SHIPPING! (144-page FULL-COLOR SOFTCOVER) $26.95 • (Digital Edition) $10.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-124-0

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AMERICAN COMIC BOOK ALTER EGO #190 CHRONICLES: 1945-49 MITCH MAGLIO examines vintage jungle

Covers the aftermath of WWII, when comics shifted from super-heroes to crime, romance, and western comics, BILL GAINES plotted a new course for EC Comics, and SIEGEL & SHUSTER sued for rights to Superman! By RICHARD ARNDT, KURT MITCHELL, and KEITH DALLAS.

(288-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $49.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-099-1

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BACK ISSUE #155

ALTER EGO #191

ALTER EGO #192

BRICKJOURNAL #86

comics heroes (Kaänga, Ka-Zar, Sheena, Rulah, Jo-Jo/Congo King, Thun’da, Tarzan) with art by LOU FINE, WILL EISNER, FRANK FRAZETTA, MATT BAKER, BOB POWELL, ALEX SCHOMBURG, and others! Plus: the comicbook career of reallife jungle explorers MARTIN AND OSA JOHNSON, FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more!

#191 is an FCA (FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA) issue! Documenting the influence of MAC RABOY’s Captain Marvel Jr. on the life, career, and look of ELVIS PRESLEY during his stellar career, from the 1950s through the 1970s! Plus: Captain Marvel co-creator BILL PARKER’s complete testimony from the DC vs. Fawcett lawsuit, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and other surprises!

MARK CARLSON-GHOST documents the mid-1950s super-hero revival featuring The Human Torch, Captain America, SubMariner, Fighting American, The Avenger, Phantom Lady, The Flame, Captain Flash, and others—with art by JOHN ROMITA, JOHN BUSCEMA, BILL EVERETT, SIMON & KIRBY, MIKE SEKOWSKY, MORT MESKIN, BOB POWELL, and other greats! Plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more!

LEGO LANDSCAPING! A detailed look at how to create realistic stone and foliage from bricks: ANU PEHRSON’s White Wall from Game of Thrones, and JOEL and JONATHAN NEUBER’s (working!) Pirates of the Caribbean ride! Plus BRICKNERD, BANTHA BRICKS: Fans of LEGO Star Wars, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions

by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS!

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BACK ISSUE #156

BACK ISSUE #157

KIRBY COLLECTOR #92

KIRBY COLLECTOR #93

THIS ISSUE IS HAUNTED! House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Unexpected, Marvel’s failed horror anthologies, Haunted Tank, Eerie Publications, House II adaptation, Elvira’s House of Mystery, and more wth NEAL ADAMS, MIKE W. BARR, DICK GIORDANO, SAM GLANZMAN, ROBERT KANIGHER, JOE ORLANDO, STERANKO, BERNIE WRIGHTSON, and others. Unused cover by GARCÍA-LÓPEZ & WRIGHTSON.

BRONZE AGE GRAPHIC NOVELS! 1980s GNs from Marvel, DC, and First Comics, Conan GNs, and DC’s Sci-Fi GN series!

With BRENT ANDERSON, JOHN BYRNE, HOWARD CHAYKIN, CHRIS CLAREMONT, JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, JACK KIRBY, DON MCGREGOR, BOB McLEOD, BILL SIENKIEWICZ, JIM STARLIN, ROY THOMAS, BERNIE WRIGHTSON, and more. WRIGHTSON cover.

KEITH GIFFEN TRIBUTE ISSUE! Starstudded celebration of the prolific writer/ artist of Legion of Super-Heroes, Rocket Raccoon, Guardians of the Galaxy, Justice League, Lobo, Blue Beetle, and others!

With CARY BATES, TOM BIERBAUM, J.M. DeMATTEIS, DAN DIDIO, ROBERT LOREN FLEMING, CULLY HAMNER, SCOTT KOBLISH, PAUL LEVITZ, KEVIN MAGUIRE, BART SEARS, MARK WAID, and more!

IN THE NEWS! Rare newspaper interviews with Jack, 1973 San Diego panel with Jack and NEAL ADAMS discussing DC’s coloring, strips Kirby ghosted for others, unused strip concepts, collages, a never-reprinted Headline Comics tale, Jimmy Olsen pencil art gallery, 2024 WonderCon Kirby panel (featuring DAVID SCHWARTZ, GLEN GOLD, and RAY WYMAN), and more!

Cover inked by DAVID REDDICK!

SUPPORTING PLAYERS! Almost-major villains like Kanto the Assassin and Diablo, Rodney Rumpkin, Mr. Little, the Falcon, Randu Singh, and others take center stage!

Plus: 1970 interview with Jack by SHEL DORF, MARK EVANIER’s 2024 Kirby Tribute Panel from Comic-Con, neverreprinted Simon & Kirby story, pencil art gallery, and more! Unused Mister Miracle cover inked by MIKE ROYER!

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COMIC BOOK CREATOR #36 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #37

RETROFAN #35

RETROFAN #36

RETROFAN #37

TOM PALMER retrospective, career-spanning interview, and tributes compiled by GREG BIGA. LEE MARRS chats about assisting on Little Orphan Annie, work for DC’s Plop! and underground Pudge, Girl Blimp!

The start of a multi-part look at the life and career of DAN DIDIO, part two of our ARNOLD DRAKE interview, public service comics produced by students at the CENTER FOR CARTOON STUDIES, & more!

STEVE ENGLEHART is spotlighted in a career-spanning interview, former DC Comics’ romance editor BARBARA FRIEDLANDER redeems the late DC editor JACK MILLER, DAN DIDIO discusses going from DC exec to co-publisher, we conclude our 100th birthday celebration for ARNOLD DRAKE, take a look at the 1970s underground comix oddity THE FUNNY PAGES, and more, including HEMBECK!

Saturday morning super-hero Space Ghost, plus The Beatles, The Jackson 5ive, and other real rockers in animation! Also: The Addams Family’s JOHN ASTIN, Mighty Isis co-stars JOANNA PANG and BRIAN CUTLER, TV’s The Name of the Game, on the set of Evil Dead II, classic coffee ads, and more! With ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, MARK VOGER & MICHAEL EURY.

Feel the G-Force of Eighties sci-fi toon BATTLE OF THE PLANETS! Plus: The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.’s STEFANIE POWERS, CHUCK CONNORS, The Oddball World of SCTV, Rankin/Bass’ stop-motion Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, TV’s Greatest Catchphrases, one-season TV shows, and more! With ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, MARK VOGER & MICHAEL EURY.

The Jetsons, Freaky Frankensteins, Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling’s HOLLYWOOD, the Archies and other Saturday morning rockers, Star Wars copycats, Build Your Own Adventure books, crazy kitchen gadgets, toymaker MARVIN GLASS, and more! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

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New from TwoMorrows!

ALTER EGO #188

ALTER EGO #189

BACK ISSUE #152

BACK ISSUE #154

KIRBY COLLECTOR #90

JOHN ROMITA tribute issue! Podcast recollections recorded shortly after the Jazzy One’s passing by JOHN ROMITA JR., JIM STARLIN, STEVE ENGLEHART, BRIAN PULIDO, ROY THOMAS, JAIMIE JAMESON, JOHN CIMINO, STEVE HOUSTON, & NILE SCALA; DAVID ARMSTRONG’s mini-interview with Romita; John Romita’s ten greatest hits; plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, & more!

MARVELMANIA ISSUE! SAL BUSCEMA’s Avengers, FABIAN NICIEZA’s Captain America, and KURT BUSIEK and ALEX ROSS’s Marvels turns 30! Plus: Marvelmania International, Marvel Age, Marvel Classics, PAUL KUPPERBERG’s Marvel Novels, and Marvel Value Stamps.

Featuring JACK KIRBY, KEVIN MAGUIRE, ROY THOMAS, and more! SAL BUSCEMA cover.

BRONZE AGE NOT-READY-FORPRIMETIME DC HEROES! Black Canary, Elongated Man, Lilith, Metamorpho, Nubia, Odd Man, Ultraa of Earth-Prime, Vartox, and Jimmy Olsen as Mr. Action! Plus: Jason’s Quest! Featuring MIKE W. BARR, CARY BATES, STEVE DITKO, BOB HANEY, DENNY O’NEIL, MIKE SEKOWSKY, MARK WAID, and more ready-for-primetime talent. Retro cover by NICK CARDY.

WHAT IF KIRBY... hadn’t been stopped by his rejected Spider-Man presentation?

DC’s abandonment of the Fourth World?

The ill-fated Speak-Out Series? FREDRIC WERTHAM’s anti-comics crusade? The CIA’s involvement with the Lord of Light?

Plus a rare Kirby interview, MARK EVANIER and our other columnists, a classic Simon & Kirby story, pencil art gallery, & more!

Cover inks by DAMIAN PICKADOR ZAJKO!

(160-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $21.95 (Digital Edition) $9.99 • Now shipping!

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All characters TM & © their respective owners.

DOUBLE-SIZE ANNIVERSARY ISSUE! The Marvel side includes mini-interviews with JOHN BUSCEMA, MARIE SEVERIN, JIM MOONEY, and GEORGE TUSKA—plus “STAN LEE’S Dinner with ALAIN RESNAIS” annotated by SEAN HOWE! On the DC side: talks with CARMINE INFANTINO, JOHN BROOME, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, JOE KUBERT, & MURPHY ANDERSON—plus a GARDNER FOX photo-feature, and more!

RETROFAN #33

RETROFAN #34

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #34 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #35

Meet the Bionic Duo, LEE MAJORS and LINDSAY WAGNER! Plus: Hot Wheels: The Early Years, Fantastic Four cartoons, Modesty Blaise, Hostess snacks, TV Westerns, Movie Icons vs. the Axis Powers, the San Diego Chicken, and more!

Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER. Edited

by MICHAEL EURY.

Take a ride with CHiPs’ ERIK ESTRADA and LARRY WILCOX! Plus: an interview with movie Hercules STEVE REEVES, WeirdOhs cartoonist BILL CAMPBELL, Plastic Man on Saturday mornings, TINY TIM, Remo Williams, the search for a Disney artist, and more! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

DAN JURGENS talks about Superman, Sun Devils, creating Booster Gold, developing the “Doomsday scenario” with the demise of the Man of Steel, and more! Traverse DON GLUT’s “Glutverse” continuity across Gold Key, Marvel, and DC! Plus RICK ALTERGOTT, we conclude our profiles of MIKE DEODATO, JR. and FRANK BORTH, LINDA SUNSHINE (editor of DC/Marvel hardcover super-hero collections), & more!

An in-depth look at the life and career of writer/editor DENNY O’NEIL, and part one of a career-spanning interview with ARNOLD DRAKE, co-creator of The Doom Patrol and Deadman! Plus the story behind Studio Zero, the ’70s collective of JIM STARLIN, FRANK BRUNNER, ALAN WEISS, and others! Warren horror mag writer/ historian JACK BUTTERWORTH, alternative cartoonist TIM HENSLEY, & more!

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KIRBY COLLECTOR #91

30th Anniversary issue, with KIRBY’S GREATEST VICTORIES! Jack gets the girl (wife ROZ), early hits Captain America and Boy Commandos, surviving WWII, romance comics, Captain Victory and the direct market, his original art battle with Marvel, and finally winning credit! Plus MARK EVANIER, a colossal gallery of Kirby’s winningest pencil art, a never-reprinted SIMON & KIRBY story, and more!