Back Issue #21

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DAREDEVIL AND SON OF SATAN TM & © MARVEL CHARACTERS, INC. HELLBOY TM & © MIKE MIGNOLA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

A R E D - H O T L O O K AT D A R E D E V I L !

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N$o6..29 15 2007

Volume 1, Number 21 April 2007 Celebrating the Best Comics of the '70s, '80s, and Today!

The Ultimate Comics Experience!

EDITOR Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Bob Brodsky, Cookiesoup Periodical Distribution, LLC PROOFREADERS John Morrow and Christopher Irving COVER ARTIST Michael Zeck COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Robert Clark SPECIAL THANKS Sergio Aragonés Ann Nocenti Michael Aushenker Don Perlin Frank Balas John Petty Spencer Beck John Romita, Jr. Jerry Boyd John Romita, Sr. Mike Burkey Rose Rummel-Eury Russ Cochran Steve Skeates Gary Cohn Tom Stewart Gene Colan Ty Templeton Philippe Cordier Roy Thomas DC Comics Ciro Tota Tom DeFalco Herb Trimpe J. M. DeMatteis J. C. Vaughn Colleen Doran David Yurkovich Mike Dunne Mike Zeck Editions Deesse Mark Evanier Golden Apple Comics Grand Comic-Book Database Allan Harvey Heritage Auction Galleries Carmine Infantino Christopher Irving Tony Isabella Klaus Janson Dan Johnson Michael Kronenberg Ryan Liebowitz Steve Lipsky Ralph Macchio Lee Marrs Marvel Comics David Mazzucchelli Mike’s Amazing World of DC Comics Mike Mignola Frank Miller Dan Mishkin Moon-Boy Brian K. Morris

A 2000 Daredevil (in his original costume) illo by John Romita, Jr., courtesy of Mike Burkey (www.romitaman.com). © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

DESIGNER Rich J. Fowlks

BACK SEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 INTERVIEW: Mike Mignola: The Genesis of Hellboy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Discover the story behind the comics hero-turned-movie star, with early Mignola art FLASHBACK: The Son of Satan: A Trident True Devil Hero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Spawned during the ’70s, Son of Satan toplined not one but three different titles in short succession GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: Devil’s Moon: The Unseen Fallen Angels. . . . . . . . . . . 14 Colleen Doran reveals why this X-Men spin-off went unpublished FLASHBACK: The Hellish Humor of PLOP! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Remembering DC’s “magazine of weird humor,” with Sergio Aragonés, Steve Skeates, Carmine Infantino, and Lee Marrs PRO2PRO: The Blue Devil You Don’t Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn horn in on their co-creation, now seen in DC’s Shadowpact FLASHBACK: Seeing Red: Dissecting Daredevil’s Redefining Years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 An art-rich examination beginning with the Frank Miller era, featuring interviews with Klaus Janson, John Romita, Jr., Ann Nocenti, and Ralph Macchio DAREDEVIL ART GALLERY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 A showcase of pre-Miller DD artists, including John Romita, Sr. and Gene Colan WHAT THE--?!: Kirby Goes to the Devil: The Saga of Devil Dinosaur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 “The Comics Savant” ushers us on an archaeological dig BEYOND CAPES: Stig’s Inferno, or … Ty Templeton Takes You to Hell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Revisiting the 1980s independent title that starred the reluctant ruler of the underworld BACK IN PRINT: The EC Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 These ’50s golden oldies are must-haves for comics readers of all generations!

BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Reader feedback on issue #19, with Don Newton art!

BACK ISSUE™ is published bimonthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor, 5060A Foothills Dr., Lake Oswego, OR 97034. Email: euryman@msn.com. Six-issue subscriptions: $36 Standard US, $54 First Class US, $66 Canada, $72 Surface International, $96 Airmail International.

Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Michael Zeck; contributed by Philippe Cordier. Daredevil and the Son of Satan TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Hellboy TM & © Mike Mignola. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2007 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing. BACK ISSUE is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing. ISSN 1932-6904.

Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING. T h e

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This issue, we examine some of comics’ most popular devils (temperamental artists excluded), as well as a few lesser-known characters and comics.

Conventional editorial wisdom suggests that an issue featuring Daredevil, Hellboy, Daimon Hellstrom, Blue Devil, and other horned and hellish heroes might best be reserved for publication at Halloween. Well, for those of you who know me, I’m not the most conventional guy in town (says the editor who put a Beppo the SuperMonkey action figure on his Christmas tree). Besides, no dark, horror, or weird comic books are expected to have a one-time-a-year shelf life—like the Devil himself, these characters are on duty 12 months a year—so why limit our exploration of their adventures to October?

This issue’s Daredevil coverage comes to us not from New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, but from France, thanks to art collector and DD disciple Philippe Cordier. Many months ago, Philippe contacted me about writing a Daredevil piece, and discovered that your friendly neighborhood Euryman works well in advance on BACK ISSUE themes and content (by-the-seat-of-your-pants editorial management doesn’t keep the trains running on time, my friends…). Thank you, Philippe, for biding your time waiting for DD’s chance to shine—and for the wonderful job you did gathering artwork and interviewing DD’s all-star creators.

This issue’s cover also comes to us from Philippe, who commissioned this astounding illustration from the ultra-talented Mike Zeck. You might be surprised that I was initially hesitant to run it, since BI featured a Zeck cover a mere five issues ago (the Snake-Eyes G. I. Joe cover on issue #16). But how could I not share this masterpiece with you?

And aren’t those cover colors remarkable? I’d like to welcome our new cover colorist, Glenn Whitmore (Captain Clockwork, Superman, Power of Shazam!), to BI. Glenn actually joined the BI family last issue, but issue #20’s last-minute “BackSeat Driver” tribute to the late, great Dave Cockrum prohibited my ability to properly introduce him.

Glenn, we’re thrilled to have you on board!

Some of you might be wondering, Why the devil is Hellboy in this issue? Of course, many of you are rabid Mike Mignola fans, but Hellboy debuted in 1993, outside of BACK ISSUE’s ’70s/’80s focus.

There’s a story here: When Philippe Cordier commissioned this DD cover illo from Mike Zeck (which is, as you’ll read in the Daredevil article, a recreation of a Captain America piece), he asked Mike to include on the billboards tributes to two of his other favorite comics: Will Eisner’s The Spirit and Mignola’s Hellboy. Naturally, I wanted the billboards on our cover to reflect the content of this issue, so the Spirit sign was altered to bear the Son of Satan’s logo … but upon examining that “Hellboy Hotel” billboard I thought, “Why not have Hellboy in the ish?” Mike Mignola began his career in the ’80s (you BI newbies should check out #9’s Cosmic Odyssey “Pro2Pro” between Mike and Jim Starlin), and heck, Hellboy is just darn cool! Plus you get rare Mignola artwork as part of the deal! And for the record, BI may occasionally peek into the early 1990s, but we will blissfully remain stuck in the ’70s and ’80s!

Just because we prefer the past around here doesn’t mean we’re technophobes. TwoMorrows has recently launched a series of “Tune-In Podcasts” of comics documentaries and interviews with pros (twomorrows.com/blog/category/tune-in/). That cute li’l devil Hot Stuff is a regular listener, and tells me I have a manly voice.

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Michael Eury

Hot Stuff © 2007 Harvey.

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Three quick items: 1. I’ll be in Artist’s Alley at Seattle’s Emerald City Con on Saturday, March 31 and Sunday, April 1 (www.emeraldcitycomicon.com). If you’re at the show, please come by to say hello and talk old funnybooks with me.

2. Writer/illustrator David Yurkovich of Sleeping Giant Comics has produced a 72-page magazine-sized book titled Mantlo: A Life in Comics (aka “The Bill Mantlo Project”), a look at the career of the former Marvel Comics writer who has, since the early 1990s, been in an accidentinduced coma. The book is planned for a late spring 2007 release, and its proceeds will be donated to Bill’s caregiver, his brother Michael, to help pay for Bill’s daily needs. I hope to have more information about Mantlo next issue, but in the meantime, you can learn more (and become a contributor to the Project) by visiting www.sleepinggiant creations.com/comics-ogns/mantlo/sgc-mantlo-portal.html.

3. It’s hard to believe that ten years have passed since the death of my friend, comic-book writer and editor Kim Yale. Kim, the wife of John Ostrander, died of cancer on March 7, 1997. Her joyous spirit and talent are sorely missed, and this edition of BACK ISSUE is dedicated to her memory.

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Christopher Irving condu cted Augus t 17, 2006

Who is Hellboy, and where did he come from? When Mike Mignola published the debut Hellboy miniseries, The Seed of Destruction, in 1994, little did he know his monstrous monster hunter would lead the way for his career more than a decade later.

—Christopher Irving

The Other Ol’ Hornhead An undated Hellboy sketch by the character’s creator, Mike Mignola.

Courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Hellboy TM & © 2007 Mike Mignola.

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CHRISTOPHER IRVING: What would you say is the genesis of Hellboy?

MIKE MIGNOLA: I had never really given any serious thought to doing, and certainly not writing, my own comic. I’d done this drawing for a convention and written “Hellboy” on it as the last thing; I’d done this drawing with a blank space on his belt that I wrote it on. I thought it was funny, but wasn’t serious about doing anything with it.

Then, in the next couple of years, all of the Image guys were doing stuff. A secondhand offer to do something at Image floated my way, and Art Adams was talking about doing a creator-owned thing. I started thinking a creator-owned book might be a good thing. I felt, at that point in my career, was that I’d tried to do a bit of everything. What was left to do was this book.

I started trying to do a team book, but couldn’t come up with a name for the team, so I settled on the only super-hero name I’d ever come up with that I liked, which was Hellboy.

As far as everything that went into it, it was just as an excuse to draw everything I’d ever wanted to draw.

IRVING: Right around that time, you drew an issue of Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (#54, Nov. 1993). How did that tie in to your development as an artist, and lead into Hellboy?

MIGNOLA: When I said I’d done a little bit of everything: The last two jobs I did before Hellboy were the Dracula movie adaptation (which was a surreal experience), and I was working on this one issue of Legends of the Dark Knight. It wasn’t the first story I plotted, because I’d done a Hellraiser story before, but I plotted Batman in a supernatural story. It © 2007 DC Comics.

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Beginnings: The Defenders #116 (1983): inks (uncredited)

Milestones: Rocket Raccoon miniseries / Batman: Gotham

by Gaslight / Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser / Cosmic Odyssey / Bram Stoker’s Dracula / Hellboy

Works in Progress: Hellboy 2 / B.P.R.D. / Lobster Johnson / Abe Sapien

Cyberspace: www.hellboy.com

MIKE MIGNOLA Photo by ???

was so much fun to do, and was so much my kind of thing. I’m not saying no one else could have done it, but there was a wonderful feeling in doing a story about my kind of stuff.

Believe me, I couldn’t give two sh*ts about Batman. I never cared about Batman. He’s easy to draw and it worked with my style, but I didn’t give a sh*t about Batman. [laughter] But I did love making my own kind of story.

Coming out of that Legends of the Dark Knight, my thinking was that “This was fun. Do I do more stories like this and shoehorn existing characters in, like a ghost story with Wolverine, or a vampire story that I stick Batman in? I know the kinds of stories I want to do, so do I make up my own character to do my own stories with?”

The kinds of stories I wanted to do I had in mind before I created Hellboy. It’s not like I created Hellboy and said, “Hey, now what does this guy do?” I knew the kinds of stories I wanted to do, but just needed a main guy.

IRVING: In your team drawing, Hellboy was huge and hulking. Why did you “cut him down to size” and make him more human-sized?

MIGNOLA: From when it was going to be a team book, I had the Fantastic Four in mind, and he would be the Thing/muscle guy. It was closer to the original convention book drawing: He was this big, ape-ish guy. When I let go of the team idea and made him the central character, it just made sense to make him more of a normal guy.

It’s weird to say, but I never wanted to treat him like a monster, but just like a regular guy. To keep that look of Hellboy was great, but I needed to make him more humanly proportioned.

IRVING: To make him more identifiable?

MIGNOLA: I guess so. I write him like a regular guy.

The whole gag with Hellboy was that he was going to look like a monster and have this whole origin with the Nazis and the World War II army stuff … just an absurd origin. Then we would play him, forever, like he was a regular guy, and there would be no references to his origin or that he was from Hell. He was just a guy, but it would be funny that he looked so much like the Devil.

Around the time that I was doing Hellboy, Jim Starlin was doing a book called Breed; I’ve got to say I never read it, but it was the same kind of idea with a half-breed demon character. I had Jim come up to me and say, “What a brilliant move making your guy red.” His guy was blue-gray.

I said, “He’s red because it’s funny.” I wanted him to look so stereotypically “devil,” as the guy on the Underwood Deviled Ham. It just had to be, “The good guy’s here,” and then a monster walks in.

IRVING: Why a monster hunter?

MIGNOLA: My goal in comics was to just draw monsters. The kind of book that I want to read would be occult detective books. I love occult detective stories; I have a big collection of Victorian occult detective stories that are always just regular guys [with beards]. I knew

Hellboy Version 1 Mignola’s frightening first take.

Hellboy © 2007 Mike Mignola.

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that if I made my occult detective guy a regular guy, I’d be bored drawing him after 20 pages. It didn’t matter how special a beard he had, I would just get bored drawing a regular guy.

I made the main character a monster so that, even if he wasn’t fighting a monster, I would be drawing a monster. Really, I thought, “On the off-chance that Hellboy was going to work (I didn’t think it would work; I thought the one miniseries would be it), and I get to keep doing it, I need to create a character I’m not going to get bored drawing.”

A lot of that thinking went into the design of Hellboy.

IRVING: What are you doing now? I know Hellboy 2 has just been greenlit. What other balls are you currently juggling in the air?

MIGNOLA: There are so many balls that are ready to be thrown into the air—not that many are in the air at the moment.

The B.P.R.D. is still going, which I’m co-writing. I’m writing Hellboy for Duncan Fegredo, which is turning out beautiful, and I’m just thrilled with. I’ve co-written a novel that I’m doing 150 illustrations for, and I’m about two-thirds through the illustrations for that. I have a Lobster Johnson miniseries that I’m preparing to do. I’ve got an Abe Sapien miniseries that I’ll be starting on real soon.

There’s a lot of writing, now that I’ve stepped back from the drawing end of things. I’m still going to do all the covers and periodic art jobs, but I’ve got so many ideas for different characters or stories about the existing characters, that I want to be freed up to do. It’s going to be busy.

With the movie going on, it’s going to be a couple of hectic years.

Hellboy’s First Appearance… …(above) in John Byrne’s Next Men #21 (Dec. 1993). (left) Mignola’s second version of Hellboy, towering above his partners in the artist’s aborted supernatural super-team.

Next Men © 2007 John Byrne.

Hellboy © 2007 Mike Mignola.

© 2007 Mike Mignola.

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Michael Aushenker

Let’s face it … the Son of Satan should have sucked.

His costume was pretty lame—a slapdash crimsonand-gold cape with matching spandex pants and belt, boots, and bracelets; a large pentagram birthmark branding his bare chest; and a glorified pitchfork (in case you missed the, um, point). His cursed powers were a piss-poor amalgam of recent Marvel Comics success stories Dracula, Ghost Rider, and Werewolf by Night. He was haughty and hot-headed, defiant and unrepentant, even repugnant and unlikable. On a good day, he looked like a bedeviled Robert Redford with two flowing locks of hair fashioned into devil horns; on a bad day he resembled an overgrown leprechaun with his Irish coif and pointy Spock ears.

And that name—confusing! What the heck was it again? Damion Hellstrom? Daimon Hellsturm?

Damien Omen Hellstorm? Even the artist credited as the character’s co-creator left the book because he found the concept “stupid.” By the Seven Circles!

And yet … and yet … there’s something damn pretty cool and surprisingly enduring about Marvel’s most hellified creation: the tortured, brooding Daimon Hellstrom (thank you very much), aka the Son of Satan.

THE SATANIC ’70s Looking back, the 1970s appear to have been a decade under the influence … of Satan!

As hot as disco, Mephistopheles seemed to rear his ugly head wherever one turned. Satanic imagery and/or allegory became “hot stuff.” The Exorcist and The Omen scared audiences. Remember Warren Oates and Peter Fonda versus a town overrun with Satan worshipers in Race with the Devil? Metal was born.

Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath exploited the dark side. As “Burn, Baby, Burn! Disco Inferno” blared from Studio 54, KISS demon Gene Simmons breathed fire and spit blood on stages worldwide. Van Halen was “Runnin’ with the Devil.” AC/DC sped on a “Highway to Hell.” Play “Stairway to Heaven” backwards and some swear Led Zeppelin conjured up ol’ Beelzebub himself. Kris Kristofferson, who “Beat the Devil” on his first record, titled his second album “The SilverTongued Devil and I”—Kris Kristofferson!

Comics were no different. Fire and brimstone bubbled within the belly of the printer’s cauldron as Marvel began experimenting with supernatural super-heroes in the early 1970s: Tomb of Dracula, Man-Thing, Ghost Rider, Brother Voodoo (in Strange Tales). Even Jack “King” Kirby swung by the House of Ideas to debut a kiddie comic with the un-child-friendly title Devil Dinosaur… but not before creating the odd, compelling The Demon for crosstown rival DC Comics. [Editor’s note: See this issue’s “What The--?!” article for the story behind Devil Dinosaur.]

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The Devil Made Him Do It! Original cover art (note the balloon’s missing copy) to Son of Satan #2 (Feb. 1976), penciled by Sonny Trinidad and inked by Tom Palmer. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Yet none of these characters would prove as ostensibly devil-worshipping or controversial as the half-breed dark angel with the Comics Code-challenging moniker: the Son of Satan.

A DIVERSE BACKGROUND “He is Daimon Hellstrom—spawn of the Devil; born of woman—man of God, heir to Hell—and his two natures are ever at war! For though he carries Satan’s mark on his chest, he is sworn to drive his father’s minions from the world of men. Exorcist, psychic, demonologist, wielder of the soulfire—he is all of these, but within him lurks a second self, a savage, satanic side he must constantly fight to control … lest he lose his human heritage forever!

—Preface for the Son of Satan series The Son of Satan concept is a simple one (although continuity has been complicated retroactively, as Marvel probably realized that they were stepping on the toes of its religious readers). It begins with the union between the mortal Victoria Wingate and Satan (which revisionist history redefined as merely a demon calling itself Satan). Before Satan disappeared, the couple sired Hellstrom and his sister, Satana. While Satana embraced her darker lineage (which led to her own adventures in Vampire Tales and Marvel Preview), Daimon fought it.

Many moons later, Hellstrom became a professor of anthropology. He set up shop as an exorcist/occult investigator, struggling to conquer his demons (a nagging genetic predilection for evil, labeled his “darksoul”) while battling some literal demons of his father’s making as the brooding, “soulfire”-blasting, trident-wielding half-demon dubbed the Son of Satan.

Locking horns with his father in the depths of Hell becomes routine as Satan, despite a begrudging respect for his bellicose offspring, forever avows to use every minion at his disposal to thwart his cursed spawn.

But the Son of Satan character has its genesis enmeshed with the early appearances of a more popular hell-spawned hero—the spirited motorcycle marauder Ghost Rider.

GHOST RIDIN’ WITH THE DEVIL Make that Ghost Rider Dos. In 1967, Marvel had published a previous Ghost Rider, a short-lived comic centered on a phantom cowboy (itself derivative of a 1949 Western title).

Enter Roy Thomas, Marvel’s young editor-in-chief, who, with the blessing of mentor and Marvel Comics architect Stan Lee, was about to shake things up. The year was 1972. “[Writer] Gary Friedrich,” Thomas tells BACK ISSUE, “had the notion of making up a Ghost Rider villain for Daredevil—some time after the Ghost Rider Western comic folded, of course—and I thought that was a good idea for a hero book instead, and Stan Lee agreed…”

That “hero”—a humorless demon clad in black motorcycle leather and a flaming skull—was an instant success, quickly jumping from a test ride in Marvel Spotlight (MS) to his own title. The new X-Men’s Wolverine notwithstanding, Johnny Blaze the Ghost Rider may be the most iconic Marvel character to emerge from the 1970s (inspiring the 2007 Sony film starring Nicolas Cage).

So Ghost Rider was on fire (so to speak), as Friedrich and Mike Ploog delivered “the most supernatural super-hero of all!” Marvel had obviously taken advantage of Code laxness … so why stop there?

The Curly Shuffle

The Son of Satan’s nascent beginnings originate with a story arc in Marvel Spotlight on … Ghost Rider #6–7 (Oct. and Dec. 1972). Enter the Daimon Hellstrom prototype Curly, with wavy red hair, cloak, and big pentagram of unnamed blood-like liquid—“the hues of Hell itself”—on his bare chest.

At first, Curly saves the outcast Ghost Rider from the vices of a motorcycle gang. We soon learn that Curly secretly leads a congregation of devil-worshipping freaks in a plotline that involves him kidnapping Blaze’s love interest, Roxanne Simpson, to sacrifice her soul to Mephistopheles himself. Curly moves to plunge a jagged dagger into “Rocky” when Ghost Rider intervenes. Battle ensues for Roxanne’s soul.

Enter Satan, etc.

In earnest, Daimon Hellstrom makes his first appearance in the B plot of Ghost Rider #2 (Oct. 1973), written by Friedrich with art by Jim Mooney and Syd Shores. We’re introduced to Hellstrom by name as the mysterious exorcist invited to an Apache reservation to relieve the possessed Native American woman Linda Littletree. He arrives in suit and trenchcoat, his face hidden in shadow. He instructs Linda’s relatives to place a ringlet of ancient Egyptian ankhs around his wrists, to lock him in his quarters, and, Werewolf by Night-style, not to let him out no matter how much he begs.

As night falls, we see Hellstrom, visage still obscured, within his secured chambers. He utters a most unusual prayer: “Holy Father in Heaven— Once more I ask you to see me through the nightly ordeal which is about to descend upon me…!”

With the arrival of night comes his Jack Russellesque transformation that we, the readers, are not totally privy to. Sure enough, Linda’s relatives ignore Hellstrom’s request and release him from his ankh-and-key prison. As Hellstrom bolts from the room, we catch a fleeting glimpse of that nowfamiliar red and yellow garb. Fleeing, he utters: “…Farewell, fools—and may your names be forever etched in the legends of infamy for the deed you have performed this night.”

The next issue featuring Daimon Hellstrom, Marvel Spotlight #12, would also introduce readers to his fiery alter ego…

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From Marvel Spotlight #7 (Dec. 1972), the proto-Son of Satan. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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TAKING OVER THE “SPOTLIGHT” “And what he sees … fills his mortal soul with horror— and dread—and awe! He attempts to scream … but can find no voice. And so, frozen with fear of the unknownsuddenly-known … he watches …watches a vision of Hell descend upon the Earth: demon steeds pulling a fiery chariot across the cold black skies! At the reins, a man who is more than man—half-human, half-fallen angel— neither mortal nor immortal adversary of evil—and sometimes good. He is...Daimon Hellstrom…Son of Satan!”

— Steve Gerber, Marvel Spotlight #14 According to Roy Thomas, the exorcist Daimon Hellstrom was not directly influenced by occult films released around that time.

“No particular connection,” insists Thomas. “‘Horror’ of a sort was coming back into comics, and this fit into it.”

In fact, only Rosemary’s Baby had hit screens. Son of Satan predates The Omen by about four years. While the novel The Exorcist had been a bestseller, the hit movie adaptation, which hugely impacted the pop culture zeitgeist, had not yet opened. Thomas bypasses Linda Blair and draws a line back to a certain Count.

“That was an idea where Stan Lee had the notion of doing a series called The Mark of Satan with Satan as the ‘hero’ in the sense that Dracula was the ‘hero’ of his own book … it was the modest success of Tomb of Dracula that was the starting point for the notion, I think.”

Thomas liked Lee’s concept but voiced some reservations: “I told him I was worried about doing such a book, and suggested Son of Satan instead. He

© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Deliver Me From Evil From Ghost Rider #2, page 6. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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loved the idea, and I went to Gary and Herb [Trimpe] with it. Later, though I don’t know to what extent (if any) I was involved with the design of the character— I think … at least verbally—I realized that there’d been a fandom character by that name created in the early ’60s by my friend, Biljo White, trident and all.”

Yes, the very Biljo White that Thomas paid tribute to with a kidnapped enlisted cartoonist character in The Invaders.

“There was never a legal question,” Thomas continues. “Biljo hadn’t copyrighted his stuff, but I’d never have suggested the character without talking to him if I’d thought of it. Knowing Marvel’s position regarding rights, I probably would have suggested a different idea to avoid [it].”

Indeed, as early as Ghost Rider (GR) #1, the climactic tease at the end of the issue prematurely (and erroneously) advertises “Marvel Spotlight #12 Premieres ‘The Mark of Satan!’” alongside a blurb for GR #2, the Hellstrom debut.

From 1973–1975, Son of Satan ran in Marvel Spotlight (#12–24). While Marvel Spotlight on the Son of Satan (as #12 was officially titled) starts off with a bang exactly where GR #2 left off, in many ways Spotlight was an instant departure. Unlike GR #2, MS #12 (Oct. 1973) lacked all the mystery of its predecessor with its impulsive splash page introduction to the Son of Satan.

Contrary to the meticulous build-up that Friedrich staged in GR #2 with Hellstrom’s arrival, here there was no room for subtleties. Friedrich and penciler Herb Trimpe (inked by Frank Chiaramonte) unleashed the half-devil in our faces from the get-go.

The most noticeable difference is Trimpe’s art.

Gone was Mooney’s moodier tone, replaced with a visceral style that borrows random elements from Kirby, Ditko and other iconic predecessors. Trimpe lends a Golden Age crudeness to the proceedings, where Son of Satan, with his outbursts of anger, often resembles a firebrand twist on Bill Everett’s anti-social, aquatic anti-hero Sub-Mariner; a triangular head and exaggerated arched eyebrows that only Namor (or Jack Nicholson) would envy. Trimpe’s interpretation of our “hero,” with his gangly heroin-junkie demon physique, could easily be portrayed in a live-action movie by, say, Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland.

Trimpe throws a crackling bolt of lightning in stark contrast to the subdued chiaroscuro stylings Gene Colan unfurled later in Spotlight’s run. Such is the variation from Mooney’s visual presentation to Trimpe’s raw, nervy style that the Native American Indian characters making the leap from GR #2 are virtually unrecognizable as rendered by Trimpe. Ditto for the minatory leader of the Hell’s Angels-type biker thugs, who, incidentally, now appears minus some offensive paraphernalia on his vest (iron crosses, swastikas) and addresses Son of Satan as “Curly.”

“In those days the creative process was excellent,” Trimpe informs BACK ISSUE. “It was very closely connected with Stan’s method of creating comic books, which was to say that the artist was the primary visionary on how the story would go, rather than the writer … I had a strange style that I was trying to adjust to what the company was requiring. The artist was his piece of paper and it was up to you to pick up what he was thinking of, basically—the drama and storytelling. Especially working with Stan, it got more elaborate, Roy was a little more verbose. Working on these plots with Stan, that was what changed comics.”

Trimpe’s days at the Marvel Bullpen were more exciting than for most of his contemporaries, enhanced by his doubleduty as artist and in-house production person: affixing cover logos, applying touch-ups, etc. “It was the best job that anyone could ever have,” the garrulous Trimpe says with a robust rise in his voice. “… Like dying and going to heaven.”

Despite being the first artist to delineate the wildly popular X-Man and erstwhile Hulk villain known as Wolverine, Trimpe downplays his role in the creation of what may currently be Marvel’s most beloved and lucrative character. “One of the biggest myths,” insists Trimpe, who happened to be drawing The Incredible Hulk. He credits Len Wein for the Wolverine concept and John Romita, Sr. for the design.

Likewise, Trimpe, as the first artist credited with drawing Son of Satan in full regalia, does not remember having had a strong hand in conceiving the devil hero. This in spite of the discovery of a preliminary pencil sketch of Son of Satan on the back of a Trimpe Killraven page, as published in Comic Book Artist (CBA) #13 (May 2001). [Editor’s note: Killraven is the star of Marvel’s “War of the Worlds” concept, very loosely based upon H. G. Wells’ story of the same name.] “That was totally engineered by Gary,” Trimpe says of Friedrich, who had had the character realized by the time Trimpe stepped in. “He talked to me about it. We had worked on Westerns. Of course, we did the Phantom Eagle and he said, ‘Are you interested?’

He did the picking and the choosing on that.”

In Marvel Spotlight #12, Trimpe illustrates the bikers in tight compositions that slyly skirt revealing the biker leader’s torso where those pesky German insignias appeared. The artist insists that his younger self would have no qualms using those controversial symbols to depict evil. He speculates that any directive for this peculiar omission came from above. “If that didn’t come from Stan, it could’ve come from the [Comics] Code,” says Trimpe, who drew only two Spotlight issues before relinquishing his Son of Satan duties to Jim Mooney. “I felt uncomfortable with it,” straight-talks Trimpe. “I probably couldn’t admit it at the time, but it was probably some strange superstitious grounds having to do with evil being the star of the book. Obviously, there were a lot of problems with comics over the years and this was like really asking for it. It was a little too dark.

“That’s all changed,” Trimpe laughs, conceding how quaint the character’s darkness now seems in today’s context.

Although less active today now as a comic-book artist, Trimpe would consider revisiting a Son of Satan book today. But back then, he had his qualms. “I think it was the word ‘Satan,’” he concludes, less based on religious superstitions than “…coming under some sort of scrutiny. [Oddly enough,] Ghost Rider was okay. I had no problem [with that] at all.”

The party line supplied by Marvel in MS #14 claimed that Trimpe left the title due to overwhelming deadline pressures on Hulk and “War of the Worlds.” Not so, insists Trimpe.

“I said, ‘Enough is enough,’” says Trimpe. “I was doing three books a month at one point and I wasn’t breathing hard.

I don’t remember ever having problems with the workload. I think, frankly, those couple of stories bored the hell out of me.

The basic notion of the character, it was stupid, it was boring.”

Trimpe was not the only artist who felt a lack of connection with Daimon Hellstrom. When contacted by BACK ISSUE, both Gene Colan and Bob McLeod could not offer any strong recollections of rendering him, and even creator Friedrich, in a CBA #13 interview, had next to nothing to say about the Son of Satan, other than having the faintest memory of working on it.

The Mooney-penciled MS #14 (Mar. 1973) turned out to be a seminal issue, in which writer Steve Gerber set the stage for romance by introducing Dr. Katherine Reynolds, employed by the Parapsychological Studies Division of Gateway University’s Psychology Department. The comely blond parapsychologist Reynolds hires our brooding demonologist on

Those Darn Demons!

From Marvel Spotlight #12, page 15. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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behalf of the college, based in St. Louis (Friedrich hails from Missouri) to investigate the poltergeist-infested communications building. Hellstrom agrees to exorcise the edifice, on the promise that nobody interferes while he cleans house—Son of Satan-style. Inevitably, Reynolds violates her word and enters with the custodian, who unwittingly erases the ankh drawn by Hellstrom to contain the invading ice demons headed by crystalline baddie Ikthalon, Lord of Boreas, Keeper of the Ice Wastes. In the politically incorrect climax, Son of Satan repays Reynolds for going back on her word by bitchslapping her across the face (“‘But’ nothing, fool!

You broke your vow to me—and by so doing, almost doomed the human race.” WHAP! “You are beneath contempt, my good doctor!”) Despite the violent dispatch, the reeling Dr. Reynolds, eyes leaking, appears to have the “hots” for our devil hero (“Who … is he,” she wonders aloud. “Why does he fascinate—and frighten me so? I must know! Somehow … I must know!”). And their romance is off and running...

Visually, the series hit a creative apex with the exorcism story arc in MS #18–19 (Oct. and Dec. 1974), illustrated in Colan’s luminous Gothic style. In true “Gene the Dean” fashion, the drawings appear simultaneously realistic and impressionistic, with that wispy, illustrative “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” imagery, as if envisioned through a pipe smoke-fog of mystery, ripe with a Victorian urbanity and looming dread. Colan suddenly gives the series his evanescent Tomb of Dracula touch, and the pages pop with seductive, shadowy shots.

Hellstrom never looked as Daniel Craig-dashing as he did rendered by Colan—dressed in suit and tie, attending the Gateway University Psych Department Chair’s house party in MS #18 (crashed, as it turned out, by an unwanted guest, the demon Allatou). While diehard Colan fans may not consider these issues his best work, as the art seems rushed in spots, the overall effect lifts Spotlight from energetic comic-book art to handsome literary illustration, pregnant with dread and impending horror, not unlike the atmospheric sophistication Colan lent to Brother Voodoo (in Strange Tales). Scripting these Colan issues was Steve Gerber, injecting his quirky rhythms as he did in Man-Thing and Howard the Duck.

Gerber, with penciler Sal Buscema, closed out Son of Satan’s Spotlight run with a tarot card-themed plot (#20–21); a Ghost Rider/Satana free-for-all (#22); and a Son of Satan vs. Satana blow-out (#24). Gerber evidently felt some sympathy for the devil’s son as he became the first scribe to use him to great effect in Defenders.

Moody Mooney (right) Jim Mooney’s interpretation of Daimon Hellstrom. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

BY THE HADEAN CHIMES! SOME ISSUES WITH “SATAN” “…Regarding your comic Son of Satan, you are obviously trying to undermine the moral and religious fiber of our young people. At a young and impressionable age you subject them to ‘heroes’ who wear on their chests, of all things, the symbol of the Devil! Sure, in your comics he’s only half-devil and half-’man of God.’ But how long before you’ll invent a new ‘hero’ who has none of the latter. Sir, whether you know it or not, I am certain you are being used as a tool of Satan…”

—Letter to Steve Gerber, published in Marvel Spotlight #21 Judging by the letter pages, two areas became the subject of discomfort and debate: Son of Satan’s powers, and his very Satanic essence.

In his origin issue, the Son of Satan used his “elemental trident” (also referred to his “sacred sceptre”)

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alternately as a pitchfork weaponized by his soulfire energy or as a flaming javelin. While in Hell confronting Papa, Son of Satan, wielding his trident, warns the keeper of Hell: “I posses [sic] the sacred trident—made of Netheranium, the one substance which can sap you of your powers.” He uses his hands to blast bursts of hellfire in Ghost Rider fashion. By issue’s end, we’re also introduced to the concept of the Son of Satan conjuring up his “demon-drawn chariot,” a chariot pulled by Hecate, a trio of serpent-tailed “hooved Hellion”—hell horses, essentially—rocketing him in a fiery comet through the sky, frankly, like some sort of “Son of Santa.”

Throughout the Spotlight run, fans were often confused or bothered by a lack of creative consistency with everything from the extent of Son of Satan’s powers to Hellstrom’s portrayal. His abilities were later amended to include “healing powers” and a three-finger “trident” gesture to induce a conversion into Son of Satan (instead of a nightly transformation). To sate these disgruntled fans, an MS #14 editorial offered explanations on such

The Curse of Anubis While we prefer Anubis the mummy from Jonny Quest to this armored troublemaker, this Ed Hannigan/Sonny Trinidad cliffhanger splash to Son of Satan #6 (Oct. 1976) is an eye-opener, don’t you think? Courtesy of Heritage Auctions. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

details as “the Power of Satan” and Daimon’s trident (“In the future, he’ll be using it as a seer or medium uses a crystal ball—as a focal point for his psychic powers”).

Marvel’s editors quickly landed on the defensive as letters poured in, many critical of inaccuracies related to Satanism and the Wicca. Missives appearing in MS #18–19 ranged from a “warlock” regional agent for the Church of Satan offering kudos for getting Hellstrom’s pentacle right; to a self-proclaimed witch pointing out the nuances between the satyr Pan and the Christian devil; to a Roman Catholic incensed over the Satanism that had “invaded Marvel with a vengeance” with the coming of Ghost Rider, Brother Voodoo, Dracula, and Simon Garth (aka the Zombie). One reader, in MS #17, even took Gerber to task for erroneously depicting Candlemas, a pagan rite of Spring, as a major Satanic holiday.

Artist Don Perlin, who drew Son of Satan in The Defenders, remembers readership turbulence with a particular tale. “The story,” Perlin tells BACK ISSUE, “was the Son of Satan goes down to hell to face-to-face deal with his father. So he comes there and he stands in front of the throne of his father and his father starts laughing that there’s no good without evil. You see the Devil … he turns around and there’s light. All the demons can’t stand the holy light and Son of Satan falls on his knees and all the demons fall on their knees. We got letters calling us devil worshippers … saying that we opened up a Pandora’s box. One letter came from a sailor on some battleship. We laughed. We were making entertainment. I don’t know anything about Satan.”

SOLO-FIRE: “SON OF SATAN” PROPER Sales for a Marvel Spotlight ripped asunder by Hellstrom’s trident were evidently promising enough for Marvel to let the devil hero Styx around for a while. “I do know that the Marvel Spotlight version of ‘Son of Satan’ sold pretty well,” confirms Thomas. “And, of course, if it hadn’t, it wouldn’t have been given its own series.”

December 1975 saw the debut of the eponymous Son of Satan (SOS) With the new series came a new writer—Captain America scribe John Warner—in collaboration with old Hellstrom flames Jim Mooney and Sonny Trinidad. Other pencilers included P. Craig Russell (#4) and Ed Hannigan (#6), who did a capital job resurrecting Colan’s muted shadings. Speaking of “capital,” Warner relocated the flame-haired exorcist from St. Louis to Washington, D.C. Blasting off with a Jim Starlin splash page, SOS #1 reinvigorated Hellstrom’s mythology with some Dr. Strange-like metaphysical meanderings courtesy of

Mooney. By SOS #6, Warner had established a new cast of characters, including love interest Saripha Thames (who, in this issue, outed herself as a practicing member of the Wicca). Meanwhile, Son of Satan battled astral plane elementals and the ornately armored Mindstar, a persistent pest from the “Court of Anubis.”

But with Ghost Rider still riding high, perhaps there was already too much hellfire inundating the Marvel Universe. SOS quickly flatlined.

Although the series ipso facto wrapped up its storyline with #7 (the same issue announcing its demise), Marvel published one more issue months after the fact with SOS #8 (Feb. 1976), a stand-alone inventory story by Bill Mantlo finally released, according to its editors, because “we couldn’t stand the thought of this story being left on the shelf to collect dust forever.”

Luckily for SOS fans, the dust never settled on this hypnagogic trip through Hell, beautifully rendered by Russ Heath, in which the veteran artist went to town

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closing out the series with an exceptionally surreal and inventive tour of Hell that bubbled with phantasmagoric rock poster imagery seemingly laced with LSD. The story was called “Dare With the Devil My Red-Eyed Son,” but a less poetic yet more apt title appeared on the cover— “To End in Nightmare”—as Hellstrom’s dark, febrile journey through the underworld—which includes false encounters with his dead mother and demonic seducers disguised as comely, bikini-clad brunettes—ended up being a nightmare, all right … not for Hellstrom, but for Satan. In a nigh-comical punchline revealed in the story’s closing panels, the Prince of Darkness, after nearly being slayed by his hot-headed son, wakes up in a cold sweat (or as cold as sweats get in Hell) from what turned out to be a horrid, Christmas-induced dream. He vows to a doting underling to continue his mission to defeat his son throughout all eternity.

Even the stray crossover appearances of the Son of Satan in Marvel Preview #7, Ghost Rider #17–19, and Marvel Two-in-One #14 (Mar.–Apr.1976) drawn by his original artist with John Tartaglione inks (“Marvel liked to do that. Have an artist revisit the scene of the crime, for old time’s sake,” says Trimpe) seemed to do little for SOS (which might as well have stood for “Save Our Soulfire”), although those crossovers—i.e., Marvel Team-Up #32—“were more likely to have been because Hellstrom WAS popular than to help the book,” says Thomas).

Yet after a paltry eight issues, Son of Satan went to hell in a handbasket. Was it time for the offbeat character to hang up the cape and trident and finally to go to Hell … and stay there?

Now that Son of Satan had crashed and burned in his own series, fans of the carrot-top character probably figured they had seen the last of the demon hero. But that was not to be. Guest shots in Howard the Duck #13–14 and Tomb of Dracula #53 notwithstanding, Son of Satan would have a spectacular third act that would outlive his run in Marvel Spotlight and Son of Satan combined.

© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

DEFENDING YOUR LIFE The book was called The Defenders, and this was not your typical super-hero group comic. Membership changed like Lindsay Lohan’s boyfriends, but the core clique consisted of Dr. Strange and such mopey, teamwork-challenged misanthropes as the Hulk, Sub-Mariner, and Silver Surfer. Valkyrie, Nighthawk, and Yellowjacket became regulars. Under Gerber, Son of Satan joined the group in Giant-Size Defenders #2 (Oct. 1974), returning in Defenders #24–25 (June and July 1975), and #62–64 (Aug.–Oct. 1978).

Heath-Drawn Hellions From the final issue of Son of Satan #8 (Feb. 1976). © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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But Son of Satan really began to flourish with Defenders #92 (Feb. 1981), when J. M. DeMatteis came aboard. The 20-something scribe yearned to put Defenders’ “non-team” motto to the test, but he needed a game artist. Fortunately, he already had one in the Canarsie, Brooklyn-bred Perlin, an occult-super-hero artist who had left a lasting razor-clawed imprint on the collective mind of Marvelites with his baroque Werewolf by Night work. Like DeMatteis, Perlin came to Marvel with some DC weird horror credits. After Werewolf and Ghost Rider, Perlin leapt like Batroc to Captain America. “Sal Buscema got tired of it…,” recalls Perlin, “so I did the pencils. Then I got a call from [editor-in-chief] Jim Shooter saying [John] Byrne and [Roger] Stern were going to do it. He said, ‘I know I promised it to you, but … would you do Defenders?’”

HELLSTROM UND DRANG Under DeMatteis’ direction, Defenders went emotional.

Suddenly, characters—including another demon hero, the DeMatteis/Perlin creation Gargoyle—seemed more immersed in their checkered personal lives than in combating cosmic crackpots such as Null, the Living Darkness. And no Defender seemed more tortured by relationship drama than Son of Satan, whose epic melancholy rivaled only the Cure’s Robert Smith. “[Hellstrom] was absolutely my favorite character,” says DeMatteis. “Characters like Son of Satan are a wonderful metaphor for what we all contain, good and evil, high and low aspirations. He’s literally the son of the Devil, trying not to be what his father is. For a writer like me, how can you not feast on that? His father’s the Devil, for God’s sakes.”

In this series, Hellstrom pined over fellow Defender Hellcat (naturally), aka Patsy Walker. It was not uncommon for Hellstrom to make like Trent Reznor and downwardspiral to Hell to confront his father, who would trick him into believing that Walker was his sister. “I’m sure, in some strange way, they reflected issues with my own father that I was working out,” admits DeMatteis.

If Defenders was a “non-team,” it sure got nonteamier as every other issue (usually even numbers) concentrated on personal crises. Issues #118 and 120 (Apr. and June 1983)—spotlighting Son of Satan—are good examples of character angst on parade. “I was not into rolling in the grotesque aspects of Satan, like some sleazy horror movie,” DeMatteis says. “For me, Son of Satan was a way to get into issues that had some philosophical meat to them.” DeMatteis enjoyed less-defined characters like Devil-Slayer. But “Hellstrom was a lot of more of a blank slate.”

“The fun with working on a book like that,” he continues, “is you can take a character on a complete journey. You can’t do that with [a popular character].

With the major Marvel and DC icons, you can create the illusion of change, but you must restore the status quo in the end.”

Despite an excellent collaboration with Perlin and editor Al Milgrom, DeMatteis left the renamed New Defenders to create Moonshadow for Marvel’s Epic line. Perlin preceded and succeeded DeMatteis.

His lengthy run spanned from #82 until #152 when, in February 1986, Defenders was unceremoniously axed … with a side of Tandori chicken and some hellishly-spicy curry.

“Carl Potts he took me and [writer] Peter Gillis to lunch,” recounts Perlin. “We went to an Indian restaurant… He said, ‘They canceled the book,’ and I started on X-Factor, [and] the Transformers.”

The end of Defenders had a profound effect on Perlin, who half-jokes it was “the first and last time I went to an Indian restaurant.”

COMIC-BOOK PURGATORY So where did Son of Satan go? Not exactly to Hell, as it turns out. Following The Defenders, Son of Satan enjoyed a long afterlife … much longer (and more convoluted) than ever intended for this tertiary character. Throughout the 1980s–1990s, the Son of Satan saga seeped into Marvel Fanfare, Cloak and Dagger, and West Coast Avengers. In the latter’s #14 (Nov. 1986), Hellstrom was rebooted with a new masked alter ego. “Hellstorm” appeared in a Hellcat miniseries and an eponymous series that outran Spotlight and SOS. Daimon Hellstrom has even stepped into the 21st century as “Ultimate Son of Satan,” reimagined as a Goth mortal for the red-hot Ultimate Marvel Universe. Ultimates Annual #1 outed him as a spy for S.H.I.E.L.D. In June 2006, Marvel announced a new Hellstorm miniseries for its mature MAX imprint.

Now readers may debate whether or not the Son of Satan has gone to Hell … but he sure as hell hasn’t gone away.

AN ETERNAL AFTERLIFE Today, DeMatteis remains a little self-conscious of his first real gig: “I look back [at Defenders] and just see the flaws in my writing … so it always tickles me when someone still remembers it in a fond way.”

Yet DeMatteis looks back proudly on his Son of Satan subplots.

“In this book,” says the scribe, “he came in as one thing and by the time he left, he had become something else. He went on a journey and he evolved and … he got married [to Patsy Walker] and left the book.

As a writer, that’s a great thing to do.”

So given Son of Satan’s longevity and his many appearances and incarnations (and incantations, for that matter!), his original artist must get fan response and commission requests for the devil hero all the time, right?

“No. Never,” says Trimpe, laughing. “I do get some obscure requests—Ghost Rider, Transformers— but none [for Son of Satan].”

The Son of Satan may not be any serious comicbook collector’s favorite Marvel super-hero. But for such an ostensibly cheesy super-hero, Mr. Hellstorm, née Hellstrom, turns out to be a complex character, with a depth, angst, and melancholy virtually unmatched in the Marvel Universe.

Three decades ago, a fitting epitaph for the character ran in SOS #8. Offered as a consolation for fans disappointed by the series’ cancellation and by what seemed like the last of Son of Satan, a Soapbox column closes with some words of solace that, in hindsight, appears more prescient than the editors probably realized: “Marvel characters never die, they just end up in other characters’ books.” Rough translation: By the Seven Circles! The Son of Satan shall live on for all of eternity!

Son of Satan vs. “Son of Satan” Original Don Perlin-penciled art (Andy Mushynsky and Al Milgrom are credited as the issue’s inkers) from page 18 of Defenders #118 (Apr. 1983). In “The Double,” written by J. M. DeMatteis, Daimon Hellstrom’s heart is broken when a demon, masquerading as the Son of Satan, steals true love Saripha Thames. From the collection of Michael Aushenker.

Special thanks to Richard Carradine and his extensive Son of Satan library for access to key research material. Visit myspace.com/phantomfollies.

MICHAEL AUSHENKER (right) is a Los Angeles-based writer and cartoonist. His comic books include the El Gato, Crime Mangler series, Cartoon Flophouse, and Those Unstoppable Rogues. Visit cartoonflophouse.com.

© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc. Photo by Jackie Haumann.

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Allan Harvey

“My name is Roberto DaCosta. I am fourteen years old…”

So opened the first issue of one of the oddest miniseries in Marvel Comics history. Fallen Angels, written by Jo Duffy and drawn by Kerry Gammill, was a spin-off from the popular New Mutants series.

Running for eight issues in 1987, it told of the adventures of the aforementioned DaCosta, aka Sunspot, after he ran away from the X-Mansion following a misuse of his powers. Along the way he became a member of a gang of misfits and rogue mutants called the Fallen Angels who were led by secondstring villain, the Vanisher.

During the series, the Fallen Angels became embroiled in a bizarre alien plot to experiment on their mutant powers. Along the way Sunspot’s fellow mutants Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man, Warlock, and Siryn joined up. In the end, Sunspot realized he’d been a bit hasty in walking out on the New Mutants and returned home. That was that. It was a series that was largely played for laughs and concerned itself more with character than plot. It is perhaps most notable today for its inclusion of Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy [originally Moon-Boy].

Created by Jack “King” Kirby, they’d barely been seen since the demise of their own series in 1978 [Editor’s note: See this issue’s “What The--?!” for more on Kirby’s king-sized dino-hero]. Fallen Angels brought the characters firmly into the Marvel Universe for the first time. It also defined them as coming from an alien world rather than prehistoric Earth, and declared them mutants—presumably because of their unusually high intelligence.

Fallen Angels, Broken Hearts Young lovers Siryn and Jamie Madrox, on the splash page for the first issue of the unpublished Marvel miniseries Fallen Angels II (FA2). Art by Colleen Doran and Terry Austin.

All original artwork in this article is courtesy of Colleen Doran and Allan Harvey. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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The Original Angels Covers to three of the eight issues of the original Fallen Angels, published from Apr. through Nov. 1987. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Entitled “Black Sheep,” the second issue sees Pan getting used to his place in the Fallen Angels.

Meanwhile, across town, a longhaired, black-suited master criminal called the Broker has called a meeting to discuss Pan and his escape. He’s not happy. They are keeping a collection of mutant children for some purpose and need Pan back.

At Beat Street, Pan has more flashbacks to his abusive past, suffering indignities at the hands of his monstrous father. We also learn how the Broker originally captured him. He wakes up screaming and is comforted by Jamie Madrox. In the morning, he leaves Beat Street and attempts a solo mission to free the captured children. He’s not very successful and is almost recaptured by the Broker’s men. Moon Boy leads the Fallen Angels to him and they rescue both Pan and the kids.

The Broker’s mood improves none at this news and he calls in Pan’s abusive father to help with future attempts at reacquiring the young mutant…

The two issues that exist of Fallen Angels II present a much more coherent story than the first series, with a solid plot and direction. The dialogue is crisp and amusing and the characters live on the page. Colleen Doran’s art is rock solid, representing an early high for her.

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Even though the series was hampered by an inconsistent art team (there were three pencilers in eight issues), and was decidedly off-kilter for a mid-’80s X-book, it proved a success. At the time there were rumors of a second series, but it never materialized and the Fallen Angels became just a dim memory.

So what? you cry, What’s that got to do with “The Greatest Stories Never Told”?

A-ha! In actual fact, it was not just a rumor: A sixissue second series was being worked on in 1988.

Writer and co-creator Jo Duffy was back, this time working with penciler Colleen Doran (A Distant Soil, Book of Lost Souls). Two issues were fully completed, with inks by legendary X-Men embellisher, Terry Austin. A third had just been started when the axe fell on the project.

The first issue of Fallen Angels II begins with Jamie Madrox bidding a tearful farewell to his girlfriend Siryn as she departs the Fallen Angels. There follows a flashback to the appalling childhood of a new character whom we will come to know as Pan Halehone. He suffered physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of his father, but has escaped to the big city where he’s living rough.

Meanwhile, Fallen Angels’ resident goofball, Gomi, and his pet bionic lobster (hey, I said it was an odd series) are saying farewell to an old friend who was killed when Devil Dinosaur stepped on him in series one. Back at the gang’s Beat Street den, the T-shirt-wearing Moon Boy has introduced Devil Dinosaur to the dubious delights of MTV. Starving, Pan tries to steal some hot dogs, but runs away when he recognizes two mysterious characters from his past. He falls in with a group of religious extremists, but soon runs away—straight into the clutches of those he was trying to escape. At Beat Street, Devil Dinosaur becomes aware of his cries for help and the Fallen Angels go to investigate. They quickly overcome Pan’s kidnappers and save the day.

Pan, whose mutant power is the telepathic control of animals, joins the misfit bunch.

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I Want My MTV! (above left) Devil Dinosaur watches his favorite cable network in this panel from FA2 #1. (below left) Also, on the final page to issue #1, seen here in its entirety, Moon Boy wears an MTV T-shirt as Pan Halehone is welcomed to the ranks of the Fallen Angels. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

BACK ISSUE spoke to Colleen via transatlantic phone call in the wee, small hours of November 1, 2006.

ALLAN HARVEY: Fallen Angels II was your first major job at either of the Big Two? COLLEEN DORAN: No, I don’t think...

HARVEY: As opposed to fill-in work.

DORAN: Yeah, I guess you’re right.

HARVEY: So you got an X-book your first time out.

DORAN: They were taking quite a big gamble on someone like me.

HARVEY: How did you get the job?

DORAN: Well, originally, I was asked if I wanted to take over the art on the first Fallen Angels series.

Kerry Gammill was leaving for some reason, and Marvel called me. I’d done a few small things for [the Marvel imprint] Epic, so I was known to them.

They asked if I wanted to do something more visible.

At the time I was very nervous of that. Y’know, in my mind the mainstream equalled evil, or something, and doing work for them would be like selling out.

So I went instead to the small press and did a graphic novel called Fortune’s Friends. That turned out to be a mistake, so I thought, “If they ask again—go for it!” When they did approach me again a while later about the second series, I didn’t hesitate: “I’ll take it!” [laughs] HARVEY: It’s an unusual book to say the least. Not at all like a regular super-hero book. Was the intention to perhaps market it to a female audience?

DORAN: I think the writer was a little envious of the kind of work Frank Miller was doing: the Elektra miniseries at Epic, that sort of thing. Super-heroes with a more adult tack. Jo wanted to aim for that same kind of audience. Fallen Angels was much more of a soap opera than the average comic; a kind of serial drama. In fact, I think it would go over a lot better today than it did then. Marvel certainly was perplexed by it.

HARVEY: Terry Austin was your inker on the series.

Were you happy with his work?

DORAN: I was very happy. I’ve always been well served by Terry. And, as far as I recall, he was very faithful to the pencils—believe me, that wasn’t always the case with some other inkers I had. The style I used on Fallen Angels was different to expectations.

As usual for every series I do, I developed a different style. In fact, I debuted that style in an issue of Marvel Fanfare. It’s a harder-edged style. If you notice, there are very few pure curves in there: It’s all intersecting lines. I was reading Ayn Rand at the time and was influenced by some of her ideas. I thought it was more kinetic, more conducive to an action-oriented book. Marvel was ecstatic. They were very happy with the work I was doing.

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HARVEY: What was the connection between that issue of Marvel Fanfare [#38] and Fallen Angels II? DORAN: It was a prequel. The PJ James character was due to appear later on when the Angels went to a rock concert, he was going to be revealed as a mutant musician or something.

HARVEY: That’s strongly implied in the Fanfare issue.

DORAN: Right. Actually there was another Marvel Fanfare story that was intended to tie into our book.

I think it was drawn by Joe Staton. In fact, the main Fallen Angels villain, the Broker, showed up in a lot of books at that time. It was intended to be like a big crossover, all leading from and feeding back into our book. And then our book never appeared. It was crazy. You know, it’s like having, I don’t know, Zero Hour—without Zero Hour! [laughs] HARVEY: So the Broker was created for Fallen Angels II? DORAN: Yes, he was created for Fallen Angels II. And then there was no Fallen Angels II. HARVEY: How much of the series did you complete?

DORAN: Two issues. And a third was started.

HARVEY: And the format?

DORAN: 48-pages. Double-sized issues.

HARVEY: It was due to have painted covers too, right?

DORAN: Yeah. I’d done a few of those. I don’t know what happened to them.

HARVEY: While working on it, were you aware of the potentially controversial nature of the story? There was a mixture of comedy characters with a childabuse subplot.

DORAN: Oh, yeah. I thought it was very creepy. Very weird. I kept wondering, “What’s this script getting at?” After a while it became clear that Marvel was not happy. They called me and asked if I would be willing to work with someone else. I didn’t think it was right to sell out the writer, and so I said “No” out of loyalty.

She felt that the script had been approved, and she didn’t think it was right to be asked to change it.

You know, I was just stuck in the middle of all this; it was really nothing to do with me. I just wanted to do my job penciling the book. But, in the end, I felt it wouldn’t be fair to the writer for me to continue.

And so Marvel killed the project. In fact, I was never contacted about it. No one told me. I was asked to stop work on issue three while some problems were ironed out, and that was the last I heard.

Marvel just got cold feet. I actually can’t believe how it was ever approved. There was the child-abuse subplot, and there was a strong suggestion that Pan’s father was hot for animals.

HARVEY: Yeah, I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing when I saw that panel!

DORAN: I think the editor just didn’t get it. It makes your skin crawl to think about it. You know, it’s one thing to read the words, but quite another to see pictures. The editor just didn’t get it from the script.

HARVEY: Many of the characters that made the transition from the first Fallen Angels series had quite a different look. Did you have a free hand in redesigning them?

DORAN: Oh, yeah, a totally free hand. I was asked to redo their looks, as Marvel hadn’t been happy with how they’d looked in the first series. It was an easy job overall. I was only ever asked to make one specific change, and that was to lengthen a robe Jamie Madrox was wearing at one point. I think the editor was a little tired of all the flesh on display! [laughs] HARVEY: Who was the editor?

Meet the Broker Doran’s eye for architecture and fashion is evident on page 4 from FA2 #2, introducing the bad guy, the Broker. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

DORAN: Bob Harras. He was very easy to deal with.

Very patient. It was a long-term project with no deadline. The idea was to have the whole thing completed before we printed.

HARVEY: It’s a shame they don’t do that a bit more often these days.

DORAN: Yeah. Back then, they were kind of building up an inventory of material. There was something like two years between me starting work on the first issue and finishing up what I had of the third. That gave me a lot of time to do my best work. I’d rarely had a

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Seeing Spots Pan goes into action on story page 34 of FA2 #2. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

situation where I could do my best. Without the pressure of a deadline you get much better quality.

HARVEY: The art is a lot stronger than the Fortune’s Friends graphic novel you did at around the same time.

DORAN: Much stronger. That book was a mistake.

HARVEY: I was particularly impressed by the sweater Jamie Madrox is wearing in one scene. It’s very intricate; far more detail that you’d get from most comic art.

DORAN: Aarrgghh! [laughs] I cannot believe I put Jamie Madrox in a patterned sweater! I mean… he multiplies! And I had to draw it. There were no computers then. No 3-D modeling. I had to draw it over and over and over. I was cursing. [laughs]

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© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

HARVEY: Devil Dinosaur, of course, played a part in the story. Are you a fan of Jack Kirby?

DORAN: Oh, yeah, a big fan. Of course. I don’t think you can be around this industry for long without being a fan.

HARVEY: So, you were familiar with Devil Dinosaur before you worked on Fallen Angels?

DORAN: Yes. I’d read Kamandi, The Eternals, Devil Dinosaur, etc.

HARVEY: Did you do any research into how real dinosaurs looked?

DORAN: You know, Devil Dinosaur does not look like a real dinosaur. [laughs] I could never quite pull it off.

Kirby drew him with a great big square head and I could never get that right. Just couldn’t get that big ol’ head. [laughs] HARVEY: And there was the bionic lobster.

DORAN: I hated drawing that lobster! It was silly.

Actually, I got the impression Jo was trying to ditch some of the sillier characters.

HARVEY: Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy don’t seem to do a lot. They spend all their time in the garage watching MTV. DORAN: Yeah, that’s right. I think the lobster was due to do something later on, but Devil Dinosaur …

I’m not sure.

HARVEY: Was it full script or plot first?

DORAN: Full script.

HARVEY: Did you get all the scripts in advance?

DORAN: No. I got pages in batches and would work on those. Then I’d get another batch. I think that was customary for that particular writer. I never saw any script for later issues.

HARVEY: Siryn leaves the group in the first few pages, and yet she was a major component in the first series. Any idea why she was dropped? Was she needed elsewhere?

DORAN: I’ve no idea. She was just out of there.

HARVEY: I imagine the posters on the walls of the Beat Street den give an insight into the then current likes of the artist?

DORAN: I guess.

HARVEY: Stephen King.

Whitesnake. You even managed to get Lord of the Rings in there.

DORAN: Ha, how funny. [laughs] Well, I wasn’t much older than the characters I was drawing.

I was a huge Led Zeppelin fan. Unbelievable. “PJ James” was really Jimmy Page, of course.

HARVEY: I’d guessed that. [laughs] DORAN: There are Led Zep references all over my work at that time.

HARVEY: The book was killed. Were you paid?

DORAN: Absolutely. Marvel was very good about that. I got paid everything I was owed for everything I’d done.

HARVEY: So from a financial viewpoint it was fine, but was it a disappointment to you that the book never appeared?

DORAN: A great disappointment. Devastating. A real blow. Don’t get me wrong: Marvel had the right to not publish it. It was there in the contract. If you don’t like the contract, don’t sign it. Ultimately, they weren’t happy with the content of the book and chose not to publish.

The problem was, it took me out of the marketplace. I was “off radar” for the two years I was doing that book, and no one saw my work. Editors would call and ask if I was available for a job and I had to turn them down because I was working on Fallen Angels. After a while, the phone stops ringing. You disappear. No one saw any of my work for years. This was good work. Really good—a big leap forward for me. And no one saw it.

Had it come out, it would have been life-changing— I’m sure of that. The fact that it didn’t, made me invisible. It put me in the wilderness for a decade.

Clients had the wrong idea about my work—they were only going by my old stuff, and there’s a big difference between fill-ins and a major series. I spent a lot of time on this project and there was no pay off [in an increased profile] at the end. Disaster. It was like being kneecapped.

I wonder about it now: Should I have agreed to work with another writer? It’s a moral dilemma. No one benefited from the work that was done. At the time I felt I’d made the right choice. I’m not so sure now.

HARVEY: Does this sort of thing happen a lot in the industry? Books being killed?

DORAN: Fallen Angels wasn’t my only series to get shelved. It happened to me quite a lot. Generally, in the industry as a whole, I don’t know how often it happens.

It’s strange. I’ve no idea why it wasn’t published.

All right, I’d said I wouldn’t work with a different writer, but they could’ve turned around and got another artist easily. On a book like that, an X-book, at that time, they couldn’t lose. It would have sold six figures.

HARVEY: There currently seems to be a mini trend for reviving dead projects. There was Roy Thomas and Dick Giordano’s Dracula book, recently finished up after being abandoned in the ’70s. And George Pérez and Marv Wolfman are revisiting an unfinished Teen Titans project [the graphic novel Games]. Is there any chance that Fallen Angels II might one day see print?

DORAN: At one point we did try to bring it back. Keith Giffen had a great idea and wanted to do a rewrite. We went to see [Marvel editor-in-chief] Joe Quesada as we thought he’d be interested, but

no. Of course, that was a few years ago. Keith walks on water now, so they might want to give it a shot.

It could happen.

HARVEY: That’d be nice.

DORAN: Yeah. Fallen Angels was a quirky series.

That’s my primary memory of it. That, and I think it’s the only time in my career that I’ve ever had to draw a man looking lustfully at a horse’s ass! [laughs] ALLAN HARVEY is a London-based writer and artist. He maintains Gorilla Daze, a blog that appreciates wacky comics. It can be found at www.thefifthbranch.com/gorilladaze.

Multiple Man’s Multiplying Sweater From FA2 #2. Artist Colleen Doran’s curses censored. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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The Hellish Humor of TM

The chief architects of PLOP! (1973–1976) were Carmine Infantino, then publisher of DC Comics, and Joe Orlando, DC Comics editor, along with the creative talents of writer Steve Skeates and the world’s fastest cartoonist, Sergio Aragonés. I had the pleasure of speaking with Carmine, Steve, and Sergio, as well as regular contributing artist Lee Marrs, in the fall of 2006 and their insight is reflected throughout this article.

Ordinarily, there is nothing remotely funny about torture, death, or the Devil. Jokes about such things are typically met with nervous laughter. Unless, of course, they are followed by a “PLOP!” In the early ’70s, MAD magazine was, in many respects, in its heyday, but there was a dearth of humorous comic books for older readers. Arguably the most successful “mature” humor comic book prior to that time was Marvel Comics’ Not Brand

by

Dewey Cassell

Ecch, which had ended its 13-issue run in 1969.

Subsequent attempts at humor comics by Marvel, including Spoof and Arrgh!, followed a similar formula to Not Brand Ecch, but without the same success.

One thing that MAD and the Marvel comics had in common was that the humor was predominately parody.

When DC Comics decided to enter the fray, they ultimately chose a different tack.

At that time, DC Comics was attempting to capitalize on the success of its horror and mystery comics. New titles included Weird War Tales, Weird Western Tales, and even Weird Adventure Comics [Editor’s note: Adventure Comics temporarily added “Weird” to its logo, but not to the actual series title]. It was probably only natural, then, that DC would contemplate a humor comic book in the horror vein. Titles reportedly considered for the new humor book included Black Humor, Weird Humor, and Zany (which is why some

Wolverton at His Weirdest

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Original Basil Wolverton cover artwork to Plop! #9 (Jan.–Feb. 1975).

Courtesy of Heritage Auctions. © 2007 DC Comics.

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PLOP! is Coming This DC house ad by Sergio Aragonés teased readers about the forthcoming Plop! title. © 2007 DC Comics.

of the early PLOP! stories have a ZA number on them). Zany was originally comprised mostly of parodies of existing comic-book characters.

Around the same time period, Sergio Aragonés was knocking on DC’s door: “I arrived in New York in 1962 and started working for MAD. Then, in 1966 and 1967, I went to Europe. Before that, I liked comics, but I never saw anything with humor here in the United States. There were funny animals in children’s comics and super-heroes like Plastic Man, but other than Archie, there were no humor comics. When I went to Europe, I realized there were a lot of humor stories, even serious stories drawn in a humorous style. I said, ‘Oh, my God, this is what I want to do.’ So when I got back to the States, I tried to convince someone to do humor comics. I had been bugging Joe Orlando to do humor, but I didn’t want to do another MAD magazine. I wanted to do humor comics,” recounts Aragonés.

Then came a story called “The Poster Plague.” Steve Skeates explains, “I wrote ‘The Poster Plague,’ which I originally submitted to Warren Publishing for Creepy, Eerie, or Vampirella, wherever they wanted to put it.

Warren turned it down, so I took it to Joe Orlando at DC, who used it in House of Mystery, illustrated by Sergio Aragonés. At some point they decided, more or less, to base PLOP! on the ‘Poster Plague’ story.

They liked that combination of horror and humor, and they thought that would sell.”

So, how did the new humor comic book come to be called PLOP!? Aragonés recalls the setting: “Joe Orlando and I were sitting in a restaurant talking with Carmine Infantino. They wanted a magazine that was different, something about black humor.

Carmine came up with the name. We were talking about it and he said, ‘What will we call it?’ And I said, ‘We can call it anything, because if the magazine is good, then it will stay.’ And he said, ‘No, we can’t call it, for instance … PLOP!’ [possibly recalling the sound effect of ‘KLOP!” from ‘The Poster Plague’].

And I said, ‘Yes, we can.’ And so I started making sketches of things going PLOP! and they laughed and decided the name was good.”

Infantino says they considered making PLOP! magazine-sized, rather than a comic book. Infantino was a friend of MAD magazine publisher Bill Gaines and although Gaines never directly told Infantino that he didn’t want DC to make PLOP! a full-sized

“The Poster Plague” A page from the award-winning Steve Skeates/Sergio Aragonés story, with its prototypical sound effect “KLOP!” © 2007 DC Comics.

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Aragonés drew the background characters on the cover as well as the “Table of Plop-Tents” page.

Carmine Infantino noted that he particularly enjoyed the Wolverton covers. He said he believed the drawings were ones Wolverton had already done, but were unpublished. Wolverton sent them over to DC and they loved them and said they would use them all. Wolverton came out of retirement to continue to do PLOP! covers. When Wolverton had a stroke, they switched to covers illustrated by Wally Wood.

Each month, the comic book was loosely framed by a story illustrated by Aragonés in which the hosts of PLOP!—Cain, Abel, and Eve—took turns telling their tales to some hapless victim, ranging from the Easter Bunny to Superman, after which the hosts typically ended up getting surreptitiously PLOP!ed on themselves. The book included not only two or three stories in each issue, but also numerous single-panel gags organized into loose categories with titles like “Prison Plops” and “Monster Plops.”

MAD-ly Yours (center) A Sergio Aragonés selfportrait, in a sketch from the 2001 San Diego Comic-Con. From the collection of Dewey Cassell.

Art © 2007 Sergio Aragonés.

Cain, Abel, and Eve © 2007 DC Comics.

© 2007 DC Comics.

magazine, it was clear Gaines did not like the idea of it competing with MAD. And they weren’t trying to compete with MAD. As Skeates notes, “They were trying to find a new audience.

It wasn’t that much like MAD. They were trying to be their own thing. It was designed to stand out as something strange, new, and different on the newsstands. It worked because the stories were subtler than anything in MAD.” But what’s funny about horror? According to Skeates, “There has, after all, always been a relationship between humor and horror. I think it is because they both, especially in comics, have a punch line.

It may be a horror punch line or a humorous punch line, but they work up to a punch line. They’re first cousins.”

PLOP!, the self-proclaimed “magazine of weird humor,” was launched in October 1973. It was “black humor” at its best— morbid, satirical, and ironic. The second issue of PLOP! featured a tale called “The Demand,” in which irate prison inmates riot and take several guards hostage. Their singular demand: Stop executing inmates during football games, because it ruins the television reception.

As irreverent as it might be, however, PLOP! managed to avoid the gross and disgusting “shock” humor that crept into the genre in later years. When the farmer’s flirtatious daughter gleefully chopped off the unsuspecting salesman’s head in “The Last Laugh!,” the only aspect of the gruesome deed illustrated in the story was the telltale sound effect.

Each issue of PLOP! featured a strange creature on the cover, illustrated by Basil Wolverton or Wally Wood, with names like “Arms” Amstrong and “Nails” Nittle. Sergio

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Photo Plop!ortunity DC’s onetime head honcho Carmine Infantino and Plop! writer Steve Skeates.

Cain and Abel were humorous versions of their counterparts from House of Mystery and House of Secrets, and Eve was their sister. Aragonés notes, “We needed a mascot for the magazine or somebody to introduce the stories and it was decided that those three characters would be ideal, so I made sketches of what the characters would look like. By then, I had already created a humorous version of Cain for ‘The Poster Plague.’”

About the stories, Skeates notes, “There were three basic ways PLOP! stories came to fruition. I would do a plot and then write a full script, usually.

Occasionally, I would work with somebody else’s plot, who had submitted an idea to Joe and he liked it. These were fans who really couldn’t fully develop what they had submitted into a story. They were getting paid, I think, some nominal rate for the plot idea and then I would write the story, based on their plot.

There are a number of stories, too, when I just did the dialogue. Sergio would write it and draw it and then I would add the dialogue.”

Aragonés adds, “I have always needed assistance with the writing, then more than now, not because of my English, but because of the need for dialogue on comics. Pantomime humor, like for MAD, was fine, but you needed dialogue for comics. So the first story I did for PLOP!, Joe Orlando came up with the dialogue. It was called “The Escape.” Nick Meglin helped me with the dialogue on “The Demand” because it was about football. That was one of the problems with language—the type of dialogue an announcer would use on television.”

Skeates notes that he also wrote some PLOP! stories using a pseudonym. “There was some argument that I had with Joe or something, so in a snit, I said, ‘I don’t want my name on these stories anymore, put on Chester P. Hazel.’ So any Chester P. Hazel stories in that period of PLOP! were by me as well.

The name was based on three nuts—chestnut, peanut, and hazelnut,” says Skeates.

PLOP! utilized the illustrative talents of a variety of artists. Skeates notes, “There were a lot of artists whose work seemed to fit that comic book that we

You Handsome Devil, You (above) DC horror host Cain, in an Aragonés sketch. © 2007 DC Comics.

© 2007 DC Comics.

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© 2007 DC Comics.

Photos courtesy of Dewey Cassell.

hadn’t really thought of along those lines, like Ric Estrada, who did ‘The Make-Out Queen of Lord Byron High.’ His work in humor was beautiful, but I don’t think anyone realized that until we got into PLOP! We had a number of great artists whose art fit the genre, but had their own distinctive styles. Nick Cardy did some, and Bill Draut, and Dave Manak and Sergio. That book had its own uniqueness, which is what they were shooting for.”

Aragonés notes, “One of my ideas was to use underground cartoonists because by then they were very popular, but they didn’t have many jobs. And they were such great cartoonists. So they used Lee Marrs.” Marrs adds, “I had done some work for Joe Orlando in his House of Mystery series. Joe knew I was really interested in and good at humor, so the minute the series was announced, he called.”

PLOP! featured the work of several female artists, including Marrs and Ramona Fradon. One of the classic Ramona Fradon stories featured Satan attempting to take a vacation on earth, only to rush back to Hell with his tail between his legs, proclaiming, “There’s just no place like home.” Skeates adds, “Some of my favorite stories were the ones Lee drew, like ‘The Ploosh Maker.’ She did a really nice job. A couple of writers that occasionally worked on PLOP!, like Mary Skrenes and Maxine Fabe, were also women. Joe Orlando was always into hiring women

What the Hex? (opposite page) Page one of a four-page Jonah Hex parody originally produced for the PLOP! prototype Zany. © 2007 DC Comics.

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© 2007 DC Comics.

to work on his mystery magazines because he felt it gave the mysteries another voice. He figured that women had a different take on horror than men did, so he liked the variety that hiring women to do some of the stories gave to the magazine.”

The single-panel PLOP! gags, like the guys hanging in the dungeon, were another matter. Aragonés elaborates on their origin: “Some of the early ones were from John Albano, but many of the gags were bought from a syndicate that had that dark humor.

With their budget, they couldn’t buy original material from cartoonists because at that time the pay for comics was very low. The budget for the magazine couldn’t afford magazine cartoonists.”

Many PLOP! creators, like the fans, have a favorite story. For Marrs, “It wasn't mine: Alex Toth did a takeoff on Hugh Hefner. With just talking in most panels, Alex did a brilliant job with crazy perspectives and popping Pepsi bottles to make it a lively story.”

For Skeates, “Of course, the one of mine that seems to get reprinted every other year, ‘The Gourmet,’ which was beautifully done by Bernie Wrightson. As a matter of fact, Bernie did me a favor in that.

There was a line of dialogue that Joe Orlando had changed and Bernie changed it back to my original.

So the words are all mine in that story, which I quite like.”

The PLOP! style of humor was a critical success.

In the early ’70s, the Academy of Comic Book Arts, based on voting by industry professionals, bestowed the Shazam Award in several categories.

“The Poster Plague” won a Shazam Award in 1972 for Best Humor Story. It was the first comic-book story illustrated by Sergio Aragonés. The following year, “The Gourmet” won a Shazam Award for Best Humor Story, as did Steve Skeates for Best Writer (Humor Division).

Class Cutup (above) Basil Wolverton as a teen, from his 1926–1927 Vancouver, Washington, highschool yearbook, and a yearbook doodle; courtesy of Heritage Auctions. (below) Also, a photo of Wolverton later in life, courtesy of Dewey Cassell.

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About the tenor of PLOP!, Skeates observes, “An interesting aspect is that the comic developed a voice of its own. It had sort of a very cynical, bitter sense of humor, growing out of what was happening nationally at that time. Its underlying message seemed to be that all organizations are corrupt and it’s the innocent that get stepped on. I really became aware of this voice when a story I submitted for the second issue ended up being published in the eighth. It was called ‘A Likely Story.’ I don’t know why its publication was held up, but in any event, by the eighth issue that story of mine just didn’t fit anymore. One story that I did that I really enjoyed the way it turned out was called ‘A Nose to Remember.’ Lee Marrs drew it.

That had all of the elements of where PLOP! had gone—the doctor, who was facing death if he didn’t figure some way out, tricked a guy into taking the secret powder, which turned out to be pepper, to the princess with the big nose. Everybody got blown up, except the doctor, who was really cynical. To my way of thinking, that is what made PLOP! important. It developed a voice that reflected society’s attitude during the Watergate days.” And yet they did so without being overtly political.

Not everyone was pleased with the newfound voice of PLOP! Aragonés notes, “The magazine did not go in the direction that I wanted. Slowly, I faded out and they started using more humor by John Albano. He was a very good cartoonist and writer, and a good friend of Joe’s. I don’t remember the year, but I think by then I was moving to the West Coast. They didn’t do exactly what I had in mind to do originally. They started using more serious artists to draw funny, and that was not my concept.

They were very good artists, but I wanted to do more of the European style of cartoonists drawing stories, more of the Groo style. It went more in the way of

a humorous House of Mystery. Slowly I started doing less and less and eventually was doing just the intros. It was a very busy time for me, between doing MAD and television.”

PLOP! was initially published bimonthly and for the first year and a half, the comic book had no pages devoted to advertising. PLOP! ran a total of 24 issues, the last four of which were DC Giants. There were also two Best of DC digests devoted to PLOP! reprints, and the first issue was reprinted in 2000 as a Millennium Edition. PLOP! was also translated into several other languages, including Swedish and Portuguese.

Ultimately, though, PLOP! succumbed to the fate of many great comics over the years—sales (or lack thereof). Infantino says that PLOP! was a favorite of his. He was “heartbroken that they had to cancel PLOP! If it could just have broken even…”

Infantino says they started PLOP! without advertising to draw people into the magazine. Even after they introduced advertising, though, the book still did not sell well enough. Skeates comments, “Once you got the ads in there, I think it really hurt the book. You needed four to six pages to do a really good PLOP! story, so there were only two PLOP! stories in the later ones, as opposed to the original three. I think the readers did feel cheated. But if you’re not making a profit without ads in there, what else can you do?”

The advertising had a domino effect on the book.

Skeates continues, “One thing that putting the ads in did was it cut way back on the framing device.

Originally, there would be sometimes seven or eight pages of framing device, illustrated by Sergio.

Toward the end, there would be two pages, quite often, one right at the beginning of the book and one at the end. That I think hurt. Originally, there was a feeling that the whole thing was a unit with stories in it, which was sort of lost at that point.”

Nonetheless, its creators have fond memories of PLOP! Aragonés notes, “The magazine was fun and completely different from what I had done. It was a very good field for me to start breaking into drawing comics in humor form. It helped me a lot later, when I started drawing my own material.” Skeates adds, “I very much liked it and I was sorry to see it go. I suppose it was such a reflection of the times; it couldn’t have gone on much beyond where it ended. I’m probably proudest of my work in that as anything else.”

Dynamic Dewey-o A 2001 photo of Sergio Aragonés and this article’s author, Dewey Cassell.

Photo courtesy of Dewey Cassell.

© 2007 DC Comics.

So, how did you like my little story? Did you enjoy the insight into the short-lived but much-loved humor mag?

Hey, what are you doing with that boulder…?

DEWEY CASSELL is a frequent contributor to BACK ISSUE as well as author of the book The Art of George Tuska, available from TwoMorrows Publishing. His favorite PLOP! story is “The Lawn That Devoured Cleveland.”

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by

Dan Johnson

cond ucte d on October 16, 2006

Blue Devil was one of the last, great comic-book characters created before DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths of 1985–1986 permanently altered its Universe.

He arrived at an interesting time, in 1984, just a couple of years before things turned grim and gritty with the coming of books like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. Blue Devil was the polar opposite of those books. Blue Devil’s series was old-school cool, with a dash of super-heroics tossed in to lend some thrills and chills to its main strength: a sense of humor.

The adventures of former stuntman-turned-super-hero Dan Cassidy came courtesy of the writing team of Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn, and together these gents created one of the last bright and shining examples of a comic book that knew how to have fun. Recently BACK ISSUE was able to catch up with Mishkin and Cohn and got the inside scoop on the secrets of Blue Devil.

—Dan Johnson DAN JOHNSON: Before we talk about Blue Devil, I wanted to get some background information. How did you two come together as a writing team?

DAN MISHKIN: We teamed up as 14-year-olds wanting to just make trouble, I think.

GARY COHN: [evil laugh] Yeah.

MISHKIN: We met in junior high school and we were part of a small crowd of good friends, who are still friends to this day. [As kids,] we talked and loved comic books and had a lot of other interests.

At one point, when we were 16, Gary said, “I’m going to be a writer.”

COHN: This was something I had known since I was about nine.

MISHKIN: And he was talking matter-of-factly saying this, and my thought was, “I didn’t know you were allowed to say that!” It was a real eye-opening experience for me, because Gary kind of led the way and said, “If you’re the sort of person who is always thinking of and telling stories, you can make this your life’s work.”

It Was Almost Steve Ditko… …but instead Paris Cullins became the original artist of Blue Devil. Cover to issue #1 (June 1984). © 2007 DC Comics.

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COHN: I’ve thought about what it was that gave me the confidence to say that, and it turns out it was around 1968 after [Harlan Ellison’s] Dangerous Visions came out. It was all those introductions Harlan had written about various writers that made [writing] a viable thing to me. I had some insight into who writers were and what they did at that point.

MISHKIN: Right, and you were cocky.

COHN: Well, yeah. I was trying to be Harlan.

MISHKIN: Right. I was never cocky.

COHN: So anyway, we both decided to be writers and we had been kicking around ideas constantly from the time we were 14 years old on. We told each other stories about the various characters in the comics we loved, and also about the things we would like to do if we created our own comics.

MISHKIN: We ended up responding to each other ideas by building on them and it became a partnership without any planning. Gary came up with a character that, unfortunately, has never seen print, and because it’s the one you came up with when you were 15 years old, it probably shouldn’t see print at this point.

The character was called the Wanderer, and we developed a lot of stories about the Wanderer, which was a lot of fun. That sort of made us into a comicbook writing team without having anyone actually pay us to do the work. [When] DC was publishing anthology titles like House of Mystery and Tales of the Unexpected, we managed to get our collective foot in the door. Then we finally made contact with the right person, who was Jack C. Harris. He was editing a new book called Time Warp, which was basically “House of Mystery in space.” It was an outer-space/horror twistending book. We sent Harris a dozen pitches, and one of them he liked. The one he liked was the one that didn’t fit the formula he said he was looking for, which was stories where the monster eats the girl and kills the space cop.

COHN: We did a story about a guy getting a ride home from— MISHKIN: —Santa Claus! We had a story [called “On the Day of His Return” from Time Warp #3, Feb.–Mar. 1980] about this crazy old coot on this wintery planetoid that a guy crashlands on, and it turns out to be Santa Claus, who takes him home on his sleigh. We did an unexpected happy ending instead of a twist ending.

Steve Ditko drew the story, which was really terrific.

COHN: That was really exciting to us that on our very first shot, Ditko was drawing our story. Ditko is God. MISHKIN: And Ditko, actually, was crucial to Blue Devil.

COHN: Our editor for a number of things we were doing was a guy named Dave Manak. At this point, Dan was living in Michigan and I was in New York. I was the point guy who went to the DC office once a week and schmoozed the editors.

One day Manak says, “Ditko’s been hanging around the office and he really wants something to do. Do you think you and Dan can come up for something for him?” I went © 2007 DC Comics.

Beginnings: “On the Day of His Return” from Time Warp #3 (DC, 1980)

Milestones: Co-creator of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld and Blue Devil for DC Comics / Wonder Woman / Creeps (Image Comics)

Work in Progress: Writing The Forest King series of illustrated novels for Actionopolis

Cyberspace: www.myspace.com/danmishkin

DAN MISHKIN Photo courtesy of Dan Mishkin.

Beginnings: “On the Day of His Return” from Time Warp #3 (DC, 1980)

Milestones: Co-creator of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld and Blue Devil for DC Comics / Senryaku and Shi/Cyblade (Crusade Entertainment)

Work in progress: Currently teaching high school and developing a variety of new writing projects

Gary cohn Photo courtesy of Gary Cohn.

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home and I called Dan and told him about this, and we were both very excited. Ditko was the guy who created Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, and we were gaga for Ditko!

So what were we going to do for Ditko? We decided to do something that takes something from every Marvel character we ever loved. Let’s take Iron Man, the guy in the costume; the Thing, the tragedy of the guy stuck in a shape he didn’t want; and a light-hearted, bouncy approach and a character who was going to move like Spider-Man. MISHKIN: You were going to look at his movement and say, “It’s Ditko-ish.”

COHN: And we wanted something like the Green Goblin. How about Blue Devil? We called him that because Dan’s wife is from North Carolina and he was a [Duke University] Blue Devils fan. Then we started creating Blue Devil and thinking, “Ditko is going to love this!” We created this great proposal, and it was everything that we knew was going to set Ditko’s light on high beam. We took it in to Manak and he gave it to Ditko. Ditko looked at it and said, “I’ll do it if I have to, but this is really not my kind of stuff at all.” [laughter] MISHKIN: I think what Ditko wanted to go with was something that was really his, something that wasn’t us imitating him. He wanted something he created and controlled. Ditko might have been happy to find some writers that wrote the dialogue for what he came up with, and God knows this was an unimaginably creative person. In this period, when he was doing stuff for the mystery anthologies, he was coming up with really clever concepts that he was just tossing off for an eight-pager.

COHN: [With Ditko on Blue Devil,] that could have been the great series of the decade.

MISHKIN: He was so brilliant, but Blue Devil left him cold. But it gave us the opportunity to present this thing and it gave us the opportunity to meet Steve Ditko, which nobody does. [After Ditko passed on the series,] Dave said, “I like this and I don’t want to let it go. This kid has been hanging around, he’s 21 years old, and you should see his stuff.” And that was Paris Cullins.

COHN: His work just blew us away.

MISHKIN: And who could not love Paris’ stuff? In fact, who could not love Paris? He’s just such a delightful personality.

COHN: And everything you see in the art is Paris’ personality. Where Ditko had kind of shot us down, this guy immediately reacts with even more enthusiasm than we had for the project.

JOHNSON: Was it Paris who came up with the character’s design?

MISHKIN: It was Gary!

COHN: Yeah, it was me. I’m not a very good artist, but I drew the character and I drew a costume. [I gave it to Paris] and said, “You want to fix this up?” He said, “I think it’s great. Let’s just do this, and this and

© 2007 DC Comics.

Who Wants Trident?

I do, I do! And a Blue Devil action figure, too! This Blue Devil figurine was sculpted by Gary Cohn during the character’s development.

Says Blue Devil co-creator Dan Mishkin, “Gary designed the costume, and the final version of it was slightly altered by Paris.”

Blue Devil © 2007 DC Comics.

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this to it.” And he did the little designing stuff on the belt and then he turned Blue Devil into a character that looked phenomenal.

MISHKIN: In fact, hovering over my desk right now, I have a Blue Devil figure that Gary made for me with the original costume. It’s really very cool. The only thing that was unexpected to me about the Blue Devil costume when it finally came into print was the color of blues that were used. I really expected his skin, or what amounts to being his skin, to be the kind of deeper blue that it is now. Originally it was done as a very light blue. The only reason I can figure out for why this was done was the first guest villain in the preview story was the Trickster. They would have ended up with the same dominant blues if they had colored Blue Devil they way I thought they should. I think he was colored lighter to contrast with the Trickster, who had all this dark blue in his cape.

JOHNSON: In regard to the Trickster, my all-time favorite character was the Flash, and it wasn’t too long after Blue Devil appeared that DC put an end to Cary Bates’ run on that character’s book and killed off Barry Allen. I was always grateful that you guys gave the Trickster a home because he was such a terrific member of the Flash’s Rogues’ Gallery.

MISHKIN: Oh, he really was. One of the things that Blue Devil did—and it was really at the tail end of this being viable in comics—was you could still do a character like the Trickster and still make a distinction between him being a crook and being a villain.

COHN: We tried for about five years to sell a Trickster miniseries after the Blue Devil run, and Blue Devil was going to be making a guest appearance.

MISHKIN: And in that case, we played with the idea that he had been a crook, but he could almost as easily chosen to have gone the other way. Given the right circumstances, maybe he would and still essentially be the same character.

COHN: He’s got a funny personality and he’s quirky.

He interacted very nicely with Dan Cassidy, once they had gotten over their initial difficulties.

MISHKIN: True. It was a great relationship.

COHN: A friend of mine at the high school I teach at runs the computer lab, and he was actually a student of Joe Orlando and Carmine Infantino at SVA [the School of Visual Arts] about 20 years ago. We were talking about Joe and some of these other guys and he materialized these two copies of Blue Devil, issues #7 (Dec. 1984) and 9 (Feb. 1985), and asked me to sign them. They were Bolt and Trickster issues.

MISHKIN: Although Blue Devil #8 (Jan. 1985) was the issue that Keith Giffen drew, and that many people tell me was their favorite issue.

COHN: Issue #7 was the Gil Kane one, and issue #9 was the Ernie Colón one.

MISHKIN: Working with Keith was really interesting.

When he got the plot, he called me up and he said, “If I get from”—and I’m making these pages up, now— “page seven to page 13 a different way, take you where you start out and move into the long action sequence and come out where you want to be, does it matter to you how I do it?” I checked with Gary and we said, “No, that’s fine.” So Keith just drew this great action, funny sequence that we were able to put our dialogue to. There is a rubber chicken in it, which I don’t think was in our original plot. It is terrific to work with an artist like that.

COHN: The first six issues [of Blue Devil], I was living in Brooklyn and Paris was living in Philly. Paris was kind of a vagabond spirit. He would show up in New York on the train with his sketchbook, his artist satchel, and his toothbrush, and he would come to my place and stay for three or four days. We would spend the whole time creating plots and visuals as we went, laughing hysterically. We were constantly calling Dan [updating him]. It was not the stiff process of writing a script, giving it to the artist, or even writing a plot and giving it to an artist. It was a very organic collaboration.

MISHKIN: We did the one Blue Devil Annual and it was thought by our editor at the time that we really ought to go with a full script. Paris was going to do it, and we really wanted to have everything nailed down and give him as much time as possible. If you look at the first three pages of that Annual, you can see Paris fighting the fact that he has been told what to do. We dropped the script [method] after that and told him to do it the plot way.

COHN: There are some artists who really think [their pages out], and there are some artists who are very unimaginative and they really need the script. Then there are some guys who it doesn’t seem like the art is coming from them. It’s like they have a magic pencil, like the art is in the pencil, and somehow they’ve pressed the button and the art is coming out of the pencil. Paris is one of those guys. Clearly he made a deal with the Devil and got a whole box full of magic pencils.

MISHKIN: Watching Paris lay out a story is phenomenal.

His storytelling is there in rough pencils that seem to take him all of ten seconds to do.

JOHNSON: When I first discovered Blue Devil, one of the things that caught my attention about the series was that it had a terrific sense of fun. The character premiered in Fury of Firestorm #24 (June 1984), a couple of years before comics started getting really dark, thanks to books like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. After those comics, everything coming out was dark and depressing. I always thought Blue

Devil was a great contrast of what came afterwards, and I wanted to know how you decided to inject humor into the series.

COHN: Blue Devil was fundamentally humorous, it wasn’t injected. We wanted it to be light, quick, fun, and exciting. I think maybe there was something of Indiana Jones in that, a sense that you could have all that and [still] be action-packed and thrilling. Our great problem was that to do that, you needed an artist who could [draw that way]. When we didn’t have Paris anymore, we never found somebody who could both do it and want to stay with the book. When we finally found Alan Kupperberg, he was good— MISHKIN: He just didn’t have the dynamism Paris had.

COHN: —Right. To deal with that, we had to start spinning the book more towards funny and less towards dynamic.

MISHKIN: That was a problem. I’m reminded of something Neal Pozner said when we did a revival of Blue Devil in Showcase in the early 1990s. Neal is no longer with us, but he was a terrific editor and a really smart guy—

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Since It’s April, It Must Be Paris… …Cullins, that is.

A stat of Paris’ original cover art to Blue Devil #7 (Jan. 1984)—look closely and you’ll see Bolt and Trickster having a spat. © 2007 DC Comics.

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Super Powers Wannabe Ever wonder why there wasn’t a Blue Devil Super Powers figure?

The blue man himself does in this illo by Dan Jurgens. Jurgens drew this as a thank-you to Dan Mishkin for locating for him the hard-to-find Plastic Man Super Powers. Courtesy of Dan Mishkin.

Blue Devil © 2007 DC Comics.

COHN: And a mensch.

MISHKIN: An absolute mensch. He was just terrific.

Neal said when we were going to do the revival that if you didn’t have the dialogue, and you only looked at the art, you wouldn’t know it was funny. That was going to be a key. The problematic issues of Blue Devil were ones where you saw it was being funny just by looking at the art. Paris could do funny not because you’re telling jokes—and I hope we were doing the same thing—but because you’re looking at something from a perspective that allows you to see the humor in it.

COHN: The other thing is, Paris’ characters are mugging. Look at their expressions and those faces are exaggerated expressions, and the body language is big and it’s over the top.

MISHKIN: Paris has, and still has, enough of a bigfoot element in his action drawing that he can go broad without seeming to go out of character. © 2007 DC Comics.

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I should also give some credit here to [then-DC publisher] Jenette Kahn. I don’t know how well known this is, but the first issue of Blue Devil as it appeared on the newsstands was not the first issue as we originally did it. About a third of [the version that finally appeared] has redrawn panels and even more of it is re-sequenced panels cut up partly and moved with new panels drawn in. Jenette looked at the preview, the first issue, and the second issue, and said about the first issue that it was too dark.

She said we spent too much time on Blue Devil moaning and groaning [about being stuck in his new form]. What we did instead was have him being really pissed off in this situation, but he’s not a whiner. I wish I had preserved the original artwork.

It’s been so many years ago, but the version that came out was considerably different.

JOHNSON: I always thought it was interesting that you made Dan Cassidy a stuntman/special-effects man. When Blue Devil first appeared, it was around the same time that the Star Wars, Star Trek, and Indiana Jones movies were catching the public’s interest and it seemed like people were really eager to learn how special effects were done. Did the public’s interest in special-effects-laden films have anything to do with deciding the character’s profession?

COHN: Well, you have to understand that the first Blue Devil “film,” directed by [our character] Marla Bloom, actually had cheesy special effects. [laughter] MISHKIN: We were aware of all the pop-cultural stuff at the time, but it’s hard to look back now and know what made us go in this direction. There’s stuff that’s in the air, and if you have got an individual sensibility that you can channel that stuff, then you end up with your thing with stuff from here and a piece from there.

Somebody once said, “Steal from the best.”

JOHNSON: Even though his book wasn’t around for very long, Blue Devil has remained a visible character in the DC Universe. He’s currently enjoying a revival thanks to the new Shadowpact series. I was wondering what your thoughts are about the character after all these years.

COHN: Blue Devil was something that was wonderful and fun that we did over 20 years ago. It was a lot of things, but it didn’t have a lot on its mind. [laughter] We’ve both done a lot of things, including Amethyst, if you’re looking for something we did together, that had a lot more on its mind. My love for Blue Devil is huge because he’s my first baby.

The experience of creating Blue Devil was so much fun, and when I read it again now, I still laugh. In the big scheme of things, though, there really isn’t that much to talk about Blue Devil that isn’t right there on the surface.

MISHKIN: Looking back, I remember how much fun it was to do the series when everything about it was clicking. And how much fun it was to have people respond to it the way they did. It seemed to be more than just a fun diversion for them, but really struck a chord. When I go to comic-book conventions these days, people just pile on with their stories about how much they loved and still love Blue Devil, and that’s so rewarding to hear 20some odd years later. Everybody who’s had a career in comics has had their ups and downs, and God knows I believe I’ve got some great stories in me yet, but as I’ve said to Gary, if what I mostly end up being known as is one of the creators of Blue Devil, I’ll be happy.

®

by

Philippe Cordier

Daredevil is not a bestselling book!

The title is not in the same commercial league as X-Men. But there is something about Marvel’s Man without Fear … something that attracts artists and, when done well, readers as well.

There is also something unfair about Daredevil (DD)—such wonderful creators were on the book, yet a lot of them are unsung heroes.

Talk about DD with fellow comics fans and the names you’ll hear are Gene Colan and Frank Miller (along with some discussion of Stan Lee, Bill Everett, and Wally Wood) among the “older” readers, while almost every “modern” fan will jump to the Kevin Smith/Joe Quesada, Brian Michael Bendis/Alex Maleev, or Ed Brubaker/Michael Lark eras. That’s a shame, because a lot of other good artists worked on the character.

In this article, I’ll focus on two kinds of creators: The first person we’ll look at is not an unsung creator—far from it, because we’re talking about Frank Miller. As great as the man was/is, his DD should also be remembered because of the artists he worked with on the title: Klaus Janson, David Mazzucchelli, and John Romita, Jr. (we’ll leave Bill Sienkiewicz for what could be a future BI issue).

The second thing we’ll take a look at is a run that is not famous enough: Daredevil by

Something’s Cooking in Hell’s Kitchen (left) A 2002 pinup by Klaus Janson, drawn for charity, featuring the heavy hitters from the Daredevil cast. Courtesy of the artist. (inset) Early DD by Gene Colan (with Frank Giacoia inks). Detail from page 17 of Daredevil #20 (Sept. 1966). Courtesy of Heritage Auctions. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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© 2007 TwoMorrows Publishing.

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Ann Nocenti, John Romita, Jr., and Al Williamson. This rather long and very good run is often forgotten because it was kind of a “strange” book, thanks to Nocenti’s twisted imagination.

This article will allow you to look at some wonderful art from the greatest talents in DD’s history. For much of the original artwork you’re about to see, please allow me to thank Klaus Janson and John Romita, Jr. (and Spencer Beck and our other art providers) for their generous contributions.

Before reading this article, please look back at our gorgeous Mike Zeck cover: What is there at DD’s feet?

A newspaper! What is the headline? A “crime ring busted”: and those names listed are the same artists we’ll talk about in these pages!

And now, ladies and gentlemen, let’s give the devil his due…

A trio of ’80s photos from the archives of one of Los Angeles’ coolest comics shops, Golden Apple: (left) The first is of Frank Miller, back during his DD days; (below) in the second, Miller is seen with his Elektra Assassin collaborator Bill Sienkiewicz; (bottom) and the final photo features Golden Apple’s founder, the late Bill Liebowitz, doing his impression of Miller’s Wolverine.

Photos courtesy of Ryan Liebowitz, with special thanks to Jerry Boyd.

THE BEST THERE IS AT WHAT HE DOES (#158–172) Frank Miller makes no mystery of the fact that he always loved crime comics. DD was as close as he could get to this genre, considering that crime comics weren’t the flavor of the month at the time (and still are not). When Miller got his start in the late 1970s, almost all you could do if you were a young cartoonist was draw super-heroes.

Daredevil’s costume is plain enough to have allowed Miller to stay away from the all-too-colorful world of super-heroes that he didn’t want to do in those days.

One of Frank Miller’s strength was and still is storytelling: His layouts are a joy to behold. Those skills didn’t come out of nowhere: There are strong influences

by Will Eisner in the way the city (a character of its own) is portrayed in Miller’s DD, with long panels and layouts trying to slow down the reader’s eye, or multiple little panels making the reader fly across the page.

Miller also paid a big tribute to the late Gil Kane in figure drawing, anatomy, and panel layouts that were clearly inspired by this artist. Miller added his sense of dialogue as soon as he could do the writing himself, very early on the run. [Editor’s note: Miller started as penciler with Daredevil #158 (May 1979), working with writer Roger McKenzie, then assumed the writing chores with issue #168 (Jan. 1981).]

Miller is a consummate storyteller: Once a reader started his DD, he couldn’t stay away from it.

Adventure, drama, strong and beautiful women, a sharp sense of humor, cliffhangers … and most of all, mood—mood all over the page! This grim-and-gritty feeling (way before it was cool to be grim and gritty) was this run’s forté, but it might not have been possible if Miller had worked alone—at least half of what made Miller’s pages so great came from someone else, someone who started as an inker (and a finisher), then became the sole artist of the book: Klaus Janson.

Photos courtesy of Golden Apple.

[continued on page 38]

(opposite page) Mike Zeck did this amazing Captain America piece for a French portfolio in 1983. The cover of this issue of BI (inset) is, obviously, a recreation of that plate, supplanting DD for Cap. Courtesy of Editions Deesse and Philippe Cordier. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Frank Miller’s Will Eisner-esque page 12 of Daredevil #187 (Oct. 1982), courtesy of its inker, Klaus Janson. Miller’s appreciation of Eisner’s work continues to this day: He’s slated to script and direct a movie adaptation of Will Eisner’s The Spirit, planned for a 2008 release. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Miller (inset photo) illustrated this Batman/Elektra cover for the fanzine Amazing Heroes #69 (Apr. 1985).

Batman © 2007 DC Comics.

Elektra © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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IN THE SHADOWS (#173–190) Covering Klaus Janson’s career is an impossible task for just one article. It would take a whole issue of BI (maybe someday?).

Beginning with issue #158, when young Miller came on board as DD’s penciler, Janson was already inking the book. He had worked over pencilers Carmine Infantino, Gene Colan, and Gil Kane for a good deal of issues. He was there to make sure that the pages still looked good and consistent under the new cartoonist’s run. And boy, was it good! Miller really glowed when he took over the writing gig. He was then drawing very tight pencils, but trusted Janson to add texture to the pencil art.

After some time it was obvious that Janson was able to do much more than ink over the pencils, so Miller gave him looser drawings, beginning with issue #173 (Aug. 1981). Until this issue, Miller had spotted blacks. After that, it was the inker’s job.

[Editor’s note: “Spotting blacks” is indicating where inked blacks should or should not go.] This allowed

Klaus Janson inks over Carmine Infantino pencils on page 22 of DD #152 (May 1978).

Courtesy of Heritage Auctions. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Frank Miller the penciler (who, at that time, was still drawing on the actual artboards) to focus on the writing and storytelling—not to mention that it was two issues after the book went monthly, so production time was also a factor.

Janson embellished Miller’s great finished layouts with every tool he could find: brushes, pens, markers, zip-a-tone, duo-shade paper, and clothes (for inked effects). He even inked parts of panels with a stick!

Every tool that made the pages “work” was a good one.

This gave readers pages saturated with atmosphere.

Paper and colors played a very important part on the end result.

Here is what Klaus Janson has to say when asked about this subject: “The duo-shade paper was only used for special occasions. It is a paper that is a bit thicker than the usual board and has texture embedded into it that cannot be seen unless you apply a chemical to it. I used it occasionally—as examples, once for a Daredevil poster that Frank and I did, and another time for the cover of Daredevil #181 (and some other times, I’m sure, but I can’t remember all of them.

There is a shot of Kingpin in one of the pages [issue #190, page 33] where he’s in his limo and I think I used duo-shade paper in that panel).

“I used a lot of duo-shade in DD #177, for instance. All the flashbacks were duo-shade, as was the sequence where Elektra is climbing up the mountainside in DD #190. But the premise was that the duo-shade had different textures in it that would be revealed when the artist applied a chemical to it. Some duo-shade paper was just lines (like the cover to DD #181), other types had other types of texture (like stipple, which looks grainy). I like the line duo-shade the best. You could get two different

Daredevil artist Klaus Janson at a 2003 comics convention in Switzerland.

Photo courtesy of Philippe Cordier.

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SFX and zip-a-tone are both used for dramatic effect on page 13 of DD #187.

Klaus speaks at length about this page in this article. Courtesy of Klaus Janson. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

densities out of one paper: One was a line going one way, and the other was a darker version, which meant the lines were crossing each other, if you know what I mean. I just used it to give some depth and texture to certain images.

“I was very much interested (still am) in what light does, and would often use my interest in light as a way of organizing the image. If you look at the DD work, the color, the use of zip-a-tone and duo-shade, was all about creating mood, clearing up the storytelling, and experimenting with light. And I don’t want to minimize another reason: which is that it looked just very, very cool. A lot of books at that time were still basically four-color with no attempt to go beyond that, and I was very influenced by Neal Adams and Jim Steranko and what they were able to do beyond the basic four-color (red, blue, yellow, and black) limitations of the printing process.”

Zip-a-tone can be used for great effects, too. Let’s read what Klaus Janson has to say about the way he used it on page 13 of Daredevil #187: “The page where DD is crossing the street in the issue where his senses go out of whack—I think his hearing is uncontrollable. Well, in that panel on the top of the page, he starts to walk across the street and there are cars and trucks behind him. I placed a layer of zip-a-tone over the entire background to get a very specific effect. And that was inspired by (and I remember this very clearly) a play that I had just seen where the curtain was down but light was projected from behind it so you could see through the curtain a bit. The light made it transparent. And when the light was off, the curtain seemed solid again. And although I don’t remember [the details of the] the play, that effect stayed with me to this day. And I wanted to duplicate that effect in that panel and make it seem like DD is set apart from his environment (by his senses going crazy), emphasizing his alienation and troubles and also doing a very cool effect.

“Pencilers, inkers, and colorists need to have ideas that they pursue—that’s the most important part of the art, I think, the pursuit of an idea. That’s why when the Daredevil series was reprinted a few years back in a trade paperback, the coloring didn’t need to be ‘updated’ or changed. It looked contemporary already. Which I was pretty damn proud of. Ahead of our time and all that. I always thought that when I started to color the series [beginning with #179, ‘Spiked’], that was when the best work of the series occurred. Both Frank and I were really on fire at the same time, and the book benefited from having a united, organized vision.”

By the end of his run, Frank Miller was doing simple layouts on small sheets of papers, a process he began with issue #185. Klaus Janson was drawing, inking, and coloring the book.

You can’t find this kind of art team today. Every modern-day penciler has to draw so tight that the inker has to fight if he wants to do more than just trace over the line. If you gave a page laid out by the late, great John Buscema to a “modern” inker, it would be fun to see the way he’d look at you.

Same thing with Miller’s layouts: As far as storytelling is concerned everything is there on the page; but you won’t find details, figures are not always fully rendered, and the inker has to spot blacks! This type of collaboration is a win-all or lose-all situation: A bad teaming choice and it’s a nightmare, because the inker won’t know how to treat the pencils (Big John Buscema had more than his share of bad inkers); but when the penciler and the inker are “mind reading,” you’ve got the best of both of them.

That’s what happened with Miller and Janson on DD. Toward the end of the run there was no way anyone could see where Miller’s job ended and where Janson’s began. Now, thanks to BI, you can see it: [continued on page 42]

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Reproduced close to its actual size of 8.5” x 11” is Frank Miller’s layout for page 33 of Daredevil #190 (Jan. 1983).

It’s barebones, but the essential story information is there, ready for Klaus Janson to begin his magic. This and the inked page following come to us courtesy of Klaus. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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DD #190, page 33, finished by Janson on duo-shade board.

Miller’s layouts had to be enlarged with a Xerox machine so that Klaus could lightbox them in pencil onto the artboard. Janson sometimes used a projector to project Miller’s pencil art onto the board, but preferred lightboxing. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Let’s take another look at issue #190, page 33 (the one Klaus told us about when he spoke about duo-shade paper). Janson changed so much in those panels: The Kingpin is not the same anymore in panels 3 and 4 (pen and ink), and the same thing goes for DD in panels 2 and 6. Background is added in panel 1, not to mention the car in panel 5. Miller didn’t draw what he knew Klaus would take care of. There were almost no shadows or black-spotting on the layout, yet the finished page is full of moody blacks. Note that Janson kept the storytelling as good as it was in the rough.

Now, look closely at page 15 of DD #190 (next page): a splash page. No storytelling there, just a well-thought-out action shot. Beautiful design and interesting drawing, but one can’t finish this if one can’t draw. Klaus kept the design, then added a little drawing, shadows, blacks, and textures. You still can find some kind of Miller’s drawing in the final page, but it is clear that the page is a Miller/Janson piece of art. Miller’s trust of Janson’s work was so real that Klaus was allowed to change whole faces as long as he stayed faithful to Miller’s idea.

Daredevil #190, page 1 (above) illustrates that point: In the third panel Frank Miller drew a kind of generic face. He may as well have told the inker, “I want a closeup face staring at us.” Klaus Janson drew the same pose as Miller did, but the face isn’t the same at all, since Janson used photo reference on the face.

That kind of alteration might very well drive today’s editors to scoff, “Photo ref for an inker?! Are you kiddin’?!

That only works for the penciler! An inker can’t add more than line weight!”

© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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But it can be done! With an amazing end result!

Klaus Janson reflects on this process: “When I look back at certain pages, I feel there were definitely some panels where I went too far from the pencils. Some of that was due to my desire to follow my vision, some of it was a result of trying to keep characters and the book looking consistent through a series of artistic changes, and some of it was due to my shortcomings as an artist.

“If I were handed the same pages today, I would try to keep a bit more the roughness in the pencils rather than ‘smoothing’ them out. There was an abstract quality to the pencils that appeals to me more now than it did then. I’ve always maintained that I can be faithful to a pencil job and do an ‘overhaul’ when necessary.

“All in all, though, I thought Frank and I raised the level of the series and had a great time doing it.”

Miller did a wonderful job on DD, but this run was as much Klaus’ as it was Frank’s (even more Klaus’ than Frank’s toward the end). Would Miller have been successful after DD if he hadn’t worked with Janson? There is almost no doubt that he would have, but one thing is for sure—the two of them grew as artists during this run. And readers had a great character drawn by two great artists!

This Daredevil story arc is the only example of Miller the penciler working so closely with an inker. He had other collaborations, but it was then Miller the writer teaming up with another artist, such as…

(opposite page) Miller’s pencilled layouts for page 1 of Daredevil #190, followed by Janson’s finished version.

When comparing the two, you’ll note that in the last panel, Klaus, using photo reference, altered the face drawn by Frank. Art courtesy of Klaus Janson. (this page) Page 15 of DD #190, an astounding splash

by Miller, with gorgeous finishes by Janson. Plus Elektra’s resurrection, and ninjas!! Courtesy of Klaus Janson. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Vengeful DD seems to be saying, “There will be hell to pay!” in this incredible David Mazzucchelli splash from “Born Again,” page 22 of issue #232.

Original art scan courtesy of Spencer Beck of the Artist’s Choice (www.theartistschoice.com). © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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THE MAZZ: BORN AGAIN (#227–233) Miller left the book after issue #191 (Feb. 1983), inked

by Terry Austin. Klaus Janson stayed on board, doing the art all by himself, until issue #196 (July 1983).

After that, it was mostly Denny O Neil at the writing chores and a bunch of artists doing their best to follow the big-step-ahead that the Miller/Janson era had been. William Johnson did an honest job beginning with #197, but the real surprise came with issue #206 (May 1984), when relative newcomer David Mazzucchelli joined the Daredevil family.

Not an (almost) instant hit like Miller was, Mazzucchelli slowly drew his way into the DD mythology.

His run—under the very capable hands of writer O’Neil (minus some fill-ins)—was decent, then good, then great. Inkers never really did justice to his pencil art (most of the time it was Danny Bulanadi), but the art stepped out when “the Mazz” inked himself starting with Daredevil #214 (Jan. 1985). Even the stories went better after that issue. Maybe the fact that the artist was enjoying himself helped the writer. Still, O’Neil left with issue #226 (Jan. 1986), with Miller scripting over O’Neil in that issue (Frank had previously returned in #219 for a fun story with John Buscema).

Daredevil #227–233 (Feb.–Aug. 1986) may be some of the best DD issues of all time, if not the best.

Frank Miller was back on the character that helped make him famous. He was writing, but not drawing— not even doing layouts. But he was paired with an artist who was doing some of his best work ever— and who couldn’t wait to work with this writer! David Mazzucchelli’s art excelled so much that many fans thought that the more experienced Miller helped the newer artist. It wasn’t that way. Mazzucchelli may have been inspired by the fact that he was working with such a great storyteller, but he was doing the artwork all by himself.

Are there any comics fans who still don’t know what this “Born Again” storyline was about? If so, then let it be known that the Kingpin broke a man. That man, Matt (Daredevil) Murdock, went down real hard … then through tribulations was “reborn.”

Nothing new under the sun? You bet there was. If “Born Again” sounds somewhat déjà vu, it’s because its premise has been done a lot since this storyline, but not a whole lot before it.

Matt/DD is a Christian character, and Miller played with this a lot. There was a lot of religious symbolism in his story (including the chapters’ titles). An example? Last page of issue #229 (Apr. 1986) is from “La Pieta.” Now take a look at the second page of issue #230: Matt lying on the bed has been drawn in a way that can only remind the reader of Christ on the cross. Powerful!

David Mazzucchelli’s art was realistic, but not traced or “swiped.” This is important, because today some artists trace over a picture to appear

realistic. Back in 1986 you could be realistic without being photorealistic. Mazz’s art was not “cartoony,” but it was still comic art. Many thanks to Neal Adams for showing the way.

There was something else really interesting about the art in “Born Again”—we were able to watch Mazzucchelli while his art style was still evolving! If you take a look at what he was doing with DD before “Born Again,” the art was very good but Mazz was still trying to stay in some kind of “old school,” a la Gil Kane or Gene Colan. Now take a look at 1987’s “Batman: Year One” (in Batman #404–497), which Mazz did with Miller after “Born Again”: The artwork is much simpler. Mazzucchelli went the Alex Toth road (“less is more”). With “Born Again” we’ve got both styles from the artist: Issue #227 was in the “classic style,” while #233 was almost done in the “Batman: Year One style” … and everything in between was a “work in progress.” Fascinating!

Mazz’s art made an everlasting impression on a lot of fans and illustrators. Lee Weeks, for example, is still influenced by what was done by this artist.

Mazzucchelli is now working in a style so simple, so different, that he is not the same artist anymore.

He’s always evolving. That way, amateurs of “underground” or “avant garde” art love his work, and super-hero comics fans dig his art, too. Few artists can accomplish that.

Don’t let the artist himself fool you: If you were to talk to David Mazzucchelli today, he might say that he was young when he worked on DD, that he “did what he could,” but he’s not the same man today … not to say that he doesn’t like his old work. While what he’s been drawing more recently is very interesting (Big Man is a wonderful book), his DD is one of the best there is.

He wasn’t on the character for long, but it sure feels like it. Miller was impressed by the guy. He gave him good ideas to play with and the artist made the work even better. There are not a lot of collaborations where the writer and the artist mesh so well that you could have sworn there was only one person doing the whole thing. This was such a case (the Miller/Janson team being another). When the pictures told enough of the story, Miller didn’t try to add words to them. When words were needed, Miller added just the right amount of them. Some sentences won’t leave your mind—like when Matt asked Maggie (the nun who rescued him) if she was his mother, she said no, but Miller added DD’s observation, “A heartbeat can tell you a lot. Hers just jumped. She’s lying! ” Simple and to the point!

“Born Again” is a work of art that should be seen in black-and-white instead of the bad coloring process that comics had in those days. Maybe one day this beauty will be included in some kind of Essential Daredevil book. It sure would be well worth it.

(above) Mazzucchelli’s corner box art used on Daredevil covers during his run.

Courtesy of Heritage Auctions. (left) David Mazzucchelli’s cover to Daredevil #232 (July 1986), scanned from a small photocopy of the original art. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

[continued on page 48]

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Typhoid Mary and Kingpin triumph over the Man without Fear in this beautifully drawn, rarely seen promo piece for the Nocenti/Romita, Jr./ Williamson run. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Romita, Jr.’s impressive cover to Daredevil #280 (July 1990), featuring Mephisto.

Art scanned from a photocopy of the original. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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BORN AGAIN … AGAIN (#250–282) It was tough being a DD fan between issues #234 (Aug. 1986) and 249 (Dec. 1987)! The “Born Again” storyline was such a milestone that everyone connected with Daredevil seemed to be scared to follow that act.

Ann Nocenti isn’t an easily scared woman. Beginning with issue #236, Nocenti settled in for a long and memorable run (except for issues #237 and 246). She had a big problem, though—it was impossible to find an artist to fill David Mazzucchelli’s shoes. In 14 issues Nocenti worked with Barry Windsor-Smith, Sal Buscema, Louis Williams, Todd McFarlane, Keith Pollard, Chuck Patton, Keith Giffen, and the ultra-talented Rick Leonardi (on #248–249). How much “worse” can it get for a writer? As good as Nocenti’s ideas could be, it was difficult to follow whatever storylines (or lack thereof) there were, with so many artists working in so many different styles. It was high time a regular artist came on board, and with issue #250 (Jan. 1988), that artist was … John Romita, Jr. (JRjr)!

Romita, Jr. was already a well-known artist at the time, thanks in part to his exposure on X-Men, but he wasn’t very happy at this point in his career (X-Men writer Chris Claremont reportedly wasn’t fond of JRjr’s art). Having illustrated somewhere between breakdowns and pencils on X-Men, Daredevil was the first time JRjr was allowed to do full pencils and to work with a compatible editor and writer.

Nocenti was Romita, Jr.’s editor on X-Men, so they knew each other.

She as a writer liked to play to the artist’s strengths. A great writer with tons of original ideas … an artist who couldn’t wait to stretch his artistic muscles … and a great character—what more could one ask for?

A superb inker? You’ve got it! Al Williamson! Williamson is an all-time great!

Suffice it to say that he had drawn for one of the best comic-books lines ever: EC Comics! Not to mention that he also worked with Frank Frazetta.

Before Romita, Jr. signed on to DD, Williamson had previously inked issues #237, 239, 240, 243, 248, and 249, and was willing to stay for the long run with JRjr. They had worked together for a few issues of Star Brand (remember the New Universe’s only good title?), and their pairing there was quite a good surprise—Williamson’s delicate brush work was a perfect match for JRjr’s clear storytelling.

In the ’80s, for whatever reasons, Al Williamson decided he was too old (and too slow?) to pencil and ink a book. He decided to focus mainly on inking other artists.

Among other things, he had a wonderful run with Rick Leonardi on Spider-Man 2099. The magic happened when he inked JRjr on Star Brand (minus the last issues), a few X-Men issues, and, of course, DD #250!

Few people can ink John Romita, Jr. well. A lot tried. Some inkers did a decent job, like Scott Hanna, but the best ones were inkers who really added something.

JRjr had a clear line, but he also left a lot to the inker. (Most of his black-spotting is done with the side of the pencil.) Dan Green, Tom Palmer, and Dick Giordano did beautiful renderings over those pencils.

JRjr loved being inked by his father, but two inkers really seemed to be the right match for JRjr in the long run: Klaus Janson and Al Williamson. Janson added strength to the pencil art, be it with a thin pen line or a strong one. Williamson was playing a different tune: His line was fragile, delicate. He added details and— dare I say it?—tenderness to the art. Both inkers are artists, so they both added mood to the page. One can say that Janson was bringing Jack Kirby out of JRjr (remember the run they did together on Thor?), while Williamson made his work look more like Alex Raymond’s.

Williamson’s touch is what Romita, Jr.’s Daredevil needed. JRjr’s storytelling was very strong, thanks to a lifetime spent alongside his great father, but his pencil art had to have a soul of its own. Al Williamson gave it this soul, going from a gentle, thin pen line to beautiful brushstrokes. Line after line, this inker made JRjr’s DD alive!

Someone looking for perfect rendering might be disappointed because Williamson wasn’t a tracer. He didn’t really change the pencil art, but rather he played to its strengths, adding lines if need be. Daredevil is an urban super-hero, so a “clean” inker wouldn’t do him justice (something Maleev and Lark understood well). Klaus Janson may have been a bit too strong for John Romita, Jr. (but it sure would have been interesting). Al Williamson was the perfect choice. [continued on page 50]

A 1998 convention sketch by John Romita, Jr., courtesy of Philippe Cordier. Unless otherwise noted, all JRjr Daredevil art pictured in this article is from the Cordier collection. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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John Romita, Jr. on Daredevil conducted October 9, 2006

PHILIPPE CORDIER: What do you remember of your run on DD? What was it like to work on this character?

JOHN ROMITA, JR.: The run on Daredevil was enjoyable, mostly, because I was able to draw finished pencils for the first time. Before that it was breakdowns … although my breakdowns were very complete, they were still considered incomplete. I was already telling stories, in my own fashion, for years, on Spider-Man and, for that matter, on X-Men. Remember, the process back then was plotting, art, then dialogue. So I was already pretty adept at storytelling. I do remember that I finally felt like I was part of the creation process for the first time while I was on DD. That was the most memorable part.

CORDIER: How was your collaboration with Al Williamson? Did you talk with him at times?

ROMITA, JR.: Working with Al Williamson was much like working with my father in that I felt that I was protected from mistakes… If my art wasn’t correct, then Al would repair it. Oddly enough, Al said he never had to fix anything, claiming he just “traced” over my pencils.

Al was always the gentleman. I do admit that while we worked on Man without Fear I felt very in control of all my “tools” and felt fearless, pardon the pun!

Overall, working with Al Williamson was one of the highlights of my career. Other than working with my father, I consider Al the finest “artist” I have ever worked with. Al was a brilliant illustrator, as most artists of his generation were, long before he made money as an inker. It is of no small mention that I say that Man without Fear may very well be the best work, overall, that I’ve done in my career … and in no small part aided by Al Williamson—and Frank Miller … can’t forget to mention HIM!!!

CORDIER: I know Ann Nocenti can be a “strange” writer, but a very clever one. Did you enjoy “her” DD? ROMITA, JR.: Ann Nocenti was a very different type of writer when we teamed up on DD. Her storylines were, to say the least, very political, and I remember chuckling while I worked. I chuckled because of the subject matter: Women’s rights, or the strange image of women in society as well as the mistreatment of animals … not to forget the nuclear-power argument.

(Interestingly, the French are more nuclear aware than the US, as far as energy utilization goes.)

So to say the least, it was interesting to work with Ann. I considered myself to be independent politically, or moderate, if you understand … but working with Ann, I felt as if I were extremely conservative! This was also the time that Ronald Reagan was the US president ... so it became a great conversation piece between Ann and me. I look back upon that time as a turning point in my art career … and Ann, like Al Williamson, was right there.

CORDIER: You co-plotted an issue (“A Beer with the Devil”). You worked the Marvel way—were you able to add a lot of things, ideas, scenes…? What kind of freedom were you given on the whole run?

ROMITA, JR.: I had a good amount of freedom to add to the stories as I saw fit, but other than “Beer with the Devil” my additions were storytelling only. Ann and Ralph Macchio allowed me as much input as I wanted, but the stories were done far in advance. I was given free rein to do with those stories as much as I could.

CORDIER: Which part of your run did you like best: the urban DD from the earlier issues (including the “Inferno” tie-in), “DD on the road,” or “DD in Hell,” which you did at the end of your run?

ROMITA, JR.: I would say that the best part of my run on the title was DD in Hell. I was able to redesign Mephisto (I couldn’t see the Devil with tights and a cape). It was just a visually wide-open period of time in the run.

CORDIER: In your career you came to titles you had worked on before, like Iron Man, X-Men, and Spider-Man. What would make you consider being the regular Daredevil artist again?

ROMITA, JR.: I would LOVE to work on DD again…

It’s my favorite character to draw, overall, and it would be fun to return.

Page 31 of Daredevil #252 (Mar. 1988), with JRjr doing his own storytelling. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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(left) Kids can be hard to draw, although you wouldn’t know it from Romita, Jr.’s flawless art. This is page 6 of #253 (Apr. 1988), contributed by this article’s author. (below left) John Romita, Jr. didn’t draw the Daily Bugle’s Ben Urich (a Miller staple) during his run on DD, but thanks to The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe we can see JRjr’s take on the reporter. Inks by Josef Rubinstein. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Together, Romita, Jr. and Williamson drew DD until the penciler left the book with #282. Their run had only three fill-ins, one of which was to allow for JRjr’s wedding.

The Romita, Jr./Williamson run is one of the best (and definitely the best post-“Born Again”) because of the artistic team’s strength and because Nocenti was doing almost everything she wanted to do. Hers wasn’t an attitude of, “I have to do this Miller kind of thing because that’ll sell well.” Nocenti’s work feels more as if she was thinking, “I’m not Frank Miller, so since there is no way to please his fans, I may as well enjoy myself doing my thing.” And that she did. She created and played with great new characters (Typhoid Mary and Bullet), had fun with old ones (Punisher and Kingpin), and more importantly, she told stories.

Examining one of Nocenti’s first stories is a good way of seeing how she worked: “Save the Planet!” in Daredevil #251 (Feb. 1988). In the story, a little boy was blinded because of a big corporation’s negligence; Kingpin was in court against Matt Murdock, with Murdock’s partner Foggy Nelson employed by the bad guy; and Kingpin asked Bullet to work for him outside of the law. Bullet, a new character (he does what he does because he gets paid for it, period), was not your typical Marvel villain—he had a kid, a son who was aware of environmental problems (talk about family matters with this kind of father-and-son relationship). Nocenti meant to entertain, but she also wanted you to think.

Even though Nocenti used the Kingpin in her first few issues, she stayed away from what Miller did previously: No Ben Urich, no Elektra, no ninjas … she was playing with other toys.

What did poor Matt go through during this run? He had to stop a kind of civil war, deal with the Kingpin, and had his heart broken by a girl who turned out to be Typhoid Mary (one of the best and more complex characters in the Marvel Universe). He fought the Punisher, then Typhoid Mary had him physically broken by a bunch of archenemies. After a severe beating in issue #259 (Oct. 1988), DD was missing for a few issues (with Karen Page and Johnny Storm trying to find him). Issues #263 and 265 were an “Inferno” [continued on page 52]

(opposite page) This is one bad dude!

One of DD’s best new villains, Bullet, explains the way he sees his world on page 4 of Daredevil #251 (Feb. 1988). © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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tie-in: Demons were everywhere on Earth, with DD still recovering and trying to stop this mess. Here we were able to see that this hero is not perfect: He does whatever he can do, but everything isn’t always fine in the end. The artwork was a beauty.

JRjr was obviously having a lot of fun, with Williamson following him all the way. By far, these tie-ins were the best ones of the crossover. [Editor’s note: Daredevil #264 (Mar. 1989) was a fill-in featuring guest-villain the Owl.] “A Beer with the Devil” (issue #266) took place in a bar, with DD and Mephisto. Strong stuff, full of intelligent dialogue. This issue was co-plotted by Romita, Jr. (the bar was a bar he knows, and he included his friends in the background).

After that, Matt was still broken (at least in his mind) and left town—a courageous step for Nocenti, relocating DD out of New York (something a lot of fans didn’t want). The series then took a “Bill Bixby Hulk TV show” direction, with Matt wandering from town to town. The action was still there: After a wonderful

© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

morality play in issue #268 (July 1989), DD had to fight Pyro and the Blob. With issue #270 we discovered Blackheart, the son of Mephisto (who would play a part later in the run).

Daredevil #270 also introduced a whole new cast: Brandy (an animal rights activist), his father (quite the opposite), and Number Nine (a perfect woman literally made by Brandy’s father). With these characters Nocenti was able to speak her mind about feminism, war, and food … but she didn’t forget that Daredevil is a super-hero comic: Brandy, DD, Number Nine and, later on, the Inhumans, fought Shotgun (a “black Punisher” created by Romita, Jr.), Brandy’s father, Ultron, Blackheart, and—last but not least— Mephisto, with an unforgettable rendition of the super-villain.

Ann Nocenti made Matt Murdock leave his hometown. She then went one step further by sending him to Hell in #279 (Apr. 1990). Hell, for the blind Daredevil, was all white, covered with snow (it turns out that Hell isn’t the same for everyone). Issue #280 had some of the best art ever produced by JRjr in his run—simple, pure, clear storytelling.

It seemed logical that someone who dresses as the Devil would end up in Hell. But what also seemed logical was the fact that no one can win there; this becomes even more logical when you consider that the ruler of this world is the deceptive Mephisto. DD barely survived this storyline (he had the Silver Surfer to thank for getting out alive), and the good guys really didn’t win.

Daredevil #282 (July 1990) was the last issue for John Romita, Jr. As much as he liked working on the book (even if he sometimes wondered where Nocenti was going with her scripts), JRjr wanted to stretch other artistic muscles (he next tried his hand at Iron Man, for the second time in his career). He wanted to get back to DD soon, but had become a big star. Marvel kept throwing books his way: after Iron Man there was Punisher, Cable, X-Men, Spider-Man, and Thor—there seemed to be no way he could find time to go back to the character that made him what he is today.

End of the run for the artist, but not quite so for Nocenti, who next brought Daredevil back to the city.

She teamed up with a very good artist, Lee Weeks (plus had two great fill-in issues drawn by the talented Kieron Dwyer). Alas, while Weeks stayed for a while, Nocenti left with issue #291 (Apr. 1991). She left the book with Matt holding Foggy in his arms—which is what happened in “Born Again.” The character had gone full circle after one hell of a good run.

Never mind that the book that had some hard times after Nocenti left. What matters here is that fans eventually got to see more of JRjr’s art on DD: A few years after he left the title, Johnny Junior came back for a miniseries with … Frank Miller! (Full circle again?) [continued on page 58]

Thanks to Miller, Kingpin is a really scary villain, as page 8 of DD #263 proves.

If JRjr’s knee-knocking rendition of the crime czar in the last two panels doesn’t make you want a hug from your mommy, you’re a man (or woman) of steel! © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Ann Nocenti on Daredevil conducted October 11, 2006

PHILIPPE CORDIER: Your Daredevil run was very story-driven, yet you never forgot about the character.

What was the most fun for you: playing with the character Daredevil or coming up with strong, adult stories?

ANN NOCENTI: One of Mark Twain’s novels opens with the advisory “anyone looking for a plot will be shot” (or something like that). Then he proceeds to let two people—one black, one white—drift down a river on a raft together and into history in one of the greatest stories ever told.

On the other side, you’ve got your storytellers like Hitchcock, who was all about the plot. His infamous line “actors are cattle” could be said about his characters, too. And yet, his stories ticked away with a mechanized brilliance, with the excitement of a roaring train, and the joy of them was their plots.

So, I’d say I can have fun with any mix of plot and character balance. What’s great about super-hero comics is the challenge of their limits. Like with Hollywoodian flicks, you have to respect the tropes of the form and riff off them. You’ve got to have clear-cut heroes and villains. You’ve got to have action and fights. That’s the part I hated at first. I thought there was no such thing as a hero or a villain and I hated that all conflict had to be resolved with a fight. I saw fights as tumors on the stories. I think at first I “hid” inside social issues, to try to dig deep and add depth, since I didn’t see much depth in action plots.

But as time went on I got more into the form. I started to see how much fun it was for the artist to draw the fights, and how much excitement a good brawl generated from readers, and, I dunno, the fun was contagious.

CORDIER: You worked what is called Marvel Method, right? Was it ever frustrating to write plots? Working full script would allow for more creative freedom….

NOCENTI: I’ve worked both ways; I like both. Plots give the artist more creative freedom to fool around, but give the writer less control, which is sometimes good, depending on the artist. My plots were usually full of all the dialogue, more like full scripts, anyway.

CORDIER: Before Daredevil, when you were the editor of X-Men, you worked with John Romita, Jr., before he became the superstar he is today. How had he changed as an artist from X-Men to Daredevil?

NOCENTI: JRjr was always a superstar in my book. He had an unerring grace to his line that was clearly going places. Even way back then, you could see his enormous talent.

CORDIER: JRjr co-plotted a story (“A Beer with the Devil”). Did you talk a lot together for other issues?

NOCENTI: I wish we did more! In hindsight, I wish I’d spent more time with all the artists I worked with, but we were all working too hard. We were all under the gun with deadlines, and there wasn’t really time to talk that much. But I do remember JR getting excited about certain characters, and he’d be a great help fleshing out new villains like Shotgun and, of course, Typhoid Mary.

CORDIER: What did you think of his storytelling? Did you give him ideas?

NOCENTI: My plots are very specific, except for fight scenes. JR was great at taking a boring talking-head scene and making it playful and sexy. And he was

awesome when it came to choreographing fights.

He’d always surprise me with a little touch or flair, a little piece of background street business, or the way a piece of litter tumbled … he had a cinema director’s eye for the nuance of creating a believable world.

Really, I can’t say enough about how talented he is.

CORDIER: You were an editor at Marvel Comics before writing Daredevil. What was it like to make the jump into the writer’s seat, with an editor looking over your shoulder?

NOCENTI: I was a writer before I was an editor. But being both was cool … I knew the frustration of an editor’s deadlines, so as a freelancer I always got my stories in on time. Then, as a writer, I knew writers need encouragement, pats on the head, so as an editor I tried to be very supportive of writers.

Matt Murdock and the beautiful but dangerous Typhoid Mary meet here for the first time on page 22 of DD #254 (May 1988). From the collection of Philippe Cordier. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Also, the life of an editor is so busy, it’s easy for writers and artists working away alone at home to get paranoid and feel out of the loop. I always tried to check in on everyone and make sure they were happy and being treated well. Also, I knew the pressure on editors to follow the form and make things sell, and yet the passion of artists to break new ground and experiment, so I think I was able to figure out a good middle ground, especially working with artists like Bill Sienkiewicz and Barry WindsorSmith, etc.

CORDIER: How closely was editor Ralph Macchio involved with your ideas?

NOCENTI: Ralph was supportive of all my ideas. He knew to the bone who Daredevil was, and he would reel me in sometimes if I went too far. But for the most part he was an extremely openminded, enlightened, and courageous editor.

CORDIER: [Former Marvel editor-in-chief] Tom DeFalco says the book was selling well so he let the team do the job. Did you fell some kind of creative freedom? Were some of your ideas refused?

NOCENTI: I don’t remember Tom DeFalco having anything to do with the book … there was never any trouble that I can recall from him or [previous e-i-c] Jim Shooter. They all left Ralph and I alone.

CORDIER: The “Inferno” crossover featured a tie-in with DD fighting demons in NYC, and it was one of the best (if not the best) tie-ins I’ve ever read. Was this a fun story to do, or were you just trying to tie this “forced crossover” into your book?

NOCENTI: Tie-ins are often pushed on writers to boost sales, but also to respect the Marvel tradition of a “shared universe.” As for the “Inferno” storyline, I loved it! I love riffing within limits. Tell me to put a mad dog, a kitchen sink, a whatever in a story, and the mind starts running with ideas and fantasies as to how to play with it.

I live in New York City—it is a kind of Hell—so being told, literally, to go to Hell (so to speak) was my idea of a good time. I had a blast with that, and it is some of JRjr’s most inspired work ever.

CORDIER: Did you feel some kind of pressure because of the acclaim of creators who worked on the character before you? Mainly Miller/ Mazzucchelli, whose “Born Again” story was pretty recent at that time?

NOCENTI: I think I was too stupid to be intimidated. I was very new to comics, so I didn’t really feel the weight or even the significance of who I was following on the book. I guess being naive about it gave me a lot of freedom. So no, thankfully, I didn’t feel the intimidation I maybe should have felt.

CORDIER: JRjr left with issue #282. Then you left with issue #291. Why did you leave?

NOCENTI: I no longer remember what happened, but I believe there’s a moment when a book needs new blood, and we all knew it. I kept taking Daredevil down roads not even I had any interest in. Some of those last stories sucked. I think it was just time to move on.

CORDIER: You’re a book writer now. What would make you consider going back to writing Daredevil?

NOCENTI: Book writer? I’m not a book writer, I’m a screenwriter and a journalist. I’m actually at my happiest when I’m carrying a story around in my head. In some ways it doesn’t matter if it’s journalism, comics, or film. I love wandering the world and everything I see can somehow be part of the story in my head.

As for comics, I’m lazy about looking for work. I just write whatever falls in my lap. These days I get calls from magazines and film producers.I kinda say yes to whatever comes my way.

So, if someone called and said, Wanna write a comic? I’d probably say sure.

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(below) This simple but striking image of DD descending into Hell opened issue #280 of Daredevil.

Any potential buyer peeking inside was sure to be hooked! (opposite page) “Here I come to save the day!” The Silver Surfer buzzes in for an assist. Romita, Jr.’s cover art to his last issue of Daredevil, #282. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Ralph Macchio on Daredevil conducted October 9, 2006

PHILIPPE CORDIER: When Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli did the masterpiece “Born Again” storyline, you had already been the editor of Daredevil for quite a few issues. What do you recall of that time on the book? Did you realize you were working on seven important issues?

RALPH MACCHIO: I knew that with Frank and David teamed up we were in for a great ride, though I had no idea “Born Again” would become a kind of seminal series in comics. I was always flattered when people would come up to me and mention that it was their favorite run of books, not only of the Daredevil comic, but of comics entirely.

I remember calling Frank up and asking him if he wanted to come back to Daredevil after Denny left and him telling me he wanted to think about it briefly.

Once he agreed, he asked me if I thought David would mind working on full script rather than plot, and I answered I didn’t think it would be a problem at all.

Frank and David worked hand in glove and I’m immensely proud to have edited that series. It’s a high-water mark for both Frank and David and for the Daredevil comic.

CORDIER: What was the plot Mazzucchelli played on the creative process? Did he offer any plot ideas?

MACCHIO: It was Frank who really orchestrated the direction of the story. He knew what he wanted to say, but David made suggestions, etc. after he’d received the script that always served the story beautifully. And David’s growth as an artist was phenomenal. “Born Again’ just came visually alive in his hands.

CORDIER: Were you as involved with Miller and the Mazz as you were with other teams? What ideas were yours?

MACCHIO: While I supervised the project and Frank always ran anything he wanted to do by me, I did not contribute any story ideas for “Born Again.” That was Frank’s baby from beginning to end. I just came along for the ride.

I was more deeply involved on a story basis at the beginning of Ann Nocenti’s run, because she wasn’t as familiar with the character or his world, so she needed a bit of guidance. But that’s all.

CORDIER: What was the fun part of editing Ann Nocenti and John Romita, Jr. on DD? MACCHIO: The fun part was watching them grow as individual creators and as a team. Just observing Ann getting a handle on Daredevil’s world—his character and supporting

Page 22 of issue #256 features a courtroom, Matt Murdock, the Kingpin, Typhoid Mary, and someone named Janson (Tyrone). Doesn’t this page say “Daredevil” to you? Courtesy of Philippe Cordier. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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cast. And watching John develop into the artist who truly was his own man. This was a wonderful experience.

And seeing how they each learned of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and became a team. It was gratifying watching two great creators strive to reach their potential.

CORDIER: Ann was an editor first. Was it difficult to edit someone who “knew your job”?

MACCHIO: No. Ann was an editor’s dream. She would discuss what she wanted to do each issue and then go off and put together a superb plot. I was always happy that she never was intimidated by following that seminal run by Frank Miller on DD. But Ann wasn’t from a comic-book background, so Frank’s name didn’t scare her. And I think her run was good enough to stand alongside anyone else’s.

CORDIER: John wasn’t a superstar at that time, yet he thinks DD made him grow artistically. What part did you play in his artistic maturity?

MACCHIO: I just got out of John’s way and let him go.

I gave John as much free rein as I could. I let him experiment with his style and search until he’d become ten times the penciler he was than when he started the assignment. And, of course, I encouraged him to keep moving forward and complimented him on the results.

CORDIER: I know writers at that time were working the Marvel way (no script). Does that mean you had to work closely with Ann, or was she pretty much her own boss?

MACCHIO: I work closely with any writer in my stable.

As I mentioned, Ann would always tell me where she wanted a storyline to go and I approved anything she did before it was on paper. I do the same today, even though writers tend to do full scripts.

CORDIER: Ann stretched very far in her stories, be it the things she spoke about (politics, animals rights...) or the plot themselves (Matt leaving town, going to Hell...). Did you have to sometimes slow her down?

MACCHIO: I didn’t attempt to slow Ann down, but [I did] offer guidance and check with my own superiors if I felt she might be treading on turf that could get us into trouble. But I didn’t mind her tackling controversial subjects. So long as she presented an issue fairly and allowed the reader to make up his own mind—wasn’t preached at—it was okay with me.

CORDIER: Did Al Williamson play a part in the creative process other than inking (I’m thinking plot discussions...), and was he given advice as to how to treat this young Johnny’s pencils?

MACCHIO: Al Williamson didn’t need any advice as to how to ink John’s pencils. He had decades more experience in the field than any of us on the book. He knew exactly what he was doing. And he did it incredibly well.

CORDIER: Would you say your job then wasn’t the same as the one you’re doing now (being in the editor’s seat and such)?

MACCHIO: My job hasn’t changed much. The books I edit have, but my job is still to be fully involved with each comic I edit and to try and bring out the best in every person who works on them. It’s a very rewarding job despite the occasional aggravations that go into any creative endeavor.

(above left) Young Matt Murdock is blindfolded and battered in Romita, Jr.’s powerful opening splash to Daredevil: Man without Fear #1. (above) Page 28 of MwF #2: Has Elektra ever been this beautiful?

In this wonderful page, she’s playing tricks with lovesick young Matt. (left) This Man without Fear #4 splash speaks volumes with very few words.

Courtesy of John Romita, Jr. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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LE CHANT DU CYGNE: DAREDEVIL: MAN WITHOUT FEAR Daredevil: Man without Fear (MwF) was a five-issue miniseries published in late 1993 and early 1994, at a time when Frank Miller was no longer associated with the character.

This series was long in the making. It was a movie treatment that Miller reworked as a comic book when Romita, Jr. asked him if they could work on something together (JRjr originally wanted to work on Wolverine, but Miller made him change his mind). This movie script became a 64-page graphic novel. Then Miller decided to add a lot of scenes with Elektra, so now there were 144 pages for JRjr to draw! By the time the penciling task was over, the graphic novel trend was fading and Marvel decided to go with a five-issue format for MwF. Neither Miller nor Romita, Jr. were pleased with this change, but there was nothing they could do. JRjr had to draw a few “transition pages” and covers, but the bulk of the pages had been drawn for a long time.

Daredevil: Man without Fear was kind of the definitive origin of Daredevil, a la “Batman: Year One.” Nothing new for DD fans here. They didn’t really learn a thing, but they did enjoy a solid story told in a modern way: violence, drama, treason, romance … DD’s life as Miller saw it, from childhood to the first costume.

MwF ends with this double-pager, the series’ only shot of DD in costume. What a way to wind things up! Special thanks to John Romita, Jr. for the scan—and for leaving his matchless mark on Daredevil! © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Daredevil did not appear in costume in MwF until a wonderful double-page spread at the end of the final issue.

Miller wrote a good story, but what mattered here was the artwork. To say that JRjr was having a ball is a major understatement. He was working on the character he liked best, working with his favorite writer, and doing full pencils that were to be inked by one of his best collaborators: Al Williamson! He knew it was going to be his masterpiece and gave it all he had! Miller’s story additions caused Romita, Jr. to draw new pages long after he had done the first 64 pages, but JRjr did his best and the changes are almost impossible to see (unless you’re a JRjr-crazy fan). Yet one can see that issue #4 was partly done in a style closer to issue #1 than issue #3, which was done by a “bulkier” Romita, Jr. If only the color printing process hadn’t been so crappy at that time—the pages deserved better.

There’s been no more Daredevil for John Romita, Jr. since the great Man without Fear series (except for a few panels here and there, in SpiderMan’s and Wolverine’s books). That’s too bad, because he did such a great rendition of Ol’ Hornhead that it would be a pleasure to see him back on the title.

© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

The graphic novelto-miniseries format change forced story alterations that caused two pages to be dropped from Man without Fear.

Panels from those pages were colored, cut, and inserted into a Miller article in MwF #3, but presented here is one of the pair, produced in its entirety in black-and-white. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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(left) This DD drawing by JRjr, in its glorious pencil form, was done as the birth announcement for the second daughter of this article’s writer.

Doesn’t this make you wish that John Junior was still drawing the book?

Daredevil © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

(right) The French editor for Marvel Comics sometimes hired French artists to illustrate covers that would be used instead of the US ones.

Artist Ciro Tota (Photonik, Aquablue, Les conquérants de Troy…) did several of those during the 1980s, and this one is easily one of the best.

Daredevil and characters © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © 2007 Editions Lug/Semic and Ciro Tota.

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Captions by

Michael Eury

© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

After a revolving door of artists in the earliest issues of Daredevil, John Romita, Sr. began a brief stint on the title with issue #12 (Jan. 1966), initially drawing over Jack Kirby layouts.

Pictured here is a rarely seen illo by Romita, a 1974 presentation piece for a proposed Daredevil animated TV series. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Gene Colan began a lengthy run on Daredevil with #20 (Sept. 1966) and stuck with the title for the rest of the 1960s, occasionally returning in the 1970s and ’90s. (right) From the collection of Mike Dunne hails this stunning 2003 pencil piece by Colan, featuring DD and his ’70s partner, Black Widow. (below) Also shown: Ol’ Hornhead with another ’70s icon, Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, on page 22 of Daredevil #100 (June 1973), with Colan layouts finished by John Tartaglione; courtesy of Heritage Auctions. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

(opposite page) Four ’70s flashbacks: The Screamer is featured on Rich Buckler and Frank Giacoia’s noisy cover to Daredevil #101 (July 1973); Kraven the Hunter muscles in on the splash to DD #105 (Nov. 1973), penciled by Don Heck and inked by Don Perlin; the splash to John Byrne’s one-time DD outing, #138 (Oct. 1976), inked by Jim Mooney; and DD and Black Panther—together!—on this page from Daredevil Annual #4 (1976), penciled by George Tuska and inked by Frank Chiaramonte. Original art scans courtesy of Heritage Auctions. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Characters as diverse as Batman and Richie Rich hawked baked goods for Hostess in a series of comic ads appearing in various publishers’ titles during the late ’70s and early ’80s. In this 1978 one-pager starring DD and drawn

by Sal Buscema, Peachy Keen joins the roster of Hostess super-villains whose villainy was easily vanquished by tasty treats. Original art scan courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Hostess © 2007 Interstate Bakeries Corporation. Daredevil © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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by

Tom “The Comics Savant” Stewart

Okay, let’s get this over with right off the bat.

I like Devil Dinosaur. There I said it, let it be on my head. It’s a simple, fun comic that does exactly what it sets out to do. Proceed accordingly.

It was 1978. Jimmy Carter was president, Laverne & Shirley was the top-rated TV show, and Jack Kirby was writing and drawing a comic book about a furry ape boy and his big, red dinosaur. Yes, that Jack Kirby, co-creator of Captain America, Fantastic Four, and the Silver Surfer, the man who had more than a hand in making Marvel Comics the top-selling super-hero titles in the business, was drawing a strip that seemed a throwback to something he’d already left behind at a previous company. But with a big, red dinosaur. A Devil Dinosaur. Let me explain…

In 1978 Jack Kirby had been in the comics business for 40 years. Kirby was still an immense creative force, but he felt spent on comics, Marvel in particular, and was looking for a way out. He was putting out Black Panther, Machine Man, and the last few issues of The Eternals. Jack worked away at a business he no longer felt he understood, at least not the way it was being run at the time. There were people in the Marvel offices that didn’t think Jack knew what he was doing, or misunderstood Jack’s need for control over his work as pigheadedness. They offered to help “fix” his writing, and were stung that Jack didn’t want to draw their scripts. Why wouldn’t the great Jack Kirby want to return to Fantastic Four or Thor?

Why do something like The Eternals or Machine Man … or Devil Dinosaur?

Why, indeed.

An Odd Mix A crimson dino, an ape boy, and armored adversaries—all in one (sur)reality! From the mind and pencil of Jack “King” Kirby.

Original cover artwork to Devil Dinosaur #4 (July 1978), by Kirby and Joe Sinnott.

Courtesy of Heritage Auctions. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Lost Before “Lost” Contrast these splash page pencils from Devil Dinosaur #1 (far left) with Kirby’s original concept for the big red lizard! The strip started in a presentday Bermuda Triangle setting, and morphed into something prehistoric.

Courtesy of The Jack Kirby Collector. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Jack was looking for an escape hatch. His contract was coming up for renewal and he’d confided to friends he wasn’t planning to re-up with the Mighty Marvel Marching Society. He was being drawn more and more to animation, to anything that wasn’t the comics, that wasn’t what he’d been doing for the last 40 years. Yes, after 40 years Jack was back at Marvel, back doing almost the same thing he’d started doing back in the Eisner and Iger shops, filling in the boxes and cashing his check. Back then it was new and exciting; now it was a job, one he did to the best of his abilities (he was Kirby after all, with his full-on Depression-era work ethic). Jack looked ahead, and all he saw was out.

Animation held an out. Already there were offers from Hanna-Barbera and DePatie-Freleng.

Jack had to fulfill his 15-page-a-week contract until it ran out, then he could leave the comics business behind. Animation promised a secure (opposed to comics) job, regular hours, and the first health plan

In An Age of Monsters, He Was Mightiest of All! (below) Step aside, Godzilla, there’s a new big guy in town.

Cover pencils to Devil Dinosaur #1 (Apr. 1978), by Kirby. © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Jack was offered. Word was going around Marvel that Kamandi was being optioned for a cartoon.

Kamandi had been the last series title Jack had worked on before leaving DC Comics, an idea taken from Planet of the Apes and handed to Jack to see what he could make of it. Jack made it one of DC’s longest-running titles under publisher Carmine Infantino’s regime.

Kirby wasn’t the only one interested in animation; Marvel itself was looking to get into the animation business, buying an interest in David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng’s studio (DePatie-Freleng, known mostly for Friz himself and the Pink Panther cartoons). Lee Gunther, head of the studio at the time, thought they had something better than Kamandi—they had Jack Kirby. Marvel was eyeing the money made off its characters with envy. By buying into an existing studio, Marvel hoped to get a foot in the door. Stan Lee was already there, supervising various projects. With The Eternals cancelled, Marvel needed to throw some more work at Jack to meet that weekly page count.

This could be a project that would keep Kirby from being idle (idle hands not only beget the Devil’s work, they also add to the overhead), and get Marvel a successful entry into the Saturday-morning lineup, like Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends.

What Gunther and Marvel wanted was Kamandi, but not Kamandi (like Planet of the Apes, but not). Oh, and put in a dinosaur. Kids like dinosaurs. (Mark Evanier, former Kirby assistant and a man who has written many a cartoon in his time, says this is a common network request.

Someone probably made the suggestion to include dinosaurs in The Jetsons: “The kids’ll eat it up.”)

Jack’s workload was lessened to free him up to work

might have been able to cobble something together to visit Devil, but never bothered. Jack spun his art and story under thick, glossy, and perfect Mike Royer inks for nine issues. Jack had thought that comics had gotten too sophisticated, forgetting the kids in favor of adults. In Devil Dinosaur, Jack wanted to take it back to the children, and the would-be Saturday-morning proposal made it possible. He told simple tales, in bold art that any kid could follow, even without the dialogue. What kid couldn’t understand two lonely creatures looking for a friend in a world that was frightening and dangerous? It would have made a nice series.

But it wasn’t to be. There is a special place called development hell, a graveyard of ideas and concepts that had been fed just enough money and hope to give them a half-life, a life of options, turnarounds, and shallow breathing, of waiting for a phone to ring. Devil Dinosaur didn’t even get that far.

Some presentation art (anyone know where it is?), nine issues, and the sweat of Kirby and the late-night electric bills of Royer. No Kamandi series, either. It might have been a “negative buy” (Mark Evanier tells me since development money is cheap, compared to actual production money, studios will buy a property with little or no intention of producing it, just to keep it away from someone else. In my family, we did that same thing by spitting on it), but negative buy or not, nothing came of Kamandi, the TV series. Jack’s hitch with Marvel ended, and he reported to the animation studios, where people couldn’t believe Kirby walked among them.

Maybe a comic book about a big, red dinosaur is not what you think Jack Kirby should been doing, and I’d agree with you. I’d have loved to see Jack return to The Fantastic Four, or create another galaxy-spanning epic, but that is not what happened. Too many missed opportunities, and too much talking past one another, misunderstanding intentions. It wasn’t Silver Surfer, but Devil Dinosaur has nine fun issues (cover-dated Apr. through Dec. 1978) packed with Kirby art to show for itself, and a bunch of fans who fondly remember the big, red lug. When Jack passed away, a tribute book was proposed, with Kirby’s peers contributing their own interpretations of his characters. The most requested character … was Devil Dinosaur.

© 2007 Marvel Charact ers, Inc.

up presentation art (something that would soon become his full-time job). He absorbed all the suggestions, rose to the challenge, and created what he thought was wanted, something that was a combination of comics and Hollywood, kinda like Kamandi, but with dinosaurs. As usual, it came out pure Kirby, looking and sounding like nothing else but Jack.

Devil Dinosaur told the story of two outcasts, Moon-Boy and his friend, the red dinosaur he names Devil. When the Killer-Folk (ape men who are the mortal enemies of Moon-Boy’s tribe, the more human Small Folk) attack Devil’s herd, Devil is nearly killed and somehow turned red by the flames used to kill his family.

Moon-Boy saves him, Devil saves Moon-Boy (several times), and Moon-Boy is forced to leave his tribe when his new brother, the huge, red dinosaur, is not accepted by his fellow Small Folk. Now Moon-Boy and Devil roam the prehistoric jungle, encountering giant spiders, way out-of-place Kirby technology, and giant ants— they were even transported to the present in the last issue.

As with several of his later projects, Jack had tried to carve out his own little corner of the Marvel Universe, but people kept trying to build onramps across his fields. Devil Dinosaur let him get away with it. There was no third-issue drop-by from Spider-Man; the Avengers never showed up for the cage match. Reed Richards

© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Thanks to Mark Evanier for his time and trove of Kirby info.

Us vs. Them! (left) Detail from the Kirby/Sinnott cover of Devil Dinosaur #5 (Aug. 1978). © 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Meet the Man Downstairs “I wanted Satan to look like a well-used plush toy, a teddy bear that had lost its fur over the years,” recalls Ty Templeton of Satan, seen here in a panel from Stig’s Inferno #3 (that’s the Vortex Comics logo on Satan’s button). “He’s lost his ability to terrify and control us, so I made him small, and chubby, and kind of cute.” © 2007 Ty Templeton.

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Brian K. Morris

Abraham Lincoln, Cinderella, Genghis Kahn, Andrew Carnegie, Rocky Balboa—many names in reality and fiction rose from humble circumstances to embrace greatness. A surnameless man named Stig took a date home only to die, lose his special Leonard Nimoy-designer jeans, and eventually wind up as the Lord and Ruler of the Kingdom of Hell, with all of the powers and problems the post entails.

The son of Canadian evangelist/entrepreneur/media personality Charles Templeton, Ty Templeton studied art at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) alongside fellow artists Anthony Van Bruggen, Klaus Schoenfeld, and R. C. Taylor, all of whom would make their own contributions to the world of comics. At a party, Van Bruggen mentioned his then-recent publication in a new comic book Vortex and urged Templeton to submit samples to publisher William P. Marks. “He needed artists in the Toronto area to keep his magazine going,” Templeton recalls. “I thought, ‘What the hell, right? Could be fun.’”

[Editor’s note: The anthology Vortex, from Vortex Comics, ran 15 issues between 1982 and 1988. Vortex’s other publications included Mister X, Black Kiss, and Yummy Fur.] “Cheap Thrills” appeared in Vortex #5 (Sept. 1983), the first of Templeton’s contributions to the Vortex Comics family of publications. Marks liked Templeton’s work: “When I showed him some of the stuff I had in a drawer called Stig’s Inferno,” says Templeton, “he liked it enough to suggest I do a series.”

Stig’s creation began when the teenaged Templeton read Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, an updating of Dante Alighieri’s classic story of a science-fiction fan’s journey through the Underworld to his eventual escape.

“The novel goosed my 16-year-old brain just right,” and so Templeton started reading the original Inferno and the two volumes about Purgatory and Paradise. “I fell in love with them as stories. It took a bit to get past the language translations, but for a year or so, I was reading different versions, off and on, as my reading on subways and buses, getting to and from school.”

Once at the Ontario College of Art, Templeton and Klaus Schoenfeld noticed that having a student body filled with artists could guarantee the campus newspaper a quantity of strips. But as Templeton states, “Klaus and I didn’t like any of the strips in the back of the paper and announced we were each going to do our own strips, a friendly competition of sorts. We were creating these things, mostly to entertain each other,” with plans to submit them to the student newspaper.

Templeton fused his studies of Dante’s works with the “stranger in a strange land” feel of Alice in Wonderland and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, two of Templeton’s favorite

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From Stig’s Inferno #1 (1984), Stig enthusiastically plays the actual “Stig Requiem,” a ragtime-like piece Templeton calls “a silly piece of music that either Klaus [Schoenfeld] or I had written.

It’s supposed to be played ‘Allegro con morte.’” (far right) Detective Murdoch, shown here from Stig’s Inferno #3, had a last name that sounded like “murder” to Ty Templeton as well being “a good tough guy name. He’s not named after Matt Murdock, since as soon as I noticed it, I regretted him sharing a name with a famous Marvel character.” © 2007 Ty Templeton.

books, to create his own divine comedy. And being a fan of Eric Idle, Templeton drew Stig’s first-and-only name from a Monty Python skit and from the Rutles’ guitarist in Idle’s All You Need is Cash. As Templeton drew three strips of his new creation, Schoenfeld indulged his love of all things military in a tale of the Boer Wars.

Upon seeing the results of each other’s artistic labors, Templeton recalls, “We came to this place where I didn’t like the way I was drawing mine and Klaus wasn’t sure what his story was supposed to be about.” The complementing of each other’s strengths was an omen. “It didn’t take a genius to realize we should team up and create together, so we did.”

Klaus redrew the initial Stig tales and added another eight. However, those strips went into a drawer, never to be seen by the OCAD student body. Templeton philosophizes, “When you’re 19 and 20 years old, life intervenes and you don’t follow through on things or it becomes summer or something. We got busy with other projects, we were never completely satisfied with the strips, there were tweaks I wanted to do here and there, etc. So from there, they went into a drawer and sat there for a year or so.”

Templeton showed Marks the would-be newspaper strips and received a green light for work on the series to commence. Templeton’s reaction? “I immediately went to Klaus and said, ‘We have a series, let’s go!’” But by this time, Schoenfeld labored as a commercial storyboard artist, making far more money than an artist for a black-andwhite comic book from a minor publisher. “So he gave me the blessing to go back to drawing what was

© 2007 Ty Templeton.

This illustration from Stig’s Inferno #3 spotlights Stig’s last date, Beatrice Portinari.

Beatrice was based on Templeton’s girlfriend at the time and named after Dante Alighieri’s cousin, the love of his life and inspiration for his classic poem. © 2007 Ty Templeton.

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originally my own strip anyway, and off I went. My drawing had improved since the original, terrible attempts and I was a little more comfortable doing it then.”

The original strips formed the first six pages of Stig’s Inferno #1, which saw print in 1984, and Schoenfeld found time to assist, according to Templeton, on “about four of five pages I was having trouble with, mostly the pages on the escalator [pages 4 and 5 of issue 2].”

Stig led Beatrice Portinari to his self-built ramshackle home, located so far from humanity that a skeletal postman barely made it to within eyeshot of the house.

Despite Stig’s numerous warnings, the locks on the outside of the door, the demonic-netherworld, and the wretched spirit talisman on the far wall that couldn’t be burned away or painted over, she couldn’t wait to hear one of Stig’s original compositions on the grand piano in the corner. Unfortunately, a pair of demons resided inside the instrument and they weren’t having any part of eviction. When Stig leaned into the piano to confront the squatters, he found out too late they’d booby-trapped the piano. One slammed lid later, Stig awoke in “Canto Two” and began his journey towards the River Styx.

Unbeknownst to Stig, Beatrice called the police to investigate the young man’s death. Detective Murdock led a crack squad that arrested the piano before stumbling onto the gateway to the Afterlife and Stig’s trail. Meanwhile, Stig commandeered Charon’s motorboat after offering the demon Visine as relief for his blazing eyes, which he drank (Templeton’s favorite joke in the series). The boat crashed into Satan’s party and after escaping the Palace of Pleasure—as well as Satan’s glamorous wife Helene—Stig climbed onto Satan’s throne for a nap and awakened as the new Ruler of Hell.

The artwork, slick and filled with all manner of sight gags, showed off Templeton’s and Schoenfeld’s appreciation of the early MAD magazines by writer/editor Harvey Kurtzman and artist Will Elder. “We both love the language and the craft of Kurtzman’s work, so yes, it was a tremendous influence,” states Templeton. “When I was younger, I wanted to be Kurtzman, Elder, Wood, Davis, and Severin. All of them. I couldn’t choose a style that I liked better than the others, so I internalized all of it. Certainly not a lot of any of them—I simply wasn’t that good—but there were bits and pieces of their styles in everything I did back then. We all find some style that excites us when we start out. When I was 20, it was Kurtzman and his stable of creators. That was ground zero for good comics for me.”

The non-Stig aspects of the book were a tip of Templeton’s hat to the DC and EC comic books of his youth. Rather than full-length tales, Stig’s Inferno utilized

(right) Behind every great fallen angel is a dark consort. Shown here from Stig’s Inferno #3, Helene was created to be an equal— or better—to both Satan and Stig and formed the third corner to a potential love triangle.

Templeton based her appearance on women drawn by “Erte” and Aubrey Beardsley, while her fashions came from ’20s and ’30s vintage copies of Esquire and Vanity Fair.

(below left) “The Plasma Monkeys,” explains Ty Templeton, “was just one of those phrases that you blurt out and find funny.”

In this subscription ad drawn by Anthony Van Bruggen, from Stig’s Inferno #3, we see the storyteller Enoch with the pride of Zaton 4. “I think the idea that they cheated at cards and backgammon just made me laugh,” chuckles Ty. (below right) Stig, shown here from issue #5, was originally based on Templeton’s features and then-fashion sense … at least from the waist up. But when Klaus Shoenfeld redrew the strips, he changed Stig’s appearance to more mirror his own. By the time Stig received his own title, says Templeton, “He sort of had Klaus’ face and hair and my beard and body.” © 2007 Anthony Van Bruggen.

© 2007 Ty Templeton.

back-up stories with stories from Templeton, Van Bruggen, Schoenfeld, and Sam Kieth. “I think it gives you a richer package, with two stories per issue and bits of text,” a policy he continued in Batman Adventures from DC Comics and his 2005–2006 Revolution on the Planet of the Apes from Mr. Comics.

While Templeton wove his Kurtzmanesque and Monty Pythonian influences into each issue’s text features, it turned out the readership gave as good as they got. Templeton recalls, “We used to get letters, but not so many as to create a letter column.

Probably no more than eight or ten letters per issue, but those letters were weird. I don’t remember every one of them, but they’d include strange drawings, and ideas for stories that would make my eyes curl. We were told by at least one letter writer that God had plans for our heathen asses, etc. One guy wanted Stig to become a super-hero.” The pig-owning winner of #1’s “Stig Look Un-Alike Contest” sent in a photo of a hand-sized baby shark. Other entrants sent in pictures of dogs, a cement staircase with an invisible man on it (thus looking like no one), and a multi-page letter filled with cut-outs of pelicans. “I consider that a wonderfully weird readership,” Templeton declares.

The reviews of Stig’s Inferno were positive and sales were respectable, riding the black-and-white wave of the time that also supported Elfquest, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Cerebus the Aardvark, and a legion of anthropomorphic titles. However, the notion of monthly publication, as stated in #1’s indicia, proved optimistic, given Templeton’s schedule as a full-time musician and student. As he remembers, “Stig wasn’t exactly paying the bills. Besides, Kurtzman’s MAD was in black and white, so it seemed fine to me. I would have had to have colored it, and probably didn’t want to.”

Still, after a couple of issues had hit the stands, Klaus Schoenfeld expressed a desire to illustrate the book. “I think I was in the middle of issue #3 or 4 at the time and didn’t want to give it up since I’d started it from #1,” recalls Templeton. His suggestion was to create a new Vortex title that Schoenfeld would illustrate over Templeton’s scripts, the result being Kelvin Mace, a futuristic parody of noir detectives that lasted only two issues.

Even though Stig’s Inferno was a critical and sales success, all at Vortex Comics was not to Templeton’s liking. Adding to Templeton’s distrust over personal issues, the writer/artist remarks that publisher William Marks began having money-management problems.

“He was taking money he owed me to pay off his phone

© 2007 Ty Templeton.

© 2007 Ty Templeton.

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bill and the rent at his office, etc. I couldn’t stay in business with a man who stole money from my pocket.” So Templeton began looking for a new home for Stig’s adventures, soon finding one at Eclipse Comics.

Eclipse Comics published the first original American graphic novel—Sabre by Don McGregor and Paul Gulacy—and attracted major talent from the “Big Two” by offering ownership of their creations and the opportunity to do more personal work. They also discovered new creators who would move on to greater opportunities, such as Ty Templeton, who recalls, “It’s possible they called me to work on New Wave—a book I inked over Lee Weeks’ pencils—and Stig’s Inferno grew out of that relationship.”

(above left) Wearing his Kurtzman/Elder influences on his sleeve, Templeton brought in the protagonists from the classic “Dragged Net” story from MAD #3 into Stig’s Inferno #6. (above right) No, it’s not Ty Templeton on his last day at Vortex Comics. “Lance Amazing of the Galactic Space Confederacy” originally appeared in Ty Templeton’s high school newspaper. “I must have done about 20 or 30 strips … but they only actually published four or five of them.”

This illustration by Ty came from the back-up story in Stig’s Inferno #6. © 2007 Ty Templeton.

(left) Since the Roman poet Virgil appeared in the original Inferno, Templeton felt compelled to have a version of him in his series. Contrary to the Gustav Dore illustration that ran as the cover to issue #3, Templeton conceived his Virgil as a small, ugly Kirby-esque figure (shown here from Stig’s Inferno #7). According to Templeton, “I believe in the original text, Dante specifically mentions that Virgil is inflatable.” © 2007 Ty Templeton.

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Templeton found his new publisher a far more trustworthy one than his last. [Eclipse publisher] “Dean Mullaney was a saint and wonderful guy, and I enjoyed working with him very much.” The first Eclipse issue (#6, Jan. 1987) featured a recap of the first five issues.

Why not simply pick up from the last Vortex issue? “I think there had been a six-month or eight-month gap between issues, and I didn’t believe readers would remember it. Also, Eclipse had a better distribution system and I wanted new readers to jump in as well.”

Eclipse published two issues of Stig’s Inferno.

However, its “cancellation” had nothing to do with sales, but with the passing of Klaus Schoenfeld at the age of 24 from heart disease. As Templeton recollects, “Klaus died right after I finished issue #6 and while working on issue #7, it was messing up my head. Stig bore a strong resemblance to Klaus, and here were his adventures in the afterlife. It was something I didn’t find humor in for a number of months after he’d died and I simply couldn’t bring myself to continue. It just pulled all the funny out of me for about a year.” As a result, Templeton stopped working on #8.

Calling it a “stunning coincidence,” Templeton received a telephone call from DC editor Barbara Kesel [then Randall] to work on a Blue Devil project that never saw print a couple of weeks after he stopped work on Stig. Says Templeton, “The idea of working on comics that weren’t Stig or Kelvin Mace was appealing and I talked about it with Dean and cat [yronwode] and we parted company. I’ve run into Dean once or twice since then. He’s expressed regret we didn’t finish the series at Eclipse, but I think he understood. I did have a period where I wasn’t an amusing person.”

Templeton had long-range, but finite, plans for Stig and friends. “The whole thing was actually written out in general form for a 12-to-20-issue story, which ended with a three-issue ‘escape’ story, pitting Stig against Satan to see if he could get out of Hell before Satan stopped him,” mirroring the structure of the Dante and Niven/Pournelle tales. “The part about Stig becoming the director was going to lead towards Hell becoming a tourist attraction at Stig’s insistence, and the tourists’ arrival brings with them a way out of the Hell dimension, ending when Stig escapes back to Earth and reunites with Beatrice.”

Did Templeton’s SI work open any doors for its creator? “It opened every door, no question.

Although I was working on Mister X, Kelvin Mace, The New Wave, and Fantagraphics’ Critters magazine at the same time period I was doing Stig, it was Stig that everybody knew about.” When Stig received a Kirby Award nomination for Best Black-andWhite Comic of 1987, Templeton says, “that nomination got me tons of attention that I never would have gotten just from [the other art jobs], as delightful as those gigs were.”

Meanwhile, Templeton’s samples toured the DC offices, leading to more offers from the editors. “I’ve had some sort of work from DC more or less for 20 years because of that first phone call from Barb.”

And delivering his best work, either serious or comedic, prevented

Templeton from being typecast as a humorous writer/artist. “I always try my best to succeed at whatever genre I’m working in and play to the strengths of that genre whenever I’ve been offered a job.”

Starting on the less grim-and-gritty characters in Secret Origins, Templeton “put my heart into the drama as well as the goofiness. I suppose I proved I could do drama before I was being asked to, but I felt that was the correct style for those stories.

“I still think of myself as a humor writer/artist, but I take off that hat and push forward the drama skills when I get those other gigs.

I’m Bi-Genre, I guess.”

In addition to his comics work, Templeton has proven to be a successful actor, TV writer, and talk show host (briefly), and still plays jazz and pop music both live and in session work. The latter part of 2006 saw Templeton represented on the Great Britain’s Top 40 airwaves, playing piano for Country artist Glenn Reid. Says Templeton, “Believe me, no one is more surprised than I am to know thousands of Brits in cowboy hats have heard me play the piano, but it shows that being pigeonholed happens when creators stick to a rigid set of grooves for themselves and never push against the wall they’re comfortable with. I often tell my students, don’t do the thing you’re already good at. When you work a sketchbook, if you’re good at faces, draw hands. If you’re good at cars, draw trees. If you’re good at men, draw women, then nobody puts you into a category of what you’re ‘good at.’”

So what might Templeton change if he had another crack at Stig’s Inferno? “Pretty well all of the drawing before issue #4 is appalling and could be redrawn with little complaint from me.

There’s an inappropriate joke about AIDS in one of the issues (#7), written before the epidemic hit, that I wish I could take out. I think I probably should have written Beatrice’s part a little stronger. She’s mostly just an excuse for jokes.”

With issue #7 (Mar. 1987), the original comics series ended and according to Templeton, “so far as I remember, no publisher has ever shown interest in the character since. There was a quick conversation at Vertigo when I was writing Bigg Time [Templeton’s 2002 graphic novel] about doing something with Stig, but my memory was that Vertigo wasn’t crazy about it.” However, a familiar character appears in the final chapter of Bigg Time, wearing a badge that states, “Hello, My Name Is STIG” before leaving the scene. “Since the story is about the afterlife and magic, it seemed rude not to include him.”

Since leaving Stig, Templeton moved on to work for DC, Marvel, WildStorm, Fantagraphics, and Bongo Comics, among others. But even when working with Batman, Spider-Man, the JLA, Superboy, Plastic Man, Mad Dog, or whatever, did returning to the Netherworld ever appeal to Templeton? Or did Stig’s Inferno become merely a line on a very impressive resume?

With the exception of Bob the Demon Butler, almost all of Stig’s Inferno’s demonic characters were named from Dante’s Inferno, but filtered through Templeton’s offbeat sense of humor. Why else would Charon’s clothing mirror Ted Knight’s from Caddyshack?

Here are Ciriatto and Calcabrina from Stig’s Inferno #5. © 2007 Ty Templeton.

Remembering Klaus Schoenfeld

by Brian K. Morris A powerful influence on Stig’s Inferno and its writer/artist, Peter “Klaus” Schoenfeld is remembered by Ty Templeton as a “college roommate, best pal, and lifelong ghostly presence since he died 20 years ago.”

Klaus changed his name while waiting in line to sign up for a college class. Templeton recalls, “The two people in line ahead of him were named Peter, and he didn’t want to be the third Peter in that class, and right then and there changed his name.

Folks who knew him from school, and eventually work, knew him as Klaus.” Meanwhile, Klaus’ parents and fiancée continued to use Mr. Schoenfeld’s given first name. “I always liked that he had two ‘identities,’” Templeton continues. “I called him either Peter or Klaus, depending on the environment we were in.”

Demonstrating a great artistic talent at an early age, Klaus threw himself into his work, both in his comics work and commercial art career. Says Templeton, “When I met him, at 18 years old, he was, hands down, the best ‘drawer’ I had ever met,” especially where all things military were concerned, regardless of nationality or era. Klaus once told Templeton that viewing war movies, particularly the combat scenes, “gave him an almost sexual thrill, it was so exciting to him.” He adds with a smile, “I always chalked it up to his German heritage.”

Schoenfeld and Templeton shared a love of music, both listening and performing. They also discovered a mutual appreciation of Harvey Kurtzman’s EC work, but from different perspectives. “I never even knew that Kurtzman did war comics,” states Templeton, “until I met Klaus.” Schoenfeld also indulged a fondness for nudism, as Templeton continues, “and could not be convinced to wear clothes around the house unless we had people over. Our various girlfriends and close friends got used to his nudity, but clients and other folks had to be protected.”

Schoenfeld’s innate talent impressed Templeton. “He had a facility for drawing that seemed unfairly built into his genetic makeup. But as the years went by, Klaus’ talent stayed about the same. His 18-year-old abilities were stunning. His 24-year old abilities were merely quite good. Other folks at school went from amateurish to quite good over the years, but he stayed at the same level. Very good at the start, very good, but the steady rise of his abilities wasn’t there as it was for others around us. I often wonder if something would have kick-started his learning curve eventually, and he would have ended up one of the better illustrators of his time.”

As it was, Schoenfeld did some art for Vortex Comics, and helped create Stig’s Inferno as well as Kelvin Mace, which ran a mere two issues. In 2056, if someone needed a “needlessly violent and enormously irresponsible” gun for hire, Kelvin Mace was that man. Schoenfeld illustrated both issues and supplied the script for the second.

Unfortunately, Schoenfeld never got a chance to fully develop his talent when he passed away from heart disease at the age of 24. “I’ll never forget that we had tickets to a Peter Gabriel show that went on about two weeks after Klaus died,” Templeton recalls. “It was very strange watching Gabriel perform while I was sitting next to an empty chair in the stadium.”

Just as he’d received a scholarship established by the legendary advertising genius Leo Burnett, the Ontario College of Art and Design offers a scholarship in Schoenfeld’s name.

Schoenfeld is also survived by a small but impressive body of comics work and co-interest in two characters, one of whom became the unwitting ruler of Hell and another who had no business being anybody’s role model.

Ty Templeton sums up his cherished friend simply: “A very outgoing, charming, and talented guy. Screw God for giving him a heart disease, eh?”

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(right) Leaving exposition to the experts in Stig’s Inferno #6, Enoch brings Eclipse Comics readers up to speed.

Based on Cain and Abel (hosts of DC’s House of Mystery and House of Secrets), but named for Cain’s other brother, Enoch wore a top hat because Templeton owned one at the time. (far right) The original cover art to DC’s TV spin-off, Batman Adventures #4 (Jan. 1993), illustrated by the vicar of versatility (we just came up with that … nice, eh?), Ty Templeton.

Courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

“I’ve actually written two Stig stories since then.

One is a six-page story I wrote and drew in one day a few years ago, just to make me and my friends giggle, and the other is a plot for a Stig’s Inferno one-shot I wrote earlier this year. I was briefly playing with the idea of doing something with it, but it’s really a case of finding the time and the financial reason to do it.

“The one-shot I conceived features Stig and the characters from the original series in a self-contained story. It takes place some time after issue #7, since Stig in the story is still director of Hell, but it’s a while since then and Stig is bored in the job. At the moment, it’s probably best told as a 25-page story, but I could expand it if I wanted to. The little six-pager I drew a while back is a funny story about the way transportation works in Hell. It features Stig riding elevators and escalators, trying to get somewhere and becoming frustrated.”

However, the ending of Stig’s adventure, after sitting in Templeton’s imagination for two decades, now “tends towards a different direction of the story and suggests Stig cannot escape.”

So what made Stig’s Inferno so enjoyable that Templeton would consider doing new stories? “Mostly it’s the sense of freedom when I was writing it that I’d like to try again. It was a very

© 2007 Ty Templeton. © 2007 DC Comics.

Ty Templeton, master of mirth, mayhem, monkeys, and music, from the 2005 Canadian National Expo.

Photo courtesy of Comic Book Resources (www.cbr.com).

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unstructured forum to tell stories and jokes that appealed to me, without having to worry about corporate eyes over my shoulder,” a luxury not afforded when working on properties like Spider-Man or Homer Simpson. “I can’t exactly offer my unfettered opinions about politics or the news or pop-culture celebrities without an editor leaning over my shoulder. Bigg Time and Stig and Kelvin Mace are places I’d be allowed to write whatever came into my head.”

But sorry to say for his fans, Stig’s next canto might not happen any time soon. Aside from illustrating stories in American Splendor and covers for Justice League Unlimited, writing and drawing stories for The Simpsons, as well as teaching comics writing and layout at the “Max the Mutt School of Animation” in Toronto, Templeton’s plate is as full as it’s ever been. In addition to all those reasons to never get any sleep or see his family, “I recently finished writing and editing Planet of the Apes for Mr. Comics in Toronto, and am currently writing/editing/drawing a bit of a one-shot special for that company called Hoverboy!, a superhero/political parody comic that I could never get away with a corporate publisher. I’m working with a new penciler named Steve Molnar on the project, and Molnar is good! Look for him in the near future taking over the comics industry.” And after completing a Howard the Duck story in a recent Civil War: Choose Sides, he’s hoping to do more with that character also.

Thus, “Stig probably has to wait until I have time for him.”

From a humble beginning as a full-time musician and art student working at a minor comics publisher, Ty Templeton moved up to be a highly respected creator of illustrative fiction and music as well as a teacher, passing on his knowledge to a new generation of creators. So while Stig may have gone to Hell, Ty Templeton’s career certainly hasn’t.

by

The EC Archives: Weird Science vol. 1 Gemstone Publishing 2006 • 212 full-color pages • hardcover $49.95 US © 2007 William M. Gaines, Agent, Inc.

The EC Archives: Shock SuspenStories vol. 1 Gemstone Publishing 2006 • 212 full-color pages • hardcover $49.95 US © 2007 William M. Gaines, Agent, Inc.

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Michael Eury

John Amos is an EC Comics fan. He told me so himself.

No, I’m not a personal friend of the actor you might know from Roots, Coming to America, or Die Hard 2, nor would I expect him to recall our chance meeting. But imagine my surprise back in 1992 when, during my days as a DC Comics editor, I looked up from my desk one afternoon and saw Mr. Amos—yes, JJ’s daddy from Good Times!—looking into my office. At that time DC was headquartered in an Avenue of the Americas building which shared space with sister Warner Bros. companies. After finishing other WB business, John Amos encountered in the elevator a DC employee who worked for Joe Orlando. Amos confessed an appreciation for the work of Orlando, as well as EC luminaries Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, and Jack Davis. He was invited to the DC offices for an introduction to Mr. Orlando, after which he stuck around for an impromptu tour (and a little office voyeurism).

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg are EC Comics fans, too. They didn’t tell me so themselves, at least not directly, but related their affection for ECs in their introductions to, respectively, the first volumes of The EC Archives’ Weird Science and Shock SuspenStories editions.

Three celebrity endorsements for EC Comics, from personalities I truly admire! But I didn’t share their passion for ECs since I, like most of you, was born too late to have followed publisher William M. Gaines’ titles. (As a middle-aged man, I relish this opportunity to publicly proclaim that I am “too young.”)

Of course, I’m aware that EC’s uncompromisingly graphic comic books torch-lit an industry-wide witch hunt more harmful than any eye-injury horror story. I was a fan of the HBO version of EC’s Tales from the Crypt, and remember that dreadful 1985 teen comedy Weird Science (which borrowed the EC comic’s name, but not its content) and its syndicated TV spin-off a decade later. A few years ago, during a consulting gig at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, I examined the covers of numerous CGC-“slabbed” ECs, but was unable to peek inside due to their protective casings. Despite that awareness of Gaines’ funnybook empire, until January 2007 I had never actually read an EC comic.

Thanks to Gemstone Publishing and publisher Russ Cochran, I’ve finally joined the party … and have seen firsthand why those celebrities—as well as countless reviewers and publications, including Entertainment Weekly—enthusiastically recommend the recently launched The EC Archives.

The EC Archives chronologically re-presents the EC Comics line in lavishly produced, full-color hardcovers.

Inaugurating the series are the premier volumes of Weird Science, a Twilight Zone-ish tour of realms fantastic, and Shock SuspenStories, an ambitious omnibus merging crime, war, sci-fi, and horror tales into a single package.

The work of John Amos’ favorites is on display, along

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with Jack Kamen, Graham Ingels, Harry Harrison, and the prolific Al Feldstein, who wrote and edited every single tale.

Feldstein’s scripts, co-plotted by Gaines, are known for their twist endings. Like many of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zones, Feldstein’s surprises are often telegraphed, but the expertise in their execution makes that an excusable “offense.”

Feldstein’s EC tales have also been lauded for their historical significance.

I was aware of their role in inspiring DC’s mystery anthologies (House of Mystery, Ghosts, etc.) during the BACK ISSUE era, but only upon reading The EC Archives did I discover their additional influence upon comics of the 1970s: Without ECs, the “relevance” movement of the ’70s might not have existed. The Archives volumes contain several tales known as the EC “Preachies,” morality plays exploring controversial cultural topics.

The most provocative among them is the Feldstein/Wally Wood classic “The Guilty!,” a disturbing assessment of prejudice and mass hysteria, reprinted in the Shock SuspenStories volume.

Polished story structure and crisp artwork provide another of The EC Archives’ hallmarks: reader-friendliness. With woefully few exceptions, today’s comics offer episodes, not stories, insisting that a reader invest in multiple issues (or the collected edition) to get the whole story. Not so with The EC Archives: Each of these seven- and eight-pagers is a sequential narrative featuring a beginning, a middle, and an end. This short-story format invites either random reading or a can’t-put-it-down perusal.

The EC Archives editions themselves are as impressive as the stories they reprint. Unlike other publishers’ collections of vintage material, The EC Archives series reproduces the titles’ text pages and house ads, affording a true glimpse into what reading the actual comic books might have been like. Replacing the product advertisements of the originals’ back covers are informative text pages by Cochran and EC historian Grant Geissman; BACK ISSUE readers will appreciate their anecdote-filled backstories.

Marie Severin colored the majority of the EC tales back in the ’50s, and the re-coloring of her exemplary work provided a challenge for EC Archives designer and color editor Michael Kronenberg. “We’ve had to walk a fine line between the wonderful and innovative work Marie Severin did when she colored the original EC line and the modern technology of coloring comics today,” Kronenberg explains. “We didn’t want the Archives to be colored like a modern comic, but we also wanted to take advantage of the tools at our disposal in the 21st century. Hopefully, what you’re seeing is the EC Comics as if they were colored by Marie on top-quality paper with excellent printing.”

The tender loving care given the reproduction of these comics, enhanced by Kronenberg’s clean, accessible book design (in his words, “something you would find in a coffee table art book, but not too conservative”), makes Gemstone’s The EC Archives well worth their price. Don’t overlook these classics just because they predate you. Join me and become an EC convert!

Young Steven Spielberg, who in his introduction to Shock SuspenStories vol. 1 described himself as “a nerdy kid who loved the escapism of comic books.”

Weren’t we all?

Photo courtesy of Gemstone Publishing and Michael Kronenberg.

Long before Green Arrow’s bleeding-heart “relevant” rants, EC produced “Preachies” such as Al Feldstein and Wally Wood’s “The Guilty!” Originally published in Shock SuspenStories #3 (June–July 1952). © 2007 William M. Gaines, Agent, Inc.

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Good Times © 2007 Bud Yorkin, Norman Lear, and Tandem Productions.

Special thanks to J. C. Vaughn, Gemstone Publishing, and Michael Kronenberg.

Send your comments to: Email: euryman@msn.com (subject: BACK ISSUE) No attachments, please!

Postal mail: Michael Eury, Editor • BACK ISSUE 5060A Foothills Drive • Lake Oswego, OR 97034

YOU DIG DON! Barry Keller’s insightful retrospective (with Jay Willson’s priceless embellishments) of artist Don Newton in BACK ISSUE #19 scored with readers—big time! So I’ll muzzle myself for a bit and let you do the talking…

Just for the record, I think Don was his own best inker.

– Joe Rubinstein

BI #19 was just about the perfect issue—a veritable cornucopia of my favorite things.

The first US comics I ever bought were Defenders #7 and 9 back in 1973. I was hooked from that moment on. Defenders was a title of several highs (particularly the first 41 issues and the later DeMatteis/Perlin run) and some serious lows (Conway’s misguided decision to kick Gerber off the book, Hannigan’s bizarre Tunnelworld nonsense, Gillis’ gloomy final issues), but it was a key title in Marvel’s finest era.

Thank you for the great article on Don Newton in BI #19. Don has been one of my favorite artists since I first saw his work in high school. He quickly became an artistic icon I ranked up there with John Byrne, George Pérez, and Gene Day (another artist I would love to see you do a story on).

I was so stunned when Don died and I looked for more info on him for years. Had he survived, I believe he would have been a superstar artist. His Batman was on par with Neal Adams, especially with Dan Adkins inking.

I have a few Newton pages in my collection—one inked by Adkins and two by Alfredo Alcala—and I’ve spent many hours looking at the detail. It was a sad time for Batman fans when we lost Don and then lost what could have been such an amazing run when Gene Day died after only creating one cover for the Batman series.

The loss left a great void in the early ’80s when comics were starting to experience resurgence, and Don and Gene had such bright futures. Thank you for filling in the gaps for me so I can have a bigger picture of a man who is still one of my all-time favorite artists.

– Steve Goupil The article on Don Newton by Barry Keller was definitely worth the price of admission and the wait! I first stumbled across Newton’s work in the revived Aquaman series, and was a fan from the word “go.” I liked his more realistic depiction of Captain Marvel, especially since I felt he was inspired by Jackson Bostwick’s portrayal in the Saturday morning live-action TV show Shazam! I loved his Batman, and I thought he and Alfredo Alcala made an excellent team on the Dark Knight. I was disappointed when he left Batman for Infinity, Inc., but I bought that title also, so it wasn’t a total loss, until I read that he had passed away. It’s a shame he didn’t do more Superman work since his version, seen in DC Comics Presents #54, was as good as his Batman. I would’ve loved to have seen him do a Superman and/vs. Captain Marvel tale.

Great article by Andy Mangels on the “almost” She-Hulk film.

I knew the basics but didn’t know all of the story. Andy left out one unofficial She-Hulk appearance, from a Benny Hill episode: A woman waiting for a bus is pestered by the men waiting for the bus so much that she “hulks” out into a tall, green-skinned Amazon in a dominatrix outfit. I used to think that appearance predated the real thing, but that episode aired in 1981, while She-Hulk debuted in 1980.

After reading the Unlimited Powers article, I’m glad it never saw the light of day.

Reading the letters column, I really have to get my hands on a copy of BI #17.

– Delmo Walters Jr.

Superman by Don Newton From DC Comics Presents #54 (Feb. 1983), a Green Arrow team-up. Inks by Dan Adkins. Courtesy of Jay Willson. © 2007 DC Comics.

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You Light Up My Life Don Newton’s cover painting to The Phantom #69 (Feb. 1976). Courtesy of Barry Keller. © 2007 King Features Syndicate.

I must thank you for kindly mentioning me—by name!—in your delightful retrospective piece on E-Man in BI #18. My pleasure at reading your evocation of our long-ago conversations about comics in Williams’ Candy Kitchen was equaled only by my family’s surprise at seeing published proof that I really do know the distinguished editor of a prestigious comics industry journal!

After such a moment of blissful Charlton nostalgia, it seems only appropriate that your very next issue would feature Don Newton, the number one reason that I became a Charlton fan in the ’70s. The review of Newton’s published work was quite well done, but did not fully capture the extraordinary impact (on me, at least) of Newton’s run on The Phantom.

I followed, and thoroughly enjoyed, Newton’s subsequent DC work; but in my view the increasing confidence and polish of his later work never surpassed the inventive boldness and amazing energy of his Phantom issues. He made the title stand out, not only from other Charlton titles, but from everything else on the comics racks at that time (except maybe Neal Adams’ work at DC). Fans who have not seen Newton’s Phantom should seek out back issues for a taste of truly excellent ’70s American comics (the intrinsic silliness of purple tights notwithstanding!). Thanks to BI for giving this much-deserved attention to Newton’s work.

– Alan Misenheimer

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Just finished BI #19 (literally) and wanted to drop you a line. While I imagine cover-spotlighting Don Newton isn’t going to make this your bestselling issue ever, I’m glad you devoted some space to him. I loved his DC work and it was great of BI to take time to remember this talented artist.

“Greatest Stories Never Told” is one of my favorite BI features, so having four of them in one issue was a real treat. As for that She-Hulk movie … all I can say is, that one-piece suit looked EXTREMELY uncomfortable. I’d be known as “Savage,” too, if I had that thing cutting into my nether regions. Too bad (?) it never got made; it could’ve made a great double feature (for masochists) with Red Sonja.

I know you must get issue suggestions by the metric ton, so what’s one more? You ran a short article on black-and-white magazines early on, how about a more in-depth look? Marvel especially had some great work in those, like Dracula Lives!, Vampire Tales, Kull and the Barbarians, Rampaging Hulk, Doc Savage, Monsters Unleashed, and Tales of the Zombie. Most of Tony Isabella’s columns alone were worth the 75 cents!

– Rob Kelly

© 2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

The Don Newton article was fantastic, as I’d expect from Barry. His Newton tribute website is splendidly comprehensive and is obviously a labor of love. As a confirmed Marvelite through much of the ’70s, my first exposure to Don was via Avengers Annual #9 and issue #204 of the Avengers title.

Although I agree that Dan Green’s inks didn’t help Don’s pencils on the latter, the quality of Don’s work still shined through and made a nice counterpoint to the dreadful Infantino effort in #203. After discovering Newton, I acquired all his Batman and Detective issues, as well as his Charlton work. His premature death was a major loss to the world of super-hero comics, just as was Gene Day’s in the same year.

Thanks for the piece on Mark Gruenwald. It’s possible to equate his tragically early death with the heart being ripped out of Marvel—at least the Marvel that I knew and loved. Take a look at “Operation: Galactic Storm” in 1993—the last truly splendid Marvel crossover, perfect in almost every way. Without Mark’s guiding hand, such a complex event would probably have failed miserably. Post-Gruenwald, Marvel sank to the depths of “Heroes Reborn,” the Max titles, and much of the trivial nonsense that marks Quesada’s current tutelage. Mark was also a superb, if sometimes overly wordy, writer. As pointed out, his Quasar is sorely underrated (at least the first 40 or so issues).

Articles on Howard the Duck are always welcome. Gene Colan, the most naturally gifted draftsman of his generation, is still one cool dude. And Gerber is still the twisted genius he always was. Can’t wait to see where he takes Dr Fate.

Issue after issue, BI is a gem. Keep them coming and I’ll keep reading.

– Neil Madle, UK

Don Newton was one of my favorite artists of the late ’70s, early ’80s, and I’m especially fond of his work on Batman in Detective Comics in 1979. I was truly saddened by his sudden death in 1983 (I recall the announcement in the letters column of an issue of Infinity, Inc., and the shock was devastating), but his work will always be greatly appreciated.

– Jim Kingman

Another Look: A Don Newton Mini-Art Gallery

From the collection of Steve Lipsky, four DC Comics pages penciled by Don Newton: page 14 of the Batman/Dr. Fate team-up from The Brave and the Bold #156 (Nov. 1979), with inks by Bob Smith; page 16 of the Batman story from Detective Comics #505 (Aug. 1981), inked

by Dan Adkins; page 4 from the Shazam! tale in World’s Finest Comics #275 (Jan. 1982), inked by Adkins and signed

by Don Newton; and page 25 of Detective #511 (Feb. 1982), inked by Frank Chiaramonte. © 2007 DC Comics.

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You know, I’ve been a reader since #1, but I’ve got to tell you that #19 is the best issue yet. I’m not prone to hyperbole—and I enjoy every single issue—but this one just really thrilled me. The Defenders was one of the first comics I got at a comic-book shop (I was, like, four when it was cancelled, btw)—and I loved revisiting the feeling of excitement I had at seeing the Hulk, Nighthawk, and everyone else. Of course, everything in this issue was exciting.

Thanks as usual for your great work as editor and driving force behind BACK ISSUE. Along with Alter Ego, I don’t know what I’d do without your magazine!

The Supervillain Book was amazing, btw. Incidentally, I wanted to tell you, I was recently in the hospital for surgery and my girlfriend brought that to me (along with Roy Thomas’ recent work), and it was very helpful through the otherwise painful (and boring!) week.

Looking forward to getting The Krypton Companion! © 2006 Visible Ink Press.

– William Byron Characters © 2007 Michael Allred.

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Great letter, William—except for the mention of your age at the time of The Defenders’ cancellation, which makes me (and probably a few of our readers) feel ancient. Excuse me as I take a moment to allow for some artery hardening… >CCRREEEEEAACCKKK!!!!< …all better now.

I had no idea that The Supervillain Book had healing powers!

For the benefit of readers unfamiliar with The Supervillain Book, it’s a full-color, fact- and fun-filled encyclopedia I co-produced with Gina Misiroglu for Visible Ink Press; it features a Mike Allred wraparound cover and villain biographies contributed by guest writers Mike W. Barr, Peter Sanderson, Andy Mangels, Michael Martin, Alex Boney, J. C. Vaughn, and others, as well as scads of entries written by yours truly; www.visibleink.com.

And William, I hope you’re fully mended now (and that you enjoyed The Krypton Companion, my Silver/Bronze Age Superman source book, now available from TwoMorrows).

– M.E. Re: Jim Van Dore’s letter in BI #19.

Those issues of Supergirl and Lois Lane he mentioned WERE published, though he’s misremembering the issue number on the former as #11 rather than 10.

In the wake of a nationwide paper shortage, DC had cancelled several of its lower-selling titles in late 1973. Among these was Joe Simon’s Prez, the saga of a teenage president of the United States, cancelled with issue #4, leaving behind a completed fifth issue. It finally came to light in 1978’s Cancelled Comics Cavalcade #2.

Supergirl #10, featuring a Prez guest-appearance, was to have gone on sale two weeks after Prez #4. Because of the paper shortage, that issue and three other completed comic books slated for release in November of 1973 (Secret Origins #7, Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #137, and Weird Worlds #10) were put on hold and finally published in the summer of 1974.

Hope this solves the mystery.

– John Wells John Wells, in case you don’t know, is one of comics’ most knowledgeable authorities on DC Comics and an occasional BI contributor (his last outing was issue #18’s acclaimed history of Martian Manhunter). Thanks for the info, John!

– M.E. I love BACK ISSUE magazine and have bought every issue of it, and I intend to continue doing so. I hope you will consider doing a Marvel Micronauts issue, perhaps with Pat Broderick and Butch Guice doing a “Pro2Pro” (maybe a Michael Golden cover, too! Dream big!), since Bill Mantlo is not well, health-wise.

I am enjoying the focus on the Defenders, and I loved the Defenders, but I wonder about the lack of any criticism in your article. The reason the original Defenders was cancelled was because it reaallly sucked. I have almost every issue and that stupid narrating elf was definitely a nail in the Defenders’ coffin. Try to read the last 20 issues, I dare you—unforgivably horrible stories.

In your issue on the Marvel Star Wars comics [BACK ISSUE #9], I wonder why no one mentions that one of the first major villains after the adaptation of the original movie concluded was Serji-X Arrogantus, the Arrogant One, who is clearly based on Sergio Aragonés, the creator of Groo. What’s the story there? I have met Sergio in person and can see how a person might want to take a satirical jab in his direction, but I have

© 2007 DC Comics.

Comic Effect © 2007 Paloma St. Publications. Characters © 2007 DC Comics.

Our Don Newton issue might not have been our most commercial one to date, Rob, but it was indeed a crowd pleaser. Several online and print reviewers raved about BI #19, and we’re proud to announce that it was fundamental in earning for BACK ISSUE the lead position in a three-way tie for the Number One “Best Publication About Comics for 2006,” awarded by Gemstone Publications’ Scoop e-newsletter (http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/scoop_article.asp?ai=140 91&si=124)! Woo-hoo! Thanks to Scoop, and to everyone who so warmly received issue #19 (and all of our 2006 issues).

Also, many of BI’s sister publications here at TwoMorrows ranked on Scoop’s list: Tied with BI for #1 were occasional BI contributor Mike Ambrose’s fabulous fanzine Charlton Spotlight and our head honcho John Morrow’s The Collected Jack Kirby Collector Vol. 5. Other TwoMorrows winners: #2: Roy Thomas’ Alter Ego, #6: The Jack Kirby Collector, #7: Danny Fingeroth’s Write Now!, and #8: Mike Manley’s The Best of Draw! Vol. 2.

Group hug, men! (No? How about a hearty handshake instead?)

For anyone looking for more info on dynamite Don Newton, rush to Barry Keller’s phenomenal tribute site, www.donnewton.com, which contains a wealth of facts and artwork we simply lacked the space to include in BI #19.

Incidentally, the above letter from BI contributor Jim Kingman reminds me that I must alert you to Jim’s info-packed fanzine Comic Effect (“emphasizing the fun in reading comics”). Fans of ’70s comics will appreciate the most recent (as of this writing) issue, #46, with its in-depth look at DC’s “52 Big Pages” era. Visit www.comiceffect.com to learn more.

And re Rob Kelly’s request for an examination of B&W comics mags—good idea! We’ve got a look at Rampaging Hulk on tap for early 2008 (2007’s issues are already planned), and will add an article on B&Ws to our “to-do” list.

– M.E.

BACK ISSUE © 2007 TwoMorrows. Robin © 2007 DC Comics.

never seen anything critical about him in print—which I guess is based on no one wanting to piss off Sergio when he has so much pull in the comics industry, or maybe no one wants to risk getting sued, which I can totally understand.

Anyway, I love your magazine and its sole focus on the ’70s and ’80s. The artwork is great, the layout is always easy to follow and pleasant to look at, the paper quality is perfect, the covers are fantastic, and I enjoy the topics and the stories (yes, I like a positive magazine that is totally unlike the humanity-loathing Comics Journal, but please don’t be afraid to be critical where it’s deserved). I sometimes read about stuff in your magazine, and then have a good time trying to find things you wrote about that I was previously unfamiliar with.

Keep up the wonderful job!

– Chris Aubry

S U B M IS S IO N G U ID E L IN E S

Since day one, Chris, we’ve strived to keep BACK ISSUE’s tone positive and upbeat … but you bring up a good point, that perhaps we might sometimes offer a more critical examination when exhuming musty comics from the vault. What do the rest of you think?

Re Senor Aragonés, I asked Glenn Greenberg, who became an honorary Jedi after writing that Star Wars article back in issue #9, about this, and he replied: “I had waaaaay too much ground to cover to spend more time than I did on the Roy Thomas era. And since I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Jaxxon the giant green rabbit, I couldn’t really get into Serji-X Arrogantus. The subject of Serji-X MAY have come up during my conversation with Roy (I’d have to check my recording of that interview), but not to any great length. Clearly, the character is based on Sergio Aragonés, but I can’t imagine there was any mean-spiritedness on Roy’s part. That’s just not his style. More likely it was all meant in fun.”

Re Bill Mantlo, please see my “BackSeat Driver” column on page 2. And a Michael Golden cover might not be a dream after all (keep reading)….

– M.E.

BACK ISSUE is on the lookout for the following comics-related material from the 1970s and 1980s: Unpublished artwork and covers Original artwork and covers Penciled artwork Character designs, model sheets, etc.

Original sketches and/or convention sketches Original scripts Photos Little-seen fanzine material Other rarities

I just want to say that I am enjoying the hell out of BACK ISSUE. Since its debut a few years ago, the magazine has improved by leaps and bounds while the writing, layout, and content just get better and better. While I rarely pick up any monthly comics, I’ve found myself hooked on BACK ISSUE (and pretty much all of the TwoMorrows books). This is something of a contradiction for me. I generally believe that nostalgia is an enemy of the comics industry, as it often prevents creators and fans from “growing up.” However, I can’t help but gush over BACK ISSUE and remind myself of the comics I loved.

Couple suggestions for future issues: I would love to see a retrospective of the early-’80s Red Circle comics revival. These books are overlooked given the exceptional talent that was involved in the books during their short lifespan (e.g., Infantino, Weiss, Thomas, Buckler, Sherman). Also, a story perfect for “Greatest Stories Never Told” would be the long-solicited Action Comics Annual from Claremont and Golden. If I remember correctly, it was supposed to be an epilogue for the “Invasion” crossover but it was delayed and delayed until it was shelved altogether.

Keep up the great work.

– Robert Smentek

Submit artwork as (listed in order of preference): Scanned images: 300dpi TIF (preferred) or JPEG (emailed or on CD, or to our FTP site; please inquire) Clear color or black-and-white photocopies

Robert, I’m happy to be your nostalgia-peddler, and on behalf of designer Rich Fowlks and all of BI’s talented writers, thank you for your positive feedback!

Anyone else want to read about Red Circle?

By the way, I’ll soon be interviewing Michael Golden (as long promised) for the cover feature of BACK ISSUE #24 (shipping in Sept.). I’ll ask him about that Action Annual— amid our discussion of Dr. Strange, Micronauts, Man-Bat, Bucky O’Hare, The ’Nam, and Batman, that is! And what will Mr. Golden be drawing for BI #24’s cover? Patience, patience—I’ll tell you next issue… …speaking of which: BACK ISSUE #22 spotlights many of comics’ “Dynamic Duos” of the ’70s and ’80s: Batman’s Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle, Legion of Super-Heroes’ Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen, Dark Horse Comics’ Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Also on tap: articles on Captain America and the Falcon, Robin and Batgirl, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, and Robin’s rollicking ride from sidekick to solo star. Plus: Scott McCloud looks back at Zot! in an exclusive interview. All this, and a Robin cover by stormin’ Norm Breyfogle. Be here in sixty!

Your friendly neighborhood Euryman, Michael Eury, editor

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Creators and collectors of 1970s/1980s comics artwork are invited to share your goodies with other fans!

Contributors will be acknowledged in print and receive complimentary copies (and the editor’s gratitude).

BACK ISSUE is also open to pitches from writers for article ideas appropriate for our recurring and/or rotating departments.

Request a copy of the BACK ISSUE Writers’ Bible by emailing euryman@msn.com or by sending a SASE to the address below.

Artwork submissions and SASEs for writers’ guidelines should be sent to: Michael Eury, Editor BACK ISSUE 5060A Foothills Dr. Lake Oswego, OR 97034

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DICK GIORDANO: CHANGING COMICS, ONE DAY AT A TIME MICHAEL EURY’s biography of comics’ most prominent and affable personality! Covers his career as illustrator, inker, and editor, peppered with DICK’S PERSONAL REFLECTIONS on his career milestones!

Lavishly illustrated with RARE AND NEVER SEEN comics, merchandising, and advertising art (includes a color section)! Also includes an extensive index of his published work, comments and tributes by NEAL ADAMS, DENNIS O’NEIL, TERRY AUSTIN, PAUL LEVITZ, MARV WOLFMAN, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, JIM APARO and others, plus a Foreword by NEAL ADAMS and Afterword by PAUL LEVITZ! (176-pg. Paperback with COLOR) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905276 Diamond Order Code: STAR20439

JUSTICE LEAGUE COMPANION VOL. 1 A comprehensive examination of the Silver Age JLA written by MICHAEL EURY (co-author of THE SUPERHERO BOOK). It traces the JLA’s development, history, imitators, and early fandom through vintage and all-new interviews with the series’ creators, an issue-by-issue index of the JLA’s 1960-1972 adventures, classic and never-before-published artwork, and other fun and fascinating features. Contributors include DENNY O’NEIL, MURPHY ANDERSON, JOE GIELLA, MIKE FRIEDRICH, NEAL ADAMS, ALEX ROSS, CARMINE INFANTINO, NICK CARDY, and many, many others. Plus: An exclusive interview with STAN LEE, who answers the question, “Did the JLA really inspire the creation of Marvel’s Fantastic Four?” With an all-new cover by BRUCE TIMM!

THE KRYPTON COMPANION Unlocks the secrets of Superman’s Silver and Bronze Ages, when kryptonite came in multiple colors and super-pets scampered across the skies! Writer/editor MICHAEL EURY explores the legacy of classic editors MORT WEISINGER and JULIUS SCHWARTZ through all-new interviews with NEAL ADAMS, MURPHY ANDERSON, CARY BATES, RICH BUCKLER, NICK CARDY, JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, KEITH GIFFEN, ELLIOT S! MAGGIN, JIM MOONEY, DENNIS O’NEIL, BOB OKSNER, MARTIN PASKO, BOB ROZAKIS, JIM SHOOTER, LEN WEIN, MARV WOLFMAN, and other fan favorites! Plus: Super-artist CURT SWAN’s 1987 essay “Drawing Superman,” JERRY SIEGEL’s “lost” imaginary story “The Death of Clark Kent,” MARK WAID’s tribute to Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, and rare and previously unpublished artwork

by WAYNE BORING, ALAN DAVIS, ADAM HUGHES, PAUL SMITH, BRUCE TIMM, and other Super-stars.

Bonus: A roundtable discussion with modern-day creators (including JOHN BYRNE, JEPH LOEB, and ALEX ROSS) examining Superman’s influential past! Plus an Introduction by Bizarro No. 1 (by SEINFELD writer DAVID MANDEL), and a cover by DAVE GIBBONS! (240-page trade paperback) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905610 Diamond Order Code: MAY063443

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The missing link to primates in comics, spotlighting a barrel of simian superstars like Beppo, BrainiApe, the Gibbon, Gleek, Gorilla Man, Grease Monkey, King Kong, Konga, Mojo Jojo, Sky Ape, and Titano! It’s loaded with rare and classic artwork, cover galleries, and interviews with artists & writers including ARTHUR ADAMS (Monkeyman and O’Brien), FRANK CHO, CARMINE INFANTINO (Detective Chimp, Grodd), JOE KUBERT (Tor, Tarzan), TONY MILLIONAIRE (Sock Monkey), DOUG MOENCH (Planet of the Apes), and BOB OKSNER (Angel and the Ape)! With its all-new cover by ARTHUR ADAMS, you won’t be able to keep your filthy paws off this book! By MICHAEL EURY. (128-page trade paperback) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905627 Diamond Order Code: FEB073814

Edited by ROY THOMAS The greatest ‘zine of the 1960s is back, ALL-NEW, and focusing on GOLDEN AND SILVER AGE comics and creators with ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, UNSEEN ART, P.C. Hamerlinck’s FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America, featuring the archives of C.C. BECK and recollections by Fawcett artist MARCUS SWAYZE), Michael T. Gilbert’s MR. MONSTER, and more!

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ALTER EGO #1

ALTER EGO #2

ALTER EGO #3

STAN LEE gets roasted by SCHWARTZ, CLAREMONT, DAVID, ROMITA, BUSCEMA, and SHOOTER, ORDWAY and THOMAS on INFINITY, INC., IRWIN HASEN interview, unseen H.G. PETER Wonder Woman pages, the original Captain Marvel and Human Torch teamup, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, “Mr. Monster”, plus plenty of rare and unpublished art!

Featuring a never-reprinted SPIRIT story by WILL EISNER, the genesis of the SILVER AGE ATOM (with GARDNER FOX, GIL KANE, and JULIE SCHWARTZ), interviews with LARRY LIEBER and Golden Age great JACK BURNLEY, BOB KANIGHER, a new Fawcett Collectors of America section with MARC SWAYZE, C.C. BECK, and more!

GIL KANE and JACK BURNLEY flip-covers!

Unseen ALEX ROSS and JERRY ORDWAY Shazam! art, 1953 interview with OTTO BINDER, the SUPERMAN/CAPTAIN MARVEL LAWSUIT, GIL KANE on The Golden Age of TIMELY COMICS, FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, and SCHAFFENBERGER, rare art by AYERS, BERG, BURNLEY, DITKO, RICO, SCHOMBURG, MARIE SEVERIN and more! ALEX ROSS & BILL EVERETT covers!

(80-page magazine) SOLD OUT (80-page Digital Edition) $2.95

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ALTER EGO #4

ALTER EGO #5

ALTER EGO #6

ALTER EGO #7

ALTER EGO #8

Interviews with KUBERT, SHELLY MOLDOFF, and HARRY LAMPERT, BOB KANIGHER, life and times of GARDNER FOX, ROY THOMAS remembers GIL KANE, a history of Flash Comics, MOEBIUS Silver Surfer sketches, MR. MONSTER, FCA section with SWAYZE, BECK, and SCHAFFENBERGER, and lots more! Dual color covers by JOE KUBERT!

Celebrating the JSA, with interviews with MART NODELL, SHELLY MAYER, GEORGE ROUSSOS, BILL BLACK, and GIL KANE, unpublished H.G. PETER Wonder Woman art, GARDNER FOX, an FCA section with MARC SWAYZE, C.C. BECK, WENDELL CROWLEY, and more! Wraparound cover

by CARMINE INFANTINO and JERRY ORDWAY!

GENE COLAN interview, 1940s books on comics by STAN LEE and ROBERT KANIGHER, AYERS, SEVERIN, and ROY THOMAS on Sgt. Fury, ROY on All-Star Squadron’s Golden Age roots, FCA section with SWAYZE, BECK, and WILLIAM WOOLFOLK, JOE SIMON interview, a definitive look at MAC RABOY’S work, and more! Covers by COLAN and RABOY!

Companion to ALL-STAR COMPANION book, with a JULIE SCHWARTZ interview, guide to JLA-JSA TEAMUPS, origins of the ALL-STAR SQUADRON, FCA section with MARC SWAYZE, C.C. BECK (on his 1970s DC conflicts), DAVE BERG, BOB ROGERS, more on MAC RABOY from his son, MR. MONSTER, and more! RICH BUCKLER and C.C. BECK covers!

WALLY WOOD biography, DAN ADKINS & BILL PEARSON on Wood, TOR section with 1963 JOE KUBERT interview, ROY THOMAS on creating the ALL-STAR SQUADRON and its 1940s forebears, FCA section with SWAYZE & BECK, MR. MONSTER, JERRY ORDWAY on Shazam!, JERRY DeFUCCIO on the Golden Age, CHIC STONE remembered! ADKINS and KUBERT covers!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN001713

(100-page magazine) SOLD OUT (100-page Digital Edition) $2.95

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL002003

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV002267

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB012215

ALTER EGO #9

ALTER EGO #10

ALTER EGO #11

ALTER EGO #12

ALTER EGO #13

JOHN ROMITA interview by ROY THOMAS (with unseen art), Roy’s PROPOSED DREAM PROJECTS that never got published (with a host of great artists), MR. MONSTER on WAYNE BORING’S life after Superman, The Golden Age of Comic Fandom Panel, FCA section with GEORGE TUSKA, C.C. BECK, MARC SWAYZE, BILL MORRISON, & more! ROMITA and GIORDANO covers!

Who Created the Silver Age Flash? (with KANIGHER, INFANTINO, KUBERT, and SCHWARTZ), DICK AYERS interview (with unseen art), JOHN BROOME remembered, never-seen Golden Age Flash pages, VIN SULLIVAN Magazine Enterprises interview, FCA, interview with FRED GUARDINEER, and MR. MONSTER on WAYNE BORING! INFANTINO and AYERS covers!

Focuses on TIMELY/MARVEL (interviews and features on SYD SHORES, MICKEY SPILLANE, and VINCE FAGO), and MAGAZINE ENTERPRISES (including JOE CERTA, JOHN BELFI, FRANK BOLLE, BOB POWELL, and FRED MEAGHER), MR. MONSTER on JERRY SIEGEL, DON and MAGGIE THOMPSON interview, FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, and DON NEWTON!

DC and QUALITY COMICS focus! Quality’s GILL FOX interview, never-seen ’40s PAUL REINMAN Green Lantern story, ROY THOMAS talks to LEN WEIN and RICH BUCKLER about ALL-STAR SQUADRON, MR. MONSTER shows what made WALLY WOOD leave MAD, FCA section with BECK & SWAYZE, & ’65 NEWSWEEK ARTICLE on comics! REINMAN and BILL WARD covers!

1974 panel with JOE SIMON, STAN LEE, FRANK ROBBINS, and ROY THOMAS, ROY and JOHN BUSCEMA on Avengers, 1964 STAN LEE interview, tributes to DON HECK, JOHNNY CRAIG, and GRAY MORROW, Timely alums DAVID GANTZ and DANIEL KEYES, and FCA with BECK, SWAYZE, and MIKE MANLEY! Covers by MURPHY ANDERSON and JOE SIMON!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY012450

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(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV012568

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN022737

ALTER EGO #17 Spotlighting LOU FINE (with an overview of his career, and interviews with family members), interview with MURPHY ANDERSON about Fine, ALEX TOTH on Fine, ARNOLD DRAKE interviewed about DEADMAN and DOOM PATROL, MR. MONSTER on the non-EC work of JACK DAVIS and GEORGE EVANS, FINE and LUIS DOMINGUEZ COVERS, FCA and more!

ALTER EGO #14

ALTER EGO #15

ALTER EGO #16

A look at the 1970s JSA revival with CONWAY, LEVITZ, ESTRADA, GIFFEN, MILGROM, and STATON, JERRY ORDWAY on All-Star Squadron, tributes to CRAIG CHASE and DAN DeCARLO, “lost” 1945 issue of All-Star, 1970 interview with LEE ELIAS, MR. MONSTER on GARDNER FOX, FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, & JAY DISBROW! MIKE NASSER & MICHAEL GILBERT covers!

JOHN BUSCEMA ISSUE! BUSCEMA interview (with UNSEEN ART), reminiscences by SAL BUSCEMA, STAN LEE, INFANTINO, KUBERT, ORDWAY, FLO STEINBERG, and HERB TRIMPE, ROY THOMAS on 35 years with BIG JOHN, FCA tribute to KURT SCHAFFENBERGER, plus C.C. BECK and MARC SWAYZE, and MR. MONSTER revisits WALLY WOOD! Two BUSCEMA covers!

MARVEL BULLPEN REUNION (BUSCEMA, COLAN, ROMITA, and SEVERIN), memories of the JOHN BUSCEMA SCHOOL, FCA with ALEX ROSS, C.C. BECK, and MARC SWAYZE, tribute to CHAD GROTHKOPF, MR. MONSTER on EC COMICS with art by KURTZMAN, DAVIS, and WOOD, and more! Covers by ALEX ROSS and MARIE SEVERIN & RAMONA FRADON!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB022730

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: APR022615

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY022386

ALTER EGO #18

ALTER EGO #19

ALTER EGO #20

STAN GOLDBERG interview, secrets of ’40s Timely, art by KIRBY, DITKO, ROMITA, BUSCEMA, MANEELY, EVERETT, BURGOS, and DeCARLO, spotlight on sci-fi fanzine XERO with the LUPOFFS, OTTO BINDER, DON THOMPSON, ROY THOMAS, BILL SCHELLY, and ROGER EBERT, FCA, and MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD ghosting Flash Gordon! KIRBY and SWAYZE covers!

Spotlight on DICK SPRANG (profile and interview) with unseen art, rare Batman art

by BOB KANE, CHARLES PARIS, SHELLY MOLDOFF, MAX ALLAN COLLINS, JIM MOONEY, CARMINE INFANTINO, and ALEX TOTH, JERRY ROBINSON interviewed about Tomahawk and 1940s cover artist FRED RAY, FCA, and MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD’s Flash Gordon, Part 2!

Timely/Marvel art by SEKOWSKY, SHORES, EVERETT, and BURGOS, secrets behind THE INVADERS with ROY THOMAS, KIRBY, GIL KANE, & ROBBINS, BOB DESCHAMPS interviewed, 1965 NY Comics Con review, panel with FINGER, BINDER, FOX and WEISINGER, MR. MONSTER, FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, RABOY, SCHAFFENBERGER, and more! MILGROM and SCHELLY covers!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG022420

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: OCT022884

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV022845

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL022370

ALTER EGO #21 The IGER “SHOP” examined, with art by EISNER, FINE, ANDERSON, CRANDALL, BAKER, MESKIN, CARDY, EVANS, BOB KANE, and TUSKA, “SHEENA” section with art by DAVE STEVENS & FRANK BRUNNER, ROY THOMAS on the JSA and All-Star Squadron, more UNSEEN 1946 ALL-STAR ART, MR. MONSTER on GARDNER FOX, FCA, and more! DAVE STEVENS and IRWIN HASEN covers!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: DEC023029

ALTER EGO #22

ALTER EGO #23

ALTER EGO #24

ALTER EGO #25

ALTER EGO #26

BILL EVERETT and JOE KUBERT interviewed

by NEAL ADAMS and GIL KANE in 1970, Timely art by BURGOS, SHORES, NODELL, and SEKOWSKY, RUDY LAPICK, ROY THOMAS on Sub-Mariner, with art by EVERETT, COLAN, ANDRU, BUSCEMAs, SEVERINs, and more, FCA, MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD at EC, ALEX TOTH, and CAPT. MIDNIGHT! EVERETT & BECK covers!

Unseen art from TWO “LOST” 1940s H.G. PETER WONDER WOMAN STORIES (and analysis of “CHARLES MOULTON” scripts), BOB FUJITANI and JOHN ROSENBERGER, VICTOR GORELICK discusses Archie and The Mighty Crusaders, with art by MORROW, BUCKLER, and REINMAN, FCA, and MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD! H.G. PETER and BOB FUJITANI covers!

X-MEN interviews with STAN LEE, DAVE COCKRUM, CHRIS CLAREMONT, ARNOLD DRAKE, JIM SHOOTER, ROY THOMAS, and LEN WEIN, MORT MESKIN profiled by his sons and ALEX TOTH, rare art by JERRY ROBINSON, FCA with BECK, SWAYZE, and WILLIAM WOOLFOLK, MR. MONSTER, and BILL SCHELLY on Comics Fandom! MESKIN and COCKRUM covers!

JACK COLE remembered by ALEX TOTH, interview with brother DICK COLE and his PLAYBOY colleagues, CHRIS CLAREMONT on the X-Men (with more never-seen art

by DAVE COCKRUM), ROY THOMAS on All-Star Squadron #1 and its ’40s roots (with art by ORDWAY, BUCKLER, MESKIN and MOLDOFF), FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more! Covers by TOTH and SCHELLY!

JOE SINNOTT interview, IRWIN DONENFELD interview by EVANIER & SCHWARTZ, art by SHUSTER, INFANTINO, ANDERSON, and SWAN, MARK WAID analyzes the first Kryptonite story, JERRY SIEGEL and HARRY DONENFELD, JERRY IGER Shop update, ALEX TOTH, MR. MONSTER, and FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, and KEN BALD! Covers by SINNOTT and WAYNE BORING!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN032492

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB032260

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR032534

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: APR032553

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY032543

ALTER EGO #27

ALTER EGO #28

ALTER EGO #29

ALTER EGO #30

ALTER EGO #31

VIN SULLIVAN interview about the early DC days with art by SHUSTER, MOLDOFF, FLESSEL, GUARDINEER, and BURNLEY, MR. MONSTER’s “Lost” KIRBY HULK covers, 1948 NEW YORK COMIC CON with STAN LEE, SIMON & KIRBY, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, HARVEY KURTZMAN, and ROY THOMAS, ALEX TOTH, FCA, and more! Covers by JACK BURNLEY and JACK KIRBY!

Spotlight on JOE MANEELY, with a career overview, remembrance by his daughter and tons of art, Timely/Atlas/Marvel art by ROMITA, EVERETT, SEVERIN, SHORES, KIRBY, and DITKO, STAN LEE on Maneely, LEE AMES interview, FCA with SWAYZE, ISIS, and STEVE SKEATES, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Covers by JOE MANEELY and DON NEWTON!

FRANK BRUNNER interview, BILL EVERETT’S Venus examined by TRINA ROBBINS, Classics Illustrated “What ifs”, LEE/KIRBY/DITKO Marvel prototypes, JOE MANEELY’s monsters, BILL FRACCIO interview, ALEX TOTH, MR. MONSTER, JOHN BENSON on EC, The Heap by ERNIE SCHROEDER, and FCA! Covers by FRANK BRUNNER and PETE VON SHOLLY!

ALEX ROSS on his love for the JLA, BLACKHAWK/JLA artist DICK DILLIN, the super-heroes of 1940s-1980s France (with art by STEVE RUDE, STEVE BISSETTE, LADRÖNN, and NEAL ADAMS), KIM AAMODT & WALTER GEIER on writing for SIMON & KIRBY, ALEX TOTH, MR. MONSTER, and FCA! Covers by ALEX ROSS and STEVE RUDE!

DICK AYERS on his 1950s and ’60s work (with tons of Marvel Bullpen art), HARLAN ELLISON’s Marvel Age work examined (with art by BUCKLER, SAL BUSCEMA, and TRIMPE), STAN LEE’S Marvel Prototypes (with art by KIRBY and DITKO), Christmas cards from comics greats, MR. MONSTER, & FCA with SWAYZE and SCHAFFENBERGER! Covers by DICK AYERS and FRED RAY!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUN032614

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL032570

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG032604

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: SEP032620

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: OCT032843

ALTER EGO #32

ALTER EGO #33

ALTER EGO #34

ALTER EGO #35

ALTER EGO #36

Timely artists ALLEN BELLMAN and SAM BURLOCKOFF interviewed, MART NODELL on his Timely years, rare art by BURGOS, EVERETT, and SHORES, MIKE GOLD on the Silver Age (with art by SIMON & KIRBY, SWAN, INFANTINO, KANE, and more), FCA, ALEX TOTH, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom, and more!

Covers by DICK GIORDANO and GIL KANE!

Symposium on MIKE SEKOWSKY by MARK EVANIER, SCOTT SHAW!, et al., with art

by ANDERSON, INFANTINO, and others, PAT (MRS. MIKE) SEKOWSKY and inker VALERIE BARCLAY interviewed, FCA, 1950s Captain Marvel parody by ANDRU and ESPOSITO, ALEX TOTH, BILL SCHELLY, MR. MONSTER, and more! Covers by FRENZ/SINNOTT and FRENZ/BUSCEMA!

Quality Comics interviews with ALEX KOTZKY, AL GRENET, CHUCK CUIDERA, & DICK ARNOLD (son of BUSY ARNOLD), art by COLE, EISNER, FINE, WARD, DILLIN, and KANE, MICHELLE NOLAN on Blackhawk’s jump to DC, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT on HARVEY KURTZMAN, & ALEX TOTH on REED CRANDALL! Covers by REED CRANDALL & CHARLES NICHOLAS!

Covers by JOHN ROMITA and AL JAFFEE! LEE, ROMITA, AYERS, HEATH, & THOMAS on the 1953-55 Timely super-hero revival, with rare art by ROMITA, AYERS, BURGOS, HEATH, EVERETT, LAWRENCE, & POWELL, AL JAFFEE on the 1940s Timely Bullpen (and MAD), FCA, ALEX TOTH on comic art, MR. MONSTER on unpublished 1950s covers, and more!

JOE SIMON on SIMON & KIRBY, CARL BURGOS, and LLOYD JACQUET, JOHN BELL on World War II Canadian heroes, MICHAEL T. GILBERT on Canadian origins of MR. MONSTER, tributes to BOB DESCHAMPS, DON LAWRENCE, & GEORGE WOODBRIDGE, FCA, ALEX TOTH, and ELMER WEXLER interview! Covers by SIMON and GILBERT & RONN SUTTON!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV032695

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: DEC032833

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN042879

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB042796

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR042972

ALTER EGO #37

ALTER EGO #38

ALTER EGO #39

ALTER EGO #40

ALTER EGO #41

WILL MURRAY on the 1940 Superman “KMetal” story & PHILIP WYLIE’s GLADIATOR (with art by SHUSTER, SWAN, ADAMS, and BORING), FCA with BECK, SWAYZE, and DON NEWTON, SY BARRY interview, art by TOTH, MESKIN, INFANTINO, and ANDERSON, and MICHAEL T. GILBERT interviews AL FELDSTEIN on EC and RAY BRADBURY! Covers by C.C. BECK and WAYNE BORING!

JULIE SCHWARTZ TRIBUTE with HARLAN ELLISON, INFANTINO, ANDERSON, TOTH, KUBERT, GIELLA, GIORDANO, CARDY, LEVITZ, STAN LEE, WOLFMAN, EVANIER, & ROY THOMAS, never-seen interviews with Julie, FCA with BECK, SCHAFFENBERGER, NEWTON, COCKRUM, OKSNER, FRADON, SWAYZE, and JACKSON BOSTWICK! Covers by INFANTINO and IRWIN HASEN!

Full-issue spotlight on JERRY ROBINSON, with an interview on being BOB KANE’s Batman “ghost”, creating the JOKER and ROBIN, working on VIGILANTE, GREEN HORNET, and ATOMAN, plus never-seen art by Jerry, MESKIN, ROUSSOS, RAY, KIRBY, SPRANG, DITKO, and PARIS! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER on AL FELDSTEIN Part 2, and more! Two JERRY ROBINSON covers!

RUSS HEATH and GIL KANE interviews (with tons of unseen art), the JULIE SCHWARTZ Memorial Service with ELLISON, MOORE, GAIMAN, HASEN, O’NEIL, and LEVITZ, art by INFANTINO, ANDERSON, TOTH, NOVICK, DILLIN, SEKOWSKY, KUBERT, GIELLA, ARAGONÉS, FCA, MR. MONSTER and AL FELDSTEIN Part 3, and more! Covers by GIL KANE & RUSS HEATH!

Halloween issue! BERNIE WRIGHTSON on his 1970s FRANKENSTEIN, DICK BRIEFER’S monster, the campy 1960s Frankie, art by KALUTA, BAILY, MANEELY, PLOOG, KUBERT, BRUNNER, BORING, OKSNER, TUSKA, CRANDALL, and SUTTON, FCA #100, EMILIO SQUEGLIO interview, ALEX TOTH, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and more!

Covers by WRIGHTSON & MARC SWAYZE!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: APR043055

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY043050

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUN042972

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL043386

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG043186

ALTER EGO #42

ALTER EGO #43

ALTER EGO #44

ALTER EGO #45

ALTER EGO #46

A celebration of DON HECK, WERNER ROTH, and PAUL REINMAN, rare art by KIRBY, DITKO, and AYERS, Hillman and Ziff-Davis remembered by Heap artist ERNIE SCHROEDER, HERB ROGOFF, and WALTER LITTMAN, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and ALEX TOTH! Covers by FASTNER & LARSON and ERNIE SCHROEDER!

Yuletide art by WOOD, SINNOTT, CARDY, BRUNNER, TOTH, NODELL, and others, interviews with Golden Age artists TOM GILL (Lone Ranger) and MORRIS WEISS, exploring 1960s Mexican comics, FCA with MARC SWAYZE and C.C. BECK, MR. MONSTER, ALEX TOTH, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom, and more! Flip covers by GEORGE TUSKA and DAVE STEVENS!

JSA/All-Star Squadron/Infinity Inc. special!

Interviews with KUBERT, HASEN, ANDERSON, ORDWAY, BUCKLER, THOMAS, 1940s Atom writer ARTHUR ADLER, art by TOTH, SEKOWSKY, HASEN, MACHLAN, OKSNER, and INFANTINO, FCA, and MR. MONSTER’S “I Like Ike!” cartoons by BOB KANE, INFANTINO, OKSNER, and BIRO! Wraparound ORDWAY cover!

Interviews with Sandman artist CREIG FLESSEL and ’40s creator BERT CHRISTMAN, MICHAEL CHABON on researching his Pulitzer-winning novel Kavalier & Clay, art

by EISNER, KANE, KIRBY, and AYERS, FCA with MARC SWAYZE and C.C. BECK, OTTO BINDER’s “lost” Jon Jarl story, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom, and ALEX TOTH! CREIG FLESSEL cover!

The VERY BEST of the 1960s-70s ALTER EGO! 1969 BILL EVERETT interview, art by BURGOS, GUSTAVSON, SIMON & KIRBY, and others, 1960s gems by DITKO, E. NELSON BRIDWELL, JERRY BAILS, and ROY THOMAS, LOU GLANZMAN interview, tributes to IRV NOVICK and CHRIS REEVE, MR. MONSTER, FCA, TOTH, and more!

Cover by EVERETT and MARIE SEVERIN!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: SEP043043

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: OCT043189

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV043080

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: DEC042992

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN053133

ALTER EGO #47

ALTER EGO #48

ALTER EGO #49

Spotlights MATT BAKER, Golden Age cheesecake artist of PHANTOM LADY! Career overview, interviews with BAKER’s half-brother and nephew, art from AL FELDSTEIN, VINCE COLLETTA, ARTHUR PEDDY, JACK KAMEN and others, FCA, BILL SCHELLY talks to comic-book-seller (and fan) BUD PLANT, MR. MONSTER on missing AL WILLIAMSON art, and ALEX TOTH!

WILL EISNER discusses Eisner & Iger’s Shop and BUSY ARNOLD’s ’40s Quality Comics, art by FINE, CRANDALL, COLE, POWELL, and CARDY, EISNER tributes by STAN LEE, GENE COLAN, & others, interviews with ’40s Quality artist VERN HENKEL and CHUCK MAZOUJIAN, FCA, MR. MONSTER on EISNER’s Wonder Man, ALEX TOTH, and more with BUD PLANT! EISNER cover!

Spotlights CARL BURGOS! Interview with daughter SUE BURGOS, art by BURGOS, BILL EVERETT, MIKE SEKOWSKY, ED ASCHE, and DICK AYERS, unused 1941 Timely cover layouts, the 1957 Atlas Implosion examined, MANNY STALLMAN, FCA, MR. MONSTER and more! New cover by MARK SPARACIO, from an unused 1941 layout by CARL BURGOS!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB053220

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR053331

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: APR053287

ALTER EGO #50 ROY THOMAS covers his 40-YEAR career in comics (AVENGERS, X-MEN, CONAN, ALL-STAR SQUADRON, INFINITY INC.), with ADAMS, BUSCEMA, COLAN, DITKO, GIL KANE, KIRBY, STAN LEE, ORDWAY, PÉREZ, ROMITA, and many others! Also FCA, & MR. MONSTER on ROY’s letters to GARDNER FOX! Flip-covers by BUSCEMA/ KIRBY/ALCALA and JERRY ORDWAY!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY053172

ALTER EGO #54 ALTER EGO #51

ALTER EGO #52

ALTER EGO #53

Golden Age Batman artist/BOB KANE ghost LEW SAYRE SCHWARTZ interviewed, Batman art by JERRY ROBINSON, DICK SPRANG, SHELDON MOLDOFF, WIN MORTIMER, JIM MOONEY, and others, the Golden and Silver Ages of AUSTRALIAN SUPER-HEROES, Mad artist DAVE BERG interviewed, FCA, MR. MONSTER on WILL EISNER, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

JOE GIELLA on the Silver Age at DC, the Golden Age at Marvel, and JULIE SCHWARTZ, with rare art by INFANTINO, GIL KANE, SEKOWSKY, SWAN, DILLIN, MOLDOFF, GIACOIA, SCHAFFENBERGER, and others, JAY SCOTT PIKE on STAN LEE and CHARLES BIRO, MARTIN THALL interview, ALEX TOTH, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more! GIELLA cover!

GIORDANO and THOMAS on STOKER’S DRACULA, never-seen DICK BRIEFER Frankenstein strip, MIKE ESPOSITO on his work with ROSS ANDRU, art by COLAN, WRIGHTSON, MIGNOLA, BRUNNER, BISSETTE, KALUTA, HEATH, MANEELY, EVERETT, DITKO, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, BILL SCHELLY, ALEX TOTH, and MR. MONSTER! Cover by GIORDANO!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUN053345

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL053293

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG053328

MIKE ESPOSITO on DC and Marvel, ROBERT KANIGHER on the creation of Metal Men and Sgt. Rock (with comments

by JOE KUBERT and BOB HANEY), art by ANDRU, INFANTINO, KIRBY, SEVERIN, WINDSOR-SMITH, ROMITA, BUSCEMA, TRIMPE, GIL KANE, and others, plus FCA, ALEX TOTH, BILL SCHELLY, MR. MONSTER, and more! ESPOSITO cover!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: SEP053301

ALTER EGO #56

ALTER EGO #57

ALTER EGO #58

Interviews with Superman creators SIEGEL & SHUSTER, Golden/Silver Age DC production guru JACK ADLER interviewed, NEAL ADAMS and radio/TV iconoclast (and comics fan) HOWARD STERN on Adler and his amazing career, art by CURT SWAN, WAYNE BORING, and AL PLASTINO, plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, ALEX TOTH, and more! NEAL ADAMS cover!

Issue-by-issue index of Timely/Atlas superhero stories by MICHELLE NOLAN, art by SIMON & KIRBY, EVERETT, BURGOS, ROMITA, AYERS, HEATH, SEKOWSKY, SHORES, SCHOMBURG, MANEELY, and SEVERIN, GENE COLAN and ALLEN BELLMAN on 1940s Timely super-heroes, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and BILL SCHELLY! Cover

by JACK KIRBY and PETE VON SHOLLY!

GERRY CONWAY and ROY THOMAS on their ’80s screenplay for “The X-Men Movie That Never Was!”with art by COCKRUM, ADAMS, BUSCEMA, BYRNE, GIL KANE, KIRBY, HECK, and LIEBER, Atlas artist VIC CARRABOTTA interview, ALLEN BELLMAN on 1940s Timely bullpen, FCA, 1966 panel on 1950s EC Comics, and MR. MONSTER! MARK SPARACIO/GIL KANE cover!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: DEC053401

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN063429

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR063545

ALTER EGO #55 JACK and OTTO BINDER, KEN BALD, VIC DOWD, and BOB BOYAJIAN interviewed, FCA with SWAYZE and EMILIO SQUEGLIO, rare art by BECK, WARD, & SCHAFFENBERGER, Christmas Card Art from CRANDALL, SINNOTT, HEATH, MOONEY, and CARDY, 1943 Pin-Up Calendar (with ’40s movie stars as superheroines), ALEX TOTH, and more! ALEX ROSS and ALEX WRIGHT covers!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: OCT053396

ALTER EGO #59 Special issue on Batman and Superman in the Golden and Silver Ages, ARTHUR SUYDAM interview, NEAL ADAMS on 1960s/70s DC, SHELLY MOLDOFF, AL PLASTINO, Golden Age artist FRAN (Doll Man) MATERA and VIC CARRABOTTA interviewed, SIEGEL & SHUSTER, RUSS MANNING, FCA, MR. MONSTER, SUYDAM cover, and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: APR063474

ALTER EGO #60

ALTER EGO #61

ALTER EGO #62

Celebrates 50 years since SHOWCASE #4!

FLASH interviews with SCHWARTZ, KANIGHER, INFANTINO, KUBERT, and BROOME, Golden Age artist TONY DiPRETA, 1966 panel with NORDLING, BINDER, and LARRY IVIE, FCA, MR. MONSTER, never-before-published color Flash cover by CARMINE INFANTINO, and more!

History of the AMERICAN COMICS GROUP (1946 to 1967)—including its roots in the Golden Age SANGOR ART SHOP and STANDARD/NEDOR comics! Art by MESKIN, ROBINSON, WILLIAMSON, FRAZETTA, SCHAFFENBERGER, & BUSCEMA, ACG writer/editor RICHARD HUGHES, plus AL HARTLEY interviewed, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more! GIORDANO cover!

HAPPY HAUNTED HALLOWEEN ISSUE, featuring: MIKE PLOOG and RUDY PALAIS on their horror-comics work! AL WILLIAMSON on his work for the American Comics Group—plus more on ACG horror comics! Rare DICK BRIEFER Frankenstein strips! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY on the 1966 KalerCon, a new PLOOG cover—and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY063496

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JUN063522

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG063690

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ALTER EGO #63

ALTER EGO #64

ALTER EGO #65

ALTER EGO #66

ALTER EGO #67

Tribute to ALEX TOTH! Never-before-seen interview with tons of TOTH art, including sketches he sent to friends! Articles about Toth by TERRY AUSTIN, JIM AMASH, SY BARRY, JOE KUBERT, LOU SAYRE SCHWARTZ, IRWIN HASEN, JOHN WORKMAN, and others! Plus illustrated Christmas cards by comics pros, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

Fawcett Favorites! Issue-by-issue analysis of BINDER & BECK’s 1943-45 “The Monster Society of Evil!” serial, double-size FCA section with MARC SWAYZE, EMILIO SQUEGLIO, C.C. BECK, MAC RABOY, and others! Interview with MARTIN FILCHOCK, Golden Age artist for Centaur Comics! Plus MR. MONSTER, DON NEWTON cover, plus a FREE 1943 MARVEL CALENDAR!

NICK CARDY interviewed on his Golden & Silver Age work (with CARDY art), plus art

by WILL EISNER, NEAL ADAMS, CARMINE INFANTINO, JIM APARO, RAMONA FRADON, CURT SWAN, MIKE SEKOWSKY, and others, tributes to ERNIE SCHROEDER and DAVE COCKRUM, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, new CARDY COVER, and more!

Spotlight on BOB POWELL, the artist who drew Daredevil, Sub-Mariner, Sheena, The Avenger, The Hulk, Giant-Man, and others, plus art by WALLY WOOD, HOWARD NOSTRAND, DICK AYERS, SIMON & KIRBY, MARTIN GOODMAN’s Magazine Management, and others! FCA with MARC SWAYZE and C.C. BECK, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, and more!

Interview with BOB OKSNER, artist of Supergirl, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Angel and the Ape, Leave It to Binky, Shazam!, and more, plus art and artifacts by SHELLY MAYER, IRWIN HASEN, LEE ELIAS, C.C. BECK, CARMINE INFANTINO, GIL KANE, JULIE SCHWARTZ, etc., FCA with MARC SWAYZE & C.C. BECK, MICHAEL T. GILBERT on BOB POWELL Part II, and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: OCT063800

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV063991

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ALTER EGO #68

ALTER EGO #69

ALTER EGO #70

ALTER EGO #71

ALTER EGO #72

Tribute to JERRY BAILS—Father of Comics Fandom and founder of Alter Ego! Cover by GEORGE PÉREZ, plus art by JOE KUBERT, CARMINE INFANTINO, GIL KANE, DICK DILLIN, MIKE SEKOWSKY, JERRY ORDWAY, JOE STATON, JACK KIRBY, and others! Plus STEVE DITKO’s notes to STAN LEE for a 1965 Dr. Strange story! And ROY reveals secrets behind Marvel’s STAR WARS comic!

PAUL NORRIS drew AQUAMAN first, in 1941—and RAMONA FRADON was the hero’s ultimate Golden Age artist. But both drew other things as well, and both are interviewed in this landmark issue—along with a pocket history of Aquaman! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and more!

Cover painted by JOHN WATSON, from a breathtaking illo by RAMONA FRADON!

Spotlight on ROY THOMAS’ 1970s stint as Marvel’s editor-in-chief and major writer, plus art and reminiscences of GIL KANE, BOTH BUSCEMAS, ADAMS, ROMITA, CHAYKIN, BRUNNER, PLOOG, EVERETT, WRIGHTSON, PÉREZ, ROBBINS, BARRY SMITH, STAN LEE and others, FCA, MR. MONSTER, a new GENE COLAN cover, plus an homage to artist LILY RENÉE!

Represents THE GREAT CANADIAN COMIC BOOKS, the long out-of-print 1970s book

by MICHAEL HIRSH and PATRICK LOUBERT, with rare art of such heroes as Mr. Monster, Nelvana, Thunderfist, and others, plus new INVADERS art by JOHN BYRNE, MIKE GRELL, RON LIM, and more, plus a new cover by GEORGE FREEMAN, from a layout by JACK KIRBY!

SCOTT SHAW! and ROY THOMAS on the creation of Captain Carrot, art & artifacts

by RICK HOBERG, STAN GOLDBERG, MIKE SEKOWSKY, JOHN COSTANZA, E. NELSON BRIDWELL, CAROL LAY, and others, interview with DICK ROCKWELL, Golden Age artist and 36-year ghost artist on MILTON CANIFF’s Steve Canyon! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR073852

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: APR074098

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY073879

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ALTER EGO #76

FRANK BRUNNER on drawing Dr. Strange, interviews with CHARLES BIRO and his daughters, interview with publisher ROBERT GERSON about his 1970s horror comic Reality, art by BERNIE WRIGHTSON, GRAHAM INGELS, HOWARD CHAYKIN, MICHAEL W. KALUTA, JEFF JONES, and others FCA, MR. MONSTER, a FREE DRAW! #15! PREVIEW, and more!

FAWCETT FESTIVAL—with an ALEX ROSS cover! Double-size FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) with P.C. HAMERLINCK on the many “Captains Marvel” over the years, unseen Shazam! proposal by ALEX ROSS, C.C. BECK on “The Death of a Legend!”, MARC SWAYZE, interview with Golden Age artist MARV LEVY, MR. MONSTER, and more!

JOE SIMON SPECIAL! In-depth SIMON interview by JIM AMASH, with neverbefore-revealed secrets behind the creation of Captain America, Fighting American, Stuntman, Adventures of The Fly, Sick magazine and more, art by JACK KIRBY, BOB POWELL, AL WILLIAMSON, JERRY GRANDENETTI, GEORGE TUSKA, and others, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV073947

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN084019

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ALTER EGO #74 STAN LEE SPECIAL in honor of his 85th birthday, with a cover by JACK KIRBY, classic (and virtually unseen) interviews with Stan, tributes, and tons of rare and unseen art by KIRBY, ROMITA, the brothers BUSCEMA, DITKO, COLAN, HECK, AYERS, MANEELY, SHORES, EVERETT, BURGOS, KANE, the SEVERIN siblings—plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

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ALTER EGO #78 ALTER EGO #77 ST. JOHN ISSUE! Golden Age Tor cover by JOE KUBERT, KEN QUATTRO relates the full legend of St. John Publishing, art by KUBERT, NORMAN MAURER, MATT BAKER, LILY RENEE, BOB LUBBERS, RUBEN MOREIRA, RALPH MAYO, AL FAGO, special reminiscences of ARNOLD DRAKE, Golden Age artist TOM SAWYER interviewed, and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Ships May 2008

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DAVE COCKRUM TRIBUTE! Great rare XMen cover, Cockrum tributes from contemporaries and colleagues, and an interview with PATY COCKRUM on Dave’s life and legacy on The Legion of Super-Heroes, The X-Men, Star-Jammers, & more! Plus an interview with 1950s Timely/Marvel artist MARION SITTON on his own incredible career and his Golden Age contemporaries!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Ships June 2008

ALTER EGO #79

ALTER EGO #80

SUPERMAN & HIS CREATORS! New cover

by MICHAEL GOLDEN, exclusive and revealing interview with JOE SHUSTER’s sister, JEAN SHUSTER PEAVEY—MIKE W. BARR on Superman the detective— DWIGHT DECKER on the Man of Steel & Hitler’s Third Reich—plus the NEMBO KID (Italian for “Superman”), art by BORING, SWAN, ADAMS, KANE, and others!

SWORD-AND-SORCERY COMICS! Learn about Crom the Barbarian, Viking Prince, Nightmaster, Kull, Red Sonja, Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser, Beowulf, Warlord, Dagar the Invincible, and more, with art by FRAZETTA, SMITH, BUSCEMA, KANE, WRIGHTSON, PLOOG, THORNE, BRUNNER, and more!

New cover by RAFAEL KAYANAN!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Ships July 2008

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Ships August 2008

12-ISSUE SUBSCRIPTIONS: $78 US Postpaid by Media Mail ($108 First Class, $132 Canada, $180 Surface, $216 Airmail).

For a 6-issue sub, cut the price in half!

COMPANION BOOKS

NEW FOR 2008

TITANS COMPANION VOLUME 1

JUSTICE LEAGUE COMPANION VOL. 1

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the NEW TEEN TITANS, this comprehensive history features interviews with and rare art by fan-favorite creators MARV WOLFMAN, GEORGE PÉREZ, JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍALÓPEZ, LEN WEIN, and others! Also included is a indepth Silver Age section featuring interviews with NEAL ADAMS, NICK CARDY, DICK GIORDANO and more, plus CHRIS CLAREMONT and WALTER SIMONSON on the X-MEN/TEEN TITANS crossover, TOM GRUMMETT, PHIL JIMENEZ and TERRY DODSON on their ’90s Titans work, rare and unpublished artwork by CARDY, PÉREZ, GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, GRUMMETT, JIMENEZ, and others, a new cover by JIMENEZ, and an introduction by GEOFF JOHNS! Written by GLEN CADIGAN.

A comprehensive examination of the Silver Age JLA written by MICHAEL EURY (co-author of THE SUPERHERO BOOK). It traces the JLA’s development, history, imitators, and early fandom through vintage and all-new interviews with the series’ creators, an issue-by-issue index of the JLA’s 1960-1972 adventures, classic and never-before-published artwork, and other fun and fascinating features. Contributors include DENNY O’NEIL, MURPHY ANDERSON, JOE GIELLA, MIKE FRIEDRICH, NEAL ADAMS, ALEX ROSS, CARMINE INFANTINO, NICK CARDY, and many, many others. Plus: An exclusive interview with STAN LEE, who answers the question, “Did the JLA really inspire the creation of Marvel’s Fantastic Four?” With an all-new cover by BRUCE TIMM!

(224-page trade paperback) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905504 Diamond Order Code: SEP053209

(224-page trade paperback) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905481 Diamond Order Code: MAY053052

FLASH COMPANION Details the publication histories of the four heroes who have individually earned the right to be declared DC Comics' "Fastest Man Alive": Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West, and Bart Allen. With articles about legendary creators SHELLY MAYER, GARDNER FOX, E.E. HIBBARD, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, ROBERT KANIGHER, JOHN BROOME, ROSS ANDRU, IRV NOVICK and all-new interviews with HARRY LAMPERT, CARMINE INFANTINO, CARY BATES, ALEX SAVIUK, MIKE W. BARR, MARV WOLFMAN, MIKE BARON, JACKSON GUICE, MARK WAID, and SCOTT KOLINS, among others, THE FLASH COMPANION recounts the scarlet speedster's evolution from the Golden Age to the 21st century. Also featured are "lost covers," never before published commission pieces by Flash artists throughout the decades, a ROGUES GALLERY detailing The Flash's most famous foes, a tribute to late artist MIKE WIERINGO by MARK WAID, a look at the speedster’s 1990s TV show, and "Flash facts" detailing pivotal moments in Flash history. Written by KEITH DALLAS, with a a cover by DON KRAMER. (224-page trade paperback) $26.95 • ISBN: 9781893905986 • Ships July 2008

NEW FOR 2008

KRYPTON COMPANION

BLUE BEETLE COMPANION

Picks up where Volume 1 left off, covering the return of the Teen Titans to the top of the sales charts!

Featuring interviews with GEOFF JOHNS, MIKE McKONE, PETER DAVID, PHIL JIMENEZ, and others, plus an in-depth section on the top-rated Cartoon Network series! Also CHUCK DIXON, MARK WAID, KARL KESEL, and JOHN BYRNE on writing the current generation of Titans! More with MARV WOLFMAN and GEORGE PÉREZ! NEAL ADAMS on redesigning Robin! Artwork by ADAMS, BYRNE, JIMENEZ, McKONE, PÉREZ and more, with an all-new cover by MIKE McKONE! Written by GLEN CADIGAN.

Unlocks the secrets of Superman’s Silver and Bronze Ages, when kryptonite came in multiple colors and super-pets scampered across the skies! Writer/editor MICHAEL EURY explores the legacy of classic editors MORT WEISINGER and JULIUS SCHWARTZ through all-new interviews with NEAL ADAMS, MURPHY ANDERSON, CARY BATES, RICH BUCKLER, NICK CARDY, JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, KEITH GIFFEN, ELLIOT S! MAGGIN, JIM MOONEY, DENNIS O’NEIL, BOB OKSNER, MARTIN PASKO, BOB ROZAKIS, JIM SHOOTER, LEN WEIN, MARV WOLFMAN, and other fan favorites! Plus: Super-artist CURT SWAN’s 1987 essay “Drawing Superman,” JERRY SIEGEL’s “lost” imaginary story “The Death of Clark Kent,” MARK WAID’s tribute to Superboy and the Legion of SuperHeroes, and rare and previously unpublished artwork

by WAYNE BORING, ALAN DAVIS, ADAM HUGHES, PAUL SMITH, BRUCE TIMM, and other Super-stars.

Bonus: A roundtable discussion with modern-day creators (including JOHN BYRNE, JEPH LOEB, and ALEX ROSS) examining Superman’s influential past! Plus an Introduction by Bizarro No. 1 (by SEINFELD writer DAVID MANDEL), and a cover by DAVE GIBBONS!

The Blue Beetle debuted in 1939, rivaling Superman and Batman for longevity in comics, but not in popularity until his recent death and resurrection as a result of DC Comics’ hit INFINITE CRISIS. Now CHRISTOPHER IRVING explores the history and uncovers the secrets of his 60+ years of evolution—from the world of FOX COMICS to an in-depth history of CHARLTON COMICS—all the way to the hall of today’s DC COMICS. Find out what really happened to infamous Golden Age publisher Victor Fox, and get an in-depth look at the Blue Beetle radio show and JACK KIRBY’s Blue Beetle comic strip. Also, presented for the first time since 1939: the character’s first appearance from Mystery Men Comics #1! Featuring interviews with WILL EISNER, JOE SIMON, JOE GILL, ROY THOMAS, GEOFF JOHNS, CULLY HAMNER, KEITH GIFFEN, LEN WEIN, and others, plus never-before-seen Blue Beetle designs by ALEX ROSS and ALAN WEISS, as well as artwork by WILL EISNER, CHARLES NICHOLAS, STEVE DITKO, KEVIN MAGUIRE, and more! With an introduction by TOM DeHAVEN, and a new cover by CULLY HAMNER, this is the ultimate look at one of comicdom’s longest-living heroes!

(224-page trade paperback) $26.95 ISBN: 97801893905870 Diamond Order Code: JAN083938

(240-page trade paperback) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905610 Diamond Order Code: MAY063443

(128-page trade paperback) $16.95 ISBN: 9781893905702 Diamond Order Code: DEC063946

TITANS COMPANION VOLUME 2

NEW FOR 2008

BEST OF THE LEGION OUTPOST

ALL- STAR COMPANION VOL. 2

Originally published in 1972 as the official newsletter of the Legion Fan Club, the LEGION OUTPOST soon became the premier Legion of Super-Heroes fanzine of the 1970s, featuring contributions by fans, pros, and soon-to-be pros. Launched at a time when the future of the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES was in doubt, the LEGION OUTPOST was at the center of fan-based efforts to revive the title, and was largely responsible for its rescue from obscurity, leading to it becoming a runaway best-seller! This trade paperback collects the best material from the hard-to-find fanzine, including rare interviews and articles from creators such as DAVE COCKRUM, CARY BATES, and JIM SHOOTER, plus never-before-seen artwork by COCKRUM, MIKE GRELL, JIMMY JANES and others! It also features a previously unpublished interview with KEITH GIFFEN originally intended for the never-published LEGION OUTPOST #11, plus other new material! And it sports a rarely-seen classic 1970s cover by Legion fan favorite artist DAVE COCKRUM! Edited by GLEN CADIGAN.

ROY THOMAS presents still more secrets of the Justice Society of America and ALL-STAR COMICS, from 1940 through the 1980s, featuring: A fabulous wraparound cover by CARLOS PACHECO! More amazing information and speculation on the classic ALL-STAR COMICS of 1940-1951! Never-before-seen Golden Age art by IRWIN HASEN, CARMINE INFANTINO, ALEX TOTH, MART NODELL, JOE KUBERT, H.G. PETER, and others! Art from an unpublished 1940s JSA story not seen in Volume 1! Rare art from the original JLA-JSA team-ups and the 1970s ALL-STAR COMICS REVIVAL by MIKE SEKOWSKY, DICK DILLIN, JOE STATON, WALLY WOOD, KEITH GIFFEN, and RIC ESTRADA! Full coverage of the 1980s ALL-STAR SQUADRON, and a bio of every single All-Star, plus never-seen art by JERRY ORDWAY, RICH BUCKLER, ARVELL JONES, RAFAEL KAYANAN, and special JSArelated art and features by FRANK BRUNNER, ALEX ROSS, NEAL ADAMS, GIL KANE, MIKE MIGNOLA, and RAMONA FRADON—and more!

(160-page trade paperback) $17.95 ISBN: 9781893905368 Diamond Order Code: SEP042969

(240-page trade paperback) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905375 Diamond Order Code: AUG063622

ALL- STAR COMPANION VOL. 3 In this third volume, comics legend Roy Thomas presents still more amazing secrets behind the 1940-51 ALL-STAR COMICS and the JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA! Also, there’s an issue-by-issue survey of the JLA/JSA TEAM-UPS of 1963-85, the 1970s JSA REVIVAL, and the 1980s series THE YOUNG ALLSTARS with commentary by the artists and writers! Plus rare, often unseen art by NEAL ADAMS, DICK AYERS, MICHAEL BAIR, JOHN BUSCEMA, SEAN CHEN, DICK DILLIN, RIC ESTRADA, CREIG FLESSEL, KEITH GIFFEN, DICK GIORDANO, MIKE GRELL, TOM GRINDBERG, TOM GRUMMETT, RON HARRIS, IRWIN HASEN, DON HECK, CARMINE INFANTINO, GIL KANE, JACK KIRBY, JOE KUBERT, BOB LAYTON, SHELDON MAYER, BOB McLEOD, SHELDON MOLDOFF, BRIAN MURRAY, JERRY ORDWAY, ARTHUR PEDDY, GEORGE PÉREZ, H.G. PETER, HOWARD PURCELL, PAUL REINMAN, MIKE SEKOWSKY, HOWARD SIMPSON, JOE SINNOTT, JIM STARLIN, JOE STATON, RONN SUTTON, ALEX TOTH, JIM VALENTINO and many others! Featuring a new JLA/JSA cover by GEORGE PÉREZ! (240-page trade paperback) $26.95 ISBN: 9781893905801 Diamond Order Code: SEP074020

NEW FOR 2008

SILVER AGE SCI-FI COMPANION

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS COMPANION

Instantly recognizable among comics fans, Hawkman is one of the most iconic heroes ever created. Inspired by tales as old as mankind and those much more recent, this four-color legend has left an indelible mark upon the comic industry. Behind a fabulous CLIFF CHIANG cover, this collection contains interviews and commentary from many who have helped Hawkman soar through the ages, including JOE KUBERT, GEOFF JOHNS, SHELLY MOLDOFF, TIMOTHY TRUMAN, JUSTIN GRAY, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, RAGS MORALES, STEPHEN SADOWSKI, DON KRAMER, BEN RAAB, TONY ISABELLA, DAN JURGENS, ROY THOMAS, STEVE LIEBER, MURPHY ANDERSON and many other top comics creators. Also included is a copious image parade, profiles on the Hawks through the ages, as well as their allies and adversaries, and a timeline of Hawkman's storied existence throughout the DC Comics Universe. With insight into the character and the creators who made him what he is, the HAWKMAN COMPANION is certain to please any Hawkfan. Written by DOUG ZAWISZA.

In the Silver Age of Comics, space was the place, and this book summarizes, critiques and lovingly recalls the classic science-fiction series edited by JULIUS SCHWARTZ and written by GARDNER FOX and JOHN BROOME! The pages of DC’s science-fiction magazines of the 1960s, STRANGE ADVENTURES and MYSTERY IN SPACE, are opened for you, including story-by-story reviews of complete series such as ADAM STRANGE, ATOMIC KNIGHTS, SPACE MUSEUM, STAR ROVERS, STAR HAWKINS and others! Writer/ editor MIKE W. BARR tells you which series crossed over with each other, behind-the-scenes secrets, and more, including writer and artist credits for every story!

Features rare art by CARMINE INFANTINO, MURPHY ANDERSON, GIL KANE, SID GREENE, MIKE SEKOWSKY, and many others, plus a glorious new cover by ALAN DAVIS and PAUL NEARY!

The definitive book on the history of such memorable characters as DYNAMO, NO-MAN, LIGHTNING, ANDOR, THE IRON MAIDEN, and all the other super-heroes and super-villains created by the late, great WALLACE WOOD and company! Included are interviews with Woody’s creative team, as well as those superb writers and artists involved in the various T-Agents resurrections over the decades, and a detailed examination of the origins and exploits of the characters themselves, including the shocking truth behind the first super-hero to ever be “killed,” MENTHOR! This exclusive book features reams of artwork, much of it rarely-seen or previous unpublished, including a rare 27-page T-Agents story drawn by PAUL GULACY, unpublished stories by GULACY, PARIS CULLINS, and others, all behind a JERRY ORDWAY cover. Edited by JON B. COOKE.

(208-page trade paperback) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905931 Ships October 2008

(144-page trade paperback) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905818 Diamond Order Code: JUL073885

(224-page trade paperback) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905436 Diamond Order Code: MAR053228

HAWKMAN COMPANION

THE RETRO COMICS EXPERIENCE!

TM

Edited by MICHAEL EURY, BACK ISSUE magazine celebrates comic books of the 1970s, 1980s, and today through recurring (and rotating) departments such as “Pro2Pro” (a dialogue between two professionals), “Rough Stuff” (pencil art showcases of top artists), “Greatest Stories Never Told” (spotlighting unrealized comics series or stories), and more!

Go online for an ULTIMATE BUNDLE, with all the issues at HALF-PRICE! 6-ISSUE SUBS: $40 US Postpaid by Media Mail ($54 First Class, $66 Canada, $90 Surface, $108 Airmail).

BACK ISSUE #1

BACK ISSUE #2

BACK ISSUE #3

“PRO2PRO” interview between GEORGE PÉREZ & MARV WOLFMAN (with UNSEEN PÉREZ ART), “ROUGH STUFF” featuring JACK KIRBY’s PENCIL ART, “GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD” on the first JLA/AVENGERS, “BEYOND CAPES” on DC and Marvel’s TARZAN (with KUBERT and BUSCEMA ART), “OFF MY CHEST” editorial by INFANTINO, and more! PÉREZ cover!

“PRO2PRO” between ADAM HUGHES and MIKE W. BARR (with UNSEEN HUGHES ART) and MATT WAGNER and DIANA SCHUTZ, “ROUGH STUFF” HUGHES PENCIL ART, STEVE RUDE’s unseen SPACE GHOST/HERCULOIDS team-up, Bruce Jones’ ALIEN WORLDS and TWISTED TALES, “OFF MY CHEST” by MIKE W. BARR on the DC IMPLOSION, and more!

HUGHES cover!

“PRO2PRO” between KEITH GIFFEN, J.M. DeMATTEIS and KEVIN MAGUIRE on their JLA WORK, “ROUGH STUFF” PENCIL ART by ARAGONÉS, HERNANDEZ BROS., MIGNOLA, BYRNE, KIRBY, HUGHES, details on two unknown PLASTIC MAN movies, Joker’s history with O’NEIL, ADAMS, ENGLEHART, ROGERS and BOLLAND, editorial by MARK EVANIER, and more! BOLLAND cover!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: SEP032621

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV032696

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BACK ISSUE #4

BACK ISSUE #5

BACK ISSUE #6

BACK ISSUE #7

BACK ISSUE #8

“PRO2PRO” between JOHN BYRNE and CHRIS CLAREMONT on their X-MEN WORK and WALT SIMONSON and JOE CASEY on Walter’s THOR, WOLVERINE PENCIL ART by BUSCEMA, LEE, COCKRUM, BYRNE, and GIL KANE, LEN WEIN’S TEEN WOLVERINE, PUNISHER’S 30TH and SECRET WARS’ 20TH ANNIVERSARIES (with UNSEEN ZECK ART), and more! BYRNE cover!

Wonder Woman TV series in-depth, LYNDA CARTER INTERVIEW, WONDER WOMAN TV ART GALLERY, Marvel’s TV Hulk, SpiderMan, Captain America, and Dr. Strange, LOU FERRIGNO INTERVIEW, super-hero cartoons you didn’t see, pencil gallery by JERRY ORDWAY, STAR TREK in comics, and ROMITA SR. editorial on Marvel’s movies!

Covers by ALEX ROSS and ADAM HUGHES!

TOMB OF DRACULA revealed with GENE COLAN and MARV WOLFMAN, LEN WEIN & BERNIE WRIGHTSON on Swamp Thing’s roots, STEVE BISSETTE & RICK VEITCH on their Swamp work, pencil art by BRUNNER, PLOOG, BISSETTE, COLAN, WRIGHTSON, and SMITH, editorial by ROY THOMAS, PREZ, GODZILLA comics (with TRIMPE art), CHARLTON horror, & more! COLAN cover!

History of BRAVE AND BOLD, JIM APARO interview, tribute to BOB HANEY, FANTASTIC FOUR ROUNDTABLE with STAN LEE, MARK WAID, and others, EVANIER and MEUGNIOT on DNAgents, pencil art by ROSS, TOTH, COCKRUM, HECK, ROBBINS, NEWTON, and BYRNE, DENNY O’NEIL editorial, a tour of METROPOLIS, IL, and more! SWAN/ANDERSON cover!

DENNY O’NEIL and Justice League Unlimited voice actor PHIL LaMARR discuss GL JOHN STEWART, NEW X-MEN pencil art by NEAL ADAMS, ARTHUR ADAMS, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, ALAN DAVIS, JIM LEE, ADAM HUGHES, STORM’s 30-year history, animated TV’s black heroes (with TOTH art), ISABELLA and TREVOR VON EEDEN on BLACK LIGHTNING, and more! KYLE BAKER cover!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR042973

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DIEGDITITIOANL ONLY!

BACK ISSUE #9

BACK ISSUE #10

BACK ISSUE #11

BACK ISSUE #12

BACK ISSUE #13

MIKE BARON and STEVE RUDE on NEXUS past and present, a colossal GIL KANE pencil art gallery, a look at Marvel’s STAR WARS comics, secrets of DC’s unseen CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS SEQUEL, TIM TRUMAN on his GRIMJACK SERIES, MIKE GOLD editorial, THANOS history, TIME WARP revisited, and more! All-new STEVE RUDE COVER!

NEAL ADAMS and DENNY O’NEIL on RA’S AL GHUL’s history (with Adams art), O’Neil and MICHAEL KALUTA on THE SHADOW, MIKE GRELL on JON SABLE FREELANCE, HOWIE CHAYKIN interview, DOC SAVAGE in comics, BATMAN ART GALLERY by PAUL SMITH, SIENKIEWICZ, SIMONSON, BOLLAND, HANNIGAN, MAZZUCCHELLI, and others! New cover by ADAMS!

ROY THOMAS, KURT BUSIEK, and JOE JUSKO on CONAN (with art by JOHN BUSCEMA, BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, NEAL ADAMS, JUSKO, and others), SERGIO ARAGONÉS and MARK EVANIER on GROO, DC’s never-published KING ARTHUR, pencil art gallery by KIRBY, PÉREZ, MOEBIUS, GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, BOLLAND, and others, and a new BUSCEMA/JUSKO Conan cover!

‘70s and ‘80s character revamps with DAVE GIBBONS, ROY THOMAS and KURT BUSIEK, TOM DeFALCO and RON FRENZ on Spider-Man’s 1980s “black” costume change, DENNY O’NEIL on Superman’s 1970 revamp, JOHN BYRNE’s aborted SHAZAM! series detailed, pencil art gallery with FRANK MILLER, LEE WEEKS, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, CHARLES VESS, and more!

CARDY interview, ENGLEHART and MOENCH on kung-fu comics, “Pro2Pro” with STATON and CUTI on Charlton’s E-Man, pencil art gallery featuring MILLER, KUBERT, GIORDANO, SWAN, GIL KANE, COLAN, COCKRUM, and others, EISNER’s A Contract with God; “The Death of Romance (Comics)” (with art by ROMITA, SR. and TOTH), and more!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN053136

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR053333

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY053174

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL053295

(100-page magazine) SOLD OUT (100-page Digital Edition) $2.95

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BACK ISSUE #14

BACK ISSUE #15

BACK ISSUE #16

BACK ISSUE #17

BACK ISSUE #18

DAVE COCKRUM and MIKE GRELL go “Pro2Pro” on the Legion, pencil art gallery

by BUSCEMA, BYRNE, MILLER, STARLIN, McFARLANE, ROMITA JR., SIENKIEWICZ, looks at Hercules Unbound, Hex, Killraven, Kamandi, MARS, Planet of the Apes, art and interviews with GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, KIRBY, WILLIAMSON, and more! New MIKE GRELL/BOB McLEOD cover!

“Weird Heroes” of the 1970s and ‘80s!

MIKE PLOOG discusses Ghost Rider, MATT WAGNER revisits The Demon, JOE KUBERT dusts off Ragman, GENE COLAN “Rough Stuff” pencil gallery, GARCÍALÓPEZ recalls Deadman, DC’s unpublished Gorilla Grodd series, PERLIN, CONWAY, and MOENCH on Werewolf by Night, and more! New ARTHUR ADAMS cover!

“Toy Stories!” Behind the Scenes of Marvel’s G.I. JOE™ and TRANSFORMERS with PAUL LEVITZ and GEORGE TUSKA, “Rough Stuff” MIKE ZECK pencil gallery, ARTHUR ADAMS on Gumby, HE-MAN, ROM, MICRONAUTS, SUPER POWERS, SUPER-HERO CARS, art by HAMA, SAL BUSCEMA, GUICE, GOLDEN, KIRBY, TRIMPE, and new ZECK sketch cover!

“Super Girls!” Supergirl retrospective with art by STELFREEZE, HAMNER, SpiderWoman, Flare, Tigra, DC’s unused Double Comics with unseen BARRETTO and INFANTINO art, WOLFMAN and JIMENEZ on Donna Troy, female comics pros, art by SEKOWSKY, OKSNER, PÉREZ, HUGHES, GIORDANO, plus a COLOR GALLERY and COVER by BRUCE TIMM!

“Big, Green Issue!” Tour of NEAL ADAMS’ studio (with interview and art gallery), DAVE GIBBONS “Rough Stuff” pencil art spotlight, interviews with MIKE GRELL (on Green Arrow), PETER DAVID (on Incredible Hulk), a “Pro2Pro” chat between GERRY CONWAY and JOHN ROMITA, SR. (on the Green Goblin), and more. New cover

by NEAL ADAMS!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV053296

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN063431

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR063547

(108-page magazine with COLOR) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY063499

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL063569

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BACK ISSUE #19

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“Unsung Heroes!” DON NEWTON spotlight, STEVE GERBER and GENE COLAN on Howard the Duck, MIKE CARLIN and DANNY FINGEROTH on Marvel’s Assistant Editors’ Month, the unrealized Unlimited Powers TV show, TONY ISABELLA’s aborted plans for The Champions, MARK GRUENWALD tribute, art by SAL BUSCEMA, JOHN BYRNE, and more! NEWTON/ RUBINSTEIN cover!

“Secret Identities!” Histories of characters with unusual alter egos: Firestorm, Moon Knight, the Question, and the “real-life” Human Fly! STEVE ENGLEHART and SAL BUSCEMA on Captain America, JERRY ORDWAY interview and cover, Superman roundtable with SIENKIEWICZ, NOWLAN, MOENCH, COWAN, MAGGIN, O’NEIL, MILGROM, CONWAY, ROBBINS, SWAN, plus FREE ALTER EGO #64 PREVIEW!

“The Devil You Say!” issue! A look at Daredevil in the 1980s and 1990s with interviews and art by KLAUS JANSON, JOHN ROMITA JR., and FRANK MILLER, MIKE MIGNOLA Hellboy interview, DAN MISHKIN and GARY COHN on Blue Devil, COLLEEN DORAN’s unpublished X-Men spin-off “Fallen Angels”, Son of Satan, Stig’s Inferno, DC’s Plop!, JACK KIRBY’s Devil Dinosaur, and cover by MIKE ZECK!

“Dynamic Duos!’ “Pro2Pro” interviews with Batman’s ALAN GRANT and NORM BREYFOGLE and the Legion’s PAUL LEVITZ and KEITH GIFFEN, a “Backstage Pass” to Dark Horse Comics, Robin’s history, EASTMAN and LAIRD’s Ninja Turtles, histories of duos Robin and Batgirl, Captain America and the Falcon, and Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, “Zot!” interview with SCOTT McCLOUD, and a new BREYFOGLE cover!

“Comics Go Hollywood!” Spider-Man roundtable with STAN LEE, JOHN ROMITA, SR., JIM SHOOTER, ERIK LARSEN, and others, STAR TREK comics writers’ roundtable Part 1, Gladstone’s Disney comics line, behindthe-scenes at TV’s ISIS and THE FLASH (plus an interview with Flash’s JOHN WESLEY SHIPP), TV tie-in comics, bonus 8-page color ADAM HUGHES ART GALLERY and cover, plus a FREE WRITE NOW #16 PREVIEW!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: SEP063683

(104-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV063993

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“Magic” issue! MICHAEL GOLDEN interview, GENE COLAN, PAUL SMITH, and FRANK BRUNNER on drawing Dr. Strange, Mystic Art Gallery with CARL POTTS & KEVIN NOWLAN, BILL WILLINGHAM’s Elementals, Zatanna history, Dr. Fate’s revival, a “Greatest Stories Never Told” look at Peter Pan, tribute to the late MARSHALL ROGERS, a new GOLDEN cover, plus a FREE ROUGH STUFF #6 PREVIEW!

“Men of Steel!’ BOB LAYTON and DAVID MICHELINIE on Iron Man, RICH BUCKLER on Deathlok, MIKE GRELL on Warlord, JOHN BYRNE on ROG 2000, Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman, Machine Man, the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes comic strip, DC’s Steel, art by KIRBY, HECK, WINDSOR-SMITH, TUSKA, LAYTON cover, and bonus “Men of Steel” art gallery!

Includes a FREE DRAW! #15 PREVIEW!

“Spies and Tough Guys!’ PAUL GULACY and DOUG MOENCH in an art-packed “Pro2Pro” on Master of Kung Fu and their unrealized Shang-Chi/Nick Fury crossover, Suicide Squad spotlight, Ms. Tree, CHUCK DIXON and TIM TRUMAN’s Airboy, James Bond and Mr. T in comic books, Sgt. Rock’s oddball super-hero team-ups, Nathaniel Dusk, JOE KUBERT’s unpublished The Redeemer, and a new GULACY cover!

“Comic Book Royalty!” The ’70s/’80s careers of Aquaman and the Sub-Mariner explored, BARR and BOLLAND discuss CAMELOT 3000, comics pros tell “Why JACK KIRBY Was King,” “Dr. Doom: Monarch or Menace?” DON McGREGOR’s Black Panther; an exclusive ALAN WEISS art gallery; spotlights on ARION, LORD OF ATLANTIS; NIGHT FORCE; and more! New cover by NICK CARDY!

“Mutants” issue! CLAREMONT, BYRNE, SMITH, and ROMITA, JR.’s X-Men work; NOCENTI and ARTHUR ADAMS’ Longshot; McLEOD and SIENKIEWICZ’s New Mutants; the UK’s CAPTAIN BRITAIN series; lost Angel stories; Beast’s tenure with the Avengers; the return of the original X-Men in X-Factor; the revelation of Nightcrawler’s “original” father; a history of DC’s mutant, Captain Comet, and more! Cover by DAVE COCKRUM!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL073976

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(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN084020

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Ships July 2008

NEW STUFF FROM TWOMORROWS!

ALTER EGO #77

ROUGH STUFF #8

WRITE NOW! #18

DRAW! #15

BRICKJOURNAL #2

ST. JOHN ISSUE! Golden Age Tor cover by JOE KUBERT, KEN QUATTRO relates the full legend of St. John Publishing, art by KUBERT, NORMAN MAURER, MATT BAKER, LILY RENEE, BOB LUBBERS, RUBEN MOREIRA, RALPH MAYO, AL FAGO, special reminiscences of ARNOLD DRAKE, Golden Age artist TOM SAWYER interviewed, and more!

Features an in-depth interview and cover painting by the extraordinary MIKE MAYHEW, preliminary and unpublished art by ALEX HORLEY, TONY DeZUNIGA, NICK CARDY, and RAFAEL KAYANAN (including commentary by each artist), a look at the great Belgian comic book artists, a “Rough Critique” of MIKE MURDOCK’s work, and more!

Celebration of STAN LEE’s 85th birthday, including rare examples of comics, TV, and movie scripts from the Stan Lee Archives, tributes by JOHN ROMITA, SR., JOE QUESADA, ROY THOMAS, DENNIS O’NEIL, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, JIM SALICRUP, TODD McFARLANE, LOUISE SIMONSON, MARK EVANIER, and others, plus art by KIRBY, DITKO, ROMITA, and more!

BACK TO SCHOOL ISSUE, covering major schools offering comic art as part of their curriculum, featuring faculty, student, and graduate interviews in an ultimate overview of collegiate-level comic art classes! Plus, a “how-to” demo/ interview with artist BILL REINHOLD, MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS’ COMIC ART BOOTCAMP series, a FREE WRITE NOW #17 PREVIEW, and more!

The ultimate resource for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages spotlights blockbuster summer movies, LEGO style! Go behind the scenes for new sets for BATMAN and INDIANA JONES, and see new models, including an SR-71 SPYPLANE and a LEGO CITY, plus MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATIONS, BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS, tour the ONLINE LEGO FACTORY, and more! Edited by JOE MENO.

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(80-page FULL COLOR magazine) $8.95 Ships June 2008 Diamond Order Code: MAR084135

KIRBY FIVE-OH! (JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #50)

SILVER AGE SCI-FI COMPANION

BEST OF WRITE NOW!

BEST OF DRAW! VOL. 3

In the Silver Age of Comics, space was the place, and this book summarizes, critiques and lovingly recalls the classic science-fiction series edited by JULIUS SCHWARTZ and written by GARDNER FOX and JOHN BROOME! The pages of DC’s science-fiction magazines of the 1960s, STRANGE ADVENTURES and MYSTERY IN SPACE, are opened for you, including story-bystory reviews of complete series such as ADAM STRANGE, ATOMIC KNIGHTS, SPACE MUSEUM, STAR ROVERS, STAR HAWKINS and others! Writer/editor MIKE W. BARR tells you which series crossed over with each other, behind-the-scenes secrets, and more, including writer and artist credits for every story! Features rare art by CARMINE INFANTINO, MURPHY ANDERSON, GIL KANE, SID GREENE, MIKE SEKOWSKY, and many others, plus a glorious new cover by ALAN DAVIS and PAUL NEARY!

Features highlights from the acclaimed magazine about writing for comics, including interviews from top talents, like: BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, WILL EISNER, JEPH LOEB, STAN LEE, J. M. STRACZYNSKI, MARK WAID, GEOFF JOHNS, TODD McFARLANE, PAUL LEVITZ, AXEL ALONSO, and others! Plus “NUTS & BOLTS” tutorials feature scripts from landmark comics and the pencil art that was drawn from them, including: CIVIL WAR #1 (MILLAR & McNIVEN), BATMAN: HUSH #1 (LOEB & LEE), ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #47 (BENDIS & BAGLEY), AMAZING SPIDERMAN #539 (STRACZYNSKI & GARNEY), SPAWN #52 (McFARLANE & CAPULO), GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1 (JOHNS & VAN SCRIVER), and more! Also: How-to articles by the best comics writers and editors around, professional secrets of top comics pros, and an introduction by STAN LEE! Edited by DANNY FINGEROTH.

Compiles more of the best tutorials and interviews from DRAW! #5-7, including: Penciling by MIKE WIERINGO! Illustration

by DAN BRERETON! Design by PAUL RIVOCHE! Drawing Hands, Lighting the Figure, and Sketching by BRET BLEVINS! Cartooning by BILL WRAY! Inking by MIKE MANLEY! Comics & Animation by STEPHEN DeSTEFANO! Digital Illustration

by CELIA CALLE and ALBERTO RUIZ! Caricature by ZACH TRENHOLM, and much more! Cover by DAN BRERETON!

MODERN MASTERS VOLUME 16: MIKE ALLRED

(144-page trade paperback) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905818 Diamond Order Code: JUL073885

(160-page trade paperback) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905924 Diamond Order Code: FEB084082

The regular columnists from THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR magazine celebrate the best of everything from Jack Kirby’s 50-year career, spotlighting: The BEST KIRBY STORIES & COVERS from 19381987! Jack’s 50 BEST UNUSED PIECES OF ART! His 50 BEST CHARACTER DESIGNS! Interviews with the 50 PEOPLE MOST INFLUENCED BY KIRBY’S WORK! A 50PAGE KIRBY PENCIL ART GALLERY and DELUXE COLOR SECTION! Kirby cover inked by DARWYN COOKE, and an introduction by MARK EVANIER, making this the ultimate retrospective on the career of the “King” of comics! Edited by JOHN MORROW. (168-page tabloid-size trade paperback) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905894 Diamond Order Code: JUL078147 Now Shipping

Go to www.twomorrows.com for FULL-COLOR downloadable PDF versions of our magazines for only $2.95! Subscribers to the print edition get the digital edition FREE, weeks before it hits stores!

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

US

(256-page trade paperback) $29.95 ISBN: 9781893905917 Diamond Order Code: JAN083936

For the latest news from TwoMorrows Publishing, log on to www.twomorrows.com/tnt Surface

Airmail

JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR (4 issues)

$44

1st Class Canada $56

$64

$76

$120

BACK ISSUE! (6 issues)

$40

$54

$66

$90

$108

DRAW!, WRITE NOW!, ROUGH STUFF (4 issues)

$26

$36

$44

$60

$72

ALTER EGO (12 issues) Six-issue subs are half-price!

$78

$108

$132

$180

$216

BRICKJOURNAL (4 issues)

$32

$42

$50

$66

$78

Features an extensive, career-spanning interview lavishly illustrated with rare art from Mike’s files, plus huge sketchbook section, including unseen and unused art!

By ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON. (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905863 Diamond Order Code: JAN083937

COMICS GO HOLLYWOOD Unveils secrets behind your FAVORITE ONSCREEN HEROES, and how a character goes from the comics page to the big screen! It includes: Storyboards from DC’s animated hit “THE NEW FRONTIER”, JEPH LOEB on writing for Marvel Comics and the Heroes TV show, details on the UNSEEN X-MEN MOVIE, a history of the JOKER from the 1940s to the upcoming Dark Knight film, and a look at Marvel Universe co-creator JACK KIRBY’s Hollywood career, with extensive Kirby art!

(32-page comic) FREE! at your local comics retailer on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, May 3, 2008!

TwoMorrows. Celebrating The Art & History Of Comics.

TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com