Back Issue #43 by TwoMorrows Publishing

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SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL • Bruce Jones’ & Brent Anderson’s KA-ZAR • Larry Hama’s BARBARIANS Plus: BEOWULF • CLAW • CONAN • KORG • RED SONJA • and RIMA, THE JUNGLE GIRL

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THE RETRO COMICS EXPERIENCE!

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

Go to www.twomorrows.com for other issues, and an ULTIMATE BUNDLE, with all the issues at HALF-PRICE!

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“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!

“Saturday Morning Heroes!” Interviews with TV Captain Marvels JACKSON BOSTWICK and JOHN DAVEY, MAGGIN and SAVIUK’s lost Superman/”Captain Thunder” sequel, Space Ghost interviews with GARY OWENS and STEVE RUDE, MARV WOLFMAN guest editorial, Super Friends, unproduced fourth wave Super Powers action figures, Astro Boy, ADAM HUGHES tribute to DAVE STEVENS, and a new cover by ALEX ROSS!

“STEVE GERBER Salute!” In-depth look at his Howard the Duck, Man-Thing, Omega the Unknown, Defenders, Metal Men, Mister Miracle, Thundarr the Barbarian, and more! Plus: Creators pay tribute to Steve Gerber, featuring art by and commentary from BRUNNER, BUCKLER, COLAN, GOLDEN, STAN LEE, LEVITZ, MAYERIK, MOONEY, PLOOG, SIMONSON, and others. Cover painting by FRANK BRUNNER!

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“Tech, Data, and Hardware!” The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, WEIN, WOLFMAN, and GREENBERGER on DC’s Who’s Who, SAVIUK, STATON, and VAN SCIVER on Drawing Green Lantern, ED HANNIGAN Art Gallery, history of Rom: Spaceknight, story of BILL MANTLO, Dial H for Hero, Richie Rich’s Inventions, and a Spider-Mobile schematic cover by ELIOT BROWN and DUSTY ABELL!

“Teen Heroes!” Teen Titans in the 1970s & 1980s, with CARDY, GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, PÉREZ, TUSKA, and WOLFMAN, BARON and GUICE on the Flash, interviews with TV Billy Batson MICHAEL GRAY and writer STEVE SKEATES, NICIEZA and BAGLEY’s New Warriors, Legion of Super-Heroes 1970s art gallery, James Bond Jr., and… the Archies! New Teen Titans cover by GEORGE PÉREZ and colored by GENE HA!

“New World Order!” Adam Warlock examined with JIM STARLIN and ROY THOMAS, the history of Miracleman with ALAN DAVIS & GARRY LEACH, JIM SHOOTER interview, Marvel’s post-STAN LEE editors-in-chief on New Universe, Logan’s Run, Star Hunters, BOB WIACEK on Star Wars and Star-Lord, DICK GIORDANO revisits Crisis on Infinite Earths and “The Post-Crisis DC Universe You Didn’t See,” new cover by JIM STARLIN!

“Villains!” MIKE ZECK and J.M. DeMATTEIS discuss “Kraven’s Last Hunt”, history of the Hobgoblin is exposed, the Joker’s short-lived series, Secret Society of Super-Villains and Kobra, a Magneto biography, Luthor and Brainiac’s malevolent makeovers, interview with Secret Society artist MIKE VOSBURG, plus contributions from BYRNE, CONWAY, FRENZ, NOVICK, ROMITA JR., STERN, WOLFMAN, and a cover by MIKE ZECK!

“Monsters!” Frankenstein in Comics timeline and a look at BERNIE WRIGHTSON’s and Marvel’s versions, histories of Vampirella and Morbius, ISABELLA and AYERS discuss It the Living Colossus, REDONDO’s Swamp Thing, Man-Bat, monster art gallery, interview with TONY DeZUNIGA, art and commentary from ARTHUR ADAMS, COLÓN, KALUTA, NEBRES, PLOOG, SUTTON, VEITCH, and a painted cover by EARL NOREM!

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“Comics Go to War!” KUBERT/KANIGHER’s Sgt. Rock, EVANIER and SPIEGLE’s Blackhawk, GEORGE PRATT’s Enemy Ace, plus Unknown Soldier, Wonder Woman’s return to WWII, the Invaders, Combat Kelly, Vietnam Journal, Sad Sack, the Joe Kubert School, art and commentary from AYERS, HEATH, KIRBY, ROBBINS, ROMITA SR., SINNOTT, and the return of GERRY TALAOC! JOE KUBERT cover!

“Family!” JOHN BYRNE’s Fantastic Four, SIMONSON, BRIGMAN, and BOGDANOVE on Power Pack, LEVITZ and STATON on the Huntress, Henry Pym’s “son” Ultron, Wonder Twins, Commissioner Gordon & Batgirl’s relationship, and Return of the New Gods. With art and commentary from BUCKLER, BUSIEK, FRADON, HECK, INFANTINO, NEWTON, and WOLFMAN, and a Norman Rockwell-inspired BYRNE cover!

“April Fools”! GIFFEN and LOREN FLEMING on Ambush Bug, BYRNE’s She-Hulk, interviews with HEMBECK, ALAN KUPPERBERG, Flaming Carrot’s BOB BURDEN, and DAVID CHELSEA, Spider-Ham, Forbush-Man, Reid Fleming, MAD in the 1970s, art and commentary from DICK DeBARTOLO, TOM DeFALCO, AL FELDSTEIN, AL JAFFEE, STAN LEE, DAVE SIM, and a Spider-Ham cover by MIKE WIERINGO, inked by KARL KESEL!

(NOW 8x/YEAR, WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “Cat People!” Catwoman, Black Cat, Hellcat, Vixen, Atlas’ Tiger-Man and Cougar, White Tiger and the Sons of the Tiger, Wildcat, Thundercats, Josie and the Pussycats, and the Badger! With art and commentary from BOLLAND, BRENNERT, COLON, CONWAY, DITKO, GOLDBERG, LEVITZ, MILGROM, MST3000’s MIKE NELSON, and more. Cover by JOE STATON and FREDDY LOPEZ, JR.!

(NOW 8x/YEAR, WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “Red, White, and Blue” issue! Captain America and the Red Skull, CHAYKIN’s American Flagg, THOMAS and COLAN’s Wonder Woman, Freedom Fighters, and Team America! With art and commentary from JOHN BYRNE, STEVE ENGLEHART, ROGER STERN, CURT SWAN, MARK WAID, LEN WEIN, MIKE ZECK, and more. Cover by HOWARD CHAYKIN!

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Volume 1, Number 43 September 2010 Celebrating the Best Comics of the '70s, '80s, and Beyond!

The Retro Comics Experience!

EDITOR Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow DESIGNER Rich J. Fowlks COVER ARTIST Frank Cho COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg

BACK SEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

PROOFREADERS John Morrow and Eric Nolen-Weathington

FLASHBACK: Shanna: And a Jungle Queen is Born! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Shanna creator Carole Seuling is joined by a host of Marvel superstars in this look back at our cover star’s past

Bruce Jones Gerard Jones Joe Kubert Michael Lopez Aaron Lopresti Andy Mangels Doc Magnus Don Mangus Jim Manner Marvel Comics David Michelinie Al Milgrom Brian K. Morris Nightscream Phil Noto Steven Alan Payne Jason Pearson Paul Renaud Stephane Roux Rose Rummel-Eury Alex Segura Carole Seuling Jim Shooter Gail Simone Louise Simonson Anthony Snyder Chris Stevens Aaron Sultan Roy Thomas Michael Uslan John Wells Gary Whitson Barry Windsor-Smith Bill Wray

ART GALLERY: Shanna the She-Devil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Pinups and sketches by Byrne, Hitch, Lopresti, Noto, Pearson, Renaud, Roux, and Chris Stevens PRO2PRO: Bruce Jones and Brent Anderson’s Ka-Zar the Savage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Revisit this 1980s fan-favorite series with its writer and artist OFF MY CHEST: Was Conan a Racist? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 A guest editorial by Grailpages author Steven Alan Payne FLASHBACK: Rima, the Jungle Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 From novel to radio to comics to Super Friends cartoons, Rima is no Tarzan clone BEYOND CAPES: Red Sonja: Feminist Icon or Woman Warrior? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith reflect upon this Conan spin-off’s popularity; with bonus Frank Thorne art FLASHBACK: Korg: 70,000 B.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Pat Boyette’s artwork made this little-known Hanna-Barbera TV comic a must-read FLASHBACK: The Chronicles of Claw the Unconquered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Featuring all-new interviews with co-creators David Michelinie and Ernie Chan BEYOND CAPES: Beowulf’s Short, Strange Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 Media mogul Michael Uslan remembers his “Wyrdest Barbarian” series BACKSTAGE PASS: (Red) Sonja Con . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 Did you attend this 1976 Sonja-spotlighting event? INTERVIEW: Larry Hama: The Barbarian Go-To Guy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 The comics jack-of-all-trades spills his guts on his wild and wonderful career BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Reader feedback on “Cat People” issue #40 and more BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor, 118 Edgewood Avenue NE, Concord, NC 28025. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Six-issue subscriptions: $60 Standard US, $85 Canada, $107 Surface International. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Frank Cho. Shanna the She-Devil TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2010 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing. BACK ISSUE is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING. Born to be Wild Issue

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A Bill Wray-delineated black jungle queen commission done at Oakland’s Wonder Con in 1996. From the collection of Jerry Boyd.

SPECIAL THANKS Jim Amash Brent Eric Anderson Mike Aragona Mark Arnold Richard Arndt Michael Aushenker Brian Azzarello Jason Motes Bowles Jerry Boyd Royd Burgoyne Jarrod Buttery John Byrne April Campbell-Jones Pete Carlsson Dewey Cassell Ernie Chan Gerry Conway Howard Leroy Davis DC Comics Mark DiFruscio Chuck Dixon Danny Fingeroth Angela Fowlks Ron Frantz Mike Friedrich Peter B. Gillis Grand Comic-Book Database Paul Gulacy Larry Hama Heritage Comics Auctions Bryan Hitch Indiana University

Michael Eury

With all the wild men and wild women we survey this issue, some of you might ask, “Where’s Sheena?” Yes, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, who first saw print in 1937 courtesy of publisher Fiction House (and the Jerry Iger Studios) and was comics’ first female character to headline a series. Throughout her 73-year history Sheena has scored scattershot appearances on movie and television screens. While she’s never achieved household-name status, she might arguably be considered pop culture’s best known jungle girl (Tarzan’s Jane aside). During the BACK ISSUE realm of the 1970s and 1980s, however, Sheena was rarely seen, hence her exclusion from this issue. Tanya Roberts played her in a 1984 theatrical movie that spawned a two-issue Marvel Comics adaptation, and the following year Blackthorne Publishing released the one-shots Jerry Iger’s Classic Sheena (a trade paperback) and Sheena 3-D Special, both of which sported the awesome Dave Stevens-drawn cover you see on this page. To others of the BI era who might have missed those appearances, Sheena was a punk rocker (or so claimed the Ramones) or the chick who sang the theme to the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only. Although Sheena, Queen of the Jungle might not truly be “of” the ’70s/’80s generation, we nonetheless salute her as a trailblazer in the comics medium and as a comics-to-film break-out character. This issue is dedicated to the many writers and artists who brought life to her adventures on the four-color page—and helped pave the way for some of the Bronze Age comics you’ll read about in the pages following.

Jarrod Buttery

Wow. Just look at that cover. That may well be the reason you picked up this magazine, so it’s worth taking another look. Just put your thumb on this page and come back; go on—we’ll still be here. Pretty cool, huh? Frank Cho does indeed draw beautiful women and he definitely seems to have a soft spot for the jungle-girl genre. But, wait … sorry, we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

THE COMING OF SHANNA In his introductions to his 1977 book, The Superhero Women, Stan Lee wrote, “Towards the end of 1972, I was really determined to feature as many females as possible in our Marvel roster of headliners.” This is discussed in more detail when Roy Thomas

interviewed Lee in issue #2 of Comic Book Artist (Summer 1998). Thomas asked, “I’ve heard that there was a great dropoff in female readers in the early ’70s. We came up with three strips for which you made up the names and concepts: Shanna the She-Devil, Night Nurse, and The Claws of the Cat. Were we trying to woo the female readers back?” “Yes,” confirmed Lee, “and also to appeal to the male readers who liked looking at pretty girls.” Neither could remember whose idea it was but female writers were asked to script each book. Thomas asked Carole Seuling to write Shanna the She-Devil. The delightful Ms. Seuling was only too happy to answer some questions about her creation (and spill a few secrets about the Born to be Wild Issue

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esteemed editor of our sister publication Alter Ego). details: Dr Shanna O’Hara was a veterinarian, ecologist, “Roy was the one who asked me to write Shanna,” and environmental specialist for the Manhattan Seuling recalls. “I had done a few articles for Municipal Zoo. In peak physical condition, fanzines earlier, though not his. I knew Shanna had turned down a place on the Roy from the time he arrived in New US Olympic Gymnastics Team to work York because he had been buying with and study the great cats. from and corresponding with my Awakened by a phone call one horrible, ex-husband, Phil Seuling, and he life-altering evening, she rushes to actually spent his first few nights in her workplace to find all her charges New York City sleeping on the floor shot in their habitats by a sniper. of Phil’s office. My instructions were No one had since dared enter the to make [Shanna] someone who African Plains exhibit—“A wounded would fit in with the times and also lion or leopard is a killer!” Desperate was a little more prone to violence to determine if any of the animals than Sheena or the other jungle under her care had survived, queens of the past.” Shanna leaps into the enclosure carole seuling Indeed, Shanna O’Hara, from without hesitation. Miraculously, the outset, was a strong, modern Julani, the leopard Shanna had reared woman. Issue #1 (Dec. 1972) establishes our heroine, from a cub, staggers wounded from the bushes. in the African jungle flanked by her two loyal leopards, Recognizing her adored foster mother, Julani moves thwarting poachers. A flashback fills in Shanna’s forward and licks Shanna’s hand. However, in a devastating miscalculation, a zoo guard, fearing for Shanna’s safety, shoots Julani, killing her instantly. “I invented her backstory, and the environmental angle came from my living just a few blocks from the New York City Aquarium, where some of the animals died from being fed trash by visitors,” Seuling describes. “The year before Shanna came out, there had been a zoo massacre, though not in New York as far as I remember. The idea of pushing environmentalism in a comic was all mine, though Marvel has never been anti-environment and has come to espouse some pretty liberal causes, in a way.” The tragedy echoes Shanna’s childhood. Growing up in Africa, Shanna remembers how her father, panicked by the thought of a stalking leopard, fired wildly into the bushes. Shanna tried to stop him but was too late—her own mother was shot and killed. After the zoo massacre, Shanna roils, “My mother dead … my father hiding somewhere in Africa, seeking strength from a whiskey bottle … and now, even my work…. The cats … the leopards, the only creatures with whom I could find oneness … murdered without a thought! All of them dead … save two….” There is a ray of optimism amidst the tragedy: Julani’s new cubs had been in the zoo’s hospital during the shootings. On her way home Shanna is threatened by a mugger—whom she overpowers easily—but who reinforces her deteriorating view of our so-called civilization. Propitiously, the next day, the zoo director proposes that Shanna return the cubs to the wild. A delighted Shanna travels to Dahomey (now the African country Benin) with Julani’s cubs, Ina and Biri. The story reveals: “And Shanna, wearing Julani’s pelt for sight-scent recognition with the cubs, came to realize she was like these creatures: Swift, strong! She found herself becoming a jungle creature, a leopard woman … Shanna the She-Devil!” Seuling muses, “The leopards had Yoruba names, Ina meaning ‘bright’ and Biri meaning ‘black.’ I named my cats after them. More than one veterinarian was a bit puzzled.” The first issue hits all the marks, convincingly explaining how and why a red-headed Caucasian woman is running around Africa in a leopard-skin swimsuit, and introducing two of the most unique and visually spectacular supporting characters in comics of the time. Also introduced was Game Warden (and

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ardent admirer) Patrick McShane. “I believe I was thinking of Patrick McGoohan, who played a game warden in Africa [in the movie Nor the Moon by Night],” recalls Seuling. It’s quite a coincidence that one of Shanna’s predecessors, Marvel’s Jann of the Jungle, had an admirer called Patrick Mahoney! A gorgeous Steranko cover graces the first issue with interiors by the experienced George Tuska. According to the letters page in Daredevil #115 (Nov. 1974), Steve Gerber’s very first assignment at Marvel was to write additional dialogue for Shanna #1. “Steve Gerber did not collaborate with me on the scripts or the origin story, but he added some additional dialogue since Stan and Roy thought the stories were a bit light on the talking. How much did they really expect me to have her saying to the leopards?” Seuling laughs. “I was quite pleased to be asked to do a comic, but it wasn’t daunting at all,” Seuling says. “I have a BA in French with a minor in English Lit. and had always enjoyed writing. I had planned to do a PhD. in Linguistics, but my daughter Gwenn interrupted that course of study by being born. I not only did the dialogue for the Shanna books, but included small layout sketches and directions for closeup or distance shots, much like a shooting script. Jim Steranko was very big on comics being like storyboards for a movie. Jim and my ex were close friends, and he generally stayed with us when he came to NY.”

CONTROVERSIES AND CONSPIRACIES Shanna #2 (Feb. 1973) featured another Steranko cover with Ross Andru taking over as the ongoing interior artist. “The Sahara Connection” is reminiscent of a Bond movie as Shanna agrees to help Jakuna Singh, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., in preventing the slave trader, El Montano, from hijacking a French moonshot. Captured, chloroformed, and thrown into a cell with Ina and Biri, Shanna escapes by pretending her leopards have turned on her. When the guard comes to investigate, Shanna orders Ina and Biri to “take him,” prompting some letters of outrage…. “Ah, yes, the scene in which Ina and Biri ate the villain,” remembers Seuling. “Stan Lee wanted a more modern (for the ’70s) version of Sheena. That was my stated task. And I was to have her do something a little far out once in a while, so she told the cats to eat that guy. Oh, I received a few letters about that, and I had forgotten that Marvel published the one accusing Shanna (and me!) of murder. One they didn’t publish went on for a page and a half of ranting and ended with, ‘I hope never to see such a scene in a comic book again in my life!!’ I guess he didn’t buy too many of the underground comics that were around then!” Born to be Wild Issue

Critter Crises (left) It’s no laughing matter for the She-Devil in this hyena pit on the Jim Steranko-drawn cover to Shanna #2 (Feb. 1973). (right) Shanna vs. a bull on issue #3’s cover (Apr. 1973), penciled by John Buscema and inked by Joe Sinnott. © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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SHE-DEVIL MEETS SAVAGE LAND

After establishing the character, her motivations, and the lengths she would go to, Seuling’s Shanna #3 (Apr. 1973) hinted at a deeper conspiracy. Investigating the destruction of a local village, Shanna discovers a hidden Greek civilization descended from Cretan refugees. Deposing its insane High Priest, Shanna is helped by a hooded stranger—who dies before he can warn Shanna of…. Unfortunately, this was the last full issue by Seuling. “I did enjoy writing the scripts and stopped for a few reasons, one of which was a full-time teaching job, which I didn’t have when I began writing the scripts,” Seuling admits. “Another was that I couldn’t attend script conferences at Marvel. Steve Gerber inherited the comic, adapting my storyline in the Mandrill issue and doing all the dialogue, of course. “However, there is one thing I would like to reiterate: Steve Gerber was not one of the creators. He provided additional dialogue for the first two books and then took over when I left. I see many, many sites where he is credited as co-creator, if not the real creator of the Shanna character, and it’s maddening. Gerber himself, before he died a few years ago, denied that he had any part in Shanna’s origin.” The introduction of the Mandrill in Shanna #4 (June 1973) commences a major plotline. Attempting to overthrow three African nations and consolidate them under his rule, the Mandrill tries to recruit Shanna and Patrick. Naturally, both are outraged. Jakuna Singh joins the fray, and the Mandrill is captured, but his lackeys kidnap Shanna’s father! Issue #5 (Aug. 1973) introduces the Mandrill’s partner, Nekra, a mutant who becomes stronger and more invulnerable as her hatred increases. Shanna saves an ambushed Patrick and eventually overpowers Nekra. End of series. 6 • BACK ISSUE • Born to be Wild Issue

But certainly not the end of Shanna. A few months later she appears in the final panel of Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle #1 (Jan. 1974) and continues on as guest star of the following issue. Therein, Shanna explains how, after defeating Nekra, she was snatched up by a pterodactyl and flown to the Savage Land. Shanna makes quite the impression in her first meeting with the man who would eventually become her husband, as our jungle heroes face the Red Wizard. It is Shanna who divines the wizard’s tricks, knocks out (!) an unreasoning Ka-Zar, then develops a plan to defeat the Wizard. Asked about this momentous first meeting, editor Roy Thomas admits, “[I’m] afraid I can’t recall if it was my idea or Mike’s [Friedrich] to introduce Shanna and Ka-Zar. I’d guess Mike’s, but you’d have to ask him.” Queried about this, and if he’d considered exploring the relationship further, Ka-Zar scripter Mike Friedrich also admits, “I’m afraid I have very little memory of the Ka-Zar stories I wrote, so I can’t answer.” After the conflict, Ka-Zar asks Shanna to stay but she replies that she’s still searching for her missing father. The trail wasn’t left cold for long. Shanna makes a dazzling entrance, preceded by the leashed Ina and Biri, in the final panel of Gerber’s Daredevil #109 (May 1974). Stating that her father had been killed by the same organization Daredevil is investigating—Black Spectre—the story continues into Marvel Two-in-One #3 (May 1974). Shanna suspects the Mandrill is allied with Black Spectre and this is confirmed in Daredevil #110 (June 1974), as the Mandrill reveals himself to be the organization’s leader. Daredevil #111 (July 1974) permits Shanna to fill in some background. After capturing Nekra in the final issue of her own series, she left Patrick on guard and went for help. She returned with Jakuna Singh to find Nekra had escaped and had killed Patrick. Later, she was told that her father had been murdered and that the Mandrill had been broken out of prison. The story concludes in issue #112 (Aug. 1974) as Daredevil, Shanna, and the Black Widow prevent Mandrill and Nekra from commandeering the White House. After another guest appearance in Daredevil #117 (Jan. 1975), Shanna is featured in Marvel’s black-and-white magazine, Savage Tales. Issue #8 (Jan. 1975) presents her second meeting with Ka-Zar as Shanna travels back to the Savage Land, assisting Bobbie Morse and S.H.I.E.L.D. Scripted by Gerry Conway and featuring beautiful B&W art by John Buscema and Tony DeZuniga, the story subtly portrays a growing attraction between the jungle characters. The following two issues showcased Shanna in solo stories written by Carla Conway and edited by Gerry. Issue #9 (Mar. 1975) generated more controversy for the She-Devil as first Jakuna Singh, then Ina and Biri (!), were killed by new villain, Raga Shah. More letters of criticism ensued, notably from future comics pros Ralph Macchio and Peter B. Gillis. Gillis enjoyed the trip down memory lane but states to BACK ISSUE, “I don’t think I feel much different today. I’ve met Gerry—he’s a nice guy—and I don’t think I suspected him of any bloodthirstiness back then, or anything but mechanical cynicism in his writing. Gerry’s story was your typical Marvel story, just with death added because it was a B&W magazine. And of course Carla’s story exercised one of my bêtes noires— ‘I don’t know what to do so let’s kill a supporting character!’ (Or three!)” Gerry Conway is indeed a nice guy and has some recollections about the stories himself: “As I recall, killing off Shanna’s sidekicks was part of the strategy to make her a stronger, fiercer character in the Savage Tales mode. It also raised the stakes for her personally, and by eliminating these ‘rivals’ for her affections, opened her up to a relationship with Ka-Zar.” Although Friedrich had introduced Shanna to Ka-Zar, it was Conway who considered progressing the relationship: “I think my primary motivation in introducing Shanna into Savage Tales was to give the book

a strong female lead. I also wanted to provide a potential love interest for Ka-Zar who’d rival him in effectiveness as a hero. I’m not a big fan of damsel-in-distress, girlfriendsin-danger female figures, though I’ve no objection to putting a heroine in harm’s way. I’d already written adventures teaming Daredevil with Black Widow for the same reason, and liked the dynamic that created. So, while there wasn’t exactly a plan in place, I probably intended to lay the groundwork for that kind of development.” But Savage Tales was canceled after two more issues and Conway left Marvel for DC. Shanna’s story returned to the familiar hands of Steve Gerber. A backup tale in Rampaging Hulk #9 (June 1978) establishes Shanna in San Pedro, California, after two years in fruitless pursuit of Raga Shah. With everyone she’d ever cared about now dead and realizing that her obsession was destroying her, Shanna seeks psychiatric help while, at the same time, keeping her edge by pitting herself against her pet giant python, Ananta. However, a chance encounter allows Shanna to exact her deadly revenge upon a resurfaced Raga Shah. Continuity-wise, Shanna’s story continues in Marvel Fanfare #56–59 (Apr.–Oct. 1991). Fanfare editor Al Milgrom explains: “I would scour the office looking for gems which I could publish in Fanfare and I found the first part of Steve’s Shanna story completely penciled by Carmine Infantino. There were also complete scripts for the second and third installments. So I called Steve up and said, ‘I’ve found these Shanna stories in the files, and I’m gonna run them in Fanfare, but I want to know going in that I can get you to finish the storyline.’ Steve replied that he’d be happy to do so. I think I sent him copies of the scripts to refresh his memory and set him working on the fourth chapter. “Carmine’s a great designer but he doesn’t draw the most sensuous women,” Milgrom continues. “I thought, ‘Who can I get to ink this to flesh out the female figures a

bit more?’ I had been doing some work with Bret Blevins, who did great-looking girls, so I asked him if he’d be interested in inking an Infantino story. Being a big comics fan, Bret was very excited, and I thought he turned in a good job. I think I told Bret that if he inked the first issue, he could pencil the following chapters. Bret was keen to ink his own pencils—it was terrific work but this slowed him down. After the second and third chapters we had eaten into any lead time that Fanfare had. At some point in here, Steve turned in the fourth chapter—13 years after he started the story. Bret couldn’t handle the deadline for the final chapter, so I asked Tony DeZuniga.” Gerber admitted, in Fanfare #59, that he couldn’t remember what he had originally planned for the conclusion but he came up with an ending—and thanked editor Al Milgrom for giving him the opportunity to do so. “It was hard to sell stuff that wasn’t superheroes,” Milgrom laments, “so I thought of getting some really flashy covers. Joe Chiodo was doing some beautiful work at that time so I commissioned Joe to do four painted Shanna covers to try and generate some extra attention for the book.” Unfortunately, sales had been flagging for Fanfare and the following issue was the finale of the series.

THE JUNGLE QUEEN … AND KING Chronologically, Shanna next appears—very much in a relationship—in Ka-Zar the Savage #1 (Apr. 1981). After only two previous meetings, how did this come about? “If memory serves (less and less these days), Shanna was put aboard the Ka-Zar series by the front office even before I began writing; at least that’s how I remember it,” says writer Bruce Jones. “I thought she made a good foil for Ka-Zar and was always amazed we never got any letters about two young attractive people living together in the jungle unmarried!” So whose decision was it to finally put Shanna and Ka-Zar together? “I have no idea why Shanna was included with Ka-Zar. Jim Shooter may have wanted it … but don’t know for sure. Sorry. I seem to be fuzzy on Ka-Zar,” admits Ka-Zar the Savage editor Louise “Weezie” Simonson. “[It] doesn’t sound like the sort of suggestion I would make,” replies Jim Shooter. “If it came to Bruce from editorial, it might have been the artist’s idea, relayed by someone— maybe Weezie’s assistant. It could have been the assistant’s suggestion, too. Or some other editor kibbitzing. It’s the sort of idea that Mark Gruenwald might have pitched.” Danny Fingeroth chimes in: “I was the assistant and then editor on the title from the beginning, but was

In the Marvel Universe (left) An out-ofcontinuity team-up with the Web-Slinger in the kid-centric Spidey Super Stories #35 (a series we’ll spotlight in our very next issue). (right) Momma-tobe Shanna gueststars in The Avengers #257 (July 1985); art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer. © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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not part of the Shanna/Ka-Zar decision. It may have been an attempt to put Ka-Zar together as a sophisticated Moonlighting or Thin Mantype series, and so a smart female counterpart to Ka-Zar would have been in order, but the exact moment or person who said, ‘Ka-Zar and Shanna together as modern urbanites in the Savage Land,’ I couldn’t tell you.” Gerry Conway contributes, “All I can think is that people were following up on the implications of the stories done in Savage Tales, but beyond that, ya got me.” Artist Brent Anderson has an interesting theory: “I have no idea why or by whom Shanna was paired with Ka-Zar. My understanding of the reason why she was included in the title was for the same reason Marvel was publishing a new Ka-Zar title: to protect the trademark. By including Shanna, Marvel could protect two trademarked characters for the price of one new publication. I believe it was a purely business decision and may have come from Michael Hobson [Marvel’s publisher at the time] or someone else higher up in management. That’s all I know (or suspect), in answer to your question.” But Jim Shooter comments, “With all due respect to Brent, putting Shanna in the book wasn’t about protecting the trademark cheaply. There are much cheaper ways to do that. Besides, that I’d remember. I can assure you that there was no ‘business reason’ other than the general hope for a successful title. I still believe it was a creative decision, probably driven by a creator or editorial person’s lobbying.” Regardless of whose idea it was, Shanna and Ka-Zar were now in a very physical relationship. They married in Ka-Zar the Savage #29 (Dec. 1983) and Shanna announces she’s pregnant in issue #34 (Oct. 1984), the final issue of the series. Asked about this progression, Danny Fingeroth (who followed Weezie Simonson as editor) admits, “Neither Mike Carlin, Louise Simonson, Bruce Jones (all of whom I queried),

nor myself can remember exactly how this all came to be. My guess would be that since we were handling Ka-Zar as a story of a young man in his late 20s/early 30s growing and maturing, it made thematic sense for him and Shanna to get married and start a family, although, needless to say, plenty of people mature without doing so.” Indeed. The Savage Land was destroyed in Avengers #257 (July 1985) but was restored in Uncanny X-Men Annual #12 (1988)—where the baby was first seen—after which, Shanna took a solo trip back to Africa. Marvel Comics Presents (MCP) #13 (Feb. 1989) featured an eight-page Shanna story with script and art by Bruce Jones. “As for my solo art job on Shanna, I was writing and drawing an SF graphic novel for Marvel called Arena, so I had the ear of whoever was editing the book at that time, and I did that short Shanna piece as a favor,” reveals Jones. Our new trio (foursome, if you include Zabu!) appeared in the 1990 graphic novel Ka-Zar: Guns of the Savage Land, wherein Shanna and Ka-Zar had left their Antarctic home and subsequently separated. Their son, Kyle, appears as four or five years old. While attempting reconciliation, Shanna and Ka-Zar discover an underground prehistoric world. Ka-Zar embraces this new world but Shanna returns to civilization. “That graphic novel was to be my entry in the first of a re-thinking of Ka-Zar,” explains writer Chuck Dixon. “Archie Goodwin was the editor and was interested in upping the Lord of the Savage Land’s profile. But Archie moved over to DC and there was no one to shepherd the project. I wasn’t considered Marvel mainstream and the more influential editors had no interest in the project.”

UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS Soon after, Shanna returned to Marvel Comics Presents for a ten-part solo story. Writer Gerard Jones explains, “The basic idea for the story came from Paul [Gulacy]—we were looking for something to do together and he was a big fan of a Cornell Wilde movie called The Naked Prey, [a] relentlessly fast-driving movie about a nameless guy trying to survive a gauntlet of threats in the savannah. I don’t remember if Paul suggested Shanna in particular or if we came up with her together, but obviously she’s going to be on the short list of any Marvel story set in the African bush. And if one wants to draw virtually naked girls, which I gathered Paul did, it’s a very short list.” “The Bush of Ghosts” ran through MCP issues #68–77 (Jan.–June 1991) and was a dark, no-holds-barred return to Shanna’s jungle days, featuring the most horrific scene this author has ever scene in a comic. “Paul’s original drawing of the guy being barbecued was even more gruesome than what saw print,” remembers Gerard Jones. “It looked like an actual person having actually been cooked—but Tom DeFalco felt it was just too much for Marvel’s standards, so he had it redrawn as the blobby thing that haunts your dreams. He also said to me, ‘You are a very sick man.’ But he meant it in the good way. “It was an extremely fun story to write, and I loved getting Paul’s pages every week. I remember that he was disappointed in the ending I came up with, though—he thought way too many comics stories ended with a one-on-one between the hero and the villain, and he wanted some kind of surprise twist, like one of the New York dealers popping up at the end to shoot the bad guy. I don’t know, but maybe he was right. I hadn’t written nearly as many comics as he had drawn at that point.” Artist Paul Gulacy has similar fond memories: “What I recall most glaringly about the Shanna job was having to go up against Barry [Windsor-] Smith and that fantastic Wolverine job. Also, Gerard is probably one of the few writers I’ve worked with who actually has a terrific sense of humor. There was that one splash page in a club where people are dancing and Jones wrote me, ‘They’re doing the latest European new dance craze, The Steranko.’ I fell out of my chair.”

Barbecued Bad Guy Original Paul Gulacy/Gary Martin art to the last page of the final chapter of Gerry Jones’ disturbing Shanna serial, from Marvel Comics Presents #77 (May 1991). Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Gulacy admits to some dissatisfaction with the inking and coloring in the final book but has nothing but praise for the scripter: “I’ve always had great respect for Gerard. I wish we could have done more together. He’s very good— and again—utilizes that sense of humor. (And I was told John Romita turned the BBQ guy into the blob thing.)” The letters page in MCP #75 specifically states that this tale takes place right after Shanna and Ka-Zar go their separate ways at the end of the graphic novel (GN). Shanna acknowledges the MCP story in Namor #19 (Oct.1991) but this, and all subsequent appearances, portray Shanna and Ka-Zar as living happily in the Savage Land with their new baby. It appears as though the graphic novel is considered a non-continuity story. “I was blissfully unaware of the graphic novel and the kid when I wrote this story with Paul,” admits Gerard Jones, “and I remember making a point of mentioning nothing outside the story itself precisely so I could avoid clashing with anyone else’s continuity.” Asked about his thoughts on Shanna, Jones replies, “I think my favorite treatment of Shanna was when Bruce Jones was writing Ka-Zar in the early ’80s, when she was more a partner (sometimes a dominant one) than a sidekick. It would be fun to see someone do something like that again.” Mark Waid attempted as such in his 1997 Ka-Zar title, but the series only lasted 20 issues. However, in issue #1 (May 1997) we learn that Shanna and Ka-Zar’s (still) infant son is named Matthew. This leads to an amusing moment in issue #5 (Sept. 1997), after Ka-Zar meets Shanna’s old friend, Matt Murdock: “Wait a minute! Tell me you didn’t name our son after someone you used to have the hots for!” In April 2005, writer/artist Frank Cho revitalized interest in the Shanna name and, quite probably the entire jungle-girl genre, with his seven-issue Marvel Knights miniseries Shanna the She-Devil. However, this character was a genetically engineered, blonde superhuman discovered on Monster Island. Throughout the series (and its four-issue 2007 sequel) no hint is given of these stories occurring within the established Marvel Universe. With no detraction intended to this exciting, gorgeous story, it’s not Shanna O’Hara. Final words from Shanna’s creator seem appropriate: “Thank you for giving me the chance to have a say after almost four decades,” says Seuling. “I think the character of Shanna and the content of the comics hold up, for the most part. I was sorry to see her series end. It took decades for me to find out that Shanna had married Ka-Zar and had a child. I was sad to learn that the leopards were killed. My neighbors bought the first three copies for me of the Shanna revival a few years ago, though it’s not really based on the original. One of

the artist’s friends mentioned to him how much his jungle queen looked like Shanna, and he used the name. “What I would like to see done with Shanna is to ignore the Cho (and other) reincarnations where she looks like Scarlett Johansson in a teeny leopard bikini and age her to her 60s, which she would be by now, and have her helping the animal conservationists in Africa protecting the elephants, gorillas, chimps, big cats, and other species there endangered by poachers, loss of habitat due to land development, and a greedy search for petro products. Then she could go to Botswana and take up the cause of the Bushmen, who are probably the closest remaining group of humans to the beginnings of modern man and who are being herded into camps so they don’t wander near diamond mines and oil exploration. That’s where I believe her beliefs and convictions would have taken her if she hadn’t been sidetracked.” The author would like to express his sincere gratitude to Brent Anderson, Gerry Conway, Chuck Dixon, Danny Fingeroth, Mike Friedrich, Peter B. Gillis, Paul Gulacy, Bruce Jones, Gerard Jones, Al Milgrom, Jim Shooter, Louise Simonson, Roy Thomas, and, of course, Carole Seuling. Special thanks also to Michael Aushenker and Royd Burgoyne. JARROD BUTTERY apologizes for not wearing his leopard-skin swimsuit but he didn’t want to draw attention from this issue’s cover. He lives in Western Australia with his wife, son, and two cats (they’re not called Ina and Biri but the next ones will be).

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Shanna Then and Now (left) Shanna O’Hara and leopard cubs from 1972’s Shanna the She-Devil #1, written by Carole Seuling and Steve Gerber, and drawn by George Tuska and Vince Colletta. (right) Frank Cho’s version of the heroine from the cover of Shanna, the She-Devil #1 (Apr. 2005). © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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You’re guaranteed to go ape over this sizzling selection of pinups of our cover star by some of comics’ finest artists. All images hail from the collection of Royd Burgoyne, to whom we extend our deepest gratitude. Shanna TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Although Ka-Zar, a pulp character very much in the vein of Tarzan, was introduced in Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), the version fans are most familiar with is that of Lord Kevin Plunder, introduced by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in The Uncanny X-Men #10 (Mar. 1965), whose “Savage Land”—hidden beneath Antarctica—had the extra danger of being a prehistoric jungle, complete with dinosaurs. Astonishing Tales (Aug. 1970–Oct. 1973) had adventures in both the Savage Land and New York City, with Ka-Zar battling villains from mad gods to Kraven the Hunter to A.I.M. Ka-Zar the city-swinging hero, super soldier, or secret agent did not really work. Even for a fan like me, it was a little difficult to suspend disbelief long enough to accept a jungle man alongside S.H.I.E.L.D. fighting A.I.M. Ka-Zar [Lord of the Hidden Jungle] (Jan. 1974– Feb. 1977) picked up where Astonishing left off by bringing Ka-Zar back to the Savage Land and adding to the cast Shanna the She-Devil. At first, Ka-Zar seemed to be more of the primitive “Me, Ka-Zar!” mindset, but when Gerry Conway picked up the writing chores with #6 (Nov. 1974), a much more intelligent Ka-Zar emerged. Unfortunately, many of the stories felt like they were written for Conan and based on tales from the Bible. Writer Doug Moench took over with #11 (Oct. 1975) and brought everyone to the brink of war with invaders from another dimension. The series ended before the storyline did, and scribe Chris Claremont wrapped it up in Uncanny X-Men #115–116 (Nov.–Dec. 1978). It wasn’t until writer Bruce Jones and illustrator Brent Anderson kicked off Ka-Zar the Savage (Apr. 1981) that the true potential of the character began to shine. After three years of silence, readers were introduced to a new, more “mature” Ka-Zar. Brooding, introspective, at times a little defeatist, this was definitely a character reborn. He now had a depth heretofore unseen and the fans loved it! Ka-Zar the Savage #1 ends with an incredible bang as Ka-Zar comes face to face with the “rules” of a civilization where he won’t ever fit in, and he realizes it’s best to live “savagely” and be true to yourself than to live in a world of rules and conformity that only ends up strangling you. The series seemed to be more about sharing an insight, or growing a character, than simply “telling a story.” There was a social commentary or a reflection/contemplation of life going on in between the panels of those magical pages. In an attempt to learn a bit more about how this series came to be, I spent some time chatting with Bruce and Brent, the men who created so much of the Savage Land’s rich history. With the use of modern technology, we stepped through the mists of time and rediscovered the prehistoric world of Lord Kevin Plunder. – Mike Aragona

Life in the Savage Land Plate No. 1 from artist Brent Anderson’s astounding 1982 Ka-Zar Portfolio (and don’t overlook Zabu in the upper right of the image). Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Mike Aragona

MIKE ARAGONA: Thanks again for agreeing to do this! I’ve been looking forward to chatting with the both of you from the day I had that first issue in my hands. BRENT ERIC ANDERSON: Wasn’t that during the last millennium? Hey, Bruce, do you remember anything about this “Ka-Zar” thing Mike is referring to?? BRUCE JONES: I don’t remember anybody named Ka-Zar, but I just got a comp issue from Marvel called Favorite Pet Tricks or something like that which includes two stories about some beast called Zabu. Ring a bell? ANDERSON: Zabu? Zabu? I remember a Z-bu, but I think we had to change the pronunciation of his name. Could that be the Zabu to whom you are referring? JONES: Not sure—this one has a major incisor problem. ANDERSON: Fangs a lot! [laughter] ARAGONA: I understand this was a while ago, but I’d like to know more about that historical moment in time. Bruce, how did this series come to be yours? Brent, Ka-Zar was your first regular series. How did that come about? Did you feel any kind of pressure? ANDERSON: In 1979, the same year I returned to New York City to break into the comics industry the second time, Louise Jones [later Simonson] was a new editor up at Marvel. She had come from Warren Publishing (Creepy, Eerie, etc.) and the resurrection of Ka-Zar as a monthly title was one of her first editorial assignments. This was to protect the Ka-Zar trademark since it had been a number of years since the character had been published under its own title. I believe, and someone correct me if I’m wrong, the original creative team was to have been Bill Mantlo [writer] and John Buscema [artist]. Weezie had brought Bruce Jones with her from Warren and ultimately offered the title to him. I don’t know when my name came up to replace Buscema. Bruce, do you know? Anyway, the deadlines inherent of a monthly series did concern me at the time, yes. JONES: No, you were already on board, Brent, when Weezie offered me the job. Thank God. ANDERSON: No, thank Bruce! ARAGONA: Can you clarify something for me? I know Louise “Weezie” Jones was born Mary Louise Alexander and is now Louise Simonson after her marriage to Walt Simonson. Wikipedia states that she was known as Louise Jones after her marriage to Jeff Jones. Any relation? JONES: No relation to me except for being good friends. Jeff was the first artist of our little group I met when I first moved to New York, followed by Bernie Wrightson and Michael Kaluta. We all sort of hung around together at Jeff and Weezie’s apartment. ARAGONA: Thanks. Did the two of you (Bruce and Brent) know each other prior to the series? ANDERSON: I knew of Bruce’s work, of course, having enjoyed his writing and artwork during my developmental years (I was 16 and Bruce was, uh … 17), but I didn’t actually meet him face to face until he came to New York to meet me around our collaboration on Ka-Zar. ARAGONA: Bruce, anything else you can add about the assignment? How did it come to be assigned to you? JONES: As Brent said, Weezie sort of brought me along with her from the Warren books. It was a wake-up call, like going from almost total creative freedom and control to the … uh, Marvel way. Never did figure out what that was. I think Brent carried the whole damn book; Brent and Weezie. I was just in

Beginnings: Web of Horror #3 (Apr. 1970) for Major Magazines, writing and drawing the six-page story “Point Of View”

Milestones: Ka-Zar / Creepy / Eerie / Conan / Red Sonja / Silverheels / Pathways to Fantasy / Twisted Tales / Alien Worlds / Somerset Holmes / Rip in Time / Freakshow / The Incredible Hulk

Work in Progress: Major announcement coming soon about a project that will make fans of the old Pacific Comics happy!

Cyberspace: www.myspace.com/brucejoneswriter

bruce jones Photo courtesy of Bruce Jones.

Beginnings: Battlestar Galactica #21 (Nov. 1980)

Milestones: The X-Men graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills / Ka-Zar / Somerset Holmes / Strikeforce: Morituri / Astro City

Works in Progress: Astro City: The Dark Age / Astro City: The Silver Agent

Cyberspace: www.brentandersonart.com

brent eric anderson Caricature by Brent Anderson.

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Behind the Scenes Brent Anderson’s developmental sketches realizing some of the characters, locales, and weapons of the Savage Land. Courtesy of the artist. Art © Brent Anderson. Ka-Zar © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

there dodging shots from [Jim] Shooter. The only thing I was left totally alone on was “Tales of Zabu” because, again, nobody expected the book to sell, really. I think they went into cardiac arrest when it did. ANDERSON: Yeah, considering it was to be the directsale test of a book doing well on the newsstands! We lost a considerable amount of sales when the book went direct-sale only. It’s ironic you felt the most freedom on “Tales of Zabu,” since you and April [Jones’ wife] seemed to forget the old boy even existed in the regular series and kept leaving him out of the scripts! There, there, big kitty, they still love you, too. ARAGONA: Direct sales began with issue #10 (Jan. 1982), and—as a reader—I thought it must have been a healthy experiment since the series lasted another 24 issues. What were you told as creators in regard to both the approach (and using Ka-Zar) and the findings? Bruce, could you also please expand on what you mean by “dodging shots from Shooter”? ANDERSON: My understanding at the time was Marvel wanted to move three books to direct-sales only as an experiment in marketing directly to the comics retailers. The three books chosen were Moon Knight, which had strong direct-market sales; Micronauts, which was pretty evenly split between newsstand sales [and direct sales]; and Ka-Zar, which had much stronger newsstand sales than through the direct market. The direct market sales improved for all three books, so it was a successful experiment for Marvel, but Ka-Zar’s sales through the direct market never made up for the loss in newsstand sales. This directly impacted the royalty incentives Marvel paid out on the book, so the experiment cost us money. Anything to add, Bruce?

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JONES: Nothing to add except that I think the directmarket move pissed all of us off a bit. Actually, I was joshing about dodging Shooter. He never gave me any trouble at all, mainly due, I suspect, to the little actual contact I had with him. Weezie was the one who took all the guff from the front office. Also, I was usually miles away in either Kansas City or San Diego packaging Twisted Tales, Alien Worlds, Somerset Holmes, etc. for Pacific Comics, dragging Brent into anything I could whenever I could. ARAGONA: I’d like to talk a little about one of the other creative highlights of the series: the land of Pangea. Bruce, was Pangea fleshed out in your mind when you gave Brent the story or did his work help solidify it or make it “real” to you? Did you have a kind of “map” of what (or who) existed in Pangea and how the readers would be introduced to them? JONES: Basically what I was given on the Ka-Zar assignment was that his and Shanna’s environment was “lost,” primitive, and had remnants of prehistoric times. Also (for reasons that elude me) it was to be set in the South Pole. I picked Pangea because it was a real place, a supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 25 million years ago. All this was from Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift. What Marvel wanted was dinosaurs and sabertooths, even if the two species didn’t co-exist in real history. They were simply trying to hang on to a copyright. They didn’t really care what I wrote and Brent drew so long as it was exciting and visually romantic. Neither Louise Jones nor I had much interest in producing a second-rate Tarzan, so that’s how this so-called urbane élan in Ka-Zar’s character came about. In other words, a smart, even intellectual guy

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Ka-Zar Firsts (left) The published version of the Ka-Zar the Savage #1 cover. (right) Here’s an historical treat: the 1940 trademark application for Ka-Zar, courtesy of Heritage. © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

who simply chose to go about in loincloth and hunting knife and live (illegally, I might add) in the jungle with a curvaceous blonde. There was no map as such that I can recall. Brent? ANDERSON: A map? I have the map. I should know where this “lost” place with dinosaurs is, cuz I drew the map! But seriously (or as serious as one can be about an intellectual guy in a loincloth and hunting knife living illegally in a dinosaur infested jungle with a sabertooth cat and a curvy blonde!), Marvel’s Savage Land had been created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in The X-Men way back in the early-’60s. Bruce and I established Pangea as an undiscovered little pocket of Atlantean self-perpetuating technology contiguous with the Savage Land in 1980. ARAGONA: How much of a collaborative effort was the creating or the look of the various tribes in Pangea? Bruce, did you explain what you needed and left the look to Brent, or did you give specifics?

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ANDERSON: I think Bruce just went with whatever I came up with. I remember doing more-extensivethan-necessary development of those skull-wearing guys with the thighbone weapons! ARAGONA: I always wondered if the reason you created Pangea was that perhaps with all the different tribes that populated the Savage Land (Fall People, Zebra Men, Lizard Men, Swamp Tribe, etc.) you may have felt hampered? Did the Savage Land feel crowded? Were you inclined to use some of those tribes? JONES: I was mostly inclined in my own bizarre direction. I was all about dialogue and relationships then, the rest was pretty much window dressing. And when you’ve got a window dresser like Brent, well, you can’t lose. I do wish he’d quit wearing those thongs, though. Now, Weezie … she can wear thongs anytime! [laughs] ANDERSON: I think Bruce created Pangea to have a place for Dante’s Inferno! (And I’ll have you know that, even though I still look great in a thong, it remains the lost Circle of Hell!) ARAGONA: Brent in a thong ... did you draw yourself into some of the issues that way? ANDERSON: I had a number of fans who had never seen a picture of me and knowing I was from California, expected me to look like Kevin Plunder. So, in a way, I was drawing myself as my alter ego Ka-Zar in a loincloth as the equivalent of me in a thong! As to the general response up in Marvel’s editorial department to Bruce’s irreverent handling of Ka-Zar, most hated it! Literally hated it! Much of what Bruce and I had created in Ka-Zar’s Marvel continuity was promptly undone (or “corrected”) after we left. That given, I’m very proud of what Bruce (and April) and I did on Ka-Zar. I keep waiting for a Marvel collection of our series to come out, but I’m not holding my breath! ARAGONA: Can you clarify who April is, please? ANDERSON: The talented and beautiful April Campbell-Jones, creative muse and model for not only Shanna, but Somerset Holmes, another series the three of us collaborated on in the ’80s.

JONES: Yeah, where’s that Anderson/Jones Ka-Zar collection from Marvel? I get asked about my work on that series almost as much as Twisted Tales or Hulk— so what’s holding them up? Looking back, just having the privilege of being around beautiful, intelligent women like Weezie and April makes me proud, especially working with them intimately. Not a bad life, huh, Buster—I mean, Brent? ANDERSON: Not a bad life, indeed, sir. ARAGONA: When Pangea was finally revealed to be a vacation spot for Atlanteans (#9, Dec. 1981), how was it received? I know I loved the twist in that revelation but not as much as what came next: Belasco! If I can share something, I actually bought a twovolume set of Dante’s Inferno because of that storyline and my desire to learn more about what inspired it. ANDERSON: Bruce? My recollection is that our take on Ka-Zar was pretty much not well-received by the Bullpen. Once we left the series, as I recall, other writers subsequently destroyed the place and as much of the continuity as they could! Maybe that’s the reason no Ka-Zar collection has ever been forthcoming. Marvel would just as soon forget the whole thing ever happened! ARAGONA: Do you know if the fans took to it? JONES: I recall that the fans took to it rather well. I remember Weezie being excited about the numbers, especially before the book went to direct-sales only. I think it had a loyal following from the beginning— a small army, anyway. It wasn’t exactly your typical Marvel offering. ANDERSON: The fans loved it. I had no fewer than three young couples share with me the same identical story: He read comics, she didn’t; he got her to read Ka-Zar, she liked it, they read the comic to each other in character before going to bed at night! Three separate couples, same story! Now those are fans!

ARAGONA: Prior to getting the assignment, what did you know of Ka-Zar? ANDERSON: Not a lot. I knew he’d been created back in the early X-Men days, and Roy Thomas and Neal Adams had guest-starred him in their run of X-Men. Outside of that, Ka-Zar was not a very interesting character. He always impressed me as an extremely watered-down version of Tarzan. The addition of Zabu was interesting, but not enough to make Ka-Zar interesting enough to follow. Bruce’s intemperate view of the character was of terrific interest. Ka-Zar finally had a personality, questioning as he was his very existence and meaning in the greater world. It was no longer enough for Kevin Plunder to be the top of the food chain and express his superiority through the wanton betterment of the local wildlife. ARAGONA: Bruce, anything to add? What did you know/like of Ka-Zar prior to the assignment? Was it

Domestic Disturbance Ka-Zar and Shanna don’t see eye to eye on page 12 of Ka-Zar the Savage #3 (June 1981); original art penciled, signed, and contributed by Brent Anderson, with inks by Carlos Garzon. (left) Anderson’s cover to issue #4. © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Keep Your Comps! Brent Anderson tells us, in regard to this complimentary copy of Ka-Zar the Savage #5 he received from Marvel Comics, that it (and some other covers seen in this article) features a “Not To Be Sold” stamp. “Marvel got word that a few freelancers were selling or giving away their comp copies to third parties, so Marvel initiated a policy of stamping all comp copies with this stamp,” Brent says. “To this day I’m not certain what this move was supposed to accomplish, as forbidding the resale of comp copies given as a gift to freelancers was totally unenforceable. And I personally don’t know any freelancers who got rich doing this!” © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

difficult to take this “poor man’s Tarzan” and make him interesting? JONES: I didn’t know much about Ka-Zar either except for the occasional pulp cover I’d come across in usedbook stores and the fact that he was clearly another Tarzan knockoff. I think Marvel ended up wanting to retain a character license that they didn’t have much interest in and Shooter got stuck with a writer known for horror and science-fiction stories. So rather than trying to figure it out they kind of left us alone. Brent, Weezie and I were all fairly new to Marvel, though I had done some Red Sonja stories and science-fiction stuff for their black-and-white magazine with Roy Thomas, who also gave me several of the latter stories to illustrate. But Ka-Zar and Conan were the first characters that involved something like a monthly schedule for me. Brent, were you doing any Marvel stuff previous to Ka-Zar? ANDERSON: Before Ka-Zar, I did a pinup of Doc Savage for Doc Savage Magazine, a Deadly Hands of

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Kung Fu inside-front cover, a Battlestar Galactica fill-in, and a fill-in on Doctor Strange, but Ka-Zar was my first monthly series. An aside—I was very nervous about committing to a monthly series, but Weezie sweet-talked the hell out of me and got me to commit. Shooter was offering incentive bonuses to artists who did six or 12 consecutive issues on time, so he dangled that in front of me, also! My recollection is, it was quite a day! ARAGONA: Earlier, Bruce mentioned that Brent was already on board when he signed on. Now Brent, you mention that the deal to get you on was a sweet one. Were you the bait used to get Bruce to join? ANDERSON: You mean “bait” as in a fish egg, a wiggly worm or a bright and colorful lure? I don’t think I was the reason Bruce took the gig, but I’ll let the Bruce-ster answer that one. Once committed to Ka-Zar, I was delighted I was going to be working with Bruce, particularly after meeting him in New York up at the Marvel offices. I fell instantly in love with both him and Weezie and was absolutely delighted to have them involved in my first professional series for a major comics publisher. JONES: No bait necessary. I was cranking out Creepy stories at a weekly rate when she called on an eventful afternoon to inform me Warren was closing his doors and we were both out of a job. A few weeks (months) later she called from behind a Marvel desk to offer me Conan and Ka-Zar. I think she felt sorry for me. Personally, I was petrified—my forte was short shock fiction, not ongoing melodrama. But she steered me around the hurdles. Best editor I ever had. One of the best friends, too. Everyone had a crush on her. And sorry, Brent, but our initial meeting was not at the Marvel offices, but at Weezie and Walt’s apartment one night. I don’t recall the month or day but do remember the apartment number: 3D. Easy! You we’re sitting on a couch chatting with the Simonsons and I was suffering jet lag and New York culture shock. ANDERSON: If you were suffering jet lag and culture shock that badly, maybe my first actual interaction with you was up at the office! [laughs] Actually, now that you mention it, I do remember that evening.

Let’s face it, this event was almost 30 years ago, and my memory was never all that stellar even in the best of times. For example, I had actually forgotten that Weezie was the writer on my favorite Power Pack stories, ones I actually drew! So there you have it, you can’t believe anything I say in this interview. The most anyone can hope for now is that I am marginally entertaining! [laughter] ARAGONA: I can attest that you guys are definitely entertaining! So, how did your working relationship grow? Bruce, how did you write your scripts, and did it change once you got to know Brent? How soon before you two became the buddies you seem to be now? JONES: Writing for Warren and writing for Marvel were like night and day even under Weezie’s editorship. She was always great, but I think she had more of a free hand at Warren. It felt much less stressful writing for those books than for Marvel. Also, with anthology titles you’re sharing space with other writers so every story doesn’t have to be a devastating jewel which automatically gave me more leeway— and Weezie was very generous with the leeway, at least with me. Marvel had a more corporate feel, more politically competitive, certain do’s and don’ts some of which obviously had been working for decades and some of which I felt were silly—an air of office politics I never felt at Warren. At Warren I always felt—though I have

no proof—that the buck more or less stopped with Weezie, whereas at Marvel it stopped at Shooter or even above … maybe all the way to God. Brent was kind of like a kid brother to me in those days, anyhow that’s how I felt. We’re both pretty easy-going guys. I always considered it a coup that I was able to snatch him from Marvel to work on Somerset Holmes and Alien Worlds for BJA [Bruce Jones Associates]—he and Joe Chido both, along with a virtual army of top talented artists. Now, that was creative freedom! Weezie may have been my best editor, but Pacific Comics was the best house I ever worked with. I say “with” because April and I packaged our books for them rather than answered to any kind of editorial policy, though Dave Scroggy was technically the editor of the other Pacific titles and a terrific one. I always considered those among my happiest days in the comics biz, the most fun, the most creative, plus April and I loved San Diego. Brent used to ride his bicycle up to our place for breakfast and we’d hang out at Pacific Comics parties, walk on the beach with Dave Stevens or whoever might be in town, etc. It was great, at least to me. Brent? ANDERSON: What he said. Those days (about six months’ time) on Coronado Island were a bit unreal, a comics-life fantasy I was fortunate enough to share with Bruce and April. Born to be Wild Issue

Animal Instinct (left) This Ka-Zar/ Shanna tussle isn’t quite what it seems. From Ka-Zar the Savage #4 (July 1981). (right) Zabu in action, from issue #5. By Jones/Anderson/Garz on. Signed original art courtesy of Brent Anderson. © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Plunder’s Pad Anderson’s skill at rendering lush jungle landscapes is clearly on display in this stunning sequence from Ka-Zar the Savage #10 (Jan. 1982).

I lived in a two-bedroom, two-story condo with a gas fireplace, seven blocks from the Hotel Del Coronado where Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe ran around on the beach in Some Like It Hot and Peter O’Toole did in Stuntman. Joe Chiodo arrived shortly after I did and we went bike riding almost every day. It was a paradise! ARAGONA: Shanna was added to the series in the pages of Ka-Zar [Lord of the Hidden Jungle] #1 (Jan. 1974). Why were you inspired to use her for your series? JONES: Something about her body? [laughs] But seriously, folks, I’m pretty dead on that one. Brent? Did Marvel want Shanna along for the copyright ride, or was it maybe Weezie’s suggestion? Maybe I just felt he [Ka-Zar] needed someone to talk to and play off of other than a sabertooth. I honestly can’t recall. ARAGONA: Really? Did you have a potential other character in mind as a possible love interest? At the time you introduced her, did you already know your ultimate plan for her? JONES: I remember only that she was available but not that I was forced to use her. Wait—that doesn’t

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sound right. [laughter] Anyway, you get my meaning. Maybe Brent has some ideas about this? Brent? Please? HELPPPP! ANDERSON: I think it was a “two-birds-with-onepublication” trademark protection deal! I remember when Weezie was sweet-talking me into doing the book, telling me Shanna had been added to the cast. What more could any self-respecting artist ask— a “flesh” hero (as Alan Weiss called them), a beautiful scantily clad jungle girl, sabertooth cats, and dinosaurs? It was a dream job to hear her describe it! And she was right. ARAGONA: Although a number of female leads were tried out on Ka-Zar in his various series, none of them really “took” the way Shanna did. What do you think her appeal was? JONES: Maybe because down deep she really loved Kevin Plunder but also didn’t take any crap from him? ARAGONA: In issue #3 (June 1981), there’s a line Shanna throws out at Ka-Zar about her not being “Gail Sheehy” and that he would have to find his own “Passages.” I didn’t know what this was at the time but now know that Passages was Gail Sheehy’s fifth book and continues her theme of passages through life’s stages. Was this your inspiration? Was the series about Ka-Zar “growing up”? And on a side note, did you expect your readers to know who or what you were talking about in using that reference? JONES: I realized the reference to Gail’s book would probably be lost on a lot of readers, especially comics readers, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I was a literary snob in those days, just waiting for the moment I made the big leap from comics to novels. Well, I leaped … and it’s not all that far. ARAGONA: Were you just tossing the reference in then, or was that really what the series was supposed to be? About Ka-Zar growing up from being an illiterate jungle savage to a more sophisticated and rounded character? JONES: No, I never just toss references in—it was supposed to be, I think, indicative of the banter between Ka-Zar and Shanna. I was all for pushing strongwomen types, still a relatively new thing at the time. ARAGONA: When did you know she would eventually become Ka-Zar’s wife? JONES: Unless memory fails, I don’t think I ever knew that, nor would I have done it. I mean, there went the sexual tension out the window—or out the grass hut, as it were. ARAGONA: Tongah—introduced in Astonishing Tales #3 (Dec 1970), probably the closest “brother” Ka-Zar could claim (outside of his actual, evil brother, of course)—was the sole survivor of his race. Why did you decide to kill him off in your fifth issue (Aug. 1981)? Was it just to explain why Ka-Zar wanted to be part of civilization (where the cure for rabies would have saved his oldest friend)? JONES: Sorry, I’m totally at sea here. I don’t have the issues anymore—too much moving around, I guess. Brent? ANDERSON: Yeah, Mike is correct, that was the reason. It was either kill the dude or draw him with foam around his mouth for the duration. I think I opted for the former. ARAGONA: The first issue of the series had a very captivating cover of Ka-Zar, Zabu, and Shanna rushing at the reader. Who’s idea was that cover? Were there any other ideas?

JONES: I think that might have already been in the works before I came along. Probably just a very Marvelesque way to show the reader all the characters they’d be dealing with. Marvel always did and still does have characters rushing at people from covers, the deep-seated meaning behind which eludes me at the moment. ANDERSON: I drew an entirely different cover of Ka-Zar and Shanna standing against a jungle with some dinosaurs in the background. The week I turned in that cover was the same week Stan Lee was moving permanently to California and, before he left, he wanted the cover more action-y and added “The Savage” to the title! ARAGONA: That’s pretty funny. I can almost picture him “flashing” his hands at you saying “The Savage”! with a gleam in his eyes. Did you deal with a specific cover editor or just with Weezie? Did you toss ideas on each cover or provide a few sample sketches before selecting one to complete? JONES: I was constantly pushing for covers with Shanna bathing in a limpid jungle pool, but nobody ever listened to me. ANDERSON: Stan actually told Weezie or Shooter, who related his instructions to me. I never did sketches for editorial approval, I just drew them, until, that is, I got tired of redrawing them! Then I did layout sketches first. Shanna in a limpid jungle pool ... *sigh* ARAGONA: How far in advance were you working? How many issues were already completed before the first issue hit the stands? JONES: I don’t really recall. Weren’t we running pretty close to deadline on that one, Brent? ANDERSON: Pretty close, as I recall. I had serious doubts about a monthly deadline with the very first issue! I had a blast though using my time designing primitive guys and learning to draw Zabu and dinosaurs! ARAGONA: How did you normally plot your storylines? What was your process and how did you two (or three, to include Weezie) interact? JONES: I want to say that the plotting seeped over from the way I worked with Weezie at Warren, which is that I did most of the plotting myself, but that doesn’t seem fair to Brent who contributed a lot. Honestly, I’m very foggy on this point. Maybe Brent has a better recollection. ANDERSON: My recollection is Bruce would submit a plot to Weezie after he and April had had a fight, and that most of the plot consisted of another classic bout of Ka-Zar/Shanna domestic repartee! [laughs] Seriously, though, my only contribution to the plotting was finding new and clever ways to reintroduce Zabu into the story when you and April had completely forgotten about him! Anyway, it wasn’t until we were several issues into the series before Bruce revealed to me he and April actually plotted the stories together, she being his un-credited writing partner in the series. JONES: Yeah, something April reminds me of daily. [laughter] But give me a break, I was writing and packaging Twisted Tales and Alien Worlds—four stories per issue—plus Conan. Although, I just read somewhere that Brian [Michael] Bendis writes something like eight comics a month, so I guess I shouldn’t weep too much. ARAGONA: The stories were very love- and romantic-centered as an underlying theme. In comparison, what was going on in your life at the time, Bruce? JONES: April and I had only known each other a brief time when I was writing Ka-Zar so I’m sure some of that personal romance found its way into the series.

ANDERSON: Embarrassment Warning: Bruce had invited me to come visit him in Overland Park, which was where I first met April. Bruce suggested it would be a good idea for me to meet his writing partner, that she really liked my artwork, and that she was a fair match to Shanna, beauty-wise, and even resembled the way I was drawing Shanna. Little did I realize when I opened Bruce’s front door in response to April’s knocking that Shanna (as I drew her) would be no match for April. She was (and still is) one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever had the joy of knowing—and drawing (see Somerset Holmes). There, I said it! ARAGONA: I always believed the characters were based on real people simply because their interactions read and felt so “real” (as opposed to a lot of cliché comic-book speak). It made the book come alive while defining and deepening the two main characters. Seeing as April was both muse and co-writer on the book, I think it’s important to hear from her. ANDERSON: Bruce and April are two very real, wonderful people, indeed. ARAGONA: April, can you tell me how you got to be involved in the series? What was the first issue you “helped” Bruce on? APRIL CAMPBELL-JONES: [briefly joining conversation] Thanks, Mike. Bruce and I had been writing partners since we met in 1979. We plotted practically everything together—Bruce, you know, is also a novelist and screenwriter, and although I’d never been involved in comics before I met him, I had written screenplays and was very familiar with visual storytelling, so we made a good team. I’m pretty sure Bruce wrote the first Ka-Zar on his own, then we wrote the rest of the run together. We were romantically involved as well as being working partners by that time, and a lot of the Ka-Zar/Shanna interchanges

Sinister Sorcerer Belasco, seen here on Anderson’s cover to Ka-Zar the Savage #12 (Mar. 1982), first appeared an issue earlier and later went on to become an enemy of the X-Men. © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Expect the Unexpected (left) Shanna got the spotlight on Ka-Zar the Savage #15’s cover, illustrated by Brent Anderson. (right) Anderson didn’t draw the interiors of the noirish issue #17 (Aug. 1982), but provided its out-ofthe-ordinary cover. © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

were lifted directly from our conversations. We were Weezie had left and Danny Fingeroth had taken over also writing Conan at about that time, but obviously as editor … so I guess it’s easy to lose the details. there was a very different feeling to that. CAMPBELL-JONES: Yes, and Bruce and I have Since Ka-Zar had not been a hit character turned out so many comic-book stories, for some time, Weezie told Bruce he screenplays and novels since then that could do whatever he wanted, so we we could fill a library. After so much sort of settled on a [Spencer] Tracy plotting the details get lost in the and [Katharine] Hepburn relationship shuffle. for the two of them and threw in a ARAGONA: Was it well known that lot of humor. It was a blast to write! you were a writing team? And, of course, Brent interpreted the CAMPBELL-JONES: It’s well known characters perfectly! among the people who work with us ARAGONA: Bruce hinted that marrying and our Hollywood agent. these two characters off was not ARAGONA: Bruce, was there something he would have done, anything specific you were looking do you remember how it ended forward to doing with Ka-Zar april campbell-jones off that way? Who was responsible (outside of giving him an actual for that proposal? personality, of course)? CAMPBELL-JONES: I have no idea. JONES: I think the only specific thing we did was take ARAGONA: Well, that was a time of transition, he and Shanna to New York—kill him off temporarily— Bruce leaving and Mike Carlin taking over as writer, and give Shanna her own issue and logo that one time. That was a hoot! Couldn’t believe Marvel let us get away with it! I lobbied hard for that and was surprised when we won! ARAGONA: The New York stories were very dramatic, though. First, we got to see a side of Kraven the Hunter I don’t think was ever fully explored—his nobility— and, of course, the Spider-Man team-ups. JONES: Yeah, I wasn’t all that in favor of bringing in Marvel’s stable of baddies—it seemed a bit like pandering to me considering that up to then Ka-Zar hadn’t been “that kind” of book. But, I can see the commercial/exploitation appeal behind Marvel’s reasoning. ARAGONA: You still managed to use the storyline to explore the Ka-Zar/Shanna relationship from Shanna’s perspective. Up until then, we were privy to how Ka-Zar

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felt about the possibility of losing Shanna but now the tables were reversed and Shanna’s feelings were at the forefront. Was April more involved in getting those emotions to come across? JONES: April and I would bounce ideas around and then I’d go write it. But I think it’s important to remember Weezie’s involvement with the series— she was the guiding light. ARAGONA: At this point, Weezie had left the book—#23 (Feb. 1983) being co-edited by her and Danny Fingeroth—and that obviously changed the direction of the series. Was that your final reason for staying on board? Did you know the book was headed for cancellation? JONES: I didn’t stay on board. I quit not too long after Weezie left. I love Danny to pieces, but he and I did not see eye-to-eye on the series. What was a fun project turned gruesome. Also, I was overworked with all the Pacific stuff and planning a move to LA, etc. ANDERSON: Where we had fun, fun, fun ’til our daddy took our T-bird away! JONES: And I never even got the chance to drive it! [laughter] ARAGONA: The last issue to your credit, Bruce, was #27 (Aug. 1983), not counting the “from an idea by Bruce Jones” credit in issue #28 (Oct. 1983). Had those last four issues already been submitted to Weezie prior to her leaving or did you work on them with Danny to close the loop and pass the series along to the next writer [Mike Carlin]? JONES: I worked on them with Danny. The transfer from Warren to Marvel at that time was not an easy one, but even then I rarely rewrote anything much until Danny.

That was a wake-up call. I don’t know if this was because of Shooter or not. I do know working with Roy Thomas on Red Sonja earlier and the science-fiction stories I wrote and drew for him were a breeze. Roy was always grateful for anything I did. Funny thing is, Danny and I really liked each other and still do. I don’t know what caused the rift. Maybe I was just overworked and needed to break from one company or the other and decided to go with Pacific. Danny was always very nice—don’t get me wrong, a charming guy—I just got worn out with all the rewriting. But again, maybe that was my fault for not being in sync with the “Marvel house style.” ANDERSON: I’m glad you never became “Marvelized.” I like your writing best when it comes from your heart, and you were never a Marvel guy at heart—an EC guy all the way! JONES: Yeah, by way of Bradbury, Beaumont, Matheson, et al. ARAGONA: What can you tell me about “Tales of Zabu”? Was it just a series of filler pieces or did you have a real desire to explore more of what made this character so special? JONES: It was basically a backup feature so Brent didn’t have to break his neck with too many pages to draw. These days “Tales of Zabu” would be ad space. See how far we’ve come in comics? ARAGONA: Did you take inspiration from Rudyard Kipling’s Mowgli stories? JONES: Kipling? That piker? Please. “High upon a minaret I stand?” “Armies, kings and slaves throughout the ages?” “Played on one of nature’s vastest stages?” “How small the little race of Man?” That Kipling? With his bloody Riki-tiki-tavi jazz? That hack? [laughs]

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*sigh* Yeah. I was a huge fan. Swiped from him whenever possible. ANDERSON: Oh … that Kipling. “I wanna walk like you, talk like you, toooooooo...” [laughter] ARAGONA: Is it all right to write “Laugh Out Loud” in a typed interview? Because, seriously … LOL! JONES: Sorry for all the screwing around, Mike— I’m just trying to get a yuck out of ol’ pal Brent. ARAGONA: Don’t worry, Bruce! It’s great to see creators who have fun! It actually makes your work more enjoyable to see how down to earth you all are. The wrap-up in issue #15 (July 1982) that explained how Maa-Gor was the leading cause of the sabertooth population almost being extinct was almost “Dr. Doom” in his wanting to kill all cats because one had scarred him. For folks who love origin stories, it was a nice inclusion of what happened just prior to Zabu’s meeting of young Kevin. For filler tales, this story added depth to Zabu and helped link them through shared loss. That continuity has never been tampered with, correct?

JONES: Yeah, that was pretty much the deal with Maa-Gor, etc. To my knowledge, the continuity has not been changed, but I could be wrong. Marvel continuity is a tangled web a lot of people have weaved. I pretty much lost interest in the strip after Brent left. ARAGONA: After 15 issues, Brent took a short break and Ron Frenz filled in for two issues. Brent finally left with #19 (Oct. 1982). Bruce, when did you know he would be leaving and what was the reason? JONES: I’m ashamed to admit I don’t recall the actual details. Brent? ANDERSON: I was finding it more and more difficult to meet the monthly deadline and I wasn’t happy with the drawing quality of the issues when I did make the deadline. Issue #9 was a nightmare. I penciled 22 pages in four 1/2 days! Weezie talked me in off the ledge of depression the day I turned that one in! Finally, when I wasn’t able to draw the one issue of our run I really wanted to (the “Shanna the Detective” issue) my interest in drawing the book waned markedly. An interesting side note: the day I quit Ka-Zar was the same day Chris Claremont asked me if I wanted to pencil The X-Men! I could never have made that deadline, so I agreed to draw the X-Men graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills instead. ARAGONA: Did you still keep up on the goings-on in the Savage Land after you left? ANDERSON: No. After Bruce left the book it lost all the quirky charm he and April had brought to it, but it was a great two-year ride, and I’m very proud of my work on Ka-Zar. The series introduced me to Bruce and April, which led to a fast friendship and us working together on Somerset Holmes for BJA. JONES: *sigh* Those really were the days… ANDERSON: Remember me following you guys around Coronado with a borrowed video camera? You were giving my viewers a tour of the island paradise, pointing out the imported gold flakes mixed into the beach sand! As April had said at the time I was “making art.” Truly a cherished time. JONES: I remember you taping my trip to the post office—we were laughing all the time at something. I’d kill to see that video now! ARAGONA: It’s been almost 30 years since Ka-Zar the Savage. Are you surprised that it’s had such staying power? That fans still refer to it as the best take on the character? JONES: Brent and Weezie sold the book. I just hitched my wagon to their stars. ANDERSON: Our run on the character certainly seems to be fondly remembered by a great many readers. Thank you for the interview and all this fine attention being paid to our run on Ka-Zar. Thank you, one and all. Now go read Astro City! A lifetime of comic-book, sciencefiction, New Age, and fantasy reading with a healthy dose of English courses and a love of movies have all collided and conspired to bring MIKE ARAGONA into the world of letters and sentences. Along with running Comicopia: The International Comics APA (www.comicopia.net), this freelance writer and editor has contributed to numerous books, groups, and anthologies.

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Steven Alan Payne

Like many who clung from issue #1 to Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian comic book which premiered in 1970, I had been a fan of the character since the late 1960s’ reprinting of the original Robert E. Howard tales. The path had already been beaten by Bantam Books, that served up hot-selling 95-cent reprints of the Lester Dent (nom de plume: Kenneth Robeson) Doc Savage and Avenger pulps. Sensing a good thing, failing Lancer Books issued a concurrent release of the Howard Conan tales, and the L. Sprague DeCamp and Lin Carter posthumous collaborations, with some pretty amazing Frazetta covers slapped onto them. I was hooked from day one. I was also repelled. This character from an age where distrust of your fellow man and fear of the unfamiliar was not paranoia but sound, defensive reasoning, often teetered on the brink of being something ugly. Being African American, I found the explicit and implicit racism a manifestation of everything that had limited me, and all that I railed against. It was an ugly reminder of the sensibilities that made my father’s life harder than it should have been, and made my mother fearful at times for her children. And there it was, in fantasy form, this Teutonic Nazi raging through his world with the power of life and death on the edge of his sword, decapitating, disemboweling, and venting a whole zeitgeist of rage on a race. Yet when brought to comic books, as a result of skillful writing, Conan never fell into the abyss. No mean feat, given the source material. Robert E. Howard was a storyteller. His writing style may not have the introspective clarity of a Don DeLillo, but he could compellingly spin a yarn and deliver a phrase that could chill to the bone. Conan’s world was a barbaric one, where kingdoms were formed out of fear of their neighbor, and trust was an often fatal weakness. Prejudice was simply common sense. Howard’s tales’ habitual and demeaning reference to Blacks was as insane beasts, cannibals, and leering lechers. In tales like “Shadows in Zamboula” or “The Vale of Lost Women,” or his opus, “The Queen of the Black Coast,” Blacks were there to lend the “barbaric splendor” at best, or at worse be the inhuman monsters slavering before the helpless, or sometimes bending to the dominating White female. To his credit, writer Roy Thomas kept the Conan comic-book adaptations true to the flavor of the original stories, in all their color, vibrancy, barbarism, chauvinism, and, yes, racism, while ameliorating the more offensive elements in a manner that didn’t dampen the stories’ intent or flow. Thomas had an Olympic-level sense of balance as he keep intact Conan’s world—the chief element that separated Howard’s barbarian from any of a hundred other bare-chested pre-historic swordsmen—while not offending the sensibilities of a world just coming to grips with its heterogeneous legacy. Marvel Comics in the 1960s had, in small and large ways, done a lot to distinguish itself as being ahead of the curve in racial awareness. Steve Ditko’s inclusion of Black characters in panel backgrounds of The Amazing Spider-Man—as police officers, as fellow students at Peter Parker’s school—were small gestures, but noteworthy for their casualness. And on the big side of the scale, how about the Black Panther, who, in his first appearance in Fantastic Four #52, took the FF to a sound defeat. The Panther was a liberal’s “missing link,” this cobbled-together Piltdown Man. He was the African Black, untouched by White genes, who was the equal of any White man. He was the justification of the civil-rights struggle. And he was the moral backbone that made Marvel Comics more than just another comic-book company.

Conan’s Equal Detail from the John Buscema/Tony DeZuniga cover to Conan the Barbarian #84 (Mar. 1978) with its side-by-side depiction of Conan and one of the few significant Black characters to cross his path, Zula, introduced not just a Black companion for the Cimmerian, but a swordsman described as Conan’s equal. © 2010 Conan Properties.

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A Barbarian Bound This splash from Conan #96 (Mar. 1979) depicts a typical theme of Hyborean Age peril, with Conan surrounded by leering Black warriors. Says writer Steven Alan Payne, “All that’s missing from this scene is a cooking pot!” Art by Buscema and Ernie Chan.

So bringing what could be an atavistic relic to such a progressive company would be tough goings, like trying to get Barry Goldwater elected as head of the NAACP. But Roy’s Conan seemed to harbor no lasting impressions of anyone, cagily viewing everyone as a potential threat. The questionable elements were therefore included but not lingered over. Yet and still, over the span of issues the preponderance of sleights and dismissals began to weigh heavily. Like it or not, the inclusion of Black characters was still limited to huge Kushite eunuchs or slavering beasts best put out of their misery. Roy wouldn’t be able to keep all the balls in the air as nimbly as he might have wanted. A good example of the strain came little over two years in the color comic’s run, in Conan the Barbarian #28 (July 1973). Freely adapted from a Howard tale, “Moon of Zembabwei” relates the theft of a golden idol from the Black kingdom of Zembabwei by a Stygian thief named Thutmekri. In his company: the requisite beautiful blonde sex slave with the awkward name of Helgi, and the equally indispensable giant Black Kushite slaves, who bear the litter carrying the stolen idol. Conan catches up with Thutmekri as he lay dying, rasping out a warning about a Zembabwei witch doctor named “Dalboor.” One of the Kushites, M’Gorah, only slightly wounded, unravels the tale further. On this night of the full moon the witch doctor Dalboor, who has followed them north, has apprehended Helgi and seeks to sacrifice her to the stolen idol. But M’Gorah proves to be deceptive, or more accurately, he who was once M’Gorah. Dalboor, still physically in Zembabwei, has spiritually possessed the body of M’Gorah, and guides his unfortunate host to attack and kill his party, and put the lovely Helgi up for sacrifice. The idol, in typical Conan lore, comes alive to claim his sacrifice personally, and though Conan struggles successfully to save Helgi from its clutches, the story ends with the creature turning on the host M’Gorah. Though little more than a victimized vessel, M’Gorah goes to a pitiless death. Just an expendable story element. The Conan comic truly began mitigating its more offensive nature during Roy’s 43-issue adaptation of Howard’s 11,400-word 30 • BACK ISSUE • Born to be Wild Issue

tale “Queen of the Black Coast.” In Howard”s tale, Belit was a pirate Captain of a ship of Black Corsairs. Often depicted as nude, and always contrasting her “ivory” skin with their “ebony” skin, she commanded her Corsairs with an iron fist, and they cowered before her, worshipping her as, of course, a goddess. Though Conan was to spend many years with her, this was expressed by Howard in only a few more words than I’ve just related it in. But this span of years became the bulk of Thomas’ run with the characters. In that time, he took the opportunity to develop the crew of the ship, The Tigress. Some were bad, like Kawaku from Conan the Barbarian #73 (Apr. 1977). Others became trusted friends of Conan and Belit, like M’Gora (not to mistake with the antagonist “M’Gorah” from Conan #28), and Belit’s mentor N’Yaga. The stories included tales taking place in the various Black kingdoms they razed along the way, like the excellent “Beast King of the Abombi” that stretched from issues #94–97. In this manner the effect was to make real the characters that Howard used only as props, and in the process to take the distance and judgmental edge off of what could be viewed as racial stereotyping. Zula came along when he was needed. Much as Roy had endeavored to deflect an excess of unsavory pigeonholing, there was no consistency, and again the sheer accumulation of small infractions weighed in and cast an exclusionary pall over the tales. Though the Corsairs were given individual animus, none were actually relevant to the story. Zula, whose first appearance was in Conan the Barbarian #84 (Mar. 1978), was an equalizing tithe for a saga of almost Aryan homogeneousness. He was for Blacks what Red Sonja was for women who themselves were frequently little more than ornaments clinging to Conan for protection. No small part of Zula’s success was John Buscema, an artist with few parallels in comic history, who drew Blacks with dignity and strength. On the splash to issue #86 “The Devourer of the Dead,” Buscema depicted Zula looming huge in the foreground, crouching like some scout setting a trail, with Conan on the ready behind him. John Buscema’s more studied structure in composing Blacks didn’t have a hint of mockery or exaggeration, and the story offered Zula as an able and complimentary sword arm for Conan. The rough edge of Conan and Zula’s union saved it from feeling artificial. Far from wanting to fall in step with the Cimmerian, Zula had his own agenda and was anxious to pursue it. That led to friction between the two, friction in the Hyborean age translating as sword battles. Zula and Conan’s relationship could never be called a friendship. They simply stopped trying to kill one another after issue #86. They respected one another, which in Conan’s world was as good as it would get. It was tolerance, sometimes the best that any world can hope for. A probable outline of Conan’s comic career between issue #1 and 100 can succinctly be encapsulated as his youthful years as a thief, his years as a soldier during the Turanian “Living Tarim” wars of King Yildiz, a stuttering step of wandering leading up to Belit, and the subsequent disconnected raids of the Black Corsairs. Along the way many traveling companions were found for the Cimmerian. People like Fafnir. Like Red Sonja. Like Zula. All maturing him and broadening his perspective. And in the process, broadening the perspectives of their readers. STEVEN ALAN PAYNE, the author of Grailpages (from TwoMorrows), is a Chicago-area playwright and novelist. And, of course, as a hobbyist he is an avid comic-art collector with a predilection for works from the 1970s.

Photo by Rizel Sollano.

Michael Eury

Readers who were buying comic books back in the 1970s might regard Rima, the Jungle Girl as a female Tarzan clone published by DC Comics. Others might remember Rima as a Sheena-meetsDr. Dolittle guest-star on Saturday morning’s All-New Super Friends Hour. True, Rima—the exotic white woman who communicated with animals, the “Daughter of the Didi” who terrified natives in the South America jungle where she lived—was both a DC Super-Star and a Hanna-Barbera Super Friend. Yet most fans who read her short-lived, seven-issue mid-1970s comic or viewed her three cartoon appearances had no inkling of the character’s rich history. Nor did they realize that this “jungle girl” actually predated the legendary, loinclothed Ape Man these fans presumed she mimicked.

GREEN MANSIONS ARE THE PLACE TO BE Rima debuted in the novel Green Mansions: A Romance of the Tropical Forest, written by W. H. (William Henry) Hudson (1841–1922) and first published in 1904 (Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan first saw print in 1912). A naturalist with a passion for birds, Hudson relocated from his homeland of Argentina to the United Kingdom in the late 1860s and soon became an author of ornithological texts, South American ecological studies, and wilderness-based dramatic novels. Set in Venezuela in the 1840s, Hudson’s Green Mansions concerns Abel, a sophisticate-turned-revolutionary whose failed coup attempt in Caracas forced him to seek refuge in the forest to escape execution. Trading on his wits, this white outsider fraternizes with a tribe of jungle people and settles among them. Abel seems content to idle away his days strumming his guitar, giving the children fencing lessons, and charming the natives— he is a man with no country and no ambition. He is intrigued, however, by the locals’ fear of the “Daughter of the Didi,” a supposedly supernatural woman with control over fauna. The natives refuse to venture into the jungle where this creature purportedly resides. His curiosity piqued, Abel strolls into that very forest, where he is mesmerized by exotic bird calls which fill the air. He catches a glimpse of what appears to be the teenage girl we would soon come to know as Rima. Hudson describes Abel’s first sighting of Rima thusly in Chapter Five: “It was a human being—a girl form, reclining on the moss among the ferns and herbage, near the roots of a small tree. One arm was doubled behind her neck to rest upon, while the other arm was held extended before her, the hand raised towards a small brown bird perched on a pendulous twig just beyond its reach. She appeared to be playing with the bird, possibly amusing herself by trying

Daughter of the Didi Rima, the Jungle Girl in a 1991 pencil sketch by the artist who made her famous in the mid-1970s, Nestor Redondo. Art scan courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). Rima TM & © DC Entertainment.

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Rima’s First Comic-Book Appearance (right) Alex Blum’s painted artwork to the cover of Classics Illustrated #90 (Dec. 1951), adapting Green Mansions, and (left) the splash page to that issue, introducing the cast. © 1951 Gilberton Company, Inc.

to entice it on to her hand; and the hand appeared to which made it appear somewhat vague and distant, tempt it greatly, for it persistently hopped up and down, and a greenish grey seemed the prevailing colour.” turning rapidly about this way and that, flirting its While Hudson’s Green Mansions predated wings and tail, and always appearing just on Vladmir Nabokov’s Lolita by some five the point of dropping on to her finger.” decades, the fascination of Abel— Hudson’s Rima is not the statuesque of unknown age but clearly a grown Amazon who would populate the DC man—with this seductive nymph is at Universe in the 1970s: She was first alarming to the contemporary “small, not above four feet six or reader (Nabokov’s Lolita, incidentally, seven inches in height, in figure slim, was 14). One must remember, with delicately shaped little hands though, that during the era in which and feet.” The voyeur Abel continues Green Mansions was written, Mayto assess Rima’s looks: “Her hair was December marriages were still common, very wonderful; it was loose and as adult men often took as brides abundant, and seemed wavy or teenage girls and young women in curly, falling in a cloud on her their child-bearing prime. w. h. hudson shoulders and arms. Dark it Abel braves an encounter with this appeared, but the precise tint was vision, stepping out of the brush to interdeterminable, as was that of her skin, which looked greet her—and is bitten by a venomous coral snake, neither brown nor white. Altogether, near to me as she protecting Rima by striking what it thought to be an actually was, there was a kind of mistiness in the figure attack against her. Stumbling into unconsciousness as the toxin takes hold, Abel later awakens in a hut. He meets an old man named Nuflo, who calls himself Rima’s grandfather, and learns that he was saved by the girl called Rima. Each member of this unlikely trio is an outcast: Abel, the nomad; Rima, the fetching oddity whose empathy with birds and wildlife defies logic; and Nuflo, a reformed bandit who has dedicated himself to caring for the girl he has taken under his wing. Together, they form an unorthodox family as Abel becomes intoxicated with both the ethereal Rima and the lush environment of “green mansions” in which she resides. Any initial discomfort one might have experienced over Abel’s preoccupation with Rima quickly fades, as Hudson’s lyrical romance entrances the reader. He writes, in the first person through Abel, that Rima’s pigmentation “would be almost impossible to describe, so greatly did it vary with every change of mood— and the moods were many and transient—and with

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the angle on which the sunlight touched it, and the degree of light.” She is exotic, this innocent lass clad in a dress woven from spider webs, and more an environmental force than a “jungle girl.” Hudson’s proficiency at describing both the beauty and the hardships of the South America wilderness vividly brings Rima’s province to life. It is easy to fall in love with Rima and her world. Thus it is not surprising that Abel is transformed by both Rima and the majesty of the Venezuelan forest. Rima also brings out the best in scruffy Nuflo, remorseful over his past transgressions but determined to provide for his adopted grandchild. Rima brings out the worst, however, in the nearby “Indians,” whose superstitious fears of the girl’s inexplicable oneness with the ecology ultimately lead to a heartbreaking climactic conflict from which Rima does not survive.

GREEN POWER Green Mansions may not be a literary household word, but the book has remained in print for over a century, and has inspired adaptations in different media. Can you imagine Rima on the radio? Such was the case in 1937, when composer Louis Gruenberg created a radio opera based upon W. H. Hudson’s novel. According to USOpera.com, Gruenberg’s Green Mansions prominently used the musical saw for solo work. Legendary sci-fi author Ray Bradbury mentioned Rima in “The World the Children Made,” a short story originally published in the September 23, 1950 issue of the The Saturday Evening Post. Bradbury’s tale, later retitled to the name by which it is now commonly known, “The Veldt,” involved children becoming endangered within a virtual-reality African landscape. Almost two dozen years before DC’s Rima, the Jungle Girl premiered, the bird-girl made her inaugural comic-book appearance in Gilberton Company, Inc.’s Classics Illustrated #90 (Dec. 1951), in an adaptation of Hudson’s Green Mansions by an uncredited writer and artist Alex A. Blum. (Blum was active during comics’ Golden Age, his credits peppering a range of titles for Quality Comics, Fiction House, and Fox. He was also a

Classics Illustrated mainstay.) Classic Illustrated’s Green Mansions is a literal chronicle of Hudson’s tale, and Blum’s art, while simplistic by today’s standards, adroitly depicts the density of the Venezuelan forest in an open, kid-friendly, coloring book-like fashion. Rima’s most notorious outing was courtesy of Hollywood, in Green Mansions, MGM’s 1959 film adaptation of Hudson’s classic. Italian TV and movie star Pier Angeli was originally considered to play Rima, but the part went to Audrey Hepburn, then the wife of the film’s director, Mel Ferrer. Hepburn was joined by Anthony Perkins as Abel, Lee J. Cobb as Nuflo, and Henry Silva as the native warrior Kua-Ko—an A-list cast that was, except for Silva, miscast. Hepburn was nearly 30 at the time, too old for the Rima role, and the usually compelling actress seemed slightly detached from her role (perhaps she was dwelling on the fact that she passed on the lead in The Diary of Anne Frank for this picture— Diary went on to earn eight Academy Award® nominations, and three Oscar wins). Perkins was too unblemished to adequately realize the rougher-edged Abel of Hudson’s novel, and Cobb’s ham-handed attempt to bring poignancy to the conflicted Nuflo often resulted in overacting that elicits chuckles. The scenery in Green Mansions is absolutely beautiful. It was one of the first major studio motion pictures to be shot in Panavision, and Ferrer’s eye for staging the treesaturated tropical wilderness is laudable. The director’s story pacing is dreadfully slow, however, particularly by 21st-century standards, the end result making the scenery more interesting than the characters themselves. Green Mansions was filmed during the summer and fall of 1958 and was released in New York City on March 3, 1959; it then went on to nationwide US distribution and later, international screens. The film failed to take root with audiences. According to Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), Green Mansions only earned back half of its estimated $3,000,000 in production costs. It is rarely aired on television, and difficult to find on DVD; Green Mansions joined the “Warner Bros. Archive Editions” as a DVD in 2009, and some foreign DVD editions can also be located.

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Missed Opportunities (left) Italian actress Pier Angeli, seen here in a half-sheet movie poster for one of her few Americanmade movies, the Rocky Graziano biopic Somebody Up There Likes Me, was originally considered to play Rima in MGM’s Green Mansions, but director Mel Ferrer’s wife, Audrey Hepburn (right, in the film’s one-sheet), instead got the nod. Hepburn turned down the lead in The Diary of Anne Frank for the role of Rima. Somebody Up There Likes Me © 1956 MGM. Green Mansions © 1959 MGM.

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RIMA JOINS “THE LINE OF DC SUPER-STARS”

Rima to the Rescue Joe Kubert’s cover to Rima, the Jungle Girl #1 (Apr.–May 1974), featuring the first appearance of DC Comics’ version of the heroine. TM & © DC Entertainment.

The early to mid-1970s were a time of experimentation at DC Comics. Recently unseated as the industry leader by rival Marvel Comics, DC, under the leadership of then-editorial director Carmine Infantino, was trying anything and everything to grow an audience. By 1974, DC’s line was wildly diverse, its superhero stalwarts sharing rack space with its mystery, war, Western, weird humor, adventure, and romance titles—branded under a DC bullet altered to trumpet “The Line of DC Super-Stars.” Pulpish favorites such as Tarzan of the Apes and The Shadow were brought to DC under Infantino’s watch. According to industry great Joe Kubert, the critical acclaim of his own revitalization (as writer/artist/editor) of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan at DC made Rima, the Jungle Girl seem like a natural follow-up. “We thought we’d like to continue with that sort of motif,” Kubert says. (DC’s Tarzan of the Apes was in its third year of publication when Rima #1 premiered in early 1974; by that point,

Tarzan, initially a strong seller and published monthly, had been altered to a bimonthly, 100-page format with reprints fleshing out the majority of its page count.) “It was impossible for me to do the work myself” on DC’s Rima, admits Kubert. At the time he was still producing Tarzan; editing the Sgt. Rock series Our Army at War; and illustrating covers starring Sgt. Rock, the Losers (in Our Fighting Forces), the Haunted Tank (in G. I. Combat), and the Unknown Soldier (in Star Spangled War Stories). “So I worked from Bob Kanigher’s scripts and did the layouts for Rima,” says Kubert, who also edited the title. In the early 1970s, DC Comics hired a number of artists from the Philippines and South America as a cost-cutting measure, since their rates were lower than US-based artists. This so-called “Filipino Invasion” gifted the American comics medium with talents such as Alfredo Alcala, Tony DeZuniga, Alex Nino … and Nestor Redondo. Redondo (1928–1995) was Kubert’s first choice to realize the editor/artist’s breakdowns for Rima, the Jungle Girl. Born in Candon, Ilocos Sur, Philippines, Redondo was introduced to comics at an early age and later rejected his parents’ desire for him to become an architect, instead following his brother Virgilio’s footsteps as an artist of Filipino komiks (comics). In the 1950s, Redondo rose to acclaim in his homeland by adapting his detail-rich artwork to komiks including Darna, Raul Roldan, and Serafin Arkangel. (Coincidentally, Redondo wrote and illustrated a precursor to Rima, the Jungle Girl in “Diwani,” an acclaimed strip featuring a jungle princess, in the series Hiwaga Komiks. Diwani’s popularity inspired a

Joe Kubert The editor and cover artist of Rima, the Jungle Girl in his DC Comics office, circa 1974, in a photo from the fanzine The Amazing World of DC Comics #1 (July 1974). Note the cover of Rima #2 on the bulletin board in the background. TM & © DC Entertainment.

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Rima Artist Supreme Rima artist Nestor Redondo and and his agent/friend Ed Noonchester at the 1982 San Diego Comic Con (today called Comic-Con International). Photo by Alan Light. 1953 Filipino movie starring Filipina actress Alicia Vergel as the character; Redondo wrote the screenplay.) To call Nestor Redondo a “comic-book artist” might be selling him short. Redondo was a fine-art illustrator, a master of amazingly realistic, highly etched renderings that are beautiful to behold in both their original blackline versions or in color. At DC, his work graced such series as House of Mystery and House of Secrets, Swamp Thing (where he ably filled the art vacancy left by the departure or Bernie Wrightson, the muck-monster’s co-creator; for more info on Redondo’s Swamp Thing, see BACK ISSUE #36), DC’s adaptation of The Bible in Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-36 (an appropriate assignment, since Redondo was devoutly religious), and an unfinished, unpublished tabloid-sized edition of King Arthur (as explored in BACK ISSUE #11’s “Greatest Stories Never Told” segment). Redondo was, quite simply, one of the most remarkable artists to ever illustrate a comic book. “Nestor Redondo was admired by not only the people in the Philippines, but by virtually everyone who saw his work,” beams Kubert. “He brought in a lot of the Filipino artists we were working with.” Some of those artists, as well as others who toiled uncredited, worked as part of Redondo’s studio, under Nestor’s guidance. “I met [Nestor Redondo] a couple of times and had spoken with him as well,” Kubert continues, adding that it was Redondo’s failing eyesight which eventually robbed him of his vocation—and stilled his pencil and pen, a sad loss for comics fans of two continents.

“IS SHE BEAST OR HUMAN…?” The above tagline preceded the logo of DC’s Rima, the Jungle Girl #1 (Apr.–May 1974), which hit newsstands on January 10, 1974. That blurb, as well as editor Joe Kubert’s gripping cover, featuring Rima morphing into a leopard (or into her human form from a leopard— that’s left to the reader’s interpretation) while Abel wrestles a boa constrictor, suggests more supernatural action than the series actually contained. In fact, DC’s Rima was quiet—and spellbinding, largely because of Kubert’s incisive layouts and Redondo’s luscious renderings. In Hudson’s novel, Rima is at the threshold of adulthood, whereas DC’s interpretation visualizes the

heroine as a statuesque young adult, cut from the mold of the classic jungle queen Sheena, as well as Marvel Comics’ Shanna the She-Devil, who had recently enjoyed her own short-lived series. Why was Rima matured into an Amazon? “We wanted somebody who didn’t look waif-like or childlike,” reveals Joe Kubert, who designed Rima’s DC Comics look. Rima #1 begins the uncredited Robert Kanigher’s four-issue adaptation of W. H. Hudson’s Green Mansions; Kubert does not recall the reason for Kanigher not receiving a writer’s credit. Also receiving no credit was Rima’s creator, W. H. Hudson, nor was mention made of Green Mansions. The indicia reads © 1974 National Periodical Publications, Inc. (DC’s name at the time). Joe Kubert reveals that one of the things that made Rima appealing to DC was the fact that the character— and novel—had fallen into the public domain. “As far as I know, there was no infringement upon copyright,” Kubert says. Unlike Burroughs’ Tarzan, which had become not only a franchise but an industry, Hudson’s Rima was free for the taking and for interpretation, not unlike Bram Stoker’s Dracula or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. As a high-school student who had not read (or heard of) Green Mansions in 1974, I had no clue that Rima was anything short of a new DC creation. Many, if not most, of the other readers of DC’s Rima, the Jungle Girl were no different—this looked like a comic about a female Tarzan. It didn’t read as such, however. Despite his nobility, Tarzan was a savage. DC’s Rima was a pacifist, a human extension of the mysterious Venezuelan jungle, shown by Nestor Redondo, in Rima’s first story appearance on pages 2 and 3 of issue #1, as gently reclining in the veldt, lovingly surrounded by a menagerie of affectionate animals. Snow White’s whistles may have lured Disney birds onto her shoulder, but Redondo’s Rima merely had to extend her relaxed hand to be greeted by birds, butterflies, rabbits, and other beasts. Rima #1 introduces us to Abel, who is bitten by a “dreaded bushmaster” (visually a more frightening viper than the novel’s coral snake) and later awakens from venom poisoning in the hut of Nuflo. Abel’s past is related in flashbacks, including his earlier encounter with the Venezuelan natives (as

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Remarkable Redondo (above) A luscious two-page spread by Nestor Redondo from Rima #1. (below) Redondo’s other jungle girl, Diwani, appeared in Hiwaga Komiks. Rima TM & © DC Entertainment.

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RIMA’S BIZARRE BACKUP SERIES

mentioned earlier in the Green Mansions novel synopsis). Abel officially meets his savior, Rima, on the story’s final (cliffhanger) page, page 16. The remainder of the issue featured a five-page “Space Voyagers” backup [see sidebar]. As to why Rima featured a backup instead of featuring a full-length story, Kubert surmises, “It must have been a scheduling matter.” This is highly probable: At the time his studio was producing Rima, Nestor Redondo had also just taken over the bimonthly Swamp Thing series and the “Black Orchid” backup feature in The Phantom Stranger, and was continuing to contribute short stories to DC’s myriad mystery titles.

THE NON-ADAPTATION ADAPTATION Alex Nino’s odd Delta Brain, from the Space Voyagers story in Rima #2. TM & © DC Entertainment.

Rima, the Jungle Girl’s titular adventures ran 12–16 pages in each of the seven issues of the series. Accompanying Rima’s stories were the following backups: “Space Voyagers,” a five-page space opera starring a band of young intergalactic explorers, by writer Jack Oleck (replaced by Robert Kanigher for the second through fifth installments) and artist Alex Nino, ran in Rima #1–5. Part of the Filipino Invasion that also brought Rima artist Nestor Redondo to US comics, Nino’s hyper-stylized artwork perfectly conveyed the fantastical environs in which the Space Voyagers found themselves. Comics historian John Wells reveals, “Interestingly, the soliciation for Rima #6 in both Amazing World of DC Comics and The Comic Reader said there was a Space Voyagers story in that [sixth] issue. Perhaps Nino had jumped over to Marvel at this point and Kubert hastily slotted in a Kanigher/Estrada story intended for Our Army At War.” Wells may indeed be correct: Rima #6’s backup tale, “Jungle Justice: Devil’s Doctor,” by writer Kanigher and artist Ric Estrada, features a Nazi concentration-camp sadist Dr. Adolph Kessel who collides with karma once he encounters African pygmies after a plane crash. This clever six-pager seemed ill-suited for Rima and perhaps was, as Wells surmises, originally commissioned for a war title. “Space Marshal,” a five-page sci-fi tale by Kanigher and artist Noly Zamora, appeared in Rima #7. Starring outer-space soldier-of-fortune Linc Wade, this short story, depicting a bizarre training exercise, ended with a blurb inviting readers to follow Wade’s adventures— which never continued due to Rima’s cancellation.

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Rima #2 (June–July 1974) continued the uncredited Green Mansions adaptation, with Abel drawing closer to the extraordinary jungle girl as she, similarly intrigued with him, reveals her past, at least as she knows it: of her grandfather (Nuflo) bringing young Rima to this forest after her mother’s death, and of how the forest’s animals—particularly the birds—befriended her. These beasts were Rima’s community, and she developed an empathy toward them, and an intuitive shared language. Wandering Abel briefly visits his “Indian” friends, but his attraction to Rima soon lures him back into the wild, where he joins his love and Nuflo on Rima’s passionate sojourn “beyond the forest! Beyond the mountains! To the place my mother came from!” Yearning for a reunion with others like her, Rima and the men who love her begin their journey … as issue #2’s Rima tale ends. In Rima #3 (Aug.–Sept. 1974), their quest draws them closer to the land called Riolama, and Nuflo reveals to Abel his sordid past:

of his days as a cutthroat, and how he repented after his compadres were mysteriously killed after attempting to take advantage of a beautiful, mysterious woman who was with child. After she gave birth to Rima, the woman died when Rima was a young girl, and Nuflo contined his role as the child’s “grandfather” and raised her, taking her deep into the forest, where Rima’s aptitude toward beasts developed. The nearby natives feared her, believing her to be a witch, foreshadowing an enmity which would soon lead to conflict. Issue #4’s 14-page Rima tale ends with the jungle girl bidding her male companions adieu as she ventured deeper into the unknown, to Riolama, a trip she felt she must make alone. (Incidentally, in Rima #3, her age is revealed to Abel and the reader as Nuflo dates his roguish activities as happening “nearly seventeen years ago.” DC’s Rima looks much older than 17, however.) Rima’s origin concluded in issue #4 (Oct.–Nov. 1974), as Abel’s former native friends—headhunters who had welcomed the white man into their fold— capture him, whom they regard a traitor for becoming a “consort to the Didi.” They intend to execute Abel, but he narrowly escapes and returns to Nuflo’s hut, only to find him murdered by the fearful savages. The “Daughter of the Didi” has returned from “Rio Lama” (now two words in this issue), only to be trapped atop a monarch tree, which the natives torch. It is here that Rima perishes in Hudson’s original novel—but in DC Comics she survives, so that she may continue her adventures in her bimonthly series. Rima and Abel are reunited at story’s end, and she reveals that she could not leave her beloved for her quest. A caption at the conclusion invites readers to “Follow the further fantastic adventures of Rima, the Jungle Girl—and Abel—in the wild, hostile world of the uncharted South American wilderness! Don’t miss a single issue!” As previously noted, only those readers familiar with Hudson’s Green Mansions (or the Classics Illustrated or Audrey Hepburn adaptations) realized that Rima was not borne of DC Comics. A text page in Rima #2 titled “The Riddle of the Didi” by editorial assistant Allan Asherman offered conjecture about Rima’s preternatural roots, but said nothing of her pre-DC origins. Issue #3 unveiled Rima’s first letters column—“Messages from the Didi”—with five letters praising the comic, especially the art of Nestor Redondo. That praise continued in Rima #4, although one letter writer remarked: “Did you know that the International Collector’s Library book club offered the novel ‘Green Mansions,’ by W. H. Hudson, as a May alternate selection?” Allan Asherman did not address that comment. For the uninitiated reader, that book-club remark seemed out of left field. [Writer’s note: Allan Asherman did not respond to BACK ISSUE’s interview requests.]

Stand by Your Man Rima rallies to Abel’s aid on the Kubert covers to (opposite page) Rima #2 and (right) #3. (above) The lovers embrace, in issue #2. TM & © DC Entertainment.

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RIMA’S ORIGINAL ADVENTURES

Beyond Green Mansions (left) Uncredited writer Robert Kanigher provided Rima a happy ending in Rima, the Jungle Girl #4 (Oct.–Nov. 1974). (right) Original adventures by Kanigher, Kubert, and Redondo began in #5. Covers by Kubert. TM & © DC Entertainment.

After the four-issue “Origin of Rima,” Rima, the Jungle Girl #5 (Dec. 1974–Jan. 1975) featured the first of Rima’s original (non-adaptation) adventures. Joe Kubert’s layouts and Nestor Redondo’s delicious art continued to delight readers, and with #5, Robert Kanigher’s writer’s credit was added—packaged behind striking covers by series editor Kubert. Issue #5’s tale is “Jungle Vengeance,” where the tired plot of the discovery of a body frozen in ice takes an unexpected twist when Rima encounters the perverse Dr. Zullio, a despot conducting unholy experiments upon hapless “Indians.” It’s a serviceable tale made special by Redondo’s renderings. The “Messages from the Didi” lettercol in issue #5 continues the trend of praising artist Nestor Redondo. One commentator from St. Louis, Missouri, also succinctly states the differences between Rima and Tarzan: “[Redondo’s] particular blend of definition and muted action, his smoothness and depth, seem to reflect the personality of RIMA. She is not, as I first feared, a female TARZAN. She is a being of peace, at one with nature, to which she bears a much closer relation than any human.” Kanigher and Redondo’s “Safari of Death” in Rima #6 (Feb.–Mar. 1975) introduces us to the unprincipled hunter Trask, who is determined to bag a fabled white jaguar. Abel, hired by Trask and company as a guide, is soon threatened after attempting to protect the

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jaguar and Rima from the killers, but Rima and the white jaguar come to the rescue. Rima’s unity with the beasts is routinely on display courtesy of Redondo’s spectacular wildlife drawings—Rima even sprints across “a living bridge of floating alligators” in this adventure! Also, more missives of praise fill the letters page. Rima, the Jungle Girl #7 (Apr.–May 1975) reads like an ABC Afterschool Special with a shock ending. The title character of “The Imp!” is young Cecil Van Cleve, on expedition with his socialite mother and their native guides. A rift between lovers forms when Rima becomes upset once Abel shoots to death a bear that seemed to be attacking Cecil. Rima is suspicious—“It is old Barta,” she says of the bear; “She would not harm a butterfly … unless driven to it!”—and leaves Abel with the Van Cleve crew in disgust (“I like not the smell of this place!”). Mrs. Van Cleve sinks her claws into the confused Abel, while Rima secretly keeps her eye on Cecil, who is playing potentially deadly pranks upon the beasts of her jungle. One of Cecil’s jokes goes woefully awry, and the lad gets what’s coming to him after starting a gasoline-based river fire. Incidentally, Rima #7 has no writer or artist credits, save for a stylized artist’s signature—a lower-case “a” inside a double-lined circle—on the splash panel on page 2. Nestor Redondo’s influence seems present, but it doesn’t appear to be “pure” Redondo, especially in some of the characters’ facial expressions. The reason is, it isn’t. Rima #7 was ghosted by Filipino artist Abe Ocampo—and while he ably aped Redondo’s style

Soak Up the Sun Nestor Redondo’s wizardry, over Joe Kubert’s layouts, on the opening splash to Rima, the Jungle Girl #5. Original art courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Entertainment.

RIMA AS SEEN ON TV

(buoyed, of course, by the artistic consistency of Kubert’s layouts), the artist’s subtle signature leaves behind his mark upon this series otherwise charted by Redondo’s capable hands. Rima #7’s letters page contained series’ first negative letter, from Dean Mullaney, who would, in the next decade, become known in comics through his company, Eclipse Comics. Mullaney contended that Kanigher’s story in #5 had “no meat to it: only a trite, cliched plot.” But Mullaney rejoiced over the “unbelievable artwork” of Redondo. Another “Messages from the Didi” column passed with no mention of Rima’s external source material—the oblique wink at Green Mansions in issue #4’s lettercol was DC’s only mention of W. H. Hudson. Allan Asherman’s tone in the issue #7 lettercol was business as usual. An on-sale blurb at the end of #7’s backup stated, “Next Issue On Sale During The Second Week in March.” Yet there was no Rima, the Jungle Girl #8. Anemic sales did not warrant a continuation. Since its cancellation seemed abrupt, one wonders if a script, or possibly even art, to issue #8 was in production at the time the axe fell. Joe Kubert does not recall if production on Rima went beyond the seventh and final issue.

THE RETURN(S) OF RIMA Rima #7 went on sale in early January 1975. While Rima had been retired from DC’s “Line of Super-Stars,” in 1977 fans discovered that the jungle girl still had legs. Fans of ABC-TV’s long-running, often-changing Super Friends cartoon fondly remember the addition of non-white heroes Black Vulcan, Samurai, Apache Chief, and El Dorado to make the series’ cast multicultural. Rima, strongly characterized as South American, was part of that ethnic mix and introduced during the 1977–1978 season, when the show was titled The All-New Super Friends Hour. Despite using her “superpower” to communicate with animals, barefoot-andtatter-clad Rima was an odd fit to the show—it was particularly disconcerting seeing her ride in the Batmobile! Her television appearances were limited to three episodes during the series’ lifespan [see sidebar].

Rima, the Jungle Girl made appeared in the following three eight-minute shorts on ABC-TV’s Super Friends:

Episode title: “Fire” Original Airdate: 10/1/77 Series Incarnation: The All-New Super Friends Hour Synopsis: Rima teams with Batman (and Robin) to help curtail a raging forest fire.

Episode title: “River of Doom” Original Airdate: 11/4/77 Series Incarnation: The All-New Super Friends Hour Synopsis: Rima teams with Wonder Woman to rescue archaeologists held captive by natives.

Episode title: “Return of Atlantis” Original Airdate: 10/25/80 Series Incarnation: The World’s Greatest SuperFriends Synopsis: Rima and Wonder Woman, abetted by Amazons, rescue Aquaman from the clutches of Queen Ocina.

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The First Wave Rima A page from a DC Comics First Wave preview, written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Rags Morales, featuring new versions of Rima and Black Canary. TM & © DC Entertainment.

TM & © DC Entertainment.

Rima then disappeared into the back-issue bins and television reruns for over 25 years. Writer Alan Moore uncaged the beautiful bird-girl in 2003 for a mention in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol. 2 #3, published by America’s Best Comics, although Rima was not depicted, according to Wikipedia. As 2009 drew to a close, DC Comics’ publicity for its pulp-inspired “First Wave” Universe—featuring alternate versions of Batman, Black Canary, and the Blackhawks alongside Doc Savage, the Spirit, and the Avenger (of Justice, Inc. fame)—included Rima, the Jungle Girl among its supporting cast … although judging from artist Rags Morales’ rendering of the feral femme as South American, clearly this was not your father’s Rima. “I’m trying to make this work for modern readers,” says Brian Azzarello, the writer behind the First Wave Universe. “Back when Rima was created, mostly all protagonists were written as white. Given Rima’s locale, that just doesn’t ring true anymore, so I’m addressing it.”

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Azzarello credits Joe Kubert for introducing him to W. H. Hudson’s character. “My first exposure to Rima was the short-lived comic series back in the ’70s,” he says, “and I probably wouldn’t have been exposed if not for the Joe Kubert covers. I was a big fan of his work, and Tarzan.” The writer also reveals that the addition of Rima to the First Wave cast was not initially his idea: “[DC Comics senior vice president-executive editor] Dan DiDio was all for it; in fact, having Rima be part of First Wave was his idea. I just ran with it.” Yet Azzarello has drawn from Hudson’s Green Mansions for his reimagining of Rima: “I’d say there is a fair amount of inspiration in my interpretation. I’m really looking to stay true to the character while reintroducing her for modern readers, and having her function as a part of the First Wave Universe. “I like the mythic aspect of Rima, that there’s a legend that surrounds her.” Rima made her contemporary debut in March 2010 in First Wave #1, the premiere of the six-issue miniseries that followed a Batman/Doc Savage one-shot in launching DC’s new pulpish line. While the First Wave world is gritty and reality based, “Rima brings a sense of mystery to the universe,” explains Azzarello. “There are no superpowers or magic in it, but Rima fits in because there’s something very mysterious about her; she has a legend, there are stories told about her. Other characters will scoff at her having any sort of special abilities … but if she doesn’t, how can you explain what she does?” At this writing, First Wave is in its infancy, but this Rima fan wonders, does DC have any plans to develop Rima beyond her current incidental-character status? “Yes, I think so … we’ll see,” hints Azzarello. “At the end of the day, that’s up to the fans.” With Rima’s return in First Wave and possible development as a solo character, perhaps DC Comics will consider producing a Rima, the Jungle Girl trade paperback, reprinting the Kubert/Kanigher/Redondo material from the 1970s. While only 98 pages of Rima artwork were published—105 if you add the seven Kubert covers—Rima, the Jungle Girl contains some of the finest art to ever grace the illustrious publishing house and is worthy of being introduced to a new audience in collected-edition form. Until that day, however, Rima certainly warrants digging through back-issue bins and scouring Internet auctions. Special thanks to Brian Azzarello, Pete Carlsson, Joe Kubert, Alex Segura, and John Wells. Also to Jason Motes Bowles, whose passionate letter about Rima and her rich history planted the seed of what would eventually blossom into this article. BACK ISSUE editor MICHAEL EURY stays busy policing BI’s articles and schedules and rarely wears his writer’s hat in these pages—but his appreciation of Joe Kubert and Nestor Redondo’s Rima, the Jungle Girl art made this assignment too alluring to pass up.

A steel bikini. What else could Conan possibly call it as Red Sonja stood before him in The Savage Sword of Conan #1. She was a welcome sight—indeed, most men would enjoy the sight of the red-haired Hyrkanian—and Red Sonja’s timely appearance had rescued the Cimmerian from the wrong end of a sword during a brawl in Zamorra’s City of Thieves. But this wasn’t the same Red Sonja that Conan remembered from Makkalet in Conan the Barbarian #24 (Mar. 1973), when they stole into a sorcerer’s tower on a thieves’ errand to retrieve a serpent tiara. The woman before him had tossed aside her more practical garb as a sword-for-hire in favor of this—steel bikini… It was an outfit that meshed Victoria’s Secret with a Nemedian blacksmith’s shop, but left little to the imagination when considering her feminine charms. Her leather gloves and boots covered more of her body than this armor, and yet it would be the garb that would in the years to come define Red Sonja as much as her fiery red hair.

SHE-DEVIL WITH A SWORD by J i m M a n n e r

This new Red Sonja enjoyed a coming-out party in the first issue of Savage Sword of Conan in August 1974. This black-and-white magazine cashed in on the popularity of Conan during the early 1970s, but it featured almost as many pages devoted to Red Sonja as it did to the Cimmerian. The magazine included one of the first portrayals of Red Sonja in what would become her famous steel bikini. The pinup page had been submitted by Esteban Maroto—a Spanish-born artist known best for his work in the Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella magazines. Another pinup of Red Sonja in a steel bikini had appeared earlier, in February 1974, in Savage Tales #3— and it quickly found favor with editor Roy Thomas. “I’m not sure what I had in mind when I was first thinking of Red Sonja,” Roy Thomas says. “I was not real wild for her chainmail shirt and hot pants that Barry [Windsor-Smith] had given her. Esteban had sent in his drawing of her, and I liked it so much that I gave him an entire Red Sonja story to do.” Roy Thomas gave penciling honors to Esteban Maroto for the first solo appearance of the “She-Devil with a Sword” in a story titled simply “Red Sonja.” The story appeared in Savage Sword of Conan #1 and featured lavish pencils and inks that combined the talents of Maroto, Neal Adams, and Ernie Chua. The story built on her character and reinforced the roy thomas theme that Red Sonja was any

Sonja by Boris Detail from Boris Vallejo’s painting for the paperback cover Red Sonja #3: When Hell Laughs (Ace, 1982). Art courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). Red Sonja ® Red Sonja LLC.

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Skin Games (below left) Sonja’s wearing her steel bikini in this undated sketch from Pablo Marcos (courtesy of Heritage). Barry Windsor-Smith’s interpretation of the character (center) reveals much less flesh, as seen in this detail from the cover of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian #24 (Mar. 1973).

man’s equal, as one character in the story noted, “Red Sonja’s made a vow that no man ever shall touch her, save one who’s defeated her in battle.” The story was published in the 1970s, during the height of the Women’s Movement. Red Sonja found herself balanced on a delicate fence—on one side, she was a character who boasted an inner strength that rivaled any man’s; on the other, her depiction as a scantily clad warrior was cheesecake eye candy for the mostly male audience that comprised comics fandom at the time. Thomas acknowledges that it was a “bit of a problem” trying to balance the display of Red Sonja’s feminine attributes with her warrior skills. “It wasn’t very practical,” Thomas says, “but Red Sonja had a mystical origin that gave her a little extra power … it was always a little mysterious how she acquired her skills.

Red Sonja ® Red Sonja LLC. Conan © Conan Properties.

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“Here is a woman who is very sexy, and she wears very little armor that’s not really going to protect her if it needed to,” Thomas says. “It was kind of defiant, but symbolic. It showed off her beauty, but at the same time, you knew that if a man would reach out in desire of her, she would cut off their hand.” This unattainable temptation would be developed throughout the inaugural issue of Savage Sword of Conan and in later comic-book appearances. It was inspired by Roy Thomas’ reading of the play On Baile’s Strand by W. B. Yeats, which included a reference to a character named Aoife, a red-haired warrior queen who would allow no man to bed her unless they first defeated her in combat. On Baile’s Strand appeared in the 1903 book In the Seven Woods and explained how Queen Aoife had been bested in combat by the hero Cuchulain. Their tragic union led to the birth of a son, who would later be sent by Aoife to challenge Cuchulain in combat. The story of Red Sonja in The Savage Sword of Conan, by Thomas and Maroto, borrowed on this theme, as one character notes, “Red Sonja’s made a vow that no man ever shall touch her,

save one who’s defeated her in battle.” This theme was “You have suffered deeply, Sonja, but know that better developed in Red Sonja’s origin in the black- there is strength born in suffering,” the vision says. and-white magazine Kull and the Barbarians #3 “This strength is your own, Sonja, and has (Sept. 1975)—later recast in Savage Sword ever dwelled within you … but has only of Conan #78 (July 1982). now been awakened. In her retold origin, Sonja had been “If you but have the will, Sonja, raised as the daughter of a retired you may use your strength to make mercenary from the Hyrkanian army, the world your home,” the woman and she learned the art of swordplay says. “You may become a wanderer, by watching her father teach her the equal of any man or woman you brothers. Her mother wouldn’t allow meet. But first you must make a vow her daughter to take up the sword, to me, Sonja. You must never allow so Sonja had to practice at night what yourself to be loved by another man she observed her brothers learning … unless he has defeated you in during the day. fair battle … something no man is As a teenager, Sonja’s parents like to do after this day!” barry windsor-smith and brothers were slaughtered by When asked her answer, Sonja passing mercenaries who sought to responds: “Yes … with all my heart enlist Sonja‘s father into their ranks. The mercenaries … with all my soul—I do so vow.” attacked and raped Sonja, then set fire to the house Sonja is touched with an ethereal blade, and a and left her inside the flame-engulfed structure to die. “shimmering ice, flickering fire,” coursed deep into An angelic vision of a woman appears to Sonja her being. with an offer of rescue and revenge: Sonja is endowed with a new strength, and she later uses her fallen father’s sword to earn a modest taste of revenge by killing one of the mercenaries who had killed her family.

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Break-Out Barbarian The next time readers saw Red Sonja and Conan fighting back to back—on the Boris Valejo cover to The Savage Sword of Conan #1 (Aug. 1974)—the She-Devil with a Sword was sporting her soon-to-becomefamous steel bikini. Red Sonja ® Red Sonja LLC. Conan © Conan Properties.

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Fan-Favorite Frank Thorne Once Frank Thorne took over the art chores of the Red Sonja solo series in (right) Marvel Feature, the artist’s chesty, chainmailed version of the character helped make the She-Devil with a Sword a hit in the 1970s. (above) A color poster by Thorne, released in 1976 by Big M Publishing. Courtesy of Heritage. Red Sonja ® Red Sonja LLC.

Her beauty wasn’t a curse, but it was a temptation that no man would be able to enjoy. And the temptation was heightened as Red Sonja revealed more of her womanly wiles with the steel bikini.

MARVEL POPULARITY Her popularity seemed to grow at the same rate as her feminine attributes, which tested the strength of her bikini top under later artists. Marvel didn’t fall into hot water with the Comics Code Authority despite the growing amount of skin and cleavage being shown. Roy Thomas says the Comics Code Authority had been weakening over the years, so Red Sonja’s comic-book appearances didn’t create the stir they might have in earlier years. The growing movement for women’s rights could have been a stumbling block for the comic that seemed to cash in on Red Sonja’s femininity. “Most people seemed to like her,” Thomas says. “A few people didn’t like it … and a few didn’t like idea that I had given her this oath … but overall she was a popular character.” One of the people who didn’t like this new direction for Red Sonja was the man who first penciled her for Marvel Comics. Barry Windsor-Smith introduced Red Sonja in Conan the Barbarian #23, cover-dated February 1973. The character was first penned by Conan

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creator Robert E. Howard, but his creation was Red Sonya of Rogatine, a woman-warrior set in the 16th century and introduced in Howard’s story “The Shadow of the Vulture.” Howard’s heroine was also red-haired, but she was a gun-wielding warrior of Polish-Ukrainian ancestry. Thomas adopted the story and character for the Hyborian Age, and the red-haired Red Sonja became a complement to two other women in the Conan mythos: the dark-haired Belit, who was the “queen of the Black Coast,” and the golden-haired Valeria, also a pirate and mercenary. Conan first met Red Sonja as he was fleeing a pack of Turanians and their leader—Mikhal Oglu, who was called the Vulture—in Conan #23. Conan’s horse collapses as he nears the gates of Makkalet, and horsed riders pursue him toward the town, where an entry gate is thrown open at the last second— a rescue orchestrated by Red Sonja. Red Sonja identifies herself as a soldier in the service of King Ghannif of Pah-Dishah. She was “a red-haired she-devil more beautiful than the flames of hell … a girl whose savage cutting and slashing stirs Conan’s blood—beyond all reason!” Comics readers were introduced to Red Sonja’s prowess as a warrior in “The Shadow of the Vulture,” but they would be treated to her feminine side in the next issue of the comic series. Conan the Barbarian #24 was titled “The Song of Red Sonja,” in which she “drinks the stongest man under the table— and outswears a Zingaran! She’s all men’s delight— and no man’s love.” In the opening scene, she dances on a table in a tavern of Makkalet. Her rhythms captivate the barroom crowd and quickly spark a brawl in which she holds her own with fist and whip. Conan and Red Sonja seek to cool off from the fight in an intimate scene that hints at the she-devil’s beauty.

Red Sonja dives into a pool and removes her Windsor-Smith feels that Thomas and Thorne capitalchainmail shirt in the moonlit night, and her beauty ized on the growing amount of skin and exploited Red mesmerizes Conan. She uses these charms to tempt Sonja’s feminine attributes to make the character more the Cimmerian into a midnight theft of treasure. marketable. He hadn’t shied away from intimate The two warriors later scale the outside of a scenes of Red Sonja during the two issues he sorcerer’s tower, where Red Sonja has been penned of her in Conan the Barbarian, but told will be found a serpent-tiara that will he says he was more tasteful in his craft. win her riches if delivered to her “I did show some skin, in my own employer. The gleaming tiara is found, way,” Windsor-Smith says. “I created but it springs to life as a towering the swimming pool scene in ‘The Song serpent with golden scales and fangs of Red Sonja’ specifically to have Sonja large enough to impale a man. remove her heavy chainmail shirt. After defeating the serpent, It was a sexy scene that added to her Conan wants payment—if not in gold personality within just a few panels. then in a woman’s passion. “Although I drew her holding “No man’s lips shall ever touch her shirt rather than wearing it, mine, Cimmerian—save those of nothing was exposed and, more frank thorne him who has defeated me on the importantly, Sonja acted as she field of battle—and that, even you would in any situation; she wasn’t shall never do.” slinky or coquettish—she didn’t suddenly pose like a Artist Barry Windsor-Smith takes pride in his vision Playgirl. She just stood there holding her shirt. of Red Sonja. He says that he created a believable character that could have existed and excelled in a male-dominated world of sword and sorcery. “I wanted a female warrior who could punch Conan and get away with it,” Windsor-Smith says. “That was the lady I came up with for ‘The Song of Red Sonja.’” The comic-book industry also took note of this story. “Song of Red Sonja” went on to win the 1973 Academy of Comic Book Arts Award for Best Individual Story (Dramatic), as written by Roy Thomas and drawn, inked, and colored by Barry Windsor-Smith.

Red Sonja ® Red Sonja LLC.

SEEING RED Red Sonja’s acclaim by the Academy of Comic Book Arts set the stage for her break-out roles in the first issue of The Savage Sword of Conan, as well as a two-issue comicbook appearance, in Conan the Barbarian #43 and 44 (Oct. and Nov. 1974). She would later be awarded a seven-issue run in Marvel Feature, which launched her own 15-issue series best remembered for its artwork by fan-favorite Frank Thorne. [Frank Thorne did not respond to several interview requests for this article.] Frank Thorne’s artwork was known for its erotic flavor. He later went on to be the creator, artist, and writer of “Moonshine McJugs,” which appeared in Playboy magazine, as well as other comics creations. Barry Windsor-Smith (BWS) expresses disappointment at later interpretations of Red Sonja. “When these and other artists dressed Sonja in that tin bikini, she abruptly ceased to be the original BWS character (as opposed to the original REH character),” he says. “That Roy Thomas and Frank Thorne followed with all that tit-slinging, butt-posing soft porn is a great shame. “If Sonja had remained as I first wrote her, I think she could have grown into a genuinely memorable character,” Windsor-Smith says. “But instead she was regressed into a male-ego-oriented cartoon sex cipher.”

Killer Crocs (right) Original Thorne cover artwork to Marvel Feature #43 (Oct. 1974), courtesy of Heritage. Note the changes in her weapons in the published version (above). Red Sonja ® Red Sonja LLC.

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character of Red Sonja might have been different. Despite her objections to the portrayal of women in pornography, she had no objections to erotica. “Erotica is as different from pornography as love is from rape, as dignity is from humiliation, as partnership is from slavery, as pleasure is from pain,” Steinem once said. For Steinem, pornography involved the domination of one person over another, the male over the female, but the character of Red Sonja as a person—as a character created by Roy Thomas—never tolerated those advances or liberties. Conan was quick to note this in Conan the Barbarian #43, when he and Red Sonja were trying to elude a pack of bounty hunters, a story set in the aftermath of Savage Sword of Conan #1: “You wear armor too scanty to hide your charms … you disavow the caresses of men … and ply with swords as if they were toys made for your pleasure,” Conan said to her. Barry Windsor-Smith enjoyed only a short stint with Red Sonja, but the character would inspire one of his later creations. “She lives on somewhat in Princess Adastra of Orgasma from Young GODS,” he says. “Adastra, though, is realized more fully as a strong character with personality defects. It’s for this reason that she can wear a tin bikini without any deliberate sexuality. “Moreover, several of the key players in Young GODS have complained that Adastra is ‘barely dressed’ and ‘needs to find some clothes,’” he says.

CLASH OF THE TITANS

Sonja by Maroto An undated Red Sonja painting by Spanish artist Esteban Maroto, one of the first artists to depict the heroine in her steel bikini (in a pinup in Savage Sword of Conan #1). Art courtesy of Heritage. Red Sonja ® Red Sonja LLC.

“But despite my artistry of restraint, Marvel had to go ruin it all with White-Out and in-house art changes,” Windsor-Smith says. “I’m of the opinion that a good-looking woman is more sexual when she seems unaware of herself. That was my archetype for ‘The Song of Red Sonja.’” The “art changes” referenced by Barry WindsorSmith include two panels that were censored by Marvel. They were reprinted in their original form by WindsorSmith in Marvel Treasury #15, released in 1977. Barry Windsor-Smith believes he wouldn’t be the only person who was disappointed with the treatment of Red Sonja, especially when viewed in the light of the Women’s Movement of the 1970s. “I expect that Gloria Steinem might have appreciated my character but would have been repulsed” by the depiction of Red Sonja by Thomas and Thorne, Windsor-Smith says. Gloria Steinem is a feminist and journalist who has been a steady champion for the Equal Rights Amendment. She also was the leader of the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1960s and 1970s, and she also fought the exploitation of a woman’s body. Steinem made headlines with an exposé on the exploitation of women by Playboy magazine. Gloria Steinem might have frowned on Marvel’s portrayal of a woman’s body to make a character more marketable for comics fans, but her view on the

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Red Sonja made several appearances with Conan, with the two sword-and-sorcery stars later crossing swords as they crossed over into each other’s comic-book title in the mid1970s. The crossover was set up by nearly identical pages that culminated in Conan the Barbarian #66 and Marvel Feature #6 (both Sept. 1976). Red Sonja easily dispatches Belit in Conan #67, but the two stars of the Hyborian Age won’t square off against each other until Marvel Feature #7. The clash of swords quickly finds Conan at the losing end of the struggle after the Cimmerian conveniently slips in freshly spilled oil that had been knocked over during the fight. The battle renews, and Conan’s size and strength give him the edge over Red Sonja in a tit-for-tat reversal. Red Sonja’s armor—or lack of—has become her trademark appearance. Her steel bikini continues to be the costume du jour for Dynamite Entertainment, which offers an ongoing title for Red Sonja, as well as miniseries appearances and one-shot comics. Roy Thomas says Red Sonja’s steel bikini was never meant to demean women, but to complement Red Sonja’s character, her origin, and her oath. “It’s intended to have a certain ironic humor to it,” Thomas says. “Barry didn’t feel I put enough humor into comics.” Even Red Sonja shared a bit of humor about her garb, although perhaps unintended. In Marvel Feature #6, she comes to a collapsed bridge and is faced with making a river crossing on foot while en route to Venzia. “Times like these, I’m glad I wear light armor upon the road,” she said. JIM MANNER is a mild-mannered editor who works for a daily newspaper in Virginia. When he's not working, he can usually be found riding his Harley as part of a motorcycle ministry.

Mark Arnold

One of the most bizarre shows ever to come out of Hanna-Barbera Productions was its live-action caveman action-adventure show called Korg: 70,000 B.C.— bizarre for reasons including the fact that it was live action. Although Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera had dabbled with live-action shows prior to Korg, most notably with The Banana Splits, Korg was the first live-action show from Hanna-Barbera to be completely dramatic and follow a single narrative. Loosely based on The Waltons, Korg told the story of caveman Korg and his family as they struggled to make ends meet in caveman times. It was sort of a serious attempt at The Flintstones! Curiously, the show debuted at the same time as Hanna-Barbera’s fully animated Valley of the Dinosaurs. Hanna-Barbera presumably couldn’t decide whether to do an animated or live-action show set in prehistoric times, so why not do both? Apart from the prehistoric setting, the two shows are very dissimilar. (Hanna-Barbera did dabble further into live-action material with less than spectacular results, including The Skatebirds and a 1979 theatrical film called C.H.O.M.P.S., starring Valerie Bertinelli. None of these are very memorable.)

FROM TV TO COMICS Korg was filmed in the hills of the Palos Verdes Peninsula in California, in the spring and summer of 1974—and, coincidentally, only a couple of miles from my boyhood home at the time. As a six-year-old, I was fascinated that a show could be filmed so close to my house. Even though Hollywood was nearby, it was still a good 30 miles away. The completed show was nothing much, to be honest, but some folks have fond memories of it. Korg was supposed to be educational, based on the best research about Neanderthal life available at the time. Korg aired on ABC-TV from September 7, 1974 through August 31, 1975. There were 16 episodes produced and the show was not renewed for a second season. Episode titles include: “Magic Claws,” “The Guide,” “Exile,” “Eclipse,” “Trapped,” “Story of Lumi,” “Moving Rock,” “Beach People,” “Running Fight,” “The Ancient One,” “Tor’s First Hunt,” “The Hill People,” “The River,” “The Web,” “Picture Maker,” and “Ree & the Wolf.” Korg starred Jim Malinda as Korg. Bill Ewing was Bok, his best friend. Naomi Pollack portrayed Mara, Korg’s wife. Christoper Man was Tane, Korg’s eldest son. Charles Morteo was Tor, Korg’s youngest son. Janelle Pransky was Ree, Korg’s daughter, and Eileen Deetz portrayed Sala, another friend of the family. Veteran character actor Burgess Meredith, best known

Man vs. Dinosaur Cover paintings by the too-often-overlooked Pat Boyette make Charlton Comics’ Korg: 70,000 B.C. a visual treat. Cover to issue #3 (Oct. 1975) courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). © 1975 Hanna-Barbera Productions.

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among comics fans for his portrayal of the Penguin in KORG’S MULTI-TALENTED ARTIST the Adam West Batman TV series from the mid-1960s, The Korg: 70,000 B.C. comic book was not unlike the narrated the show. None of the actors (save Meredith) TV shows. Veteran Charlton artist Pat Boyette wrote went on to greater acting roles, with Malinda, and drew every issue with John Byrne doing some text Ewing, and Deetz doing the most post-Korg acting illustrations in the books. The series lasted nine issues, work mainly for episodic television. cover-dated from May 1975 through November 1976. Unfortunately, there is a stigma attached to actors Boyette was born July 27, 1923 in San Antonio, having done Saturday morning live-action TV work Texas, and passed away on January 14, 2000 in Fort back in the ’60s and ’70s. The same fate befell the Worth. He started a career in broadcasting but soon actors who worked on other shows like Shazam!, Isis, turned his attention to drawing comic books in the and The Krofft Supershow. Unless the actors were mid-1950s, spending most of his career working for already a known quantity, rarely did they go on to Charlton Comics from 1956–1976 (his work featured in do greater work. reprints through 1986, when Charlton closed its doors). A few pieces of Korg merchandise were released Don Mangus, who has a website tribute to Boyette including a board game, a lunchbox, View-Master (www.comicartville.com/mangusboyette.htm), says of him, reels, and a comic-book series produced by Charlton “[Korg] was absolutely one of his favorite projects that that appeared near the end of the network run. he ever worked on. He loved it. Pat also did a Charlton Comics had taken over the lot of work on the bigfoot H-B characters Hanna-Barbera license from Gold Key for the foreign market such as Scooby-Doo Comics in 1970, but opted only for the and a series about a shark, Jabberjaw, older classic H-B properties like The a little later. He did scores of pages. Flintstones, Yogi Bear, and Huckleberry I think he did some H-B for Marvel Hound. Then-current shows like once prior to this foreign stuff, Scooby-Doo remained with Gold on the title TV Stars #4 (Feb. 1979). Key for about five more years, when I believe Mark Evanier had a great the entire Hanna-Barbera license deal of involvement with the foreign migrated over to Charlton. It was at H-B material, perhaps as a writer or this point in 1975 that Charlton editor/packager. Like Warren Tufts, began to create comic books based Dan Spiegle, Alex Toth, Sparky Moore, on all-new shows from H-B, Korg and Warren Kremer, Pat’s bigfoot pat boyette being one of them. art was great!” Born to be Wild Issue

One-Man Art Studio Pat Boyette wrote, penciled, inked, and lettered Korg: 70,000 B.C. Seen here: (left) an informative page from issue #1, and (right) the title page to issue #2, both from the Heritage archives. © 1975 Hanna-Barbera Productions.

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Mangus continues, “Getting back to Korg, Pat indulged in many of his favorite leitmotifs/themes in the series, such as history, evolution, the supernatural/ unexplained, and UFO/aliens. He wrote many/most of the stories himself, and also created a series of superbly painted covers for the series. As a true-blue Boyette fan, I consider Korg one of his best runs in comics, and his always-distinctive lettering was featured in many bold title logo set-ups. Anyway, Pat loved working on that series, and was sad to see it end.” Comics historian/artist Jim Amash agrees: “Pat was very proud of that book. I know we talked about it a time or two, but I really can’t remember anything specific, except that he pretty much had free reign doing what he wanted on the book (which was generally the norm at Charlton). Pat was always happiest when he wrote and drew his books. I know this was something he enjoyed doing.” Fandom Confidential publisher Ron Frantz adds, “I remember Boyette mentioning a few jobs for H-B. Nothing I recall about Korg. About the time he drew

Spencer Spook for me, he drew some Jabberjaw comicbook stories. These were done for the European market. I have no idea if they were ever published in the US. “Boyette kind of got his foot in the door at H-B a few years earlier after Alex Toth had recommended him,” Frantz says. “This had taking some doing on Toth’s part as H-B had a real prejudice against any artist or writer that had ever worked for Charlton. It didn’t matter where or when. This came as a result of Charlton publishing so many really bad comics with H-B characters during those years when Charlton had an exclusive contract with H-B. Toth and Boyette had been, of course, very good friends. From time to time, H-B would call Boyette at the last minute for some animation rush job. I think this usually happened when some other freelance artist had left H-B in a bad way by missing a deadline. Boyette had developed a welldeserved reputation in the business as an artist who could come through in a clutch situation when a deadline loomed overhead like the Sword of Damocles.” Frantz shares an interesting Pat Boyette anecdote: “One time when Pat was drawing Spencer Spook, he called to tell me that H-B had just called to offer him an animation job. If I recall, it was complete storyboards for one of the ‘ghost’-type cartoons that H-B was doing at the time. It might have been Ghost Busters or Goober and the Ghost Chasers or something like that. Sorry I can’t be more specific but almost a quarter-century of passed time does a thing to a man’s memory. Pat told me that he wanted to take the job as it paid very well, but if he did, it would cause him to be a couple of weeks late on Spencer Spook. Pat was a real pro. He was worried that if he was late on Spencer Spook it might put me in a bad way. Of course, I told Pat to call H-B that very instant and accept the job before they found someone else. The world would not come to an end if the new issue of Spencer Spook was a little late showing up at the comic-book shops. The interesting thing is that Pat would have turned down the H-B job if I had asked him to. Let me tell you, there were not many people in the business with his sense of ethics. Bless his memory!”

KORG IN THE MORGUE? Korg comic books are not particularly difficult to find, but as with many Charlton comic books, they are starting to rise up in value as artists like Boyette are now developing a latent appreciation within comic-book fandom. Will there be a Korg revival? Highly doubtful, as there is not much demand for it, but an unrelated film called 10,000 B.C. did come out in 2008 and did respectable business. The fact that Korg: 70,000 B.C. was trying to be historically factual was probably to its detriment, as shows like Land of the Lost were far more successful and even spawned a live-action theatrical film in 2009. TNT aired Korg a few times in the late ’80s/ early ’90s, but it has never been made officially available on home video, although a few clips can be found on YouTube. MARK ARNOLD has three books to his credit, one on Cracked magazine; one on Total TeleVision, the company that produced Underdog; and one on Harvey Comics. He currently is at work on a book about the Beatles and has other projects in the works for his Fun Ideas Productions.

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Mark DiFruscio

“I climbed out of the abyss of naked barbarism to the throne and in that climb I spilt my blood as freely as I spilt that of others. If either of us has the right to rule men, by Crom, it is I!” — The Scarlet Citadel (1933) Thus spake Conan, the Cimmerian. Hither came Robert E. Howard’s most savage of heroes, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet. Born in the pages of the pulp magazine Weird Tales in December of 1932, the barbarianking named Conan cut a bloody swath through the standard conventions of fantasy literature, and claimed for his heavy brow an iron crown, as king of the nascent genre that would decades later come to be known as “sword-and-sorcery.” Such was the impact of Howard’s wild-hearted adventurer that it is almost impossible to discuss any of the various sword and sorcery heroes that followed in his wake—be it Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné, Lin Carter’s Thongor of Lemuria, or Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser—without first considering them in relation to Conan. Accordingly, the same might also be said for the slew of “savage heroes” that stormed the gates of the comics world following the tremendous success of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian comic-book series, launched in 1970 by creators Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith. With sales reaching an estimated 200,000-to-300,000 range during the height of that title’s popularity, Conan’s four-color chronicles ignited a veritable stampede of bare-chested barbarians and wilding warriors across the entire medium, typified by such books as Mighty Samson and Dagar the Invincible from Gold Key, or Wulf the Barbarian and Ironjaw from Atlas/Seaboard. [For a further exploration of Conan’s history in comics, see the exceptional three-part series “Sword-and-Sorcery in the Comics” appearing in Alter Ego #80 (Part 1), #83 (Part 2) and #92 (Part 3), all available at the TwoMorrows website.]

DC COMICS’ ADVENTURE LINE Not to be outdone by the competition, DC Comics effectively launched an entire line of books to answer this challenge from Conan, which DC touted as its “all-new adventure line” and counted among its number Joe Kubert’s Tor, Mike Grell’s Warlord, Kong the Untamed, Beowulf: Dragon Slayer, Claw the Unconquered, and Stalker. While none of these books would succeed in mounting a serious threat to Conan’s preeminence as comicdom’s überbarbarian, DC’s efforts did result in a diverse stable of fantasy-oriented characters that remain a part of the company’s profile to this day, whereas Marvel would eventually relinquish its publishing rights to Conan in 2000. Yet among the above collection of spear-toting cavemen

The Claw Clan Artist Ernie Chan’s promotional art for Claw the Unconquered, introducing the swordand-sorcery series’ cast. Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © DC Entertainment.

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of an initial cancellation that was subsequently reversed. Further complicating matters is the fact that another two issues, #13 and 14, never officially saw print, but did earn inclusion in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1, an in-house collection of story material that was scrapped before publication when DC initiated a massive purge of its lower-selling titles in a move that has infamously come to be known as “the DC Implosion” of 1978.

The Coming of Claw (left) The titular titan’s first appearance, on page 1 of Claw the Unconquered #1 (May–June 1975), written by David Michelinie and drawn by Ernie Chua (Chan). Courtesy of Heritage. (right) The issue #1 cover. TM & © DC Entertainment.

and savage swordsmen, it remains Claw the Unconquered, created by writer David Michelinie and illustrated by artist Ernie Chan (nee Chua), that most strongly evokes the spirit of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian and mostly clearly exemplifies DC’s efforts to emulate its success. Those efforts were clearly on display in the promotional material used for Claw the Unconquered at the time, as demonstrated in the publisher’s own fanzine, The Amazing World of DC Comics #3 (Nov. 1974). “The first couple of months of 1975 will see eleven new DC series on the stands,” the fanzine announced. “So here’s a sneak peek at the shape of things to come,” it teased, introducing Claw the Unconquered thusly: “He dwells in a land beyond time—born either before eternity or after it has ceased to matter. His deformed hand marks him as a target for a world full of bounty-hunters, wizards, and dangers as yet unchronicled. Prepare yourself for sword-&-sorcery mixed with high fantasy and join the latest barbarian hero to enter comics. Editor Joe Orlando has put two of his top talents on this assignment: writer David Michelinie (Swamp Thing) and artist Ernie Chua, who brings a wealth of experience from inking a Certain Other Noteworthy Adventurer (Not published by us).” Premiering with Claw the Unconquered #1 (June 1975), the series ran for only 12 issues, but lasted for over three years in actual time due to an 18-month delay between issues #9 (Oct. 1976) and 10 (May 1978), this the result

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THE WORLD OF CLAW No less complex is the story of Claw the Unconquered himself, which begins in the fantasy realm of Pytharia, and focuses on a barbarian named Valcan, who has earned the sobriquet of “Claw” thanks to a misshapen right hand that he hides beneath a crimson gauntlet. Unbeknownst to Claw, who has no memory of his past, his father had been cursed with the same talon-like deformity, and was murdered because of it by the evil King Occulas of the Yellow Eye, ruler of Pytharia. Years earlier, a prophecy forewarned Occulas that his reign would be threatened by “the Hand of Justice” in the form of a dragon-like claw. Hence Occulas of the Yellow Eye did order the assassination of Claw’s dragonpawed father, not realizing that the man’s infant son Valcan had been born with the same disfigurement. Eventually Occulas learns of Valcan’s existence and places a generous bounty on the barbarian’s head, prompting every cutthroat and fortune-seeker throughout the realm to turn their avaricious blades against Claw, unawares. After a series of bitter betrayals at the hands of a buxom barmaid, a golden-skinned priestess, and a silvermaned centauress, the world-weary Claw eventually finds true friendship in the company of an affable adventurer named Ghilkyn, Prince of the Thousand Hills. Together Claw and Ghilkyn undertake a heroic quest for the mystic sword “Moonthorn” in an effort to defeat a colossal

demon plaguing the good people of Pytharia. Along the way, Claw uncovers the truth behind his mysterious origin, which he learns is rooted in a multidimensional war between two powerful cosmic entities, the ShadowGods and the Gods of Elder Light. Claw also discovers that his misshapen hand is in fact the result of an ancient demonic curse that has been passed down to him through the ages, gifting him with terrible, dark powers, but also making him an important player in the celestial conflict between the forces of light and darkness. In an effort to deny this destiny, Claw shatters Moonthorn and even severs his own demonic hand, hoping to stem its dark influence over his soul. Nonetheless, the evil appendage chillingly takes on a life of its own and manages to reattach itself to Claw, apparently unwilling to be divorced from its host. At the same time, Claw delivers vengeance upon King Occulas for the murder of his father and mother, thus fulfilling the prophecy that Occulas would someday meet his doom at the hands of a “claw.” Worthy of note here is the fact that Claw’s wrath was forced to endure a lengthy delay due to the book being canceled with issue #9, which ended just as Claw rode off to face his final reckoning with the powerful Occulas. Despite the fact that issue #10 had already been written and penciled, writer David Michelinie and new series artist Keith Giffen were unable to find a home for the concluding chapter of the Claw saga, until fate eventually intervened on their behalf. Or rather, as Michelinie explained it in the long-delayed but miraculously revived Claw the Unconquered #10, “Eight months ago, Fate (in the form of DC treasurer Arthur Gutowitz) stepped in, pointing out that the last two dimension-hopping issues of Claw had perked sales up noticeably. And, he said, with the cancellation of Metal Men leaving room on the 1978 schedule, why not give Claw another try? (Bless you, Mr. Gutowitz…)” And so it came to pass that Claw the Unconquered returned from the netherworlds of hiatus, and at last enacted his revenge against the evil Occulas, only to then promptly get wiped out himself in the “DC Implosion” two issues later. Nonetheless, two additional unpublished issues of Claw the Unconquered would appear in the aforementioned Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1, wherein the eponymous hero teams up with a beautiful sorceress named Trysannda, while his loyal companion Ghilkyn inadvertently falls under the sway of the nefarious Shadow-Gods. This, however, would be the true end for Claw, conquered finally by an overcrowded marketplace and the curse called cancellation. [See Alter Ego #92 for a more detailed recap of the Claw the Unconquered series.]

In discussing his work on Claw the Unconquered, creator David Michelinie began his interview with BACK ISSUE by offering some general observations on the series, given his perspective of now being some three decades removed from its publication: “I had totally forgotten that Claw had been canceled, then reborn only to be canceled again,” Michelinie admits. “Ah, the joys of dotage. Anyway, I read the entire 12-issue run of Claw in an attempt to refresh my memory. Three major revelations came from that reading session: I cringed at the number of lettering errors that got through (birds ‘risk’ into the sky instead of ‘rise,’ something strikes frost into the heart of the ‘heartiest’ warrior instead of ‘hardiest,’ there are ‘tagged’ holes in something instead of ‘jagged’ holes, etc.); I saw and remembered how captions occasionally seemed placed more for aesthetics than clarity, thus were read 1-3-2 instead of 1-2-3; and the clarity of the writing itself seemed to stumble a bit in the resurrected title—don’t know if it was the artist or my own tunnel vision, but the stories should have been more clearly presented.”

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Hands Off! (above) Claw’s horrific hand is uncovered on this shocking Chanrendered page from issue #1, courtesy of Heritage. (left) House ad for DC Comics’ adventure line. TM & © DC Entertainment.

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Ghilkyn’s Smilin’ Writer David Michelinie imagined supporting-cast member Ghilkyn (seen here on the Chan-drawn page 3 of Claw #4) in the spirit of movie swashbucklers Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. TM & © DC Entertainment.

CLAW, THE CREATOR

DiFRUSCIO: Did the project originate with you pitching MARK DiFRUSCIO: I’d like to start with the creation of the character to DC, or did the editorial department tap you to create a new fantasy title for them? Claw and how it fit into what appears to be a larger MICHELINIE: I was asked to write a new initiative at DC to produce fantasy or swordsword-and-sorcery barbarian character for and-sorcery titles. Do you recall any behindthe upcoming line, so I came up with the-scenes editorial mandate to tap into Claw. I developed it with editor Joe the Conan readership or capitalize on Orlando, but I don’t remember that book’s success? exactly how close we worked on that DAVID MICHELINIE: I don’t recall project. I do remember that we were that I was told specifically to make originally going to call it Talon, Claw a Conan clone, but the but Jim Steranko had produced success of the Conan and Red posters of a character by that name Sonja characters at Marvel was and asked us not to use it. DC’s legal definitely an influence on DC’s department checked and found decision to launch a group of there was no copyright or trademark non-superhero titles. Though those on the name, but we decided to new books also included such david michelinie change our character’s name as a divergent series as Justice, Inc. and courtesy to Jim. [It was] Joe, I believe, The Joker, which had nothing to who came up with [the new title] Claw, which I do with sword-and-sorcery. initially hated—too “comic-booky” for the young punk ego I had then. But the name grew on me and ended up making a strong, dramatic title. DiFRUSCIO: How much of an influence, if at all, did Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian, or for that matter Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories, play into your creation of Claw? MICHELINIE: The first Marvel comics I read were issues of Amazing Spider-Man, but when I branched out I read mostly the more offbeat heroes like Sub-Mariner, Silver Surfer and, yes, Conan the Barbarian. I liked the flavor of the stories and Barry Smith’s artwork was different and exciting. So I imagine there might have been some unconscious influence there. But I never read any of Roy Thomas’ source material until after Claw, so Howard’s originals certainly played no part.

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Electrifying! Michelinie’s script reveals that there’s more to Claw than brawn as the Unconquered One overcomes a one-eyed, multi-armed menace on this exciting Chan original from Claw #5. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Entertainment.

DiFRUSCIO: In our previous interviews you have mentioned your appreciation for Michael Moorcock. Were you familiar with Lin Carter’s Thongor books, and how much of that went into your creation of Claw? MICHELINIE: I hadn’t read any Conan or Thongor prose when I wrote Claw, but I did read a Lin Carter book on fantasy writing called Imaginary Worlds. That book gave me a better sense of how to handle the “reality” of fictional worlds, from how monsters’ names should be difficult to pronounce by human tongues to making the fantastic believable by keeping it consistent. DiFRUSCIO: Judging from your map in Claw the Unconquered #5 (Jan.–Feb. 1976), you gave a lot of thought to fleshing out Claw’s fantasy realm of Pytharia. Can you give any further insight into your thinking about Pytharia? How would you compare it to, say, Tolkien’s Middle-Earth or Conan’s Hyborian Age or Elric’s Melniboné? MICHELINIE: To this day I haven’t read any Tolkien, so Middle-Earth was no influence. I read lots of Elric, and the Marvel Conan comic, so I assume there were influences from those, although I’m sure I tried to make my world as different as possible in regard to specifics. One sidenote about that map: There was a joke going around the offices at that time about “Gak” being the god of cash. I don’t know where it originated, but the term was bandied about when talk of paychecks and such came up. So I named a lake on the map “Tears of Gak” as a kind of wink to my fellow professionals. DiFRUSCIO: One way in which Claw clearly distinguished himself from Conan was with his misshapen demon hand. Here I couldn’t help but think of Moorcock’s Elric, namely his sword Stormbringer, and its dark influence on Elric’s soul. MICHELINIE: You’re absolutely right there. The demon hand was a direct result of my love of the Elric stories and the whole Stormbringer dynamic. The idea of a hero whose greatest power is one he loathes to use, is even afraid to use, is so strong and intriguing that I couldn’t help wanting to explore it myself. Of course, I tried to make my take on it and the details surrounding the conflict as different as possible from Michael Moorcock’s brilliant creation, and that led me in directions that I didn’t expect, and found both challenging and exciting to work with. DiFRUSCIO: Can you speak to where you saw the character eventually heading? For instance, with Conan, we knew from the start (thanks to Robert E. Howard’s story “The Phoenix on the Sword”) that Conan was destined to eventually become king of Aquilonia. Did you have a similar “endpoint” or apex in mind for Claw? MICHELINIE: I didn’t have any “endpoint” in mind for Claw. The character was in an ongoing series so I just kind of went with it, having some general idea where I wanted to go with a current storyline, while adding subplots for future storylines as they occurred to me.

The one I was working on when Claw bit the dust (the second time) was a reconciliation with his demon hand and its growing influence over him. The last published story had him cutting off his own hand after the gauntlet that had shielded him from the claw’s influence was stolen, and the hand acted on its own to kill a surrendering soldier who had spared Claw’s life earlier. My plan was to have Claw try to survive as a one-handed warrior for a while, and have a tough go of it. Meanwhile we’d cut to something crawling through the bushes here, or people reacting in horror to something they saw off-panel there. Eventually, Claw would be sleeping beside a fire in the wilderness as something creeps up on him through the shadows. The next morning he wakes up to find that the demon hand, which had been following him, had re-attached itself to his wrist. Realizing that he could never escape the hand, he would then go on a desperate quest to find the Oraculum gauntlet before the monstrous hand turned him into a soulless killing machine. Much of this was actually covered in the sadly unpublished issue #13.

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TM & © DC Entertainment.

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Three Claws for the Price of One This dynamic Ernie Chan cover to Claw #5 (Jan.–Feb. 1976) pitted the champion against a giant crabmonster. Original art courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Entertainment.

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DiFRUSCIO: I’m also curious about the “Eternal Champion” idea you were beginning to explore in Claw (as well as in Star Hunters and Starfire). Was it something you had been thinking about doing with Claw from the very beginning, or did it develop over the course of the series as you began working on those other titles? MICHELINIE: I don’t know if it was something I considered from the beginning, or something that occurred to me as I went along. But as I said, Moorcock was a big influence on me and, next to the Stormbringer concept, his idea of a hero who has aspects in various planes or worlds was one that fascinated me. I had hoped to eventually do a graphic novel that brought Claw, Starfire, and Donovan Flint (from Star Hunters) together to fight some galactic menace. I thought having a barbarian, a swordand-science heroine, and a space-opera hero come together and react to the fact that they were all part of the same essence would have been a lot of fun. I was also hoping to throw a twist into things by having Jonah Hex, a Wild West anti-hero gunslinger, be part of the mix. But since I hadn’t created that character and wasn’t the regular writer of his title, I didn’t know if I’d be able to swing that. DiFRUSCIO: Any recollections about the art changes on the series? How was your working relationship with Ernie Chan? Did his design for Claw and the various fantasy elements match your initial conception of them?

MICHELINIE: Ernie Chan was a very capable artist, but I don’t think we were the best possible match for a team. I wanted to make Claw as different as I could from Conan, even though Conan was one of the reasons Claw existed. So in my first script I called for Claw to be “...well-muscled, though lithe as opposed to brutish—that is, more of a Tarzan type than a Conan.” But Ernie had his own idea of what a barbarian should look like and the character ended up looking pretty much like Conan in a white fur loincloth. Ernie also seemed to have problems accepting the fantasy elements that I wanted to make fairly commonplace in this world. I remember going into DC one day when Ernie and Joe Orlando were having a rather heated discussion in Joe’s office. When Ernie left, Joe told me that the argument had been about the monster I’d asked to be drawn in the first Claw script. It was a tentacle-creature, and in an effort to make it a little different from the hundreds of other tentaclecreatures in these kinds of stories I called for small mouths on the ends of the tentacles, so their sharp teeth could be ripping at Claw as they wrapped around him. Joe told me that Ernie didn’t want to draw the mouths because octopuses didn’t have teeth. I guess he had trouble grasping the concept that this was a fantasy world where anything could happen and the logic (and anatomy) of our world didn’t necessarily apply. I think Ernie was more

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DC’s First Oracle Long before Barbara “Batgirl” Gordon became DC’s information broker to the superheroes, Oracle, Michelinie’s Claw the Unconquered #5 (drawn by Chan) featured a different character bearing that name. Note the lettering goof on page 4 of the left-hand page: “heartiest” instead of “hardiest.” TM & © DC Entertainment.

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Art Changes (above) Ernie Chan’s artistic commitments to Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian (where he was John Buscema’s inker) and Kull the Conqueror led him to abandon DC’s Claw. Here’s Ernie’s solo version of Conan, in a 1977 specialty piece. (right) Replacing him on Claw was Keith Giffen, although Chan’s strong inks over Giffen’s pencils on this cover to issue #9 might lead those not watching closely to believe that Ernie was still at the reins. Conan © Conan Properties. Claw the Unconquered TM & © DC Entertainment.

comfortable in the relatively more realistic world of Conan. Anyway, Joe prevailed and the teeth were drawn, but I don’t think Ernie was ever truly happy working on the book. DiFRUSCIO: Do you recall what led to Chan’s departure and Keith Giffen’s arrival? MICHELINIE: I don’t know the specifics of Ernie’s departure. But when Keith came aboard he seemed to have a better feel, and an enthusiasm, for the more imaginative look to the book that I’d sought from the start. It was an early assignment for Keith, and I think he enjoyed it. I don’t recall that we had a lot of face-to-face contact, but we did seem to work well together. DiFRUSCIO: And how about those Joe Kubert covers for the last three issues? MICHELINIE: Gorgeous. I even ran into Joe at DC once and asked if he’d sell me the original art for issue #10. He just smiled and shook his head, and told me he didn’t sell his originals. My loss. DiFRUSCIO: In no particular order, I’d like to pick your brain on some of the more memorable elements you introduced into the series. For example, I quite enjoyed Claw’s occasional sidekick “Ghilkyn, Prince of the Thousand Hills.” Were you looking to create a more affable foil to the everserious Claw? MICHELINIE: I had a lot of fun with Ghilkyn. And, yes, he was intended to add an element of lightness and humor to an increasingly serious series. I tended to hear Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. when I’d have Ghilkyn talk,

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and I wanted to make sure he was every bit a hero as Claw, a true partner rather than bumbling comic relief. I just thought it was cool to have a hero whose “sidekick” was Errol Flynn or Fairbanks, Jr.! Although I might have come up with a better name. Readers’ letters frequently referred to the character as “Ghilikyn,” which made me wonder if they expected him to go on a three-hour tour with the Skipper. DiFRUSCIO: In terms of the “Grimstone Quest,” wherein Claw obtains the mystic sword Moonthorn, were you referencing any specific sources or stories from Grail lore or Celtic myths, or something else entirely? MICHELINIE: No, I was just going with one of the standard elements of mythic lore: the heroic quest. While trying to give it enough twists to make it an interesting story in its own right, of course. DiFRUSCIO: Also, I have to ask about Claw’s brief stewardship of Moonthorn. I was a bit surprised to see Claw take possession of Moonthorn in #8, only to then shatter it in #9. Usually when a fantasy hero gets a mystical sword with a great name, they tend to hold onto it for a while. Was this always meant to be a brief plot device, or did you initially have larger plans for Moonthorn? MICHELINIE: Mystic weapons are another convention of mythic lore, and I used them more than once in Claw’s brief history. But I thought giving the character a magic sword full-time would take away from the unique aspect of having, in essence, a “magic hand.” I also thought it would make him too powerful, taking away from the human-versus-universe element. But, while I didn’t have any specific plans for Moonthorn, I imagine it would have reappeared somewhere down the line—maybe in the hands of some new antagonist.

DiFRUSCIO: One of the more curious things about the Claw series is its publication history—canceled with issue #9, and then “uncanceled” over a year later. It must have been difficult to pick up story threads you mothballed a year earlier. Did this hiatus change the direction of the series at all, or your take on Claw as a character? MICHELINIE: I honestly don’t have a sharp memory of that whole sequence of events. On rereading the series, there does seem to be a noticeable difference in how the books read. But I don’t know if that was due to a consciously different take on the character, or to the fact that I was a year older with another year’s experience writing other stuff. I do think thestories are a little muddier for those issues, perhaps not as clear to someone just coming into the series at that point, which is likely my fault, though I can’t pinpoint a specific reason. DiFRUSCIO: Toward the end of your run there, it seemed like you were introducing a major character with Trysannda (who appeared in the unpublished #13 and 14). Granted, Trysannda was more sorceress than swordswoman, but was she in any way your answer to Marvel’s Red Sonja? MICHELINIE: The art directions in the script for issue #13 described Trysannda’s first appearance as, “This introduces a new supporting character who will be around for the next 4 or 5 issues...” So I obviously had at least short-range plans for her. But exactly what those plans were, I have no idea at this point. They may exist on some scrawled notes somewhere in my moldy archives but, unfortunately, not in my memory. DiFRUSCIO: Do you recall anything about Claw’s second cancellation with issue #12 during the DC Implosion? I know the two unpublished issues appeared in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade, one of which was credited to Tom DeFalco as writer. Did you ever get a chance to read those last two issues? MICHELINIE: I had actually left DC to work for Marvel just before the DC Implosion. So I wasn’t there when the axe fell. I do remember being happy that my last issue of Star Hunters actually saw print, after I’d been told it wouldn’t. But, alas, my last Claw didn’t make the cut. Uh, so to speak. I know I had a copy of Cancelled Comic Cavalcade for a while, but I don’t think I ever read Tom’s issue; sometimes it’s just too painful to read someone else’s take on a character you’ve created, even if their take is terrific. DiFRUSCIO: Any thoughts on the subsequent appearances of Claw? Namely his brief run in Warlord #48–49, or the Red Sonja/Claw series by Wildstorm in 2006, or Wildstorm’s follow-up Claw the Unconquered solo series? MICHELINIE: I don’t remember the Warlord stories, so I probably didn’t read them. I do remember seeing the first Red Sonja/Claw issue at my local comics shop [Delaware’s own Captain Blue Hen Comics & Collectibles!] and being a bit irritated that the credits listed Robert E. Howard as creator of Red Sonja but there was no mention of who created Claw. I wrote to the editor and was told that there were legal concerns about ownership if they listed me as creator, but that he’d see what he could do about listing my name in future issues. I don’t know if that happened because I never saw future issues of that or the follow-up series. BACK ISSUE is happy to report that Wildstorm did eventually manage to credit David Michelinie and Ernie Chan as the creators of Claw in the final two issues of its 2006 Claw the Unconquered series. More recently, Claw made a guest-appearance in Wonder Woman #20–23 (July–Oct. 2008), alongside two other fantasy-themed characters from DC’s adventure line initiative: Stalker, created by Paul Levitz, Steve Ditko, and Wally Wood; and Beowulf: Dragon Slayer, created by Michael Uslan and Ricardo Villamonte. Alas, none of the creators were credited.

Kubert Conquers Claw Writer David Michelinie was happy with neo-editor Paul Levitz’s (who followed Joe Orlando) choice of Joe Kubert as cover artist for Claw’s final issues. Seen here are Kubert classics from Claw the Unconquered #10 and 11. TM & © DC Entertainment.

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CHAN THE UNCONQUERED

the series, [edited] by Joe Orlando. [The series] was his brainchild. DiFRUSCIO: How did you approach your character design for Claw? Was Conan the Barbarian a big inspiration for you? CHAN: The idea was to do the character similar to Conan and yet to make it stand out on its own. The steel-claw gauntlet was the focus of interest [in distinguishing him from Conan]. David Michelinie did a fine job of diverting the story away from close comparisons to Conan the Barbarian. DiFRUSCIO: Did you change your style at all on Claw the Unconquered versus your style on Conan and Kull? MARK DiFRUSCIO: I know that you CHAN: On Claw I sort of used a more were credited as “Ernie Chua” early subtle style, keeping it simplified in your career, but I don’t think I’ve and direct. While on Conan and Kull ever actually had the chance to my art was more stylized and free hear you explain the name change flowing. Keeping [two] barbarian in your own words (forgive me if you images distinct from each other is get this all the time). not an easy task. ERNIE CHAN: You are right. I have DiFRUSCIO: How did you find been asked this question a million working on the fantasy world that times. My simplified answer to this is Claw inhabited versus the fantasy ernie chan that “Chua” is a typo on my birth world of Conan? When I interviewed certificate. I got a chance to change David Michelinie, he felt you were it for free to my correct surname never really that happy working on Claw the “Chan” when I got my US citizenship in 1976. Unconquered because you preferred the more DiFRUSCIO: Do you recall anything about how “realistic” world of Conan. Would you agree with you first got the assignment to do Claw the that? He mentioned one specific incident where you Unconquered? Were you chosen specifically because got a bit frustrated with Joe Orlando because you of your experience inking Conan the Barbarian and were supposed to draw an octopus-type creature penciling Kull the Destroyer for Marvel? with teeth. CHAN: Quite true. My involvement with Conan the CHAN: David is half right when he says I was not Barbarian and Kull the Destroyer at Marvel triggered happy working on Claw. I wasn’t happy because of the creation of Claw the Unconquered by DC [and] it the constant comparisons Joe was [making to] was to offered to me where I got to pencil and ink Conan. The octopus with teeth-tentacles is a good example. I felt the teeth-tentacles [moved] more toward the science-fiction genre. Otherwise, I liked working on Claw because I got to pencil and ink the books. The [drawback] was its similarity to Conan. DiFRUSCIO: Were you particularly attracted to working in that fantasy milieu during your career? As opposed to, say, doing more superhero comics? I can see from the commissions gallery on your website (www.erniechan.com) that you predominately do fantasy-themed works. CHAN: I must admit that I am inclined more to working on fantasy-type art. But I don’t want to limit myself to just staying in one type of art. I like experimenting in different types of art. That is why I now enjoy doing commissioned art for fans. [Because] almost always, they vary in their art requests. DiFRUSCIO: Do you recall why you ended up leaving Claw the Unconquered? CHAN: There wasn’t any memorable reason why I left Claw. It was mainly a matter of schedule. It could be that I had to choose which one to continue doing, Conan or Claw? I happened to have picked the first one.

Although he officially retired in 2002, artist Ernie Chan stills remains one of the most recognizable names associated with fantasy illustration in comics, thanks in large part to his long and prolific stint inking Conan the Barbarian during the 1970s, as well as his own penciling work on such books as Savage Sword of Conan, Kull the Destroyer, and, of course, Claw the Unconquered, albeit some of this being done under the nom de plume of “Ernie Chua.” In speaking with BACK ISSUE, the artist began by addressing the question of his own artistic alter ego:

TM & © DC Entertainment.

Another Enchanting Chan Cover Ernie Chan’s original cover art to Claw the Unconquered #7 (May–June 1976). Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Entertainment.

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MARK DiFRUSCIO is a freelance writer in San Diego. He would like to thank David Michelinie and Ernie Chan for contributing to this article.

Epic poems telling tales of heroes fighting monsters are rife in the collective world mythologies, but very few of those heroes are Danish or Swedish, and fewer still have been examined with quite as much scholarly study and debate as the Geat hero known as Beowulf. Although the original manuscripts featuring the poem date from between the 8th and 11th centuries— and the story itself is set in the 5th century—it was in the 20th century that DC Comics brought the battling hero to four-color life. And while the Anglo-Saxon poem found Beowulf battling the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and an unnamed dragon, the comics would see the thickly hewn Geat battling Wyrd, the God of Fate, aliens, and Satan, the “Dragon-Lord of the Underworld”!

FROM FOLKLORE TO FUNNYBOOKS

Andy Mangels

The DC Comics version of Beowulf was created in 1974 by Michael Uslan, a young member of the DC staff who had already amassed an impressive background in the comic-book field. In addition to having an immense personal collection (over 25,000 comics), he had taught a controversial and publicity-generating class on comics— “The Comic Book in Society”—for the Experimental Curriculum program at the Indiana University School of Law–Bloomington. By 1974, Uslan became one of DC’s “Junior Woodchucks,” alongside Bob Rozakis, Jack C. Harris, Paul Levitz, Carl Gafford, Anthony Tollin, and other fans who were “turning pro” in an industry of which they grew up dreaming they could become part. Uslan wrote for the Amazing World of DC Comics fanzine, and worked as an assistant to Sol Harrison, answering kids’ fan mail (often writing as Batman or Superman). He eventually scripted his first comics story, for DC’s The Shadow #9 (Feb.–Mar. 1975), before getting a bigger break—his own series named Beowulf. “I was deeply into educational uses of comic books,” Uslan notes today, “and thus, using Beowulf, conceptually, came out of all of that, and that was tied into getting my Master’s Degree. I was working on a program at DC, using Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman to teach English-as-a-secondlanguage students how to read through specially designed comics; teaching learning-disabled children how to read through specially designed comics called Edugraphics that we were putting together and, in fact, sold to the New York City Board of Education at the time. I was in college, so my mindset was toward the academic.” He got his chance as DC decided to expand into the realm of barbarian heroes, following the lead of Marvel, which was experiencing fantastic success with Conan the Barbarian. “DC decided they were going to expand in this Conan arena since Marvel had success with it,” Uslan says. “So all around the same time was Warlord, Claw the Unconquered, Stalker, Beowulf, Kong the Untamed,

Beowulf Cometh! Detail from the cover of Beowulf #1 (Apr.– May 1975). Illustrated by Ricardo Villamonte. TM & © DC Entertainment.

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From the Comicmobile to Comic Media Mogul Michael Uslan, the one-time DC “Woodchuck” and writer of DC’s Beowulf. Photo courtesy of Indiana University.

and I know I’m missing a few others. I wanted to separate out Beowulf from everything else. I wanted to play with every different type of mish-mosh of mythology. At that time, there were some really, really cool very-’70s [novels] out like Chariots of the Gods, and I wanted to incorporate that stuff in. There was a reawakening of interest in Dracula—people were starting to look at the legend behind Dracula—and I wanted to put that stuff in. I even put in some of my own Jewish background into some of it. John Gardner’s [novel] Grendel was a huge influence on it. I mean, we were all over the map with it, trying different directions and shaking things up and trying to be very, very unconventional with it, and I think we were.” The unconventional nature of the resulting comic led to some consternation among older DC staffers. “If I truly wanted to do an educational, academic comic-book version, it would have been done as a Classics Illustrated, as opposed to an ongoing DC series that fit in with Stalker, Claw the Unconquered, Starfire, and Kong the Untamed. But that’s certainly not what we were doing. And then why use Beowulf at all? Well, you use it because it was a brand, and as I told Sol Harrison and Carmine Infantino, ‘Look, every kid in North America has had to read Beowulf. It’s part of the curriculum and they know the core story. So why not use the character that is going to have some degree of name recognition as opposed to simply Starfire or Claw or Kong?’ And they agreed with that.” Uslan worked under editor Denny O’Neil and assistant editor Allan Asherman, though he credits Asherman as being his daily liaison. “Allan was my comrade-in-arms from the beginning. We were fellow Woodchucks.” Uslan did the first designs for Beowulf, coming up with his most distinctive feature: “I did an original sketch, coming up with the idea of that helmet made out of a skull.” He asked fellow law student John Onoda to do a color sketch fleshing out the character. “He did a beautiful color drawing that really brought Beowulf to life and I sent a copy of that drawing for them to use as the model for it. I really wanted that helmet of kind of like the skull of a mythological creature on his head. It was something like a minotaur.”

PROBLEMS BEHIND THE SCENES The first issue of Beowulf was cover-dated Apr.–May 1975, and for Uslan, there were some surprises. Peruvian artist Ricardo Villamonte did not speak English well and had to have Uslan’s scripts translated for him. This resulted in what Uslan jokingly refers to as “many, many, many interpretive problems that occurred which were nightmarish continuity issues.” Among them was the script referring to a “blonde-haired barbarian” in a book that showed the northern hero as a redhead. Run-ins with the Comics Code also meant censorship. Uslan notes that he still has the original artwork to the cover of #1, “and Nan-Zee’s outfit had to be redrawn. I have the original artwork on which basically Ricardo Villamonte drew her with pasties. That was unacceptable and had to be modified for the cover.”

The Adventures Begin Beowulf readies for his battle with Grendel as the scantily clad Nan-Zee takes on the Comics Code. Page 1 of Beowulf #1. TM & © DC Entertainment.

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Anyone viewing examples of the original art for Beowulf versus the pulpy newsprinted comics will immediately see that Villamonte’s linework looks significantly better in its original form. “I remember when the original art came in for Beowulf, there was this one scene in the fog with the castle that he had done. We just admired his originals. It was just beautiful, beautiful stuff.” As for the characters in Beowulf, Uslan wanted to not only give the lead hero his due, but to fill out the supporting cast as well: “We started with the poem, and then we made it up from there, using John Gardner’s Grendel as an influence. I was steeped in traditional folklore and mythology at the time. I was taking a lot of folklore courses so whatever I was picking up in terms of learning about traditional stock characters in folklore would have been reflected in what I was doing. Part of what we wanted to do, also, was again, if you go back to the early to mid-’70s, I know when I was in school, I was extremely active, politically. I was always out there, whatever demonstration or protest or whatever I could, whether it was against the war in Vietnam, for ecology and this new thing we were going to push called ‘Earth Day,’ for the 18-year-old’s right to vote, for women’s rights, for civil rights, and assorted issues from there. And we wanted to have a female in this who could give the male a run for his money, and earn a little respect in the process. I think that there was a little bit of my in-the-streets-for-Women’s-Lib that I was doing at that time that I wanted to try to see incorporated into the character and whereas maybe Conan and some of the more traditional ones were dealing with lots of ‘wenches,’ shall we say, I wanted a woman who was really able to give it back to this guy, whether it’s verbally or with a sword or if he was tossing out an insult, she could hand it back to him.” The resulting femme lead was Nan-Zee, a blonde bombshell whose name came from Uslan’s wife,

Nancy. But Nan-Zee was not the only new regular cast member; Uslan also introduced a mystic poet/minstrel sidekick named the Shaper, and an overarching mystic character known as Wyrd. “The Shaper was this mystical character—he’s in the poem,” says Uslan. “At that time, I had seen Cabaret on Broadway, with the Master of Ceremonies played by Joel Grey, which was a very interesting, dark, chilling character. And so if you take a little bit of that, a little bit of the ultimate in Merlin/wizard/sorcerer, and then kind of spin it on its head a bit, and throw in a touch of Zatara and Zatanna who in DC lore, when you’re talking about magic, had to do with writing things backwards and saying things backwards.” Indeed, reading the Shaper’s backwards incantations in each issue results in many odd or humorous notes. Wyrd, meanwhile, was a god-entity. “The Conan equivalent would have been Crom,” says Uslan. “Had we gone beyond six issues, [Wyrd] would have made an appearance. At that time, I was probably pretty heavily influenced by Steve Englehart’s work on

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Snuff the Magic Dragon (below) Beowulf earns his “Dragon Slayer” tag on this page from issue #2, by the Uslan/Villamonte team. (left) Cover to Beowulf #2 (June– July 1975), intended by Uslan to instead feature Satan’s slave “maiden.” TM & © DC Entertainment.

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OTHER BEOWULFS In addition to the six issues of Beowulf published by DC, the hero has made other comic-book appearances:

Beowulf by David Hutchinson Antarctic Press (2007). Three issues.

Beowulf: The Graphic Novel by Jerry Bingham First Comics (Jan. 1994).

Beowulf (The Movie Adaptation) by Chris Ryall and Gabriel Rodriguez IDW (2007). Four issues.

Beowulf by Gareth Hinds TheComic.com (2000) and Candlewick Press (2007). Three issues and two different trade paperbacks.

Beowulf: The Graphic Novel by Stephen L. Stern and Christopher Steininger AAM/Markosia (2008).

Beowulf by Brian Augustyn and Dub and Attila Adorjany Speakeasy Comics (2005). Seven issues.

Kid Beowulf by Alexis E. Fajardo Published by Bowler Hat Comics (2008–2010). Two graphic novels.

Dr. Strange. There was a great panel that Gene Colan did where [Strange] meets Eternity. I think Beowulf was headed towards a moment where he was going to meet his god the way Dr. Strange had met Eternity and we were going to take it in some real interesting godlike mythological ways. It was just like with the Shaper where you take something that was in the poem that maybe had mythological roots, but then you spin it on its head into the cosmic-comics stuff of the ’70s.” The first issue of Beowulf introduced the main cast and hewed closely to elements from the original poem, including Grendel as part of the mix. Issue #2 was titled is “The Slave Maid of Satan,” which Uslan notes is an editorial error: “The original thing was ‘Slave Maiden of Satan,’ and somehow, the ‘e-n’ got lost and the next thing I knew, they sent me a cover. I called Allan and I go, ‘What the hell is this?’ And he said, it was kind of like, ‘Whoops!’ [laughs] So all of a sudden, he had a maid and I guess Ricardo, at least he didn’t draw a little maid’s outfit on her, so that was good.” The issue also saw the introduction of Grendel’s mother (not looking quite as terrifying or monstrous as Uslan had hoped), Satan, and even Puff, the Magic Dragon. Issue #3 (Aug.–Sept. 1975) was equally wild, featuring a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea opening, then moving into a Little Nemo in Slumberland pastiche, before adding in pygmy warriors and a giant snake. “We did this very psychedelic, surrealistic thing of Little Nemo in Slumberland,” Uslan says. “Yeah, it’s kind of like the acid version of [Little Nemo cartoonist] Winsor McCay. Probably Ricardo was not familiar with Little Nemo and probably going from the script in translation, I just think he came up with his own kind of Peter Pan-esque interpretation, as opposed to something that I probably would have called for being more exactly Little Nemo himself.” The snake came from Uslan’s time manning DC’s Comicmobile and visiting New York neighborhoods to sell comics to kids.

Bite-Sized Beowulf Nan-Zee’s certainly not the damsel in distress on Villamonte’s cover to Beowulf #3 (Aug.–Sept. 1975). TM & © DC Entertainment.

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“Part of the research that I did—and then Bob Rozakis had [the Comicmobile] for a while and he confirmed everything that I found, too—was that kids really loved giants and they bought covers with giant-sized versions of animals or reptiles that they would normally see, be it a rat or a gorilla or whatever. And I think at that time, you probably saw a lot of those images on a lot of DC mystery comics, and that might have come out of that, to get like a giant animal like that on there.” Mining Broadway, horror history, and religion for the fourth issue, Uslan produced a comic that could have easily been called “Jews versus Dracula!” Adding Vlad the Impaler as the villain of the story, Uslan says of the Hebraic heroes who team with Beowulf that, “You see Egyptian mythology in folklore all the time, nobody ever touches the Jewish stuff. So I was determined at that point in time, come hell or high water, and Denny thought it was a riot. We weren’t sure that Carmine and company were going to let us do it and we didn’t know why it would be taboo and why nobody ever did it. Everybody, I think, was just so politically afraid of insulting anybody. I got a hell of a letter that Carmine sent to me and said, ‘You handle this one,’ from somebody who was really, really irate that I used part of a Jewish prayer in there, the Memorial Prayer. I sent that person a personal letter and then when they found out that the writer was Jewish, he was very contrite and said, ‘Oh, I totally missed your point and I didn’t realize you were doing this as a tribute thing. I thought you were somebody who didn’t know or were poking fun or something.’ But the guy raised an issue so it was like exactly what Carmine had feared at that moment, but it was only one letter and I put that one to bed.”

Allan Asherman suggested that Uslan mine Erich von Daniken’s theories, popular in Chariots of the Gods and similar books of the time, for Beowulf’s fifth issue. “That was fun,” the writer says. “We actually took one of the hieroglyphic things that von Daniken had pointed out as evidence of this and Jack Adler said, ‘No, no, no, don’t have him draw that. I can take that and we’ll do a photo inlay. Let me play with that.’ So I think [DC production head] Jack Adler figured out a way to actually work that specifically into the story. It’s a photo-insert, it’s not a drawing.” As if enough hadn’t been done in 17 pages, Uslan also worked Atlantis into the story. Beowulf’s sixth and final Beowulf issue was coverdated Feb.–Mar. 1976 and it featured a minotaur, Grendel’s mother (wearing Princess Leia’s hairstyle over a year before Star Wars debuted!), Grendel killing Satan, and Beowulf gaining superpowers by the issue’s end. According to Uslan, “We were trying to set it up in a way that Carmine and Sol couldn’t say, ‘We have to end it.’ We’d go, ‘No, no, no! The big battle is coming up! This is what—the whole thing has been a setup for just this!’ I think there was originally a blurb that I wrote, like ‘coming next,’ whatever I put in each one in a title. And then it was like, ‘No, this adventure line is dead.’”

Drawing from Pop Culture Uslan found story inspiration in numerous sources, as illustrated by (left) Beowulf’s battle with Dracula in issue #4 and (above) the Chariots of the Gods-based tale in issue #5. Photocopy of the line art to Beowulf #5 (Dec. 1975–Jan. 1976) courtesy of Andy Mangels, who also provided scans of the Beowulf interior pages in this article. TM & © DC Entertainment.

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WHEN AMAZONS MEET BARBARIANS Unlike virtually every other DC barbarian character, Beowulf never reappeared within the pages of DC Comics after his cancellation. His banishment changed in 2009,

TM & © DC Entertainment.

however, when celebrated comics writer Gail Simone

explains that “I always feel if the creator is alive and available, the least we can do is simple courtesy. It’s such a simple, human thing to do, and takes very little time or effort. A few times, I’ve had a friend say they’d

utilized the character in a starring role in Wonder Woman rather not have me use a character, and that’s the vol. 3 #20–23 (collected in the Ends of the Earth hardover same as a picket line to me. It won’t be crossed, not and trade), teaming up the title’s Amazing by me, anyway. But in this case, Michael was a Amazon with Beowulf, Claw, and Stalker! doll. I finally got to meet him at a Warner Simone says that “I didn’t get most of Bros. party in San Diego, and he just my comics from newsstands or comics absolutely gushed about how delighted stores, I got them years later at garage he was about not just using the sales and they were a pretty precious character, but how he was presented in commodity, so they got read and re-read. the story. We may actually do a project I really love the books DC and Marvel together because of it. That made me did back then that would have no really happy.” gail simone chance at all in the market today— The Wonder Woman story utilized Iron Man might bore me, but give me Beowulf as part of Simone’s strategy of Brother Voodoo or the original Secret Six and I’m just bringing in other mythological pantheons and world content. The DC barbarian comics were definitely B-list heroes. “My vision of the DCU is that there are sleeping books, but they had some top talent on them, and in giants everywhere,” she says. “Every corner potentially this case, Michael Uslan was a writer I really liked, and I leads to meeting something extraordinary. We’ve all seen loved the mix of myth and sex and violence the book Superman and Wonder Woman fight, we’ve all seen had. Beowulf was a bit of a jerk in the book, that was Batman and Green Lantern meet. But a character like very appealing to me.” Beowulf has this massive cache of his own and is nearly an Using Beowulf in Wonder Woman was an element unknown in the DCU. He’s cranky and regal and dirty and showing Simone’s love for the wide and wild tapestry of lusty, and I really loved his contrast with Diana. Of the the DC Universe: “I love the idea barbarians in the story, he got the best lines, and was by that it’s a universe that has far the most popular. We’ve had endless requests for him Enemy Ace and G’nort, both to come back, and a surprising number of readers wanted Anthro and the Marvel Bunny. to see Diana and Beowulf hook up romantically.” Part of my mission statement Simone left the writing duties of Wonder Woman with with Wonder Woman was to see issue #600, but says that she did do what she wanted how the DCU perceives Diana, with Beowulf. “I never leave a story feeling that all the and it was a pleasure to see the land was properly tilled. Even the best, most perfect grudging respect between her story leaves a lot of doors closed, and that’s a good and Beowulf. I wanted something, or we’d end up with 50 pages on the backstory of thing contemporary, but I also the guy who drove by on page four.” Still, she cautions wanted to do right by the that fans may have missed the coda to the Beowulf story original creative team.” if they don’t follow her ravishingly twisted series Secret In terms of the original creator, Simone and [DC Six. “His arch-enemy Grendel did accidentally stowaway senior vice president–executive editor Dan] DiDio to the current day, and ended up in Secret Six … where approached Uslan for permission to use the character, Wonder Woman promptly broke his neck. A fine ending even though Beowulf was company-owned. Simone for a barbarian villain!”

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“RUNNING OUT OF TIME” Looking back, Uslan explains that the freedom to be as weird as he wanted to be on Beowulf was afforded by the uncertainty the title faced. “We knew this was going to end at any moment. We didn’t know if we were going to get three issues, four issues, five issues, and were even shocked to get the sixth. Once we got underway, we knew we were already running out of time. And we knew there were a million different wacky ways to take this thing and things that could be injected into it, and then the pages were cut back to 17. So I think at that time there was almost a panicky feeling, like how many different kinds of things could we throw in, which normally would take place over 24 issues, that we could sprinkle in to indicate different ways this thing may go or could go. I really think it was a panic, that it was all going to end at any moment and we were trying to capture as many different directions so that if anything changed—at that time, the comic-book industry, people were wondering if comic books would still be published in a couple of years from that time. It was a very, very tough time in the comic-book industry at that point and I forget when the DC Implosion was, but there were a lot of bad things happening in terms of comic sales. I think it was the panicking thing. I think it was like, “Let’s throw in the kitchen sink, let’s do everything we can possibly think to do and if somehow, this stuff survives, that we actually do get some time to develop real story arcs, we would have kind of tested the water and played around with different things and then we could kind of choose your own adventure from there and figure out where we go.” Today, Uslan has written many more comics and books, lectured worldwide, and produced not only the

Batman films but also the Swamp Thing films, Catwoman, and The Spirit, among others. He looks back on Beowulf with pride and a lot of humor. “The fact that we were kind of coming at this in a wacky, fun way, it just gave me an opportunity—again, set in the times of the early to mid-’70s—to just have some fun with it … that’s kind of the atmosphere that we were playing in at the time. We were kids and we were given a sandbox for a brief period of time by DC to be creative, daring, break convention, have a party, and see what happened because they were willing to experiment briefly in many, many different areas. And it truly was, ‘Let’s throw in the frickin’ kitchen sink. If we only do three issues or five issues, then we’ll worry about what sticks later on. And if miraculously, there’s going to be a long run here, then we’ll kind of sort out a specific direction and really work on story arcs and stuff.’ But it was just one bit of experimentation and throw something new out at every other moment.” The interview with Michael Uslan was done in March 2010 and transcribed by Brian K. Morris. The interview with Gail Simone [see sidebar] was done via email in March 2010. ANDY MANGELS is the USA Today bestselling author and co-author of almost 20 books, including the recent Iron Man: Beneath The Armor, and a lot of comic books. Additionally, he has scripted, directed, and produced Special Features for over 40 DVD releases. His moustache is infamous. www.AndyMangels.com.

TM & © DC Entertainment.

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Dewey Cassell

The decade of the ’70s is remembered for a lot of things—leisure suits, and sideburns, and disco balls. And one scale-mail bikini. Marvel Comics adapted several of the characters of sword-and-sorcery author Robert E. Howard into comicbook stories, including Kull, Conan, and the fiery redhead with a sword, Red Sonja. Sonja first appeared in issue #23 of Conan the Barbarian, written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith, but when the “SheDevil With A Sword” got her own book, it was Frank Thorne who defined the character for a generation of fans. Just as the ’70s were a period of growth in the popularity of sword-and-sorcery comics, it also saw a rise in the number of comic-book conventions. Phil Seuling held his first New York Comic Art Convention in 1968, and in 1970, Shel Dorf began what would become the San Diego Comic-Con [now known as Comic-Con International]. The major comicbook publishers also briefly joined the craze. Marvel Comics held conventions in 1975 and 1976, and DC Comics held a convention of its own in 1976. So, in some respects, it wasn’t unusual when Rich Greene and Howard Leroy Davis, together with several of their friends, decided to form the Delaware Valley Comic Art Associates and hold a convention in the Philadelphia area. What was unusual was that they chose to focus their first convention on a single comicbook character—Red Sonja. The first annual Delaware Valley Comicart Convention, honoring Red Sonja—otherwise known as “Sonja Con”— was held on Saturday, November 20, and Sunday, November 21, 1976, at the Travelodge in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. Advertisements for the convention appeared in Comics Buyer’s Guide, as well as locally. Sonja Con included all of the characteristics of a great convention. There was a dealer’s room, a cartoon and film room, door prizes, an auction, panel discussions, and even a fencing demonstration. Special guests included Roy Thomas and Frank Thorne, as well as Dick Giordano, Ernie Chan, Joe Staton, Fred Fredericks, and Dave Cockrum, all of whom signed autographs and did sketches for fans. Giordano, who had inked John Buscema’s pencils of Sonja in Conan and illustrated her first appearance in Marvel Feature, conducted reviews of fan and amateur artwork both days of the convention. And then there was the Red Sonja lookalike contest. A couple of months earlier, on September 11, 1976, Frank Thorne appeared at Lily Langtry’s Saloon and Eating Place in Sayreville, New Jersey, for the debut of the “Ballad of Red Sonja,” a song written by fans Mike and Sal Caputo and performed by Kurt Gresham. Thorne summoned forth “Red Sonja” in dramatic style and out

Sing Along with Sonja (top) Cover of the Sonja Con program, with Frank Thorne art. (bottom) Thorne (left, with mic), Angelique Trouvere (as Red Sonja), and Kurt Gresham at Lily Langtry’s, Spetember 11, 1976. Red Sonja ® Red Sonja LLC.

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Sonja, Sonja, Everywhere! (top) Image of Red Sonja and logo from Sonja Con program. (inset) “Ballad of Red Sonja” 45 RPM record cover. (bottom) Photograph of Thorne and Wendy Pini (as Sonja) from Sonja Con (originally printed in Savage Sword of Conan #21). Red Sonja ® Red Sonja LLC.

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walked Angelique Trouvere in full regalia. Trouvere had made the Sonja costume the previous year for the masquerade at Phil Seuling’s show in July 1975, where she won second place. The ballad was recorded and issued on a 45 RPM record with a sleeve bearing a drawing of Sonja by Thorne on the front and a photo of Thorne, Trouvere, and Gresham on the back. Howard Leroy Davis recalls that just prior to Sonja Con, they brought Thorne down to National Public Radio affiliate WHYY-FM in Philadelphia for an appearance on the Fresh Air show with Terry Gross, which included an airing of the “Ballad of Red Sonja.” Trouvere, who had also appeared at conventions dressed as Vampirella, then attended Sonja Con, walking around in costume and allowing fans to take pictures with her. But she was not alone in the Sonja lookalike contest. Fellow contestants included Diane DeKelb, Wendy Snow, Linda Behrle, and Wendy Pini (the same Wendy Pini who co-created Elfquest with husband Richard in 1978). The costumed Sonjas paraded around the rim of the indoor pool, after which Roy Thomas announced that Wendy Pini was the winner. Pini appeared in costume on television with Phil Seuling the following year on The Mike Douglas Show. And the plethora of Sonjas inspired Frank Thorne to form the “Wizard and Red Sonja” show, in which Thorne appeared with one or more of the five Sonjas at various comics conventions over the next several years. Fans who attended Sonja Con have fond memories. Gary Whitson enjoyed meeting Frank Thorne, noting, “I loved Thorne's art and as an aspiring artist, I was inspired to draw even more.” Of the dealers room, Whitson recalls, “I think there were swords and other weapons available as well as comics. There was a table with a lot of artwork displayed and available for sale.” Whitson also remembers the panels, where “they discussed the future of Red Sonja as well as the hope for a movie at some future point.” Aaron Sultan recalls, “I remember they handed out some premiums at the Red Sonja convention. They had the program, and they also handed out a Red Sonja button.” (Howard Leroy Davis notes that the button was also proof that you paid for the show.) Sultan also remembers the press coverage: “Near the end of the [first day of the] con, the Philadelphia news stations came over to cover the convention. I remember a bunch of reporters talking to Roy Thomas, who I just so happened to be standing near. Sure enough, that night I went home and we turned on the TV, and I was in the news clip with Roy Thomas.” And one fan, who chooses to remain anonymous, recalls that the Red Sonja costumes were not exactly form-fitting, and the parade around the pool occasionally afforded the adolescent fan an unexpected, but not unwelcome, anatomy lesson. With attendance of 750, Sonja Con was a success. The convention organizers, renamed the Delaware Valley Comicart Consortium, went on to sponsor a variety of other “activities to promote an appreciation of the comic book form,” as co-founder Rich Greene described it, including original-art exhibitions, a Christmas Party for Harry “A” Chesler, and semi-annual “Comics on the Mall” events. Their second convention in 1977 paid tribute to Marvel Comics’ character Howard the Duck, and the third convention the following year honored Women in Comics. Red Sonja has proved to have a persevering popularity, with new comics being published by Dynamite Entertainment and talk once again about a new feature film. But 1976 was the heyday of the “She-Devil With A Sword,” and hearing Gary, Aaron, and Howard Leroy talk about the Sonja Con, you can’t help but wish for a time machine… Sincere thanks to Howard Leroy Davis, Gary Whitson, and Aaron Sultan for their recollections of Sonja Con, as well as Richard Arndt for permission to reference his interview with Angelique Trouvere. DEWEY CASSELL is a regular contributor to BACK ISSUE magazine and author of the book The Art of George Tuska, available from TwoMorrows Publishing. He is currently writing a book about Marie Severin.

In July of 2009, at the first annual Asian-American Comicon in New York, Larry Hama received the convention’s inaugural career award. Such industry recognition was long overdue. Since the 1970s, Hama, a lifelong Manhattanite, has been a comic-book renaissance man: writer, editor, penciler, inker, and creator (not to mention an actor, musician, and martial artist outside of the comics industry). But don’t call this multi-hyphenate a writer or an artist: “I’m a storyteller,” Hama tells BACK ISSUE. And with this interview, I will forever associate Hama with Art Clokey, creator of the Gumby universe. Why? Well, just prior to part one of our conversation, I received word from WildCard Ink publisher Mel Smith, who holds the Gumby license in comics, that Clokey had passed away on January 8, 2010, at the age of 88. Now, you might ask what this has to do with Hama, the writer/artist best known for the masculine, testosteroneloaded exploits of Wolverine, Venom, and G. I. Joe. Well, you might be surprised to learn who Hama’s favorite cartoonist is and which comics genre he adores the most. If you’re looking for a dissection of G. I. Joe, this is not that piece [for that, see BACK ISSUE #16]. And for an in-depth look on his year (1975, to be precise) at Atlas/ Seaboard, I recommend Comic Book Artist #16 (TwoMorrows, 2001). My goal here is to touch on Hama’s less-documented work, which includes (appropriately) some “born to be wild” barbarism. – Michael Aushenker

Michael Aushenker

conducted on January 9 and Marc h 7, 2010

MICHAEL AUSHENKER: I hear that when you attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design, one of your instructors was the legendary EC Comics artist Bernard Krigstein. Were you cognizant of his work? LARRY HAMA: I had no idea who Krigstein was. There was a friend of mine named John Smith. He knew who Krigstein was immediately. AUSHENKER: What was he like? HAMA: He was one of the best art-school teachers I ever had. He didn’t tell you how to do it. He wasn’t a constructionist or anything. He had a way to make you produce. The primary thing that the teacher of any of this stuff did was to deconstruct the procrastination. [laughs] We had to hand in a sketchbook every week and he graded it. One week, I handed in my sketchbook and it had only one sketch in it and he called me to the mat on it and I said, “I spent all week long on this sketch.” He said, “You have to do hundreds of sucky ones before you can do the good ones. Get those sucky ones out of the way.” It was his way of saying your stuff isn’t precious. AUSHENKER: Did Krigstein ever talk about his own comics or use them as examples? HAMA: No. Never talked about it. The reason he went into teaching was because he wanted to paint. AUSHENKER: You’ve worn so many hats in the industry. You are one of the few people I can think of who has worked in so many departments at Marvel and DC. You and Al Milgrom. What was your entry into comics? HAMA: I was a penciler. I drew for National Lampoon and other places before I got my first comics, which were sort of like stepping down. [laughs] I did a lot of advertising art. I situated myself as a storyteller. I even had a lettering rate. I don’t think Al Milgrom had a lettering rate. [laughs] I also had a coloring rate. AUSHENKER: Did you grow up reading comics? HAMA: I was not a major comic-book fan. I had comics the way every kid in the 1950s had comics. Comics, baseball cards. I never thought of a career in comics until I had a career in comics. [laughs] Born to be Wild Issue

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My high-school classmate, Ralph Reese, who had become an assistant to Wally Wood, helped me get a similar job at Wood's Manhattan studio. AUSHENKER: Can you talk about working with the great Wally Wood? HAMA: This was in 1972. Wally was working at the time on Sally Forth and Cannon. It was an awful lot of work and he didn’t work fast. AUSHENKER: Did it have to do with Wood’s reported alcoholism? HAMA: Not really. He could ink pretty fast. It was not the alcohol but his internal attitude. He was immobilized by lack of confidence… It’s a [classic artistic] dichotomy, being really insecure and arrogant and confident. They’re fighting each other all the time inside you. If you let the arrogance and confidence take over, you can get some work done. [laughs] AUSHENKER: How old were you at the time? HAMA: I was in my early 20s, Wood must have been in his 40s or 50s. I’d look for references, do some tracing. We swapped writing chores. I’d be working on Cannon and I would write one story arc and switch over to Sally Forth and then he’d write Cannon. But I lettered the stuff. AUSHENKER: From Wood’s studio, you went on to work at Neal Adams’ Continuity Associates, where your contemporaries included Frank Brunner and Bernie Wrightson. This seems like the opposite experience of working for Wood. Adams was a rising superstar. HAMA: I had gone to high school with Frank Brunner. It was this storied high school. Neal had gone to the same high school. So did Dick Giordano and Gil Kane and, afterwards, Joe Rubinstein and Joe Jusko.

Beginnings:

Brunner and Wrightson worked there [at Continuity], but I wasn’t working with them. They were rotating crews in there. Russ Heath was there, Dick Giordano was there originally, even Sergio Aragonés was there for while. There was quite a range of people there. In the back room, there was Marshall Rogers, Greg Theakston, Ralph Reese, Carl Potts, Joe Rubinstein. It was a lot of fun. It was sort of this hub. People dropped in all the time—Wrightson, Michael Kaluta. You could stop by and hang out. Neal was running a commercial-art studio— the comics were sort of a sideline. What we did was storyboards, animatics, comps. With the comics, we’d get seven, eight people inking on it. I became part of this gang of inkers called the “Crusty Bunkers.” Neal did more of the heads and somehow bound it all together. I’d been in underground comix way before. Vaughn Bodé used to edit a paper called Gothic Blimpworks, put out by Trina Robbins and Kim Deitch. Vaughn was connected with that. It was sort like a Sunday funnies, [featuring artists such as] Art Crumb, Spain Rodriguez, Jay Lynch, Art Spiegelman, Wrightson, Kaluta. [Hama also worked on Drool #1 in 1972, seen below.] AUSHENKER: So how did you wind up at DC? HAMA: Through Neal. He got everybody’s foot in the door. My first story was an eight-page horror story for DC and the way I got it was that Neal agreed to ink it. It was a story involving a sinister ventriloquist dummy for Secrets of Sinister House. I was a very lucky boy. [Hama’s first penciling job—“Losing His Head!”— appeared in Secrets of Sinister House #10 (Mar. 1973). He was inked by Neal Adams and Rich Buckler.] The first three people to ink my work were Wally Wood, Neal Adams, and Dick Giordano. AUSHENKER: It’s probably been downhill ever since. [laughs] Like Orson Welles, starting out with Citizen Kane and winding up doing wine commercials. HAMA: I wouldn’t mind doing wine commercials. [laughs] AUSHENKER: You made your debut at Marvel tackling Iron Fist in Marvel Premiere. Was this assigned to you because of your interest in martial arts?

“Axe-Murderers” comic strip in Castle of Frankenstein magazine (1967)

Milestones: National Lampoon / assisting Wally Wood / Continuity Associates (as one of the “Crusty Bunkers” inkers) / Iron Fist in Marvel Premiere / Wulf the Barbarian / Bucky O’Hare / DC and Marvel editor / Crazy magazine / G. I. Joe / Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja / Wolverine / Punisher War Zone / Generation X / Barack the Barabarian

Work in Progress:

LARRY HAMA Photo by Nightscream, at Midtown Comics Times Square, May 23, 2009.

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G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero reboot for IDW

Not to Be Confused with William Conrad’s Cannon… …Wally Wood’s Cannon was an adult-oriented comic strip produced for newspapers distributed to US military bases in the early to mid-1970s, during the Vietnam War. Among Larry Hama’s earliest work was assisting Wood on this strip. (below) Hama’s sizzling storytelling was enhanced by Dick Giordano’s crisp inks on this page from an early Iron Fist adventure, from Marvel Premiere #19 (Nov. 1974). Scans courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). Cannon © 1972 Wood and Richter. Iron Fist © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

HAMA: Not to my knowledge. AUSHENKER: How did your working for Atlas/ Seaboard come about? HAMA: I was going to see if I could get other stuff at Marvel other than martial-arts books. I tried to get more work to very little avail. I was standing outside [the Marvel building] and Howie Chaykin was directing people to go across the street to Atlas. I asked him, “Why should I go there?’ He said, “They’ll double your rate.” So I went. [laughs] AUSHENKER: You created, wrote, and drew the first two issues of Atlas’ Wulf the Barbarian, which seemed to have elements of Conan, Thor, and Lord of the Rings. Did you propose doing Wulf ? HAMA: They had a roster of books and a template [to copy Marvel’s line]. I decided to do the barbarian book. I had more of a feel for it. I got to do the research. There’s a lot of Tolkien in it. AUSHENKER: Once again, you had a great artist inking your book: Klaus Janson, who inked Deathlok the Demolisher [in Astonishing Tales] and Frank Miller’s seminal Daredevil run. HAMA: [Wulf] was one of his first jobs. He was just a kid. AUSHENKER: But you were just a kid! HAMA: I was in my 20s. Klaus was like a teenager. He was “the Kid.” AUSHENKER: Did Wulf prepare you for editing the Conan titles in the early 1980s? HAMA: I guess so. At least I knew the Conan canon. Where I never quite fit in at Marvel was the superhero universe. I’m not a superhero person. I like my comics furry or funny or edgy. That’s why I was a good fit for Wolverine—he was sort of outside the usual cut. I never fit in with the writer crowd. Most of my friends are the guys who draw the stuff. The fact is that all editors are writers and they have a deeply instilled distrust for artists. But it is a visual medium. I never made any bones that I didn’t think much of any writing. I don’t read comics for the writing—I look at the pictures. I’m not interested in someone’s breathless prose or witty dialogue. If the visual continuity is not there, all the pretty words are not going to save it. AUSHENKER: Which process did you prefer: DC’s or Marvel’s? HAMA: Apples and oranges. I edited normal comics at DC: Wonder Woman, Super Friends, and Jonah Hex. Born to be Wild Issue

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Wulf and Wabbit (left) Cover to Atlas/Seaboard’s Wulf the Barbarian #1 (Feb. 1975), penciled by Larry Hama and inked by Klaus Janson. (right) Cover to the first issue of Continuity’s 1991 Bucky O’Hare miniseries, drawn by Michael Golden, Neal Adams, and the Continuity studio, starring Hama’s co-creation. Wulf the Barbarian © 1975 Atlas/Seaboard. Bucky O’Hare © Neal Adams and Continuity Studios.

I went to Marvel to work on Crazy. [Crazy magazine] was a two-person operation. It was me and Jim Owsley. That was one of the funnest times I ever had, putting out a funny book. I got to do whatever I wanted on it. I worked on it for two years and change. It was quite a ride. But Crazy fell by the wayside when the computer games hit. AUSHENKER: Let’s discuss what is arguably your greatest creation: Bucky O’Hare. HAMA: Bucky is sort of my tribute to Wally Wood. It came out at a time when nobody wanted to do funny-animal comics. It came about in a really roundabout way. I was an editor at DC and one day they said, “Hey, we’re going to do creator-owned properties and we want you and Milgrom to come up with some creative stuff and you’ll have a creator contract and you’ll own a good piece of it.” So I developed Bucky and DC had no contract but told me we would own it. So I went to Ed Preiss, [publisher] Byron Preiss’ dad, who had also been the lawyer for [Superman creators Jerry] Siegel and [Joe] Shuster. He was just a great guy and really smart. Ed said, “No, an oral agreement is worth the paper is printed on.” Then the DC Implosion happened and I went back to Marvel. But in the interim, I was at Continuity and I showed it to Neal. He said, “You write and pencil it and I’ll ink it, Cory [Adams] will color it.” Then [artist] Michael Golden walked in the door and we both looked at his stuff and said, “Hey, he should do it!”

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AUSHENKER: Was Golden a name yet? HAMA: Oh, no, it was very early. This was 1977. It took something like 14 years before they could do anything with [Bucky]. I designed Bucky to be a Roger Rabbit kind of thing: live action mixed with animation. We conceived the whole thing as being a toy vehicle to begin with. All the characters were conceived as toys first. That’s why they all have three-millimeter holes at the bottom of their feet. I insisted that the toys and the animated characters look exactly the same. Neal is a real bulldog and he went out there pushing it. Some time in the ’80s, he made the [merchandising] deal with Hasbro, Nintendo. I did very well from it. Golden and I own a nice chunk of it and Neal owns the rest. AUSHENKER: Would you say that Bucky is your most personal project? HAMA: Oh, yeah. I wish I could get the second book out. Michael drew the second one. It’s really up to Neal. AUSHENKER: It appears that your experience in the Vietnam War as a firearms and explosive ordinance expert has gone a long way in informing your writing career. You’ve become this go-to guy on war titles. Do you sometimes feel typecast or are you seeking such series? HAMA: I didn’t want to do military books. I still don’t. If there was any subject I wanted to do, I wanted to do Carl Barks. Ralph Reese and I wanted to do satire in a cartoony style.

I’ve said this before many times—the only reason I got to do G. I. Joe was I was the absolutely the last person they asked and everyone else turned it down. I was an editor at Marvel. I tried to get the superhero books and nobody would give me any work. I was able to go to [then-Marvel editor-inchief] Jim Shooter and say, “Listen, I’ve gone to every single editor and nobody will give me work. So how about cutting me an exception? Warren is letting me take a stab at doing some stories.” I was writing for Warren while an editor at Marvel. Jim gave me G. I. Joe. If it had been Barbie, I would have taken it. AUSHENKER: You joined Marvel as an editor in 1980, and through the mid-1980s, you worked as an editor on the Conan comics and The Savage Sword of Conan magazine, on which you worked with a stellar stable of artists. HAMA: Sometimes we were able to get stories out of Alfredo Alcala and Rudy Nebres. Alcala was just amazing. We had a good array of cover painters—Joe Jusko … Earl Norem did a bunch … Bob Larkin did a whole bunch of them. They’re terrific painters. Bob Larkin came from the paperback world. Joe Jusko broke in doing the covers. Kaluta did some covers for Savage Sword as well. What more can you ask for? AUSHENKER: Was there a lot of competition from the superhero book editors for artists such as John Buscema? HAMA: Buscema liked doing the barbarian stuff. There was never any shortage for people to do it. In a lot of ways, it was very easy. The Robert E. Howard estate was another story. You had to contend with dealing with a licensed property. One time, the Conan people complained. The Conan

properties woman called to say that they were ticked off about a Joe Jusko cover. She said that the women on his cover, they all look like they’re Hustler models. And I said, “Yeah, isn’t that great?” [laughs] Joe could really render stuff and he put his heart into this. We got a lot of letters from military people in prison and bikers who wanted this stuff airbrushed on the side of their vans. AUSHENKER: Speaking of barbarians, in 2008 you wrote Barack the Barbarian for Devil’s Due Publishing. HAMA: Josh [Blaylock, founder of Devil’s Due] called me. He asked if I would do a comic called Obama the Barbarian. I said, “I think that title really sucks. You should call it Barack the Barbarian.” I asked him, “What’s the shtick?” All they had was the title and I just changed the title. [laughs] I told him, “Look, give me a couple of days and let me put something together.” AUSHENKER: Did you worry about the political aspects of it? HAMA: Not really. No matter what, people are going to love and to hate what you do. But that’s okay. It’s a lot better than people going, “Feh.” [laughs] When I came aboard Crazy, they had a mascot called the Nebbish. I said, “Let’s come up with an evil clown.” We’ll call him Obnoxio, give him a cigar, a hat with a skull on it. A smelly old clown. This was years before Beavis and Butthead, and Krusty the Clown.

Born to be Wild Issue

Go, Joe! (left) Among his many achievements, Hama might be best known as the writer of Marvel’s 1980s hit, G. I Joe: A Real American Hero. Here’s a cover he did for the title, for issue #21 (Mar. 1984), inked by Klaus Janson. (right) A Snake-Eyes sketch by Hama, courtesy of Heritage. G. I. Joe © Hasbro.

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Recent Hama Highlights (left) A page from the historical graphic novel Surprise Attack!: Battle of Shiloh, written by Larry Hama and drawn by Ron Wagner and Scott Moore. (left) Tim Seeley’s cover to one of the variants of the Hama-scripted Barack the Barbarian #1. Surprise Attack! © 2006 Osprey Publishing. Barack the Barbarian © 2009 Devil’s Due Publishing.

With Barack, it was like: What if it’s like in the future and the Ice Age is coming in and some old guy is recounting the past and has misinterpreted all the archeological lessons and how the stories have changed in interpretation. AUSHENKER: In the early ’90s, why did you pitch Marvel an original concept (Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja) if you knew they would own it? HAMA: I had to pitch it, otherwise I would be stuck doing crappy stuff. I was never an A-list writer. There was never an A-list book they offered me that was A-list when they offered it to me, even though I sold a lot of books combined. AUSHENKER: Was putting a weird carnival twist on the Ghost Rider mythos—Spirits of Vengeance–– a fun assignment? HAMA: I put the same into it than anything else. Something I learned from Neal Adams very early working in advertising is that no matter how lousy the product is, Neal would convince himself that it was the best product in the world. [laughs] Once at Continuity, we were working on a campaign for coffee bags. These were tea bags but had coffee in it. [laughs] We actually got them. We’d drink them and be like, “Wow! This is really godawful!” But Neal would go, “You know, it’s not bad. This is actually pretty good.” AUSHENKER: In 2006 and 2007, you wrote several graphic novels for Osprey Graphic History— Civil War books such as The Bloodiest Day: Battle of Antietam, and World War II books such as Fight to the Death: Battle of Guadalcanal. How did you land this assignment? Were you itching to write about these wars?

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HAMA: I knew nothing at all on the Civil War. [laughs] I had to do a tremendous amount of research. Lee Russell—he passed away last year— was incredibly well informed. I got the assignment because the guy who edited it from this end was the guy who was the drummer in my band [the Chaotics] for years: Nelson Yomtov. He was a licensing guy at Marvel. He had the office next to mine. His uncle was the head of Marvel’s production department. I laid out every single story. But then they outsourced it to, of all places, India, to save money. [In India] they just didn’t have any idea what the stuff was. [The artists] had two Union drummer boys playing tabla and they drew palm trees in the background. [laughs] I had to give them huge supplies of reference for just about every panel. It turned out to be a lot more work than I had planned on. AUSHENKER: Do you feel that mainstream comics today have become more cynical and gone Hollywood? HAMA: It’s all about the movies and toys. That’s where the big money is. Even back then. You can put a piece of crap on producer’s desk and nothing will come of it. It’s worth it to put some heart into what you’re doing. Not just leave them with a high concept. [Heartfelt creators] are rare, though. There’s fewer and fewer people doing it for that reason. Marvel Comics today are being written by a bunch of ex-TV writers. I ignore it. I just do what I do. MICHAEL AUSHENKER is the creator of Cartoon Flophouse humor comics. Visit CartoonFlophouse.com.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ORIGINAL BLACK CAT?

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

Postal mail: Michael Eury, Editor • BACK ISSUE 118 Edgewood Ave. NE • Concord, NC 28025

Find BACK ISSUE on

LOGO A-GO-GO Reading BACK ISSUE #39 this lazy Sunday afternoon, I saw the ’70s- style Batman logo on page 86 (your “The Beast and the Bold” feature). Of course, because BACK ISSUE focuses on comics from the ’70s and ’80s, that particular logo is seen frequently in its pages. I assume DC wanted to distance Batman from the ’60s and the [live action] TV show, but there is no comparison between the principal logo used throughout most of the ’60s and this ’70s logo. DC butchered several of its logos in the ’70s (Superboy is another), but Batman was the worst. Thanks for “listening.” – Chris Cavanaugh Chris, while I don’t object to that ’70s Batman logo, like you I’m fond of the ’60s Bat-logo—so fond, I can’t resist adding it here:

Though I realize the Golden and Silver Ages of comics are beyond BI’s purview, the article on Spider-Man foe the Black Cat (in #40’s “Cat People” issue) should have at least acknowledged the much prior existence of the character the Black Cat, who appeared in Harvey Comics from the 1940s through at least the 1960s, and more recently in at least one small-press reprint. She was a crimefighter who was really actress Linda Turner. She fought crime as the glamorous Black Cat with the aide of her young sidekick, Kitten. The kicker here is that Kitten was a boy, real name Kit Weston. Gotta wonder if the critics who were so incensed by the relationship their fantasies imposed on Batman and Robin were similarly hot-and-bothered by the Black Cat and Kitten! Some of the Black Cat’s exploits were written by our late colleague, Bob Haney and were drawn by swell artist Lee Elias. She appeared in her own title from 1946 to 1962, which was reprint at the end, and went through thematic changes to remain afloat, such as Black Cat Western and Black Cat Mystic. The character is forgotten today, but deserves better than to have been replaced in the memories of comics fans by a thief who also stole her name. [Your cat] Miss Edgewood certainly spells better than either of my cats, and, if her editorial is any indication, licks herself less. I mean, a lot less. – Mike W. Barr Always a pleasure to hear from my old chum—who’s also one of my favorite writers and cat owners—Mike W. Barr. We mentioned and depicted Harvey’s Black Cat in issue #38’s article on the Huntress, Mike, since artist Joe Staton admitted that Black Cat inspired his design of the DC heroine’s mask. But you’re right, the original Black Cat warranted at least a sidebar in the article on Marvel’s Black Cat. So we’ll make it up to you by running this Elias-drawn Black Cat cover—which features kid sidekick Kitten! – M.E.

And since I was, as a schoolboy, lured into superhero comics by Adam West’s portrayal of Batman on ABC-TV, the following logo, from the television series, is also dear to my heart:

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I was gonna hold a “gem” like this until my 2011 rerelease of my 1000 copies of By Design, but after seeing the last page of your recent “Rough Stuff” [the Wildcat teaser by Alex Toth in BACK ISSUE #40], I couldn’t resist! [Below] is the first page “Unca” Alex did of an “unsolicited” Wildcat story he had the hankerin’ to do. As with a lot of story ideas he never got past the first page, but at least as an exercise it kept his ever-fertile mind active. (I do have one story he actually got past the first page of … and what ever happened to it? In 2011, you may find out … heh heh heh.) – Darrell McNeil

You tantalize us, Darrell—but at least 2011 isn’t that far away! We look forward to the rerelease of Toth: By Design. – M.E.

JULIE, JULIE, JULIE, DO YA LOVE ME?

I enjoyed your all-Cat theme issue, but maybe you could have also gotten an interview by Julie Newmar [below], who redefined Catwoman for the 1960s? – Chris Krieg

78 • BACK ISSUE • Born to be Wild Issue

Chris, we adore Julie Newmar! But her Catwoman was a creature of the Silver Age, and BACK ISSUE’s realm is the Bronze Age. – M.E.

ANYBODY FOR MYSTERY HEROES? Just wanted to say how much I’ve been loving BACK ISSUE lately! “Comics Go to War” in BI #37 was a great read, full of info I hadn’t been aware of, and I really appreciated the look back at Wonder Woman’s brief return to World War II in her book from the 1970s. I’ve never been a fan of Sgt. Rock, but the retrospective of his comic book was also very enjoyable. The “Family” theme of BI #38 was also a kick. I really enjoyed the look at the [John Byrne] Fantastic Four, and I’ve never even read a Fantastic Four book before! Same thing with the New Gods—Jack Kirby’s Apokolips/New Gods story was one I could never get into, but it was nice to hear Gerry Conway’s thoughts on the revival, among others. I’m really looking forward to BI #41, with the look back at the Roy Thomas/Gene Colan run on Wonder Woman, as well as WW’s “Twelve Trials” to get back into the Justice League. July can’t get here fast enough! I love the color section in BI #40, and the cover with Catwoman—WOW! So far I’ve only been able to read the great article on Vixen—it was so nice to finally get the whole story about her canceled magazine from the DC Implosion. This article really got me thinking about some other suggestions for possible articles. Vixen’s stint with the Justice League Detroit could use a roundtable discussion! That was one of the more controversial eras of the JLA. I certainly appreciate that Gerry Conway wanted to do something different with the JLA, but I will never forget reading the Annual that introduced the new team and their HQ in Detroit and literally not believing what I had just read. Aquaman, Zatanna, and the Martian Manhunter having a street party with the Detroit locals while Vibe and his friends breakdance?!? Please consider having an in-depth look back at that unbelievable era of the JLA. In fact, that might be a theme issue—when a team book goes in a new direction. This could include not just the Detroit Justice League, but also the “Titans Hunt” storyline from The New Teen Titans, the “Five Years Later” revival of Legion of Super-Heroes, when Batman split from the Outsiders, and when the Avengers were downsized. One more suggestion for a theme issue: mystery heroes. For example, the Reflecto mystery and the Sensor Girl storyline from Legion of Super-Heroes, Halo from Batman and the Outsiders, and the Predator from Green Lantern are the first ones that come to my mind. It would be great to hear from Roy Thomas and Paul Levitz about how the Reflecto mystery came to be— that was really the only storyline Roy did on the Legion, and he even ended up leaving before it was completed, so Paul Levitz wrapped it up. And Paul Levitz and Greg LaRocque on the Sensor Girl story—I’ve heard rumors that Levitz had originally planned for her to be Supergirl but DC said no, and I’ve always wondered if that was true. Len Wein and Dave Gibbons created the Predator in Green Lantern, but his true identity wasn’t revealed until after Steve Englehart and Joe Staton took over the book. Anyone who read that era of Green Lantern remembers what a shock it was when Carol Ferris was revealed to be the Predator—I suspect that that wasn’t really the intention of Len Wein, and I’ve always wondered just who he had planned for the Predator to be. An in-depth look at how these mystery-hero storylines were developed would be awesome! Looking forward to more BACK ISSUE! – Daniel Brozak

A TOTH TREAT

“Mystery Heroes” is an interesting theme suggestion, Daniel. Anyone else like the idea? And are there other eligible mystery heroes we might examine? Yours is certainly not the first request we’ve received to cover the “Detroit” era of Justice League of America. You’ll be happy to know there’s a JLA-themed issue eventually coming, which will include a visit to Motor City. – M.E. I recently had to stay in hospital for seven days, and my companion for the length of my stay was BACK ISSUE #40 (“Cat People” issue). I have long been a fan of your publication as it focuses on the era that shaped my first introduction to comics, and it’s great to wallow in nostalgia in the face of my increasing dissatisfaction with today’s comics output. I appreciate all the work and love that goes into each issue. You can tell it is written by true fans of comics. The addition of color is a nice bonus, despite the price increase. Issue #40 was one of the best issues yet. I loved the Hellcat feature, but would have liked a bit more background info why Patsy moved from the Avengers to Defenders. Also, some pics from the seminal Defenders #50 would have been most welcome. It’s fascinating the “Earth-One” Wildcat was featured so heavily in The Brave and Bold, then discarded when he “became” a regular member of the Justice Society on Earth-Two. It really was the era where everything didn’t need to be explained or debated. Such a trick these days would be all over the Internet with the creators pulled to pieces. We are really living in cynical times, and as a result, a lot of fun has disappeared from comics. The Vixen feature highlights just how much comics material has been lost for all time. The fact that a Vixen comic was created but never published is heartbreaking, especially given how much thought Gerry Conway put into her origin and having another black female character, especially in her own title would have been truly groundbreaking. I wonder how possible it would be for DC to publish a trade containing all the canceled 1978 comics? I would be one of the first to buy it as most of the characters involved in the culling really fired my imagination at the time. The highlight of the issue was the history of the Sons of the Tiger and the White Tiger. I never read the Sons of the Tiger stories, as they were in the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, which was not distributed in the UK. I regret this as it featured some early art from my favorite penciler, George Pérez. However, the White Tiger was a different matter. I was fascinated by Hector Ayala’s costumed identity and followed his adventures in the Spider-Man UK comic and, ironically, The Human Fly two-parter, which I read in hospital as an eight-year-old—and here I am, typing this out in hospital as a 42-year-old! Again, thanks to BACK ISSUE for keeping me company during this latest stay in hospital. An amazing publication. – Paul Burns Thank you for the passionate letter, Paul. Here’s hoping you’ve recovered from your illness. – M.E.

CALLING BETA RAY BILL AND CAPTAIN MARVEL The December issue of BACK ISSUE [#37] was one of the most patriotic magazines that dealt with war, and you guys did a great job. The Sgt. Rock article stood out for me, because Rock was one of the most realistic military characters that saw war head-on and was affected by it as a human being. I also hope for a future issue that you will be able to do an article on Beta Ray Bill. Also, I want you to have this Death of Captain Marvel graphic novel because I hope someday it might be used for a future issue of BACK ISSUE magazine. – Ricky T. Butler, Jr.

EYE OF THE TIGER

Ricky, thank you for sending the Captain Marvel book! You’ll be happy to learn that Jim Starlin’s oft-reprinted graphic novel— and Starlin’s stellar résumé, in a career-spanning interview—will be featured in BACK ISSUE #48, our “Dead Heroes” issue. As for Beta Ray Bill, he’s not in our current plans—but not only is he overdue for coverage in BI, but we’ve also given Thor himself the short shrift … and will eventually get around to both Thunder Gods. – M.E.

DISAPPOINTED READER WANTS SKETCHES I hadn’t bought a BACK ISSUE in years, but when I saw the line-up for issue #40, I had just had to have it. Catwoman, Hellcat, Black Cat, and JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS?!? Wow, who could resist? I sure couldn’t... Well, I sort of wish I had. I have to admit I was very disappointed with the issue. My favorite parts of BACK ISSUE have always been the odd sketches and commission pieces that pop up here and there as BACK ISSUE illustrations. There weren’t many in this issue, and some features screamed for them. Take the Josie feature: There wasn’t one convention sketch or commission in the entire piece. There are a lot of wonderful Josie pieces out there by Dan DeCarlo and Stan Goldberg, and there are plenty of new artists at Archie who could have produced something appropriate. Even this issue’s cover artist Joe Staton could have produced something noteworthy. Remember? Staton has worked for Archie recently... But Archie artists aren’t your only source for great Josie material: Many non-Archie artists are popping up with great Josie pieces. Josie appears on websites featuring the art of Jeff Moy, Gene Gonzales, and Craig Rousseau. Just imagine how the Josie feature could have been perked up with those little beauties illustrating it!

Born to be Wild Issue

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BACK ISSUE • 79

I pretty much felt the same way about the rest of the issue. There was very little original art illustrating the pieces, and I felt the articles really suffered for it. The Catwoman feature did have some nice stuff, namely the Morrow and Gulacy portraits and the hilarious cover from BEM, and the Vixen reprints were very impressive, but the majority of the illustrations were reprints of stuff everybody already has or already has seen. Who wants to pay for THAT? Come on, guys: More sketches and commission work. PLEASE. – Chuck Alligood By the way, I wanted to mention that I really appreciated your including a portrait of Josie DeCarlo with the Pussycats feature. That was most cool of BACK ISSUE. Chuck, too bad you didn’t enjoy the “Cat People” issue. Since the advent of our digital editions—which are in color—and more recently, the addition of 16 color pages to our print editions, we’ve featured very few sketches (which are usually quickies done at conventions and not intended by the artists for publication). We have published commissions on a regular basis—even as covers (the most recent being John Byrne’s Thing/Franklin Richards commission, which was the cover of BACK ISSUE #38), although that wasn’t evident from your sampling of issue #40. And we’ve returned the ultimate sketch feature to our pages, “Rough Stuff” (although it’s on a two-issue hiatus this issue and next). While I agree that quality commissions are a welcome bonus (and will be used whenever they’re available and appropriate, such as in this issue’s Shanna article and art gallery), from my perspective BACK ISSUE is a comics-history publication, not a sketchbook or pinup magazine. The articles are the meat and potatoes, and the images are the gravy. The next letter writer agrees… – M.E.

B&W IS A-OK WITH THIS BI FAN Just wanted to chip in my two cents on the [color] format issue. I don’t really think the BACK ISSUE mag really requires any color pages, not that I’m against it. We, the fans, buy the mag mainly for the articles, and artwork is a nice bonus. The artwork works for me just as well in black and white. If it worked in The Savage Sword of Conan, why not in BACK ISSUE? If others want everything colored they can always purchase the digital edition, which I think you’ve mentioned in the past was in full color. Although, Joe Jusko’s painting of the Black Cat was really fetching and may have me teetering over the few color pages added side of the fence. Keep them coming. BACK ISSUE is one of my must-haves on the racks and I’ll be reading till you decide to close up shop. Always great, with only one exception, an overly longrunning article which will remain nameless. Besides that, in my eyes you can do no wrong. Just keep the cover price reasonable because that would be, in my mind, the only way it would scare off other regular or potiential new readers. – JJ Next issue: “Spider-Man in the Bronze Age”! Spider-Man writer supreme GERRY CONWAY discusses his stints on the series in an exclusive interview, and we examine many of the Web-Slinger’s most memorable moments from the 1970s, 1980s, and beyond, including the “drug issues,” the “resurrections” of Green Goblin and Gwen Stacy, Marvel Team-Up, Spectacular Spider-Man, Spidey Super Stories, the Japanese TV show, Power Records, the newspaper strip, and the Clone Saga. With art by and/or commentary from ROSS ANDRU, MARK BAGLEY, SAL BUSCEMA, TOM DeFALCO, DANNY FINGEROTH, GIL KANE, STAN LEE, LARRY LIEBER, JIM MOONEY, WIN MORTIMER, JOHN ROMITA, SR., JIM SALICRUP, ALEX SAVIUK, ROGER STERN, JEAN THOMAS, and many more. Plus a vintage painted cover by BOB LARKIN! Don’t ask, just BI it! See you in thirty! Michael Eury, editor Spider-Man TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. BACK ISSUE TM & © TwoMorrows.

80 • BACK ISSUE • Born to be Wild Issue

S U B M IS S IO N G U ID E L IN E S 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 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). 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 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@gmail.com or by sending a SASE to the address below. Please allow 6–8 weeks for a response to your proposals. Artwork submissions and SASEs for writers’ guidelines should be sent to: Michael Eury, Editor BACK ISSUE 118 Edgewood Ave. NE Concord, NC 28025

Advertise In BACK ISSUE! FULL-PAGE: 7.5" Wide x 10" Tall • $300 HALF-PAGE: 7.5" Wide x 4.875" Tall • $175 QUARTER-PAGE: 3.75" Wide x 4.875" Tall • $100 Prepay for two ads in Alter Ego, DRAW!, Write Now!, Back Issue, or any combination and save: TWO FULL-PAGE ADS: $500 ($100 savings) TWO HALF-PAGE ADS: $300 ($50 savings) TWO QUARTER-PAGE ADS: $175 ($25 savings) These rates are for black-&-white ads, supplied on-disk (TIF, EPS, or Quark Xpress files acceptable) or as camera-ready art. Typesetting service available at 20% mark-up. Due to our already low ad rates, no agency discounts apply. Sorry, display ads not available for the Jack Kirby Collector. Send ad copy and check/money order (US funds), Visa, or Mastercard to: TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 Phone: 919/449-0344 • FAX 919/449-0327 E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com

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(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) The non-EC Horror Comics of the 1950s! From Menace and House of Mystery to The Thing!, we present vintage art and artifacts by EVERETT, BRIEFER, DITKO, MANEELY, COLAN , MESKIN, MOLDOFF, HEATH, POWELL, COLE, SIMON & KIRBY, FUJITANI, and others, plus FCA , MR. MONSTER and more, behind a creepy, eerie cover by BILL EVERETT!

(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) Spotlight on Superman’s first editor WHITNEY ELLSWORTH, longtime Krypto-editor MORT WEISINGER remembered by his daughter, an interview with Superman writer ALVIN SCHWARTZ, art by JOE SHUSTER, WAYNE BORING, CURT SWAN, AL PLASTINO, and NEAL ADAMS, plus MR. MONSTER, FCA (FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA), and a new cover by JERRY ORDWAY!

(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) GEORGE TUSKA showcase issue on his career at Lev Gleason, Marvel, and in comics strips through the early 1970s—CRIME DOES NOT PAY, BUCK ROGERS, IRON MAN, AVENGERS, HERO FOR HIRE, and more! Interview with 1950s Timely/Marvel editor AL SULMAN (“personal associate of STAN LEE!”), MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), and more!

WALTER SIMONSON interview and demo, Rough Stuff’s BOB McLEOD gives a “Rough Critique” of a newcomer’s work, Write Now’s DANNY FINGEROTH spotlights writer/artist AL JAFFEE, JAMAR NICHOLAS reviews the best art supplies and tool technology, MIKE MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS offer “Comic Art Bootcamp” lessons, plus Web links, comic and book reviews, and more!

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 US • Now shipping!

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 US • Ships October 2010

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 US • Ships December 2010

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 US • Ships January 2011

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 US • Ships December 2010

TwoMorrows. Celebrating The Art & History Of Comics. (& LEGO! ) ®

BACK ISSUE #42

BACK ISSUE #44

BACK ISSUE #45

KIRBY COLLECTOR #55

(NOW 8x/YEAR, WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “Wild West” issue! Jonah Hex examined with FLEISHER, DeZUNIGA, DOMINGUEZ, GARCIA-LOPEZ, GIFFEN, HANNIGAN, plus TRUMAN’s Scout, TRIMPE’s Rawhide Kid, AYERS’ Ghost Rider, DC’s Weird Westerns, the Vigilante’s 1970s revival, and more! Art and commentary by ADAMS, APARO, DIXON, EVANS, KUNKEL, MORROW, NICIEZA, and more. Cover by DeZUNIGA!

(NOW 8x/YEAR, WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “Spider-Man in the Bronze Age!” Drug issues, resurrection of Green Goblin and Gwen Stacy, Marvel Team-Up, Spectacular Spider-Man, Spidey Super Stories, CBS and Japanese TV shows, Clone Saga, CONWAY, ANDRU, BAGLEY, SAL BUSCEMA, DeFALCO, FINGEROTH, GIL KANE, STAN LEE, LEIBER, MOONEY, ROMITA SR., SALICRUP, SAVIUK, STERN, cover by BOB LARKIN!

(NOW 8x/YEAR, WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “Odd Couples!” O’NEIL and ADAMS’ Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Englehart’s Justice League of America, Daredevil and Black Widow, Power Man and Iron Fist, Vision and Scarlet Witch, Cloak and Dagger, and… Aquaman and Deadman (?!). With AUSTIN, COLAN, CONWAY, COWAN, DILLIN, HOWELL, LEONARDI, SKEATES, and more. New cover by NEAL ADAMS!

“Kirby Goes To Hollywood!” SERGIO ARAGONÉS and MELL LAZARUS recall Kirby’s BOB NEWHART TV show cameo, comparing the recent STAR WARS films to New Gods, RUBY & SPEARS interviewed, Jack’s encounters with FRANK ZAPPA, PAUL McCARTNEY, and JOHN LENNON, MARK EVANIER’s regular column, a Kirby pencil art gallery, a Golden Age Kirby story, and more! Kirby cover inked by PAUL SMITH!

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 US • Now shipping!

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 US • Ships September 2010

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 US • Ships November 2010

(84-page tabloid magazine) $10.95 US Ships September 2010

TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, NC 27614 USA 919-449-0344 FAX: 919-449-0327 E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com www.twomorrows.com

• Back Issue! now 8x per year! • BrickJournal now 6x per year! • Back Issue! & Alter Ego now with color! • New lower international shipping rates!

WHE N YO ORD U ONL ER INE!

NEW BOOKS FROM TWOMORROWS!

IN SHIPST.! P E S

IN SHIPSV.! O N

CARMINE INFANTINO

PENCILER, PUBLISHER, PROVOCATEUR CARMINE INFANTINO is the artistic and publishing visionary whose mark on the comic book industry pushed conventional boundaries. As a penciler and cover artist, he was a major force in defining the Silver Age of comics, co-creating the modern Flash and resuscitating the Batman franchise in the 1960s. As art director and publisher, he steered DC Comics through the late 1960s and 1970s, one of the most creative and fertile periods in their long history. Join historian and inker JIM AMASH (Alter Ego magazine, Archie Comics) and ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON (Modern Masters book series) as they document the life and career of Carmine Infantino, in the most candid and thorough interview this controversial living legend has ever given, lavishly illustrated with the incredible images that made him a star. CARMINE INFANTINO: PENCILER, PUBLISHER, PROVOCATEUR shines a light on the artist’s life, career, and contemporaries, and uncovers details about the comics industry never made public until now. The hardcover edition includes a dust jacket, custom endleaves, plus a 16-PAGE FULL-COLOR SECTION not found in the softcover edition. New Infantino cover inked by TERRY AUSTIN!

(224-page softcover) $26.95 • (240-page hardcover with COLOR) $46.95

THE STAN LEE UNIVERSE

Looks at the life and career of comics’ most controversial inker, known for the atmospheric feel he gave his work, and the shortcuts he took. With commentary by Colletta’s friends, family, and co-workers.

Face front, true believers! THE STAN LEE UNIVERSE is the ultimate repository of interviews with and mementos about Marvel Comics’ fearless leader! From his Soapbox to the box office, the Smilin’ One literally changed the face of comic books and pop culture, and this tome presents numerous rare and unpublished interviews with Stan, plus interviews with top luminaries of the comics industry, including JOHN ROMITA SR. & JR., TODD McFARLANE, ROY THOMAS, DENNIS O’NEIL, GENE COLAN, AL JAFFEE, LARRY LIEBER, JERRY ROBINSON, and MICHAEL USLAN discussing his vital importance to the field he helped shape. And as a bonus, direct from Stan’s personal archives, you’ll see rare photos, sample scripts and plots, and many other unseen items, such as: PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE between Stan and such prominent figures as: JAMES CAMERON, OLIVER STONE, RAY BRADBURY, DENIS KITCHEN, ALAIN RESNAIS and (Sinatra lyricist and pal) SAMMY CAHN! Transcripts of 1960s RADIO INTERVIEWS with Stan during the early Marvel era (one co-featuring JACK KIRBY, and one with Stan debating Dr. Fredric Wertham’s partner in psychological innovation and hating comics)! Rarely seen art by legends including KIRBY, JOHN ROMITA SR. and JOE MANEELY! Plot, script, and balloon placements from the 1978 SILVER SURFER GRAPHIC NOVEL, including comprehensive notes from Lee and Kirby about the story. Notes by RICHARD CORBEN and WILL EISNER for Marvel projects that never came to be! Pages from a SILVER SURFER screenplay done by Stan for ROGER CORMAN! Notes and thumbnail sketches by JOHN BUSCEMA from HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE MARVEL WAY, and more! Excelsior! (Co-edited by ROY THOMAS and DANNY FINGEROTH.) Hardcover includes a deluxe dust jacket, plus 16 EXTRA FULL-COLOR PAGES of rare Archive Material!

(112-page softcover) $14.95

(176-page softcover with COLOR) $26.95 • (192-page hardcover with COLOR) $39.95

OW AND PNING: SHIP

THE THIN BLACK LINE:

VINCE COLLETTA

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TwoMorrows.Celebrating The Art & History Of Comics. (& LEGO! ) TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com