Back Issue #55 by TwoMorrows Publishing

THE RETRO COMICS EXPERIENCE!

A pr i l 2 0

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STAR WARS

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at Dark Horse Comics!

LICENSED COMICS ISSUE: Indiana Jones • Edgar Rice Burroughs—Beyond Tarzan • Man from Atlantis and an interview with Carol Serling, wife of “Twilight Zone” creator Rod Serling

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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(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!

(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!) “Jungle and barbarian” issue! Shanna the She-Devil feature and gallery, JONES and ANDERSON on Ka-Zar, LARRY HAMA interview, Beowulf, Claw the Unconquered, Korg 70,000 B.C., Red Sonja, Rima the Jungle Girl, art and commentary by AZZARELLO, BOYETTE, CHAN, GULACY, KUBERT, MICHELINIE, REDONDO, ROY THOMAS, WINDSOR-SMITH, cover by FRANK CHO!

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(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!

(NOW 8x/YEAR, WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “Greatest Stories Never Told!” How Savage Empire became The Warlord, the aborted FF graphic novel “Fathers and Sons,” BYRNE’s Last Galactus Story, Star*Reach’s Batman, Aquaman II, 1984 Black Canary miniseries, Captain America: The Musical, Miracleman: Triumphant, unpublished issues of The Cat and Warlock, BLEVINS, DEODATO, FRADON, SEKOWSKY, WEISS, MIKE GRELL cover!

(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “Thrilling Days of Yesteryear!” The final DAVE STEVENS interview, Rocketeer film discussion with DANNY BILSON and PAUL DeMEO, The Phantom, Indiana Jones, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ heroes, Dominic Fortune, Sherlock Holmes, Man-God, Miracle Squad, 3-D Man, Justice, Inc., APARO, CHAYKIN, CLAREMONT, MILLER, VERHEIDEN, and more, Rocketeer cover by DAVE STEVENS!

(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “Dead Heroes”! JIM (“Death of Captain Marvel”) STARLIN interview, Deadman after Neal Adams, Jason Todd Robin, the death and resurrection of the Flash, Elektra, the many deaths of Aunt May, art by and/or commentary from APARO, BATES, CONWAY, GARCIA-LOPEZ, GEOFF JOHNS, MILLER, WOLFMAN, and a cosmically cool cover by JIM STARLIN!

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(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “1970s Time Capsule”! Examines relevance in comics, Planet of the Apes, DC Salutes the Bicentennial, Richard Dragon–Kung-Fu Fighter, FOOM, Amazing World of DC, Fast Willie Jackson, Marvel Comics calendars, art and commentary from ADAMS, BRUNNER, GIORDANO, LARKIN, LEVITZ, MAGGIN, MOENCH, O’NEIL, PLOOG, STERANKO, cover by BUCKLER and BEATTY!

Special 50th Anniversary FULL-COLOR issue ($8.95 price) on “Batman in the Bronze Age!” O’NEIL, ADAMS, and LEVITZ roundtable, praise for “unsung” Batman creators JIM APARO, DAVID V. REED, BOB BROWN, ERNIE CHAN, and JOHN CALNAN, Joker’s Daughter, Batman Family, Nocturna, Dark Knight, art and commentary from BYRNE, COLAN, CONWAY, MOENCH, MILLER, NEWTON, WEIN, and more. APARO cover!

(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “AllInterview Issue”! Part 2 of an exclusive STEVE ENGLEHART interview (continued from ALTER EGO #103)! “Pro2Pro” interviews between SIMONSON & LARSEN, MOENCH & WEIN, and comics letterers KLEIN & CHIANG. Plus JOHN OSTRANDER, MICHAEL USLAN, and longtime DC color artist ADRIENNE ROY! Cover by Englehart collaborator MARSHALL ROGERS!

Bronze Age Mystery Comics! Interviews with BERNIE WRIGHTSON, SERGIO ARAGONÉS, GERRY TALAOC, DC mystery writer LORE SHOBERG, MARK EVANIER and DAN SPIEGLE discuss Scooby-Doo, Charlton chiller anthologies, Black Orchid, Madame Xanadu art and commentary by TONY DeZUNIGA, MIKE KALUTA, VAL MAYERIK, DAVID MICHELINIE, MATT WAGNER, and a rare cover painting by WRIGHTSON!

“Gods!” Takes an in-depth look at WALTER SIMONSON’s Thor, the Thunder God in the Bronze Age, “Pro2Pro” interview with TOM DeFALCO and RON FRENZ, Hercules: Prince of Power, Moondragon, Three Ways to End the New Gods Saga, exclusive interview with fantasy writer MICHAEL MOORCOCK, art and commentary by GERRY CONWAY, JACK KIRBY, BOB LAYTON, and more, with a swingin’ Thor cover by SIMONSON!

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Volume 1, Number 55 April 2012 Celebrating the Best Comics of the '70s, '80s, '90s, and Beyond!

The Retro Comics Experience!

EDITOR Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow DESIGNER Rich J. Fowlks COVER ARTIST Brian Koschack COVER COLORIST Dan Jackson COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg

SPECIAL THANKS Scott Allie Kevin J. Anderson Michael Aushenker Jeremy Barlow Mike Baron Mike W. Barr Haden Blackman Eliot R. Brown Jarrod and Jamie Buttery John Byrne Paul Chadwick Brian Ching Chris Claremont Bob Cooper Dark Horse Comics Daniel DeAngelo Mark DiFruscio Chuck Dixon Jo Duffy Shawn and Matt Fillbach Preston Fowlks Alex Freed Carl Gafford Adam Gallardo Gary Gianni Ian Gibson Chris Gossett Grand Comic-Book Database Paul Gulacy Heritage Comics Auctions Eric Houston David Innes Pete Janes Dan Jurgens Michael W. Kaluta Cam Kennedy

Karl Kesel Dave Land Rick Leonardi Lucasfilm Pop Mahn Ron Marz Bob McLeod David Michelinie Allen Milgrom John Jackson Miller John Nadeau Jerry Ordway John Ostrander Steve Perry Thomas Powers Ron Randall Mike Richardson Anthony Snyder Herb Solow Chris Sprouse Michael A. Stackpole Randy Stradley Roger Stern Tom Taylor Roy Thomas Herb Trimpe Timothy Truman Tom Veitch Chris Warner Alan Weiss Doug Wheatley Whiskey Media Rob Williams Colin Wilson Ryder Windham Judd Winick Marv Wolfman Jim Woodring

BACK SEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 FLASHBACK: Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Weird Worlds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Wolfman, Kaluta, and Weiss recall their DC Comics journeys to Barsoom, Venus, and beyond BEYOND CAPES: John Carter Lives! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Monthly adventures on Barsoom in Marvel Comics’ John Carter, Warlord of Mars BACKSTAGE PASS: Who Shot Down Man from Atlantis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 The cancellation of this Marvel TV adaptation might not have been a result of low sales INTERVIEW: The “Twilight” Saga: A Conversation with Carol Serling . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 The widow of Twilight Zone mastermind and Planet of the Apes screenwriter Rod Serling shares her fond memories FLASHBACK: Star Wars at Dark Horse Comics: The Force is Strong within Them! . . . .30 Dozens of creators comment on Dark Horse’s two decades of expanding George Lucas’ sci-fi universe FLASHBACK: When Adventure Had a Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Exploring Marvel Comics’ The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones BEYOND CAPES: Indiana Jones: Riding a Dark Horse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 How the publisher that takes licensed comics seriously revitalized movies’ favorite archaeologist GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: Indiana Jones Unplugged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76 Dr. Jones’ dealings with Wilford Brimley and other unseen epics BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Reader feedback 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 Brian Koschack. Star Wars © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2012 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing. BACK ISSUE is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING. Licensed Comics Issue

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PROOFREADER Rob Smentek

Michael Eury

During much of the BACK ISSUE era of the 1970s and 1980s, licensed comics were the ugly stepchild of the business. They got “no respect— no respect at all” (with apologies to the late Rodney Dangerfield). That wasn’t always the case. Comic books based upon “external” properties had been around since the Golden Age—actually, the first comic books almost exclusively featured licensed material, being reprints of newspaper comic strips. Newsstands during the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s were loaded with comic books headlining stars from other media, mostly film and television characters. If you started reading comic books during any of those decades, chances are some media favorite such as Mickey Mouse or The Three Stooges or Bugs Bunny was your gateway title. And among collectors today, photo covers from Hollywood movie and TV entries in Dell’s Four Color series are highly prized. By the time the Bronze Age rolled around in 1970, licensed comics were mostly TV cartoon tie-ins offered by smaller publishers. Granted, this era witnessed several licensed-comics standouts, such as Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian, Planet of the Apes, and Star Wars, and DC’s Tarzan and The Shadow, yet despite those highpoints, among professionals licensed titles generally interested only those writers and artists wanting to break into the business. Frequently, licensed comics carried the editorial baggage of a “meddling” licensor, the protector of a brand who often didn’t quite understand the lead time required to produce a comic book or the particulars of the medium. Eleventh-hour licensor-mandated changes were common, and contractual snags often delayed (or at times deep-sixed) projects in development.

In many cases, licensed comics started out with a bang, then sputtered. Even the cream of the licensing crop, including the aforementioned Marvel and DC titles and later add-ons like Micronauts, Godzilla, and ROM: Spaceknight, stumbled as their issue numbers increased. With all this baggage, it’s a wonder that Dark Horse Comics’ Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley even considered adding film franchises to their line. But we’re glad they did. Mike and Randy (and Dark Horse’s other founders) wanted to produce comics they would like to read, so why not publish series based on movie blockbusters like Godzilla and The Terminator? Dark Horse picked up the baton (or is that lightsaber?) dropped by Marvel after it abandoned its long-running Star Wars series, and now we’re pleased to spotlight the 20-year anniversary of Star Wars comics from Dark Horse—as well as a look at its continuations of Lucasfilm’s other big franchise, Indiana Jones! Today, largely thanks to Dark Horse’s successes with adapting media properties, licensed comics often attract top talents and become bestsellers and critical hits. To those longtime BI readers hyperventilating over this “new” material hogging space in this issue—fear not, True Believers! The Bronze Age is on display in this issue with our articles on DC’s Edgar Rice Burroughs series and Marvel’s Man from Atlantis, John Carter: Warlord of Mars, and The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. We also flirt with the Silver Age as we speak with, in an exclusive interview, Carol Serling, the wife of Twilight Zone creator and Planet of the Apes screenwriter Rod Serling. There’s something for everyone in these pages—and to you new readers who picked up this issue because of its Star Wars coverage … welcome to Retro Land! Don’t be a stranger—come back again.

LICENSED COMICS COVERED IN PREVIOUS ISSUES #1: Tarzan (DC and Marvel) #2: Space Ghost vs. Herculoids #5: Star Trek #6: Godzilla (Marvel) #9: Star Wars (Marvel) #10: The Shadow (DC), Doc Savage #11: Conan the Barbarian (Marvel), The Wiz #14: Star Wars newspaper strip, Planet of the Apes (Marvel) #16: G. I. Joe, Gumby, Transformers, He-Man, ROM and Micronauts, Captain Action #18: Green Hornet (Now Comics) #23: The Secrets of Isis; Disney (Gladstone); Star Trek writers roundtable; Welcome Back, Kotter #24: Michael Golden interview (Micronauts) #25: Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman

#26: James Bond, Mr. T #27: Prince #30: Gary Owens and Steve Rude interviews (Space Ghost), Astro Boy (Now) #32: ROM: Spaceknight #33: James Bond, Jr. #34: Logan’s Run #39: Big Boy #40: ThunderCats #41: Team America #43: Rima, the Jungle Girl; Conan; Red Sonja; Korg: 70,000 B.C. #46: The Wolf Man #47: The Phantom (Charlton, DC); Justice, Inc.; Man-God #49: Planet of the Apes #52: Scooby-Doo

A long time ago—December 1993, my first year as an editor at Dark Horse Comics—my wife Rose and I hosted a Christmas party at our house for Dark Horse’s “orphans” who were too far away from home to go home for the holidays. Killian Plunkett (whose art you’ll see in this issue’s Star Wars feature) surprised me with this gift: a Flintstonesmeets-Star Wars painting! Yabba dabba doo! Star Wars © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. Flintstones TM & © Hanna-Barbera Productions.

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® by

Jim Kingman

Terror at the Earth’s Core Cover detail from DC Comics’ Weird Worlds #2 (Oct.–Nov. 1973), featuring David Innes, star of Burroughs’ “Pellucidar” series. Cover art by Joe Orlando and Carmine Infantino. © 2012 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. (ERB, Inc.)

National Periodical Publications (DC Comics) acquired the rights from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. in 1971 to publish the serialized comic-book exploits of the science-fiction/adventure writer’s fictional characters. The more popular Tarzan and Korak (the ape-man’s adopted son) received their own separate titles, debuting in in early 1972, and both books continued the numbering from their previous publisher, Gold Key. An added bonus—especially to devoted Burroughs fans—were all-new backup features starring many of

Burroughs’ lesser-known adventurers. Unfortunately, weak to no product placement on the Tarzan and Korak covers kept the “lesser-known” aspect of these characters in place, although a Burroughs anthology book, Weird Worlds, allowed two of them more exposure. Still, to this day they all remain, with one notable exception, obscure and overlooked. That is a shame, because the four series—“John Carter of Mars,” “Carson of Venus,” “Pellucidar,” and “Beyond the Farthest Star”—are very good. Licensed Comics Issue

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THE FIRST PHASE (1972–1974) JOHN CARTER

Master of Adventure (center) Edgar Rice Burroughs in a 1929 photographic portrait. Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

installments. The series was brought to an abrupt close when it was decided that a new feature, Howard Chaykin’s “Iron Wolf,” would take over Weird Worlds with issue #8. “John Carter, Warlord of Mars,” the adventures of an Writer Marv Wolfman chronicled Carter’s ex-Confederate soldier mystically transported to adventures from displaced alien to revered the savagely inhabited, decaying red planet, warrior, adapting Burroughs’ A Princess of made its first DC appearance as a backup Mars and The Gods of Mars, although feature in Tarzan #207 (Apr. 1972), Wolfman was not credited for the first edited by Joe Kubert. The series three installments of the series. continued in issues #208 and 209, Veteran comics artist Murphy with no mention of its existence on Anderson illustrated episodes 1, 3, any of the three covers (nice Tarzan 4, 5, and 6, with Gray Morrow illustrations by Kubert, though). pinch-hitting in episode 2, and upWhen DC dropped its thenand-coming artist Sal Amendola 52-page format and reverted to the taking over with episodes 7 standard 36-page size, which also through 10 when Anderson moved dropped the story page count from over to Korak, Son of Tarzan to draw 38 to 24, a new Burroughs book, its lead feature. Joe Orlando also Weird Worlds, edited by Denny O’Neil, provided inks on episode 7. was created to give John Carter a home, Wolfman discusses his experience where he was awarded half the book and writing John Carter for DC with BACK ISSUE: several cover appearances. The Warlord of “Joe was a really good editor with specific views Mars appeared in issues #1 through 7 (Aug.–Sept. 1972 through Sept.–Oct. 1973), for a total of ten of what he wanted. Denny rarely said anything and seemed to have no opinion of the material, but then, he was more of a realistic writer and maybe not into the space opera of Burroughs material. I would have loved to have worked closer with Murphy because he was a huge John Carter fan, but that wasn’t the way things were done back then. “The problem with DC’s John Carter at the time [was], every time I’d start a story I was told the book was going to be canceled, so ‘Wrap it right up.’ Then we were told to do another one. Then, as I’m writing it, we were told the book was being canceled and ‘Wrap it up.’ The stories came out disjointed and marv wolfman subpar. I loved the character, but, sadly, only when I was at Marvel did I feel any control over what I was doing. The DC run was fun to do, but didn’t really work.” Despite the disjointedness of the series, it remains a thrilling read. John Carter went from being chased by Native-American Indians, to being somewhat inexplicably transported to Mars, to acquiring great strength due to Mars’ lesser gravity, to being captured by Tharks (a fourarmed, green-skinned race), to punching and killing Tharks with one punch (which worked for and against Carter’s stature), to escaping the city with his immediate new love, the princess Dejah Thoris—all in the first five episodes. In the final five chapters, having been purposely separated from Dejah, Carter and his new ally, the Tharkanian Tars Tarkas, encountered many diverse creatures, beasts, and civilizations on Mars, including the plant men of the Valley Dor; the Holy Therns; Thuvia, master of the lion-like Banths; the Black Pirates; and Issus, Goddess of Life and Death. When Carter finally reached Helium,

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home of Dejah, he was greeted with a hero’s welcome, wed to the princess, and knighted the Warlord of Mars. Wolfman packed a lot of action, adventure, history, and geography into this series, briskly adapting two novels. John Carter would next appear on the cover of Tarzan Family #60 (Nov.–Dec. 1975), beginning a flat-out confusing progression of appearances that I will elaborate on shortly.

CARSON OF VENUS “Carson of Venus,” the exploits of a wayward American who catapulted for Mars but wound up on the floridly lush, savagely inhabited second planet from the sun, debuted as the second feature in Korak, Son of Tarzan #46 (May–June 1972). Unlike “John Carter” in Tarzan, “Carson of Venus” remained in Korak in the aftermath of the format change, continuing through issue #56, and was, again unlike “John Carter,” noted three times on the cover (#46, 48, and 53). Writer Len Wein scripted the first eight episodes of “Carson of Venus,” complemented by exquisite artwork from Michael W. Kaluta. The duo successfully adapted Pirates of Venus, even as Wein left the series towards the end of PoV. Kaluta remained as writer and artist on a sterling, albeit truncated, adaptation of Lost on Venus. Joe Orlando edited the first three installments, followed by Joe Kubert on the back eight in Korak. The last episode, number 12, found a different home, which some may not be aware of. Korak was abruptly canceled with issue #56 in November of 1973 (cover-dated Mar. 1974), with no announcement of the title character and Carson moving to the expanded 100-page Tarzan in January of 1974. With no more than a five-page appearance in Tarzan #230 (Apr.–May 1974), “Carson of Venus” was curtly cut off, almost midway through Kaluta’s adaptation of Lost on Venus. The comic-book series would never be concluded. Kaluta recalls his involvement with “Carson of Venus” to BACK ISSUE, starting with how he got the assignment: “I’d wandered by Joe Orlando’s office at DC (when the offices were on Third Ave. in the FDR Post Office Building, sharing the floor with the Independent

News Agency, distributors); he was excited that DC had just got the ERB stuff away from Gold Key. He said: ‘We’ve got all of Burroughs’ stuff; is there some story of his you’d love to draw?’ Everyone already knew Joe Kubert was going to handle Tarzan. I said, ‘Sure! The Barsoom Stories!!!’ Joe was quick to tell me that Murphy Anderson had that sewn up—Murphy had been wanting to draw John Carter of Mars since he was a kid. So I asked if I could do the Venus stories. Joe was unfamiliar with them. ‘Are they any good?’ I brought him a copy of Pirates of Venus and got the nod for the backup series within a day or two. ‘This stuff is really great!’ said Joe O. “Joe Orlando was very ‘hands off’ as editor,” Kaluta continues. “He looked everything over and loved the material as it came across his desk. He claimed it made him feel like a kid again. Orlando was in favor of adapting the books as closely as we wanted. Once the strip went over to Joe Kubert, Joe K. expected action, action, action. “Meanwhile, Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson were beginning their Swamp Thing masterpiece. It was 20 pages every month, and very close to Len’s heart. He and Bernie were spending a lot of time getting a handle on where they were going to take Swamp Thing, so I guess Len cleared the decks a little. Licensed Comics Issue

Destination: Mars Wrong turn for the man who would become known as Carson of Venus. From Korak, Son of Tarzan #46 (May–June 1972), by Len Wein and Michael Kaluta. (left) Tarzan welcomes readers to Weird Worlds #1. Cover by Joe Kubert. © 2012 ERB, Inc.

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“I slowed down and savored the story some once I became writer Lost on Venus, Carson was abducted by the Thorists and taken to one on ‘Carson,’” Kaluta explains. “I took over the adapting near the end of of their cities, Kapdor, where he successfully escaped the ordeal of the Pirates, during the rebellion of the slaves, the takeover of the ship, etc. Seven Doors. Reunited with Duare, they escaped the city, ran in the As a new ‘writer,’ I found it near impossible to cut any dialogue. I was wrong direction from the sea, and wound up in an inland valley, Noobol, such a fan of ERB, and loved the Carson stories, it took a while to ‘get’ where they were captured and almost cooked by beast-men. Escaping the how to tell a comic-book story (in five pages each episode), beast-men, they set out to work their way back to the sea and make sense, have fun and have a beginning, middle, and Kamlot, but instead only wound up deeper in the Noobolian end to each segment. If the book had stayed with Valley, where they encountered beasts and a mysterious Orlando, I’ve a feeling I’d have kept more of the man who appeared to offer them aid. The reader quiet, Burroughs–like pace.” would never know—not in the comic, anyway (he or There was nothing really quiet about this series, as she would have to rely on Lost on Venus to learn the Wein and Kaluta made it lively and adventure-packed, couple’s fate)—as that is where the series ended. beautifully rendered both in narration and illustration, “There are no finished episodes of ‘Carson of and action. Carson Napier launched for Mars in his Venus’ after Tarzan #230,” Kaluta continues, “but I’d torpedo rocket, but by not taking into account the laid out, in thumbnails, the second part of the ‘Into moon’s orbit he wound up heading for Venus. There, he the Noobolian Valley’ segment, ‘The Black Castle.’ descended into an immense forest of trees enshrouded What had happened with the ERB material as far as by clouds. After encountering a gruesome native we freelancers heard was that DC/National was paying beast, Carson was taken by the more human Vepajans out a stiff bit of money to ERB. As nice as the books michael kaluta to their city in the trees, where he later battled the looked, and as much as the editors and publisher Vepajans’ sworn enemies, the Thorists, who were were proud of them, the comics just weren’t turning intent on kidnapping a young woman from her tree apartment. Carson a profit. At that point DC had the talents of a host of great Filipino (and fell in love with this woman upon first sight, while she flat-out rejected Spanish) artists and, to keep the ERB books in play while cutting costs, him. The Vepajans ordered him to stay away from her. Also, having the Filipino artists got the ERB material. I was told I could keep doing decided Carson was not a Thorist, he was given a job, gathering Tarel, a Carson’s five pages if I’d be able to bring them in at $26 per page: strong silk beneficial to the Vepajans. With his companion Kamlot, Carson pencils, inks, and lettering. I tried, but no, that was about 1/4 per page hunted Tarel; battled a giant spider; was kidnapped by the Klangan, bird- of what I’d been getting. Living in New York City meant I had my men of Venus; became a slave of the Thorists; led a mutiny; pirated a overhead to consider, too … shame, though.” Thorist boat; again met the girl in the garden, who turned out to be “Carson of Venus” would return at DC, however, and I will the revered Princess Duare; and was thrown off the boat during a storm. elaborate on that shortly. 6 • BACK ISSUE • Licensed Comics Issue

“Catastrophe”… …may have been the story title of Korak #53’s “Carson of Venus” episode— illustrated and written by Michael Wm. Kaluta—but we’d call this original page from the Heritage archives a “triumph.” (above) Carson is cover-touted on editor/cover artist Kubert’s Korak #53. © 2012 ERB, Inc.

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“So I went up to DC and proceeded to loiter in the doorway of PELLUCIDAR Adventurer David Innes and his scientist friend Abner Perry journeyed Joe Orlando’s office, looking at the covers of all his books on the to “Pellucidar,” the savagely inhabited world at the Earth’s core, which wall,” Weiss relates. “After a while he asked me: ‘Whattayou lookin’ debuted as the third feature in Korak, Son of Tarzan #46 (May–June 1972). at?’ I mumbled a few words about, ‘Um … Weird Worlds … Pellucidar Like “John Carter” in Tarzan, “Pellucidar” shifted to Weird Worlds #1 when … Wrightson’s not gonna do it…’ [Orlando said,] ‘Nah, Gil Kane’s the format changed. Innes shared the book with Carter through issue going to do it!’ Gil Kane? Well, that was that. Going home now. “A week or so later, Joe called and asked, ‘Whaddaya #7. Of all the Weird Worlds series, only “Pellucidar” received know about Pellucidar?’ ‘Everything! Thipdars! Mahars! a cover nod for all its episodes. “Pellucidar” wrapped up What do you want to know?’ ‘Gil Kane can’t do it. even more abruptly than “John Carter,” noting Innes’ Do me some character sketches.’ So I did. He liked prosperous fate in a single sentence in the last panel. them. And that’s how I got it.” Adapting Burroughs’ At the Earth’s Core, writer Regarding “Crusty Bunkers,” Weiss recalls: “I knew Len Wein and artist Alan Weiss (aided on occasion Neal [Adams] and Dick [Giordano]. I consider by “Crusty Bunkers,” an illustrious inking team that both mentors, especially Neal. They’d gotten included Neal Adams) chronicled episodes 1, 2, 3, me into the comics biz. In addition to comics, and 4, and writer Denny O’Neil and artists Kaluta I did some advertising work for their company, (for one issue) and Dan Green continued and Continuity Associates. concluded the series with episodes 5, 6, 7, and 8. “Neal and the rest of the Crusty Bunkers (of which Alan Weiss recalls for BACK ISSUE how he landed I am a proud charter member) came on board to help the “Pellucidar” assignment: “Bernie Wrightson was me out on the deadline. The samples I’d done for originally going to draw ‘Pellucidar.’ Bernie, Mike alan weiss Orlando were inked in markers on thick vellum tracing Kaluta, and I shared an apartment. I hadn’t read the paper. Joe liked it and thought I should ink the strip Pellucidar books, even though I’d bought ’em for the Frazetta covers. So I figured if my roommate was going to do the comics that way. I thought the markers wouldn’t reproduce well enough, but he adaptation, I’d give ’em a read. I’d gotten through the first four of assured me they’d be okay. Well, I was hugely disappointed by the the series when Bernie said he wasn’t going to draw the strip after all. published product, because so much of the line work had broken up Based on the success of the House of Secrets story, DC had decided to or dropped out and looked just generally ragged and blobby. “So, to make up for that, I took way too long to ink the second give the Swamp Thing his own book and Bernie was going to pencil and ink it. ‘Pellucidar’ was, for the moment, without an artist, and chapter in regular pen and brush,” Weiss reveals. “That put me behind on Bernie thought I’d be right for it. I liked ‘Pellucidar’ and felt it was the the deadline for #3. I wouldn’t have time to ink it. Neal Adams stepped in to save the day, as he did in so many instances back then, and next best thing to drawing Tarzan. In some ways, better. offered to ink. Tight as the deadline was, on a few consecutive nights, we put out the call for help. So I’d be penciling, and bringing the pages in to Continuity, where the gang that became the Crusty Bunkers gathered to pitch in on the inks. Neal handled most of the main figures. It was really something to go from room to room at Continuity to see friends Bernie Wrightson, Jim Starlin, Frank Brunner, Ralph Reese, Al Milgrom, and a couple of others, all inking ‘Pellucidar’ panels.” As with all the Burroughs’ adaptations, “Pellucidar” was packed with adventure. Innes and Perry lost control of their burrowing Iron Mole vehicle and emerged into a fairly prehistoric world at the Earth’s core. Then they lost track of time. They were taken captive by blue ape-men, ambushed, and captured by the gorilla–like Sagoths, where Innes met the immodest Dian the Beautiful and instant nemesis Hooja the Sly, and eventually turned over to the reptilian Mahars. During a disrupted arena event Innes escaped the city of Phutra, visited the island of the Mezops, witnessed a gruesome Maharian ritual, returned to Phutra, was reunited with Perry, stole an ancient secret book whose contents described how to defeat the Mahars, left Phutra, was reunited with the missing Dian the Beautiful, and battled and defeated Jubal the Ugly One. Then Innes and Perry were escorted back to the Iron Mole, in which Innes left Pellucidar to return to the surface world to acquire books, weapons, and supplies. I don’t think Innes, or anyone else for that matter, ever slept during this period. Time passed for Innes on the surface, but when he returned to Pellucidar it was as if no time had passed at all. He almost immediately encountered Perry, went in search of Dian, who had been abducted by Hooja the Sly, confronted Sagoths, marched into a cave, rescued Dian, killed Hooja, jumped off a cliff, and landed safely in a pool below. With that, the series ended, and it all just went by at a relentless, unbroken pace, with no days, no nights, and time not a measuring factor. “I’d love to take another crack at Pellucidar some day,” notes Weiss. “I’ve always wished we could have gotten to [adapting] Tarzan at the Earth’s Core!”

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“Pellucidar” would make one last intriguing and all-new appearance at DC in Tarzan Family #66 (Nov.–Dec. 1976). I will elaborate on it shortly.

BEYOND THE FARTHEST STAR “Beyond the Farthest Star,” the adventures of a World War II fighter pilot inexplicably transported (along with his plane) 450,000 light years from home to a planet inhabited by many alien races, one particularly savage, was introduced to Tarzan readers in a full-page ad published in the back of Tarzan #212 (Sept. 1972). Interestingly, and a bit odd, is that the uniform displaced Earthman Lt. James Farnsworth sports in the house ad, he never wears during the series. The adaptation started in Tarzan #213 (Oct. 1972) and ran for six issues. There was the promise of a seventh episode for Tarzan #219 (Apr. 1973), but in early 1973 as DC cut back its story page count from 23 to 20 pages, there was suddenly no room for the series, and no other comic available to place it in. “Beyond the Farthest Star” was never given a cover banner or caption on any of the issues it appeared in. It is one of the most obscure series DC published during the 1970s. Marv Wolfman wrote all six installments, edited by Kubert. Dan Green illustrated episodes 1–3. Howard Chaykin, in what must have been one of his earliest art jobs, filled in on episode 4. Murphy Anderson then wrapped things up in episodes 5 and 6. John Carter, Carson Napier, and David Innes all met their beloved princesses early on in their adventures. Not Farnsworth, who adopted the name “Tangor,” he who “came from nothing.” His first encounter with the princess Zita did not take place until the sixth and final installment. Before getting to her, Tangor endured a series of extraordinary adventures, beginning with his transportation from Earth to the planet Pagoda. There, he became involved in several aerial duels with the

war-mongering Kaparians; aided a pacifistic tribe against them; visited an underwater kingdom; was surgically implanted with temporary gills; and wound up on another planet, where he battled beasts and beast-men; made a friend, the monkey–like Skeeter; and met Princess Zita. Together this odd group of newfound friends journeyed to Zita’s kingdom deep in dangerous swampland, where adventure awaited—but loyal readers were left wanting. However, there was still one last “Beyond the Farthest Star” tale to tell at DC.

THE SECOND PHASE (1975–1976) THE FAMILY WAY In February of 1975, Korak, Son of Tarzan was revived by DC with #57 (May–June 1975), and three issues later the book became Tarzan Family (TF). All of Burroughs’ creations, including Tarzan, who also retained his own book, were now under one blanket title. The original stories were serviceable, with one a couple of cuts above the rest. Writer Robert Kanigher penned a somewhat conflicting “Amazon of Barsoom” tale in the inaugural TF #60, followed by a “Beyond the Farthest Star” episode in TF #61 (which did not continue Tangor, Skeeter, and Princess Zita’s story from Tarzan #218), and then a rather confusing three-part “John Carter of Mars” adventure in TF #62–64. For example, the John Carter story was narrated by a group of Myposians, water-creatures that actually lived on Venus.

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Tarzan Family Tree (left) Korak joined DC’s “family” brand (the other series being Superman Family, Batman Family, and Super-Team Family), renamed Tarzan Family with issue #60. (right) This 1981 sketch by William Stout shows the real Tarzan family. Courtesy of Heritage. © 2012 ERB, Inc.

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The cut-above tale occurred somehow between panels 3 and 4 on page 6 of episode 7 of “Pellucidar” (Weird Worlds #6). David Innes stumbled upon a village ruled by one single Mahar, as chronicled by writer Elliot S. Maggin and artist Gerry Talaoc in Tarzan Family #66 (Nov.–Dec. 1976). However, any defects in storytelling were overshadowed by what tales were being touted on the covers of Tarzan Family and what tales were actually being published inside the book. I was forced to construct a scorecard just to keep track of the discrepancies. John Carter received his own illustrated picture on the cover of Tarzan Family #60, but no story within. A blonde princess in pink apparel accompanied the John Carter banner on TF #61, but again there was no John Carter story inside. To confound matters, a Thark was depicted over an “Other Worlds” blurb on #61’s cover, but the “Other Worlds” story inside was actually the aforementioned “Beyond the Farthest Star” episode. Matters righted themselves on the front of TF #62: Carter was on the cover, and Carter had a new story on the inside. Carter was replaced by a spaceship on the cover of #63, while his story continued inside. The sultry princess under the “Other Worlds” banner on TF #63 was actually in the John Carter story. The “Princess of Barsoom” spotlighted on the cover of TF #64 is that issue’s concluding John Carter feature. During this spell, more Martian females (four) are featured on the covers of Tarzan Family than John Carter himself (twice). Even the cover illustrations themselves showed some confusion. For example, if you look closely at the boxed illustration for “Carson of Venus” on the cover of Tarzan Family #64, it appears as if Carson is battling a trio of Mahars from Pellucidar to rescue a princess from Mars. For the most part, “Carson of Venus” avoided any publishing discrepancies, returning in Tarzan Family #60 as an ongoing reprint of Wein and Kaluta’s original series, and would continue through #65. Colorist Carl Gafford recolored each episode. “By the time those stories came up for reprints in Tarzan Family,” Gafford explains, “DC was no longer holding color film negatives of the Tarzan books. This might have been because Tarzan was a licensed comic, and DC couldn’t sell the pages to other countries, like they could the regular DC comics’ characters and stories. At any rate, they needed new coloring and separations, and I jumped at the chance.” And as with the original series, the “Carson of Venus” reprint was abruptly cut off, wrapping up in a single sentence in Tarzan Family #65. According to a 1976 Daily Planet upcoming-comics features page (vol. 76, issue 4), Paul Levitz was to adapt Swords of Mars beginning in Tarzan Family #65. Instead, a reprint from John Carter’s earlier series in Tarzan was published. In the back of Tarzan Family #65, it was announced that the adaptation of Swords of Mars would begin in TF #66. Instead, another John Carter reprint appeared. Alas, there would never be an adaptation of Swords of Mars published by DC. Meanwhile, beginning in 1975, Writer/artist Neal MacDonald’s full-page “Fantastic Creatures of Edgar Rice Burroughs” feature appeared in Tarzan #240, 242, 245, 246, and 258 and Tarzan Family #65 and 66. With the cancellation of Tarzan Family with issue #66, as well as Tarzan with #258, the adventurous publishing history of four esteemed adventurers concluded at DC. Marvel Comics had picked up the license to the Burroughs characters in 1976 and began publishing Tarzan (starting with a new #1) and John Carter, Warlord of Mars in early 1977. At the beginning of this article I mentioned the one notable exception to those overlooked Burroughs adventurers, and that would be John Carter of Mars, whose continuations are chronicled in the article following. I wish the character success, because it may lead to well-deserved revivals of Carson Napier, David Innes, Tangor, and possibly new interest in DC’s high-quality take on their fantastic worlds. Grand adventure should never languish in neglect and obscurity. JIM KINGMAN purchased his first comic book, DC’s World’s Finest Comics #211, on a family road trip in March of 1972, and has been reading and collecting comic books ever since (with no end in sight). He has been writing about comics since 1993, and edits and publishes Comic Effect, a small-press fanzine emphasizing the fun in reading comics.

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For many comic-book fans, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter novels were as important to their adolescence as Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man. Before their young eyes, John Carter, gentleman from Virginia and ex-Confederate soldier, awoke to find himself transported to the fantastic, barbaric world of Mars. Known as Barsoom to the natives, the planet’s lesser gravity made him strong, agile, and, like the Man of Steel, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. He rescued and married the beautiful princess Dejah Thoris, bested and befriended the fearsome, four-armed, eight-foot-tall green warrior Tars Tarkas, and won the love and respect of all Barsoom. Sixty years after the first of the novels saw print, a group of likeminded fans turned professionals brought John Carter to the comics page in Marvel’s 1977 series John Carter, Warlord of Mars. Combining amazing covers and breathtaking interiors by the likes of Dave Cockrum and Gil Kane with wholly original and stunningly faithful stories penned by Marv Wolfman and Chris Claremont, the series brought Carter and his world to life so successfully that these new tales rivaled those of Burroughs himself. Unfortunately, as is often the case with licensed properties, Warlord of Mars ended all too soon, fading from the memories of fans and becoming something of a forgotten classic. But now, with Disney’s new John Carter film in theaters and the mighty Marvel comics finally back in print in a volume of Dark Horse Comics Archives, BACK ISSUE feels it is time to travel once more to the world of Barsoom to revisit these classic, little-known tales and to learn the fascinating behind the scenes story of John Carter’s life and death at Marvel Comics. by

Eric Houston

THE MOONS OF MARS It seems that Marv Wolfman was always destined to pen a John Carter comic, even if it took him three tries to write the one he wanted. A Burroughs fan since his early teens, Wolfman’s first professional assignment was to write the John Carter adaptations in DC’s short-lived Burroughs anthology Weird Worlds, the turbulent story of which can be found elsewhere in this magazine. Suffice to say, that series ended without sating Wolfman’s desire to write John Carter. “DC’s version had a number of problems,” Wolfman recalls. “We were led to think every issue might be our last, so there was no forward momentum. When we were finally told it would continue, I started a big story and it was canceled.” Wolfman got his second chance to write the character five years later when Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. contacted him to script a John Carter comic that they would self-publish and release in Europe. For this project, Wolfman teamed with Dave Cockrum, already a fan favorite thanks to his work on X-Men and DC’s

In the Mighty Marvel Manner Edgar Rice Burroughs’ hero returns to comics at the House of Ideas. Cover to John Carter, Warlord of Mars #1 (June 1977), with minor graphics alterations for this article. Cover art by Gil Kane and Dave Cockrum. © 2012 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. (ERB, Inc.)

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Star-Crossed Lovers (center) An undated marker illo of John Carter and Dejah Thoris by Dave Cockrum, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). (below) John Carter #1, page 1. Characters © 2012 ERB, Inc.

Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes. Ultimately, Cockrum would only illustrate only three pages of that project before ERB, Inc. surprised both creators by announcing they were pulling the plug and giving the John Carter license to Marvel. To Wolfman, this felt like another missed opportunity, at least until he got some good news from Roy Thomas. While Wolfman and Cockrum were hard at work at ERB, over at Marvel Comics, Stan Lee had tapped Thomas, Marvel’s former editor-in-chief and a Burroughs enthusiast, to draft a proposal for ERB, Inc. Unaware of Wolfman’s efforts, Thomas approached the pitch enthusiastically. “I suggested a whole line of comics,” recalls Thomas, “including the Monster Men and Red Hawk and the Moon Men as well as the standard series, but, of course, Marvel only developed Tarzan and John Carter, Warlord of Mars.” The license secured, Thomas himself planned to write both titles, but quickly realized that the demands of an additional two titles alongside his current workload would be much too strenuous. roy thomas Ultimately, he decided to step back

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from John Carter, suggesting Marv Wolfman as both writer and editor and giving the scribe his third and best chance to pen the character. “Marv really wanted to write Warlord of Mars, and I like Marv and hated to see him cry,” Thomas teases.

WELCOME BACK, CARTER Having been given an undreamt-of third chance to write John Carter, Wolfman decided without hesitation to finally write the book he had always wanted. “I knew I didn’t want to adapt the [novels], as we tried to do at DC, but do original stories,” he recalls. “I wanted to make this a great John Carter comic rather than just adapting prose stories into comics.” Wolfman also decided to set the series during an unexplored nine-year gap between paragraphs three and four of the penultimate chapter of Burroughs’ first Martian novel A Princess of Mars. Not only would this help Wolfman tell wholly original stories, it would help keep unfamiliar readers from feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of Burroughs’ fictional world, which includes airships, ruined cities, a mix of modern and ancient armory, and scores of terrifying creatures. As Wolfman said in his first issue editorial, “Carter will be a new addition on Barsoom, and you’ll be able to discover Mars even as he does.” Although Wolfman wanted Dave Cockrum, his partner on the aborted European project, to handle the art chores for the newly christened John Carter, Warlord of Mars, he quickly realized that Cockrum

would not be able to keep up with the schedule of a monthly John Carter book. “I would have had Dave do everything as he was an even bigger Carter fan than I was,” says Wolfman, “but Dave was not a fast artist and could not meet any of the deadlines.” Still, Wolfman very much wanted the artist to be a part of the book and assigned Cockrum the inking chores on the first issue as well as penciling duties for issue #11, a fill-in origin story for Dejah Thoris and one of the true stand-out issues of the series. With Cockrum unable to illustrate John Carter monthly, Wolfman quickly turned to comics legend Gil Kane: “Gil was one of my absolute favorite artists ever and loved the Burroughs books. He was perfectly suited for it.” Unfortunately, by that time in Kane’s career, the artist’s work no longer had the definition it once did, leading Wolfman to hire Rudy Nebres as series inker. “[Gil’s] pencils were very sketchy at that point,” remembers Wolfman, “and I wanted an inker who could finish them and tighten them up, plus add mood, and that was Rudy.”

THE AIR-PIRATES OF MARS The first issue’s creative team assembled, Wolfman and his cohorts dove into work on the book’s first storyline, “The Air-Pirates of Mars.” The story sees Stara Kan, a member of the humanoid red Martian race, seeking vengeance against Carter for taking his arm in combat. Kan kidnaps Carter and Dejah Thoris, forcing Carter to lead raiding parties of airborne pirates against the cities of Mars, turning the natives against their beloved warlord. Of course, John Carter bests Kan and regains the respect of Mars, but not before meeting the true villain of the piece, Kan’s master, the seemingly immortal Great One, a horrific amalgamation of red Martian, the four-armed green Martians, and the terrible, Mohawkbearing white apes that are native to Barsoom.

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Eight (Arms) is Enough (below) Inconsolable Tars Tarkas, on the original splash from John Carter #10 (Mar. 1978), courtesy of Heritage. By Wolfman, Kane, and Nebres and friends. (right) New writer Claremont shakes up things in #16 (Sept. 1978). © 2012 ERB, Inc.

Reading the June 1977 cover-dated first issue of John Carter, Warlord of Mars must have been something of a revelation to fans old and new, for while this may be heretical to say, John Carter has never lived more on the printed page than he does here. Wolfman’s story is exceptional and, while it is completely original, it feels very much like one pulled from the Burroughs archives. This is due not so much to Wolfman’s grasp of the characters and the scenario, terrific though they are, but how he tells the story. In Burroughs’ novels, John Carter himself typically narrates the action and Wolfman employs the same trick here, going so far as to adapt his own purple prose to match Burroughs’. In fact, the imitation is so pitch-perfect that readers might find themselves fruitlessly scouring their paperbacks to see if Wolfman is directly quoting the novels. As with much of his work on the title, Wolfman is entirely too modest about this amazing accomplishment: “I just tried to duplicate what I read. I’m sure there are some who think I failed in that, but I liked what I did and am pleased [that many of the fans] did, too.” As for the art, Kane’s pencils and Cockrum’s inks combine to give the first issue a look that is vintage 1970s Marvel at its best, giving Carter the fluidity, grace, and dynamism of the Amazing Spider-Man and finally giving justice to the fighting style of a man who uses the lesser gravity of Mars to leap about with superhuman height and accuracy to combat his 15-

foot-tall foes. This thrilling style is only heightened from issue two on by the inclusion of Nebres, who adds a welcome pulp flavor to the art, nicely evoking the work of artists like Frank Frazetta and Frank E. Schoonover, whose cover paintings and interior illustrations defined the look of Barsoom for so long. Thrilling, too, are the team’s powerful depictions of Carter’s many gruesome enemies. The green Martian Tharks more than live up to Burroughs’ descriptions of the fearsome savages, while the illustrations of various Martian creatures—the thoats, soraks, and callots— readily evoke the terrifying creatures of the novels. The artists also masterfully apply their trade to Mars’ many ruined cities, and, of course, do infinite justice to the exquisite beauty of Dejah Thoris. “The Air-Pirates of Mars” ultimately lasted ten thrilling issues before concluding with Carter’s confrontation with the Great One and making way for Cockrum’s Dejah Thoris origin issue and a three-part horror story by Wolfman, Nebres, and guest penciler Carmine Infantino, filling in for an exiting Gil Kane. With Kane and Cockrum now both absent from the book, Wolfman remained the only creator to remain from the series’ first issue, but even that would not be the case for long. Warlord of Mars was one of several titles Marv Wolfman wrote at the time and, with the conclusion of issue #15, he was forced to depart Barsoom. “I simply had no time,” Wolfman says now. “I would have stayed on it if I could.”

JOHN CARTER IS DEAD! “John Carter is dead!” With those words, uttered by the beautiful, though grief-stricken Dejah Thoris, John Carter, Warlord of Mars #16 (Sept. 1978) announced the book’s bold new storyline and entirely new creative team, beginning with writer Chris Claremont. For Claremont, getting the assignment was almost déjà vu. “When his

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work pressure got to the point where something THE PRINCESS AND THE THARK had to give, Marv knew I was interested,” recalls From issue #16 onwards, Colón and Vosburg’s pencils Claremont, “much the same as Len [Wein] knew I continue to offer a distinctly modern take on the was interested in The X-Men.” Once the assignment characters and their world, while Claremont, whose skill was his, Claremont began planning out his epic, 11-part in mimicking Burroughs’ writing voice is comparable “Master Assassin of Mars.” The writer says, “As it to Wolfman’s, crafts a truly exciting story that sees turned out, I had a year’s arc essentially ready to go Dejah Thoris pose as a member of the Martian Guild of in my head. It was quite simple to hit the Assassins in order to seek revenge for her ground running.” fallen husband. What makes this particular Joining Claremont was editor Roger story so enjoyable and unique, though, is Stern, Claremont’s editor on X-Men its shift in focus from stories centered and Ms. Marvel, and artist Ernie almost exclusively on John Carter. Colón, who relished the chance to Beginning with the warlord’s temporary flex his artistic muscles. “Ernie wanted death, Claremont saw an opportunity to show that he could draw someto shift the spotlight to a few characters thing other than Richie Rich,” recalls who had traditionally received the a bemused Stern. Unfortunately, while short end of the stick: “It was an Colon’s style fit the book beautifully, opportunity to showcase Dejah Thoris no regular inker was ever assigned, and Tars Tarkas, who, as wife and Rudy Nebres having left with issue best friend, often don’t get as much #16. As such, Colón and later, front-row screen time as they chris claremont penciler Mike Vosburg, were forced deserve,” says Claremont. to work with a parade of inkers with Tars Tarkas finally receives his vastly different styles. Ultimately, Colón and Stern took spotlight in issue #18 (Nov. 1978), a thrilling, barbaric advantage of the lack of a regular inker to experiment issue-long battle between Tars Tarkas and a fellow with reproducing issue #20’s art directly from Colón’s green Martian for the right to rule their tribe. With all pencils. “Ernie was experimenting with penciling on due respect to the talents of Colón and Vosburg, this a special type of vellum, which a lot of inkers were issue is easily the high-water mark of the series’ second finding hard to work on,” recalls Stern. “Ernie’s pencils half. Here, a savage fight between two four-armed, were so clean and tight that someone suggested we green Martians is realized for the first time in glorious, try shooting an issue from the penciled art. When we brutal detail by none other than industry legend Frank were done, most people couldn’t tell that the art Miller. “One of the primal joys of writing John Carter hadn’t been inked.” was that one of the first issues I wrote was Frank Licensed Comics Issue

Up in Arms The unlikely duo of John Byrne and Rudy Nebres provided the cover (inset) to Warlord of Mars #18 (Nov. 1978), but the issue is best known as the home of one of Frank Miller’s earliest Marvel jobs. Seen here, courtesy of inker Bob McLeod, are Miller’s lettered pencils and McLeod’s finished page. © 2012 ERB, Inc.

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willingness to take sword against your adversary,” Claremont explains. “Her father and grandfather were both renowned generals as well as respected leaders of their states. Why not Dejah Thoris? The idea that a woman on Barsoom could take up arms in defense of the state didn’t seem that far fetched. Besides, it was a lot of fun.”

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Star Warlord Chris Claremont and Carmine Infantino’s unfinished final John Carter, Warlord of Mars story was cannibalized into Star Wars #53 (Nov. 1981) and 54. Cover to #53 by Walter Simonson. Star Wars © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

Despite Claremont and company’s fun and innovative story, John Carter, Warlord of Mars was canceled with issue #24 (May 1979), three issues shy of the planned conclusion of “The Master Assassin of Mars.” Fortunately, only a month later, the book received a brief, four-issue reprieve, allowing it to conclude the current story. As for why the series was canceled, no one is quite sure, but sales seem to have been the culprit. “I believe that Marvel’s circulation department had decided to cancel the book,” says Roger Stern. “Then, they discovered that Marvel was contractually obligated to produce a certain number of issues, so it was temporarily reinstated a month later. Cancellation is almost always sales-related. I don’t know what the book’s circulation was, but there may well have been further complications due to Carter being a licensed property. Sometimes licensing fees can eat up too much of the profits of a modestly selling book.” Whatever the reason, John Carter, Warlord of Mars breathed its last with issue #28 (Oct. 1979), an inventory story from Peter Gillis and Larry Hama. Meanwhile, a plotted and partially drawn story by Claremont and Carmine Infantino was overhauled a year later and set a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away in Marvel’s Star Wars #53–54. “It’s amazing how Dejah Thoris can turn into Leia Organa,” muses Claremont. While the stories Miller’s second professional assignment,” recalls Marvel did publish were amazing, it is easy to wonder Claremont. “It was way cool because it was all a Tars what might have been. Not only would there have Tarkas fight. Frank was demonstrating his likely been more stories from Claremont with chops to everybody because he sat down collaborators like George Pérez and a and figured out how a four-armed, sequel to the Tars Tarkas issue by Frank eight-foot-tall critter could fight with Miller (both rumored in letters swords, and it rocked.” columns), future issues could easily Roger Stern remembers giving have seen Marvel’s best and brightest Miller the job: “Frank had just drawn tackle the warlord. You need only a Captain Marvel inventory story, imagine John Carter stories by John which involved Mar-Vell encountering Byrne, Gene Colan, Roy Thomas, or a bunch of aliens somewhere out Steve Gerber to get a sense of the true in space. As a goof, Frank had drawn tragedy of John Carter’s cancellation. a Thark amongst the aliens, and it Still, John Carter lives at Marvel looked so good that I asked Chris to Comics. Spurred by the new John plot a Tars Tarkas story for Frank. We roger stern Carter film from Wall-E director Andrew based the story on an inventory Stanton and Walt Disney Pictures, cover that John Byrne had drawn. the House of Ideas has returned the I remember thinking that Frank did a pretty good job warlord to monthly comics, both in the form of movie on it, and that I should find some more work for him, tie-ins and a new comic adaptation of A Princess of Mars. but before I could, Frank got the gig drawing Marvel and Dark Horse Comics have both put the classic Daredevil, and the rest is history.” series back in print via a pair of color and black-and-white For her part, Dejah Thoris quickly evolves from collected editions. And Chris Claremont has even turned damsel in distress to 20th-century heroine over the his Star Wars tale back into a course of Claremont’s run. After all, the crux of “The John Carter story for a new prose Master Assassin of Mars” is the story of the princess anthology entitled Under the taking up arms in her mission to avenge her fallen Moons of Mars. With Barsoom husband. Even after she is joined by the revived John once again on the rise, a whole Carter, Dejah continues to take point, bravely continuing new slate of fabulous adventures her impersonation as the Assassins Guild’s foremost may yet await Dejah Thoris, agent and, in issue #23 (Apr. 1979), boldly engaging Tar Tarkas, and the warlord in a deadly trial by combat against four fierce female himself, John Carter. assassins while Carter looks on in chains, a delightful Occasional BACK ISSUE contributor inversion of the couple’s normal roles. For many, this development was long overdue. ERIC HOUSTON lives in Saint Paul, “The thing about Barsoom was that it was a very political Minnesota, and is a television environment and one aspect of the politics was the producer and life-long comics fan.

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Michael Aushenker

Remember Patrick Duffy on the phenomenally popular TV show Dallas, the “Who shot J. R.?” cliffhanger, and all that jazz? Shortly before Duffy joined the CBS prime-time soap, the actor’s biggest claim to fame was his breakout role as the titular character of a high-profile, yet short-lived, science-fiction series, Man from Atlantis. Man from Atlantis (MFA), the comicbook series, originally “surfaced” as Marvel Comics Group’s tie-in to 13 episodes of the television show (1977–1978), which had followed four highly rated TV movies. To some, a Marvel comic based on this fleeting program would seem improbable and, at best, redundant. Marvel already had an underwater character (the company’s very first character, in fact…) in the Sub-Mariner, whose own books had failed to “stay afloat.” Nevertheless, Marvel greenlighted a comic book based on this NBC series. Before the comic even launched, Atlantis already had fans internally at the company. “As I recall,” Marvel editor/artist Al Milgrom tells BACK ISSUE, “some of the females in the office were big Patrick Duffy fans and were jazzed about the idea of doing a comic based on that show.” The letters-column editorial in MFA #7 suggested that the book’s assistant editor, Jo Duffy, was one of those females. “I was a big fan of that show,” the writer, who at the time went by Mary Jo Duffy, admits to BACK ISSUE. “Hey, Patrick Duffy in a bathing suit! Hello!” Editor Archie Goodwin was assigned the MFA book, and Goodwin knew just the guy to write this puppy: the reliable Bill Mantlo. For whatever reason, positive (he was quick and good with deadlines) or negative (his writing was reviled by some of Marvel’s editorial higher-ups), Bill Mantlo became something of the go-to licensed-character series scribe in his heyday at Marvel in the late 1970s–early 1980s, when he scripted such titles as ROM: Spaceknight, Micronauts, Team America, and Transformers. “Mantlo wrote a lot of them,” Milgrom tells BACK ISSUE. “He was a real pro. He would say okay and he would do it. When I first came on [at Marvel] as an editor, [Marvel editorin-chief] Jim Shooter was not a fan of Mantlo’s writing.” And so, in 1977–1978, Mantlo collaborated with the two Franks––Robbins and Springer––on a pair of high-octane, power-packed comic-book series: one was The Human Fly (see BACK ISSUE #20) … the other was Man from Atlantis. Loosely based on the show, MFA comics, chronicling the adventures of Mark Harris, an amnesiac merman taken in by a government-funded Foundation of Oceanic Research team for study, was, for a brief moment, flying high (or swimming high, as it may be). For seven colorful issues, this unlikely book shined on the strength of the Caniffian-derived art of Frank Robbins and Frank Springer. Then things fell apart. The show was canceled. A final story, hinted at in the cliffhanger within issue #7, was never consummated. Marvel’s Man from Atlantis was no more.

That Sinking Feeling While many amorous viewers would have gladly given mouth-to-mouth to TV star Patrick Duffy, nothing seemed to be able to resuscitate the short-lived Man from Atlantis Marvel Comic. Slightly submerged cover art to issue #1 (Feb. 1978) by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott. Man from Atlantis TM & © Solow Production Company.

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A FISHY ENDING

Sutton’s Sudden Departure (below) Splash to penciler Tom Sutton’s sole MFA story, leading off issue #1. (right) The series’ handsome star, from a text feature in the inaugural issue. TM & © Solow Production Company.

So, what killed Man from Atlantis? Was it poor sales? The source show’s cancellation? Creative differences or office politics within Marvel’s ranks? Did Marvel pull the plug on the book? Did the producers of the TV show, Solow Productions, force its demise? Did Joe Barbera of Hanna-Barbera cartoons fame have something to do with it? (More on that later…) Or, as my pal Rich Carradine suggested, did the US Government shut it down because the comic book came too close to the truth? (Kidding.) In the editorial page of the comic’s finale (Aug. 1978), Mantlo, in his editorial soapbox, stated that he was reluctantly stopping work on MFA. After all, men such as him thrived on the challenge of fleshing out blank slates such as ROM, and creating a mythos, adding dimension and depth to their unspecified backstories. In fact, the end of MFA #7 teased a surreal story next issue, involving a harlequin named Merry, only to be punctuated by a hastily added message that “a special announcement” awaited on the editorial page. As it turned out, there was nothing special about that announcement for fans of this book:

By now you know, if you read MAN FROM ATLANTIS #3, that this issue is Marvel’s last to deal with the adventures of Mark Harris. We here at the Bullpen regret the decision to cancel as much as we’re sure you do. It was a decision that was forced on us by circumstances, not sales, and we’re still hoping that the success of the comic itself will be proven by an upsurge of letters from all of you concerned Atlantis-fans out there. It’s a funny thing, the demise of a book. Many of us put in quite a lot of time, energy and love to its creation. We borrowed the original stimulus from the TV show, to be sure, but we also invested much of our own concern in the mag … and we think it showed. MFA may be gone––then again it may not. Your mail can still change that, and so can sales figures which we’ve yet to receive on even MFA #1! Mark Harris may be gone from Marveldom, but undersea adventures are in the works on another great mag even as I write this … what do we call it? … eulogy. Be that as it may, there’s still one thing that remains to be done, and that’s to thank all the people who helped bring you MAN FROM ATLANTIS for the few short months of its existence. There are too many names to list them all, but we can certainly spare space to express our appreciation to Fearless Frank Robbins and Fun-loving Frank Springer. Then there’s Janice Cohen, Archie Goodwin, Jim Shooter, Ralph Macchio. Last but not least we have to a word of thanks to Mary Jo Duffy, who cared so much that it hurt. And we have to express our heartfelt gratitude to you, True Believers, who stuck with us, who wrote in, who plunked down your 35 cents to show us that we were doing good! Thanks, people! Thanks a million! Bill Mantlo “Cared so much that it hurt…?” Really, Jo? “He’s being sincere,” MFA assistant editor Duffy says today. “It killed me when they canceled that book. I don’t think he was used to working with someone as enthusiastic as he was.” Ultimately, any fan campaign would have been futile. “It was just sad,” remembers Duffy. “Nothing was going to save the book. Bill made an impassioned appeal, but no number was going to be enough.”

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Chan the Man Signed original cover to Man from Atlantis #2, by artist Ernie Chan; courtesy of Anthony Snyder (anthonyscomicbookart.com). Added to the published version was a cover blurb reading “The Bermuda Triangle Trap!” TM & © Solow Production Company.

Mantlo’s editorial raises questions. The book was not ending due to low sales … and yet, Mantlo begged readers to keep buying it, as solid sales might have prolonged Mark Harris’ swim. “Forced on us by circumstances…” What circumstances? The show’s cancellation? Executives at Marvel? At NBC? A Shooter/Mantlo showdown? It’s no secret that Shooter and Mantlo shared a sour professional relationship that culminated with Mantlo suing Marvel, claiming the company had maliciously not fulfilled the quota of assignments in his contract. Dwindling work supposedly coaxed Mantlo to leave comics and pursue a legal career. The tension between them was referenced in Mantlo: A Life in Comics, the 2007 book by David Yurkovich and Mantlo’s brother, Michael. Shooter also blogged about his contentious professional relationship with Mantlo on his website in a June 19, 2011 post. “I wanted to fire Bill,” Shooter blogged, “but he had a friend upstairs— the financial V.P.—who resisted. It was my call. I could have fired Bill over his objections, but I decided, stupidly, that the subsequent hostile relationship with the financial guy would be worse than policing Bill better.” (Full disclosure: Upset with his portrayal in some TwoMorrows publications, Shooter refused to participate in this article. Mantlo, who suffered a brain injury from an accident in the 1990s, could not be interviewed.) Milgrom, who had worked in-house at Marvel, confirms Mantlo’s editorial statement regarding sales on issue #1 not being available by #7’s publication: “That’s probably true. It did take several months. You would send the comics out to normal distributors and you could get returns months later [and, still after, then the direct-sales information would be received].” There was also the rights issue with MFA. “We were paying somebody for the rights to do these things,” Milgrom says. “We were now in a generation where there were a lot of new people in the business, but maybe [they were] a little less cheerful about creating characters to give to the company.” Duffy says that for Marvel, continuing to pay for the rights to use MFA intellectual property would not be an issue, and that such a factor did not influence MFA’s cancellation. Mantlo, despite his obvious love for MFA, was, like Mark Harris, swimming upstream. Perhaps because of their one-note nature, aquatic superheroes, from Namor and Aquaman on, were never terrific sellers in the Silver and Bronze Ages. Plus, the Sub-Mariner was already appearing in The Invaders. Even in the editorial of MFA’s first issue, its editor admitted that the Sub-Mariner’s solo book (Goodwin’s first Marvel gig) was no sales magnet. He promised how, creatively, MFA would refresh the concept. He was right. Just as Mantlo had propelled ROM from a poor man’s Silver Surfer to a rich mythology all its own, the nimble writer ironed out new wrinkles from of the nautical half-human cliché and differentiated the lead character from the other mermen heroes that preceded Mark Harris.

“At the time you had people bitterly saying Marvel had sold out,” Milgrom says. “But [Marvel] was a commercial enterprise.” He believes he had a hand in getting Micronauts rolling after his child visited the Marvel offices with his action figures. “My kid loves playing with these characters,” Milgrom remembers telling his colleagues. “I think it would make a great comic.” As shown in The Jack Kirby Collector, Marvel even toyed with an adaptation of TV’s cult British exercise of espionage surrealism, The Prisoner, while Jack Kirby worked at the House of Ideas. “The artwork sat in my drawer in the office for many years,” Milgrom said of Kirby’s take on the Patrick MacGoohan-starring program. “Ten years later, they got Steve Englehart and Gil Kane to do another version. I don’t remember if they didn’t like Kirby’s version. I suggested, ‘Why don’t we put out a nice edition with both versions?’ At that point, we lost the rights to do it and we couldn’t reach a financial agreement.” At the time, Shooter had ascended to the position of Marvel’s editor-in-chief after failed attempts in that post by the company’s best writers. A veteran writer himself, Shooter rode into a CATCHING A WAVE period of great chaos. A revolving door of writersIn the years 1977 and 1978, Marvel’s licensing of cum-editors—Roy Thomas, Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, TV, movie, and toy properties to form comic-book jo duffy Gerry Conway—had preceded him. Marvel had titles was booming. Marvel was so successful, it taken on too many titles with an overworked couldn’t keep up with itself. After formidably adapting Planet of the Apes, and flirtations skeleton crew overseeing them. “The writers were editing their own stuff at that point and Shooter with the less accessible 2001: A Space Odyssey and Logan’s Run, Marvel had an over-the-top comics-adaptation hit with Star Wars. thought that was a recipe for disaster,” Milgrom says. “They were missing Others followed in quick succession: Shogun Warriors, Battlestar their deadlines. He hired a whole staff of editors. Jim had good organizaGalactica, Godzilla, Micronauts, ROM: Spaceknight, US-1, Team tional skills as well as being a very good writer—and he had a plan. He said, ‘Look, this is stupid. We need to have a system where we have America, and the ultra-successful direct-market hit G.I. Joe.

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Never a Dull Moment What Mark Harris lacked in costuming, he made up for in action in Marvel’s tie-in. Covers to (left) Man from Atlantis #3 (Apr. 1978, art by Alan Weiss) and (right) #4 (May 1978, art by Gil Kane and Tony DeZuniga). TM & © Solow Production Company.

editors and we can’t count on the editor to write his own stuff.’ At the time, they were missing deadlines left and right and they’d stick in reprints.” Shooter came from the tutelage of hard-nosed mentor Mort Weisinger, Superman editor at National Periodical Publications (DC Comics), who was known for intense micromanagement of talent and top-down directives. When Shooter arrived, according to Milgrom, “He started hiring people––[Mark] Gruenwald, [Jim] Salicrup, me, Larry Hama––and he gave us each a group of books. He had a very clever idea. He commissioned a lot of inventory stories that had more than one character. This way, it doesn’t have to be in continuity. “Say a story had Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the Human Torch. He could then use those in any of those three titles—Spider-Man, Iron Man, Fantastic Four. If any of those books were in danger of being late, you can use them there. Or an issue of Marvel Team-Up. It wouldn’t be in the continuity, but at least it was new material.” Shooter developed a reputation, during his reign, to be polarizing figure, but Milgrom demonstrates the utmost respect for the former editor-in-chief and recognizes his contributions to the industry, as “he was instrumental with getting Marvel to pay the equivalent of royalties [to talent]. Believe me, they were not happy to do it because basically they were making money hand over fist. This gave them a chance to participate in sales. He was a real champion in many ways of the freelancer. I think a lot of that was overlooked or underrated.” “Jim liked [the licensed books],” Duffy recalls. “Back then, you got into comic books because comic books looked like fun,” not to court a Hollywood deal. Another event occurring during MFA’s run: Marvel’s traffic manager John Verpoorten died unexpectedly at the age of 37. “It was a bit of a shock,” Milgrom says. “Everyone knew John Verpoorten. He was a big, heavy guy. He was funny. He was always smoking a pipe. He wouldn’t say anything. He’d look down his glasses. He wanted to be an artist in his youngest days. He loved inking Jack Kirby. “He was a really a settling force because in those days, Marvel was chaos,” Milgrom reveals. “He and Roy [Thomas] were close friends. They’d get movies that they’d watch, like Disney films.” With so much craziness swirling inside Marvel’s Madison Avenue offices, and with Mantlo, Robbins, and Springer tackling one of the

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weirder licensed books, The Human Fly, Marvel was ready to assign the creative team another book. “Having a comic book attached to a successful TV show that would have millions of viewers at the time,” Milgrom says, “if you could sell 150,000 comics, you could do well. “Weezie [a.k.a. editor Louise Simonson] and I thought [Bill] had something to contribute,” Milgrom continues. “That was my argument— he gets his stuff in on time and, if it’s not great, we have the chance to fix it. If you leaned a little on Bill, he could raise his game.” Ultimately, Mantlo’s comics, such as Micronauts and ROM, enjoyed “very nice long runs and were very successful,” says Milgrom, who denies that these books were undesirable assignments. “Licensed books were not looked down upon [internally among the talent],” he notes. “Many of them went to seasoned artists—Robbins, Herb Trimpe [Godzilla], Michael Golden [Micronauts].” Indeed, Shooter himself wrote Team America #1. “Helming Man from Atlantis was one of the best editors and writers to walk Marvel’s halls: Archie Goodwin,” Milgrom underscores. “Archie was a very experienced editor and writer. He did that stint at Warren [Publishing] where he was real prolific. Later on, getting him to write a story was like pulling teeth. He didn’t want to rest on his laurels and do any stories he had already done. I thought that was a testament to Archie as a writer. He was very devoted to the work. He was an exceptional editor. The first thing my old buddy Walt Simonson did in the business—‘Manhunter’—was written by Archie.”

SOME TRUE SPLASH PAGES Eighty pages … two full stories … a John Buscema cover … text articles … pinups by Joe Sinnott, Gene Colan, Mike Zeck … a rare one-dollar cover price. Marvel Comics Group put a lot of thought and energy into that premiere issue of Man from Atlantis. The book’s colorist, Janice Cohen, and her husband, David, even contributed a behind-the-scenes piece from the set of the show. “They were in California so they were able to visit the set,” Jo Duffy says. Unfortunately, that bright comet quickly fizzled out. The comic book, of course, was a loose extension of the TV show. Mark Harris was the amnesiac merman––gills, webbed hands and feet, bright eyes—a superpowered aquatic humanoid who may or may not be an Atlantean, who also becomes the adopted pet project

of Dr. Elizabeth Merill and Dr. Miller Simon aboard the Cetacean, However, it was his association with one of the greatest pioneers a submarine laboratory vessel of the Foundation of Oceanic Research. in animation history that led to the creation of MFA: Hanna-Barbera In Man from Atlantis #1 (Feb. 1978), Harris’ origin story begins to studios. “I got a call from an agent I have known who represented unfold aboard the Cetacean, as the book’s greatest villain, the armor- Hanna-Barbara,” Solow tells BACK ISSUE. “Hanna-Barbara was embossed pirate Lars Skobar, is introduced in the first story, ably enormously successful doing their cartoons, but they had never done drawn by Tom Sutton. a live-action series.” The blank eyes. The wild hair. The crazy, contorted anatomy flying Solow became vice president of Hanna-Barbera Studios. He was in every direction. Did someone summon Frank Robbins? Yes, indeed! given an office at the animation studio’s Cahuenga Boulevard After a false start by Sutton, the two Franks, out-of-control, building, in the shadow of the Hollywood Freeway. delineated all of Mantlo’s MFA tales. It was not the first time Solow thinks the world of the late Bill Hanna, “an oldthat Robbins and Springer had tackled an aquatic supertime smiling Irishman.” But it was the studio’s other hero. They memorably depicted the Sub-Mariner in namesake, Joe Barbera, who became problematic. The Invaders. The series’ tonal shift comes with the “I went over there and quickly realized that I was introduction of Robbins and Springer in #1’s second really not welcome by Joe Barbera,” Solow says, story, in which cyborg and robot pirates (a mash-up bluntly. “Bill was great and Joe was highly competitive. of Jonah and the Whale and Moby Dick, with a Apparently, Joe was very unhappy that I was going C3P0–inspired droid/swab named Machine) and over there.” And yet, Barbera had no choice but to other cartoony elements are introduced. embrace him. The US Government becomes at odds with the Solow’s sole purpose at Hanna-Barbera was to research crew over control of Harris, and no less than develop live-action properties and get them onto actor Victor Buono, Batman’s old TV nemesis King the limited television-schedule real estate. “I always got Tut, portrayed the show’s villain, the sinister Mr. television shows on the air,” he says. Hanna-Barbera HERB SOLOW Schubert (seen in #2 and 3), bent on manipulating “had never been able to get a live series on the air, Harris in the service of establishing his “Seatopia.” as much as [Barbera] tried.” However, “Joe was not MFA #4 (May 1978) represents the series’ nadir, with its “Killer rooting for me to succeed.” Spores” story. Back then, Hanna-Barbera’s parent company was Taft The bald, goateed Lars Skobar, the ultra-pirate who glides around Broadcasting Company, which owned several television stations in the Red Ray sea-craft and terrorizes nations from the ocean floor, and amusement parks, including Six Flags Over Texas and the gloriously reappears Robbins–style in MFA #5 and 6. Under Robbins’ now-defunct Marineland, a Palos Verdes, California, aquatic park hand, Skobar looks more Marvel supervillain in his red-and-gold outfit. peopled with staffers dressed as Yogi Bear, Snagglepuss, and other The influence of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan permeates MFA #6 H-B characters. At its height, Taft sent a Lear jet to all the amusement as Harris, appearing more Lord of the Apes than ever before, enters a sunken civilization that may be his homeland Atlantis. Unfortunately, just as things heat up, #7 abruptly ended the proceedings. The final splash page hints at a truly psycho #8, with more Lewis Carroll influence (Mantlo had referenced Carroll in an earlier issue) as a jester named Merry hypnotized supporting characters into playing with toys. “Be here! You’ll Die Laughing!” reads the tag, upstaged by another, more ominous blurb: “See letters page for an important Man from Atlantis announcement.” We now know what that important announcement was…

FLYING SOLOW Herb Solow, eponymous president of Solow Productions, the company that produced the Man from Atlantis TV series, gives an interesting perspective and hypothesis on what may have led to the MFA comic’s demise. Two words: Joe Barbera. Solow enjoyed a lengthy, storied career in entertainment before he co-created and produced MFA. He served as vice president of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and the studio’s head of Worldwide Motion Pictures and Television Production. He also became vice president of Paramount Pictures Television. At one point, he was head of Programming and Production for the NBC Film Division. As director of Daytime Television for CBS and NBC, Herb personally oversaw the development and production of game shows and soap operas including Let’s Make a Deal. While heading Desilu Studios, he developed the original Star Trek series, Mission: Impossible, and Mannix. As vice president of Television Production of MGM, Solow oversaw Medical Center and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. He even produced the documentary Elvis: That’s the Way It Is.

I Ain’t Afraid of No Shark Pinup from the first issue, penciled by Gene Colan and inked by Frank Giacoia. Original art copy courtesy of Anthony Snyder. TM & © Solow Production Company.

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Basking in Robbins’ Art (right) Original-art page from MFA #6, penciled by Frank Robbins and inked by Frank Springer, interpreting a Bill Mantlo script. (left) Pablo Marcos dove in to draw this cover for issue #5. TM & © Solow Production Company.

parks every day to pick up the cash. “It was really a big business,” Solow says. “They wanted to expand and they bought Hanna-Barbera.” Solow talks about how Barbera hinged a project around a canine actor in a way that cartoons built their concepts around specific vocal personalities. Solow relates an incident in which Barbera imposed his animation-world tactics to Solow’s process: “There was one project that got started a half-hour comedy that unfortunately starred a dog,” Solow says. “Joe gets involved because he’s going to cast dogs. I said, ‘Joe, that’s not the way it’s done. First, we write a script.’ It just got worse and worse and worse.” After an unhealthy amount of creative differences, “I finally said, ‘I’m outta here.’ The agents, the broadcasting company, realized Joe is a problem in this area. I said, ‘I’m not going to work with this guy.’ Somebody said, ‘Why don’t you set up your own production company?’” Solow Productions continued to develop properties under the employ of Hanna-Barbera and Taft. “I rented an office and I started to put together staff,” Solow recalls. “Within two months, I had two developments deals going—one was a police drama on CBS [that never aired] and one was Man from Atlantis [on NBC].” Solow co-created MFA with writer Mayo Simon, based on a germ of an idea by someone at the animation

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studio. “A guy from Hanna-Barbara said, ‘What would happen if a body floated up on the beach and he was from Atlantis?’” I took that basic thought that this guy had and I called NBC and I got an immediate order for a script. Mayo and I developed the project and the characters and everything else. Mayo wrote the two-hour pilot.” (The idea man got a credit.) With the first MFA movie in production, Solow Productions moved its offices to MGM. “MGM had a tank, which we needed, of course,” Solow says. “We shot on my piece of beach at Point Dume [in Malibu, where Solow lived at the time]. We also filmed in Santa Monica at night. We filmed a lot in Venice. When we had to shoot deep-sea stuff, we shot just off Catalina Island.” At the time actor Patrick Duffy had only one credit: a hamburger commercial. “Patrick was enormously thin so we hired a stuntman bodybuilder,” Solow recalls. “He trained at Marineland. NBC loved the pilot but they had no place to put it on the air, so they ordered three more TV movie films.” Solow Productions shot all three consecutively. “The following fall, they wanted a show,” Solow says. “Most people don’t understand when you’re doing a different kind of show, like a Star Trek, like a Man from Atlantis, they really don’t understand how hard to do it every week,” Solow says. “It’s very difficult. We were doing it without CGI. We had to do it within a budget, and the actors always wanted more money.

Skorba the Great (left) Mark tangles with nemesis Lars Skorba—and his toothy pet—on Ernie Chan’s cover to #6. (right) Ed Hannigan and Rudy Nebres illustrated the cover of the series’ final issue, Man from Atlantis #7 (Aug. 1978). TM & © Solow Production Company.

“Barbera—he became the interface between me and Taft,” Solow says. “Taft had a merchandising guy who made deals for the Hanna-Barbera stuff. He apparently had a very close relationship with Marvel Comics.” Solow believes that Barbera not only had a hand in killing Man from Atlantis, but the comic, too. “I’m sure it was Barbera,” Solow says. “He was close to the merchandising guy and to Taft. The reason I also say this is that, unbeknownst to me, there was pressure to cancel Man from Atlantis after 13 episodes. It was up against Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. It was canceled, and guess what went in its place: a cartoon from Hanna-Barbera!” For Solow, MFA would be his last foray on the boob tube. The bitter experience of working with Taft and Barbera had soured him. “I quit [television],” he says. “It’s an uphill battle. It isn’t anything I wanted.” He concentrated solely on producing movies, such as Brimstone and Treacle, starring Sting. Today, Solow is “enjoying life,” penning his memoirs, and, via his website Solowvision.com, running a business offering professional screenplay critiques. Despite the fact that MFA is copyrighted Solow Productions in the indicia of the Atlantis comics, and in spite of set-visit–type articles, Solow says he was unaware that a MFA Marvel comic even existed. “No one from Marvel Comics ever contacted me,” Solow says. “No one ever visited the set. I don’t remember anyone ever sending me the comics.” Solow was only made aware of the comic after the TV series and the comic book had been canceled. Ultimately, Solow Productions could not have been more distant from Marvel. “I had no involvement,” Solow says. “None at all. They kept me out of the loop.” If Solow had known of the MFA comic book, in a TV episode “I would’ve had the star of the show leave the water, go to a newsstand, pick up the comic, and put it down,” he says. When Solow finally did see the Marvel comic, “it reminded me of most of the comics I had seen as a kid.” Solow adds that if he had his way, “I would not have done that type of comic [based] on the show. It guaranteed [that] people would look at the show as a comic book. We hired serious writers and we did not [envision it] as a show only for kids.”

A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL Let’s put an end to a burning question. Patrick Duffy and Jo Duffy: No relation. But Duffy has a funny anecdote about that. “My brother, the attorney, is named Patrick Duffy,” she says. “I was scheduled to interview Patrick Duffy, the actor. I got a phone call and picked up the phone and this very familiar voice said to me, ‘So, are we married or what?’ I told him my brother had the same name. It was a very great first impression.” A witness from the inside, Duffy, who would soon go on to become a top Marvel writer with memorable runs on Power Man/Iron Fist and Star Wars, was an assistant editor on the Man from Atlantis title, working with Goodwin and Bob Hall. “On The Human Fly, I didn’t have nearly as much input,” Duffy says. “Bob Hall was very interested in that project and liked it, but he sat in on the story continuity meetings.” That was different with MFA. “It was absolutely terrific,” Duffy says. “It certainly shaped what I looked for when I was a writer. Little did I know how spoiled we were.” Duffy praises Shooter as instrumental in getting freelancers royalties. “He was not the only person working for it, but Jim was in the system,” she says. “He was absolutely incredible, articulate, and impassioned about it, and we owe that to Jim.” However, the royalties indirectly caused trouble down the line, as certain superhero books were bigger cash cows than others. Duffy says, “The minute you could rig it like a slot machine, it got ugly. ‘If I can get X fired and take over his assignment so I could live comfortably’—I hated that. I hated when people would see comics as a shortcut to their next career.” Duffy enjoyed working with Bill Mantlo and Frank Robbins. “Bill was incredibly funny and fun to work with,” she recalls. “A lot of things bugged him, but he would just laugh at it. You could talk to him. If he didn’t like something I said, you could tell him. You could always, always, always negotiate it. Frank Robbins was a delight to work with. He was incredibly nice and he was very upbeat and positive and you always felt happy after you spoke with him.” Mantlo, Robbins, and Springer enjoyed their collaboration. “They were a very good team,” Duffy says. “Bill liked working Licensed Comics Issue

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Next Stop, Dallas TV Guide cover proof of Bob Peak’s fantastic painting of Patrick Duffy as the Man from Atlantis. Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions. © 1978 TV Guide. Man from Atlantis TM & © Solow Production Company.

when the plug was pulled. Usually, they gave a couple of issues to wrap things up. On Star Wars, for instance, they were pulling the plug, so suddenly they paid for seven more pages so we could wrap up the storyline. Bill didn’t get that luxury on MFA.” Duffy doesn’t remember when word came down that MFA was to swim no more. “All of those cancellations have mushed together,” she says. However, she has some solid theories on what went wrong. Since Marvel had budgeted for a certain amount of titles per month, the impulse was to cancel weak titles, such as MFA, to create spinrack space for spin-offs of hot books, such as X-Men. Recall that Mantlo hinted that, with MFA’s cancellation, another aquatic book on the horizon. Duffy confirms, “They were going to do another Sub-Mariner series and we [didn’t].” She considers the two aquatic characters polar opposites and not as interchangeable as some may think: “The Man from Atlantis was a gentle, happy-golucky character … [his] was a space alien story.” Duffy loved the facetious spirit of Mantlo’s closing editorial. “It was a blast, completely fun,” she says. “That letters column … had my blessing.”

THE UPSHOT

with them. Frank Springer was not only a terrific artist but one of the most charming men on the planet.” Marvel received the telescripts from the MFA show. “We were told to do self-contained stories that did not contradict anything on screen, preferably using as many characters as we could,” Duffy continues. “The actor [Kenneth Tigar] had left that series. Dr. Miller Simon, his character, was going to leave the series. So he would leave our book as well.” Duffy remembers how Mantlo “liked these oddball assignments. He was really good at them. I always enjoyed dealing with Bill tremendously. Obviously, everybody got a bit down when Jim got down on Bill. I used [Mantlo] a lot. “Bill could take a toy and see a great backstory. He did it time and time and time again. Bill didn’t need the toy company to come up with the supporting cast of characters. Bill had a brilliant skill and a lot of people didn’t appreciate what a gift Bill had.”

SO, WHAT HAPPENED TO MFA? Duffy shoots down any suggestion MFA’s cancellation was a political move to spite Mantlo. Too early: “I don’t think Bill’s relationship with Jim [Shooter] was as contentious as it was going to become,” she says. “But there was an attitude toward the media tie-ins.” Duffy also dispels the notion that just because it took a few issues to unfurl a letters column, it indicated a book’s lack of popularity. “It used to take six months to produce a comic book from the writer sitting down to write the first script to getting it in the store,” Duffy says. “Therefore, you were working on issue #9 while you were getting letters from issue #1. There was never a letters column until issue #4. “It was clear the TV show was not going to set the world on fire. If there was an artistic drive behind it, some things went on forever [such as Star Wars and ROM]. There was a perception that MFA was not going to have legs and it was viewed with some disdain.” Although Duffy does not recall where Mantlo’s Merry the harlequin storyline was headed, she does confirm “he was writing the next one 24 • BACK ISSUE • Licensed Comics Issue

Shooter is not talking. Milgrom and Duffy have their theories. Solow blames Joe Barbera. In April 2011, while promoting Cave of Forgotten Dreams, his documentary about the images within the Chauvet cave in southwestern France filled with images created 32,000 years ago, filmmaker Werner Herzog put it best in a Los Angeles Times interview: “What were they thinking, the people who made this art?” Herzog pondered. “We enter the cave but we cannot enter their minds, so we will never know?” Alas, there’s an element of that with MFA. “It’s entirely possible,” Milgrom opines, “that they may have felt, ‘Well, why are we doing the character if there’s no show to support it?’” Let’s face it: If MFA had sold extremely well, Marvel would have brought the book back, TV cancellation be damned. And perhaps it turned out for the best that Solow was unaware of the Marvel machinations. After all, the producer was against the comic-book spin-off. While MFA comics may have ultimately followed the TV show down to Davy Jones’ locker, the project did spawn another idiosyncratic Robbins run, which were relatively rare. In the end, the licensed-character-book sword bears a double edge: While nostalgic readers yearning to see Mantlo’s terrific, trashy runs on Human Fly, Man from Atlantis, ROM, and Micronauts reprinted as Essential editions can forget about it, as rights issues will prevent that from happening. Likewise, these B-books are protected, as the current Marvel regime cannot strip-mine these concepts for inferior remakes, rehashes, and revivals. Meanwhile, somewhere in the bargain bins of America’s comic-book backwaters, copies of some really fun Bronze Age books are floating around, waiting to be purloined for a pittance. Buried deep within those longboxes is the underwater treasure that is Man from Atlantis. Special thanks to Javier Hernandez for the Man from Atlantis #1–7 hook-up! MICHAEL AUSHENKER is a Pacific Palisades, CA-based writer and a humor cartoonist. Visit CartoonFlophouse.com; read CartoonFlophouse.blogspot.com daily.

Michael Aushenker conducted February 2011

Those odd opening titles. Those haunting four notes, repeated ad nauseum into the infinite cosmos. That familiar logo. Those classic episodes… The Twilight Zone––the black-and-white television series created by, written and produced by, and memorably hosted by the eternal Rod Serling––has left its indelible mark on our pop culture. Likewise, the 1959–1964 TV sci-fi anthology has greatly influenced comics … both figuratively and literarily. Western Publishing, under its Dell Comics and Gold Key imprints, produced a comic book based on the TV show in the 1960s–1970s, while NOW published a version in 1990. Artists Mike Sekowsky, Lee Elias, Dan Spiegle, Jerry Robinson, Alex Toth, Reed Crandall, Frank Thorne, and Joe Orlando, along with writer Harlan Ellison, are among the talents who brought this offbeat concept to life in comics. And yet, nobody has been closer to Serling’s creative process than The Twilight Zone creator’s wife, Carol Serling, who was by his side from the beginning—and before. In a rare interview, the widow of the late screenwriter and producer reveals to BACK ISSUE writer Michael Aushenker that the de facto backyard of The Twilight Zone is Pacific Palisades, California, where Aushenker happens to reside, and Ithaca, New York, where Aushenker attended college… …Weird, huh? Cue those four notes… MICHAEL AUSHENKER: When were you and Rod married? CAROL SERLING: 1948. We were both in college at Antioch College in Ohio. We got married and spent two more years in school for our bachelor degrees. In 1963, we returned to Antioch and he spent a few months as a professor in residency. When [Rod] started, he just came back from World War II and started college right after the war. His major originally was physical education. He switched to literature and language. I was majoring in psychology. AUSHENKER: Did you read those Twilight Zone scripts after he wrote them? SERLING: Oh, yes. I was his harshest critic all through the years. AUSHENKER: Where did he write the scripts for those great shows? SERLING: He worked at home. When he finished a section, he’d run it into the house. He had a study in the back. We lived over in the Riviera [the eastern-most section of Pacific Palisades] at the time. [Writer’s note: Pacific Palisades is an affluent neighborhood north of Santa Monica and bordering the ocean on Los Angeles’ Westside. Today, such entertainment figures as Steven Spielberg, Adam Sandler, and Tom Hanks live in the Palisades. The latter star in recent years has bought up a lot of real estate in the Riviera. Back in the 1950s, when Los Angeles was less developed, Pacific Palisades was sleepier and

Submitted for Your Approval Amid our recreation of The Twilight Zone’s opening credits are three vintage Serling family photos: (top) Carol and Rod, 1950; (center left) Jodi, Nan, Carol, and Rod, 1959; and (lower right) Rod and Carol in 1963. Special thanks to Carol Serling. The Twilight Zone © Cayuga Productions, Inc.

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considered somewhat remote from the other parts of Los Angeles. Some contemporaries of Serling living in the Palisades at the time included Peter Graves and his brother, James Arness, Jerry Lewis, Vivian Vance, Mel Blanc, Jack Barry, and a young Randy Newman. The widow Serling currently lives in the Highlands, an extensive Palisades neighborhood on the western end, bordering the Santa Inez Mountains and north of Sunset Boulevard.] AUSHENKER: You and Rod came out here from the East Coast. How did you settle on Pacific Palisades? Why that part of Los Angeles? SERLING: We moved to the Palisades in 1958 from Westport, Connecticut. We came out here because the television industry had changed. It was [originally] live and based in New York City and then everything moved out to California. We had come out during previous winters when Rod was working for MGM and rented a house in Beverly Hills. We did not like Beverly Hills at all. We rented a house from an old-time movie actress Virginia Bruce on Amalfi [Drive, in the Riviera]. We rented it for about six months. [Writer’s note: Actress Bruce served as the first of many honorary mayors of Pacific Palisades in 1951. The Palisades’ current honorary mayor is Sugar Ray Leonard.]

AUSHENKER: I had heard that a young Randy Newman lived next door to you and would make a racket practicing music. SERLING: We didn’t know the Newmans. They lived a few houses away, though. At the time, there were not so many people living here in the Palisades. People would say, ‘Why are you going so far out? You’re out at the end of the world.’ In the late ’50s, Ralph Bellamy lived down the street, [and] Jerry West across the street. AUSHENKER: When The Twilight Zone aired, you and Rod had relocated to a house a couple of blocks away from Amalfi on Monaco Drive. Where on the Monaco property did Rod write? SERLING: Inside kind of a pool house that we used. We built it for him. AUSHENKER: What was his routine like during the Twilight Zone years? SERLING: He’d get up early in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, and start. He would type—two fingers— then begin to dictate. He used a Dictabell, an oldfashioned machine, and dictate to his secretary. AUSHENKER: What kind of creative control did he have on The Twilight Zone? SERLING: He had complete creative control with the program. During the Twilight Zone years, he’d go to Metro [-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios] for the shoot. Sometimes, he’d work in the evening. AUSHENKER: You and Rod had two daughters, Jodi and Nan [three years apart]. Did they grow up in the Palisades? SERLING: Yes. They went to all of the area schools: Canyon [Elementary], Paul Revere [Middle School], PaliHi [Pacific Palisades Charter High School]. AUSHENKER: I had also heard that Rod taught the kids writing at Canyon Elementary.

Psychedelic Shack (above) From 1959 through the 1970s, Rod Serling lived at 1490 Monaco Drive in Pacific Palisades, where he wrote the bulk of his Twilight Zone telescripts. Photo by Michael Aushenker. (left) Original cover painting to Gold Key Comics’ The Twilight Zone #45 (Sept. 1972), by George Wilson. The Twilight Zone © Cayuga Productions, Inc.

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Fright Gallery A quartet of original cover paintings for Gold Key’s Twilight Zone, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com), which also contributed the illo on the previous page: (top, left to right) issue #46 (Nov. 1972) and 49 (May 1973), and (bottom, left to right) 54 (Jan. 1974) and 82 (Jan. 1978). All covers by George Wilson except the last one, which is by one-time Green Lantern artist Jack Sparling. The Twilight Zone © Cayuga Productions, Inc.

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Copier of the Damned Western Publishing released this 16-page, 3.5 x 6.5-inch mini-comic reprinting Twilight Zone #54’s “The Copy Machine,” written by John Warner and drawn by Jack Sparling (see previous page for actual cover). Can any of our readers identify the remaining material in this one-shot? The Twilight Zone © Cayuga Productions, Inc.

SERLING: He probably did go down to Canyon. He was fairly active with PTA, that kind of stuff. AUSHENKER: Did you and Rod enjoy life in the Palisades? SERLING: We loved it. We’d take the kids down to the Hot Dog Show [a now-defunct family-friendly restaurant near the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Monument] and the Bay Theatre [across Sunset Boulevard, now Norris Hardware]. The kids went up there practically every Saturday. We went to the beach, of course. AUSHENKER: Did Rod retain the rights to his greatest creation? SERLING: Unfortunately, the worst business decision he ever made is that he sold the rights to Twilight Zone. At the time, there was no syndication. He was told, ‘You’ve gone over budget. We have to sell you out.’ We both know that Twilight Zone has never left the air since. The rights all went back to CBS. AUSHENKER: What do you think of the remake shows? SERLING: Well, there was what I call Twilight Zone 2 in the ’80s, and Twilight Zone 3, which took Twilight Zone 2 and chopped them into little bits and pieces. There were some good shows on Twilight Zone 2. Rod [who died at the age of 50 in 1975 after suffering a heart attack] wasn’t around to write any of them. It doesn’t seem to have the lasting quality of the originals. He wrote 92 of the 156-odd shows so he was very much a part of [the original Twilight Zone]. AUSHENKER: Rod was so prolific. Did he ever tire of writing the original Twilight Zone? SERLING: He did after a while. He said he was beginning to see himself coming around the corner. They made Twilight Zone in an hour format during the fourth year and that really didn’t work very well. So [in] the fifth year, it went back to the half-hour format. In the fifth year, they brought in a new producer, Buck Houghton. Rod was kind of tired of it. The year of the hour-long show, we were back in Ohio. So we were back and forth. AUSHENKER: When I was attending Cornell, I noticed that Rod’s production company on those old Twilight Zone episodes was called Cayuga Productions. Of course, Cayuga Lake is near Ithaca, New York, where the Cornell campus is. I know that Rod also taught at Ithaca College. What’s the connection? SERLING: My great-great-grandfather, George Caldwell, was the first professor hired when they started the whole University of Cornell. My family lived there [in Ithaca]. Before the turn of the century, in the 1880s, they built a summer home on Cayuga Lake. That’s where I went all my life. Caldwell Hall [on the Cornell campus] is named after my greatgreat-grandfather. We went up there the year we got married and we went there every year. I still go there every summer. It’s a great place to live, with Cornell and Ithaca College. The only problem is the long, long winters, which you probably remember. AUSHENKER: Oh, yeah. [laughs] But Ithaca is beautiful in the winter. A real winter wonderland. It’s like living inside a postcard. 28 • BACK ISSUE • Licensed Comics Issue

SERLING: We just had nine more inches of snow. Anne and Jody, they love it. But yes, that’s where Rod got the name for Cayuga Productions. Later, we moved to Interlaken [a town in New York], also up in that area. AUSHENKER: What did Rod teach at Ithaca College? SERLING: For quite a few years he taught a one-week seminar in film. The kids loved it. They got to watch films and get a credit. He spoke at Cornell some, too. AUSHENKER: How was Rod’s experience on his other anthology show, Night Gallery (1969–1973)? SERLING: He did not have creative control. He was not pleased with Night Gallery. He was identified with it. It was not a very good show, really. AUSHENKER: Was this opposite of his experience on Twilight Zone? SERLING: Pretty much. He didn’t have too much interference from the network or the sponsors. The sponsors really didn’t even know what he was saying with Twilight Zone. He was fairly left alone. With Night Gallery, the interference was constant. Every year, there was another producer he didn’t agree very much. It was only on for a couple of years. Rod also did a show called The Loner, but it wasn’t violent enough. That one only lasted a year. AUSHENKER: Was working on the original Planet of the Apes movie (1968) a positive experience? SERLING: For sure, for sure! He got a kick out of doing it. We knew Charlton Heston. He was great. There was some talk about doing [sequels]. There was some talk of doing a series. AUSHENKER: Did he co-write the screenplay or did the other credited writer [Michael Wilson] come in and work on top of Rod’s draft? SERLING: He wrote the screenplay and they did bring in someone to polish it. Rod never wrote with anyone. [Interviewer’s notes: More Rod Serling/Planet of the Apes connections: Serling and Cornelius actor Roddy McDowall worked together on the Twilight Zone episode “People Are Alike All Over” (airdate: March 25, 1960). McDowall played Conrad, a biologist who finds out that people on Mars are just like us. McDowall also portrayed the diabolical Jeremy Evens in “Cemetery,” the first segment of the pilot for Night Gallery (airdate: November 8, 1969). [Kim Hunter, who played Dr. Zira in the Apes films, worked with Serling on Playhouse 90. She played a social worker in the highly acclaimed “Requiem For A Heavyweight” (airdate: November 6, 1957). [James Gregory––General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes––appeared as the Sergeant in the Twilight Zone episode “The Passerby” (airdate: October 6, 1961), which Serling wrote. Gregory played another sergeant, named Bevelow, in the Night Gallery episode “Stop Killing Me” (airdate: February 9, 1972).]

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The Storyteller’s Story Official Selection in over 25 film festivals worldwide “A great companion to the book ‘Kavalier and Clay.’” Alison Bailes, NBC’s Reel Talk “An essential doc for comics fans, ‘Portrait’ will also enlighten the curious.” John DeFore, Austin American-Statesman “Entertaining and insightful. A great film about a visionary artist!” Jeffrey Katzenberg

Arguably the most influential person in American comics, Will Eisner, as artist, entrepreneur, innovator, and visual storyteller, enjoyed a career that encompassed comic books from their early beginnings in the 1930s to their development as graphic novels in the 1990s. During his sixty-year-plus career, Eisner introduced the nowtraditional mode of comic book production; championed mature, sophisticated storytelling; was an early advocate for using the medium as a tool for education; pioneered the now-popular graphic novel, and served as inspiration for generations of artists. Without a doubt, Will Eisner was the godfather of the American comic book. The award-winning full-length feature film documentary includes interviews with Eisner and many of the foremost creative talents in the U.S., including Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Chabon, Jules Feiffer, Jack Kirby, Art Spiegelman, Frank Miller, Stan Lee, Gil Kane, and others.

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The saga of Dark Horse Comics supplying the comic-art vision of the Star Wars franchise is one worthy of celebration indeed! Since December 1991, with the premiere of Dark Empire, a six-issue limited series, Dark Horse has been crafting classic comic-book tales taking place in creator George Lucas’ galaxy far, far away to fan acclaim, and the publisher’s sequential storytelling prowess is as skillful as ever. Spanning the time of the Old Republic, through Episodes I–VI, and into the New Republic era and the distant future of Star Wars: Legacy, Dark Horse has added an array of new characters and layers of epic storytelling integral to the entire Star Wars Extended Universe (EU). Before I begin to discuss select highlights from this incredible collaborative journey, I would like to thank the many writers, artists, and editors who contributed to this special article. Their enthusiastic, detailed commentary truly tells the story of how and why Dark Horse has consistently maintained a fine level of excitement and quality with their Star Wars comics over the years.

DARK HORSE COMICS: A NEW HOPE FOR STAR WARS FANS

To m P o w e r s

Starting with its six-issue adaptation of A New Hope (July–Dec. 1977), Marvel Comics depicted the comic-book adventures of Luke Skywalker and company for an impressive 107 issues, a four-issue adaptation of Return of the Jedi, and three annuals. [Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #9.] Marvel even offered spin-off series under its Star Comics imprint with Droids #1–8 (Apr. 1986–June 1987) and Ewoks #1–14 (May 1985–July 1987). Unfortunately, when Marvel canceled its flagship Star Wars title with issue #107 (Sept. 1986), toys sales were on the wane, the promised prequels were not being produced in the immediate future, and fan interest in the Star Wars universe was apparently fading. Although Blackthorne later produced a trio of Star Wars 3D comics (Dec. 1987, June 1988, and Sept. 1988), there was not much industry movement in terms of publishing additional comic books for this beloved franchise. During this era, comparable to Han Solo’s frozen tenure in carbonite, writer Tom Veitch and artist Cam Kennedy concocted an ambitious continuation of the post–Jedi timeline with their proposal for Star Wars: Dark Empire. Veitch, reflecting upon the early days of this ambitious project, explains, “Cam Kennedy and I did a creatorowned series for Epic/Marvel called The Light and Darkness War. After the six issues were published, in 1989, we wrote a letter to George Lucas and asked if we could revive Star Wars as a comic book. We just knew there was more life in the series, and it was sitting there with no takers. In our letter, we offered to send Mr. Lucas the L&D War as samples of our work. Three days later, I got a phone call

Celebrating 20 Years of Star Wars Comics Dave Dorman’s wraparound cover painting for the trade paperback collecting Star Wars: Dark Empire II. Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). Star Wars © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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A Long Time Ago… Before Dark Horse took on the franchise, Marvel produced a long-running Star Wars title—supported in its later years by kid-friendly Ewoks and Droids series— followed by a few Star Wars 3D issues from Blackthorne. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

from his secretary saying George wanted to see our work. told our Lucas contact at a comic-book convention that We sent him the six issues of L&D War, and, within a week, Dark Horse’s publisher, Mike Richardson, was a comics we were offered the Star Wars comics franchise— visionary who did a great job with film-related not just the writing and art, you see, but the properties. I showed her the Aliens comics. actual business itself of publishing new That same day, she approached Mike, Star Wars comics! At the time, I was not and the next thing I know, Mike called me into the business side of things, only the and said he now had the franchise and creative. So I passed the project to wanted us to sign up the Dark Empire Archie Goodwin at Epic Comics, project with Dark Horse. Our first and he accepted it enthusiastically.” editor there was Barbara Kesel—one of Although Veitch, Kennedy, and the best editors I ever worked with.” Goodwin were excited about the In addition to continuing the project, “the turning point,” Veitch adventures of Luke Skywalker and divulges, “happened after Archie left company as they attempt to establish a Marvel to go to work for DC Comics. New Republic, Star Wars: Dark Empire Jim Shooter, who was editor-in-chief at #1–6 (Dec. 1991–Oct. 1992) daringly tom veitch Marvel, believed Star Wars was passé, resurrects the Emperor and Boba Fett, and had really only accepted the project both of whom seemingly perished in because Archie wanted to do it. Anyway, after a period Jedi. To shed light upon how he was able to accomplish of some months in which the project bogged down, we this storytelling feat, Veitch says that when the project was convinced Lucas’ people to talk to Dark Horse. I personally still at Marvel, he and Goodwin sent several pages of ideas to George Lucas. He adds, “One of our ideas was to bring back Darth Vader! We thought that the Empire would keep him alive by putting somebody else inside his costume, so that Vader could continue to strike fear in the hearts of planets all over the galaxy. George said, ‘You can’t do that, but you can bring back the Emperor, if you can figure out a way to do it.’ That led to the somewhat obvious idea of cloning the Emperor—and that the Emperor had been cloning himself for quite a while, inhabiting each clone in succession through the dark power of the Force.” Veitch continues, “As for bringing back Boba Fett— that was Cam’s idea. Boba Fett was his favorite character. So we proposed to Lucas that Fett had not really died when he was swallowed by the Sarlacc. He said, ‘Sure.’’’ In regard to the art for this groundbreaking mini, Cam Kennedy’s illustrations are dark and appropriately evocative of the Original Trilogy’s look. Kennedy comments, “I had always been au fait with drawing machines and hardware, so I took to the story like a duck to water. I decided not to go for true likenesses of the main characters, instead opting for how I thought they should look in a comic-strip version.” He adds, “On the illustration side of the books, I decided to try and produce artwork that was particular in its appearance, which is why I opted to hand-color my pages, not going for the new computer coloring that people were suggesting. I was using German waterproof watercolor inks on handmade British watercolor paper, and this allowed me to layer one color on top of another, giving a depth to some scenes.”

ANCIENT JEDI AND DARK LORDS OF THE SITH! Upon hearing old Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi tell Luke about the time of the Jedi Knights protecting the Old Republic in A New Hope (ANH), we were captivated by the backstory of Lucas’ electrifying universe. One Obi-Wan line in particular—“For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic”—grew in our hearts and imaginations. While we always knew that Lucas would eventually produce the prequels, we could only dream about a time long before even the adventures of a younger Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker. Fortunately, in 1993, with Tales of the Jedi #1–5 (Oct. 1993–Feb. 1994), some of whose storyline first premiered in Dark Horse Comics #7–9 (Feb.–Apr. 1993), writer Tom Veitch brought us back an astonishing 4,000 years before ANH. When asked what attracted

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him to writing Tales of the Jedi (TOTJ), Veitch answers, the source, so I asked Lucasfilm licensing for all the visual “While I was working on Dark Empire, LucasArts asked reference they had for the Old Republic. They said me if I wanted to write Indiana Jones comics. they didn’t have anything, and that retroI said, ‘I have a better idea—what about designing the galaxy was my job, which doing stories about the ancient Jedi, was the most exciting thing anyone had from a time 4,000 years before the films?’ ever told me up to that point. I did the ‘Oh,’ they responded, ‘George will never first drawing of an Old Republic–era go for this. But we will ask him.’ Sith Lord, the first drawing of He liked the idea immediately.” Mandalore, the first drawing of a Veitch adds, “After that, it was a double-bladed lightsaber, a curvedmatter of submitting long lists of handled saber. I was out there all on ideas to George Lucas. For Tales of my own. It was awesome.” the Jedi, I also included questions such Tom Veitch wrote several additional as, ‘Can you tell us something about TOTJ miniseries, eventually collaborating the religious aspect of the Force?’ with author Kevin J. Anderson on His answer was, ‘Look to Buddha.’” TOTJ – Dark Lords of the Sith #1–6 cam kennedy When asked why he chose to (Oct. 1994–Mar. 1995). Reflecting focus on a female lead with Nomi upon writing with Anderson, Veitch Sunrider and if her story trajectory is somewhat similar comments, “Kevin and I met in San Francisco and put to Luke Skywalker’s, Veitch replies, “She is one of those our heads together. He wanted to write novels in the characters that is sort of inevitable. There had to be women Jedi—and very great ones—in the past. I don’t think her story is all that similar to Luke’s, unless you think of Luke’s as not that uncommon. Many young men took up the Jedi way after tragedies befell their ordinary lives. In Nomi’s case, she was married and had a child. Her husband was murdered. Then she took up the Jedi training. Her daughter, Vima, became a Jedi, in turn.” Original TOTJ artist Chris Gossett, when questioned about his approach to the visuals of this substantially earlier period in the Star Wars timeline, says, “It’s important to note the year: it was 1992. My task was to be the first visual designer who had ever tackled the Old Republic. They wanted me to work ‘4,000 years before Luke Skywalker.’ The first thing I always do is go to

Licensed Comics Issue

Dark Jedi Knight (left) Detail of Luke Skywalker from Dave Dorman’s cover painting to the 1991 Dark Empire trade paperback. (right) A moment of truth for Luke, from Dark Empire. Words: Tom Veitch. Art: Cam Kennedy. Star Wars © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Oregon (left) Another Dorman dazzler, from the cover of Tales of the Jedi #1 (Oct. 1993). (inset) Hugh Fleming cover to Tales of the Jedi – The Sith War #1 (Aug. 1995). (right) Almost everyone in this early 1990s photo of Dark Horse staffers edited Star Wars at one time or another. Clockwise from bottom left: Ryder Windham, Rich Powers, Anina Bennett, Bob Cooper, Peet Janes, and Barbara Kesel. Photo courtesy of Barbara Kesel. Star Wars © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

Tales of the Jedi period, and his first one would feature this extends credit to the Daragon twins. As to how Aarrba dark Jedi, Exar Kun. I suggested we bring the character differs from Jabba the Hutt, who is purely villainous into the comics, and that Kevin work with me on and sadistic, Anderson says, “I don’t subscribe to doing that. He was somewhat reluctant to get the belief that all members of a particular race are involved in comics, as I recall, but enjoyed it evil. That’s sort of racist, don’t you think? quite a bit once we got going. I really We’ve seen corrupt, self-serving, and slimy liked meeting with him at his Hutts in various SW stories, so why not house and hammering out ideas show a sympathetic one? It seemed an for five or six hours.” interesting way to show a familiar, Embracing the creative but not-so-familiar character.” muscles he could flex as The final TOTJ series to date, a comic-book scripter, Redemption (#1–5, July–Nov. 1998), Anderson thus became presents fallen Jedi Ulic Qel Droma the sole writer of TOTJ – struggling to return to the light side The Golden Age of the Sith of the Force. In response to being #0–5 (July 1996 and questioned why it was important to Oct. 1996–Feb. 1997), show Ulic’s redemption, Anderson where he introduced answers, “The same reason it was kevin j. anderson the characters of important to show Exar Kun’s genuine hyperspace explordescent into evil; that story shows ers Gav and Jori Daragon. However, some bad guys are incurably bad, while there’s hope when the question “Were these twins for some of them. The ending of Redemption was meant to echo Luke and Leia?” was one of the most gut-wrenching things I’ve ever done. posed to Anderson, he responds, I lived with that character for years, as did Chris “Because they’re twin brother Gossett. Chris had come out to stay at our house while and sister, of course readers will we mapped out the last issue, the grand finale. As we think of Luke and Leia, but the worked together, building up the story, page by page, similarity really ends there. we were very worked up, and I remember Chris with These two grew up together, tears streaming down his face as he sketched the last worked as a team, and got pages where Ulic finally falls. I think the book really into a lot of trouble together.” shows the emotion we put into it.” Gossett, who had In this mini, and in TOTJ – returned to the TOTJ series after several years, adds, The Fall of the Sith Empire “I knew we were going to kill Ulic at the end of the #1–5 (June–Oct. 1997), series, so I really wanted to have the style reflect that Anderson also presents a tone. I had a personal connection to Ulic. He was one sympathetic Hutt in of my designs, and this was a very interesting story the form of Aarrba the for me considering its lead character was redeeming Hutt, who graciously himself, and I felt I was as well.”

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Strip Search Star Wars newspaper strips by Russ Manning and the team of Archie Goodwin and Al Gordon were collected in these “Classic”–branded series from Dark Horse. (left) Eric Shanower’s cover to The Early Adventures #6 (Jan. 1995). (right) Wonderful Williamson’s The Empire Strikes Back #1 cover (Aug. 1996). (below) Williamson Star Wars strip art. Star Wars © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

CLASSIC STRIPS AND ADAPTATIONS Originally syndicated in newspapers from 1981–1984, writer Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson’s Star Wars strip stylistically bridged the gap between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Nonetheless, it was not until August 1992, when Dark Horse began reprinting them in Classic Star Wars, that they were cohesively reformatted and colored in a manner worthy of a traditional comic book. Clarifying Williamson’s involvement with the reprint process, Bob Cooper, the editor who succeeded Anina Bennett in working on this charming reprint series, explains, ”Luckily, Al had kept virtually every piece of original comic art he’d ever produced, including the Star Wars strip, which made our jobs a lot easier. Al bundled batches of his original strip art and sent them to Dark Horse, where we created photostats of the art on an in-house stat machine, and then shipped the art back to Al. (This process was still going on at the time I began editing the series.) Thus, we had high-quality reproductions of the original Williamson art to use for the reformatting, and a complete extant compendium of the stories in Russ Cochran’s 1991 three-volume set of strip reprints to use as reference.” Cooper also says, “After the first few issues of the series, Al had turned the task of reformatting the artwork over to a protégé of his, Allen Nunis, and so I’m not privy to how that part of the work went between Al and Anina. When I took over the series, I worked as closely with Allen as I did with any other creator doing artwork for an original comic series. I’d send my annotated thumbnails of the proposed reformatting off to Allen each month, he’d masterfully produce the requested artwork (sometimes almost indistinguishable from Al’s own), and Al would give his stamp of approval on Allen’s art at his end before turning it back in to me.” As well as re-presenting Russ Manning’s 1979–1980 Star Wars newspaper strips with The Early Adventures #1–9 (Aug. 1994–Apr. 1995), Dark Horse provided a four-issue

adaptation of Alan Dean Foster’s Star Wars novel, Splinter of the Mind’s Eye (Dec. 1995–June 1996). Chris Sprouse, who penciled this adaptation, which was scripted and inked by Terry Austin, says, “As a life-long Star Wars fan, I was unbelievably excited to get to draw the characters, but it was intimidating. I wanted to get close on the likenesses, but I didn’t want to just copy existing photos that everyone has seen a million times. I didn’t want people reading the story to stop short and get knocked out of the story when they recognized a pose or face from a particular trading card they owned, for example. I tried to create faces that felt like Luke and Leia, even if every mole or lock of hair wasn’t exactly photorealistic. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t.” Dark Horse, in addition, provided a four-issue adaptation of A New Hope – The Special Edition (Jan.–Apr. 1997). “Bruce Jones, who scripted the series based on Lucasfilm’s top-secret screenplay,” editor Bob Cooper offers, “did a great job ever so subtly updating the original story. It had to be difficult producing a script for a movie adaptation for which millions of fans could probably recite most of the dialogue by heart. And, of course, there were all the little moments that George Lucas had added—Han didn’t shoot first after all, it seems— that would hopefully add enough of a new flavor to entice readers to pick up the comics.” Cooper also served as editor on the three adaptations of author Timothy Zahn’s “Thrawn Trilogy”: Heir to the Empire #1–6 (Oct. 1995–Apr. 1996), Dark Force Rising #1–6 (May–Oct. 1997), and The Last Command #1–6 (Nov. 1997–July 1998). Since Zahn’s trilogy, along with Dark Empire, had been instrumental in reigniting fan interest in Star Wars, it was logical that Dark Horse provided the comic-book adaptations of these action-packed books. Writer Mike Baron, who provided the scripts for these

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adaptations, shares his thoughts on writing for both a Star Wars and a comic-book audience: “A good story is a good story. Zahn’s writing is extremely visual and easy to adapt. Occasionally, I felt a little bit cramped, but we managed to get it all in there.” As for the trilogy’s art, Baron says, “The three art teams all brought something different to the table. Certainly, Olivier Vatine’s and Fred Blanchard’s version for Heir to the Empire was the most graphic and stylized. Terry Dodson’s and Kevin Nowlan’s Dark Force Rising work has the look of classic Golden Age art while Edvin Biukovic and Eric Shanower, with The Last Command, were kind of a mix between the two.” Dark Horse later participated in the Shadows of the Empire (SOTE) media campaign by producing a six-issue comic-book adaptation (May–Oct. 1997) of Steve Perry’s novel, a story which fits in continuity-wise between Empire and Jedi. One of the tie-in projects with SOTE was the pop-up comic book Battle of the Bounty Hunters (July 1996), which focused on a post–Empire Boba Fett attempting to deliver a carbonite-encased Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt while fellow bounty hunter IG-88, Stormtroopers, and a krayt dragon stand in his way. Ryder Windham, who wrote this charming book, reveals its origins: “I had already begun working editorially on the SOTE comics, which featured Boba Fett prominently, and I thought his exploits would lend themselves well to pop-ups. Also, everyone agreed that it was practical to have the pop-up comic book be part of the publishing campaign for Shadows. I worked with Mary Luders and

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Jim Diaz at White Heat Ltd., a book packager that specialized in pop-ups, and they handled the pop-up design and production. I wound up drawing very rough layouts for the pop-up art, and I hired artist Chris Moeller to illustrate the book. White Heat did a fantastic job.” In February 1998, Evolution – Shadows of the Empire (Feb.–June 1998) began, a five-issue sequel to SOTE, which was written by Steve Perry himself, who says, “Two things really interested me in doing E:SOTE—it was my first comic-book script, and it was a chance to extend the original story, an answer to ‘And then what happened?’” Perry, furthermore, when asked why he portrayed Han and Leia in this mini as exchanging banter about Captain Solo’s roving eye, explains, “The Han/Leia banter went along with the way those characters were in A New Hope, and I figured it would be funny to have Han be innocent but presumed guilty.” E:SOTE penciler Ron Randall also explains his approach to this story: “I worked pretty closely with Steve, and he welcomed my input in shaping the story. I remember requesting that we move the action around to different exotic environments, to mirror the way the movies went from desert worlds to swamp planets to ice worlds, and Steve rolled that thinking right into the story.” He adds, “I know we both wanted Guri to have an emotional core, and we wanted that to be something we could get the readers to connect with. The story Steve crafted does a great job of balancing all the things we wanted the story to have—the swashbuckling, the feel of the Star Wars universe, and some heart.”

DROIDS, BOUNTY HUNTERS, HUTTS, ROGUE SQUADRON, IMPERIAL ROYAL GUARDS, AND WOOKIEES—OH, MY! Dark Horse’s wise application of the Star Wars license has consistently been seen in its imaginative approach to Lucas’ delightfully eclectic characters and the worlds around them, especially in their Droids series, as it firmly places the lovable droids C-3PO and R2-D2 in the spotlight. Ryder Windham, upon being asked how he approached writing R2-D2 and C-3PO in his Droids stories, particularly in the “Rebellion” storyline (Droids, vol. 2, #1–4, Apr.–July 1995), answers, “I just tried to be consistent with their characters in the movies. R2-D2 is adventurous, and C-3PO is a worrywart, but they’re friends who stick together. Obviously, because R2-D2’s dialogue consists of beeps and whistles, C-3PO’s dialogue serves to translate R2-D2’s words.” Ian Gibson, who illustrated this mini, also comments about his participation in depicting the solo adventures of the two much-loved droids: “Originally, I think I was asked to do some work on the series because of my reputation for drawing robots— though I’m not sure I fitted all that well as I tend to make up my own droids rather than have to copy someone else’s designs. But when Ryder Windham wrote an episode specially for me in Droids #5 (vol. 1, Aug. 1994) and brought more cuteness into the story—I enjoyed it more.” He adds, “Then he wrote Droids ‘Rebellion’ for me. And that’s when I really had a fun time. I’d become happier with how I was representing the characters and was able to tell the story my way—with my individual approach to layouts and page design. I think Ryder and I clicked pretty well working together.” Boba Fett—at long last—achieves solo stardom at Dark Horse with a series of three one-shots: “Bounty on

Stormtroopers Unmasked (top) A page from Splinter of the Mind’s Eye #1 depicting Stormtroopers with their helmets off. According to artist Chris Sprouse, who shares this original-art scan with BACK ISSUE, “Lucasfilm nixed this and insisted we redraw all panels showing Stormtroopers. Now I know why, after events in the prequels, but at the time we received no explanation. Apparently the art made it all the way through to the inking stage before being changed for the printed version. (below) A fully finished Yuzzem design drawing by Splinter’s Sprouse, done after Lucasfilm vetoed his original design for the Wookiee–like creatures. “Unfortunately, the veto didn’t come down until after I had finished drawing the entire issue,” Chris reveals, “so I had to redraw every panel in the issue featuring the Yuzzem (around 17 pages).” © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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Unpublished Cover Chris Sprouse says of his 1995 pencil art for a proposed Splinter cover: “Early on, I had an image in mind that I had originally hoped to turn in as a cover. I abandoned the piece after making a few attempts when Dark Horse told me the amazing Hugh Fleming would be painting the covers, but I returned to it a few years later and finally finished it” (opposite page). (bottom right) Heir #2 (Nov. 1995). Cover by Matthieu Laffray. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

Bar-Kooda” (Dec. 1995), “When the Fat Lady Swings” Wagner enjoyed writing Boba Fett to the extent that he (Sept. 1996), and “Murder Most Foul” (Aug. 1997). scripted the character’s solo exploits several more times, Interestingly, his debut is thanks to Cam Kennedy not notably in Boba Fett – Enemy of the Empire (Jan.–Apr. 1999), wishing to illustrate a sequel to Dark Empire II. Kennedy a four-issue mini that ultimately places the formidable comments, “In San Diego in 1994, Lucy Wilson bounty hunter in a direct confrontation with an from Lucasfilm asked me if there was even deadlier opponent: Darth Vader. When anything in the Star Wars stable I would asked about his thoughts concerning his like to tackle. I said there was but did not work with Wagner on issues #1–3, think they would go for it. I told her artist Ian Gibson enthusiastically declares, that the only character who interested “I love John’s writing. I’ve worked with me was the bounty hunter Boba Fett, him for many years—since before 2000 and I was sure there were others, AD was even started. So we’ve had a like me, who would like to see a few long relationship of collaboration, and days in the life of Boba—featuring only he wrote the Robohunter series especially Fett and his ship and what he got up to with me and my particular take on without the set Star Wars stories. Lucy robots in mind. So I was happy to agreed to the idea and gave me the accept the offer of his Boba Fett. But I go-ahead, asking if I was scripting must admit that Fett isn’t my favorite chris sprouse as well as illustrating. I told her John character. I always thought that he’d Wagner would be doing the writing. been dressed from the welfare store. I should mention at this point that John was totally But Cam Kennedy had done such marvelous work on unaware of what I had got him into. Back in Oregon him before me, so it was easy to get inspired. The most from San Diego, there was a hurried phone call to John fun was the weird characters that John created. The mad in England, hoping that he would say yes. Now, John religion in an impossible place! Typical John!” had never seen the trilogy, let alone heard of Boba Fett. After his demise in Return of the Jedi, even the He rented the videos, soaked them up, felt he could charmingly despicable Jabba the Hutt is given a second do something script-wise, and, within about ten days, chance at immortality through a series of four one-shots: sent over the first script. Lucasfilm liked what they saw, “The Gaar Suppoon Hit” (Apr. 1995), “The Hunger and the Boba one-shots were born. This artist had a of Princess Nampi” (June 1995), “The Dynasty Trap” ball drawing the whole thing.” (Aug. 1995), and “Betrayal” (Feb. 1996). Writer Jim Woodring, when asked if a comedic approach is key to writing Jabba in these one-shots, surprisingly retorts, “I’m not sure it is. Surely someone could write a successful Jabba story that was a grueling, deadpan horror story. There’s a humorous aspect to him in the films, though, and it made sense to me to preserve that.” Throughout the Original Trilogy, the brave pilots of Rogue Squadron are seen protecting the Rebellion and

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Star Trekkers (left) In pencil form, page 13 from issue #4 (May 1998) of Shadows of the Empire – Evolution, courtesy of artist (and Trekker creator) Ron Randall. (right) Speeder illo, courtesy of John Nadeau. Star Wars © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

carrying out the most dangerous of missions, whether it is attacking deadly Death Stars or crushing AT-ATs. It is only appropriate, then, that these characters’ lives and stories were fleshed out in the ongoing series X-Wing Rogue Squadron, which premiered in July 1995. In clarifying how he found himself both spearheading X-Wing Rogue Squadron at Dark Horse and as a series of novels for Bantam, author Michael A. Stackpole says, “I landed the novel job at Bantam first, then I was at Skywalker Ranch having lunch with Sue Rostoni and Lucy Wilson. Lucy asked if I’d ever done any comics work. I said I loved comics, had always wanted to do some work with them, but none of the projects had ever worked out. She made a note, and six months later, I got a call from Ryder Windham at Dark Horse. He said, ‘We want to do an X-Wing comic, and Lucasfilm said we had to talk to you.’ Recommendations don’t come much higher.” In regard to the question of how he approached depicting Wedge Antilles and company as characters with well-developed personalities and story arcs, Stackpole

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offers, “Wedge was an interesting character. He had to be a top gun, yet nice enough of a guy to be Luke’s buddy. That defined him and made him fun to write. The rest of the squadron I built out of characters who were fun to explore and who would compare and contrast well with Wedge and each other. Hence Corran is from Corellia, but unlike Han or Wedge, never did any smuggling. I think I had the most fun with the Gand and with Gavin. Both Gavin and Tycho were based on pilots and predicaments of folks fighting in WWII.” When not directly scripting the X-Wing Rogue Squadron stories, Stackpole served as the plotter of various tales. Writer Mike W. Barr wrote the script for the #1/2 issue (Feb. 1997), which featured a pre–ANH story involving the Rogues. On the subject of being asked by editor Bob Cooper to script this story over Stackpole’s plot, Barr comments, “I was familiar with Mike’s Star Wars novels and, having always enjoyed Star Wars, jumped at the chance. (This story was my second venture into the SW universe, the first having been “The Last Jedi,” #49 [July 1981] of the Marvel run.) It’s not often that I supply only the plot or the dialogue for a story, and the result, when I do collaborate in this manner, is always intriguing. I think this story worked pretty well, and artist Gary Erskine’s interpretation of the story was different than I had expected, but satisfactory in every way.” Artist John Nadeau, who penciled many of the X-Wing Rogue Squadron story arcs, comments on his approach to drawing such complex material as aliens, ships,

battle scenes, exotic cities, and planets: “I had wanted Lucasfilm didn’t want any stories about the Imperial to be an aerospace engineer out of high school, so I Guard.” Stradley adds, “But, by 1994, we figured the reins understood how things function under the skin vis- might have loosened a bit, so we tried again. Of course, à-vis spaceships and architecture and how this was by then, years had passed in Luke’s life, and the Emperor incorporated into the Star Wars universe. Getting the tech had been reborn (in Dark Empire), so we changed lastright just seemed natural to me. As for aliens and exotic surviving-Imperial-Guard Kir Kanos’ primary target cities, I tried to make sure that their design motifs would from Luke to another Guard who had betrayed the be consistent with their culture, provide sufficient contrast Emperor. The pitch was approved with no changes.” to the look of other cultures (Rebel or Imperial) Paul Gulacy, who penciled both this mini, and, probably most importantly, look and its two sequels, CE II – Council of Blood interesting.” #1–6 (Nov. 1998–Apr. 1999) and CE III – Another part of Dark Horse’s effort Empire Lost #1–6 (2011–2012), offers to expand upon the post–Jedi, New insight on the design process that went Republic EU timeline spectacularly into the original tale: “The body armor manifested itself with #1–6 (Dec. in the comic was the very first design 1997–May 1998). Co-written by that came to me. I also had to design Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley, Mirith Sinn and her costume among the series follows former Imperial a ton of other stuff. On top of that, Royal Guardsman Kir Kanos as he seeks every written and drawn page had to be revenge against fellow Guardsman sent to Lucasfilm to get the thumbs-up Carnor Jax, who betrayed the Emperor. from folks that overlook this stuff. We Stradley provides some of the roots had several ideas that were killed michael a. stackpole of this story: “My original idea was to because Lucas had something similar build upon a story that I had pitched to in The Phantom Menace that he was Marvel back in 1983, about the last remaining Imperial directing at the same time we were doing Crimson.” Guards teaming up to get revenge on Luke Skywalker. Expanding upon the subject of design ideas nixed by I had always regretted that we didn’t get to see them in Lucasfilm, Gulacy explains, “I actually came up with the action in Return of the Jedi, and I was disappointed when double-edged lightsaber for Kir Kanos, and we were told, word came back to me from the Marvel editor that ‘Nope, George is using double-bladed lightsabers.’ So we made the weapon having blades instead. I still have a very rough sketch of one of the bad guys that we were going to use that strikes a very strange resemblance to Darth Maul. All I was thinking at the time was, ‘How about a bad guy covered in tattoos?’ Of course, we were told no dice on that too. Really weird.” With Jedi Academy – Leviathan (Oct. 1998– Jan. 1999), readers witness the process that

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Showdown Star Wars’ second favorite bounty hunter means business! From page 34 of Boba Fett – Murder Most Foul (Aug. 1997), written by John Wagner and drawn by Cam Kennedy. Star Wars © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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Slave Master Randy Stradley (below, chained to two slave girl Leias) co-wrote Crimson Empire with Dark Horse head honcho Mike Richardson. (left) CE #5 cover (Apr. 1998), by Dorman. (right) Concrete’s Paul Chadwick’s cover to Jedi Academy – Leviathan #3 (Dec. 1998). © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

accompanies Jedi Master Luke Skywalker’s desire to rebuild the Jedi Order as well as the adventures of his apprentices. “With Luke training new Jedi Knights,” writer Kevin J. Anderson says, “we realized the obvious comparison with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Leviathan follows that model, the Jedi Knights on a quest (in this case, similar to the story of Grendel). It’s a standalone adventure, but it helps to lay the foundation of the new and growing Jedi Order.” In Mara Jade – By the Emperor’s Hand #1–6 (Aug.1998–Jan. 1999) writer Michael A. Stackpole, working from a story conceived by Timothy Zahn, reveals the origins of Mara Jade. Stackpole comments, “Mara is easily misunderstood, and this was a chance to springboard her from being the Emperor’s Hand into her freelance career. Points of transition for characters are always the most interesting for characters, and that was a major one for her. Plus we got to match her against Isard, which made things a lot of fun for me.” Stackpole helps to further develop Mara Jade’s character when he delineates her historic marriage to Luke in Star Wars: Union #1–4 (Nov. 1999–Feb. 2000). “There was a six-issue miniseries that failed to get approval,” Stackpole tells. “It was a bridge series between Tim Zahn’s last two Bantam SW novels—but no one had told Tim to leave room for such a story. I figured out a way to handle things, but wiser heads than mine said no. By that time, other books had eaten two of the issues, so I pitched the Luke and Mara get married 42 • BACK ISSUE • Licensed Comics Issue

series at four issues.” Stackpole adds, “The series was a lot of fun. I didn’t get to do it exactly the way I wanted because I wanted to use young Imperials seeking revenge against the New Republic. That was approved. Then the Columbine Massacre took place, so young terrorists were suddenly off the table. I was still able to work around it.” The four-issue Chewbacca (Jan.–Apr. 2000) debuted in the wake of the character’s death while he was heroically fighting New Republic enemy the Yuuzhan Vong. Editor Peet Janes acknowledges, “We all knew that the character’s passing, first in prose through the Bantam novel Vector Prime by R. A. Salvatore, and then in the Chewbacca miniseries, would resonate with a wide range of fans, a kind of Old Yeller drama that would re-ground the core characters and firmly establish the new, merciless enemy. To be honest, we were frankly floored that Lucasfilm had agreed to such a story, and agreed that we needed to handle it with the utmost gravity.” Darko Macan scripted the poignant series, which was illustrated by a variety of illustrators, including Brent Anderson and Dave Gibbons. Reminiscing on Macan’s writing, Janes says, “Darko’s script came back as a connected series of vignettes from various points of view. After Chewie’s death, the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 circulated amongst Chewbacca’s friends (and enemies) to collect remembrances of him to enhance the Wookiee’s memorial. Some of the stories were funny, others exciting, and still others were full-on tearjerkers. All collected, they would be a fitting tribute to the ultimate sidekick.” A more whimsical approach to the Original Trilogy era characters is provided in Star Wars: Underworld – The Yavin Vassilika #1–5 (Dec. 2000–June 2001). On the subject of presenting Han, Chewbacca, and Lando in a pre–ANH adventure, writer Mike Kennedy states, “I wanted to bring some of that high-adventure fun back to the universe, with the sharp banter and savoir-faire embodied by the scoundrels of the universe, particularly Han and Lando. The original concept as assigned was simply ‘a contest between bounty hunters that spans the galaxy.’ This just opened the toy box for us to cherrypick all the coolest characters, many of whom hadn’t really gotten much of a spotlight, such as Dengar, Zuckuss, 4-Lom, etc. Each of the bounty hunters really have such a unique voice, character, and agenda that made throwing them all into the same madcap Amazing Race more of a blessing than a writer could ask for. Plus it was a chance to showcase

Lando, a character who is sorely under-represented in comics form, despite being the coolest cat in the galaxy.” In a similar fashion to Underworld, the one-shot Star Wars: A Valentine Story (Feb. 2003) offers a lighthearted approach to Han Solo, who is paired with romantic interest Princess Leia. Judd Winick, who penned this heartfelt tale, reveals that editor Diana Schutz contacted him because she wanted him to write “a Valentine’s Day story between Han and Leia, which is supposed to be the first moment that leads to them falling in love.” He continues, “Diana explained that Lucasfilm was interested in seeing a story that fell after Star Wars and before Empire. By the time we see Han and Leia in Empire, something’s happened. There’s a spark between them. She wanted me to write that spark.” Winick adds, “One of the best parts of Star Wars was Han and Leia’s relationship. It’s when he’s funniest and she’s the most vulnerable. Every one of those scenes with the two of them is a home run. It was nice to add one more scene.” As for Paul Chadwick’s part in illustrating “A Valentine Story,” the artist honestly responds, “I think anybody who draws Star Wars will tell you that there’s one 3/4 angle portrait photo of Carrie Fisher that’s 100% more beautiful than any other. It was taken when she was starving herself to fit in that slave Leia bikini, and any trace of baby fat is gone. Drew Struzan used it a couple of times. I think I used it about six times in my story. Otherwise, I just downloaded every photo I could find and did my best.”

NEW ADVENTURES IN THE PREQUEL TRILOGY ERA Just six months before the release of the first Star Wars prequel, Episode I – The Phantom Menace, on May 19, 1999, Dark Horse released the first issue of Star Wars (Dec. 1998), an ongoing series. Original series editor Peet Janes explains, “The release of Episode I created a new upsurge of interest in all things SW, and the time felt right for a new kind of SW series featuring story arcs, but also an ongoing storyline.” He adds, “Lucasfilm gave us a free hand to develop certain characters from the films, most notably Ki-Adi Mundi, the coneheaded Jedi Council member and star of the first story arc. Our directives from [Lucasfilm] were simple: develop the material so that it was consistent with the rest of the SW Expanded Universe, and occasionally feature characters and locales from the films in a way that worked with the imminent releases of Episodes II and III.” Tim Truman took up the challenge of developing Ki-Adi Mundi, whom he says, “looked like a kick-ass Conehead” in the ”Outlander” story arc that ran through issues #7–12 (June–Nov. 1999). Truman says that this story arc gave him “a chance to help develop stories and backstories about the Jedi themselves, plus cool non-Jedi characters like the Tusken Raiders, Jabba the Hutt’s crime organization, and, most notably, the bounty hunter Aurra Sing.” Certainly, the storyline is noteworthy for expanding on Tusken Raider culture and introducing the fascinating concept of Tusken Jedi with the exiled Jedi Sharad Hett and his son, A’Sharad. Truman comments, “I created Sharad and A’Sharad for

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Chewie No More (below) Variant cover to Chewbacca #1 (Jan. 2000), by the super-art team of penciler Dan Jurgens and inker Jerry Ordway, from a special edition from Dynamic Forces. Original art scan courtesy of Heritage. (left) Detail from the cover of Mara Jade #1 (Aug. 1998). Art by Killian Plunkett. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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Bounty Hunters Three (left) Boba Fett, Han, and Lando, from Andrew Robinson’s cover to Underworld – The Yavin Vassilika #1(Dec. 2000). (right) The work of Timothy Truman, a BACK ISSUE favorite, on view from page 15 of the Aurra Sing one-shot (July 1999). © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

the series, for a certain story that I wanted to pitch. Developing a Tusken Jedi had been a dream of mine for years, ever since the very first movie. The Tuskens were always my favorite Star Wars characters.” When asked what is interesting from a storyteller’s perspective about the Jedi of the Old Republic, Truman responds, “Somewhere along the way, I sort of latched onto this little tiny thread of evidence that there seemed to be a sub-class of disenfranchised, disenchanted Jedis and Jedi renegades. So I latched onto that for my run. I was able to build a lot of story material around that certain vibe, especially when it came to Aurra Sing, the Dark Lady, and Sharad Hett. I’m attracted to outcasts. I’ve always been more comfortable doing stories about outcasts than nobles and proper folk.” Aurra Sing, who can be spotted in The Phantom Menace during the podracing sequence, would become a fan-pleasing character in Star Wars #7–12, and in the Truman-scripted “Hunt for Aurra Sing” story arc of #28–31 (Mar.–June 2001) and his Star Wars: The Bounty Hunters – Aurra Sing (July 1999) one-shot. Upon this act of intricate character-building, Truman reveals, “I wrote up a massive character profile for Aurra Sing that chronicled her entire life up to Episode I. I got so into it that I even developed a peculiar speech pattern for her: Except on rare occasions, she should only speak a certain number of syllables per sentence—it was eight or 11, I think. It might seem like a

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useless little rule of thumb, but it ended up giving her this very short, curt, no frills, Man with No Name–esque way of talking and thinking. It was a tiny touch that made her seem even more guarded and calculating.” Truman also added the enigmatic Dark Lady to the ranks of the Jedi in Star Wars #13 (Dec. 1999). When asked what fascinates him about the Dark Lady, Truman replies, “I just liked the idea that she was there: an older woman who was a Jedi. The Jedi elders who’d been seen to that point were all guys. In the development I did for her, I wanted to get it across that she was this rabid devotee of the Force—shall we say, an Orthodox Jedi as opposed to a Reformed Jedi. She felt that she was surrounded by those who weren’t taking the faith as seriously as she.” In addition to focusing on the continuing adventures of the Jedi Council, Star Wars introduced the fan-favorite characters of Jedi Quinlan Vos and his apprentice Aayla Secura in issues #19–22’s “Twilight” story arc (June–Sept. 2000). Writer John Ostrander, upon being asked what attracted him to these characters, answers, “Well, they were Jan Duursema and my creations to begin with. Part of the reasoning behind it was that we didn’t want to be tripping all over continuity. We wanted characters over which we had some control. Also, having characters that—initially—you could only find in the comics was a plus. We controlled their destiny, and the readers had no idea of how their story might turn out. You knew the outcomes for Vader, Luke, and so on because the Original Trilogy was already out.” During Star Wars’ publication run, other prequel minis came out as well. Jedi Council – Acts of War #1–4 (June–Sept. 2000) depicts the adventures of the Jedi Council in a pre–Episode I adventure. Writer Randy Stradley offers some background on his approach to this mini: “The most surprising thing was the instruction I received from the folks at Lucasfilm—which was to kill off some Jedi. It seemed, to me, a surprising request in that, previous to that point, we’d been having a difficult time

coming up with adversaries who stood a chance against the Jedi. We’d be told, ‘No, the Jedi would sense that attack and block it before they were in any real danger,’ or something similar. Now the edict was to show what a dangerous place the galaxy was, and how dangerous it was to be a Jedi. So, characters I had created for which I had hoped to write future stories suddenly had to die. Violently. It was kind of frustrating and freeing at the same time.” Like Jedi Council: Acts of War, the four-issue Darth Maul (Sept.–Dec. 2000), granted readers a glimpse into an Episode I character before the events of that film. Writer Ron Marz comments, “The story itself was actually a continuation from the Darth Maul novel Shadow Hunter that was released around the same time. Some of what was intended to be the comic story ended up in the novel, so we had to branch out from there, and Randy Stradley was instrumental in suggesting the direction.” Marz adds, “The interesting part for me was figuring out a way to make Maul, who was obviously the baddest of bad guys, into essentially the hero of the story. So we ended up pitting him against the criminal organization Black Sun. Maul might have been a villain, but he at least had his own code of honor, which is more than can be said for the Black Sun crimelords.

The storyline was ultimately a vehicle for Maul to hunt down and take out a bunch of people, which I think is what everyone wanted to see from his character.” Insight upon the dynamics of the Master-Padawan Jedi dynamic was also generously provided in several minis during this time. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan – Last Stand on Ord Mantell #1–3 (Dec. 2000–Mar. 2001), for example, depicts a pre–Episode I adventure with its title characters. “It was my idea to set most of the story on Ord Mantell,” states writer Ryder Windham. “I’m a big fan of the Star Wars syndicated comic strip by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson, and they’d set two different adventures on Ord Mantell. One adventure featured an abandoned stellar energy station, and another an abandoned moisture plant. I thought it would be fun to revisit those locations at an earlier time, so I developed a story around them.” Although the mini came out a year and a half before Episode II, Windham says, “I got a bunch of letters from readers who pointed out that the movie’s opening sequence was similar to the beginning of Last Stand. Both begin with the attempted assassination of a female dignitary after her ship touches down on a Coruscant landing platform. The similarity was purely coincidental, but kind of interesting.”

Maul Rats (left) David Fabbri’s cover to Jedi Council – Acts of War #1 (June 2000). (right) From the team of writer Ron Marz and artists Jan Duursema and Rick Magyar, page 13 of Darth Maul #2 (Oct. 2000). © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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Windham, furthermore, wrote Jedi Quest #1–4 (Sept.–Dec. 2001), which deals with an older Obi-Wan and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker. Windham offers, “Jedi Quest was an unusual assignment in that I had nothing to do with developing the story. Jude Watson had written a Star Wars novel titled Jedi Quest, and Dark Horse hired me to write a comic adaptation of the novel. I think the story helped emphasize that Obi-Wan and Anakin could never fully understand each other because they came from such different backgrounds.” Pop Mahn, who penciled this mini, remarks, “At the time of Jedi Quest, I was working in my more Japanese comics influence, which is much different than my current work. My general approach during that period was to focus on energy and moving the eyes through the art in a smooth and pleasing way.” Mahn adds, “I also wanted to capture the unique relationship between young Anakin and Obi-Wan during those crucial times of Anakin’s Padawan days. There was a hard approach to Obi-Wan’s method of teaching as well as a soft, more friendly approach that cultured their friendship.” A few months later, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan – The Aurorient Express #1–2 (Feb. and May 2002) was released. “My goal,” writer Mike Kennedy states, “was to illustrate the relationship between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan as problem-solving mentor-and-student in the field. At that point in their relationship, they were like Sherlock and Watson, or Batman and Robin. Not to relegate Obi-Wan to sidekick status, but in the best of those other stories, the protégé not only learns from the mystery, but is key to solving it as well.” Kennedy continues, “I also hoped to illustrate Qui-Gon’s slightly roguish attitude about the Rules of the Council, and how that casual self-reliance and tendency to fly in the face of authority was passed down to Obi-Wan and eventually Anakin and Luke. Ideally, you’d see where the seeds of each character’s rebelliousness came from.” With the release of the movie Episode II: Attack of the Clones in May 2002, Dark Horse was given another cinematic chapter in the Star Wars saga to integrate into its ambitious publishing schedule. Tying into the new film were the bookshelf-format one-shots, Jango Fett (Jan. 2002) and Zam Wesell (Mar. 2002). Ron Marz, the writer of these tales, comments, “Those were books that were created before Episode II was released, so I got a peek at early sections of the script that involved those characters. We were working blind, to a certain extent, because we had visuals for Jango and Zam, but not a great deal to go on in terms of characterization.

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Plot-wise, the real trick was making the two stories work together, as well as work separately. The idea was you could read either one-shot and get a complete story, but if you read them together, there was a greater storyline running through both. One of the coolest aspects is I got to pick out one of the Jedi Council members to get killed off in the Zam one-shot. What I didn’t know when I was writing it was that Jango gets his head cut off at the end of Episode II. So when I saw the movie, I kind of went, ‘Hey, what the hell? I didn’t know that was gonna happen!’” Starting in May as well was the four-issue Jango Fett – Open Seasons (Apr.–July 2002), which provides the first meeting between Jango and his future employer, Count Dooku. Haden Blackman, who wrote this mini, reveals, “In terms of character development, in Episode II we’re really seeing Jango at the end of his story. His role in the film is all about the legacy he’s leaving behind—the Clonetroopers and his son, in particular. I really wanted to show the beginning and middle of his journey, reveal why Jango was Dooku’s choice to become the template for the Clonetroopers, and, more importantly, suggest why he might want to be a father.” Several months after Episode II’s premiere, Star Wars became Star Wars: Republic with issue #46 (Sept. 2002) in order to distinguish it from its newly launched ongoing sister title, Empire, which was created to focus on the Original Trilogy era. And, in issue #50 (Feb. 2003), the series officially began delineating the Clone Wars in the period leading up to the events of Episode III. One notable storyline, “The Battle of Jabiim,” unfolding in Republic #55–58 (June–Nov. 2003), involves Anakin Skywalker facing a great failure on the planet Jabiim. The story, additionally, crosses over with a storyline in Empire focusing on the repercussions of Anakin’s actions. Commenting on his involvement with this tale, writer Haden Blackman reasons, “Because the story revolved around the Padawan Pack concept, I obviously wanted to include Anakin. For me, what’s most interesting about Anakin at this stage is that he’s still a hero, but is also clearly making decisions and experiencing things that will lead him to become Darth Vader. In my mind, his descent to the dark side begins long before Episode III, and happens in steps and stages. Here, we get to see him trying to be the hero, but ultimately caving into Palpatine—as he will again and again in the years to come, with increasingly disastrous results. But his decisions exact a heavy toll on him—I think my favorite scene is towards the end, when Anakin makes a tribute to the Padawans he

unwillingly left behind. He also learns how to use the Force to crush a man’s windpipe, another of many steps on his way to becoming Vader.” Brian Ching, who penciled this story arc, offers his thoughts on this memorable story: “We were in the middle of the Prequel Trilogy coming out in theaters, so working in the SW world was an especially exciting time. The story was Anakin heavy, and I believe one of my first times drawing him, so I was thrilled. We had Clones, droid armies, the Padawan Pack, and epic battles. What more could an artist ask for?”

STAR WARS—ANTHOLOGY AND WHAT-IF STYLE! One of the most creatively eclectic Star Wars projects to come charging out of the Dark Horse stable was Star Wars Tales. The first editor to work on this anthology series, Peet Janes, declares, “There were a host of good reasons to create SW Tales. Foremost among them was affording the opportunity to play within the SW universe to a broad spectrum of comics creators. Along with that, we hoped the same broad spectrum of fans would follow them to the title, and perhaps some other SW titles as well.” Janes adds, “Lucasfilm allowed us to solicit a wide range of story styles, from What if? alternative scenarios, to humorous stories, to tales that sprung from where a scene from one of the films began or ended. If it was not explicitly tied to the EU, certain restrictions were lifted, although most creators, out of reverence for the original property, chose ways to make their stories seem part of the greater SW universe, or at least be flavored in the same way.” In issues #1–2 (Sept. and Dec. 1999), readers were treated to an epic showdown between Darth Vader and the Dark Lady. Writer Ron Marz claims, “If there’s one image that says Star Wars to me, it’s Vader. I suggested doing something from the period prior to the first movie, when Vader was hunting down the Jedi. It was Peet who specifically suggested the Dark Lady, who really ended up

fitting perfectly into the story I wanted to tell. My goal with the story was to show Vader being the ultimate bad guy, but also that he’s conflicted, since we know there’s a sliver of goodness still in him.” For Vader fans, the excitement continued in SW Tales #9 (Sept. 2001), when what would once have been thought impossible occurs: Vader has a smack-down with Darth Maul! Marz, who returned to once more depict Vader in battle, comments, “I think as soon as we got a look at Darth Maul in Episode I, that’s what everybody wanted to see—Vader vs. Maul. Everybody wanted to see who is the best— or maybe that should be the worst—servant of the Sith.” Regarding penciler Rick Leonardi’s contribution to the story, Marz reveals, “It was actually Rick’s idea to have Vader destroy Maul by stabbing through his own body. When the pages came in, that scene inspired me to use it as a metaphor for Vader’s self-hatred.” Leonardi himself adds, “It’s hard to imagine a simpler, cleaner story. The two all-time Sith heavyweights go head-to-head for 30 pages or so, with no interruptions, cut-aways, or mulligans allowed. Obviously, Vader must win; the only tricky part is, How? Terry Austin’s ink work throughout is brilliant. Two black-clad warriors battling amongst mist, shadows Licensed Comics Issue

Jango Fandango (above) Page 15 from 2002’s Jango Fett one-shot. By Ron Marz and Tom Fowler. (left) Dark Horse’s Star Wars series was renamed Star Wars: Republic with issue #46 (Sept. 2002). Cover by Steve Firchow. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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and glowing lava. With his tight control and deeply Under Land’s editorial watch, SW Tales #8 (June 2001) opaque ink technique, Terry was the perfect choice.” presents “Thank the Maker,” which depicts Darth Vader Placing SW Tales under the “Infinities” label encountering a blasted-apart version of C-3P0, opened up storytelling possibilities for his creation, on Cloud City. Ryder Windham, creators who would have previously been who scripted this poignant tale, explains, obligated to adhere to the official SW “The scene in The Empire Strikes Back with canon and EU timeline. On this note, Chewbacca holding C-3PO’s head while editor Dave Land, who worked on SW in his cell on Cloud City always irked Tales #3–20 (Mar. 2000–June 2004), me a bit because there wasn’t any comments, “Telling Star Wars stories explanation for how C-3PO’s shattered could be a bit oppressive because you parts went from Leia’s quarters to had to fit everything into this really Chewie’s cell. Why didn’t the Imperials dense and complicated continuity. just send the droid’s parts back to the Every little corner seemed to have a junk room? And then it hit me that story that would contradict a story we Vader could have recognized C-3PO wanted to do. Either that or Lucasfilm on Cloud City, and the story pretty rick leonardi would balk at letting an artist create much fell into place from there.” something that was going to become Windham continues, “A lot of people canon in the Star Wars universe—like Tony Millionaire have told me that they count ‘Thank the Maker’ coming up with the backstory for Jar Jar’s father, George among their favorite Star Wars comics, that they found R. Binks. Dropping everything in the non-continuity the story very moving, which was what I’d hoped to ‘Infinities’ box opened up our options and let us come accomplish. It’s relatively easy to tell a story that clarifies up with a truly fun and entertaining book.” some continuity concern, but it’s another thing to make readers connect with Vader on an emotional level.” In SW Tales #19 (Mar. 2004), writer Haden Blackman presents a tale that slyly crosses over with another wildly famous Lucasfilm creation: Indiana Jones! With “Into the Great Unknown,” Han Solo and Chewbacca crash upon an Earth jungle in the late 18th century. Han, in this non-continuity-based story, unfortunately soon dies from arrow wounds, leaving Chewbacca alone to later encounter two characters that are clearly Indiana Jones and Short Round. Blackman reveals, “I really wanted to tell a tongue-in-cheek story that was littered with behind the scenes references and in-jokes. My favorite behind the scenes story is the claim that, while shooting Endor sequences in the Pacific Northwest, Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) wasn’t allowed to wander off alone in costume because the crew was afraid he’d be mistaken for Bigfoot and shot. So that was the idea I started with: What if, in this alternate universe, the real Chewbacca inspired the Sasquatch legend?” For the final four issues of SW Tales, #21–24 (Sept. 2004–June 2005), editor Jeremy Barlow revamped the series. Barlow comments, “For whatever reason, there’s little overlap between fans of Star Wars comics and mainstream comics readers, and I was aiming at crossing that divide by presenting exciting, stand-alone stories that didn’t require an advanced degree in EU continuity.” One of the standout stories of Barlow’s tenure is “Nomad” (SW Tales #21–24). “Nomad,” writer Rob Williams explains, “told the story of Darca Nyl, an ex-mercenary who has turned his back on the life of violence to raise his son in peace. But when his son is murdered by a Sith, Darca takes the lightsaber of a dying Jedi and chases after his son’s killer looking for revenge. Everyone he meets assumes he’s a Jedi because of the saber, but he’s not. And, along the way, he kind of learns some of what it means to be a Jedi.

Walking the Plank Page of painted original art by Kellie Strom from the Mark Schultz-written story “Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc,” from Star Wars Tales #6. Courtesy of Heritage. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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It was meant to be a Western in the Star Wars universe and had some nice elements to it. I was fond of Darca as a character and reintroduced him as an older man into Rebellion #6–10 (May–Sept. 2007).” SW Tales’ “Infinities” label branched over to the Star Wars: Infinities miniseries. Fans of the original Star Wars saga often reach that moment where they wonder “What if?” when it comes to a character’s decision or fate. Since Marvel Comics had been playing the “What if?” game in the series of the same name for years, it was logical when Dark Horse applied the concept to the Original Trilogy beginning with Star Wars: Infinities – A New Hope #1–4 (May–Oct. 2001), where readers are offered an alternate timeline to Episodes IV–VI. Chris Warner, the writer of this mini, reveals, “We’d kicked around the ‘What if?’ idea at Dark Horse for years, and I’d always thought that to do something like this, you should change one key moment in the story that wouldn’t involve characters acting any differently, and, in the case of A New Hope, the idea of the Death Star not being destroyed due to a premature detonation of one of Luke’s missiles seemed like a proper everything changes moment that would still allow for the key characters to have entered the stage and established their relationships. To be honest, once the Death Star survived, the story pretty much wrote itself, which is a rarity for me. I usually sweat bullets getting plots to work.” With the following mini, Star Wars: Infinities – The Empire Strikes Back #1–4 (July–Nov. 2002), writer Dave Land shockingly kills off Luke at the start of the story. As to why he chose to kill off Luke and focus on Leia instead, Land says, “I’ve always thought Luke was whiny and annoying. This was my opportunity to kill him, and I took it! And to me, Leia has much more of a warrior spirit. But besides that, it was just an interesting launching point for an alternate-reality series. With the main character gone, the story was open to take a much different path than the original storyline.”

Closing out this trilogy of alternate stories for Episodes IV–VI is Star Wars Infinities – Return of the Jedi #1–4 (Nov. 2003–Mar. 2004). In terms of some of his imaginative deviations from Jedi’s story, writer Adam Gallardo shows C-3PO being destroyed in Jabba’s palace when it explodes, Yoda dying earlier, Boba Fett fighting Leia and company on Endor, Han being blinded, and Leia joining Luke in his climactic confrontation with the Emperor and Vader. Concerning his thinking behind these decisions, Gallardo comments, “I looked for a moment fairly early in the story as a point of deviation. When you watch the film, that scene, the confrontation between Leia as a bounty hunter confronting Jabba really is pivotal—so much could have gone wrong. I just imagined what would happen if it had! Then, I just imagined what could go wrong from moment to moment. But I had to fit it in the framework of the film. No matter what happened to Luke and his friends, there were always a few things that were going to happen. The Rebels were always going to attack the second Death Star, for instance. So I set up all of these deviations, but I knew I’d need to bring it back to that scene on the Death Star. And, of course, I needed to set up the very last deviation I’d imagined.”

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Bigfoot Begins (left) Star Wars: Infinities #1. (right) The crossover you’ve been waiting for: Indiana Jones “meets” Han Solo in “Into the Great Unknown,” written by Haden Blackman and illustrated by Sean Murphy. From Star Wars Tales #19 (Mar. 2004). © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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IMPERIALS VS. REBELS: DUAL PERSPECTIVES

Bad Dad (left) Detail from Brian Horton’s cover to Empire #4 (Dec. 2002). (right) Brian Ching and Batt’s cover to issue #5, and (inset) Killian Plunkett’s cover to Empire #9. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

In September 2002, as mentioned, Dark Horse Comics added a title to complement the renamed Star Wars: Republic—Star Wars: Empire, which was created to delineate stories occurring before A New Hope and between that film and The Empire Strikes Back. In the opening story arc of Empire #1–4, titled “Betrayal” (Sept.–Dec. 2002), writer Scott Allie offers the scenario of a rebellion fomented by several Imperial Moffs against the Emperor and Vader. For insight upon the genesis behind this story, Allie comments, “That one started with the idea for an image of Vader fighting Stormtroopers on Coruscant. I felt like that was a really compelling idea, on a really simple level. Then it came down to trying to come up with a story that would make such a scene make sense. I opened the story on that image, but as a cheat, a way where it didn’t count, to fake readers out, so they’d think we used it up. But then the whole story is building to the real version of the scene.” Allie, moreover, when asked what this story allowed him to reveal about Darth Vader and his relationship with his master, replies, “I wanted to explore the idea of loyalty between real villains, truly evil guys and deal with the idea that, down deep, the Emperor is much more villainous than Vader.” In Empire #5–6 (Jan.–Feb. 2003), Princess Leia takes the spotlight. For Randy Stradley, who had first written the character with “The Alderaan Factor” in issue #86 (Aug. 1984) of the Marvel series, telling Leia’s story once more was a comfortable process. On this note, Stradley says, “For me, Leia has always been the easiest character to write. Maybe it’s because she’s the one who, right from the beginning, believed in something larger than herself. She didn’t have

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to be convinced that standing against the Empire was the right thing to do—she already knew it to the core of her being. So there’s a lot of strength in her. But if you think about the life she must have led, and how new the Rebellion was, you realize that she’s not drawing on a wealth of experience. So while she believes strongly that she’s on the right path, you can still rub her nose in the realities of war and the actual flesh and blood sacrifices that she’s calling on her followers to make. I think it’s one thing to put yourself at risk, but there’s a different toll to be paid for sending others into danger—especially when you know some of them won’t survive.” He adds, “It’s always interesting to force confident characters to confront doubts they didn’t know they had.” Writer Paul Chadwick and artist Doug Wheatley collaborate on their four-part “Darklighter” story arc in Empire #8–9, 12, and 15 (Apr., June, Sept., and Dec. 2003), which presents the much-needed backstory of a character who made a few brief but memorable appearances in A New Hope: Biggs Darklighter. Chadwick points out, “Biggs had a good scene with Luke in the beginning of the original script, and therefore his death meant something in the Battle of the Death Star. It had to be cut for whatever reason (although it’s memorably restored in the radio-play version that was broadcast on NPR). Honestly, I felt terrible for the actor, Garrick Hagon. Handsome guy, could’ve been launched as a Hollywood leading man. He’s done a million character roles since, so I guess he did okay. But acting in a spirit of compensation, I turned the established arc for the character—returning to the flight academy, then defecting to the Rebel Alliance— into spectacle-loaded drama and crisis of conscience that elevated him to hero status.” Chadwick adds, “The rub was that this had to happen in a couple of weeks, tops, since that’s all the time that passes in

Luke’s life. The Star Wars rule of thumb is that an interplanetary trip takes about a week. Let me tell you— that part was not easy!” Wheatley, who debuted as a Star Wars artist with this story, comments on his learning curve: “I learned very quickly that there was more to Star Wars than the movies. There was this thing called a Star Wars Expanded Universe, and it had a fan base, a very knowledgeable committed fan base, and this fan base was going to hold me accountable for everything that I did in the book. Suddenly, I needed to know things like, ‘Was the X-Wing in action during this time period?’ ‘Was this droid built before or after this event?’ ‘Do these aliens travel the galaxy?’” With Empire #16–18 (Jan.–Apr. 2004) and #36–40 (Aug. 2005–Feb. 2006), readers are given privy to the continuing adventures of “Tank,” a character only fleetingly mentioned by Luke in ANH. Randy Stradley sheds light on why he wished to develop Tank’s character: “Well, first and foremost, I’d always felt that there had to be something good about the Empire that would allow good men to support it. You can’t have an overtly evil organization because 1) it’s too hard to recruit members, and 2) pretty soon the entire galaxy is against you. I mean, look at the facts: Palpatine waited nearly 20 years to disband the Senate. Why? Because Palpatine was all about the long game. He needed to have a generation grow up under his Empire—a generation who felt strongly about the order and security the Empire provided against a galaxy full of aliens and pirates and smugglers. If you place your foot on the galaxy’s throat right out of the gate, you’re going to have instant rebellion, and all the Stormtroopers in the galaxy won’t be enough to maintain order. So, Janek Sunber was an opportunity to show one of the good Imperials—somebody who believes just as strongly in the rightness of his cause as Princess Leia does about hers.” In “General Skywalker,” a two-part tale that runs in Empire #26–27 (Oct.–Nov. 2004), Ron Marz provides the complex scenario of Luke encountering a marooned Clonetrooper who is unaware the Clone Wars are long over and that the Republic has become the Empire. Marz notes, “Obviously, those issues are a riff on the hoary lost Japanese soldier still fighting World War II story. But beyond that, I think I was struck by the depiction of the Stormtroopers in the Original Trilogy and the Clonetroopers in the newer material. Stormtroopers are bad guys, while the Clonetroopers are good guys. That’s a pretty startling difference for, essentially, the same group of characters. So I wanted to play with that difference. How does a Clonetrooper react when he finds out that, in a broad sense, he was once seen as a hero, but is now seen as a villain? The idea was that the character would eventually become a kind of espionage agent for the Rebels, but I didn’t stay on the series long enough for that to come to fruition.”

Another talented creator to contribute to Empire was Jeremy Barlow (writing under the nom de plume “Thomas Andrews”), who wrote Empire #29–30 (Feb.–Mar. 2005) and #32–34 (June–July 2005). With “In the Shadows of Their Fathers,” Barlow presents the story of Luke Skywalker traveling to Jabiim and encountering the long-term repercussions of his father’s mistake in abandoning the planet to the Separatists, which is delineated in Republic #55–58 (June–Nov. 2003). Barlow reveals, “Going back to Jabiim in the Classic Era was Randy Stradley’s idea and was always part of the plan when Haden Blackman was building ‘The Battle of Jabiim.’ After Episode II was released, Randy and I looked for ways to connect the two trilogy eras in the comics. Though, without knowing exactly where Lucasfilm was heading with Episode III and beyond, we had to get creative in how we made those connections.” © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

“The Wrong Side of the War” (right) From Star Wars: Empire #40 (by writer Welles Hartley, penciler David Fabbri, and inker Chrtistian Dalla Vecchia), a tale set only a few months after Star Wars: A New Hope. (above) Empire #27. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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Barlow, in this tale, was also keen to address how children have to eventually address the flaws of their parents as he asserts, “Growing up with the Classic Trilogy, you took for granted that the name Skywalker was associated with grand heroism and epic sacrifice. We wanted to acknowledge that Anakin left behind a less-than-sterling reputation and explore Luke’s first realization that his father wasn’t the great man that Obi-Wan had described him to be, which was a small step on Luke’s journey from being the idealistic and naive farm boy we meet in A New Hope to the grown man we see in Return of the Jedi.” Continuing the storyline from Empire #40 (Feb. 2006), the ongoing series Star Wars: Rebellion further develops the Luke/Tank relationship in issues #0–5 (Mar.–Aug. 2006). Rob Williams, the writer of this story arc, “My Brother, My Enemy,” comments on their dynamic: “Primarily, I think it was two good guys both convinced that they are on the right side. The best villains aren’t usually the moustachetwirling, cackling ones. Tank thought he was trying to bring order to the galaxy. He didn’t think he was the bad guy. But, as the story went on, I think he started to realize that, perhaps, he’d made the wrong choice, but he felt it was too late to turn back. His path was set. Luke was a childhood friend, and when Tank discovered that this person with a personal connection to him was the man responsible for destroying the Death Star, it sent him over the edge. It was a really interesting dynamic.” In the following tale, “The Ahakista Gambit,” which unfolds in Rebellion #6–10 (May–Sept. 2007), Williams introduces us to Wyl Tarson, who provides a different face to the Rebellion. Williams continues, “Again, it’s the shades-of-grey thing. It makes these characters human, even though they’re in extraordinary places. Wyl Tarson was an undercover agent for the Rebellion who’d been living the gangster life so long he’s forgotten which side he was working for. Eventually, he has to make a decision about this path.” The theme of people making decisions is most inspiring in Star Wars when it involves characters such as Luke Skywalker and Han Solo learning to be heroes. In Rebellion #11–14’s “Small Victories” (Jan.–June 2008), Deena Shan joins Luke and Han’s illustrious ranks. Writer Jeremy Barlow exclaims, “That’s what Star Wars is all about— 52 • BACK ISSUE • Licensed Comics Issue

the hero’s journey, the theme of unpromising youth: following a character of modest origin as they embrace their destiny and go on to great things.” Barlow candidly continues, “Deeper than that, scripting ‘Small Victories’ happened while I was at a crossroads in my personal life—I’d decided to leave editing and pursue writing fulltime and was feeling a lot of anxiety about it. Consciously or not, putting Deena through that emotional wringer was my way of working out my own issues and helped me process what I was feeling. That story took on a life of its own—I’d originally planned for Deena not to survive it, but she proved herself more of a fighter than I expected, and I’m glad she made it through. It meant that maybe I’d be okay, too.” The final two issues of Rebellion, #15–16 (July–Aug. 2008), tied into the 12-part Vector crossover. Rob Williams, who returned as scripter, reveals, “The Vector storyline was really the creation of Randy Stradley, John Ostrander, and John Jackson Miller. I was told I had two issues to introduce the Celeste Morne character and to have her interact with Luke, Han, etc,… It was pretty straightforward, from my point of view: Pick her up at point A, and drop her off at point B. But I really liked those two issues. Dustin Weaver did an amazing job on them. I got to write Han and Chewie, and Dustin drew a killer Millennium Falcon.” Senior SW editor Randy Stradley offers more insight concerning Vector, which also ran through Knights of the Old Republic #25–28 (Jan.–May 2008), Dark Times #11–12 (May–June 2008), and Legacy #29–31 (Oct.–Dec. 2008). “The biggest challenge facing us,” Stradley says, “was that all of those series are separated by a span of anywhere from 20 years to thousands of years. And we took great pains from the beginning to make sure that the story fit two criteria: 1) crossover events had to fit in logically with what was currently happening in each series, and 2) each segment had to function as a standalone adventure as well as a chapter in the larger crossover. I was adamant that readers should not feel forced by the crossover to purchase books they wouldn’t ordinarily have bought. In the end, I think it was a successful experiment, but it’s not one I’m in a hurry to repeat—even if we could come up with another plot to make it work.”

CONTEMPORARY STAR WARS DARK HORSE TITLES Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) told the story of Padawan Zayne Carrick for its thrill-packed #0–50 issues (Jan. 2006–Feb. 2010). Writer John Jackson Miller defines Zayne’s character and how he differs from past Jedi: “Where we’ve seen a number of Jedi who aspired to perfection, Zayne is imperfect, and he’s okay with that. If Anakin Skywalker was at the head of the class, Zayne would have been the kid at the other end of the curve. He wasn’t naturally good at his Force skills— we later learn in the series exactly why—and he wasn’t expected to become a Jedi. When, on graduation day, he lucks out and captures the criminal he’s been assigned to catch, Zayne returns to the ceremony in time to find his fellow students dead at their masters’ feet. It’s a conspiracy—and it begins several volumes with Zayne on the run, targeted for assassination by his former teachers. Only the criminals and misfits will help him— which winds up suiting him fine, as Zayne becomes a master con artist. He’s all about misdirection.” Brian Ching, who illustrated many issues of KOTOR, shares his artistic approach to this time period: “We were given a lot of freedom in designing that world. It’s interesting because the story takes place some 4,000 years before the movies, so one would think the technology should look ancient by comparison. But that’s not the case. Time seems to flow a little more slowly in the SW universe. I suppose that may be a byproduct of the prequels coming out decades after the Original Trilogy and with movie FX technology wanting to flex its muscles and show off how cool vehicles and buildings should look. But we went that way and designed things freely. We took some cues from the video games, but, for the most part, we did our own thing. It was actually quite liberating, and we were able to design characters and vehicles to fit out stories.”

If fans were amazed by Dark Horse’s fleshing out of the Star Wars galaxy thousands of years before with KOTOR, they were equally thrilled when the company offered a daring vision of the EU a good 130 years into the future with Star Wars: Legacy #0–50 (June 2006–Aug. 2010) and Legacy: War #1–6 (Dec. 2010–May 2011). The series was written by John Ostrander, who co-plotted the stories with artist Jan Duursema. His and Duursema’s goals in creating Luke Skywalker’s descendent, Cade, who precariously walks the line between the dark and light sides of the Force, were, according to Ostrander, “for a Skywalker whose future you didn’t know. Also, someone who would be different from Luke. Or Anakin. Actually, we started off by thinking ‘What if Han Solo had a lightsaber?’ We were looking for a rogue, and we got one.” Ostrander adds, “The Empire had continued from the movies in the books but had changed; we gave it a new Emperor but one who was not evil. We wanted new Sith—lots of them—so we had to create a way that would happen that was reasonable

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Justice for Renegade Padawan? (left) Cover pencils and (right) finished cover art by Brian Ching for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #32 (Aug. 2008) cover. Colors by Michael Atiyeh. Special thanks to Brian Ching. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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In the Dark (left) Detail from Doug Wheatley’s cover to Dark Times #13 (Apr. 2009). (right) Travis Charest’s cover to Dark Times #11 (May 2008). (inset) Knights #48 cover by Benjamin Carre. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

and logical within the context of the EU. We did a lot of thinking and then re-thinking on the setting for Legacy.” As for the new Sith, Ostrander charts their evolution under their newest leader, Darth Krayt: “The Sith as we know them grew out of the Jedi Order, where they were originally simply Dark Jedi. They lost the argument and the fight with the Jedi and fled to Korriban, where there was already a race of beings called the Sith. The Dark Jedi became the Dark Lords of the Sith—or simply, Sith. And there were a lot of them. Then there was another big fight with the Jedi, and the Sith were almost wiped out. Darth Bane re-founded the Sith with the ‘Rule of Two.’ Darth Krayt adapted all this into a third vision— the One Sith, which was the Sith Order itself, and Krayt was the undisputed head of it.” In October 2006, Dark Times debuted in the wake of Republic ending. Dass Jennir, a Jedi introduced in Republic #79–80 (Oct.–Nov. 2005) with the two-part “Into the Unknown,” would go on to be the star of this new ongoing series. When asked how Dark Times came about, Randy Stradley (who initially wrote the series under the pen names of Welles Hartley and Mick Harrison) jokingly responds, “Are you kidding? There’s a 19-year gap in Star Wars continuity! Nature—and Star Wars fans—abhor a vacuum. The trick is to have patience and to give the characters’ stories time to unfold naturally. There’s a great temptation, I’ve noticed, among Star Wars writers to want to rush in and fill in every gap. I want to be careful not to pave over the whole thing—to leave room for future writers to play in the arena, and to make sure I don’t cover so much ground that George Lucas himself won’t some-

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day have to plow under everything I’ve done. So, I’m only telling the story of Jedi Master Dass Jennir and the characters he meets along the way, and not the story of the whole galaxy during the time period.” Illustrating many of Dark Times’ stories is Doug Wheatley, who comments, “Randy’s book is about real people dealing with horrible, unbelievable circumstances that have profound effects on the characters throughout the story, and the genius of it is these stories are taking place in the shadow of the newly born Empire, and its nightmare front man, Darth Vader. It is Vader’s presence that Randy uses to his advantage, this Dark Wizard, death incarnate, this fear that is slowly choking the life out of the galaxy, becoming more potent as each issue is read. I am lucky to have been a part of this book.” Tying into LuscasArts and Bioware’s multiplayer online game of the same name, Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) is one of Dark Horse’s newest titles at this writing. Alexander Freed, who works as a writer for both the game and the comic, helps ensure the narrative transitions between the two mediums. In regard to Teneb Kel’s rise to power as a Sith Lord in SWTOR #4–6’s (Oct.– Dec. 2010) “Blood of the Empire” storyline, Freed replies, “What makes Teneb’s story a bit different is that he’s Sith from the start—we’re seeing the making of a villain (one who plays a major role in the Old Republic video game) who isn’t gradually corrupted or suffers a fall. Teneb is part of a dark society from the beginning, and when his temptation comes, it’s in the form of compassion and light.” Freed also discusses Theron Shan’s journey in the second SWTOR mini’s story arc, “The Lost Suns” (#1–5, June–Oct. 2011): “Theron was another attempt to do a twist on the classic Star Wars journey. Family, and how family defines our destiny, is one of the major themes of Star Wars. Theron is a character who’s the son of a great Jedi, but who isn’t able to use the Force. Through him, we get to explore what happens when you simply can’t

Light(saber)ing the Way (left) Invasion – Revelations #1 (July 2011) cover. Art by Chris Scalf. (right) Joe Quinones’ cover art to Knight Errant #5 (Feb. 2011). (below) Blood Ties #1 cover. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

meet the expectations set upon you. How do you create your own destiny out of necessity, instead of simply embracing your heritage or rebelling against it? How do you define yourself when your old definitions fail?” The past of the Star Wars EU is likewise explored with Knight Errant #1–5’s “Aflame” story arc (Oct. 2010–Feb. 2011), in which writer John Jackson Miller takes readers back 1,032 years before A New Hope. Miller explains, “It’s really the dark ages for the Republic, when warring Sith Lords have taken over vast stretches of the galaxy. The Republic and Jedi have all but abandoned these areas— but not Kerra Holt.” Continuing his explanation of Kerra’s heroic impetus, Miller states, “She’s repeatedly confronted with situations where she might be able to make a strategic difference in the war between the Sith and the Republic—if only she sacrifices the lives of the innocents who are caught in the middle. Kerra realizes early on that she can’t do everything on her own, and she has to be satisfied with small victories—and so more often than not, she’s cast in the role of delivering refugees to safety. It’s not what she wants to do—but no one is getting to do what they want to do out in Sith space!” For readers wanting to read more of Kerra Holt’s journey, they can follow her in Miller’s novel Star Wars: Knight Errant (Del Rey 2011), which takes place between Knight Errant #1–5 and the follow-up mini, Knight Errant – Deluge #1–5 (2011).

The writer of Blood Ties #1–4 (Aug.–Nov. 2010), Tom Taylor, is a newer addition to the ranks of talented Star Wars scribes at Dark Horse. Taylor comments on this inter-generational tale involving bounty hunter Jango Fett and his son/clone, Boba: “I think Blood Ties is important because it gives us more of a chance to see the relationship of these two enormous characters in the Star Wars mythos. Star Wars is largely a story about good and evil and fathers and sons, and this uniquely morally grey father/son team just didn’t get enough screen time together. With Blood Ties, we see some of the questionable ways a father trained a son to be the most infamous bounty hunter in the galaxy, and we manage to give them more screen time together. We also blow a lot of things up, and there’s a Rancor. More Rancor-fight time is always important.” Star Wars: Invasion (2009–2011), an ongoing series of minis (Refugees, Rescues, and Revelations), also scripted by Taylor, delineates the Galfridian family’s struggle against the invading Yuuzhan Vong. “First and foremost,” Taylor reveals, “I wanted the heroes of Invasion to be Licensed Comics Issue

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Vader: Year One (left) One of the primo X-Men teams of the BACK ISSUE era—penciler Rick Leonardi and inker Dan Green—delivers the goods, with writer Haden Blackman, on page 1 of Darth Vader and the Lost Command #3 (Mar. 2011). (right) From Jedi Dark Side #2, by writer Scott Allie and artist Mahmud Asrar. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

refugees of the war. Too often, and too easily, in our world, refugees are seen as a problem, while the actual problem they’re fleeing is ignored. With Invasion, I wanted the people displaced by the war to be seen, not just as a problem or as victims, but as heroes. I wanted our refugees to fight back!” Taylor adds, “With Artorias, we created an entire planet which welcomed all under the banner of peace. We created a planet that rejected war, slavery, and oppression. We essentially created an entire population with a belief that was a polar opposite to the Yuuzhan Vong, and then we had the Yuuzhan Vong come and stomp and burn and tear them and their beliefs to pieces. As the royal family of Artorias, The Galfridians had an even larger ownership of the planet and its ideals, making them the perfect candidates to be our main characters. By taking their home and their family members away, we gave them all reasons to fight. And then we filled every family member with shocking secrets.” An early story of Darth Vader adjusting to his new status as a Dark Lord of the Sith is provided with Darth Vader and the Lost Command #1–5 (Jan.–May 2011). Haden Blackman, the writer of this tale, argues, “I really felt like there were a few things we could still explore about Vader: 1) his realization that being Vader is both painful and horrific; 2) his raw grief and guilt surrounding Padme’s death; 3) his regret over the decisions he’s made; and 4) his uncertainty about his place in the Empire and his relationship with Palpatine, which is really all he has left. For me, that’s the real tragedy of Vader—he has given up everything for Palpatine, including his body, his wife, and his children; and yet Palpatine treats him (at this time

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anyway) as unproven at best and broken at worst. So I wanted to put him in a situation where he has to prove himself, but is challenged with more than just a physical mission—the quest has to challenge him emotionally, too. And ultimately, he has to make a decision that closes the door on Anakin and solidifies him as Darth Vader.” Artist Rick Leonardi also comments on this mini: “Critical to this story is the notion that Vader is having occasional visions, in which he wistfully sees the life he could have had, but refused by turning to the Dark Side of the Force. Only in these dreams does Padme linger for him still, and only here does he retain any of his humanity. These visions are invaded by Lady Saro and turned to her own purposes at the end of the story, which completes Vader’s descent into despair and hands him utterly over to Sidious and his new life as a galactic mass-murderer.” In terms of his art techniques for this sequence, Leonardi states, “By printing these dream pages from pencil, my hope was these scenes would strongly contrast in look and tone against Vader’s waking life, and that, at the climax, when dream finally meets reality, there’d be a visual collision to match.” He adds, ”Dan Green and I did our best to evoke Al Williamson and the look he gave to his Star Wars strip work.” Jedi: Dark Side #1–5 (May–Sept. 2011) presents the adventures of a younger Qui-Gon Jinn. Writer Scott Allie, when asked what we discover about Qui-Gon in this story arc, replies, “We learn who he is. When we meet him in Episode I, he’s a stoic, reserved, mature Jedi Master, whose emotions are in check, and behavior entirely under control. He doesn’t reveal himself; he

doesn’t betray himself in the ways that normal people can’t help but do. In this story, he’s young, and he’s facing some failure and tragedy, and he doesn’t yet really understand the Force, which causes him to act much more human, in interesting ways.” John Ostrander returns as the writer for Agent of the Empire (2011–2012), which, he reveals, “sort of combines James Bond with Star Wars.” Ostrander continues, “I love doing genre mash-ups, and doing spy stories set in the Star Wars galaxy, especially of the classic era, really attracted me. It allows me to use classic characters like Han and Chewie without them being the center of the story, which, given all that has been written about them at this point, would be hard to pull off. Also, again, we know what happens to them, so it’s hard to play with them in a way that creates any real suspense.” He adds, “If you’re going in a Bond sort of direction, then you’re going to go Imperial. It’s what fits the spy side the best, and it gives us a chance to see the era from that perspective. Jahan Cross is our central character. He is very definitely an Imperial, but there are reasons why and it’s not because he’s evil and likes to kick Ewoks. He believes in order because he has known chaos, and the Empire represents Order. Big time. Those who fight against the Empire represent, to him, chaos.”

AN ALL-AGES SAGA! Dark Horse is attuned to the fact that Star Wars has both children and adults audiences, and offers readers two series of all-ages digest-sized books: The Clone Wars Adventures series, which concentrates on the Prequel Trilogy era, and Star Wars Adventures, which focuses on characters from the Original Trilogy. Editor Randy Stradley explains the mindset behind these series: “Our plan from the beginning was to create a parent-friendly package— something that looks like it’s for kids. But the instructions I give writers is to not speak down to the readers. I ask them to write with the same emotional intensity as they would if the story was for our regular comics readers. Kids don’t want to read stuff intended for them; they want to read the same stuff their big brothers and sisters are reading. We give the kids what they want, and give the parents what they think they want.” In regard to The Clone Wars – The Starcrusher Trap (July 2011), writer Mike W. Barr says, “I sold a prose story, ‘Death In the Catacombs,’ to Star Wars Insider #79 (Nov.–Dec. 2004), in which I created Jedi Knight Jyl Somtay. Randy allowed me to use that character in The Starcrusher Trap.” Barr adds, “I wrote Trap pretty much as I would have written a comics story for an all-ages audience. Jyl is a contemporary of Anakin Skywalker, and so has a point of view of him that’s different than any of the other characters. To her, he’s not the Chosen One, her Master, or her Padawan—they’re more like brother and sister.” Shawn and Matt Fillbach, who illustrated this story and have written and drawn numerous Clone Wars Adventures, also comment, “Being even the smallest part of the Star Wars universe has been one of the highlights of our professional lives. One of the things that we have loved over the course of doing these books has been traveling around the country for signings and conventions and meeting the fans. Everywhere we have gone, parents tell us how they love reading the digest books with their children and even that their kids have learned to read from them! Just as Star Wars affected us in so many ways as children, it’s amazing to see its continued influence on new generations.” Jeremy Barlow, who scripted Star Wars Adventures: Han Solo and the Hollow Moon of Khorya (Apr. 2009),

echoes Stradley’s, Barr’s, and the Fillbach Brothers’ all-ages sentiments when he asserts, “It’s always bothered me that all-ages is taken to mean dumbed down for children. You should tone down the language and level of violence, sure, but there’s no reason to hold back or oversimplify your stories for younger readers. Pixar has proven that good storytelling transcends age demographics, and that’s inspired and informed how I approach those Adventures digests. I try to picture what a Pixar Star Wars story would look like and go from there. Writing a Han Solo and Chewbacca adventure was a blast. Comics need more Han Solo!” On a final note, it is important to mention that even black-hearted villains can be featured in Star Wars Adventures, as seen in The Will of Darth Vader (Aug. 2010). Tom Taylor, who scripted this story, reveals, “I wanted to write Vader as I knew him to be, the biggest bad-ass in the galaxy, but I needed this to be an all-ages title. Throwing him together with the free-spirited, irreverent smuggler, Luca, meant Vader could be Vader to the extreme while we also had someone who kept the book fun and was able to do what all jesters have done throughout time: mock and speak the truth to power.”

Broad Demographic (left) Rick Lacy’s Han-and-Chewie cover to Star Wars Adventures: Han Solo and the Hollow Moon of Khorya (Apr. 2009). (right) Art from Star Wars Adventures #3.

Dark Horse, with over two decades’ experience of successfully publishing Star Wars comics, has proven itself to be a perfect match for George Lucas’ wondrous universe! Looking forward to their future comic-book contributions to the Star Wars Extended Universe, we know that the Force will undoubtedly be strong with this innovative company!

TOM POWERS, a college composition instructor, spontaneously crouches down while he’s teaching, and, with his best Yoda voice, tells his students, “Unlearn you must bad writing habits. Only then a good writer you will be!”

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“Look at this. It’s worthless—ten dollars from a vendor in the street. But I take it, I bury it in the sand for a thousand years, it becomes priceless.” – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

® by

Mark DiFruscio

Comic-book collectors, like archaeologists, tend to be inordinately preoccupied with the past. A very special form of patience and dedication is required to spend countless hours sifting through a sea of polybagged detritus and sepia-toned nostalgia in hopeful anticipation of rescuing some precious panelological artifact from its musty longbox tomb. Yet as any obtainer of rare of antiquities can surely attest, unearthing time’s discarded fragments from the soil of neglect can become a lifelong obsession. And no character in popular fiction more colorfully exemplifies this quixotic hunt for prized relics and lost treasures than that of archaeologist/ adventurer Indiana Jones. Myriad creative influences coalesced in the conception of Indiana Jones, first introduced in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, including the Saturday matinee movie serials that so greatly inspired filmmakers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, as well as pulp magazine proto-superheroes like Doc Savage, H. Rider Haggard’s safari hunter Allan Quatermain, Ian Fleming’s superspy James Bond, and even real-life adventurers such as Hiram Bingham and T. E. Lawrence. Of course, comic books— that close descendant of the pulps—also played an integral role in the creation of Indiana Jones, most directly in the form of legendary comics artist Jim Steranko, who illustrated the concept designs upon which the character’s distinctive appearance was based. Befitting these ties to the medium, Indiana Jones promptly made his four-color debut in Marvel Comics’ Raiders of the Lost Ark #1 (Sept. 1981). Written by Walter Simonson and penciled by the inestimable John Buscema, the three-issue limited series offered a faithful and entertaining graphic adaptation of the blockbuster film. Yet Simonson, an award-winning artist, was hardly an obvious choice for scripter considering his relative lack of solo-writing experience at the time, with just four issues of Marvel’s Battlestar Galactica under his belt. As Simonson recounted in his interview with Roger Ash in TwoMorrows’ Modern Masters vol. 8: “Archie [Goodwin] was supposed to write the adaptation. He was buried in work, as he often was. He stopped me in the hall one day and asked if I’d be interested in writing this adaptation of a new movie about to come out called Raiders of the Lost Ark, because he’d read the issues of Battlestar Galactica [written by Simonson] and he’d really liked them … Raiders was writing over John Buscema. John is one of the two or three best storytellers and draftsmen comics have ever had… When I got the artwork back, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. It really was. I had the script, I had John Buscema’s layouts; it was hard to go wrong. It was really a delight.”

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Whip It! (left) A Howard Chaykin-illustrated montage graced the cover of the 1981 color magazine Marvel Super Special #18, collecting the Walt Simonson/John Buscema/Klaus Janson adaptation of Raiders of the Lost Ark. (right) Terry Austin’s snappy cover to the premiere issue of Indiana Jones (Jan. 1983). Indiana Jones © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

“SOMETHING’S GONE WRONG AGAIN!” In sharp contrast to Simonson’s delightful experience on the Raiders adaptation, creator John Byrne had a far more vexing time as writer and artist on The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones #1 (Jan. 1983), the first issue of Marvel’s follow-up ongoing series. Although Byrne had previously established himself as a fan favorite at Marvel with popular runs on Uncanny X-Men and Avengers, his work on The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones has become something of a footnote in comics history due to his speedy exit from the title after just two issues. When contacted by BACK ISSUE for comment on his brief stint, Byrne’s reply was fittingly curt, saying only, “I’d just as soon forget I ever worked on this! And on THAT you can quote me!” To read a detailed explanation from Byrne himself, he does divulge the specific reasons for his departure on his website www.byrnerobotics.com. However, as other sources have also described (such as Brian Cronin’s long-running online column Comic Book Legends Revealed), the main conflict stemmed from Byrne’s problematic dealings with Lucasfilm’s licensing liaison, which seemed to have difficulty grasping the lead time required to publish a monthly comic book, as evidenced by a reported habit of demanding major changes after the artwork had already been finished and approved.

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Nonetheless, it remains a tantalizing point of conjecture to theorize on just how differently the book might have fared had it continued under the direction of Byrne given his splendid success revitalizing Fantastic Four and Superman during these same years. In the wake of Byrne’s resignation, contentious dealings with Lucasfilm would set the stage for a routine of instability and creative turnover on the book, eventually leading to its quiet demise at the House of Ideas with The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones #34 (Mar. 1986). Indeed, this final issue is rather apropos of the series itself given its title, “Something’s Gone Wrong Again!” In retrospect, Further Adventures can be characterized as a trouble-plagued expedition from the start, which ultimately failed to match the success of Marvel’s other high-profile licensed properties like Star Wars, Conan the Barbarian, and G.I. Joe. Offering some insight into the reasons for this is Eliot R. Brown, who worked on the book for much of its history. After initially serving as an assistant to series editor Louise “Weezie” Simonson (nee Jones), Brown was promoted to series editor himself with Further Adventures #14 (Feb. 1984). Yet by Brown’s own admission, it was a role he was ill prepared to assume, causing him to be fired off the book after just eight issues.

“MR. TECHNICAL” Although longtime Marvel staffer Brown, a.k.a. “Mr. Technical,” is primarily known for his technical drawings on encyclopedic guides such as the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe and Iron Man’s Iron Manual, he actually got his start at Marvel as a typesetter on regular features like “Bullpen Bulletins,” a monthly column written by Marvel’s then-editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. [Editor’s note: Learn more about Eliot by reading BACK ISSUE #32.] In fact, the premiere issue of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones included a “Bullpen Bulletins” wherein Shooter specifically singled out Brown for praise within the Marvel

offices, opining, “Eliot is our resident technical expert. down from on high. But I was lucky enough to have never If something’s broken, he can fix it—if you’ve got a had them given directly to me—everything I knew I got problem, he can solve it. He draws—and he’s especially from Weezie, tossed over her shoulder as we were dashing good at technical drawing, like blueprints, diagrams, from book to book. [But] it was hard working with cutaways, mechanical drawings—he inks, he colors, Lucasfilm, getting scripts to them with time enough he designs, he does boardwork, and other stuff, too, for changes, and they didn’t want anything of theirs that I can’t think of. Best of all, he’s a real trouper changed or even suggested at—situations who’s stayed here at the office all night many but especially if it involved their characters. times helping desperate artists and editors David Michelinie, I believe, was the writer make deadlines.” Adding a further layer during those middle books, and was a of irony to the proceedings is the fact great believer in using the movie that it was this very tendency—namely characters. Michelinie coped very well Brown’s willingness to do whatever it within the system—he seemed to have takes to make a deadline—that finally any number of alternate plots lined up led to his dismissal from the book. and could fire them off like a machine, In talking with BACK ISSUE about which was the sort of thing needed to his experiences on Further Adventures, keep up with re-writes and approvals. Brown recalls, “I had become Weezie’s “[So] I never had to worry with a assistant sometime in 1983, so I not guy like Michelinie doing the writing,” JOHN BYRNE only read [the early issues], I pored Brown continues. “He was a bloodied over them! In #1, I took home some vet of the process and had proved pages to do backgrounds on—if you flexible with plenty of alternate ideas look carefully you can see a balding fellow with rattling around. Dave did a masterful job of working within round glasses in the crowd wearing a shirt that looks these awful confines—his Indy books are quite good.” suspiciously like Indy’s. [This balding fellow would be As Michelinie settled into place as the regular writer on Eliot “Massachusetts” Brown, who makes a return the series, the art reins were passed in quick succession appearance in Further Adventures #13 (Jan. 1984) via a from Byrne to Gene Day, Richard Howell, Ron Frenz, one-page humor strip called Raiders of the Late Book.] Howard Chaykin, and finally Kerry Gammill, who almost With respect to Lucasfilm’s involvement, Brown adds, became the regular penciler. Notwithstanding some truly “The storylines did have concerns that had been handed stellar contributions on his part, Gammill left the book Licensed Comics Issue

No Smoking Zone (left) Writer/penciler John Byrne’s Dr. Jones is quite sure of himself on this page from Indiana Jones #1. Inks by Austin. (right) A dastardly dip awaits our hero on the Byrne/Austin cover to issue #2. Indiana Jones © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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Exit, Stage Right! (left) Original art to an interior page of issue #6, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). Written by David Michelinie, with art by Chaykin and Austin. (right) That art team returned for the cover of Indiana Jones #8 (Aug. 1983). Indiana Jones © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

after only a handful of issues due to his inability to meet Ikammanen, a stopover at Stonehenge to unlock the deadlines. “The exact timing is fuzzy,” Brown reminisces, mysteries of an antediluvian artifact, a madcap reunion “but I do know we all loved Kerry Gammill’s work. with Marion Ravenwood in Manhattan for the opening [Unfortunately] he was so durned late that it just of her new nightclub, and a clash with Nazis in hurt to keep using him. The comic schedule the African Congo hunting for a mythical lost was implacable and, once unbalanced, tribe of Atlantis. This was then followed by a continued to rack up lateness. Eventually, clever callback to the original film in Further Weezie felt she had to drop the title … Adventures #9–10 (Sept.–Oct. 1983), she’d had enough. The kaleidoscope of where Indy ventures to Marrakesh to pencilers and inkers was getting us all retrieve the idol stolen from him by crazy. The deadlines were killing the rival Belloq at the beginning of artists. [Inker] Sam de la Rosa sent in a Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indy’s movie page that was only three-quarters cohort Sallah also joins him for this inked! There were about two panels escapade, as does another new penciler still in pencils. The use of FedEx meant in the form of Dan Reed. Before that you could literally be stuffing wet long, Luke McDonnell would also be artwork in a box and sealing it as you enlisted into the crowded art ranks ELIOT R. BROWN ran to the pick-up box minutes before to assist the tardy Gammill. the guy pulled up to collect it!” “Everything that came before my Meanwhile, Indy himself managed to stay busy with #14 was all Weezie’s fault!” Brown proclaims in mock his further adventuring, which included an action-packed protest. “Gammill gave us some trouble, forcing us to excursion to Liberia in search of the golden Ikons of use several inkers. When it did come my turn [as editor], I had a few setbacks—Luke McDonnell took a penciling assignment and handed it back untouched three weeks later, putting me in a hell of a position. Me and my schedule may never have recovered from that event.”

ANKLING THE PROJECT Amidst this revolving door of pencilers, writer Michelinie proved to be a stabilizing force, remaining with Further Adventures for almost two years. Coming on the heels of his popular run on Star Wars, Michelinie began his Indy tenure with Further Adventures #4 (Apr. 1983) and later penned the adaptations of both Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Sept.–Nov. 1984) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Aug. 1989). “In all honesty, I don’t remember exactly how I came to get that assignment,”

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Autographed Edition (left) Marion Ravenwood herself, actress Karen Allen, signed this copy of Indy #7 (July 1983), one of several issues featuring cover blurbs identifying the hero’s source material. Cover art by Ron Frenz and Danny Bulanadi. (right) Bret Blevins drew the cover to issue #13 (Jan. 1984). Indiana Jones © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

Michelinie says now. “Initially, Further Adventures was edited by Louise delighted when Howard actually got the assignment. I’d met him at a [Simonson], who had been my editor on the Star Wars comic. So she party way early in my career, when he was already a popular artist and I may have thought of me through that connection. had just had a couple of House of Mystery stories published. He was “Of course, I’d seen Raiders, several times in fact,” Michelinie says. gracious and personable, a gentleman, and, of course, I had a great deal “And the one element that stood out when coming up with new of respect for his talent. That’s still one of my favorite issues of the book.” stories evolving from what was established in the movie was the This same issue also includes a plotting credit for Archie Goodwin, characters. Indiana Jones himself was terrific, an irresistible combination as do several subsequent issues. Michelinie explains that this stemmed of heroism and human foibles, a guy who would take on savage from an unrealized Indy project: “Archie had written up a number of short tribesmen or Nazi storm troopers—and win—but would cringe at plot concepts for what I believe was to be an Indiana Jones newspaper the idea of sharing his cockpit seat with a snake; a guy as comfortable strip that never happened. When I was given the assignment to write the in an Ivy League classroom as he was in a South American jungle. regular Indy series, Archie graciously offered me these concepts to use if I And with such a solid supporting cast as Marion Ravenwood, wanted to. And, being no fool (since Archie Goodwin was one of Marcus Brody, Sallah, and so many others, the possibilities the best writers comics has been fortunate enough to have), for character-driven stories was enormous.” I took him up on that for issues #6, 9 through 10, and 13.” Due perhaps to his previous experience on the Star Alas, #13, wherein Dr. Jones stumbles upon a criminal Wars comic, Michelinie had little trouble navigating the conspiracy during an archaeology fieldtrip, begat licensing concerns involved with Indy, maintaining, another new artist, Ricardo Villamonte. A young “I don’t recall any specific restrictions dictated by David Mazzucchelli then replaced Villamonte for #14 Lucasfilm. They pretty much approved what we (Feb. 1984), which sees Indy and Marion contending submitted. Of course, that might have been different with a demonically possessed museum archivist. if I’d come up with a story about sacred stones being “I believe that the Mazzucchelli pencil job was his stolen in India and children being kidnapped by a first assignment at Marvel,” editor Brown points out. Kali cult!” As for the constantly changing art teams, “It was a fill-in, so he had a pre-approved script and he observes, “I really don’t know why there was could take his time to do it. It had sat in the drawer such a variety of artists. Fortunately, the quality of for a while. This means that it was most likely not DAVID MICHELINIE whomever we got for any given issue was generally his first published work … Mazzucchelli had moved high. I think having the look of the book change upward and onward by then.” every issue or two could have had an effect on the readership, but more With Further Adventures #15 (Mar. 1984), the series reached a major on the collector than the actual reader. I guess this is natural turning point in its short history, as Marvel mainstay and famed coming from a writer, but my feeling is that consistency in tone and Incredible Hulk artist Herb Trimpe became the new regular penciler, characterization has a bigger impact on whether a reader comes back handpicked by Brown himself. The move soon caused creative friction issue after issue than what the art actually looks like.” with Michelinie, though, prompting the writer to do as so many others Interestingly, even one of Michelinie’s most memorable collaborations before him and exit the series. Yet Michelinie continued to be credited on the series—with guest-artist Howard Chaykin on Further Adventures for several months thereafter as the series’ plotter. “Jim Owsley’s #6 (June 1983)—was itself the result of a change in guest artists. “I was scripts over my plots were the result of my leaving the book,” actually told initially that Alex Toth would be drawing that issue,” Michelinie clarifies. “Those stories were from plots that I didn’t get to Michelinie reveals. “I don’t know why that didn’t pan out, but I was script before I (as they say in Daily Variety) ‘ankled the project.’” Licensed Comics Issue

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The Problem with Poindexter (left) Early art job by David Mazzucchelli, who would later go on to illustrate “Batman: Year One” and “Daredevil: Born Again.” From Indiana Jones #14 (Feb. 1984), inks by “The Saint.” (right) A high-flying biplane sequence from #15, illo’ed by Herb Trimpe and Vince Colletta. Original art courtesy of Heritage. Indiana Jones © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

[Tom] DeFalco office and saw the pages come trotting THE CARDINAL SIN OF COMICS Prior to his unhappy exodus, Michelinie did manage to in all by themselves, putting a rubber band around themproduce some strong stories with Trimpe, including a selves and jumping in the drawers! I really hadn’t dealt sea adventure guest-starring Captain Katanga from with the problem children like Indy—as an assistant, I was Raiders, followed by an epic quest spanning the Greek not really a part of the thought processes Weezie used. I mostly looked at piles of finished pages as a proofreader. Isles to the Himalayas as Indy tries to uncover whether Weezie would call upon guys whom she knew his mentor, Abner Ravenwood, might still be had time on their hands, to jump on in the alive. Unfortunately, this was the beginning nick of time. That’s how Luke McDonnell of the end, not only for Michelinie but penciled with Gammill. With a guy like also in some ways for Eliot Brown, and Michelinie, you didn’t have to help him possibly the series as a whole. in any way—he got everything right In light of this, Brown displays a the first time. In my innocence, I saw truly admirable level of self-deprecating the writing as the most difficult part. good humor with regard to his unsucIn thinking back I see now that getting cessful turn as editor. “During one the book done in record time each editorial meeting,” he describes, “I recall issue—all because of Lucasfilm’s Weezie wanted to give up the book. lateness—was the real difficult part.” Shooter looked around and no one Complicating matters further was else wanted a pain-in-the-neck licensed the fact that Brown initially hoped title, either. For some reason, I shot HERB TRIMPE to take the series in an entirely new up my hand and volunteered. I guess creative direction: “As a new editor I I was mindful of Marvel as a so-so licensor—something like Star Trek contributing the thought I had one prerogative, which was to ‘sweep negative aspects—and felt that this franchise was rolling clean.’ I wanted a fresh start, a new look, and to try to along nicely. I couldn’t mess it up with the team in place… build a team. I wanted to use Herb Trimpe as a writer/ “So there I was, committing the cardinal sin of comics: penciler/inker. [Herb] personified the very action-oriented volunteering,” Brown says. “And editing, no less. But I character that was Jones. Herb Trimpe was a raw-boned have to speak of comic-book editing, especially back then. vet who flew his own Stearman biplane! He was an Editing could be as easy as herding the pages around like aficionado of the beginnings of the Great Air Age in this a ringmaster—occasionally applying a light whip here and country—not just a man after my own tastes, but a chum. there. It was supposed to be! I had spent some time in the I heard some of his crazier ideas and thought they lined

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up nicely with the whole franchise. When I told this to Michelinie, he took it with a certain good grace and went straight to his buddy Jim Shooter to ask him to intercede between us. I acquiesced, of course, but things were definitely a little cooler between David and myself.” For his part, Michelinie cites several specific instances provoking his decision to leave the book, arguing that Brown “revered Herb as one of the original Marvel artists. And he basically went way, way out of his way to keep Herb happy. And this came at the expense of my part of the creative process. This started in issue #15, where I had a scene where a female pirate had hijacked Captain Katanga’s ship and was trying to force him to help her. I called for the pirate to slit the throat of one of Katanga’s men. Weeks after the plot was approved, I got a call from the editor saying that Herb refused to draw that scene, because ‘a woman wouldn’t do that.’ And the editor said he agreed, even though he hadn’t had any problem with that scene when he approved the plot. So I had to rewrite the scene to have the female pirate order one of her men to do the killing.” Michelinie continues, “In the next issue, #16, there was a visual error toward the end of the story [where] two ships were drawn in the wrong positions or some such, making what happened to them later either impossible or illogical. I called the editor, made my point, and he agreed. When the book came out the last two pages looked markedly different from the rest of the book, almost amateurish. When I questioned the editor about it, he admitted that he himself had redrawn the pages—he hadn’t wanted to upset Herb by asking him to do the redraws. “But the last straw came with issue #17 (May 1984),” Michelinie reveals. “The plot was pretty dense, and I didn’t know if it would fit comfortably into 22 pages. So I indicated that one scene could be cut if there wasn’t room for it. It was a character scene, and would have added depth, but wasn’t essential for telling the story. When I received the first half of the pencils to script, I noticed that that scene had been omitted, so I assumed the artist had felt there was too much story to draw. But when I got the second half of the pencils, I realized there were only 21 pages. When I called the editor I was told that Herb said there wasn’t enough story so he’d drawn a poster page to fill out the 22-page story length. Obviously, the only reason there wasn’t enough story to fill 22 pages was because Herb had eliminated part of that story. Then, a few weeks later when I was scripting issue #18, the second half of that two-parter, I saw the poster Herb had drawn. Was it an action shot, full of danger and thrills, oozing the Indiana Jones adventure vibe? No, it was a shot of two tiny figures of Indy and Marion staring up at biplanes at an air show. As many people know, Herb’s passion at the time was flying biplanes, so he’d cut the character scene so he could draw something he liked to draw.

Executive Order (top) This three-panel sequence from issue #15 featured alterations of David Michelinie’s script and was one of a series of problems leading to the writer quitting the book. (right) Herb Trimpe’s terrific original cover to #16 (Apr. 1984), courtesy of Heritage. Indiana Jones © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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Last Crusades (left) Jackson “Butch” Guice’s adaptation of 1984’s Temple of Doom (seen here in Marvel Super Special #30) was smartly illustrated, but the licensor disapproved of the artist’s rendition of star Harrison Ford. (right) Marvel’s final issue of Indiana Jones, #34 (Mar. 1986). Cover art by Keith Pollard. Indiana Jones © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

“The most important thing for anyone working on a comic-book story—writer, artist, editor, colorist, etc.—is the STORY,” contends Michelinie. “And when that story is compromised for self-serving reasons, and that compromise is allowed by the person ostensibly in control, that’s when I walk out the door. Which I did. (Ironically, when issue #17 came out, the poster was absent. Instead there were two pages of letters instead of one. I don’t know why, but I suspect somewhere along the line someone else agreed that the poster wasn’t really Indiana Jones material.)” Upon hearing Michelinie’s account, Trimpe replies affably, “I’m laughing my ass off. I would never dispute what Dave said, I just never realized I gave anybody that much trouble! It sounds like I’m committing the kind of unprofessional behavior that I normally hate. Damn, I’m almost proud of myself. Only thing I can add is, David has a much better memory than I do, and I’m very sorry he felt compelled to quit. I can’t plead the 5th, but I really don’t remember any of it.” Yet Trimpe does go on to note, “Eliot was a big booster of mine, and I of him. Other than that, it’s hard to believe that an editor was afraid to ask me to make changes, as I was very easy to work with. Too easy according to some.” Likewise, Brown asserts, “As for Herb changing some of Dave’s plotting, I have no doubt that Herb felt he could improve on something that Dave wrote and did. [But] I also don’t believe that Dave ever spoke to me about that subject or any other—save for mild niceties at encounters in the office. Which was too bad, as I rather enjoyed Michelinie as a raconteur and comics pro… In any event, I was frustrated that I could not exercise my editorial will and just rode it out.”

UPSTAIRS/DOWNSTAIRS As it turned out, the ride would be a short one for Brown, whose inexperience as editor finally caught up to him under the perpetual crush of monthly deadlines. “My departure was a demonstration of how removed from office procedure and protocols I was,” he acknowledges. “I had worked with the Marvel Universe gang and learned some bad habits. Getting the book done was the biggie. I realized, like a buffoon, that I had no cover for #20. No matter! I went home, traced an image of Indiana running from the Hovitos from Raiders and returned to the office to lay out the art. Jack Morelli, longtime letterer and close friend, was working

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late and had a wet pen in hand—he started inking. [So] I thought nothing of attaching a voucher for myself (Jack wished to lay low) and handed in the page. Years later I was informed that that detail was what got me slid out of editorial. I cannot recall doing so, but I must have signed my own voucher—which was the capital offense. I also thought my artwork sucked and that was the real reason at the time. “An explanation of my relative innocence in this is that many editors did one-offs or entire side-jobs,” Brown asserts. “I was hardly trying to increase my income, as my pencil/ink rate was low in those days. I was trying to get the cover done by the deadline, which was the next morning. There were no emails to help late books—the fastest artist needed some time, and factoring in FedEx would have made it late. I’m trying not to sound too defensive when I say that no one stopped to explain the mechanics of an editor getting paid for their own work to me … there was a bit of ‘Upstairs/Downstairs’ here, where the editors would not discuss or engage in such things with Bullpenners. “Oh, I would see vouchers flying by like confetti at a parade—but not where they were going,” Brown adds. “I later learned the method was to go and ask another editor to assign it to you and have them sign your vouchers; there was a pro-forma approval done by Shooter. I know my experience from the office end was frustrating and ultimately humiliating. I came away knowing no more about editing than when I went in. Whichever way I screwed up the hardest, Shooter, to his credit, was willing to overlook it and give me another try for the New Universe endeavor only about two years later.” With the more experienced Ralph Macchio stepping into Brown’s vacant position as editor, Indy continued on his adventures under the stewardship of new scripter Linda Grant, who quickly dropped Marion from the supporting cast, while introducing a bevy of colorful female characters for Indy to contend with, including rival archaeologist Jessie Hale, sharpshooter Elizabeth Cody (granddaughter of cowboy Buffalo Bill Cody), big-game hunter Congo Kate Crawford, and professional thief Amanda Knight. At the same time, legendary artist Steve Ditko established himself as the new series penciler following a number of previous guest-stints. “The use of Steve Ditko deserves a mention,” Brown notes. “I must’ve been walking around in a daze after finding out some aspect of my screwing up, and Tom DeFalco [suggested] that Steve could not

only use the work but do a bang-up job. Now Steve, it must be said, is a legend for a reason. He took the script and whipped it up as natural as handwriting. The next problem was to have it inked very, very quickly. This is when the old-guard network steps up. Mostly Steve inks his own pencils—but a number of inkers were delighted to help. The names that come to mind are Klaus Janson and Terry Austin. A few others stepped in. The job got done in record time. In retrospect, I wonder now if I had merely continued with Steve as penciler, would I have had the same problems? Seeing how several top inkers jumped through a hoop to work on one or two pages—what would they do for a whole book? Ah, well… I really was younger and stupider than I am now.”

TO BE CONTINUED… Although Further Adventures succumbed to cancellation after a turbulent three-year run, Michelinie and Brown continued their association with Indy thanks to the comic-book adaptations of the sequel films. “A short number of months after I was booted off Indy,” Brown shares, “I was invited to return to Tom DeFalco’s office to [edit] some movie adaptations. Temple of Doom was one of them—so I was back in the Paramount trenches again! Of fun to note, Tom, David Michelinie, and I got to visit Lucasfilm in order to look through thousands of set stills so as to select images for our artist to do the adaptation. I remember getting word back that Paramount didn’t like the likenesses of Harrison Ford! Butch Guice and I squatted over lap-boards together, him to correct faces … and I did hats! Tom pasted down stats of good likenesses.” Some five years later, Michelinie reunited with Indy one more time for the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade adaptation, which became Marvel’s final Indiana Jones project. “I believe I asked for the assignment as soon as I heard there was a third movie being made,” Michelinie remembers. “I love Indiana Jones, and despite some rough times in the past, the idea of writing another Indy story—even someone else’s Indy story—had tremendous appeal.” In the years that followed, Dark Horse Comics would acquire the rights to Indiana Jones, along with Star Wars and numerous other licensed properties such as Aliens, Predator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Conan. The sustained success of Dark Horse has keenly demonstrated the lucrative potential of licensed books, which were generally held in lesser esteem during Indy’s days at Marvel. “Licensed properties were indeed a low priority at that time,” Michelinie agrees. “Writers and artists saw much more prestige in working on higher-profile, fan-favorite books. And there was rarely a long line of creative people waiting to get on Thundercats or ROM.” Brown too recognizes the distinct nature of licensed titles, asserting, “You have to put up with a lot of crap to deal with the licensors—who mostly haven’t got the slightest idea what goes into a comic book. To be sure, licenses were a valuable commodity to the licensor and to Marvel. [But] I think, at base, we didn’t know how to communicate clearly with ‘them’—the licensors. Most adaptations came with a built-in time crunch—the comic would be out at the same time as the movie. The monthly version could not innovate and had a deadly schedule … like a destabilizing nudge to a small boat, if you tried to move the wrong way you continue to destabilize it.” Perhaps it is for this very reason that Dark Horse has largely confined its Indy projects to a string of selfcontained miniseries [see article following]. However, even these limited series fell dormant for more than a

Can He Swing? From a Thread!

decade starting in the late 1990s, as Indiana Jones began fading from the public consciousness, eclipsed by modern-day imitators like Tomb Raider and National Treasure—until 2008, when Dark Horse launched a slew of new Indy titles to coincide with the feature film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. And so the adventures continue for Indy, just as they do for comics collectors. Older, perhaps, in both years and mileage, but still digging up the past, rescuing history one hidden treasure at a time. And who knows? In a thousand years, even this copy of BACK ISSUE might be priceless. To quote from Raiders: “We are merely passing through history. This… this is history.”

From Spider-Man artist supreme Steve Ditko’s brief stint on The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones, original art to page 12 of issue #27 (Mar. 1985), inked by Danny Bulanadi. Courtesy of Anthony Snyder (anthonyscomicbookart.com).

MARk DiFRUSCIO is a freelance writer in San Diego. He would like to thank John Byrne, David Michelinie, Eliot R. Brown, and Herb Trimpe for contributing to this article.

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Daniel DeAngelo “How fortunate our failure to kill you, Dr. Jones. You survive to be of service to us once again.” – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Having origins based in pulp magazines and action serials, it was inevitable that the adventures of Indiana Jones would find their way onto the comic-book page, starting with the Marvel adaptation of the first movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark (Sept.–Nov. 1981), and—perhaps fittingly— ending with its adaptation of the (then) last movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Oct.–Nov. 1989). In between, Marvel published The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones, an ongoing monthly series that ran for 34 issues (Jan. 1983–Mar. 1986). For publishers like Marvel Comics in the 1980s, comics based on movies were a low priority, but in the 1990s, licensed properties found a new home in the stable of Dark Horse Comics.

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BACK IN THE SADDLE “The major companies had their own characters they owned, so they put their best talent [on those books],” Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson explains. “They weren’t counting on the strength of a particular film property’s box-office performance to account for their sales. We didn’t look at it that way. We wanted to get the best talent that we possibly could get.” Dark Horse Comics started out in 1986, publishing comics like Boris the Bear and the anthology series Dark Horse Presents. “We received a lot of critical success on our early work, but we seemed to have reached a ceiling as far as how many books we could sell,” Richardson recalls. “We realized that the bestselling books were about longstanding characters that readers were already familiar with, and it occurred to us that maybe taking on movie characters might help with that.” The first Dark Horse licensed comic was a Godzilla, King of the Monsters one-shot (Aug. 1987), which turned out to be successful enough that DHC began looking for more movie properties to license, following with Aliens, Predator, and Terminator. This continued string of successes gave Dark Hose the confidence to pursue a deal with Lucasfilm. Marvel still held the Star Wars license at that time, but Dark Horse shared with Lucasfilm its own vision and approach about Star Wars, which was very different from Marvel’s. “At the time, Marvel wasn’t putting out many Star Wars comics,” Richardson says, “and I thought we could do a better job. We talked with [Lucasfilm representative] Lucy Wilson and we proposed exactly what we wanted to do, which turned out to be Dark Empire.” This first six-issue Star Wars miniseries (Dec. 1991–Oct. 1992) proved to be another big hit for Dark Horse, so the obvious next step was to go for Indiana Jones. “Raiders has always been one of my very favorite films,” says Richardson. As with most of its licensed comics, Dark Horse chose to publish Indiana Jones as a series of four-issue story arcs rather than as an ongoing monthly, because it was more difficult to produce monthly comics with a property like Indiana Jones. “Almost every story has a similar type of plot,” Richardson explains. “It’s always Indy finding out about some sort of [artifact] or lost city, fighting against the Nazis, finding something that usually has unexpected consequences, overcoming whatever the situation is

that he’s faced with, and then it’s back to teaching [laughs]. So it becomes harder to come up with new ideas on a monthly basis. It’s not like Star Wars, where you have untold numbers of characters in a vast universe. You don’t have to use Luke Skywalker in every Star Wars story, but Indiana Jones is different because it’s about Indiana Jones, and he has a specific pattern that he follows within both the movies and the comics. It’s difficult to keep from becoming formulaic month after month and wearing the character out. But we’re constantly trying to come up with fun, new ideas, and each time we do, we go talk to Lucasfilm and release another comics series.” This may explain why Dark Horse has avoided the conflicts that Marvel seemed to have with Lucasfilm. By not having a monthly deadline to deal with, the creators are able to take their time and come up with a story that meets with the approval of Lucasfilm before releasing each series’ first issue.

That Sinking Feeling

would take. “We were trying to put [something] together that was consistent with the game,” Richardson explains. “So we had to build a story around FINDING THE LOST EMPIRE [those] elements.” The first Dark Horse Indy series was In an article by Jeffrey Lang in Indiana Jones and the Fate of Amazing Heroes #189 (Mar. 1991), Atlantis #1–4, (published bimonthly, Messner-Loebs said, “Parts of the Mar.–Sept. 1991), written by William videogame were still under developMessner-Loebs, Dan Barry, and ment when I started working on the Mike Richardson; penciled by Barry; plot outline.” The late Dan Barry and inked by Barry and Karl Kesel. (1923–1997) also said in AH #189, Originally titled “Indiana Jones and “I tried to insert little bits of Indy the Keys to Atlantis,” the story was mike richardson Jones humor into the framework based on a videogame released by of the story, especially in the fight Lucasfilm Games, written by game scenes … Also, I felt it was important designers Hal Barnwood and Noah Falstein. Similar to to get the period details right … The story takes Indy a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book, the game all around the world, so I had to do research on places allowed players to make decisions at certain points as diverse as Iceland, Mexico, and Leningrad.” of the story that would decide which direction Indy

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(left) Cover to Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis #1 (Mar. 1991). Cover painting by Dave Dorman. (right) Indy makes a discovery on page 22 of issue #3. Art by Dan Barry and Karl Kesel. Indiana Jones © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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Doc and Ock (left) An unpublished preliminary pencil rough from Gary Gianni’s Indiana Jones and the Shrine of the Sea Devil. (right) Dr. Jones has 20,000 leagues of woes on this unpublished preliminary pencil rough from Shrine of the Sea Devil. Both pages courtesy of Gary Gianni. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

In 1939, Nazi Colonel Klaus Kerner starts stealing artifacts from a ten-year-old expedition in Iceland, which was Indy’s first dig. Sophia Hapgood was also part of the expedition, so Indy believes she is Kerner’s next target. Indy has lost respect for Sophie since she turned her back on science and became a psychic medium, but Sophie has visions of Atlantis she truly believes are real, especially when she wears an ancient necklace she found on the expedition that connects her with the spirit of high priest Nur-Ab-Sal. Despite their differences, the two agree to work together and head to Iceland. The Nazis are after orichalcum, an all-powerful energy source from Atlantis. At the lost city, Nur-Ab-Sal takes complete possession of Sophie and tells how the gods (apparently extraterrestrials, although never directly stated) founded Atlantis and taught the people how to mine orichalcum for energy. After the gods departed, an undersea volcano caused Atlantis to sink. Realizing that only the gods could save them, Nur-Ab-Sal constructed a machine to re-create them by transforming the people themselves into gods. But the so-called “God Machine” only succeeded in turning the people into horrible mutations, wiping out the Atlantean race. Col. Kerner tries to use the God Machine on himself, only to mutate like the Atlanteans did. The machine explodes, and Indy and Sophie escape just before Atlantis is destroyed. Although one version of the videogame ends with her dying, Sophie proved to be popular enough that she returned in the Thunder in the Orient comics series and the videogame sequel, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine (1999).

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FURTHER ADVENTURES Dark Horse published The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles as an ongoing series (Feb. 1992–Feb. 1993) based on the TV show. Written by Dan Barry, the series ran for 12 issues and adapted the first 12 episodes of the show, with artwork provided by Barry (#1–3, 9–12), Gray Morrow (#4–6), and Gordon Purcell (#7, 8). From 1992 to 1996, Dark Horse also released seven more Indiana Jones comic-book adventures. “Back in those days, [senior editor] Randy Stradley and I would sit down and work out stories that were basically sequels to the films,” Richardson explains. “We’d bring the writers into town and we’d come up with an outline that we liked, and then fit it into the continuity. It wasn’t a situation where any writer just comes in and writes whatever comes into his head, which was always the tradition with comics based on films. They had no real connection to the movies and didn’t advance the stories in any way. We continued the franchise, basically, in comic form.” When it came to working with the various artists, care was taken not to make Indy look too much like the actor who portrayed him. “I think when we try to draw Indy,” Richardson notes, “we don’t try to draw him as Harrison Ford. We try to draw him so he’s basically recognizable as Indy. It’s consistent with Harrison’s look but without using his likeness.” The next Indiana Jones adventure was serialized in four parts in the Dark Horse Comics anthology series #3–6 (Oct. 1992–Dec. 1993). Indiana Jones and the Shrine of the Sea Devil, written and penciled by Gary Gianni, was later collected as a one-shot in September 1994. “The editors

seemed to think [it] might receive more attention where she has discovered scrolls that refer to a “covenant” serialized,” Gianni says. Sea Devil is unique among the written by Buddha 500 years before any known Buddhist Dark Horse Indiana Jones comics—not just writings. Buddhism has become divided into because it wasn’t released as a miniseries, many different sects over the years, but the but also because the story didn’t follow original words of Buddha could reunite the same pattern used by both the them into an unstoppable force. Their movies and the comics. Set in 1936, quest is made more urgent by a rival Indy sets sail on the South Pacific in Japanese expedition led by General search of a lost temple that was Kyojo, who wants the covenant to rule flooded centuries ago but is still over Asia. Searching for further clues at believed to exist underwater off the a lost city in the Himalayas, our heroes shore of a volcanic island. Eager to find are attacked by barbarians, but Indy the temple before the volcano can erupt scares them off with his gunfire, which and bury it again, Indy goes diving and the barbarians refer to as “thunder” discovers giant stone statues, similar to (hence the series title). In the city, those on Easter Island, inlaid with Khamal is mistaken for a god, and gary gianni pearls. Unfortunately, he also discovers when Indy sees a female slave being a giant octopus—the so-called “Sea beaten, Khamal uses his “divine Devil”—that guards the temple. Indy makes it to the influence” to have her released. To their surprise, the slave surface just in time to see the octopus attack the ship and girl turns out to be a warlord called the Serpent Lady, kill most of the crew, but he is rescued by a passing plane piloted by Amelia Earhart, who is on her way to California after leaving from Hawaii to set a record for the first solo flight from to the US mainland. “[Earhart’s] exploit just managed to dovetail into the end of the plot nicely,” Gianni says. “It was a requirement of Lucasfilm to fit Jones into some sort of historical context. Of course, this device was a jumping off place for all sorts of flights of fancy.”

You Don’t Tug on Superman’s Cape… …and you don’t crush Indy’s hat! (left) Page 8 of issue #2 of writer/ artist Dan Barry’s Indiana Jones: Thunder in the Orient #2 (Oct. 1993). (right) Another Dorman dazzler: Detail from Dave’s painted cover to Thunder #1. Indiana Jones © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

THUNDER ROAD The next miniseries, Indiana Jones: Thunder in the Orient, was the longest, at six issues (Sept.–Dec. 1993, Mar.–April 1994). A sequel to Fate of Atlantis, it was also written and drawn by Dan Barry (except for #6, which was drawn by Dan Spiegle) and featured the return of Sophie Hapgood. In the story, Indy befriends an orphan boy named Khamal and receives a request from Sophie to come to Nepal,

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who accompanies the group on their quest. While the Serpent Lady’s army battles the Japanese, Indy locates the covenant scrolls in a hidden temple and has to fight Kyojo for them. However, the long-buried scrolls disintegrate upon being exposed to air, and a sudden earthquake splits the ground open. The temple is destroyed, and Indy escapes while Kyojo is killed. Indy realizes the covenant is better gone than in the hands of the Japanese. The series returned to four issues with Indiana Jones and the Arms of Gold (Feb.–May 1994), written by Lee Marrs and penciled by Leo Durañona. In 1937, Indy meets visiting associate professor Francisca Uribe Del Arco, who receives a package from her missing brother, Felipe, that contains a gold finger. Indy recalls that the mummies of dead Incan rulers were encased in gold armor, and Francisca notes that the golden forearms on the mummy of Pachacuti were said to have the power to reshape stones, which is supposedly how the pyramids were built. They go to Lake Titicaca, the birthplace of the Incan Empire (so don’t laugh), where they discover that the Incans’ new ruler is Felipe, who has become obsessed with finding the golden arms and wants Francisca to rule at his side. Indy finds Pachacuti’s burial chamber and removes the mummy’s arms of gold, only to have them taken away by the Incans. Felipe puts them on and tries to use their stone-shifting powers, which results in an earthquake that destroys the chamber. Felipe saves Francisca from a falling statue, only to be crushed himself, and Indy and Francisca barely manage to escape.

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Indiana Jones and the Golden Fleece was a two-issue series (June–July 1994), written by Pat McGreal and Dave Rawson, and penciled by Ken Hooper. In 1941, Indy is on an expedition in Greece when the Nazis take over. Indy unearths an ancient blade and has to flee to the nearest town on bicycle, where a pregnant Greek woman named Omphale hides him from the Nazis in exchange for his help in escaping from the country. Along the way, the Cult of Hecate attacks them and takes the blade, which was used to kill a Golden Ram and create the legendary Golden Fleece. Indy and Omphale follow them to the Valley of Hecate, where Omphale suddenly goes into labor, and Indy has to deliver her baby while fighting off the cultists. When Indy offers the child’s purity and innocence to Hecate, the goddess destroys the cultists while the Fleece transforms back to a Golden Ram and ascends into the sky. Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix (Dec. 1994–Mar. 1995) reunited the team of writer Lee Marrs and artist by Leo Durañona from Arms of Gold. Like Fate of Atlantis, the story was based on a videogame from LucasArts designed by Joe Pinney, Hal Barwood, Bill Stoneham, and Aric Wilmunder. Unlike Fate of Atlantis, the Iron Phoenix game was never released because of distribution problems with Germany due to the depiction of neo-Nazis as the villains. In 1947, Indy is in Berlin to evaluate artifacts at a monastery, and finds an ancient scroll that leads to the Philosopher’s Stone, which can turn metal into gold and bring the dead back to life. The stone has been divided into three parts and Indy must track them all down, only to run afoul of Major Nadia Kirov, a Soviet security agent in charge

of evaluating and rescuing artifacts from former fascist PIRATES OF THE SARGASSO territories. Indy tries to warn her of the stone’s power, but Indiana Jones and the Sargasso Pirates (Dec. 1995– Nadia and the stone fall into the hands of the cadaverous- Mar. 1996), written and drawn by Karl Kesel (with Paul looking Dr. Jager, who uses the stone to bring a group of Guinan and Eduardo Barreto co-penciling the first and rotting Nazi corpses back to life. Indy disrupts the cer- fourth issues respectively), was the last Dark Horse emony and rescues Nadia, causing the pieces of the stone Indiana Jones comic for over a decade. “I have been a to reunite and destroy Jager along with the undead Nazis. fan of Indiana Jones since the first time I saw Raiders,” Indiana Jones and the Spear of Destiny (Apr.–July 1995) Kesel says, “partly because I could see a direct connection was also planned as a videogame but wound up being between Indy and the comic strips from the same time reworked into another four-issue series by writer Elaine Lee period, but also because I’m a fan of stories about and artist Dan Spiegle. In 1945, Indy is in Ireland ordinary people in extraordinary situations, when he receives a letter from his father, who fighting overwhelming odds, and winning.” writes that Nazi Colonel Dieterhoffmann Ironically, Kesel’s first published artwork is after the Spear of Destiny. Indy and was inking an Indiana Jones sample associate Brendan O’Neal meet Henry page penciled by Kerry Gammill in Glastonbury, England, where the in the “New Talent Department” Spear’s shaft was put into the ground section of Marvel Age #9 (Dec. and blossomed into a thorn tree. The 1983). “My first [Dark Horse Indy] Nazis already have the Spear’s tip and job was inking Dan Barry … but are coming for the tree. After several somehow, that quickly morphed into misadventures, the group returns to me writing and drawing my own Indy Ireland, where O’Neal carves a new story.” However, the project was shaft and attaches a thorn from the delayed for a long time. “About tree. When the Nazis find them hiding then, [DC editor] Mike Carlin offered karl kesel in a cave, the Spear tip takes on a life of me a job writing Adventures of its own and attaches itself to the staff. Superman,” Kesel explains, “to start The reunited Spear flies around, knocking down the cave right after they killed the character! It completely walls. The Spear’s power proves to be too much for Col. derailed my work on Indy. It was a few years later that Dieterhoffmann, as blood pours from both him and the [editor] Diana Schutz offered to bring in Ed Barretto to Spear, and Indy and friends escape before the cave is do the art so the book could finally be finished and destroyed. Months later, Indy is having a drink at O’Neal’s printed! While I never should have allowed the project pub and says that the Spear was eventually found by the to slip that far for that long, in the end, I could not American government. Suddenly, the TV announces have been happier with the result. After all, the first that the US dropped an atomic bomb on Japan, and two covers [were] painted by this new guy that no one Indy recalls his father’s words: “It is said that he who had heard of … named Alex Ross.” claims the Spear and solves its mystery, holds the fate of In 1939, Indy hires Captain Bill Lawton to take him the world in his hands … for good or for evil!” to an iceberg in the North Atlantic in search of a frozen

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Raiders of the Kesel Vault (left) Indiana Jones and the Sargasso Pirates #4, page 2. (right) Karl Kesel’s 1991 character sketches Indy and Capt. Bill Lawton, and Cairo and Dr. Jones, from Indiana Jones and the Sargasso Pirates. Courtesy of the artist. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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Treasure Hunters (above) Courtesy of Rob Williams, character sketches by Dustin Weaver of Janice Le Roi, Col. Von Hassell, and Indy, for the proposed Indiana Jones ongoing series. (right) Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods #3. Cover by Tony Harris. © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

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Viking ship. Lawton has a score to settle with Indy, whom he blames for the loss of his leg. The two become stranded and are rescued by a passing ocean liner, where Indy meets his “brother,” New Jersey Jones—a con artist using Indy’s reputation to sell fake artifacts— and his mysterious female companion, “Cairo.” During a fight between Indy and Lawton, the four wind up going overboard in a lifeboat and are drawn into the Sargasso Sea—a graveyard of lost ships trapped in thick seaweed, which prevents anyone from leaving. The foursome is found by a band of pirates led by the beautiful-but-deadly Sea Witch. Lawton tries to become leader of the pirates by shooting the Sea Witch and blaming Indy. The pirates are about to torture Indy for his “crime” when a fire starts. Meanwhile, Cairo discovers the wounded Sea Witch and nurses her back to health. The fire spreads, burning the seaweed, which causes a U-boat to rise to the surface. The Sea Witch shoots Lawton, and our heroes take the U-boat to America, where Indy tells their story to a Navy admiral, who remarks that it “sounds like something out of a … comic strip!” Kesel wrote the story (which he calls “one of my favorite assignments of all time”) as a tribute to classic adventure strips like Milton Caniff’s Terry and the Pirates and E. C. Segar’s Popeye. “Sea Witch was an amalgam of [Caniff’s] Dragon Lady and Segar’s Sea Hag,” Kesel notes. “Cairo was my version of Caniff’s Burma. In fact, the sequence where she escapes the authorities at the end was a panel-to-panel ‘homage’ to Burma’s first exit from the Terry strip. Bill Lawton

“Happy birthday, kid…” (left) Courtesy of frequent BI contributor Jarrod Buttery, an Indiana Jones sketch by artist Colin Wilson drawn in 2010 as a birthday gift for Jarrod’s son Jamie. Special thanks to Colin Wilson. (right) Indiana Jones Adventures vol. 1. Indiana Jones © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

was based on Bull Dawson from Roy Crane’s Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy with a little of Pegleg Pete from Gottfriedson’s Mickey Mouse strip thrown in. New Jersey was based on Popeye’s Wimpy, [whose] catch phrase was ‘Jones is my name. I’m one of the Jones boys.’ It all fit too perfectly! Even the way the art was drawn was a nod to the classic adventure strips, specifically Roy Crane’s. The strip’s panels have rounded corners, are drawn on duo-shade paper, and occasionally use a thin first panel to recap the action in a newspaper headline style. The [series] was structured and paced as if it was a collection of daily comic strips. Every two tiers of a page is equal to one daily; each double-page spread is three dailies.” As for working with Lucasfilm, Kesel describes the experience as “absolutely wonderful. Lucasfilm had a well-written list of rules all Indy stories had to follow. For instance: All historical facts had to be absolutely correct. At [one point], Indy is rescued at sea by the ocean liner Normandie. Not only did that ocean liner really exist, but I set the story at a time when the ship was actually crossing the Atlantic and could have really rescued Indy! It’s kind of fun to re-read the mini with [all] this in mind. I think it holds up pretty well!” Decreasing sales led to the cancellation of the next miniseries, Indiana Jones and the Lost Horizon (see page 76). Dark Horse collected the previous comics in two omnibus books, but it would not release another new Indiana Jones comic for 12 years.

After another narrow escape, they follow Von Hassel to Siberia, where they discover an underground tomb beneath the ice. Von Hassell assembles the key to unlock a huge doorway, which contains a swirling vortex. Von Hassell believes that aliens landed there and left behind a gateway to a new universe of knowledge. Indy destroys the doorway with dynamite, and he and Janice escape as the tomb collapses. This story (which Williams calls “Indy meets Lovecraft”) is the first time science-fiction elements were acknowledged in the Indiana Jones comics (probably because it had just been done in Crystal Skull). At the same time, Dark Horse released Indiana Jones Adventures, a new series aimed at younger readers. The stories were lighter in tone and the artwork was similar to the popular “animated style.” Only two issues have been released, with #1 (July 2008) written by Philip Gelatt and #2 (Sept. 2009) written by Mark Evanier. Evan Beevers was the artist on both issues. Issue #1 is set in 1930 with Indy in Sweden, seeking ancient Norse scrolls with Dr. Theresa Lawrence from the British Museum. His old enemy, Belloq, wants the scrolls to sell to the Nazis because they have the power to turn ordinary men into monstrous Berserkers. In #2, titled “Curse of the Invincible Ruby,” Indy searches for a magic ruby that supposedly makes its owner invincible and is again opposed by Belloq and his new employer, Ali Bey-Faisel, who is the direct descendant of the ruler that originally possessed the ruby.

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES…

THE LAST CRUSADE?

In 2008, Indy was back on the big screen in Lucasfilm’s new movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He was also back on the comic-book pages in the Dark Horse adaptation of the movie by writer John Jackson Miller and artist Luke Ross. Indy also returned in an all-new series titled Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods (June 2008–Mar. 2009), written by Rob Williams and penciled by Steve Scott (with Bart Sears penciling #4). In 1936, Indy is competing with Nazi Col. Von Hassell to find three pieces of an ancient key that leads to “the beginning and the end.” Von Hassell is aided by mercenary/ archaeologist Janice Le Roi, who isn’t a Nazi but is willing to work for them if the price is right. However, once Von Hassell has no further use for her, he quickly turns on Janice, leaving she and Indy for dead.

Although Dark Horse doesn’t currently have any new projects scheduled, Indy’s adventures will continue … perhaps when a fifth movie is finally released? “We’re always talking about what the next [Indiana Jones project] will be,” Mike Richardson says. “We’re always trying to come up with a clever new idea.” DANIEl DeANGELO is a freelance writer/artist in Florida. He would like to thank Michael Eury, TheRaider.com, Mike Richardson, Diana Schutz, Zach Klassen, Gary Gianni, Karl Kesel, and Rob Williams for their assistance with this article.

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INDIANA JONES UNPLUGGED

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Karl Kesel once had an idea for a story that was rejected by Lucasfilm: “I pitched another mini that would open with Indy and a beautiful gal at some ancient temple. Indy is trying to find a way in, while the gal translates the carvings. She says, ‘It seems to be talking about something that happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,’ just as Indy triggers open a hidden door revealing … the Millennium Falcon! Mothballed for God-knows-how-long, but operational. C-3PO and R2-D2 would have been on it, and I imagined some fun dialogue where C-3PO notices an uncanny resemblance between Indy and the previous pilot of the ship. Of course, the Nazis would be out to get the technology, and hi-jinx and high-adventure would follow. But Lucasfilm would have none of it … and maybe rightly so. It’s a very ‘fan’ idea, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been fun!” Finally, Tomb of the Gods was originally intended to be more than just another four-issue miniseries. Writer Rob Williams explains, “I was working on Star Wars [at the time] and … if I remember correctly, I was accidentally cc’ed in on an email by editorial that mentioned Dark Horse would be doing Indy comics again. I cheekily asked if I could pitch. My editor at the time was Jeremy Barlow. To my surprise, he offered me what was going to be, originally, an Indiana Jones ongoing series. It was going to [be] one miniseries after another, with maybe a month break in between … but, effectively, an ongoing. Dustin Weaver was going to be the artist. I forget exactly what happened, but Dustin eventually couldn't do the series. Steve Scott took over. Then, I started writing and Jeremy left Dark Horse to go freelance. A new editor came onboard and I finished writing the series, but Dark Horse—for reasons [that] were never actually told to me—didn't want to continue publishing Indy comics. I suspect sales weren’t what they were hoping for, and the reaction to Crystal Skull in general was quite underwhelming. It was a real shame. It seemed like such a great opportunity. I know we talked about creating a real nemesis for Indy in Von Hassell, the Nazi archaeologist, and the Ahnenerbe, the ancestral heritage branch of the S.S. dedicated to Aryan archaeology. Janice Le Roi was going to be an ongoing character [as] a real sassy foil to Jones. I was enormously excited about it, but it all kind of drifted away.” © 2012 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™.

According to Jeffrey Lang’s article in Amazing Heroes #189, the next Indiana Jones series following Fate of Atlantis was supposed to be written and drawn by Adam Hughes. Promo art was made for a series to be called “Indiana Jones and the Jungle Queen,” while a plot synopsis for a series called “Indiana Jones and the Dance of Death” is posted on TheRaider.net–Indiana Jones Timeline website, which reads: “Indy has a dance with death on an island in the Indian Ocean. During an observation of native worshippers, many of them become ill with an outbreak of the plague. The source of the plague is the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, who is releasing his evils upon the world. Indy fights some zombies and barely escapes an earthquake which hits the area, killing the Horseman.” Whether this was the same series or two different series proposed by Hughes has yet to be ascertained. Adam Hughes could not be reached for comment. Another proposed series that was never published was Indiana Jones and the Lost Horizon, to be written by Pete Ford and illustrated by Hugh Fleming. In an interview with Paul Shipper on TheRaider.net–Interviews website (Dec. 2002), Fleming explained, “Unfortunately, the series was canned before we could begin because sales on the Indy comics were not that good at the time. The story was set in 1926 and featured Indy and Abner Ravenwood traveling to Tibet, where they eventually recover the headpiece to the Staff of Ra from a Chinese warlord’s treasure trove.” Fleming’s design for Abner was based on the likeness of Cocoon actor Wilford Brimley (inset). “It also would have been fun to play with the idea of Indy as sidekick and protégé to another character,” Fleming continued. “We even intended to write an ‘explanation’ of sorts [as to] why Indy’s attitude [toward] the supernatural is inconsistent between Raiders and Temple of Doom. We were gonna have it that Abner taught Indy to keep a ‘skeptical’ point of view when in professional company. You know, ‘Keep this stuff under your hat; people will think you’re crazy; etc.’ We also had a young Belloq in the opening teaser. It was set on a skyscraper in NYC and the treasure/MacGuffin was a bogus Shroud of Turin.” When asked if the story would ever see print, Fleming replied, “I don’t think I could face the prospect of drawing 96 pages of comics these days.”

Send your comments to: Email: euryman@gmail.com (subject: BACK ISSUE) Postal mail: Michael Eury, Editor • BACK ISSUE 118 Edgewood Ave. NE • Concord, NC 28025

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LOVES ME SOME ATOMIC SKULL!

I'm a big fan of the old Superman villain the Atomic Skull (the coolest comic-book name EVER!), and I was wondering if you plan to do an article on him someday. If you are unfamiliar with him, basically he was a late-’70s attempt by DC to create their own Dr. Doom–style villain. He first appeared in Superman #323. Introduced several issues previously as Dr. Albert Michaels, the distinctly unfriendly scientist-administrator at S.T.A.R. Labs, he was recruited by the criminal organization S.K.U.L.L. (don’t you love these old acronyms?) when they offered to cure the painful neurological seizures he suffered from with a radium-powered implant in his skull. This somehow gave him the ability to fire powerful nuclear brain-blasts, an ability which unfortunately he had no control over. S.K.U.L.L., however, promised him that they had scientists who could fix that little problem, a promise that came to naught when Superman arrested said scientists, which caused Michaels to develop a major and perhaps understandable hatred for the Man of Steel.

Donning a distinctive costume consisting of a green cloak and a yellow visor-eyed cowl worn over a half-skull mask, he soon took over S.K.U.L.L. and dedicated his scientific genius to the forces of evil, flying around in a vaguely skull-shaped flying saucer and coming up with bizarre and intricate plots against Superman and the other heroes of the DC Universe, at one point even artificially evolving a female panther into a beautiful woman (man, and I thought comic-book fans had trouble finding dates!). As you can tell, I love this wonderfully over-the-top supervillain, and I was more than a little annoyed when back in the ’90s they replaced him with a new character who might best be described as a heavily armored radioactive Ghost Rider clone, although in an interesting postmodern twist, they kept the original character design around as an old B&W movie serial hero the new version was obsessed with, an FBI agent transformed by atomic energy into a monstrous hero who fought the evil Dr. Electron with the help of his girlfriend Zelda who, in one of those coincidences that comic-book writers are so fond of, bears an unfortunate resemblance to Lois Lane... I know that the new version has his fans, and I admit that I have enjoyed some of his appearances (especially the in-depth look taken at the serial in Superman Villains Secret Files Origins vol. 1), but unfortunately some of the writers have taken a dangerous attitude toward the dangerously delusional schizophrenia that the character suffers from and look upon as heroic his decision to try to deal with his mental problems without the “crutch” of medication (obviously they’ve never been hunted through town by an off-hismeds mentally ill relative with a gun like I was as a kid...). So, for obvious reasons, I prefer the original version. In fact, I love his costume so much I recently sent a letter to Mattel to suggest they add him to their excellent DC Universe line of action figures as they’ve done with other equally obscure characters (there are already fan-created Atomic Skull figures out on the Internet, so I know I’m not the only one who would be interested). Unfortunately, all I got in reply was a long letter from their legal department saying that they do not take “unsolicited submissions” … so I guess this means the days of little girls sending in fashion designs for Barbie clothes are long over! Oh, well, at least there are still the old comics out there. The Atomic Skull rules (or at least still wants to...)! – Jeff Taylor Good news: The Atomic Skull will be featured in a “Bring on the Bad Guys” villain history in BACK ISSUE #62, our “Superman in the Bronze Age” issue. Another Jeff Taylor letter follows… – M.E.

BETTER LIVING THROUGH CARTOONS I have perused the recent BACK ISSUE #51 with a studied and critical eye, and after much long and in-depth thoughtful, logical, and highly intellectual analysis, I have come to the following conclusion: MORE CARTOONS!! CARTOONS MAKE LIFE BETTER!!! The rest of the issue was good, too. – Jeff Taylor P.S.: In addition to cartoonist Karl Heitmueller’s wonderful look at Superman costumes through the ages, I also enjoyed the interviews, and I was quite amused by what Walt Simonson said at the end of his. I, too, remember seeing Chinese Ghost Story in the theatre (and I mean a real theatre, too, and not a multiplex, a wonderful old-fashioned Victoria movie house called the Roxy) and watching all the incredible supernatural kung-fu acrobatics and thinking, “Dang, this is what a Spider-Man movie should look like!” Karl’s “Prince Street News” returned last issue with a look at superheroine fashions, Jeff, and we’re planning more installments of his comic strip for future issues! Check out some of his rants and raves at http://blog.popsgustav.com/. – M.E.

Licensed Comics Issue

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BACK ISSUE • 77

THE ONE AND ONLY BOB GREENBERGER

AND SPEAKING OF MIKE W. BARR… In our colleague John Wells’ otherwise excellent article “DC Comics Salutes the Bicentennial” (BI #49), he writes: “In 1987 … commemorations of the bicentennial of the US Constitution passed almost without a ripple.” Almost. In my scripts for Detective Comics #580–581 (Nov.–Dec. 1987), Batman realizes his old enemy Two-Face is plotting to steal the United States Constitution on its bicentennial, a document which Batman rightly calls “…the second-most important document in American history!” But no harm done. The theft of the Constitution was a major plot twist, so the story was not billed as any kind of bicentennial special (nor, frankly, would there have been any sales advantage in doing so). It was therefore easy for the bicentennial angle to be overlooked— even if you wear bifocals. – Mike W. Barr

GA-GA FOR ENGLEHART Issue #51’s part 2 of Richard Arndt’s interview with Steve Englehart (continued from Alter Ego #103) created some lively buzz on BI’s Facebook page. Here are some of the comments: Loved BACK ISSUE #51! The Steve Englehart interview was really terrific! I was just getting back into comics around the time of his Detective Comics and Mister Miracle stuff, and I was blown away. – Thomas Moudry

78 • BACK ISSUE • Licensed Comics Issue

Steve Englehart is my absolute favorite Bronze Age writer. His work on Captain America, Avengers, Defenders, and JLA, in particular, are some of the best comic books I’ve ever read. He greatly deserved this TwoMorrows “crossover” retrospective. – Stephen Bayer Mantis is one of my all-time favorite characters. I enjoyed the twopart interview with Steve Englehart. I hope a future installment will see him discussing his work from the mid-1980s onward. – Ben Herman Ben, now that BACK ISSUE has widened its net into the 1990s, we’ll eventually get around to examining Steve Englehart’s post–Bronze Age work. And his seminal Batman work returned to yet another (deserved) reprinting in November 2011 in the DC hardcover Legends of the Dark Knight: Marshall Rogers. – M.E.

IN LIVING COLOR I just wanted to congratulate you on BACK ISSUE reaching its 50th issue. Having been reading the title since its first issue, it’s great to see it reach issue #50 when so many other great titles never did. Here's to another 50 issues and more. As a big Batman fan who saw the excellent Batman Live show a few days before I read this issue, I was very impressed by BACK ISSUE #50. I enjoyed all the articles. Never realized you could write so much about Batman Family so entertainingly, for instance, but the articles on The Untold Legend of the Batman and Batman in the 1980s really hit home. My introduction to Batman was a great reprint monthly here in the UK from London Edition Magazines that began in the late ’80s and started off by reprinting The Untold Legend of the Batman, most of Len Wein’s run, and highlights from Marv Wolfman’s and Gerry Conway’s work on the Caped Crusader. I loved all those stories then, and still do now. You couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to Batman.

Our longtime friend Robert Greenberger— editor, writer, husband and father, and community servant, seen in the inset photo—is indeed the same fellow. Says Bobby G himself: “My first job right out of college was working as Fangoria’s managing editor from issues #9–17 before moving over to run my creation, Comics Scene.” Of course, Bob is also known for his long editorial stint at DC Comics, among other publishers. He’s authored or co-authored several comicsbob greenberger related books in recent years, including The Spider-Man Vault (with Peter David), and will return to BACK ISSUE with issue #57’s in-depth, cover-featured interview with former DC Comics president/ publisher Jenette Kahn. Follow the footsteps of fandom’s favorite Final Frontiersman on his blog, bobgreenberger.com. – M.E.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading BI #51, and have a few comments I’d like to make. First, the idea of Dick Grayson suddenly de-aging and starting sixth grade, as Mike W. Barr suggested, while amusing, would have been WAY too much like Patrick Duffy in the shower [in TV’s Dallas], if you know what I mean. I think Len Wein was right when he said fans would not take kindly to it. Second, is Bob Greenberger, who interviewed Adrienne Roy, the same chap who, along with Bob Martin, edited Fangoria magazine in its infancy? (The name is the same, but it could just be a coincidence.) Thank you for your time! – Mike McCullough

And as you’re now aware, BACK ISSUE is now a full-color magazine, each and every issue! We apologize for letting this transition sneak up on you with no fanfare, but John Morrow, our fearless publisher, delivered that executive order as BI #52 was going to press. We’ve had issues in production simultaneously lately, with Jon B. Cooke stepping in to lay out #52 and 54, giving our regular designer Rich Fowlks a breather as he and his wife Angela welcomed their new daughter, Addisyn (Addy) Kathleen Fowlks (seen with Daddy above), to the world—and with this pace that rivals the Flash’s cosmic treadmill, I’ve been unable to make an official announcement in print until now. But the color pages, glossy paper stock, and square spine make BI “feel” more like a magazine than a fanzine, and I’m blushing with pride over our new hues! Woo-hoo! – M.E.

WAY-OUT LAYOUT One thing I always looked forward to as a comics reader were the anniversary issues. Those were the ones that celebrated the longevity of the title with (usually) a spectacular issue. BACK ISSUE #50 upheld the tradition with a great showcase of articles. The choice for spotlighting Batman was a wise one. You did a previous issue spotlighting Spidey in the Bronze Age, and these occasional hero-centric themes are fun. For the future, I’d like to suggest shining the Bronze spotlight on Superman, the Avengers, and Swamp Thing. The full-color format really made the issue shine, and you used it to your best advantage with lots of cover shots and panels. I would gladly pay the extra buck for an all-color issue of BI, or at least an expanded color section.

Michal, Rollickin’ Rich Fowlks—who, like ye harried but happy editor, usually burns the midnight oil producing BACK ISSUE after working his day job—thanks you for the kind words about his “Read me, Seymour!” design work. So does Joltin’ Jon B. Cooke, our recent guestdesigner, who dazzled and delivered the goods last ish and on our Mystery Comics edition. And let’s not forget Mighty Michael Kronenberg, who lays out our eye-grabbing covers with panache. (I wasn’t kidding about the midnight oil thing—I’ve apparently lapsed into a sleep deprivation-induced bout of Stan Lee-itis. Sorry, True Believer.) John Wells’ Batman Family retrospective epitomizes what makes BI special: We examine comics history through the lens of nostalgia. Walking that line isn’t as easy as John makes it seem, and we always look forward to his contributions. And re the depth of BI articles: Considering the cost of an average comic book today and the fact that they can usually be read in mere minutes, with our info- and art-laden articles, BACK ISSUE is the best bargain on the stands today! (Oh, for Pete’s sake, now I’m sounding like Murray Boltinoff. I’ll stop channeling the lettercols of comics past and let someone else talk now…) – M.E.

WANTED: ANOTHER BAT-ISSUE You will be so bored with the heaping praise you receive for the Bronze Age Batman issue that I’ve racked my brain to come up with some minor criticisms to keep you on your toes. The cover was sensational! Thanks for using Jim Aparo’s art, and your reverential “In Praise of Aparo” editorial was perhaps your best ever, light years away from BI’s Western-themed issue, “I didn’t really like these books, but here you go” tone. My complaint is that there should have been a lot more Aparo art featured— any panel-sequence from his first 25 Brave and the Bold issues. Though I’m almost as big a fan of Neal Adams as he is of himself, I feel that he often dominates any issue on Batman, or Green Licensed Comics Issue

DC Comics.

Letters like yours bring a smile to ye ed’s face, Matthew! BI will feature the Batman work of writer Mike W. Barr in a future issue, including his Detective collaboration with Alan Davis (a personal favorite which I feel is long overdue for a collected edition). We also will include Batman and the Outsiders/Adventures of the Outsiders/The Outsiders in the issue, since those series have yet to get the BI treatment. We’ll keep you posted on when to expect this.

I wanted to tell you the one thing about your magazine that I most enjoy, and that’s the fact that I get a lot for my money. BI articles are not breezy pieces that are skimmed and forgotten; they are heavily researched and the subjects thoroughly analyzed. I was pleasantly surprised to see John Wells’ Batman Family article was a meaty 13 pages long! This is obviously a guy who is as enthusiastic as I am about his comics. In the evening, I like to sit back and relax with some reading material. A typical issue of BI with its density of information will take me several days to pore through. Plus, I’ve gotten into the habit of keeping pen and paper nearby to jot down issues to pull out of my collection and re-read after reading about them in an article. So thanks to you, Mr. Wells, I hauled all of my Batman Family issues down to enjoy again! A Jim Aparo Batman checklist and a Batman collected editions checklist in the same issue?! Woo-hoo! More checklists! More checklists! Finally, a shout-out to your graphic designer. BI is not only an interesting read, but it’s nice to look at. You’ve got someone in your page layout department who knows what he’s doing. – Michal Jacot

I really enjoyed the full color, as well, and don’t mind paying more if it happens again or becomes permanent. If it’s possible, I’d love to see a feature and/or interview with Mike W. Barr on his non-Outsiders Batman work in the ’80s. He was responsible for some excellent and important stories, so it would be nice to see them get some coverage. Keep up the excellent work, and long may BACK ISSUE run. All the best. – Matthew Jones

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BACK ISSUE • 79

Lantern (Gil Kane, who?) art-wise and interview-wise, to the loss of coverage on many other artists. Clearly Aparo deserves an entire issue, and a book to commemorate his stellar work on The Phantom, Aquaman, Batman, The Phantom Stranger, and the Spectre. Perhaps the two features I disagreed with the most were the two Jim Kingman pieces. One on Ernie Chua. I’ve never gotten over the shock of Chua replacing Aparo on Detective Comics’ “Death of Talia” storyline. He brought a rubbery, light, cartoon–like quality to the previously moody art. And the second on Bob Brown. The story, Batman #248, you featured was indeed the best work at DC by Brown, but generally his clumsy, inelegant style from 1970–1972 could not even be rescued by Dick Giordano’s inks. Brown eventually moved to Marvel to do bland work on Daredevil and The Avengers. Obviously, comic-art appreciation is subjective. Otherwise, how could anyone have forgotten to pay tribute to Irv Novick? He had been penciling at DC forever, but was able to reinvent himself during the Adams/O’Neil era to become the Number 3 artist on Batman (behind Adams and Aparo). Also neglected in your features was a tribute to inker Dick Giordano. His singular style tied together disparate work by Adams, Novick, and Brown to give the Batman titles a cohesive look. He was the magic ingredient that gave a vaguely “Adams” sheen to less-talented artists, while making Adams look his very best. And my last complaint. Though Neal Adams was unquestionably one of the greatest cover artists for DC in general and Batman in particular, a few other guys named Nick Cardy, Mike Kaluta, and Bernie Wrightson did some all-time classic Batman covers, too. Perhaps some printing error left out the pages that featured their work. The good news is: Everything you left out can easily be heaped together into a future Part II issue in a year or so. To say that BI #50 was ten times better than BI #49 is not a stretch.

I mean, using the whole color section on Planet of the Apes comics?! The mind reels. But yes, art and comic appreciation are subjective. – Mac Talley Mac, re those “omissions” from BACK ISSUE #50: You’ll have to remember that this is a periodical, not a definitive sourcebook. Our themes are intended to provide editorial structure to each issue, not to imply that their contents are an exhaustive, comprehensive treatment of that subject. That said, some of what you felt was missing from this “Batman in the Bronze Age” coverage has seen print previously, most notably, Jim Aparo and The Brave and the Bold, featured way back in BI #7—and Aparo is, of course, featured in a forthcoming TwoMorrows bio. Dick Giordano’s inks peppered issue #50, and as his biographer (Dick Giordano: Changing Comics, One Day At a Time) I elected to open up more of BI #50 for other creators to get their due. And re Irv Novick, please see page 48 of BI #50, which featured a full-page spotlight of his Bat-art and the promise of a major article forthcoming examining his Batman and Flash work from the Bronze Age. Eighty pages isn’t a lot of space when you’ve got such a wealth of Bat-material to cover, so don’t be surprised if we do another “Batman in the Bronze Age” issue one of these days! Next issue: “Avengers Assemble,” starring Marvel Comics’ mightiest super-team! Writer ROGER STERN’S acclaimed 1980s Avengers run, West Coast Avengers, early Avengers toys, and histories of Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Wonder Man … plus a look inside the Avengers’ mansion. Featuring art by and/or commentary from JOHN and SAL BUSCEMA, JOHN BYRNE, BRETT BREEDING, TOM DeFALCO, STEVE ENGLEHART, MARK GRUENWALD, BOB HALL, AL MILGROM, TOM PALMER, JOE SINNOTT, and more. With a GEORGE PÉREZ cover spotlighting the Avengers’ “Big Three.” Don’t ask—just BI it! See you in thirty! Michael Eury, editor Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. BACK ISSUE TM & © TwoMorrows. All Rights Reserved.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES BACK ISSUE is on the lookout for the following comics-related material from the 1970s through the 1990s: • • • • • • •

Unpublished artwork and covers Commissions (color or B&W) and professional-quality specialty drawings 1970s–1990s creator and convention photographs Character designs and model sheets Original art: covers and significant interior pages Little-seen fanzine material Other rarities

If you have any of the above materials, please query the editor via email prior to submission. Art contributors will be acknowledged in print and receive a complimentary copy of the issue.

80 • BACK ISSUE • Licensed Comics Issue

Since BI is a full-color publication, preference is given to color artwork. Random convention sketches and “quick sketches” that do not reflect an artist’s best work and were not intended for print will no longer be considered for publication.

Advertise In BACK ISSUE!

BACK ISSUE does not read or consider unsolicited manuscripts. However, we routinely welcome new writers to our magazine, and have done so since day one!

TWO FULL-PAGE ADS: $500 ($100 savings) TWO HALF-PAGE ADS: $300 ($50 savings) TWO QUARTER-PAGE ADS: $175 ($25 savings)

If you’re interested in writing for BI, please request a copy of the BACK ISSUE Writer’s Style Guide by emailing the editor at euryman@gmail.com. Contact BI at: Michael Eury, Editor, BACK ISSUE 118 Edgewood Ave. NE Concord, NC 28025

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!, Back Issue, or any combination and save:

These rates are for black-&-white ads, supplied on-disk (TIF, EPS, or Quark Xpress files acceptable) or as cameraready 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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BACK ISSUE #54

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BACK ISSUE #57

• Digital Editions available: $2.95-$3.95! • Back Issue & Alter Ego now full-color! • Lower international shipping rates!

“Liberated Ladies” eyeing female characters that broke barriers in the Bronze Age: Big Barda, Valkyrie, Ms. Marvel, Phoenix, Savage She-Hulk, and the sword-wielding Starfire. Plus a “Pro2Pro” interview with JILL THOMPSON, GAIL SIMONE, and BARBARA KESEL, art and commentary by JOHN BYRNE, GEORGE PEREZ, JACK KIRBY, MIKE VOSBURG, and more, with a new cover by BRUCE TIMM!

“Avengers Assemble!” Writer ROGER STERN’S acclaimed 1980s Avengers run, West Coast Avengers, early Avengers toys, and histories of Hawkeye, Mockingbird, and Wonder Man, with art and commentary from JOHN and SAL BUSCEMA, JOHN BYRNE, BRETT BREEDING, TOM DeFALCO, STEVE ENGLEHART, BOB HALL, AL MILGROM, TOM MORGAN, TOM PALMER, JOE SINNOTT, and more. PÉREZ cover!

JENETTE KAHN interviewed by ROBERT GREENBERGER, DC’s Dollar Comics and unrealized kids’ line (featuring an aborted Sugar and Spike revival), the Wonder Woman Foundation, and the early days of the Vertigo imprint. Exploring the talents of ROSS ANDRU, KAREN BERGER, STEVE BISSETTE, JIM ENGEL, GARTH ENNIS, NEIL GAIMAN, SHELLY MAYER, ALAN MOORE, GRANT MORRISON, and more!

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Big BATMAN issue, with an unused Golden Age cover by DICK SPRANG! Interviews SPRANG and JIM MOONEY, with rare and unseen Batman art by BOB KANE, JERRY ROBINSON, WIN MORTIMER, SHELLY MOLDOFF, CHARLES PARIS, and others! Part II of the TONY TALLARICO interview by JIM AMASH! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

1970s Bullpenner WARREN REECE talks about Marvel Comics and working with EVERETT, BURGOS, ROMITA, STAN LEE, MARIE SEVERIN, ADAMS, FRIEDRICH, ROY THOMAS, and others, with rare art! DEWEY CASSELL spotlights Golden Age artist MIKE PEPPE, with art by TOTH, TUSKA, SEKOWSKY, TALLARICO Part 3, plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, cover by EVERETT & BURGOS, and more!

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Interview with inker SCOTT WILLIAMS from his days at Marvel and Image to his work with JIM LEE, FRANK MILLER interview, plus MILLER and KLAUS JANSON show their working processes. Also, MIKE MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS’ “Comic Art Bootcamp”, a “Rough Critique” of a newcomer’s work by BOB McLEOD, art supply reviews by “Crusty Critic” JAMAR NICHOLAS, and more!

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Go to Japan with articles on two JAPANESE LEGO FAN EVENTS, plus take a look at JAPAN’S SACRED LEGO LAND, Nasu Highland Park—the site of the BrickFan events and a pilgrimage site for many Japanese LEGO fans. Also, a feature on JAPAN’S TV CHAMPIONSHIP OF LEGO, a look at the CLICKBRICK LEGO SHOPS in Japan, plus how to get into TECHNIC BUILDING, LEGO EDUCATION, and more!

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Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Fantastic Four #1 with LEE & KIRBY: THE WONDER YEARS, a new book about the duo who created the Fantastic Four, and a decade in comics that was more tumultuous and awe-inspiring than any before or since! Calling on his years of research, plus new interviews conducted just for this book (with STAN LEE, FLO STEINBERG, MARK EVANIER, JOE SINNOTT, and others), regular JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR magazine contributor MARK ALEXANDER completed this book just before his recent death. It traces both Lee and Kirby’s history at Marvel Comics, and the remarkable series of events and career choices that led them to converge in 1961 to conceive the Fantastic Four. It also documents the evolution of the FF throughout the 1960s, with previously unknown details about Lee and Kirby’s working relationship, and plenty of amazing Kirby artwork!

Examine the work of a true Modern Master: Ron Garney!

Ron Garney can draw cinematic blockbuster action with the best of them, as his iconic runs on Captain America, Wolverine, and Weapon X will attest. But he also excels at depicting the quiet moments—there is emotional nuance in his work, which elevates every story he illustrates. Now join authors JORGE KHOURY and ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON—along with JASON AARON, TOM PALMER, ALEX ROSS, and friends—for MODERN MASTERS, VOLUME 27: RON GARNEY! This book documents his stellar career by virtue of an exhaustive interview with Garney, where he explains his creative process, and presents a wealth of rare and unseen art, including a gallery of commissioned pieces, many in full-color! (120-page trade paperback with COLOR) $15.95 • ISBN: 9781605490403 • Diamond Order Code: OCT111232

FOR A FREE COLOR CATALOG, CALL, WRITE, E-MAIL, OR LOG ONTO www.twomorrows.com

TwoMorrows—A New Day For Comics Fandom! TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • Visit us on the Web at www.twomorrows.com

(160-page trade paperback) $19.95 • ISBN: 9781605490380 Diamond Order Code: SEP111248