Back Issue #66

COMICS’ BRONZE AGE AND BEYOND!

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MARVEL TEAM-UP • MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE • SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP X-MEN/NEW TEEN TITANS • DC COMICS PRESENTS • SUPER-TEAM FAMILY SUPERMAN/SHAZAM SMACKDOWNS • THE BATMAN OF EARTH B(&B)

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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“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!

“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!

“Licensed Comics”! Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Man from Atlantis, DC’s Edgar Rice Burroughs backups (John Carter, Pellucidar, Carson of Venus), Marvel’s Warlord of Mars, and an interview with CAROL SERLING, wife of ROD SERLING. With art and commentary from ANDERSON, BYRNE, CLAREMONT, DORMAN, DUURSEMA, KALUTA, MILLER, OSTRANDER, and more. Cover by BRIAN KOSCHACK.

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“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!

“JLA in the Bronze Age”! The “Satellite Years” of the ‘70s and early ‘80s, with BUCKLER, ENGLEHART, PÉREZ, and WEIN, salute to DICK DILLIN, the Justice League “Detroit” team, with CONWAY, PATTON, McDONNELL, plus CONWAY and GEOFF JOHNS go “Pro2Pro” on writing the JLA, unofficial JLA/Avengers crossovers, and Marvel’s JLA, the Squadron Supreme. Cover

by McDONNELL and BILL WRAY!

“Toon Comics!” History of Space Ghost in comics, Comico’s Jonny Quest and Star Blazers, Marvel’s Hanna-Barbera line and Dennis the Menace, behind the scenes at Marvel Productions, Ltd., and a look at the unpublished Plastic Man comic strip.

Art/comments by EVANIER, FOGLIO, HEMPEL and WHEATLEY, MARRS, RUDE, TOTH, WILDEY, and more. All-new painted Space Ghost cover by STEVE RUDE!

“Halloween Heroes and Villains”! JEPH LOEB and TIM SALE’s chiller Batman: The Long Halloween, the Scarecrow (both the DC and Marvel versions), Solomon Grundy, Man-Wolf, Lord Pumpkin, Rutland, Vermont’s Halloween parades, and… the Korvac Saga’s Dead Avengers! With commentary from and/or art by CONWAY, GIL KANE, LOPRESTI, MOENCH, PÉREZ, DAVE WENZEL, and more. Cover by TIM SALE!

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“Tabloids and Treasuries,” spotlighting every all-new tabloid from the 1970s. Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man, The Bible, Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles, The Wizard of Oz, even the PAUL DINI/ALEX ROSS World’s Greatest Super-Heroes editions! Commentary and art by ADAMS, GARCIA-LOPEZ, GRELL, KIRBY, KUBERT, MAYER, ROMITA SR., TOTH, and more.

Wraparound cover by ALEX ROSS!

“Superman in the Bronze Age”! JULIUS SCHWARTZ, CURT SWAN, Superman Family, World of Krypton miniseries, and ALAN MOORE’s “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”, art & comments

by ADAMS, ANDERSON, CARDY, CHAYKIN, PAUL KUPPERBERG, OKSNER, O’NEIL, PASKO, ROZAKIS, SAVIUK, and more. Cover by GARCÍA-LÓPEZ and SCOTT WILLIAMS! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

“British Invasion” issue! History of Marvel UK, Beatles in comics, DC’s ‘80s British talent pool, V for Vendetta, Excalibur, Marshal Law, Doctor Who, “Pro2Pro” interview with PETER MILLIGAN & BRENDAN McCARTHY, plus BERGER, BOLLAND, DAVIS, GIBBONS, STAN LEE, LLOYD, MOORE, DEZ SKINN, and others. Fold-out triptych cover by RON WILSON and DAVE HUNT of Marvel UK’s rare 1970s “Quadra-Poster”!

“Bronze Age Backup Series”! Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Metamorpho, GOODWIN and SIMONSON’s Manhunter, PASKO and GIFFEN’s Dr. Fate, “Whatever Happened To…?”, Nemesis, Rose and the Thorn, Seven Soldiers of Victory, art and commentary by CARY BURKETT, JOHN CALNAN, DICK GIORDANO, MIKE GRELL, ELLIOT S! MAGGIN, DAN SPIEGLE, cover

by GRELL and JOE RUBINSTEIN.

“Bronze Age B-Teams”! Defenders issue-byissue overview, Champions, Guardians of the Galaxy, Inhumans, PETER DAVID’s X-Factor, Teen Titans West, Legion of Substitute Heroes, an all-star chatfest of Doom Patrol interviews, plus art and commentary by ROSS ANDRU, SAL BUSCEMA, KEITH GIFFEN, TONY ISABELLA, PAUL KUPPERBERG, ERIK LARSEN, GEORGE PÉREZ, BOB ROZAKIS, cover by KEVIN NOWLAN.

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Volume 1, Number 66 August 2013 Celebrating the Best Comics of the '70s, '80s, '90s, and Beyond!

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

COVER ARTISTS Gil Kane and Terry Austin (originally the cover of Marvel Treasury Edition #9, “Giant Superhero Team-Up”; inked in 2012 by Austin from a photocopy of Kane’s 1976 pencils) COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg BACK SEAT DRIVER: The Batman of Earth-B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Batman’s bravest and boldest writer, “Zany” Bob Haney

PROOFREADER Rob Smentek SPECIAL THANKS James T. Arnold Michael Aushenker Al Bigley Jonathan Brown Lex Carson John Cimino Chris Claremont Gerry Conway Tom DeFalco Jo Duffy Steve Englehart Jamie Ewbank Danny Fingeroth Peter Gillis David Allen Gold Grand Comic-Book Database Ted Grant Bob Hall David “Hambone” Hamilton

Rich Handley Karl Heitmeuller Heritage Auctions Tony Isabella Dan Johnson David Anthony Kraft Steve Lipsky Andy Mangels Marvel Comics Bob McLeod Allen Milgrom Stuart Neft Yanick Paquette Bob Rozakis Alex Segura Steve Skeates Anthony Snyder Roy Thomas Herb Trimpe Marv Wolfman John Wells

If you’re viewing a Digital Edition of this publication,

PLEASE READ THIS: This is copyrighted material, NOT intended for downloading anywhere except our website. If you downloaded it from another website or torrent, go ahead and read it, and if you decide to keep it, DO THE RIGHT THING and buy a legal download, or a printed copy (which entitles you to the free Digital Edition) at our website or your local comic book shop. Otherwise, DELETE IT FROM YOUR COMPUTER and DO NOT SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS OR POST IT ANYWHERE. If you enjoy our publications enough to download them, please pay for them so we can keep producing ones like this. Our digital editions should ONLY be downloaded at

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PRINCE STREET NEWS: The Rejected Team-Ups of The Brave and the Bold . . . . . . . . . . . .6 From the Bible to Young Love, an oddball octet of Batman outings FLASHBACK: We Are (Super-Team) Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 DC’s most unpredictable team-up title has a warm spot in fans’ hearts FLASHBACK: The Other Spider-Man Title: Marvel Team-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Chris Claremont remembers his Spider-team-time ART GALLERY: Al Milgrom’s Marvel Team-Up Cover Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 FLASHBACK: Idol of Millions: The Thing in Marvel Two-in-One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Ben Grimm’s rollicking ride through 100 (-plus) issues with multiple cohorts and creators BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: Super-Villain Team-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Really, can two megalomaniacs form a partnership??

GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: The Search for Swamp Thing #25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Art collector Jim Arnold’s quest for the unpublished Swamp Thing/Hawkman team-up FLASHBACK: Men of Steel: Superman and Julius Schwartz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Super-scribes recall the team-ups of World’s Finest Comics and DC Comics Presents OFF MY CHEST: The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 The Claremont/Simonson Breakfast Club of the Comics Crossover HERO ENVY: Superman vs. Captain Marvel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 An exhaustive look at the rivalry between the Man of Steel and World’s Mightiest Mortal BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 Reader letters BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 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 Gil Kane and Terry Austin. All characters TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. Prince Street News © Karl Heitmeuller. Hero Envy © Reckless Sidekick Productions. All editorial matter © 2013 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing. BACK ISSUE is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING. Team-Ups Issue

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Original cover art to Marvel Team-Up #133 (Sept. 1983), co-starring Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. Art by Al Milgrom and John Byrne. Courtesy of Al Milgrom. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks

So, you’re a fan of the Bronze Age Batman, are you? Which one?

If you read comics edited by Julius Schwartz, your Batman was “The” Batman—a grim but often gabby detective, a shadowy loner who still managed to be one of DC Comics’ most active team players.

If you watched Saturday morning animated cartoons, your Batman was reminiscent of the Caped Crusader popularized during the mid-1960s on TV’s live-action Batman camp-fest (which was still in wide syndication during the 1970s)—a tongue-in-cheek do-gooder and surrogate father figure prone to administering public-service announcements at the drop of a cowl.

And if you read comics written by Bob Haney (1926–2004), your Batman was a courageous crimebuster who sometimes flew off the handle, went camel-riding and scuba-diving in pursuit of bad guys, was prone to demon- and Atom-possession, mutated into a Bat-Hulk and a Man-Bat, sustained grave gunshot wounds (only to be miraculously healed by the next issue), and had a serial-killer brother and a Super-Son! This “Bat-guy” (as he was nicknamed by his brave-and-bold buddies

by M i c h Green Arrow, Deadman, and Metamorpho) flapped his scalloped ael Eury batwings into the faces of the Darknight Detective’s other writers and editors, yet headlined some of the hero’s bestselling adventures of the day. Holy continuity aversion! Who was this Batman of “Earth-B”??

Just in case you arrived late to the party, during the 1970s, most of DC Comics’ heroes existed on what editor “Julie” Schwartz called Earth-One, home of the Justice League of America. Their predecessors, DC’s Golden Age characters, resided on Earth-Two, home of the Justice Society of America. The JSA returned annually in a summer crossover with the JLA, and occasionally Earth-Two heroes received their own series, such as the Spectre in Adventure Comics and the “Super-Squad”—the rebranded Justice Society, augmented by young protégés—in All-Star Comics.

Other Earths were created during the Silver and Bronze Ages to showcase topsy-turvy realities (such as Earth-Three, where supervillains ruled) or to house characters previously owned by other publishers and acquired by DC (like Earth-X, home of Quality Comics’ heroes including Uncle Sam and the Phantom Lady).

And then there was Earth-B, a world of stories written by Bob Haney.

There were no disclaimers in Earth-B comic books warning readers that they were about to experience an imaginary story or witness events occurring on a parallel world. When you picked up, say, 1971’s The Brave and the Bold #98, co-starring Batman and the Phantom Stranger, you were being sold a comic that looked and felt like DC’s other Earth-One titles—heck, that one was even drawn by Jim Aparo, the regular bob haney Phantom Stranger artist (who was soon to become the main B&B artist as well). Then, on page one, you realized that this wasn’t quite the same Gotham Guardian you knew from Batman, Detective Comics, and Justice League of America: This Batman paid a deathbed visit to a civilian friend and was the godfather to his friend’s son (Batman, family guy?). The next issue, a creepy Batman/Flash Continuity on Ice team-up drawn by Bob Brown and Nick Cardy, pictured the Darknight Detective rummaging through the “Wayne family summer home,” In the second appearance of the Super-Sons, not only reminiscing about his childhood as Bruce Wayne … then “stifling a sob” as does the very existence of Batman’s and Superman’s he surveys an inscribed urn containing his parents’ cremated remains. But, wait a minute—Thomas and Martha Wayne were buried, as we’ve seen in offspring smack continuity buffs in the face, but the countless flashbacks to Batman’s origin, where a vengeful young Bruce, World’s Greatest Detective flaunting a photo of his freshly orphaned, swears by their graveside to dedicate his life to eradicating crime! Are you sure this is the same Batman from other DC titles?? unmasked, Bruce Wayne-looking boy adds insult to injury.

The Batman of Earth-B was deputized by the Gotham Police Still, you’ve gotta love the goofiness of the Super-Sons— Department and carried a badge (B&B #102), and was so chummy with Gotham’s top cop that he called his colleague Jim Gordon “Commish.” as well the detail from this awesome Nick Cardy cover, He started many a Brave and Bold adventure working alongside the from World’s Finest Comics #216 (Feb.–Mar. 1973). police—as one of the boys in blue (and in his case, gray)—instead of being Bat-signaled in for special cases. This Batman would brashly TM & © DC Comics.

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admonish street punks and at times show emotional extremes: When trapped in a well in the Sgt. Rock team-up in #108, Batman “sold his soul” to the Devil (or was it Adolf Hitler?) to escape after shrieking an impassioned “Batman wants to live!!” plea, and in an uncharacteristic burst of blood-curdling rage vowed to take the life of the Clown Prince of Crime in the oft-reprinted Batman/Joker team-up in B&B #111: “By God, Joker—you’ve done your last criminal act! I swear this time to hunt you down and destroy you like the mad dog you are!!” The Batman seen in other DC titles would never evoke such an oath, nor would he threaten to kill anyone, even his worst enemy.

This Batman of The Brave and the Bold was not alone in turning a blind eye to DC’s norms—many of his teammates followed suit, in sizzling tales churned from Haney’s smoking typewriter. Some examples: • In issue #78 Haney portrayed Wonder Woman and Batgirl as cat-fighters totally ga-ga over Batman, and in #100 he had Black Canary (a brunette, by the way, who wears a blonde wig when fighting crime) miss a call into action because she was nested under a noisy beauty-shop hairdryer! Had he ever actually read a comic starring any of those duty-bound superheroines?

• Haney explained in the backstory of frequent B&B teammates Batman and Sgt. Rock that as a young man, Bruce Wayne met Easy Company’s grizzled sarge shortly before D-Day (June 6, 1944), as shown in their initial pairing in 1969’s issue #84. But how could that be, since the Earth-One Batman was a mere 30-ish in the early-to-mid-1970s when “the Rock” continued to battle alongside “the Cowl”? Do the math with me: Were Wayne, let’s say, 22 years of age in 1944, by the time Rock showed up in “current” times (1971) for their second team-up in B&B #96, Batman should have been pushing 50!

• Wildcat routinely stopped by the pages of B&B to pair off with the Caped Crusader. But fans knew that Wildcat lived on Earth-Two and was a member of the Justice Society, not on Earth-One with the JLA’s Batman! (The same confusion surrounded the JSA’s Ghostly Guardian, the Spectre, an occasional B&B Batman co-star.)

• In two issues roughly one year apart, Haney twice misfired with Green Arrow continuity. In issue #100, the archer—with absolutely no compunction— killed a drug pusher with a shaft through the heart, and when Green Arrow returned as a Bat-ally in B&B #106, his alter ego of Oliver Queen was portrayed as a millionaire. GA’s execution-with-arrow occurred at a time when no DC hero would dream of taking a life, and prompted Denny O’Neil to write a Green Lantern/Green Arrow tale in reaction to the matter (see BACK ISSUE #64 for more info). And readers of JLA and GL/GA knew that Ollie had lost his fortune in recent years, but in Haney’s world, Queen was still a platinum card-carrying member of the 1%.

[Curiously, Denny O’Neil, who objected to Bob Haney’s handling of Green Arrow in B&B #100, was assigned to write a team-up featuring Haney’s Earth-B Wildcat and the Earth-One Creeper. This story appeared in Super-Team Family #2, covered later in this issue.]

Zany Haney Scenes like these may have made fanboys’ blood boil, but, hey, they put a lot of readers on the edge of their seats! (top left) This DC house ad for The Brave and the Bold #84 poses a legitimate question; (top right) a miffed Robin yanks a ditzy Black Canary from a beauty parlor in B&B #100; (2nd row) “the hour of the gun” has come for Batman in B&B #104 (he’s firing blanks, by the way, for dramatic effect); (3rd row) a demonic figure reminds Bruce Wayne of his perilous pact in B&B #108; (4th row) the Atom—inside Batman’s very body!—remote-controls the comatose Caped Crusader in B&B #115; and (bottom) a DC comic that survived the Great Disaster (conveniently, an issue of Brave and Bold) inspired the harried humans of Kamandi’s dystopian future to magically summon Batman to their era in B&B #120. Pure gold from writer Bob Haney and artist Jim Aparo, although #84’s ad features Neal Adams cover art.

TM & © DC Comics.

Team-Ups Issue

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It’s No Joke (left) Brave and Bold readers agitated by Haney’s outlandish stories were generally calmed by the pitch-perfect storytelling from illustrator supreme Jim Aparo.

Here’s a page of original art from B&B #118 (Apr. 1975) featuring Batman and Wildcat, and co-starring the Joker.

Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). (right) “The daring secret even Batman never knew” in World’s Finest #223 (May–June 1974) was the revelation of Bruce Wayne’s older brother, Thomas, Jr. This interior page—from provocateur Haney, unwittingly abetted by just-drawingwhat-the-script-called-for Dick Dillin, with inker Vince Colletta—explains the woeful tale of Batman’s sibling.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Bob Haney never let DC legend obstruct a good yarn. Silver Age Superman editor Mort Weisinger frequently published imaginary stories where the Man of Steel had a son, or a daughter, and occasionally did the same with the Caped Crusader in Superman/Batman adventures in World’s Finest Comics. When Bob Haney took over as World’s Finest scribe in 1972 with issue #215, he brought with him Superman, Jr. and Batman, Jr.—the teenage “Super-Sons” of Superman and Batman. And the writer defiantly declared, “It is not imaginary, not fantasy, but the way it happened,” contending that these stories were “real,” merely an aspect of our heroes’ lives that was only now being revealed. Pretty ballsy, Bob! While charitable fans might forgive Haney for jettisoning DC lore to advance his wild plots, the writer cast the Waynes’ ashes to the wind in 1974’s World’s Finest #223, when Superman, Batman, and co-star Deadman met Thomas Wayne, Jr., Bruce Wayne’s older brother. Nowhere in hundreds of DC stories had this Wayne sibling been previously mentioned. Yet Haney barreled the plot past his editor, Murray Boltinoff (who most likely hid it from Batman editor Julie Schwartz), revealing that Bruce’s brother at a young age had sustained a psyche-damaging brain injury and was institutionalized. When readers were introduced to Thomas, Jr. in WFC #223, he was the prime suspect in a murder investigation conducted by the World’s Finest duo. In that tale’s followup, in issue #227, he was a host for the body-jumping Deadman (who performed an aerial act in an Iowa circus as Red “Daredevil” Devlin, donning a crimson costume very similar to a certain Man Without Fear’s), until sacrificing himself to save his Bat-brother. Now, if DC had published What If? and passed off Haney’s two-part tale as “What If Bruce Wayne Had a Brother?,” no one would’ve flinched. But Haney considered it as canonical as any of his other tales—or Denny O’Neil’s or Len Wein’s, for that matter. They’re just stories, right? Why sweat the small stuff?

Readers reacted to these continuity detours in two ways. First, they complained. The “Brave and the Bold Mailbag” letters column often featured grievances about these goofs, with Boltinoff, Haney’s editor on both B&B and WFC, or sometimes Haney himself defending the stories, often glibly. Second, they bought lots of comics. Despite the protestations of hardcore DC readers, during the early 1970s Haney’s stories sold well. According to then-editorial director Carmine Infantino, during the heyday of the Haney/Aparo duo, The Brave and the Bold was DC’s bestselling Batman title. And the fanzine The Comic Reader reported that the Super-Sons stories outsold the World’s Finest non-Batman team-ups that preceded them.

Since writing my previous article about The Brave and the Bold for this magazine, which we published in BACK ISSUE #7 (Dec. 2004), ye editor has discovered that Bob Haney’s editor Murray Boltinoff may not have been the continuity-be-damned buttress he appeared to be in B&B lettercols. In an interview with Michael Catron conducted in 1997 but published on The Comics Journal’s website in January 2011, Haney characterized his editor as timid and lacking imagination. “I’d try to throw something a little more way out at him and he’d get very nervous about it,” Haney told Catron.

“He wouldn’t want to do it. When I brought up the Super-Sons, he almost sh*t a brick.” Haney also claimed to be the de facto editor of the comics he produced for Boltinoff, stating that his editor offered virtually no story input and was unable to stand up to the “front office” for fear of being fired. Haney gave the impression that he bullied his stories past Boltinoff, and told Catron that he took credit for their successes and failures.

And they were both. Most of Bob Haney’s Batman team-ups were successes when viewed as standalones. Each one, even his most absurd concepts, was tightly plotted, briskly paced, and enormously enjoyable.

Many of his Brave and Bolds—particularly his late-1960s run illustrated

by Neal Adams—have been reprinted, some numerous times.

Haney’s stories failed, however, when consolidated into the broader tapestry of DC’s history. From head-scratching team-ups like Batman and Wildcat to radical departures like Thomas Wayne, Jr., these stories could only be explained away by placing them in another reality.

And that’s precisely what fan-turned-pro Bob Rozakis did. “I do not recall the first time I referred to ‘Earth-B’ in print, but it was a term I coined and used around the office for quite awhile,” says Rozakis, who was an assistant editor and freelance writer for DC Comics during the last few years Haney was writing B&B. “I think it was more likely that I used it in print in an Answer Man column [which appeared as part of DC’s Daily Planet promo pages], no doubt answering a question about how Batman and Wildcat (or some other Earth-Two character) could team up.”

While we’ve got the Answer Man’s ear, let’s find out, once and for all, what the “B” in Earth-B stands for: “I said that the B stood for Boltinoff, though I’ve heard others say it was for Bob Haney or Brave and Bold.”

Or maybe Earth-[Carte] Blanche, which is what Haney apparently felt he had with DC’s continuity.

Assessing Haney’s B&Bs, Rozakis remarks, “I enjoyed the team-ups with Sgt. Rock and other offbeat characters with whom you would never expect Batman to join forces”—those characters including Plastic Man; the Joker; Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth; Richard Dragon, Kung-Fu Fighter; and a surprise appearance by Batman’s World’s Finest crony, Superman (in issue #150).

“Overall, I enjoyed most of them because they were not tied to continuity and Haney would do pretty much anything he wanted in order to come up with an entertaining tale,” contends Rozakis. And that, my friends, summarizes the magic of Bob Haney’s Batman: his were memorable, sometimes mind-blowing, stories. Google “Bob Haney” and you’ll find blogs attacking or mocking “Zany Haney” for his gaffs, but while numerous Batman tales crafted by other writers of his era may have marched in step with continuity, many of those individual stories have faded from memory. Haney’s tales grabbed

Haney’s B&B Beat Goes On (left) Bob Haney’s spirit was Quija-ed in the Cartoon Network’s three-season series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold. (right) Writer Scott Snyder, with artists Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion, injected Thomas Wayne, Jr. into the New 52’s bloodstream in Batman #10 (Aug. 2012).

Batman TM & © DC Comics.

you by the throat and demanded that you pay attention—and 40 years later, their stranglehold has tightened.

Haney’s Earth-B adventures also remain infinitely re-readable—and are my personal favorite Batman stories of all time. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve read B&B #79’s “Track of the Hook,” #83’s “Punish Not My Evil Son,” and #108’s “The Night Batman Sold His Soul.” I don’t remember all of the B&B story titles, but I do recall the one where Batman met an amnesiac, down-and-out Plastic Man, or when Batman’s clinically dead body was controlled by the fantastic-voyaging Atom. It’s impossible to relegate these Earth-B stories to Batman continuity, but they have earned a spot in two special places: my bookshelf and my heart.

And I’m not alone in my reverence to this much-maligned Bat-scribe: Haney’s wackiness inspired the three seasons of the Cartoon Network’s delightful Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008–2011), and in 2012 Batman writer Scott Snyder provided a new take on Haney’s most controversial character, Thomas Wayne, Jr., in his “The Court of Owls” storyline.

In case you didn’t know, Bob Haney was the father of the superhero team-up as we know it. Traditionally, heroes had sometimes crossed over into each other’s adventures and joined forces in super-teams— and Superman and Batman had cohabitated in World’s Finest Comics for years. But in 1963, when Haney penned the Manhunter from Mars/Green Arrow team-up for Brave and Bold #50, with facsimiles of the heroes’ logos side-by-side on the cover, little did he know he was birthing a genre that would spawn hundreds of co-star comics to follow.

Many of those team-up series are explored in this very edition of BACK ISSUE. Since The Brave and the Bold got a thorough examination in the aforementioned BI #7, my editorial is this issue’s sole nod to the ultimate team-up comic book. But as you read about Marvel Two-in-One and SuperTeam Family and even Super-Villain Team-Up, don’t forget to tilt your eyes heavenward to thank Bob Haney for spearheading this storytelling staple.

And if you’re looking to read an outrageous or heart-wrenching story featuring a Batman much less grim than the one in vogue today (anti-Joker death-threats aside), I can recommend several dozen Earth-B page-turners…

Special thanks to Bob Rozakis, Alex Segura, and John Wells.

BACK ISSUE editor-in-chief MICHAEL EURY, a one-time DC Comics editor, is the co-writer or writer of several books about comics history including The Batcave Companion and The Justice League Companion. He calls his basement garage “the Batcave.”

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DC Comics’ Super-Team Family was a fun and interesting title whose run was all too brief. Indeed, at 15 issues, some would say it was little more than a blip on the radar screen of most comic-book fans. Throughout its run, though, readers got to experience a wide variety of match-ups between the company’s superstars with stories that spanned the whole of DC’s universe and its history.

CRISIS ON ISSUE-ONE! Super-Team Family #1 (Oct.–Nov. 1975) was an all-reprint issue, a necessity stated in the book’s editorial page due to a deadline crisis. “There was always the intention to do original stories,” says Gerry Conway, who served as Super-Team Family’s first editor. “As you start out with these things, you’re looking for the best way to introduce [a book] on the market, and DC was trying to expand its brand a bit. Plus the intent of the reprints was to use a larger-size format [with a greater page count] without having to involve the expense of all those extra pages.”

The stories in the first issue helped to lay down some of the rules regarding what constitutes a team-up.

It also presented some wonderful hits from DC’s Silver Age. This issue started out with a classic example of the most enduring team in comics, Superman and Batman. The story, from World’s Finest Comics #175 (May 1968), was “The Superman-Batman Revenge Squads,” which is most notable for being Neal Adams’ first Batman story. The second tale was a Teen Titans story, “Stepping Stone for a Giant Killer,” which first appeared in Teen Titans #19 (Feb. 1969).

The story that really stands out in this issue, mostly because it is the most unusual team-up in the book, was GERRY CONWAY “Tempting Target for the Temperature Twins,” from The Flash #166 (Dec. 1966). Here it is two supervillains, Captain Cold and Heat Wave, who team up, determined to put turn up the heat on the Scarlet Speedster and put him on ice for good.

The story illustrated how Conway wanted Super-Team Family to reflect less-traditional team-ups, the kind that reader might not expect to see all that often. “One of the things about team-up books like Marvel Team-Up and Brave and the Bold, is that they are sort of out of continuity,” says Conway. “They’re not intended to carry forward the main storylines of the characters. They give you the opportunity to play with characters that aren’t normally put together. In Brave and the Bold, before they found the Batman formula, they had a lot of stories that were offbeat and strange team-ups. You would see

It’s a Family Affair Detail to Dick Giordano’s cover to Super-Team Family #1 (Oct.–Nov. 1975).

This first issue reprinted Superman/Batman, Teen Titans, and Flash stories.

TM & © DC Comics.

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by

Dan Johnson

The Way It Wasn’t (left) The cover of Super-Team Family #2 (Dec. 1975–Jan. 1976), and (below) Dick Giordano’s signed original cover art for same, spotlighting the issue’s new Creeper/Wildcat combo. The powers-thatbe decided that this weirdo team-up lacked commercial punch and truncated Dick’s gorgeous art, bumping it below a snippet from Neal Adams’ Batman/Deadman cover from The Brave and the Bold #69.

Note the editorial comment to the artist above the cover art, asking Giordano to enlarge the figures (which was done via Photostatting and a paste-up)—how ironic that in its published version, the figures were reduced! A BIG BI thank-you to Al Bigley (bigglee.blogspot.com/) for putting this unused original cover on our radar.

TM & © DC Comics.

these and go, ‘Why would Green Arrow be teaming up with Metamorpho?’ You would look at them and say, ‘That’s pretty odd.’ I think probably the Captain Cold and Heat Wave story was an example of that craziness.”

[Editor’s note: For the record, GA and Metamorpho never actually co-starred in the early days of B&B team-ups—instead, the former paired with Martian Manhunter and the latter with the Metal Men.]

THE CREEPER AND WILDCAT Original content began running in Super-Team Family #2 (Dec. 1975–Jan. 1976) with “Showdown in San Lorenzo,” a team-up between the Creeper and Wildcat.

This tale was written by Denny O’Neil, with artwork by Ric Estrada and Bill Draut. It had the two heroes fighting one another at first, but then joining forces to save a kidnapped boxer. The story’s pairing again reflected Conway’s desire to have some team-ups in the book with characters that you might not have originally thought would work together. “Anytime you can give some characters a different way of approaching the same sphere of problems, you’re in great shape,” says Conway. “I think that was the gift that Stan [Lee] gave all of us in comics, his turning these stories on their heads by introducing real-world concerns. But that only goes so far, so then you have to start having to come up with ways to show how characters perceive things and approach them in different ways. It’s not just how they solve the problem, but how each of them solves the problem and whether that creates conflict or whether it doesn’t. All of that makes it more interesting for the creators and the readers. [Regarding the Creeper and Wildcat team-up,] the less sense it makes, the better. I was going back to the original Brave and the Bold mash-ups where they would team up these random characters. There would be these strange team-ups of characters from different universes. I think that was the Team-Ups Issue

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Hawkman Goes Ape (right) Bronze Age readers don’t normally associate Frank Brunner with DC Comics, but the popular Dr. Strange and Howard the Duck artist drew this cover for Super-Team Family #3 (Feb.–Mar. 1976). (left) Gorilla Grodd causes grief for the super-team of Flash and Hawkman on that issue’s splash. Script by Steve Skeates, art by Ric Estrada and Wally Wood.

TM & © DC Comics.

big deal about Creeper and Wildcat. Wildcat was a very While not an official team-up in the traditional capacity, down-to-Earth, gritty, street-level character, and Creeper this story is a rare example of how the DC Universe was more of an ‘in your mind’ character, where he is was interconnected in the early days of the Silver Age. playing mind games, but he was certainly using athletiTHE FLASH AND HAWKMAN cism, too, which was the tie between the two of Super Team Family #3 (Feb.–Mar. 1976) sports them. The Creeper just had a much more a terrific Frank Brunner cover and features intellectual approach to the whole thing.” one new story, “Gorilla My Dreams,” The second issue also featured a written by Steve Skeates, with artwork Batman and Deadman team-up, “The

by Ric Estrada and Wally Wood. The Track of the Hook,” reprinted from story concerns the Flash coming to the Brave and the Bold #79 (Sept. 1968), rescue of Hawkman after the Winged which was Neal Adams’ first story for Wonder is devolved into a gorilla by that title. The issue also reprinted one of the Scarlet Speedster’s deadliest “The Vanishing Arrows,” a Green Arrow foes, Gorilla Grodd. Grodd is out to use story from Adventure Comics #266 Thanagarian technology to conquer the (Nov. 1959). This story has Green world, and making a monkey out of Arrow getting an encouraging letter Hawkman is simply part of his plan. “I from Batman that inspires him to steve skeates was asked by editor Gerry Conway start using green tips on all his arrows, and his assistant, Paul Levitz, if I’d like to serve as his “signature.” Once he to write a 20-some-page team-up of starts breaking these new arrows out, though, they either vanish or are destroyed after they are used. In the end, the Hawkman and the Flash,” says Skeates. “[The assignment Battling Bowman crosses paths with Superman and learns made] sense, seeing as I had pretty much been working that the Man of Steel has been following Green Arrow and as one of Gerry’s regular writers from the very inception Speedy throughout the story and was disposing of the of his short stint as a DC editor. Though he was ten years new arrows because the green tips are made of kryptonite. younger than me, I liked Gerry as an editor. We had developed what I saw as a good working relationship, and, overall, we seemed essentially to be on the same wavelength vis-à-vis the stories we were producing. I do believe Gerry and Paul threw those two [heroes] together because of a particular similarity the fast man and the alien bird guy possessed. [This was] a likeness that easily led to all sorts of possibilities for an intriguing subplot—and I’m speaking of the fact that both of them were married, supposedly happily so!”

Besides teaming Flash and Hawkman together, Skeates also loved the idea of having them go up

10 • BACK ISSUE • Team-Ups Issue

What’s Old is …

Well, It’s Still Old But as we know here in BACK ISSUE land, there’s nothing wrong with golden oldies! Two of Super-Team Family’s all-reprint editions: (left) #5 (June–July 1976) with a cover

by Ernie Chan, and (right) #7 (Oct.–Nov. 1977), its Titans and DP cover drawn by Jack Sparling and Vince Colletta.

TM & © DC Comics.

against Grodd in this issue. “When either Gerry or Paul mentioned The first, “The Manhunt on Land,” had Aquaman taking to the land that they wanted Gorilla Grodd to be the villain of the piece, there and the second, “The Underwater Archers,” saw Green Arrow going was no holding me back!” says Skeates. “I knew, and I knew that to the sea. The change in scenery for both superheroes came about they knew, that whenever a DC comic featured a gorilla on its cover, because two supervillians decide to trade off on their modus operandi. as surely this one would, that comic would invariably become the best- Each superhero works separately in their own adventure, and the two selling DC comic of that particular month, if not the bestseller of the don’t even meet to shake hands until the end of the second story. The year! Though back then there was no monetary award for writing a final reprint in this issue more than made up for the lack of a proper particular month’s bestseller, this would nonetheless look nifty on team-up in the previous two stories though as it featured not only my résumé, or at least be something I could brag about in Superman and Batman, but also Supergirl, Batgirl, Robin, some future autobiography, so I leapt at the chance!” and Jimmy Olsen together in “The Superman-Batman Like the previous issue, the original story for SuperSplit” from World’s Finest Comics #176 (June 1968).

Team Family #3 was penciled by Ric Estrada, but the This story was also a treat for Neal Adams fans as it inking duties this time around were handled by the was his second, and final, story for World’s Finest. legendary Wally Wood. “I worked with Ric on All-Star NOTHING NEW TO SEE HERE Comics when that first started back up,” says The third issue of Super-Team Family also carried Conway. “My goal as an editor at DC was to try with it a note from Conway in its letters page that and bring in artists who weren’t seen as DC superexplained that, due to economic conditions, that hero artists. Using Ric was, in my mind, a way to issue would mark an end of original material being break that mode. As far as Wally Wood goes, I don’t presented in the book for the time being. As it think I had that much contact with Wally. I knew would turn out, Super-Team Family #4–7 would be him from various places, but it wasn’t an inall-reprint issues. e. nelson bridwell depth editorial relationship. Wally did what Issue #3 was also Conway’s last turn as the Wally did, and that was pretty much what you book’s editor. As Conway departed to oversee Secret would get. He was a wonderful artist, obviously, and as a fan he was someone I had wanted an opportunity to work Society of Super-Villains, E. Nelson Bridwell slipped into the editor’s with, and having that opportunity was delightful. One of the notions seat, bringing with him his encyclopedic knowledge of comic books.

I had, in my early days as an editor, was to put together artists with If Super-Team Family was to be a reprint book for the foreseeable different strengths. One artist might be really good with dynamic lay- future, Bridwell was the perfect man to have at the helm. The stories out and storytelling and the other artist might be really good with that he selected would continue to reflect the wide diversity that draftsmanship, and I would try to combine the two of them. Ric was Conway had hoped to feature in this comic book.

Issue #4 (Apr.–May 1976) featured the oldest reprint published in more of an expressionistic artist and Wally who was more of a realisthe series, “The Revenge of Solomon Grundy,” a Golden Age tale tic artist. I thought it made for an interesting combination.”

Rounding out this issue were three reprints. The first two reprints from All-Star Comics #33 (Feb. 1947) that featured the Justice Society really didn’t feature a team-up, but they are, again, great examples going up against Solomon Grundy, both as a team and in their own of how interconnected the DC Universe was in the early days of the separate adventures. Also in this issue was a Superman and Batman Silver Age. Both stories are from Adventure Comics #267 (Dec. 1959). (and Robin) story, “Menace of the Moon Man,” from World’s Finest #98 (Dec. 1958).

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Living on Borrowed Time The Challs return in STF #8 (Dec. 1976–Jan. 1977).

Cover by Rich Buckler and Jack Abel.

TM & © DC Comics.

CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN Issue #7’s letters page announced that, due to requests by the readers, new material would return in Super-Team Family #8 (Dec. 1976–Jan. 1977). New material brought with it a new editor, Tony Isabella, who was at the helm of the book for just one issue. “This [story] requires some backtracking,” Isabella explains. “DC recruited me as a writer and creator. At the time, the company was offering Batman and Justice League [of America], neither of which came to pass. There was also some discussion of my coming on staff as a full editor. Near as I can piece together from documents and my own memories, the timeline went something like this: After I left Marvel, and while I was walking over to the DC offices, DC changed their offer and not in my favor. This was the first of countless times DC would renege on agreements with me.

I wouldn’t discuss coming on staff as an editor until I finished my initial work on Black Lightning, which I created, not as work-for-hire, but as part of a partnership agreement with DC. I’ve talked about that elsewhere.”

At this time, DC Comics was eager to expand its line of books. This was the eve of the DC Explosion and the lead-up to this expansive event saw quite a few old characters and concepts getting a new life. One of the features DC hoped to relaunch was the Challengers of the Unknown, and the continuing saga about the four adventurers living on borrowed time was offered to Isabella to write. “Knowing I was unhappy with our relationship to date and knowing it was a favorite of mine, DC offered me Challengers of the Unknown,” says Isabella. “I wrote the first four pages of that first story and then I froze solid. Usually I can lower my head and push through something like that, but, on this occasion, I couldn’t.”

Unable to complete the Challengers story, DC came back to Isabella with its original proposition to be an editor. “DC again offered me a position as a full editor and, this time, I accepted,” says Isabella.

“Super-Team Family was one of the titles I’d be editing, along with Freedom Fighters, Plop!, Star Spangled War Stories (the Unknown Soldier), Tarzan Family, and Young Love. DC being DC, even that simple agreement was Issue #5 (June–July 1976) featured “Batman versus broken. My first day on staff, after I had moved back Eclipso” from Brave and the Bold #64 (Mar. 1966). to New York from Cleveland to take the position, I In this story, Batman matches wits with a society was told I was a ‘story editor’ and not allowed to playgirl-turned-criminal who has plans for to use make artistic decisions on these titles or even talk to Eclipso in her criminal organization. The second the artists drawing them. I put up with that nonsense reprint in this issue was “Superboy Meets Superman,” for less than six months before resigning.” an adventure that saw the Boy of Steel traveling The Challengers tale that Isabella had started, and to the future, where he gets to see the Man of which was titled “The Devil’s Paradise,” ended up Tomorrow he is destined to become. This story headlining Super-Team Family #8. The story was originally appeared in Superboy #47 (Mar. 1956). tony isabella completed by Steve Skeates. “Somewhere along Issue #6 (Aug.–Sept. 1976) featured another the line, someone decided to run the feature in Superman/Batman/Robin team-up, “Return of the Super-Team Family instead,” says Isabella. “That was Composite Superman,” which originally appeared in World’s Finest #168 sort of an odd decision given that the Challengers weren’t super(Aug. 1967). The second story for this issue, “And Then There Were heroes per se, but comics companies often make odd decisions.”

None,” which originally appeared in The Marvel Family #89 (Jan. 1954), Super-Team Family #8 marked the beginning of a three-issue run was the real interest of note this time around. This was the final story for the Challengers in STF. The Challs’ stories were written by Skeates, that Fawcett Comics ever published featuring Captain Marvel and the but overseen by three different editors. “Gerry had left his editorial other members of the Marvel Family. It was also the only story reprinted position, leaving Super-Team Family bouncing all over the place,” says in Super-Team Family that wasn’t originally published by DC Comics.

Skeates, offering some insight into the editorial status of the book during Super-Team Family #7 (Oct.–Nov. 1976) was the last all-reprint his return. “Issue #8 was edited by Tony Isabella, issue #9 (Feb.–Mar. issue and was also used to reintroduce two superhero teams before 1977) by Denny O’Neil, and issue #10 (Apr.–May 1977) back to Paul they began all-new adventures in separate titles. The first story was Levitz, the former assistant editor, now no longer anyone’s assistant!”

“To Order is to Destroy,” starring the Teen Titans, which originally Skeates found challenges of his own that stemmed from working appeared in Teen Titans #31 (Feb. 1971). At the end of the story was under three different editors: “There was some consistency. The three a full-page ad for Teen Titans #44 that heralded the team’s return in issues in question featured the same characters, and all three were the coming month. Also in this issue was “The Brotherhood of Evil,” written by [me] and drawn by James Sherman and Jack Abel, yet with from The Doom Patrol #86 (Mar. 1964). Less than a year later, after each of those editors having his own particular approach it was their reprints ended in STF, the Doom Patrol was rebooted in the almost as though there was a different foursome of Challengers each pages of the newly relaunched Showcase (in #94–96).

12 • BACK ISSUE • Team-Ups Issue

issue. [First off,] Tony was trying to pull those four heroes into the real world. Denny [was] going through a phase where he seemed far more concerned with policing each panel, making sure none of them contained more than 35 words, than in considering whether the story as a whole made any sort of sense or not, and Paul [was] revealing his roots as he attempted to answer a question that only a fanboy could or would pose: What if Multi-Man was able to give himself two superpowers at the same time?”

Keeping in mind that this first Challengers story was originally Isabella’s idea, I asked him about the desire he had to feature real-world political figures in this adventure and if this had been a factor in his original story. “My theory of superhero comics, and I guess the Challengers do fall into that broad genre, is that one should make the real-world stuff as real as possible in order to make it easier for the readers to accept the more fantastic elements,” says Isabella. “[Secretary of State Henry] Kissinger was a public figure, so I used him and [President Gerald] Ford in the story.”

Issue #8 also featured “The Terrible Secret of Negative Man,” which originally appeared in Doom Patrol #87 (May 1964). Part One of “The Incredible Origin of the Chief” from Doom Patrol #88 (June 1964) was featured in Super-Team Family #9 (with the conclusion appearing in STF #10), along with “The Green Arrow’s Last Stand” from Adventure Comics #254 (Nov. 1958). I’m assuming that since Green Arrow is teamed up with his sidekick, Speedy, this deserved to be in this issue. More than likely what warranted its inclusion was its fantastic Jack Kirby artwork.

The Multi-Man story that Skeates mentioned would end up being concluded in Challengers of the Unknown #81 (July 1977), which was advertised at the end of their installment in issue #10. The Doom Patrol installment in this issue was the last reprint published in Super-Team Family. From here on, all stories would be original to the book and there would be would also just be one story per issue.

to him is important. What happens in his story is important. I could focus attention on the Atom and do character development on him.”

During the course of his quest, the Atom would team up with the Flash and Supergirl in #11 (June–July 1977), Green Lantern and Hawkman in #12 (Aug.–Sept. 1977), Aquaman and Captain Comet in #13 (Oct.–Nov. 1977), and finally Wonder Woman in #14 (Dec. 1977– Jan. 1978). “I don’t know if there was much logic behind [the team-ups,]” says Conway. “If there was a female character available for a team-up, I would grab at those. I liked Supergirl as a character, so getting her into the storyline was a no-brainer, and then putting her together with the Flash, that seemed interesting to me.”

Conway was correct when he says that what happened to the Atom in this storyline was important.

Indeed, this four-issue adventure dovetailed into Ray Palmer’s next great adventure, the marriage to Jean Loring in Justice League of America #157 (Aug. 1978).

“I really didn’t intend to do that from the get-go,” confesses Conway about getting Ray and Jean together.

Chained Flash, Supergirl, the Atom, and a comatose Jean Loring in bondage, on this original art page from SuperTeam Family #11 (June–July 1977).

Art by Alan Weiss and Joe Rubinstein.

From the Steve Lipsky collection.

TM & © DC Comics.

LITTLE MAN’S BIG FRIENDS Super-Team Family #11 (June–July 1977) saw the return of Gerry Conway, but now, instead of editing STF, he was writing it. Editorial duties were overseen by Levitz, who stayed on with the book until its cancellation.

As Conway began scripting his stories, he decided yet again to do something different with his team-ups.

His was a huge decision that featured DC’s smallest superhero, the Atom. For the next four issues of SuperTeam Family, the Atom was the lynchpin that held the book together in a story arc that was focused on the Tiny Titan’s efforts to save his girlfriend, Jean Loring. In the first issue of this storyline, Jean was thrown into another dimension by a living planet after she suffered a nervous breakdown, and from there the Atom worked with other superheroes as he struggled to find her.

“The Atom didn’t have his own title or series, so that made him available,” says Conway. “And I always loved the Atom, even during the silliest periods of his early career. This was sort of a way to write a continuing series and also allow me to do something with the Atom. Just doing a team-up of the month, not being attached to any other storyline, just didn’t appeal to me. One of the downsides to a team-up book is that it can’t really have an effect on the characters in their own titles, so the notion I had was let this have an effect on a peripheral character, one who isn’t the main character in each story, but is central to the story. What happens

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Odd Couplings (left) The Atom’s ongoing story arc attracted offbeat allies Aquaman and Captain Comet in Super-Team Family #13 (Oct.–Nov. 1977). Cover by Al Milgrom and Jack Abel. What could be weirder than that? (right) The final issue’s Flash/New Gods match-up, that’s what! Cover

by José Luis García-López.

TM & © DC Comics.

“To be perfectly honest, I just come up with generalized situations that offer conflicts and then see where they take me. I think I knew that eventually, for [the Atom] to grow, we had to have that character marry Jean Loring.”

Beyond the Atom making an honest woman out of Miss Loring, this storyline also delved into Jean’s fragile mental state and laid the groundwork for the Identity Crisis miniseries that was published 25 years later. “If I had known where it was going to end up on the other hand, I might not have done it, given that is part of their history,” says Conway. “[Identity Crisis] makes for a great story, and I think it even was an inevitable story. I’m of a mind that it is not necessary to take [comic-book characters] to that level of reality. But then, I’m the guy who killed Gwen Stacy, so what can I say?”

THE FLASH AND THE NEW GODS … AND THE END Super-Team Family #15 (Feb.–Mar. 1978) featured a standalone story that saw the Flash teaming up with the New Gods in an effort to save Orion, who is growing in size as a result of a plot by Darkseid. “Again, let’s put something together that doesn’t seem to fit,” says Conway about this team-up. “I loved the New Gods and I tried my hand at them a couple of times. I don’t think I ever got them right. [This] was an opportunity to mash something together that didn’t routinely seem like they would fit together. The Flash is this scientist and the New Gods are this kind of mystical science, so that team-up seemed interesting.”

STF #15 was also the book’s final issue. The letters page mentions that there would be an issue #16 that would feature a team-up with Supergirl and the new Doom Patrol. This story, which again was written by Conway, was later broken up into three parts and presented in Superman Family #191–193 (Oct. 1978–Feb. 1979), several months after Super-Team Family ended. Despite its short run, by and large, most agree that the book was a success for DC Comics, so much so, that it was decided to up the ante and make the team-ups really … well … super.

In the wake of Super-Team Family’s demise, DC Comics Presents was born and took its place. To be honest, it makes sense that DC would go this route. After all, DCCP centered around Superman teaming up with a different hero each month, which allowed the 14 • BACK ISSUE • Team-Ups Issue

Man of Steel to have a new vehicle. This made good marketing sense, as the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie was due to be released by the end of the same year that this book hit newsstands (1978).

Also, there had always been a desire to keep Super-Team Family a giant-sized book, but DC Comics Presents would be a standard-sized comic book and required fewer pages than the book it was replacing.

“I wasn’t involved editorial at that point,” says Conway when asked about how Super-Team Family came to an end and DC Comics Presents was born. “It’s sort of funny that you would go from a title that has Super in the title and has team-ups with characters other than Superman to a book called DC Comics Presents, which doesn’t have Superman in the title but primarily teamed other heroes up with him. I think that probably would have been a better title for Super-Team Family.”

Looking back on its run, Super-Team Family always seemed like it was in a state of flux, changing direction as it went along. But that is part of its charm, in my opinion. It came on the eve of the DC Explosion, and like so many books of the decade, was just trying to survive in the market and along the way make some new fans out of any kids that might stumble across it on their neighborhood spinner rack.

In regard to the latter, I can attest it succeed with one young boy. For, you see, part of the reason I wanted to write this article for BACK ISSUE was so I could say “thanks” to this book. Super-Team Family #15 was one of the first three comics I ever bought on my own. It helped spark a love affair with comics that has lasted for 35 years and also sealed my fate to become a comics writer myself. I owe much to the final issue of this series. I can only hope I have paid it back even in the most minute way with this “FlashBack.”

DAN JOHNSON is a comics writer whose works include Herc and Thor for Antarctic Press and several books for Campfire Graphic Novels. He is also a gag writer for the Dennis the Menace comic strip and a contributing author to the short story anthology, With Great Power.

TM

by

Michael Aushenker

Before Spectacular Spider-Man offered additional Spidey soap opera and long before titles such as Web of Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man swung out of the editorial offices of Marvel Comics, a plucky little series called Marvel Team-Up fed the demand for more Web-Crawler action well beyond Marvel’s flagship book, The Amazing Spider-Man. Sure, the Bronze Age saw the likes of Marvel Tales and Spidey Super Stories. However, those were reprints and kiddie comics, respectively. Launched with a March 1972 cover date, Marvel Team-Up offered exciting new Spider-Man adventures—but with a twist!

Mostly self-contained stories free of that pesky continuity complicating Peter Parker’s world in Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Team-Up offered done-in-one adventures and a novelty: Every issue featured a special guest hero/heroine/group to “team up” with Spidey.

“Marvel Team-Up was a fun mag for people who like to see Spider-Man in action with other heroes (or possibly their favorite hero paired up with Spidey),” says longtime Spider-Man writer and editor Danny Fingeroth of the series’ appeal. (At one point, Fingeroth oversaw all Spider-titles.) “The stories were often only loosely tied into the main Spider-Man continuity, which didn’t mean that there weren’t many memorable stories by talented creators.”

On any given month, readers could find Spider-Man paired up with the Hulk, Daredevil, Human Torch, Killraven, Dr. Strange, even the Guardians of the Galaxy and television stars. This conceptual conceit, clean and colorful, became sort of the cherry on the ice cream sundae that was Amazing, Marvel’s groundbreaking title spawned from the imaginations of artist Steve Ditko and writer Stan Lee. And Marvel knew a winning recipe when it had one. Two years into MTU, Marvel launched Marvel Two-in-One, a kindred title featuring team-ups with that other humorous wiseacre, the Thing from Fantastic Four [see article following—ed.].

Like many fans of the series, Fingeroth relished the freewheeling, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to the more flamboyant Spidey pairings. The mix of Spider-Man’s wise-crackery and novelty guestappearances fueled an under-the-radar book that would corral a batch of Marvel’s biggest writers and artists and keep the series firing on all cylinders from (cover dates) March 1972 through February 1985!

Fingeroth’s favorite MTU covers include Ron Frenz and Al Milgrom on #135, Ed Hannigan and Klaus Janson’s cover for #140, and Hannigan and Bob Wiacek’s cover on #142. Among Fingeroth’s favorite issues: #100, which united writer Chris Claremont and artists Frank Miller and Janson, and #120, the J. M. DeMatteis/Kerry Gammill/Mike Esposito story that

“Live from New York…”

Really, was there an issue of Marvel Team-Up more offbeat than this one? Chris Claremont and Jo Duffy take us backstage of this crazy crossover in this article. MTU #74 (Oct. 1978) cover art by Marie Severin.

Spider-Man and Marvel Team-Up TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. SNL © NBC.

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Bugged Out Original cover art to Marvel Team-Up #60 (July 1977). Even though the interiors were done by the Claremont/Byrne team, the cover is by—and courtesy of—Al Milgrom, working from layouts

by Dave Cockrum.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

brought 1930s-based troubleshooter Dominic Fortune into the present. The former Marvel man also singled out #74, arguably the most memorable (and oddball) pairing of the entire series: (the Claremont/ Bob Hall/Marie Severin issue teaming up Spider-Man with Saturday Night Live’s Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Players.

However, long before that historic, unforgettable issue surfaced on the spinner racks, Claremont had already begun to scorch up MTU with the fast-rising Canadian artist he would become best associated with…

Marvel Team-Up. Best known for the definitive, movie franchise-informing mythology on The Uncanny X-Men, the Claremont/Byrne magic, while perhaps not as abundant and landmark as the X-Men issues, brightened up an otherwise generic house book.

Claremont recalls how the issues’ sales “did extremely well. This was back in the days when the direct market was just getting started, if that. The intent from our perspective was to create a potential team-up you know you couldn’t take for granted.”

With Byrne, Claremont decided which characters to pair with the BYRNE, BABY, BYRNE! Wall-Crawler.

To the outside world, the 1970s “John and I,” Claremont says, may have given us disco, bell-bottom “would kick around, ‘Who would be claremont chris pants, and Mafia movies, but within cool?’ You find out what character the realm of mainstream superhero the artist would consider fun.” comics, two of comics’ towering The Spidey scribe said he enjoyed placing the titans emerged from the decade as industry superstars: Web-Slinger alongside some unconventional and artist John Byrne and writer Chris Claremont. under-utilized characters.

The fan favorites, who for years had collaborated “Spidey and Mary Jane Watson go to the Met, and together, built their names partially on work done in suddenly [we have] Red Sonja,” he says.

“Editorial was a more relaxed reality in those days, even though we chafed at it. It was convenient, we didn’t have to ask anyone,” Claremont continues of MTU’s lack of continuity. “You didn’t have to let the writer know, so you’re not stepping on any toes or upsetting anyone’s apple cart. Everyone’s using Thor, Iron Man. Reed Richards, on the other hand—or if I can do a really good two-parter with the Wasp and Henry Pym, that works.”

A character from one of Marvel’s tangential, licensed properties, such as the Robert E. Howard oeuvre? Even better!

“That was the essence of Red Sonja—we didn’t have to worry about anyone’s continuity,” he said.

The challenge for Claremont and Byrne, the former says, was “to see if we could attract people who otherwise would not pick up Marvel Team-Up or a comic book. The beauty of Spider-Man being on SNL … you can never tell what is going to happen.”

“Unpredictable” was, indeed, MTU’s unwritten qualifier.

THE MEN WITH THE “IRON FIST” Before they teamed up on Team-Up, Claremont and Byrne cut their teeth on a brilliant, short-lived run of Iron Fist, featuring the dragon-tattooed, green-andyellow-costumed Caucasian martial artist with the Asian persuasion.

“We picked up the conflict with the Steel Serpent,” the writer recalls. “Iron Fist was canceled and then [editor] Archie [Goodwin]’s idea was that Iron Fist and Power Man were both low-seller titles and they had theoretically different audiences, so the two characters were merged in one title. John and I came onto Power Man/Iron Fist for a stretch of issues, but not that long because The X-Men ate up all of his time (when it went monthly), and then I stuck around for a few issues after that.

Archie’s whole comment was that there were no main villains in either of their books.”

Claremont saw it from a different perspective: “Look at the four main characters—Iron Fist, Power Man, Misty Knight, and Colleen Wing. You had four great characters right there—you don’t need any villains!”

Byrne was a rising star, his meteoric success building steam with his run on Iron Fist, which was ably inked

by Dan Green.

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Danny Rand and His Kung-Fu Hand (left) Claremont and Byrne’s collaboration on Iron Fist put that creative team on the map. Iron Fist #12 (Apr. 1977). (right) The duo matched up the martial-arts superhero with Spidey in Marvel Team-Up #63 (Nov. 1977). While these books helped Byrne’s star rise, at that time, Dave Cockrum was Marvel’s main cover artist and drew both shown here, inked by Frank Giacoia.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

“You can see him perfecting his craft,” Claremont says of Byrne.

“If you look at his first issue, [Iron Fist] #15, you can see him develop.

It was measurable. When we got [inker] Terry Austin, we knew we had the crew for X-Men.” For a good stretch, the Claremont/Byrne/Austin machine, a true phenomenon in the early days of the direct market, appeared manageable. “We did Team-Up monthly and, at the beginning, X-Men was still bimonthly,” Claremont recalls. “It was a very free-floating environment. Case in point, there was a two-part team-up with Thor.

There’s a throwaway in it in The X-Men—the Beast gets a mayday from the mansion. Jean has gone crazy. He’s on duty in the Avengers mansion, he leaves a post-it: ‘Emergency! Gotta help my old team,’ goes back. Two weeks later, Thor returns to the mansion, Living Pharaoh appears. The Beast comes back…”

This adventure crossed over between Avengers and X-Men. “That was what we were trying to do, build an awareness, a continuity,” Claremont notes. “These guys exist in the same common world. The events in X-Men does not happen exclusively—it’s all part of the same structural fabric.”

The true superstar pairing of Marvel Team-Up was not Spider-Man and the guest hero of the month, but the Claremont/Byrne team-up.

This dynamic duo began to collaborate on a symbiotic level, which would really hit its stride in the pages of X-Men. “I didn’t have to tell [Byrne] the motivations,” Claremont says.

“John already knew that. It wouldn’t change from #28 to issue #40, we could set up. Well, this is the issue where Jean turns a corner and she’s in the 18th Century. Suddenly, it’s Hellfire—what’s going on?”

On Team-Up, however, “for the most part, he stuck to the plots,” the wordsmith continues. “When you’re dealing with the storyteller with the caliber of John, working off the plot is something you do with an artist who is comfortable with that. If I’m working with Herb Trimpe, there’s no point in working with a full script because Herb was working with Jack [Kirby]. I just need to tell him what’s happening and leave the rest to him.”

Pay attention, aspiring comic-book writers, as Claremont reveals some insider insights into his process: “The classic description I use, and it’s true—30 pages for a 22-page story, that’s my standard plot,” he says. “The second issue was a

40-minute phone call and a two-page outline. Frank [Miller] knew the characters, I knew the characters. We knew the emotional moments of what the story would be…”

According to Claremont (and thousands of Marvel diehards), Terry Austin added a sheen of crackling electricity to Byrne’s pencils on issues of X-Men and MTU. “Terry was brilliant,” Claremont confirms. “He took John’s pencils and inked them into perfect representations of John’s work. Almost like etchings. It was wonderful.”

Such a close-knit collaboration and a harmony of talent was so key, opines Claremont, who believes such intuitive, instinctive collaborations have become less likely in the current market.

“These days,” he believes, “you don’t know if the guy you’re going to draw the book even speaks English. He might be in South America or Europe or the Philippines and it’s translated by his agent.

Better to give him full descriptions.”

As a contrast to a sprawling, multi-character telenovela in superhero drag such as X-Men, the writer enjoyed the relative peace of mind he encountered crafting MTU’s finite, done-in-one (or two) storylines “They were all one-shots, two-shots,” Claremont explains. “The most involved story arc I did was a four-parter with Black Widow” [#82–85, June–Sept. 1979]. To the author’s delight, elements from this quartet of MTU issues sprung up in the 2010 movie sequel Iron Man 2. “Even when I have nothing to do with the movie, my stuff sneaks in,” Claremont chuckles.

As it turns out, this Team-Up team operated out of two nations.

The Claremont/Byrne collaboration took place in separate countries, as Byrne resided north of the border.

“I flew up to Canada a couple of times and we hung out,” Claremont says. “But mostly, we talked a lot on the phone. Essentially I’d write as we talked. What we were doing was fresh to both of us and there was a tremendous amount of excitement. I had access to an artist who could visualize anything I thought of, whether it was people at a coffee shop or starships in the heavens.”

Claremont adds how Byrne brought much mirth and intelligence to these Marvel series such as X-Men and MTU. Team-Ups Issue

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Backpage Pass (left) Original John Byrne/Dave Hunt art to a page from Chris Claremont’s Spider-Man/ Daughters of the Dragon match-up in MTU #64 (Dec. 1977).

Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). (right) Byrne’s flip-side sketches, including the Silver Surfer.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

“As gifted and impassioned as John is, his opinions are crucial and as empowered as mine,” Claremont says.

However, did Byrne’s additional talents and mounting ambition in the realm of conceptualizing and writing essentially auger the dissolution of the MTU crew as the artist began dreaming storylines of his own?

The writer takes a breath, pauses, then continues.

“The thing with Team-Up,” he explains, “because you’re dealing with a different cast every issue, it’s much more of a writer’s book. I had to figure it out. I’d talk to John about the choreography of how things would run, and it was mostly up to me or it was too complicated all the john byrne “MUCH MORE OF A time whereas with The X-Men we WRITER’S BOOK” were dealing with a set bunch of Chris Claremont puts it bluntly: characters. It was Days of Our Lives.”

“As long as we lasted, yes, there comes a point in The pairing of Claremont and Byrne became too every creative team-up where you have two passionate successful, especially as Byrne, a writer and creator artists and the question arises.” in his own right, also came packed with a healthy That question did arise, and it led to the end of dose of ambition.

John Byrne’s collaboration with Claremont, as the “He had a vision for the characters and how to tell prolific and ambitious Byrne opted to instead collaborate stories,” Claremont says. “It was becoming less and less with himself as writer on series such as Fantastic Four, compatible with my version, and in the end, [editor-inSensational She-Hulk, and DC Comics’ Man of Steel, chief] Jim [Shooter] found a way to give John The Fantastic Superman, and Action Comics, where the Canuck Four and get the best of both worlds. “He would have Teamdynamo wrote and drew his books.

Up with me and Dave [Cockrum] on X-Men, and John Claremont points to the success of his X-Men would have FF and you’d have two bestselling books.” run with Paul Smith, which instantly caught fire, By the mid-1980s, Byrne left X-Men to write and draw selling in excess of 500,000 copies a month. “If that a substantial and beloved run of Marvel’s first flagship idiot would’ve stayed, we’d have sold one million a comic book, “the World’s Greatest Magazine,” a.k.a. The month,” Claremont quips. “He got bored! Artists are Fantastic Four. Although Claremont and Byrne did not so annoying!” realize it at the time, an era had just ended.

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LONDON CALLING...

With Spidey landing in a new place each issue and other characters coming in and out of the series, perhaps the constantly uprooted style of Marvel Team-Up could not have found a more empathetic author than in the English-born, American-raised Chris Claremont.

Born in London, Claremont grew up in peripatetic fashion, his military dad uprooting and relocating the family all over the US—New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Tampa, Denver. Claremont’s father was drafted into the Royal Air Force. So it was only fitting, given Claremont’s English heritage, that Stan Lee would assign the scribe one Captain Britain, an obvious counterpart to Marvel’s popular and iconic Captain America character.

“Stan wanted to try an exploratory foray into overseas markets,” Claremont recalls, “so he set up in Southcoast, England. [Editor’s note: See BI #63 for the full story behind Marvel UK.] Marvel wanted to try a book to see if there was an overseas market. The British weeklies were crashing and burning. Their attitude was, ‘We’ll take a shot and see what happens.’ Herb was inexpensive, I was cheap. Larry Lieber was running the whole [Marvel UK] kit and caboodle. I got it up and running. I was trying to follow the Stan rubrik and follow the cast of characters. We couldn’t use the New York villains and so I had to come up with a whole new batch specifically for the United Kingdom. We had editorial disagreements coinciding with the books I had here. We wanted a flagship English.”

And so, Claremont created an avatar who was “emblematic of England itself. We were trying to pitch to kids so we couldn’t use the swords. Hence, the scepter. He started out as an older character. He was much more of a Reed Richards kind of guy than a Peter Parker kind of guy. We were trying to be pan-Atlantic, I suspect, making him appealing on both sides.”

Captain Britain had a home over at Marvel UK’s publications, but what about stateside? Answer: MTU. “Putting him in Team-Up, we could present him on a more solid foundation than you can find in a [UK] weekly,” Claremont says. “It just didn’t mesh the way I hoped to. I thought [that MTU was the best option] rather than trying to mesh with an editor you’re not fundamentally [on the same page with,] Larry Lieber.”

In the pages of MTU #65–66 (Jan.–Feb. 1978), Captain Britain, a.k.a.

Brian Braddock, while in New York, winds up in a situation not unlike the Redcoats in New England just prior to the Revolutionary War!

Pinball Wizard (top) The globetrotting Claremont introduced Captain Britain to US readers in MTU #65 (Jan. 1978). Cover by George Pérez and Joe Sinnott. (bottom) Arcade is a full-tilt terror on this spread from #66. John Byrne/Dave Hunt original art courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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“A character asks Peter if Brian can bunk with him,” Claremont continues, “so he shared [a place] with him for a couple of days.

This is what you did in New York. One thing led to another. That’s generally why they ran two issues—the first issue was the introduction and setup, the second was the pay-off.”

Captain Britain landed in a pair of Claremont issues in which he famously helped Spidey fight the impish, nefarious Arcade while trapped in a giant pinball machine.

With such underused, novelty characters as Captain Britain finding a home in the occasional issues of MTU, readers appeared to be returning every month.

“We were doing a respectable 175,000 a month,” Claremont recalls. “That was when X-Men was averaging 495,000.” (On an aside, the scribe adds regarding his ’90s reboot X-Men #1, “I look back at my 7.5 million and smile…”

There were few complications in lining up guest-stars, according to the writer. A Marvel Team-Up book between Claremont and Byrne usually began with the writer asking his artist: “Who would you like to use, who’s available?”

In the case of the Shang-Chi MTU issue, “It wasn’t really his story, he was just dragged in with Spidey’s S.H.I.E.L.D. arc.”

“The fun part was coming up with a terse, powerful, memorable story,” Claremont continues. “You didn’t have the luxury of stringing it out for three years. You either did it in one issue or two.”

Claremont once again evokes the most famous of all of his collaborations with Byrne as counterpoint: “The stories that John and I did—for example, the ‘Days of Future Past,’ when you actually think of what it establishes for X-Men’s fate; the introduction of the Brotherhood; the resolution of Kitty Pryde back in her body—we were doing stuff on the idea was to do the best possible stories in

the most dramatic efficient way possible and leave the audience moderately desperate for more,” Claremont says.

On top of that, collaborating with Byrne was like handing Claremont the keys to a brand-new Lamborghini.

“When you’re working with an artist as visually eloquent as John,” Claremont says, “he can make all these story elements appear not as dense.”

Then, after a brief pause, the novelist and comic-book author gets technical.

“It is a much more limited focus,” he says, “in that it is much more about an event with a healthy and surprising mix of characterization, as opposed to Spidey. where it’s characterization with event.”

On Marvel Team-Up, Claremont really flourished. He was just warming up when the single most fondly remembered (and highconcept) issue of the series—and for the veteran writer, the most challenging—would drop in his lap.

“SATURDAY NIGHT” FEVER Chris Claremont remembers how one of the most famous single issues to emerge from the Bronze Age at Marvel Comics Group came together, teaming the Web-Slinger with the Not-Ready-for-PrimeTime Players of NBC-TV’s Saturday Night Live fame.

“It was an absolute stitch,” he says of working on the SNL issue.

“This was when Marvel was over on 56th. Shooter and I were spitballing, ‘What would be really cool is if we could do SNL?’ It was a cool show. I said, ‘Shooter, why don’t you just call them?’ He called [Saturday Night Live producer] Lorne Michael’s office. They called back, it was legitimate. SNL had been on for a year. He said, ‘We just figured we’d like to do a one-off with you guys.’

“The deal we cut [was] no webs attached. It was agreed that it would only be done once. I’m not sure we would ever reprint it. I still have the signatures.”

This wacky, against-the-grain installment of Marvel Team-Up became successfully secreted by the House of Ideas while the issue was in development.

“No one knew it was coming out,” he says. “We were able to keep a lid on it. This was before the Internet.”

In the weeks before the issue reached the spinner racks, comedian John Belushi and some of his SNL colleagues paid a trip to Marvel’s work space and vice versa.

“We went to two or three dress rehearsals,” Claremont recalls. “It was wonderful going down to Rockefeller Center, and I remember thinking [of when] seven years earlier I was an actor. I was just trying to catch the right flavor for the show in terms of plotting and scripting because, I would be the first one to tell you, comedy was not my strength. This was comedy measured against some of the most brilliant comedy of the era.”

Nevertheless, Claremont’s research must have paid off, because the Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Players issue of MTU made a commercial and creative impression since SNL cast members, who were a part of the issue, also wanted a part of the issue! “We gave a page of art to everyone in the cast,” Claremont says. “We gave a couple to John.

Gilda [Radner] came over and she came in and thought it was the coolest thing ever. We couldn’t figure out who was gushing more, the Marvel Bullpen or the SNL cast. It was just an incredible night.”

After publication, Claremont recalls a special visit taking place: “The book came out, and I’m in my place, Inwood, up in Manhattan The phone rings one morning and Shooter calls: ‘How fast can you get down here?’ I asked, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Well, John Belushi will be here in 40 minutes.’ I said, ‘I’ll be there in 30.’ I got a cab down. Belushi showed up, and we hung out for a half hour. I made a complete and utter dork

Byrne Faces Front Byrne finally got to pencil a few Marvel Team-Up covers near the end of his run on the title, like this one, #68 (Apr. 1978). Cover inks by Joe Rubinstein.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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of myself. He felt the script was brilliant. I said, ‘Thank God! You have no idea how hard it is to write comedy!’

Jim patted me on the head and said, ‘Don’t worry, John, we only let him out on opposite days.’”

The MTU creatives received a nice surprise from the late Albanian-American comedian: an invitation to see his feature film debut, what quickly became a classic, director John Landis’ 1978 campus comedy, National Lampoon’s Animal House.

“He asked if we would would go to the premiere of Animal House,” Claremont recalls. “We said, ‘Sure!’

He said, ‘Great, I’ll set it up!’”

Then the comedian’s people dropped some disappointing news on the MTU crew: “We got a call back from the office. They said they’re really sorry but the premiere was sold out.”

This story would’ve ended in a done-in-one right there. But that’s when the person on the other end of the phone asked, “Would you like to go to the cast party instead?”

ANIMAL HOUSE OF IDEAS The raunchy college campus comedy National Lampoon’s Animal House, starring late Saturday Night Live comic actor John Belushi, went on to be a classic and one of the highest-grossing comedies of its epoch, grossing more than $160,000,000 in 1978 dollars. And while producers were unable to invite the Marvel Team-Up team to the movie’s world premiere, they were invited to the premiere party, thanks to their affiliation on a single issue of MTU that matched Spider-Man with the cast of SNL. “That was a fantastic experience!” recalls Jo Duffy, back then a burgeoning Marvel writer working as an editorial assistant who went by the byline Mary Jo Duffy. [Duffy, incidentally, as a writer, eventually inherited Claremont’s Iron Fist title, after its revamp into Power Man/Iron Fist, and the series became the critical darling and fan favorite that launched the career of penciler Denys Cowan.]

“That was an all-hands experience,” she says, recalling how there were certain editors who did not want to be there.

“Belushi came up to the office and hung out with, ha-ha, us!” she recalls. “That was one of the most wonderful experiences in my life.”

“At the Village Gate, we stood in line forever and ever and ever!” Duffy recalls. “This was our turn to be the wide-eyed gawking fans. Jim Shooter, Ralph Macchio, Claremont, Roger Stern, me, Mark Gruenwald.” Duffy gushes as she relates, “The person next to you was Gilda Radner! She loved the way Bob Hall drew her, and she threw her arms around me.

Women in comics were so rare before.”

Suddenly meek Marvel writer Chris Claremont found himself a fish-out-of-water in an honest-togoodness, star-studded Hollywood shindig!

Claremont discloses, at the Animal House cast party he spied “an Australian actress whose work I greatly enjoyed, and I had your typical twentysomething crush on her, and I could not find the impetus, courage, balls to go over and say, ‘Hi, I’m Chris Claremont! I write comics!’”

Claremont confirms how the Marvel gang enjoyed “vast amounts of drinking, dancing, canapés, conversation.

The really fun thing was, at the end of the production year for them in May, getting invited to the cast party.”

At the cast party, Duffy remembers, “Belushi said, ‘Who have I already met?’ I put my arm up. He said to me, ‘You! Put your hand down! You, I remember.’”

Despite the whopping sales on this unusual pair-up, there were never any discussions of a sequel. “We never reproduced it or exploited it,” Claremont says of the one-off SNL issue. “It was unique. It captures the cast at a specific point in their lives. It captures Spidey at a particular point.”

According to Claremont, Belushi, who died in 1982 of a drug overdose, loved Marvel Comics.

“John was a fan,” the revered scribe says. “A couple years later, they did a whole spread of his loft downtown in Architectural Digest and in one of the photographs, he had the [SNL] issue. This is something he really enjoyed.”

When pressed to recall which books Belushi read, Claremont offers, “He liked Team-Up, maybe FF with Stan and Jack, Spidey [Amazing Spider-Man] with Stan and John [Romita]. He was cool enough, generous enough, wonderful enough to come to the office and just hang out. For him, it was as much of a treat to come see the Marvel office and see how we functioned as it was for us to go to Rockefeller Center and see how they put a show together. It was cool. It was an unforgettable delight.”

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Weekend Update Courtesy of Heritage, a Bob Hall/Marie Severin original page from the Spidey/ Not-Ready-forPrime-Time Players x-over in MTU #74.

Spider-Man and Marvel Team-Up © TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. SNL © NBC.

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Burn, Baby, Burn!

From the Heritage archives, a photocopy of Byrne’s pencils—with editorial mark-ups for lettering placement—from MTU #75 (Nov. 1978), the Spider-Man/Power Man team-up. The top border suggests that this was intended for issue #71.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

“He was incredibly funny,” Duffy recalls of Belushi (not Claremont). “Just incredibly nice and incredibly down to earth … he was great fun. It was a great privilege to get to know him on those two occasions.”

For the veteran scribe, her MTU experience was a fun, positive experience early in her career.

“We had the kingdom of not-continuity, the bizarre,” Duffy chuckles. As a writer who eventually held the keys to the continuity-drenched Star Wars kingdom, there’s little doubt that she probably enjoyed that aspect of Marvel Team-Up.

AN AMAZING, SUPER, SPECTACULAR LEGACY

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

The Marvel Team-Up concept has never really left the House of Ideas. A quarterly series called Spider-Man Team-Up ran in 1995–1997. A second series ran for 11 issues (Sept. 1997–July 1998). Even The Walking Dead co-creator Robert Kirkman headed up a Marvel Team-Up series in 2005, and Avenging Spider-Man also takes its cues from MTU. There was also an Ultimate Marvel Team-Up series.

However, as often is the case, there’s nothing like the original. And for a solid decade-plus every month, MTU

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gave Webheads solid standalone Spider-Man stories and surprise guest stars. There may be no “i” in “Team-Up,” but a “Spidey” plus one will do.

While Amazing Spider-Man may have been the quintessential, classic Marvel comic, Spectacular SpiderMan offered such spectacles as Frank Miller art and the murder of the White Tiger, and easy-reader Spidey Super Stories entertained in a wholesome, clean-andsimple way that even entertained older readers, none of those Spider-Man titles thrived on sheer novelty like Marvel Team-Up did. Offering a different partner-incrime-fighting each month, the book’s unpredictability became its only predictable element, which kept these adventures fresh for readers and creators alike!

Even if MTU seems relatively frivolous compared to the epic mythology Claremont and Byrne had built within each pair of covers of an Uncanny X-Men issue, pairing Spider-Man with other Marvel Universe superstars “was fun,” Chris admits. “I got to work with characters I enjoy and work with artists I would not [otherwise] get a chance to work with. I did a bunch of stories I thought were really good and that I’m really proud of. One bad one [MTU #58, June 1977]. Everyone does a Ghost Rider. It was one of those stories where the story was not ideal, the time was not ideal. It just didn’t mesh.

It didn’t matter because the books have to come down. As Archie Goodwin would say, you sit down, you swallow your pride, and you do the next issue.”

Today, Chris Claremont looks back on MTU with great fondness. Amazingly and spectacularly, this writer whose ideas have been strip-mined across three X-Men movies, a Wolverine solo movie, and a reboot, has not had his byline appear in many comics in recent years.

“These days, I’m not on Marvel’s radar, it seems,” says the company’s former big-name writer, who is currently working on a novella anthology and other prose projects. But why isn’t Claremont currently a Marvel go-to writer? “Not a question for me but for Axel [Alonso, Marvel’s current editor-in-chief].”

Spider-Man and Chris Claremont in 2014? Now, that would be a Marvel team-up!

MICHAEL AUSHENKER is the associate editor of Comic Book Creator (TwoMorrows.com). He is also the writer/cartoonist behind the El Gato, Crime Mangler series (CartoonFlophouse.com) and he has written issues of Bart Simpson for Bongo Comics and Gumby’s Gang starring Pokey for Gumby Comics.

The first article he ever wrote for BACK ISSUE was on the Human Fly (#20), and he is the cartoonist behind the Fly’s current comic-book revival. A Human Fly movie is also in the works.

Visit thehumanflymovie.com.

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[Editor’s note: Here’s a sextet of Marvel Team-Up original covers by (unless otherwise noted) and courtesy of the always-amiable and awesome Al Milgrom.] (left) MTU #52 (Dec. 1976).

Spider-Man and Captain America. Inks

by Frank Giacoia. (right) MTU #58 (June 1977). SpiderMan and Ghost Rider.

TM

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art courtesy of

24 • BACK ISSUE • Team-Ups Issue

Al Milgrom

(top left) MTU #81 (May 1979).

Spider-Man and Satana. Inks by Steve Leialoha. (top right) MTU #94 (June 1980).

Spider-Man and the Shroud. (bottom left) MTU #121 (Sept. 1982).

Spider-Man and the Human Torch.

Pencils by Ed Hannigan. (bottom right) MTU #138 (Feb. 1984).

Spider-Man and the Sandman.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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For a self-declared idol of millions, the Thing’s solo series haven’t always racked up big numbers. His first solo outing ran for three years and 36 issues—not a bad run by today’s standards, but slightly underwhelming for one quarter of the Fantastic Four in a book that featured the talents of John Byrne, Ron Wilson, and Paul Neary. His second stab at a solo series in 2005 was even more short-lived: Despite critical and fan praise for the work of Dan Slott, Andrea DeVito, and Kieron Dwyer, it was canceled after just eight issues.

Solo series stumbles aside, however, Ben Grimm spent much of the 1970s and ’80s proving that he could sustain a series without the accompaniment of Reed, Sue, and Johnny. For 100 issues and seven annuals, the Thing took top billing in Marvel Two-in-One, teaming up with a selection of A-listers, B-listers, new stars, and never-to-be-seen-agains in a series that saw contributions from most of the big name creators of the post–Stan-and-Jack era.

Spider-Man’s team-up title, Marvel Team-Up, had proven that there was mileage in the concept of heroes collaborating and facing off against villains they wouldn’t usually encounter. The final two issues of Marvel Feature that saw the Thing battle the Hulk and team up with Iron Man, then set the stage for a team-up title starring comics’ favorite terracotta everyman.

Over the course of 100 issues, MTIO saw contributions from 25 writers, 22 artists, and a collection of over 33 inkers and groups of inkers that suggests the occasional rush job. While some fans believe that the Marvel Two-in-One’s revolving door led to inconsistency and low moments, some of the creators claim that the freewheeling nature of the title was what gave them the creative freedom to craft the series’ high points.

During its rare fallow periods, Marvel Two-in-One could be repetitive, aimless, or simply a handy place to tie up plot threads abandoned elsewhere. At its best, however, it allowed writers to evolve concepts and characterizations that would make their way into the wider Marvel Universe and shape it for years to come.

THE EVER-LOVIN’ EARLY ISSUES Issue #1 (Jan. 1974) launched Marvel Two-in-One in dynamic fashion: a standout and surprisingly visceral cover has the Thing punching straight through the Man-Thing’s midriff. The internal art is provided by Gil Kane and Joe Sinnott and instantly showcases Kane’s knack for looking like the quintessential artist for whatever he was working on. The transition from Marvel Feature gives the series a rolling start, with Ben already in transit as the story begins.

It’s Slobberin’ Time!

Eventually, you’ll have to stop drooling over this astounding 2005 commission by Jim Starlin, Alan Weiss, and Tom Smith to actually read this article! It’s a recreation of the Thing/Warlock vs. Thanos slugfest from Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2, from the collection of Brian Sagar.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

26 • BACK ISSUE • Team-Ups Issue

TM

by

Jamie Ewbank

Our Favorite Things Marvel Two-in-One’s first three Thing team-ups: (left) with Man-Thing, in #1 (Jan. 1974, cover

by Gil Kane and John Romita, Sr.; (background) with Sub-Mariner, in #2 (cover by Romita); and (right) with Daredevil, in #3 (cover by Kane and Frank Giacoia).

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Having previously had a stint writing Man-Thing backup strips, Steve Gerber pens a tale that sees Ben pursuing the shambling muckmonster for stealing his name, only to find himself confronting the vengeance seeking son of longtime Fantastic Four villain the Molecule Man, who has been unwillingly rerouted by the nexus of realities in the Man-Thing’s swamp. In a move that trumps the visceral cover, Ben defeats the villain by hurling a chunk of the Man-Thing at him, knocking his power source from his hand. It’s a lively issue that sets the tone for much of what was to come in MTIO; it maneuvers several characters into place, finds time for a guest-shot and some comic relief, then wraps up the story in a surprisingly abrupt manner.

Gerber stuck with familiar characters and plot threads for his second issue, which sees the Thing and the Sub-Mariner battling to save Gerber’s Superman parody, Wundarr, from alien kidnappers. Readers familiar with the relationship between Ben and Franklin Richards would have no problem seeing the Thing in an avuncular role, but Gerber, who once brought us supervillains seeking self-help gurus, puts an amusing twist on the Ben-as-gruff-caregiver role when Wundarr becomes a recurring character, a six-foot-tall, glossy-haired man-child for Ben to babysit.

Gerber’s tendency to pick up abandoned plot lines and characters and finish them off in a sidelong fashion would continue throughout his run, in which he would loosely cross over with his Daredevil storylines, reintroduce the Guardians of the Galaxy, and play off the curmudgeonly realist Ben by teaming him with Dr. Strange, Valkyrie, and Ghost Rider for some mystically tinged adventures that would, again, continue into Gerber’s other titles like The Defenders.

Gerber’s run set the template for MTIO: overlapping guest-stars, numerous guest-shots, and a tendency to play housekeeper for the Marvel Universe story cupboard. By this stage, however, he was wrestling with what the letters page referred to as the “Dreaded Deadline Doom,” and for issue #9’s battle between Ben, Thor, and the Puppet Master, his plot is scripted over by Chris Claremont, who says: “I was working as associate editor in those days, backstopping first Len Wein and then Marv Wolfman, who were editors-in-chief of the color comics line back then. It wasn’t great pay, which is why I supplemented that base income with freelance writing. Part of that was doing whatever fill-ins came available, mainly because I was there and the issues were

usually on killer deadline. Remember, there was no fax or email back then, which meant that actual physical proximity was a significant asset.

I could take home the pages on Friday and turn in the finished script Monday morning. For whatever reason, Steve wasn’t available to write the script, so I filled in for him. The fun was having a chance to work off Herb’s pencils and play with not only the FF but also Thor.”

Having wrapped up the last of Steve Gerber’s plots, Claremont would get the full author credit for issue #10 (July 1975), which would see some reckless driving by the Black Widow disrupting Ben and Alicia’s stroll in the park, and draw the Thing into a plot to douse the world in radioactive tsunami. It’s a story with car chases, secret lairs, and international espionage, all elements with which the Widow is quite at home but which leave rough-edged Ben floundering. The contrast between the two characters’ powers and skills makes it one of the more engaging issues of the series.

“I loved writing the Widow in James Bond mode with her as Bond and Ben as the gorgeous romantic interest,” says Claremont. “It was part Bond, part Mrs. Peel and Steed, hence the clink of champagne in the last panel; you can fill in the Avengers [British TV show] theme yourself. The Widow’s always been one of my favorite heroes and Ben, like Colossus in X-Men Forever, makes a superb foil. She’s the experienced professional; he’s the plucky, talented amateur—and away the story goes. I actually thought the characters had great chemistry together; it would have been fun to string out the team-up for a space of issues, just to see where it might lead. If I was going to be handling the series for a while and in the process teaming up Ben and Natasha as well, all sorts of cool possibilities present themselves—mind you, that would have also necessitated having a degree of influence over the FF arc line so the Two-in-One arcs didn’t contradict what was being done in the core title.”

Therein lies one of the two great challenges of writing a team-up title, one that Claremont is familiar with from having written both Two-in-One and Marvel Team-Up: “The advantage of a team concept, such as Two-in-One or Team-Up, is that the team itself provides two different avenues of temptation for the readers. How does Ben interact with his partner this issue?— in some ways that’s more integral to the success of the story than the actual melodramatic adversary, conflict, and resolution. In a solo, Team-Ups Issue

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TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Doomsday 3014 A.D. This 2009 eyeballpopper, reimagining the Kane/Sinnott cover to MTIO #4 (inset), is by Pat Broderick and Joe Rubinstein, courtesy of its owner, Brian Sagar. Wow! TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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standalone series, you’re focused completely on Ben— but you’re also subordinate to whatever’s happening to him in the FF. This is the conundrum that bedevils every spin-off series where the character is still an integral part of the original team title. Whatever happens to Ben on his own has to integrate with his life in the FF, otherwise readers and creators end up with problems.

That limits what a writer can do, and worse, makes the readers wonder why they should bother with the spin-off when the big action happens in the core title.”

The other great challenge frequently mentioned by writers of team-up titles is the need to maneuver two characters, a villain, and maybe a guest-star into a position where all of them can have an effect on the plot that justifies their presence in the story, something that early issues of MTIO would struggle with. Often Ben would tumble through a story in bewilderment, only to punch a victory into place at a late stage. Some writers find the necessary contrivances disheartening, while others relish the challenge, with Claremont clearly being the latter type: “The technical challenge was introducing characters every issue and conveying them as quickly and efficiently as possible to readers who might not be familiar with them, both in terms of personality and abilities. The creative challenge is then to craft a story that’s a lot of fun to read, that presents both leads, not to mention the villain, who might actually sometimes be the team-up co-star, in an attractive and memorable light and as always hopefully leave the reader hungry for more.”

side Ben Grimm presented Mantlo with a challenge, one he solved by splitting each page in half and telling Doc’s 1946 story parallel with Ben’s 1976 tale, until the central MacGuffin allowed him to bring both stories together.

The villain of the piece, Blacksun, would be prominent in later MTIO issues, and would feature in the Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe graphic novel.

Issue #25 (Mar. 1977) would see Marv Wolfman take control of the title. Already the editor, he took on the writing as well, despite not being a fan of the format.

“I don’t like regular team-ups because they force you to alter your characters,” Wolfman states.

“Nothing is stupider than having to have Batman work alongside someone every month; he’s a loner with a small group. Ben isn’t that, but I find those kinds of books ring false to me.”

Despite his misgivings about the title, Wolfman’s 14-issue run would see him establish Nick Fury as a

Black Belt in Bombastic Another Sagar contribution: Nick Cardy and Bob McLeod’s redo of the Kirby/Sinnott/ Romita cover to MTIO #25 (Mar. 1977), combining Bashful Benji with Iron Fist.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

ENTER: RON WILSON If readers were hungry for more, it wasn’t going to come from Chris Claremont’s pen, as of issue #11 (Sept. 1975) would see the arrival of Bill Mantlo, scripting over a Roy Thomas plot before beginning a run that would show the very beginnings of an MTIO trend: short runs of two to four issues by a given writer, broken up with single issues by another. Issue #11 also saw MTIO functioning as Marvel’s housekeeper again, tidying up guest-star the Golem’s plot from Strange Tales.

Not for the last time, issue #12 would use Ben’s test-pilot status to crash him head-on into the plot, a battle between Ben, Iron Man, and Prester John most notable for the first MTIO work of Ron Wilson, who would go on to draw 48 issues of the series, more than any other artist. Issue #12 was a fairly staid introduction for Wilson, but his adaptability and prowess were showcased in issue #13, where he merged traditional superhero art with a more cartoonish style for Roger Slifer and Len Wein’s “Braggadoom, the Mountain that Walked Like a Man,” an affectionate parody of classic Marvel monster mags.

Over the next few issues, certain notes would repeat themselves: Ben would be uncomfortable with magical villains (#14, 18), crash more test aircraft (#16), and wrap up more plot threads from elsewhere (#18, 20).

Issue #21 (Nov. 1976) broke the slowly forming pattern, featuring an unexpected narrative structure, introducing characters that would recur later in the series, and featuring a surprising guest-star in the form of Doc Savage. Marvel and its magazine imprint, Curtis, had been producing licensed tie-ins to the Man of Bronze since 1972, but featuring the muscular polymath along-

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Benji and His Monster Anatomy of a cover, for MTIO #34 (Dec. 1977): (top left and right) Two stages of John Buscema’s cover roughs, and (bottom) the published version, with Klaus Janson inks. Cover roughs courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

consistent plot driver for the title, would bring Deathlok into the Marvel Universe proper, and would see plot threads continuing from issue to issue as Ben foils an assassination attempt on President-Elect Jimmy Carter; travels to England to find a cure for the brainwashed assassin, Deathlok; and battles Hydra and even a mutated Alicia Masters. Although it would also wrap up some storylines from Astonishing Tales, Defenders, and Skull the Slayer, Wolfman’s run had the feel of an ongoing story rather than a series of one-offs: “I don’t remember why I got the title or how, but suddenly I had it.

MTIO was not a book I wanted to do. I hate the fake constraints of a team-up title, so I decided that to make it fun I’d do a continued story where the characters would have reasons to keep meeting. That’s why I plugged it into the Marvel Universe more than it had been. As writer/editor, like Stan, Roy, and others, I was able to guide my books the way I felt would do the best job, but I always had my staff go over them, editing and proofreading them as if I wasn’t the EiC. Nobody should edit their own work or you’ll miss everything you do wrong.

I wanted to control the direction, not necessarily every little thing.”

In addition to his writer/editor run, Wolfman also wrote the title’s third annual, which features a cosmic blonde, repeated mentions of the deaths of many worlds, and intergalactic Monitors. When I ask him if he was rehearsing later themes [in DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths], he’s clear that it’s just an interesting coincidence: “Wishful thinking, as I don’t remember why I did that story. But I do remember liking it.”

Wolfman would hand the writer’s chores over to Roger Slifer, who would write the next several issues both solo and in collaboration with David Anthony Kraft and Tom DeFalco, who would script over Slifer’s plot for issue #40 (June 1978).

“I had just started writing for Marvel,” DeFalco recalls. “I believe they assigned me to do the plots for a two-part Avengers fill-in and an issue of What If? While they were waiting for the artwork to come in on those jobs, they ran into a deadline thing with the Two-in-One job and asked me if I could dialogue it. Ben Grimm has always been one of my favorite characters, so I leaped at the opportunity.”

The dialogue in issue #40 sparkles, particularly because of the contrasts between the various speaking characters. The issue opens with the Thing, Yellowjacket, Matt Murdock, and a street kid named Eugene, and would carry on to feature regal T’Challa, the Black Panther.

30 • BACK ISSUE • Team-Ups Issue

S.L.I.F.E.R NEEDS YOU Starting as a freelance writer, Roger Slifer would write or co-author five issues of Marvel Two-in-One, including the striking Idi Amin story. During his career he campaigned for creator’s rights, co-created Lobo, and inspired the naming of several characters, including the Ghost Rider villain The Fear Monger, Yu Gi Oh’s the Sky Dragon, and (partly) ROG 2000.

In June of 2012, Slifer was the victim of a hit-and-run accident that left him with severe head injuries. At this writing the driver has not been apprehended and Slifer is still hospitalized. Readers wishing to send their best wishes can join the Facebook group S.L.I.F.E.R. Needs You or make a donation to the Hero Initiative (heroinitiative.org), which is making a contribution to Roger’s medical costs.

“When dealing with a pre-existing character, I go back to his roots,” explains DeFalco. “When dealing with a new character, I analyze his personality try to devise a reasonable speech pattern for him. I like it when every character sounds different enough that you could identify them in a blackout.”

DeFalco’s dialogue was a high point of issue #40, but he wouldn’t return to the title for another three years. The task of of concluding the story, which had seen several prominent members of the black community kidnapped by a Zuvembie (a Comics Code-safe version of a zombie) would fall to David Anthony Kraft, who, along with Slifer, had taken the surprisingly brave decision to make one of the story’s villains a real-life repressive dictator, Uganda’s Idi Amin.

“We went to see the movie Idi Amin Dada,” recalls Kraft, “and were kinda freaked out by it, and we talked about doing something about it. I think I even kidded that we might get in trouble over this, because he was still in power, killing people left and right. When we were doing the story I was thinking, ‘Boy, I hope he doesn’t have a long arm.’ You take that risk when you take living people who are merciless and put them in stories.”

The other risk you take, of course, is that your bosses might be rather disturbed by the presence of a man estimated to be responsible for between 100,000 and half a million deaths in what is essentially a children’s comic, but according to Kraft, the culture at Marvel allowed writers to take certain risks: “This was before Jim Shooter came in and added DC-style layers of management. Everything we did in those days was totally deadlinedriven. It was always push, push, push. Everything that you see in print, you did it as fast as you could, and there wasn’t time to go back and rewrite or fix anything, so there wasn’t any time for editorial people to worry about us using Idi. There I was, a new guy, and my stuff was going into print before Stan or Roy or anybody even sees it.

We could have wrought havoc.”

Kraft’s credit for issue #41 would be his last for some time. He’d depart to work on The Defenders and Savage She-Hulk, and wouldn’t return to MTIO for several years.

The next issue would introduce characters and locations that would play a major role later in the series, as Ralph Macchio debuted Project Pegasus, and brought back the childlike superhuman Wundarr and Dr. Lightner from the Doc Savage issue. Almost as soon as the title began building on its own history, another spell of revolvingdoor writers began, with six authors (Bill Mantlo, Alan Kupperberg, Marv Wolfman, Steven Grant, Peter Gillis, and Mary Jo Duffy) contributing to the next eight issues.

Ya Shoulda Hired Perry Mason!

Guest-star Matt Murdock doesn’t don his DD duds in this offbeat issue. MTIO #37 (Mar. 1978) cover by Ron Wilson and Joe Sinnott.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marv Wolfman’s issue #44 (Oct. 1978) is essentially one long slugfest, with Ben and Hercules thumping their way through a selection of mythical beasts in a tale colorfully narrated by Ben to a kids camp: Even when Wundarr and Franklin Richards aren’t around, Ben finds a way to play uncle.

THE THING MEETS THE THING … AND JOHN BYRNE Issue #50 (Apr. 1979) features a story by John Byrne entitled “A Remembrance of Things Past” and features a guest-shot from Ben Grimm himself, with the modern rocky Thing facing off against the earlier mudslide version of himself, a design that clearly appealed to Byrne, as he would regress Ben into his lumpy form again several years later during his lauded Fantastic Four run.

The issue was among the first to be both written and drawn by Byrne, and his first writer/artist contribution to Marvel. Interviewed for Titan Books’ excellent Comics Creators on Fantastic Four, he explained why it wasn’t too daunting: “In my own head, Marvel Two-in-One and Marvel Team-Up were fake books. That kind of helped a little bit. I was drawing the Thing, but I wasn’t really drawing the Thing. It kind of took the edge off a little bit. Two-in-One #50 was a lot of fun because I got to do a Team-Ups Issue

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A Couple of Things (top) MTIO #50, by John Byrne and Joe Sinnott. (bottom) Courtesy of Bob McLeod, who would eventually ink this issue, lettered Frank Miller pencils for the splash page of Marvel Two-in-One #51 (May 1979).

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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time-travel story, one that featured two versions of the Thing, and the book was inked by Joe Sinnott. There was an awful lot of stuff piled on my plate at one go.”

Issue #51 stands out for several reasons—it features art

by Frank Miller, piles in no fewer than four guest-stars, and, most importantly, Peter Gillis’ story sees the introduction of Ben Grimm’s superhero poker game, an idea that persists to this day and beautifully illustrates what an integral part of the Marvel Universe Ben is.

For most fans, the highpoint of the series, and the issues for which it is arguably the best known (although a strong case could be made for Annual #7), issues #53–58 unfold Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio’s “The Project Pegasus Saga.” Keen to keep an eye on Wundarr, Ben returns to Project Pegasus (Potential Energy Group/Alternate Sources/United States) and takes a job on the security team.

A perfect example of the balance of Bronze Age comics, “The Project Pegasus Saga” gives good ideas space to develop without dragging them out to epic proportions. The first three issues of the saga, drawn by John Byrne, have some genuinely moving moments as we see that the childlike Wundarr has essentially withdrawn into his own mind rather than carry on in a world that does nothing but threaten him.

We meet a similarly sympathetic child-villain in the form of Nuklo, and an equally sad version of Deathlok, now devoid of any human feeling. Amidst all this there’s also the return of Dr. Thomas Lightner, working to destabilize the project from the inside, and the appearance of Bill Foster, abandoning the name Black Goliath and taking on the role of Giant-Man. Perhaps the main reason these issues are so fondly remembered (and have been reprinted twice, as a trade paperback in 1988 and as a Premiere Classic Hardcover in 2010) is that they give the team-up format room to breathe: Quasar, Deathlok, and Giant-Man are all given several pages to themselves rather than being forced into the same situations as Ben, allowing the protagonists to move through the story on their own course. Even with this breathing room, there’s still space for Ben’s own action and subplots featuring Thundra to get their own page time. In Comics Creators on Fantastic Four, Byrne recalled the density of the plot: “I remember the plots were very, very tight. They weren’t quite as tight as Chris Claremont’s. He used to give me 17 pages of plot for a 22-page story. These were five- or six-page plots for a 17-page story, but they were very tight. Mark put everything he wanted in. I was really just an art robot on those issues. I didn’t have much input.

But, hey, I can enjoy being the art robot as much as anything else. It just works a different set of muscles.”

The second half of the story, with art by George Pérez and Gene Day, is equally dense, with the guest-stars of recent issues hanging around to battle the escalating menace.

There are major evolutions to the characters of Wundarr and Blacksun, respectively, and the real identity of the saboteurs of Nth Command is revealed to be Roxxon, the crooked oil company that would be behind numerous criminal schemes in the Marvel Universe throughout the ’80s.

A breathless six-issue dash, “The Project Pegasus Saga” set up Bill Foster’s future radiation-poisoning subplot, contributed to the Roxxon plotline running through the wider Marvel Universe, and established Pegasus as a containment facility for supervillains, a role it would serve for several years. Not bad for a storyline in a title occasionally decried for low-impact, issue-by-issue storytelling.

Roxxon would return in Gruenwald and Macchio’s next big storyline, “The Serpent Crown Affair” (MTIO issues #64–67, originally published in 1980, collected as a Premiere Classic Hardcover) that equals the breakneck pace and dense plotting of “The Project Pegasus Saga,” while weaving its plot from diverse pieces of Marvel continuity.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Mission: Impossible Man Bob Budiansky revisits his 1980 cover to MTIO #60 (inset, inked by Rubinstein) in this 2007 commission from the collection of Brian Sagar.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (left) Courtesy of Heritage, original art

by George Pérez and Gene Day from Marvel Two-in-One #65 (July 1980), teaming the Thing and Triton (and #64 carryover Stingray). (right) The infamous spanking scene from #62. ’Nuff said.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Despite the occasional one-off, Gruenwald would remain on the title for another ten issues, keeping the threads running. Gruenwald himself, along with Project Pegasus co-creators Ralph Macchio and George Pérez, would appear on panel in issue #60’s lighthearted story.

Gruenwald would follow up that breather issue with a cosmically themed story that drew upon existing continuity without relying on it, and saw Moondragon, Starhawk, Her, and Warlock, and would also feature the infamous fan-favorite panel in which Ben spanks Moondragon.

Gruenwald and Macchio’s stellar tenure on the book wound down gently, with a two-parter in issues #72–73 that wrapped up a few loose threads from “The Serpent Crown Affair” before a few issues that the pair wrote individually. In the wings was Tom DeFalco, returning after three years to become one of the few writers who would string together more than ten consecutive issues (Gruenwald and Wolfman being the other two).

“As a writer, I tend to fall in love with my characters and stay with them as long as possible,” DeFalco says.

“I was doing a lot more work for Marvel at the time

and was assigned Two-in-One when Gruenwald and Macchio went off to do Thor.”

DeFalco’s first issue, #75 (May 1981), is packed even by the standards of a double-sized issue. Once again we see Ben plugged in to the superhero community, playing poker with the Avengers, while palace intrigues start an alliance between Blastaar, Annihilus, and the SuperAdaptoid, setting the scene for space battles against giant armadas while the clock ticks down on the Avengers’ escape from the Negative Zone. The very next issue has Iceman and Giant-Man as guest-stars and begins the process of curing Giant-Man’s longstanding radiation poisoning. It’s as hectic a start to a run as any you’ll find.

“I didn’t really think about setting down a marker,” DeFalco admits. “I just like to pack as much story as I can into whatever space I’m going. I like having a B and C story—even if the story’s only five pages long. If I remember correctly, Jim Shooter—who was the editor-in-chief at the time—wanted to make sure that every title was important to the Marvel Universe. I think I heard about the Giant-Man/radiation subplot and worked out a way to resolve it over a number of issues. Jim Salicrup—who was my editor—supported the idea and we sold it to Shooter.”

Despite starting with the Avengers and later featuring Captain America, DeFalco’s run would be comparatively light on first-stringers with long-term titles of their own, for a simple reason: “Since I already had an A-lister in Ben, I preferred sharing his spotlight with the minor characters.”

SOFTENING THE SANDMAN DeFalco’s run would see some traditional MTIO beats: issue #77’s test flight would go wrong, classic guest-stars would reappear (Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Spider-Woman, and Nick Fury), and Ben would be drawn from his occasional bouts of self-pity by the realization that children see him as a hero, not a monster. In addition to playing all the expected notes, DeFalco also manages some striking character issues as well, most noticeably in his treatment of another gruffly spoken character, erstwhile Spider-Man/Fantastic Four villain the Sandman.

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Trouble Brewing (left) Ben and Sandman toss back “Greman” (note the misspelled sign) beers in MTIO #86 (Apr. 1982). Cover

by Wilson and Chic Stone. (right) Savage She-Hulk scribe David Anthony Kraft put the big, green gal in #88. Cover by Alan Kupperberg and Giacoia. (background) Johnny Storm guests in #89.

Cover by Kupperberg and Rick Magyar.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

“I remember wanting to bring back the Sandman—who had become part of a mud monster in his last appearance,” DeFalco says. “The more I looked at the Sandman, the more I saw the similarities to Ben Grimm.

It eventually struck me that these two would have, could have been friends under different circumstances. I remember working out two different pitches for the issue. One was a standard Marvel comic where Ben and Sandman fight and, ‘Blah blah blah.’ The other was the story that actually saw print. I remember Shooter looking at me and saying like, ‘You want to do a story about the Thing and the Sandman sitting in a bar?’ I told him it was a crazy idea, but I thought I could pull it off. Instantly seeing the creative challenge, Shooter told me to take a shot at it.”

The gradual rehabilitation of the Sandman begins in issue #86 (Apr. 1982) and would have the character develop into the oftblackmailed civilian who would be victimized by the Sinister Six in Amazing Spider-Man #334–339, as well as becoming a member of both Silver Sable’s Wild Pack and a Reserve Avenger. Sandman would also appear in issue #96, visiting Ben in hospital as he recovers from a beating inflicted by the Champion in Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7.

That story, “And They Shall Call Him … Champion!” (MTIO Annual #7) is one of the definitive Ben Grimm tales, ranking alongside “This Man, This Monster” and “Everybody versus the Hulk” for getting to the heart of what makes Ben a hero—his indomitability.

“The Rocky movies were all the rage and boxing was on everyone’s mind” recalls DeFalco. “For a brief moment, everyone thought they had what it took to go the distance. As someone who has often struggled to find the finish line, I decided to do a story about the mind and determination of a true jock.”

The Champion does battle with a selection of the Marvel Universe’s biggest hitters, from Thor and the Hulk to Sasquatch and Colossus, beating or disqualifying them for a variety of reasons, until only the Thing remains. Ben then does battle against his vastly superior foe, and is soundly thrashed time and again, unable to even ruffle the Champion’s hair. The story reaches its climax with a bruised-andbleeding Ben declaring that he’s too ugly to know when to quit, and the Champion realizes what any fanboy could have told him: Ben Grimm’s character is stronger than his muscles. The Champion leaves the Earth, and DeFalco sums up Ben’s battle neatly:

“There’s no disgrace in losing to a superior player. The disgrace only comes if you stop trying.”

Coming in the final quarter of MTIO’s run, DeFalco’s tenure is comparatively low-key compared to much of what’s gone before— despite the five-part Bill Foster storyline, the feel is very much of a series returning to its roots—short one- or two-issue storylines, guest-stars appearing, playing their parts, and exiting stage left. It’s a run that feels like the quintessential team-up title, with all the strengths and weaknesses that come with that.

“Every series has certain built-in rules, restrictions, and contrivances,” DeFalco says. “The creative challenge on series is to understand the characters and twist the rules, restrictions, and contrivances to your advantage. I didn’t and still don’t see any difference between the challenge of writing an exciting issue of Marvel Two-in-One and doing on equally exciting issue of Amazing Spider-Man. You give both assignments 100% and hope for the best.”

MTIO: THE FINAL YEARS The final years of Marvel Two-in-One would see David Anthony Kraft returning to briefly interrupt DeFalco’s run and eventually follow it. Four years earlier, Kraft had worked on the Idi Amin issue, and his return to the title with issue #88 (July 1982) would also feature a story prompted by a real world concern, as Ben teams up with She-Hulk to prevent the Negator, a one-off villain, from unleashing a “Disaster at Diablo Reactor.”

“I’ve been trying to warn people about nuclear power for as long as I’ve been doing comics,” says Kraft. “I did it more than once, I also did it in The Defenders, and so that She-Hulk and Thing story was also serving another purpose. When you create something that can destroy entire countries, or that can make a state uninhabitable, it’s a human trait to say, ‘Oh, but it can’t happen here,’ but, of course, it can, and it will. It used to be far-fetched, but it’s happened in Russia, it’s happened at Three Mile Island, it’s happened in Japan.”

In the four years since issue #41, Kraft had continued to write The Defenders and had taken on The Savage She-Hulk from issue #2 onwards, primarily because he had very little faith in the She-Hulk character, who had been created to preempt a suspected copyrightgrabbing copycat creation from the producers of the Incredible Hulk

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The Thing and ROM (left) An original art page (from Heritage) from Marvel Twoin-One #99 (May 1983). Art by Bob Hall and Kevin Dzuban. (background) The Hannigan/Byrne cover to the issue.

Thing and Marvel Two-in-One TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. ROM: Spaceknight TM & © Hasbro.

TV show. Unconvinced by the basic idea of the character, Kraft wanted to have the opportunity to make her work.

“When I was on She-Hulk,” Kraft recalls, “I was trying to compress into my She-Hulk run where she would have evolved to if she’d come about in the ’60s, and when I’d finally got to where I wanted to be, they canceled it … aaaargh! By the end of her run she’s drinking martinis, driving a pink Cadillac, [and] she has two boyfriends, one for her intellectual side and one for her emotional and physical side. I’d got her where I wanted her, totally differentiated from the Hulk, and then it was snatched. I was like, ‘Wait!’ I said to Jim Salicrup, ‘I just have to put the final piece into this,’ and that’s why She-Hulk is in Two-in-One with the Thing.”

The issue plays many of the familiar notes for Two-in-One: There’s a plane crash, a female heroine who discomfits bashful Ben, some humorous digressions that see the Thing encountering a rather vacant gas-station attendant, and Shulkie destroying a used-car lot, before the whole story comes together for a showdown with the Negator and just the slightest hint that Ben and Jen’s impending week locked away in quarantine might be less tedious than you’d expect. >Ahem< Yet again, the plot density is partly a reflection of the high character count of a team-up title, but also, according to Kraft, a reflection of the times.

“I’ve just had the misfortune to read a foot-high pile of [new] Marvel and DC comics,” Kraft admits. “I ended up ranting out loud to the room, it’s so decompressed that in a six-issue maxiseries there may be as much plot as we’d put in one issue. Maybe we had too much happening in those days, but I think now they’re having too little happening.”

By now it was almost a cliché to see MTIO used to further a plotline from elsewhere, but it was fairly standard practice for the time, especially given the freelance status of the writers.

“Books got changed so often, they’d get canceled, shuffled, combined, and on top of that we were all freelancers, we’d be coming 36 • BACK ISSUE • Team-Ups Issue

or going, we’d be in favor and we’d be out of favor, we’d have a project and then not have it,” Kraft says. “We all cared about our characters.

If you were thwarted in one place, you didn’t want to leave a storyline unfinished. All these things had places you were planning to go with them, so when you got a chance to do something where there wasn’t a long-term continuity you’d think, ‘I’m going to bring back this villain over here and get another chance at him.’ We all had our own mini-universe within the Marvel Universe.”

Kraft would continue to bring back villains from elsewhere in the very next issue, #89 (July 1982), which features former She-Hulk villain the Word, whose quest to remove inequality from society leads him to inhibit Johnny Storm’s powers and mask the Thing.

“I like to play around with concepts, and I was playing with the old ‘we’re all created equal and should level everything.’ If you look at this story, if anybody was ugly, like the Thing, he got a mask to make him look better. If anybody had an advantage, he got hobbled, to bring everybody down to the same level.”

While some of Kraft’s choices for characters and storylines were borne of a desire to return to past plots and players, others were the product of spitballing sessions with editor Jim Salicrup, and were occasionally commissioned from little more than the mention of a character, hence a Power Man and Iron Fist story in issue #94 (Dec. 1982) that even Kraft admits is less memorable for the plot than for appearance of an X-Factor arcade machine in a Marvel comic a few years before Marvel would launch an X-Men spin-off of the same name.

Casual commissions aside, there were also issues that were inspired simply by a sense of humor, such as #95, which saw Ben out of his element, battling the Living Mummy.

“We had the Living Mummy and Ben in Egypt, I thought it would be kinda cool to do something with the Mummy,” says Kraft. “Sometimes you’d be thinking, ‘What can we do that’s a little bit different?’

And it’s a little bit sillier. Some people hated me when I would do silly stuff, like the Defenders for a Day thing, but sometimes the sense of the absurd, like putting Ben in a headdress, it worked with the characters.”

The strength of the characters is a point that crops up throughout the Marvel Two-in-One interviews, with DeFalco and Kraft particularly keen to point out Ben’s distinctiveness. Kraft says that the chance to team so many colorful creations up with Ben was a big factor in his enjoyment of Marvel Two-in-One: “Marvel characters were alive. If you saw no art, and just saw the dialogue, you knew who was speaking. Writing team-up titles was a pleasure because I grew up reading that stuff, and you knew who Ben Grimm was, and you knew how he would react, and what he would say, and what his character was.”

By now, the series was winding down, but the final few issues would still see some standout stories—Ben’s battle with the Champion in Annual #7 and the continuation of Sandman’s rehabilitation in #96.

Issue #99 (May 1983) would be particularly memorable, as Bill Mantlo returned after a gap of over 50 issues for a team-up with the character he’s perhaps best known for writing, ROM: Spaceknight. It’s a story with small touches of humor (Ben, spooked by a book of ghost stories, encounters ROM whilst prowling a blacked-out Baxter Building) combined with some strong character touches. When Ben is temporarily reverted to human form by ROM’s neutralizer, he articulates his ever-present dilemma:

As the Thing, he’s a rocky, orange monster who wants to be human again, but he knows Alicia Masters loves him as he is. Will she love him as was? It’s a compelling question that would be the subject of a decompressed epic these days, but here it’s used to provide a quick hit of poignancy in the final panels of the issue.

The following month, issue #100 (June 1983) would conclude the series, and would return to the theme of Ben’s ambivalence about his rocky condition. By this point, John Byrne was settling in to his long and popular run on Fantastic Four, and had some long-term plans for Ben that didn’t necessarily fit with Marvel Two-in-One. The final issue of Two-in-One started with a call back to Byrne’s previous story in issue #50, in which Ben’s attempt to cure himself of his mutated state seemingly resulted in the creation of an alternate timeline.

Ben decides to check in on that timeline and see how life would have turned out if he hadn’t remained a superhero. Unsurprisingly, the answer is not a happy

COLLECTIONS AND NOTABLE ABSENCES In addition to the two Premiere Classics hardcovers that collect Gruenwald and Macchio’s “Project Pegasus” and “Serpent Crown” storylines, there are also four Marvel Essential volumes that collect almost the entire run of Marvel Two-in-One. In addition to the series itself, the first Essentials volume also includes the two issues of Marvel Feature that preceded it, and the Fantastic Four Annual and Marvel Team-Up issues that crossed over with the series.

Sadly, there are two issues (#21 and 99) missing from the Essentials collection, as Marvel no longer has the rights to reprint Doc Savage or ROM’s appearances. Fortunately for collectors and completists, neither issue is particularly hard to find in back-issue bins.

one. Not only has the world been devastated by Galactus, but Ben’s absence from the Fantastic Four has prevented the entire sequence of events that saw the Human Torch finding the Sub-Mariner, and the Sub-Mariner freeing Captain America from the ice.

Without Cap to stand against him, the Red Skull has risen to control the devastated United States, and the ruins are topped with barbed wire and swastikas.

Ben allies with his alternate-world human counterpart and fights back against the regime, eventually turning the Skull’s dust of death back on him, killing the dictator and leaving the US free but destroyed. Returning to his own world, Ben ponders who is better off: him, in his misshapen body, or his human alternate in his fallen country, and Marvel Two-in-One concludes with Ben sadly realizing that for all his dissatisfaction, he is probably the luckier of the two.

Byrne would continue to explore this ambivalence in the pages of Fantastic Four, but the time had come to wrap up Marvel Two-in-One. As Byrne recalled on his website, the suggestion had been made that a Thing solo series would perhaps better fit the character.

“I forget who first suggested it, but it seemed to me like a good idea,” Byrne wrote. “As I was writing the Thing’s book at the time, I quickly realized any story that required him to ‘team up’ was, almost by default, an FF story—just without the FF! By losing the ‘team-up’ element, we were able to concentrate more on Ben, and do stories that served him better as a character.”

With issue #100, Marvel Two-in-One came to an end and the Thing’s solo series was launched. In under a year, however, Byrne would find that the same stumbling block still existed. Ben seemed inextricably tied to the Fantastic Four. As Byrne said on his website, “Writing Marvel Two-in-One and, later, The Thing, I very quickly realized it was hard to come up with a good Thing story which was not, by definition, a good FF story. So I had Ben stay on the Beyonder’s BattleWorld so that he could do some stuff he couldn’t do on Earth, and thus justify, in my own mind, at least, why he had his own book.”

Sadly, after just 36 issues, Ben would have his own book no longer, which is where we came in.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Bashful Blue-Eyed Bye-Bye Let’s sign off with this January 2012 sketch of the Thing by wallopin’ Walter Simonson, from the Brian Sagar collection.

Thanks, Brian, for sharing these awesome images with BACK ISSUE!

Londoner JAMIE EWBANK is a magazine journalist specializing in technology and cycling, but his secret passion is comics.

When he's not in the office he's usually writing about spandexclad superheroics of a different variety at www.pedallingsquares.blogspot.co.uk/.

Team-Ups Issue

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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In Marvel Comics’ publishing years of 1975–1976, an explosion of new titles had begun. Some were instant successes, such as the All-New, All-Different X-Men, and others, such as Omega the Unknown, still remain relatively unknown today. A number of super-teams got their own titles during this time, such as The Inhumans, The Invaders, and the short-lived Champions. For equal billing, perhaps, the bad guys got their own title: Super-Villain Team-Up. Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner and the nefarious Dr. Doom were chosen as the initial title characters. This combo has historic significance for Marvel Comics as they were the first villains to team together in the Marvel Universe, conspiring against that fab foursome in Fantastic Four #6 (Sept. 1962), “The Diabolical Duo Join Forces.”

Marvel counted on the characters’ long-standing villainy to be a catalyst for this new series. Editor-in-chief at the time, Roy Thomas recalls, “The series was Stan Lee’s idea. At least that’s the way I remember it.

Stan picked [Namor and Doom] because they were both stars in their own right who might carry a title. So why not team them up?”

Bill Everett’s aquatic character, the Sub-Mariner, had been a Golden Age headliner in the Marvel/Timely Universe. By the mid-1970s, Prince Namor had a series of monthly adventures for almost a decade in Tales to Astonish, which transitioned in 1968 into his own self-titled Sub-Mariner, which ran for 72 issues until its cancellation in 1974. As a co-star of the new Super-Villain Team-Up, the Prince of Atlantis would return to a regular title in the summer of 1975.

Sub-Mariner was a proven marketable character and one too good for writer and editor Thomas not to publish. “What I liked about the Sub-Mariner is that he is not truly a villain,” recalls Thomas. Roy had earlier penned most of the Sea Prince’s adventures in Sub-Mariner.

Prince Namor had been consistently portrayed as a ruler of his aquatic city of Atlantis who nobly tried to protect his citizens and their interests from an often seemingly hostile surface world.

Namor’s regal persona is in stark contrast with that of his co-star, Victor von Doom. Doom is a ruler of the European country of Latveria. However, his motives and motivations are not at all altruistic.

Doom’s elitist and savage personality had threatened the Marvel Universe for over a decade, with almost endless plots against the planet.

Despite his disreputable character, von Doom was, and remains, one of the more marketable Marvel characters. Von Doom had also previously headlined a feature in Amazing Adventures earlier in the decade. The series’ artist, Bob Hall, notes, “Dr. Doom was popular and matching him with other villains seemed like a good idea.”

A ROCKY START As grounded as the concept was for SVTU, the timing and production of the series was not ideal. The series debuted as one of two Giant-Size issues that debuted in the spring and summer of 1975. Marvel produced 68-page, 50-cent editions of its major titles that summer, in addition to launching a few new ones such as Giant-Size X-Men, Giant-Size Invaders, and Giant-Size Creatures. Roy Thomas remembers, “When [Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up] #1 was on the schedule, there was not time to do a new story—it had to be basically a reprint with a few new pages. I don’t think that was a good idea … but it was necessary.”

To further complicate its publication, Thomas soon left as the title’s scribe. “I probably intended to write the series longer, but there were

BFF (That’s Brawling Fiends Forever) The “team” of Sub-Mariner “and” Dr. Doom. Cover to Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up #1 (Mar. 1975) by Ron Wilson and Frank Giacoia.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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TM

by

Lex Carson

other things that I preferred to do. I was happy to turn the series over to Tony Isabella’s capable hands, and the series did all right for some time.”

The transition from writer/editor Roy Thomas to established writer Tony Isabella was a smooth one. Isabella recalls, “I don’t know if Roy and I ever talked about a purpose, direction, or motif for the series when he asked me to take over the writing. We had much the same sensibilities when it came to superhero comics. So that wouldn’t be necessary. Roy might have been a bit more plot-oriented in his approach to superhero comics. I might have been a bit more character-oriented, but the two of us were definitely on the same page when it came to the basics of superheroes and, especially, Marvel superheroes.”

Perhaps Isabella’s character-driven style led him to kill longtime Sub-Mariner character Betty Dean in Super-Villain Team-Up #2 (Oct. 1975). Dean was Namor’s recurring love interest in his 1940s and ’50s adventures.

In the Silver Age, Betty had had no contact with the Sub-Mariner until she appeared in Sub-Mariner #8 (Dec. 1968), written by Roy Thomas. In this classic tale, a visibly aged Betty Dean suddenly appears to chide Namor against his war with the surface-dwellers. The contrast between the older Dean and the non-aging mutant Sub-Mariner is aptly depicted by artist John Buscema.

A portrayal of aging World War II-era heroes and characters has been a challenging concept for comics creators over the years. Thomas opines, “I didn’t mind others bringing Betty Dean back, although after SubMariner #8, I’d have been happy to let that be the final

word on her. However, I believe Bill Everett did some of those later Dean stories. Who had a better right?”

Indeed, Sub-Mariner and Betty Dean were created in the Golden Age by Bill Everett. When Everett returned to write and pencil Sub-Mariner in 1973, he did bring Betty back as a supporting character. Betty was now a confidant to Namor and a guardian and mentor to the Sub-Mariner’s young cousin Namorita. In the new SVTU series, which took place after the passing of Everett, writer Tony Isabella had other ideas for Betty Dean.

Isabella notes, “My reasoning went something like this: I needed to have a reason for Namor to ally with Dr. Doom. I teamed up villains who had killed people dear to Namor and upped the ante by having Betty sacrifice her life for Namor. Though I didn’t write the finale of this storyline, the plan was to have Doom help Namor get the vengeance Namor could not achieve on his own.

This would leave Namor feeling indebted to Doom.”

In last pages of Super-Villain Team-Up #2, Betty is blasted by the sinister Dr. Dorcas and lay dead in Namor’s arms. This issue would also be the last issue for writer Tony Isabella, who was followed by two fill-in writers: Jim Shooter (#3) and Bill Mantlo (#4). SVTU #4 marked the debut of penciler Herb Trimpe, which gave the book’s new writer, Steve Englehart, who started with issue #5, a different reason for wanting to work on the title: “When I went to work at Marvel, in the Bullpen, I sat next to Herb Trimpe and John Romita.

They welcomed me into the family. I liked hanging with them, and when I got the chance to work with Team-Ups Issue

When Monarchs Meet A pair of original art pages courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions: (left) Subby’s “disco suit” is on view on the splash to SVTU #2, autographed by penciler Sal Buscema; script

by Tony Isabella and inks by Fred Kida. (right) Doom targets Atlantis on this page by Steve Englehart, Herb Trimpe, and Don Perlin. From issue #5.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Lord of Latveria An undated John Buscema watercolor illo of diabolical Doc Doom, courtesy of Heritage (www.ha.com).

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Herb on [Super-Villain] Team-Up I was thrilled, because he was a great comic artist and because he was my friend. My proximity meant I could just walk to the next cubicle to bounce ideas back and forth.”

Englehart continues, “I would have stayed on The Hulk [the two creators’ previous title] with him forever, and was unfortunately pushed off when Roy [Thomas] decided as editor-in-chief that he wanted it. Anyway, when I got the chance to work with Herb again, I jumped. In addition to all of the above, he’s just a nice, intelligent guy.” Trimpe, who was surprised at Steve’s kind words, has similar feelings toward writer Englehart: “I never knew he wanted to work with me. I always saw Steve as a fellow professional and never considered him anything but. It’s a compliment that he would consider me as a mentoring role. It has never occurred to me. Steve is a great guy.

Recently I got to sit by Steve at an event in San Diego [at Comic-Con] and that made the show a pleasant experience.”

Englehart’s tenure did begin with Namor and Doom extracting their vengeance on Dr. Dorcas and his ally Tiger Shark. The event was one that caused the team-up of Doom and Namor to cement further and temporarily overcome their differences. Marvel also acquiesced to a number of fan requests to return Namor to his traditional wardrobe of green aquatic trunks. Namor had been wearing a blue, full-body suit, often referred to by fans as a “disco suit” during this time period. Steve E. explains, “The decision was editorial’s. It was they [Roy Thomas] who put him in the leathers, to try to up his sales, on the theory that a mostly flesh-colored hero was a drag visually, in context with the other Marvel heroes. However, a lot of people didn’t like it. It didn’t really help sales.

Roy decided to put him back as he was. It had nothing to do with me.” In issue #5 (Apr. 1976), with the help of guest-stars Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four, Namor, who had been dependent upon the blue suit for survival, is able to return to his traditional trunks.

SHROUDED IN MYSTERY This Englehart/Trimpe dynamic, although shortlived, produced an enduring character for the Marvel Universe: the mysterious Shroud. The anti-hero Shroud first appears in the aforementioned SVTU #5.

Some critics have referred to the character as a “Batman knockoff.”

However, his co-creator Steve Englehart describes the character as a much more complex persona: “I said right at the time that the Shroud was my chance to write someone Batman–like and Shadow–like, because I loved Batman and thought, as a Marvel writer, that I’d never get a chance to write the real guy. I combined the two because a simple ‘Batman knockoff’ wasn’t

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enough. I treated the Shroud as a real character in his own right.”

Englehart also wanted the Shroud character to change the direction of the title. He explains, ”I needed such a character because there had to be something to break up the rather deadly dynamic of ‘Doom and Subby hatch plan, and lose, every time.’

If I were going to develop the series, I needed a third force, unrelated to the heroes and villains.” That force was the Shroud, whose driving purpose was to kill von Doom for his well-documented crimes against humanity.

Trimpe and Englehart’s collaboration on the title was short. Trimpe provided the art for issues #4–7 and Englehart only produced four issues, ending with #8 (featuring layouts by Keith Giffen). Englehart was reluctant to give up the series. He explains, “I hadn’t been expecting to drop it at that point. I gave it as much energy as anything else I did, and I was pretty excited about where it would go.”

HALL OF FAME Bob Hall, the next permanent artist of Super-Villain Team-Up, has some great memories of what was one of one of his first series: “I was a lowly beginner when I did SVTU, very afraid of losing my job. Most artists who faded out their first year did so because they couldn’t make deadlines, and yet everything seemed rushed and crude when I tried to make deadlines.

All of my opinions on this series need to be seen through the perception of someone who was trying to keep a low profile while he learned the job and proved his competence.”

Hall would begin on the title with issue #10 (Feb. 1977), but first, a new writer followed Steve Englehart: Bill Mantlo. Due to his injuries from a 1992 hit-and-run accident, Mantlo could not be interviewed for this article. But Bob Hall recalls, “Bill Mantlo was a good guy to work with. He looked out for me a bit and told me when I was making beginner mistakes before things got to the editor.

I always appreciated his patience.”

Mantlo’s first issue of SVTU was #9, featuring breakdowns by Jim Shooter and finished art by Sal Trapani. It was part of crossover with The Avengers and pitted Dr. Doom—still primarily an adversary of the Fantastic Four—against the World’s Mightiest Heroes. Doom’s showdown in that issue with Iron Man—armor versus armor—has gone on to be a classic motif through the years.

Concerning the direction and purpose of the series, Hall opines, “SVTU was one of those high-concept ideas that were probably better when it was pitched by someone—Mantlo? The editor? I don’t know.

Dr. Doom was popular and matching him with other villains seemed a good idea except that by the time the series ended, he had been matched with almost all the ‘villains’ powerful enough to provide him with a threat. None of the Spider-Man villains would do.

Maybe they could have brought the Hulk in. Thanos hadn’t been reinvented yet. By the time you got through Magneto and the Red Skull, where was there to go? As for me, I was just relieved to be cutting my teeth on something other than the group book I had been doing [The Champions].”

Bob Hall’s tenure did see the phasing out of the perennial Sub-Mariner/Dr. Doom team while ushering in a Red Skull/Dr. Doom dynamic. However, this was not a team but a deadly civil war, as the two were

Seeing Red Captain America’s arch-foe, the Red Skull, as seen in (left) Super-Villain Team-Up #12 (June 1977), with Dr. Doom (cover by Dave Cockrum and Al Milgrom); and (right) #17 (June 1980), the series’ final issue, with the Hate-Monger and Arnim Zola (cover by Keith Pollard and Bruce Patterson).

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

and continue to be bitter enemies. The story arc involving the Red Skull perhaps provides the high-watermark of the series. Doom and the Skull are involved in a long, prolonged war that also brought the Shroud and Captain America into the periphery.

The two primary combatants end their epic battle on, of all places, the Moon. Doom leaves the Skull to what he hopes will be a slow, oxygen-depleting death.

FATAL ATTRACTION After another Doom/Namor issue (#13), SVTU #14 (Oct. 1977) pitted Dr. Doom against the Master of Magnetism, Magneto.

Hall recalls, “I liked Doom and Magneto together. They seemed a good match. As I said before, there were few villains with the power or the personalities to take on Doom. The battle between the two did seem a bit rushed to me. Part of that was the writing. Very few writers left enough room for good battles. When I was editing, I tried to get writers to actually plot about 18 pages of a 22-page story.

If there was a big battle scene, I would leave the artist at least four pages to develop a good fight. You actually need more than that.

Marvel seems better at it now.”

The plot of the Dr. Doom/Magneto story is that Doom had developed a system to control every person on planet Earth. The world’s populace now performed his bidding. A bored Doom challenges Magneto, and provides him with an erstwhile ally, the Beast, to attempt to defeat him. It was a concept that would be the genesis of the similar plot collaborations in the Marvel Universe. Hall says, “Jim Shooter had this concept that he once called the ‘Cosmic Eraser.’ He demonstrated it in his office with an eraser. ‘Suppose this eraser had the power to make everyone on Earth obey you, without question? What would you do? Would you be satisfied to be obeyed without a struggle? What are the philosophical implications?’ It was a pretty interesting idea. I think Jim first suggested it for the Doom/Magneto/Avengers story. Then about five years later we tackled the same thing in a Moondragon arc in The Avengers (#219–220, May–June 1982) with Jim writing. Then, five years later, [writer] David Michelinie, I presume at Jim’s suggestion, did the same concept in the Emperor Doom graphic novel (Feb. 1987).”

THE BOOK THAT REFUSED TO DIE! Predictably, Magneto defeats Doom and ends his conquest of Earth in what appeared to be the final issue of Super-Villain Team-Up with issue #14. The showdown involves most of the Marvel Universe in a battle royal. The setting appears to be a perfect ending for the title.

However, much like the popular villains who do not easily perish, neither would Marvel’s Super-Villain Team-Up series go quietly into the night. It continued for almost two calendar years—while producing only three issues!

Published almost a year later, SVTU #15 (Nov. 1978) is a reprint of a Dr. Doom’s first battle with the Red Skull from Astonishing Tales #4–5 (Feb.–April 1971). Then, almost another calendar year later, Peter Gillis writes two new installments to the series. The first issue is collaboration between Gillis and legendary artist Carmine Infantino.

Gillis explains the hiatus of the series: “As editor Jim Salicrup explained to me, the revival and annual publication of SVTU was part of the legal maneuvering on Marvel’s part to keep DC from trademarking the term ‘Super Villain’ as in ‘Secret Society of.’ For that, annual publication was enough, and by the second year, the legal tussle was resolved.”

The final two issues are quality ones, involving a pairing of the Red Skull and the Adolf Hitler clone, the Hate-Monger. This dynamic still reverberates in the Marvel Universe as the Red Skull/Cosmic Cube/ Hitler persona appears forever linked. These two similar ideological characters combine their forces to recreate the all-powerful Cosmic Cube in a classic tale of ambition and betrayal. Gillis reveals, “When I got offered the book, my first thought was to team up villains that made sense [as partners]. And believe it or not, no one had written the story of the ultimate Nazi creation, the Red Skull, [joining forces with] a character that was supposed to be Hitler himself [the Hate-Monger].”

Of course, another motivation for Gillis was the artist he was going to be working with: “I was just jazzed as hell to be working with Carmine Infantino!”

The Cosmic Cube is an object that granted its possessor their wishes even to the point of altering reality. Its incomplete portrayal was also troubling to Gillis and a subject for which he wanted to provide clarity.

He explains, “I’ve have had a longstanding gripe about a technological

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Houston, We’ve Got a Problem…

Super-Villain Team-Up’s Dr. Doom and Red Skull mix it up on the Moon in this Bob Hall 2006 commission recreating his epic SVTU #12 (June 1977) battle (inset) between the two bad guys. From the collection of Stuart Neft.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

creation which only gets done once. If a Cosmic Cube was made once, why couldn’t it be made again?

Of course, the Cosmic Cube premiered with the Skull in the Captain America strip. So it seemed logical.”

Gillis continues, “I collaborated with my partner in crime, Mark Gruenwald, and we saw that we could solve two continuity messes. First, the whole Adolf Hitler thing, I managed to fold Jack Kirby’s Arnim Zola character into the story, which, I am pleased to note, made it into the Captain America (2011) movie. Secondly, we could make sense of the Cosmic Cube. It was my idea to make the cube an egg-state of an intelligent being, just as it was my idea to make the alien Shaper of Worlds the Skrull version of the Cosmic Cube. Once again, if Earth can make one, why can’t other alien races—the Skrulls? The Kree? The Shi’ar? Well, the answer is they did, but they don’t stay as a wish-fulfillment weapon.” Gillis eventually finishes this cosmic storyline in Captain America Annual #7 (1983).

Gillis’ story in SVTU is noteworthy in that he is the first to reinstate characters exclusively used by Jack Kirby.

Kirby created a number of exclusive characters during his second tenure at Marvel in the 1970s. However, they were largely ignored by other writers until Gillis inserts King Kirby’s Arnim Zola into this Super-Villain Team-Up tale. Gillis later reinserts the Kirby-created Mr. Buddha (the Manipulator) in the previously mentioned Captain America Annual. Presently, a large number of ’70s Kirby creations actively dwell in the Marvel Universe.

Additionally, the concept of the Cosmic Cube as a sentient weapon, particularly with the imbedded Hitler personality, would be essential to writer Mark Waid in a 1995 Red Skull/Cosmic Cube story in Captain America.

Gillis was also pleased to make Yosuf Tov, an Israeli security agent, a primary character and hero of his SuperVillain Team-Up story. The Nazis’ struggle with people of Jewish decent shows a logical extension and Gillis’ portrayal may be a first in comics. On a much lighter note, Gillis considers “the most significant continuity” bridge he facilitated was making George Clinton one of the Advanced Idea Mechanics scientists who created the Cosmic Cube. For those fans of the esoteric, Clinton was a member of the Parliament/Funkadelic band that had its heyday in the 1970s. The writer continues, “I’ve been a Parliament/Funkadelic fan since forever, and this was a chance to add some Supergroovealisticprosfunkstication to the Marvel Universe! I also made Bootsy Collins the bassist and Bernie Worrell, the keyboard man, villains in Captain America Annual #7,” which concludes a further definitive story on the Cosmic Cube. “For a little book published for arcane reasons, I certainly got busy!”

Peter Gillis’ tale was the final installment of the series. However, misguided and evil characters in comicdom continue to team up and plot chaos and destruction on epic scale since.

Steve Englehart provides perhaps the most fitting eulogy for the title: “It’s a minor series in my body of work.

Unfortunately, it did bounce around among creators both before me and after me, and so it never got to be all that it could have been. It was a wacky idea.

Maybe it would never have worked out, but it’s too bad it didn’t get a real chance.” Perhaps in the future, another series will be devoted to the conniving collaborations, contrasts, and similar swagger of Marvel’s supervillains.

Lex Carson is a Marvel Comics Silver and Bronze Age collector and historian as well as a contributor to Back Issue. He is also an active editor on the Wikia Marvel Database Project.

42 • BACK ISSUE • Team-Ups Issue

On July 5, 1976, the following Daily Planet solicitation was published in Metal Men #48, Starfire #2, StarSpangled War Stories #202, and possibly other DC Comics titles:

by

J a m e s T. A r n o l d

A promotional blurb at the end of Swamp Thing issue #24 (Aug.–Sept. 1976) of the classic first run announced that the next issue would feature a meeting between Alec Holland (who’d been restored to human form) and Hawkman. That story never surfaced, however, since the title was canceled, and left many plot threads from #24 dangling. For the past four decades, “The Sky Above” has remained among the Holy Grails of Swamp Thing lore, with fans trying in vain to find any pages from this story, which was fully written and illustrated, but never published. That is, until February 22, 2012, when eight pages of original art from this story appeared up for auction at Heritage Auctions. Join me now, as we take a one-year journey on “The Search for Swamp Thing #25!”

THE REASON WE COLLECT #1: “Comic books, even rare ones, exist in multiple copies.

But there’s only one of each page of original artwork.

If comic books are like cocaine, artwork is like crack.”

– Tom Field in a cautionary tale as told to David Allen Gold in Playboy (Dec. 2004) Woe be the comic-book collector who first takes this leap to the dark side! I first started collecting original comic art soon after graduating college and getting my first real job way back in 1988. By the time I turned 25,

A Lost Cover—Found!

Recently discovered by Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com)—Ernie Chan’s (Chua) original cover art to the unpublished Swamp Thing #25!

TM & © DC Comics.

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TM & © DC Comics.

TM

“HAWKMAN BATTLES SWAMP THING IN PORTLAND— Reports come in that Swamp Thing has been sighted in Portland, Oregon, and Carter (Hawkman) Hall is off to investigate. And before the creature of the murk can explain himself, he’s in the middle of a battle royal with the Winged Wonder! What will be the outcome? Ask David Kraft, Ernie Chua, and Fred Carrillo! They’ll tell you to check out the answers in ‘The Sky Above’ in Swamp Thing #25, on sale the week of July 5th.”

Tales of the Unexpected (left) Courtesy of David Anthony Kraft, the first script page from the unpublished Swamp Thing #25. (right) Ernie Chan’s pencil roughs for same, from the collection of Jim Arnold. (bottom right) The Invisibles #6, page 24, from the collection of Jim Arnold.

TM & © DC Comics.

though, I had stopped collecting both comics and art, and had sold most of my collection. Over the next decade, any comic-book fix was satisfied by the occasion trip to the local Books-a-Million to browse a comic or two off the rack. During one of these trips in 2001, I spotted this page in a graphic novel (at right): The young woman in this picture reminded me of someone I knew (but that’s another story), so I decided to see if I could find the original art for this page on the Internet. Literally one hour after seeing this page at Books-a-Million, I had located the original art at the Artist’s Choice (www.theartistschoice.com). This was during the fall, when the owner happened to be having a half-price sale, so I purchased this gem for the scandalous price of $75.00. This was the first new piece of original comic art I had bought in over a decade, and thus, a new case of “collector’s fever” was born.

THE REASON WE COLLECT #2: TO SAVE TIME IN A BOTTLE I read somewhere that for most comic-book collectors, their personal “Golden Age of Comics” is when they were 12. This is the period they tend to collected (or re-collect) as they get older. My personal “Golden Age,” however, was the late 1980s. This was the time of Crisis on Infinite Earths, The Dark Knight Returns, and, of course, Watchmen.

This was also the era of the Swamp Thing renaissance, courtesy of Alan Moore and continued by Rick Veitch.

The renaissance came to an end in 1989, though, when the infamous Swamp Thing-meets-Jesus issue, #88, was pulled. Once I began collecting original comic art again, I started to drift even further into

44 • BACK ISSUE • Team-Ups Issue

insanity. It’s not hard enough to collect “one of a kind” original comic art. My collecting habits evolved (devolved?) to collecting “none of a kind” unpublished comic art. Being one of the items missing from my “Golden ’80s,” I began searching for the art to the original unpublished Swamp Thing #88. I actually found a copy of both the art and script a few years back, but still occasionally search for any more information on this issue. During one of these searches, I happened upon Rich Handley’s www.swampthingroots.com website, with the following blurb: “Just wanted to let you know that the Swamp Thing #25 pages will be in our upcoming Vintage Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction, February 22–23, 2012. I’ll send you a link when the art has been processed.” I had never really heard of this Swamp Thing issue before, but the chance to get some pages from an issue of Swamp Thing unpublished for almost 40 years proved to be irresistible. After the thrill of the auction and winning these pages, I began my search for any more art or information on this issue.

Chasing Amy). The art can be split by dividing the comic in alternating pages (a real problem when trying to collect a particular series of pages), or the inker may receive either the first third or last third of the original art pages. While most comic-book aficionados may recognize the penciler for a comic, the inker may be relatively unknown. This may make it harder to find the inker’s pages, but they are usually much cheaper than pages bought directly from the artist. I suspected the eight Swamp Thing pages I had won were from the inker’s [Fred Carrillo] section. These had probably been bought at some comic-book convention in the ’70s or ’80s and had been sitting in someone’s collection for decades. This was somewhat confirmed by Heritage Auctions: Date: Thursday, March 29, 2012, 9:18 AM Hi Jim, I took the pages in and the consignor told me he indeed bought them years ago at a convention and these were all the pages he had. Sorry we can’t be of more help— My best, Todd Hignite

THE REASON WE COLLECT #3: THE THRILL OF THE SEARCH “The search for the Grail is the search for the divine in all of us.”

– Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) At this point, I had two hopes. First, either someone else owned the rest of the pages to this story, but did not realize what they were (i.e., “I have some Ernie Chan Swamp Thing pages”), or second, the remaining pages from this issue were in the hands of either the penciler or inker. One of the first “secrets” collectors of original comic art learn is that when looking for comic art from a particular issue, the art is usually split between the artist (or penciler) and the inker (or “tracer”—see

And You Thought You Get Carsick...!

At Jim Arnold’s request, Ernie Chan in 2012 recreated the page 6–7 spread of Swamp Thing #25, first in rough then in finished form.

From the collection of Jim Arnold.

Swamp Thing TM & © DC Comics.

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Since Mr. Carrillo had passed away in 2005, I next started searching for the penciler, Mr. Ernie (Chua) Chan. I located his website, and sent him a correspondence. To my surprise, I received the following email: Sent: Monday, April 2, 2012 1:00 PM Hi Jim, I am sorry I don’t have any of the Swamp Thing #25. If you can email me scans of the pages you have, maybe I can let you know if I can reproduce your missing pages. Maybe the cover too.

Best, Ernie I sent Mr. Chan scans of the eight pages I had won. Up to this point, I had pages 9–14, 16, and 17 of the story. The good new was that this was the last part of a 17-page story, so I could get the “gist” of the entire comic, even with the cover, pages 1 through 8, and page 15 missing.

One day, I received the following email with nine scans attached: Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 1:02 PM Hi Jim, Attached are what I find in my files so far.

Ernie Lo and behold, these scans were the eight missing pages from the first half of the story, plus page nine—rough drafts with no dialogue, but I now had almost the entire comic!

I still did not have a cover or page 15, but I did have the original artist who had drawn those. I requested that Mr. Chan create me a commission page that would serve as both a cover and a bridge between page 14 and 16, and on April 21st I received the art that is shown below.

The artistic style is distinctly different when comparing this commissioned splash page to the original pages. This may be due to the

evolution of Mr. Chan’s style over 40 years, but is more likely due to Mr. Carrillo’s artistic influences overlaid with his inks. Once I had collected enough material that I could actually say I had the entire comic, I requested that Mr. Chan do a commission recreating the page 6 and 7 double-splash. Accompanying this article are Mr. Chan’s original rough draft pencil scans, and his final commission.

On the same day I received the commission, I also received the following email from Mr. Chan: Date: Friday, May 4, 2012, 3:51 PM Hi Jim, It was a pleasure doing those pages for you. Sorry for not getting back to you right away. I tried digging into my files looking if I still have originals stuck somewhere, but no luck. I must have sold all of them. But I can still do recreations and commissions.

Best, Ernie Sadly, this may have been some of Mr. Chan’s last work. I next heard he had passed away on May 16th. I didn’t learn Mr. Chan had been sick for almost a year until after that week. I probably wouldn’t have bothered him if I had known, but from his emails, he seemed happy, upbeat, and okay. It’s a good thing I contacted him when I did. Otherwise, these rough drafts and commissions would never have seen the light of day.

As you may have noticed, while I now had most of the pages to Swamp Thing #25, I was still missing the dialogue for the first eight pages. I took another chance and tried to track down the writer as well, David Anthony Kraft. Without being modest (I’M GREAT … see, that wasn’t modest), I have been fairly successful in tracking down any art or artist I was interested in collecting. A comic-book writer from a 40-year-old comic, however, that’s another story. I searched the Internet, and where I got it, I don’t remember, but I found an email address. I cast my lot unto the wind, asking Mr. Kraft if he had any material from this 40-year-old comic. Miracle of miracles, I received the following email back a few weeks later: Sent: Thursday, May 3, 2012 11:43 AM Jim: But what’s in it for me? LOL Tell you what, I’ll have a look, provided you agree to provide me with copies of everything you have or find in future, for my files. Deal?

DAK I corresponded with Mr. Kraft a few more times over the next few weeks. Unfortunately, he did not find any more hard-copy information for me in his files. However, being the writer, he didn’t HAVE to find any hard-copy information. I learned two pieces of information from Mr. Kraft: Date: Friday, June 8, 2012, 3:08 PM James: Checked the file cabinet that should have Xeroxes of the ST #25 art … nothing. Quite a while back, I cleared out cool art Xeroxes to Hambone (David G. C. Hamilton) back when he was doing layouts for Comics Interview, since he had a keen interest in comics art of that (and all) kinds. Last I know, he was doing design for TwoMorrows but haven’t seen his name in credits for quite a while— thinking maybe John Morrow has his address … you should ask. If you can find Hambone, I am certain he will still have the stuff. My next plan (no time limit) is to check attic to see if I have a copy of the script for that issue—if that would be of any interest to you.

Best, DAK …and this is where the trail went dry. I did find various references to “Hambone” Hamilton on the Internet, but no concrete leads.

Muck vs. Wings From the collection of Jim Arnold, Ernie Chan revisited in 2012 this scene from an unpublished comic he drew back in 1976, Swamp Thing #25.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Authority Always Wins (left) The Authority vol. 1 #27, page 20, from the collection of Jim Arnold. (right) Chasing Amy last page by Mike and Laura Allred. Note that this is actually a reproduction.

Check out the original at the Secret Stash. Can you spot the difference?

The Authority TM & © DC Comics.

Chasing Amy TM & © ViewAskew.

GO WEST, YOUNG MAN… By this time, summer had rolled around, which everyone reading this should know means San Diego Comic-Con! Besides being a collection of what I call the major “old school” comic-art dealers, you also have your comic artists, and your random chance and happenstance on finding a pile of comic art at some miscellaneous table. While looking through a random portfolio at a random table for a random page from Swamp Thing #25, I found this page instead (above left).

This page from The Authority #27 was one I had my eye on for a few years. It was originally listed at Fog City Art with a price of $125.00, but for some reason, I never pulled the trigger on it. Then one day, it was gone. As you can see, this page features George W. Bush as the president. However, by the time this issue was ready to be published in September 2001, the terrorist attacks of September 11th happened. In the wake of 9/11, a squeamish DC forced artist Art Adams to change President George W. Bush to a president who more resembled Merkin Muffley from the film Doctor Strangelove.

Another unpublished masterpiece had reappeared in my hands (you would be surprised how many times a piece of comic art can appear and reappear in a collector’s world). Final price paid: $150.00.

I also knew that TwoMorrows Publishing usually had a booth at Comic-Con. Long story short: a) I did not find any more art from Swamp Thing #25 at Comic-Con, b) I did find a page of art from another “unpublished masterpiece” I thought had slipped my grasp, and c) I did meet John Morrow, who said he would attempt to get in contact with David “Hambone” Hamilton for me.

GO EAST, YOUNG MAN… While waiting to back hear from Mr. Morrow and Mr. Hamilton, I got the itch to visit another comic-book convention. My convention season usually ends with Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia. However, this year, I tried something a little different, and went to Comic Art Con in fabulous Secaucus, New Jersey. For those that don’t know, Comic Art Con is a con exclusively for comic-art collectors. I figured this would be my last, best chance to find any more pages from Swamp Thing #25. The good or bad news is, Comic Art Con is as if you took all the comic-art dealers from San Diego and put them all in one

place. The bad news is, I had already been to San Diego Comic-Con, so I picked up no new leads—on Swamp Thing #25, that is. As part of my travels, I also took a little side trip to Red Bank, New Jersey, to visit Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, made famous by the TV show Comic Book Men. For those that ever want to visit this store and are in the New York area, it’s a mere 30-minute train ride from Penn Station and a three-block walk in Red Bank, New York. The walls are lined with Kevin Smith movie memorabilia plus several pages of original comic art, including this page (above right) I had been Chasing Aimlessly for a while. Unfortunately, not for sale (for now).

While visiting New York, I noticed that New York Comic-Con, a convention I had never attended, was going to be in two weeks.

I kept thinking, “Man, I really came too early. I wish I could go to that.” This brings up the second piece of information I learned from David Kraft when I queried what was supposed to happen after Swamp Thing #25: Sent: Saturday, June 9, 2012 2:47 AM If Hambone has xeroxes of the art, he has the WHOLE issue. As for the rest, it was a weird decision, not from Gerry Conway or me, but from Carmine Infantino, then-DC publisher, delivered in the elevator when DC was at Rockefeller Center: “From now on, Swamp Thing and Hawkman will be in the same book.” I asked if he meant, like Marvel, individual stories of each; he said, no, together in the same stories. Which non-plussed me. So I planned to take Swamp Thing to Thanagar, which is the only thing that made sense to me.

DAK Somewhere along the line, I saw Mr. Infantino was going to be one of the special guest at New York Comic-Con, so I kept thinking, “Damn, missed that chance.” I just went to New York, you know— I can’t go back, like two weeks in a row.” And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.” I’M AND ADULT AND I HAVE MONEYYYYYYYYYY! Spending all this time reading comic books, I sometimes forget that…

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SWAMP THING #25: The Lost Issue Gallery

(this page and next) A random sampling of pages in both layout and letteredand-inked form.

From the collection of Jim Arnold.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Swamp Thing #25, a la New 52 From the collection of Jim Arnold, current Swamp Thing artist Yanick Paquette’s rendition of ST #25’s Swampy vs.

Hawky fistfight. The artist reveals that he produces DC’s current ST book digitally and that he hasn’t “fought with paper in years! Yet there it is, the only Swamp Thing art I’ve produced in the real, tangible world.” Jim Arnold adds, rather emphatically: “For those who don’t grasp the significance of this, it means there is NO [current] Swamp Thing original comic art in existence from his run, except possibly this example. Welcome to the future of original comic-art collecting, or more precisely, its end…”

TM & © DC Comics.

trying to find pieces of a 40-year-old comic book, I also happened to have been the winner of an eBay auction late last year to be named the villain in the series The Secret Service, written by Mark Millar and drawn

by Gibbons. I asked one of the staff at the booth if I could leave a few copies of The Secret Service along with a return envelope for someone to give to Mr. Gibbons to sign. His response was, “Why don’t you walk around the corner yourself and have him sign them?” So I got to meet Dave Gibbons (a very nice and congenial man), introduced myself as the villain of the series (he did the Dr. Evil move), and asked him to sign a few copies of The Secret Service for me. I also asked him about buying some of the original art featuring the villain with my name. He said, “Which ones?” I showed him this page from issue #4 with the big villain reveal. His response was, “Oh, I’ll send you that.”

And that’s where I’ll end my tale of “The Saga of Swamp Thing #25,” because apparently, I was just searching for myself all along (let’s see someone else end a comic-art story with an ending like that!).

GO EAST AGAIN, YOUNG MAN … OR LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES—YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO GET So I went to New York City for the second time in two weeks for New York Comic-Con! If Comic Art Con is like extracting all the original comic-art vendors from San Diego Comic-Con and putting them in one place, New York Comic-Con is like extracting all the comic-book stuff from San Diego and putting it all in one place. In other words, it’s an actual comic-book convention. I did take a pass through the various comic-art dealers at NYCC. Once again, it was mostly the same ones from San Diego and Comic Art Con, with one notable exception.

NYCC is the only show I know of that is attended by the Artist’s Choice, which is the premiere site for original comic art these days.

Unfortunately, I did not find any more pages or hard information from any of the comic-art vendors. I had only planned on one day at NYCC, and it was getting near the end of the day. Then, I happened to stumble upon the booth with Mr. Carmine Infantino. Got in line to talk to him, showed him the Swamp Thing #25 pages, and asked him, “I heard a rumor that you had planned on Swamp Thing going to Thanagar for the series.” For those that have seen the movie A Christmas Story, I might as well have asked Santa Claus for a Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle.

Instead of “YOU’LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT KID!,” though, the answer I got back was, “No way, no way!” I just said, “Thank You,” and was not really sure why he seemed to be so upset. I remembered later that was David Kraft’s plan, not Carmine Infantino’s plan …. D’OHHHH! As I was leaving Mr. Infantino’s booth on my way out of NYCC, I happened to walk by another booth promoting Dave Gibbons of Watchmen being in attendance. It turns out besides flying around the country 50 • BACK ISSUE • Team-Ups Issue

Adrian Veidt: I did the right thing, didn’t I? It all worked out in the end.

Dr. Manhattan: “In the end”? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.

– Watchmen Okay, it’s not going to end like that. But I think you can see why I collect comic art. Besides actually finding almost all the pieces to a 40-year-old unpublished comic, this little quest tested my ingenuity, took me to two coasts, introduced me to several comic creators, and even helped me locate three other pages of comic art on my want list, including a page featuring myself. I also eventually spoke to “Hambone” Hamilton, an interesting individual who apparently does not have a cell phone or computer (helps to explain why I couldn’t find him myself). We conversed a few times over a few topics on the phone.

Unfortunately, he did not have any more material on Swamp Thing #25 either. And it was at this point I decided my quest for Swamp Thing #25 had finally come to its end. Then, before we hung up for the last time, he said those immortal words, “Of course, unless you want to try and contact the letterer, he probably has copies of all of this stuff.” <click> OHHHH, IT NEVER ENDS! While not planning total world domination, JAMES T. (JIM) ARNOLD spends his time programming computers in the Tennessee Valley and obsessing at being the Indiana Jones of the Comic Artchaeology World. He would like to thank the kind folks at Heritage Comics Auctions, Rich Handley, David Anthony Kraft, John Morrow, David Allen Gold, David G. C. Hamilton, and others who may have not been mentioned for all their help both directly and indirectly in this endeavor, with a special dedication and thanks to Ernie Chan. And, for anyone else who may have any more information on Swamp Thing #25, please feel free to contact Jim at jtarnold@grailpage.com.

Super Editorial Run by

Jim Kingman

“Be Original” DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz, and the first issues of his two Superman team-up series: World’s Finest Comics #198 (Nov. 1970, cover art

by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson) and DC Comics Presents #1 (July–Aug. 1978, cover by José Luis García-López and Dan Adkins).

Photograph from Schwartz’s Man of Two Worlds bio, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

Amongst so many accomplishments during his renowned career, editor Julius (“Julie”) Schwartz had an extraordinary way with DC superhero team-ups. He and his own crack team of writers and artists grouped superheroes from the Golden Age of Comics (the Justice Society of America) and superheroes of the Silver Age (the Justice League of America), and then teamed them all together on an annual basis well into the Bronze Age. He teamed many of these superheroes from EarthOne (the Flash, Green Lantern, and the Atom) with their namesakes from the parallel world of Earth-Two, and did so on numerous occasions.

Also during the Bronze Age, Schwartz had Superman, the World’s Greatest Superhero, team up with as many DC superheroes as the powers-that-be allowed. Not to mention Santa Claus. Not just in one team-up book, but two, and we are about to partake in them all.

YOUR TWO FAVORITE HEROES—TOGETHER! When Mort Weisinger retired in 1970 as editor of the Superman family of titles at National Periodical Publications (now DC Entertainment), his books were distributed among a wide range of editors. Action Comics went to Murray Boltinoff; E. Nelson Bridwell was promoted from assistant editor to editor of Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane; Jack Kirby had Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen awaiting him after the

King’s departure from Marvel Comics; and Schwartz would now direct the course of both Superman and World’s Finest Comics (WFC).

Julie wasted no time making a big change to World’s Finest: No longer would Batman be co-starring with Superman in every issue; instead, other DC super-stars would appear with the Man of Steel, with Batman scheduled to appear twice a year.

Gone from Schwartz’s creative stable were veteran writers Gardner Fox and John Broome, replaced by the relatively newly established Denny O’Neil and Steve Skeates, and up-and-comers Mike Friedrich, Len Wein, and Elliot S! Maggin. The stories had a hipper flare, reeling in more adult themes while, hopefully, not alienating the targeted market of eight- to 12-year-old boys.

“I enjoyed seeing Superman teamed up with other characters,” recalls writer Bob Rozakis, “especially since Batman had been doing so in The Brave and the Bold for awhile. But it was also nice to see a Schwartz-team spin on Superman/Batman, after so many years of editor Jack Schiff and Weisinger versions.”

O’Neil, Julie’s go-to guy at that time, kicked off Schwartz’s 16-issue run with the timeline-saving third race between Superman and the Flash in WFC #198–199 (Nov.–Dec. 1970). This tale established once and for all that the Flash was a little bit faster than Superman. Dick Dillin and Team-Ups Issue

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Bye-bye, Batman! (above) World’s Finest #199 featured this fullpage house ad drawn

by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson touting issue #200’s team of Superman and Robin. Scan courtesy of Andy Mangels. (inset) The Neal Adams cover for that bicentennial issue. (right) From World’s Finest #201.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Joe Giella provided the artwork, and would illustrate all the WFC Superman team-ups under Schwartz’s watch.

In late 1970, Superman also teamed with Robin (WFC #200), written by Friedrich. Comics’ short-lived relevancy period was well underway when Schwartz took over WFC, most notably in another Schwartz book, Green Lantern/Green Arrow. In #200, America’s involvement in the Vietnam War had sparked student protests at Hudson University where Dick (Robin) Grayson attended classes, although it wouldn’t be long before more traditional science-fiction trappings propelled the tale.

“At the time,” remembers Friedrich, “I was very concerned about social issues and wanted to bring them into the stories I wrote. It was a culturally and politically turbulent time, and in my small way I was part of it. I’d been brought up reading superhero stories where ‘good wins out over evil.’ What I wanted to address as a young writer was the question of what was evil: It wasn’t about robbing banks and jewelry stores, it was environmental degradation, war, and prejudice.

“Julie actually seemed to encourage the social commentary, but always pushed me to incorporate it into the traditional good guy vs. bad guy conflict format—that is, there had to be a physical battle of some sort every couple of pages. If I could make that battle about a current social issue, that was a bonus. I was inspired by O’Neil’s work for Julie, though I was a lot more raw (and perhaps more radical) than Denny.”

In 1971 Superman teamed with Green Lantern (WFC #201), written by O’Neil; Batman (#202) by O’Neil; Aquaman (#203)

by Skeates; Wonder Woman (#204) by O’Neil; the Teen Titans (#205) by Skeates; Batman (#207) by Len Wein; Dr. Fate (#208) by Wein; and Hawkman (#209) by Friedrich. Relevancy was not at the forefront, yet there were some wild and interesting highlights.

“Punish me, Daddy! I deserve it!” wailed an ashamed Superman in WFC #201, draped over the giant knee of his father, Jor-El, as the angry, apparently alive (in enlarged form) Kryptonian scientist viciously spanked his son. It remains a disturbing image, although once the Man of Steel realized it was an illusion, the situation improved as “Daddy” faded away and Superman and Green Lantern thwarted a dastardly plan by evil magician Felix Faust.

O’Neil utilized relevancy in a creative way in #202, positing that mankind’s pollution problem adversely affected the Man of Steel’s fleet of Superman robots, so much so that Superman was forced to scrap them all.

One remained at large, however, causing havoc in the Middle East for Lois Lane and Batman.

The highly acclaimed Aquaman series by Skeates and artist Jim Aparo may have been canceled at the beginning of 1971, but Skeates still had a Sea King tale to tell in WFC #203. Next up, on a ravaged Earth in a possible future came the plea of a desperate robot to Superman and Diana Prince, Wonder Woman in WFC #204: prevent the death of an unspecified individual at a campus riot in 1971 or watch helplessly as the robot’s world comes to be!

When one man’s racism, male chauvinism, extreme desire for law and order, and egomaniacal tendencies were absorbed by an alien computer and disseminated amongst the townspeople of Handley Park, including the visiting Teen Titans, Superman came to the rescue to defeat the menace and set everyone back on the straight and narrow.

This tale in WFC #205 is an interesting take on the complex nature of man, complete with a fire-breathing dragon.

Torn from Today’s Headlines The Superman teamup phase of World’s Finest Comics was produced during DC’s “relevance” period and featured timely themes including pollution, campus unrest, racism … and Diana Prince’s hot pants!

An added bonus: Neal Adams covers!

WFC #204 (Aug. 1971) and 205 (Sept. 1971).

TM & © DC Comics.

Magic then mixed with science fiction. In WFC #207, Dr. Light was teamed Superman with other DC superheroes from time to time in able to siphon off some of Zatanna’s magical aura and use it to cripple Superman and Action Comics, but there would be no continuing Superman, but not for long with the aid of Batman; while in WFC #208, Superman team-up book for well over five years. members of an alien race used mystic science to smash the continents of Earth-Two together so that they could absorb the energy outburst “SUPERMAN PLUS” and revel in the ultimate power of mind-control. Fortunately, Superman During the course of 1978, Schwartz relinquished the titles he had been most associated with from the beginning of the Silver Age: journeyed to Earth-Two just time to aid Dr. Fate in defeating The Flash, Green Lantern, and Justice League of America, and the aliens and pulling the continents back in place. two of the most important books he picked up in the 1960s, The spirited Tempter acted as conscience for all the Batman and Detective Comics. Meanwhile, the thenprotagonists in WFC #209, nudging them to the “dark proudly hyped DC Explosion and subsequently notorious side.” Superman and Hawkman overcame the worst DC Implosion came and went during the summer of of the villain’s temptations, although they were never ’78, and while the fallout drastically altered—and aware that the Tempter was influencing them. decreased—the company’s production, the senior In 1972 Superman teamed with Green Arrow editor held on to the Superman family of titles: Action (WFC #210), written by Maggin; Batman (#211) by Comics, Superman, Superman Family, and a new book, O’Neil; Martian Manhunter (#212) by O’Neil; the DC Comics Presents (DCCP), wherein Superman would Atom (#213) by Maggin; and the Vigilante (#214) team up with various DC super-stars, a return to the

by O’Neil and Skeates. format of his earlier run on World’s Finest, although Revisions and softening of the Comics Code this time around Batman would not drop in every Authority began to kick in late in Schwartz’s run, mike w. barr fourth issue. DCCP debuted in April of 1978 (#1 was just as social relevancy was wearing off. Superman’s cover-dated July–Aug. 1978), and as with World’s blood spurts from his face right on the cover of WFC Finest eight years before, it kicked off with a two-part #212, and in that story Bel’s betrayal of boyfriend J’onn J’onzz apparently goes unpunished. Werewolves and vampires were a big no-no in super- tale starring Superman and the Flash, this time by writer Martin Pasko hero comics for years under CCA rule, but became allowed as long as and artists José Luis García-López (penciler) and Dan Adkins (inker).

“Regarding the origin of DC Comics Presents,” writer Mike W. Barr they adhered to “classic monster” depictions, such as in the Universal recalls, “the book was already on the schedule and in production by horror films of the 1930s and ’40s. This allowed for a werewolf to be cast as the tragic antagonist in WFC #214. The Vigilante even lifted a the time I came on staff in October 1977 as staff proofreader, though line from the Wolf Man movie, commenting that the young man who it was originally referred to as ‘Superman Plus.’ I don’t know who came up with the DCCP title. My only creative contribution was to suggest, suffered from lycanthropy did so “through no fault of his own.”

After #214 came the big series switch, with Schwartz trading World’s in a staff meeting, that the ‘DC bullet’ be lowered from its traditional Finest Comics for Murray Boltinoff’s Action Comics. Beginning in World’s position in the upper left corner of the cover to a little lower to Finest Comics #215 (Dec. 1972–Jan. 1973), there was a drastic change incorporate it in the comic’s logo. This was approved. I imagine the along with the return of the ongoing Superman/Batman team: the book was created to take advantage of the—hopefully—heightened debut of the sons of Superman and Batman, a plot stretch Boltinoff interest in the character when the Superman movie came out in 1978.”

In 1978 Superman also teamed with Adam Strange (#3) by David and writer Bob Haney would seemingly relish with unrestrained Michelinie (writer) and Garcia-López; Metal Men (#4) by Wein and Garcíaearnestness, but I couldn’t see Schwartz nodding in approval. Schwartz Team-Ups Issue

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Modern Master If you’re like ye ed, you can never get enough of the art of José Luis García-López. Behold, two samples of his brilliance: (left) an original art page featuring gueststar Adam Strange, courtesy of Heritage, from DCCP #3 (Nov. 1978); and (right) the monster mash cover from issue #8 (Apr. 1979).

TM & © DC Comics.

López; Aquaman (#5) by Wein, Paul Levitz (co-writer), Murphy Anderson (artist), and surprise guest-editor Ross Andru; Green Lantern (#6) by Levitz, Curt Swan (penciler), and Frank Chiaramonte (inker); and the Red Tornado (#7)

by Levitz, Dick Dillin (penciler), and Chiaramonte.

Pasko was initially intended to be ongoing writer of DCCP, but then abruptly left the series after issue #2 to write the World’s Greatest Superheroes newspaper strip.

Michelinie was noted as a guest writer for #3. Wein was then scheduled to become the book’s new scripter with issue #4, in which Superman and the Metal Men as a group met for the first time to battle Chemo (apparently Metal Man Gold had forgotten he had teamed with Superman a couple of years earlier in an issue of World’s Finest; those dang “responsometers” had their faulty moments). Wein’s tenure barely lasted two issues, as Levitz came on board with #5, mysteriously edited by Ross Andru, to dialogue over Wein’s plot, and then became the new writer with #6. Levitz was eventually credited as a fill-in writer to help provide additional stories once the title went monthly with issue #3. The dramatic changes in the wake of the DC Implosion were not

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acknowledged in DCCP, other than that the letters column had gone missing for two issues (#4 and 5). As tumultuous as the DC Implosion and the revolving door of “ongoing” writers were, DCCP stayed on schedule.

Michelinie recalls his experience writing DC Comics Presents #3: “As a comic-reading kid I was more drawn to the off-the-wall characters than to the mainstream heroes. I guess I read my share of Superman and Batman stories, but was more often found with my eyes glued to the adventures of Cave Carson, Rip Hunter, Space Ranger, and, of course, Adam Strange. So when the opportunity arose to write a new Adam Strange story, I jumped at it.

That was also my first shot at writing Superman, one of the true icons of the medium, which made the assignment even more special. I don’t remember much about the actual writing of the story, but I know I must have had a smile on my face while I sat at my old manual typewriter, mining my own nostalgia while hopefully creating new nostalgia for readers in the future.

“It was also my only experience working for Schwartz, and I guess the best word I can use to describe it is … formal. There wasn’t a lot of chemistry there; I think we had respect for each other, but there was no real spark, no connection. That could be because I had very little experience writing costumed heroes at the time. I’d mostly been writing stuff like Unknown Soldier, Swamp Thing, etc., and maybe Julie didn’t have a lot of confidence in my handling of Superman. But we got along in a polite, professional sort of way.”

In 1979 Superman teamed with Swamp Thing (DCCP #8) by Steve Englehart (writer) and Anderson; Wonder Woman (#9) by Pasko, Joe Staton (penciler), and Jack Abel (inker); Sgt. Rock (#10) by Cary Bates (writer), Staton, and Abel; Hawkman (#11) by Bates, Staton, and Chiaramonte; Mister Miracle (#12) by Englehart, Rich Buckler (penciler), and Dick Giordano (inker); the Legion of Super-Heroes (#13) by Levitz, Dillin, and Giordano; Superboy (#14) by

You Know It Don’t Come Easy Cary Bates teamed Superman and Sgt. Rock (and Easy Co.) in DCCP #10. From Heritage, an original art page by Joe Staton and Jack Abel.

TM & © DC Comics.

Levitz, Dillin, and Giordano; the Atom (#15) by Bates, Staton, and Chiaramonte; Black Lightning (#16) by O’Neil, Staton, and Chiaramonte; Firestorm (#17) by Gerry Conway (writer), García-López, and Steve Mitchell (inker), Zatanna (#18) by Conway, Dillin, and Chiaramonte; and Batgirl (#19) by O’Neil, Staton, and Chiaramonte.

Even though Pasko returned in issue #9 and was tentatively touted as the regularly scheduled writer on DCCP, it only lasted all of one issue.

Englehart could be considered a fill-in writer and Bates, Levitz, and Conway could bat out back-to-back issues during the year, but by the end of 1979 it had become pretty apparent to loyal DCCP readers: there was no regular writer on the book; rather, there was a number of writers used frequently. Which wasn’t a bad thing. Always, Schwartz had a deep pool of talented, “stock” writers to choose from while “new” ones would also emerge, and that meant a variety of styles would be showcased throughout the title’s run. The same went for the artists. After the highly regarded García-López’s first four issues, only veteran Murphy Anderson was noted as an ongoing artist, and that didn’t last past issue #5. Still, Anderson, along with many other illustrators, would contribute frequently to DCCP over the years.

Highlights of 1979 included an amnesiac Superman time-traveling to World War II and joining Sgt. Rock’s Easy Company; the controversial return of Pete Ross and his son, John, where the startling revelation to Superman that Pete had known his secret identity for years was almost an afterthought when compared to the kidnapping of Ross’ son by extraterrestrials; and the teaming of Superman and Black Lightning after months of clamoring, in a story not so great—but at least it was finally accomplished.

Marc Teichman, the winner of 1978’s name-the-DCCP-letters-columnand-team-with-Superman contest, appeared with the Man of Steel and Hawkman in issue #11. Marc’s winning entry was “Pair Mail.”

Then there was the return of Firestorm, who for the most part vanished after the cancellation of his magazine during the DC Implosion. “Obviously I was motivated by self-interest,” states Gerry Conway, Firestorm’s co-creator. “I wanted to see Firestorm active in the DC Universe. I also had this long-range notion of doing some stories with him in team-up situations to evoke interest in the character. Julie was willing to go along with this. He was within a few years of his retirement and was looking for writers and artists that he didn’t have to struggle with. He was more relaxed in his approach to things.”

SUPERMAN IN THE 1980s In 1980 Superman teamed with Green Arrow (DCCP #20) by O’Neil, García-López, and Joe Giella (inker); the Elongated Man (#21) by Conway, Staton, and Chiaramonte; Captain Comet (#22) by Mike W. Barr (writer), Dillin, and Frank McLaughlin (inker); Dr. Fate (#23) by O’Neil, Staton, and Vince Colletta (inker); Deadman (#24) by Wein and García-López; the Phantom Stranger (#25) by Levitz, Dillin, and McLaughlin; Green Lantern (#26) by Marv Wolfman and Jim Starlin (writers), Starlin (penciler), and Steve Mitchell (inker); Manhunter from Mars (#27) by Wein, Starlin, and “Quickdraw” (unnamed inkers); Supergirl (#28) by Wein, Starlin, and Romeo Tanghal (inker); the Spectre (#29)

by Wein, Starlin, and Tanghal; Black Canary (#30) by Conway, Swan, and Colletta; and Robin (#31) by Conway, García-López, and Giordano.

The 1980s commenced with DC Comics Presents officially no longer touting ongoing writer/artist pairings, confirming what its readership had understood for over the past year and a half: you never knew who exactly would be producing the next issue’s story in DCCP! A second and much more successful DC Explosion began in all June 1980-released books, with eight new pages of story and art for ten cents more (40 to 50 cents) but with no additional pages added

this time around, retaining the standard 36-page format. DCCP added a backup feature, “Whatever Happened to…?,” the title to be completed each issue with possibly your favorite long-lost hero, beginning with Hourman in #25. [Editor’s note: See John Wells’ article on “WHT?” in BI #64.] That issue also tied up the neglected loose ends involving Pete Ross and Superman’s shattered friendship, not to mention young Jon Ross’ fate, from DCCP #13–14.

Highlights included … actually, from DCCP #24 until the end of the year, it was all highlights: Wein and García-López back on Deadman, picking up from where they left off on the character in Adventure Comics; Wolfman returning to DC after several years at Marvel Comics with a Superman/Green Lantern team-up and a New Teen Titans preview; Starlin illustrating four issues in a row; the introduction of Mongul in a thrilling three-part saga that also jolted the reader with an overconfident, bordering on arrogant, Superman; and a thoughtful Black Canary appearance. On a somber note, it was noted in DCCP #27 that long-time DC artist Dick Dillin had passed away of a heart attack in March 1980.

In 1981 Superman teamed with Wonder Woman (DCCP #32) by Conway, Kurt Schaffenberger (penciler), and Colletta; Shazam!

(Captain Marvel) (#33) by Conway, Roy Thomas (co-writer), Buckler, and Giordano; the Shazam! Family (#34) by Conway, Thomas, Buckler, and Giordano; Man-Bat (#35) by Pasko, Swan, and Colletta; Starman III (#36) by Levitz and Starlin; Hawkgirl (#37) by Starlin (co-writer and artist) and Thomas; the Flash (#38) by Pasko and Don Heck (artist); Plastic Man (#39) by Pasko, Staton, and Bob Smith (inker); Metamorpho (#40) by Conway, Irv Novick (penciler), and McLaughlin; the Joker (#41) by Pasko, García-López, and McLaughlin; the Unknown Soldier (#42) by Levitz, Novick, and McLaughlin; and the Legion of Super-Heroes (#43) by Levitz, Swan, and Dave Hunt (inker).

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Hare-Raising Team-Up Hoppy the Marvel Bunny to the rescue, from the Superman/ Shazam! Family get-together in DC Comics Presents #34 (June 1981). And it concludes with a Clark Kent wink!

By Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler, and Dick Giordano.

TM & © DC Comics.

Highlights in 1981 included Roy Thomas returning to DC after 15 years at Marvel, teaming with Gerry Conway for a two-part Superman/Captain Marvel/Shazam! Family extravaganza in DCCP #33–34, which featured the surprise return of Hoppy the Marvel Bunny! Martin Pasko also returned to contribute four issues. His Superman/Plastic Man team-up in DCCP #39 introduced the villainous Fliptop (he of the wig full of weapons), which immediately reminded me of one of Dick Tracy’s arch-foes, Flattop. During the summer, DC raised its cover price ten cents and added two additional pages to its standard-sized books, and this allowed a grand two-page spread, illustrated by George Pérez, of Superman and all his co-stars up through DCCP #36 (with the exception of Aquaman from issue #5, the issue that Schwartz did not edit). The appearance of Var-El, Superman’s great-grandfather from Krypton, in DCCP #37 would become the first part of a sporadically paced storyline, continuing in DCCP #51 and concluding in #74. DCCP #41 included a free preview of the all-new Wonder Woman by the marvelous team of Roy Thomas and Gene Colan.

The Best of DC (Blue Ribbon Digest) #13 (June 1981) sported the DC Comics Presents banner and reprinted the Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Green Arrow stories from Schwartz’s World’s Finest run, as close to a title “crossover” as these two series came to.

It was well known that Schwartz was not a fan of Metamorpho. The character had always been associated with Bob Haney, who, as far, as I know never wrote for Schwartz. So how did a Superman/Metamorpho team-up edited by Schwartz come to be? “It was me wanting to write certain characters,” recalls Conway, “and Julie being at the point where he was not keeping an iron grip on things anymore. If I had enthusiasm for it, that was good enough for him. He knew it would be a comic book 56 • BACK ISSUE • Team-Ups Issue

that filled his requirements for stories. And like me, he accepted the idea that we weren’t going to be using top-tier characters, so let’s get the most interesting ones that were out there. There was no real claim to Metamorpho at that stage.” In a nod to the Element Man’s creator, Conway set the story in the town of Haneyville.

In 1982 Superman teamed with Dial “H” for Hero (DCCP #44) by Bob Rozakis (co-writer), E. Nelson Bridwell (co-writer), Novick, and McLaughlin; Firestorm (#45) by Conway, Buckler, and Smith; the Global Guardians (#46) by Bridwell, Alex Saviuk (penciler), and Pablo Marcos (inker); the Masters of the Universe (#47) by Paul Kupperberg (writer), Swan, and Mike DeCarlo (inker); Aquaman (#48) by Dan Mishkin (co-writer), Gary Cohn (co-writer), Novick, and McLaughlin; Shazam! (Captain Marvel) (#49) by Thomas, Kupperberg, Buckler, and John Calnan (inker); Clark Kent (#50) by Mishkin, Cohn, Swan, and Schaffenberger; the Atom (#51) by Mishkin, Saviuk, and McLaughlin; the new Doom Patrol (#52) by Kupperberg, Keith Giffen (penciler), and Sal Trapani (inker); the House of Mystery (#53) by Mishkin, Swan, and Tony DeZuniga (inker); Green Arrow (#54)

by Kupperberg, Don Newton (penciler), and Adkins; Air Wave (#55)

by Rozakis, Saviuk, and Marcos; and the Golden Age Superman (DCCP Annual #1) by Wolfman, Buckler, and Hunt.

The Global Guardians consisted of Dr. Mist of Africa, the Seraph of Israel, Green Fury of Brazil, Rising Sun of Japan, the Olympian of Greece, Little Mermaid of Denmark (not to be confused with Little Mermaid of Disney), and Jack O’Lantern of Ireland. Issue #50 sported a two-spread illustrated by Alex Saviuk and Frank Giacoia of all of Superman’s DCCP co-stars up to that issue. After an absence of almost 20 years, DC reinstated the publication of annuals for selected titles, to be released throughout summer, which included DCCP. Longtime comics fan and historian Rich Morrissey provided a nice text piece for the annual, “Earths Beyond Earths,” discussing DC’s parallel worlds.

25 ISSUES BETWEEN THEM Paul Kupperberg and Dan Mishkin (along with Mishkin’s writing partner Gary Cohn) made their DCCP debuts in 1982; in fact, between the two of them they would be involved in 25 issues of the book beginning with DCCP #47 (July 1982), featuring Superman and the Masters of the Universe.

“DC Comics Presents #47 was my back door into writing future issues of DCCP,” recalls Kupperberg, “for writing for Julie in general, as a matter of fact. I had been given the assignment to write the Masters of the Universe miniseries that DC had licensed from Mattel, which was being edited by Dave Manak. We started working on the comic before the action figures had even hit the stores—Dave and I met with a Mattel rep who came up to DC with a big box of prototype figures and accessories, including Castle Grayskull. We sat on a conference-room floor playing with them, and talked out some ideas for a backstory for the characters. DC gave a really big push to the license, because on top of the miniseries, there was also a 16-page MOTU comic book that ran as an insert in most of the books published in August 1982, as well as a team-up with Superman in this issue of DCCP. It was really more of a He-Man story than a Superman one, inserting him into the MOTU universe, having him enslaved by Skeletor’s magic, and opening and closing with He-Man. “As I say, Manak was editing that project,” Kupperberg continues.

“Julie gets a ‘consulting editor’ credit in #47, which mostly consisted of him checking to make sure we didn’t screw up Superman too much.

But I guess I didn’t, because after that, I was invited back into his office a few months later to write DCCP #52, teaming Superman with the

New Doom Patrol. Although, I should point out, before that, I did dialogue #49 (Superman and Shazam!) over Roy Thomas’s plot. I’d stepped in to help out on deadline crunches by dialoguing a few stories by Roy previously (a couple or three issues of All-Star Squadron, as I recall), so I don’t know if I was Julie’s or Roy’s choice to do that particular job.

“Anyway, I guess Julie between those jobs and what I had been doing for him on Supergirl, which was being launched around that time into its own ongoing title from out of Superman Family, where I had been writing the strip—as well as the Jimmy Olsen strip—he felt I could handle the flagship guy.”

Dan Mishkin recalls, “I remember only two things about the Aquaman story in DCCP #48. One is how excited I was to be working on an actual Superman story: I’ve been a huge Superman fan for about as long as I can recall. And, of course, Julie Schwartz was to me a figure of mythic proportions, since I started reading comics as the Silver Age was beginning, and always favored DC over Marvel (though I read everything, and from way more than those two publishers).

“The other thing I remember about that first Superman story was that the script was late, because my wife gave birth to our first child about three weeks earlier than expected,” Mishkin says. “So I had to call Julie from a pay phone in the hospital and meekly explain that we would not be able to hand the script in the following week (Gary and I tended to divide up the labors on the comics we worked on together once we worked out the story outline together, and this was one that I was scripting). Julie was stern about my ‘excuse,’ and playfully so, I believe, but that wasn’t something I was totally sure of at the time.

“The team-up (which was more of a ‘split-up’) with Clark Kent in DCCP #50 was probably our true start on Superman. Where the previous case had been one where Julie directed us to come up with an Aquaman story, this was one that Gary and I generated out of our own enthusiasms. It seemed like a cool idea to do a special 50th issue of the book with an outside-the-box pairing like that, and Julie agreed.

“One of the things I very much liked about doing this story was that we hit what I think is an important theme regarding Superman: that’s it’s not just his alien powers but his humanity that makes him the hero he is. It’s the values he learned from his adoptive parents, and (as so poignantly executed in the first Christopher Reeve movie)

his understanding that those powers did not extend to staving off the deaths of those he loved. Another thing that’s interesting to me about that issue, and about the Atom and Atomic Knights team-ups as well, is that they were chockablock with bits of Silver Age continuity— using the Controllers’ Miracle Machine as the means to split Superman/Clark into two people, as well as having the resolution turn on the memory of his failure to save Ma and Pa Kent’s lives.

“More Silver Age goodies showed up in the Atom story I wrote for the following issue, where Professor Hyatt’s Time Pool was a key feature, as was the carved-in-stone metaphysics of the DC Universe that said that a person traveling back in time could never encounter his or her past self.”

According to Dan Mishkin, “One of the things going on in the stories of the time at DC (this had actually begun with writers a few years older than Gary and me, like Wein, Wolfman, Englehart, and Gerber) was that there was more room to make the characters something other than stock figures or cardboard cutouts. And I remember listening to Len one time, on a panel at a con before I got into the business, talk about how adding that stuff was fine with Julie as long as you first made the mechanics of the plot work. The Atom story was an

The Gang’s All Here… …except for Aquaman! DCCP #38’s (Oct. 1981) centerfold poster pinup, shown in original art form (courtesy of Heritage) and its color print form (courtesy of Jim Kingman). You might consider this artist George Pérez’s warm-up for the character-crammed Crisis on Infinite Earths, which he’d illustrate four years later.

TM & © DC Comics.

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World’s Finest Hero Meets the World’s Strangest Heroes Original Giffen/ Giordano cover art to DCCP #52 (Dec. 1982), co-starring Superman and the New Doom Patrol.

Courtesy of Anthony Snyder (www.anthonyscomicbookart.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

interesting example of that: I was really taken with the question of what it would be like for Professor Hyatt to learn that his Time Pool had been used essentially behind his back to actually journey to the past and not just retrieve trinkets, and I’m sure I must have said something about that to Julie when we talked over the plot and, of course it was right there in the script; but it was only after the book came out that he seemed to take notice of it. He told me that he really liked the part about old Professor Hyatt’s wistfulness over adventures he never got to have, which I guess goes to show where his focus was when it came to doing the work.

“My only regret about that story is that Julie changed a joke of mine, and I didn’t find out till the book was published,” Mishkin reveals. “When the two heroes are tussling with a half-dozen bad guys, the Atom punches out the first two and says ‘Strike one!’ and then ‘Strike two!’ And when Superman sweeps the other four away handily, he says something like, ‘Strikes three through six taken care of.’ In my

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script, the Atom’s next line was, ‘Strike six? What planet are you from?!’ Maybe not the greatest joke ever, but in my opinion better than the additional baseball reference Julie came up with to replace it.”

Paul Kupperberg shares with BACK ISSUE his recollections of the Superman/Doom Patrol team-up: “DCCP #52 was definitely a collaborative effort between myself and [artist Keith] Giffen. I had [written] the short-lived Doom Patrol revival in Showcase #94–96 about five years earlier, and they kind of lingered around the fringes of the DCU, but this was the first chance I had to do anything with them myself since then. Keith and I sat in Julie’s office and plotted the story out with him, using my DP and his idea for a new character, Ambush Bug, as the antagonist.

I won’t say ‘villain,’ because Ambush Bug didn’t have any malicious intent, he was just wacky and out of control, kind of like Bugs Bunny with superpowers.

We worked out some story beats, then I went home and wrote a script. I really like what Keith did on that issue. His Superman had a heavy-duty Golden Age/Joe Shuster vibe to it that looked great.”

To my knowledge, the closest Superman ever came to a “team-up” with Dave Sim’s Cerebus the paul kupperberg Aardvark can be found in this story, on page nine, panel two.

Continues Mishkin: “Issue #53, with Superman in the House of Mystery, was an enjoyable lark—fun to write but utterly ephemeral. I’d written a bunch of House of Mystery stories with Cain narrating, so I liked the opportunity to play with him some more in the context of a superhero story. I think of this in some ways as a ‘technical’ story, just making the pieces fit and work smoothly together—plot, pacing, jokes, characters’ voices, and so on. What it really boiled down to was a long setup for a new way for Superman to trick Mr. Mxyzptlk into saying his name backward (I felt privileged to be told by Julie how Mxyzptlk’s name was supposed to be pronounced). And any time you can do something even a little bit new with these old characters and situations, that’s a plus.”

Mishkin reveals an added bonus about his DCCP experiences: “A real joy of doing that issue, as well as issue #50, was being able to work with Curt Swan, whose work I’d loved for a very long time and still find magnificent. And one thing I’ll add to that is that I’ve never seen an inker, not even Murphy Anderson, who completely did justice to Swan’s pencils, which contained a lush fullness that rarely made it intact to the printed page.”

Paul Kupperberg recalls, “My next DCCP appearance was in #54, featuring Green Arrow. I’ve described this issue as a regrettable script with gorgeous art by Don Newton and Dan Adkins. It was probably Julie’s call to do a Green Arrow team-up, and since he was DC’s bleeding-heart liberal hero, I went with a bleeding-heart liberal theme, air pollution. I guess it didn’t entirely suck … well, not too bad, and I don’t think I damaged any of the characters with this one, but the best thing about it was Don’s art. His Superman was just amazing. Well, all of his work was, but he brought a great strength and nobility to the character and made his superheroics look effortless and his flying so elegant, like he was floating through the air and not hurtling. And I always thought the cover would have made a great poster.”

Covers by Kane A dazzling duo of DC Comics Presents covers by Gil Kane: (left) #56 (Apr. 1983), co-starring Power Girl, and (right) #58 (June 1983), with gueststars Robin and Elongated Man. TM & © DC Comics.

In 1983 Superman teamed with Power Girl (DCCP #56) by Kupperberg, Swan, and Hunt; the Atomic Knights (#57) by Mishkin, Cohn, Saviuk, and McLaughlin; Robin and the Elongated Man (#58) by Barr, Swan, and Hunt; the Legion of Substitute Heroes (#59) by Levitz, Giffen, and Schaffenberger; the Guardians of the Universe (#60) by Cary Burkett (writer), Novick, and DeZuniga; OMAC, One Man Army Corps (#61) by Wein, Pérez (penciler), and Marcos; the Freedom Fighters (#62) by Rozakis, Mishkin, Novick, and Hunt; Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld (#63) by Mishkin, Cohn, Saviuk, Ernie Colón (artist), Smith, and Gary Martin (inkers), Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth (#64) by Mark Evanier (writer), Saviuk, and McLaughlin; Madame Xanadu (#65) by Kupperberg and Gray Morrow (artist); the Demon (#66) by Wein and Joe Kubert (artist); Santa Claus (#67) by Wein, Kupperberg, Swan, and Anderson; and Superwoman (DCCP Annual #2) by Maggin, Keith Pollard (penciler), and DeCarlo.

Kupperberg remembers, “In #56, I got to do an Earth-One/ Earth-Two crossover with Superman and Power Girl, who I hadn’t yet ‘inherited’ … I kind of became her de facto writer after the 1987, post–Crisis reboot of her in Secret Origins #11, which tied her history to my sword and sorcery character, Arion. The story had an otherdimensional immortal warlord named Maaldor the Darklord who plucked Superman and her from their worlds to provide a challenge for his great powers. I really liked a character Len Wein had created earlier in the DCCP run, Mongul (DCCP #28), and wanted to have my own massively powerful bad guy who could give Superman a run for his money, and Maaldor was what I came up with. You win some, you lose some. The funny thing is, I always thought Curt Swan drew Maaldor to look a lot like Len—if Len were an infinitely powerful other-dimensional sword-wielding supervillain.”

THE FUTURE AIN’T WHAT IT’S CRACKED UP TO BE DC Comics Presents #57 (May 1983) was a superb fantastic narrative that convincingly, and sadly, dispelled the existence of a classic fantastic narrative. Briefly, the great Atomic War of 1986 created the Atomic Knights, published in Strange Adventures in the early 1960s, and their exploits would eventually connect to events in DC’s Hercules Unbound in the mid-1970s, also becoming a possible future in DC Universe

continuity. However, the world of the Atomic Knights could not come to be as the real world’s 1986 began to approach, as it would wipe out a popular, and quite marketable, cast of superheroes including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Justice League, and Teen Titans. Something had to be done, something drastic and therefore quite simple: While the world of the Atomic Knights did come to be, it didn’t really come to be. The entire classic series took place in the head of a sensory-deprived Gardner Grayle. This story remains exciting and well-crafted, but fans of comics continuity found it hard to swallow that “The Atomic Knights” never happened in its original narrative. It was the harbinger of things to come, and, yes, I’m looking at you, Crisis on Infinite Earths. DC’s Silver Age? DC’s Bronze Age? Sorry, didn’t happen, please get over it, but enjoy the reboots (and many more)! While I mourn (again) and fume (briefly), the much more levelheaded Mr. Mishkin will take us behind the scenes of DCCP #57: “The Atomic Knights [story] was done at Julie’s request. The year in which the original series said World War III would take place was fast approaching, and since we were all pretty hopeful that that wasn’t going to happen, Julie’s instructions were to come up with a story that would resolve the contradiction. That led us to the idea that the earlier stories represented Gardner Grayle’s experience of a computer simulation that was looking at survivability in a nuclear-war scenario, which in turn allowed us to recast the pieces of the original storyline that were naively charming in 1960 but hard to swallow a quarter century later (giant Dalmatians!) as a soldier’s wishful fantasy. But boy, did we take heat for what we did! We were seen by some as attacking the original stories, which couldn’t be further from the truth—I loved those stories as a child and still love them, but we were charged with somehow fitting them into continuity in a way the contemporary audience would accept. So our approach was not to say ‘Giant Dalmatians are stupid,’ but ‘Wouldn’t anyone try to rewrite the end of the world in a hopeful way if they could?’ And later on I had some fun turning Grayle into a new character, the Atomic Knight, in Wonder Woman, which I was writing at the time.

“There are two other things about that story that are worth mentioning,” Mishkin adds. “The first is that Nelson Bridwell thought it might be too political, with its message that figuring out how to Team-Ups Issue

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been slammed for supposedly dissing the original stories as much as we were.”

Regarding DCCP #58 (June 1983), Mike W. Barr recalls, “It was probably Julie’s idea to team Superman and Robin. I think I asked to add the Elongated Man to add a little more ‘zip’ to the mix, as EM has always been one of my favorite DC characters, not to mention the star of the first comics script I ever sold (to Julie; it appeared in Detective Comics #444). When I asked Julie who the script went to, he replied, ‘Koit.’ ‘Koit?’ I asked.

‘Who’s that?’ Translated from Schwartzish, this meant ‘Curt’—Curt Swan. This was my first collaboration with penciler Curt Swan, who did a wonderful job. I never really felt I was a pro comics writer until I had written a Superman script that Curt drew. Julie actually asked me to call Curt and tell him how much I had liked the job; Curt had apparently become a little insecure about his place in the DC pantheon, which was unacceptable.

I told Curt how highly I liked his work, to which he replied, ‘Them’s sweet words, Mike.’ The villains in this issue, a gang of criminals who could not be touched, I christened ‘the Untouchables.’ Julie hated this name, for reasons never explained, and renamed them ‘the Intangibles.’ I later restored their original name and gangster motif when I used them in The Outsiders #2 and 3. Needing a producer of science-fiction movies as a character, Curt had cleverly used the image of Star Wars creator George Lucas. Julie knew Lucas by name only; I had to point out the resemblance to him.”

Mishkin shares, “In the Freedom Fighters team-up I co-wrote with Bob Rozakis for issue #62 (Oct. 1983), I got to use an idea I’d had years before but never turned into a story: that the foundational documents of the birth of the United States—the actual, physical documents—contained a kind of mystical power.

And that was an idea that fit well with a character like Uncle Sam, who embodies America in a way that turns ideas into power.”

In #62’s letters column, Rozakis provided an informative recap of what became of the Freedom Fighters between the cancellation of their book in April of 1978 and their appearance here. Phantom Lady had retired and did not appear in this issue.

OUT-OF-THE-ORDINARY TEAM-UPS

1986 Dalmatians Writer Dan Mishkin (with cowriter Gary Cohn) took a lot of heat for his editormandated Superman team-up explaining the future of the Atomic Knights (DCCP #57, inset).

Above is the Knights’ only cover appearance during their Strange Adventures run, on issue #144 (Sept. 1962). Cover by Murphy Anderson.

TM & © DC Comics.

survive nuclear war was a foolish distraction from figuring out how to prevent one—which I’m pretty sure appeared in capsule form on bumper stickers of the time. But Julie overruled him, and I had the sense that the content of that particular political message was just fine with him. And, of course, we put out the message in a story where we’d already followed his dictum that the adventure had to come first. But what I didn’t know at the time is that Julie had been stung by the negative response to the story as much as Gary and I had. I didn’t have an inkling in fact until years later when John Broome, who’d created the Knights with Murphy Anderson, was at a San Diego Comic-Con and I took an opportunity to ask Julie to introduce us. What he said was approximately, ‘John, meet the guy who ruined the Atomic Knights!’ It may have been the most mortifying experience of my professional life, and I sputtered something about how we’d responded to Julie’s request to make the story’s future world fit in the flow of actual history and how much I loved the original series. And I should say that Broome was very gracious.

But I realized in that moment that Julie must have

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Mishkin picks up with DCCP #63: “I look back at the Amethyst story and can only see it now as a necessary compromise—promoting the character to readers who might not be picking up the maxiseries by inserting our character more firmly in the DC Universe. It’s a world she would have been better off not to be a part of, I think, but this was years before that was possible at DC. We were just grateful that DC had decided to publish the original Amethyst series at a time when they had no reason to believe they could find readers for it, so we accepted the compromise and did the best we could on the Superman team-up, and even put an event that was important to the ongoing Amethyst story in the DCCP issue. Oh, and we got a paycheck for it, which always assuages the bad feelings that come with compromising your principles.”

Kupperberg remains fond of DCCP #65: “I think I was a lot more successful using Maaldor in his follow-up appearance, starring Superman and Madame Xanadu.

This is one of my favorite books from that period, and the first time on DCCP that Julie let me have my own head on a story, with no editorial interference on his part. Julie was a notorious noodler on plots. You’d come in with a story in mind, and by the time the plotting session was over, he would have turned the story on its

ear and inside out. But when I started describing what I wanted to do with this issue, he threw up his hands and said, essentially, ‘I don’t really get those kinds of stories, but if you want to give it a try, go ahead.’ I wrote it, turned in the script, and he never said another word about it, which, in those days, used to worry me a little, especially since I thought I had done a particularly good job on it.

“Not long after,” Kupperberg continues, “I asked Julie, ‘I turn in scripts to you (by then I was doing not only DCCP, but writing regularly for him for Superman, Action Comics, Superboy, Supergirl, and the syndicated Superman newspaper strip) and you never give me any feedback. Am I doing okay?’ And he replied, ‘If you weren’t, believe me, I’d have plenty of feedback for you!’ So, with this one, as usual, I handed my script into the great void, and the next I saw of it was when it was printed … and Julie had given it to Gray Morrow to draw! My jaw dropped, which got a big laugh out of Schwartz. ‘I thought you’d like that!’ Man, did I ever! Gray was one of the great illustrators in comics, and he just killed that script! It was a very downto-Earth, human and interior-driven story, and he just made Clark and Superman look so real. It’s still one of my favorite of any art job on something I’ve written, and I’ve been lucky enough to have some of the best draw some of my stories.”

In 1984 Superman teamed with Vixen (DCCP #68) by Conway, Swan, and Anderson; Blackhawk (#69) by Evanier, Novick, and Dennis Jensen (inker); the Metal Men (#70) by Kupperberg, Saviuk, and DeZuniga; Bizarro (#71) by Bridwell, Swan, and Hunt; the Phantom Stranger and the Joker (#72) by Kupperberg, Saviuk, and Jensen; the Flash (#73) by Bates, Carmine Infantino (pencils), and Hunt; Hawkman, with Hawkwoman (#74), by Rozakis, Mishkin, Saviuk, and Tanghal; Arion, Lord of Atlantis (#75) by Kupperberg and Tom Mandrake (artist); Wonder Woman (#76) by Mishkin, Cohn, and Ed Barreto (artist); the Forgotten Heroes (#77) by Wolfman, Swan, and Hunt; the Forgotten Villains (#78) by Wolfman, Swan, and Hunt; Clark Kent (#79) by Kupperberg, Swan, and Al Williamson (inker); and Shazam! (Captain Marvel) (DCCP Annual #3), by Thomas, Joey Cavalieri (co-writer), and Gil Kane (artist).

Highlights included an appearance by Albert Einstein in DCCP #69 (May 1984).

The Superman/Flash team-up in #73 noted Flash’s manslaughter charge, which was playing out in his own book. The Var-El saga concluded with an ultimate sacrifice in #74 (can’t have too many Kryptonians residing on Earth, apparently).

In a pre–Crisis on Infinite Earths event taking place in #76, the Monitor and Harbinger observed—from their concealed spacecraft—Superman and Wonder Woman in team action. Schwartz was given a story assist credit on the 1984 DCCP Annual. At the end of #78, the Monitor shifted to his true purpose (although he didn’t explain what it was) after months of surveying DC’s superheroes and supervillains. The Forgotten Heroes (and Heroine) were Cave Carson, Dolphin, the Immortal Man, Animal Man, Rick Flagg, Congo Bill, and Rip Hunter. The Forgotten Villains boasted the Enchantress, Mr. Poseidon, the Faceless Hunter from Saturn, the Atom-Master, Kraklow, and Ultivac.

“DCCP #70, with the Metal Men, was my suggestion,” recalls Kupperberg.

“I always liked the characters, way back when from the original Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru, and Mike Esposito run in Showcase. Kanigher created the feature and wrote the first script literally over a weekend to fill a sudden hole in the book’s schedule, but they were such great characters, fully formed in that first story. It was a goofy little story, but the Metal Men themselves had a goofy side to them, so it seemed to work. And penciler Alex Saviuk’s work always kind of reminded me of Andru’s, so he definitely nailed the Metal Men. Plus Tony DeZuniga’s inks never hurt anybody, so it was a really nice-looking issue.

“I know for sure that DCCP #72, with the Phantom Stranger and the Joker, was instigated by Julie,” says Kupperberg. “The Stranger was another favorite character, again one that I was introduced to in the stories reprinted in Showcase, and then in the 1969 series that had that amazing run by Jim Aparo. With the heritage of those stories by Kanigher, Joe Orlando, Gerry Conway, Len Wein, and others, the Stranger just totally intimidated me, although I had written him in that 1978 gangbang of Showcase #100, but there he was just one of dozens of characters. The addition of the Joker was definitely a Schwartzian touch, and the combination of those characters seemed to give me an excuse for a third appearance by Maaldor.”

Random Tandem (top) Cover to DCCP #72 (Aug. 1984) by Alex Saviuk and Dick Giordano. (bottom) Klaus Janson inks Carmine Infantino on #73’s cover. (background) Eduardo Barreto’s cover to #80 (Apr. 1985), with the Legion.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Superman’s Pals, the Challs Bob Rozakis’ Superman/Challengers team-up in DC Comics Presents #84 (Aug. 1985) featured art by both Jack Kirby and Alex Toth!

Cover by Kirby and Greg Theakston.

TM & © DC Comics.

Kupperberg continues, “DCCP #75 was Superman and Arion, which would have been me pushing the monthly Arion, Lord of Atlantis title that I was doing with Jan Duursema. The book was about two-thirds through its run by then, and while Arion hadn’t really been tied all that closely with the DC continuity, I pitched this one to Julie mostly because I had a hole in my schedule and needed a book to fill it. But Tom Mandrake did a great job on the art and the story had a few cute character moments in it.

“The Superman and Clark Kent team-up in #79 was another of Julie’s ideas. It brought back the intergalactic gamblers Rokk and Sorban from the planet Ventura, and the conceit was that they split the Man of Steel into his two component identities and wagered on which one of them would be the first to solve the mystery.

The whole schtick and resolution were classic Schwartz, but it was a

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fun story, with art by the great Curt Swan inked by the equally great Al Williamson.”

In 1985 Superman teamed with the Legion of Super-Heroes (DCCP #80) by Kupperberg, Swan, and Hunt; Ambush Bug (#81) by Robert Loren Fleming (co-writer), Giffen, and Bob Oksner (inker); Adam Strange (#82) by Bates and Klaus Janson (artist); Batman and the Outsiders (#83) by Barr, Novick, and Hunt; Challengers of the Unknown (#84) by Bob Rozakis, Jack Kirby (artist), Alex Toth (artist), and Greg Theakston (inker); Swamp Thing (#85) by Alan Moore (writer), Rick Veitch (penciler), and Williamson; Supergirl (#86) by Kupperberg, Rick Hoberg (penciler), and Hunt; Superboy of EarthPrime (#87) by Maggin, Swan, and Williamson; the Creeper (#88) by Englehart, Giffen, and Karl Kesel (inker) [not to be confused with an earlier proposed Superman/Creeper story by Englehart that never transpired and was eventually published in Eclipse Magazine #1 as “Slab,” starring S-329, Agent of Storbor and Klonsbon the Foozle, and illustrated by Marshall Rogers]; the Omega Men (#89) by Rozakis, Todd Klein (cobob rozakis writer), Saviuk, and Ricardo Villagran (inker); Firestorm and Captain Atom (#90) by Kupperberg, Denys Cowan (penciler), and Hunt; Captain Comet (#91) by Craig Boldman (writer), Swan, and Hunt; and Superwoman (DCCP Annual #4) by Maggin, Barreto, and Jerry Ordway (inker).

Three official Crisis on Infinite Earth crossovers were published in DCCP in 1985, appearing all in a row in issues #86–88. Supergirl’s appearance in DCCP #86 (Oct. 1985) would be her last before her tragic death in Crisis #7. Issue #87, introducing a Superboy that would several years later become quite the incarnation of evil in Geoff Johns’ Infinite Crisis and Green Lantern, also included a backup tale, “The Origin of SuperboyPrime” by Maggin, Swan, and Williamson. A new title logo appeared on the cover beginning with #90.

Unfortunately, it was not a very good design. Given Captain Atom’s appearance on the same Earth as Superman and Firestorm, issue #90’s tale could be considered one of the first post–Crisis stories.

“Curt also penciled my next DCCP outing, #80,” says Kupperberg, “teaming Superman with the Legion of Super-Heroes. I don’t really recall much about this one, but it was built around the Legion discovering an other-dimensional city in space populated by killer Superman robots. They were somehow supposed to help Brainiac capture the real Superman and use him in his fight against the Master Programmer.”

Mike Barr notes, “The team-up of Superman, Batman, and the Outsiders came from the fact that the BATO title was the third bestselling DC title of its day.

Julie had wanted to do this team-up some months earlier, but I couldn’t come up with an idea that Julie liked and since Julie knew nothing about the Outsiders (‘I don’t know anything about the book,’ he said, with typical candor, ‘I just know [a DCCP with them] will sell’), he was of no help. The idea I finally came up with spurred what became of my favorite memories of Julie. Asked who the villain was, I replied, ‘Alfred.’

‘Alfred?’ asked the Schwartz. ‘Da butleh?’ (Actually, he said, ‘The butler?’ But you know what I mean.) ‘Not just Alfred,’ I said, “Alfred as the Outsider. It’s the

Where’s Stretch Armstrong? (inset) Jim Starlin’s cover for the Kupperberg-penned teamup between Superman and the Elastic Four, from DCCP #93 (May 1986). Jimmy “Elastic Lad” Olsen and Ralph “Elongated Man” Dibny stretch their legs (and other body parts) with the Man of Steel on this original art page from that issue. Signed by penciler Alex Saviuk; inked by Kurt Schaffenberger. Courtesy of Anthony Snyder.

TM & © DC Comics.

Outsiders versus the Outsider.’ ‘Ooh, that’s good, that’s good!’ Julie grinned. And his compliment to me felt even better.”

Bob Rozakis chimes in: “The most interesting thing about the stories I did was that DCCP was a team-up for me as well. The Challengers [of the Unknown] issue (#84, Aug. 1985), which incorporated the first chapter of a tale I originally wrote for Adventure Comics digest, was an unintentional penciling team-up between Jack Kirby and Alex Toth! I was a co-writer with E. Nelson Bridwell on the Dial ‘H’ for Hero issue, with Dan Mishkin on the Freedom Fighters and Hawkman issues, and Todd Klein on the Omega Men issue. The Air Wave story was probably the one I enjoyed most because I used both the original and ‘modern day’ Air Wave in team-ups with Superboy and Superman.”

Kupperberg continues, “DCCP #86 was a Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover teaming Superman with his cousin Kara, Supergirl.

I had been writing the Supergirl monthly and she was going to die in that same month’s Crisis #7, so this was their farewell team-up, against Blackstarr. In the end, Blackstarr tried to put time and space back the way they belonged, but she failed and disappears, still leaving Kara with ‘ominous feelings.’ It’s kind of a sad story for me, being the last time I got to write Supergirl.”

Notes Rozakis, “Julie thought the explanation for doing Crisis— that having multiple Earths was too confusing for the readers—was ridiculous.”

“For #90,” picks up Kupperberg, “we did a team-up with Firestorm the Nuclear Man and Captain Atom. I grew up on Steve Ditko’s Captain Atom and the rest of the Charlton Action Heroes of the 1960s, so it was cool to get a chance at one of the crew. I’d actually written a whole Captain Atom continuity for a planned weekly featuring all the Charlton superheroes that never happened, so this is my only published story featuring the character. I’d also had a hand in Firestorm prior to this, having briefly edited the title was well as writing a fill-in a few years before. Nice art by Denys Cowan, although Dave Hunt’s inks didn’t do him any favors.”

In 1986 Superman teamed with Vigilante (DCCP #92) by Kupperberg, Swan, and Hunt; the Elastic Four (#93) by Kupperberg, Saviuk, and Schaffenberger; Harbinger, Lady Quark, and Pariah (#94)

by Barbara Randall (co-writer), Bob Greenberger (co-writer), Mandrake, and Hunt; Hawkman (#95) by Tony Isabella (writer), Richard Howell (pencils), and Anderson; Blue Devil (#96) by Mishkin, Cohn, Staton, and Schaffenberger; and the Phantom Zone criminals (#97) by Steve Gerber (writer), Veitch, and Smith.

“The Superman/Vigilante team-up #92 (Apr. 1986) was probably the biggest stretch of any of the team-ups I did,” admits Kupperberg.

“I had taken over writing The Vigilante about a year before this issue came out and if there was anybody in the DCU who didn’t belong sharing a story with squeaky-clean Boy Scout Superman, it was him.

Vigilante was a pretty raw book, all blood and guts and hardcore ‘reality,’ usually racking up a pretty high body count. But I kept him on the straight and narrow for this story. I think Vigilante got to fire off one shot in the whole story, and that to score a shoulder wound against one of the bad guys.”

Kupperberg’s last DC Comics Presents contribution was #93, teaming “Superman and the Elastic Four, which consisted of Plastic Man, Elongated Man, and Jimmy (Elastic Lad) Olsen, with a mysterious fourth stretchable hero, who turned out to be a former partner-incrime of Eel O’Brien, out to recreate the accident that gave Eel his stretching powers. The concept came from a reader, I believe, which explains the ‘Team-up suggested by Laney Loftin’ credit. But Plastic Man was a lifelong favorite of mine (well, the original Jack Cole strips, at any rate), and I had written a couple of Elongated Man backups in years past, as well as the Jimmy Olsen strip in Superman Family, so it was a silly, fun story. Nice art by Saviuk, and inked by Kurt Schaffenberger. I guess I closed out my contributions with a giggle, if not a bang.”

DCCP #94 was cover-billed as a post–Crisis team-up, while #95 was noted in the story as taking place during Crisis, while also serving as a lead-in to the new ongoing Hawkman series.

“My memory of the Blue Devil story in issue #96,” recalls Mishkin, “was that I had a terrible time coming up with something that would fit the spirit of the character Gary [Cohn] and I created while working effectively as a Schwartz-era Superman story. It was a story I was going to do myself—Gary was busy with other things—but I ended up calling on him when I kept hitting brick walls, and before I knew it he had straightened everything out and we were clicking on the old Cohn and Mishkin express again.”

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Fine Feathered Friends Superman/Hawkman pairings: (left) Neal Adams’ cover to World’s Finest Comics #209 (Feb. 1972), and (right) Alex Saviuk and Romeo Tanghal’s cover to DC Comics Presents #74 (Oct. 1984), also featuring Hawkwoman.

TM & © DC Comics.

It was announced in DC Comics Presents #93 that the book would be canceled with #97. Readers were encouraged to write in and take a look back at the series. The last letters column provided some nice retrospectives, including “best and worst” lists and critical assessments of the series.

Moore’s “The Jungle Line” in DCCP #85 is certainly the most critically acclaimed contribution. While not Moore’s best, it half-convinced me that Superman was going to die, which is really something. Gerber’s grim take on Jor-El’s discovery of the Phantom Zone, its worst convicts, and the end of Krypton closed DCCP on a disturbing, non-reassuring note (effectively ushering in a Modern Age tone for Superman comics, something Gerber had also touched on in his earlier Phantom Zone miniseries). Personally, Bates and Janson’s collaboration on DCCP #82’s Superman/Adam Strange team-up remains the stand-out as the years have gone by.

The story’s conclusion, where Superman is lovingly touched by the essence of the lost souls of Krypton, is pure over-the-top sentimentality, yet genuinely moving. You believe it when the Man of Steel cries.

Three months later after the cancellation of DCCP, writer/artist John Byrne began his Superman team-ups a la DC Comics Presents in Action Comics, stories firmly rooted in his revamped post–Crisis Superman universe.

Julius Schwartz retired, but remained a beloved ambassador of comics. He passed away in 2004. An eight-issue tribute series dedicated to Schwartz published

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that year was entitled DC Comics Presents.

On a warm spring day in 1972 on the outskirts of Monument Valley, I started collecting DC comic books, and probably the first one I bought was World’s Finest Comics #211, starring Superman and Batman, with the Caped Crusader taking flight as a stumbling Superman realized he couldn’t, splendidly illustrated by Neal Adams. On the first page there’s Superman, soaring above Earth’s surface, intent on intercepting an attacking alien spacecraft. Below the Man of Steel is a truncated quote by Bob Dylan. Below the quote are the creator credits, with O’Neil, Dillin, Giella, and Julius Schwartz listed last as editor. From cover to the end of page one, I passed through a lot of great names to get to Schwartz’s moniker, great names in comics history, great names in pop culture, and after many re-readings of this comic, right up to the researching of it for this article, Schwartz’s name remains a head above the rest. “Be original,” he told his writers. To me, he’s always been the original of comic-book editors. The work still shines on Schwartz’s runs on World’s Finest Comics and DC Comics Presents, as does the ongoing appreciation for one of the greatest editors in comic-book history.

by

Have you ever walked across an empty high-school football field and put your fist in the air? If you have, it is likely you have seen the film The Breakfast Club, one of several of director John Hughes’ movies that came out of the ’80s and dealt with the teenage experience. The Breakfast Club focuses on five teens from different cliques brought together for a Saturday detention. As the day goes on, and they learn how to cope with boredom, we find them ripping away the masks that society has placed on them. The film takes the characters, and viewers, on an emotional rollercoaster. In the end, the characters found that, while they appear different, their souls share many things in common. While the film accomplished this in 1985, comics fans know of a superhero crossover work that accomplished a similar feat in 1982.

In the early ’80s, DC Comics and Marvel Comics agreed to a series of crossovers, in the spirit of the vastly popular Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man treasury edition published in early 1976. [Editor’s note: For the full story, see BACK ISSUE #61.] After two tabloid team-ups,

Jonathan Brown

a Superman/Spider-Man sequel and Batman vs. the Incredible Hulk, the publishers let logic prevail and decided to cross over their two highest-selling titles. Marvel’s major moneymaker was Uncanny X-Men, piloted by writer Chris Claremont. Across town, DC’s top title was The New Teen Titans, spearheaded by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. Each book focused on a team of young superheroes trying to make a name for themselves.

In the summer of 2012, I had the pleasure to speak with Chris Claremont about his work on this project.

Claremont reminds BACK ISSUE that the ongoing crossover agreement established that the companies would alternate creative teams for these endeavors.

Marvel had produced Superman/Spider-Man and DC, Batman/Hulk, so “the pendulum had swung back.”

This was a Marvel production from the get-go.

X-Men/Titans fell under the editorial direction of Marvel’s Louise Jones [now Simonson]. “Louise and I sat down in our editorial meeting to figure out what to do,” Claremont recalls, “and I was pitching her my initial Team-Ups Issue

X-Titans Together!

From the superart team of Walter Simonson and Terry Austin, the wraparound cover to 1982’s Marvel and DC Present the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans.

X-Men TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Teen Titans TM & © DC Comics.

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The Gathering As writer Jonathan Brown explains, Simonson’s design of this splash page speaks volumes about each character’s personality.

X-Men TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Teen Titans TM & © DC Comics.

inspiration, which was, ‘If you are going to do X-Men and you are going to do the Teen Titans, you go for the primo adversaries in both houses. As far as I was concerned, for DC that obviously meant Darkseid, and if you are going to go with dark, there was only place to go in X-Men and that was Dark Phoenix.” Claremont’s pitch placed Darkseid at the Wall, from Jack Kirby’s Fourth World/New Gods mythos, summoning forth the Dark Phoenix. As he was finishing his pitch, luck strolled by. “As soon as I finished, Walter [Simonson], who was coincidentally walking by, stuck his head in and said, ‘Did somebody say Darkseid?’” Upon learning that this crossover would feature this Kirby-created villain, Simonson signed on as artist for the project after a two-minute conversation. This brought together the major components of the creative team—it was now time for them to craft an amazing tale.

The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans presupposes a world in which DC heroes coexist with

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Marvel’s, a “Crossover Earth” (or Earth-Crossover) first introduced by writer Gerry Conway in 1976’s Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man. This was done to save time and get into the story instead of wasting time concocting a reason for one group to cross into the other’s universe. It also allows for a certain theme to be established early on with little explanation.

As noted, a big portion of this work is young people coming to see that surface differences are not necessarily as concrete as they appear. In a world that has both the Teen Titans and the X-Men, we find that the teams know of each other. This allows the Titans to adopt the usual misunderstanding of the X-Men as villains, simply because of their mutant heritage.

Titan Cyborg demonstrates this early on when he thinks, “This used to be a skyscraper till it got trashed by the X-Men. Media describes ’em as outlaws. I wonder why the Titans have never tangled with them.” Chris Claremont, when speaking of the choice to place the characters on Earth-Crossover, talks about how it allowed for amazing moments: “The delight with this concept was that we had moments of stark terror walter simonson combined with a lot of moments of just sheer effervescent fun.”

Claremont points to two splash pages rendered by Simonson as examples of the artist’s ability to catch much detail in one page. The first splash features the teams’ introduction. In the center of the page we find Robin and Cyclops shaking hands, since they are the leaders of the two groups. While your eye might first start at the central figures, if one travels around the page, you can see how Claremont’s words on top of Simonson’s art convey much information about how these characters react with one another. In our discussion, we will start our observations at the bottom and work our way up. It is here we find Raven and Wolverine examining each other, and their words remain unspoken. Raven thinks about the rage that builds in Wolverine and notes that it frightens her. Wolverine, being true to his character, sees that he freaks out what he calls the “bird lady.” The next pairing we find is Starfire engaging Storm in a handshake. No words are spoken, but we see how the outgoing nature of the two comes through as Simonson depicts their mouths as open. Continue north and we find the quintessential teenage experience, puppy love. This comes in the form of Kitty Pryde watching Changeling. In her head she notes their similar age, and that “He’s kinda cute, too.”

As we reach the top of the page, we see many of our male figures (Colossus, Cyborg, Nightcrawler, and Kid Flash) standing with their arms down and chests out.

It almost seems as if these adolescent men are sizing each other up, the way young men often do. Finally we come to Professor X, who is in the arms of Colossus. The X-Men’s adviser has his eyes on Wonder Girl, who meets his stare. This is an interesting pairing. These two figures are often seen as the wisdom providers of the teams.

In the picture one can see that perhaps they have found a soothing commonality in the other. This is all portrayed in the chaos of space, a place that has been made that much more chaotic as these teams join forces.

The story continues past this initial introduction, as we begin to see the distinctions between the two groups break down. Romantic interests in the teams heat up as characters become curious about their new comrades.

Kitty Pryde and Changeling begin to flirt and end up in each other’s arms with bodies entwined as they are scared by Metron’s chair. As Robin and Professor X begin to devise a plan to give chase to the villains, our crossover couple comes up with their own plan and present the group with Changeling taking the form of a dragon. While the emotional level of these panels seems a bit mundane, we see our creators continue to present emotional angles of the adolescent experience. The reader soon finds Colossus kissing Starfire as she looks to learn the Russian language through osmosis. This brings us back to Kitty Pryde. One might think she is too busy with her fixation on Changeling, but she is jealous of her X-Men love interest. Walter Simonson depicts after the experience and we see her thoughts even as other characters try to explain the spontaneous lip-lock. As these teams merge we still see how the piece is driven by the power of teenage emotions.

We come to the other splash Claremont mentioned.

The splash is focused on our two groups uniting as one and riding the giant dragon that Changeling has become. “To me, it was like taking the silliest aspects, or what people perceive as the silliest aspects of these series, and making them really cool,” Claremont says.

In this endeavor he first praises his editor, Louise Jones.

“She will listen to either of us throw out the most outrageous and absurd element and will then help find a way to coalesce them into a meaningful, powerful moment.” That process would then go onto into the capable hands of Walter Simonson, an artist, as we will see, who has the ability to render a large amount of emotion through tiny figures on a brilliant splash page.

On this page, Changeling-dragon takes center stage, a “living X-Jet,” as all the other characters ride on him.

All of the characters are rendered in minute detail as the dragon has to appear gigantic and be the primary focus.

The amazing thing here is, not only do these tiny characters display traits that clearly demonstrate they are the heroes comics fans know and love, but the entire page displays how this newly combined team functions. It gives great detail in how these characters respond to each other, and how new bonds are forming as they get to know each other. In the center held by the dragon, we find Prof. Xavier in Metron’s Mobius Chair. As always, our professor appears to find himself in a place of authority.

On the left side of the image, three of our heroes secure a position on the left wing. Two of these figures are Teen Titans, Robin and Cyborg, who, just like in their regular series, cannot get a grip on Changeling. Robin, the leader who has to deal with Changeling’s ongoing antics, appears to be fighting just to hold on and stay in the air.

Cyborg finds himself in a similar situation as he grips the dragon by one hand on the creature’s neck. While doing this he converses with Storm about how Changeling will receive his comeuppance later on for the incident.

The third character in this portion of the image is Storm. Here, she is confident as ever. She stands firm-

When Titans Smooch (top) Starfire raises eyebrows (and blood pressures) as she learns Russian from Colossus. (bottom) Changeling, as a flying dragon, provides transportation for the Marvel/DC combo on the splash page analyzed in this article.

X-Men TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Teen Titans TM & © DC Comics.

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Love Conquers All The bond between Scott Summers and Jean Grey provides a turning point in the X-Men’s and Teen Titans’ struggle against Darkseid. From the team of Chris Claremont, Walter Simonson, and Terry Austin.

X-Men TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Teen Titans TM & © DC Comics.

footed with her cape rippling in the wind. While she is rendered small on the page, the confidence she exudes radiates off the page. As we move to the side of the image, we find four other characters riding the dragon’s tail. Kid Flash and Raven are closer to the beast’s back and appear to be patiently waiting for the action to begin. Further down the tail we find Cyclops and Wonder Girl in a similar position; however, we can see they are looking down to the ground, Wonder Girl pointing toward something. It appears these two are assessing matters and planning out the upcoming battle. This once again demonstrates Simonson’s ability to render our characters on a tiny scale. While we have already seen that in this single image a great story is unfolding, it is when we move our attention to the creature’s head that we find ourselves in the heart of our teenage drama.

As our attention moves to the head of Changeling-dragon, we note that there are five characters interacting with one another in this position.

First we see Kitty perched upon Changeling’s head. It is here that they continue to flirt. However, it appears as if Ms. Pryde is looking away. What could be drawing her attention away from her flirtations with the green monster she rides? Directly behind her we find Colossus. Now, this might not seem like much until we notice that sitting behind with her arms around his waist is Starfire. Once again we find Kitty pining for her X-Men beau as another tries to woo him. While we see that Kitty enjoys the attention from Changeling, Simonson has the ability to display how she yearns for Colossus—even when the figures are miniscule. Once again we see how this work demonstrates the heightened emotions that accompany the young-adult experience, even in a world of superheroes.

Before we move on, we need to talk about the fifth character that places himself at the top of the dragon. This is Wolverine. In my early observations of this splash page, I almost missed him. Yet once again the character is being true to form even as a small object on the page.

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Wolverine is positioned right behind Starfire. There is very little of him that can be seen, but we can make out his face and left shoulder. Wolverine appears to be keeping an eye on these youngsters but intentionally separating himself. X-Men fans know that Wolverine is very protective of Kitty and acts like her the quintessential big brother. If we take that into account then we see why Wolverine would want to keep an eye on Kitty, who is interacting with a new person, and want to place himself where he could keep Colossus from hurting her. We have now seen how in one splash Claremont and Simonson weave a tapestry that conveys a gripping story.

As story races to its conclusion, we see the power of young love fully demonstrated. Claremont notes that this is a X-Men story—yes, the Teen Titans guest star, but at its heart this is a work about the X-Men. By this time in X-Men continuity, Dark Phoenix had claimed the life of Cyclops’ great love Jean Grey. The entity had possessed Jean and almost destroyed the universe. In X-Men/Titans, the threat of the Dark Phoenix is resurrected and seeks out its host’s former love. Claremont notes that when he wrote Phoenix it was as a force that could possess anyone, as other writers had come to view it. The force had not just possessed Jean, but was entangled with her. At the end of the day, the Phoenix force was Jean Grey fully realized. From there we can deduce that only one person could deal with Dark Phoenix: the man Jean Grey loved, Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops. As our villains fight what the Dark Phoenix labels the “X-Titans,” she turns her sights to Cyclops. Then the force enters him in an attempt to destroy them. However, this is a fatal mistake. The creature touches the love that Cyclops had for Jean and is touched by that love in return. It releases Scott and then rushes to take out Darkseid.

Our two enemies connect and, in a cataclysmic explosion, disappear.

Love wins the day and this story reminds of the intensity of young romance. While in our teen years, love can blind us and make us stupid. It can also be freeing, and breathtaking. The great love Scott Summers and Jean Grey shared saves the Titans, X-Men, and the universe as a whole.

In the last shot of our heroes, we see them congratulating one another and celebrating. The emotional conflict between Colossus and Kitty Pryde has been resolved as they look lovingly into each other’s eyes. The world is returning to normal, and two groups of young people now know that they are not so different.

Before we conclude, we need to note what never was. This work was meant for a later sequel. The next would have been a DC production in late 1983 and have been written by Marv Wolfman and penciled

by George Pérez. Both had worked as consultants on the original book.

This second team-up would have placed more weight on the Titans and seen villains Brother Blood and the Hellfire Club join forces. Sadly, the crossover deal between Marvel and DC fell through before this tale [and Justice League/Avengers, as revealed in BI #1—ed.] could be told, leaving us in a world with only one meeting between these two teams.

In the beginning, I mentioned how The Breakfast Club was a movie that came after this comic. In the film we find a group of youngsters who learn that people are more than their surface personas, and by the end of it, love has overcome the remaining adversities.

This comic does the same and sets it in a world where the fantastic is possible. It shows its reader that the power of young emotion can do great things, and that in the end, the human experience is founded on similar core values no matter what we see on the surface.

JONATHAN BROWN attended Young Harris College and Brevard College for his undergrad. He completed his B.A. in 2007. He finished his Master of Arts in Religion with an emphasis on New Testament and a minor in Religion in Literature at the University of Georgia. He has published work in The Jack Kirby Collector and International Journal of Comic Art.

TM

®

“The heroes whom we deem worthy are beautiful because they inspire us to be better and invoke those magical thoughts that keep us in lofty places soaring among the stars…”

THE REAL RIVALRY ®

by J o hn “THE MEGO STRETCH HULK” Cimino

The most important event (or explosion) in the history of comics was the debut of Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, in Action Comics #1 (June 1938).

This character took the industry into a bold, new direction and gave rise to a whole new landscape of superheroicstars, all of which were trying to make a name for themselves and cash in on the enormous success of the Man of Steel. The most flagrant copycats were taken to court by DC Comics, beginning with a character called Wonder Man, who was doomed after appearing in just a single issue. Soon, from out of the offices of Fawcett Publications and the minds of Bill Parker and C. C. Beck, came a new champion of good by the name of Captain Marvel. Debuting in Whiz Comics #2 (Feb. 1940)— really #1, as the earlier #1 was simply an “ashcan” edition of the same stories printed up for copyright purposes, the numbering was later changed. The “World’s Mightiest Mortal” soon developed into something much more extraordinary, something much more … well, charming than a mere copy of Superman.

Through much of the Golden Age, Captain Marvel proved to be the most popular superhero with his comics outselling all others, including those featuring Superman. Captain Marvel Adventures sold 14 million copies in 1944, at one point being published biweekly with a circulation of 1.3 million copies an issue (proclaimed on the cover of issue #19 as being the “Largest Circulation of Any Comic Magazine”).

Part of the reason for this popularity included the inherent wish-fulfillment appeal of the character to children, as well as the humorous and surreal quality of the stories. Billy Batson typically narrated each Captain Marvel story, speaking directly to his reading audience from his WHIZ radio microphone, relating each story from the perspective of a young boy (now, that was cool).

Detective Comics (later known as National Comics Publications, National Periodical Publications, and today known as DC Comics) sued Fawcett for copyright infringement in 1941, alleging that Captain Marvel was based on their character Superman.

After seven years of litigation, the National Comics Publications v. Fawcett Publications case went to trials court in 1948. Although the judge presiding over the case decided that Captain Marvel was an infringement, DC was found to be negligent in copyrighting several of its Superman daily newspaper strips, and it was

Big Brawl Duking do-gooders, in 1978’s All-New Collectors’ Edition #C-58. Cover art by Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano, with colors by Adrienne Roy. TM & © DC Comics.

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First Encounters (left) Superduperman vs. Captain Marbles, with art by wonderful Wally Wood, from MAD #4 (Apr.– May 1953). (right) Although they don’t meet inside, the heroes shared the cover of DC’s Shazam! #1 (Feb. 1973).

Captain Marvel cover art by C. C. Beck, Superman figure by Nick Cardy.

TM & © DC Comics.

decided that National had abandoned the Superman copyright. As a result, the initial verdict, delivered in 1951, was decided in Fawcett’s favor.

National appealed this decision, and Judge Learned Hand declared in 1952 that National’s Superman copyright was in fact valid. Judge Hand did not find that the character of Captain Marvel itself was an infringement, but rather that specific stories or super feats could be infringements, and that the truth of this would have to be determined in a re-trial of the case. The judge therefore sent the matter back to the lower court for final determination.

Instead of retrying the case, however, Fawcett decided to settle with National out of court. The National lawsuit was not the only problem Fawcett faced in regard to Captain Marvel. While Captain Marvel Adventures had been the top-selling comic series during World War II, it suffered declining sales every year after 1945 and by 1949 it was selling only half its wartime rate. Fawcett tried to revive the popularity of its assorted Captain Marvel series in the early 1950s by introducing elements of the horror comics trend that gained popularity at the time. Feeling that a decline in the popularity of superhero comics meant that it was no longer worth continuing the fight, Fawcett agreed to never again publish a comic book featuring

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any of the Captain Marvel-related characters and to pay National $400,000 in damages. Fawcett shut down its comics division in the autumn of 1953 and laid off its comic-creating staff. Whiz Comics had ended with issue #155 (June 1953), Captain Marvel Adventures was canceled with #150 (Nov. 1953), and The Marvel Family ended its run with #89 (Jan. 1954). The litigation is notable as one of the longest running legal battles in comic-book publication history.

In MAD #4 (1953), the story “Superduperman” was published. While it did not specifically reference the lawsuit, the story recounts the battle between Superduperman and “Captain Marbles.” And it should be noted that this issue marked the first time Superman and Captain Marvel were ever in a comic together (even if it was just a parody appearance of both characters).

In the 1950s, a small British publisher, L. Miller and Son, published a number of black-and-white reprints of American comic books, including the Captain Marvel series. With the outcome of the National v.

Fawcett lawsuit, L. Miller and Son found their supply of Captain Marvel material abruptly cut off. They requested the help of a British comic writer, Mick Anglo, who created a thinly disguised version of the superhero called Marvelman. Captain Marvel, Jr. was adapted to create Young Marvelman, while Mary Marvel had her gender changed to create the male Kid Marvelman. The magic word “Shazam!” was replaced with “Kimota” (“Atomik” backwards). The new characters took over the numbering of the original Captain Marvel’s UK series with issue #25.

Marvelman ceased publication in 1963, but was revived in 1982 by writer Alan Moore in the pages of Warrior Magazine. Beginning in 1985, Moore’s B&W serialized adventures were reprinted in color by Eclipse Comics under the new title Miracleman (as Marvel Comics now existed and objected to the use of Marvel in the title), and continued publication in the United

States after Warrior’s demise. It was noted by both Moore and later Marvelman/Miracleman writer Neil Gaiman that Marvelman’s creation was based upon Captain Marvel comics. Marvel Comics obtained the rights to the original 1950s Marvelman characters and stories.

In 1966, M. F. Enterprises produced its own Captain Marvel: an android superhero from another planet whose main characteristic was the ability to split his body into several parts, each of which could move on its own. He triggered the separation by shouting “Split!” and reassembled himself by shouting “Xam!” He had a young human ward named Billy Baxton. This Captain Marvel, who didn’t last long, was credited in the comic as being “based on a character created by Carl Burgos” (yeah, riiiight).

When superhero comics became popular again in the mid-1960s in what is now called the Silver Age, Fawcett was unable to revive Captain Marvel because in order to settle the lawsuit it had agreed never to publish the character again. Carmine Infantino, publisher of DC Comics, licensed the characters from Fawcett in 1972, and DC began planning a revival. Because Marvel Comics had by this time established Captain Marvel as a comic-book trademark, DC published its book under the name Shazam! Since then, that title has become so linked to Captain Marvel that many identify the character as “Shazam” instead of his actual name (in 2012, DC Comics updated the character again but they opted to completely drop the name of Captain Marvel and rename him simply Shazam).

The Shazam! comic series began with issue #1 (Feb. 1973). It contained both new stories and reprints from the 1940s and 1950s. The first story attempted to explain the Marvel Family’s absence by stating that they, arch-foe Dr. Sivana, Sivana’s children, and most of the supporting cast had been accidentally trapped in suspended animation for 20 years when the Sivana’s attempted to put the Marvels into suspended animation, until finally breaking free when the Suspendium globe moved toward the Sun. The cover of this issue is truly historic because it’s the first time Superman and Captain Marvel were ever seen legitimately on a comic together (even though they never meet in the story).

Dennis O’Neil was the primary writer of the book; his role was later taken over by writers Elliot S. Maggin and E. Nelson Bridwell. C. C. Beck drew stories for the first ten issues of the book before quitting due to creative differences; Bob Oksner and Fawcett alumnus Kurt Schaffenberger were among the later artists of the title. But writing Captain Marvel in the new DC Universe was no easy task. Elliot Maggin stated: “We were trying to do the traditional Fawcett-style Captain Marvel in the Shazam! book in those days. The style of artwork was different from Superman’s. The degree of suspension of disbelief in the two story threads— Shazam! as opposed to Superman—were different. I never really believed that Superman and Captain Marvel belonged in the same story and neither did [editor] Julie Schwartz.”

With DC’s Multiverse concept in effect during this time, it was stated that the revived Marvel Family and related characters lived within the DC Universe on the parallel world of “Earth-S.” With the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series, DC fully integrated the Marvel Family characters into the DC Universe. With the exception of an appearance by Lex Luthor in Shazam! #15 (Nov.–Dec. 1974), the early, faithful-to-

the-’40s-comics versions never crossed over with the mainstream DC characters.

While publishing its Shazam! revival in the 1970s, DC printed a story in Superman #276 (June 1974) featuring a battle between the Man of Steel and a thinly disguised version of Captain Marvel called Captain Thunder, a reference to the character’s original name. Two years later, Justice League of America #135–137 featured a story arc which featured Superman and Captain Marvel (as well as other heroes of Earth-One, Earth-Two, and Earth-S) almost fighting and then teaming together against their enemies for the first time. Then DC did the right thing and made its very first actual showdown a big event in the treasury-sized format series All-New Collectors’ Edition. In issue #C-58, the long-awaited clash between these two icons finally happened.

They would later meet, teaming up together in various issues of DC Comics Presents.

Following the Justice League of America story, DC followed MAD’s cue and often pitted Captain Marvel and Superman against each other for any number of reasons, but usually as an inside joke to the characters’ long battles in court; they are otherwise staunch

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Wizardly Consultation Interior original art page from the Superman vs.

Shazam! clash from ANCE #C-58, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

Script by Gerry Conway, with Buckler/Giordano art.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Green with Envy Sivana siphons magic lightning in DC Comics Presents Annual #3 (1984). Cover by Gil Kane.

TM & © DC Comics.

THE SLUGFESTS The issues listed here cover each time Superman and Captain Marvel have squared off and fought each other in the comics regardless of the situation or plot. I will also explain each encounter in detail.

Unfortunately, all fights and situations are not always so clear-cut and I’ve tried my very best to be fair, objective, and unbiased about the outcome of each battle. A fight will only result in a “WIN” if the losing character is rendered unconscious, teleported away against his will, or immobilized in such a fashion that he is only freed by the other combatant or an ally. There may even be cases when a character gets a victory due to interference of his teammates, partners, etc. That may not be a definitive “WIN” but it will still be tallied against the losing opponent and explained so. When a character gets an “EDGE” result, he had the advantage at the end of the fight but the opponent may still be conscious or fighting on, so it will not be tallied against him. Simply put, the winner is the last person standing.

allies that have confronted each other head-to-head. This was later retconned in Superman/Shazam: First Thunder limited series in 2005.

This story recounts the first meeting between the two heroes and contrary to the usual popular stereotype, that encounter proves most pleasant as they quickly become allies whose individual differences complement each other well.

This was further enhanced by the 2010 release of Superman/ Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam direct-to-DVD animated feature. In a revamped origin of Captain Marvel, Billy Batson idolizes Superman and wants to be just like him in every way. After Billy is granted his magical powers from the wizard Shazam, he and Superman quickly become good friends and battle Black Adam.

It should be noted that when Superman gets hit by the magic lightning of Black Adam, he gets burned badly by its magical properties. If you look closely, the actual burn mark is the symbol of Captain Thunder from Superman #276, so it was a nice homage to that classic encounter. Unfortunately, due to these recent revamps in their history, it would seem that today, the major grudges between Superman and Captain Marvel have been put to rest (for now).

But that is not what this write-up is about! This is written in honor of Supes and Cap’s grudges and legendary rivalry! Listed here is a complete rundown of every time these two icons have met each other in a slugfest, as well as challenging the other to tests of strength. All time periods such as pre–Crisis, post–Crisis, Elseworlds, or Parallel Earth stories are included. Simply put, if it’s a significant encounter, it will be listed! No friendly team-ups, meetings, and situations will be ranked.

This is each character on different sides of the battlefield, trying to prove which one is truly the greatest superhero ever created.

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Justice League of America #137 (1976) This issue is truly a monumental piece of comic-book history—the very first time both Superman and Captain Marvel actually meet! Under the influence of red kryptonite, Superman attacks in a crazed fury. Captain Marvel sees this and goes out to stop him.

As they both are about to fly into each other, Marvel yells the magic words “Shazam!” changing him back into Billy Batson. The magical properties of the lightning cause Superman to break free from the control of the red kryptonite and save Billy.

RESULT: NONE TALLY: MATCHUPS 1: SUPERMAN: 0 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 0 All-New Collectors’ Edition #C-58 (1978) The first actual Superman and Captain Marvel brawl in a comic had to be in an oversized format! It was the perfect scope for these two larger-thanlife icons! Karmang the Evil forces Black Adam to blast Superman and Captain Marvel with his judgment ray, causing both heroes to attack each other in a mad killing frenzy. In this huge brawl, Superman gets the better of Captain Marvel and eventually knocks him out. It is later revealed to Superman by the wizard Shazam that being in his universe Captain Marvel was depowered and not fighting at full strength.

RESULT: WIN SUPERMAN (It should be noted that this cannot be considered a definitive “win” for Superman due to the circumstances in this fight.)

TALLY: MATCHUPS 2: SUPERMAN: 1 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 0 All-Star Squadron #36 (1984) Under the influence of Adolf Hitler’s Spear of Destiny, Captain Marvel attacks the EarthTwo Superman and the rest of the All-Star Squadron. They have a HUGE no-holdsbarred brawl in the sky until Captain Marvel hits Superman with a tremendous punch that rockets the Man of Steel crashing back to the Earth. When other Squadron members go to Superman’s aide, they are shocked to find him stunned and defeated.

RESULT: WIN CAPTAIN MARVEL TALLY: MATCHUPS 3: SUPERMAN: 1 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1

Action Comics Annual #4 (1992) Captain Marvel fights Superman (possessed

by Eclipso). This fight is a bit controversial, making it the hardest of all their fights to judge (which is sure to cause a little bit of controversy among fanboys). Almost always, when Eclipso possesses someone, he powers them up. However, there was no mention of this in the battle itself, so I suppose it’s debatable. Take it as you will. However, one cannot deny that Superman was more ruthless than ever and that Captain Marvel was holding back against him.

RESULT: EDGE SUPERMAN (Superman gets the “edge” in this controversial brawl for beating up and having Captain Marvel at his mercy at the end of it. But there are just too many circumstances to ponder to make this a fair fight, so Supes cannot get a definitive “win” and it can’t be tallied against Captain Marvel. I’m sure the Superman fanboys will be screaming at this one, but isn’t this why comic books and super-classic-rivalries are so much fun to debate?)

TALLY: MATCHUPS 5: SUPERMAN: 1 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1 Superman #102 (1995) In a short fight, the two heroes battle under the influence of Satanus as Superman sees Captain Marvel as Cyborg-Superman while Captain Marvel sees Superman as Black Adam (Jonathan Kent comments that it would take the entire JLA to separate the two). They go back and forth until they realize that they have been tricked into fighting each other.

RESULT: DRAW TALLY: MATCHUPS 6: SUPERMAN: 1 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1 Kingdom Come #3 and 4 (1996) The Superman vs. Captain Marvel fight in this series is perhaps the most popular, most referenced, and most legendary clash in the history of their rivalry. And although this is an Elseworlds tale, Kingdom Come was, for all intents and purposes, set in the future of the then-current mainstream DC Universe.

With the war of all wars breaking out, the two most powerful beings on Earth square off in a final battle. They face off in the final pages of Kingdom Come #3 when Captain Marvel slams into an unsuspecting Superman. In the next issue, total war breaks out with Captain Marvel (who has been brainwashed by Lex Luthor) and Superman battle it out. They fight toe-to-toe until Captain Marvel batters Superman by using his magic lightning bolt over and over but dodging before it hits him, leaving Superman to bear the brunt of a magical lightning strike.

However, as Captain Marvel says “Shazam!” again, Superman grabs

him and the lightning finds its mark, turning Captain Marvel back into Billy Batson. Holding Batson’s mouth shut, Superman tells Batson that he is going to stop the remaining bomb, and Batson must make an important choice: either stop him and allow the warhead to kill all the superhumans, or let him stop the bomb and allow the superhumans’ war to engulf the world. Superman tells Batson he must be the one to make this decision, as he is the only one who lives in both worlds, that of normal humans (as Batson) and the superhuman community (as Captain Marvel). Superman releases him and flies off to stop the incoming bomb.

Batson, his mind now clear of Luthor’s influence, turns into Captain Marvel, flies up to Superman, throws him back down to the ground, and takes hold of the bomb. Having now found a third option, Marvel shouts “Shazam!” three more times in rapid succession and the lightning sets off the bomb prematurely, killing him in the process. This is superhero storytelling at its absolute finest!

RESULT: WIN SUPERMAN TALLY: MATCHUPS 7: SUPERMAN: 2 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1 JLA #29 (1999) Captain Marvel goes to the moon to confront Superman. Marvel knows Superman wants to enter the 5th Dimension but he knows Earth needs Superman more than it needs him. To stop Superman from entering, Marvel sucker-punches the Man of Steel with two magically charged-up punches and knocks him out cold. Hourman, watching this event, states, “Not many people can do that.” Captain Marvel feels low about the ambush but he accomplished his task.

RESULT: NONE TALLY: MATCHUPS 8: SUPERMAN: 2 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1 The Power of Shazam! #46 (1999) They have a back-and-forth scrap in which Captain Marvel is too stubborn to stop despite Superman’s pleas.

Superman has an idea for them to settle this fight with an armwrestling contest, winner-takes-all and no rematches. It’s a stalemate until Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr. power up in the middle of the contest, depowering Captain Marvel’s strength and causing him to lose.

Despite the mishap and argument, Superman leaves.

RESULT: DRAW TALLY: MATCHUPS 9: SUPERMAN: 2 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1 JSA #34 (2002) As the Ultra-Humanite gains control of Jakeem Thunder’s Thunderbolt, a new JSA (Captain Marvel, Sand, Power Girl, Jakeem Thunder, and the villain Icicle) attempts to bring the villain down and free Superman and the heroes of Earth from his control. As this JSA battles a brainwashed conglomeration of the Titans and the JLA, Superman sneak-attacks Captain Marvel and hits him twice at super-speed, knocking him out.

RESULT: NONE TALLY: MATCHUPS 10: SUPERMAN: 2 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1 Team-Ups Issue

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All covers TM & © DC Comics.

All-Star Squadron #37 (1984) Still under the influence of Adolf Hitler’s Spear of Destiny, Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family attack the Squadron.

Superman quickly attacks Captain Marvel to get revenge from their previous encounter. They have a short scrap when Superman has to chase down a bomb that Captain Marvel kicked at the city below. Eventually the Marvel Family becomes free of the Spear’s influence and team up with the Squadron to defeat the Nazis before returning back to their Earth.

RESULT: DRAW TALLY: MATCHUPS 4: SUPERMAN: 1 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1

JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice (2002) When the Seven Deadly Sins manifest into their demon counterparts, they possess several members of the Justice League and Justice Society.

Under the influence of the demon of Gluttony, Captain Marvel attacks Superman (who is being distracted by an influenced Power Girl) and sucker-punches him. The blow sends the Man of Steel flying and totally knocks him out.

RESULT: NONE TALLY: MATCHUPS 11: SUPERMAN: 2 - CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1 Superman/Batman #4 (2004) The JSA sends Captain Marvel and Hawkman to attack and capture Superman and Batman because they won’t hold back when fighting them.

In this brawl, Superman admits that Marvel has an edge on him when they fight toe-to-toe due to his magic and gets his nose busted because of it.

As Batman and Superman switch opponents, they plan a maneuver called “castling” to trick Hawkman and Captain Marvel into thinking that they are defeated.

RESULT: NO CONTEST (This fight has to be ruled thusly because Batman and Superman fake being defeated.)

TALLY: MATCHUPS 12: SUPERMAN: 2 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1 Superman/Batman #5 (2004) This matchup is never seen in the issue. When we see Captain Marvel and Hawkman, they are really Superman and Batman with those heroes’ costumes on, and they ambush Lex Luthor. Superman states that they pretended to be defeated from the previous encounter and blindsided Captain Marvel and Hawkman into “castling.”

RESULT: NONE (It was an ambush that defeated Captain Marvel and Hawkman, so it cannot be regarded as a win for Superman or even listed as a fight for that matter since you never see the encounter.)

TALLY: MATCHUPS 13: SUPERMAN: 2 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1

All covers TM & © DC Comics.

Superman #216 (2005) Captain Marvel fights Superman, who is again possessed by Eclipso. Cap is intent on not fighting Superman and is strictly on the defensive until the last moments.

Superman’s resistance to magic was increased via Eclipso’s possession. After a back-and-forth fight, the Spectre frees Superman.

RESULT: DRAW TALLY: MATCHUPS 14: SUPERMAN: 2 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1 Justice #9 (2007) After Captain Marvel gets mind-controlled

by Brainiac’s robotic worms, he attacks the Justice League, who are stationed in the Fortress of Solitude. As Marvel tries to break in, it’s up to Superman to stop him! They clash as Superman tries to get Marvel to fight off the control.

They go back and forth until Green Lantern steps in and frees Captain Marvel from the control.

RESULT: DRAW FINAL TALLY: MATCHUPS 15: SUPERMAN: 2 – CAPTAIN MARVEL: 1

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STRENGTH COMPARISONS Comics listed in this category will show every time Captain Marvel and Superman pit their strength against each other to see who is physically the stronger.

Superman: Man of Tomorrow #4 (1996) The wizard Shazam and Bibbo Bibbowski have an argument on who’s tougher, Captain Marvel or Superman. So both heroes have an armwrestling match to benefit the Police Athletic Fund. By the time the comic ends, they have been locked up for two hours without either one having an edge. It is never known who won or when it ends.

Action Comics #768 (2000) At the end of this adventure where Captain Marvel and Superman share the same body, they have a talk and come clean about their respect for each other.

Superman states that he has always considered Captain Marvel his equal.

Then they shake hands and both start to squeeze, testing the other’s strength and ability to take it. It is never shown who was able to take it more before letting go.

It’s very likely that there was no winner.

PARODIES This is the category that will list all alternate, fake, or funny comic appearances of Superman fighting with Captain Marvel.

MAD #4 (1953) MAD Magazine does a spoof on the heated “real-life” comic debate of the day with its story featuring Superduperman vs. Captain Marbles. Superduperman is shocked that there is someone out in the comics world that is just as powerful as he is. This hilarious fight ends when Captain Marbles knocks himself out with his own punch! It’s interesting to note that this story was the first to show the actual competitiveness and rivalry between the two heroes in printed form, which DC would follow suit 20 years later when it added Captain Marvel into the DC Universe.

Justice League of America #103 (1972) This issue stands as the very first time Superman and Captain Marvel were ever in a comic together … almost. A demon Captain Marvel shows up, battles Supes to a standstill, and then defeats him by whispering a magic word which causes a magical bolt of lightning to strike the Man of Steel! Was this a sign that Superman wasn’t the “Big Cheese” in the DC Universe anymore?

What is also funny about this issue is that it had a “teaser” Captain Marvel advertisement in it stating that the real Captain Marvel was returning to comics. And it gave a warning: “Watch Out Superman! Here Comes the Original Captain Marvel!”

Superman #276 (1974) According to writer Elliot S! Maggin in a 2006 interview, the reasons behind using Captain Thunder (despite having the rights to the real-deal character) was that DC felt the more whimsical Captain Marvel appearing in Shazam! would be a poor thematic fit with the more “realistic” Superman and that Cap’s appearance in Superman (or vice versa) would be too jarring a transition for either character to make. Whatever the case, we all knew Captain Thunder was Captain Marvel (more or less).

The story is particularly interesting because Biff is a member of Johnny’s Captain Marvel fan club (the secret word to get into the club house is “Captain Marvel” said backwards) and Biff goes about his life trying to be a good person doing what Captain Marvel would do in similar situations. And the main villain of the show is eventually revealed to be Stuart Nagel, who is played by none other than The Adventures of Superman star George Reeves! That’s right, just a mere two years before Reeves got the role of Superman, he was the bad guy in this movie and the main adversary of Captain Marvel fanboy Biff Jones. Sure, Reeves isn’t Superman yet, but he soon would be. And anyone watching the movie today will have a few laughs knowing that the Superman vs.

Captain Marvel rivalry is alive and well in it! HOLY MOLEY, what a coincidence! It’s great as Johnny and the rest of the Captain Marvel club comes to help Biff out against Stuart and his thug cronies.

In the issue, upon arriving from another dimension, Willie Fawcett, a.k.a. Captain Thunder (whose powers are the equivalent of Superman’s), is plagued by disturbing thoughts. While on the Earth from his dimension he was a hero; now he is prompted to be a villain every time he changes to his superpowered alter ego in this world. Only one thing stands in his way: Superman. This fight goes back and forth until Superman tricks Captain Thunder into changing back to Willie.

They both make a plan on letting Thunder use his wisdom to see the error of his ways and when Superman holds him, he eventually does.

Alter Ego magazine #3 (1999) Beautiful cover done by the master, Alex Ross. Image is of Captain Marvel amidst bodies of defeated superheroes and movie characters including Superman, the Hulk, Spawn, Wolverine (from Kingdom Come), the Punisher, Lobo, Venom, and many others. Is Mr. Ross telling us that Captain Marvel really is the “Big Red Cheese” in the comics world? You decide.

Shazam! #30 (1977) Dr. Sivana creates several steel creatures and animals to destroy Pittsburgh’s steel mills, after getting the idea from reading an issue of Action Comics. He finally creates a Superman robot made of super-steel to destroy Captain Marvel. They both hit each other at the same moment, and “Superman” is destroyed.

World’s Funnest (2000) This is an Elseworlds tale of Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk hopping different realities while fighting each other. Each new world they encounter is destroyed in the battle between the two imps, with Bat-Mite fleeing and Mxyzptlk pursuing to another universe/world which is then destroyed.

In the process they generally mock the characters/comics they encounter, often breaking the fourth wall and lampooning how seriously people “inside” comics take themselves given the often unbelievable or silly circumstances they encounter. When they come to the Kingdom Come universe, Captain Marvel is seen slugging it out with Superman in their final battle. But with the imps interference, they destroy this universe and this fight is never finished.

Justice League Unlimited (Season 2, Episode 20, “Clash,” 2005) In probably one of the best episodes of the entire Justice League Unlimited series, Superman and Captain Marvel “clash”! Throughout the episode Superman had a little grudge to pick with Captain Marvel and seemed to always be on his case (he was a little ticked that other JL members felt Marvel was a perfect replacement for him). Eventually Lex Luthor tricks them into fighting and Superman gladly obliges. The big fight in this is simply amazing and could well be one of the greatest slugfests ever seen in a cartoon. The sheer amount of collateral damage that occurs to Luthor’s

MEDIA Listed here will be any time Superman and Captain Marvel battled each other in cartoons, animated features, movies, sitcoms, video games, magazine covers, etc. This category features examples not be in actual continuity, but it plays a very important role in how the mainstream audience views each character. Plus, these two have had some of the most legendary fights ever to be animated onto the small screen and they cannot be denied.

The Good Humor Man (1950) This movie is the most obscure Captain Marvel vs. Superman fight ever.

It stars Jack Carson as Biff Jones, a driver/salesman for the Good Humor ice-cream company. He hopes to marry his girl Margie, who works as a secretary for Stuart Nagel, an insurance investigator. Margie won’t marry Biff, though, because she is the sole support of her kid brother, Johnny.

Biff gets involved with Bonnie, a young woman he tries to rescue from gangsters. But Biff’s attempts to help her only get him accused of murder.

When the police refuse to believe his story, it’s up to Biff and Johnny to prove Biff’s innocence and solve the crime.

Carson vs. Reeves The screen comedy The Good Humor Man (1950) featured a scuffle between a Captain Marvel fan (Jack Carson) and a rival who soon thereafter would find fame as television’s Man of Steel: George Reeves!

The Good Humor Man © 1950 Columbia Pictures.

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Screen Gems (top left) DVD cover art for 2010’s Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths. (top right) Tussling titans in the 2005 Justice League Unlimited episode “Clash.” (bottom) The Big Red Cheese as seen in 2008’s Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe game. (bottom inset) Buckler’s altered redo of the Superman vs. Shazam! cover, for Alter Ego #85.

TM & © DC Comics.

Alter Ego TM & © Roy and Dann Thomas.

new “Lexor City” is jaw-dropping: windows shatter, buildings collapse, and the city gets totaled. It’s a nice back-and-forth fight where Superman begins to take the edge and gets the better of Captain Marvel. The ending of the battle also pays homage to their legendary Kingdom Come battle, in which Captain Marvel is holding Superman in a bear hug and calls down his magical lightning to strike Superman in the chest, causing him tremendous pain. But Superman breaks free from Captain Marvel’s grip and makes the Big Red Cheese the target, and now the magical lightning changes Marvel back into Billy Batson. As Billy tries to walk away and shout “Shazam!” again, Superman holds the boy’s mouth shut and says, “Fight’s over, son.”

One of the highlights of the episode was the speech Captain Marvel gave the Justice League at the end of the episode, as he focused on how much the League has changed as heroes.

No longer happy to just do the good fight, they seem jaded— and to those complaining about how much of a stubborn ass Superman was, they likely agreed with Captain Marvel.

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe video game (2008) While this is not just a Superman vs. Captain Marvel fighting game (because so many characters are in it), you can play this legendary matchup at anytime. Both heroes are some of the best and most powerful characters to play in the entire game, and using them will bring you hours of fun. With all their moves and abilities at your disposal, every fight is right out of the comic books and onto the screen. There can be no doubt that this is truly one of the most fun and addictive games that any Superman or Captain Marvel fan could ever play.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies direct-to-DVD movie (2009) This animated feature does a great job of adapting the original first six issues of the Superman/Batman DC series onto the screen. However, due to time the Superman/ Batman and Captain Marvel/Hawkman battle royale does not end exactly like it did in the comics. It’s a tremendous fight nonetheless, with Captain Marvel getting the better in the one-on-one, hand-to-hand scrap with Superman.

But one has to assume that Supes and Batman are victorious with their teamwork and “castling” maneuver even though you never see the ending of the battle.

Alter Ego magazine #85 (2009) Cover shows Superman and Captain Marvel slugging it out from the cover of All-New Collectors’ Edition #C-58.

But artist Rich Buckler (who is the artist on the original comic back in 1978) did this cover with a little twist.

Can you spot what’s different?

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths direct-to-DVD movie (2010) The premise of Crisis on Two Earths is borrowed from 1964’s Gardner Fox-scripted Justice League of America #29–30 entitled “Crisis on Earth-Three!,” as well as 2000’s Grant Morrison-scripted JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel, but is not an

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adaptation of either story. A heroic Lex Luthor from an alternate universe comes to the Justice League’s universe for help against the Crime Syndicate. Superman and the Justice League fight the Crime Syndicate, evil parallel versions of themselves. In a fight in the sky, Superman takes on both Superwoman and Captain Super (this universe’s Captain Marvel, who doesn’t seem to be as powerful as his DC counterpart) and fights them to a standstill before he escapes.

THE END??

Despite who you like better, you have to give both characters respect. Their powers and adventures have contributed to a number of elements to both comic-book culture and pop culture in general. The most notable of these was the regular use of Superman and Captain Marvel as adversaries in Modern Age comic-book stories and this article is my honorable dedication to that.

Okay, fanboys, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and analyze the whole “Superman vs. Captain Marvel” debate once and for all and finally get out the truth.

In 15 matchups Superman takes the slight edge over Captain Marvel 2 to 1. But sometimes numbers don’t always tell the whole story, especially in the open-ended world of comic books. If you look over all their fights with unbiased eyes, you can see that Captain Marvel has the only legit toe-to-toe win in All Star Squadron #36, and in Superman/Batman #4 you can see, once again, his dominance in a fistfight. The Man of Steel can only claim to have a legit win in Kingdom Come #4 when he used Captain Marvel’s very own magical lightning against him to change him back into Billy Batson, but in the punch-up itself, it looked like Marvel had the slight edge overall. Superman did have a tremendous knockout win in All-New Collectors’ Edition #C-58, but that wasn’t a fair fight by any means as the World’s Mightiest Mortal was depowered. Superman’s dominance in Action Comics Annual #4 when he was possessed by Eclipso doesn’t really count, and the rest of their fights were all pretty even. What this analysis shows me is that even though both icons are very close, the Big Red Cheese has the real slight overall edge.

Don’t get me wrong—Superman and Captain Marvel are complete equals in strength, power, and ability, no doubt about it (I would even give Supes the edge in overall versatile-power output). But Captain Marvel’s major advantage comes from the fact that he is composed of magic, and that’s a major Superman weakness. No matter how hard any Superman fan may debate this fight, it’s just his fight to lose. Superman is susceptible to magic and magic is what Captain Marvel is all about … end of debate!

Now, before Superman fans riot the streets, let me make something clear: Superman can also beat Captain Marvel. The Man of Steel is so vastly powerful, that he is widely considered the number #1 hero in the DC Universe because of all the things he can do. He is capable of defeating just about any comic-book character. But more often than not, he will lose to Captain Marvel. And this is a very important fact for comic-book fans to know, because despite how long Captain Marvel has remained in Superman’s shadow, he is just as powerful as him. Hopefully now, the power of Shazam can be given its proper respect!

Well, there you have it, a complete write-up on everything you ever wanted to know about “the Greatest Rivalry in Comics.” But this adventure will never end because another super-fight between the two icons will inevitably happen again (a fight

between the contemporary incarnations of Superman and Shazam may have already occurred within DC’s New 52, but that issue had not yet hit the stands when this article was being written). And since I’m an obsessive completist to the max, make sure you check out my blog at www.hero-envy.blogspot.com to see any and all updates on “Superman vs. Captain Marvel.”

I’ll never miss one of their “Supa-Dupa” slugfests and you shouldn’t either.

Agree? Disagree? Let’s hear it, fanboys…

Kingdom Comeuppance Shazam’s magic lightning is used as a weapon in the Mark Waid/Alex Ross classic, Kingdom Come.

JOHN “THE MEGO STRETCH HULK” CIMINO is a Silver and Bronze Age comic, cartoon, and memorabilia expert. He helped create the Hero Envy webisode series, is the host of the Reckless Sidekick “Swass-Cast,” and has contributed to the Hero Envy comic book; check it out and his blog at heroenvy.com. John also thinks the wizard Shazam really bestowed him with the powers of Captain Marvel, but in reality he’s just an obsessed fanboy that loves to play superheroes with his daughter Bryn. Join the fun and tell him what you think at johnstretch@live.com.

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TM & © DC Comics.

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

Find BACK ISSUE on

© the respective copyright holder.

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, PART 1 [Editor’s note: The following message was sent to Alter Ego’s Roy Thomas and forwarded to BI by Roy.] I really enjoyed your contributions to “The Secrets of Oz Revealed” by [Jack] Abramowitz in the super-sized BACK ISSUE #61; intriguing inside info, and those unpublished Ozma of Oz pages were a treat.

There was one error regarding Classics Illustrated: Jack says that, “Classics Illustrated Junior #535 had adapted the original book five years earlier” (than 1975, so 1970), which is off considerably, time-wise. The Gilberton edition of The Wizard of Oz was originally issued in February of 1957 and went through eight (8) printings until Spring of ’71.

– John C. Haufe, Jr. CI Historian

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, PART 2 Sigh—I thought that I had put an end to the myth that Joe Rubenstein somehow inked some backgrounds or assisted me in inking some backgrounds on the first Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man book with my letter that appeared in BACK ISSUE #13 (Dec. 2005) following Joe’s misleading statement in the article about the project that appeared in BACK ISSUE #11 (Aug. 2005), but today I opened the tabloid issue (#61) to find that the writer of the captions (dealing with the photocopies of the original art that I contributed) again putting this bit of unfortunate misinformation back into print.

May I state once again for the official record that Josef Rubenstein had nothing to do whatsoever with the first Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man book.

I was hired by Dick Giordano as his background inker/assistant in the late summer/early fall of 1974 when Klaus Janson vacated the position. I was Dick’s only background inker for every project that he worked on for the next three years that I was in his employ, which included not only Superman/Spider-Man but Conan, Thor, Batman, Green Lantern, Dracula, and the like. When I left the position because I was receiving sufficient work on my own, Dick gave the job (deservedly so) to my Continuity Associates roommate Bob Wiacek. When Bob left the position approximately two years later, THEN Josef became Dick’s background guy. But this was, of course, years after the first Superman vs. Spider-Man.

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That ought to be enough of an explanation to put the matter to rest, but just in case that isn’t evidence enough for the most hardheaded in the audience I’ll spill the beans publicly that I confided to you personally last time, Michael. I know for a fact that Joe did nothing on any of those pages because I made sure that I kept the pages under my control at all times because Joe had expressed his jealousy that I had virtually walked in off the street and become Dick’s background inker and he felt that since he had been at the studio longer that the position should have been his (the first words that Joe ever said to me (before we had even been introduced) were a grumpy “You’re getting an awful lot of work for a new guy!”). Superman/Spider-Man was a very important project and, given Joe’s resentment, I instantly became paranoid that if given the chance Joe would do something on one or more of the pages that would get me into trouble in order to get me fired. I kept those pages with me at all times while at the studio during the day and made sure that they always went home with me every night so that nothing untoward would happen to them (I later had the experience of leaving Marshall Rogers’ pages for the Hawkman backup in Detective Comics #467 on my desk overnight, only to return the next morning to find that Neal Adams had gotten bored on whatever job he was working on and had inked a face here, an arm there, a leg here and a wing there on the pages and I was baffled as to how I was supposed to make those elements [as wonderfully realized as they were] blend with my admittedly less refined style). The point being that the stakes were so high on the Superman/Spider-Man project that I safeguarded those pages as if my life depended on it, because (whether my paranoia was justified or not) I was certainly convinced that my continued employment with Dick Giordano depended on it!

As I stated in my previous letter attempting to set the record straight, Bob Wiacek inked the backgrounds on three of the pages for me (which I just reconfirmed with Bob over the telephone).

They are the first three pages of Prologue Three where Lex Luthor and Doctor Octopus are in prison together. I don’t recall the circumstances of why I asked Bob for the help, but since he was sitting just to my right those pages never left the room or my sight (I don’t think we ever told Dick that Bob had ghosted those for me but I could be wrong about that…). Yes, Neal Adams did some pencil revisions on some of the Superman figures; yes, John Romita did some pencil revisions on some of the Peter Parker faces before giving Marvel’s official approval to the DC project; I will be so bold, however, to say that anyone else who claims to have done any of the inking on Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man is lying.

Perhaps some of the ongoing confusion stems from the fact that Josef, Bob, and I all inked some (credited) backgrounds on the second Superman and Spider-Man tabloid (along with several other guys) because as Jim Shooter told me at the time, “DC put together the first Superman/Spider-Man and you inked the backgrounds; now that it’s Marvel’s turn I’m going to go them one better by having a whole squadron of super-star inkers ink the backgrounds on ours!”

Incidentally, Dick was always very generous when he received the original artwork back from the publishers and usually shared them with me, which is why I have pages from our work together on Superman/Spider-Man, Thor, Red Sonja, Batman, “The Elongated Man” [backups], and the rest.

It’s too bad that Dick isn’t around to confirm my version of the facts (and, of course, because we all miss him and wish he’d stuck around much longer than he did), but I do recall asking Dick to sign one of the many reprints of the Superman/ Spider-Man project that cropped up over the years and he signed it, “WE did it, Terry! Dick Giordano,” with the word “we” underlined. ’Nuff said? Gosh, I sure hope so!

– Terry Austin

Thank you for sharing this, Terry. We never wish to report or perpetuate misinformation, and with so many issues of BI under our belt now it’s difficult to remember every detail from previous issues. That said, I regret any embarrassment or aggravation this matter may have caused you or anyone else involved.

– M.E.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

COLOR COMMENTARY The coloring for “Mike Grell’s breathtakingly beautiful wraparound cover for All-New Collectors’ Edition #C-55” (page 56 of BACK ISSUE’s tabloid issue) was an in-office collaboration between DC Comics president Sol Harrison and then-rookie colorist Adrienne Roy. Sol had been regularly coloring the tabloid covers up until that time, but assigned Adrienne to do the preliminary color scheme, and then Sol went in and added shading and texturing himself.

Satisfied with Adrienne’s work, he henceforth turned over the tabloid covers to Adrienne for full coloring.

My recollection is that Superman vs. Muhammad Ali was Joe Kubert’s idea in the first place. Neal Adams is indeed correct that Kubert was rejected as artist by Ali’s people, but Joe was more than simply the title’s rejected artist. He was the man who came up with the idea in the first place. (Muhammad Ali also took part in a press conference for the tabloid the week before its release, which was held just a few days before he lost the heavyweight championship to Leon Spinks on February 15, 1978.)

– Anthony Tollin (pictured among the fight audience on the back cover of Superman vs. Muhammad Ali)

back to something closer to reality by inserting a mid-December extra month.

In the same issue of BI, the cover of New Worlds in the Michael Moorcock interview (page 58) is probably #189 dated April 1969.

I wonder if the Hayden-Guest mentioned on that cover is literary scholar Stephen HaydenGuest who was the uncle of Christopher Guest of Spinal Tap (and much else) fame?

All great stuff, anyway.

– Ian Millsted

BELATED ADDENDUM TO BACK ISSUE #53…

Following the piece on Bob Layton’s Hercules series, it may be of interest to note that Layton also completed a three-part serial in Marvel Comic Presents #39 (Jan. 1990), #40 (Dec. 1989), and #41 (Jan. 1990). All were eight pages, as was the usual case for that anthology, which may be worth a look at with a full feature sometime. The eccentric dating of the comics, taken from the inside front cover as there is no cover date on any of them, is due to that month being one where Marvel tried to bring their dates Batman: Gotham by Gaslight TM & © DC Comics.

BACK ISSUE TM & © TwoMorrows.

Next issue: “Heroes Out of Time”! Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, Bill and Ted, Booster Gold, Karate Kid, New Mutants: Asgardian Wars, “Pro2Pro” with Time Masters’ BOB WAYNE and LEWIS SHINER, X-Men: Days of Future Past, an interview with P. CRAIG RUSSELL, and Marvel’s time-hopping villain, Kang. Featuring BRIAN AUGUSTYN, CHRIS CLAREMONT, EVAN DORKIN, DAN JURGENS, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, MIKE MIGNOLA, MARK WAID, and lots of your letters, under a vintage Mignola steampunk Batman cover.

Don’t ask—just BI it! See you in thirty.

Michael Eury, editor-in-chief

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.

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.

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!

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-in-Chief, BACK ISSUE 118 Edgewood Ave. NE Concord, NC 28025

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KIRBY COLLECTOR #61

BRICKJOURNAL #25

No. 3, Fall 2013

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COMIC BOOK CREATOR #1 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #2 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #3

Former COMIC BOOK ARTIST editor JON B. COOKE returns to TwoMorrows with his new magazine! #1 features: An investigation of the treatment JACK KIRBY endured throughout his career, ALEX ROSS and KURT BUSIEK interviews, FRANK ROBBINS spotlight, remembering LES DANIELS, WILL EISNER’s Valentines to his beloved, a talk between NEAL ADAMS and DENNIS O’NEIL, new ALEX ROSS cover, and more!

JOE KUBERT double-size Summer Special tribute issue! Comprehensive examinations of each facet of Joe’s career, from Golden Age artist and 3-D comics pioneer, to top Tarzan artist, editor, and founder of the Kubert School. Kubert interviews, rare art and artifacts, testimonials, remembrances, portraits, anecdotes, pin-ups and miniinterviews by faculty, students, fans, friends and family! Edited by JON B. COOKE.

NEAL ADAMS vigorously responds to critics of his BATMAN: ODYSSEY mini-series in an in-depth interview! Plus: SEAN HOWE on his hit book MARVEL COMICS: THE UNTOLD STORY; DENYS COWAN on his DJANGO series; honoring CARMINE INFANTINO; Harbinger writer JOSHUA DYSART; Part Two of our LES DANIELS remembrance; a big look at WHAM-OGIANT COMICS; ADAMS cover, and more!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Now shipping!

(164-page FULL-COLOR mag) $17.95 (Digital Edition) $7.95 • Now shipping!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Oct. 2013

ALTER EGO #119

ALTER EGO #120

ALTER EGO #121

JACK KIRBY: WRITER! Examines quirks of Kirby’s wordsmithing, from the FOURTH WORLD to ROMANCE and beyond!

Lengthy Kirby interview, MARK EVANIER and other columnists, LARRY LIEBER’s scripting for Jack at 1960s Marvel Comics, RAY ZONE on 3-D work with Kirby, comparing STEVE GERBER’s Destroyer Duck scripts to Jack’s pencils, Kirby’s best promo blurbs, Kirby pencil art gallery, & more!

MEDIEVAL CASTLE BUILDING! Top LEGO® Castle builders present their creations, including BOB CARNEY’s amazingly detailed model of Neuschwanstein Castle, plus others, along with articles on building and detailing castles of your own! Also: JARED BURKS on minifigure customization, AFOLs by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, stepby-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and more!

MARC SWAYZE TRIBUTE ISSUE, spotlighting FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America)!

Salutes from Fawcett alumnus C.C. BECK and OTTO BINDER, interview with wife JUNE SWAYZE, a full Phantom Eagle story from Wow Comics, plus interview with 1950s Dell/Western artist MEL KEEFER, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and a SWAYZE Marvel Family cover art from the 1940s!

X-MEN SALUTE! 1963-69 secrets, rare ‘60s BRAZILIAN X-MEN stories, lost ‘60s XMen “character sheet” by STAN LEE, ROY THOMAS on the 1970s revival, art and artifacts by KIRBY, ROTH, ADAMS, HECK, FRIEDRICH, and BUSCEMA—plus the MARVELMANIA fan club story, interview with Golden Age writer ED SILVERMAN, FCA, Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLY, and JACK KIRBY’s unused X-Men #10 cover!

GOLDEN AGE JUSTICE SOCIETY ISSUE! Features on JOHN B. WENTWORTH (Johnny Thunder), LEN SANSONE (The Atom), and BERNARD SACHS (All-Star Comics inker), art by CARMINE INFANTINO, PAUL REINMAN, MART NODELL, STAN ASCHMEIER, BEN FLINTON, and H.G. PETER, plus FCA, Mr. Monster, and more! Cover homage by SHANE FOLEY to a vintage All-Star image by IRWIN HASEN!

(104-page magazine with COLOR) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95 • Now shipping!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Now shipping!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Now shipping!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships August 2013

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Oct. 2013

DRAW! #25

DRAW! #26

BACK ISSUE #68

BACK ISSUE #69

BACK ISSUE #70

LEE WEEKS (Daredevil, Incredible Hulk) gives insight into the artform, YILDIRAY ÇINAR (Noble Causes, Fury of the Firestorms) interview and demo, inker JOE RUBINSTEIN shows how he works, “Comic Art Bootcamp” with MIKE MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS, “Rough Critique” of a newcomer by BOB McLEOD, and “Crusty Critic” JAMAR NICHOLAS reviews art supplies and software! Mature readers only.

JOE JUSKO shows how he creates his amazing fantasy art, JAMAR NICHOLAS interviews artist JIMM RUGG (Street Angel, Afrodisiac, The P.L.A.I.N. Janes and Janes in Love, One Model Nation, and The Guild), new regular contributor JERRY ORDWAY on his behind-the-scenes working process, Comic Art Bootcamp with MIKE MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS, reviews of artist materials, and more! Mature readers only.

“1970s and ‘80s Legion of Super-Heroes!”

LEVITZ interview, the Legion’s Honored Dead, the Cosmic Boy miniseries, a Time Trapper history, the New Adventures of Superboy, Legion fantasy cover gallery by JOHN WATSON, plus BATES, COCKRUM, CONWAY, COLON, GIFFEN, GRELL, JANES, KUPPERBERG, LaROCQUE, LIGHTLE, SCHAFFENBERGER, SHERMAN, STATON, SWAN, WAID, & more! COCKRUM cover!

TENTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE! Revisit the 100th, 200th, 300th, 400th, and 500th issues of ‘70s and ‘80s favorites: Adventure, Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Batman, Brave & Bold, Casper, Detective, Flash, Green Lantern, Showcase, Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman, and more! With APARO, BARR, ENGLEHART, POLLARD, SEKOWSKY, SIMONSON, STATON, and WOLFMAN. DAN JURGENS and RAY McCARTHY cover.

“Incredible Hulk in the Bronze Age!” Looks into Hulk’s mind, his role as a team player, his TV show and cartoon, merchandising, Hulk newspaper strip, Teen Hulk, villain history of the Abomination, art and artifacts by SAL BUSCEMA, JOHN BYRNE, PETER DAVID, KENNETH JOHNSON, BILL MANTLO, AL MILGROM, EARL NOREM, ROGER STERN, HERB TRIMPE, LEN WEIN, new cover by TRIMPE and GERHARD!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Now shipping!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Oct. 2013

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Sept. 2013

(100-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95 • Ships Nov. 2013

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Jan. 2014

Ambitious new series documenting each decade of comic book history!

AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: 1960-64 & The 1980s

JOHN WELLS covers comics in the 1960-64 JFK and Beatles era: DC’s new GREEN LANTERN, JUSTICE LEAGUE and multiple earths!

LEE and KIRBY at Marvel on FF, SPIDER-MAN, HULK, and X-MEN! BATMAN’s “new look”, Charlton’s BLUE BEETLE, CREEPY #1 & more!

AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: The 1950s

1960-64: (224-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $11.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-045-8 • Out now!

1980s: (288-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $41.95 (Digital Edition) $13.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-046-5 • Out now!

(192-page trade paperback with COLOR) $27.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-051-9 • (Digital Edition) $9.95 • Ships July 2013

All characters TM & ©2013 their respective owners.

(256-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $40.95 (Digital Edition) $12.95 • ISBN: 9781605490540 • Ships Aug. 2013

THE STAR*REACH COMPANION

Complete history of the influential 1970s independent comic, featuring work by and interviews with DAVE STEVENS, FRANK BRUNNER, HOWARD CHAYKIN, STEVE LEIALOHA, WALTER SIMONSON, BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, KEN STEACY, JOHN WORKMAN, MIKE VOSBURG, P. CRAIG RUSSELL, DAVE SIM, MICHAEL GILBERT, and many others, plus full stories from STAR*REACH and its sister magazine IMAGINE. Cover by CHAYKIN! MATURE READERS ONLY.

KEITH DALLAS documents comics’ 1980s Reagan years: Rise and fall of JIM SHOOTER, FRANK MILLER as comic book superstar, DC’s CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, MOORE and GAIMAN’s British invasion, ECLIPSE, PACIFIC, FIRST, COMICO, DARK HORSE and more!

BILL SCHELLY tackles comics of the Atomic Era of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley: EC’s TALES OF THE CRYPT, MAD, CARL BARKS’ Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge, re-tooling the FLASH in Showcase #4, return of Timely’s CAPTAIN AMERICA, HUMAN TORCH AND SUB-MARINER, FREDRIC WERTHAM’s anti-comics campaign, and more!

THE BEST OF ALTER EGO, VOL. 2

DAN SPIEGLE: A LIFE IN COMIC ART

This sequel to ALTER EGO: THE BEST OF THE LEGENDARY COMICS FANZINE presents more vintage features from the first super-hero fanzine, begun by JERRY BAILS & ROY THOMAS. Editors ROY THOMAS and BILL SCHELLY reveal undiscovered gems from all 11 original issues published from 1961-78, including features on Hawkman, the Spectre, Blackhawk, the JLA, All Winners Squad, the Heap, an unsold “Tor” newspaper strip by JOE KUBERT, and more!

Documents his 60-year career on DELL and GOLD KEY’S licensed TV and Movie adaptions (LOST IN SPACE, KORAK, MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER, MIGHTY SAMPSON), at DC COMICS (BATMAN, UNKNOWN SOLDIER, TOMAHAWK, JONAH HEX, TEEN TITANS, BLACKHAWK), his CROSSFIRE series for ECLIPSE, DARK HORSE’S INDIANA JONES series and more, with rare artwork, personal photos, and private commission drawings. Written by JOHN COATES.

(160-page trade paperback) $19.95 • (Digital Edition) $7.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-048-9 • Now shipping!

(104-page trade paperback) $14.95 • (Digital Edition) $4.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-049-6 • Now shipping!

SUBSCRIBE! • Digital Editions: 3.95 each, or save with a digital subscription (digital editions are included FREE with a print subscription)!

• Back Issue, Draw, Alter Ego & Comic Book Collector are now all full-color!

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2013 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: (with FREE Digital Editions)

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MODERN MASTERS: CLIFF CHIANG

Spotlights the career of CLIFF CHIANG (artist of DC’s New 52 breakout hit WONDER WOMAN series) through a career-spanning interview, and loads of both iconic and rarely seen artwork from Cliff’s personal files. There’s also an in-depth look into the artist’s work process, and an extensive gallery of commissioned pieces, many in full-color. By CHRIS ARRANT and ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON. (120-page trade paperback with COLOR) $15.95 (Digital Editions) $5.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-050-2 Now shipping!

1st Class Canada 1st Class Priority US Intl.

Intl.

Digital Only

JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR (4 issues)

$50

$68

$65

$72

$150

$15.80

BACK ISSUE! (8 issues)

$60

$80

$85

$107

$155

$23.60

DRAW! (4 issues)

$30

$40

$43

$54

$78

$11.80

ALTER EGO (8 issues)

$60

$80

$85

$107

$155

$23.60

COMIC BOOK CREATOR (4 issues w/Special)

$36

$45

$50

$65

$95

$15.80

BRICKJOURNAL (6 issues)

$57

$72

$75

$86

$128

$23.70

For the latest news from TwoMorrows Publishing, log on to www.twomorrows.com/tnt To get e-mail updates of what’s new from TwoMorrows, sign up for our mailing list! http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/twomorrows

TwoMorrows. A New Day For Comics Fans!

TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 E-mail: store@twomorrowspubs.com • Visit us on the Web at www.twomorrows.com

SAVE

15

THE BEST IN COMICS & LEGO® PUBLICATIONS!

WHE % N YO ORD U ONL ER INE! FALL 2013

1994--2013

AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: The 1950s

BILL SCHELLY tackles comics of the Atomic Era of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley: EC’s TALES OF THE CRYPT, MAD, CARL BARKS’ Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge, re-tooling the FLASH in Showcase #4, return of Timely’s CAPTAIN AMERICA, HUMAN TORCH and SUB-MARINER, FREDRIC WERTHAM’s anti-comics campaign, and more!

Ships August 2013 (240-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $40.95 (Digital Edition) $12.95 • ISBN: 9781605490540

1965-69

JOHN WELLS covers the transformation of MARVEL COMICS into a pop phenomenon, Wally Wood’s TOWER COMICS, CHARLTON’s Action Heroes, the BATMAN TV SHOW, Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, and Denny O’Neil leading a youth wave in comics, GOLD KEY digests, the Archies and Josie & the Pussycats, and more! Ships March 2014

Ambitious new series of FULLCOLOR HARDCOVERS documenting each decade of comic book history!

(224-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $11.95 • ISBN: 9781605490557

ALSO AVAILABLE NOW:

The 1970s

JASON SACKS & KEITH DALLAS detail the emerging Bronze Age of comics: Relevance with Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’s GREEN LANTERN, Jack Kirby’s FOURTH WORLD saga, Comics Code revisions that opens the floodgates for monsters and the supernatural, Jenette Kahn’s arrival at DC and the subsequent DC IMPLOSION, the coming of Jim Shooter and the DIRECT MARKET, and more!

1960-64: (224-pages) $39.95 • (Digital Edition) $11.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-045-8 1980s: (288-pages) $41.95 • (Digital Edition) $13.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-046-5 COMING SOON: 1940-44, 1945-49 and 1990s

(240-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $40.95 • (Digital Edition) $12.95 • ISBN: 9781605490564 • Ships July 2014

Our newest mag: Comic Book Creator! ™

No. 3, Fall 2013

All characters TM & © their respective owners.

A Tw o M o r r o w s P u b l i c a t i o n

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COMIC BOOK CREATOR #3 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #4

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #5

NEAL ADAMS vigorously responds to critics of his BATMAN: ODYSSEY mini-series in an in-depth interview! Plus: SEAN HOWE on his hit book MARVEL COMICS: THE UNTOLD STORY; MARK WAID interview, part one; honoring CARMINE INFANTINO; Harbinger writer JOSHUA DYSART; Part Two of our LES DANIELS remembrance; a big look at WHAM-O-GIANT COMICS; ADAMS cover, and more!

RUSS HEATH career-spanning interview, essay on Heath’s work by S.C. RINGGENBERG (and Heath art gallery), MORT TODD on working with STEVE DITKO, a profile of alt cartoonist DAN GOLDMAN, part two of our MARK WAID interview, DENYS COWAN on his DJANGO series, VIC BLOOM and THE SECRET ORIGIN OF ARCHIE ANDREWS, HEMBECK, new KEVIN NOWLAN cover!

DENIS KITCHEN close-up—from cartoonist, publisher, author, and art agent, to his friendships with HARVEY KURTZMAN, R. CRUMB, WILL EISNER, and many others!

Plus we examine the supreme artistry of JOHN ROMITA, JR., BILL EVERETT’s final splash, the nefarious backroom dealings of STOLEN COMIC BOOK ART, and ascend THE GODS OF MT. OLYMPUS (a ‘70s gem

by ACHZIGER, STATON and WORKMAN)!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Oct. 2013

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Jan. 2014

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships April 2014

OO C OM I C B

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FEVER houry rge K

by Jo in

it Catc0h14!

2

SUBSCRIBE! • Digital Editions: $3.95 each, or save with a digital subscription (digital editions are included FREE with a print subscription)!

• All our magazines are now full-color!

• Lower international shipping rates!

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #6: SWAMPMEN! (double-size Summer Special) SWAMPMEN: MUCK-MONSTERS OF THE COMICS dredges up Swamp Thing, ManThing, The Heap, Lurker of the Swamp, It, Bog Beast, Marvin the Dead Thing and other creepy man-critters of the 1970s bayou, with a stunning line-up of interviews: WRIGHTSON, MOORE, PLOOG, WEIN, BRUNNER, GERBER, BISSETTE, VEITCH, CONWAY, MAYERIK, ORLANDO, PASKO, MOONEY, TOTLEBEN, YEATES, BERGER, SANTOS, USLAN, KALUTA, THOMAS, and many others. New FRANK CHO cover! Ships July 2014 (192-page trade paperback with COLOR) $17.95 • (Digital Edition) $8.95

2013 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: (with FREE Digital Editions)

Media Mail

1st Class Canada 1st Class Priority US Intl.

Intl.

Digital Only

JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR (4 issues)

$50

$68

$65

$72

$150

$15.80

BACK ISSUE! (8 issues)

$60

$80

$85

$107

$155

$23.60

DRAW! (4 issues)

$30

$40

$43

$54

$78

$11.80

ALTER EGO (8 issues)

$60

$80

$85

$107

$155

$23.60

COMIC BOOK CREATOR (4 issues w/Special)

$36

$45

$50

$65

$95

$15.80

BRICKJOURNAL (6 issues)

$57

$72

$75

$86

$128

$23.70

TwoMorrows. A New Day For Comics Fans!

TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 E-mail: store@twomorrowspubs.com • Visit us on the Web at www.twomorrows.com

NEW ISSUES: THE RETRO COMICS EXPERIENCE!

TM

FOCUSING ON GOLDEN & SILVER AGE COMICS

C o l l e c t o r

CELEBRATING THE LIFE & CAREER OF THE “KING” OF COMICS

THE PROFESSIONAL “HOW-TO” MAGAZINE ON COMICS, CARTOONING & ANIMATION

THE MAGAZINE FOR LEGO® ENTHUSIASTS!

BACK ISSUE #70

KIRBY COLLECTOR #62

DRAW! #26

BRICKJOURNAL #26

BRICKJOURNAL #27

KIRBY AT DC! Kirby interview, MARK EVANIER and our other regular columnists, updated “X-Numbers” list of Kirby’s DC assignments (revealing some surprises), JERRY BOYD’s insights on Kirby’s DC work, a look at KEY 1970s EVENTS IN JACK’S LIFE AND CAREER, Challengers vs. the FF, pencil art galleries from FOREVER PEOPLE, OMAC, and THE DEMON, Kirby cover inked by MIKE ROYER, and more!

JOE JUSKO shows how he creates his amazing fantasy art, JAMAR NICHOLAS interviews artist JIMM RUGG (Street Angel, Afrodisiac, The P.L.A.I.N. Janes and Janes in Love, One Model Nation, and The Guild), new regular contributor JERRY ORDWAY on his behind-the-scenes working process, Comic Art Bootcamp with MIKE MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS, reviews of artist materials, and more! Mature readers only.

CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL with builders SEAN and STEPHANIE MAYO (known online as Siercon and Coral), other custom animal models from BrickJournal editor JOE MENO, LEGO DINOSAURS with WILL PUGH, plus more minifigure customization by JARED BURKS, AFOLs by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and more!

GUY HIMBER takes you to the IRON BUILDER CONTEST, which showcases the top LEGO® builders in the world! Cover by LEGO magazine and comic artist PAUL LEE, amazing custom models by LINO MARTINS, TYLER CLITES, BRUCE LOWELL, COLE BLAQ and others, minifigure customization

by JARED BURKS, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, AFOLs by GREG HYLAND, & more!

(100-page FULL-COLOR mag) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95 • Ships Dec. 2013

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Oct. 2013

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Sept. 2013

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Nov. 2013

BACK ISSUE #71

BACK ISSUE #72

BACK ISSUE #73

BACK ISSUE #74

“Incredible Hulk in the Bronze Age!” Looks into Hulk’s mind, his role as a team player, his TV show and cartoon, merchandising, Hulk newspaper strip, Teen Hulk, villain history of the Abomination, art and artifacts by SAL BUSCEMA, JOHN BYRNE, PETER DAVID, KENNETH JOHNSON, BILL MANTLO, AL MILGROM, EARL NOREM, ROGER STERN, HERB TRIMPE, LEN WEIN, new cover by TRIMPE and GERHARD!

“Tryouts, One-Shots, & One-Hit Wonders”!

Marvel Premiere, Marvel Spotlight, Marvel Feature, Strange Tales, Showcase, First Issue Special, New Talent Showcase, DC’s Dick Tracy tabloid, Sherlock Holmes, Marvel’s Generic Comic Books, Bat-Squad, Crusader, & Swashbuckler, with BRUNNER, CARDY, COLAN, FRADON, GRELL, PLOOG, TRIMPE, and an ARTHUR ADAMS “Clea” cover!

“Robots” issue! Cyborg, Metal Men, Robotman, Red Tornado, Mister Atom, the Vision, Jocasta, Shogun Warriors, and Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, plus the legacy of Brainiac! Featuring the riveting work of DARROW, GERBER, INFANTINO, PAUL KUPPERBERG, MILLER, MOENCH, PEREZ, SIMONSON, STATON, THOMAS, WOLFMAN, and more, behind a Metal Men cover by MICHAEL ALLRED.

“Batman’s Partners!” MIKE W. BARR and ALAN DAVIS on their Detective Comics, Batman and the Outsiders, Nightwing flies solo, Man-Bat history, Commissioner Gordon, the last days of World’s Finest, Bat-Mite, the Batmobile, plus Dark Knight’s girl Robin! Featuring work by APARO, BUSIEK, DITKO, KRAFT, MILGROM, MILLER, PÉREZ, WOLFMAN, and more, with a cover by ALAN DAVIS and MARK FARMER.

“Bronze Age Fantastic Four!” The animated FF, the FF radio show of 1975, Human Torch goes solo, Galactus villain history, FF Mego figures… and the Impossible Man! Exploring work by RICH BUCKLER, JOHN BUSCEMA, JOHN BYRNE, GERRY CONWAY, STEVE ENGLEHART, GEORGE PÉREZ, KEITH POLLARD, ROY THOMAS, LEN WEIN, MARV WOLFMAN, and more! Cover by KEITH POLLARD and JOE RUBINSTEIN.

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Jan. 2014

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships March 2014

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships April 2014

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships June 2014

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships July 2014

ALTER EGO #122

ALTER EGO #123

ALTER EGO #124

ALTER EGO #125

ALTER EGO #126

Farewell salute to the COMICS BUYER’S GUIDE! TBG/CBG history and remembrances from ALAN LIGHT, MURRAY BISHOFF, MAGGIE THOMPSON, BRENT FRANKENHOFF, “final” CBG columns by MARK EVANIER, TONY ISABELLA, PETER DAVID, FRED HEMBECK, JOHN LUSTIG, classic art by DON NEWTON, MIKE VOSBURG, JACK KIRBY, MIKE NASSER, plus FCA, Mr. Monster, and more!

DENNY O’NEIL’s Silver Age career at Marvel, Charlton, and DC—aided and abetted by ADAMS, KALUTA, SEKOWSKY, LEE, GIORDANO, THOMAS, SCHWARTZ, APARO, BOYETTE, DILLIN, SWAN, DITKO, et al. Plus, we begin serializing AMY KISTE NYBERG’s groundbreaking book on the history of the Comics Code, FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLY and more!

We spotlight HERB TRIMPE’s work on Hulk, Iron Man, S.H.I.E.L.D., Ghost Rider, Ant-Man, Silver Surfer, War of the Worlds, Ka-Zar, even Phantom Eagle, and featuring THE SEVERIN SIBLINGS, LEE, FRIEDRICH, THOMAS, GRAINGER, BUSCEMA, and others, plus more of AMY KISTE NYBERG’s Comics Code history, “Sea Monkeys and X-Ray Specs” on those nutty comic book ads, FCA, Mr. Monster, and more!

Golden Age “Air Wave” artist LEE HARRIS discussed by his son JONATHAN LEVEY to interviewer RICHARD J. ARNDT, with rarely-seen 1940s art treasures (including mysterious, never-published art of an alternate version of DC’s Tarantula)! Plus more of AMY KISTE NYBERG’s exposé on the Comics Code, artist SAL AMENDOLA tells the story of the Academy of Comic Book Arts, FCA, Mr. Monster, and more!

Second big issue on 3-D COMICS OF THE 1950s! KEN QUATTRO looks at the controversy involving JOE KUBERT, NORMAN MAURER, BILL GAINES, and AL FELDSTEIN! Plus more fabulous Captain 3-D by SIMON & KIRBY and MORT MESKIN— 3-D thrills from BOB POWELL, HOWARD NOSTRAND, JAY DISBROW and others— the career of Treasure Chest artist VEE QUINTAL, FCA, Mr. Monster, and more!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Dec. 2013

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Feb. 2014

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(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships June 2014

Edited by ROY THOMAS The greatest ‘zine of the 1960s is back, ALL-NEW, and focusing on GOLDEN AND SILVER AGE comics and creators with ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, UNSEEN ART, P.C. Hamerlinck’s FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America, featuring the archives of C.C. BECK and recollections by Fawcett artist MARCUS SWAYZE), Michael T. Gilbert’s MR. MONSTER, and more!

2012 EISNER AWARD Nominee Best Comics-Related Journalism

Other issues available, & an ULTIMATE BUNDLE with all issues at HALF-PRICE!

ALTER EGO #107

ALTER EGO #108

DIEDGITIIOTANSL BL AVAILA

E

ALTER EGO #104

ALTER EGO #105

ALTER EGO #106

Celebrates the 50th anniversary of FANTASTIC FOUR #1 and the birth of Marvel Comics! New, never-beforepublished STAN LEE interview, art and artifacts by KIRBY, DITKO, SINNOTT, AYERS, THOMAS, and secrets behind the Marvel Mythos! Also: JIM AMASH interviews 1940s Timely editor AL SULMAN, FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and a new cover by FRENZ and SINNOTT!

See comic art and script BEFORE and AFTER the Comics Code changes, with art

by SIMON & KIRBY, DITKO, BUSCEMA, SINNOTT, GOULD, COLE, STERANKO, KRIGSTEIN, O’NEIL, GLANZMAN, ORLANDO, WILLIAMSON, HEATH, and others! Plus: FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, JIM AMASH interviews Timely/Atlas artist CAL MASSEY, and a new cover by JOSH MEDORS!

DICK GIORDANO through the 1960s—from freelance years and Charlton “Action-Heroes” to his first stint at DC! Art by DITKO, APARO, BOYETTE, MORISI, McLAUGHLIN, GIL KANE, and others, Dick’s final convention panel with STEVE SKEATES and ROY THOMAS, JIM AMASH interviews Charlton artist TONY TALLARICO, FCA with MARC SWAYZE and ROY ALD, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, BILL SCHELLY, & DITKO/GIORDANO cover!

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

ALTER EGO #109

ALTER EGO #110

ALTER EGO #111

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!

Spectre/Hour-Man creator BERNARD BAILY, ‘40s super-groups that might have been, art by ORDWAY, INFANTINO, KUBERT, HASEN, ROBINSON, and BURNLEY, conclusion of the TONY TALLARICO interview by JIM AMASH, MIKE PEPPE interview by DEWEY CASSELL, BILL SCHELLY on “50 Years of Fandom” at San Diego 2011, FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, PÉREZ cover, and more!

SHAZAM!/FAWCETT issue! The 1940s “CAPTAIN MARVEL” RADIO SHOW, interview with radio’s “Billy Batson” BURT BOYAR, P.C. HAMERLINCK and C.C. BECK on the origin of Captain Marvel, ROY THOMAS and JERRY BINGHAM on their Secret Origins “Shazam!”, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, LEONARD STARR interview, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

GOLDEN AGE NEDOR super-heroes are spotlighted, with MIKE NOLAN’s Nedor Index, and art by MORT MESKIN, JERRY ROBINSON, GEORGE TUSKA, RUBEN MOIRERA, ALEX SHOMBURG, and others!

Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, more 2011 Fandom Celebration, and part II of JIM AMASH’s interview with Golden Age artist LEONARD STARR! Cover by SHANE FOLEY!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

ALTER EGO #112

ALTER EGO #113

ALTER EGO #114

ALTER EGO #115

ALTER EGO #116

SUPERMAN issue! PAUL CASSIDY (early Superman artist), Italian Nembo Kid, and ARLEN SCHUMER’s look at the MORT WEISINGER era, plus an interview with son HANK WEISINGER! Art by SHUSTER, BORING, ANDERSON, PLASTINO, and others! LEONARD STARR interview Part III—FCA—Mr. Monster—more 2011 Fandom Celebration, and a MURPHY ANDERSON/ARLEN SCHUMER cover!

MARV WOLFMAN talks to RICHARD ARNDT about his first decade in comics on Tomb of Dracula, Teen Titans, Captain Marvel, John Carter, Daredevil, Nova, Batman, etc., behind a GENE COLAN cover! Art by COLAN, ANDERSON, CARDY, BORING, MOONEY, and more!

Plus: the conclusion of our LEONARD STARR interview by JIM AMASH, FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

MARVEL ISSUE on Captain America and Fantastic Four! MARTIN GOODMAN’s Broadway debut, speculations about FF #1, history of the MMMS, interview with Golden Age writer/artist DON RICO, art

by KIRBY, AVISON, SHORES, ROMITA, SEVERIN, TUSKA, ALLEN BELLMAN, and others! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER and BILL SCHELLY! Cover by BELLMAN and MITCH BREITWEISER!

3-D COMICS OF THE 1950S! In-depth feature by RAY (3-D) ZONE, actual red and green 1950s 3-D art (includes free glasses!) by SIMON & KIRBY, KUBERT, MESKIN, POWELL, MAURER, NOSTRAND, SWAN, BORING, SCHWARTZ, MOONEY, SHORES, TUSKA and many others! Plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Cover by JOE SIMON and JACK KIRBY!

JOE KUBERT TRIBUTE! Four Kubert interviews, art by RUSS HEATH, NEAL ADAMS, MURPHY ANDERSON, MICHAEL KALUTA, SAM GLANZMAN, and others, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, BILL SCHELLY’s Comic Fandom Archive, FCA’s Captain Video conclusion by GEORGE EVANS that inspired Avengers foe Ultron, cover by KUBERT, with a portrait by DANIEL JAMES COX!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

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(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships April 2013

A COMICS HISTORY GAME-CHANGER!

AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES THE

1960-64 Volume NOW SHIPPING! 1980s Volume ships in MARCH!

This ambitious new series of FULLCOLOR HARDCOVERS documents every decade of comic books from the 1940s to today!

Each colossal volume presents a year-by-year account of the comic book industry’s most significant publications, most notable creators, and most impactful trends.

This ongoing project enlists TwoMorrows’ top authors, as they provide exhaustively researched details on all the major events along the comics history timeline! Editor KEITH DALLAS (The Flash Companion) spearheads the series and writes his own volume on the 1980s. Also in the works are two volumes on the 1940s by ROY THOMAS, the 1950s by BILL SCHELLY, two volumes on the 1960s by JOHN WELLS, a 1970s volume by JIM BEARD, and more volumes documenting the 1990s and 2000s. Taken together, the series forms the first cohesive, linear overview of the entire landscape of comics history, sure to be an invaluable resource for ANY comic book enthusiast!

JOHN WELLS leads off with the first of two volumes on the 1960s, covering all the pivotal moments and behind-the-scenes details of comics in the JFK and Beatles era! You’ll get a year-by-year account of the most significant publications, notable creators, and impactful trends, including: DC Comics’ rebirth of GREEN LANTERN, HAWKMAN, and others, and the launch of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and multiple earths! STAN LEE and JACK KIRBY’s transformation of superhero comics with the debut of FANTASTIC FOUR, SPIDER-MAN, HULK, X-MEN, AVENGERS, and other iconic characters! Plus BATMAN gets a “new look”, the BLUE BEETLE is revamped at Charlton Comics, and CREEPY #1 brings horror back to comics, just as Harvey’s “kid” comics are booming!

NOW SHIPPING! The Best of FROM THE TOMB Compiles the finest features from the preeminent magazine on horror comics history, along with never-seen material!

(192-page trade paperback with COLOR) $27.95 • (Digital Edition) $8.95 ISBN: 9781605490434 • Diamond Order Code: AUG121322

The co-founder of Filmation Studios tells all about leading the last American animation company through thirty years of innovation and fun!

(288-page trade paperback with COLOR) $29.95 • (Digital Edition) $9.95 ISBN: 9781605490441 • Diamond Order Code: JUL121245

MATT BAKER: The Art of Glamour The fabled master of glamour art finally gets his due!

(192-page HARDCOVER with 96 COLOR pages) $39.95 • (Digital Edition) $11.95 ISBN: 9781605490328 • Diamond Order Code: JUN121310

TwoMorrows. A New Day For Comics Fans!

TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 E-mail: store@twomorrowspubs.com • Visit us on the Web at www.twomorrows.com

PRINTED IN CANADA

LOU SCHEIMER: Creating the Filmation Generation

All characters TM & ©2013 their respective owners.

1960-64 VOLUME: (224-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 • (Digital Edition) $11.95 • ISBN: 9781605490458 • Diamond Order Code: JUL121245

THE ORIGINAL GOES DIGITAL!

Go online for an ULTIMATE BUNDLE with all print issues HALF-PRICE!

The forerunner to COMIC BOOK CREATOR, CBA is the 2000-2004 Eisner Award winner for BEST COMICS-RELATED MAG! Edited by CBC’s JON B. COOKE, it features in-depth articles, interviews, and unseen art, celebrating the lives and careers of the great comics artists from the 1970s to today. ALL BACK ISSUES NOW AVAILABLE AS DIGITAL EDITIONS FOR $3.95 FROM www.twomorrows.com!

TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 E-mail: store@twomorrowspubs.com

Order online at www.twomorrows.com COMIC BOOK ARTIST COLLECTION, VOLUME 3 Reprinting the Eisner Award-winning COMIC BOOK ARTIST #7-8 (spotlighting 1970s Marvel and 1980s indies), plus over 30 NEW PAGES of features and art! New PAUL GULACY portfolio, MR. MONSTER scrapbook, the story behind MARVEL VALUE STAMPS, and more! New MICHAEL T. GILBERT cover!

(224-page trade paperback) $24.95 • ISBN: 9781893905429

#3: ADAMS AT MARVEL #4: WARREN PUBLISHING

#5: MORE DC 1967-74

#1: DC COMICS 1967-74

#2: MARVEL 1970-77

Era of “Artist as Editor” at National: New NEAL ADAMS cover, interviews, art, and articles with JOE KUBERT, JACK KIRBY, CARMINE INFANTINO, DICK GIORDANO, JOE ORLANDO, MIKE SEKOWSKY, ALEX TOTH, JULIE SCHWARTZ, and many more!

Plus ADAMS thumbnails for a forgotten Batman story, unseen NICK CARDY pages from a controversial Teen Titans story, unpublished TOTH covers, and more!

STAN LEE AND ROY THOMAS discussion about Marvel in the 1970s, ROY THOMAS interview, BILL EVERETT’s daughter WENDY and MIKE FRIEDRICH on Everett, interviews with GIL KANE, BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, JIM STARLIN, STEVE ENGLEHART, MIKE PLOOG, STERANKO’s Unknown Marvels, the real origin of the New X-Men, Everett tribute cover by GIL KANE, and more!

(80-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

(76-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

#6: MORE MARVEL ’70s #7: ’70s MARVELMANIA

NEAL ADAMS interview about his work at Marvel Comics in the 1960s from AVENGERS to X-MEN, unpublished Adams covers, thumbnail layouts for classic stories, published pages BEFORE they were inked, and unused pages from his NEVER-COMPLETED X-MEN GRAPHIC NOVEL! Plus TOM PALMER on the art of inking Neal Adams, ADAMS’ MARVEL WORK CHECKLIST, & ADAMS wraparound cover!

Definitive JIM WARREN interview about publishing EERIE, CREEPY, VAMPIRELLA, and other fan favorites, in-depth interview with BERNIE WRIGHTSON with unpublished Warren art, plus unseen art, features and interviews with FRANK FRAZETTA, RICHARD CORBEN, AL WILLIAMSON, JACK DAVIS, ARCHIE GOODWIN, HARVEY KURTZMAN, ALEX NINO, and more!

BERNIE WRIGHTSON cover!

More on DC COMICS 1967-74, with art by and interviews with NICK CARDY, JOE SIMON, NEAL ADAMS, BERNIE WRIGHTSON, MIKE KALUTA, SAM GLANZMAN, MARV WOLFMAN, IRWIN DONENFELD, SERGIO ARAGONÉS, GIL KANE, DENNY O’NEIL, HOWARD POST, ALEX TOTH on FRANK ROBBINS, DC Writer’s Purge of 1968 by MIKE BARR, JOHN BROOME’s final interview, and more! CARDY cover!

Unpublished and rarely-seen art by, features on, and interviews with 1970s Bullpenners PAUL GULACY, FRANK BRUNNER, P. CRAIG RUSSELL, MARIE and JOHN SEVERIN, JOHN ROMITA SR., DAVE COCKRUM, DON MCGREGOR, DOUG MOENCH, and others! Plus never-beforeseen pencil pages to an unpublished Master of Kung-Fu graphic novel by PAUL GULACY! Cover by FRANK BRUNNER!

Featuring ’70s Marvel greats PAUL GULACY, JOHN BYRNE, RICH BUCKLER, DOUG MOENCH, DAN ADKINS, JIM MOONEY, STEVE GERBER, FRANK SPRINGER, and DENIS KITCHEN! Plus: a rarely-seen Stan Lee P.R. chat promoting the ’60s Marvel cartoon shows, the real trials and tribulations of Comics Distribution, the true story behind the ’70s Kung Fu Craze, and a new cover by PAUL GULACY!

(60-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

(116-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

(100-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

(96-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

(128-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

#10: WALTER SIMONSON

#11: ALEX TOTH AND SHELLY MAYER

#8: ’80s INDEPENDENTS

#9: CHARLTON PART 1

#12: CHARLTON PART 2

Major independent creators and their fabulous books from the early days of the Direct Sales Market! Featured interviews include STEVE RUDE, HOWARD CHAYKIN, DAVE STEVENS, JAIME HERNANDEZ, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, DON SIMPSON, SCOTT McCLOUD, MIKE BARON, MIKE GRELL, and more! Plus plenty of rare and unpublished art, and a new STEVE RUDE cover!

Interviews with Charlton alumni JOE GILL, DICK GIORDANO, STEVE SKEATES, DENNIS O’NEIL, ROY THOMAS, PETE MORISI, JIM APARO, PAT BOYETTE, FRANK MCLAUGHLIN, SAM GLANZMAN, plus ALAN MOORE on the Charlton/ Watchmen Connection, DC’s planned ALLCHARLTON WEEKLY, and more! DICK GIORDANO cover!

Career-spanning SIMONSON INTERVIEW, covering his work from “Manhunter” to Thor to Orion, JOHN WORKMAN interview, TRINA ROBBINS interview, also Trina, MARIE SEVERIN and RAMONA FRADON talk shop about their days in the comics business, MARIE SEVERIN interview, plus other great women cartoonists. New SIMONSON cover!

Interviews with ALEX TOTH, Toth tributes

by KUBERT, SIMONSON, JIM LEE, BOLLAND, GIBBONS and others, TOTH on continuity art, TOTH checklist, plus SHELDON MAYER SECTION with a look at SCRIBBLY, interviews with Mayer’s kids (real-life inspiration for SUGAR & SPIKE), and more! Covers by TOTH and MAYER!

CHARLTON COMICS: 1972-1983!

Interviews with Charlton alumni GEORGE WILDMAN, NICOLA CUTI, JOE STATON, JOHN BYRNE, TOM SUTTON, MIKE ZECK, JACK KELLER, PETE MORISI, WARREN SATTLER, BOB LAYTON, ROGER STERN, and others, ALEX TOTH, a NEW E-MAN STRIP by CUTI AND STATON, and the art of DON NEWTON! STATON cover!

(108-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

(112-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

(112-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(108-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

(112-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

#13: MARVEL HORROR

#14: TOWER COMICS & WALLY WOOD

#15: 1980s VANGUARD & DAVE STEVENS

#16: ATLAS/SEABOARD COMICS

#17: ARTHUR ADAMS

1970s Marvel Horror focus, from Son of Satan to Ghost Rider! Interviews with ROY THOMAS, MARV WOLFMAN, GENE COLAN, TOM PALMER, HERB TRIMPE, GARY FRIEDRICH, DON PERLIN, TONY ISABELLA, and PABLOS MARCOS, plus a Portfolio Section featuring RUSS HEATH, MIKE PLOOG, DON PERLIN, PABLO MARCOS, FRED HEMBECK’S DATELINE, and more! New GENE COLAN cover!

Interviews with Tower and THUNDER AGENTS alumni WALLACE WOOD, LOU MOUGIN, SAMM SCHWARTZ, DAN ADKINS, LEN BROWN, BILL PEARSON, LARRY IVIE, GEORGE TUSKA, STEVE SKEATES, and RUSS JONES, TOWER COMICS CHECKLIST, history of TIPPY TEEN, 1980s THUNDER AGENTS REVIVAL, and more! WOOD cover!

Interviews with ’80s independent creators DAVE STEVENS, JAIME, MARIO, AND GILBERT HERNANDEZ, MATT WAGNER, DEAN MOTTER, PAUL RIVOCHE, and SANDY PLUNKETT, plus lots of rare and unseen art from The Rocketeer, Love & Rockets, Mr. X, Grendel, other ’80s strips, and more! New cover by STEVENS and the HERNANDEZ BROS.!

’70s ATLAS COMICS HISTORY! Interviews with JEFF ROVIN, ROY THOMAS, ERNIE COLÓN, STEVE MITCHELL, LARRY HAMA, HOWARD CHAYKIN, SAL AMENDOLA, JIM CRAIG, RIC MEYERS, and ALAN KUPPERBERG, Atlas Checklist, HEATH, WRIGHTSON, SIMONSON, MILGROM, AUSTIN, WEISS, and STATON discuss their Atlas work, and more! COLÓN cover!

Discussion with ARTHUR ADAMS about his career (with an extensive CHECKLIST, and gobs of rare art), plus GRAY MORROW tributes from friends and acquaintances and a MORROW interview, Red Circle Comics Checklist, interviews with & remembrances of GEORGE ROUSSOS & GEORGE EVANS, Gallery of Morrow, Evans, and Roussos art, EVERETT RAYMOND KINSTLER interview, and more! New ARTHUR ADAMS cover!

(112-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

(112-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(112-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(128-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(112-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

#18: 1970s MARVEL COSMIC COMICS

#19: HARVEY COMICS

#20: ROMITAs & KUBERTs #21: ADAM HUGHES, ALEX #22: GOLD KEY COMICS & examinations: RUSS MANNING ROSS, & JOHN BUSCEMA Interviews & Magnus Robot Fighter, WALLY WOOD &

Roundtable with JIM STARLIN, ALAN WEISS and AL MILGROM, interviews with STEVE ENGLEHART, STEVE LEIALOHA, and FRANK BRUNNER, art from the lost WARLOCK #16, plus a FLO STEINBERG CELEBRATION, with a Flo interview, tributes by HERB TRIMPE, LINDA FITE, BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, and others! STARLIN/ MILGROM/WEISS cover!

History of Harvey Comics, from Hot Stuf’, Casper, and Richie Rich, to Joe Simon’s “Harvey Thriller” line! Interviews with, art by, and tributes to JACK KIRBY, STERANKO, WILL EISNER, AL WILLIAMSON, GIL KANE, WALLY WOOD, REED CRANDALL, JOE SIMON, WARREN KREMER, ERNIE COLÓN, SID JACOBSON, FRED RHOADES, and more! New wraparound MITCH O’CONNELL cover!

Joint interview between Marvel veteran and superb Spider-Man artist JOHN ROMITA, SR. and fan favorite Thor/Hulk renderer JOHN ROMITA, JR.! On the flipside, JOE, ADAM & ANDY KUBERT share their histories and influences in a special roundtable conversation! Plus unpublished and rarely seen artwork, and a visit by the ladies VIRGINIA and MURIEL! Flip-covers by the KUBERTs and the ROMITAs!

ADAM HUGHES ART ISSUE, with a comprehensive interview, unpublished art, & CHECKLIST! Also, a “Day in the Life” of ALEX ROSS (with plenty of Ross art)! Plus a tribute to the life and career of one of Marvel’s greatest artists, JOHN BUSCEMA, with testimonials from his friends and peers, art section, and biographical essay.

HUGHES and TOM PALMER flip-covers!

Total War M.A.R.S. Patrol, Tarzan by JESSE MARSH, JESSE SANTOS and DON GLUT’S Dagar and Dr. Spektor, Turok, Son of Stone’s ALBERTO GIOLITTI and PAUL S. NEWMAN, plus Doctor Solar, Boris Karloff, The Twilight Zone, and more, including MARK EVANIER on cartoon comics, and a definitive company history! New BRUCE TIMM cover!

(104-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(104-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(104-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(104-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

(122-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

#23: MIKE MIGNOLA

#24: NATIONAL LAMPOON COMICS

#25: ALAN MOORE AND KEVIN NOWLAN

COMIC BOOK ARTIST: SPECIAL EDITION #1

COMIC BOOK ARTIST: SPECIAL EDITION #2

Exhaustive MIGNOLA interview, huge art gallery (with never-seen art), and comprehensive checklist! On the flip-side, a careerspanning JILL THOMPSON interview, plus tons of art, and studies of Jill by ALEX ROSS, STEVE RUDE, P. CRAIG RUSSELL, and more! Also, interview with JOSÉ DELBO, and a talk with author HARLAN ELLISON on his various forays into comics!

New MIGNOLA HELLBOY cover!

GAHAN WILSON and NatLamp art director MICHAEL GROSS speak, interviews with and art by NEAL ADAMS, FRANK SPRINGER, SEAN KELLY, SHARY FLENNEKIN, ED SUBITSKY, M.K. BROWN, B.K. TAYLOR, BOBBY LONDON, MICHEL CHOQUETTE, ALAN KUPPERBERG, and more! Features new covers by GAHAN WILSON and MARK BODÉ!

Focus on AMERICA’S BEST COMICS! ALAN MOORE interview on everything from SWAMP THING to WATCHMEN to ABC and beyond! Interviews with KEVIN O’NEILL, CHRIS SPROUSE, JIM BAIKIE, HILARY BARTA, SCOTT DUNBIER, TODD KLEIN, JOSE VILLARRUBIA, and more! Flip-side spotlight on the amazing KEVIN NOWLAN! Covers by J.H. WILLIAMS III & NOWLAN!

(106-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(122-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(122-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

Previously available only to CBA subscribers!

Spotlights great DC Comics of the ’70s: Interviews with MARK EVANIER and STEVE SHERMAN on JACK KIRBY’s Fourth World, ALEX TOTH on his mystery work, NEAL ADAMS on Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, RUSS HEATH on Sgt. Rock, BRUCE JONES discussing BERNIE WRIGHTSON (plus a WRIGHTSON portfolio), and a BRUCE TIMM interview, art gallery, and cover!

Compiles the new “extras” from CBA COLLECTION VOL. 1-3: unpublished JACK KIRBY story, unpublished BERNIE WRIGHTSON art, unused JEFF JONES story, ALAN WEISS interview, examination of STEVE ENGLEHART and MARSHALL ROGERS’ 1970s Batman work, a look at DC’s rare Cancelled Comics Cavalcade, PAUL GULACY art gallery, Marvel Value Stamp history, Mr. Monster’s scrapbook, and more!

(76-page Digital Edition) $3.95

(112-page Digital Edition) $3.95

DIGITAL

NS DRAW! (edited by MIKE MANLEY) is the professional EDITIO BLE A “HOW-TO” magazine on comics, cartooning, and IL AVA NLY animation. Each issue features in-depth INTERVIEWS FOR O 5 and DEMOS from top pros on all aspects of graphic $2.9 storytelling, as well as such DRAW! #4 skills as layout, penciling, inking, Interview with ERIK LARSEN, KEVIN lettering, coloring, Photoshop techNOWLAN on drawing and inking niques, plus web guides, tips, tricks, techniques, DAVE COOPER’s coloring techniques in Photoshop, BRET and a handy reference source—this BLEVINS tutorial on Figure magazine has it all!

Composition, PAUL RIVOCHE on the Design Process, reviews of NOTE: Some issues contain nudity for comics drawing papers, and more! purposes of figure drawing.

(88-page magazine) $5.95 INTENDED FOR MATURE READERS. (Digital Edition) $2.95

DRAW! #8

DRAW! #9

DRAW! #10

DRAW! #5

DRAW! #6

DRAW! #7

MIKE WIERINGO interview, BENDIS and OEMING on how they create “Powers”, BRET BLEVINS shows “How to draw great hands”, “The illusion of depth in design” by PAUL RIVOCHE, art books reviewed by TERRY BEATTY, plus reviews of the best art supplies, and more!

Interview & demo with BILL WRAY, STEPHEN DeSTEFANO interview, BRET BLEVINS shows “How to draw the human figure in light and shadow,” Photoshop tutorial by CELIA CALLE, inking tips by MIKE MANLEY, reviews of the best art supplies, links, and more!

Interview/demo by DAN BRERETON, ZACH TRENHOLM on caricaturing, “Drawing In Adobe Illustrator” demo

by ALBERTO RUIZ, “The Power of Sketching” by BRET BLEVINS, “Designing with light and shadow”

by PAUL RIVOCHE, reviews of art supplies, links, and more!

(88-page magazine) $5.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(96-page magazine) $5.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(96-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $2.95

DRAW! #11

DRAW! #12

DRAW! #13

Interview & demo by MATT HALEY, TOM BANCROFT & ROB CORLEY on character design, “Drawing In Adobe Illustrator” by ALBERTO RUIZ, “Draping The Human Figure”

by BRET BLEVINS, a new COMICS SECTION, International Spotlight on JOSÉ LOUIS AGREDA, and more!

WRITE NOW #8 crossover! MIKE MANLEY & DANNY FINGEROTH create a comic from script to print, BANCROFT & CORLEY on bringing characters to life, Adobe Illustrator with ALBERTO RUIZ, Noel Sickles’ work examined, PvP’s SCOTT KURTZ, art supply reviews, and more!

RON GARNEY interview & demo, GRAHAM NOLAN on creating newspaper strips, TODD KLEIN and others discuss lettering, “Draping The Human Figure, Part Two” by BRET BLEVINS, ALBERTO RUIZ on Adobe Illustrator, interview with MARK McKENNA, links, and more!

STEVE RUDE on comics & drawing, ROQUE BALLESTEROS on Flash animation, JIM BORGMAN on his daily comic strip Zits, BRET BLEVINS and MIKE MANLEY on “Drawing On Life”, Adobe Illustrator tips with ALBERTO RUIZ, links, a color section and more! New RUDE cover!

KYLE BAKER on merging traditional and digital art, MIKE HAWTHORNE on his work, “Making Perspective Work For You” by BRET BLEVINS and MIKE MANLEY, Photoshop techniques with ALBERTO RUIZ, THE VENTURE BROTHERS, links, and more! New BAKER cover!

Demo of painting methods by ALEX HORLEY, interview and demo by COLLEEN COOVER, a look behindthe-scenes on Adult Swim’s MINORITEAM, regular features on drawing by BRET BLEVINS and MIKE MANLEY, links, color section and more!

(96-page magazine) $5.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(88-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $2.95

(104-page magazine) $5.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(112-page magazine) $5.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(96-page magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $2.95

(88-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

DRAW! #14

DRAW! #15

DRAW! #16

DRAW! #17

DRAW! #18

DRAW! #19

In-depth interviews and demos with DOUG MAHNKE, OVI NEDELCU (Pigtale, WB Animation), STEVE PURCELL (Sam and Max), MIKE MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS’ COMIC ART BOOTCAMP on “Using Black to Power up Your Pages”, product reviews, and more!

Covers major schools offering comic art as part of their curriculum, in an ultimate overview of collegiate-level comic art classes! Plus, a “how-to” demo/interview with BILL REINHOLD, MIKE MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS’ COMIC ART BOOTCAMP series, and more!

In-depth interview with HOWARD CHAYKIN, behind the drawing board and animation desk with JAY STEPHENS, COMIC ART BOOTCAMP on HOW TO USE REFERENCE and WORKING FROM PHOTOS (by BRET BLEVINS and MIKE MANLEY), and more!

Interview and tutorial with Scott Pilgrim’s BRYAN LEE O’MALLEY on how he creates the acclaimed series, learn how B.P.R.D.’s GUY DAVIS creates his series, more Comic Art Bootcamp: Learning from The Great Cartoonists by BRET BLEVINS and MIKE MANLEY, reviews, and more!

Interview & demo by R.M. GUERA, Cartoon Network’s JAMES TUCKER on the hit show “Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” plus product reviews by JAMAR NICHOLAS, and Comic Book Boot Camp’s “Anatomy: Part 2” by BRET BLEVINS and MIKE MANLEY!

DOUG BRAITHWAITE demo and interview, DANNY FINGEROTH’s new feature on writer/artists with R. SIKORYAK, BOB McLEOD critiques a newcomer’s work, JAMAR NICHOLAS reviews art supplies and tool tech, COMIC ART BOOTCAMP on penciling & more!

(84-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(84-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(84-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(84-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(84-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(84-page magazine) $6.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

DRAW! #20

DRAW! #21

DRAW! #22

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

Urban Barbarian DAN PANOSIAN talks shop about his gritty, designinspired work with editor MIKE MANLEY, DANNY FINGEROTH interviews “Billy Dogma” writer/artist DEAN HASPIEL, plus more of MIKE MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS’ “Comic Art Bootcamp”, a “Rough Critique” of a newcomer’s work by BOB McLEOD, product and art supply reviews by JAMAR NICHOLAS, and more!

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!

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 US • (Digital edition) $2.95

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 US • (Digital edition) $2.95

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

C o l l e c t o r

The JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR magazine (edited by JOHN MORROW) celebrates the life and career of the “King” of comics through INTERNS VIEWS WITH KIRBY and EDITIO BLE A IL his contemporaries, AVA NLY FEATURE ARTICLES, FOR O $3.95 RARE AND UNSEEN $1.95— KIRBY ART, plus regular columns by MARK EVANIER and others, and presentation of KIRBY’S UNINKED PENCILS from the 1960s-80s (from photocopies preserved in the KIRBY ARCHIVES).

DIGITAL

Go online for #1-30 as Digital Editions, and an ULTIMATE BUNDLE with all the issues at HALF-PRICE!

KIRBY COLLECTOR #34

KIRBY COLLECTOR #35

KIRBY COLLECTOR #31

KIRBY COLLECTOR #32

KIRBY COLLECTOR #33

FIRST TABLOID-SIZE ISSUE! MARK EVANIER’s new column, interviews with KURT BUSIEK and JOSÉ LADRONN, NEAL ADAMS on Kirby, Giant-Man overview, Kirby’s best 2-page spreads, 2000 Kirby Tribute Panel (MARK EVANIER, GENE COLAN, MARIE SEVERIN, ROY THOMAS, and TRACY & JEREMY KIRBY), huge Kirby pencils! Wraparound KIRBY/ADAMS cover!

KIRBY’S LEAST-KNOWN WORK! MARK EVANIER on the Fourth World, unfinished THE HORDE novel, long-lost KIRBY INTERVIEW from France, update to the KIRBY CHECKLIST, pencil gallery of Kirby’s leastknown work (including THE PRISONER, BLACK HOLE, IN THE DAYS OF THE MOB, TRUE DIVORCE CASES), westerns, and more! KIRBY/LADRONN cover!

FANTASTIC FOUR ISSUE! Gallery of FF pencils at tabloid size, MARK EVANIER on the FF Cartoon series, interviews with STAN LEE and ERIK LARSEN, JOE SINNOTT salute, the HUMAN TORCH in STRANGE TALES, origins of Kirby Krackle, interviews with nearly EVERY WRITER AND ARTIST who worked on the FF after Kirby, & more!

KIRBY/LARSEN and KIRBY/TIMM covers!

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

KIRBY COLLECTOR #36

KIRBY COLLECTOR #37

KIRBY COLLECTOR #38

FIGHTING AMERICANS! MARK EVANIER on 1960s Marvel inkers, SHIELD, Losers, and Green Arrow overviews, INFANTINO interview on Simon & Kirby, KIRBY interview, Captain America PENCIL ART GALLERY, PHILIPPE DRUILLET interview, JOE SIMON and ALEX TOTH speak, unseen BIG GAME HUNTER and YOUNG ABE LINCOLN Kirby concepts! KIRBY and KIRBY/TOTH covers!

GREAT ESCAPES! MISTER MIRACLE pencil art gallery, MARK EVANIER, MARSHALL ROGERS & MICHAEL CHABON interviews, comparing Kirby and Houdini’s backgrounds, analysis of “Himon,” 2001 Kirby Tribute Panel (WILL EISNER, JOHN BUSCEMA, JOHN ROMITA, MIKE ROYER, & JOHNNY CARSON) & more! KIRBY/MARSHALL ROGERS and KIRBY/STEVE RUDE covers!

THOR ISSUE! Never-seen KIRBY interview, JOE SINNOTT and JOHN ROMITA JR. on their Thor work, MARK EVANIER, extensive THOR and TALES OF ASGARD coverage, a look at the “real” Norse gods, 40 pages of KIRBY THOR PENCILS, including a Kirby Art Gallery at TABLOID SIZE, with pin-ups, covers, and more! KIRBY covers inked by MIKE ROYER and TREVOR VON EEDEN!

“HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE KIRBY WAY!” MIKE ROYER interview on how he inks Jack’s work, HUGE GALLERY tracing the evolution of Jack’s style, new column on OBSCURE KIRBY WORK, MARK EVANIER, special sections on Jack’s TECHNIQUE AND INFLUENCES, comparing STAN LEE’s writing to JACK’s, and more! Two COLOR UNPUBLISHED KIRBY COVERS!

“HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE KIRBY WAY!” PART 2: JOE SINNOTT on how he inks Jack’s work, HUGE PENCIL GALLERY, list of the art in the KIRBY ARCHIVES, MARK EVANIER, special sections on Jack’s technique and influences, SPEND A DAY WITH KIRBY (with JACK DAVIS, GULACY, HERNANDEZ BROS., and RUDE) and more!

Two UNPUBLISHED KIRBY COVERS!

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

KIRBY COLLECTOR #39

KIRBY COLLECTOR #40

KIRBY COLLECTOR #41

KIRBY COLLECTOR #42

KIRBY COLLECTOR #43

FAN FAVORITES! Covering Kirby’s work on HULK, INHUMANS, and SILVER SURFER, TOP PROS pick favorite Kirby covers, Kirby ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT interview, MARK EVANIER, 2002 Kirby Tribute Panel (DICK AYERS, TODD McFARLANE, PAUL LEVITZ, HERB TRIMPE), pencil art gallery, and more! Kirby covers inked by MIKE ALLRED and P. CRAIG RUSSELL!

WORLD THAT’S COMING! KAMANDI and OMAC spotlight, 2003 Kirby Tribute Panel (WENDY PINI, MICHAEL CHABON, STAN GOLDBERG, SAL BUSCEMA, LARRY LIEBER, and STAN LEE), P. CRAIG RUSSELL interview, MARK EVANIER, NEW COLUMN analyzing Jack’s visual shorthand, pencil art gallery, and more! Kirby covers inked by ERIK LARSEN and REEDMAN!

1970s MARVEL WORK! Coverage of ’70s work from Captain America to Eternals to Machine Man, DICK GIORDANO & MARK SHULTZ interviews, MARK EVANIER, 2004 Kirby Tribute Panel (STEVE RUDE, DAVE GIBBONS, WALTER SIMONSON, and PAUL RYAN), pencil art gallery, unused 1962 HULK #6 KIRBY PENCILS, and more! Kirby covers inked by GIORDANO and SCHULTZ!

1970s DC WORK! Coverage of Jimmy Olsen, FF movie set visit, overview of all Newsboy Legion stories, KEVIN NOWLAN and MURPHY ANDERSON on inking Jack, never-seen interview with Kirby, MARK EVANIER on Kirby’s covers, Bongo Comics’ Kirby ties, complete ’40s gangster story, pencil art gallery, and more! Kirby covers inked by NOWLAN and ANDERSON!

KIRBY AWARD WINNERS! STEVE SHERMAN and others sharing memories and neverseen art from JACK & ROZ, a never-published 1966 interview with KIRBY, MARK EVANIER on VINCE COLLETTA, pencils-toSinnott inks comparison of TALES OF SUSPENSE #93, and more! Covers by KIRBY (Jack’s original ’70s SILVER STAR CONCEPT ART) and KIRBY/SINNOTT!

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

97

KIRBY COLLECTOR #44

KIRBY COLLECTOR #45

KIRBY COLLECTOR #46

KIRBY COLLECTOR #47

KIRBY COLLECTOR #48

KIRBY’S MYTHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS! Coverage of DEMON, THOR, & GALACTUS, interview with KIRBY, MARK EVANIER, pencil art galleries of the Demon and other mythological characters, two never-reprinted BLACK MAGIC stories, interview with Kirby Award winner DAVID SCHWARTZ and F4 screenwriter MIKE FRANCE, and more!

Kirby cover inked by MATT WAGNER!

Jack’s vision of PAST AND FUTURE, with a never-seen KIRBY interview, a new interview with son NEAL KIRBY, MARK EVANIER’S column, two pencil galleries, two complete ’50s stories, Jack’s first script, Kirby Tribute Panel (with EVANIER, KATZ, SHAW!, and SHERMAN), plus an unpublished CAPTAIN 3-D cover, inked by BILL BLACK and converted into 3-D by RAY ZONE!

Focus on NEW GODS, FOREVER PEOPLE, and DARKSEID! Includes a rare interview with KIRBY, MARK EVANIER’s column, FOURTH WORLD pencil art galleries (including Kirby’s redesigns for SUPER POWERS), two 1950s stories, a new Kirby Darkseid front cover inked by MIKE ROYER, a Kirby Forever People back cover inked by JOHN BYRNE, and more!

KIRBY’S SUPER TEAMS, from kid gangs and the Challengers, to Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Super Powers, with unseen 1960s Marvel art, a rare KIRBY interview, MARK EVANIER’s column, two pencil art galleries, complete 1950s story, author JONATHAN LETHEM on his Kirby influence, interview with JOHN ROMITA, JR. on his Eternals work, and more!

KIRBYTECH ISSUE, spotlighting Jack’s hightech concepts, from Iron Man’s armor and Machine Man, to the Negative Zone and beyond! Includes a rare KIRBY interview, MARK EVANIER’s column, two pencil art galleries, complete 1950s story, TOM SCIOLI interview, Kirby Tribute Panel (with ADAMS, PÉREZ, and ROMITA), and covers inked by TERRY AUSTIN and TOM SCIOLI!

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

KIRBY COLLECTOR #49

KIRBY COLLECTOR #51

KIRBY COLLECTOR #52

WARRIORS, spotlighting Thor (with a look at hidden messages in BILL EVERETT’s Thor inks), Sgt. Fury, Challengers of the Unknown, Losers, and others! Includes a rare KIRBY interview, interviews with JERRY ORDWAY and GRANT MORRISON, MARK EVANIER’s column, pencil art gallery, a complete 1950s story, wraparound Thor cover inked by JERRY ORDWAY, and more!

Bombastic EVERYTHING GOES issue, with a wealth of great submissions that couldn’t be pigeonholed into a “theme” issue!

Includes a rare KIRBY interview, new interviews with JIM LEE and ADAM HUGHES, MARK EVANIER’s column, huge pencil art galleries, a complete Golden Age Kirby story, two COLOR UNPUBLISHED KIRBY COVERS, and more!

Spotlights Kirby’s most obscure work: an UNUSED THOR STORY, BRUCE LEE comic, animation work, stage play, unaltered pages from KAMANDI, DEMON, DESTROYER DUCK, and more, including a feature examining the last page of his final issue of various series BEFORE EDITORIAL TAMPERING (with lots of surprises)! Color Kirby cover inked by DON HECK!

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

KIRBY COLLECTOR #55

KIRBY COLLECTOR #56

KIRBY COLLECTOR #57

KIRBY COLLECTOR #53

KIRBY COLLECTOR #54

THE MAGIC OF STAN & JACK! New interview with STAN LEE, walking tour of New York where Lee & Kirby lived and worked, re-evaluation of the “Lost” FF #108 story (including a new page that just surfaced), “What If Jack Hadn’t Left Marvel In 1970?,” plus MARK EVANIER’s regular column, a Kirby pencil art gallery, a complete Golden Age Kirby story, and more, behind a color Kirby cover inked by GEORGE PÉREZ!

STAN & JACK PART TWO! More on the co-creators of the Marvel Universe, final interview (and cover inks) by GEORGE TUSKA, differences between KIRBY and DITKO’S approaches, WILL MURRAY on the origin of the FF, the mystery of Marvel cover dates, MARK EVANIER’s regular column, a Kirby pencil art gallery, a complete Golden Age Kirby story, and more, plus Kirby back cover inked by JOE SINNOTT!

(84-page tabloid magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

KIRBY COLLECTOR #59

KIRBY COLLECTOR #60

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

“Unfinished Sagas”—series, stories, and arcs Kirby never finished. TRUE DIVORCE CASES, RAAM THE MAN MOUNTAIN, KOBRA, DINGBATS, a complete story from SOUL LOVE, complete Boy Explorers story, two Kirby Tribute Panels, MARK EVANIER and other regular columnists, pencil art galleries, and more, with Kirby’s “Galaxy Green” cover inked by ROYER, and the unseen cover for SOUL LOVE #1!

“Legendary Kirby”—how Jack put his spin on classic folklore! TONY ISABELLA on SATAN’S SIX (with Kirby’s unseen layouts), Biblical inspirations of DEVIL DINOSAUR, THOR through the eyes of mythologist JOSEPH CAMPBELL, a complete Golden Age Kirby story, rare Kirby interview, MARK EVANIER and our other regular columnists, pencil art from ETERNALS, DEMON, NEW GODS, THOR, and Jack’s ATLAS cover!

“Kirby Vault!” Rarities from the “King” of comics: Personal correspondence, private photos, collages, rare Marvelmania art, bootleg album covers, sketches, transcript of a 1969 VISIT TO THE KIRBY HOME (where Jack answers the questions YOU’D ask in ‘69), MARK EVANIER, pencil art from the FOURTH WORLD, CAPTAIN AMERICA, MACHINE MAN, SILVER SURFER GRAPHIC NOVEL, and more!

FANTASTIC FOUR FOLLOW-UP to #58’s THE WONDER YEARS! Never-seen FF wraparound cover, interview between FF inkers JOE SINNOTT and DICK AYERS, rare LEE & KIRBY interview, comparison of a Jack and Stan FF story conference to Stan’s final script and Jack’s penciled pages, MARK EVANIER and other columnists, gallery of KIRBY FF ART, pencils from BLACK PANTHER, SILVER SURFER, & more!

(84-page tabloid magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(104-page magazine with COLOR) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(104-page magazine with COLOR) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

98

COLLECTED JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR VOLUMES, edited by John Morrow Each book contains over 30 PIECES OF KIRBY ART NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED!

VOLUME 2

VOLUME 3

VOLUME 5

VOLUME 6

VOLUME 7

KIRBY CHECKLIST

Reprints JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #10-12, and a tour of Jack’s home!

Reprints JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #13-15, plus new art!

Reprints JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #20-22, plus new art!

Reprints JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #23-26, plus new art!

Reprints JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #27-30, plus new art!

Lists EVERY KIRBY COMIC, BOOK, UNPUBLISHED WORK and more!

(160-page trade paperback) $17.95 ISBN: 9781893905016 Diamond Order Code: MAR042974

(176-page trade paperback) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905023 Diamond Order Code: APR043058

(224-page trade paperback) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905573 Diamond Order Code: FEB063353

(288-page trade paperback) $29.95 ISBN: 9781605490038 Diamond Order Code: JUN084280

(288-page trade paperback) $29.95 ISBN: 9781605490120 Diamond Order Code: DEC084286

(128-page trade paperback) $14.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95 ISBN: 9781605490052 Diamond Order Code: MAR084008

NEW!

Lee & Kirby: THE WONDER YEARS

Celebrate the 50th ANNIVERSARY OF FANTASTIC FOUR #1 with this special squarebound edition (#58) of THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, about two pop-culture visionaries 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 contributor MARK ALEXANDER 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 their eventual parting of ways in 1970. With a wealth of historical information and amazing Kirby artwork, STAN LEE & JACK KIRBY: THE WONDER YEARS beautifully examines the first decade of the FF, and the events that put into motion the 1960s era that came to be known as the Marvel Age of Comics!

(128-page tabloid-size trade paperback) $19.95 • (Digital Edition) $5.95 ISBN: 9781605490380 • Diamond Order Code: SEP111248

NEW!

SILVER STAR: GRAPHITE EDITION

First conceptualized in the 1970s as a movie screenplay, SILVER STAR was too far ahead of its time for Hollywood, so artist JACK KIRBY adapted it as a six-issue mini-series for Pacific Comics in the 1980s, making it his final, great comics series.

Now the entire six-issue run is collected here, reproduced from his powerful, uninked PENCIL ART, showing Kirby’s work in its undiluted, raw form! Also included is Kirby’s ILLUSTRATED SILVER STAR MOVIE SCREENPLAY, never-seen SKETCHES, PIN-UPS, and an historical overview to put it all in perspective!

JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR SPECIAL EDITION

(160-page trade paperback) $19.95 (Digital Edition) $5.95 ISBN: 9781893905559 Diamond Order Code: JAN063367

CAPTAIN VICTORY: GRAPHITE EDITION

Compiles the “extra” new material from COLLECTED JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR VOLUMES 1-7, in one huge Digital Edition! Includes a fan’s private tour of the Kirbys’ remarkable home, profusely illustrated with photos, and more than 200 pieces of Kirby art not published outside of those volumes. If you already own the individual issues and skipped the collections, or missed them in print form, now you can get caught up!

For the first time, JACK KIRBY’s original CAPTAIN VICTORY GRAPHIC NOVEL is presented as it was created in 1975 (before being broken up and modified for the 1980s Pacific Comics series), reproduced from copies of Kirby’s uninked pencil art! This first “new” Kirby comic in years features page after page of prime pencils, and includes Jack’s unused CAPTAIN VICTORY SCREENPLAY, unseen art, an historical overview to put it in perspective, and more!

(52-page comic book) $5.95 • (Digital Edition) $2.95

(120-page Digital Edition) $4.95

NOTE: THIS IS ISSUE #58 OF THE KIRBY COLLECTOR!

KIRBY FIVE-OH! CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF THE “KING” OF COMICS

For its 50th issue, the publication that started TwoMorrows presents KIRBY FIVE-OH!, a BOOK covering the best of everything from Kirby’s 50-year career in comics! The regular KIRBY COLLECTOR columnists have formed a distinguished panel of experts to choose and examine: The BEST KIRBY STORY published each year from 1938-1987! The BEST COVERS from each decade! Jack’s 50 BEST UNUSED PIECES OF ART! His 50 BEST CHARACTER DESIGNS! And profiles of, and commentary by, the 50 PEOPLE MOST INFLUENCED BY KIRBY’S WORK! Plus there’s a 50-PAGE GALLERY of Kirby’s powerful RAW PENCIL ART, and a DELUXE COLOR SECTION of photos and finished art from throughout his entire half-century oeuvre. This TABLOID-SIZED TRADE PAPERBACK features a previously unseen Kirby Superman cover inked by “DC: The New Frontier” artist DARWYN COOKE, and an introduction by MARK EVANIER, helping make this the ultimate retrospective on the career of the “King” of comics! Takes the place of JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #50.

(168-page tabloid-size trade paperback) $19.95 • (Digital Edition) $5.95 ISBN: 9781893905894 Diamond Order Code: FEB084186

NOTE: THIS IS ISSUE #50 OF THE KIRBY COLLECTOR!

KIRBY UNLEASHED (REMASTERED)

Reprinting the fabled 1971 KIRBY UNLEASHED PORTFOLIO, completely remastered!

Spotlights some of KIRBY’s finest art from all eras of his career, including 1930s pencil work, unused strips, illustrated World War II letters, 1950s pages, unpublished 1960s Marvel pencil pages and sketches, and Fourth World pencil art (done expressly for this portfolio in 1970)! We’ve gone back to the original art to ensure the best reproduction possible, and MARK EVANIER and STEVE SHERMAN have updated the Kirby biography from the original printing, and added a new Foreword explaining how this portfolio came to be! PLUS: We’ve recolored the original color plates, and added EIGHT NEW BLACK-&-WHITE PAGES, plus EIGHT NEW COLOR PAGES, including Jack’s four GODS posters (released separately in 1972), and four extra Kirby color pieces, all at tabloid size!

(60-page tabloid with COLOR) SOLD OUT • (Digital Edition) $5.95

TwoMorrows—A New Day For Comics Fandom!

TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: store@twomorrowspubs.com • www.twomorrows.com

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PRINTED IN CHINA