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Spider-Man and related characters TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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THE BRONZE AGE’S GOOFIEST SUPERMAN STORIES MARVEL FUN & GAMES MAGAZINE AND LOTS MORE FUN STUFF!

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!

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“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.

“Bronze Age Team-Ups”! Marvel Team-Up and Two-in-One, Super-Villain Team-Up, CLAREMONT and SIMONSON’s X-Men/New Teen Titans, DC Comics Presents, SuperTeam Family, HANEY and APARO’s Batman of Earth-B(&B), Superman/Captain Marvel smackdowns, plus art and commentary by BUCKLER, ENGLEHART, GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, GIFFEN, LEVITZ, WEIN, and a classic GIL KANE cover inked anew by TERRY AUSTIN.

“Heroes Out of Time!” Batman: Gotham by Gaslight with MIGNOLA, WAID, and AUGUSTYN, Booster Gold with JURGENS, X-Men: Days of Future Past with CHRIS CLAREMONT, Bill & Ted with EVAN DORKIN, interview with P. CRAIG RUSSELL, “Pro2Pro” with Time Masters’ BOB WAYNE and LEWIS SHINER, Karate Kid, New Mutants: Asgardian Wars, and Kang.

Mignola cover.

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“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!

“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.

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A New Day For Comics Fans!

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“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.

“‘80s Independents!” In-depth looks at PAUL CHADWICK’s Concrete, DAVE SIM’s Cerebus the Aardvark, and RICHARD AND WENDY PINI’s Elfquest! Plus see ‘80s independent comics go Hollywood, DAVID SCROGGY remembers Pacific Comics, TRINA ROBBINS’ California Girls, and DENIS KITCHEN’s star-studded horror/sci-fi anthology Death Rattle. Cover by PAUL CHADWICK!

“Let’s Get Small!” Marvel’s Micronauts, The Atom in the Bronze Age, JAN STRNAD and GIL KANE’s Sword of the Atom, the rocky relationship of Ant-Man the Wasp, Gold Key’s Microbots, Super Jrs., DC Digests, and Marvel Value Stamps. Featuring the work of PAT BRODERICK, JACKSON GUICE, ELLIOT S! MAGGIN, BILL MANTLO, AL MILGROM, ALEX SAVIUK, ROGER STERN, LEN WEIN, & more. Cover by PAT BRODERICK!

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Volume 1, Number 77 December 2014 Celebrating the Best Comics of the '70s, '80s, '90s, and Beyond!

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTIST Fred Hembeck (a recreation of his cover for Marvel’s Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #86) COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Rob Smentek Jennifer Lambert Louise Le Pierres Marvel Comics Robert Menzies Allen Milgrom Dan Mishkin Tom Orzechowski Martin Pasko Trina Robbins Jim Salicrup Steve Skeates Bob Smith Anthony Snyder Andrew Standish Joe Staton Bryan D. Stroud Andrew Sullivan Ty Templeton Roy Thomas Jim Valentino Woozy Winks John Workman Eddy Zeno And very special thanks to…

Fred Hembeck

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BACK SEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 FLASHBACK: Plastic Man in the Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 The Pliable Pretzel bounced from revival to revival to Saturday morning television WHAT THE--?!: The Goofy Bronze Age Superman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 From burger-binging to super-cigars, the Man of Steel’s most madcap adventures PRINCE STREET NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Pull up a stool at Julie’s with Karl Heitmueller, Jr. and a buncha old chums FLASHBACK: Fun and Games Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 The Marvelous world of Owen McCarron—with lots of Marvel puzzles!

BEYOND CAPES: Marshall Rogers, Cap’n Quick, and a Foozle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 This fun little Eclipse series was actually envisioned as a Superman team-up (?!)

ART GALLERY: Hembeck’s Best of the Bronze Age Cover and Art Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Dozens of your favorite Bronze Age moments, in the frantic Fred Hembeck manner!

INTERVIEW: Being normal: Jim Valentino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Trapped in a world he never made—normalman!

FLASHBACK: Circuits & Sorcery: The Honest-to-Goodness Story of Blue Devil . . . . . . . .51 Speaking of the Devil are Mishkin and Cohn, Cullins, Kupperberg, and Gold BEYOND CAPES: Marvel for Kids: Star Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 Marvel’s all-ages line was home to everything from Spider-Ham to Ewoks GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD: Batman and Dick Tracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Max Allan Collins and Joe Staton discuss the team-up that wasn’t (but shoulda been!)

BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Reader reaction to our Robots issue (#72) and more

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 Fred Hembeck. Spider-Man and the Human Fly TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2014 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing, except Prince Street News, which is TM & © 2014 Karl Heitmueller, Jr. BACK ISSUE is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing.

ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING. When Comics Were Fun Issue

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Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, by and courtesy of Fred Hembeck. Spider-Ham TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

SPECIAL THANKS Cary Bates John Bell Liz Berube Tim Brown Jarrod Buttery Mark Ciemcioch Gary Cohn Max Allan Collins Paris Cullins Daniel DeAngelo Tom DeFalco Scott Edelman Robin Edminston Steve Englehart Mark Evanier Ramona Fradon Stephan Friedt Alan Gold Mike Gold Grand Comics Database Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Heritage Comics Auctions Alan Kupperberg Sid Jacobson

by

At age 56, I’ve had the opportunity to watch comic books mature along with me. The campy issues of Batman and Not Brand Echh I read in elementary school gave way as I aged into my teens to relevant stories involving topics like poverty and drug abuse. As I hit high school, harder-edged anti-heroes like the Punisher and Wolverine debuted and reflected the brutality of the world of the six o’clock news. During my 20s, in the 1980s, comics had reached adulthood, just like me, with Watchmen and Dark Knight viewing their characters through a realistic prism that took Marvel’s “heroes with problems” model and cranked it up to 11.

Much of this metamorphosis was the result of a generation of fans of comic books who became the medium’s writers, artists, and editors, people who made superheroes and supervillains “real.”

This street-level perspective has only intensified with the current generation of creators.

As a result of this maturation of comics, our little corner of the entertainment world has since enjoyed unparalleled artistic, cultural, and commercial achievements. What once was perceived by intellectuals as the domain of lowbrows, what once was read in private, out of sight of judgmental parents or condescending peers, has now been elevated into a phenomenally successful, publicly lauded art form, in the process spawning one of Hollywood’s most lucrative movie genres, a #1 television sitcom and a variety of hour-long dramas, an explosion of merchandising, and the mushrooming fad of cosplay.

Despite these triumphs, comic books themselves have so lost their innocence that we’re now used to heroes that kill without compunction and villains that maim, rape, and torture. That’s okay in some cases, I guess, but it’s become the norm. Even in film, where the premier superhero—one who supposedly stands for hope—snapped the neck of an adversary rather than finding an alternative way to stop him.

With few exceptions, the tone in contemporary mainstream comics is depressingly bleak. These are our heroes?

You might argue that these stories reflect the harsh realities of the post–9/11 world, that today’s comics offer our cynical culture what it wants, and that I’m a delusional old fart who’s burying his head in the sands of the past.

No, my love of nostalgia doesn’t make me view “the good old days” with rose-colored glasses. During my youth, courageous people marched the streets to demand to be treated civilly and tromped through perilous Vietnamese swamps because Uncle Sam asked them to. Many of them died in their efforts, and kids like me could watch it all on the nightly news.

The world has always been plagued by cruelty, depravity, and inequity—but previously, we looked to our heroes to inspire us to rise above that, to show us how to be better than those evils. Today’s heroes don’t inspire us, they avenge us. We don’t look up to them, we’re simply glad they’re there to take down the scumbags who are

A pre–Identity Crisis Elongated Man connects with BACK ISSUE’s readers in this sketch by the fun-loving Ty Templeton, from the collection of Tim Brown.

TM & © DC Comics. Art © Ty Templeton.

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Michael Eury

dirtier than they. Or we vicariously live out our revenge fantasies through their violence.

Luckily, not every comic published today shares these values.

There are retro titles starring heroes of yesteryear, and a smattering of humor comics whose goal is to make you smile. If you’re feeling disenfranchised by the mainstream, then seek out and support those series.

And if you are longtime comics reader who fondly remembers the era when comics weren’t so darn grim, then this is the issue for you!

Join us as we turn back the clock to a time when a publisher would promote a new series as being “fun.” When Fred Hembeck and Jim Valentino tickled our fannish funny bones. When Plastic Man and Blue Devil offered a lighthearted approach to superheroics. When the House of Ideas produced an entire line for kids.

Join us as we flash back to a time when comics were fun!

TM

In 1941, superhero comic books were very much in their infancy. Following the breakout successes of Superman and Batman, publishers sprang up like daisies with their own offerings to cash in on the newfound popularity of the union-suiters. Quality Comics was one of the more successful contenders, and in Police Comics #1 (Aug. 1941) a number of new heroes were rolled out in the anthology. While the featured character was Reed Crandall’s Firebrand, another member of the roster would soon dominate the title, pushing his way to the cover beginning with issue #5, never again relegated to the sidelines. Enter Jack Cole’s immortal and perfectly pliable Plastic Man!

THE ORIGIN OF PLASTIC MAN

by

Bryan D. Stroud

Right from the start, “Plas” was different. Not only did he gain his incredible abilities by accident, he had no notions of becoming a superhero at all, because Patrick “Eel” O’Brian was a criminal. In that debut story, he is in the midst of cracking a safe at the Crawford Chemical Works with other thugs when a night watchman discovers the caper. As Eel and the gang make a break for it, O’Brian suffers a gunshot wound and slams into a vat of acid, spilling some onto himself. Proving that there is no honor among thieves, his fellow partners in crime ditch him when he doesn’t make it to the getaway car in time.

Staggering through a swamp and up a mountainside to make his escape, O’Brian grows weaker and weaker, ultimately losing consciousness. The next morning he finds himself being administered to by a kindly monk, who explains that he found Eel on the trail and later turned away the police who were searching for him. When queried, the monk continues that he sensed that, if given a chance, O’Brian could become a valuable citizen. Eel explains that he’d been orphaned and pushed around and decided to begin pushing back, but this act of kindness is changing his outlook.

Eel’s outlook isn’t all that’s changed, however, and he soon discovers his body has become incredibly malleable with a nearly limitless ability to stretch. He deduces that the acid entered his bloodstream through the gunshot wound and effected this change.

An epiphany strikes O’Brian as he concludes that this new ability would afford him the opportunity to atone and to become a crimefighter.

Getting straight to work, he rejoins his gang for their next caper, but only after getting a “suit of rubber.” Biding his time as driver of the getaway car, O’Brian changes into costume, complete with darklensed, white-framed goggles, and the thieves soon see a pair of massive hands on elongated arms reaching for them from an upper-level elevator entrance. Using

Stretching Out Detail from the cover of Plastic Man #11 (Feb.–Mar. 1976), the Pliable Pretzel’s Bronze Age premiere issue. Cover art by Ramona Fradon and Tenny [Teny] Henson.

TM & © DC Comics.

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covering gunfire they temporarily escape the clutches of Plastic Man, only to be ambushed by a red rug (actually Plastic Man) at the foot of the stairwell. Two members make it to the rooftop and push the pursuing hero over the edge—but, of course, Plastic Man bounces harmlessly against the pavement and swiftly switches back to his Eel persona. The remaining members of the gang pile into the sedan and O’Brian mashes on the accelerator, while his left arm snakes out the window and around the back of the car into the other side, grabbing the henchmen and depositing them at police HQ without the realization that it was their fellow crook acting as “the long arm of the law.”

A GOLDEN AGE HIT

jack cole

Plastic Man’s concept was in enough demand by readers that his own self-titled book hit the stands with a first issue cover-dated Summer 1943 while he continued to appear in the pages of Police Comics. While Plastic Man began as a quarterly, it added up to four new stories per issue to supplement the demand.

Initially, Plas’ abilities seemed to be limited primarily to stretching, flattening himself out, and using the gimmick of altering his facial features to become a true master of disguise. It didn’t take long, however, for the imagination of Jack Cole to exploit the endless possibilities available. Soon, Plastic Man was emerging from keyholes and under doors and assaulting criminals from their own gun barrels. His shape-shifting began to become more sophisticated and his body would become hoops or drag chutes as the criminal element grew more and more to be walking caricatures.

Plas led a double life for a time, using his Eel O’Brian identity to keep his finger on the pulse of the crime world, but ultimately he retired his alter ego to become a full-time crimefighter.

In Police Comics #13 (Nov. 1942), he gained a partner: Woozy Winks. In that same issue, Plas’ abilities evolved further when he changed himself into a chair to do some surveillance and to get the drop on the bad guys. From there, it was no turning back, and any time you saw a lamp, piece of furniture, or other object in a brilliant red color, odds were that Plastic Man was doing some woozy winks detective work and would soon spring into action. Cole eventually left his creation, with TM & © DC Comics. other writers and artists producing Plas stories but never quite capturing the magic the character’s creator had established.

Quality Comics was a going concern for over two decades, but as sales began to decline the company decided to throw in the towel. The last comics to bear the Quality logo had a publication date of Dec. 1956.

National (DC) Comics then purchased a number of characters from Quality’s inventory and initially continued publication of Blackhawk, G.I. Combat, Heart Throbs, and Robin Hood Tales, but strangely enough, Plastic Man was left in limbo.

A SILVER AGE REVIVAL The first viable stretchable superhero would not lie in wait for long, though, and his first “trial run” was in the pages of the House of Mystery, specifically issue #160 (July 1966), in the “Dial H for Hero” lead feature.

Robby Reed uses his strange dial to become a random hero and the

Madcap Master Cover to Police Comics #76 (Mar. 1948), by Plastic Man creator Jack Cole (inset). Cole was a remarkable, yet tragic, figure. We heartily recommend the biographies Jack Cole and Plastic Man: Forms Stretched to Their Limits (2001), by Art Spiegelman and Chip Kidd, and Focus on Jack Cole (1986),

by Ron Goulart. (bottom) Woozy drops in on Plas on Cole’s cover to Plastic Man #4 (Summer 1946).

TM & © DC Comics.

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story’s third transformation is that of Plastic Man. This story would serve as inspiration for another tale of Plas that we’ll get to later.

Later that same year, Plas was again given his own bimonthly DC title, but it was actually revealed that this was the son of the original Plastic Man in the series. He had a recurring battle with Dr. Dome and there were some consistent supporting characters, but after some changes in creative personnel (Arnold Drake’s scripts were drawn by Gil Kane, Win Mortimer, and Jack Sparling), the title was canceled in 1967 after a ten-issue run. Plas also bounced into a team-up with Batman in The Brave and the Bold #76 (above).

There is an apocryphal story told that superstar DC editor Julie Schwartz, who helped create the Elongated Man in 1960, either didn’t know or had forgotten that DC owned Plastic Man. Presumably DC wouldn’t have come up with another stretchable sleuth if they’d realized Plas was already in the stable. It did make for at least one memorable exchange between the two characters in the pages of the Justice series of 2005–2007 when Ralph (Elongated Man) Dibny confronts Plas about not being a card-carrying member of the Justice League while Plastic Man retorts that there’s room for two stretchy guys—and to illustrate his point, he shape-shifts into a classic version of Captain Marvel, arguing that perhaps Cap is too similar to Superman to be in the same Justice League.

Perhaps this was a wink to DC’s legendary Superman vs. Captain Marvel lawsuit with Fawcett Publishing, or maybe it was a demonstration of the most fundamental difference between the two characters, namely that while they can both stretch, Plastic Man is a true shape-shifter, while the Elongated Man is additionally renowned for his formidable skills as a detective. This fact is even alluded to, albeit somewhat subtly, when Elongated Man took up residence in Detective Comics as a regular backup feature.

B&B SEEING YOU When at last we enter the Bronze Age, Plastic Man makes his debut in a rather unexpected setting. The cover describes it as “The Brave and the Bold’s Most Bizarre Team-Up” and it goes so far as to list it as “Batman and …?”—with only a teaser silhouette of a elongating guest-star to accompany the Darknight Detective on Neal Adams’ cover artwork of issue #95 (Apr.–May 1971).

For all intents, this reads like a solo adventure of Batman until well past the mid-point of the book, when the World’s Greatest Detective starts getting some clandestine help from a mysterious figure that apparently has the power to shape-shift. Finally, at the story’s end, Plastic Man reveals himself in order to clear up a mystery and in the process confesses that he longs to be free of his pliable persona: “…how I hated being trapped inside that plastic clown! How I longed to be free … lead a normal life … know a woman’s love…” Plas had assumed a new identity courtesy of his ability to alter his features, in large measure to win the love of the wealthy businesswoman Ruby Ryder, but it had all backfired and the final panel reveals a When Comics Were Fun Issue

Bouncing Back Plas’ DC debut, with Robby Reed becoming the “New Old Hero” via his H-Dial in a story that would inspire a sequel a decade later from writer Steve Skeates. Cover to House of Mystery #160 (July 1966) by Jim Mooney.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Spoiler Alert! (above) Neal Adams’ shocking cover to The Brave and the Bold #95 (Apr.–May 1971), gueststarring Plas as the “?” co-star (and featuring Batman holding a gun!). (bottom) Interior page from that issue, with an uncharacteristically whiny Plastic Man and recurring femme fatale Ruby Ryder. By Bob Haney and Nick Cardy.

TM & © DC Comics.

TM & © DC Comics.

very melancholy hero. When Batman asks Plastic Man about his future, he replies, “I don’t know, Batman!

In this wide, wild world of today, is there room for me, or am I really what I feared—an out-of-date freak?”

As discussed in BACK ISSUE #66’s feature about “Earth-B,” The Brave and the Bold (B&B) writer Bob Haney was notorious for ignoring character continuity to craft his story. Haney gets another shot at his version of Plastic Man, again in the pages of Brave and Bold, in issue #123 (Dec. 1975), where Batman and Plastic Man again cross paths, but with Metamorpho the Element Man also in the mix—which seems appropriate, somehow, given Haney’s co-creation of Metamorpho and the complementary shape-shifting abilities of the two malleable heroes.

This latest appearance of Plastic Man in the pages of The Brave and the Bold is a sequel to #95, involving a repeat appearance of Ruby Ryder; more angst on the part of Plas, who shows up initially as a vagrant; and a few twists along the way. As a matter of fact,

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Plas’ mental state is even placed in question as he seems to have forgotten his own identity while initially aiding Batman by standing in for him while Bruce Wayne is in Istanbul cutting a deal for altruistic purposes.

The tussle between Plastic Man and Metamorpho toward the end of the tale is imaginative and enjoyable, as a battle between two fairly evenly matched heroes with similar abilities would be, but is the only part that comes close to the fun typically associated with our pliable hero, save the bit of whimsy on the cover, where artist par excellence Jim Aparo inserted some familiar names onto the skyscraper’s ground level to include (Jack) Adler, (Sol) Harrison, and probably the last few letters of (Carmine) Infantino. The end of the story finds Plas again filled with doubt and crestfallen when he ponders what the future holds, but he needn’t have worried. In a few short months he’d again be a headliner in his own book, and a much more familiar Plastic Man would emerge.

Before getting to that, however, it bears mentioning that a little plug was provided for his re-emergence courtesy of a few paragraphs in an article by Michael Uslan in the lead story from Amazing World of DC Comics

#11 (Apr. 1976). Uslan’s article, “The Wrong Arm of the Law,” reviews several characters with shady pasts or questionable methods and recaps the origin of Plastic Man while also referencing his recent status as a special agent for the National Bureau of Investigation (N.B.I.).

BACK IN BRONZE

mumble sometimes, so I said, ‘Uh, Conway.’ Bob said, ‘Oh, he’s not doing anything. Come on.’

“So we followed him down the hallway right past Gerry Conway, who was in with a writer as the receptionist had said, and I wondered what was going on and I looked down to where Bob was leading us.

There was an office door that read, ‘Carmine Infantino, Publisher.’ Then it dawned on me … when I said, ‘Conway,’ Bob thought I’d said, ‘Carmine.’ And I stopped in the middle of the hall and Bob said, ‘Aw, he’s not doing anything, come on in.’ So we went on in and were introduced to Carmine and we sat down and started showing him our stuff. Carmine had been one of my heroes since I saw the first Adam Strange stuff by him. I just felt that he was the artist for me in many ways, and here I was sitting across from one of my heroes and he was looking over our artwork.

The 1976 relaunch of Plastic Man gives readers an entirely new creative team, from editor Gerry Conway, to writer Steve Skeates, to Metamorpho co-creator Ramona Fradon on pencils, but in a nod to continuity, the numbering took off from the last run, with this being issue #11 (Feb.–Mar. 1976). Plas’ pal Woozy Winks is back, and both are employed by the N.B.I., which provides yet another cast of goofy characters to interact with our hero. They include the Chief, secretary Sundae Supplement, and agent Gully Foyle. The “Plastic Postcards” lettercol gives a rundown of the history of bob smith Plastic Man, from the earliest days to the series a decade earlier to the Courtesy of Bob Smith. newly rolled-out version being held in the reader’s hands. There’s also a sneak peek at the splash page for the next issue and an introduction to new inker Bob Smith.

Plastic Man was instrumental to inker Bob Smith’s hiring at DC, along with his longtime friend, letterer and artist John Workman. John shares his memory of the incident: “The way Bob Smith and I got started in our jobs at DC was kind of a comedy of errors that could never be repeated. We talked to Neal Adams and Dick Giordano when they were running Continuity Associates, and our champion was [Star*Reach publisher and talent agent] Mike Friedrich. I can’t say enough good stuff about Mike. In many ways we owe our careers to Mike. He liked what I was doing and published stuff by me and

by Bob Smith in Star*Reach and he put us in contact with Dick, and Dick said, ‘Well, why don’t you guys come back here? We’ve got work for you.’

“So, in the summer of ’75 we drove across the country to New York. I remember that Monday after we got in to town, we met Mike and Neal and Dick and Larry Hama and the whole crew there at Continuity.

We went to lunch with them, and then Larry took us to Marvel, where we met Archie Goodwin and Marie Severin, two of the most wonderful people ever. At first, they didn’t really have any work for us, but we hung around and talked to them for a while and we managed to get some work from Marvel. Then Larry took us on down to DC and we talked to Sol Harrison and Joe Orlando, and neither of them really had anything to offer us. But I made an appointment to come back and see Gerry Conway, who was editing Plastic Man at the time.

“I’d started writing a Plastic Man story and Bob had started drawing the story, and we thought we’d show it to him and see what might happen. So we came back on the day of the appointment and the receptionist told us that Gerry was in with a writer and asked if we could wait awhile, and we said, ‘Okay.’ We were sitting there, and Bob Rozakis came around, and he and Jack C. Harris had also seen our stuff the week before when we’d come in, and they liked our work and thought we might have possibilities. Bob said, ‘Oh, you guys are back again. Who are you here to see?’ I have a tendency to

When Comics Were Fun Issue

Plastic Man Sample Courtesy of Bob Smith, the sample Plas page he drew in 1975 over collaborator John Workman’s script.

Plastic Man TM & © DC Comics.

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Neck and Neck A Ramona Fradon Plas sketch in pencil form, and inked by Bob Smith. Courtesy of Bob Smith.

Plastic Man TM & © DC Comics.

“At first, I thought he was just going to dismiss us and send us on our way, but he started looking closer at our artwork, and he told us that we reminded him of he and Frank Giacoia when they used to go around in the ’40s from place to place trying to find work. I don’t know exactly what happened.

Looking back on our stuff at the time I can’t imagine he’d been that impressed, but suddenly he started calling Sol Harrison and Jack Adler and Joe into look at our stuff, and he hired us on the spot, Bob as an inker and me for the production department.”

Bob Smith recalls a little of this part of his early career as well: “That was actually my first job at DC. If it’s more memorable, that’s why.

I remember taking the first pages home and it took me at least 24 hours before I could set the first line down on it because it was just so intimidating. My first professional inking job. Inking John’s stuff or my stuff was different, but a real penciler? That was scary. [chuckle]”

“A REAWAKENING OF JACK COLE’S SPIRIT” Artist Ramona Fradon shares with BACK ISSUE how she came to be involved in the world of Plastic Man: “I had been doing mysteries for Joe Orlando and he gave me the Plastic Man assignment. I guess he thought it would match my drawing style. I had never seen Plastic Man but understood that it was a character they were hoping to revive. The editors were always jumping from one thing to another, trying to catch a new wave.

“While I was sorry not to be doing mysteries any more, I liked Plastic Man from the beginning. I got a lot of old Jack Cole stories to study and felt very comfortable drawing the character. Steve Skeates’ scripts were satirical and I enjoyed making fun of the bumbling bureaucrats in the stories.

And, of course, Plas was wonderful to draw.”

When queried about the possible similarities in drawing Plastic Man and Metamorpho, Ramona offers: “They were both fun to draw but for different reasons. With Metamorpho, it was the interaction of characters I had designed that I enjoyed so much and the wacky flavor of Bob Haney’s scripts. It was as if we had pulled out all of the plugs on that feature. It was a true collaboration where we influenced each other profoundly, if I can use that word in relation to comics. Steve and I worked separately on Plastic Man, but I enjoyed it for the reasons I mentioned earlier. It was fun to just let loose and draw that wacky character.”

She further shares her appreciation for the inking of Bob Smith: “I did know that it was Bob’s first professional work and I remember being amazed at how accomplished his inking was. Later on, we worked together on Super Friends, and his clean inking gave it a distinctive look.”

Finally, Ramona offers her take on what makes Plastic Man work: “I can’t speak for the public, but what I like about Plastic Man is how he bumbles into catching crooks and the utter ridiculousness of the things he can do. His very goofiness seems to carry the day.”

Writer Steve Skeates saw his new assignment as a dream come true and elaborates about his enthusiasm: “As a kid growing up in the ’50s, I had collected comic books, yet I was primarily into funny animals like Marmaduke Mouse, Felix the Cat, and, of course, the Disney ducks. Yes, that particular genre plus the rather laidback pseudo-horror stuff that ACG was producing, as well as all those early rumblings of satire and parody that MAD and its numerous imitators were churning out; I even had a subscription to the comic-book version of MAD! 8 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

“But, as for superheroes, back then the only one I in the ’60s, had pretty much fallen on its face, lasting had any sort of affection for was Jack Cole’s fabulous only ten issues), along with an attempted revival of comedic creation, Plastic Man! And, it was Plas himself Blackhawk—both of those were being handled by newly whom some 20 years later I had just been offered a hired editor Gerry Conway and his assistant, someone working relationship with!” named Paul Levitz. In any event, the two of them saw Given his reverence of Cole’s work, did Skeates find the two of us (Ramona and myself) as being the perfect the Plastic Man assignment intimidating? “Pressure? Yes, duo to handle the resuscitation of this preposterous indeed, you better believe I felt pressure!,” he admits. pliable protagonist, seeing as, unlike many of the other “Whether or not anyone else felt that I had been born total egomaniacs who comprised the comic-book to follow in Jack Cole’s fantastic footfalls, that is indeed industry, we two seemed to actually possess a sense of the way I felt! This immediately become a responsibility humor! In my case, though I wanted like anything to cop that was making me nervous as all get-out! I very much an Academy of Comic Book Arts statuette for my more wanted this, but could I do it? Could I pull it off? To ‘serious’ endeavors, all four of my ACBA writing awards calm myself down a bit, I quickly decided that wound up being for my work in humor, more for my first Plastic outing I’d employ what specifically for ‘The Poster Plague,’ ‘The I still like to refer to as my mathematical Gourmet,’ and just generally for PLOP! formula for a superhero story, some“The long history of Plastic Man thing I developed while writing for may have been downright daunting the character Lightning up at Tower to someone else, but since I had Comics—or, more specifically, not been a fan of this character pretty writing for that character—somemuch from the get-go I already thing (that is to say) that I used to knew (or, at least, thought I knew) extricate myself from a particularly how he should be approached, and maddening six-month writer’s block I therefore I hardly had to do any was suffering through way back then! research at all! Furthermore, the mere “I used this formula for three choice of Ramona and myself vis-a-vis Lightning episodes in a row, whereramona fradon upon I finally felt relaxed enough to get back into stuff that wasn’t so Courtesy of Luigi Novi. dad-blasted formulaic! Of course, for Plas, seeing as the stories here were gonna be approximately twice as long as my Lightning pieces, I had to multiply everything by two—no big deal there! And having something to fall back on plot-wise allowed me to pull out all the stops humor-wise!

“But, back-tracking just a bit here—this second attempt to revive Plastic Man (an earlier attempt, back

When Comics Were Fun Issue

Peek-A-Boo Plas (left) José Luis García-López’s rendition of the Stretchable Superhero, on the cover of Plastic Man #12. (right) That issue’s interior page.

Note that at this time our hero’s nickname was “Plaz” instead of the traditional “Plas.”

TM & © DC Comics.

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DIAL R FOR ROBBY

Plastic Pugilists The House of Mystery #160 sequel, Plastic Man #13 (June– July 1976). Cover

by Ernie Chua. (background) Chua inked by Bob Smith on the cover of Plastic Man #15.

TM & © DC Comics.

Pausing here for a moment, one of the most memorable stories during this run carried the echo of that Silver Age appearance of Plastic Man in House of Mystery.

Issue #13’s (June–July 1976) “If I Kill Me, Will I Die?” features a second encounter with Robby Reed, and Steve Skeates offers some insights to its genesis beginning with the splash page credit to Jane Aruns and Mary Skrenes on his script: “I honestly never before looked at it this way, yet could it be that I was trying to atone for making the only continuing female character in Plastic Man such a sexist male fantasy sort of character— could that (in part, at least) be why I asked Jane Aruns and Mary Skrenes to assist me in the writing of Plastic Man #13, thus making that issue one of those very rare comics that was worked on by an equal number of men and women—Jane, Mary, and Ramona on the one hand, Gerry, Bob, and myself on the other?

“Actually, at least as I explained it to myself, I was taking a page from Joe Orlando’s playbook! For variety, Joe encouraged women to write for his pseudo-horror books (House of Mystery, House of Secrets, etc.), seeing as he felt women had a different take on horror than that possessed by the guys who usually wrote these scary things. Meanwhile, in my case, since I was making issue #13 of our Plastic Man saga into basically a romance piece via adding two additional female players, I decided it would be nifty to have women write those two characters—Jane handling the introduction of Amelia Roost, and Mary providing Hara Goon’s backstory!

“But leave us not forget another major drawing card that made the scene, a certain someone named Robby Reed! My memory is no longer all that clear as to who came up with the idea of featuring in this particular Plastic Man tale the former star of that House of Mystery series entitled ‘Dial H for Hero,’ the kid who could transform himself into a thousand superheroes! Surely, someone had taken note of the fact that somewhere along the line within that House, amid all his other various transformations, Robby had become Plastic Man! I suspect that someone was Paul, but it might just as easily have been Gerry! In any event, it was suggested to me that I should do something about this, making for yours truly immediately flashing upon something Wallace Wood had said way back when I wrote the Dynamo vs. Dynamo story for issue #5 of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, that sooner or the handling of this character later every superhero has to fight himself, suggested to me that what was hence that dialogue I provided for the steve skeates wanted here was a reawakening opening panel of this twisted tale, even of Jack Cole’s spirit rather than any as Plas comes face-to-face with his sort of updating, any sort of modernization of the doppelganger, ‘No! Not myself! Don’t tell me I’m concept, the latter being what I saw as having killed gonna hafta fight myself! This is one of the oldest, that previous attempted revival! In other words, I now most hackneyed plots in all superhero comics!’ And, perceived my own self as being in the business of with that admission, we were off and running!” picking up where the great Jack Cole had left off—with a Not every reader shared Skeates’ enthusiasm for reintroduction of the N.B.I., the Chief, and, of course, this issue’s use of Robby Reed, however. “#13 was Woozy Winks! The latter, though obviously a buffoonish definitely the most controversial issue of the mere five sidekick, I found to be more of an everyman that the I wrote for the Plas book! Those who had fond reader could identify with rather than any sort of a memories of ‘Dial H for Hero’ hated it, their ire mainly burden writing-wise. Plas’ stretchability and his knack zeroed in upon the fact that we had transformed Robby of assuming the shape and look of almost anything Reed into a villain (and an oversexed villain at that!), placed him upon a higher plane, put him rather out of while those who never had much use for that punk kid bounds when it came to the reader relating to him, anyway found this tale entitled ‘If I Kill Me, Will I Die?’ seeing things through his eyes or knowing much of to be quite the laugh-inducing, long-overdue appropriate anything about what a character such as this might be putdown of the sort of cardboard character DC was thinking. That, therefore, became Woozy Winks’ job!” famous for foisting upon the general reading public

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back in the ’60s! Some folks even believe this ish to be the best of the five, and I am indeed proud of all the work we put in on this baby!”

Steve also reveals his favorite effort on this run and the fact that Ramona Fradon produced some work for the issue that took on a life of its own: “Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that #15 (Oct.–Nov. 1976) was our best, what with its nifty array of villains (Boss Annova, Rice O’ Rooney the San Francisco Threat, the Snuffer, and even the reintroduction of Carrot-Man), plus plot-wise a daring prison break, a personal power outage, and a truly nifty dovetailing of two storylines with Woozy emerging more the hero than Plas but a rehabilitated Carrot-Man getting all the credit.

Perhaps I should also mention such silly side characters as Seymour Wastely, intrepid newsman Wally Savin, and the one and only Biff ‘Crash’ McBlammo, but I really don’t wanna break my arm here so vigorously patting myself on the back!

“And, besides, the one bit of business in this issue that was seen by many, many more than merely those who had glommed onto a copy of this particular comic, in truth, was something I had next to nothing to do with. It was instead Ramona who concocted this gem! Oh, sure, via my script’s picture descriptions, I had indicated that she should draw Plas walking along a city street with his head lowered indicating that he was rather depressed, whereupon Ramona extended that idea beautifully by having our hero’s neck stretched way out there, so that his head was preceding the rest of him by quite a few feet while simultaneously being but a few inches above the sidewalk—and if it isn’t quite clear what I’m trying to describe here, you can see this wonderfulness for your own self; it’s all

contained within the very first panel upon the sixth page of the adventure in question!

“Thing is, the Plastic Man Saturday morning cartoon show was going on around the time this story was published, and someone connected with that show was wise enough to realize that this page six pic was the perfect iconic pose for Plas! Therefore, this very drawing was used in all the periodical advertisements for the cartoon show; I do believe it even made the scene in the TV Guide, which had a much vaster audience back then than it possesses these days.

Whether a stat of Ramona’s original artwork was employed here or some staff artist for the cartoon show had meticulously reproduced her drawing line by line—either way, I do hope Ms. Fradon received some sort of remuneration for devising this particular pose!”

Head’s Up! From the Bob Smith archives, (left) writer John Albano’s breakdowns/script for page 1 of Plastic Man #18 (June–July 1977), and (right) that issue’s published splash.

TM & © DC Comics.

COLOR COMMENTARY Another important contributor to this favorite issue of Steve’s along with a few others in the series was a key member of the production department, colorist Liz Berube. Liz tells BI, “It must have really been a long time ago, so that means I was coloring with brush and Dr. Martin’s inks. Then any special effects had to be marked up for the separators. I used the actual colors to write out the code and then, a thin black line to direct it to what was colored, such as YB2 – Solid yellow, 25 % blue = lime green. At times I would use ‘K,’ which was code for dark grey, for shadows. K – solid, K3 – 50 % K2 – 25%. Jack Adler gave me a color chart and I added a strip of K film on the side of the colors so I could see the color ahead of time. That cut out a lot of mixing and matching. Bless him.

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Who is W. Argyle Nelson-Smith?

John Workman, that’s who! John used that pseudonym for this Plas illo (below) used in Amazing World of DC Comics #16 (Dec. 1977). Courtesy of John Workman, who’s pictured inside his pliable frame.

Plastic Man TM & © DC Comics.

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“I don’t know what the other colorists did. I think I was the only liz berube one to actually show the color I was asking for. Simple example: Y2R2 – Courtesy of Liz Berube.

[Caucasian] ‘flesh tone’ and I would actually use the same brush with the color to write it out. I was told that the separators loved to mark up my work for print. If I needed to put a shadow where I wanted but wasn’t inked in to the picture, I would have to draw it with pencil, before adding the shadow. Before that, you’d be surprised at how many characters came out with orange skin,” Berube says.

“Of course, we were expected to follow the colors of the costumes, hair, etc., but free to color surprise, explosions, etc. keyed to any color that ‘told the story.’

Backgrounds were completely up to the colorist.

“Another Jack Adler tip: I would buy those little medicine bottles and mix up the combinations ahead of time. Then I would put all these little bottles, with the caps next to them, on a Lazy Susan. I got to where I could choose a color with my eyes closed. We were paid by the page and most books needed 22 pages colored. What it amounted to was coloring an 8 x 10 page with about six to eight panels. Like six to eight tiny paintings which made a collection that looked well, on the whole.

“Coloring sounds easy (easier when enjoyed, which I did), but it’s actually hard work to make it all click with the costumes, although, if I remember correctly, Plastic Man was a comparative breeze.”

Despite the rich assembly of talent, Plastic Man’s series once again ran a mere ten issues before cancellation, with #20 (Oct.–Nov. 1977) being the swan song, though he did show up again in the pages of issue #16 of The Amazing World of DC Comics. Since the theme of the edition was the Golden Age, it focused on Plas’ early history, but that remarkable wraparound illustration of our hero, while credited to “W. Argyle Nelson-Smith” was actually produced by John Workman.

had pitched to management to pick up E-Man and to PLASTIC MAN’S BIG ADVENTURE Plastic Man again went into a dormant state, though put him in a team with Plastic Man, Metamorpho, and Elongated Man, and call the team ‘The Rubber he did have another team up with Batman in Band.’ Now, that would have been fun. I think The Brave and the Bold #148 (Mar. 1979) as we could have printed it on something a down-and-out Christmas Santa. Soon, flexible and stretchable and just had a yet another Plastic Man feature series really good time with it. Those are my was rolled out in the pages of the other run-ins with Plastic Man that venerable Adventure Comics anthology, never made it anywhere.” beginning with issue #467 (Jan. 1980).

Author Martin Pasko offers his While sharing the title with an allapproach to scripting for Plastic Man: new, sci-fi Starman seemed to be a “My run on the series was done bit of an odd pairing, the eight-page full-script (rather than plot/pencils/ Plastic Man stories were just as dialogue) and with very specific, often memorably madcap as in the Golden detailed shot descriptions. I’d say Age. Woozy is again at Plas’ side and 95% of the sight gags were carefully the villains are just as off-the-wall as joe staton ‘choreographed’ and described in the before, thanks to the imagination of scripts, because they were set up to Courtesy of Luigi Novi. writer Marty Pasko and the pencils of Joe Staton, with a return appearance by Bob Smith on work with dialogue rather than be contrapuntal to it.

Many sight gags were key story points—like the one inking chores.

For Joe Staton, it was golden opportunity to take his turn at Plastic Man: “It’s actually one of those things I’d always been waiting for, to take my shot, and I think I was always ready for Plastic Man. And Woozy. I remember at previous points they’d kind of dropped Woozy, and as far as I’m concerned you can’t have Plastic Man without Woozy.

“It’s a little weird. Plastic Man and Woozy are both a little goofy. Usually the sidekick is the goofy one, but Plastic Man is all the way through, so it’s a little different where they’re concerned.”

When asked about historical research, Joe offers, “I certainly looked at Jack Cole’s stuff as much as I could. Of course, I still had [Staton’s own] E-Man in mind, too, so I had a little bit of everything to work with, my stuff and some of Jack’s. As a matter of fact, somewhere in the E-Man series we have Plastic Man standing by the side of the road trying to catch a ride.

These things turn up occasionally. [laughs]” With Plas and Woozy facing villains in this new series like Sam Spud, the Trowel, and Cheesehead, it was suggested to Staton, who now handles the Dick Tracy daily strip, that he got an early taste of macabre and heavily caricatured characters: “The villain I remember best was Brickface. He was actually inspired by some television advertising at the time. It was an outfit from New Jersey that … I’ve never actually seen it done, but according to the ads, if you have a house that is not made of brick—and this is real—they will come to your house and put a covering of some sort and then they will take a trowel and a roller and they will draw lines on the covering so that it looks like your house is now made out of brick. That is ‘brickface.’

The real thing is actually funnier than we can draw it, but that’s the idea. It was on Channel 9 or something out of New York, and these ads just ran all the time. So that was the inspiration for Brickface.”

Joe also shares an anecdote about another shot he had at the character that didn’t quite work out: “The only other footnote is that at some point I was offered a Steve Skeates script for a Plastic Man one-shot that had something to do with politics at the time. Lyndon LaRouche was the inspiration for ‘Lyndon LetLoose.’ I have no idea why DC was even interested. I don’t remember the details, but at the time I just didn’t see Plastic Man getting mixed up in politics. So I took a pass on that one. It didn’t seem anyone else picked up on it, either.”

Staton confides that one other lost opportunity arose: “At some point when Nick Cuti was an editor at DC, he When Comics Were Fun Issue

DC Two-in-One This late-1979 house ad touted the dual stars of Adventure Comics. Issue #467’s (Jan. 1980) cover was penciled by Steve Ditko (Starman half) and Dave Cockrum (Plas half), with both sides inked by Dick Giordano.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Double Trouble Joe Staton/Bob Smith original art, times two, featuring two weirdo villains: (left) versus Dmitri Dervish, from Adventure #468 (script by Len Wein); and (right) versus Brickface, from Adventure #471 (script by Martin Pasko). Courtesy of (left) Anthony Snyder and (right) Heritage.

TM & © DC Comics.

over-the-top ‘stock’ gag we carried over from Cole as neuroses and vulnerabilities to pull out the funny, and being indispensable, that of Plas being ‘pre-set’ in a doing that ‘on demand’ and on deadline is sometimes scene, in ‘hiding,’ and only the reader notices at first that, a struggle, but I’ve had a fair amount of experience at say, the sofa the crooks are sitting on is red with a band turning it on and off at will, mostly in television.” of yellow and black stripes. Since that setup has to pay Pasko also shares his thoughts on what makes off in a moment when Plas does a ‘Gotcha!’ and reveals Plastic Man an unforgettable character: “The limitlessness himself, the visual has to be built into the scene of his morphing powers, coupled with the descriptions very specifically and in detail. design of the costume and the trope of “Even a lot of the lettering in the the costume’s design elements being background gags was spelled out in retained in the new form. This one the scripts. For example, most of the creative choice gives the feature book titles in the bookstore scene unlimited sight-gag potential. Also, the in the story spoofing roller disco and fact that he has no civilian identity Southern California lifestyles—such per se—which is, in part, what I was as the self-help book I’m OK, You’re referring to when I said the feature Being Selfish—were spelled out in the isn’t character-driven—means the scripts. Joe would occasionally throw character can simply exist to service in a background gag if one occurred the ‘fun,’ which is liberating in a to him, but usually the gags were in mindless sort of way, especially if the scripts.” you’re writing shorter stories.” martin pasko Pasko appreciated the opportunity This series of Plastic Man adventures to do satire: “Not only do I enjoy it; ran in 12 monthly issues of Adventure I prefer it, especially when dealing with superheroes, until being abruptly shuffled off to the Super Friends who are often so inherently silly it’s hard to treat them title. “Actually, there were, I believe, two stories in with a straight face. Plas, Metal Men, E-Man, and The Tick Super Friends, and at least one in World’s Finest are among my favorite past projects. At the moment, [Comics],” Pasko recalls, “and all those stories were run I’m concentrating almost exclusively on comedy—satire, in those other titles to use up inventory that had been specifically—and I’m enjoying the work, though it is created for Adventure but were left over when that title harder. The writer has to dig deeper into his own went to a digest-sized reprint, if memory serves.”

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Where’s Woozy?

Animation cel from The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show, with sidekick Hula-Hula and lady Penny. Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). (inset) Baby Plas, son of Plas and Penny, from later in the show’s run.

TM & © DC Comics.

Also during the Bronze Age, Plas scored a couple of appearances in the Superman team-up title DC Comics Presents, in #39 (Nov. 1981) and as part of the Elastic Four (along with Jimmy Olsen as Elastic Lad, the Elongated Man, and the newly created Malleable Man) in #93 (May 1986).

was kind of a blonde, cute, semi-airhead and Hula-Hula was a Hawaiian guy who sounded like Lou Costello and who had perpetual bad luck and who always seemed to know everybody wherever they went. The running joke was that wherever it was they traveled, Hula-Hula had a friend. I wasn’t wild about the format, but I liked working for Joe Ruby and I thought, ‘Well, let’s give this a try,’ and BOUNCING ONTO SATURDAY MORNING TV I wrote a bunch of the episodes.

During the fall of 1979, DC Comics’ Pliable Pretzel made his “In those days, Saturday morning television was so animated debut on the ABC television network in The Plastic difficult to do. The networks put so many restrictions on Man Comedy/Adventure Show, although this show was not it. There were so many restrictions of deadlines, having a direct tie-in to Plas’ comic-book stories in Adventure to get them done fast that you were happy if you did Comics. Mark Evanier shares his memories of involvement a show that came out better than the average. with the TV project: “I think I was the second writer Plastic Man was better than the average. That’s all I on the show. A man named Norman Maurer was can say for it, really. [chuckles]” under exclusive contract to ABC at the time, as was Working on animated television series, at least the Ruby-Spears studio. Someone suggested that back in the day, was not for the faint of heart, as Norman write the pilot for Plastic Man, and he did Mark explains: “The original order placed by the and then he went off and did another show, which network was for 13 half-hour episodes and they were led to Joe Ruby hiring other writers, and I believe done earlier than the off-season. As I mentioned I was the first writer he hired when they started before, Ruby-Spears had an exclusive contract with producing the series. I’d done one script for Joe at ABC to do all of the production for ABC and part of mark evanier that point, and I guess somebody liked it, so they that contract called for ABC to give them shows to wanted me to write Plastic Man. do continually, so they wouldn’t have to lay off the Courtesy of Luigi Novi.

“My understanding of what happened is that entire staff when they finished production on one thing and then hire they went through several different versions of the character and how them all back when they were needed a few months later. So they he would be and one was much more faithful to the old Jack Cole had finished a show called Fangface. If they hadn’t had the contract comics than some of the others and they wound up with the version they would have had to wait a few months until ABC decided what they have, which cast Plastic Man as kind of a super-secret agent they wanted for the following season. But they had the contract and flying around in a jet.

ABC ordered 13 half-hour episodes of Plastic Man. “It was very much unlike the comic book. Plastic Man initially “We produced those, and around the time it came time to work got his orders from a beautiful, sultry, dark-haired woman who was out what they wanted to buy for that next season, the first Plastic Man called ‘the Chief.’ I think she was only seen on a TV monitor. Then episodes were coming back from the animation places. ABC looked you had Plastic Man; his girlfriend, Penny; and a comic sidekick at them and thought it was a real good show and they decided to named ‘Hula-Hula,’ who went around and battled the villain. Penny use Plastic Man as the anchor for a block. So they ordered more When Comics Were Fun Issue

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Recommended Reading Two admirable post-Cole takes on the Pliable Pretzel: (left) issue #1 (Nov. 1988) of a four-issue Plastic Man miniseries, with art

by Hilary Barta; and (right) Kyle Baker’s Plastic Man #1 (Feb. 2004).

TM & © DC Comics.

episodes of Plastic Man and they ordered a couple of other cartoon shows. One was called Rickety Rocket and one called Mighty Man and Yukk, and they ordered some short cartoons of Fangface to keep that character alive. They rolled it all up into a two-hour block called The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show.

“So the initial 13 Plastic Man episodes we did premiered as a half-hour series on ABC and they aired it as part of this big block. We did more episodes of Plastic Man, and I did some Rickety Rockets and other people did Mighty Man and Yukk and others did the Fangfaces, and I think they were viewed as a two-hour block. Then, after a couple of weeks, they decided one of the elements, Rickety Rocket, wasn’t working and they cut that out, leaving a 90-minute show. Then, I think it was the following year, there was a shorter version. The point is that we did Season One and Season Two at the same time. We did Season One and they did Season Two and aired them the same year. [laughs] A season at that time was 13 or 16 episodes, and they ordered Season Two in time to air simultaneously with Season One. The semantics are a little odd on it, but it was on for a while and it was a modest hit.”

As discussed way back in BACK ISSUE #3, around this time Plastic Man also appeared on television in live-action—yes, you read that right, live-action. “Then they put [the Plastic Man cartoons] into syndication and they did some live-action wraparounds,” Evanier explains. “They got an actor and made him up to look like Plastic Man and then taped segments where he introduced the cartoon in syndication and almost nobody saw them. They did exist.

“There was also a Plastic Man primetime special which I did write which aired once on the Sunday before the show debuted on ABC [on the following Saturday]. That Sunday night, they ran an episode like a preview special and I wrote that one. It only aired once and never reran. I may have only copy that exists in the world.

“I was writing Plastic Man and some other shows and Steve Gerber was out of work, having been fired by Marvel,” Evanier remembers, “and I went to Joe Ruby and said, ‘Hey, this guy’s good. You should use him.’ Joe said, ‘Okay, if you say he’s good and if you’re willing to re-write his work if it isn’t to standards.’ ‘Okay, fine.’ So Steve wrote a couple of them and Steve in turn recommended Marty Pasko and a few other people in the comic-book business. That’s how Marty got involved with Ruby-Spears, although he didn’t do any work on Plastic Man.” 16 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

While very different from DC’s or Jack Cole’s Plastic Man comic books, ABC-TV’s Plas on occasion referenced the comics, thanks to Mark Evanier. “The Plastic Man TV show didn’t have that much to do with the comic books,” he says. “I actually snuck in a few references to the books.

For example in this one episode I named a character Jack Cole and in another episode Plastic Man decides to disguise himself as a gangster and I named that character Eel O’Brian. Just a couple of things to make people in the know who were watching the show think, ‘Oh, these people have actually read the comic book.’ In one of the episodes Gerber did, I think they adapted an idea from the DC version that was done by Arnold Drake. They used one of his villains. Dr. Dome, I think it was.

“The problem with writing a cartoon show is that you write them and by the time they’re done, you’ve forgotten the whole show.

You’re on to other things. So I didn’t read Gerber’s scripts when he did them and by the time they aired, Plastic Man was history to me.

I wasn’t doing it any more. So I didn’t pay attention to the other episodes, I just watched mine to see how they’d botched them up. [chuckles] They did a good job, generally speaking.”

After the Bronze Age, Plas has bounced in and out of DC continuity on several occasions, including his own 1988 miniseries, as a Jim Carreylike member of the Justice League, and in a Kyle Baker-produced series which ran 20 issues beginning in 2004.

Whether in animated form or on comic-book pages, Jack Cole’s Plastic Man has kept us entertained for over seven decades with absurd adventures, outrageous villains, and unending fun as he molded himself into whatever would best deal with the situation at hand. So the next time you see something familiar, yet a bit out of place, and in a bright shade of red, you can bet that Plastic Man is on the job.

BRYAN STROUD is a longtime fan of DC Comics, particularly the Silver and Bronze Ages, and has been contributing to the website of his lifelong best friend, Ron Daudt, for over a decade, doing reviews of those classics. Beginning in 2007, Bryan seized an opportunity to begin interviewing the creators of the comics he’s loved and has been fortunate enough to conduct over 70 to date at www.thesilverlantern.com.

A COUPLE NOTES OF EXPLANATION

by

Eddy Zeno

Thanks to Superman sporting a lion’s head, an ant’s head, or Newman’s head (Alfred E. Newman, not Seinfeld’s neighbor), the word “goofy” has a longstanding tradition in the Man of Steel’s history. There were many silly foils, as well—including frequent flyers Mr. Mxyzptlk, Bizarro, and Ambush Bug. Mxy, Jerry Siegel’s derby-wearing, World War II comicrelief jokester; Bizarro, borne from Alvin Schwartz’s existential, “Beat”-writer mind; and Ambush Bug, Keith Giffen’s satirical, postmodernist villain-turnedcrimefighter: each fit his original era’s zeitgeist and all three continued through, and beyond, the years of BACK ISSUE’s purview.

But instead of rehashing those long-running goobers’ appearances, this article instead chooses to explore the tales of characters and situations less likely to be skewered in the future.

One more thing: a Silver Age comic-book story, titled “The Goofy Superman,” is certainly an inspiration for the many shenanigans rehashed herein. It appeared in Superman julius schwartz #163 (Aug. 1963): Clark winds up in an insane asylum after a loony spree caused by red kryptonite. That form of K itself was a harbinger of some of the looniest ideas ever and was rightfully banned from the Bronze Age. In spite of that, many Bronze-era tales share a crazy, if more nuanced, climate.

NEW PATHS, NEW NUTTINESS Scarfing burgers long before the Wally West Flash had to feed his raging metabolism; depriving a Popeye wannabe from his spinach-like sustenance; flying around with Super Perry White; and bursting onto the television set of Johnny Carson … er, Johnny Nevada: these were hints of the goofier things taking place in the main Superman titles during Julius “Julie” Schwartz’s editorial reign. But the quest for chuckles was often only part of what Julie wanted in a story. The same was true for most of his writers, as well. Cary Bates, for instance, liked a good mystery and the occasional science-fiction hook, and he definitely enjoyed throwing some pop-culture references into the mix. Cary also relished a little wackiness.

Perhaps the most ludicrous recurring villain created

by Bates was Terra-Man, born from the Spaghetti Westerns of 1960s cinema. Possessing 19th-Centurylooking gadgets like six-shooters and branding irons

You Want Fries with That?

Superman’s burger binge (and a bevy of cute carhops) as seen in this detail from Bob Oksner’s cover to Action Comics #454 (Dec. 1975).

TM & © DC Comics.

When Comics Were Fun Issue

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BACK ISSUE • 17

which housed ultra-scientific innards, he was one tough hombre.

He was also a goofy desperado out-of-time with his Old West lingo, magical chewin’ tobacco, and flying steed. In his first appearance (Superman #249, Mar. 1972), the Man of Steel had to defeat him while flying upside-down and spitting a bullet back into T-M’s gun barrel. The story even had an appearance

by Archie and Edith (named Eydie in her cameo) Bunker from TV’s hit show of the time, All in the Family. Of his many showings, the gunslinger’s finest moment of absurdity occurred in Action Comics #469 (Mar. 1977), whose cover pictured Terra-Man riding a certain costumed hero while super bronco-

busting. Terra-Man was reincarnated with jetpacks and armor in the Modern Age. Now, that’s less fun!

In an October 1980 interview that appeared in Comics Feature #8 (New Media Publishing), Bates related the need for humor to highlight the differences between Superman and his alter ego: “I remember the Clark/ Superman distinction started to be concentrated on again as early as 1973 or 1974. We decided to pay more attention to it. We brought in Steve Lombard to focus attention on Clark’s klutziness…”

Recurring character Lombard was a retired NFL quarterback-turned-sportscaster. Always the popular jock, this Metropolis flirt was modeled after “Broadway Joe” Namath. Steve strived to show he was the bigger man via the practical jokes he played on news co-anchor Clark Kent. cary bates

SUPER-CIGARS AND PUFFS OF PERIL

When conniving an offbeat focus, writer Elliot S! Maggin used humorous elements for scene-stealing plot drivers.

For instance, his super-cigars exploded onto the scene twice as cover props. The first time was in Action Comics #436 (June 1974). In “The Super-Cigars of Perry White,” Superman’s Daily Planet boss was gifted special smokes by mutants. And while one of Marvel Comics’ X-Men, Wolverine, enjoyed a good cigar as much as anyone, this was no crossover event between companies. Instead, Perry’s mutant benefactors were four-thumbed kids from outer space. Switching their power-granting cheroots for the ones sitting in his office, when White inhaled, he could have any ability he wished. Having no idea why he was suddenly super but taking it all in stride, Perry was down to one final stogie by the time he discovered the source of his power.

So he locked it in his safe for some future emergency.

A sequel of sorts occurred eight years later, in Superman #376 (Oct. 1982). Maggin’s writer-caused crisis began when a so-called supervillain shot an electrical discharge of tri-oxygen molecules from his hand into Perry White’s chest. The critically wounded Daily Planet editor was lying in a Metro General infirmary bed till the last of his super-smokes restored his vim and vigor. If flying skyward, hospital gown flapping in the wind, wasn’t embarrassing enough, the hyper-baddie that Perry and Superman defeated was named ... Ozone-Master. Hey, at least it was ozone and not methane gas emanating from the guy’s fingertips.

Buckin’ Bronco of Steel (top) And y’all thought that the Vigilante was DC’s only singing cowboy! Terra-Man carries a tune in this detail from the splash page of Superman #250 (Apr. 1972). (left) José Luis García-López’s absurd (but nicely drawn) cover to Action #469 (Mar. 1977).

TM & © DC Comics.

18 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

In Superman #346 (Apr. 1980), scribe Gerry Conway had Superman nearly incinerating Jimmy Olsen, Lana Lang, and Perry White, who was non-super this go-round.

The joke was when Perry uttered, “Great Caesar’s ghost! My cigar can use a light—but this is ridiculous!” at the overkill of a flame-breathing Man of Steel. It was penciler Ross Andru and inker Dick Giordano’s overthe-top cover that sold the goofiness. Though interior artists Curt Swan and Frank Chiaramonte portrayed Supes subtly spouting his acetylene torch-breath over the heads of three Daily Planet and Galaxy network staffers, the cover’s hero instead was an infernobarfing Man of Tomorrow. Kal-El himself explained how such a barn-burning snafu likely occurred: from sucking the flames away from a burning dirigible, combined with the “freakish combination of chemicals I’ve inhaled…” Hey, it made sense at the time (???)!

This same story also boasted a Johnny Nevada appearance. Nevada and his typical talk-show shtick appeared both during and after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, beginning in Action Comics #420 (Jan. 1973). It seems pretty silly to imagine a real-life Superman appearing with Johnny Carson during The Tonight Show host’s long tenure, and I don’t mean a thespian-like Christopher Reeve appearing in costume. Perhaps the closest thing to an actual network appearance occurred when George Reeves showed up in hero-togs and in character (without reference to the name of the actor listed as a guest star) on the I Love Lucy show back in 1957.

So how did such a thing occur in the Conway-written Superman #346? It was courtesy of another bombastic

villain, Amos Fortune. Amos was the infamous comic-book discoverer of twin glands we humans possess, one which controls the good fortune we encounter and the other, the bad. Since Conway’s was a more sophisticated tale from the Bronze Age, instead of using a “stimoluck” device to affect the bad luck glands of several superheroes as he had way back in Justice League of America #6 (Aug.–Sept. 1961), this time the nefarious gambler invented the “Murphy machine.” Capitalizing on Murphy’s Law—that if anything can go wrong, it will—Fortune hid three of the contraptions inside the television cameras on Johnny Nevada’s latest stage.

Reminiscent of Johnny Carson, who hosted Who Do You Trust before The Tonight Show, Nevada was now emceeing a charity TV program called The Money Game. When the Metropolis Marvel discovered how he’d been adversely affected by the Murphy machines, he crashed through the studio wall, where an audience member yelled the obvious but with added flair: “Wowza! It’s Superman!”

Other fun dialect included “shtumies,” “spiel,” and “shlumps.” The story also boasted athletic schlemiel Steve Lombard and harried, dyspeptic WGBS news director Josh Coyle for further comic relief. Even Amos Fortune’s original bad haircut a là Roman emperor Nero was brought back in this champion tale of whimsy.

Ssssmokin’! (left) Perry White lights up for action on this splash to Action Comics #436 (June 1974). (right) The Action Ace flames on in Superman #346 (Apr. 1980). Cover

by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano.

TM & © DC Comics.

“I’M POPEYE/HORATIO/BIBBO THE SAILOR MAN” Popeye-inspired Captain Horatio Strong first appeared in Action Comics #421 (Feb. 1973). Just as super-cigars fashioned by space aliens could empower Perry White,

When Comics Were Fun Issue

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BACK ISSUE • 19

I’ve Had All I Can Stands…

Superman vs. Popeye Captain Strong, from Action #421 (Feb. 1973). Original art signed by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson, from the collection of Eddy Zeno.

TM & © DC Comics.

it was vegetation from another planet that the Cap’n ate to augment his strength. He called what he mistook for seaweed “sauncha,” but this sailor’s form of spinach was driving him mad. Fighting Superman to a draw in his altered state, like an addict, Strong had to go through withdrawal before he was back to being a good ol’ swab who idolized the Man of Steel. More wackiness: Horatio could “thrash air currents with his arms— ‘swimming’ through the sky!” Strong belonged to writer Bates, who was asked to bring back the good Cap’n a few more times. His girlfriend who later became his wife, Olivia, was derived from Popeye’s Olive Oyl. There’s an unspoken link between Captain Strong and a tough guy who came later. If not a true doppelganger, his successor in spirit was a power-punching longshoreman-turned-tavern owner named Bibbo Bibbowski. Based not on a fictional sailor but a real-life frequenter of his mother’s Milwaukee tavern, it was Jerry Ordway who brought Bibbo into the Superman family, starting in The Adventures of Superman #428 (May 1987).

With Jerry as artist and Marv Wolfman as scripter, Bibbowski became more of a regular than the Cap’n after the Crisis on Infinite Earths. He, too, was an ex-seagoing mate who greatly admired the Caped Kryptonian.

“HE’S A HUMAN CANNONBA-AAAAAAAAALL, Y’ALL” (The above is a lyric from the Webb Wilder song, “Human Cannonball,” written by R. S. Field for the 1989 album Hybrid Vigor.) Cary Bates has noted how he always envisioned the way Curt Swan would draw it when he was penning a Superman tale. Perhaps that is why he repeatedly placed pals and villains in a wacky posture that few but Swan could handle. The penciler could draw the aerodynamics of someone perfectly tucked into a ball and make him look right—no protruding head, shoulders, knees, or feet. Under the machinations of Cary and the masterful anatomy of Curt, Superman dribbled a villainous new version of Toyman (Action Comics #432, Feb. 1974); he rotated a rolled-up, misunderstood “caveman” to the ocean’s floor in a sauncha-related mystery with Captain Strong (Action Comics #439, Sept. 1974); Supes even hurled the good Cap’n himself like a human baseball to stop a pseudo-extinct Kryptonian monster (Superman #361, July 1981). However, it was in Action Comics #505–506 (Mar.–Apr. 1980) that Cary peaked as a cannonball scribe. In scene after scene, a Kryptonian orangutanlike, machine creature, comically proportioned but paradoxically dangerous, propelled through the air— or directly into people. Its apelike arms allowed the creature to hug itself even more effectively to create the perfect sphere. Swan literally had a ball drawing what Bates threw his way.

SCARFING BURGERS The 1970s rendition of Toyman returned in Action Comics #454 (Dec. 1975). Though the villain wasn’t seen until the book was opened to the splash page, the issue’s zany front cover featured Superman scarfing hamburgers as fast as a bevy of cute carhops could walk trays full out to his bench. Courtesy of artist Bob Oksner, past illustrator of humorous movie and TV comic-book adaptations, one could imagine one of his former scenes from The Adventures of Jerry Lewis, or Bob Hope, or especially The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

The endless procession of wholesome but beautiful girls traipsing out to the parking lot from a burger joint with golden arches hearkened back to a more innocent time than even Julie Schwartz’s Age of Bronze.

MORE MONKEY BUSINESS There were other typists of waywardness… For instance, Denny O’Neil had a boy’s pet lynx coming out of Superman’s noggin, both figuratively and visually, thanks to the psychic connection between all three of them. Launched in Superman #253–254 (June–July 1972), the second issue touted the adventure as “beginning the strangest of his many strange exploits…,” most certainly fodder for debate after reading about the other bizarre encounters and story elements whose surfaces have been lightly scratched herein. The boy-lynx subplot threaded through a few issues of the flagship title, until another writer mercifully cut the cord. Ludicrous as it appeared, this was another ingenious attempt by Denny to dampen Superman’s almost-limitless strength and ramp up the possibility he could be defeated.

Superman #330 (Dec. 1978) contained “The Master Mesmerizer of Metropolis!,” one of the most notoriously

20 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

goofy Superman fables from any era. The bad guy was a psychedelic refugee from the 1960s and former Batman foe named the Spellbinder. But that wasn’t the half of it. Martin Pasko was tasked with revealing the truth behind Clark Kent’s glasses—that when people see the specs they are being super-hypnotized into believing the hero’s mild-mannered alter ego is more frail and less handsome than his costumed visage. From a nerdspan.com interview with Keith Hendricks posted on April 12, 2013, Mr. Pasko blamed editor Julie Schwartz for giving him the plot idea and asking him to elaborate, to his “everlasting regret.” (Schwartz credited letter-writing fan Al Schroeder III with the story concept.)

In DC Comics Presents #67 (Mar. 1984), writer Len Wein teamed Superman and Santa Claus. Len being the master of punny titles, this one was titled “’Twas the Fright Before Christmas!” Kal-El was being overwhelmed by an army of kryptonite-laden attack toys launched by the portly Golden Age Toyman (not the pipsqueak ’70s version who went by the same name). Santa enlisted his “good” toys to fight the “bad” ones long enough for the Man of Steel to regroup and emerge victorious. Shocked that he never knew about Kris Kringle’s top-secret workshop so close to his Fortress of Solitude and wondering if the whole episode had been a dream, a long lost, beloved Kryptonian holo-toy from his youth was placed in his cape when he wasn’t looking. By confirming that you-know-who really existed, the tale was more sentimental and whimsical than wacky.

Still, Mr. Claus had some trash-talking punster elves whose up-to-date dialogue increased the zaniness.

Before the young scribes who scurried in and out of editor Julie Schwartz’s office after he took over the Superman titles, there were middle-aged guys like Leo Dorfman and Jack Kirby crafting kooky with the best of them. One of their chronicles that demands a mention occurred when artist/writer/editor Kirby heeded assistants Jim Sherman and Mark Evanier’s barmy request to introduce comedian Don Rickles to comic books (Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #139 and 141, July and Sept. 1971).

[Editor’s note: Jimmy Olsen #140 was a reprint Giant.]

In that tale, Clark Kent toppled an overstressed Rickles from his chair, tipping his fragile mental state to certifiable.

It also featured Goody Rickels (note spelling) who was Don’s exact lookalike, except for being a nebbish with itty-bitty glasses who ran around in superhero garb.

Near the beginning of the Bronze Age, this fiction may have on some level drawn a blueprint of absurdity for others to follow, another of the many—but less obvious— ways that Kirby inspired others.

Creature Features (left) Supes goes ape on Andru and Giordano’s cover to Action #506 (Apr. 1980). This lynx was soon missing from Superman’s pages. (right) Cover to issue #253 (June 1972) by Nick Cardy.

COMPETING FOR THE BRONZE AGE GOOFY SUPERMAN CHAMP There are many contenders. Adding to the writers of the issues already mentioned, guys like Bob Rozakis, Paul Kupperberg, Craig Boldman, and their peers made our hero have fun. One way to pick a winner was to first decide who had the greatest quantity of stories that entertained with some nuttiness. Next, the writer himself would be contacted for his personal pick. After considering a mound of head-spinning source material, the unofficial trail veered back to Cary

TM & © DC Comics.

Eye Witness How Clark Kent appears to others, from the regrettable Superman #330 (Dec. 1978). Art by Swan and Frank Chiaramonte.

TM & © DC Comics.

When Comics Were Fun Issue

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BACK ISSUE • 21

Star-Crossed Crossover Peeks at the famous (or infamous) Don Rickles two-parter in Jack Kirby’s Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen. (top) Goody Rickels in action on page 17 of issue #139. Inks by Vince Colletta. Courtesy of Heritage. (bottom) The Kirby/Neal Adams cover to #141.

TM & © DC Comics.

Bates. It was good-natured Cary, therefore, who, when asked, deferred quickly to the most hodgepodge book in the Superman line, The Superman Family. Cobbled from the discontinued Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane’s titles, features at various times included Superman as a boy, Mr. and Mrs. Superman (the married Clark and Lois of Earth-Two), Supergirl, and Nightwing and Flamebird. Another Superman Family feature, “The Private Life of Clark Kent,” provided Bates’ choice, and he explains to BACK ISSUE why little justification was needed: “I think the inclusion of ‘Clark Kent’s Mynah Dilemma’ to your wacky list will be pretty much self-explanatory … I really don’t know what comments I could add to a story that required Superman to dress up as a giant mynah bird in order to save the day.”

It’s true! Clark thought he’d endangered his secret identity while sleeptalking when the mynah he was pet-sitting started to jabber, “Clark Kent is Superman.” Before the bird could be returned to his neighbors, a solution was needed. The carefully considered plan: scare the bejeebers out of the poor fowl. Wearing an authentically crafted giant mynah costume, Supes lunged and squawked loudly each time the pet uttered the unwanted phrase, conditioning a “fear-response.” The conditioning was actually done in the Fortress of Solitude; while flying there, the Caped Kryptonian was pictured carrying bird in cage but without his feather outfit. Being supersmart, one could assume he had already fashioned the costume for just such an emergency and kept it stored in his secret sanctum. Huh?

GOOFY, NOT DUMB “Clark Kent’s Mynah Dilemma” appeared in Superman Family #197 (Sept.–Oct. 1979). The inane premise was ensconced within eight pages that, through the author’s care, became a pleasurable narrative escape. It and all of the stories mentioned herein shout the goofiness of their era, and they are only a small sample. Imagine the talent it took Schwartz and his writers to blend in such kooky elements, while injecting serious components as well. They entertained while—most of the time—successfully skirting their willing readers’ suspension of disbelief.

Writer Alan Moore’s 1986 take on which Superman stories should be classified as imaginary tales was: “…Aren’t they all?” Similarly, if not all Superman family comic books of the Bronze Age can be considered goofy, a percentage in the high 90s probably sports some aspect that qualifies.

Moving forward in decades, our view of what was zany in the 1970s and early 1980s is sharpened. One might even challenge the long-held belief that the Silver Age Superman under Mort Weisinger’s editorship was the hero’s wackiest era; it depends on one how one defines the term. After all, in 1974 Cary Bates introduced us to Vartox, superhero from another planet whose look was modeled after actor Sean Connery when he starred in the sciencefiction/fantasy movie, Zardoz. Vartox’s costumed look—with open vest, hairy chest, and speedos—in today’s view embodies the innocence of a porn star, if such a thing is possible. With hindsight as the great equalizer, sometimes it’s fun to look back and discover that we may not have grown much in our discernment. The similarities across time just might outweigh the differences.

Many thanks to Cary Bates for his thoughtful contributions to this article.

EDDY ZENO compiled the book Curt Swan: A Life in Comics.

His latest project is the soon-to-be completed biography, Last Superman Standing: The Al Plastino Story, chronicling the life of one of the big three illustrators for Superman and Action Comics in the 1950s and 1960s. In addition, Al had a parallel career ghosting various newspaper strips including Nancy, Abbie an’ Slats, the pantomime feature Ferd’nand, and even an unpublished stint stockpiling Peanuts dailies and Sundays for United Feature Syndicate.

22 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

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24 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

When Comics Were Fun Issue

•

BACK ISSUE • 25

by

Jarrod Buttery

Marvel’s Puzzle-Master Owen McCarron (1929–2005), the man behind Marvel Fun and Games Magazine.

Photos courtesy of John Bell, from his book Invaders from the North, and an anonymous member of the McCarron family.

Cover and characters TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Marvel’s comic-sized Fun and Games Magazine premiered with a cover date of September 1979. Issue #1 advertised “Word Games, Puzzles, Riddles, Surprises” and proclaimed, “All you need is a pencil.”

The comic was packed with puzzles—all based on Marvel characters.

There were mazes, spot-the-difference tests, word finds, trivia questions, coded messages, character identifications, and more—although for this first issue, the only riddle was, “Why does Iron Man want to be on Broadway?” (He thinks he can win a Tony Award.)

The first issue naturally featured heavyweights like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Storm, and the Thing, but lesser-known characters were also featured prominently. We had to navigate a maze through Stingray’s wings, decipher character names partially rubbed out by the Living Eraser, and match secret identities to Torpedo, Blackout, and Thunderbolt, among others. The Hulk asked us to circle the issue number (multiple choice) in which listed characters—such as Jarella, Wendigo, Captain Omen, and Klaatu—made their debut. Fortunately, all the answers were provided at the back of the book.

A much-wrinkled Stan Lee greeted us on the first interior page— wrinkled because his face had been turned into a maze. Underneath, we were told that “Our talented titan of trickery, good ol’ Owen McCarron, has created some of the most dynamite brainteasers you’ve ever tackled— so what are you waiting for? Grab yourself a pencil and go! You’re gonna flip over every far-out page!” Indeed, the only credits for the comic were: “Written, drawn, and edited by Owen ‘Puzzle-Master’ McCarron.”

THE PUZZLE-MASTER Owen McCarron was born in 1929 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Straight out of school he entered the newspaper industry, where he worked for many years, and which allowed him to pursue his love of 26 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

comics and drawing. Owen passed away at home on June 27, 2005, at age 76.

Providing an insight into his early life, and the profound effect that supportive educators can have on young minds, Owen McCarron bid farewell to his favorite teacher in The Chronicle-Herald newspaper on January 31st, 1995: “On January 16, Eileen Burns passed away. She had been one of my many teachers in high school— with a major difference. While she was a great teacher, I certainly wasn’t much of a student. I was killing time and I lived to draw. The two of us would be drawn together because of this.

“She ran the school library—she WAS the school library. It was her passion. Because she was aware of my love of drawing, she invited me to do a number of posters for her library to promote reading. She liked what I did and rewarded me with a book entitled Comics and Their Creators.

This was back in 1946. The book has never left my sight. It was my bible— my inspiration. One day, if only my name might be in such a book.

“As fate would have it, that summer I left school and was lucky enough to land a high-paying job ($15 per week) in the display advertising department of The Halifax Herald Limited. The die was cast.” (The Herald later merged with The Chronicle, becoming The Chronicle-Herald.)

“In 1978, I thought I would call Miss Burns. I said to her, ‘I had to call you. You are always in my thoughts. I know you won’t remember me. My name is Owen McCarron.’ But she did remember; she had seen a lot of my work over the years and was very proud of me. We talked for a half-hour. She wanted to know everything; I told her everything.

“In her obituary, dozens of things were outlined that were close to her heart, and many of her achievements, too. One achievement was absent: ‘She inspired Owen McCarron to do what he was born to do.’ Goodbye, Miss Burns.”

COMIC BOOK WORLD Alter Ego #36 (May 2004) featured the fascinating article, “The Golden Age of Canadian Comic Books and Its Aftermath.” Therein, John Bell described the rise and fall of the 1940s–1950s Canadian comic industry. From the late 1950s through the ’60s, the only original Canadian comic books were giveaways, often commissioned by corporations and government agencies. Both Ganes Productions and Comic Book World produced dozens of these educational giveaways.

Bell stated: “Comic Book World was the brainchild of Owen McCarron. Unlike Ganes’ comic books, which were often smaller than regular comics and generally devoid of word balloons, McCarron’s giveaways more closely resembled conventional newsstand comics.

Comic Book World produced mostly full-color comics that were distinguished by bold, engaging artwork and reasonably solid storylines. This professionalism would eventually bring McCarron to the attention of Marvel Comics and Whitman Publishing in the US.” John Bell is the author of the books Canuck Comics: A Guide to Comic Books Published in Canada (Matrix Books, 1986) and Invaders from the North: How Canada Conquered the Comic Book Universe (Dundurn Press, 2006). He spoke with McCarron a few times on the phone, and met him once, and kindly shared his recollections with BACK ISSUE: “Owen worked for more than 30 years in the advertising department of Halifax’s leading newspaper, The Chronicle-Herald, where he developed considerable expertise in the area of production, including design, layout, and coloring techniques.

“In 1965, McCarron, together with a friend, the writer Robin Edmiston, launched a studio, Comic Page Features (later renamed Comic Book World), that was designed to produce promotional and educational materials aimed primarily at children. One of their first publications was a giveaway comic for the Australian-Canadian magician, Reveen. Dozens of giveaways for businesses and various levels of government soon followed. In addition to more than 30 comics, they produced numerous coloring books and fun books, as well as newspaper supplements that combined puzzles, games, comics, and coloring pages.”

Robin Edmiston elaborates: “Owen McCarron and I worked together at The Halifax Herald Ltd. I joined the firm in 1953. Besides our work in the advertising department, we collaborated (on our own time) on a number of comic books—me writing and roughing out the pages, Owen doing the art and production— for clients such as KFC, Gulf Oil, Stan also wrote: “I just can’t sign Ski-Doo, and Wayne and Shuster. off without first thanking our owen mccarron Owen retired from The Herald in titanically talented Canadian cousin, 1978 and I in 1991.”

Owen McCarron, for the brilliant job he did in formulating and illustrating the material for MIGHTY MARVEL SUPERHERO FUN BOOKS With his dual loves of comic books and entertainment this book. His clever concepts and delightful drawings for children, McCarron had big plans. In 1975, he travelled make me wish I were a kid again.”

The first Fun Book was filled with mazes, word to New York to sell his idea to Stan Lee. The meeting was obviously a success. 1976 saw the publication of games, riddles, and puzzles; a Rhyming Romp with Dr. the first black-and-white Mighty Marvel Superheroes Doom (how many words can you rhyme with DOOM?); Fun Book—written and illustrated by Owen McCarron. and the eyebrow-raising “Change Stan Lee to Lady Sif” Stan Lee’s preface stated: “On each of the following (in 7 easy steps)! Fun Book #2 followed in 1977, and #3 pages you’ll find Marvel’s greatest costumed characters, in 1978. In a Chronicle-Herald article from September 3, the most famous superheroes of all, waiting to help 1977, McCarron explained, “The Fun Books are written, you sharpen your wits with some of the cleverest designed, and illustrated by me. I have to produce some kind of concept for a puzzle page, research it through puzzles, riddles, and games you’ve ever seen!” back-issues of their magazines to see if it is workable, When Comics Were Fun Issue

You Probably Missed These Two… (top left) Cover of Comic Book World’s Auntie Litter, with art

by Robin Edmiston and Owen McCarron. (top right) McCarron’s Reeveen and Sons Unlimited comic book.

Who’s this magic man, you ask? Jarrod Buttery provides this info: “Peter Reveen was born in South Australia in 1935. In 1961, he traveled to Canada, soon finding fame as an illusionist and stage hypnotist. His website proudly proclaims: ‘He was immortalized in a 1960s comic book, Reveen & Sons Unlimited.’” (bottom) McCarron’s 2006 Joe Shuster Award. © the respective copyright holders.

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write and design the page, and do the art work. Fun Book #2 took approximately 500 hours.”

Fun Books #4 and 5 were published in 1979— designed, written, and edited by Scott Edelman. “I don’t know why I was given a shot at #4 after Owen did the first three, since you’d think they’d have let him do #4 as well,” offers Edelman. “I’m not even sure I ever met Owen! All I remember is that I had a lot of fun doing them. I particularly loved having an excuse to look through all of my old comics to get ideas. There was no limitation on use of artwork from Marvel books.

I was allowed to suggest puzzles based on any aspect of Marvel history I wanted using whatever imagery I suggested. So when we reproduced covers, splash pages, word balloons, figures pulled from individual panels—no permissions were necessary. These were Marvel projects with the contents copyrighted to Marvel, so I was allowed to wander wherever my imagination took me.”

McCarron, meanwhile, was busy with other projects.

On September 10, 1978, he launched his syndicated newspaper feature, Marvelous Fun and Games, in dozens of newspapers across the US. Occupying one quarter of the comics page, the debut installment asked us to identify which two of six drawings of Captain America’s head were identical, find four-letter words (across Ben Grimm’s head) that rhyme with Thing, and navigate a maze through one of Johnny Storm’s enormous fireballs; it also offered plans on how to make a toy wooden truck. Always interested in engaging children, future installments invited young readers to answer questions such as, “What would you do if the Hulk came to your house for dinner?” Sage responses advised: “Don’t make him mad,” and “Use extra-strong silverware.”

Interviewed in The Chronicle-Herald on September 8, 1978, McCarron explained that he began drawing in school and had always wanted to draw scott edelman comics: “My official tasks in advertising © 1977 Marvel Comics Group. at the Herald prompted ‘comics’ such as Auntie Litter, Captain Enviro, Professor Poison, highway safety features, and so on.” When asked about his “big break,” McCarron recounted, “Marvel was riding high at the time. I had tried for some time to break in there, with no luck, but persistence won out, I guess. Finally they gave me some assignments and one day I got the big call—from Stan Lee himself. He was interested in some puzzle material incorporating Marvel characters.”

Within the article, Stan Lee is quoted: “I’m delighted with McCarron’s Marvelous Fun and Games. I am certain it will be a tremendous hit with children of all ages, particularly those who are already fans of our superheroes through our comics or television series.

McCarron is such an ideal person to be producing the feature because he is fully aware of what is going on in all our publications.”

Marvel Fun and Games Gallery Have fun solving these puzzles by Owen McCarron, from various issues of Marvel Fun and Games Magazine. (Those of you reading a digital edition are gonna find it tough, though…)

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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John Bell read the same article. “I visited Owen’s Comic Book World studio in Halifax, probably in 1979, when I began work on documenting the history of comics publishing in Canada. I was living in Halifax at the time and had read the newspaper article about his work for Marvel, which prompted me to call his studio. We had a brief chat over the phone, and he urged me to pay him a visit.

“What first struck me, when I arrived at his studio a few days later, was his profound love of the comics medium. He had been a lifelong fan and was clearly thrilled to be working for Marvel. He was also an extremely enthusiastic and generous person. I left his studio with signed and dated copies of most of the non-Marvel publications that he had worked on. He also gave me the original artwork for a splendid Iron Man pinup page from one of his Marvel books. I think he appreciated the fact that I was interested in documenting his full career.”

through the late ’60s and early ’70s—and helping to usher in Canada’s new Silver Age with the publication of Captain Canuck #1 (July 1975), which McCarron helped ink and letter. [Editor’s note: BI will examine Captain Canuck next year, in issue #83.] McCarron also received signed letters from then-Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, thanking him for a lifetime of comics.

Fun and Games Magazine lasted 13 monthly full-color issues before it was abruptly canceled due to sales. Stan Lee had called McCarron the best person for the job, and it wasn’t just hyperbole. McCarron displayed an extraordinary knowledge of the Marvel Universe, using— and drawing—famous and obscure characters alike, including Jigsaw, Razorback, Goldbug, Eliminator, Iridia, and the son of Dr. Doom (not Kristoff). For Guardians of the Galaxy completists, Star-Lord appears in issue #6, and we’re treated to some Groot-esque humor in #8. McCarron also produced “Learn to Draw Marvel Superheroes” pages and “What’s Missing” MARVELOUS DAYS puzzles, featuring multiple slightly altered reproductions McCarron had other assignments from Marvel. He of Marvel covers such as Avengers #171 (May 1978) inked Super-Villain Team-Up #8 (Oct. 1976) and the and Fantastic Four #200 (Nov. 1978). front half of Ghost Rider #28 (Feb. 1978). Some Original centerspread pinups by McCarron Internet sources incorrectly accredit an alternative, appeared from issue #7 (Mar. 1980). The Iron Man unpublished cover for Amazing Spider-Man #10 pinup given to John Bell came from issue #9. Issue (Mar. 1964) to McCarron. This was actually a Ditko #13 (Sept, 1980) included the Allen Milgrom maze! piece that was never printed—Ditko said there was “I do remember doing a self portrait for some silly an error on it so he gave it to McCarron as a gift.

Marvel publication or other—and assume it was McCarron also contributed to the art on Spidey this,” volunteers Milgrom. “No one can ever accuse jim salicrup Super Stories #29 (Dec. 1977), 42 (Sept. 1979), and me of doing a flattering self-portrait, eh?”

43 (Nov. 1979). Jim Salicrup co-wrote all those issues, Owen kept all his Fun and Games fan letters and and offers to BI, “Owen’s main contact at Marvel these were later donated to the Dalhousie Library. Sadly, they were was Sol Brodsky, who, alas, is no longer with us. Unfortunately, I all destroyed in 2012 after they were found to have sustained water don’t remember ever dealing with Owen directly myself. At the time and mold damage.

I probably didn’t appreciate much of what Owen was doing Both the newspaper feature and the comic ended in 1980. “I (although now, as editor-in-chief of Papercutz, I have much more remember speaking with Owen not long after the cancellation of Fun and respect for comics for children!). I do remember that Owen was Games,” wrote John Bell. “He was very disappointed and discouraged. super-professional. I don’t remember him ever missing a deadline, In my last conversation with Owen, he seemed very discouraged and I believe he handled all of the production on Fun and Games about his career in comics. If I remember correctly, he told me that himself. It’s nice to see someone like Owen get some recognition.” he had recently cleaned out his home studio and had discarded McCarron was certainly recognized during his time. He was presented much of his archival material, including original art. As an archivist, with the Nova Scotia Environment Award in 1977, for his contribution I found that news very depressing. Nevertheless, Owen did continue to environmental protection through his educational comics—particularly to work on some comics projects, including the Herald’s weekend Sammy Seagull and Captain Enviro. In Canuck Comics, Bell credits comics section, ‘The Cavalcade of Comics.’ He also worked on McCarron for being the sole voice of original Canadian comics newspaper supplements devoted to the Halifax Explosion of 1917.”

Color Me Owen McCarron art, as seen on two late-1970s coloring books.

Hulk TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Shogun Warriors TM & © Mattel.

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McCarron and Company (top) Courtesy of Andrew Sullivan (the “Me” in the photo), The Chronicle-Herald production crew from 1988, with Owen McCarron also circled, and Robin Edmiston at the far left. (bottom) A B&W copy of a September 19, 1978 Sunday comic-strip page featuring McCarron’s Marvelous Fun and Games and other strips.

Marvelous Fun and Games TM & © Marvel Characters.

Conan © Conan Properties. Brenda Starr © Chicago Tribune Syndicate.

Family Circus © Bill Keane Inc. Photo © 1988 The Chronicle-Herald.

THE HALIFAX EXPLOSION On December 6, 1917, a French munitions ship collided with another vessel in the Halifax harbor. The French ship caught fire and subsequently exploded, killing approximately 2000 people and destroying much of the town. The detonation has been described as the largest man-made explosion in the pre–atomic era. McCarron wrote and illustrated several docu-comics about the tragedy, including one at www.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/he2_ruins/interactives/docucomic.html. He finished a new docucomic just days before he died in 2005 and will have a spread in The Chronicle-Herald in 2017, on the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion.

McCarron worked as a freelancer for The Chronicle-Herald during the ’80s, producing the “Cavalcade of Comics.” Edmiston explains, “This was a collection of syndicated strips in a four-broadsheet page section of Saturday’s paper which Owen coordinated, adding ads when needed.”

McCarron organized comics from different cartoonists and did the layouts for the Cavalcade. During this time, McCarron worked with Andrew Sullivan: “I guess Owen was semi-retired at the point where I met him, because he used to just come in and get information for ads for ‘The Cavalcade of Comics,’ which he used to put together as a weekly publication. He’d visit in the morning; I’d get him some information which he would take back to his home studio, and he would work from there.

“I can tell you one thing: Owen was a character. He had a great sense of humor and he was not afraid to go over the edge or say things that were perhaps not too suitable for the audience. Owen was his own person—I remember that from him—he was very open and direct. I would not characterize him as a difficult or mean person, but I would certainly say, with great respect, that I wouldn’t want to have been his boss years ago [laughs]. I have some very fond memories of Owen. He taught me how to build confidence with my involvement in the creative process.”

In 2006, in the second year of its existence, the Joe Shuster Awards inducted Owen McCarron into the Canadian Comic Book Hall of Fame, citing him as Canada’s most successful independent comic-book publisher. At the ceremony in Toronto, the assembled were told that Owen McCarron never bought anything for himself, or ever thought he was better than anyone else. He was a very private man who stayed home with his wife and kids and did whatever he could do to look after his family.

Perhaps John Bell puts it best when he says, “Owen loved comics and brought both professionalism and passion to his work in the field.

He probably regarded his Marvel work as the pinnacle of his career; however, I think it is better to look at his years with Marvel as but one chapter in an impressive career that spanned more than 40 years.”

The author would like to thank Louise Le Pierres at The Chronicle-Herald and Jennifer Lambert at the Dalhousie Library. He would also like to express his sincere gratitude to John Bell, Scott Edelman, Robin Edmiston, Allen Milgrom, Jim Salicrup, Andrew Sullivan, and Roy Thomas.

JARROD BUTTERY has written several articles for BACK ISSUE. He lives in Perth, Western Australia, which is slightly further away from Halifax than Perth, Ontario.

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It all started in Eclipse Comics’ Eclipse, the Magazine #1 (May 1981) … a 19-page black-and-white story entitled “The Slab” … written by Steve Englehart, drawn and inked by Marshall Rogers, and lettered by Tom Orzechowski. That’s how the readers were first introduced to the characters, but the story actually started before that.

Steve Englehart gives us the origin: “Well, let’s see … I wrote a story for DC Comics Presents starring Superman and the Creeper. I had written one before, and this was a new one. But before I turned it into Julie Schwartz, a good editor, I discovered that the editor of another title had offered me more money than he was supposed to, and management wouldn’t come through even though I’d done the job, so I took all my stories and walked.

“I had no plan—What was I going to do with DC-specific stories if I didn’t sell them to DC?—but that very afternoon, Jan and Dean Mullaney bought them for the price DC had promised to start their new [Eclipse] magazine line.

“So Marshall Rogers, who was going to draw the Superman/Creeper story, sat down and riffed on it. He steve englehart turned Superman into a little girl and the Creeper into the Foozle, and I rewrote dialogue as needed. Marshall later spun the Foozle into his own series, which he wrote himself, and since it was pretty much his creation, I renounced my rights to him … er, it…” (Excerpt from www.steveenglehart.com, reprinted with permission.)

Steve further elaborates for BACK ISSUE: “Well, I’d been out of the country when [Marshall] and Terry [Austin] drew the Batman [in Detective Comics], and I returned from Europe to California, while Marshall was in New York, so I’d only known him briefly at this time. But I was in New York for some reason when I turned down DC’s offer to pay me less than they’d agreed to for the scripts I’d written, so I called Marshall to tell him what DC had done (DC being the source of our connection, obviously). And I’m pretty sure he said something like, ‘I know the Mullaney brothers and Eclipse. Let’s see if they want to buy them and I’ll draw them.’ I met up with him and we went to the Mullaneys’ apartment, where they agreed on the spot to buy the scripts, the same day DC tried its bait and switch.

“Since the scripts involved DC characters, they had to be reworked. I was more committed to [our] mystic character (Madame Xanadu, who became Scorpio Rose) than the Superman/Creeper one-shot, so I reworked Rose, while I gave the team-up script to Marshall and told him to do whatever he wanted with

“A Funny Fantasy” Cover to Marshall Rogers’ Cap’n Quick and a Foozle #1 (July 1984), from Eclipse Comics. All scans in the article are courtesy of Stephan Friedt. © Marshall Rogers Estate.

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TM

by

Stephan Friedt

it. One of the things he wanted was to turn the Creeper into the tables and a filing cabinet. He’d cut a square out of the center of his table Foozle and Superman into a little girl (typical Marshall), and I was and put a piece of glass there, with a florescent light mounted behind. good with that, so he did his thing and the Foozle was born.

This supplied a lightbox at a whim, the better with which to do those “Later, we agreed that he could have all rights to the Foozle and I’d complicated cityscapes. Marshall liked his easy vices, with coffee and a have all rights to Scorpio Rose, since that reflected our amounts of input.” cigarette always at hand. He had the best smile I think I’ve ever seen.

In that first Foozle story (originally in black and white in Eclipse, Life was good; the work offers were frequent, diverse, and satisfying. the Magazine #1; reprinted in color in The Foozle #3), we start out in an “His focus on detail went beyond the cityscapes. One job, which advanced city on an unnamed futuristic alien world and are introduced may have been Howard the Duck, featured a shark. While I worked to Klonsbon the Foozle and S-329, Agent of Storbor. Thanks to all that night on an X-Men book, Marshall labored on every panel, advances in science, both are disguised as female adults. Klonsbon is loading that shark down with scales. The next morning, one of the disguised as “Sweeny,” a reporter for a tabloid in search of stories guys pointed out that sharks don’t have scales. Oops. I’m pretty sure exposing the “Big Blue Boss” running the society. In reality, Klonsbon it went to print that way. is a big, black bird that looks like a cross between a dodo and “I don’t think I heard about the brainstorming behind large, pudgy, talking crow the size of a bulldog … playing Eclipse Monthly magazine’s Foozle story, which Steve the part that would have been the Creeper.

Englehart scripted over Marshall’s art. All I remember S-329 is an agent for the ruling faction, “Storbor,” is that it was totally nuts … and a splash page with a disguised as “Hanna,” a Global News anchorwoman large Foozle figure banking as it flew toward us, a but in reality the young girl playing the part that detailed cityscape dominating the background. The would have gone to Superman. deadline was so close that I’d hand the lettered After a brief confrontation, our two main pages to Marshall and he’d ink them immediately. characters part ways. Klonsbon runs into an old friend, I commented to Marshall at the time that the guy an investigative photojournalist, who will further who was inking the second half was much better intertwine their destinies. The photojournalist is soon than the guy who’d inked the first. I was rewarded caught in a chemical explosion while spying on with another of those trademark smiles. criminals and transformed into our main protagonist.

“It was a strange but comforting reality bubble, Meanwhile, S-329 has shed her disguise and that little studio. If it measured more than 5' x 10', marshall rogers heads out on her aerial patrol of the city and soon I’d be surprised. When you’ve got the patience and investigates the appearance of “the Slab,” a man Portrait by Michael Netzer. intellectual capacity to draw a city in three-point made of what appears to be molten steel, who needs to absorb minerals perspective, the size of the studio room is just a background detail, I guess.” on a regular basis … apparently in the form of human beings … or he Author Don McGregor further expounded on Marshall’s love turns into anti-matter and explodes (our unfortunate photojournalist). of cityscapes in his remembrance published in the deluxe edition How these three characters intertwine is the rest of the story. of Detectives, Inc. (Excerpt reprinted here by permission. © 2014 That first story was lettered by professional letterer Tom Don McGregor.)

Orzechowski. Tom reminisces with BACK ISSUE about those days: “Marshall was fearless in his art. I had come to realize during my “Marshall and I shared a small studio room at Continuity Associates first years of creating comics that it wasn’t only publishers or editors for a year or so, somewhere between ’78 and ’81. At this time, he drew who could limit what you could do in this medium, sometimes it the Detectives, Inc. graphic novel, as well as his story for Howard the Duck could come from the artist drawing the script. Marshall never Magazine #8, both of which I lettered. We often worked into the wee flinched when it came to sexuality in the strip, straight or gay; he hours, as the passage of time was a fairly abstract thing in an area with illustrated it honestly and daringly. late-night delis. The room was exactly large enough for two drawing “I couldn’t know, then, how lucky I was on another front, because Marshall had such a background in architecture, but I wanted the New York boroughs to be an integral part of the series. You want to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood see Manhattan and environs in the 1980s, just look at Marshall’s renderings of the Weather Castle in Central Park, or a housing tract (below, left to right) Dean Mullaney, Tom in Queens, or 42nd Street.

Orzechowski, and Marshall Rogers in the apartment “His sense of design was wondrous. When I gave him simultaneous events alternating with each other, he embraced and embellished shared by Marshall and art dealer Tony Dispoto. upon it. When I asked for ten panels on page, and thought he’d Photo by Jan Mullaney, courtesy of Dean Mullaney. want to kill me, he gave me 15, because he knew it would add to the effect, the flow of narration, of character and movement. I had (right) From Eclipse Monthly #1, page 1. a sequence with flashbacks in it, sometimes from one character, Cap’n Quick and a Foozle © Marshall Rogers Estate.

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For the WellDressed Fan (left) A 1984 ad for a Cap’n Quick and a Foozle T-shirt. Have you got one? (right) Rogers’ flair for urban architecture, which thrilled fans during his Batman run in Detective Comics, is wonderfully visible in this bird’seye view—make that Foozle-eye view—on the cover of The Foozle #3 (Aug. 1985). © Marshall Rogers Estate.

sometimes from another. Marshall never shrank from any challenge in the book; he went further; he had two Flashbacks unfolding at the same time. I never would have dared ask.”

Dean and Jan Mullaney next made the Foozle one of the main features in their attempt to revive the anthology comic with Eclipse Monthly #1. When it started in August of 1983, Marshall’s “Cap’n Quick and the Foozle,” Steve Ditko’s “Static,” B. C. Boyer’s “The Masked Man,” Trina Robbins’ adaptation of Sax Rohmer’s Dope, and Doug Wildey’s western “Rio” filled the book each month with running chapters. For the next four issues we read the continuing story of Klonsbon. This time it’s about his adventure with “Cap’n Quick.”

Marshall had taken the character to heart, so much so that, as Dean and catherine yronwode wrote in their intro/editorial for that first issue: “He [Marshall] cares about it so much that he not only writes and draws it, but letters and colors it as well!”

Cap’n Quick is a talented young lady who transforms her joystick into an inter-dimensional transporter and finds herself on Klonsbon’s world in the middle of an adventure. For the next four chapters, we are introduced to a cast of characters: Big Bill, Granny, Mel and Stat, Doberman the flying glove, and the Darklydale Dancers. Cap’n Quick spends the chapters searching for her joystick to get back home; Klonsbon and friends search for Cap’n Quick.

In July 1984, Marshall’s strip graduated to its own title, Cap’n Quick and the Foozle. The “journey to Oz”

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style story adds the “Great Jones” in the guise of the local wizard and the story continued to its conclusion of the original convoluted story arc in issue #2, which didn’t see light until March 1985. We are left with the Cap’n and the Foozle transported to the beginning of a new adventure that is never continued.

The title was shortened to just The Foozle with issue #3 (Aug. 1985), but it is no more than a colorized version of the first story originally printed in black and white in Eclipse Magazine.

Thankfully, all of the issues are still easily found at reasonable prices, so nearly anyone can put together a “Foozle” collection to follow the detailed art and fantasy adventure.

Marshall would never return to The Foozle. He would get caught up in doing Detectives, Inc.: A Remembrance of Threatening Green (1985) with Don McGregor; working on multiple projects for Marvel including a ten-issue run of Silver Surfer (1987–1989); and multiple projects for DC, which included the Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe (1985–1987) and the Batman newspaper strip (1989–1990).

Marshall Rogers passed away in his home from an apparent heart attack on March 24, 2007.

Special thanks to Steve Englehart, Tom Orzechowski, Dean Mullaney, and Don McGregor.

STEPHAN FRIEDT is senior administrator of www.comicspriceguide.com.

by

Fred Hembeck

X-MEN #141 (Jan. 1981) after John Byrne and Terry Austin TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

It’s ALWAYS been my policy to credit the original artists [for my cover recreations] at the bottom of the page after my signature, but for a while there, for reasons I no longer recall, I thought it a good idea to photocopy ’em BEFORE I signed ’em. Which is why some have signatures, but a lot don’t. [But, for the record, we’ve cited all of the original covers’ artists—and the issues’ cover dates, too.—ed.]

The Warlock cover was a gift to Jim Starlin on the occasion of his 50th birthday, which would explain the note at the bottom. And on a few of the covers—mostly in the UPC box—you’ll find Cartoon Fred. He ONLY appears on these covers when my [art commission] patrons explicitly request him. And as far the UPC box goes, I give folks a choice, with my preferred one being none whatsoever. You’ll see a few Spidey heads and even a few with the set of lines mimicked.

– Fred Hembeck When Comics Were Fun Issue

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INCREDIBLE HULK #181 (Nov. 1974) after Herb Trimpe and John Romita, Sr.

MARVEL SUPER HEROES SECRET WARS #1 (May 1984)

STAR WARS #1 (July 1977) after Howard Chaykin and Tom Palmer TM & © Lucasfilm, Ltd. Art © Fred Hembeck.

after Mike Zeck and John Beatty TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

THE FLASH’S ROGUES’ GALLERY Hembeck 2008 original, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions.

TM & © DC Comics.

Art © Fred Hembeck.

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ALPHA FLIGHT #1 (Aug. 1983) after John Byrne and Terry Austin

ALPHA FLIGHT #5 (Dec. 1983) after John Byrne TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #121 (June 1973) after John Romita, Sr. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #122 (July 1973) after John Romita, Sr.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #129 (Feb. 1974) after Gil Kane and John Romita, Sr.

ASTONISHING TALES #25 (Aug. 1974) after Rich Buckler and Klaus Janson TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

AVENGERS #97 (Mar. 1972) after Gil Kane and Bill Everett TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

AVENGERS #100 (June 1972) after Barry Windsor-Smith

AVENGERS #181 (Mar. 1979) after George Pérez and Terry Austin TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

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BATMAN #238 (Jan. 1972) after Neal Adams and Dick Giordano

BATMAN #251 (Sept. 1973) after Neal Adams TM & © DC Comics.

Art © Fred Hembeck.

BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #1 (Aug. 1983) after Jim Aparo

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #3 splash (1986) after Frank Miller and Klaus Janson TM & © DC Comics.

Art © Fred Hembeck.

CAPTAIN MARVEL #34 (Sept. 1974) after Jim Starlin TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #44 (Nov. 1974) after John Buscema TM & © Conan Properties, LLC. Art © Fred Hembeck.

DAREDEVIL #174 (Sept. 1981) after Frank Miller and Klaus Janson

DAZZLER #1 (Mar. 1981) after Bob Larkin TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

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DC 100-PAGE SUPER SPECTACULAR #6 (1971) after Neal Adams TM & © DC Comics.

Art © Fred Hembeck.

DOCTOR STRANGE #4 (Oct. 1974) after Frank Brunner TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

DOCTOR STRANGE #49 (Oct. 1981) after Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

FANTASTIC FOUR #176 (Nov. 1976) after Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott

FANTASTIC FOUR #236 (Nov. 1981) after John Byrne and Terry Austin TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

GHOST RIDER #2 (Oct. 1973) after Gil Kane and Tom Palmer

GIANT-SIZE INVADERS #1 (June 1975) after Frank Robbins and John Romita, Sr.

GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1 (July 1975) after Gil Kane and Dave Cockrum TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

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GODZILLA #17 (Dec. 1978) after Herb Trimpe and Bob Layton

GREEN LANTERN/ GREEN ARROW #85 (Aug.–Sept. 1971) after Neal Adams TM & © Toho, Ltd. and Marvel Characters, Inc. TM & © DC Comics.

Art © Fred Hembeck.

INCREDIBLE HULK #139 (May 1971) after Herb Trimpe TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

IRON MAN #128 (Nov. 1979) after Bob Layton

MANHUNTER #1 (May 1984) after Walter Simonson

MARVEL TREASURY EDITION #13 (1976) after Gil Kane and Joe Sinnott TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. TM & © DC Comics.

Art © Fred Hembeck.

MICRONAUTS #8 (Aug. 1979) after Michael Golden

MICRONAUTS #26 (Feb. 1981) after Pat Broderick TM & © Takara LTD/A.G.E., Inc. and Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

NEW TEEN TITANS #1 (Nov. 1980) after George Pérez and Dick Giordano TM & © DC Comics.

Art © Fred Hembeck.

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NOVA #1 (Nov. 1976) after Rich Buckler and Joe Sinnott

STRANGE TALES #178 (Feb. 1975) after Jim Starlin TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

SUPERMAN #233 (Jan. 1971) after Neal Adams TM & © DC Comics.

Art © Fred Hembeck.

SUPERMAN #252 (June 1972) after Neal Adams

SUPERMAN’S GIRL FRIEND, LOIS LANE #111 (July 1971) after Dick Giordano TM & © DC Comics.

Art © Fred Hembeck.

SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP #14 (Oct. 1977) after John Byrne and Terry Austin TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

SWAMP THING #5 (July– Aug. 1973) after Bernie Wrightson

WONDER WOMAN #199 (Mar.–Apr. 1972) after Jeff Jones TM & © DC Comics.

Art © Fred Hembeck.

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X-MEN #114 (Oct. 1978)

X-MEN #133 (May 1980)

after John Byrne and Terry Austin

after John Byrne and Terry Austin

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

X-MEN #135 (July 1980) after John Byrne and Terry Austin TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

X-MEN: THE ASGARDIAN WARS TPB (1989) after Arthur Adams TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

BRONZE AGE X-MEN Hembeck 1978 original, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

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DEATHLOK Hembeck 2013 illustration.

THE PUNISHER Hembeck 2014 illustration.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

BROTHER VOODOO Hembeck 2014 illustration.

THE DEMON Hembeck 2014 illustration.

Brother Voodoo TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. The Demon TM & © DC Comics. Art © Fred Hembeck.

ROM: SPACEKNIGHT AND GANG Hembeck 2013 illustration.

E-MAN AND NOVA Hembeck 2013 illustration.

ROM TM & © Hasbro. E-Man TM & © Joe Staton and Nicola Cuti. Art © Fred Hembeck.

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DAREDEVIL #175 (Oct. 1981) After Frank Miller and Klaus Janson TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Art © Fred Hembeck.

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by

Michael Eury

conducted by email in January 2014

In late 1983, a really funny superhero parody from a brand-new creative talent premiered as a backup in a couple issues of Dave Sim’s Cerebus the Aardvark (which we covered two issues ago)—not necessarily as much of a stretch for the long-running indie title as you might think since Cerebus itself, in its earliest days, was known for its take-offs of sword-and-sorcery and superhero comics (with characters like Red Sophia and Wolveroach). It wasn’t long before this backup—Jim Valentino’s normalman (yes, with lower-case “n”)—took on a life of its own, spinning off into its own series, with normalman #1 being released in January 1984 (the same month the creator’s first son, Aaron Valentino, was born). normalman’s titular star was a CPA’s son who was rocketed from the planet Arnold before it exploded … only it didn’t explode, ticking off the now-childless Mom in a big way. Two decades pass and the alien, now grown, lands on a world where his abilities make him unique among its populace—although in an inspired twist on Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Superman origin, Valentino’s normalman is the only person on his new world—Levram (read it backwards, Zatanna)—who does not have superpowers. normalman ran for 12 issues plus a 3-D annual in 1984 and 1985, and the hero resurfaced a few other times for team-ups and specials. The series wasn’t merely a parody of comics and pop culture—it provided a narrative that included struggles for identity and love. “norm” was accompanied by a large and fluid cast including mainstays Captain Everything, Sophisticated Lady, the Ulra-Conservative, and Sgt. Fluffy, Agent of S.C.H.M.U.C.K. And it had a lot of running gags (the Legion of Superfluous Heroes’ never-ending roll call, for example). It was a delightful romp from a writer/ artist who would later achieve acclaim on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and his own creation, Image’s ShadowHawk, and it was collected in 2007 in the meaty (436 pages!) Image/Shadowline trade paperback, The Complete normalman.

Jim Valentino was kind enough to clear away the cobwebs of 30 years of living and producing funnybooks to revisit his breakthrough series with BACK ISSUE and shed light on questions that have plagued readers for jim valentino decades—like, “What does S.C.H.M.U.C.K. stand for??”

Photo by Luigi Novi.

– Michael Eury MICHAEL EURY: What’s the origin of normalman, the concept? How and when did you come up with the idea?

JIM VALENTINO: There was this guy I knew in San Diego named David Clark. David was a frequent collaborator of John Pound’s, their most infamous creation being a funny-animal character named Flip, the Bird (gotta love that name!). At any rate, David told me of this idea he had for a series of vignettes called “Tales of the Innocent Bystander.” This series would be about a nebbish of a guy who was always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When Deni asked if I had any ideas for a series I recalled David’s idea and asked him if I could appropriate it. I placed it in a world full of super-beings and named it after the part of San Diego I used to live in, Normal Heights.

EURY: Were you published before your first normalman story?

VALENTINO: Yes, I’d been published for a few years—both selfpublished in what’s now called small press, then called mini or new-wave comix, some undergrounds, and various and sundry other places.

I’d also been published in Cerebus prior to it.

EURY: How did you hook up with the folks at Aardvark-Vanaheim, normalman’s original publisher? Describe how you sold A-V on your series.

The normalman Family Our harried hero and his supporting cast, as seen on the Jim Valentino cover to Slave Labor Graphics’ 1987 normalman – The Novel, the first collection, featuring everything up to the normalman Annual. normalman TM & © Jim Valentino.

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VALENTINO: Dave and Deni Sim were on a tour of the US in 1983. One of their stops was Berkeley, where they met up with Clay Geerdes, among many other folks. Clay was a champion of underground and small-press comics, having published a bunch of them himself. He turned them on to his books and pointed out several creators he thought they might be interested in. At the same time, he urged me to send them a piece I’d done about the assassination of John Lennon and what he and the Beatles had meant to me growing up, called “In My Life.” As it turned out, Dave marked the story for Deni and told her to get in touch with me. He put it on her desk the same morning that an envelope arrived from me with photocopies of the story.

They published it in Cerebus #50.

In a phone conversation, Deni said that if I ever had an idea for a series I should think about publishing it through them.

She also told me that Dave was a little concerned that I might get them into trouble with customs because my work at the time was rather salacious. So, I tried to think of the most commercial and safest thing I could do, and that’s when I remembered the conversation with David Clark and started filing up notebooks with mock covers and notes for this normalman concept.

EURY: The first normalman story was a fourpage backup in Cerebus #56 (Nov. 1983). Dave Sim’s Cerebus was a hot and prestigious indie title then—that prime spot must’ve added some jitters to a newbie’s series launch…

VALENTINO: Well, I knew going in that the two backup stories were just a prelude to the series and, as noted, I had already been published in Cerebus. It’s hard to remember how I was feeling 30 years ago, but my guess would be a mixture of cockiness that I could do this and abject terror that I’d screw it up … knowing me, the latter was probably more prevalent.

EURY: Let’s talk about normalman’s origin: norm is a baby rocketed from the planet Arnold to the planet Levram. It doesn’t take a mirror to help identify where the name “Levram” comes from, but what about “Arnold”?

VALENTINO: My first thought was to name the planet after an element, because Krypton is an element, so I was thinking Argon, Neon, something like that. But then I thought that was too obvious, so I figured why not call it the stupidest name for a planet I could think of, so I called it Arnold.

EURY: One of the joys of reading normalman is its duality: You’ve stated that it started as a “fan’s view into the comics industry,” but with each passing story its narrative expanded, with significant character growth and character arcs. Was that a byproduct of your growth as a creator during your production of normalman, or from the get-go, did you imagine this as something more than just a parody?

VALENTINO: I always saw it as a coming-of-age story within a parody. I saw it as a romance story—how love could not only save him, but make him a

Poster Child (left) Says Jim Valentino of this image, “This was the piece (based on Pacific Presents #2 by Dave Stevens) that convinced Deni Loubert Sim to publish the series. It was used as the promotional poster for the series, prior to the release of issue #1 and as the back cover for issue #12.” Above, it’s seen in layout form. (center) Valentino inked by half of the “Swanderson” team of Bronze Age Superman fame, Murphy Anderson. This was the back cover of normalman #10. (inset) Captain Everything’s costume inspiration. normalman TM & © Jim Valentino. Mighty Mouse TM & © CBS/Paramount Home Entertainment.

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better person. In hindsight I realize there was a lot more of me in there than I knew … maybe a bit of all of us. Just a straight parody would have bored me.

EURY: I assume you were a fan of superhero humor titles like Not Brand Echh and The Inferior Five…

VALENTINO: Not as much as you would think. The art in Not Brand Echh was far superior to anything I was capable of, but the stories left a lot to be desired, just “funny” take-offs of classic stories like “Charlie America Meets the Revengers” instead of Captain America Meets the Avengers. No continuing narrative, nothing remotely challenging. The Inferior Five had a continuing narrative, but wasn’t very funny to me. If anything, I was inspired by Harvey Kurtzman and Wally Wood’s Super-Duper Man [from MAD Magazine], knowing full well I could never touch it. But, then again, who could?

EURY: Describe the origin of Captain Everything—the character. What characters did you have in mind when creating him? Was he always in the yellow-and-red suit and cape, or was that the culmination of costume sketches?

VALENTINO: I had a friend in the fourth grade who always wanted to play Superman. He even had red and green rocks for kryptonite. He always wanted me to be Batman or Lex Luthor or someone. So, I decided one day to be Captain Everything—a hero who could do anything (like kick Superman’s ass)! The character was forgotten for many, many years, but when I started writing notes for normalman, I knew he needed a buddy, so I resurrected him only as George of the Jungle with superpowers.

As for the costume, if you look at it, it’s Mighty Mouse’s costume.

EURY: What about norm himself? He’s a hapless human “trapped in a world (make that worlds) he never made,” but was he based upon anyone real? How much of you was in him?

VALENTINO: Probably more than I’d care to admit. I

didn’t really pattern him after anyone; he just sort of was this nebbish innocent bystander in an insane world.

Which, when you think about it, could be most of us!

EURY: After a back-to-back pair of Cerebus four-pagers, the next month normalman spun off into a 12-issue series. normalman #1 parodied Superman comics of the Silver Age—the Mort Weisinger-edited stories. What’s your earliest memory of Superman, as a fan and reader?

VALENTINO: Oh, man, that question is impossible for me to answer. My father read comics in World War II and he started feeding them to me when I was about two and he was a huge Superman fan. So, I have no idea what my first issue would have been. I do remember reading a cousin’s copy of Showcase #4 [first appearance of the Silver Age Flash] and I bought the vast majority of Silver Age keystone comics off the stands—Adventure #300, Superman #147, Flash #123, JLA #21, FF #5 (my first), [Amazing] Spider-Man #4 (ditto), Avengers #1 and 4—pretty much all the biggies. And I still have most and have had most of them signed by the creators.

EURY: How many members are in the Legion of Superfluous Heroes?

VALENTINO: As Carl Sagan would say, “billions and billions!”

EURY: Has the Legion finished its roll call yet?

VALENTINO: Yes, but it ended in disaster.

EURY: I’m wondering, what does S.C.H.M.U.C.K. stand for?

VALENTINO: Nothing in particular.

EURY: You originally did everything but edit normalman, but your first issue ran late and A-V’s Deni Loubert Sim took some heat for that. What do you recall about putting together that first issue, about learning the ropes and realities of producing a comic?

VALENTINO: None of us had ever done a color comic before. Not me, not Deni, not the printer we worked with, so we grossly underestimated the time it would take and screwed it up royally. It was a dreadful learning experience as we were working with Blue Lines; the paint was thick and we were clueless about how to do it.

Luckily, by issue #3 we hired Murphy Anderson’s Visual Concepts and they made everything smooth and easy. It was a real thrill for me to meet Murphy and

When Comics Were Fun Issue

Whence They Came Three Valentino covers and their inspirations. (left) normalman #1 (Jan. 1984) and Curt Swan and Stan Kaye’s Superman #146 (July 1961); (center) normalman #10 (Aug. 1985) and Will Eisner’s Sunday, October 9, 1949 The Spirit supplement; and (right) normalman #8 (Apr. 1985) and Frank Frazetta’s Buck Rogers cover for Famous Funnies #214 (Nov. 1954). normalman TM & © Jim Valentino.

Superman TM & © DC Comics.

The Spirit TM & © The Will Eisner Estate. Buck Rogers TM & © The Dille Family Trust.

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become friends with him and his wife, Helen, two sweeter people you’re not likely to find. I even got him to ink a drawing of Captain Everything for me—what a thrill that was!

EURY: Your wife Diane was worked into the mix beginning with issue #2, soon taking over the coloring and lettering from you. Was she a comics fan, or did she get roped into the family business?

VALENTINO: [laughs] She got roped into the family business. I couldn’t color if it meant the firing squad. And I hated lettering … still do, as a matter of fact! Luckily, she could do both and, best of all, she worked cheap!

EURY: What was your working method with Diane on normalman?

norm Meets Wolverine… …MacAlistaire, that is, star of William Messner-Loebs’ Journey. The cover to issue #13 (Aug. 1984) was a jam between Valentino (normalman figure) and MessnerLoebs (everything else). (bottom) The normalman #10 mid-book spread was produced in black and white to honor its gueststar, Cerebus. normalman TM & © Jim Valentino.

Journey TM & © William MessnerLoebs. Cerebus TM & © Dave Sim.

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VALENTINO: If memory serves, which it rarely does, I would pencil in the art and the dialog. I seem to remember that because she’d always get mad because if I ran out of room, I’d just make the letters smaller and bunch them together—that always pissed her off because it wouldn’t leave her enough room. She’d letter, I’d ink then she’d do color guides off of photocopies.

EURY: Were you involved with the marketing and distribution of normalman, or did you leave that to Aardvark-Vanaheim?

VALENTINO: Oh, God no. They realized early on it was better to keep me in the cage, chained to the board.

They’d throw raw meat at me every now and then and hose me down every few days, but wouldn’t let me out. Who could blame them?

EURY: What was fan reaction like to your early issues?

This was before comics started taking themselves so darn seriously…

VALENTINO: Oh, I think way too many people took themselves and their favorite characters way too seriously back then. I remember one guy who was livid because I dared mess with Sgt. Fury. I thought that was hilarious.

As with everything—some folks liked it, some hated it, most just ignored it. I was having fun and doing the one thing I’d dreamed of doing all my life; making comics. It’s still the only thing I want to do; even if I’m not drawing or writing on a regular basis anymore, I’m still producing and publishing comics.

And I still feel blessed to be doing it! How many people get to live their lifelong dream?

EURY: The Comics Journal called normalman “juvenile and sophomoric.”

VALENTINO: I wore that like a badge of honor from pretentious jerks I had absolutely no respect for then or now.

EURY: Was there a specific figure in mind when you created the Ultra-Conservative?

VALENTINO: Ronald Reagan.

EURY: How about your inspiration for Sophisticated Lady—other than the song, that is?

VALENTINO: Even though I did a lousy job on it, she was modeled after Will Eisner’s P’Gell [from The Spirit].

EURY: In issue #4, Joe Staton’s E-Man, Joshua Quagmire’s Cutey Bunny, Michael T. Gilbert’s the Wraith, and Fred Hembeck drop in. Surely, there must be some stories behind this story…

VALENTINO: Nearly every comic from every publisher at the time had these ads for Hostess Twinkies and cupcakes that would feature prominent characters. I thought it might be fun to do a take on that in issue #4 since the story was set on Earth-Twinkie (the world with a cream-filled center). My idea was to have Hembeck “film” the commercials as if he were a movie director, then I asked Joe Staton, Joshua Quagmire, and Michael T. Gilbert if I could borrow their characters for it. Everybody said yes, so we had this fun little parody within a parody.

EURY: normalman dropped in on Wolverine McAlistaire in William Messner-Loebs’ Journey #13 (Aug. 1984).

How’d this crossover come about? Were you friends with Bill and Nadine Messner-Loebs? What was it like seeing your character drawn by someone else?

VALENTINO: I met Bill and Nadine, along with many, many other folks, at the infamous Petuniacon. I believe it was Nadine who told me that Bill wanted to do a crossover with the other A-V books and asked if I’d be interested. Since I couldn’t see two more diverse books than Journey and normalman, I naturally said yes.

I loved seeing Bill’s interpretation of the character, and one of the best things was MacAlistaire became a mentor/father figure to norm and really helped advance his character. The other nice thing was that when Fantagraphics reprinted Journey, Gary Groth refused to publish that issue, which tickled me off to no end and proved I was right in my opinion of him.

EURY: Do you realize I have to fight auto-correct when I start a sentence by typing the lower-case “normalman”?

VALENTINO: Yeah, I know, I just added it to my dictionary. The idea behind that was unlike a superhero whose name would be written in ALL CAPS, normalman would be understated, always lower-case. Again, probably more me than I really want to admit.

EURY: I’m still wondering, what does S.C.H.M.U.C.K. stand for?

VALENTINO: Nothing in particular, but you know, I looked every time to see if it would change, too!

EURY: Remind the long-timers and inform the newbies of why, in 1985, normalman’s publisher changed from Aardvark-Vanaheim to Renegade Press?

VALENTINO: Ah, well, there once was the Sims, Dave and Deni, but then one day, they decided to be two rather than one—so Dave kept the last name and Cerebus and Aardvark-Vanaheim up in Kitchener in Canada. Deni, meanwhile, became Loubert and Journey, Ms. Tree, Flaming Carrot, Neil the Horse, and normalman all joined her at Renegade Press in Southern California. The hows and the whys are not mine to tell.

EURY: norm came full circle with normalman #10, which featured Cerebus and collaborator Dave Sim. VALENTINO: Yeah, that was great. I’d sent a rough sketch and dialog penciled in to him. He returned with very MINOR script corrections. I remember because he left me a note about how close I actually came to what he was thinking at the time, lettered in his inimitable style and a single drawing of Cerebus, which I manipulated using photocopies to try and make it look like several drawings. A lot of people seemed surprised that he would go through with it as planned since

No, He’s Not Cosplaying (left) Captain Everything and norm arrive at a meticulously rendered (nice job, Jim!) San Diego Convention Center on this original art page from normalman 20th Anniversary Special. Courtesy of Jim Valentino. (right) Also from Jim, original art to page 6 of normalmanMegaton Man Special #1 (Aug. 1994), featuring: Wolff & Byrd by Batton Lash; Dr. Radium by Scott Saaverda; Zot! by Scott McCloud; Madman by Mike Allred; Smiley Bone and Cow by Jeff Smith; Starchild by James Owen; Neil the Horse by Arn Saba; Junior Jackalope by R. L. Crabbe; Mystery, Inc.

by Rick Veitch; Megaton Man by Don Simpson; Mr. Spook by Larry Marder; Flaming Carrot by Bob Burden; and normalman and the Guardians of the Galaxy by Valentino. normalman TM & © Jim Valentino. Characters © the above creators, except for Guardians of the Galaxy TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Completely normal The Complete normalman cover, with colors by Eric Stephenson. “One of my favorites!” says Jim. normalman TM & © Jim Valentino.

they thought there would be drama over the A-V-Renegade split, but to his credit, Dave did as promised, which he pretty much always did in my experience.

EURY: DC, Marvel, EC horror comics, Elfquest, the Smurfs, Hostess snacks, Richie Rich, Mickey Mouse, The Spirit, DNAgents, superhero teams, Star Wars, Asterix, Cerebus, American Flagg!, and Archie Comics—Holy Moley, normalman #1–12 took on just about everything in comics! Was each issue’s spoof planned from the get-go, or did your subjects evolve along with the storyline?

VALENTINO: I’d filled up a sketchbook and written a rough outline before the concept was even shown to Deni. There was a takeoff I’d done of Dave Stevens’ Rocketeer which she showed to Dave, and when he laughed she was sold on publishing it. Somewhere along the way, and I can’t recall when, I decided not to do any company twice—so there may have been a lot of covers that were switched or tossed or whatever as the narrative became more focused. But, honestly, I couldn’t tell you what.

EURY: In retrospect, was there anything you wish you would’ve spoofed that you didn’t, or anything you would’ve done differently in your overall story?

VALENTINO: Not in the story, I don’t think, but in the covers and the spoofs and in a few of the issues. I wouldn’t have placed the DC and the Marvel issues one right after the other. I always thought a few of the issues were pretty weak. They just weren’t jelling for one reason or another. The problem was that I was locked into 12 issues, so I had to use them, even if they were padded. Hindsight is always 20/20 as they say, but if I’ve learned anything over the last hundred years is to let misgivings like that go—it is what it is, I did the best I could do at the time.

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EURY: Of all of these take-offs, were they well received by the creators of the comics you were lampooning? Or did anyone ever object? (Is there any p-o’ed creator you duck at conventions?)

VALENTINO: If anyone was angry I never heard about it. Jerry Siegel loved the book, so that was good enough for me!

EURY: You also snuck in tons of cameos amid the heroes flying the skies of Levram. Ever get a cease-and-desist letter from a publisher that didn’t share your sense of humor?

VALENTINO: No, those cameos are all under the fair use clause. I don’t think most of the majors were paying much attention to it; why would they? It was a modest little book from a very small company by a relatively unknown creator. It would have been far more trouble than it could have possibly been worth to send a C-and-D. EURY: Your biggest jam project was the normalman-Megaton Man Special in 1994, with norm sharing pages with Don Simpson’s Megaton Man, Bob Burden’s Flaming Carrot, and Larry Marder’s Mr. Spook. What was the creative process like in this group collaboration?

VALENTINO: Well, we met originally as a group at a convention in Texas, but nothing came of that. Then a year later I was in New York for an extended stay and I brought Don Simpson up for a couple of days. We hatched out a basic plot while walking through the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I rushed through about half of it in a frenzy over the next couple of days—writing and roughing the layouts. Don wrote the Understanding Mayan Lawn Sprinklers page but got worried that it might offend Scott McCloud, so we called him up. I read it to him and Scott couldn’t stop laughing. We knew we were on the right track. I roughed in the rest of it at home— penciling in the other guys’ characters and roughing in their dialog.

I sent it to them with instructions to rewrite and re-draw, which they did. I took the jam pages to a convention or two and got everybody who was attending to add their character to it. So it was actually kind of fun and I have those jam pages framed and hanging in my home to remind me of it.

EURY: normalman 20th Anniversary Special #1 was published in 2004. Other than this interview in BACK ISSUE, is there anything planned for normalman’s 30th?

VALENTINO: I was toying with the idea of redrawing the stories from Cerebus #56 and 57 and AV in 3-D as a single narrative and calling it normalman Zero, but I only got as far as a cover, which is a spoof on Amazing Fantasy #15. Maybe I’ll do it in time for the 31st anniversary, although I can’t imagine any more than a dozen people actually wanting it.

EURY: If you were to do a normalman book today, what current comics would you parody?

VALENTINO: Oh, gosh, I don’t know. When I did the series I was an outsider looking in, so the parody was a lot softer—it was through a fan’s eyes. But the later stories-the ones in Epic Lite, normalmanMegaton Man, and the 20th Anniversary—were written through the eyes of a seasoned vet, so they were a lot more cynical.

That said, while I can’t pinpoint which individual comics I’d do, I can say that the first company on my crosshairs would be Image Comics. And, boy, those guys would never talk to me again. I can guarantee that!

EURY: C’mon, won’t you please tell me what S.C.H.M.U.C.K. stands for?

VALENTINO: Okay, I’ll tell you! Are you sitting down? Are you sure you’re ready for this? Please understand that I cannot be held responsible for what might happen to you or your readers, but it actually stands for—* BACK ISSUE editor-in-chief MICHAEL EURY once had a letter published in normalman’s “Let’s Conform with norm” lettercol, in issue #4!!

TM

by

Daniel DeAngelo

When Comics Were Fun The 1984 poster promoting the lighthearted new DC series, Blue Devil.

Art by Paris Cullins and Gary Martin.

TM and © DC Comics.

In 1984, DC Comics boasted, “We’ve Made Comics Fun Again!” in imprisonment in another dimension. When Nebiros tries to eat Sharon, advertising for a new title called Blue Devil, created by the writing Cassidy dons the Blue Devil costume and attempts to save her, but team of Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin, along with artist Paris Cullins. Nebiros zaps him with a mystic blast. BD is stunned but soon recovers Stuntman and special-effects artist Daniel Cassidy creates a and manages to force Nebiros back through the doorway in special costume and trident for a horror movie called the temple with his trident. Later, a weary Cassidy returns “Blue Devil.” Both have a variety of special effects built to his trailer, only to discover that he cannot remove his into them, and the costume’s exo-skeleton increases costume. He is now and forever after a … Blue Devil!

Dan’s strength and agility to superhuman levels.

DEVIL IN THE DETAILS BD debuted in a 16-page preview in Fury of Before they became writers, Cohn and Mishkin had Firestorm #24 (June 1984), in which the Flash’s old been friends since eighth grade. “To say that Gary foe, the Trickster—himself a former stuntman and and I shared a lot of the same interests would be an associate of Dan Cassidy—reads about the costume understatement,” Mishkin recalls. “Comics and science and decides to steal it. The Trickster’s appearance fiction were a big part of the connection, and we both in the preview had one significant impact on our had fertile imaginations. Gary was the one who was hero: “I did imagine [BD] a darker blue and was bold enough to say, however, that he was going to surprised when the preview came out,” Cohn says. make a career of writing. I didn’t have the self“I’ve always assumed he got colored that way dan mishkin confidence to make a declaration like that, but once because Trickster’s costume already had dark blue.” he did, I could entertain the possibility.” Despite the In the first issue (June 1984), producer Marla Photo by Luigi Novi. fact that Cohn was in New York while Mishkin lived Bloom takes her crew—including has-been actor Wayne Tarrant, in Michigan, the two were able to maintain a steady partnership. actress Sharon Scott, cinematographer Norm Paxton, and Marla’s young nephew, Edward “Gopher” Bloomberg—to the Caribbean “Sometimes, one person would be mostly plotting and one person island called Ile du Diable (“The Devil’s Island”) for filming. While mostly dialoguing,” Mishkin says. “It’s all over the map,” The duo went exploring an ancient temple, Sharon finds a key and inadvertently on to co-create Amethyst, but they started out writing short stories for uses it to open a doorway, releasing a demon called Nebiros from his DC’s mystery comics such as House of Mystery, which led editor Dave When Comics Were Fun Issue

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A Winning Proposal Sample copy and images from the Mishkin/Cohn/ Cullins Blue Devil proposal.

Blue Devil TM & © DC Comics.

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Manak to suggest they try developing something in The Unexpected for artist Steve Ditko. “In a long-distance marathon phone call, we talked about everything we loved about Marvel Comics in the mid-’60s,” Cohn says, “and gradually a character emerged who was part Ben Grimm/Thing, part Peter Parker/Spider-Man, part Tony Stark/Iron Man … with some Green Goblin thrown in. Dan had gone to school in North Carolina for a bit … and so Blue seemed to naturally fit with Devil for him. Hence … Blue Devil.”

However, Ditko was not interested in Blue Devil. “Ditko felt it wasn’t his kinda thing,” says Cohn, “which absolutely baffled us.” Having been conceived for a horror/mystery comic, BD was originally intended to be a darker character. The series proposal described Dan as having “a brooding understanding of the grimmer side of life” and even mentions his attempting to commit suicide after becoming trapped in the costume! “I’d say we did have more of a sense of Dan Cassidy as a brooding character trapped in a monstrous body,” Mishkin recalls. “But give huge credit to [DC president] Jenette Kahn, who said that the bouncy fun part and Cassidy’s ongoing skepticism about what superpowered people took for granted were what made the concept tick. In fact, we took pages out of the original version of the first issue, reshuffled some of what remained, and added new scenes to reflect Jenette’s insight and come up with the Blue Devil #1 that you know.”

Cohn adds, “We probably were wavering about how much ‘fun’ the series was going to have and if there was going to be a ‘grim’ element. When Paris Cullins came aboard, there was no doubt … so BD’s direction was pretty much set from there.”

Cullins’ own direction “was kind of set” from an early age: “My mom was interested in comics and used to read them to me all the time. I made up my mind around the third grade to be a comic-book artist, and the idea never left my mind.”

Cullins had been submitting artwork to DC for a while before getting a call from executive editor Dick Giordano.

“He asked me to come in,” Cullins recalls, “and he handed me a House of Mystery story. From [there] I went to the ‘GL Corps’ backup stories in Green Lantern, so I was mostly doing short filler stories. One day, he said, ‘Ditko was supposed to do this, but he turned it down, and I think this would be good for you.’ Cullins’ approach to BD was, “I couldn’t get the idea that this guy stuck in a costume was an gary cohn unhappy guy. Spider-Man always used to make quips, so I thought why couldn’t this guy have fun fighting monsters?

That was how I interpreted it.” Cullins cites BD as “one of my favorites.

I always liked characters with a lot of kinetic energy—a lot of movement— like Captain America or Spider-Man.” The first drawing of Blue Devil actually came from Cohn, which Cullins referred to when redesigning the character. “I really didn’t change much from Gary’s original design,” Cullins notes, or as Cohn told the Once Upon a Geek website in June 2009, “Enough to make it look good [laughs]!”

The last member of the team was editor Alan Gold, although he had no involvement in the creation of the character. “Len Wein developed Blue Devil with Dan, Gary, and Paris,” Gold recalls. “I don’t know why [Len] decided not to stick with the title. Everyone agreed that Paris’ art was spectacular and the book would likely be a hit.” According to Gold, “Dan and Gary worked together without much input from me. They plotted off the premises, and Dan sent his letter-perfect scripts by mail. We did stories Marvel-style. Each script was a collaboration. Dan did the ballooning [lettering placement] over Paris’ pencils. Every panel was chock-full of action and interesting props.”

One of Gold’s biggest contributions to the book was his letters pages, where he would print the names of every reader who wrote in—even briefly responding to questions. “I figured that anyone who wrote a letter to Blue Devil deserved a reply, or at least recognition. I guess I was projecting, putting myself in the letter writers’ shoes. Some writers showed up month after month, and I felt a personal relation to them.”

Rough Stuff Gary Cohn’s original rendition of Blue Devil, and some of Gary’s script breakdowns.

Blue Devil TM & © DC Comics.

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SPEAK OF THE DEVIL

First Sightings (left) This bouncy 1984 DC Comics house ad alerted readers to Blue Devil’s special preview in Fury of Firestorm #24, which contained (right) this cover. (center) The original Blue Devil.

Blue Devil TM & © DC Comics.

Duke Blue Devil TM Duke University.

Blue Devil #2–5 (July–Oct. 1984) focus on Dan’s attempts to get out of the costume. While in Metropolis to visit S.T.A.R. Labs, BD is drawn into battle with a new supervillain named Shockwave (called “Piledriver” in the proposal). Although Dan claims that he has no interest in being a hero, Gopher points out, “When you look like a superhero, you get treated like one … and then you start acting like one!” While at S.T.A.R., Dan learns that the costume has merged with his body and is now part of him. BD is called into action again to stop Superman’s enemy Metallo from stealing some experimental “Super-Kryptonite” (an abandoned subplot that was intended to be followed up on in DC Comics Presents). Supes, himself, shows up at the end and brings BD to the JLA Satellite in the hope that Zatanna may be able to solve his problem.

Issue #3 (Aug 1984) introduces two of Metallo’s henchmen, Smitty and Rojek, who were based on Abbott and Costello. They became a running gag in the series, as their schemes would always be unwittingly spoiled by BD. Unfortunately, Zatanna’s magic cannot separate Dan from the costume, so they return to Ile du Diable to ask Nebiros to reverse the spell. However, Nebiros now considers BD his “brother demon” after giving him the trident as a “gift” and does not

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believe he is a man in a costume. “It seems no one else at DC has ever quite gotten this,” Cohn explains, “[but] Nebiros is really stupid, as only the truly powerful can be. What makes him funny, even if he’s really scary, is this massive stupidity.” Nebiros is now able to channel mystical energy from his dimension through BD’s trident. BD engages Nebiros in a mystic tug-of-war over the trident and reclaims it, using its new power to blast Nebiros back to his own dimension. Dan finally accepts the fact that he is stuck being Blue Devil, but Zatanna tells him that he will make “a great superhero”—over his protests— and lays a big kiss on him. Maybe being a superhero isn’t so bad after all! As much as he tries to live a normal life and avoid any superheroics, Dan continues to find himself drawn into danger. Norm’s theory was that the combination of science and magic in BD had turned him into a “Weirdness Magnet,” meaning that he just naturally attracted trouble, whether it was supervillains, disasters—or aliens. In #6 (Nov. 1984), Dan and Norm get mixed up with a couple of down-on-their-luck extraterrestrials named Lehni and Jorj (based on the characters Lennie and George from Of Mice and Men, “but we made the little guy the strong, dumb one just for the goof of it,” says Cohn) and help them get jobs as bouncers at a Las Vegas casino.

A DEVIL OF A TIME BD suffered perhaps his greatest loss when Paris Cullins left the book after #6 due to “personal problems.” The next five issues were drawn in succession by Gil Kane, Keith Giffen, Ernie Colón, Michael Chen, and Tod Smith, until a new regular artist could be found.

Cullins explains, “I was young and had just moved to New York, so it wasn’t easy for me. I had broken up with my ex near the end of my run, and that’s when I began having problems keeping up.”

Gold recalls, “I hope I’m not speaking out of turn if I say that Paris was fancy-free back then. He was conscientious and put in long hours penciling overdue pages at my desk, but he didn’t know from time management. Ten years later, I met him at the DC offices, and he’d become as professional and serious as any artist you could name. Anyway, we had some hairy months putting issues to bed. Luckily, Dan and Gary were nimble and could provide ideas and copy within the hour.”

As much as Cullins regretted leaving the book, Cohn and Mishkin regretted it even more. “Paris’ leaving killed the book,” says Cohn. “It just took a long time about dying. The inconsistency of having [several] different artists over the next [few] issues (despite some great stuff) was devastating.” Mishkin concurs: “Not having Paris to blow our minds with his particular brand of inventiveness resulted in a loss of heat that was very hard to get back.”

Cullins looks back at his brief run on Blue Devil with great fondness: “I had a real good time! It was my first real interaction with writers, and they were good guys. They had a lot of input into the artwork and would sometimes point out things that were missing. It really helped me hone my storytelling.” Although Cullins continued to draw covers, the letters pages always included requests to bring him back. “After I was off the book for awhile, I wasn’t aware that to admit his feelings for the girl they wanted me back,” Cullins says. because she could never love him “If I was, I would have fought harder now that he’s a monster. to get back on it.” Instead, Cullins paris cullins Cohn says, “We decided that it accepted a new assignment from was more fun to have BD and Gold to draw another agile, humorous, Photo by kordindustriesblogspot.com.

Sharon be a couple from pretty early blue hero … Blue Beetle! “It was no coincidence,” Cullins claims. “I was chosen to do the book because on,” and Mishkin explains, “We were open to letting of the similarity to Blue Devil.” There was no question the story go where it wanted to go, rather than imposing that Cullins’ art had defined Blue Devil and left an any ideas of what ‘usually’ happens.”

Wonder Woman guest-stars in #10 (Mar. 1985), as indelible mark on the book, so finding a replacement for him would not be easy. [Editor’s note: DC’s Blue BD has to battle the female Furies of Greek mythology when Wayne’s campy portrayal of King Theseus in a Beetle is the subject of an article in BACK ISSUE #79.]

Blue Devil #7 (Dec. 1984) is the first in a three-part musical offends the goddess Athena. BD also meets a story with the Trickster, who is on the run from a group of scientists from the IHNCS—the Institute for superpowered assassin called Bolt. Seeking Dan’s help, Hyper-Normal Conflict Studies—who want to study Trickster manages to ruin his first date with Sharon. him. They become recurring characters.

Todd Klein fills in as writer for #11 (Apr. 1985), Regardless, Dan and Sharon became a steady item after this story. While the two had unexpressed feelings for in which the “Blue Devil” movie goes over budget, each other from the start, most comics would have causing BD to have a Wizard of Oz-like dream where stretched out the angst by having the hero too afraid he battles a supervillain called the Auditor. #12–13 When Comics Were Fun Issue

1st Issue— Collector’s Item (above) Cover to Blue Devil #1, and (left) its “Circuits & Sorcery” lettercol header.

TM & © DC Comics.

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Mysterious Date Photostat of Paris Cullins’ original cover art to Blue Devil #7 (Dec. 1984). Note its clever composition: the villain vs. villain action frames the heart-shaped headshots without detracting from that image. Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

Kupperberg as “consistent. He made his deadlines. He was willing to commit to the book. We had some fun, did a few good things with the character, but there was no real spark.” Cullins says, “One thing I liked about Alan Kupperberg was that he didn’t see the character as just a guy in a costume. He dressed him in a very Irish-style, and I appreciated that.” Kupperberg brought some much-needed stability to Blue Devil and would remain with the title almost until its end.

Paris Cullins had one last hurrah with the character in the Blue Devil Annual (1985), billed as “Summer Fun.” In a double-sized story, BD joins forces with the Phantom Stranger, Madame Xanadu, Etrigan, the Creeper, and Man-Bat against Felix Faust, who seeks to unleash the spawn of Nebiros with an egg taken from Ile du Diable.

The Annual includes pinups, a diagram of BD’s costume, and even a “Weirdness Magnet” board game. While fans were used to BD being whimsical, there were some who felt the humorous approach was inappropriate for more “serious” characters like Phantom Stranger and Etrigan. Mishkin responds, “Any character who showed up in a Blue Devil story was going to have his or her ideas about superhero story conventions upended to one extent or another.”

THE DEVIL’S WORKSHOP

(May–June 1985) is a two-part story where Shockwave returns and attacks BD at the premiere of his movie (a comic-book adaptation of the movie was announced but never produced). BD becomes possessed by a demonic entity inhabiting his trident (a leftover from when Nebiros wielded it) and needs help from Zatanna, Green Lantern John Stewart, and Etrigan the Demon.

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE Blue Devil finally gained a regular penciler in #12 (May 1985) with Alan Kupperberg, a journeyman artist whose work has appeared in various Marvel and DC titles. “I don’t remember if Alan Gold asked me to draw the feature or if I asked him,” Kupperberg says, although Gold believes that Dick Giordano might have suggested him for the job. “I don’t think I had read Blue Devil before I took it over,” Kupperberg recalls. “I had been fairly contemptuous of the title because Marvel’s big hit at the time was Daredevil. And I thought, ‘Oh, now DC needs a devil.’ Daredevil is red. So DC’s devil is blue.”

Was there any pressure in taking over from such a popular artist as Cullins? “No pressure on me at all,” Kupperberg replies. “The only person I had to deal with regarding the book was Alan Gold. I wasn’t going to conventions and there was no Internet. So I just did what I did in a vacuum. The scripts were fine and fun. I met one or both writers in [Gold’s] office once or twice. It was pleasant, but we didn’t have a relationship or deal directly with each other. All business went through [Gold’s] office.”

“He was the ideal freelancer for me,” Alan Gold says. “He has the healthy ego of every creative person, but he never let it get in the way of a deadline, and he illustrated the action described in the script. He added touches, but he didn’t create alternative action that would force the writer to go off-script. And he never cut corners.” Cohn describes 56 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

Gopher idolized Blue Devil and, sneaking into Dan’s workshop while no one is around, secretly constructs his own costume and trident, debuting as Kid Devil in #14 (July 1985). As with everything in Blue Devil, the idea of a kid sidekick was not taken very seriously. “Kid Devil was a funny idea,” Cohn says, “and we played with the annoying sidekick bit as much as we wanted to.” Since BD doesn’t consider himself a superhero, he certainly wasn’t looking for a sidekick and tries to discourage Gopher, but the IHNCS offers to help train him.

Another new hero is introduced in #15 (Aug 1985)—Verner’s “Vanquisher!” When movie mogul Jock Verner decides that he wants his own superhero to compete with Marla Bloom and BD, the IHNCS gives superpowers to his chauffeur, Van. Vanquisher was based on a character from Cohn and Mishkin’s run on the “OMAC” backup series in The Warlord, but he was originally intended to be a completely different character called “Marathon.” In the series proposal, Marathon is described as “a showboat hero, a flashy grandstander,” who is “secretly the assassin and marauder, Deathbolt!” The idea of a superhero moonlighting as a villain sounds interesting, but Marathon/Deathbolt was split into two separate characters: Vanquisher and Bolt. “No idea why we split Marathon,” Cohn says. “I still think that’s a good name for a character.”

When Crisis on Infinite Earths hit the DC Universe, BD was required to make the obligatory crossover. “[Crisis] was an incredible pain in the ass!” Cohn told Once Upon a Geek. After battling Aquaman’s old foe, the Fisherman, in #17 (Oct. 1985), BD is summoned by John Stewart to the JLA Satellite to help repair the damaged Red Tornado in Crisis #8 (Nov. 1985). The Satellite is destroyed, and BD is sent through a space-warp into a team-up with the Omega Men in #18 (Nov. 1985).

Kid Devil takes the spotlight in #19 (Dec 1985) with a trio of stories, including a team-up with Robin (Jason Todd). In #20 (Jan. 1986), Dan buys a Malibu beach house, only to find out that the closet is a doorway into the “House of Weirdness,” which is managed by former House of Mystery host Cain, who becomes a recurring character. “I always liked writing the character,” says Mishkin. In #21 (Feb. 1986), some of Dan’s old stuntman buddies—including the Trickster and Batmobile designer Jack Edison—rebuild his jeep into the high-tech

Devilmobile (!) just in time for him to battle a villain called the Roadmaster. BD and Wayne take a road trip to Metropolis and stop at Las Vegas to visit Lehni and Jorj in #22 (Mar. 1986). While passing through Pittsburgh in #23 (Apr. 1986), BD crosses over with Fury of Firestorm #46–47 (Apr.–May 1986), as Bolt joins forces with four of Firestorm’s enemies to take on both heroes.

THE DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND In #24 (May 1986), Blue Devil encounters Superman’s old foe, the Toyman, who is making action figures based on his likeness. BD almost became an action figure in real life as part of Kenner’s fondly remembered Super Powers toy line. Apparently, Kenner had big plans for BD, including figures of Metallo and Shockwave.

According to Cohn, someone got cold feet about producing a toy with “Devil” in the name. Mishkin recalls, “There was some concern expressed at DC about the ‘devil’ part of the name at one point and how it could limit licensing, which kind of ticked me off because Gary and I don’t have anything like the integrity to say, ‘No, he must be called Blue Devil no matter how much income we have to sacrifice!’ If someone at DC had been paying attention before the book was published, I’m pretty sure he would have had a different name.

“The only thing that stopped [the Super Powers figure] is that DC and Kenner didn’t come to terms on continuing the licensing arrangement. I’ve seen pictures of sculpts or concept drawings for Blue Devil, Shockwave,

and—I swear it’s true—some kind of Devilmobile.”

[Editor’s note: For an in-depth exploration of Kenner’s unproduced fourth wave of Super Powers action figures, seen BACK ISSUE #30.]

Unfortunately, BD fans would have to wait until 2007 for his first action figure to be released as part of Mattel’s Justice League Unlimited line of toys based on the 2001–2006 animated series (in which BD made a few brief background appearances)—although this version had a tail! “Dwayne McDuffie once told me that he’d tried to get a JLU story done that focused on Blue Devil,” Mishkin notes, “but with a limited number of episodes and a very large number of characters to choose from, it never happened.” BD also made cameo appearances in the Young Justice (2010–2013) animated series. The comic-book version of BD received a more proper figure in 2009 as part of DC Direct’s History of the DC Universe line and again in 2010 as part of Mattel’s DC Universe Classics wave 13. “I like them all!” Dan Mishkin says “They’re standing on my desk right now.”

(So, when are we getting the Devilmobile??)

Blue Devil #25 (June 1986) is a St. Patrick’s Day story where BD prevents leprechauns from overrunning Metropolis. Dan also meets up with his sister, Mary Frances (later revealed to be a Manhunter agent in DC’s 1987 Millennium miniseries), and great-uncle Seamus, who turns out to be half-faerie. As if that isn’t enough green for a book called Blue Devil, the next issue introduces a villain called the Green Gargoyle!

When Comics Were Fun Issue

Tricks Are for Kids Blue Devil’s almostbreakout star was Flash felon the Trickster (see the “Greatest Stories Never Told” sidebar accompanying this article). (left) Trickster gets his kicks on the cover to BD #8 (Jan. 1985). (right) Keith Giffen/Gary Martin original art page from that issue.

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

TM & © DC Comics.

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Issue #27 (Aug. 1986) predates the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) by having Verner Brothers (a spoof of Warner Bros.) cartoon character Godfrey Goose come to life and run amok. [Editor’s note: In fairness, the source material for director Robert Zemekis’ 1988 film, Gary K. Wolf’s 1981 novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, predates the Blue Devil story.]

BD helps Superman defend Metropolis against Terra-Man in DC Comics Presents #96 (Aug. 1986) by Cohn and Mishkin with artist Joe Staton. Mishkin pulls solo duty as the writer of #28 (Sept. 1986), in which fan Bryan Buck—the winner of the “Why I Ought to Be in Blue Devil Contest”—uses his knowledge of making balloon animals to help BD deal with an alien who can turn into (what else?) a balloon. Alan Gold steps in as writer for #29, in which BD begins to leak “weirdness energy,” which causes chaos at the House of Weirdness. “Dan and I thought it would be fun if I wrote an issue and he edited it,” says Gold.

Unfortunately, the fun was about to come to an end.

THE DEVIL TO PAY Sales on Blue Devil were declining and a new direction was being considered.

Barbara Kesel became editor, and Denys Cowan was announced in the letters page as the new artist. “Denys and I had met a couple of times, and we were up to something,” Cohn says, “but then … the book was canceled.” Mishkin recalls, “I was in at least one meeting with Gary and Denys, and we were aiming for him to become the regular artist. As for changes, I think we were at a place where we saw that without Paris, the ‘fun’ part of Blue Devil had sometimes turned to ‘silly.’”

Cohn concurs: “There’s a fine line between clever and stupid. For the first [year] and the Annual, we were on the right side of that line. After issue #12 … not so much.” Mishkin adds, “I think that with Denys, we would have found a new way to maintain a skewed point of view while telling terrific action tales. We had the go-ahead in the sense that our editor was ready to do it, but she couldn’t convince DC to give us an opportunity.”

Both #30 (Nov. 1986) and 31 (Dec 1986) were double-sized issues. Blue Devil #30 was originally intended to be the second Annual, in which BD faces the Flash’s Rogues’ Gallery. Issue #31 was actually an inventory story by Bob Rozakis and Bob Orzechowski with a new framing sequence by Cohn and Mishkin with Dan Jurgens.

Except for Marla and Gopher (and a brief appearance by Norm in Showcase ’93), BD’s supporting cast would never return in any of his subsequent adventures.

What killed Blue Devil?

“Three things,” Cohn believes. “Paris left. There were some high-level people at DC who couldn’t believe that BD was becoming successful, who didn’t like that sort of comic, and who undercut support for it. The Crisis nonsense destroyed whatever momentum we still had going in the middle-teens issues.

BD was going to be a big success, but it was mismanaged into oblivion and worse.” Mishkin adds, “The way I’d put it is that because the success of Blue Devil was such a surprise, DC couldn’t wrap their heads around the idea that they should give the book help when we needed it after Paris’ departure.

We were left to sink or swim on our own.” Gold adds, “I guess it wasn’t right for the times. Comics were serious in those days.”

After having his origin retold in Secret Origins #24 (Mar. 1988), by Cohn and Mishkin with artist Ty Templeton, Blue Devil largely disappeared, occasionally showing up in DC crossover events like Invasion, Armageddon 2001, and War of the Gods. BD finally received a second chance in a six-part series in Showcase ’93 (Jan.–June 1993), again written by Cohn and Mishkin with art by Pete Moriarty. “Showcase editor Neil Pozner liked Blue Devil,” Cohn says. “He liked us, he wanted to give BD another shot.” In the story, Dan is directing his own movie when a robot policeman brings him and his assistant, Morty, to Lehni and Jorj’s homeworld, Maldor. Morty turns out to be an alien sent to Earth to study BD by his leader, Galaxa, who wants to harness BD’s “techno-mystical” energy to extract Earth’s life essence. “I did enjoy Pete Moriarty’s art—different from Paris but fun in its own way,” says Mishkin.

This would be the last time BD would be written by his co-creators.

Teen Titan (top) Blue Devil #14 (July 1985) paid tribute to Detective Comics #38’s Robin debut with its introduction of sidekick Kid Devil. Art by Cullins and Martin. (bottom) Alan Kupperberg drew BD during Kid Devil’s day, and penciled this Who’s Who entry. Inks by Bob Smith.

TM & © DC Comics.

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A Team? Really??

At the conclusion of 1985’s Blue Devil Annual #1, the assembled weird heroes nix the Creeper’s suggestion that they form a group. Who’d’a thought that such teams—Shadowpact and Justice League Dark, anyone?— would later become fashionable?

TM & © DC Comics.

BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW… In Justice League America #98 (Apr. 1995), by Gerard Jones and Chuck Wojtkiewicz, BD shows up at JLA HQ uninvited and wanting to join the team because Marla believes it will boost his popularity and create interest in a new “Blue Devil” movie. The JLA dismisses BD as a “Hollywood goofball,” but he follows them on one of their missions to prove himself. Despite the fact that his grandstanding manages to jeopardize everyone’s lives, BD is allowed to join the team.

In #101 (July 1995), Green Lantern Guy Gardner tells Blue Devil, “You’re the guy who thinks he’s got the answers. The one everybody oughtta kneel down and worship—if only they had the guts to admit how they envy him. I knew a jerk like you in this League once. His name was Guy Gardner.” You know things are bad when Guy Gardner, of all people, tells you that you’re a “jerk.”

BD would get his chance at stardom as part of DC’s 1995 Underworld Unleashed miniseries by Mark Waid and Howard Porter, in which the demon Neron offers to make BD a star in exchange for a simple favor. All he has to do is destroy a small, unmanned power station in a deserted area. “Simple enough … what could it hurt?” he thinks. However, Marla is checking a location shot nearby in a helicopter (piloted by a man who looks like Norm Paxton but is called “Chuck”), which gets caught in the power lines because the warning

lights are out. Marla is killed, and Dan is soon flooded with calls from agents and producers offering their condolences and telling him they can make him a star.

A vengeful BD leads a group of superheroes into Neron’s realm in #3 (Dec. 1995), where he attacks Neron. “I didn’t believe in my soul until I lost it,” BD shouts, “and now I want it BACK! I can’t live like this!” Neron kills BD with a mystic blast and sends him tumbling down into a pit, but BD bursts back up from the ground, transformed into a real demon with golden horns, tail, bracelets, belt, and boots, as well as gold plating around his head and shoulders. In the end, Neron is outsmarted by the Trickster and defeated, while the other heroes wonder what has become of BD. “There’s no sign of him,” Captain Atom says. “We can only hope that whatever became of him … wherever he is … he got a piece of soul back…”

Apparently, someone at DC felt that Blue Devil was never going to be successful as a funny hero and decided to take a darker turn with the character. The only problem is that Dan Cassidy had never shown any interest in being a star. The original Blue Devil proposal states, “If [Cassidy’s] interests turned to acting, he would have no problem becoming a matinee idol, and he has already refused Marla’s suggestion that he try out for the lead in one of her films.

He would rather play the monster and do the stunts.”

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The Fall Guy Stuntman-turnedhero Dan Cassidy gets grief from his supporting cast in this 2006 specialty illo by and courtesy of Alan Kupperberg.

TM & © DC Comics.

Even if we choose to ignore this, shouldn’t Dan have wished to be free of the costume if he really wanted to be a movie star? How many roles could he expect to get as a blue devil? “Overwrought, hyperventilating melodrama,” Cohn calls it. “Nothing about BD as he was created would fit something like that, so ‘they’ used something called ‘Blue Devil’ that has no real connection with the character we created.”

BD returns to the JLA but now carries the guilt of Marla’s death with him. In #109 (Mar 1996), when Wonder Woman asks BD if anything’s wrong, he feigns innocence. “Wrong?!” he says. “Maybe you haven’t heard, fan club … but Blue Devil’s your new star!”

Walking off, he thinks, “‘Self-pity’…?

No, Daniel Patrick Cassidy’s not going to show them that! Not Neron—not

60 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

this whole damn world—is going to reduce me to that!” When Justice League America was canceled to make room for a relaunch of the original “Big Seven” JLA by Grant Morrison, BD’s stint with the group was over … for a while.

CURSE OF THE DEVIL

In Starman vol. 2 #38 (Jan. 1996), BD joins the new Justice League Europe—alongside Firestorm, Ice Maiden, Crimson Fox, and Amazing Man—to guard a museum in Paris. By the end of the issue, the entire group (except for Firestorm, who is lured away) is killed by Starman’s enemy, the Mist. Expecting BD to attack her with hellfire, Mist fills the building’s sprinkler system with holy water, causing BD to melt into bones and ashes. James Robinson wrote a great exchange between BD and Firestorm, which basically summed up how comics in general—and BD in particular—had changed over the years. When BD asks what the JLA was like back in “the old days.” Firestorm replies, “It alan kupperberg was … big and bright, and great, and Photo by Luigi Novi. easy to understand. The world was simpler. Only a couple of years ago, but there have been such changes.” He continues, “No adventure went on for too long. Things were more open and shut.

And no one died. At least not often. Nowadays you fly off for a moment, you come back and two or three of your buddies are dead in that time.” BD says he wished he had joined the JLA back then, but “I was having fun.

My life then … at the start … it was such a laugh. I didn’t feel the need to be a part of the bigger, badder picture.”

For better or worse, BD was now a part of “the bigger, badder picture,” and not even death would keep him from it for long.

In DC’s Day of Judgment (Nov. 1999) miniseries, the Spectre goes on a rampage, freezing Hell and unleashing an army of demons to destroy the Earth.

Sebastian Faust, the son of Felix Faust, leads a group of heroes to reignite the fires of Hell. They are opposed

by Nebiros, who was given Lucifer’s Trident in order to dispose of them. Faust uses BD’s bones to resurrect him.

BD battles Nebiros and takes the trident, as Firestorm turns the water in Nebiros’ body into cement, killing him. BD joins Faust, Dr. Occult, Madame Xanadu, Ragman, original GL Alan Scott, Zatanna, Dr. Fate, and Phantom Stranger as part of the new Sentinels of Magic.

BD’s revival is short-lived, however, as the Sentinels are targeted by the sorcerer Hermes Trismegistus in the JLA: Black Baptism miniseries (May–Aug. 2001) by Ruben Diaz, Sean Smith, and Jesus Saiz. BD and Faust are apparently destroyed in the end, although Faust fakes his death and takes one of BD’s horns with him. BD is presumably resurrected by Faust again, since he is later seen as a bouncer at the extra-dimensional Oblivion Bar in the Day of Vengeance (June–Nov. 2005) miniseries

by Bill Willingham and Justiniano. The Spectre runs amok again, this time intending to destroy all magic.

In the end, BD joins another magical group of heroes— Nightmaster, Nightshade, Ragman, Enchantress, and Detective Chimp—called Shadowpact.

In 2006, Shadowpact receives its own book (#1 is cover-dated July), also written by Willingham. The group investigates a magical barrier surrounding the town or Riverrock, Wyoming, and disappears. In the town, Shadowpact battles a group of magical villains

called the Pentacle—one of whom is named Jack of Fire, a demon claiming to be Dan’s long-lost brother.

After the Pentacle is defeated, Shadowpact destroys the barrier surrounding the town by sacrificing a year from each of their lives, causing them to skip forward in time a year. Shadowpact #4 (Oct. 2006) takes a refreshingly lighthearted look at BD’s personal life. Dan now lives in Metropolis, where he is considered a local hero by the neighborhood. He misses a Shadowpact meeting while rescuing a cat, preventing a mugging, battling a giant lizard, and using his trident to banish two demons that are sent to bring him back to Hell. In #10 (Apr. 2007), BD learns that he has been “demoted” (the opposite of a promotion in Hell) to a rhyming demon because his heroics have given demons a good image on Earth. This results in angel and former JLA member Zauriel being tasked with BD’s destruction. “Little boys and girls look up to you and seek to emulate you,” Zauriel tells BD in #14 (Aug 2007), “Because of your heroic exploits, hundreds have already sought out similar infernal bargains, and that number grows daily.” BD calls a press conference, in which he condemns himself and warns his fans not to try to follow in his footsteps. “The truth is, I’m no hero, super or otherwise,” BD says. “I didn’t make my deal with a devil in order to do good deeds or save others. Instead, I made a disgusting bargain entirely for self-aggrandizement. I sold my soul for nothing more noble than fame as an actor.”

Doesn’t Play Well with Others Blue Devil’s not-so-fun turn as a member of the JLA. Cover to Justice League America #111 (June 1996) by Chuck Wojtkiewicz.

TM & © DC Comics.

THE DEVIL’S REJECTS The original proposal for Blue Devil was so well received that Dick Giordano considered it one of the best he had ever seen and would show it to other creators as an example of how a good proposal should be done. Despite this, Cohn and Mishkin did not have the same success with later proposals based on the series.

One of these was a Trickster miniseries in which the former villain would find himself thrust into the role of hero. On the Once Upon a Geek website, Mishkin said, “One of the things that really appeals to me [about the Flash’s Rogues’ Gallery] is that they’re guys who were probably at one point standing on the line between good and bad when it comes to how they were going to use these superpowers. And which way they fell was almost an accident—it could have gone either way. So these guys who are right on the line, to me, speaks about what superhero comics are largely about—finding a moral compass.”

The story would have started out with the Trickster in an adversarial relationship with another superhero—one created just for the miniseries, who would be killed at the end of the first issue by “a real bad-ass supervillain,” as Mishkin puts it, leaving the Trickster to avenge his death. Cohn explained, “This is kind of like Sam Spade when Archer is killed. This was his superhero. Somebody killed his superhero, and when a man’s superhero is killed, you’ve gotta do something about it.” Mishkin added, “One thing that can make a bad guy interesting is when you discover that they have principles. The one who … is potentially tripped up in his criminal career by the fact that somewhere in him beats the heart of redemption could be a great story.”

Although it was announced in the letters page, the Trickster miniseries never came to be. “It went ’round and ’round and nothing ever came out,” Cohn says. “Gary and I really, really wanted to do something with the Trickster,” Mishkin adds, “but we couldn’t get editorial to pull the trigger. Sadly, not the only time that’s happened to us.”

Indeed, when Cohn and Mishkin proposed their own “darker” version of BD prior to Underworld Unleashed, Cullins dubbed it “Midnight Blue.” The series would take place shortly after the “Death of Superman” saga, which would reveal that BD and all of his friends were in Coast City when it was destroyed by Mongul. Cohn told Once Upon a Geek, “[BD] was vaporized and reconstituted in some hellish netherland. He was a twisted, deformed version of himself, missing one horn. It turns out to be Nebiros’ dimension, and he kills Nebiros and takes on his powers. He regains his trident, which is possessed by a female demon, and finds a way back to our world and sets himself with the task of hunting down and destroying world-beaters before they get there. So he was going to be taking a pre-emptive strike against characters like Mongul and kill them before they can [screw] up his world again. We were all real keen on it … and we showed it around and got zero interest.”

Although they weren’t fond of later attempts to “darken up” the character, Mishkin explains, “There are a couple of differences between what we wanted to try and what’s showed up in the hands of other writers. One is that we created the character, and I think our affinity for him would come through in any rethinking of Blue Devil. I also believe another important distinction is that it was a rethinking—an attempt to move the character forward without losing sight of where he came from, rather than a throwing in of random new stuff or a rearrangement of superficial features because ‘This is how I’d do the character if I created him.’ This was all a long time ago, but I seem to recall our saying at one point that it would still be funny, but now Blue Devil would be the only one laughing.”

When Comics Were Fun Issue

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BACK ISSUE • 61

When Comics Weren’t Fun The once happy-golucky Blue Devil has taken a darker turn in more recent DC titles, including Shadowpact and the New 52’s DC Universe Presents.

TM & © DC Comics.

A lawyer says that he can get BD out of the contract with Neron. They attempt to sue Hell for not making BD a movie star, claiming that the contract with Neron is invalid and that Dan’s soul should be returned to him, only to learn that Neron’s contract is insignificant because Dan’s soul was already sold to Hell by his older brother, Jack (of Fire). Jack gives BD his soul back, but BD is forced to give his trident and powers to Jack and becomes human again. Dan dons one of his original Blue Devil prototype costumes for a showdown with Jack in #25 (July 2008), the final issue of Shadowpact.

BD defeats Jack, who begs BD to kill him, explaining that his death will make Dan the head of the family, which will restore his powers and trident. BD is reluctant to kill his brother, but Jack forces BD’s trident into his chest and dies.

DEVIL MAY CARE Meanwhile, in Teen Titans vol. 3, we find out that one of the youths influenced by BD’s actions is Eddie (no longer “Gopher”) Bloomberg, a.k.a. Kid Devil. Eddie makes his own deal with Neron to receive real demonic powers in exchange for becoming Neron’s protégé when he turns 20—if he ever loses his faith in Blue Devil. Of course, Eddie firmly believes that nothing could shake his faith in his hero … until Neron tells him that BD was responsible for his aunt Marla’s death, which Dan later admits.

62 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

Eventually changing his name to Red Devil, a disillusioned Eddie remains with the Titans, where he develops a close relationship with Ravager and becomes friends with the new Blue Beetle. Eddie even takes on BD’s old foe, Shockwave, and Bolt’s son, Dreadbolt. In #67 (Mar. 2009), Brother Blood absorbs Eddie’s power, turning him human again. This leaves Eddie wondering if his deal with Neron is still valid, so Kid Eternity takes Eddie to Hell in the next issue to look at the contract, only to find that it is invalid because Neron did not give Eddie his powers. Eddie actually had a meta-gene and all Neron did was activate his latent powers. The demonic Blaze tries to tempt Eddie into making a new deal with her to regain his powers, but Eternity summons the spirit of Eddie’s aunt Marla, who convinces Eddie to remain human. The Titans keep Eddie as a member, even though he is unsure what he has to offer them without powers.

In #71 (July 2009), Ravager leaves the Titans and asks Eddie to go with her because she feels it is too dangerous for him to remain with the team now that his powers are gone. Eddie chooses to stay, but Ravager’s words would prove to be prophetic. While the other Titans are battling the Fearsome Five in #74 (Oct. 2009), Eddie uses the Titans jet to fly a radioactive supervillain called Geiger away from the area before he explodes and destroys the city. The jet is destroyed, and Eddie sacrifices himself to save the team and the city.

THE DEVIL RIDES OUT BD’s story continues in DC’s Reign in Hell (Sept. 2008– Apr. 2009) miniseries by Keith Giffen and Tom Derenick, A war erupts in Hell between Lord Satanus and Neron.

BD offers to serve Satanus if he can remove Neron’s curse and return him to normal. BD battles Etrigan, who seizes part of BD’s spirit. When Satanus defeats Neron, Dan becomes human again. Jason Blood (Etrigan’s mortal self) offers to restore BD’s spirit, but warns Dan that it will turn him back into a half-breed demon.

Despite the fact that becoming human was supposed to be his entire reason for getting involved in this war, Dan inexplicably chooses to become a demon again.

In 2011, writer Marc Guggenheim brought Blue Devil into Justice Society of America vol. 3 when he shows up to help the JSA in their efforts to rebuild the town of Monument Point, which he calls “holy work.”

BD is an odd choice to join the JSA, since he has no ties to any Golden Age/Earth-Two heroes, although the original Flash says in #50 (June 2011), “I for one see no reason why the JSA’s mission to mentor the next generation of heroes should be limited to heroes with a specific costume or familial pedigree.”

Blue Devil’s final fate in the pre–New 52 Universe was shown in the Legion of Super-Heroes strip in Adventure Comics vol. 2 #4 (Jan. 2010), written by Geoff Johns, where BD and several others heroes—including GL Alan Scott, GL Torquemada, Raven, Zatanna, and Kid/Red Devil (?)—turn up in the 31st Century as tortured faces frozen in stone as part of the White (now Black) Witch’s throne. How this happened was never revealed.

“Everything that’s been done with Blue Devil since we left,” says Cohn, “with the exception of Bill Willingham’s Shadowpact, has been crap and garbage and I hate it all.” Mishkin concurs: “What I’ve seen has mostly been nonsense. Some writers get parts of Dan Cassidy’s character right—Bill Willingham, as Gary mentioned, probably did the most creditable job. But they don’t seem to have the big picture. And, of course, in superhero universes where the companies ultimately call the shots, there really isn’t a big picture; or maybe there’s a series of big pictures, and none of them are obliged to be consistent with the last, despite the illusion of continuity.”

NEW DEVILS DC restarted its history from scratch in late 2011 with the launch of the “New 52.” In DC Universe Presents #13–16 (Dec. 2012–Mar. 2013) by Marc Andreyko and Robson Rocha, Dan Cassidy is reimagined as the grandson of Liam Cassidy, a director/producer of horror films at Graveyard Pictures. The Cassidy family has a long history of fighting the forces of darkness, and all of the monsters and props in Liam’s films were real. One of these props is a blue devil costume that Dan starts wearing to play superhero, unaware that the “costume” is actually the skin of a real demon called Nebiros. When Liam is killed by agents of albino drug kingpin Tobias Whale, Blue Devil winds up joining forces with his old high-school classmate, Jefferson Pierce, who is now the crimefighter Black Lightning. Together, they take down Whale, who has allied himself with Nebiros.

BD’s weaponry now includes sharp claws for slashing criminals to bloody pieces, a trident that emits soul-searing hellfire, and Ghost Rider-like chains. Eddie Bloomberg makes a brief appearance as a teenage drug addict whom BD identifies as his “godson.”

So, Blue Devil has come full circle. What was originally intended to be a more grim character that dared to attempt putting the word “fun” back in “funny books”

has gone back to the dark side. Which begs the question, as comics continue to grow darker and more serious, is there any place for a good, old-fashioned, FUN comic like Blue Devil in today’s comic-book market?

“Of course,” Kupperberg says. “But, like anything else, it’s got to be done ‘right.’ Now, that’s very easy to say but quite difficult to do.” Nevertheless, Cohn and Cullins are going to give it their best shot. “Paris and I are working on something new,” Cohn reveals.

Could it be a “New Devil”? “We’re approaching the idea of what [Blue Devil] was really about,” says Cullins.

“It has the energy and style of Blue Devil, but it’s not hampered by being connected to the DC Universe.

It’s unapologetic.” If Cohn and Cullins can manage to recreate the feel of those early issues of Blue Devil, no apologies would be necessary.

Paris in Pencil From the collection of Daniel DeAngelo, a 2010 pencil study

by Paris Cullins of Blue Devil, his friends, and his foes.

Blue Devil TM & © DC Comics.

DANIEL DeANGELO is a freelance writer/artist in Florida. He would like to thank David T. Allen, Gary Cohn, Paris Cullins, Alan Gold, Alan Kupperberg, and the Irredeemable Shag at oceuponageek.com for their assistance with this article.

Be sure to check out Shag’s new website: Firestorm Fan at http://firestormfan.com.

When Comics Were Fun Issue

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BACK ISSUE • 63

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Mark Ciemcioch

The Romper Room of Ideas Legendary cartoonist Warren Kremer illustrated this 1985 promotional poster showcasing some of Star Comics’ earliest stars, including Royal Roy, Wally the Wizard, Top Dog, and Spider-Ham. Star’s licensed characters weren’t depicted in this promo.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

When the Marvel Age of Comics was unleashed in the early ’60s, the adventures of Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, and other superheroes captivated a readership that included teenagers, college students, and even adults. But it wasn’t until the ’80s before Marvel made a major bid to appeal to its youngest audience with the all-ages Star Comics imprint.

Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter appointed Tom DeFalco as the executive editor charged with overseeing the editorial with Harvey Comics. However, the surviving Harvey brothers, Alfred and Leon, disagreed about the agreement with Marvel and the deal fell apart suddenly.

“We worked out our publishing plan, we were going to publish right away with lots of stuff,” DeFalco says.

STARS OUT OF HARVEY “I know it included Richie Rich and Casper. On a Friday, Times were tough for children’s comic books in the we got together, and Monday morning [Sid and I] early ’80s. Sure, Archie Comics was still going strong, were supposed to start working at Harvey. I don’t but Harvey’s line of Casper the Ghost, Richie Rich, know if it was Friday night, or over the weekend, [we Sad Sack, and others ceased publication in 1982. were told] to meet at Marvel and go over to Harvey.

Gold Key’s comic stable of Walt Disney, Looney Fine, who cares? Monday morning comes and they Tunes, and other popular cartoon characters followed said, ‘There seems to be a little problem with the with cancellations in 1983. deal.’ Ultimately, there was no deal with Harvey.”

Around that time period, Marvel Comics was With no deal for Harvey characters but a number negotiating with Harvey Comics to publish comics of Harvey staffers now employed, Marvel editors with Harvey’s well-established line of characters. began to reevaluate their plans. sid jacobson During the process, Marvel talked with longtime “I don’t want to take credit for this idea, but Harvey creative talents like writer and editor Sid Photo by Shure Jacobson. there used to be a stepladder in which you read Jacobson, artist Warren Kremer, and writer Lennie Herman. comic books,” DeFalco says. “You started with the Harvey comic Jacobson recalls his interview with Marvel publisher Michael Hobson: books, and as you got older you read Archie comic books. Then as “We interviewed and spoke about how Marvel never had a successful you got older, you read DC comic books, Marvel comic books, and then children’s program. They tried many times over the years. He asked eventually you moved to the independents. The Disney and Gold Key me to come up with a few characters with my people and see what comic books had gone away, the Harvey comic books had gone we thought. We created about four or five characters. We went back away, and a lot of us felt that we were missing part of our stepladder. to see Michael and he loved it. He said, ‘I’ll hire you, immediately.’ We needed comic books for young readers. Harvey went away, and I That’s how we started.” don’t even know if we had a discussion, but we said we should still

When Comics Were Fun Issue

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BACK ISSUE • 65

Cute and Cuddly (top and bottom) First issues of ten early Star Comics titles. The top row’s series are all licensed books, as is the bottom row’s Strawberry Shortcake.

The others are Marvel properties.

Ewoks © Lucasfilm Ltd. Fraggle Rock and Muppet Babies © Disney.

Get Along Gang and Strawberry Shortcake © American Greetings.

Heathcliff © Creators Syndicate.

Spider-Ham, Planet Terry, Royal Roy, and Top Dog © Marvel.

do this anyway. From that point on, we decided we were going to do kids comics.”

Sid Jacobson recalls, “I remember our first day [at Marvel]. Warren [Kremer] came down to draw the characters. I was in my office. Marie Severin came into my office and looked up at the [pages]. She said, ‘Holy cow! Listen, Sid, I’m going to tell you something no one else will tell you except me. This is the greatest artist who has ever walked through these doors. No one will tell you, but please know it.’ I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that afterwards from Marvel people. Warren was an incredible artist, but basically an unknown one because Harvey never put the names on the stories, except for their true friends.

Warren was their prime artist by far. He did all the covers to the whole kiddie line and more. Finally, for the first time, Warren became known in the field.”

Early in the process, it was decided that the new books Jacobson and his team were working on would not be published under the regular Marvel line. Instead, the new all-ages books would be branded as Star Comics.

“We wanted to differentiate it and be in our own world,” Jacobson says. “As we were starting, it might have had a bigger effect with stores and with kids if we had a different name. It had an awful lot of promotion for it. It was also for parents, parents who wanted their very own Marvel line for children. It was hugely successful, especially abroad.”

A STAR LINE IS BORN The first book released under the Star Comics brand was The Muppets Take Manhattan #1 (Nov. 1984), a three-issue miniseries adaptation of the hit 1984 movie, but the regular line wasn’t launched for another five months.

The initial Star Comics lineup came out over a two-month period:

66 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

• Ewoks #1 (May 1985) The further adventures of the controversial cute and furry creatures of Return of the Jedi.

• Fraggle Rock #1 (Apr. 1985) The comics adaptation of Jim Henson’s popular HBO live-action series featuring a group of subterranean Muppets.

• Get Along Gang #1 (May 1985) Based on the American Greetings characters, the Get Along Gang were anthropomorphic animals partially inspired by the old Little Rascals shorts.

• Heathcliff #1 (Apr. 1985) Based on George Gately’s newspaper comic strip, the stories of this mischievous house cat were significantly longer than the traditional one panel.

• Muppet Babies #1 (May 1985) Introduced in the Muppets Take Manhattan movie, the toddler versions of Kermit and company also had a popular cartoon series.

• Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 (May 1985) Finally, Marvel’s most popular character is adapted into his own funny-animal universe, battling the likes of “Ducktor Doom.”

• Planet Terry #1 (Apr. 1985) An original series about a young space adventurers searching the universe for his missing parents.

• Royal Roy #1 (May 1985) Centered around a fabulously rich kid, who’s also royalty, Royal Roy only lasted six issues before getting pulled due to similarities to Richie Rich.

• Strawberry Shortcake #1 (Apr. 1985) Another set of characters spawned from American Greetings cards that had expanded into a merchandising juggernaut for girls with dolls, cartoons, and posters.

• Top Dog #1 (Apr. 1985) A new title about a secret agent talking canine who went undercover as a family dog.

• Wally the Wizard #1 (Apr. 1985) The tales of a young magical apprentice finding his way into trouble during medieval times.

Jacobson, Herman, and Kremer worked on Top Dog; and Herman and Kremer started Planet Terry.

Spider-Ham was born in the early ’80s when Marvel was trying to figure out how to create plush-doll merchandise similar to Disney and Warner Bros. cartoon products. Inspired by funny animals books like Uncle Scrooge, DeFalco and Larry The first lineup was virtually half Hama were riffing at the Marvel offices licensed properties and half original one day when one of them jokingly characters. DeFalco explains they suggested “Spider-Ham.” "They kept would have liked to launch Star rolling, quickly coming up with the Comics with a completely original Peter Porker secret identity. [Editor’s lineup, but Marvel was headed into note: See BACK ISSUE #39 for a uncharted territory with an all-ages Spider-Ham history—and cover!] line and decided to hedge its bets “We were sitting there, giggling with licensed characters. about it,” DeFalco says. “Then Larry “We would have tried to make said, ‘Maybe we should actually those [original] properties as popular do this.’” as the original Marvel characters Marvel ended up producing Marvel tom defalco were,” he says. “That was our goal.

Tails #1 (Nov. 1983). When the We were going to try to get some book had a higher sell-through on licensed properties to see if the readership had any newsstands than other Marvel books, DeFalco was interest in them. Eventually, two things happened: the tasked to come up with more Spider-Ham stories licensed properties did a little bit better in this country fast. And thus, another Star Comic was born, as the than the original properties, but the licensed properties pork-based hero was joined by other anthropomorphic did terrific outside of this country.”

Marvel characters like Goose Rider and the Fantastic Of the original properties, Royal Roy was written Fur in backup stories.

by Lennie Herman and drawn by Kremer; Bob Bolling In addition to co-creating Spider-Ham, DeFalco wrote and drew several issues of Wally the Wizard; came up with the Wally the Wizard property, something When Comics Were Fun Issue

Before Harry Potter… …there was Wally the Wizard. Two original covers by Bob Bolling, best known as the artist of Little Archie.

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

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Metal Men (below) Original art to the opening page of Star Comics’ Droids #1 (Apr. 1986), by John Romita, Sr. (!) and Carlos Garzon.

Courtesy of Anthony Snyder (www.anthonyscomicbookart.com). (top) Romita’s Droids #1 cover.

TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd.

68 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

he initially dreamed up when he wrote a story about a young wizard for Archie’s Mad House.

“I said this could be a good start for a comic-book series; I could do some more stories for this character,” DeFalco tells BACK ISSUE. “A bunch of years later, I started to work for DC [on] Super Jrs. It appeared as a digest book here. Joe Orlando [asked] if I had any more ideas. I went back to the idea of using the wizard, but created a whole new character, new scenario, a whole different world. As I looked over this treatment, I showed it to Joe Orlando. He said, ‘We’ll do it,’ [but] they never got around to doing it. They never paid me for it, so it was still mine.”

DeFalco reveals that Wally, “the one property I had in my quiver that I hadn’t sold,” was revived when Star Comics was created. However, he didn’t have enough time to do the series justice as a writer, so he recruited Bolling, a notable creator from Archie.

“I had gotten to know Bob well, so I sent him this treatment and [asked if he] was interested in working on this series,” DeFalco says. “By that time, he was semi-retired, but he said, ‘Yeah.’ He took a copy of the treatment, took our names off it, and gave it to Sid. Sid looked at it and said, ‘I think we should do this.’ Then I told Sid it was my idea.”

Star Comics suffered a major tragedy early on when Lennie Herman died suddenly in 1983. He was one of the forces behind the creation of Royal Roy, Planet Terry, and Top Dog, and wrote the first issues of those series.

“He was the funniest writer I ever found in comic-book writing,” Jacobson says. “He was superb in everything he did for me at Harvey and at Marvel. I was just talking to my daughter, who’s now 55, about him. When I brought them to Harvey Comics, she always asked if Lennie was there. Both of my kids did. He was just so funny to be with. He was an incredible human being and an incredible writer. He was originally a cartoonist, and I found that cartoonists turned into the best comic writers.”

Several notable creators, including Kremer, longtime Marvel staple Marie Severin, and Howie Post, another Harvey veteran, drew several of the licensed books. Severin worked on the Jim Henson books, drawing Fraggle Rock and Muppet Babies, and contributing to several other books like Ewoks and Misty with coloring and lettering. Marvel legend John Romita, Sr., who offered his own contribution to Star Comics by drawing the Droids series, was amazed with Severn’s Muppet comics.

“She did the most sensational Muppet stuff you ever saw,” Romita said in Dewey Cassell’s book, Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics, from TwoMorrows. “She could make them come to life, and she had a wild sense of humor.

The worst mistake anybody ever made was when Henson was going to do the Muppet daily newspaper strip, he didn’t hire Marie. Her Muppets were alive on the page, and it made absolutely no sense of Henson to overlook that.”

Working with the various license holders was initially a challenge for Marvel creators, but the relationship grew more comfortable over time.

“Licensees are a cowardly, superstitious lot,” DeFalco quips. “We had problems with the Henson people, because they were always very nervous of ‘Would Jim Henson tell this story?’ We’re using their characters and putting them into actual stories. It’s one thing to license a lunch box and take one pretty cool piece of artwork to put on it. It’s a whole other thing when every panel is new piece of artwork.

There’s a story and words are coming out of the characters’ mouths. I don’t know how it is today, but back in that day, we would hire actors to [play] Spider-Man (and other Marvel characters), and they were the only characters who actually spoke. The Henson characters never spoke. The Disney characters never spoke, even if you go to Disneyland. A lot of

the companies asked if ‘the character really had to talk?’ Yeah, it’s a comic book, people have to talk in a comic book. ‘Do we have to use so much art?’ Yeah!

There were always growing pains. The first issues were always agony to get out. Once the first comic book got out, they saw it didn’t really have an effect on their copyrights. As time went on, people loosened up, except for Disney. Disney never loosened up in those days.”

“The only one that [was a problem] was Camp Candy with [actor] John Candy,” Jacobson says. “It was an animation show based on his supposed exploits in a camp. What occurred was that we had to make sure that we draw the character much thinner. We tried to.

They were very picky. They kept sending it back to us, wanting it thinner and thinner. It was laughable.

Fortunately, [the comic] didn’t last too long. The show didn’t last too long, either.”

Jacobson, who edited almost all the books, handled much of the day-to-day business of running Star Comics. DeFalco helped Jacobson design publishing plans for the line, but largely left him alone.

“Tom was always very helpful,” Jacobson says. “I did the editing on Wally the Wizard, which he basically created with one of the Archie writers, and today we are somewhat in touch with each other. I had a good relationship with him, as well as with Jim Shooter. I have the greatest respect for Jim Shooter.”

“He’s one of the nicest guys in the whole comicbook industry,” DeFalco says of Jacobson. “It was very odd. Technically, at Marvel I was his boss, but Sid knew everything there is to know about comic books, especially that readership. Sid would talk about the way to do comics, and I walked out of every meeting thinking, ‘Man, I learned a hell of lot more than I ever did.’ Working with Jacobson was one of my job benefits.”

EVOLUTION

As Seen on SCTV

After the initial launch, several new Star Comics were added to the line in late ’85 and early ’86, including Care Bears, Misty, ThunderCats, Droids, and Masters of the Universe.

Along with Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake, Misty was one of Star’s attempts to reach young girls.

Then known as an underground comics artist, Trina Robbins initially pitched the Misty series to Shooter without even knowing about Star Comics line.

“I was getting tired of the fact that all comics were for boys,” she says. “I was getting tired of being told by editors that girls didn’t read comics. I had read comics, and my girlfriends had read comics, but in those days, there were comics that girls liked to read. Of course, they were no longer publishing [those] comics, they were just publishing superhero comics. What was big in those days was the grim-and gritty movement, and girls absolutely didn’t want to read that.”

Robbins pointed out that Timely Comics, which eventually turned into Marvel, used to publish several When Comics Were Fun Issue

(right) Camp Candy had a short-lived Marvel run. Cover art by Howie Post and Marie Severin.

Courtesy of Heritage. (left) Ron Wilson/Dennis Janke cover to MOTU #1 (May 1986).

Masters of the Universe TM & © Mattel. Camp Candy TM & © DIC Enterprises.

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BACK ISSUE • 69

Misty-Eyed for Fashion Three looks at Trina Robbins’ readerparticipation series, Misty: (top left) a Fabulous ’50s fashion page from issue #2; (top right) a readercredit-heavy page from Misty #3; and (bottom), from the collection of Greg McKee, original art to page 14 of issue #5.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

titles for girls, including Patsy Walker and Millie the Model. Her idea was to create a teenage girl who was Millie’s niece, preserving the continuity of the old series. The original title of the series was Mickey, and was even promoted as such in Marvel Age #19 (Oct. 1984), but it was changed to Misty to avoid any potential conflict with Disney.

While initially ignorant of Star, Robbins called it “a perfect fit.” Much of the Misty book was devoted trina robbins to creating new fashions for the title character to wear, and the first issue even included designs from Love and Rockets’ Gilbert Hernandez.

“My biggest inspiration was the old Katy Keene comics,” Robbins says. “I had loved Katy Keene as a girl. You really had an interactive comic; kids sent in the designs, and [they] published them and credited the kids. Kids loved it. I had decided that it hadn’t been done in a while, that I would do that. It worked. I had to have my friends [draw designs] when it just started, but by the second issue, I was already getting all these great designs in the mail.”

The response from readers was Robbins’ favorite experience of working on Misty.

“When I got my first envelope of fan mail and designs, I was thrilled out of my mind,” she says. “Most of it was from girls, and they would write not to me, but to Misty. Most of them said that there hadn’t been any comics for me before. It was really great, because I had known that if there were comics for girls to read, they would read them. We would have to have an advice column [because] some of the letters were sad. I would read them and think, ‘Oh, you poor kid.’ A lot of them would be like, ‘I used to have a best friend, but another kid came to school and now my best friend is her best friend and they ignore me,’ these kinds of things.”

Despite the fan response, Misty only lasted six issues. Robbins says the book didn’t receive any support from the direct market because it was aimed at a female readership.

“Distribution for anything related to girls remained the problem until graphic novels came around,” she says. “Comic-book stores were totally male-orientated, and almost totally superhero-orientated. A girls’ title like

70 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

A STAR COMICS CHECKLIST • The Muppets Take Manhattan #1–3 (Nov. 1984–Jan. 1984) • Fraggle Rock #1–8 (Apr. 1985– Sept. 1986) • Heathcliff #1–56 (#1–22 Star Comics branded); 1 annual (Apr. 1985– Feb. 1991) • Planet Terry #1–12 (Apr. 1985– Mar. 1986) • Strawberry Shortcake #1–6 (Apr. 1985–Feb. 1986) • Top Dog #1–14 (Apr. 1985– June 1987) • Wally the Wizard #1–12 (Apr. 1985– Mar. 1986) • Ewoks #1–14 (May 1985–July 1987) • Get Along Gang #1–6 (May 1985– Mar. 1986) • Muppet Babies #1–26 (#1–17 Star Comics branded) (May 1985– July 1989) • Peter Porker, the Spectacular SpiderHam #1–17 (May 1985–Sept. 1987)

• Royal Roy #1–6 (May 1985– Mar. 1986) • Care Bears #1–20 (#1–14 Star Comics branded) (Nov. 1985– Jan. 1989) • Misty #1–6 (Dec. 1985–Oct. 1985) • ThunderCats #1–24 (#1–22 Star Comics branded) (Dec. 1985– June 1988) • Droids #1–8 (Apr. 1986–June 1987) • Masters of the Universe #1–13 (May 1986–May 1988) • Madballs #1–10 (#1–8 Star Comics branded) (Sept. 1986–June 1988) • Hugga Bunch #1–6 (Oct. 1986– Aug. 1987) • Animax #1–4 (Dec. 1986–June 1987) • Popples #1–4 (Dec. 1986– June 1984) • Star Comics Magazine #1–13 (Dec. 1986–Dec. 1988) • Chuck Norris #1–4 (Jan. 1987– July 1987)

Misty would either not be carried at all, or they would order one or two copies. When those copies sold out, they wouldn’t order more. My fans would write to me, ‘Dear Misty, I really like your comic but I have such a hard time finding it.’ I know if it would had sold more, [Marvel] would have continued it.”

Misty was not the only Star title with a short life.

Strawberry Shortcake also lasted six issues. Planet Terry, Wally the Wizard, Get Along Gang, and Royal Roy were over by their March 1986 cover-dated issues, less than a year after their debuts. Royal Roy met his end because Harvey Comics representatives felt he was too derivative of their Richie Rich character and a lawsuit was threatened.

“They decided to stop [Royal Roy],” Jacobson says of Marvel. “At the time, they were looking to buy Harvey Comics so they agreed to it, but I think it was preposterous. What they wanted to do was stop the entire line, because the Harvey line was drawn entirely

by Warren Kremer. He was the basic writer artist for the whole line. He, to me, was the finest artist I’ve ever met in the comics field. His illustration was good, not great, but his animation was unbelievable.”

Sales for the Star Comics with original characters weren’t as good as the licensed titles, which were a huge hit overseas. A title like Heathcliff was doing so well in foreign markets that a second title, Heathcliff’s Funhouse, in early 1987. DeFalco notes it was easier to make money off a license with multiple titles than it was to continue supporting Planet Terry or Top Dog. Star Comics never sold well enough in the growing direct market, which led DeFalco into some run-ins with Marvel’s sales department.

“I remember when we announced the second Heathcliff book, the woman in charge of direct sales came in and said, ‘Are you out of your mind? We can’t

• Defenders of the Earth #1–4 (Jan. 1987–July 1987) • Inhumanoids #1–4 (Jan. 1987– July 1987) • Heathcliff’s Funhouse #1–10 (#1–5 Star Comics branded) (May 1987–Nov. 1988) • Flintstone Kids #1–11 (#1–4 Star Comics branded) (Aug. 1987– Aug. 1989) • Foofur #1–6 (#1–4 Star Comics branded) (Aug. 1987–June 1988) • Silverhawks #1–7 (#1–5 Star Comics branded) (Aug. 1987–Aug. 1988) • Air Raiders #1–5 (#1–2 Star Comics branded) (Nov. 1987–July 1988) • Bullwinkle and Rocky #1–9 (#1–2 Star Comics branded) (Nov. 1987– Mar. 1989) • Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture (Nov. 1987) • Visionaries #1–6 (#1–2 Star Comics branded) (Nov. 1987–Sept. 1988)

even sell one Heathcliff book. How are we supposed to sell two?,’” DeFalco recalls. “I said, ‘I don’t care, it’s not for you.’ We were making enough money on Heathcliff that we could make a profit without even selling them in the United States. When we started to do Disney material, that was very popular. Care Bears was very big in England, and so was Strawberry Shortcake. It was terrific.”

Jacobson recalls that Marvel’s animation division considered using some of the original characters like Top Dog for new shows, but it never got past development stage. In the end, some original characters like Top Dog and Spider-Ham survived in the back pages of Heathcliff and Marvel Tales, respectively.

Older stories were reprinted in the Star Comics Magazine digest, which debuted in late 1986. But ultimately, licensed properties were the winners of Star Comics.

“I think the Muppets did well,” Jacobson says.

“ALF, especially, was the biggest seller. It could compete with the Marvel books. Strawberry Shortcake could have done better. It was established for a female audience, and we didn’t have a female audience. Most of the books we took on did better than break even, and always did huge foreign-wise.

The foreign sales would keep them going.”

During the second and third years of the Star imprint, many new titles were adaptations of action toy and cartoon franchises for boys. In addition to ThunderCats and Masters of the Universe, Star released Animax #1 (Dec. 1986), Chuck Norris #1 (Jan. 1987), Defenders of the Earth #1 (Jan. 1987), Inhumanoids #1 (Jan. 1987), Silverhawks #1 (Aug. 1987), Air Raiders #1 (Nov. 1987), Visionaries #1 (Nov. 1987), and even the comic adaptation of the Masters of the Universe movie in 1987.

When Comics Were Fun Issue

TM & © Creators Syndicate.

TM & © Alien Productions.

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BACK ISSUE • 71

It’s Strange, Doc (left) Alex Saviuk, inked by longtime Mandrake the Magician artist Fred Fredericks, on page 18 of Defenders of the Earth #4 (July 1987), the series starring a super-team of King Features characters. (right) Original cover art to ThunderCats #20 (Feb. 1988), by Ron Frenz and Bob McLeod. Both courtesy of Anthony Snyder.

Defenders of the Earth TM & © King Features Syndicate.

ThunderCats TM & © Warner Bros.

Entertainment Inc. and Ted Wolf.

Clearly, most of these licenses didn’t reach the by Paul Reubens. Fresh off a successful stage show and heights ThunderCats and Masters of the Universe, two hit movie, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, a Saturday morning franchises that are still fondly remembered today with live-action show featuring Reubens’ character called new and high-priced merchandise for the nostalgic Pee-wee’s Playhouse debuted on September 13, 1986. collector. But the two biggest toy/cartoon/comic “Either the first or second episode aired; that franchises of the ’80s, G.I. Joe and Transformers, were Monday Sid and I got together and [we both] said, launched under the regular Marvel banner ‘Hey, I have a great idea for a comic book!’ ‘So and continued to weave elaborate storydo I!’ ” DeFalco says about their reaction to lines and universes as new characters the show. “We tried to convince our sales were constantly introduced. department to do it, but they never Why didn’t a book like heard of it. Once Pee-wee’s Playhouse ThunderCats launch under the became the hottest thing out there, Marvel banner proper? we couldn’t get the rights.”

“The difference was that we Another big license franchise [Marvel] handled the creative (of Star Comics missed out on was G.I. Joe and Transformers),” DeFalco Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Created says. “[Hasbro] basically had their toys,

by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in but we designed the personality 1984, the independent comic became and the world. We set them up like one of the hottest books of the Marvel Comics. We essentially devel’80s and was on the verge of a pee-wee herman oped those properties. Things like mainstream breakthrough with an Photo by Alan Light.

ThunderCats and Silverhawks, we animated series and toys debuting basically just licensed their pre-existing development.” in 1987. The creators were looking to license a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic to tie into the THE STARS THAT GOT AWAY animated series continuity, and met with the Star While Star Comics was able to license many of the Comics line editors to publish the book. However, popular kid franchises of the day, they didn’t get every DeFalco says Marvel was interested in a deal that one. It wasn’t for lack of trying though. would give them worldwide rights to the franchise.

One of the most famous icons of the ’80s was “How about we make a big deal and we’ll do the Pee-wee Herman, a comedic man-child brought to life TV thing, and the guys can continue to do the real

72 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

Turtles, and we’ll just publish it for them,” DeFalco recalls of the meeting with the TMNT licensing agent.

“We’ll work out whatever money they’re making now where it can be a separate kind of deal. The agent said, ‘I’ll take this back to the guys and we’ll get back to you.’ Two or three days later I saw the headline, ‘Marvel refuses to license Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.’ Okay, that makes a good story, but it’s not true. For years, people would come up to me and say, ‘Are you the guy who refused to license Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?’ Technically, I don’t know if I was, but there’s always more to that story.”

FALLING STAR In the late ’80s, Star Comics became a line consisting almost completely of toy franchises and mainstream cartoon characters like Heathcliff and Bullwinkle and Rocky. The decision was made to remove the Star Comics brand off the covers and fold everything back into the regular Marvel line in early 1988.

“At a certain point, the sales department says you have to have a separate imprint, we don’t want to confuse anybody,” DeFalco says. “Years later, they said, ‘You know, we don’t think it actually matters if you have a separate imprint or not. We think they might sell better if they’re Marvel.’ To be honest, I didn’t care one way or the other. What was between the covers was a lot more important than what was on that cover box.”

Under the Marvel banner, the Star Comics office found some of its biggest successes after the Star logo was removed from the covers. ALF #1 (Mar. 1988) debuted one month later, bringing the furry alien NBC sitcom character to comics, and lasted 50 issues before its cancellation in 1992. Mighty Mouse, inspired by the new animated version from the Ralph Bakshi studios, began a ten-issue Marvel run in 1990. Marvel finally acquired the Barbie franchise after trying for years and began publishing a 63-issue series cover-dated from Jan. 1991 to Mar. 1996.

“As big as it was here, ALF was gigantic overseas,” Jacobson says. “It became bigger than any of the superheroes overseas, that I recall. It made a fortune for them, as did so many of the characters.”

A strong editorial presence for the Star Comics line since the beginning, Jacobson continued to edit Marvel’s all-ages titles along with regular books as the ’80s came to a close. However, after the Harvey Comics franchise was sold to HMH Communications in 1989, the new owners came to Jacobson with an offer.

“They got in touch with me not because I [previously] edited the books, they didn’t even know that,” Jacobson says. “They wanted the Harvey books to look like the Marvel Star line. When I told them, I said, ‘You don’t know who the hell I am.’”

Harvey Comics offered Jacobson the opportunity to move to Los Angeles, which he had talked about with his wife.

“They offered me a very good situation,” Jacobson says. “I said, ‘Yes.’ I was stuck. Before I left, I was asked by the publisher [to stay]. ‘We’ll match them. We want you to continue this whole operation.’

I asked if they would let me work in California. They said, ‘No, it would have to be [in New York].’ I said, ‘I can’t do it.’”

Jacobson made the transition in 1990.

“The line died pretty much after I left,” Jacobson says. “They gave [the books] to people who had been in

the superhero line and marketed to kids, and they just couldn’t do it. [They] truly didn’t know the difference in how it should be done. It’s too bad, but that’s basically how I feel.”

A few years later, Marvel contacted Jacobson again to work for them. This time they would allow him to work out of California, but the company’s ownership changed and decided to focus completely on superhero books “for better or worse.”

“It turned out for better,” Jacobson says. “I don’t know what sells now, but when I was there, the animation and live shows didn’t do a damn thing.

They failed, one after another. But they became very successful, and now Marvel is part of Disney.”

But the iceberg that sank Marvel’s remaining all-ages, licensed books was the “Death and Return of Superman” storyline from DC Comics in 1992.

Speculators raced to comic-book stores looking to profit off the issues, but when the Man of Steel returned shortly thereafter, it left retailers with thousands of worthless books they bought up in hopes of another sales explosion. As a result, 30% of the stores went out of business, according to DeFalco, and Marvel felt the need for a massive company restructuring as a result.

When Comics Were Fun Issue

Running for Office President Ronald Reagan guest-stars on artist Ernie Colón’s cover to Bullwinkle and Rocky #4 (May 1988), shown here in its color guide form from the files of colorist George Roussos. Courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © Ward Productions, Inc.

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IN MEMORIAM When you look at the credits of Star Comics books, you’ll quickly notice the same half-dozen names keep popping up, as the all-ages line organized another Marvel Bullpen.

Sadly, many of those names have passed away, and BACK ISSUE wishes to honor their legacy: WARREN KREMER One of the greatest artists of Harvey Comics, Kremer helped design the definitive looks of Casper the Friendly Ghost, Hot Stuff, Richie Rich, and others.

While at Star Comics, Kremer contributed to several titles both licensed and original, such as Care Bears, Ewoks, Flintstone Kids, Heathcliff, Hugga Bunch, Planet Terry, Royal Roy, Strawberry Shortcake, Top Dog, and Wally the Wizard.

Kremer passed away in 2003 at the age of 82.

LENNIE HERMAN The writer was a key contributor to many of the Harvey Comics titles. Just as he started working on Star Comics, Herman died in 1983. However, his contributions helped create Planet Terry, Royal Roy, and Top Dog. HOWIE POST He was the creator of the long-running newspaper strip The Dropouts, worked on Casper the Friendly Ghost for Harvey Comics, and created the DC Comics series Anthro.

As an artist and writer, Post contributed to Star Comics like Care Bears, Heathcliff, Madballs, Strawberry Shortcake, and Wally the Wizard. Post died in 2010.

“Guys like me were saying, ‘Don’t panic, don’t panic,’ and naturally, my company panicked and fired me,” says DeFalco, who was editor-in-chief of Marvel at the time. “Marvel reorganized itself in a way that made no business sense. Accounting-wise, they decided that everything had to make its own money to justify its existence.

Star Comics weren’t really making a lot of money in the direct market, so it should have been canceled. They were making a ton of money internationally, but international didn’t have ability to create the product, so it was going to be canceled. This is how at this time, Marvel lost all of its licensed properties.”

LAST STARLIGHT Star Comics proved to be a mix of veteran talent and new faces working on the books. Jacobson led a small bullpen that included Warren Kremer, Howie Post, Ernie Colón (Bullwinkle and Rocky, Droids, Flintstone Kids, ThunderCats), Michael Gallagher (Care Bears, Flintstone Kids, Foofur, Heathcliff, Madballs), Stan Kay (Care Bears, Fraggle Rock, Hugga Bunch, Muppet Babies, Planet Terry, Popples, Royal Roy, Strawberry Shortcake), Dave Manak (ALF, Bullwinkle and Rocky, Droids, Ewoks, Get Along Gang, Heathcliff, Planet Terry, Top Dog), and Marie Severin (Ewoks, Fraggle Rock, Heathcliff, Misty, Muppet Babies, Royal Roy). They handled the lion’s share of the workload during those years.

Meanwhile, many notable comics professionals did some of their earliest work on Star books, including Mark Bagley (Visionaries), Mike Carlin (Masters of the Universe, Spider-Ham), Kelley Jones (Air Raiders), and Howard A. Mackie (Air Raiders, Chuck Norris).

“There were a lot of creative people who worked for Star Comics over the years,” DeFalco says.

74 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

Post–Star Comics Stars Original cover art to Marvel’s Barbie #2 (Feb. 1991),

by Mary Wilshire, June Brigman, and Roy Richardson.

Note that the UPC box is autographed by June and Roy, plus writer Barbara Slate and assistant editor Hildy Mesnik. Courtesy of Anthony Snyder.

TM & © Mattel.

Jacobson recalls the line being incredibly successful during its run in the latter half of the ’80s. Many of the original Stars like Wally the Wizard and Planet Terry live on in a series of trade paperback reprints

by Marvel called The All-Star Collection.

“I enjoyed working at Marvel,” he says. “It was very exciting to basically start from zero and turning it into a profitable and marketable line of books. We wanted to reach a kid audience and did it to be successful. It was part of the Star line, but [Michael Hopkins’] point, and it was a good one, [he] always felt you could always build your future readers with a kid line. You can start with a kid line, then they can continue with the main company books.”

Some of the Marvel books author MARK CIEMCIOCH read were Star Comics like Heathcliff, Top Dog, and Spider-Ham. He’s looking forward to passing those comics onto his own children soon.

TM

TM

by

Michael Eury

He’s a square-jawed, distinctly garbed master detective who— sometimes with a young sidekick under his wing—plies his deductive skills and crimefighting arsenal to protect the urban jungle from the most fearsomely freakish felons imaginable.

Am I describing Batman? Or Dick Tracy?

Both, of course!

Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s Darknight Detective and Chester Gould’s top cop share more similarities than you might realize.

Both debuted in the untouchable decade of the 1930s, when mobsters ruled the Earth (or at least several major American cities).

Both Batman comics and the Tracy syndicated strip have pulled few punches in their depictions of violent crime, yet have also featured outlandish sci-fi storylines. Both crimebusters have a supporting cast of young (and sometimes bizarre) allies, uniformed and plainclothes police officers, and romantic interests (although Tracy is the clear winner in the love category). Both use forensic science and high-tech gadgets, from Batman’s utility belt to Tracy’s 2-way wrist radio. Both are plagued by rogues’ galleries of grotesque gangsters and fetching femme fatales that, once you think about it, could easily be interchangeable. Both have transcended their comics roots into cinema, at roughly the same time: There were Dick Tracy and Batman movie serials in the 1940s and animated cartoons in the 1960s and 1970s; TV producer William Dozier produced a Dick Tracy live-action pilot shortly after his Batman show struck gold; and Tim Burton’s 1989 blockbuster Batman was quickly followed

by Warren Beatty’s 1990 Dick Tracy film. Both detectives have been published by DC Comics (surely you haven’t forgotten DC’s Limited Collector’s Edition #C-40, from 1975, which we covered in BACK ISSUE #71). And both have been written by Max Allan Collins and drawn by Joe Staton.

A Batman/Dick Tracy crossover has been the dream of many a fan. I know I’ve fantasized about such a team-up, rendered in a noir-ish Dick Sprang style, DC’s perfect complement to Chester Gould’s artistry. And really, could you imagine an artist better suited for such a team-up than Joe Staton? During the Bronze Age, on numerous occasions Staton proved his fluency in drawing a Sprang-like Golden Age Batman, not only in Justice Society adventures but most notably in the celebrated “The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne,” writer Alan Brennert’s Earth-Two Batman/Catwoman team-up in The Brave and the Bold #197 (Apr. 1983), as well as in writer Mike W. Barr’s 1993 Batman: Two-Face Strikes Twice! As the artist of The Huntress—in both its Bronze Age and Modern Age incarnations—Joe has flexed his muscles as an illustrator of contemporary crime sagas and superhero fables with Batman underpinnings. And since March of 2011, he has been the artist of Tribune Media Services’ Dick Tracy comic strip.

No artist could more appropriately fill the shoes of the late Dick Sprang and Chester Gould on a Batman/Dick Tracy team-up!

During a Heroes Con 2013 reunion with my old pal Joe—BTW, I’m a former editor of his E-Man (at Comico) and Huntress (the

Calling Dick Tracy! Batman and Robin, Too! An amazing Dick Sprang illustration of the Dynamic Duo, from 1992. Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). The Dick Tracy headshot in the Bat-signal is by Chester Gould and is from Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-40, DC’s single Dick Tracy comic book.

Batman and Robin TM & © DC Comics. Dick Tracy TM & © TMS News and Features, LLC.

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Your Two Favorite Detectives—Not Quite Together Joe Staton art: (left) A page from the Golden Age Batman/Catwoman teamup from Brave and Bold #197; inks by George Freeman. (top right) Cover to the first collected edition of Joe’s Tracy strips, with writer Mike Curtis. (bottom left) Max Allan Collins.

Photo courtesy of maxallancollins.com. (bottom right) Joe Staton, sketching at HeroesCon 2013.

Photo by Michael Eury.

Batman and related characters TM & © DC Comics. Dick Tracy TM & © TMS News and Features, LLC.

post–Crisis version) series—with Mr. Staton signing and sketching before a Dick Tracy presentation banner, I asked him if a Batman/ Tracy crossover had ever been considered.

He informed me that such a team-up was at one time under development—and then, almost as if acting upon cue, our mutual former colleague Mike Gold came around the corner, greeted us, and joined in on the conversation. It seems that Mike was also part of the team behind the Batman/Dick Tracy crossover we didn’t see.

Boy, did I ever luck into a Greatest Story Never Told…

BATMAN MEETS DICK TRACY … ALMOST Let’s travel back to 1986, when DC Comics was generating buzz and increased sales in the wake of its line-wide reboot via Crisis on Infinite Earths. One-time DC employee Mike Gold had recently returned to staff after his trailblazing stint at First Comics. Gold was the editor of several reimaginings of longtime DC heroes (Legends, Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, Hawkworld) and characters that had come to DC from other sources (The Question, The Shadow). And the prolific Max Allan Collins had just signed on as the writer of Batman, under editor Denny O’Neil, with a brief interruption by writer Frank Miller for his “Batman: Year One” storyline.

Concurrently, Collins was scripting the Chicago Tribune Syndicate’s Dick Tracy daily and Sunday feature. And so, the timing seemed right for a Batman/Tracy crossover, particularly given that Gold, a creative force with a wealth of contacts, was a former Chicagoan.

“As you know, I was the writer of the Dick Tracy comic strip (1977–1993), and Mike Gold approached the Tribune Syndicate on my behalf,” Max Allan Collins tells BACK ISSUE. Make that on the behalf of artist Joe Staton as well. As Staton reveals, “Tracy has always been with me. Chester Gould was my first influence and my ambition was always to take over the Tracy strip. Mike Gold knew this and he was the one who introduced me to Max. Actually, I had submitted samples to the Trib whenever there were rumors of retirements or openings on the strip. Max and I had always figured we would work together on Tracy eventually.”

Staton tells BI that to his recollection, the pitch was for a Batman/ Dick Tracy graphic novel. “The style probably would have been something like the Batman Adventures,” Joe relates, although at the time 76 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

of this crossover’s development the Bruce Timm “animated style” first witnessed in 1992’s Batman: The Animated Series had yet to premiere.

“Lots of people had suggested over the years that Tracy would best be done as animation so as to get Gould’s stylization. There’s a lot of suspicion in some quarters that Tracy and Batman traded influences in the early days, and that Dick Sprang look I went for on Earth-Two would have pulled them together. Terry Beatty, Max’s longtime collaborator and a pal of mine, was to have inked this, and I might mention that Terry and I both have Hugos working on Batman in the animated Adventures style, so take at look at the Superman/Batman Adventures adaptation that we did and imagine Tracy showing up in something like that.”

The very thought of such an adaptation of Dick Tracy into that artistic realm certainly whets the appetite—which sours the taste buds even more to discover that this project “died a’borning,” according to Staton. “I just recall Mike telling me that it was in the works. We never got to the point of doing art or anything.”

“This project didn’t get very far,” Collins confirms. “I’m not sure, but by that time the [Tracy] editor may have been the guy who eventually fired me—he and I were frequently at odds.”

A shoulder injury prohibited Mike Gold from responding to interview requests for this article to expand upon our brief HeroesCon conversation (Get well soon, Mike!), but through the intended writer’s and penciler’s recollections we can stitch together the reasons why the Batman/Dick Tracy crossover was D.O.A. “I recall some mentions that under previous administrations, the Trib was very difficult to deal with on licensing,” Staton shares.

“And there were apparently people at DC who were not supportive.”

Collins says, “I vividly remember—because it was so imbecilic— that the Tribune Syndicate said no because they did not consider Batman to be a character on a level of importance or popularity with Dick Tracy.

“For Mike Gold and me, it would have been funny had it not been so pathetic.”

And so, the Collins/Staton/Beatty/Gold Batman/Dick Tracy graphic novel entered the annals of the Greatest Stories Never Told.

“Too bad,” Joe Staton laments. “It would have been a cool project.”

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 Alan Moore article [about “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”] speaks of his story coming out as John Byrne’s The Man of Steel was ending. I think the author’s confusion was thinking the release date of Man of Steel #1 was its cover/publication date. The Moore story and the Julius Schwartz series ended in June with issues dated September, then Man of Steel started coming out in July with other October-dated issues (though MoS was not month-dated).

Very minor notes on a wonderful issue. I loved every bit of it.

But, darn it, I wish I could see some of the missing pages from World of Krypton!

– Jim Van Dore Thanks for the Man of Steel/Man of Tomorrow note, Jim. The Showcase scheduling matter was covered in BI #71—and coincidentally, that issue is the subject of our next letter…

ONE MORE BI #71 LETTER

BELATED FEEDBACK ON THE SUPERMAN ISSUE I know this is over a year late, but I finally got around to reading the issue [#62] yesterday. I have just a few comments related to the World of Krypton article (which may have been addressed in the interim, but here goes).

Paul Kupperberg talks about not knowing what would go into Showcase #107–109 when “World of Krypton” got bumped to #110–112. If I recall correctly, it was first “The Deserter,” but when the decision was made to send that directly to series, a “Huntress” three-parter was penciled in, though I think Paul Levitz once said that he doesn’t remember doing any actual work on that.

I’ve also always wondered what happened to the remaining pages. If the entire series was completed before the DC Implosion, each chapter should have consisted of 25 pages. Does anyone have any of the missing pages?

One more thing, though I’m almost certain this was corrected by somebody:

Not only is Arthur Adams a master, he’s a heckuva nice guy, too!

Thanks for the note, Nick— especially the postcard on which you wrote it (the cover of the Bronze Age Supergirl #3, with its romance comic vibe).

TM & © DC Comics.

TM & © ERB, Inc.

JUNGLE FEVER Every now and then I use this forum to offer you a heads-up on a reprint book that warrants a look—and Titan Books’ Tarzan in the City of Gold by Burne Hogarth is just that! Like many of you fellow Bronze Age babies, I became a Tarzan comics fan in the early 1970s with Joe Kubert’s DC Comics incarnation, but around that time a Hogarth-drawn hardcover adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ original Tarzan of the Apes novel was also a favorite of mine. I remember poring over each full-color page, marveling at the work of that master of anatomy. City of Gold is Titan’s first in a four-volume series collecting Hogarth’s Tarzan comicstrip run. The art has been beautifully restored. This 208-page hardcover retails for $39.95.

Issue #71 [“Tryouts, One-Shots, and One-Hit Wonders”] was another hit!

The articles on New Talent Showcase and 1st Issue Special were really standouts. I never felt more for DC B-listers (and C-listers) than I did after reading those in-depth reviews.

The cover choice was excellent as well. Art Adams is a true master of comicdom!

– Nick Mantuano

MR. ROBOTO After two weekends of comic goodness, two weeks ago at C2E2 and last week seeing Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Free Comic Book Day, I had a Saturday to sit down and read BACK ISSUE #72, the “Robots” issue. All I can say is that it was great to be able to relax throughout the day with a great magazine to read.

Having been to young to read The Metal Men and Doom Patrol when they were initially released in the ’60s, I did get to read them in their ’70s form as a kid and really enjoyed the articles pertaining to the Metal Men and Robotman stories from the BACK ISSUE age. My twin brother was a huge Metal Men fan with the reissue, and since he liked them, I read the stories and enjoyed them but nowhere near as much as I did the Doom Patrol, mainly because of Robotman. I enjoyed reading again about how Robotman was a homage to John Byrne’s Rog 2000, because it wasn’t until I saw that character in a reprint that I thought they looked an awful lot alike.

Being a huge Legion and Teen Titans fan back in the ’80s (in fact, they were the only books I bought from DC back in the early ’80s prior to Crisis, which made me a DC over Marvel fan for the

TM & © DC Comics.

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TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

first time since I started liking comics in the late ’60s when my babysitter would read my older brother’s Spider-Man books to me). I was always a Nightwing fan but liked Cyborg and enjoyed the friendship that he shared with Gar. I followed the Legion since Superboy #197 and then moved into the Legion books in the ’80s. Brainiac 5 was always one of my favorites from that era, and I did not have much use for Dox as I was always waiting for him to become an outright villain like Brainiac was.

Finally, I very much enjoyed the Vision, Jocasta, and Red Tornado articles as again, I was reading these books every month and found these characters to be very different from the human superpowered characters. They showed how an outsider can fit in (being 11 or 12 and still reading comics made me always feel a little different from the other kids, especially when teachers would make negative comments about reading comic books).

Thanks again for another great issue of BACK ISSUE! – Matt Hamilton, via Facebook

TV’s OTHER CYBORG I noticed a small oversight in Mr. Schweier’s excellent Cyborg article.

Three cartoon series, and a toy line, featuring Vic Stone are discussed; but the late Lee Thompson Young’s performance in various episodes of Smallville was left out. Smallville may not have been to everyone’s taste (including mine most of the time), but Vic Stone did appear and it should be included in any filmography for the character.

– Doug Abramson We appreciate that reminder, Doug. And another live-action Cyborg must now be added to the list: Ray Fisher will be playing Vic Stone in 2016’s Batman v. Superman movie and presumably will continue the role in the Justice League movie that will follow.

Below you’ll find a photo of Lee Thompson Young as Cyborg from Smallville, and of the new live-action Vic Stone.

Speaking of the Vision, Matt, above you’ll find a gorgeous illo of the Android Avenger, penciled by Mike Nasser and inked by Neal Adams, from the UK reprint title The Titans #39 (July 14, 1976). It was restored by Andrew Standish and colored by Gerry Turnbull; the always-helpful Robert Menzies sent it our way.

Another very fun, very fine issue (and thank you most kindly for the complimentary copy)! I particularly enjoyed Jim Kingman’s look back at the Metal Men stories by Gerber, Conway, Pasko, Simonson, and Staton that I enjoyed so much on first reading and enjoy still.

I just wanted to add to Mr. Kingman’s tally of later MM appearances their stint in Batman Beyond Unlimited #15–18, in which Norm Breyfogle, Adam Archer, and I teamed them up with Terry McGinnis, Bruce Wayne, and company, and even nodded to their role in Kingdom Come. The stories have recently been collected in a trade paperback by DC, Batman Beyond Unlimited: Batgirl Beyond.

Keep up the good work, – Adam Beechen Thanks for putting that on our radar, Adam—and for your role in bringing back the Metal Men! 78 • BACK ISSUE • When Comics Were Fun Issue

Smallville TM & © DC Comics / Warner Bros. Television / Tollin/Robbins Productions / Millar Gough Ink.

TM & © DC Comics.

MO’ METAL MEN!

TM & © DC Comics.

“ISOTYPE ICING ON THE CHEMICAL CAKE” I thoroughly enjoyed every last nut and bolt of issue #72, the “Robots” issue. I liked the article on Brainiac’s legacy, though I must confess I first thought it would be something else entirely—namely, a look at how the character has influenced different comic creators and their work. I did think Vril Dox’s scheming infant son Lyrl should have been mentioned, but perhaps there wasn’t enough room. As to the whole question of Brainiac 5’s descent from the original, I would like to point out that the matter has been addressed rather well several times on TV, from organic experiments in Justice League to reformatting/ reprogramming on Smallville and computer upgrades on Legion of Super-Heroes.

Speaking of Brainiac 5, I noticed his debut is given as 1961, which to my thinking would mean he precedes Marvel’s Ultron—who first faced off with the Avengers as Ultron-5. Interesting…

I immensely appreciated the very informative piece on Mister Atom as well, since my experience with the character is limited to his minor role in The Power of Shazam’s Monster Society storyline. Who knows— with Mister Mind having already made a shadowy cameo appearance in the New 52, perhaps it will not be long before the reactor-powered renegade makes a comeback of his own. (And hopefully he’ll get to do more than just blow up!)

Regarding the rebooted DC Universe, I’ve already read and enjoyed the return of the Metal Men in Justice League, and I hope Mr. Kingman has, too. That his fellow BI-subject Cyborg gets involved is just isotype icing on the chemical cake. Growing up, I knew Cyborg as an ally of Superman and company on TV’s Super Powers Team long before finding out about his tenure as a Teen Titan, so his current status as a co-founding Justice Leaguer is very cool indeed and well deserved.

I’d heard of the comic origins of Big Guy and Rusty but had no idea they’d made so few appearances. Or that there were two whole seasons of their TV show! I seem to remember it being pushed off Fox’s Saturday morning schedule to make room for NASCAR Racers, and then reappearing on another channel, where I finally caught up with it—though I never did get to see the end of their big battle with the Legion Ex Machina.

Again, this was a terrific issue, but there a quite a few names missing. Two are characters mentioned in a couple of articles: Metallo and the Construct. Others I can think of include Machinesmith, the Manhunters, the Cyborg Superman (whose New 52 makeover links him to Brainiac and, tragically, ties him even closer to Superman and Supergirl…), Dragon Man, H.E.R.B.I.E., Dr. Sun, Ahab, Tharok, Nimrod, and the Sentinels—though in that last case, they were probably too busy with their big movie debut to appear in the issue!

Thanks once more for a truly superb magazine. Keep up the good work!

– David Matthew Daniels Thanks for the awesome letter, David!

As noted in BI #72’s editorial, H.E.R.B.I.E. the Robot was the subject of an article back in issue #25 (themed “Men of Steel,” BTW). The others, we’ll eventually get around to—starting with the Manhunters, in a Millennium article coming in BACK ISSUE #82 (“Bronze Age Events”).

And ain’t that a cute Rusty the Boy Robot illo, shown here?

It’s by his co-creator, Geof Darrow, and is courtesy of Anthony Snyder.

WHO KNOWS ABOUT WHO’S WHO? Greetings, Brainiac 0! (I’m glad you cleared that name thing up; “Brainiaco” sounds like some demented magician.)

Great “Robots” issue! My favorite article was Jim Kingman’s Metal Men retrospective. In their Silver Age beginnings, their stories always slipped in a few factoids about their various metallurgical makeups, which I always liked; it was kind of like learning science the easy way. They always struck me as a character concept that would look cool in a live-action movie. Hey, if Guardians of the Galaxy can do it, I can dream about a Metal Men movie.

I love John Lewandowski’s “Now and Then” suggestion, but I also understand your concerns about packing more into an already densewith-information magazine. I guess you’re going to have to start a new sister magazine for BI… Michael Rudolph mentioned DC’s Who’s Who series, which got me thinking about the previously announced Showcase Presents edition of that series. Is that ever coming out, or is that a project that never materialized?

– Michal Jacot We’ll pose that as an open question to anyone at DC reading this, Michal. Whatever happened to Showcase Presents: Who’s Who? And since you wrote this message you’ve probably discovered that Metal Men is now under development as a live-action movie.

Next: “Weird Issue”! Batman’s Weirdest Team-Ups, JOE ORLANDO’s Weird Adventure Comics, Weird War Tales, Weird Mystery Tales, STEVE DITKO’s Shade the Changing Man and Stalker, HOWARD CHAYKIN’s Iron Wolf, and JIM STARLIN and BERNIE WRIGHTSON’s The Weird. Plus: a “Pro2Pro” roundtable of cartoonists reminisce about ROBERT CRUMB’s Weirdo, including PETER BAGGE, MARY FLEENER, DREW FRIEDMAN, and BILL GRIFFITH. Featuring the work of JIM APARO, LUIS DOMINGUEZ, MICHAEL FLEISHER, BOB HANEY, JACK C. HARRIS, PAUL LEVITZ, and more. Batman and Deadman cover by ALAN CRADDOCK. Don’t ask—just BI it! See you in sixty!

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

Batman and Deadman TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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LEGO ARTISTRY with builder/photographer CHRIS McVEIGH; mosaic builders BRIAN KORTE, DAVE WARE and DAVE SHADDIX; and sculptors SEAN KENNEY (about his nature models) and ED DIMENT (about a full-size bus stop built with LEGO bricks)!

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“Charlton Action Heroes in the Bronze Age!” DAVE GIBBONS on Charlton’s WATCHMEN connection, LEN WEIN and PARIS CULLINS’ Blue Beetle, CARY BATES and PAT BRODERICK’s Captain Atom, Peacemaker, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt, and a look at Blockbuster Weekly! Featuring MIKE COLLINS, GIORDANO, KUPPERBERG, ALAN MOORE, PAT MORISI, ALEX ROSS, and more. Cover by AL MILGROM.

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GERRY CONWAY interviewed about his work as star Marvel/DC writer in the early ‘70s (from the creation of The Punisher to the death of Gwen Stacy) with art by ROMITA, COLAN, KANE, PLOOG, BUSCEMA, MORROW, TUSKA, ADAMS, SEKOWSKY, the SEVERINS, and others!

Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom history, and more!

75 YEARS of THE FLASH and GREEN LANTERN (a crossover with BACK ISSUE #80)! INFANTINO, KANE, KUBERT, ELIAS, LAMPERT, HIBBARD, NODELL, HASEN, TOTH, REINMAN, SEKOWSKY, Golden Age JSA and Dr. Mid-Nite artist ARTHUR PEDDY’s stepson interviewed, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom history, and more!

Gentleman JIM MOONEY gets a featurelength spotlight, in an in-depth interview conducted by DR. JEFF McLAUGHLIN— never before published! Featuring plenty of rare and unseen MOONEY ART from Batman & Robin, Supergirl, Spider-Man, Legion of Super-Heroes, Tommy Tomorrow, and others! Plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

(100-page FULL-COLOR mag) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95 • Ships Nov. 2014

(100-page FULL-COLOR mag) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95 • Ships Feb. 2015

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Feb. 2015

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships April 2015

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships May 2015

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #6 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #7 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #8

DRAW! #29

DRAW! #30

SWAMPMEN: MUCK-MONSTERS OF THE COMICS dredges up Swamp Thing, ManThing, Heap, and other creepy man-critters of the 1970s bayou! Features interviews with WRIGHTSON, MOORE, PLOOG, WEIN, BRUNNER, GERBER, BISSETTE, VEITCH, CONWAY, MAYERIK, ORLANDO, PASKO, MOONEY, TOTLEBEN, YEATES, BERGER, SANTOS, USLAN, KALUTA, THOMAS, and others. FRANK CHO cover!

BERNIE WRIGHTSON interview on Swamp Thing, Warren, The Studio, Frankenstein, Stephen King, and designs for movies like Heavy Metal and Ghostbusters, and a gallery of Wrightson artwork! Plus writer/editor BRUCE JONES; 20th anniversary of Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror with BILL MORRISON; and interview Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre’s BATTON LASH, and more!

MIKE ALLRED and BOB BURDEN cover and interviews, “Reid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman” cartoonist DAVID BOSWELL interviewed, a chat with RICH BUCKLER, SR. about everything from Deathlok to a new career as surrealistic painter; Tales of the Zombie artist PABLO MARCOS speaks; Israeli cartoonist RUTU MODAN; plus an extensive essay on European Humor Comics!

DAVE DORMAN demonstrates his painting techniques for sci-fi, fantasy, and comic book cover, LeSEAN THOMAS (character designer and co-director of The Boondocks and Black Dynamite: The Animated Series) gives advice on today’s animation industry, new columnist JERRY ORDWAY shows his working process, plus more Comic Art Bootcamp by BRET BLEVINS and Draw! editor MIKE MANLEY! Mature readers only.

We focus the radar on Daredevil artist CHRIS SAMNEE (Agents of Atlas, Batman, Avengers, Captain America) with a how-to interview, comics veteran JACKSON GUICE (Captain America, Superman, Ruse, Thor) talks about his creative process and his new series Winter World, columnist JERRY ORDWAY shows his working process, plus more Comic Art Bootcamp by BRET BLEVINS and Draw! editor MIKE MANLEY! Mature readers only.

(192-page paperback with COLOR) $17.95 (Digital Edition) $8.95 • Now shipping!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships Dec. 2014

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships March 2015

(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 Jan. 2015

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