Back Issue #91 by TwoMorrows Publishing

ALL-JERKS ISSUE!

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Namor in the Bronze Age J. Jonah Jameson Flash Thompson DC’s Biggest Blowhards Reggie ggie Mantle The Heckler Obnoxio featuring Buckler, Busiek, Byrne, Englehart, Giffen & more

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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“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.

“Flash and Green Lantern in the Bronze Age” (crossover with ALTER EGO #132)! In-depth spotlights of their 1970s and 1980s adventures, MARK WAID’s look at the Flash/GL team, and PAUL KUPPERBERG’s Lost GL Fillins. Bonus: DC’s New York Office Memories, and Green Lantern: Ganthet’s Tale by LARRY NIVEN and JOHN BYRNE. With BARR, BATES, GIBBONS, GRELL, INFANTINO, WEIN, and more. Cover by GEORGE PÉREZ.

“DC Bronze Age Giants and Reprints!” An indepth exploration of DC’s 100-PAGE SUPER SPECTACULARS, plus: a history of comics giants, DC indexes galore, and a salute to “human encyclopedia” E. NELSON BRIDWELL. Featuring the work of PAT BRODERICK, RICH BUCKLER, FRANK FRAZETTA, JOE KUBERT, BOB ROZAKIS, BERNIE WRIGHTSON, and more. Super Spec tribute cover featuring classic art by NICK CARDY.

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“Bronze Age Events!” With extensive coverage of the Avengers/Defenders War, JLA/JSA crossovers, Secret Wars, Crisis’ 30th anniversary, Legends, Millennium, Invasion, Infinity Gauntlet, and more! Featuring the work of SAL BUSCEMA, DICK DILLIN, TODD McFARLANE, GEORGE PÉREZ, JOE STATON, LEN WEIN, MARV WOLFMAN, MIKE ZECK, and more. Plus an Avengers vs. Defenders cover by JOHN BYRNE.

“International Heroes!” Alpha Flight, the New X-Men, Global Guardians, Captain Canuck, and Justice League International, plus SpiderMan in the UK and more. Also: exclusive interview with cover artists STEVE FASTNER and RICH LARSON. Featuring the work of JOHN BYRNE, CHRIS CLAREMONT, DAVE COCKRUM, RICHARD COMELY, KEITH GIFFEN, KEVIN MAGUIRE, and more! Alpha Flight vs. X-Men cover by FASTNER/LARSON.

“Supergirl in the Bronze Age!” Her 1970s and 1980s adventures, including her death in Crisis on Infinite Earths and her many rebirths. Plus: an ALAN BRENNERT interview, behind the scenes of the Supergirl movie starring HELEN SLATER, Who is Superwoman?, and a look at the DC Superheroes Water Ski Show. With PAUL KUPPERBERG, ELLIOT MAGGIN, MARV WOLFMAN, plus a jam cover recreation of ADVENTURE COMICS #397!

“Christmas in the Bronze Age!” Go behind the scenes of comics’ best holiday tales of the 1970s through the early 1990s! And we revisit Superhero Merchandise Catalogs of the late ‘70s! Featuring work by SIMON BISLEY, CHRIS CLAREMONT, JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍALÓPEZ, KEITH GIFFEN, the KUBERT STUDIO, DENNY O’NEIL, STEVE PURCELL, JOHN ROMITA, JR., and more. Cover by MARIE SEVERIN and MIKE ESPOSITO!

“Marvel Bronze Age Giants and Reprints!” In-depth exploration of Marvel’s GIANT-SIZE series, plus indexes galore of Marvel reprint titles, Marvel digests and Fireside Books editions, and the last days of the “Old” X-Men! Featuring work by DAN ADKINS, ROSS ANDRU, RICH BUCKLER, DAVE COCKRUM, GERRY CONWAY, STEVE GERBER, STAN LEE, WERNER ROTH, ROY THOMAS, and more. Cover by JOHN ROMITA, SR.!

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“Batman AND Superman!” Bronze Age World’s Finest, Super Sons, Batman/Superman Villain/Partner Swap, Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane go solo, Superman/Radio Shack giveaways, and JLA #200’s “A League Divided” (as a nod to Batman v. Superman)! Featuring work by BRIAN BOLLAND, RICH BUCKLER, GERRY CONWAY, JACK KIRBY, GEORGE PÉREZ, JIM STARLIN, and more. Cover by DICK GIORDANO!

“Comics Magazines of the ’70s and ’80s!” From Savage Tales to Epic Illustrated, KIRBY’s “Speak-Out Series,” EISNER’s Spirit magazine, Unpublished PAUL GULACY, MICHAEL USLAN on the Shadow magazine you didn’t see, plus B&Ws from Atlas/Seaboard, Charlton, Skywald, and Warren. Featuring work by NEAL ADAMS, JOHN BOLTON, ARCHIE GOODWIN, DOUG MOENCH, EARL NOREM, ROY THOMAS, and more. Cover by GRAY MORROW!

“Bronze Age Adaptations!” The Shadow, Korak: Son of Tarzan, Battlestar Galactica, The Black Hole, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Worlds Unknown, and Marvel’s 1980s movie adaptations. Plus: PAUL KUPPERBERG surveys prose adaptations of comics! With work by JACK KIRBY, DENNY O’NEIL, FRANK ROBBINS, MICHAEL W. KALUTA, FRANK THORNE, MICHAEL USLAN, and sporting an alternate Kaluta cover produced for DC’s Shadow series!

“Eighties Ladies!” MILLER & SIENKIEWICZ’s Elektra: Assassin, Dazzler, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), Lady Quark, DAN MISHKIN’s Wonder Woman, WILLIAM MESSNER-LOEBS and ADAM KUBERT’s Jezebel Jade, Somerset Holmes, and a look back at Marvel’s Dakota North! Featuring the work of BRUCE JONES, JOHN ROMITA JR., ROGER STERN, and many more, plus a previously unpublished cover by SIENKIEWICZ.

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Volume 1, Number 91 September 2016 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTIST Kevin Maguire COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Rob Smentek SPECIAL THANKS Cesar Alvarez Heritage Comics Mark Arnold Auctions Peter Bagge Liz Hughes Mike W. Barr Tony Isabella Cary Bates Dan Jurgens Kyle Benning Terry Kavanagh Tom Bierbaum Jim Kingman Al Bigley Gary Kroeger Craig Boldman Paul Kupperberg Jerry Boyd James Heath Lantz Tim Brown Aaron Lopresti Rich Buckler Kari Moen Bob Budiansky Tim A. Moen Kurt Busiek Doug Moench John Byrne Luigi Novi Paul Castiglia Martin Pasko Gerry Conway Beau Smith DC Comics Anthony Snyder Tom DeFalco David Sopko J. M. DeMatteis Joe Staton Steve Englehart Roger Stern The Flying Buttress Roy Thomas Raimon Fonseca Steven Thompson Keith Giffen John Trumbull Grand Comics Mark Waid Database Jamie Weinman Larry Hama John Wells Darrell Hempel Marv Wolfman Glenn Herdling

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FLASHBACK: All About Guy (Gardner) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A hero to some, a jerk to others. With Englehart, Jurgens, Smith, and Staton FLASHBACK: Bullies and Blowhards of the DC Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Morgan Edge, Steve Lombard, Cliff Carmichael, and their ilk rub DC’s characters the wrong way BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: J. Jonah Jameson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Move over, Green Goblin and Doc Ock! JJJ is Spider-Man’s most persistent foe PRO2PRO ROUNDTABLE: J. Jonah Jameson: Hero or Menace? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Busiek, Conway, DeFalco, Isabella, Stern, and Wolfman jaw about ol’ flat-top FLASHBACK: Flash Thompson: Friend or Foe? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 The troubled life of Peter Parker’s one-time bully CONFESSIONS OF A YOUNG BIGLEY: Subby’s Disco Suit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Premiering Al Bigley’s new cartoon—with a look at the ’70s Sub-Mariner FLASHBACK: Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner: Scion of the Deep or Royal Pain? . . . . 50 Why can Subby be such a jerk? Are his trunks too tight? His ’80s/’90s creators share their thoughts BEYOND CAPES: Archie’s Antagonist, Reggie Mantle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Insiders—including TV Reggie Gary Kroeger—explore the “dark” to Archie’s “light” WHAT THE--?!: Obnoxio the Clown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 This Crazy Marvel mascot might give you a legitimate reason to hate clowns FLASHBACK: The Heckler: A Jester of Justice Comes to Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 We ask Keith Giffen and Tom Bierbaum, “What’s up, doc?” with this offbeat superhero BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Reader reactions

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. Eight-issue subscriptions: $73 Economy US, $88 Expedited US, $116 International. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Kevin Maguire. Batman and Guy Gardner TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2016 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing except Confessions of a Young Bigley © 2016 Al Bigley. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

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In “Echoes” (Green Lantern #189, June 1985), written by Steve Englehart and illustrated by Joe Staton and Bruce Patterson, Hal Jordan, no longer a Green Lantern, visited the comatose Guy Gardner—once Hal’s backup in the Green Lantern Corps—at a convalescent hospital. Hal introduced himself as a former GL, and explained to Guy the common bond they shared as the “Old Guard.” Hal promised to visit Guy more often, wished him the very best, and then departed. But the readers did not, as two haunting panels focused on Guy’s faceless expression from two different angles. Had Guy understood Hal? Was he feeling anything? And then the readers turned the page to find themselves in a different setting of the story. In Justice League International #7 (Nov. 1987), written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis and illustrated by Kevin Maguire and Al Gordon, Guy Gardner was free of his coma and now a Green Lantern in the reformed Justice League. In the aftermath of a brief confrontation that rendered him unconscious, Guy awoke and slammed his head into the bottom of a kitchen sink. The severity of the blow changed him. He became kinder, gentler, unaware of his past, prone to whistling a happy Debby Boone or Carpenters tune, complimenting his teammates excessively, and worrying over their feelings and the feelings of everyone, actually— much to the annoyance and surprise of all. It would be a while before he reverted to the personality his fellow superheroes had grown accustomed to. In “Once Upon a Time” (Guy Gardner: Warrior #0, Oct. 1994), scripted by Beau Smith with pencils by Mitch Byrd and inks by Dan Davis, Guy Gardner was physically transformed and his extraterrestrial origins were revealed as a result of a rebooted timeline. The survivors of the Vuldarian race, in an attempt to continue the bloodline of the way of the Warrior, as protectors against evil, initiated a merger of alien and Earthling whose lineage over the centuries eventually produced the perfect Warrior spawn: Guy Gardner, whose drinking of the Waters of the Warriors brought to fruition this latent destiny. Now “feelin’ pretty damn powerful,” in Guy’s own words, Gardner had a new life to fulfill.

BAD BREAKS

It’s easy to feel sympathy and pride in Guy Gardner given what he’s been through, isn’t it? The thing is, between the dramatic events of GL #189 and GGW #0, with the extended personality disorder sandwiched in-between (Justice League International #7–18), Guy Gardner was pretty much a jerk, a jerk that his fans loved to hate. Arrogant, brash, hotheaded, insensitive, conceited, obnoxious, and boasting all the qualities of a complete jerk—that was Guy Gardner, “the one, true

What a Guy! Detail from the Kevin Maguire/Terry Austin cover to Justice League #5 (Sept. 1987), the “One Punch” issue. TM & © DC Comics.

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Green Lantern,” as he made it quite clear to one and all throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Yet, before Guy became a jerk, he was a good man who suffered a string of bad breaks. Introduced in “Earth’s Other Green Lantern” (Green Lantern #59, Mar. 1968), story by John Broome with art by Gil Kane and Sid Greene, it was revealed to Green Lantern Hal Jordan by his bosses, the Guardians of the Universe, that Hal was one of two potential replacements for Green Lantern Abin Sur, whose spacecraft had crashlanded in the American Southwest years before. The dying Abin Sur requested his ring to seek out a worthy replacement, a man strong-willed and without fear, and Hal Jordan, who worked at Ferris Aircraft in Southern California, was chosen over Guy Gardner, a physical education instructor residing in Baltimore, because Hal was in closer proximity to Sur. Not that Guy was aware of this at the time. Apparently, it wouldn’t have done Guy much good if he had been selected to replace Abin Sur. Information calculated into one of the Guardian’s advanced machines gave Hal a glimpse of what might have been had Guy become Green Lantern, and as it turns out Guy would have died heroically in action, thus making Hal Jordan a Green Lantern anyway. The Guardians then informed Hal that Guy was Jordan’s backup should he become incapacitated. Hal then met Guy, and the two became friends, but Hal did not tell Guy that he had almost become a Green Lantern and that Gardner was his backup. That’s three bad breaks Guy didn’t even know about. Then, in writer Denny O’Neil and artists Neal Adams and Dick Giordano’s “Beware My Power,” published in Green Lantern (co-starring Green Arrow) #87 (Dec. 1971–Jan. 1972), Guy was severely injured while trying to save a young girl in the aftermath of an earthquake. Taken to a hospital by Green Lantern, it would take months for Guy to recover from a broken

back. The Guardians wasted no time in selecting Guy’s replacement, architect John Stewart, as Hal’s backup, granting John a privilege Guy was denied: knowledge of being a GL backup and training by Hal Jordan. Two more bad breaks for Guy, literally and figuratively. Years later, in “My Ring … My Enemy!” (Green Lantern [co-starring Green Arrow] #116, May 1979), by O’Neil and illustrated by Alex Saviuk and Dave Hunt, a fully recovered and enthusiastic Guy, now aware of his backup status, became temporary Green Lantern of Earth while Hal took to a mission in space. After Guy’s successful teaming with Green Arrow, Gardner appeared to be tragically shattered and evaporated when recharging his power ring at a faulty power battery. The biggest bad break of all. Fortunately, Guy wasn’t killed, as revealed in “With These Rings” (Green Lantern [co-starring Green Arrow] #122, Nov. 1979) by O’Neil and artists Don Heck and Vince Colletta. Unfortunately, Gardner was transported to the Phantom Zone, where he was held captive and brainwashed by the imprisoned General Zod of Krypton. Guy was also able to watch helplessly and angrily as his

Ring-A-Dingbat (left) Guy Gardner’s first appearance, in Green Lantern #59 (Mar. 1968). Cover by Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson. (right) Full of himself, ain’t he? Cover to GL #196 (Jan. 1986) by Howard Chaykin. TM & © DC Comics.

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girlfriend Kari Limbo, a psychic, become romantically involved with Hal Jordan, and even witness their wedding, which was abruptly cut short when Kari collapsed. Hal learned that Guy was in the Phantom Zone, along with a beaten Superman. Guy wasn’t interested in being rescued by Hal; he just wanted to thrash Jordan for stealing his girl. Hal was able to bring Superman back to Earth. There was simply no stopping the nasty string of bad breaks befalling Guy. In “Mission of No Return” (Green Lantern #123, Dec. 1979), by O’Neil and artists Staton and Giordano, Hal made a second attempt to rescue Guy from the Phantom Zone, and he was on the verge of success when Sinestro nabbed Gardner. During the battle between GL and renegade Green Lantern Sinestro, Guy suffered further mental injury. Hal eventually rescued Guy and returned to Earth,

That’s Our Guy! An undated sketch by Joe Staton of Guy Gardner—with bowl-cut! —from Heritage (www.ha.com). (inset) The sneer of actor Tim Pigott-Smith inspired Guy’s look. Guy Gardner TM & © DC Comics. The Jewel in the Crown © Granada Television.

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but Gardner had slipped into a coma, his mind “damaged in a way I’ve been never seen before,” as the doctor told GL. Kari called off the wedding with Hal to tend for Guy, the only good break Gardner received after a devastating string of bad ones, although he didn’t know it (making it kind of a bad break after all). With that, Guy also entered comics limbo, where he would reside for years—until 1985, when Englehart and Staton replaced writer Len Wein and artist Dave Gibbons on the ongoing Green Lantern monthly, beginning with GL #188 (May 1985). Shortly after Hal’s visit with Guy in GL #189, Guy abruptly emerged out of his coma, walked out of the convalescent hospital on his own accord, and went about desecrating Abin Sur’s grave. Jordan confronted him and realized that Guy was now an angry, violent individual, intent on claiming the power he felt was rightfully his, yet always denied him. A Guardian of the Universe appeared before the battling duo and chose Gardner to be a Green Lantern and lead a mission to help save the universe, much to Gardner’s satisfaction and Jordan’s dismay. © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. “When I took over,” recalls Englehart, “John Stewart was the GL, but everybody expected Hal Jordan to come back and relegate John to backup duty once again. I decided that John deserved better, so I asked myself, ‘Why can’t there be two GLs?’ And that led to, ‘Why can’t there be more than two?’ That eventually led to the GL Corps, but along the way, I decided to resurrect the lost GL, Guy Gardner, who had been terminally bland and then braindamaged—a completely useless character, as things stood. I was being a good soldier, trying to help my friend Dick Giordano sell the book, and it turned out to be the second biggest mistake of my entire career—because ever since, DC has claimed that since Joe and I didn’t create the original Guy Gardner, our completely new take counts for nothing. If I had called the new guy Joe Smith we would have earned major royalties, but as it is, we get nothing, and we get dissed by the people we helped. So adding it all up, I wish I hadn’t done it.” Sadly, the writer and artist who took a character that was constantly being discarded and made him popular, controversial, and enduring have received their own bad break, with no royalties for the character they successfully recreated! “It was Steve’s inspiration,” Staton tells BACK ISSUE. “He had lots of really clever takes on who or what could be a GL. So maybe a human GL didn’t have to be totally heroic and idealistic, maybe he could be petty and resentful as well. Gardner had never amounted to anything and had actually been written entirely out of the book, so Steve could use him as a blank matrix to hang a new characterization on. Steve’s creation of Guy really was something new.” “I just wanted someone who would shake things up,” says Englehart. “I liked Hal and John a lot, but they, like most GLs, were fairly highminded. I wanted my new character to break that mold completely. And Joe, for his part, saw that most of the others wore basically the same outfit, and so gave him a completely new sort of uniform. Guy’s whole point was that he was completely unlike anyone before.” “I did have somebody in mind when I drew the new Guy,” says Staton. “At the time we were creating him I was following a PBS series called The Jewel in the Crown set in Colonial India. A central character was a Major Ronald Merrick played by Tim Pigott-Smith. He was a tough officer who felt he’d been denied his entitlements. I related his resentment to Guy’s and I kept him in mind for Guy’s look. Sometime, Google ‘Major Merrick’ and you’ll find shots of him face-to-face with somebody and he’ll have this nasty sneer. That’s Guy. “I did all the design work on Guy and it came organically,” continues Staton, “taking off from what Steve was giving me in the scripts. The key to Guy was the awful haircut. When the previous Guy had been abandoned in a custodial facility he was comatose, a blank. It came to me that somebody would come around periodically and give him a quick trim, a bowl cut, sort of institutional. Steve was playing off the idea that Guy was braindamaged and had the social controls of a little kid. Remember Raymond Chandler comparing Humphrey Bogart and Alan Ladd?

Alan Ladd, he said, was a 12-year-old boy’s idea of a tough guy. How would a kid design a tough superhero? Try a jacket, some straps, some studs, some clunky boots. That with the haircut and you’ve got some fascist thing going on. Of course, after Guy’s break with the traditional leotard look for GLs many others have followed in his clunky footsteps.” During the “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” which kicked off just as Englehart and Staton were starting their run on Green Lantern, a faction of the Guardians of the Universe released Guy from his coma, appointed him a Green Lantern, and assigned him to pull together a team to destroy the Anti-Monitor’s headquarters on the moon of Qward, an anti-matter universe with a lot of history in Green Lantern lore. Then it was discovered by Sinestro—of all people—that if Guy’s plan succeeded the universe would be destroyed. Guy and the GL foes he recruited were stopped by Hal Jordan and his team. Hal was soon reinstated as a GL after the death of his friend, Tomar Re, and Guy was taken to Oa for judgment before the remaining Guardians of the Universe. The Guardians, alongside the Zamorans, left Oa at the end of Green Lantern #200. While the GL Corps established themselves on Earth in Green Lantern Corps #201, Guy was deployed—he would say “banished”—to the planet Maltus under the stewardship of a former Guardian of the Universe, who had spent years on the planet fighting its overpopulation problem. Guy was put to work immediately, destroying an alien invasion intent on abducting all the planet’s women. While the Guardian pressed Guy to learn to work with the whole for the whole, Guy just wanted to be his own man, having been a vegetable for years. Guy’s first attempt to desert his post on Maltus was thwarted by the Guardian’s honor guard. In Green Lantern Corps #207, Guy abruptly arrived on Earth before the GL Corps, claiming to have been successfully trained on Maltus and released by the Guardian to lead the Corps. The Corps seriously doubted this and a fierce battle ensued between Guy and the Green Lanterns within a gigantic jungle gym conjured by Guy’s ring. On the verge of defeat, Guy disappeared. His former girlfriend, Kari Limbo, came to Hal to speak on Guy’s behalf. Meanwhile, the Guardian and his honor guard had caught up to Guy and were intent on stripping Guy of his ring and GL status. Then Hal and the Corps entered the scene to defend Guy, and they were able to persuade the Guardian to allow Guy to stay on Earth and continue on as a Green Lantern. Guy wasn’t the least bit grateful. When Kilowog of the GL Corps naively defected to Russia, Guy took on the entire Soviet Union, instigating a nuclear war the Corps had to defuse. Soon after, at the Corps’ New Year’s party (Green Lantern Corps #211), a disgruntled Guy unleashed a concoction that inebriated his fellow Green Lanterns and caused a bad reaction in GL Salaak that unleashed mentally generated monsters on the group. Fed up with Guy, Hal ordered Gardner off the team. Guy said good riddance, informing the group that he had already been invited to join a reformed Justice League. With that, Guy entered the next phase of his superhero career.

LEGENDARY CROSSOVER

The reformed Justice League came out of the Legends miniseries. In Legends, Darkseid set forth a scheme, unleashed by the wicked words of G. Gordon Godfrey, to destroy Earth’s superheroes by wrecking their reputations. The superheroes eventually prevailed, but the Justice League of America was left in ruin. A new Justice League emerged, with Batman, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel, Dr. Fate, Dr. Light, Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle … and Guy Gardner. “Rambo with a ring,” as Guy was described by Black Canary, appeared annoyed, confident, and ready to “Make somethin’ of it” on the classic cover of Justice League #1 (May 1987). Thus began Guy’s lengthy tenure in Justice League/Justice League International/ Justice League America. While writers Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis featured Guy prominently in their run on the book (#1–60), his arrogance set him apart, jeopardizing any kind of a leadership role. Guy’s being a jerk did not sit well with Batman, who in a swift, violent confrontation felled Gardner with one punch [as revisited on this issue’s cover!—ed.]. When gaining

Crowd Control A p-o’ed Guy pushes back against civilian tormentors on this original art page from Legends #2 (Dec. 1986), courtesy of Anthony Snyder (www.anthonyscomicbookart.com). Art by John Byrne and Karl Kesel. (inset) Legends #6. TM & © DC Comics.

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consciousness, Guy accidentally slammed his head into a kitchen sink. It changed his personality. He became sweet, lovable, reserved, confusing all, and a jerk of a different order. This was the former Global Guardian Ice’s first impression of him, and when Guy eventually roared back in anger, she found it difficult to believe he had reverted to his true self. It was the explosive arrival of Lobo that jarred Guy’s jerk personality back, and he subsequently took being a jerk to a whole new level. He carried out practical jokes against fellow JLA members. He indulged in men’s magazines while on monitor duty. But during this time something happened to Guy. He began to fall in love. His relationship with Ice (also known as Tora) didn’t exactly soften Guy. On their first date, he took her to see an X-rated film at an adult theater. He didn’t hold back in insulting her on occasion. When a colleague of the League died in action, he offered her no consolation—even though he thought about it—more concerned with delusions of leadership. Still, it was a relationship that had potential … and then it was gone.

Highlights of Guy’s turbulent time with the JLA are notable: His first stab at the leadership role in Justice League #1; the aforementioned being downed by Batman with one punch in #5; his additional blow to the head that changed him to a kinder, gentler Guy in #7; his return to arrogance in #18 and 19; his hysterical lunge at the Khunds in #24; his first date with Ice in #28; his reunion with Kilowog in #34; his cover appearance on SPY magazine in #37, where his mental state was compared to a pineapple; his second date with Ice in #45; the origin of his bowl-cut in #46, and his attempt to get his favorite artist a job at DC Comics in #50. But you can’t go wrong with Guy, even in his most minimal moments, as he always has attitude to strut and heads to bust. The JLA was popular, of course, so much so that the team had its own quarterly publication, Justice League International Quarterly, of which Guy appeared in several issues. The most notable of Gardner’s appearances is Justice League Quarterly #4’s “Cracked Ice!”, by DeMatteis and artists Darick Robertson and John Beatty, where at tale’s end Guy finally admits to Tora that he loves her.

DOESN’T PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS

When Green Lantern was revived in 1990, the spotlight was on Hal Jordan, who had just come off a successful origin reboot in Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn. Though Guy Gardner had a home in Justice League America, writer Gerard Jones and artists Pat Broderick and Bruce Patterson gave Guy a prominent role in the title’s eight-issue opening epic, later collected as Green Lantern: The Road Back. Then Guy’s greatest dream was finally realized at the beginning of his first solo story in Green Lantern #9–12: He was assigned over Jordan and Stewart as the one true Green Lantern of Earth. With great power came great confusion, as Guy suddenly had no idea how to play the role he had coveted for years. Guy’s next solo stint was only one issue, Green Lantern #18 (Nov. 1991), a tie-in to the “Breakdowns” saga occurring in Justice League America and Justice League Europe. Here Guy began a downward spiral. Several issues later, Guy was summoned by Hal Jordan to assist in the new Corps’ battle against Star Sapphire. After Sapphire’s defeat, the return of Carol Ferris, and the initiation of a new GL Corps, Hal decided that he wanted back his GL status on Earth, and told Carol that by whatever means necessary he would persuade Guy for it. This set the stage for a brutal one-on-one fist fight between Hal and Guy in Green Lantern #25 (June 1992), winner take all, with the loser to give up being a GL and relinquishing the power ring. Guy lost. But before I continue with how Guy won, let me shift briefly to his Justice League exploits after Giffen and DeMatteis left the book.

In Your Face! (top) Guy gives Oberon the brush-off in Justice League #1 (May 1987); the issue’s cover is in the inset. (bottom) From JL #5, the famous one-punch scene. TM & © DC Comics.

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After coming out of his coma, Guy always had an issue with authority figures. In the Green Lantern Corps, he had to deal with Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and the Guardians of the Universe. In the Justice League, he was always at odds with Batman and the Martian Manhunter. When writer/artist Dan Jurgens took over Justice League America, Guy was forced to capitulate to arguably comics’ greatest authority figure: Superman, who joined the League in Justice League Spectacular #1. Even worse, Guy’s Gal Ice was instantly smitten by the Man of Steel. “That basic approach served a couple of purposes,” Jurgens tells BACK ISSUE. “It put Superman on something of a pedestal, which I was looking to do. I really did see that as befitting him, and It added a layer of complexity to Superman’s relationship with both Guy and Ice.” Guy didn’t take very well to Superman being in the League. After Ice sustained injuries in the League’s battle with the Weapons Master, Guy power-ringed a bouquet of flowers to put by her bedside. He discovered that the framed photo on the nightstand next to her bed was not of him, but a newspaper article announcing Superman joining the League. In the next issue, Guy’s resentment of Superman boiled over, causing him to turn to his fellow Justice Leaguers and demand they choose him or the Man of Steel. The League chose Superman, and Guy abandoned the League. Guy was changing. When he came out of his coma, his being a jerk was attributed to brain damage. Even Joe Staton admits this: “My take was that Guy was brain damaged from his encounters with Sinestro, not to mention being struck by a school bus. Guy was a hero worthy to be a Green Lantern, but he’d missed out by

the luck of the draw. One effect of his brain damage was that he no longer had the socialization of an adult, and the resentment he felt at being denied could be expressed, unedited.” But other factors were coming into play: an emerging troubled past, a desire to be respected, and a deeply underlying appreciation of others. “I always stepped back from the upbringing aspect,” says Jurgens. “I’ve known too many people who’ve had similar experiences and then overcome them to become really humane and warm people. I always saw it more as, ‘This is who Guy Gardner is.’ Simply put—that’s his personality. ‘Given a particular situation, this is how he would react.’ I always saw him as emotionally remote and defensive … someone who couldn’t get close to people. That was enough for me. That’s somewhat necessary when writing a group book, using a character that has his own title. You tend to frame them in more simplistic terms because any opportunity for development is going to be somewhat compromised by the fact that another writer is heading up their own title.” Guy abandoned the League and withdrew to the apartment he shared with General Glory in New York. Then Hal Jordan paid a visit, a battle ensued, Guy was no longer a Green Lantern, he tried to reinvent himself, and then he claimed Sinestro’s ring. Guy returned to the Justice League, not a changed man, but a changed superhero. “I was not involved with what happened to Guy in the GL books,” says Jurgens. “I was aware they were making those changes and,

Beware the Creep (left) Guy pours on the charm in Dan Jurgens’ Justice League Spectacular #1 (Mar.–Apr. 1992). Inks by Rich Burchett. (right) Guess who wants to lead the League in Jurgens’ Justice League America #61 (Apr. 1992)? That issue’s cover (inset), recreating the classic Justice League of America #1 cover, by Jurgens and Murphy Anderson. TM & © DC Comics.

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He’s No Super Friend (left) Tim Brown submitted this Aaron Lopresti sketch of Guy trying to make time with his JLA teammate Wonder Woman. Thanks, Tim (and Aaron)! (right) Yellow-ringed Guy’s showdown with Superman, from Jurgens and Burchett’s JLA #66 (Sept. 1992). (background) Cover to JLA #63. TM & © DC Comics.

once they were solidified, did what I could to work them into the book.” Guy’s return was nasty and kicked off with a battle with the League and then a showdown with Superman. Batman and the Atom arrived on the scene to calm matters down, and Guy was given a second chance with the team. He and the League battled Doomsday and lost. Guy mourned Superman, in his own way, after the Man of Steel was killed by Doomsday. He aided the team in their recruitment drive for new members, and helped defeat Dr. Destiny. Jurgens’ last issue of Justice League America was #77, the end of a two-part story Guy was not involved in because he had been abducted by aliens (more on that soon). Of course, Jurgens’ stories in Superman and Zero Hour would impact Guy’s future significantly: the destruction of Coast City, which led to Hal Jordan’s tragic meltdown; and Parallax’s attempt at rebooting the DC Universe (which was actually accomplished by a group of superheroes, including Guy, in Zero Hour #0). “With the destruction of Coast City,” says Jurgens, “we really opened the door to some wide-ranging possibilities. It was up to Guy’s writers to decide how they wanted to handle it and what type of things they wanted to extract in order to affect their characters. Obviously, some major developments evolved out of Coast City’s death, so from a dramatic standpoint, I’d have to say it worked out pretty well.” Writer Dan Vado took over Justice League America with #78, and with him came Guy Gardner, a different Guy Gardner, as this was a replicate created by the Draal and now on Earth as a sleeper agent. The real Guy Gardner was trying to get back to Earth to stop his evil twin. This had taken place in Guy’s own series, which I haven’t discussed yet because again I’ve gotten a little ahead of myself here. Let’s go back to when Hal Jordan stripped Guy of his Green Lantern status. In the space of two months, Guy was out of Green Lantern and briefly out of Justice League America. He was on his own, and embarking on a new career.

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REBIRTH

In Guy Gardner: Reborn #1–3, published during the summer of 1992 and written by Gerard Jones and illustrated by Joe Staton and Joe Rubenstein, a broken and powerless Guy was still determined to be a hero, and set out to steal Sinestro’s yellow power ring from the body of the dead renegade Green Lantern. Tricking Lobo into aiding him, Guy accomplished his task, although it wasn’t easy, as he and Lobo and the new Green Lantern Corps had to thwart an invasion of Oa by the Weaponers of Qward. Once Guy had the ring, he returned to Earth, and received his own monthly series, Guy Gardner, where he donned a new uniform and began ridding New York of its criminal elements. Staton designed Guy’s new blue look, which was similar to the clothes he was wearing when he desecrated Abin Sur’s grave in Green Lantern #194. Recalls Staton, “An editorial decision was made that Guy needed a new look. I tried to make it something in line with what I thought Guy should have been wearing but different enough to meet the requirements. I’ve since found out that this is now known as Guy’s ‘pimp’ look. I ran into somebody cosplaying this look at a con a while back and it looked sort of cool in the flesh.” Guy having his own series risked too much of a good thing. His arrogance and brashness worked well in a team setting: the readers enjoyed the conflicts between him and his teammates, and could relate to their annoyance with him. But Guy was still part of a team. Going solo meant the reader had to deal with Guy 22 (pages)/12 (times a year). That much arrogance and brashness threatened to be overwhelming, and it was for the first few issues of the series, with the exception of the ‘silent issue,’ GG #3. Guy Gardner #1–10 are certainly entertaining, and it was interesting to have Guy learn the ropes of a ring whose language he couldn’t interpret and whose power fizzled out at the most inopportune times, but these were gimmicks, and with one super-baddie to battle issue after issue, nothing new under the sun. Something had to be done

We’re Bowled Over by This Guy (left) Cover to Guy Gardner #1 (Oct. 1992). Art by Joe Staton and Terry Beatty. (right) Guy wages war against Hal on this Mitch Byrd/Dan Davis cover to Guy Gardner: Warrior #21 (June 1994). TM & © DC Comics.

with Guy. When writer Chuck Dixon came on board, that’s exactly its own controversy: incoming writer Beau Smith, who took over from what happened. Guy gradually became someone the readers cared Dixon right in the middle of “Emerald Fallout,” made Guy a little more vulnerable and someone to root for, and that certainly alienated about, because he began to care about more than just himself. Dixon revealed what only had been hinted at: Guy’s anger issues those who enjoyed his being his jerk. As Smith recalls to BACK ISSUE, “I wanted to make Guy more likable went all the way back to his childhood. Dixon got the flashbacks rolling in an intriguing story arc. Guy was abducted by aliens, and replicated. because in his ‘bowl-cut’ jerk version, he was a one-note character. During the replication process, he was subjected to his past, where If he would have remained on that path, he would still be the same he relived his troubled childhood. The reader was introduced to Guy’s character today, and no one would really care. His place in the DC Universe would not be in the back of the bus, it abusive father, indifferent mother, and brother, who, would be under it. in his father’s eyes, could do no wrong, although he “It wasn’t because I was such a Guy Gardner was far more troubled than Guy. The replicate was fan,” Smith continues, “it was because I did not eventually sent to Earth where it infiltrated the Justice want to see any character with so much potential League, and by the time Guy escaped the aliens become a one-trick pony. Gardner deserved so much and returned to Earth, the replicate had killed a man. better than that. I also wanted to write the end of the Guy defeated his evil duplicate (Justice League America ‘Batman–One Punch’ story. That was Guy’s hitting #83), then he worked with Blue Beetle on fashioning bottom as a character. Instead of looking at that as a new uniform that included various powers. Guy his ruin, I took it as an opportunity. I wanted Guy to gave himself a new superhero name—Warrior—and grow, to gain respect within his peers of the DCU. Guy Gardner became Guy Gardner: Warrior with issue “I made my first shot at that in the first issue #17. Guy then battled a new foe named Militia, I wrote, Guy Gardner: Warrior #20, where Wonder an international policeman working for a mysterious Woman shows Guy respect and he in turn shows government branch known as the Quorum. it to her. That was a key moment in my run on Guy Then Guy’s life changed dramatically when Hal Gardner. I wanted my run to be filled with these Jordan went mad over the destruction of Coast City. forward-movement moments.” Unhappy Hal destroyed the Green Lantern Corps Guy recovered from Hal’s brutal onslaught, and and the Guardians of the Universe and absorbed the © Comic-Con International. power of the central power battery on Oa for his own use (as seen sought out new powers. This took him to South America, where he months later in Zero Hour). While this was happening, over in Guy drank of the Waters of the Warrior and developed regenerative powers. Gardner: Warrior #18–21’s “Emerald Fallout,” Guy and Tora battled Aligned with other superheroes to thwart Hal Jordan’s attempt to reboot Militia, and Militia revealed himself as Guy’s allegedly dead brother. the timeline in his image in Zero Hour, Guy was given a new edge in the Alan (the Golden Age Green Lantern) Scott abruptly appeared and restricted timeline. He was now of alien descent, and with the Warrior’s told Guy he must head to Oa immediately. Guy said goodbye to Tora. powers came new responsibilities and new threats. Since becoming his own man, Guy’s anger wasn’t swept away, but he would no longer let He would never see her alive again. A ferocious battle ensued between the two former GLs (GGW his anger control him. He began to channel it, using it to his advantage. Evolving Guy into a Vuldarian warrior was particularly jarring given #21), and once again Jordan defeated Guy. He also absorbed the power of Sinestro’s ring and then destroyed it. The repercussions of its extraterrestrial connections (with tattoos!), but Smith made it work losing his power would change Guy dramatically. Guy would soon by just letting it play out. As Beau Smith tells BACK ISSUE, “My original idea was to have gain so much more: new powers, a new origin, and more respect. It’s like the flipside of what happened to Hal. Of course, it wasn’t without Guy with no superpowers. I wanted him to be a globetrotting All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 9

Tat’s All, Folks! (top) The “one, true Green Lantern” in his tattooed Warrior phase. Page 1 of Guy Gardner: Warrior #32 (July 1995), by Beau Smith, Joyce Chin, and Ken Branch. (bottom) Guy discovers what women want in GGW #42 (May 1996). Cover by Chin and Dan Panosian. TM & © DC Comics.

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adventurer as he was in GGW #22 and 23, with the eye patch. I created Buck Wargo and the Monster Hunters to give Guy his own unique supporting cast, but even though I had a lot of freedom creatively, DC still wanted him to have some sort of powers. “Editors Kevin Dooley and Eddie Berganza mentioned that, at that time, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were really popular and that maybe we could have Guy morph and turn into a giant robot. Artist Mitch Byrd and I didn’t really want to do that, so we spent a few hours on the phone, me talking and Mitch sketching, and we came up with a more organic way of Guy morphing, with a backstory that was a little more interesting. Since the title was Guy Gardner: Warrior, I wanted him to truly be a warrior, powers or no powers, a warrior against evil and wrong. I stated that the only things Guy could morph would be traditional weapons of warriors, but once this version of Guy got popular, other writers and editors would borrow the character and have him morphing chainsaws and eggbeaters. This kind of stuff happens, and you have to know that going in when you are working for a publisher that owns the characters.” © Beau Smith / via Facebook. Guy could still lose his cool, and then some. When he learned that his fellow JLAers didn’t inform him of Tora’s death [which occurred in Justice League Task Force #17, July 1994—ed.], he gave Captain Atom a particularly strong punch. Guy snapped Major Force’s neck after Force murdered his brother. Yet, Guy became a leader at last, recruiting lost and oddball heroes from throughout the DC Universe. They had their own headquarters at Warrior’s, Guy’s bar deep in the heart of New York, where superheroes could hang out and shoot the breeze after battles. Says Smith, “Guy rarely asked for anything but respect from his peers, but when the situation came for other, less iconic characters to get their respect, Guy couldn’t ignore them. Gardner had been there. So Warrior’s Bar became a haven for many of DC’s forgotten heroes. They still wanted to fight evil, and Guy gave them a place and a family to do that from. I’m not saying Guy became a father figure to some of these characters, but more of an uncle, a big brother, and, most of all, a friend. “I wanted the bar to be my gift to the DC characters that have entertained me all my life. Artist Brad Gorby did an amazing job designing Warrior’s. He didn’t miss a detail that I, or Eddie Berganza, laid out.” Once Warrior’s was established, Guy’s exploits exploded with fury and fun (battling the Tormocks ancient foes of the Vuldarians, and the possibility of Warrior action figures), violence and venom (taking on his evil replicate one more time and the introduction of the mysterious Martika), romance and resonance (again, Martika, and a meeting between Guy and John Stewart in GGW #37 that becomes more moving than tragic), long hair, and even an outrageous change in gender. “This was a rare time,” recalls Smith, “where, as creators, we had so much freedom at DC Comics. I don’t mean careless freedom, I mean creative freedom, where we could explore not only incredible situations and conflicts, but the lives of superheroes. What they thought when they had down time, how they would react when really crazy things happened. “One of those crazy things was how Guy, one of the most macho heroes around, would react when turned into a woman. If you really stop and read that issue [Guy Gardner #42], you’ll see that Guy didn’t panic, he showed his true Warrior’s heart and managed to defeat the bad guy with the hand he was dealt. It showed Guy’s respect for women

in the fact that he knew could stop a bad guy from the flight deck of a female body just as well as he could from his own male version. “As far as Guy’s long hair goes, this was another case where we dealt with the normal act of hair growth and changing style; changes in style could be addressed as really people do. I also have to admit it was my way of killing the bowl-cut.” Was this crossing the lines of Comics Code “authority” and comic geekdom’s stayed sense of tradition? “No,” says Smith. “We were out to create compelling stories and toss the clichés out the barroom door. We wanted to make stories that you could relate to and heroes you wanted to hang out with.” In Guy Gardner #39 (Feb. 1996) something totally strange occurred: Guy Gardner and Fire, Ice’s best friend, shared a kiss then an evening together. Was romance in the future? “They did have their fling,” confirms Beau. “It was to be the construction of a love triangle that would be complete when we brought Ice back.” If you blink, you’ll miss Guy and Fire passionately reunited in one panel in the last issue of Justice League America. In Guy Gardner #43 (June 1996), Arisia was murdered by Major Force. You would think the Green Lantern Corps had already suffered enough. “DC wanted her dead,” admits Smith. “It was part of their deconstruction of the Green Lanterns at that time. My intent was to kill her and bring her back with powers that had no leaning to the GL Corps. Trust me, Arisia was gonna come back as a kick-butt hero and interesting as anyone in the DCU.” The violence in Guy Gardner: Warrior was duly noted and often criticized at the time, but in retrospect the violence seems tame and the transformation of Guy from angry jerk to warrior to good man much more pronounced. “To make the Guy Gardner book stand out,” remembers Smith, “I had to up the violence or threat of violence to pull out the warrior heart of Guy Gardner, which we really did in #44, no pun intended, our last issue. I had to put Guy against the hardest rock to really make him a true warrior, not only for himself but to impress on the readers as well. I’ve gotta say issue #44 was a satisfying way to go out. “I miss the character of Guy Gardner, he ended up being a part of my family. I hope he ended up being a part of everyone’s.”

BYE, GUY!

In the last issue of Guy Gardner: Warrior (#44, July 1996) there are two epilogues and a fitting farewell. The first epilogue is at Arisia’s funeral service. Guy is attending, and Hal (Parallax) Jordan makes a surprise appearance. Guy is angry at first, but Hal assures him he will only be a moment, and merely wants to pay his respects. It is a touching moment, where Guy, Arisia’s “big brother,” and Hal the ex-boyfriend—both of them once her teammates—put their differences aside to honor her. The second epilogue is just plain bizarre. Guy Gardner has entered our reality and is harassing his writer, artist, and editors at the DC offices. This is Guy from the early issues of the series: arrogant, mean, wreaking havoc. It’s a jarring sequence, reminding the reader of just how far Guy had come as a responsible person. The fitting farewell on the next page solidifies this positive change. Guy is alone at Warrior’s, seated at a table, holding a beer high, looking directly at the reader for one last toast. It’s a scene no one would have predicted years earlier, a calm, confident Guy Gardner bowing out of his ongoing series with a happy ending.

Of course, happy endings are just one chapter in the story of a superhero. Their never-ending stories include revivals, retcons, reinventions, and retoolings, and Guy Gardner is no exception. He would make many comebacks in the years to come. The Guy Gardner in today’s DC Universe is far, far removed from the Guy Gardner in this article, the Guy I grew up with, and the Guy I watched grow up in the 1980s and 1990s. Awhile back I saw Gardner on the cover of Star Trek/Green Lantern #3 in all his “one true Green Lantern” glory, and it made me smile. I’ve always admired Guy’s growth as a character, but it was nice to see him once again as a jerk power-ringing himself into the fray, no doubt making it clear to Mr. Spock that he was the leader of this mission.

Guy Says Goodbye Earth’s prickliest Green Lantern, as seen in Green Lantern Corps vol. 3 #20 (July 2013). Art by Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna. TM & © DC Comics.

JIM KINGMAN purchased his first comic book, DC’s World’s Finest Comics #211, on a family road trip reading and collecting comic books ever since (with no end in sight). His claims of being the Green Lantern of Sector 2843 have yet to be substantiated.

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by J o h n

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Wells

From its moment of birth, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s superhero archetype struck a primal chord. Anyone who’d ever been belittled or victimized couldn’t help but feel a visceral thrill when meek Clark Kent rose to full height and took down the bullies and tyrants of the world as Superman. As the superhero genre flowered, that aspect of the concept was submerged, but Stan Lee and Steve Ditko reclaimed it with a vengeance in the 1960s’ Amazing Spider-Man series. Straddling the worlds of high school and the adult workplace, Lee and Ditko accosted teenage Peter Parker with blowhards on both fronts: jock/bully Flash Thompson and Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson. For all the considerable pleasures of DC Comics’ Silver Age, this was a basic life experience that was rarely represented in its pages. Writers like Arnold Drake and Bob Haney offered radically different approaches to the arrogant business leader—Doom Patrol’s Steve “Mento” Dayton and Metamorpho’s Simon Stagg—but recurring supporting characters designed to create conflict and comic relief were tough to find. Underneath his gruff exterior, for instance, Daily Planet editor Perry White was a beloved father figure to his staff, and the challenge of changing that dynamic was daunting. In late 1965, White was written out of the Superman series for a few months, replaced with a suave but nasty fellow named Van Benson. Superman editor Mort Weisinger immediately got cold feet and the status quo was restored (Lois Lane #62–64).

BASH BASHFORD AND NASTY

In the pages of Superboy, young Clark Kent was often taunted by bullies, but it took the departure of longtime editor Mort Weisinger from the series to make one of his tormenters a recurring character. Under new editor Murray Boltinoff, writer Frank Robbins and artists Bob Brown and Wally Wood transformed the series into a character-driven showcase for super-teenage angst. Introduced in Superboy #157 (on sale April 1, 1969), the unsubtly named “Bash” Bashford was a jock with a blond crewcut who inadvertently acquired superpowers via Superboy and let his abilities go to his head. The first story painted Bash as a general jerk, but his return in issue #161 focused directly on his harassment of Clark Kent. Snapping after his treatment at a school dance, Clark decided that he was through with the meek-and-mild routine. Negating his powers as an equalizer, the ex-Superboy beat Bash in the boxing ring and then on the football field. It was on the latter that things went wrong. Agonizing that he’d accidentally given his nemesis a near-fatal skull fracture during the game, Clark rushed to regain his abilities and fly in a brain surgeon. Properly chastened, he resolved to resume his timid pose. Eight years passed before Bash returned again at the end of 1977 in Adventure Comics #456, once again coming out the worse for his encounters with Superboy. Now played as a character who disliked Superboy (who hadn’t “earned” his powers) as well as Clark, the jock was targeted for a social experiment by aliens who made it look like the Boy of Steel had accidentally crippled Bash. Scripted by David Michelinie with art by Joe Staton and Jack Abel, it was an emotional story about power and responsibility although the final page ensured that the aliens restored Bash to normal. Reinstated in the feature, Bash stuck around as a semi-regular through its end in 1984, even picking up a crony named “Hunk” Wales along the way (1979’s New Adventures of Superboy #3). Although he never abandoned his bullying ways, Bash became an unlikely part of Clark Kent’s

Characters You Love to Hate Sources for this montage: (opposite page, top) Morgan Edge, from Jimmy Olsen #138; (opposite, middle) Steve Lombard, from Superman #264; (opposite, bottom left) Arthur B. Reeves, from Detective Comics #510; (opposite, bottom right) Harvey Bullock, from Batman #361; (this page, bottom) Ruby Ryder, from Brave & Bold #95; (middle) Cliff Carmichael, from Firestorm #3; and (top) Simon Stagg, from 1st Issue Special #3. TM & © DC Comics.

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Crewcut Creep (top) Readers meet Bash Bashford in Superboy #157 (June 1969). (center) Young Clark Kent is hassled by Bash in Superboy #161 (Dec. 1969). By Robbins/ Brown/Wood. (bottom) Ol’ bigmouth’s lips are still flapping in Adventure Comics #456 (Mar.–Apr. 1978). By Michelinie/Staton/Abel.

circle of friends and occasionally showed greater depth of character. A holiday outing by Paul Kupperberg and Kurt Schaffenberger in 1982’s NAOS #39 found him bitterly complaining about the increasing artificiality of Christmas and the lack of peace on Earth, prompting Superboy to take him to a parallel world where things were truly worse when people stopped caring. Unlike many of Superboy’s cast members, Bash never made an appearance in the adult Clark’s world. A similar bully named Steve Power did show up in flashbacks to the hero’s college years (1972’s Action Comics #411; 1985’s Superman: The Secret Years #1–3) with a brief appearance in the present (1980’s Superman #350–351). Supergirl acquired a recurring troublemaker/stalker of her own in 1970 as writer/artist Mike Sekowsky took her series in Adventure Comics #397. Named after a classic “mean girl” in Milton Caniff’s acclaimed Terry and the Pirates newspaper strip, the modern-day Nasty enrolled at Stanhope College with the objective of rooting out the true identity of Supergirl on behalf of her uncle, Lex Luthor. Concluding that the Girl of Steel was secretly Linda Danvers, Nasty spent the next two years delivering an unceasing series of putdowns at her classmate-turnedcoworker while not-so-subtly trying to expose her alter ego. Once the Sekowsky-era cast members were written out of the feature in Adventure #424, the aptly named antagonist was never heard from again.

TM & © DC Comics.

Super-Snoop (below) Nasty’s on to Linda Danvers’ secret identity! From the Supergirl tale in Adventure #406 (May 1971). By Mike Sekowsky and Jack Abel. TM & © DC Comics.

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MORGAN EDGE

The story was quite different for Morgan Edge, another new Superman family cast member who made his bow in Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #133 (on sale August 25, 1970). Created by Jack Kirby for the cartoonist’s auspicious first DC comic book since his jaw-dropping break from Marvel Comics, Edge was the tyrannical boss for a new generation. Watching as Marvel had been purchased by Perfect Film and DC was acquired by Kinney Services, Kirby applied the concept to the venerable Daily Planet and had it scooped up by Edge’s Galaxy Broadcasting System. As introduced by Kirby, the man with the pinstriped suit, cigarette holder, and slicked-back hair was a smooth talker who dismissed the thoughts of anyone who might dispute his wisdom. “Clark, baby, believe me,” he assured a certain mildmannered reporter regarding Jimmy’s safety while on assignment, “every contingency has been considered.” And then he placed a call to Intergang and ordered a hit on the entirely “too nosey” Kent. Morgan Edge wasn’t just a mogul but a gang boss … and one acting as an Earthly agent of Darkseid of Apokolips. Kirby, his friend and biographer Mark Evanier explained in Jack Kirby Collector #17 (Nov. 1997), “wanted to explore the theme of organized crime gaining a foothold in corporate America—particularly a giant media conglomerate. Given the shady background of the company that acquired Warner Bros. and DC, it was something of an inside joke.” Along with physically basing Edge on actor Kevin McCarthy, Kirby drew on the personality of ruthless former CBS president James T. Aubrey, even borrowing his “Smiling Cobra” nickname in Jimmy Olsen #138. Superman editor Julius Schwartz saw Edge as a means to dump the Daily Planet backdrop in favor of what he saw as a more modern alternative: broadcast journalism. When Clark Kent objected to going before the cameras, his new boss snapped, “You’re my employee—and you’ll do well to remember it! If I say you’re working for my television station, you are! Clear?” Writer Denny O’Neil also used Edge to bring a bit of Marvel-style skepticism of superheroes to the table, as exemplified in his introductory statement in Superman #233 (on sale November 5, 1970): “I don’t trust anyone who can’t be stopped. A wise man once said that ‘power corrupts … and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ How do we know Superman will be an exception?” While respective Superman and Action Comics editors Schwartz and Murray Boltinoff liked Edge in his capacity as newsroom spoilsport, they had no interest in his gangland lifestyle. Whether they referenced his crimes or not, the character was a villain and he’d inevitably have to be brought to justice and written out of the series. The solution played out in the pages of Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane, where editor E. Nelson Bridwell had already used his unique access as Kirby’s East Coast proofreader to frequently feature Edge in his capacity as a gangster, along with other concepts. The Schwartz-edited Superman #241 and 244 set up a subplot about a mystery man imprisoned in the Galaxy Broadcasting exec’s apartment, someone who escaped in Lois Lane #118’s “Edge of Darkness” and was revealed as

the real Morgan Edge. As documented by scripter Robert Kanigher and artists Werner Roth and Vince Colletta, he had been cloned in the Evil Factory (from Jimmy Olsen #135–138) and replaced by the Intergang chieftain readers had followed for the past year. While Edge’s creator never intended for the character to be more than a singular villain, he agreed to play along. “Kirby was in on the double-Edge bit from the first,” Bridwell wrote in Lois Lane #122. “In fact, he’s the one who suggested that the fake Edge came from the Evil Factory.” By the time Lois #118 went on sale in November 1971, Kirby’s tenure on Jimmy Olsen was nearing twilight and the real Edge—per Lois #119—laid low with a motorcycle gang called the Outsiders. In June 1972’s Jimmy Olsen #152 (four issues after Kirby’s departure), the loose end was finally tied up in a story by Bridwell and Steve Skeates wherein the doubles came face-to-face and the clone was conveniently disintegrated. With the help of Jimmy and Superman, the real Morgan Edge stepped back into his life with no one the wiser. The experience should have properly mellowed the executive, but as far as the other Superman creative teams were concerned, Edge had never been cloned or affiliated with Intergang in the first

Mr. Big Shot Morgan Edge’s first appearance, in Jack Kirby’s Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #133 (Oct. 1970). Inks by Vinnie Colletta. (inset) Kirby’s model for Edge’s appearance, actor Kevin McCarthy. Art TM & © DC Comics.

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Who Can You Trust? Looks like the makers of Hollywood’s Batman v. Superman read Superman #233 (Jan. 1971). By O’Neil, Swan, and Anderson. TM & © DC Comics.

to make these characters interesting when extracted from their roles as devices to prop up Superman plots was to create backstories for them that they hadn’t previously had,” he explains to BACK ISSUE. “Thus Morgan Edge was revealed to be ‘Morris Edelstein,’ a self-loathing Jew whose inappropriate shame had led him to deny his own mother. That worked, I thought, because Edge had never been played for comedy relief per se. So it was less of a stretch to treat Edge dramatically; playing Edge ‘straight’ in a story that started out lightly and comedically, but built to a tug-on-the-heartstrings moment, wasn’t that big a challenge.” Morgan Edge would seem to have been redundant in John Byrne’s 1986 revamp since it already had villainous mogul Lex Luthor at its core. Nonetheless, he turned up during Byrne’s second year as the head of Galaxy Communications in 1988’s Superman #16 as a ruthless media baron who editorialized against the Man of Steel. Writers Roger Stern, Jerry Ordway, and others later reestablished Edge’s ties with Intergang, this time with no clone in place as a scapegoat. In New 52 continuity, the character has been recreated once more, this time as an African-American businessman with no evident criminal ties as of this writing.

STEVE LOMBARD

Who Can You Trust? Boy, did Morgan’s subplots get muddied after Kirby! A cloning panel from Lois Lane #119 (Feb. 1972), by Kanigher, Roth, and Colletta. TM & © DC Comics.

place. He was simply a sharp-tongued tyrant and that’s how they liked him. Morgan Edge changed very little from that point forward, and remained a constant presence in the series through its 1986 post-Crisis reboot with a total of 190 appearances (clone included). A rare crack in his stony visage appeared during a very short-lived run of solo strips devoted to the supporting cast. Action Comics #468’s “Close-Up: Morgan Edge” (on sale in November 1976) centered on his reunion with his cleaning-lady mother and a reminder of his humble roots. A flashback detailed how Morris Edelstein won his first TV station in a poker game two decades earlier before the present-day conclusion found him inviting his mom onstage during an awards ceremony. The “secret origin” of Morgan Edge was written by Martin Pasko. “The only way, as a writer, that I knew how

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Back in the 1970s, Edge—by way of writer Cary Bates and artists Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson— was responsible for adding another blowhard to Clark Kent’s life in Superman #264 (on sale March 8, 1973). “Secret of the Phantom Quarterback” told the story of football hero Steve Lombard and his participation in a fraud in which an energy duplicate of himself helped the Metropolis Meteors win the Super Bowl. After Superman destroyed the dangerous entity, Lombard confessed all on a WGBS broadcast, quit football in disgrace, and immediately earned the admiration of Morgan Edge for his candor. Offered a sportscaster job, “the Slinger” snapped it up as Clark Kent grimaced that he’d have to put up with the obnoxious jock from that point forward. Physically based on real-life superstar Joe Namath, Lombard loved nothing more than to use “patsy” Clark as the subject of pranks designed to make him look good to whichever woman he was trying to impress that week. Clark, however, made sure that “karma” paid Steve back. When Steve turned off a water fountain to make his co-worker look foolish in Superman #265, for instance,

Clark shot a blast of heat vision at its inner workings and hosed down the jock when the handle was turned again. It was the sort of wish fulfillment that appealed to a bullied kid who wished his own tormentors could get their comeuppance, and Julius Schwartz was completely taken with the idea. For the next few years, Lombard– Kent scenes figured into most of his Superman stories. After a certain point, even the sportscaster knew what was coming. In an Elliot S. Maggin-scripted tale in 1974’s Superman #281, Lombard whipped himself into a frenzy when his payback for a prank at the start of the issue hadn’t materialized. Snagging his pants on the way to the news desk, he realized only after a smirk from Lois Lane that his britches had been unraveled up to his belt. Around the corner, Clark Kent smiled as he tossed a ball of thread. “The idea behind the Lombard character was to create a friendly adversary and workplace foil for Clark, to contrast with his chummy relationships with Lois, Jimmy, and Perry,” Cary Bates tells BACK ISSUE. Running with Schwartz’s suggestion of adding a sportscaster to Clark’s news broadcast, Bates adds, “We were vaguely influenced by The Mary Tyler Moore Show (inset), believe it or not, which was in its prime back in 1973 when Lombard debuted. He was sort of the WGBS version of the Ted Baxter character on MTM. Though Steve wasn’t a complete idiot, there was usually a humor component to his scenes.” “All of us were taken with the character’s potential,” Martin Pasko adds. “I think you can see that in the published work, in that © MTM Enterprises. Lombard is one of the few examples of a character that all of us Superman scripters at that time wrote in more or less the same way—as opposed to, say, the way Lana Lang seemed to be a totally different character when she’d show up in Action on occasion. “I think that’s because Lombard was one of the most sharply drawn and purposefully designed (though not particularly complex) characters I’ve ever handled—the most clearly communicated idea I’ve ever heard from an editor and the writer who co-created it: the jock doofus unwittingly trying to bust Superman’s cajónes. The audience waits for it, knowing that a hotfoot with a match won’t trump a hotfoot from heat vision, or whatever. And I gather the other Superman writers thought so, too. “That’s why Lombard became, for me, at least, one of the best examples of what, in sitcoms, we call the ‘run-through character.’ That’s certainly what Ted Baxter was on TV: the character you knew you could ‘run through’ a scene and get laughs just from his showing up. (Perhaps a better, slightly more recent example of that would be Seinfeld’s Kramer.) They all have that one most important thing in common: The audience starts laughing when they show up because they’re laughing at what they’re imagining is gonna happen. They’re ‘waiting for it.’ ”

While a few episodes revealed that Lombard had a scientist brother and nephew (Superman #267) or that mystery novelist Kaye Daye—previously seen in Batman— was his aunt (Superman #277), the sportscaster never really deviated from his intended role. Like his Morgan Edge short story, Martin Pasko wrote a “Sporting Life of Steve Lombard” tale for 1976’s Action Comics #465 that rose above the cliché. Dictating his memoirs to an amusing secretary, Steve explained how he came to

Jock Shock (top) The Nick Cardy cover (with a Murphy Anderson Superman face) to Superman #264 (June 1973), which introduced (bottom) blowhard football pro-turnedsportscaster Steve Lombard. Detail from that issue’s Bates/Swanderson story. (inset top) Lombard’s inspiration, Joltin’ Joe Namath. TM & © DC Comics.

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write the foreword to the autobiography of his former football coach, a man whom he’d despised in life. As the plot unspooled, it was revealed that both men had literally—if inadvertently—saved each other’s lives at different points. Accepting that no one was all good or all bad, Steve wondered if he could change for the better. “The only way you can make a ‘run-through character’ work as a lead is to relocate it in a new physical environment—new city and/or new work franchise—and surround it with an entirely new supporting cast,” Pasko explains, “specifically constructed to play off the quirks and foibles of the lead. To return to the sitcom analogy, and I’ll stay with Mary Tyler Moore because of Cary’s inspiration, such changes can be seen in what needed to be done to make Phyllis Lindstrom and Rhoda Morgenstern work as leads: They each moved from Minneapolis to other cities, where they met and interacted with all-new casts. Such a luxury was neither possible nor desirable for Lombard, so I was stuck with the charge of making an incompetent buffoon lovable and heroic within the same context in which he’d previously been an incompetent buffoon. And Julie had become enamored of the model of the Edge piece, so I was stuck with that, too: Start out ‘sitcommy,’ then flip it to that tug-at-the-heartstrings moment. “The only way I could see to do that with Lombard was to create a situation where he had to admit he was a fraud and a blowhard—a ‘paper hero.’ But if the only way you can humanize your lead is to get him to confess to being an a--hole, then he doesn’t have that much leading-man potential to begin with. Which is why, I suspect, there was only one more ‘Sporting Life’ segment [Action #472, scripted by Bill Kunkel]. I barely remember the one I wrote. “Julie let me have my way on the lettered copy on the [Edge and Lombard solo stories], so I and only I must take the lumps for some of the clumsiness in the writing by my much-younger self. But to whatever extent those stories still have any emotional power, I’m grateful to Julie for not getting in the way of that, and to Curt Swan for making the most of an opportunity to do the kind of

illustration he always wanted to do, which was Norman Rockwell-style photorealism. The expressiveness of his faces was always what excited me most about being so privileged to work with him. “There was never, ever, any other penciler who illustrated anything I ever wrote who was better than Curt Swan at delivering what I’d call the ‘acting’ necessary to make a scene emotionally powerful. I would never even have attempted any ‘tug-at-the-heartstrings moments’ at all if I hadn’t been assured that Curt was going to pencil the stories. “I speak as a writer who had the extraordinary joy of so often seeing his intent perfectly captured by Curt,” Pasko says. “What that man could do with a single pencil stroke here or there, to convey what a character was feeling, was astonishing (which is why the question of who Curt’s inker was often made the difference, and part of the reason we all still revere how Murphy Anderson so effectively interpreted Curt’s work). But I relished every chance I got to write to that oh-so-cherished gift of Curt’s, no matter who inked him, and was rewarded by the results every time I did.” By 1977, Pasko had become the regular scripter on Superman and the recurring prank subplots of Steve Lombard were gone. “I quickly got tired of planning B-stories or multi-issue character arcs for certain of the supporting cast, only to discover that Cary or Gerry Conway or Elliot Maggin or whoever had a multi-issue arc in the works, in some other title, that negated what I was planning. I wanted to © DC Comics. carve out my own territory, so to speak, and when I discovered that I was the only writer who was interested in pursuing the Lana Lang co-anchor subplot I’d come up with, I de-emphasized characters like Edge and Lombard and brought Lana front and center because I knew it was a playground that I owned.” Steve remained a presence in the overall line of Super-titles until the Bates-scripted Superman #384 in 1983. It was there that Morgan Edge coldly dismissed the jock because the GBS sportscast ratings were in a “skydive.” As he moved on to the next phase of his life, Steve Lombard gave Clark Kent a sincere goodbye: “You were always a friend to me, no matter how much I dumped on you.” After striking out as a used car salesman and a stage actor in Damn Yankees, Steve finally got back in the game by opening a sporting goods store (1985’s Superman #412–413), and that’s where Cary Bates left him as the Superman series transitioned to its post-Crisis reality. Reintroduced as a generic broadcaster in 1988’s Adventures of Superman #446, Lombard belatedly returned to obnoxious form in Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s Action Comics #866 (2008), albeit now employed by the Daily Planet rather than WGBS and sporting a thick mustache. Martin Pasko adds that he’d intended to establish similar foils for soap opera actress Linda Danvers during his short 1981 tenure on Supergirl. Introduced in Superman Family #215–216, Herb and Marilyn Silvers were the new head writers on Linda’s Secret Hearts drama, and they intended to make her “the woman America loves to hate.” The husband-and-wife team, Pasko details, were “inspired by two couples: Frank and Anne Hummert, creators of Just Plain Bill, Ma Perkins, and Stella Dallas, among others—the ad agency executives (and copywriters) who are generally credited with creating the soap opera genre on radio, c. 1930—or, at least, refining the form into we know today—and Richard and Esther Shapiro, creators and producers of soaps (and, later in the ’80s, the nighttime soaps Dynasty and The Colbys). Because I knew so many funny anecdotes about both couples—who were fascinating eccentrics, all—I’d intended to make Herb and Marilyn the source of ‘comedy relief’ back in the studio—in much the same way I and Julie’s other writers used Steve Lombard at WGBS in Superman.” Unfortunately, Pasko left the series immediately thereafter and “never got the chance to develop most of the ideas I had for the work franchise.”

Instant Karma’s Gonna Get You (top) One of Lombard’s pranks against poor Clark. (bottom) Kent’s revenge! Panels from Superman #282 (Dec. 1974) by Maggin/Swan/Schaffenberger. TM & © DC Comics.

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ARTHUR REEVES

Over in Gotham City, Bruce Wayne never had to contend with any notable blowhards, in part because he was sometimes already playing the part as a jaded playboy. Batman wasn’t so lucky, though. Courtesy of new scripter Denny O’Neil, the Dark Knight had his first meeting with an officious public-works coordinator named Arthur Reeves in Detective Comics #399 (on sale March 26, 1970). Named after mystery writer Arthur B. Reeve (1880–1936; see inset), the pompous bureaucrat had no use for vigilantes and men who hid behind masks. “Let me get this straight,” Batman clarified. “You don’t approve of masquerades?” “Correct!” “You believe that everything should be out in the open?” “Absolutely!” Silently peeling off the administrator’s toupee and dropping it in his hands, Batman declared, “Nice meeting you, Mr. Reeves” as every police officer on site convulsed in laughter. The idea, O’Neil explained to Mike W. Barr in Amazing Heroes #50 (July 1, 1984), “was to give Batman an antagonist who wasn’t a criminal. I wanted to start edging back into that outlaw theme that had also been in the early Batman stories. For a lot of reasons, we couldn’t make him hunted by the police, but we could make him mistrusted by the authorities and Arthur Reeves was our representative of that attitude.” Plus, O’Neil, added, “it’s fun to write snots who get their comeuppance.” Appearing in six O’Neil scripts between 1970 and 1972 (including Batman #225, 241, 247, and Detective #419), Reeves essentially functioned as comedy relief. No sequence was more memorable than the Neal Adamsillustrated page in Batman #234 where the administrator boasted about how he’d “take [the vigilante] down a peg or two” as the Dark Knight slipped up behind him and purred, “Boo!” Reeves was last seen running down the hall from Commissioner Gordon’s office. Following brief revivals in Detective Comics #463–464 (1976) and Batman #315 (1979), Arthur Reeves returned for what would be his last stand in a 1981 run of stories scripted by Gerry Conway. Detective Comics #503 opened with the news that the public works commissioner was now running for mayor of Gotham City. The eviction of Batman was the number-one item on his platform. That fixation didn’t exactly give him an edge in the campaign, but an interested third-party handed him evidence that he could use to clinch the election: photographic evidence that the Darknight Detective was really mobster Big Jack Johnson. Unfortunately for Reeves, the news media received further documentation proving that his photos were fakes. Any hope he had of getting elected went up in flames (Batman #344). Months later, in 1982’s Batman #353, Reeves acknowledged to the Dark Knight that the photos had come from former city councilman Rupert Thorne, an infamous central character in Steve Englehart and company’s celebrated 1977 run on Detective Comics. Thorne’s true goal—obvious in retrospect—was to ensure the election of his lackey Hamilton Hill to the mayor’s office. Whatever the case, Arthur Reeves was never seen again in the mainstream Batman series. His sole return was in 1993’s animated Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and its comic-book sequel in 1996’s Batman and Robin Adventures Annual #1.

HARVEY BULLOCK

Meanwhile, Hamilton Hill’s election was a precursor to a new thorn in Batman’s side. Overweight, unshaven, and draped in a food-stained trench coat, Harvey Bullock was the last thing one would envision as a model police officer, but there he was. Commissioner Gordon had actually kicked him off the force a decade earlier when the policeman’s threat to open fire on a kidnapper and his hostage proved to be one infraction too many. In the present, though, the mayor saw Bullock as an ideal subject to keep Gordon off balance and unable to effectively investigate Hill’s own criminal ties. And that was how Harvey Bullock returned to the Gotham City Police Department at the end of April 1983’s Batman #361 (scripted by Doug Moench, with art by Don Newton and Pablo Marcos). Proclaiming himself Jim Gordon’s one-man oversight committee, Bullock vowed to “get this sissified excuse for a bullpen back in order.” “When I took over Batman from Gerry Conway, he had left some cliffhangers,” Moench tells BACK ISSUE. “I needed a crooked cop because the mayor was a bad guy and I had to tie up that subplot, so I created this big, sloppy, bull-in-a-china-shop kind of guy. So as far as I knew I created Harvey Bullock from whole cloth,

No Secrets It’s Batman vs. Bureaucrat as Denny O’Neil introduces Arthur B. Reeves in Detective #399 (May 1970). Art by Brown and Giella. TM & © DC Comics.

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all on my own, and based him on a somewhat famous film director I had just worked with in Hollywood. Big, beefy guy who was a total slob, crude and crass and all of that.” A follow-up in Detective Comics #528 touched on Bullock’s past—specifically, his association with a cop-turned-villain called the Savage Skull. When Commissioner Gordon rescued his new watchdog from the madman, he got no thank-you. Instead, Bullock screamed “reckless interference” and ordered a formal hearing. Before testifying against Gordon, Bullock opened a small “gift” from the Commissioner and, behind closed doors, he coughed that “maybe I was, uh, wrong about the whole thing ... and, uh, I guess I got nothin’ further to say.” The box in question had contained an egg which, when broken, revealed “a piece of Swiss cheese—riddled with holes. To a dull rat like Bullock,” Jim laughed, “it could have meant anything.” After the ongoing harassment put Gordon in the hospital with a heart attack (Batman #364), Bullock belatedly rediscovered his conscience and began shifting his allegiance back to the side of angels. Given the destruction left in the wake of a Harvey Bullock trying to be helpful, one could argue that Batman and the Commissioner were better off when he was working against them. Still, the disheveled detective proved his worth, even taking a bullet for the team—from Hamilton Hill himself—in Detective #546. “I think what happened is, I started to enjoy writing Bullock,” Moench explains, “so after the bad-guy-mayor story was tied up, Bullock is still around. Now, do I write a story where Bullock gets sent up the river, too, or do I keep him around? Obviously, I decided to keep him around, and then slowly but surely, Bullock became a totally good-guy cop.” In the months that followed, Moench added new shades to Bullock’s character,

Mayor’s Pet Harvey Bullock bulldozes his way into Gordon’s world in Batman #361 (cover-dated July 1983), by Moench/ Newton/Marcos. TM & © DC Comics.

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including Detective #549’s revelation that Harvey was an aficionado of old movies with an apartment full of vintage posters. While the cop was never overly fond of Batman himself, he gradually formed an odd-couple friendship with the clean-cut second-generation Robin (a.k.a. Jason Todd). Even the Boy Wonder didn’t cut him any slack, though. In Detective #554, Harvey declared that “my clumsy routine is all act. […] When the chips are down, I ain’t a bit clumsy.” Robin’s response: “Because you’ve already knocked all the chips down!” Moench’s role as the creator of Harvey Bullock seemed clear-cut, with DC’s subsequent Who’s Who entries citing Batman #361 as the character’s debut. More recently, though, fans began pointing to the appearance of an adversarial cop named simply Bullock who had made a brief appearance in the Archie Goodwin-scripted Detective Comics #441 in 1974. Unlike this character, Moench’s Harvey had never met Batman prior to his 1983 debut but the discrepancy didn’t discourage the theory that they were one and the same. “I think it was Paul Levitz who mentioned to me that I was doing a great job developing the character that Archie Goodwin created,” Moench tells BACK ISSUE. “I had no idea what Paul was talking about. He said, ‘Harvey Bullock.’ I said, ‘Archie created…? No, no, I created Bullock, and I remember that specifically.’ And he said, ‘Well, no, go look at Detective #441.’ Apparently, Archie had a character named Bullock who was a cop in one story and he was not very prominent, but he was there. I couldn’t understand. Did that character stick in my mind? I know I must have read the issue because Archie was one of my favorite writers, but it certainly wasn’t the same character, I don’t think. “And here’s the other thing: I remember sitting on my couch trying to come up with a name for this character when The David Letterman Show was on and Paul Shaffer, he had a guitarist named Hiram Bullock. I remember thinking, ‘Wow. ‘Bullock.’ That’s a great name for a cop.’ ‘Bull’ is slang for cop, and I wanted this character to be a real crude, sloppy, clumsy guy, like a bull in a china shop. So ‘Bullock,’ that works! So I was going to call him ‘Hiram Bullock,’ but then I thought I better not do that. I mean, this guitarist was on every night

The Unshaven and the Bold

with David Letterman, so I changed it to ‘Harvey Bullock.’ So I was really convinced I came up with the name, and even if I had read Archie’s issue, it certainly wasn’t the same character. “Now, when DC started paying for the use of Harvey Bullock in other media, I decided not to contest the notion that Archie Goodwin created him because if I did and won the legal challenge, it would mean I would be getting all this money (because Bullock appeared on Gotham and here, there and everywhere), but that would also mean that Anne Goodwin (who I know; she and Archie used to come out to my house as guests; I floated in an inner tube with Anne Goodwin down the Delaware River, for Pete’s sake). I mean, that’s Archie’s widow, so I thought, ‘No, no, no. I’m not going to make a case even if I’m convinced that Bullock was totally my creation.’ And at this point I’ve been wondering if Archie had a cop named Bullock, agent in the Checkmate title that maybe I’m forgetting I deliberately followed in 1988. decided to take this minor character “Harvey Bullock was a character very that Archie had barely introduced much in my wheelhouse,” Kupperberg and built him up. That’s possible.” tells BACK ISSUE, “a wise-cracking With Denny O’Neil’s arrival as new loudmouth with a Brooklyn accent series editor in 1986, the Batman and a problem with authority, titles got a clean sweep that sent although he wasn’t originally Doug Moench and most of the intended to be a permanent recent supporting-cast members member of the Vigilante cast. He out the door. Initially, Bullock took © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. refuge in Swamp Thing for a Gotham City-based was brought in for a guest-shot, as a character to help story that began with this pungent description of the Vigilante’s handler, Harry Stein, grease the wheels detective by writer Alan Moore in issue #51 (1986): in Gotham City for them on whatever case they “A man with egg on his lapel and breath that hits were on. I had fun writing him, and the interaction between Harvey and Harry Stein, another slob with you from right across the desk.” In 1987, scripter Paul Kupperberg came to his own way of doing things, clicked. I don’t think Harvey’s rescue, integrating him into the dying they were using him much, if at all, in the Batman Vigilante series (beginning with issue #44) and laying books by then, so we got permission from the Batthe groundwork for Bullock to become a government office to have the character on semi-permanent loan

(left) A Bullock spotlight by Moench, with artists Broderick and Smith, in Detective #549 (Apr. 1985). (top right) The other Bullock, introduced by Archie Goodwin in Detective #411. (bottom right) As Seen on TV: Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock on TV’s Gotham. TM & © DC Comics. Gotham © Primrose Hill Productions/DC Comics/Warner Bros. Television.

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Copper and Ruby (top) Copper Calhoun chews the scenery in the Sunday, February 22, 1970 installment of Milton Caniff’s Steve Canyon. (bottom) Does writer Bob Haney’s Ruby Ryder remind you of anyone? From The Brave and the Bold #95 (Apr.–May 1971). Art by Nick Cardy. Steve Canyon © Field Enterprises, Inc. Batman/B&B TM & © DC Comics.

for Vigilante and its successor title, Checkmate. I think he added a lot to both series as kind of a hardboiled heart and conscience for Harry and Black Thorn.” Once Checkmate ended in 1990, it seemed like Harvey Bullock’s story was finally at an end. Instead, a new beginning was right around the corner. In assembling the supporting cast for 1992’s Batman: The Animated Series, Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, and company tapped the slovenly Bullock to be the voice of the anti-vigilante camp, and it was just a matter of time before he returned to the Batman comic books. In advance of the cartoon’s premiere, both Bullock and his on-screen partner Renee Montoya showed up in January 1992’s Batman #475, scripted by Alan Grant and illustrated by Norm Breyfogle. The Bullock–Montoya partnership truly sang once writer Chuck Dixon came aboard with April 1992’s Detective Comics #644 and both cops became endearing parts of the 1990s Batman mythology. (Doug Moench, incidentally, was reunited with his creation immediately thereafter when he resumed writing Batman with its May issue.) In the 21st Century, Harvey Bullock has continued to have his highs and lows. Written out of the Batman cast more than once, he always manages to return, even claiming a central role on TV’s Gotham series (2014–present), where he is portrayed by Donal Logue.

RUBY RYDER

Among the corrupt forces that sat in the ivory towers of Gotham in the 1970s was an international businesswoman whose arrogance was reflected in the fact that her skyscraper complex was the tallest structure in Gotham, capped with a giant red pair of “R”s. Aided by an attorney named Hinton who was sweet on his boss, Ruby Ryder was “the world’s richest woman and top female tycoon.” This, according to writer Bob Haney, who wrote all four of her appearances, beginning with February 1971’s The Brave and the Bold #95. Haney’s model for the character was the conniving Copper Calhoun. The so-called “she-wolf of the stock market” was a red-haired millionaire and the first villainess to be introduced in Milton Caniff’s groundbreaking Steve Canyon newspaper strip in 1947. Over succeeding decades, she would return again and again, engaging in shady deals abroad, tormenting Steve and his friends and always staying one step ahead of the law. 22 • BACK ISSUE • All-Jerks Issue

Her comic-book counterpart had a similar knack, but she had opportunity to sweat in B&B #95 (illustrated by Nick Cardy). Summoning Batman to her office, Ruby had waved a five million-dollar charitable donation at the Darknight Detective if he agreed to locate her missing fiancé Kyle Morgan. Regarding the money, she noted that she could recoup it “in a weekend—on any halfway decent deal.” Once reunited with Morgan, though, Ruby shot her former lover four times in the chest at point-blank range! It was enough to prompt Batman to sock her in the jaw. “I never hit females,” he added, “but with you, I’ll make a happy exception!” It wasn’t until a pleading Ruby was moments from death in the electric chair that the man pulling the switch was exposed as the “late” Kyle Morgan … alias Plastic Man! Weary of his cartoonish image, Plas had taken the guise of the handsome Morgan to “know a woman’s love” and fell hard for Ruby. Once he’d experienced his lover’s true nature, “Kyle” vanished and Ruby vowed to have revenge on the man who spurned her. The bullets had no effect on Plas’ unique body, but he remained in seclusion until Ruby was “humbled for once ... begging for mercy. But I’d never have pulled the switch.” Ruby’s dark side quickly reasserted itself as she sniffed her relief that she hadn’t married a “freak.” Storming out of the death chamber with her lapdog Hinton, Ryder scoffed at the D.A.’s declaration that she could still be charged with attempted murder. “See my lawyers,” she called back. “I’ll be too busy!” Four years later, Ruby finally saw her opportunity for revenge when Plas—reduced to panhandling on the Gotham streets—was reunited with Batman in 1975’s B&B #123 (with art by Jim Aparo). With the Gotham

Guardian slated to be out of the country for a few weeks, Plas agreed to pose as him for the duration but was promptly drugged by his old lover. Brainwashed into believing he was Batman, Plas went overseas to arrest Bruce Wayne on a trumped-up charge. It took further intervention from Metamorpho to help the real Caped Crusader expose the scheme, snap Plas out of his trance, and get Ruby and Hinton charged with “conspiracy and attempted murder.” Hinton apparently took the rap, because Ruby was back and plotting anew in B&B #135–136 (1977). The Metal Men’s excavation of a time capsule between the Ryder and Wayne skyscrapers revealed a legal document that gave all Wayne property rights to the heir of 19th-Century genius Thaddeus Morgan. That beneficiary turned out to be a brutish synthetic man named Jason Morgan whom Ruby wasted no time in romancing as she ensured that the android was legally declared a human being. As the couple laid claim to the Wayne Foundation Building and evicted its current residents, Batman joined forces with the Metal Men and Green Arrow in the hope of reversing the state of affairs. Posing as excavator J. Jacob Archer, GA was particularly effective in his flirtation with Ruby, igniting jealously in Jason that prompted him to go on a rampage in one of his “father’s” old labs. That, in turn, unleashed one of the elder Morgan’s old war machines that shook loose one of the “R”s atop the Ryder Building. Shoving his lover aside, Jason took the brunt of its impact himself and his artificial life came to an end. As the heroes exulted over the discovery of papers that declared Thaddeus to have been certifiably insane (thus invalidating his will), Batman concluded, “That witch Ruby’s incredible scheme backfired on her. Well, she’s too tough to shed any tears over it.” A glimpse of Ruby, looking down from her fractured skyscraper, suggested otherwise.

Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town (left) Ms. Ryder makes the moves on Batman in B&B #123 (Dec. 1975). (right) Thirteen issues later, Ruby’s still got it out for Bruce Wayne. Both by Haney and Aparo. TM & © DC Comics.

All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 23

Seven Deadly Staggs (left) Simon’s really full of himself on this page from the “Metamorpho” backup in Action #414 (July 1972). By Haney/Calnan/ Anderson. (right) Stagg wages Orb of Ra warfare against the Element Man in Barr and Aparo’s Batman and the Outsiders #16 (Dec. 1984). TM & © DC Comics.

SIMON STAGG

The she-wolf of the stock market never appeared again, shunned by later writers who dismissed the anythinggoes aspects of Haney’s B&B (like the against-type characterization of Plastic Man as a downcast loser). Haney himself missed an opportunity to pit Ruby against his and Ramona Fradon’s own indelible Silver Age creation Simon Stagg. The tycoon with the shock of white hair and wild eyebrows began four-color life by sending his daughter Sapphire’s boyfriend Rex Mason on a mission to recover the mystic Orb of Ra while secretly plotting to have his caveman lackey Java leave the adventurer for dead. Mason defied everyone’s expectations when the Orb’s radiation transformed him into the freakish element man Metamorpho (1964’s The Brave and the Bold #57). Stagg was even less thrilled about having such a creature marry his daughter, but the thought of having a superhero on his payroll appealed to him. Simon Stagg maintained a remarkable balancing act over the course of Haney’s 1960s and 1970s Metamorpho stories. He was a power-grabbing, self-centered villain ready to sacrifice his daughter’s would-be husband, but Haney played him and the rest of the cast so broadly that it was hard to truly hate him. If anything, Stagg was more prominent in the Metamorpho series’ 1970s revival as a backup strip in Action Comics and World’s Finest Comics. The first two-parter in 1972’s Action #413–414 involved an old classmate of Stagg’s who wanted him to bankroll

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a Morality Mountain theme park that revolved around the seven deadly sins. Simon was only too happy to agree to the deal until he discovered that that statues representing each sin bore his face … and that his partner aimed to kill him for a lifetime of misconduct. In the aftermath, Stagg called himself “a changed man,” but still vowed to go open Morality Mountain … after his features were scrubbed from the exhibits. “It’ll make millions,” he gushed. “Expand the Stagg fame even more. It’ll make the other public attractions look sick.” “Holy blue Hannah!” Metamorpho exclaimed. “He just ran through three sins in one speech— greed … pride … and envy. Like the man wrote— ‘the more things change, the more they stay the ever-livin’ same!’ ” The tonal shift to more serious superhero stories had fully taken hold in the 1980s, but there was still a place for Simon Stagg in that environment. In Batman and the Outsiders, Stagg was less an unscrupulous businessman than a father trying to keep his beloved Sapphire from marrying someone beneath their social class. “I basically tried to keep him consistent with the character Bob Haney had created,” BATO writer Mike W. Barr tells BACK ISSUE, “a figure of foreboding who nonetheless genuinely loved his daughter and wanted what was best for her. Unfortunately (or fortunately for us fans), what he wanted for Sapphire wasn’t always what she wanted … and hilarity ensued, since Stagg was used to getting what he wanted.

“Stagg was also often a comic figure, of course, and I played that for what it was worth,” Barr continues, “until I decided to finally let Sapphire and Rex tie the knot in BATO Annual #2. I figured we’d played the mutual hate between Stagg and Rex as long as we could, so when Metamorpho saved Stagg’s life in BATO Annual #2, that started a new era in their relations. It was simply a different focus on what had gone before—previously, Rex and Stagg had always been in opposition due to their feelings for Sapphire. Now they were in accord, because of their feelings for Sapphire. This opened the door to make Stagg a somewhat more sympathetic figure, but still a character capable of comic potential, especially when politics or finances came up. Rex even convinced himself that he shouldn’t marry Sapphire in Annual #2, but Stagg refused to hear it. I gave Stagg the line: ‘That’s the biggest load of malarkey I’ve heard since the New Deal!’, which summed him up perfectly.” Barr adds, “artists Jim Aparo, and Alan Davis, and in the Annual, David © Luigi Novi / Ross, did a great job with Stagg and Wikimedia Commons. the long-suffering, lunkheaded Java, building on Ramona Fradon’s designs and making the characters their own. It seemed fitting, in the story in which Sapphire and Rex married, to return them to the ‘Junkyard of Doom,’ one of Haney’s most imaginative creations.” When the Outsiders series was canceled in 1988, Metamorpho was killed off … temporarily, of course, but long enough to change the dynamic with his original cast members. Upon his resurrection in Justice League Europe, Rex discovered that Sapphire had given birth to a son with uncontrollable powers … and had remarried, to Java. Moreover, any pretense of respect toward Rex on his father-in-law’s part was gone. In the

pages of JLE #11–12 in 1990, Simon Stagg did everything in his power to keep Metamorpho from his baby Joey. The conflict reached an ugly climax in a 1993 Metamorpho miniseries. While Rex took Joey on an expedition to find the missing Orb of Ra that could remove his dangerous powers, Simon led his daughter to believe that it was a kidnapping and shot Java in the head when he tried to mount a rescue. By the end of issue #4, Stagg’s overriding plot to kill Rex himself had been thwarted and Sapphire vowed to turn him over to the authorities. “Writing Simon Stagg was always a tightrope walk,” the miniseries’ writer, Mark Waid, tells BACK ISSUE. “On the one hand, you don’t want him to be so comically evil that he’s a cartoon. On the other hand, you have to remember that he’s an absolute creep. The key to Stagg is not losing sight of the fact that he does most everything he does for the sake of his daughter, regardless of how insane those actions may look to us. In the series I wrote and co-plotted with Graham Nolan, we took that to an extreme, suggesting subtly that there was maybe a little more to Simon’s affections than ordinary paternal ones. But all we wanted was a suggestion.” Somehow, Stagg never made it to prison and he, Sapphire, Rex, and a resurrected Java fell back into a more familiar pattern in their 21st-Century appearances. For another supporting cast blowhard, though, the path to true villainy had no reversals.

Barr and Stagg (top) The BATO scribe, with TwoMorrows author Dewey Cassell, in October 2015 at the Fayetteville (NC) Comic-Con. (bottom) Sapphire catches her daddykins in the act, in issue #2 of 1993’s Metamorpho miniseries by Waid/Nolan/Boyd. Photo: Michael Eury. Metamorpho TM & © DC Comics.

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CLIFF CARMICHAEL

Introduced by writer Gerry Conway and penciler Al Milgrom in December 1977’s Firestorm #1, Clifford Carmichael—like Simon Stagg—was the catalyst for creating the hero of the series, but the details couldn’t be more different. Sporting trendy glasses and mutton-chop sideburns, Cliff was the class brain at Bradley High School, and he wasn’t shy about letting anyone know. He had a particular dislike for jocks and he set his sights on transfer student Ronnie Raymond in that first issue, doing everything in his power to embarrass the newcomer in front of Ronnie’s prospective girlfriend Doreen Day. Worn down by the barrage of insults, Ronnie was desperate to prove to Doreen that he was more than a dumb jock and thought that joining an anti-nuke rally would win her admiration. Instead, it was the precursor to an accident that transformed both Raymond and Professor Martin Stein into Firestorm the Nuclear Man. Unfamiliar with the page in the playbook about great power and great responsibility, Ronnie often used his powers to go on virtual joyrides and— in issue #3—to settle a score. Buzzing Carmichael near the school grounds, Firestorm took him to task for referring to him as “a mental midget hung up on violence” and threatened to “plant [him] where [he’ll] bring up roses” if he did it again. The irony of the monologue was lost on Ronnie, but it did silence his nemesis for most of the issue. If anything, the confrontation planted a seed of suspicion. When Cliff caught a flash of the hero’s transformation in issue #5, he realized that Firestorm either attended classes at Bradley High or was part of the faculty. Unfortunately for Carmichael’s suspect list, half the school bore a grudge against him for one reason or another. That particular subplot went nowhere, however, because Firestorm was canceled after its fifth issue as part of 1978’s DC Implosion. By the time the new Fury of Firestorm series was up and running, Cliff was back in the role of general irritant. The smirking bully’s prank in 1982’s Fury of Firestorm #8—putting a lizard in a bucket of popcorn—was the last straw for Ronnie, who finally decked his nemesis and broke his glasses as a bonus. In a ball court rematch in FOF #9, the outcome was different. Thanks to Cliff’s recent workout regimen, a distracted Ronnie wound up bleeding and on his back. It also sent Doreen’s sympathies flooding to her boyfriend, and Carmichael was left to wonder who really lost. Cliff “was the personification of everything that made Ronnie’s life hell,” Gerry Conway tells BACK ISSUE. “My original notion on Firestorm was to do a book that would be DC’s complement to [Marvel’s Amazing] Spider-Man, in a sense. We would have a young adolescent male who gets superpowers and doesn’t know quite what to do with them. My flip on it was that rather than being the science geek who was being picked upon by the jock, my hero would actually be the jock who was picked on by the geek, and that was going to be Cliff Carmichael’s role. Cliff Carmichael was basically supposed to be Peter Parker … an evil Peter Parker. Ronnie Raymond was a good Flash Thompson.” There was a brief ceasefire when Cliff believed that Ronnie’s father had been killed (FOF #17–18), but the feud started anew thanks to the bully’s embarrassment over having shown his softer side (FOF #23). The last day of high school saw the two teenagers trading blows again, Cliff ranting that his personality had been shaped by jocks who’d bullied him (FOF #41). Like before, Ronnie lost the fight but won the girl. For conflict’s sake, it was inevitable that the duo would both end up at Vandemeer University. Cliff searched his nemesis’ room when he wasn’t around (FOF #44) and implied to Ronnie’s dad that he was doing drugs (FOF #45–46), but the worst was yet to come. Ronnie and Cliff’s good-natured cousin Hugo Hammer were both playing football when they inadvertently switched helmets in 1986’s Fury of Firestorm #50. The game turned tragic when Hugo lost his helmet during a play. His neck was broken and his spine was severed. Discovering that the strap on his helmet—the one Hugo was wearing—had been cut, Ronnie feared that he’d been targeted himself. Over the next three issues, Ronnie and Doreen both theorized that Cliff had cut the strap and unintentionally crippled his cousin, but Carmichael wasn’t

“An evil Peter Parker”… …that’s what Firestorm creator Gerry Conway calls Cliff Carmichael, shown here (top) in his first appearance in Firestorm the Nuclear Man #1 (Mar. 1978). Art by Al Milgrom and Klaus Janson. (bottom) Milgrom’s original character designs for Cliff Carmichael and Prof. Martin Stein, courtesy of Firestormfan.com via John Wells. TM & © DC Comics.

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No Love Lost (top) Cliff and Ronnie go at it in Fury of Firestorm #9. (center) They seem to be patching things up in FOF #18, (bottom) but things take a turn for the worse in issue #60. TM & © DC Comics.

talking. That didn’t happen until 1987 in Fury of Firestorm #60, courtesy of the series’ new writer, John Ostrander. Surviving a botched suicide attempt thanks to Firestorm, Cliff was hauled to the police station and confessed everything. In his mind, of course, it was all Ronnie’s fault. He’d probably seen the cut strap and switched it himself, Carmichael ranted. “Raymond’s the one you should be questioning, not me!” Gerry Conway no longer recalls his plans for that subplot but suspects that Cliff wasn’t the true culprit. “That seems like something that would have taken it beyond the level of nasty byplay and into serious potential injury,” Conway says. “Cliff was a jackass, but he wasn’t a bloodthirsty maniac. I think he wanted to pick on Ronnie and get him in trouble and show him up as being a dumb jock, but I don’t think he’d necessarily threaten Ronnie’s life. “I imagine it would have turned out to be someone other than Cliff. Knowing how my mind would have worked, I would have had Cliff blamed for it. I would have had Ronnie and Cliff come to blows over it and eventually it would look really bad for Cliff, but it would be somebody else. This was the sort of thing that once you go there, you can’t come back. I never wanted my characters in positions where you couldn’t retrieve them.” Flash-forward three years to 1990 and the Ostrander-scripted Firestorm #98, where scientists tested the effects of the brain-enhancing helmet once used by the 1940s villain called the Thinker. Their test subject was a man just released from a psychiatric facility and, yes, his name was Cliff Carmichael. He was, unfortunately, a very good fit for the device, converting it to microchips in his head while having a serial port added to the base of skull that allowed him to interface with any computer. He was, in short, a cyberpunk. With Firestorm scheduled for cancellation, Carmichael fled its pages in issue #99 and resurfaced five months later in Suicide Squad #48, jointly scripted by Ostrander and his wife Kim Yale. In its pages, Cliff became the new Thinker, a grudging member of the Squad who was always searching for a way out. His evolution to full-on supervillain was indicative of an evolving superhero genre where mere blowhards—and civilian supporting-cast members, in general—were no longer of much interest to most writers. “A key ingredient in building suspense is knowing when to let it down before building it up again,” Martin Pasko observes, “knowing when to blow off steam. A character like Steve Lombard, created expressly for comic relief, was a valuable tool in crafting those lead stories, back when it was the general consensus that comedy relief was a value in the first place. It’s hard for me to imagine most comics writers today knowing what to do with a character like Lombard, or—more to the point—even wanting to do anything with him in the first place. “I don’t see supporting cast like Lombard (Lombard specifically, as opposed to Morgan Edge) being created anymore. Today, we don’t seem to think much in terms of characters designed to appropriately relieve the reader of the burden of the intense melodramatic line when and where it might be prudent to do so, as a creative strategy. It’s all Relentlessly Grim And Gritty All The Time now. And that might well be the prevailing creative strategy for most superhero comics today, but I don’t think it’s a winning strategy.” Thanks to Mike W. Barr, Cary Bates, Gerry Conway, Paul for their input on this article. A special thank-you to American Comic Book Chronicles writer/editor Keith Dallas for services above and beyond the call of duty. [Editor’s note: A big BI thank-you to John Wells for providing most of the scans and images accompanying this article!] DC Comics historian extraordinaire JOHN WELLS is the author of TwoMorrows’ American Comic Book Chronicles 1960–1964 and 1965–1969 volumes.

All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 27

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Watch Out, Spidey!! Excuse us while we take a quick detour into the late Silver Age to repurpose this Jazzy Johnny Romita jolter (cover to Amazing Spider-Man #58, Mar. 1968)—but how could we resist? TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 29

“PARKER! What’re you lazing around here for? Get off your tail, go out there, and get me some PICTURES! Pictures of that wall-crawling freak SPIDER-MAN!! He’s a MENACE!!!” It’s a familiar rant from a familiar character. He’s been a thorn in Spider-Man’s side since 1962. He’s been portrayed by Oscar winner J. K. Simmons, Emmy winner Ed Asner, and Darrin’s boss from Bewitched. He’s bankrolled Scorpions, Human Flies, and SpiderSlayers. He’s terrorized secretaries and fathered a Man-Wolf. He’s the cigar-smoking, mustachioed face of tabloid journalism in the Marvel Universe. He’s J. Jonah Jameson, one of comics’ most enduring—and endearing— supporting characters.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

The Bugle’s Blowhard In addition to the panels cited in this page’s text, (right) Amazing Spider-Man #18’s splash page is a classic JJJ-tauntingSpidey image. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

J. Jonah Jameson first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #1 (Mar. 1963), in Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s second-ever Spider-Man story. Appropriately enough, Jameson is first seen behind a typewriter, bragging, “When I’m through with this article, Spider-Man will be run out of town!” The Daily Bugle’s publisher stymies Spider-Man’s return to show business, urging for Spider-Man to be outlawed so the nation’s youth can “learn to respect real heroes— men such as my son, John Jameson, the test pilot!” When the younger Jameson’s space capsule malfunctions, Spider-Man saves the astronaut’s life by replacing a vital guidance unit in midair. But instead of praising SpiderMan’s heroism, J. Jonah Jameson demands his arrest, accusing him of sabotaging the capsule to steal his son’s glory. It set a formula for future stories: Spider-Man trying his very best, only to have Jameson believe the very worst. In Amazing Spider-Man #2 (May 1963), the perpetually broke Peter Parker sells photographs of Spider-Man fighting the Vulture to Jameson’s NOW magazine. Impressed with a mere teenager getting photos even his staff photographers can’t, Jameson urges Peter, “If you get any more great pictures, remember to give me first crack at them! We’re always in the market for sensational photos!”, establishing another regular element of the Spider-Man series: Jameson buying Parker’s Spider-Man pictures to fuel his anti-Spidey editorials, unaware that his freelance photographer is secretly the Web-Slinger himself. Although largely used as comic relief, Jameson revealed another side to himself in Amazing Spider-Man #10 (Mar. 1964). In a scene teased on the cover as “Why J. Jonah Jameson really hates Spider-Man!”, Jameson privately confesses (below), “Spider-Man represents everything that I’m not! He’s brave, powerful and unselfish! The truth is, I envy him! I, J. Jonah Jameson—millionaire, man of the world, civic leader—I’d give everything I own to be the man that he is! But I can never climb to his level! So all that remains for me is—to try to tear him down—because, heaven help me, I’m jealous of him!”

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OF SCORPIONS AND SPIDER-SLAYERS

Jameson’s jealousy and hatred of Spider-Man soon lead him to extremes. In Amazing Spider-Man #20 (Jan. 1965), Jameson, hoping to create a hero to defeat Spider-Man, hires Dr. Farley Stillwell to transform P.I. Mac Gargan into the all-powerful Scorpion (above). The great power swiftly corrupts Gargan, who becomes yet another villain for Spider-Man to defeat. The Scorpion murders Stillwell, leaving only Jameson to know his true responsibility: “Nobody knows it, but it’s all my fault! I’m the one to blame! If not for me, there would be no Scorpion! Just to satisfy my own personal hatred, I tried to destroy Spider-Man! And, in so doing, I’ve unleashed a far worse menace upon the world! A menace I can no longer control! A menace which no one can control!” In “Captured by J. Jonah Jameson!” in ASM #25 (June 1965), inventor Spencer Smythe shows Jameson his new creation: a robot designed to track and capture Spider-Man. Jameson agrees to bankroll Symthe, who lets Jameson control the robot. The Spider-Slayer, as it’s later dubbed, returns in issue #58 (Mar. 1968), where we see the limits of Jonah’s obsession. When he hears the robot’s new name, Jameson immediately declares, “Now wait a minute! Nobody’s talking about murdering him! I just want him captured, see? I want him behind bars… like forever!” But just like the Scorpion before him, Smythe is overcome by his bloodlust, earning him Jonah’s enmity. Perhaps no story in Spider-Man history better displays the many facets of J. Jonah Jameson than Amazing SpiderMan #105–107 (Feb.–Apr. 1972). It opens with JJJ clashing

with civil-rights protestors in front of his building (“No one tells me how to run my paper! No one! The Bugle’s been fighting for civil rights since before you were born! But I got civil rights, too! And nobody’s messin’ around with them! Nobody!”). Six pages later, he’s sending yet another Spider-Slayer after Spider-Man, and by the end, he’s leading a demonstration against privacy-violating police scanners in the city. Bugle city editor Joe Robertson puts it best when he says, “[Jonah]’s a bug on civil liberties—‘long as they’re not Spider-Man’s!”

THE MARK OF THE MAN-WOLF!

Amazing Spider-Man #123–124 (Sept.–Oct. 1973) shows a rarely seen side of Jameson: loving father. Jonah’s astronaut son John Jameson returns from his last moonwalk with a new moonstone pendant—one that transforms him into a werewolf every full moon. When JJJ is attacked in his apartment by the Man-Wolf, he recognizes the beast’s pendant as the same one his son was wearing earlier that day. Realizing that the two are one and the same, Jameson goes into protective-father mode, forbidding Spider-Man to interfere. But even as Jameson strives for the truth (“I didn’t make the name Jonah Jameson a household word in this city by ignoring facts—even unpleasant facts”), he remains stubborn as ever, even trying to talk John down mid-transformation (“If you’re trying to tell me the reason you attacked me—was to kill me—that’s utter nonsense. You wanted my help—don’t you see that, John?”). It becomes clear that, like Spider-Man, Jonah’s love for his son is another of his blind spots. Writer and Man-Wolf creator Gerry Conway says, “I think he idealized John. Especially when the Man-Wolf storyline started up, it was very hard for him to really come to grips with that, to the extent that there was a meaningful attempt for him to come to grips with it.” [Author’s note: For more on John Jameson’s time as Man-Wolf, see BACK ISSUE #60.]

A FLY IN THE OINTMENT

In Len Wein and Gil Kane’s Amazing Spider-Man Annual #10 (1976), Jonah once again tries to create a hero to defeat Spider-Man (hey, sixth time’s the charm). He hires Dr. Harlan Stillwell (brother to the late Farley) to create “a being that can rival all of Spider-Man’s over-vaunted powers! His spider-sense! His ability to cling to walls! His speed! His spider-strength!” Fortunately, this demand dovetails with Dr. Stillwell’s current work with the common housefly. Not so fortunately, kidnapper Rick Deacon overhears and demands to be the test subject—at gunpoint. Deacon is soon transformed into the Human Fly, possessing great strength, the ability to fly and cling to any surface, and compound eyes that let him to see in all directions. But history repeats itself: The power goes to the Fly’s head, a Dr. Stillwell is killed for his trouble, and once again Jonah ends up kidnapped by a villain of his own creation that Spider-Man has to rescue him from. Some people never learn.

LOVE AND THE SPIDER-SLAYER

Amazing Spider-Man #162 (Nov. 1976) brought a momentous change to Jameson’s life—even if he didn’t know it yet. In a story by Len Wein and Ross Andru, Jonah meets Dr. Marla Madison, an electro-biologist who went into academia when she ran out of challenges. Jonah offers her one—devising a means to defeat Spider-Man! We find out how in ASM #166 (Mar. 1977)—with a newly designed Spider-Slayer controlled by Jonah through a psycho-cybernetic helmet. Spider-Man makes quick work of the Spider-Slayer, and Jonah and Marla’s relationship starts to shift from professional to personal. By Amazing Spider-Man #172 (Sept. 1977), it’s obvious that JJJ is carrying a king-sized torch for Marla Madison, and Robbie Robertson confirms that they’ve been “keeping company” ever since the Spider-Slayer incident. Marla shows her bravery in ASM #174 (Nov. 1977), using Jonah’s office intercom to reveal JJJ’s kidnapping by the Hitman. In the next issue, she confesses her affection for Jonah to Robbie Robertson while they await his safe return. It was a match made in heaven, except for Marla’s hatred of Jonah’s cigars.

Don’t Mess with Big Daddy JJJ (top) Jameson makes a stand for civil rights in Amazing Spider-Man #105 (Feb. 1972). Art by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia. Original art courtesy of Heritage. (bottom) A hairy situation for Jonah’s son, John, in ASM #124 (Sept. 1973). Cover by John Romita, Sr. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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24 HOURS TILL DOOMSDAY!

In Amazing Spider-Man #192 (May 1979), Spencer Smythe, poisoned by the plutonium that powered his Spider-Slayers, shackles his two greatest foes—Spider-Man and Jameson—together in a handcuff bomb set to go off in 24 hours. As time ticks away, Spider-Man works to find a solution while Jameson displays his arrogance, stubbornness, and cowardice. With just seconds until the explosion, Jameson is reduced to a blubbering wreck. Writer Marv Wolfman tells BACK ISSUE, “This is my favorite Spider-Man story. [I] never saw The Defiant Ones, but the idea of physically forcing two enemies to be together creates an emotional and character-based story. To me, this revealed the characters for exactly what they were.” After the bomb is detached and Spidey departs, Jonah is forced to admit his shortcomings, if only to himself: “We were both on the razor’s edge of death—and while I’ve always prided myself on my strength—you kept on fighting… You risked everything to save us. And I—I fell apart! You’ve seen me make a fool of myself… You know I’m not half the man you are. And, for that reason, I’ve got to drag you down into the gutter. Because I can’t live with anyone knowing that the lion of publishing … the great benefactor of the little people—that, heaven help me, that J. Jonah Jameson is actually … just a weak and ordinary man…” While Wolfman doesn’t recall if this dialogue was meant to parallel JJJ’s monologue in ASM #10, he did want to give Jonah more depth. “I thought JJJ’s seemingly indefensible attitude to Spidey could be better grounded if we understood him more. I didn’t want him to be a typical mustache-twirling nemesis. I wanted to give him an understanding of himself but also to have the realization that he wasn’t strong enough to stop. That made him more interesting and more tragic than villainous.” In subsequent issues, Jonah’s mental state deteriorates even further, culminating in a nervous breakdown in ASM #198 (Nov. 1979), hospitalization, and escape out into the streets. As Wolfman says, “If one is forced to confront themselves and realize how bad they let things get, it makes for great drama. [Jonah] became fixated on what happened and what he admitted.”

Same Ol’ Jonah JJJ blows his top at the Web-Slinger on this final page from the Roger Stern-written Amazing Spider-Man #206 (July 1980). Original Byrne/Day art courtesy of Heritage. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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A HARROWING EXPERIENCE

Jonah’s mental issues were resolved in Amazing Spider-Man #206 (July 1980), where it was revealed that the villainous Dr. Jonas Harrow had been manipulating Jonah’s mind for months with his MentalAttitude-Response-Variator ray, making him increasingly irrational. Spider-Man destroys the device, restoring JJJ to his usual cantankerous self. It was an unexpected conclusion to the subplot, but it was even more unexpected for the new creative team. Writer Roger Stern explains, “The short version is that an entire issue of Amazing Spider-Man had been overlooked in the middle of an editorial reorganization. Really, an entire issue was missing. A Black Cat story arc had been wrapped up in issue #205, and Denny O’Neil’s run was set to start with issue #207. But nothing had been done about issue #206, and there was a major storyline still to be resolved: the disappearance of J. Jonah Jameson. “Denny couldn’t simply re-number things and start his story an issue early because Jonah was part of it, and looking none the worse for wear. So, I put my head together with Denny—he was then my editor on Spectacular Spider-Man—and worked out a plot. John Byrne provided the pencil breakdowns, Gene Day finished the art, and we put the whole issue together in about two weeks.” Although Jonas Harrow and his M.A.R.V. ray got JJJ back to normal ASAP, they weren’t Wolfman’s originally planned solution. As Wolfman recalls, “I don’t think I intended that JJJ’s breakdown was caused by a villain; I was trying to make JJJ a bit more grounded so his hatred came from a real place, only his weakness was he couldn’t see past it. But honestly, I don’t remember.” Roger Stern disagreed with this interpretation. “I never believed that Jonah was suffering from an actual nervous breakdown,” Stern tells BACK ISSUE. “Given all that we knew about him, it just wasn’t plausible. True, Jonah is stubborn as a Missouri mule, and I did once say that he was too stubborn to have a breakdown—but that was just my poor attempt at humor. Obviously, stubborn people can suffer mental breakdowns, just like anyone else … and it can often be harder for them if they’re too stubborn to ask for help. “But for all his faults, Jonah was always reasonably selfaware. Remember, way back in ASM #10, he admitted—to himself, if no one else—that he was jealous of Spider-Man. And in issue #246, when I had Jonah indulge in a wild fantasy of defeating Spider-Man, he was the only one who pulled himself out of his own daydream; everyone else’s fantasies went on until something interrupted. “Jonah knows he can be obsessive. The fact that he didn’t catch himself and wonder what the hell was going on with his head … well, that suggested either an external force or something like a brain tumor. And since we’d seen Robbie acting out of character as well, it probably wasn’t a tumor. But Jonas Harrow messing with their heads? Yeah, that made much more sense.”

I COVER THE WATERFRONT!

Bill Mantlo wrote a JJJ spotlight issue in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #80 (July 1983), in a story told from Jameson’s point of view. Wanting to prove to Marla Madison that he can get a story that’s stumped his best reporters, Jameson tracks down corruption at the waterfront—unknowingly getting help from Spider-Man along the way. A standout scene has Jameson brazenly facing down the Kingpin across a pool table at the well-to-do Century Club. Jameson also describes some of his personal history to Marla, giving some insight into the determination that’s brought him so far in life: “I started out in the Depression—as copy boy—at $5 a week. I wanted to write. A story I did on a soup-kitchen riot got me a job as a reporter and a ten-buck raise. The ten bucks got eaten up in shoe leather as I ran from story to story. No one knew how to drum up news in New York better than me. I got made city editor … then editor-in-chief of a paper that’d grown as the city’d grown—had become the voice of New York. I loved the Daily Bugle. When the old owners put her on the auction block, I put up every cent I owned—and then some—and made her mine.” In the end, Jonah gets his story, but is chagrined to admit that he couldn’t have without the WallCrawler’s help. A magnanimous Spider-Man ensures that the page detailing his involvement is “lost” on its way to the printer.

A HOBGOBLIN OF LITTLE MINDS

When Roger Stern became the regular writer on Amazing Spider-Man, readers everywhere were asking: Who was the Hobgoblin? After discovering a cache of Green Goblin Norman Osborn’s equipment and journals, an unknown figure became Spider-Man’s vilest new villain. Although guesses on the Hobgoblin’s true identity spanned the entire supporting cast, a surprisingly popular suspect in the ASM letters pages was JJJ himself. However intriguing this notion might seem, it was never seriously considered by Stern. “I think that there’s a faction of readers who had long considered Jonah one of Spider-Man’s enemies. And some of them wanted him to be publicly outed as a villain, despite how radically that would have changed the series,” Stern says. “But I saw Jonah as more of a foil, an antagonist—both to Spider-Man and to Peter—and I wasn’t about to scuttle that particular relationship, though I did start to tweak it a little towards at the end of my run.” The Hobgoblin still affected Jonah’s life in a significant way, however. In Amazing Spider-Man #249 (Feb. 1984), the villain blackmails members of the Century Club with incriminating information gathered by the late Norman Osborn. In Jonah’s case, it’s proof of his involvement in the Scorpion’s creation. Significantly, Jameson is the only one in the Century Club who defies the Hobgoblin’s threat, declaring, “You idiots! You’re playing right into his hands! If you don’t stand up to him now, you’ll be paying the rest of your lives!”

Jonah’s Story Writer Bill Mantlo explored Jameson’s history in Spectacular Spider-Man #80 (July 1983). (left) Its cover, by John Romita, Jr. and John Beatty. (right) Its title page, illo’ed by Ron Frenz and Kevin Dzuban. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Nice Day for a Webbed Wedding Jonah’s special day deserves a special visit from our friendly neighborhood Wall-Crawler! Original Frenz/ Layton/Guice art (courtesy of Heritage) from Amazing Spider-Man Annual #18 (1984). Its cover is in the inset. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

True to his word, in ASM #250 (Mar. 1984), Jameson decides to confess rather than play the victim, telling Spider-Man, “Yes, I did it. And it’s not a thing I’m very proud to admit. But by gadfry, I will not submit to blackmail! J. Jonah Jameson admits his mistakes!” Our favorite Wall-Crawler isn’t buying it, however: “Baloney! If that’s the case, you would’ve owed up to it years ago, you old hypocrite!” Despite the destruction of the incriminating evidence in a Spider-Man/Hobgoblin fight, Jameson still runs his editorial confession on page one. The entire storyline adds up to an effective portrayal of JJJ as a flawed yet still honorable man, a description that Stern agrees with. Roger Stern tells BACK ISSUE, “My main goal was for Jameson to finally own up to his past mistake, and step down as editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, turning that position over to Joe Robertson. I mean, you can’t publicly acknowledge that you were responsible for the creation of a supervillain—no matter how unintentionally—and stay on at the editorial helm. But I didn’t intend for him to disappear from the series. Jonah was still going to be around as a publisher. Publishers get away with all sorts of outrageous behavior. Just look at Rupert Murdoch.”

Incoming ASM writer Tom DeFalco agrees Jonah’s confession was sincere: “I think JJJ realized that he had crossed a line and he truly wanted to atone for his mistakes.” Still, longtime readers couldn’t help but notice that Jameson hadn’t also confessed his involvement in the Human Fly and the various SpiderSlayers. For a man who sees the world in black and white, Jameson himself lives in a world of gray.

THE SCORPION TAKES A BRIDE!

After some rough months professionally, Jameson was due for some personal happiness, and he got it in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #18 (1984). In a story entitled “The Scorpion Takes a Bride!”, the Daily Bugle staff discovers that Jonah is marrying Marla Madison when the wedding invitations arrive at the office. The only foreshadowing the wedding received was a single panel in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #95 (Oct. 1984), where JJJ muses that he’s very happy with a decision he’s just made. The couple’s happiness is not shared by the Scorpion, however, who kidnaps Marla and John Jameson to get revenge on Jonah. In a desperate moment with Scorpion, Jameson reveals that his personal responsibility is greater than it appears: “Pay? I’ve been paying for years. Who do you think paid for your doctors, for the sanitarium? I’ve even set up a fund to repay your victims. I know I was responsible years ago.” When forced to choose between lives of his son and his fiancée, Jonah nobly volunteers himself instead. Spider-Man saves both the Jamesons and the Jamesonto-be, and the wedding proceeds as planned. The final caption reads, “See? If grouchy old men can find love, there’s hope for us all!” Today, plotter Tom DeFalco doesn’t recall his exact reasoning behind the Jameson/Madison nuptials, saying, “I guess I just thought it was time to take their relationship to the next level.” The wedding had another treat for longtime Spiderfans—it was scripted by Stan Lee! “We approached Stan because we wanted to make that Annual really special,” DeFalco says. The art team of Ron Frenz, Bob Layton, and Jackson Guice gave the Annual an appropriate Ditko-esque touch.

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENTS

As one of the most prominent journalists in the Marvel Universe, JJJ would occasionally pop up in other Marvel books. These cameos gave creators the chance to show different sides of Jameson. Frank Miller used Jonah in two very film noir-ish Daredevil appearances. In Daredevil #177 (Dec. 1981), a pensive Jameson advises Bugle reporter Ben Urich, about to expose a mayoral candidate’s mob ties, “It’s dynamite—the kind that’ll blow up right in your face.” Even with the risk, Jameson refuses to kill the story. “Just be sure of your facts. Very sure.” In the David Mazzucchelli-drawn Daredevil #230 (May 1986), Jameson disgustedly lectures Urich, “Listen… There are things that you just don’t let happen in this racket. Number one is you never get scared away from a story. Not when you’ve got the most powerful weapon in the world on your side.” Brandishing a copy of the Bugle, Jameson proclaims, “This is five million readers’ worth 34 • BACK ISSUE • All-Jerks Issue

of power. It can depose mayors. It can destroy presidents. And it’s been due to be aimed at the Kingpin for years now. But it needs you to do it.” Both of these scenes played JJJ completely straight, giving Jameson a rarely seen gravitas. A 1940s flashback in Roger Stern and John Byrne’s Captain America #255 (Mar. 1981) featured a one-panel appearance by an unnamed, flat-topped reporter who nearly photographs Cap without his mask. Roger Stern confirms, “That was John’s contribution. And it’s a nice visual gag, but it couldn’t have been Jonah, of course. If it had been, that would make him much too old now. I mean, Jonah’s in his late fifties at the most. That’s why we didn’t identify the photographer by name. But, hey, maybe he was Jonah’s grandfather!” Similarly, in Marvels #1 (Jan. 1994), 1940s photographer Phil Sheldon is friends with a sarcastic young reporter who talks about running the Bugle someday. The present-day JJJ appears in subsequent issues, saying he goes “way back” with Phil. Marvels writer Kurt Buisek confirms that this was Jonah, “but the Spider-Man editor at the time wanted us to take him out, saying Jonah was only in his 40s and thus couldn’t have been in WWII. I responded that there’d been a story about Jonah being over retirement age, so he was over 65, and in 1993, when the issue came out, it wasn’t too much of a stretch to say he was born around 1923 and was thus a teenage cub reporter at the time. “[The editor] didn’t like that idea, but we weren’t going to have Alex [Ross] repaint the pages, so we just took out [Jonah’s] name. That way, anyone who didn’t want him to be JJJ could presume he was some other guy, and anyone who did want him to be could figure it was him. It gave the scene deniability. The Spidey editor didn’t much care for that, but at that stage it was the best we were going to do. And either way, Jonah worked his way up at the Bugle from a young age, so he’d go way back with Phil whether that’s him or not. No way Jonah’s in his 40s, anyway.”

BEHIND THE MUSTACHE

Zeb Wells and Dean Haspiel teamed up in Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #20 (Jan. 2003) to bring us another Jameson spotlight: “Behind the Mustache.” When JJJ suffers a heart attack at work, the Bugle’s insurance company forces him to see a psychiatrist to deal with his anger issues. Over the course of the therapy session, JJJ shares his memories of David Jameson, the alcoholic veteran who raised him— “I grew up with a war hero for a father. Let me tell you, even the real heroes can’t keep it up all the time…”—as well as how David’s abuse influenced Jonah’s courtship of his first wife, Joan. (When J. Jonah Jameson, Sr. was introduced as Jameson’s father in ASM #578, Jan. 2009, David Jameson was retconned into being JJJ’s uncle who raised him from early childhood.) Jonah even sheds a bit of light on Joan Jameson’s death: “She died alone. I was in Korea, reporting for the Bugle … trying to impress the old man … prove to him that I wasn’t scared—and I wasn’t there and she died alone. It was supposed to be a short trip, Doc. I didn’t even have her picture with me.” (Presumably, Joan Jameson still died sometime after John Jameson’s high school graduation, as per ASM #190, Mar. 1979.) Jonah’s post-Bronze Age years have been more eventful than ever. He’s seen Spider-Man unmask on national TV, had the She-Hulk for a daughter-in-law, been elected mayor of NYC, had his father marry May Parker, been widowed a second time, and become a cable news commentator. But whatever else might happen to JJJ, one thing is certain: It’s all the fault of that no-good Spider-Man!! JOHN TRUMBULL would like the wealth and fame he’s ignored. It’s tough to pay rent when action is your reward. Thanks to Peter Bagge, Kurt Busiek, Gerry Conway, Tom DeFalco, Tony Isabella, Roger Stern, and Marv Wolfman for sharing their memories with BACK ISSUE.

5Mil Readers Can’t Be Wrong (top) Panels 2 and 3 from page 11 of Daredevil #230. (bottom) Dean Haspiel’s cover to Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #20. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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WHAT IF? STARRING J. JONAH JAMESON Some of J. Jonah Jameson’s strangest adventures occurred in the pages of What If?, the House of Ideas’ ongoing look into the alternate realities of the Marvel Universe. While unconnected from mainstream Marvel continuity, these stories gave insight into JJJ’s character by showing him in a new light.

What If? #7 (Feb. 1978) “What If Someone Else Had Become the Amazing Spider-Man?”

In one of a trio of tales by Don Glut, Col. John Jameson is bitten by the radioactive spider. Jonah then pushes his son to become Spider-Jameson, the Super-Astronaut. When tragedy ensues, a grief-stricken Jonah vows to support superheroes, and “use the Bugle to tell the world what a great bunch of people they are!”

What If? #19 (Feb. 1980) “What If Spider-Man Had Stopped the Burglar Who Killed His Uncle?”

Spider-Man never gives up his show-business career, becoming an even bigger media sensation but never learning responsibility. In a poignant moment, Spider-Man, guest-hosting The Tonight Show, is interrupted by a news bulletin reporting the death of astronaut John Jameson. The Peter Gillis-written story ends with the disturbing image of a J. Jonah Jameson teetering on the very edge of sanity, his life destroyed by the egotistical Spider-Man.

What If? #24 (Dec. 1980) “What If Gwen Stacy Had Lived?”

Spider-Man saves his girlfriend and defeats the Green Goblin, but the Goblin has a contingency plan: mailing Spider-Man’s secret identity to Jameson. The enraged publisher storms Peter and Gwen’s wedding with the police in tow, exposing Peter’s secret and driving Aunt May to a heart attack. Robbie Robertson quits the Daily Bugle in anger, vowing to help Gwen clear Peter’s name and ruin Jonah in the process. The story ends on a cliffhanger, with an on-the-run Peter Parker unable to reach the web-shooters and costume in his apartment, or even call the hospital to check on his aunt’s condition. The issue is one of the most highly regarded What If? stories of all time. Writer Tony Isabella recalls, “I pitched it to [editor] Roy Thomas about the time the series first launched. He asked me if I had any ideas for stories and I came up with the Gwen Stacy story within seconds.” The downbeat ending, Isabella tells BACK ISSUE, “was inspired by the early issue of Amazing Spider-Man where, after doing something heroic, Spidey was branded a menace by The Daily Bugle with a reward offered for his capture. At the end of that story, Peter feared he might be forced to become what the Bugle said he was. I wanted my story to end with him once again facing that awful consequence.” As for how he decided on having J. Jonah Jameson be the agent of Spider-Man’s undoing, Isabella states, “It was a no-brainer that Jameson would leap at the

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chance to destroy Spider-Man’s happiness. JJJ was as much a villain as Spidey’s other foes.” Isabella reveals, “I’d always hoped to write a sequel. That was the reason for the cliffhanger ending. But, despite the fans loving this story and constantly ranking it one of the best What If? issues of all time, despite the many requests for a sequel, which included some readers demanding an ongoing ‘Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man’ series, I was never able to convince a Marvel editor to let me write that second story. “My outline/pitch for the sequel is buried somewhere in my unsorted files, but it would’ve continued from the original What If? story. Peter Parker hunted. His loved ones—Gwen, Robbie, Flash, and the remarkably spunky Aunt May—fighting to show the world Spider-Man was a hero. Another battle with the Goblin. Harry Osborn manning up in a big way. Jameson facing up to what he had become and leaving New York in disgrace but with the indication that he would search for a way to redeem himself. A satisfying conclusion to the story that would have left room for further tales set in that particular universe. I’ll probably never get a chance to write this sequel, but I am enormously gratified by the love and respect comics fans and pros alike have for the original story.”

What If? #46 (Aug. 1984) “What If Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben Had Lived?”

In another tale by Peter B. Gillis, Aunt May is the one murdered by the burglar, leaving Ben Parker to raise his nephew Peter alone. When Uncle Ben reveals Spider-Man’s secret identity to Jameson, JJJ shrewdly decides to milk the connection to boost circulation for the Bugle. The uneasy partnership eventually takes its toll on Peter, leaving the two men in a very different relationship.

Startling Stories: The Megalomaniacal Spider-Man #1 (June 2002)

In this satirical one-shot by Hate!’s Peter Bagge, 1968’s Peter Parker is disillusioned when he discovers that his beloved Uncle Ben was killed for a gambling debt. Fed up with the never-ending battles with his rogues’ gallery, Peter reads Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and decides to start looking out for number one. By 1984, Parker is the greedy head of Spider-Man, Inc., with J. Jonah Jameson as his lackey. Bagge shrugs off this plot twist, telling BACK ISSUE, “Oh, I just had JJJ eat some crow for a change, rather than brow-beating Parker as usual. I doubt I’m the first to pull that old switcheroo!” While that may be true, Bagge was certainly the first to have a Spidey-disguised JJJ gunned down while receiving the Medal of Freedom from President Reagan (It’s a funky comic, you guys!). With a story this offbeat, it’s perhaps appropriate that the The Megalomaniacal Spider-Man became Bagge’s bestselling comic ever, but Marvel’s worst-selling Spider-Man comic to date. [Editor’s note: Hey, I bought it!]

interview conducted by

[Editor’s note: Jovial John Trumbull recently pulled up a chair with six of Spidey’s all-time best writers—Kurt Busiek, Gerry Conway, Tom DeFalco, Tony Isabella, Roger Stern, and Marv Wolfman—to pick their brains about the Daily Bugle’s flat-topped fearless leader. Let’s listen in, shall we…?] JOHN TRUMBULL: How do you see the character of J. Jonah Jameson? ROGER STERN: Jonah is a very complex man … in his own way, he’s as complicated as Peter Parker. On one hand, he’s a professional journalist. He came up through the ranks as a reporter, and worked his way up to editor and eventually became publisher of a major New York City newspaper. He has an unshakable belief in the power—and the responsibilities—of a free press. There’s an old saying about reporters having printer’s ink flowing through their veins … that’s Jonah all over. And he’s not above using the power of his newspaper to go after people that he thinks should be taken down. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, when he editorializes against crimelords such as the Kingpin or corporations like Roxxon. Unfortunately, Jonah also chose Spider-Man as a target. GERRY CONWAY: He’s obviously an adversary for both Spider-Man and Peter Parker. He represents the conservative forces in society that don’t appreciate the efforts of a costumed vigilante. He’s both a comic-relief character and not a serious threat, but more like a rebuke. He’s the part of society that will never accept the costumed hero. I’ve always enjoyed him as a character. I always liked, especially in the early years, his behavior toward Peter as this kind of devilish mentor who’s both helping him and at the same time terribly abusing him. For me, the interesting thing about Jameson was, while he was comic relief, he was also a very deep character. There’s a lot of different layers to the guy.

J o h n Tr u m b u l l

KURT BUSIEK: I think he’s a fascinating character, a study in contradictions. As a newspaperman, he does something good, something that’s often heroic, but his hatred of Spider-Man makes him small and petty. He’s a blowhard, but also a staunch believer in the First Amendment, and he’ll stand up to generals to protect the freedom of the press. He’s driven by his ideals, fueled by his ego, but he’s also weakened by his ego, too, because he can’t stand that Spider-Man is a hero, too, and maybe an even greater hero. So he’s got to tear down Spider-Man to try to feel better about himself. Characters whose fatal flaw is also what drives them to achieve make for complex, interesting drama. MARV WOLFMAN: I see him as a man who started out with the best intentions then found himself caught in what’s called the Peter Principle, where he rose to his level of incompetence. He knew he needed to get the Bugle to sell better, and to do so he made baby steps into irresponsible journalism. The line between journalism and yellow journalism kept getting smaller and smaller. But as Hearst and Pulitzer realized, yellow journalism attracted more eyes. CONWAY: He’s Charles Foster Kane, without the silver spoon in his mouth. TOM DeFALCO: He bears a striking resemblance to Stan Lee in so many ways. (As do most of the Spider-Man characters, including Aunt May.) Like Stan, Jonah can be bombastic and self-promoting. He can also be compassionate and driven. CONWAY: This is probably no surprise to anybody, but when I wrote Jameson, I heard Stan Lee’s voice. And I think Stan, even in the creation of Jameson, whether intentionally or not, was parodying his own “Stan Lee, Publisher” persona. So just like Stan is a very complex and interesting guy who both has a tremendously charismatic part of himself and is an honestly decent guy who cares about people, he All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 37

also has this incredible ability to go immediately to shallow. [laughter] Just, BOOM, right to shallow. And that’s Jameson. Jameson is a man who obviously started out wanting to be a journalist, wanting to be a good reporter, became powerful, and it went to his head. And he lost touch with the actual people who worked for him, and with the society that he lived in. So he’s an interesting, complex character. And his anchor to “the real world” and other people was his relationship with his son. TONY ISABELLA: A mess. Writers and editors keep shifting him from villain to comedy relief to crusading newsman with the problem being that his character has become chaotic and, frankly, uninteresting. I’m not sure he serves a legitimate purpose in the stories at this time and, whether his dad is married to Aunt May or not, I think JJJ is due for retirement.

Gotcha! Looks like JJJ’s got the goods on poor Peter! Original John Romita, Sr./Frank Giacoia cover art to Amazing Spider-Man #169 (June 1977), courtesy of Heritage (www.ha.com). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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TRUMBULL: A big theme of the Spider-Man series is responsibility. How responsible do you think JJJ is as a person, and as a journalist? DeFALCO: I see J. Jonah as a man who has great power but chooses to limit his responsibility to his family and career. He values his family and will do anything to protect it. He feels the same way about the Daily Bugle. Anything that benefits his family and/or the Bugle is good. Anything that doesn’t is bad or not worthy of his attention. ISABELLA: He almost always acts in an irresponsible manner. He bends the truth to sell newspapers. He has helped create supervillains. He’s come darn close to ordering actual hits on Spider-Man. When he acts responsibly, it’s usually for the sake of a single story. Then he goes back to being a criminal. CONWAY: He’s horribly irresponsible! [laughter] The classic Jameson move is the Daily Bugle headline “Spider-Man: Threat or Menace?” because he’s clearly not providing responsible journalism. He’s an advocate for his political point of view. And the funny thing is that in the early ’60s, he reflected the way newspapers actually operated. They were very political and sensationalistic, until, for a brief period in the ’70s, following the Woodward/Bernstein era, you had this notion of unbiased journalism. J. Jonah Jameson was the antithesis of that. And now, we’re back to biased journalism. He was Rupert Murdoch before there was Rupert Murdoch. WOLFMAN: I think he was once responsible, but his need to sell more papers, to keep the business moving, even to protect his job, corrupted him without him even realizing it. BUSIEK: He’s idealistic but at the same time capable of being really petty. So it varies. It’s not very responsible to twist any news about Spider-Man into an attack (or even to fund the creation of supervillains), so on that score, he’s not very responsible. But he’s also a scrappy newspaperman who wants to get the truth out—at least when it’s a truth he’s willing to admit to—so he can be very responsible there. He has his moments. And then he has bad moments, too. STERN: As a journalist, Jonah can be very responsible. He’s often used his publications to champion human rights. Don’t forget, back in ASM #106, Jonah actually

That Ain’t the Living Mummy… …but Jameson’s own boy inside that wrap, on the Byrne/ McLeod cover to ASM #189 (Feb. 1979). (background) Cover to Spectacular Spider-Man #57 (Aug. 1981). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

joined a street demonstration protesting the proliferation of video scanners in New York City, as an issue of privacy. As a person, Jonah too often lets his own idiosyncrasies off the leash. He’s a bit of a hypocrite, and he’s incredibly stubborn. Jonah hates to admit that he could be wrong. He’s also a bit of a cheapskate, and he uses bluster to intimidate people. It’s not easy to be his friend. Jonah’s not evil. At heart, he’s a very principled man. But I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side. TRUMBULL: Who do you think JJJ is a greater antagonist to— Peter Parker or Spider-Man? WOLFMAN: Peter Parker is just a pest to him. Spider-Man is the enemy. ISABELLA: Spider-Man. He bullies and takes advantage of Peter Parker, but he tries to destroy Spider-Man. DeFALCO: I think JJJ considers himself an antagonist to Spidey and a mentor/father figure to Peter. Spidey considers JJJ to be a necessary annoyance ... but far below antagonist level. STERN: That sort of depends upon what time in their lives you’re talking about. Jonah usually has Spider-Man at the top of his enemies list. But there have been times … like when Jonah was mayor of New York, and publicly fired Pete for faking photos ... when it’s been Pete more than Spider-Man at the top of said list. CONWAY: He’s not a serious menace to either of them. He’s more like the fly in the ointment that makes their lives miserable, so even when they succeed, they don’t enjoy their success. I always saw Jameson as the “Yes, but...” character. “Yes, you won the fight, but no one will appreciate you, because you’re a threat or a menace, one or the other.” And with Peter, he provides Peter with income. “Yes, but it’s never enough,” and that income always was tied to unpleasant consequences or abuse. So he’s both good news and bad news embodied in the same person. TRUMBULL: Do you think that JJJ has a problem with superheroes in general, or just Spider-Man in particular? WOLFMAN: The altruism of superheroes I think reminds JJJ that he was once like them but then he stopped. I think he despises them for showing him how low he’s gone. Spider-Man, with his sarcastic manner and already creepy appearance, made him the perfect target for JJJ to vent his rage and jealousy against. CONWAY: I think his bête noire was Spider-Man. Jameson’s rage was very specific to how Spider-Man was being received as a hero, while Jameson’s son, who was a real hero in Jameson’s eyes, was being overlooked. So he had an idée fixe about Spider-Man. I don’t think he ever really liked any superhero all that much, but he had a particular animus towards Spider-Man. That was rooted in a personal conflict, I think. ISABELLA: I honestly don’t know. While he certainly has a great deal of hatred for Spider-Man and has sometimes praised “real heroes,”

he’s also expressed disdain for all superheroes. He’s a character who changes due entirely to the whims of whoever is writing him. It’s why I’ve grown tired of him. BUSIEK: I think he’s generally suspicious of superheroes, but some— often Captain America—get his admiration, while others, not so much. It kind of varies from writer to writer. Sometimes he seems to dislike them all, sometimes he seems to just have a mad-on for Spidey, sometimes it’s a spectrum, where Spidey’s at the crap end and Cap’s at the golden end, and everyone else is in-between somewhere. To my taste, I think he has a general problem with superheroes, but it’s very personal with Spider-Man, because of how they met. DeFALCO: I think JJJ has a problem with anyone who wears a mask. JJJ’s job has always been to expose the truth (as he sees it) and unearth secrets. Anyone in a mask is obviously concealing something. STERN: Jonah doesn’t have a problem with all superheroes. He has a lot of respect for, say, Captain America … mainly because of the ideals Cap represents. Jonah harbors a lot of resentment towards Spider-Man, some of which is understandable. Take a moment and think about the way this would have looked from a newspaperman’s point of view: here’s Spider-Man, a masked entertainer with freakish powers, who suddenly turns vigilante to catch a murderer. Jonah saw him as a sham, an instant celebrity, a show-off who was taking attention away from those he saw as real heroes … like, say, his astronaut son. And of course, Spider-Man—being a hot-headed teenager at the time—didn’t make things any better for himself when he retaliated with pranks … like webbing Jonah’s pants to his office chair … or webbing Jonah’s mouth shut. Stunts like that would really get you on Jameson’s bad side, and he has a long memory. When you think about it, Jonah and Peter have a kind of dysfunctional father/son relationship. They sort of need each other, but neither of them is willing to give an inch … not for long, anyway. All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 39

Male Bonding (right) Prof. Smythe shackles the boys together in Wolfman’s ASM #192 (May 1979). Art by Keith Pollard and Jim Mooney. (below) Pollard’s original cover, with McLeod inks, to that ish, courtesy of Heritage. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

TRUMBULL: What are your thoughts on JJJ’s relationships with his son John Jameson and his love interest Marla Madison? WOLFMAN: JJJ is not evil. He loves his son, and frankly, I don’t remember much about Marla. But he cares for people, like Robbie and others. He just has problems letting others see that side of him so he covers a lot with his putdowns. DeFALCO: JJJ deeply cares for his son, but like many fathers and sons, they have their issues and problems communicating. JJJ truly loved Marla Madison. STERN: Jonah is probably at his most human around John and Marla. He’s very loyal to the people he loves. ISABELLA: Jameson is clearly proud of his son and loves him, but, in John’s second appearance [ASM #42, Nov. 1966], he goaded him into going after Spidey. He used his son for his own purposes. As for Marla, it’s a mystery to me how anyone could love JJJ enough to marry him. I always figured John’s mother left JJJ after a real nasty divorce. CONWAY: Jameson was an extremely proud father. He saw his son as a hero. He was jealous of the attention Spider-Man received at what he perceived as the expense of his son. And ironically, he deeply resented the fact Spider-Man had saved his son. So he has this double-whammy thing going on in his head. He heroworshiped his son. That’s how I saw it. BUSIEK: I think his love and admiration for John feeds directly into his anger at Spider-Man. In the issue that introduced him, we were told that the reason he was mad at Spider-Man is that he felt his son should be looked up to as a hero, rather than some anonymous costumed vigilante. So his loyalty to John fueled his annoyance at Spider-Man—he was stung by Spidey getting headline space he thought should go to John. And it didn’t help that Spidey then saved John’s life, looking like an even bigger hero. So I always liked the bit that out of love for his son, he went after Spider-Man, while his son, who is rather more sensible (when he’s not turning into a space werewolf), likes Spider-Man just fine. His love drives him to want everyone to admire his son, but it also drives him to make a fool of himself over Spider-Man. Again, a double-edged sword. TRUMBULL: Do you have a favorite JJJ scene, either written by yourself or by others? CONWAY: I guess my favorite Jameson scene is where Spider-Man webs his face while he’s in the middle of 40 • BACK ISSUE • All-Jerks Issue

some harangue and Spidey leaves him webbed up. Anytime Spidey takes him down in a publicly embarrassing way, it’s always fun. I think at one point or another, I did some Jameson speech that was almost a direct quote of a speech that Stan made. And I had fun with that. Just making a little in-house gag about that. WOLFMAN: My favorite by me is when he and Spidey are handcuffed together [ASM #192]. I think there is no better way to show the difference between people than by forcing them to be together under life-anddeath situations and make them sweat until they reveal their true natures. DeFALCO: There is an early scene during the Stan Lee/ Steve Ditko run during which JJJ admits to being jealous of Spider-Man [ASM #10], and that has always stuck with me. BUSIEK: I think the absolute primo JJJ scene is in Amazing Spider-Man #10, near the end, where Jonah admits to himself that his real reason for hating Spider-Man wasn’t about John—that’s a symptom, but not the truth. The truth is that he knows Spider-Man’s a hero, and it makes him feel small by comparison, to see Spider-Man risk his life like that for others. So the truth is, he’s jealous of Spider-Man. That one scene provides the foundation for everything else. For his anger, his denial, his refusal to see any good in Spider-Man. It’s a cover-up, a refusal to admit the truth. He wishes he could be the hero SpiderMan is, and because he can’t, he has to tear him down. This is doubtless some of Ditko’s Randian philosophy surfacing, but it’s great stuff. On another score, there’s a scene back when Ross Andru was drawing the book and Len [Wein] was writing it [ASM #156]. Jonah was all dressed up in a tux for a party, and he was encouraged to smile. He had a smile like a sick shark, that frightened people. That was a fun moment I always think of with Jonah. STERN: There’s wonderful scene in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #15, by Denny O’Neil and Frank Miller, where Jonah goes down to the press room to watch the Daily Bugle roll off the presses. It was just so perfect; this is a newspaper man. Technology has taken some of that away from us these days … there are probably very few newspapers that print on premises anymore. But the spirit of that image of Jonah and the presses still endures. And there’s a great scene in the first Spider-Man movie, when Jonah (as played so well by J. K. Simmons) won’t rat Peter out to the Green Goblin. As far as my own stories go…? Well, there was that “Daydreamers” story [ASM #246] … and Jonah finally owning up to his responsibility for the creation of the Scorpion, in issue #250. TRUMBULL: Anything else you wanted to do with JJJ that you never got the chance to? DeFALCO: Yes. JJJ is one of those characters that you’re never done with. CONWAY: Not really. I was very privileged, at least during my first run on Spider-Man stories, I was just able to run with whatever came into my head. If there was something I secretly wanted to do, I probably did it. [He’s] still one of my favorite characters. ISABELLA: Not really. He’s one of those characters who has worn out his welcome, so he doesn’t interest me. I wouldn’t want to kill him off, because that kind of “shock value” death has also worn out its welcome with me, but his life would need a major change before I’d find him interesting enough to write about. STERN: What I had in mind was to have him do more with his previously established

publications—like NOW and Woman magazine— and maybe launch a third national magazine. And I thought of maybe having him marry Marla Madison … though Tom, Ron [Frenz], and Stan eventually took care of that. BUSIEK: Oh, plenty. At one point I wanted to write a run of Spider-Man stories where Peter was badly injured and Jonah saved his life, taking him in and serving as, essentially, a surrogate father while Peter recovered, so Peter was sneaking out as Spider-Man while he owed his life to a man who hated Spider-Man. Never got to do it, but I think it’d have had a lot of power to it, allowing people to get a whole different spin on their relationship. And I had other ideas, too, but, well, it’s better to have too many ideas to get to than too few when you need them.

Classified Mad Take that, Webhead! Cover to Amazing Spider-Man #246 (Nov. 1983), by John Romita, Jr. and Dan Green. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

To JOHN TRUMBULL, life is a great big bang-up. Thanks to Kurt Busiek, Gerry Conway, Tom DeFalco, Tony Isabella, Roger Stern, and Marv Wolfman for their thoughtful answers.

All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 41

From the opening splash page of Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962), Stan Lee and Steve Ditko make it clear that Midtown High’s Big Man on Campus is the bane of Peter Parker’s high school existence. Their adversarial relationship continues in the pages of Lee and Ditko’s Amazing Spider-Man, where a frustrated Peter refrains from fighting back for fear of hurting Flash and/or exposing his secret identity. Ironically, much like the classic Superman/Lois Lane/Clark Kent love triangle, Flash’s admiration for Spider-Man exceeds his antipathy toward Peter. Over the years, the two become cordial, if not exactly friendly, toward each other. Flash receives his draft notice in Amazing Spider-Man #43 (Dec. 1966). In issue #47, Flash and Peter exchange a somewhat friendly goodbye before Flash leaves for Vietnam. Flash comes home on leave a few times before returning to Vietnam in Amazing Spider-Man #83 (Apr. 1970).

THE HIDDEN TEMPLE AND RETURN TO CIVILIAN LIFE

Flash Thompson returns home from Vietnam in Amazing Spider-Man #105 (Feb. 1972) and announces that he will soon be discharged from the Army. Over the next two issues, it becomes apparent to Peter and Gwen Stacy that something is bothering Flash, who is seemingly kidnapped at the end of Amazing Spider-Man #107 (Apr. 1972). In Amazing Spider-Man #108–109 (May–June 1972), Spider-Man attempts to save Flash, only to discover that he was “abducted” by Army officials assigned to protect him. Spider-Man learns that a group of Vietnamese natives is trying to kill Flash in the misguided belief that he orchestrated the destruction of their temple. Flash is eventually cleared of any wrongdoing thanks to the assistance of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange. This story also introduces Sha Shan, a Vietnamese woman who will eventually play a big role in Flash’s life. Flash’s return to civilian life reawakens feelings of jealousy in Peter Parker, who mistakes Gwen’s concern for romantic affection. Sadly, it isn’t until Gwen’s funeral in Amazing Spider-Man #123 (Aug. 1973) that Flash assures Peter that there was nothing between him and Gwen, and that Peter was the only man she loved. In Amazing Spider-Man #138 (Nov. 1974), Peter remembers that Harry Osborn (who had taken on the mantle of the Green Goblin and discovered Peter’s secret) had destroyed their shared apartment with a bomb as part of a revenge scheme. Having no place to live, and not wanting to worry his Aunt May, Peter thumbs through his address book, asking everyone he knows if they can take in a roommate. Eventually, he’s down to one name—Flash Thompson, who readily agrees to let Peter stay with him. The two men talk for several hours before falling asleep. Peter wakes up and muses, “Well, there’s one shattered illusion of youth. I always thought if you got Flash and I alone in the same room, we’d start slugging each other. Instead we find out how much we have in common and talk each other to sleep!” Flash appeared sporadically in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man over the next two years. However, little of

Spidey to the Rescue! The Wall-Crawler saves Flash Thompson from Brother Power (no geek, he) and Sister Sun (can you guess her secret identity?) on the Bronze-bodacious Al Milgrom/ Terry Austin orginal cover to Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #12 (Nov. 1977), courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). (inset above) Detail from the Steve Ditko-drawn cover of Amazing Spider-Man #8 (Jan. 1964). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

42 • BACK ISSUE • All-Jerks Issue

by D

arrell Hempel

note happened to him during that time. Perhaps most noteworthy (for reasons that will become apparent later), he attended the wedding of Ned Leeds and Betty Brant in Amazing Spider-Man #156 (May 1976).

SPECTACULAR, SHA SHAN, AND … CB RADIO?

On the letters page of Spectacular Spider-Man #1 (Dec. 1976), editor Gerry Conway explained the need for a second Spider-Man comic by stating that, “…the [Amazing Spider-Man] cast is one of the finest ever created in comics. Those people are real, to us and to you, and they need room to live, breathe, and develop. [Spectacular Spider-Man] is going to provide them with that room.” Flash Thompson certainly benefitted from this expansion. Writer Archie Goodman reintroduced Sha Shan in Spectacular Spider-Man #3 (Feb. 1977). However, their reunion was not a happy one. Sha Shan refuses to speak to Flash, and the mystery deepens until Spectacular Spider-Man #8 (July 1977), when Flash confronts Sha Shan, who reveals that she is married, leaving Flash to walk off dejectedly. Writer Bill Mantlo concludes the Sha Shan mystery in Spectacular SpiderMan #12–15 (Nov. 1977–Feb. 1978), a storyline that revisits the story from Amazing Spider-Man #108–109 and introduces Brother Power and Sister Sun, the leaders of a cult who are brainwashing people in Central Park. Flash recognizes Sister Sun’s voice as that of Sha Shan; she and her husband, Achmed, are working for the ManBeast, who is disguised as the Hate-Monger. Spider-Man and Flash thwart the Man-Beast’s plan with the help of Marvel’s attempt to capitalize on the then-current

CB radio craze, Razorback, a strongman from Arkansas (get it, college football fans?) who wears a pig suit, speaks in CB radio jargon, and drives a semi called “Big Pig.” In Spectacular Spider-Man #18 (May 1978), Flash declares that he has found happiness with Sha Shan, and the two begin a relationship that would last for several years.

ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

Flash and Sha Shan made sporadic appearances in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man and Spectacular SpiderMan throughout the early 1980s. However, writer Al Milgrom introduced a subplot that ran through Spectacular Spider-Man #91–100 (June 1984–Mar. 1985) and would spell the beginning of the end of Flash and Sha Shan’s relationship. It begins when Flash admits to Peter that he is starting to resent Sha Shan’s growing independence, and that he feels like he peaked in high school. Meanwhile, Sha Shan notices that Flash is acting strangely, sneaking out of their apartment and returning home bruised and bloodied. When she expresses her concern, Flash angrily pushes her away. Sha Shan turns to Flash’s oldest friends, Peter Parker, Harry Osborn, and Liz (Allan) Osborn, for advice. Later, Flash sees Peter and Sha Shan together and irrationally blames Peter for his relationship problems. Flash’s behavior takes a seemingly ominous turn in when he meets with two tough-looking men who offer him a spot in their organization. A chance encounter between Flash and Betty Leeds becomes a close friendship; the two later enjoy a romantic dinner. When Betty questions the propriety of their actions, Flash justifies their behavior, reminding her that they are both being

Big Man on Campus (left) The classic interpretation of Flash Thompson. (right) Flash opens up to Spider-Man on this gripping page from the Stan Lee/ Romita classic, ASM #109, from the storyline that introduced Sha Shan. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 43

A Cover Classic Recreated John Romita, Sr.’s cover to Amazing Spider-Man #109 (June 1972), featuring Flash and guest-star Dr. Strange, remains one of the artist’s all-time favorite stories. In 2007, Romita took his original blue-line sketch for the cover and reproduced it in glorious graphic with expanded detail, all shown here, with the artist himself, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). To see this and more of Jazzy Johnny’s pencil art in a larger size, check out IDW’s John Romita’s Amazing Spider-Man Artist’s Edition vol. 2. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

44 • BACK ISSUE • All-Jerks Issue

neglected at home. Peter meets with Sha Shan and agrees to help uncover the reason behind Flash’s strange behavior. Once again, Flash sees the two together and wrongly assumes that they are romantically involved. Ultimately, Peter discovers Flash’s secret when, as Spider-Man, he follows Flash to Long Island and discovers that Flash has been attending football practices in an attempt to play professional football. Peter is relieved until Betty arrives and greets Flash with a passionate embrace. Scripter Bill Mantlo penned a noteworthy exchange in Web of Spider-Man #11 (Feb. 1986). Despite the fact that their friendship has cooled due to Flash’s misinterpretation of Peter’s friendship with Sha Shan, Peter asks Flash for advice on how to deal with a bully, since Flash used to be one. Shocked by the accusation, and much to Peter’s surprise, Flash claims that he was never a bully. “Bullies are creeps who pick on defenseless nerds to make themselves feel big,” Flash says. “I never did that. All I did was razz you every so often . . . and quite frankly, you brought that on yourself.” Flash tells Peter that the gang invited Peter to things all the time, only to have Peter turn them down. Peter starts to tell Flash that he had responsibilities, and Flash cuts him off, reminding Peter that everyone has responsibilities, but they still make time for each other; Peter always seemed to have something better to do. Flash finishes by saying that the reason he picked on Peter in high school is because Peter was, and still is, stuck up.

What If?

TM & © Marvel Characers, Inc.

“What If Someone Else Had Become the Amazing Spider-Man” in What If? #7 (Feb. 1978) featured a trio of stories by writer Don Glut and the art team of Rick Hoberg and Sam Grainger that explored what would have happened if someone else had been bitten by a certain radioactive spider. One of the stories featured Flash Thompson, who, while testing his new abilities, accidentally breaks Crusher Hogan’s neck, killing him. In an effort to redeem himself, Flash becomes a costumed crimefighter named “Captain Spider.” Sadly, however, Flash lacks Peter Parker’s scientific knowledge and is killed when he plummets to his death during a battle with the Vulture.

THE HOBGOBLIN

Flash’s life continues to unravel in Amazing SpiderMan #276 (May 1986) when he is unmasked as the Hobgoblin. [Author’s note: Check out BI #35 for more about the Hobgoblin.] In reality, Flash is the victim of an elaborate frame. In Amazing Spider-Man #278 (July 1986, inset), Peter’s editor assigns him to write a story about his former friend. Peter visits Flash in jail, and the two friends talk about their past. Flash laments that he has lost everything and is surprised by the fact that after everything Flash put him through, “puny” Peter Parker is the only one standing by him. Peter starts feeling guilty about the true reason for his visit. As he leaves, he senses trouble and stops the Scourge of the Underworld, a vigilante who appeared in Marvel comics at the time. Flash once again doubts Peter’s friendship in #279 when Peter doesn’t visit him as promised. In #280, Flash pleads with Sha Shan, explaining that her testimony could help his defense. She coldly reminds

All You Need is Hate The Hate-Monger, that is. Things look pretty bad for Spidey, Flash, and this li’l piggy Razorback on the Bill Mantlo/Sal Buscema/ Mike Esposito last page cliffhanger of Spectacular Spider-Man #13 (Dec. 1977). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 45

Flash Animation

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends debuted on September 12, 1981. The show did not follow the continuity of Marvel Comics, instead teaming the Wall-Crawler with mutant heroes Iceman and Firestar. Voiced by Frank Welker, Flash Thompson appeared in several episodes. Presented as an arrogant, dimwitted jock, Flash was the typical cartoon bully whose attitude and actions often put him in need of a comeuppance by story’s end. Two notable episodes: “Videoman,” in which the titular video game character attacks Flash, trapping him inside the game, and “Spider-Man: Unmasked!” in which Flash (unknowingly) helps preserve SpiderMan’s secret identity. him that she couldn’t count on him when she needed him. As she leaves the jail, Sha Shan encounters Betty Leeds, who has also come to visit Flash. Sha Shan tells Flash’s lawyer, “Flash is getting what he deserves! I hope they throw away the key!” Joe Robertson realizes in #281 that pictures of the Hobgoblin taken on the day that Flash was arrested may prove Flash’s innocence. Unfortunately for Flash, the mercenary Jack O’Lantern breaks him out of jail, believing Flash to be the real Hobgoblin, who later confronts Jack O’Lantern. In the confusion of their battle, Flash escapes, becoming a fugitive. Flash is still on the run in #283; however, he realizes that his hero, Spider-Man, would face up to his problems, so he decides to do the same. However, the Hobgoblin catches up with Flash in #288, and administers a brutal beating. In #289, Flash, tired of being a fugitive, attempts to surrender to the police, who ignore him. When he sees Spider-Man swing by, Flash decides to surrender to him. Flash catches up with Spider-Man, who is battling the Hobgoblin. Flash is critically injured during the battle when he helps Spider-Man, who implores Flash not to give up. Later, while he is in the hospital recovering from his injuries, Flash learns that the authorities have dropped all charges against him.

RENEWED FRIENDSHIP AND THE “CULT OF LOVE”

In Spectacular Spider-Man #128 (July 1987), a still-recovering Flash calls Betty from the hospital, intending to offer support in the wake of her husband’s death (which occurred in Spider-Man vs. Wolverine, Feb. 1987). However, he realizes that she is in denial, and decides to help her. He and Peter visit Betty in #129, and Flash forces her to confront the reality of her situation. Flash served as best man and helped his friend get over some pre-wedding jitters when Peter Parker married Mary Jane Watson in 1987’s Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21. In the “Cult of Love” storyline, which ran through Web of Spider-Man #40–43 (July–Oct. 1988), Flash discovers that Betty Leeds has joined a religious cult known as the Students of Love. Spider-Man attempts to save her, and she resists. Meanwhile, Flash and reporter Ben Urich work to uncover information about the cult. Spider-Man tells Flash that Betty seems 46 • BACK ISSUE • All-Jerks Issue

Behind Bars (top) A soap opera moment involving the incarcerated Thompson, Sha Shan, and Betty, from ASM #280 (Sept. 1986). (below) Flash Thompson, the Hobgoblin?? No way! (True, dat!) TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

happy in her new life; however, Flash decides to enlist the help of a priest who specializes in cults. The men, along with a team of deprogrammers, take Betty from the cult’s compound. The cult launches an attack on Flash’s apartment, intending to rescue Betty. Flash and Peter are kidnapped and taken back to the cult’s headquarters. After nearly being killed by a rogue cultist, Peter, Flash, and Betty, who has responded well to the deprogramming, escape as the compound burns, dying in the fire.

THE BLACK CAT

Flash and Betty resumed their relationship after the “Cult of Love” storyline and faced demons both mental and physical in Spectacular Spider-Man #148 (Mar. 1989), which tied into the “Inferno” crossover that was happening in the X-Men titles. Eventually, Flash and Betty eventually drifted apart, and in Spectacular Spider-Man #155 (Oct. 1989), Flash’s old friend Harry Osborn offers him a job at Osborn Chemical Company. However, Flash says that he doesn’t think that he is smart enough for the job, and once again questions why his life hasn’t turned out better. Flash’s life appears to change for the better in Amazing Spider-Man #329 (Feb. 1990) when he begins dating Peter’s exgirlfriend Felicia Hardy, a.k.a. the Black Cat. In #331, Felicia tells Mary Jane that she is only dating Flash to get back at Peter for marrying

Don’t Let Her Cross Your Path, Buddy Flash and his new gal, Felicia Hardy, and their surprise drop-in on Pete and MJ. From Amazing Spider-Man #329 (Feb. 1990), by David Michelinie, Erik Larsen, and Andy Mushynsky. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

her. The two couples encounter each other in #335, where a happy and unwitting Flash suggests that they all get together to do “couple stuff.” The Parkers beg off, realizing that they can’t tell Flash the truth without revealing Peter’s secret identity. In #337, Felicia begins to develop feelings for Flash after he defends her from a mugger, and she helps Spider-Man save Flash from the Tarantula in #341, although she claims that she only saved him because she is still using him. Felicia eventually realizes that she has fallen in love with Flash, and the two continue dating. She proposes to Flash in Spectacular Spider-Man #209 (Feb. 1994); however, Flash rejects her proposal in the following issue.

FLASHBACK AND THE END

Flash’s life once again began to fall apart in the pages of Spectacular Spider-Man issues of the late-1990s. The former football star descended into alcoholism and, in July’s #-1 (the numbering is a result of Marvel’s “Flashback” event that month), “That Thompson Boy,” by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Luke Ross, tells the story of Flash’s relationship with his alcoholic father, a policeman who, despite the love he has for his family, is dissatisfied with how his life turned out. Additionally, DeMatteis compares the relationship that Flash has with his father to that of Peter and Ben Parker. Interestingly, “That Thompson Boy” makes Flash’s protestations in Web of Spider-Man #11 seem hollow, as Flash appears to have been a jerk since childhood, arguably undoing some of the character growth that Flash Thompson enjoyed over the years. BACK ISSUE asked DeMatteis to weigh in on the matter. “I don’t think it undid anything,” DeMatteis says. “Despite our human tendency to want to fit people into convenient pigeonholes, no one is any one thing all the time. The main point of ‘That Thompson Boy’ was to show that there were other sides to Flash, to look behind the curtain and see the vulnerability, and depth, that was there. ‘Flash’ is a mask. Eugene is a complex, wounded human being. “I think the character’s history, even going back to Stan’s stories, is a constant battle between the two, a seeking to find balance. The end journey of the alcoholism storyline—and ‘That Thompson Boy’ was very much a part of that—was, I hope, to make Eugene Thompson a more rounded character. A jerk? Not to me.” Flash attempts to make peace with his past in Spectacular Spider-Man #248 (Aug. 1997); however, he and his father argue, and Flash angrily leaves. His struggle with alcoholism reaches a turning point in #249 when he crashes his car while driving drunk. In #250, Flash comes to terms with his alcoholism and realizes that he alone is responsible for his own problems. DeMatteis tells BI that the alcoholism storyline came about because “I was looking for a way to deepen and expand his character. To send him on a journey into darkness that would ultimately lead him back into the light.”

Flash Thompson remained a part of Spider-Man’s supporting cast when Marvel restarted the titles with new #1 issues at the end of 1998. In true SpiderMan tradition, he continued to struggle with various personal problems. After the events of the “One Moment in Time” storyline that reversed Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage, Marvel rebooted Spider-Man’s continuity with “Brand New Day,” which changed Flash’s status by making him a war hero who lost his legs in Iraq. At the request of the US government, Flash bonded with the Venom symbiote and became a hero in his own right. Thanks to J. M. DeMatteis for his assistance with this article.

Dark Days Writer Rick Remender painted this revealing portrait of the tormented Flash Thompson in Venom #5 (Oct. 2011). Art by Tony Moore and Crimelab Studios. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

DARRELL HEMPEL is a freelance writer who resides near Cincinnati, Ohio, who has since buried the hatchet with his high school nemesis.

All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 47

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Imperius Rex, Prince Namor of Atlantis, better known to most as the Sub-Mariner, has been a thorn in the sides of both heroes and villains in the Marvel Universe. Whether he’s waged war on the surface world or locked horns with fellow monarchs T’Challa and Victor von Doom, the Scion of the Seven Seas has proven to be a jerk on more than one occasion. What makes this anti-hero act in such a manner? Some would say that, like Star Trek’s Mr. Spock, it’s because Namor McKenzie is of two worlds, without really belonging to either. Others might tell you he just has too much water on the brain. This article will explore the SubMariner’s career in his Marvel comics of the 1980s and 1990s as we discover the motivations for the character’s behavior.

BOTH SIDES OF THE SEA

Unlike most comic-book heroes created in the Golden Age, Prince Namor didn’t combat robbers, corrupt politicians, or murderers. Seeing the unintentional death and destruction of his underwater realm caused by surface dwellers, the Sub-Mariner waged war on his father’s half of his dual bloodline. This made most humans believe he was an arrogant villain. Even John Byrne admitted in his Byrne Robotics forum that the Sub-Mariner was, in the writer/artist’s words, an “egotistical creep” in the days before World War II. However, with the shadow of Hitler looming over Atlantis, the Scion of the Deep allied himself with Captain America and the original Human Torch as the Invaders, the team of heroes named by Sir Winston Churchill. Prince Namor has been on both sides of the sea, so to speak. This behavior went on throughout Namor’s career in comics beyond the Golden Age. His Silver Age revival saw him battle the likes of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the X-Men, while teaming up with Dr. Doom, Magneto, and the rampaging Hulk. At the same time, the Sovereign of the Seven Seas was defending both Atlantis and the surface world from such villains as the Puppet Master and the Atlantean warlord Krang. As the Bronze Age dawned, Roy Thomas and other comic-book creators had the SubMariner working together with Dr. Doom in Super-Villain Team-Up, and Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, and the Incredible Hulk in The

Avenging Son Covers for three Subby first issues from the ’80s and ’90s: (front) the Bob Budiansky/ Danny Bulanadi for Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner #1 (Sept. 1984), plus The Saga of the Sub-Mariner #1 and Namor #1, discussed later in this article. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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by J a m e s

Heath Lantz

Defenders. Subby also appeared in virtually every Marvel publication throughout his fascinating life. He even became an Avenger, with much public controversy within the tales told. (For more on the Sub-Mariner’s adventures and changing friendships with the various Marvel characters in the Bronze Age, check out BACK ISSUE #27, 37, 65, and 66.)

Whose Side Are You On, Subby? House ad for the 1984 miniseries Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

TORN BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

The year 1984 saw Apple’s Macintosh computer go on sale to the public for the first time. Pop star Michael Jackson was burned while you to peel back the layers of the psychological onion a bit more, filming a Pepsi commercial. Bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger get under a character’s skin, into his or her heart. I never really had a dominated cinema box offices in The Terminator and Conan the chance to do that with Namor in The Defenders.” Destroyer. Marvel Comics produced the first of a 12-issue maxiseries As with Ghost Rider, Bob Budiansky had a hand in co-plotting Prince that would influence most of the company’s characters and universe, Namor, the Sub-Mariner with DeMatteis. He describes to BACK ISSUE Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars. how it was collaborating with While heroes like Captain DeMatteis on both titles: America, Spider-Man, and the “I think both experiences Hulk fought such evildoers as were fairly similar—Marc would Dr. Doom, the Absorbing Man, typically map out the story arc, and the Lizard on Secret Wars’ discuss it with me, I’d give him Battleworld, Prince Namor was feedback, maybe come up with extremely busy on Earth with a few extra plot twists and turns, the people from both halves and suggest some scenes that of his bloodlines. The team of might juice up the story visually. J. M. DeMatteis (co-plotter and Perhaps the only difference was, scripter) and Bob Budiansky Marc had this four-issue story (co-plotter and art), fresh off the arc more nailed down than recently canceled Ghost Rider, some of the Ghost Rider stories co-produced the four-issue we worked on together, so I Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner think I contributed less to the limited series (Sept.–Dec. 1984). Sub-Mariner plots.” While more than three decades Budiansky also did the have passed since it was artwork and covers for Prince released, both DeMatteis and Namor, the Sub-Mariner. It Budiansky reminisced with BACK wasn’t an easy task for him. ISSUE about working together. While drawing Prince Namor, “I’m pretty sure it was Marc’s Marvel had given him a full[J. M.’s] idea,” Budiansky says. time position as an editor. This “The idea might have come didn’t allow him to devote as from the book’s editor [Tom much time as he had wished DeFalco]. Marc and I had just for his penciling assignments. finished our run on Ghost Budiansky tells BACK ISSUE Rider, so we were excited to that he felt this was evident find another project to work in Prince Namor. He did, on together.” however, like the covers. He DeMatteis tells BI, “Keeping also shares with BI that all four in mind that this was a long cover images form a larger time ago, I suspect that, one: “If you arrange them so because Bob Budiansky and that #1 and 2’s form the top I enjoyed working on Ghost row from left to right and #3 Rider together, we wanted to and 4’s form a second row do something else after that directly below 1 and 2, the series was canceled. Tom covers form one connected DeFalco edited both series, so image. You’ll see elements I’m guessing we came up with of one cover extend into the the Prince Namor idea, took it to adjacent cover. I also colored Tom, and he said yes. All I really the covers, although I did not remember is having a great time color them so that coloring collaborating with Bob. We’d get on the phone, start continued from one cover to the next.” talking, and the stories would come so easily. We had DeMatteis and Budiansky tell a tale of Prince Namor a fantastic rapport, personally and professionally. It was coming to terms with both the human and Atlantean a pleasure working with him.” halves of his bloodline. At the same time, readers see Prince Namor editor Tom DeFalco adds, “It is possible the impetuous nature that has made Subby act like that I suggested an idea [about the miniseries’ plot]. a jerk at various times in numerous comic books. The I often shared ideas with other creators. However, even restless monarch takes it upon himself to embark if I did come up with the initial idea, J. M. and Bob did on a diplomatic mission to the surface world’s all the heavy lifting and should get all the credit.” United Nations in New York City while rebellion DeMatteis was no stranger to writing adventures rocks Atlantis. Attacks on both the underwater and featuring the Avenging Son of Atlantis, having penned © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. surface realms occur. The Sub-Mariner’s absence in The Defenders #62–131. Many of those issues starred Namor. However, the former leads his advisors to believe he is no longer fit to sit upon DeMatteis had a chance to work more with the character in a solo the Coral Throne. Among the culprits responsible for the aggressions series. “It’s always different writing a character in a solo series as are the Atlantean shapesifter Proteus, the twin giants and Otus and opposed to a group book,” he tells BACK ISSUE. “The solo stories allow Ephialtes, and female royal guard-turned-insurrectionist Dragonrider. All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 51

All Together, Now Bob Budiansky designed his four Prince Namor covers to subtly interlock into this combined image. Inks by Danny Bulanadi. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Her introduction on the second panel of page 15 Prince Namor #1 is a favorite of Bob Budiansky’s. As Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner progresses, the title character is shocked by something he never thought he’d ever see: There are poor and destitute people in Atlantis. This strikes a chord in Namor as he recalls the time when he was without memories and without a home on the streets of New York. It is here that DeMatteis delves into a humbling, psychological layer in Prince Namor. “I don’t think anyone, until that point, had ever dealt with the emotional and psychological scars those years left on Namor,” DeMatteis reflects. “Here was a proud man—royalty!—brought to his knees in every way. Living in poverty, shame, and degradation. What did that do to him? How did he deal with that? Well, one way he dealt with it was by partially repressing the memories, denying the full reality of what he’d gone through. That’s the aspect of our miniseries that I remain most proud of.” French marine biologist and expert on underwater cultures and kingdoms Jacqueline Trufaut, with whom

Subby has developed a romance, is the villain behind everything in the DeMatteis/Budiansky arc. In 1952, Atlantis had attempted to join the then-fledgling United Nations. Heated protests caused a shot to be fired. The bullet bounced off Namor and hit the father of a little girl, killing him. That little girl was Jacqueline Trufaut, whose mother had died the year before her trip to New York. Seeking revenge for her father’s accidental demise, Jacqueline studied Atlantis to find a means to destroy the Sub-Mariner. She had found various talismans to create Dragonrider and Namor’s other foes, whose abilities, the Sovereign of Deep realizes, mimic Neptune’s children Triton, Proteus, Otus, and Ephialtes. Jacqueline Trufaut holds a trident of Neptune similar to the one the Prince of Atlantis sometimes wields. It had turned her into a mermaid. The Sub-Mariner’s only possibility for victory is bringing the femme fatale to the surface world. In doing so, Namor notices that Neptune’s magic has lost its influence on the threepointed spire and Jacqueline. Namor takes Neptune’s mystical object, and Jacqueline becomes human again. With the woman he had thought he had loved defeated, the Emperor of the Deep returns to his undersea kingdom, only to be forced to abdicate the throne. Thus, once again, the Sub-Mariner has no home in Atlantis.

Return to Atlantis Writer J. M. DeMatteis summarizes Subby’s lessons learned on this stunning final page to the Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner miniseries. Original Budiansky/Bulanadi art to story page 23 of issue #4 (Dec. 1984), courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Had Namor’s classic weakness for the fairer sex, his royal arrogance, and his impatience not interfered with his judgment in the United Nations matter, perhaps the Sub-Mariner would still be ruler of Atlantis. After the DeMatteis and Budiansky series, Prince Namor was fairly active in various Marvel titles, particularly Avengers and Alpha Flight. Captain America had offered his former comrade from World War II to become a member of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. He eventually accepted after initially turning down the offer. Namor’s being an Avenger was controversial for the surface world. Yet the protests and legal action by the humans were just a couple of the things that made the Sub-Mariner’s life complicated. Alpha Flight’s Marrina, the estranged lady love of Namor, had been captured by his old nemesis Attuma, the new ruler of Atlantis. The Avengers and Alpha Flight had to work together as Namor defeated Attuma, but to the surprise of many he had no interest in regaining the Coral Throne. The Prince of the Blood merely wanted Marrina returned to him. Subby then married Marrina in Alpha Flight #40 (Nov. 1986). The couple’s happiness didn’t last, as Marrina became a mutated monster during a celebration for the Avengers. Prince Namor was forced to kill his new bride with the Black Knight’s Ebony Blade, as issues of Avengers showed readers in greater detail (see BACK ISSUE #27).

A ROYAL SAGA

As the 1980s were coming to a close, the husbandand-wife team of Roy and Dann Thomas wrote The Saga of the Sub-Mariner, the story of Namor’s life from the undersea anti-hero’s point of view. Their tales were complemented by the art of Rich Buckler (All-Star Squadron). In the period in which Saga was released, many comic-book superheroes were reaching milestones in their adventurous four-color lives. The Distinguished Competition’s Superman and Batman had both hit the half-century mark—the Man of Steel did so in 1988, with the Dark Knight following a year later. Marvel’s SubMariner was closing in on the big five-0, having first appeared in 1939’s Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 and Marvel Comics #1. The House of Ideas was celebrating a bit early. “I may have had the Sub-Mariner’s 50th anniversary in mind [with Saga of the Sub-Mariner],” Roy Thomas tells BACK ISSUE, “but if so, I don’t think Kavanagh took time away from Marvel ever played that up. It does his busy schedule with his BeanJar, seem unlikely to have been merely a Incorporated—creator of the new coincidence that it was 50 years from mobile puzzle game called Angry Babies Marvel Comics #1 to The Saga of the © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. (featuring work by Mike Deodato, Sub-Mariner.” Thomas’ assessment of Saga’s timing may be June Brigman, Graham Nolan, Mort Todd, Val Semeiks, correct, as Peter Sanderson wrote the following in Ian Churchill, Howard Bender, and Tom Morgan)—to tell BI the following: “What Roy says sounds true to me. Marvel Age #67: “Partly in honor of Namor’s 50th anniversary, My approach was always to hire writers whose work I Marvel is publishing a twelve-issue limited series called admired, respected, and enjoyed, so I could sit back The Saga of the Sub-Mariner, a complete recounting of and experience their magic myself.” This doesn’t mean that the husband-and-wife Namor’s life history.” As source material for Saga, Team Thomas used the scribes wanted to alter Namor’s rich, long history. Golden Age tales of Bill Everett, the Silver Age sagas of In fact, they felt that Subby’s continuity was important Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and even the stories of Thomas to the entire Saga of the Sub-Mariner series. “Saga was himself, DeMatteis, and Budiansky, among others. Was it essentially a retelling of established canon,” Kavanagh a difficult task fitting 50 years into 12 issues? According continues, “but Roy and Dann still had to work to turn to Roy Thomas, it was in certain points, but he and Dann their material into a cohesive story.” “I feel characters have histories that should be were given room to expand on what they felt needed more details. They were also given the choice of what to used,” Thomas stated Marvel Age #67, “not forgotten put into Saga. The elements used were subject to veto and trashed. I think more respect should be paid to the by the editor, Terry Kavanagh. However, Thomas tells people who came before, whether that means people who did comics in the 1930s and 1940s or people who BACK ISSUE that that never happened.

Happy Birthday, Namor Rich Buckler’s original cover art to the first issue (Nov. 1988) of the Roy Thomasscripted The Saga of the Sub-Mariner maxiseries. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Rich in His Element Rich Buckler was no stranger to the Scion of the Seas, having illustrated Subby many times earlier, including (inset) this cover for Sub-Mariner #60 (Apr. 1973). (above) Namor and Lady Dorma, from the Thomas/ Buckler/McLeod splash to Saga #2 (Dec. 1988). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

admired him greatly and how much I appreciated his art and especially his imagination. We ended up talking for hours about the old days in the comics and the industry in general, and we got to know each other a bit. So there was somewhat of a personal connection to the man as well as a respect for his creative accomplishments. “Saga was an overview of Sub-Mariner’s adventures going all the way back to the Timely/Marvel years,” Buckler continues. “Roy was being faithful to the original material. That was my mindset, too. We worked in the ‘Marvel style,’ the artist working from a story plot. Roy and I knew Namor’s character and history really well. My input was in deciding which scenes to emphasize or expand upon, mostly. Roy trusted my story pacing and knowledge of the character and settings. However, storywise, it was all Roy!” On the art chores for The Saga of the Sub-Mariner, Buckler tells BI, “Roy wanted a ‘realistic’-looking Sub-Mariner, [but] keeping the triangularshaped head, and I was on board with that. I knew it would be challenging to work in an illustrative style on material that spanned decades and included a lot of different styles and treatments of the character. My idea, like Roy’s, was to stick visually to what Bill Everett depicted as much as possible. How does that compare to other work I have done? Well, difficult to say. But where, I ask, is it written in stone that a comic-book artist has to just work in one style and never deviate from that? I am self-taught as an artist, and I have always been very versatile. I have always been a bit of a maverick when it comes to drawing comics. Roy and I were totally committed to it and I was surprised and pleased that Marvel actually committed to it. I enjoyed the drawing all 12 issues, but the parts did comics in the 1960s and 1970s.” with the Fantastic Four and Avengers Thomas later reflected in Alter Ego and the Hulk were the most fun. #136: “I suspect that series was my Also, portraying Namor’s younger idea. It’s hard for me to imagine © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. somebody else suggesting it. Rich did a very illustrative years was a challenge and a pleasure to explore. I put Al Williamson-ish kind of job, with just enough Kirby- in at least eight hours a day of solid work. During those style action, celebrating 50 years of the Sub-Mariner work hours I am in ‘comic-book mode,’ that is, I pace from 1939 through 1989. I got to do all the World myself but take whatever time it takes to get the results War II stuff and to re-tell some of the 1950s stories and I am going for. This series was tough to do. It was add interstitial material that tied everything together. time-intensive and sometimes slow-moving. However, For instance, Prince Byrrah was a character Bill Everett this was truly a labor of love, and when I work, I never had introduced in the ’50s, but I extrapolated him back have artist’s block. I have absolutely no fear!” From his parents meeting to the death of Marrina, into the ’40s. I think it was a beautiful-looking series, The Saga of the Sub-Mariner gives readers a look at the well-inked by Bob McLeod.” Rich Buckler also reminisces with BACK ISSUE about title character’s life from Namor’s own point of view. The The Saga of the Sub-Mariner: “I was approached by first six chapters deal with Prince Namor’s adventures in Roy Thomas for this series. Both Roy and I have a deep the Golden Age and the Atlas-era tales from 1939–1955. affection for the Sub-Mariner character that goes way The latter half dozen deal with his Silver Age revival back to our fan days, and we also share a hearty respect until Subby’s time with the Avengers and Marrina in the for Namor’s creator, Bill Everett. Back in the early ’70s 1980s. Notable events in the hybrid mutant’s life include when I made my permanent move from Detroit to New his first encounter with surface humans in diving suits, York—and to work full-time as a freelancer in the comics whom the young Prince of the Blood believe to be robots; back then you had to live in New York—I got lucky and encounters with Betty Dean and the original Human landed my first apartment in the Bronx, which Neal Torch; joining the Invaders; becoming friend and foe Adams helped me to get. I met Bill Everett one day at the to the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe in the Marvel offices and I invited him to my place for a friendly Silver and Bronze Ages; Namor’s marriage to Lady Dorma visit. To my surprise and delight he took me up on that. and her death; and a chance encounter with his father, His visit was a magical time for me. I told him that I Leonard McKenzie, whom the Sub-Mariner believed to

54 • BACK ISSUE • All-Jerks Issue

Tenacious Troublemakers (left) A sampling of Saga covers. (below) Don’t these guys ever learn? House ad to the 1989 Marvel Annual crossover event, “Atlantis Attacks.” TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

be dead until Tiger Shark had killed him moments after meeting his Avenging Son. However, The Saga of the SubMariner was more than just an autobiography of Marvel’s first anti-hero. A chronicle written in Atlantean in Prince Namor’s handwriting serves as a memorial and epitaph for Marrina, the woman whom he had loved perhaps even more than Lady Dorma.

ATTACKS OF VENGEANCE

After The Saga of the Sub-Mariner, the Sovereign of the Seven Seas was part of two Marvel crossover events in 1989: “Atlantis Attacks,” which consisted of 14 Annuals of the company’s superhero titles, and “Acts of Vengeance,” in the monthly Marvel books. “Atlantis Attacks” sees the serpent god Set try to return to Earth with the aid of Lemuria and its leader Llyra. Some would consider this crossover’s title a misnomer as Atlantis itself, under Attuma’s leadership, serves under the true masterminds of the insidious plot to resurrect Set—the Lemurians. The Sub-Mariner gets involved while searching the seas for Marrina’s children. While teaming up with Iron Man, the Avenging Son takes on Hydra and Attuma’s soldiers. Namor is believed to have been killed by an Atlantean missile. However, he surprises Llyra and the Lemurians and, with the aid of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, the Prince of the Blood sends the bad guys packing. With everyone— especially his cousin Namorita—safe from Set and Llyra, Namor goes on to more adventures. “Acts of Vengeance” sees a mysterious stranger— later revealed to be Loki—bring together Magneto, Dr. Doom, the Red Skull, and other evildoers from the Marvel Universe. One such recruit is Prince Namor, who turns down the offer. Upon trying to alert the Avengers of the villainous round table of bad guys, the Sub-Mariner discovers that Avengers Island has sunk. The Controller puts a control disc on the Avenging Son’s neck, forcing him to fight Captain America. However, Cap and Henry Pym remove the device. Subby continued to aid Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and their allies throughout this arc and many others. One such tale featured the original Defenders reuniting in Peter David and Dale Keown’s Incredible Hulk #370– 371. Marvel’s non-team got together again sans Silver Surfer to save the Hulk from the possession of Shanzar, the Sorcerer Supreme of a strange-matter universe. Meanwhile, other plans were set into motion of Namor McKenzie as one of the most popular writer-artists in comic books was about to bring all-new chapters into the character’s already eventful history. All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 55

Surf Board (left) And you thought these corporate confabs were boring…! Original John Byrne cover art to Namor, the Sub-Mariner #3 (June 1990), courtesy of Heritage. (right) Byrne’s use of Craft-Tint artboard makes this flashback from Namor #11 (Feb. 1991) all the more effective. From the collection of Raimon Fonseca. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

BYRNED WATERS

Move over, Donald Trump and Tony Stark. The year 1990 saw the Lord of the Deep enter an environment— a different kind of sea, if you will—that some may say is full of jerks: the shark-filled world of big business. Writer-artist John Byrne had returned to Marvel after leaving DC’s Superman comics. In addition to launching She-Hulk’s new book and beginning a run on West Coast Avengers, Byrne gave the Sub-Mariner a new monthly series titled Namor the SubMariner (for which he produced the Apr. 1990–May 1995 issues). Namor featured a logo Byrne designed himself, according to a statement in his Byrne Robotics forum. As Byrne also said in Marvel Age #84, “One, it’s impossible to make a goodlooking logo out of ‘Sub-Mariner,’ and two, a shorter word, like ‘Namor,’ will stand out better. Also, perhaps people will be less inclined 1992 photo. to mispronounce ‘Namor,’ although I did when I was a kid: I used to say ‘Nam-mor.’ ” How did Subby get the money to pay for his company? Byrne stated in Marvel Age #84 that the Scion of the Seven Seas knows the location of every underwater shipwreck. He shows this to Carrie Alexander, one of Namor’s supporting cast members, by bringing a treasure chest full of coins and jewels to the surface.

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Did Byrne pitch the idea of the Namor series? He has stated the following in Byrne Robotics: “Technically, I didn’t pitch Namor. One of [Jim] Shooter’s rules was that [Marvel] characters who lost their own titles ‘reverted’ to the editorial office of the book where they’d started. This meant, minus his own title, the Sub-Mariner belonged to Fantastic Four. So I’d been thinking for a while about what I might do with him. Then there were a series of editorial shufflings, and Namor landed in Terry Kavanagh’s lap. Terry had the idea of playing up the businessman angle, and asked me if I’d be interested in developing something along those lines. As it happened, that was where I’d arrived with my own cogitations, so I said, ‘Sure!’ ” Not all of John Byrne’s ideas for Namor were approved, as Terry Kavanagh tells BACK ISSUE. “I remember vetoing only one of John’s ideas,” Kavanagh says. “He wanted to change Namor’s shorts to red, for the very sound reason that it would contrast better against the blue-green water scenes. As much as it made sense, there were licensing considerations that prohibited it at the time.” In spite of Prince Namor’s royal arrogance, he seemed to have quite an extended family in his new book. During the course of John Byrne’s run on Namor, he gave the Scion of the Seven Seas many guest-stars. “I just love the

character; I always have since I was introduced to him in Fantastic Four #6,” Byrne told Michael David Thomas at Comic Book Resources. “I realized, though, that he is one of those characters like the Vision or Wolverine who really works better in a group motif, not in a solo book. That’s one of the reasons I brought in so many supporting-cast members for Namor, building a group book he could interact in.” Proof of John Byrne’s statement can be seen throughout his Namor issues. Subby’s cousin Namorita—who was also in New Warriors— Iron Man, Reed and Susan Richards, Misty Knight, Iron Fist, Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-Devil, Wolverine, and the Punisher all appeared within that title’s pages. New characters Desmond and Phoebe Marrs and Caleb and Carrie Alexander got to meet up with those guest-stars and more as they became a part of Prince Namor’s life and his company Oracle, Inc., which is also the name of the boat owned by Leonard McKenzie when he met and married the Sub-Mariner’s mother, Princess Fen. Caleb and Carrie Alexander use the same moniker for their vessel. Caleb perhaps christened it in such a way to honor his hero Namor. In Byrne’s Namor, the Sub-Mariner #1 (Apr. 1990), much of the world believes that the Sub-Mariner is dead after “Atlantis Attacks.” Father and daughter marine biologists Caleb and Carrie Alexander discover otherwise when the Avenging Son flies out of the waters of the South Pacific in a two-page splash in issue #1. They find the Sovereign of Atlantis plagued with madness, rage, and hallucinations. The reasons for this are explained by Caleb, who had been fascinated by Namor, Atlantis, and sea life as a boy growing up in Harlem toward the end of World War II. His interest intensified after Marvel’s first mutant saved his life. Caleb had discovered that blood and oxygen imbalances were the cause of Subby’s mental problems and frequent bouts with memory loss, some of the things that tend to make the Atlantean Royal act like a jerk—basically, too much time under the sea causes oxygen deprivation in Namor, and extended periods on the surface without contact with water has the opposite effect. Caleb Alexander uses a blood-recycling machine of his own creation to assist Namor. (John Byrne had some help with some the plot points, as he stated in Byrne Robotics: “Credit to Roger Stern for suggesting the blood imbalance ‘solution’ to Namor’s mood swings.”) Because their aid with his health has allowed Namor to become friends with the Alexanders (though Subby wished for something more romantic between him and Carrie), Namor makes them his eyes and ears on the surface world, particularly in Oracle, Inc. matters, while he still feigns being dead. Unfortunately, as is the case with most superhuman folks pretending to be in the grave, the Sub-Mariner cannot keep a low

profile for very long while using Oracle, Inc. to save the environment. His exploits in the first dozen issues of Namor consist of Desmond and Phoebe Marrs’ interests in both Oracle and Prince Namor, battles with the Griffin and the monstrous Sluj and its anti-mutant properties, saving Desmond Marrs from the femme fatale called Headhunter, and an Invaders reunion of sorts with the original Human Torch becoming Oracle, Inc.’s chief of security. Spitfire also becomes young again thanks to transfusion from the android Torch. While Atlantis and Namor are caught in the middle of the Subterranean Wars and the Defenders reunite to save the Sub-Mariner’s body from Shanzar in some of 1990– 1991 Marvel Annuals—including Namor, the Sub-Mariner Annual #1–2—the running subplot throughout much of John Byrne’s early monthly comic books involved Danny Rand, better known as Iron Fist. It was believed he died in Power Man and Iron Fist #125 (Sept. 1986). Yet Byrne didn’t like how Danny had bought the farm. “He deserved better, so I brought him back,” Byrne stated at Byrne Robotics. “In one of those amazing examples of Marvel serendipity, it turned out to be

The Art of the Cover Byrne’s full cover art, an acetate overlay with his logo placement notes, the logo paste-up pre–special effects, and the published cover for Namor #20 (Nov. 1991). Original art courtesy of Heritage. TM & © Marvel Character, Inc.

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Cloned Cousin (top) Namor #20 dropped a bombshell on readers regarding the background of cute li’l Namorita. It also offered a great flashback featuring the Invaders! Signed original art courtesy of Raimon Fonseca. (bottom right) Byrne’s cover for Namor #22 (Jan. 1992), one of the issues guest-starring Danny Rand, was a recreation of (bottom left) Gil Kane and John Romita, Sr.’s cover to the Bronze-alicious Iron Fist #2 (Dec. 1975). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

fairly easy not only to resurrect Danny, but to make it seem like that was the plan all along.” In addition to Namor being on trial for past crimes in Namor #13 (Apr. 1991) and Namorita discovering she’s a clone of her mother Namora in #20, former foe the Griffin is helpful to Namor after he loses his foot wings. The creature flies Subby to the Savage Land, where he, Carrie Alexander, Phoebe Marrs, Misty Knight, and Shanna the She-Devil encounter Danny Rand, believed to be dead until he shows up to run Rand–Meachum Incorporated. Excavations and projects in the Savage Land have greatly affected the environment and people of Atlantis. Namor’s investigation finds Iron Fist in the middle of everything, or so it seems. Actually, the SuperSkrull is impersonating Danny. The Sub-Mariner and his allies defeat the alien shapeshifter, but Misty Knight is thoroughly convinced that the man she loved is still alive. She enlists the Prince of the Deep to aid in the search for Iron Fist. This is something Tyrone King—actually Danny Rand’s nemesis, Master Khan—doesn’t want. The name Tyrone King actually means “King King.” John Byrne once again offered this interesting tidbit of information on Byrne Robotics: “As I did at the time, I must here give credit to Roger Stern for knocking over the first domino that made Iron Fist’s ‘return from the dead’ possible. It was Rog who realized one day that ‘Tyrone’ means ruler or leader, so ‘Tyrone King’ was another way of saying … Master Khan!” However, Supermegamonkey.net states that the name’s meaning may not be what Byrne believes. “The most common explanation for the name is that it’s Gaelic in origin, coming from Tir Eoghain, meaning ‘land of Eoghain.’ Of course, the name also looks like the word ‘tyrant,’ and some name origin websites will say that’s an alternative source of the name. But if you think about how the name came to America, the Irish explanation probably makes more sense than the Greek/Latin one.” Whatever the case may be, Master Khan was back with a vengeance, with Sub-Mariner caught in the middle of his insidious plots. While battling the invasion of Earth by the sentient plant creatures called the H’ylthri, who have Wolverine under their control, Namor, Misty Knight, and Colleen Wing must, with the aid of Dr. Strange, travel to K’un-Lun, home dimension of the H’ylthri and Iron Fist. They find the world in ruins and Danny Rand in a chi stasis that helps cure the cancer that was discovered and believed to cause Rand’s demise. The being believed to be the deceased Iron Fist on Earth was actually a clone made of plant matter. Upon his awakening, Iron Fist helps Namor stop the H’ylthri. However, victory is not without its price. Master Khan uses his magic to erase the Sub58 • BACK ISSUE • All-Jerks Issue

Mariner’s memories to the point that whenever he sees or feels something familiar, he is in great pain. While issue #25 (Apr. 1992) was John Byrne’s last issue as artist on Namor, the Sub-Mariner, he continued contributing the stories. “I was looking for a way to infuse some new energy into Namor,” he told Comic Book Resources. “I’d been on the book for about two years, and I was starting to realize some of the limitations of the character. I suggested to Terry Kavanagh that maybe a different artist would inspire a different approach. Jae Lee was Terry’s suggestion.” Regarding his choice of artist Jae Lee, Terry Kavangh tells BACK ISSUE, “Jae had done work for me on Marvel Comics Presents, and I loved his style. He was a brandnew penciler, though, so I needed to team him with an experienced writer—who had a solid grip on pacing, establishing shots, mood, and graphic storytelling in general. Nobody better than John for that.” Kavanagh had used a similar approach in Marvel Comics Presents #33’s Sub-Mariner tale: “I really enjoyed being involved with a short, seven-page silent story by Don McGregor and Jim Lee for MCP. Don wanted an extra page for his Black Panther chapter that issue, so I challenged him to a silent story that then-up-and-comer Jim Lee could try his hand at. [There I used the] same logic of pairing an experienced writer with a newer penciler.” With Namor missing after the events of issue Namor #25, Namorita sets out on a search for her amnesiac cousin, who is tricked by environmental terrorists to attack Oracle, Inc. holdings. Ironically, the assistance of Dr. Doom, much like what was shown in Super-Villain Team-Up (see BACK ISSUE #66 for more on that series), and the arrival of a woman who appears to be Namor’s mother Princess Fen, allow the Scion of the Seven Seas to break Khan’s spell and defeat the wizard. Yet Oracle, Inc. is nearly destroyed in the process, but the Sub-Mariner has more pressing matters in Atlantis to attend to. These would lead to a new writer taking on the Prince of the Blood’s tales while Jae Lee stayed on Namor the Sub-Mariner a little longer.

NAMOR AFTER BYRNE

Issue #32 (Nov. 1992) was John Byrne’s last of Namor, the Sub-Mariner as writer. His reasons for leaving the title, as Byrne himself pointed out at Byrne Robotics: “I no longer recall the precise circumstances of my leaving Namor. Something about overlapping deadlines? I was unhappy to leave Namor, simply because I have a great fondness for the character.” Bob Harras had an eight-issue run as Namor scribe in #33–40, followed by fill-ins by Len Kaminski (#41) and veteran Sub-Mariner scribe Roy Thomas. (#42–43). Namor, the Sub-Mariner Annual #3–4 featured main stories by Ron Marz and Gaijin Studios (#3) and Nelson Yomtov, Karl Bollers, Bill Wylie, and Sandu Florea (#4), respectively. Marz’s tale gave the Marvel Universe the debut of Mimeyoshi, also named the Assassin, an android with superhuman strength and reflexes created by Apocalypse and armed with flaming eyebeams, poison-tipped blades, and garrote wires. Baron von Strucker is attacked by a mutant creature that is the spawn of Namor and Marrina in Nelson Yomtov and Karl Bollers’ story. Meanwhile, the dead of Atlantis, including Princess Fen, come back to life in the Bob Harras saga, and Prince Namor is suspicious of his mother and her intentions for the Coral Throne. His quest for the truth leads to an uneasy alliance with his old foe Tiger Shark and the red-skinned Tamara Rahn of the water-breathing alien race the Banan. Their group must stop the ancient evil of Atlantis’ fallen savior Suma-Ket. Namor had used armor and the Trident of Neptune to defeat his villainous nemesis. Yet the real twist in the tale is, Princess Fen’s mind was actually in the decomposing body of Suma-Ket’s wife Artys-Gran, whose soul possessed the cadaver of Prince Namor’s mother. Bob

You’re So Vein (inset top) Jae Lee’s artery-bulging savage Subby, as shown on his cover to Namor #27 (June 1992). (top) Jae’s alternate, unpublished version of the same cover was much quieter. Courtesy of Heritage. (bottom) Subby’s old “pal” Dr. Doom drops by in Namor # 32. Cover by Jae Lee. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Harras’ saga also marked the return of the Faceless Ones and showed readers a rare side to the brutal Tiger Shark—one in which he had loved and lost and had a thirst for revenge on those who killed his mate. The fill-in issues of Namor, the Sub-Mariner see Len Kaminski deal with a misunderstanding between the Avenging Son and War Machine that leads to the rescue of humans and Atlanteans in the aftermath of a submarine’s sinking, and old friends and foes returning in Roy Thomas’ two-issue story arc. Walter Newell, also known as Stingray, needs Namor’s help to save his wife Diane, sister of Tiger Shark, from Dr. Lemuel Dorcas. Dorcas also has the savage, newly gigantic Orka aiding him. The crazed scientist is obsessed with Diane to the point of which he wants to use the same process that created Tiger Shark on her to possess her. Dorcas’ madness proves to be his undoing, as his quest for revenge overpowers his infatuation. Thinking Orka has killed Stingray, Dorcas revels in his victory until he realizes that his gargantuan henchman only destroyed Walter Newell’s armor. The real Newell is near the Morphotron trying to free the captive Sub-Mariner and Diane, who endure pain from energy blasts. The same bolts strike Orka without harming him. Yet the Human Killer Whale is knocked unconscious by Namor and falls on Dorcas, crushing him. Terry Kavanagh would cease overseeing Namor after Harras’ run to, according to what he told BACK ISSUE, pursue writing while under contract with Marvel. Kavanagh’s replacements would be Mike Rockwitz (editor) and Ralph Macchio (group editor). Rockwitz took on the chores during the fill-ins by Len Kaminski and Roy Thomas. Rockwitz was responsible for Namor, Quasar, and Fantastic Four, the latter being a title which also featured the Prince of Atlantis in Tom DeFalco and Paul Ryan’s cycle of tales, particularly after the apparent death of Reed Richards and Dr. Doom in Fantastic Four #381. Thus began a new direction for the Sub-Mariner.

HERDLING’S SEAS

The new Namor creative team consisted of writer Glenn Herdling and artist Geof Isherwood. Herdling had originally been asked to write Doctor Strange, which Mike Rockwitz had edited. However, plans had changed, as Herdling tells BACK ISSUE: “I walked into Mike’s office and handed him my three-year proposal. Rock-O (as we affectionately call him) took a look at the proposal and said, ‘Oh, I forgot to tell you. I’m no longer editing Doctor Strange. I’m editing Namor. How’d you like to write that?’ I told Mike I’d have a proposal to him by the end of the week. ‘Screw the proposal,’ he said. ‘I need a plot by Friday.’ “It’s funny, because here we are, more than 20 years later, and everything has come full circle,” Herdling continues. “Many of the ideas in that Doctor Strange proposal were used in a novel I published last year called Piper Houdini: Apprentice of Coney Island. “To buy time to research the character, I wrote a whimsical, outof-continuity story called ‘The Rime of the Ancient Sub-Mariner’ [in Namor the Sub-Mariner #44] that was adapted from Coleridge’s poem and featured Namor as an older man. That story actually made it into a Wikipedia article about Coleridge’s poem!” On following in John Byrne and Bob Harras’ footsteps, Herdling remarks, “Bob’s run wasn’t too difficult to follow, because he had pretty much gone off and done his own thing. Bob and Jae Lee had created an epic on the grand scale of Tolkien and wrapped up almost everything by the end of their run. They had brought back Tamara Rahn and had introduced a love affair between her and Tiger Shark, which I went with. Bob had given me only one dictate: Don’t kill Tamara! It was actually a blessing, because in the ‘Starblast’ crossover I was able to provide closure to the story that had introduced her 20 years earlier. “John Byrne’s run was a different story. Bob hadn’t picked up any of the dangling plot threads that John had left, so it was left for me to resolve them. For example, why was Phoebe Marrs seeing visions of her dead brother, Desmond? Who was that character in Namor #29 who worked at Oracle West and looked suspiciously like Namor (at least as portrayed by Jae Lee)? Byrne hadn’t left any clues to his successor, so it was up to me to provide answers.” © Marvel. Herdling reflects upon the highlights of his Namor run: “Geof and I did some fun stuff from Namor’s involvement in the ‘Starblast’ crossover (which we made into a pivotal storyline rather than happenstance participation) to the raising of Atlantis, which literally changed the face of the Marvel Universe. I loved being able to play in the Fantastic Four’s sandbox to explore the feelings between Sue and Namor a bit more deeply than had ever been done before. We touched on the plight of the whales [Namor #45] and offshore drilling. We introduced the heir to the throne of Atlantis, Llyron, an enemy with Namor’s blood flowing through his veins who has his same hybrid abilities [his entire story arc spans #50–57], and we got to pit Namor against the Abomination [#59], who learned to his astonishment that he—like Namor—is actually more powerful underwater! “I think my favorite was the storyline where we got to redeem Marrina [#61], Namor’s former wife from Alpha Flight. I had never been comfortable with how Namor had used the Black Knight’s Ebony Blade to slay Marrina, even though she was a mindless leviathan at the time. Being slain by the Ebony Blade is a fate worse than death. The enchanted blade actually traps the souls of its victims in its obsidian void rather than allowing them to roam free to meet their eternal reward. In one fell stroke, Namor had condemned his wife’s soul to an eternity of hell. Two years earlier, I had created a character called Blood Wraith, who was the new (and nastier!) wielder of the blade. The connection that Namor had to the Ebony Blade made the Blood

All the Prince’s Men Sub-Mariner’s not-so-subtle peacemaking efforts, in Namor #49 (Apr. 1994). Signed original art by Geof Isherwood, courtesy of Heritage. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Surface Dwellers Drop In (left) The controversial issue #50 (May 1994), with Sue Richards. (right) The Abomination makes an abominable gueststar, in Namor #59 (Feb. 1995). (background) Namor #57. All cover art by Geof Isherwood. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Wraith’s presence an organic progression of the story rather than a forced guest appearance. In the end, Namor got to free his wife’s soul. By redeeming Marrina, he redeemed himself.” Namor #50 (May 1994) deals with a touchy subject, as Herdling points out. “My friend Chris Cooper, a former Marvel editor and author of Songs of the Metamythos, recently reminded me that Namor was raped in an issue that I wrote. In her attempt to spawn an heir to the throne of Atlantis, Namor’s nemesis Llyra seduced him by disguising herself as Sue Richards. Chris asked me if I regretted writing that scene. I told him that I thought it was a powerful story, and if I had to tell it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. People don’t think a strong, virile hero like Namor—who represents the essence of masculinity— could ever be a victim of rape. Namor is an attractive, stalwart individual with a magnetic personality who has always been portrayed as having an insatiable appetite for the fairer sex. When a female adversary takes sexual advantage of such a man, a common reaction is, ‘So what?’ Sue Richards illustrates this double standard when she demands to know why Namor was in a homicidal rage. Namor retorts, ‘If the act had been committed upon you, Susan Richards, it would be called something else.’ At the time, if I had proposed such a story and the victim had been female, it never would have seen the light of day.” In addition to Llyra’s subterfuge to gain the Coral Throne of Atlantis, the Herdling/Isherwood run made Namor a part of the crossovers “Starblast” (Namor #46–48) and “Atlantis Rising” (Namor #60–62). The Namor issues in the latter serial serve as a prologue. Glenn Herdling shares with BACK ISSUE how his run with the Avenging Son got involved in both stories: “Mark Gruenwald invited me to play a part in both crossovers. I was never a fan of crossovers unless there was something in it for the development of my characters. As I mentioned before, ‘Starblast’ was the perfect opportunity to learn what had become of Tamara’s starlost race. But the most fun I had with that crossover was ending each issue with a cliffhanger that was nearly impossible to escape from. It was fun because the issue would be continued in Fantastic Four, and Tom DeFalco would have to come up with the solution, not me. “As for ‘Atlantis Rising,’ Morgan Le Fey’s plot to resurface the lost continent that had disastrous results for the Inhumans, that was all my setup,” Herdling continues. “I had built up this spectacular event and subsequently learned that Namor was being canceled! Oh, no!

Worse yet, no one wanted to engage in another crossover. Some of the creators balked at the idea of it being the impetus for their major crossover event. Who can blame them? Why would anyone want to pick up the strands of a canceled title that only a few fans were following? Meanwhile, I was concerned that I had established this monumental crisis in the Atlantic Ocean and no one in the Marvel Universe was going to address it. Finally, Mark Gruenwald was able to convince the creators of Fantastic Four, Fantastic Force, and Warlock and the Infinity Watch to come on board. Not only that, he assigned me as the script writer for the two ‘Atlantis Rising’ bookends and the full writer of its epilogue in the pages of Fantastic Four Unlimited #11. “The cancellation of Namor had caught me a bit unawares, so I relished the opportunity to offer my swansong to the character whom I had so deeply nurtured for almost two years,” Herdling says. “Once Atlantis had risen, I had planned on writing a multi-issue story arc called ‘Deities of the Deep.’ Basically, the gods of the waters are angered that a majority of their worshipers (the Atlanteans) had been slaughtered when their continent rose from the waves. They gather to form a congress and secede from their terrestrial counterparts, causing all sorts of havoc on land in an attempt to gather new followers. The storyline would have culminated in a climactic meeting between Namor and Aegir, the Norse god of the sea that has rarely been seen in issues of Thor (if ever). I figured if Thor had given the Sub-Mariner a run for his money in the past, how would Namor fare against a Norse god with his own abilities?” Herdling also tells BI that he wanted to do more with the Marvel Universe’s oldest love triangles. “I would have enjoyed exploring the relationship between Sue Richards (the Invisible Woman) and Namor a bit more in the wake of Reed’s presumed death. I realize that Sue would never have entertained the relationship if there was a thread of hope her husband was alive. But if she had been given irrefutable evidence of Reed’s demise, how would things have progressed? Would Namor have assumed Reed’s place as the fourth member of the FF to be closer to Sue? And once they consummated their relationship, imagine the fireworks at Reed’s inevitable return!” Alas, none of Glenn’s plans for Prince Namor came to be as Namor the Sub-Mariner was canceled before “Atlantis Rising” began. However, the Sub-Mariner still swam through the ocean currents in various Marvel titles throughout the mid-1990s and beyond. All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 61

THE BIG QUESTION

I’m Too Sexy for My Shirt Original cover painting by Lou Harrison for the final Namor, the Sub-Mariner Annual, #4 (1994), courtesy of Heritage. The issue’s main story featured Subby’s struggle against Baron Strucker and Hydra. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

With this being the “All-Jerks” issue of BACK ISSUE, one question was asked to the creators involved in the Bronze Age adventures of the Sub-Mariner. What makes the Emperor of the Deep act like a jerk? “He was raised as a prince,” Roy Thomas says, “And he discovered, as he grew to manhood, a grudge against the human race.” J. M DeMatteis adds, “He’s a prince, treated from birth as almost god-like, with all the built-in arrogance that goes with the territory. And he had serious anger issues. (If there are anger-management classes for superheroes, Namor is a prime candidate.) Seems like a good recipe for occasional jerkiness. That said, Namor is, at heart, a noble, self-sacrificing guy, and his flaws are what make him relatable. The fact that he’s not pure and perfect makes him more like the rest of us.” “I think perhaps what you refer to as ‘jerk’ behavior can otherwise be characterized as the arrogance and conviction that comes from being the monarch of a civilization that is very different than our own,” opines Bob Budiansky. “His passion for protecting his people from the predations and insensitivity of we, the surfacedwellers, direct his actions all too frequently, and perhaps some of his more aggressive actions against the human race could make one think he is acting like a jerk. It all depends on your viewpoint—from above or below the ocean’s surface.” “I do not consider Namor a jerk,” Tom DeFalco states. “He is someone who is firmly committed to a singular

vision. He never lets anyone or anything get in his way.” “I suppose the obvious answer is his royal arrogance,” states Terry Kavanagh, “probably an issue with anyone who’s been raised as a supreme monarch. But I think on a personal level, Namor always felt like an outsider in both worlds—above and below the waves—so he unconsciously chose to push people away before they could push him away. (Remember, he’s considered the first mutant.) That’s why he responded so strongly to Sue Storm’s understanding and compassion for him.” “John Byrne attempted to explain it in his first issue of Namor,” says Glenn Herdling. “It had something to do with him being of both surface and Atlantean heritage and that he had to return to the water at regular intervals or he’d start experiencing something similar to road rage. I’m not sure I ever bought into that explanation. I just thought it was his nature to be a bit of a jerk. Here we have someone who’s king of a continent, but he’s also a freak and an outcast among his own kind. But when he tries to dwell among humans, he’s no less freaky. Another thing that makes him a jerk is his innate sense of adventure. Namor cannot sit idly upon a throne and call the shots when he knows that he’s the one with the power to make things happen. But whenever he leaves the throne in someone else’s care, Atlantis falls apart. That sense of failed responsibility is enough to drive anyone nutty.” Yes, Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner may or may not be a jerk, depending on your point of view. However, one thing is certain: Marvel’s first anti-hero continues to be a part of numerous titles such as Uncanny X-Men, New Avengers, and All-New Invaders to this day. The Prince of the Seven Seas has even had major roles in the crossovers as “Civil War” (2007), “Dark Reign” (2009), and “X-Men: Curse of the Mutants” (2011). The latter event featured the first four issues of the 2011 series Namor, the First Mutant as chapters. While that book and its predecessors Namor (2003–2004) and Sub-Mariner (2007–2008) didn’t last as long as Subby’s 1968–1974 and 1990–1995 outings, they showed readers that the Avenging Son of Atlantis is a force to be reckoned with. Check out all of the more than seven-and-a-half decades of the Sub-Mariner’s adventures in paper format at your local comic shop or digitally on Comixology. They pack a wallop and then some. Dedicated to my beautiful and wonderful Queen of the Seven Seas, Laura; Pupino and the rest of our four-legged Imperius Rexes; my nephew Kento—who blew the horn that brought Giganto to the surface world; plus Roy Thomas, J. M. DeMatteis, Bob Budiansky, John Byrne, Jae Lee, the late Bill Everett and Steve Gerber, and all the creators past and present who still continue to make Atlantis and her Avenging Son rise from the depths in numerous Marvel comic books. May Neptune always guide and protect you. JAMES HEATH LANTZ is a freelance writer who was heavily influenced by television, film, old time radio shows, and books—especially comic books—growing up in Ohio. He’s co-authored Roy Thomas Presents Captain Video with Roy Thomas. He also wrote the introductions for Pre-Code Classics: Weird Mysteries vols. 1 and 2 and Roy Thomas Presents Sheena– Queen of the Jungle vol. 3 (PS Artbooks), self-published his Trilogy of Tales e-book (Smashwords. com), and reviews various media for Superman Homepage and Nerd Underground while serving as editor for the Fantasy Line of comics for Affinity Press. James currently lives in Italy with his wife Laura and their family of cats, dogs, a turtle, and humans from Italy, Japan, and the United States.

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by S

teven Thompson

What a Jerk! Archie’s about to become the coolest (and wettest) guy in Riverdale! Dan DeCarlo original cover art to Reggie Wise Guy Jokes #7, from the Heritage Archives, colored by Rich Fowlks. TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

For going on 75 years, Reggie Mantle is one of the longest-running, surprisingly nuanced jerks in the history of comics. Reggie exists as the dark side to Archie Andrews’ light. He was introduced way back in 1942 and shown from the beginning as a rich kid rival for Arch in sports, school, and most particularly romance. In every form of literature, every protagonist must have an antagonist, and in redheaded everyteen Archie’s case, Reggie is most definitely it. His opposite number. His Lex Luthor. His Moriarty. While Archie himself is a clear riff on radio’s Henry Aldrich and the movies’ Andy Hardy, neither of those two nice guy teens ever had a “Reggie.” Oh, there were occasional bullies and friends who tried to put something over on those high school heroes, but there was no regular character performing that all-important role that Reggie was born to fill in Riverdale. Although never known for its tight continuity, Archie Comics has kept its perennially 16- and 17-year-old

characters recognizable to each succeeding generation for three quarters of a century now. Archie Andrews is middle class, nice, friendly, helpful, a good athlete, an okay student, klutzy, love struck, a good son, and a good friend. Reggie Mantle is a good athlete, comes from a well-off but not-quite-rich family, has a definite sense of privilege, is a bit of a masher, is a world-class practical joker, and a major narcissist. What Reggie is not is a bad guy. Not really. Well … not thoroughly, anyway! “I’m proud of my reputation as a thorough nogoodnik,” he says. Through the decades, though, he’s shown over and over to have quite a bit of compassion underneath his haughty exterior. Again and again, Reggie is presented as a close friend of Archie when the two of them aren’t fighting over female affections. The two constantly insult each other much of the time, but Reggie’s mouth is most likely a way to cover up his own insecurities, something even he seems to realize sometimes. All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 63

Golden Age Grudge Mr. Mantle’s first solo series premiered late 1949: Archie’s Rival, Reggie #1 (1950 cover date). TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

YOU’RE SO VAIN

Reggie’s trademark slicked-down hair has always served as visual shorthand to the general oiliness of his personality. Puns, pranks, and practical jokes aside, he also thinks little of breaking rules, violating ethics, and flat-out cheating when he deems it necessary to serve his own ends. He is, as stated, supremely vain. He genuinely doesn’t understand why Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge— and everyone else for that matter—don’t recognize on a regular basis just how incredible he is. One other girl that Reggie has been shown to have some genuine affection for is Midge Klump, the shorthaired brunette normally seen in a somewhat dominant/submissive relationship with Big Moose Mason. In spite of the fact that he knows he’s likely to get clobbered by Moose if he so much as looks at Midge, Reggie manages to skirt around Moose and spend time with Midge on a fairly regular basis, even though he often ends the stories black and blue when the big guy catches on. In one story, found in Archie … Archie Andrews Where Are You Comics Digest Magazine #56 (June 1988), 64 • BACK ISSUE • All-Jerks Issue

Reggie’s failed efforts to get a date with either Veronica or Betty lead him to self-evaluation. “I don’t get it,” he says. “I’m a good-looking dude, anyone can plainly see, and I’m super great company. Not to mention I have a lot of bread to lavish on the chicks, and they still turn me down. It’s flaky.” Big Ethel tells him that it’s because women are emotional creatures and he comes on too strong. Another time, it’s Betty who gets the teenage terror to take a look inside himself for some soul searching in Reggie and Me #55 (May 1972). “Did you ever ask yourself why you’re like this, Reg?” she inquires. “Why are you always ready to torpedo Archie?” This gets Reggie thinking, but he naturally thinks with his ego. He considers that he’s better than Archie when it comes to school, sports, girls, and everything else. Obliviously, he concludes, “I’m a beautiful person! Archie just isn’t in my class!” Once again secure in his wonderfulness, Reg is knocked down a peg when soft-hearted Archie offers to give him a ride home even after his earlier taunting. There must actually be something okay about him, though, because Betty and Veronica do actually go out with him fairly often, although sometimes seemingly just as a consolation prize to the one who doesn’t get to go out with Archie. On these occasions, he can sometimes come across less a date than a partner-incrime, helping Betty get Archie away from Ronnie so he himself can move in on her or helping Ronnie get her oft-desired “revenge” on Archie for dating Betty! One such example of the former can be found in Life with Archie #214 (June 1980), wherein Reggie schemes with his beautiful blonde friend to get Archie and Veronica to pay more attention to them by essentially ignoring Archie and Veronica and being all lovey-dovey to each other. When Archie asks Betty to the prom, she accidentally scuttles their success by excitedly exclaiming, “Reggie! Your scheme worked!” Archie and Veronica are not amused. In Archie’s Pals ’n’ Gals #114 (June 1977), Reggie declares a truce with Archie so they can scheme together to get rid of a new rival for Veronica’s arm and time. Archie doesn’t trust Reggie, though—and with good reason—and the mismatched pair betray each other and end up making Ron want to spend time with her new suitor … even though she had planned on not seeing him anymore! “Reggie’s a very handy guy to have in the writer’s toolbox,” says veteran Riverdale chronicler Craig Boldman. “Depending on the needs of the plot, he handily covers the bases from ‘just one of the gang,’ ‘foil,’ ‘rival,’ ‘enemy,’ all the way to ‘black-hearted evil villain.’ ”

HEART OF DARKNESS

In fact, in the Silver Age period when the whole gang was portrayed as campy superheroes, Reggie was a green-suited anti-hero called Evilheart, again, as always, in direct counterpoint to Archie’s Pureheart. This incarnation of Reggie has also returned in the occasional superhero revivals beginning in the 1980s.

Superfan Jaimie Weinman adds, “He also teaches us that people don’t fall neatly into hero and villain categories like they do in superhero comics.” At times, Reggie can be an out-and-out bully. There was one Silver Age story where he bound and gagged Archie to a chair in his own home and left to take over his captive’s date with Veronica. Surprisingly, no jail time ensued. Most of the time, though, Mr. Mantle is more the loudmouthed, practical-joking prankster who plants a tack or a whoopee cushion in Mr. Weatherbee’s chair. In one early Bronze Age example of such pranks (Archie #219, July 1972), Reggie calmly places a sign outside an area of the high school where Archie is bouncing a ball. The sign reads, “No Ball Playing,” which naturally prompts Principal Weatherbee to give Archie detention. Not content with that, however, Reggie comes up with a second sign that he hangs on the detention room door just long enough for Archie to spot it—“Closed for Painting. Use Room 302.” With no Archie present in detention as far as he can see, Mr. Weatherbee has no choice but to punish our hero even more! Reg can’t resist showing Arch his newfound skills as a sign-maker, which leads to a steamed Archie purposely ignoring the next sign he sees—a real one that says “Please Use Other Exit.” After he opens the door and knocks over a ladder and the painter who was on it, he ends up getting in even more trouble! Two weeks’ detention! In a slightly more extreme example of Reggie’s insatiable need to succeed at any cost, “Wave Knave,” found in Laugh #307 (Oct. 1976), finds him actually stealing resident genius Dilton’s newly invented electronically stabilized surfboard, using it to win a surfing contest, and then destroying it right in front of Dilton and Archie. Karma strikes quickly as his prize

is an all-expense-paid trip to Hawaii, where he will be expected to recreate his amazing surfing feats on 30-foot waves! Dilton, of course, has no intention of building a replacement board and Archie’s second-prize win turns out to be enough cash to date both Betty and Ronnie for a month! Dilton may have been the smartest boy in school, but Reggie often found ways to take advantage of those smarts! In Archie and Friends #5 (Aug. 1993), for example, Dilton invents a matchmaking computer and all the gang agree to see with whom it matches them up. Catching wind of Dilton’s own crush on one Etta Fishburg, Reggie literally blackmails him into making prankish matchups—except for his own with Ms. Lodge, of course. Thus Archie is matched with Big Ethel, Betty with Moose, and Midge with Jughead … .at least until the machine legitimately ties Etta and Dilton, leaving no more reason for Dilton to keep Reggie’s secret, and everyone else out for blood.

Super-Silliness (right) The enmity between the teens continued during the Camp Craze of the ’60s, with Reggie as Evilheart to Archie’s Pureheart. Cover to Reggie and Me #20 (Oct. 1966) by Bill Vigoda and an uncredited inker. (left) An ego-gagdriven 1974 cover. TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

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In Archie #233 (Mar. 1974), yet another misguided attempt at swaying Ronnie away from Archie has Reggie challenging our hapless hero to a duel … using karate! As with many other forms of athletics, Reggie just happens to be an “expert.” In order to demonstrate his prowess as he chooses his “weapons,” Reg chops a “Road Closed” barrier sign in half. Public property means little to a true egotist. Jughead offers to be Archie’s second, but Archie, of course, suffers rolling panic attacks at the very thought of being chopped up by his opponent. When the morning arrives, though, trusty sidekick Jughead has enlisted Big Moose to be the impartial referee, and Moose’s demonstrations of illegal moves take the cocky Reggie out of the game before it even starts. Just two issues later, it’s a whole different story. In Archie #235 (June 1974), we find both Archie and Reggie actually making fun of the ever-quirky Jughead to the point where he becomes outright depressed. The boys defend their actions as innocent “ribbing,” leading Betty to declare, “They have all the sensitivity of a bag of wet socks!” When it looks as though the dejected and insulted Jug plans on shipping out on a tramp steamer, though, the boys grovel in apology and offer to treat him to any restaurant in town! “No foolin’?” he asks. “For a best friend, what else?” replies Reggie uncharacteristically. The pair is stuck with the offer even after the whole thing turns out to be a series of misunderstandings.

“HIS OWN WORST ENEMY”

From time to time, in fact, Jughead pranks Reggie just for the heck of it. In Jughead #259 (Mar. 1976), it’s a request from teacher Miss Grundy to water her plants that leads to Jug tormenting Reggie all day at school with water gags one right after another, for which Reggie gets the blame. Leaving for home at the end of the day, Reggie is left behind in detention while Jug tells Miss Grundy, who inadvertently started it all, “I’m not too talented in many areas, Miss G., but when it comes to watering things, I’m good.” Throughout the Bronze Age, Reggie is continually shown to be adept at various sports, games, and other activities, even when he doesn’t have to cheat. Along with his oftshown prowess on the basketball court and on

Still Stuck on Himself Cover to the 2016 collection, Archie 75 Series #5: Reggie and Me. TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

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the football field, we see him swimming, surfing, sailing, bowling, arm wrestling, boxing, weightlifting, ice-boat gliding, playing tennis, Kung-Fu fighting, cross-country running, and even playing Frisbee! When he tries to use these skills against Archie, though, he once again becomes—as Archie calls him more than once—his own worst enemy. Still, when push came to shove, Arch was often there for Reg, such as in Archie at Riverdale High #3 (Oct. 1972) where Reggie is on his best behavior hanging out at the beach with the whole gang. Everyone gets carried away with excitement, though, and Reggie ends up cramping up in the water and going under. It’s Archie to the rescue to save Reggie from drowning. Reggie even learns the important lesson of respecting the ocean! (Off topic: Why and how is there an ocean in what’s supposed to be a middle-American small town named RIVERdale? Discuss.) Way back in the Silver Age’s Archie #137 (June 1963) there’s yet another story in which Reggie has schemed Archie out of a date with Veronica. In this particular case, however, Jughead and Archie manage to turn things around by purposely setting up Reg for potentially lethal accidents so that Archie can jump in and save him. After several of these situations, an incredulous Reggie says, “Golly ... and after the way I treated you!” Archie nonchalantly replies, “We hero types don’t hold grudges.” Although an absolutely integral part of the gang in his frenemy role, the company’s attempts to give him his own title never seem to last. Archie’s Rival, Reggie debuted in 1950. The original ad stated, “Yes, Archie’s archrival, Reggie, is coming out in his own comic book. Get your copy of Reggie Comics and follow the hilarious antics of that teasing, tormenting, inimitable Reggie!” The mag lasted only 14 issues over a four-year period. A decade later, in 1963, a brief revival as just plain Reggie didn’t even last that long. It was continued after a ninemonth break as Reggie and Me, his longest-running title. Reggie’s “Wise Guy” Jokes and Reggie’s Revenge were two other series spotlighting Mr. Mantle, but apparently fans just weren’t thrilled supporting a character with such a consistently negative image. That iconic bad-boy image was softened a bit over time, though. Even his slicked-back hair was made wavy for a while when Harry Lucey served as his barber ... err ... artist in the early to mid-1970s. It’s been said a number of times that Reggie went through more new hairstyles than Veronica in an attempt to find a modern look that worked, but, out of fashion or not, he always returned to the tried and true oily look eventually.

Boldman says, “Reggie is wide but not too deep. He’s one of those characters that falls apart if you try to humanize him too much.” From 1989–1991, the Jetsons-style Archie 3000 series presented tales of a super-scientific Riverdale of the future and, as ever, Reggie Mantle 3000 was along for the ride and just as vain and smarmy as his presentday version. Archie 1 was another series that ran in various titles, this one showing the Riverdale gang in vaguely Flintstones-like tales with Reggie already the schnook of the gang.

TO RIVERDALE AND BACK AGAIN

Beginning in the early 1960s, there have been several attempts at turning the Archiverse into a television franchise, but as of this writing the only success has come via the (barely) animated versions that spun off the Archies’ real-world hit records. In 1978, there was a musical live-action pilot that featured actor Mark Winkworth—who had played John Quincy Adams in TV’s prestigious The Adams Chronicles—as Reggie. Perhaps the best attempt, though, was To Riverdale and Back Again, a TV movie that aired in 1990. This time, though, it was a well-reviewed, well-received, realistic updating featuring Archie and all his “pals ’n’ gals” as grown-ups. Similar in a way to the later Life with Archie magazine stories, the concept was that our old familiar friends were finding themselves having to deal with adult issues. The plot revolved around the Riverdale High 15Year Class Reunion, where big-time lawyer Archie Andrews introduces his fiancée Pam to his old chums. Jughead is now a psychiatrist, Ronnie a much-marriedand-divorced jet setter, Betty a teacher. While he’s back in town, Archie gets involved in attempts to save Pop Tate’s Choklit Shoppe from the wrecking ball. It seems that Veronica’s tycoon dad, Hiram Lodge, has teamed with Reggie to take over the property. Some perfect casting this time out with Christopher Rich as Archie, the late Sam Whipple as a surprisingly affecting Jughead, and former Saturday Night Live star Gary Kroeger appropriately slimy as Reggie. In an interview for this article, Kroeger (as of this writing running for Congress in Iowa) says, “I read Archie comics enough to know the premise and characters, but I was far from an avid fan. More or less, I knew them from Saturday morning cartoons and the synth-pop creation of the Archies. ‘Sugar, Sugar’ was a bonafide hit, even though it was far from my cup of tea. I always got a kick out of the fact that Reggie was always an antagonist, but when it came to the band he was just another goofy member.” Archie Comics put out a 68-page adaptation of the movie that featured moody, ultra-realistic art by former Marvel superstar Gene Colan alongside flashback sequences by Stan Goldberg, all beneath a John Byrne cover. It was an offbeat, impressive package, but ultimately no series materialized from the one-off show. Kroeger’s ultimate take on what would have been his character had a series emerged? “Reggie was arrogant and appeared shallow because his priority was to be popular by defeating everyone else. Obviously, that made him less popular. He was vain, but ultimately, like people I know in real life, just a manifestation of insecurity in need of friendship. If the Archie series has a particularly enduring and endearing quality, it’s that the gang included

him regardless. They considered him a friend even with his flaws.” Longtime Archie writer and historian Paul Castiglia has a similar take when he tells this author, “Irrepressible prankster Reggie is the wild card in Riverdale’s deck. Though endlessly bedeviled by him, Archie and his friends wouldn’t have it any other way!” And that about sums him up. In the end, we all have our roles to play, and Reggie fits his to the proverbial T. One can never fully appreciate the light (Archie) without being also familiar with the dark (Reggie). STEVEN THOMPSON is Booksteve of Booksteve’s Library (http:// booksteveslibrary.blogspot.com) and a dozen other blogs. He has written for Fantagraphics, TwoMorrows, Yoe Books, Bear Manor Media, and Time Capsule Productions. In 2015, he published Lost Girl in collaboration with Land of the Lost star Kathy Coleman.

Reggie, Live Promo for the 1990 TV movie, Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again. A new TV version of Archie, the weekly series Riverdale, premieres on the CW on October 3, 2016. TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc.

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Crazy Magazine debuted in October 1973, published by Marvel Comics. It was a deliberate attempt to emulate the success of other humor magazines, namely MAD and National Lampoon. Editor Marv Wolfman remembers, “Stan Lee wanted it to be more MAD/Cracked, where I wanted it more Lampoon. We sort of split the difference.” The mascot on the cover of the first issue was an unnamed, sad little character sporting yellow (later black) clothing and a black hat with a red band. He was depressing a plunger to blow up the logos of the aforementioned humor magazines, as well as those of Cracked and Sick thrown in for good measure. The cover was painted by the great Frank Kelly Freas. During these early issues of Crazy, the unnamed character was shown in similarly gloomy situations, alternately painted by Freas and also by Nick Cardy. Cardy’s rendition showed the character less gloomy and more mischievous. By issue #9 (Feb. 1975), the character was finally given a name and was the star of his own interior feature called “The Nebbish,” written by Wolfman and drawn by Marie Severin. Portrait by Michael Netzer. As far as the original Crazy mascot went, there never was any flack from MAD in regard to the similarity in his design with that of the Nebbish character on the cover and in “The Shadow” story in MAD #4 (Apr.–May 1953), according to later Crazy editor Larry Hama. Late in 1975, a major overhaul occurred at Crazy. Original editor Wolfman and follow-up editor Steve Gerber were reassigned to other comics (Tomb of Dracula and Howard the Duck, respectively) and the editorial reins of Crazy were handed over to Paul Laikin, who revamped the Nebbish as Irving Nebbish and made him a more happy-go-lucky character, with covers now painted by Bob Larkin. By 1979, Crazy sales figures were in trouble and Laikin was soon replaced as editor by Larry Hama. Hama’s intent was to turn Crazy around and make it more daring the way it was in the title’s earliest issues by adding more racy content and new recurring articles. One of those recurring articles was a two-page feature called “Obnoxio the Clown Fun Page,” which made its

Put On a Happy Face Obnoxio lights up the cover of The Comic Reader #190 (Apr. 1981). Cover art by the late, and missed, Alan Kupperberg. Art scans for this article courtesy of Mark Arnold. Obnoxio TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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by M a r k

Arnold

Clowns Just Wanna Have Fun “Obnoxio the Clown Fun Page” by Virgil Diamond and Alan Kupperberg, from Crazy Magazine #63 (June 1980). TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

debut in issue #63 (June 1980). The first appearance was a two-page spread written by Virgil Diamond and drawn by Alan Kupperberg, signed December 1979. Recalled Kupperberg in an interview with Kevin Garcia in 2009, “Larry Hama created Obnoxio and drew the first pictures of him. I don’t know if these were ever printed, but I do not think so. As the editor, the creation of an acceptable mascot was his prerogative. Obnoxio is an excellent example of Larry Hama’s sense of humor, which I dig. I suppose, part of why he chose me to be Obnoxio’s Godfather. “Obnoxio’s first appearance was in a one-panel illustration to accompany a subscription ad in Crazy, written by Larry and calling for likenesses of P. T. Barnum and Marcy Tweed among others,” Kupperberg continued. “This was right up my alley, so I pulled the reference and really went to town, doing a very nice half-tone illo. I think the piece impressed Larry quite a bit, because if my memory is correct, Larry left me strictly alone on anything and everything Obnoxio the Clown-related. Once he realized that I knew what he wanted, he knew that here was x-number of pages that he did not have to worry about in every issue.” Little is known about writer Virgil Abuse column and answered all the Diamond, but Larry Hama sets the letters in Crazy.” record straight for BACK ISSUE: “Virgil Obnoxio proved to be so popular Diamond is a real person. He was a high within the pages of Crazy that he school English teacher in Brooklyn. eventually started appearing on the I heard from him a few years ago covers beginning with #69 (Dec. 1980), when he retired. He really labored but not everyone was enamored with on those pages and was constantly © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. the character, as evidenced by the fussing with them.” By issue #65 (Aug. 1980), Obnoxio headlined hate mail printed in issue #75 (June 1981). When asked his own “Obnoxio the Clown for Prez Straw Poll whether Obnoxio’s presence helped or hurt Crazy’s Contest,” with results appearing in issue #69 (Dec. sales, Hama says, “Well, sales didn’t go down.” Larry Hama comments about his creation of 1980). Meanwhile, the “Fun Page” continued to appear in every all-new issue of Crazy, appearing in #63, 65, 66, Obnoxio: “I did a design drawing, basing his face on 68, 69, 71, 72, 74, 75, and 77–94. Strangely, the feature Allen Milgrom, who had the office next door. I figured was called “Obnoxio the Clown Fun Page” until issue if we ever needed to have a live Obnoxio, we had #69, even though it was always two pages. There was somebody who could play him right there. “I thought the old mascot was too ‘nebbishy.’ I wanted also a “This is My Favorite Picture of the Month” feature within the feature that printed reader submissions, somebody proactive, and somebody who actually had usually lousy ones so that Obnoxio could comment a voice, unlike all the other humor magazine mascots.” The Nebbish also continued to appear usually in just negatively about the art. Issue #68 (Nov. 1980) saw the debut of “Obnoxio’s a stock image of him pointing and giggling at the action Abuse Column,” where readers would voluntarily write on the cover. It was obvious that Obnoxio was going to in letters to get abusive responses from the clown. take over as cover mascot as the covers of #71 (Feb. 1981) There is no writer credit on the feature. The column and 72 (Mar. 1981) showed Obnoxio chasing or doing also appeared in #69, 71, 72, and 74–94. Obnoxio also terrible things to the Nebbish. By issue #77 (Aug. 1981), appeared regularly in the magazine’s subscription ads the pointing Nebbish image was replaced by a small, and contest pages and even some of the Super Special scowling Obnoxio the Clown head painted by Bob inserts. Says Hama about the column, “Jim Owsley, now Larkin. This head remained on the cover throughout known as Christopher James Priest, wrote the Obnoxio the rest of Crazy’s run, through #94 (Apr. 1983).

Heeeeere’s Johnny! (inset) Marvel UK’s Frantic #10 (Dec. 1980), using the same cover that originally appeared on Crazy #69, which was Obnoxio’s first Crazy cover. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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When Mascots Meet (top left) Obnoxio and the Nebbish “team up” on this Rubik’s Cube cover to Crazy #87 (June 1982). Cover by Bob Larkin, who also painted the Obnoxio headshot by the logo. (top right) Crazy, phone home. The clown helps the mag say goodbye in its final issue, #94 (Apr. 1983), using a rejected MAD cover idea by Kupperberg. (bottom) Fun page from Obnoxio the Clown #1. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

The Nebbish made one last cover appearance on #87 (June 1982), again being tormented by the evil Obnoxio. This same issue also featured the four-page “The Origin of Obnoxio,” written and drawn by John Lakey. Hama says of Lakey, “John Lakey was an illustrator who only did one or two stories for us. I liked his artwork, but I don’t know what happened to him. I think our horribly low rates scared him away from comics in general.” Obnoxio also appeared on the cover and in the interiors of Marvel’s UK Crazy Magazine counterpart called Frantic, but these appearances were all reprints from Crazy. Obnoxio also made an appearance in an all-humor issue of What If? #34 (Aug. 1982). In this issue, single-panel and single-page gags filled the 52-page book. Obnoxio appeared as Obnoxio-Dick Tracy, Sherlock Clown, Obnoxio-Batman, Obnoxio-SpiderMan, Obnoxio-Hulk, Obnoxio-Wolverine, ObnoxioDaredevil, Obnoxio-Superman, and Obnoxio the Watcher in a one-page Kupperberg story called “What if Obnoxio the Clown Fought Crime?” The final issue of Crazy in 1983 seemed to be the last of Obnoxio, complete with a rejected MAD cover retooled with Obnoxio in place of Alfred E. Neuman, plus two extra “Obnoxio the Clown Fun Pages.” But Obnoxio had one more obnoxious trick up his sleeve that allowed him to at least afford a footnote in the history of Marvel Comics. Obnoxio teamed up with the Uncanny X-Men for a memorable Obnoxio the Clown one-shot in April 1983, titled Obnoxio the Clown vs. the X-Men on the cover. Not only were the X-Men the most popular Marvel comic stars at the time, but their continued popularity in comic books and the movies have ensured that Obnoxio will always be mentioned when doing a thorough history of the group. According to Wikipedia, “Obnoxio was portrayed as a slovenly, vulgar, cigar-puffing middle-aged man in a torn and dirty clown suit, with a dyspeptic and cynical attitude. The plot centered on Obnoxio the Clown as a villain and unlikely ally against the X-Men. He and the group, at the X-Mansion, ‘team-up’ against Eye Scream, a villain that can transform into various types of ice cream.” In fact, this bizarre notoriety has led to at least two instances of belated Obnoxio merchandise, not counting the Obnoxio the Clown T-shirts worn by two pretty girls named Stacey and Gretchen in Crazy #72 (Mar. 1981) and again in #76 (July 1981). When Marvel Comics created a trading card series in 1991 70 • BACK ISSUE • All-Jerks Issue

that featured the covers of various Marvel first issues, Obnoxio the Clown #1 was included. Also in 1991, Obnoxio appeared in the latter-day Marvel humor title What The--?! #13 (July 1991), in an eight-page story called “Obnoxio the Clown and the Pulverizer,” and again in #24 (Dec. 1992), in a eightpage story called “House of Whacks!” Both were by Kupperberg. In 1992, android replicas of Obnoxio the Clown appeared as enemies throughout the Wolverine levels of the Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade’s Revenge video game from Super Nintendo. Also in 1992, though he was not seen, Obnoxio was briefly mentioned in the game Marvel: Avengers Alliance. In the game, it was stated that Obnoxio had been murdered by the Circle of Eight. In 2000, in the alternate reality depicted in the Doctor Doom: The Chaos Trilogy novels, written by Steven A. Roman, Obnoxio had a popular slapstick comedy show. Like anything on television, the show was approved by Dr. Doom’s administration. More recently, in 2013, Obnoxio was included in a series of Heroclix figurines. Larry Hama had nothing to do with the one-shot and the later figurine. Obnoxio also appeared in episode #25 of Marvel Super Heroes: What The--?! Obnoxio The Clown Returns!!, an online video series similar to Robot Chicken featuring action figures of Marvel characters saying outrageous things. In 2014, Obnoxio made a cameo appearance in the animated series Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. animated series episode “Fear Itself,” voiced by John DiMaggio (Bender on Futurama). According to a Wikipedia description, “The Agents of S.M.A.S.H. receive old television signals including a TV show starring Obnoxio, which freaks A-Bomb out. He somewhat appears later in the episode as an part of an illusion caused by the Null that releases people’s fears where Null unleashes this illusion on A-Bomb.” On June 12, 2015, I contacted Alan Kupperberg about Obnoxio and asked, “I just got the assignment from BACK ISSUE to do an article on Obnoxio the Clown, believe it or not! I was wondering if you would like to answer a few questions about it. Also, let me know if you’ve answered questions elsewhere like an earlier BACK ISSUE or The Comic Reader about the character. I’m also reaching out to Larry Hama, whom I’ve interviewed before as well. Thank you in advance for your time.” Kupperberg responded, “Sure, I’d love to talk about OTC. It’ll have to be a written interview because I’m recovering from pneumonia and my voice is ‘gone.’ But, yes, with pleasure.” I replied, “That’s fine. I just got the assignment, so give me a couple days to cobble together questions. I was (and am) a huge Crazy fan, so I will try to ask some good questions. Actually, I meant a couple of weeks as I am in the process of moving.” This was my last correspondence to Alan. I did move in June and Alan unfortunately passed away on July 16, 2015. Fortunately, Larry Hama came to the rescue and answered my questions. Kupperberg, in an interview with Lex Carson from BACK ISSUE #39 (Apr. 2010), did discuss Obnoxio, and comparisons to a later character called Frenchy done for

the “Evil Clown Comics” feature in later issues of National Lampoon. “No, I didn’t create either character,” he said. “Larry Hama, the editor of Crazy Magazine, created and did the first drawings of Obnoxio. Nick Bakay, of course, invented Frenchy. I created Frenchy visually. I think Frenchy was created in 1988. Obnoxio predates Frenchy by nine or ten years. “As far as I’m concerned, they just have different faces and outfits. Their attitude is essentially the same, except that Obnoxio the Clown, having been for Marvel Comics, had to be appropriate for the people that read that material. And Lampoon allowed a harsher, filthier outlook on life, and I enjoyed that.” Carson asked Kupperberg about the Obnoxio the Clown one-shot where Kupperberg wrote, illustrated, colored and lettered the entire issue. “I could do it and the editor said, ‘Okay.’ I always asked to do as much as I could on every job.” Eventually, Kupperberg and Marvel parted ways. Kupperberg reflected, “I think it was as much that Marvel lost its passion for my work as anything else. When the Shooter regime self-destructed and Tom DeFalco came in, he didn’t seem to have much use for me. I was not in that clique or claque. A lot of guys my age can’t get arrested. I’m very good at what I’m good at. I know what I’m doing. I certainly think of myself as a professional and a good storyteller. But the finished product and people’s responses to it are personal taste.”

One Shot is All You Get (inset) Alan Kupperberg’s cover to the mutantmaniacal Obnoxio the Clown #1 (Apr. 1983). (above) Can you spot Obnoxio on Alex Ross’ Marvel Secret Wars #1 cover? TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Is this the end of Obnoxio? Since Alex Ross included Obnoxio on the cover of a recent Secret Wars issue and the clown ended up in Secret Wars: Official Handbook of the Marvel Multiverse #1 in 2015, there may be an obnoxious future after all… MARK ARNOLD is a comic-book and animation historian with over seven books to his credit. He is currently working on a book about Dennis the Menace for BearManor Media.

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The Death of Superman was mere months away. Knightfall, and the breaking of the Bat, were not far behind that. Emerald Twilight, which would see the Hal Jordan Green Lantern go mad and destroy his hometown of Coast City, would arrive in 1994. Yet even in 1992, fun comics were getting hard to find. Despite this, plotter/penciler Keith Giffen released the Ambush Bug Nothing Special that August and one month later, a comic featuring a brand-new character: The Heckler. It was a series chock full of physical humor, running gags, and a healthy dose of crimefighting—not at all what readers of DC Comics at the time were expecting, but that’s exactly what they got. In other words, a fun comic.

WHAT’S UP, DOC?

This new creation, which lay somewhere between the anything-goes lunacy of Giffen’s Ambush Bug and a more mainstream super-title, proved to have roots that could be traced back to DC parent company Warner Bros.’ illustrious animated past. Giffen explains, “I had a jones for a specific character DC was publishing, but knew the way I’d have handled said character would have been … let’s say, off-putting to DC. So, I came up with a superhero version of the character. A superhero Bugs Bunny.” Giffen then adds, “From there on, the weirdness just kept growing and growing, and I for one could not have been more pleased.” Co-scripter Tom Bierbaum recalls, “I never consciously imitated the animated wabbit (and didn’t realize that was part of Keith’s approach until a few issues in), but it worked well for me because Bugs is one of my all-time favorite characters.” Bierbaum, along with his wife Mary, who had both worked with Giffen on Legion of Super-Heroes, were brought on board as scripters of The Heckler. Giffen tells it thusly: “Tom and Mary and I had enjoyed working the LSH together, so it just made sense to reel them in. Oh, and the fact that the Flying Buttress character came from an off-the-cuff comment made by Mary just proved how right I was in insisting they dialogue the book.” Tom Bierbaum explains his and Mary’s contribution to the creative process: “As with the Legion, Keith really did the vast majority of the creating of the universe and the overall storyline, and then tossed it to us to come up with some key elements, and then write the dialogue. Because this comic had to be funny, the demands on us as scripters were rather daunting, and I like to think we came through pretty well.” This new creation sports a unique costume, which features a yellow mask covering the entire head. Said mask also sports a prominent white grin. The torso is covered in a ha-ha motif. Tom Bierbaum says of the costume, “Though the Heckler uniform has ‘ha-ha-ha’ all over it, you’ll note he never actually laughs that way. Keith made it clear we were not to use ‘Ha-Ha’s’ in the dialogue in part because they’re kind of a trademark of the Creeper.” The Heckler possesses no extraordinary powers. In fact, the character rarely uses violence in any form to subdue his foes. Instead, his modus operandi seems to be to let loose a double-barreled barrage of insults against those he comes up against—not at all your typical crimefighter. So, in the summer of 1992, the Heckler, his alter ego Stu Mosely, and his home of Delta City were unleashed on an unsuspecting comic-reading public, who had surely never seen their like before.

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by T

im A. Moen

A Superhero Bugs Bunny (top right) Keith Giffen’s inspiration for the Heckler—revealed! (below) Mary and Tom Bierbaum, dialoguers of The Heckler. Photo courtesy of Tom Bierbaum. (bottom right) House ad for The Heckler.

AIN’T HE A STINKER?

THE HECKLER #1–6

An in-depth, issue-by-issue look at the series usually comes at this point. I, however, will give brief summaries of each of the issues, but in an effort not to spoil the gags, plots, and many background jokes, will endeavor to give only the bare minimum of details, and let those who haven’t read the title, but wish to do so, enjoy it relatively spoiler-free. Issue #1 (Sept. 1992), entitled, appropriately enough, “Our First Issue,” kicks off the series at a Dozens O’ Donuts store in the berg known as Delta City. The opening scene involving Nina, a woman working the counter, a rambling old man, and in the background, Hare Krishna-types singing “Mack the Knife,” is one Tom Bierbaum believes could have set the tone for the series a bit better. As Bierbaum tells it, “In retrospect, the opening scene could have been a little broader and more accessible, but it did give readers a good sense of the off-kilter world they were entering.” Stu appears, and the story kicks into gear. Readers meet recurring characters Boss Glitter, a crimelord, and Ledge, Stu’s aide and the only one who knows he’s the Heckler. We are also introduced to the diner Stu is part owner of, the name of which changes on its sign each issue, but according an irate Stu, is supposed to be called EATS. Boss Glitter sends El Gusano (Spanish for worm) to take over his beachside territory, the previous goon to run it having been taken down by Heckler. This leads to a confrontation between El Gusano and the Heckler, All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 73

Move Over, Obnoxio… …the Cosmic Clown is in town! (left) Original cover art to The Heckler #3 (Nov. 1992), by Giffen and Malcolm Jones III. Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). (right) Title splash from Heckler #4. Read the credits box so I don’t have to type all those names. TM & © DC Comics.

who prevails by tricking his opponent into attacking, leading to an epic fall for El Gusano. The Heckler #2 (Oct. 1992), which, going with the issue’s generic theme, has no title, sees the Heckler going up against John Doe (a.k.a. the Generic Man), who possesses the ability to turn anything he touches generic. Boss Glitter wants Doe taken out and sends Ratchet Jaw, who can literally shoot his mouth off, to accomplish this task. Doe is also being hunted by Trish, a gun-toting vigilante who wants revenge for the bad dates he took her on. Ratchet Jaw manages to escape during the melee, but Trish guns down Doe before the Heckler can stop her. This leads to a highly moralistic speech from the Heckler that places the character firmly on the side of the angels. Stu tells an unrepentant Trish, “There’s still a few of us who think justice oughta be dispensed in the courts. Not out of the barrel of a gun.” The series’ third issue (Nov. 1992), “The Heckler Meets the Cosmic Clown,” opens with a battle in space that sends a malfunctioning robot clown assassin to Delta City. The Cosmic Clown attracts the attention of Bob, an obsessed fan of the Star Trek–like series Quest Vision, and, of course, the Heckler. Bob, the Cosmic Clown, and the Heckler conveniently wind up at the circus, where Heckler disguises himself as a female clown, an act that serves to distract the robot long enough for the Heckler

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to knock its head off with a ball bat, his only act of violence against a baddie in the entire series. Next we come to my personal favorite issue of the series, #4 (Dec. 1992), “Let ’Em Make Up Their Own Stupid Title.” In the story, the Heckler decides go on a patrol of Delta City for the first time. Boss Glitter hires assassin Bushwack’r to kill the Heckler. Each increasingly elaborate attempt fails with hysterical results, à la Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. The Heckler, having no clue he’s being hounded, declares the patrol fruitless and vows never to do it again. The series’ fifth issue (Jan. 1993), “The Coming of the Four Mopeds of the Apocalypse,” begins with three unsavory characters being drawn together by signs of the impending apocalypse. They are soon joined by a fourth, and they race off on their mopeds hoping to hasten the arrival of said apocalypse. Meanwhile, Stu is on a date when the theater he and his date are in is taken over by a straw man calling himself C’est Hay. Quickly changing to the Heckler, Stu defeats him by tricking him on to the roof in the pouring rain. Elsewhere, the moped riders destroy a mystical rose in hopes of conjuring up the dreaded Nether Gods, and lo and behold, one shows up, mentioned previously by Mr. Giffen, with a name that pretty much says it all— Flying Buttress. Issue #6 (Feb. 1993), “Don’t Get Mad, Get Eaten,” concludes the title’s first (and only, since this proved to

be the final issue of the series) two-parter. Rabbi Zone and his teen sidekick Dreidel have been called by ancient prophecy to fight the Nether Gods, but instead manage to con the Heckler into doing it for them. This involves Heckler disguising himself as a giant Alka Seltzer pill and being swallowed by the Flying Buttress. He then causes it to explode by placing a patch on the rose seen in the previous issue. And so, our browbeating hero fades into the sunset as the alltoo-short-lived series comes to an end.

UNLUCKY SEVEN

This almost was not the case, however. As things stood, originally The Heckler was to have had one more issue. A solicitation for issue #7 appeared in DC’s giveaway pamphlet, Direct Currents, which promoted the company’s new titles for the month. Direct Currents #60 (for comics with March cover dates) reads, “Beware, couch potatoes; Cuttin’ Edge is invading your TV; The Heckler must stop him if Americans are to be free to stay on their butts! But Cuttin’ Edge plans to turn Heckler off, and he succeeds. The Heckler quits and reveals his deepest secret to the readers.” Though a cover was drawn by Keith Giffen, the story itself never got beyond the idea stage. As Tom Bierbaum recalls, “I do remember Keith told us to figure out a villain and plot for an upcoming Heckler issue, so we came up with Cuttin’ Edge, a crusader for edgy, avant-garde sensibilities who despises massappeal media. “We had some kind of story in mind,” Bierbaum goes on, “where he and the Heckler would duel inside some bizarre cable channel universe where Cuttin’ Edge is changing all the fluffy, mass-appeal programming into dark, cynical fare.” About the Direct Currents listing, Bierbaum says, “Based on that solicitation, it sounds like that issue was becoming our finale, though I’m not sure I was aware of that bit about the Heckler quitting and revealing his deepest secret. I don’t really remember what Keith might have had in mind, but evidentally, #6 took long enough to complete that he opted to wrap things up there.” According to Giffen, it was he who chose to wrap up the book. “Oh, yeah. It was my choice to approach DC about killing the book, not the other way around,” Giffen says. “Sales were PLUMMETING.” Which is a sad thing, in this writer’s opinion. Surely, a comic with as oddball a sensibility as The Heckler would probably never have become a huge hit, but it certainly deserved a chance to find a bigger audience. Unfortunately, the series came onto the market at the very time things began to darken greatly in the comics world. The days of the humor title were waning, taking comics like The Heckler with them. The Heckler wouldn’t disappear entirely, nor would the city he protected, thanks to creator Keith Giffen, as well as a handful of other pros who held fond memories of the series. The Book of Fate #12, released in 1998, sees the Heckler make a cameo during a scene set in Warriors Bar, sharing memories with other lesser-known heroes as well as singing “Memories are Made of These.” In 2003’s JLA: Welcome to the Working Week, the Heckler is seen with Ambush Bug and Plastic Man. He even makes an appearance in the video game Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure. Keith Giffen brings Delta City back as the hometown of the title character in 1999’s Vext. Delta City is also

partially destroyed in the Giffen-written The Doom Patrol #16 from 2011. Many years after the series’ abrupt ending, a cult of loyal fans (myself included) keeps the flame alive for the offbeat antics of the insult king of the crimefighters, many hoping in vain (at least, so far) for a collection of the series, thus introducing a whole new generation to this frequently overlooked gem. As for a revival of the character in today’s climate where publishers (especially DC) have gradually begun publishing humor comics again, I’ll let Mr. Giffen, himself, have the last word: “Nah… Been there, done that.” The author wishes to thank Keith Giffen and Tom and Mary Bierbaum for graciously sharing their memories of the Heckler, as well as Cesar Alvarez, Kari Moen, Liz Hughes, and David Sopko for their contributions to this article.

Cuttin’ Out From the collection of Cesar Alvarez, original Keith Giffen/Steve Mitchell cover art to the unpublished, unfinished Heckler #7, which was to pit the Jester for Justice against Cuttin’ Edge. TM & © DC Comics.

TIM A. MOEN has been reading comics for longer than he cares to admit. This article is his professional writing debut.

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

Find BACK ISSUE on

A THEMATIC THANK-YOU

Brian, in examining those two Avengers covers (shown below), issue #142’s guest-star-packed image definitely looks like it might have been commissioned as a Giant-Size Avengers cover.

TM & © Marvel.

Let me start by giving a big BI shout-out to reader Kyle Benning, who suggested this issue’s theme in a Facebook post … so if you hate this issue, blame Kyle! (Sorry … I’m being a jerk.) Seriously, thanks, Kyle, for the great idea! I love this theme—and so does our favorite Guy…

Those reprint issues from Marvel were always a great way to enjoy the early adventures of the teams and heroes whose current tales we were buying. The prospect of finding the original issues was, as I mentioned, a little more difficult in those days. I did, however, experience a little frustration years later when I managed to acquire the original comics and realized that pages had been left out of the reprints. Sometimes this explained some of those jumps that the reprints made that you always wondered about. All in all, though, it was nice to be able to read those stories. Some of those reprints also jumped around a little with respect to the issues they were reprinting. The index in BI makes these jumps clear. At the time they were probably released in sequence when you add in the specials and other titles. But just looking at the index you wonder how easy it was to follow the Fantastic Four when they were reprinted in Marvel’s Greatest, and the three issues appeared in Marvel Triple Action. It does make you scratch your head now. Thanks again for another great issue. – Brian Martin

BIG(LEY) ADDITION

I’d like to welcome Al Bigley’s “Confessions of a Young Bigley!: Shocking True Stories of a Young Comic Book Fan!” to our pages. If you haven’t seen Al’s blogs on Bronze Age comics and other retro stuff, check out www.albigley.com. Al’s cartoons will appear in BI from time to time whenever Karl Heitmueller, Jr’s “Prince Street News” takes a break. Karl will be back next month, though, with a Halloween spook-fest, and we’ll see Al back here again soon. Lots of fanboy toons in store for you!

GIANT-SIZE APPRECIATION

BACK ISSUE #86 was another large helping of fun articles. The feature on the Giant-Size Marvels holds a special place for me, as some of those rank among my all-time favorite comics, even though I didn’t purchase them off the rack. I came into collecting Marvel not long after the time of those books. However, I was able to pick up those issues not long afterwards. Or at least most of them. Strangely, Giant-Size Avengers #3 and Giant-Size Defenders #4 were books I did not see until later. Back in the days before Internet stores, sometimes these comics were a little hard to find. When I eventually started buying comics by mail order I was able to fill in a lot of holes. A lot of those Giant-Size issues had very entertaining stories, but I think the Defenders and especially the Avengers issues stand out since they featured the same writers as the regular features and were incorporated into the storylines being told in the monthly titles. For those of us who enjoy longer stories, they just provided us with more of what we loved each month. The only thing I can think of that was missing from the article was any mention of the fact that Avengers #141 was supposed to be continued into Giant-Size Avengers #6, but instead the story was spread out over #142 and 143 when the Giant-Size books were discontinued. This is mentioned in issue #141’s letters page. 76 • BACK ISSUE • All-Jerks Issue

BTW, regular readers recognize Brian Martin’s name as one of BI’s most consistent letterhacks. He’s about to become a BACK ISSUE writer, having just delivered an in-depth history of Justice Machine, which will appear in January’s BI #94, our “Indie Superheroes” issue. Welcome, Brian!

HOW TO PERK UP A MARVEL COVER

Thanks for the latest BACK ISSUE, which features so much of my past. Even the cover brought back memories, because one of the Stan Lee memos I saved from my Bullpen days had him using Giant-Size Marvel Triple Action #1 to explain to the staff how to make covers more exciting. Don’t know whether you ever saw that old post of mine, so here it is: www.scottedelman.com/2011/03/11/stan-lee-explains-how-tomake-a-dull-comic-book-cover-exciting/ Keep up the great work! – Scott Edelman Thanks, Scott! For a great behind-the-scenes look, I recommend that our readers check out Scott’s link above.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO COUNT DANTÉ?

Just finished BI #86: another Marvel-ous nostalgia-fest! This issue took longer than usual to read thanks to all those great trivia-filled indexes. Yours is a mag I read from cover to cover, as even articles that might not seem to appeal to my particular tastes can yield fascinating info. For example, the feature on the Marvel Special Edition reprints of the ’80s … these weren’t titles I bothered with at the time, but the anecdotes by Terry Austin and Al Milgrom are

TM & © Marvel.

the kind of behind-the-scenes stories that I love reading about! Whoever would have thought that a mag solely devoted to reprints would be so interesting? (Although, to be fair, you’d already proved as much with the DC-centric #81.) Anyway, the main reason I’m writing this time is Roger Stern’s comment on page 8 about the many reprints of the story “Mister Morgan’s Monster.” This little aside made the issue for me! Way back in 1975, having started me off with the Marvel UK B&W comics, my Nan decided it was time to wean me onto the onto the real color stuff, so she gave me my first ever US Marvel (albeit a pence copy), Weird Wonder Tales #10, and it’s lead tale was … you guessed it! This story has stayed with me because of this (and probably its great alliterative title). However, my six-year-old self was more fascinated by a couple of other things in that reprint issue: One was Ditko’s “When the Totem Walks!” I wouldn’t have seen his Spidey work at that point, so this issue was also my introduction to this master of the mystery strip, and I’ve always found his creepy yarn to be the highpoint of any similar anthology he appears in (sorry, Jack and Don!). The other thing that got me in that ish was the ad for Count Danté and his Black Dragon Fighting Society—what a scary-looking dude! If you ever completely exhaust every aspect of the stories and art to write about, and decide to do an issue devoted to the ads, please include an article on the Count—I bet he’s indelibly inked on the psyches of a lot of readers of my age … I just hope he lived up to the ad in real life! I’m really looking forward to BI #88—bring on the B&W mags! – Steve Smith London, England Steve, your letter made me curious about Count Danté—“The Deadliest Man Alive”—so I Googled him. Unfortunately, he’s no longer with us—he died way back in 1975. He was the son of a physician and socialite who also at one time was arrested for attempted arson. If you’d like to learn more about his life and colorful career, check out The Search for Count Danté, by filmmaker Floyd Webb, at thesearchforcountdante. com. We’re eventually going to do a Kung Fu issue of BI— would anyone else like to see a Count Danté article in this mag? In the meantime, here’s another look at that ad (offer no longer valid).

A MARVEL HISTORY LESSON

I got this issue [BI #86] in my digital subscription and burned through it so quickly. The article on the reprints was great. I learned my Marvel history through books like Marvel’s Greatest Comics. The Giant-Size article was fascinating. Those books finished their run about a year before I started reading them. They looked so good and were just out of reach. The story of their shaky start made for a good article! – Robert Nunez, via Facebook

CARPENTER COMMENTS

I’ve just started flipping through the new issue and it looks like it’s going to be an amazing read. There’s an omission in the rundown of Marvel movie and TV adaptations that also appeared as paperbacks. There was a second, and apparently hard-to-find, Battlestar Galactica paperback which reprinted issues #4–6 of the regular book. That was the two-part adaptation of TV’s “Lost Planet of the Gods” [“The Lost Gods of Kobol”] and the first all-new adventure of the four-color Colonial Warriors: “The Memory Machine.” Marvel’s unusual license only granted them access to characters and situations in the first five broadcast hours (the pilot and “Lost Planet”), which forced the creative team to take the comic-book quest for Earth in some very different directions starting with the sixth outing. It would be great to see a BACK ISSUE devoted to the long line of movie and TV adaptations over the years—including oddities like The Incredible Hulk Poster Magazine, based on the Universal show. It has a brief photostory adaptation of Ken Johnson’s pilot. Thanks for (re)introducing me to do many great comics! – Jon Carpenter Hello again. I owe you an apology—the second Battlestar Galactic volume is, of course, listed on the same line as the first. I was looking for a separate entry. It did, however, get me thinking about other topics I’d like to see BI cover … although I think some might fall outside your temporal remit. I’d like to see a “Failed Universe” issue covering the various shared universes that different publishers tried. That would include the New Universe, the Malibu Ultraverse, and the Marvel UK-verse (Death’s Head II and numerous other titles often with “Death” in the title). I’d also like to see something on the boom of comics based animation in the early 1990s. It really did seem like the young pretenders were muscling in to media territory that All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 77

A REPEAT READ

Just picked up this issue and, as per usual, I loved it. Thank you for creating a magazine that I can read again and again and again. Heck, I’d read reprint issues of BACK ISSUE if I didn’t already have them all! – Craig Byrne, via Facebook

TV-DRIVEN PAPERBACKS

You did a wonderful job on BACK ISSUE #86—a fine companion to BI #81! Thank you for caring enough to cover these reprint subjects—always my favorite purchases! I stopped buying DCs when the New 52 arrived, but I enjoy the occasional 100-Page reprints they do like the recent Darkseid [see inset] and Teen Titans books. I wish Marvel would do more of this … I bought the Night Nurse and Blade entries when they came out. I was surprised to be reminded how the Marvel paperback reprints

78 • BACK ISSUE • All-Jerks Issue

Here’s the reason why the Haunt of Horror digest lasted only two issues: It had been roughly 20 years since Marvel/Atlas/Timely attempted a pulp digest (I believe the last one was Marvel Science Stories, which ended in 1952 or 1953), so Marvel didn’t quite know what the current prose digest market was like. As a result, the print run for Haunt of Horror was set at the same level as Analog, the bestselling SF digest at that time. What Marvel didn’t know was that Analog was one of the few SF/fantasy/horror digests doing well—long-established titles like Worlds of If, Galaxy, Amazing Stories, and Fantastic Stories were struggling. Even a 1973 relaunch of Weird Tales, probably the most famous pulp title of them all, only lasted six bimonthly issues before dying. After the second issue of Haunt of Horror was released, sales figures for the first issue came in, and the returns were enormous. The book was canceled immediately and Marvel never entered the pulp-fiction market again. There actually wouldn’t be a new successful title from anyone until Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction came along in 1978. – Mark Drummond There seems to be a mystery about the Giant-Size Marvels that nobody’s brought up yet. The Silver Surfer/Spider-Man issue of Giant-Size Spider-Man mentioned in The Comic Reader was also announced in FOOM #7 (Sept. 1974), but FOOM assigned it to the never-published G-S S-M #7. At that point, no Giant-Size titles had switched to reprints yet. The last issues of the Giant-Size titles for Avengers, Conan, Fantastic Four, and X-Men were reprints, but the stories announced for them appeared in their main titles (except for Conan, where his appeared in the Savage Sword of Conan

Thanks Ross. I hope you find a copy of the elusive (and sold out) BI #61, too. BTW, there’s a Night Nurse history coming to BACK ISSUE next year… To clue in readers on your mention of my ’60s book— and to shamelessly plug it, as well—its title is Hero-A-GoGo: Campy Comic Books, Crimefighters, and Culture of the Swinging Sixties, my love letter to my childhood (and maybe yours, too). If you grew up with Metamorpho, Captain Action, Jan and Dean Meet Batman, Captain Nice, the Mighty Heroes, the Monkees, and Fatman the Human Flying Saucer, Hero-A-Go-Go is the book for you! It comes out this winter, from TwoMorrows.

You’ve made some great suggestions for future coverage, Jon. The “Failed Universe” idea is interesting (although the participating publishers might appreciate a more flattering adjective). I do plan to devote a full issue to Malibu’s Ultraverse, however, and that might happen as early as early 2018 (that may not sound “early” to you, but all of 2016’s and 2017’s issues are already mapped out, up to BI #100). There will be a look at Bronze Age fanzines in the future (Comics Scene, BTW, was remembered by Bob Grenberger in BI #88). Star Trek appeared in BI #5 and 23, so despite this being the 50th anniversary, don’t expect a visit to the Enterprise this year. There was a short article about Marvel’s Battlestar Galactica in BI #89, our “Adaptations” issue, and you’ll find the front and back covers of that Marvel BG paperback below. And we need to add DC’s V to our to-do list!

of 1977–1978 were so TV-driven: two Dr. Strange and only one FF, for example. I had every book you discussed but never saw Dr. Strange vol. 2! I look forward to your coverage of the Marvel ’70s black-andwhite line, as well as your forthcoming book on the ’60s! I hope this year is full of joy, success, and happiness for you and your family. I also hope I find a hard copy of BACK ISSUE #61 this year!! – Ross Sprout

Haunt of Horror digest #2. TM &

Marvel and DC must have assumed was theirs … and the upstarts seemed to be better at selling their wares to willing broadcasters than the old guard. A history of fanzines and pro-zines (another 1990s boom area … although it seems generational with the Wizard clan replacing Amazing Heroes and CI from a decade earlier) would be fascinating. And, expanding on my original point on film and TV adaptations, I’d like to see articles on the various Trek runs, Marvel’s Battlestar, and DC’s V. Thanks again for a fascinating issue! – Jon Carpenter

magazine). Stories prepared for unannounced/unpublished Giant-Size issues of Master of Kung Fu, Champions, Inhumans, Invaders, and Guardians of the Galaxy also appeared in their main titles. As for Giant-Size Spider-Man, I find it very unlikely that an all-reprint issue was intended to appear between #5 and the proposed new story in #7. So, what was intended to appear in Giant-Size Spider-Man #6? Neither FOOM nor The Comic Reader mention the issue at any point, but it’s my guess that the story from #6 appeared as Marvel Team-Up #39–40. My evidence is: G-S S-M #6 would have come between Amazing Spider-Man #149 and 150. Gerry Conway’s last issue was ASM #149, and FOOM stated that Len Wein would take over as writer with #150. Comic Reader #117 stated that Wein would also take over G-S S-M and Marvel Team-Up. However, Wein was hospitalized shortly afterwards, which caused him to quit the Marvel EIC post and interrupted his writing. Archie Goodwin did a fill-in on ASM #150, and Comic Reader #118 also said Goodwin was doing a fill-in on MTU, so I think we can justifiably assume that Wein couldn’t do G-S S-M #6. However, no Goodwin story appeared in MTU, but Bill Mantlo did take over from Conway starting with MTU #38. Mantlo was already known as King of the Fill-Ins at that time, so I think it’s a good guess that Mantlo would have stepped in for Wein or Goodwin on G-S S-M. Both G-S S-M #6 and MTU #39 have a November 1975 cover date. The Human Torch co-stars in MTU #39, and the cover to G-S S-M #6 also shows the Torch (I have no idea how much earlier the cover was produced, though). The first page of MTU #39 has a “Chapter One” caption, which isn’t seen in any other MTU issue around then, but which showed up frequently in the Giant-Size titles. The first page of MTU #40 is a superfluous castlisting page with the creator credits squished into a caption at the top rather than the usual credit boxes, which leads me to think it was added to make up a short page count. This evidence obviously isn’t conclusive, but it’s the best guess I have. Of course, it’s possible that FOOM #7 just made a numerical typo and it meant to say G-S S-M #6 all along. There also seems to be some confusion about Giant-Size titles continuing into 1976. One issue of Avengers refers to Avengers Annual #6 as “Giant-Size Avengers #6” in a footnote. When a multi-part story ran in Fantastic Four Annual #11, Marvel Two-in-One Annual #1, and Marvel Two-in-One #20, the FF Annual (which came out three months earlier than the MTIO Annual) referred to the following Annual by its correct name. MTIO #19, however, which came out two or three weeks before the Annual, weirdly referred to it as “Giant-Size Two-in-One #1.” – Mark Drummond

Next: A Bronze Age Halloween Issue! The Swamp Thing revival of 1982, Swamp Thing in Hollywood, Phantom Stranger team-ups, PAUL KUPPERBERG and MIKE MIGNOLA’s Phantom Stranger miniseries, DC’s Swamp Thing and the Phantom Stranger TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

TM & © Marvel.

Interesting theory, Mark! And judging from the covers of Giant-Size Spider-Man #6 and Marvel Team-Up #39–40, which appear at right, you might very well be correct! Thanks for writing, and for the Haunt of Horror info, too. The Witching Hour, and Marvel’s Monster That Didn’t Make the Big Time—the Living Mummy. Plus: an issue-by-issue index of Marvel’s 1970s’ horror anthologies, and other groovy goodies! Featuring the work of JIM APARO, RICH BUCKLER, TONY ISABELLA, ANDY MANGELS, VAL MAYERIK, MARTIN PASKO, P. CRAIG RUSSELL, MICHAEL USLAN, RUBEN YANDOC, THOMAS YEATES, and many more. Cover-featuring Yeates’ 2001 recreation of his 1982 cover for Saga of the Swamp Thing #14! Don’t ask— just BI it! See you in thirty! Your friendly neighborhood Euryman, Michael Eury, editor-in-chief

All-Jerks Issue • BACK ISSUE • 79

TwoMorrows

The Future of Comics History.

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WHE % N YO ORD U ONL ER INE!

THE

MLJ COMPANION

THE MLJ COMPANION documents the complete history of Archie Comics’ super-hero characters known as the “Mighty Crusaders”—THE SHIELD, BLACK HOOD, STEEL STERLING, HANGMAN, MR. JUSTICE, THE FLY, and many others. It features in-depth examinations of each era of the characters’ extensive history: THE GOLDEN AGE (beginning with the Shield, the first patriotic super-hero, who pre-dated Captain America by a full year), THE SILVER AGE (spotlighting those offbeat, campy Mighty Comics issues, and The Fly and Jaguar), THE BRONZE AGE (with the Red Circle line, and the !mpact imprint published by DC Comics), up to THE MODERN AGE, with its Dark Circle imprint (featuring such fan-favorites series as “The Fox” by MARK WAID and DEAN HASPIEL). Plus: Learn what “MLJ” stands for! Uncover such rarities as the Mighty Crusaders board game, and the Shadow’s short-lived career as a spandex-clad superhero! Discover the ill-fated Spectrum line of comics, that was abruptly halted due to its violent content! See where the super-heroes crossed over into Archie, Betty, and Veronica’s world! And read interviews with IRV NOVICK, DICK AYERS, RICH BUCKLER, BILL DuBAY, STEVE ENGLEHART, JIM VALENTINO, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, KELLEY JONES, MICHAEL USLAN, and others who chronicled the Mighty Crusaders’ exploits from the 1940s to today! By RIK OFFENBERGER and PAUL CASTIGLIA, with a cover by IRV NOVICK and JOE RUBINSTEIN.

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COMIC BOOK FEVER

GEORGE KHOURY (author of The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore and Kimota: The Miracleman Companion) presents a “love letter” to his personal golden age of comics, 1976-1986, covering all the things that made those comics great—the top artists, the coolest stories, and even the best ads! It covers the phenoms that delighted Baby Boomers, Generation X, and beyond: UNCANNY X-MEN, NEW TEEN TITANS, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, LOVE AND ROCKETS, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, SUPERMAN VS. SPIDER-MAN, ARCHIE COMICS, HARVEY COMICS, KISS, STAR WARS, ROM, HOSTESS CAKE ADS, GRIT(!), and other milestones! So take a trip back in time to re-experience those epic stories, and feel the heat of COMIC BOOK FEVER once again! With cover art and introduction by ALEX ROSS.

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ALTER EGO #140

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Golden Age great IRWIN HASEN spotlight, adapted from DAN MAKARA’s film documentary on Hasen, the 1940s artist of the Justice Society, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Wildcat, Cat-Man, and numerous other classic heroes—and, for 30 years, the artist of the famous DONDI newspaper strip! Bonus art by his buddies JOE KUBERT, ALEX TOTH, CARMINE INFANTINO, and SHELLY MAYER!

From Detroit to Deathlok, we cover the career of artist RICH BUCKLER: Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Black Panther, Ka-Zar, Dracula, Morbius, a zillion Marvel covers— Batman, Hawkman, and other DC stars— Creepy and Eerie horror—and that’s just in the first half of the 1970s! Plus Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLY, FCA, and comics expert HAMES WARE on fabulous Golden Age artist RAFAEL ASTARITA!

DAVID SIEGEL talks to RICHARD ARNDT about how, from 1991-2005, he brought the greatest artists of the Golden Age to the San Diego Comic-Con! With art and artifacts by FRADON, GIELLA, MOLDOFF, LAMPERT, CUIDERA, FLESSEL, NORRIS, SULLIVAN, NOVICK, SCHAFFENBERGER, GROTHKOPF, and others! Plus how writer JOHN BROOME got to the Con, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, FCA, and more!

DON GLUT discusses his early years as comic book writer for Marvel, Warren, and Gold Key, with art by SANTOS, MAROTO, CHAN, NEBRES, KUPPERBERG, TUSKA, TRIMPE, SAL BUSCEMA, and others! Also, SAL AMENDOLA and ROY THOMAS on the 1970s professional Academy of Comic Book Arts, founded by STAN LEE and CARMINE INFANTINO! Plus Mr. Monster, FCA, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

MARK CARLSON documents 1940s-50s ACE COMICS (with super-heroes Magno & Davey, Lash Lightning, The Raven, Unknown Soldier, Captain Courageous, Vulcan, and others)! Art by KURTZMAN, MOONEY, BERG, L.B. COLE, PALAIS, and more. Plus: RICHARD ARNDT’s interview with BILL HARRIS (1960s-70s editor of Gold Key and King Comics), FCA, Comic Crypt, and Comic Fandom Archive.

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BACK ISSUE #92

BACK ISSUE #93

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #12 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #13 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #14

“Bronze Age Halloween!” The Swamp Thing revival of 1982, Swamp Thing in Hollywood, Phantom Stranger team-ups, KUPPERBERG & MIGNOLA’s Phantom Stranger miniseries, DC’s The Witching Hour, the Living Mummy, and an index of Marvel’s 1970s’ horror anthologies! Featuring the work of RICH BUCKLER, ANDY MANGELS, VAL MAYERIK, MARTIN PASKO, MICHAEL USLAN, THOMAS YEATES, and more. YEATES cover.

“All-Captains Issue!” Bronze Age histories of Shazam! (Captain Marvel) and Captain MarVell, Captain Carrot, Captain Storm and the Losers, Captain Universe, and Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers. Featuring C. C. BECK, PAT BRODERICK, JACK KIRBY, ELLIOT S. MAGGIN, BILL MANTLO, DON NEWTON, BOB OKSNER, SCOTT SHAW!, JIM STARLIN, ROY THOMAS, and more. Cover painting by DAVE COCKRUM!

JACK KIRBY’s mid-life work examined, from Fantastic Four and Thor at Marvel in the middle ’60s to the Fourth World at DC (including the real-life background drama that unfolded during that tumultuous era)! Plus a career-spanning interview with underground comix pioneer HOWARD CRUSE, the extraordinary cartoonist and graphic novelist of the award-winning Stuck Rubber Baby! Cover by STEVE RUDE!

MICHAEL W. KALUTA feature interview covering his early fans days THE SHADOW, STARSTRUCK, the STUDIO, and Vertigo cover work! Plus RAMONA FRADON talks about her 65+ years in the comic book business on AQUAMAN, METAMORPHO, SUPER-FRIENDS, and SPONGEBOB! Also JAY LYNCH reveals the WACKY PACK MEN who created the Topps trading cards that influenced an entire generation!

Comprehensive KELLEY JONES interview, from early years as Marvel inker to presentday greatness at DC depicting BATMAN, DEADMAN, and SWAMP THING (chockful of rarely-seen artwork)! Plus WILL MURRAY examines the nefarious legacy of Batman co-creator BOB KANE in an investigation into tragic ghosts and rapacious greed. We also look at RAINA TELGEMEIER and her magnificent army of devotees, and more!

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KIRBY COLLECTOR #68

KIRBY COLLECTOR #69

OUT OF THIS WORLD LEGO! Spacethemed LEGO creations of LIA CHAN, 2001: A Space Odyssey’s Orion space plane by NICK DEAN, and Pre-Classic Space builder CHRIS GIDDENS! Plus: Orbit the LEGO community with JARED K. BURKS’ minifigure customizing, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art, MINDSTORMS robotics by DAMIEN KEE, and more!

Super-star DC penciler HOWARD PORTER demos his creative process, and JAMAL IGLE discusses everything from storyboarding to penciling as he gives a breakdown of his working methods. Plus there’s Crusty Critic JAMAR NICHOLAS reviewing art supplies, JERRY ORDWAY showing the Ord-Way of doing comics, and Comic Art Bootcamp lessons with BRET BLEVINS and Draw! editor MIKE MANLEY! Mature readers only.

KEY KIRBY CHARACTERS! We go decadeby-decade to examine pivotal characters Jack created throughout his career (including some that might surprise you)! Plus there’s a look at what would’ve happened if Kirby had never left Marvel Comics for DC, how Jack’s work has been repackaged over the decades, MARK EVANIER and other regular columnists, and galleries of unseen Kirby pencil art!

KIRBY’S PARTNERS! Cap/Falcon/Bucky, Sandman & Sandy, Orion & Lightray, Johnny & Ben, Dingbats, Newsboys, plus features on JOE SIMON, MIKE ROYER, CHIC STONE, DICK AYERS, JOE SINNOTT, MIKE THIBODEAUX — even ROZ KIRBY! Also, BATTLE FOR A 3-D WORLD, the 2016 Comic-Con Kirby Tribute Panel, MARK EVANIER, and galleries of Kirby pencil art! Cover inked by JOE SINNOTT!

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