Back Issue #92 Preview

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The Swamp Thing revival of 1982 Q

Swamp Thing in Hollywood Q

Swamp Thing and the Phantom Stranger TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Kupperberg & Mignola’s Phantom Stranger Q

Phantom Stranger team-ups Q

The Witching Witching Hour Q

Living Mummy Q

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featuring Buckler Buckler,r,, Mayerik, Pasko, Yeates, Yeates, & more

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Marvel horror anthologies

Volume 1, Number 92 October 2016 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

PUBLISHER John Morrow DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTIST Thomas Yeates COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Rob Smentek SPECIAL THANKS Michael Browning Mike Mignola Brian K. Morris Rich Buckler N’Kantu Jarrod Buttery Luigi Novi Marc Buxton Martin Pasko John Cimino P. Craig Russell Comicvine Roy Thomas DC Comics Len Wein Steve Ditko Thomas Yeates Grand Comics Database Robert Greenberger Jack C. Harris Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Heritage Comics Auctions Tony Isabella Rob Kelly Jim Kingman Paul Kupperberg Stan Lee Alan Light Andy Mangels Val Mayerik

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BACK SEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 BACKSTAGE PASS: It’s Not Easy Being Green: Swamp Thing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Movies, TV, cartoons, and action figures—Swampy’s starred in ’em all!

INTERVIEW: Martin Pasko, Saga of the Swamp Thing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The 1982 Swamp Thing revival from the perspective of its writer INTERVIEW: Thomas Yeates, Saga of the Swamp Thing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 The 1982 Swamp Thing revival from the perspective of its artist BEYOND CAPES: The Witching Hour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 It’s midnight—time to revisit this DC chiller anthology OFF MY CHEST: The Secret Wars of the “Super Hero” Trademark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Halloween costumer Ben Cooper’s trademark tussle… plus the original “Spider Man” costume!

PRINCE STREET NEWS: What If Superheroes Wore Their Ben Cooper Costumes? . . . . 36 Karl Heitmueller, Jr.’s latest gutbuster cartoon FLASHBACK: Thank You for Being a Stranger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Bronze Age Phantom Stranger team-ups PRO2PRO: Paul Kupperberg, Mike Mignola, and P. Craig Russell, The Phantom Stranger . . . 44 Bob Greenberger drops in on the creative team of the 1987 miniseries BEYOND CAPES: The Living Mummy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 We unwrap the reasons why this Marvel monster didn’t make the big time INDEX: Marvel Bronze Age Horror Reprint Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 From Beware! to Where Monsters Dwell, reprint info for Marvel’s spookfests 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 Thomas Yeates. Swamp Thing and the Phantom Stranger 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 Prince Street News © 2016 Karl Heitmueller, Jr. ISSN 1932-6904.

Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

Halloween Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

TM

by

Andy Mangels

If a comics historian were to note the most successful DC Comics characters in the media, the list would be as follows: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman… Swamp Thing? Wait… what?! With two feature films, a threeseason television series, and a short-lived animated series— all under his own name—DC’s haunted muck monster beats out Green Lantern, the Flash, and Aquaman for Hollywood bragging rights. But how did a walking collection of leaves and vines transition from page to screen so many times?

Join us as we dig into the saga of the Swamp Thing…

TWISTING TENDRILS

Universally Monstrous At a time when comic-book films were rare, Swamp Thing shambled into theaters and cleared a path for a DC Comics revival and media continuations to follow. (above) Richard Hescox’s movie poster art doubled as (inset) the cover for DC’s movie adaptation.

Swamp Thing TM & © DC Comics.

As revealed in BACK ISSUE #6, then-freelance comic writer Len Wein came up with the idea of Swamp Thing during a subway ride, then pitched the story concept to editor Joe Orlando. Meeting up with artistic sometimescollaborator Bernie Wrightson at a housewarming party for Marv Wolfman, Wein pitched Wrightson on the story, which was intended for one of DC’s mystery/horror titles. In it, turn-of-thecentury scientist Alex Olsen is betrayed by his co-worker, Damian Ridge, who wants to woo Olsen’s wife, Linda. Olsen is caught in a chemical explosion, but rather than killing him, the chemicals combine with the swamp matter outside the laboratory, changing Olsen into a monstrous creature known as Swamp Thing.

Swamp Thing kills Ridge and saves Linda, but cannot convince his wife that he is alive.

Wrightson drew the story in about a week, with art assists by Jeffrey Jones, Alan Weiss, and Michael Kaluta, and photo reference of Louise Jones (now Simonson) as Linda, Kaluta as Ridge, and himself as Olsen. The eight-page story, titled “Swamp Thing,” appeared in House of Secrets #92 (June–July 1971), and was one of the bestselling titles for DC that month (outselling even Superman); it also won the Academy of Comic Book Arts award for “Best Story of the Year.” Wein and Wrightson were almost immediately asked to revive the character for a contemporary series, but they demurred for a year. Eventually, Swamp Thing #1 (Oct.–Nov. 1972) was an updated retelling of the origin story, this time featuring scientist Alec Holland, who is working on a secret bio-restorative formula to help the environment. Holland’s lab is bombed, and Holland himself is doused by chemicals, and escapes, burning, into the Louisiana swamps. There, he eventually rises into a muscular creature who is seemingly made of plant matter, and he sets out to take revenge on the men who caused his “death” and eventually murdered his wife, Linda. The 24-issue series that followed saw Swamp Thing twice face the insane Dr. Anton Arcane, who was searching for the secret to immortality. Arcane’s niece, Abigail Arcane, became a love interest of sorts, and Swamp Thing also battled Arcane’s Un-Men, and the monstrous Gregori Arcane (a.k.a. the Patchwork Man). The series ended with issue #24 (Aug.–Sept. 1976), by which time it had transformed into a spooky superhero-like series.

Although he appeared in Challengers of the Unknown for a year and made a few other minor appearances (a planned 1978 revival was killed by the “DC Implosion”), Swamp Thing remained a spooky resident of DC’s character graveyard, until 1982, when he was reborn again in a very surprising way.

Halloween Issue • BACK ISSUE • 3

Let’s Run the Cast Bayou From 1982’s Swamp Thing: Dick Durock’s in the rubber suit, flanked by (left inset) Ray Wise, (right top inset) Adrienne Barbeau, and (right bottom inset) Louis Jourdan.

Swamp Thing TM & © DC Comics.

THAT THING THAT YOU’VE BEEN CRAVEN

Following his work on such creepy “real world” horror films such as The Last House on the Left (1972), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Stranger in Our House (1978), and Deadly Blessing (1981), director Wes Craven was chosen to shepherd Swamp Thing to the silver screen, as both director and screenwriter. The feature film project was announced in early 1981. Original plans called for a Georgia or Florida location, with interiors in Los Angeles.

Production delays forced filming from March to April, with a tight wrap for June thanks to a threatened strike of the Director’s Guild.

The co-producers were Benjamin Melniker, a former MGM vice-president, and Michael Uslan, a former DC staff member who had worked closely with DC on educational opportunities while lecturing at universities about comics, as well as writing comics such as Batman, Beowulf, and The Shadow. Uslan and Melniker had gained the licenses for and planned films for Batman and Swamp Thing in 1979. Artist Steve Bissette would tell Comics Scene magazine’s Daniel Dickholtz in vol. 2 #5 (1989) that the rights contract signed with Uslan and Melniker in 1979 was—in his quoting of Paul Levitz— “the worst contract DC has ever made,” and noted that it covered all materials related to Swamp Thing past, present, and future. With plans for Batman taking a long time to develop, the muck monster was the producer’s first project out of the gate.

The story for Craven’s film was relatively close to its comic-book origins, though Craven would later explain that he had changed Cable into a woman to create a Beauty and the Beast-style love story, then had to change Linda into Holland’s sister, rather than his wife. For the film, Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise) was a scientist working at a top-secret laboratory in the

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Louisiana swamps. Alongside his sister, Linda (Nannette Brown), Holland is developing a bio-engineering project that will create a plant/animal hybrid which could help crops grow in even the most world’s worst environments.

Comely government agent Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau) arrives to check on Holland, and is flattered by his attention, then surprised when his experiments have a breakthrough. Even more shocking, though, is the attack by paramilitary forces, working for the evil Dr. Anton Arcane (Louis Jourdan, in a role originally offered to Christopher Lee), a man who will stop at nothing to gain immortality. During an attack on the lab, Linda is killed and Alice escapes, but Alec faces a worse fate—covered in his own experimental bio-restorative chemicals, he catches fire, and runs screaming into the murky swamp. Although Holland is presumably dead, he mutates into a super-strong plant creature known as Swamp Thing (Dick Durock). The man-monster soon does his best to rescue Cable, and eventually battles against Arcane, who has also been mutated by Holland’s stolen formula.

The film was shot on location in Charleston, South Carolina, where actress Nannette Brown lived. The lab was created inside an old warehouse, though local construction workers had never built a movie set before, and the completely solid structure had to be chainsawed apart to use as a filmable location. Arcane’s mansion was “played” by Charleston’s Hibernian Hall. Other local locations included Cypress Gardens, Fairlawn Plantation, Magnolia Plantation, and Johns Island. Craven used low angles, shadows, garish colors, and fog to approximate comic-book storytelling.

The makeup was the work of Bill Munns, then 32 years old. Munns had come to the producers with a

RENAISSANCE MONSTER

Even though the Swamp Thing film flopped, The Saga of the Swamp Thing comic itself was soon to garner massive attention, thanks to the work of British writer Alan Moore and artists Steve Bissette and John Totleben.

Moore’s transcendent work on the series—beginning with issue #21’s (Feb. 1984) “The Anatomy Lesson”— garnered immense critical acclaim and sales, as well as working in literary, ecological, spiritual, and metaphysical elements. The new Swamp Thing eventually even became the first mainstream comic series to abandon approvals by the Comics Code Authority.

In Hollywood, Uslan and Melniker (under their Lightyear Productions banner) were still campaigning for more Swamp Thing, even as the long-gestating Batman feature was finally set to start filming in London. Thanks to Swamp Thing’s cable and syndication success, financing and deals were struck in 1988 for a sequel. The Return of Swamp Thing began production in the summer for a five-week, 27-day shoot. This time filming was done in Savannah, Georgia, and the director was Jim Wynorski, a Roger Corman protégé who was fresh off of Not of This Earth. Wynorski got the job when Wes Craven passed, and after replacement director Bill Malone left the project in its early days.

Louis Jourdan returned as Anton Arcane, still searching for immortality.

Dick Durock was back in the title role as well, in a newly redesigned foam latex suit created by Carl Fullerton; the suit was faithful to the Bissette/ Totleben comics version, resembling walking vegetation more than a rubber-suited monster.

New to the main cast were TV bombshell Heather Locklear as Abigail Arcane and Superman II villainess Sarah Douglas as the evil Dr. Lana Zurreal.

The screenplay, a holdover from the potential HBO sequel, was rewritten by Neil Cuthbert and Grant Morris, although some credits for the film (and tie-in novel) read “Derek Spencer and Grant Morris.” It is unclear why “Derek Spencer” became a pseudonym for Neil Cuthbert.

Their script was given a much more comedic edge, even as it mined more of the original comic-book roots. This time, after Dr. Arcane has been resurrected, the madman begins splicing genes from swamp creatures and humans to create a gruesome army of Un-Men (including Leechman, Cockroachman, Hippoman, Slugman, Gatorguy, and Evolvodude, all with makeup by Steve Neill and Todd Masters). Arcane is aided in his tasks by Dr. Zurreal, and opposed by both Swamp Thing and Arcane’s stepdaughter, Abby, who has come to Florida to look into her mother’s mysterious death. When it seems that only a combination of Swampy’s serum and Abby’s blood will bring Arcane immortality, confrontation ensues.

The film was also more consciously aware of its comicbook origins. The title sequence, set to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s song “Born on the Bayou,” featured a montage of recent Swamp Thing comic-book covers

by Bissette and Totleben. As noted above, the suit was redesigned, with a more organic, vine-covered texture.

Even a “love scene” between Swamp Thing and Abby was adapted from those in the Moore-written stories.

Durock recalled of his new suit—painted to match the indigenous Georgia flora—that it was much bulkier

than the first one. “The second one weighs about 40 pounds. Here’s the problem with something like Swamp Thing. I can’t recall a film where the guy in the rubber suit is the lead. Generally they bring on the guy in the rubber suit—like with Predator—and he does a few hours of work and he’s out of it. [Swamp Thing] is in almost every scene, every day, for a couple of months. Rubber suits just aren’t meant to last that long, and neither are the guys inside them. [laughs] The suit was brutal. But it was a couple of months and good pay. There wasn’t a hell of a lot of other things going on at the time, and I really wasn’t anxious to get back into the suit, but I did.”

Part of what got Durock to sign on were meetings he had with Fullerton, who discussed everything from the action movements needed to placement of the eyes for maximum emotional effect. “I spent three days with him in New Jersey, going over it with Carl Fullerton and Neil Mertz,” Durock said. “We went over the problems and the physical limitations. It’s very hard to lift something over your head in this suit, because it will change the configuration of the suit and it might look bad. There’s

Heather Locklear, A.D. (After Dynasty) The blonde beauty played Abby Arcane alongside Dick Durock (in his re-foliaged costume) in 1989’s The Return of Swamp Thing. Also returning was (top inset) Louis Jourdan.

Swamp Thing TM & © DC Comics.

Halloween Issue • BACK ISSUE • 7

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Michael Browning conducted in April 2016

A New Saga Begins Swamp Thing editor/co-creator Len Wein cherry-picked writer Martin Pasko and artist Thomas Yeates for this revival of DC’s muck-monster.

The Saga of the Swamp Thing #1 (May 1982) cover by Yeates.

TM & © DC Comics.

MICHAEL BROWNING: Marty, talk to me about getting the Saga of the Swamp Thing writing job and the pitch for the series. You were well known for your superhero work, so this was a big change. What caused you to want to write a horror-hero comic book?

MARTIN PASKO: I didn’t need to pitch it; DC management had decided they needed to have a Swamp Thing ongoing, to exploit the release of the first ST movie, that awful thing that poor Wes Craven had to struggle with. For all I know, a new ST title might have been a condition of DC’s deal with [Swamp Thing movie distributor] Avco-Embassy. All I do know is that that one day, Len Wein called me up out of the blue and offered it to me, and I jumped at it.

Wanting to do a horror-hero book was not a big change for me, because I always loved horror. What readers familiar only with my superhero work couldn’t know at the time, but DC editorial did, was that I’d started out writing anthology horror for Warren, and then DC (Creepy, Eerie, House of Mystery, et. al.). I’d created a few original horror-hero concepts—one of which I actually sold to Warren—the others I pitched all over the place, but no takers because by then the “horror fad” of the late ’60s and early ’70s, which had spawned the original ST, was dying down. Only sale I did make other than to Warren was to the revived Atlas Comics’ horror line, but they went belly-up before any of it could be produced or published.

By the time we worked on Swamp Thing, Len was an old friend for whom I’d been having a great time writing Plastic Man [in Adventure Comics], and he knew how much I loved and respected his work on “Swampy.” That had come up back when I was assisting Joe Orlando, in which capacity I proofread and sometimes helped place balloons on Len’s last few issues of the book with Berni (now “Bernie”) Wrightson. I guess Len knew that, from that learning experience, I had certainly come to understand the values and creative goals of the original series, never mind all the complex rules about which lettering effects were used for which purpose [laughs].

Len expressed satisfaction with my first SOTST script, and I was especially thrilled that he commented favorably on the very thing I was proudest of: the way I handled the first few pages, the flashback-originrecap sequence, with the rhetorical device of “Hell is…”, “Hell is…”, again and again, building up to the payoff, “Hell is forever.”

So I finally felt emboldened to ask him, “Why me?”

He told me two things: 1) He’d enjoyed working with me on Plas. 2), I’d written, under a pseudonym, a Daredevil prose story for a paperback series he and Marv Wolfman were packaging for Pocket Books.

[Editor’s note: That DD story appeared in Pocket Books’ The Marvel Superheroes, a.k.a. Marvel Novel Series #9, from 1979.] He said he’d been impressed with what he called my “wordsmithing.” Apparently, at the time the SOTST writing assignment had to be filled, I was the only writer available—maybe not the first choice, but available—whom he liked working with and about whom he could also be confident would “understand how the series has to be written.”

The day of that phone call was one of the happiest, proudest days of my career. I consider Len one of the finest writers who’s ever worked in this industry, and a real tough act to follow. The very thought that he Halloween Issue • BACK ISSUE • 13

Coming Soon House ad from 1982 promoting Saga of the Swamp Thing.

TM & © DC Comics.

might think me capable of following in his footsteps was an enormous compliment.

BROWNING: The series was, for me, the most adult comic book I had ever read at that time; it was so much more mature than any of the superhero comics I had read. Talk to me about giving it that more mature tone.

PASKO: Not sure I did give it “a more mature tone.”

Looking back at the original run, I have to say that whatever “mature tone” you may be referring to was, in my opinion, present in Len’s and Berni’s original. I was simply trying to do justice to that. The only factor I can think of that might explain the tone being “more mature” is that by the time we did SOTST, the industry was already pinning more hopes on the Direct Sale, “non-returnable” market than on newsstand distribution.

So we writers were no longer expected to make all our creative decisions on the basis of the assumption that we

were writing primarily for ten-year-olds. Which is also the answer to your next question, about whether it was— BROWNING: Hard getting such an adult story line passed through DC editorial...

PASKO: —the answer to which is: No, not at all, for the reason stated above.

BROWNING: Talk to me about coming up with the storyline that featured the herald of the anti-Christ.

Where did that storyline come from, and did you receive any criticism for basing your story line on the Book of Revelations?

PASKO: None that I know of, and I was never aware that doing so was at all controversial.

A lot of popular horror has been inspired by the way traditional religion pedals some pretty horrific concepts— The Exorcist and The Omen, to name only two, traded pretty heavily in horrific Biblical prophecy. I don’t know that the “herald of the anti-Christ” idea came from anywhere in particular; it just seemed natural to me to include “an anti-Christ idea,” in some way, in a horror piece.

A lot of my ideas came from research. For example, I read Anton LaVey’s Satanic Bible from cover to cover, and there was this wonderful encyclopedia I bought called Man, Myth & Magic, from which I got a lot of inspiration derived from the mysticism of diverse, non-Christian cultures. That’s where I got the idea for the Golem sequence. Great books; couldn’t have done my run on Dr. Fate (the one with Keith Giffen, in The Flash) without ’em.

BROWNING: What was the feedback like from DC editorial?

PASKO: Not sure how to answer that, because the way the business worked at that time, we didn’t have committees of editors and executives who weighed in our work. My only input came from my editor, and, as far as I was concerned, my only responsibility to DC was to satisfy that editor. If Len was happy, I was happy, and that was that. A simpler, happier, less corporatively intrusive time [laughs].

BROWNING: You continued Len Wein’s pattern of moving Swamp Thing from place to place. What was the reason behind keeping him mobile, and was it ever hard to incorporate that into the stories?

PASKO: The “reason” was that, the way the premise was originally set up, Holland/ST was all alone in the world, and he had to be on the move, or where else would the stories come from? I didn’t find it at all difficult to execute the series that way, and, frankly, I never thought much about it. To me, it was

These Kids Suck Swampy encounters teenage vampires in Pasko and Yeates’ Saga of the Swamp Thing #3 (July 1982). (inset) In the 1987 horrorcomedy The Lost Boys, comic-book fans Sam (Corey Haim) and Edgar (Corey Feldman) discover a colony of young bloodsuckers in their neck of the woods. Was this Joel Schumacherdirected film inspired by Pasko’s story?

Swamp Thing TM & © DC Comics. The Lost Boys TM & © Warner Bros.

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Michael Browning conducted in April 2016

© Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.

Groovy Ghoulies Although a relative newcomer at the time, Thomas Yeates made his mark at DC Comics with his Swamp Thing run. Original cover art to The Saga of the Swamp Thing #18 (Nov. 1983) courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

18 • BACK ISSUE • Halloween Issue

Unwelcome Wagon Pitchforks and torches “greet” Swampy and his little companion Casey as they’re cornered by raving rednecks on the splash page to SOTST #2. Original art courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © DC Comics.

MICHAEL BROWNING: Talk to me about getting the Saga of the Swamp Thing job. How did you get picked to draw SOTST? THOMAS YEATES: At that point in my career I was working regularly for DC, doing backup stories. I was happy with that situation and was not very interested in getting tied down on a monthly book.

Len Wein was one of the editors I was working with, and one day he told me he would start Swamp Thing up again if I would draw it. It took me while to say yes—I was very leery of that monthly book sort of commitment—but I eventually agreed, obviously.

BROWNING: What did you and Martin Pasko discuss about the book before you went to work drawing that first issue?

YEATES: I’m sorry, but I really don’t recall. Maybe Marty can answer that one.

BROWNING: You gave SOTST a very different mood than what was being done in DC’s regular superhero comics.

Talk to me about drawing a superhero book that really wasn’t about superheroes.

YEATES: Well, I drew it the way I draw. The art of Bernie Wrightson, Al Williamson, Angelo Torres, Wally Wood, etc., as well as Joe Kubert, inspired me to draw comic books.

I have never been much of a superhero comic-book reader, sorry. So the art style of DC’s superhero books wasn’t what I was doing, though I looked at them, appreciated them, and got ideas from them.

BROWNING: The original Swamp Thing series was drawn

by Bernie Wrightson, Nestor Redondo, and, briefly, by Ernie Chan. What kind of influence did those early issues have on you when drawing SOTST? YEATES: The Wein/Wrightson Swamp Thing run was one of the comics I actually read and collected. So they were a big influence on my style of art, particularly, as I said before, with the terrific Wrightson art.

BROWNING: The Saga of the Swamp Thing storylines were offbeat and Martin wrote some very adult themes into the book, like the anti-Christ character, demons, and vampires, which seemed really mature for a comic that was on the stands in the early- to mid-1980s alongside Superman, Batman, and Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew.

What did you think of the storylines as you were drawing them, and what do you think of them now?

YEATES: [Saga of the Swamp Thing] was very well written, though not exactly my cup of tea. But we were a decent team. I have no problem with adult themes, but if I’m going to draw it I have to enjoy what I’m doing. After many, many years I got the issues out and looked through them yesterday. I’m still impressed with Marty’s writing skills, though I think the demons from hell angle may have been dragged out a bit, at least for my tastes.

BROWNING: Did you have any reservations drawing a storyline that was based on the anti-Christ and end-ofthe-world prophesy in the Bible’s Book of Revelations? At that time, it surely had to be a very touchy subject, especially with pastors like Pat Robertson bashing storylines in X-Men as sacrilegious and the fervor over whether or not Dungeons and Dragons was a tool of the Devil to warp the minds of role-playing gamers.

On the Road Again The series’ shifting locales kept Thomas busy digging for reference. On this splash page from issue #3—the teen vampire story— Swamp Thing and Casey are heading from North Carolina to Illinois by freight train.

TM & © DC Comics.

Halloween Issue • BACK ISSUE • 19

Sophisticated Suspense (top) It’s no love boat cruise for Swampy in SOTST #6 (Oct. 1982). (bottom) Yeates’ layouts for an unused version of #9’s cover, and (inset) the published version. (opposite) Yeates/Bissette original cover art for issue #17, courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © DC Comics.

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YEATES: No, I have no problem drawing that material, per se.

That is, demons materializing out of smoke, monsters, and spooky dungeons, etc. are great fun to draw, no problem there. It’s all just fantasy—I have no belief in any of that particular religious stuff. Just old priesthoods scaring people into obedience, in my opinion. But like anything, too much of it can bother me. I like to jump from theme to theme, which is why I liked doing backup stories so much. If I believed in all that anti-Christ, end-of-times stuff, then drawing it may have had more meaning for me, but I think I eventually felt, “Okay, done that, what’s next?”

BROWNING: What did you think of Swamp Thing moving from place to place? What kind of research did you have to do to draw Swamp Thing in the different locales?

YEATES: Some of the locations were quite a challenge, but being a fairly young artist it was probably good for me. I’ve always done research, so that was not unusual, though it takes time and time is always short on a monthly title. Marty actually found me a wonderful photo book on an old ocean liner for reference on those two issues. The locations were a little annoying at times, though. I’m a nature lover and looked forward to getting to draw swamps, but we didn’t spend much time in the swamp.

Steve Bissette always laughs about that.

BROWNING: What kind of feedback did you get on your art and the storylines from DC editor Len Wein and your peers and the fans?

YEATES: Mostly good. The book was a success at first. I started getting a lot of other offers and had to learn to turn them down, so the reaction was fairly positive. It played a huge role in launching my career. To this day, that year and a half is my main claim to fame, though not fortune, in the comic-book racket.

BROWNING: How much input did you have into the stories?

YEATES: Not that much. Though we spoke on the phone and I always chimed in with ideas, the stories were Marty’s. The one exception was the issue where they go to Skull Island and meet King Kong. I suggested that, but Marty turned it into the island of Vietnam War vets hallucinating old movies. I felt bad that the vets were presented in a somewhat negative light, but it was fun to draw.

Bissette laid it out for me.

BROWNING: I told Marty that my all-time favorite story is the vampires story in Saga of the Swamp Thing #3, the one that Alan Moore built his water vampires storyline off of. What did you think of that issue?

YEATES: Brilliant story. Probably the best one—I have no complaints on that one. Marty got me punk rock photo reference and I had blast with that. I’d gone into New York to concerts during the punk era and got a big kick out of the whole thing. I was happy with my cover, too.

BROWNING: What was your favorite issue of SOTST, and why?

YEATES: The punk-rock vampires were the peak, story-wise, and the story is key for me. But I also enjoyed the Skull Island issue. There are favorite parts in all the issues.

BROWNING: You and Marty brought in some very interesting characters, like Liz Tremayne and Dennis Barclay. Talk to me about what you thought about those characters.

YEATES: They were good characters. I enjoyed drawing them and liked working with Marty to create them. Despite being awed by what Alan Moore did with Bissette and Totleben, I didn’t like Alan’s treatment of my friends Liz and Dennis.

Oh, well…

BROWNING: You left Saga of the Swamp Thing after 13 issues.

What caused you to leave the book?

YEATES: I was ready to move on to one of those other offers I had. As I said, it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. The Satan-rising theme got a little stale for me, and we’d also tackled child molesting. I was ready to move on to more playful material,

It all started in the 1930s, when two high school students, writer Jerome Siegel and illustrator Joseph Shuster, created the first superhero, Superman. Today, the superhero business is bigger than ever and has become a pop-culture phenomenon all over the world. With the hundreds of products, movies, cartoons, etc. being released every year bearing the likenesses of DC Comics and Marvel Comics characters, it should be no surprise that both companies jointly own the copyright to the term “Super Hero.”

But did you know that wasn’t always the case? Did you know that back in the day, both companies didn’t even recognize the importance of the term? Yup, as crazy as that sounds, it became a big mistake that reluctantly brought the two competing comic-book companies together and changed the market forever.

So, however you want to spell it—“Super Hero,” “Super-Hero,” “super hero,” “superhero,” and all its plural forms—the word means a lot more than just your average costumed crimefighter.

John “THE MEGO STRETCH HULK” Cimino by

THERE SHALL COME A SUPERMAN, AND A GENRE SHALL FOLLOW

It states in the Oxford English Dictionary that the term “superman” was coined in the 1903 book Man and Superman by George Bernard Shaw, imitating Friedrich Nietzsche’s “ubermensch.” But it was in 1933 that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster first used the word outright in “Reign of the Superman,” a story from their self-made, mail-order fanzine they started in 1932. It was about a poor man who is transformed by a mad scientist into a telepathic giant who wanted to control the Earth. Two years later, they refined the evil, bald-headed madman into a handsome, cape-wearing hero in tights who possessed powers far beyond those of mortal men. He was a champion of the righteous and protector of the weak that fought against evil and had a secret identity of a mild-mannered newspaper reporter named Clark Kent.

Siegel and Shuster’s “Super Villain” (which is a term they are also credited as first using) had become a new fictional archetype known as “the Super Hero,” and his name was Superman.

Siegel and Shuster first intended their Superman strip for newspaper publication, but they had no luck finding a publisher until December 1937, when DC Comics contracted them to produce a 13-page comic-book story featuring their new character. Thus, Action Comics #1 was released on April 18, 1938 (cover-dated June 1938), and the Super Hero market was born. With a plethora of new Super Hero characters being created, DC Comics would be the first to register (or copyright) “super” in a word when they registered “SUPERMAN” in October of 1939 (it seems that George Shaw never thought to do it back in 1903) since the character and comic were becoming extremely popular and the company didn’t take kindly to all the copycats coming out from other publishers.

Soon after that, in November of 1941, DC registered the

What’s in a Name?

From the super-’70s, box fronts for Ben Cooper® Batman and Batgirl costumes reflecting the changing “Super Hero” trademark.

Batman, Superman, Batgirl, Superman, and Wonder Woman TM & © DC Comics.

Halloween Issue • BACK ISSUE • 31

ENTER BEN COOPER, INC. AND THE 1960s SUPER HERO CRAZE

With the success in Super Hero characters by all the comic-book publishers and entertainment companies that invested in them, it was Ben Cooper, Inc. that first sought to register the word “SUPER HEROES” as a trademark for their costumes. During the 1950s, Ben Cooper started producing Halloween costumes of Superman due to the popularity of the Adventures of Superman television series starring George Reeves, and the results were extremely positive. Then, in 1963, Cooper took a chance on producing a costume of a relatively unknown comic character from Marvel at the time known as Spider-Man. It turned out to be Marvel’s very first licensed product, and by 1965 the costume had became very popular with kids. By making costumes of comic characters—Superman,

These Heroes are Super (left) The first use of “Super Hero” on a comic-book cover: Supersnipe #6. (right) Guardian calls ’em like he sees ’em in the fifth panel of this page from his inaugural appearance in StarSpangled Comics #7.

Supersnipe © the respective copyright holder. Guardian TM & © DC Comics.

32 • BACK ISSUE • Halloween Issue

TM & © DC Comics.

circular image that depicted Superman breaking chains with the “SUPERMAN” logo above him.

Collaborators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby are credited as the first people to use the term “Super Hero” in a comic book. It was in their first Newsboy Legion story published in DC Comics’ StarSpangled Comics #7, released in February 1942, where the Legion’s protector, the Guardian, in his first appearance, refers to his costume as making him look like a “comic magazine super-hero.” But it was Street & Smith Publications that first used the word “Super Hero” on the cover of a comic in Supersnipe #6, released in July 1942. Its cover shows “the boy with the most comic books in America” sleeping with a “SuperHero Comics” comic book in his arms. While these are printed examples of the word, it should be noted that the earliestknown occurrence of using the expression of “Super Hero” was in 1917, used to describe a public figure of great accomplishments. Even the 1934 radio serials of Doc Savage would say the word over and over to promote its show. You can say that the term was floating out there in the ether and was gradually becoming more familiar with the mass media.

In 1958, DC Comics had first started using the term in a title with the feature “Legion of Super-Heroes,” which ultimately would headline Adventure Comics for most of the next ten years. Then, with the release of Fantastic Four #1 in 1961, Marvel (formerly Atlas) Comics started becoming a major force in the marketplace and began labeling their new comic books using “Super Hero” or “Super Heroes” on them with regularity. While these two companies pioneered the use of the term by bringing it to a more widespread audience in the early ’60s, other comicbook publishers and television shows also used the term in both titles and promotions of their offerings. But despite how popular the term had become by 1965, nobody had yet really seen the importance of it.

That is, until a costume designer out of Brooklyn, New York, by the name of Ben Cooper started getting into the mix…

Spider-Man, and Batman (which Cooper first produced in 1964)—Cooper saw the revenue potential in Super Heroes. And once the Super Hero ® craze exploded onto the scene on January 12, 1966, thanks to the Adam West Batman television series, Cooper smartly acquired the licenses for many more comic-book characters from all the major publishers.

Now seeking a name for this new line of costumes, Cooper nonchalantly paid $35 in April of 1966 to apply for the registration of “SUPER-HEROES” as a trademark.

The thing with trademark claims is that companies have to defend their use of the word or it will be listed as a “generic” term (such as cellophane or kerosene), thus losing trademark protection. Cooper’s application for his costume line claimed he first used the word “SUPER-HEROES” on their products in October 1965. The examiner noted that the mark the company proposed actually showed “SUPER HERO” (rather than “SUPER-HEROES”), which Cooper first used to describe who Spider-Man was on its 1965 costume box (it should be noted that Cooper also used “TV HERO” on that box and “SUPER-HEROS” in a 1967 advertisement, but never got those terms trademarked). Cooper saw the error and agreed that the singular unhyphenated wording was the proper specification they wanted. The examiner soon agreed that the use of the “SUPER HERO” mark was descriptive and necessary for Cooper’s costumes and deemed it worthy of trademark publication. Surprisingly, when the proposed mark was published for opposition in December 1966, neither DC nor Marvel (or anyone else, for that matter) opposed the registration. And with no one complaining, in March 1967 Ben Cooper hastily grabbed the “FAMOUS HEROES” and “GREAT HEROES” trademarks as well for potential alternative costume lines. (You got to admit, that Ben Cooper was goooood.)

But Ben Cooper, Inc. wasn’t the only company interested in Super Heroes during the Super Hero boom. Starting in 1966, Ideal Toys produced Captain Action, a 12-inch poseable action figure that could be

by

Rob Kelly

First Encounter We’re up in arms over this gripping Neal Adams cover for the first Batman/Phantom Stranger team-up, in The Brave and the Bold (B&B) #89 (Apr.–May 1970).

TM & © DC Comics.

As you might imagine, someone named the Phantom Stranger doesn’t lend himself to being a team player. You can’t look the guy in the eye.

He rarely answers any question directly. He comes and goes at will.

He never ponies up for gas. And yet, as we’ll see, he’s been a popular team-up star in the DC Comics Universe since his first (re)appearance almost 50 years ago.

DC clearly had high hopes for the character, when he was (re)introduced in Showcase #80 (Feb. 1969). His first appearance was an odd hybrid of new material by Mike Freidrich, Jerry Grandinetti, and Bill Draut surrounding reprints from the 1950s Phantom Stranger series, but he quickly graduated into his own book a few months later.

The new/old mix continued for a few issues, and then took off for a solid run of horror-tinged mystery stories that continued into the mid-1970s. But it didn’t take long at all for DC to bring the Phantom Stranger into its burgeoning larger universe.

In The Brave and the Bold #89 (Apr.–May 1970, written by Bob Haney and drawn by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito), the descendents of a religious sect who settled Gotham City centuries ago show up to demand reparations, in the form of the land itself! As you might imagine, most of Gotham’s citizenry and political class are against this— except for Councilman Bruce Wayne, who quickly agrees to turn over the Wayne Foundation building to the sect and its leader, Josiah Heller!

As Heller watches from his newfound, lofty perch, the Phantom Stranger arrives, much to Heller’s displeasure. He tries to attack the Stranger, who disappears before Heller can lay a hand on him. Naturally, Batman gets involved, who at one point tries to put this stranger under “Bat-Arrest” (really), wrongly assuming he is in league with Heller.

Eventually, professional wet blanket Dr. Thirteen shows up, trying to convince anyone who will listen that the Stranger is a dangerous fraud.

But all that is put aside when it’s the Stranger who reveals that Heller is a criminal, and is instrumental in stopping his mad quest for power.

The story ends with Batman realizing that this Phantom Stranger guy may be weird, but he’s a force for good. And with that, the template for almost all of the Stranger’s future guest appearances is set.

Sales must have been particularly solid for that issue, because the Stranger returned to B&B just nine issues later, in #98 (Oct.–Nov. 1971), again written by Haney but this time drawn by The Phantom Stranger’s artist, the legendary Jim Aparo, in the first time he rendered Batman (but certainly not the last). In “Mansion of the Misbegotten,” Batman goes to visit his godson (uh, because he has one of those), a little tyke named Enoch (!), who lives in a big, creepy mansion with his mom.

It seems like the misbegotten mansion in question is haunted by some sort of ghostly blob of light, and the Phantom Stranger shows up to tell Bats the bad news: the house is a cover for a coven of witches! As if that wasn’t bad enough, little Enoch is the evil being they all worship!

This being a Bob Haney story, there’re more, much more, and it all ends with little Enoch alive, still Batman’s godson and probably a sore spot for DC continuity cop E. Nelson Bridwell for decades to come. Having dealt with the Stranger earlier, this time Batman is much more willing to trust what the Stranger tells him, even the bad news about Enoch.

The Phantom Stranger then showed up in Justice League of America #103 (Dec. 1972), going so far as to calling the various team members together (including Batman, who vouches for him) to alert them to a mystical threat brewing in the small town of Rutland, Vermont.

Writer Len Wein was writing the Phantom Stranger solo series and JLA at the time, so it was only natural for them to cross over. Wein had the Stranger pull the ultimate mike drop at the end of the story, when the JLAers offer him membership, only for the mysterious one to disappear before ever giving them an answer! Despite some later writers considering the Stranger a full-fledged JLAer, Wein never did, as he told me in a 2008 interview for my blog JLASatellite.com: “He was offered membership but vanished, as per usual, without actually accepting the offer. Over the years, other writers have assumed PS was a member, but in my world, he never really said yes.”

Wein used the Stranger again in the classic “The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!” (Justice League of America #110, Apr. 1974, drawn by Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano), with the mystery man showing up at the end Halloween Issue • BACK ISSUE • 39

to help the team defeat the Key, who believed he managed to kill many of the JLAers once and for all (SPOILER ALERT: He didn’t). Wein’s assertion that despite all this team participation, the Stranger wasn’t an actual League member was challenged just a few months later in Wonder Woman #218 (July 1975, written by Martin Pasko and drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger), when he is one of the JLAers who subject a newly repowered Wonder Woman to a series of trials to determine whether she’s “fit” to rejoin the team. If he’s not a member, why is he in on this? Maybe that’s because in this issue, it’s malevolent mage Felix Faust who is causing problems, a perfect villain for the Stranger. However, when it comes time to vote on Wonder Woman’s membership, the Stranger once again disappears before officially casting a ballot.

A few months later, however, in Wonder Woman #222 (Mar. 1976), the Stranger shows up just to cast a vote, which he does—in Wonder Woman’s favor. That makes it unanimous, and the Amazing Amazon is welcomed back into the Justice League. (To underline his pro-member status even further, the Stranger attends a JLA party, held at the satellite, seen as a poster in Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-46, an all-reprint Justice League treasury.)

After the power of the Comics Code Authority diminished in the early 1970s, DC and Marvel had gone full blast on horror/supernatural characters and titles.

When this wave crashed, it took many of those characters down with it, leading to the cancellation of the Phantom Stranger’s solo title, leaving him “homeless” for the first time in his rebooted career. After a few more appearances with the JLA (in issues #139, 145, and 146, all written by Steve Englehart), he

co-headlined DC Super-Stars #18 (Winter 1978) with Deadman, squaring off against longtime foe Tala, and also tangling with Dr. Thirteen, still doggedly on the Stranger’s tail. The book is divided into two stories, with the first (Deadman) leading into the second (the Stranger), with both heroes meeting up for the third chapter. It reads like a “lost” issue of The Phantom Stranger, as it deals with some plot threads left over in the last issue of his series. Oddly, it references a story in House of Secrets #150, which had not yet been published. Also appearing in the story: Gerry Conway (who wrote the issue), Carla Conway, Martin Pasko, Paul Levitz, and Romeo Tanghal, meaning they are now all officially owned by DC Comics.

Despite not having a solo book, 1978 was a busy year for the Stranger: He reappeared in Justice League of America (#150, again fighting the Key), and then co-starred with Superman and Batman in World’s Finest Comics (#249) to help out when the Man of Steel is turned into a vampire.

After the Man of Steel is incapacitated by a mysterious force at the bottom of the sea, Batman goes to investigate, where the Phantom Stranger is there waiting for him… underwater! After it becomes clear that Superman has turned into a “Vampire of Steel,” the Stranger gets really hands on, going so far as to track down a magic stake with which Batman has to use on his old pal. It’s only at the last moment that the true nature of the evil is revealed, and Superman is saved. That same month, remembering his mystery roots, the Stranger popped up in The House of Secrets (#150, Mar. 1978) to tell a story about a man named Thomas Corbett, a warlock who once tried to kill a friend of the Stranger’s.

In May, he participated in the book-length adventure “There Shall Come a Gathering” in Showcase #100, a story featuring every character to headline the title to date, rubbing shoulders with not just the Flash and Green Lantern, but also Sugar and Spike, Dolphin, Angel and the Ape, and dozens more. A disruption in the time stream starts pulling Earth from its orbit, so a large group of heroes meet on the JLA Satellite to address the problem. They break up into smaller groups to keep our big blue marble spinning, as well as dealing with catastrophes on the planet itself. When Flash and some of the others fail in their outer space mission, they call in some “big guns,” one of which is the Stranger. He, along with Flash, Green Lantern, the Atom, Adam Strange, and Space Ranger hold a séance, which conjures up the Spectre. The Spectre then tries to literally hold Earth in its place, while the cause of all this trouble (I’m not saying it was aliens—but it was aliens) is dealt with by some of the other heroes, including Lois Lane and the aforementioned Angel. Written by Pauls Kupperberg and Levitz and drawn by Joe Staton, “Gathering” remains a high-water mark for DC anniversary issues, managing to give each of the main heroes (including the Stranger) a moment to shine while also finding a way to work in dozens of disparate characters.

After some more appearances in Justice League, the Stranger re-teamed with Batman in Brave and the Bold #145, once again drawn

by Jim Aparo and written by Bob Haney. In “A Choice of Dooms!” these two men of mystery join forces to stop a voodoo cult. At one point the

Just One of the Guys (inset top) The Stranger played a role in Wonder Woman’s “Twelve Trials.” Cover to WW #218 (June–July 1975)

by Bob Oksner. (inset middle) Nick Cardy’s hair-raising cover to Justice League of America #103 (Dec. 1972). (middle) The Stranger fades out after being offered JLA membership. (bottom) Terry Austin and Dick Giordano’s JLA Satellite pinup from Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-46, showing PS with the JLA. TM & © DC Comics.

40 • BACK ISSUE • Halloween Issue

by

Robert Greenberger

conducted in January 2016 is and transcribed by Brian K. Morr

Among the many genres that gained in ascendency in comic books of the early 1950s, the supernatural had the widest variety of approaches, with E.C. Comics going for high-quality, visceral storytelling while the more conservative DC Comics dipped its toes into the world of the paranormal with a brand-new series featuring an enigmatic figure known only as the Phantom Stranger.

A creation of John Broome, the Phantom Stranger arrived in the Spring of 1952 in his own bimonthly title, his earliest exploits illustrated by Carmine Infantino and Sy Barry.

The series lasted a mere six issues before vanishing, with the character largely being forgotten. When the mystery genre was freshened in the late 1960s under editor Joe Orlando, the Phantom Stranger was rediscovered and reprinted under a Neal Adams cover in Showcase #80 (Feb. 1969). That was merely a stunt designed to announce his revived title, which arrived a few months later with a May–June 1969 cover date. At first, the series featured Phantom Stranger reprints plus “Dr. Thirteen, Ghost-Breaker” oldies that first appeared in Star-Spangled Comics, with new material framing the reprints and connecting Dr. Thirteen to the Stranger.

Thankfully, The Phantom Stranger found an audience and new stories, from writers Robert Kanigher, Gerry Conway, and Mike Friedrich, began appearing. It wasn’t until writer Len Wein and artist Jim Aparo arrived before the series found its footing and took on a unique identity. The character remained a fixture of the DC Universe, with Wein even having him make appearances in Justice League of America.

By the early 1980s, the Phantom Stranger was an occasional guest-star and was a little-seen utility player. In 1986, that changed when writer John Ostrander chose to use him to oppose Darkseid in the Legends miniseries. A tie-in issue of Secret Origins featured four all-star creative teams each presenting a possible origin story for the Phantom Stranger.

Enter writer Paul Kupperberg, at the time best known for his Superman stories and for creating Arion, Lord High Mage of Atlantis.

Kupperberg pitched a miniseries that was a fresh approach to the character at a time when interest was high in him.

Assigned to illustrate the series was Mike Mignola, new at the time to DC. In fact, his first DC work was illustrating Spectre foe Wotan for me in the final issue of the first run of Who’s Who (issue #26, Apr. 1987). Mignola had already established himself as a superior draftsman with work on the Rocket Raccoon miniseries, The Incredible Hulk, Alpha Flight, Mr. Monster’s Super Duper Special, and The Chronicles of Corum before becoming a DC mainstay in the latter 1980s. Inking Mignola on the Phantom Stranger miniseries was P. Craig Russell.

Mignola declined to participate in an interview about The Phantom Stranger but did offer, “I really don’t have much to add about this book.

I do remember that Eclipso was fun to draw and the underground stuff was okay, but mostly I remember being super-frustrated that Mike Carlin sold me on the book saying it was nothing but monsters and mostly I remember drawing hotel rooms and Ronald Reagan. Nothing against the story, it just wasn’t what Mike led me to believe it was going to be, and I had to draw it much faster than I was comfortable drawing (why only the first issue was finished pencils)—I had no love for the character (I was always a Marvel guy).”

– Robert Greenberger

The Mysterious Stranger A 1987 Phantom Stranger illo by Mike Mignola, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com).

TM & © DC Comics.

44 • BACK ISSUE • Halloween Issue

ROBERT GREENBERGER: All right, Paul, so let’s talk GREENBERGER: You didn’t write him, really, until what, DC Comics Presents? about the Phantom Stranger.

PAUL KUPPERBERG: Let us talk about the Phantom KUPPERBERG: Well, I did kind of, sort of, write him in Showcase #100. He was one of the characters in that Stranger’s sins.

GREENBERGER: You were too young to read the book because it had all the characters who had appeared when it came out in the ’50s, so when did you first in Showcase. But even in that, I remember being intimidated by writing the character because I liked encounter the Phantom Stranger?

KUPPERBERG: Showcase, that 1960s Showcase issue him so much. I was such a fan, touching him was like, “Ooh, my goodness. What damage might I do?” But that reprinted his original stories. yeah, and then came the DC Comics Presents which was GREENBERGER: Yeah, issue #80. the Joker… and somebody else?

KUPPERBERG: Correct.

GREENBERGER: No, it’s Superman, Joker, GREENBERGER: So, what was the appeal?

Phantom Stranger. But that’s an odd KUPPERBERG: Well, first of all, there combination. Where did you come up was a Neal Adams cover which was with that? just spooky and gorgeous, and I had KUPPERBERG: That was likely a Julie recently discovered his work. I was [Schwartz, the series’ editor] bit. It just blown away by it. What was it, sounds like his kind of thing. I would 1967, ’68? walk in and say, “How about Superman GREENBERGER: It was February 1969 and Phantom Stranger?” And he’d cover date, on sale in late 1968. answer, “Okay, but use the Joker, too.”

KUPPERBERG: Yeah, so I’m 12 or 13 Well, okay. years old at the time. And then there are GREENBERGER: It made perfect sense. these—I think it was Jerry Grandenetti KUPPERBERG: Yes, well, you know, who did the bridge story and stuff? that was the way [Julie] worked. He GREENBERGER: Yep. Mike Friedrich could often put together things that wrote the bridging pages for © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. didn’t really fit because it was unusual.

Grandenetti and Bill Draut.

KUPPERBERG: I liked Grandenetti’s stuff. He had this You don’t normally associate the Joker with Superman kind of weird, kooky style that really appealed to me. or something like the Phantom Stranger, so let’s throw I always liked off-kilter artists like that. And the stories this maniac up against that. But, yeah, it was a lot of were just cool. There was that typical 1950s’ “There fun to do. is no such thing as horror, it’s all a mystery.” But the GREENBERGER: Were you as intimidated the second Stranger was kinda given a little bit more leeway in time around? those stories. He was a little bit more—they left it more KUPPERBERG: No, I’d gotten over it. I mean, here, up in the air, more questionable about him than they the real intimidating character, ultimately when I got did in those normal kind of stories. He was just cool around to him, was writing Superman himself, and I and different and looked great. You know, the cloak had gotten over that so I was pretty much ready to take on anybody at that point. and the suit and the hat and everything.

GREENBERGER: Oh, yeah. No question. I remember he GREENBERGER: Okay, so here you are, in the mid-1980s. looked really different when I saw those Neal Adams My research shows that you originally pitched the covers at first, but I didn’t really get into him until I Phantom Stranger miniseries to Denny [O’Neil].

KUPPERBERG: Yes. guess Len Wein and Jim Aparo did their arc.

KUPPERBERG: Yes. That was one of the great runs of GREENBERGER: Where did all this come from? You’re not usually known for writing the supernatural. that character, for sure.

Famous First Editions (left) The first appearance of the character in The Phantom Stranger #1 (Aug.–Sept. 1952).

Cover by Carmine Infantino. (center) The Stranger returns in Showcase #80 (Feb. 1969). Cover

by Neal Adams. (right) Back in print!

The Phantom Stranger #1 (May–June 1969).

Cover by Bill Draut.

TM & © DC Comics.

Halloween Issue • BACK ISSUE • 45

TM

by

Marc Buxton

Hello, boys and ghouls, and a very Happy Halloween to you.

Care to join me on a journey?

It might be a dangerous trip, fraught with tales of nostalgia—of candy stores and newsstands, of the smell of old newsprint in an Age of Bronze.

You see, my dear, weary travelers, in this age—this Bronze Age— things had a tendency to get a bit scary, especially in the pages of Marvel Comics. Colorful superheroes were always the order of day at the house that Stan and Jack built, but during the early ’70s, these primaryhued champions of justice had to share the spotlight with some of the greatest monsters to creep, plod, and flap onto a comics page. For the Bronze Age was not just an age of heroes—no, my dearest children of the night, it was an age of monsters. But not every monster is created equal, and while some creatures of the night thrilled at cringing readers, others faded into the darkness to become almost forgotten.

Almost forgotten, my dear, brave children, for the tombs of history remain open and it is up to us, the intrepid explorers of comic-book lore, to find the truth about these obscure creeps.

All this brings us to the focus of this expedition—the Living Mummy, Marvel’s monster that didn’t make the big time. Yes, sadly, the Living Mummy did not achieve the heights of financial or critical success that some of Marvel’s other monsters did, but it wasn’t for lack of trying, as some of the most innovative and famed creators of the Bronze Age took a shot at Marvel’s mummy. But like all great mummies, there seemed to be a curse surrounding this monster character.

So join me on an archeological expedition into yesteryear as we attempt to discover the cause of the curse of the Living Mummy and try to figure out why this creature was the monster that didn’t make it.

THE MYSTERIES OF MARVEL’S MUMMY

N’Kantu Can, Too! Marvel’s shambling monster-hero’s first appearance, in Supernatural Thrillers #5 (Aug. 1973). Cover by Rich Buckler, Frank Giacoia, and John Romita, Sr. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

In that bygone era of bell-bottoms and disco, Marvel had already achieved major success by mining its own versions of the characters of the Universal Films pantheon of classic monsters. Dracula had become a Marvel mainstay in Tomb of Dracula, the House of Ideas found its own tragic Lawrence Talbot-like lycanthrope in Werewolf by Night, and the Frankenstein Monster was thrilling readers in his own eponymous title. Since Marvel found such great degrees of fan love with its own versions of Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man, it made sense that the powers-that-be at Marvel decided to dive deeper into the Universal archive of terror.

With all due respect to Frankenstein’s blushing bride, the Mummy was the most iconic Universal Monster that Marvel had yet to exploit. This bandage-wrapped terror of the sands starred in five films for Universal (six if you count the rather toothless 1955 horror comedy Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy) and was a late-night TV monster-mash staple. Hammer Film Productions followed Universal with four garish Mummy flicks of its own, solidifying the Mummy as a true horror icon. And as with most pop-culture trends of the era, Marvel wanted in on the act.

But now, as we turn the pages of the Book of Anubis to try and find the secrets of the Living Mummy and answer the question of why this horror staple © Luigi Novi / failed to gain a comic-book audience, we turn our Wikimedia Commons. attentions to the genesis of the character. Like most characters at Marvel, the Living Mummy began with the Man himself.

“Stan wanted a mummy character,” the legendary Roy Thomas informed horror aficionados in a 2001 interview with Comic Book Artist entitled “Son of Stan: Roy’s Years of Horror.” “And we couldn’t just call him ‘The Mummy,’ so we came up with The Living Mummy.”

So it was Stan Lee that brought the Living Mummy to life, but it was other big Marvel Bullpen names that animated this monster.

BACK ISSUE asked Rascally Roy what he remembered about the creation of the Living Mummy, but the creator’s memories were fuzzy in regard to the bandaged monster. When asked exactly what jumped out to him about Marvel’s mummy creation, Thomas replied, “Unfortunately, Halloween Issue • BACK ISSUE • 51

MARVEL BRONZE AGE HORROR REPRINT SERIES INDEX [Editor’s note: The sheer volume of reprint series published by Mighty Marvel during the Bronze Age prohibits their indexes from appearing in a single issue of BACK ISSUE. Jazzy Jarrod Buttery has indexed them all, however, and the following index of Marvel’s horror titles continues his superhero and adventure series index presented in BI #86. Jarrod’s indexes of Marvel Western, war, romance, and humor reprints will appear in future editions.]

BEWARE! #4 Sept. 1973 Cover artist: Gil Kane Editor: Roy Thomas Reprints: UĂŠ Âş ÂœĂ€Ă€ÂœĂ€ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠ >Ă•Â˜ĂŒi`ĂŠ ˆÂ?Â?tÂť from Adventures into Weird Worlds #14 (Jan. 1953) UĂŠ Âş ÂœĂ€iĂ›iÀÊ ĂƒĂŠ>ĂŠ œ˜}ĂŠ/ˆ“itÂť from Adventures into Weird Worlds #14 (Jan. 1953) UĂŠ Âş ĂŠ-Â…Ă€ÂˆiÂŽĂŠÂˆÂ˜ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ ˆ}Â…ĂŒÂťĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Adventures into Weird Worlds #14 (Jan. 1953) UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ >Â˜ĂŠ7Â…ÂœĂŠ7>Â?ÂŽi`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ Water!â€? from Adventures into Weird Worlds #14 (Jan. 1953)

UĂŠ Âş7Â…iÂ˜ĂŠ7>ÀÀiÂ˜ĂŠ7œŽiĂŠ1ÂŤtÂť from Marvel Tales #138 (Sept. 1955) UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ œ˜iÂ?ÞÊ >Â˜ÂťĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Marvel Tales #126 (Aug. 1954) BEWARE! #8 May 1974 Cover artist: John Romita, Sr. Editor: Roy Thomas Reprints: UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ iÂ?ÂŤÂˆÂ˜}ĂŠ >˜`tÂť from Marvel Tales #129 (Dec. 1954) UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ Â?>VÂŽĂŠ Ă•Â˜}iÂœÂ˜ÂťĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Mystic #2 (May 1951) UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ/…ˆ˜}ĂŠ/Â…>ĂŒĂŠ-ĂŒ>Â?ÂŽĂƒĂŠ-ÂŽĂ•Â?Â?

Valley!â€? from Mystic #37 (May 1955) UĂŠ Âş/Â…iÞÊ7>Â?ÂŽĂŠ/…ÀÕÊ7>Â?Â?ĂƒtÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Astonishing #56 (Dec. 1956)

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Cover artists: Ron Wilson and Mike Esposito Editor: Roy Thomas New story: UĂŠ Âş*Ă€iÞÊ ÂœĂ€ĂŠ iiÂŤĂƒÂť Reprints: UĂŠ Âş i>ĂŒÂ…ĂŠ ÂœĂŒÂˆVitÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ĂŠMystic #10 (July 1952) UĂŠ Âş ĂŠ Â“ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ*Ă€ÂˆĂƒÂœÂ˜iĂ€ĂŠÂœvĂŠĂŒÂ…i Voodoo King!â€? from Journey into Mystery #82 (July 1962) CHAMBER OF CHILLS #8 Jan. 1974 Cover artists: Marie Severin and Ernie Chan Editor: Roy Thomas Reprints: UĂŠ Âş-Â…iĂŠ7ÂœĂ•Â?`Â˜Â˝ĂŒĂŠ-ĂŒ>ÞÊ i>`tÂť from Mystic #6 (Jan. 1952) UĂŠ Âş ĂŠ7>ÂˆĂŒĂŠÂˆÂ˜ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ Ă•Â˜}iœ˜tÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Marvel Tales #117 (Aug. 1953) UĂŠ Âş iĂ€Ă€ĂžÂ˝ĂƒĂŠ iĂœĂŠ ÂœLÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ĂŠMarvel Tales #117 (Aug. 1953) UĂŠ Âş/iĂ€Ă€ÂœĂ€ĂŠÂˆÂ˜ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ ÂœĂ€ĂŒÂ…tÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Marvel Tales #117 (Aug. 1953) CHAMBER OF CHILLS #9 Mar. 1974 Cover artists: Carl Burgos, Ron Wilson, and Marie Severin Editor: Roy Thomas Reprints: UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ >Â˜ĂŠ7Â…ÂœĂŠ Â…>˜}i`ÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Uncanny Tales #11 (Aug. 1953) UĂŠ Âş ĂŠ >Â˜Â˝ĂŒĂŠ-ĂŒÂœÂŤĂŠ,Ă•Â˜Â˜ÂˆÂ˜}tÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Mystery Tales #11 (May 1953) UĂŠ Âş"˜iĂŠ7Â…ÂœĂŠ >Ă€i`ÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Mystic #41 (Nov. 1955) UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ/iĂƒĂŒtÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ĂŠMystic #41 (Nov. 1955) CHAMBER OF CHILLS #10 May 1974 Cover artist: Carl Burgos Editor: Roy Thomas Reprints: UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ ÂœĂƒĂŒĂŠ ÂˆĂŒĂžÂťĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ĂŠJourney Into Unknown Worlds #17 (Apr. 1953) UĂŠ Âş >Ă€Ă€ĂžÂ˝ĂƒĂŠ ˆ`iÂœĂ•ĂŒÂťĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Journey Into Unknown Worlds #17 (Apr. 1953) UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ >Â˜ĂŠ7Â…ÂœĂŠ iÂ?ĂŒi`tÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Astonishing #36 (Dec. 1954) UĂŠ Âş1˜VÂ?iĂŠ ˆ`iÂœÂ˜Â˝ĂƒĂŠ ÂœÂ?`ÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Marvel Tales #117 (Aug. 1953) UĂŠ Âş ÂœĂŒÂ…iÀÊ Â˜ÂœĂœĂƒĂŠ iĂƒĂŒÂťĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Mystic #23 (Sept. 1953) CHAMBER OF CHILLS #11 July 1974 Cover artists: Ron Wilson and Frank Giacoia Editor: Roy Thomas TM & Š Marvel Characters, Inc.

BEWARE! #1 BEWARE! #5 Mar. 1973 Nov. 1973 Cover artist: Bill Everett Cover artists: Ron Wilson, John Editor: Roy Thomas Romita, Sr., and Mike Esposito Reprints: IF YOU ENJOYED CHAMBER THIS PREVIEW, OF CHILLS #1 Editor: Roy Thomas UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ7iĂ€iĂœÂœÂ?vĂŠĂœ>ĂƒĂŠ vĂ€>ˆ`tÂť Nov. 1972 THIS from Menace #8 (Oct. 1953)Reprints: CLICK THE LINK TO ORDER Cover artists: Gil Kane and UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ"Â?`ĂŠ >`ĂžÂ˝ĂƒĂŠ-ÂœÂ˜ÂťĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ UĂŠ Âş/ÂœÂœĂŠ Փ>Â˜ĂŠĂŒÂœĂŠ ÂˆĂ›itÂť ISSUE IN PRINT OR DIGITAL FORMAT! Tom Palmer Mystic #5 (Jan. 1952) from Spellbound #16 Editor: Roy Thomas UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ ÂœĂ€Ă€ÂˆLÂ?iĂŠ ÂœĂ•ĂƒitÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ (Aug. 1953) New stories: Adventures into Terror #27 UĂŠ Âş"Â˜ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ/Ă€>ˆÂ?ĂŠÂœvĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ7ÂˆĂŒVÂ…tÂť UĂŠ Âş ÂœÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂœvĂŠ >`˜iĂƒĂƒ]ĂŠ œœ˜ (Jan. 1954) from Tales of Suspense #27 of Fear!â€?

UĂŠ Âş œ˜}tÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ĂŠMystic #19 (Mar. 1962) UĂŠ Âş iÂ?Ă•ĂƒÂˆÂœÂ˜ĂŠvÂœĂ€ĂŠ>ĂŠ Ă€>}œ˜ (Apr. 1953) UĂŠ Âş i…ˆ˜`ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ ÂœÂœĂ€ÂťĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Slayer!â€?

UĂŠ Âş9ÂœĂ•ĂŠ >Â˜ĂŠ"˜Â?ÞÊ ˆiĂŠ"˜VitÂť Spellbound #16 (Aug. 1953) Reprints: from Adventures into Terror #8 UĂŠ Âş/Â…iÞÊ7>ÂˆĂŒĂŠÂˆÂ˜ĂŠ/Â…iÂˆĂ€ĂŠÂ°Â°Â° (Feb. 1952) BEWARE! #2 Dungeon!â€? from Menace #1 May 1973 (Mar. 1953) BEWARE! #6 Cover artist: John Romita, Sr. Jan. 1974 Editor: Roy Thomas CHAMBER OF CHILLS #5 Cover artists: Ron Wilson and Reprints: July 1973 Mike Esposito UĂŠ Âş Â?ˆ˜`ĂŠ >ĂŒiÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ĂŠStrange Cover artists: Rich Buckler and Editor: Roy Thomas Tales #9 (Aug. 1952) Tom Palmer Reprints: UĂŠ Âş"½ >Â?Â?iĂžÂ˝ĂƒĂŠ Ă€Âˆi˜`ÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Editor: Roy Thomas UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ i>`Â?ÞÊ*Â?>}Ă•itÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Strange Tales #11 (Oct. 1952) New stories: Mystery Tales #25 (Jan. 1955) UĂŠ Âş ÂœĂŠ Â˜ĂƒĂœiÀÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ĂŠAstonishing BACK #92 UĂŠ Thing Âş/Â…iĂŠ iĂ›ÂˆÂ?Â˝ĂƒĂŠ ÂœĂœĂ€ĂžtÂť UĂŠ Âş iĂ?tÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ĂŠAdventures into TheISSUE #56 (Dec. 1956) “Bronze Age Halloween!â€?

Swamp revival of 1982, UĂŠ Stranger Âş >Ă•Â˜ĂŒĂŠ>˜`ĂŠ,Ă•Â˜tÂť Terror #14 (Winter 1952) UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ >Â˜ĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ĂŠ >Ă€ĂƒÂťĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Swamp Thing in Hollywood, Phantom team-ups, KUPPERUĂŠ Âş ĂŠ/œ“LĂŠLÞÊ Â˜ĂžĂŠ"ĂŒÂ…iĂ€ BERG & MIGNOLA’s Phantom Stranger miniseries, DC’s The WitchUĂŠ Âş ÂˆĂ€Ă€ÂœĂ€]ĂŠ ÂˆĂ€Ă€ÂœĂ€ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ7>Â?Â?tÂť Strange Tales #9 (Aug. 1952) ingTales Hour, the#25 Living Mummy, and an index of Marvel’s 1970s’ Name!â€? from Mystery UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ6œˆViĂŠÂœvĂŠ œœ“tÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ anthologies! Featuring the work of RICH BUCKLER, ANDY Reprints: (Jan. 1955) horror Strange Tales #9 (Aug. 1952) MANGELS, VAL MAYERIK, MARTIN PASKO, MICHAEL USLAN, UĂŠ cover. Âş ĂŒĂŠ >Â˜Â˝ĂŒĂŠ ÂˆĂƒĂƒÂťĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ĂŠJourney UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ ÂˆĂŒĂŒÂ?iĂŠ*iÂœÂŤÂ?iÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ THOMAS YEATES, and more. YEATES into Mystery #1 (June 1952) Adventures into Terror #14 BEWARE! #3 (84 FULL-COLOR pages) $8.95 (Winter 1952) July 1973 (Digital Edition) $3.95 CHAMBER OF CHILLS #6 Cover artists: Rich Buckler and http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=1246 Sept. 1973 BEWARE! #7 Joe Sinnott Cover artist: John Romita, Sr. Mar. 1974 Editor: Roy Thomas Editor: Roy Thomas Cover artists: Bill Everett and Reprints: New story: Marie Severin UĂŠ Âş ÂœÂ˜Â˝ĂŒĂŠ Ă›iÀÊ ލÊ>ĂŠ ĂžÂŤĂƒĂžÂť UĂŠ Âş-œ“iĂœÂ…iĂ€iĂŠ1˜`iÀÊ/Â…ÂˆĂƒ Editor: Roy Thomas from Mystery Tales #14 Earth!!â€?

Reprints: (Aug. 1953) UĂŠ Âş7Â…iĂ€iĂŠ/Â…iĂ€iÂ˝ĂƒĂŠ>ĂŠ7ˆÂ?Â?Âť UĂŠ Âş ÂœĂ•LÂ?iĂŠ i>ĂŒĂ•Ă€iÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ĂŠMystic UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ >Â˜ĂŠ7Â…ÂœĂŠ,>Â˜ĂŠ Ăœ>ޝ Reprints: #30 (May 1954) from Adventures into Terror UĂŠ Âş ĂŠ-ˆ}Â…ĂŒĂŠvÂœĂ€ĂŠ-ÂœĂ€iĂŠ ĂžiĂƒÂťĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ-ĂŒÂœĂ€Â“ĂŠ7>Â?ÂŽiĂ€ĂƒtÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ #27 (Jan. 1954) Spellbound #13 (Mar. 1953) Mystic #59 (May 1957) UĂŠ Âş/Âœ`>ÞÊ ĂŠ “Ê>ĂŠ >Â˜ÂťĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ UĂŠ Âş/Â…iĂŠ-iVĂ€iĂŒĂŠÂœvĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ >Ă•Â˜ĂŒi` Mystery Tales #14 (Aug. 1953) CHAMBER OF CHILLS #7 Pictureâ€? from Mystical Tales UĂŠ Âş >Ă€ÂˆÂœÂ˜Â˝ĂƒĂŠ Ă•Ă€`iĂ€iÀÊvĂ€ÂœÂ“ Nov. 1973 #7 (June 1957) Mystery Tales #14 (Aug. 1953)

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