The Best of From The Tomb

Edited by Peter Normanton

TwoMorrows Publishing Raleigh, North Carolina www.twomorrows.com

The Best of FROM THE TOMB is published by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Road, Raleigh, NC 27614. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Fax: (919) 449-0327. Peter Normanton, Editor.

John Morrow, Publisher. Website: www. twomorrows.com. All characters are TM & © their respective companies unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © the respective authors. Editorial package is © 2012 Peter Normanton and TwoMorrows Publishing. All rights reserved. All illustrations contained herein are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders and are reproduced for historical reference and research purposes. No material from this book may be reproduced in any form, including print and digital, without the express permission of the publisher.

TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, North Carolina 27614 www.twomorrows.com e-mail: store@twomorrowspubs.com First Printing, October 2012 Printed in the USA ISBN: 978-1-60549-043-4 Captain America, Fantastic Four, Thing, Gorgon, Journey Into Mystery, Strange Tales, Amazing Fantasy, Invaders TM & ©2012 Marvel Characters, Inc. • Mr. District Attorney, Mystery In Space, Spectre, Adventure Comics, Secrets of Sinister House TM & ©2012 DC Comics • Tales from the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Haunt of Fear, Shock Suspenstories, Weird Science, Weird Fantasy, Crime Suspenstories, Panic TM & ©2012 Wm. M Gaines Agent • Police Trap, Young Romance, Black Magic TM & ©2012 Joe Simon and Jack Kirby Estates • Creepy, Eerie TM & ©2012 Warren Publications.

All other characters and properties TM & ©2012 the respective owners.

Cover by The Gurch

A Word From the Tomb ..................................................................................................................................... Page 4 The Dark Age of Comics by Peter Normanton (FTT #1) ................................................................................... Page 6 Ghost Gallery by Frank Motler (FTT #22) ...................................................................................................... Page 12 Bad American Comics: Gender Bender by Frank Motler (FTT #20) ............................................................... Page 24 Horror Comics Spotlight: Journey into Mystery Atlas Era Archives by Barry Forshaw (FTT #27)................... Page 25 The Archie Goodwin Years by Peter Normanton (FTT #26) ............................................................................ Page 32 The Covers That Made Them Fry by Richard Byard (FTT #13) ...................................................................... Page 41 The Joe Sinnott Interview by Mark Sinnott and Peter Normanton (FTT #17) .................................................. Page 50 Burn Witch, Burn by Peter Normanton (unpublished FTT #29) ...................................................................... Page 59 Rudy Palais: The Dance of Death by Frank Motler (FTT #3) .......................................................................... Page 64 The Return of The Gurch by Peter Normanton (FTT #28) ............................................................................... Page 68 Jerry Grandenetti Interviewed by Richard Arndt (FTT #26) ............................................................................ Page 76 Bad American Comics Presents: Unreformed by Frank Motler (FTT #14) ...................................................... Page 80 Petty Crime Part 3: The Comic Books by Frank Motler (unpublished FTT #29) ............................................. Page 82 The Weird Worlds of Matt Fox by Peter Normanton (FTT #2 & #7) ............................................................... Page 90 Out of the World: Steve Ditko Gallery (unpublished FTT #29) ....................................................................... Page 95 Frank Frazetta by Frank Motler (unpublished FTT #29) ................................................................................ Page 100 Vampire and the new Teutonic Horror Shockers! by Peter Normanton (unpublished FTT #29) ..................... Page 104 Let’s Drop The Big One Now! by Frank Motler (FTT #5) ............................................................................. Page 108 Conversations with an Unsung Editor! An Interview With Al Feldstein by Jim Vanhollebeke (FTT #9) .........Page 114 John Bolton: The Curse of the Werewolf by Peter Normanton (FTT #28) ..................................................... Page 124 Remembrances of the Gargoyles at Large by Alan Hewetson (FTT #12) ....................................................... Page 127 Bad American Comics Has a Panic Attack by Frank Motler (unpublished FTT #29) ..................................... Page 131 Mars Is Heaven by Frank Motler (FTT #16) ................................................................................................. Page 135 The Plague of Plagiarism by Sid Jones (FTT #21) ........................................................................................ Page 142 Comic Book Killer by Carl Alessi (FTT #12) ................................................................................................ Page 144 The Spectre Calls by John Fennessy (FTT #11) ............................................................................................ Page 151 A Gallery of Grotesques: The Horrific Art of Bernard Bailey by Frank Motler (FTT #6) ............................ Page 157 Secrets of Sinister House by Mike Howlett (FTT #17) .................................................................................. Page 167 In the Dead of Night by Peter Normanton (FTT #27) .................................................................................... Page 171 Terrorvision: Interview with Shane Oakley by Paul H. Birch (unpublished FTT #29) .................................. Page 177 My Dealings With Legend: John Craig by David Burlington (FTT #28) ....................................................... Page 184 Subterranean Nightmare by Frank Motler (FTT #6) ...................................................................................... Page 187 3

Twenty years ago, when I first began my research into the madness of the horror comics’ boom of the early 1950s I never for one moment imagined I would be typing these words. From the Tomb, or Crypt as it was then loosely named, was only ever intended to be a photocopied fanzine with a life span of a couple of issues. There was no great plan, just an urge to get something out my system that had been there since my teens. Many comic book reading teenagers harbour dreams of going on to become pros; my aspirations were never so lofty, all I ever wanted was my own fanzine.

After contributing several articles to Calum Iain MacIver’s tribute to H.P. Lovecraft, the much-missed Strange Aeons, I turned my attention to the release of From the Tomb. The world had changed; desktop publishing was now with us.

Christmas 1999 brought a copy of Microsoft Publisher and a scanner. I was off, and by February, the first issue of From the Tomb rolled off my Hewlett Packard printer. I had been unusually patient, biding my time for almost a quarter of a century, but the dream had at long last come to true, I was now the editor of my own fanzine, all 20 A4 pages of it. It was the proudest of moments; but I had my reservations unsure as to whether the world was ready for my twisted prodigy as I was.

During the 1970s, in the heady days of Comics Unlimited, The Panelologist, Bemusing and Dez Skinn’s Fantasy Advertiser, British fandom had been quite a joyous accommodating affair, not so during the 1980s when an unhealthy cynicism had reared its ugly head. There was no need to worry, while I wasn’t drowned by a deluge of letters, the response was very positive and by issue three I had mustered up a princely 64 readers. Okay, it was hardly the big time, but from the outset, my target had been one hundred regular readers.

With the appearance of issue #4, my fortunes changed and following my introduction to the internet, I plucked up the courage to get in touch with the legendary Al Feldstein. A couple of days later, Al replied to my mail, and soon after sent over an image that would alter the course of From the Tomb and bring it to a far wider readership. There was no way in a month of Sundays I could have been prepared for what happened on that Saturday morning in the June of 2001; it was going to be a day spent working on the A-bomb issue. It never happened. My inbox was inundated with requests for the latest issue of my magnum opus and an hour later the post arrived with letters requesting this issue and everything else I had done. It soon became obvious I had Dez Skinn to thank for my newfound success. He just loved this issue giving it a ten out of ten in his review column and free advertising on the inside back cover of Comics International. It wasn’t the greatest publication in the world, but for Dez and many others of his generation, my audacity had rekindled many pleasant memories

4

of their earliest days in fandom.

And so, my wicked offspring slowly started to grow, but it was still very much a British affair, with precious few people across the Atlantic being aware of its existence. It would be another twelve months before my first foray into the States, which almost brought about From the Tomb’s premature demise. With issue #8, we went for a Basil Wolverton-styled extravaganza, expanding the page count to 48. I also got in touch with Bud Plant, and his people were soon very interested in my manic endeavour. I was still printing on a Hewlett Packard, having graduated to a monster A3 printer with issue #2, but this was becoming very time consuming and the size of Bud’s order meant every spare moment was given over to the print run and not enough was afforded to the next issue. I was on the verge of becoming the victim of my own success. Then I got a call from John Anderson at Soaring Penguin. He was sure he could get me professional printing at an affordable price and had contacts with Diamond Distribution who could get my venture into the United States. He was true to his word, and under his guidance, From the Tomb went onto a regular schedule and gained more and more readers across the globe. If John had not stepped in at this moment, From the Tomb probably would not have made it into double figures, and if the world’s financial markets hadn’t collapsed, who knows, maybe we would have got to three figures, such was the enthusiasm for this tome of terror.

With my own circumstances looking increasingly uncertain, I had to call time on From the Tomb, but thanks to Roy Thomas, John Morrow gave me the opportunity to produce this collected “Best Of”. It has been absolute pleasure putting this edition together. So, a big thank you to both John and Roy. For me it’s now time to move on. For the last eighteen months, I have been contributing to PS Publishing’s essential Harvey Horrors collection, which has introduced me to a whole new world. Following the completion of this book I will be joining Pete Crowther and his team at PS Publishing to commence work on the new version of From the Tomb which will be dedicated to the 20th Century history of our comic book heritage. This is a very exciting project, which will bring together several names associated with From the Tomb along with some of PS’s long standing writers.

Before I go, I would like to thank Frank Motler for both his friendship and tireless enthusiasm, John Anderson for his immense patience and making From the Tomb the success that it was, Raoul Collins for saving my neck and everyone who contributed, or wrote to me, or was there to buy my ‘orrible mag; and last but not least my wife Mary for putting up with all of this madness. She would also like to thank Stefan for the monthly film magazine.

Peter Normanton

5th June 2012

5

6

As the golden age of the superhero faded from sight in the years immediately after WWII, there followed a period in comic publishing now tainted in infamy, one now looked upon as the dark age of comics. With the Axis powers having put to flight, the costumed superheroes no longer commanded the multi-million dollar comic book publishing market; in their wake came a plethora of genres each vying to become the next four-colour sensation. Initially the newsstands were engulfed by tales of hard-bitten criminals and the lovelorn before an unholy breed started to spread its contamination across the length and breadth of North America. Their content was a far cry from the heroic splendour of the early 1940s and yet their dubious narrative was to inspire a generation of creators whose works would find their way into music, film, literature, and, of course, the comic book. However, while the seductive allure of these comics enthralled their young readership, they also attracted the attention of certain misguided groups who considered this grisly cabaret a threat to the very fabric of society. It was very late in the day when the publishers finally recognised the threat posed by these overly zealous groups. The excess they had perpetuated in this comic book grand guignol was the to become the precipitant for the industry’s ruin and brought about seven years of fruitless stagnation.

HORROR COMICS IN 1943!

It was 1943 when Classic Comics #13 first put a tingle along their readers’ spines with their interpretation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, an adaptation widely acknowledged as the earliest fully-fledged horror comic. This was not an attempt to test the market nor was it the catalyst for other publishers to follow suit, although a macabre set of evil doers were quite often plying their foul trade in the pages of Timely’s Captain America Comics and Marvel Mystery Comics and Continental’s Suspense Comics. Capitol’s Yellowjacket Comics ventured with graphic retellings of the works of Edgar Allan Poe, although their presence never made it to the cover.

The appearance of Avon’s aptly named Eerie Comics, dated January 1947, was to a prove a landmark, as for the first time the entire content of a comic book was dedicated to original tales of terror. As it lay in wait on the shelves, the cover to this chilling debut would have carried a memorable impact, with its lewd staging of a scantily clad girl helplessly bound before the menace of an approaching Nosferatu-styled villain. Surprisingly, this diabolical scene did not stimulate a boom in sales, and the title was summarily axed. Four years later when the horror comics had secured a stranglehold on the market, Eerie Comics would make a welcome return for a run that would last for seventeen issues.

It was a company not readily associated with these debased tales that laid claim to being the first to launch an on-going supernatural series: none other than the American Comics Group. As the nights drew in during the fall of 1948, Adventures into the Unknown made its debut. Whether the American Comics Group was more patient than their counterparts at Avon, or it was simply a matter of timing, Adventures into the Unknown embarked upon a staggering twenty-year run.

Sepulchred within the pages of its third issue were the uncanny renderings of the then unknown Al Feldstein. Al had already acquitted a reputation as a dedicated professional, but even his insight could not have predicted the dark tide that was soon to follow. A few months later, taking up on a concept suggested by Sheldon Moldoff, he and the legendary Bill Gaines forged the ideas that would introduce the Crypt Keeper into the pages of EC’s Crime Patrol with its

7

fifteenth issue, and similarly bring the Vault Keeper into War Against Crime! with issue #10.

The Crypt of Terror, soon to become the notorious Tales from the Crypt, and the Vault of Horror were EC’s first tomes of terror, and a month later the Haunt of Fear became the final entry to this terrifying trio. Twelve moths later the newsstands were besieged by this sinister phenomenon. The kids, so it appeared, just couldn’t get enough!

UNIQUE STYLES The part played by Adventures into the Unknown in arousing interest in this ghoulish form of entertainment should not be underestimated, but the credit for the insanity of the next few years really lies with the gruesome offerings crafted by the team at EC, a name now synonymous with the horror comic. As the months passed by, it became more and more obvious that their rivals across New York City were freely borrowing from their stylised tales of terror. Stan Lee later confessed his line of Atlas horror was nothing more than a copy of Bill Gaines’ comics, although many of his fans will feel he was being overly disparaging of a very healthy selection of weird and wonderful comic books. From the latter part of 1952 through until early 1954, the period of horror’s boom, Atlas nurtured an impressive portfolio of over a dozen titles, each tailored to shock the senses. Among these were the celebrated Journey into Mystery and Strange Tales.

EC were the company to which many publishers wished to aspire, but while they were peeking into the page of Tales from the Crypt and it companions these companies duly developed their own inimitable take on the genre. Fawcett, the publishers of the esteemed Captain Marvel, released their own brand of horror with titles such as Worlds Beyond and This Magazine is Haunted. They avoided the exploitative themes relished by their contemporaries, choosing instead to pursue a regular supply of chillingly conceived plotlines. The lead feature would often run to eleven pages, which assisted character development and allowed for a more defined structure, facets rarely considered by their competitors. Their team of artists included the versatility of Kurt Schaffenberger, Bob Powell, Sheldon Moldoff and George Evans as well as a series of eye-catching covers painted by Norman Saunders for Strange Stories From Another World. Some of the most notorious titles came from Stanley P. Morse.

His Mister Mystery, Weird Mysteries, Weird Tales of the Future and Weird Chills revelled in the exploitative excess of these years as they fused an overload of violence with an audacious hint of sex. These titles remained proud, never cowering in remorse; rather their lurid display created by the genius of Bernard Bailey and Basil Wolverton seduced the buyer as he stood in the darkness before their unrepentant gaze.

The Beyond and Hand of Fate were numbered amongst Ace Periodicals’ horror titles. While their content was observed to exercise an unusually restrained approach with a preference for the more conventional, a juicy morsel was occasionally waiting to be uncovered. Challenge of the Unknown and the early issues of The Beyond were distinguished by the work of Warren Kremer and the later issues of this line showcase the accomplished renderings of the highly

8

collectible Lou Cameron. Warren Kremer would move on to work for Harvey Comics and later became the architect of their success; together with editor Sid Jacobson, he masterminded their entries into the field. Witches Tales, Black Cat Mystery, Chamber of Chills and Tomb of Terror would each in due course stake their claim to a place in the halls of comic book notoriety. This series of ghastly cover creations that came from the drawing boards of Al Avison, Lee Elias and Warren Kremer gave only the slightest impression of that which lay hidden in these pages. The interior debauchery was embellished by the accomplished artistry of Howard Nostrand, Bob Powell, Lee Elias and Rudy Palais. Comic Media were one of the many short-lived publishers who jumped onto this fear-filled bandwagon, publishing only two horror titles Horrific, later to become Terrific, and Weird Terror. They wasted little time in assuming their role in this ignoble drama with a sequence of impressive covers from Don Heck and were responsible for one of the most graphic tales of the period, “Den of Horror”, presented in Weird Terror #3. This account was awash with scenes of flagellation and torture, surely never intended for such a young market. In fact, this story and many others of its ilk from the post-war years suggest these comics were meant for an older audience, many of whom had endured so much while in active service. As war had raged across the globe, thousands of comics, which the young soldiers eagerly lapped up, had been supplied to the American military bases. On their return, they carried on reading, but demanded something a little more than the costumed capers of a few years past. This was borne out in the hard-boiled crime comics, which all too soon evolved to become the horror comics of the pre-Code years.

from this ever-expanding phenomenon. Ribage offered Crime Mysteries, Story arrived with the innocuously titled Mysterious Adventures, Master/Merit with Dark Mysteries, Star Publications with the hallucinatory Ghostly Weird Stories, and Trojan with Beware.

It hadn’t taken long, only a matter of years, but the youth of America had become fuelled by these dissolute delights, revelling in their graphic extremes and in so doing pushed the creators that little further into the abyss. The desire to increase their share of this already saturated market saw the artists and writers extend the boundaries of acceptability, but this was to be the industry’s death knell. The publishers of these horror comics found themselves in the line of fire as America’s moral crusaders branded them a menace to society.

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

Most eminent amongst the comic book publishers’ opponents was the psychologist Dr Fredric Wertham, whose work maligning both horror and crime comics had seen print in an assortment of women’s journals.

His research into the damaging effect of comics on juvenile delinquency was brought together in the highly influential, yet flawed, Seduction of the Innocent. The farcical Senate Subcommittee hearings of 1954, held amidst the paranoia of Communist infiltration, not to mention alien invasion (maybe those comic books did have something to answer for), effectively put an end to

Prize Comics had cultivated a long association with the studio of Jack Kirby and Joe Simon as they endeavoured to maintain their position on the newsstands. Jack and Joe responded by introducing a title that was to enjoy a run lasting ten years and went on to be reprinted during the 1970s, Black Magic. These tales of terror shied away from the gruesome shenanigans of their contemporaries, preferring both plot and characterization. Several new publishers appeared on the scene, each excited by the prospect of making a quick buck

9

the incongruous activities of the horror publishers, diluting the whole medium with a succession of stipulations formalised in the Comics Code. If this was the Dark Age of Comics, then the period following 1955 was an age of waste as the industry lost some of its finest talent. Many artists would take their skills and join the world of commercial art, as work in comics declined, and that which remained was now bound by an uncompromising set of rules.

For those that remained, it was not always plain sailing. When George Evans sought work at DC, he was uncharitably castigated for his affiliation with EC. Al Feldstein languished at Atlas, unsure as to what was expected of him as his work was focussed on just one title, The Yellow Claw. It is terrifying to think that an entire country could be so profoundly influenced only a few years after a war to put an end to such tyranny, but in its fear and inability to confront its own internal strife, the United States became such a place.

Wertham would eventually recant his views; he was never entirely disposed to the restrictive censorship endorsed by the Code. Later in life, his stance would become appreciably more enlightened, but it is hard to refute the fervour of the horror comics’ publishers. Their ethics were hardly contrite, but then the kids had little interest in ethics, they savoured the thrill of being scared out of their pants, which many of them actually were as the publishers delivered some of the most odious tales in comic book history. The most notorious of these stories was the Al Feldstein scripted “Foul Play” first seen in EC’s Haunt of Fear #19, which told of a baseball player’s body parts making it to the field of play. An acid to the face scene sullied the cover to Crime Mysteries #15, but was it ever a match for Vic Donahue’s melting machine as it frazzled its victim in Chamber of Chills #6’s “Dungeon of Doom”! The death scenes divulged in “Escape to Death” secreted away in Dark Mysteries #14 were reminiscent of a serial killer’s nirvana and the ambivalent suggestion of necrophilia intimated in the final issue of Haunt of Fear’s “Prude” were but a few instances of the horrors held in these outrageous comics.

AN INTRINSIC CHARM

Before we become persuaded by the furore of the anti-comics crusade let’s try and put this situation into some form of perspective. Many of these tales were littered with a darkly humorous narrative; even the most wretched scenes had a quality that could engender a wry grin. If the creators of these comics had insisted these tales be taken too

10

seriously, they would found themselves on a one-way ticket to the state penitentiary. So rather than wallowing in gore and entrails, the sound of gleeful cackling could be heard amidst the macabre puns that became intrinsic to EC’s morbid morality tales. Harvey’s Witches Tales was not averse to adopting such an approach as they recounted their woeful series of yarns and similarly Atlas’s frightful fables were distinctly tongue in cheek as they bandied their trademark twisted folklore.

However, there were still those publishers that were prepared to go to any length to elicit a shock. From its fifth issue, Charlton’s The Thing! refused to pull the punches in its lust for the most extremes of violence as it resorted to dismemberment and the habitual severing of heads. Both Master’s Dark Mysteries and Story’s Mysterious Adventures along with Fight Against Crime (all believed to have been owned by the same publisher) assumed a decidedly darker guise following their 13th issues, as they adopted, or more commonly, swiped EC’s technique, not always, I might add, with Bill Gaines’ sardonic finesse. Stanley P. Morse’s Weird Mysteries, published under the Gilmore imprint, appears on many fans’ lists of the most gruesome stories ever to be committed to the pages of a comic book. There was an unmistakable vain of humour at play in these tales, but typically it was pushed to extraordinary limits. The cover to Morse’s Mister Mystery #12 features one of the most shocking images from this deranged epoch, if not the whole history of comics. Its focus rests squarely on the injury-to-the-eye motif, which to this day, leaves many observers aghast. Once the seeker of the bizarre got beyond the cover, he wasn’t to be disappointed.

This preamble merely scratches the surface of what was a strange and eventful phase in comic book production, much of which will be explored in these pages. You will see the damned marched to face the hangman’s noose, the electric chair and Madame Guillotine as corpses crawl from the graves that once preserved their eternal slumber. Creatures from the depths of our own world, and beyond, will run amok in our towns and cities, while deranged scientists reanimate the dead and give life to monstrosities to which they never should. Lost tribes will shrink their victims’ heads and their cannibal cousins consume the bodies, while the bloodsucker continues to lurk within the shadows. Could you ever be sure the man in the next room was who or what he said? These were the years of the Cold War and with them came pandemic paranoia, a paranoia the publishers sought to exploit before they too found themselves caught in its insufferable web.

The Senate Committee hearings of 1954 were to doom these four colour terrors and numerous companies with them. And so it would end, the dark age of comics.

11

12

13

14

All New!

Enthused by the public’s appetite for the Korean “police action” as President Harry S Truman liked to call it (Communist hostilities commenced 25th June 1950), Fiction House revived their comic titles from torpor, as they shifted their emphasis to contemporary warfare.

The mix was then enriched with the introduction of a few new titles.

Less well known was the company’s assay into horror, with the revamped Jumbo Comics, Ghost Comics and Monster. Finally came the revitalised, if sadly brief, Planet Comics and its companion Man O’Mars. In a further break with tradition, their continuing characters were sidelined, an approach made popular by the horror and romance comics. To ensure the readership was convinced, “All New!” was flashed across the tops of several of these revitalised titles. Amongst the all-new artists were Johnny Bell (John Belcastro), Bill Discount, Bill Benulis and Jack Abel, who would sometimes assist Benulis and Vic Carrabotta while occasionally working under his own steam.

Many of the covers were supplied by “good-girl” art specialist, Maurice Whitman, who also provided an occasional interior story.

Amongst this crop of artists was the mysterious A. Albert, whose signed art was only ever in evidence in Fiction House’s later issues.

Easy To Read

The covers and many interior strips for these issues had been supplied by the S.M. Iger Studios, owned and managed by “Jerry” Iger (1903-90), many of which, from the mid-1940s on, were overseen by his prolific and talented associate editor, Ruth Roche (1921-83).

This affiliation began when the owner of Fiction House, Thurman T. Scott, was persuaded to move into comic books during their seminal period of publishing. Iger’s creation, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, the leopard-skin clad heroine was taken from the UK comic Wags, to appear as one of several features in their launch title Jumbo Comics #1 (September 1938). The interior pages to Fiction’s first comic were entirely black and white. (Strictly speaking, black ink on green or red tinted paper, on alternate pages.) Measuring 10½ by 14½ inches (265 x 365mm) it certainly did make quite an impression. Alongside the formative artwork of Will Eisner was that of Jack “King” Kirby, Dick Briefer, Bob Kane and many others who would play such a significant role in these early days of comic book publishing.

After eight issues of “Big Pages - Big Pictures - Big Type - Easy To Read,” Jumbo Comics shrank to 7½ x 10¼” (190 x 255mm), the

size then increasingly favoured by the comic book industry. This was mitigated by the introduction of “64 Pages Full Color,” another standardising feature of the period. Before diminishing in size, the final giant claimed a place in history when it showcased the New York World’s Fair on the cover to its eighth appearance (June -July 1939). Three issues later, Jumbo Comics #11 claimed Malcolm Reiss as editor, with William E. Eisner as art director and S.M. Iger as features director. Reiss had been connected with Fiction House since 1937; he would play a part in their output until shortly before the company’s demise. He was also listed as managing editor, before rising to general manager in the late-1940s. Reiss was succeeded on this line of comics by J.F “Jack” Byrne, another editor with a long association with this particular publishing house. Artist ‘Will’ Eisner (1917-2005) had become Iger’s partner in the latter months of 1936, prior to an early departure to unveil his Spirit Comics Weekly newspaper insert (first instalment, 2nd June 1940). An indication of his importance, is implied in his lead billing in Eisner and Iger Ltd, 202 East 44th Street, New York City, in one of their former companies dating back to 1938. Iger employee, Gene Fawcette was accredited as the art director from 1941-2, before he was replaced by Iger himself, whose credit would be retained across the comic lines, until the very end.

The Big Six

Between 1939 and 1940, Fiction House supplemented Jumbo, with Fight, Jungle, Planet, Rangers and Wings Comics. The company would come to refer to these as The Big-Six. The stable package of attractive, risqué covers, well-rounded Iger shop and other art, with continuing storylines ensured long runs for this entire line of comics. While the style of these comics mimicked their pulp elders, the accent on the pulchritude was toned-down a notch or two so as not to corrupt its younger readership. These titles contained a host of continuing characters, such as Auro, Lord Of Mars, Mysta Of The Moon, Kayo Kirby, Senorita Rio, Sky Gal, Suicide Smith, Camilla, Glory Forbes, Hooks Devlin to name but a few. However, only Sheena ever benefitted from long-term notability.

Fight and Rangers presented a combination of adventure and war in contrast to the two jungle oriented titles (Jumbo Comics, Jungle Comics), whilst Wings offered flying adventures, a genre that had gained in popularity since the 1920s. Planet Comics would be

15

distinguished by the longest run of any science fiction title, sustained by a regular supply of high concept covers. The format changed when Fight Comics turned its attention to the jungle heroine Tiger Girl with issue #49 (April 1947). In February 1948, Rangers opted for a similar transformation, when the buckskin clad adventuress Firehair debuted in issue #39. The latter also starred in her own title, sandwiched between Pioneer West Romances #3-6 (Firehair #1-2 and #7-11, 1948-52). Finally, there was Wambi, The Jungle Boy who also enjoyed a long life in Jungle, with his own series enduring a frustrating hiatus lasting more than five years (#1-3, 1942-3; #418, 1948-53). With the comic industry constantly looking for new genres, Fiction House would occasionally add to their roster, most notably with Ka’a’nga, Long Bow, Movie Comics and Toyland. Each of these titles featured artwork supplied by the Iger Studios.

Illustrious Career

It was during the 1940s, thanks to a gifted creative team, which included the talent of Matt Baker, John Celardo, Jack Kamen, Bob Lubbers and Maurice Whitman, the artistry on show in these pages ascended to new heights. Celardo, Whitman, along with Joe Doolin and Dan Zolnerowich, each of whom were Iger shop artists, illustrated many of the covers. These stories were supplemented by those of Murphy Anderson, George Evans, Fran Hopper, “preGhastly” Graham Ingels, Lily Renee (Peters) and Nick Viscardi (Cardy), who were either freelance or in the direct employ of Fiction House. Ingels also supplied spot illustrations and at least one cover (Planet Stories vol. 2 #6, spring 1944) for their line of pulps. Some of Fiction House’s most memorable pulp covers were the handiwork of illustrator Allen Anderson (1908-1995), who was considered a cover specialist, and found a regular supply of work for St. John, Timely and Ziff-Davis. His work was duly covered in a retrospective in Daniel Zimmer’s excellent magazine, Illustration (#18, winter 2007), which is still worth tracking down.

While the styles 1940s Iger artists are usually distinguishable, for the artists of the 1950s, it is far less clear-cut. The great comics

historian, Dr. Jerry Bails (1933-2006) had this to say, “While it is easy enough to recognize the art of the second Iger Shop (1940-61) by examining Fiction House comics or Classics Illustrated of the post-war period, it is maddening trying to distinguish the artists from one another. He concluded, “One way to tackle this problem is to break down the artists into their specialities or trademarks.

If the strip involves ships, then Webb was undoubtedly assigned to it; if women, then either Baker, Brewster or Maurice Whitman; if historical, then Kiefer, Blum or Schrotter. To distinguish the inkers is an even more maddening proposition.”

On The Rack

By 1949, the company’s line of comics had lost impetus and George Evans, along with several other creators who had been on Fiction House’s books, was laid off. Planet Comics #64 (spring 1950) contained his last new art, pencilled for the final instalment of “The Lost World.” This would be the beginning of the end for Planet, as only another eight issues saw publication until its winter 1953 finale with issue #73. Planet and Wings Comics supplanted new material with reprints, hidden mischievously under striking new covers. When it first appeared, their new title, Ghost was also reprint. This however was contrary to the regulations of the US Postal Service (USPS), which to ensure second-class mailing rights required new stories plus a text story. The text pages were also dropped for Ghost and Wings (albeit sporadically), Jet Aces, Man O’Mars, The Monster, Planet and War Birds. The usual off-sale month (printed on the front cover) also became noticeably erratic.

The annual statement of ownership also disappeared after 1949, excepting the final issues of Fight and Rangers, which contravened another condition of the USPS. With the exception of Jungle Comics, Jumbo Comics and Planet Stories pulp, the 1950s was a period marked by intermittent publication and quarterly dating.

Fiction House’s plight wasn’t unique, Avon also released many year-dated one-shot comics during the early 1950s. As both companies were distributed nationally by the giant American News

17

18

Company (ANC), it is tempting to think these comics were to be sold Romances (3 issues, 1950), which became Two Western Action Books like paperbacks, in hope of finding a new possibly adult audience. (12 more issues, 1951-4).

This would have been via ANC’s network of tied retailers, obliged Love and Rockets to take whatever the company submitted. When the big-six were Cowgirl Romances started life in 1950, using conventionally finally enlivened, Jungle, Jumbo and Wings were well past their styled Iger shop art.

With its fifth appearance (1951), the tone that centenary issues. was intrinsic to the later Fiction House covers now came to the fore.

Art Decade Issues #8 and #9 both displayed “good-girl’s in peril” (by Whitman) This new decade witnessed several new comic titles: 3-D Circus, and in a complete break, #10 (summer 1952) superseded the Iger 3-D Sheena Jungle Queen, The First Christmas (3-D one-shots, interiors with high octane Pete Morisi, Jack Katz (not Williamson/ 1953), Apache (one-shot, 1951), Cowgirl Romances (12 issues, Frazetta, per Overstreet) and a very stylish Baker strip, “Stars Fell 1950-2), Ghost Comics (11 issues, 1951-4), Indians (17 issues, On Arizona.” Here, the western action takes place on a movie set and 1950-3), Jet Aces (4 issues, 1952-3), Knockout Adventures (one- concerns an unnamed girl (the titular Arizona, perhaps) and her deathshot, 1953), Long Bow, Indian Boy (9 issues, 1951-2), Man O’Mars defying attempts to draw the attention of leading man, Tom Hartley, (one-shot, 1953), The Monster (2 issues, 1953), The Spirit (5 issues, which provides a clue as to its origin, Fiction House’s Movie Comics 1952-4), and War Birds (3 issues, 1952). With their inclusion to #4 (1947). Pete Morisi’s art continued for the final issues (Cowgirl the company’s range of comics, the notion of the “big-six” lost its Romances #11 and 12, fall 1952, winter 1953), complimented by original meaning. Now their familiar house advert could show any Maurice Whitman’s eye-catching covers and interiors. of the above, alongside the 1938-40 originals. In addition to these latest titles, came a series of new pulps: Indian Stories (3 issues, Although brief, the final trio that were to lay Planet Comics to rest 1950), Stories of Sheena (one-shot, 1951), Tops in Science Fiction (#71-73, 1953), boasting “All-New Amazing Space Adventures” are and Tops in Western Stories (2 issues each, 1953), Two Complete worth investigating. These issues are introduced by a quite beautiful Science-Adventure Books (11 issues, 1950-4), Two Western set of covers, which had been in evidence since the reprint issues, #65-

19

70 (1951-3). Such was their appeal that several of them were worthy of EC’s science fiction titles Weird Science and Weird Fantasy.

Inside, Bell, Discount, Bill Benulis and Jack Abel weaved their magic, assisted by Mike Sekowsky, Whitman and others unknown.

If you can live without the original covers, the contents are available more readily, via Israel Waldman’s reprints (Planet Comics #1, 8, 9 and Space Mysteries #9, IW/Super). Man O’Mars is also available in two forms, as the 1953 Fiction House original or the IW reprint.

The titular story is new, created by unknown hands, accompanied by Murphy Anderson’s artistry, reprinted from an earlier period.

Rose Tinted Glasses (Supplied)

As part of the 3-D boom, Fiction House unveiled three one-shots, Circus, Sheena and First Christmas. All priced at 25 cents, glasses included. The first two look to have been assembled by Iger’s shop, featuring unused stories, which were no doubt gathering dust in the studio. These were converted to anaglyptic viewing (red/blue or red/ green glasses), with only two or three levels of 3-D. The contents of Circus contain several characters that had originally featured in Iger’s in-house one-shot Bobby Comics (Universal Phoenix Features Syndicate, 1946), which included Bobby, Zingo The Zooper Zebra,

20

Pell and Mell. They were supplemented by Frank Little’s Crossbones Charlie, which had appeared in Crown Comics #4 (winter 1945), a Golfing/McCombs title featuring Iger art. The individual stories are different, suggesting a second issue of Bobby, cancelled prior to publication. The oversize, First Christmas contains the draw of a Kelly Freas cover with the interior pages featuring a series of one-page tableaux, depicting scenes from the birth of Christ. The 3-D Sheena remains the most common of the three, as well as being the most desirable. There are two Sheena stories, an untitled Tabu yarn and “The Great White Lion,” the most effective of the quartet. Overall, the three dimension effects from Iger/Fiction House are uninspired when compared to the EC duo, which remain the epitome of 1950s anaglyptic comics.

House Of Horror

Fiction House’s first horror title was Ghost Comics (#1, 1951), which entered the fray with an atmospheric “good-girl” in peril cover and themed reprints, Ghost Gallery and Ghost Squadron.

The second issue lifted the splash from the lead story and reworked it to present a quite beautiful cover. Ghost Comics #4 (fall 1952) featured the first all-new story, an unsigned Benulis and Abel classic, “Death Is A Dream.” Issues after were all-new, barring the occasional Dr. Drew or other reprint. The covers for the entire run are considerable, combining Fiction House’s accent for the ‘good-girl’ with highly imaginative facets of

terror, to masterful effect. The covers to issues #1, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 are worthy additions to anyone’s collection.

On Jumbo, Sheena was displaced, as the covers were now styled to cash in on the newsstand clamour for horror (#161-167, July 1952 to April 1953). All are wonderfully atmospheric, despite being cramped by the teaser panels to the left (a feature of numerous American comics, Atlas in particular). Inside, it remained an anthology, with a Ghost Gallery entry offering the only tale of terror. Sheena continued to display Iger art, with the package rounded out by adventure, war and science fiction. There was also The Eye, an otherwise standard gumshoe, drawn initially by Bill Discount, for Rangers #66. It switched to Jumbo (#163167), with attractive rendition by Bill Benulis inked by Jack Abel, on the first. Abel was left to draw the remainder, unaided. Brief lived, The Monster (1953) premiering with Anthony D’Adamo’s “Traitor’s House,” which revealed an unusual maturity, along with a Dr. Drew reprint, all behind a stunning cover. Whitman’s cover to the second (initialled, MW) and finale succeeded in surpassing it. There were also enhanced interiors, by Benulis and Abel, Johnny Bell on “The Dark Abysmal,” Albert’s unsigned “Tiger Kiss,” plus “Kohnoori’s Curse,” which I take to be Bill Discount.

character derived from Eisner’s Denny Colt and who appeared in a run of Rangers Comics from #47 to #60 (June 1949 to August 1951). Hence, the Dr. Drew stories found in Ghost #10, 11 and The Monster #1 are reprints. All Drew stories are credited to Jerry Grandenetti (1927-1999), from 1948, one of Eisner’s many un-credited assistants (ghosts). Although several are signed as Grandenetti, the quality and tone (some serious, others humorous) varies, making me wonder if other ghosts weren’t actually in assistance. Dr. Drew has also been reprinted in the IW editions, Eerie #8 and Firehair #8 (Rangers #59 and #47), and more recently in Bill Black’s black and white Demon Dreams of Doctor Drew #1 (1994, Horror House, from Rangers #47, 50, 56).

As already mentioned, Eisner’s Spirit Weekly Comic premiered on 2nd June 1940 in several US Sunday newspapers. It was printed on two pages within the colour comics supplement (Sunday funnies), designed to be cut out and folded, making an eight-page comic. The Spirit stories were seven pages throughout, leaving room for a page of filler by Bob Powell and others. Quality Comics were soon reprinting the Eisner originals, commencing with Police Comics #11 (September 1942) and an eponymous

Spirited Away

In this final period, Will Eisner returned, in Spirit at least. The first, in the form of The Secret Files of Dr. Drew, the mysterious

21

anthology, from 1944. The latter concluded in August 1951 (The Spirit #22), now considered a classic cover. From spring 1952, Fiction House restaged the title, with a further quintet of issues.

These overlap the newspaper strips demise, following the short-lived but now highly regarded Denny Colt in Outer Space storyline (27th July to 28th September 1952), with the ghost for the majority of these being Wally Wood. Grandenetti is credited again on the Fiction House series. Of my solitary issue (Spirit #4, 1953), I suspect, “The Sword and The Savage” is the work of Bill Discount. Eisner and his Spirit were re-introduced to a negligent public by friend and colleague, Harvey Kurtzman (Help vol. 2#1 [#13], February 1961) and have been reprinted variously since then, with The Spirit’s reputation continuing to grow with each passing decade. During his lifetime, Eisner published numerous other compilations, adaptations and novels, all in illustrated form. Denny Colt’s Spirit has been restaged by others too. Recently, DC’s The Spirit Archives anthologised all Eisner stories in a multi-volume hardcover series.

22

23

Mysta and Mrs

We introduce this edition of Bad American with a mid-period edition of Fiction House’s science fiction classic, Planet Comics #46, January 1947. A plucky female, possibly Mysta Of The Moon, is clutching onto a ladder with one arm, whilst the other has snared a hapless male, rescuing him from certain doom. But wait a minute, shouldn’t this be the other way round. Now you mention it, doesn’t she have unusually broad shoulders! She also seems remarkably tall, in comparison to the hapless male. I wonder what might have happened here to inspire this redrawing? The cover teaser offers no clue, as Auro, Lord Of Jupiter has lead billing. Maybe it was an early example of women’s liberation at work. The title was quite liberated, as Frances “Fran” Hopper and Lillee Renee Peters (nee Wilhelms, wife of artist Eric Peters) drew several of the continuous strips. Hopper’s art was exceptional. She drew strips for all of Fiction House’s titles, between 1943 and 1947.

The Hidden Valley

Spurs Jackson emerged fully formed with Charlton’s Space Western #40, September/ October 1952. It was the first issue, as its precedent was Cowboy Western #39. The entire concept was wacky. The origin as such saw Spurs and the rest of his Space Vigilantes oppose The Saucer-Men Of Mars. Later editions would see them fighting The Cactus Men Of Venus, before Hitler and some Nazi stragglers ended up on Mars in a two-part special,

Cowboy Western #44 and 45. As if this weren’t enough, a whip totin’ Spurs Jackson appears on the cover to the premiere wearing natty red hot-pants, not ideally suited for hard-riding across the American plains. Yet, they do contrast nicely, with a stitched buckskin top that allowed room for his ample cleavage! For the rest of the series, he is more conventionally attired in jeans, shirt and neckerchief. Maybe he disliked the cosmetic surgery and had it reversed, after posing for the cover.

“Bumps and Bulges”

Old friend, Dr. Fredric Wertham was troubled by the male bonding of Batman and his youthful ward, “Robin looks something like a girl. He has only trunks on.” Yet, it was for the female variety he reserved his harshest criticisms, “Superwoman (Wonder Woman) is always a horror type. She is physically very powerful, tortures men, has her own female following, is the cruel, “phallic” woman. While she is a frightening figure for boys, she is an undesirable ideal for girls, being the exact opposite of what girls are supposed to want to be.” We are spared his pronouncements on the merits of Planet Comics #47 and Space Western #40. Here, at FTT supreme headquarters, we do not judge. Our fondness for Velcro tops, with black trousers tucked into zip sided bootees, leaves us sympathetic to their plight. Phasers set to stun…. Beam me up, Scotty!

This has been: A Fatboy Production

May 2006

25

Horror comics aficionados just don’t know how lucky they are these days. Everything, or almost everything, is available: reprints of the celebrated Warren magazines Creepy and Eerie; a wide variety of brand new horror comics titles that may sacrifice storytelling values (something quite unthinkable in the golden age of comics), but which at least boast strikingly designed artwork, and (perhaps best of all) the innumerable reprints of the greatest of all horror comics companies, Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines’ immortal EC comics (the most recent of many incarnations include deluxe fullcolour, large-size bound volumes of Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror. Riches indeed, and barely a month seems to pass without a reissue of some classic material (one of the most recent, of course, being the hefty volume curated by the editor of this very magazine, Peter Normanton’s The Mammoth Book of Horror Comics).

The Dark Ages

But readers of a certain age will remember a time when the cornucopia we now enjoy was a drought: in the 1950s, shocked questions had been asked about horror comics in Parliament, and a mini version of the censorship scare that had neutered the American comics industry had taken place in England, effectively banishing (by the early Sixties) the gloriously grisly titles that many readers (including this writer, albeit at a very tender age) enjoyed.

But even the most Draconian censorship is not able to completely cut off the source of subversive material, and although schoolboys such as me had to make do with post-Code reprints (admittedly, not really a hardship, as the Silver Age of comics was in its first flush of invention) those who knew how to look in dark corners for such things could find the odd horror tale which somehow sneaked into the shilling reprints series such as L. Miller’s Mystic and Spellbound titles. These macabre pieces (which, of course, we now know to be reprints from the Atlas horror lines before Stan Lee and Martin Goodman made their real fortune with superhero material) were very distinctive. They usually boasted introductory blocks of text set in white against a striking black background which whetted our appetites for the grisly delights to follow. These “come-on” panels were

26

similar (youthful enthusiasts like myself quickly realised) to the gleefully flesh-creeping introductions given by the grotesque hosts of the EC comics line, The Crypt Keeper, The Vault Keeper and The Old Witch, although there was no accompanying drawing of some monstrous-looking host grinning malevolently at the reader. The tone was similar (editor/writer Stan Lee was clearly inspired by the decrepit horror hosts of Feldstein and Gaines), but everything was slightly less literate: phrases such as “how are you” were invariably rendered as “how are ya.” And many of the stories were less-inspired riffs on ideas done with more panache in the EC titles. But caveats aside, these reprints of 1950s horror material were, for the most part, massively enjoyable.

Stan Lee’s Foot Soldiers

Lee and his fellow writers (including the ubiquitous Hank Chapman, who, unusually for the day, often signed his pieces “story by Hank Chapman”), made up in sheer gusto what they lacked in finesse, and from the middle period to the end of the line (say, 1952-1954), just before the Comics Code sanitised everything, the stories often matched those of EC for sheer inventiveness. And the artwork! What a cadre of talents! There was the brilliant draughtsman Russ Heath, with his dramatic lines; the pleasingly old-fashioned (but highly distinctive) Bill Everett; and the spidery, gothic work of Al Eadeh (so reminiscent of EC’s equally eccentric master Graham Ingels – in Al Eadeh strips, nobody, but nobody, had a mouth of even teeth; all sported what Americans think all Brits possess: mouthfuls of misshapen molars). Without knowing it, English schoolboys were sampling (in these black-andwhite reprints) the cream of the Atlas comics line from such books as Adventures into Weird Worlds. And while the recent handsome reissue programmes from Marvel have mostly concentrated on the much-soughtafter superhero material, readers of this magazine will particularly appreciate the second volume in the “Atlas Era”

The cover to the latest Marvel Masterworks is followed by the covers to Journey into Mystery #1-4, which range from the seemingly innocuous to the absolute terrifying. As can be seen from Cal Massey’s splash from this title’s debut, Atlas wanted to unnerve their assembled readership.

27

reprints from Marvel (following the recent reissue collecting early issues of horrorera Strange Tales): Journey into Mystery, issues #1 to 10.

Clutching Hands

And on the cover of the reissue, reproducing the memorable Heath drawing for issue #1 (a secretary recoiling in horror from a pair of disembodied green hands), there is a list of the talent within these hardcovers: Stan Lee, Russ Heath, Tony DiPreta, Gene Colan, John Romita, Jerry Robinson, Joe Maneely and Dick Ayers.

As comics fans will recognize, this is quite a stellar assembly (there are other talents inside), and makes this latest reissue volume an essential purchase, even if you’re lucky enough to have several of the original comics (in which case, the credit crunch won’t be worrying you at all). Personally, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book, but I knew that (as with the previous Strange Tales reissue), all would not be unalloyed pleasure. And if you’re a potential buyer of this volume, a warning: while not wishing to put you off (quite the contrary, the more copies that are sold, the more likely that this welcome reissue programme will continue), it is necessary to make some serious qualifications. Frankly, amidst all the wonderful stuff here, there is much that is very poorly written and very poorly drawn; for the first few issues, Stan Lee and co. were clearly getting their act together, with very fitful results. But the quality material here starts much earlier than with the Strange Tales reissue, half-way through the 250-odd pages of this volume, you will be feeling that you are getting your money’s worth.

Pulling Back the Veil

In his introduction, Michael J. Vassallo uses an interesting phrase: “As Marvel continues to pull back the veil from their significant contributions to the pre-Comics Code era, we’re treated to a companion to last year’s Atlas Era Strange Tales Vol. 1.” And “pull back the veil” is the apposite phrase; for many comics readers, this will be hidden material.

How many of those who grew up on John Romita’s Spider-Man will be aware that he earned his spurs at Marvel by fashioning elegantly turned horror tales such as may be found here? Or that Russ Heath, one of the premier war comics artists (notably on DC’s Sgt. Rock, which he took over from Joe Kubert) was perhaps the most accomplished of the Atlas Era horror artists?

Certainly, Heath’s splash panels here are among the most striking work in the book, demonstrating (as with his work in the previous

28

Strange Tales volume) that he forged the most individual characteristics of his mature style very early in his career.

The Warning

But I warned you that there would have to be heavy qualifications in any recommendations for this volume. You might, however, wonder what I’m talking about after seeing the aforementioned Journey into Mystery cover for issue #1 (unnumbered, as was the custom of the day, to fool unwary buyers into thinking that a particular comic already possessed history and was worth your time. The comics industry had not yet fathomed what value there was in those precious first issues). The first story bodes well; it’s “One Foot in the Grave” (“A weird journey into mystery!”) by the stylish Tony DiPreta, already (in 1952) in full possession of the highly stylised, unrealistic technique that distinguished his work. The story itself, in which the venal owner of a flower shop is fatally punished by some grey-faced zombies he has gypped is nothing to write home about, but a nicely menacing atmosphere has been established. This is maintained in the second piece, “The Clutching Hands” by Cal Massey (who, as Michael Vassallo reminds us, was one of the few AfricanAmerican artists working in the field in the early 1950s). But Vic Carrabotta’s ‘Haunted’ is as crudely drawn as it is written, and ‘It Can’t Miss’ (by the talented Jay Scott Pike) hardly shows off artist or writer to best advantage. Things don’t improve much with “Iron Head”, drawn by Dick Ayers (demonstrating with this uninspired job that his days as one of Jack Kirby’s finest inkers were some considerable time in the future).

Issue #2 has a particularly uninspired cover, but things perk up considerably with the lead story, Russ Heath’s “The Scarecrow”, in which a sinister-looking bald figure with a malignant grin beckons to a sweating onlooker. In fact, this splash panel is something of a con, the bald creature is actually a simple proprietor of a shop, and the tale itself is one Stan Lee’s multiple variations on the puny

From the left working anti-clockwise, Russ Heath’s splash to Journey into Mystery #5’s “Fright”, Bill Everett’s terrifying yet darkly comedic covers to issues #5, #6 and #7 and finally above Mort Lawrence’s atmospheric splash from issue #6.

29

milquetoast who transforms himself into a muscular bodybuilder type, with disastrous results. But the artwork is a good indicator of what Atlas has in store. Not for a while, though, as a succession of workaday stories follow, drawn in a by-the-numbers fashion by a series of artists whose work was yet to improve (including an early effort by Gene Colan, some considerable distance from his groundbreaking work on Daredevil in Marvel’s superhero period).

All Cylinders Firing

Above Russ Heath continues the terror in Journey into Mystery’s second appearance, while running below the covers to issues #8 by Russ, #9 by Bill Everett and #10 again by Russ Heath. The quirky artwork to “He Who Hesitates” introduces a rather unusual tale for the Atlas horror line.

30

We have to wait till issue #5, almost halfway through the book, before we find the full-blown Atlas style with all cylinders firing.

The Bill Everett cover is a close-up of a terrified overweight man (lit in ghoulish green) menaced by hooded skeletal figures, and the first story, Russ Heath’s “Fright”, demonstrates that editor Stan Lee -- while no artist himself, was fully aware of the value of an eye-catching splash panel. A cadaverous, half-naked man, chained to a wall, cowers in fear from an unseen assailant. And the art in the tale that follows is Russ Heath well on the way to becoming the master he undoubtedly became. The plot itself is one used a million times by EC: the corrupt, bloated head of a lunatic asylum has a grisly revenge enacted on him by his brutalised patients. Actually, not that grisly a revenge, at this stage, Stan Lee was still somewhat playing down the horror elements. The wonderfully lurid covers were often the most horrific thing about the books. Take the Everett cover of issue #6, for instance, in which a bride shrinks from a skeletal bridegroom; very little in the issue has the gleefully gruesome feel of this cover. But there is art by Russ Heath and Tony DiPreta, followed by sterling work from Joe Maneely, also on the way to his later mastery (before his early death snatched away his chance to be part of the Marvel revolution). And by now that covers are something special, such as the Heath job on issue #8, in which a green monstrosity with a caved-in skull advances on a frightened couple. And there is the first appearance in the run in issue #8

by the massively underrated Al Eadeh, whose spidery, grotesque work illuminates a piece called “He Who Hesitates”. More delights follow, including a sciencefiction piece (Stan Lee always mixed these with his horror tales, unlike the EC comics which rigorously kept them in separate SF and horror titles) drawn by a key member of the early Batman team, the talented Jerry Robinson.

And towards the end of the book there is a splendidly eccentric piece by another underrated artist of the era, Charles A Winter, “The Assassin of Paris”.

The Wind-Up

So: final verdict. Is there enough vintage Atlas horror here to justify shelling out your hard-earned cash in these straitened times? That all depends on you. Frankly, as in the previous Strange Tales reissue volume, a lot of the material here is still apprentice stuff, and volume #2 of Journey into Mystery Atlas Era, as well as volume #2 of the Strange Tales reissues, will begin to showcase the writing and art of the Atlas horror years when the company really hit its stride. But if you’re like me, and want a total picture of one of the most fondly remembered eras in comics history, you’ll probably find it necessary to add this nice-looking volume to your collection. And, frankly, it isn’t that difficult to (retrospectively) cut Stan and co., a little slack over the substandard stuff, the quality material here makes it worthwhile. Nevertheless, let’s hope Volume #2, when the really choice material will appear, isn’t too far in the future. At least while we can still afford it, with various imploding economies.

Barry Forshaw is the author of The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction, edits Crime Time, and writes the “Kirby Obscura” column for The Jack Kirby Collector.

31

It was the dawn of a new decade, one in which the world would be forever changed. Thankfully, those still craving their comic book fix weren’t to be disappointed. The authorities may have made every effort to legislate against their very existence, but this phenomenon, which for more than two decades had been such an integral part of juvenile culture, rolled on undaunted, now imbued with a renewed sense of purpose. This was the decade that was to exceed the exhilaration of its predecessors: beginning with a monumental series of developments at Timely-Atlas, before the onset of an innovative period from the publishers of the increasingly popular Famous Monsters of Filmland.

Jim Warren never disguised his admiration for Bill Gaines’ EC portfolio of titles, but this appreciation did not mean the simple replication of the horrors created by this former icon. He was all too aware of the backlash experienced by his forerunners during the latter months of 1954, which was ultimately to be their downfall. If he had chosen to return to the unbridled excess of this era, he would have opened a doorway to disaster; and he was all too aware EC’s penchant for gory horror had been done to death. It was time for something new, something more in keeping with the mood of the day. Whether Archie Goodwin was in complete accord with this vision will continue to be a matter of deliberation for many years to come; but as history has shown, it was the endeavour of this unassuming creator, that laid the

32

firmest of foundations for the Warren line of monochrome terror.

Jim’s decision to follow on from his and Forrest J. Ackerman’s success with the magazine format used on Famous Monsters of Filmland was to distance his publications from the clutches of the CCA and distinguish his take on the horror genre from the abominations that had swarmed from the offices of 225 Lafayette a decade past. With the wealth of talent that was to enter the Warren offices, it was inevitable that certain comparisons would be drawn with their infamous forebearers and for those who had previously enjoyed the twists and turns in these tales, this was a chance to savour the all too fleeting enchantment of their youth.

As for the teenagers of this new generation, they were about to be presented with a new era of comic book terror. Just as Bill Gaines and his peers had done almost fifteen years before, Jim Warren wisely pitched his new title at the same twelve-to fourteenyear-old audience, which once again proved a model for success.

Time had moved on, the ubiquitous Al Feldstein who had been such a driving force during EC’s halcyon years, was now solely

occupied by their one surviving magazine, the venerable Mad. It had been ten years since Tales from the Crypt and its darkly humorous brethren had closed their doors, but Al was still lauded as an editor of immense creative energy. Jim Warren would eventually engage the genius of a fledgling Archie Goodwin, who would come to command the latest addition to the world of comic book publishing, Creepy and very soon Cousin Eerie’s companion magazine. In a short space of time, Archie revealed that he too could bring together the writing, artistic and editorial skills of his illustrious predecessor. The index to the first two issues of Creepy listed Archie as a freelance writer, a role in which he immediately excelled. By the time Creepy #3 hit the newsstands, he had assumed the position as story editor, and one issue later ascended to the very helm of Jim Warren’s flourishing flagship.

Long time EC addict Archie had been highly recommended; his contemporaries were already in awe of his implicit perception for page layout and design, and very soon they would learn he had many more skills at his behest. Jim Warren however had hopes to persuade Joe Orlando to take on Creepy’s editorial

chores when Russ Jones made his acrimonious departure from the company. Much to his disappointment, Warren was unable to afford Orlando’s editorial prowess. Nevertheless, during Archie’s tenure as editor, Joe was still on hand to supply a series of breathtaking pages to Creepy, which in their experimentation fit perfectly with the milieu of this early phase of Jim Warren’s entry into comic books. Almost ten years before Archie had been an enthusiastic contributor to the EC fanzine Hoohah!, and now he had the chance to publish several of his former editor Ron Parker’s tales in the contents of Creepy and Eerie. Only a few years before he had graduated from The Cartoonists and Illustrators School, but the comic book industry was dead on its feet. Work would eventually come from Redbook magazine and Leonard Starr’s On Stage strip before he moved on to Warren on a guaranteed one-year contract. This was quite a step for Archie, who needed to be sure his new boss could provide an assurance of regular employment. Jim was a shrewd man and was very keen to secure Archie’s services, hence the promise of at least a year’s work. The Warren Empire was rewarded with a man whose affable personality and ability as both a writer and editor would assemble some of the finest artists of the day: a creative gathering almost twenty years in the making.

Foremost amongst this imaginative collective was the now rejuvenated figure of Frank Frazetta, an artist only recently returned to the field of fantasy art. Having been gainfully employed at Magazine Enterprises, Famous Funnies, DC National and of course EC, Frank had progressed to work on his own syndicated newspaper strip Johnny Comet, along with Flash Gordon for Dan Barry, and then worked with Al Capp from 1953 through until 1961 principally on L’il Abner.

His time with Al Capp’s studio provided a regular source of income, but artistically Frank was suffering. So much of the joy and creative zeal of his early years was beginning to fade. There was an air of predictability to his leaving Capp’s service, but his exit towards the end of 1961 did not go quite as planned. The steady stream of work he had expected to follow failed to materialise.

The publishing industry was now undergoing a period of change and there were many creative editors, who now looked upon Frank’s style as passé. While he was under no illusion that he needed to make every effort to rediscover his technique of a few years past, this was still a bitter pill to swallow, and in a view of that which eventually followed, almost inconceivable.

Fear not, Frank was not entirely without work, for Midwood he turned to the good girl, this time illustrating their spicy novels, and in the latter months of 1963, Roy Krenkel introduced him to the paperback cover. A series of covers for Ace’s Edgar Rice Boroughs collection would ensue, amongst which would be his childhood hero Tarzan of the Apes. In less than two years, his popularity had soared to new heights. His time with Ace was to bequeath a legacy amounting to twenty-five covers along with a series of fluid interior illustrations.

A back cover for Mad depicting Ringo Star in 1964 would lead him into the lucrative fold of illustrating film posters and then there came Jim Warren. As in all classic comic book tales, Jim made his entry just in the nick of time. If he had put his dream of publishing a horror comic on hold for only a few years, the fantasy art world’s bright new talent would have been well beyond his means. With a determination to make his mark and attract only the best, Jim knew he had to have Frank Frazetta, a man who had regained his vision of a few years past, and was about to ascend to a grandeur, few if, any would ever match. Thankfully, the rapport between the two men was almost immediate and Frank was afforded a considerable degree of freedom, which would have made him the envy of his contemporaries. The next few years would see an incredible array of paintings laid before the Warren editorial team, including the saurian beast, which was to make the cover to Eerie #5 such a memorable spectacle. Archie was so inspired by the power in this image he sat down to pen the tale “The Swamp God” and handed it to one of Frank’s former cohorts, Angelo Torres, who illustrated his words to such exquisite effect. During his time at Warren, Archie would see seventeen of Frank’s paintings adorn the covers to Creepy and Eerie, the first of which made it to the cover of Creepy #2, when he was still freelancing with another three seeing publication after his departure in 1967.

Frank had already created a series of lusciously embellished pages for Creepy’s premier, a tale entitled “Werewolf” scripted by Larry Ivie. His beautifully conceived design would set the standard to which this title would aspire. Alas this was the only tale Frank ever produced for Warren, although he did find time to complete single pages of “Creepy’s Loathsome Lore” for #2 and #7, plus a five-page anti-smoking strip in #9 “The Easy Way to Surfboard.”

34

Frank Frazetta’s buddies from the Fleagle Gang, Roy G. Krenkel, Angelo Torres and Al

Williamson would each gift these early issues of Creepy and Eerie with their unique style. Jim Warren’s dream of bringing the finest talent in the comic book industry together was now beginning to take shape. Roy Krenkel provided layouts to several of Frank’s cover images and did much behind the scenes to ensure the smooth flow of these early issues; but admirers of his work still lament there was never more of his architecturally-styled draftsmanship on show in these issues. After debuting in Heroic Comics #51 during 1948, the realist approach of Al Williamson would secure him gainful employment with Toby Press, ACG and Eastern before making his mark with EC, principally on their esteemed science fiction titles.

Several assignments would come his way courtesy of Atlas following the demise of EC’s “New Direction” titles, but very much like Frank Frazetta, he too struggled to find his way before Archie Goodwin welcomed him into the fold. Al was prepared to work for Warren, but only if Archie would write his scripts, the first of which appeared in Creepy’s premiere “The Success Story.” Archie’s versatility proved a blessing, for not only did he take the lead as editor, his trusty typewriter became the source for so many of these early stories. Thankfully, his wife Anne T. Murphy was available to take on some of the writing chores; “Thumbs Down” saw publication in Creepy #6.

There was a sense of continuity when former EC stalwart John Severin’s debuted for Warren with an advert for Blazing Combat in the pages of Creepy #5. He had never been numbered amongst EC’s horror artists; his finest hour had been with their two war, comics Frontline Combat and Two Fisted Tales. With so many artists struggling to find work with the introduction of the Comics Code, John’s refined pencils were to maintain his position within the Atlas Bullpen, probably until around 1957, when the company suffered its infamous implosion. His formidable reputation ensured work from both Mad and Cracked, before he was invited to contribute to Jim Warren’s magazines.

While his previous assignments may not have been appreciably blood curdling, his characteristic line work would lend substance to Bill Pearson’s “Abominable Snowman”

in Creepy #6, and thus pave the way for many more unsettling appearances.

Another member of the EC bullpen, Reed Crandall, had already found regular employment with Warren. Although Reed will be best remembered for his time on Quality’s Blackhawk, the detail displayed in his line work at this time reflected the quality expected by both Jim and Archie. The attractive page rates gave Reed the time to craft these meticulous panels, each of which accentuated the air of a terror returning from the timeworn past. His understanding of anatomy was infallible, as was his capacity to engender a potent sense of drama. It was equally in evidence in the pages he produced for Canaveral Press in 1964. His work on Tarzan and John Carter was duly evocative of the Burroughsian tradition; the display in each sumptuous image harking back to the great American illustrators that continued to be his inspiration. A decade may have passed, but the opulence in his penmanship had not diminished in the slightest in his time away from Bill Gaines. In truth, the work he produced for Creepy and Eerie during this period didn’t always match the panel-by-panel flow observed in the pages of many of his associates, such as Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby and Don Heck, but it does highlight his ability as an illustrator par excellence. His skill in staging every scene would insist the reader pause to savour the precision in his assured rendering before preparing to face the terror at hand. Archie’s script writing allowed artists of Reed’s calibre to shine, as they had done under Al Feldstein, although on this occasion the pages weren’t quite as word-heavy. Behind the scenes, Jim Warren had hoped to gain permission from the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to introduce Sherlock Homes to his burgeoning line of titles, with Reed already being considered as the obvious choice as artist. Unfortunately, this never came to pass, making it yet another missing entry in our comic book heritage.

When news of the availability of former Vault of Horror editor John Craig entered the Warren editorial office, Archie’s wisely endeavoured to make contact. The naturalist technique Johnny applied to his comic book pages had made him a firm favourite with EC’s teenage readership, and as with Frank Frazetta, he was not averse to adorning his panels with a harem of beautiful women. While his brush strokes strove for realism, his axe through the head cover for Vault of Horror #32 was too extreme for his seniors at EC and in the interests of good taste it had to be toned down. His infamous decapitation cover fronting Crime Suspenstories #22 was later displayed during Kefauver’s Senate Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency. These covers however were a radical departure from the smooth embellishment Johnny produced in his pages for Bill Gaines, which preferred suspense-driven psychological terror. Essentially, gore was not John’s forte. When EC were forced to close their doors and reduced their output to only one publication, he found work with Atlas before moving into advertising. During the early 1960s, he freelanced for

ACG prior to Archie learning of his return to comics. Initially his editor was producing scripts to suit his style, but it wasn’t long before Johnny was writing his own tales, just as he had done ten years before. From his debut in Eerie #2’s “Flame Fiend” and Creepy #8’s self-scripted “The Mountain”, he signed his work Jay Taycee, a clever abbreviation of his full name John Thomas Alexis Craig, in the hope of disguising his alternative occupation from prospective clients in the advertising world. All those years ago, the comic book was still a very much frowned upon institution.

As unpopular as comics may have been in certain circles, they provided the unsung George Evans with a bounty of work. He was yet another member of Bill Gaines’ crew to make the return to horror comics courtesy of Archie Goodwin’s time as editor. He had previously worked for Fawcett prior to their retreat from comics in 1953, then moved to EC following an introduction by Al Williamson, and later worked for Gilberton. For a 13 -year period between 1960 and 1973, he remained George Wunder’s un-credited assistant on Terry and the Pirates, and managed to squeeze in a series of spine tingling terrors, each of which revealed his dynamic qualities as a draughtsman were as strong as ever. As with so many of the greats from this period it remains a source of considerable frustration that we never got to see more from George in this black and white format, as it was the perfect medium for the sublime detail in his artistry.

Things may have been getting very exciting in the Warren offices, but there was still one name conspicuous by its absence, you guessed it, Wallace Wood. When he stepped into the foray, the EC legend was at last returned from the grave. Although this was not the allegory for which Jim Warren had hoped, his desire to draw together the finest creators of the day was very nearly complete, for now he could count amongst his ranks one of the finest science fiction artists of them all. Woody was never without work following the introduction of the damning Code, initially being offered work with Mad magazine. His love of the female form and out-worldly science fiction continued in the pages of Galaxy

37

Science Fiction and was to be found in their accompanying line of science fiction novels and novellas. Further, his illustrative work regularly appeared in a series of men’s magazines as well as children’s books. His employ with Galaxy Science Fiction would see his imagery embellish the words of some of the finest science fiction writers of the day, including Robert Silverberg, Jack Vance and Isaac Asimov. Work with Archie Goodwin then followed, coming at a time when his studio was also packaging Thunder Agents along with a series of companion titles for Tower Comics. The procuring of work was never a major issue for Woody, but he was never completely fulfilled.

Although he had an incredible record of accomplishment and the respect of his peers, he was embittered by the attitude of many of his previous employers who failed to recognise his true potential.

However, he overcame this to create some of his finest pages of his entire career, with Vampirella #9’s “The Curse” cited as the very pinnacle of his achievement.

You could be forgiven for thinking this was purely a gathering of the cream of Bill Gaines’ former employees. This however wasn’t the case and to prove the point a fellow by the name of Gray Morrow was given the opportunity to share his vision with a series of covers. His canvases would be a worthy compliment to Frank Frazetta’s dynamism, although in the eyes of many readers they would never be their equal. For Robert E. Howard fans, Gray’s claim to fame remains an unpublished version of Conan – The Elephant Tower, a work he produced while working for

Atlas. His pencils had previously graced their westerns and every once in a while he rendered one of the company’s post-Code fantasy titles.

Assignments would come from Gilberton along with illustrative work for science fiction magazines such as Galaxy and If. When Creepy debuted, he freely poured his fantastic imaginings into its magazine-sized pages.

The subtleties in his work were well received; regular assignments would follow in what was Warren’s Golden Age between 1964 and 1967, prior to his ascension to cover artist for both Creepy and Eerie.

A member of Wallace Wood’s studio would further Jim Warren’s dream of bringing together the preeminent comic book artists of the day.

Newcomer Dan Adkins would find his first taste of comic book art at the highest level, as he was tasked with inking Woody’s pencils. Not only would he assist his boss in supplying some quite eye-catching embellishment for both Creepy and Eerie, he would be elevated to create his own pages of highly acclaimed artwork before producing covers for each of these titles.

The old guard, however, would continue to find a welcome home amongst the contents of these magazines. Veteran newspaper-strip artist, Alden McWilliams, was also invited to join Archie’s outstanding assembly. His polished brush strokes made him an ideal choice for a sojourn beyond the stars and while the work he produced for Warren was exemplary, it was no surprise to see him eventually moving on to the Star Trek and Buck Rogers daily strips. These strips would keep him so busy that Creepy and Eerie’s readers would see precious little of his work in these early issues, but what they did see placed him very highly in many of their polls.

Others would follow. A seasoned campaigner from Will Eisner’s studios, Jerry Grandenetti provided several astonishing tales while still in gainful employ at DC. His artwork defied convention, his vision becoming ever more disturbing with each turn of the page. Archie’s editorial style seemed to encourage such surrealism, as seen in the design of Joe Orlando and Alex Toth, thus ensuring his readership never became too complacent. Jerry would leave the comics field in 1972, his avant-garde renderings appearing at odds with the polished house style demanded by DC. He would go on to pursue a highly successful career in advertising.

Similarly, Steve Ditko adopted a somewhat experimental approach, using a wash style that was to make him a firm favourite amongst Warren’s readers. His first appearance following his departure from Marvel Comics came with Eerie #3’s “Room With a View!” scripted as ever by Archie, this was but a precursor to many more unsettling portrayals.

39

Archie’s roster, or comic book hall of fame as it could now be described, was to become ever larger as more great names from the previous decade followed. Amongst these was the previously mentioned Alex Toth, whose work would regularly appear in these pages for many years to come. By his own admission, he was not a great fan of dark horror, but this monochrome medium provided him with the opportunity to experiment and the means with which to develop his style still further. The names Gil Kane, Bob Lubbers, George Tuska and Manny Stallman would very soon supplement this inspiring collective.

At this point Archie must have wondered could it get any better; well, it did with the arrival of two more relative newcomers. The table of contents to Creepy and Eerie would soon carry the names of Neal Adams and Tom Sutton. Neal would finally get to see his first work in comics after having worked on syndicated strips since 1959; “Curse of the Vampire” made it to Creepy #14. Archie’s relaxed style allowed this inspired neophyte to shine and would eventually build the portfolio that gave him the chance to cross the threshold to DC National. His groundbreaking pages from this period at Warren tend to be overlooked by many comic book fans, yet they display so much of the precision and innovation for which his work of only a few years hence will always be remembered. Archie’s final recruit was another fan of the EC days of terror, who was also a great admirer of Johnny Craig. Tom Sutton’s first work would appear in Archie’s finale as editor on Eerie #11 and Creepy #17. His deranged approach would prove to be one of the company’s great assets as the next few years witnessed their fall into decline. As he toiled away for Jim Warren, he still found time to court with madness at Topps’ cards. Although comic book enthusiasts will never bestow upon Tom with the stature of that so deservedly enjoyed by Neal Adams, his contribution to Warren magazines and comics as a whole should never be underestimated.

This quietly spoken man had brought together one of the most talented creative teams in comic book history, each of them eager to make these titles very special, yet his time as editor was rarely ever plain sailing. When Jim Warren learned Superman legend Jerry Siegel was back in New York, he was determined to have him on-board. Jim was intent on securing the very best, but this wasn’t the same Jerry Siegel who had been instrumental to the splendour of the golden age of comics; this one time giant of the industry was now a shadow of his former self. After a second attempt to approve Jerry’s scripts, Archie’s amiable disposition made it impossible for him to deliver the bad news, his work was just not up to scratch. Archie once again assumed his fleeting role from Creepy’s third appearance as story editor and re-wrote both of Jerry’s scripts. There were also growing problems with the cash-flow, which had started to undermine the quality of both Creepy and Eerie as the Warren empire was confronted by a tumultuous period of transition. This was to make Archie’s position as editor untenable. With the generous Warren page rates now slashed, this celebrated gathering of talent would begin to look elsewhere; this short-lived period of creativity was now brought to an end.

In a similar way to Al Feldstein’s earliest endeavours in the industry, comic book history could have almost forgotten Archie Goodwin’s time with Creepy and Eerie. A list of the finest comic book artists dating from the 1950s through until the mid-1960s would include so many of the creators who came to work for Jim Warren’s two horror magazines while Archie worked as editor. Their work was given the scope to shine as it had done before the collapse of the comic book industry in the early months of 1955. The ensuing downturn proved fortuitous for both Jim Warren and Archie Goodwin in that it allowed some of the finest talent of the day to come together under one roof. Troubled times lay ahead, but Archie had laid a set of foundations that would hold firm for another fifteen years and with a little effort could be built upon once again.

40

41

When the state of New York executed William Kemmler in the electric chair on August 6, 1890, it was to be the beginning of a new era for capital punishment. Although designed to be a more effective and humane manner of execution when compared to hanging (heads popping off, slow strangulation, and the like), it was not an immediate success. On that day, it took two jolts which resulted in an excess of singed flesh as blood streamed down Mr. Kemmler’s face; it was only then was he pronounced dead.

Progress, however, wasn’t going to be denied, and by the 1930s, the electric chair had become synonymous with the death sentence in over half the United States. It was a banner decade for executions across the country, averaging 165 a year. By the end of the 20th Century, many states had replaced the chair with the more prosaic lethal injection, but in the heyday of the American comic book it was the electric chair that jolted the imagination of both the creators and consumers of the ever-popular crime and horror comics.

42

The image of a murderous gangster meeting his end while seated in the embrace of Old Sparky was common place in the pages of the pre-Code crime comics, but the depiction of the electric chair was a less familiar sight on the covers of these magnificent artefacts, and for the next few pages these covers become the focus of our attention.

The earliest appearance of the electric chair on the cover of a crime comic was perhaps the most clever, which came with Crime Does Not Pay #42 in 1945. A desperate gangster was thrown into the spotlight as he exchanged gunfire with unseen coppers, his shadow shown strapped to a silhouette of the chair, metal skullcap already firmly in place. This image provides a stunning visual metaphor for the destiny that ultimately awaits him, but we would never get to see it, for as with so many covers from this premier crime title, it had nothing to do with any of the stories found inside.

The following year the chair returned to guest on the cover of Crime Does Not Pay #47. This time it holds the foreground to a verbally busy panorama featuring a reluctant Pig Ears being dragged to his fate as he is serenaded by his fellow inmates. (It is still a mystery to me why Charles Biro replaced his striking wordless covers from the early issues of Crime Does Not Pay with increasingly busy and verbose images just when he started to get some serious competition on the racks.) While Pig Ears does not appear in the

43

contents, the issue does open with a grim electric chair themed story, “Thug’s Throne,” with a dramatic splash in which two hoodlums, Steve and Tony, are shown their “throne,” an electric chair waiting at the end of a literal trail of corpses. Their murderous friendship ends when Tony decides to turn state’s evidence, and it is Steve shown frying in the hot seat at the finale.

In 1947, flush with the success of turning Headline Comics to a life of crime, Simon & Kirby introduced a companion title for Prize Publications. Refusing to take any chances, they ensured their con was strapped tightly into a bright red electric chair for the cover of Justice Traps the Guilty #1. Once again, the pun about a “throne” for a king of crime is rolled out, followed by sneering asides to a “crown” and “a short reign” courtesy of one of the policeman who is about to secure the hapless Rocky into the chair. Alas, despite plenty of vintage S&K mayhem, the interior pages never once refer to Rocky and his shocking fate.

Around the same time you might also have found

44

a copy of Manhunt #2 on the stands.

Here, Ogden Whitney indulges his readers with the enticing image of the beautiful Starr Flag being forced into an electric chair that looks decidedly unsanctioned by the state.

Unfortunately, the accompanying story, “Dinner Date With Death,” turns out to be a text piece, with not a single image to match the impact held in this lurid cover scene.

By 1948, Atlas Comics were churning out a number of crime titles, and took it on themselves to incorporate the chair into the cover of All True Crime Cases #27. Here we find the convicted killer Robert Mais having walked the last mile while the prison doctor and the warden become momentarily distracted by a metaphysical discussion as to the condemned man’s state of mind. The cover blurb promises for “the first

45

time ever” we will “learn the last thoughts of a condemned killer.” Once inside, we are allowed to share a first person narrative with Mais as he recounts the details of his tawdry life, which has fallen to the desperation of murderous criminality. It is only now that he accepts his fate as he passes through the “little green door” to finally come face to face with death.

That same year, L.B. Cole kicked off Law Against Crime #1 with an electrifying cover featuring a mock up of a newspaper headline over the image of Raymond Hamilton at the moment of his death. No doubt Mr. Cole was inspired by the infamous 1928 edition of The New York Daily News showing Ruth Snyder as she became another victim of the electric chair, a halo of electricity dramatically framing her masked form as the current tortures her body. As if this were not enough, L.B. Cole himself illustrates the interior story, wisely saving an entire page at the end of the tale to narrate Raymond Hamilton’s final moments as he confronts the instrument that will see his demise.

46

By 1951, crime comics had been replaced by a new craze, horror comics, these now gave the kids the gore and violence they secretly craved, and it was almost certain these comics would find room for the electric chair amidst the myriad vampires, werewolves and ghouls that graced their covers. “Man Made Monster,” the cover story for Black Cat Mystery #33 (cover dated Feb., so probably available in 1950) tells the tale of Bull Donahue, a man wrongly convicted of murder. As he is strapped into the chair, he makes his final wish, praying that the true murderer share his fate. Driven by an inexplicable supernatural force, Gimpy Wilson, the real killer, is transported into the death house just as Bull, in a superhuman effort lifts himself from the chair as the current courses through him. He grabs Gimpy and clutches him in a deathly embrace that culminates in their both being electrocuted, a moment acutely

observed in a memorable Lee Elias cover. One of the more bizarre moments in this story follows the shaving of the doomed man’s head; as he continues to plead his innocence, a guard mocks him with the comment, “There - now you’re nice and pretty!...like a chicken for the frying pan.” A regular barrel of laughs!

A year later EC added an additional title to their formidable roster, Shock Suspenstories #1, and William Gaines prevailed upon the multi-talented Al Feldstein to provide yet another stunning cover, where only the arm of the chair and the prisoner are shown to the fore. The prisoner’s fingers are seen to twitch in a lingering death spasm as the assembled press look on aghast, while in the background stands the grandfatherly executioner. As his hand holds onto the switch, he appears just a little too satisfied with the horror in this disturbing scene.

This debut features a couple of classic EC tales of death and dismemberment, but given the company’s reputation for delivering the shocks, it is surprising that there is no companion story to go compliment the cover’s ghastly portrayal.

In 1952, the Atlas publication Amazing Detective Cases #13, having recently changed its content from crime to horror, features a compelling Joe Maneely cover depicting a condemned man’s body as its smoking remains slump forward in the chair, his spirit can be seen rising into the ether now free to wreak its unholy vengeance. In the pages that follow, the reader is presented with “Ghost Story,” a tale gifted by the artistic genius of the inimitable Bill Everett. Here, his talent is showcased in a spectacular four-panel sequence that

graphically illustrates the moment of Rocky Nixon’s electrocution. A few months later, the same company brought out another electric chair, this time to the cover of Suspense #25, where Sal Brodsky creates a fearsome moment from “I Die At Midnight,” a moody little story about a burglar who finds he can’t cheat death even when given a second chance. Actually, the story doesn’t make a lot of sense, but that was hardly unprecedented in horror comics at the time, and to its credit, it does finish off with a nice panel of our burglar getting the juice.

Cover dated July 1953, Web of Evil #5 has one of my favourite covers from the pre-Code epoch, vividly imagined by the mad genius of Jack Cole, who also provides the pencils for the cover story, “The Man Who Died Twice,” an entertaining (and in nine pages, densely plotted) tale of murder, frame-up, betrayal, and

48

revenge. It is the cover, however, that draws the eye. Set against an intense orange backdrop, the condemned man is seen laughing maniacally as the executioner throws the switch; the hysteria evident in this scene is something that will continue to torment your worst nightmares.

The same month, Story Comics’ Fight Against Crime #14 was also on the stands, and once again an innocent man finds himself about to fry. This time, his executioner is the real criminal, in another high point from the world of preCode terror, due largely to the cover’s garish colour scheme.

Typically, this issue is no different to so many of those from this highly collectable title, in that the cover has absolutely nothing to do with the stories presented within. Such a shame, because it could have been a real shocker! Atlas once again returns to the trauma of this premise with Justice #41, its cover ostensive in its depiction of the tale “Jailbreak.”

Disappointingly, there is no scene in the story where cons dressed as cops rescue the condemned man in those fleeting moments just before the switch is about to be thrown.

Finally, we come to Strange Suspense Stories #19, issued in 1954. This would be the last time the electric chair would play centre stage on the cover to a comic book in the pre-Code era, and who more appropriate to present such an insane exposé

than Steve Ditko, who’s fame and skill would aspire to greater heights in the period after the Code. The sweat pouring forth from the doomed prisoner’s brow, his teeth clenched and veins bulging forth from his arms, each work with an uncanny expertise to convey the dramatic tension pounding at the heart of this scene; this is another innocent man who is about to face the cruel wrath of the chair. While Ditko was assigned to this issue, his pencils were not given over to the cover story. The convoluted tale of body transference and murder that lies behind the cover is the work of Joe Shuster.

While there is no cover to accompany it, there is at least one other electric chair image worthy of note. Underworld True Crime Stories #2 (1948) tells the tale of the notorious Angel Face, whose death throes are seen in the final panel.

Questions are still asked as to why the publishers didn’t see fit to exploit this image for the cover; surely it would have been a guaranteed hit. When one considers the number of crime comics published between 1947 and 1955, it is a wonder there weren’t more of them, each presenting covers pulsing to the charge of the electric chair. At the least we should be grateful for the ones that were, illustrated by a collective of masters whose work epitomised these years, Charles Biro, Jack Kirby, L.B. Cole, Joe Maneely, Jack Cole and Steve Ditko.

49

Before we begin, I would like to express my thanks to Joe and his son Mark for all of their help in making this interview very special. Joe was recovering from a broken shoulder when he agreed to chat with us, but remained enthusiastic about the whole thing, even though he must have been in quite a bit of discomfort. I submitted the questions and Mark had his dad chat away while he taped the entire conversation.

Could you tell us something about your early years, your family and the neighbourhood you grew up in?

Well, I grew up in a residential area, Saugerties, New York; there were about eight or nine thousand people in the town and I lived on a very quiet street, Washington Avenue. My mother and father had a little boarding house, we had school teachers that roomed there, usually two at a time. My earliest recognition of any kind of art or comics or whatever was when I was three years old, one of the teachers gave me a box of crayons for my birthday and it had an Indian on the cover. I can remember it to this day. I drew that Indian over and over with those crayons until they were worn down to a nub. That was my first connection with art or any kind of drawing.

I must say though the person who most inspired me to my liking to draw and my love of comic art especially…was one of our boarders, who happened to be a German cook. During the First World War he was actually on a German submarine.

When he would come home at night from the restaurant, he would sit in the parlour in his white pants and shirt and I would sit next to him. He would draw all over his pants, Indians, cowboys, army guys and navy characters. At the time, I was so impressed with his ability to draw, I think he inspired me more than anyone else to follow a career in art. By the way, his name was Bill Theison. He went away after a few years and it was like losing part of the family; I think I almost cried when he moved. I never saw him again but I remember him to this day.

That was back in the early ‘30s when Bill roomed with us.

When did comic books come in to your life and which of these left an impression on you?

I am sure it was around ’36, ‘37 and ’38. Our first contact with any comics at all, were the Big Little Books, which were extremely popular before the comics came out. They were reprints of a lot of things, such as Flash Gordon, Dick Tracy, but of course when the comics came out my earliest recognition and my favourite character at the time was Congo Bill, who appeared in Action Comics. It wasn’t Superman; it was Congo Bill. I liked Jungle Jim. I guess Congo Bill was sort of a rip off of Jungle Jim, I loved him. I was about eight or nine years old.

Did they inspire within you a need to draw or was this already there?

Well it was already there. Of course, ’34 when Terry and the Pirates and Flash Gordon came out I used to read those strips and copy them and draw them over and over again. They were my two favourite strips of the time. So the interest was there from the earliest days, there’s no question about it.

Moving on from the comic books, did the films of the day influence you at all?

They influenced all of the kids of the time. We wouldn’t miss

50

our Saturday afternoon shows it only cost a dime to get in and of course we looked forward to what we called chapters, in those days they were serials. Buster Crabbe when he played Flash Gordon and the Lone Ranger played by Robert Livingston and Chief Thundercloud who played Tonto. We just couldn’t miss these chapters; yes, they were a great inspiration to us. And of course the radio shows were at that time, the Lone Ranger again and Gangbusters. With shows like that you conjured up your own image of what these characters looked like. And it was a great period to grow up in.

What about the pulps and novels which were about at the time?

As kids we didn’t really see those, once in a while maybe if somebody had one. The drawings in them were great we thought, but comics were our main interest, Terry and the Pirates, Flash Gordon and Prince Valiant, strips like that. I could go back and name a lot of them, strips long since forgotten such as Dan John and of course Dick Tracy; that was a great one. We loved the adventure strips, I used to love a strip by Alex Raymond called Curly Harper at Lakehurst.

Raymond did Secret Agent X9 even before he did Flash Gordon. And of course Jungle Jim as you know was a great favourite of mine. All of these adventure strips were extremely appealing to all us kids of the time, kids eight, nine, ten years old. I didn’t mention this but before Terry and the Pirates I used to love Dickie Dare, which Milton Caniff had drawn. Terry was really a take off on Dickie Dare. Then a little later as we know Scorchy Smith was a great strip by the great Noel Sickles; he inspired Milton Caniff’s style, which became the pinnacle of comic book art.

Once you realised you had a calling for art, how did you approach schooling and training?

Schooling at that time from 8 to 13 years old I drew all the time, constantly, even in school.

Probably I would have been better at algebra if I had paid more attention to the teacher at the blackboard rather than making sketches of Terry and the Pirates or Flash Gordon or whatever might be in my books. I was the art editor of the yearbook in high school and the our paper which was called “The Ulsterette.” I used to do drawings for these two papers.

I never thought of schooling, although I knew in the back of my mind someday I wanted to be an artist. I always thought I wanted to be an illustrator, it was always there at the back of my mind that was what I would do some day.

If you had paid more attention to your algebra, the comic world would have surely been missing one of its finest

51

creators. How easy was it to find work and which companies did you work for?

When I went to The Cartoonist and Illustrators School (now the School of Visual Arts), I guess I was a little fortunate to find work fairly easily. The school used to often get requests to send over one of the students who may be a little advanced to do sketches of this person or that person, caricatures. I was called over once to do a sketch for Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour over at the TV studios. They used to send me around to the different stores and factories that did shirts for the kids. They would ask me to do sketches for the shirts, you know cowboys, war heroes and the like.

How did you come to work with Timely/Atlas?

Tom Gill an instructor of mine at the school. He had a few accounts around in the industry; he was a prodigious worker. One of his accounts was at Timely. He also had accounts at Dell and Fawcett. At Timely, he was doing Red Warrior. I don’t know how he did all of his work.

He would do this at night and at weekends at his home in Rockville Centre, Long Island. In any case he liked my work at school and asked if I would help him out on some of the Timely/Marvel strips like Red Warrior and

52

52

Kent Blake. There were a few others. First I started inking Tom’s pencils, on the strips and then he let me do the pencils and then it got to the point where he let me do everything. At first, he wanted to do the heads to make it look more like his work, but later on he let me do everything. This was my first association with Stan Lee and Timely Comics over at Marvel, probably around late 1949 to 1950 while at school for Tom Gill.

Speaking of Tom Gill, he was also with the Lone Ranger strip for many years.

Can you recall any of the people you met there? This was quite a period for Atlas Comics with the likes of Bill Everett, Joe Maneely, Russ Heath, Matt Fox, Jerry Robinson, Dick Ayers and John Romita amongst so many others supplying work.

Early on, when I first went there in 1950, amongst the ones I can recall was certainly Gene Colan, he was my age he looked like a teenager. I remember Bob Brown and Bob Powell worked at Marvel at the time, well, it was Timely in those days. I hadn’t met Dick Ayers and Kirby came later, Romita wasn’t there at this time, mainly it was those three fellows. I had never met Joe Maneely, although I had admired his work over the years. Jerry Robinson was one the school instructors; he taught at night at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School. He was working for Stan at the time over at Timely.

I also used to run into Russ Heath over there occasionally while

we would sit and wait for Stan to call us in to give us a new strip and see the work we brought in.

When you were handed an assignment, did you enter any discussion with the writer or the editor?

Never. When we brought our artwork in completed, Stan would review it looking it all over and say fine, usually. He would then take a script off the top of a pile he had on his desk. He really didn’t know at the time what kind of story he was giving you. It could have been war, romance, science fiction or horror story, and of course you were expected to do it, you were professional.

Usually these were five-or six-page stories at this time. So, you never would discuss the story with Stan. I would take these home pencil and ink them, Stan didn’t have to see the pencils and usually I would bring it in over the next four or five days completed and the same routine would go on. It was the same routine going on and on, he would give you another script week after week.

Would anyone else have inked your pencils or did you ever supply inks to other artist’s pencils during these days? You had an uncanny ability for making a page look attractive in terms of layouts but as time was to show your inking was to become even more significant.

No, during this period I did my own pencils and inks; I didn’t work with anybody at all. However, probably in late ’59, for

would come and go, it was bustling. It wasn’t like later on when Marvel was on a shoestring during the early ‘60s, around 1960–61, which was really bad.

You seemed to be a very versatile artist working on horror, science fiction, westerns, war, romance and humour.

Did you have a preference? Although most comic book fans will remember you as a force in the world of Marvel superheroes, you were an atmospheric horror artist.

During the ‘50s, most of the stories were a lot of fun to do.

I really enjoyed the horror stories, of course there were the westerns and the war stories. I did so many war and westerns, I loved science fiction as well. The horror stories though were fun to do. Off the top of my head, I can remember one I did was fairly good, it had a lot of atmosphere, I think it was called “Drink Deep Vampire.” To this day, every now and again I look back on stories such as that; I get a kick out of them. They were a lot of fun no question about it.

Did your family ever question your approach to horror?

No, not all. They too thought they were a lot of fun and just took it as a grain of salt.

How did your colleagues react to your work?

I never heard any adverse comments at least to my face.

Generally speaking, most people appreciated what I was doing.

I worked with a lot of people who were quite happy to be working with me.

I only wish there had been more people like this in the

some reason, Stan asked me to ink a couple of Jack Keller western stories. That was the period Kirby had just come to Marvel,;I also inked a couple of his short stories, probably in one of the monster books and a war story in Battle. Up until ’61, they were the only ones I worked on with anyone else.

Can you recall anything about the offices at Atlas, the atmosphere and the people working there?

When we went to see Stan we usually didn’t usually hang around too long in the offices, but I do recall there was a very bustling scene and there was a bullpen there, a small staff of artists who did corrections and whatever and layouts and things like that. Writers

54

States at that time. All these years later, can you recall any particular favourites?

Oh yeah things stand out, that’s not unexpected. One of my favourites was “The Last of Mr. Mordeaux” another one was “Cry Werewolf,” which was in Adventures into Terror and another one that was horror story and it had a little science fiction to it was “Only Twelve Of Us May Live” that was in Journey into Mystery. I think the art came out fairly well on that one. I remember the clutching hand, I had a large hand in the splash, that one always stood out for some reason. “The Cask in the Cave” was another one that strikes me that I enjoyed very much. As I said before, “Drink Deep Vampire” has always been a favourite of mine.

We never got to see many covers from you, especially during the early 1950s. Were there any reasons for this?

I wouldn’t have thought much about it. I wouldn’t have asked to do any covers, but occasionally Stan would call me up and ask me to do a cover for Arrowhead or one of the science fiction books or a war book, which I have done. I know people like Joe Maneely, they often went into the office. Maneely was Stan’s favourite as we probably all know, but I think the guys who went into the office were probably usually given the cover assignments because it was easy to discuss with Stan just what he wanted. Meeting with the artist personally, he kept close tabs on it that way.

How aware were you of the crusade against comics?

In those days up in the foothills of the Catskills, I really didn’t know what was going on in comics in general except for the fact I was always working, turning out pages, page after page. I wasn’t aware there was a lot of dissension and controversy over them, especially the horror comics, which later turned out to be a national news story.

Have you any recollection of the tale “Sarah” and the disapproval it met with the CCA? As matter of fact I do. “Sarah” wasn’t one of my favourite stories that I did, but I was shocked to see it on television one day during the Hearings; Fredric Wertham held up the comic book that had “Sarah” in it. It was on Candid Tales. He showed the panel just how disgusting, so to speak, some of the characters portrayed in comics were. At the time I didn’t think anything of it. “Sarah” was…I don’t remember the story exactly…she could have been a babysitter or whatever. She was really (laughs) …well I made her a witch-like character.

I had a lot of fun drawing her. Of course when the book was published, they had altered her face entirely and she looked like someone who would have baked apple pies in the kitchen.

She had a homespun type face. I do remember that splash very well, I wish I had a copy of it.

In those days, I never made copies of my work, but I would have loved to see how I did Sarah back then. It really did fit the horror trend of the time, but that’s when things changed because of Dr Wertham.

Did you have to change any of your attitudes to your artwork after the Comics Code?

There were a lot of things we couldn’t do. For example, we couldn’t show speed lines if someone was hitting another character. Also if there was a western character shooting at an Indian, you couldn’t show both characters in the same panel. You could show the western character shooting his rifle in one panel and then the Indian had to be in the next panel falling dead, so to speak. I do recall there were changes like that; we were told there were things we couldn’t do and we had to follow these instructions. I remember a story I did it was called the “Sioux Strike” it was in The Two Gun Kid, it was one of my favourite stories. It had some fairly good art in it. The young renegade buck was challenging his chief to a duel to see who would lead the tribe because he wanted to go to war against the white settlers, while the old chief wanted to live in peace with the settlers. They had the duel and had a bandanna in their mouths, eventually the young buck won out. The chief was dead on the ground. They were supposed to be duelling with knives, but when the book came out the art department at Marvel had whited out the knives, so they were just sort of duelling with their hands. It really didn’t make sense; the reader must have wondered how the chief died. That was a good example of how absurd the Comics Code came to be.

While a lot of comic book publishers went out of business Atlas seemed to thrive. As someone who was in regular contact with Atlas why do you think they did so well?

Right after, probably, ’58 Marvel did have a stockpile of art bought before the Comics Code came in. Also the fact that we had characters like Captain America that Martin Goodman asked Stan to do reprints of, he thought that would be a good way of selling books and yet

55

not having to pay for the art because Marvel owned all of this material. That really kept us afloat. Thrive isn’t the word: we were more or less staying above water.

Three years after the Code Atlas ran into problems. How aware of this were you in the lead to work drying up?

It was pretty obvious things weren’t going well because Stan’s secretary would call me, like I am sure she would call everybody else. She would say, “Joe, could you accept a little cut in your rates because things aren’t going as well as we would have hoped, everybody is going to be asked to take a cut.” That was the first indication the industry was having a little problem. I really couldn’t believe at the time our rates would ever be cut; it was a big shock to us. It happened to everybody. A lot of the good guys in the field dropped out at that time. I can remember Johnny Craig was a real notable over at EC, he dropped out. We had guys at Marvel, guys like Mac Pacula who was a friend of mine in the Cartoonists and Illustrators School, Jay Scott Pike. A bunch of us dropped out and some of us hung on in there and persevered.

Can you recall your meeting with DC at this time, from what I can gather they weren’t very receptive to you?

When Stan called me and told me they were going to suspend operations for at least six months because he had such a backlog of books and things weren’t selling. I procrastinated a little and speculated on two syndicated strips, which took quite a bit of my time but didn’t materialise. Looking back, it was a good experience. So, finally I took some of my samples over to DC. It was a bad time to go over there because everyone else in the business that was out of work had gone over. One of the editors over there, I don’t know who he was, he really flew off the handle and said all you guys at Marvel coming over here now that you don’t have any work! When we wanted you to come over in the mid-Fifties you wouldn’t come over, but now you come over and expect us to give you work! I can recall when I was going out the door somebody grabbed me by the arm and it was one of the other editors. I don’t know who he was, I wish I did, but he was so nice.

He said, “don’t listen to that guy, that’s his attitude all the time.”

He liked my work, he looked at it and said I think your stuff is great, but we just don’t have the work. I seem to think it was Julie Schwartz, but I couldn’t swear to it. I’d like to think it was Julie.

From everything I have heard about DC around this period the chances are it was Julius Schwartz. He seems to be one of those men who had a feel for genuine talent. Where did you eventually find work?

The first thing I did I went to Classics Illustrated; they gave me work right away. They gave me a little story “The Enchanted Deer.” It was a whimsical type story, something a long the lines of Hansel and Gretel, so I did that for them. In the meantime, my kids were attending a parochial school, they brought home a comic book was published in Ohio; it was called Treasure Chest.

I sent my samples to Treasure Chest and they responded right away, and I think the first tale I did for them was the story of Joyce Kilmer and it seemed like after that they wanted me to do all their biographical books. I did books on Eisenhower, Kennedy, MacArthur, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, the Popes, just a long line of biographical books. Reed Crandall was also working for them at the time. There were a couple of other guys who were great cartoonists. Fran Matera and a fellow named Borth. They had some good people working for them. When Marvel called back up

56

a few months later, I told Stan I have a great account at Treasure Chest. I will do as many books as I can for you a month but I don’t want to give up the Treasure Chest because they are paying well and it’s work I am getting real satisfaction out of doing.

With such a good account how did you end up returning to Marvel Comics?

Like I said, after six months of suspended operations Stan called me and I did say I would go back. At that time we were doing some monster books. This was about the time when Stan asked me if I would ink a couple of stories that people like Jack Keller and Jack Kirby, who had just come over to Marvel, had done.

They couldn’t find inkers for them, so he asked me to ink them, which I did. I have forgotten about the Jack Keller books, but certainly remember the Kirby book. It was an interesting period because it was a war story and a western I did with Kirby, which seems very unusual at this time.

Having gone through such an awkward few months, had things changed in the offices and the approach of the editors and writers?

Well at that time things were on a shoestring down there. I wasn’t going down to the city during that period, everything was mailed to me. Certainly Stan was there, but there was a point when even he didn’t have a secretary. All the other editors I am sure were let go, and the office help and the bullpen. He had no one there, there were no artists there at all. If you went into the office, he was at Park Avenue at this time, they had left the Empire State Building, Stan was all by himself doing everything.

It was a real low period for Marvel, no question about it.

Did the monster books Marvel were publishing in the early 1960s excite you?

(Laughs) Excite me is hardly the word, but they were a lot of fun to do because we all know what the titles were, Fin Fang Foom and all that Stan came up with. But it was a lot fun doing the monster books. The monster period only lasted three years maybe until ’61 when Stan created the Fantastic Four, SpiderMan, Thor and all the great superheroes.

Can you recall inking Fantastic Four #5?

Certainly did. I had never heard of the Fantastic Four when Stan called me and said I have this story here, I can’t find anybody to ink it, Jack Kirby pencilled it and he doesn’t want to ink it. Could you ink it for me? I said send it up Stan and when it arrived in the mail I couldn’t believe the characters. I had never seen the Fantastic Four, I had never seen a book on the stands of the Fantastic Four, so I knew nothing about the characters whatsoever. Once I started inking it, I just couldn’t believe the characters, Dr. Doom was so impressive and of course The Thing.

It boggled my mind to see these characters come to life as I inked them. It turned out to be a great experience and the beginning of a great collaboration between Kirby and myself.

Why then did we not see more of you on this title until a few years later? Your return to the Fantastic Four with issue #47 seemed to catapult this title to new heights.

Well, as I said before, I was doing some stuff for Treasure Chest at the time and I had promised them I would do the story of Pope John XXIII when the script was ready. The script came in at the same time as I was about to start the Fantastic Four #6. So I

called Stan, I had done a few panels of #6, I said I am going to have to send the script back because I had promised my editor out of Treasure Chest I would do Pope John XXIII. It was sixty-five pages of pencils and inks so I wouldn’t be able to do the FF for the foreseeable future. That’s the reason why I didn’t continue with it.

I actually continued with the FF with issue #44, the story of Gorgon. That was the beginning of a long successful collaboration with Jack on the Fantastic Four. I think I worked right up through the 90s and just needed a vacation at that time, so I called Stan up and said someone is going to have to do one or two books for me because I have got to have some time off.

It was a great period in comic history, I believe, and a lot of people think it may have been the best comic ever produced.

(Mark Sinnott) Why do you think it was one of the best comics ever produced?

Well, it’s easy if you look back on those issues. Some of the greatest characters in comic history were created by Kirby and Stan Lee. Look at Dr. Doom, the Silver Surfer and Galactus, The Inhumans, the Sandman. It was a great, great period with some great characters, and I am sure they were what made the Fantastic Four such a great success and also Stan’s great stories during this period. I think Stan reached his pinnacle with the FF during this stretch.

It seems strange that you never discussed your inking with Jack Kirby. He must have been pleased with the work you

did on his pencils.

I am sure he did. But it’s funny, in all those years I worked with Jack not once did we ever talk on the telephone about the strip, not once did he ever put a note on the borders of the pages asking me to do this or do that, or if he liked this or didn’t like that. We never discussed the FF, and in fact I never met Jack for many, many years until I think around 1975 at a convention down in the city. It is amazing that we did all of this work and never had one word to say with one another.

Were Jack’s outlines and pencil work easy to follow?

Jack was the easiest penciller I ever worked with, and I worked with some good ones and I worked with some difficult ones, but Jack’s work was all there even though I still embellished the work.

I added a little bit here took out a little bit there. Early on, a lot of my work came through; I tried to get away from that as much as possible later on. I think I was a great help to Jack and helped the legacy of the Fantastic Four providing for the comic fans around the world.

If we look back to the early 1960s and 1970s, who were the artists and inkers who stood out?

First of all, I think it was probably the greatest period in comic history with some great talent. I hope you don’t mind if I list, I certainly know I am going to miss one or two, I should have put down, but these are some of my favourite I worked with and whose work I have admired greatly. Most of these guys, probably all of them, are Marvel people. DC had as a talented group over there, but I will just touch on the Marvel people.

Certainly, Jack was right at the top of the list and then all of these other guys were my friends and just great talents: Johnny Romita, Gene Colan, whom I did a lot of Captain America with, some of my favourite stuff. John Buscema, I did so much work with John, Thor, and of course the Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer. John was probably the best draughtsman that comics ever had and his brother Sal was a real professional. He and I did Rom, the Incredible Hulk and many other great stories that Marvel had at the time. Frank Giacoia was a terrific inker, I always thought he worked well with Kirby. And Don Heck, one of the most underrated people that Marvel had, he was very versatile and just a great talent. Jim Steranko, one of the younger guys in the field, he and I did some great Captain Americas, and Agent of SHIELD work. He was a just prodigious hard worker. Syd Shores, he died a long time ago, I always admired his work and his Captain America; he also did great westerns. Of course, we can’t forget Bill Everett.

He was so well rounded and what a talent. John Tartaglione, he’s gone now; he was a great friend of mine. No one could have done the books that John Tartag did that I worked on with him, the Pope John Paul, the Mother Theresa books. They were just something nobody else could have done. Some of the inkers, Tom Palmer was one of the greatest inkers Marvel ever had and still is. Dick Ayers, my old friend. He did so much for Marvel down through the years, working with Kirby and everybody else, and I’m sure there are a couple of others that I missed, please forgive me if I haven’t mentioned your name. These are just some of my favourites.

It’s great talking to you guys, and I hope you enjoy the interview.

58

59

Relentlessly they climb, the excruciating dance of the flames seeking to embrace your desperate struggle; teasing in their desire to cleanse your devil ridden soul. Oh you’ll scream and you’ll scream again, they’ll make sure of that, but you know the devil’s true disciple never to be too far away; Bible in hand, leering as your innocence is burned, condemned by ignorance and his blasphemous muse. To modern eyes, these images appear barbaric, but across Europe, witch burnings were all too commonplace; the blameless charred at the stake by the thousand. Try as they might though, those that sought their eternal condemnation were never to break the spell. The cackling figure of the witch would survive them all, her image living on through the centuries to find a welcome home on latter day print presses and way up high on the silver screen, and more significantly for these pages in the ill regarded contents of the pre-Code comic book.

While witches and their craft have been in evidence since the very dawn of civilisation, it was the advent of the print press during the Renaissance that precipitated a revival in witchery and the inevitable scourge of the witch hunt. The earliest volumes to see print were Bibles and writings of pious contemplation, which in their dutiful endeavour to spread the good word also disseminated eulogies on the malfeasance of witchcraft that for decades had faded from the public conscious. The most damning of these was Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches), published in 1486, only thirty years after the first press was introduced to a predominantly illiterate population. Scribed by two Dominican inquisitors, the intensity in the book’s portrayal of the alleged satanic and sexual abominations practised by the witch proved a catalyst for the horrors that followed. Much of Europe was returned to a dark age, an image completely in contrast to the enlightenment espoused by the Renaissance. Those in need would no longer seek the wisdom of the village wise woman, nor would they beseech the healing powers of the white witch. The plight of these once wise women was thrown further into jeopardy when plague once again crossed the land; they became the scapegoat for this and any similar ill that befell their fellow man. Such was the dread perceived in this witchery an act of Parliament was necessitated by the middle of the Sixteenth Century “agaynst Conjuracions Inchauntmentes and Witchecraftes”; this entered the statute book as The Witchcraft Act of 1562. Those accused of such deeds would meet their maker

60

hanging from the end of a rope; a small mercy when compared to the agony endured by their sisters across the water in Spain and France who were burned at the stake. While the witch hunt at home was reprehensible, it paled before the scale of that instigated by the Inquisition in Europe. On these shores, the last execution of an accused witch took place in 1684, when Alice Molland was hanged in Exeter punished under legislation ratified in 1604, “an Acte against conjuration Witchcrafte and dealinge with evill and wicked Spirits.” This abhorrent statute wouldn’t be repealed until 1736, when in the reign of George II, a more progressive frame of mind finally acknowledged it was impossible to conceive of there being a crime as witchcraft.

In Scotland, the final victim of the executioner was poor Janet Horne in 1722, an old woman whose ramblings would now have her considered hopelessly senile. While the death sentence was revoked, many women still faced allegations of witchery with the last trial in this country ensuing as WWII climaxed in 1944, when sorcery famously coalesced with espionage to condemn Helen Duncan to a custodial sentence.

Comic books were still in their infancy when, in the same year as the previously mentioned trial, the anthology title Yellowjacket Comics published by E. Levy/Frank Comunale (later known as Charlton Comics) threatened “Tales of Terror.”

Such coercion was nothing new, the spectre of horror had already made several attempts to infiltrate these comics, but this collection of tales is regarded as the first on going series dedicated to the macabre. Included amongst the eight stories introduced by the Old Witch in these ten issues was Edgar Allan Poe’s aptly entitled “The Black Cat” showcased in the very first issue followed by his “The Pit and the Pendulum” in issue #3, “The Fall of the House of Usher” in #4 and “The Tell Tale Heart” in #6. While this spate of terror did attract the interest of a small band of devotees, this was not the blue print for a new trend in comics; it would take another five years before this dark seed would eventually gestate to wreak its unholy wrath.

Following its gestation towards the end of the decade, this dark genre gradually began to infest more of North American continent.

It was a fitting time for the Old Witch to once again step from the shadows, this time assisted by Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein as EC followed in the footsteps of ACG and Atlas in launching their memorable brand of terror. Inspired by Old Nancy, the screeching host from the 1930s radio show The Witch’s Tale, she became the third of the three Ghoulunatics debuting in the second issue (numbered #16) of that which she and many others would consider her own title, Haunt of Fear, although she would of course make regular appearances in both Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror. Her mocking sarcasm would mingle with the cruellest of wit, a combination all those centuries ago that would have doomed her to eternal damnation, but the kids of the free-thinking atomic age just couldn’t get enough. Such was the popularity of the Old Witch Haunt of Fear #14 dabbled at the cauldron to cast light on her fiendish origins in the unforgettable “A Little Stranger.” Werewolves, vampires and a host of shambling monstrosities came together to witness a birth that would have shamed the infamous Malleus Maleficarum. With such a nefarious gathering, Graham Ingels had the perfect opportunity to demonstrate his ghoulish artistry. The witch became synonymous with this title, even the cover to Haunt of Fear’s debut contained a portrayal of this wicked breed, but this was not the Old Witch with which we would soon become familiar.

The false accusers of centuries past would have feared for their very souls, for as this dark phenomenon continued to take hold of the newsstands, Harvey Comics found themselves unable to resist, they released Witches Tales in 1951. Whether inspired by EC, as with so many of the tales from the period or Old Nancy herself, this title thrived with a gleeful insanity until the introduction of the Comics Code in the latter months of 1954. Hidden away in the contents of its ninth issue there came a witch long since dead, now returned to reclaim her hair in the chillingly entitled tale “Tank of Corpses.”

Folklore would have us believe those in possession of such an item could acquire powers of intuition, while others would insist it was

61

62

impossible to sever a witch’s locks. The wrongdoers in this unsettling episode, who had sought for so long to possess these tresses, were to each meet with a duly grisly demise. The macabre happenings observed in this tale were very much in keeping with the notoriety of this series; Witches Tales had become an appreciably unsavoury entry in the genre following its unheralded inception little more than twelve months before. As with so many of the horror titles of the day the EC portfolio had an irrefutable bearing on its content. Several swipes were in evidence in the pages of Witches Tales, with the hag shuffling through issue #18’s (April 1953) “Walpurgis” looking just a little too familiar.

It wasn’t unusual to see the crone revelling in her foul machinations on the cover of the pre-Code comic book. Fawcett’s Beware Terror Tales #8 presented the witch as the folk tales of childhood would have related, conspiring amidst the effervescent fumes of her bubbling cauldron. The cauldron was an essential component in the concoction of herbal potions, some of which were medicinal, while others were known to have induced a trance like state giving the witch an aura of inner wisdom. The unwitting incumbent was also bestowed with an unnerving sensation of being able to take to the air. Together with the domestic appliance propped in the corner, this could shed light on the time honoured image of the witch as she performed aerial manoeuvres astride her broomstick.

While the coven savoured their distasteful practice in these comics, the pre-Code witch was never once seduced by the temptation of sexual depravity suggested in Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger’s Malleus Maleficarum. ACG’s Out of the Night #3 (JuneJuly 1952) however did contain an insinuation of eroticism in the tale “Raven Sisters” where two witches set their sights on a rather gorgeous heroine.

Even though ravaged by this tireless crusade of burning, drowning

and hanging there has been little proven in historical tracts to suggest the dying curse of the witch ever endured. Mystic #32’s (July 1954) “Death to the Witch” however told a very different story, for as this witch was put to death, her crystal ball was observed to shatter and so followed an earthquake of inconceivable magnitude. Reading between the lines, there is an allusion to the writer’s contempt for the right wing zealots whose social and political aspirations had come to the fore in the America of these years. Such protestations were far from uncommon in the comic books of the period. If the title “Witch Witch’s Witch!” from the John Craig edited Vault of Horror #36 was anything to go by this was going to be another piece of sardonic story telling, but it was to be far darker than the customary fare offered to the many fans of this comic. In a tale atmospherically rendered

by Jack Davis and scribed by John himself, this proved one of the company’s truly unsettling tales, an account that offered precious little in the way of redemption as the townsfolk at the last had to face the terrors of this witch’s anger. Similarly “The Witch’s Wicked Words” from Hand of Fate #25 presented the fury of a murdered sorceress. Her slayer found himself hurled back in a time machine to the year 1450, where he was then forced to succumb before a damning accusation of witchery.

The witch simply refuses to depart our mortal coil. Her place in literature has been assured thanks to the likes of William Shakespeare and Anne Rice, both cinema and television have boasted many a sorceress and the very nature of the comic book has made it impossible to resist. Marvel’s Scarlet Witch would continue the legacy on into the Silver Age, while Eerie’s Witch’s Tales and DC’s Witching Hour would keep her at the forefront of the revived boom in horror comics during the early 1970s and on into the next decade. History would eventually throw Malleus Maleficarum into the disrepute it so truly deserved, but as with the cackling spectre of the witch, its name would live on to place a chill along many an unsuspecting spine.

63

64

By Frank Motler Maniacs, demons and femme fatales frequent the horror art of Rudolph “Rudy” Palais. Unable to contain themselves, his characters chaotically overlap the panel borders in their fevered exertions, sweating and drooling as they plot and scheme under the hands of this master of comic book art. Using close ups and extreme angles made popular in contemporary cinematic noir thrillers, his characters are ultimately trapped under glass and bound to their hapless fate. The early years of his career saw Palais employed as a designer of theatre fronts before moving into comics where he went on to perfected his style in this darkest of genres. The horror comic was killed off with the introduction of the Comic Code in 1955, forcing Harvey to fold their line of horror titles and at the end of 1954 Comic Media ceased publication altogether. However, between 1951 and 1954, Rudy Palais completed some of his finest pieces for each of these two companies.

Who’s Who of American Comic Books lists Rudy as the brother of Walter, a man who seemed destined for

the priesthood before he too became an artist, albeit more modestly talented. It was Walter who introduced Rudy to Jerry Iger when he was taken on as a letterer. Rudy worked for the Iger Shop circa 1941-42 mainly on the Fiction House line before finding a placement with Everett “Busy” Arnold and around 1946 for the Chesler shop, probably on their selection of in-house titles. Between 1944 and 1946, he was in the employ of L.B. Cole, who had taken over the Holyoke (Continental) range. Their work was to invigorate the pages of Captain Aero, Cat-man, Contact, Suspense Comics and Terrific Comics with a newfound energy.

Rudy’s work also appears in Harvey’s hero titles from 1945 on, culminating in his horror work between 1951 and 1953 when he left their employ.

In his time freelancing for Ace (1945-49), he contributed to their hero/adventure comics, producing the now notorious and the highly collectible Super Mystery cover (Volume 6/3 December 1945) depicting a “Good Girl” in peril. His style would lead him to many other companies, including Gilberton (1947-54), Avon, DC, Fox, Fawcett, Gleason (1944-47) and Quality (1942-44), in all more than twenty companies before he joined Charlton,

65

supplying artwork for them from 1967 to 1969 when he retired from comics.

It was 1951 when Harvey first ventured into horror with Witches Tales #1 (January 1951) soon to be followed by Chamber of Chills #21 (June 1951), Black Cat Mystery #30 (August 1951) and finally Tomb of Terror #1 (June 1952). Other notables for Harvey were Bob Powell, Warren Kremer, Lee Elias, Sid Check and Rocke Mastroserio. If we are to disregard their later reprints, Harvey produced a total of eighty-eight different issues with Palais contributing to thirty-eight of them, his page count ranging from between one and fourteen pages per issue.

Whilst working for Harvey, he produced one story for Atlas’s burgeoning horror line with Suspense #10 (September 1951). Suspense was the only horror title to be “based on the gripping CBS radio - television series” and as such is probably also the first TV comic with its first issue being December 1949; pre-dating Howdy-Doody’s premier. Palais’ art matched the

66

stilted and contrived story, yet remained typically atmospheric. A story in the same issue drawn by Russ Heath along with Joe Maneely’s cover, tip the balance.

The year 1952 saw a new company Comic Media formed by Alan Hardy Associates off the back of their fledgling Artful Publications. Instead of using Iger Shop art as with Artful, they moved towards in-house art featuring Don Heck, Pete Morisi, Marty Elkin, Al Tewks, Bill Discount and Rudy Palais. Weird Terror #1 (September 1952) became their first title, a worthy addition to the already booming horror market.

Horrific was switched from Artful with its third issue (January 1953). For the uninitiated, this featured the notorious Don Heck “Bullet in the Head” cover, which is actually a part image of the earlier War Fury #1 (September 1952), inverted and redrawn. These two issues are now cult collectors items.

Both Harvey and Comic Media horror titles come highly recommended (with or without Palais) although Comic Media’s output is much smaller with only twenty seven issues to their credit, with

approximately fifteen of them containing Palais art.

With Comic Media about to cease publication, Palais sought work at Trojan/Ribage, and his last three stories were published under their imprint by editor Adolphe Barreaux. While appearing strangely muted after the excess perpetrated by Comic Media and Harvey, completists will still want to check them out. Star Publications, under art director L.B. Cole, produced a number of horror titles. He did this by packaging old stories with one or two new ones, often by Disbrow. The old stories were usually Fox crime and jungle stories, and Palais’ earlier work is reprinted in at least four issues, Blue Bolt #112 (February 1952), Shock Detective Cases #20 (September 1952), and Startling Terror Tales #8 (February 1954) and #11 (July 1954).

Rudy Palais retired from comics in 1969 and when he departed this world in the summer months of 2004, he had been finally recognised as a horror artist with a true mastery for this macabre genre. His legacy would inspire others to experiment with their page design and eventually expand upon the idea of a conventional comic book, making them an acceptable form of art.

67

68

For those of who were there during the latter part of the 1980s, the horror comic was the rarest of finds in the racks of glossy new titles. While the video shops thrived on the bloody excess of these years, very few comic book publishers were prepared to venture into what had once again become a very gruesome domain. However, those publishers that were drawn to the dark side were to produce a series of suitably juicy morsels, albeit blighted by very limited print runs. Amongst this loathsome band was a company known as FantaCo, who heralded from Albany, New York. While not the most prolific publisher, their selection of titles included a black-and-white comic that was only too eager to lure the dead from the grave; a tome now almost forgotten by modern day comic book circles, but remembered by the select few as the infamous Gore Shriek. The title in itself was symptomatic of the mindless excess perpetrated by the fleapit grindhouse cinemas of the previous decade, and those who sneaked a peak behind its grisly covers were to uncover the same graphic insanity that had flourished in the pre-Code terrors and bore a perturbing parallel to the underground terrors of the 1970s.

With every generation of comic book horror, there has been at least one deranged maestro whose style has contrived to encapsulate the essence of that particular era. The pre-Code years had spawned many, but the finest was without doubt Ghastly Graham Ingels, and the 1970s could boast their own enfant terrible in the guise of Bernie Wrightson. However, as this new decade dawned, horror appeared appreciably less viable, with many creators now distanced from the genre. There were still many comic book readers with

69

a hankering for horror, and its sanguinary premise continued to enjoy success on the silver screen, and even more so on video tape, with a new phenomenon for which the kids just couldn’t get enough, splatter! The dissolute portrayals rife in these gore fused films coupled with their predilection for flesh-eating zombies tagged onto an over abundance of kill crazed axe murderers was never going to make it over the threshold into mainstream comics. Thirty years prior to these films, comics had enjoyed a similar bloodlust, which led to their being banned only to return in the uncensored world of underground comix during the early 1970s. Almost fifteen years later, Tom Skulan and his team at FantaCo set about putting these gore stricken monstrosities right back onto the shelves, and they in turn proved to be the naissance for a new terror, one who could follow in the bloodied footsteps of his predecessors to become the incumbent master of the macabre, an aptly named fiend known as “The Gurch.”

While there had been many appreciably talented horror artists plying their trade during the early 1980s, amongst them Messrs Bissette, Totleben, Gilbert and Corben, fans of the genre were still looking for an able successor to the tenebrous imagining of Bernie Wrightson. The heir apparent was about to step forth from the shadows, although he was to come from a somewhat unsuspecting source.

Rather than the haunted streets of Salem or the shady passageways of Arkham, he heralded from the town of sunny Scunthorpe hidden away in the north climes of Lincolnshire. His roots would have come as a great surprise, but even in this slumbering Lincolnshire town, the dark side still awaits.

In his earlier years “The Gurch,” known locally as Gurchain Singh, had enjoyed his comics and like many other kids of the day was a big fan of 2000AD. However at the beginning of the 1980s, when comics seemed to waver, his interest began to fade. Thankfully all was not lost, for on one of those fateful days that many of us will have experienced, this indifference was suddenly changed.

While rummaging through an old bookshop, he uncovered a copy of Pacific’s Twisted Tales #7. He was immediately hooked and set about tracking down the rest of them, and, in so doing, discovered the work of Bernie Wrightson. In an interview gleaned from the pages of the UK fanzine Dark Chaos circa 1991, he confessed to having one overpowering desire, to become Bernie Wrightson Part II. There was no denying that Brian Bolland, Arthur Suydam, Richard Corben, John Bolton and Frank Frazetta had all played their part, but it was Bernie’s relish for the macabre that imparted the most profound impression. Two issues of Tales from the Pits, a solo venture from Gurchain, followed in 1988 published by the Bournemouth based comic shop Wonderworld. These were to become highly sought after treasures, as only an estimated 200 of each were known to have been printed.

70

71

For those who were privy to his work at this time, there was a tremendous sense of anticipation, but as time passed this was never fulfilled, which was to culminate in utter frustration. The comics, in which his artwork appeared, were at best sporadic and his sojourn in the industry between the years 1988 to 1992 was all too brief. As horror comics had fallen out of vogue, only FantaCo had the vessel from which to unleash his deranged vision. He had however previously threatened the world from the pages of a professional comic, in the letters page of Eclipse’s Tales of Terror #12, not long before its finale. The sketches he supplied to Eclipse, along with his home address, attracted the attention of Marshall Crist, who in 1987 referred him to FantaCo’s Chas Balun. The timing was perfect and what followed was a series of tales published in Gore Shriek that suggested this was a young man with a series psychiatric disorder, who also went on to make appearances in the pages of Deep Red; and several fan publications of the period, such as Samhain and Raw Virus; and a portfolio in the contents of Skeleton Crew in January 1991.

72

His creations reveal an artist who literally lived and breathed horror, seemingly driven by but one desire to rouse the dead and rage unbridled terror across every plane that governed our mortal existence.

Their bloodcurdling content imply this was a young fellow who had been locked away for a little too long with George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (his favourite film) and Lucio Fulci’s collective of degenerate creations. The portraiture on show in these pages is borne with the revelation he was already beginning to conspire with the abominations spawned by both Romero and Fulci. Regular readers of Gore Shriek couldn’t have been prepared for what was laid before them in the final issue of this series’ initial run. Issue #6, published in 1989, finally set loose his putrescent pencils. These seminal pages evidence a discernible crudity, which was entirely consistent

73

with the discordant landscape of aging necropolises and rotting flesh savoured in these pages. Their bizarre aesthetic wasn’t too dissimilar to that of the fledgling line work of fellow zombie artist Vince Locke, who at this time was busy pouring his perturbing vision into another atrophied terror of the day, Deadworld. The Gurch’s renderings obviously made an impression because he returned to illustrate the front and back covers to the limited edition Gore Shriek 6 ½, an edition made available only through the company themselves, a macabre gift bestowed upon their most dedicated followers.

When in the following year Gore Shriek returned for a second volume, “The Gurch” was lined up for each one of its four appearances, along with a single page in the annual of that same year and several illustrations in the one-off Shriek during 1989. Volume 2, Number 2 ½ published in 1990 was dedicated entirely to his latest work, bequeathing his fans twenty pages of sheer unadulterated rabid madness. In the wake of this malign offering, no grave would ever again be safe. This edition was to be an essential portfolio of his dark artistry, which was immersed in the same diabolical humour observed many years before in the design of the man who had inspired him to assume this cause. However, it would have been an even greater prize if it had included one of his comic strips. Still, it revealed an artist with an uncanny grasp of the most unsavoury elements of terror and one with an almost guaranteed future in comic book horror. Messrs Wrightson, Romero and Fulci had succeeded in decimating his world view to leave behind a man very young in years yet with an unnerving desire to raise the dead. He had now ascended to this most macabre throne, and just as he was about to assume the mantle as the horror artist of this generation, Gore Shriek was brought to an untimely end.

To his horror, he found work very quickly slipping through his hands.

“The Gurch” never made it to the pages of Steve Bissette’s Taboo, which remains a great shame, for the style and content of these esteemed publications would have been the perfect home for his twisted imaginings.

After years of working with brain craving zombies and their disagreeable ilk, Steve now wanted to move on

74

to something rather different, which unfortunately meant “The Gurch” was denied a place at a time when horror had become an even rarer commodity in the world of comic books.

For all of their energy, FantaCo were simply unfortunate publishing horror at the very worst of times, with another wave of recession about to batter the world’s economy and the moral crusaders once again banging the drum. These factors made it increasingly difficult for comic shops on both sides of the Atlantic to champion such excessive material. Gore Shriek’s outlook was all too close to the dread undergrounds of twenty years past, which in time would make it a very collectible series.

However during the early 1990s, this was not going to work in its favour. All these years later, amongst the many reasons for Gore Shriek’s collectability, is the artist whose fevered pencils are presented here, a creator who still has the potential to terrorise the comic buying public and make himself the most vaunted horror artist of yet another generation.

More of “The Gurch’s” recent work can be found at monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com.

75

A 2005 Interview With Jerry Grandenetti!

RA: Hello, Mr. Grandenetti and thank you for this opportunity! How did you get your start in comics?

JG: I really got started in comics by luck. I was very good in math so in high school I decided to study architecture. My father’s influence, there. My first job was with C. C. Combs: Landscape Architects. I was a junior draftsman and was only 15 at the time. In those days comics were sold at most stores and newsstands. They were all over the place. I had always liked to draw and I started to copy the art in the comics. After high school I went into the navy with a specialist X rating. Working aboard ship or on the base I did a lost of cartoons or drawings for the base and ship’s papers. I was also a draftsman in the administration building on base.

When I got out of the navy at the age of 21, I decided architecture was not as much fun as drawing so I put together a portfolio of some of the stuff I did in the service to see if I could get some work in the comics industry. The first place I went to was Quality Comics. Busy Arnold, the boss there, told me Will Eisner was looking for an assistant and sent me over. I didn’t know who Eisner was. Will hired me and I don’t think it was because of my drawing ability because for the next two weeks I did nothing but erase pages and white out lines. Then I started inking backgrounds. Then I began to do my own backgrounds. Then I began to ink figures as well as backgrounds. Nothing much impressed me at the time because I didn’t know the greatness of Will Eisner until some time later.

By this time I was going to the Pratt Institute and hoping to do full color for the slick mags. John Spranger was penciling The Spirit when I got there but he left in a couple of months. Will did his own penciling and inking after that. Abe Kanister was lettering. Jules Feiffer was hired then {laughs}, would you believe, to erase and do the white outs! Later on he began coloring the Spirit’s silver proofs. It was at this time that I realized the guys like Infantino and Kubert were drawing their own comics at the ripe age of 15 years old! So for the rest of my career I’ve been playing catch-up.

RA: What was it like working with Will Eisner?

JG: Working for Eisner was exciting. Although there was no such thing as teaching or showing you how to develop your craft. I think at this time he was trying to make the Spirit pay off and become a success. Which it never really was. Before its demise he tried everything. Had me penciling The Spirit, later on it was Wally Wood, but nothing could save the Spirit!

Sad, too. It was probably the greatest comic strip ever created.

RA: How did the Dr. Drew strip come about? At that point your artwork looked very much like Will Eisner’s.

JG: Will Eisner created Dr. Drew and I was to do it in the Eisner style.

Which I did, badly. Anyway, after a couple of stories I began to do my own thing.

RA: How did you get involved with Warren Publishing?

JG: I think I began to do stories for Warren around 1965 or 1966. I’m not the best guy for interviews of this sort. I never kept records, etc. I started out for them by ghost penciling stories {see below for titles} for Joe Orlando. I think it was only about 5 or 6 stories. Then I started doing my own for them. I also penciled stories for Joe when he became an editor at DC. I had a good relationship with Joe. I think because we both strived for a different look in out work. Besides the Warren work I also helped Joe create two books for DC. One was called Scooter. I’m not sure what the title of the other book was.

RA: Did you meet Jim Warren? You also worked for a number of editors while at Warren: Archie Goodwin, Bill Parente, Billy Graham, J. R. Cochran and Bill DuBay. What do you remember about them?

JG: Yes, I met Warren. He was a very interesting talent and publisher. As far as the editors, I only worked with Archie Goodwin. He was a great talent. His scripts always came with little thumbnail drawings that he did.

They were a very good guide to the artist. He thought like an artist.

77

Like I said, I was playing catch-up for most of my career, until I got to Warren. Then I really began to experiment. In fact, from one story to another I would change styles…looks…approaches.

RA: Do you have any favorites among the dozens of stories you drew for Warren?

JG: If I had to pick a favorite…I guess it would be either “Bernice” or “The Adventure Of The German Student.” Both of those were scripted

by Archie.

RA: You were doing odd panel angles and perspectives long before they became popularized by Jim Steranko and Neal Adams. What brought about this?

JG: I would have to say Eisner influenced me in the beginning. Maybe I went a little too far with some of that stuff. My architecture background was also behind it.

RA: You were often paired with scripts from T. Casey Brennan. Was that by choice or by editorial decision?

JG: It was mostly editors who made the decision on who to pair me up with. I’m not sure at this point who wrote most of the scripts I drew. I may have done some T. Casey Brennan scripts.

RA: From 1968-1969 you didn’t appeared in the Warren books and then you stopped altogether around 1973. Was there any particular reason for this?

JG: From 1965 to 1974 I really bounced around. I was doing some comics, some advertising illustrations. Some of it was in color and some in black & white. Around 1990 I took a staff job with Young & Rubicam as the art director/illustrator.

RA: You did a lot of work over the years for DC, particularly in their mystery and war books. Do you have any favorites from that period?

JG: Nah, I don’t have any favorite DC stories. Anyway, at DC, I was doing the commercial DC look.

RA: What are you doing today?

JG: Today I’m freelancing for a few advertising agencies in New York.

I also do fine art paintings in watercolor, acrylics and mixed media. I’ve had a gallery showing of my watercolors. Sold a few.

RA: Who are your favorite writers or artists in the comic field, both from yesterday and today?

JG: The foreign market has a bunch of very good comic artists. Don’t know their names, though. The American comic book artists are more involved in special effects tricks and production impact. Greats from the past are Krigstein…Kubert…Infantino…Toth and many more.

78

RA: Which comic pro {writer, artist, etc} do you think has been overlooked in the field and deserves a spotlight show on them?

JG: Irv Novick. I think his work has been overlooked. It really is great work.

RA: What impresses you {or depresses you} about the comic field today?

JG: The books today have no diversity. No individuality. They don’t have the personal touch which makes for good readership impact. The drawings are not good. The stories are bad. The books today have good special effects, good production, good rendering and shading but good shading is not good drawing! I think comics are on the way out. This is certainly only my guess. I don’t know what current sales are like. I hope I’m wrong because comic books are the last frontier for artist illustrators.

Computer generated art/graphics seems to be a good vehicle for illustrators.

I’ve been doing some interesting stuff on certain programs like “adobe,” “pro 9” and “art studio”. Right now, for me, the problem is getting a large hard copy without losing too much to distortion. For comic books you don’t need too much enlargement. Maybe that’s the way to go. For all I know, all the current comic work is being done on computers today.

RA: On a personal note, I’d like to thank you, not only for this interview, but for many years of reading and comics pleasure.

Warren stories ghost penciled by Jerry Grandenetti 1. “Special Forces” (Blazing Combat #3) 2. “Ahead Of The” Game (Eerie #2) 3. “Under The Skin” (Eerie #3) 4. “House Of Evil” (Eerie #4) 5. “Vampire Slayer!” (Eerie #5) Images used in this piece:Page 78: Eerie #7 “Cry Fear, Cry Phantom”.

Page 79: Black Magic #2 December 1973, Our Army at War #52 November 1956 and finally Creepy #43 “Quest of the Bigfoot”.

Page 80: Creepy #12 “Voodoo Doll” & at the bottom of the page Creepy #13 “Early Warning”.

Page 81: Rangers Comics #49 splash to “Dr Drew: Stalker of the Un known” andcover to All-American Men of War #67 March 1959.

Panels from Eerie #24 “Scavenger Hunt”.

79

Femme Fatale

Welcome back dear readers, for another look at those irrepressible Bad American Comics. This time out, we take a look at the fairer sex gone wrong. Whether or not we care to admit it, the bad girl is a source of fascination. Traditionally, women were considered gentle, submissive, the progenitors of the race and homemakers for the dominant male. Although protected largely from the fighting at the frontline, WWII (1939-45) finally changed all that, when European and American women proved they could tend the severely wounded, drive, fly aeroplanes, and work in production or heavy engineering. Not least, they kept the home-fires burning. Post-war they were meant to resume their domesticity but an unease existed between the sexes, as some women refused to relinquish these hard won gains. Thus, the modern femme-fatale was born.

Before that, she had existed only as the spy or assassin of exotic fiction, moreover the ambitious flapper, getting by on her looks.

The modern fatale was urbane, stylish and materialistic. She appeared in numerous postwar movies, particularly the crime or noir genre thriller but also in magazines, pulps, plus paperback novels that proliferated the newsstands and bookshops. Taking their lead from these, comic books soon followed. Although traditionally aimed at juveniles, the risk of public censure was ignored. It was hoped that returning servicemen would continue reading them, like before, whilst away winning the war. For comics, the femme-fatale would wear the red dress; it soon became a symbol, or shorthand, for the liberated and dangerous female.

Her perilous predicaments on numerous covers, suggested the unease with which she was viewed. Yet, Avon Periodicals, under their Realistic Comics, Inc., imprint, were about to change all that.

Reform School Girl!

Avon had been publishing paperback books since the early 1940’s. They also took these themes and reused them inside their otherwise typical, 10c, 36 page, comic books. Also carried over, was another theme implicit in paperbacks, the one-shot item. Molly O’Day and The Sea Hound, from 1945-6, represent Avon’s earliest ventures into comics. These were followed during 1947-9

by Bachelor’s Diary, Cow Puncher, Eerie Comics, Frontier Romances, Going Steady With Betty, Penny, Peter Rabbit, Romantic Love, The Saint, Sideshow, Slave Girl and Wild Bill Hickok. These titles were biased towards the continuing series. However, the 1950s witnessed the introduction of more than fifty, adult-oriented, one-shots. Often without an issue number, they further broke the mound by supplying only an on-sale year, no doubt hoping to extend their shelf-life, as with paperbacks. Among them were such gems as Atomic Spy Cases, Attack On Planet Mars, City Of The Living Dead, Flying Saucers, The Hooded Menace, Mask Of Dr. Fu Manchu, Out Of This World, Phantom Witch Doctor and Robotmen Of The Lost Planet.

The piece-de-resistance from this group was undoubtedly Reform School Girl!, 1951. The cover rejected the conventional illustration, in favour of a striking photographic pose of very shapely femme, wearing a fitted black-lace undergarment, frilled at the edges. She is leaning forward, to attach her right stocking onto her suspender clip. This allows us to admire her curvaceous body, while she fixes us disinterestedly, with a narrow gaze. A cigarette hangs, in louche manner, from the corner of striking red lips; her head is framed by soft, shoulder length, blonde curls.

No one quite like her has ever been seen on the cover of a comic book, before or since. It is the suggestiveness that perfects this image; once again, less is more!

80

With an inspirational piece of graphic design, the girl has been located full-length, cover left. The title in striking turquoise, prominent against the yellow ochre background, occupies the upper half of the cover. Above it, the masthead reads “The Graphic Story Of Boys And Girls Running Wild In The Violence-Ridden Slums Of Today!” As if this were not enough, a caption box headed by “They Succumbed To Temptation,” commandeers the lower half of the cover. The copy reads “This is the story of youth gone wrong… and of the penalty hundreds of pretty girls have to pay

when they allow themselves to fall victim to unscrupulous men, their own wayward emotions, and the other hidden pitfalls of a sensation crazed society!”

House Of Fury!

It was Avon’s policy to reuse the often-painted cover images from paperbacks on the covers of their comics.

They had done it with issues of Campus Romances, The Saint, Realistic Romances, Intimate Confessions and various others. Reform School Girl’s photo-realism proved no exception. The original paperback edition was House Of Fury (Avon #298), from author Felice Swados. It would have remained obscure had it not been for its cover revision of 1948. For its photographic embellishment, Diversey Publishing Co., an Avon subsidiary, chose Canadian ice-skating star and occasional model Marty Collins, thus ensuring immortality for both. The cover is pretty much as its larger sibling but with minimal captioning, as befitting its diminished stature. Ironically, it is the notoriety of the comic book original that has caused the interest in this earlier reprint. This was ensured when Dr. Fredric Wertham M.D., who will need no introduction here, featured the cover in the illustrated section of his infamous Seduction Of The Innocent, 1954. The good Doctor would rail against its very existence, “comic books are supposed to be like fairy tales.”

Hard-Boiled!

In 1989, the lead story from this notorious comic, plus the previously discussed Harvey Comics Library #1, were reprinted in a trade-paperback from Eclipse, Teen-Aged Dope Slaves and Reform School Girls. Lest there is any doubt, its cover aptly demonstrates the impossibility of crossing into a different time zone. The weariness and cynicism of the modern cover reprise, a poignant reminder of the impertinence and spunk of the original. However, for many it represents a chance to read it, albeit in black and white, plus Teen-Age Dope Slaves and several other rarities. Apparently adapted from the novel, Reform School Girl is certainly hard-boiled, with Faith Butler taking a bullet on the way to the reformatory. Love conquers all, eventually and she is set to marry her former hood, also rehabilitated and about to join the USAF. I have discovered two other vintage stories. Another version of Reform School Girl is to be found in Simon and Kirby’s Prize title, Young Romance #72, from August 1954. I have yet to acquire a copy, so no other information, here. There is also the lackluster “Reformatory Girl” from the cult Strange Confessions #3, Ziff-Davis, July/ August 1952.

The latter title was but one attempt, to merge romance with mystery or adult themes. There were many others, too numerous to discuss here. They represent a vanguard of unreformed, romance comics that existed in the 1950s, until Dr. Wertham and the Comic Code swept all before them. However, like such modern icons as Mickey Mouse, the Mona Lisa and Superman, Reform’s unrepentant image is slowly crossing into mainstream consciousness.

She became the subject of an exploitation movie in 1957 and copies have recently become available on DVD, with its original girl-fight poster also on sale. The paperback image is also available as poster or postcard and recently she has been turned into a lapel pin. The pert and provocative Reform School Girl may yet have the last laugh, should she care!

All information researched and compiled by: Frank Motler, England. A Fatboy Production

81

Fire Brand

Previously, in this three-part journey, we have looked at the rise of the American teenager and America’s most iconic teen, Elvis Presley (FTT #26). FTT #27 tarried, investigating Hep Cats and their arcane jive-talk, via the many popular publications of the period. Triggered by perceptions of delinquency and youth crime, the anti-comics campaigns of Dr. Fredric Wertham, MD, the US Senate and New York Legislative committees became the subject of FTT #28. In this concluding instalment, we look at the four-color crime comics themselves.

How they stuttered with the arrival of the “Comics Code” and breathed their last a few months later, when New York State prohibited the word ‘crime’ in the title of a comic.

Elsewhere, our Electric Chair Special Issue with emphasis on shocking covers plus St. John’s crime comics, Bad American’s Stir-Fry (featuring Crime Does Not Pay), or Jack Cole and Co’s True Crime are also recommended (see FTT #13, 15, 20 respectively.

The first issue of Crime Does Not Pay debuted in 1942 (#22, dated July; formerly Silver Streak Comics) as the first genre comic. Immediately, it established a dark malevolent style befitting the real-life gangsters often portrayed. In the formative period, Charles Biro epitomised this with violent cover renditions of: Tommy-gun execution, prison breakouts, drowning, hatchet killing, bloody shootouts, or an infamous head-in-the-gas-flames portrayal (#25, #23, #28 and #29, #48, #33, #30 and #36, or #24). Until 1947, Gleason’s comic had the field to itself, when it was joined by delinquent sister Crime and Punishment (#1, April 1948), plus competition from Harvey (Green Hornet Fights Crime), Magazine Village (True Crime), Martin Goodman’s company (see index, note 5) and elsewhere. As the comics-code loomed, Gleason’s young sibling dabbled with fake 3-D and delinquency themes (notably the Alex Toth illustrated Crime and Punishment #67 and “Dope Crazy Kids,” #69). Uninspired, the elder statesman meandered, despite artistic invention from Joe Kubert and Pete Morisi.

From 1950, Avon also produced comics, including: Crime On the Waterfront, Gangsters and Gun Molls, Murderous Gangsters, Police Line-Up, Prison Break and Prison Riot. Several were enhanced by painted covers first-seen on various Avon paperbacks (the company’s first line of business). Both Goodman and Avon’s crime comics were cancelled in 1952, as was the Star title Crime Fighting Detective. Meanwhile, Star’s All Famous Crime mutated into All Famous Police Cases, surviving until 1954 (all featuring L.B. Cole covers). Avon’s one-shot giants from 1952, All-True Detective Cases and Sensational Police Cases returned in 1953 for brief runs as regular comics.

Enlightening Strikes, Twice…

82

Publisher Archer St. John also produced crime comics, in the formative period (1948 on). Several of these reprinted Chesler art and were censured by Wertham, unaware of their original source (see FTT#13). Only Authentic Police Cases sustained a run until 1955, expiring as the code commenced. It benefited hugely from the input of African-American Matt Baker (1921-1959), a supremely talented artist who worked extensively for St. John.

In 1953, Authentic expanded to 100-page giant format (#24-27), part of an experiment embracing several ongoing titles. It had been preceded by All-True All-Picture Police Cases #1-2 (October & November 1952), which contained rebound unsold comics, minus original covers, as did all St. John giants to this point. The 1953 releases were mostly new. Authentic Police Cases #25 included an expurgated, reworked and colorized version of “The Case of the Winking Buddha” (32 pages, Charles Raab art). Originally, Buddha had been a 132-page black-and-white, feature-length story, which debuted in a 1950 comics digest of the same name. It was contemporaneous with another uncommon St. John digest, It Rhymes With Lust; Matt Baker art throughout. Luckily, Lust was reprinted in its original form by Dark Horse, 2007 and is available still (it also appeared reformatted, in The Comics Journal #266, July 2006). Elsewhere, Baker’s spot illustrations improved the looks of several story digests, including St. John’s own Manhunt (unrelated to the Magazine Enterprise comic), Goodman’s Justice and several Arnold Magazine titles.

83

A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing...

As indicated in FTT #28, DC’s crime titles were bland affairs enforced by stringent self-regulation, so the approaching comics-code afforded no real scares. Post-code, they employed intriguing, whimsical cover premises, seen on many DC’s of the period. Typical were “The Prizefight the Fans Never Saw,” “The Canine Eye-Witness,” or “The Man in The Martian Suit,” (Gang Busters #52, Mr. District Attorney #53 or 63, 195558). The November/December 1958 Mr. District Attorney offers a prequel to Justice League of America #1’s cover, where animal suited villains unmask the titular hero, disguised as Mr. Wolf. (#66, “The Case of the Secret Seven,” reprinted in UK issue #12; itself a reference to All Star Comics #3, 1940, the first appearance of the Justice Society of America).

Pre-code, the Charlton titles displayed an array of appealing if quirky artistry, with Ditko art spotted on the 1954 releases, Racket Squad in Action #11 (cover, plus “Botticelli Of The Bangtails” story), #12 (explosion cover) and “Killer on the Loose” story for Crime and Justice #18 (the two covers and Killer are reprinted in 3-D Substance #1, 1990 from 3-D Zone. Note: Fight Against The Guilty #22 does not contain any Ditko art). Lou Morales, Stan Campbell, Dick Giordano and Frank Frollo’s art can be found in Crime and Justice, plus Lawbreakers. Alvin C. Hollingsworth’s art was featured in Crime Mysteries, Fight Against Crime/ The Guilty etc (see FTT #9 and #24 for overviews/indexes for Morales and Hollingsworth). The great Harry Anderson features in Crime and Justice #23, 24, plus later issues of Orbit’s Wanted, alongside art by Mort Leav, Mort Lawrence, Syd Shores and John Buscema. Krigstein, Maurice Del Bourgo and Warren Kremer (signing as ‘Doc’) featured there in the formative period. All are recommended. Kremer also supplied some stark covers to the later Harvey horrors and we will return to him in the text. As with DC, the post-code Charltons are essentially for fans of the company.

Even more so the Hillmans, except for early examples with Krigstein art.

Good Cop, Good Cop…

With crime becoming a troublesome word, several publishers switched to law enforcement titles: Badge of Justice (#22, #2-4), Rookie Cop (#2733, 1955-57), Police Badge #479 (one-shot, 1955), I Am a Cop (#1-3, 1954; Bob Powell art throughout), plus Simon and Kirby’s Police Trap (#1-7, 1954-55). Related to these was the bland Public Defender in Action

(Charlton, 1956-57; from Police Trap) and Sterling Comics’ atmosphericsounding After Dark #6-8 (1955-56; unconnected to Maurice Latzen’s Sterling Group magazines). The latter was a re-naming of The Informer #1-5 (1954), a pre-code title, which alluded to the hit TV series Dragnet (#1-2 on Feature Television Productions imprint). Mike Sekowsky was Sterling’s lead artist throughout. Their other titles comprised of Captain Flash, My Secret Confession and The Tormented/ Surprise Adventures.

Dragnet had starred actor Jack Webb as Sgt Joe Friday in both the TV and earlier radio series (1949-59). It wasn’t adapted formally as a comic, although it was spoofed in the satire titles, but never better than Mad’s “Dragged Net,” with Kurtzman and Elder’s mimicry at its most lunatic, plus full orchestral accompaniment: “DOMM DA DOM DOMM!” (#11, 1954; ignore the lesser prototype in Mad #3.) Police Action (Atlas, 1954) and Police Against Crime (Premier, 1954-55) were both violent affairs, with a few muted post-Code issues from the latter before folding.

There are at least two esoteric promotional comics. The first, Pete The Policeman (“Your Pal and Protector”) was digest-sized from the Chrysler Corporation promoting traffic safety for juvenile readers (1954, produced by Planned Sales, Inc). More interesting, is the 1963 giveaway from ACG’s Custom Comics division, for the NYS Police and Fire Departments. Your Friend the Policeman featured Kurt Schaffenberger art and emphasized the paternal role of the NYPD. (Schaffenberger’s art can also be found in Police Against Crime #5-7, plus covers #7, 9).

Counteracting this view was Dell’s irreverent Car 54, Where Are You?, an adaptation of the NBC/Eupolis Productions, Inc TV comedy series, 1961-63. The Dells feature photo covers of a “pre-Herman Munster” Fred Gwynne and Joe E. Ross portraying Officers Francis Muldoon and Gunther Toody (Four Color #1257, #2-7, 1962-63, selected reprints 1965).

Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct was another Dell TV adaptation (1962, see FTT #27) Since 1940, Police Comics had been a vehicle for Quality’s flexible hero Plastic Man. In 1950, Plas was confined to his own title, as Police switched to the hard-boiled crime and spying adventures of private eye Ken Shannon and T-Man Pete Trask (#103-127; with the first 5-issues increased to 52-page format). Despite sterling work from Reed Crandall and a stunning bondage cover/story issue (#109, November 1951), the title folded in 1953.

85

86

No Direction

Reed Crandall’s artwork also featured in Quality companions Ken Shannon and issues #2-10 of T-Man. Quality’s loss was fandom’s gain, when Crandall moved to EC during 1953 (via Ned Pines’s Standard comics, where he drew two excellent stories for the July Out of the Shadows #9). Here, his art grew darker, in keeping with the stories now being offered. This includes appearances in Crime and Shock SuspenStories comics (#19-26 and #10-13, 15-18; 195355), plus the 1955-56 Picto-Fiction magazines Crime Illustrated #1-2 (cover also, #2) and Shock Illustrated #2. As work dwindled at EC, Crandall moved elsewhere, drawing stories for Atlas’s Caught #5 and Tales of Justice #64 and #67. Other EC artists who relocated briefly include Joe Orlando (Tales of Justice #65 and 66) and Berni Krigstein: Caught #5 and Tales of Justice #58 and 59. Clearly, John Severin’s talents were recognised, as he drew the majority of covers to both post-code series, plus stories in Crime Fighters #13 and Tales of Justice #64. Atlas’s serendipitous mix of art will be familiar to horror/mystery fans. Post-code, it was bolstered by artists cast adrift elsewhere including EC, which means any Atlas crime issue listed here is worth investigating.

Crime Illustrated

Early issues of Prize’s Justice Traps the Guilty featured Simon and Kirby art (1948-50), with issues #6, 8 and 10 offering early examples by Al Feldstein and Krigstein. There are also stories by Severin/Elder in these vintage issues.

Following the withdrawal of Simon and Kirby’s guiding hands, Justice Traps became a generic crime title, persisting until 1958. In the UK, the title was picked-up by Arnold Book Co/Arnold Miller, who also released a Justice Traps the Guilty Album (containing US Atlas crime stories). With issue #29, the series switched to Strato/Thorpe and Porter, where it complimented their Mr. District Attorney anthologies (43 and 24 issues respectively; 68-pages, b&w contents). Simon and Kirby’s art/covers can also be found on Police Trap, part of their Mainline Comics self-publishing venture. Following difficulties, the lines (which comprised the western hero Bullseye, Foxhole, In Love and Win a Prize duo) were published briefly by Charlton. When Simon and Kirby’s input evaporated, the surviving titles were renamed. Jail for Lawbreakers was also conceived under Mainline, but never appeared. A similar fate befell Ajax/ Farrell’s Police Thrills (both 1954). When the cover for the latter was reworked as a sinister clown for Fantastic #10 (Sept-Oct-54), rival Gaines (who had by then given up horror) would complain.

Around 1963, artist-turned-publisher Israel Waldman (later associated with Skywald) produced four issues of Police Trap on Super Comics imprint (#11, #16-18; reprinting #3, #1, Justice Traps the Guilty #83, Inside Crime #3 respectively). His other crime releases were Sensational Police Cases #5 (IW; Prison Break #5) and Top Detective Comics #9 (Super; Young King Cole #1), with crime covers seen sporadically elsewhere. Several companies released giant issues. In particular, Avon: All-True Detective Cases, Sensational Police Cases, Charlton’s Racket Squad In Action #29; Gleason’s 1953 Crime Does Not Pay Annual; St. John’s: All-True All-Picture Police Cases #1-2, Authentic Police Cases (qv), Giant Comics Editions #4, 5 (Police Case Book), Record Book of Famous Police Cases, True Crime Cases; Wm. Wise’s Complete Book of True Crime and those of Victor Fox (Album of Crime, All-Famous Crime, All-Great Crime, Almanac of Crime, Crimes Incorporated, Journal of Crime, March of Crime and The Truth About Crime, 1948-50). Gemstone/Cochran reprinted all of EC’s New Trend issues and thoughtfully, they anthologised the Crime and Shock SuspenStories reprints into giant editions. Either form is recommended.

Although outside our remit, the Pre-Trend reprints of Crime Patrol and War Against Crime (1948-50) offer opportunity to see EC grow and develop its artistry and writing skills. Unfortunately, EC’s Picto-Fiction magazine series are available only in the original or via Cochran’s boxed-set release from 2006 (part of his Complete EC Library series). Despite its cost (around £100 or $150), it is recommended for its stellar array of artists involved, the inclusion of the uncommon Shock Illustrated #3 and other unpublished final issues.

Gun Crazy

Timor’s Crime Detector #3 and #4 (May and July 1954) offer formative versions of Mike Hammer (as Mike Danger) and secretary Velda, written by Mickey Spillane and illustrated by Sam Burlockoff. However, Toby’s Johnny Danger, a one-shot, from 1954, never quite delivers on the promise of its

87

atmospheric cover. Also in the hard-boiled tradition, Ken Shannon is noted elsewhere, with Pete Morisi’s Johnny Dynamite discussed by Richard Byard in the pages of FTT#18. Crime Detector’s #5 finale went out with a bang, thanks to a Jay Disbrow horror story, plus a reworking of Joseph H. Lewis’s 1950 ‘B-movie’ classic, Gun Crazy (as “Gun Happy;” September). Disbrow was more closely associated with L.B. Cole and Star Comics, with the main body of his work in their employ given to horror and jungle thrills, with only an unconfirmed report of a story in Thrilling Crime Cases #48 (April 1952).

Fight Against Crime (Story Comics, Inc) is notable for violent themes and a penchant for EC swipes in later issues. It features art by Jack Abel, Hy Fleishman, Edwin Goldfarb/inked by Bob Baer, AC Hollingsworth, Bill Fraccio and others unknown.

Fleishman’s art was a blend of Wally Wood and Jack Davis, without surpassing either (although it was interesting, nonetheless). Hy worked at various companies, including Atlas, Master, Morse and Premier (with stories in Police Against Crime #1-9, cover to #1). Story’s publisher, the lawyer William K. Friedman, was unabashed when he appeared before the Senate subcommittee on April 22, 1954 (reported last issue).

Fight Against Crime #20, July 1954, which parodied EC’s much-discussed severed-head cover (Crime SuspenStories #22, May 1954) was contemporaneous with his testimonial. Its emergence must have provoked the detractors, as this and its follow-up are both uncommon today. The final issues were re-titled (Fight Against The Guilty #22-23, 1954-55), with distribution switched from Leader News to Charlton’s Capital Distribution Co, based in Derby, Connecticut. High on any crime collector’s list will be “Frisco Mary,” illustrated by Warren Kremer. Identified widely, the violent story premiered in the August 1948 Crime Must Pay the Penalty (#3, Ace). Less well known, the Senate subcommittee had targeted the March 1954 (#37) reprint, which also contains Rudy Palais’s bloody 9-pager, “Four Genna Brothers.” But enough analysis.

Let the comics speak for themselves via the covers and interiors that grace these pages.

88

89

When, in 1973, Jerry Bails was assembling the entries for his invaluable Who’s Who of American Comics, it was Matt Fox himself, who came forward with a set of biographical notes. It would appear Matt had been all but forgotten, and in researching this piece, I have been able to come up with few if any anecdotal references on his time in comics. The word deranged immediately springs to mind when beginning to assess his nightmare vision, and further investigation reveals he was an artist whose hideous imaginings had already unsettled a readership whose appetite took them way into the beyond. However, his body of work as a comic book artist is frustratingly diminutive, the majority

90

of which saw publication in Atlas’s range of weird titles, occasionally inking John Forte, with another three exceptional appearances in the employ of one the minor publisher house’s of the day, Youthful.

There are no known interviews with the man behind these lunatic images, but prior to terrorising the covers of Youthful’s Chilling Tales, his woodcut style pen and ink renderings had shocked the avid readers of the science fiction and fantasy pulp magazines of the 1940s. This intriguing phase in his career continues to arouse the interest of many comic book purists, many of whom would have never have bothered with these wordy publications. Between 1943 and 1950, Matt painted eleven covers for the foremost magazine of the period, the mythical Weird Tales. In May 1948, his name would appear alongside Ray Bradbury in that month’s edition of Weird Tales; an issue that would one day become a highly sought after collector’s item.

91

At first glance, these covers appear strangely primitive, but careful consideration reveals them to be imbued with a seemingly contradictory sophistication, which coalesces with the eldritch stirrings conjured in the pages of this far-fetched publication.

These canvases came several years before he made his entry into comic books, with only the macabre pageant he conceived for the covers of Chilling Tales giving any indication of the depth of his uncanny talent. While the world outside waged war, Matt battled with a gathering of unholy demons as they poured across his canvas; Weird Tales alone would become the abode for these fiendish minions. I prefer to think of these ghoulish creations as the fevered inventions of a disturbed mind, but a gnawing reminder of H. P. Lovecraft’s “Pickman’s Model,” frequently returns to torment.

His submission to Jerry Bails listed amongst his influences the artistry of Alex Raymond, although trying to discern a correlation between their respective styles is nigh on impossible. The flow that was intrinsic to brush strokes of Alex Raymond is at odds with the disjointed incoherence evident in Matt’s delineation, which has more in common with a child’s efforts to interpret their newfound world. This world however was never entirely made of sugar and spice as evidenced in the fairy tales of our childhood years. These same fairy tales would have been so much a part of Matt’s earliest years and would have contained illustrations using a comparable woodcut style; an approach that would one day distinguish him from his similarly inventive contemporaries. His endeavours however were largely dedicated to the creation of etchings and woodcuts, produced in both monochrome and colour for a market that had little interest in comic books and the pulps. This fascination in the art of the woodcut would begin to explain the primitive style exhibited in so much of his work.

My first encounter with the lunacy of Matt Fox came in the pages

93

of Atlas’s Uncanny Tales #6, some twenty years ago. Back then, I was a pre-Code novice and it was to take a few reads before I learned to appreciate the draftsmanship in “I Was a Vampire,” which was to attract comparisons with the work of the infamous Basil Wolverton. These pages jar with a discordant madness, as from the opening scene the vampire pushes away the lid over his coffin uttering the words “Ten thousand nights had come and gone and never a change! As the velvet dusk drew on, my bones stirred…once again I cam forth into the world of man!” This was no ordinary vampire story and its hideous pretext would see me return frequently to savour its terrifying premise. Fox’s diabolical creativity would also make it the pages of Adventures into Terror, Adventures into Weird Worlds, Journey into Mystery, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Mystery Tales, Mystic and Spellbound. Alas as can be seen, these appearances were all too few.

As the Marvel Age of Comics dawned in 1962, he returned to ink the pencils of Larry Leiber in the long-running Journey into Mystery and Strange Tales, at a time when the company was working towards a recognisable house style. Larry was far from happy with Matt’s rudimentary line work, preferring Don Heck’s fluid easy-on-the-eye approach. Following the introduction of the Code, comic books had gone through a remarkable evolution, but Matt’s style continued to defy convention. His inking of Larry’s pencils was hardly congruous with the grandeur that was beginning to emerge at Marvel, yet to the Fox aficionado these tales remain hidden gems. Strange Tales #110 will always be remembered as the first appearance of Dr. Strange, but how many will Matt’s collaboration on “We Search The Stars.” Not many I am sure. His awkward penmanship was to invigorate these space bound yarns, which may appeared otherwise banal when compared to the latest super-heroics being championed by Messrs Lee, Ditko and Kirby.

Journey into Mystery #93’s “The Man Who Wouldn’t Die!” was certainly in need of Matt’s degenerate creations, as a mob of subterranean creatures lumbered their way through the pages of this tale. Sadly, their design failed to alarm this issue’s readers.

In Larry’s defence, he was still learning the trade and in addition to this, he was up against the stringent stipulations of the Comics Code. In time, he would gain confidence and learn as he worked alongside his esteemed brother. Tales to Astonish #51, cover dated January 1964, was to be the last episode in Matt’s perturbing dalliance with the comic book medium. The world had never been truly ready for his hideous intrigue.

When I wrote the draft that first appeared in From the Tomb #2, we had just fallen into the shadow of an 85% solar eclipse, which took me back to the end of the world story that had brought the curtain down on Adventures into Weird Worlds #27.

In my mind, I still see an image of Matt cackling away over his drawing board, his mind warped as the people of our world prepare to face the horror that will follow in the wake of this unimaginable cataclysm. The physical laws underlying this graphic portrayal would of course render this scene completely implausible, but the insanity elicited in the closing panels had already consumed his fevered imaginings. As a comic book creator, Matt’s limited contribution to the genre should be revered, his greatest energy however was employed elsewhere, which only adds to the mystery of the man who had dared to stare too far into the abyss.

95

96

97

98

99

100

Frank Frazetta (Feb. 9, 1928 - May 9, 2010)

Frank Frazetta passed away, Monday 9th May 2010, aged 82.

Frazetta was a prodigiously talented artist whose imagination complemented his talents to perfection. He received a formal training at Brooklyn Academy of Fine Arts from the age of 8 until 16 under Michael Falanga. Frank was revered by his artistic contemporaries and during his lifetime received Hugo, Eisner and Kurtzman Lifetime Achievement awards. Though much imitated, Frazetta’s hyper realistic portrayals of sword and sorcery, fantasy scenes or erotic females remained beyond compare. Frank is best remembered for his stunning cover portrayals of Conan the Barbarian, commissioned by Lancer for their paperback series (1966-71), or Tarzan for Ace. Frazetta supplied illustrations for numerous other media, including record sleeves and movie posters.

For comics fans, Frazetta is renowned for numerous comics strips/ covers of which the most notable are: Thun’da #1 (plus cover, 1952), Personal Love (1953-54, selected stories) and his series of Buck Rogers covers for Famous Funnies (#209-215, 1954). EC’s Weird Science Fantasy #29 boasts the last of these, published with alterations as the Comics Code took effect (1955). Elsewhere, Frank’s covers for publisher Magazine Enterprises are also noted. He used the penname “Fritz” (particularly on his humour work of the 1940s), sometimes initialling with a telltale elongated double-f.

101

At EC and elsewhere, Frazetta’s inking beautified the pencils of his colleague Al Williamson. They were both members of the “Fleagles,” an ad-hoc group of talented artists, whose membership also comprised of Angelo Torres, Roy Krenkel and George Woodbridge. The “Fleagles” continued to assist each other, uncredited, throughout the early 1950s. Sadly, Frank’s EC Picto-Fiction story “Came the Dawn” went unpublished and unseen, following the line’s failure. It was retained by the artist and damaged subsequently, whilst in his possession, with only panel fragments now remaining.

He ghosted Al Capp’s newspaper strip Li’l Abner for several years, following the failure of his Johnny Comet venture (1952-61) and went on to assist Harvey Kurtzman on his Little Annie Fanny full-colour strip, for Playboy magazine. All have been reprinted subsequently, in some form.

In 1964, Frazetta returned to comics, illustrating a complete story for the first issue of James Warren’s Creepy, whilst supplying a series of notable covers for the early issues, as well as its companion title Eerie and the brief-lived Blazing Combat. In 1969, the specialist Frazetta fanzine, Spa Fon #5 supplied a defining index of Frank’s comic stories and covers (by Alan Wong and Rich Hauser). Frazetta’s data was incorporated into the formative Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (of 1970), with supplementary finds added in the years that followed. During the 1970s, several fanzines reprinted examples of Frazetta’s earlier comic strips/covers and fantasy illustrations. The exemplar was Russ Cochran, who published outstanding quality reprints with: Frank Frazetta Portfolio (the ‘Buck Rogers’ covers from Famous Funnies), Thun’da, Untamed Love, with other examples in various EC Portfolios (1971-77).

Assisted by his wife, Ellie (who passed away before him in 2009), Frank Frazetta regained control of many of his works, or their reprinting thereof. This led to authorised anthologies, limited edition prints, the Frank Frazetta Book series (Ballantine, 5 volumes) and the recent Definitive Frazetta Reference (2008, Vanguard). There were also comics reprints by Fantagraphics in 1987, with others since. However, Frazetta’s original works continue to lead the way, achieving spectacular prices when offered at auction.

In December 2009, Frank Jr was involved in a disputed theft of some of his father’s artwork. Initially, the case was contested by both sides, but was resolved amicably, before Frank Sr’s death. Frank Frazetta is survived by sisters Carol, Adel, Jeanie; and children Alfonso Frank (Frank Jr), William, Heidi Grabin and Holly Frazetta (per NY Times, May 10).

The published legacy for fans of the artist is huge; although the various reprintings have rarely been coordinated or definitive editions, until now. It is anticipated that his death will lead to further compilations of the legendary illustrator, Frank Frazetta.

This has been: A Fatboy Production 11th May 2010

103

Horror comics from across the globe have terrorised these pages for more than ten years, so it should come as no surprise to learn their malfeasance has spread as far away as Germany, a land haunted in its affiliation with folklore of the darkest kind. Continuing in this timehonoured tradition, albeit with a very modern twist, Weissblech Comics established in 1992 had passed by almost unnoticed. This anonymity came largely as a result of comic books never having enjoyed mass appeal in Germany, making sales across Europe somewhat difficult. However, as the 1990s progressed, a lively comic book scene began to flourish in many parts of the country; small though it may have been, there was no denying its enthusiasm.

Gespenster Geschichten (Ghost Stories) was first published by Bastei in March 1974, which continued with this title until March 2006 with its 1654th issue.

It was then taken over for three issues by Tiger Express-Verlag for what were to be its final three issues. In its heyday, this title appeared once every

104

two weeks, with the earliest editions carrying reprints that may have included material licensed by Charlton and Gold Key. Later issues would feature artists from the renowned Spanish school, and more significantly, an increasing number of home-grown creators. Prior to this, the DC-influenced Horror had debuted in 1972 and prospered for 148 issues. Published by BSV Williams this was but one of their many US reprints, which included the premiere of Classics Illustrated in 1956. Sadly, preCode horror was not on the agenda at this point in German comic book history. Gold Key’s Boris Karloff and Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula and Frankenstein were later included in this imprint, debuting in turn during the years 1966 and 1974. Other horror comics would follow including the seven highly collectible issues of Phantastiche Geschichten, Germany’s prized EC reprint released in 1986 by Norbert Hethke Verlag. EC’s penchant for terror had already been savoured as early as 1973 in Der Beste Horror Aller Zeiten using material from Nostalgia Press’s EC Horror Library.

The dark genius behind this new dawn of terror at Weissblech Comics is one Levin Kurio, a man corrupted by the taint of the legendary Basil Wolverton, as the cover to Wollustige Vampire Aus Dem Weltraum surely attests. Following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Levin also writes, pencils, inks, letters and colours his deranged narrative. I have to confess my understanding of the German language is appallingly deficient, but visually Levin’s comics are a rare treat. His style evokes so much of the unsettling milieu of Basil’s tales for Atlas and Stanley P. Morse, and not surprisingly Levin is a champion of his country’s bizarre underground-styled comics. The menacing Horror Schocker is the company’s macabre flagship of terror, with issue #23 having recently seen publication. Welten des Schreckens offers sixty-eight pages per issue, containing tales of science fiction and fantasy, both under Levin’s unhinged guidance. Weissblech Comics have certainly made their mark, and along with an increasing number of new creators, are giving the German comic book a welcome lease of life.

105

Manhattan Project

As WWII drew to a close in Europe, U.S. Four Star General George S. Patton wasn’t fooled and stated that “we would have to fight them sometime and we might as well do it now while we have the men and machinery over here!” They (them) were the Russians or more accurately The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). WWII had finally been brought to an end with the vaporising humanity and blinding flashes at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The massive $2 billion “Manhattan Project” (1942-5), which had worked towards the development of the atomic bomb and its deployment in the belief that it would put an end to the war with Japan, was shrouded in a veil of secrecy. Great Britain, who had contributed significantly to the research and development of this nightmare weapon, was to be excluded, for fear of their leaking Top Secret information. Even J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Chief Scientist of the Los Alamos-based “Manhattan Project”, had been impugned if not entirely discredited and his citizenship called into question owing to his pacifist left wing views. The “Hollywood Ten”, a group of film screenwriters, directors and a producer, had been in 1947 imprisoned for refusing to answer the U.S. Senate’s questions, in particular “Are you now or have you ever been a

108

member of the Communist Party?” In 1953, The Rosenbergs had ingloriously died within minutes of each other in another of America’s macabre inventions “Ole Sparky” himself, the Electric Chair! The “Atom Spy Trial” of 1951, at which they were the unwilling stars, had deemed that America’s atom secrets had been passed to the USSR by the unfortunate couple. Only two years, before Russia had sent shock waves across America and around the world when it exploded its own Atomic Bomb in the August of 1949.

Reds Under The Bed

Post-War America had become afraid of its neighbours across the globe and fearful of its own citizens, and as some would say this was not without good cause. Reds were seen to be under most, if not every, bed! Into this fevered, xenophobic, atmosphere Ace Publications introduced the apocalyptic World War III (March’53) subtitled “The War that Will Never Happen if America Remains Strong and Alert.”

The apocalyptic cover scene shocked the casual onlooker with the atomic devastation of Washington D.C., this was but a prelude to the strongly nationalistic and alarming stories within. “World War III Unleashed” starts with the masthead caption “Let the reason for publishing this shocking account of World War III be completely clear. We want only to awaken America…and the world…to the grim facts. The only way to prevent this mass destruction of humanity is to prepare NOW. Only a super-strong and fully enlightened America can stop this onrushing horror of the future! THE EDITORS.”

Waking the Sleeping Giant

Set prophetically in 1961, this first twelve-page story, rendered by Lou Cameron, exposed the Russians sneak attack on a “sleeping America,” in a suitably sombre and hyper-realistic style. Washington, San Francisco and New York are irradiated, the latter whilst watching a N.Y. Dodgers baseball game, no less!

Every page of this story packs a devastating punch and it’s nigh on impossible to imagine the effect it would have had on a 12-year-old buying this in 1952. Pages 6 and 7 are given over to single page splashes, which compound the effect. The second instalment concerns “Operation Comeback”, from what you may well ask! In its ten pages, again by Cameron, America uses a “newly developed sealed high-frequency beam” and a “Dynatomic” aircraft carrier to get back at the “Russky Snorkel Bases”, before a ground war starts in Eastern Europe. During this phase, the U.S. launches a “GM-5” that looks suspiciously like a German V1 “Doodlebug” at the “Red Bomber Base at Krumansk!” The story ends with America about to implement the “Newcastle Project” and launch a “Super-Atomic guided missile AGAINST MOSCOW.”

110

The two-page text story entitled “G.I. Showdown” comes as a welcome relief, plus a chance to get out of those stuffy antiradiation suits, before the final instalment of nihilism with “Last Stand for the Secret Missile”. This is just a WWII story beefed up with a detonation panel on the eighth and final page.

The Stratospheric Dispersion Bomb Hits The Red Umbrella Issue #2 was to hit the stands with a May cover date, and proved to be the finale. The cover depicted the capture of an overweight Red General, by a Marine with a helicopter backpack. I’m still waiting for mine, which I ordered for $5.99 plus two box tops back in 1953. That backpack would be a nice addition, as well! The inside page featured an advert for U.S. Defence Bonds with a real life Medal of Honour winner, as had the inside back cover of the previous issue.

The introductory tale begins with the editorial disclaimer and was entitled “Jet Jammers’ Jamboree.” The stories now become more involved with futuristic technology and sinister acronyms such as “test flight Q-7” and the “Z-M 49 magnoelectro rocket ack-acks.” As expected, the story concerns an indeterminate air war between the two Superpowers, in what were eleven rather mundane pages.

Next up if my eyes don’t deceive me, Cameron illustrates the ten-page “Commando in Mufti”. “Space Raid,” the twopage text story, follows, and asks us to believe that a “Red Space-Raider” is crewed by Americans! There’s no need to worry, these are servicemen on an heroic revenge mission, and once the smoke clears from the “stratospheric dispersion

111

bomb,” Lt. Commander Erraut and his crew are just fine, apart from their tendency to glow in the dark!

Last up is Cameron again on “Devils of the Deep” and on its ninth and final page it delivers what we have been waiting for, the destruction of the mighty “Red Main Snorkel Base” with “Seatomic Bombs”, beneath a poisonous mushroom cloud. Real life hero Lt. Col. Reginald R. Myers USMC, seen on the inside back cover, waits to usher us safely out into the fresh air!

Only A Strong America Can Prevent ATOMIC WAR!

The Russians had done it before, as evidenced on the cover of Atomic War! #1, which debuted in November ’52, with a devastating image of the New York skyline being eviscerated in spectacular fashion! The effect of the cover illustration is quite overwhelming. Using a palette of bright colours, the original line drawing is enhanced immeasurably, to make it one of the classic icon covers of the Atomic age.

Waiting for us inside is Cameron’s 14-page opus “The Sneak Attack” with a Russian Ambassador assuring the Peace Conference they extend the hand of friendship and want nothing but peace! Like the audience at a Punch and Judy show, we hear ourselves shouting to our loyal allies “look out they’re behind you!” Once again, those sneaky Commies devastate the USA, and the final page leaves with the President of the United States telling us “The war we did not want has come! We have been caught off guard, but we shall return blow for blow until tyranny has vanished from the face of the earth!” The postscript at the bottom reads “LOOK UPON THE PICTURES OF OUR GIANT

112

CITIES HUNDREDS OF YEARS IN THE BUILDING, SMASHED

BY THE ATOM-BOMB, AND SAY: THIS SHALL NOT COME TO PASS! ONLY A STRONG AMERICA CAN PREVENT THIS FROM BECOMING A REALITY!”

“Berlin Powderkeg” is another WWII story re-jigged as a holocaust extravaganza with nine pages of artwork that once again looks very much like Lou Cameron. The text story is the Cold War styled “Operation Haystack”. “Counterattack!” has the U.S. Airforce setting off from a secret base called The Ice House to attack the “A-Bomb centres of the Urals”.

Gotcha!

The cover to issue #2 (December’52) pulses with a tactical Cold War fight, before another masthead proclamation from the editors, which introduces the twelve-page lead “Operation Vengeance.” It’s taken its time, but we are finally rewarded with an atomic attack upon the Russian capital, which had been promised to us way back in the first appearance of World War III. It’s ironic that America only seemed to have a few brave “can do” airmen struggling to achieve the task against a massively organised and powerful enemy, when in reality the reverse was true. The cover for #3 (February’53) featured the third and final detonation scenario with the caption “We’ll plant this H-Bomb right in the Kremlin and avenge what the Reds did to New York, Chicago and Detroit…. BOMBS AWAY!” This cover was probably intended for the lead story in #2 because the contents are just tactical Cold War or re-jigged WWII stories, although the eightpage “Slash by the Iron Greyhounds” at least is by Cameron.

A guided missile baring “New Years Greetings, 1961” dropped from a U.S. super-jet, acts as the cover teaser of this title’s finale, issue #4 cover dated April’53. The lead story “Arctic Assault” features the same planes plus supersonic missiles once again taking on the Russians. This story and the final instalment by Lou Cameron, “Operation Satellite” (9 pages),

revealed that there was no resolution to a Russian pre-emptive strike and that destroying the enemy after your own country had been made unliveable solves nothing, so these stories inevitably run out of steam.

These comic books had obviously been produced out of a genuine concern for America, as the Cold War made the country feel increasingly isolated.

The effect was to stoke up paranoia and increase tensions making the possibility of war, more, not less likely!

In the 1950’s nuclear strategists had introduced the concept of “Overkill” and “Mutually Assured Destruction” (MAD). Overkill was the capacity for the complete destruction of your enemy with weapons to spare, while MAD was the deterrent affect of both sides knowingly being able to wipe each other out. What, Me Worry, indeed! Oh yes, in case you are asking the Cameron story in Atomic War #4 does have a detonation panel!

Duck and Cover!

In 1955, the Los Angeles County Disaster-Civil Defence Authority produced a 20-page, pocket-sized edition (5 1/8” x 7”) of The H-BOMB and YOU, and it looks suspiciously like an Ace publication, a publisher who remained in the comic business until 1956. With its nifty mushroom cloud photo cover in white-on-red and a yellow title located amidships, this would have been a real boon in the fallout-shelter, whilst waiting for the luminous dust outside to settle. The grey-haired Civil Defence narrator, who looks reassuringly like former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, takes us through the nightmare scenarios calmly and convincingly. I understand now that a wooden lean-to against the inside wall of a building is enough for my survival, although an underground concrete shelter is better! Failing that, a scrape in the ground will do at a pinch. Importantly, we are informed “to keep calm if there is a warning of attack. DO NOT REPEAT RUMOURS!” I find this kind of information enormously reassuring. Now where did I leave my thermos, torch and shovel, not to mention a 6-pack of loo-roll!

113

In the early to mid-1950s at the notorious EC comics... Al Feldstein created, wrote, illustrated and edited a line of titles, which are now legendary. They included horror titles such as Tales from the Crypt which was adapted in the ‘90s for HBO television, plus science-fiction, suspense, and other genres still being copied today. In 1955, he became editor of EC’s Mad magazine when Harvey Kurtzman (with most of his artists) abruptly left the helm. Feldstein took the mag’s then circulation from 375,000 to a high of almost 3 million. He gathered a new staff of talented artists and writers, supervised its operations, editing and re-writing stories, designing layouts, and creating a consistent format that led to Mad’s historic success. In 1984, Al retired from Mad and went back to his original love, painting.

He moved to Paradise Valley, Montana and now enjoys painting that state’s ranch life, fauna and beautiful scenery. He’s been represented by numerous galleries in the Northwest and received many awards.

In 1999, Jim Vanhollebeke, a long time fan of Al and the legendary EC Comics in general, conducted his first interview with Mr. Feldstein for

an internet Mad magazine website. In 2002, Jim received this second interview. Al was very gracious and candid. In this session, he reveals publicly his disappointment in the “bad blood” that developed between him and Mad’s publisher Bill Gaines.

Following is the interview (edited):

Jim Vanhollebeke: Al, I recently discovered an interview with William Gaines (Qua Brot #1) in which he stated his hopes of getting together with you to put together ...”ONE MORE WHOPPING ISSUE of Tales From The Crypt, just to get it out of my system.” This was, perhaps, 1985. He’d hoped it to be his final comment on (and to) the code. He had the artists picked out and a bunch of story ideas to “spring” at you! I’ll bet you know about this interview, but I wanted to tell you JUST IN CASE you didn’t. You guys! Wotta’ team!

AL FELDSTEIN: No...I’m not familiar with the interview you quoted. I retired as Editor of Mad on Dec. 31st, 1984.

My leaving Mad was not very well accepted by Bill...and our relationship was rather strained. I suspect that his statement was pure BS...since he knew that I would not be receptive to

115

such a project. However, I would be interested in having a copy of what he actually said.

Vanhollebeke: No problem.

FELDSTEIN: Thank you. I’m curious!

Al, I can’t help thinking, in reading between the lines (through these years of interviews) ...that Bill had a quiet sadness that you guys had somehow drifted into irretrievable and discordant positions.

No doubt about it. Bill, for some reason, had suddenly decided to extract himself from our plotting/writing team well before EC was crippled and destroyed by the Comics Code. I really believe that Lyle Stuart, his business manager and a manipulating individual, had convinced him that what he was doing was not what a “Publisher” should be doing...that there were plenty of writers out there that I could use, either as collaborators or as an Editor...hence the arrival upon the EC scene of Jack Oleck, Dan Keyes, Carl Wessler, etc., etc. ... writers that I hired and developed, then re-wrote/edited their scripts directly to the art boards.

When the Code Authority doomed EC, and Bill had to drop all of his titles and fire me (along with most of the other artists), and all he had left was Mad and Harvey Kurtzman and the Mad staff, and he’d been crucified before the public on TV as a monster/comic book publisher, it had been a terrible, ego-shattering blow. Then, when Harvey engineered his own firing

116

(so he could run off and join Hugh Hefner with no guilt (after talking Bill and his Mother into saving Mad by paying off the debts they were stuck with from the Leader News, our Distributor’s, bankruptcy!) by demanding 51% control of Mad, forcing Bill to fire him, Bill then had to come, hat in hand, to ask me to come back to work for him as Mad’s Editor...it was even more humiliation.

And the worst was, that as Mad became more and more successful, and his sole function as Publisher was to write checks and handle “business,” being completely left out of the “creative process” because he really had no “feel” for “Mad,” it was an even further ego-deflation for him.

But even more devastating was his early and premature sale of the magazine for a capital gains deal, before Mad really took off...and his pacifying me with a “Percentage of the Gross” work contract, rather than share the sale proceeds with me... which, after Mad’s sales exploded, resulted in me as Editor earning more than he as Publisher! I really believe that he began to resent me and my success, both with the magazine and financially.

I’m sure it’s complicated and the fact that you have been under reported by some historians certainly hasn’t helped. But Bill seemed to settle into a downcast when he spoke of you. As if his memory of you and him creating those stories were the REAL MEAT of his existence, and it was all gone.

Correct. That was the period when he felt the most self-worth, when he was “participating” in the creative process and the resultant success of EC I’m sure he had some regrets and feelings of guilt. We all do.

Regrets, perhaps! But I’m not sure what he felt “guilty” about...unless you mean being personified as a terrible, greedy, unconscionable Publisher who was destroying America’s youth.

Certainly, there were no feelings of guilt on his part as far as I was concerned. After all, he was paying me very well, as per my contract. He even used to go around bragging (as a result of Mad’s phenomenal success) that I was the highest paid editor in the world (an exaggeration; Henry Luce, Harold Ross and Hugh Hefner were certainly making much more than me!).

Good points. Only you know whether my perceptions are valid ...but I still feel that Bill missed you (even before you left). I’m hoping also that he was, perhaps, a tad more honorable then your reservations about him might lead you to suspect.

If that were true, why was there a conscious effort on his part made, after my retirement, to write me out of the history of EC and Mad?! When I retired, Bill made himself believe that I was

117

leaving because my wife had terminal cancer. Which, if he’d thought it through, would have been really idiotic on my part...to leave a high-paying job so that I could be with my wife 24/7 until she died...because after she’d passed on, that would be the time when I would have needed my job the most! No...there were many much more important reasons why I chose to leave, which, at the beginning, I chose to keep to myself.

by “60 Minutes” to set up an interview with me, to which I agreed. When they never got back to me, I called to find out what was happening, and they gave me the bad news.

However, when EC Comics (and I point out that it was “EC Comics”! Not Bill Gaines!)...when EC Comics was inducted into the “Horror Hall of Fame,” Bill didn’t even have the courtesy to invite me to join him at the TV Dinner/Awards Ceremony/Show. Me! Who’d created “The Cryptkeeper,” “The Vaultkeeper,” “The Old Witch” and the whole EC story-writing/art approach!

When was this interview given? Before I retired, no doubt! But after I retired, his song changed to silence! And everybody went along with it. Witness Dick De Bartolo’s book...where I’m not even mentioned once in the text.

And when he accepted the statuette, he off-handedly thanked his editors, his writers...and then singled out Lyle Stuart by name. Not me by name. Not Johnny Craig by name. Lyle Stuart...who had advised him to demand an appearance before the televised Kefauver Senate Committee’s Investigation into Juvenile Delinquency (which I violently opposed!), wrote his speech for him, and then failed (or refused) to sit by his side and help him to answer the questions that crucified him after its delivery.

Bill felt that that award and induction into the “Horror Hall of Fame” was his personal vindication! His and Lyle’s!

When Maria Riedlebach spent three days on the phone, interviewing me while researching her book “Completely Mad”, I told her everything...including all of my reasons for leaving (the first time I’d ever told anyone!).

Several months later, she called me to profoundly apologize...to tell me that she couldn’t use most of what I’d said...because Bill wouldn’t permit it to be printed... and because she needed his complete approval of the manuscript so that she could obtain the rights to the reprinting of the copyright Mad material...without which, her book couldn’t exist.

And that’s when Al Feldstein really began to disappear from the history of EC and Mad ...until I started granting interviews and accepting invitations to conventions.

In fact I believe you’ll notice that in the interview I’ve referred to, he declares that everything in Mad is you. You run the show from top to bottom. He gives you all the credit… possibly the highest praise you’ll read!

And the “Mad About The ‘60s...’70s... and ‘80s” reprint softcover books, where I wasn’t even invited to comment about those years...when everything they’d reprinted had gone through my typewriter! Even Grant Geissman, who wrote the introductions to those books, was instructed (he has reluctantly admitted to me!) not to contact me for my perspective on those years.

I am very disappointed with these people. I guess their hands were tied. Sure can’t blame you for feeling stiffed. I know I would.

Their hands were tied by WHO? DC?! No, there’s more to it than that. When I announced to Bill that I was retiring...after his initial shock...he asked me who I thought should be my replacement, and I answered without hesitation, “John Ficarra!”

(Knowing I planned to retired, I’d been training John ever since I’d hired him to replace Jerry DeFuccio. I was convinced that Nick Meglin, whom I’d worked with for over twenty years, although extremely talented creatively, was not disciplined enough nor impartial enough to do the job.) “I can’t do that to Nick,” Gaines answered. “He has seniority...he’s been with us for over 25 years!” And so Bill’s solution was to appoint them “CoEditors”...which I violently opposed. And Nick, learning of all this, has had it in for me ever since. He has gleefully taken up the “erasure” program that Bill instituted.

Yes, of course. Mad’ning ...But ...it’s gonna change! Just a matter of time. Nobody’s hands can be tied anymore. WE’LL SHOW’EM!! Yeahhhhh!!! …Of course,Bill later told everyone you had to retire to be with your (late) wife. Don’t you agree he was saving face?

Here. See what I mean?

(Al produces a clipping of USA TODAY article “For 50 years Mad Perhaps. He may have actually believed it... until he realized Gladly Snubs Authority” dated 3-18-02. The article celebrates the differently.

50 year history of Mad, mentioning Kurtzman, Gaines, and Meglin as the key figures. Feldstein’s omission is obvious).

Maybe that’s why he was so hurt. I want to think that Bill was your biggest fan (next to me, naturally).

Al, I hope you’ll pardon the rose colored glasses. I know it He was, during our glory days. And I was his ...until the was horrible of Gaines to “cut you out” of the legend that EC middle ‘70s and early ‘80s, when we began to differ on Mad has become. But that was after “the divorce,” I’m thinking, strategy. when he was hurt that you’d left him.

No, it started before “the divorce”...when Bill realized exactly why I’d retired! He then cut me out of the 1987 “60 Minutes” tribute to Mad Magazine... insisting that it just be limited to the then current staff. I had been contacted

118

I’m sure Bill contributed very little as a “business” man or “writer” but…

Wrong! He was an astute “business” man!

119

…but he was a FAN. He encouraged and cheered, didn’t interfere with you and “the gang.” He financed the launch of the ship and tied himself to the hull (for better or worse). Gosh. When you think about it, that’s a lot!

Absolutely! Because he was an astute businessman... he made the right moves! He nurtured talent... gave us our heads... and reaped the rewards!

First, financially... and then as an image!

I’m amazed at your recall on all these details. Your memory is sharper than my computer. If God exists his name MUST be Feldstein!

If God exists, I wouldn’t have to “ramble” like I do!

I want you to know ...any thoughts you express to me… if you would like them shared, I will be willing.

Anything that I say to you is yours... to do with what you like. It’s all the truth as I see it.

Again, I know a complicated tale such as this cannot be put “in a nutshell”...so many influences. So many interpretations. Motives. Trust, mistrust. Fear,

120

Horror…

You’re so right! That’s why “The Mad World of William Gaines” is such a farce!

But, I know this: Yer’ number ONE! Thank you... but with Mad, I had a lot of help from a lot of talented people, a great staff, fantastic artists and most importantly, superb socially-conscious writers!

From the LIGHTER NOTE DEPT.: As I sit here, the burning question that refuses to subside. In the EC pre-code days, Did the GhouLunatics actually have individual personalities??

I can’t recall for sure that they did. It seems as though their personalities were interchangeable. And yet I never came to that (semi)conclusion ‘til I was well into my 30s and have wondered about it ever since!

When I first created The Three GhouLunatics, writing and drawing my own stories for them, I really attempted (ineffectively, I must admit in retrospect!) to infuse them each with distinctive personalities. And I really believe, when I surrendered “The Vaultkeeper” to Johnny Craig, that he effectively expanded VK’s!

But it was difficult delineating personalities when all you’re doing is an opening “intro” balloon...and a closing “sign off” balloon. The development of all those atrocious “pun” comments was, I think, an attempt to at least demonstrate that all was tongue-in-cheek on their parts, and that each had a sense of humor...which our fanatic critics, when the deluge came, sadly lacked!

Ain’t THAT the truth! If I may ramble, in your present career, your western paintings are beautiful. The bright colors and emphasis on lighting and contrast, also, a feeling that the scenes

are ‘captured MOMENTS’ as well as great art. You can’t cease to amaze me!

They’re for sale, you know! Also “Cover-Revisited” paintings. (I can send you some sample jpegs of them if you haven’t seen any!... chuckle, chuckle) I would love that. I’m afraid “samples” is the only word in my budget allowance! THANKS. Have you ever thought about doing a periodic Internet SATIRE newsletter? With your wit, it’s a shame not to unleash it here and there... in an unpressured venue of some kind. Autobiographical... political... historical... philosophical... photos with YOUR captions or comments... anecdotes... cartoons. HECK! Did I just describe Mad? Hey, fella! I’m supposed to be retired! As it is, I’m being kept busy doing all these furshlugginer “EC Cover-Revisited” paintings! I just can’t escape my past!

RETIRE? YOU??!! Who you kidding. Retire! You probably can’t even slow down! But I DO miss the satire. YOU started it.

Can you really walk completely away??

I guess I never did!

Random thought: KURTZMAN was a jackass.

No comment!

He’s lucky that poor Will Elder stuck with him. (Unlucky for Will, who was a genius in his own right.)

I attempted to lure Elder away from Kurtzman’s selfdestructive clutches on many occasions during my Editorship of Mad... with no success!

My selection of the word “jackass” was a SECOND choice.

Being a kid and all, I am too shy to use the “F” word.

121

What word is that? “Funny”?!

Of course! As always, THANK YOU for the immeasurable hours of entertainment and inspiration. Did I ever tell you? I was proudest of your SCIENCE FICTION work too! God ...but those stories could mess with your mind!

Glad you liked it.

Thanks again for your time and candor, sir. My appreciation in closing can only be described in a loving signature from a little fan to his big hero: “Potzrebie,” jimmy vanhollebeke, 15 going on 57” MAD-ly yours!

Al Feldstein, 75 and fading fast …

POSTSCRIPT: About a month after this interview, Mr. Feldstein’s desire to tell his side of the story received a new setback.

After collaborations on a forthcoming book about him reached a stalemate, he released the following timely statement:

the reasons why, I believed, I was and have been systematically written out of the history of Mad... and why my important creative role at EC has been deliberately diminished and subdued over the years. Grant Geissman, the Writer and Gemstone Publishing Co. (Russ Cochran, the Publisher) were extremely excited about the idea...and happily agreed to write and publish such a book. And the negotiations began. However... I have been sadly and angrily forced to call off my negotiations for that table-top book...tentatively titled “The Fantastic Life and Art of Al Feldstein”...and withdraw from it... because as an integral part of the negotiations for permission to reproduce my old EC Covers... and my paintings derived from those copyrighted covers... ...Wendy Gaines Bucci has demanded full approval (read: censorship rights!!) to the entire literary text of the book !! ...an impossible, immoral and possibly illegal demand ! ...in an effort to muzzle me and control what I might have to say... to which the Publisher, Gemstone (Russ Cochran) and the Writer (Grant Geissman) have sheepishly and shamefully agreed.

But I... I do not and will not agree to or tolerate such blatant interference in and censorship of a book about ME..my life, my art and my versions of my history!! Bill Gaines, when he was alive, applied Dear Friends... this very same kind of pressure to the contents of F Y I: many projects, demanding full approval of the final When I first proposed a coffee-table-top text (or shooting script) in exchange for permission book about my life, my careers and my art... to reprint his copyrighted art. A prime example my early art... my comic book art, up to was Maria Reidelbach’s “Completely Mad.” Back and including EC... and my current fine art, in 1990, Maria spent over eight hours (in three including my “Cover Revisited” pieces... I separate phone calls) interviewing me for the book. was really excited over the prospect of finally It was the first time since my retirement that I having a chance to tell my side of the story... my version of how things happened...the errors decided to tell things exactly as I saw them. (I had my reasons for doing so at the time!)

I had made...the successes I had achieved...

122

A few months later, Maria called to tell me that she was sorry... that as a result of Bill’s violent objections, she could not print almost all of what I’d said... and that, in reality, she needed his approval for the rights to reprint all the Mad art, without which the book was impossible... so she was forced to acquiesce.

This is a tactic that Wendy Gaines Bucci has used ever since “The Crypt of Terror” book by Digby Diehl told things close to like it really was (having totally rejected their demands for final text approval!)...and she has consequently subverted the purpose and the intent of other projects (and I can name them!) by her censorship...in an effort to protect the eroding reputation of her father as a “creative genius”!

I will not permit a book about me to be so subverted! So I have withdrawn from the project...thereby killing it while I am alive. Better no book at all, than one that is not truly... and truthfully !... worthy of me!

MAD-ly yours, Al Jim Vanhollebeke is an occasional writer and recording artist in Michigan. His writings have varied from humorous fiction to science research but are professionally limited to his reputation as an Elvis writer, most notably a 12-year run with his ForElvisFansOnly column in Goldmine (and later Discoveries) magazines. He was always in awe of the writing and innovative satire contained in the legendary EC comic books of the ‘50’s. Its influence on his writing style is often evident. Also an Elvis Presley sound-alike singer, Jim has released several albums and loves to brag that he is mentioned in several books about Elvis (!).

Canovanogram productions 2002

123

While John Bolton has had a long and successful career as a comic book artist, his calling for many years has been for horror. For more than twenty years, the vampire brethren have kept him in gainful employ, following his sojourn with the popular fantasy-inspired tales of the 1980s.

The nocturnal breed, to which his intense brush strokes have been drawn are imbued with a cabalistic eroticism, relished by a new generation of horror devotees. While he has had so many macabre assignments, including memorable adaptations of works originally conceived by Neil Gaiman and Clive Barker, many of his long-time admirers are still excited by the pen and ink pages he created for House of Hammer between 1976 and 1978.

As with many other readers over here in the UK, House of Hammer would have been my introduction to John’s remarkable draftsmanship. This issue’s “Father Shandor” tale was to reveal an

124

artist who evinced considerable depth in his detailed brush strokes and demonstrated an incomparable ability to conjure with the simplicity of black and white as he conspired with the light and tenebrous shadows. The precision on show in these panels was reminiscent of the woodcuts found in the beautifully produced books of a century past. While these pages were very special, the masterpiece he produced only a few months before for issue #6’s “Dracula, Prince of Darkness” had already placed him amongst the giants of the comic book industry. On this occasion, he had glazed an atmospheric grey wash into his black-and-white pages to present a Hammer classic in a way that transcended virtually every one of his contemporaries. Whilst House of Hammer had already showcased some eye-catching artwork, nothing had been the equal of John’s innovative, yet time-honoured illustrative technique.

The pages featured below first appeared in the tenth issue of House of Hammer, published during the summer months of 1977. His affection for the Hammer horrors had already been revealed in his rendition of “Dracula, Prince of Darkness,” but here his embellishment was appreciably more assiduous. This presentation of Curse of the Werewolf made the torment of Oliver Reed’s portrayal so much more

acute. John adhered to the precept of the original in avoiding the customary bloodlust and turned instead to the psychological terror brooding within. While Steve Moore’s concise script remained faithful to the film, John managed to reach beyond the cinematography of the original, complimenting it with aspects prevalent in the ingenuity of Mario Bava during the 1960s. There were only fifteen pages to this telling, but they were a veritable tour de force and would arouse even more interest in a publication whose sales were steadily increasing by the month.

John’s fans would have to wait until issue #14, where he once again collaborated with Steve Moore, this time on “One Million Years B.C.” The opportunity to render Raquel Welch alongside a cast of dinosaurs must have been a dream come to true. Once again, he delivered a magnificent fifteen pages, compensating for a very thin plot; which wasn’t down to any failing on the part of Steve. The confrontational scene depicting the feuding cavemen was very reminiscent of Frank Frazetta’s cover illustration for EC’s Weird Science Fantasy #29, seen earlier in this collection. Father Shandor would return in issues #16 and #21 with a two-issue reprint of John’s

125

work on “The Monster Club” presented in the re-titled Halls of Horror #25 and #26. His work on the “Shandor” tales was never a disappointment, and in better times could have been a worthy ongoing series. Sadly horror was on the wane as was House of Hammer. John’s reputation as a fantasy artist would lead to a twoissue reprint in Eclipse’s John Bolton Halls of Horror, this time in colour. Bruce Jones’ time at Pacific Comics saw him try to keep horror alive bringing together the finest horror artists of the day in Twisted Tales, sadly this would be the last outlet for John’s penchant for horror. By and large, the 1980s were not a good time for comic book horror and Twisted Tales struggled to make it to double figures.

The alternative to the superhero had become fantasy and much of John’s work for the next few years would reside in this mythical realm; that was until the decade drew to a close and the Nosferatu finally made him their own.

These days, comic book interiors see precious little of John Bolton’s embellishment as lucrative book cover commissions swallow up so much of his time. Even so, his love for the comic book medium has made it difficult to turn down every request made of him and in a busy schedule he recently found time to paint Dark Horse’s four-issue resurrection of The Evil Dead. Working on a recognised franchise would have seen his career go full circle with a return to his grounding on Look and Learn and House of Hammer. The quality on show in these issues would have required time with each and every one of these pages. Just as with the tales he produced for House of Hammer, he remained faithful to the original and then as would be expected succeeded in intensifying Sam Raimi’s cinematic excess. For many however, the name John Bolton will always be synonymous with the compelling line work he produced for House of Hammer at the beginning of his career. Here he revealed a refinement that would place him amongst the finest artists ever to grace the pages of a comic book.

Peter Normanton

126

REMEMBRANCES OF GARGOYLES-AT-LARGE

by Alan Hewetson – illustrations by Maelo Cintron I met Maelo Cintron during 1972. As the story goes, he’d walked into the Skywald offices with an appointment to meet Sol Brodsky but found me instead. Sol had gone back to Marvel, and I was the new editor. Little did either one of us know during that first awkward handshake that we’d be partnering for life on one of the most outrageous (and we both think, sane) comic book creations ever to see print.

The Human Gargoyles had already seen the light of day. Felippe De La Rosa had already ably illustrated Chapter One and there was a glimmer of a continuing plot emerging, but the characters had no distinct personalities, no quirks or unique strengths, no discernible foibles or obvious arch enemies, and if they were to have a future at all they needed all these things and more – they needed a profound physical appearance, a “look”’ that would

127

make them downright different. They needed Maelo Cintron to bring them to life.

128

That first day, looking over the samples Maelo had brought into the office to show to Sol, I realized immediately Sol would have loved him, adored his artwork, hired him on the spot. He had a one-page finished story a friend had scripted, “Game of Skill,” which I bought instantly, and in the next breath handed him a 2-page splash-art story called “The Zoo for the Beasts of the Universe,” as a sample story. Maelo, soft-spoken and almost shy, possessed of a wide, sheepish grin, and a warm personality that insisted upon your intimate trust of him, created as charming an artistic rendition of that little story that a writer and editor could imagine, or hope for.

The thought struck me, the first time I looked at that artwork completed only a few days after meeting Maelo, that this artist had interpretive abilities far superior to most artists. He’d given personality and real meaning to that little tale; he liked the story, he understood the story! Y’know how rare that is?

When he walked in the door of Skywald, it was me who was the lucky one!

So then I wrote Chapter Two of “The Human Gargoyles,” the one that starts off with little Andy being born in a very human way, and there was humanity and pathos and a bit of adventure in that story, “One and one Equals Three,” and when Maelo handed in the finished artwork I looked at the first page of the story and practically wept. I walked around and showed everybody in the office – bookkeepers and people who had nothing to do with the Skywald magazines – and it was recognized without argument as art!

After that, Maelo and I threw ourselves into the Human Gargoyles series with more passion than anything else we were doing. Skywald readers declared this to be their favorite character series by far. Maelo and I spoke to each other of the Human Gargoyles as real people and we called them by their first names. The plot lines wandered off in disparate directions. These were street-wise virgins who had too much to learn in too short a time, strangers in a strange land desperately trying to fit in and become human without knowing why they even existed or if there was a noble or ignoble purpose in their being.

Over the years, readers have commented that perhaps The Human Gargoyles didn’t even properly belong in the Skywald repertoire. After all, they weren’t really “horror characters” as such, and the plot lines were more satirical and philosophical than anything else. As usual, the readers were right.

Maelo and I weren’t even trying to do a horror character series, we were simply offering stories about three unique comic characters and horror had nothing to do with it.

The Human Gargoyles ran for several years right through the closing of Skywald, and in fact Maelo had illustrated at least two complete stories that

never saw print. Spanish artist Vic Segrelles had completed a beautiful oil painting of Edward fighting his arch enemy Gregoire, and Maelo was in the middle of personalizing this painting when Skywald folded. It had been our plan to write and illustrate a concluding chapter to the first ongoing plot line – to have Edward confront his true creator, a psychotic angel of Lucifer who, explained in a nutshell, was out for his boss’ job. We were intending to publish the entire series with the plot conclusion in one big issue, with the full color oil cover painting – and that done, continue the series by taking the Human Gargoyles in other – more-human and less-Satanic – plot directions.

Well, that never happened, because Skywald went out of business in 1975. And Maelo and I lost contact for 27 years.

This makes no sense to me now: how it was that I lost contact with the guy with whom I shared the most important comic series in my life (and his life too), but anyway, it happened that way and when our communication was renewed we spoke to each other as if it’d been a mere two or three weeks. We went right “into it” right away…

It came about because of the then upcoming HEADPRESS PUBLISHING book The Complete Illustrated History of the Skywald Horror-Mood, due out this April/May 2004. In putting together stories, features, artwork and interviews for this book I managed to get together most of the guys in the core bullpen, guys like Augustine Funnell and Ed Fedory and Pablo Marcos (who painted an extraordinary and beautiful full-color, wraparound painting for the book – wait until you see it!). But no Maelo – he couldn’t be found anywhere. Finally, after seven or eight months working on the project, Maelo Cintron was tracked down through the auspices of Comic Book Artist editor Jon Cooke, and after an e-interview for the book we talked together on the phone for the first time in nearly thirty years!

Yeh, Wow is right!

He said I didn’t sound the same, that my voice was different.

I assured him it was me, and that I certainly didn’t look the same either. Thirty years is one helluva long time when it comes to appearances and experiences but no time at all for the two guys who were once intellectually and emotionally intertwined creating The Human Gargoyles.

I told him I was doing Labyrinth Street, a new book with Pablo Marcos. So Maelo says to me: “Hey Al, y’wanna do a new book together?”

“Yes,” I answered without taking a breath. “What kind of book do you want to do? A western?” Maelo laughed. I’d said that because in his interview for the Skywald book he’d indicated a love for westerns and never had the opportunity to do a western book.

He laughed a bit and said yes, but then he said: “Let’s do the Gargoyles.”

And I said yes again without having to think about it. Why? What was there to think about?

“Andy is all grown up,” I said. “He’d be about 30 by now – a man. With a wife and kids. And a job. And he doesn’t get along with his father.”

“Yeh, yeh, yeh,” Maelo kept repeating.

“And it’s a western. He’s a U.S. Marshal, a Deputy Marshal for the U.S. Marshal’s Service out west in Colorado.”

“A western?”

“The new west! Sweeping vistas! All those beautiful John

129

Ford sweeping landscapes – Charles Russell and Fred Remington – and Human Gargoyles.”

That’s how fast it was. It came together instantly.

I worked for about a month on a plot outline for a full comic book single story of about 34 pages, while Maelo completed the full color painting on the cover of this issue of From the Tomb, along with sketches and story illustrations, and Gargoyle Justice was born.

By comparison to the ease and comical matter-of-fact manner with which we co-decided to co-re-create The Human Gargoyles saga in the modern west, the artistic and literary challenges were much more, uhm, challenging. For starters, we had to somehow “wrap up’ the original series without burdening down the new series – so it was decided that throughout the first chapter, only, Andrew would spend his spare time writing a biography of his family, on his office computer, thus bringing both new and original readers up to speed by the end of the first chapter, which would include a resolution of the original plot line.

It was also decided that Andrew would have experienced a rebellious youth and in fact didn’t get along with his father at all. While Dad Edward was pursuing a lifestyle of becoming as integrated into human society as much as possible, Son Andrew was as much of an outlaw as his morality would allow, and only turned his attitude around in his late teens with the help of Mom Mina. As an adult, married to the Native American Little Rain and father to two young boys, Andrew is a family man and a lawman, but still refutes bureaucracy and the restrictive and meaningless conventions of society, especially political hypocrisy, and enjoys going off on the occasional rant to whoever will listen.

It’s not for kids. Kids might like it, love it, sure – but it’s very much written and illustrated for adults, with mature writing and themes, and no-compromise artwork that allows Maelo to express his extraordinary skills without editorial or subjective compromise.

The storytelling is unique also. The reader can follow the story by reading the dialog balloons and looking at the artwork: a story told by a writer and artist. The captions are a whole separate narrative, a flowing introspection by Andrew Sartyros, U.S. Marshal, Human Gargoyle, the story as perceived by the main character. At least, that’s how we’re working at it. And because comics are so fundamentally an artist’s medium, the story is very much designed

by Maelo so that the reader doesn’t have to read a single voice balloon or caption anyway; a story told by an artist.

We’re not rushing this, but it’ll be out this year, and Gargoyle Justice will be in your hands, to judge or enjoy, to savor and perhaps to spark (or re-spark) your interest in those curious and memorable once-stone, now-human creatures born out of confusion in 1972 and re-born out of love in 2004.

130

Dime Bar

The release of EC’s latest humour comic, Panic caused much consternation among the anti-comics campaigners, in particular, the launch issue (#1, Tiny Tots Comics, Inc, February’ March 1954) with its “The Night Before Christmas” spoof, based upon the poem (first published in 1823) by Charles Clement Moore.

Although Panic retained the poem’s original form, the festive reminiscence was seen as a sacred relic, certainly not suited to humorous asides about divorce or severed limbs, courtesy Will Elder’s (1921-2008) alliterative doodles. Elder’s unique, wayward style was perfected at Mad during its formative issues (#1-28, 1952-55) as edited by Harvey Kurtzman. The artistic team would sustain a lifelong association. In truth, Panic was another imitation of EC’s original Mad, but one felt justified in light of the plethora available from publishing rivals.

The presumptuous imitation was targeted in Irving M. Kravsow’s censorious article, “Depravity for Children 10 Cents per Copy” February 14, 1954, part of an anti-comic book series, running in the Hartford Courant newspaper. (Founded in 1764, the Courant was published out of Hartford, Connecticut and remains in print to this day.) Further, the series was collated and sent by its publisher (John R. Reitemeyer) to US Senate Subcommittee Hearings into Comic Books and Juvenile Delinquency (held in New York, April 21/22 and June 4, 1954; chaired by Senator Robert C. Hendrickson), where it was welcomed as exhibit No.33. When published, the Courant texts were transcribed in full into the Hearing record.

Here is an extract, to indicate the tone: “Tiny Tot Publications publishes a comic book which is billed as a humorous comic magazine. The cover shows a fireplace decorated for Christmas with stocking hung from the mantle to receive gifts from Santa Claus. It shows Santa’s foot dangling in the fireplace an inch above a lethal bear steel trap while a young boy leers in anticipation of tearing Santa’s leg off. The first story is a parody on Mickey Spillane that is so suggestive, it would put some adult pulp magazines to shame. Another story in this Tiny Tot Publication tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood with a switch. The twist is that Little Red Riding Hood, in this story, is really a vampire. The final story in this magazine is a reprint of the lovely Christmas poem, The Night Before Christmas, illustrated by gross and obscene drawings that defy description.” (“Little Red Riding Hood” was one of EC’s “Grim Fairy Tales,” scripted by Gaines/Feldstein, illustrated by Jack Kamen.

Writing as Melvie Splane, Al Feldstein (born 1925) lampooned the best-selling Mickey Spillane novel [I, The Jury] in “My Gun Is The Jury,” illustrated by Jack Davis.)

Jury Tampering

As early as 1950, William M. Gaines (1922-1992) had come to the attention of the New York State Joint Legislative Committee, formed specifically (in 1949) to investigate the “menace” of comic books. As such, two of EC’s formative horror comics (Haunt of Fear #17(#3) and Crime Patrol #15, from 1950) had pages reproduced in their first report; Legislative Document #15, 1951. The brief, approving article about publisher Gaines (Tops v.1#1, March 1954) was subject to further censure in the committee’s 1954 report (LD #37).

When NYS committee chairman James A. FitzPatrick appeared before the Senate subcommittee as an expert witness (June 4), he castigated Panic #1 at length, reading extensive extracts, which included samples from“ Jury” and “Christmas.” (See: “Petty Crime Part 2,” FTT #28, for additional information about these anti-comics campaigns, plus a glimpse of Tops digest article).

Speaking to the subcommittee, FitzPatrick was unable to restrain his contempt for the comic, reminding them of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s comments from 1950: “the availability of salacious literature and

131

presentations of any type making mockery of democratic living and respect for law and order, are important causes leading to an unhealthy crime situation among young people.” Referring to publisher Gaines, Hendrickson commented: “I shall never forget his testimony nor his demeanour.” To which FitzPatrick replied: “I believe after you have read this comic book you will never forget this comic book, either, because I have been studying this subject very hard for a long time. I have never yet seen anything which equals this, nor which so well demonstrates the very type of evil that I believe we are trying to reach.” FitzPatrick quoted at length from the Spillane spoof (from the “Sex and Sadism” department), commenting, “which is complete and utter perversion. I am referring now to the sequence where this so-called private eye proceeds to this girl’s home - and she, incidentally, had been requesting him to come with a statement that if he came he could have everything, including her. She then, and remember this is all for children, or could be for children; it is 10 cents on any stand; she then takes…” At this point FitzPatrick was interrupted

by Hendrickson, to relate a story from a Naval Officer and the deleterious effects that comic books were having on young officers. This diverted FitzPatrick’s attention, as he confirmed his own Naval military credentials.

He returned briefly to Panic’s “Christmas” retelling before indicating it as the “kind of complete and utter rot we are giving to children.”

Kinder Surprise

As seen (FTT #28), Gaines’s lengthy subcommittee testimony on the opening day (April 21) was reduced to simple headlines in the popular press, which saw the publisher as the cause of all the evils that comics embodied. In particular, those concerning severed heads, dripping blood and the subcommittee’s sense of shock. Gaines was preceded by psychiatrist and redoubtable anti-comics campaigner, Fredric Wertham, MD, who had been befriended by the former organised crime-fighter and committee’s star speaker, Senator Estes Kefauver. Wertham’s testimony mixed lurid samples from comics with reports about disturbed children. It was unscientific and completely unsubstantiated, but guaranteed to horrify any right minded citizen. Although unnamed, Wertham cited several contemporary EC stories, including “The Red Dupe” editorial (in defence of fellow campaigner Gershon Legman), “Foul Play” (Haunt of Fear #19; “This is a baseball game where they play baseball with a man’s head; where the man’s intestines are the baselines. All his organs have some part to play. The torso of this man is the chest protector of one of the players..

There is nothing left to anybody’s morbid imagination”), “The Orphan,” and “The Whipping” (both, Shock SuspenStories #14). Wertham prefaced his description of the latter by indicating, “Hitler was a beginner compared to the comic-book industry.”

Smoke Alarm

It was Kefauver’s sustained bout of questioning, with aside’s from Hannoch and Hennings, which undid Gaines and prompted the quoteworthy headlines; as the publisher sought to defend his company’s wares.

132

Lost in the small print, Gaines had been asked about an advert for Panic (seen in: Shock SuspenStories #14, but elsewhere too).

Unsigned, it is unmistakably the handiwork of Jack Davis. From the transcript: “KEFAUVER: on the next page is an advertisement for young people to send a dollar in and get the Panic for the next eight issues. Is that not right? GAINES: That is right. KEFAUVER: Then the attraction here is “I dreamed I went to a fraternity smoker in my Panic magazine.” You have dice on the floor and cigarettes, somebody getting beer out, somebody laying on his back taking a drink. Do you think that is all right? GAINES: This is an advertisement for one of my lampoon magazines. This is a lampoon of the Maiden-Form brassiere ad, I dreamed I went to so-and-so in my Maiden-Form brassiere, which has appeared in the last 6 years in national family magazines showing girls leaping through the air in brassieres and panties. We simply lampoon by saying “I dreamed I went to a panic smoker in my Panic magazine.” KEFAUVER: I mean, do you like to portray a fraternity smoker like that? GAINES: This is a lampoon magazine. We make fun of things. CHAIRMAN (Hendrickson): You think that is in good taste? GAINES: Yes, sir.”

Later, the subject was reprised. “KEFAUVER: You did get one magazine banned by the attorney general of Massachusetts, did you not? GAINES: The attorney general of Massachusetts reneged and claims he has not banned it. I still don’t know what the story was.

KEFAUVER: Anyway, he said he was going to prosecute you if you sent that magazine over there any more. GAINES: He thereafter, I understand, said, he never said he would prosecute. KEFAUVER: That is the word you got though, that he was going to prosecute you?

GAINES: Yes. KEFAUVER: When was that? GAINES: Just before Christmas. KEFAUVER: Which magazine was that? GAINES: That was for Panic No. 1.” (With Gaines’s permission, the EC comics discussed, which included Panic #1, were lodged as Subcommittee exhibit No. 12.)

Pagan Ritual

For his testimony of April 22nd, William Richter, Counsel for News Dealers Association of Greater New York had taken the July 1954 Panic #3 issue with him. Referring to its cover depiction of a “grotesque head,” (illustrated by Al Feldstein), Richter opined “it’s worse than any of the horror magazines.” Unprompted, he continued: “Yes, sir. Comic books like Joe Palooka and Li’l Abner are ridiculed.” Richter read from the comic at length, with extensive passages from Pan-Mail (EC’s letters column, which debuted that issue) and its mock apologias. (Transcript) “RICHTER: This magazine was banned in Boston and Mr. Gaines as the publisher seems to delight in that fact. He says, “Panic is a success. It has been banned in Boston.” Then he goes on to quote from the newspaper reports of that city. He says: “And what were we banned for? Horror? No. Sex? No. We were banned for lampooning the

133

poem ‘The Night Before Christmas.’ Panic in the words of the Massachusetts attorney general, Finegold (sic), depicts ‘The Night Before Christmas in a pagan manner.’ That was taken from the Springfield Daily News editorial of December 23 and also quotes the Massachusetts attorney general, “Finegold (sic), threatened criminal proceedings last week against Gaines unless the comic book Panic containing the satire of the poem was withdrawn voluntarily.”(The Senate transcription misspells Attorney General George Fingold’s surname, twice. EC had it right however.)

Richter continued his précis: “But let me, if I may, read to you two of the excerpts of letters that he publishes as justifying this type of demoralizing magazine. This is a letter: ‘Just finished Panic. Great magazine. And I think you should be boiled in oil, stretched on a stretch rack, whipped with a cat-o-nine-tails, shot, knifed, and hanged, gassed, electrocuted, and buried alive for holding a great magazine like Panic from the public for a full year. Man it is a great comic, crazy, cool, and real dappy. This magazine will go hotter than hotcakes. When I got to the stand I bought the last one.’ It was signed by someone from New York. Here is another: ‘Have just finished reading the first issue of Panic. Really great. The best story was My Gun Is the Jury. As I was reading it, my mother came in and told me to put the book away. This got me mad. So I did it. I sawed the nose off of an .88 and fired low, a little below the bellybutton it went in clean and came out like a flying saucer, leaving a hole big enough to put my fist through and without further interruption finished the magazine.’ Now, how any man can come here and publish rot like this and justify it is beyond comprehension. Now, upon its face it may appear innocent. Can this poor little fellow on the street corner, I took it home the first time last night to read it. It appears innocent enough on the cover except for this grotesque figure of Benjamin Franklin. But when I thumbed through it I saw what was confronting us. A newsdealer cannot possibly do this. So he just displays it and sells it. Many times if the child appears to be of tender years the newsdealer will not sell him any horror magazine. He will say, ‘You had better come with your parents.’ Oftentimes parents come and oftentimes parents buy the magazine, and oftentimes they would rather see the children buy a Walt Disney or other such type of animated cartoons.” (Audaciously, Panic #3’s cover had spoofed the one illustrated by John Atherton, for the January 16, 1954 Saturday Evening Post.

From 1943 until 1961, a cover featuring an image of “Founding Father” Benjamin Franklin was an annual event, as publisher Curtis claimed him as the magazine’s originator.)

Nut Allergy

Fortunately, Al Feldstein’s one page spoof “ ‘Li’l Melvin’… A Threat to America” with its anti-comic irony and subcommittee reference (illustrated by Elder), escaped the committee’s notice. This same issue was notable for the grand exit of the mock-autobiographical characters, Bill and Al. This came during a quiz show spoof “Strike it Lucky!” (reported exclusively in FTT#4, April 2001), where the duo are shown being dragged away, kicking and screaming. Elsewhere, Harvey Kurtzman had portrayed himself suffering a similar fate (plus a sly portrayal of publisher Gaines peddling comics to kids) above the captions “Comic-Book Raid” and “Comics Go Underground” (Mad #16, October 1954). Unlike Mad, Panic remained a comic and suffered under the Comics Code, so that the final issues are muted. In 1958, Panic returned as a magazine, on a dedicated Panic Publications imprint. However, this was the handiwork of rival Robert W. Farrell and unconnected to EC. It ran two brief series, 1958-59, v1#1 to v1#5; 1965-66, v2#10 to v2#12. (There was also an obscure monster-related fanzine from Wes Shank, in 1963.) Jack Davis, who drew the busy fraternity scene cover for the last EC issue (#12, December-January, 1955-56), also illustrated the demented football kicker for the first issue of the second series (v2#10, December 1965). It remains the best of the bunch. For, despite the protestations of officialdom to the contrary, EC’s Panic #1 to #8 have undiscovered gems and demonstrate Feldstein’s skills as a humour editor. Skills he put to good use, editing Mad magazine from 1956 to 1984, following Kurtzman’s departure. Available cheaply via Gemstone/Cochran, the Panic reprints are recommended. However, when Panic #3 was reprinted (March 1997), the original letter column, replete with its miniature images of Bill and Al in gestures of disgrace, was omitted. Fresh from the original, “Pan-Mail” is reproduced nearby for your enjoyment.

All information researched and compiled by Frank Motler

134

I had found a dealer selling original art and I was rummaging through a few boxes, seeing mostly cut and paste Xeroxed Sad Sack covers and obscure strip art. This stuff was interesting, but not the kind of thing that I like to collect. Then my daughter found a manilla envelope that said Witches Tales on the tab! The folder was full of splash pages and covers, printed in negative, as they are photographic beautiful white on black.

We also uncovered some Xeroxed copies from various old Witches Tales covers, one of which was extremely interesting! Harvey’s Witches Tales #27 (October 1954) was in there, but it was far more interesting than the copy in my collection! The cover is a victim’s eye view of being buried alive, but rather than a sinister looking man filling in the grave; the job is done by a decomposing corpse! A far more chilling cover than what was actually used.

I assume that the ongoing Senate hearings and impending Comics Code are the reason for the desecration of this fine cover. This issue, as published, reprinted Witches Tales #6 (November 1951), which contained the story “The Thing That Grew”, which is featured on the cover’s blurb. Where does that leave “Dig That Grave”... the original blurb title? I can find no story by that title in any of my Harvey horror titles, leaving me to think that we not only missed out on a great cover, but perhaps a good story as well! Maybe four!

We also found a smaller version of the rotting corpse cover, to be used as an in-house advertisement, which makes me wonder... at what point did Harvey decide to tone down the cover and reprint an earlier issue? The powers that be at Harvey really dropped the ball on this one! The original cover is by the great Lee Elias‚ but the replacement head doesn’t look like his work to me. A close inspection of the published cover reveals some sloppy white out as well.

But what about the cover victim’s fingernails? Surely these cracked and dirty fingernails are far more disturbing than a rotting corpse! Yeech!

135

The Martians

Riding along the canal in their motorboat, excitable children Mike, Robert and Timmy are asking their mother and father questions. “How far are we going, Dad?” “A Million Years” is the father’s solemn reply. Mother spots something on the horizon, “Look, children there’s a Dead City,” “Wow!” “Golly!” Looking about for Martians, one asks his father “What Do Martians look like?” “You’ll know when you see them.” After their picnic, they take turns to listen to broadcasts from Earth. Suddenly, father’s face “looked like one of those fallen Martian cities, caved in, sucked dry, almost dead.” He passes the radio to his wife, “Her lips drop open.” Blinking his wet eyes, he announces grimly “It’s all over. The radio just went off the Atomic Beam. Every station on Earth is gone. The air is completely silent. It will probably remain silent.”

After burning all their family papers, including a map of the United States, the father says “Come along all of you. Here, Alice. Now I’m going to show you THE MARTIANS!” They walk along, father carrying his son Robert, crying in his arms. The night sky revealed no sign of Earth, it was like “it had already set!” As they reach the canal, father points “There they are Michael…” They look down, It sends a thrill chasing through Timothy. “The Martians were there, all right… In the canal… reflected in the water. Timothy and Michael and Robert and Mum and Dad. The Martians stared back at them for a long silent time, from the rippling water…”

The Red Planet

The planets have been considered for centuries but at times their orbital precession, in the night sky, conflicted with mathematical predictions. These anomalies were resolved, when the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (in De Revolutionibus, 1530) proposed the fantastical idea that the Earth revolves around the Sun. This flew in the face of Catholic ideology, which insisted the Earth was at the centre of the Universe. It would lead to

136

virtual imprisonment (after trial by Inquisition) for its later proponent, the scientist and thinker Galileo Galilei (15641642). Christianity would eventually learn to accept this heretical idea. Mars is the fourth planet in our solar system.

The others being Mercury, Venus, ourselves, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. It is slightly smaller than Earth, with an adjacent orbit. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, although these were not discovered until much later.

It was astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli (1835 - 1910), who gave us the popular view of the Red Planet, with its notable lines. From observations, he also drew a detailed map of Mars, which included what Schiaparelli called “canali” or canals.

Schiaparelli would write of them: “All the vast extent of the continents is furrowed upon every side by a network of numerous lines or finestripes of a more or less pronounced dark colour, whose aspect is very variable. They traverse the planet for long distances in regular lines that do not at all resemble the winding courses of our streams. Some of the shorter ones do not reach three hundred miles; others extend for many thousands, occupying a quarter or even a third of the circumference of the planet ... The canals may intersect among themselves at all possible angles, but by preference they converge towards the small spots to which we have given the name of lakes.”

War Of The Worlds

The American born Percival Lowell would enhance the reputation of these channels with his 1906 treatise, Mars And Its Canals. The earlier fictionalisation of H.G. Wells, War Of The Worlds (1898), with its invading Martian machines was instrumental in bringing our warlike neighbour into sharp relief. Its retelling, as a faux documentary, radio-broadcast on the 30th October 1938, was novel in unexpected ways.

The conceit was constructed by namesake Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater group. It involved the interruption of a music concert to bring you the latest “news bulletin” about a “huge flaming object,” which had dropped on a farm

137

near “Grovers Mill, New Jersey.” “A humped shape is rising out of the pit. I can make out a small beam of light against a mirror. What’s that? There’s a jet of flame springing from that mirror, and it leaps right at the advancing men. It strikes them head on! Good Lord, they’re turning into flame!” Some skittish members of the American public went wild. For days afterwards, the media was filled with reports of families fleeing their homes and ensuing widespread panic. Orson’s coy denial of any wrongdoing, captured on film, suggested he might have had an inkling of the possible outcome. In “Black Magic on Mars” (Superman #62, 1950), a fictional Welles travels unwittingly by rocket to the planet that had caused him so much trouble. On arrival, he stumbles into an invasion attempt. After the previous scare, when Orson manages to broadcast to Earth, his pleas are ignored. After being saved by Superman, Welles foils the villains by the use of magic (he had a life-long fascination and famously filmed F For Fake in 1973), whilst Superman dashes off to destroy the gathering Martian invasion fleet.

Gilberton, as part of their long running Classics Illustrated series, would adapt H.G’s original vision, with striking cover and art by Lou Cameron (#124, January 1955). It had also become a classic movie, in 1953, directed by Byron Haskins, with Gene Barry and Ann Robinson leading Earth’s revolt. Among several other contemporary movies dealing with science fiction themes, there was Invaders From Mars. In 1962, Bubbles, Inc. brought out a stunning but disturbing gum-card set, Mars Attacks. These showed, in graphic detail, a fictional war between Earth and Mars. The hideous Martians, with their oversized brain-like skulls, had been based on the artistry of Wally Wood. The painted illustrations were the work of renowned pulp illustrator Norman Saunders, over the pencilled layouts of Bob Powell. With tongue firmly in cheek, the outrageous premise was restaged as a feature film, by Tim Burton (1996). It came replete with “Burning Cattle,” “Destroying A Dog,” “Burning Flesh” and other themes, worked in from the original series. There are other recent card sets and Comic books, carrying the Mars Attacks name. Edgar Rice Burroughs, famed for his ape-man Tarzan, also had several stories based on our planetary neighbour. The Princess of Mars second only to John Carter Of Mars. Whilst the former referred to “green men of Mars,” the latter achieved a long if sporadic career in comics. Yet, a minor revolution took place with the 1956 release of an astonishing book about Mars and its potential for actual exploration. It would have the benefit of a series of beautiful and beguiling images.

One Small Step For Man…

It was Chesley Bonestell (1888-1986) who fleshed out these dry ideas about space, when he began illustrating Earth’s Moon and the planets orbiting our Sun. Such was the fascination and beauty of his visions that they appealed to both scientists and science fiction fans alike. From 1946 onwards, his images appeared on numerous periodicals, such as Analog, Coronet, Life, The Magazine Of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Mechanics Illustrated and Science illustrated. Two periodicals stand out, Astounding Science Fiction and Collier’s Magazine. Whilst the former used Bonestell’s images for the covers, Collier’s gave over several glossy, full-colour pages to his feasible impressions. Among the movies that Bonestell worked on, were Conquest Of Space, Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide and War Of The Worlds (1950-5). The first three were produced by George Pal. The popularity of Destination Moon and When Worlds Collide was such that they were adapted as Fawcett Movie Comics, with photo covers and several production stills. The former was also adapted briefly in DC’s Strange Adventures #1. In 1956 and 1958, Charlton would reprint Fawcett’s former Destination Moon in Space Adventures #20 and #24 (1956/ 8).

Tomorrowland

Aided by the brilliant former Nazi rocket scientist Wernher von Braun (19121977), author Willie Ley produced two visionary books. Ley (1906-1969) was also a rocket scientist and onetime teacher of his collaborator, but had left his homeland in 1934 to settle in America. The first of these books was Man on the Moon (1953), followed by The Exploration Of Mars. They were aided by the extraordinary visualisations of Chesley Bonestell and were important in the quest for man to leave Earth and explore the universe. This trio would collaborate on other projects too. Von Braun teamed up with Walt Disney to produce a series of ‘Tomorrowland’ animated features (directed by Ward Kimball) to be aired by the ABC network. Man in Space and Man and the Moon were shown during 1955, with Mars and Beyond televised in December 1957. In cinemas, screen actor Curt Jurgens portrayed von Braun in the 1960 movie biopic I Aim at the Stars. All were adapted as Dell Comic books, part of

138

the Four Color series (#716, 866, 954 and 1148) 1956-60. Disney’s visions stories in the rapidly expanding and science fiction genre. Gaines would were anthologised as Dell Giant #27 (1959), with illustrated booklets from record these plot outlines (which he called “springboards”) onto cards that the L.W. Singer Company (1959). he would then try to “sell” to Al Feldstein, his editor and right-hand man.

Realistically staged, the 1959 US TV series, Men Into Space retained von Al would adapt these outlines into complete stories, laid directly onto the Braun as Technical Adviser, with Bonestell as Creator of Space Concepts. art-boards for one of EC’s highly talented roster of artists to illustrate.

Dell utilised Murphy Anderson art to condense 3 episodes in comic book form (Four Color #1083, 1960). The photo cover featured series star, William Lundigan, as Colonel Ed McCauley. Disney’s sponsorship proved decisive with the American public, when the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) was formed in July 1958. As NASA’s director, Wernher von Braun finally achieve his goal of getting men into space.

The Silent Towns

By using the latest understanding and ideas, EC’s stories were revolutionary. Soon edited by the prolific Al Feldstein (1925 -), these Comics were pragmatic. They were taken up with the technology and means of surviving in space. The rocket was often home and featured in several stories. Witness the adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s adaptation “I, Rocket,” with Feldstein cover (Weird Fantasy #20, 1953). The rocket’s Weird Fantasy interior dials and clutter, particularly from Wally Wood, emphasise this The earliest science fiction comic was the long running Planet Comics complexity. If there were monsters, then there were also air-locks, space (January 1940 to 1953), from the 1920’s publisher Fiction House. It was a suits and disastrous penalties for the unwary traveller in space. More often, companion to their slightly earlier pulp, Planet Stories (winter 1939/40). it was man or his machines that failed, not the tentacled alien. Even though Other early examples (1940), were Science Comics and Rex Dexter On his covers bore the influence and epic qualities of Chesley Bonestell, Mars from Victor Fox, Hillman’s Rocket Comics (an anthology with s-f none more so than Weird Fantasy #11 and #13 (the atomic devastation covers) and Superworld Comics from Hugo Gernsback. The latter featured of Manhattan and Mars seen from one of it’s Moons), they were always cover illustrations from Frank R. Paul, renowned for his work in the pulp atmospheric and frequently beautiful. Feldstein remains the greatest field, where the genre had thrived since the beginning of the 20th century. exponent of the science fiction comic book cover, to this day.

Publisher Ziff-Davis would stage several science fiction titles in the The covert lifting of plots from the best writers of the day harmed 1950’s, including Crusaders From Mars and the wonderfully named Lars the stories not one bit. The discovery by Ray Bradbury that “Home To Of Mars. The popular serial characters Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon would also feature in various titles. Most of these were space operas, with Stay,” Weird Science #13 (1953) was a reworking of “Rocket Man” and “Kaleidoscope” has been extensively covered, nowhere better than in little or no scientific content.

Jerry Weist’s Bradbury, An Illustrated Life. It is recommended for all aficionados of this wonderful writer and EC Fan-Addicts alike. After the Entertaining Comics (EC) transformed the genre in 1950, pioneering discovery, both Gaines and Bradbury were happy for the relationship the realism previously missing, with Weird Science and Weird Fantasy to continue on a remunerative basis. A slight hiccup occurred when the comics. This was due in part to the enthusiasm with which owner and author asked that his name be removed, due to the mounting disapproval of publisher William M. Gaines (1922-1992), an avid reader, devoured the

139

American Comics, in the popular media. Bradbury’s stories continued but now uncredited on the covers. Bill and Al created six science fiction stories with a Martian title. Others like “The Million Year Picnic” (Weird Fantasy #19, MayJune 1953, see opening chapter), “The Long Years” and “The Silent Towns” all adapted from Bradbury, featured Mars as the setting. Although Bradbury has rightly garnered much praise in relation to his adaptations by EC, EandO (Earl and Otto) Binder’s Adam Link, the robot from Mars, also deserves praise.

These stories featured in Weird Science Fantasy #24 and #27-9, after EC’s formative titles were combined. There were further appearances of the robot teacher in early editions of Creepy, between #2 and #15 (Warren, 1965-7), plus Bill Spicer’s fanzine Graphic Story Magazine #13 (Spring 1971).

King Of The Grey Spaces

Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) has written extensively within the horror, mystery and science fiction genres. He began with short stories, in 1943. Dark Carnival, his first anthology, was published in 1947. Bradbury’s reputation was assured with the appearance of its sibling, The Martian Chronicles (1950). There have been numerous other collections and novels, since and he is rightly regarded as one of the giants of the genre. His stories are intricate, sometimes whimsical and constructed like a puzzle.

Although other authors are associated with comic books, outside of Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs, none more so than Ray Bradbury. Though, after the experiment with EC, his stories were ignored by the comic books. However, two volumes of his EC originals appeared in paperback from Ballentine Books (1965/ 6). These paperback EC reprints began in 1954, with Mad Reader, several other reprint anthologies followed. Non-humour stories were featured in 1964, with Tales Of The Incredible, Vault Of Horror and Tales From The Crypt. Following, were Tomorrow Midnight and The Autumn People. The former, a compilation of Ray’s horror adaptations, whilst the latter showcased his science fiction.

140

Publisher Russ Cochran was instrumental in increasing awareness of EC and getting their stories reprinted. From 1971, he featured Bradbury’s “Touch and Go”, “The Flying Machine,”, “Mars Is Heaven” and “A Sound Of Thunder” in his beautifully produced B&W EC Portfolios #1-3 and 5. The Nostalgia Press hardcover, Horror Comics From The 1950s (1971), avoided Bradbury, no doubt guided by Gaines who controlled the reprinting of his old stories. However, The East Coast Comix Company reprint series, from Ron Barlow and Bruce Hershenson, would reprint the unofficial adaptation, “Home To Stay,” in the 1973 EC Classic Reprint #2. Cochran also began an oversize series called EC Classics and again his fondness for the author was evident, with appearances in issues #5 and 8 (1986), of There Will Come Soft Rains plus Touch and Go. Finally, Cochran’s EC Library and EC reprint series would see all stories, including Bradbury’s, reprinted. The former is the renowned B&W multi-volume series

with slipcases. The latter is the entire New Trend, New Direction and most of the Pre-Trend as affordable four-colour Comics. Topps, Inc. (the parent company of Bubbles, Inc.) also produced a series of Ray Bradbury Comics, plus some Special Editions. These featured adaptations by such talents as Richard Corben, P. Craig Russell and Dave Gibbons, alongside EC’s earlier adaptations. They were based upon the original hardcover series, Ray Bradbury Chronicles (Nantier, Beall, Minoustchine, 1992), conceived

by Byron Preiss. They have remained in print, in one form or another, to this day.

Weird Science

Featuring a Lunar astronaut cover, the Canadian Science Comics #1 (Export Publishing Enterprises Ltd, March 1951) also journeyed into space.

The US Gilberton, Classics Illustrated Special Issue #159 (1961) invited it’s readers “To The Stars.” Companion title, World Around Us #5 (1959) featured “The Illustrated Story Of Space.” It was reprinted in the UK (by Thorpe and Porter) as World Illustrated #505 but with the cover image mirrored. After the demise of the American series, UK editions continued, using unpublished material. World Illustrated #530, “Life Beyond The Earth” (c.1963) has a striking view of Mars for its cover, distinctly in the style of Bonestell. Earlier, the youthful Bob Brand and His Trouble Shooters steal a rocket from under the Russian’s noses and take it to the Moon (Man Comics #27, Atlas, 1953). A.C. Gilbert & Co., manufactured educational toys, science and chemistry sets, microscopes and Lionel Trains. There were at least two, small-sized, science giveaways (5 1/8” x 7 1/8”, 130 x 182mm) and Adventures In Science (1958) features Bud Adams, whose life is transformed whilst disinterestedly visiting Gilbert’s store with his father.

After looking through a telescope, “Hey it’s getting bigger! It’s practically on top of me! WH- WHAT’S HAPPENING!” Next thing, he is on the Moon being educated about how interesting science is, by the snappily dressed Mr. Science. It is too cold for Bud (not to mention the lack of space suit) so the remainder of the adventure continues back on Earth.

It has attractive art and cover by Curt Schaffenberger. General Electric also released a series of educational giveaways. One of the last was the 1959 Our Place In Space (part of their Adventures In Science Series). As rendered by George Roussos, series hero Johnny Powers and friend Bill learn about space from older brother Ed. There are other giveaway comics to be located, including Outer Space (Richfield Oil, 1953), Triumph Over

Space (Kaiser-Fraser, 1951, as brilliant Martian scientist Kay journeys home) and Tug and Terry’s Adventures In Space (Chicken Of The Sea Tuna, 1958). Topps, Inc. also produced two interesting card series. The first being Space Cards (1957), and the second Astronauts from 1963.

The latter featured photographs of genuine US astronauts, with three-D images on the backs, for which the 5 cent gum-packs supplied miniature anaglyptic viewers. The Space series featured painted illustrations, with several later cards reworking Bonestell’s deep-space images. It proved so popular, it was reprinted twice, once as Target: Moon, 1958. Rival Bowman also produced a great card set, with Jets, Rockets, Spacemen (1951). Luckily, it was reprinted in 1981 and is easy to obtain.

…One Giant Leap For Mankind

NASA landed a man on the Moon, on 20th July 1969. US President John F. Kennedy had announced America’s intention in September 1962.

Neil Armstrong was accorded the signal honour of being the first to set foot there. Like the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, his name will live on, wherever men look up at the stars and wonder. Armstrong’s short commentary “That’s one small step for (a) man…,” as he stepped onto the surface, “…one giant leap for mankind” has also achieved immortality.

Man has observed Mars more closely since 1964, thanks to the efforts of the American-based NASA, despite numerous attempts since 1960, by the USSR. The epic flight and landing on Mars on the 20th July 1976 by the Viking 1 lander (part of the twin craft, Viking Mission) was the culmination. It made history when it became the first man-made object to land safely on another Planet. Scientists still predict that life could be found on Mars, maybe buried into the surface to escape the sub-zero temperatures and unrelenting climate. Whether it will be green, bug-eyed, have tentacles or hideous oversized external brains, for now, remains unknown.

Ack, Ack, ACK!

141

As serious collectors of things graphic, I’m sure that we’ve all experienced a certain familiarity with an image on the printed page, even though we apparently haven’t seen it before. We all know, of course, that comic book artists swipe from each other both in the modern context and historically from the “old masters,” Alex Raymond, Hal Foster and Burne Hogarth, for example. However, occasionally the “borrowed design” has been purloined from a much earlier era from beyond the birth of our beloved four-colours. The other evening I was settled in my music room with the strains of Os Mutantes filling the air. I was listening to the third album by this unique Brazilian rock group A Divina Comédia Ou Ando Meio Desligado, originally released in 1970. Coincidentally, at the same time, I was browsing a recently acquired hardback book of the work of Everett Raymond Kinstler, an American artist who worked in comic books and pulps through the 1940s and 1950s before establishing himself as a book designer and eventually as a highly regarded artist of portraiture. The Os Mutantes album cover has always intrigued me; against a black background a naked corpse is rising from an illuminated tomb presided over by two ethereal cloaked figures. This image I knew I had seen before and, quite by chance half way through listening to the CD, I turned to page 81 of the Kinstler book and there it was!

The very same picture but rendered in the artist’s style. Once I had absorbed this amazing coincidence, I began to wonder if the Os Mutantes were pre-Code horror fans!? What were the chances of a bunch of freaky musicians from 1960s Brazil knowing about an obscure comic book artist from the early 1950s? I had to know more now that my curiosity had been piqued.

The Kinstler drawing in the book had been reproduced from Avon’s Eerie #10, published in December 1952. It was created to illustrate the contents page of the inside front cover of the comic book as was Avon’s practice. Referring to my original copy of Eerie #10 I confirmed this, noting that the pertaining story is entitled “Only the Dead Live Here”. (This comic by the way has a front cover swipe by A.C. Hollingsworth from an earlier pulp magazine, The Avon Fantasy Reader #2 published

142

in 1947.) My investigations, it appeared, were at an end but I still suspected there was more to discover.

Could the Os Mutantes reference to “divine comedy” in their album title be a further clue? It was time to plunge into my library….

Alighieri Dante (1265-1321) was a medieval Italian poet who wrote a trilogy of 100 cantos titled The Divine Comedy comprising Inferno, Pureatorio and Paradiso between the years 1314 and 1321. This seminal work is sometimes cited as one of the earliest forays into science fiction territory, as it embraces fantasy, cosmology and theology in a profound way. (By the way, a 1935 movie starring Spencer Tracy called Dante’s Inferno contains some of the most starting images of hell you will ever see on film!)

In 1861, Dante’s allegorical poem was illustrated in book form by Gustav Doré, a truly gifted artist from Strasbourg in Alsace-Lorraine. Doré also produced drawings and paintings for other great literary works such as Milton’s Paradise Lost and Cervante’s Don Quixote. I am fortunate to own a copy of the book A Doré Treasury, which compiles all his major graphic works. There, on page 72, is the drawing that inspired this “stones in the pool” connection! It is titled Farinata Degli Uberti, the name of a Florentine nobleman who was allegorically placed in a red hot coffin by Dante in Inferno, Canto X. Apparently, this man was head of the Florentine Ghibelline faction in 1239. Those of you with an extreme historical bent may want to research this further! So the threads of the mystery have slowly been drawn together, taking in classical philosophy and poetry, classic comic book design and the heady world of psychedelic, political rock and roll, and spanning the centuries!

How many more panels and covers of comic books are out there containing echoes of our rich and fascinating history? Those so inclined will have to get their deerstalkers out!

Many thanks to Rodney Helliwell for additional research and to 2 Tone Comics for the supply of many wonderful books and comics, including the Kinstler book.

143

144

The name Dr. Frederic Wertham will be forever associated with the dramatic rise and fall of the American comic book industry.

The producers of comic books had always had their share of hostile intellectual critics. As the content of comic books became even more blood soaked and violent in the early 1950s, the opposition towards comic books also grew more intense. Until Dr. Frederic Wertham decided to embark on a crusade to drive the publishers of crime and horror comics out of business, the comic book industry had been able to successfully defend itself against the attacks of various opponents.

In Dr. Frederic Wertham, the comic publishers finally confronted an adversary who might be able to bring down their various publishing “empires.” Unlike many of today’s critics of comics, he was no eccentric “cracker barrel philosopher.” Possessing impressive medical and psychiatric credentials, Wertham had served as the director of at least five mental health clinics. Besides all this, he was generally acknowledged as one of the country’s leading experts on the psychology of the criminal mind and had often testified at the trials of infamous murders during the juvenile delinquent ridden 1950s.

Wertham has stated that when he first became interested in the “problem” of comic books, he didn’t believe that crime and horror comics were all that harmful to children. After amassing a huge collection of comics for his own careful study, and after interviewing several hundred children on the subject of comic books, he very quickly reached the disturbing conclusion that the horror and crime comics found on virtually every news stand in America were a “grave” menace to the emotional health of every child or teenager who read 145

them. Wertham was further disturbed when he realised that many of his fellow psychiatrists knew next to nothing about the “abominable” contents of modern comic books, and that some of this misinformed group actually believed that horror comics benefited children as they allowed the young reader to release his troublesome, “anti social” impulses through harmless fantasy.

Wertham knew that the best way to alert the American public to the menace of comic books was through the printed word.

Unfortunately for the comics industry, Wertham was an extremely convincing writer.

In 1953, Wertham’s controversial ideas and theories on comics were published under the ultra-dramatic title Seduction of the Innocent. Today this book is a collector’s item, selling usually for at least $75.

Just as he had hoped, the book received an enormous amount of media publicity and quickly became a best seller. The public’s response to Wertham’s book was even more enthusiastic than the author had hoped. He received great support from prominent educators and teachers’ associations. Outraged by some of the gory material quoted in Wertham’s book, politicians in various state legislatures began demanding legal restrictions be placed

on the publishers on American comic books. In some parts of the country, angry parents organised boycotts against local shops selling sold crime and horror comics.

The comic publishers realised that public opinion had begun to turn against them. They too, tried to use the printed word for their own advantage. Many comics started running special editorial pages featuring long quotations from psychiatrists who believed that crime comics were in no way harmful to the all important mental health of young readers. In his book Who are the Guilty?, Dr. David Abrahamson had insisted that “Comic books do not lead to crime, although they have been blamed for it.”

Finally, the furore over comics reached such a state of intensity that the Senate Judiciary Committee announced they would hold hearings to investigate the relationship between comic books and juvenile delinquency. One of the most influential men in the field of comics, William Gaines the head man at EC Comics, asked to testify before the Committee.

The high point of his testimony probably came when one of the senators held up a copy of a comic book that Gaines himself had published. The lurid cover depicted a murderous ghoul holding a severed human head. The senator grimaced and then asked Gaines if he thought this cover was in bad taste. Gaines replied “No,” but then he went on to say that if the blood had been shown gushing from the neck, that indeed would be in “bad taste.”

Unfortunately for the no longer flippant Gaines and the comic book industry as a whole, Dr. Wertham was also called as a witness in this investigation. After Wertham and his supporters were finished testifying, it was clear to everyone involved in this

rules as the Comics Code. From now on, all Code-approved comics would have to have the Code’s stamp of approval on display on the front cover. These Code-approved comics were distributed throughout America, but those publishers who did not join the association invariably faced their distribution being withdrawn. Since the association now had control of the comics industry, most newsstands and candy shops refused to sell any “renegade” comics that did not have the Comics Code stamp printed on the front cover.

EC Comics, the undisputed leader in the crime and horror field, tried to survive using any means they could. Like most other publishers, they immediately cancelled all of their crime, horror and war-related titles. In their place, they introduced a respectable new line of “tasteful” comics with titles such as Valor and Psychoanalysis. However, these were ultimately poor sellers and after a few issues they too were discontinued.

EC were to end up with only one title left in active production, a bizarre humour magazine going by the name Mad. Fortunately for EC Mad magazine proved to be an instant hit and became enormously popular with those young readers eager to find something to take the place of the banned crime and horror comics.

Many other comic book publishers were not as fortunate as EC. As the crime and gory horror comics disappeared from the now “sanitised” newsstands of America, many of the of

controversy that the tide was definitely turning against the industry.

The leaders in this business now knew for sure, they were in big trouble. Soon after the hearings ended, Gaines organised a meeting of the comic publishers where he proposed the formation of an independent association that would sponsor scientific research into the effects of horror comics on children. Unfortunately for Gaines, his ambitious idea was promptly rejected. Instead many of the comic publishers joined together to form a group they called the Comic Magazine Association of America.

This group quickly drew up a severely restrictive set of regulations that would control the content of comic books published from that date forward. The group referred to these

147

148

the small companies that specialised in the genre simply went out of business. Those publishers still left on the scene now faced the enforcement of the rules and taboos contained in the Comics Code. Dr. Wertham’s crusade to “clean up” the comic industry had succeeded beyond anything he could have hoped for.

read comics are violence, sadism and cruelty and the superman philosophy.” (Page 15). Here Wertham seems to be simply stating the obvious indeed the same accusation could just as easily be directed at Hollywood and the type of films that have proven most popular year after year.

As to be expected, William Gaines felt that all of Wertham’s opinions on comics in Seduction of the Innocent were nothing but “pure hogwash.” Over the years, many comic book fans have written articles about Wertham’s crusade against comics.

Again most of these devoted fans are solidly in support of Gaines and 100% anti-Wertham. Few of these writers have taken the trouble to deal \with the issues that Wertham raise in his book.

The disturbing question with us, five decades after the book’s publication: could Wertham have been correct in some of his accusations he hurled against crime and horror comics?

2. “All child drug addicts, and all children drawn into the narcotic traffic as messengers, with whom we had contact were inveterate comic book readers.” These words don’t seem that controversial, but Wertham the great crusader then goes on to add, “Comic books do their part in softening these children up for the temptation of taking drugs and getting involved in the illegal drug traffic.” (Page 261)

Rather than get entangled in the complexities of an intellectual debate on the matter, perhaps it would be best to simply turn to the pages of Wertham’s book and let him more or less speak for himself. The reader can then decide as to where Wertham is being quite perceptive and believable, and where he is resorting to silly almost absurd statements. (The page numbers listed here refer to the appropriate pages in Wertham’s book.)

Early in the first chapter, Wertham gave his own definition of “crime comic books”: “Crime comic books are comic books that depict crime, whether the setting is urban, western, science fiction, jungle adventure or the realm of supermen, horror or supernatural beings.” It is these super-gory crime comics that he felt were most emotionally damaging to the minds of vulnerable children. Using various statistics Wertham proved that most of the devoted readers of crime comics were under the age of twenty.

The following are some of the many charges Wertham made against comic books: 1. “The basic ingredients of the most numerous and widely

3. The comic book menace is growing worse and worse with each passing year! “Crime books represented about one tenth of the total of all comics in 1946-1947. By 1949, comic books featuring crime, violence and sadism made up over one half of the industry. By 1954, they formed the vast majority of all comic books.” (Page 30) These statistics also fit in nicely with Wertham’s view of most comic publishers being little better than greedy criminals, who had no moral qualms about the harm they were inflicting on young children.

4. Many comics are preaching race hatred! “While the white people in jungle books are blonde and athletic and shapely, the idea conveyed about the natives is that they are fleeting transitions between apes and humans.” (Page 32) Of course this charge could be extended to the many famous writers of pulp magazine stories, including Robert E. Howard, Jack London and H.P. Lovecraft, and further still to the creators of film classics such as Birth of a Nation, King Kong, the Searchers and even Death Wish.

5. Superman is a Nazi! “Superman needs an endless stream of ever new submen, criminals and “foreign looking” people to justify his existence.” (Page 34) Wertham goes on to insist that Superman comics engender in children either one of two

149

attitudes: either children fantasise themselves as “supermen” fighting against the evil submen, or they become submissive and mentally “receptive” to the appeal of forming fascist groups or gangs. (Page 34) To back up his argument here, several; pages later he mentions the alarming existence of a teenage gang in New York City, renowned for their virulent brand of race hatred. New recruits into the group had to prove themselves by beating a black person with a brick. To Wertham, this murderous hatred of society, clearly expressed by some delinquents in the post-war years, had very little to do with the relatively “harmless” kind of petty delinquency seen in 1930s, a decade when violent horror and crime comics were virtually unknown.

6. Comic books not only glorified criminals, they also printed detailed “how-to” instructions on committing various crimes.

Wertham also cited examples from various stories in crime comics that seemingly gave detailed directions on how to break into someone’s home, how to carry out a successful burglary, where to hide stolen items and how to turn ordinary household tools into effective weapons. Brass knuckles for instance, could be made from garbage can handles.

7. Crime comics are slowly rotting away the all-important moral fibre of modern society. On this point it becomes somewhat difficult to refute Wertham’s argument and of course, it is largely on this moral question that Gaines and his colleagues lost public support.

Here is Wertham summing up what he sees as the crime comics most grave area of “menace”: “The atmosphere of crime comics is unparalleled in the history of children’s literature…It is a distillation of viciousness…force and violence…are romanticised. Constructive and creative forces in children are channelled by comic books into destructive avenues. Trust, loyalty, confidence, sympathy…are ridiculed…Children seek a figure to emulate and follow. Crime comic books undermine this necessary ingredient of ethical development… In this soil children indulge in the stock of fantasies supplied by the industry: murder, torture,

150

burglary, threats, arson and rape… Children become emotionally handicapped and culturally underprivileged.” (Pages 94-95) Unfortunately for the comics industry and the many talented artists who depended upon it for their livelihood, none of Dr Wertham’s opponents were ever able to prove that he was wrong in the charges he directed towards these comic books.

8. Many of the worst comic books are in reality handbooks on sexual perversion! “The keynote of the comic books’ sexual message…is the admixture of sensuality with cruelty.” Wertham follows up this statement by asserting (along with his teacher friend and countless other psychologists) that the “short circuit” that connects violence with sex is a “primitive pattern” slumbering in all people. Wertham argues that this primal, dangerous impulse can be easily aroused and then released in children, especially if it is distilled into them long enough (as for example, through repeated viewing of comics that featured lurid drawings of young women being tied up and tortured by leering ghouls). (Page 179) 9. The worst comic books are directly leading some children into lives of vice and true horror! Knowing full well the impact that presenting a real life situation has on the general reader, Wertham discussed the tragic case history of “Annie,” who at the vulnerable age of ten was already engaging in sex play with various men for money. A “very suggestible” youngster, Annie had absorbed fantasies of violence and sex from comic books.

Annie sometimes read twenty comics a day. After seeing a film on the life of Sister Kenny, Annie for a time, dreamed of becoming a nurse, someone who would help people. “But one good movie could not prevail over the hundreds of comic books,” wrote Wertham, as he ended his brief but dramatic rendition of another young life allegedly “destroyed” of evil comic books.

(Page 187)

The Spectre Calls The Dread Story of a Ghastly Avenger

by John Fennessy

Dig him no grave nor bury him deep! In the dread of night, window shutters rattle, a door gusts suddenly ajar and the bell chimes. Everyday sounds made unnaturally eerie send a shiver down your spinelessness. Snow falls and uncanny silence now wraps the house. Like the craven criminal you are, you stop counting your ill-gotten blood money and open the front door, slowly, nervously. Nothing, just the still black and white street parade and … what’s this? …. Foot prints in the snow. Leading to your door.

151

A chill raises the hairs on the back of your neck – yes, that really happens. You turn to see an unearthly vision … a great green billowing cloak hovering above you, attached to a green cowl, and inside that cowl, a face. Oh, Lord, what a face! White as death with eyes that would shake the devil himself, eyes that see into the soul. Heaven help you if your heart is not pure, for the Spectre has called.

The Spectre was created by Superman’s Jerry Siegel and horror artist Bernard Baily for More Fun Comics #52 in February 1940. His two-part origin story told how hard-boiled detective Jim Corrigan was buried alive in a barrel of cement and tossed to a watery doom by gangsters. The tale starts along the lines of a typical crime comic with Corrigan getting a tipoff about the bad guys from his stoolie. The art is visceral, very film noir. Corrigan was about to be married but after foiling the crime, the gangsters capture him and his bride-to-be, intent on revenge. Death is not to be the end for him; his spirit is sent back to Earth by a mysterious voice (God?) to start an unrelenting war against evil everywhere. To his horror, Corrigan sees his own dead body still in the barrel. With the power to walk through walls, he goes to rescue his fiancée Clarice, still a prisoner of the crooks. Corrigan, now the Spectre but not yet in costume, is merciless. One gangster is reduced to a living skeleton where he stands. For a man about to be married, he does not seem that bothered about Clarice either – a gangster finally shoots her in a bid to stop him. But the Spectre’s powers seem limitless – he heals Clarice’s wound and even brings two of the bad guys back

152

to life as the police arrive. The story ends with him breaking off his engagement to Clarice and making his famous green and white costume.

Sadly, the Spectre’s early adventures are very expensive collector’s items, but the origin story is reprinted in DC’s Secret Origins #5, published in the 1970s, and is a recommended read.

After his initial series was cancelled, the Spectre had a rather chequered history in comics. The ghostly guardian suffered the indignity of becoming involved with Percival Pop, the bumbling Super Cop. Excellent artwork from the likes of Neal Adams graced his short-lived 1960s revival in his own title. The original horror concept, however, was diluted by having Corrigan and the Spectre appear as two separate beings. The Comics Code also ensured that he was more like a traditional superhero than the merciless spirit of retribution seen two decades before.

In the 1980s, another revival in his own titled comic was to see a collection of superb art by Gene Colan and Gray Morrow with some beautiful Mike Kaluta covers. Doug Moench, the writer, tried hard but again the folly of having Corrigan and the Spectre as two different entities worked to spoil the fear factor.

The Spectre even became involved in a controversially explicit love affair with Madame Xanadu and also suffered a reduction in his power, losing his omnipotent fury.

So putting aside these disappointing periods, in this article I want to concentrate on two consistently excellent versions of the

Spectre. First, his short and controversial run in Adventure Comics during the ‘70s and then the stunning DC series of the 1990s.

The astral avenger hit Adventure Comics #431 in 1974 like a full force gale. The splash page warned of what was to come, with a forbidding gigantic Spectre with his arms stretching out around a plane, lightning forking through the dark sky. Inside a criminal is thinking (poor deluded fool): “Ha! Ha! Me an’ the boys stole a million bucks from that armoured car and made monkeys out of the cops in the bargain! There’s not a chance they could catch me now!” But caught the robbers are. And no safe rest cure in prison for them after a mild beating from a Batman or Flash. Each was to face a gruesome end at the hands of you know who. In a shocking scene, one man was melted like candle wax. Another villain met his maker on the plane, reduced to a skeleton in front of the horrified eyes of his fellow passengers. A comics fanzine of the time commented on the grand guignol sadism on show in the series thus: “Charles Manson was a piker.” The accompanying cartoon image is that of The Spectre.

The brilliant team behind this Spectre was writer Michael Fleischer and artist Jim Aparo. Aparo was to receive able help from top artists Ernie Chua and Frank Thorne in later issues. Fleischer said of his

work: “I tried to recapture that raw primitive feeling, that horror feeling, and I tried to make it scary and fantastic.” At the time the stories appeared, however, I remember a storm of protest from the comics’ fanzines, then dominated by liberal hippie types. They condemned the series as brutality for its own sake, not the way to treat a superhero who had fought alongside Superman and Batman.

It was rumoured that the premature demise of the series – with three Fleischer finished scripts left unprinted – was partly caused by DC‘s nervousness at this criticism. Editor Orlando admitted he enjoyed trying to get as much as possible past the watchdog Comics Code Authority. Particular horrific scenes drew special opprobrium from fans: a crook is turned to a block of wood and then carved up with a buzz saw in Adventure Comics #434 and another villain is clipped in half by a giant pair of scissors in Adventure Comics #432. Devious Joe Orlando argued that the Comics Code could not object because the man had been turned into wood, so it was in fact wood that was cut up. Of course this made the scene even more horrific in a time when video nasties were unheard of.

Fleischer’s main problem was he was a comic book writer ahead of his time. He predicted the grim and gritty age of “mature

153

Another lesser-known uniformed police officer by the name of Corrigan made an appearance fourteen years after Jim Corrigan’s debut; this came in the July 1954 edition of Comic Media’s Weird Terror #12. The tale simply entitled “Corrigan” is another of those tales, which the passing years seem to have cast aside. While anyone interested in completing their collection of The Spectre’s outlandish history might want to seek this one out, fans of Bill Discount may be even more inclined to put this issue on their list of desired comics.

“Corrigan” was a brooding tale immersed in the crime-ridden ghetto of the inner city, where life was cheap and the only way to keep ahead was to take the law into your own hands. It was a dark and gritty piece, so typical of the more mature material published by Comic Media in their line of comics be they horror, crime, war or romance. These tales weren’t always aimed at the predominantly juvenile readership of the day, but the perverse morality to their content would keep them on the straight and narrow. As to whether the writer of this tale was familiar with The Spectre’s run in More Fun Comics is pure speculation, but in a similar way to his namesake he was gunned down and at the last made his return from the other side to exact his revenge. The panel showing his spectral image was indeed chilling, with a suggestion this return could have been at a price or have caused Corrigan great anguish.

These six pages were to be this particular Corrigan’s only appearance. No doubt a continuing storyline would have incurred the wrath of DC who had only recently put pay to another giant of the industry, Fawcett. However there can be no denying certain parallels between the two characters.

comics” to come, the time of the Dark Knight, Punisher and Wolverine. The Spectre foreshadowed the slasher horror epics like Halloween, Friday The 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. Imagine Fleischer as a writer of films a few years later and the Spectre could have been a movie monster to rival Freddie or the Candyman.

In fact, his stories also signalled the beginning of a collapse into irrelevance for the Comics Code. The revenge of EC indeed!

Readers who have not sampled these classics are advised to do so, either in the originals or a four-issue 1980s mainly reprint series called Wrath of the Spectre, which also includes the three unpublished scripts drawn

by Aparo. A particular highlight of the series for me is “The Nightmare Dummies” story in Adventure #434, featuring beautiful Thorne/Aparo art. It tells the chilling tale of shop mannequins, which come to life and kill people at random. It also features Corrigan’s beautiful “love interest” in the series, Gwen, stripped and tied to

154

a chair in a scene worthy of the pulps. A cackling evil old man, the villain of the piece, watches: “It’s no use struggling, my pet, the ropes are far too tight … but by all means keep trying! You look so … so fetching when you strain against the bonds!”

There is certainly some black humour in the series. For example, Gwen’s obsessive and unhealthy love for Corrigan even though she knows he’s a killer ghost. And Corrigan seems to reciprocate her feelings. Indeed, Freud might have had something to say about the impotent spirit’s lust for Gwen being sublimated into the novel ways he tortures and horribly murders.

The Clark Kent look-a-like reporter who tries to save criminals from the Spectre’s Steve Ditko style justice is another case in point. Ironically, the Spectre has to save him from death at the hands of a killer he is trying to save and from an insane asylum when he photographs the spirit of vengeance. Then there’s Corrigan being brought back to life and getting killed again by gangsters on the eve of his wedding to Gwen, in a tip of the hat to his 40s origin. And what is there that can be said of the criminal who ends up being pecked to death by a giant toy duck!

The other Spectre series I have chosen stands out as a staggering achievement, at its best superior even to the excellent ‘70s series. Written by John Ostrander, the stories are of the highest quality. The title is also graced by the cream of Tom Mandrake’s artwork – dark, atmospheric and gripping. The artist/writer combination produced a sixty-three issue run which compares in quality to Wolfman/Colan/Palmer’s Tomb of Dracula but sadly is yet to receive the recognition it truly deserves. With an extraordinary array of top artists at work on its transfixing covers (including a couple of glow in the dark issues), it combines the horror and brutality of the Fleischer issues with a new brand of psychological terror. This is a disturbing series on all levels and not for the faint-hearted. One has the feeling that writer Ostrander was grappling with some very personal ghosts and he and his artist lavished each issue with personal care. The high concept of the series is summed up by the Spectre in issue #2 “The innocent have suffered, the guilty have gone free, the murdered lie unavenged! All else are petty evasions. I am the Spectre of justice, the collected wrath of the murdered dead, of justice mocked. And we will be avenged! And

155

someday I will know peace.”

The lyrical intensity of Ostrander’s stories married to Mandrake’s shadowy conceptions provides a stunning combination. The first four issues re-tell the Spectre’s origin, this time adding more depth to the story and introducing a serial killer who is to have a devastating impact on the characters central to this tale. We learn that Corrigan was abused as a child and grew up to enjoy beating and killing criminals, not bothered if innocent bystanders got in the way. One wonders for the first time, could the Spectre be an instrument of the Devil, not God? Also introduced is a powerful new character by the name of Amy, a social worker with HIV, plagued with guilt over the many men she slept with in a promiscuous period and those she may have passed the virus on to.

Over a dozen issues the story of Amy develops to a gripping and tragic finale involving the serial killer who kills only women with HIV/AIDS. This is comics with brains dealing with modern horror. Ethical dilemmas, the nature of Good and Evil, God and the Devil, terrorism, politics, casual sex, religion, vengeance and salvation, the nature of fear and fate – all the big themes are here. If the soundtrack of the ‘70s series is The Fall’s “Spectre vs Rector” and “Dragnet” or slasher film themes, the music here is Nick Cave, Johnny Cash and Radiohead. The Spectre’s mission is to confront evil and understand why it exists. This series makes a brave effort to bring all previous incarnations of the Spectre into a believable continuity. The Adventure series is ingeniously acknowledged in #5, with Satan giving the Spectre a taste of his own medicine in Hell, this includes being chopped up by a buzz saw, impaled by a nail and cut by those giant scissors. Corrigan is made to question his eternal quest by supporting characters, firstly Amy Beiterman (Better Man), and then Father Cramer, a sympathetically-written priest. From both, particularly Beiterman the Spectre learns an important lesson: “Those who have done evil may yet learn to change their ways.

And I’d be blind to ignore their hard learned example.” A lesson for all today?

The pace of the Spectre’s 1990s series never lets up. After the Amy/Reaver epic, #13 takes the mayhem to another level, with the ghostly avenger destroying a whole country following

156

it being ravaged by a Balkans-style civil war with each side sharing the guilt. The consequences of this terrible act, the natural extension of the merciless behaviour of the ‘40s and ‘70s Spectre, are played out during the course of the rest of the series.

This is no imaginary story with an easy way out – this holocaust really happened.

The next story contains a major revelation, the Spectre is actually a creation of God predating Corrigan. It was there to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and killed the first born of Egypt.

There are several long epics, including “Spear of Destiny” and “The Haunting of America.” Because of his links with the superhero and mystery comics of DC, the large supporting cast includes members of the Justice Society of America (a superhero team), the Phantom Stranger, Madame Xanadu, the Demon and Zatanna. There is an intriguing story where Nate Kane, a hard bitten detective and key character, believes that Corrigan himself committed a murder prior to his becoming the Spectre and pursues his investigation with unpredictable results. The element of horror wasn’t to ease with the later issues, although the passionate intensity evident in the earlier part of the series wasn’t so obvious. In Spectre #52 a corrupt policeman suffers a graphic death at the Spectre’s hands – leading to the massacre of virtually an entire police station of officers on the take. While in #55 the Spectre goes to court to pass sentence on a drink driver who killed a woman but receives only a light punishment from the law. The Spectre’s verdict? It was almost poetic, death in a giant bottle of tequila the victim of an over-sized worm!

The final issue, #62, features the whole cast gathering to pay tribute to Corrigan as he goes to his final rest. Father Cramer reads the funeral service and the spirit of vengeance we have known as The Spectre leaves the few buried bones in peace at last. Of course there was soon a new Spectre, a former Green Lantern … The Old Spectre, having met God and faced his own guilt for the destruction of an entire country and other crimes, has finished his well intentioned but ultimately failed mission.

Reading The Spectre is to ride a roller coaster of emotions – fear, hate, revulsion and love. But in the end perhaps Phantom Stranger puts it best: “An unquestioned belief is not worth having.” And in these dark days of terror, war fanaticism and atrocity, the world will do well to remember that.

157

This seminal character was the ghostly remains of the previously mentioned slain Police Officer Jim Corrigan. His spectral presence loomed large over his quarry and before the finale wreaked a terrible vengeance on the wrongdoers of the proceedings. This title is now understandably highly regarded, but as a result of the scarcity of many issues, seasoned Golden Age DC collectors consider More Fun Comics to be amongst the most difficult of the company’s superhero books to acquire, making them some of the most treasured items of the period.

Baily worked for several of the early comic book publishers

Vengeance Of The Spectre

Bernard Baily is one of the premier horror cover artists, a distinction merited by some of the most significant images produced by anyone working within the genre. These covers rank alongside those of Bill Everett, Russ Heath, Joe Maneely, Al Feldstein and John Craig, each infused with an unbearable sense of fright and the surreal. The covers he produced for publisher Stanley Morse, are without equal, but it is the range and diversity of images that continues to stagger.

Born in New York in 1920, Bernard’s connections with horror go as far back as 1940 with his first major assignment for DC, The Spectre, in the ironically entitled More Fun Comics. His art on The Spectre would appear in most issues as well as the early covers running from #52 through until #101 (February 1940 to January-February 1945). including DC, Fox and Quality, 1936 through 1945. After a short-lived self-publishing venture he worked for Prize (1945-1954), DC again (1952-1957), L.B. Cole’s Star (1951), Fawcett, Stanley Morse, Atlas/ Marvel (1956-8 and 1961), Archie on The Fly and The Jaguar (1961), Cracked Magazine (1960’s) and Harvey (1962). He retired from comics after a third spell at DC on Spawn of Frankenstein and mystery filler stories (1973-5). Around 1949 he also worked on syndicated strip art, amongst them Vic Jordan and Mr. X. In this long and largely unheralded career his pencils brought life to such diverse subjects as crime, horror/ mystery, humour, jungle, romance, superhero and western.

Baily Publishing Co.

158

Cambridge House was one of several company names that Bernard

Baily used when he ventured out on his own between 1943 and 1945.

Other names used were Comic Magazine Distributors, Swappers Quarterly and Baily Publishing Co. John Giunta illustrated several of the covers and some interiors, including the cult collector’s item Gem Comics for publishers The Spotlight, more about them in a moment. Several one-shot titles were produced before the whole enterprise failed. It was a bad time for comic book creators with paper shortages, the “War Drive” and Baily fared no worse than many of his colleagues. The titles created under his name were Cisco Kid Comics, Gold Medal Comics (a 25 cent, 132 page giant), Hurricane Comics,

Spotlight also produced Bee 29 The Bombardier, Latest Comics (two issues, both featuring Bee 29), Three Ring Comics, Ship Ahoy and Tailspin Comics. The latter two featured L.B. Cole covers. It was one title in particular that Baily published, which gave an indication of what was to come.

Up Pops The Devil!

Spook Comics was published by the Baily Publishing Co. and was introduced by an atmospheric Lucifer cover rendered by John Giunta.

The issue was undated but published c.1946 well before the horror boom of the 1950s. The contents were mainly “bigfoot” humour such as “Gregory The Ghost” and a parody of the Frankenstein parable with

Star Studded Comics (another 25 cent giant issue), Slapstick Comics and Tally Ho Comics. Star Studded is full of wonderful one-shot superhero characters including John Giunta’s “Captain Combat” and is another title rightly regarded as a cult collector’s item. All are worth looking out for but rarely offered for sale, due to their scarcity. The Baily Studio also packaged “The Duke Of Darkness” for K.O. Komics, Top Spot Comics and Triple Threat Comics (Gerona Publishing, 1945).

He must have restricted himself to editorial and production duties during this period because his art has only ever been attributed to one reprinted story. Twinkle Comics may have been sold as a package and published by The Spotlight (1944-1945), a small publishing outfit from Chicago, as it bears an uncanny resemblance to the other Baily titles. It is possible that his connection with them was even more involved. In addition to Gem Comics and Twinkle Comics, The

159

“Dr. Paul Barer.” Two stories stand out though, the humorous “The OBI Makes JUMBEE” which features an exotic dancer in a night-club with voodoo and zombies. The same artist drew the cover and the “Firehair” lead story for Slapstick Comics; these are most likely early examples of Howie Post’s art. The other notable story was the John Giunta illustrated “Mr. Lucifer in Up Pops The Devil!” The slant of the whole book is towards horror, however in being afraid to take itself seriously it opts for bigfoot mugging or a slightly detached storyline. It is a very interesting early horror experiment and well worth seeking out.

Slightly earlier, Bernard Baily also published four different issues of Illustrated Stories Of The Operas (1943), which did feature his art. One issue concerns the damnation held in the Faust legend, again presaging his horror work, on this occasion by nearly ten years. These are sixteen-page 25c comics in black and white with a red overlay to enliven the first page, which acted as the cover. I bet you didn’t know opera lovers collected comics, well apparently they didn’t and all issues are now considered rare. The Photo Journal Guide To Comic Books is probably the only place to glimpse these items. Cisco Kid Comics (Swappers Quarterly, c.1945) offers six coloured and reprinted pages of Baily’s Faust for the curious.

A word of warning though, the art is somewhat pedestrian. The notable story in this issue is about a Joker styled crime fighter by Giunta entitled “Funnyman”, with the title story by strip veteran Charles A. Voight also offering some entertainment. The cover once again was by John Giunta.

Beware! Terror Tales

Whilst working on Fawcett’s new horror titles between 1951 and early 1953, he produced a stream of startling, provocative and imaginative covers. Baily was also freelancing for the much smaller publishing outfit Stanley Morse on their horror titles from October 1952 until late 1954. His departure from Fawcett came just before they ceased publishing horror in the June of 1953. Fawcett quit comics altogether in January 1954 in the wake of a protracted lawsuit with DC over copyright infringement. DC had contended for more than a decade that Fawcett’s Captain Marvel had been plagiarised from Superman.

Bernard Baily’s Fawcett art sits alongside that of another former DC artist, Sheldon Moldoff.

EC fans will know that Moldoff claims to have given Bill Gaines the idea for their renowned horror line but left before the idea took hold.

His main contribution to the EC mythos was the largely forgotten superheroine Moon Girl.

Moldoff ended his relationship with EC in 1948, but remained an employee of Fawcett where the possibility of developing a line of horror was eventually taken up.

The Nameless Horror

Beware! Terror Tales #1 (May 1952) was Bernard Baily’s first recognisable horror cover for Fawcett and was a portent for of the terror to come. The styling however is spoilt by a cameo of The Mummy in the bottom right hand corner and a white title bar, which unbalances the art, but it was a striking first attempt. He was to draw several interior stories for Fawcett, which, whilst competent, lack the vital flair that makes his covers so special, a similarity he shared with artist extraordinaire Frank Frazetta, who had gotten his first start in Baily’s Tally Ho Comics (Swappers Quarterly, c.1945). Baily’s story for Beware!

Terror Tales #1 “The Nameless Horror” concerns a gorilla-like monster called Tangunu who terrorises an African village and a ship returning to America. The penultimate page where Tangunu is rushing around the ship with a girl in his arms does show real promise.

Baily’s art also graced the covers of issues #2, 3 and 4. The cover to #2 showed Baily’s first interest with treasure and demons, a theme he would return to in the forthcoming years. The cover to Beware! Terror Tales #3 reworked the Spectre myth from his days at DC and by the cover of Beware! Terror Tales #5 (January 1953), he had started to hit his stride as a tormented man is surrounded by demons with faces like Halloween masks. The cover colouring is also vibrant, with full reds and yellows contrasting with

harried, disgruntled, dentist Stanley Gleath. His rival is the stout, shiny faced dentist named Arch Menden. Menden’s visit to Stanley’s practice for a check-up provides the thrust for the story. Art has his teeth removed by the vengeful Stanley, who is then pursued by rampant dentures until his denouement on the final page: not recommended reading for the dentist’s waiting room. I always find the distant whining of the drills plus what sounds like the odd strangled gasp, over the piped muzak sufficient for me anyway! The cover of this issue is also by Bernard Baily. The companion piece to Baily’s malevolent molar story is George Evan’s pre-EC vintage “Death By Inches,” also ten pages long. Atmospheric rather than horrific this issue is still worth checking out. George Evan’s brush strokes were also featured in issues #2-5 and on the covers of #3 and 4 of this title.

Baily’s story art was also to be found in issue #1. His next outing on this title was on “Port of Terror,” another shipboard yarn (#3, October 1952). This one concerns a haunted ship where the static story line gives no real opportunity for Baily to shine. The “Voodoo Curse!” cover of the last issue (#5, February 1953) is excellent. On this cover he is still experimenting and developing his vocabulary. Baily was beginning to get a feel for the grotesques that would profuse the covers of the later and far better covers he did for Stanley Morse.

Vengeance Of The Living Dead!

the tormented man’s white shirt and blue checked trousers. Only the Mummy’s pointless narration partially deconstructs the unfolding nightmare. Although his title ran to issue #8 (July 1953), I know of no other Baily artwork on this title apart from Baily’s Mummy cameo on most covers.

AIEEEEEE! The Teeth!

Thus starts the title of Baily’s notorious story for Strange Suspense Stories #2 (August 1952). The anti-hero is thin faced,

Fawcett’s companion title Unknown World/ Strange Stories From Another World doesn’t contain any art by Baily, but their fourth title, This Magazine is Haunted does have three stories by him in issues #1, 3 and 4. Bailey’s first horror story is featured in issue #1, entitled “Stand in for Death” and it boasts an atmospheric splash full of Baily grotesques! World’s Beyond #1 (November 1951) features his second horror story for Fawcett, the excellent “Vengeance of the Living Dead” of nine pages. Pilot Gar Macon crashes in the African jungle and meets up with Nikundu Tribe with deadly consequences.

Full of tribal faces peering mask like through the undergrowth, giant ghostly images and our hero’s increasingly fevered attempts to escape his destiny. This tour de force showed what Baily was capable of given the right material. Moldoff drew the cover and lead story and

161

Stanley P. Morse Publications (July 1951 to January 1956)

Stanley Morse is one of the more interesting publishers around. This is made even more so by the fact that early issues of his titles were published in Canada but intended for US consumption. In their short lifespan, Morse’s various companies produced no less than three pure horror titles and one horror/science fiction hybrid. The titles were Mister Mystery, Weird Chills, Weird Mysteries and Weird Tales Of The Future. The company had already been publishing for 17 months before Bernard joined and had by then switched publication of titles to the USA. This was probably because Canada, a member of the British Commonwealth, had passed legislation forbidding the positive pursuit of crime in children’s publications or the use of the word “crime” in the title. Baily concentrated on covers and to my knowledge there are no interior horror stories by him.

Publisher Stanley Morse used numerous publishing company names. Whilst published in Canada (July 1951 to May 1952) company names Media Publications Inc., Stanmor Publications Inc. and S.P.M. Publications Inc. were used. After the switch, the issue was rounded out with Bob Powell’s nine-page nightmare “Twice Alive!” This title evolved into Worlds Of Fear, but as far as I know it has no further involvement by our Bernard. The final issue of Worlds Of Fear features the classic “eyeball” painted cover by Norman Saunders (#10, June 1953). Baily also had covers featured on their crime titles Suspense Detective (#1-4) and Underworld Crime (#3-5) where the notorious bondage torture cover resides (#7, September 1953), although it’s not by Baily. The first issue of Suspense Detective (June 1952) featured his claustrophobic prison escape story entitled “3 Small MEN,” issues #1 and 2 also have Evans art to recommend them.

Another World!

Fawcett had several romance titles Cowboy Love, Exciting Romances, I Love You, Life Story, Romantic Western, Sweetheart Diary, Sweethearts, True Confidences and the rare crossover book Love Mystery. They also had numerous western titles, many based on famous western movie stars, Hopalong Cassidy, Lash Larue, Monte Hale, Rocky Lane and Tom Mix Western among them. For the curious, Baily’s art is sure to be found in a few of them. Known artists who worked with Baily on Fawcett’s horror titles were Mike Sekowsky, Bob Powell, George Evans, Rob McCarty (aka Bob McCarthy) with Norman Saunders providing the covers to Unknown World #1, Strange Stories From Another World #2-5 plus the wondrous Worlds Of Fear #10. Sheldon Moldoff provided numerous stories for all titles plus the covers to issues #1-13 of This Magazine Is Haunted.

When Fawcett stopped publishing comics, they sold the rights to many of their crime, horror, romance and western titles, plus piles of unused art, to Charlton. This included unused horror art. Early issues of any title as continued by Charlton can contain Fawcett inventory material but contrary to popular belief most will be its first publication not reprint.

Media Publications Inc. stopped being used and Aragon, Gillmor, Key and Swat Malone were added.

In addition to the Mister Mystery #1-5 and Weird Tales of The Future #1-4, Morse published Mister Universe a strong man comic started by Andru/Esposito out of Canada. Issue #2 of this title featured an early precursor of “The Land That Time Forgot” which would resurface years later in DC’s Star Spangled War. The three-issue teen humour title Junior Hopp became the final Stanley Morse title to be “Printed in Canada.”

Super Fun!

Battle Cry soon followed, with wonderfully dramatic covers to the first seven issues by Irvin Novick, before the knockabout Private Ike appeared and spoiled the fun. For the completist, Baily did an interior story “The Four Seasons” in Battle Cry #7 (MayJune 1953), a pastiche of the movie “All Quiet On The Western Front” reset for World War II. He also drew the cover to #12 (May 1954), which was a shock issue about the horrors of US P.O.W’s in Korea. Pvt. Ike was nowhere to be seen! New horror title Weird Mysteries #1 (October 1952) used a panel from Wolverton’s “Flight To The Future” (Weird Tales Of The Future #2) as part of the cover. There were also two romance titles whose name changed every few issues. Daring Love #1 (December 1953) has a very early six-page Steve Ditko story called “Paper Romance!,” which may be his only contribution to Morse. It was re-titled Radiant Love #2-6 until the end of it’s run in August 1954. Its companion title Tender Romance #1-2 hence Ideal Romance #38, which became their only CCA approved romance title Diary Confessions #9-12 (May to November 1955). All of the pre-code romance issues that I have seen have atmospheric Bernard Baily covers and are worth seeking out. As the anti-comics campaign grew apace (1953-4), Morse added Battle Attack, Hector Comics, Mutiny (a Piracy clone), Navy Task Force, Peter Rabbit (#1 in 3D), Silver Kid Western, War Aces (ditto Aces High), Warpath and Western Rough Riders. It is possible that Morse also published Algie, Animal Adventures, Blazing Western and Crime Detector under the Timor Publications Inc. banner (1953 to 1954). The premier issues of the latter two certainly have Baily Covers. Ditko fans also want issue #1 of Blazing Western as it contains another early effort of his. In a last gasp, Morse published the Comic Codeapproved Real Adventure/ Action Adventure, Battle Fire, Battle Squadron, Climax, Navy Patrol, Swat Malone, Pete The Panic and Super Fun (a children’s puzzle book). When the last two books debuted in January 1956, Morse was to cease publication until his horror magazines made a resurgence in 1969 with such titles as Adventures In Horror, Chilling Tales Of Horror, Ghoul Tales, Horror Stories, Horror Tales (text and photos), Shock and Stark

163

Terror. These magazinesreprinted and reworked the covers and contents from ACG, Ajax/ Farrell and Morse himself to become highly prized collectors’s items in their own right.

An Evil Concoction!

Weird Mysteries #2 (December 1952) is the first cover Baily drew for Morse. This classic is already a departure from the tamer narrated covers he had done for Fawcett, where he would continue working for another six months. The grotesques seem to be emerging from a cauldron in the picture’s foreground. There are similarities to the Halloween masked monsters, which would appear on the cover of Beware! Terror Tales #5, one month later.

1953), it is a qualified success. A gallery of grotesque heads swirl above a piratical figure who is robbing an open grave complete with skeletal remains.

Bernard’s next cover was for his third title, that same month’s issue of Weird Tales Of The Future #6. It shows a group of chained human prisoners being led away from an exploding planet by their alien captors. This proved to be the last science fiction cover for the title as it switched its attention to horror. Weird Tales Of The Future is now highly collected for the early issues which contain covers and multiple stories by Wolverton (#2 to 5), no less. Basil Wolverton’s art would now be re-pasted, reprinted and rehashed for various issues of Morse’s horror titles, as Basil had already left the building.

The Mind Movers

Baily was now the regular cover artist for all three horror titles, until they folded one-by-one from mid-1953 on. Issue #4 of Weird Mysteries (April 1953) produced his first masterpiece (and my personal favourite) with its human-headed ant and giant skull pierced by a bayonet blade. It is full of dark symbolism and malevolence.

Bernard Baily’s signature can be seen on the sand to the right of the dagger. Three pages of Wolverton’s “The Man Who Never Smiled” enhance the desirability of this issue no end.

The lack of narration increases the tension and draws you drawn completely into the view to be horrified just like the couple in the picture. This lack of dialogue singles out Morse with EC and Harvey as horror cover exponents of the highest order. Put simply, dialogue ruins dramatic tension. “Robot Woman” by pop art genius Basil Wolverton makes his astonishing debut inside this same issue. The next issue of Weird Mysteries (#3, February 1953) has a decapitation cover, but it is less assured or possibly an earlier attempt. Next, Bernard was assigned to draw the covers for a title, which had previously been drawn by Ross Andru and Tony Mortellaro. The result was seen on the cover of Mister Mystery #10 (March-April

164

More ants were to be found on the May-June 1953 issue of Mister Mystery #11. This time they are about to crawl over and devour the head of a hapless victim who’s been buried up to his neck in sand.

Wolverton’s “Robot Woman” is partially redrawn as “The Beauty and The Beast” to spice the pot. In Weird Tales Of The Future #7, Wolverton’s “Brain Bats Of Venus” is given a makeover to become “The Mind Movers.” The cover hosts another masterpiece with a giant devil disgorging more trademark Baily grotesques from his mouth and they are heading straight towards us! The colouring of this cover is astonishing, and I wonder whether it was by Baily himself. This horror stylist was now at the height of his powers, more was to come.

Injury To Eye Motif

The notorious Frankenstein monster’s brain operation cover is next, Weird Mysteries #5 (June 1953). I have a suspicion that this is not all

by Baily, but I’m not complaining, for it’s a great cover. It is also the only example of the use of rubber household gloves on the cover of a horror comic. Inside the usual renderings are immeasurably improved

by Wolverton’s last original piece, the six-page “Swamp Monster.”

For many horror aficionados, Baily’s next cover has become The Icon cover. It features a man’s half face in close up with his left eye about to be destroyed by a small flaming projectile! His bulging eye is bloodshot as well it might be! Mister Mystery #12 (July-August 1953) is a not an attractive cover on any level but needs to be seen in the flesh at least once by all horror fans.

skull and a chemist’s retort. That thing in the jar in the foreground, is it a decomposing brain? This is not a normal horror comic cover by any means!

With Bernard, the magician doesn’t spring a rabbit out of his hat but a shrunken head! Luckily for us this comic, Weird Mysteries #6 (August-September 1953), is relatively common, although that doesn’t necessarily mean cheap! With the exception of the first issues of Mister Mystery and Weird Tales Of The Future, most Morse items up to this point are very scarce, and even 25 years ago when I first started collecting these gems, they were difficult to obtain. Mister

As with all Morse horror the cover teasers were conspicuously absent inside, and apart from Basil Wolverton, the art was by lesser artists such as Hy Fleishman, Anthony Mortellaro and Ross Andru/ Mike Esposito. The Kurtzmanesque stories in Mister Mystery # 2-4 are most probably by Charles “Chollie” Stern, who ran a studio with Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder in 1948/9. Harvey Kurtzman joined EC at this time and Elder became the inker to John Severin on Prize Comics Western among others before they too joined EC in 1953.

The elusive “Chollie” selected Stanley Morse. Later artists at Morse included Sal Trapani, S. Finocchiaro, Vince Fodera, E.E. Hughes, Edwin Smalle Jr., Anthony Tallarico and Lester “Les” Zarazin.

The Telltale Heart!

For it’s last issue, Weird Tales Of The Future (#8, July-August 1953) almost wore its heart on its sleeve! EC fans will of course realise where this sickly pun is leading; the heart in question has been ripped from an emaciated victim and he stands in horror looking at it sitting on the bureau in the foreground. If you look carefully, it seems like the heart’s beating or at least still fibrillating! A closer look at the man reveals his hand are deformed and claw-like. High on the mantel are a

Mystery #12, the four Wolverton Weird Tales of the Future (#2 to 5), Weird Mysteries #4 and all other Canadian editions are particularly hard to obtain. As prices have now just gone through another massive upward spiral, single issues are again in limited supply as collectors sell in order to buy something else.

Don’t Lose Your Head!

For his next trick, Mister Mystery #13 (September-October 1953), Baily shows a luckless man being pushed under bubbling liquid inside a cauldron. Household gloves were not felt necessary on this occasion! This was followed by another pirate grotesque holding up two skulls in a candle

165

it was published around the time of The Hearings Before The U.S. Senate SubCommittee To Investigate Juvenile Delinquency, the unrepentant Stanley Morse published one of his most notorious covers with Weird Chills #1. It took the form of Bernard Baily’s blood drainage cover. It is difficult to tell whether the expectant zombie is giving his blood to the unconscious girl or vice-versa. It hardly seems to matter! This cover harks back to the heartless man cover of eleven months earlier and it may have been drawn as a companion piece. This issue also contains Wolverton’s nearly unadulterated “The Man Who Never Smiled,” which had previously appeared in Weird Mysteries #4. The adulteration is the blotting out of Wolverton’s name inside his familiar ‘T’ shaped signature box. The late Morse comics are full of reprints from earlier issues.

With this issue Morse was again publishing three horror titles. After the clutter and sameness of the immediate pre-Weird Chills issues, I am very fond (if that’s the word) of the late Baily/Morse covers. Weird Mysteries #11 (July 1954) retells the Frankenstein legend, whilst the cover to Mister Mystery #18 (August 1954) shows where the magician from Weird Mysteries #6 got his shrunken heads.

The horrified couple know their end will be coming all too soon! For the second issue of Weird Chills (September 1954), Baily maybe drew himself tormented by grotesque miniature demons, one is piercing his lip whilst another is gouging at his left eye.

Post-Coda

lit treasure filled cave (Weird Mysteries #7, October-November 1953). The theme of treasure and demons was also reprised for the covers of Mister Mystery #14 and Weird Mysteries #8. The latter was also the first issue where the cover was cramped by an intrusive Atlas style side bar for several issues. Weird Mysteries #9 (March 1954) and Mister Mystery #16 (not by Baily) produced a short-lived attempt at unification with the symbol ‘Key Magazine’ on both covers.

Baily’s ideas seemed to have stagnated at this point. It’s possible that this was his doing or that publisher Morse had backed away from the more extreme covers that had been published up to this point. The covers had become more stylised but less inventive. The colouring was also less vibrant, and it’s possible it had been taken over by the publisher or printer. Bernard’s horror cover contribution could have just fizzled out but history had determined that the Morse horror titles would have a brief renaissance in the form a new title and go out in a blaze of glory (or infamy). The next great cover adorns Mister Mystery #17 (June 1954). A young white girl is about to become a sacrificial victim to some voodoo cult or other. A totem pole of Bailyesque severed heads gaze out at us impassively.

We’ll Drain This Dame Dry!

With it’s July 1954 cover date, which meant

His last horror cover, which is another of my favourites, can also be seen as an allegory. The Bailyesque character is cuddling the rotting and skeletal remains of his beloved. Like the horror comics themselves the romance is over and the corpse must be laid to rest. Weird Mysteries #12, September 1954, R.I.P., the last issues of Mister Mystery (#19, October 1954) and Weird Chills (#3, November 1954) are conspicuously missing the master’s touch. For Bernard Baily, there were no more horror covers on which to stretch his art and imagination. He worked for some time at post-Code Atlas (1956-8) but only on interior stories of muted interest. His art was good but the stories were dull, dull, dull.

The early 1970s weren’t a bad time to be a kid in the U.S. Sure, there were the usual trials and tribulations of school and parents, but there were also some terrific escapes… most notably monster movies, monster magazines and horror comics. Lots of horror comics!

My own personal “Golden Age” of comics was from 1972 to 1975. The racks were brimming with great (and some not so great) horror books! Every week there was something new to entice me! Warren and Skywald were well into their runs, churning out grisly, yet sophisticated, monochrome horror to twist my young mind. Marvel and Eerie Publications rode along on the black-and-white bandwagon, glutting 167

GOTHIC BEGINNINGS

“Dark Shadows” was a wildly popular daytime TV show in the late 1960s and early 70s, thrilling audiences with vampires, werewolves, romance, and well… dark shadows. Spotting a possible trend, DC decided to test the four color Gothic Romance waters with House of Secrets #88 (November 1970) and #89 (January 1971). Sales must have been encouraging, as October 1971 brought us two new titles from DC… Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love and Sinister House of Secret Love. These were big, 52-page graphic novelettes of love, terror, castles and the aforementioned dark shadows. Sinister House featured decent artwork by Alex Toth (#3), Tony DeZuniga (#2 & 4) and stories by the likes of Len Wein, Frank Robbins and some fellow named Joe Orlando (who also served as editor from #2 on.)

the market. Four-color horror was well represented

by Charlton’s sometimes good ghost comics and Marvel’s pre-code reprint titles. The latter also crowded the shelves with continuing character titles like Tomb of Dracula and Werewolf By Night (though I have a tough time considering them real horror comics…) To me, the real horror comics were the anthology titles… like the ones DC put out!

In my eyes, DC absolutely ruled the roost of Bronze Age horror comics. To this day, any DC horror cover with the large 20 cent seal in the upper right corner gives me a great feeling!

Well written EC-style stories (some by EC alum Jack Oleck), good to brilliant artwork, fun horror hosts and creepy covers…

DCs had it all! Newer artists like Berni Wrightson and Mike Kaluta became superstars, while my young eyes were opened to the varied styles of Alfredo Alcala, Alex Nino, Ruben Yandoc and many more.

Long running titles like House of Mystery, House of Secrets, and (Tales of) The Unexpected got a face lift and put out some great stories. Ghosts, The Witching Hour, Weird Mystery Tales, and Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion all served up plenty of quality shivers as well. But my favorite title was Secrets of Sinister House. This short run really struck a chord with me.

168

The summer of 1971 saw DC hit pay dirt with House of Secrets #92 and a story about a walking muck heap named Swamp Thing. Within a year, things started to move in a more horrific direction. Horror anthologies were proving to be a winner, and the romance angle was being phased out. Sinister House’s name changed to Secrets of Sinister House with #5 (June July 1972) and it was the last 52 page gothic romance.

OH, THE MYSTERY OF IT ALL!

Joe Orlando was seeing big sales of DC’s other “mystery” books (heaven forbid we call them horror!), so Secrets of Sinister House joined their ranks with issue #6 (Aug./Sept. 1972). The content was whittled down to 32 pages, but featured 3 stories, not to mention a Mike Kaluta cover! This issue also introduces Sinister House’s own horror hostess-Eve, a withered, old, skinny hag that would have done ol’ Ghastly Graham Ingels proud!

Eve was the perfect foil for her counterparts, House of Mystery’s Cain and House of Secrets’ Abel, and she even sported the requisite biblical name. Eve kicks the proceedings off with a brilliant 9-page story drawn

by Alfredo Alcala, whose intricate lines and detailed brushwork have always been a favorite of mine.

SoSH #7 (Oct./ Nov. 1972), featuring another Mike Kaluta cover, delivers three stories written by comic book legend Sheldon Mayer, the first of which, “Panic” is illustrated by future Swamp Thing artist Nestor Redondo! This issue also gives us the first of many pages of Sergio Aragones’s gags that would appear throughout the run. Aragones took some artistic license with Eve, however, and made her quite plump! He would soon be concentrating on DC’s humor mag PLOP! Issue #8 (Dec. 1972) is one of my all time favorite Bronze Age comic books! It features two werewolf

stories, one drawn by the inimitable Alex Nino, and my favorite story of the entire run… “Paying With Fire”!

Drawn by the under-appreciated Ruben Yandoc, who would sometimes shorten his name to Rubeny, this tale is about a lizard, a bully, and sweet, sweet revenge! The reptile lover in me just eats this story up, and Yandoc’s art is crisp and exciting!

Secrets of Sinister House kept the quality very high during this part of the run! #9 (Feb. 1973) sports a stunning wash cover by Jack Sparling and stories within written by Sheldon Mayer, DC veteran and Metal Men creator Robert Kanigher, and EC alum Jack Oleck!

That’s some serious pedigree!

SoSH #10 (March 1973), with an atmospheric wolf man cover, leads off with Alcala’s 8-page gothic werewolf masterpiece, “Castle Curse”… another comic story that had every panel seared into my tender 11 year old brain back in ‘73! It holds up today as a prime example of DC’s Bronze Age brilliance!

Alcala’s graphic storytelling is breathtaking!

Behind #11’s creepy cover lies the title’s boldest story, “The Enemy.” There are no writer or artist credits present on this powerful story. It stars our hostess Eve in a supporting role as herself, trying to reason with an army hell bent on destroying “a freak… a mutant of some kind…” who is fighting them in a ravaged, war torn city. The last panel is nearly worthy of Shock SuspenStories! Add in 8 pages of Yandoc art and 8 pages of Nino art and you have a bonafide classic issue!

The hits just keep on coming! SoSH #12 (July 1973) and #13 (Sept. 1973) both have stories rendered by Alcala and Nino! #13 also features the first work in this title by Jess Jodloman, whose work is reminiscent of fellow countryman Alfredo Alcala, so you know I love it! The Philippines were sure providing some amazingly talented artists for the DC mystery books at this time… Alcala, Redondo, Yandoc, Jodloman, Nino, and Abe Ocampo among them… all are favorites of mine.

Issue #14 (Oct. 1973) gives it’s readers some culture with an Ambrose Bierce adaptation, “The Man and the Snake,” illustrated by the prolific Alcala! Reptiles… Alcala… bliss! Add a vampire story by Golden Age greats Mike Sekowsky and Bill Draut, and another Alcala story, 8 pages this time, and I’ll tell you… this is heaven!

169

MY ONLY FRIEND, THE END

But, I suppose, all good things must come to an end, and by mid1974, the horror boom was waning, and DC’s mystery books were going through some changes. Issues #15 and #16 of Secrets of Sinister House were the last to feature solid, all original stories. DC soon started to pad the book’s slim page count with reprints and text stories. Issue #17 (May 1974), even went so far as to reprint a 10-page Johnny Peril story! What th’?!!… The July 1974 issue, #18, was the title’s last gasp and, despite an interesting effort by the legendary Jerry Grandenetti, it’s pretty lackluster. Sadly, Secrets of Sinister House died with a whimper.

But don’t let my downer ending get you depressed! The heart of this run is very highly recommended for some great horror stories and superb work by some of the amazing artists that made DC’s Bronze Age horror output so memorable! You can find art by my favorite, Alfredo P. Alcala in #6, 10, 12, 13 and 14 (twice!), the wild and weird worlds of Alex Nino

in #8, 11, 12 and 13; the clean lines of Ruben Yandoc in #8 & 11; the wispy, sketchy and oh so creepy work of Gerry Talaoc in #10; Abe Ocampo in #9; Nestor Redondo in #7; the great Sergio Aragones in #7, 11 & 12; the under appreciated Rico Rival has two stories in #9; and Jess Jodloman has stories in #13 and 15. All of these artists are fantastic draftsmen, yet many of them are ignored by collectors and comic enthusiasts. For me, they’re a part of my upbringing… they helped form my way of thinking… of looking at horror comic art! Yes, you could say they warped my mind!

So while putting together your DC Bronze Age “mystery” collection (just don’t say the H word!), take a look at the book that gave me thrills back in the 1970s… and continues to today… Secrets of Sinister House. Maybe you’ll discover an artist that you hadn’t given much thought to before. Or maybe you’ll just be entertained by a fine, fine comic book!

171

172

There was something of a mystery surrounding a series of dead bodies which had disappeared in the early hours from a church in Islington; it wasn’t long before a local gravedigger was discovered selling the dead to a rather shady bunch of individuals. The whispers may have been guarded, but there was an insinuation these men were plying that most foul of trades, body snatching. Surely they had to be the devil’s own! Several dead bodies had been unearthed in inexplicable circumstances from the grounds of St Mary’s Church in 1773.

Only a few years later, the head gravedigger at St James’s Church Clerkenwell was apprehended in the act of selling the deceased to a South London gang of body snatchers, known locally as The Borough Boys. These episodes have not been lifted from the pages of Tales from the Crypt or any of its heinous pre-Code ilk; rather they were a rather ghastly side to a not often mentioned part of London life during the 1770s.

This grisly epidemic of body snatching was an unfortunate consequence of a law making anatomy illegal, except when performed on criminals whose bodies were specifically assigned for dissection in the wake of their execution. The number of executions was grossly inadequate in meeting the increasing demands of the surgical institutions, thus it was

inevitable the numbers of fresh cadavers would fall into short supply. With their research and maybe the fate of mankind at stake, the medical profession turned to more dubious sources to obtain the specimens they so desperately needed. However, religious thought coupled with age old superstition made it nigh on unthinkable to disturb a person’s mortal remains, so much so there were three days of riots in New York in April 1788 when it was discovered bodies had gone missing from a graveyard.

With only its second appearance Vault of Horror #13, (June/July 1950), Graham Ingels was already experimenting with the inflammatory narrative provided by “Doctor of Horror.” Doctor Lemonet’s pride had to find a way to increase the number of students attending his anatomy classes, but as we have already learned legislation had resulted in an alarming shortage of cadavers. The doctor couldn’t resist, turning to grave robbing, on the predictable path to murder most heinous. This was a tenebrous account, providing a glimpse of what could be expected from both this man and EC as a publisher of ominous repute in the years to come.

173

Those of you with a predilection for these disturbing crimes won’t be too surprised to learn of a pre-Code tale of body snatching taking place north of the border in Scotland, given the dubious reputation of Messrs William Burke and William Hare acquired during the latter months of 1827 and into late the following year. There never has been any credible evidence offered to suggest they were exhuming the dead from their graves, their victims never actually got that far, already murdered in the boarding house to which the two were in possession. A group of doctors and their assistants at the universities preferred to think the recently dead had only recently been interred, but generally said little if anything in an effort to keep their anatomy classes fully subscribed.

Burke and Hare preyed upon the university’s need and the unfortunates who entered their boarding house. They soon developed a criminally direct method of supplying fresh cadavers to the anatomy schools of the city of Edinburgh.

Wally Wood’s co-conspirator from these years, a young Harry Harrison crafted “Body Snatcher” for Youthful’s Beware #12 (October 1952), five years before his first Stainless Steel Rat short story saw publication. And while a genuine Scottish accent was nowhere to be heard, there was still a deranged scientist at work endeavouring to revive the dead in the Frankenstein-like setting in which comic book horror veritably thrived.

174

A few months previously, there had been another miscreant at work with very similar ideas in Harvey’s Witches Tales #11. “Monster Maker” was inclined to retrieve corpses and then extract their brains, all to create a superman. What of the hideous cadavers drawn by Seymour Moskowitz in the pages of “Final Payment” from This Magazine is Haunted #19 (August 1954) turned into scarecrows!

When Vault of Horror made its third appearance (#14, August–September 1950) Graham Ingels turned his interests to grave robbing in the tale “Rats Have Sharp Teeth!”

Other publishers would follow suite using this idea inspired

by Henry Kuttner’s “The Graveyard Rats”. Chamber of Chills #22 (2) in August 1951 was also prepared to become involved with this unsavoury past time, at a very early stage in its evolution. A few months later one of Atlas’s finest, Dick Ayers, uncovered this hideous pursuit deep in the local cemetery in the pages of Adventures into Weird Worlds #5, (April 1952) the title in itself said it all, “I Crawl Through Graves.” Just as with the rogue dealings of body snatching, the plundering of graves was now also fair game for the comic book publishers.

Charlton’s This Magazine is Haunted #18 (July 1954) reprinted the dubiously entitled “Caretaker of the Dead” from Fawcett’s Beware! Terror Tales #1, which told the tale

175

of a grave robber and the dead. He wasn’t in search of the plentiful cadavers this graveyard had to offer, just their hidden treasures. This tale has been mentioned before in these pages, for it has aroused the most devoted of EC’s followers owing to a series of panels shown here containing brush strokes all too similar to those of Ghastly Graham Ingels. Swipes they may indeed be, but they certainly capture the grim mood of this eight-page mini classic. In an attempt to stop such crimes from happening mad inventions were produced to deter these debased villains.

Philip K. Clover of Columbus, Ohio, patented a device that was to “prevent the unauthorized resurrection of dead bodies.” It was known as the coffin-torpedo.

Buried underground, the torpedo would fire several lead balls into any would be thief. If robbers were to ever try digging up the coffin containing this contraption, the shell would explode, injuring or killing those in close proximity. Such was the hostility directed toward those who would defile the dead.

There was worse to come in the darkness of these graveyards. As early as Vault of Horror #17 (February-March 1951) Johnny Craig was rendering a cadaver eating ghoul in “Terror on the Moors.” He also scripted this atmospheric piece, which he remembered so favourably many years later. In their use of a ghoul this was something of a departure for the boys at EC, but this tale also contained elements that would come to the fore a few years down the line when Johnny took over the editorial reins of Vault of Horror. There was also “The Ghoul at Eldritch Manor” in the pages of Fawcett’s Beware! Terror Tales #8 (January 1953). Ribage’s Crime Mysteries #15 as late as September 1954 unearthed another ghoulish creature in an unusual crime based tale “Feast of the Dead.” This tale was quite graphic in it s display in a title that could never make up its mind as to whether it wanted to give itself over to crime or horror. Only months before the introduction of the Comics Code, Trojan’s Beware #12 (November 1954) presented “The Voices from Beyond” which proved to be something of a strange affair, a love story that worked to keep the grave robbers at bay. Only in a comic book!

Before I send you away to the comfort of your nightmares there is one other tale from the past that never made it to these pre-Code terrors concerning the body of a lady’s departed husband found in a surgeon’s house soon after it was buried.

Apparently, after having obtained a search warrant, she found something worse than she could have ever expected. She looked inside a big pot “which was almost full of boiling water...she took a stick and stirred it when to her great surprise she saw the head and part of the body of her husband.” I for one really couldn’t say what was going on there, but it certainly doesn’t sound like anatomy, although some experts would disagree claiming this was how the cadavers were prepared for the trainee doctors and surgeons. I think someone else has been reading too many of those nasty old comic books!

176

177

One Saturday afternoon I met the bio-engineered oatcake-scoffing offspring of Johnnies Lennon and Rotten; a lad who could splatter ink across a page in playful anarchy while possessing an articulate sense of design. His unique visual storytelling abilities have since evolved from Mr. X to Deadline magazine, between Rock & Roll High School to The Fall of the House of Usher, onto as lofty a marketing-team’s dream as Albion and down to the nether-hells in his latest Channel Evil series. Older, wiser-nonetheless still as exasperating and exhausting an individual to be with, I value his friendship regardless and profoundly: He is Shane Oakley.

Shane grew up during the last hurrah of British comics when more titles came out weekly than a grown-up’s wage packet could coughup for; a happy childhood weaned on long-gone nursery titles like Pippin and Playhour that were “beautifully rendered” before moving on to The Beano and Topper, and more importantly Valiant and Lion, featuring iconic characters “that burnt deep” into his psyche, which is an apt place for readers to enter the picture...

Paul H Birch: Beyond the creepy cobwebs Reg Bunn drew in The Spider or the various monsters that would skirt the backgrounds of Grimly Feendish, what was it that made you search out for things to scare you as a kid?

Shane Oakley: It wasn’t so much seeking things that frightened the crap out of me, I just liked a good escapist yarn, the more ridiculous the better; scary just made the ride that much sweeter.

But the love affair with monsters started with storybooks at school: Greek and Roman myths, Grimm’s fairy tales, etc. I also adored those Saturday afternoon Ray Harryhausen movies, and anything with dinosaurs, Godzilla and King Kong especially.

The horror genre continues to draws you in. Do you view it as a catharsis for something?

Well, I could say it’s a way we deal with deep set fears, the biggest of them being that you’re going to die and there’s nothing you can do about it, and horror comics and movies offer a chance to observe death from a safe distance; you are in control, you choose when, and how, you want to be frightened. Unlike real life. But yeah, they do offer a simple, healthy way of venting. And we all like a good vent.

Mostly though, I’m connecting to that wide-eyed kid watching

178

horror movies with his Granny; I’m after that same mystery tour. I want to see what’s lurking in the dark!

Then what classic horror tales, in whatever medium, stand out for you and why?

I could fill The Yellow Pages… But I’d list all the Universal monster movies, the Frankenstein series in particular. I love the expressionistic cinematography and set designs, the mannerisms and caricature of the actors; it all adds to the dreamlike otherworldly quality. Same with Hammer and Roger Corman’s Poe adaptations.

The first horror comics I read were serials in the English weeklies, from the comedic Ken Reid’s Frankie Stein through to the dark occult mysteries of Cursitor Doom. It was a very oddball take on the macabre, mixing boys own adventures with slapstick and the gothic.

Those extremes had/have a profound effect on the way I think and work.

Add Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, M.R James, Robert Bloch, Twilight Zone, Amicus, Mario Bava, those Alan Class reprints of ‘50s horror comics, EC, Swamp Thing, BPRD, Tomb of Dracula, Skull, Mike Ploog drawing Werewolf By Night, Jack Kirby’s The Demon. Works by Archie Goodwin, Bruce Jones, Ditko, Jerry Grandinetti, Wrightson, Greg Irons, Tom Sutton, Richard Corben... I could go on and on.

When did you go from doodling as a kid to thinking you might be good at drawing?

Not sure. I was never concerned with anything more than that seemingly magical ability to draw something that popped into my head; whether it was good or not, it didn’t matter. You had no sophisticated insight or critical criteria at that age, so there was none of that frustrated artist angst, you just let your imagination go for a walk. The simplest most vivid memory for me is lying in front of a roaring coal fire and scribbling out pictures all afternoon, no stress, just pure joyful escapism. But my drawings did become more elaborate and grander in scale when I started junior school. I focused more, tried harder, but I think that’s because you enter a competitive arena, you want to win good marks from teacher or impress Kim Nicklin, two desks down.

But at some point this became a more serious endeavour.

I always enjoyed writing and drawing comics but I never set out to pursue it as a career choice. In my teenage years I had more interest in making music and micro-budget horror movies, and hoped/dreamt that one or tuther would make me a star. Never happened; obviously.

So I did the 9-5 thing, but spent most of the time skiving and daydreaming. A little voice kept telling me I should be doing more with my life, so I handed in my notice and enrolled at art college. But that proved a major disappointment, and after a year of bull I decided I didn’t want to make statements with tampons stuck on a canvas, so as an act of naive but heartfelt defiance, I dropped out and set up as a freelance artist.

For a young anarchist punk you showed some traditional socialist leanings by joining acronym-based groups like the NSCS (North Staffordshire Comics Society) and the SSI (Society of Strip Illustration).

I joined the NSCS because I was desperate to find others with the same interest. The group was small, but they all had a burning passion for the medium; it impressed me, motivated me. My productivity as a writer and artist increased and my enthusiasm was turned up to 10. It also gave me a chance to work with a team; brainstorming, pushing each other, and ultimately focusing your creative energies. And it all came with a big cherry-on-top of having your work printed and sold. It felt important and empowering in a grass roots kind of way. It also put me in contact with a flourishing network of amateur writers and artists across the UK and the US. Some became very good friends: Gary Crutchley, Matt (D’Israeli) Brooker, Mark Buckingham, Andy Yoxall, your good self, and the muchmissed Art Wetherell.

Eventually, this lead to you gaining comics work that offered real page rates.

Eventually! But there was a lot of time spent anxiously twiddling my inky thumbs... Until I met Neil Gaiman at the SSI. A young go-getting Mark Buckingham literally dragged me over to meet him, since I had this class divide vibe/chip-on-shoulder that Neil would look down on my work and have me whipped for not genuflecting enough.

But he shook my hand, said some nice things, and promised to keep an eye

179

out for any suitable jobs. And he meant it; he got me my first paid strip work and put my name forward for Mr. X. A couple of months later, I signed a contract to do my first ongoing book. And later that evening, the pinch yourself-you-must-be-dreaming experience continued, as me and D’Israeli were invited to dine with our editor Bill Marks and industry great Howard Chaykin. This was one of the few social occasions that found me struck dumb, not with awe and fear, but because they are two of the biggest gobs you’ve ever heard together. They weren’t discussing Bill’s classic car collection, or Howard’s time working with Gil Kane and Wally Wood; they talked about food - all night!

So you quite literally found yourself hobnobbing with the movers and shakers of the comics scene not long after being introduced to Neil Gaiman.

Yeah, it made my head spin 360 degrees. One minute I was stapling photocopied fanzines in my bedroom, next I was boozing with Alan Moore, Bryan Talbot and David Lloyd. All very sudden and unexpected.

I really wasn’t much more than an over-excitable fanboy with a very thin A4 folder of over-excitable artwork. Unrestrained, unrefined non-mainstream stuff, but I think that’s what worked in my favour, it was capturing the spirit of the time. The comics industry was getting a big shake-up, independent publishers were booming, we had a serious alternative to superhero punch-fests, comics like Love and Rockets, American Flagg! and Eightball. If you weren’t there it’s hard explain the feeling, that buzz in the air.

At the time, I had a seemingly limitless supply of vim and vigour, near bursting at the seams with youthful energies, I just dived in. My open-

180

minded attitude, the enthusiasm, the grinning optimism, that’s really how I won friends in high places and got the jobs that maybe slicker, more professional artists deserved. That and I’m 6’3” and scary when drunk!

After Mr. X, you appeared semi-regularly in both Deadline and Dark Horse Presents, as well as drawing the Rock and Roll High School mini-series, alongside developing projects with some choice writers, only to consider jacking it all in.

Well, I grew tired of the letdowns. I mean, you’re about to sign a contract for a four issue mini-series with Jamie Delano, then the company goes bunk. That kind of thing happened a lot, and having your hopes raised then crushed, again and again, is not good for your mental health. The comic industry is such a fickle place, publishers come and go, projects are lined up, then next they’re scrapped or put on hold; you’re at the mercy of fads and editors who often don’t know what they’re doing. It wasn’t fun anymore, too many lows, I mean serious depression. So, I more or less retired. Instead of comics I joined a band, started clubbing and socialising again, just trying to have as much of a stress-free time as I could, at least till my savings ran out.

Yet something pulled you back.

The band thing looked promising; we were doing gigs and making a few quid. I also met my future-wife, Suzanne, who beamed a new energy into my life. I felt really good, best I had for years. And that high rekindled my interest in comics. So I put the feelers out, sent samples, chased jobs. But it was tougher than ever. So I phoned Alan (Moore), the most powerful and influential man I knew, and asked bluntly for help. I was looking for advice, leads etc; but Alan suggested we work on something for Wildstorm’s Tomorrow Stories, a new character for his planned second wave of serials for the anthology.

One narcotic fog-hazed night in his sanctum sanctorum, we geeked out on the monster craze of the ‘60s and goofball superhero comics, and by cockcrow we had Limbo, a costumed crime-fighter who happened to be a ghost. I did zillions of sketches, Alan fleshed out the basic plot and premise, and we planned to debut in #13. Alongside this I was on a nostalgia kick rereading my collection of old British comics, falling in love with them all over again. Under the delusion that I might get financial backing to buy up some of the rights, I went and found out who owned all those lost IPC/ Fleetway properties. Surprisingly, that turned out to be Warner Bros; who of course own DC Comics. I told Alan, who was very taken with the idea of resurrecting The Spider, Grimly Feendish, et al. So Editor Scott Dunbier put the deal-wheels into motion... Just in time, since Tomorrow Stories folded and Limbo lost his home.

And this became Albion. How do you view your involvement in the resurrection of such iconic British characters now?

181

Mixed feelings. It was a daunting prospect trying to tell an engaging story along with resurrecting, in six issues, such a massive back catalogue of characters, especially scary for three relative unknowns. But we took to the challenge, trying our best to do something that would stand out from the regular US books: tell a story with a voice and style all of its own. And I think we succeeded. But it didn’t set the world on fire, and it didn’t sell enough to spawn a spin-off line of solo books or a sequel, which I’m obviously disappointed about. We certainly polarized readers; many got it and lovingly embraced Albion, but others had the knives out because it wasn’t the next Watchmen, or because I didn’t draw like Brian Bolland or Dave Gibbons. Looking at it now, I can see why the book may frustrate; the nostalgic angle means nothing to the Americans or younger readers, and the story is slow-burning with very little Smash! Pow! action. But all that said, Albion is still moving good numbers and winning new fans, in the US and the UK. I guess coming in years after the hype/fanfare, without biased expectations, is an advantage.

After that you adapted Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher for Self-Made Hero and began contributing to Boom! I loved the strip you did written by Steve Niles: I saw your storytelling skills take another leap, a major one with some excellent on-stage evocative continuity.

Thank you. I got my stuff under Mark Waid’s nose and next thing I was drawing an eight-pager; “The Hiding Place,” for Cthulhu Tales. A real treat, and personally I think it’s one of the best shorts Steve Niles has written. That led to ongoing work for Zombie Tales and Cthulhu Tales. Mark dug the thing I do and pushed me to dream up covers that went against the norm. Doing so many in such a short period of time made for intensive self-tutoring in Photoshop; I learnt to color along the way, improving my technique and technical skills considerably. I also sold two short stories, one for each anthology, drawn by Dave Hitchcock (Spring-heeled Jack) and Paul H. Davies. Both did a standout job.

When that fell aside a project with Alan Grant got the green light.

Since the early ‘90s we’ve knocked ideas back and forth. Channel Evil was the one that stuck, and originally we were ever-so-close to doing it for Vertigo/DC. But our sympathetic editor moved on to other pastures and his replacement wanted to castrate the story. So Alan filed it away, promising to push the project whenever the opportunity arose. And ten years later...

British company Renegade Arts Entertainment is behind that.

Yeah. Run by Alexander Finbow; The nicest guy you could ever hope to work for. Channel Evil is a four-issue b/w series, a contemporary horror thriller, set in and around Blackpool. It follows the downward spiral of Jez Manson, a slick and sleazy host of a lowbrow cable chat show who is hungry for the big time and will do whatever it takes to win those ratings. But, in the course of interviewing a supposed spiritualist/medium, he mockingly follows her instructions for channeling a spirit, and, live on TV, is possessed by Ba’al, a demonic storm god.

Then, as they say, all hell breaks loose!

Horror seems to be gaining popularity again. Would you say this is another sign of our dark times, or just a cycle we’re going through?

It must partly be a reflection of the post 9/11 world we live in, that climate of fear/paranoia, a sense that hate is swallowing us up and moral boundaries are crumbling. We have to deal with violence or the threat of violence on a daily basis, people’s attitudes and appetites have changed; we’re more pent-up so we look for a bigger hit/release. And it’s easy to find: horror makes big bucks for Hollywood, same with TV and the computer games industry. It is a sign of our dark times, and I’m sure they’ll get darker and the genre will do the same.

So what else is on the drawing table for the future?

I’m adapting a Neil Gaiman story for Dark Horse; can’t say much, but it’s from his Fragile Things collection, and it shouted out to me! Not the easiest piece to adapt but it’s more than worth the headaches. I’m also writing and drawing two shorts for upcoming anthologies from Accent UK; developing creatorowned projects with David Hine and Jim Kruger, and a rip-roaring pulp horror mini-series with Robert Tinnell (Wicked West and Flesh and Blood). I’ll also squeeze in a series of one-off shorts for new UK anthology Hardware and spot illustrations for Dick Klemensen’s splendid Little Shoppe of Horrors.

I just want to get more comics out there, many more! I’ve not done near enough sequential work, that’s been down to a mix of dumb decisions, ill health and not having enough self-belief. But I’m busy changing all that; counting up the good stuff, staying fit,- and keeping my energies focused.

Cheers!

For more on Shane Oakley visit: www.shaneoakley.blogspot.com For more about Channel Evil visit: www.renegadeartsentertainment.com

183

184

A number of years ago, I tracked down EC great Johnny Craig with a little detective work. From a 1968 interview he granted the seminal EC fanzine Squa Tront, I noted he had lived in a small town in Pennsylvania back then. On the off chance that he still lived there so many years later, I dialled telephone directory assistance. There was indeed a “John Craig” listed in that village. I agonized about whether to call him because I didn’t want to invade his privacy. I finally decided to call.

He was pleasant on the phone, and I asked whether we could correspond occasionally; I figured letters might be less intrusive than phone calls. He agreed, and we exchanged letters over a 5 to 8 year period.

I had always hoped to own some original Johnny Craig art some day. After several years of enjoyable correspondence, I worked up the courage to broach the subject of a commissioned illustration. Mr. Craig was amenable, and we began discussing what the piece would entail. Most of Craig’s later work was in

oil. As great as I think Johnny Craig’s prowess as a painter was, I wanted something a little different, something more akin to his 1950s EC work. Thus I asked if he would be willing to do an illo somewhat reminiscent of his EC panel work. What I proposed was this: for Johnny to pencil an illo, then ink it (similar to how he’d do a comics page), and then for him to go back over it in water colours to approximate the look of his EC comic book panels.

Mr. Craig said he hadn’t done much inking in years, but that it ought to be fun. We then discussed subject matter. I knew I wanted it to feature the three EC GhouLunatics but, aside from that, I had no ideas set in stone. Mr. Craig indicated that he would do it for one price if he was allowed complete discretion as to the image and context. He quoted another higher fee if I were to dictate the exact elements of the illustration. I was more than happy to leave it to him. After all, Johnny Craig was one of the greatest comic artists ever. Who was I to dictate to

him? Since the illo was to look a bit like his EC line work, I did request that Mr. Craig sign the work in his stylized EC “signature in a circle” manner. I mentioned it would be nice if the illo could be personalized in some way. Again, I had no concrete ideas about this; I merely broached it. We arrived at a price I felt more than fair, and Mr. Craig set to work. He sent me no roughs; the first I was to see of the illo was the finished product.

Several months later, a large package arrived, with Johnny’s return address in his distinctive handwriting. I was quite excited as I removed the bristol board from it’s packing container. To say I was satisfied with the end result is an understatement! The illustration was of the Vault Keeper, Old Witch and Crypt Keeper in a spooky cemetery at night. They were accompanied by the Vault Keeper’s curvy protégé, Drusilla, who appeared on the splash page of the last several issues of the Vault of Horror.

The capper for me was that the Old Witch was perched upon a tombstone with my name on it. I was tickled (“tickled to death?”) to see the clever way Johnny had personalized the illustration. I wrote Mr. Craig, telling him how pleased I was with the end product. He responded that it was a fun “stretch” for him to do some inking and watercolour work.

I had the piece matted and framed and it now hangs beside the bookcase housing my EC Library hardcovers.

As you can imagine, I feel very lucky to have befriended Johnny Craig and corresponded with him. I also feel lucky to own a piece of his original artwork. Johnny passed away on September 13, 2001. I was quite saddened by the news, but I’ll certainly treasure my memories of this fine and talented gentleman.

187

The Revolution Starts here!

In the summer 1986 edition of Monte Beauchamp’s self-published digest, Blab! #1, Underground artists as significant and diverse as Roger Brand, Rich Corben, Kim Deitch, Jaxon, Denis Kitchen (of Kitchen Sink fame), Jay Lynch, George Metzger, Spain (Rodriguez), Gilbert Shelton, Skip Williamson, S. Clay Wilson, et al listed their influences.

High on the various lists were Harvey Kurtzman, EC’s Mad Magazine, EC’s horror and science fiction comics plus Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories, well life isn’t perfect!

The Underground movement had started as early as 1964 when the first edition of the heavily ironic God Nose (1964) by Jaxon surfaced in very limited numbers. “Nose” appears on the cover bouncing the Earth like a basketball and acts like a latter day philosopher and social pundit.

He also bares an uncanny resemblance to the unrepentant hero of the pro-comic campaign, EC publisher William M. Gaines. The anti-political superhero satires of Bobman and Teddy (Robert and Ted Kennedy) and The Great Society (LBJ) by Parallax Comic Books Inc. were also influential (1966). Slightly earlier, Bill Spicer’s notable fanzine Fantasy Illustrated #1 (Winter 1963/4) allowed fan artists to indulge their craving for EC stories to jolt the imagination. This premier issue also gave a start to fledgling Underground artist Richard “Grass” Green. Bob Overstreet the master indexer co-wrote and illustrated “A Study In Horror” and “March 25th” for issue #3 (winter 1964/5).

Comics Go Underground!

The seminal and rare Lenny Of Laredo, by Joel Beck, which drew its influence from the controversial comedian Lenny Bruce, was first published in 1965. It was printed in various editions; green cover, first edition 1965; orange cover, second edition 1965; or white cover, third edition 1966. There are probably no more then two

188

thousand copies of the entire publication. This was followed by his Marching Marvin and The Profit (Alienated Baby Report #3), both 1966.

Back in October 1954, at the height of the anti-comics campaign, Harvey Kurtzman had cartooned himself wearing a straightjacket for the cover of Mad #16. The captions on this spoof newspaper read “Comic Book Raid” and “Comics Go Underground.”

Harvey Kurtzman’s Help! Magazine (1960/ 5), published by an aspiring Jim Warren gave early starts to budding Underground cartoonists Robert Crumb, Jay Lynch, Gilbert “Wonder Warthog” Shelton and Skip Williamson. After writing a letter, which saw print in the pages of Help! #17, Crumb’s first published art appeared in Help! #22 (January 1965). Along with “Harlem Sketchbook” was one of Crumb’s early alter egos Fritz The Cat in “Fritz Comes On Strong.” Also featured were cartoons by Terry Gilliam and a photo fumetti starring John Cleese lustfully undressing a Barbie Doll, “Christopher’s Punctured Romance” (#24, May 1965). English humour fans will know that these two would later form an important part of the BBC TV series Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

Shelton’s creation Wonder Warthog also appeared in Millar Publishing’s Drag Cartoons (c.1965) and was also featured in two anthology editions by Millar. Entitled Wonder Wart-Hog, The Hog of Steel #1 and 2, these 68-page magazines were dated Winter 1966/ 7 and Spring 1967. (Pete) Millar also published the cult collector’s magazine Big Daddy Roth #1-4 (1964/5), featuring Alex Toth art. In 1967 Fawcett Publications published the rare 164 page digest Wonder Warthog, Captain Crud and Other Super Stuff, which also showcased Vaughn Bode’s art.

The Whole World’s Watching Us!

These items helped light a fuse that would explode in November 1967 with the publication of R.Crumb’s solo effort Zap Comics

189

#1. Robert Crumb’s work of self and sexual obsession never drifted into horror, but was always neurotically close to nightmare! Early editions of Zap Comics #1 were sold on the streets of LA before being sold in markets, alternative “Head,” music and book shops. The combination of American can-do, affluence and the counter-revolution fuelled the most significant peacetime cultural activity of the Twentieth Century. “If you remember the 1960s you weren’t really there!” may have a wonderful irony, but many gifted young people stopped fornicating and being stoned for long enough to produce a huge outpouring of music, posters, psychedelic art, artefacts, clothing, manifestos and comix. They also cornered small locations in most major cities in Europe and America, painted them up in day-glo and psychedelic colours as a calling card to the beautiful young people who were their audience and customers.

It seemed like the 1960s revolution would last forever, man! However, the political establishment, which is always conservative and inertial, took time to survey, comprehend, challenge and finally overthrow the counter-culture that had grown up. But in a brief flowering comix took to the streets and provided a small but significant challenge to mainstream comic books.

The Daddy of Them All

If Zap Comics was the daddy of all Underground comix, it wasn’t long before the spectral remains of his dead relatives got in on the act with early arrivals such as Bogeyman Comics #1 (1969) by the nihilistic and ill fated cult primitive Rory Hayes. Issues 2 and 3 of Bogeyman soon followed. In this delirious daydream, Hayes’s childhood teddy bear and alter ego stalked through his fevered imagination, dripping ink onto the page like blood. Hayes’s teddy bear was like no other, his open mouth at times encircling sharp pointed teeth, at others a jagged ribbon of anguish. He drifted away from the comix scene and finally from life itself when he fatally overdosed in 1983. Whilst not strictly speaking horror, the seminal S. Clay Wilson’s tails of dykes, pirates and The Checkered Demon were unrepentant monsters from the Id let loose on the page. Once you get past any sense of outrage, there is real humour to be found in this man’s stories. The work of this prolific and morbid genius of the bristol board can be found in numerous items, but check out Zap Comics #2 to 9, 2 #1 and 2, Bent Comics and The Checkered Demon #1 to 3.

Fever Dreams!

Richard “Rich” Corben’s early work had appeared in the fanzine Weirdom.

His Tales From The Plague (1971) was reprinted from issue #13 (1969) as an Underground. Bill Leach, a friend of the artist and publisher of the only extant

EC fanzine Horror From The Crypt Of Fear, reprinted this again in 1986. Weirdom would continue for two more issues with Rich Corben artwork (#14 and 15, 1971/2). With its smooth rounded line work often in-filled by airbrush, Corben’s art took on a hyper-reality. His often undressed females were every young man’s fantasy with their plump pliable flesh and easy virtue. Corben, also known as “Gore” would become a mainstay of the Underground movement because of his unique abilities and pleasing style.

Often illustrating stories written by the excellent and prolific writer Jan Strnad, Corben’s 1971-3 vintage work can be found in Anomaly #4, Death Rattle #1, Fantagor #1 to 4, Fever Dreams, Grim Wit #1, 2 (featuring “Den”), Rowlf, Skull Comics #2 to 5, Slow Death #2 to 5, Up From The Deep and the EC spoof Weird Fantasies. Many of these are from his own Fantagor Press, which he founded in 1972. More recently, his art can be found in Pacific Comics’, A Corben Special (1984) and Mad Dog’s Vic and Blood from 1987. Corben’s work has also been extensively reprinted and anthologised, notably with Fantagor’s Children of Fire, Den #1 to 5 and Rip In Time #1 to 5 (1986-9). Completists should also check out Bloodstar, Neverwhere, Heavy Metal, plus Jim Warren’s Creepy, Eerie, 1984 and Vampirella, where Corben’s ever engaging artwork is also to be found.

Horrible Harvey’s House!

Attention should be drawn to Corben’s “How Howie Made It In The Real World” (Slow Death #2) where the rotting, garbage-choked world is made beautiful by regular ingestion of psychotropic drugs. Fans of the movie The Matrix may recognise some similarity here. Howie makes his appalling discovery when he goes to sleep on the beach after making love to a beautiful female, and eventually wakes up having forgotten to take his medicine! Corben’s realism makes this a truly shocking story. Slow Death #4 features a wonderfully subversive parody of Gold Key’s Magnus Robot Fighter in “Mangle, Robot Mangler.” Here the tables are turned and the triumphant robot Mada brings the severely amputated and traumatised Mangle plastic flowers to his hospital bed.

In the final panel, Mada, now sat with Mangle’s former girlfriend, announces “plastic ones are better, because they won’t die and rot.”

The addition of Corben makes issues #2 through 5 of Slow Death and Skull Comics essential purchases. Skull Comics #3 has the immortal (or

should that be immoral?) “Horrible Harvey’s House!” This is another tale of unrequited lust starring Jarvis, an amateur filmmaker; Zara, one of Corben’s beautifully upholstered females; and an old deserted house!

The story is very similar in style and tone to Kurtzman’s classic “Little Annie Fanny,” which appeared in Playboy Magazine from 1962 to 1988.

What about Harvey? Well, which one? Oh, the horrible one, well you’ll just have to read the story for yourself! Suffice it to say that in the end the hero gets the girl!

An Exorpsychic Comic!

New titles from the 1970s such as Skull Comics, Slow Death and later Death Rattle (1972) were of major interest for lovers of horror and science fiction stories in the EC tradition. Skull Comics, subtitled “An Exorpsychic Comic” and featuring the EC badge, ran for six issues between 1970 and 1972. The art was by Corben, Greg Irons, Jack “Jaxon” Jackson, Rory Hayes, Gilbert Shelton, Dave Sheridan, et al.

It was joined by its science- fiction oriented sister Slow Death, which ran on for ten sporadic issues featuring a similar line up of artists (1970 through 1979). Later issues were to focus on themes such as “True War Tales,” #7; “Greenpeace,” #8; “Atomic Power,” #9 and” Cancer Special,” #10. Death Rattle initially managed only a derisory three issues, but was revived by publisher Kitchen Sink from 1985 to 1988 for a more mainstream run of eighteen issues, plus a further five issues in 1995/6.

Commies From Mars was another title which has had a checkered career over its five-issue, fourteen-year run, although it has to be said from the second issue its various artists produced an excellent and diverse range of stories and styles. There are also numerous titles, which ran just one, two or three issues. Some of these were mentioned in my “Flattery The Sincerest Form of Imitation” article (see FTT #4, April 2001). Notable are Brain Fantasy #1 and 2, Insect Fear # 1 to 3 (“Tales From The Behavioural Sink”), Deviant Slice Funnies #1 and 2, Gory Stories Quarterly #2 ½, Two Fisted Zombies, Psychotic Adventures #1-3, Tales From The Fridge and Tales From The Macabre.

The Curate’s Egg

Lovers of traditional horror and science-fiction comics should understand that comix shouldn’t be assessed in the same way. Like the mighty Atlas/Marvel titles, artists would vary from issue to issue.

191

Secondly, the gap between issues would in some cases be months if not years. It wasn’t unusual for artists’ styles to change between issues, not always noticeable with monthly or bi-monthly publications. Many of the stories are politically and sexually provocative. Random and chaotic violence is frequently employed, which to audiences of modern movies is now more acceptable.

Lastly, the style of story could vary from jolting tales of tension in the EC tradition to psychedelic, often wordless rambles.

From the 1980s several new artists and publishers produced new titles and started experimenting within the Underground genre again. Titles which may be of interest are Steve Bissette’s square bound Taboo (Spider Baby, 1988 on), Cannibal Romance (Last Gasp, 1984), World War 3 (Seth Tobocman, 1982 on), Gore Shreik, etc. Since the mid 1980s, Charles Burns has also been gaining recognition for his disturbing 50’s retro horror stylings. Three items of his that might take your fancy are Big Baby (Raw One Shot #5 $7.00, 1986), Hard Boiled Defective Stories (Raw $8.95, The rat-a-tat-tat pace of modern life makes it hard 1988) and Skin Deep (Penguin Books £8.99, 1992). to concentrate long enough to benefit the story or the The major problem with items produced in the last reader. Many of these stories were created by acidheads 20 years or so is finding out about them. The Comics for acidheads. This is not to put you off collecting them, Journal will sometimes review new items but coverage on the contrary, many are excellent attempts to push is patchy at best. On small volume items, importation is at the boundaries of comic book art. It means that you difficult and often expensive. Reference books dealing have to experiment with the various art styles and find with Underground comix are again limited and all are the ones that suit you. very out of date.

Real Pulp Tales!

Also of interest to the horror and science-fiction fan are several Undergrounds, which explore the crime story genre. They include two titles by the excellent Roger Brand who sadly died in 1985. They are Real Pulp Comics #1 and 2 (1971/ 3) and Tales Of Sex and Death #1 and 2 (1971/ 5). His covers conveyed a toughness similar to Johnny Craig’s, which suited the genre. He also worked for Yellow Dog amongst numerous other outings. Another interesting items is Thrilling Murder #1 (San Francisco Comic Book Co., 1971). Try to get a first edition with a red overlay, which matches the extremely bloody goings on inside. The cover blurb reads “ADULTS ONLY,” with good reason.

Undergrounds were now getting flak from concerned groups because of their content. Crumb commented ironically at the bottom of one of his strips: “Don’t worry folks, its only lines on paper”.

Also into the crime category are two kiss and tell digests Cover Up Lowdown and Sleazy Scandals of The Silver Screen, plus the regular-sized Weird Trips.

The second issue of the latter kicks off with a chilling William Stout cover. Inside is a detailed written and illustrated account of the life and times of the notorious 1950s ghoul Ed Gein, the inspiration for numerous slasher movies including Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Hitchcock’s Psycho. I must also include in this selection the delirious Legion Of Charlies (1971). In this highly fictionalised account, the head Charlie (Manson) goes on the rampage again meeting President Nixon and the Pope during the Legion’s murderous travels. The art is by Greg Irons and Dave Sheridan.“We Grok you in fullness!,” subversive stuff!

Now In Glorious Technicolor!

192

Most Underground comix are small press items with black and white contents. Following on from the experimental digest Color (1971) by Victor Moscoso, the period from 1972 to 1974 saw some comix convert to colour sections or full colour contents. Of note are Bijou Funnies #8 (Mad parody issue), Fantagor #2 to 4, Grim Wit #2, Up From The Deep, Weird Fantasies plus Young Lust #3 and 4. This bold experiment failed due to the limited distribution of Undergrounds which was further damaged by the price hike from 75c to $1.00.

Stop Press!

The first important source is A History Of Underground Comics by author Mark Estren, Straight Arrow Books, U.S.A. 1974. It offers an informative (now) early history with numerous black-and-white illustrations and was published as a large trade paperback. It also has a by publisher checklist but no index. It is reasonably common and fairly useful.

The second item is the Illustrated Checklist To Underground Comix (Preliminary Edition) by Archival Press, U.S.A. 1979. This was an early attempt at a Photo Journal Guide To Comic Books (E. Gerber), but printed on cheap newsprint, A4 size, with B&W illustrations and a wraparound cover by Robert Crumb.

Notwithstanding this, it is an essential purchase for all but the casual Underground reader. It lists all known items in various sections newspaper, regular, tabloid, off the cuff, etc. There is also a complete by title alphabetical index at the front, with date, type and cover artist. The grainy out-of-focus photos add to the charm! Try to get one of these if you can.

Last is the first and only issue of The Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide by Jay Kennedy, Boatner Norton Press, U.S.A., Summer 1982. This is the tool to have. I am constantly referring to my copy even though it is now twenty years out of date (the information was old when it was published).

It has a small colour section and numerous B&W illustrations as well. There are two alphabetical listings, one for comix and one for ground-level, with content (art) breakdowns, edition variants, plus a by artist listing at the back. There have been several mooted attempts about revising this essential tome, but so far to no avail. Until that happens, I’m hanging on to mine!

Thanks to Dave Howarth for the info on Rory Hayes’s sad demise.

Keep On Truckin’

OTHER BOOKS FROM TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING

STAN LEE UNIVERSE

SAL BUSCEMA

MATT BAKER

CARMINE INFANTINO

COMICS’ FAST & FURIOUS ARTIST

THE ART OF GLAMOUR

PENCILER, PUBLISHER, PROVOCATEUR

Explores the life and career of one of Marvel Comics’ most recognizable and dependable artists!

Biography of the talented master of 1940s “Good Girl” art, complete with color story reprints!

Shines a light on the life and career of the artistic and publishing visionary of DC Comics!

(176-page trade paperback with COLOR) $26.95

(192-page hardcover with COLOR) $39.95

(224-page trade paperback) $26.95

QUALITY COMPANION

BATCAVE COMPANION

ALL-STAR COMPANION

AGE OF TV HEROES

The first dedicated book about the Golden Age publisher that spawned the modern-day “Freedom Fighters”, Plastic Man, and the Blackhawks!

Unlocks the secrets of Batman’s Silver and Bronze Ages, following the Dark Knight’s progression from 1960s camp to 1970s creature of the night!

Roy Thomas has four volumes documenting the history of ALL-STAR COMICS, the JUSTICE SOCIETY, INFINITY, INC., and more!

(256-page trade paperback with COLOR) $31.95

(240-page trade paperback) $26.95

(224-page trade paperbacks) $24.95

Examining the history of the live-action television adventures of everyone’s favorite comic book heroes, featuring the in-depth stories of the shows’ actors and behind-the-scenes players!

The ultimate repository of interviews with and mementos about Marvel Comics’ fearless leader!

(176-page trade paperback) $26.95 (192-page hardcover with COLOR) $39.95

(192-page full-color hardcover) $39.95

MARVEL COMICS

MARVEL COMICS

An issue-by-issue field guide to the pop culture phenomenon of LEE, KIRBY, DITKO, and others, from the company’s fumbling beginnings to the full maturity of its wild, colorful, offbeat grandiosity!

IN THE 1960s

(224-page trade paperback) $27.95

MODERN MASTERS

HOW TO CREATE COMICS

Covers how Stan Lee went from writer to publisher, Jack Kirby left (and returned), Roy Thomas rose as editor, and a new wave of writers and artists came in!

20+ volumes with in-depth interviews, plus extensive galleries of rare and unseen art from the artist’s files!

(224-page trade paperback) $27.95

Shows step-by-step how to develop a new comic, from script and art, to printing and distribution!

(128-page trade paperbacks) $14.95 each

(108-page trade paperback) $15.95

IN THE 1970s

A BOOK SERIES DEVOTED TO THE BEST OF TODAY’S ARTISTS

FROM SCRIPT TO PRINT

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

TwoMorrows—A New Day For Comics Fandom!

TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 E-mail: store@twomorrowspubs.com • Visit us on the Web at www.twomorrows.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-043-4 ISBN-10: 1-60549-043-1 52795

9 781605 490434