Alter Ego #193

Roy Thomas’ Steely Comics Fanzine

EDDY ZENO SALUTES THE MEN WHO DREW

10.95 SUPERMAN AFTER JOE SHUSTER ®

$

In the USA

No. 193

Joe Shuster

Frank Shuster (letterer)

Paul Cassidy

Wayne Boring

Paul Lauretta

Dennis Neville

Leo O’Mealia

Fred Guardineer

Jack Burnley

Leo Nowak

John Sikela

Ed Dobrotka

Pete Riss

Stan Kaye

George Roussos

Paul Fung (inker)

Jon Small

Charles Paris (inker)

Ray Burnley (inker)

Marvin Stein

Al Wenzel

Win Mortimer

All characters TM & © DC Comics

June 2025

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LEN WEIN’s life as writer/editor from creating Swamp Thing and Wolverine, to MOORE and GIBBONS’ Watchmen, and more! Plus the sad demise of WILL EISNER’s P*S Army Preventive Maintenance magazine, interview with romance and pin-up artist JAY SCOTT PIKE, more of STEVE WILLIS, and SHAUN CLANCY reveals the saga of ADRIAN LOPEZ’s Harpoon/Apple Pie humor mags! FRANK CHO cover!

PAT BRODERICK discusses his career, from the Crusty Bunkers to unforgettable work on Firestorm, Micronauts, Captain Marvel, and more! Plus JACK KIRBY’s humiliating return to Marvel in the ’70s, the 1940s KKK-crushing district attorney FIGHTING LAWYER, profile of PAUL BUHLE, SHARY FLENNIKEN interview, 1972 heroes by WRIGHTSON, REESE, WINDSOR-SMITH, and others for Esquire magazine, and more!

Informative conversation with “Big” JOHN BUSCEMA and a biographical essay about the Marvel legend by JON B. COOKE, including an awesome art gallery. Plus we share about the life and tragic fate of BILL MANTLO (co-creator of Rocket Raccoon and Cloak and Dagger), inside comics printer Eastern Color Printing by SHAUN CLANCY, more with SHARY FLENNIKEN, chat with RIC ESTRADA, and more!

CARMINE INFANTINO radio interview by KEN GALE and ED MENJE, JON B. COOKE on Carmine’s stint as DC editorial director/ publisher, ROBERT KANIGHER’s 1989 conversation with STEVE WHITAKER and TIM BATEMAN, World War 3 Illustrated with PETER KUPER and SETH TOBOCMAN, DAVE COCKRUM’s Aurora model kit pamphlets, GLEN CADIGAN’s interview with horror comics writer JOE HILL, and more!

GENE COLAN showcase with TOM FIELD, Gene’s 75th birthday celebration from Comic-Con 2001, MARK WHEATLEY spotlights former boss MYRON FASS’ Heavy Metal rip-off GASM, JON B. COOKE’s visit to defunct comics publisher CROSSGEN, CAROL LAY interview, more with JOE HILL, SHAUN CLANCY’s look at HILLMAN PERIODICALS (publisher of Crime Does Not Pay and Airboy), HEMBECK, and more!

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Vol. 3, No. 193/June 2025 Editor

Roy Thomas

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Cover Artists & Colorists With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Kristopher Brownlow Bernie Bubins Antoinette Cassidy Dick Cassidy Larry Cassidy John Cimino Comic Book Plus (website) Pierre Comtois David Cook Chet Cox Digital Comics Museum (website) Joe Frank Shane Foley Stephan J. Friedt Janet Gilbert Eric Gimlin Patrice Glasco Grand Comics Database (website)

George Hagenauer Hake’s Americana Auctions Heritage Art Auctions Mel Higgins Jim Kealy Jeremy Kirby Ben Kufrin Joan Kufrin Art Lortie Barry Pearl Ken Quattro Bob Rozakis Randy Sargent Eric Schumacher Jim Sikela Bryan Stroud Dann Thomas Delmo Walters, Jr. Jeff Weigel Eddy Zeno

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Keith Giffen, Don Perlin, Gus Ricca,

& the several “Superman” artists covered herein

Contents Writer/Editorial: More Powerful Than A Locomotive! . . . . . . 2 Drawn To Greatness: Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster – Part I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 The high-flying beginning of Eddy Zeno’s book on the early Man of Steel.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! Didya Know? (Part 1) . . . . . . . 57 Michael T. Gilbert and the Sunday comicbook supplements that preceded The Spirit!

Tributes To Keith Giffen & Don Perlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 67 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #251 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 P.C. Hamerlinck presents Kristopher Brownlow on little-known Fawcett artist Gus Ricca.

On Our Cover: The very-limited-edition 2021 printing of Eddy’s Zeno tome Drawn to Greatness (see full name with subtitle directly above) featured a full-page montage of 28 Superman-related images that foreshadowed the more than two dozen comics pioneers who would be covered in the book. We loved that page, but, with Eddy’s blessing, replaced six of the central pics with a Wayne Boring self-portrait of himself and Mr. Mxyztplk to make it the cover of this issue of Alter Ego. Just so you know: the half-dozen omitted images contained work by Fred Ray, Hi Mankin, Sam Citron, Don Komisarow, and Ira Yarbrough—plus the classic Superman cover logo. But you’ll find all five of those guys, and many more besides, in our representation in this issue of the first half of EZ’s heavily researched and lushly illustrated volume. [Images TM & © DC Comics.]

Above: A classic pose by Jack Burnley, certainly one of the best draftsmen who ever put his hand to “Superman.” Eddy Zeno refers to this as a “leg up” pose, because that’s the way Burnley often drew the Man of Tomorrow when he (Superman, we mean—not Burnley) was flying through the sky above Metropolis. [Superman TM & © DC Comics.]

Alter EgoTM issue 193, June 2025 (ISSN 1932-6890) is published bi-monthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage paid at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Alter Ego, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614.

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2

O

Article Title writer/editorial

More Powerful Than A Locomotive!

ver the past couple of decades, longtime “Superman” fan and researcher Eddy Zeno wrote, assembled, and edited a pair of books on major “Superman” artists Curt Swan and Al Plastino—the Plastino book was published by TwoMorrows.

By 2021, with the help of his colleagues Mel Higgins (interviewer) and Jeff Weigel (graphic designer), he had assembled a third volume, this one devoted to the careers of many of the very earliest illustrators to work on the Man of Steel after original artist Joe Shuster co-created the character and feature with writer Jerry Siegel. He christened it with the title and subtitle you see on the facing page. This book he published himself, in a beautiful hardcover edition limited to 150 copies. Many of those went to his contributors, which happily included the present writer/editor.

It seemed to both Eddy and me, however, that this invaluable combination of research, revelation, artwork, and informed tributes to some of the half-forgotten pioneers of the Golden Age of Comics deserved a wider distribution—even though, as I realized once I got into the project, the book would have to be very slightly abridged, and serialized over the course of two issues of Alter Ego, rather than fitting snugly into one.

Left till Part II in A/E #196 (just six short months from now) is the main coverage of two major pencilers, Wayne Boring (one of the very earliest Shuster “ghosts”) and Winslow Mortimer (especially noted for his Golden Age covers), as well as inkers Stan Kaye and George Roussos. Also delayed will be the appreciations by a number of current professionals who were heralded in #191’s

next-issue ad. Sorry about that.

Though Wayne Boring and the others are also mentioned in the pages of this issue, emphasis herein is on the other early “Superman” artists, from 1938 through the World War II years, including especially (but not strictly limited to) Paul Cassidy, Paul Lauretta, Leo Nowak, John Sikela, Ira Yarbrough, Ed Dobrotka, Fred Ray, and Jack Burnley. The latter pair are especially known for doing some of the most illustrative work (including iconic covers) of the Golden or any other comicbook age.

An explanatory quotation from Eddy Z. before we begin: “All comicbook numbers [e.g., Superman #24] are from their first series, unless otherwise noted. Writer and artist identifications are credited to the online Grand Comics Database except in a few cases where GCD entries are incomplete, or where the author might not agree with the GCD finding. It must be remembered that the Database is malleable. Attributions are occasionally updated as different respected experts give their opinions, or when things such as past professionals’ written records are uncovered. The author is extremely grateful that this invaluable resource remains free and open for all.”

All artwork in the piece that follows was supplied by Eddy Zeno, unless otherwise attributed.

And my personal thanks to Eddy for offering me the chance to participate in the first mass publication of Drawn to Greatness. This is the kind of material that Jerry Bails created the original fanzine version of Alter Ego to disseminate and celebrate!

Bestest,

# 194 COMING IN JULY ROY THOMAS Celebrates 60 YEARS In Comics!

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3

DRAWN TO GREATNESS

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster PART I

by Eddy Zeno

(with the Aid of Mel Heggins) Original Graphic Design by Jeff Weigel

INSTANT OVERVIEW: The Early Superman Artists

Joe Shuster (1914-1992) Frank Shuster (1918-1996) Paul Cassidy (1910-2005) Wayne Boring (1905-1987) Paul J. Lauretta (1917-2000) Dennis Neville (1919?-1982?)

Leo E. O’Mealia (1884-1960) Fred Guardineer (1913-2002) Jack Burnley [Hardin J. Burnley] (1911-2006) Fred Ray (1920-2001) Israel “Ira” Schnapp (1894?-1969). Letterer. Documents vary, but 1894 is the most likely birth year as determined by comics letterer Todd Klein Leo Nowak (1907-2001) John Sikela (1906-1998) per his son Jim; born 1907, say some sources Hi Mankin (1926-1978) Ira Yarbrough (1910-1983) per son Ira, Jr. Ed Dobrotka (1917-1977) according to Superman: The Action Comics Archives, Vol. 5 [corrected from Vol. 4] Pete Riss (1914-1961) Sam Citron (?-?)

Don Komisarow (1914-2000) according to Lambiek Comiclopedia Stan Kaye (1916-1967) George Roussos (1915-2000) Paul Fung (1897-1944) Jon Small (?-1966) Charles Paris (1911-1994) Dupree “Ray” Burnley (?-1964). The older brother of Jack Burnley; he retired from comicbook inking in 1959 Marvin Stein (1925-2010) Al Wenzel (1924-1995) James Winslow “Win” Mortimer (1919-1998) And thanks to writer/co-creator Jerry Siegel (1914-1996), an artist in his own “write.” His ideas allowed Joe Shuster and others to create magic!

Joe Shuster & Jerry Siegel (Above, left to right). The guys who started it all: writer Siegel and artist Shuster, in a publicity photo autographed to “Kenneth” at the Super DC Con in 1976. Auctioned on Hake’s in 2017.

Norman Rockwell, Eat Your Heart Out! Wayne Boring drew this wholesome 1950 public service ad that appeared in numerous DC comics. [TM & © DC Comics.]

4

Drawn To Greatness—Part I

I. When The Forebear Was Still In Their Midst

F

or this writer, the artists most admired upon my first encountering their work were Michelangelo Buonarroti, Johannes Vermeer, Camille Pissarro, Frank Frazetta, and Curt Swan. Reading about them gave historical context to their lives. With my mind opened, additional Renaissance painters, Baroque masters, Impressionists, and practitioners of other forms of art filled the continuum. It was an onslaught of discovery destined to include many comicbook and comic strip delineators.

Hergé, Alex Raymond, V.T. Hamlin… even those not considered leaders in the medium usually contributed something of value.

For example, when a memorable “Legion of Super- Heroes” story in Adventure Comics #310 (July 1963) was read with difficulty due to my young age at the time, illustrator John Forte drew his Legionnaires so stiffly they might have all been named Stone Boy (or Girl) after one of the “Substitute Heroes” introduced a few issues earlier. Appearing unbendingly upright, they resembled a brilliant box of crayons in their multi-colored costumes. What could be more appealing to a seven-year-old?

The Inheritors John Forte began delineating the Legion’s futuristic exploits in 1962. With time-traveling Superboy as the group’s premier member, the artist had already drawn imperfect duplicates of the Superman Family for a year in “Tales of the Bizarro World!”

John inherited the Legionnaires when they replaced the Bizarros in Adventure Comics. Asked to serve as one of Curt Swan’s temporary inkers when embellisher Stan Kaye left the field, Forte himself was both penciler and inker on a few stories featuring cub reporter Jimmy Olsen, senior correspondent Lois Lane, and the Man of Steel himself.

There were others.

Former “Batman” artist Jim Mooney gathered “Supergirl” as a backup feature when his 6½-year stint on “Tommy Tomorrow” ended in Action Comics. He added “Superman & Batman” team-ups for a time in World’s Finest Comics.

In 1941 comicbook artist George Papp co-created a hero (with Mort Weisinger) who thrives to this day: Green Arrow. As the Emerald Archer shifted from More Fun Comics to other titles, George in 1958 received “Superboy” assignments in Adventure Comics and in the main Superboy title.

Four years after Fawcett ceased publishing comicbooks, Kurt Schaffenberger, who’d drawn “Captain Marvel,” became the

“You Will Find Me A Grave Man…” (From top right:) Clark Kent at his parents’ graves, by writer Jerry Siegel & artist Joe Shuster, from Superman #1 (1939), as per Superman Archives, Vol. 1…

The Wayne Boring-penciled version of this scene, a negative from Three Dimension Adventures Superman (1953), from an artist proof preserved by DC production manager Jack Adler; inker uncertain; script by Bill Finger…

From the 1999 graphic novel Superman: War of the Worlds, the same scene as rendered by Michael Lark; script by Roy Thomas. [TM & © DC Comics.]

definitive artist on Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane, beginning with the inaugural issue (March-April 1958). Kurt had a long second act on nearly all the “Superman” titles. Another former “Captain Marvel” artist, Pete Costanza (who often served as artist C.C. Beck’s embellisher), inherited mainly the Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen title, starting with the 91st issue (March 1966).

The author’s two previous biographies dealt with the super-careers of Al Plastino and Curt Swan; the purpose of this volume is to shore things up before their arrival—to celebrate the guys who were there before Joe Shuster was fated to leave his co-creation in the latter 1940s.

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

5

II. The Answer Man Weighs In

by Bob Rozakis (Jan. 23, 2016) Bob Rozakis’ “Answer Man” alias came from a recurring column in DC Comics that addressed readers’ questions about the firm’s heroes. Earlier, he drove a company vehicle called the Comicmobile. Rozakis’ more conventional jobs at DC included production director and comicbook writer. Bob co-created ‘Mazing Man and Hero Hotline with artist Stephen DeStefano. Other assignments included writing the Superman Sunday Special syndicated comic strip and the Superman: The Secret Years (Feb.-May 1985) miniseries.

I

Bob Rozakis at a Big Apple Con in New York City in 2011.

do not pretend to be an expert on the art of Joe Shuster and the “ghosts” he employed in his studio. Certainly, Shuster is responsible for the look of Superman, Lois, Clark, and the other regulars in the stories. He did his best to move the story along, albeit with characters who more resembled posed mannequins than real people. But he paid minimal attention to background details, which came and went panel-by-panel.

Consider, for example, pages 2 and 3 of the “Superman” story that appears in Action Comics #7. The scene takes place inside a trailer; and over the space of a half dozen panels, furniture, things hanging on the walls, and even the windows seem to be moving all around. A towel hanging on a hook, drawn in four of the panels, is in a different spot relative to other objects each time. Shuster also used the shortcut of panels with no background at all, just a single character and a word balloon.

In Superman: The Action Comics Archives, Vol. 2, DC attributes the art to Shuster and “the Superman Studio.” Perhaps the most noticeable thing about these stories is that the background art becomes more complex. One can only imagine that these assistants, trying to demonstrate their abilities, drew as much as they could in the panels to jazz them up. DC notes in some of the Archives volumes that Shuster would often draw the heads of Supes and other characters while his studio artists did the rest.

In late 1940 DC bypassed Shuster and his Studio completely,

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet Train One of Joe Shuster’s most beautiful comicbook covers—Superman #3 (Winter 1940)—needed little background detail. Thanks to Heritage Auctions. [TM & © DC Comics.]

giving some “Superman” scripts to Jack Burnley. Burnley had almost a decade of experience by then as a professional, and it shows in his art. The characters are more realistic-looking and the action more fluid. Interesting to note that the stories done by the Studio that follow Burnley’s appear to be imitating his style and attention to detail. There is still evidence of panels that Shuster laid out, but others that can probably be attributed to the assistants because of their un-Shusterish style.

After the anonymous attribution to the Studio in Vol. 2, in Superman: The Action Comics Archives, Vol. 3 DC starts to identify individual artists. Among them are Leo Nowak, John Sikela, Paul Cassidy, Ira Yarbrough, and Ed Dobrotka.

Cassidy’s art in Action #37 is the most like Shuster’s in terms of layout, though with a bit more background detail.

The Walls Have Ears—And, Apparently, Legs Joe Shuster arbitrarily changed the backgrounds in a static scene in these panels (and others on the same page) from Action Comics #7 (Oct. 1938). Script by Jerry Siegel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Nowak’s art is a bit more fluid in #38 & 39, though it seems the only way he can consistently draw Superman or Clark is a three-quarters head shot. It’s evident with other characters as well, but most obvious when you realize that Supes/Clark is looking either to the right or the left in virtually every shot.

6

Drawn To Greatness—Part I

The Co-Creator Takes A Hand Based on analysis of poses and proportions, Shuster was more involved with the original retelling on the Superman Sunday strip dated May 31, 1942, than with other newspaper strips of this era. Script by Siegel.

[TM & © DC Comics.]

Sikela’s work in the next few issues is the most like Burnley’s, with smooth, clean lines. He does, however, often make Superman look more like a Thanksgiving Parade balloon.

Dobrotka’s solo work in #46 is, like Cassidy’s, very Shusterish.

It seems likely Shuster drew the heads, as they are not as detailed and are quite reminiscent of the early stories. [NOTE: Although the Grand Comics Database at https://www.comics.org lists Paul Cassidy as both penciler and inker, this writer’s opinion is that, while Ed Dobrotka may have inked the story, there is a lot of John Sikela evident in the penciling. Also, Joe Shuster contributed some of the Man of Steel’s figural work and rendered a vampiric-looking villain named The Domino. —EZ.] The look of Yarbrough’s art is similar to that of Dobrotka and, therefore, also Shusterish. It would seem likely that the aim of the Studio artists was to keep the art looking like Shuster was still drawing it.

Perhaps the ideal pairing was Sikela inking Dobrotka’s pencils.

It maintained the Shuster layout style while bringing the much more detailed look of Burnley’s work.

Though Wayne Boring penciled a large number of covers, Stan Kaye’s inking overpowered what I would consider Boring’s essential style. DC clearly wanted a certain look for the character on

the covers, one that Al Plastino and Win Mortimer (and, later, Curt Swan) were able to present.

There is no mistaking the Boring style inside the books, however. One of the most noticeable aspects is his poses of Superman flying. There is the distinctive look of the Man of Steel as he “runs” through the air; this works when he is coming in for a landing but seems very odd when you consider he had to leap into the air to get started. The other pose, one arm and leg outstretched with the other two folded in, is perhaps Boring’s most famous. After years of watching George Reeves flying on TV, I wondered how Superman was able to direct his flight in this position.

The one thing that always bothered me about Boring’s art was his seeming inability to draw a profile shot of Clark (or anyone else wearing glasses) that didn’t look as if the glasses were sitting cockeyed on his face. It always looks like one lens is sitting on Clark’s nose!

III. Overview “One of the sturdiest precepts of the study of human delusion is that every golden age is either past or in the offing.” From The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon.

“We Didn’t Know… It Was The Golden Age.” Title of a long-running column by Marc Swayze (former “Mary Marvel” and “Captain Marvel” artist at Fawcett Comics) that appeared for years in Alter Ego magazine.

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

7

A Shop Is Needed The Shuster Shop of Superman artists remained largely uncredited before their contributions were finally acknowledged by fandom. There were different variations of the “comicbook shop,” including separate studios where complete comics were assembled for various companies that did not have their own staffs and farmed out the labor. For the publisher who started National Allied Publications, through his successors at what eventually became DC Comics (now under the umbrella of DC Entertainment), the creative talent generally worked directly for them. However, when it came to Superman, a different path was taken.

Jerry Siegel was the Caped Kryptonian’s sole comicbook writer until he enlisted in the Army in 1943. To keep up with his output, the labor-intensive demands of illustrating multiple panels per page required more than one person. It was established that co-creators Siegel and Shuster (who famously sold their rights of ownership to the character for $130) would independently package stories for their employers. Joe and his art crew manned such titles as Superman, supplied the lead tales in Action Comics and World’s Finest Comics, and handled the Superman daily and Sunday newspaper strips at the beginning. Eventually, Shuster’s failing eyesight and an ailment he developed with his drawing hand necessitated hiring a host of people to augment his talent.

Keeping Up With Jerry Jerry Siegel nearly scripted for a much different shop than the one eventually run by Joe Shuster. Circa late 1934/early 1935, when it seemed that he and Joe would never get their proposed Superman newspaper strip off the ground, Jerry solicited the talents of other artists. They included fellow Cleveland, Ohio, native Tony Strobl; news syndicate illustrator Mel Graff; and Buck Rogers assistant Russell Keaton.1 Keaton even did some sample strips with Siegel, giving Superman a different origin from the one we all know. Ultimately, all three artists decided to go in other directions.

[NOTE: In addition, “Creation of a Superhero” is the title of an alleged, rough-draft memoir, circa 1979, that reads authentic, in which Jerry Siegel typed that he solicited Leo O’Mealia and Russell Keaton to illustrate an early version of “Superman” (Leo in 1933 and Russell in 1934).]

Round & Round Hands and feet grew more rounded as Joe Shuster’s style softened on the Man of Steel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

After Shuster was brought back and their best-known creation became a publishing bonanza, the need for a shop extended beyond the Man of Tomorrow. That’s because Jerry, with his Depression-era mentality, refused to give up writing other characters. Some of his features had begun as early as 1935 and been drawn solely by Joe. They included “Henri Duval of France, Famed Soldier of Fortune,” seen as brief installments in New Fun, then More Fun Comics (five total books, cover-dated between Oct. 1935 & May 1936). Also, “Doctor Occult, the Ghost Detective,” whose last appearance was in More Fun Comics #32 (June 1938). Conveniently, “Doctor Occult” ended the same month that “Superman” debuted in Action Comics #1.

“Radio Squad” (formerly “Calling All Cars”), “Federal Men,” and “Bart Regan, Spy” (later just “Spy”) started with Shuster art, but when Joe got too busy with “Superman,” each feature had sufficient life to be handled by others. The same was true for “Slam Bradley.” The idea for Slam was first conceived (as was “Federal Men”) by National’s founding publisher, Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson.2 Jerry and Joe made him their own, adding a comedic sidekick and treating the brawler as though he was birthed from an earlier, non-powered, second incarnation of a character they labeled “The Superman.”

Out On A Ledger August 1939 payment ledger sheet signed by early DC editor Vin Sullivan. Note the higher page rate paid for “Superman” stories than for those featuring other characters Jerry Siegel was writing at the time.

Shuster never worked on later Siegel co-creations like “The Star-Spangled Kid,” “Robotman,” and “The Spectre.” The former two features were launched in

8

Drawn To Greatness—Part I

the first and seventh issues, respectively, of Star Spangled Comics.

Hal Sherman brought illustrative life to Jerry’s typings for the Kid and his sidekick Stripesy. Bernard Baily depicted Jerry’s “Spectre” stories in More Fun Comics. (Baily would form his own comicbook shop around the time Siegel reported for military duty.) Neither he nor Sherman ever worked for Joe. Siegel scripted “Robotman” longer than “Star-Spangled Kid.” John Daly penciled and Chuck Winter inked his final “Robotman” tales. Prior to that, however, Shuster assistants Paul Cassidy, Leo Nowak, John Sikela, and Ed Dobrotka stepped in to help. Sam Citron3 and George Roussos were hired directly by DC to contribute as well. (With Star Spangled’s 26th issue, cover-dated Nov. 1943, the innovative Jimmy Thompson became the “Robotman” artist, and later the writer, too.)

Comings & Goings Cassidy, Nowak, Sikela, and Dobrotka, along with Citron, Roussos, and a couple dozen other cartoonists all contributed in some fashion during Superman’s first decade as a published entity.

The most accomplished Shuster protégé was Wayne Boring. Wayne hung on for 29 years as a key delineator of the Man of Steel’s adventures.

Those who joined the Shuster Shop came and went for different reasons. Artists were either drafted or they volunteered for service during World War II; the studio relocated from Cleveland, Ohio, to New York City; and the dissimilar personalities had varying career aspirations. Some left the comicbook field quickly; others transferred to different DC features or migrated to other companies.

Due to Joe Shuster’s graphic development and the revolving nature of his studio, the appearance of Superman changed.

Influences One of Siegel and Shuster’s thespian inspirations for Superman was Douglas Fairbanks [Sr.]. They loved Fairbanks’ derring-do persona in the 1920 film The Mark of Zorro and the hands-on-hips bravado he displayed in Robin Hood (1922). For Clark Kent, they deferred in part to Harold Lloyd, a seemingly meek, bespectacled comedic actor willing to do his own death-defying stunts.4

The Zorro And The Pity Douglas Fairbanks in The Mark of Zorro (1920)—the first true costumed hero—an influence on both Superman and, later, Batman. [TM & © the original trademark & copyright holders.]

Bringing graphic image to printed page required two-dimensional reference as well. Focusing on some of the best daily and Sunday newspaper continuities, Joe and Jerry looked to cartoonist Roy Crane for his humor and pacing, along with his ability to impart a sense of adventure. Crane was the creative writer and artist behind Wash Tubbs. Historian R.C. Harvey noted how “Crane’s characters, when they ran, ran all out—knees up to their chins. When they were knocked down in a fight, they flipped backwards, head over heels.”5 The young protagonist for whom the strip was named met intrepid voyager Captain Easy in 1929 and, ere long, Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy were sharing star status. Even cartoonists who developed a more subtle approach than Joe Shuster were enamored of Roy Crane.

Charles Schulz of Peanuts fame expressed surprise one time while drawing Lucy’s brother in profile. Realizing that Linus “looked uncomfortably like Wash Tubbs,” Schulz conceded: “The similarity has carried over, as we all build upon the work of our predecessors.”6 Analogous to how a fresh-scrubbed young Wash Tubbs might leach into Schulz’s Linus, the well-seasoned Captain Easy could be glimpsed in the way Joe Shuster portrayed certain characters, namely Slam Bradley, Jor-El, and the Man of Steel himself. Shuster’s style transformed, however, as the 1930s waned.

Either Joe was being influenced by his assistants, or he’d been drawing long enough that his natural proclivities emerged. His Superman became more polished and less angular, with rounder fists and feet.

Creative Inclinations Striving to depict Superman in the Shuster mode, the Shop artists weren’t trying to be individuals, but individuals they were.

While they might have been successful at sublimating their own thought processes (at first), to remain engaged they could not stay drones. Different creative tendencies crept in, whether through page design, stylization of the “S” emblem, size of the characters in a given panel, or the way the hero spread, tucked, or extended his legs when leaping—and, in due course, flying. That is why it is generally easier to identify the assistants’ later work when compared to their original output.

There were outliers, too… men hired by the company instead of by Joe and Jerry.

Some of these craftsmen worked in a more illustrative manner. But whether they toiled for Superman’s co-creators or directly for DC, each artist imparted something that helped the Man of Steel become an icon. They were part of a team.

And because their published graphics were seen by many children and adults, the work had added value. In drawing

Mary, Mary…

Shuster’s women, such as Superman’s mother Lara, were originally modeled after Roy Crane’s in his strip Wash Tubbs. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

Easy Does It! Roy Crane was an early influence. Here, above and below, various syndicated panels from Crane’s Wash Tubbs (featuring the soldier of fortune Captain Easy)— compared to Shuster’s seventh Superman daily (released on Jan. 25, 1939), seen at bottom of page. Script by Jerry Siegel. [Superman strip TM & © DC Comics; other art TM & © the respective TM & © holders.]

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

Superman, they became attached to something more permanent than other things they accomplished as artists. A few came to realize and eventually talk about how special that period was. For those who never recognized the importance of their contributions, surviving family members or friends sometimes did. Today, it is easier. Descendants can find their loved one’s drawings reprinted in story anthologies. They, and we, can appreciate that fact.

IV. Working From Afar: The First Assistants Soon after the Man of Steel became a proven success, Jerry and Joe briefly settled in New York City at DC Comics’ urging. The year was 1939, and assistants Wayne Boring and Paul Cassidy were then supplying artwork by mail.7 When he visited Joe’s New York digs from Virginia, Boring remembered an apartment so small that upon entering Shuster had to stand on the bed to shake his hand.8

Joe lost much governance after that, and that his assistants now reported directly to DC Comics.11 A 1979 Los Angeles Times interview with Jerry and Joe was somewhat inconsistent with the above: “Besides contractual salaries up to 1948, Siegel estimates that Superman in various forms generated approximately $420,000 for them. ‘It was mostly from newspapers, not from the comics, where millions were made,’ [Jerry] smiled. ‘But take the $420,000, split it between us, and spread it over all those years… and Joe had to pay about half of that to his staff.’” The reporter summarized: “After paying his staff, Shuster claims, he never took home more than $150 to $200 per week. And he needed a staff of artists because of the workload and due to his eye condition.”12 It would seem then that the Shop persisted after

Prior to contacting editorial director Whit Ellsworth and working directly for DC, another pioneering cartoonist, Hal Sherman, interviewed with Joe in the Big Apple. He noted: “I answered an ad for a cartoonist, and it was at some hotel in midtown. I got there and I see a little guy in a very small room working on the blood-andthunder, adventure stuff. He was looking for an assistant to work with him. That was Joe Shuster, working on Superman. He offered me something like two or three dollars a page. I just couldn’t do it.”9 Not yet ready to commit to New York long-term, Jerry and Joe moved back to Cleveland, Ohio, in January 1940.7 The Shuster Shop came about soon after. Certain hired assistants transferred from other locations to work directly with Joe. Others were already living in Cleveland or its vicinity. Based on newspaper articles written at the time, it appears that Shuster relocated to NYC in 19437 to placate DC’s editors and publishers. Some have speculated the event marked the end of the Shop because the company assumed greater control of all aspects of the character—including the drawings. Jerry Siegel, when interviewed by artist/writer Phil Yeh in 1975, said: “When I went into the service, Joe and his staff went to New York, or at least some of them did. I wasn’t around and eventually most of Joe’s workers worked for National [DC Comics] instead of for Joe. When I came out of the service, I wanted to set up our studio again and operate the way we had before… and I encountered great resistance on that, and our troubles were on.”10 In 2009 Jean Shuster Peavy told interviewer Mel Higgins that her brother Joe Shuster was not forced to leave Cleveland in 1943 but did so willingly. Instead of mailing the artwork to New York, it was only wise for him to move back. She mostly reiterated what Siegel said earlier: that

There’s Something Kryptonian In Denmark…

The Superman strip was featured in Denmark’s weekly magazine Familie-Journalen from 1939 until spring of 1941, when occupying power Germany decided to halt further installments. This entry (equal to what appeared in American Sunday newspapers on January 28, 1940) appears to have art contributions by Paul Lauretta (see p. 13). Note the “bubble pants” in panels 7 & 11. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

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1943, but in a nebulous form. The assistants were more scattered, with some remaining in Cleveland. There was less autonomy, too.

While the folks at DC guided the Superman newspaper strip and comicbook illustrators who worked directly for them, a few of the Shop crew remained in place, still paid by Joe, from the overall page rate he continued to receive. Shuster at times endeavored to provide artwork and even layouts (rough panel breakdowns) as before, and it remained Joe’s prerogative to ink the main characters’ faces— when he could.

Identifying The Artists Adding to Shuster’s challenged vision, early assistant Wayne Boring remembered the immobilizing leather glove fitted to Joe’s drawing hand by a doctor.8 The injury likely occurred from overuse in less prosperous years when the apartment Joe shared with his family wasn’t heated.13 Sometimes wearing gloves while drawing during the cold months, he’d have to hold a pencil more firmly to press down without dropping it. Yet, despite the physical impediments, there was grandeur. From cartoonist/playwright Jules Feiffer’s seminal tome The Great Comic Book Heroes: “But, oh, those early drawings! Superman running up the sides of dams, leaping over anything that stood in his way (No one drew skyscrapers like Shuster. Impressionistic shafts, Superman poised over them, his leaping leg tucked under his ass, his landing leg tautly pointed earthward), cleaning and jerking two-ton get-away cars and pounding them into the sides of cliffs—exuberance.”14 Feiffer was right when he added that none could exactly ghost his style, but virtually all of Joe Shuster’s assistants—even out-of-Shop artist Jack Burnley—kept the “leg tucked under his ass” leaping/ flying stance in their Superman repertoire. An exaggerated posture that eventually went away, it remains a Golden Age mark of distinction!

An excessively bent appendage is but one example of commonality among the Man of Tomorrow’s early renderers.

However, when attempting to identify who drew what, there are larger hindrances.

For several years all comicbook stories and newspaper strip continuities featuring Superman carried the line “by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster” whether or not the co-creators were responsible.

This, combined with the fact that Joe liked to do finishes on the main characters’ faces, makes identification more challenging.

Standing on the shoulders of fans who developed a higher level of expertise certainly helps. From Hames Ware and Jerry Bails came the 1970s print version of Who’s Who of American Comic Books to give chronological guidance as to when different creators were associated with the Man of Steel. Who’s Who gave Joe Desris, Rich Morrissey, Martin O’Hearn, Bob Hughes, and others a framework to figure art credits they then listed online and in various books like the DC Archives series. Citations in the Archives (no longer published in their original format, but now available online) have been built upon and revised as sleuthing continues. The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is perhaps the best source of creator listings currently available. Two recent examples demonstrate how the website continues to evolve: (1) incorporating Craig Delich’s prior discussions with Jack Burnley, and (2) Jerry Siegel’s notes linked to courtroom records have necessitated changing certain art attributions.

Who Came First?

Before they worked in comicbooks, Siegel and Shuster decided to turn their fanzine (dated Jan. 1933) villain “The Superman” into a hero later that year. The original art for this second version—a guy

“Up, Up, And Away!”

One of those early “Superman leaps” that cartoonist Jules Feiffer loved so much!

From Superman #2, as reprinted in Superman Archives, Vol. 1. Script by Jerry Siegel; art by Paul Cassidy (ghosting Joe Shuster). [TM & © DC Comics.]

with no costume—was partly destroyed by Joe in a fit of frustration when it went unpublished.

Having just shed their teen years, the young men’s subsequent incarnation of the Man of Tomorrow was formulated in late 1934; he now had the basic apparel that eventually became famous.15 That version, too, languished until 1938, when Jerry and Joe, by then comicbook veterans, got the sudden nod that “Superman” would headline in Action Comics #1. Originally formatted for black&-white daily newspapers, the art was quickly cut and repasted to suit the comicbook page. Those early panels, besides boasting strapped sandals instead of boots, had heavy line shading à la Alex Raymond and his Flash Gordon Sundays around this time.

Though hefty shading would continue in part on subsequent issues of Action, it became more nuanced on the costume, machines, and backgrounds. Almost ghostlike but still pure Shuster, poses and pacing confirmed it was his storytelling on view. Until Action Comics #6 (Nov. 1938). With that issue, something changed.

The GCD says that Joe was the penciler and that Paul Lauretta lettered the “Superman” tales in Action Comics #’s 6 through 10. Except for Action #8, the website further credits Lauretta as Shuster’s possible inker on those same stories (there is a question mark after his name). An interesting family clue links Paul Lauretta to the most famous issue in the group. When he gifted his sister a hand-lettered, illustrated memoir it included a large photocopy of the cover to Superman #1 (Summer 1939), that cover having been recycled from the first panel in Action Comics #10 (March 1939).

In Action Comics’ 11th issue, Bob Hughes lists Paul Cassidy with a question mark for pencils and Shuster himself as the inker on the lead story. The next two outings, Action #s 12 & 13, are listed as penciled by Joe and possibly Cassidy, with inks exclusively by Shuster. In Action Comics #14, the database says Paul Cassidy took over as sole penciler; he is listed as the possible inker, too. Same for the interior tale in Action #15. Follow-up credits fluctuate slightly

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

Whistling For The Funny Pages (Above left:) Paul Lauretta self-portrait. Young Paul’s family could not afford the Sunday pages. The proprietor lived above them, and when the boy whistled, the landlord would bring the comic strips downstairs. (As related by Antoinette, Paul’s sister.)

(Above & bottom left:) First, a page from Paul’s illustrated autobiography, done late in life for his family, featuring an (unnamed?) hero about whom he probably felt a fair amount of ambivalence—and, oddly, that very same illustration colored as the cover of The Funny Pages – National Lampoon, a 1976 publication of that humor magazine, then riding high. Eddy Zeno writes: “There is no art credit on the inside, but this matches [the earlier black-&-white drawing by Paul Lauretta.” [Superman TM & © DC Comics; other art © Estate of Paul Lauretta; cover TM & © National Lampoon or successors in interest.]

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

when listing Shuster and Cassidy as either penciler and/or inker, with question marks when uncertain.

It’s been debated whether Paul Cassidy or Wayne Boring was the initial ghost artist on the Man of Tomorrow. However, going back to Paul Lauretta as a possible inker for Action Comics #6, might he be the first? Perhaps Cassidy and Boring were still illustrating other features for Shuster and had not yet been assigned to illustrate “Superman.” Or did all three—Boring, Cassidy, and Lauretta— start with Kal-El at the same time? Joe himself didn’t remember who came first when he, Jerry Siegel, and Jerry’s wife Joanne were interviewed for Nemo magazine (dated Aug. 1983).15 Other principals are no longer here to question.

Paul Lauretta: A Different Perspective In 1935 Paul J. Lauretta was eighteen years of age when he had a newspaper strip published in the Lawrence Telegram. Rocky Baird was about a fictional heavyweight boxing champ who grew bored and traveled to the South Seas, searching for adventure. Hal Foster and Roy Crane were artistic influences, as they were for Joe Shuster.

Antoinette Lombardi told interviewer Mel Higgins she believed that her late brother Paul was indeed the first “Superman” assistant. Late in life he put together a words-and-pictures autobiography for Antoinette, who passed it on to her son.

Describing his formative years, Massachusetts-based Paul Lauretta received drawing instruction via a mail correspondence course. Art Instruction, Inc. was based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Antoinette presumed that Shuster and Siegel asked through the art institute

13

about hiring an artist and her brother was recommended.16 Ten years younger than Paul, Antoinette watched her sibling illustrate “Superman” stories from scripts mailed to their Lawrence, Massachusetts, home. The young man set up an artist’s table in the dining room; its three windows provided plenty of light. Not only a letterer and inker, Lauretta provided fully rendered backgrounds and penciled story characters for Shuster to embellish. If Paul was not too engrossed in his work, Antoinette could turn on the radio when she came home from school during lunch break.16

And Dennis Neville, Too? Shuster is listed as sole penciler on the “Superman” story in Action Comics #21. But Dennis Neville might have inked the work (the GCD posts a question mark after his name). The website also states that Neville penciled (and inked?) several Man of Steel daily newspaper strips except for the Superman faces; those were inked

by Joe. This presents another conundrum.

The third and fourth assistants joining the Cleveland Shuster Shop were Leo Nowak and John Sikela.8 However, they are without GCD-listed credits until after Action Comics #21’s Feb. 1940 cover date. It seems that, like Paul Lauretta, Dennis Neville was helping on early “Superman” stores from a distance. After all, both men were establishing themselves on other comicbook features around this time.

Paul Lauretta carried his Rocky Baird newspaper strip to comicbooks, beginning in Vol. 1, #7 of Funny Picture Stories (June 1937, Comics Magazine Company, Inc.).

“Rocky Baird” ran there for a couple of years and ended in Keen Detective Funnies Vol. 2, #1 (Jan. 1939, Centaur Publications Inc.). Next, Lauretta illustrated American Ace starting in Motion Pictures Funnies Weekly #1 (1939, First Funnies, Inc.). He drew

A Rocky Road Newspaper article with photo of Paul Lauretta at age 18 (his age and name were rendered incorrectly in the piece, however). The Lawrence Telegram folded in 1937, not long after Paul’s strip Rocky Baird debuted in its pages. [Strip © Estate of Paul Lauretta.]

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

Dennis Neville (Left:) Stan Lee identified this person, from the famous 1942 “Bambi” photo of Timely personnel at dinner, as being the artist he knew as Dennis Neville.

Courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

(Above:) It is likely that Neville art-assisted on the Man of Tomorrow’s 309th Superman strip, in 1940. Script

by Siegel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

“King Carter” for DC’s More Fun Comics in issue #’s 49-54 (Nov. 1939-Apr. 1940).

Dennis Neville illustrated the first three “Hawkman” stories and the second cover for Flash Comics #’s 1-3 (Jan. through March 1940, All-American Comics, Inc.). Artist researcher David Saunders believes “Dennis Neville” was actually Frank Alfred Devlin (1919-1982) who worked in comics for only three years under a pseudonym-anagram of his family name: Devlin = D. Nevil. He was a young Bronx cartoonist and childhood friend of Sheldon Moldoff and collaborator Nathaniel Natkin (1914-1972).

The Superman newspaper dailies attributed to Dennis Neville held lankier figures who moved clunkily—with claw-like hands. At times Lois’ face looked off-model. But the interloper who followed on both the Sundays and dailies (and the first five pages in Action

Comics #26) produced a look that varied even more. With question marks on the GCD, it is believed that Paul Lauretta was back as a “Superman” illustrator, penciling characters and providing fully rendered backgrounds. Clark Kent retained his alter ego’s spit curl; the top of Kent’s head had extra curls, too. Superman’s cape attached in a sharp “V” at the front. It sprayed over his back in an arch. After a leap the Man of Tomorrow plummeted ungracefully from the sky. When he ran, he looked like he was falling, stumbling forward in a crouch. His trunks became large, big-boy panties.

Figures were small. The artwork looked heavy, yet somehow dynamic.

The Threat Of A Lawsuit As he did earlier on “Rocky Baird,” Paul signed his name on both “American Ace” and “King Carter.” “American Ace” looked like a failed bid for a syndicated Sunday newspaper strip. Every page contained an elaborately designed logo with Lauretta’s moniker on top. Receiving a similar byline for his work on “Superman” would not be possible, or would it?

Jerry Siegel was happy with Lauretta’s work (and thus it can be inferred so was Joe Shuster). When Jerry wrote to DC’s publishers to ask for a higher page rate, it was in part to bring Paul on board as the next full-time assistant. From his May 8, 1940 missive: “With an increased rate for Superman material we could hire a splendid artist, Paul Lauretta, who worked on the first eight Sunday strips of Superman, and upon early magazine releases of Superman which

Slam—& Slam!

(Left:) Dennis Neville illustrated the “Slam Bradley” story, written by Jerry Siegel, that appeared in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940). Script by Jerry Siegel.

(Above:) In Flash Comics #1, cover-dated Jan. ’40), Carter Hall collides with Shiera Sanders in the initial “Hawkman” tale, drawn by Neville. Script by Gardner Fox. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

15

brother’s name became infamous because of his threatened lawsuit.16 American Ace’s exploits were briefly reprinted and advanced in Marvel Mystery Comics before becoming “Lieutenant Lank” (and moving from Timely to Centaur Publications). Other than that, Paul tried for more than a year to get back into cartooning without success.

He’d been blackballed.16

Other Avenues For His Art Lauretta entered the Army Air Forces during World War II to serve in public relations. His duties included drawing for military magazines and producing Where’s Lois—Chapter 317! brochures on subjects ranging from physical The final two panels from a February 1940 Superman Sunday, with art contributions by Paul Lauretta. training to how to stay safe during air raids.

Script by Jerry Siegel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

To gently convey each message, Paul’s art was mainly in the bigfoot vein. His less helped put the feature over, to come to Cleveland and work upon exaggerated comicbook style re-emerged, however, when asked to polishing the appearance of all the Superman art and in addition portray the goings-on in each department on base. Personnel were turning out one or possibly two more releases of Superman per encompassed in panels without borders, numbered sequentially 17 month.” and connected by Lauretta’s trademark arrows to drive the eye from one vignette to the next.

The first-ever talk of legal action concerning Shuster and Siegel occurred several years before Superman’s co-creators sued Paul never went overseas. Stationed in a luxury hotel in DC to regain ownership of their character. Paul Lauretta sought to Atlantic City, he was living the life of Riley.16 Paul J. Lauretta had have his name added to the credits; a cousin who was an attorney black hair, was 5’10”, attractive, and of average build. In 1943 he advised him to bring suit. Lauretta was fired immediately. married Viola A. Zappala; the couple had three children. After the war he went from company to company as a commercial illustrator.

Antoinette Lombardi (Paul called her Ann) stated that her Eyesight affected Paul’s work toward the end of his Paul Cassidy—American Ace! career, and he eventually (Left:) Page 4 of the 6-page “American became legally blind.16 Ace” story from Timely’s Marvel Mel Higgins interviewed Mystery Comics #2 (Dec. 1939). This first a younger cousin, also installment of Paul Lauretta’s feature was obviously meant for a different format, named Paul Lauretta, as each page was titled and signed in who said the artist was the manner of a Sunday newspaper strip. Scripter uncertain. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

(Below:) Serving Stateside in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, Lauretta drew these cartoons to promote physical fitness.

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

mirthful. His sister described him as dry; his comedic barbs would suddenly appear, and a grin would attach to his face. Though the blacklisting from comics took something out of him, Lauretta in his autobiography looked back fondly on his career as an illustrator: “One day, during my grade school years, a spring bubbled forth, an embryonic coordination of eye and hand. This phenomenon enabled me to draw lines on paper of a configuration that gave a semblance of what I saw or imagined.” He remembered with gratitude several years later when “my sister Ann… would find me in the family dining room, busy at my drawing board.” In his epilog, Lauretta discussed segueing into commercial art, when “many hundreds more [illustrations] flowed from my pen and brush until the tide ebbed; and I retired in 1984. In retrospect, I realize I derived great pleasure and satisfaction from this labor. I feel I was very lucky to have been able to do this work.”

V. Inside The Shuster Shop: Paul Cassidy & Wayne Boring Wayne Boring and Paul Cassidy were talented young artists when they arrived on the comics scene. One stayed long enough that his name will forever be associated with the Man of Steel. The other left quickly to make his mark elsewhere.

Born in 1910, Paul Cassidy’s family moved from Cherry Valley to Rockford, Illinois, when the lad turned seven. After graduating from high school in 1928, he attended the University of WisconsinMadison. Paul cartooned for the school newspaper18 while earning a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. Later, he returned to UW-M to add a master’s degree in Art Education.19 Paul’s wife Inez also obtained her master’s degree from same.20 For his master’s thesis, Paul Henry Cassidy was one of the

Paul Cassidy & Friend (Above:) 1927 high school photo; courtesy of sons Larry and Dick Cassidy.

(Right:) A double-knee-bent, leaping Man of Steel. Cassidy illustrated this splash panel and the first several pages of the lead story in Superman #5 (Summer 1940). Script by Siegel.

[TM & © DC Comics.]

first to choose the subject of comics. Dated 1942, it was titled, “An Approach to the Profession of Comic Strip Cartooning Based upon an Analytical Survey of Current Trends and Personal Experiences.”20 In the treatise Paul confessed to having drawn Clark Kent and his alter ego for comicbooks commencing in December 1938, and for newspaper strips beginning in late winter/ early spring 1939. Though he wasn’t explicit, these dates are likely when Paul first received the assignments, a few months before the work was actually published. To speculate, Cassidy may have begun drawing the Kryptonian’s adventures while Wayne Boring remained a little longer with Siegel and Shuster’s less famous heroes before he was given “Superman” stories of his own.

A focus of the thesis involved polling famous cartoonists of the day, including Carl Anderson (Henry), C.C. Beck (Captain Marvel), Milton Caniff (Terry and the Pirates), Al Capp (Li’l Abner), V.T. Hamlin (Alley Oop), Bob Kane (Batman), his boss Joe Shuster (Superman), Frank Willard (Moon Mullins), and many more. One survey question, dear to Paul’s heart, asked if they used uncredited assistants. Over half of the respondents answered yes.

Back To The Beginning: A Superlative Chat In the book Superman: The Dailies, 1939 to 1942, James Vance’s introduction refers to a 1994 conversation with Mr. Cassidy.21 The former “Superman” artist acknowledged that he traveled to Cleveland for an interview with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in June 1938. A graphic arts instructor at the Milwaukee Vocational School, at first Paul assisted Joe through the mail. In January 1940 he moved to their city to draw for the Studio full-time. Cassidy found that Wayne Boring had answered the same 1938 help-wanted ad in Writer’s Digest and was also sending art through the post initially.

Boring likewise settled in Cleveland, preceding Paul by a couple of weeks.

Before anyone knew how successful “Superman” would become, Paul and Wayne were helping Joe with features like “Slam

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

17

With his physical impairments, the number of rough layouts that Shuster was able to provide soon declined; Boring stated as much.8 In addition, when newspaper strips were piled onto comicbook duties, Cassidy added: “Joe was in every day, but he wasn’t a talkative fellow. He’d spend most of his time inking in the faces and eating candy bars. So Wayne and I came in every day, got our scripts, kept our noses to the drawing boards, and turned in our jobs. I was doing thirteen pages a week and some of the dailies, so we couldn’t have had much time off if we’d wanted it.”21

That Wonderful Year “1960”!

A “Hemisphere Patrol” story set in the future. Titled “1960,” this Paul Cassidy opening sequence appeared in Hi-Spot Comics #2 (Nov. 1940), from Hawley Publications, Inc. Script by Siegel. [© the respective copyright holders.]

Bradley,” “Spy,” “Federal Men,” and “Radio Squad.” The actual Shuster Shop consisted of a reception area off what was almost a cubicle. Boring laughed when he called it “the smallest office in Cleveland.”8 A 1941 magazine article corroborated that it was “one of the world’s tiniest rooms.”22 The article writer added that Joe and Jerry “had the telephone ripped out and kept the frosted-glass door blank, lest curiosity seekers swamp them.” Rent was thirty bucks a month.

As “Superman” took off, Paul Cassidy commented: “Wayne was a very pleasant fellow, and Siegel and Shuster were polite and good company, but everybody was too busy to do much chatting or socializing.”21 Joe reinforced: “We had to turn out the stuff like a factory!” Recalling his frequent involvement with the initial layouts and sometimes much more, he noted of his assistants: “The one thing they did not ink was Superman’s face. For an 8-to-10-year period, I did every face of Superman! There was no one else that could really catch the spirit of—the feeling—of Superman!” It was up to the other guys to do the rest.23

Cassidy was the first to leave the Studio, moving back to Milwaukee to again teach at the vocational school in August 1940. He resumed his former role of sending work by mail until early 1942. Paul had a prodigious output during his roughly three years drawing the Man of Steel. As related by interviewer Vance: “…a total output of 173 daily Superman strips and eight Sunday pages, plus 630 comics pages and seven covers—by [Cassidy’s] estimate, ‘about 8800 pictures or panels’ in all.”21

There were other forays into comics. In addition to the features for DC mentioned previously, Paul wrote a six-week continuity for the Red Ryder newspaper strip21 (its longtime artist Fred Harman was one of the people surveyed for Cassidy’s master’s thesis). He penciled and inked the short-lived comicbook feature “Hemisphere Patrol” (1940) for The Hawley Publications. Red Ryder and “Hemisphere Patrol” were linked; writer, publisher, comic syndicator, and marketing guru Stephen Slesinger co-created them both. Paul illustrated stories for Centaur Comics (“Kern’l Kilgore,” 1940). He also wrote for Fawcett (Hopalong Cassidy, circa 1948-49) and Avon Periodicals (Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch, 1951). Roughly a decade after leaving the Shuster Shop, Cassidy worked up samples for a sciencefiction newspaper strip titled Fantasy the Moon Boy. The proposal was not accepted.19

The Encyclopedia Salesman In September 2008, Mel Higgins reached out to Paul Cassidy’s children. Their communications included key memories of their father. Before he finished moonlighting in comics, Paul accepted

Mile-High Milestones Paul Cassidy is credited with first adding the “S” to Superman’s cape, in the 68th daily newspaper strip. Script by Siegel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

a full-time position that would double his income to better support his family.

Moving them to a Chicago suburb, Cassidy commuted into the city each day to work on Field Enterprises’ World Book Encyclopedia. He also “served as art director and managing director for its ChildCraft books.”18 The year was 1945. Fourteen years later the Cassidys relocated to New York City, where Paul worked for Grolier’s Book of Knowledge.

Paul & Inez Cassidy Never comfortable at in 1994. Courtesy of their sons Larry and Dick.

Grolier, Paul noted that, as the art editor for five of the company’s publications, he had “too many bosses.”25 In 1964 he returned for the third time to Milwaukee, this time to head the graphics arts department at his former vocational school.

(The two-year institution is currently known as Milwaukee Area Technical College.) Mr. Cassidy retired in 1972.

Paul married Inez J. Taylor of Lyons, Kansas, in 1934. Oldest son Lawrence (“Larry,” b. 1937) stated, “In the late 1930s they carried me off to Cleveland for two years where Dad drew the comic strip Superman.” By the time he stopped working full-time for the Shuster Shop in Cleveland, Cassidy was making $64 a week, or $3,328 per year if he worked the entire 52 weeks.

Second son Richard (“Dick,” b. 1941) was born in Milwaukee like his older brother. While still a toddler he contracted tuberculosis and was confined to a TB sanitarium from 1943-45.

His mother visited the tyke during the week. Paul came as often as he could. Larry was considered too much at risk and was not allowed inside. Larry told interviewer Higgins that he only saw his father cry twice in his life, once when he recalled the emotional toll extracted by the TB episode on the family, the other time for a wholly different sort of reason: Paul had an accident in which he “ripped a nail clear off his finger!”19

page or a newspaper daily, Larry discussed a key lesson passed from the father to his sons: “Once we left home, he never once gave either of us a single piece of unasked for advice….” Adopting that philosophy as his own, Larry urged business leaders in a keynote speech “to encourage others to find their own answers and to help them understand that they are enough.”

Lithe Landings & Cassidy’s Gift In the early days when Paul drew “Superman,” his delicate penciling on backgrounds and people required little embellishment.

Cassidy’s buildings tended to be silhouettes with the hint of windows gracing their edges. Folks did more than crane their necks—they contorted them to engage in conversation. Superman’s cape often swooped to one side and narrowly folded upon itself for dynamic flourish; the hero himself pirouetted and somersaulted through the air. Arms outstretched, Kal-L was lithe in the way he landed.

Besides the emblem on his chest, Paul emblazoned Superman’s cape with a second “S”18 beginning in the Kryptonian’s 68th published daily (dated April 4, 1939). In comicbooks he did the same thing twelve months after the release of Action Comics #1 (in Action Comics #13, dated June 1939). Since a comicbook, like most magazines, is post-dated to increase its shelf life, Action #13’s actual on-sale date was April 24.26 The cape adornment was Cassidy’s one-year anniversary gift to the Man of Tomorrow. Sporadic at first, the extra “S” was later adopted by all Superman delineators.

The Early Wayne Paul Ryan was a Man of Steel artist on 1990s comicbooks who once stated: “In the early days of Superman, he was rather squat.

And then along came a fellow named Wayne Boring who made him a barrel-chested six-footer.”27 Other initial traits included placing the “S” emblem lower on the chest, as Boring did when penciling a tale in Superman #8 (Jan.-Feb. 1941). Criminals’ chins were embellished with ink lines running up the cheeks in a scruffier, unshaved fashion that stood out from the other artists’ thugs.

Another early attribute was to draw a wider gap between the cape and the back of Superman’s neck. (Not until assistant Ira Yarbrough came along was his mantle again off the nape in such a manner.)

Wayne’s hero’s cape was shorter, too.

Like others who went on to similar careers, Cassidy became the staff artist/cartoonist for his school paper. At the University of Wisconsin, it was named The Daily Cardinal. Dick noted that his father had been an excellent half-miler in high school and continued at the next level. He enjoyed running as a college sophomore in the Penn Relays. Paul was slight, however, packing 112 pounds in high school and 132 pounds in college into a five-foot, seven-inch frame.

He quit the team before starting his junior year “because it wasn’t fun anymore, getting physically [knocked] around by 165-pound guys, especially on indoor tracks.” His coach understood.

Three years before his death, in June 2002, Dick and his daughter Katy Cassidy visited Paul in the Protestant rest home where he resided. Katy brought a computer and did an Internet search of her grandfather. Showing him how many websites referenced his time drawing the Man of Steel surprised and moved Paul. He had saved none of his “Superman” art.

More important to them than possessing an original comicbook

Rubber-necking A Cassidy-drawn character contorting his neck—from the last story in Superman #5. Script by Siegel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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and of Syroco-like wood composition.

There were three renditions: a brown Superman with some red paint highlights; one with a colored costume; and a much rarer, fully painted ashtray version.28

Wayne Boring The contemplative artist, seen on a colorized card issued

by Eclipse Enterprises in its “Famous Comic Book Creators” series in 1982 (his was card #98)—and a typical Boringdrawn panel, from Superman #8 (Jan.-Feb. 1941), showing the Man of Steel’s cape well off the neck and the “S” emblem low on the chest. Script by Jerry Siegel. [Panels TM & © DC Comics; photo card © the respective copyright holders.]

Circa 1942, Boring was chosen to be the chief newspaper strip delineator, as well as one of the main cover artists on Superman and Action Comics. It seems he now worked directly for the company.

One of Wayne’s first product assignments was to design a promotional figure for use by DC Comics’ distributors and retailers. It appeared in 1942, was 5½ inches tall,

Boring was sued by Siegel and Shuster for abrogation of contract when the two men sought to recover ownership of Kal-El in 1947.8 This likely had more to do with trying to regain control of the Sundays and dailies than any personal vendetta against Wayne.

Certainly, Boring held no ill will toward his old friends. In later years he even added Joe and Jerry (along with Jerry’s wife Joanne Siegel) to a painting that included himself and the Man of Steel.

Wary Of His Talent It is interesting that Boring was hired away from the Shuster Shop, because DC Comics was initially wary of his talent….

Knowing that it was read by millions of adult readers, from its inception (the dailies began on January 16 and the Sundays on November 5, 1939), Superman’s newspaper strip was more important to the company than the comicbooks in which he appeared. And those in charge were not happy with what Jerry Siegel and the Shuster Shop were providing—especially in terms of the art. While they were not big on job titles, Jack Liebowitz was serving as DC’s president/ co-publisher when he wrote to Jerry on January 23, 1940: “I notice that you are quite enthusiastic about Mr. Boring’s work. When we Scruffy Is As Scuffy Does! received proofs of the daily Example of a scruffy bad guy, as pictured by Boring in a 1940 “Superman” sequence. Script by Siegel. [TM & © DC Comics.] that he did, we certainly were shocked at the many shortcomings. These criticisms have already been conveyed to you by Whit [Whitney Ellsworth, managing editor].”17 His opinion flipped quickly when, six days later, on January 29, 1940, Jack followed up with Jerry: “In looking over the daily releases by Boring, I must say that there is a decided improvement. If the quality is kept up, I’m inclined to And Snazzy Is As… believe that we will not Among the early artists, Wayne Boring’s Clark Kent was consistently the snazziest dresser. Script by Siegel. [TM & © DC have to worry about the Comics.]

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

comicbook work, Boring followed Cassidy to draw most of the Superman dailies and nearly all the Sundays (in the early days lettering them, too) until the newspaper strip was canceled in 1966.

VI. Early Outliers: Jack Burnley, Fred Ray, And… Blips On The Screen

Credit Where Credit Is Due (Above:) According to Hake’s Auctions, this full-color wood composition figure was designed by Wayne Boring as a 1942 promotional item for DC Comics distributors and retailers. There was also a brown and red version.

art. Working together with Joe, I think, will produce the (Right:) Formerly believed to have necessary quality.”17 A letter been illustrated by Jack Burnley, the from Wayne to Jerry dated patriotic cover of Superman #26 (Jan.December 5, 1943, shows that Feb. 1944) is now attributed to Wayne Boring (pencils) and George Roussos the artist remained slightly (inks). [TM & © DC Comics.] insecure. Glibly, he wrote: “Jack Schiff is writing the dailies and Whit is writing the Sundays…. Jack and Whit have been unusually nice lately and I am wondering if they are getting ready to can me again.”17

Superman #1 (Summer 1939) was co-edited by Vin Sullivan and M.C. Gaines.29,30 It was a landmark issue, the first time an entire comicbook was devoted to a single character. Sullivan was interviewed by four knowledgeable comics fans in 1994. One of them, Rich Morrissey, recalled Golden Age artist Leo E. O’Mealia telling him personally of his involvement in the project. As previously noted, the opening splash panel from Action Comics #10 (with Shuster’s pencils and Lauretta’s embellishments) was repurposed to become the comicbook cover of #1. Leo was the one tasked with photostatting, reshaping, and possibly retouching the panel before placing an elaborate design around it.29 Joe Shuster alone is thought to have drawn the earliest Action covers featuring the Man of Steel, with one exception. Action Comics #15 (August 1939) showcased Superman on the front wrap by another Golden Age artist, Fred Guardineer. As portrayed by

Establishing A Gold Standard Paul Cassidy drew well-proportioned figures. His Superman was thinner, taller, and stood with the relaxed stance of an athletic 1930s movie star. It took Wayne Boring a little time to catch up, but soon he was akin to Paul in terms of his skill. Two additional talents would arrive quickly to illustrate the Man of Tomorrow, mainly on product art and comicbook covers. Jack Burnley and Fred Ray were hired directly

by DC rather than Siegel and Shuster; their abilities were already honed. What a competition the four men—Cassidy, Boring, Burnley, and Ray—would have had if they had continued with the character. After the others moved on, it was left to Wayne to establish a twenty-year gold standard. In addition to his

Leo O’Mealia That artist, seen at left in a 1905 photo, adorned a story panel from Action Comics #10 with new framework to make it the cover of 1939’s Superman #1. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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All Wet Photo of Golden Age artists Fred Guardineer (on the right) and Creig Flessel, pictured next to Fred’s original art for the cover of Action Comics #15 (Aug. 1939). To date, this is the earliest known existing cover art featuring the Man of Tomorrow; it was auctioned for $286,800 in 2014. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Fred, Kal-El wore longer and looser shorts, a regular men’s belt, shirt sleeve cuffs, and a dog collar to anchor his cape at the neck.

Background elements included a bathysphere and primitivelooking fish in Guardineer’s clear and simplistic style. At the time, he was also the interior artist for the minor “Pep Morgan” and the more important “Zatara the Master Magician” in the pages of Action Comics. Fred recounted: “One time I drew Superman. That was fun. Not too many people but the guys from Cleveland got to draw Superman. I drew the cover of Action #15 when Siegel [he likely meant Shuster] was sick. I got Superman lifting up the submarine and I got Zatara looking out the window. I snuck him in the sub.”31 Those are the only known instances that Leo O’Mealia and Fred Guardineer were involved with Superman. Neither man ever worked for Shuster (the much older O’Mealia was asked to join Joe’s Shop but declined when told he could not sign the work).32 Instead, they were regularly assigned to illustrate the early non-Superman covers for Action Comics and other Golden Age titles.

The Caped Kryptonian and the Dark Knight made cameo appearances in All-Star Comics. All-Star’s intent was for various super-heroes to band together as the Justice Society of America.

Because they were featured in multiple books, honorary JSA members Superman and Batman only appeared in two issues, to avoid overexposure to readers. Everett Edward Hibbard (E.E. Hibbard), best known as an early All-Star Comics regular and Golden Age “Flash” artist, pictured Kal-El in a few story panels at the conclusion of the tale in issue #7 (Oct.-Nov. 1941). Later, All-Star Comics mainstay Irwin Hasen penciled and inked Superman on both the cover and interior of the saga that took place in issue #36 (Aug.-Sept. 1947). Irwin, in addition to his extensive super-hero work while at DC Comics, later became nationally recognized for co-creating (with Gus Edson) and illustrating the long-running newspaper strip Dondi.

In addition to drawing the Amazon Princess, Harry George (H.G.) Peter got to suggest three other super-heroes in Sensation Comics #33 (Sept. 1944). Alter ego Diana Prince wore, not too wisely, a Wonder Woman costume to attend a masquerade party. Only a mask around the eyes kept her from exposing she was the real deal.

Diana danced with a mystery Superman while veiled lookalikes of

the Golden Age Flash, Spectre, and Batman were likewise cutting a rug. Originally adopting a pen-and-ink style in the tradition of Charles Dana Gibson, Harry Peter changed his look to art nouveau when he launched Wonder Woman with writer William Moulton Marston.

“Jimminy and the Magic Book” was a regular feature conjured by artist Howard “Howie” Post during the final days of More Fun Comics. On the cover of More Fun #125 (Aug. 1947) Howie drew the boy Jimminy waving from the pouch of a lollipop-licking kangaroo with springs on his feet. The two had leaped through a cloud bank, and Superman was flying in the background to enhance the feeling of altitude. Post’s best-known creation for DC Comics came twenty years later with the offbeat series Anthro, about a prehistoric teen.

Howie followed Anthro with a thirteen-year run on his syndicated newspaper strip The Dropouts.

Jack Kirby (originally Jacob Kurtzberg) did not draw Superman during the Golden Age, but he came close. The Boy Commandos was one of his and partner Joe Simon’s most successful collaborations.

A kid gang with an adult mentor, the Commandos joined forces during WWII and hung together for a while after to fight injustice.

Boy Commandos #24 (Nov.-Dec. 1947) features a cover scene with a derby-wearing young man in an ill-fitting Superman suit. Believed to be penciled by Kirby, Jack possibly did layouts on the matching interior story, as well. The colloquial-speaking Brooklyn, named for the borough he came from, was on the way to another costume party where, unlike the one attended by Diana Prince, masks were strictly optional. The tale was titled “Up, Up and Away!”

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

Costume Parties (Above:) A masquerade ball with a twist, from the “Wonder Woman” story in Sensation Comics #33 (Sept. 1944). Pencils & inks by H.G. Peter; script by W.M. Marsten.

H.G. Peter From the inside front cover of Wonder Woman #2 (Fall 1942). [TM & © DC Comics.]

(Right:) The cover of Boy Commandos #24 (Nov.-Dec. 1947), on which young hero Brooklyn sported Superman garb, was penciled by Jack Kirby; inker unknown.

Thanks to the Grand Comics Database. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Jack Kirby A World War II-era snapshop, from Jeremy Kirby via Internet.

News Flash: Sports Cartoonist Draws Athletic Heroes The incidental work of Leo O’Mealia and Fred Guardineer notwithstanding, many have written that Jack Burnley was the first “Superman” delineator who did not belong to the Shuster Shop.

In 1929, a decade before he joined the fledgling comics industry, Hardin “Jack” Burnley became the youngest syndicated sports cartoonist.

His three-column commentary was carried by King Features Syndicate.

When that job ended in 1938, he provided short-story illustrations for legendary newspaperman and author Damon Runyon.33 The Broadway musical Guys and Dolls was based on Runyon’s 1920s and ‘30s short stories dealing with New York City’s underworld. Jack Burnley met his share of gangsters and gamblers while living there, too. When courting his future wife Dolores Farris, a well-known dancer and musicalcomedy actress, Jack won her heart.

That, a few years after her suitor Frank Marlow was gunned down allegedly for his ties to racketeering.

(Marlow had been one of the owners of the Silver Slipper nightclub where Delores first gained fame.)34 Jack Burnley began officially at

Jack & Dolores Burnley A photo of the “Superman” artist and his wife, from Batman the Sunday Classics: 1943-46—and a 1945 newspaper ad for the gasoline company Conoco that appears to contain his work. “I saw one of my figures on a billboard advertising gas or oil for cars or something. They used my stuff a lot for promotion.”

[Superman TM & © DC Comics.]

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DC by producing the cover art for New York World’s Fair Comics #2 (see p. 54). The Grand Comics Database says the book was released during July or August of 1940. Quoting the artist: “This marked the first time that Superman was ever drawn independently without the help and supervision of the creator, Joe Shuster…. Also…

I was the first artist to ever draw both Superman and Batman [together], and the first to work on both early newspaper strips.”35 In later drawings commemorating his time with DC’s top superheroes, Jack usually wrote the years 1940-47 next to his signature, but there was at least one instance when he inscribed 1939-47.

Perhaps Burnley was remembering when he first took samples to DC and was given some sports fillers to do before gaining regular assignments. Jack stated: “[Editor] Whitney Ellsworth came out and said, ‘Come right in. I remember your work.’ The year was 1939.”33 His next seven years were an artistic whirlwind. After much Superman and Batman comicbook work, in addition to drawing “The Justice Society” chapters in All-Star Comics, along with co-creating new character Starman in 1941, Burnley noted: “I did Superman Sunday pages in 1943 and 1944. I penciled the Sunday pages, Charles Paris was the inker.”33 Paris, in addition to embellishing Jack’s Superman Sundays, inked Burnley’s pencils on the covers of fifteen issues of World’s Finest Comics from 1944-47.

He Was A Real Sport!

(Above:) A Jack Burnely sports cartoon done not long after he left comicbooks. From his days at the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. [© the respective copyright holders.]

The artist continued: “I also did a few dailies. One time I got called into the office. They had gotten some dailies in from Cleveland, and they claimed Superman’s head didn’t look right.

Shuster had stopped inking the heads, and they felt that Wayne Boring hadn’t gotten them quite the way they wanted. I ‘fixed’ them by pasting a bunch of new heads over the old heads on about two weeks of strips. Eventually, Boring became the premiere Superman artist doing the archetypal hero of the ’50s.33 “At one time I had Superman Sunday pages and Batman Sunday pages running at the same time in the New York Mirror.” Jack was busy enough at DC that he often enlisted his brother and sister’s help: “It was hard work. The first three or four years I would pencil and ink all the art. My brother Ray (whose real name was Dupree) would ink the backgrounds and my sister Betty

SuperStars!

Jack Burnley was especially known in comics for his “Superman” work, such as this cover for Action Comics #107 (April 1947), as inked by Stan Kaye—but Jack was fonder of his work on the “Starman” strip he co-originated. The latter panel is from Adventure Comics #67 (Oct. 1941). While JB both penciled and inked both works, his brother Ray is thought to have helped with the backgrounds on the “Starman” art. “Superman” script by Siegel; “Starman” script by Alfred Bester. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

Studio cartoons (1941). Fred also produced the cover for 1940’s Superman’s Christmas Adventure. The Grand Comics Database notes that Superman’s Christmas Adventure was a giveaway item for Nehi drinks, Bailey store, Ivey-Keith Co., Kennedy’s Boys Shop, Macy’s, and Boston Store.

Jack Burnley’s art graced the back cover and most of the interior pages. (NOTE: There was a front cover variant with Superman and Santa posed similarly, but by a different artist. In addition, two completely different covers exist from 1944. Illustrated by someone other than Fred Ray, the one reuses the name Superman’s Christmas Adventure and was possibly drawn by Jack Burnley. The other, titled Superman’s Christmas Playbook, features a more primitively inked Man of Steel and was a giveaway by store chains including Donaldson’s, “The Friendly Christmas Store.”)

Historian & Emblem Maker Extry! Extry! Cub Burnley Inks Cub Reporter Ray Burnely was perhaps best known for inking Curt Swan’s pencils on Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen in the 1950s. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Bentley did the lettering. They worked with me at my place in Flushing, Long Island.”33 Burnley reiterated in a letter to the author postmarked May 13, 1999: “My brother Ray… inked backgrounds for me in the early years (1939-1943) but when he returned from army service in 1944 he worked in the DC bullpen as an inker and I lost touch with his work. I don’t know anything about his inking in later years. He died in 1964.” (Ray Burnley’s chief assignment in the 1950s was to ink Curt Swan’s pencils, primarily on the first 37 issues of Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen.)

When Jack left DC in 1947, he returned to the sporting life as a cartoonist, this time working for the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph for four years, then for the San Francisco News for twenty-five more. He retired in 1976.

“FRAY” Before 1940 was done, another artist was hired who was independent of Siegel and Shuster. “FRAY” was how Frederic “Fred” Ray, Jr., sometimes signed his work. Though Jack Burnley drew Kal-El in panels for a Macy’s Department Store giveaway in late 1940, Ray seemed to get most of the commercial art assignments during this time. He is attributed as having penciled/inked Superman greeting cards for Quality Art Novelty Co., Inc., and the date stamped on the back of one of his original card drawings is Nov. 11, 1940. (Besides Fred, there was a second unknown card artist at the time with a dissimilar, rougher style.)

Soon FRAY’s Man of Tomorrow was appearing on posters advertising Superman Bread and Paramount’s Fleischer

Fred Ray (circa 1941) from the Batman: The Sunday Classics: 1943-46 volume—and the one-sheet giveaway that DC made out of Ray’s rousing cover art for Superman #14 (Jan.-Feb. 1942) after the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. [Superman art TM & © DC Comics.]

To handle the large load writing “Superman,” “Radio Squad” was one of the few series Jerry Siegel relinquished prior to being drafted. Before that happened, Fred Ray was requisitioned to illustrate some of Jerry’s later “Radio Squad” stories for More Fun Comics. Their short stint together began in More Fun #62 and ended in issue #70 (Dec. 1940-Aug. 1941).

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

25

the first memo writer asked, how does one tell a fellow soldier’s rank during the Revolutionary War? The editor responded with “Expert Fred Ray reports: ‘It is rather difficult to answer because there were many different insignia orders, and they kept changing.

Generally, here is the breakdown: Major General: two epaulettes, two stars on each; Brigadier General: two epaulettes, one star on each; Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel and Major: two plain epaulettes; Subaltern (Lieutenant): one epaulette on left shoulder, Sergeant, red epaulette on red strip of cloth on right shoulder; Corporal: green epaulette or green strip of cloth on right shoulder. To designate rank, chest ribbons also were worn, so were feathers of different colors as well as cockades of varying colors.’”

Fred had another passion: writing, drawing, and publishing booklets to be sold for a nominal fee at various historical landmarks.36 He made available for visitors the sagas of Fort Ticonderoga in old Quebec; Valley Forge in southeastern Pennsylvania; the old Spanish Castillo de San Marcos at St. Augustine, Florida; Fort William Henry in Lake George, New York; and Old Fort Niagara on Lake Ontario in its 1770s guise. With the goal of producing approximately one pamphlet per year, others dealt with the Battle of Gettysburg and Lincoln’s follow-up address; drums at Yorktown; Fort McHenry and the Star-Spangled Banner; frontier forts and battlefields not previously covered; and Antietam, a major battle between the North and South fought at Sharpsburg, Maryland, in 1862. Ray’s greatest research challenge in one of his booklets was determining how to accurately render the Alamo fort in San Antonio, Texas, as it stood in 1836.37

Men Of Tomorrow—And Yesterday (Above:) Pencils for Fred Ray’s re-creation of his cover for Superman #12 (Sept.-Oct. 1941), done in the late ’70s or early ’80s (signed “FRAY”)—and (right) his bonus pinup to celebrate Tomahawk #100 (Sept.-Oct. 1965), featuring a hero of which he had been a longtime artist. He penciled and may have inked this pic. (See p. 54 for the published cover.) [TM & © DC Comics.]

Ray entered the military before Siegel, joining the Army Air Forces in 1942. After his service, Jerry came back to DC somewhat bitter after losing much control over his brainchild, along with losing money from additional Superman projects not shared with him and Joe. In contrast, Fred returned with a new purpose.

A long comicbook tenure drawing fictional Revolutionary War hero Tomahawk secured the financial base needed to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. It afforded him the ability to pursue art history endeavors on the side and, finally, it gave him a studio with drawing board perched where he could see the historic Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, close to Valley Forge.

Robert H. Fowler was the former president of the National Historical Society. In his introduction to the 1970 book O! Say Can You See, he wrote: “Frederic Ray, Art Director of the Society’s magazine[s]… has prepared many cover paintings for both American History Illustrated and Civil War Times Illustrated.” O! Say Can You See chronicled different events in our country’s development as portrayed by various illustrators, including John Trumbull, N. C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, Winslow Homer, and Harvey Dunn, to name a few. Fred was responsible for the book’s compilation and narration. A few years later he assembled a tome about an early American illustrator titled Alfred R. Waud, Civil War Artist. Ray was also an illustrator for The West magazine.

DC Comics appreciated their learned historian. Tomahawk #100’s (Oct. 1965) letter column was called “The Saddle Bag” and

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

“I Want To Thank All The People Who Made This Night Necessary” (Above:) George Washington and his troops marching out of Fort Necessity on July 4, 1754, after being defeated by the French and their Native American allies. Original art by FRAY. From the book Frontier Forts & Battlefields: A Decade of Conflict in the Pennsylvania Wilderness.

(Right:) The cover of Ray’s book on the Battle of Gettysburg in the Civil War. [© the respective copyright holders.]

A few years prior to taking over from the previous “Tomahawk” artist in 1947, Ray wrote and illustrated “Congo Bill.” The Action Comics six-page backup series was modeled after Alex Raymond’s Jungle Jim newspaper strip; it was originated by scripter/editor Whitney Ellsworth and cartoonist George Papp.

Meanwhile, Orson Welles’ masterpiece film Citizen Kane was released (in 1941). Fred was reported to have viewed the movie “forty or fifty times.”38 Some of the innovative camera shots that Welles employed weren’t so much a revelation as they were confirmation for what illustrators like Ray were already attempting.

Fred was drawing the Man of Steel on most of the Action Comics front wraps in which Congo Bill appeared. Concurrently he was penciling and inking covers for World’s Finest Comics, Superman, Batman, and Detective Comics. Mr. Ray wrote to fan Charlie Roberts in 2000: “The Superman-Batman genre was never to my interest—as a ‘hired hand’ at DC I found that doing those covers was an interruption to the work I really enjoyed—the ‘Congo Bill’ strip—a great learning experience—it was never my interest to imitate [Bob] Kane or [Joe] Shuster—After I got out of the army, as you know, I started work on ‘Tomahawk,’ much more to my forte.”

Despite his ambivalence, Frederic Ray channeled something appealing for his super-hero covers that was different from anything else he produced; he

especially left Superman a greater character through his contributions.

For example, he designed an enduring version of the chest emblem that first became prominent on the cover of Superman #9 (March/ April 1941).

Ray’s vibrant “S” symbol later became synonymous with the parallel-world, Earth-Two version of Superman. It also likely influenced the re-do of a painting that hung for years in DC publisher Harry Donenfeld’s office. On June 24, 1940, Harry received a large, full-bodied painting of the Man of Steel by pulp magazine illustrator H.J. Ward. Ostensibly, to update the look of the character, it was later retouched with an airbrush by another pulp cover artist, Joe Szokoli. Former DC letterer Todd Klein surmises that the refurbishment occurred in 1942.39 Not only was the painting’s new chest insignia modeled after Fred Ray’s version, but Kal-El’s face now resembled Ray’s squinting, subtly smiling version of the Man of Tomorrow. Eventually the canvas was moved to Donenfeld’s townhouse before vanishing for decades. While doing research for his aptly titled biography H.J. Ward (Illustrated Press, 2010), David Saunders discovered it quietly

A Ray Of Light Fred Ray self-portrait from the tabloid Superman Salutes the Bicentennial (Limited Collectors’ Edition, Vol. 5, #C-47 (Aug-Sept. 1976)—and his art for a birthday card from the Quality Art Novelty Co., Inc., in the 1940s. [Superman TM & © DC Comics.]

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

hanging near the card catalog at the Lehman College library in the Bronx.40

Hardin & FRAY: Patriots Though Hardin Jack Burnley walked through DC’s doors first, it was Frederic Ray, Jr., who became the original patriotic Superman illustrator. Serving as the regular cover artist on Superman #8-18, Action Comics #34-52 (except on #35), World’s Best Comics #1 (the only issue), and World’s Finest Comics #2-6, Fred’s memorable run collided in midstream with World War II. After Joe Shuster’s more famous covers for the first issues of Action Comics and Superman, perhaps the next best-known image to feature the Man of Tomorrow is Ray’s war wrap for Superman #14 (Jan.-Feb. 1942). Jack Schiff, editor of the “Tomahawk” stories, commented, “He was just magnificent!” Later, comicbook writer and editor Marv Wolfman wrote: “My favorite ‘Superman’ cover is Superman #14, the stark and uncluttered background image of a bald eagle perched on Superman’s powerful shoulders with the American flag-shield behind him.”41 Jack Burnley corresponded with Robin

Fantasy & Reality Two color panels by Fred Ray that first appeared in Superman #25 (Nov.-Dec. 1943)—and wartime drawings with similar themes done by the artist for his personal scrapbook (below right) and for a war publication. The “Superman” panels were scripted by Jerry Siegel.

[Superman panels TM & © DC Comics; other art © Estate of Fred Ray.]

27

Snyder, stating: “My favorite ‘Superman’ covers are the patriotic shield cover (#14), the bomb cover (#18), the great Action Comics #48 showing a leaping Superman smashing a Japanese plane, and the striking Action Comics #52, which has Superman and the other major characters running side by side toward the reader.”42 Fred did them all. When asked by Charlie Roberts, “Which covers and stories were your favorites?” Ray himself answered, “Probably the Superman with eagle perched on his arm.”43 Marv Wolfman again: “It’s obvious the company knew it was special, too, because, unlike the other Superman covers at that time, DC didn’t letter ‘World’s Greatest Adventure-Strip Character’ on it. They kept this one clean and simple; the image said it all.”41 Early “Batman” artist Jerry Robinson worked in the DC offices for a time and sat next to Fred Ray. He watched the cover being drawn, telling fan Dan Makara, “See this cover to Superman #14… the one where he’s holding the eagle? I own this original! You see, back in those days, it was a common practice for artists to exchange work. Fred was also a friend. I’m sure I simply traded one of my works for the Superman #14 cover.”44

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

Not only have several artists including Jerry Ordway, Ed McGuinness (with Cam Smith), and Dan Jurgens (with Kevin Nowlan) reinterpreted Superman #14’s famed cover image, but the Ray version itself was repurposed in modern times. Omitting the white outlined planes and tanks against a black background, the concise image of Superman standing with an eagle on his shoulder in front of a patriotic shield was brought back as a free poster—for no other reason but to make the country feel better—after the events of 9/11.

Other than his covers, Fred drew but a single interior “Superman” story. Titled “I Sustain the Wings!” it was written by Mort Weisinger for Superman #25 (Nov.-Dec. 1943). The once-only collaboration between artist and scribe occurred while both Ray and Weisinger were serving their country. Earlier, Jack Burnley illustrated the lead stories in Action Comics for seven straight months until his “Superman” work was curtailed to concentrate on a new super-hero named Starman. “Starman” debuted in Adventure Comics #61 (April 1941). When that character proved a lesser hit than projected, Jack was first taken off the Adventure Comics covers, and by Dec. 1942 (issue #81) he was no longer Starman’s interior artist, either. Instead, he was reassigned to Superman and Batman, drawing combat covers for the two heroes after Fred Ray’s departure for military service. Jack continued the tradition that Fred started of portraying Axis leaders like Hitler, Tojo, and Mussolini as caricatured buffoons.

More heat-of-battle and rescue scenes began to appear. The Man of Tomorrow’s expression became one of angry determination and there was a greater spotting of blacks to darken the figure than was seen on Fred Ray’s covers. Such changes seemed appropriate

with the war’s mounting destruction.

Regarding Burnley’s front wrap for Superman #23 (July-Aug. 1943), Alex Ross, a painter of comicbook covers and one-shot graphic novels, wrote: “There are many covers from the 1940s that pitted super-heroes against our nation’s enemies and put us in a powerful position against a very real threat. This composition clearly defines that goal with Superman heading for the Nazi sub with a fierce advance… Golden Age Starman (and Superman) artist Jack Burnley created this image with his amazing care for realism while delivering a knockout impact.”41 A Superman who was still mostly leaping instead of flying always looked extra powerful and menacing when swimming at super-speed to meet the ocean-going enemy during WWII.

A WWII Image All His Own Fred Ray and Jack Burnley were the chief Superman patriotic cover war artists. However, Wayne Boring staked at least one claim to rival theirs. Boring’s cover for Superman #26 (Jan.-Feb. 1944) had the Man of Steel dangling Joseph Goebbels in one hand while ringing the Liberty Bell in the other. Indeed, the Nazi Propaganda Minister had been ripped away from his “Radio Berlin” microphone so the Bell’s peal would be the next sound heard. Wayne’s Superman was a bit shorter in stature a la Joe Shuster. Too, George Roussos helped capture the Shuster influence with his raw and rugged inks. Extremely muscular, one could see the thickset hero’s latissimus dorsi muscles supporting his expansive rib cage. Burnley

Two For The Road A final career glimpse at the non-“Superman” work of Fred Guardineer and Leo O’Mealia.

(Left:) “The Blue Tracer,” written and drawn by Guardineer, appeared in the first 16 issues of Quality’s Military Comics.

(Right:) O’Mealia was also known for his sport cartoons, such as this one in which he paid tribute to James E. Fraser’s famous “End of the Trail” sculpture while alluding to a couple of professional baseball teams. [© the respective copyright holders.]

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

had ceased drawing the Kryptonian’s covers one issue prior; he would later return to share Superman and Action Comics cover honors with Boring for a couple more years. The patriotic front wrap of Superman #26 showed that Wayne was ready to compete.

VII. About Jack Burnley An Interview with Burnley Museum Curator David Cook Painter and illustrator Dr. David A. Cook’s work was first shown publicly at the age of eight. He earned his MFA degree in drawing and painting and is currently an art professor at Georgia Gwinnett College. Cook has curated several exhibitions to celebrate talented others, Alex Toth and Hardin “Jack” Burnley among them. The following interview took place by e-mail from November 4-7, 2014.

DAVID COOK: I think it’s great for these guys to get attention.

They were thought of as ghosts back then. Jack would be really pleased. [He] referred to himself as “the first good Superman artist” and I have seen that quote many times referencing him.

EDDY ZENO: Regarding the exhibition titled “Jack Burnley: Hero Artist,” I recently bought one of his works that has museum stickers on the back of the frame. That is how I first learned about you, because you were the curator. The illo is of Superman, and it’s one of several times that Mr. Burnley re-created the hero’s image from the long-ago cover of Action Comics #107. Do you remember if the drawing, showing Kal-El with

29

his left hip flexed high in dramatic run/leap fashion, is original, or is it a print? The person who sold the piece found it at a yard sale in Cincinnati and listed it as a print, because he/she was not sure and wanted to be on the safe side. Looking at it with a magnifying glass, it’s so finely done that it is hard to identify if it might be original. Jack doesn’t show pencil marks, for example. The color is uniformly applied, as well.

COOK: About art, Jack said that all of his original re-creations (how’s that for an oxymoron?!) went to Christie’s [auction house], but he made umpteen prints first. He would dress up secondgeneration copies with refreshed ink lines. If he colored it with watercolor I consider it an original because it is his hand-coloring.

You have to put it on a light table to judge.

EZ: The exhibit was held at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) and featured examples of Jack’s comicbook and sports cartoons. Did the display later travel to Kansas when you were at Sterling College? And did you get to know Mr. Burnley well?

COOK: Jack lived on one side of a mountain, and I lived on the other, but for a while there I used to visit him and Dolores about once a week or at least once a month. I had curated an exhibit for the VMFA on a New York printmaker of the New Deal and they loved it. Then I curated a show called “75 Years of Zorro” in 1994, and the VMFA asked if I would do that show in Richmond at the museum. I said no on that one and instead pitched the idea of a show about Jack, who was my friend from 1993 until his death.

Heroes By Burnley Jack Burnley’s oft-reproduced cover for Superman #24 (Sept.-Oct. 1943)— and one of his great sports cartoons, reprinted in Robin Snyder’s The Comics, Vol. 15, #2 (Feb. 2004). [Superman cover TM & © DC Comics; sports cartoon © the respective copyright holders.]

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

I wanted the show on Jack to follow the historical timeline I had already established with the New Deal printmaker and have a career-spanning view of Jack, going from the Ripley-influenced 18-year-old sports cartoonist through Runyon illustration, to his comics years, and then back to sports cartoonist. They took it on.

So, the exhibit toured Virginia for six years, from 1995 to 2001. They said it was one of their most popular, and it was in two or three of their exhibit catalogs. Since I owned all the things, it was a loaner, and since I had personally gotten permission from DC to publicize Batman and Superman, the exhibit reverted to me in Kansas (I moved in 1999). I showed it at two places in Kansas, but no one there took an interest, and I was a bit nervous about the DC material being too freely used—local Kansas papers would just print anything—so I dismantled it in 2003. No museum show in Kansas.

The comics people I was around and talked with were not very friendly in the 2000-2010 years, and that kind of soured me on keeping the exhibit up or available. They just acted like it had no value and didn’t seem to get it that I knew Jack and was his friend.

I had one experience where I was going to share some of the pieces with a comics shop and they just acted like, “What is this stuff?”

Kansas was just too isolated and remote. But I don’t know what I would do with all that here in Georgia, either.

EZ: I like how Mr. B. liked to educate with added captions on some of his drawings about being a Golden Age Superman artist, etc.

COOK: All of those artists of the ’40s really believed in the info graphics of balloons and captions, and they used words and punctuation and lettering as part of their designs. A big influence on them was the “show card design” approach. Jack wanted to be Robert Ripley [of Believe It or Not fame], and that was the style that he used. He knew a lot of the athletes and gangsters. He met Dolores when she was a dancer at The Silver Slipper, and gangsters hung out there. Jack said that they were always well-dressed and well-spoken; he never met one that was like the movie stereotypes.

He used the morgue of photos from the newspaper office to get

faces.

EZ: Any other interesting anecdotes about Mr. Burnley’s time in comics?

COOK: I do know a couple of things that you won’t see anywhere else. Jack was always more fond of what he did in newspapers, and as far as Superman and Batman were concerned he was most proud of being the Sunday Superman and Batman artist. Macy’s was the sponsor for Superman, and he did special Macy’s “Superman” inserts. I always wondered if more info could be found about the Superman parade appearances and such through Macy’s. I asked Jack if he had ever run into censorship and he said no, but he gave me a Sunday Macy’s Christmas section that Macy’s had him re-do because it originally had a cave scene with giant vampire bats and Macy had him take out the bats. Jack didn’t consider that censorship; he said it was just an editorial decision out of fear of parents’ reactions.

He called his comics work “ghosting,” but I got the impression that he thought of it as slumming. As soon as he had another newspaper offer to draw sports again, he left comics. He never showed me anything but sports and comics. He teamed the comics work with his brother and sister. They sat in his brother’s or sister’s living room and Jack penciled and either his brother or sister lettered and inked if he had too much work. I think that most of the time he did all of it, but for a while it was a family operation. He did all of his sports work by himself. There’s a picture of Jack at a drawing board or table in the National/DC office and he liked the photo and used it, but he told me that it was staged, that he mostly worked at home.

EZ: Favorite memories about Jack and Delores as a couple? Did you get to observe him working at the drawing table?

COOK: When you walked into their townhouse apartment in Charlottesville, all of the furnishings and decorations were Chinese.

Jack had high bookcases full of philosophy books, because he was really into metaphysics. He and Dolores looked like they belonged in a Fred Astaire picture. He was gentle, quiet, pleasant.

He was really proud of the Christie’s auction. He made all kinds of “re-creation” art about Batman and Superman. He loved color photocopiers.

He would spend a day at Kinko’s near the university making color prints. He really liked the Adam West TV show and said that it matched how all of the original Batman artists and writers felt about the characters. He thought of himself as a “Superman” artist and couldn’t believe that anyone wanted Life Imitating Art, Or—? to talk to him about (Left:) Burnley’s art for Damon Runyon’s famed short story collection Guys and Dolls—this one titled “The Gangster and the Bubble “Batman” because he Dancer.” (Right:) As it happens, Jack met his future wife, toe dancer Dolores Farris, at gangster Dan Healy’s Broadway Room in 1935. was just a Bob Kane Both these pieces were originally sent to Roy Thomas for inclusion with an extensive Jack Burnley interview in Alter Ego #27 in 2001. ghost. He definitely [Art © the respective copyright holders.]

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to see more publication of that.

VIII. The Second Batch: Leo Nowak, John Sikela, And… A brief aberration in the Shuster Shop’s artistic monopoly on Superman occurred in 1940. Assistant Paul Cassidy moved back to Wisconsin near the end of August to once again mail in his assignments. Jerry Siegel tried to reassure co-publisher Jack Liebowitz that Paul was stockpiling work before leaving.45 It would not be enough, for around this time Superman #6 (cover-dated Sept.Oct. 1940) was released. The issue marked a change in the title’s publishing frequency Cover Story from quarterly to bi-monthly status, and This ad (or cover?) for a collection of Damon Runyon yarns touted Burnley’s reputation as an historian Ron Goulart wrote about the added illustrator. [© the respective copyright holders.] strain: “The standard comic book of the period contained 64 full-color pages and sold credited Bill Finger and Fred Ray for everything and said that Fred for 10 cents. When you forked over your dime for Superman, you got Ray did not get enough credit and the attention he deserved. He [four] 13-page adventures of the Man of Steel plus assorted ad and saved a lot of Fred Ray covers. He thought that Dolores was the one filler material. The monthly “Superman” yarn in Action Comics also everyone should hear about, and he wrote a book about her. It’s ran to 13 pages. So now, in a given year, Siegel and Shuster were funny, but I have had three friends who knew Burns and Allen, the responsible for 36 stories and 468 pages of artwork. On top of that, Astaires, Jimmy Durante, and Bob Hope personally; I have copies 18 covers showcasing of the photos that those celebrities autographed for them. Dolores the Man of Tomorrow worked with all of them. (My other friend was Douglas Fairbanks, were used each year.

Jr.) That’s name-dropping, but isn’t it fun? And Jack could name Not to mention over all of the gangsters, because they went to The Silver Slipper where 300 dailies and 50 Dolores danced. She invented toe dancing. The gangsters that were some Sunday pages for enamored with her went on to found Las Vegas. And she almost the newspaper strip. married one, but she chose Jack. I would go to see them and spend Promotional material hours and they just piled stuff on me to look at. Jack sat at his was needed, too.”46 dining table when he drew anything that I saw him draw. He used watercolors and Sharpie markers and maybe a few other things. He Another hindrance didn’t own a single copy of the comicbooks, but he had all of the to production occurred covers—the publishers would give him “tear sheet” covers. thereabouts. “The K-Metal from Krypton” There was never anything angry, mean, or bitter about Jack. He was an unpublished was always smiling and spoke very nicely. Never an angry word, no double-length 26-pager resentments. He didn’t like for me to say that he was “sweet”—that thought to have been just didn’t sound manly to him. He still looked exactly the way he mostly completed did in 1940. My impression of a lot of people related to comics is

by Paul Cassidy, pretty sour—anger, rivalry, a lot of resentment and hate, and I’ve Wayne Boring, and heard a lot of harsh things—but never anything out of Jack except other “Superman” niceness and joy. No “fan” or “fanboy” or anything like that. When delineators of the era.47 I did the VMFA show, he couldn’t believe that I wanted to put his The “K-Metal” tale sports stuff and Damon Runyon in there. “No one wants to see that. would have redefined All they care about is Batman and Superman.” But the show must the Superman myth have been a success.

Guess Who! by introducing a Major Shuster shop artists Leo Nowak (who substance akin to green There were some articles done for Overstreet. That’s how I met drew the panel above) and John Sikela will Kryptonite much sooner Jack. I started writing for the Overstreet [Price] Guide in 1992 or 1993, be along in a minute. This is just to whet your to comicbooks. It also and they liked what I did and had me write for their magazine, too. appetite. Nowak’s style, Eddy Zeno states, is had Clark revealing his Someone did an article on Starman and I was proofing it and talked “easy to identify. [His] Superman was often secret identity to Lois. with the writer, and when he said that Jack lived in Virginia I said, seen wriggling toward the front of a comicbook Hired assistant Leo “Well, I have to go meet him!” Jack was really proud of “Starman” panel.” Script by Jerry Siegel. [TM & © DC Nowak stated that the Comics.] and wanted to spend more time talking about him and he wanted

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

last story to which he would contribute, prior to entering the draft and being sent overseas, was the one where Superman divulged his identity. There is a discrepancy to that timeline: The “K-Metal” script was submitted to DC in August 1940, and Nowak began working for Siegel and Shuster soon after as a replacement for the exiting Paul Cassidy. It might, therefore, have been one of the first tales Nowak helped illustrate, not the final one. Regardless, the fact that the story was never released put the studio farther behind schedule.

Because of this confluence of events, outlier Jack Burnley was brought in by DC to draw the inside “Superman” stories for seven straight issues of Action Comics (#28-34, cover-dated Sept. 1940 through March 1941). Jack also contributed a fun page showing the Man of Steel’s strengthening tips and a baseball sports cartoon in Superman #6 (Sept.-Oct. 1940).

Interestingly, at some point, cartoonist Noel Sickles (whose chiaroscuro inking style on the newspaper feature Scorchy Smith greatly influenced his more famous friend and sometime workmate Milton Caniff of Terry and the Pirates) was approached by Joe and Jerry to take over the daily and/or Sunday Superman newspaper strip. Comicbook and animation storyboard artist Alex Toth did not say exactly when that occurred, but it may have been during the time when the Shuster Shop was getting behind in its assignments.

Toth surmised that those in control at DC likely knew about the request, and that Sickles had to refuse, because it would have been like mixing “oil and water—wouldn’t work—wrong guy to ask....”48

The Youngest Staffer: Hi Mankin Circumstances dictated that two Cleveland residents and one transient were quickly hired by Joe and Jerry. Leo Nowak started working for them in September 1940. John Sikela was the next local who joined the studio that same year, beginning as a background artist. Fifteen-year-old Hi Mankin briefly moved to Cleveland circa 1941. Mankin recalled adding inks to one long “Superman” story while staying with Jerry Siegel’s family. Attending Cleveland High School by day and inking at night, Hi felt resented by the older artists. The stress proved too much, and he left the Shuster Shop after only a month.49 Hiram Mankin went on to freelance directly for DC, illustrating (among other things) the speedster adventures of “Johnny Quick,” along with short stories for the Gang Busters title. He worked for other comicbook publishers and drew newspaper strip cartoons like Roy Rogers in the 1950s, proceeding in the next decade to compose animation storyboards and layouts for Johnny Quest. Mankin also did industrial films.24

Circle K: Don Komisarow People like Fred Ray, Stan Kaye, and Don Komisarow produced drawings to complement the text pages in early issues of Superman. Don’s spot illustrations accompanied one such narrative in Superman #6 (Sept.-Oct. 1940). Art chroniclers Craig Delich and Jerry Bails noted how Komisarow signed the work with an encircled letter “K.” Of his unsigned efforts, the Grand Comics Database lists Don as possibly inking Wayne Boring’s pencils for a tale in Superman #8 (Jan.-Feb. 1941). Pages 1-5 from a story previously thought to have contained his art are now believed to have been drawn by Paul Lauretta (Action Comics #26, July 1940).

Don Komisarow also spent time on the Man of Tomorrow’s newspaper strip. Biographer and comics historian Alberto Becattini credits Don as the inker of Boring’s pencils (prior to Stan Kaye) on the dailies from May 13-Oct. 5, 1940, and on the Sundays from July 7, 1940-Feb. 23, 1941.51

Hi, Boris!

It may be hard to sort out Hi Mankin’s work on the early “Superman,” but

by Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #57 (Feb. 1974) from Gold Key/Western, he was penciling and inking more distinctively. Scripter unknown. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Like almost every artist profiled, Komisarow got around. For the newspapers, besides working on Superman, he was a very early assistant to Raeburn Van Buren on Abbie an’ Slats. Don drew his own Bible comic strip for five years. In 1943 he illustrated the 64-page, mostly-text comicbook Thirty Seconds over Tokyo for publisher David McKay. However, it is as Lou Fine’s partner in art that Komisarow is best remembered.

Probably meeting for the first time when both men worked for Will Eisner on The Spirit, by the middle 1940s they conjoined their first Heads Up! names as “Donlou” Don Komisarow’s work was noted by cropped to draw the “Thropp coiffeurs. From a “Superman” story scripted

by Jerry Siegel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Family” serial for

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

33

Liberty magazine. In addition, Fine and Komisarow produced many advertising and promotional comics during the ‘40s and ‘50s. Don was the more business-minded one; he secured the jobs.

A Pencil Partner, Too Before commencing on “The Thropp Family,” there appears to be a gap between Komisarow’s initial tenure on Superman and when his efforts resumed. With the second go-round, he was assigned to embellish Sam Citron’s pencils for stories chronicled inside Action Comics, World’s Finest Comics, and Superman during the years 1943-45. Don even inked Sam on one Action Comics cover (issue #64, Sept. 1943).50 (His time with the Man of Steel will be revisited when Citron’s coverage begins in earnest.)

Uncle Leo (Title inspired by professional photographer Debra Nowak’s web entry “My Uncle Leo Nowak.” In addition to Debra, Leo had more beloved nieces and nephews who thought of him as a “living legend.”)

Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 1907, at 11 years of age Leo Nowak was living in Cleveland, Ohio, when he won his first art contest, for drawing a junkyard horse. The prize was parlor ice cream. By the early 1930s Leo was illustrating children’s books with characters like Trampo the Traveler and Uncle Wiggly. His chief employer was The World Syndicate Publishing Company, Cleveland branch. A specialist in drawing shoes for commercial ads, he soon turned to “good girl” art. Influenced by the best illustrators of pulchritudinous females in their day, some of Nowak’s luscious-lady, mixed-media drawings have the look of a cartoonier Alberto Vargas. Art examples by Leo include young women engaged in pillow fights, or summer gals sweltering on apartment balconies in various stages of undress. This was during the era when he was also drawing comicbooks, prior to joining the Seabees.

Nowak is listed as the co-creator of “Robotman” with Jerry Siegel. Paul Cassidy is likewise said to have penciled some Siegelscripted pages,with Leo adding inks on that first tale. Though “Robotman” came early (Star Spangled Comics #7, April 1942), Nowak was by then a veteran Superman illustrator. Leo Nowak studied at the Cleveland School of Art and the John Huntington Art Institute. He was commissioned with another artist to paint a 105-foot mural in the lobby of Cleveland’s Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers’ Building.

With paintings on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Laguna Art Festival, Los Angeles Greek Theatre, and other West Coast venues, Leo traveled in shows throughout the USA, Australia, and New Zealand to exhibit his work.52 One of the most iconic renderings of Superman streaking through the Golden Age of Comics appears

“It’s A Bird! It’s A Plane! It’s Robotman!”

The original Robotman in action, from Star Spangled Comics #7 (April 1942). While Nowak is listed as artistic co-creator, Paul Cassidy may also have contributed to this initial story, scripted by Jerry Siegel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

on p. 26 of Superman: The Complete History by Les Daniels.30 In another book, titled Superman at Fifty: The Persistence of a Legend,13 the identical image advances across the tops of pages from left to right to make it a flipbook. And, fittingly, the same drawing was chosen to accompany an obituary article on Uncle Leo, who died in 2001. First appearing in Superman #13, cover-dated Nov.-Dec. 1941, the penciled and inked rendering (over Shuster layouts) was at one time attributed to John Sikela, one of the better-known Shuster assistants. But when discerning fandom eyes more accurately identified who did what, it could only have come from the hand of Leo Nowak. While not exactly a pompadour, in this and similar poses he gave Superman a plentifully mounded mop of hair, like a swirled dollop of licorice. To add to the dynamism, when the hero was leaping or flying, sometimes the artist drew shoulders and elbows that seemed disjointed beneath the skin.

Tortoise Man Of The Comics Michael Sangiacomo of the Plain Dealer (formerly the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper) wrote a December 27, 2013, piece titled

Leo Nowak plying his art trade during the 1930s—and one of his iconic (and most reprinted) flying scenes, from Superman #13 (Nov.-Dec. 1941). Script by Jerry Siegel. [Panel TM & © DC Comics.]

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

Infinite Variety

performed with pianist Art Cutlip; and by the 1940s, the marquee boasted Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Hodges, Oscar Peterson, and the great Stan Getz. You could hear them through the floorboards, humming up through the paper, trading notes and riffs.”7

There were other night spots and movie theatres in the area. In addition to his art, young Leo Nowak was a musician (clarinet and saxophone), performing at a club called (Above:) After his passing in The Hunter’s Tavern.53 Leo recounted: “I had 2001, this tribute to his work an orchestra and was playing a nightclub in with tortoises appeared in a Cleveland around 1940. Business was slow, local newspaper. Courtesy of so I painted a mural for the nightclub. I was Patrice Glasco. [© the respective standing at the bar and a whiskey salesman copyright holders.] comes up to me and tells me how much he liked my work. He told me he knew some “Remembering Superman Artist Leo Nowak.” While reflecting guys who were looking for an artist, so I just walked right up to on his prior column (written upon Leo’s passing in early 2001), the studio and introduced myself.”54 Leo was hired immediately.

Sangiacomo recalled a still earlier article, one typed after the By his own reckoning he illustrated 36 thirteen-page stories for the reporter’s 1996 journey to the artist’s home. In his final years comicbooks, working from approximately 9 a.m. until 4:30 or 5:00 Nowak lived in the California desert, alone except for his dogs, p.m. for $50 a week. rabbits, and the injured creatures he discovered how to save. (His beloved wife Gloria had died in 1995.) Journalist Sangiacomo called He spoke about the Shop’s close confines: “It was a little place; Leo a super-hero for his good deeds, but one without the red cape it was just big enough for two people, but they had three crammed and tights. Others agreed. The Daily Planet’s fictional Jimmy Olsen in there.” Hired to replace the just-vacated Paul Cassidy, Nowak has been transformed into a “turtle man” more than once during his upped the total to four: “Wayne [the newspaper strip artist] would bizarre comicbook days; Leo Nowak became a real-life tortoise man be in the corner drawing. Jerry was doing copy. Joe was just sitting of the comics!

(Left:) Before “Superman,” Nowak illustrated this 1931 children’s book for The World Syndicate Publishing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, branch.

Nowak fretted about the giant tortoises—ten-inchers— not the really huge ones found on the Galapagos Islands. He found many whose shells were busted, mostly after being struck by cars on the highway near his home in Inyokern, California. Transporting one to a local veterinarian, he was told that the reptile was done for unless its carapace could be repaired, but why bother? Sangiacomo wrote that after being nearly laughed out of the vet’s office, “he went home and tried several mixtures of plaster of Paris, various sticky resins, and other substances until he came up with one that would make the turtle’s shell as good as new…. For more than a decade, Leo went into the desert and rescued injured turtles, brought them home, repaired their shells, and nursed them back to health. When they were ready, he took them back into the desert, as far away from the highway as he could.”

A New Gig The Ohio-based Shuster Shop existed from approximately 1939 to 1943 at E. 105th St. and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. While things were certainly busy in its 12 ft. by 12 ft. confines, fun was close by. From author Brad Ricca: “Almost directly downstairs was Lyndsay’s Sky Bar. With glowing stars on the ceiling and plush red-orange chairs at the bar, it was the best jazz bar in Cleveland. Frankie Laine

“The Office Party” One of Nowak’s 1930s risqué paintings. Courtesy of Patrice Glasco. [© Estate of Leo Nowak.]

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around, eating candy.”53 Another thing Leo recollected was the aroma of good Chinese cooking wafting up from the restaurant beneath the studio. He ate there often during his lunch break until he was drafted in 1943. Serving as a Navy battalion artist in the Pacific, when the war ended and he learned that the Shuster Shop had relocated to New York, Nowak knew that was a place he could never live. It was off to California.

During his year-and-a-half in the Shuster Shop, a point of emphasis for Leo was The Man of Steel’s spit curl: “I was happy. This was Superman. I thought this was going to be a big thing. I made him handsomer and the curl on his forehead more pronounced. Jerry liked it.”53 (Later artists, probably starting with Curt Swan, formed the curl clearly in the shape of an “S” for its namesake hero.)

Quite often in panel close-ups, Nowak’s figures, especially Superman, twisted their shoulders like they were trying to screw themselves into the foreground. And talk about a narrow cape whipping about the head! Leo’s drape on the Man of Tomorrow curled and whirled and did things no other artist dreamed of, save one. Like Paul Cassidy, when Nowak’s Superman was positioned in repose to spy on illicit activity from a tree, the cape hung over a branch behind and above his vantage point—just because it could!

Settling in Los Angeles after the war, for a quarter-century Leo was the chief illustrator for Stamps-Conhaim-Whitehead Newspaper Advertising Service. At one time, the alwaysinteresting character bought, with wife Gloria, an opal mine in the Mojave Desert. This was in 1957. Moving to Inyokern, California, in the mid-1970s with his spouse, Nowak was an editorial cartoonist for The Daily Independent in Ridgecrest for a dozen years. Niece Debra Nowak told Melvin Higgins: “As a child, when I asked him if there was anything he couldn’t draw, my Aunt Gloria said: ‘A big salary!’”

A retired biologist, Patrice Glasco was a neighbor of the Nowaks who specialized in Mojave and Sonoran Desert plants and animals—mainly the desert tortoise. She wrote to Mel Higgins about the wonder that they shared: “I can tell you about the plight of the tortoises—as to why there aren’t any—but this letter is about Leo. We live in the Mojave Desert on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mt. Range. This is a beautiful desert—mostly creosote bushes that smell so fresh when it rains (rare occasion). During wet years the wildflowers are incredible—you can’t see the desert floor for all the different colors. One-half hour away and you can be in a pinion-pine and Joshua Tree Forest. There over the northeast is Death Valley—it is beautiful in itself—but not in August.

Mount Whitney is to the north.” In March 2009 she added: “Leo loved drawing Superman. He was very proud that he had drawn Superman.” Gloria died in 1995; after that, he was “just okay.”

When he passed away in 2001, Leo was surrounded by beautiful art that he created, including good girl illustrations, paintings of the American West, and portrayals of Superman.

The Case Of The Hairless Henchman It was Leo Nowak who first portrayed The Daily Planet’s copy boy, Jimmy (later given the last name Olsen) in comicbooks, beginning in Superman #13 (Nov.-Dec. 1941). He was also credited with introducing Luthor’s chrome dome, though that may be an apocryphal anecdote.

Luthor was originally a redhead. The narrative goes that the artist mistook a hairless henchman from an earlier tale for the chief villain himself. This occurred coincidentally on Nowak’s first

It Was All A Dream!

The final page of a Nowak-drawn story from Superman #19 (Nov.-Dec. 1942)— and yeah, that first panel does look a little familiar! Script by Siegel. Thanks to Art Lortie & Jim Kealy. [TM & © DC Comics.]

assignment illustrating the comicbook Man of Steel in Superman #10 (May-June 1941). The reason for doubt is that Luthor had previously appeared in the daily newspaper strips with a bald pate, though instead of the blob-shaped face Leo added, his visage was eerily gaunt as sculpted by a different illustrator.

Nowak did, however, make an actual boo-boo in that same story, albeit a fun one. Though Kal-El had been flying in his early radio adventures for more than a year, he could only leap in the comicbooks until Leo showed him dynamically hovering and zooming in search of a directionless voice—a voice that turned out to be coming from his now-hairless arch foe. There’d be no further flying in comicbooks for a short while, not until after the idea was adapted from the Fleischer Superman cartoons.55

John Sikela John Sikela stayed true to Joe Shuster’s artistic vision the longest. Progressing from background man to feature illustrator, Sikela followed Shuster from Superman to Superboy to Funnyman and finally back to the younger Kal-El (after Joe was banished).

He copied the distinctive way Shuster drew Superman carrying bad guys tucked under one arm. John liked to pose the Metropolis

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

Nowak Branches Out (Above:) Cape trick by Nowak from Action Comics #39 (Aug. 1941).

Script by Siegel.

(Right:) One of a number of color Superman drawings that Leo Nowak drew late in life as specialty items. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Marvel with hands on hips à la Joe and, like Shuster, his characters remained squatty and gnome-like, almost cherubic. One of Sikela’s trademarks was that, when adults appeared in his “Superboy” stories, many of the men had chrome-domes surrounded by fringes of hair.

If John Sikela arrived just after Leo Nowak joined Siegel and Shuster in 1940, why didn’t Nowak state that Sikela was physically in the Shop? After all, years later, Leo mentioned that Joe, Jerry, and Wayne Boring were present. The kid, Hi Mankin, mostly contributed in the evening after school during his one month with the guys. That explains why Hiram was omitted, but what about John? Did he work out of his home? At a different studio? The clue comes from the artist’s son, James “Jim” Sikela: “[Dad] would drive from the west side of Cleveland (It may have actually been in Lakewood) to the east side to draw at the Shop. It was a very small Shop, in a very small room.... He preferred drawing from home— much more convenient. He often drew at night.”56

John Sikela during his U.S. Army service—and one of his dynamic “Superman” pages.

In the early years, he incorporated angled, circular, and sometimes wavy panel shapes along the heads and/or limbs protruding beyond panel borders to expand the action—which is fitting, since this Siegel-scripted page is from Action Comics #56 (Jan. 1943), with inks by George Roussos.

Photo courtesy of Jim Sikela. [Page TM & © DC Comics.]

Jim noted that, like Paul Cassidy and Wayne Boring before him, John Sikela answered an ad in a trade journal that led to the task of drawing “Superman.”

On those occasions when he did frequent the Shop, besides the Chinese restaurant below and nightclubs nearby, Jim’s father enjoyed the fact that Case Western Reserve University and University Circle’s art museums were adjacent: “It was a very active area.”56 Daughter Joan (Sikela) Needham once saw Superman’s co-creator drawing on her dad’s illustration board in the basement; she described the two men as being close friends.

During the 1947 lawsuit, Joe sent

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

letters and telegrams to John, hopeful that things would work out for partner Jerry Siegel, himself, and the rest of the crew.

Earlier, Shuster attended Sikela’s wedding, gifting John and new wife Margaret with a tea set. The date was September 26, 1942.57 The wedding was probably planned around his military service, since John served in the Army from 1942-46. In a Pulling A Prankster missive to Jerry Siegel dated October 1, 1944, John Sikela penciled and inked The Prankster’s Joe wrote: “I’ve just storied debut in Action Comics #51 (Aug. 1942). Script by Siegel, natch. [TM & © DC received a letter from Comics.]

John Sikela saying he had [his] A.P.O. number and expects to be shipped soon. Hope I’ll have a chance to see him if he’s in New York.”17

drew birthday cards for his children that featured Superman. He enjoyed discussing the character with them.

Jim was tall and scrawny as a youth. At around twelve years old, he remembered coming home from a baseball game to find his dad illustrating a story. Asked to grasp his bat, Sikela turned the lad’s pose into Superboy “swinging a girder at a bad guy.” A few weeks later editor Mort Weisinger sent a letter saying, “Good job, but Superboy was a little too skinny.”

Other than painting signs, John Sikela’s initial trades were not artistic in nature. Straightening I-beams for pay when he answered the Shuster ad, John found that he enjoyed the techniques of illustration. He used onion paper to draw an image before transferring it to a panel on a homemade light box. For perspective he used two strings to visualize the tapering of a building’s lines.

Working off and on for twenty years on the Man of Tomorrow/Boy of Steel, John had the second-longest tenure of the artists who came out of the Shuster Shop. Wayne Boring was first. (In addition to their longevity with the character, Sikela and Boring had something else in common: they drew the dandiest old crones.)

During a trip to New York City in 1960, the artist met with the folks at DC Comics. They asked him to relocate to be near their offices. In addition, they wanted to parcel his output. At this stage, Sikela had grown accustomed to both penciling and inking, as well as placing word balloons and adding letters to his fully rendered

Placed in the 99th Infantry Division, Sikela worked on the big guns (155-millimeter cannons) during the Battle of the Bulge at the end of 1944. As a result, he suffered permanent hearing loss and was listed as a Disabled American Veteran. Proud of his contributions to Allied victory, he enjoyed watching Victory at Sea, a 1950s television documentary with actual war footage.56

James Dean Of The Comics Born in Slovakia (in 1906, according to the family, not 1907 as is sometimes reported), Sikela immigrated with his parents to this country at around six years of age; they went through Ellis Island.

He lived most of the rest of his life in or near Cleveland. With a folksy drawing style that developed over time, one would not suspect that John shared things in common with the Rebel without a Cause movie star who came along later. Daughter Joan explained to Mel Higgins: “John was like James Dean, with the white t-shirt and bomber jacket. He would be chased by police, outrunning them on his motorcycle to the state line. He tried to get into boxing once.

[Dad] was fair… saw the good in people, was perhaps a little too trusting, but he was street smart. Don’t cross him, or there would be consequences.”57 Other things Joan and Jim related to interviewer Mel Higgins: With a great sense of humor but not an overexcited one, John was humble and quiet. Material things were not important; Sikela was caring and giving. He was working at a factory fixing electronic components when he met future wife Margaret. Also from Slovakia, she was unobtrusive and religious: Catholic. He was very handy, very curious about things. John invented tape with seeds attached and spaced for faster planting; the tape would later disintegrate. In addition, their dad made engineering drawings while attempting to patent a space station repair tube. John liked to read Popular Mechanics and National Geographic. If a “Superman” script called for him to draw, say, a generator, he enjoyed doing the research to render it correctly. Margaret helped with the research, too.

Joan and Jim grew up with comicbooks all over the place. John

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A Perry Mason Moment—Superboy Style Sikela didn’t illustrate many comicbook covers. Here’s one, for Adventure Comics #213 (June 1955). [TM & © DC Comics.]

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

pages. He took the meeting as his cue to retire from comicbooks.

John went to work for an engineering firm for about a year before giving that up, as well.

It was in 1948 that John Sikela moved his family to their six-acre farm twenty miles west of Cleveland in Avon, Ohio. Soon, DC Comics would hire him to work for them exclusively.

Toward Dynamic Art

Time Traveler

Those who remember his “Superboy” panels from the 1950s might not think of Sikela’s art as dynamic. Indeed, John’s Superman, as seen in the final tale in Superman #13 (Nov.-Dec. 1941) was initially lumbering with thickened extremities. Quickly, though, he became a hurdler who plummeted into frays. By the way Superman flung himself through the air, next to Joe Shuster’s version, Sikela’s leaping hero was least in need of the power of flight.

Sikela drew the first story in which a mature Kal-El performed “a brand new superstunt,” propelling through the time-dimension into the past (Superman #48, Sept.-Oct. 1947). Fitting that it was by him. After the Space Race began in 1957, John’s by-then quaint style appeared more bucolic; his latter “Superboy” stories could have passed for dusted-off reprints. Clark and his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, wore eyeglasses with the roundest of lenses, quite early-American. There was a pioneer spirit to his version of Smallville. Perhaps John was influenced by the rural life he chose, on the Avon homestead he maintained. The family even ran a roadside blueberry stand.57

With masterful perspective and immense detail poured into splash page openings, one could see why John was hired. He was the first to intersperse a goodly number of circular panels into his stories; viewing them was like peeking through a spyglass. Too, he incorporated angled and sometimes wavy panel shapes along with heads and limbs protruding beyond borders to expand the action.

IX. The Third Wave: Ed Dobrotka, Ira Yarborough, And… Like Sikela, Ed Dobrotka resided in Cleveland at the time he applied for work in the Shuster Shop, around August 1941. That same year he married a former classmate from the Cleveland Institute of Art, where he’d earned a degree in mural painting and illustration in 1939. After serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces (1943-1945), Dobrotka came to be employed directly by DC Comics.

He lived in New York while garnering a second diploma from Columbia University Teachers College58 before returning to the Cleveland area.

Besides fully illustrating assigned “Superman” stories, when Ed collaborated with other artists it was most often with John Sikela. One would ink the other’s pencils, reversing tasks for the next assignment. Occasionally, their roles might flip-flop within a single tale. They were a working team, exchanging pages at one another’s homes for finishing. Into the 1950s Dobrotka and Sikela represented the last Ohio-based vestiges of the defunct Shuster Shop.

John’s son Jim Sikela told interviewer Mel Higgins: “Many times, from 1948 on, [John] would pencil the whole story and send it directly to [editor] Mort Weisinger. He would roll up the art by taking a string and tying the pages together to make a tube. He would drive to Cleveland Hopkins Airport and send the pages to New York with the evening plane. Other times, he would drop them off for Ed Dobrotka to ink. They were the only Superman/Superboy guys in town; they had that in common. They were cordial, but John was settled in with a family, so they didn’t socialize outside of work.” (Jim remembered Dobrotka as living only about ten miles from Avon.)56

Teacher’s Pet? Not everyone recalls a highly regarded instructor from school days past. Kal-El had “The Super Teacher from Krypton!” (Adventure Comics #240, Sept. 1957).

Sikela pencils and inks. Script by Edmond Hamilton. Reprinted in Superman Annual #1. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Joan (Sikela) Needham added: “Ed Dobrotka was in Lakewood; he lived on West Boulevard. [Dad] was in Avon. Ed had an art degree from the Cleveland Institute of Art and may have looked down on John, who was self-taught. [Sikela dropped out of school in the eighth grade.] One year Joe Shuster wanted to give John a pair of Superman reading glasses. He never got them until Shuster asked Sikela how he liked the glasses. Sikela said, ‘What glasses?’ Shuster said, ‘The ones I handed Ed to give to you.’

Dobrotka gave them to [Dad] after he asked about them.”57

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

39

modern take on the Boy of Steel.

Riss & Citron: Confusing The Pair

Two Kinds Of Triumph Alas, no photos of artist Ed Dobrotka have surfaced—but he penciled and inked these fine splash pages featuring the Man of Steel and “Captain Triumph”—as seen, respectively, in Superman #24 (Sept.-Oct. 1943) and the Quality group’s Crack Comics #36 (Winter 1944). “Superman” script by Jerry Siegel; other scripter unidentified. [Superman page & Captain Triumph TM & © DC Comics.]

An Attractive Hodgepodge Dobrotka conjured up the billowiest cape scallops. Otherwise, his style was a hodgepodge of his fellow artists. Like John Sikela, he incorporated spyglass panel views. Also, like John, Ed chose to picture city scenes with challenging perspectives, though with less dizzying results. When Dobrotka angled certain panels, he might employ the Paul Lauretta device of using storytelling arrows, making it easier for readers to follow the flow.

Pete Riss drew folks with protruding eyes to the point of hyperthyroidism. Ed Dobrotka enlarged people’s sclera less aggressively (as did Leo Nowak and Sam Citron) in order to show surprise. Hair on Ed’s characters was the second-most highlighted after the locks pictured by Citron and his frequent inker, Don Komisarow.

Ready To Go On an unsuccessful 1950 application for a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, Dobrotka jokingly derided his work in comicbooks. Nonetheless, the accomplished painter moonlighted in the medium for a lengthy period. Besides illustrating “Superman,” “Superboy,” and a few other heroes at DC, Ed drew for other companies, including Quality Comics, in the mid-1940s. His final listing at DC occurred when he inked two tales in Superboy #6 (Jan.Feb. 1950) over John Sikela’s pencils. John stayed with Superboy for a decade longer than Ed, although by the early ‘50s comicbook freelancers Al Plastino and Curt Swan joined him to provide a more

As it pertains to historical research, the passage of time unravels either more truth or greater uncertainty. Case in point: comics historian Bob Hughes wrote, “The late Richard Morrissey made himself an expert at identifying Superman’s various artists.” Indeed, Morrissey came up with a Superman artists guide, and Hughes says he “taught me everything I know.” In the late 1990s Morrissey and the esteemed Martin O’Hearn thought that Pete Riss penciled the fourth story in Superman #26 (Jan.-Feb. 1944). Feedback later told them that it was Sam Citron instead. Further investigation has led O’Hearn to believe that it, and stories drawn in a similar style, were

by Riss after all.

Martin O’Hearn: “From the evidence I’ve seen since, we were right the first time. Mid-1940s work with an actual Riss credit line is closest to the style of this Superman artist than to any other.” And now we know. Corroboration in the form of Jerry Siegel’s written records has been added to the Grand Comics Database.

Pete Riss Pete Riss penciled and inked for several comicbook companies.

He was a mainstay at Fawcett Comics, rendering on and off for more than a decade, from super-heroes in the early 1940s to crime and Western stories as late as 1953. Riss drew horror tales for American Comics Group during the early ‘50s, extending to credit on Commander Battle and the Atomic Sub #5 for ACG dated MarchApril 1955. He may have portrayed a tale of romance for Headline Publications, Inc. (the Prize Group) as late as 1958.

With initial “Superman” stories dating from the spring of 1943, Pete was good at drawing kids. A boy in Superman #26 looked suspiciously like the featured young hero headlining titles for publisher Everett M. “Busy” Arnold’s Quality Comic Group.

Riss drew “Kid Eternity” for the same-named Quality title and also for Hit Comics starting in the mid-1940s. As his Superman output diminished, his “Kid Eternity” assignments stayed steady, extending well into 1949 when the character’s exploits were discontinued. Though DC Comics purchased the rights to Kid Eternity from the Quality Group in 1956, Pete was deceased by the time the Kid was finally resurrected in the early 1970s.

Other than the Man of Steel’s muscular arms, most of Pete’s characters had skinny upper extremities with oddly hinged elbows.

Whether found in a 1946 “Superman” story panel or a 1947 Millie

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Action Comics - 80 Years of Superman: The Deluxe Edition (DC Comics, 2018). It came in the form of an unpublished “Superman” story, whose delicate art included long lean characters with looseygoosey arms, Fred Ray’s borrowed “S” emblem on the Man of Steel’s chest, and the distinctive eye traits attributed to Pete Riss. The original art was rescued from DC’s incinerator long ago by a young man touring the DC offices with other comicbook fans. He was given some of the pages and traded for the remainder of the story on that eventful 1960s day. That youngster grew to become professional editor and comicbook writer Marv Wolfman. In his accompanying essay, Marv noted that there was a 1947 published version of the story redrawn

by Wayne Boring, shortened to 10 pages from the original 12-page art job. Riss’ rendition dates to 1945. Wolfman shared how he has treasured and preserved the art. To see it reach the public after 73 years honors a little-known “Superman” artist who was quite prolific in the final years of Joe Shuster’s reign.

Pete Riss

There is one more interesting fact about the written-off story.

Marv uncovered that Shuster was the paid illustrator, indicating that Riss, at least for a time, worked as one of his assistants.

from a 1952 Fawcett group photo seen in Alter Ego #107—and a Risspenciled “Superman” panel from a 1945 story that wasn’t published until 2018, in Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman: The Deluxe Edition.

The inker was probably Stan Kaye, and the writer is unidentified.

[Panel TM & © DC Comics.]

the Model tale (for Timely, later called Marvel Comics), Riss’ elbow pictorials bent within the two-dimensional plane of the page. Noses were barely there in straight-on views. Even more than Joe Shuster, Pete’s characters had squinty eyes but, as mentioned before, when they were open, they bulged. No man or woman had fully outlined orbs. A single horizontal line under each eye gave them a wet look. Pupils were pinpoints, making Pete’s villains appear more maniacal.

Riss drew the smallest chest insignia on Superman, with the emblem’s inner “S” shaped like Fred Ray’s. A battened-down head of hair, narrower chin, and lower, less defined abdominal muscles also help to identify Pete’s hero. During the mid-1940s his panel layouts were the most conservative, his figures the thinnestlined of anyone regularly penciling the Man of Steel’s adventures.

One quirkily attractive story (“The Quicksilver Kid!” in Superman #26, Jan.-Feb. 1944) featured a long-limbed, near-naked Mercury flying on winged clogs to highlight the two-dimensionality in Riss’ work. His Earth was flat. The overall effect: a more graceful, ornamental style than was seen in the art of his peers.

A Golden Age history lesson was unearthed in the book,

Time & Time Again (Left:) Riss depicted a barely-clad Mercury, the ancient Roman god, in Superman #26 (Jan.-Feb. 1944). Script by Siegel.

(Above:) Later, he drew the cover of Quality’s Kid Eternity #10 (July 1948).

[Superman panel & Kid Eternity TM & © DC Comics.]

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41

pencils and inks. His green-colored Squiffles were a cross between gnomes and demons, surrounded by more realistic rendering.

Using page designs just a shade less conservative than those of Pete Riss, Sam presented the one-shot hobgoblin, Ixnayalpay, “Ruler of the Squiffles.”

Ixnayalpay, in Pig-Latin name and otherworldliness, was a sort-of tryout for Mr. Mxyztplk. Unlike Mxy, however, there was not enough broad-brushing in terms of the script. Further, greater background detail in the art would have enhanced the story. And, finally, had the hairless lead Squiffle been gifted with extravagant tresses, there might have been encores. That’s because, as previously mentioned, Sam Citron (especially when paired with Don Komisarow) concocted the most fanciful hairstyles.

Coiffeurs Of The Comics

The Eyes Have It! Pete Riss penciled “crazy eyes” on the visage of the evil Thinker in Action Comics #70 (March 1944). George Roussos may have provided the inks.

Script by Don Cameron. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Some of penciler Citron and inker Komisarow’s curlyheaded male guest stars favored Charles Bickford (a well-known supporting actor in Hollywood whose film appearances included The Song of Bernadette and The Big Country). The artist duo liked to illustrate bushy eyebrows, as on the roguish Toyman, whose own locks were glorious. Judging from other masculine characters they

Sam Citron Sam Citron drew comicbook stories for several companies.

When he was allowed recognition, he sometimes used the anagram “Marc Ricton.”33 About the rest of his life little is known, although he may also have been a Golden Encyclopedia artist and medical illustrator.

Uncredited, Sam began illustrating Kal-El’s adventures around the same time as Pete Riss, starting in 1943. His run lasted for three-plus years. Never a Shuster Shop artist, it was DC Comics’ editorial director Whitney Ellsworth who moved him from “Robotman” to “Superman.” This was noted in a letter dated November 19, 1942, from Ellsworth to Jerry Siegel. Further, Whit wrote that Citron was often paired with Don Komisarow on the Man of Steel. According to historian Bob Hughes: “Sam… later went on to draw Mr. District Attorney and other crime comics for DC and later drew horror/mystery stories for the American Comics Group.”3 Citron designed his pages so that panels possessed a more vertical dimension. Because of that, and the fact that he might crowd in more characters, the action seemed further away. The Man of Steel had lumpier muscles and appeared especially squatty on story splash pages. His Lois Lane was skinnier. There were lots of poses from the waist up. However, when characters were on full view while tussling, they didn’t just fall—they flopped—legs akimbo! During flight Superman flexed one hip almost into the abdomen, akin to how Jack Burnley drew him. Sam must have admired the chief cover artist at that time, because he borrowed other flying poses from Burnley, too. Finally, Citron’s Kal-El was sometimes known to side-bend his trunk while soaring.

Sam was not as adept at drawing pure make-believe as the later-arriving Ira Yarbrough; yet, in the first tale in Superman #22 (May-June 1943) he was asked to give it a go. From the opening caption: “This is a fantasy, but don’t get the wrong impression.

The story deals with modern-day realities, with a war industry… with a foul Nazi plot… with a crusading, all-powerful Superman!

Want to know more? Then, turn the page, read on, and… ‘Meet the Squiffles!’” The writer was Jerry Siegel. Citron provided both

Was The Toyman Really So “Terrible”?

Unfortunately, Sam Citron is another of the Shuster Shop artists of whom we’ve been unable to score a photo—but his cover for Action Comics #64 (Sept. 1943), as inked by Don Komisarow, shows how his pencils gained new life with a new embellisher. They illustrated The Toyman’s debut inside, too.

[TM & © DC Comics.]

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

Citron—Solo & In Tandem (Above:) The lone appearance of Ixnayalpay was fully rendered by Sam Citron in Superman #22 (May-June 1943). Script by Jerry Siegel.

(Right:) Together, Citron & Komisarow drew a grandpa with marvelous locks in Action Comics #62 (July 1943).

Script by Don Cameron under the Siegel byline.

[TM & © DC Comics.]

Go Western, Young Man! (Above:) Sam Citron contributed full art to this splash panel seen in Gold Key/Western’s Lassie #64 (Sept. 1964)—which was actually reprinted from M-G-M’s Lassie #25 (Nov.-Dec. 1955), which had been a Dell/Western comic.

(Right:) He penciled and inked a four-page story titled “Phantom Hands of Vengeance” for Ripley’s Believe It or Not #11 (Nov. 1968), published by Gold Key/Western. Both scripters unknown. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

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1944). Written by Jerry Siegel, with Ira Yarbrough and possibly Joe Shuster pencils, Ira Yarbrough inks.

Still More “Coiffures Of The Comics” A photo of popular character actor Charles Bickford (on right), from a 1951 movie poster with stars Alan Ladd and Mona Freeman—juxtaposed with a panel by Citron & Komisarow from Action Comics #64 (Sept. 1943) whose hair styles may have been inspired by Bickford’s. [Panel TM & © DC Comics.]

were asked to portray, Sam and Don loved the art of a well-oiled yet fluffy mustache—and a robust beard.

Currently, it is listed on the GCD website that Ed Dobrotka penciled and inked a couple of multi-part tales featuring “The Seven Soldiers of Victory” for Leading Comics. However, thanks to Jerry Siegel’s personal records for “Superman” stories being recently incorporated, the artwork on Leading Comics #4 (Fall 1942) and #5 (Winter 1942-1943) may someday be attributed to Citron and Komisarow instead. Best way to tell? The elaborate hairdos on many of the chief and ancillary characters.

Siegel himself confirmed that Sam penciled and Don inked most installments of a four-page “Lois Lane, Girl Reporter” backup feature (replacing one of the 11- or 12-page stories in each issue of Superman as the page count diminished during WWII.) Their Lois slept in bigger curlers than when illustrated by others.

Citron and Komisarow chose to over-render “Lois Lane, Girl Reporter.”—like something by two underground-comix artists a couple of decades before that bunch came along. After Don left, Sam continued to illustrate the four-pagers, either alone or with a different embellisher. Near the end of its run Pete Riss sometimes drew the feature. Riss’ take was less detailed but more slapstick; his work possessed a lilting cadence all its own.

Co-Creating a Cadre Of Comedy Culprits Some mighty mirthful storytellers were in place by the time the following debuted inside comicbooks: • Prankster: Action Comics #51 (Aug. 1942). Written by Jerry Siegel, with John Sikela pencils and inks.

• Toyman: Action Comics #64 (Sept. 1943). Written by Don Cameron, with Sam Citron pencils and Don Komisarow inks.

• J. Wilbur Wolfingham: Superman #26 (Jan.-Feb. 1944). Written by Don Cameron, with Ira Yarbrough pencils and Paul Fung inks.

• Mr. Mxyztplk (later Mr. Mxyzptlk): Superman #30 (Sept.-Oct.

These nutty nuisances made quite a racket. Prior to the Siegel and Shuster lawsuit, each one garnered seven or more comicbook appearances. The same penciler stayed with The Prankster, Toyman, Mxy, or J. Wilbur unless a significant event occurred, such as an editorial shift, or if an artist was drafted. In such cases, the miscreant was handed to an equally silly cartoonist. On rare occasions Sikela, Citron, and Yarbrough also drew covers featuring the rascals they helped to debut. Once litigation commenced, however, completely different delineators (such as Win Mortimer, for example) took over the art chores.

Ira Yarbrough The most Shusterish-looking of the comedy culprits appeared initially in the newspapers as episode #29, “The Mischievous Mr. Mxyztplk” (strips 1599-1727: Feb. 21-July 19, 1944). It’s no surprise the naughty nudnik could not wait for comicbooks, even if he was supposed to appear there first.26 His proboscis may have been bigger, but as far back as 1937 Siegel and Shuster’s “Slam Bradley” debuted with a near-doppelgänger sidekick named Shorty Morgan. If Shuster did indeed partner with Ira Yarbrough on Mxy’s debut in Superman #30, that was genius, because, other than Joe, Ira’s whimsical art best matched the zaniness of the impetuous imp.

Joe and Jerry were glad to work with their recent recruit, even if Ira lived out of town.

On April 1, 1943, Siegel wrote to Jack Liebowitz: “Joe’s new assistant Yarbrough, lives in Chicago. We’ve just received a letter from him in which he said: ‘I’ve got an uncle here that’s connected with the Film Daily magazine and wants to know if you’re interested in a bond-selling appearance at Balaban & Katz theaters here in Chicago. Said he’d make arrangements if you’d care to come.’”17 The most off-kilter

Knees Up! Next to Leo Nowak, Ira Yarbrough is the easiest to identify in terms of style; this is his signature pose. From Action Comics #63 (Aug. 1943). Script

by Siegel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

Ira Yarbrough (on left in photo) with Joe Shuster (center) and Ira’s friend Hugh Doyle; the pair had come east from Chicago to visit Shuster, the artist/co-creator of “Superman.” Courtesy of Joan Cufrin.

The snapshot is flanked at top right by a Yarbrough panel featuring Superman foe J. Wilbur Wolfingham, as inked by George Roussos, for Action Comics #79 (Dec. 1944)—and at center right by panels with the otherdimensional imp Mr. Mxyztplk. Both scripts by Don Cameron. Ira’s grandson Ben writes: “As I recall, [Grandpa] said he loved Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, and so the inspiration for Mr. Mxyztplk came from the slapstick and mischief of those silent film comedians.” [Panels TM & © DC Comics.]

and madcap designer in the Shuster Shop, Ira Yarbrough filled his circular and rolling panels with dynamic, rubbery art. His pencils were tamed a little by George Roussos’ inks, but when Ira embellished them himself or, better yet, when those pencils saw the loose brush work of Stan Kaye, the artwork was even zanier.

There was a fairy-tale quality, literally evidenced in a story titled “The Mxyztplk-Susie Alliance!” (Superman #40, May-June 1946).

Not only was he asked to portray castles in the sky, but also Mxy’s topsy-turvy home world of Zrfff! A couple of pages without Kal-El would never be recognized as part of a Superman tale except for the context of the folios around them. Ira’s wackiness reached another dimension, like the alternate plane from which Mxyztplk traveled to wreak havoc in our own universe.

One Yarbrough stylistic signature was to have Superman fly with elbows bent and both fists raised over his head.3 Too, when the hero’s face was seen in three-quarters view, the cranium was slightly elongated from front to back. Another way to identify Ira’s work was that, like Wayne Boring earlier, he drew a gap between the Man of Tomorrow’s cape and the back of his neck.

Yarbrough began working on the Man of Steel with the 63rd issue of Action Comics (dated August 1943) in a story titled “When Stars Collide!” Prior to that, upon moving from St. Louis to Chicago, his first commercial art job was for map and atlas publisher Rand McNally. Having to repeatedly draw the state of Florida while placed in charge of maintaining its geographic integrity left Ira unfulfilled, so much so that the disgruntled employee suffered a nervous breakdown. Doctors told him he had to quit his job, and his son recalled the artist faintly penciling “Ira Yarbrough” down the middle of the Sunshine State on his way out. Treasured family memory: a minor mutiny enroute to a more creative life.59 Ira Yarbrough, Sr., and his wife Harriett had two children.

Joan Louise Yarbrough (Kufrin) was born in 1936 and Ira, Jr., came along three years later. The kids remembered when their dad drew “Superman.” He worked in the dining room on the second floor of their apartment. They recounted him getting a draft deferment

at the last minute, becoming Joe Shuster’s number one assistant after John Sikela was called up. Once, when Joan was impatiently waiting on her dad to take her someplace, he noticed a detail from a “Superman” script he had accidentally omitted. Expecting to be stuck at home while he corrected the art, she was pleasantly surprised when Ira, Sr., added a mirror to show the missing object in its reflection, thus saving him from having to redraw the whole panel. Then aged six or seven, Joan joked about being upset and getting her way: “I must have been a trial!”60 Ira, Jr., shared a memory common to kids with artist fathers: Ira, Sr., would come to school to explain his craft, drawing Superman on the sly for his son’s buddies.59 Joan, a bit older, was aware of the business side of things. She recalled her dad getting a script and mailing the finished art back every week or two from their Rogers Park neighborhood on the north side of Chicago: “Dad went to New York once with his friend Hugh Doyle, and they met up with Joe Shuster. I remember him saying how much he liked Joe. Joe was a ‘good guy.’ Jerry, he didn’t mention much.”60

Toymaker Of The Comics Circa 1946 Ira invented the Steer-O toy. A convertible that could be steered by pushing on the right or left side of the car, it was roughly one foot long and five inches wide. Yarbrough designed the look of the vehicle and even its box. He took the plans to a tool and die maker. Hiring people to help him and his wife

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Superman Can Put That Crook In A “Cel” Long after leaving “Superman,” Ira Yarbrough created this animation-style cel for his grandson Ben, who was nine years old at the time. Courtesy of Ben Kufrin. [Superman TM & © DC Comics.]

“The Mxyztplk-Susie Alliance” Ira Yarbrough penciled and Stan Kaye inked this brilliant mess of madcap fantasy art. In panel 3, Susie is about to be spanked by her Aunt Lois for supposedly telling fibs, in Superman #40 (May-June 1946). Refurbished original mechanical page 6 from DC’s Limited Collector’s Edition (1977); script by Don Cameron. [TM & © DC Comics.]

assemble the parts in a factory, Ira, Jr., and Joan aided in filling orders. Unfortunately, with the car’s rubber tires and plastic body, it cost too much to produce due to post-war material shortages.59,60 Yarbrough sold the dies to Matchbox Cars for $100 but they never produced it, wanting it off the market. Ira, Jr., kept the original drawings.59 After his time on “Superman,” Yarbrough drew the newspaper comics feature Tallulah. He monosyllabically signed it “Yar.” According to the artist’s daughter, Tallulah was “a humorous strip about a very smart, ‘dumb’ blonde secretary.” Tallulah was produced for the John Dille Syndicate (Dille also controlled the Buck Rogers feature) for a few years beginning in the late 1940s. Besides Tallulah, Ira worked as a guest artist on a couple of other newspaper strips. At one time he hoped to be an editorial cartoonist. In the early 1960s he worked in animation.

Tallulah Tallulah newspaper strip by Yarbrough, signed “YAR.” Drawn to be printed on its side, this 1949 daily had to be turned 90 degrees to get the full pinup effect. Done for the John F. Dille Co. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

From his time drawing “Superman,” Joan recounted her father’s most important contribution: “He was the first to draw him and I know he did a lot of sketches before he was satisfied with the final version that became the character of Mr. Mxyztplk.”60 Whether he was illustrating the Man of Tomorrow or Tallulah, patenting and assembling the Steer-O car, designing cereal boxes (and the games on the back), producing architectural renderings, or making furniture, the artist stayed hyper-focused.59 And, while he never spoke much about his varied career, Ira enjoyed everything he did—with the probable exception of drawing the state of Florida.

Paul Fung The Grand Comics Database notes that artist Paul Fung inked a few “Superman” stories. For example, “Comedians’ Holiday!” was the second story in Superman #26 (Jan.-Feb. 1944). Verification came from Siegel’s own records.26 Actually, there were two Paul Fungs working in comics. One was the father, who lived from 1897-1944. He worked on several comic strips and was perhaps best known for taking over Chic Young’s Dumb Dora newspaper strip from 1930-1932. His son, Paul Fung, Jr., drew the Blondie comicbook for the Harvey company for 40 years. He lived from 1923-2016. (All evidence points to Paul, Sr., as the inker listed by Siegel.)

Born in Seattle, Senior lived in China for six years of his childhood. He studied traditional Chinese art while growing to love the comics; Sunday funnies were mailed from the Portland home of his married sister. Back in Seattle, Fung took a correspondence course in cartooning. By age 16 his drawings were proudly displayed in the lobby of a local vaudeville house; and two years later, while still in high school, he was drawing sports and news cartoons for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Paul was commended in a 1919 Everybody’s Magazine article for bringing diversity to the league of American cartoonists. His first newspaper strip was the short-lived Innocent Hing. After moving to New York to assist Billy DeBeck on his Barney Google strip, Mr. Fung progressed to the national stage. Near the end of his life he came to DC Comics, mainly to illustrate the six-page humor feature Hamilton and Egbert in early issues of All Funny Comics.

exceedingly thin. As the Siegel and Shuster lawsuit was ending, Jon was illustrating comicbooks with titles like The Lone Ranger, Robin Hood, The Chief, and Indian Chief for Dell. He did much else.

Though little is known about Small’s personal life, writer Alvin Schwartz recalled: “Jon Small, a comic-book artist, suggested I might like to get into the field to make some extra money. This was around 1941. He was working on a comic book called Fairy Tale Parade for Street & Smith. It featured adaptations of fairy tales.” Alvin found that he was good at this sort of thing and penned several adaptations for the company.61 In addition, Small introduced Schwartz to editor Henry Aveline Perkins, and that is how Alvin attempted to write “Captain Marvel” briefly for Fawcett Publications.

Before working in comics, it was at Jon’s place that Alvin Schwartz met scripter Bill Finger, whom he came to admire as one of the best in the field.61 From 1944 to 1958 Alvin became the Man of Tomorrow’s primary daily and Sunday strip storyteller, while cover dates for his Superman-related comicbook tales reached into 1959.

Schwartz never forgot that an important part of his legacy was due to his friendship with Jon Small.

X. Interlude: Cartoons & Comicbooks First Fleischer and then Famous Studio produced a series of seventeen Superman cartoons from 1941-1943. Though the early animated Superman was the medium closest to what appeared on the printed page, the cartoons and comics were opposite in important ways. For example, decades passed before better paper, printing, and computer enhancements could approach the Fleischer Studio’s lighting effects. What the Golden Age comicbook and newspaper artists conveyed with their inking could not compare to the way Superman’s costume was contrasted by strange light beams or flickering flames.

Panoramic cartoon backgrounds contained more elaborate

Jon Small Englishman Jon Small worked in American comicbooks from the mid-1930s to the mid-’50s before moving back to Great Britain. An early assignment was drawing “Bulletman” for Fawcett Publications, Inc. By the time Jon (not to be confused with another comicbook artist named Edwin Jon Smalle) illustrated one or more “Superman” stories, including “The Laughing Stock of Metropolis” in Action Comics #95 (April 1946),3 he’d been penciling and inking “The Star Spangled Kid” in Star Spangled Comics for two years. Circa 1943-44 he worked on a few Leading Comics covers featuring the Seven Soldiers of Victory; this was just after fellow “Superman” delineators Sam Citron and Don Komisarow drew for that title. Small’s lines when shading adult faces were abundant and

Paul Fung at age twenty, as a young cartoonist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer— and a 1930 Fung-drawn Sunday panel from Dumb Dora, a comic strip he inherited from Chic Young when the latter moved on to launch Blondie. Jack Burnley said of the artist: “I did become good friends with Paul Fung, Sr. A most talented ghost artist, he never had much success with his own strips, though.” Panel courtesy of Heritage Art Auctions. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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Ten Years Of Practice (Above:) While it’s difficult to gauge which work Jon Small did on “Superman,” here’s a sample of his solo super-hero work on “Bulletman,” from Fawcett’s Nickel Comics #1 (May 1940). Script by Bill Parker. [Bulletman TM & © DC Comics.]

(Top right:) Jon Small signed, penciled, and inked this splash panel from Dell/Western’s The Chief #1 (April-June 1951). Scripter unknown. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

art deco architecture than could fit within the borders of a comic panel. Too, the Technicolor rendering seen on movie screens would have been wasted on the limited visual clarity of newsprint. The animated Man of Steel stopped earthquakes, invading comets, volcanoes, a destructive electrothanasia-ray, flying robot thieves, a rampaging dinosaur, and Bulleteers riding super-drilling machines. With the onset of war, the science-fiction and disaster themes segued into Superman mainly fighting ancient evils, apprehending saboteurs on our soil, and undermining the enemy abroad. Minimal dialogue with nonstop action meant Kal-El punched at everything to solve a problem. The cartoon plots

The Original Anime A Superman pose from the Fleischer Studios cartoons’ title sequence—and a series of animation photos from the follow-up Paramount cartoons of 1941.

The latter courtesy of Heritage Art Auctions. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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complemented by John Sikela’s inks on a comicbook story titled “Superman, Matinee Idol” (Superman #19, Nov.-Dec. 1942). It was a sequel of sorts to the first Superman cartoon from Fleischer Studio.

In print form the artists suitably captured the animated guise of hero and villain. Panels were framed to simulate strips of film.

Regarding conventional comicbook stories, Ira Yarbrough became a “Superman” illustrator just as the cartoons were coming to an end.

The way he posed the Man of Tomorrow in flight approached their look. However, of all the “Superman” comic artists, Wayne Boring appeared to be the most influenced by film background cityscapes whose buildings rose to forever, and by the animated scoundrels’ doomsday machines with levers and coils and gears galore.

XI. The Initial Superman Letterers: Brother Frank And… “Of course, they were partially mimicking the lettering seen in newspaper strips and other comic books.”

Jules Feiffer wrote of the first funnybook generation: “Some artists penciled only the figures, leaving the backgrounds for another artist who then passed the page to a lettering man who then passed the page to an inker who then might ink only the figures, or sometimes only the heads, passing the work, then, to another inker who finished the bodies and the backgrounds.”14 Assistant Paul Cassidy noted his assembly-line roles: “I did all kinds of stuff, from penciling to lettering to inking everything but the faces.”21

“Superman, Matinee Idol” The illusion of film strip on a comicbook page, from Superman #19 (Nov.-Dec. 1942). Note that, in the page’s final panel, Lois and Clark are in the audience watching the animated cartoon. The story’s layouts are attributed to Joe Shuster, the finished pencils to Ed Dobrotka; inks by John Sikela. Script by Jerry Siegel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

were jarringly simple compared to what was needed to carry a comicbook story or newspaper strip continuity.

Technicolor Superman being on model with Shuster’s version was serendipitous. Joe noted: “It was accidental. I was just down in Miami for a visit, and somebody who knew me said, ‘How would you like to come down and visit the Studios?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’d love to see them doing Superman.’ They were just starting on it.

I went down there, and I was fascinated with it. And I suggested, ‘I wouldn’t mind drawing some shots for you showing how Superman looks in side view, front view, three-quarter view, how Clark Kent would look, and Lois Lane would look.’ They said, Fine: they’d love to have me do it. So, I just sat down and spent a couple of days there drawing model sheets. I loved doing it, and I loved being involved in it. And we were lucky enough to receive a credit line on the cartoons afterwards.”62 While the animated Superman, Clark, and Lois were on point, the cartoon villains, especially at first, were not. Those with nefarious machinations were tall and lean with distinct but sparse hairstyles; a bevy of animators kept the facial lines and expressions simple. They couldn’t hold a candle to how the comicbook and news strip delineators emoted their characters.

Over Shuster’s layouts, Ed Dobrotka’s finished pencils were

Prior to the arrival of the Superman-titled comicbook and newspaper strip, there were certain lettering quirks in the initial issues of Action Comics. Whether inscribed by Joe Shuster, Paul Cassidy, Paul Lauretta, or others, letters inside the speech balloons were all different sizes depending on the number of words. The early calligraphers employed bold highlights, dots, and dashes.

Skewed down and to the right, words were scribed with an obvious rapidity that left Joe’s feverish story pacing unimpeded while matching Jerry’s equally frenetic scripts. As early as Action Comics #2, explanatory narrative captions sometimes employed a big first letter colored red, green, blue, or black. With Action #6, they stood out even more when enclosed by a black circle. Lines of dialogue became straighter. The Grand Comics Database attributes these changes to Paul Lauretta assuming the lettering role.

Vertical narrative captions were sometimes interspersed with more conventional horizontal ones. They became panels unto themselves, adding variety by disrupting the flow on a comicbook page. When Superman’s “S” emblem was pictured in certain of these upright headers (also found in the newspaper strip), it brought the same feeling of comfort and familiarity as when a symbol is repeated in a picture storybook. The trend lasted through Paul Cassidy and into Leo Nowak’s run, before vertical captions were gradually phased out.

The Third Musketeer Joe Shuster’s younger brother Frank was at times one of the Shop letterers in the equation. While it is believed that Joe himself transferred Superman’s first scripted words to the original art, it seems that Frank was always around. Indeed, he helped Joe and Jerry cut up and reposition the newspaper strip tryout panels as the lead-off story in Action Comics #1.11, 63 Later that year, on September 9, 1938, Frank copyrighted a humor book with his friend

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Frank Shuster (in uniform) visiting his mother and brother while serving at the Pentagon; photo taken in New York City, 1944. (Courtesy of Jean Shuster Peavy.) In the triptych of panels at right: It is believe that Frank S. worked as a Shuster Shop letterer at the time of Superman #15 (March-April 1942). Though it’s unknown if this is his work, note the low horizontal bars on the “A’s” and “H’s,” and on the middle bars of the “E’s.” Loops on the “R’s” are sometimes unconnected. Also, one can see that the bottom halves of “S’s” are tapered, while “W’s” face backward in these panels from the issue’s final story. [Page TM & © DC Comics.]

Jerry Siegel. Designed as a ten-lesson correspondence course, it was titled How to Be Funny, a Practical Course of Serious Study in Creative Humor.64 Frank and Joe’s sister Jean Shuster Peavy was the youngest sibling. She told interviewer Mel Higgins that Frank began helping with the lettering on “Superman” tales at some point in 1938. She did not know if he worked on non-“Superman” features like “Slam Bradley.” In addition to transferring words to art board, Frank assisted with completing panel backgrounds. He did not consider himself good enough to be a cartoonist, and in no way did he mind working behind the scenes for Joe and Jerry. He thought of himself as the third musketeer.11 In 1941 Frank Shuster was still transcribing the Man of Tomorrow’s exploits, as confirmed in that year’s June 21st issue of the Saturday Evening Post.22 The magazine article, an in-depth look at the success of Jerry and Joe, reported that there were then five artists in the Shuster Shop “furiously penciling and lettering Superman panels....” Those who worked there stated in later years that there were never more than four cartoonists crammed into their tiny office space. Regardless, Frank was not one of them. He did his lettering from the Shuster family home in Cleveland, a fact verified in 2009 by sister Jean. Whether handled by Frank or someone else, if one compares tales from this period to earlier stories, the craft of transcribing had evolved. No longer shapeless blobs, word balloons sprouted cloudlike bulges that better encompassed the varying line-lengths of dialogue. Expressions in captions or balloons sometimes slanted. Almost, but not quite italicized. It was a way to accelerate the eyes through the verbiage so readers could focus more quickly on the illustrated action beneath.

A few word-delineators of “Superman” stories were phasing out around the time of the Saturday Evening Post article. Paul Lauretta was one. A second scribe, though perhaps it was still Lauretta (clues from his “American Ace” stories demonstrate that he sometimes changed accoutrements) used jagged arrows to connect adjacent panels, thickened the first letters of captions, and infrequently added geometric shapes to sparsely worded vertical headings. A third delineator squared off the lead caption’s first letter in some of Jack Burnley’s fall/winter 1940-41 illustrated stories for Action Comics. Was it Burnley himself, his brother, or his

sister? A fourth letterer used curvaceous “N’s” and “W’s,” while a fifth calligrapher incorporated stubbier stems on word balloons, designed unenclosed captions with emboldened first letters, and transcribed “S’s” that tipped slightly backward.

With those just mentioned gone by mid-1941, a stalwart remained, one with a straightforward, no-nonsense style. Still, certain letters were distinctive. For example, the horizontal bar of “A’s” and “H’s” and the middle bar of “E’s” were usually well below center. Instead of joining the lower part of the loop with the vertical stem, “R’s” were rarely closed.

There may have been other, different hands helping occasionally, too.

Floating captions, one-of-a-kind narrative designs on splash pages, and calligraphy that appeared cruder in some panels than others were aberrations sometimes seen.

Overall, lettering style(s) were not as varied as what came before, making identification difficult.

While the next chief scribe may have come sooner, changes were not obvious until the middle of 1943.

Captions suddenly possessed wavy-lined

How To Be Funny Faces by Joe Shuster. An ad for Jerry Siegel & Frank Shuster’s 10-lesson humor course.

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

borders. Question marks were squigglier. Known as a stylized scroll option, first letters of captions were colored red and shaded in the upper left corner to provide the illusion of depth. At each fable’s conclusion, “The End” transformed from block writing to cursive.

Working months ahead of the printed publication date, it can be reasonably surmised that Frank Shuster was gone by this time. Jean Peavy told Mel Higgins that Frank entered the Army on November 1, 1942; he exited the service circa September 1945. She added that her brother never returned to the craft of lettering because the folks at DC by then controlled the hiring on “Superman.”11 After the war, Frank moved into the lovely apartment in Forest Hills, Queens Borough, New York City that Joe rented for his family.

(Joe resided in Manhattan, in a fancy apartment building with a doorman; he knew many of the celebrities living there, too.) Frank wrote humor skits and jokes for his sister Jean’s nightclub act. The wannabe actor combined singing and comedy into her one-woman show.

Frank himself was once an aspiring thespian. Determined to perform on Broadway, at sixteen years of age he left Glenville High School (where Joe had graduated) and jumped a train headed for NYC. Working as a busboy, he lasted six months before returning to Cleveland to graduate from a different institution than his brother.

John Hay High School provided Frank with the opportunity to do Shakespeare and comedy. He was also editor of the school newspaper and contributed a satirical humor column called “Stiletto.”11 The Shuster clan obviously enjoyed entertaining others.

Certainly, big brother Joe enthralled millions due to his part in creating and sustaining the adventures of Superman, but a cousin, also named Frank, was part of the once-famous Canadian comedy team of Wayne and Shuster. The “other” Frank Shuster and Johnny Wayne performed together as professionals from the 1940s through the 1980s. They made 66 appearances on TV’s The Ed Sullivan Show alone.

Joe’s brother Frank was enamored with sociology.

Foreshadowing the Beat Generation, he traveled with hobos to study their culture. In addition, while he was penning gags for Jean’s show Frank was writing about human nature. He could be serious and insightful. Even during the war, after taking a personality test, the Army made Frank an assistant chaplain because he was interested in advising and guiding others. Later he clerked for a general at the Pentagon. Frank made it a point to observe 5-Star general and future President Dwight D. Eisenhower while walking the halls.11 Big brother Joe ran out of money after he was fired from “Superman.” Long before he and Jerry were each granted an annual stipend from DC Comics (commencing at the end of 1975), the then-destitute older sibling left his fancy digs and moved into the family apartment. Frank became the main provider.

Initially working as a draftsman38 for very little money, he eventually found a job with the Nielsen Company. From the early 1950s until 1992 Frank

Ira Schnapp in the DC Comics bullpen—juxtaposed with Wayne Boring’s cover for Action Comics #198 (Nov. 1954), with Stan Kaye inks—and (except for the logo) the distinctive fancy lettering of Ira Schnapp.

compiled television show ratings charts for the marketing research organization. Responsible and reliable, he never missed a day at Nielsen.11

Showcard Letterer Of The Comics Ira Schnapp came to Superman after Frank Shuster. His earliest known contribution to the Metropolis Marvel was to redesign the Superman comicbook logo. Beginning with the title’s sixth issue (cover-dated Sept.-Oct. 1940), Ira’s masthead, clean and ahead of its time, would endure for more than four decades without alteration.

While it deserves its trademark status, credit must go to Joe Shuster for the initial concept. He had the right idea but remained undecided on the best, fixed look to his stubbier title lettering, redrawing the logo a few times between issues one through five.

Longtime comics letterer Todd Klein, who started working at DC in 1977, wrote: “Ira took elements from all the Shuster versions, standardized the width and shapes of the letters, made the telescoping consistent, and used true three-point perspective, which Shuster’s work only guessed at.”

Schnapp brought to comics more than two decades of prior experience as a showcard letterer, where he learned to use greatly varied calligraphy on title, narrative, and dialog placards for silent moving pictures, movie theatre lobby cards, storefront posters, and other forms of print advertising. Immigrating to this country as a boy from Sassow, Austria, the roots of his vocation came even earlier. Between the ages of 14 and 18, Ira was tasked with enlarging

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and perfecting an architectural firm’s lettering so stonecutters could inscribe what still appears on the James A. Farley Post Office in New York City: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Construction on the Post Office occurred between 1908 and 1912, an era when Schnapp may have enlarged letters for other landmark buildings as well, including the main New York Public Library (completed in 1911) and Grand Central Station (opened in 1913).

The Art Deco movement originated in the 1920s and grew stronger in the ’30s and ’40s. Deco’s design style influenced Ira’s work for the rest of his career.

As early as 1934 Schnapp was lettering covers and creating logos for Harry Donenfeld’s spicy/girlie pulp magazines at Trojan Publishing.24 Ira was related by marriage to Jack Liebowitz who, at the time, was Harry’s accountant and point man, prior to the two men entering the comicbook industry.

In 1940, the same year he revised Shuster’s logo for “Superman,” Ira illustrated and probably wrote copy for a weekly newspaper panel titled “The Art of the Ages.” Schnapp’s goal for each installment was to discuss and reproduce one well-known painting or sculpture. Applying nuanced shading to pen and ink in an attempt to add realism to newsprint, the feature appeared in exactly one tabloid, the Toledo Blade. “The Art of the Ages” survived for a mere 24 installments.

In a few years Ira was providing ancillary cover blurbs as well as inside story lettering for DC Comics. By the latter 1940s, he’d moved from working freelance to taking a position with the company. Gaspar Saladino was a younger calligrapher when he joined the staff at the end of 1949; he recalled that Schnapp was already at his desk in the production room (on the 9th floor at 480 Lexington Avenue) by the time he arrived.

With full-time status, Ira was specifically tagged to produce more and more of the blurbs appearing on comicbook covers, revealing the guest stars or hinting at mysteries about to unfold.

He would establish new logos that symbolized the individual themes behind different titles. Eventually, Schnapp became perhaps best-known for the DC house ads known as “Coming

Interior—But Not Inferior!

A rare in-book credit for letterer Schnapp occurred near the end of his career, in The Inferior Five #2 (May-June 1967). Script by E. Nelson Bridwell; art by Mike Sekowsky & Mike Esposito. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Super-Attractions!” Combining small cover images (or just the title logos) with hand lettering of varying fonts and styles, the ads began appearing earlier but exploded all over the line during the early to mid-1960s. Meanwhile, Ira continued to transpose dialog for hundreds of inside stories on the line’s super-hero and humor comicbooks when he could find the time.

Todd Klein on his blog described traits consistent to the letterer. Schnapp’s cursive script for covers, splashes, and ads was distinctly attractive, taking on bright colors with ease. In story panels, when a writer used excessive dialog, Ira liked to overlap his word

Look! Up At The Top Of The Cover!

(Above:) Joe Shuster’s cover logo for Superman #5 (Summer 1940) was one of several that set the tone and general look of the masthead.

(Right:) It’s Ira Schnapp’s iconic rendering of that logo, however, that was put in place only one issue later—and has been seen the world over ever since. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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Drawn To Greatness—Part I

balloons so they would obscure less art. Letters not quite jostling, narrow distance between them, configured to fit in a square. Still, with such preciseness, Ira’s print never gave the impression of being typeset. The letters did not shout; with subtle serifs they cooed instead, birthed from the hand of a master.

Though earlier possibilities are listed with question marks, Klein is fairly comfortable in surmising that Schnapp lettered the “Superman” stories in World’s Finest Comics #19 (Fall 1945), Action Comics #113 (Oct. 1947), and most of the second tale in Superman #46 (May-June 1947). He began placing cover blurbs on Man of Steel mags as early as Action #78 (Nov. 1944), World’s Finest #21 (Mar.-Apr. 1946), and Superman #40 (May-June 1946). It also appears that Ira transformed typed scripts into words and captions on the Superman newspaper strip. Todd’s identification was more preliminary by the time this book was completed, having only identified the Superman Sunday dated Dec. 10th, 1944, as maybe containing his lettering.

Mr. Schnapp was forced to retire from the company in 1968, possibly part of a purge of various artists and writers who were considered old-fashioned. He died the following year.

[Letterer Todd Klein’s blog is accessible through his website at kleinletters.com. Additional tidbits were gleaned from “Dial B for Blog: The World’s Greatest Comic Blogazine” by Robby Reed http://www. dialbforblog.com/archives/372/.]

Coming in A/E #196: Spotlight on Wayne Boring, Winslow Mortimer, and a couple of incredible “Superman” inkers!

FOOTNOTES 1.

Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book by Gerard Jones. Basic Books, New York, NY, 2004.

2.

DC Comics before Superman: Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson’s Pulp Comics by Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson. Hermes Press, Neshannock, Pennsylvania, 2018.

3.

“Who Drew Superman in the War Years?” Online article by Bob Hughes http://dccomicsartists.com/superart/WarYears. htm updated on May 12, 2014.

4.

“Of Superman and Kids with Dreams, a Rare Interview with the Creators of Superman: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.” Nemo: The Classic Comics Library #2, August 1983. Fantagraphics Books, Inc., Stamford, CT.

5.

Children of the Yellow Kid: The Evolution of the American Comic Strip by Robert C. Harvey. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA, 1998.

6.

Roy Crane’s Wash Tubbs: The First Adventure Comic Strip. Compiled

by Gordon Campbell and Jim Ivey, foreword by Charles M. Schulz.

Luna Press, New York, 1974.

7.

Super Boys: The Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster – The Creators of Superman by Brad Ricca, St. Martin’s

Press, 2013.

8.

“An Interview with Wayne Boring” by Richard Pachter.

Amazing Heroes No. 41. Redbeard, Inc., Stamford, CT, Feb. 15, 1984.

9.

Comics, The Golden Age. The History of DC Comics: 50 Years of Fantastic Imagination. An anniversary tribute edited by Ron Goulart. New Media Books, Inc., 1985.

10. Siegel and Shuster’s Funnyman: The First Jewish Superhero, from the Creators of Superman by Thomas Andrae and Mel Gordon, Preface by Danny Fingeroth. Feral House, Port Townsend WA, 2010. [Thomas Andrae cites Phil Yeh’s interview with Jerry Siegel in the December 1975 issue of Cobblestone magazine.]

11. Jean Shuster Peavy interviewed by Mel Higgins on March 21, 2009.

12. “Man of Steel Splinters an American Dream” by Eirik Knutzen, Los Angeles Times, February 25, 1979.

13. Superman at Fifty: The Persistence of a Legend edited by Dennis Dooley and Gary Engle. Octavia Press, Cleveland, Ohio, 1987.

14. The Great Comic Book Heroes compiled, introduced, and annotated by Jules Feiffer. Bonanza Books (New York), a division of Crown Publishers, Inc. by arrangement with The Dial Press, 1965.

15. “The Birth of Superman.” Interview with Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel, and Joanne Siegel conducted by Tom Andrae, Geoffrey Blum, and Gary Coddington for Nemo: The Classic Comics Library #2. Fantagraphics Books, Inc., Stamford, CT, August 1983.

What’s In A Name?

Ira Schnapp, as sketched by longtime DC production executive Jack Adler— flanked by no fewer than nine major DC logos he designed during the Silver Age. [Logos TM & © DC Comics; sketch © Estate of Jack Adler.]

Wayne Boring & The Early “Superman” Artists Who Followed Joe Shuster

16. Interview with Antoinette Lombardi conducted by Mel Higgins on June 4, 2009.

Pennsylvania, 2018.

33. “An Exclusive Interview with Golden Age-Great Jack Burnley.”

Comic Book Marketplace No. 21, Jan.-Feb. 1993, published by Comic Book Marketplace Inc.

17. Holding Kryptonite: Truth, Justice and America’s First Superhero by Lauren Agostino and A.L. Newberg. Holmes & Watson Publishing Co. Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC, 2014.

34. “The Golden Girl and the Silver Slipper. The Delores Farris Story: A Tale of the Twenties.” Excerpts from the book by Jack Burnley, edited and abridged by Roy Thomas. Alter Ego, Vol. 3, No. 27, August 2003. TwoMorrows, Raleigh, NC. 35. Jack Burnley undated [circa 1992] hand-written letter. Sold by Hake’s Americana in auction #214, March 2015.

36. Old Fort Niagara: An Illustrated History of the Famous Fort by Frederic Ray. Annotated edition 1988, original copyright 1954.

18. “Paul Cassidy, 94; Gave S to Superman” by Dennis McLellan. Los Angeles Times article, July 5, 2005.

19. “Paul Cassidy— Superman’s First Ghost?

Starring Two Men of Steel –and Cousin Hopalong, Too!” by Mel Higgins. Alter Ego, Vol. 3, No. 112, August 2012.

TwoMorrows, Raleigh, NC.

53

37. “Focus on Fred Ray part three: Artist-Chronicler of American Landmarks” by author unknown, but probably Fred Ray. Compiled by Dan Makara and Ron Webber. Alter Ego Vol. 3, No. 19, December 2002. TwoMorrows, Raleigh, NC.

Auguste Rodin, Take Note!

A thoughtful Paul Cassidy pose, in a panel from Superman #8 (Jan.-Feb. 1941). Script by Jerry Siegel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

20. “The 1st American Comics Scholar was a Superman Artist.”

Unassuming Barber Shop. Online column by Brad Ricca, November 14, 2014.

21. “A Job for Superman” by James Vance. Superman: The Dailies, 1939 to 1942. DC Comics, New York, New York, and Kitchen Sink Press, Northampton, Massachusetts, 1998.

22. “Up, Up and Awa-a-y! The Rise of Superman, Inc.” by John Kobler. The Saturday Evening Post, June 21, 1941.

23. “The Art History of Superman! From Joe Shuster to Alex Ross, 60 Years of Incredible Art!” by Arlen Schumer. Comic Book Marketplace No. 63, October 1998. Gemstone Publishing, Inc. [West], Coronado, CA. 24. Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999 by Jerry Bails and Hames Ware: online edition at www.bailsproject.com 25. Dick Cassidy talking with his dad, artist Paul Cassidy, on February 10th and 11th, 2001. From correspondence between Mel Higgins and Dick Cassidy.

26. Grand Comics Database: www.comics.org

27. DC Comics: The 75th Anniversary Poster Book with commentary

by Robert Schnakenberg. Quirk Books, Philadelphia, PA, 2010.

28. Hake’s Americana Auctions #184, #205, and #222 – catalogs for June 30, 2005, March 2, 2012, and November 16, 2017, respectively.

29. “Vin Sullivan – Present at the Creation.” Alter Ego, Vol. 3, No. 27, August 2003. TwoMorrows, Raleigh, NC. 30. Superman: The Complete History by Les Daniels. DC Comics and Chronicle Books, San Francisco, California, 1998.

31. “Fred Guardineer! A Candid Conversation with a Golden Age Legend!” by Todd Severin. Comic Book Marketplace No. 79, June 2000. Gemstone Publishing, Inc. [West], Coronado CA. 32. “Afterword” by David Armstrong from the book DC Comics Before Superman: Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson’s Pulp Comics

by Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson. Hermes Press, Neshannock,

38. Creators of the Superheroes by Thomas Andrae. Hermes Press, Neshannock, NJ, 2011.

39. “A Stanley Kaye Superman Painting Mystery Part 1” by Todd Klein. Todd Klein’s Blog.

40. “The Mystery of the Missing Man of Steel” by James Barron.

The New York Times, City Room, Blogging from the Five Boroughs, April 18, 2010.

41. Superman: Cover to Cover, DC Comics, 2006.

42. The Comics! edited by Robin Snyder. Vol. 11, #6, June 2000.

43. “Focus on Fred Ray, Part Two: A Fred Ray Interview—Sort-Of”

by Charlie Roberts. Alter Ego Vol. 3, No. 19 December 2002.

TwoMorrows, Raleigh, NC. 44. “Focus on Fred Ray, Part One: Jerry Robinson on Fred Ray, the Harrisburg Patriot.” Interview and transcription by Dan Makara. Alter Ego Vol. 3, No. 19 December 2002. TwoMorrows, Raleigh, NC. 45. Typed note dated August 7, 1940, from Jerry Siegel to co-publisher Jack Liebowitz.

46. The Superman Archives, Volume Two, DC Comics Inc., New York, NY, 1990.

47. “The K-Metal From Krypton Credits” by Bob Hughes. Online article on the Superman Through the Ages website: http://superman. nu/k-metal/ credits-1940.php 48. “It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s – Noel Sickles!” by Alex Toth. Alter Ego Vol. 3, No. 37, June 2004. TwoMorrows, Raleigh, NC.

As Long As It’s There!

A Wayne Boring panel from Superman #8 (Jan.-Feb. 1941), showing the Man of Steel’s “S”-emblem relatively low on his chest. Script

by Jerry Siegel. [TM & © DC Comics.]

54

Drawn To Greatness—Part I

58. Superman: The Action Comics Archives, Volume 5, DC Comics Inc., New York, NY, 2007.

59. Ira Yarbrough Jr. interviewed by Mel Higgins on March 12, 2009.

60. Joan [Yarbrough] Kufrin: e-mail to Mel Higgins on March 26, 2009.

61. Alvin Schwartz interviewed by Rich Morrissey in 1992 for David Anthony Kraft’s Comics Interview Super Special: “The Many Lives of – Superman!” Fictioneer Books Ltd, New York, NY, 1993.

62. “The Birth of Superman.” Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster interviewed by Tom Andrae, also conducted by Geoffrey Blum and Gary Coddington. Nemo: The Classic Comics Library #2, August, 1983. Fantagraphics Books, Inc., Stamford CT. 63. “Obituary: Jerry Siegel” by Denis Gifford. The Independent, Thursday, 1 February, 1996.

64. Siegel and Shuster’s Funnyman: The First Jewish Superhero, from the Creators of Superman by Thomas Andrae and Mel Gordon, Preface by Danny Fingeroth. Feral House, Port Townsend WA, 2010.

Like we said: Don’t miss the epic conclusion of Drawn to Greatness in Alter Ego #196.

Three Branches Of The Service: Army, Navy—& “Air Force”!

Fred Ray’s cover for Superman #12 (Sept.-Oct. 1941). His pencils for a re-creation of this art were seen back on p. 24. Courtesy of the Grand Comics Database. [TM & © DC Comics.]

49. “Who Drew Superman? The Shuster Shop 1941-42.” Online article by Bob Hughes.

50. From Jerry Siegel’s records: Siegel and Shuster v. National Comics Publications, Inc., et al., case no. 1099 [Westchester Cty. Sup. Ct. 1947]. Listed on the Grand Comics Database [GCD] website: www.comics.org 51. The Comic Strip Project from Paul Leiffer and Hames Ware: comicsproj@aol.com 52. The Valley Artists’ Guild: Bulletin for October 1971. Edited by Louis O’Connell. Studio City, CA 91604.

53. “Original Superman Illustrator Looks Back On Caped Crusades” by Erin Waldner. The Daily Independent [Ridgecrest, California], circa 1996.

54. “Remembering Superman artist Leo Nowak” by Michael Sangiacomo. The Plain Dealer, December 27, 2013 at 3:03 PM, updated December 27, 2013. Much of the original article was published May 26, 1996. Page: 6F Section: “Arts & Living.”

55. “Comic Legends: When Did Superman First Fly?” by Brian Cronin. Online article on CBR.com, 12/03/2016.

56. Jim Sikela interviewed by Mel Higgins on February 18, 2009.

57. Joan (Sikela) Needham interviewed by Mel Higgins: February 20, 26, and April 2, 2009.

So Who’s The Kid? Jack Burnley’s cover for New York World’s Fair Comics #2 (which came out in the spring of 1940) was the first that depicted Superman and Batman together. Courtesy of GCD. [TM & © DC Comics.]

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57

(Above:) Will Eisner’s Spirit Section from June 2, 1940. (Right:) A bevy of Fox comics characters in this promo ad from the Kansas City Journal. It appeared on Jan. 28, 1940, four months before Eisner’s first Spirit Section! [© Eisner Estate.]

58

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Didya Know?

(Part 1)

F

by Michael T. Gilbert

or decades, common knowledge had it that Will Eisner (working with publisher Everett “Busy” Arnold) pretty much invented the weekly newspaper comicbook section (syndicated by the Register and Tribune Syndicate). Most fans long believed the format was introduced with Eisner’s first Spirit Section in June 2, 1940. Eisner wrote and drew the lead for that 16-page comicbook, inserted in Sunday newspapers. A free comicbook each Sunday was a great bonus for the kiddies (and their comic-friendly parents).

The section originally consisted of a lead 8-page story featuring Eisner’s crime-fighting hero, Denny Colt, alias The Spirit. Eisner reportedly also scripted the first episodes of both four-page backup features, “Lady Luck” and “Mr. Mystic.”

Chuck Mazoujian (under the “Ford Davis” pseudonym), illustrated “Lady Luck,” while the great Bob Powell (as “W. Morgan Thomas,” the same pseudonym used by one and all on every “Sheena, Queen of the Jungle” story at Fiction House) did the honors for “Mr. Mystic.” Powell would soon take over the writing as well, making the strip his own.

Foxy Victor!

Some years back I discovered that publisher Victor Fox also produced a comic supplement for newspapers, in a similar format. Fox, who ran Fox Publications, Inc., was a notoriously sleazy publisher. That being the case, I naturally assumed that Fox stole the idea from Arnold and Eisner.

Imagine my surprise to discover that Fox actually published his comic four months before Eisner’s Spirit Section! The books weren’t exactly the same, of course. While Eisner’s section featured all-new material (and all new characters), Fox’s comicbook reprinted stories from his comics, laid out four to a page. Not a bad deal for cartoon fans, but not nearly as ambitious. This way Fox was able to do it on the cheap, his “standard operating procedure.”

A Fox In The Funhouse This first page from a Fox Syndicate Newspaper Strips section from the Kansas City Journal of Feb. 4, 1940, is one of the earliest issues to surface (one in The Boston Evening Transcript of January 7, 1940 is believed to be the very first). This section consists of reprints featuring Fox’s “Blue Beetle” (originally from Mystery Men #4, Nov. 1939, credited to Charles Nicholas), and “Rex Dexter.” This installment of Dick Briefer’s “Rex Dexter, Interplanetary Adventurer,” was originally published in Fox’s Mystery Men #5 (Dec. 1939) and edited for the reprinting. Briefer was best known for his “Frankenstein” feature for Prize Comics. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders; Blue Beetle is a trademark of DC Comics.]

Didya Know? (Part 1)

59

“Fung” For The Whole Family!

(Above:) “Dr. Fung” appeared in the Fox comic section in the Kansas City Journal on Feb. 4, 1940, reprinted from Fox’s Wonderworld Comics #7 (Nov. 1939). [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Fox’s Features The comic, inserted into the Kansas City Journal, contained numerous Fox characters from that company’s comicbooks. First and foremost was “The Blue Beetle,” originally planned as a Green Hornet knockoff. Dick Briefer’s “Rex Dexter (Interplanetary Adventurer!)” took care of the sci-fi angle. Lou Fine’s “The Flame” (officially by “Basil Berold”) fought crime using strange superpowers, as did another super-hero, “The Green Mask,” by Walter Frehm. Next, we had “Dr. Fung (Master Sleuth of the Orient!)” by Arthur Dean. This feature had first appeared in Fox’s Wonder Comics #1 for May 1939.

Wow! What A Cover!

(Above:) Will Eisner’s cover to Wow What a Magazine #2, from 1936. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

The online Grand Comics Database states that the series was created by Bob Powell. However, it has a very early Will Eisner feel to me (yes, him again!). Upon further investigation, I discovered the “Dr. Fung” tale to be a reworking of an Eisner story from 1936, when Will was about nineteen. The cover tale in Henle’s Wow What a Magazine! #2 (Aug. 1936) featured Captain Scott Dalton (named Dan Barrister when he first meets Dr. Fung in that first Wonder Comics story).

Wow was packaged by Eisner and edited

A “Captain” Gets His “Doctorate” (Above:) “Dr. Fung” was introduced in Fox’s Wonder Comics #1 (May 1939) but was actually reworked from a “Captain Scott Dalton” feature from Henle’s Wow What a Magazine! #2 (Aug. 1936). The art, credited in the Grand Comics Database to Bob Powell, was most likely actually done by Will Eisner. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

60

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

by Jerry Iger. This suggests that Eisner may have actually drawn that first “Dr. Fung” story, despite its being credited to Powell

What Made “Yarko” So “Great”?

(Right:) Will Eisner’s “Yarko” page from the Kansas City Journal of Feb. 18, 1940. It originally appeared in Fox’s Wonderworld #5 (Sept. 1939). [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Next we have “Yarko the Great,” another magician type, signed by “Anthony Brooks.” In reality, this strip was also by Will Eisner, who would create a similar magical hero, Mr. Mystic, for his Spirit Section a few months later.

Surprisingly, instead of Fox’s usual phony house name, Klaus Nordling actually got credit for his humorous “’Spark’ Stevens of the Navy” strip. Nordling would later take over the Spirit Section’s “Lady Luck” strip, after Chuck Mazoujian (and, later, Nick Cardy) bowed out. And finally, we had Vic Todd’s girl-adventurer strip, “Patty O’Day.” The stories were taken from Wonder Comics, Mystery Men, and other Fox comics.

Comic historian Ken Quattro recently speculated about the Fox comic section: “One thing you may want to mention in your article is that Victor Fox may have published the Weekly Comic Magazine out of spite (big surprise!).

“Remember that Eisner and Iger had a falling out with him in the fall of 1939 and they quit him over non-payment for past work

“Mystic” Pizza

Powell To The People!

(Above:) Will Eisner wrote the initial “Mr. Mystic” adventure, with art by Bob Powell (under the “W. Morgan Thomas” pseudonym). It appeared in the first Spirit Section, published on June 2, 1940. [TM & © Estate of Will Eisner.]

(Above:) Bob Powell wrote and drew most of the subsequent “Mr. Mystic” strips, including this one from Sept. 29, 1940. [TM & © Estate of Will Eisner.]

Didya Know? (Part 1)

done for him. He had to go out and recruit a bunch of new artists, although Iger eventually again began working with him.

61

He’s Got That “Spark”!

(Right:) Klaus Nordling drew this ““Spark” Stevens“ story from the Fox comic section of Feb 4, 1940, which had originally been published in Wonderworld Comics #4 (Aug. 1939). Nordling would later write and draw the “Lady Luck” strip in Eisner’s Spirit Section. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

“However, Eisner did not, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he heard about the upcoming Spirit Section and hurried out his own competing version. That sounds so like Fox and I’d bet dollarsto-doughnuts that’s what happened and why in the long run his section wasn’t able to compete with the Spirit Section.”

Ken’s speculation might also explain why Fox’s section included (unpaid) reprints by Will. “Take that, Eisner!”

Since these inserts are quite rare, I can’t say for sure how many issues were produced, but the first Fox Syndicate Newspaper Strips appears to be the one distributed in The Boston Evening Transcript of January 7, 1940. It reprinted “Blue Beetle” and other features from Fox’s comicbooks, four to a page. His free comicbook inserts don’t appear to have been published past 1940. This article is not meant to be the last word on the subject, but an introductory overview. As more of these comicbook inserts surface, more information about them will come to light.

Luck, Be A Lady This Week!

Tall Story!

(Above:) The first “Lady Luck” strip, from the June 2, 1940, Spirit Section, written by Will Eisner (as “Ford Davis”) and illustrated by Chuck Mazoujian.

[TM & © Estate of Will Eisner.]

(Above:) Klaus Nordling was constantly experimenting graphically when he took over the “Lady Luck” strip. This inventive page is from the Spirit Section of July 8, 1945. [TM & © Estate of Will Eisner.]

62

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

that predated them all!

Fox’s Free Weekly Comic Magazine!

Complicating things further are another comicbook insert titled Free Weekly Comic Magazine! This, too, was from 1940, and also comes courtesy of Victor Fox. The Weekly featured reprints of many of the same Fox characters, including The Blue Beetle, Patty O’Day, Yarko, Dr. Fung, and so on. However, I’m unsure if these inserts are two different titles, or simply the same series renamed.

These Free Weekly issues seem to be even rarer than the Fox Syndicate Newspaper Strips. So far, only one complete issue, plus two additional covers, have surfaced. It’s entirely possible these comics were never actually published or distributed beyond a few sales samples. The Heritage Auctions website, which had a copy for auction, said:

Next time, comic researcher Eric Schumacher will share the story of what appears to be the very first comicbook newspaper supplement. Is it really a comicbook?

No, it’s Book-Comic! And Will Eisner was in it, too, way back in 1937. That’s three years before either of the previously mentioned titles. And the publisher? None other than Everett M. “Busy” Arnold himself. More on that… Next issue!

Our thanks to Ken Quattro, Eric Schumacher, the Heritage Website, and the indispensable Digital Comics Museum.

Till next time…

“Weekly Comic Magazine…was Fox’s answer to the Spirit Sections, though we’ll note that it’s actually dated a few weeks earlier than the first Spirit insert! It’s on newsprint, intended to be folded… as well as cut. While it says “Trenton Sunday Times, May 12, 1940” at the top, we assume that this was printed as a speculative endeavor by Fox and that the section was never actually distributed. It’s got 8 pages of the Blue Beetle and 7 pages of Patty O’Day (who was a backup feature in Wonder Comics). Overstreet notes, ‘two copies known to exist.’”

Confusing, no? So, what we have are covers to three issues that may or may not have actually been sold to the papers. If so, none but the one on Heritage seems to have surfaced to date.

The Spirit: Origins!

But getting back to Eisner’s Spirit Section for a minute, here’s what Will had to say about its creation. These quotes are from Will Eisner interviews in “Art & Commerce: An Oral Reminiscence by Will Eisner” in Panels #1 (Summer 1979).

“In late ‘39, just before Christmas time,” Eisner recalled. “Quality Comics publisher Everett M. “Busy” Arnold came to me and said that the Sunday newspapers were looking for a way of getting into this comic book boom.”

Eisner elaborated on that meeting in a 2004 interview with Jim Amash, published in Alter Ego #48 (May 2005): “’Busy’ invited me up for lunch one day and introduced me to Henry Martin [sales manager of the Des Moines Register and Tribune Syndicate] who said, ‘The newspapers in this country, particularly the Sunday papers, are looking to compete with comics books, and they would like to get a comic-book insert into the newspapers.’...

Martin asked if I could do it....

“It meant that I’d have to leave Eisner & Iger [which] was making money; we were very profitable at that time and things were going very well. A hard decision. Anyway, I agreed to do the Sunday comic book and we started discussing the deal [which] was that we’d be partners in the ‘Comic Book Section,’ as they called it at that time. And also, I would produce two other magazines in partnership with Arnold.”

So there you have it. Three different free comicbook giveaways, intended to be included in your Sunday paper.

Ah, but we’ve recently learned there was a fourth title—one

Making An Example?

This cover for the May 5, 1940, edition of Fox’s Weekly Comic Magazine #1 featured “The Blue Beetle” and “Patty O’Day.” But it may have been printed only as samples. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

63

In Memoriam

Keith Giffen (November 30, 1952 – October 10, 2023)

“When I Was Eight Years Old, I Decided I Wanted To Draw These Strange Things” —Quote from Keith’s interview for Jon B. Cooke in The Jack Kirby Collector #29 (Aug. 2000)

K

by Stephan J. Friedt eith was born in Queens, New York, on November 30, 1952. He passed in Tampa, Florida, on October 10, 2023, after experiencing a stroke.

Keith’s first published work was a black-&-white text story with Bill Mantlo in Marvel Preview #4 (Marvel, Jan. 1976). His work in comics was extensive as both a writer and an artist, working on such beloved features as DC’s Legion of Super-Heroes, Justice League of America, and a variety of off-shoots, and creating the characters Lobo (with Roger Silfer) and Ambush Bug. At Marvel he was responsible for Video Jack (Epic), and wrote for numerous series such as Micronauts, Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, and Drax the Destroyer.

You can also find his work at Image, Dark Horse, First, and Valiant. For full lists check out his listing at Grand Comics Database or the bibliography of his Wikipedia entry.

His art style would evolve over the years, but it was always distinctive. His writing was always interesting and engaging.

His co-workers expressed it best in Facebook posts and interviews:

Look! Down In The Left-Hand Corner!

Giffen’s cover for Ambush Bug #1 (June 1985).

[TM & © DC Comics.]

A quirk of Keith: It’s intrinsic to the writer/artist collaborations in comics that either party can make unreasonable demands of the other. Not financially, but creatively. The writer who asks for contradictory visual actions in a single panel. The artist who does a tiny panel for the scene where the big expository monologue is to happen.

Keith and I rarely had that problem.

But he did remind me, time after time, of my cruelest

Keith Giffen was, among other things, the co-creator of Marvel’s Rocket Raccoon (in Marvel Preview #7, July 1976) and of the DC anti-hero Lobo. [Rocket Raccoon TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; Lobo TM & © DC Comics.]

art direction: “The entire population of the planet Daxam rises as one, flying into space.” Always followed by his “and you only gave me 1/5 of a page for it!”

Of course he pulled it off beautifully.

—Paul Levitz Facebook 10/15/2023

He and I were plotting a story, and we took a walk through Central Park.

About halfway through the park, he stopped short, looked around, turned to me and said, “I’ve lived in New York all my life and I’ve never been in Central Park.” Since it was Keith who said it, it didn’t surprise me. I just laughed. He was quite a guy.

—Jim Valentino Facebook 10/12/23 He was a fine talent, and I’m very happy that at least we got to work together on the “Dr. Fate” chapter of All-Star Squadron Annual #3, on which he did an excellent job. The comics world will miss him.

—Roy Thomas Via e-mail 10/12/23 I’m heartbroken over the passing of Keith Giffen. I was one of his editors at DC and remained in awe of his unbridled imagination. It was my honor as Legion editor to present to Keith the Inkpot Award at San Diego Comic-Con back in 1991 (or ‘92).

But the most fun I ever had in comics was working with Keith and Bob Fleming on 1992’s Ambush Bug Nothing Special. Some of my DC colleagues hated Ambush Bug, but I giggle like a schoolboy remembering how we cracked each other up on this book.

—Michael Eury Facebook 10/12/23 Keith Giffen’s last Facebook post read: I told them I was sick...

Anything not to go to New York Comic Con Thanx Keith Giffen 1952-2023 Bwah ha ha ha ha Alter Ego regrets that, due to a filing error, this tribute was not published sooner.

65

In Memoriam

Don Perlin

(August 27, 1929 – May 14, 2024)

“The Blessing To Do Something That You Love”

D

by Bryan Stroud on Perlin, who enjoyed a long and fruitful career as an artist, storyteller, and editor, passed away on May 14, 2024, at the age of 94.

Born in Brooklyn in New York City on August 27, 1929, Don got an early start on his career when he was fourteen. In a 2010

interview with this writer, Don Perlin Don recalled: “While I was in and his cover for Marvel Spotlight high school, Burne Hogarth #28 (June 1976), featuring Moon had put an ad in some of Knight, the popular hero he the high school papers co-created with writer Doug Moench. about a class Photo by JayJay Jackson. [Cover TM & he’d be having © Marvel Characters, Inc.] on Saturday mornings in Manhattan. I showed it to my dad and he called Hogarth. We went to his apartment and showed him some of the things I’d done and he accepted me into to the class. There I started learning about comicbooks and comic strips and the “how-to” part of things. From there on I started trying to get into the business and slowly I managed to. My first job was after I graduated high school, for Fox Features Syndicate.”

When Fox folded, Perlin found work with multiple publishers over the years, including Ziff-Davis, Hillman Periodicals, St. John, and Timely/Atlas Comics. He further ghosted on Will Eisner’s Spirit feature.

After a stint in the Army, Perlin worked for Charlton Comics, and, in a great example of his versatility, even spent time doing technical illustration and package design. From the same interview: “I worked for a company that did the parts catalog for Boeing airliners. These were the books that the mechanics kept in the hangars so they could order the parts. We drew every screw, washer, bolt, and everything else in the planes. I got to the point where I thought I could go in there and take the plane apart with a screwdriver…. After that I went to work as a package designer for a manufacturer of paper boxes….

I worked there until one of the partners did some tricks with the books and the place went out of business.”

While he was working in the early 1970s for DC Comics, Don fondly recalled receiving a call from Roy Thomas and being invited to work at Marvel, where he had memorable runs on Werewolf by Night and Morbius the Living Vampire. Among Perlin’s memorable legacies were the co-creation of Moon Knight for Marvel, and later of Bloodshot for Valiant Comics, as well as runs on Marvel’s Defenders and Man-Thing.

Don’s final comments on his career were: “If you get the blessing to do something that you love and can make a living doing it and, every once in a while, someone pats you on the back, it makes you feel good. I lucked out.”

Edited

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ALTER EGO #188

Known as one of the finest inkers in comics history, the late TOM PALMER was also an accomplished penciler and painter, as you’ll see in an-depth interview with Palmer by ALEX GRAND and JIM THOMPSON. Learn his approach to, and thoughts on, working with NEAL ADAMS, GENE COLAN, JOHN BUSCEMA, and others who helped define the Marvel Universe. Plus Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, FCA, and more!

Presenting MARK CARLSON-GHOST’s stupendous study of the 1940s NOVELTY COMICS GROUP—with heroes like Blue Bolt, Target and the Targeteers, White Streak, Spacehawk, etc., produced by such Golden Age super-stars as JOE SIMON & JACK KIRBY, CARL BURGOS, BILL EVERETT, BASIL WOLVERTON, et al. Plus MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, FCA, and more!

Spotlights ANGELO TORRES, the youngest and last of the fabled EC Comics artists—who went on to a fabulous career as a horror, science-fiction, and humor artist for Timely/Marvel, Warren Publishing, and MAD magazine! It’s a lushly illustrated retrospective of his still-ongoing career— plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more

Focuses on great early science-fiction author EDMUND HAMILTON, who went on to an illustrious career at DC Comics, writing Superman, Batman, and especially The Legion of Super-Heroes! Learn all about his encounters with RAY BRADBURY, MORT WEISINGER, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, et al—a panoply of titans! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more!

DOUBLE-SIZE ANNIVERSARY ISSUE! The Marvel side includes mini-interviews with JOHN BUSCEMA, MARIE SEVERIN, JIM MOONEY, and GEORGE TUSKA—plus “STAN LEE’S Dinner with ALAIN RESNAIS” annotated by SEAN HOWE! On the DC side: talks with CARMINE INFANTINO, JOHN BROOME, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, JOE KUBERT, & MURPHY ANDERSON—plus a GARDNER FOX photo-feature, and more!

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ALTER EGO #189

ALTER EGO #190

ALTER EGO #191

ALTER EGO #192

JOHN ROMITA tribute issue! Podcast recollections recorded shortly after the Jazzy One’s passing by JOHN ROMITA JR., JIM STARLIN, STEVE ENGLEHART, BRIAN PULIDO, ROY THOMAS, JAIMIE JAMESON, JOHN CIMINO, STEVE HOUSTON, & NILE SCALA; DAVID ARMSTRONG’s mini-interview with Romita; John Romita’s ten greatest hits; plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, & more!

MITCH MAGLIO examines vintage jungle comics heroes (Kaänga, Ka-Zar, Sheena, Rulah, Jo-Jo/Congo King, Thun’da, Tarzan) with art by LOU FINE, WILL EISNER, FRANK FRAZETTA, MATT BAKER, BOB POWELL, ALEX SCHOMBURG, and others! Plus: the comicbook career of real-life jungle explorers MARTIN AND OSA JOHNSON, FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more!

#191 is an FCA (FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA) issue! Documenting the influence of MAC RABOY’s Captain Marvel Jr. on the life, career, and look of ELVIS PRESLEY during his stellar career, from the 1950s through the 1970s! Plus: Captain Marvel co-creator BILL PARKER’s complete testimony from the DC vs. Fawcett lawsuit, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and other surprises!

MARK CARLSON-GHOST documents the mid-1950s super-hero revival featuring The Human Torch, Captain America, SubMariner, Fighting American, The Avenger, Phantom Lady, The Flame, Captain Flash, and others—with art by JOHN ROMITA, JOHN BUSCEMA, BILL EVERETT, SIMON & KIRBY, MIKE SEKOWSKY, MORT MESKIN, BOB POWELL, and other greats! Plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more!

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I enjoyed the biographical material on artist/editor Mel Cummin. I have owned a Hap Hazzard daily by him for decades. The strip is not indexed in Stolz’s huge book, and with a “21” number being a bit high for a sample may have been published somewhere. While the art remains a mystery, it was nice to learn a bit about Cummin.

The issue also created a mystery! I went up and read Blue Bolt #1 and discovered the “Pony Tracks” humor strip by Jack Warren in it! In premium designer Fred Voges’ files there were four reduced-size hard-colored stats of pages from the story with a working model of the animated cut-out cartoon. This would be from the period when Fred was working with paper premium and punchout-toy king Sam Gold in the early 1940s. Gold was a powerhouse in the industry, teaming with Kay Kamen on a lot of Mickey Mouse material.

S

ince the focus of this issue is the artists of “Superman,” pure and simple, some readers may be wondering why “maskot” artist Shane Foley drew a group of four heroes—Alter and Captain Ego, plus Rob Lindsay and the super-hero Alter Ego—charging right at us. As it happens, Shane’s model for this grouping was the cover of Action Comics #52 (Sept. 1942)—which actually featured artist Fred Ray’s rendition of five heroes: Superman, Americommando, Vigilante, Zatara, and Congo Bill! So actually, Shane got off easy—and so did his ever-faithful colorist/ colleague Randy Sargent! And here Shane could’ve taken the easy way out by having Captain Ego or Alter Ego hoisting an automobile over his head like on the cover of Action #1! [Alter & Capt. Ego TM & © Roy Thomas & Estate of Bill Schelly—created by Biljo White; Alter Ego hero & Rob Lindsay TM & © Roy & Dann Thomas - designed by Ron Harris.]

The coloring is slightly different from the version in Blue Bolt. The stat being of the original art suggests that it came from either Novelty, which was exploring license options or promotional options for their comics, or the artist Jack Warren who patented the animated cartoon.

George Hagenauer

One thing we can always count on in a letter from George H. is an additional history lesson, adding colorfully and informatively to whatever Golden Age subject he tackles… and we’re just sorry we didn’t have room to print your entire letter, old buddy. But then, one of the reasons we didn’t have the space is that a second letter from you re A/E #185 came in soon after the first—and we’ve consigned it to the final spot in this section! Your missives are always welcome in this quarter!

Alter Ego #185 cover-featured Mark Carlson-Ghost’s in-depth study of Curtis Publications’ Novelty comic group, which endured for most of the 1940s—although it would be mostly forgotten today if ten of its first comics hadn’t featured the Blue Bolt hero orchestrated by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby. Still, the story of even a relatively lackluster comics company can be compelling, if well told, and certainly adds to our understanding of the history of the medium, and clearly Mark filled the bill in both capacities… as witness this first letter, from longtime reader George Hagenauer: Dear Roy,

Like many Golden Age collectors, I have had a few Novelty comics over the years but have never been a fan. Nonetheless, it was fun to learn more about this quite quirky company.

I have always been fascinated by Young King Cole Detective because the title is modeled after dime novels! A number of dime-novel detectives once successful had two-generation detectives; when they did that, the younger generation was often just called “young” in the series title. So Old Broadbrim was joined by Young Broadbrim.

Old King Brady was joined by Young King Brady. These were not usually kid sidekicks but older teen partners in the detective business. While dime novels are thought of as a 19th-century phenomenon, the Bradys existed in weekly reprints through the 1920s, but it is still weird to see a dime novel reference in a comicbook—but this is Curtis Novelty.

Mel Cummin and dailies #20 & 21 of his late-1920s Hap Hazzard comic strip, which may or may not have ever achieved syndication. Note that the first panel of “21” is a duplication of the final panel in #20, for some reason. Incidentally, re the name handwritten above where “Hazzard” is crossed out: The alternate name of the strip seems to have been Hap McSnap. Altogether, a curious item, courtesy of George Hagenauer, from the artist who drew the “Dan’l Flannel” cover of Target Comics, Vol. 7, #1 (March 1946), as seen on p. 34 of A/E #185. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

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[correspondence, comments, & corrections]

Next, this from Delmo Walters, Jr.: Dear Roy,

“Blue Bolts & Wonder Boys” is a great follow-up to Mark Carlson-Ghost’s article on the Street & Smith line of comics. I knew nothing about the heroes of Novelty, except for Blue Bolt, who I know was a Simon & Kirby creation. Some of them made their way into Alex Ross’ Project Superpowers series for Dynamite. Dick Cole looks a lot like Captain Triumph in his red and white outfit; Wayne Boring was more of an artistic chameleon than I thought. His Novelty Press art looks nothing like his “Superman” art. I did find it amusing that you did your usual “TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders,” even though most of these characters are in the public domain. A nice tribute to George Pérez, too.

Delmo Walters, Jr.

We always try to put the “TM & ©” notation on even characters or art that may be in the public domain, Delmo, just in case it turns out that sometime we may be in error and a comic or character may still be under protection; that way, we can honestly claim we’ve made an attempt to protect that property according to the laws of “fair use”—which we’re not about to try to explain here. But, of course, while the original “Blue Bolt” material is most likely in the public domain, Dann and I have produced (and are still producing and reprinting) issues of our 1986-spawned independent comicbook Captain Thunder and Blue Bolt for Heroic Publishing, as seen by ads in recent A/E issues—including on p. 72 of this one—and both those heroes are definitely not in the public domain.

reproduced in A/E, courtesy of Eric Gimlin: Hello, Roy!

I just finished reading the wonderful article on the Novelty Comics in Alter Ego #185. I noticed several of the scans were simply credited to Comic Book Plus [website]. Over half of the Target Comics scans there were done by me (“OtherEric”), and about 2/3 of those were done because the late, great Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., was willing to send large chunks of his collection out to people he never met in person so we could scan and share them with everybody.

The one in particular I recognize is the Target V2#1; I remember that Jim’s copy was coverless, with those stains at the bottom of the first page that are still clearly visible in the image you used. I’m not concerned with getting credit for myself, but I would very much like to see Jim credited; his generosity is why we have literally thousands of public-domain books available for people to enjoy.

Eric Gimlin

Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., was a truly exceptional comics fan and human being, Eric. We ourselves benefited from his kindness and help in various ways over the years, and we tried to pay our respects to him in Alter Ego #187. But we still remain in his debt.

Next, a brief excerpt from Bernie Bubnis’ comments on A/E #185:

Hi Roy,

I guess most of the A/E readership just trust you to make the

Here are some views on various features in #185, from regular commenter Joe Frank: Dear Roy,

I feel so much smarter after reading Alter Ego #185. Now, without prompting or notes, I can identify all seven heroes on the cover. At the start, it was zero, since I didn’t immediately recognize Blue Bolt.

Turns out I at least recognized some of the artists involved: Simon & Kirby, Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, and Basil Wolverton, all of whom had moved on, shortly thereafter, to Timely.

The art samples on “Spacehawk” were interesting. I’m used to Wolverton’s style with weird faces or monsters like in Mad or on Plop covers. Here, there was some of that, but more science-fiction and, once unmasked, a normal handsome face. I liked Spacehawk better as an unmasked human. Otherwise, who do you favor in a contest between two unearthly-looking creatures?

Two of your backup features also went over well:

The Harvey romance comics were a hilarious treat, especially the contrast between the panels pre- and post-Comics Code. How platonic does someone want a romance when the other party must be actually removed?

The other gem was the continuing look at Ralph Reese and his evolving relationship with mentor Wally Wood. If Ralph wasn’t much of an artist in 1966, he sure was shortly thereafter. His Mad comics renditions, from National Lampoon, were excellent, as were his amazing inks over Gil Kane on the Iron Man #46 cover. So stylized and wonderful. Did they team again, and if so, where?

Joe Frank

While Ralph Reese was an excellent stylist when doing full art, Joe, he was also a marvelous inker of others’ work, and somehow he seemed especially well suited to Gil Kane—as witness the page printed at right, which exemplifies Ye Editor’s personal favorite of Ralph’s inking of other artists. And I know Gil felt the same way!

The following is a note on the sources of some of the artwork

The Barbarian Never Looked Better!

Ralph Reese’s exemplary inking of Gil Kane’s pencils on Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian #17 (Aug. 1972). Script by Roy Thomas, adapting a story by Robert E. Howard. Courtesy of Barry Pearl. [TM & © Heroic Signatures, LLC.]

re:

mag readable every month—no need for them to send a letter of comment. But if you do want some feedback, Mark Carlson-Ghost touches on this subject in his excellent article about the Novelty comicbook line. Pre-dating Julie Schwartz’s offer of original Flash art to readers who competed to send in a “best” letter (once won by yours truly), Novelty would pay $1 to kids like me to scribble their thoughts. He suggests that a present-day inflationary amount of $300 for each letter would do the trick. Holy cow, Roy, you’d be getting letters from dead people for that reward!

Gotta compliment Carlson-Ghost on his writing style. And intensive view of principals, owners, staff, and characters. How do you do this so seamlessly? Future comics history pundits should take note. This is how you do it!

Bernie Bubnis

I (Roy) am an admirer of any number of the folks who scribe articles of this magazine, Bernie, but I agree that nobody does them better than Mark—as you may have noticed from his #192 piece on “The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival,” and as will be seen a few issues from now, when he takes on Airboy, the Heap, and the entire Hillman line-up!

We got a couple of interesting comments on the “Captain Midnight” content of the FCA section in #185, so we’ll close out with those, starting with an observation by Pierre Comtois: Roy:

I read the Captain Midnight article by Christopher Irving with interest, and since I’d just finished re-viewing the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, I couldn’t help noticing the similarity of Sky Captain to Captain Midnight of the serials.

Pierre Comtois

We had something of the same feeling, Pierre—even if the name “Sky Captain” made us think more of a hotel bellboy than of Captain Midnight!

Well, we haven’t heard from the redoubtable George Hagenauer for a couple of pages, so here he is, back with a compendium of info on Captain Midnight, no less: Hi Roy,

As one who was a fan of the Fawcett Captain Midnight comics and of the Captain Midnight/Jet Jackson TV series in the 1950s and early ’60s, here is some additional information about the non-Fawcett “Captain Midnight” material:

First, the artist who did most of the Western run in Funnies and Popular is Dan Gormley, not Gorman. Gormley did a lot of adventure work for a number of publishers, but soon switched over to funny-animal and kid comics. He is probably best remembered for his work on some very quirky Nancy comicbook stories. The artist on the first story in Funnies was Robert Brice. After that, Gormley was the artist until the series ended mid-story when the Wander Corporation, a.k.a. Ovaltine, moved the license to Fawcett.

The Captain Midnight and the Secret Squadron book was a Whitman (Western Publishing branch) Big Little Book, one of four produced. This was one of their original adaptations with art

by Erwin Hess, an artist out of Monroe, Wisconsin…. Whitman used a lot of Midwestern artists who tended not to work for other publishers. Joyce of the Secret Squadron was a regular-size book in a dust jacket. Western had a series of regular-size boys’ and girls’ adventure series in cheaper bindings and with line drawings as opposed to interior paintings.

My sense is that the Erwin L. Darwin credited in the Joyce book in Alter Ego #156 is actually Erwin Hess either using a pen name or collaborating with an inker. Hess’ first [newspaper] comic strip was Captain Midnight, and when he needed help, sections were drawn

by Henry Vallely, who is best known today as the artist from whom

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Bob Kane swiped/ traced panels in early “Batman” comics.

The strip was signed “Jonwan,” relating it to the Wander company instead of under the artist’s name.

What is most Midnight At The Oasis interesting A pair of Golden Age house ads, featuring the two comicbook about the incarnations of Captain Midnight: a plug for the more radiofaithful original from Dell/Western’s Popular Comics #71 mid-1940s (January 1942), with art by Dan Gormley—and Leonard Frank’s is that there artistic interpretation, in a “paper drive” public service were two announcement from a wartime issue of Fawcett’s Captain versions Midnight. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright of Captain holders.]

Midnight running in comics. The strip version ran from June 29, 1942, until April 15, 1945, whereas the first Fawcett comicbook was dated September 1942 and ran until fall of 1948. I often wondered how that divergence worked for readers during that period!

George Hagenauer

Not sure how “Gormley” wound up being transmuted into “Gorman,” George, when we knew better—but there are an awful lot of words in each and every issue of Alter Ego, so a handful of them, we suppose, are just pre-destined to wind up mis-rendered. Thanks for the correction, and for all the other info on Captain Midnight, who was one of radio’s most popular heroes during the 1940s—to the point where people who never heard the show or bought any CM comicbook make reference to “Captain Midnight decoder rings” that they usually seem to think were worn on people’s fingers!

Got a bouquet or a brickbat you care to toss at us about this issue?

Send all cogent comments to: Roy Thomas e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com 32 Bluebird Trail St. Matthews, SC 29135

And, if you want to become a part of our online chat group about Alter Ego and other things comics-related, you can do so at https:// groups.io/g/Alter-Ego-Fans. If you have a problem climbing aboard, contact our miraculous moderator Chet Cox at mormonyoyoman.com and he’ll give you a helping hand. He’s that way.

Also, you might want to check out The Roy Thomas Appreciation Board, operated by John Cimino on Facebook (see ad on p. 79). It’s not a bad way to keep up with what Roy the Boy has been up to lately (or will be up to in the near future)— —while, if you’re a convention promoter or comic store proprietor who’d like to look into the possibility of a personal appearance by yours truly, you can contact the selfsame John Cimino at johnstretch@live. com and see if you can catch him at a time when he’s not either squiring Gerry Conway or myself to a con, or working out in the gym! Lots of luck!

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ARCHIVES VOLUME 1 Complete in one hardcover volume— Every adventure of the greatest father-and-son hero team in the history of comics!

by ROY & DANN THOMAS with DENNIS MALLONEE, BENITO GALLEGO, E.R. CRUZ, DELL BARAS, et al.

The WHO’S WHO of American Comic Books 1928-1999 Online Edition Created by Jerry G. Bails FREE – online searchable database – FREE http://www. bailsprojects.com/ whoswho.aspx – No password required The art for this sleeve wrap for a 1947 recording is attributed to Winslow Mortimer, whose contribution to the Superman mythos will be heralded in A/E #196. The song lyrics were courtesy of Win’s one-time neighbor, comics writer Alvin Schwartz. From Musette Records. [Art TM & © DC Comics.]

GUS RICCA— Fawcett’s Unsung Hero

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He Gave Us “Worlds Where Magic Was Real”

by Kristopher Brownlow Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

I

Renaissance Man

n the hierarchy of artists who produced work for Fawcett Publications during the Golden Age of Comics, certain names shine brightly: C.C. Beck, Mac Raboy, and Kurt Schaffenberger, to name just a few. Yet, for every high performer, there are numerous talented artists whose contributions have been unfairly lost to the passage of time. One such artist is Gaspano “Gus” Ricca, a versatile illustrator whose work for Fawcett in the 1940s helped shape the visual language of an entire era of comicbook art.

Born on February 22, 1906, in Brooklyn, New York, Ricca’s journey to becoming a comics artist was anything but conventional. The son of Italian immigrant Ignazio Portrait Of The Artist—And The Magician—And His Ladyfriend Ricca and New Yorker Julia (Left:) A painting of Gus Ricca by this article’s author. [© 2025 Kristopher Brownlow.]

Brown, Gus grew up an only (Right:) Ricca’s cover for Fawcett’s Ibis the Invincible #3 (Winter 1945). [Ibis the Invincible TM & © DC Comics.] child in a household where art was not just a hobby, In October of 1934 he married Beatrice Goldberg, an associate but a way of life. His father, a classically trained artist (with his editor at Radio Revue Magazine and a radio news commentator. The own studio in Brooklyn), undoubtedly played a significant role in couple lived in Manhattan and had one child together, a daughter, nurturing his son’s talents.

Roberta, born in 1939. (Their marriage ended in 1952, and the teenage daughter went to live with her mother.)

Gus Ricca’s formal education ended after the eighth grade in 1919, but his real education was just beginning. He dived headfirst Ricca joined forces with Billie Gould and Dorothy Haubert in into the world of commercial art, starting in newspaper advertising 1939 to form the Gould, Ricca and Haubert Advertising Agency. illustration. This hands-on experience in the practical aspects of the Gould, a former newspaper sports cartoonist, went on to create industry would serve him well throughout his career, giving him the King Features syndicated detective comic strip, Red Barry. The a keen understanding of how art and business work together— business was later transformed into a public relations firm, Billie knowledge that would prove crucial to his later work in the Gould, Inc., where Ricca served as its vice-president. comicbook industry.

Long before Ricca began producing comics artwork for Fawcett through the Chesler Studio, and later as a freelancer, he had already established himself as a versatile commercial artist. Throughout the 1930s his work had graced the pages of prestigious publications like Collier’s, Esquire, Time, Liberty, and The New Yorker. This diverse background would prove invaluable when he’d eventually take on the exciting art form of sequential storytelling.

Late 1939 was when Ricca entered the world of comics, when he agreed to be part of the stable of artists at the Harry “A” Chesler studio (shop) that packaged comicbook contents for various publishers, primarily Street & Smith, Timely (Martin Goodman), and Fawcett. (In four fast years, Ricca was promoted to art director of Chesler’s Dynamic Comics, and also produced many extraordinary covers for Chesler’s line of comics.)

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Fawcett Collectors Of America

Clockwise & Pre-Fawcett Ricca (From top left:) Compared to Mac Raboy’s later, more super-heroic version for Ken Crossen’s Spark Publications, Gus Ricca gave us a very different and menacing Green Lama (in the style of the original pulp-magazine character) on the cover of Feature’s Prize Comics #8 (Jan. 1941).

Ricca’s cover for Dynamic Comics #8 (March 1944). He became the art director of the title and the premier cover artist for Harry “A” Chesler’s line of comics during the 1940s.

Being a comicbook artist is no picnic, as Ricca’s infamous cover for Chesler’s Punch Comics #9 (July 1944) attests! [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

At the time Ricca produced his early Fawcett work, that publisher found itself in the midst of a comicbook revolution.

Fawcett was riding high on the success of its flagship character, Captain Marvel. But it wasn’t just the World’s Mightiest Mortal that was capturing readers’ imaginations. Fawcett was busy building a diverse group of engaging characters, each with their own unique appeal. It was in this creatively charged environment that Ricca would make his most significant contributions to the comics medium.

“Ibis The Invincible”: Ricca’s Mystical Masterwork Of all the characters Ricca illustrated for Fawcett, perhaps none showcased his talents better than Ibis the Invincible. Created

by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck, Ibis first appeared in Whiz Comics #2 (actually the first issue) in 1940. The character was an ancient Egyptian prince, reawakened in the modern world, who wielded

Gus Ricca—Fawcett’s Unsung Hero

The Invincible Man (Above, left to right:) One Golden Age comics fan used to claim that he and his childhood friends used to ask, “If he’s invincible, how come we can see him?” “Invincible” may have been a relatively large word to throw at a kid in the 1940s (or now), but we’re sure they soon figured it out. Gus Ricca contributed both the cover and this splash (among numerous other pages) for Ibis the Invincible #4 (Spring 1946). The script for “The Monster of Morgana Le Fay” was written by William Woolfolk. [Ibis the Invincible TM & © DC Comics.]

the magical Ibistick, a talisman of immense occult power that he used to battle evil in his eternal war against the forces of darkness.

Ricca’s work on “Ibis the Invincible” allowed him to combine his classical art training with the dynamic needs of comicbook storytelling, a technique he called “The Ricca Method.”

As a freelancer making $16 per completed page from Fawcett, Ricca’s rendition of Ibis was a thing of terrible beauty—regal yet fierce, ancient yet full of life. It was a study in contrasts—the character’s royal bearing and ancient Egyptian aesthetics set against the backdrop of modern-day America. Ricca’s attention to detail in depicting Ibis’ attire, with its distinctive headdress and A “Book Bound In Human Skin” flowing cape, helped cement Is that the hardcover or the dust jacket? the character’s visual identity.

Ricca’s Ibis was a primal scream of creativity. His pages pulsed with raw energy, each panel a window into a world where magic crackled

The popular comic-script heavyweight William Woolfolk contributes yet another story for the ancient Egyptian wizard— “Book of Evil” in Ibis the Invincible #6 (Spring 1948). Art, of course, by Ricca.

[Ibis the Invincible TM & © DC Comics.]

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Fawcett Collectors Of America

Loch-ed & Loaded Ricca’s cover for Ibis the Invincible #5 (Fall 1946) and his splash page for that issue’s Woolfolk-scripted “Loch Ness Dragon.” So that’s what it looks like! [Ibis the Invincible TM & © DC Comics.]

like lightning and danger lurked in every shadow.

What set Ricca’s rendering of Ibis apart from those of other artists was his ability to capture the mystical nature of the character’s adventures. Whether it was Ibis battling otherworldly monsters or casting spells with his Ibistick, his art conveyed a sense of wonder and magic that was essential to the character’s appeal. He created an atmosphere of mystery and power that perfectly suited Ibis’ supernatural exploits. Ricca’s willingness to push the boundaries of comicbook art helped elevate Ibis stories beyond mere punch’em-ups into visual spectacles that kept readers coming back for more.

Diamond Jack Another Fawcett character that benefited from Gus Ricca’s artistic touch was a hero named Diamond Jack. Unlike Ibis, this mostly forgotten character’s life was brief, lasting less than a year.

Diamond Jack received a magical ring from the gnarled fingers of an ancient sorcerer; the ring featured a gemstone that was later identified as the lost eye-jewel of the god Khor, a god once worshipped in a distant and mysterious temple of the Far East.

With this powerful ring, Diamond Jack fought crime, harnessing its incredible abilities to transmute objects at will and create anything he could imagine. The ring endowed him with super-strength, invulnerability, the power to project force fields, and even allowed him to fly. Notably, Diamond Jack’s ring and its powers predated DC Comics’ similarly ring-powered Green Lantern character, adding an intriguing layer of historical significance to Ricca’s comics career.

Ricca’s work on the interior pages of “Diamond Jack” demonstrated solid competence, though it lacked the intricate detail evident in his later illustrations for “Ibis the Invincible.”

While the storytelling and character designs in “Diamond Jack” were effective, they did not match the depth and refinement of his work on the “Ibis” series. In contrast, Ricca’s talent shone brightly with the covers he crafted for Slam-Bang Comics. These covers highlighted his exceptional skill and artistic flair, featuring vibrant and dynamic compositions that captivated readers with their exquisite detail and striking visual appeal. During the Golden Age of Comics, covers had to stand out on crowded newsstands; and, throughout his career, Ricca consistently delivered eye-catching images that promised thrilling content inside. However, as many comicbook readers know, the interior art didn’t always live up to the excitement of the covers. This was particularly true for Slam-Bang Comics and the “Diamond Jack” feature. After the sevenissue run in Slam-Bang, “Diamond Jack” had one last outing, in Wow Comics #1, before vanishing forever. As a formative work, Ricca did the best he could all through the character’s very short existence.

Jim Dolan Equally unremembered as Diamond Jack was the third Fawcett character to which Gus Ricca applied his talents: Jim Dolan—a former FBI agent who had become the tough-guy editor of Daring

Gus Ricca—Fawcett’s Unsung Hero

77

A Black-&-White “Diamond” (Left:) “Diamond Jack” original art page by Gus Ricca, from Slam-Bang Comics #5 (July 1940). Scan courtesy of Heritage Auctions. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Detective magazine. Dolan would figure out previously unsolved crimes, bust up rackets and capture criminals, then afterwards write about his adventures in the magazine. Due to his stellar reputation with the police and the feds, he could often rely on the cooperation of the authorities.

Ricca’s art was still manifesting in his early comics work— yet still seemed a bit mismatched with such a commonplace character as Dolan. Nevertheless, it was another early assignment for Ricca in Slam-Bang Comics before it was later illustrated by Jim Wilcox when the strip had shifted over to Wow Comics for five issues before getting dropped for good.

Legacy And Impact While artists each had their own unique style, there was a certain “Fawcett look” that defined the company’s output.

This particular style, largely established by C.C. Beck’s work on “Captain Marvel,” was characterized by clean lines, expressive characters, and a blend of realism and cartoonish exaggeration.

Ricca’s comic art fit fairly well within this framework, while still maintaining his own artistic voice. His backgrounds were often more detailed than those of his colleagues, lending a sense of place and atmosphere to his stories. His character work was strong and expressive, capturing a wide range of emotions with seemingly simple line work.

Diamonds Are A Jack’s Best Friend (Left:) Hoping to match the success of Whiz Comics which had debuted in late 1939, Fawcett released the Harry “A” Chesler Studio-packaged SlamBang Comics #1 (March 1940) featuring new hero Diamond Jack, with a cover by Gus Ricca.

Unlike Whiz, the title was short-lived, lasting only seven issues. Ricca’s enchanting cover art image of Diamond Jack for Slam-Bang #5 (July ’40) was re-purposed for this issue’s FCA cover.

(Right:) The first appearance of Diamond Jack, from Slam-Bang #1. Writer unknown, but Captain Marvel co-creator Bill Parker edited the book. Art

by Ricca. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

78

Fawcett Collectors Of America

Any Relation To The Spirit’s Commissioner Friend?

(Left”) The first appearance of Jim Dolan, from Slam-Bang Comics #1 (March 1940). Writer unknown; art by Gus Ricca. Scan courtesy of Comic Book Plus website. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Gus Ricca’s Fawcett stories may have encompassed a relatively brief chapter in the grand scheme of his career, but its impact on the medium of comics cannot be overstated. His work on characters like Ibis the Invincible and Diamond Jack helped define the visual language of Golden Age comics, pushing the boundaries of what was possible in the medium.

Ricca’s ability to blend classical art techniques with the dynamic storytelling requirements of comics set a high bar for his contemporaries and successors. His expressive character work— and flair for the fantastic—influenced many of his contemporaries at Fawcett and beyond.

In the cutthroat world of comicbooks, where today’s sensation could be tomorrow’s discarded nobody, Ricca proved himself a true

“Tear Up The Front Page!”

(Left:) Ricca’s cover for Slam-Bang Comics #2 (April 1940) spotlighted no-nonsense newspaper editor Jim Dolan.

(Above:) The second appearance of Jim Dolan, from Slam-Bang #2. Writer unknown; art by Ricca. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Gus Ricca—Fawcett’s Unsung Hero

79

“We Have Nothing To Fear…

But Fear Itself!”

The “Ibis the Invincible” splash page, drawn by Gus Ricca for the story “King of Darkness” from Whiz Comics #84 (April 1947). Script again by William Woolfolk. This excellent tale of the literal embodiment of fear got a second chance to scare youngsters (including A/E editor Roy Thomas at age seven) a year later when it was included, albeit in black-&-white, in the digest-sized Daisy Handbook #2, as a premium from Daisy Air Rifles, as noted (and with cover depicted) in A/E #192.

[Ibis the Invincible TM & © DC Comics.]

survivor within the industry. He adapted to shifting public tastes with the same agility as a chameleon changing its colors to suit its surroundings. He turned his talents to new genres—crime, horror, suspense—each as wild and unpredictable as the last.

While Ricca may not be as renowned as some of his contemporaries, his work continues to be appreciated by comic historians and art enthusiasts. The vivid worlds he created for Ibis and others continue to captivate readers of this monumental material, offering a window into a simpler time when comics were still finding their footing as a medium.

In the end, Gus Ricca wasn’t a prominent name that was widely remembered. He was simply one of many people attempting to make a living through their art. But, for a while there, within those Fawcett pages, Ricca gave us worlds where magic was real and heroes walked among us.

Kristopher Brownlow is the producer of numerous comics-related hardbacks from Mountbatten Press, including The Art of Fawcett Comics, The Art of C.C. Beck, The Art of Quality Comics, The Art of Lou Fine, Ink Over Graphite, and Forgotten Master: The Art of Gus Ricca.

(Photo taken at CCXP23 in São Paolo, Brazil, Dec. 2023)

Walking away from the deflated comics industry by the mid-1950s, Ricca struggled to find work as a New York City freelance artist before ultimately meeting an untimely death on April 27, 1956, at the age of 50.

UPDATE #1

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MARSHALL ROGERS

BRIGHTEST DAYS & DARKEST KNIGHTS

by JEFF MESSER and DEWEY CASSELL From underdog to icon, MARSHALL ROGERS helped redefine Batman for generations, inspiring readers and up-and-coming artists alike. Initially savaged by editors at DC Comics, his style was uniquely complex with vast and angular architectural design anchoring his storytelling, and it immediately caught on with fans for his depictions of the Darknight Detective, Hugo Strange, The Joker, Silver St. Cloud, Dr. Strange, Cap’n Quick and a Foozle, and more. Now, Rogers’ story is told by friends, collaborators, and family members, delving deep into a complicated and conflicted man and his art, as we feature inker TERRY AUSTIN, friend and fellow artist MICHAEL NETZER, DAN GREENFIELD’s extensive interview with writer STEVE ENGLEHART (conducted for 13thDimension.com), and others recounting their time and camaraderie with Rogers, alongside an in-depth interview with MARSHALL HIMSELF, and a wealth of art both familiar and rarely seen. Written by JEFF MESSER and DEWEY CASSELL (authors of the Eisner Award-nominated Mike Grell: Life Is Drawing Without An Eraser), this book shines a light on the fan-favorite artist’s brightest moments and darkest days. Featuring a new cover collaboration by MARSHALL ROGERS and TERRY AUSTIN! (144-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $37.95 • (Digital Edition) $13.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-130-1 • SHIPS JULY 2025!

AMERICAN MOVIE COMIC BOOKS All characters and properties TM & © their respective owners.

(1930s–1970s)

From the Silver Screen to the Printed Page, by PETER BOSCH

In AMERICAN MOVIE COMIC BOOKS (1930s-1970s), author PETER BOSCH continues his remarkable history of Hollywood’s ongoing love affair with comic books. The sequel to AMERICAN TV COMIC BOOKS, this new book looks at hundreds of Tinseltown’s motion pictures that made the jump from the silver screen to the comics page, starting from the days of CHARLIE CHAPLIN and continuing through to the wonders of STEVEN SPIELBERG. Along with comics story pages from the industry’s greatest talents—including JACK KIRBY, RUSS MANNING, AL WILLIAMSON, FRANK FRAZETTA, ALEX TOTH, DAN SPIEGLE, WALLACE WOOD, STEVE DITKO, JOHN BUSCEMA, GEORGE PÉREZ, and WALTER SIMONSON (to name just a few!)—you will discover full-color photo covers, posters, original art, and much more! It’s the ultimate reference for films from the Thirties to the Seventies that were adapted to comics, including The Wizard of Oz, Ben-Hur, Around the World in 80 Days, Disney’s cinema classics and animated movies, Yellow Submarine, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Alien, The Planet of the Apes series, and many others. Don’t miss this blockbuster, perfect for anyone who enjoys movies and comics alike!

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FUTURISTIC

by MARK VOGER

ROCKETS, ROBOTS AND RAYGUNS OF SPACE AGE POP CULTURE Blast off to the SPACE AGE, when the future was always bright! FUTURISTIC is a FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER about a time of limitless possibilities... and anxieties. It covers all aspects of 1950s and ’60s pop culture from the “duck and cover” era of the Cold War, the Space Race, the UFO Craze, and the 1969 moon landing. Read about the movies (The Day the Earth Stood Still, Invasion of the Body Snatchers), TV shows (Tom Corbett: Space Cadet, The Jetsons), and collectibles (robots, rockets, comic books, TV tie-ins) that had us looking to the stars. Also featured are interviews with such comic book creators as WILLIAM GAINES, JOE ORLANDO, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, ROBERT KANIGHER, ROSS ANDRU, MIKE ESPOSITO, and LARRY LIEBER about their sci-fi work, plus recollections from sci-fi movie stars (KEVIN McCARTHY, PETER GRAVES, LINDA HARRISON), TV cast members (from shows including Lost in Space, Star Trek, and The Invaders), and others. A graphically immersive experience written and designed by MARK VOGER (Monster Mash, Zowie!), FUTURISTIC is a time trip to a future that never exactly came to pass, but lives on vividly in our imaginations!

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FIRST COMICS COMPANION

by RICHARD ARNDT & JON B. COOKE

The FIRST COMICS COMPANION is the only book dedicated to the history of Chicago’s groundbreaking independent comics publisher, which took on the Big Two by storm between 1983–91. From a modest promotional comic hawking theater subscriptions, First soon blossomed into an ambitious, aggressive imprint with achievements that included adapting the fabled sci-fi play WARP; reviving beloved ’70s Charlton hero E-MAN; luring MIKE GRELL over from Pacific Comics to continue STARSLAYER and launch JON SABLE, FREELANCE; and releasing one of the ’80s greatest comic book series, AMERICAN FLAGG! by HOWARD CHAYKIN. Soon followed ELRIC, GRIMJACK, NEXUS, SHATTER, DREADSTAR, LONE WOLF AND CUB, super-hero ALTER EGO, and a resurrection of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED. Featuring the recollections of founders MIKE GOLD, JOE STATON, and dozens more, this book continues RICHARD J. ARNDT and JON B. COOKE’s exhaustive “carpet-bombing” approach to documenting comics history in fascinating detail—first, last, and always, THE definitive account! Featuring new CHAYKIN cover art!

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CRYPTOLOGY #2

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ROGER HILL’s conversation with diabolical DON HECK, severed hand films, pre-Code comic book terrors, the otherworldly horrors of Hammer’s Quatermass, a Killer “B” movie classic, plus horror-inspired covers of the Shadow’s own comic book, and more!

Start the ghoul-year with retro-horror done right by FORSHAW, the KRONENBERGS, LEESE, RICHARD HAND, VON SHOLLY, and editor PETER NORMANTON.

See MARS ATTACKS banned cards, model kits, comics, and a few words from the film’s deranged storyboard artist PETE VON SHOLLY! Also, the chilling poster art of REYNOLD BROWN, terrifying puppets from film, and more comic books they’d prefer you forget! Plus, more Hammer Time, JUSTIN MARRIOT on obscure ’70s fear-filled paperbacks, another Killer “B” film, and more to satiate your sinister side!

Get ALEX ROSS’ gory lowdown on his Universal Monsters paintings! Spend Hammer Time with the “Brides of Dracula”, and 3-D horror movies and comics of the 1950s! Learn the origins of slasher films, chill to pre-Code artwork of Atlas’ BILL EVERETT and ACG’s 3-D maestro HARRY LAZARUS, see a Killer “B” movie, and more

by NORMANTON, the KRONENBERGS, LEESE, VOGER, and VON SHOLLY!

SKULL & BONES ISSUE! Ghost Rider from comics to movies, skeleton covers from Atlas Digests and pre-Code horror comics, HY FLEISHMAN’s 1950s skeleton covers and stories, Disney’s skeletons, ’70s Pirates of the Caribbean models and Last Gasp’s Skull Comics, the films of William Castle, and Killer B films: House on Haunted Hill, The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake, plus our Hammertime section!

ZOMBIE ISSUE! The films White Zombie and I Walked With A Zombie, GEORGE ROMERO and LUCIO FULCI’s zombie apocalypses, zombie pre-Code comics, BERNIE WRIGHTSON’s undead creations, horror comics of Brazil, the contributions of black stars of classic horror cinema, Hammer’s The Plague of Zombies, Fantaco’s Night of the Living Dead, France’s Revenant, and more!

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BRICKJOURNAL #90

ALTER EGO #194

ALTER EGO #195

ALTER EGO #196

KIRBY COLLECTOR #93

THE BIG ISSUE! We get on board MARK STAFFA’s giant (working!) steam engine, and show PAUL HETHERINGTON’s colossal LEGO creations, including the biggest version of It’s A Small World you’ll see outside of Disneyland! Plus BRICKNERD, BANTHA BRICKS: Fans of LEGO Star Wars, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions

by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS!

ROY THOMAS celebrates 60 years in comics! Career-spanning interview by ALEX GRAND, e-mails to Roy from STAN LEE, the history of Wolverine’s creation, RT’s 1960s fan-letters to JULIUS SCHWARTZ, and his top dozen stories compiled by JOHN CIMINO! With art by BUSCEMA, KANE, ADAMS, WINDSOR-SMITH, COLAN, ORDWAY, BUCKLER, FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and cover by TONY GRAY!

NEAL ADAMS REVISITED! Interviews by ALEX GRAND and BILL FIELD, as well as EMILIO SOLTERA—and an overview of Neal’s merchandising art for Marvel and DC Comics and in other fields, conducted by JAMES ROSEN! Plus Adams art, as inked

by PALMER, GIORDANO, VERPOORTEN, ROUSSOS, SINNOTT, DEZUNIGA, and others! With FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more!

Concluding our presentation of EDDY ZENO’s book on the early SUPERMAN artists from ALTER EGO #193—with a focus on style-setting WAYNE BORING and classic cover illustrator WINSLOW MORTIMER! Featuring a fabulous, previously unprinted cover by BORING! Also: FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), MICHAEL T. GILBERT in Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, and more! Edited by ROY THOMAS.

SUPPORTING PLAYERS! Almost-major villains like Kanto the Assassin and Diablo, Rodney Rumpkin, Mr. Little, the Falcon, Randu Singh, and others take center stage!

Plus: 1970 interview with Jack by SHEL DORF, MARK EVANIER’s 2024 Kirby Tribute Panel from Comic-Con, neverreprinted Simon & Kirby story, pencil art gallery, and more! Unused Mister Miracle cover inked by MIKE ROYER!

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KIRBY COLLECTOR #94

KIRBY COLLECTOR #95 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #38 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #39

SPACE RACES! Jack’s depictions of cosmic gods and life on other planets, including: how Ego, Tana Nile, and the Recorder took Thor to strange new worlds, OMAC’s space age future, time travelers in Kirby’s work, favorite Kirby sci-fi tropes in his stories, plus: a 1967 LEE/KIRBY interview, MARK EVANIER and other columnists, never-reprinted Simon & Kirby story, robotic pencil art gallery, cover inked by TERRY AUSTIN!

MADNESS! Kirby’s most deranged work: Dingbats, Goody Rickels, Destroyer Duck, the Goozlebobber, Not Brand Echh, and wild animation concepts! Plus, a 1980s Kirby interview by JAMES VAN HISE, a look at Jack’s psychedelic coloring, Kirby’s depictions of Dr. Strange, Forever People art gallery, MARK EVANIER, a crazy 1950s Simon & Kirby story, behind an unused Machine Man cover inked by STEVE LEIALOHA!

RICK VEITCH discusses his career from undergrounds and the Kubert School; the ’80s with 1941, Epic Illustrated and Heavy Metal; to Swamp Thing, The One, Brat Pack, and Maximortal! Plus TOM VEITCH’s history of ’70s underground horror comix, part one of a look at cartoonist ERROL McCARTHY, the story behind Studio Zero— the ’70s collective of artists STARLIN, BRUNNER, WEISS, and others, and more!

THOMAS YEATES career-spanning interview about the Kubert School, Swamp Thing, Eclipse Comics, and adventure strips Zorro, Tarzan, and Prince Valiant! GREG POTTER discusses his ’70s Warren horror comics and ’80s reboot of Wonder Woman with GEORGE PÉREZ, WARREN KREMER is celebrated by MARK ARNOLD, plus part one of a look at the work of STEVE WILLIS, part two of ERROL McCARTHY, and more!

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RETROFAN #38

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BACK ISSUE #158

Can your mind stand the shocking truth of… ED WOOD CAST CONFESSIONS? Plus: Ideal Toys’ Zeroids, television Tarzan RON ELY, Planters® Peanuts’ Mr. Peanut, CHARLES ADDAMS, TV’s The Fugitive, the forgotten 1981 Spider-Man cartoon, and more! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, ED CATTO, and MARK VOGER.

Here comes TV’s Dennis the Menace, with stars JAY NORTH, GLORIA HENRY, and JEANNIE RUSSELL! Plus: Hogan’s Heroes turns 60, TV Western Have Gun–Will Travel, Big Little Books, The Incredible Hulk in animation, MICKY DOLENZ as Circus Boy, and more! Featuring columns by ED CATTO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER.

We kick off with TV’s original Kung Fu starring DAVID CARRADINE, a NANCY DREW history, Disney animator FLOYD NORMAN, TOM CORBETT: SPACE CADET, collectible ’60s and ’70s cereal premiums, in search of SAM GOODY, and more! Featuring columns and contributions by HERBIE J PILATO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, MARK VOGER, and editor ED CATTO!

HEY, MISTER ISSUE! The FF’s Mr. Fantastic, STEVE DITKO’s Mr. A, the 40th anniversary of MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s Mr. Monster, Mr. X, the Teen Titans’ Mr. Jupiter, R. CRUMB’s Mr. Natural, Archie’s Mr. Weatherbee, and a Mr. Freeze villain history! Featuring BYRNE, CARDY, CONWAY, DeCARLO, DINI, ENGLEHART, the HERNANDEZ BROS., MIGNOLA, MOTTER, and more!

Cover by ED McGUINNESS.

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Tune in to Saturday morning super-heroes Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, The Mod Squad, Hanna-Barbera cartoonists, Jesus Christ Superstar, Mr. Potato Head, ‘Old Yeller” actress BEVERLY WASHBURN, Flying Nun collectibles, and more! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

BACK ISSUE #160

BACK ISSUE #161

BACK ISSUE #162

BACK ISSUE #163

SUMMER FUN ISSUE! Marvel’s Superhero Swimsuit Editions, Betty and Veronica swimsuit gallery, DC’s Strange Sports Stories, the DC/Marvel softball rivalry, San Diego Comic-Con history, Impossible Man Summer Vacation Specials, DC Slurpee cups, DC/Whitman variants, and more!

Featuring BATES, DeCARLO, HUGHES, JIM LEE, LOPRESTI, MAGGIN, ROZAKIS, STELFREEZE, and more! GUICE cover.

MUTANT MAYHEM ISSUE! BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH’s Weapon X Wolverine, the romance of Havok and Polaris, Rogue and Nightcrawler limited series, Brood and Arcade villain histories, “Mutant Massacre” crossover, and more! With JON BOGDANOVE, JOHN BYRNE, CHRIS CLAREMONT, DAVE COCKRUM, LOUISE SIMONSON, MIKE WIERINGO, and more!

WINDSOR-SMITH cover.

BACK ISSUE GOES MAD! Things get crazy this issue as we cover Madman, Batman: Mad Love, MAD superhero movie parodies, the Mad Hatter, Madballs, and more! Featuring the work of MICHAEL ALLRED, BRUCE TIMM, PAUL DINI, GERRY CONWAY, DOUG MOENCH, MIKE W. BARR, JEPH LOEB, and others. Madman cover by MICHAEL ALLRED! Edited by ROGER ASH.

MONKEYING AROUND! Featuring simian favorites including Gorilla Grodd, GorillaMan, King Kong, Angel and the Ape, and more monkey business. With the work of CARMINE INFANTINO, JOHN BROOME, CARY BATES, GERRY CONWAY, MARK WAID, STEVE ENGLEHART, SAL BUSCEMA, DON SIMPSON, PHIL FOGLIO, HOWARD CHAYKIN, PHILIP BOND, and others.

Gorilla Grodd cover by ARTHUR ADAMS!

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BACK ISSUE #159

CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS 40th ANNIVERSARY! Pre-Crisis tour of DC’s multiple Earths, analysis of Crisis and its crossovers, Crisis Death List, post-Crisis DC retro projects, guest editorial by MARV WOLFMAN, and more! Featuring BARR, ENGLEHART, GREENBERGER, LEVITZ, MAGGIN, MOENCH, ORDWAY, THOMAS, WAID, and more! With GEORGE PÉREZ’S Crisis on Infinite Earths Index #1 cover.