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E. Nelson Bridwell
“ECSTATIC!” The E. Nelson Bridwell Interview Conducted by John G. Pierce E. Nelson Bridwell, drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger...
Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck
[Originally published in John Pierce’s fanzine, The Whiz Kids #2, 1981; text © 2002 JGP.] PREFACE
E. Nelson Bridwell lived the dream of many comic book fans: the opportunity to work on his favorite characters as editor (including reprint editor) and sometimes writer. Perhaps more than any other fanturned-pro, he worked diligently to keep his heroes in character and true. This was especially so of his work on Fawcett’s Marvel Family when they were transplanted to DC Comics. If he occasionally faltered, well, his successes outnumbered his failures. And when change was forced on him—as with the “new look” of Shazam! that took place in the final issues of that magazine and continued for a run as a back-up feature in World’s Finest Comics in the early 1980s—he made the best of the situation by remaining faithful to the characters. Nelson suffered from illnesses and physical handicaps which limited his body, but never his mind. For all his vast knowledge of comics’ history, he was an incredibly well-read person who could recite poems and even entire Shakespearean passages from memory. In 1996, artist Kurt Schaffenberger told P.C. Hamerlinck that he referred to Nelson as “a walking encyclopedia.” Although I never met Nelson, it was my pleasure to have some correspondence with him, both in the Shazam! letters pages, as well as in occasional personal replies. He was one of comicdom’s greatest and, sadly, overlooked talents. — John G. Pierce, 2002.
INTRODUCTION Back in the ’40s, E. Nelson Bridwell grew up reading comic books. By 1964, when Roy Thomas, Steve Gerber, and other future comics notables were still editing fanzines, Edward Nelson Bridwell was already breaking into comics, as an assistant to DC editor Mort Weisinger. Over the next 15+ years, he would serve in many capacities at DC Comics. In the early ’70s, he became involved with DC’s revival of Captain Marvel as Julie Schwartz’s associate editor and subsequently as writer of the Shazam! feature. He also compiled the 1977 hardcover book collection Shazam! From the 40’s to the 70’s.
INTERVIEW JOHN PIERCE: How old were you when you first discovered Captain Marvel? E. NELSON BRIDWELL: I was probably about ten years old. It was around the same time the Captain Marvel movie serial was
released in the theatres—1941. I loved the serial as a kid… except when they removed Captain Marvel’s powers in the final chapter.
...and John G. Pierce, drawn by C.C. Beck in 1980. [Art ©2002 estates of Kurt Schaffenberger and C.C. Beck,, respectively.]
JP: Is Captain Marvel your all-time favorite comic book character? BRIDWELL: I can’t rank any of them… but if I had to, he’d be right up there with Superman, Batman, and others. JP: When did you first discover organized comics fandom? BRIDWELL: I became involved in EC fandom during the ’50s. JP: How did you get hired at DC? BRIDWELL: I’d been trying to break into the comic book field for several years. I did some writing for Mad. I continually read, obtained back issues, and wrote letters. However, I was living in Oklahoma at the time, so my prospects didn’t look too bright. Then, in December 1963, I got a letter from Mort Weisinger at DC, offering me a job as his assistant. JP: Which task do you prefer: writing stories, editing, selecting reprints, creating text pages, or compiling letter columns? BRIDWELL: Writing. JP: Other than handling the letters pages and writing an occasional story, what was your specific function on Shazam! while Julie Schwartz was the editor? BRIDWELL: Basically just editing and trying to keep the stories consistent with the Golden Age. JP: When did you first meet C.C. Beck? BRIDWELL: After appearing as a guest of honor at the New York Comic Convention, he stopped by the DC offices before leaving for a vacation to his hometown in Minnesota. While at the office, he had to re-pencil the Shazam! #1 cover; he’d mailed one already from his home in Florida, but it “seemed” to have been lost, until he had the second one half-finished! Beck is a nice guy. Artistically, his passion for simplicity tends to be a bit extreme… but he’s good.
E.N.B., as he abbreviated himself, was “ecstatic” to be part of DC’s Captain Marvel revival. C.C. Beck art from a DC house ad announcing the return of the World’s Mightiest Mortal. [©2002 DC Comics.]
JP: Beck disliked all the Shazam! stories by the DC writers that he illustrated; however, he highly praised one of your stories, “What’s In a Name?—Doomsday!” (Shazam! #7, Nov. 1973 ). Was your inspi-