Rod Reed Revisited
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Rod Reed Revisited An Interview with One of Fawcett’s Greatest Writers and Editors Interview Conducted by John G. Pierce
Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck
[Originally printed in Pierce’s multi-international Marvel Family fanzine, The Whiz Kids #2, 1982. A portion of the interview also previously appeared in Comics Interview #18, Dec. 1984. These sections of text are ©2002 by John G. Pierce and David Anthony Kraft, respectively.]
Binder, C.C. Beck, Kurt Schaffenberger. and some of the others who contributed to the Marvel Family saga, still, his was an important role in those early years at Fawcett Comics. —John G. Pierce, 2002.
Preface
INTRODUCTION
In the early 1970s, I began to make contact with several people who had contributed mightily to the original Captain Marvel canon. One of these people was Rod Reed, an early editor and later freelance writer for Fawcett Publications.
First, a few salient quotes about—and by—Rod Reed:
Rod Reed and his dog, Cobina, photographed at Malverne, Long Island, New York, 1942... and a Kurt Schaffenberger cartoon featuring Rod which appeared in Comics Interview #18 (Dec. 1984), reprinted courtesy of David Anthony Kraft. [Art ©2002 estate of Kurt Schaffenberger; Marvel Family TM & ©2002 DC Comics.]
Rod was a fun, witty, articulate, and knowledgeable individual. During our correspondence he remembered many things about those early days at Fawcett… while other details he had completely forgotten or simply didn’t know about. But what he could and did recall filled in many gaps in my quest for Fawcett history. We discussed matters other than comics, too (such as jazz music, his greatest interest), for which I think he was grateful. After all, most of the pioneers of the comic book field had far less interest in their line of work than we fans do. Rod passed away in the late ’80s and, needless to say, he has been greatly missed ever since. While not as well known as Otto
“Although Rod Reed was employed for only a few years by Fawcett Publications—from 19411943—both the admiration that his co-workers such as Marc Swayze and C.C. Beck had for him and his attention to his craft made Rod one of the best-remembered talents of the era of the original Captain Marvel.
“Born April 15, 1910, in Hamilton, Ohio, Reed began his writing career with the Buffalo Evening Sun in 1929. In 1941, at Fawcett Publications, he was both comics editor and writer, scripting many “Captain Marvel” stories. He was the first person to edit Fawcett Comics after CM creator Bill Parker left to go into the military. In June, 1943, Reed chose to take on an editorial position with the jazz magazine Downbeat, but continued to freelance for Fawcett and became known as one of the best Captain Marvel scribes, specializing in some of the more humor-filled scripts of the World’s Mightiest Mortal. In 1951, he joined Buenos Aires artist Jose Luis Salinas to bring The Cisco Kid to daily newspaper strips. Rod and Jose never met; their 18year collaboration was via phone and correspondence. Rod also contributed one unpublished Fatman the Human Flying Saucer story towards the end of the character’s short-lived career in the 1960s, which briefly brought together again many of the old
The cover of Captain Marvel Adventures #28 (Oct. 1943). Art by C.C. Beck & Pete Costanza; edited by Rod Reed. [©2002 DC Comics.]