Alter Ego #38 Preview

WELCOME TO THE

JULIUS SCHWARTZ AGE OF COMICS! Co-Starring

1

1994--2004

5.95

$

In the USA

No. 38 July 2004

INFANTINO • ANDERSON HASEN • ELLISON • GIELLA • KUBERT TOTH • EVANIER • MURRAY SCHELLY • GILBERT • AMASH & MORE!

Art ©2004 Carmine Infantino.

Flash TM & ©2004 DC Comics.

Vol. 3, No. 38 / July 2004

™

Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor

JULIE

P.C. Hamerlinck

Comic Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert

Editors Emeritus

Jerry Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White, Mike Friedrich

Part One

Production Assistant

Eric Nolen-Weathington

Cover Artists Carmine Infantino & Jim Amash Irwin Hasen

Cover Colorists J. David Spurlock Irwin Hasen

And Special Thanks to: Neal Adams Murphy Anderson Pedro Angosto Jeff Bailey Bob Bailey Brian H. Bailie Mike W. Barr Michael Baulderstone Bill Black Jackson Bostwick Jerry K. Boyd Alan Brennert Mike Burkey Nick Cardy Bob Cherry Shaun Clancy John Cochran Dave Cockrum Ray A. Cuthbert Teresa R. Davidson Al Dellinges Joe Desris Irwin Donenfeld Shel Dorf Harlan & Susan Ellison Don Ensign Mark Evanier Shane Foley Ramona Fradon Mike Friedrich Carl Gafford José García-López Jeff Gelb Frank Giella Joe Giella Janet Gilbert Dick Giordano Mike Gold Bob Greenberger Walt Grogan Beth Gwinn Jennifer T. Hamerlinck

Ron Harris Irwin Hasen Mark & Stephanie Heike Tom Horvitz Dave Hunt Joe Kubert Stan Lee Paul Levitz Glenn MacKay Elliot S. Maggin Keith Mallow Dan Makara Dave Manak Sam Maronie Brian K. Morris Mark Muller Will Murray Mart Nodell Denny O’Neil Carlos Pacheco Joe Petrilak John G. Pierce Larry Rippee Ethan Roberts Bob Rozakis Alex Saviuk David Siegel Louis Small, Jr. Marc Sparks J. David Spurlock Richard Steinberg Marc Svensson Marc Swayze Joel Thingvall Dann Thomas Alex Toth Michael Uslan Marv Wolfman Donald Woolfolk Eddy Zeno Michael Zeno Tom Ziuko

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Julie Schwartz, Carrie Nodell, & Lillian Drake

Contents

Writer/Editorial: Julie, Julie, Julie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Schwartz and All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Mark Evanier’s overview of the life & times of Julius Schwartz.

Three Easy Pieces Starring Julius Schwartz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A trio of interviews by Will Murray with the self-confessed architect of the Silver Age. “How Captain Whiz Became The Flash!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Carmine Infantino on Julie—and the secret origins of the Silver Age speedster.

“We Called Him ‘Sabertooth’!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Golden/Silver Age inker Joe Giella talks about his friendship with Julie.

“I Never Felt Like I Was Working for a Boss When I Worked for Julie!” . . 40 Murphy Anderson on the “Spectre-acular” Schwartz.

Julie: Part Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us! About Our Cover: There was never a moment’s doubt about which super-hero, if any, would appear on our cover. Julie Schwartz edited the legendary JSA and other DC heroes in the late 1940s, and many another comic in the 1950s through his retirement in the mid-1980s, including Superman and Batman—but ’twas the 1956 debut of The Flash in Showcase #4 that, however unguessed-at at the time, raised the curtain on the Silver Age of Comics. We didn’t dare dream that that Flash’s first and greatest artist, Carmine Infantino, who rarely draws these days, would agree to pencil a brand new cover especially for this issue; but, thanks to some friendly persuasion by Jim Amash, he did—using his sometime signature “Cinfa”—and he came through like the champ he’s always been. See both Carmine’s penciled version and the full Amash-inked version of this fabulous illo—including how you can take a crack at owning it—on p. 34! [Art ©2004 Carmine Infantino; The Flash TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

Above: Julie and artist Murphy Anderson hold up a copy of Justice League of America #1, with the cover they created for it. This was actually the fourth “JLA” story, of course—but its publication demonstrated that the super-group had won its wings, and it’s been around ever since!

Photo from the Julius Schwartz Collection.

Alter EgoTM is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344.

Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $8 ($10 Canada, $11.00 elsewhere). Twelve-issue subscriptions: $60 US, $120 Canada, $132 elsewhere. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM of P.C. Hamerlinck. Printed in Canada.

FIRST PRINTING.

4

Schwartz and All Great Moments with Julius Schwartz (1915-2004)

by Mark Evanier

Julie’s Top Ten! The Living Legend himself at a comics convention—in a photo from the Julius Schwartz Collection—framed by ten of the most important comic book milestones in his long and, yes, legendary career. [Clockwise & in chronological order from top right center:] All-Star Comics #42 (Aug.-Sept. 1948), representing his becoming a full editor, upon Shelly Mayer’s retirement—Strange Adventures #1 (Aug.-Sept. 1950), the comic that returned Julie to his first and greatest love, science-fiction—Mystery in Space #1 (April-May 1951)—Showcase #4 (Sept.-Oct. 1956)—Showcase #22 (Sept.-Oct. 1959)—The Brave and the Bold #28 (Feb.-March 1960)—The Flash #123 (Sept. 1961)—Justice League of America #21 (Aug. 1963)—Detective Comics #327 (May 1964)—Superman #233 (Jan. 1970).

If you don’t already know why these mags were important to Julius Schwartz—and to comics—then stick around! [Covers ©2004 DC Comics.]

Schwartz and All [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: The following essay—really, a series of short essays, primarily by Mark but with an added remembrance at the end by Elliot Maggin— appeared on Mark’s website www.newsfromme.com on February 9, 2004, only hours after Julie Schwartz’s passing. Mark is, of course, a TV and comic book writer, most noted in comics in recent years for his hilarious dialogue that accompanies Sergio Aragonés’ Groo the Wanderer.

The order of some material below been somewhat rearranged from its original appearance on the website, but is still ©2004 Mark Evanier. The main thing is—Mark tells you just about everything you really need to know about Julie Schwartz, prior to reading the rest of the issue. —Roy.]

5 and their association, and it was the kind of writer you’d be proud to not have like you. Given Julie’s years and position, that is a truly amazing accomplishment: to do so much hiring and firing and rewriting and critiquing… and to be almost completely undespised.

Surely there must’ve been many photos taken of Julie and Mark Evanier together on those dozens of San Diego Comic-Con panels… but, oddly, the only photo of Mark in the Julius Schwartz Collection was this one from the Chicago Con, 1987—minus Julie! (Left to right:) Roy & Dann Thomas, Mark, and Pat Bastienne, longtime DC editorial coordinator.

He was one of the founding fathers of science-fiction fandom and later of comic book fandom. For a time, he was an agent for sciencefiction authors. Among other accomplishments, he sold the first stories by a kid named Ray Bradbury.

But you could only go so far in that field, so when he heard about an opening as an editor of comic books, he grabbed it, figuring it might be good for a few years of increased income. On his way to the job interview, he later claimed, he read the first comic books he’d ever read.

He apparently gleaned enough of the form, because for the rest of his is life, Julius Schwartz was not only an employee of DC Comics but, some said, the best comic book editor there ever was. His background as a science-fiction fan and agent served him when he helmed comics like Strange Adventures and Mystery in Space, but he really distinguished himself as an editor of super-hero comics.

And the other group that profited from the existence of Schwartz was the readers… those of us who got to buy and read and savor all those fine comics. We loved Schwartz and he loved us, possibly because he had been one of us. He and his boyhood friend Mort Weisinger had published one of the first, if not the first, science-fiction fanzine. Julie loved fanzines. He loved conventions. The last few years, nothing depressed him more than the fear that some physical ailment would keep him from the annual San Diego gathering. (Quick Story: Last year, Julie was reticent to come out because he was having trouble walking and didn’t want to be rolled about in a wheelchair. I asked him why not, and he said, “Because old men are in wheelchairs.” I told him, “Julie, you’re 88 years old. You are an old man.” He still balked, so I said, “Tell you what. Come out, sit in the wheelchair, and I’ll arrange for a woman with large breasts to push you around in it.” He said, “In that case, okay.”)

Perhaps the greatest thing about Julie was that there was so much overlap in the above two groups. He gave many readers the opportunity to become writers and even artists. And he stood on no ceremony: anyone who met him at the conventions can attest to how friendly and accessible he was. He got annoyed with you if you didn’t ask him questions. It’s going to be sad going to conventions without him.

Julie died this morning at Winthrop Hospital in New York—around 2:30 A.M. It was not a surprise, and it was one of those deaths that, and everyone reading this will understand what I mean, provides a certain amount of relief. He had been in terrible shape the last few weeks. His hearing was almost gone, and I had to shout to be heard in our last phone conversation. He had been proud and fiercely independent in his

Whatever the “Silver Age of Comics” was, it more or less commenced with Showcase #4, which revived The Flash in a new form and figure. Super-hero comics had been in decline before Schwartz edited that book, supervising and steering the reinvention of an entire genre. It led to more revivals: Green Lantern, Hawkman, Atom, and (best of all) the Justice League of America. And then, at another company across town, came The Fantastic Four and all the Marvel heroes—all reborn because Julie had paved the route.

Later, when sales on Batman were sinking, DC turned to Schwartz to institute a “new look” and bolster the character, which he did. And when Superman was in need of an editor who knew what he was doing, Julie came to the rescue.

How many people in this world could say honestly that they saved both Superman and Batman?

But the main beneficiaries of Schwartz being on this Earth (as distinguished from the others he presided over) were not comic book characters. They fell into two groups.

First, you had your writers and artists who loved working with the man. They found him encouraging, stimulating, and devoutly intent on producing the best comic books humanly possible at the moment. And yes, they sometimes found him maddening to deal with. But despite all the years I’ve been around comics and Julie Schwartz, I’ve only known of one writer who did not love the man

(Above:) Julie in a tuxedo. Why is Julie uncharacteristically wearing a tuxedo? In this instance, the generally information-laden key to the Julius Schwartz Collection says merely: “[no info].” (Right:) The Carmine Infantino/Joe Giella cover of The Flash #120 (May 1961), repro’d from a photocopy of the original, as it appeared in a 1990s art catalog.

Three Easy Pieces

9

Starring Julius Schwartz

A Trio of Interviews with the Self-Confessed Architect of the Silver Age Conducted by Will Murray Transcribed by Briank Morris

[NOTE: In the combined pieces that follow, certain parts of the conversation which substantially repeat information related in Julie’s book Man of Two Worlds or in his interviews in Alter Ego #7 & #26 have been omitted, with bridging italicized summaries, primarily for reasons of space. In other places, to keep the flow, that duplicatory material has been kept. “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” —Roy.]

INTRODUCTION by Will Murray Last summer, I heard that Julie Schwartz had been in a car accident and was recovering at home. We hadn’t spoken since running into each other at the All Time Classic Comics Convention back in the summer of 2000, at White Plains, New York. I realized it had been too long.

Since I also had a number of articles in progress for which Julie’s knowledge and invaluable memory might be of assistance, I decided to use that as an excuse to call and hopefully cheer him up a little. I found Julie intellectually unchanged by his setback. His first question to me was “Who died?”

Once I reassured him that I wasn’t bearing bad news, we caught up.

While he did complain of difficulty walking and other limitations, he sounded exactly like the Julie Schwartz of old. I was relieved.

I first met Julie back in the early ’80s when the late Mark Hanerfeld took me up to the DC offices and introduced us. Despite a vast difference in our ages, we connected because of our mutual interest in the old pulps and their writers. Not long afterward, he and Murphy Anderson began making regular appearances at PulpCon, and we grew friendly.

Julie seemed determined to recuperate, and if possible to get back to the DC offices for his weekly appearance as Editor Emeritus. His chief concern was his mental clarity. He rattled off a short list of unusual names for me, explaining that this was a memory device he’d developed as a self-diagnostic tool. Some of the names were those of familiar comic book or literary talents. One was an obscure jazz singer. Unless I’m mistaken, Harlan Ellison was another. I was surprised to learn that writer Ron Goulart—whom Julie barely knew—was another.

We’re about to spend a long time with these two guys—so let’s see what they look like! Julie’s at left, of course, seen in the DC offices in March 1989— interviewer, author, and psychic Will Murray at right—flanking the cover of Strange Adventures #71 (Nov. 1961), which blended the genres of comic book and science-fiction so dear to both men. Art by Carmine Infantino (pencils) and Murphy Anderson (inks), repro’d from an Infantino-autographed photocopy of the original art—courtesy of Mike Burkey. Photos from the Julius Schwartz Collection and Will Murray, respectively. [Cover ©2004 DC Comics.]

“As long as I can recite those six names,” he told me, “I know I’m okay.”

And so we caught up. With Julie’s indulgence, I rolled tape and began gathering information for future articles, not yet understanding that I was recording the first of several final reminiscences of this legendary figure.

My first question dealt with pioneer DC Comics editor Whit Ellsworth...

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A Trio of Interviews with the Self-Confessed Architect of the Silver Age

INTERVIEW # 1 Conducted on July 23, 2003 JULIUS SCHWARTZ: I don’t know what to tell you about Whitney Ellsworth. Do you want me to tell you he was a big boozer and a—?

WILL MURRAY: I already know that. No, I don’t want to be too negative. [Julie laughs] Murray Boltinoff said, “I loved the guy. He could have been president of the company if he didn’t drink so much.”

SCHWARTZ: Well, one good thing about him is that, when the war was over, a very attractive girl named Jean Ordwein went looking for a job and wound up at DC Comics. I sort-of took a fancy to her, but I was too shy in those days. I guess I still am kind-of shy. But finally, I asked if she’d like to go have a drink, and while we were having drinks down at the bar, Whit Ellsworth showed up and says, “Oh listen, I have two tickets to a Broadway show. I can’t attend tonight. Would you like to attend?” I think it was Pal Joey—I’m not sure. So this girl Jean and I went on this Broadway show, and two years later, we were married.

I didn’t want to discuss my family in my book [Man of Two Worlds]. But I’m a Jewish boy and she was an Irish Catholic, so I don’t have to tell you any more.

WM: Well, what was Whit like to work with?

SCHWARTZ: Let me see how I can word this. Later on, when Irwin Donenfeld became the executive editor, or whatever, because he was so young, he held editorial conferences. Once a month, we’d get together to discuss what we should be doing. He was the first one to do it. Whit Ellsworth never had an editorial conference. In those days, DC was divided into two groups. One was Bob Kanigher and me; the other was Mort Weisinger, Murray Boltinoff, Bennie Breslauer, and Jack Schiff; and we never got together. Whit Ellsworth would have his own rapport with us.

The only thing he ever did for me, outside of giving me those tickets to a Broadway show, was that when Strange Adventures went over very big, he wanted me to put out a companion science-fiction comic. I said, “Whit, impossible. There are no titles left.” In those days, there were about 30 or 40 science-fiction pulp magazines. “Oh,” he says, “that’s no problem. I have a great title for you: Mystery in Space.” I said, “That means I’ll have to do stories about space.” “Oh, no, no, no,” he says. “Space, to the average reader, means time travel, science-fiction,

The covers of both Strange Adventures #1 (1950) and Mystery in Space #1 (1951) were already seen on p. 4—so here’s a full-page house ad for S.A. #1 which appeared in comics with Aug.-Sept. 1950 cover dates. The actual cover was basically a touched-up still from the movie Destination Moon, which was adapted therein—but in this ad, someone has traced the still into a line drawing. As editor, Julie must’ve been thrilled to be presiding over a comic devoted to science-fiction, his first and greatest love. [©2004 DC Comics.]

and so on.” I said, “Well, why ‘Mystery’?” He says, “We have a House of Mystery that’s doing very well. I think it’s a key word. When you see the name ‘Mystery’ on a title, it’s a seller.” And that’s how Mystery in Space was born.

He also asked me to put out some western comics. He said, “I want you to do a series about a character called Foley, and I have the title. It’s called ‘Foley of the Fighting 5th’.” He knew someone named Foley.

[NOTE: See p. 9 on our flip side. —Roy.] I’m trying to think what else he contributed editorially.

WM: Supposedly, he and Jack Schiff came up with Showcase as a concept.

SCHWARTZ: That is absolutely incorrect. As far as I can recall, Irwin Donenfeld came up with Showcase. I can remember distinctly having editorial meetings where Showcase was talked about. You know the theory behind Showcase? We put out an issue, wait four months, and see how it does.

Pictures of Whitney Ellsworth at DC Comics are rare, but he was apparently more willing to be photographed when he became a TV producer. This pic of Ellsworth (right) and George Reeves was taken on the set of The Adventures of Superman during its final (1957) season, and is one of two photos of Ellsworth that appear in Jan Alan Henderson’s 1999 book Speeding Bullet: The Life and Bizarre Death of George Reeves; the other one was seen last issue.

Thanks to David Siegel.

WM: It was based on a TV show that had a similar title and similar concept.

SCHWARTZ: Once, when Marvel was doing so well [in the mid-1960s], Irwin had an editorial meeting and each editor was given as assignment, to read another DC editor’s comic. In other words, I was to read Mort Weisinger’s comic, Murray Boltinoff was to read Kanigher’s, and so on,

Three Easy Pieces Starring Julius Schwartz and criticize it. And of course, [chuckles] we really couldn’t. But where the mistake was made—we should not have been criticizing our magazines. We should have been trying to figure out what was making Marvel so hot.

called it, but I said, “Let’s put out a team of super-stars.” But I didn’t want to call it “Justice Society,” because in my eyes, a “society” is a social club and everyone knew what a “league” was. It’s a more commercial name, and that’s how “Justice League” was born.

WM: Right. What’s the point of chipping away at your own fellow editors? There’s already a certain level of competition.

SCHWARTZ: When the first three Showcases failed, and it came time to do the fourth one, someone—it may have been me, but someone—suggested, “How about putting out ‘The Flash’ again?” And everyone sort-of objected: “What’s the point of putting out ‘The Flash’ when it died in 1949?” And someone pointed out, “Now wait a second.

This is 1955; it’s six years later.”

Back in those days, the average age of the comic reader was 8 to 12. “And since five or more years have passed, none of today’s readers are familiar with The Flash.” So it was agreed. Then Irwin said, “Well, who’s going to do it?” And for some reason, I got appointed, or I volunteered, or everyone pointed to me, I don’t know. And the deadline was very close. I shared an office with Robert Kanigher. We sat down and immediately plotted “The Flash.”

11

When the reports came in— Irwin Donenfeld used to get reports of how the magazine was doing. He wouldn’t give us the final figures, but he would say “up six,” “down three,” and so on. So all the Brave and Bold “Justice Leagues” had “up,” “very good,” “excellent.” When the final one came in, he didn’t give me a number. You know what he gave me?

WM: What?

SCHWARTZ: An exclamation point! [Will laughs] That was it. I had to get to work, to put out the magazine I’d assumed.

WM: Whose idea was it to turn The Brave and the Bold from a historical book?

Here’s a curiosity, sent to Roy Thomas quite a few years ago. Someone (he doesn’t recall who) had an artist—undoubtedly a pro—draw a fantasy Justice League of America cover the way the assemblage might’ve looked if each of the heroes had been drawn by the artist then doing his/her regular solo series—much the way Jack Burnley had depicted the Justice Society back in All-Star Comics #11-13 in 1941-42. There’s a Bob Kane/Shelly Moldoff Batman— a Joe Certa-ish J’onn J’onzz, an Infantino Flash, a Gil Kane Atom, a Lee Elias Green Arrow, a Nick Cardy Aquaman, a Ross Andru Wonder Woman, a Curt Swan/ Al Plastino Superman—and, overhead, a Gil Kane Green Lantern. All in all, a great job! It would’ve been intriguing to see an entire issue of JLA done that way sometime. It was even done on official DC cover stock.

[Heroes TM & ©2004 DC Comics; art ©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

I contributed, no matter what Kanigher may have said in his interviews; I distinctly remember how Flash would gain his superspeed. Jay Garrick got it by inhaling heavy water, right? But I wanted something more logical, more scientific. So I suggested a bolt of lightning hit the chemicals that splashed over Barry Allen. Since a bolt of lightning is 186,000 miles per second, that’s a reasonable way to do that. When time came to get an artist, I liked Carmine Infantino’s work, and he said he would do a quick job. In come his pencils, and I didn’t have an inker handy. It so happened Joe Kubert was in the office and I said, “Joe, how would you like to ink this Carmine Infantino ‘Flash’ story?” He said, “Sure, I have nothing to do and no assignment.” It was one of the few instances where he inked somebody else’s work, except for maybe when he was 14 years old, but he had already made a name for himself. So that’s the lucky break.

And of course, you know that when Flash went over, I did Green Lantern, and the only thing I used was the title. I even made it a point that he would wear the Power Ring on the right hand, contrasted to the original Golden Age Green Lantern who had it on the left finger.

Then, of course, when that succeeded, it came time for the Justice League. I suggested putting out the Justice—well, I don’t know what I

SCHWARTZ: That I don’t recall.

My guess is that the magazine wasn’t doing well, in contrast to Showcase doing well. And of course, “Justice League” appeared in The Brave and Bold, what, #28, was it?

WM: Yeah, something like that.

So your opinion of Whit is essentially positive?

SCHWARTZ: Whit never had an editorial meeting. [pause] The last time I saw him, when he was doing the Superman show out in California and eventually retired.

He was a very big smoker, tremendously big. On one occasion, my wife and I drove across the country to L.A., and were being taken around by Ray Bradbury. On the way west, we stopped at [sf and comics writer] Edmond Hamilton’s house in Newcastle, Pennsylvania. The Hamiltons—Leigh Brackett and Ed—and my wife and I were very close.

We intended to spend a few days with the Hamiltons. But when we got to their place, Leigh wasn’t there. She’d flown out to California to work on a new John Wayne movie—I think Rio Lobo, but I’m not sure.

So I said, “Ed, do me a favor. Where’s she staying?” He said, “She’s staying in a big apartment house—the Lawrence Welk Apartment House.” I said, “Will you please call Leigh and tell her to rent the room for a few weeks, so that when we got out there, we’d have someplace to stay?” So when we did get out there, Leigh put us up. We had dinner, and on one occasion she said, “I’m going to cook you your favorite dinner. What is it?” I said, “Leg of lamb, over brown potatoes.”

But the point I’m getting at: I called Whit Ellsworth and he says,

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“How Captain Whiz Became The Flash!”

The Legendary CARMINE INFANTINO on JULIE SCHWARTZ —and the Secret Origin of the Silver Age Speedster Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Jim Amash

(Above:) Carmine Infantino and Julie Schwartz at the party held to celebrate the publication of Arlen Schumer’s book The Silver Age of Comic Book Art— Julie’s last public appearance. Note that hardcovers of the pair’s collaborations on Flash and Batman are also on display—as are the ever-present copies of Julie’s memoir. That guy never quit! (Right:) A pencil sketch by Carmine, inked

by Vampirella artist Louis Small, Jr., for A/E benefactor Jerry K. Boyd during the 2003 San Diego Comic-Con. Photo courtesy of Joe Petrilak. [Art ©2004 Carmine Infantino; Flash TM & © DC Comics.]

[INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: Carmine Infantino was probably Julie Schwartz’s favorite artist. Carmine’s covers were striking and often original—e.g., Showcase #4, which introduced the Silver Age Flash.

Their working relationship lasted almost thirty years—with Julie as Carmine’s boss for the first twenty of those years, and with Carmine as Julie’s boss for the final ten. A few days after Julie died, I called Carmine to discuss those times and his own take on the work they did together. Of course, we can’t thank Carmine enough not only for talking to us so soon after Julie’s passing, but also for drawing a knock-out cover which I had the honor of inking. After growing up seeing Carmine’s great covers on the newsstands, it was a special thrill to work with him. Thanks for everything, Carmine! I appreciate it— and Julie would have loved your cover. —Jim.] CARMINE INFANTINO: With a couple of exceptions, Julie got along with darn near everyone! He was an easy man to be with. You know, Joe Giella was one of his closest friends. Julie made friends everywhere he went, so it’s not surprising to see the outpouring of affection for him since the news of his passing broke.

By the way, I had a special arrangement with Julie. I’d bring in a few cover ideas, he’d pick one and then have someone write a story around it. I created characters and story ideas this way. I don’t know if he worked with anyone else this way, but that’s how we did it. Take The Flash, for instance. I’d create a villain, like The Trickster, and bring in a

cover rough. If Julie liked it, then he’d have either Gardner Fox or John Broome write the story.

JA: I believe you started working with Julie in 1947. He was working under Shelly Mayer at the time. What do you remember from those days?

INFANTINO: Julie only dealt with writers back then. Shelly handled all the artists, so I didn’t have any dealings with Julie until Shelly left DC [in 1948]. Shelly was bringing along people like me, Alex Toth, and Joe Kubert. He was good about directing young talent.

When Shelly was leaving the company, he told us that we’d be working directly with Julie. Shelly took me in to meet with Julie. Julie looked at my stuff and didn’t like it. He said, “Oh, okay.” Well, I didn’t say very much after that.

JA: What didn’t he like about your work?

INFANTINO: I don’t know.

“How Captain Whiz Became The Flash!”

31

JA: But you were doing “The Flash,” even back in the late ’40s!

JA: Can you pinpoint when you started working this way with Julie?

INFANTINO: Yes, but I was doing that for Shelly. Julie was only editing copy for Shelly. Julie could be cold and distant when he wanted to be.

He’d look at the work and say, “Uhhuh. Okay. Thank you.” He just wasn’t excited about my work. But little by little, things changed. We got to be friendly and he started liking my work.

INFANTINO: It was about the time we started “The Flash.” I had created a feature named “Captain Whiz and the Colors of Evil,” though it never was published. I had tried to sell the idea to Joe Simon, and even though he liked it, he wasn’t interested in publishing it at that point. I was also developing ideas for newspaper strips.

Bob Kanigher used to visit me quite often. Kanigher saw those characters and said, “Maybe someday we can work those characters in.” When he wrote the first “Flash” story, he said, “You know those characters in ‘Captain Whiz’? Do you think we can use them for ‘The Flash’?” That’s how “Captain Whiz” became “The Flash.”

Ten or twelve years after I’d been working for Julie, I said to him,”You know, I come in with my work and turn it in to you, get my check and a script, and go home. Do you like my stuff?”

JA: How similar was the Captain Whiz costume to The Flash’s?

Julie said, “You’re getting paid, aren’t you?” That was the end of that. I never asked him if he liked my work again. [mutual laughter] But he wasn’t being derogatory; he was just being Julie!

INFANTINO: It was exactly the same! I didn’t save the drawings, though I wish I had. Joe Simon once wrote me a note, saying, “I wish we’d have gone ahead with those characters.”

JA: Well, Julie was “New York tough.”

INFANTINO: You know what it was? He felt if you were a professional, then you should act like one.

And he’d treat you like one. If he accepted your work, then he considered you to be a professional and that your work was okay. There was no “ifs, ands or buts” about it.

Carmine-penciled splash from Comic Cavalcade #28 (Aug.Sept 1948), the penultimate super-hero issue of that giant 15¢ title—around the time Shelly Mayer was getting ready to turn the editorial reins over to Julie. Writer & inker uncertain. [©2004 DC Comics.]

My work was getting better and better. I went back to school at night and was developing and changing my style. Julie could see that happening, and it got to the point that, any time he had a new project, he’d ask for me. So he evidently liked what I was doing.

JA: In the early days, I take it all your meetings with Julie were short.

INFANTINO: Very short. I’d bring the work in, he’d sit and carefully look at it. Sometimes he’d ask me to make minor changes, which I did.

After that, he’d give me a new script and off I went.

JA: How often would he request changes?

INFANTINO: Very seldom—even in the beginning. It was never anything major; maybe a finger or a hand or a nose. Nothing really worth mentioning.

JA: Once he started liking your stuff better...

INFANTINO: I had less and less changes to make then. But he wouldn’t say he liked the work better.

JA: But you had to know he did.

INFANTINO: Well, it got to the point that he asked me to start thinking up cover ideas on my own. I’d bring two or three ideas in at a time, and Julie would pick one. Apparently, this way of working was successful, because sales were getting better and better on my books, so we continued to work that way.

JA: Well, he missed his chance. [laughs] Personally, I think the Flash costume is one of the greatest super-hero designs ever: sleek and timeless. [Carmine thanks me for the compliment] Did you have any input into scripts or do any editing of your own once you started drawing the stories?

INFANTINO: No, I never did that.

JA: Not even on an artistic level? For instance, if you had a page that called for five panels, would you ever stretch it to six?

INFANTINO: No. I always adhered pretty closely to what I was asked to do.

JA: There was never a time when you said to Julie, ”This plot point doesn’t make sense”?

INFANTINO: No, no. I never saw a need to do that. Julie always edited very tightly. At times there was more rewriting on the scripts than what originally had been written. The only person Julie didn’t rewrite was John Broome. John was absolutely brilliant; I loved his work. He was a genius. Julie worked very hard on Gardner Fox’s scripts.

JA: I’ve seen a couple of examples, and it always surprised me how much Julie rewrote Fox’s scripts, because Gardner Fox is famous for being such a good comics writer.

INFANTINO: I can’t explain how they worked together, because I wasn’t with them when they plotted stories. When I came into Julie’s office, they’d be sitting there working on scripts. They’d go to lunch, and when they came back, Julie and I would go over what I had brought in. Gardner would wait until I finished with Julie, and once I left, they’d go back to writing.

I created the costumes of all the Flash villains. I had costume designs in my files, and when I submitted my cover roughs to Julie, those characters were there for him and his writers to create stories around. I

36

“We Called Him ‘Sabertooth’!”

Golden/Silver Age Artist JOE GIELLA Talks about His Friend JULIUS SCHWARTZ In photo (l. to r.), Joe Giella, Julie Schwartz, & Carmine Infantino celebrate The Flash’s 60th anniversary at the All Time Classic New York Comic Book Convention, held in June 2000, courtesy of Joe Petrilak. This con was aptly named, featuring as it did perhaps the greatest gathering of Golden/Silver Age comics super-stars in recent memory—as can be seen on various pages of this issue.

Interview Conducted & Transcribed b.y Jim Amash

(Right:) A rare instance of Joe Giella penciling as well as inking a Batman illo— but, of course, Joe drew the Batman strip some time back, and has been drawing the Mary Worth newspaper comic strip for years. Sketch courtesy of Shaun Clancy. [Art ©2004 Joe Giella; Batman TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

[INTERVIEWER’S INTRO: Joe Giella is a long-time artist who got his start in the 1940s working for Timely Comics, eventually making his way over to DC and editor Julie Schwartz. Joe inked primarily for Julie, delineating Carmine Infantino’s Flash, Gil Kane’s Green Lantern, and a multitude of other material. He was also a long-time friend of Julie’s. Joe was the type of guy who always delivered good work—and on time, too! I’d write more about Joe, but I don’t have to, because in the very near future, Alter Ego will present an in-depth interview with Joe about his career. In the meantime, Joe and I will talk a little about his boss and friend: Julie Schwartz. —Jim.] JIM AMASH: What was it like working for Julie?

JOE GIELLA: Julie was a no-nonsense editor. He was very strict with deadlines. When he told you that he needed a job by a certain date, that was it! You’d better get that job in. That one of the reasons I got along with him, because the only time I was ever late was when my dad passed away. I worked with Julie for 35 to 40 years and we got along very well.

I remember how I started with Julie. My friend, Frank Giacoia introduced me to Julie, and he warned me that Julie was a tough editor!

Despite that fact, Frank still thought Julie and I would get along well.

Julie was cordial during out first meeting, and he provided me with work immediately. He liked what I did, and always put me on the top features. And the check was there every week. [laughs] That tipped the scales for me.

JA: Since Julie was all business in the office, I assume it took a little time for him to warm up to you, socially.

reason for it. He wasn’t petty and he wasn’t arbitrary. He was a professional and expected you to act as one.

GIELLA: Yeah, it took a while, but I had to work at it. As long as I got my work in on time, and didn’t antagonize him, everything seemed to work out just fine. When his wife Jean wasn’t well, I’d always ask how she was doing. Julie thanked me for asking; he knew I cared. We got to like each other. There were a few people who didn’t get along with him, but I wasn’t one of them.

JA: Carmine Infantino told me that Julie wasn’t the type to hand out many compliments.

JA: Well, I figure most of their dislike would have been because Julie was tough and wouldn’t let them get away with something, rather than Julie just being a jerk.

GIELLA: Right. Julie wasn’t a jerk. If he was tough, he had a legitimate

GIELLA: He did a few times, but we had a nickname for Julie. We called him “Sabertooth”! [mutual laughter] I can’t remember whether it was me or Frank Giacoia who gave Julie that nickname. I can tell these stories because I was very close to him; there’s no malice intended. When Julie liked your work, he’d flash his two front teeth: they’d come out like a sabertooth tiger’s, and he’d give you a little smile. He didn’t come out and say, “Awwww, this is a great job!” Carmine was right; he wasn’t like that. He would nod and say, “Good, good. Now, what about the next job? I heard you were going to be doing something else. Is that

“We Called Him Sabertooth!” going to interfere with my schedule?”

JA: Julie was the type of guy to help you out if you needed it, too.

GIELLA: True. There were a few guys who didn’t feel that way, but Julie was always in my corner when I needed him.

There was one time when I needed some money, and I asked Julie if he would set up a meeting between Irwin Donenfeld [DC’s editorial director at the time] and me. I didn’t want to go over Julie’s head.

Julie understood my situation, set the meeting up, and I was able to get a small loan. Now, whether he did that for anyone else, I can’t say.

JA: Of course, it’s all in how you ask, too.

37 changes on Carmine’s work. I explained this to Carmine, and he understood it wasn’t me—it was Julie. I wouldn’t be happy having anyone change my work, if the situation were reversed. I was always a team player, so I’d do it.

Carmine was such a good artist; he could design a page or cover better than just about anybody.

JA: How often would Julie ask you to make changes?

GIELLA: It depended on who the penciler was. He knew which pencilers needed a slight fix here and there, and which ones didn’t. With Irv Novick, Julie just handed me the pages because he knew how I’d ink them. I never had to make changes on his stuff. The same with Bob Brown and Dick Dillin. There was one penciler’s work that Julie had me making a lot of changes on. It wasn’t that the guy was bad, but I had to pick up the drawing a little bit.

GIELLA: Exactly! I didn’t want to look like I was begging, so I just came out and talked to him. Julie respected straightforwardness, although he wasn’t happy when Mort Weisinger wanted me to pencil and ink the Batman newspaper JA: Was there ever a time that you strip. That was because Julie knew he’d expressed a preference for doing be losing my services. Julie said, “Why features other than those you did? do you want to do that? I give you enough work.” I told him I just wanted GIELLA: No, I never did. I was happy to try something else for a little while, to do all the features that Julie gave me: Along with Batman, one of Joe’s other most high-profile and with the strip, I was penciling and The Flash, Batman, Superman, Green assignments was as the longtime inker of The Flash. Splash of Flash #141 (Dec. 1963) penciled by Carmine Infantino; script inking, whereas with Julie, I only inked.

Lantern, Hopalong Cassidy, Wonder probably by John Broome. [©2004 DC Comics.]

You know, in that era, newspaper syndiWoman, etc. I was always in Julie’s top cation was considered to be the pinnacle books. If I was unhappy, I would have that all the artists strived for. I was no exception. said something, but that was never the case because Julie kept me busy. I was more concerned with how good the penciling was—that was the JA: Did you pencil much for Julie? key. If you get a job that’s not good, then you really have to knock your brains out to do a decent ink job. Inking isn’t easy—you know that.

GIELLA: Most of my penciling for Julie was in the form of doing corrections on the art I inked. I did pencil some stuff for the licensing department.

JA: I sure do. Now, you started working for Julie in 1950. How long did you work for Julie before you became social friends?

JA: Did you ever ask Julie for penciling work?

GIELLA: I’d say about two years. Julie knew right away that he could depend on me. He used to say, “I can set my clock by when Joe brings in a job.” That made him happy. Now, my friend Frank Giacoia was the opposite. Julie used to get unhappy with him, and they would argue about Frank’s lateness. I asked Frank why he had trouble delivering the work. He would say something like, “Well, I really didn’t want to do that job. I wanted to do something else.”

GIELLA: Not really, because he loaded me up with inking work. What spare time I did have was spent working with Dan Barry on Flash Gordon. There was no time for anything else.

JA: What do you think there was about your work that Julie really liked—besides your ability to make his deadlines?

GIELLA: Julie liked the fact that I took a job and was dedicated to doing my best at all times. In fact, he’d get rid of you if you weren’t like that. Julie used to ask me things like, “What are you going to do with that panel, Joe? I don’t like it. I think it’s a little bit weak.” I’d say, “Don’t worry about Julie. I’ll fix it.” He’d say, “Yeah, but tell me how you’re going to fix it.”

I’d say “First of all, I’m going to pick a light source. I’m going to have the light coming from one direction and then put a little darkness here to pick it up, visually. Then I’m going to solidify that shape, and lighten up this other shape, and use a light touch on the backgrounds so they’ll look further away. I’m going to keep the foreground prominent...” And that’s when he’d flash his saberteeth, because he knew I knew what I was talking about. He knew he could trust me.

Julie also liked the fact that when he asked me to make a change, I could give him what he wanted. At times, he would ask me to make

JA: What did Julie like to do for relaxation?

GIELLA: Play cards. He had a wonderful relationship with his wife Jean. He really adored her. A few months before Julie passed away, we went to the fair and Julie had his wife’s photo with him. She passed away over twenty years ago, but he always carried her picture with him. It was very touching.

Julie used to hang out with Bernie and Bernice Sachs, who lived nearby. And when Bernie passed away, Julie kept in contact with Bernice. Our relationship was a little different: we’d go to conventions together and I’d drive him around.

JA: What were Julie and Jean like together?

GIELLA: They were adored each other. Julie thought about her all the time. Julie used to annoy Bob Kanigher, with whom Julie shared an office. At a certain time, every day, Julie would dial Jean up. He never

40

“I Never Felt Like I Was Working For A Boss When I Worked For Julie!”

Artistic Great MURPHY ANDERSON on Working with the “Spectre-acular” Schwartz Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Jim Amash professionally? Like, what would he say if you told him you were going to be three days late on a job?

(Left to right:) Murphy Anderson, Curt Swan, and Julie Schwartz together in Artists’ Alley in a Chicago Comicon in the mid-1990s— flanked by the (signed) cover and splash of Superman #411, the “Happy 70th Birthday, Julius Schwartz!” issue in 1985. Ironically, that would prove to be the last time the pair of artists, often referred to affectionately by readers as “Swanderson,” would work together on the Man of Steel. Thanks to Bob Bailey for the art scans, and to A/E transcriber Brian K. Morris for the photo. [Pages ©2004 DC Comics.]

[INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: Murphy Anderson was not only a long time freelancer for Julie Schwartz, but a good friend, as well. Murphy’s slick, organic ink style helped set the DC look for many years, and his occasional pencil-and-ink jobs were well received and fondly remembered today. Now that I think about it, Murphy worked with Julie for as long a period of time as anyone. Not only that, but they were at a lot of the same comic book conventions—mine included. For those unlucky souls who never got to meet Julie, Murphy’s warm, personal remembrances will bring the great man back to life for a few pages. —Jim.] MURPHY ANDERSON: Julie was a great editor, a good man, and a special person. He set standards for others to follow. Beyond that, he was everything you could ask for from a friend.

JIM AMASH: What was he like to deal with

ANDERSON: He’d usually try to work with you on that. I was late a few times... just about everyone was at some point. Other than ranting and raving—which was part of his “schtick”—he was really very good about it. What can I tell you? If he could work with Gil Kane, and me, and several others who couldn’t estimate time that well, then you know he had patience and loyalty.

But if it got out of hand, then he’d have to do something about it. I never saw him actually dock anyone or take work away from someone—nothing like that.

JA: Everyone knows that Julie commissioned covers and then built stories around them. When you drew covers, did you bring in one rough or several?

ANDERSON: He’d ask for several. When I lived down in Greensboro, North Carolina, I’d come up to the office several times a year to do covers for him. I wasn’t doing stories at this point because I was working full-time for my father’s cab company. I’d jot down ideas on the train to New York and make several roughs.

Ideas would occur to me, and sometimes I took rejected ideas

“I Never Felt Like I Was Working For A Boss When I Worked For Julie!” and tried to make them work.

I’d jot down crazy ideas. For instance, my wife Helen and I had two parakeets (this was before we had children), so I got the idea of using those birds on a cover. Julie liked the idea, so we did a Strange Adventures cover with parakeets. And working around my dad’s garage... well, he had an antenna. His cab company was the first one to have radios, which required installing an antenna on top of the building.

I got to thinking about that antenna and got an idea about a monster coming out of it. I talked to Julie about it and we did a cover with that theme.

The “Pit and the Pendulum” cover for the first Adam Strange Showcase [issue #17] was my idea. We couldn’t work this one out, though I had the idea for this kind of cover a couple of times before.

Julie hadn’t given me details about Adam Strange yet, so I had no idea what his plans were for the character. I worked up a cover with the guy swinging on the pendulum and Julie wanted me to dress him up in a futuristic costume. The costume was more or less a Buck Rogers costume with a little Flash Gordon thrown in.

We played with the idea, and Julie wasn’t happy with what I was coming up with. He didn’t think it looked quite right. It was late afternoon and I had a train to catch, so Julie said we’d have to put the idea aside. I said, “Maybe I could come up with the right idea? I think I know what you’re looking for. I’ll do the cover and send it to you. If you don’t like it, then don’t use it.” Well, he didn’t use my cover, but he did use the costume.

JA: Whatever happened to that cover?

ANDERSON: I have no idea. I never saw it again. I wrote a cover letter with that package and made a carbon copy of it, but I’ve somehow

41

misplaced it. In the meantime, Julie had Gil draw another cover for the first “Adam Strange,” but I don’t remember how different it was from mine. Gil’s was a little more “Kirby-ish” than mine, and maybe that’s what Julie was looking for. Gil changed the costume a little bit, but not by much. I don’t think I gave Adam Strange sleeves, and Gil drew him so it looked like he was wearing a t-shirt. That didn’t last.

The rocket belt was my idea, though I made it more like a Buck Rogers’ belt. Who changed it to a rocket pack, I don’t know. That’s something I’d have argued about, because it looked like Adam Strange would burn his fanny off every time he turned it on. But when Dave Stevens created The Rocketeer, it didn’t seem to bother him too much. I thought the Buck Rogers thing would have been better.

JA: Did you socialize with Julie when you worked for him?

ANDERSON: We socialized. Julie and his wife Jean were my guests and my mother and father’s guests. When I was going back to North Carolina on one trip—I was driving a Buick convertible—Julie and Jean went along. That was kind-of interesting. My mother was a Baptist, and we got to her house on a Friday. She had made a big chicken dinner, and of course, back then, Catholics didn’t eat meat on Fridays. She didn’t think in those terms, so she made a big feast. I remember Jean was put off just a bit by that.

That was the trip where—just for Julie’s benefit—I stopped the car when we got to the North Carolina border, got out, and kissed the ground. [mutual laughter] Julie never forgot that! He often told that story.

When I decided to leave the taxi business, Helen and I bought a house and moved to New Jersey. I was freelancing for Julie and working at home. One day, I told Julie I needed to take a week off and he asked why. I told him I had to paint the house. He said, “Paint the house? You can hire somebody to do that.”

I said, “No Julie, it doesn’t quite work that way. I’ll save money if I do it.”

Julie said, “But you’d be working.” I said, “Yeah, but I’ll save money. You don’t know how much painters charge.” He couldn’t understand the logic of that. And he loved to tell that one on me, too.

While drawing “Captain Comet” and other science-fiction features for Julie in the early ’50s, Anderson kept his hand in at other companies. “The Guardians of the Clockwork Universe!” by “Edgar Ray Merritt” (probably still writer John Broome) and Murphy, from Strange Adventures #22 (July 1952), is clearly a forerunner of the Guardians of the Universe in the 1960s-70s Green Lantern— while the page at right appeared in Standard’s Fantastic Worlds, which ran for three issues in 1952-53, and resembles his work on the Buck Rogers newspaper comic strip. Thanks to Bob Bailey for a scan of the latter—even if we’re not sure just what issue it came from! [“Captain Comet” splash ©2004 DC Comics; Fantastic Worlds page ©2004 the respective copyright holders.]

JA: Yeah, Julie told me that one. He also told this story: he was annoyed at Bob Kane’s refusal to admit he had ghosts drawing his “Batman” stories. One day, Kane came in with a story and Julie said he didn’t like the way Kane had drawn Batman’s arm in one panel, so he asked Kane to redraw it. Kane went into the bullpen, and returned a few minutes later. Julie said, “This looks worse than it did before,” knowing that Kane hadn’t originally

AND

1

1994--2004

5.95

$

PRESENT

In the USA

No. 38 July 2004

Art ©2004 Irwin Hasen.

Justice Society TM & ©2004 DC Comics.

Vol. 3, No. 38 / July 2004

™

Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor

JULIE

John Morrow

FCA Editor

Part Two

P.C. Hamerlinck

Comic Crypt Editor

Contents

A Testimonial for Julius Schwartz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Harlan Ellison’s verbal and photographic tribute to an old friend.

Michael T. Gilbert

Editors Emeritus

Jerry Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White, Mike Friedrich

Julius Schwartz Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 What the Great Editor did, and when he did it.

Production Assistant

A Tale of Two All-Stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Dan Makara and Irwin Hasen on Julie as man and editor.

Eric Nolen-Weathington

Cover Artists Irwin Hasen Carmine Infantino & Jim Amash

Cover Colorists Irwin Hasen J. David Spurlock

And Special Thanks to: Neal Adams Murphy Anderson Pedro Angosto Jeff Bailey Bob Bailey Brian H. Bailie Mike W. Barr Michael Baulderstone Bill Black Jackson Bostwick Jerry K. Boyd Alan Brennert Mike Burkey Nick Cardy Bob Cherry Shaun Clancy John Cochran Dave Cockrum Ray A. Cuthbert Teresa R. Davidson Al Dellinges Joe Desris Irwin Donenfeld Shel Dorf Harlan & Susan Ellison Don Ensign Mark Evanier Shane Foley Ramona Fradon Mike Friedrich Carl Gafford José García-López Jeff Gelb Frank Giella Joe Giella Janet Gilbert Dick Giordano Mike Gold Bob Greenberger Walt Grogan Beth Gwinn Jennifer T. Hamerlinck

Ron Harris Irwin Hasen Mark & Stephanie Heike Tom Horvitz Dave Hunt Joe Kubert Stan Lee Paul Levitz Glenn MacKay Elliot S. Maggin Keith Mallow Dan Makara Dave Manak Sam Maronie Brian K. Morris Mark Muller Will Murray Mart Nodell Denny O’Neil Carlos Pacheco Joe Petrilak John G. Pierce Larry Rippee Ethan Roberts Bob Rozakis Alex Saviuk David Siegel Louis Small, Jr. Marc Sparks J. David Spurlock Richard Steinberg Marc Svensson Marc Swayze Joel Thingvall Dann Thomas Alex Toth Michael Uslan Marv Wolfman Donald Woolfolk Eddy Zeno Michael Zeno Tom Ziuko

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Julie Schwartz, Carrie Nodell, & Lillian Drake

“IJoe Dated Julie’s Wife before He Did!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Kubert tells tales about drawing for J.S. “My Dust-up with Julie”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Alex Toth on “burying the hatchet” with his one-time editor.

Tribute to a Titan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 A legion of comics lovers—both pros and fans—remember Julius Schwartz Comic Crypt: Strange Schwartz Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Michael T. Gilbert and Mr. Monster examine some of Julie’s 1960s correspondence.

Close Encounters of the Schwartz Kind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Bill Schelly on his four meetings with Julie.

Carrie Nodell & Lillian Drake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 A few words about two gracious ladies.

FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) #97 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 P.C. Hamerlinck and friends on Julie Schwartz and Shazam!

Julie: Part One. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us! About Our Cover: Beginning in 1941, Irwin Hasen produced some memorable work on “Green Lantern” and All-Star Comics for both DC/AA editor Shelly Mayer and his successor Julius Schwartz. In recent years, Irwin had accompanied Julie, who had become his good friend, to numerous comicons. Editor Roy Thomas asked Irwin if he would re-create his very first All-Star cover (#33, drawn in 1946), only with Julie standing in for the monstrous Solomon Grundy— and we think the result is nothing less than terrific! “All-Schwartz Comics” logo by Al Dellinges.

Special Notice: This fabulous one-of-a-kind “re-creation with a difference” is for sale by Irwin for $700. Please contact A/E’s editor via fax at (803) 826-6501, by mail at the South Carolina address in the indicia below, or via e-mail at: roydann@ntinet.com. First-come, firstserved! [Art ©2004 Irwin Hasen; Justice Society of America TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

Above: Julie at the Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC, in June 2001, pursuing one of his favorite pastimes—hawking his memoir Man of Two Worlds, which he wrote with Brian Thomsen. If you haven’t yet picked up a copy—do so! Julie is watching! Photo by Bob Bailey.

Alter EgoTM is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344.

Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $8 ($10 Canada, $11.00 elsewhere). Twelve-issue subscriptions: $60 US, $120 Canada, $132 elsewhere. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM of P.C. Hamerlinck. Printed in Canada.

FIRST PRINTING.

2

A Testimonial for Julius Schwartz

by Harlan Ellison ©1997 The Kilimanjaro Corporation [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Harlan Ellison will be well known to many readers of A/E as one of the premier science-fiction writers of the 20th century—not that he’s retired in the 21st! His moving remembrance of Julie Schwartz, titled “Softly; A Legend Passes” was read at the March 2004 memorial service held for Julie in New York City, and will be featured in the transcription of that event two issues from now. Harlan also located the following piece about the fabled DC editor (and his longtime good friend) that he wrote in 1997—though he’s not certain of the precise occasion—and he and his wife Susan sent it along to us, along with several of the photos which appear on this page and the next, and which are used with their permission. —Roy.] Schwartz? You want a testimonial for Schwartz? Is that what you’re asking for? A testimonial, right? Something that reinforces this “living legend” business, am I right, am I getting this right? Something that exalts, something that lauds, some wonderful words that extol, that eulogize, praise, flatter, enhance, and ennoble. Have I got it correctly, what it is you want? Well, just let me tell you….

Schwartz: When they excavated the buried ruins of the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk in 1912, there on that lower Mesopotamian plain where, 3500 years before the birth of Christ, were written the earliest words of mankind, the great Gilgamesh legend… there, there in the great Limestone Temple were unearthed the shards of an alabaster cult vase, pictographically engraved with the heroic story of Schwartz the Slayer.

We’re talking Schwartz here! Tribute, testimonial? I’ll give you testimonial!

Harlan and Julie at DragonCon, Atlanta, 1998. Photo by Beth Gwinn from the Julius Schwartz Collection.

Julie Schwartz and Harlan Ellison in the latter’s Art Deco dining room, with sf author Alfred Bester’s Grandmaster Award, presented by the Science Fiction Writers of America.

Schwartz: In 1976, when they discovered the terracotta army of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, there in Shanxi province, eastcentral China, the most startling aspect of the unearthing of those thousands of sculpted warriors was that eleven out of thirteen statues bore the unmistakable countenance of He Who Must Kvetch, the great Schwartz! We’re talking the Schwartzmeister, can you hear me? Word!

Schwartz: When they finally found the crumpled and shattered corpse of the Titanic, at a terrible depth below the North Atlantic, and they circumnavigated it for the first time with the mini-sub, they found—amazingly, astoundingly—the golden figure of Schwartz the Great Navigator still standing at the ceremonial helm, where it had been placed by the owners of the White Star line prior to the great ocean queen’s maiden voyage. Unsullied by anemone or acid wash, there stood the heroic Schwartz simulacrum, untarnished by time, noble even at the deepest dark of the cruel downbelow.

You ask me about Schwartz? You want mere words to encompass the grandeur, the heroism, the incomparable singularity of wonder we are blessed to have with us? The immortal Schwartz, you want I should sum him up in one measly testimonial? Phah! Better to ask how bright shine the stars, how mournful cries the wind, how deep is the ocean, how high the sky!

He is… Schwartz! Let the name ring down the halls of Forever. I say again… SHUH-WARTZ! Ask no more of me.

Julie, Susan, and Ray Bradbury at the Pacific Dining Car restaurant, circa 1990.

A Tale of Two All-Stars

5

Conversations with Julius Schwartz and Irwin Hasen

by Dan Makara (with Irwin Hasen) (Left to right:) Dan Makara talks with Carmine Infantino, Irwin Hasen, and Julie Schwartz at his studio—juxtaposed with a Hasen re-creation of an early1940s cover that never was: Wildcat Comics #1. Dan prevailed upon Irwin to draw and color this great piece. Nice, huh? Oh, and you can see other photos of Irwin, Julie, and Carmine elsewhere in this issue. [Art ©2004 Irwin Hasen; Wildcat TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

DAN MAKARA One day I got a call from my pal Irwin Hasen: “Come on into the city on Saturday. Julie Schwartz will be here. Like to meet him?”

Of course, I went with bells on. I’d grown up reading the books Julie had edited in the ’60s… The Flash, Batman, Strange Adventures. In fact, it was one of Julie’s Justice League issues, which reprinted the cover to All-Star Comics #33, that introduced me to the Comic Book Art of Irwin Hasen. I had enjoyed Irwin’s work on Dondi since I was a little kid, but had no idea that Irwin had worked for DC and had done the best of the All-Star covers.

It’s always an interesting experience to visit Irwin in New York. A friend for going on seven years now, Irwin lives in a great old brownstone not far from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His apartment is a treasure trove for the eyes. Walking in, you are greeted by a double portrait that Irwin is working on of Mayor Bloomberg with Dondi.

Bloomberg, a neighbor, frequents the same deli as Irwin. Photographs and artwork cover the walls, along with Inkpot Awards for his syndicated work. There are pictures of Irwin with Rube Goldberg... Irwin with various women... Irwin with Carl Sandburg... Irwin with various women....

In one corner there’s a large upright piano and a set of bongos. His drawing board is in another corner, by an immense window. Nearby hangs his masterpiece, which he calls “The Autumn Leaves.” The lower right corner of that picture sports a self-portrait dreamily gazing toward heaven. Floating all about as if they were blown by a gentle breeze are full-figure portraits of all the women Irwin has known… nude. On the floor is a life-size stuffed Russian wolfhound with a martini. Behind the couch is a life-size stuffed tiger, its head poised above a pile of chicken bones.

Seated upon the couch was Julius Schwartz.

“How do you know who I am?” he asked.

“Well, I actually recognized you from a Strange Adventures story,” I replied.

“Have you read my book?”

“Ummm, I’m afraid I didn’t know you’d written one.”

He reached into a valise… pulled out a paperback with his picture on the cover. “Here ya go… it’s fourteen dollars.”

Fumbling for my wallet: “All I’ve got is a ten.”

“Ya don’t buy the book, I can’t talk to ya.”

“I promise I’ll buy the book, but I already know all about you.

You’re the guy that rescued comic books!”

That comment broke the ice. We spoke about Strange Adventures and science-fiction. Julius was a huge fan of Amazing Stories and recounted the genius of sf pulp editor Hugo Gernsback.

When Julie excused himself and stepped into the other room for a moment, Irwin leaned forward and whispered, “Ask him about Ray Bradbury.”

8

“I Dated Julie’s Wife Before He Did!” JOE KUBERT Tells Tales about Drawing for Julie Schwartz

[INTERVIEWER’S NOTE: What else is there to say about Joe Kubert?

He’s been working in the comic book field since 1942…is most closely associated at DC with both the Golden and Silver Age Hawkmen and the war titles… and he keeps getting better. —Roy.]

Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Roy Thomas

ROY THOMAS: When Julie started work for DC/AA in December 1944—he even knew the exact date—you’d only recently started working there yourself. Apparently your first work for AA [All-American] editor Shelly Mayer was the “Dr. Fate” chapter in All-Star #21, which was cover-dated Summer 1944. That would’ve come out in the spring, so it must’ve been prepared at least during the winter—around the time Julie came to work for Mayer, too.

JOE KUBERT: It must have been. Of course, I was already working for a couple of other companies. I was just a teenager at the time, still going to high school. I’ve always been amazed that Shelly, as the editorin-chief of All-American, had enough faith in me to let me pencil that “Dr. Fate,” and before long, “Hawkman.” At that time I met Julie in passing, but I don’t really recall when or how. You know, the only time artists would meet the editors would be when we came up to the office to turn in work.

RT: The day he was hired, Julie admitted to Shelly that he didn’t know anything about artwork—he was strictly a literary type, having been a science-fiction reader and agent. Shelly told him that was okay, because he [Shelly] would do be the one dealing with the artists. So Julie was essentially a story editor from 1944 until Shelly quit editing in 1948 to go back to writing and drawing. Is that when you began to work more closely with Julie?

KUBERT: Yes. Before that, we might have said hello, but that was about it. Being a kid, I didn’t socialize with the older guys, like the editor.

RT: Julie, after all, was an old man in his late twenties when you came to work at AA/DC! KUBERT: Yeah, and he always kidded me because I dated his wife before he did. I just went out with her once, and I guess that was enough for her. She was older than I was, so she went to an older guy! [laughs] You know, Kanigher was an editor there, too, in the mid-’40s, at the same time as Julie.

(Top left:) Joe Kubert being his usual gracious self with a fan at 2000 comiccon in White Plains, NY—juxtaposed with two decades of Hawkman. Photo courtesy of Joe Petrilka. (Above:) A Golden Age page from Flash Comics #72 (June 1946), repro’d from photocopies of the original art, courtesy of Joel Thingvall. Julie was Shelly Mayer’s story editor for AA/DC by this time, but rarely interfaced with artists. (Left center:) A Silver Age Hawkman head done by Joe for his cartooning school. [Page ©2004 DC Comics; sketch ©2004 Joe Kubert; Hawkman TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

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“My Dust-Up With Julie” Classic Artist ALEX TOTH on “Burying the Hatchet” on an Old Disagreement with J. Schwartz

[Art ©2004 Alex Toth.]

[EDITOR’S NOTE: For years, different versions of why and how Alex Toth quit drawing for DC circa 1952, because of a dispute with editor Julius Schwartz. In his memoir Man of Two Worlds, Julie recounted his own version, without casting any aspersions on an artist he admired, and recounted how they made up at a comic-con years later. We invited Alex to air his own tale, after so long, but he preferred, understandably, to accentuate the positive. We applaud him for it. —Roy.]

Whatever happened between Alex and Julie—and the artist has always maintained a discreet silence on the subject—‘twas no “April Fool” joke.

These panels from the “Green Lantern” story in Comic Cavalcade #27 (June-July 1948) were drawn by Alex not long before Julie became full editor on Shelly Mayer’s return to full-time cartooning. Oh, and you’ll find a photo of Alex Toth on p.7. [©2004 DC Comics.]

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Tributes to a Titan Comics Lovers—Pro and Fan—Remember Julius Schwartz (Left:) A 1984 caricature of J.S. by cartoonist and DC staffer Dave Manak.

(Right:) Gil Kane’s cover for an issue of From Beyond, as repro’d from the original art in The Amazing World of DC Comics #3 (Nov. 1974), the “Special Julius Schwartz Issue.” Was Gil’s striking cover ever used on an actual comic?

[Art ©2004 Dave Manak.]

after everyone who might have written his own “Julie story”—this is, after all, a magazine, not an entire encyclopedia. But we put out the call, and these folks responded here. Others have had their say elsewhere, or prefer to contemplate Julie’s passing in silence. But here is what a few noteworthy people had to say—in alphabetical order.

Most of them need no introduction to readers of Alter Ego—but I’ve added a few words before each commentary, just the same. —Roy.] [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: Many of those who were Julie’s contemporaries, collaborators, and colleagues are gone now, having preceded him into the “Beyond,” to use part of the title of his last science-fiction comic: Gil Kane, Mike Sekowsky, Gardner Fox, John Broome, Frank Giacoia, Robert Kanigher, et al. But, over his 40plus years as a day-by-day editor, and in special projects since his 1984 retirement, Julius Schwartz left behind memories in the minds of everyone who came into contact with him. We didn’t go seeking

JERRY G. BAILS [Jerry Bails is the founder of Alter Ego (in 1961) and of various other traditions of comics fandom.

This tribute, written while the news of Julie’s passing was still fresh, originally appeared on Jerry’s website, and was also quoted liberally in The Comics Journal.]

I owe Julie Schwartz more than I can say. I wrote him my first fan letter in 1946 (re All-Star Comics #27), which I always felt influenced his decision to run the famous “Plight of a Nation” story in Justice League of America about juvenile delinquency.

I peppered Julie with letters throughout the 1950s for the revivals of costumed characters, especially the Justice Society. I visited him and Gardner Fox in early 1961, and he was an exceedingly generous host.

Long before he began giving original art for letters-to-theeditor, he was sending me the art for whole stories, scripts, silver proofs, and color proofs. He gave me advance news for the very first issue of On the Drawing Board (later known as The Comic Reader).

(Above &!center:) Jerry Bails at the 1997 Fandom Reunion Luncheon in Chicago—plus the covers of two DC comics edited by Julius Schwartz: All-Star Comics #49 (Oct.-Nov. 1949) and Justice League of America #21 (Aug. 1963). Until recently, Jerry owned the original art to both covers. Art by Arthur Peddy & Bernard Sachs, and officially by Mike Sekowsky & Murphy Anderson, respectively—though Jerry’s always sworn he believes Murphy drew the latter one alone! [Covers ©2004 DC Comics.]

He honored me by including a composite character named Jerry Thomas in a JLA story, “The Cavern of Deadly Spheres.”

While Roy and I had sent in lots of story and character ideas, we had nothing to do with the “Cavern” plot. Julie and Gardner dreamed that one up in one of their frequent plot conferences.

Julie was the friendliest pro I ever met. Whenever he’d spot me at a convention, he’d hustle over to greet me as if I were the honoree. He always made me feel special. I think he did that

Tributes to a Titan quite naturally for many young people he brought into the world of comics.

I was always amazed at how well he could get along with most everyone. He never had a bad word to say about anyone—even his lifelong friend Mort Weisinger.

He shared office space with Bob Kanigher, who had an annoying habit of denigrating Julie’s talents One legend contemplates another: JS before as an editor, while failing a poster utilizing the Infantino/Anderson to note how many times “Flash of Two Worlds” cover from The Flash Julie’s reliable #123. From the Julius Schwartz Collection. management skills saved [Flash TM & ©2004 DC Comics.] the day for both of them.

Julie kept careful records, and I never heard a tale of any freelancer who wasn’t treated fairly and promptly at Julie’s hands. I’ve heard a great many stories from his protégés praising him for the experience he gladly shared with newcomers.

Julie was not a writer, per se, but an idea man. He loved plot twists, and paid scant attention to characterization. I saw examples of the scripts he sent me wherein he would rob one character (say, Wonder Woman) of a monologue and assign the same words to, say, Batman. This was especially true during the Batman TV craze. The characters were always interchangeable to Julie. It was the plot that counted, and he was as excited about plots as any fanboy.

The episode in which he gave Wonder Woman’s speech to Batman prompted me to suggest to Julie that he should use this body-changing power as a gimmick in one of his JLA stories— which he promptly did. If I remember correctly, J’onn J’onzz wound up in Wonder Woman’s body.

In a slightly later period at DC, that would have prompted some remark and possible embarrassment on J’onn’s part, but there was none of that at DC at that time.

Marvel’s soap-opera interplay of characters was not a part of Julie’s world. He grew up with science-fiction. He was from a different era, when boys were boys and dreamed of outer space, while girls focused on human relationships. Julie was content with treating romance as something separated by a Zeta beam.

Julie was quite proud when he was awarded the opportunity to take over Batman and do a makeover. Again, his natural

15

tendency was to rely on plot twists, and he immediately turned Batman back into a detective in the pulp tradition. Unfortunately, the early success of the Batman TV show put something of a crimp in that approach, as the comics attempted to ape the campish TV show. It was something of a relief for all when the craze ended and the Neal Adams version of a gritty and grim night-stalker took hold.

Julie’s final step up at DC was to assume the editorship of Superman himself. Julie made a faltering attempt to alter the basic storyline and reduce Superman’s powers, but this was at a stage before it was acceptable to all concerned to tamper in any fundamental way with major icons. That came later, but I suspect that Julie’s early efforts paved the way. He was good at listening to readers, and loved ideas. He knew that fresh ideas were needed, and he was willing to try them.

One of his crowning ideas was to rock the DC Universe for decades.

He introduced multiple Earths and made them a regular summer multiple-issue fantasy. After a lot of dares and badgering from me—I told him he couldn’t do it—he finally reintroduced the Justice Society, and their once-a-year crossovers in Justice League spanned the entire youth of many Silver Age readers. The fascination with Golden Age characters—some of whom Julie himself had never known originally— spawned a world that is still spinning in orbit by writers and artists too young to have experienced the Golden Age themselves.

If truth be told, the Golden Age was made Golden during the Silver Age by a gentleman of great affection for all fans—the master of many dimensions, the one and only Julie Schwartz—my friend. There will always be a special place in my heart for this All-Star.

MIKE W. BARR [Mike Barr has written comics since 1973, mostly for DC, as well as a Star Trek novel. He was the guy behind DC’s original Outsiders and its first limited series, Camelot 3000. He says he’s told that the following anecdote was related by Julie in his memoir, but thought A/E’s readers might enjoy hearing it from his point of view.]

Julie got a little full of himself in later years, but he could still take a joke. For instance, once of his favorite bits was, while giving a tour of the DC offices to visiting friends, to relate stories of his early career as a science-fiction agent, culminating with the payoff that he had discovered one of the most famous science-fiction writers of all time—Ray Bradbury, of course. But because Julie was too >ahem< modest to announce the name of his discovery himself, he would lead up to the revelation, then turn to whatever staffer was nearby, and have that unsuspecting soul tell the visitors. I saw him do this several times.

(Above:) Two luminaries who scripted stories for Julie Schwartz, two decades apart: Mike Barr (on left) with the late great John Broome at the 1998 San Diego ComicCon. Both men wrote “Elongated Man” tales, too—with John being Ralph Dibny’s co-creator in The Flash #112 (April-May 1960). The multi-autographed Carmine Infantino/Joe Giella-drawn page at left, from the Broomescripted, Julie-edited Elongated Man appearance in Flash #138 (Aug. 1963), is repro’d from photocopies of the original art, courtesy of Frank Giella. Photo by Maureen McTeague. [Flash page ©2004 DC Comics.]

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Comics Lovers––Pro and Fan––Remember Julius Schwartz

So one day in the early to middle ’80s, it was my turn. I was doing some photocopying in the DC offices at 666 Fifth Avenue (I believe) while Julie brought some friends through, giving them the nickel tour while simultaneously telling them of his brilliant career. He finished with—“and I also discovered one of the most famous science-fiction writers in the world. Mike, tell them who I discovered.”

Without missing a beat, I replied: “Jules Verne.”

His friends were already howling, but Julie had the last laugh. He nodded and began: “That’s right, Jules Ver—” Then he stopped, realizing Alan Brennert, with two pages from perhaps the most memorable of his too-rare comics stories, “The Autobiography what I had said, while of Bruce Wayne,” from The Brave and the Bold #197 (April 1983)—as Batman gets by with a little help from his friends. executing the most Repro’d from photocopies of the original Joe Staton/George Freeman art, courtesy of Brian H. Bailie. Oh, and Alan says he perfect double-take was promoting the TV show Moloka’i when the photo was taken—hence the Hawaiian shirt! [Comic art ©2004 DC Comics.] ever you’ve seen.

“No!” he said, his the world on which the Golden Age heroes of the Justice borough of origin betraying itself in his accent Society of America lived... and aged. Yes, unlike their as he shouted over his friends’ laughter, “not counterparts in the JLA, the JSAers grew older, got Jooles Voin!” married, had children... in short, had “real” lives that stood in sharp contrast to the carefully maintained stasis But he was laughing, too. of Superman or Batman’s continuities. From JLA #21: “There are a few gray hairs showing—and their faces are lined with the passage of time—but their mighty powers are only slightly dimmed...”

[Alan Brenner is a television writer who has scripted a few, and memorable, comic book Anyone who has ever read one of my comic book stories in his day.] stories can attest to the impact that line had on me as a hatchling writer. As a matter of fact, that line pretty much Somewhere deep in the stacks of Lucien’s is every comic book story I’ve ever written! library in The Dreaming, in that section reserved for Stories That Were Never Written, subsection Comic Books Only a Glimmer in Someone’s The first letter of comment I had published in a DC comic was also Eye, is a 22-page “Superman” story I never wrote for Julius Schwartz. in JLA: issue #75. (The one with Black Canary’s fishnet stockings prominently displayed on the cover. Yeah, you remember it.) At the time Like many a Silver Age comics fan, I was weaned on Julie Schwartz’s it was the biggest thrill of my young life. I went on to publish quite a comic books. Whether it was Flash, Green Lantern, or Mystery in few LoCs in Julie’s books, and on one occasion he even took me to task Space—whether the writer was John Broome or Gardner Fox—a for completely missing the point of a Flash story which I had, well, Schwartz-edited story balanced the most baroque plots on a fulcrum of completely missed the point of. (Not every teenager has his youthful scientific plausibility, in the process often enlightening us with some obtuseness so immortalized in print.) basic scientific truism. (I daresay I was not the only eight-year-old who believed it was really important to know that a piece of straw, propelled It wasn’t until the early 1980s that I finally met Julie in person, at one by hurricane-force winds, could penetrate a block of wood.) of Mark Evanier’s post-San Diego Comi-Con parties. I’d begun writing the occasional comic book story, and Julie invited me to write one for My absolute favorite Schwartz book was Justice League of America, him. And there was a “Superman” story I’d always wanted to see.… to which my Aunt Eleanor had given me a subscription (copies were actually mailed out folded in half lengthwise, if such things can be In “The Sweetheart Superman Forgot” (Superman #165), our hero imagined today). It was this book (and The Flash) which would loses both his memory and his super-powers to red kryptonite, and introduce me to the concept of parallel worlds, specifically “Earth-Two,” winds up working as a ranch hand as “Jim White.” There he falls in love

ALAN BRENNERT

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32

Michael T. Gilbert

Strange Schwartz Stories!

by Michael T. Gilbert Do I have a Julie Schwartz story for you?

Boy! Do I have a Julie Schwartz story for you!!

Well…er… no, actually.

Never met the guy, unfortunately, nor did I ever work with him. And while I greatly enjoyed seeing Julie perform on various comic panels, it’s just not the same as actually knowing him. So, no, I don’t have a Julie Schwartz story for you.

Sorry.

But fortunately, you don’t need one from me. This special tribute issue includes lots of Julie’s friends and colleagues, with better stories than any I could tell.

More importantly, the only Julie Schwartz stories that really matter are the ones in Julie’s comics. Those stories live on, indelibly etched in the brains of generations of young comic book fans. Others may have written those tales, but Julie was the orchestra leader who shaped them. And what stories they were!

Who could forget reading “Flash of Two Worlds!” for the first time and discovering that there was an “Earth-Two,” populated by DC heroes from the 1940s? I still remember the thrill of seeing the Silver Age Flash, (the only Flash I knew!) stumble into another dimension to meet another Flash from an earlier era.

“Another Flash? Whoa!”

This 9-year-old was blown away by The Flash #123 (Sept.

1961). A whole world of super-heroes I’d never even dreamed of, with cool names and costumes, heroes that had lived and faded away before I was even born! Julie brought classic sci-fi concepts like “parallel universes” to a new generation of comic fans. Thanks, Julie!

A Gil Kane/Murphy Anderson page from Green Lantern #74 (Jan. 1970), “Lost in Space”— just before the O’Neil/Adams GL/GA team-up began. As Jerry Bails said when ID’ing this art, “You don’t get better inking than this!” The page is repro’d from a photocopy of the original art, thanks to collector/dealer Tom Horvitz, who always has lots of goodies for sale. He can be reached by phone in Tarzana, CA, at (818) 757-0747.

Or try his website at <www.trhgallery.com>. [©2004 DC Comics.]

True, the stories didn’t always make a lot of sense—not to an adult, anyway. But they were always fun and memorable.

And the covers were equally impressive. I’ll never forget one early-’60s gem where the Scarlet Speedster gets blasted with a fat-ray. In one single 3-figure image, our hero gains 1000 points of ugly flab in a… a… well, a flash! How could any kid possibly see Carmine Infantino’s striking cover without glancing inside? Without a doubt, Julie’s comics had some of the best covers in the business. If, after the fact, he had to contrive a goofy story to go with it, well, so be it! In this instance, Julie assigned scripter John Broome to flesh out that cover.

Literally.

“The Day Flash Weighed 1000 Pounds” (The Flash #115, Sept.

1960) was a marvelously silly story. First, Gorilla Grodd blasts Flash with a fat-ray in order to sideline the world’s fastest man. Poor Flash becomes so huge he can barely waddle, much less run. One humiliating scene even shows our hero enduring taunts as a carnival side-show freak. (“Haw! Man! It sure is funny… dressing him up like The Flash!”).

Not the most politically-correct crowd. In those pre-Atkins days, it looked like Flash was fated to remain flabby forever.

But then the story gets even sillier! Flash foils Grodd’s diabolical plot by squeezing into a potato-dehydrating room (!) and sweating off the pounds, surrounded by mountains of steaming spuds (!!). Hours later, The Flash emerges thin and trim, ready to mete swift justice to Gorilla Grodd! Funny, I’ve been in lots of steam rooms, but never lost anywhere near 800 pounds. Maybe Flash’s success had something to do with the potatoes?

Like I said, the stories were often silly. But the images remain, images that editor Schwartz helped bring to life through spirited plotting sessions with his writers, and cover conferences with his artists.

Julie performed the same magic with all his books, whether sci-fi titles like Mystery in Space or super-hero titles like Green Lantern or Justice League of America. And let’s not forget “Strange Sports Stories,” Julie’s experimental sports/sci-fi/fantasy series. What comics-

Title Comic Fandom Archive

37

Close Encounters of the Schwartz Kind

by Bill Schelly

The Ultimate Fan Despite all those years as an editor of pro comics, it’s my opinion that Julius Schwartz’s greatest contributions were as a fan. He was a fan before he was a pro, and he was a fan while he was a pro, and he remained a fan when, in retirement from DC, he attended hundreds of conventions in the latter part of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first centuries.

In his professional capacity as editor of a revived Flash, he spurred the Silver Age of Comics, but Schwartz was never completely comfortable taking credit for the idea. Julie told me he wasn’t sure who suggested bringing back The Flash, in that pivotal DC editorial meeting in 1955 or ’56. But there’s no question that he edited Showcase #4 and most of the new incarnations of the All-American heroes of the Justice Society of America, presenting them in high style to a new generation of readers.

To me, however, Julie’s role in the formation of comics fandom in 1961 was something entirely his own. It arose from his empathy for

Bill Schelly (left) and Julie Schwartz at the San Diego Comic-Con, summer of 2003—their final face-to-face “encounter.”

those whose interest in comics was no less fervent than his own enthusiasm for science-fiction as a young man. And, as we know, his early support of Jerry Bails inspired the Detroit-based professor to launch something more ambitious than the originally-conceived JLA newsletter: Alter-Ego, a fanzine with a fancy Freudian name and a mission to celebrate nothing less than “comic heroes of the past, present and future.”

In those early, formative days of comicdom, Julie was as helpful as he could possibly be to Jerry Bails, Roy Thomas, and others who evinced sincere interest in the DC comics he edited. His decision to publish full addresses in the letter columns in the mags he edited greatly facilitated communication between fans.

He sent out original art and scripts, provided scoops for The Comic Reader, and welcomed a parade of well-wishers who turned up at the offices of DC in New York City.

Even when he didn’t—in those days—appreciate the comics medium as an art form that might one day tell stories of interest to older readers, he never ridiculed those fans. He later said that doing the letter columns was his favorite part of his job.

(Above—left to right:) A 1938 photo of Julie; sf writer and future comics scribe Otto Binder; and Raymond A. Palmer. The diminutive Palmer, editor at various times of Amazing Stories and other sf pulps, gave Julie his consent to let his name be used for the alter ego of the Silver Age Atom.

(Left:) A great action page from The Atom’s third tryout issue—Showcase #35 (Nov.-Dec. 1961)—by the team supreme of Gil Kane (pencils), Murphy Anderson (inks), Gardner Fox (script), and of course Julie Schwartz (editor). Repro’d from photocopies of the original art, courtesy of Mike W. Barr and Tom Horvitz.

[Atom page ©2004 DC Comics.]

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Bill Schelly

Close Encounter # 1 I suspect that a lot of the people who will write tributes to Julius Schwartz, in Alter Ego and elsewhere, count themselves as “friends of Schwartz.” I can’t claim that distinction. I didn’t know him that well.

When I called him on the phone and he greeted me with a cheery “Hi, kiddo!” he made me feel like a pal, but there were many who knew him much, much better. Nevertheless, Julius Schwartz made a serious impact on my creative life.

Our first encounter, which was nightmarish and is recounted in painful detail in my book Sense of Wonder: A Life in Comic Fandom, was when I traveled to New York City in 1973 to try to break into pro comics. It was Julie and Vince Colletta who, upon examining my portfolio for the DC Junior Bullpen, told me I wasn’t ready to become a DC trainee. How different my life might have been had they seen strong potential in my artwork. I might have moved East, roomed with Carl Gafford or Tony Isabella, and ended up with some sort of comic book career. (Instead, I returned to my home in Idaho with my tail between my legs, and ended up moving to Seattle to find work.)

For years I harbored a low-level grudge against Julie for his part in my DC rejection (though it was Vince more than Julie who was judging the artists), because I felt I had been given short shrift. It was only when the comic book industry crashed in 1994 that I began to feel that Vince and Julie had done me a left-handed favor. Instead of being an out-ofwork professional artist, I was a gainfully employed financial analyst with a comic book hobby that never stopped being fun.

Close Encounter # 2 My second significant encounter with Julius Schwartz came in 1997 when Roy Thomas and I were compiling our trade paperback Alter Ego: The Best of the Legendary Comics Fanzine. At the San Diego comicon that summer, Julie agreed to sit for a brief interview that would be edited into an introduction for that tome.

And so, after a convivial lunch with Julie, Roy, Dann, Gil Kane, and Mike Catron, I cornered Julie in the foyer of the restaurant long enough to tape that interview. There could have been no better, and no more appropriate, introduction to the Alter Ego book than the one that resulted from that chat with Julie.

Close Encounter # 3 My third encounter came out of my second, for when the Alter Ego tome was published and making its appearance at the 1998 San Diego Comic-Con, having been nominated for a Will Eisner award for “Best Comic Book-Related Book,” Julie agreed to help promote it. Chris Foss (of Heroes and Dragons comics shop in Columbia, SC) and I set up a book signing for Julie, Roy, and me, knowing that many would come just for a chance to get Julie or Roy’s autograph on it. But when the day arrived, Julie said, “I don’t think I can make it.”

The problem wasn’t that he didn’t want to do the signing. The problem was that it had been set up on the side opposite the cavernous San Diego

Convention Center from his perch in Artists’ Alley, and he wasn’t feeling steady enough on his feet to make the hike. (His arthritis had flared up.) When I offered to find a wheel chair, he at first declined.

“I don’t want anyone to see me in a wheel chair,” he said.

“How about if I get the chair and have it ready just outside the convention center doors?” I pointed in the direction of those doors, which weren’t far away. “I can wheel you down to the other end, and whisk you to the autograph booth before anyone realizes it’s you. Then I’ll bring you back using the same method.”

He thought about that for a moment. Then he smiled. “Okay, Bill. If you’re willing to go to all that trouble, sure.”

And that’s exactly what we did.

Julie, with the aid of a young friend whose name escapes me, made it to the spot outside the convention doors where I was waiting with the chair, hopped aboard, and off we went. After we re-entered the crowded hall at the other end, was Julie a shrinking violent as we wended our way through the throngs of fans? Just the opposite!

“Out of the way!” he barked. “Coming through!” The sea of fans parted, and we moved with remarkable alacrity to the appointed spot.

As Julie slid into his seat behind the autograph table, he said, “Now hide that chair so no one sees it. But keep it handy.”

That’s how Julie, not feeling his best, was able to make it to that book signing, which will probably always be one of the most memorable moments in my life as a publisher. The sign said, “Comics Legend: Julius Schwartz, Bill Schelly, and Comics Legend: Roy Thomas.” Sharing the spotlight with two comics legends is a fate devoutly to be wished. The fact that Julie was willing to be inconvenienced to be of some help in promoting our book always brings a smile to my face.

When the signing was over, and Julie climbed back into the wheel chair, I said, “Back to Artists’ Alley?” It was around 3:30 pm.

“No, I have to meet some people for dinner. Let’s go outside and find a shuttle to my hotel.”

I left Julie, now risen to full height, about to climb up the stairs to the bus.

He turned and gave a little wave. “Thanks, kiddo!” he said, smiling.

Close Encounter # 4 [with special thanks to P.C. Hamerlinck] This encounter began with my need for information about Otto Oscar Binder (1911-1974), who, among many other things, wrote over half of all comics stories featuring Captain Marvel and the rest of The Marvel Family. Beginning in April 1942 with Captain Marvel Adventures #9, and continuing to the death knell of Fawcett’s comics line in 1953, OOB worked with a parade of fine editors to craft Bill’s billing—squeezed between two comics “legends,” on the placard if not at the table. (Left to right:) Julie, Bill, and Roy autograph copies of Roy & Bill’s book Alter Ego: The Best of the Legendary [there’s that word again!] Comics Fanzine at the 1998 San Diego Comic-Con.

44

Marc Swayze face…” and so on. She was referring to her determination to “be somebody” in the entertainment world.

By

mds& (c) [Art

logo ©2004 Marc Swayze; Captain Marvel © & TM 2004 DC Comics]

[FCA EDITORS NOTE: From 1941-53, Marcus D. Swayze was a top artist for Fawcett Comics. The very first Mary Marvel character sketches came from Marc’s drawing table, and he illustrated her earliest adventures, including the classic origin story “Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel” (CMA #18, Dec. ’42); but he was primarily hired by Fawcett Publications to illustrate Captain Marvel stories and covers for Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures. He also wrote many Captain Marvel scripts, and continued to do so while in the military. After leaving the service in 1944, Marc made an arrangement with Fawcett to produce art and stories for them on a freelance basis out of his Louisiana home. There he created both art and story for The Phantom Eagle in Wow Comics, in addition to drawing the Flyin’ Jenny newspaper strip for the Bell Syndicate (created by his friend and mentor Russell Keaton). After the cancellation of Wow, Swayze produced artwork for Fawcett’s top-selling line of romance comics. After the company ceased publishing comics, Marc moved over to Charlton Publications, where he ended his comics career in the mid-’50s. Marc’s ongoing professional memoirs have been FCA’s most popular feature since his first column appeared in FCA #54, 1996. Last issue, Marc reflected upon the talent—with names like Keaton, Raboy, and Beck—that surrounded him during the Golden Age of Comics. This time, Marc speaks of his admiration for the determination and hard work of Raboy, Beck… and singer Bing Crosby.

—P.C. Hamerlinck.]

It’s surprising, the number of cases where people, already established in high places of achievement, have held sincere regard for ... HARD WORK. “Hard work,” the expression, is used here in the sense of effort—physical or mental—toward a fixed goal. There seems to have existed among those individuals a refusal to just sit back and wait for things to happen.

For example, movie queen Joan Crawford was once heard in a TV interview telling of her struggle for attention as a young actress. “Before going to bed each night I would apply various skin treatments to my

That was it... special effort... motivated by a spirit of determination. I saw it close at hand in the ’40s during a stint as accompanist for Bing Crosby during the Second World War. There was a performance where the singer was accepting random requests from the large audience.

Among the tunes was the theme from one of the “Road” movies Bing had made with Bob Hope. The melody featured an unusual tag toward the end, and as we neared it, Bing, not certain I was familiar with it, turned to me and, singing all the while, added: “Watch it right here!”

There was obviously no intention to exclude the audience. The light chuckle that spread through the auditorium indicated they understood... and were amused. It was Bing’s way. You could have occupied the most remote seat in the house and still felt that you were right up on stage with him.

And stashed away in his mind were the words and music, with appropriate keys and tempos, of just about any song you’d want to hear.

It was a custom begun perhaps even before his days as member of a vocal trio with the Paul Whitman Orchestra... a resolve to stay abreast of the popular song field.

It is a nice memory ... having known and worked with Bing Crosby.

Behind that outward manner of careless indifference, he was all business.

Given a unique baritone voice to begin with, and a natural feel for melodic rhythm, he provided a will to succeed. The story of his career is a distinct example of that special effort... that spirit of determination... so evident in the lives of show business stars.

It was seen in other professions as well...

Golden Age comics, for instance. Mac Raboy... that flawless art style... it didn’t “just happen.”

He made it happen! He bolstered his boyhood talent for drawing and the training received in a WPA art class by turning his attention to a definite style and technique to emulate... and followed that with intensive study and practice. Mac Raboy knew the meaning of effort... determination... of hard work!

And there was C.C. Beck, proponent of simplified comic book pictorial storytelling.

Marc Swayze, on guitar, accompanies Bing Crosby during the WWII years (this photo has previously appeared both in Alter Ego/FCA and in P.C. Hamerlinck’s book Fawcett Companion)—and two Mary Marvel drawings from the Swayze sketchbook. [Art ©2004 Marc Swayze; Mary Marvel TM & ©2004 DC Comics.]

46

A Man Named “Julie” A Half Dozen Fawcett Collectors Remember the Late DC Comics Editor Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

because there “weren’t enough readers,” but surely his battles with Beck and his admitted lack of affection for the character didn’t help matters.

[NOTE: The name of the individual writers below, each of whom has contributed before to FCA, appears before his reminiscence.]

JOHN COCHRAN

When a magazine fails, Schwartz noted, it’s because a reader who picks it up doesn’t like it. But the question of why a character that was so enormously successful in the ’40s—and briefly eclipsed even Superman—didn’t catch on in the ’70s, went unanswered.

Julie Schwartz died Feb. 8th of this year, and the accolades continue to rain down.

I met Julie Schwartz twice. Both encounters were brief, but I’ll never forget them.

Surely Schwartz is justly credited with reviving The Flash in concert with Carmine Infantino, as well as Green Lantern and The Atom. However, when it comes to Fawcett’s Captain Marvel, it looks like he dropped the ball and didn’t even want the World’s Mightiest Mortal passed to him.

DC revived the character in the 1970s under Schwartz’s watch. In several telephone interviews with me before he died, he said he “would have liked to make changes [with the character], but I was told to keep it the old way.” The legendary DC editor also said it was a little hard to recall the particulars 30 years later. He did say that he had never been particularly taken with Captain Marvel, although he also acknowledged that he never saw much merit in DC’s suit with Fawcett.

“I never regarded him [Captain Marvel] as a copy of Superman,” he said, adding that the whole Captain Marvel mythos was “so far afield” from Superman that he just “couldn’t see” the basis for the charge DC leveled against Fawcett.

During the early 1980s, I worked at the Chicago office of Capital City Distribution (back when Diamond Comics Distributors had some competition). One of the highlights of working for Capital was the annual after-hours party at the Chicago Comicon (prior to its being acquired by Wizard). At one of these gatherings, my self-appointed job was making sure Julie never went without a beverage in his hand. He would get my attention with a royal wave of his hand when it was time for a refill.

(Above:) John Cochran—and a C.C. Beck panel from Shazam! #1 (Feb. 1973). Script by Dennis O’Neil. [Art ©2004 DC Comics.]

During our conversations, Schwartz mentioned that he had a file of correspondence with C.C. Beck, some of which I gather was rather testy. Schwartz offered to share it with me on behalf of Alter Ego and FCA, providing DC gave its permission. However, DC said, in essence, no way, Jose.

“I don’t want him to turn around in his grave,” Schwartz said of Beck in recounting their stormy relationship. “I wasn’t going to let Beck control it [DC’s Shazam! book]. He started to rewrite some of the stories. It was very difficult…. ” Schwartz said Shazam! had failed

WALT GROGAN

“Mr. Julius Mod Togs for Man and Beast.” Though editor Julie made a cameo appearance in the Beck-drawn Shazam! #7, the two pros never really got along. [©2004 DC Comics.]

My second “adventure” with Julie was also at the Chicago Comicon, during a DC Comics panel. I was sitting near the front of the audience near an end of the row, and I saw Julie looking for a seat. I couldn’t believe nobody was inviting Julie to sit down. I shouted over to him to sit with me and he graciously accepted. What a thrill! In later years, I would see Julie walking around the convention, but he always had an entourage and I felt a little awkward busting in. But I always had to chuckle to myself when I saw him, because he, a man who loved the ladies, inevitably sought out a cute “B” movie queen or booth babe for a hug and a peck on the cheek.

My first introduction to Julie was an anonymous one, and I imagine it was similar to those of other fans that grew up in the 1960s. I was an avid and satisfied reader of the Schwartz-edited Justice League of America. Every hero looked like he over-dosed on Beef-aRoni, and even Wonder Woman was more full-bodied than in her regular book! I loved “big” Mike Sekowsky’s

A Man Named “Julie”

47 So thank you, Julie Schwartz. Thank you for the Silver Age Flash and Green Lantern, the Justice League of America, and The Atom.

Thank you for the re-energized Batman and Superman and all the other heroes you resuscitated. But most of all, thank you for being one of the guiding hands that brought Captain Marvel out of obscurity and back to life.

DON ENSIGN I read comic books before I discovered the DC Schwartz-edited line. However, it was his comics that spurred me into becoming a dedicated comic book reader and collector. art. Gardner Fox’s stories were full of fun and adventure, and my favorite JLA stories were, of course, the annual JLA/JSA teamups. Julie was masterful in kickstarting the Silver Age by reinventing the Golden Age for a new generation of readers, and I came in on that cusp. It was Julie’s connection to the past, evident in those annual team-ups, which sparked my interest in learning more about the heroes of the Golden Age.

January 1962: The first Schwartz-edited comic I encountered was Flash #127 (March 1962). I was distinctly unimpressed with it. It was a Gorilla Grodd story with strong evolutionary overtones. Even as a young teenager, my budding creationist instincts were beginning to blossom.

About the same time, I bought Justice League of America #10. I found myself entranced with this super-hero group, and especially one character called Green Lantern.

(Above:) Walt Grogan—and the ad that excited him back in 1972. Photo by Jeanne Lewis Grogan. [Art ©2004 DC Comics.]

I remember begging my dad to buy me the paperback edition of Dick Lupoff and Don Thompson’s All in Color for a Dime, a collection of essays reminiscing about the heroes of the Golden Age. I was particularly captivated with Lupoff’s essay titled “The Big Red Cheese,” and a certain Alter Ego editor’s essay “Captain Billy’s Whiz Gang!” Dick’s and Roy Thomas’ essays were instrumental in igniting my interest in The Marvel Family. There was just something about their descriptions of Captain Marvel and the rest of the Fawcett heroes that sang to me.

So, in late 1972, when I picked up an issue of DC’s anthology comic Wanted!, it was the house ad therein that gave me my money’s worth for my two dimes. The ad read, “Coming in December… DC’s Christmas Gift to You! … Watch Out Superman! Here comes the ‘Original Captain Marvel!’” The art on the ad was by Cap’s co-creator, C.C. Beck. I was excited!

Say what you will about the Schwartzedited Shazam! comic. I was grateful that DC and Julie had broken Beck out of retirement and Captain Marvel was back on the racks.

And although I wasn’t fond of some of the early Shazam! stories, it came a glorious full circle for me when the entire Marvel Family and other Fawcett heroes were able to join the Justice League and Justice Society in the pages of JLA. Superman and Cap had finally, officially met!

February 20, 1962: Two important things happened that day. John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth … and I purchased my first issue of Green Lantern (#12, April 1962). While I thought ‘Green Lantern’ was an odd name for a super-hero, I found his specialty intriguing: a super-weapon called a power ring. I quickly became a Green Lantern fan.

March 1962: I purchased my first issue of Mystery in Space (#75, May 1962). This issue—with its beautiful novel-length “Adam Strange” story—won the Alley Award for best comic book story of the year. During this time I was definitely getting hooked on comics, and the Schwartz-edited variety played a huge part.

May 1965: I wrote a letter of comment regarding Green Lantern #37, which was printed in the pivotal #40 (Oct. 1965—the “hand of God” issue). I wrote, “Since Green Lantern’s original power ring was obliterated in the second story, the mage Myrwhydden (GL #27) who was held captive inside the ring was consequently annihilated in the blast.

Another aspect of this incident will reveal itself in Don Ensign (seen in self-portrait) mentions just about the inability of GL to peer into the past of every comic Julie Schwartz ever edited except the original ring-wielder, Abin Sur. This Shazam!—so here’s the cover of one of Captain Marvel’s was a high price to pay for even such a first-ever team-ups with his once-nemesis Superman, on the cover of issue #15 (Dec. 1974). Cover art by great story.” In his editor’s comment, the Bob Oksner &!Tex Blaisdell. Old copies of Shazam! wily Schwartz countered with, “When the are a great source of 1940s/early-’50s Fawcett Marvel Guardians presented Green Lantern with Family stories, most of which have never been that power ring replacement, it was a reprinted anywhere else. [Ensign art ©2004 perfect duplicate of the original—even to Don Ensign; Shazam! art ©2004 DC Comics.]