Alter Ego: Centennial by TwoMorrows Publishing

Edited by

ROY THOMAS

ALTER EGO: CENTENNIAL THE 100TH ISSUE OF ALTER EGO, VOLUME 3 Published by: TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, North Carolina 27614 www.twomorrows.com • e-mail: twomorrow@aol.com No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. First Printing: March 2011 All Rights Reserved • Printed in Canada Softcover ISBN: 978-1-60549-031-1 UPC: 1-82658-27763-5 03 Trademarks & Copyrights: All illustrations contained herein are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders and are reproduced for historical reference and research purposes. All characters featured on the cover are TM and ©2011 DC Comics. All rights reserved. DC Comics does not endorse or confirm the accuracy of the views expressed in this book. Editorial package ©2011 Roy Thomas & TwoMorrows Publishing. Individual contributions ©2011 their creators, unless otherwise noted. Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135 • e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com Eight-issue subscriptions $60 U.S., $85 Canada, $107 elsewhere (in U.S. funds) Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to editorial offices. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Mike Esposito and Dr. Jerry G. Bails, founder of A/E

Gil Kane panel above from The Ring of the Nibelung – Book Two: The Valkyrie. Script by Roy Thomas, after Richard Wagner. [©2011 DC Comics.] Art on preceding page: cover of AlterEgo [Vol. 1] #1 ©2011 Roy Thomas; on cover of Alter Ego, Vol. 3, #1: Green Lantern, Flash, Atom, Fury, & Jade TM & ©2011 DC Comics; SpiderMan, Thing, & Silver Surfer TM & ©2011 Marvel Characters, Inc.; other art ©2011 Jerry Ordway. Thanks to Doc Boucher for the 1961 scan. Characters and/or art in background Alter Ego covers TM & ©2011 the respective copyright holders.

Special Thanks to: Christian Voltar Alcala, Heidi Amash, Michael Ambrose, Ger Apeldoorn, Mark Arnold, Michael Aushenker, Dick Ayers, Rodrigo Baeza, Bob Bailey, Jean Bails, Pat Bastienne, Alberto Becattini, Allen Bellman, John Benson, Doc Boucher, Dwight Boyd, Jerry K. Boyd, Lee Boyette, Christopher Boyko, Frank Brunner, Bernie Bubnis, Rich Buckler, Mike Burkey, Sal Buscema, Nick Caputo, Michael Christie, Gene Colan, Ernie Colón & Ruth Ashby, Gerry Conway, Jon B. Cooke, Chet Cox, Les Daniels, Teresa R. Davidson, Michaël Dewally, Tony DeZuniga, Roger Dicken, Frode Dreier, Michael & Amy Dunne, Jim Engel, Steve Englehart, Michael Eury & Rose Rummel-Eury, Jon R. Evans, Jim Fern, Shane Foley, Richard Fowlks, Todd Franklin, Janet Gilbert, Dick Giordano, Glen David Gold, Luz Gonzales, Michael Grabois, Lawrence P. Guidry, Paul Gulacy, George Hagenauer, Jennifer Hamerlinck, Keith Hammond, John C. Haufe, Jr., Lee Hester, Jerry Hillegas, Rick Hoberg, Bernie Hogya, Dr. M. Thomas Inge, Tony Isabella, Arvell Jones, Richard Kyle, Matt Lage, Stan Lee, Steve Leialoha, Mark Lewis, Frank Lovece, Jim Ludwig, Richard Lupoff, Mike Machlan, Chris Malgrain, Bruce D. MacIntosh, Bernie McCarty, Brian K. Morris, Bill Morrison, John & Pam Morrow, Hoy Murphy, Mike Nielsen, Eric Nolen-Weathington, Jerry Ordway, Jack Oster, Steve Oswald, Matthew Peets, George Pérez, Gene Reed, Raymond H. Reithmeier, Trina Robbins, Peter Roe, John Romita, Bob Rozakis, Paul Sager, Randy Sargent, John Selegue, Marie Severin, Scott Shaw!, David Siegel, Keif Simon, Joe Sinnott, J. David Spurlock, Michael Stewart, Desha Swayze, Marc & June Swayze, Jeff Taylor, Dann Thomas, Maggie Thompson, Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, Pete Von Sholly, Alan Waite, Lynn Walker, Chris Wallace, Matthew Wandersi, Hames Ware, Ted White, Derek Wilson, Marv Wolfman, Alex Wright

Vol. 3, No. 100 / March 2011 Editor Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor P.C. Hamerlinck

Comic Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert

Editorial Honor Roll Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White Mike Friedrich

Proofreader Rob Smentek

Cover Artist Rich Buckler (pencils) & Jerry Ordway (inks)

Cover Colorist Tom Ziuko On Our Cover: Some years back, Ye Editor commissioned artist Rich Buckler to re-pencil the magnificent interior “cover” featuring the 1941 Justice-Society of America (plus soon-to-be-member Wonder Woman) that he’d drawn for the All-Star Squadron Preview in Justice League of America #193 (Sept. 1981). This time, the art would be inked by Jerry Ordway, who’d embellished the 14-page introductory tale that had followed it—while the incongruous non-JSAer Shining Knight would be replaced, fittingly, by Starman. It’s been one of the treasures of Roy’s personal collection ever since. [JSA TM & ©2011 DC Comics.] Above: For this 100th issue, Shane Foley depicted our “maskots” Alter Ego and Captain Ego—and RT himself, garbed like the late-’30s Crimson Avenger—in an artful homage to Jerry Ordway’s cover for Infinity, Inc. #10 (Jan. 1985)— and ultimately to Irwin Hasen’s for AllStar Comics #37 (Oct.-Nov. 1947). Thanks a zillion, Shane—but why The Crimson Avenger? Roy always saw himself as more the Atom type! Oh, and thanks to Randy Sargent for the coloring. [Alter Ego TM & ©2011 Roy & Dann Thomas – costume designed by Ron Harris; Captain Ego TM & ©2011 Roy Thomas & Bill Schelly – created by Biljo White; other art elements ©2011 Shane Foley.]

Contents Writer/Editorial: The First Hundred Issues Are The Hardest! . . . 4 “I Want To Do It All Again! ” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Roy Thomas talks about the 1980s at DC Comics—Schwartz, warts, and all.

Interlude I: The Wright Stuff—1940s Version . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Pulsating Golden Age pin-ups by our own dazzlin’ doctor of digitalization, Alex Wright.

Interlude II: Stretching A Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 RT’s 1964 spec DC script—thrillingly illustrated by Larry Guidry & Shane Foley.

The Annotated Alter-Ego #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 A 1965/2011 look backward at the origins of Jerry Bails’ epoch-making 1961 fanzine.

The Missourian Chronicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Brief tributes to Alter Ego and (ulp!) to its ebullient editor, courtesy of Jerry K. Boyd.

“A Lot Of These Guys Have Great Stories To Tell!”. . . . . . . 106 Bruce D. MacIntosh turns the tables on A/E ace interviewer Jim Amash.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!: Michael T. – The Fanzine Years! . . 113 The gregarious Mr. Gilbert serves as tour guide to artifacts of his early life and career.

A Tribute To Mike Esposito. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Comic Fandom Archive: The 1964 Super Hero Calendar . . 125 Bill Schelly & Bernie Bubnis & one of the great early fandom projects.

re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . 133 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #159 . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 P.C. Hamerlinck presents Marc Swayze, Captain Marvel, the All-Star Squadron—and Spider-Man?

“I Want To Do It All Again!” ROY THOMAS Talks About The 1980s at DC Comics— Schwartz, Warts, And All! Conducted by Jim Amash Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

he first decade and a half of Roy Thomas’ comic book career was spent writing and editing for Marvel, as we discussed in interviews in A/E #50 & 70. For this anniversary issue, we felt it was time to step into the 1980s and see, from Roy’s perspective, what it was like working for DC Comics on features such as Wonder Woman, All-Star Squadron, Infinity, Inc., Young All-Stars, Arak/Son of Thunder, Shazam! The New Beginning, Secret Origins, and Captain Carrot, among other titles. One might think scribing stories of his childhood favorites plus a bunch of newly minted heroes would be a pure blessing for any writer, but there were a number of bumps in the road, which Roy doesn’t shy away from discussing. While some fans may prefer Roy’s previous Marvel work, I find his DC work to be just as interesting and possibly more varied in style and substance than the work that brought him to a prominent position in the four-color world of comics. Not a bad way to spend a decade, huh? —Jim.

“Grand Gestures” JIM AMASH: You left Marvel for DC in 1980. How did you initiate contact with DC? ROY THOMAS: I didn’t. I’d been in contact, off and on. Carmine [Infantino, DC publisher] had talked to me about my coming over to DC around the time I left the editor-in-chief job at Marvel in ’74, and even before that, but I really wanted to stay at Marvel, partly out of loyalty to Stan [Lee]. Around the turn of ’76, I met [new DC publisher] Jenette Kahn. We even dated a couple of times, since by then I was separated from [my first wife] Jeanie for the final time. I met Jenette through [inker/DC assistant art director] Vinnie Colletta—who else? She and one or two others at DC made it plain that, if I wasn’t happy at Marvel—and they knew that increasingly I wasn’t, after Jim Shooter became editor—I could have a job at DC. I couldn’t be a writer/editor there, since they didn’t have that position then, but I was assured I’d have

All-Star Squadroom Roy in the 1980s, conducting historical research for All-Star Squadron in Winston Churchill’s underground London bunker from World War II days—juxtaposed with the Rich Buckler-penciled, Dick Giordano-inked cover of All-Star Squadron #1 (Sept. 1981), RT’s personal favorite among covers drawn for comics he wrote at DC—or anywhere else! Thanks to Gene Reed for the scan; photo by Dann Thomas. [Cover ©2011 DC Comics.]

something close to editorial authority over the scripts I wrote. So when I had my final blow-up with Shooter, I phoned Paul Levitz—he was editorial coordinator then—and told him I wanted to leave Marvel, since I felt Shooter had dealt less than honorably with me with regard to contract negotiations, something I took very personally and very hard. Paul said, “Fine,” and that was that. I promptly informed Shooter I was leaving when my contract ran out later that year. I didn’t try to negotiate with Marvel. Well, actually, [publisher] Stan and [president] Jim Galton had me drop by the Marvel offices to talk when I came to New York to meet with DC in the interim, but by then it was pretty much too late, since they hadn’t any real assurances to offer. What was done was done. JA: How did it make you feel to have to give up being your own editor? Because that changed everything for you, really. THOMAS: It was being changed anyway, since part of the disagreement between Shooter and me was that I’d told him I wouldn’t sign another contract with Marvel unless it was another writer/editor contract. [NOTE: See A/E #70 for Roy’s detailed account.] That was what I felt he’d been dishonest with me about—at the very least, in a Clintonesque

“I Want To Do It All Again!”

Now It Can Be Told! During the final days of his Marvel contract in 1980, Roy did fudge just a little bit and secretly help out his busy buddy Gerry Conway by dialoguing the above two stories Gerry had plotted for DC Comics Presents #31 & #32 (March & April 1981). Roy’s memory is that editor Julius Schwartz (shown at the 1998 San Diego Comic-Con, with Roy standing behind him) didn’t know about the subterfuge. Hope you can read the art credits! Thanks to Jim Ludwig. [©2011 DC Comics.]

sense. I figured, if I’m not going to be an editor at Marvel, what the hell?—I might as well not be an editor at DC. Maybe it was time to seize the opportunity to work with the JSA and features like that. It’s not that I was all that wild about DC’s set-up. But [editor] Julie Schwartz, after all, had been my first real contact in the field—and I thought, well, recent Marvel émigré [writer] Marv Wolfman was doing okay there. So, I figured, after fifteen years at Marvel, I might as well exit while I had a little capital left, rather than let it be frittered away at Marvel over the next few years—assuming I’d have lasted that long, which I sincerely doubted. JA: Did your DC contract have a length, or a quota of pages per month? THOMAS: It was a three-year contract; it called for a certain number of pages each month, but I don’t recall exactly how many. My Marvel contract had called for 100 pages’ worth of writing a month, with some of that covered by editorial work I did. The DC contract guaranteed a similar amount of work; I don’t believe I lost much if any money in the switch, though I don’t believe I gained any, either. I ended up doing three books a month that were well over 20 pages apiece, plus some specials. JA: You wrote The Fortress of Solitude. THOMAS: That Solitude tabloid was one of the first things I did for DC. While I was still under contract to Marvel, I met with the triumvirate of Jenette, Paul, and Joe Orlando, who’d flown Dann and me to New York. Jenette made a grand gesture: when Dann and I checked into our room at a nice hotel, it was filled with balloons. We were both amused and touched. But considerably few grand gestures were made at the meeting, and I was left dealing with just Joe after the first few minutes. Before she and Paul left, Jenette said to me, “I know you’d like to do something with the Justice Society.” The modern-day “JSA” series had recently been cancelled, so I said I’d prefer to do a World War II mutation of it, and that

was quickly agreed to. DC also wanted me to create a swordand-sorcery book, since the main two Conan titles had sold so well under me at Marvel. I also said I’d love to do “Captain Marvel,” but they weren’t interested in starting another Shazam! book right away; the feature had recently been discontinued, and besides, they still didn’t own those characters outright. They also nixed my suggestion that day of a Dr. Fate comic. Meanwhile, DC had other writers—Bob Rozakis, Jim Starlin, Jack C. Harris—plot stories that I could dialogue as soon as I was free to legally do so. I didn’t ask them to do that; I didn’t even want them to do it. I didn’t like the idea that my first DC work would be stories on which I was only the second-listed of two writers, but if that’s what they wanted, I felt I shouldn’t object. Also, for the DC Comics Presents title Julie edited, I gave Gerry Conway my idea for a “Superman/Captain Marvel” story I really wanted to do, and Gerry fleshed it out and of course got plotting credit (and payment) for it [as issue #33]. They also had me writing a special or two the moment I legally could, most involving Superman. Carmine always reminds me that at one stage he’d wanted me to come over to DC and handle all the “Superman” material… but in 1980 I told Jenette, Paul, and Joe that I didn’t want to work on either “Superman” or “Batman” on a regular basis, because there were other writers doing those characters. After all, I’d even given up writing Fantastic Four when The

Pulsating Pin-Ups By Our Dazzlin’ Doctor Of Digitization

FIREBRAND Okay, so maybe the Danette Reilly incarnation of the male-gender hero of early issues of the Quality Comic Group’s Police Comics isn’t quite as authentic a World War II wonder as the other heroines and harridans covered in this piece. Point taken, since she made her own “December 1941” costumed debut in the pages of All-Star Squadron #5 (Jan. 1982), courtesy of writer Roy Thomas and artists Rich Buckler & Jerry Ordway. But at least she had actual flaming powers, unlike her Golden Age brother! And would you really have wanted us to hit the “delete” button on this art based on the work of artist Earl Moran, whose vintage pin-up work graced calendars in many a WWII barracks? [Firebrand TM & ©2011 DC Comics; Moran art ©2011 the respective copyright holders.]

Glamor Gals Galore (Right:) As a blockbustin’ bonus, Alex tossed in this Cinemascopic spread of all the 1940s superheroines he could find—with various actresses’ and others’ faces (and bodies) pressed into costumed service. Wanna know who they all are? So do we! A several-issue sub to A/E to the first person to ID each and every character accurately—with Alex as judge and jury! [Characters TM & ©2011 the respective copyright holders.]

Alex Wright is a freelance graphic artist with over 15 years’ experience, and degrees in Illustration, Interior Design, and Web Design Engineering. Specializing in Photoshop/Photomanipulations, Alex’s work has been featured in such publications as Alter Ego, Back Issue!, All-Star Companion, and The Blue Beetle Companion, including three calendars and several covers. He can be reached at: warm.fuzzy.alex@gmail.com.

Here’s hoping we see more of Alex Wright’s amazing work before A/E #200!

Centennial Interlude #2

Stretching A Point… A.k.a., Roy Thomas Vs. The Elongated Man, 1964 by Ye Editor His Own Self

eginning on p. 6, as you may have already noticed, demon interviewer Jim Amash has been quizzing me re my work at DC Comics in the 1980s. But that writing and editing came on the heels of a decade and a half as a writer and editor for Marvel, which had commenced after only a week spent officially on staff at DC in 1965. Still, the interview got me to thinking, as I have from time to time, about what might’ve happened if circumstances had conspired to keep me at DC during the LBJ Administration and made me immune to the siren call of Smilin’ Stan Lee.

And it could’ve happened—not just because I was, after all, working at DC as assistant editor to “Superman” line editor Mort Weisinger, but because, a year earlier, there had been a chance, just a fleeting moment in time, when I might conceivably have wound up scripting for a different DC editor… one whose comics I liked a lot better than I liked anything that starred the Man of Steel. As I wrote in A/E, Vol. 3, #9 (July 2001), in early 1964 I received a letter from my esteemed correspondent, pro comics writer Gardner Fox, which informed me that The Elongated Man, a supporting hero in DC’s The Flash, would receive his own feature in Detective Comics as of issue #327. Because Gardner was busy with other work, he wrote, editor Julius Schwartz (another regular correspondent of mine in those halcyon days) had empowered him to invite me to try my hand at writing a 10-page “Elongated Man” script. Since the letter was accompanied by Gardner’s not-yet-published first scenario for the series, I set to work at once with a vengeance. Ere long, I sent off my script to Julie Schwartz, as per instructions… but I never heard back directly from him. Some time later, in answer to my prodding, Gardner wrote me tactfully that Julie had said my script “wasn’t quite what he wanted”—but there were never any other comments on it, either pro or con, from either man. (A couple of pages of my typed “Elongated Man” script were printed in A/E #9, so no need to repeat them here.) While hardly claiming that script was a work of art, I’ve always felt that, especially since Julie would doubtless have applied his editorial blue pencil to it as heavily as he generally did to Gardner’s, my story might well have wound up as a fair-to-middling entry in the series. More to the point… I’ve just plain always wanted to see my little yarn drawn.

May The Bestest Man Win! Several months prior to writing his “Elongated Man” script, Roy T. had sent editor Julie Schwartz another (and long lost) speculative script for an issue of Justice League of America. It featured the previously offstage cartoonist character “Jerry Thomas” that Gardner Fox had named after Jerry Bails and Roy in JLA #16. RT’s script had “Jerry Thomas” drawing the “Bestest League of America” parody heroes that Roy had introduced in 1961’s Alter-Ego #1—with a mysterious, alien-spawned drawing pen forcing the JLAers to repeat any actions (or accidents) that happened to the BLA. Lawrence P. Guidry penciled, Shane Foley inked, and Randy Sargent colored this faux cover based on the concept Roy recalled having for the issue’s cover. Oh, and as for the cover blurb: Roy noticed that virtually every cover blurb during the 1963-64 period contained the expression “super-star(s),” so he figures Julie would’ve continued along that well-trod road. [JLA TM & ©2011 DC Comics; Bestest League TM & ©2011 Roy Thomas; other art elements ©2011 Lawrence P. Guidry & Shane Foley; coloring ©2011 Randy Sargent.]

So, in search of special features for this 100th issue, I contacted Lawrence P. Guidry and Shane Foley. Those two lads had done fine work on faux-DC art that had accompanied Bob Rozakis’ recent “Secret History of All-American Comics, Inc.” feature (whose final chapter will appear in one of the next few issues of A/E) and had been sorry to see it end. Both had expressed interest in doing more artwork for A/E (besides Shane’s “maskot” drawings, which appear in nearly every issue)… and when I mentioned the notion of their illustrating my 10-page script, with Larry penciling and Shane inking, they were both gung-ho for it! Even though payment would basically amount to “all the fanzines you can eat.” Of course, we had to change the names of the script’s lead characters— including that of a certain other super-hero who shall temporarily remain nameless. Before I could even think of thinking up a new moniker for the

Roy Thomas Vs. The Elongated Man, 1964

hero, Larry sent me several suggestions—and one of them, “Longarm of the Law,” was so perfect that I knew there was no sense looking any further. He even came up with a great logo utilizing the name. Soon, he set to work penciling the feature, sending scans to Shane down in Australia for inking. As a special treat (for myself, and hopefully for others, as well), I even contacted Randy Sargent, who’d worked with Shane on the faux-Marvel covers they had generated for the flip cover of A/E #27, the issue in which we all first encountered each other, courtesy of the enthusiasm of “Comic Crypt” editor Michael T. Gilbert. Randy was up for coloring the story’s

splash page, which I wanted to see in the neon hues of the Silver Age. On the following half dozen pages, you’ll glimpse (whether you want to or not) shadowy hints of the alternate world that might conceivably have existed had Julie decided to take a flyer on my script… which might have led to others, and to my becoming a DC writer rather than a Marvel one in the latter half of the ’60s. It would’ve probably made a lot more difference to me than it would have to anyone else… but still, I can’t help musing…. Anyway, here’s the story….

Sorry, folks… but to read the rest of this scintillatin’ story, which we regrettably had to reproduce at half the size of this one, with two to a page, you’ll have to either turn the mag sideways when you turn the page… or else lie down on your left side while you’re reading it…!

Stretching A Point...

The Missourian Chronicles Brief Tributes to Alter Ego And—Ulp!—Its Ebullient Editor Compiled & Introduced by Jerry K. Boyd

Introduction

ow often does a fanzine make it to its 100th issue? Not often. Thus, congratulations are in order to Roy Thomas (who’s a native of Missouri, hence my splicing together above of his origins with Robert E. Howard’s Nemedian source for tales of his favorite Cimmerian) for gathering all that much-needed history for us and for readers and historians yet to come. And, since I’m talking history and special occasions, Alter Ego: Centennial presented a unique opportunity for me to ask a number of TwoMorrows contributors, prominent fans, and comics industry professionals to wax philosophical about A/E’s importance… or to write about their favorite Thomas-written stories or series over the years… or just to relate experiences they had working with “Rascally Roy.” It became a “surprise party” of sorts, and Roy was receptive to the idea when I first told him about this project—in the fall of ’09, when it was already twothirds completed! Humbly, after he read my initial draft, Roy requested that I add a few more folks who could talk (in his words) “more about Alter Ego and less about me,” and I complied.

Hitting A Triple (Clockwise from directly above:) A/E founder Jerry G. Bails’ cover for A/E [Vol. 1] #3, a montage of work by various Golden Age “Green Lantern” artists, which has faded a bit since it rolled off his spirit duplicator (in color) in 1961— Roy Thomas with Jerry Bails, at their last meeting (in Detroit, 2002) before Jerry’s Nov. 26, 2006 passing; photo by Dann Thomas— And the flyer that was handed out at 1999 comics conventions to advertise A/E, Vol. 3, #1. A personal note from Roy re “The Missourian Chronicles”: “I feel I should state up front that I’d hoped this piece would deal only with Alter Ego, not with my comics career. Still, Jerry K. Boyd had already basically put it together by the time I first saw it, so there was little I could do but accept his heartfelt fait accompli and say… thanks, Jerry.” Photo by Dann Thomas. [Green Lanterns, Streak, Solomon Grundy, Harlequin, Vandal Savage, Gambler, Flashes, Atom, Jade, Fury, Batman, & Hawkman TM & ©2011 DC Comics; Spider-Man, Thing, & Silver Surfer TM & ©2011 Marvel Characters, Inc.; other art ©2011 Jerry Ordway.]

So let’s take a few pages to celebrate the 100th issue of A/E, Vol. 3—plus the 50th anniversary of Jerry Bails and Roy’s AlterEgo [Vol. 1] #1 in March 1961—as well as writer/editor Roy! Many responses were sent via e-mail; others were made via phone calls, and I’d like to thank several of the participants for including unpublished or rarely seen art to go along with their commentaries….

RICHARD LUPOFF writer; editor of 1960s fanzine Xero Alter Ego #100?! That’s hard to believe. Fifty years?! You’ve gotta be kidding! It was only a couple of weeks ago, wasn’t it? Pat and I had barely got our fanzine Xero off the ground, Don and Maggie Thompson were busy starting up Comic Art, and Roy Thomas and Jerry Bails were putting together the inaugural issue of Alter Ego.

The Missourian Chronicles

From Xero To 50 Dick & Pat Lupoff (she’s on right, standing), co-publishers/editors of Xero, took time in 1966 to help friends Maggie Thompson (seen at left) and her husband Don—who probably took the snapshot—assemble copies of their equally legendary mimeographed fanzine Comic Art. Photo supplied by Maggie.

Fifty years? One hundred issues? Alter Ego is just getting started. I expect it to last another fifty years and another hundred issues at least— with Roy Thomas still at the helm!

RICH BUCKLER – artist/creator

Historians can argue to their hearts’ content over who was the initiator of comics fandom. And in fact there had been articles about the comics— Buck Rogers, Brick Bradford, Flash Gordon, Superman, Alley Oop—in the fan press ever since the 1930s. And there was the EC Fan-Addicts Club in the ’50s. Hey, I was a faithful member. But this was a new generation, in truth a new fandom. Xero was actually first off the press (or more accurately, out of the mimeo tray), but Xero was always a hybrid comics/science fiction fanzine. Comic Art took in the whole field of cartooning, emphatically including newspaper strips. And Alter Ego was the first to cast its lot with super-hero comic books. Or at least, that’s the way I recall it.

What can I say about Roy Thomas? Let’s see… I’ve known Roy and his work since the early fanzine days of the ’60s. I have gone on record many times stating that he is my favorite comic book writer. Well, he was probably my favorite editor at Marvel Comics, too. If not for Roy, no Rich Buckler on Fantastic Four or the Jungle Action “Black Panther” series— and no Deathlok. It was remarkably easy and rewarding to work with him a decade or so ago when he and I collaborated on two independent comics, The Forever Warriors and The Invincibles. Unfortunate that only one issue of each saw print. Maybe an opportunity will open up again for Roy and me to launch “Death Machine,” a character we co-created around that same time.

Late 1960—early ’61. Why then? Why hadn’t any of those earlier fumblings toward a real comics fandom ever taken root and flourished? And why did comics fandom soar once those three fanzines made their appearance? I’ll leave it to some social science major looking for a thesis topic to figure that one out. To borrow a phrase I’ve come across in another context, maybe it was just “comic book time.” Who would have imagined a comics fan world with hundreds of thousands of members, collectibles selling for a million dollars or more (“…and all in color for a dime”), super-hero movies among the biggest blockbusters coming out of Hollywood—a graphic novel winning the Pulitzer Prize—reprints of Golden Age comics lovingly produced on fine paper and bound in expensive cloth, and ancient Sunday pages in full size and color, comic book stores prospering in every city worthy of the name? We pioneers—I guess you’d have to call us that—didn’t set out to change the world. At least, Pat and I didn’t. We were just a couple of youngsters having fun. But it seems as if we did exactly that—at least, to a sizable piece of the world. Of course we’ve moved in different directions since 1960. Don Thompson and Jerry Bails, sadly, are both deceased. Maggie Thompson is a leading light in professional journalism, still covering the field of comics and cartoons. Pat Lupoff is a longtime professional bookseller, and Dick Lupoff has worked in various areas of cultural history when not writing novels and short stories of his own. But Roy Thomas is still at it, tending the home fires, defending the faith.

That’s Rich! Rich Buckler was seen on p. 21, so at left is a drawing of the super-hero Aegis, from The Invincibles one-shot comic he and Roy T. did a few years ago. The lads are determined it won’t be their last co-venture; in fact, they’re currently developing (believe it or not) a brand new World War II super-hero group, echoing the early days of All-Star Squadron. All they need is a publisher! [Aegis TM & ©2011 Rich Buckler & Roy Thomas.] On view above is Rich’s original sketch for the cover of A/E, Vol. 3, #7 (2000). We figured you might enjoy seeing a few behind-the-scenes moments from the past 100 issues of this incarnation of A/E, spread throughout this article and issue. [JSA & JLA TM & ©2011 DC Comics.]

106

“A Lot Of These Guys Have Great Stories To Tell!” JIM AMASH Talks About His Pro Career—And About Being Alter Ego’s Star Interviewer Interview Conducted & Transcribed by Bruce MacIntosh

A/E

EDITOR’S NOTE: For roughly 90% of the life of this volume of Alter Ego, Jim Amash has been a virtually every-issue contributor—and, for nearly as long, one of its two associate editors. In the course of human events, he’s conducted in-depth interviews with everybody from Lee Ames to Les Zakarin. So Ye Editor decided that it was high time Jim himself was interviewed in these pages. A while ago, Bruce MacIntosh sent in a long talk with Jim that had appeared in the pages of CFA-APA, the apa-zine of a group of avid comic art collectors. (“Apa” stands for “amateur press alliance,” a term from science-fiction fandom which refers to a group of fans who print and mail their own smallish fanzines to a sort of “central mailer”—Jerry Bails’ term—who assembles them all into one big package or fanzine and sends them out to members only. And that’s all ye know or need to know about that.) The interview was, alas, far too long to be printed in its entirety, but we’ve excerpted major parts concerning Jim’s life and training, his interest in comics and their history, the comics conventions he helped put on, his pro artwork, and—because this is, after all, the 100th issue

Sit-In (Above:) Jim & Heidi Amash with artist Joe Sinnott in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 2009, taken by Joe’s daughter Kathy Kiriny. (Left:) A caricature (or perhaps an almost photographic likeness) of genial Jim drawn by Joe. Jim has filled in for Joe from time to time on the long-running Spider-Man newspaper strip, whose Sunday page Joe regularly inks. [Art ©2011 Joe Sinnott.]

of this volume of A/E—his relationship to this magazine and to the professionals whose lives and careers he has so ably chronicled for the past decade. It will surprise no one who’s followed A/E for any reasonable part of the past decade that they’ll find numerous insights about Golden and Silver Age comics talents in the pages that follow— and see the end of the interview for information as to how to access the entire conversation. You won’t be sorry. —Roy.]

Catching The Comic Book Bug BRUCE D. MacINTOSH: Let’s start at the beginning. Tell me about your background, where you were born… JIM AMASH: I was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania… the home of the railroads. There were a lot of railroads there. You know the old saying, “across the tracks”? That’s exactly where we lived. The house we lived in was probably built in 1886. I sometimes think one of the reasons I like history is because I kind of grew up in it. I’ve always loved history. I can still remember what the cover of my first grade history book looked like. And in that book, there were some paintings, some engravings, and etchings of historic events and personalities like Daniel Boone. Stuff like that. That really got me interested in drawing. The thing that really got me interested in drawing, though, was George Reeves. As a little kid, I’d watch him on a black-&-white set, flying

“A Lot Of These Guys Have Great Stories To Tell”

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through the air, bursting through walls, getting hugs from Lois Lane. I was thinking, “Hey, that could be a good job!” I even had a red cape! Except my mother used it to clean up dirty dishes. That’s when you know you’re Clark Kent: when your mother uses your cape for a towel. And there was Adam West, when Batman came on the TV in 1966. I wouldn’t have missed that show for anything in the world! Then my nextdoor neighbor, Billy Fink, God bless him, gave me my first comic books. Everything kind of happened at that time: George Reeves, Adam West, the history book with the great drawings… and then I started drawing. BDM: What was your first comic book, do you remember? AMASH: I was given several, so I can’t really remember the first one. I know I was given the Detective Comics issue with the Joker house, which is one of Carmine Infantino’s favorite covers, and one of mine, too. Another one of those books I was given was an Action Comics with a Curt Swan cover and a Spider-Man by Steve Ditko. I can remember that the first comic book that I bought with my own money was a Steve Ditko Spider-Man. I had 15¢. That was 12¢ plus one cent for tax, which left me 2¢ for candy. [laughter] You know, you could actually buy penny candy back in those days. What I really wanted to buy was this Nick Cardy Aquaman, the cover with the giant Aquaman. I went back to get it when I got the money. That would have been my first comic book. But in the meantime, they changed the comic books that day, and it wasn’t there anymore. I remember being disappointed, so I bought Steve Ditko’s Spider-Man. So it wasn’t a total loss. Then, after that, it was the Fantastic Four. My jaw dropped the first time I saw Jack Kirby’s work. I became a Kirby fan for the rest of my life. BDM: So, you grew up favoring Marvel? AMASH: I think it was 50/50. My favorite comic book company was wherever Jack Kirby was. I think that’s fair to say, because he was my favorite comics artist. I had other favorites, of course: John Romita, Nick Cardy, Carmine infantino…. But no, I don’t know that I was really a “company” person. I wouldn’t say that. In the 1970s, Marvel published several Western reprint comics, which I loved, because you got Kirby, you got Dick Ayers, you got John Severin, you got Doug Wildey, and Joe Maneely. But DC, in their letter pages, gave you more background about their reprints. Most of the reprints were handled by E. Nelson Bridwell, who deeply cared about history. So I was able to learn more about history in the DC reprints than in the Marvel reprints. Once I realized that these characters had a past that stretched back many years, it became a primary interest of mine. BDM: You were a comics historian already.

Up, Up, And Away! Jim reports that his early interest in drawing was spurred by seeing George Reeves as Superman on TV. This stylized drawing of the Man of Steel, however—done for A/E transcriber Brian K. Morris—is a considerably more recent vintage, and is influenced by his love of the old Fleischer/Paramount Superman cartoons of the early 1940s. [Superman TM & ©2011 DC Comics.]

AMASH: Not at that age! Well, maybe I was. But so was anybody who wanted to know “Who was that Lou Fine guy?” when they reprinted the “Black Condor” and “Ray” stories in a Superman 80-Page Giant. And there was that DC Special with Jack Cole “Plastic Man” reprints, which I read over and over. And the Shazam! comic, which I hate to call that. DC had to call it Shazam! for legal reasons, but to me it was Captain Marvel. I loved C.C. Beck’s drawing, but the new stories... frankly, the writing stunk. But the backup reprints of the old stuff—I read those before the new story, because they were better-written. Years later, I got to be a friend of C.C. Beck’s, and told him what I just told you. Beck laughed and said, “Well, you’ve got good taste.” [laughter] He hated those stories, too. And for a while, you got 52 pages for a quarter when you bought a DC comic. In the Jack Kirby books, there was “The Newsboy Legion,” “The Boy Commandos.” How could you not get hooked? Somewhere along the way, I discovered that Alex Toth drew comic books. I recognized his name from the Fantastic Four cartoon, which I loved as a kid. It was a lot of rotten animation, but it wasn’t Alex’s fault: he just did the storyboards. One day, I saw Alex’s work in whatever book it was—probably a war book—and then I was a Toth fan forever. I remember seeing the ads for Steranko’s History of Comics, but I knew that I could never afford those books. I didn’t see Steranko’s History until about 1975, when our library finally got them. I would check them out, and on renewal day I’d take them back and check them out again! The library also had the Les Daniels book [The Comix: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art, 1971] and the Seduction of the Innocent book... one of the editions with the addresses of the publishers, which was razored out of most copies. It was very valuable. Sometime in the early ’80s, I went back to see if that book was still there. I guess somebody had either thrown it out or somebody swiped it. I hope someone did steal it. That would be poetic justice, for someone to steal Wertham’s book! [laughter] He could have restarted his crusade over that! That library had record albums: the Little Orphan Annie radio shows, Superman, Dick Tracy, and The Shadow. That’s when I learned about old-time radio, and that these characters were in it! From that, I developed a love for old-time radio. I have over 20,000 shows on tape and CD. Maybe that’s why in my interviews I sometimes seem to be a little older than I really am, because I’m so interested in all the stuff that came before me.

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Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

Michael T.: The Fanzine Years! by Michael T. Gilbert

t’s all Gardner Fox’s fault!

In 1998, my wife Janet discovered that Fox—a comic book writer since the late 1930s—had bequeathed his papers to the University of Oregon library, a stone’s throw from my Eugene studio. Naturally, I had to check it out.

While there, I stumbled on a box of ’60s-era letters, some from fans who later became pros. Roy Thomas, with whom I’d worked back in the ’80s on Pacific Comics’ Elric series, was one of these young scribes. I sent copies of the letters to Roy, figuring he’d enjoy seeing them. Coincidentally, Roy was about to revive his 1960s fanzine Alter Ego as a part of Jon B. Cooke’s Comic Book Artist. He suggested I write a column on my discovery. One column led to a second, then a third. Now, twelve years later, I find myself with 100 issues of Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt under my belt. (Actually, a few more than 100 columns, if we include the CBA issues, but for neatness’ sake let’s just count the A/E issues.) First off, I’m incredibly grateful to Roy and publisher John Morrow for granting me this forum, and to the late great Jerry Bails for creating Alter Ego way back in 1961. It’s been a genuine honor to contribute to this award-winning magazine. But with great power comes great responsibility! When I realized we were almost to issue 100, I had a heck of a problem. What to write about? Then it hit me. The century mark is traditionally a stopping-place to look back and reflect. In past columns I’ve explored the early lives of cartoonists Will Eisner, Bob Powell, and Wally Wood, as well as many lesser lights. So why not look back at the beginnings of my own comics career and my halfcentury love affair with comics? While some may accuse me of self-indulgence (Guilty, your honor!), this brief memoir will hopefully be more than that. Like me, many of you fell in love with comics as kids and never stopped. I hope my own fond memories will jog a few of yours!

First Love! The little scrawl at the bottom right is the earliest drawing in my files, drawn on the back of a 1957 Li’l Abner Civil Defense comic. It was a gift from my Grandma Nurock, the woman most responsible for my lifelong obsession. A volunteer at New York’s Montifiore Hospital, Gram regularly raided the hospital’s kiddie ward to keep me supplied with comics. The very first was Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #25 (Dec. 1957)! I was born on May 7, 1951, so you do the math!

The cover illustration for “The Day There Was No Jimmy Olsen“ had Lois Lane asking “Who’s Jimmy Olsen?” Oddly enough, I wondered about that, too. Just who was this red-haired pest?

Michael T.: The Fanzine Years!

And what about his super pal? Since I wasn’t big on books, Grandma bribed me to read my first comic—and I was instantly hooked! Superman had X-ray eyes! Bullets bounced off him. Heck, he could even fly! From then on I hounded her for more. More! More! And even MORE!! You created a monster, Gram! I read that comic to pieces and became a lifelong Superman fan in the process. When I discovered the George Reeves TV show, I’d watch transfixed, a red towel draped behind me like a cape. When I finally got the chance to draw Superman professionally (in my Mann & Superman graphic novel for DC), it was like coming home again! But why did my eight-year-old self draw Superman with a green face and antennas? I couldn’t recall at first, though the image seemed vaguely familiar. While researching this piece, I dug around in my own comic crypt and came up with the World’s Finest cover seen directly below, from issue #105 (Nov. 1959). I was eight when I scored the comic below, part of a clandestine trade before class. The evocative Curt Swan cover obviously made a big hit with this budding cartoonist. The red lines I scribbled over the Alien Superman were my interpretation of a cocoon in the story that had trapped Superman. And you thought they were just scribbles!

Your Teacher Did What!? Oddly enough, another early comic book memory concerns a World’s Finest story in the following issue. Our teacher caught a kid with a comic and confiscated it. Seconds later, I watched with horror as she ripped that beautiful comic in half and tossed it in the wastebasket! Sob! Oh, the

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humanity! The lead story (drawn by Dick Sprang) was titled “The Duplicate Man,” about a crook who could split in two. Ironic, eh? But don’t weep too much. I lagged behind after class and, with a wildly pounding heart, scooped both halves out of the trash. A few yards of Scotch tape, and I had a perfectly readable comic for my collection. At a convention in late ’90s I finally met Dick Sprang and asked him to sign my tattered copy. The poor man probably thought I was nuts!

Your Mother Did What!? By fifth grade I‘d amassed a few hundred comics. That year I also experienced the nightmare of every What, No Comic? collector. A few days A very young Michael T., shortly before catching after receiving a big fat comic fever! “F” in history, I came home from school to find my entire collection gone. Mom had thrown them away! I was crushed! My story has a happy ending, though. Months later, while searching a little-used crawlspace, I discovered my comics hidden inside! Luckily, my

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In Memoriam

Mike Esposito (1927-2010) “A Giant In The Industry”

by Frank Lovece

omics inker and artist Mike Esposito, who with longtime collaborator Ross Andru drew Get Lost for their own publishing company, as well as runs of Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Metal Men for DC Comics and The Amazing Spider-Man for Marvel Comics, died Oct. 24, 2010, at age 83.

Born July 14, 1927, in New York City, Esposito graduated from the High School of Music and Art, where Andru (who died in 1993) was a classmate. Following Army service from 1945-47, he studied at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (now the School of Visual Arts). Esposito’s first professional work was penciling and inking Western and crime stories for Fox Features Syndicate in 1949. After Fox, he was briefly on staff at Timely Comics, as he told Jim Amash in an interview in Alter Ego #53-54. But he soon found his niche as an inker teamed with penciler Ross Andru, with whom he would collaborate for four decades. The pair’s two short-lived comics publishing companies produced such comics as Mr. Universe and Get Lost. The Andru-Esposito team made its greatest mark with war comics and super-heroes for DC, beginning with stories in All-American Men of War #6, Our Army at War #14, and Star Spangled War Stories #13 (all Sept. 1953). In 1958 they segued into Wonder Woman and other DC series, cocreating, with writer/editor Robert Kanigher, the robot heroes Metal Men and the non-super-powered “Suicide Squad.” In 1965 Esposito began moonlighting for Marvel, starting with his uncredited inking of Jack Kirby’s cover for Fantastic Four Annual #3. He did further Marvel work under pseudonyms such as “Mickey Demeo,” “Mickey Dee,” and “Joe Gaudioso.” His first “Spider-Man” inking was over Larry Lieber on Amazing Spider-Man Annual #4 (1967), and the Andru-

Esposito team drew the first of its many stories of that hero in Marvel Team-Up #1 (March 1972). He also worked for the short-lived publisher Skywald. Andru & Esposito The Heat Of Life formed Klevart Mike Esposito in 1954—and (below left) a panel Enterprises to from what is reportedly his first published publish their MadTimely/Atlas story, “Heat of Battle,” which he style humor penciled and inked for Men’s Adventures #6 (Feb. magazine Up Your 1951). Thanks to Ger Apeldoorn for the art scan. Nose and Out Your [Panel ©2011 Marvel Characters, Inc.] Ear (1972), which, due to distribution problems, lasted only one or two issues. When Andru began penciling The Amazing Spider-Man, Esposito joined him with #147 (Aug. 1975); together they drew the great majority of issues through #191 (April 1979). Their last collaboration, fittingly, was a “Spider-Man” story: the graphic novel Spider-Man: Fear Itself (1992). Esposito’s final Marvel inking appeared in Midnight Sons Unlimited #2 (July 1993). By then, however, he was well-established at Archie Comics, primarily inking stories penciled by Stan Goldberg. His final Archie work was inking four Goldberg stories in Betty #56 (Dec. 1997). “He was a giant in the industry,” says Goldberg. “I’ll miss his phone calls.” Esposito’s first wife, Mary, died when he was in his forties; his son Mark died in 2007. Surviving are his widow Irene and his daughter Michele. Irene was with him when he died. “Heart failure is what they put down [on the death certificate],” she said, adding poignantly, “It was very peaceful.” “We were friends for fifty years,” said colleague John Romita. “He had a hard life, but he survived and he always kept a sense of humor.” As “Mickey Demeo,” Esposito inked most of Romita’s early Amazing SpiderMan stories after Steve Ditko’s departure in 1966. Of their generation of comics creators, Romita added: “We’re peeling off, one by one, like jets leaving formation.” An Andru & Esposito drawing of Wonder Woman graced the Amazon’s stamp in the U.S. Postal Service’s 2006 DC Comics Super Heroes commemorative series. Both Andru and Esposito were inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2007. Frank Lovece is a longtime journalist and author who has written for Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Penthouse, TV Guide, and other publications. He was senior editor of the SyFy Channel website from 2001-2004 and wrote for Marvel and Dark Horse Comics in the 1990s. His Epic Comics mini-series Atomic Age won Russ Manning and Eisner Awards for penciler Mike Okamoto and inker Al Williamson, respectively.

The Comic Fandom Archive Presents...

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The 1964 Super Hero Calendar Or, How Did BERNIE BUBNIS, Before He Became Well-Known For Putting On The First New York Comicon In July 1964, Get So Many Top Fan-Artists To Contribute To This Unique Publication? by Bill Schelly

Introduction

ne might suppose that, as author of so many books on the history of comic fandom, I’ve seen all the worthwhile fanzines published in the 1960s. Not to shatter any illusions, but one of the things that keeps me interested is the fact that there are still treasures yet to be discovered and appreciated. As Rod Serling would say: “Case in point: The 1964 Super Hero Calendar!”

Although I had read a bit about it in the pages of Dateline: Comicdom in late 1963, I had never run across a copy nor did I know who had contributed to it. Recent e-mail correspondence with its publisher and editor, Bernie Bubnis—in the course of researching my latest book, Founders of Comic Fandom—brought it to light, and when Bernie generously donated a copy to the Comic Fandom Archive, I had my first chance to peruse its heretofore-unseen wonders—and thus to make it a special feature of the 100th issue of Alter Ego, Vol. 3! My comments are contained in the captions to the reproductions of each of the calendar’s pages, so let’s instead hear from Bernie himself—about the SHC in particular, via his email answers to a few questions I sent along in the last week of September, 2010. BILL SCHELLY: The Super Hero Calendar was published at the very end of 1963 and/or the very beginning of 1964. This was before your greatest notoriety as the planner of the first New York comicon in July of ’64, so presumably you were less well-known in fandom. Yet you were able to get contributions from every single top fan-artist. I know how difficult it was to get some of them even to answer a letter, much less contribute something. How were you able to make this happen? BERNIE BUBNIS: I sent each artist his month [with the month’s calendar] already drawn on the ditto master, included a return stamped envelope, and prayed. I did mention to everyone that Jack Kirby and Russ Manning had already contributed. We all want to stand next to greatness. I think that helped a lot. It hit some of them at a bad time, but they all came through. That made me feel very good.

The Super-Fan And The Spider Bernie Bubnis in the 1960s—and Steve Ditko’s cover for the “commemorative booklet” to celebrate the comics convention that Bernie threw in New York City on July 27, 1964. Ditko did the Spider-Man drawing especially for the publication, which became Bubnis’ final project related to fandom. [Spider-Man TM & ©2011 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

pressed down on a few lines. He was a great guy.

BILL: How did you get Jack Kirby to contribute that Cyclops drawing?

BILL: What about Russ Manning?

BERNIE: In those days a fanboy was tolerated, and we could just as easily show up on a pro’s doorstep. That’s what I did. I handed Kirby the master, he whizzed his pencil across, and barely thirty seconds later I was on my way. I asked him for a full signature on it. Later, I added the color and

BERNIE: The Manning illo was long-distance. He was in California. I loved his work, told him so, and asked for his help. I get lucky sometimes. He put a lot more effort into that Korak piece than Kirby did with Cyclops. No touch-ups were necessary. After the calendar was printed, he