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Roy Thomas Presents The World ’s Greatest Comics Fanzine!

Celebrating 50 YEARS since LEE & KIRBY’S

FANTASTIC FOUR #1! ’Nuff Said?

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In In the the USA USA

No.104 August 2011

STAN LEE AND OTHERS REVEAL THE SECRET ORIGINS OF MARVEL!

RARE JACK KIRBY ART AND INFO!

I PREFER THE INTERVIEW WITH AL SULMAN-"PERSONAL ASSOCIATE OF STAN LEE"!

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MAKE MINE MARVEL!

Edited by ROY THOMAS The greatest ‘zine of the 1960s is back, ALL-NEW, and focusing on GOLDEN AND SILVER AGE comics and creators with ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, UNSEEN ART, P.C. Hamerlinck’s FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America, featuring the archives of C.C. BECK and recollections by Fawcett artist MARCUS SWAYZE), Michael T. Gilbert’s MR. MONSTER, and more!

2011 EISNER AWARD Nominee Best Comics-Related Journalism

Other issues available, & an ULTIMATE BUNDLE with all issues at HALF-PRICE!

ALTER EGO #94

ALTER EGO #95

“Earth-Two Companion, Part II!” More on the 1963- 1985 series that changed comics forever! The Huntress, Power Girl, Dr. Fate, Freedom Fighters, and more, with art by ADAMS, APARO, AYERS, BUCKLER, GIFFEN, INFANTINO, KANE, NOVICK, SCHAFFENBERGER, SIMONSON, STATON, SWAN, TUSKA, our GEORGE KASHDAN interview Part 2, FCA, and more! STATON & GIORDANO cover!

Marvel’s NOT BRAND ECHH madcap parody mag from 1967-69, examined with rare art & artifacts by ANDRU, COLAN, BUSCEMA, DRAKE, EVERETT, FRIEDRICH, KIRBY, LEE, JOHN and MARIE SEVERIN, SPRINGER, SUTTON, THOMAS, TRIMPE, and more, GEORGE KASHDAN interview conclusion, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, and more! Cover by MARIE SEVERIN!

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

ALTER EGO #99

ALTER EGO: CENTENNIAL (AE #100)

GEORGE TUSKA showcase issue on his career at Lev Gleason, Marvel, and in comics strips through the early 1970s—CRIME DOES NOT PAY, BUCK ROGERS, IRON MAN, AVENGERS, TEEN TITANS, HERO FOR HIRE, and more! PLUS: JIM AMASH’s interview with Golden Age Fiction House artist BILL BOSSERT, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), and more! (84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

DIEDGITIIOTANSL BL AVAILA

ALTER EGO #91

ALTER EGO #92

ALTER EGO #93

FAWCETT FESTIVAL! Big FCA section with Golden Age artists MARC SWAYZE & EMILIO SQUEGLIO, and interviews with the FAWCETT FAMILY! Plus Part II of “The MAD Four-Color Wannabes of the 1950s,” more on DR. LAURETTA BENDER and the teenage creations of STEVE GERBER, artist JACK KATZ spills Golden Age secrets to JIM AMASH, and more! New cover by ORDWAY and SQUEGLIO!

SWORD-AND-SORCERY, PART 3! DC’s Sword of Sorcery by O’NEIL, CHAYKIN, & SIMONSON and Claw by MICHELINIE & CHAN, Hercules by GLANZMAN, Dagar by GLUT & SANTOS, Marvel S&S art by BUSCEMA, KANE, KAYANAN, WRIGHTSON, et al., and JACK KATZ on his classic First Kingdom! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, STEVE GERBER’s fan-creations (part 3), and more! Cover by RAFAEL KAYANAN!

(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “EarthTwo—1961 to 1985!” with rare art by INFANTINO, GIL KANE, ANDERSON, DELBO, ANDRU, BUCKLER, APARO, GRANDENETTI, and DILLIN, interview with Golden/Silver Age DC editor GEORGE KASHDAN, plus MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, STEVE GERBER, FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), and a new cover by INFANTINO and AMASH!

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ALTER EGO #96

Focus on Archie’s 1960s MIGHTY CRUSADERS, with vintage art and artifacts by JERRY SIEGEL, PAUL REINMAN, SIMON & KIRBY, JOHN ROSENBERGER, tributes to the Crusaders by BOB FUJITANE, GEORGE TUSKA, BOB LAYTON, and others! Plus an interview with MELL LAZARUS, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, and more! Cover by MIKE MACHLAN! (84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

ALTER EGO #101

ALTER EGO #97

ALTER EGO #98

The non-EC Horror Comics of the 1950s! From Menace and House of Mystery to The Thing!, we present vintage art and artifacts by EVERETT, BRIEFER, DITKO, MANEELY, COLAN , MESKIN, MOLDOFF, HEATH, POWELL, COLE, SIMON & KIRBY, FUJITANI, and others, plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, and more, behind a creepy, eerie cover by BILL EVERETT!

Spotlight on Superman’s first editor WHITNEY ELLSWORTH, longtime Kryptoeditor MORT WEISINGER remembered by his daughter, an interview with Superman writer ALVIN SCHWARTZ, art by JOE SHUSTER, WAYNE BORING, CURT SWAN, AL PLASTINO, and NEAL ADAMS, plus MR. MONSTER, FCA (FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA), and a new cover by JERRY ORDWAY!

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ALTER EGO #102

ALTER EGO #103

A/E celebrates 100 issues, and 50 years, of ALTER EGO magazine in a double-size BOOK! ROY THOMAS interviewed by JIM AMASH about ALL-STAR SQUADRON, INFINITY, INC., ARAK, other DC work, and more! Art by PÉREZ, McFARLANE, BUCKLER, ORDWAY, MACHLAN, GIL KANE, COLAN, GIORDANO, and more, plus Mr. Monster, FCA, BUCKLER/ORDWAY cover!

Fox Comics of the 1940s with art by BAKER, FINE, SIMON, KIRBY, TUSKA, FLETCHER HANKS, ALEX BLUM, and others! “Superman vs. Wonder Man” starring EISNER, IGER, MAYER, SIEGEL, and DONENFELD! Part I of an interview with JACK MENDELSOHN, plus FCA, Comic Fandom Archive, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and new cover by SpiderMan artist DAVE WILLIAMS!

Spotlight on Green Lantern creators MART NODELL and BILL FINGER in the 1940s, and JOHN BROOME, GIL KANE, and JULIUS SCHWARTZ in 1959! Rare GL artwork by INFANTINO, REINMAN, HASEN, NEAL ADAMS, and others! Plus JACK MENDELSOHN Part II, FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and new cover by GIL KANE & TERRY AUSTIN, and MART NODELL!

The early career of comics writer STEVE ENGLEHART: Defenders, Captain America, Master of Kung Fu, The Beast, Mantis, and more, with rare art and artifacts by SAL BUSCEMA, STARLIN, SUTTON, HECK, BROWN, and others. Plus, JIM AMASH interviews early artist GEORGE MANDEL (Captain Midnight, The Woman in Red, Blue Bolt, Black Marvel, etc.), FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and more!

(160-page trade paperback with COLOR) $19.95 US • (Digital edition) $5.95

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

Vol. 3, No. 104 / August 2011 Editor Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout Jon B. Cooke

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

NOW WITH 16 PAG ES OF COLOR!

Proofreader Rob Smentek

Cover Artists Ron Frenz (pencils) [after Jack Kirby] & Joe Sinnott (inks)

Cover Colorist Tom Ziuko

With Special Thanks to: Roy Ald Heidi Amash Ger Apeldoorn Dick Ayers Bob Bailey Todd Bates Steve Beck Blake Bell John Benson Al Bigley Almeida Bira Dominic Bongo Jerry K. Boyd Frank Brunner Mike Burkey James H. Burns John Caputo Michael Catron Shaun Clancy Paty Cockrum Betty Dobson Jim Engel Jackie Estrada J. Fairfax Shane Foley Ron Fontes Joe Frank Jenna Land Free Ron Frenz Mike Friedrich Janet Gilbert Leigh Gilbert Golden Age Comic Book Stories David “Hambone” Hamilton Jennifer Hamerlinck Heritage Comics Shayna Ian Sharon Karibian Gene Kehoe

Jack & Roz Kirby Estate Henry Kujawa Jim Kuzee R. Gary Land Stan Lee Len Leone Johnny Lowe Jim Ludwig Bruce Mason Brian K. Morris Sarah Morrow Mark Muller Will Murray Barry Pearl John G. Pierce Mike Ploog Warren Reece Donald A. Rex Conor Risch John Romita Steven Rowe Steve Rude Joan Schenkar Joe Sinnott Anthony Snyder Jim Starlin Al Sulman Desha Swayze Marc Swayze Jeff Taylor Greg Theakston Dann Thomas Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Amy Wideman Lynn Woolley Donald Woolfolk Vern Yu Michael Zeno

Contents Writer/Editorial: Stan The Man—Meet Stan The Man! . . . . . . 2 Stan Lee’s Amazing Marvel Interview!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Two astonishing 2005 recording sessions with the man who spearheaded Marvel Comics.

“I Had A Liking For The Comic Magazine Business” . . . . . . 46 A catch-as-catch-can conversation with Al Sulman, Golden Age scripter and Timely editor.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! — Blood, Sweat, And Tears… And Then Some . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Michael T. Gilbert spotlights Mike Friedrich’s hair-raising account of his first pro comics sale.

re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 68 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #163 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 P.C. Hamerlinck presents the memories of two Fawcett stalwarts: Marc Swayze & Roy Ald. On Our Cover: Our heartfelt thanks to Ron Frenz for re-rendering the original Jack Kirby cover of 1961’s Fantastic Four #1, as it might have looked if the quartet had been sporting the costumes they didn’t actually don until the third issue—while, to show how it could’ve looked if it had been inked by Joe Sinnott, who is all but universally acclaimed as the best F.F. inker ever, we just had to talk Joltin’ Joe himself into doing it! We truly appreciate their Herculean effort—and Joe, in particular, is still bothered by that detached shoulder rotor muscle of a couple of years ago. [Fantastic Four TM & © 2011 Marvel Characters, Inc.] Above: While a number of fine comics artists have drawn The Silver Surfer over the years, both in a mag of his own and elsewhere, the gleaming guardian of the spaceways will forever be identified with Jack Kirby, who came up with the hero for Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966) just so worlds-gulping Galactus would have someone to talk to! This dynamic drawing, penciled and possibly inked by Kirby, was utilized as the cover figure on the program book of Phil Seuling’s 1975 New York Comic Art Convention. Thanks to John Benson. [Silver Surfer TM & © 2011 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Alter EgoTM is published 8 times a year 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. Eight-issue subscriptions: $60 US, $85 Canada, $107 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. ISSN: 1932-6890 FIRST PRINTING.

writer/editorial

Stan The Man–Meet Stan The Man! I

Sure, Stan Lee gave himself the title “Stan (The Man)”—the first time may have been in Fantastic Four #40 (July 1965)—but on that same splash page he spread around the glory by coining another deathless phrase: “Jack (King) Kirby.”

n my life, I’ve had two heroes called “Stan the Man.”

The first—the one for whom the term was originally minted by fans and sports reporters—was St. Louis Cardinals baseball star Stan Musial, who this past February received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the age of ninety.

Between 1941-72, except for four years in the U.S. Army during World War II, he was Timely/Atlas/Marvel’s editorial and art director When I was growing up in small-town Missouri and its most important writer—especially between in the 1940s and ’50s, Musial’s fame and grace and 1961-65, when he co-created The Fantastic Four, presence coming over the radio were as much a The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Stan “The Man” Musial. You’ll meet the other part of my summers as the swimming pool and Man, Dr. Strange, The X-Men, The Avengers, “Stan the Man” on the next 43 pages. comic books and Captain Midnight. It didn’t hurt Daredevil, and The Silver Surfer. He left the any that Musial’s birthday was Nov. 21, 1920— editorial position to become Marvel’s publisher; today, as “publisher exactly twenty years plus one day prior to my own. emeritus,” he still devotes part of a busy schedule to Marvel, serving as a consultant on films, writing the occasional graphic novel, and scripting Between 1941-63 he played 22 seasons of Major League ball, all of it (since 1977) the daily-and-Sunday Spider-Man, the only successful for St. Louis—missing only 1945, when he served in the U.S. Navy, adventure comic strip launched in decades. because in those days “hero” meant something more than just performing in a sports arena. He was not only one of the greatest sluggers in history Stan Lee’s statistics aren’t quite as readily available as Stan Musial’s— (with 3630 hits, ranking #4 all-time), but was easily the most consistent— but if comics had All-Star games and MVP awards, Stan would’ve won a with 1815 hits in home games, and 1815 on the road. He also connected goodly number of them over the years. In 1994 he and Steve Ditko were for 475 home runs, and was voted the National League’s Most Valuable inducted together into the Eisner Hall of Fame, tied as the “lucky 13th” Player three times. He was selected for the All-Star Game for 24 consecinductees (and I don’t think Stan minded at all that Jack Kirby was one of utive years, a record tied only by fellow legend Say-Hey Willie Mays. the first three voted in). When Stan Musial laid down his bat and glove in ’63, he held or Yes, Stan Lee has his faults, as don’t we all? Even Stan Musial once shared 29 National League records, 17 Major League records, and nine ended a longstanding friendship over business dealings, and I for one All-Star game records. Is it any surprise that he was voted into the don’t care much for the harmonica no matter who’s playing it. But both Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969, the first year he was eligible? Stans deserve the title: “The Man.” And this issue we remind you why. The second “Stan the Man” hero of mine is Stan Lee.

Bestest, P.S.: I'm curious—how many of A/E's readers purchased F.F. #1 hot off the newsstand in summer of ’61 as I did? If so, drop a line!

COMING IN OCTOBER

105

TALES FROM THE CODE! The Coming Of The Comics Code—And The Cataclysmic Changes It Wrought! • Spectacular brand-new Spider-Man cover by JOSH MEDORS (30 Days of Night, Moon Knight)—an homage to the art of STEVE DITKO! • “Tales from the Code!” RICHARD ARNDT reveals how the Comics Code Authority changed comics (literally!) for decades to come! Plus “BEFORE” & “AFTER” art & artifacts by the likes of SIMON & KIRBY • DITKO • BUSCEMA • STERANKO • KANE • COLE • SINNOTT • KRIGSTEIN • ORLANDO • WILLIAMSON • GLANZMAN • GOULD • O’NEILL • HEATH • WINDSOR-SMITH • WOLFMAN • POWELL • O’NEIL • ROMITA & many more! • CAL MASSEY—a no-holds-barred interview with the dynamic 1950s Timely Comics artist, conducted by JIM AMASH! • FCA with more of MARC SWAYZE & ROY ALD • MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s Comic Crypt—& Inc. rs, racte Marvel Cha Spider-Man TM & ©2011 MORE!! Edited by ROY THOMAS • SUBSCRIBE NOW! Eight issues in the US: $60 Standard, $80 First Class • (Canada: $85, Elsewhere: $107 Surface, $155 Airmail). • NEW LOWER RATES FOR INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS! SAVE $4 PER ISSUE!

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STAN LEE’s Amazing Marvel Interview! Two Extraordinary 2005 Audio Sessions With The Man Who Spearheaded Marvel Comics Additional Text by Roy Thomas • Interview Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

A/E

and subject. The project sounded like a fascinating experiment, and I was overjoyed to be involved.

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: To celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Fantastic Four #1, which went on sale circa July/August of 1961 and thereby set in motion what Stan Lee would later tout as “The Marvel Age of Comics,” I’m honored to be able to present in print for the first time ever what is probably the longest interview ever given by Stan, the writer/editor who started it all. So how did I stumble upon this treasure trove? Sometime in early 2005 I received a phone call from a young man named Conor Risch, an editor for a Seattle-area editorial book-packaging company with the offbeat, uncapitalized, and exclamation-pointed name of becker&mayer! They were about to put together a book centered around my old boss and mentor Stan Lee (with whom I was still working, actually, on the daily-andSunday Spider-Man newspaper comic strip). It was to be titled Stan Lee’s Amazing Marvel Universe, and would be issued by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Becker&mayer!’s personnel had sold Sterling on a concept for an unusual type of book. It would elaborate upon a number of key moments in Stan’s career as writer and editor at Marvel. (But—50 moments? 100? The precise number was still up in the air.) It would combine straight text—which Stan had kindly suggested I might be the right person to provide—with accompanying audio tracks to be narrated by Stan himself. Interspersed throughout the 200-page tome would be a series of so-called illustrated “icons.” Each time the reader came to one of these icons at a particular spot in the text, he needed only to press the “PLAY” button on the digital audio player (a 2½" x 11" x ¾" mostly-plastic device physically attached to the book), and he/she would hear Stan’s voice, relating a sentence or three that would augment the information on that particular page

Digital Doings Photo taken on Sept. 5, 2005, at the conclusion of the second recording session held for the book pictured below. From left to right: editor/questioner Jenna Land Free… Marvel fountainhead Stan Lee… longtime Marvel writer & editor Roy Thomas… and audio session director Leigh Gilbert. With thanks to Jenna.

Almost immediately, however, Conor Risch left becker&mayer!, and I was handed over into the consummate care of his colleague Jenna Land Free, who made all subsequent editorial and production decisions on the book (with feedback from her b&m bosses and Sterling, of course). At some point she and I settled on 50 as being the maximum number of “moments” we could handle well in 200 pages, so we began culling an earlier list of around 100 down to half that number. (The finished book would appear in 2006, with image research for becker&mayer! credited to Shayna Ian, design to Todd Bates, audio sound editing—an unusual credit in a book—to Kate Hall, and custom audio engineering—ditto—to Steve Beck. My main contacts via phone and e-mail in 2005, while I wrote the text, were Jenna, Shayna, and Todd.) But the contents of the book weren’t all handled “long distance.”

In August, with the writing well under way but with the list not yet totally pared down to the “final 50,” Jenna phoned to ask if I could fly from South Carolina to Los Angeles (where Stan has lived for the past three decades) to take part in the first of probably two recording sessions to be done with Stan for the book. Nice as it would be to see Stan again, I was less than eager to hop a plane for an overnight stay in L.A. But Jenna felt I might be useful in jogging Stan’s memory concerning some bit of Marvel arcana about which, due to my long-standing interest in comics history, I might remember more than he did—and frankly, I figured she was probably right. So, “California, here I come!” The recording studio, nestled somewhere in the urban sprawl that is the Los Angeles Basin, was a tidy little building which contained a

Icon Do It! The first of the book’s “icons,” in a cartouche flanked by images of Simon & Kirby’s cover for Captain America Comics #3 (May 1941) and of the Kirby-penciled illo that accompanied Stan’s text story in #3, the latter’s first published comics work. [© 2011 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

small sound booth set off by a glass window for the recordee, while the rest of us would sit or stand in a larger room, 10 to 20 feet from where Stan would sit and answer questions relayed to him electronically. In addition to a recording engineer (the “Steve Beck” credited in the book?), Jenna had hired an “audio session director” named Leigh Gilbert to advise her on various vocal aspects of the sessions. The three of them would be physically closest to Stan (though not that close), while I was free to sit or stand a bit behind them and would be called on only if and when necessary. Which was fine by me. In fact, I prayed that I would prove so superfluous to the proceedings that Jenna would feel no need to have me present for the second session, if one were needed. The Q&A session was designed so that Stan could state—and re-state, if necessary, to achieve just the wording mutually desired—his answers to questions posed by Jenna (which had been partly worked out with Yours Truly). From a response that might have lasted just a few seconds or a couple of minutes, Jenna and her crew would later excerpt the “sound bite” they felt would work best at that point in the book. We were all aware from the start that, out of several hours of recording, only a half-hour to 45 minutes could be utilized by the “audio-book.” So some points we covered would definitely not make the cut, and most would do so only in truncated form. Jenna, of course, wasn’t out to elicit startling new revelations from Stan, let alone engage in any “gotcha” moments; what she, b&m, and Sterling were after was concise summaries of events and motivations, mixed with colorful anecdotes, all of which would make the reader/listener feel that Stan was filling him/her in personally, virtually face-to-face, on the colorful

history of Marvel Comics. Stan would basically be asked, once again, some of questions he’d answered most often… plus, hopefully, a few that were new to him. Under Jenna’s gentle prodding, there were a few disclosures which even I didn’t recall have heard from Stan before. There would also be, as it turned out, a fair amount of back-and-forth banter between Jenna and Stan—with my humble self becoming involved from time to time (through exchanges with Jenna, or occasionally directly with Stan) in order to clarify a question or to suggest a pertinent fact that Stan might consider adding in a rephrasing of his answer. With such an exhausting pace and a full schedule, it’s not surprising that occasionally Stan misremembered a fact or two—who wouldn’t?—but in the end his answers are all his own, made after he had both searched his own memory and received such verbal reminders as Jenna or I could give him, along with his occasionally perusing pages from the original comics. All in all, it was a formidable, once-in-a-lifetime feat, and I’m proud to have been on hand to help, even a little bit. At any rate: Stan arrived on his own, having driven to the studio, looking as dapper and cheerful as ever. We exchanged a few pleasantries, though Stan was eager from the outset to find out how long the session would last. Unfortunately, Jenna could only tell him: “An hour or so.” Stan, ever the trooper, took his place on the chair in the sound booth before a microphone, while Jenna, Leigh, and the recording engineer took their stations in the outer room—and I sat and/or paced behind them. Most of the time, from my angle, I couldn’t even see Stan, though we could all hear his electronically-amplified voice. He was wearing headphones in order to hear Jenna’s questions.

Stan Lee’s Amazing Marvel Interview!

And so, after a few sound checks, it began. Jenna’s specific questions (and my own verbal suggestions) were not recorded—only Stan’s answers were— but the former are generally easy to reconstruct from a combination of memory and simple deduction….

about his schoolwork; he doesn’t have enough money—Martin said, “Stan, don’t you realize what a super-hero is? They don’t have those kinds of problems.” So, you could see he wasn’t totally thrilled with the notion of “Spider-Man.”

SESSION I (August 2005)

Next: Since Peter Parker was originally a high school student, why is he called “Spider-Man” and not “Spider-Boy”?

First, Jenna asks Stan a double question about Spider-Man’s powers, and about working with artist/co-creator Steve Ditko.

You know, it’s very interesting why I called him Spider-Man instead of SpiderBoy. It’s something I’ve thought about quite a lot. I think probably because Superman was Superman, and somehow Spider-Boy would’ve sounded too immature. Too… not fully developed. Not enough of a super-hero. And I wanted our super-hero to be on a par with any other competing super-hero. So I felt I’ve gotta call him Spider-Man. Also, I had the idea that, if he succeeded in subsequent issues and in subsequent years, we would age him. And at some point he would be a man. And when he became an adult male, it would be silly to keep calling him SpiderBoy. So I guess I was just farsighted enough to think ahead and be wise enough to call him Spider-Man.

Hmm… about his powers?... Well, considering that his name was Spider-Man, it would have been silly to give him any powers other than the spider powers, I think. It seems to me, since we called him Spider-Man, like any good spider, he should be able to crawl on walls, he should be able to spin a web. That was just very natural. Perhaps the cleverest part of it was thinking that he should have the proportionate strength of a spider, which of course means, if a spider were the size of a man, how strong would he be? And I always loved that phrase, “the proportionate strength of a spider.” Working with Steve Ditko was an absolute joy. He was fast. He was good. He was inventive, creative. After the first few stories, Steve was very helpful in the plotting. In fact, after a while he did most of the plotting and I just wrote the copy. So, it was really a true collaboration between me and Steve Ditko. It was really very funny when I suggested “SpiderMan” to my publisher, Martin Goodman. He thought it was the worst idea ever. He said, “Stan, you can’t give a hero the name Spider-Man. People hate spiders!” And then, when I told him I wanted Peter to be a teenager, he said, “No, teenagers can only be sidekicks!” And then, when I told him that I wanted Peter to have a lot of personal problems—he’s not that popular with his friends; he has to worry

The Amazing Steve & Spidey, Man! Steve Ditko—and two stages of a pair of primo panels from his final issue of The Amazing Spider-Man: #38 (July 1966), “Just a Guy Named Joe!” (Left:) The only clearly printable panels from a photocopy of Ditko’s rough pencils, with Lee’s text already added by letterer Artie Simek. With thanks to David “Hambone” Hamilton. (Right:) The same two panels from the finished comic. Thanks to Barry Pearl. [© 2011 Marvel Characters, Inc.] (Top center:) The affectionate caricature of Ditko turning 81 in 2008—drawn by noted Brazilian cartoonist Almeida Bira—utilizes images of three of Ditko’s most noted co-creations. For photos of Steve, see p. 8. Thanks to Roberto Guedes. [Caricature © 2011 Almeida Bira; Spider-Man & Doctor Strange art © 2011 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Mr. A art © 2011 Steve Ditko.]

Well, the reason “Spider-Man” first appeared in Amazing Fantasy is: As you may remember, my publisher hated the idea and didn’t want me to go ahead with the script. But I just felt I had to get it out of my system. Well, we had a magazine called Amazing Fantasy that I loved, but it wasn’t selling. And we were about to drop it. Now, when you drop a magazine, nobody cares what you put in the last issue. Because it doesn’t matter; that’s the last issue and there won’t be any more. So, just for fun, I put “Spider-Man” in the last issue of Amazing Fan… Fantasy—almost forgot the name—and I featured him on the cover, just to get it out of my system. Strangely enough, that was the best-selling book that we had had all year after it was published. So, it shows virtue is

“I Had A Liking For The Comic Magazine Business” A Catch-As-Catch-Can Conversation With AL SULMAN, “Personal Associate of Stan Lee” Conducted by Jim Amash

Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

lbert Sulman has been discussed any number of times in A/E interviews with other Timely Comics staffers and freelancers, not to mention those who worked for him at Ace Publications. An editor and writer for comics and magazines—the latter chiefly at Martin Goodman’s Magazine Management—Al had a long career in publishing, but not much was known about him. Former Marvelites Sol Brodsky, Mike Esposito, John Romita, Stan Goldberg, and Roy Thomas (and later Al Milgrom) used to play poker with Al during the ’60s and ’70s, but they never became close friends with him. Apparently, Al built a wall between him and most others—a wall I tried to penetrate with small success. I finally did get him to laugh a few times, but did not succeed in getting him to send a photo. At first, Al wasn’t interested in granting me an interview, but I managed to persuade him to talk to me; so, figuring that I’d probably have only one shot at it, I mostly asked him basic questions. He enjoyed talking to me enough that he agreed to another short session. We spoke a couple of times, and right as I was breaking a hole in the wall, Al’s health (which was not good) precluded further discussion, resulting in an uncompleted interview. I’ve been unable to re-establish contact with Al for over a year now, but hope he is alive and well somewhere. Many unasked questions will remain unanswered, I’m sorry to say, but at least we have this peek behind the Sulman curtain. Thanks to Steven Rowe for helping me find Al Sulman. This interview was conducted in 2009. —Jim.

Blonde Ambition (Top left:) Photos of Al Sulman are virtually unobtainable—but fortunately this skillful caricature of him, drawn and signed by fellow bullpenner/future Madman Dave Berg, appeared in Stan Lee’s 1947 mini-tome Secrets behind the Comics, a 700-copy limited hardcover second edition of which was published by Marvel in 1994. A/E’s editor kicks himself every time he recalls how he played poker with Al, all those years, and never asked him what Stan might’ve meant by calling him a “personal associate” of his! Roy recently did e-mail Stan on the point—but, surprise, surprise, Stan had no memory of ever using the term. (Incidentally, although Stan refers to him in the book as “Alan” Sulman, the editor/writer’s first name was actually “Albert.”) [© 2011 Stan Lee.] The book reproduced both the full typed script (left) and the black-&-white Syd Shores artwork of the 4-page yarn “I Hate Me!” from Blonde Phantom #15 (Fall 1947), starring the gorgeous gang-buster Al had co-created. Seen above right from Secrets is the tale’s first page, in color from an art scan provided by Betty Dobson. [© 2011 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

“I Had A Liking For The Comic Magazine Business”

liking for the comic magazine business, you know.

“My Brother Asked Me To Help Him With The Scripts”

JA: When you wrote for your brother on those DC comic stories, did DC pay you or did he pay you? Who had the account?

JIM AMASH: When were you born, and how did you break into comics? AL SULMAN: I was born in March 19, 1918. So I’m now 91 years old. My older brother Joseph was a cartoon artist, and he worked for Detective Comics. So, after I graduated from college, he got me in the business of writing scripts for him on a freelance basis. He did do some work for Timely Comics—also on a freelance basis, of course. His cartoon style was pretty much like Al Capp’s, who did Li’l Abner. He drew several scripts for Timely, like “Eustace Hayseed,” which looked a lot like Li’l Abner. He mainly drew humor features. He was not an artist—he was a cartoonist. But he was a very, very good cartoonist. He was born in 1911.

SULMAN: My brother paid me. [DC] had a strip called “Zatara the [Master] Magician,” and a guy named Fred Guardineer was the artist. But the time came when he didn’t want to draw it anymore, so the editor at DC turned it over to my brother, and he began to draw the strip; but he had to imitate Fred Guardineer’s drawing style, because the character had to look [the same], and it worked out fine. I wrote a few “Zatara” scripts, and that got me interested in writing comic scripts. But Joe and I didn’t do “Zatara” for very long. JA: You wrote “Eustace Hayseed” for Timely, and “Zatara” for DC. For Quality Comics, your brother drew something called “Woopy.” Did you write that for him?

I graduated from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1940. I majored in English literature and American literature. I minored in European history and American history. [After graduation], I went to New York looking for a job. I applied at Timely for a staff job as a story or script editor, and told them that I’d written a couple of strips for Detective Comics [National/DC]. Stan Lee was the art director; he hired me as a staff script editor and as a story editor to buy from freelance writers in 1941. At that time, Timely was located on West 42nd Street. That’s how it started.

SULMAN: No. I did not write everything that he drew. JA: He drew three other features. One was “Socko Strong,” for DC. Did you write that? SULMAN: Yes, I did. JA: “Caveman Curly.” SULMAN: “Caveman Curly” sounds familiar. I think I may have written a few scripts on that one, too. But “Socko Strong,” I definitely remember. JA: And the other one is “Biff Bronson.”

Simon and Kirby must have left the company before I joined them, because I don’t remember meeting them. Timely must have moved to the Empire State Building while I was in the military service. I was drafted in February of 1942.

SULMAN: Yes, I wrote that one, too. JA: Basically, your brother was packaging these features for DC. You weren’t going into the offices, were you?

JA: Since you hadn’t gone to college to be a comic book writer—

SULMAN: No, I did not go to the DC office. I gave my brother an outline which he submitted it to the editor at DC, whom I believe was Whitney Ellsworth. [NOTE: “Biff Bronson” with a byline for both brothers appeared in All Star Comics #1, as well as in issues of More Fun Comics, so the former work must’ve been done for All-American editor Shelly Mayer. —Jim.] When it was it was okayed, I wrote the scripts. Joe showed

SULMAN: Oh, no, no, no. JA: —what did you have in mind to do with yourself before comics came about? SULMAN: I wanted to be a novelist and a short story writer, but my brother asked me to help him with the scripts, and I had a

Thar’s Gold In Them Thar Hillbillies! The Sulman brothers, Al (writer) and Joseph (artist), seem to have been typecast for a time as the writer-&-artist team called when a company needed a knockoff of Al Capp’s wildly popular daily comic strip Li’l Abner—even though we couldn’t come up with any definite Sulman art and/or story in that area: (Top:) This “Woopy of Shoot’n Creek” splash page is from an uncertain Quality Comics issue, in a story bylined not by Joseph Sulman but by Art Gates (with the scripter totally unguessed at). The hillbilly hero appeared in Hit Comics #26-29 and Uncle Sam Quarterly #6 & #8 in 1943. Thanks to Jim Ludwig. [© 2011 the respective copyright holders.] (Above:) Dr. Michael J. Vassallo feels this “Eustace Hayseed” yarn from Krazy Komics #1 (Aug. 1948)—with its super-heavy Capp influence—is most likely the work of Joseph Sulman, so it’s quite possible that his brother wrote it. It was some of Joe’s last work in comics. Thanks also to Steven Rowe for pointing us the way. [© 2011 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

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Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

After getting Mike’s permission to reprint the piece, I asked him to explain a couple of obscure references, and also encouraged him to share any thoughts on his old article. On 4/21/10, Mike replied:

Introduction by Michael T. Gilbert recently stumbled across a fascinating 1974 fanzine article in Batmania #19, featuring a blow-by-blow account of writer Mike Friedrich’s attempts to sell his first pro story to editor Julie Schwartz. This was no easy task in 1966, especially for a starry-eyed 16-yearold high school student. DC had pretty much slammed the door on new talent when sales took a big dive after the notorious 1954 Congressional comic book hearings. But by 1966, young Turks like Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Roy Thomas, Marv Wolfman, and Len Wein had begun to break into the old boys’ network.

Friedrich’s article provides a rare snapshot of those times, a peek behind the editorial curtains of staid DC. Though his memoir is painful in spots (oh, the rejection!), Mike’s youthful enthusiasm still shines through. We’ve all been there.

“Hi, Michael, I completely forgot that I ever wrote up my breaking-in story for Batmania. It's a pleasure to read this report from my younger years. To fill in a couple of obscure references: in his letter columns Julie came up with cute names for some of his regular correspondents, like myself. I lived in Castro Valley, California, as a teenager, and he'd dubbed me ‘Castro Mike.’ Also, an oblique reference is made to a ‘bloody’ event to July 4, 1966. Fellow Schwartz letter-writer Guy H. Lillian III also lived in the Bay Area at the time and we got together a few times in high school and college. On July 4, 1966, Julie Schwartz was vacationing in San Francisco. Guy and I arranged to meet with him but were involved in a near-serious pre-seat-belt car accident. We were both passengers in the back seat and fortunately escaped with bumps and scrapes. It was very traumatic, not the least for missing the opportunity to meet Julie, which didn't occur for another year. “It's very clear in retrospect that Julie bought my first story not because it was any good, but because he was worried that I was giving up, just when I was starting to develop a tiny talent. I'm glad he stuck with me, or otherwise I may never have had the 35year career in comics that I wound up having. I used the money from that first check to go to New York for a summer and get a first-hand ‘tough-but-fair’ tutoring from Julie. Three months later I wrote my first published script, which was drawn by Neal Adams. Now that's a real sweet debut!

Mike submitted his article to Batmania founder Biljo White in July 1967, shortly after his first sale. It sat on Biljo’s shelf until second editor Rich Morrissey published it in 1974. “Blood, Sweat, and Tears… and Then Some” is comic history in the raw, at the cusp of Mike’s writing career. Julie, in this account, comes across as tough but fair. A long-time sci-fi fan himself, he was unusually receptive to others of his tribe. Reading between the lines, one can also see how staid DC would soon lose their #1 spot to upstart Marvel. Schwartz was horrified at Mike’s use of the Golden Age villain Two-Face. He also disapproved of any mention of drugs, which seems positively quaint in light of DC’s current storylines.

“Mike”

Pictures Perfect! (Left:) A mid-’70s photo of Julius Schwartz, from Amazing World of DC Comics #3 (Nov. 1974). (Right:) Sheldon Mayer, editor Schwartz’s former editor, draws Julie for AWODC #3. [© 2011 DC Comics.]

Sweet, indeed, Mike! A young Arlen Schumer illustrated Mike’s article when it was published in Batmania #19. In later years, Arlen became a talented commercial artist and comic historian; his The Silver Age of Comic Book Art won the Independent Publishers Award for Best Pop Culture Book of 2004. And now, without further ado…

“Blood, Sweat, and Tears… and Then Some” or “How to Sell a Batman Story in 12 Easy (?) Lessons” by “Castro” Mike Friedrich ackground: In the spring of 1966, NPP [National Periodical Publications, a.k.a. DC Comics] issued a statement at the end of most of their lettercols to the effect that “letters will not be answered unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.” Now to any normal-thinking person (like myself, natch), this meant “letters will be answered when accompanied by an SASE.” So I made a practice of writing a LOC [letter of comment] to every Julius Schwartz mag when that came out, enclosing an envelope for a reply. A regular correspondence was set up this way (though I had to wait days and weeks for replies because thousands of other fans had the same I idea I had). In early June I asked a post-scriptural question to the effect, “Do you take seriously reader contributions?,” adding that I had an idea for a story that I would like to submit. The reply was…

“(June 16, 1966) Finally, do I ‘take seriously reader contributions’? Yes

and no—depends on the contributor. In your case, you get the red carpet treatment. As a matter of fact, I definitely do encourage you to take a crack at writing for me. I’m open to EVERYTHING! “However, I recommend that you send me a plot first—no point in doing a whole script based on an idea or development I don’t like—or on something similar I may have coming up [sic]. “Believe me, I’m not putting you ‘on’ with writing for me. I’m hopeful you can come up with some fresh ideas. I’m confident that you have the literary ability to make a go of it—if not right off, then in due time, if you’re willing to stick to it and learn the business….” Naturally, I went out of my skull—Julie Schwartz asking me to write for him! Me, who had never done anything in the line of straight fiction more than a short story for an English class the year before! I quickly dashed up a Batman story featuring the return of the old villain TWO-FACE and sent it in….

Mike Friedrich’s “Blood, Sweat, and Tears… and Then Some”

“(June 27, 1966) When I invited you to take a crack at writing for one “Stop pressing me on the subject of whether Bob Kane does his own of my magazines, I didn’t anticipate you’d start off with a BATMAN! work. It’s not my business to tell—not yours to know. Besides, the only Surely this is one of the toughest for a beginner to handle—and one who really knows is Bob Kane himself.” [I threw that in to show while I can appreciate your trying to achieve the what answer I got when I asked the perennial question!] heights right off, I prefer you ‘break in’ with a Well, I’m a persistent person sometimes, so I shorter type of feature or story, perhaps came up with answers to his objections and an ELONGATED MAN, ATOM, etc. re-submitted the plot again… In addition, of all the Batman villains to choose from you hit “(September 7, 1966) If you were upon TWO-FACE—a character here in person we could argue so repugnant that the TV effectively over the objections I bigwigs turned it down! I raised in the Robin-Joker plot have no desire to inflict this but since you’re stuck way out villain upon my readers (a there, all I can do is answer your feeling that’s subject to counter-objections with [a list of change). Your plot is Bill further criticism]…. I think Fingerish, which while it isn’t you’re wasting time with this solo so bad, it isn’t so hot, either. R plot as it’s shaping up—but if The two-based crimes are in the you insist on another time at bat, go standard old Batman tradition— ahead—but if it ain’t a strike-out I’d be but I’d just as soon get away from surprised (and delighted).” the theme where villain leaves cryptic clues with B&R tracking them down to I went over the plot and changed the the inevitable conclusion [EAT YOUR villain to the Riddler, since one of his Constructive Criticism! WORDS, JULIE!!!]… main objections was having the Joker act Editor Schwartz as seen by DC writer Marty Pasko. like the Riddler. The inevitable answer From Amazing World of DC Comics #3. [© 2011 DC Comics.] But what’s the TV people thing got to came… do with what you do? And Bill Finger was the man behind the classic stories in the early forties. What’s wrong with “(September 27, 1966) I was taken aback by your switching Joker to that? Oh well, then JS made his famous trip to California for a vacation. Riddler. I happen to have a Riddler story scheduled for the April Here is where the blood part comes in—and I get sick thinking about it DETECTIVE––and that’s enough for next year… [then some more still. Suffice to say, I wrote up a “surprise” EM story to spring on him criticism] …Finally, I can’t believe this will ever make a good story, so I when I was scheduled to meet him when he got in my area. Due to say––junk it! automotive circumstances beyond my control (ask Guy H. Lillian III for “All of which leaves you nowhere––again. Try again (cry again?)— details), I was unable to meet him and so I mailed the script in. The reply maybe you’ll hit it next time. How about an ATOM or HAWKMAN?” upon his return… “(August 19, 1966) Let me start right off that it was a blow to me to read your script. Here’s a correspondent—and darn good critic—who writes well-conceived letters and a breezy, almost flip style (among other things) and then comes up with such a flat, dull, uninspired, unconvincing script! To pick out its faults, I’d need a derrick, so all I could do is hint at them in the script itself. [And he had gone in great detail in pointing out the mistakes in the script]. I had hoped—even expected— some real good, colorful dialogue—snappy captions—original gags. I got back nothing! “If all this disheartens you, don’t let it get you down. Experience is still the best teacher. The best science-fiction writer in the business wrote dozens and dozens of stories before he made his (okay—it’s Ray Bradbury) first sale (through me, incidentally, as his agent). If I knew the plot beforehand (as I asked), I would have rejected it then and there. I’m sure you can do better; I know you will eventually. You had to learn to crawl before you could walk….” Okay, so I tried again. The then-current Batman featured a story with The Joker. I got the idea for a Robin solo story with villain and sent in a plot along with my usual critique on the issue. His reply… “(August 31, 1966) In your attempt to evaluate ‘The Joker’s Original Robberies’ you came up with the word ‘professional’ (You muffed the authorship—it was John Broome)—wish that your Joker plot could be tagged with the same word! I searched your outline over and over and was hard-pressed to find anything to excite me… [then followed 15 lines of criticism and comments, ending with]…To do a story in which it’s hero versus villain only—and without some sub-plot and dramatic characterization—is hardly enough to grip the reader. Cry a bit—then try again…

I bugged him one more time with more “answers” and he wearily consented to let me write up a script… “(November 2, 1966) At last—here’s your script back—red-penciled where you’ve fallen short. Another try-out that failed (I wasn’t enthusiastic about it from the start, remember)—but at least it’s another script out of your system—and an advance over your prior one—if you can use some encouragement.” I sure could. Just then I had finished reading Issac Asimov’s two Robot anthologies and was very up on the Three Laws of Robotics. I came up with the idea of having Green Lantern visit a world of robots and encounter the Three Laws in practice… “(November 22, 1966) On the GL plot. Frankly, it was confusing to follow—but perhaps you can make it clear enough in the actual writing— which I’m allowing you to do on the chance you can make something out of it—simplifying as much as possible, especially the Three Laws of Robotics (which I’m sure the majority of readers are unfamiliar with). “A few points on the plot itself: [20 lines of suggestions and criticisms]… If you can take care of my objections, give the story a try. Come up with dramatic captions, swinging dialogue, good scene transition and action that hasn’t been done over and over. Please don’t excuse yourself by saying that I (or Fox and Broome) do it. Perhaps so—but you should beat out original paths of your own.” So I wrote it up and turned it in. But all of a sudden I didn’t get any answer from him in months. I got a little desperate. I sent notes and letters and carrier pigeons to 575 Lexington and all I got back was a note saying he’d write soon. Finally…

FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America]

help us get to know you better as a person and not just as a retired Golden Age artist.

career, I must have prepared at least 15 ideas for features. They may be interesting for showing a variety of styles … some fast, some detailed, some cartoony, some illustrative. Some of the ideas would have made it but for my own actions. For instance, there was a feature I called Marty Guy, Private Detective for the New York Star that would have been syndicated had I not been obstinate about the editorial demands in their contract— and The Great Pierre, a feature the Bell Syndicate was to release in newspapers in 1955, but I decided to get out of comics completely. I have originals and copies of many of these syndicate attempts, and I think they are good. I was just a poor salesman.

SWAYZE: I am a fortunate man. Blessed is a better word. Sitting across the room is my wife, June—cuter, I swear, than she was when I first saw her singing in a band, in 1942. She’s smart, witty, wise, talented. She paints, sings, plays the organ at church, and has taught school for years. More important than all of these, she bore me five wonderful children and did a pretty good job of raising them. We have three daughters: a housewife/tennis player, a schoolteacher, and a secretary. Our son is an M.D., as is his wife. We lost our first son, Marc Jr., in Drawing to a Close 1975. God helped me After Fawcett Publications discontinued their comic book line, Swayze moved over briefly to through that. I paint; JGP: We’ve talked Charlton Publications, where he finished his 15-year career in comics. Above is the title panel for mainly about your I’ve been painting in “The Big Mistake”—one out of the two stories Marc wrote and drew for This Is Suspense #26 (Aug. 1955). career in comics and oils since high [© 2011 respective copyright holders.] art in general, but I school. I play music knew you’ve done other things. Why not tell us about them? in a Dixieland band and in a trio. I play golf—every day—twelve months a year. You’d think, after 52 years of it, I’d play a whale of a game, but as SWAYZE: In baseball, I thought I was a they say, it comes and it goes. pretty good amateur, and played a little semi-pro ball before moving on to other JGP: You’ve just mentioned a number of things I think readers need to hear. So things. I played music with a number of many of today’s comics creators seem to be dance bands and jazz combos. During conceited, self-centered boors who don’t World War II I was fortunate to be chosen have anything approaching or resembling to accompany Bing Crosby and get to know a real life. Certainly hardly any of them a nice guy in Bing. have any concept of relying on God for JGP: Do you know how many of your old help or have much of any kind of life associates are still alive? Do you keep in outside of the fantasy world in which they touch with any of them? operate. Marc, you’re a grand fellow, just as I’ve always heard that you were. SWAYZE: I have done a miserable job of Thanks so much for your time and for keeping in touch with my old associates— sharing your memories with us. which is probably why I am something of a forgotten man of comics. Over the years I stayed in touch only with Rod [Reed], Wendell [Crowley], and [C.C.] Beck, and that was due to their knowing that I needed constant prodding, I suspect. JGP: Well, finally, tell us about Marc Swayze in the present day … just anything you’d like us to know that’d

SWAYZE: You’re crazy, John … I’m also a conceited, self-centered boor. But it’s nice working with you. [Marc Swayze’s memoirs continue next issue!] Our interviewer, John G. Pierce, caught as The Green Hornet in this June 1968 snapshot.

“ Is This What I Want To Do For The Rest Of My Life? ” The ROY ALD Interview, Part 1 by Shaun Clancy Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck INTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Roy Ald had been one of those elusive Fawcett comic book editors about whom I had heard a lot of things but could never locate. After a 10-year search, I managed to find a relative of his, and then it still took another two months to be granted an interview with Roy. Our first conversation was awkward as we both tested each other’s memories, but once that breaking-in period was over, we had become fast friends.

many books under his own name and various pseudonyms, including such works as Physical Fitness after 35; The Case for an Afterlife; The Man Who Took Trips; The Youth Communes; Favorite Recipes of Famous Men; Cycling: The Rhythmic, Respiratory Way to Physical Fitness; The Skinnylook Cookbook; Jogging, Aerobics and Diet; and The Cheerful Cat Cookbook: Tempting Recipies for the Discriminating Cat!

It’s been almost two years since our first chat, and I've enjoyed every one of our two dozen discussions over that period. I found Roy to be brutally honest with his answers, with a complete disregard for protecting his own image. In fact, at times he was a little too upfront, and we mutually decided not to print a few controversial statements he had made about professional relationships he had experienced over the years.

When I first met him in person, I would have guessed Roy Ald to be in his 70s and not the 90-year-old man he actually is. His appearance, both physical and mentally, was a complete surprise to me, and he even demonstrated for me several acts of strength that I could only hope to accomplish at 50!

After leaving Fawcett Publications, Roy was unaware that the next two companies with whom he was associated had also been comic book publishers, something he now he finds very amusing.

The following chain of interviews will allow the reader to witness the life of a man who believes he may not have made the best choices in his life and who now wishes to convince us all to not travel down similar paths set before us. —Shaun Clancy.

SHAUN CLANCY: Where were you born? The most difficult part of this protracted dialogue was trying to find a ROY ALD: I was born on Coney Island, point where the interview needed to be June, 1920. I’m still a young fella at 90. concluded and the writing needed to I’m a physical fitness nut. If you Google begin. Roy Ald’s colorful career within my name, you’ll see I wrote a book on these FCA pages will be covered in a fitness under my real name. I had many limited series of installments, but I books published under different names believe you’ll find that we could cover and wrote about one a month. I wrote just about any one of his ventures in one on jogging, as well as various multiple pieces. Among his accomplishcookbooks. When I began writing ments was pioneering the groundsyndicated restaurant reviews, I was breaking Negro Romance comic book, as able to eat at all these restaurants with well as one of the earliest graphic novels, my friends for free. In the process of Mansion of Evil. He also edited doing that, I learned so much about numerous comics for Fawcett, including food that it enabled me to write several Captain Midnight; Don Winslow of the cookbooks. With my physical fitness Navy; This Magazine Is Haunted; training, I ran 14 miles at night for 46 Captain Video; Beware! Terror Tales; years. I would run, rain or shine, and Life Story; Strange Suspense Stories; even today I’m still exceedingly strong. Romantic Secrets; I’m still able to build Worlds of Fear; muscles, believe it or Mighty Mortal Sweethearts; and not. Former Fawcett editor Roy Ald,with a copy of the out-of-print Fawcett Companion, in a Nov. 2010 photo Wow Comics; and he snapped by Shaun Clancy while the interviewer was in New York to take part in a segment for the History created the humor SC: Did you work Detectives TV series that spotlighted Fawcett’s revolutionary Negro Romance comic, which Roy Ald feature “Ozzie and with weights? developed and edited; the episode was scheduled to air in July 2011 on PBS. The 90-year-old Mr. Ald left Babs.” Over the years Shaun in awe at the high level of physical fitness and abilities he had maintained throughout his life. he has also authored ALD: Yes. When I

Alter Ego #104