Roy Thomas' Spider-Happy Comics Fanzine
STEVE DITKO REMEMBERED
No. 160 September 2019
$9.95
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82658 00373
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Art TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
In the USA
Vol. 3, No. 160 / September 2019 Editor
Roy Thomas
Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash
Design & Layout
Christopher Day
Consulting Editor
Contents
John Morrow
FCA Editor
P.C. Hamerlinck J.T. Go (Assoc. Editor)
Comic Crypt Editor
A brief bird’s-eye view of a remarkable artist—and storyteller—by Nick Caputo.
Steve Ditko Interview—1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Michael T. Gilbert
Editorial Honor Roll
Mike & Richard Howell and Mark Canterbury, from the pages of Marvel Main #4.
Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White Mike Friedrich
Proofreaders
Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding
Cover Artist
“A Very Mysterious Character” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 An essay on Ditko by Yancy Streeter Barry Pearl.
A Life Lived On His Own Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Bernie Bubnis tells of his personal encounters with Spider-Man’s co-creator, 1962-2017.
Two Visits to Steve Ditko’s Studio/Sanctum Sanctorum . . . 45 Russ Maheras on meeting the elusive artist.
Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Cover Colorist
Craig Yoe on Ditko, himself, and the Muppets.
Glenn Whitmore
With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Roger Armstrong Bob Bailey J. Ballmann Nancy Bardeen Mike W. Barr Robert Barrett Michael Barrier Alberto Becattini Ricky Terry Brisacque Bernie & Lucille Bubnis Bart Bush Nick Caputo John Cimino Comic Book Plus (website) Pierre Comtois Chet Cox Brian Cremins Austin English John Fishel Shane Foley Stephan Friedt Janet Gilbert Grand Comics Database (website) Karen Green
Writer/Editorial: Steve D., We Hardly Knew Ye! . . . . . . . . . . 2 Steve Ditko: A Life In Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Clizia Gussoni Mike Howell Richard Howell Eric Jansen William B. Jones James Kealy Paul Levitz Mark Lewis Art Lortie Jim Ludwig Russ Maheras Robert Menzies Brian K. Morris Frank Motler Will Murray Eric NolenWeathington Jake Oster Barry Pearl Bob Rozakis Randy Sargent Robin Snyder Bryan Stroud Dann Thomas Mike Tiefenbacher Qiana Whitted Yocitrus Craig Yoe
This issue is dedicated to the memory of
Steve Ditko, Vince Argondezzi, Fred Patten, & Hames Ware
Steve’s Secret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Paul Levitz remembers collaborating with—and knowing—Steve Ditko
Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! First Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Michael T. Gilbert examines the very first art and stories by the great Steve Ditko.
“I Did But See Her Passing By…” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Part XI of the 1998 memoirs of Golden and Silver Age master scripter John Broome.
Comic Fandom Archive: Bart Bush, Then & Now—Part 2 . . . 69 Concluding our talk with the co-founder of OAF (The Oklahoma Alliance of Fans).
Tributes to Vince Argondezzi, Hames Ware & Fred Patten . 75 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 80 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #219 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 P.C. Hamerlinck presents Brian Cremins’ look at Ditko in This Magazine Is Haunted.
On Our Cover: For several years in the mid-1960s and perhaps even after, a Photostat of this Spider-Man drawing, especially prepared by Steve Ditko (with editor Stan Lee’s name also appended), was mailed out to readers who contacted Marvel Comics asking for a pin-up—or perhaps a lock of Stan’s hair or a frame from Steve’s eyeglasses. Though Ye Editor has retained his own copy all these years, this issue’s actual cover was scanned for us by Nick Caputo—for which thanks! This primo piece of art may well have appeared in color before somewhere—maybe even in Amazing Spider-Man, we forget—but it was colored especially for this issue by Glenn Whitmore. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] Above: The art of the oft-wonderful Steve Ditko first drew the notice of 19-year-old Roy Thomas with the debut of “Captain Atom” in Charlton’s Space Adventures #33 (March 1960), 2½ years before Amazing Fantasy #15, in stories written by co-creator Joe Gill. This splash panel and the origin story depicted Cap mostly in shades of blue—though on the cover his outfit was red and yellow, which would supersede the former hues in early future issues. Years later, after a costume change, the hero was purchased by DC and has been around ever since. Reproduced from DC’s 2004 hardcover The Action Heroes Archives, Vol. 1. [TM & © DC Comics.] Alter Ego TM is published 6 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. Six-issue subscriptions: $67 US, $101 Elsewhere, $30 Digital Only. 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 China. ISSN: 1932-6890. FIRST PRINTING.
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STEVE DITKO: A Life In Comics
A Brief Bird’s-Eye View Of A Remarkable Artist by Nick Caputo
S
teve Ditko was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on November 2nd, 1927, where he spent his childhood and teenage years. After high school he joined the post-World War II Army, and upon his return to civilian life became a student at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City. There he was taught by comicbook artist Jerry Robinson, one of the early (and renowned) contributors on “Batman.” Ditko was greatly influenced by Robinson, along with many other comicbook and strip artists, including Mort Meskin.
story was “Paper Romance” in Daring Love #1, cover-dated Sept.Oct. 1953, for Stanmor. Other 1953-executed stories include the even earlier “Hair Yee-eeee” (signed “SS,” likely a collaboration with fellow student Sy Moskowitz) in Strange Fantasy #9 (Dec. 1953; Farrell) and at the Simon & Kirby studio, assisting on Captain 3-D # 1 (Harvey) and the unpublished second issue (primarily as background inker) and as full artist on “A Hole in the Head,” a 6-page thriller in Black Magic, Vol. 4, #3, for the Prize group.
Ditko’s entry into the comicbook field began with a number of small publishers. While his first sale, scripted by Bruce Hamilton (“Stretching Things”) for Ajax-Farrell, appeared in Fantastic Fears #5 (Jan. 1954), his first full-art published
Steve Ditko in one of the most-reproduced of the relatively few photos of him known to exist—flanked by the splash page of the most famous story he ever drew, the origin of “Spider-Man” from Amazing Fantasy #15 (Sept. 1962), scripted by Stan Lee—and a splash featuring his most personal creation, “Mr. A,” from witzend #3 (1966). Thanks to Bob Bailey and Jim Kealy, respectively, for the two art scans. [Amazing Fantasy page TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; “Mr. A” page TM & © Estate of Steve Ditko.]
In addition to more Black Magic stories and Ditko’s first Western for Timor [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: See p. 33], 1954 launched a long and creatively rewarding association with Charlton Press. In his first year with the company, Ditko
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A Brief Bird’s-Eye View Of A Remarkable Artist
In the late 1950s, Ditko shared studio space in Manhattan with a fellow artist he befriended at the Cartoonist and Illustrators school: Eric Stanton, recognized for drawing erotic/ fetish art in small press publications. According to Stanton, both men assisted each other from time to time. Ditko ghosted for Stanton (as “stantoons”), possibly over layouts; his distinctive inking/ lettering is evident on strips such as “Sweeter Gwen.” Stanton and Ditko remained studio mates for close to a decade and friends for the rest of their lives.
Daring Fears! (Above left:) The splash page of the first Ditko-drawn story ever published—from Stanmor’s Daring Love #1 (Sept.-Oct.1953). (Above right:) This story for Ajax/Farrell’s horror comic Fantastic Fears #5 (Jan. 1954) was reportedly drawn before the Stanmor story, but appeared in print shortly after it. Thanks to Nick Caputo. In fact, all art scans accompanying this look at Ditko’s career were supplied by Nick, unless otherwise noted. [© the respective copyright holders.]
produced over 150 pages of art, drawing crime, science-fiction, and horror stories. For a beginning artist, Ditko’s work displayed a sense of confidence that pointed to a great talent in the making. His understanding of mood, pacing, characterization, and panel-topanel storytelling was already well above average and would grow considerably in the years to come. Only one Ditko-drawn story appeared in 1955, “Flymouth Car Show” in Charlton’s humor title From Here to Insanity #10 (June). 1956, though, was a watershed time, the start of a nearly 10-year association with editor Stan Lee and Timely/Atlas (later Marvel) comics. There he produced 4-page thrillers for Astonishing, Journey into Mystery, Marvel Tales, Spellbound, World of Mystery, World of Suspense, and Strange Tales of the Unusual, some scripted by veteran Carl Wessler. While “The Badmen” (2-Gun Western #4, May) was one of countless Western genre tales, its importance in comics history is assured due to its being the first story with a “Stan Lee and S. Ditko” byline.
That Old Black Magic An early Ditko monster, from the Simon-&-Kirby-produced Prize comic Black Magic #27 (a.k.a. Vol. 4, #3; Nov.-Dec. 1953)—except that Nick Caputo’s analysis, reflected in the online Grand Comics Database, says that Jack Kirby redrew all the monster figures in the story “A Hole in the Head” except the one in the third panel on this particular page. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright notice.]
Steve Ditko: A Life In Comics
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Strange Tales #142 (March 1966) was Lee’s last dialogue job over Ditko’s “Doctor Strange.” Roy Thomas stepped into that role for #143-144, followed by Denny O’Neil in ST #145-146. And then, suddenly, it was all over. In November 1965, Ditko gave notice to Sol Brodsky that he would be finishing his last stories for Marvel. The artist had been accepting freelance assignments even before he resigned. At the same time Amazing Spider-Man # 31 was on newsstands, fans could purchase a revived Captain Atom (#79, Dec. 1965, announced in fanzines such as The Comic Reader) with Ditko returning to pencil the strip. His art also appeared in a new mystery title for Charlton, Ghostly Tales, inked by the talented Rocco Mastroserio. Always a prolific artist, Ditko expanded his workload considerably in 1966, including masterful wash-tone and other drawing techniques for Warren’s black-&-white horror magazines (Creepy and Eerie); “NoMan,” “Dynamo,” and “Menthor” stories for Wally Wood at Tower; and “ghosting” stories inked by Sal Trapani, who often farmed out jobs assigned to him to others to pencil, usually anonymously (as in the case of their two stories in Strange Adventures #188-189 for DC). The Ditko-Trapani team also appeared in Adventures into the Unknown, Forbidden Worlds, and Unknown
On The Eerie Canal A Ditko sword-and-sorcery page from Warren Publishing’s Eerie #10 (July 1967). Script by editor Archie Goodwin. [TM & © New Comic Company, LLC.]
Worlds for the American Comic Group and Get Smart, Hogan’s Heroes, and Nukla for Dell. Ditko continued to freelance for Charlton, Warren, and Tower in 1967. In the previous year, “The Blue Beetle,” a character who had been making the rounds since 1939, was overhauled by Ditko, appearing as a back-up feature in Captain Atom (beginning in #83). Blue Beetle was awarded his own magazine in ’67; it ran for five issues (#6 was advertised but did not see publication until a decade later). Ditko plotted and drew the strip, although the actual finished dialogue was revised by Gary Friedrich and Dave Glanzman. Ditko wove a tale of intrigue, with the original character tying into the new version. Although it showed great promise, the title was soon canceled. In the 1980s Ditko had proposed a revival at DC (which had purchased the rights to Charlton’s heroes), following his earlier characters and concepts, but management turned the idea down.
Up’n Atom! The Ditko-penciled splash page of Charlton’s Captain Atom #81 (July 1966), with inking by Rocco Mastroserio and script by Joe Gill. Ditko had actually returned to Captain Atom as of its first new full issue, #78 (Dec. ’65), some months before he split from Marvel Comics. [TM & © DC Comics.]
Blue Beetle #1 (June 1967) introduced a new back-up strip by Ditko: “The Question.” Dressed in a business suit and hat, his face a blank slate, Vic Sage was the first of Ditko’s new breed of heroes: non-super-powered crime-fighters with an extraordinary belief in justice. Inspired by the works of Aristotle and the philosophy of Ayn Rand, Ditko’s stories were mini-morality plays diametrically opposed to the anti-heroes that permeated popular culture. Mysterious Suspense # 1 (Oct. 1968) gave Ditko an opportunity to feature “The Question” in a full-length 25-page story.
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A Brief Bird’s-Eye View Of A Remarkable Artist
with a device implanted under his skin. The bizarrely outfitted, green-haired, acrobatic Creeper unnerved the criminal element with his mocking laughter. The 75th issue of Showcase introduced yet another Ditko-crafted series, with input from editorial director Carmine Infantino. The Hawk and The Dove focused on two teenage brothers with diametrically opposed views. Their father, a judge, was the balancing factor between pure force (Hawk) and unrelenting passivity (Dove). Ditko’s work on both series was cut short due to health issues. Beware The Creeper ran for seven issues, with the final story finished by Jack Sparling and Mike Peppe; he completed three “Hawk and Dove” stories before Gil Kane stepped in as a replacement. Ditko freelanced almost exclusively for Charlton from 1969-1974. There he drew many overlooked gems for their mystery line, including Ghostly Tales, The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves, Ghost Manor, Haunted, and Ghostly Haunts, experimenting with pen and ink, storytelling, and layouts with uninhibited abandon. Most stories were scripted by Joe Gill, whose work Ditko admired. In addition, the artist dabbled in war, Western, jungle, and romance stories. (For a more detailed account, read my blog posts on Ditko at Charlton: https://nick-caputo.blogspot.com/). Ditko created one new costumed hero at Charlton during this period, the silent “Killjoy,” who appeared in the back of E-Man #2 (Dec. 1973). Ditko later purchased the rights to “Killjoy” from Charlton. In that six-year period, Ditko devoted attention to his most
Beetle Juice! Ditko’s Blue Beetle goes into action in the backup feature in Charlton’s Captain Atom #83 (Nov. 1966). The story was plotted by Ditko and scripted by Gary Friedrich. [TM & © DC Comics.]
That same year Ditko expanded on the Question concept, this time unhampered by Comics Code restrictions. When friend and fellow artist Wally Wood offered Ditko an opportunity to produce material on his own terms (and to retain ownership of the work) in his small-press publication, witzend, Ditko rose to the occasion, creating “Mr. A,” introduced in the 3rd issue. Like The Question, Mr. A was a crusading reporter who wore a metal mask and carried a black-&-white calling card. Mr. A was never published in a mainstream comicbook; instead, Ditko’s hero was featured in fanzines and independent publications—and only in black-&white—a very deliberate choice to emphasize Mr. A’s worldview. Ditko’s moral avenger appeared sporadically for the next 50 years, most recently in stories co-published by Robin Snyder via Kickstarter. Ditko’s first professional sale to DC didn’t occur until 1968 (as noted earlier, Sal Trapani was assigned the two earlier Strange Adventures stories ghosted by Ditko), more than 15 years after he began in the profession. In personal correspondence with this author (dated Nov. 19, 2017), Ditko stated that Stan Lee and Al Fago effectively used him “versus DC comics editors who rejected me until Carmine Infantino took over.” Working for editor Murray Boltinoff, Ditko created “The Creeper,” introduced in Showcase #73 (April 1968) and graduating immediately to his own title. Another uniquely designed character, Jack Ryder gained powers
I’ve Got A “Question”… “The Question” debuted as a backup series in Charlton’s Blue Beetle #1 (June 1967). Ditko did full writing and art on this one. [TM & © DC Comics.]
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STEVE DITKO
Interview–1968 Conducted by Mike & Rich Howell and Mark Canterbury
A/E
EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview, which was conducted by mail, first appeared in the fanzine Marvel Main #4 (Oct.-Nov. 1968). It has been reprinted with the permission of Mike & Rich Howell. At our request, Mike wrote the new introduction below, which immediately precedes the interview. Alas, Mark Canterbury, who asked a few questions of his own, passed on several years ago. The interview was retyped for Alter Ego by Eric Nolen-Weathington.
Steve Ditko & Richard Howell The former, on left, in the mid-1960s—and the latter, on right, in a more recent photo (though, alas, we have none of his brother Michael or of Mark Canterbury). Above them is Rich’s cover for Marvel Main #4. [Heroes TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
Part I - Introduction
How Steve Ditko Talked To Marvel Main by Mike Howell, founding editor of Marvel Main
T
he summer of 1968 was one of the most historic in American culture. Along with assassinations, demonstrations, and presidential elections, another, quieter, bit of upheaval was taking place: Steve Ditko was bringing out new characters and often-polarizing stories. News of this tectonic change in the national comics industry was spread by the Blue Blazer Irregulars who made up the nascent comic fan community through their network of choice: the fanzine. Through a combination of idle determination, sincere respect for Ditko’s work, and an elevated sense of mission, I directed my self-published mimeographed fanzine, Marvel Main, toward trying
to get a “big name” interview. And we got a beauty, from Steve Ditko. How difficult was that? you might wonder. Well, if you were a sheltered, suburban 14-year-old it was really quite a challenge. To start, I had no idea where (although New York City was a starting guess) or how to locate Ditko. My trips to the big city of Boston helped me learn the subway system and become familiar with Filene’s Basement and its automatic markdown policy that was catnip to my mother. When my brother Richard and I accompanied her there, we almost always were rewarded with a Tintin book, so braving the crowds had its perks, but that didn’t get us any closer to Steve Ditko. A bit of background. Our core fan group was very tightly held: myself, my brother Richard, and our next-door neighbor, Mark Canterbury. We shared a delight in comics and absurdist humor and quirky corners of what would grow into America’s pop culture. The fact that we all sucked at sports and that dating, etc., seemed decades away helped with our hermetic association. Our impulse to keep ourselves amused led each of us to found a self-published
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From Marvel Main #4
magazine-in-search-of-an-audience. I guided Marvel Main, Mark captained Heckzapoppin’, and Richard, prolific as always, handled multiple projects. In time, we found kindred spirits in two somewhat local guys—Martin Greim and Bob Cosgrove—who were older than we were and who helped us to learn more of the ways of comics and self-publishing. Other than that, we were busy trying to see who could come up with the coin to subscribe to RBCC. Alter Ego was a bridge too far. People today tend to define Western Civilization as “before the Internet and the world as we know it.” While that is certainly true (if nothing else, having the Internet in 1968 would have greatly saved on paper, printing, and mailing costs), our largest technology disadvantage was simple: long-distance calls. In those days, your (parents’) phone service gave you free calls to your town and the ones contiguous to it. Great if you needed to call Lynn or Revere; not much help in blind-calling New York City. (Did I mention that those calls cost more the further away you dialed? Atavistic concept, I know. Not easy to explain when Dad gets the phone bill.) The Canterbury household was run considerably more loosely than the Howell one (to be fair, so was the Prussian Army). Teamwork Uber Alles, we proclaimed, and laid siege to Mark’s extension phone. Here’s where things get a tad hazy. In my idealized memory, I figured out two very important facts: Ditko is an unusual name, and it didn’t cost anything to call Directory Assistance. Armed with that knowledge, we came up with a 212 number in fairly short order. Now came the tricky parts. Call the number and the meter starts running as soon as you hear “Hello.” OK, that meant calls must be made from Mark’s enclave. Second, once we’d ascertained that we had reached THE Steve Ditko, what the hell do we say to him? We went for it. Several times we’d ring the number but it went unanswered. Was it out-of-date? Out-ofservice? Had Ditko left New York City ? the comics industry? It was a cool idea, but….
“Yes, this is Steve Ditko.” Our plan was to interview him over the phone, but Ditko wasn’t having it. Very politely, he said he would answer our questions in writing if we submitted them to him in writing as well. Absolutely, Mr. Ditko, and thankyouthankyouthankyou. We immediately convened our (hare-)brain trust, debated how far to press him on his Marvel past, and whether it was worth Ayn Rand questions. Rather quickly, we came up with a way too long list of questions, typed them up and sent them off. Reading the published interview now, it appears that each of us took turns asking a burst of questions, then ceding the floor to the next in line. The interview was submitted as written questions without any designation of who was asking what. Ditko could answer (or skip) any question in any order it pleased him. My best guess is that we added the “question credits” as a way to share the accomplishment of interviewing Ditko among us. Middle school kids don’t get many brushes with fame, however that’s defined. After what seemed like forever, a large envelope was delivered from NYC. (Did we have the savvy to have supplied a postage-paid envelope to our honored Cover Subject? Since SSAE was common in those circles, I’d like to think we did.) Inside, page after page of Ditko’s thoughts on lined paper. Our subscribers would be elated! Our reputation would grow! We’d finally step forward to create the type of observation, reporting, and insightful opinions to make Marvel Main the Time magazine of the comicbook world! Well, not quite. It’s true that Marvel Main #4 sold more than any (or perhaps all) previous issues, but that was still short of our press run of 25. More significantly, all three of us were headed off to new— and significantly more demanding—schools. Cars and girls were starting to
Comics’ Main Man Rich’s 1968 art bookended a two-page spread that began the interview. By the 1980s, Rich became an artist for DC and Marvel, working on such features as All-Star Squadron, Hawkman, The Vision and the Scarlet Witch, et al. [Heroes TM & © respectively Marvel Characters, Inc., DC Comics, & Estate of Steve Ditko.]
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“A Very Mysterious Character” An Essay On STEVE DITKO by Barry Pearl Barry Pearl seen some years back, when his older brother Norman was teaching him to read. Thanks to BP.
O
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” —Atticus Finch, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
ne day a man will ring your doorbell and offer you CELEBRITY! He will offer you fame and fortune and recognition. He will fight your battles for you and gear up the troops to go after your perceived enemies.
And all you have to do is give him everything you have… your privacy, your intimate moments, your private thoughts, your old artwork, your new artwork, and details from events fifty years old. You’ll be expected to show up at conventions and sit and autograph comics that someone will sell tomorrow on eBay and sit in on panel after panel examining your work from fifty years ago and dismissing what you are working on now. There are those who accept the offer, love the money and attention, but then complain about the lack of privacy and the wave of criticism. Those who don’t take it are called eccentric, outsiders, has-beens, and hard to work with. With their subject out of the limelight, people can write newspaper articles and books saying outrageous things that bring publicity onto themselves, knowing
their subject will not bother to respond. They will tell you that they tried to get Ditko to cooperate with them, but it is never unconditional. They want something from him: his opinions, his personality, and most of all his approval. They will have people who never meet him write about him, make claims about him, and, by keeping him out of it, they seem to validate their own absurd remarks. This is not journalism; in fact, it is not even common sense. Some people’s work speaks for itself. In the world of serious comicbooks, no one’s work speaks more for itself than Steve Ditko’s.
Steve Ditko Here’s a rare photo of the artist in 1963 with his nephews Mark (on the left) and his older brother Steve—yep, another Steve Ditko! With thanks to Mark Ditko, via John Cimino. This pic came in just before we went to press.
The Marvel Age of Comics was built on Jack Kirby’s creativity, Steve Ditko’s ingenuity, and Stan Lee’s continuity. Jack Kirby gave wonder to the Marvel Universe. Steve Ditko gave it awe. Kirby externalized the quest for knowledge, Ditko internalized it. On a journey to the Infinite, Kirby took us to the outer reaches of the universe. On a journey to find Eternity, Ditko took us into the minds of the Ancient One and Doctor Strange. In Doctor Strange’s first adventure in Strange Tales #110, Ditko introduces us to Nightmare, a villain that personifies an anxiety that we all share. Ditko places us in another dimension, one that exists in all of us, where the laws of physics are not relevant or even observed. Soon, this will be developed into the intangible home of Dormammu and all that follow. The Hulk is a great example of Ditko recognizing what made a character work and what didn’t. When Kirby introduced him, his change was caused by external factors, dusk and dawn, and later a machine. Ditko’s Hulk changed that to an internal issue, uncontrollable anger. This made the Hulk unique among
He Rode A Blazing Western! The Rawhide Kid (as re-conceived by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the early 1960s) and Peter Parker/Spider-Man may indeed have had similar origin stories as Barry suggests. But Steve Ditko never drew Rawhide Kid, so we’ll just toss you the splash page of a Ditko-illustrated “Utah Kid” story from Timor Publications’ Blazing Western #1 (Jan. 1954). Barry’s buddy Nick Caputo, who supplied it, says that the “Utah Kid” references are “crudely lettered” (like, the “H” looks ready to fall off!)—and he does bear more than a passing resemblance to Timely/Atlas’ Ringo Kid—so could this have been an art sample that went astray and wound up at another company? We’ll doubtless never know. [© the respective copyright holders.]
Up Close & Personal With Steve Ditko!—Part 1
A Life Lived On His Own Terms
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Encounters With Spider-Man’s Co-Creator, 1962 to 2017 by Bernie Bubnis
Bernie Bubnis with a cosplay Spidey at the New York Comic Con in October 2017—and, because this article is partly the story of Bernie’s long “hunt” for essence of the elusive Steve Ditko, an image of the iconic cover of Amazing SpiderMan #34 (May 1966). Thanks to Bernie for the photo, which was taken by his wife Lucille, and to the Grand Comics Database for the cover scan; note his “Comicon 1964” button. [Cover TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
I
first met Steve Ditko in 1962. The last time I saw him was October 2017, and that is where this story begins.
The New York Comic Con at the Javits Center was a circus of people. I was flipping through some original artwork stacked on two tables. Every other second, someone bumped into me, and it was getting crowded. So crowded that it started to bother me. A guy in a Spider-Man costume offered to climb onto my shoulders so my wife could get a better photo. Just take the photo with him next to me, please. I was ready for lunch. My wife and I left Javits and headed to a restaurant on West 52nd St. that we remembered from years ago (please, please make it still be there). Victor’s Cuban Cafe was, and it brought
back memories of joining a conga line led by Roberto Duran (Victor’s boxer cousin) and dancing into the night. Honestly, remembering a good moment in your life is a magic pill, and that led me to start remembering a lot of good moments with artist and writer Steve Ditko. Wasn’t his studio just around the corner? I had corresponded with him over the years, but those letters were too few and far between. My last in-person meeting with him had been in August 1964. I was growing up, and life’s responsibilities took control of my time. Our correspondence became more consistent in 2014, the year the NYCC would host a panel called “Survivors of the 1964 Comicon.” I knew he would want to be there... hey, what do I know... I’m a dreamer. He didn’t, but his handwritten letters would make me wait patiently for the next envelope from him to arrive in my mailbox (please, please make him answer his phone).
Boxed In Bernie and Lucille Bubnis at Victor’s Cuban Cafe that 2017 day—and a portrait of boxer Roberto Duran that hung there. Bernie recalls joining the fighter there in a conga line years earlier. Thanks to the Bubnises for both photos. We’re informed by Bernie that Roberto Duran “is still an icon to a lot of people. This portrait was in the bar area of the restaurant, and they were redoing the floors. When I showed interest in taking the photo, two workers built a shaky platform and then stood on it to take this photo for me. That is true love.”
His hearing is bad and he admits it. Mine is bad and I don’t admit it. My wife took the phone and let him know we would be coming by. His studio/ apartment was located at 1650 Broadway, and the entry was from West 51st Street. A guy at the front desk asked if we had an appointment and pointed us to the elevators. Before his floor, the doors opened and in steps someone I knew. “Steve, it’s me, Bernie!“ He looked confused, so my wife increased the volume, “IT’S BERNIE BUBNIS FROM THE 1964 COMICON!” He stared and said, “You look different.” I didn’t know if he was kidding, and I started laughing, “It’s been
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Up Close & Personal With Steve Ditko!—Part 1
didn’t know what to say. Like always, he was sitting at his drawing table. He saw me and said, “Did you bring any new fanzines?” He had never asked me that before. I would just put them on his desk, on top of whatever pile of paper was already there. I carried nothing. I started breathing again. At that very moment, I knew I was safe. I really believe that Steve Ditko always felt safe at his drawing board. He told me once, “I work until I’m finished.” It sure seemed that way. I know Stanton once asked him how late he worked the day before. Steve’s answer: “Way past your bedtime.” I’m glad he was there today. My planned speech was forgotten; I just told him my father died and announced that I was skipping the funeral. BANG! As easy as that... I thought. He dropped his pencil, our eyes locked, and I thought his stare would drill a hole right through my head. I backed up against the shelving on the wall and slid to the floor. He and I talked for over an hour... him telling me that I was doing the wrong thing. I should be with my family. Without family there is nothing. I told him some stories of my childhood and why I preferred to hide inside science-fiction novels and ten-cent comicbooks. He told me to be “stronger than the fears” around me, do not let the past control my future. At some point I stopped talking and just listened. He never raised his voice or picked up his drawing pencil. We just talked. It was a turning point for me, remembered moments that steered my life for years to come. I stood up, thanked him, and headed home to be with my mother. My regular visits to his studio would continue, and sometimes I would bring a guest. This day it was fellow fan Len Wein, long before he became a famous writer for comicbooks. This day he wanted Ditko’s autograph on a copy of Spider-Man. Oh my. Len buys a Spider-Man comic off the racks at Penn Station. I tell him that I don’t think Steve will sign a comicbook. Len opens the book to the first page and puts it on Ditko’s art board. Ditko does sign (in the lower border under the art), using his drawing pencil. Then... he erases it. He reminds both of us, “If you do it for one person, you have to do it for everyone. So I don’t sign for anyone.” Months later, he did reward Len with an original drawing
Along Came A Spider... The Spider-Man drawing Ditko did for an early Bubnis fanzine. We’ve printed it before, but what the hell. Thanks to Will Murray for sending this particular scan. [Spider-Man TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
of Dr. Strange, and it was signed. Len used it for the cover of his fanzine Aurora. If I had to guess, Ditko was tiring of fans visiting his studio.
“Survivors Of The First Comicon” Len Wein The late great comics writer and editor (seen at far right) and his onetime buddy Bernie Bubnis reunited for the panel to celebrate the 1964 con, on Oct. 12, 2014, at the NY Comic Con. Len’s next to early comics dealer Howard Rogofsky, while Bernie and Flo Steinberg talk near the podium. Thanks to Bernie B. for the photo.
We printed this pic from the 2014 reunion back in A/E #149, but the guys who joined forces to put on the first-ever comics convention deserve another bow. (Left to right, standing:) Rick Bierman, Bernie Bubnis, Ethan Roberts, Art Tripp, and non-attendee but major fanzine collector Aaron Caplan. Seated in the wheelchair because of an injury is Len Wein. Two of the guys are holding copies of Len’s vintage fanzine Aurora #2. Sadly, Len and Ethan have passed since this pic was taken. Photo courtesy of Bernie.
A Life Lived On His Own Terms
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From “A” To “E” (Above left:) The single page of Ditko’s “Mr. A” that appeared in witzend #7, at the end of an “Avenging World” installment. Thanks to Art Lortie for this and the following art spots. [TM & © Estate of Steve Ditko.] (Above right:) Page 1 (of 4) of editor/ publisher Bill Pearson’s parody of the strip done for witzend #7, titled “Mr. E.” Pearson later wrote, in a witzend collection, that he had “hated publishing that ‘Avenging World’ diatribe.... I really debated with myself about running ‘Mr. E,’ but just had to offset Ditko’s strong positions.” This is not, of course, the time or place to debate the decision of an editor to write and publish a parody of a contribution to a magazine originally devoted to allowing artists and writers to copyright, control, and showcase their own creations without the interference of the “big boy” editors and publishers. [TM & © Bill Pearson & Tim Brent; quote © Bill Pearson.] Of the “Mr. E” piece, Bernie writes: “It was a solid shot at Steve, and I wrote him about its appearance. I remember his reply to me being something like, ‘I have become a target.’ His words made me feel that ‘satire’ can feel like an ‘attack’ to the person being lampooned. I never forgot how sad he sounded in that letter, but we never discussed it again... until I reminded him of that issue of witzend in 2014. To my surprise, he needed little help in remembering it forty years later. I have attached his response. His ‘etc.’ (I think) refers to another person who helped with the [‘Mr. E’] strip. Either Steve threw nothing away, or his memory got better with age. He sure remembered that two people did the strip.... I always felt [the ‘Mr. E’ strip] was part of a turning point that pushed Steve further away from fandom. Not that he ever needed too much help.” Ditko’s 2014 letter, reprinted above (re-formatted into one paragraph), reads: “Bill Pearson’s editorial policy, competence wasn’t up to Woody’s. Pearson’s, etc. Mr. E was just publicly, humiliating confession that he couldn’t tolerate comic book fiction he did not like. He even violated Woody’s policy - Pearson asked me to contribute something, then rejected what I did: IN PRINCIPLE. —Steve”
Up Close & Personal With Steve Ditko!—Part 2
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Two Visits To STEVE DITKO’s Studio/Sanctum Sanctorum by Russ Maheras
I
wrote my first letter to Steve Ditko in early 1973, while I was still in high school. It was the typical letter a budding fan-artist might send a seasoned professional comics artist back then— full of effusive praise, capped with a request for some secret kernel of artistic knowledge that would magically transform overnight a fan’s crude artistic efforts into professional-level artwork. Ditko did his best to answer, giving what was, in retrospect, a solid list of advice.
Russ Maheras circa 1973, around the time he first met Steve Ditko— juxtaposed with an anonymous but skillfully done homage composed of samples of Ditko’s 1960s super-hero work, which appeared online shortly after the artist’s passing: Charlton’s Captain Atom and Blue Beetle—Marvel’s Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, and Nightmare—and DC’s Creeper. Thanks to Russ for the photo, and to Michael T. Gilbert for sending the homage. [Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, & The Creeper TM & © DC Comics; Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, and Nightmare TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
Two years later, I wrote him again, and this time I asked if I could stop by his studio for a visit when I was in New York City later that year. He politely declined, and I pushed that idea into the dustbin of history—not realizing that 28 years later my request would become a reality. More than two decades passed before I wrote Ditko again, in 1997. In the interim, I joined the Air Force, learned to be an aircraft avionics technician, got married, had kids, opted to be a career Airman, traveled and lived abroad for nearly a decade, earned a bachelor’s degree, retrained into public affairs during the early 1990s military drawdown, kept drawing, and kept publishing my fanzine, Maelstrom. In fact, my third letter to Ditko was a request for what I knew was an extreme longshot: an interview for an upcoming issue of my zine. Again, he politely declined. I wrote a few more letters during the next two years about nothing in particular—including a couple while I was stationed in the Republic of Korea in 1998. In one of them, I included some terrifically supple Korean-made brushes that were ridiculously cheap, but feathered ink like a Winsor & Newton brush costing 30 times as much.
In 1999, I retired from the Air Force, published Maelstrom #7, and dutifully sent Ditko a copy. Our correspondence continued off and on until 2002, when I started preparing a Steve Ditko article for Maelstrom #8—along with a cover I drew that featured many of his more notable characters. When the issue was published, I sent him
a copy, and something about it must have struck a chord, as he sent me several letters of comment. Suddenly, our correspondence was a regular back-and-forth, and as my letters got longer, so did his. Some of his letters were 10, 12, or even 16 pages long. So when I found out I had a business trip to New York City in mid-August 2003, I figured it couldn’t hurt to call ahead of time and ask if it I could stop by his studio on the 11th. To my surprise, he said yes. What follows are the notes I made in my hotel room immediately following visit #1, followed by notes I made after my second studio visit on Feb. 11, 2005.
Visit #1 At about 2:50 p.m., Aug. 11, I knocked on Steve Ditko’s studio door. He opened it and said without introduction, “Hello, Russ,” and reached out and shook my hand. I went inside and gratefully thanked him for seeing me. I asked him where I could set down my laptop carry case and he pointed to a spot; then I asked him if he minded if I took off my suit coat, and he said, “Here, let me take that from you,” and he took my coat and hung it up on his coat rack.
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Up Close & Personal With Steve Ditko!—Part 2
Letter Rip The envelope (with the “S. Ditko” return address) and letter that Russ M. received from the artist dated March 11, 1973. The missive reads in full: Dear Russ, All the work I did in the 50’s, 60 etc are filed away – too much trouble to check. No, I’m not interested in autographing old or new issues. You don’t have to use any pen – used what you believe does the job you want – that produces the effect you want. There are art books on pen & ink techniques. You can experiment with them and the various penpoints or stay with the brush. You’ll have to decide what works best for you. “ADVISE”!? Okay, Drawiang, inking begins with the mind. You have to think about what you are doing – How “ “
“ it
Why “ “
“ it
What is the best way of doing it “ are your weak points “ “
“ strong “
How to correct the weak points What this line is for “ that black is meant to convey etc, etc, etc. If you do something that looks good, right – know why. “ “ “ “ “ “ wrong, work on it till you understand what is wrong & what is the right way. You can’t just start with the “best” – you start with the one that will hire you. Regards, Steve
He works out of a small office on the seventh floor of an old 12-story office building, and has been there about six years. The long, narrow office consists of two rooms. The one closest to the single door leading to the office is like a small hallway, and contains a wardrobe and coat rack. This short hallway leads to the rest of the office, which measures about eight feet wide by 20 feet long. At the end of the room is a large window overlooking 51st Street. On both sides of the main room are low bookshelves neatly filled with books, magazines, and boxes filled with paper and other items. There are many books about philosophy of all kinds. Above the shelves, neatly taped on the walls, are various art proofs, philosophical charts, magazine excerpts and other material. Proofs include the covers for Avenging World, The Mocker, Static, and various Ditko Packages. No original art is evident. Also taped on the wall are the addresses for people he regularly corresponds with, such as Robin Snyder. He apparently is a regular reader of The New York Post, as there is a small stack of them piled on a bookshelf. He has two drawing/work areas in a squared off work space next to the window. One, which, because of the way the light enters through the window, looks like his main workspace, is along the
east wall. The shelves above this workspace are filled with many small boxes and containers full of his art supplies. There are a wide variety of multi-color markers, pens, and other supplies. The second flanks him to the right, and extends from the west wall to the east, leaving a three-foot space with which to enter the workspace from the main part of the room. He also has a wheeled office chair with several layers of home-made padding material on it. The office door is just across the hall from the elevators, and looks like the rest of the doors in the hall, except that his studio door has “S. Ditko” painted on it. Steve is a fairly thin, gray-haired older man. His thinning hair is combed back, and he wears narrow-frame glasses. That day, he was wearing a short-sleeved soft-plaid shirt (with pocket) that buttoned up in front, a white T-shirt, and slacks. He stands nearly erect, and appears in excellent health. He’s alert, moves deliberately, and has no signs of any age-related issues. His hearing is fine, and his mind seems very quick and very sharp. He is a friendly, articulate and affable man, who, while he may have strong opinions (as do I), is still easy to talk to. He listened carefully to what I said, and if he agreed, nodded or affirmed his agreement. If he disagreed, he would say so and explain why. We stood and talked until 5 p.m. At one point, about a half hour into our talk, I asked if he would like to sit down. He quickly said, “No, I sit too much.”
A Package Deal By the time Russ Maheras finally met Ditko in 2003, the fabled artist’s major output was the “Package” publications he produced in conjunction with his friend and publishing partner Robin Snyder, such as 2000’s Steve Ditko’s 176 Page Package, which featured “Mr. A” and “Kill-Joy.” [TM & © Estate of Steve Ditko.]
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(Above:) Ditko’s “Stretching Things” from Farrell’s Fantastic Fears #5 (Jan. 1954), recolored by Bernie Mireault in 1991. This story, scripted by Bruce Hamilton, was one of Ditko’s first! [© Farrell Publications.]
(Above:) Gilbert’s “Revenge Of The Boneless Man,” drawn in 1991 for Hamilton’s Grave Tales and published in 2005 in Atomeka’s Mr. Monster: Who Watches The Garbagemen? Color by Bernie Mireault. [© Michael T. Gilbert.]
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Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!
First Love… by Michael T. Gilbert
Hooked on Ditko! 1959 was the year Grandma Nurock gave me a beat-up copy of Marvel’s Tales to Astonish #1. Jack Kirby’s lead story featured a mutated turtle, roughly half a zillion feet tall. Wow! Tales illustrated by Jack Davis and Carl Burgos followed. But the story that really hooked me was “I Know the Secret of the Poltergeist!”— illustrated by you-know-who!
Steve Didn’t Put All His “X” In One Basket! (Above:) “The Thing from Planet X” from Tales of Suspense #3 (May 1959). Scripter unknown. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
I was seven years old. And so began my sixty-year love affair with Steve Ditko. Ditko’s art was direct and powerful, the storytelling wildly inventive and compelling. Moody black areas gave the stories solidity. Ditko’s characters were warm and ethnic-looking—a stark contrast to the cool, WASPy heroes drawn by DC mainstays like Carmine Infantino and Mike Sekowsky.
“I’ve Got A Secret!” (Above:) Ditko’s splash and final panel for “I Know the Secret of the Poltergeist!” from Tales to Astonish #1 (Jan 1959). Scripter unknown. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
By contrast, the hero of Ditko’s “Poltergeist!” tale looked like a Polish peasant. In this story an investigator devoted to debunking the supernatural comes to a young couple’s house—a house apparently haunted by mischievous spooks called Poltergeists.
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“I Did But See Her Passing By…”
Part XI Of JOHN BROOME’s Memoir My Life In Little Pieces
“I Love Paris…” (Above:) We know we just printed the entirety of this photo back in A/E #149, when this serialization of John Broome’s memoir began, but it’s one of only two we have of Peggy from a 1946 picnic in Gaylordsville, Connecticut—either on July 6 (according to Julie) or on Sept. 28, as per John’s daughter Ricky Terry Brisacque. (L. to r.:) John’s friend, DC editor, and sometime pulp agent Julius Schwartz, Peggy & John Broome. Whatever the precise date, it was clearly warm enough for the guys to wear T-shirts! From the Julius Schwartz Collection. (Right:) It’s not exactly one of the “departments [= provinces] of France” that Peggy used to count instead than sheep when trying to fall asleep… but this “underground canal” beneath the streets of Paris, with its night club full of so-called Apache dancers, will have to suffice. This page, like others reprinted in recent issues, is from the Flash chapter of the “Justice Society of America” adventure “The Mystery of the Vanishing Detectives” in All-Star Comics #57 (Feb.-March 1951). Script by John Broome; art by Arthur Peddy & Bernard Sachs. Thanks to Jim Kealy for the scan, and to Brian K. Morris for retyping the manuscript for A/E. [TM & © DC Comics.]
A/E
EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: As I’ve stated before, the 1998 “Offbeat Autobio” of the esteemed and influential Golden and Silver Age comics writer Irving Bernard (“John”) Broome is really not an autobiography, nor does it contain any direct references to comicbooks—though his comicsscribing friend David V. Reed (a.k.a. Dave Vern) is mentioned on occasion therein, including in this installment. Still, when Broome’s daughter Ricky Terry Brisacque granted us the opportunity to serialize that brief book in Alter Ego, we jumped at the chance, because we feel it’s always good for people interested in comics history to read a creator’s life story—or even just a part of it. Would that we had similar reminiscences by the likes of Jerry Siegel, Bill Finger, et al.! The subjects this time seem to be love, sex, and everything in between…
Life, Love, and Mousseaux Some nights when I can’t sleep (not so often as is the case with Mrs. B., she who to encourage somnolence habitually fills her long white hours—ses nuits blanches—with an inward recital of all the departments of France arranged according to their official numerical designations from 1 to 95—she used to work in a car rental agency in Paris; the nine planets going away from the sun; all the capitals of all the United States, and as back-up material, all the U.S. presidents, too, properly numbered and with full first names de rigueur of course), I—completely unequal, be it said, to any such redoubtable mnemonic exercises—find myself instead dwelling helplessly, and wakefully, on certain remarks made to me in life’s course, little biting barbs usually, but potent enough to have got almost permanently stuck in my craw in one instance for a full forty years … l am standing in my skis on a snowy rise in the lovely and
not too precipitous Laurentians near Montreal with a fellow skier I’ll call Justin Brady. Justin is a new acquaintance, a solidlybuilt, respectable citizen about ten years older than I and a better skier, too. We have become sort of comradely during the week of ski-training afforded by our hotel and leading up to competition on the last day to decide our rewards, a gold, silver, or bronze ski-pin (he will get a gold and I a silver, which, however, is maybe a mistake, for the following year I will be demoted to a mere bronze). Anyway, as we are standing there before continuing down the slope, a real sweetheart of a gal appropriately turned out skims gracefully by, and, instantly rapt, I follow the enchanting vision compact of bright colors and alluring curves as it weaves and wriggles its heart-caressing way down the hill, perhaps therefore paying insufficient attention to what my companion is saying,
BART BUSH, Then And Now – Part 2 Comic Fandom Archive
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Continuing Our Talk With The Co-Founder of OAF (The Oklahoma Alliance Of Fans) Interview by Bill Schlley
I
Introduction
BILL SCHELLY: How was Oklahoma’s Multicon born?
can think of few fans who have done as much in fandom as Bart Bush: a fan and collector with wide-ranging interests, a fanzine publisher, a comicon organizer, and a comic retail store owner.
My interview with Bart last issue covered his youth, his early collecting years, his entrance into comic fandom, and the formation of OAF. We then discussed the OAF fanzine from its launch in 1967, and its evolution from a newsletter to a more elaborate fanzine under Bart’s editorship, beginning with OAF #15 (June 1968). We ended the discussion with Bart’s entry into college in the fall of 1970, when he was forced to shed those editorial duties.
BART BUSH: Dallas held the first Southwesterncon in 1966, Houston held the second one in 1967, and then it went back to Dallas in 1968. The idea is that they would each do the con every other year. Houston held the Southwesterncon in 1969. But then Dallas announced that it was bidding to host the 1973 World Science Fiction Convention, so it didn’t want to do the Southwesterncon in 1970. That’s when OAF stepped forward to do the 1970 con. Dallas put their support behind us, as did Houston, who didn’t want to do the con in two successive years. BILL: What were the specific challenges OAF had in putting on cons that, say, New York cons or San Diego cons didn’t have?
But it turned out that the Oklahoma Alliance of Fandom had bigger fish to fry than an informative fanzine; its members became the nucleus of a committee that would mount not one, but four major conventions in Oklahoma in the 1970s and 1980s. Therefore, although we would get to a discussion of OAF activities in recent times, we first needed to talk about the phenomena known as Multicons. This interview, at Bart’s request, was conducted via e-mail in the waning days of 2018 and the first weeks of 2019. All photographs are courtesy of Bart Bush. —Bill Schelly.
BART: The biggest challenge was hoping fans would come to the Midwest for a show. None of us had done anything like this. Most of us were teenagers and were inexperienced in business matters. But we had seen how the previous cons had gone, and with their help and support we figured we could pull this off. Don Maris and Robert A. Brown were the chairmen for 1970. Eric Groves and Don Maris chaired Multicon 1972, Don and Robert in 1975, and then Robert and myself in 1981.
Bart Bush in 1971 (left) and today (right). In the early-to-mid ’70s he published four issues of the fanzine Comic Detective, largely as a tribute to the classic comic strip Dick Tracy, as well as other syndicated detectives such as Alfred Andriola’s Kerry Drake, seen here on the cover of CD #2 (Summer 1973). [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
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Continuing Our Talk With The Co-Founder Of OAF
acquire guests. Our goal of harmony with those groups of fans has always been maintained. BILL: How was Buster Crabbe as a guest? What did he do at the con?
Multicon 1970 & ’72 (Left to right:) Chairmen Don Maris, Robert A. Brown, Eric Groves, and Bart Bush. See main text for which years each of them served.
BILL: According to a post-con report, Multicon 1970, held June 18 through 21, drew some 511 people, over double the number that had shown up for the 1969 Southwestern Con. It also states that you sold 93 dealer tables. How did the con committee achieve this spectacular result? BART: Movies were a big part of conventions. The Southwesterncons had a tradition of showing great old films and serials to capacity-filled rooms. So we spent a lot of time lining up worthwhile films for the con. Neverwhere, Richard Corben’s first animated film, debuted at the con. Getting a great lineup of serials, B-features, and cartoons was a high priority and a good draw. In the days before cable TV and VCRs, comicons were one of the few places you could see rare films. Also, we were able to announce Buster Crabbe, Reed Crandall, Jim Harmon, and R.A. Lafferty as our guests, which was pretty impressive! Unfortunately, Reed Crandall didn’t make it. We advertised in RBCC with full-page ads, [in] ERB-dom, and other fanzines in 1969 and 1970. We created a lot of buzz with our lineup of guests, films, auctions, speakers, etc. Fans from coast to coast spread the word along, and it ended being bigger than we imagined. Naturally, our attendees included many from the Houston and Dallas fan areas, who we sometimes worked with to
BART: He was an incredible guest. When we invited him, he thought he was meeting a small group of fans. We picked him up at the airport, arrived at the con, and walked into the meeting room where 200 fans awaited his arrival. When he was announced at the door, everyone stood and applauded. He strolled down the aisle to the front, where he took off his sunglasses and was in tears as he savored this incredible reception. He spoke for an hour and told tales of adventures in Hollywood, and for the rest of the show, he was accessible, did photo shoots, and signed autographs. The next week he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson recalling the great time he just had in Oklahoma! After that, he was in big demand for shows and advertising. OAF jump-started his next career. BILL: Apart from publishing the OAF fanzine which carried news of the con’s progress and details leading up to the event, what aspects of the con were you responsible for? BART: I helped with the auctions, ran the projectors, the front desk, whatever was needed. BILL: Are there any other vivid memories of specific things that happened at the con that you recall? Anecdotes? BART: One guy showed up with a truckload of chicken boxes full of SF pulps from the 1920s and 1930s. Plus he had a stack of pulp interior original art. I recall Jerry Weist picked up a J. Allen St. John piece for $20. I got the two Buck Rogers Amazing pulp issues for a mere $5. He said he found them in a barn in Illinois, heard about our show, and drove down to Oklahoma City! Another guy came with a Detective #27 and wanted $200—and didn’t sell it. BILL: In the fall of 1970, you began your sophomore year in college. Where was that? BART: I started at Northern Oklahoma Junior College in 1969.
Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe (Left-To-Right) Ad for Multicon ’70 from RBCC #71— A 1970 newspaper photo of Larry “Buster” Crabbe signing autographs for a group of enthusiastic Multicon fans— —and a production frame from the first of the three Republic Flash Gordon movie serials in which Crabbe starred, beginning in 1936—only two years after Alex Raymond’s fabulous and influential newspaper comic strip had made its dazzling debut! [Flash Gordon TM & © King Features Syndicate, Inc.]
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One Life, Furnished In Early DITKO
An Imaginary Story Featuring Charlton Comics, Ibis The Invincible, Doctor Strange, & The Great Connecticut Flood Of 1955 by Brian Cremins for Harlan
T
hese are the facts as I know and understand them: The late Steve Ditko, legendary co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, never worked for Fawcett Publications.
He was a few months too late. By the time he began drawing covers and stories for This Magazine Is Haunted, a title introduced by the Fawcett comics line in 1951, Charlton Comics from Derby, Connecticut, had taken over the title. In 1954, Ditko drew five covers for the series, along with four stories. Then, by early 1955, This Magazine Is Haunted ceased publication. Sort of. It carried on as a comic called Danger and Adventure, which, as the Grand Comics Database points out, picked up where This Magazine Is Haunted left off with issue #22. On the cover of that issue of the series is none other than Fawcett’s Ibis the Invincible. Unlike the members of the Marvel Family—which Fawcett, as part of its settlement with National, had promised never to publish (or allow to be published) again—Ibis
still had some life left in him, even if the story Charlton published had first appeared in Whiz Comics #45 a decade earlier. (And, just for the record, This Magazine Is Haunted returned to the Charlton lineup in 1957-58 for five more issues, though sporting a butchered numbering system that can confuse the unwary reader—and Ditko contributed heavily to the revised series’ covers and interior artwork.) Those are the facts. But we’re all friends and comicbook fans here. We love our What Ifs? and our Imaginary Stories (many of which Otto Binder himself wrote for DC’s Superman comics after Fawcett’s settlement with that company). When I began working on this article, P.C. Hamerlinck urged me to explore one of these alternate histories: What if Charlton had hired Steve Ditko to draw “Ibis the Invincible” for Danger and Adventure? What if Ditko had gotten a head start on ideas he later introduced with Stan Lee at
Steve Ditko in his studio in the 1960s, flanked by his cover for This Magazine Is Haunted #21 (Nov. 1954), that comic’s final issue in its initial Charlton, pre-Comics Code incarnation—and the cover of Danger and Adventure #22 (Feb. ’55), which continued the TMIH numbering but cover-featured Ibis the Invincible, a sorcerer-hero, in an Alex Blum-penciled story reprinted from Fawcett’s Whiz Comics. Charlton had recently purchased many of Fawcett’s effects after the latter publisher left the comicbook business in 1953. Alas, this was far too early for Ditko get the opportunity to work his own particular brand of magic with the potent Ibistick! [Ibis the Invincible TM & © DC Comics; other cover TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
One Life, Furnished In Early Ditko
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ready” to publish. When Fawcett passed, Moldoff turned to publisher Bill Gaines at EC Comics. Eventually, the writer and artist found himself “back again [at] Fawcett, who finally,” he explained, “bought it after they saw the horror trend starting to grow” [59]. With a cover by Moldoff featuring the book’s eerie host Doctor Death, the first issue of This Magazine Is Haunted appeared with an October 1951 cover date. A year earlier, as Qiana Whitted points out in her groundbreaking new book on the “shock comics” of the early 1950s, Gaines and editor/writer Al Feldstein “experimented” with the genre “by placing their own original horror stories in two of EC’s crime comics,” which resulted in “a subsequent bump in sales” [Whitted 12–13]. The stories proved so successful, Whitted adds, that Gaines decided “to transform War against Crime and Crime Patrol into” what would become “The Vault of Horror and The Crypt of Terror (which later became Tales from the Crypt),” the company’s flagship horror titles [Whitted 13].
Sheldon Moldoff during the Golden Age of Comics—juxtaposed between covers for Fawcett’s Captain Midnight #37 (Feb. 1946) and the same company’s This Magazine Is Haunted #1 (Oct. 1951). He had brought the latter concept to Fawcett Publications. The first issue of Haunted was illustrated by Moldoff. Besides TMIH, the artist sold other horror titles to Fawcett. Even late in life, Moldoff claimed that EC publisher Bill Gaines lifted some of his horror-comics concepts after Moldoff had presented his ideas to him… and he had some paperwork (and published stories) to strengthen his claims. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
Marvel? What if his version of Ibis’ companion Princess Taia had looked just like Clea from Doctor Strange? Never happened, of course. Then again, we’re talking about magic and the supernatural here, right? We’ve got plenty of ghosts and tall tales in the Naugatuck River Valley, where Charlton was located. So why not daydream a little? But, before we try to answer these questions, let’s look at the history of This Magazine Is Haunted, first by turning to P.C. Hamerlinck’s interview with Sheldon Moldoff from FCA #178 [Alter Ego #119, pp. 57–60]. A few years after World War II, Shelly Moldoff had an idea for a new comicbook series. Back in New York, he tried to find work with DC, but found himself instead at Fawcett, where editor Will Lieberson offered him “plenty of ‘Captain Midnight’ stories, as well as a few for ‘Don Winslow of the Navy’” [qtd. in Hamerlinck 58]. Like other freelancers of the era, Moldoff shared with PCH his fond memories of Fawcett and its editors. The company, he recalled, “was less big business and more like one big happy family,” with great folks like “Ginny Provisiero, Roy Ald, Dick Kraus, Stanley Kauffman, Wendell Crowley,” all of whom were part of what Moldoff described as “a tight ship” with Lieberson as their tireless captain. Despite this strong working relationship with Fawcett and his friendship with Lieberson, however, Moldoff’s idea for a horror comic was something that the company’s editors “weren’t quite
For his part, Moldoff claimed in his FCA interview that Gaines’ company “ended up stealing some of my concepts after I had presented my ideas to them.” Nonetheless, as PCH notes in the FCA interview, Moldoff’s other horror titles for Fawcett, including Worlds of Fear and Strange Suspense Stories (1952–1953) “weren’t as gruesome as what EC and some other publishers were dishing up back then.” Moldoff agreed, noting that as Fawcett “test[ed] the waters with [these comics], Will Lieberson was always very careful not to go too far with anything” [58]. Like Gaines at EC, Lieberson and Fawcett could not afford to ignore the changing tastes of their readers who, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, shifted their affection from superheroes to crime, horror, and romance comics. As EC ushered in what Whitted and other scholars have described as “The Atomic Age of Comics” [13], Fawcett, with Beck, Binder, and Costanza’s mighty Captain Marvel still their most popular hero, struggled to remain relevant as the company IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW, defended itself in the copyright infringement battle with National/ CLICK THE LINK TO ORDER THIS DC. Coupled with about FORMAT! the alleged links ISSUEtheINSenate PRINThearings OR DIGITAL between comics and juvenile delinquency, Moldoff remarked that the lawsuit “was another fiasco!” [59]. In his opinion, not only did “Superman and Captain Marvel have a lot more differences than they do similarities,” but, as all good Captain Marvel Club members know, “‘Captain Marvel’ was by far the better strip of the two” [60]. Billy and the rest of the Marvel Family hung in there as best they could, but it appeared unlikely that the heady days of the 1940s, when Captain Marvel first captivated readers, would return anytime soon. The house ad that appears on the inner front cover of This Magazine Is Haunted #1, in both its horror and simplicity, sums up these sudden changes in the marketplace while offering a sense of the desperation Fawcett must have felt. Under a black-&-white banner that reads “Adventure for the Atomic Age!” is a mushroom ALTER EGO #160 cloud surrounded by the STEVE names ofSturdy Fawcett from REMEMBERING DITKO! Steve attitles Marvel,ranging DC, Warren, Charlton, elsewhere! A rare late-1960s Ditko Video and Whiz Comics and Bob Swift,and Boy Sportsman to Captain interview by RICHARD HOWELL—biographical notes by NICK Tom Mix. Each CAPUTO—tributes one, the ad reminds costsPAUL only 10 cents “on by MICHAEL us, T. GILBERT, LEVITZ, BERNIEthe BUBNIS, BARRY PEARL, THOMAS, et al. Plus the FCA, explosive newsstands across nation.” TheROY image suggests JOHN BROOME, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Spider-Man cover entertainment by packed DITKO! into these pages, but it also hints at the very real and frightening landscape of the magazine) early 1950s: (100-page FULL-COLOR $9.95 the splitting (Digital Edition) new $5.95 resources along with of the atom brought with it abundant the possibility ofhttp://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_55&products_id=1424 Doomsday itself. Meanwhile, soldiers and their