Alter Ego #165 Preview

Roy Thomas' Always-Timely Comics Fanzine

MARTIN GOODMAN PRESENTS

MARVEL COMICS (1939-1971)

Art © 2020 Drew Friedman

1

82658 00409

5

AND THAT MEANS YOU’RE GONNA SEE PLENTY OF: STAN LEE JACK KIRBY JOE SIMON BILL EVERETT CARL BURGOS LLOYD JACQUET SYD SHORES JOE MANEELY STEVE DITKO JOHN ROMITA DICK AYERS DON RICO ALEX SCHOMBURG MARIE SEVERIN WILL MURRAY ROY THOMAS & MANY MORE!

$9.95

In the USA

No. 165 September 2020

Vol. 3, No. 165 / Sept. 2020 Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editor Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor

P.C. Hamerlinck J.T. Go (Assoc. Editor)

Comic Crypt Editor

Don’t STEAL our Digital Editions!

Editorial Honor Roll

C’mon citizen, DO THE RIGHT THING! A Mom & Pop publisher like us needs every sale just to survive! DON’T DOWNLOAD OR READ ILLEGAL COPIES ONLINE!

Proofreaders

www.twomorrows.com

Cover Artist

& DON’T SHARE THEM WITH FRIENDS OR POST THEM ONLINE. Help us keep producing great publications like this one!

Michael T. Gilbert Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White Mike Friedrich, Bill Schelly Rob Smentek William J. Dowlding Drew Friedman

With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Pedro Angosto Ger Apeldoorn Bob Bailey John Benson John Brezina Ricky Terry Brisacque Frank Brunner Bernie Bubnis John Cimino Adam Cohen Maddy Cohen Comic Book Plus (website) Chet Cox Teresa R. Davidson Craig Delich Wendy Everett Justin Fairfax Shane Foley Drew Friedman Jeff Gelb Janet Gilbert Grand Comics Database (website) Gary Groth Heritage Auctions Sean Howe Maureen Jones Sharon Karibian

Buy affordable, legal downloads only at or through our Apple and Google Apps!

Jim Kealy Mark Lewis Jim Ludwig Nancy Maneely Marvel Database (website) Harry Matetsky Robert Menzies Brian K. Morris Ron Murphy Will Murray Michelle Nolan Peter Normanton Barry Pearl Chris Petry J.C. Preas Warren Reece David Saunders Cory Sedlmeier Tara Seymour Mark Storchheim Stripper’s Guide (website) Dann Thomas Jean Thomas Mike Tiefenbacher Mark Trost Michael Uslan James Van Hise Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Derek Wilson

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Bill Schelly & Martin Goodman

Contents

Writer/Editorial: In Remembrance Of Bill Schelly . . . . . . . . . 2 Marvel’s Founding Father—Martin Goodman . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Will Murray on Timely’s original publisher, plus addendum by Mike Tiefenbacher.

Comic Fandom Archive: Tributes To Bill Schelly . . . . . . . . . 37 Jeff Gelb introduces a celebration of the life and work of a dedicated comics historian.

From The Tomb Presents: Step Into My Parlor . . . . . . . . . . 49 Peter Normanton on the horror (and other) art of the unique Rudy Palais.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! The PAM Papers – Part 7 . . . . 55 Michael T. Gilbert presents more of artist Pete Morisi’s letters to Glen Johnson.

John Broome: Anna & The “King” Of Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Part XII of the Golden/Silver Age comics writer’s offbeat 1998 memoir.

re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 65 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #224 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 P.C. Hamerlinck’s conversation with Captain Marvel mega-collector Harry Matetsky.

On Our Cover: If you’re ever in a mood to view pictures of great comicbook creators that look even more like them than most of their photographs do, pick up a copy of Drew Friedman’s book Heroes of the Comics (2014), which is composed of portraits that manage to seem both like caricatures and photos at one and the same time. He followed it up with 2016’s More Heroes of the Comics. Amongst the many artists, writers, and editors portrayed in these two volumes is his rendition of founding Timely/ Marvel publisher Martin Goodman. Once we laid eyes on it, it was our first and only choice for the cover art for this Goodman-centered issue of Alter Ego, and we thank Drew for giving us permission to utilize it. [© Drew Friedman.]

Above: Goodman’s comics were often reprinted abroad, of course. This (probably Mexican) “revista” titled Aventuras reprinted one of Human Torch creator Carl Burgos’ greatest-ever covers, originally drawn for Young Men #25 (Feb. 1954), the second issue in the mid-decade revival; scan courtesy of Ron Murphy. We’re sorry the bottom-of-page illos of Captain America and the Sub-Mariner are partly trimmed, but we printed every inch we had, honest! [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] 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, $27 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.

5

Marvel’s Founding Father – MARTIN GOODMAN The Rise & Fall & Rise Of A Comicbook Dynasty— As Seen In Part By STAN LEE Article by Will Murray

Martin Goodman

I. Silberkleit & Goodman

M

arvel Comics celebrated its 80th anniversary last year. Most of the attention fell on longtime editor, writer, and (later) publisher Stan Lee, which is only right, given that it was Lee’s editorial vision more than founding publisher Martin Goodman’s business acumen that created the comicbook renaissance known as the Marvel Age of Comics, which reverberates to this day.

On the occasion of Marvel’s 70th anniversary in 2009, I was asked to write a history of Marvel for an Omnibus reprinting of the earliest issues of Marvel Mystery Comics, the formative title in the long-running TimelyAtlas-Marvel empire.

(1908-1992) flanked by the cover of the first pulp magazine he ever edited (Western Supernovel, Vol. 1, #1, 1933), with cover painting by Joseph Cragin—and his first published comicbook (Marvel Comics #1, Oct. 1939), with cover by science-fiction artist Frank R. Paul. The headshot above is a detail from the famous August 14, 1942, “Bambi photo” of Timely Comics staffers and Funnies, Inc., personnel. Thanks to Will Murray for the pulp-cover scan, to the Grand Comics Database for the comics scan, and to David Saunders (www.pulpartists. com) for the pulp-artist ID. Incidentally, re the artwork by one “Joseph Cragin,” David S. informs us he has “never found any archival information that any professional artist ever worked under that name, so this painting is either by some artist using an alias or it was created by an absolute amateur.” It seems Goodman began his magazine career with a “Marvel mystery”! [Pulp cover TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders; comics cover TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

For that project, I interviewed the late Stan Lee about his employer and mentor. While a few of his quotes made it into the essay, a great many more did not. I thought that it was high time for a look at Martin Goodman as seen, at least partly, through the eyes of Stan Lee. But let’s go back to the beginning, before Timely Comics.

After working in the circulation department of pulp publisher Hugo Gernsback of Amazing Stories fame, and later in the circulation

department of Eastern Distribution, Moe Goodman––to use his birth name––switched to the editorial desk after both operations collapsed during the Depression. Fledgling publisher Louis Silberkleit, whom Goodman had met at Eastern, launched his first pulp title, Western Supernovels, in 1933. The lead novel was a reprint. Newsstand Publications was the company’s name. As Silberkleit’s employee, Goodman handled both editorial and circulation matters.

Why a Western? Goodman once explained, “I had read Westerns since I was a kid. I was an average reader, so we put out a book for the average reader.” This would be his long-term publishing credo.

At that time, magazines and entire chains had gone out of business. This made printers desperate to keep their unionized presses running and eager to extend credit. No doubt Silberkleit made a deal to pay the printing bill with his anticipated profits.

Even in the Depression, fiction was expensive to acquire.

Goodman devised an inexpensive solution. “I found that the Doubleday Doran syndicate would sell me novels for a hundred dollars apiece. Some of them had been in hard covers, some had been originally written for Collier’s at fancy prices.”

6

The Rise & Fall Of A Comicbook Dynasty

the company $23,000, Silberkleit had had enough.

He and Goodman parted company, with Silberkleit abandoning the enterprise to launch Winford Publications, leaving Goodman to soldier on alone with the surviving pulp titles. But Newsstand was in hock to Silberkleit’s printer, W.H. Hall, which worked with Goodman to start a new company, Western Fiction. Both chains grew. Against the powerhouse pulp empires of Street & Smith, Munsey, Standard, and others, Goodman and Silberkleit were shoestring enterprises––bottom-feeders living off the bigger houses’ rejects, buying Second Serial Rights reprints, and depending on fledging writers willing to take less than a penny a word to break into the game, as well as seasoned scribes dumping their castoffs at cut rates under fictitious bylines.

Louis Silberkleit (Above:) Several years before he became the “L” in the “MLJ” company that published “The Shield,” then “Archie,” Louis Silberkleit was Martin Goodman’s boss in a pulp-magazine company—not, as stated in numerous places (including, alas, in Ye A/E Editor’s tome The Stan Lee Story), Goodman’s partner. With thanks to David Saunders.

Silberkleit’s (and editor Goodman’s) first “heroic” pulp title was 1934’s The Masked Rider—starring a secret-identity cowboy who didn’t have an Indian companion named Tonto.

Cover painting by Chris Schaare (1893-1980). Thanks again to David Saunders for the artist ID. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Near the end of 1934 (on Dec. 30th, in fact), the announcement at right of the wedding of Martin Goodman and Jean Davis appeared in The New York Times.

Courtesy of Sean Howe, author of Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. [© the respective copyright holders.]

II. Goodman Goes It Alone Both rivals turned a profit. By 1938, Goodman’s line had grown to 25 titles for a combined monthly circulation of 400,000. As he infamously remarked, “Fans are not interested in quality. If you get a title that catches on, then add a few more, you’re in for a nice profit.” That was his formula for success. Average stories for the average reader.

Behind the scenes, the truth was that Goodman still owed W.H. Hall’s Alfred Bernard Geiger a lot of money. He was just trying to survive.

In short, he was selling slick stories to unsuspecting pulp readers!

Silberkleit soon added a detective title and a few others, including his first heroic title, The Masked Rider, a copy of radio’s Lone Ranger. But it was the Great Depression. The line soon began struggling. When Newsstand’s distributor, Mutual, went belly-up in the summer of 1934, owing

One of those devouring his magazines was a voracious young reader named Stanley Martin Lieber, later to gain worldwide fame as Stan Lee. “There were many pulp mags that I read,” Stan told me. “A favorite was Doc Savage. Another was The Spider. (Nothing like Spider-Man. Just a guy with a mask who fought the bad guys.)

Also, Martin’s own Ka-Zar. There were lots more, but I can’t remember the names off-hand. I loved ‘em all.”

Ka-Zar was Goodman’s Tarzan knockoff. He lasted only three issues.

“He [Goodman] had a very good feel of what the average

Racy Stuff!

The covers of three early Goodman magazines of the non-pulpadventure, non-comics variety: Racing Digest & Guide, Vol. 1, #1 (date uncertain)…

Sex Health #1 (Aug. 1937)… and his Reader’s Digest imitation Popular Digest #1 (Sept.

1939). Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Marvel’s Founding Father—Martin Goodman

explained. “He would say, ‘Let’s put out a new book. Let’s change this title to something else. Let’s drop this, let’s substitute this for that.’ It was always happening. He lived with the sales figures. He had those pages of sales figures in front of him all the time, and that’s what he based all his decisions on.”

Vincent Fago, who replaced Stan Lee during the latter’s wartime military service, recalled, “Martin Goodman used to lie back in a big chaise lounge, and he’d look at the sales charts every day. He was counting his money. He had been a hustler who’d had a rough life and he was trying to live it up. Goodman did things the hard way, but he succeeded…. The print runs were 250,000 to 500,000 copies. Sometimes we’d put out five books a week or more.

You’d see the numbers come back and could tell that Goodman was a millionaire. The comics were what gave him that chaise lounge.”

21

in a field that seems hot? If he found that Western comics were selling well, he made sure we were putting out Western comics. If he felt that animated-type comics, like Terry-Toons, were selling well, he wanted to be sure that we had enough animated comics. Beyond that, his primary concern was the covers. He was very insistent that the covers be done a certain way, and he was right. Back in those days, there were no real fans for certain titles, like there are today.

Today, a kid will walk into a comicbook store and say, ‘Did the latest Spider-Man come in?’ Well, very few kids in those days walked into a store and said, ‘Did the latest Terry-Toons come in?’ What they would do is, they would go into a store and look at all the covers and they’d pick up the comicbook the cover of which attracted them the most. So he felt, rightly so, that the covers were very important.

And I concentrated on the covers because of that.”

VI. The Goodman Business Methods Although Goodman and Silberkleit indulged in legal skirmishes from time to time—most famously over the resemblance between Captain America’s original triangular shield to The Shield’s similar body armor—Lee recalled no ongoing animosity between the rival publishers.

“They were all friendly, in a way,” Stan recalled.

“They weren’t enemies. That was all before me.

Goodman never really discussed business with me, or things about distribution––the company as a company. All we ever talked about was the magazines we were putting out.”

Periodically, Goodman tried to steal back from Fawcett some of his own thunder, launching rivals to Captain Marvel like Simon and Kirby’s “Marvel Boy,” who shared Captain Marvel’s mythological inspirations, receiving his powers from Hercules. It was one of the few super-heroes Timely bothered to trademark in the early days. The Daring Mystery cover feature was soon renamed “The Young Avenger,” shunted into the back of another title, then vanished, perhaps due to threatened legal action, while the unpowered “Black Marvel” faded away after a few years.

I asked Stan Lee about this and he replied, “I believe your guess is right. Martin let Marvel Boy go because of protests by Captain Marvel.

I wouldn’t stake my life on it, but I think it’s an educated guess.

“We never talked much about superheroes,” Lee added, “because super-heroes were nothing special then. We had all kinds of books. Horror stories. Crime stories. Teenage stories. Animal stories. Westerns. War. Whatever he thought was the trend at the moment. In those days, he was putting everything he could get into the comics. There was no continuity.

There’d be a guy in a cape or a cloak. There’d be a guy who was just a detective. There’d be Ka-Zar. He didn’t specialize at that time in super-heroes. Remember, in the very early days, he didn’t do his own strips. He bought them from a company called Funnies.

“Mainly,” Lee observed, “the thing he was interested in is: Are we putting out a magazine

Marvels Black & Blue, Boy! Goodman launched a “Marvel Boy” feature in Daring Mystery Comics #6 (Sept. 1940), behind a Kirby cover inked by Simon—and a “Black Marvel” behind Alex Schomburg’s cover for Mystic Comics #5 (March 1941)— and even promoted both titles in the Marvel Tales pulp issue for April of ’41—but without much success. Did Fawcett object to the name “Marvel” being used for a character, even by the publisher of Marvel Mystery Comics?

Thanks to the GCD for the cover scans, and to Mark Trost for the ad. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

22

The Rise & Fall Of A Comicbook Dynasty

(Super-) Help Wanted!

Obviously, by 1942, Captain America was so popular—starring in his own monthly mag and in All Winners Comics, with a lead story in U.S.A. Comics soon to be added—that Goodman was placing ads in New York City newspapers to try to recruit potential artists for the feature. Remember—there was a war on! Thanks to Sean Howe. [© the respective copyright holders.]

As art director under Goodman, Lee learned how to produce viable covers with his artists. “[Goodman] felt that the covers were very important,” he noted. “They had to catch the perspective reader’s eye. He had all kinds of different theories. Have bright colors. Contrasting colors.

Certain color schemes. Not too much dialogue. A big picture.

Basically, whatever would catch your eye.”

Iden In Plain Sight Martin Goodman’s son Iden—or at least a character named after him—had his own comic strip on the back cover of Kid Komics #2 (Summer 1943).

Writer & artist unknown—but we sure hope he got a raise! Wonder if Iden Goodman really had a dog named Scooter? Note that MG himself is depicted in the bottom-left panel. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

“We’re Looking For People Who Like To Draw”— And We Sure Found One! Captain America Comics had at least one young reader who would grow up to be a pro: Alex Toth, whose name appears sixth in a list of fifty “winners” of a “Captain America Picture Contest.” Precise issue uncertain. Thanks to Eric Toth for confirming that this was indeed his father.

Alex would, among many other accomplishments, do the accompanying design drawings for a Marvel Fantastic Four TV-animation series for Hanna-Barbera. Supplied by John Cimino. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

28

The Rise & Fall Of A Comicbook Dynasty

Showcase #37 (March-April 1962) & Tales Of Suspense #39 (March 1963) Perhaps Robert Kanigher’s concept “The Metal Men” was briefly popular after the series’ debut, behind a dramatic cover by Ross Andru & Mike Esposito… but Iron Man would turn out to have sturdier “legs.” Latter cover by Jack Kirby & Don Heck.

[Showcase cover TM & © DC Comics; Iron Man cover TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Our Army At War #125 (Dec. 1962) & Sgt. Fury #1 (May 1963) The DC comic would eventually be retitled Sgt. Rock, after its long-running lead feature; Sgt. Fury would last for a decade, and eventually bequeath a far different Nick Fury to both comics and, even more so, to film. Former cover by Joe Kubert; latter cover by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers. [OOAW cover TM & © DC Comics; Sgt. Fury cover TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

[continued from p. 25] Comics.’ And ‘Marvel Marches On.’ You know, things that I could use in writing editorials and the Bullpen page. I thought Marvel was a wonderful name to work with. And Martin went along with it. He said, ‘Sure. Okay, we’ll change it to Marvel.’”

Curiously, Lee couldn’t recall why Goodman kept returning to the Marvel brand over the years.

“He never mentioned it. I don’t remember us ever discussing the name Marvel.”

This rebranding kicked off what Lee dubbed “The Marvel Age of Comics.” Lee presided over the expanding line. “By then he was pretty much leaving everything to me,” he remembered. “The thing he really loved were the slick paper magazines. He had these movie magazines and men’s adventure magazines like Stag and Male.

I think he felt those were more prestigious than the pulps—and certainly more prestigious than the comics. The comics were always the stepchild of that company.”

Along with artists Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and a few others, Lee is given the lion’s share of creative credit for the seed stories

that blossomed into the modern Marvel Universe. And they deserve all credit that is due to them. But often overlooked is the savvy generalship of Martin Goodman. In military terms, Lee and the others were the officers and foot soldiers who executed the battle plans which commanding general Goodman ordered in broad terms.

Just as The Fantastic Four was an innovative attempt to compete with Justice League of America––but developed around the template of an earlier hit, Jack Kirby’s Challengers of the Unknown––many of the other formative Marvel super-heroes were attempts to capitalize on the sales history of rival properties.

The Incredible Hulk was calculated to cash in on the monster craze then captivating baby boomers. But it also harkened back to the old Hillman hit, “The Heap.” As originally conceived, “Spider-Man” was the story of a boy who rubs a magic ring and turns into an adult super-hero, which was essentially a takeoff on Captain Marvel.

With his godlike powers, “The Mighty Thor” was an effort to create a character in the mold of Superman, without incurring the wrath of DC comics. He was also similar to Captain Marvel in his mythological roots and transformational origin.

Marvel’s Founding Father—Martin Goodman

29

A Good Mystery Solved?

Here, accompanied by the final Lee/Kirby story page of The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961), is a note specifically related to A/E #161; but frankly, we didn’t want to wait till the “re:” section dealing with that issue rolls around. In #161, Michael Uslan, Paul Levitz, the late Ben Melnicker, and Roy Thomas exchanged e-mails concerning the possible identity of the person with whom Timely/Marvel publisher Martin Goodman might’ve played golf on a particular day in early 1961—assuming it wasn’t the boasting of DC co-publishers Irwin Donenfeld and/or Jack Liebowitz that inspired Goodman to instruct his editor Stan Lee to create a super-hero team virtually overnight to grab a few coins that otherwise might flow to DC’s new Justice League of America comic. As was discussed four issues back: Michael remembered that then-DC production head Sol Harrison had once mentioned the name of the person with whom Goodman was most likely playing golf… only neither Michael nor Paul could recall whom Harrison had named. That is, until I received this brief note from Batman filmmaker (and one-time comics writer) Michael: “Funny thing, Roy… I bought the new Alter Ego at the New York Comic Con and was reading all the golf-game pieces on the train back to New Jersey, and as I was reading it, the name of that other thus-far-nameless Independent News exec popped into my head from some reactivated brain cells somewhere: Harold Chamberlain.”

So Chamberlain (see left) may be the guy without whose braggadocio there might never have been a Fantastic Four #1—not to mention nigh six decades of Marvel Comics history! Script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks (probably) by George Klein. Page scan provided by Jim Kealy.

But those characters were inspired by well-known commercial successes. Goodman reportedly had an inside track on how his rival publishers were doing, sales-wise. Just as he had heard of Justice League numbers and wanted to cash in on the new super-hero trend, a number of the earliest Marvel super-heroes were the result of this insider sales and circulation knowledge.

Harold Chamberlain in a late-1940s/early 1950s photo of the staff of Independent News Company, distributors of (and owned by) DC Comics. The full photo appeared in A/E #26.

When perennial backup DC strip “Aquaman”––a near carbon copy of Goodman’s “Sub-Mariner”––was elevated to his own magazine in 1961, it was probably not a coincidence when Prince Namor returned the following year.

After DC’s revival of “The Atom” proved to be a Showcase sales success, Goodman heard about it. A similar shrinking hero, “Ant-Man,” soon surfaced in Tales to Astonish, just two months after The Atom landed in his own magazine.

Another Showcase smash, “Metal Men,” astonished the industry by outselling Superman during the first half of 1962. By the end of the year, Tales of Suspense offered up “Iron Man.” And DC’s “Sgt. Rock” inevitably led to Marvel’s Sgt. Fury. The difference was that Stan Lee and his collaborators gave all of these emulative characters the distinctive Marvel touch, enabling them to outsell and outlast many of the DC super-heroes. “[Goodman] was really a great imitator,” Lee explained. “If something was selling, he would publish books like that. In fact, the reason we did The Fantastic Four—which was the first book in the Marvel line that became what it is today—is Martin heard National Comics had a book called the Justice League that was selling well, so he wanted me to come up with a bunch of characters like the Justice League—not like the Justice League, but something that was also a team of super-heroes. He felt if the Justice League is doing well, we should have a team of super-heroes. He didn’t tell me what to do.

Incidentally, re the second paragraph in the section “Out of the Mists—Marvel!”: Ye Editor has oft recounted that, sometime in late 1965 or so, Stan told him that it was Martin Goodman’s idea, not his own, to re-christen the brand as “Marvel Comics” rather than “Atlas.” Stan said that his own choice for a name had been to revive the “Atlas” monicker, but that he was glad Goodman insisted on “Marvel.” Clearly, Stan totally forgot that occurrence in later years… but Ye Ed believes the anecdote he related only two or three years after the fact is far more likely to be accurate. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

He just said, ‘Bring me a team of heroes.’ Reviving a couple of the older ones was my idea. Actually, one of them. I revived The Human Torch. Later on, I brought in Sub-Mariner and Captain America.”

Harkening back to circulation successes of the past, Goodman also found legal ways to revive abandoned trademarks and properties of the past, leading to reimagined versions of Daredevil, The Ghost Rider and, in perhaps his greatest personal triumph, his own version of Captain Marvel.

Circa 1964, Steve Ditko recalled Lee telling him that Goodman directed him to revive three underutilized characters, The Hulk, Sub-Mariner, and the old pulp hero Ka-Zar. Lee gave Ditko his choice of which to work on. The artist chose the Hulk, but had he selected Ka-Zar, Tales to Astonish would have been very different and the Hulk might not have developed as he did.

There is no question: During the formation of the Marvel Universe, Martin Goodman was a prime mover. Without his publishing directives, a very different population of heroes would have emerged.

Goodman rejected Stan Lee’s original title for The Fantastic Four––The Fabulous Four. Even The X-Men, which was intended as another FF, might owe something to the clever publisher. Stan Lee has often told the story of presenting the X-Men concept to Goodman as “The Mutants,” only to have the publisher reject the term as unfamiliar to his target average reader. The title was changed to The X-Men, which happened to be the title of the lead novel in an issue of Star Detective Magazine Newsstand had published back in 1937. Could Goodman have remembered that unusual title and suggested it? If he didn’t, it’s quite a coincidence.

37

in memoriam

Tributes To BILL SCHELLY

A Very Special Edition Of “Comic Fandom Archive” Assembled & Conducted by Jeff Gelb

A/E

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: I am writing these words only because Jeff Gelb has done enough already, assembling and collating the remembrances of our mutual friend and comrade Bill Schelly which follow. Because I have already written about Bill in this issue’s “writer/ editorial,” in a few lines I will turn what I have termed “A Very Special Edition” of Bill’s regular Alter Ego department “Comic Fandom Archive” over to Jeff, who knew Bill far better than I did.

apply himself to creating the best possible contents. It ended with #12 in 1972.

After graduating college, he worked up some sample pages for DC’s “New Talent Program.” When he was rejected (by Vince Colletta at a New York comic convention), Bill called it “a turning point” in his life. He largely abandoned comicbooks and began a multi-decade career with the U.S. Small Business Administration. He retired from that job in 2011.

On the side, he became interested in writing. His first book was a biography of silent-movie comedian Harry Langdon, which was published by Scarecrow Press in 1982. He rejoined the amateur press alliance Capa-Alpha

But first I need to explain why this series of tributes to Bill do not take up even more space in this issue of A/E. It’s partly, of course, because of the recent downsizing of the magazine from 100 pages (counting covers) to 84. But it’s also because Jeff suggested to me, in a letter around the turn of this year, that perhaps, rather than trying to squeeze all the reminiscences of Bill and his life and work into one issue, it might be better to let it run for two or more issues… rather like regular episodes of “Comic Fandom Archive,” the column that Bill wrote, put together, and edited for most issues of Alter Ego since it began its third volume in 1999. I quickly concurred in that view, partly because it is a way of extending the “Archive”—and thus Bill’s at least spiritual presence in this magazine— for a little while longer… giving us a bit more time to adjust to the sense of loss in our life that I know each tribute-payer (along with many another comics or Alter Ego or simply Bill Schelly fan) is feeling.

Jeff begins with a brief biography of Bill, touching briefly on the highlights of his career, and at least some of the highlights of his personal life as well… then speaks of his own memories of our lost friend… and then records the words of some of those closest to Bill….

Bill Schelly—A Brief Bio Bill Schelly was born in 1951 and grew up in Pittsburgh and Lewiston, Idaho, before moving to Seattle in 1974 after college.

He got into comics fandom in 1964 when he bought Alter Ego [Vol. 1] #7 and “was blown away.” Bill’s first fanzine was called Super-Heroes Anonymous. Other fanzines followed. In 1967, he created Sense of Wonder, which he called his first attempt to seriously

Bill Schelly & Jeff Gelb palling around in 2002. (Jeff’s the one in the Fantastic Four shirt.) The fanzine art above represents their first collaboration, for the fanzine Bombshell #6 (1966): pencils by Bill, inks by Jeff. As for scripter Rick Jones, do you think he’s—nah, it couldn’t be him. Courtesy of JG. [Page © Rick Jones, Jeff Gelb, & Estate of Bill Schelly.]

38

A Very Special Edition Of “Comic Fandom Archive”

Bill At Age 15 at a time when his first published fanzine, Super-Heroes Anonymous #1, was already a year or so in the past, and his longer-running Sense of Wonder zine was still a year or so in the future. He drew the cover of the former; the latter cover was rendered by popular fan-artist Ronn Foss, though the “Immortal Corpse” comics series heralded thereon was written and drawn by Schelly. [Covers © Estates of Bill Schelly & Ronn Foss, respectively.]

in 1989 and started writing about comic fandom and its creators. That led to a series of self-published books through his own Hamster Press. One was a biography of comics and science-fiction writer Otto Binder (which has since been republished). In 1999 he joined the just-starting third volume of Alter Ego as associate editor, writing a series of columns on comic fandom and its members and creators from then until his passing.

He worked with Fantagraphics Books to write a series of books that culminated in a one-two-three-four punch, with biographies of Joe Kubert, Harvey Kurtzman, John Stanley, and James Warren (Bill’s last completed, published work). The Kurtzman book won an Eisner Award, representing the culmination of Bill’s life as a writer and comicbook historian.

Bill had a son, Jaimeson, who died of cancer at the age of 20, and a surviving daughter, Tara. Bill passed away from complications of a rare form of cancer called multiple myeloma on September 12, 2019.

Get A Life!

From the beginning, Bill had a bent for biography. Bill’s first book was the 1982 Harry Langdon, about the silent-film comedian… while his first self-published full-on biography was Words of Wonder: The Life and Times of Otto Binder (2003, dealing with the important science-fiction and comicbook writer). He drew the Binder portrait on the latter cover; other cover art by Jerry Ordway.

[Shazam heroes, Superman, Krypto, & Supergirl TM & © DC Comics.]

Tributes To Bill Schelly

41

Tara Seymour

Good Times Amid The Bad Two favorite photos of Bill’s of his son Jaimeson. At left, Jaimeson Jones with his girlfriend Sara; at right, Jaimeson and Bill flanking TV personality Stephen Colbert, a meeting that thrilled Jaimeson. Photos courtesy of Bill Schelly and Bernie Bubnis, respectively.

Jaimeson every day after work. Upon hearing that babies first recognize the color red, he donned a red shirt every day! This was a Bill I had not met before. Wow. He told us his heart was so full he was afraid he wouldn’t have enough love for another child. He was scared and didn’t believe me when I told him love multiplies, it doesn’t divide. Even though he was unconvinced, he actually went through with his promise to bless us with another child because, you guessed it… he had made a promise. I never did experience a broken promise by Bill—his word was his bond, and he could always be counted on.

1991: Enter Tara.

21 months after Jaimeson was born, Stephanie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl—complete with Bill’s dimples! Tara was Bill’s proof that love multiplies. Now he was over two moons! Bill’s baby pictures and Tara’s were practically identical. His adolescent pics and hers were uncannily similar. As she grows and matures, her personality keeps giving me glimpses of Bill. Stephanie, Bill, and I agreed as to the involvement Bill would have, and though we had custody of Jaimeson and Tara, Bill’s involvement was regular, hugely influential, steadfast, and fully welcomed. Above all he was the epitome of a loving father. He went to their sporting events, musical concerts, etc. He was with us every Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, his birthday, the kids’ birthdays, etc. He always sat at the head of our table (where he belonged).

My sister and brother-in-law would host regular Seahawks game parties, and Bill would come, too—not for the football, of course— for the food and family fun. As teenagers, Bill doubled down and spent more time with each kid one on one. We were/are his family.

Having Bill Schelly as a father is a privilege that I will spend my entire life attempting to fully comprehend. The memories he cultivated and the works he accomplished in his time are evidence that he served the worthiest of pursuits. A lover of art, he gave me the gift of appreciating the beauty in things like story-telling, performance, and design. So passionate was he about his craft that his contributions to the field of comics will continue to affect the world long after his leaving it behind. It is humbling to attempt to summarize the impact of his life in so few words.

Despite the untraditional nature of my upbringing with Bill as my father, he nevertheless managed to instill in me the values that any good father would: responsibility, respect, love, and kindness. I recall with fondness the times spent building cardboard dollhouses for our super-hero action figures. I recall how he spoke with reverence on subjects of art, literature, and culture. I loved the times spent with him, my brother, and I watching movies like Duck Soup or Some Like It Hot. These memories will be forever cherished.

I can only imagine that his life as writer was a consequence of having the purest of love for the craft of story-telling. The majestic wonder of someone being able to gently remove you from the burdens of existence. Or, perhaps more so, to give you the tools to combat the burdens of existence. He lived his life as an example for those displaced persons to have the courage to pursue their passions and love their uniqueness.

I love you, Dad. I’ll miss you. Thank you for all you have given us in the time you have spent here. May your next journey be even more lovely.

Tara Seymour is Bill Schelly’s daughter. See a photo of her on p 39.

My super-hero.

Bill and I were always great friends, yet there were two regrets we had. One, that we didn’t have more children, and two, that we didn’t have more interests in common. Still, I adored him. I must tell you the running understatement of my life has been that Bill became the greatest gift in my life, for without him I would never have known the two greatest loves of my life, our children.

Maureen Jones is the mother of Bill’s son Jaimeson and daughter Tara.

X Marx The Spot The four Marx Brothers, in a scene from their 1933 triumph Duck Soup. (L. to r.:) Zeppo, Chico, Harpo, & Groucho. [© the respective copyright holders.]

49

PRESENTS

…with the art of Rudy Palais

by Peter Normanton A/E EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: In Alter Ego #163, we began a new, not-quite-every-issue series by Peter Normanton, who, though dwelling in his native Britain, long edited the popular “fanzine” From the Tomb, dealing primarily with American horror comicbooks. Two Best of collections from that magazine have been published by TwoMorrows. Last time, Peter kicked things off with a bat’s-eye view of the early history of horror comics. This time around, he concentrates on a particular artist… and we’re even keeping his English spelling of words; after all, it preceded the American version. As for why there’s no “u” in “Parlor” in the title above—well, you’ll see as we roll along….

A

lmost every pre-Comics Code horror-comic publisher had at least one favoured artist upon whom they could call, each of them with a panache for the terror of those unholy years.

It’s fair to say that EC publisher Bill Gaines had an ample bench; amongst his fiendish cadre he could turn to Graham Ingels, Johnny Craig, and Jack Davis, safe in the assurance they would leave his dedicated readership frothing at the mouth. Elsewhere, Martin Goodman and Stan Lee at Atlas had Joe Maneely, Bill Everett, and Russ Heath plying their trade, while the ever-astute Joseph Meyers at Avon need only put out the word and Alvin Hollingsworth would be poised, brush in hand, to produce page upon page of his unearthly visions.

Harvey Comics, occasionally referred to as “the poor man’s EC,” could boast an entire bullpen of artists quite suited to this heinous reign. In the thick of this gathering was the expressive rendering of Rudy Palais, an artist with an affection for the gargoyle-like creatures so often observed in his tales. Rudy, the son of a Vienna art student, was born on the 21st of March, 1912. Many years later, he would be revered as one of the most talented artists to emerge from this dark era of comicbook publishing; but, as we shall see, not every one of his editorial seniors was enamoured of his shameless disregard of convention.

Long before he entered the word of four-colour comicbooks, Rudy had gained recognition as both a reliable and innovative commercial artist. Given his source of inspiration, that was hardly surprising, for as a child he had been hooked on the newspaper strips of the day, most notably The Katzenjammer Kids and Mutt and Jeff, before being exposed to the artistry of J.C. Leyendecker in the popular Saturday Evening

Maiden Flights A dynamic “Prop Powers” splash page from Quality’s National Comics #11 (May 1941), is recorded as Rudy Palais’ earliest comicbook art. He continued to experiment with his layouts for the lead story in Great Comics #3 (Jan. 1942), from Great Comics Publishing: “Futuro Kidnaps Hitler and Takes Him to Hades!” [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

50

From The Tomb

Post, followed soon after by the illustrative drama portrayed by Norman Rockwell. Whilst attending art school, Rudy was enrolled in the same class as the rather forthright, but then unknown, Charles Biro, for whom he would eventually work. The young Biro looked upon the eager Rudy as an obvious rival; alas, for all of his ability as an editor and writer, Biro’s skills at the drawing board would never match those of his adroit peer. Any contention between these inexperienced hopefuls would soon be set aside, however, for they left school at the worst of times to face a decade plagued by the scourge of the Great Depression, which had taken an unforgiving hold on the world’s economy, forcing tens of thousands onto the breadline.

Fortune favoured Rudy. His flair caught the attention of an art studio specializing in the design of movie theatre fronts. Here he found a plentiful supply of work, painting posters for clients such as Warner Bros., allowing occasional contact with the stars of these films, amongst them Edward G Robinson and James Cagney. When his imposing twelve-foot-high painting of the head of Robinson was placed atop one cinema, someone had the idea of having smoke—steam, in this instance—billow from his pipe. A number of years later, this piece of ingenuity was used on billboards across the United States advertising cigarettes (most famously in New York City’s Times Square), employing more efficient smoke machines.

All seemed well for Rudy and his colleagues, but they couldn’t have foreseen the advent of strikes across the many departments making up the Warner Bros. empire, the impact of which would make new assignments increasingly difficult to come by. Rudy wasn’t down yet; he tried his hand at semi-professional baseball before moving into advertising. Soon after Columbia Pictures proposed he return to painting posters, such was the overwhelming volume of work that he would remain in gainful employment for the coming five years.

It was 1939 when Rudy took his first step into comicbooks, learning the rudiments of the trade with Harry “A” Chesler’s art shop. Unknown to Rudy, his younger brother Walter, who had been studying for the priesthood in Princeton, New Jersey, succeeded in getting him an introduction to the studio overseen by Will Eisner and Jerry Iger. Walter had been looking for a summer job,

55

[Daredevil is now a trademark of Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Boomerang Š2019 Pete Morisi Estate.

56

Comic Crypt

The PAM Papers - Part 7

(8/15/70)

Dear Glen-

by Michael T. Gilbert

A romance script came in the mail on the last day of the deadline that I sent for Sal –– so I’m still a Charlton man. –– Sorry ––!

hen we left off last installment, Charlton had cancelled their entire super-hero line, including Pete Morisi’s signature character, Peter Cannon… Thunderbolt! By then, PAM had already quit his strip due to deadline problems. Pete was still working as a New York City police officer full time, and drawing comics on the side.

Had lunch with Dick and saw some stuff DC is turning out –– beautiful. Gray Morrow did a great job in All Star Western Presents OUTLAW. He used Dick, Gil Kane, Williamson, himself (I think), and Phil Seuling, in spot panels. Also DC’s new artist Tony DeZuniga (from the Philippines) is in the same book. Also there’s a Love –– 1970 book DC is putting out with a Gray Morrow story that was done in pencil only –– looks like it’s inked though –– but it’s good.

W

Upon learning that Charlton was struggling, Pete’s friend and former editor, Dick Giordano, invited him to come to DC (where Giordano had recently been hired as an editor). Writing to his fan-friend Glen D. Johnson, Pete considered his options, as he suffered the troubles of an artist working for low-rent publisher Charlton in the 1970s. His editor was Sal Gentile:

That’s about it. I can’t seem to work up any interest in the romance story I’m doing. Kind of hard after doing a ‘Graves’ that I could enjoy playing with. Got to try. Love stories is beautiful, love stories is beautiful, love stories…

See Ya, Pete

(2/12/70)

Dear Glen-

Texas Rangers #79 is the ish I’d like you to see. Loco is featured as the front story, and a Kid Montana story (that was changed to suit the Texas Rangers title) is the back-story. I used the same villain in both stories, figuring they’d be printed in different books, and months apart — but Sal goofed. (The villain was taken from photos).

See ya, Pete (7/18/70)

Dear Glen-

I finished the mystery story I was doing and mailed it to Sal, who promptly left for a week’s vacation –– without mailing me another script (his secretary says he forgot). I thought about our ‘DC work’ conversation, and almost called Dick, but talked myself out if it again. Maybe… next time (does that sound familiar?). So I’ve got a week off from artwork, and going crazy.

By the time you get this I should be back in business.

See ya, Pete (7/28/70)

Dear Glen-

I can see now that having my son and brother tag along [at the NY Seuling con] was a mistake. They were interested –– but they’re not comic people like we are. I could have spent hours going through stacks of comics that were being sold, but I breezed through that area in order to keep them entertained.

Actually I saw a few books I wanted (early Rip Kirby books, in color in Spanish, badly printed, but Raymond Rip Kirbys just the same) etc. etc., but I wound up getting nothing. Next time I guess.

I still haven’t gotten a script from Sal –– and I’m getting a bit annoyed –– I expected a phone call (at least) if there were any delay. If he doesn’t come through in another week –– I’m looking elsewhere, and that’s a promise.

See ya, Pete

“Butchered”?

PAM felt that the indicia text added to the bottom of the page, which had necessitated chopping off a bit of the art, threw off the page’s balance. Such sloppy work was typical of Charlton. From The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #23 (Dec. 1970). [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

Keep The World of TwoMorrows spinning!

Two great ways to help us stay in business!

Just as our 25th Anniversary book and six new magazines were about to go on sale in March 2020, comics shops and our distributors shut down due to the pandemic, and we had to dispose of thousands of copies of RetroFan and BrickJournal that never made it to Barnes & Noble stores. We’ve incurred huge losses on all those copies, and even as distributors and stores reopen, it’ll be months before they catch up on payments—and we’ll see lower orders as some stores close permanently, and the ones that survive will be cutting back.

But when TwoMorrows Publishing was founded in 1994, our publications weren’t sold through comics shops or bookstores—only by mail order and subscriptions. With your help, we’ll continue shipping worldwide by mail, even if stores and distributors are forced to shut down again. So here’s two simple ways you can keep us publishing new material:

#1: Subscribe for a half-year!

Your direct orders help us plan our print runs, and provide the cash flow to keep printing. So we’re temporarily offering

less expensive half-year subscriptions to all our magazines, which let you support us for the short-term, then go back to purchasing at your local store over the next few months. Every print or digital subscription helps!

#2: Get older issues of our mags!

Download our new, easy to use 2020 Digital Catalog at: https://www.twomorrows.com/2020InteractiveCatalog.pdf and order our books and magazines online. If you prefer not to order online, we can also take orders by phone or mail, and will include a free printed catalog with your order.

Finally, don’t miss the World of TwoMorrows 25th Anniversary book, available now in Softcover, Ultra-Limited Hardcover, and Digital Editions. If you’ve enjoyed the material we’ve produced for the last quarter-century, you’ll love learning how we made it happen all these years!

Now stay safe, and let’s keep The World of TwoMorrows spinning for another 25 years!

- John Morrow, publisher

Currently, RetroFan & BrickJournal ARE NOT SOLD at many Barnes & Nobles!

SUBSCRIBE now for a half-year (or double it for a full year)!

It supports us in the short-term, and ensures you don’t miss any issues!

2020

Due to the recent pandemic store closings, we’ve adjusted our schedule for 2020 releases.

See our website for other ship dates.

RETROFAN #12

RETROFAN #13

RETROFAN #14

BRICKJOURNAL #65

Hollywood interviewer CHRIS MANN goes behind the scenes of TV’s sexy sitcom THREE’S COMPANY—and NANCY MORGAN RITTER, first wife of JOHN RITTER, shares stories about the TV funnyman. Plus: RICK GOLDSCHMIDT’s making of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, RONNIE SCHELL interview, Sheena Queen of the TV Jungle, Dr. Seuss toys, Popeye cartoons, DOCTOR WHO’s 1960s U.S. invasion, & more fun features!

Exclusive interviews with Lost in Space’s MARK GODDARD and MARTA KRISTEN, Dynomutt and Blue Falcon, Hogan’s Heroes’ BOB CRANE, a history of Wham-O’s Frisbee, Twilight Zone and other TV sci-fi anthologies, Who Created Archie Andrews?, oddities from the San Diego Zoo, lava lamps, and more with ERNEST FARINO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, and SCOTT SHAW! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

Holy backstage pass! See rare, behind-thescenes photos of many of your favorite Sixties TV shows! Plus: an unpublished interview with Green Hornet VAN WILLIAMS, Bigfoot on Saturday morning television, WOLFMAN JACK, The Saint, the lean years of Star Trek fandom, the WrestleFest video game, TV tie-in toys no kid would want, and more features from FARINO, MANGELS, MURRAY, SAAVEDRA, SHAW, and MICHAEL EURY.

BrickJournal celebrates the holidays with brick sculptor ZIO CHAO, takes a offbeat look at Christmas with our minifigure customizer JARED K. BURKS, and decks the halls with the holiday creations of KOEN ZWANENBURG! Plus: “AFOLs” by cartoonist GREG HYLAND, step-bystep “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, and more!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Dec. 2020

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Feb. 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships April 2021

Look for #66 in February 2021!

HALF-YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS Alter Ego (Three issues) Back Issue (Four issues) BrickJournal (Three issues) Comic Book Creator (Two issues) Jack Kirby Collector (Two issues) RetroFan (Three issues)

ECONOMY US $34 $45 $34 $23 $24 $34

EXPEDITED US $40 $51 $40 $28 $29 $40

PREMIUM US $43 $56 $43 $30 $31 $43

TwoMorrows.

The Future of Pop History.

TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Dec. 2020

INTERNATIONAL $51 $68 $51 $34 $35 $51

DIGITAL ONLY $14 $18 $14 $9 $9 $14

Phone: 919-449-0344 E-mail: store@twomorrows.com Web: www.twomorrows.com Don’t miss exclusive sales, limited editions, and new releases! Sign up for our mailing list: http:// groups.yahoo.com/group/twomorrows

61

Anna & The “King” Of Iran Part XII Of Golden/Silver Age Scribe JOHN BROOME’s 1998 Memoir

A/E

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: We regret that, due to a few scheduling snafus plus the abrupt page-count shift (#162), it’s been four months since our previous installment of this “Offbeat Autobio,” My Life in Little Pieces. Fortunately, no one who was a reader of DC’s Julius Schwartz-edited titles The Flash and Green Lantern in the first half of the 1960s has forgotten Irving Bernard (John) Broome, who for most of the Silver Age was the major writer of both series, and was the co-creator of the 1959-plus incarnation of GL. Between the latter half of the 1940s and until he and his family moved to France in the latter 1960s, he had also scripted numerous

John Broome & Terry Broome, 1949 Daughter Terry’s notation accompanying the above photo reads: “‘Trick’ with ‘Big Da’ on Miami Beach FL Dec. 1949”. Photo probably taken by Peggy Broome.

At left is the splash page of the Broome-scripted “Justice Society of America” story that would have been on sale around that time, taking up 32 pages in All-Star Comics #51 (Feb.-March 1950)—and featuring a decidedly less placid-looking body of water. Pencils by Arthur Peddy; inks by Bernard Sachs. John B. wrote All-Star #35 and #39-57 to finish off that super-team’s legendary Golden Age run. Reproduced from Ye Editor’s bound volumes. [TM & © DC Comics.]

other DC comics. His short memoir (not really a biography) has been serialized in most issues of A/E since #149, by kind permission of his daughter Ricky Terry Brisacque, as retyped by Brian K. Morris. This issue’s potpourri, like most chapters, makes no mention of anyone in the comicbook industry, but is still fascinating for its insights into the mind of one of the field’s major authorial talents.

My Aunt Anna Story This occurred during our one-time visit to my father’s old Aunt Anna’s nursing home, my father and I. I was then about fifty and my father almost seventy, neither of us young any more, but Aunt Anna was really patriarchal, well over ninety, and until recently even my father hadn’t seen her for years.

Reaching up, my father got his hand on my shoulder as he propelled me before the tiny white-haired, bright-green-eyed old lady in the chair.

“Anna,” said my father rather proudly, “what do you think of my son?”

73

WORLD’S MIGHTIEST COLLECTOR

A Conversation With Pre-eminent Captain Marvel Connoisseur HARRY MATETSKY

by P.C. Hamerlinck

A

ccording to mid-1940s Fawcett office memorandums, Captain Marvel Adventures and Whiz Comics had combined monthly sales tallying over 1,600,000 copies… approximately 15,000,000 kids under the age of 16, in more than 7,000 theatres in the US and Canada, had attended screenings of Republic Pictures’ 12-chapter movie serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel… and, by May of 1945, membership in the Captain Marvel Club totaled over 563,000. That’s a lot of dimes! Further testimony of the original Captain Marvel’s past popularity can be found in Abrams Comicart’s 2010 book Shazam! The Golden Age of the World’s Mightiest Mortal by Chip Kidd and Geoff Spear, in collaboration with master super-hero collector and authority Harry Matetsky—whose grand assemblage of Marvel Family memorabilia received a merited spotlight within its pages. Now, in a second softcover edition, you’ll journey into a lost world that most of us never witnessed first-hand… but Harry was there, and this is his story. —PCH. P.C. HAMERLINCK: I’m here with the world’s foremost Fawcett collector, Harry Matetsky. Harry, let’s start with a little background information.

HARRY MATETSKY: I was born in New York City, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, on December 5, 1934. I grew up in a tenement building in a poor neighborhood, but my childhood was essentially happy. Playing punchball and stickball in the street with my friends was a favorite pastime, in addition to flipping gum cards, climbing fire escapes, and swimming in the city pool. My father was a tailor by trade and my mother was a homemaker. I have one sister.

PCH: When did you first become aware of Captain Marvel? Were you buying Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures off newsstands or in candy stores during the ’40s… and were you an early member of the Captain Marvel Club?

HM: My adventures into the world of comicbooks began in my neighborhood candy store. At about six years of age I looked up and saw comicbooks hanging

Harry Matetsky as a high school senior (top left), ready to take on the world of publishing—and collecting… and (below) in a recent photo, in later years with the coffee table book Shazam! The Golden Age of the World’s Mightiest Mortal by Chip Kidd and Geoff Spear—published by Abrams Comicarts in 2010, and now available in a softcover edition. The volume made copious use of Harry’s collection of Marvel Family items, and is an absolute must-have for any Fawcett fan and pop culture aficionado. [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics.]

74

A Conversation With Pre-eminent Captain Marvel Connoisseur Harry Matetsky

from clothespins on a rope way above me. I pleaded with my mother to buy one for me, and she asked a tall guy to lift me up so I could pick the one I wanted and pull it down.

It was a copy of All-Flash #1. My next acquisition was a copy of Whiz Comics, and then came a copy of Captain Marvel.

Dream Job It was then I Harry Matetsky, looking sharp during his year with discovered the Fawcett Publications - 1955.

Captain Marvel Club, and I joined soon thereafter.

Growing up, I began visiting every newsstand in the area to acquire more comics. Captain Marvel was my favorite.

PCH: What was it about Captain Marvel that initially appealed to you?

HM: I loved the humor and C.C. Beck’s artwork the most. The magical quality of Billy Batson saying “Shazam!” and becoming Captain Marvel fulfilled my own fantasy. I especially enjoyed the Mr. Mind serialization and stories with CM’s arch nemesis, Dr. Sivana.

PCH: In the wake of your youth, what field did you pursue? I understand you actually worked for a brief period at Fawcett Publications.

HM: After graduating high school, I attended the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (now known as the School of Visual Arts).

During this period, in 1955, a close friend of mine was working at Fawcett Publications. He mentioned to me that there was an opening in their art department and encouraged me to apply —which I did. I was interviewed by the art director, Al Allard.

He gave me a job for $55 a week in their “How-to” magazine department, where my friend was also working. I was an art associate, doing layouts and design.

nothing relating to comics. At Fawcett’s annual Christmas party, I IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW, did meet many writers and artists who had worked on the comics.

CLICK THE LINK TO ORDER THIS

ISSUEHow IN PRINT ORyou DIGITAL FORMAT! PCH: long were at Fawcett?

HM: I stayed at Fawcett for just one year, because I got a better job for $80 a week at Hillman Publications as art editor on their magazines. And one year later I joined McFadden Publications as assistant art director of Photoplay magazine at $110 a week. I was 21 years old. After Photoplay, I took a job at Sterling Publications, running their magazine division. I stayed at Sterling for nine years, and then I went to work for Martin Goodman, the owner of Magazine Management and Marvel Comics. I was in charge of the magazine division, but—as you might guess—I was very interested in the comics division, which led to my friendship with Stan Lee. I eventually left Magazine Management to start my own business, Captain Publications, which published movie and romance magazines. After that, I opened the Puck Gallery in Manhattan, ALTERand EGO #165 which showcased sold original comic art and illustration art.

WILL MURRAY showcases 1939-1971 Marvel publisher During this period I got to know MARTIN GOODMAN, with artifacts by LEE, KIRBY,many DITKO, cartoonists, including ROMITA, MANEELY, BUSCEMA, EVERETT, BURGOS, Harvey Kurtzman, Will Eisner, Jim GUSSteranko, Gahan Wilson, and TAVSON, COLAN, SCHOMBURG, ADAMS, STERANKO, and Gary Trudeau. many others!

Plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt with more on PETE MORISI, JOHN BROOME, tribute to BILL SCHELLY,

and a cover by it DREW FRIEDMAN! PCH: Was at the time you ran the gallery that you began to focus more (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 on building your own personal collection of comic art and memorabilia?

(Digital Edition) $4.99

https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_55&products_id=1538 HM: After my gallery adventure, I returned to the magazine business for ten years, then retired to devote myself full-time to my lifelong love of collecting comicbooks, original comic art, and comic-related memorabilia. In 1986, I learned that DC Comics was planning a big celebration for Superman’s 50th anniversary in 1988.

So I contacted Jeanette Kahn, then-president of DC Comics, and proposed that I create and design a limited-edition coffee table book titled The Adventures of Superman Collecting. She liked the idea very much and gave me the go-ahead. I worked on the book for a year and a half and finished it in time for its release in 1988.

PCH: Are Captain Marvel and the Man of Steel both equal in your collecting interests?

PCH: How would you describe Al Allard?

HM: Al was a very nice guy and very accessible. However, he was on one floor and I was on another.

PCH: Who else do you recall in Fawcett’s magazine department?

HM: Al Jetter and Ray Gill were also in the “How-to” magazine department, and I got to know them well and liked them very much. Al Jetter had gone to the special magazine division after the comics folded. He was a great, jovial guy whom I liked and chatted with regularly. The comicbook division at Fawcett had been shut down in 1954, and various artists and editors from that department were sent to work on other magazines.

PCH: While working in the Fawcett offices, did you happen to notice any “remnants” or “reminders” of their recently killed comics line, or perhaps catch any office chatter where Captain Marvel was brought up in conversation?

HM: In the magazine department there was

The Other “World’s Mightiest Mortal” Harry Matetsky’s The Adventures of Superman Collecting hardcover was published in 1988. [TM & © DC Comics.]