Issuu

5.95

In the USA

Roy Thomas ’ Legendary Comics Fanzine Returns!!

No. 1 Summer 1999

ever! r o F r e e Ag Silv

Stan Lee Gets Roasted By

Julius Schwartz And Co.!!

PLUS: Vive le

Grass Green’s Classic

Ordway & Thomas on

Silver Surfer!

Da Frantic Four!

Infinity Inc.!

Volume 3, No. 1 Summer 1999

™

Editor Roy Thomas

Associate Editor Bill Schelly

FCA Editor P.C. Hamerlinck

Consulting Editors John Morrow, Jon B. Cooke

Contents Silver Age Forever! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Roy Thomas and Bill Schelly welcome you to the new A/E!

Contributing Editor Michael T. Gilbert

Editors Emeritus Jerry G. Bails, Ronn Foss Biljo White, Mike Friedrich

Cover Art

The Stan Lee Roast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The Man gets skewered by Schwartz, Shooter, Claremont, David, Thomas, Romita, and Buscema— but it’s all in fun, right? Right?

Jerry Ordway, Irwin Hasen

Cover Color Tom Ziuko

Design & Layout

Da Frantic Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Bill Schelly introduces the classic 1962 parody by Grass Green!

Chris Knowles, Rich Grasso

Mailing Crew Russ Garwood, D. Hambone, Glen Musial, Ed Stelli, Pat Varker

And Special Thanks to: Bill Black Ray Bottorff, Jr. Sal Buscema Chris Claremont Carla Conway Ray A. Cuthbert Peter David Al Dellinges Nancy Ford Carl Gafford Jeff Gelb Jean Giraud (Moebius) Richard “Grass” Green Ron Harris Irwin Hasen Richard Howell Jean-Marc Lofficier Jerry Ordway John G. Pierce John Romita Julius Schwartz Jim Shooter Marc Swayze Joel Thingvall

The Secret Origins of Infinity, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 The creation of the JSAers’ heirs apparent in 1982— courtesy of Roy Thomas, Jerry Ordway, and Mike Machlan.

Vive le Silver Surfer! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Jean-Marc Lofficier on two 1980 issues of Silver Surfer published only in France.

Golden Age Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us! A very special thanks to Jerry Ordway, original penciler and co-creator of Infinity, Inc., for our beautiful Silver Age cover—based on the layout of All-Star Comics #36, 1947. And if you want to see something closer to the original, flip us! (Art ©1999 Jerry Ordway; Jade, Fury, Flash, Green Lantern, and Atom ©1999 DC Comics Inc.; SpiderMan, Thing, and Silver Surfer ©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Stan Lee and Julius Schwartz © themselves.) Alter EgoTM is published quarterly by TwoMorrows, 1812 Park Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605, USA. Phone: (919) 833-8092. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: Rt. 3, Box 468, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@oburg.net. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $5.95 ($7.00 Canada, $9.00 elsewhere). Four-issue subscriptions: $20 US, $27 Canada, $37 elsewhere. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM of P.C. Hamerlinck. Alter and Captain Ego ©1999 Biljo White. JLA, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Brainwave Jr., Nuklon, Silver Scarab, Hawkman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Infinity Inc., Power Girl, Huntress, Northwind, Fury, Jade, Obsidian, Wildcat, Atom, Sovereign Seven ©1999 DC Comics Inc.; Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Thing, Stranger, Silver Surfer, Hulk, Daredevil, Zarlok ©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Magnus Robot Fighter ©1999 Acclaim; Da Frantic Four , Xal-Kor ©1999 Grass Green. Go-Go Comics page © Charlton. The Eye ©1999 Bill Schelly. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING

Writer/Editorial

Silver Age Forever!

espite having been the writer/editor of much of DC’s Secret Origins in its 1980s run, I don’t always find it easy to figure out where to begin when writing about the precise origins of things... and that includes Alter Ego, Vol. 3, #1.

In one sense, of course, I should start in March 1961, when college prof Dr. Jerry G. Bails of Detroit published and edited that first, 22-page, spirit-duplicator fanzine issue of Alter-Ego, with his 20-yearold correspondent/contributor Roy Thomas generously listed as “co-editor.” In another sense it began in 1964, when I took over publication of the now unhyphenated Alter Ego from interim publisher/editor Ronn Foss and almost-publisher/editor Biljo White. That issue, #7, was my true baptism of fire. (In 1965, however, I got happily waylaid by becoming a comic book writer and editor—for Stan Lee at Marvel for fifteen years, for DC from 1981-86, and since then as a freelance scripter for whoever’s left standing. The vicissitudes of that career pushed A/E into the background for years, although issues #10-11 rounded out “Volume 1” in 1969 and 1978. Bill Schelly and I told the tale of A/E ’s first life in the Eisnernominated 1997 book Alter Ego: The Best of the Legendary Comics Fanzine, so I won’t go into it further here.) Onward: In a third sense, A/E was reborn when, in 1986, artist Ron Harris and I did four issues of an Alter Ego comic book mini-series for the now-defunct First Comics. In yet another very real sense, the road to the magazine you hold in your hands was paved when I saw an ad for a forthcoming magazine called Comic Book Artist. It said CBA #2 would deal with the “overlooked” work of a number of “greats,” including—I blush to admit— myself. I noticed the new mag was to be put out by the publisher of the entertaining Jack Kirby Collector, so I dropped its publisher/editor John Morrow a line, wishing him well and saying that, if he was ever interested, I had some memories and materials I’d be glad to contribute from

time to time under some sort of Alter Ego masthead. John passed my missive along to Jon B. Cooke, editor of the upcoming CBA, and within a few days I was the recipient of an enthusiastic fax from Jon, eager to discuss my participation in the magazine. By his second fax, Jon offered me a regular slot in each issue for an “Alter Ego section.” By around his third fax, Jon and I had agreed that A/E would be treated like virtually a separate magazine, printed upside down to the rest of CBA and sporting its own cover. All of a sudden, I had myself a new avocation. I’ve now prepared five editions of Alter Ego, Vol. 2—even if the final one is coming out almost simultaneously with Our letters section got squeezed out this time, but this first issue of not this brand new drawing of “Alter and Captain Vol. 3. It’s been a Ego” by their 1963 creator, Biljo White. See the wonderful experiGolden Age section for A/E’s other pair of mascots. ence being part of CBA, a magazine I consider a major addition to the cause of comic book history. I’ve put my two cents’ worth into most issues of CBA—while Jon Cooke, for his part, has been an integral part of all five A/Es: doing the layouts, overseeing covers and coloring, providing extra artwork to supplement what I’ve come up with. John Morrow has been a true encouragement and help, as well. Yet, in a fifth sense (we all have five senses, right?), this new volume of A/E began when I joined John and Jon at the San Diego Comic Convention last summer, the very day CBA #2 went on sale—and both guys suddenly hit me up with the idea of A/E becoming a separate magazine, a couple of issues down the line. I was both flattered and a little flabbergasted. I liked the notion of doing A/E as an entire mag again; in doing it I’d found a joy in the comics medium I was in danger of losing. However, if A/E became a solo title, I feared I’d have to pay too much attention to commercial considerations instead of piggy-backing securely on Jon’s theme-based issues. More than one friend, in fact, advised me against “going solo” at any time in the near future, and that was my own inclination, as well. However, I was eventually won over to John and Jon’s way of thinking, for reasons I won’t go into here; and the result is what John Morrow mischievously calls an “80-page giant”—though, for my part, I call it an 84-page giant, ’cause I always count the covers, just like DC did back in the days when each issue was heralded as “a 52-page magazine.” More about that when you’ve finished this Silver Age section, and flip the book over to read the Golden Age segment of the issue. (Unless you started the other way around.) Right now, here’s a word from our amiable associate editor... who might just come up with a sixth sense....

L to R: Julius Schwartz, Roy Thomas, and Bill Schelly sign copies of Hamster Press’ Best of Alter Ego volume at the 1998 Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC. Photo by Jeff Gelb.

Writer/Editorial

Underworld Executioner. The Eye—Special Edition will hit the comics specialty stores about the same time as the magazine you now hold in your hands.

ill Schelly here! Pinch me to make sure I’m not dreaming. Ouch! Okay—I believe it!

The real credit for the auspicious return of Fandom’s Favorite Fanzine as an independent periodical goes to Roy Thomas, for making the time in his schedule to devote to it—to John and Pam Morrow of TwoMorrows Publishing—and to Jon B. Cooke, editor of Comic Book Artist. Truer words were never spoken than TwoMorrows’ slogan “Bringing New Life to Comics Fandom.” Their philosophy (if I read it correctly) is amazingly congruent with the essence of Alter Ego: celebrating the comic art medium not for its investment value, but for its intrinsic enjoyment. I’m happy to be a part of the TwoMorrows family.

Alter Ego is finally back in full-blown form. Who says you can’t go home again? When I wrote a brief historical perspective of A/E in the Hamster Press Best of Alter Ego tome, I never seriously thought the magazine would return in any form, much less with one of its original editors at the helm. If anyone had told me that The Golden Age of Comic Fandom (my fandom history book, now back in print) would help lead to this outcome, my skepticism would have known no bounds.

My role as associate editor of the new A/E will be a varied one. I’ll be assisting Roy in the editing, as well as contributing articles and art as inspiration strikes. I’ll share my collection of fandom memorabilia with the readers either through a “Comic Fandom Archive” or in other ways. I’ll also be keeping my eyes and ears open for top caliber contributions.

Maybe I should back up just enough to introduce myself to those who don’t yet know me. I was a fan of the original Alter Ego starting in 1964 when I joined the fledgling comic fandom movement. In partial imitation I published my own fanzines in the 1960s, with Sense of Wonder being the best remembered. When I re-entered comicdom in 1991, I began researching the history of those early years; the result was a series of four books on the subject. My current focus is on reviving Biljo White’s legendary costumed hero from those erstwhile fanzines: The Eye,

One thing is for sure: With all the fantastic features Roy and I are planning, you won’t want to miss a single issue! Comic fandom forever! The Eye—illo by Biljo White and Bill Schelly; inks by Bill Black. ©1999 Bill Schelly.

Submit Something To Alter Ego! Alter Ego is on the lookout for items that can be utilized in upcoming issues: • Convention Sketches • Unpublished Artwork • Original Scripts (the older the better!) • Photos • Unpublished Interviews • Little-seen Fanzine Material We’re also interested in articles, article ideas, or any other suggestions... and we pay off in FREE COPIES of A/E. (If you’re already an A/E subscriber, we’ll extend your subscription.) Contact: Roy Thomas, Editor Rt. 3, Box 468 St. Matthews, SC 29135 Fax: (803)826-6501 • E-mail: roydann@oburg.net

Submission Guidelines Submit artwork in one of these forms (in order of preference): 1) Clear color or black-&-white photocopies. 2) Scanned images—300ppi TIF (preferred) or JPEG (on Zip or floppy disk). 3) Originals (carefully packed and insured). Submit text in one of these forms: 1) E-mail (ASCII text attachments preferred) to: roydann@oburg.net 2) An ASCII or “plain text” file, supplied on floppy disk. 3) Typed, xeroxed, or laser printed pages.

Advertise In Alter Ego! FULL-PAGE: 7.5" Wide x 10" Tall • $300 HALF-PAGE: 7.5" Wide x 4.875" Tall • $175 QUARTER-PAGE: 3.75" Wide x 4.875" Tall • $100

The TwoMorrows Two-Fer! Prepay for two same-size ads in Comic Book Artist, Alter Ego, or a combination of the two and these discounts apply: TWO FULL-PAGE ADS: $500 ($100 savings) TWO HALF-PAGE ADS: $300 ($50 savings) TWO QUARTER-PAGE ADS: $175 ($25 savings) The above rates are for black-&-white ads, supplied on-disk (TIF, EPS, or Quark Xpress files acceptable) or as cameraready art. Typesetting service available at 20% mark-up. Due to our already low ad rates, no agency discounts apply. Sorry, display ads are not available for the Jack Kirby Collector. Send ad copy and check/money order (US funds) payable to: TwoMorrows 1812 Park Drive Raleigh, NC 27605 Phone: (919)833-8092 Fax: (919)833-8023 E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com

We also accept VISA and MASTERCARD! Include card number and expiration date.

Concept & dialogue: Roy Thomas after Stan Lee.

Stan Lee Roast

The Stan Lee Roast Held at the ’95 Chicago Comicon Transcribed by Dann Thomas Edited by Roy Thomas Introductory Note by Nancy Ford: The Chicago Comicon, coordinated by Robert Weinberg, Gary Colabuono, Larry Charet, and me, had been running for many years before we started our own awards presentation. We decided to honor people who had been pivotal in the comics and related fields, and who had done their work in an entertaining and classy manner, so we instituted the toast/roast banquet. At first the other speakers at the banquet were nervous about the possibility of their remarks being interpreted as being mean-spirited, but we assured all who participated that they had the choice of what to say, and that all humor would be based in respect. Our first honoree, in 1993, was Julius Schwartz, followed by Harlan Ellison in 1994, and Stan Lee in 1995. Not only were the honorees spectacular, but the roasters were also in a class of their own. The awards were held for about four years, until the Chicago Comicon was bought and the awards dropped. Note by Ye Editor: For the most part, I have not indicated when or to what extent the audience applauded, or laughed, or booed good-naturedly, or whatever, leaving that to the reader’s good sense. Suffice it to say, there was a lot of applause and

laughter, in particular. The transcription has been abridged slightly, in the interests of space, although probably 75-80% of what the major eight parties involved said is included... no easy task, since the videotape of the roast was not intended for transcription. No official photograph of the dais where were seated the seven— eight, counting Stan Lee—people who composed the group seems to exist; but hopefully the accompanying photographs, generously provided by Nancy Ford, will give an added feeling to what transpired in late June of 1995. Alas, Nancy was unable to recall the name of the photographer, but if he’ll make himself known, we’ll credit him in a future issue. For the most part, the comments made by roasters and roastee need little explanation to a reasonably knowledgeable comics fan audience—and would often be utterly unintelligible to anyone else. Thus, the only elaboration we’ll make at this point is to say by 1995 the socalled “Marvelution”—read, “downsizing”— had begun, as Marvel’s market share eroded and its financial troubles moved into high gear (and onto the front pages). This was also the period during which it was wrongheadedly (but mercifully briefly) decided that many years’ worth of Spider-Man adventures had actually happened to a clone of Peter Parker; hence the various “clone” references. And now, without further ado.... [To applause in the packed banquet room, the seven roasters are escorted to their seats on the dais by young ladies. At this point SpiderMan enters, strides to the microphone.]

“I’d like to introduce a man who’s been like a father to me...”

5 SPIDEY: I’d like to introduce a man who’s been like a father to me. Ladies and gentlemen... Mr. Stan Lee! [Stan Lee is ushered in, to thunderous applause, and hops onto the dais.] STAN LEE: Thank you... thank you! [Throws up his arms, shouts:] EXCELSIOR! [Sits. Gary Colabuono walks to the podium.] GARY: Our master of ceremonies tonight is a dear friend of mine, who’s our guest of honor this year. [At this point Peter briefly falls off his chair, but regains it with reasonable aplomb.] All of us in the business end of comics are envious of Peter David, because he started in the business end of comics, and now he’s doing what we’ve all wished we could do. Peter David... PETER: Ladies, gentlemen, disgruntled former Marvel employees—and we’ll be having a “Count the Former Marvel Editors-in-Chief Contest” after dinner—last year the Chicago Comicon had Harlan Ellison as the guest of honor, and they had a Harlan Ellison Tribute Dinner. This year I am the guest of honor... so naturally we’re having a Stan Lee Tribute Dinner. I’m actually a “special guest,” which is kind of like “special Olympics,” I suppose. At any rate, ladies and gentlemen, try and have a fun evening. [After dinner, Peter takes the podium again; he blows one of the noisemakers provided to each guest; its tongue juts out, then dips straight down] Look, it’s Marvel market-share toys! [Mixture of groans, laughter, applause] We begin tonight’s symposium with my favorite Stan Lee anecdote. I regret that it is customary, indeed almost an obligation, that when you are telling a Stan Lee anecdote, you have to do a Stan Lee impression. This is actually fairly easy because, to get Stan, you do kind of a cross between Mr. Rogers and Maxwell Smart. You know, like [in high-pitched voice:] “Would you believe, three Peter Parkers!” I was on a convention panel with Stan, and I was supposed to ask him all kinds of interesting questions, which, ideally, he would answer. And just before we start, Stan says to the audience: “I just want to tell you guys about this young, fabulous writer”—this is a few years ago—he says, “This young man has written one of the best graphic novels Marvel has ever published!” I knew I was in trouble, because at the time I had not written any graphic novels. And Stan drapes his arm around me and he says, “Ladies and gentleman, this young man, the writer of Greenberg the Vampire!” The audience goes like this... [Imitates someone starting to applaud, then slowing his clapping, halting, puzzled] I’m sitting there dying, and I say to the audience, “Should I tell him?” And they say, “I think you’re going to

Stan Lee Roast podium]

M.C. Peter David: “When you are doing a Stan Lee anecdote, you have to do a Stan Lee impression....”

SAL: Thank you. What a night! Peter, I know a guy named Guido in Brooklyn that’ll pay you a visit. He’s got a nose like this. [Indicates broken nose] I was absolutely thrilled when I was asked to come here to this banquet honoring this living legend...

STAN: He forgot my name!

have to.” And Stan says, ”What?” And I have to explain to him that I am, in fact, not Marc de Matteis. Stan actually had a fairly good explanation as to why he’d screwed up, an explanation of which I think I speak on everyone’s behalf when I say: “WE DON’T CARE!” At any rate, I’d like to introduce, one by one, our speakers. [Looks toward Sal Buscema] What can I say? When it comes to discussing master storytelling, dynamic rendering... when it comes to discussing the true artistic greats of the super-hero genre, what can I say that has not already been said about—Sal Buscema’s brother? I remember as a kid, many, many, many, many years ago, the first time I opened a comic and saw the name “Sal Buscema.” And I thought, “Wow! John Buscema has a sister!” Ladies and gentlemen, a man who needs no introduction, and, I would hazard a guess, would have preferred none to this one... Ms.-ter Sal Buscema! [Sits down, as Sal walks to the

SAL: ...whatever his name is. I left Virginia, left my lovely wife and family to come here to make you laugh with some funny remarks about this guy. And believe me—believe me—there is nothing funny about this man! Absolutely nothing! So where do I start? I guess at the beginning. Many, many years ago, more than I like to remember, I had an appointment with Stan, and I was very nervous. You know, when you’re going to meet a living legend, you get very nervous. I was ushered into his office. He asked me to sit down, and proceeded to give me the Stan Lee Five-Minute Crash Course on How To Do Comics the Marvel Way. He started leaping around his office—on the chair, up on the desk, back onto the floor, back up onto the desk, super-heroes from the right, super-villains from the left—I was absolutely terrified! I didn’t know what was going on! Scared the hell out of me! Just about the time when I was ready to run out of the room, he was finished. But then, I had a vision... Can you imagine this man in a Spider-Man costume? That scared me even more! He asked me to step outside and talk to Sol Brodsky—the late Sol Brodsky, delightful man—about a page rate, and then to come back after we had settled on it. Sol and I bantered back and forth, and we came up with a figure. I went back into Stan’s office, and he said, “What did you settle on?” And I told him the price. And he said, “Well, it’s probably more than you’re worth.” True story.

What a confidence-builder this was! Stan, it’s been 27 years. Can I have a raise now? But, you know, in reality, I really have not worked with Stan that much! And from what I understand, this is probably the best thing that’s ever happened to my career! Look at the guys that he has worked with: John Romita... Roy Thomas... Tom DeFalco. These guys are still in their prime, and it’s all over for them! [Looks at John Romita] I think Guido’s gonna be paying me a visit! A couple of years ago, Stan and I were both at a convention in Texas—it was part of a Marvel Megatour, and all the Marvel people were housed in the same hotel. And Stan and I sort of gravitated together, I guess because we were surrounded by a bunch of teenyboppers. You know, Stan’s older than dirt, and I’m almost as old as dirt, so it was sort of the natural order of things. STAN: And I had no one else to talk to. SAL: And he had no one else to talk to. They were all ignoring him. So anyway, our host brought us to this very nice Mexican restaurant and we had a wonderful conversation. “Conversation.” He talked... I listened. As a matter of fact, this is the first time I have been in the same room with this man that I’ve been able to say anything more than, “Hi, Stan, how are you?” I’ve never been able to get a word in edgewise. Now we get serious. I think everybody here is familiar with this man’s credits. They’re a mile long, they’re endless, they go on forever, he’s done everything. To me, the thing that is most significant—the contribution that he’s made to this industry, this crazy industry that we’re in, his vision, his seemingly boundless energy, his considerable talents—I think what I’m trying to say is that there’s probably not anyone in this industry today—any artist,

Sal Buscema: “[Stan] started leaping around his office... I was absolutely terrified!”

The Secret Origins of Infinity, Inc.

Two Co-Creators Reveal—

The Secret Origins

of Infinity, Inc. by Roy Thomas (with the special input of Jerry Ordway) I. A Concept a-Borning The sons and daughters—the natural children and spiritual heirs—of the Justice Society of America! Turns out this may be one of the oldest ideas in the so-called Silver Age of Comics, and I’m just lucky I’m the guy who got to write it first. Luckier still that, when I got my shot, I had two of the most talented young artists around to do it with me! Let’s backtrack a bit: In Bill Schelly’s 1995 book The Golden Age of Comic Fandom, Larry Ivie, a comics/ science-fiction fan as well as a talented artist and writer, reported that in the late ’50s he spoke to a DC editor about an idea he had: “Ivie’s great disappointment was that National wasn’t interested in his proposed revival of the Justice Society of America, to be called the Justice Legion of the World, which would be made up of the sons and daughters of the original JSA.”

America from All-Star Comics. It was quite a different group from what Larry had envisioned, but his “sons and daughters” concept was an idea that was bound to surface again. It was, as they say, “in the air.” In 1975, having resigned the previous year as editor-in-chief, I was still employed by Marvel as a contractual writer/editor (its first, after Stan Lee). One night, at the Manhattan apartment of my friend Gerry Conway, who had recently stopped writing for Marvel to return to DC, the two of us were kicking around ideas, as was our wont. And suddenly I heard myself suggesting a few pet notions I’d like to see DC publish, even if I wasn’t free to write them myself.

Larry moved on to other projects, including his own magazine Monsters and Heroes, and has promised that one of these days he’ll tell Alter Ego the full story of his “Justice Legion,” a concept that was perhaps a bit ahead of its time. In 1960, of course, under editor Julius Schwartz, National (as DC was then officially known) launched the Justice League of America, an updated version of its 1940s Justice Society of

26 One of those ideas was the return of AllStar Comics, with the Justice Society of America. Gerry sparked to the idea at once and carried the ball from there, with no further input from me. All-Star Comics #58 (Jan.-Feb. 1976), the first of the new series, was of course set on Earth-Two. And if you have to ask what Earth-Two was, you’re probably too young to be reading this, but: From 1963-1985, the JSA existed on a parallel world of that name, from which they made annual forays into the pages of Justice League of America. Writer/editor Gerry took them out of that limited guest-star sphere and into their own magazine again, though still set on Earth-Two. To add a youthful accent to a bunch of heroes who after all had been around since World War Two and before, he added to the JSA an “All-Star Super Squad” composed of three heroes who hadn’t been JSAers in the old days: the Earth-Two Robin, the Star-Spangled Kid (from 1940s Star-Spangled Comics)—and Power Girl, a new heroine he created as the cousin of that world’s Superman, and thus the alternate Earth’s equivalent of Supergirl. Power Girl, named Kara (Gerry and Carla Conway would later name their only child Cara; she also happens to be my godchild), proved instantly popular. Of course, her stunning figure and cut-out bust, as drawn by Ric Estrada and Wally Wood, probably didn’t hurt any. Later Gerry offered me a chance to ghostwrite an issue or two of All-Star. I thanked him, but told him that if I ever did a comic about the JSA, I wanted my name on the splash page. He understood. Soon afterward, when Stan and I lured Gerry back to Marvel, Paul Levitz of Legion

Two Co-Creators Reveal— of Super-Heroes fame took over the scripting of All-Star. In issue #70 (Jan.-Feb. 1978), he and artists Joe Staton and Bob Layton introduced The Huntress. In the 1940s this had been the name of a Wildcat villainess, but this one was different: She was the daughter of the Earth-Two Batman! Thus, the notion of the sons and daughters of the JSA picking up the torch from the older heroes was slowly and unconsciously taking form, even if Power Girl was Superman’s cousin rather than his daughter. When the great DC Implosion of 1978 led first to cancellation of the revived All-Star and then of the Adventure Comics into whose many pages the JSA had retreated, Power Girl and The Huntress went mostly into mothballs. But not for long.

II. Elements Assemble! In 1980 I reluctantly ended my 15-year stay at Marvel and (not at all reluctantly) signed a writing contract with DC. Among other things, I was allowed to create a new title—All-Star Squadron, set during the World War II years—to utilize the many EarthTwo super-heroes of that era (including but not limited to the JSA). My longtime colleague Len Wein was assigned as the book’s editor and chose the artists, though it was understood that the story direction of the series would be left to me. With art by Rich Buckler and inker Jerry Ordway, and a brilliant cover concept by Len, All-Star Squadron #1 (Sept. 1981) had a very good sale of 250,000+ copies; and while it soon fell from those lofty heights, the comic fared well for some time. A primary reason for that was Jerry Ordway.

Squadron. But as soon as I saw his embellishing of Rich’s pencils on the 16-page preview slated to appear as a teaser in JLA #193, I fell in love with his work. As an inker, anyway. Nineteen issues later, after Rich had long since departed and Jerry had spent more than a year inking the pencils of Adrian Gonzales, Len forced Jerry on me again—this time as penciler as well as inker. Since again I hadn’t seen specimens of Jerry’s work in this area, I back-pedaled, but it was Len’s decision. (Jerry told me recently that actually he’d been trying to get penciling work from DC for some time. He once agreed to ink Joe Staton on JLA, being led to believe that he was being groomed to take over as penciler; but he quickly learned Staton wasn’t going anywhere, so Jerry left JLA instead. Finally, he says, he announced that if he wasn’t made penciler of All-Star Squadron, he would have to leave the title. He got the job.) I’ll admit to initial misgivings when I pored over the first few pages of Jerry’s pencils for #19 (March 1983). Not that they weren’t good—in some ways they were very good. I was especially impressed by his renderings of the Trylon and Perisphere and other artifacts left over from the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair. Still, I wasn’t quite 100% sold— —until I flipped over Page 8, and saw his powerful full-page panel of six All-Stars staring

I won’t go into rhapsodies here about Jerry’s talent, because I’ll admit that, no less than twice, he was thrust upon me by editor Len Wein.

First it was as an inker. Now, I had nothing against Jerry—it’s just that Len hadn’t shown me any samples of his inking, so to me Jerry was an unknown quantity when he was made inker of All-Star

Left: Hippolyta Trevor had made her debut in Wonder Woman #300 only months before the confrontation with her mother (left) in Infinity, Inc. #1, as penciled by Jerry Ordway and first seen in Amazing Heroes #36, Dec. 1, 1983. © 1999 DC Comics Inc.

™

Golden Age Forever!

W Volume 3, No. 1, Summer 1999

Table Of Contents Golden Age Forever!. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 More from Ye Editor about this new incarnation of A/E.

“So I Took The Subway And There Was Shelly Mayer!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Irwin Hasen, Golden Age great, is interviewed by Roy Thomas.

Two Touches Of Venus . . . . . . . . . . 14 Never-before-seen Wonder Woman scripts— plus rare Wonder Woman illos by original artist H.G. Peter.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt “There’s Money In Comics!” . . . . . 25 So said Stan Lee in the Nov. 1947 Writer’s Digest! A special regular feature presented by Michael T. Gilbert.

Fawcett Collectors of America #60 . . 31 P.C. Hamerlinck introduces you to Fawcett Collectors of America—now an ongoing feature in every issue of A/E!

“We Didn’t Know... It Was The Golden Age!” (FCA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Marc Swayze, major Fawcett artist, continues his behind-the scenes look at the comics industry in the 1940s.

“When Marvels Clashed!” (FCA) . . 37 The original Captain Marvel meets the original Human Torch! Alter EgoTM is published quarterly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 1812 Park Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605. Phone: (919) 833-8092. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: Rt. 3, Box 468, St. Matthews, SC 29135. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@oburg.net. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $5.95 ($7.00 Canada, $9.00 elsewhere). Year subscriptions: $20 US, ($27 Canada, $37 elsewhere). All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM of P.C. Hamerlinck. Alter Ego hero ©1999 Roy Thomas & Ron Harris. JSA, Superman, Batman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Hawkman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wildcat, Atom, Doiby Dickles, Steve Trevor, Harlequin, Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Billy Batson, The Marvel Family, Taia ©1999 DC Comics Inc.; Human Torch, Blonde Phantom, ©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Flyin’ Jenny ©1999 Bell Syndicate; Judi the Jungle Girl, Lucky Bill, and Jango ©1999 Marc Swayze; Mr. Monster ©1999 Michael T. Gilbert; Cat-Man ©1999 Holyoke & AC Comics; Dondi ©1999 Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate; Daredevil ©1999 Lev Gleason; Firehair ©1999 Fiction House; Classics Illustrated ©1999 Gilberton Publishing. Tor ©1999 Joe Kubert.

ell, here I am again—or, here I am for the first time, if you’ve elected to read this issue’s offerings in chronological order, Golden Age first, then Silver Age and beyond. It really doesn’t matter, because both comic book ages are equally important to this third incarnation of Alter Ego. After all, it was the meeting of Golden Age and Silver Age in early 1961—when the Justice Society had only recently been superceded by the Justice League, and the Flashes of two worlds were on the verge of crashing head-on, and a new and improved Atom was about to smash onto the scene—that the original A/E was founded by Jerry Bails with a bit of help from Yours Truly.

What’s more, it was Julius Schwartz, editor of All-Star Comics from 1944-51 and of the Justice League of America from its debut in The Brave and the Bold #28, who midwifed the fanzine—another case of Golden and Silver Ages intermingling in the early days of superhero comics fandom. It was a distinct pleasure to put this issue of A/E together, and there was plenty of serendipity to go around: Jerry Ordway faxed me a congratulatory note re the A/E section of Comic Book Artist #3—and quickly found himself drawing our cover, and being interviewed for his take on the creation of Infinity, Inc. Jerry Bails, founder of A/E, sent me the Fox and Marston scripts for the Wonder Woman chapter of All-Star #13, as well as a few other WWrelated items; Al Dellinges drew a page approximating what the Wonder Woman splash of All-Star #13 might have looked like, if Fox’s script had been used instead of Marston’s. Irwin Hasen, one of my favorite Golden Age artists, consented to be interviewed—and to look over beaucoup pages of his work to prepare him for my onslaught of questions. Fan/collector Ray Cuthbert sent me a copy of Irwin’s 1941 Christmas message to publisher M.C. Gaines—which Irwin himself hadn’t seen in nearly six decades! Jean-Marc Lofficier prepared no less than two articles—and anything that didn’t make it into #1 will be definitely seen in the months to come. Michael T. Gilbert dug up several real treasures from the 1940s, for this and future editions of “Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt.” Paul Hamerlinck agreed to include his excellent fanzine FCA in A/E for the foreseeable future—with happy results, we hope, for all concerned. Bill Schelly painstakingly handcorrected the dim spirit-duplicator lines of Grass Green’s great 1962 parody of the Fantastic Four, which has languished unseen for far too long. John G. Pierce parted with his impossible-to-replace Brazilian Captain Marvel comics, so that hardworking layout artist Chris Knowles could get the best possible reproduction. A final note: Julie Schwartz is depicted on our cover beside Stan partly because the two of them together are the main editors of the Silver Age—and partly because Julie was originally to have been even more prominent in this issue, in an article dealing with the Silver Age Atom. However, that one got squeezed out till next issue—which merely gives us something to look forward to! As for Julie: he still figures this time around in both the Hasen interview and the Stan Lee Roast, as he celebrates his 84th birthday this very June! A zillion more of ’em, please, Julie! Bestest,

The super-hero called Alter Ego and teenage amanuensis Rob Lindsay were featured in the First Comics Alter Ego title in 1986. See the Silver Age section for A/E’s other mascots.

Note: For the “Silver Age” half of this premier issue, flip us over—or else stand on your head. Your choice! This issue is dedicated to the memory of five men who, each in his own way, gave us Superman in 1938, and an industry for more than six decades: co-creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster... cheerleaders M.C. Gaines and Shelly Mayer... and Vince Sullivan (1911-1999), who as editor made the fateful decision to put Superman both in (and on the cover of) Action Comics #1. *A special thanks to Irwin Hasen for allowing us to use as our Golden Age cover his 1997 re-creation of the cover of All-Star Comics #36 from 1947. That cover was originally done by Winslow Mortimer, but utilized figures by Hasen, Joe Kubert, Lee Elias, H.G. Peter, and perhaps others. (Art ©1999 Irwin Hasen; JSA ©1999 DC Comics Inc.)

or most of the 1940s, with time out for World War II, Irwin Hanan Hasen was a major artist at National/DC Comics’ sister company All-American Comics. While he is noted mostly for his two stints as a primary artist of the Golden Age Green Lantern, between 1946-49 he also did some of the best work in All-Star Comics, before becoming the original artist (and later writer, as well) of the longlived Dondi newspaper comic strip. The following phone interview was done in late 1998.—RT ALTER EGO: In his Who’s Who of American Comic Books, Jerry Bails lists your nickname as “Zooie.” How did that happen? IRWIN HASEN: I was working in the bullpen in the late ’30s—1939— with Charlie Biro, Irv Novick, Mort Meskin—for Harry Chesler, an entrepreneur type. I was a kid doing fill-in pages, and I sort of got friendly with the group, and Charlie Biro called me Zooie. To this day I have no idea why. A/E: This must be an error in Jerry’s book. It says you were born in 1918. But you can’t be eighty years old. IRWIN: I’m eighty years old. A/E: That’s amazing. You don’t look it. You don’t act it. IRWIN: I don’t feel it, thank God. A/E: Where did you grow up, and how did you get interested in art— comic book or otherwise? IRWIN: I grew up on the West Side of Manhattan. We moved from Brooklyn to 110th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. And across the street was the National Academy of Design, a huge structure like a garage, an airplane hangar. One of the oldest art schools in America... one of the most prestigious. Classical art. I was always drawing. I was drawing in the backs, on the empty pages, of books. So my mother, God bless her soul, took me across the street and enrolled me in a course of drawing. A/E: You had to go all the way across the street, huh? IRWIN: Across the street. Honest to God. Around the corner. I was there for three years, every night during the week, drawing in charcoal all the statues of Michelangelo and all the Bernini and all the classics. And it was something that I couldn’t believe later on—how the hell did I get into that? Because during the day I would hawk, sell, drawings of prizefighters down in New York. That was my first job—boxing cartoonist. I made a very small, very slight living. I was 19-20 years old. I sold my cartoons to the Madison Square Garden Corporation. They were printed all over New York, in different newspapers. It was like public relations for the fights. A/E: What years did you go to the National Academy of Design? IRWIN: 1939—when I got out of DeWitt Clinton High School. And after that came the Art Students League, in Manhattan. You know, so many of these young kids who go into comics never really learn how to draw. A/E: You’ve said your influences, instead of the usual comic book and comic strip artists, are Gustav Dore, Heinrich Kley... and Willard Mullin. I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the last name. IRWIN: Willard Mullin was the greatest sports cartoonist that ever lived. He worked for the New York World Telegram from 1930 to 1935. And I loved him from afar. And then one day after I graduated, I snuck in their offices and I waited for the receptionist to turn her heard and I walked into the city room. And there was my hero sitting at his desk. He allowed me to come down there a few times. It’s funny—when you really want to do something, you do it. I had a lot of audacity as a kid. I was a pushy little fella. And I sat at his desk. We became friends. He liked my work, whatever. That started me off, and then I went in to DC—or National, as we called it then. A/E: Joe Kubert tells me he and Lee Elias and Frank Giacoia and

Carmine Infantino all worshiped Alex Raymond and Hal Foster and Milt Caniff—but Caniff was the one they could copy easiest, because he had the most direct style for comic books. Did you have that feeling, too? IRWIN: Yeah, absolutely. Caniff was one of my idols. He was a great transference into comic books because he kept it simple and he knew how to tell a story. But my greatest idol is Roy Crane, who did Wash Tubbs. He was the first adventure cartoonist in the newspapers. I think he is the ultimate cartoonist’s cartoonist. A/E: You started out freelancing for comics shops like Chesler and Bert Whitman—and Lloyd Jacquet—that was Funnies, Inc., right? Did you know Bill Everett and Carl Burgos there? IRWIN: They were there, but I didn’t deal with them. I didn’t travel in that company. And there was another shop—Phil McClide; that was for Archie Comics—MLJ, then. We all hustled in those days, Roy. It was the Depression. You had to try to make a living, a buck. We were selftaught when it came to comics, where today you’ve got these schools—

Irwin Hasen

A/E: Do you still have that letter? IRWIN: Ohio State University has it, in their museum. The minute I saw the letter, I called him up and I said, “Gus, this is gonna be the best strip in America!” He said to me, “You’re kidding!”—he didn’t know what he had, but I knew. It’s like when you go to a party, and across a crowded room [laughs] you say, “That’s gonna be my next wife.” A/E: It happens. And you were right. Maybe it’s just because the Korean War was so recent in my young memory in 1955 when the strip started, but I always thought of Dondi as Korean. He was really Italian, right? IRWIN: Yeah. But everybody thought he was Korean—or Mexican. Actually, the story was inspired by officers returning from Korea and adopting war orphans. A/E: The strip, of course, lasted over three decades.... IRWIN: Thirty-two years. A/E: You wound up in the Dondi movie yourself, as a police sketch artist, drawing him when cops were searching for him. IRWIN: Worst movie ever made! It won a Golden Turkey award in that book. It was a terrible experience for me when I went out there, dealing with this producer, who was a Captain Queeg type... Alfred Zugsmith. That name is so beautiful, for that kind of a man. Alfred Zugsmith! A/E: How popular was Dondi at its height? IRWIN: Very popular. We didn’t have a lot of newspapers, but we had the best. In other words, the highest priced. We started out with 46, and we went crazy, we were so happy. Because in those days, when you had the right 46 papers, you had 46 capital cities. Frank Robbins used to joke that we made as much as he made with 500 papers on Johnny Hazard, because King Features blanketed every small town paper. Unfortunately, then, when you lost a paper, you lost a lot of income. We had to split it three ways—me, Edson, and the syndicate. A/E: At what point wasn’t the strip worth doing anymore? IRWIN: 1987. When I got my last royalty check, I looked at it and I said, “Oh Jesus, forget it,” ’cause I had to pay my letterer, and Bob Oksner, who was helping me with the writing. When he saw my check, he cried. At the syndicate they don’t give a damn, as long as they get enough money to pay for paper clips. It just wasn’t worth it any more. And I was very proud that I made that decision. No regrets. A/E: Over thirty years of anything is a lot. IRWIN: Even of being married.... A/E: How did that strip you drew in the alternative comic Dr. Wonder a few years ago come about?

GOLDEN AGE COVER RECREATIONS by

ALL-STAR • GREEN LANTERN COMIC CAVALCADE • WONDER WOMAN A list of over 100 titles available. F O R I N F O R M A T I O N : 68 E. 79TH ST. NEW YORK, NY 10021 • (212) 861-6879 IRWIN: The publisher [David Allikas] called me... and Dick Ayers called me. I just did a couple of issues, but it was fun. A/E: Of all the things you’ve worked on over the years, Irwin, which one are you proudest of? IRWIN: Doing that whole newspaper, the Fort Dix Post, while I was in the army. I edited it, I published it, I took it to the printers, I learned how to set up type, I did the comic strip, I wrote the whole goddam thing, and I interviewed all the celebrities coming in from New York. I worked my ass off, and I wound up in the hospital. But that was my proudest time, editing that newspaper for a year and a half. A/E: Even if it put you in the hospital. IRWIN: I don’t care. It was yellow jaundice; I got it from an infection. Even when I was in the hospital, I edited. And I got to be a corporal. See what you can do for love, not for money? I did it because it was put in my lap. The official editor was a sports writer named Jimmy Cannon. He was very famous in New York, one of the great sports columnists. He just happened to be a sergeant and was editing the newspaper. So when I went into the army, I walked over there on a windy night and I told him, “I write poetry, I’d like to write for the paper.” And Jimmy Cannon says, “Oh, I got an assistant—good!” A/E: Just like when you approached that sports cartoonist back when you were a teenager. You had chutzpa, right? IRWIN: You just hit it right on the head. Left: Dondi seems right at home with Roy and Dann Thomas’ baby goats, puppy, Basil the Fawlty Llama, and Carmilla the chinchilla, in this original illo by Irwin. Dondi ©1999 Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate.

Two Touches Of Venus

Two Touches Of Venus Wonder Woman Gets “Shanghaied Into Space”—Twice Over! by Roy Thomas

f the multitude of pages of comic book art produced since 1935, only a figurative thimbleful of original art still exists. This is particularly true of the period prior to the 1970s, when Marvel, DC, and others began returning the artwork to artists (and occasionally even to writers). Of course, there are at least some hundreds of pre-’70s pages floating around out there in private collections—and wouldn’t it be great if somebody could inventory them all one day? But that’s still a pitiful percentage of the total pages produced. Pre-Code pages (i.e., before 1955) are rarer, naturally, than later ones, even allowing for the cache of EC pages put on the market a few years back by the late Bill Gaines. Though less sought after, rarer still are comic book scripts, for obvious reasons. Once a story was drawn, there was no reason for editor or artist to hang on to them, and writers rarely asked for their return (and usually threw away any carbon copies they’d made). So when a pair of comic scripts turn up from as early as 1942, it’s something of an historical find. Back in the 1960s Dr. Jerry Bails, one of the founders of comics fandom (and creator of Alter Ego), began corresponding with Mrs. Elizabeth H. Marston. She was the elderly widow of Dr. William Moulton Marston, the man who had conceived the idea of Wonder Woman in 1941 and had written nearly all of the Amazon’s adventures until his death in 1947. In 1970 Mrs. Marston gave Bails a few items related to her husband’s comics career, which will be dealt with in a future issue.

Most significant was a matched pair of items: the carbon copy of Gardner F. Fox’s script for the six-page Wonder Woman chapter of the Justice Society of America story in All-Star Comics #13 (Oct.-Nov. 1942), and the carbon of a six-page script of Dr. Marston’s which was a total rewrite of Fox’s!

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt

There’s Money In Comics! by Stan Lee, Editor and Art Director, Timely Comics, Inc.

ell, what are you waiting for? They’ve been publishing comic magazines for more than 10 years. They’ve been buying scripts for these magazines from freelance writers for that same length of time and paying good rates for them. There are 92 comic magazines appearing on the stands every single month—and each magazine uses an average of 5 stories. It’s a big field, it’s a well-paying field, and it’s an interesting field. If you haven’t tried to crack the comics yet, now’s the time to start. No matter what type of writing you specialize in—adventure, detective style, romantic stories, or humorous material, there is some comic magazine which uses the type of story you’d like to write. And, once you’ve broken into the field, you’ll find that your assignments come to you at a fairly steady pace.

Stan Lee has been Marvel’s most famous editor and writer since the 1940s, when the company was still known as Timely. This article was written around the same time as Stan’s behind-the-scenes book, Secrets Behind The Comics, and was designed to show would-be comics writers how to break in. It first appeared in the November 1947 issue of Writer’s Digest. The only piece of art illustrating the original article was Syd Shores’ Blonde Phantom page—a page chosen to demonstrate the correct way to write comics. However, I find it a very odd choice. This page (not scripted by Stan, strangely enough!) strikes me as the perfect example of comics storytelling at its worst! If you can figure out where to go after panel one, you’re a better man than I, Gunga Din! That minor quibble aside, the article is filled with solid information, and Stan’s infectious enthusiasm. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it! By the way if you have any rare old comics articles you’d like to see reprinted in future installments, please send copies to me at: Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, P.O. Box 11421, Eugene, OR 97440. Letters (or requests for my Mr. Monster back-issue catalog) can be sent to the above address, or via e-mail at jgilbert@efn.org ’Til next time, Michael T. Gilbert

The pay is good. A competent writer can write about 10 pages a day for $6 to $9 per page, depending upon the strip he is writing and the quality of his material. So, this comic field certainly bears a pretty close scrutiny from any writer who’s interested in receiving meaty checks, and in receiving them often. (And I’ve yet to see the writer who isn’t interested!) “But I’m not good at drawing! How can I work with an artist on a comic strip?” How often I’ve heard that said by writers! Look! You don’t have to be able to draw flies! You do need an imagination, and the ability to write snappy dialogue and to describe continuity. And what writer won’t lay claim to those talents? Comic strip writing is very comparable to radio writing, or to writing for the stage. The radio writer must describe sound effects in his script, and the playwright must give staging directions in his play. Well, the comic strip writer also gives directions for staging and sound effects in his script, but HIS directions are given in writing to the artist, rather than to a director. He must tell the artist what to draw, and then must write the dialogue and captions. A sample page from a script of The Blonde Phantom follows. This is an actual page, just as it was typed by Al Sulman, the writer. You will notice that the page is roughly divided into two sections, the left-hand section containing the instructions for the artist, and the right-hand section containing the dialogue. There are no set rules as to margins and borders, the important consideration being to make sure that the script is written clearly and can be easily understood by the editor and the artist. One interesting aspect of writing a comic strip is seeing how the artist finally interprets your script. Syd Shores used the above copy to draw one page for Blonde Phantom Comics, issue #15. As you can see, the artist relied on the instructions that Alan Sulman typed on the left side of the script. BUT there’s more to comic strip writing than just knowing on which side of a page to type artist’s instructions. Let’s try to analyze some of the factors which go into the making of a good script: 1. Interesting Beginning. Just as in a story, the comic strip must catch the reader’s interest from the first. The very first few panels should show the reader that something of interest is happening, or is about to happen. 2. Smooth Continuity. The action from panel to panel must be natural and unforced. If a character is walking on the street talking to another character in one panel, we wouldn’t show him horseback riding in the next panel with a different character. There ARE times when it is necessary to have a sudden change of scene or time, however, and for such times the writer uses captions. For example, if we have Patsy Walker lying in bed, about to fall asleep, in one panel, and want to show her eating breakfast in the next panel, the second panel would have an accompanying caption

When Marvels Clashed!

When Marvels Clashed! When The Original Captain Marvel Fought The Original Human Torch! by John G. Pierce

ith all the hoopla surrounding recent inter-company crossovers, starting with DC vs. Marvel (or Marvel vs. DC, if you prefer), it’s important not to lose track of an earlier effort in the same vein. No, I’m not talking about the Superman/ Spider-Man team-ups of the 1970s, or even of the cross-company Wizard of Oz adaptation that preceded it. I have in mind a DC/Marvel crossover that took place much earlier than that—in 1964, to be exact—a team-up you probably never saw: The pairing of Fawcett’s original Captain Marvel with Timely’s original Human Torch! Oh, I know what you’re going to say: That Captain Marvel was discontinued by Fawcett in 1953, and didn’t reappear until the early 1970s, when DC acquired the rights of publication of the World’s Mightiest Mortal— and Timely’s first Human Torch disappeared in the late ’40s, resurfaced briefly in the ’50s, then did not return until a totally new version debuted in Fantastic Four #1 in 1961. You’re dead right, on both accounts. But—you can be forgiven for not knowing that Captain Marvel and the Human Torch both lasted well into the 1960s, because it didn’t happen in U.S. comics. Instead, both features enjoyed long lives in a country now garnering a bit of attention for having provided comics with such artists as Mike Deodata, Jr., and Roger Cruz, among others. I refer, of course, to Brazil. The Human Torch had his beginnings in Brazilian comics in 1940, in the pages of a comic book entitled O Globo Juvenil Mensal (which might be roughly translated from Portuguese as Kids’ World Monthly, or Kid’s World Monthly—take your pick). In the years that followed, the amazing android creation of Professor Horton (and Carl Burgos) would also turn up in other comics titles there, as well as in the comics sections of Brazilian newspapers. Other Timely characters who could be seen in Brazil included Sub-Mariner, Captain America, Sun Just imagine—your favorite heroes— “Capitáo Marvel” and “Tocha Humana”— in one adventure together! Captain Marvel © 1999 DC Comics Inc.; Human Torch ©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Girl, Miss America, The Angel, The Patriot, and the Young Allies, among others. (By contrast, the Stan Lee line of heroes whom we know today as the Marvel lineup didn’t start in Brazil until 1967!) Fawcett’s Captain Marvel enjoyed a 25year career in Brazil, beginning in 1943 and stretching all the way into 1968, which was 15 years after he had been discontinued in the USA as a result of declining sales and the DC lawsuit! (And, since DC revived the Fawcett characters in late 1972, with Brazilian reprints

thereof appearing in 1973, Brazilian readers were minus the Marvel Family for only about five years—not for twenty years as in the States.) Captain Marvel first appeared in Brazil in Gibi Mensal #34, dated October 1943. Oddly, he was actually preceded one month earlier by his sister Mary Marvel, who had begun appearing in O Guri (which, ironically, translates as Oh Boy) #71, dated Sept. 1, 1943. Gibi, where the Captain made his debut, was a standard-sized 100-page book with most of its features in black-and-white. It was one of the

Fawcett Collectors of America

first Brazilian publications in comic book format, as well as one of the first to present complete stories. The popularity of this publication was so great that even today the name Gibi is used as a synonym for comic books. There’s even an idiomatic expression, “Não está no Gibi!” (“That isn’t a comic!”—or perhaps “You

wouldn’t even find that in a comic book!”), to designate something fantastic. Since U.S. features were purchased from a central agency, Agencia Record, it was not at all unusual to find strips from a variety of U.S. sources collected by one Brazilian publisher under one set of covers. Features as diverse as Pafuncio (Bringing up Father), HomemBorracha (Plastic Man), Zorro (the Lone Ranger!), O Rei da Policia Montada (King of the Royal Mounted), Dr. Kildare, Tim e Tom (Tim Tyler’s Luck), Pinduca (Henry), Don Winslow, and many others shared space in the Brazilian titles. A Brazilian reader accustomed to seeing Captain Midnight, Captain America, and Batman all in the pages of one magazine

Top: The cover of the 1964 issue of O Globo Juvenil in which Captain Marvel met the Human Torch. Captain Marvel © 1999 DC Comics Inc. Above: O Guri—“Oh boy!”—here comes the Mary Marvel Marching Society! Mary Marvel © 1999 DC Comics Inc. RIght: Another splash from the Cap-Torch story; the Torch is the guy hanging! Human Torch © 1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.

would think nothing of it, for no references were made to the original U.S. publishers (except, occasionally, in tiny, barely visible copyright notices). So the idea of a team-up between two characters from different strips, while perhaps a novelty simply because it was a crossover, would not strike the Brazilian reader as strange unless he happened to be acquainted with the originals. The teaming of Captain Marvel and the Human Torch occurred in the 1964-dated Almanaque do O Globo Juvenil (“Kids’ World Annual” or “Kids’ World Special”). The cover gave no hint of the surprise within, featuring as it did simply a montage of various heroes from its pages, including Captain Marvel, Billy the Kid, Robin Hood, Wyatt Earp (by Stan Lee and Al McWilliams), Don Chicote (Lash

Alter Ego #1