Alter Ego #1

$

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

2

Writer/Editorial

Silver Age Forever!

D

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.

B

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.

3

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

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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

6

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...

Hulk © 1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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!”

Stan Lee Roast

7 John Romita, Senior! [Sits down; John walks to the podium]

JOHN: Thank you, Peter. I think I came out almost unscathed in that. 27 years for Sal... my God, I’ve got ties older than that! I’ve been in this business for 45, going on 46 years.

When I was 19 I worked for Stan, but he didn’t know it. A buddy of mine was getting work from Stan, but Stan never knew the guy couldn’t pencil; he was just an inker. So this guy hired me to ghost-pencil, and he took the work up to Stan and represented it as his own. So I worked for Stan for about 18 months without ever meeting Stan. Those were the best years of my life! I kid you not. I thought I was working hard. Those 18 months were bliss!

When my partner and I broke up, I went to Stan’s secretary, a beautiful blonde—he always had beautiful girls working for him—and I said, “I’ve been working for Stan, but he doesn’t know me; I’ve been doing such-and-such titles.”

She went in and talked to Stan, and came out with a script. What she didn’t know was that I had never inked professionally. The assignment was to pencil and ink, and that was the beginning of my troubles.

When I brought the job in, that’s the first time I met Stan. Now, I’ve been a rather insulated character in my time—I haven’t dealt with more than maybe four or five editors in my whole life, and that’s a joke for 45 years. Stan happens to be one of those guys that looks at the pages—carefully—and he would tell you what he thought, good or bad. He would compliment you. For the first year and a half that I worked for him directly, every time I went in there I got a $2 raise in my page rate. I started at $17 a page—I was up to about $40 a page by the time I finished. It was wonderful! That’s pencil and ink, by the way.

Just so people don’t think I was rich.

As I said, his attention to detail became the bane of my existence. It made me a dribbling moron. He wore me out. No matter how good I got, it was never good enough. He’d say, “You’re too good to do it this way, you should do it a little bit better. Now you need patterns on the clothes, now you need more hair styles, you’ve gotta look at Women’s Wear Daily, you gotta look at all of Sal Buscema’s pencils for Zarlok, from Marvel’s planned “Excelsior” line. ©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc. these magazines.” Well, he wore me out. And like the masochist that I am, I stayed with him. writer, editor, whatever—that doesn’t owe a debt of gratitude to this That was only the beginning. We were doing westerns... now I had man. And the reason I say that... is because he told me to. to learn how to draw horses. We were doing war stories... I had to learn But seriously, 27 years ago, Stan gave me my start in this business. how to draw tanks. Stan doesn’t know that you’ve gotta learn these And I’ve probably had more fun than any human being deserves to things in the week he gives you an assignment. He wants to know that have, and it’s all because he had faith in me. And I just want to tell you you can do everything! that I am personally very, very grateful for that, Stan. [Sits down] [To Stan] I think I worked 25 years for you—because I did have eight years over at the Distinguished Competition, doing love stories. I PETER: Awwwwww... [Looks at John Romita] What can I say? Many, haven’t done as many things as Kirby did, because he was much faster— many, many, many years ago, when dinosaurs walked the Earth, Stan Lee faster than anybody—but I’ve done more stories, more plots, more covers needed a new artist for Spider-Man. Someone who could follow Steve with Stan Lee than anybody in the world, so everybody look at me and Ditko, the way a swine follows pearls. [nervously:] I’m insulting Italians see what happens to a man who—I’m a physical wreck. in Chicago. There’ll be a Hulk head in my bed tomorrow morning.

And when he took off and went to California, I inherited the job of Anyway, Stan needed someone who had his own unique style. giving the—it wasn’t five minutes by that time—the Stan Lee Spiel to After all, Spider-Man is no place for an artistic clone. After much thought every young artist. I didn’t jump around the furniture, but I would give and agonizing, the word finally went out. Stan said, “Get me John them all of his precepts: You don’t have anybody thump the table—no, Buscema—or his sister!” But they weren’t available, so they got this guy. you have him smash the table!

Ladies and gentlemen, the artist formerly known as John Romita... Mr.

8

Stan Lee Roast

John Romita:“I stand before you as a shell of a man....”

come in for lunch.”

He took me out for a three-hour lunch and gave me both barrels right in the face. He threw everything at me, including, “You want to be a little fish in a big pond? How about being a big fish in a little pond?” I wasn’t even a fish at all. And he’s calling the whole comics industry a little pond. Well, this was ’65, I’ll give him that.

So he talked me out of going to BBD&O. I had to call them up embarrassed the next day and tell them I’d changed my mind about taking the job. He’d conned me into staying in comics. So now I stand before you as a shell of a man who made half the amount of money I probably could’ve made if you hadn’t made me such a fanatic.

STAN: Don’t give away our secrets!

JOHN: I remember the first Daredevil story I did. I did it somewhat like a love story for DC. I had Daredevil getting dressed, he’s taking off his clothes, he’s putting on his Daredevil equipment, and Stan says, “Nah, you got it all wrong! The first three pages are a waste of time. Gotta get Jack Kirby. I’ll show you how to do it.” He calls up Jack that very minute. He says, “Jack, here’s the story, I want you to do ten pages of breakdowns. Send ’em in tomorrow.”

And Jack says okay.

I’m in there with Stan a couple of days later, and there are ten pages by Kirby of the wildest stickfigures or silhouettes, labeled “Daredevil”—“Matt Murdock”—“Karen Page”—but he had, in those few scribbled lines, the most dynamic—! The sequence that he tore apart of mine, he turned into: Daredevil grabs his billy club—out the window—didn’t even look to see if there was a ledge or anything—landed down on the street—jumped—and he’s going up the West Side Highway, not on one car—on two cars.

One foot on each car. If you look at Daredevil #12, you’ll see the scene, because I was too stupid to change it. I did it exactly the way he did it.

I learned more in that week than lots of comic artists learn in two years, because it suddenly struck me, “My God, yes, all you have to do is—whatever you were thinking of, was too dull.” Go ten times further than you thought you were gonna do, and that’s gonna be the one to be the Marvel way. So I lived through all of that. And later I had to teach young artists to do it Stan Lee’s way. He was in California, he was sucking up the sun, and I was breaking my back in New York.

STAN: As it should be.

JOHN: [to Stan] This July it’ll be thirty years since the day you talked me out of quitting comics. I left DC and I was burned out. I called Stan up and said, “I can’t make our appointment, I just signed up to work with BBD&O [Advertising Agency], doing storyboards.” He said, “Don’t do a thing until you

John Romita art over Jack Kirby layouts, from Daredevil #12. ©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Stan Lee Roast JULIE: Or working for DC! JOHN: I worked there for eight years; I got very little input from the editors. Very little. They took the job, they said here’s the check, come in next week with the story, fine. Stan never let that happen. So, to sum it all up, the only thing worse than working for Stan Lee—was to not work for him. That’s all I’ve got to say. [Sits down] PETER: [Looks at Roy Thomas] What can I say? When speaking of Roy Thomas, I’m reminded of the words of Steve Allen, who said, “Never trust anyone with two first names.” In his writing for Marvel and DC, Roy has made a reputation for being so knowledgeable that he can take the most arcane minutiae and inconsistencies from comics published 40 years ago and build entire stories around them—stories that make the fans stand up and say, “WE DON’T CARE! Stop it! Wake up and smell the ’90s, for God’s sake!” Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to give you another recently former friend of mine... Mr. Roy Thomas! [Sits down; Roy walks to the podium] ROY: Thank you, I think. The convention only called me a week ago... too late to get a plane. I want to thank Julie Schwartz for suggesting that they ask me to drive 1500 miles. Personally, I think you can tell a lot about a guest of honor by the people they bring in to say things about him, so: First, there’s our genial M.C., Peter David. Peter has used his apprenticeship as a comic book writer as a springboard for a brilliant career as a fanzine writer. I’m just old enough to remember when it worked the other way around.

John Romita came back to Marvel two weeks after I got there in ’65. John’s made great progress. He started out as John Romita, and worked his way up to being John Romita, Sr. If John Jr. ever has a kid and names him John, there’s gonna be nothing left of this guy but an asterisk. He started off at Marvel in the middle ’60s penciling a whole Spider-Man book every month and worked his way down to sitting in an office chewing on a pencil.

Next there’s Julie Schwartz, the original editor of the Silver Age Flash, Green Lantern, and so forth. He was my first idol and inspiration as an editor in the field—the guy who helped me get to New York so I could jump ship and go over to Marvel. I think he’s a great guy, but he should loosen up a little bit.

There’s Sal Buscema—27 years in the field and he’s still known as John’s little brother. But he’s got the last laugh—he’s drawing Spider-Man, and John’s drawing Conan, and guess which one’s getting the big royalties!

There’s Jim Shooter, who started writing Superman stories at the age of six, and grew up to become the editor of several different companies... Marvel, Valiant, Defiant, Broadway... one more and he can yell “Bingo!”

And there’s Chris Claremont, the guy who made The X-Men what it is today: a book written by Scott Lobdell.

Thirty years ago next week, I was hired by Stan, ten or fifteen minutes after we first met. I became sort of his protégé and chief bottlewasher— “Houseroy,” if you’re old enough to remember that. He’s been just like a father to me, but of course we’ve all heard of child abuse.

At the age of 17, Stan got his job at Marvel the same way everybody got a job at Marvel—he was related to Martin Goodman. Martin had a brother named Abe, another brother named Dave, who did puzzle magazines—a couple more brothers and he could’ve started his own monastery.

But Stan was only related to Martin Goodman by marriage. Do you realize that if Martin Goodman had divorced in 1940, we’d be here roasting Julie Schwartz again? Julie thinks that would be a pretty good idea anyway.

Stan’s first job at Timely was as a gopher for Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, and a lot of people think he peaked too early. The first story he ever wrote was a text story—“Captain America Foils the Traitors’ Revenge!” Catchy title, right up there with Fantastic Four #28, “We Have To Fight the X-Men!” and Strange Tales #125, “The Sub-Mariner

9

Must Be Stopped!” This is the guy that taught us all!

Stan Lieber made a name for himself, and that name was Stan Lee. He was saving his real name to use when he wrote the Great American Novel. We’re still waiting. But one pseudonym wasn’t enough for Stan; he had at least two more: “S.T. Anley” and “Neel Nats.”

Some of the first characters he made up were Father Time and Jack Frost. He’d just drag names out of anywhere! What was next? Mother Nature? Baby New Year?

His first halfway major hero was The Destroyer, who had a blue face, and a skull drawn on his chest... sort of the way most Teamster presidents end up. After Pearl Harbor Stan’s career got interrupted. He volunteered to spend the entire war writing training films in New Jersey. If the Germans came ashore, he was supposed to trip them up with reels of film.

After the war, when Stan came back as editor, super-heroes were doomed, so he tried The Blonde Phantom, who fought crime wearing a full-length evening dress and high heels. She stumbled into the crooks and got them caught in her zipper. There was Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal... lots of great stuff. Comics were growing into Fin Fang Foom and Googam, Son of Goom—those are the ones he should have saved “Neel Nats” for!

Everybody knows the story that in 1961 Martin Goodman went out playing golf with one of the big honchos at DC...

JULIE: [yelling from other end of table] That’s my story!

Roy Thomas: “Stan’s first job at Timely was as a gopher for Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, and a lot of people think he peaked too early.”

STAN: I thought it was my story!

ROY: You can’t have everything, Julie. Anyway, this guy starts bragging about how Justice League was selling real well... and three weeks later, Fantastic Four #1 is on the stands. It would’ve been two weeks, but Jack Kirby’s pencil broke. And the rest is something resembling history.

That book made a big impression on me as a brand new college graduate in summer of 1961. I bought two copies of #1. I sold the spare when the price went up to 50¢. Well, it was a 500% profit, what do you want?

Everybody knows what happened to Marvel after that. It was just one success story after another: Fantastic Four was followed by that fabulous success, The Incredible Hulk, which lasted six issues. That was followed by Ant-Man, who rode an ant into the sunset in every single story. And then there was Spider-Man, whose origin was stuck in the last issue of a dying book. With a start like that, it’s a wonder there ever was a Marvel Age of Comics!

But there was, of course, and the credit for that is due to one man,

10

Stan Lee Roast

sitting right here on this dais: Julie Schwartz! If Julie hadn’t made the JLA such a big success, none of this would ever have happened, and we’d all be standing up here talking about the latest issue of The Atom and Hawkman.

In closing, Stan, I want to say thanks for taking me away from being a high school teacher in 1965, and making me a comic script writer. My ex-students would probably thank you even more. If I’d stayed in teaching, I’d be like all my old teacher friends today—forced into early retirement. Instead we’ve got the Marvelution.

Maybe I’ve traded one thing for another, but what the hell.

I hope you’ll all join me in applauding one of the greatest people in comic books today—our guest of honor—Neel Nats! [Sits down] PETER: Thank you, Roy. That was dull, and yet somehow not remotely interesting.

[At this point, Michael Davis, former editor of Motown Comics, comes up out of the audience and becomes the unplanned eighth roaster. We wish we had room to reprint his comments here. Maybe another time....]

PETER: [Looks at Chris Claremont] What can I say?

Chris Claremont... another satisfied Marvel employee.

The man who launched a thousand storylines... and actually wrapped up one or two. Stan Lee started writing The X-Men, Roy Thomas continued it, but it took Chris Claremont and 17 years of hard work to make The X-Men what they’d eventually become: a worthy vehicle for Jim Lee. The Son of Stan. Both Jim Lee and Stan’s other son Jae couldn’t be here... but Chris is here. And so, without further ado—the man whose new title, Sovereign Seven, has readers everywhere saying, “Zzzzzz...” [snoring sound] ...the X-quisite Mr. Chris Claremont!

CHRIS: I sat there, and I looked out at the dais, and I thought, “Okay, Sal—that’s something”—but John— that’s a tough act to follow. Roy—three hours, four hours—I’ve had full conversations with Roy... two or three days at a time. And I thought, “This is going to be a tough act to follow.” But Peter faked me out. He called Michael. Where do I begin?

PETER: Try being coherent.

CHRIS: [rubs the balding top of Peter’s head] Torpedo-men in the navy used to do that before going into battle.

Unpublished two-page spread of the 2nd issue of Zarlok, prepared circa 1995 for Marvel’s “Excelsior” line.

PETER: God knows, you’ve been torpedoed often enough!

CHRIS: Let me start with a small history lesson. It doesn’t go back quite as far as Roy, but—okay. You see this stage up here? Add another five feet out, and you have the Marvel offices in 1968. The entire Marvel offices in 1968. It had a Madison Avenue address, but that’s only because the alley opened off of the street—in the aptly-named Vision Building, three floors up from The National Lampoon—which is interesting, because in those days they got the bomb threats, occasionally mis-delivered to us, because, well, “They do comics, right? We’ll take it up to these guys, and see what happens.”

So—picture the office in 1968. It has a hall. It has cubicles on every side of the hall. It ends with a cubicle, and an office with a door. Stan’s door. We knew it was Stan’s door because he took it home with him every night. As soon as he was gone, Roy would slip out to watch Dark Shadows. These were the days when we laid the foundation for the

Marvel that you know and love today. The days of “Stan the Man”...

“Rascally Roy”... “Jolly Solly”... “Jazzy Johnny”... “Happy Herb”...

“Mirthful Marie”... “Jumbo John”—and “Cheerful Chris.”

Stan puzzled a lot over that. “Careful Chris” didn’t work. “Cheerful Ch-ris” sounded like something Peter would come up with, for heaven’s sake. It was a happy-go-lucky time then. And here was I, a freshman in college, having gotten a job through... a relative... [A sidewise glance at Stan] ...working at Marvel as a gopher. Now, gopher is an honorable estate in journalism. It’s basically “go for coffee, go for this, go for that, go for whatever.” Today we call them interns; you get college credit. I got 25 bucks a week and trainfare. This is when, in New York, you could get a train for $25 bucks a week—that worked.

So I was there about two weeks. I had just got to the point where I realized I didn’t have to wear a tie and jacket, and I’m doing what every new arrival does at Marvel Comics: I’m reading the back issues. Mind you, this is 1968. We had back issues then. No one realized we could

Stan Lee Roast

11 said, “Yeah, what’s the problem?” You have to understand, I’m the punk of this assemblage. I’m the young guy, except for—[pats Peter on head]. Anyway, so I explained the situation, and Roy said, “Call Stan.”

“What?” “You found it, you fix it!”

I picked up the phone and I dialed Stan in his Upper East Side palatial apartment and said, “Hi, Stan.” “Hi, true believer!” “Hi, this is the punk kid down at the office. We have a slight problem with this issue of Sgt. Fury.” And I outlined it to him, and he said, “Okay.”

Long silence. “You found it, you fix it!” “How?” “Figure something out! What the hell do I pay you for?” Okay, so I actually fixed it, and that became my first writing contribution to Marvel Comics. And so I went back to school and time passed and...

ROY: How did you fix it?

PETER: I’ve got admit, I was kind of curious myself.

CHRIS: [deep, somber voice] He was... adopted.

[Mixture of boos and applause from audience] PETER: By Mary and Murray Fury.

CHRIS: The first operative alternatives were: he was a clone... or a malfunctioning Life Model Decoy.

Unfortunately, that plotline had already been reserved for another book, to be cashed in at a later date... thirtyodd years down the line. So I went back to school, I graduated, I came back to work for Marvel, I wandered the halls, and occasionally Stan and I would bump into each other, and Stan would say, “Claremont, right?” I’d say, “Yes, Stan.” “Doing what?” “Yes, Stan.”

So I achieved the pinnacle of my ambition: I became the editor of Monsters of the Movies. One issue. The reason why it is one issue is, I turned it in. I was proud.

This was my first editing job. I had visions of, “Today Monsters of the Movies, tomorrow The New Yorker.” I felt empowered. This was a magazine I was proud to have my name on the masthead of.

My phone rings. “Get in my office!” I went into the office. Slam! Onto the desk. “How long have you been working for me?” “Uh... two years?” “What the f--have you learned about comic books?” “Uh... they have pictures?” “What doesn’t this have?” “Uh... Pictures.”

For the next hour and a half, we went through “Intro to Magazine Editing 101”... starting from the proposition that “This is the worst piece of crap I have ever seen in my life—how could you consider yourself a professional magazine editor?” And going down from there. And I thought, “Oh, I’m 26... I can make it to Stan Lee, editor/creator; Roy Thomas, writer; Sal Buscema/Tom Palmer, artists. ©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc. Unemployment by 2:30....”

But Stan, in his infinite wisdom, says, “Oh no, steal them. So I’m sitting there reading the back issues of such great books we’ve been paying for two years. You’re gonna stay here until you get it as Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos. This is fun! right... and we’re not gonna give you a raise, either.” “What raise? I Meanwhile, of course, the current issues are coming in, and one of haven’t had a raise in two years!” “Well, you don’t deserve one!” So we my jobs is to give them a cursory look, to see that the proofreading caught actually fixed the magazine, and it went out, and it got cancelled two everything. So I was looking through this Sgt. Fury—beautiful issue— issues later, and that was that. And then Stan went to the West Coast and Dick Ayers; John Severin; I believe Gary Friedrich wrote the script— all the fun went out of New York. And he’d come back and bump into Nick goes home to Hell’s Kitchen where he meets his kid brother Jake— me in the halls, and say, “You still working for me?” and I suddenly and his dear old sainted mom: “Hi, Mom!” Unfortunately, I had just realized that I could say... “Uh, not quite.” read Sgt. Fury #2: “The Court-Martial of Nick Fury!” where the base But to turn to a serious closure: We’ve had a lot of talk in the industry chaplain says, “Ah, yes, I’ve known Nicholas Fury ever since he was an the last few years about who did what, who is responsible for what, orphan in Hell’s Kitchen!” what counts in this business. I want to say a few words, purely partisan PETER: Roy! Another story! words, as a writer, as someone who in my time loved Marvel, and loved the ideal of Marvel, with a passion that today I find remarkable.

CHRIS: [to Peter] You are so far behind the curve! ...So I went in to There are some here who think they’re faster writers than Stan...

Roy, and I said, “Excuse me, I think there’s a problem here,” and Roy there are some who consider themselves maybe better writers than

12

Stan Lee Roast

Chris Claremont: “I picked up the phone... and said, ‘Hi, Stan.’

‘HI, TRUE BELIEVER!’”

months later and read the adventures of Ego, the Living Planet: “I am Tana Nile. I have come to claim your world!”

“Awright, take a seat over there, the desk sergeant’ll get to ya in a minute”— To a man whose contribution to literature is, “Only one of us is getting out of here alive, Red Skull, and it won’t be me!”— I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart... thank you. Because I wouldn’t be here without you... and I suspect a great many of us wouldn’t be here without you... and the last 25 years would have been a lot less fun. [Sits down]

Sovereign Seven ©1999 DC Comics, Inc.

PETER: I didn’t say you could leave. [Looks at Jim Shooter] What... can I say... about a man who, of all the men on this dais, could, probably without very much difficulty, break me in half? Diplomat... statesman... scholar... the idol of millions... a man who is to the creative community what Philip Morris is to asthma sufferers... a man who has done for the comic book industry what the Boston Strangler did for door-to-door salesmen. What words of praise can I heap upon him that he has not already heaped upon himself? A man knee-deep in heap. I give you the man we call “Mr. Fun”...

Jim Shooter!

Stan... there are some who consider themselves better editors than Stan... and better cheerleaders than Stan... and better people than Stan. Well, all right, four out of five.

But the fact is, in the over 27 years since I first walked in the door at Marvel, about an hour and a half after Sal... no one I have ever found has combined the crafts of writer, of editor, of editor-in-chief, of cheerleader, in the way that Stan has. He is unique. He is the best. And, as I have before and I hope others will say after, we owe him a debt, as craftspeople and as an industry and as fans, that I’m not sure we should even hope to repay.

And for myself— For the kid who walked into the candy store in 1967 and picked up F.F. #49, and thought, “Whoa! Neat stuff! This ain’t that boring Superman! This is a hero whose reaction to the imminent end of the world is, ‘I’m gonna have a shave.’”

For the kid who walked in a couple of

JIM: Well, as you can see, I’m surrounded by comedians here. So I have a speech probably a little more serious than the rest. Again, it starts with a little history. When I was twelve years old, I was in the hospital for a couple of days, and in the kids’ ward they had lots of comics.

They had Batman and Superman... I was familiar with those. And they had this new kind of comics I’d never seen or heard of before, called Marvel Comics. And the Marvel Comics in this ward were kind of raggedy and dogeared. The DCs were in good shape. They’d hardly been opened.

So I took the road less traveled. I read the DC comics first. I hadn’t read them for a few years, and they were about the same as I had left them. Lois Lane was still trying to prove that Clark was Superman every issue... Batman was fighting the Penguin on top of the giant typewriter or toothpaste tube or something.

So I got bored with those after a while... sorry, Julie, it’s true...

JULIE: I didn’t do those!

JIM: Good. So finally I read these raggedy old Marvel Comics—and you know something?

They were revolutionary. And that’s something I think is lost on a lot of people, because people forget—or maybe they’re too young to remember—how amazingly different those comics were. A lot of things that were revolutionary then are taken for granted now, but 34 years ago, in the context of those times, Marvel Comics were startlingly different.

Almost all the Marvels were written by this guy Stan Lee. Man, I wanted to do that. I wanted to be like Stan. So I studied those books and I learned to do a pale imitation of Stan Lee... and that was good enough to get me a job at DC. The people I worked with at DC didn’t seem to understand why Marvel was succeeding... why the thing was taking off. Back in the mid-’60s, I remember being in discussions with DC people about Marvel, and they would say, “Look, he’s got two pages of Peter Parker talking to his aunt! Good God, the reader’s gonna be bored to tears!” But we weren’t, were we? And then they’d say, “Well, look, he’s got a page of the Angel just kinda talking about how cool it is to fly! Superman flies all the time—it’s no big deal!” And I thought to myself, “And if he doesn’t care about it, why should we?”

And that’s the point. See, Marvel characters did things like launder their costumes, they got sick, they had fun—they also screwed up. Now, the standard sound-bite that Stan used to say back in those days, because he was talking to newspapers and they wanted sound-bites, was that it was “heroes with hang-ups, heroes with problems.” But the fact is, it was a lot more than that. It was heroes with lives that we could identify with. And that was revolutionary.

Years later, I was hired as an editor at Marvel. I was there for twelve years, and while I was there I finally got to know the guy who had been my mentor by remote control... the man I wanted to emulate. Now, those of you who don’t know him probably think of him as sort of the ultimate pitchman... all hype, always exaggerating, sort of like the Crazy Eddie of comics. And especially after hearing all these tales about how bad he was, everyone must have a really strange opinion. But let me tell you a little bit about how he really is... and this is the truth, no jokes... well, maybe a few.

People think Stan’s incredible enthusiasm must be a put-on. But no—let me assure you, he is always like that, okay? I mean, this is sincere. This guy is an enthusiastic guy. He’s like the Energizer Bunny on speed. It’s not just when he’s talking Marvel. This is his life.

This guy walks like the back of his pants is on fire. He used to run up the stairs ten floors to Marvel’s office because he couldn’t stand waiting for the elevator. This is true! And he had to have an office with a bathroom, because when he wanted to go, he wanted to

Stan Lee Roast there for Tony Stark’s nose.

And people started drawing Iron Man with this pointy little triangular Tin Woodsman nose—it was like a can-opener. You could actually open a beer on it. A little later, Stan sees this and he wasn’t pleased, and everyone says, “See? He always changes his mind!”

Stan is living proof of how easy it is to be misunderstood, I guess, especially in creative endeavors. I was lucky. I got to spend a great deal of time with him, not only on Marvel Comics, but also assisting him on the Spider-Man newspaper strip for a little while. We worked with some Italian artist—Michelangelo, I think—and we did a few non-comics projects together. I got to know and, I think, understand him pretty well, and I want to tell you that, no matter what these bozos say, I found him to be sincere, honest, rational, thoughtful, considerate, and consistent. Oh, and by the

Magnus, Robot Fighter ©1999 Acclaim

go. He didn’t want to go down the hall! And that’s the truth.

Now, Stan tends to speak in hyperbole; it’s natural for him. You have to learn to interpret a little bit if you work with Stan. If he says, “Never do that!”—what he means is, “In this particular case, this idea doesn’t quite seem to work.”

I’ll give you an example. One time Stan told George Roussos—who is one of the best cover colorists in the universe, by the way— “Never use a green background on a cover!” I know what he meant, because most logos don’t show up well against medium colors like green, so it’s often a bad choice. But if you solve the logo problem, there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s fine.

So when I became editor-in-chief of Marvel, I called George in and I said, “Hey, George, I’d like this cover colored green.”

You’d have thought it was the Spanish Inquisition! He was not going to do it! But I twisted his arm and I made him do it, and I made sure it made the logo work, and I showed it to Stan, and he said, “Great!” So I said to George: “Stan loved it.” So you know what George says? “See? He always changes his mind!”

That’s another thing you’ll hear about Stan, that he changes his mind a lot. One time Stan was looking at an Iron Man book and he said, “Doesn’t he have a nose?” What he meant was that George Tuska was drawing the mask too flat; there wasn’t enough room in

13

Jim Shooter: “I’m surrounded by comedians here!”

way, brilliant.

I guess the point where I really felt like I knew Stan was about 1986.

We were standing on his terrace, looking out over Los Angeles arrayed out below us, and I said, “You know, Stan, somewhere inside me there’s still that 12-year-old who can’t believe I’m editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics”—well, I was for a while—“and I’m standing here with Stan Lee!” And he said he knew what I meant, and that somewhere inside him was the little kid he used to be, who was awestruck by all that had happened to him, and he couldn’t believe that big stars and Hollywood moguls would call him up, and some were even his neighbors.

Well, that may not seem like much to you guys, but that little

moment of rapport is on a highlight reel of my life, and sort of crystalized to me how important it was to keep that kid alive. You see, that’s where the joy is, that’s where the love is.

Anyway, it wasn’t too long after that that Marvel went through a period of corporate takeovers, being bought and sold, and I got spit out like a watermelon seed.

I haven’t seen much of Stan since, but I’ve managed to use what he taught me to make a living at one place or another. I wish he’d taught me how to hold a job! Anyway, eight years have passed, and looking back, it’s interesting—I set out to emulate Stan—this is the serious part—and now it turns out we have more in common than I ever realized: We both started writing comics professionally in our teens. Stan was around forty when he did the work that made everyone marvel, and I was around forty when I did the work that got the most acclaim. Both of us suffered through being stabbed in the back by people we thought were close friends, people we trusted. Both of us have been lied about, misquoted, slandered, and misjudged by people who were ignorant of the facts. Both of us have been falsely accused of taking credit for other people’s work, and both of us have had credit taken away from us for things we did, things we created.

And Stan has borne all this with courage, grace, poise, and dignity. He’s been a gentleman, again and again, when it was difficult. I obviously wasn’t there when the Marvel Universe and its characters were created, but I’ve talked to most of the people who were— and I’ve worked with several of the key participants in that incredible collaboration, including Jack, Steve, Sol, Flo, Don Heck, Vinnie, and Michelangelo, to name a few.

And though their contributions were huge, indispensible, irreplaceable, it’s clear to me that Stan was the guiding force, the linchpin, and the most important creator of the Marvel Universe. I worked with him closely, I saw him in action. He was, and he is, The Man. One more thing I learned from Stan—I guess I really learned it from Spider-Man—that sometimes you just have to be content that you know the truth.

All right, one more thing—I just want you to know, Stan, that I’m still learning from you, although I’m sorry to say it’s again by remote control. You’re a hero to me—I’m still trying to emulate you—and thanks to you, I’ll never lose that kid inside. Thank you. [Sits down] PETER: [Loudly, to match Jim’s booming delivery] THANK YOU, JIM! THE PEOPLE ON THE 23RD FLOOR REALLY LOVED THAT SPEECH! [Looks at Julius Schwartz] What... can I say? After the end of the Golden Age of Comics, which we all know was named after Michael Golden, our next speaker spearheaded many significant changes: a new Flash, a new Green Lantern, a new look for Batman, a complete overhaul of Superman... but that

14

Stan Lee Roast

was many, many, many years ago.

And since then, he was shoved—[coughs] I’m sorry, he stepped aside so that young, superior editors could bring in young, superior ideas, such as a new Flash, a new Green—well, you get the idea. But he is a living legend. I know this because earlier today I mentioned the name Julie Schwartz and a young fan looked up at me and said, “Julie Schwartz?

Who’s she?” And of course I told him: “Sal Buscema’s lesbian lover.”

Ladies and gentlemen, the lovely Julie Schwartz! [Sits down; Julie walks to the podium] JULIE: Before I begin, I would like to thank Stan Lee. He sent me birthday greetings last week. And he made sure it would say, “From one living legend to another!”

Mention was made of the fact that my boss Jack Liebowitz was playing golf with Martin Goodman, and Jack Liebowitz boasted about how well a magazine was doing, called Justice League of America, and Martin Goodman said, “What kind of a book is it?” and Jack explained it was a team-up of super-heroes.

And I think Martin Goodman had heard enough. He rushed over to Mr. Stan Lee and said, “I want you to put out a comic book that has super-heroes teamed up together”—and thus was born The Fantastic Four—according to Stan, “The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine.”

So I was not only responsible for saving DC Comics—I saved Marvel Comics, too!

Now what I suspect no one knows is, there was a real-life “Fantastic Four” while all this was going on. There’s a high school in the Bronx called De Witt Clinton, and attending

that high school was “The Fantastic Four,” if not necessarily at the same time.

The first one was a fellow named Bob Kane. And of course we all know that Bob Kane created—or rather co-created—Batman.

Attending at the same time, the same class, a man full of spirit; his name was Will Eisner.

And of course he created The Spirit. That’s number two. Number three was Bill Finger, who not only co-created Batman, but co-created the Golden Age Green Lantern. And the fourth of this Fantastic Four was, of course, Stan Lee. And if we could encourage him, I’d love to get him to do that spirited school song he did with me on a panel in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1988, where I had the privilege of interviewing Stan Lee. I just want to take an extract out of that interview, and while I can’t imitate or emulate or do anything that Stan Lee does, I will do my best. I will ask one question and then he will talk from then on. No matter how I sound, it’s really Stan Lee talking. The light’s pretty bad in here, and these tired old eyes can’t see, so you’ll have to overlook my notes—[Holds up sheet of paper]—incidentally, written on DC stationery!

PETER: [as Chris Claremont momentarily holds a flashlight over Julie’s notes] “In brightest day, in blackest night...”

JULIE: I said to Stan, “When did you shorten your full name to Stan Lee, and why?”

This is Stan talking; I’m not going to imitate. He said, “I didn’t shorten it. It became Stan Lee. It’s because Stan Lee is no shorter than Stanley. I hated my first name, Stanley. I had a beautiful full Julie Schwartz: “I was name. I don’t know not only responsible for saving DC why I changed it. I Comics—I saved Marvel Comics, want you to picture too!” (Hmmm... now that we this. Let the full think about it, the covers of Brave pageantry of this thing in. It was and Bold #28 and F.F. #1 were Stanley Martin kinda similar, weren’t they?)

Lieber. Which means ‘love’ in German.

“When I got this job in comics— and no one thought anything of comics in those days—that was the bottom of the artistic and creative totem pole. So I thought, gee, I was sure I would write the Great American Novel some day.

And I didn’t want to use up my wonderful name. I’ll say it again: Stanley Martin Lieber...”

PETER: [singing, à la “West Side Story”] “Say it loud and there’s music...!”

JULIE: [reading] “Stanley Martin Lieber! I didn’t mind Stan on comic strips, so I shortened it to Stan Lee. What happened was this: I thought comics writing was a temporary job. I’d be working on this for a couple of months, and eventually it wasn’t a job for a man, you see.

“I was only sixteen and a half then”—I almost said ten and a half; my six looks like a zero—“I was only sixteen and a half then, so I wasn’t really a man. And then I went into the army and I was sure I wouldn’t come back to comics writing. But I was wrong, for there I was, back at the same comics company.

Finally, more people knew me as Stan Lee than as Stanley Lieber—” STAN: [correcting him] Martin Lieber!

Stanley Martin Lieber.

JULIE: [correcting Stan] You said, “Stanley Lieber.”

STAN: This sonuvagun writes down everything I say! I’ve gotta be careful with him!

JULIE: [reading] “I noticed I was using Stan Lee on all my stories, so to make life easy I changed it legally. Stan Lee’s about as dumb a name as anyone can have, and I’m stuck with it.”

That was the end of it, so I’ll now say as an afterword that I am happy to join in this fitting tribute to the marvel-less Stan Lee and to the marvel-more Stanley Martin Lieber.

[Throws up his hands] EXCELSIOR! [Holds up a Superman pin] It’s high time I gave Stan a Superman pin, ’cause that’s what he is! [Gives Stan the pin, which Stan accepts] PETER: Marvel Comics is a business. It has always been a business. But once upon a time, it seemed like more, and that was because of this guy here. He made comics fun, because it was clear that he loved comics in the way that many people nowadays in this colder, more cynical industry couldn’t even begin to grasp.

He made Marvel Comics, to us, a joyous place to be. A big clubhouse filled with grownups acting like kids, thrilled to be making comic books, and getting paid for it!

His characters had a style, a way of talking, a way of looking at the world, the Marvel Way. The House of Ideas. But this guy made it our house. He made us feel, in Peter Parker’s angst, or Ben Grimm’s angst, or Thor’s nobility, that comics and the world could be an incredible place. And in the text pages he made us feel that he was addressing each one of us, individually.

He made us feel special, and that’s tough.

That’s a very tough thing to do. Making people feel like crap is a snap. Making them feel special is one heck of an accomplishment. And he did it, and he made it look easy.

And we know now that it couldn’t have been that easy, because as adults, the blinders have fallen away. But nothing, not all the beefs

Stan Lee Roast we have with the way things are being done today, can or should detract from how he made us feel. The more aggravated we may get, the more we must realize how much we owe him, and the more poignant it becomes in the recollection.

He’s taken a helluva lot of crap himself in the past few years, and as Jim said, he hasn’t responded to it, he’s risen above it, because he’s a gentleman, and he’s a class act. In this industry there are very few class acts.

Back before Stan Lee presented Marvel Comics, Stan Lee was Marvel Comics—and dammit, I for one wish it had stayed that way. Ladies and gentlemen, we present... Stan Lee!

15

Peter David introduces Stan: “Before Stan Lee presented Marvel Comics, Stan Lee was Marvel Comics....”

[Standing ovation]

©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.

©1999 DC Comics, Inc.

STAN: Thank you very much... true believers. Now I wish I knew this was going to be a roast. I thought we were just having dinner! Well, I will say one thing. I was so afraid of what this guy [indicating Peter] would say—and now I’m so touched, I think I like it better when he’s insulting me. This is harder to respond to.

But I guess I’m one of the luckiest guys in the world, to have people like these, with the talent that they’ve got, to come here and say nice— well, some nice things about me. Believe me, I’d like to think of funny things to say—as you know, I’ve got no sense of humor anyway. I just was sitting here enjoying it as much as I’ve enjoyed any hour or two in my whole life.

I have to be honest. When we were doing Marvel Comics—he says, trying to think of a speech—in the beginning, certainly, we never thought we were doing anything important and we weren’t trying to make a statement and we weren’t trying to reform the world or start a new type of comics. We were trying to make a living. We just hoped that the books we did would be well received, and would sell, so we’d get a paycheck week after week. It was only later, when we started getting fan mail from people saying, “Gee, we really like these books,” and so forth, that we knew we were onto something.

I think one of the things I’m happiest about—or maybe I’m not so happy—is that even after I left, the company got bigger and bigger and more successful. I’m not so sure I like that. But it’s been a wonderful few years. I’ve always felt a little bit guilty getting paid for something I enjoyed doing so much. I wouldn’t have minded if they’d paid me more, but I still felt guilty.

I’ve always felt a little diffident, also, about one thing, and that is splashing my name all over, and I just have to make a confession about that. I don’t think—I may be wrong, but I don’t think I’m the egomaniac I seem to be, but for some reason at that time the people who ran the company felt, for whatever reason there was, that it was to their benefit to play me up and to make me sort of a symbol of the company.

I swear to you, “Stan Lee presents” being splashed on everything was not my idea. Somebody had that idea and they did it and it’s always embarrassed me a little bit, especially since I present so many stories that I’ve never read, and have no idea what they were about. [applause] Probably the only honest thing I could do is change my last name to “Presents,” and then at least it would make some sort of sense. But then, again, I would be very proud of myself if I could stand up here and be nearly as funny as these guys.

Incidentally, you were all wonderful. I was worried about Roy, because while these two guys [Indicates Sal and John] were really being funny—two guys with no sense of humor!—they had me in the aisle, and poor Roy was sitting there looking so worried and solemn and I’m thinking to myself that he’s thinking, “How am I ever gonna follow those acts?” And then he gets up and he’s as funny as them! So you never can figure the body language of anybody.

And then Julie Schwartz, who suddenly has become the Don Rickles of our time... Jim Shooter,

16

Stan Lee Roast

And I will spare all of you: I’m not going to thank everybody I’ve who seems to be the industry’s conscience, and I gotta tell you I love worked with and my family and everybody like that. You’re all wonderhim for it. ful, and I’ll never forget this evening. Thank you very much.

And Chris—there’s nothin’ good you can say about Chris. No, Chris knows how I feel about him. Chris and Peter both—why I’m still [Standing ovation] friendly with them I don’t know, because both of them turned me down when I asked if they would write a couple of books for our new company, Excelsior, but maybe Stan Lee: “I wish I knew this was (We couldn’t score any photos of one day they will. going to be a roast. I thought Stan’s speech, so here’s a post-roast Peter—what can I say? I am amazed by photo of The Man with another we were just having dinner!”

Brother David here, because I told him I really Golden Age legend, Green Lantern think he should be writing a newspaper column, co-creator Martin Nodell, and his wife Carrie. We’re not sure if they and I mean a syndicated one in the top papers— believe him, either.)

JULIE: How about calling it “But I Digress”?

PETER: Nawwww.

STAN: Julie, we’ll talk later. But now, Peter, I’ve gotta tell you I’ve changed my mind. I don’t think you should waste your time writing a column. If you don’t become a professional comedian, a standup comic—! Of course, you couldn’t do a thing without these notes, which Chris probably wrote for you.

And of course you’re all aware that here I am, being totally professional with no help at all.

Anyway, once again, I really must thank you all for being here. I thank the—it took me a while to count—the seven of you. I never even realized I liked you. I don’t want to get too maudlin and sentimental, which I tend to do very often, but anyway, thanks a million, guys. It’s an evening I will always remember.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (In Alphabetical Order) Sal Buscema, who came to Marvel as an inker in 1968 but soon became the penciler of The Avengers, Sub-Mariner, Spectacular Spider-Man, et al., has drawn for DC since 1996. He recently returned to inking, his first love, and is now embellishing Ron Frenz’ pencils in several of the Superman titles.

Chris Claremont, the writer behind the glory days of The X-Men from 1977 through the early 1990s, scripted Sovereign Seven for DC Comics in the mid-’90s, as well as a novel with filmmaker George Lucas. In 1998 he returned to Marvel both as writer (Fantastic Four, etc.) and editorial director.

Peter David, raconteur and selfstyled “writer of stuff,” recently left The Incredible Hulk after a highly successful twelve-year run, and is now scripting Young Justice, Supergirl, and assorted Star Trek novels. He also writes a popular

column, “But I Digress...” for The Comics Buyer’s Guide.

Stan Lee, one of the primary architects of the Silver Age of Comics, has headed Marvel Productions in Los Angeles in recent years, and continues to write the long-running Spider-Man comic strip. In early 1999 he launched Stan Lee Media, which is making its presence known in cyberspace.

John Romita, whose art helped make Amazing Spider-Man Marvel’s #1 seller by 1967, officially retired in 1996 after being the company’s art director for nearly a quarter of a century, but continues to work on special projects. He is the father of a popular comic book artist whose name escapes us.

Julius Schwartz, another of the major architects of the Silver Age of Comics, also officially retired (in 1985) after more than forty years as an editor, and since then has been an unofficial roving ambassador

for DC Comics. He is collaborating with Brian Thomsen on his memoirs of a life of accomplishment.

Jim Shooter, who entered comics in 1965 at the age of fourteen writing Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, and who was Marvel’s editor-in-chief for a decade before moving on to found several comics companies, is presently at work on new projects, which he prefers to keep under wraps for the moment.

Roy Thomas, who currently writes a few comics and edits Alter Ego while teaching at a tech college, says philosophically: “I’m back where I was in 1965— teaching, editing Alter Ego, and writing a few comics—except now I’ve got Dann, a 40-acre estate, two houses, and a pool to show for it. Who says there’s no such thing as progress in the arts?”

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© DC Comics,

COMIC BOOK ARTIST #5 (100-pages, $5.95) is the follow-up to our top-selling first issue, DC COMICS 1967-74: THE DARING & THE DIFFERENT, featuring the artists, writers and editors who made that era great:

Inc.

Then on the flip side, ROY THOMAS provides the final installment of his groundbreaking fanzine ALTER EGO (an ALL-BATMAN SPECIAL), as we celebrate A/E spinning off into its own SOLO MAGAZINE this month!

SUBSCRIBE NOW! Four Issues: $20 ($27 Canada, $37 elsewhere). Single issues: $5.95 ($7.00 Canada, $9.00 elsewhere).

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AND DON’T FORGET: We’re always on the look-out for art treasures—CONVENTION SKETCHES, UNPUBLISHED ARTWORK, THUMBNAILS, ORIGINAL SCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, UNPUBLISHED INTERVIEWS, and LITTLE-SEEN FANZINE MATERIAL. We are currently seeking submissions for our following issue devoted to the Marvel Bullpen. Deadline for submissions: July 15 for #6 (the Marvel issue). Send us photocopies and we’ll make sure you receive a FREE COPY of CBA if your submission is used! Write to editor Jon B. Cooke at P.O. Box 204, West Kingston, RI 02892-0204. Help keep THE NEW AGE OF COMICS FANDOM alive by supporting TwoMorrows’ great line of publications, COMIC BOOK ARTIST, ALTER EGO, and THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR!

18

Comic Fandom Archives

You’ve heard of the Bestest League of America? Get ready to meet FUMIN’ SCORCH… INVISIBUBLE GIRL… THANG… and MISTER FRANTIC--otherwise known as…

Da

Frantic Four!

A fond look back at one of the silliest chapters in the annals of comic fandom

by Bill Schelly

T

here is a famous, and telling, anecdote about the death of a venerable actor. A man approached the bedside of his dying friend and asked, “What you’re going through... is it very difficult?” The actor opened his eyes and whispered, “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.”

Indeed. Whatever the medium—stage, screen, the printed page—humor rarely gets the same respect as serious material... yet the practitioners of these arts have always held that laughs are harder to evoke than tears. I submit that this is no less true for the comic book medium.

Consider the case of Richard “Grass” Green, one of the premier artists to emerge in the classic comics fanzines of the early 1960s.

Though he was well known for his funny stuff, it took the straight-ahead adventures of Xal-Kor, the Human Cat (in the pages of the long-running Star-Studded Comics), to cement his reputation.

In retrospect, however, it seems obvious to this writer that Green’s greatest talent— where he outshone all others in the super-hero fanzine field, and indeed could stand comparison to the great parodists in the pro comics— was his genius for comedy. And it was “Da

Frantic Four” comic strip that is presented here, and which originally appeared in the fanzine The Comicollector #8 (Oct. 1962), that introduced Green’s facility for parody to fandom in general.

Before we get to that, we must first back up to the early 1950s for some vital background information. We can’t discuss “Grass” Green or Da Frantic Four without discussing his boyhood friendship with another major artist from the Golden Age of comic fandom, Ronn Foss.

It was Ronn who, at some time during their days as junior high pals in Fort Wayne, Indiana, gave Richard the nickname Grasshopper, later shortened to just Grass. The nickname stuck, and so did their friendship, leading to many collaborations over the years.

Did the fact that Grass Green was an African-American make their relationship in

any way difficult? In a recent interview, Ronn stated that it was never a factor. “We were more like brothers than friends,” he said. “As soon as we discovered each other’s mutual interest in comics, and drawing, we were inseparable.

We would spend hours on the phone, excitedly talking about our ideas for comic book characters.”

When Grass completed a hitch in the U.S. Air Force and was discharged in Southern California, he naturally made his way north of San Francisco to visit his buddy Ronn, who had moved there with his young bride Myra Left: Fandom’s favorite Green creation: Xal-Kor, the Human Cat. Above: The first Frantic Four cartoon, by Ronn Foss, from the cover of The Comicollector #7.

Da Frantic Four

just months before. In the summer of 1962 Foss introduced Grass to comics fandom. It was perfectly natural that these two budding talents would collaborate on an idea for the fanzines. That’s exactly what happened, and the result was “Da Frantic Four.”

19

Grass, Ronn, and Myra, though evidently Myra did not actually contribute to this project.)

parodies in Mad magazine drawn by Mort Drucker were visually sedate affairs, relying principally on his uncanny caricatures of popular actors, along with clever scripting. Green clearly fell into the Kurtzman camp.

Within the realm of parody, many artistic approaches are possible. Harvey Kurtzman’s parodies in the early color Mad comics (laid out by Kurtzman, then finished by Elder, Wood, Davis, et al.) were broad and highly energetic, often getting laughs from slapstick. In contrast, by 1962 the movie

From Grass’ pencil flowed an FF who were like something out of the Keystone Kops.

Green worked quickly—instinctively—with little pre-planning, and the result was his highly spontaneous, farcical brand of lunacy. The strip is chaotic, even anarchistic, basically eschewing a semblance of narrative, or even conventional comedy construction. This is Grass at his unbridled, unselfconscious best:

Foss’ discovery of the infant comics fandom movement of the early ’60s had come when a friend had sent him a copy of Alter Ego #2 (June 1961). He shared this and A/E #3 (Nov. 1961) with Grass.

Those issues featured, among a number of groundbreaking articles on the history of comics, Roy Thomas’ Kurtzman-influenced parody of the JLA called “The Bestest League of America.” Is it unreasonable to conclude that Da Frantic Four was directly inspired by—a sort of answer to— Thomas’ BLA? If so, there is a certain symmetry, since the LeeKirby Fantastic Four comic was Marvel’s attempt to capture some of the lightning Julius Schwartz had found when he launched the re-tooled Justice Society in The Brave and the Bold #28.

Lightning had indeed struck twice. The self-styled “World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” became the sensation of 1962. The FF received the Alley Awards from fandom for “Best Comic Book of the Year” and “Best Group of Heroes” for that year, toppling the JLA, who had been the winners the year before. It’s a testament to the early impact made by Fantastic Four that the spoof presented here was understood by all, less than a year after Lee and Kirby’s team comic debuted.

“Da Frantic Four—The World’s Most Greatless Heroes!” began as a single gag panel in the form of a cover, drawn by Foss for The Comicollector #7 (Sept.

1962), Ronn’s first issue after taking over the editorial reins from Jerry Bails. Using that cartoon as a creative springboard, Foss and Green co-plotted a six-page strip for the next issue of CC. (The “Triad” credited on the strip itself was a name meant to include

Top: A 1998 self-caricature by Grass.

Above: Splash page to “Da Frantic Four”; the rest of the story follows. Just turn the mag sideways...

Da Frantic Four!

A Fandom Classic from the Alter Ego Archives, by Grass Green

22

Comic Fandom Archives story, Roy invited Grass to play around with both script and backgrounds, as Will Elder and others had done with Kurtzman’s layouts in Mad, with the result that several lines of Frantic Four dialogue and sight gags in the story are pure Grass. It was a unique and, I think, a highly successful project in every respect.

Despite his subsequent success at writing and drawing more serious fare, it was Grass’ funny stuff that earned him his first professional assignments at Charlton.

For editor Dick Giordano, Grass produced numerous light-hearted strips, including the semi-humorous one-shot 1967 feature called “The Shape,” which had been originated and visually designed by Roy Thomas.

Working from Roy’s outline, Grass got carried away and wrote the whole story, script and all; and Roy—who couldn’t put his name on the tale anyway, since he was on staff at Marvel—was happy to let Grass run with this alien Plastic Man, long before E-Man. Also in 1967 came Go-Go #5, which featured the Charlton version of the Bestest League, scripted by Roy’s longtime friend Gary Friedrich and illustrated by Grass, yet nearly unchanged from the BLA’s origins in Alter Ego. This was the first character crossover from fandom to professional comics. (It was another first: Grass’ first rendering of the BLA.) Did I say Da Frantic Four “never returned?”

While that’s technically true, they did come back in everything but name in the the very next issue of Go-Go, once again in battle with the BLA. With Roy’s blessing, Gary scripted “The Bestest League of America vs. the Marvelous Super-Heroes.”

Da Frantic Four returned only once after their appearance in Comicollector #8. In the Foss-published Alter Ego #6 (March 1964), Roy Thomas and Grass Green teamed up to produce “The Bestest League of America Meets Da Frantic Four.”

This ten-page strip, scripted by Thomas, was a Grass-and-Roy collaboration artwise,

with each drawing his own heroes. Thus, when The Cash grapples with Mr. Frantic, or the Martian Manhandler tweaks the Thang’s nose, it is Roy’s artistic chops versus Grass’ dynamic doodles. Once Da Frantic Four entered the

©1999 Roy Thomas and Grass Green

The reception to “Da Frantic Four” was nothing short of seismic. Fandom clamored for more... and, while Grass complied with a number of other humorous comic strips (appearing in early fanzines like Super-Hero, Countdown, and Komix Illustrated), he never quite got around to another solo adventure of Mr. Frantic, Thang, Invisibuble Girl, and the Fumin’ (not Human, as in Foss’ original conception) Scorch.

Front-and-center in the Charlton story were the newly named “Fantabulous Four,” basically Da Frantic Four except for a leader now known (obviously) as Mr. Fantabulous. Thang, Fumin’ Scorch, and Invisibubble Girl (note the more grammatical double-“b”) now teamed up with Scrap-Iron Man, Great-Big-Huge Man, and the Wisp, among others, to deal with Green Trashcan, Martian Manhandler, et al. The story owes a

Da Frantic Four

23

Top: “Stan” and “Julie” interrupt some comics-style mayhem in Go-Go #6, as drawn by Grass Green and Frank McLaughlin.

Previous page, bottom: Two collaborative panels by Green and Thomas from “The Bestest League of America Meets Da Frantic Four.”

(For the full strip, get the trade paperback Alter Ego: The Best of the Legendary Comics Fanzine, edited by Roy Thomas and Bill Schelly, from Hamster Press.)

lot to the Thomas-Green feature in A/E #6, and even ends with caricatures of Stan Lee and Julius Schwartz rushing in to break up the fight! (The Stan character threatens to have “Jack Curly” erase the “Marvelous” heroes.)

Oddly, while he had both penciled and inked its BLA predecessor in Go-Go #5, Grass provided only the pencils of this story; it was inked by veteran Frank McLaughlin.

By design or more likely by accident, nearly all the parody-heroes were colored incorrectly in the story (Green Trashcan mostly in yellow, The Hunk’s skin pink, the Thang’s green); but the fact remains that, in one sense, that four-pager in Go-Go #6 was the first professionallypublished meeting ever of DC and Marvel heroes!

And it had all started half a decade earlier, in the pages of Alter Ego and The Comicollector!

Associate editor BILL SCHELLY tells us that copies of Alter Ego: The Best of the Legendary Comics Fanzine (ISBN 0-9645669-2-3), which reprints “The BLA Meets Da Frantic Four” and lots more good stuff, are running low but still available. See the ad below for details, and see Bill’s ad elsewhere in this issue concerning the revised and updated edition of his 1995 award-nominated The Golden Age of Comic Fandom, just out. (Oh yeah—he’s also the guy who painstakingly touched up all of Grass’ Frantic Four art from the original fanzine!)

PUT 100 YEARS OF COMICS HISTORY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS! The Second Edition of

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Roy Thomas has discovered a few original copies of the classic Alter Ego #7 (1964), featuring his Alley-winning article on the Marvel Family and a great, long letter from MF scribe Otto Binder!

Only $45 apiece, postpaid—signed (on cover or editorial page), if requested.

ROY THOMAS Rt. 3, Box 468, St. Matthews, SC 29135 Fax: (803) 826-6501 • E-Mail: roydann@oburg.net

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The Secret Origins of Infinity, Inc.

25

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

This Mike Machlan-penciled, Jerry Ordway-inked illustration became the cover of Infinity, Inc. #1. ©1999 DC Comics, Inc.

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.

Top: Gerry Conway’s 1976 revival of All-Star Comics featured an adult Robin, the Star-Spangled Kid—and a very pneumatic Power Girl, drawn by Ric Estrada and Wally Wood. © 1999 DC Comics Inc.

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.

The Secret Origins of Infinity, Inc. wide-eyed at eight comatose but upright, tube-encased members of the Justice Society of America!

At that moment I fell in love with Jerry’s work all over again.

As a penciler, this time.

This isn’t an article about All-Star Squadron—although I’ll admit I’m toying with the notion of an ongoing series about that title and its 1980s offshoots in Alter Ego—but there’s no getting away from the mag, because it brought together Jerry and me—and, before long, Jerry’s friend and fellow Wisconsan Mike Machlan, who began inking Jerry’s pencils with #21.

Ere long, Jerry got restless again, and decided to move on from AllStar Squadron. But, at that point, being now a DC editor as well as writer, I had someplace he could move to.

It was called Infinity, Inc.

III. The (Watery) Road To Infinity In the fall of 1982 I made a working trip from Los Angeles to New York with my wife Danette. (No, I didn’t shoehorn in another wife between Jean and Dann; in the early 1980s Danette legally changed her first name to Dann.) While in the Big Apple, I remarked to her casually that, during the eleven years I’d lived there from 1965-76, I’d never gotten around to taking the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty. Next thing I knew, we were on the boat out to Liberty Island.

Now, Lady Liberty is impressive and all that. But after a while, there’s not much left to do but sit around staring up at her, while waiting for the next ferry to take you back to the mainland.

So, partly on the island and partly on the boat, Dann and I got to batting around the idea of a new, younger group that would take over from the Justice Society—their sons and daughters. A new generation of super-heroes, with a built-in potential for the generation gap to end all generation gaps.

27

My lovely red-haired spouse, whose parents hadn’t allowed her to read comics as a child and who’s never shown much interest in any since except Howard the Duck and Groo the Wanderer, nonetheless has had a number of good comics-related ideas over the years—plus her rightful share of bad ones. I’ve always figured my job was to figure out which was which.

I don’t recall many details of our conversation, but by the time the ferry docked in Manhattan we had made up the names, parentage, and powers of many (though not all) of the others.

Now, let’s see what concepts came out (or may have come out) of that ferry ride:

IV. The Young (Sea) Lions My wife and I had only recently co-written Wonder Woman #300 (to be cover-dated Feb. 1983), with “Danette Thomas” becoming the first female ever to receive scripting credit on the world’s foremost superheroine. For it, with penciler Ross Andru, we had created Lyta—short for Hippolyta—the vivacious and super-powered blonde daughter of the Steve and Diana Trevor of Earth-Two. In a sense, like others before us, we were gearing up subconsciously for the sons-and-daughters-JSA concept. To keep up the Graeco-Roman connection, we decided Lyta would become Fury, one of the members of the new group.

As a longtime Hawkman fan, I wanted Carter and Shiera Hall represented in the new group, even if not by a blood relative. After all, for an offspring of theirs to have real wings, we’d have had to jump through some hoops, since the Halls strapped on synthetic wings and belts of Ninth Metal when they went trolling for criminals. Instead, we settled on a godchild. For years I had been enraptured by the Gardner Fox/Joe Kubert Hawkman tale “The Land of the Bird People” in Flash Comics #71 (May 1946); so Dann and I came up with Northwind, a half human, half Arctic bird-person. (See Alter Ego, Vol. 2, #1, in Comic Book Artist #1 for scenes from that story. It would later be re-created by Kubert aficionado Al Dellinges in Infinity, Inc. #4.) Whether or not we decided that day that his human half was African-American, that addition wasn’t long in coming.

I quickly decided that this, rather than another long-forgotten notion I had at the time, was the idea I wanted to present to DC while in New York. I loved writing All-Star Squadron, set in the darkest days of the By including Superman’s cousin and Carter Hall’s godchild, we were Second World War, and Arak, Son of Thunder (Danette’s concept, actually), drifting slightly away from our concept of “the sons and daughters of set near the turn of the ninth century A.D.; but I wanted to write somethe JSA”—but only slightly, we told ourselves. thing that was definitely “Eighties,” as the expression Neither Dann nor I can recall if Hector Hall, then was. (And gee, didn’t that sound cool then— Hawkman tackles his godson Northwind in the real son of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, was a the way “Nineties” did through about, oh, 1993.)

Infinity’s premier issue. Pencils by Jerry Ordway. © 1999 DC Comics Inc.

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Two Co-Creators Reveal—

product of that ferry ride. At any rate, in his case we decided to use a different motif identified with his parents: ancient Egypt. (The Golden Age Hawkman was the reincarnation of an Egyptian prince.) Thus Hector became the Silver Scarab—no relation to the Scarlet Scarab, an Egyptian villain I’d created five years earlier for my Invaders series at Marvel, except that both were homages to the Nile-spawned, scarab-related, first Charlton Comics incarnation of the Blue Beetle, about whom I had written my second professional comics story back in 1965.

Somehow, though, the Silver Scarab never seemed to jell quite as well as most of the other characters in the group. (Jerry Ordway feels, perhaps rightly, that “when Brainwave Jr. was plugged into the group, it took a little away from Silver Scarab, because Brainwave seemed more dynamic.”)

Back to that boat ride—and the new group’s answer to the Earth-Two Atom—Nuklon: In All-Star Squadron #21, I’d had the non-super-powered Atom of 1942 knocked around by an atomically-charged villain I called Cyclotron. (An “atom-smasher,” get it?)

The artists were a couple of guys named Ordway and Machlan. It was hinted that radiation absorbed from Cyclotron would act slowly on The Atom—a subtle (?) foreshadowing of the atomic strength the Mighty Mite would gain in Flash and All-Star in 1948. Cyclotron was given a capeless costume otherwise nearly identical to The Atom’s ’48-’51 duds, thus retroactively establishing that Al adapted it from Cyclotron’s.

Brainwave Jr. ponders a time paradox in All-Star Squadron #26 (Oct. 1983). Art by Ordway & Machlan. © 1999 DC Comics Inc.

By the time All-Star Squadron introduced Cyclotron’s newborn daughter Terri in its first Annual, the new teen-group’s comic was well in the works; the Squadron connection was done to establish that Terri’s radiation-altered genes would be passed on to her children. It had already been long enough since World War II that one of our new stars was going to be the grandson of a costumed character of that period—and a villain, to boot.

Cyclotron—Dr. Terry Curtis, who had been a supporting character in a very early Superman/Ultra-Humanite story—thus became the grandpa of Albert Rothstein, whom Dann and I named after science-fiction/comics fan (and friend) Alan Rothstein out in L.A. We thought it high time comic books had an overtly Jewish super-hero.

(Maybe we were first with that bit, maybe we weren’t; we didn’t know and didn’t much care.) And so was born Nuklon, who ultimately got his strength from the same source as The Atom—and whom we made a virtual giant to contrast with his godfather’s short stature.

Hector (Silver Scarab) Hall faces his Feathered Father.

Pencils by Jerry Ordway. ©1999 DC Comics Inc.

Of course, Nuklon, too, was not strictly a son or daughter of a JSAer. Why didn’t we make him the son of The Atom? I can’t remember, but maybe Al and Mary Pratt

had been depicted as childless in one of those “Whatever Happened to...?” backup features I had hated in DC Comics Presents. (“Hated,” incidentally, because those fivepagers gave away information about a hero’s future for the sake of a mere one-shot story, which seemed dumb to me. God, was I glad I’d talked the powers-that-were into decreeing that no more 1940s super-heroes appear in that series after All-Star Squadron was originated!

Not that I wasn’t happy to write “Whatever Happened to the Black Pirate?” a couple of years later, you understand.)

To make up for Nuklon’s and Nightwind’s non-blood-relative status, Dann and I decided that Alan Scott, a.k.a. Green Lantern, would have two kids in the new group—twins, no less.

Coming up with Jade was the easy part: we loved (and figured our pubescent male readers would drool over) the idea of a greenskinned girl, who possessed from birth the powers her father gained only by slipping on a magic ring which had obviously affected his genes. Obsidian became the dark side of the ring’s magic, but that concept seems to have taken a bit more time to come together. (More on that below.)

Who was to be the mother of Green Lantern’s progeny? I’m not sure I considered Rose a.k.a. Thorn as a candidate from the start, or if we worried much about who the mother would be. Even Jade and Obsidian don’t seem to know in Infinity, Inc. #1, and I’m not sure I was just being coy there. I suspect I toyed with having Mom turn out to be Molly Mayne, The Harlequin, who had set her cap for GL in the late 1940s, only to later decide that was too obvious... too “on-the-nose,” as the more

The Secret Origins of Infinity, Inc.

29

Another member of the new combo, whether created that day or not, was also not the offspring of a JSAer, but of one of their arch-foes: none other than Brain Wave.

only—in a two-page spread drawn by Messrs.

Machlan and Ordway for All-Star Squadron #28 (Dec. 1983). There you’ll see her Wildcatstyle orange outfit (a throwback to her origins as The Lynx), riding a modern-day version of her mentor’s Catcycle.

would soon join the group, and would finally shed the “Kid” appellation for “Skyman,” a name I took from an old Gardner Fox character.

Spangles had been in the 1970s All-Star revival, after all.

Dann and I liked the idea of a hero with psychokinetic powers. In the second issue of the 1970s All-Star revival (#59), Brain Wave had donned a new body and a real costume instead of a scientist’s smock. Though I hated both body and outfit for Brain Wave “Pere,” I felt the garb would be perfect for Brain Wave “Fils”—or Brainwave, Jr., as we christened him.

(Being a “Junior” myself, I thought some hero besides Captain Marvel, Jr., should bear that burdensomely diminutive appellation, even though it never actually bothered me as a kid.)

She was soon dropped from the early mix— but of course, in 1985 one Yolanda Montez, daughter of a boxer pal of Grant’s, became the new but dark-clad Wildcat with our blessing in Crisis on Infinite Earths #6. I think it worked out a lot better that way. (And I’ve reserved a special place in hell for whoever killed her off in that Zero Hour mess a few years ago. But of course she and Dr. Midnight aren’t really dead.

Those were just clones that got killed... like the Hector Hall clone in Sandman’s dreamworld.

Didn’t you know?)

We didn’t need him, even though he’d once become a sand-monster in a Len Wein story, which would have enabled us to dredge up some super-powers for him. He’d have wound up as the DC equivalent of Marvel’s Sandman, thereby further confusing a situation that has been a minor irritant between the two companies from time to time.

It was with a shock that, recently, eyeballing that pin-up of Infinity, Inc. in All-Star Squadron #28—already overcrowded with ten members, counting Power Girl and the Huntress!—I read the accompanying caption:

So—why no new hero who was the spawn of Jay (Flash) and Joan Garrick? We could easily have explained why no heirs of theirs had been mentioned in any of the Two-Flashes tales. (Maybe he was away at boarding school.)

But there were so many speedsters around that we didn’t want to add another.

obnoxious types in Hollywood used to say.

(Maybe they still do.)

V. They Also Serve...

We also decided, that day or soon after, that there should be a young female linked in some way to Ted (Wildcat) Grant. At first she was to be a Canadian called The Lynx.

Soon, we would instead make her a Mexican-American we christened La Garro— The Claw, in Spanish. La Garro appeared once

“All this, plus the STAR-SPANGLED KID and SANDY THE GOLDEN BOY—in the comic-mag that tells what it’s like to be a super-hero’s kid—when you don’t wanna go into the family business!—DON’T MISS IT!” The Star-Spangled Kid?

This dynamic Machlan/Ordway pinup, planned for an Annual, was actually printed in All-Star Squadron #28. With this lineup, they’d have outnumbered any Golden Age grouping of the Justice Society! © 1999 DC Comics Inc.

Sandman’s sidekick Sandy, for cripes sake?

Actually, the Star-Spangled Kid (who was still “young” only because of a time warp)

But—Sandy?

Anyway, with membership already “standing room only,” Sandy was quickly and quietly dropped.

Dr. Mid-Nite? His power of seeing in the dark didn’t amount to much in the context of a super-hero group. La Garro would probably have had that ability anyway.

Hourman? What would be his heritage?

Drug addiction? Even the JSA had dropped his namesake after only a few issues in favor of Starman.

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Two Co-Creators Reveal— Jade and a couple of possible forerunners of Obsidian, as rendered by Mike Machlan, with notes and kibitzing by Jerry Ordway. More Machlan/Ordway designs follow. © 1999 DC Comics Inc.

(Of course, later I’d yield to the temptation to add both a new Hourman and a Dr. Midnight to the group. I can resist anything but temptation.)

Johnny Thunder? Dann’s and my and Dick Giordano’s beloved Jonni Thunder, a.k.a. Thunderbolt was still a year or two in the future, though she too would eventually pop up in Infinity.

Dr. Fate? The Spectre? Starman? As one who started buying comics in 1945, I’ll admit I thought of the JSA more in terms of the heroes who were JSAers from then through 1950, when All-Star was discontinued.

Besides, the Star-Spangled Kid had Starman’s Gravity/Cosmic Rod, which was all that made him special; while Dr. Fate and The Spectre were far too powerful (and ageless) for the new group. (If The Spectre had had a daughter, she’d have had to wear a bra over her white breasts. Hmmm... maybe a “Spectress” wouldn’t have been such a bad idea, at that.)

Anyway, by the time that ferry ride was over, Dann and I are certain that, at the very least, Fury, Nuklon, Nightwind, Jade, and possibly Obsidian had been conceived and named—and it’s quite possible that Brainwave, Jr., if not the Silver Scarab and La Garro, had, too. All in all, it had been a good day’s work.

I’m not sure if that name was Dann’s suggestion or mine. Of course, in my own defense, I had created the Scarlet Centurion in Avengers Annual #2 at Marvel, a decade before I even met my future second wife.

And I was familiar with Joseph Wambaugh’s cop novel The New Centurions and the movie made therefrom. The name had a strong, military feel I liked for a super-hero group.

Alas, a title search by DC’s attorneys would soon determine that a forthcoming TV animated series had already staked a claim on the name “Centurions.” (And Lord, what a series it turned out to be!) So Dann and I came up with, and discarded, many more names over the next few weeks. I honestly don’t recall any of them. It’s probably for the best.

My memory is that it was Dann who suggested Infinity, Inc. as the group’s monicker. It didn’t have the powerful feel I was looking for, yet it still appealed to me, suggesting a business-like approach to crimefighting in the dawning Age of Yuppies, with that “Incorporated” at the end (which many readers would doubtless pronounce “Ink,” and more power to ’em!). Infinity suggested that they would go anywhere—do anything— as part of their mission.

DC liked it too, so Infinity, Inc. was born.

VI. An Infinity By Any Other Name...

VII. Enter The Artists

Also on that boatride, we came up with the perfect name for the group.

Soon afterward, if Jerry Ordway’s and my memories are correct, he and Mike Machlan and Dann and I were all flown to New York to discuss the new series, more with each other than with the DC brass. Under the prompting of Jerry’s reminding me recently, I recall the four of us sitting in some restaurant, with one or both of them sketching away.

Wait for it.

“THE CENTURIONS!”

The Secret Origins of Infinity, Inc. Afterwards, the lads went back home to really get down to work. I hadn’t made any attempt at sketching out these new heroes myself as I had in the past with The Vision, the Squadron Sinister, Union Jack, and a few others at Marvel. I had faith in my artistic collaborators.

Recently, for this article, Jerry generously spent time with me on the phone, reminiscing into my tape recorder. On February 25, 1999, he remembered the artistic development of Infinity, Inc., thus:

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Society series I had proposed as a way to relate the biography of the JSA. Somewhere along the way, that battle plan got changed. Jerry became the penciler of Infinity instead, and Mike became its inker. Still, together they developed the visual look for the Infinitors, as we would gradually come to call them. (While others inherited America vs. the Justice Society, starting with a talented youngster named Rafael Kayanan.)

“Mike and I used to go out in Milwaukee on Friday nights—we’d go to the comics store, and then we’d go out, and we’d drink. And we did a bunch of the sketches, really in rough form, on cocktail napkins in the bar. We got the basics worked out, and Mike did the sketches and I did the tissue overlays [with comments and colors] and we sent them off to you for approval. The sketches were all by Mike, though we had talked them out together. I think the first time I actually drew the characters was on the cover of All-Star Squadron #25.”

VIII. The Machlan/Ordway Designs

Jerry also revealed to me an interesting anecdote about those early days: “With Jade, I remember you seemed stuck on the idea that she should have long hair, and we were concerned that she would look like She-Hulk, so we fought on it. Mike had originally drawn pretty much of a page-boy cut. It was pretty short, but it wasn’t like today, where you see people with the sides of their heads shaved. So we compromised, and we drew it a little longer in back.

Instead, and perhaps in his place, next to her is an African-American wearing an updated Hourman costume and listed as “Kronus,” referred to as possibly the “ward of the Earth-II Hourman.” In fact, there’s even a head-and-shoulders drawing of a second African-American, listed as “Black Spectre,” a “possible ward of Spectre.” (See preceding page for these two and Jade.)

“As a little in-joke, from the first appearance in All-Star Squadron to the last issue I did of Infinity [#10], I was trying to draw it progressively a little bit shorter each issue.”

And indeed, if you look over the first baker’s dozen comics in which Jade appeared, her hair does indeed “grow” in reverse. I never noticed.

Having pulled similar stunts myself on an editor named Lee, I can appreciate their stunt.

Originally, the plan was for Mike to be the penciler of Infinity, Inc.; Jerry would ink Infinity, and would also pencil and ink a four-issue, giant-size America vs. the Justice

Fury and—the Blue Dolphin?

More character designs by Machlan w/Ordway. © 1999 DC Comics Inc.

Fortunately, nine character designs still exist from those Machlan/ Ordway sessions (as do, in fact, color overlays for each drawing, if we could but show them here). You’ve been enjoying them, hopefully, as you’ve ploughed through all this text.

Jade is there in the drawings, but no Obsidian, and I’m not sure why not.

Fury is there, of course, even if the color overlay has blue in it, not just red and yellow as would the final version. But next to her (see below) is “Blue Dolphin,” who would have been the daughter of— whom? Aquaman? More likely of Neptune Perkins and Tsunami from All-Star Squadron. None of that trio were ever JSAers, so I never warmed to that idea.

Next to Nuklon, who sports a tall Mohawk haircut which is the

32

natural equivalent of the crest atop the Atom’s post-1948 mask, there’s even a “Sandman,” colored in two shades of blue on the overlays.

(See above.)

In Jerry’s words: “a Vision type (the 40’s version) of character.” His costume lines are not unlike those that would end up on Obsidian, so maybe Obsidian was a bit slower to develop than I thought.

Whenever Obsidian came along, Jerry has a few strong memories of him: “I was the guy who put in the solid blacks on a few of the costumes, like Obsidian—a no-highlights type of black, which I always liked. I think Obsidian went through more changes, and earlier he looked more like the Timely version of the Vision. I think Obsidian might have had a couple of different names.

“I probably had a bit more input with Obsidian’s powers than Mike did, because I wound up drawing the book. I had fun with the shadow stuff. I’m sure that had been done by somebody else in comics, but it was kind of a fun idea to me to have him peel himself off the wall or something like that. It was very exciting

Two Co-Creators Reveal—

Sandman (a.k.a. Nightmare) and Nuklon.

Was Sandman, too, an early study for Obsidian?

Art by Machlan w/Ordway. © 1999 DC Comics Inc.

to have a hand in co-creating characters. I hadn’t been in comics that long, and Mike had been in them an even shorter time.”

Northwind is shown—but at his side (see P. 33) is a new, young, male Harlequin, who Jerry’s notes suggest might become “comics’ first ‘gay’ character. Or we could just assume it.” Not a bad idea, and maybe we should have played it that way; but we were already going to have two Green Lantern-derived heroes in Infinity, Inc. We didn’t particularly need drawings of young Brainwave, Power Girl, and The Huntress, of course, since we already knew the look of those three. And La Garro would just be wearing a skintight Wildcat costume with her hair streaming—if she was in our minds at that time.

Jerry remains happy with the coloring he did, especially Jade’s white and green costume: “I think the temptation was always to use some sort of yellow in there, but it was a good choice to go with the white and the green.”

IX. The Overcrowded Arc The summer before Infinity, Inc. #1 came out, Jerry relates: “Mike and I were at the Chicago con, and DC had a big presentation where they were going to show slides, and we were supposed to get fifteen minutes to talk on stage. At that point all we knew was the characters’ designs and kind of who they were the children of, but we had no real conception of the book. And we did our presentation, which would up getting squeezed to about five minutes, and the slides were all upside down— Mike and I were winging it, and we thought it came off pretty well in a bad situation. I remember Bruce Bristow [DC marketing executive] saying something to us like, ‘Don’t give up your day job.’

“But,” Jerry goes on, “the fans were certainly enthusiastic about it, even just seeing the sketches, because it was a big deal at the time. There weren’t many second-generation characters then. The Teen Titans had been sidekicks, while these were the actual children of the heroes.”

The Secret Origins of Infinity, Inc. What else went through our minds in those heady, halcyon days?

“One thing I remember,” Jerry told me, “was talking about having one of the characters become a turncoat in some way. We talked about using Fury as the person who goes bad— kind of swiping Jack Kirby’s idea where Dr. Doom isn’t really scarred up, he just has a little scar but it ruins his perfection. Of all people, the daughter of Wonder Woman, the goddess and all that—if she had somehow suffered some minor disfiguring, it could certainly lead to some sort of twisting in her brain.”

I myself have no recollection of our discussing that, but of course the idea of a turncoat hero is always appealing. On the phone recently, Jerry and I discussed how one potentially evil Infinitor who had been around fairly early in our discussions got knocked back a couple of years: Mr. Bones.

I had drawn a sketch of Bones—actually, I simply took the old Black Terror from 1940s comics and moved up the skull from the skulland-crossbones on his chest so that it became his face, leaving the crossbones as a chest symbol.

Some time later I turned that sketch over to Mike Machlan, who did a powerful Kirbyesque drawing of Mr. Bones, adding a couple of touches (such as thigh-high boots); that illus-

tration was eventually printed in Infinity, Inc. #15. However, it was Todd McFarlane, a later Infinity artist whose work had almost literally come to me over the transom, who became the first to draw a story featuring Mr. Bones, one of my favorite co-creations from my DC writer/ editor days.

Another thing Jerry reminded me of— which I had totally forgotten—was that originally the plan was for Infinity, Inc. to get a bit of advance publicity by debuting in DC Comics Presents, co-starring in a full-length adventure with Superman. “But [editor] Julie Schwartz’ slate was booked up,” Jerry recalls. “He had plenty of inventory, and there would have been too long a wait. So you said, ‘If they won’t let us put it in DC Presents, we’ll put it in All-Star Squadron!’”

Of course, that made Infinity’s first appearance a time-travel story, with all the complications and time paradoxes that that implies, but somehow together we carried it off.

Jerry also feels that DC kind of “pushed” me to use Power Girl and The Huntress, “to have some recognizable characters in there at first.”

Perhaps they did. I don’t recall.

“I think maybe Brainwave Jr. wound up

33 in there for that reason, too,” Jerry says, “because at least he’d appeared before.” Or anyway, his costume had. Still, I suspect my own commercial instincts made me not unfriendly to the inclusion of Power Girl, Huntress, and Brainwave—it’s just that Infinity, Inc. wasn’t even out yet, and already it was getting overcrowded!

I liked Power Girl and Huntress as characters, so it was only the burgeoning size of the cast that bothered me. Jerry and I both suspect that La Garro was probably a victim of their coming in—even if she’d be back later as Wildcat. Even Power Girl and The Huntress found themselves relegated to the sidelines after the first year. Still, I wanted and needed them—and even the adult Earth-Two Robin— for the “Generations” storyline I had in mind for the first year of Infinity, Inc., which would pit the new, young super-heroes against their parents and mentors—the Justice Society of America.

“I think probably the most fun in doing the book was doing the first issue,” Jerry says, “with the backstory: here’s how these guys got together, etc.”

That ten-issue storyline, I think (and other people tell me from time to time), was a nice piece of work, and much of the credit goes to

Northwind and the male Harlequin. But since Green Lantern was already going to be represented by two Infinitors, a new Harlequin had to wait for the “Manhunter” super-crossover a few years later. Art by Machlan w/Ordway. © 1999 DC Comics Inc.

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Two Co-Creators Reveal—

Jerry’s exquisite penciling and Mike’s painstaking inking. For me, to revisit the Justice Society and the original Brain Wave and even the Stream of Ruthlessness (from 1947’s All-Star #36) was like living a dream.

somehow the past wasn’t worth looking at. I remember the feeling when I was doing All-Star Squadron, too—it was almost like, ‘Why are you wasting your time doing that when you could be doing Batman or something?’”

X. War Clouds

Possible royalties aside, and despite the fact that I’ve been a Superman and Batman reader since the 1940s, I had my own question for those scoffers:

Still, in comics, every silver lining has a cloud.

“There was a point,” Jerry feels, “when DC was looking down on these books [All-Star Squadron and Infinity, Inc.] because of their 1940s connection. I don’t know what it was, a weird snob thing. For some reason they’ve always seemed to have some sort of problem with that, like

Why would I want to write Superman or Batman when I could write All-Star Squadron or Infinity, Inc? “The same kind of thing,” Jerry feels, “happened with Captain Marvel [in the recent Shazam! series], where they say, ‘All right, give it up already and do something like Superman or Batman.’ I just hate hearing that. There’s enough Superman and Batman books. Nowadays every Golden Age character seems to end up being a Vertigo character, and I hate seeing it. I guess I’m just an old-fashioned guy.”

You and me both, Jerry... you and me both.

But with Infinity, Inc., for a year or so there, we had the best of both worlds... the old and the new.

Jerry Ordway, who shared with us his reminiscences of the creation of Infinity, Inc., has been in the comics field since the early 1980s; until late 1998 he was writer and sometime artist of DC’s Shazam! and a writer of Superman. He is currently writing and drawing an Avengers series for Marvel Comics.

Mike Machlan, who was unfortunately unavailable to be interviewed for this article, has done comic book inking in recent years and resides in Wisconsin.

Roy Thomas, co-creator of All-Star Squadron and Infinity, Inc., has been a comics writer and often editor since 1965. He currently writes Conan series for Marvel, original series for Dude Comics in Spain, and other Robert E. Howard tales for Cross Plains Comics, beginning with their first title, Robert E. Howard—Myth Maker, now on sale.

Jerry Ordway’s breakdowns from Infinity, Inc. #10, his final issue—with Roy Thomas’ dialogue balloons indicated.

Note the reference scribbled by R.T. to the “new creative team”—which was scheduled to include Don Newton (who would die far too young, after doing only slightly more than two issues).

Art courtesy of Jerry Ordway. © 1999 DC Comics Inc.

Vive Le Silver Surfer!

An American Super-Hero In Paris (Well, Anyway, France)

by Jean-Marc Lofficier

A

freakish, wandering celestial body threatens to collide with the planet Earth. Even the Silver Surfer is powerless to divert its course. But his numerous acts of charity and mercy raise the spiritual level of humanity as it waits for the Day of Judgment.

This naturally upsets Mephisto, who dispatches his demons Belzebuth and Astaroth to spread new evil on Earth.

If you read every one of the eighteen original issues of The Silver Surfer when that Marvel comic was published between 1968 and 1970 and can’t recall the above plotline—and if you don’t recognize it from the hundred or so issues of the recent series, or even from the TV cartoon— Don’t worry, Frantic One! Seek not for a missing issue in your Silver Surfer collection.

For this adventure, entitled “La Porte Étroite” (“The Narrow Gate”), was published for the first and only time in two issues of a French comic book called Nova.

To understand how this came to be, we must now flash back to 1940s France.

I. From The Ashes of Defeat The Nazis had taken over most of France in 1940. Even though the Axis powers and the United States were not yet at war, a side effect of the German occupation was the discontinuation of the import of popular American comic strips such as Flash Gordon, Brick Bradford, Prince Valiant, et al. French publishers scrambled to replace this material, and quickly turned to native French talent—and Italian imports, despite the fact that Mussolini’s Italy was the ally of Hitler’s Third Reich.

In the French city of Lyons, during the War, a young writer named Marcel Navarro was asked by the president of the publishing company S.A.G.E. to translate some Italian comics. While working for S.A.G.E., Navarro met writer-artists Pierre Mouchotte and Robert Bagage, both heavily influenced by American strips.

These three men were later almost singlehandedly responsible for a publishing explosion that produced a myriad of inexpensive monthly or bimonthly comic magazines, intended to satisfy the demand for harder-edged, more violent, more fantastic, American-style stories.

In 1946 Mouchotte started his own publish-

ing company, but was ultimately driven out of business by a censorship law passed in July 1949 at the behest of Catholic educators and parents to monitor the contents of comic books. As a result of that law, most magazines were forced to go to a black-and-white, digest-size format and became known as the petits formats (small formats).

Meanwhile, Navarro had joined Éditions Sprint, for which he created the character of Secret Agent Z.302, drawn by Bagage under

the pseudonym “Robba.”

In 1946 Bagage left Sprint to create his own publishing company, the Éditions du Siècle

Artist J.Y. Mitton’s Buscema-cloned cover for Nova #25. The Surfer’s figure is a swipe from Silver Surfer #6 (June 1969), page 2, though with a bit more sheen.

Silver Surfer ©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.

36

Vive le Silver Surfer! returned from a trip to the United States, convinced Navarro to publish the first translations of Marvel Comics in France, in a magazine entitled Fantask.

Unfortunately, Lug had repeated run-ins with the censors, who objected to the super-hero violence, the bright colors (deemed “garish”), and the various monsters, creatures, and assorted super-villains. The French censors had the power to decide that material was unsuitable for children, and force it to be labeled “for adults.” In addition to keeping such magazines out of younger hands, the VAT (Value Added Tax) on adult material was twice that of material produced for children, making many marginal publications suddenly unprofitable. As a result of these factors, Fantask was cancelled after only six issues. In fact, it would seem the magazine was banned outright! (For a much fuller account of French comics censorship during this period, see articles in The Collected Jack Kirby Collector, Volume Two, published in 1998 by TwoMorrows.)

During these six issues, Fantask reprinted Fantastic Four #1, 3-10, 12, 14-18; Amazing Spider-Man #1-3; and The Silver Surfer #1-2, 4-6.

The latter series in particular (“Le Surfer d’Argent” in French), was

(which would be renamed Imperia in 1952).

In 1947 Navarro, too, left Sprint, to go to Aventures & Voyages, another petits formats publisher, for which he created “Yak” and “Brik” for artist Jean Cezard.

Finally, in 1950, Navarro teamed up with would-be publisher Auguste Vistel to create Éditions Lug, which was also based in Lyons.

(Lug was the ancient Gauls’ god of commerce and trade, and the original Latin name of Lyons had been Lugdunum, “City of Lug.”) At first, Lug published the traditional mix of French and Italian series. But, unlike its competitors, Navarro (who used what he considered the American-sounding pseudonyms “Malcolm Naughton” and “J.K. Melwyn-Nash”) actually created many of the characters, which were then entrusted to Italian studios to script and draw.

II. O Bitter Victory In 1969 Claude Vistel, Auguste Vistel’s daughter, who had just

Top: The cover of Fantask #4, utilizing the Buscema art for the cover of the U.S. Silver Surfer #5 (April 1969).

Silver Surfer ©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc. Left: A comics convention sketch of an airborne Norrin Radd by renowned French illustrator Moebius.

See a near-future issue for more previously-unpublished Moebius Surfer art.

Art ©1999 Starwatcher Graphics Silver Surfer ©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Vive le Silver Surfer!

37

in France until 1980 (in Nova #27, after “La Porte Étroite”), when the entire series was reprinted in the pocket-sized edition of Nova (1978 to date unknown).

III. A Star Is Born Taking note of the public’s interest in super-hero stories, Navarro had already begun to produce his own brand of characters, relying on the talents of various Italian artists as well as French writer ClaudeJacques Legrand and French artists Jean-Yves Mitton, Cyrus Tota, and Yves Chantereau. Notable Lug titles had published French super-herolike material including the black-and-white Wampus (1969), which was released simultaneously with Fantask and was also discontinued after six issues because of censorship, Futura (1972-75), Waki (1974), Kabur (1976-76), Mustang (Series II, 1980-81), etc. (A future article in Alter Ego will explore in greater detail the various characters, especially the superheroes, that appeared in these magazines.)

By 1979, as Nova was approaching the end of its rerun of Silver Surfer material, Navarro, frustrated by the lack of new material and emboldened by the character’s ever-strong popularity, asked Marvel for permission to produce new Silver Surfer stories exclusively for the French market.

Permission was granted, and work began on “La Porte Étroite,” which appeared in Nova #25 (22 pages; February 1980) and #26 (20 pages; March 1980). Credited to “J.K. Melwyn-Nash” (Navarro’s pseudonym) and artist J.Y. Mitton, “with the permission of the Marvel Comics Group,” this two-part, 42-page story ran alongside reprints of Marvel’s short-lived hero Nova and of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man. Which brings us back to the first paragraph of this article, which is

tremendously well-received.

Noted science-fiction author Jean-Pierre Andrevon, who wrote the book on which the recent animated film Light Years was based, favorably compared John Buscema’s art to that of Burne Hogarth.

And the fascination of famed cartoonist Jean Giraud (Moebius) with the Surfer, which would eventually culminate in a legendary collaboration with Stan Lee twenty-odd years later, dates back to these groundbreaking issues of Fantask.

The undaunted Navarro re-launched the Marvel characters in Strange (1970 to present) and Marvel (1970-71), at first in a pocket-sized, duotone format, then switching back to magazine size and full color after a year or so. That was obviously careless, because it led to the cancellation of Marvel with issue #13, due again to problems with the censors.

The Surfer’s adventures continued in Strange, which ran Silver Surfer #7-17—and #3, which had been omitted in the Fantask run, presumably in an effort not to upset the censors.

The last issue of the first Silver Surfer series, #18, drawn by Jack Kirby (which Stan Lee had done in order to find a new, more actionoriented direction for the floundering Surfer comic), was thought to be too different in style and story from what had preceded it; it was not run This and following pages: J.Y. Mitton à la Buscema art from the two “all-new” French issues of Le Surfer D’Argent. Art ©1999 SEMIC France/Lug; Silver Surfer ©1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.

38

Vive le Silver Surfer!

Mephisto dispatches his demons Belzebuth and Astaroth (on spectral motorcycles!) to counterbalance the Surfer and to spread evil on Earth.

Which they do, in spite of the Surfer’s admonitions.

In a scene reminiscent of the “Temptation of Christ” sequence in Silver Surfer #3, Mephisto tries to bargain with the Surfer. He will free him, if the Surfer lets the humans die as they are. The Surfer naturally refuses. Then Mephisto offers a trade: the Surfer’s soul against Earth’s four billion. But the Surfer rejects that, too.

He returns to Earth to help fight the tsunami caused by Ceres’ approach, but is instead blamed for it. Mankind still does not realize that it is doomed. The Surfer is struck down by lightning. (Mephisto’s doing, or just dumb luck? The story never says.) Fallen, he is stoned and buried (except for his outstretched hand) beneath rubble by an uncomprehending mob. He appears to be dead. The doomed humans shamble off to await Doomsday—while the gleaming surfboard hovers above the debris.

In #26’s “Deuxième Partie” (Second Part), the planetoid Ceres is getting ever closer to Earth. An almost unrecognizable President Jimmy Carter talks to a more recognizable Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev.

They decide not to tell their populaces the truth. Carter learns that the Surfer knew of Ceres’ coming. The authorities go looking for him, but his body is gone.

© 1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.

For, meanwhile, a mysterious light (whose source is never revealed) shines down from the stars, takes the Surfer (board and all), revives him, and transports him past Galactus’ barrier to Zenn-La. There the Surfer

basically the plot of Nova #25, and thus bears a bit of expansion here:

IV. “The Narrow Gate” The Silver Surfer detects a threat to Earth—the asteroid Ceres has mysteriously changed its orbit and is on a collision course with our world. Mankind doesn’t realize it because humans lack the cosmic awareness of the Surfer. The only folks to find out (in a space shuttle) die when Ceres’ gravity waves send their ship out of orbit.

The Surfer tries to alert the United Nations, but is scorned and hunted after he bursts into the General Assembly. He decides men can be reborn only if they die in a state of grace, so he decides to alleviate mankind’s suffering until the catastrophe comes. He sweeps across the world, transmuting molecules into manna for starving masses, bringing rain to parched deserts, healing the sick in hospitals, all with his transmutational powers. (Clearly, Navarro had chosen to eschew super-hero violence to concentrate on the morality of the Surfer.)

All this goodness naturally arouses the enmity of Mephisto, who was looking forward to the arrival of four billion souls of sinners in his realm, thereby defeating the plan for Earth of his adversary (God). So

© 1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.

The Surfer realizes that only Zenn-La’s anti-matter-based “Weapon Supreme” (from S.S. #1) can destroy Ceres. He begs Galactus to let him go through the barrier which the space god created to keep the Surfer on Earth. Galactus refuses, but points out that when Ceres destroys our world, the Surfer will be freed; all he is to do is wait! Nevertheless, the Surfer vows to try to save his adopted planet.

Vive le Silver Surfer!

39

Buscema’s style. Most of the figures were therefore taken directly from previous Silver Surfer stories, creating almost a collage effect. This, however, does not take away from Mitton’s obvious strength and ability when dealing with contemporary city scenes and futuristic space action.

As a result, “La Porte Étroite” reads as an enjoyable pastiche of a Lee-Buscema story that might have been.

V. A World He Never Made In spite of its qualities and promise, “La Porte Étroite” remained an isolated story, never to be followed by another. In an interview, publisher Claude Vistel revealed that Lug’s deal with Marvel required it to pay the American company the same amount in royalties, whether the story was a translation from an existing Marvel comics, or a new story created in France by French talent.

This economic stipulation did not take into account the creative costs of generating new material, and made it financially impossible for Lug to continue producing new Silver Surfer stories. Lug allegedly pointed out that Marvel would own the resulting stories and presumably could have amortized the creative costs by publishing them in the United States, not to mention selling them to other countries than France, but to no avail.

The Silver Surfer had once again met the only adversary he could never defeat:

© 1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.

The Almighty Dollar.

meets with Shalla-Bal, but he tells her they have no time to spend together. He must obtain the Weapon Supreme, which is kept in a space station in orbit.

With Shalla-Bal’s help, he steals the Weapon and escapes in the ship that carries it. She is arrested for treason. The Surfer’s ship escapes the Zenn-La fleet by going into hyperspace. He rematerializes it near the Earth and blasts Ceres out of the sky in the nick of time.

Someone recognizes the Surfer (wearing a hat and trenchcoat) and tries to turn him in. The Surfer flees into the sky, but finds that he is again trapped within Galactus’ barrier. He blames God for having given him a taste of freedom and then abandoning him. His final line of dialogue is a paraphrase of Christ’s cry from the Cross: “Why have you forsaken me?”

The dialogue throughout this two-part adventure reads very much like Stan Lee’s own prose (in translation, of course).

For his part, Mitton, a talented artist who has, since then, created numerous series of his own, was specifically instructed to copy John

© 1999 Marvel Characters, Inc.

But the Surfer pays a price, of course. His ship is destroyed by the explosion, and he and his board topple down toward the Earth. He recovers, only to find that the uncomprehending New Yorkers (and presumably everyone else) blame him for the devastation caused by the space debris from the obliterated planetoid. The American and Soviet leaders plan to grab the credit and usher in a new era of world cooperation, and don’t want the Surfer to interfere. The leader of the CIA comes up with the idea of blaming the Surfer and offering a reward for his capture.

$

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Roy Thomas’ Legendary Comics Fanzine Returns!!

In the USA

With Speci al Bonus:

No. 1 Summer 1999 1999

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Extra: The Original

Capt. Marvel Meets The Original

Human Torch!

PLUS: Interview with Artist

Unseen H.G. Peter Art Of

Mr. Monster unearths

Irwin Hasen!

Wonder Woman!

Stan Lee!

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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.)

F

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—

“So I Took The Subway And There Was Shelly Mayer...”

An Interview with Golden Age artist Irwin Hasen Conducted by Roy Thomas, transcribed by Carla Conway

the Joe Kubert School, the School of Visual Arts, etc.

Building in New York. We became very close friends.

A/E: Some of your earliest strips were for Holyoke and such companies, strips like “The Ferret” and “Secret Agent Z-2.” Were these through the shops, or were they direct clients?

A/E: You found out only in the past few years that you did the very first Cat-Man story for Holyoke, didn’t you?

IRWIN: Oh, that’s what I did with Bert Whitman and Lloyd Jacquet. I would go from one publisher to the other, but mostly through the shops at first. I did mostly sports fillers. At Chesler, guys like Novick, myself, Mort Meskin—we worked like schoolkids at desks, and he would sit at the front of the desks. He’d ask each of us to come up like a student: “How much do you need to live on?” That was the wonderful way he paid us. It was pretty rotten.

A/E: A lot of people started with comics shops, but within a short period of time figured they were better going off on their own. Who’s Who says you did a Green Hornet strip or two.

IRWIN: That was with Bert Whitman. I worked in his office at the Times

IRWIN: Yes. I saw it in a magazine. I think I was working with Whitman then, but I really don’t remember. But it’s my artwork.

A/E: Since the Batman, Superman kind of heroes obviously weren’t what drew you to comics, what did you think of the idea of drawing that kind of character? Did it make any difference to you?

IRWIN: No. All I did was take samples up to National at 480 Lexington— that was when Donenfeld owned it. Jack Liebowitz was the main accountant then. I’ll never forget, he used to wear shiny black suits. Jack was Donenfeld’s right-hand man, and my uncle knew Jack, so my uncle said, “Go down there. I made an appointment for you. Show some samples.” So I went to National and Jack looked at my work and he didn’t know. He said go down to 225 Lafayette Street, M.C. Gaines....

4

Irwin Hasen A/E: That was the All-American branch.

IRWIN: Right. So I took the subway and there was Shelly Mayer and M.C. Gaines, and that’s how I started in comics. And later they went up to 480, too.

A/E: You were the first artist after Martin Nodell to do Green Lantern regularly, though E.E. Hibbard did one or two in ’41, too. How did it come about that you wound up doing GL stories?

IRWIN: I don’t know. In those days, you didn’t ask. Bill Finger was the genius behind some of those characters, because he created the motifs. He did Batman.

He wrote all the stories and he practically created it in spite of what a lot of other people might say. He was the best of all of them. He died young. But a lovely talent. A very talented guy.

A/E: I met him once or twice in the 1960s. I’m sorry I didn’t get to know him better. It took years for him to get his proper due. One of the first times he had a credit on a strip was when you and he created Wildcat together for Sensation Comics #1 in ’41. He became the second most successful feature in it, after Wonder Woman.

IRWIN: Wildcat—Ted Grant—in real life was a prize-fighter.

And they knew I did cartoons for the prize-fight business. That’s the only reason I got involved in that. Shelly Mayer and I at that point became very close. In those days cartoonists weren’t stars.

We didn’t get our names on anything.

A/E: But it says “Irwin Hasen and Bill Finger” on Wildcat, for the first couple of issues.

IRWIN: I insisted on that. It was kind of a joke. Shelly said, “You want a byline?” I said, “Yeah, sure. Why not?”

A/E: Someone told me once that DC might have wanted to make sure Finger got a byline because they felt he’d gotten a little bit of a shaft by not getting one on Batman.

IRWIN: You’re absolutely right. So that’s why I was very proud to have my name with his.

A/E: After two or three years, when you went into the service, you were succeeded by Joe Gallagher as Wildcat artist. And then you sort of succeeded him when you returned to Wildcat for a little while after the war.

Did you know Gallagher?

IRWIN: No, I never met him. But he was a damn good artist.

A/E: He got sketchier and sketchier as time went along, but back from ’42-’44 he did some nice work. What kind of guy was Shelly Mayer to work for?

IRWIN: Shelly Mayer was almost—well, not quite a genius, but he was a brilliant, perceptive guy. A damn good editor. He baby-sat all the cartoonists and he sometimes became irrational. In other words, he would be—a character. He was a character.

A/E: I think it was Alex Toth who told how as a young man he was in Mayer’s office and suddenly you popped in, and you and Mayer began fencing with invisible swords for several minutes, up on furniture, all over the desk. Did this happen more than once, or was it just to impress Toth?

Top: The debut of Catman (here Cat Man, later Cat-Man) in Crash Comics #4 (Aug. 1941)—half Batman, half Tarzan. Art ©1999 Irwin Hasen. (Special thanks to Bill Black’s AC Comics for the vintage page.)

IRWIN: It happened a few times. Shelly would look at my work and he would sort of nurse me. He really was one of my great influences, and when I would screw off, he would straighten me out. But once he took my pages, looked at them, and threw them all up at the ceiling. And people—in those days the offices had windows, there were no doors. So everybody would look, and they’d see this little guy—me—standing there, and my drawings were all over the ceiling, floating down. That’s one of the worst things he did. He was an erratic, strange young man. He wanted to be a cartoonist.

A/E: He was a cartoonist.

IRWIN: He was a damn good cartoonist, but he was outdated. His heroes were

Irwin Hasen

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Ed Wheelan and all those older types. He was—what is it called?—an anachronism.

But he was a great editor. And then in ’49 he left to become a cartoonist fulltime and live on a mountain. And you know, it’s funny, Roy—Shelly almost died when I got Dondi. You know he always wanted to be a cartoonist. That was his life. And when I got Dondi, we stopped being friends. He never once congratulated me. Never once called.

A/E: I believe he created Sugar and Spike to be a newspaper strip originally.

It didn’t work out that way, but it became a successful comic book for quite a few years. It lasted longer than a lot of strips. Not Dondi, but still, Mayer is very much respected by people who know comic books, though he’s not known by the more casual reader.

IRWIN: No, not by them. He was, as they say, an inside job.

A/E: The desire of so many people who went into comic books was to eventually do a comic strip. But Dondi wasn’t the first strip you did, was it? You did the Goldbergs strip at one time.

IRWIN: Yes, that was based on Gertrude Berg. It was in the New York Post, from ’44 to ’45. When I got out of the army I did The Goldbergs. But then I started to go on a rampage in my own mind. I started to create other strips for myself, and I took them up to syndicates.

A/E: Few achieved the goal of doing a comic strip, especially starting a new strip as opposed to taking over an existing one.

IRWIN: I’ll tell you, Roy, it’s not that they didn’t achieve it. Most of them didn’t really try. I tried. I have three weeks of dailies of strips I wanted to take to syndicates before Dondi. I had my eye on the star, I really did. It was a romantic thing. But most of the guys we’ve been talking about didn’t really work to that end. The work I put in! I swear to God, Roy, I don’t know how the hell I did it.

A/E: I didn’t see your early-’40s work until the ’60s, but I can understand why it went over. You have a nice, simple, clear style.

IRWIN: I can’t believe it when anybody compares my work to that of Mort Meskin and Joe Kubert and Infantino and Toth. I remember Alex Toth came to me when he was like sixteen years old, and he loved my work. This isn’t false modesty, but I couldn’t figure out how this guy went for my work. But like you gracefully say, I have a nice simple style. And Alex Toth was a kid then. He and I became very close. I was like a big brother image to him.

A/E: Even though he’s a little taller than you?

IRWIN: Oh, yes. He was a tall, skinny Hungarian kid. He became an iconoclast.

We used to talk maybe once or twice a year on the phone and he used to write me incredible letters. Hand-written. And then he went on to become the genius of all of them. I think Kubert is another of the great artists.

A/E: They definitely had two of the most distinctive styles up at DC. I looked for their work as a kid, along with Simon and Kirby. But your own work and that of Lee Elias and the early Carmine—there were a lot of good artists up there.

I know Toth and Kubert both denigrate their early work, but those 1940s Green Lanterns and Johnny Thunder westerns Toth did, and Kubert’s late-’40s Hawkman and of course his Tor from the early ’50s—those hold up well with any comic artwork you’ll see anywhere, anytime.

IRWIN: Oh yes, absolutely.

A/E: And your work had its own virtues. That’s why, even in the early ’40s, you wound up doing a lot of covers for Green Lantern and All-American.

IRWIN: All-Star, Green Lantern... I did about a hundred covers, and also Wonder Woman, later.

A/E: I think you were considered a cover artist the same way Shelly Moldoff and Howard Purcell were, earlier. There are certain people who have the right sense of design to do covers. I was telling Al Feldstein recently how, when Woody Gelman of Nostalgia Press wanted to put a Wally Wood or Al Williamson cover on the first hardcover EC collection back in the ’60s, Bill Gaines insisted it have a Feldstein cover. Gaines said, “Al’s covers always sold better! He’s the

Previous page and above: Two of Irwin Hasen’s greatest hits: Wildcat and Green Lantern.

Wildcat and Green Lantern ©1999 DC Comics Inc. Left: Hasen panel from All-American Comics #85 (1947).

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Irwin Hasen Muriel. But Joe is a loner. And I think he’s the most focused cartoonist I’ve ever met. Now, of course, I teach for him as an instructor.

A/E: By the time you drew Green Lantern in AllAmerican and All-Star in ’41, you were already drawing some Green Lantern covers, too. You didn’t have any relationship with Marty Nodell?

IRWIN: No. Marty Nodell was only in the business a few years. Then he went into advertising.

A/E: A few times in the early ’40s you inked Nodell’s pencils. How did that happen?

IRWIN: I don’t remember. Jesus, you’re able to tell?

I can’t believe you could pick up on that.

A/E: I cannot tell a lie, it was Jerry Bails who pointed it out. You did the first story with Doiby Dickles, the cab driver, didn’t you? What was he—Lou Costello with a Brooklyn accent?

IRWIN: Yeah. Bill Finger made him up. But Doiby was really Edward Brophy, who used to be a fat little movie actor. He wore a derby in the movies in the 1940s, and that’s where I got the character from. Now, Stretch Skinner in Wildcat—I did that on my own.

A/E: What’s the genesis of that December 1941 piece you wrote and illustrated, which I first saw just a few months ago: A Visit from M.C. Gaines, a parody of Night before Christmas ?

IRWIN: When you sent that to me, I couldn’t believe it! It was an office thing. [Flash artist E.E.] Hibbard, I see. And [artist] Chester Kozlak, down at the bottom with a lot of hair, sitting at his desk.

A/E: Oh, with the pipe. And Hibbard is the heavyset guy sitting at his desk? And is that Shelly Mayer sitting next to him?

IRWIN: That’s him with me at the bottom. I’m tugging at his pants.

A/E: You always draw yourself preternaturally short.

Nodell pencils, Hasen inks, in the early 1940s. Hasen was the first artist to draw GL’s cabdriver buddy, Doiby Dickles. (Repro’d from original art, courtesy Joel Thingvall.) ©1999 DC Comics Inc.

one who made money for me.”

IRWIN: That’s the bottom line. I guess I was bored working on the insides. And I loved assignments for covers. As a matter of fact, when I was in the service from ’42 to ’44 I was stationed in New Jersey. I became with my own guts the editor of the Fort Dix Post, and I did the strip Sgt. Round-Step O’Malley. The happiest day of my life—my creative life; notwithstanding anything—was working as the editor of that newspaper. I turned out a paper every week there. I turned it out alone, with the strip and columns. And I went to Philadelphia to set up type myself.

I tell you, it was the most wonderful, productive part of my life, those two years. And also I came out alive.

A/E: I suppose that Sgt. O’Malley was a precursor to the plainclothes detective of that name you drew in DC comics in ’44 or so. Were you and Joe Kubert close friends around 1947? That’s when the photo I’ve seen of the two of you roughhousing was taken. Or rather, Joe looks like he’s roughhousing and you’re being roughhoused.

IRWIN: We became friends. He introduced me to his wife-to-be,

IRWIN: Very much so.

Shelly Mayer wasn’t that tall.

A/E: There’s somebody else bringing you a ladder.

Who’s the guy pointing?

IRWIN: That’s Mac Liebowitz. He was Jack Liebowitz’s son... brother... maybe nephew....

A/E: Oh, he’s the “Mac who screamed out”? Do you know who the two women are, and why one has a halo?

IRWIN: I’m not sure.

One of them is Gaines’ niece, Evelyn.

A/E: Oh, yes. She wrote a few text stories for the

Sheldon Mayer, one of the most influential of early comic book editors. From The Amazing World of DC Comics #5 (1975). ©1999 DC Comics Inc.

Irwin Hasen early comics. Who are “Harold” and “Frank Kieran”?

IRWIN: They were just guys who worked in the office.

A/E: I guess Orson Welles is in there because Citizen Kane was a hot new movie in 1941. Near the end you mention “Wonder,” which is obviously Wonder Woman, and you show the cover of Sensation #2, which came out at the end of 1941. Did you know H.G. Peter? I know he worked in a sort of shop that Marston set up, not at the DC offices....

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two boxes of Wheaties, you got that comic. Kubert did Hawkman, and you did Flash and Johnny Thunder and the cover. The Flash story you drew was odd, because a couple of years later you drew two Green Lantern stories with almost exactly the same villain, only with a different name—a “last criminal” from the future. Do you remember that character?

His name was Andar, or Knodar, or...

IRWIN: Yeah. Knodar.

A/E: He had this prison costume with “P’s” all over it, very inventive.

IRWIN: I just met him a few times. He was a much older man.

A/E: So why didn’t you do more writing? You obviously had some ability to put words together.

IRWIN: No, I didn’t write—until Dondi.

Dondi, of course, was created by Gus Edson, who had been doing The Gumps. He wrote the Dondi strip for about ten years, until he died.

After that, Bob Oksner helped me with plots and I would do the dialogue.

A/E: After the war, a few artists have said they had trouble getting their jobs at DC back when they came out of the service. Did you have any trouble like that?

IRWIN: No. As a matter of fact, a few times during the war I’d come in on weekend furloughs on a Thursday or a Friday and I would do covers in uniform. I never left the States; I was always in New Jersey.

A/E: If the Nazis attacked Hoboken, they were sending you in?

IRWIN: I was a prison guard, walking prisoners.

And one day I passed with my bunch of seven American AWOLs, deadbeats—with an empty rifle, of course, wearing my uniform, and I’m 5'2"—and I’m walking past the German prisonerof-war camp in Fort Dix. And I see this group of POWs and they’re laughing behind the barbed wire. The sons of bitches are laughing at me! They’re saying, “Look at the little guy! This is America! This is a soldier!” They were laughing because these American AWOLs of mine were all 5'11" and 6'3", but when I edited the camp newspaper, I had to go on the rifle range and I had to do guard duty at night.

A/E: But you sneaked up to New York occasionally to do a cover?

IRWIN: Once in a while I would get a call from Sheldon Mayer: “Can you come in this week?

Can you get away?” And sure enough, I got away about three or four times. I think Julie Schwartz was my editor.

A special Christmas gift drawn and hand-colored on Strathmore by Hasen for publisher M.C. Gaines in 1941. The original is 20” x 16”. See the interview for “Who’s who” in this zoo.

(Repro’d from original art; special thanks to Ray Cuthbert!)

A/E: He came in in ’44. Some of your first postwar work was the Atom chapter in All-Star #31, that I sent you a copy of. Kozlak did the first page or so, then suddenly the rest of story is by you. Do you know how that happened?

And he’s almost exactly the same character as “Dmane” in the Flash giveaway two years earlier. Do you know who wrote either of them?

IRWIN: No idea.

IRWIN: Not now. Of course, whenever a script came, maybe the name was up on top. I did some stories with Robert Kanigher, and of course Finger.

A/E: You’re not in the next issue, but then, in #33, you suddenly started doing the covers and the openings and the conclusions. I also sent you a copy of that Wheaties giveaway issue of Flash Comics; if you bought

A/E: For a couple of years in ’46-’47, Green Lantern was drawn in AllAmerican by Paul Reinman. I liked his work. But when you came back, except for one or two Reinman GL stories probably from inventory, he

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Irwin Hasen cover that had nothing to do with the insides. Did you ever do a cover where they just said, “Do a cover and come up with a scene?”

IRWIN: Yes. I did a cover with Doiby Dickles and Green Lantern walking in uniform.

A/E: You probably mean Green Lantern #4, back in ’41-’42. GL was marching as Alan Scott, with Green Lantern’s image towering over them. A great cover!

But of course that did have something to do with the story inside. You probably don’t remember because you didn’t draw that story. Martin Nodell did.

IRWIN: All I know is I’d get the order from Shelly or from Julie or whatever to do a cover.

A/E: Did Shelly describe them verbally? Did he ever draw a sketch?

IRWIN: I think he might have, sometimes. We’d sit at his desk. I lived in New York, so I’d go down there and have conferences.

A/E: Occasionally there’d be a splash page which used the same art as the cover. I suppose the splash page usually came first, because whenever anyone had a script to draw, it always had a splash page, right?

IRWIN: I would say so. I think sometimes Shelly would take the splash page and make it into a cover.

A/E: Did you know writers like Henry Kuttner and Alfred Bester, who did some Green Lantern stories?

IRWIN: I met Bester once or twice. He was a friend of Julie Schwartz. I met John Broome through Julie, too. And Lee Goldsmith.

A/E: I get the idea that if there was a halfway star writer at DC in the late ’40s, it might have been Bob Kanigher.

IRWIN: He was certainly one of the top guys there.

Above: One of Hasen’s rare Flash stories—for a Wheaties miniature giveaway edition of Flash Comics in 1946. It also features Johnny Thunder (by Hasen), Ghost Patrol (Frank Harry) and Hawkman (Joe Kubert). ©1999 DC Comics Inc.

was suddenly relegated to backup features like Black Pirate. Do you know why he fell out of favor?

IRWIN: I have no idea. He was good. You know, when you were that young, you did what you had to do and you didn’t ask questions. Shelly Mayer would shut you up.

A/E: For some reason, several pages of the art from one of your first postwar Green Lantern stories, in All-American #85, which came out in early ’47, seem to have survived in the hands of various collectors. You signed the one I have a couple of years ago in San Diego. The story was “The Rise and Fall of Crusher Crock,” the guy who later became The Sportsmaster. Did you ever have a desire to get your originals back?

IRWIN: No. None of us ever did. Isn’t that crazy? Kubert, I think, was the only one. He was the only smart one of the bunch. And you know, when I go to conventions I sit next to Dick Ayers, and he has all his goddam originals!

A/E: In the early ’70s, Marvel and DC started giving the original artwork back. About the covers you did—sometimes you’d do a Green Lantern

A/E: He had a hand in creating a lot of the major villains after the war, when they went in more for super-villains. The one he is most associated with was The Harlequin.

IRWIN: Yes. I drew that. Kanigher created her. He was the most prolific of them all.

A/E: I’m curious—did you design that Harlequin costume with the little tutu, or did Kanigher?

IRWIN: I wish I could say I did, but I don’t remember. In those days we’d come down to the office, all of us. We’d sit around and talk. It wasn’t like one man creating everything. You’d have a joint effort. And he’d come up with the Harlequin, and I’d make suggestions. But this was all done in committee.

A/E: There was one issue of Green Lantern where you drew all three stories—and they were all Harlequin stories! She was in a lot of GL stories for about a year, and then she vanished, so I guess she wasn’t as popular as they’d hoped. But obviously Kanigher liked her and the editors liked her. I liked her, too. In fact, I had her and Alan Scott get married back in the ’80s, at age 60 or so. I thought with Molly Mann [The Harlequin’s secret identity] having chased Green Lantern around all those years, she should come back into his life and marry him.

IRWIN: That’s great.

Irwin Hasen A/E: You also drew the first Icicle story and cover. Icicle was also in an Injustice Society story you drew part of....

IRWIN: You know more about my life than I do.

A/E: Well, I know a little about your professional life. As you drew those last few Green Lanterns and All-Americans and Comic Cavalcades, did you have any sense that super-hero comics were on the way out, and that All-American would soon become All-American Western?

IRWIN: No. Never thought about it. I think that was when I was phasing out.

A/E: This was still ’49 or so. You worked for DC for another two or three years after that. What did you do for DC after the super-heroes faded?

IRWIN: Near the end, all I did was fillers. As I told you, in 1951 I was starting to be phased out. I really couldn’t hack it with the competition of all these damn good artists.

A/E: That boating accident....

IRWIN: Terrible accident. [ED. NOTE: When M.C. Gaines was killed in the forementioned accident in 1947, his son William inherited his second comics company, EC, and proceeded to develop horror and crime comics, and eventually Mad.] A/E: What about E.E. Hibbard, whom you drew in that cartoon?

IRWIN: E.E. and I were friends in the office. We never socialized. He was a tough guy to talk to, to get involved with. He was a strange guy.

A/E: You knew Carmine Infantino pretty well.

IRWIN: Yes. Since we were both single, we went out together. We socialized a lot. I met his parents. We got to be close. And we still are.

A/E: I recall this press conference in the Allied Chemical Tower in New York in the mid-’70s, when Neal Adams was beating the drum for Siegel

A/E: They weren’t all that great. When we’re talking about Toth and Kubert, anybody would have had competition—but they had a lot of losers at DC, too. And I don’t mean you.

IRWIN: I understand what you’re saying, but it was time for me to go. Thank God everything worked out for me. And I didn’t have a wife and kids to support.

One day Whit Ellsworth called me into the office, and he looked at me and said, “Ah, you’re a bachelor.

Why don’t you take a trip on a boat?” And I didn’t know he was firing me! So like an idiot I left and went to the Pierre Hotel, and I didn’t think anything about it. I had a couple of drinks. And I walked off to a travel agent, and I booked passage on the Liberty, and I went to Europe. That was the greatest decision I made. Ignorance is bliss. I didn’t know I’d been fired. It didn’t occur to me.

A/E: What did you do when you came back?

IRWIN: I came back and I was out of work. I tell my students, when you get fired, don’t despair. But I also tell them that I was in my thirties. If I’d been married, it wouldn’t have been that funny. I couldn’t have recalled this with jocularity. Because that trip to Europe was gorgeous, the best thing I ever did. I traveled to London, Paris, and Italy. But I would have been in despair if I’d had kids.

A/E: I notice that some of the late Green Lantern stories you did in ’48, ’49, had a slightly looser look.

Was this all still you, or were you working with another inker, like Bob Oksner or Joe Giella or Frank Giacoia?

IRWIN: Occasionally, but not often. I don’t know what changed the style. Maybe I was nearing the end of my tether.

A/E: Besides that cartoon you did in ’41, what was your impression of Max Gaines?

IRWIN: The only boss I ever had was Shelly Mayer.

Gaines would walk around the office and have other problems on his mind, and he didn’t even look over your shoulder. He had a small office on Lafayette Street. He was a grumpy old guy, but a square shooter. He was a very provocative guy in his business, a progressive guy. He died too young.

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Above: At least three pages of Hasen’s Sportsmaster prequel have survived from All-American #85, May 1947. (Courtesy of Jerry Bails.) ©1999 DC Comics Inc.

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Irwin Hasen and Shuster to get pensions from DC because of the announced Superman movie. I was there representing the Academy of Comic Book Arts, and I read a statement on their behalf. Reporter Pete Hamill was there— and another thing that was there was your drawing of Dondi with a tear in his eye for Siegel and Shuster.

IRWIN: I made a statement which was broadcast all over the country—“Is it a bird?

Is it a plane? No, it’s a shame!” And two or three days later Carmine calls up. This is my friend, and he says, “You don’t know what’s behind all that. What are you doing? Why do you say a thing like that?”

A/E: Of course, Carmine wasn’t the guy who took away Siegel and Shuster’s rights. You weren’t attacking him.

IRWIN: I just felt, these guys created Superman. These two little guys from Cleveland are the reason why Warner is alive. Of course it’s a Above: A house ad for the shame. Carmine said “All-Harlequin” issue of Green Lantern in 1947. to me what he felt he The closeup is Howard Purcell’s, but the cover and Harlequin figures are pure Hasen. should, I guess. But all ©1999 DC Comics Inc. I could see was that we were all cartoonists, and I could see the shafting they were getting. But Carmine and I are friends again now, I’m glad to say.

A/E: It was a difficult period. Did you know Frank Giacoia well? He was buddies with Carmine and Gil in the old days.

IRWIN: A sweetheart of a guy.

A/E: Julie Schwartz—you once drew a picture of him and referred to him as a chipmunk.

IRWIN: Well, he looks like a chipmunk. His teeth hang out. And I still make fun of him. We have a love-hate relationship.

A/E: In ’49 Sheldon Mayer left the editorship, and Whitney Ellsworth was suddenly listed in all the books as the editor. There’s a change in the flavor of the books then, even though he evidently wasn’t that “handson” an editor. He was a guy who really despised working in comics,

from what I’ve heard.

IRWIN: He was more hands-on-the-bottle. Whitney was like the token WASP. He was a very elegant, tall, Hollywood-type looking guy.

A/E: And he ended up in Hollywood working on the Superman show. I get the impression that writers and artists worked on books with Kanigher or Julie or Weisinger, but not with Ellsworth himself. Yet they never put those guys’ names in the indicia as editors back in the ’40s or ’50s.

IRWIN: No, no. I think Ellsworth was a token name in a book.

A/E: How did it happen that you took over the All-Star assignment?

IRWIN: Whatever you did in those days, Roy, you were told. You weren’t asked. We were not the masters of our destiny.

A/E: DC had had Martin Naydel drawing the JSA chapters in All-Star.

He was actually more of a funny-animal artist, a fairly good one. He drew the Flash very stiffly, and did the same with the JSA, yet they had him on it for two or three years.

IRWIN: Marty Naydel, yeah. He was a sad sack.

A/E: I remember that when I saw your issues, starting with #33, I liked them better, even at age six and seven, and that’s still my judgment more than fifty years later. In that same issue Kubert came back to Hawkman, and the next issue Lee Elias began doing Flash, and Carmine and Alex Toth came along a little later, and suddenly the quality of All-Star and other comics jumped. In retrospect, I realize some of these artists were returning from the service, and the guys they were replacing had been the equivalent of those one-legged baseball players and the like who stood in for major leaguers during the War. You took over Green Lantern after two issues by Howard Purcell, and suddenly you were doing a lot of GL in All-American and Comic Cavalcade. Did you always know which book you were doing a Green Lantern story for?

IRWIN: No. You’d go in and get your assignment. You were very happy when they handed you a script. They kept me very busy for several years.

I can’t believe how busy, when I see some of the books I did. I always thought that I was having a good time in life. But mostly a cartoonist sits alone in a room.

A/E: How much work did you do on an average day when you were drawing things like Green Lantern?

IRWIN: I would say, maybe one page a day, pencil and ink. I think I got twelve dollars a page at first. I don’t know where that number comes from, in the back of my head.

A/E: Jack Burnley has said he hated drawing seven, eight, nine super-heroes in the Justice Society chapters of AllStar. How did you feel about that?

IRWIN: I don’t think I drew that many of those. All I did was Green Lantern and Wildcat.

A/E: Actually, you did the introductions and conclusions to a whole mess of Justice Society issues. One issue you did the entire 38-page JSA story, and that had eight heroes in it.

Editor Whitney Ellsworth fired Hasen circa 1953, thereby doing him a couple of inadvertent favors. From Fifty Who Made DC Great, 1985. ©1999 DC Comics Inc.

Irwin Hasen

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IRWIN: Jeez, you know more than me what I did in my life. It’s funny, there was so much work done in those periods, that you just didn’t keep track of. The only things I really remember that I did are the covers.

A/E: When you mention drawing Wonder Woman, wasn’t that just covers?

IRWIN: Yes. For Sensation and Wonder Woman. Bernie Sachs used to ink them sometimes. I inked a lot of them in ’53-’54.

A/E: After they got away from H.G. Peter covers. The first All-Star cover re-creation you did, you’ve said, was the one you did for me back in the late 1980s—the one with the hourglass, “The Day That Dropped Out of Time.”

How would a dramatic symbolic idea like that have come about? Would that have been your idea, or Shelly Mayer’s?

IRWIN: I have a hunch it was Shelly Mayer.

A/E: Although people like Julie Schwartz and Bob Kanigher and Ted Udall were editors of those books, you worked mostly with Mayer?

IRWIN: I didn’t work with any of those guys.

I worked with Sheldon Mayer, and Bill Finger would do most of the writing of the things that I did. We’d all sit together, Bill and Shelly and I. A/E: The All-Stars you drew were by a combination of Fox, Kanigher, and Broome, but you were probably just handed the scripts by Mayer.

IRWIN: That’s right. We were just a bunch of young kids. We got whatever they gave us, and they’d send us home.

A/E: You also drew me a re-creation of your Solomon Grundy All-Star cover for #33 and the Injustice Society one for #37, and the cover of #36, the one with Superman and Batman. Now, that cover was originally by Winslow Mortimer, wasn’t it? But it had some figures on it that were lifted from you—and from Kubert, H.G. Peter, maybe Lee Elias...

IRWIN: Lee Elias. He was a damn fine artist.

But a very troubled man.

All 38 pages of All-Star #39, “Invasion from Fairyland,” were illustrated by Irwin Hasen. ©1999 DC Comics Inc.

A/E: You’re the only artist who ever drew a whole issue of All-Star— #39. It was 38 pages long. I know you have no idea of why they assigned you the whole story, against their usual practice—but how long would it have taken you to do something like that, pencil and ink?

whatever it is....

A/E: Green Lantern #29. That’s the issue I mentioned earlier with three separate Harlequin stories in it. You not only did the cover, but you drew the entire interior—all three 12-page stories.

IRWIN: Oh, I’d say—over a month.

IRWIN: Is that right?

A/E: You also did that big golden robot cover—#42. You re-created that one for me, too.... I’ve got a total of five of them. How many cover recreations do you think you’ve done?

A/E: There’s no connection between the three stories. It’s like DC had a whole bunch of Harlequin stories sitting around, and they said, “Hey, let’s put ’em all in the same issue!” I don’t think anybody besides you ever drew any of those eight or ten Green Lantern-Harlequin stories.

IRWIN: Oh, maybe fifty. I just sold another one. Big Apple had a convention, and somebody called me up and he wanted one, so I did it for him. A couple of years ago they auctioned one of them. I did a Green Lantern cover, of him and the Harlequin—he’s being swept away with a blonde lady, and The Harlequin’s swinging her banjo or ukulele or

IRWIN: The more you talk to me, the more I realize that I worked my ass off.

A/E: In All-Star #44, which was set in Hollywood, you did caricatures of stars like Bogart and Bacall, Hope and Crosby, Peter Lorre. And in

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Irwin Hasen

another issue you drew someone who was obviously Walter Winchell.

IRWIN: He was my hero at the time. And I also imitated him. When I was nineteen, before I got into the business of comics, I wanted to be on the stage. If I’d had parents who’d have pushed me, I think I would have gone that way. I used to go on amateur hours. I don’t know if you remember them...

A/E: Oh, sure.

IRWIN: In New York they had a couple of them. So I went down one night to Nick Kenny’s Court of the Unknowns, a takeoff on Major Bowes’ Amateur Hour. Kenny was a radio columnist for a New York paper. I even remember the name of his conductor—Alfredo Antonioni. I didn’t even tell my parents I was going. I had a lot of guts in those days, I don’t know why. I’m sitting in there with all the other contestants, and time is running out, and I figure, ‘Well, I guess I’m not gonna get on.’ But sure enough, at the last minute, I go on, and I do an imitation of Walter Winchell: “Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America, and all the ships at sea!”

A/E: Hey, that’s a pretty good Winchell!

IRWIN: And I spouted off some gossip, you know, about different things in the world. You know I won first prize? A case of Lions Beer—it was very big then. I did it again, three years ago, at a Christmas dinner—and no one knew who the hell Walter Winchell was. They were all young kids.

A/E: If they did remember him, it would probably be from re-runs, as narrator of The Untouchables.

It’s hard for people today to imagine how big Winchell was at one time.

IRWIN: He was in the Dondi movie, as a matter of fact. He was a very bad article... but he was my hero then. I wanted to be on the stage, I wanted to be a newspaperman, I wanted to have my own comic strip. Of course, I got lucky. I had two or three strips that I tried. One was bought by the McNaught Syndicate—about a bachelor and his married friends. I was not emotionally ready to do it, and I just copped out. That syndicate wasn’t the most reputable one, so maybe God has a hand in some of these things. I just couldn’t do it—I backed out.

Mildred Bellah, the editor, said to me, “This is the biggest opportunity you’re going to have in your life—you’re making a big mistake!” I was intimidated, I just couldn’t handle it. And sure enough, two years later, thank God, Gus Edson came along.

A/E: So how did Dondi happen?

IRWIN: We went to Germany together for the USO, entertaining troops there, a group of cartoonists.

Gus was doing The Gumps, but that was finally dying, and he asked me what I was up to, and I said, “This and that.” I didn’t have a job, but I didn’t tell him that! And when we got back, he sent me a letter—on Waldorf-Astoria stationery—with a pen drawing of Dondi sitting on a duffel bag, with a big overseas hat. And he wrote, “Dear Kleine”—that means “little” in German—“this is the way the kid should look.” He didn’t explain anything else.

Left: This never-published page by Hasen is marked “Written off”—meaning DC opted to destroy it, probably when Green Lantern was cancelled in 1949—but a kindly fate spared it. (Repro’d from original art, courtesy of Jerry Bails) ©1999 DC Comics Inc. Above: Walter Winchell makes a guest appearance in All-Star Comics #47, 1949.

Irwin Hasen

13

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.

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Two Touches Of Venus

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

by Roy Thomas

O

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.

Ride ’em, cowgirl! Rare, perhaps neverpublished Wonder Woman art by H.G. Peter, circa 1943. Courtesy of Jerry G. Bails. ©1999 DC Comics Inc.

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!

Two Touches Of Venus

15

One script by the co-creator of The Flash, Hawkman, Dr. Fate, the JSA, and other major early features—and another by the originator of Wonder Woman, the most successful female super-hero of all time—both written for one of the most influential titles of all time, the comic which the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide has rightly called “a break-through concept, second in importance only to the creation of the super-hero” in the history of the industry.

This is the meat which fanzines like Alter Ego were created from 1961 on to devour.

As everybody who is anybody knows, Wonder Woman burst upon the comics scene in late 1941, her origin shoehorned in after the 56-page JSA story in All-Star #8 (Dec. 1941-Jan. 1942).

Her creators were Dr. Marston (under the byline “Charles Moulton”) and artist Harry G. Peter.

She was also the cover feature of Sensation Comics #1 (Jan. 1942), which went on sale only a few weeks later.

I have a theory, based on analysis of internal evidence, that Wonder Woman’s nine-page origin may actually have started out as a 13-pager slated for Sensation #1, and then been truncated so she’d get advance exposure in the popular JSA title—but that’s a speculation for another day and issue.

Be that as it may: By All-Star #11 (June-July 1942), Wonder Woman appeared in an actual JSA story as “guest star in a national emergency”—this being the first issue written after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Following the Sheldon Moldoff-drawn Hawkman chapter came a one-page interlude (drawn

by Jack Burnley, not by Moldoff, as credited in the generally excellent All Star Archives, Volume 3), in which Diana Prince meets fellow army nurse Shiera (Hawkgirl) Sanders and Hawkman himself on board an American convoy ship. Immediately afterward, Wonder Woman has a sixpage, H.G. Peter-drawn battle with Japanese troops assaulting the Philippines. At issue’s end, Dr. Fate tells the other JSAers she ought to be a member of their group.

In All-Star #12 (Aug.-Sept. 1942), she is named and pictured on the cover, but isn’t mentioned on the splash page roll call, which even lists honorary members Superman, Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern, none of whom so much as appears in the issue! Nor does she have a solo chapter in #12.

With the Amazon at his side, Hawkman tells his fellow male JSAers she has volunteered “to be our secretary while we are at war.”

This suggests the DC bigwigs were still uncertain whether or not she should become a full-fledged “fighting member” of the Justice Society (which had been re-christened the “Justice Batallion,” allegedly for the duration of the War).

An unused mid-40s Wonder Woman cover. The original was sold at auction by Sotheby’s in 1997. ©1999 DC Comics Inc.

With All-Star #13 (Oct.-Nov. 1942), Wonder Woman is again shown and named on the

Above: This just in—from The Key Reporter, Autumn 1942, the official publication of the Phi Beta Kappa! Wonder Woman ©1999 DC Comics Inc., Text ©1998 Phi Beta Kappa.

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Two Touches Of Venus

cover; and in the splash page roll call she gets her own separate line: “Wonder Woman, secretary.”

“Shanghaied into Space” is reprinted in the forementioned third volume of the All Star Archives. (DC, contrary to the most common usage in the 1940s, persists in spelling “All-Star” without a hyphen.) In it, all eight JSAers attending a meeting are gassed by German agents, tossed into eight individual spaceships, and launched toward the eight other planets of the solar system.

Forget about the bad science, not to mention the Nazis’ wasteful use of rocket technology during wartime. What concerns us is Wonder Woman.

The author of All-Star #13, as of all Justice Society tales to date, was Gardner Fox. Also as per usual, the JSAers were together only at the beginning and end of the book-length story, with most of its pages given over to solo adventures of the eight individual heroes. (Dr. Fate was absent this issue.)

Thus, with editing and apparently co-plotting by editor Sheldon Mayer, Fox scripted his second six-page chapter starring Wonder Woman. Since the other seven solo segments for #13 were written at roughly the same time, it was probably Mayer and/or Fox who came up with the idea of sending her rocket to the planet Venus. Unless Mayer consulted Marston before deciding on that destination, it’s either a happy coincidence (since Wonder Woman was always touted as being “lovely as Aphrodite,” the Greek predecessor of Venus, Roman goddess of love)—or else Mayer and/or Fox, too, instinctively saw the “love connection” between Wonder Woman and the second planet from the sun.

Wonder Woman was owned by the All-American Comics line, which at this time was loosely allied with Detective Comics, Inc., under the common “DC” cover symbol. However, whether a particular story was for Sensation or Wonder Woman (or, soon, for the giant-size Comic Cavalcade), her exploits were produced in a manner a bit different from most DC/AA comics.

Briefly: In 1941 Dr. Marston, a noted psychiatrist, had written a magazine article somewhat critical of current comic books. Contacted by AA co-owner M.C. Gaines, he soon wound up as an official advisor to the DC/AA line, and shortly thereafter sold Gaines on the idea for Wonder Woman. (Conflict of interest, anyone?)

One suspects he really snowed the comics folks, few of whom had Ph.D.’s in those days—or in these, for that matter. Because of his exalted status, Marston was empowered to produce the Wonder Woman stories outside the AA/DC offices, overseeing both scripting and artwork under something not unlike the “comics shop” system which was common in the field at the time (though less so at DC/AA).

Most readers would count artist H.G. Peter as the co-creator of Wonder Woman, but that doesn’t seem to be the way Marston (or his wife) saw it in the old days.

When Jerry Bails mentioned Peter in a letter to Dr. Marston’s widow in 1970, she responded: “Re Harry Peter—think you must be referring to the Marston Art Studios located in the building on the southeast corner of Madison & 43rd in N.Y.C. Bill personally handled every aspect of production up to the point of sending to the printer. Harry Peter worked there, plus several young commercial artists who drifted in and out. These were usually women. There was a young man there for a short while. Lettering was done outside by a commercial firm. I knew Harry Peter very well but the youngster I met only in passing.”

With this proprietary attitude, which treats Peter as merely an artist who worked for Marston (rather than for AA), small wonder Marston was less than ecstatic when Mayer showed him a Wonder Woman script for All-Star prepared by another writer. We don’t know what his reaction had been to her Philippines foray in #11; perhaps he rewrote it, perhaps not. But when he received Fox’s script for #13, he objected to its handling of Wonder Woman. Mayer seems to have invited him to rewrite it, and Marston responded with an entirely new offering:

The “Horses” phrase was apparently a Marston equivalent of “Yours truly” (though the carbon is unsigned); and “Mr. G.” was obviously M.C. Gaines. Clearly, it appealed to Marston to give Wonder Woman’s earrings a useful purpose, such as her shackle-derived bracelets had.

The Marston script ran twelve double-spaced pages for the six-page chapter. (Fox’s had run less than five, but then he typed his on extra-long legal pads, a holdover from his days in law school.)

Marston had his own style of writing a script. First comes a twoparagraph splash page caption. This is followed by the description of the action to be drawn in the panel, written as just another paragraph, except that it’s placed between parentheses. Panel descriptions in this era seem generally to be preceded by a panel’s captions, and followed by its dialogue. With Page 2, Marston’s script style moves closer to the usual style of the time, though retaining the parenthesized panel descriptions.

All-Star #13 uses Marston’s script 100% and resembles the Fox/Mayer storyline only in the broadest outlines. The changes underscore the uniqueness of Wonder Woman in the comic book pantheon of the day.

Fox’s script was very much in the vein of the other solo chapters of All-Star #13. In each, a JSAer awakens as he reaches a planet (Mars, Pluto, wherever). Finding it inhabited, he discovers a way to speak the language of the locals and saves them from some menace. By chapter’s end he has triumphed—and not only has he managed to refuel his rocket (if he needs to), but the grateful denizens have presented him with a gift which will be of value when he gets home. Hawkman gets radium “to combat disease on earth,” Dr. Mid-Nite receives “a complete set of books describing our secrets of plant growing and surgical work” (don’t ask!), and so on.

In his Wonder Woman segment, Gardner sends the Amazon to a jungloid, cloud-covered world right out of the Carson of Venus novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, a writer whose works he admired. Carson Napier would have been quite at home among all those “trees and ferns and vines.”

She finds Venus a primitive, “still young” world, where humanlooking soldiers ride about in “war chariots.” She realizes Venus’ women are slaves to the men, and is enabled to speak the native tongue via a crystal globe, which teaches language by hypnosis.

Two Touches Of Venus

17

Without further ado, Wonder Woman overcomes first a guard, then spearmen, then the king himself, and finally another huge warrior. Awed, the king grants freedom to the planet’s women, and sends her back home carrying some “vegetables that contain all the vitamins that you know of on Earth.”

Fox’s Wonder Woman chapter is no better or worse than most of the other solo episodes in #13, although he doesn’t seem totally comfortable yet writing this new super-heroine.

Still, he’s done his homework: He refers to her “golden lasso of persuasion,” to “bullets and bracelets,” and to “Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons,” even if there’s no acknowledgement that Hippolyte is Diana’s mother. With artwork by Peter, Fox’s script, illustrated, would have looked like just another Wonder Woman story—albeit one lacking the underlying philosophy of Marston, who was a professed believer in the natural superiority of women to men.

At this point less than a year old as a character, Diana was a rising star in the comic book firmament. Wonder Woman #1 went on sale around the time Marston read Fox’s script, and he wasn’t about to let anything undermine her growing popularity if he could help it. All-Star was a top-selling AA title, and what readers saw of her exploits therein might well influence them to buy (or not buy) Sensation and Wonder Woman.

Thus, Marston must have asked (or insisted) that he be allowed to rewrite Fox’s script.

A man with an academic/medical background now hobnobbing with the often self-(or un-) educated early artisans in the comics field, Marston was far from shy about lecturing them on “touch[ing] certain universal truths” and such like.

This professional self-assurance had obviously impressed Gaines from the start, and whether editor Mayer was equally

Left: The 1942 carbon copy of Gardner Fox’s Wonder Woman script for All-Star #13 is a bit tricky to read, but worth the effort as a piece of comics history. Fox’s Yonkers, New York, address has been partly obscured. (Courtesy of Jerry G. Bails) Above: Using H.G. Peter’s art as a basis, fan-artist Al Dellinges drew this version of the first page of the Wonder Woman chapter from All-Star #13, as it might have looked if based on Fox’s script instead of Marston’s. Wonder Woman ©1999 DC Comics Inc.; art ©1999 Al Dellinges.

impressed or merely doing what he had to, Marston got his way. Whether he was paid for the re-write or not, it’s clear that Marston felt strongly about what he was doing in the Wonder Woman strip.

Did I say “self-assurance,” boys and girls? He was willing to bet Mayer that, if Wonder Woman stayed in All-Star for “a few issues,” he’d be able to make her the most popular JSAer of all!

(And he was right—for none of the other eight then-current All-Star regulars would ever get his own magazine. Superman and Batman were more popular than she, and even Flash and Green Lantern still held a temporary lead on her—but they were non-appearing honorary members. And indeed, a decade later, only Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman would retain their own DC titles, with the original Flash and GL going gently into that good night with the rest of the JSA.) Marston knew he must adhere to the basic outline of what Fox had written, lest he duplicate events happening to the other JSAers; but he handled matters with his own unique, fetishistic flair. (See the end of this article for the full scripts, retyped for clarity.)

First Marston has “the goddess Aphrodite herself” direct the rocket to Venus. Of course, since the other JSAers all made it to their destinations, one suspects Nazi super-science would have sufficed without her, but Marston wanted to stress the tie-in between Aphrodite and Venus.

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Two Touches Of Venus

Left: The first page of W.M. Marston’s script for the Wonder Woman chapter in All-Star #13, reproduced from a carbon copy. (Courtesy of Jerry G. Bails) Right: Splash page of Marston and Peter’s Wonder Woman chapter, as it appeared in All-Star #13. © 1999 DC Comics Inc.

He then proceeds to stand the Fox script on its head by having the women of Venus be not slaves but in charge when Wonder Woman arrives. He gives them butterfly wings and, in a poignant image, their queen Desira says, “Our men love us dearly. They obey us because if they did not, we would fly away from them and they have no wings to follow.” (This, of course, is very much in line with Marston’s views of female superiority.)

Rather than have the men rebel, as he often did in Wonder Woman stories, Marston has the Venusians conquered by “meteor men.” No native can overcome them or their leader, Solaris, but naturally Wonder Woman does—after being captured and bound with her own magic lasso. (She was quite prone to being tied up in her early tales.)

By story’s end, things are pretty much as they were in Fox’s script, except for one final Marston touch: He has Queen Desira kiss Wonder Woman’s earrings, magnetizing them so the Amazon can always hear her voice across space. As Marston explained to Mayer, the transformed earrings were not a gift of any practical use on Earth, since they were only a method of Diana’s “receiving messages, instructions, from one person, the Queen of Venus.”

Thus, of the eight JSAers who were “Shanghaied into Space,” Wonder Woman becomes the only one who doesn’t bring back “a scientific secret that will help humanity on our side of the fence,” as Hawkman phrases it to the Nazis over a shortwave radio. The boys bring back heat-making secrets, a mind-reading device, a formula to make metal invisible—and she comes home with magnetized earrings! (Too bad she didn’t bring back that crystal globe that hypnotized people into learning languages.

Generations of French II students would have erected a statue to her.)

Still, no one seemed to notice, and even though at story’s end Wonder Woman was given honorary member status (because she was getting her own comic, like Flash and Green Lantern before her), the JSA asked her to continue as their secretary. She accepted, and the guys wound up singing “For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow” to her.

Knowing human nature, one has to wonder if Shelly Mayer and/or Gardner Fox weren’t just as happy to have Diana merely hang around the JSA for the next few years recording minutes of the meetings, and not having solo adventures over which they’d have to duel with Marston. Superhero groups are complicated enough without having to work in philosophies of female superiority and the joys of submission to authority.

Marston did indeed utilize Desira in “later adventures,” as he’d indicated to Mayer. In Sensation #11 (Nov. 1942) she sent Wonder Woman to a distant planet to help its “planetary mother and supreme judge” put down a revolt (by men, naturally). Desira appeared yet again in WW #12 (Oct.-Nov. 1945) and in WW #26 (Nov.-Dec. 1947). Wonder Woman was still one of DC’s most popular titles at the time of Marston’s death in 1947.

H.G. Peter, though his art grew stiffer and his figures ever tinier on the page, remained Wonder Woman artist until his death in 1958, working more directly for DC during his last decade. From 1941 through 1958, only the barest handful of the Amazon’s adventures did not feature his art—and even those few were done in a style imitating his.

Gardner Fox went on to write 21 more published JSA stories through the end of 1946. By the time Wonder Woman began to play a more prominent part in Justice Society adventures again in 1947, he was off writing other genres, and All-Star was being scripted by John Broome and Robert Kanigher—the latter having also succeeded Marston as Wonder Woman scripter. Fox would also eventually write the first 68 tales of the Justice League of America during the 1960s.

And Shelly Mayer? In 1946 DC bought out M.C. Gaines’ part-interest in the All-American group, and AA and DC were merged for good into one big company called National. A couple of years later, Mayer decided it was time to toss away his editorial blue pencil and go back to being a writer/artist. Scribbly and eventually Sugar and Spike were the unqualifiedly excellent result.

Don’t you just love happy endings?

Gardner Fox Wonder Woman Script

19 Their heroes are their strongest men. If a woman could only match their feats of might...

Gardner Fox Unused Script for All-Star Comics Number Thirteen

Box 4...Wonder Woman is seen as she smiles, and pats the old lady on the hand.

They use war-chariots and spears. I’ll follow them!

WW: Then leave it to me. On Earth, thanks to my training by Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons, I am considered very strong!

Gardner F. Fox 52 Crotty Avenue Yonkers, N.Y. ALL STAR #13 Wonder Woman PAGE 1 Box 1...Splash panel: A heavy mist is seen covering a section of the planet Venus, whose plains are covered with fertile growths.

Through the mist shoves the nose of the rocket in which Wonder Woman is. No stars are seen through the mist that covers Venus.

LEGEND: VENUS, veiled in an enveloping blanket of mist which hides the stars and other planets, is between Mercury and Earth in the planetial system. Brighter than anything in the heavens but the Sun and Moon, Venus reflects sunlight from the clouds that swathe her.

Because of this mist, the markings on Venus cannot be seen. Scientists agree that Venus MAY contain life...

Sub-Legend: Wonder Woman is still unconscious in the rocket that noses its way through the clouds and drops swiftly...

Box 2...The rocket hits the lush ground as the door pops open and Wonder Woman is thrown onto the ground.

Wonder-W: Ohhh...what happened to me ?

I feel lifted out of the world!

Box 3...Wonder Woman brushes back her hair as she stares at the trees and ferns and vines of Venus: bizarre and strange.

Wonder-W: Say, maybe I AM out of the world! This doesn’t look like any place on Earth!

PAGE 2 Box 1...Wonder Woman runs her hands over the rocket as she stares up at the low-hanging clouds above her.

WW: A rocket. Those clouds. Oh, my goodness! I—I think I’m on another planet!

Venus, judging from those clouds!

Box 2...Wonder Woman goes racing off down the forest trail. She is in full costume, with her golden lasso over her shoulder.

WW: Now I know I am! Look at the way I can run here, even faster than on Earth, due to Venus’ lesser gravity!

Box 3...Wonder Woman peers from around the bole of a tree and sees a couple of chariots that go past a road, the men tall and strong, with spears and such, not unlike the Assyrian war chariots.

WW: Hmm. This is a world still young!

Box 4...The chariots are seen in the distance passing by a field where women are working.

In background, along the road, comes Wonder Woman.

WW: Women working in the field! Why, they’re practically slaves here!

CAPTION: The cavalcade passes a line of tilled farms...

Box 5...Wonder Woman speaks to a pretty girl in farming costume, who looks up from the hoe she wields.

WW: If I could only speak to you!

Girl: Naga. Naga wrel!

Box 6...Wonder Woman sees a bent old woman approaching, who bears in her hand a crystal globe, pointing to it.

WW: She wants me to look at the globe. What can I lose ?

Woman: Gavra! Gavra sed norton!

Box 7...CAPTION: The little globe begins to glow brightly. Staring within its depths, Wonder Woman becomes aware that she understands what the old woman says!

VIGNETTE the globe with Wonder Woman staring down at it. Rays from the globe reach up and strike here eyes!

WW: She’s telling me to gaze deep, to open my mind to her...!

PAGE 3 Box 1...Holding the globe in one horny hand, the old woman stares up at Wonder Woman and smiles.

Old woman: Our language is simple. We teach it to our young by hypnotism. Why not to you, daughter of another world?

WW: You know me?

Box 2...The old woman walks with Wonder Woman down the tilled fields.

Woman: Legends have foretold that one would come who would bring the women of Venus to freedom. Now—we labor for the men, like slaves!

WW: I thought as much!

Box 3...The old woman sits in front of a little hut as Wonder Woman sits in front of her, leaning on her knee with an elbow as she looks up at him.

WW: What can I do to help?

Woman: The men of Venus admire strength.

Old-lady: I hope so!

Box 5...CAPTION: Later that day, Wonder Woman knocks at the great Gate of Visitors of the city Venus... Wonder Woman is seen in front of the great gate as she lifts it.

WW: Let me in! I am a visitor! I wish to see your ruler!

Box 6...A huge man with a shock of black hair, is seen as he lifts a whip as Wonder Woman steps within the gate.

Man: Back, woman! Don’t you know that no woman can enter the Gate of Visitors?

WW: Well, here’s one woman who’s entering it!

Box 7...Wonder Woman grabs the whip away from the man as he is about to bring it down on her shoulders.

WW: And don’t play “snap the whip” with me, because I don’t like it!

Man: Oww! My wrist!

PAGE 4 Box 1...The man is seen as Wonder Woman grabs him by the arms and lifts him up in the air. The man stares down at her with awe in his eyes.

Man: Who are you that you can toss me around like a sack of meal ?

WW: I am Wonder Woman, come to free the women you make slaves of! Now take me to your king!

Box 2...Wonder Woman and the guard of the Gate walk toward a couple of spearmen who balance their spears, ready to throw.

Man: I will lead you, but his spearmen will kill you for coming along this road!

WW: We’ll see if they do!

Box 3...CAPTION: Sunlight glints on speeding lances, as Wonder Woman lifts her bracelets to fend them off... Wonder Woman leaps forward toward the guards, her bracelets dropping the spears that hit her bracelets and deflect off.

WW: After playing “bullets-and-bracelets”, these spears are easy to deflect!

Box 4...Wonder Woman leaps right through the guards, sending them flying away on all sides.

WW: I never played football, but this is what they call a line-plunge!

Guards: Owww! And this is a woman doing this to us!

20 Box 5...Wonder Woman races into a courtyard and garden where the tall and handsome king is seen rising from a bench where he is surrounded by courtiers and soldiers.

King: A woman! This is inconceivable! Kill her!

WW: You men are mighty hard to convince, but I’ll do my best!

Two Touches Of Venus Man: What’s this? A woman? Slay her!

WW: Another bully!

Box 6...The dark-visaged man scowls down at Wonder Woman as King rubs his chin and looks on.

Man: Bah! Don’t listen to her! You know she’s only telling you tall stories!

Beat a man, bah!

Box 6...Wonder Woman races past the guards, twirling her lariat.

CAPTION: With her golden lasso of persuasion sparking, Wonder Woman speeds forward...

King: You’ve convinced me that a woman is just as good as a man! From now on, they take their places beside us!

WW: You’ll never regret it!

Box 5...CAPTION: The day has come when the women of Venus enter the Gate of Visitors, Wonder Woman at their head... VIGNETTE the Gate as Wonder Woman leads the women down the street.

PAGE 5 Box 1...Wonder Woman swoops under the king’s swinging sword and picks him up by his waist.

WW: From now on, all Venus is partly yours!

WW: Mind if I cut in?

Box 6...Wonder Woman speaks to the king and to another woman as they stand beside her rocket. The woman hands her some herbs.

King: Ooops!

Box 2...Wonder Woman races along the street in the city, as she bears the King over her shoulder.

Woman: In gratitude, receive these vegetables that contain all the vitamins that you know of on Earth!

WW: Let’s take a little trip, shall we?

King: What—what are you going to do with me ?

King: You come from Earth! You would make me think women are treated as men’s equals?

WW: I’m right here—but you won’t be in a minute!

Box 4...King shakes Wonder Woman’s hand.

King: They’ll be mighty few— from you! I’ll have to kill you myself!

Box 4...The king stares down at Wonder Woman.

Box 2...Wonder Woman, grasping the man’s ankles, lifts him right off his feet, head flailing backwards.

WW: Over the fence is OUT!

WW: That’ll hold you while I have a few words with your king!

King: I—I’m confused!

Man: Where did she go?

King: Zounds! What a woman!

Box 7...Wonder Woman has a lot of the soldiers wrapped around by the [line on carbon copy missing] his sword in his hand.

WW: You let these women slave for you!

You men of Venus think you are strong!

I’m a woman, and I can beat any one of you men...any ten for that matter!

WW: And if I fall right...you’ll go for a little fall yourself!

Box 3...CAPTION: Exerting her great strength, Wonder Woman heaves the burly Carta right over the wall... Wonder Woman is seen whirling, heaving the man as a hammerthrower hurls the hammer. He is seen going over the wall, as king stares.

WW: If I’ve got to lasso the lot of you, I’ll do it!

Box 3...Wonder Woman stands with the king as she points to the women who are working the fields.

for the man’s ankles.

WW: My thanks! I’ll have to leave you now that I have fuel in my rocket...

WW: I’ll beat you, without any weapons!

King: If you beat him—I grant freedom to all women!

Box 7...The dark man leaps at Wonder Woman, his dagger reaching toward Wonder Woman’s chest.

Man: Then die, woman! No one can stand against me, man or woman!

King: If you ever return, be sure that you will always be welcome!

Box 7...CAPTION: Back through space whirls Wonder Woman! What will she find...?

Have the Justice Battalion members all safely returned? Have the Enemy launched their offensive?

Shot of space with the rocket sailing toward Earth.

WW: Then I won’t stand—I’ll fall!

WW: Exactly!

Box 5...King and Wonder Woman walk back into the courtyard as a huge man comes toward them. He bristles with weapons.

King: If that’s the case, I’ll have to think it over!

PAGE 6 Box 1...CAPTION: Moving with eye-blurring speed, Wonder Woman darts in under the downward moving arm... Wonder Woman slips under the man’s dagger-hand and reaches

Above: Page 2 of Gardner Fox’s unused Wonder Woman script, typed on legal-size paper.

William Moulton Marston Wonder Woman Script

Wm. Moulton Marston Script for All-Star Comics Number Thirteen William Moulton Marston All Star #13 WONDER WOMAN PAGE 1.

1. Display panel Legend: Venus, planet of mystery, is forever veiled beneath shimmering, iridescent mists. Because of its brightness and loveliness in the dark reaches of interstellar space, this shining world is called ‘Venus’, the Latin name for Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty. Since Venus is 36 million miles nearer the sun than our own planet, Earth, its climate is warmer and its verdure more tropical.

The Goddess Aphrodite herself directs the rocket which carries Wonder Woman, still unconscious, through uncharted skyways and bewildering space jungles of meteors, comets, and planetoids. As Wonder Woman’s hurtling carrier penetrates the golden atmosphere of Venus, Winged Women soar upward like beautiful butterflies to meet their strange visitor from Earth.

(Aphrodite in semi-material form at the top of panel directs W.W’s rocket which is heading down from the sky toward the surface of Venus below. Rising from the planet and flying toward the rocket are a flock of winged women, with bright colored wings like butterflies.

Some are pointing at the rocket and some are swooping around it, examining it.)

her own, for that is the gift of tongues “bestowed upon every visitor to Venus.”

(W.W. still wrapped in the gold net stands before the Queen’s throne. Winged Women guard W.W. on both sides. The Queen is a gorgeous creature dressed in the style of Flash Gordon’s queens, Tropica, the Witch Queen, etc. Desira has wings like her women.

She leans forward eagerly and looks W.W. over carefully.)

Queen: Who are you and where do you come from?

21 W.W.: I am an earth girl. They call me Wonder Woman.

3. (Queen gestures to her guards to remove the net from W.W. The Guard girls are unwinding it and W.W. stretches her arms in relief.)

Queen: Wonder Woman! The oracle of Aphrodite, whom we worship, foretold your coming. Guards, free this girl! We need her help desperately!

W.W.: I’ll bet you are having man trouble!

4. (W.W. is seated on a stool at the Queen’s feet. They are talking together.)

Queen: No, our men love us dearly. They obey us because if they did not we would fly away from them and they have no wings

2. CAPTION: The Venus women find a door in the rocket and open it. (Closeup of the door of the rocket being opened by Winged Women. One or two girls are peering into the rocket through the door and they see Wonder Woman.)

First Winged Woman: Oh look! There’s a pretty girl inside!

2nd Winged Woman: Let’s get her out before this flying cylinder lands—the shock would kill her!

PAGE 2 1. CAPTION: The winged Venus girls wrap Wonder Woman in a net of gold metal and fly away with her.

(Several Winged Women on each side hold W.W. between them as they fly along. W.W. is still unconscious.)

1st Winged Woman: We’ll take her to the Queen!

2nd Winged Woman: Yes, she may be dangerous like those terrible meteor men!

2. CAPTION: Wonder Woman is brought before Desira, Queen of Venus. To the earth girl the Venusian language seems exactly like

The published page 2 from the Wonder Woman chapter in All-Star #13, as scripted by Marston.

22

Two Touches Of Venus to follow.

W.W.: That’s a wonderful way to keep men in their place! But how can I help you?

5. (The Queen is weeping, her face is bowed in her hands. W.W. puts her arm around the Queen’s shoulders in sympathy and leans over her.)

Queen: The Meteor Comas Sola crashed into Venus! Giant Warriors are killing and capturing our men! We’ve had peace here for a million years and we possess no fighting weapons!

W.W.: Aren’t you women in danger, also?

6. CAPTION: But suddenly huge warriors spring from their hiding places!

(The Queen is stopped short in the middle of a sentence by giant men in leopard style jungle dress but with boots. They carry huge swords, long bow and arrows and some have spears. Their leader presses his sword point against the Queen’s side. He does the [last line on page cut off]

walks W.W. arms laced behind her from shoulders to wrists, with Solaris striding along beside her.)

Solaris: I am the strongest man in the Universe! I can beat anybody in any world!

W.W.: Pardon me if I doubt that!

3. CAPTION: Stung by Wonder Woman’s jibe, Solaris addresses the Meteor Men. (Closeup of Solaris, huge savage, his arm raised in a Nazi salute. Heads of his followers barely show at front or side of panel) Solaris: Comrades of Comas Sola, our fighting power has been challenged by a captive girl!

Let us show these women our strength!

Meteor Men: Yah! We’ll show them!

4. CAPTION: Solaris offers the prisoners an opportunity to fight.

(Semi long shot of Solaris addressing a group of Venus men prisoners. These men are very handsome tall and athletic, but on the slender side, not so husky as the Meteor Men. They are dressed Flash Gordon style—silk tunics, tights, cloaks, jeweled head bands and soft leather boots. They give more the impression of sporting gentlemen than serious fighters. These men are all chained to inform the reader that they are prisoners.)

Solaris: We will remove your chains and fight you man to man. If you win you get a captive girl and freedom—if you lose, DEATH! 5. (Semi-closeup. A Venus girl in chains, on wrists and ankles, her wings bound, stands

Queen: We women are safe because we have wings.

Leader: So? Let me see you fly away from this sword!

7. (The invaders draw their bows, threaten with their swords and force the winged women to bind each other’s wings and hands behind them with gold metal ropes. W.W. is binding the Queen and she leans forward and whispers in the Queen’s ear) Leader: You will bind each other’s wings tight or we will cut them off!

W.W.: Do not despair! I have a plan.

8. CAPTION: Solaris, leader of the Meteor Men, questions Wonder Woman.

(W.W. faces Solaris while another giant is binding W.W.’s arms behind her. He braces his knee in her back as he pulls the ropes tighter but W.W. pays no attention. Solaris questions her.)

Solaris: You are not like these other women, you have no wings. Did you lose them in war?

W.W.: No, I am an Earth Girl. At home I fly in a machine.

PAGE 3 1. (Solaris cuffs W.W. angrily on the cheek. She pretends to cower and be afraid.)

Solaris: Don’t lie to me, Earth Girl! Who could make a machine that flies?

W.W.: Oh! I would not dare lie to you— you are so big and strong!

2. CAPTION: Solaris walks beside Wonder Woman as the captive Venus girls are led away.

(Long shot of the Venus girls, hands and wings bound, marching down a road, guarded by huge Solarian spearmen. In front

Above: A mid-1940s trade-journal ad for the Wonder Woman newspaper comic strip, courtesy of Jerry Bails. A sample strip is shown on the next page. © 1999 DC Comics, Inc.

William Moulton Marston Wonder Woman Script

on a pedestal. At one side stands a huge Meteor Man, wearing only a loin cloth and sandals. At the other side stands a handsome Venus man dressed as in previous panel but without chains. The Venus man points at his prospective opponent while the savage grins derisively.)

Venus man: I challenge you, Meteor Man, to combat for this girl!

Meteor Man: Ho! Ho! Fight then, you fragile violet!

6. CAPTION: With a clever hold like Ju Jitsu, the Venus man hurls his opponent high in the air.

(The Venus man is in a pose showing that he has just hurled the Meteor Man several feet above his head. The husky giant is sprawled in the air and looks helpless and surprised.)

Venus man: Up you go!

Meteor man: Ugh! 7. CAPTION: But the giant Meteor Man lands on his agile enemy like a mountain on a stag.

(The Venusian is down on his back, the Meteor man on top of him choking him with a huge hand.)

Meteor man: Now I crush you, pretty man!

Venusian: Ah-ahhh!

8. CAPTION: Desira, Queen of Venus, pleads with Solaris to stop the tournament.

(The Queen in chains like the rest, kneels before the huge Solaris and with folded hands begs him to stop the contests.)

Queen: I and my women will be your willing slaves—only do not hurt our men!

Solaris: Ho! Your men are weaklings—we kill them all!

PAGE 4 1. (The Queen stands on the pedestal. Beside her is Solaris, his arms folded across his chest showing huge, muscles. W.W. in chains like the other women, steps toward him with upraised hand)

Solaris: I will fight any five of you for your Queen!

W.W.: I’ll fight you alone, fellow—I don’t need any help!

2. (Solaris has clapped his huge hand on W.W.’s shoulder and is roaring with laughter.)

Solaris: Ho! Ho! Ha! You, a woman, will fight ME? Very well. If you win I free all prisoners. But if you lose I shall kill you as I would a man.

W.W.: Fair enough! Let’s go!

3. (A Meteor man, at Solaris’ gesture of command, steps forward to remove W.W.’s chains. But she beats him to it and breaks them off herself, tossing the pieces in the meteor man’s face. The man puts his hands up to protect himself as the chain pieces hit him.)

Solaris: Remove this captive’s chains!

W.W.: Don’t bother—I’ll take them off myself!

Man: Aw-wk! Gu-unh! This woman uses magic!

4. CAPTION: Wonder Woman gives Solaris first choice of wrestling holds. But Solaris drives a huge fist at her unprotected body.

(W.W. stands with her arms raised above her head. Solaris swings a pile driving right into W.W.’s solar plexus. She takes it without wincing.)

W.W.: Take first grip—unh! My mistake.

5. (W.W. is toppling Solaris backward with a terrific uppercut to the button.)

W.W.: So that’s the way you want to fight, eh?

6. (W.W. lifts the huge Solaris above her head and gives him the airplane spin.)

W.W.: This is the way earth wrestlers keep ’em flying!

7. (W.W. lies on her back, one leg straight up from the hip with her foot planted in Solaris’ stomach. She holds his wrists down with her hands as she shoves upward with her feet and so tosses him heels over head to land

23

eventually on his back. W.W. is laughing) W.W.: When a man gets fresh with an earth girl this is the way she throws him over!

8. (W.W. has Solaris down on his face. She sits astride his back, holding his hands behind him with one of her hands. With the other she reaches to her hip for her lasso—only to find it gone.)

W.W. And now I’ll show you how Amazon girls bind their opponents—What’s this?

The magic lasso’s gone! Someone stole it while I was wrestling!

PAGE 5 1. CAPTION: Wonder Woman, seeking her lasso, releases Solaris. He points a spear at Queen Desira’s throat.

(Solaris holds a spear point at Desira’s throat.

W.W. stops in mid stride at the enemy’s throat.)

Solaris: Surrender, Earth Fiend, or I kill the Queen!

W.W.: I beat you in a fair fight—you promised to free us!

2. (Solaris in last panel. W.W. close to him with her hands behind her. A Meteor man is binding her arms with the Magic Lasso) Solaris: What is a “fair” fight? Tie her arms with her own rope of metal links!

W.W.: Oh no! Bind me with anything else— Meteor man: She knows she cannot break this chain!

3. CAPTION: While Wonder Woman, under guard, awaits Solaris’ pleasure, the other prisoners are confined in a stout stockade.

(W.W. stands with her hands still tied behind her back with the Magic Lasso. Beside her is a guard with a spear. Before her is a stockade of lots about 20 feet high.)

W.W. (thinking): This magic Lasso cannot be broken. But if I can get inside that stockade the Venus girls will untie me.

4. CAPTION: Acting swiftly Wonder Woman

24

Two Touches Of Venus

W.W.: This situation calls for a little foot work.

(W.W. is standing on top of the stockade wall. Desira flies toward her with Solaris dangling head down from the rope about his ankles which Desira holds. She passes the rope to W.W. who reaches out for it.)

5. (W.W. hands still tied behind her, is leaping over the stockade fence.)

W.W.: Good work, Desira! Now, I’ll show you the power of my Magic Lasso!

W.W.: This part is easy—but I’ve got to work fast!

3. W.W. dangles Solaris over the wall so that he hangs down just over the heads of his men.

The Meteor men are looking up at the upside-down Solaris and are throwing their spears and swords in a heap near the wall where W.W. points)

knocks out her Guard.

(W.W. kicks the guard under the chin, knocking him out.)

6. CAPTION: Queen Desira and Wonder Woman free one another.

(Wonder Woman is breaking the chains off Desira’s wrists. The Queen holds the magic lasso which she has untied from W.W’s arms) W.W.: Guards will come any minute! I’ll stay her and defend the captives. You fly with this Magic Lasso and capture Solaris!

Queen: Your plan is good!

7. CAPTION: The Meteor Man’s weapons clash harmlessly against Wonder Woman’s bracelets.

(The Meteor men are striking at W.W., one with a spear one with a sword. She fends them both off with her bracelets. Other meteor men are seen crowding up to attack.)

W.W.: This is child’s play compared to stopping bullets!

8. CAPTION: Tearing the heavy log door from its hinges, W.W. sweeps back an army of giant attackers.

(W.W. holds a huge log door horizontally before her and rushes against a crowd of attacking meteor men, knocking them all in a heap) W.W.: Stand back, boys, and don’t crowd!

PAGE 6 1. CAPTION: The Queen, meanwhile, lassoes Solaris.

(Solaris is running toward the stockade, sword in hand. Above him hovers Queen Desira, her wings spread. She has thrown the magic lasso over Solaris. The loop is tightening around his ankles, throwing him forward, one hand thrust out in front of him in the position of a person falling.)

W.W.: Solaris, while bound with this Lasso you must obey me. Order your men to throw down their arms and surrender.

Solaris: Something compels me to submit to Wonder Woman! Men do as she commands.

4. CAPTION: Venus men carry Wonder Woman triumphantly through the streets amid the cheers of happy crowds, while Winged Women scatter golden flowers in her path.

(W.W. rides in a sort of throne chair carried with poles on the shoulders of 8 men, 4 on each side. The men are Venusian big shots— dress them up. Winged women—give them shapes like mature women—fly overhead on their butterfly wings and drop big flowers like huge roses and chrysanthemums on W.W. and in her path. Squeeze in all the crowds you can and make them holds out their hands, palms up toward W.W.—like the girls of Old Rome adoring a Caesar. W.W. holds her hands out also, greeting her hero worshippers.)

Crowds: Wonder Woman! Aphrodite bless the Earth Girl! She saved Venus—Wonder Woman!!

5. CAPTION: The Queen shows Wonder Woman how Venus girls tame their prisoners.

(Venus girls are sitting around in throne-like chairs. Meteor men prisoners, in chains, are seated on cushions at the girls’ feet. The girls are feeding the men fruit, bread, etc. and holding golden goblets to their lips. The prisoners cannot use their hands which are chained to the floor but eat from the girls’ hands. The meteor men are laughing and look happy.)

Queen: Aphrodite has taught us how to make men loving and peaceful. Already these meteor men are eating out of our hands!

W.W.: They seem to love it!

6. (Close up of the two girls’ faces. W.W. is shown in profile, facing toward the reader’s left, so her word balloon will come first in this panel. Desira, the Queen, is pressing her lips to W. W’s earring which brings Desira’s face to the rear of W. W’s and in about 3/4 profile. The Queen’s word balloon goes off to the right.)

W.W.: If only we could make earth men peaceful!

Desira: You can! I will direct your efforts. I give you now the gift of magnetic hearing!

My lips magnetize your earrings and always you can hear my voice!

7. (Wonder Woman stands with her hand on the open door of her rocket. The Queen stands beside her, one hand on W.W.’s shoulder) Queen: Adieu, Wonder Woman! May you reach earth safely and visit Venus again soon!

Wonder Woman: Goodbye—and thanks for your wonderful gift!

TAG: Back through space whirls Wonder Woman! What will she find—have all the Justice Batallion members returned safely?

MONTHLY! Edited and published by Robin Snyder

Solaris: By the Flames of Friction! What witching is this!

2. CAPTION: Desira delivers her prize to Wonder Woman who stands on the stockade wall.

www.comicsfun.com/thecomics

26

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt

There’s Money In Comics!

by Stan Lee, Editor and Art Director, Timely Comics, Inc.

W

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

There’s Money in Comics!

27

Artist Syd Shores’ version of the instructions given to him by the author, Alan Sulman, whose play-by-play description of what to draw and what the characters are talking about, appears below.

Panel 1. Scene in office, as Louise clears up her desk.

Mark faces her.

1. Louise: (thought) He never notices me! All he ever thinks of is the Blonde Phantom!

Panel 2. Louise, hands outward, looking at the reader, as if her thoughts in the previous panel were just proven true by what Mark has said.

2. Louise: See what I mean?

Panel 3. Louise, ready to leave office. Mark sits on desk and smiles at her as if he has just thought of a wonderful idea.

3. Louise: Well, everything’s finished for today, Mark! See you in the morning!

Panel 4. Louise alone, suddenly looking interested and excited, expecting Mark to ask her for a date.

4. Louise: Huh? Yes, what is it, Mark?

Panel 5. Mark lights his pipe, expressionless, as if he has changed his mind. Louise seems plenty angry.

5. Mark: Well, I... er... never mind! It wasn’t important! Good night, Louise!

Panel 6. Door slams shut as Mark looks at it, slightly surprised and bewildered.

6. Balloon from Louise: Good night!

Mark: Gosh, if I could only find where the Blonde Phantom lives! We could have a night of it together!

Mark: Say, wait a minute, Louise! How would you like to...

Louise: (thought) That’s what I call a quick brushoff, you, you...

Mark: Huh? Now what’s she so mad about?

Sound effects: SLAM! reading something like this: “The next morning, after a sound night’s sleep, Patsy rushes to the kitchen to do justice to a hearty breakfast.” Thus, by the use of captions, we are able to justify time and space lapses in our panels.

3. Good Dialogue. This is of prime importance. The era of Captain America hitting the Red Skull and shouting “So you want to play, eh?” is over! Today, with the comic magazine business being one of the most highly competitive fields, each editor tries to get the best and snappiest dialogue possible for his characters. In writing a comic strip, have your characters speak like real people, not like inhabitants of a strange and baffling new world!

4. Suspense Throughout. Whether you are writing a mystery script or a humorous script, the same rule applies: Keep it interesting throughout. Any comic strip in which the reader isn’t particularly interested in what happens in the panel following the one he’s reading, isn’t a good comic strip.

All of the tricks you have learned and applied in writing other forms of fiction can be used in comic writing insofar as holding the reader’s attention is concerned. But remember, giving the reader well-drawn pictures to look at is not enough; the reader must WANT to look at the pictures because he is interested in following the adventures of the lead character.

5. Finally, a Satisfactory Ending. An ending which leaves the reader with a smile on his lips and a pleasant feeling that all the loose strings of the story have been neatly tied together can cover a multitude of sins. It has always been my own conviction that a strip with an interesting beginning, good dialogue, and a satisfactory ending, can’t be TOO bad, no matter how many other faults it may have.

One point which I can’t stress too strongly is: DON’T WRITE DOWN TO YOUR READERS! It is common knowledge that a large portion of comic magazine readers are adults, and the rest of the readers who may be kids are generally pretty sharp characters. They are used to seeing movies and listening to radio shows and have a pretty good idea of the stories they want to read. If you figure that “anything goes” in a comic magazine, a study of any recent copy of Daredevil Comics or Bat Man will show you that a great deal of thought goes into every story; and there are plenty of gimmicks, subplots, human interest angles, and the other elements that go into the making of any type of good story, whether it be a comic strip or a novel.

28

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt

Another important point to remember is: The only way you can learn about comics is by reading them. So far as I know, there are no schools which give specialized courses in comic strip writing and no books which can be of too much help to you. Constant reading of the various comic magazines is the only way to develop a “feel” for what constitutes a good comic strip.

Another consideration of prime importance is: Decide which comic magazine you want to write for before you do any writing. The various magazines in the field have editorial differences which are almost amazing. A story which Timely Comics would consider exciting might be deemed too fantastic by True Comics, Inc., and Classic Comics, Inc., would have very little use for the type of story preferred at Fiction House! Each comic publishing company has its own distinctive formula and the only way to really grasp this formula is to read the magazines.

MOST everybody knows something about the organization and workings of an ordinary fiction publishing company. But to most people, writers included, a comic magazine publishing outfit is cloaked in mystery.

Let me tell you a little about how a comic house operates so that you’ll have a better general knowledge about this large but comparatively unknown field.

The guy you’re most interested in at a comic publishing house is the editor. “How does he differ from editors of other types of magazines?” Here’s how: The editor of comics is more of a coordinator. He not only considers the merits of a script, but also who is going to draw it and whether it is written in a manner that will suit the artist’s style of drawing.

interested in writing. And then slant your story in such a way so that particular style of art work will blend in perfectly with your story. The writers who concentrate on such details are the ones who attain top recognition and top rates in the phenomenal comics field.

Now then, here you are, a fairly accomplished writer interested in trying your hand at the comics. What type of writing is your forte? Is it adventure, teen-age humor, fantasy, true crime? At the close of this article you will find a list of comic publishers and the type of material they buy.

Just select your favorite from this list. Let’s assume you prefer teen-age humor and you have decided to cast your lot with Timely Comics. The next step is to write to the editor and get a list of the teen-age magazines he edits and, if possible, his story needs. After receiving the list of magazines he sends you, head for the nearest newsstand and look them over.

Select the one which appeals most to you and for which you think your style is best suited.

But up till this point your preliminary work is just beginning.

You’ve now got to read every copy of this magazine you can lay your hands on. Suppose Georgie is the magazine you selected. Get old copies of Georgie, get current copies of Georgie and leave an order for future copies. Read that strip until you can feel you’ve known Georgie personally for years, and can anticipate what each Georgie story will be about after reading the first page.

Live with Georgie for days— get the Georgie formula down pat—and then—

If the artist who draws Hedy De Vine has difficulty drawing crowd scenes and specializes in close-up shots of beautiful women, then the editor of that magazine must be careful not to buy Hedy scripts which call for many characters in each panel and for many long shots.

Should your synopses click, you’ll get an order for a Georgie story from the editor.

He will tell you how many panels to write per page, how many pages in length to make the story, and any other relevant information.

Now it’s up to you. If you write a perfectly satisfactory story (and there’s no reason not to, if you’ve studied the magazines long and carefully enough) there’s an excellent chance you’ll be asked to do more stories on the same character and later on, perhaps, additional stories for still other characters. For once you’re “in,” there are many assignments which can come your way.

It’s the editor’s task to make sure that the scripts he buys are perfectly suited for the artist to whom they are given, and also to insure that the artist interprets the writer’s script exactly as the writer intended it.

Of course, there are some artists who write their own scripts, but they are in the minority. The average artist, even though he may be capable of writing his own script because of his long-standing familiarity with the character he draws, would still prefer to have a writer write the script for him so that he can concentrate entirely upon the drawing.

Therefore, you, as a writer, should acquaint yourself with the style of artwork which is used in the script you are

Send some synopses of Georgie stories to the editor.

Make them the same type of stories which had been appearing in all the Georgies you read. Not the same PLOT, just the same TYPE of story.

“A study of any recent copy of Daredevil Comics will show you that a great deal of thought goes into every story.” © 1999 Lev Gleason Publications

So, those of you writers who are itching to crack new markets have a market waiting for you which is just made to order. It may seem a little complicated, but the rewards are well worth any time you may spend learning the comic style. I’m sure you won’t regret spending the time—I didn’t!

There’s Money in Comics!

29

Comic Magazine Market NOTE: Write to the Editor to get his exact requirements and further details, before working on any scripts!

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS, INC., 241 Church Street, New York, NY: Harry Shorten, Ed. Specialize in humor and teen-age. Six to 10 pages per story, some three-page fillers.

About six panels per page. Rates vary depending on writer and feature.

CLASSIC COMICS, 510 6th Avenue, New York, NY: Harry Adler, Ed. Uses one condensation per month of a classic, such as David Copperfield, Moby Dick, Les Miserables, etc. Back “Classic Comics, Inc., would have very little use for the type of story preferred at Fiction House!” Classics Illustrated © 1999 Gilberton page of the magazine Co., Inc. • Firehair ©1999 Fiction House (NOTE: This art didn’t appear in Stan’s original Writer’s Digest article in 1947.) lists all titles previously used. Runs 53 pages to PARENTS’ MAGAZINE, 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY: Eliot the story. All scripts are freelance. Pays $25 per story.

Kaplan, Ed. Educational, adventure, true historical, current events, teenDELL PUBLISHING CO., INC., 149 Madison Avenue, New York, age. All magazines slanted toward specific age groups: four to eight, NY: Oscar Lebeck, Ed. Work directly with writers and buy nothing on eight to twelve, and nine to sixteen. Five or six pages per story. $6.00 per the open market. page, with extra for research.

EDUCATIONAL COMICS, INC., 225 Lafayette Street, New York, STANDARD PUBLICATIONS, 10 East 40th Street, New York, NY: NY: Ivan Clapper, Ed. Four magazines in educational group: American Joseph Greene, Ed. Humor, animated, fantasy, jungle, detective. Seven to history, science, world history, and the Bible. Regular comics animation, 12 pages, about six panels per page. Pays about $5 to $9 per page, crime, adventure, family, magic, fantasy, western. Six to 12 pages per depending on writer and feature. story; approximately seven panels per page. Scripts bring $5 to $10; art, PREMIUM SERVICE CO., INC., 119 West 19th Street, New York, NY: $20 to $30 per page.

Robert D. Wheeler, Ed. Would like writers experienced in comic book FAWCETT PUBLICATIONS, INC., 67 F West 44th Street, New York, technique to submit samples. Adventure, detective, adventure are the NY: Will Lieberson, Ed. Buy practically everything on the open market. best bets. $5 and up.

Use adventure, humor, western, fantasy, teen-age, and jungle comics.

QUALITY COMIC GROUP, 25 West 45th Street, New York, NY: About $7 per page, about 8 pages per story. Are overstocked now.

George Brenner, Ed. Buy very little freelance work. Prefer to have synFICTION HOUSE, INC., 670 Fifth Ave., New York, NY: Jack Byrne, opses submitted.

Ed. All scripts are staff written.

STREET AND SMITH PUBLICATIONS, INC., 153 West 15th Street, LEV GLEASON PUBLICATIONS, INC., 114 East 32nd Street, New New York, NY: William De Grouchy, Ed. Teen-age, fantasy, and detecYork, NY: Bob Wood, Ed. True crime needed. Stocked on all other tive. Also have an All-Sport Comic which uses true human interest stomaterial. Five to eight pages per story, about eight panels per page. ries of sports figures and how-to-do-it stories. About eight pages per Average rate of payment $5 and up. story, 14 pages for the lead story, with four to six panels per page, paying up to $10.

HARVEY PUBLICATIONS, INC., 1860 Broadway, New York, NY: Leon Harvey, Ed. Teen-age, adventure, animated, detective, western.

TIMELY COMICS, INC., 350 Fifth Ave., New York, NY: Stan Lee, Ed. Number of pages vary. Rates vary with writer.

Adventure, teen-humor, and true crime. Quiz Dave Berg, Script Ed., on his exact needs before submitting.

HILLMAN PERIODICALS, INC., 535 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY: Ed Cronin, Ed. Buying only true crime on the open market. Six and A. A. WYN, 23 West 47th Street, New York, NY: Fredrick seven pages to the story. Rates vary.

Gardener, Ed. Teen-age, adventure, fantasy, detective.

Seven to 10 pages per story, six to seven panels per page.

NATIONAL COMICS PUBLICATIONS, INC., 480 Lexington Rates vary.

Avenue, New York, NY: Whit Ellsworth, Ed. Very light requirements at present. Only interested in working personally with writers.

Sheldon Moldoff Artist of Hawkman, Batman, Moon Girl, and other Golden Age heroes is now doing re-creations and original drawings!

For information, contact:

SHELDON MOLDOFF 3710 INVERRARY DRIVE 1W LAUDERHILL, FL 33319 PH. (954) 485-8551

CREATOR OF GREEN LANTERN

CALL: 561-686-4486

WILL RECREATE ANY VARIETY OF COMICS MAGAZINE COVERS OR SPLASH PAGES SPECIFY SIZE ACRYLIC COLORS

Hawkman and Batman ©1999 DC Comics.

• STEVE GEPPI (DIAMOND) • JOE MANNARINO (CHRISTIE’S) OWN MART NODELL RECREATIONS

no. 60 Featured Artist: MARC SWAYZE

32

Fawcett Collectors of America

26 Years... and Counting!

Welcome to FCA #60 and to our new home in Alter Ego! FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), the long-running publication devoted to Captain Marvel and the rest of the Fawcett Comics lineup and to the talented people who created them, was founded in 1973 by Bernie McCarthy.

As a 1940s kid and a member of the Captain Marvel Club, Bernie had consumed the adventures of Cap, Ibis, Bulletman, Spy Smasher, and all the rest. His FCA provided articles on rare Fawcett comics, superb interviews with Fawcett creators, plus want ads for other Fawcett collectors to connect and trade.

With issue #12 in 1980 the publication became FCA/SOB (Some Opinionated Bastards), with Captain Marvel’s chief artist, the legendary C.C. Beck, stepping in as editor.

Beck’s incarnation of the publication went beyond merely being a nostalgic zine to one filled not only with C.C.’s wonderful artwork, humor, and wit, but also his hard-hitting essays, commentary, and opinions—most of them concerning art, writing, and his views on then-current comics.

Beck’s health diminished, and with #31 in 1984 Bill and Theresa Harper became the editors, renaming the ’zine FCA & ME, Too, because of their inclusion and excellent coverage of Magazine Enterprises’ western comics alongside the Fawcett-related features.

I took over as editor with issue #54 in 1996, returning the zine to its original name and focus on Fawcett’s Golden Age. Fawcett artist Marc Swayze’s outstanding column sets the tone for each issue, as he recalls what it was really like back in the 1940s. During my tenure I’ve had the opportunity to interview, illustrate, and write articles about many fine individuals who played vital roles in the history of Fawcett and/or the Captain Marvel mythos.

This type of coverage will continue in our new home in A/E, in addition to presenting a wealth of unpublished material by C.C. Beck, with whom I enjoyed a great friendship during the last eleven years of his life. I would like to thank Alter Ego editor Roy Thomas and publisher John Morrow for the opportunity to present the world of the Marvel Family and their pals, and the history of Fawcett Comics, to a larger audience, young and old.

I promise you we’re in for a fun, magical ride.

—P.C. Hamerlinck

Marcus D. Swayze Education: NE Center LSU (music); Louisiana Tech (art, BA); NE Louisiana U. (art, MA) 1939-41: Assistant to Russell Keaton on syndicated comic strip “Flyin’ Jenny,” daily and Sunday 1941-42: Staff artist, comics dept., Fawcett Publications. Captain Marvel: story art, covers, some writing. Mary Marvel: first visual conception, early story art, covers 1943-44: Military. Freelance writing, Fawcett: Captain Marvel 1944:

Civilian, NYC. Freelance art, Fawcett: Ibis, Mr. Scarlet, others. Mary Marvel, paper conservation ads

1944-53: Freelance, Fawcett—all work produced in Monroe, LA. Regular assignments: The Phantom Eagle in Wow Comics, art, much writing, through #69, 1948, total 37 stories; romance titles, 1948-53, art only—10 titles, 80 stories 1944-46: “Flyin’ Jenny,” Bell Syndicate, Sunday page, art only. Daily strip taken also upon illness of Russell Keaton, creator. Contract for both daily and Sunday signed following death of Keaton, as a professional courtesy (i.e., no pay involved, as Swayze considered Keaton a best friend and mentor) 1954-55: Charlton Publications, Derby, CT. Editorial work, freelance work: mystery/suspense art and writing; romances, westerns, art only

Above: When Marc Swayze left his Fawcett staff job, C.C. Beck gave him this Beck-drawn original from Whiz Comics #19; note the inscription. © DC Comics Inc.

To the surprise of many, Marc Swayze left the comics field for good in 1955, despite finally achieving a lifelong goal: a syndicate contract (with Bell) to write and draw a newspaper comic strip he created, “The Great Pierre”

We Didn’t Know... It Was The Golden Age!

33

“C.C. Beck called us the unknowns.

Rod Reed had called us the forgotten ones. I am said to be the most forgotten of the unknowns, or the most unknown of the forgottens. Like the rest of the comic book people at the time I had no idea it would become the Golden Age. Had we known, would we have done anything differently?

I doubt it.”

—Marc Swayze FCA #54, January 1996

( )

d

“We Didn’t Know... It Was the Golden Age,” a regular feature in FCA, first appeared in issue #54, Winter 1996. Its previous installments have offered readers a view of the comic book field as it impressed its author, Fawcett staff artist Marc Swayze, in the 1940s and ’50s. They tell of his arrival at Fawcett Publications, meeting comics editor Eddie Herron, art director Al Allard, and others (including artist C.C. Beck), and his awe at the size of the company and its large art department, library, and location in Times Square. Marc has recollected chats with C.C. Beck on many subjects, particularly the drawing of Captain Marvel, and how he landed the job of drawing Cap, along with the myth of Cap’s likeness being based on actor Fred MacMurray... plus his apprenticeship with comic strip veteran Russell Keaton (Flyin’ Jenny) before coming to work for Fawcett.

Marc has also talked about his affiliation with Fawcett, and the friendships he developed there, and how he both wrote and drew Captain Marvel stories. He discussed covers he illustrated for Captain Marvel Adventures, Whiz Comics, and Wow Comics, as well as the tools and techniques he used to create those classics. Marc covered

such subjects as the day Keaton met Beck; the average work day of Beck’s longtime assistant Pete Costanza; the music combo he and Beck played in; the great increase in the Captain Marvel workload; the change of editors from Eddie Herron to Rod Reed (who also wrote many of Cap’s earlier, more humorous adventures).

In FCA’s 25th-year Anniversary Issue (#59, 1998), Marc gave tribute to his first editor, Eddie Herron, and told the inside story behind the creation of Mary Marvel; his ongoing syndicate ambitions; the baseball games the Fawcett staff played against the Jack Binder Shop (which supplied artwork to Fawcett); etc.

Which brings us to Marc’s latest installment! I hope you’ll enjoy reading his amazing first-hand accounts of the Golden Age of Comics as much as I have enjoyed presenting them. He and the others may not have known it was a Golden Age... but I know I love his column and I’m glad to know a true gentleman and to have a good friend like Marc Swayze.

—P.C. Hamerlinck

T

here could have been no better place to serve apprenticeship than with Russell Keaton. With a decade of comic strip experience behind him, and abundant talent to start with, he was an expert. He could do it all... write, pencil, ink, and letter. Furthermore, he was easy to work with... agreeable, considerate, patient, witty.

Now it was 1940. He had moved family and studio to a district where he could take flying lessons. When he suggested that I present Judi to the syndicates, he wasn’t kidding. “Take a week off,” he said.

“More, if necessary.”

When I boarded a bus in Memphis, Tennessee, bound for New York City, I had the artwork for eight Sunday pages of Judi the Jungle Girl tucked away in a homemade portfolio of brown corrugated board. I also carried a small, inexpensive suitcase. My budget was limited. Having never set foot in New York City, I had studied a map of the community, and a hotel register, and reserved a modest room near what I took to be the greatest number of newspaper syndicates.

I must have been the world’s worst salesman. I didn’t even know that a proper procedure in making a presentation was first to arrange an appointment. Instead, I barged into the offices of King Features so early in the morning the receptionist was still on her first cup of coffee. On the wall behind her was a beautiful painting of Prince Valiant, signed by Hal Foster. I wondered how a nice painting of Judi the Jungle Girl would look on the opposite wall, signed by you-know-who. When she looked up, I blurted that I had come a long way with a comic strip idea and wanted to show it to someone.

Marc Swayze on staff at Fawcett, circa 1941-42. Note the Bulletman page in the corner! Photo courtesy of Marc Swayze. Bulletman ©1999 DC Comics, Inc.

It worked. I was ushered into the plush office of Bradley Kelley, no less. Electric razors must have just come out, for he was sitting back in a red leather chair running a buzzing little gadget over his face. He continued

34 it as we talked. I am grateful for the attention and courtesy shown me that morning. I think I must have left King Features with my head a little higher, feeling as though I’d grown a couple of inches, all because of the cordiality of Bradley Kelley, the top banana at the top syndicate. I didn’t get a contract, of course, but I was encouraged to bring the Judi work back after I’d made the rounds. And it was suggested I consider a job on their staff... “rescaling,” he said. I knew he meant revising their comics to conform to the several popular newspaper formulas. I politely declined. My parting words were, “I’ll be back!” And I was, time and time again, for 12 or 13 years.

And so it went, syndicate after syndicate...

United Features, the New York News, McNaught, McClure’s... my list was long. So were the days... and Manhattan east-west blocks.

I became accustomed to the city buses and the subways, but not the taxicabs. Too expensive.

In the evening there were movies, stage plays, vaudeville shows, and big name bands, but my budget didn’t include them. Anyway, in the evening I was tired.

Marc Swayze created the original approved design of Mary Marvel’s costume.

Mary Marvel ©1999 DC Comics, Inc.

Fawcett Collectors of America Occasionally I made a few alterations to the Judi art, using an inverted dresser drawer as a drawing board—a trick I had learned from Russell Keaton. Generally my spirits were up, but now and then doubts nagged at me: “What am I doing here? Even with a college degree, I’m country. How comfortable life was... loading out a milk wagon... hitching up a horse... covering a regular route. Good old routine, that’s what it was! And more... old Dolly knew the way back to the dairy, and that enabled me to lay the reins aside and practice on my violin... oh, well...” And so to sleep.

Judi and I didn’t get our contract and I didn’t “leave the art,” as some syndicate suggested. Why? Because I had begun to realize I wasn’t ready. I had some learning yet to do... in both writing and drawing. Judi had been prepared for children, as one might expect Sunday comics to be, but already Sunday comics were being slanted to include an older readership. In the preparation of Judi I had been in a hurry... for success, I suppose... and I shouldn’t have been.

And there were some important principles to be learned about salesmanship... about perseverance... about downright persistence. My crude philosophy had been, if the work wasn’t good enough to sell itself, it just wasn’t good enough. That’s not the way to sell! I learned a few things about the syndicates. Some preferred to see daily strips, others Sunday pages. A few features editors liked the art I presented, but were cool toward the story, others just the opposite. It was confusing, but enlightening.

At one syndicate several assistants surrounded the feature editor at the presentation. One made a remark that stayed with me. “I notice,” he said, “that in some of your pictures of Judi her open mouth shows depth and teeth beyond the lips, while in others, after the lips there is nothing.”

I don’t know how I evaded the subject, but you can bet I did! The female mouth! The one subject on which I had disagreed with Russell Keaton from

The great Otto Binder in the early 1960s.

That’s Bill Ward in the background.

the day I went to work for him... but not openly, mind you. His portraits of Jenny, beautiful though they were, were toothless. It was simply the way he drew girls, and they looked great. I didn’t like them drawn that way, but being the assistant, that’s the way I drew them. I suppose in preparing Judi I swung back and forth between the two approaches.

Ironically, a few years later I drew a shot of Mary Marvel with her mouth open and for some reason never finished the mouth. It seemed as though any time I saw a picture of Mary after that, it was a reproduction of that shot, wide open mouth, no depth, no teeth.

On the ride back to Memphis, the decision was made to put Judi the Jungle Girl away... for good. But was I discouraged? I guess not, for on the bus I began to formulate my next syndicate try... a strip featuring her canine companion. I would call it “Jango.” When Jango emerged again, secretly, of course, it would be in a different world... the world of Fawcett Publications... the world of comic books... the world of Captain Marvel!

The Golden Age comic book guys were not a bunch of sissies. Rod Reed told of an incident on a subway train where a rider was creating a disturbance with loud, profane language. Soft-spoken Otto Binder, seated across the aisle chatting with a friend, cautioned him politely several times that in the sparsely occupied car were several ladies. Finally, his requests repeatedly ignored, Otto leaned across the aisle and, without a break in his conversation, delivered a neat right cross to the chin of the offender. Then, as the foul-mouthed rider slumped over, Otto waddled back into his seat, continuing his discussion as though nothing had happened.

When they left the car a few stops later, the cause of the disturbance was still sleeping peacefully.

I don’t know just when Gene McDonald joined the Fawcett forces, but he was around when I returned from the military in 1944. Mac was a squarely built man of medium height,

We Didn’t Know... It Was The Golden Age! who walked with a slight limp that gave him a rolling gait resembling a swagger. Where he came from escapes me, but he walked and talked like a westerner. There was an occurrence in the lobby of the office building one evening that explained his limp.

In the after-work hours and on weekends the Paramount Building, like most office buildings in Manhattan, I suppose, maintained in the street-floor lobby a security system where a guard stood at a lectern and a ledger. The full-dress uniform and obvious physical fitness of the guard said plainly that you did not enter or leave that building without signing the book.

Generally those guards were courteous and friendly. But guards are like the rest of us... some nice, some nasty. On this occasion McDonald came down, probably from working late, and got into words with the guard. The argument reached a point where the guard made the mistake of giving Mac a shove that sent him staggering backward across the lobby to the floor. Then the reason for Mac’s rolling gait came to light. Like another comic strip artist most of us know of, Al Capp, Mac had an artificial leg. Sitting there, he unstrapped the apparatus, then slid his back up the lobby wall to reach a standing position.

Then, hopping around on one foot, with his “club” he proceeded to beat the guard senseless.

When the police arrived, it was necessary to call for medical assistance.

I liked Mac. One evening he and I were on our way out to dinner and stopped by his apartment. While he was out of the room, I stole a peek at his portfolio... beautiful, full-color illustrations of cowboys and western scenes. I couldn’t help but notice the accurate detail.

This artist knew saddles, bridles, western gear... and he could paint them. In the comic book world of the Golden Age there were quite a few talented young artists whose hearts had been dead-set on big-time illustration. But big-time illustration was no more.

The situation existed also among the members of Al Allard’s art staff... men whose day-to-day performance consisted of page layouts... paste-ups... page composition... the arrangement of titles and bodies of copy, illustrations and designs... to create attractive magazine pages. I discovered it to be an unsung, specialized field of commercial art that included people trained and experienced in other artistic endeavors. Those at Fawcett were talented and competent... and they were smart. One day when I was doing an illustration that included

a tree, somebody, probably one of the old pros like Fred Ripperda, said softly over my shoulder, “That tree wouldn’t grow like that.”

I bristled. “It’s my tree,” I said. “I can grow it any way I like.”

“No,” he said. “It’s God’s tree... nature’s tree. You see, it was meant to grow in a definite way. That is, unless you are illustrating a story that features a distorted tree. If not, then good art, and good artistic taste, dictate that the tree not draw attention to itself, but stand quietly as backA 1970s ground support Mary Marvel for the main

by C.C. Beck. ©1999 element.”

DC Comics, Inc.

Wow! What an art lesson!

And for free!

Right there, in a few moments... by a man whom I have forgotten... as he casually donned his hat and coat to go home. From that experience I concluded that to be an expert staff artist you didn’t expect to go out and find a tree when the job at hand required one... you knew how to draw a tree... and clothing folds... and just about everything else you can imagine. Art is a lifetime of study. I’m still at it.

35 the work that had appeared in Whiz Comics issues of 1940... straight-away, story-telling art.

Pure C.C. Beck. It was a style not far removed from that with which I had become familiar in working with Russell Keaton. In the rendering of women, however, I suppose I had become somewhat set in my ways. Beck’s neat little doll-like, wide-eyed cuties were great, and fit well with the style, but I liked my gals. When a script came my way that included a female, I remained loyal to them and awaited comment from editor Ed Herron et al. No comment. I took that for approval, and continued drawing gals in my own style. Some years later, when I began illustrating in the Fawcett romance comics, I was glad I had stayed with the more realistic gal style.

It needs to be said here that the use of the word “gal” is not to be taken as disrespectful.

It is, and was, just a short, easy, and somewhat traditional way for artists of the Golden Age—and probably other ages—to refer to the wonderful, loveable members of the opposite sex. Even gal artists and editors used the term.

So there!

I never knew why Al Allard suggested that I move in from Jamaica, NY, where I shared an apartment with layout artist Irwin Weill.

“I don’t like to see a comic book hero with muscles all over the place,” said C.C. Beck in one of our early 1941 conversations. “Just a good, proportionate figure with some suggestion of power... that’s enough.” When Beck and I talked about drawing the human figure, it was not just any human figure. It was a figure who wore red tights, yellow boots and waist band, and a white, modestly ornate cape... Captain Marvel, of course. We spoke of the drawing in terms of the contour and the rendering necessary within the contour to indicate muscles and clothing details.

Beck went on: “A strong outline and a few selective suggestions of muscles... that’s all that’s needed.” I agreed. Then he said more: “The contour of the human figure, to my way of thinking, is a series of bulges. What appear to be indentations, or concaves, are where the bulges join.” I disagreed but said nothing. Ridiculous, I thought. I couldn’t imagine drawing a girl, or the male figure for that matter, without the use of the “s” curve... the line of beauty... or whatever the experts call it. I don’t think Beck did, either. Although Beck and I saw eye to eye on most matters, now and then we differed. But why argue? We were both drawing a character this man had originated.

We disagreed on gal art... the drawing of women... not verbally but on the drawing board.

In doing Captain Marvel art I was guided by

Some of C.C. Beck’s “gal art,” featuring Taia, companion to Ibis the Invincible. This panel is from Whiz Comics #2 (1940). © DC Comics, Inc.

36

Fawcett Collectors of America loons. And I thought I could give him a definite personality... a quality of dignity... poise. I wanted him to be like how I wanted to be.

Wish I’d asked. It was a good move, however.

The privacy of my new quarters near Columbia University, and the proximity of the big library at 47th and 5th Avenue aroused once again my interest in newspaper syndication. Interest? It was more like an obsession! I wanted desperately to create the characters, write, and draw my own newspaper comic strip.

The main character for the next effort had been running around in my head for weeks. It was Jango, the dog-pal of Judi the Jungle Girl.

I have been unable to pinpoint specifically why that dog kept coming back at me as a likely candidate for syndication. Possibly it was a serial my father had read to me from an adventure pulp magazine that I remembered: North Star by Rufus King. And of course there was Rin-Tin-Tin in the movies. At any rate, I had so much confidence in this canine hero that I tried another Jango idea years later. The name “Jango,” with a slight change in spelling, came from a favorite record star, Djano Reinhardt, guitarist with the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. I was never what you’d call a hero-worshipper, but heck, the guy was a fantastic jazz musician.

There was nothing new about a dog comic strip. There were at the time, and had been, several... but I remembered them as funny dogs... talking dogs... thinking-out-loud dogs. I wanted Jango to reason, but I wanted his reasoning to be conveyed in captions, not in dialogue bal-

Funny thing about comic strips... new ones, that is... with your hand, heart, and mind you plan them, with the young kid readers in mind.

But kids don’t buy newspapers, their parents do... grownups, right? And, getting down to it, those grownups don’t select the strips for their local papers... the editorial or business management does. But those folks don’t buy the raw idea from the comic strip creators, the syndicate does. And who at the syndicate makes that decision? Might be anybody. Of course, the upper management likely decides about the money involved, but some individual in the organization sparks the idea of including this particular number, out of all the features considered each year, in their stable.

Newsworthy events were all over the place, occurring daily. Not a good time to try to sell a comic strip. Certainly not a dog strip.

Presentation to the syndicates of a daily feature would require at least twelve strips. I had completed three. Clearly, the time was not right. I shoved Jango aside. It would be eleven years before he would come bounding onto my drawing board again.

And sometimes you wonder how the hell that individual got there in the first place. Could be a feature editor, or a top management official... even a board member. But the question remains: do they know anything about comics at all?

As the cooler months of 1942 began to close in on Manhattan, I began to wonder about other things. We were at war. Already there had been indications of a coming scarcity of newsprint... paper. And though the newspapers and syndicates might be confronted with a shortage of paper, there would be no shortage of news. Not during wartime.

Unconsciously... or out of habit... or both... I positioned a fresh sheet of bristol board before me: “Now what might the syndicates consider appropriate at this time? They must be open for something! Hey... how about a character in the military... a flyer? I’ll call him Bill... Lucky Bill....”

You see, it was like an addiction. I just couldn’t quit!

Ambition can be a tenacious tiger. But wonderful!

Examples of newspaper strip art styles used

by Marc Swayze. Top left: “Little Ug-Li”.

Center: Jango (1941). Top right: Unknown.

Left: Judi the Jungle Girl. Above: Unfinished “Lucky Bill” strip sample (1942). © Marc Swayze.

When Marvels Clashed!

37

When Marvels Clashed!

When The Original Captain Marvel Fought The Original Human Torch!

by John G. Pierce

W

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

38

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

When Marvels Clashed!

39

of The Cobra’s gang rescue him with a submarine, the Big Red Cheese sheds his disguise and attempts to follow, but is stymied by underwater flora (“worse than the Amazon jungle,” laments Cap, providing what is obviously the best point of reference for the Brazilian readers).

In the second chapter, readers actually see The Human Torch for the first time, as Captain Marvel manages to locate The Cobra’s underwater hideout and begins freeing prisoners. (Why a villain called The Cobra should operate underwater and take prisoners is not quite explained.) One of these prisoners is the weak, flaccid-looking Human Torch, prompting those few readers who may have remembered the Torch’s origin to wonder what kind of a genius Professor Horton had been, to create such a realistic android that he could be reduced to such a physical state. More likely, neither the readers nor the unknown writer of this tale knew or remembered that the original Torch was not human!

Anyway, Cap rescues the Torch and the other prisoners, but The Cobra escapes. Cap takes the Torch to a doctor, who tells him the Torch would have succumbed in another few days, but that in a few weeks he would be well again. Yes, that Horton was a genius, wasn’t he?

Meanwhile, Cobra is making plans to launch something called Hyperbomb Z into the Van Allen Radiation Belt. According to the fiend, within 48 hours the Belt will be inflamed and the temperature will increase more than 150 degrees. “After a few days of insane work,” the text tells us, the bomb is ready to be launched.

Captain Marvel spots The Cobra’s sub and attacks, but is stymied again, this time by a release of black ink. Meanwhile, in the fleeing sub,

Larue), Jack Marlin (Davy Jones), and a British-based quasi-costumed hero called Aguia Negra (Black Eagle). The magazine was 100 pages thick, printed in black, white, and red.

The encounter of Cap and the Torch wasn’t a fight; the idea that two heroes should automatically battle each other when they met had not yet reached Brazil. Rather, it was an authentic team-up. The threepart Captain Marvel story, “Return of a Great Hero,” seemed to assume that Cap and the Torch inhabited the same world and had encountered each other previously.

The story begins with Billy Batson reading a newspaper account of the escape attempt of a villain called The Cobra (apparently an original villain, not taken from any U.S. stories of either Cap or Torch, as far as can be determined). Somehow, reading this article causes Billy to “remember a great friend who disappeared some time ago.” Readers aren’t informed as to the exact connection that Billy sees between The Cobra and this friend, but he resolves to investigate the disappearance without further delay.

Captain Marvel arranges to be imprisoned in disguise in the same cell as The Cobra (whose name is obviously derived from his facial features).

The villain makes another escape Two more pages from O Globo Juvenil, attempt, this time featuring both red-underwear heroes. successfully, but the Captain Marvel © DC Comics, Inc. disguised Cap follows Human Torch © Marvel Characters, Inc. him. After members

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Fawcett Collectors of America

The Cobra lays plans to deliver an ultimatum to the world’s leaders.

As the temperatures climb, Captain Marvel consuls with Professor Edgewise (Matheus, here), a zany scientist who appeared primarily in numerous stories of Captain Marvel Jr., but who here seems fairly sane and logical. He informs Cap that a second bomb can be used to stop the action of the first one.

Military officials subsequently agree to build such a bomb.

Meanwhile, back in the hospital, the Torch awakens and notices the extremely high temperatures. It must be really hot—he’s sweating! His left hand bursts into flame, and before long his entire body is burning. He takes off in search of The Cobra.

High in the sky, Captain Marvel approaches the Belt and detonates the bomb he carries. Just as predicted, temperatures start to lower, and The Cobra begins to surmise what is happening. In order to verify what the instruments say, the sub heads for the surface.

While Cobra is making plans for another nasty trick, his submarine captain spots something coming from the sky.

Before they get a chance to submerge, the Human Torch descends and begins to destroy the sub. “I ought to have killed you!” screams The Cobra. “I’m paying now for my stupidity!”

who knows what other types of hype and promotion. In its own time and place, it was simply another story, reasonably well written (as noted, by an unknown scribe), and acceptably if not outstandingly illustrated by Brazilian artist Rodriguez Zelis.

Figuring the Torch can’t possibly follow him underwater, The Cobra dives overboard, only to encounter Captain Marvel’s right fist.

“Get back up there!” shouts Marvel. “My friend isn’t finished yet!”

A now-deflamed Torch completes the job by taking his turn at punching The Cobra, then sends Cap to get the rest of the gang.

The modern versions of Captain Marvel and the Torch have not met in modern-day DC and Marvel crossovers, which is probably just as well, since apart from red suits and the ability to fly, they don’t have a whole lot in common. And they’d probably have just wound up fighting instead of helping each other, anyway.

After the criminals have been turned over to the authorities, the two heroes confer.

“Thanks once more, Captain Marvel,” says the Torch. “My battle, however, doesn’t end here.

Now I have to find my friend Toro.” (Toro’s name is given in Portuguese as “Centelha,” meaning “Spark,” which is a more logical handle for the junior version of the Torch than his original name; “Toro” is the Spanish word for “bull,” and has nothing to do with fire.)

Still, in that best of all possible comics worlds, where any two characters might interact, either occasionally, regularly, or one time only, with no side effects (i.e., disturbances in regular continuity), well, who knows what might be happening?

Captain Marvel wishes the Torch luck, and assures him that soon he will find his junior partner. The story ends with Billy Batson’s broadcast, over TV station WHIZ, as Billy holds up a picture of “Centelha” and asks that anyone seeing him get in contact with the Human Torch.

Captain Marvel might be going up against the Torch’s old enemy/ally, Sub-Mariner (and that one should indeed be a battle!). Or he might be meeting that other most prominent captain of the comics, Captain America. He might— well, the possibilities are vast, aren’t they?

Thus ended what was probably the only time, to this point, that a hero from Fawcett met one from the Timely/Atlas/Marvel group.

In later eras, of course, such a tale would be surrounded by months of pre-publicity and

DC vs. Marvel might be a dream come true for many, but the dream possibilities won’t be exhausted thereby.

We can still dream of others.

COMING IN JULY: T

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25

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C Captain America, Red Skull TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

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ALTER EGO #15

ALTER EGO #16

A look at the 1970s JSA revival with CONWAY, LEVITZ, ESTRADA, GIFFEN, MILGROM, and STATON, JERRY ORDWAY on All-Star Squadron, tributes to CRAIG CHASE and DAN DeCARLO, “lost” 1945 issue of All-Star, 1970 interview with LEE ELIAS, MR. MONSTER on GARDNER FOX, FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, & JAY DISBROW! MIKE NASSER & MICHAEL GILBERT covers!

JOHN BUSCEMA ISSUE! BUSCEMA interview (with UNSEEN ART), reminiscences by SAL BUSCEMA, STAN LEE, INFANTINO, KUBERT, ORDWAY, FLO STEINBERG, and HERB TRIMPE, ROY THOMAS on 35 years with BIG JOHN, FCA tribute to KURT SCHAFFENBERGER, plus C.C. BECK and MARC SWAYZE, and MR. MONSTER revisits WALLY WOOD! Two BUSCEMA covers!

MARVEL BULLPEN REUNION (BUSCEMA, COLAN, ROMITA, and SEVERIN), memories of the JOHN BUSCEMA SCHOOL, FCA with ALEX ROSS, C.C. BECK, and MARC SWAYZE, tribute to CHAD GROTHKOPF, MR. MONSTER on EC COMICS with art by KURTZMAN, DAVIS, and WOOD, and more! Covers by ALEX ROSS and MARIE SEVERIN & RAMONA FRADON!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB022730

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: APR022615

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY022386

ALTER EGO #18

ALTER EGO #19

ALTER EGO #20

STAN GOLDBERG interview, secrets of ’40s Timely, art by KIRBY, DITKO, ROMITA, BUSCEMA, MANEELY, EVERETT, BURGOS, and DeCARLO, spotlight on sci-fi fanzine XERO with the LUPOFFS, OTTO BINDER, DON THOMPSON, ROY THOMAS, BILL SCHELLY, and ROGER EBERT, FCA, and MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD ghosting Flash Gordon! KIRBY and SWAYZE covers!

Spotlight on DICK SPRANG (profile and interview) with unseen art, rare Batman art

by BOB KANE, CHARLES PARIS, SHELLY MOLDOFF, MAX ALLAN COLLINS, JIM MOONEY, CARMINE INFANTINO, and ALEX TOTH, JERRY ROBINSON interviewed about Tomahawk and 1940s cover artist FRED RAY, FCA, and MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD’s Flash Gordon, Part 2!

Timely/Marvel art by SEKOWSKY, SHORES, EVERETT, and BURGOS, secrets behind THE INVADERS with ROY THOMAS, KIRBY, GIL KANE, & ROBBINS, BOB DESCHAMPS interviewed, 1965 NY Comics Con review, panel with FINGER, BINDER, FOX and WEISINGER, MR. MONSTER, FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, RABOY, SCHAFFENBERGER, and more! MILGROM and SCHELLY covers!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG022420

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(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL022370

ALTER EGO #21 The IGER “SHOP” examined, with art by EISNER, FINE, ANDERSON, CRANDALL, BAKER, MESKIN, CARDY, EVANS, BOB KANE, and TUSKA, “SHEENA” section with art by DAVE STEVENS & FRANK BRUNNER, ROY THOMAS on the JSA and All-Star Squadron, more UNSEEN 1946 ALL-STAR ART, MR. MONSTER on GARDNER FOX, FCA, and more! DAVE STEVENS and IRWIN HASEN covers!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: DEC023029

ALTER EGO #22

ALTER EGO #23

ALTER EGO #24

ALTER EGO #25

ALTER EGO #26

BILL EVERETT and JOE KUBERT interviewed

by NEAL ADAMS and GIL KANE in 1970, Timely art by BURGOS, SHORES, NODELL, and SEKOWSKY, RUDY LAPICK, ROY THOMAS on Sub-Mariner, with art by EVERETT, COLAN, ANDRU, BUSCEMAs, SEVERINs, and more, FCA, MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD at EC, ALEX TOTH, and CAPT. MIDNIGHT! EVERETT & BECK covers!

Unseen art from TWO “LOST” 1940s H.G. PETER WONDER WOMAN STORIES (and analysis of “CHARLES MOULTON” scripts), BOB FUJITANI and JOHN ROSENBERGER, VICTOR GORELICK discusses Archie and The Mighty Crusaders, with art by MORROW, BUCKLER, and REINMAN, FCA, and MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD! H.G. PETER and BOB FUJITANI covers!

X-MEN interviews with STAN LEE, DAVE COCKRUM, CHRIS CLAREMONT, ARNOLD DRAKE, JIM SHOOTER, ROY THOMAS, and LEN WEIN, MORT MESKIN profiled by his sons and ALEX TOTH, rare art by JERRY ROBINSON, FCA with BECK, SWAYZE, and WILLIAM WOOLFOLK, MR. MONSTER, and BILL SCHELLY on Comics Fandom! MESKIN and COCKRUM covers!

JACK COLE remembered by ALEX TOTH, interview with brother DICK COLE and his PLAYBOY colleagues, CHRIS CLAREMONT on the X-Men (with more never-seen art

by DAVE COCKRUM), ROY THOMAS on All-Star Squadron #1 and its ’40s roots (with art by ORDWAY, BUCKLER, MESKIN and MOLDOFF), FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more! Covers by TOTH and SCHELLY!

JOE SINNOTT interview, IRWIN DONENFELD interview by EVANIER & SCHWARTZ, art by SHUSTER, INFANTINO, ANDERSON, and SWAN, MARK WAID analyzes the first Kryptonite story, JERRY SIEGEL and HARRY DONENFELD, JERRY IGER Shop update, ALEX TOTH, MR. MONSTER, and FCA with SWAYZE, BECK, and KEN BALD! Covers by SINNOTT and WAYNE BORING!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN032492

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ALTER EGO #27

ALTER EGO #28

ALTER EGO #29

ALTER EGO #30

ALTER EGO #31

VIN SULLIVAN interview about the early DC days with art by SHUSTER, MOLDOFF, FLESSEL, GUARDINEER, and BURNLEY, MR. MONSTER’s “Lost” KIRBY HULK covers, 1948 NEW YORK COMIC CON with STAN LEE, SIMON & KIRBY, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, HARVEY KURTZMAN, and ROY THOMAS, ALEX TOTH, FCA, and more! Covers by JACK BURNLEY and JACK KIRBY!

Spotlight on JOE MANEELY, with a career overview, remembrance by his daughter and tons of art, Timely/Atlas/Marvel art by ROMITA, EVERETT, SEVERIN, SHORES, KIRBY, and DITKO, STAN LEE on Maneely, LEE AMES interview, FCA with SWAYZE, ISIS, and STEVE SKEATES, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Covers by JOE MANEELY and DON NEWTON!

FRANK BRUNNER interview, BILL EVERETT’S Venus examined by TRINA ROBBINS, Classics Illustrated “What ifs”, LEE/KIRBY/DITKO Marvel prototypes, JOE MANEELY’s monsters, BILL FRACCIO interview, ALEX TOTH, MR. MONSTER, JOHN BENSON on EC, The Heap by ERNIE SCHROEDER, and FCA! Covers by FRANK BRUNNER and PETE VON SHOLLY!

ALEX ROSS on his love for the JLA, BLACKHAWK/JLA artist DICK DILLIN, the super-heroes of 1940s-1980s France (with art by STEVE RUDE, STEVE BISSETTE, LADRÖNN, and NEAL ADAMS), KIM AAMODT & WALTER GEIER on writing for SIMON & KIRBY, ALEX TOTH, MR. MONSTER, and FCA! Covers by ALEX ROSS and STEVE RUDE!

DICK AYERS on his 1950s and ’60s work (with tons of Marvel Bullpen art), HARLAN ELLISON’s Marvel Age work examined (with art by BUCKLER, SAL BUSCEMA, and TRIMPE), STAN LEE’S Marvel Prototypes (with art by KIRBY and DITKO), Christmas cards from comics greats, MR. MONSTER, & FCA with SWAYZE and SCHAFFENBERGER! Covers by DICK AYERS and FRED RAY!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUN032614

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL032570

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG032604

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: SEP032620

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: OCT032843

ALTER EGO #32

ALTER EGO #33

ALTER EGO #34

ALTER EGO #35

ALTER EGO #36

Timely artists ALLEN BELLMAN and SAM BURLOCKOFF interviewed, MART NODELL on his Timely years, rare art by BURGOS, EVERETT, and SHORES, MIKE GOLD on the Silver Age (with art by SIMON & KIRBY, SWAN, INFANTINO, KANE, and more), FCA, ALEX TOTH, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom, and more!

Covers by DICK GIORDANO and GIL KANE!

Symposium on MIKE SEKOWSKY by MARK EVANIER, SCOTT SHAW!, et al., with art

by ANDERSON, INFANTINO, and others, PAT (MRS. MIKE) SEKOWSKY and inker VALERIE BARCLAY interviewed, FCA, 1950s Captain Marvel parody by ANDRU and ESPOSITO, ALEX TOTH, BILL SCHELLY, MR. MONSTER, and more! Covers by FRENZ/SINNOTT and FRENZ/BUSCEMA!

Quality Comics interviews with ALEX KOTZKY, AL GRENET, CHUCK CUIDERA, & DICK ARNOLD (son of BUSY ARNOLD), art by COLE, EISNER, FINE, WARD, DILLIN, and KANE, MICHELLE NOLAN on Blackhawk’s jump to DC, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT on HARVEY KURTZMAN, & ALEX TOTH on REED CRANDALL! Covers by REED CRANDALL & CHARLES NICHOLAS!

Covers by JOHN ROMITA and AL JAFFEE! LEE, ROMITA, AYERS, HEATH, & THOMAS on the 1953-55 Timely super-hero revival, with rare art by ROMITA, AYERS, BURGOS, HEATH, EVERETT, LAWRENCE, & POWELL, AL JAFFEE on the 1940s Timely Bullpen (and MAD), FCA, ALEX TOTH on comic art, MR. MONSTER on unpublished 1950s covers, and more!

JOE SIMON on SIMON & KIRBY, CARL BURGOS, and LLOYD JACQUET, JOHN BELL on World War II Canadian heroes, MICHAEL T. GILBERT on Canadian origins of MR. MONSTER, tributes to BOB DESCHAMPS, DON LAWRENCE, & GEORGE WOODBRIDGE, FCA, ALEX TOTH, and ELMER WEXLER interview! Covers by SIMON and GILBERT & RONN SUTTON!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV032695

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: DEC032833

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(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB042796

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR042972

ALTER EGO #37

ALTER EGO #38

ALTER EGO #39

ALTER EGO #40

ALTER EGO #41

WILL MURRAY on the 1940 Superman “KMetal” story & PHILIP WYLIE’s GLADIATOR (with art by SHUSTER, SWAN, ADAMS, and BORING), FCA with BECK, SWAYZE, and DON NEWTON, SY BARRY interview, art by TOTH, MESKIN, INFANTINO, and ANDERSON, and MICHAEL T. GILBERT interviews AL FELDSTEIN on EC and RAY BRADBURY! Covers by C.C. BECK and WAYNE BORING!

JULIE SCHWARTZ TRIBUTE with HARLAN ELLISON, INFANTINO, ANDERSON, TOTH, KUBERT, GIELLA, GIORDANO, CARDY, LEVITZ, STAN LEE, WOLFMAN, EVANIER, & ROY THOMAS, never-seen interviews with Julie, FCA with BECK, SCHAFFENBERGER, NEWTON, COCKRUM, OKSNER, FRADON, SWAYZE, and JACKSON BOSTWICK! Covers by INFANTINO and IRWIN HASEN!

Full-issue spotlight on JERRY ROBINSON, with an interview on being BOB KANE’s Batman “ghost”, creating the JOKER and ROBIN, working on VIGILANTE, GREEN HORNET, and ATOMAN, plus never-seen art by Jerry, MESKIN, ROUSSOS, RAY, KIRBY, SPRANG, DITKO, and PARIS! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER on AL FELDSTEIN Part 2, and more! Two JERRY ROBINSON covers!

RUSS HEATH and GIL KANE interviews (with tons of unseen art), the JULIE SCHWARTZ Memorial Service with ELLISON, MOORE, GAIMAN, HASEN, O’NEIL, and LEVITZ, art by INFANTINO, ANDERSON, TOTH, NOVICK, DILLIN, SEKOWSKY, KUBERT, GIELLA, ARAGONÉS, FCA, MR. MONSTER and AL FELDSTEIN Part 3, and more! Covers by GIL KANE & RUSS HEATH!

Halloween issue! BERNIE WRIGHTSON on his 1970s FRANKENSTEIN, DICK BRIEFER’S monster, the campy 1960s Frankie, art by KALUTA, BAILY, MANEELY, PLOOG, KUBERT, BRUNNER, BORING, OKSNER, TUSKA, CRANDALL, and SUTTON, FCA #100, EMILIO SQUEGLIO interview, ALEX TOTH, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and more!

Covers by WRIGHTSON & MARC SWAYZE!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: APR043055

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY043050

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUN042972

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL043386

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG043186

ALTER EGO #42

ALTER EGO #43

ALTER EGO #44

ALTER EGO #45

ALTER EGO #46

A celebration of DON HECK, WERNER ROTH, and PAUL REINMAN, rare art by KIRBY, DITKO, and AYERS, Hillman and Ziff-Davis remembered by Heap artist ERNIE SCHROEDER, HERB ROGOFF, and WALTER LITTMAN, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and ALEX TOTH! Covers by FASTNER & LARSON and ERNIE SCHROEDER!

Yuletide art by WOOD, SINNOTT, CARDY, BRUNNER, TOTH, NODELL, and others, interviews with Golden Age artists TOM GILL (Lone Ranger) and MORRIS WEISS, exploring 1960s Mexican comics, FCA with MARC SWAYZE and C.C. BECK, MR. MONSTER, ALEX TOTH, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom, and more! Flip covers by GEORGE TUSKA and DAVE STEVENS!

JSA/All-Star Squadron/Infinity Inc. special!

Interviews with KUBERT, HASEN, ANDERSON, ORDWAY, BUCKLER, THOMAS, 1940s Atom writer ARTHUR ADLER, art by TOTH, SEKOWSKY, HASEN, MACHLAN, OKSNER, and INFANTINO, FCA, and MR. MONSTER’S “I Like Ike!” cartoons by BOB KANE, INFANTINO, OKSNER, and BIRO! Wraparound ORDWAY cover!

Interviews with Sandman artist CREIG FLESSEL and ’40s creator BERT CHRISTMAN, MICHAEL CHABON on researching his Pulitzer-winning novel Kavalier & Clay, art

by EISNER, KANE, KIRBY, and AYERS, FCA with MARC SWAYZE and C.C. BECK, OTTO BINDER’s “lost” Jon Jarl story, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY on comics fandom, and ALEX TOTH! CREIG FLESSEL cover!

The VERY BEST of the 1960s-70s ALTER EGO! 1969 BILL EVERETT interview, art by BURGOS, GUSTAVSON, SIMON & KIRBY, and others, 1960s gems by DITKO, E. NELSON BRIDWELL, JERRY BAILS, and ROY THOMAS, LOU GLANZMAN interview, tributes to IRV NOVICK and CHRIS REEVE, MR. MONSTER, FCA, TOTH, and more!

Cover by EVERETT and MARIE SEVERIN!

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: SEP043043

(108-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: OCT043189

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV043080

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: DEC042992

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN053133

ALTER EGO #47

ALTER EGO #48

ALTER EGO #49

Spotlights MATT BAKER, Golden Age cheesecake artist of PHANTOM LADY! Career overview, interviews with BAKER’s half-brother and nephew, art from AL FELDSTEIN, VINCE COLLETTA, ARTHUR PEDDY, JACK KAMEN and others, FCA, BILL SCHELLY talks to comic-book-seller (and fan) BUD PLANT, MR. MONSTER on missing AL WILLIAMSON art, and ALEX TOTH!

WILL EISNER discusses Eisner & Iger’s Shop and BUSY ARNOLD’s ’40s Quality Comics, art by FINE, CRANDALL, COLE, POWELL, and CARDY, EISNER tributes by STAN LEE, GENE COLAN, & others, interviews with ’40s Quality artist VERN HENKEL and CHUCK MAZOUJIAN, FCA, MR. MONSTER on EISNER’s Wonder Man, ALEX TOTH, and more with BUD PLANT! EISNER cover!

Spotlights CARL BURGOS! Interview with daughter SUE BURGOS, art by BURGOS, BILL EVERETT, MIKE SEKOWSKY, ED ASCHE, and DICK AYERS, unused 1941 Timely cover layouts, the 1957 Atlas Implosion examined, MANNY STALLMAN, FCA, MR. MONSTER and more! New cover by MARK SPARACIO, from an unused 1941 layout by CARL BURGOS!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB053220

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR053331

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: APR053287

ALTER EGO #50 ROY THOMAS covers his 40-YEAR career in comics (AVENGERS, X-MEN, CONAN, ALL-STAR SQUADRON, INFINITY INC.), with ADAMS, BUSCEMA, COLAN, DITKO, GIL KANE, KIRBY, STAN LEE, ORDWAY, PÉREZ, ROMITA, and many others! Also FCA, & MR. MONSTER on ROY’s letters to GARDNER FOX! Flip-covers by BUSCEMA/ KIRBY/ALCALA and JERRY ORDWAY!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY053172

ALTER EGO #54 ALTER EGO #51

ALTER EGO #52

ALTER EGO #53

Golden Age Batman artist/BOB KANE ghost LEW SAYRE SCHWARTZ interviewed, Batman art by JERRY ROBINSON, DICK SPRANG, SHELDON MOLDOFF, WIN MORTIMER, JIM MOONEY, and others, the Golden and Silver Ages of AUSTRALIAN SUPER-HEROES, Mad artist DAVE BERG interviewed, FCA, MR. MONSTER on WILL EISNER, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

JOE GIELLA on the Silver Age at DC, the Golden Age at Marvel, and JULIE SCHWARTZ, with rare art by INFANTINO, GIL KANE, SEKOWSKY, SWAN, DILLIN, MOLDOFF, GIACOIA, SCHAFFENBERGER, and others, JAY SCOTT PIKE on STAN LEE and CHARLES BIRO, MARTIN THALL interview, ALEX TOTH, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more! GIELLA cover!

GIORDANO and THOMAS on STOKER’S DRACULA, never-seen DICK BRIEFER Frankenstein strip, MIKE ESPOSITO on his work with ROSS ANDRU, art by COLAN, WRIGHTSON, MIGNOLA, BRUNNER, BISSETTE, KALUTA, HEATH, MANEELY, EVERETT, DITKO, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, BILL SCHELLY, ALEX TOTH, and MR. MONSTER! Cover by GIORDANO!

(100-page magazine) $5.95 Diamond Order Code: JUN053345

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JUL053293

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG053328

MIKE ESPOSITO on DC and Marvel, ROBERT KANIGHER on the creation of Metal Men and Sgt. Rock (with comments

by JOE KUBERT and BOB HANEY), art by ANDRU, INFANTINO, KIRBY, SEVERIN, WINDSOR-SMITH, ROMITA, BUSCEMA, TRIMPE, GIL KANE, and others, plus FCA, ALEX TOTH, BILL SCHELLY, MR. MONSTER, and more! ESPOSITO cover!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: SEP053301

ALTER EGO #56

ALTER EGO #57

ALTER EGO #58

Interviews with Superman creators SIEGEL & SHUSTER, Golden/Silver Age DC production guru JACK ADLER interviewed, NEAL ADAMS and radio/TV iconoclast (and comics fan) HOWARD STERN on Adler and his amazing career, art by CURT SWAN, WAYNE BORING, and AL PLASTINO, plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, ALEX TOTH, and more! NEAL ADAMS cover!

Issue-by-issue index of Timely/Atlas superhero stories by MICHELLE NOLAN, art by SIMON & KIRBY, EVERETT, BURGOS, ROMITA, AYERS, HEATH, SEKOWSKY, SHORES, SCHOMBURG, MANEELY, and SEVERIN, GENE COLAN and ALLEN BELLMAN on 1940s Timely super-heroes, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and BILL SCHELLY! Cover

by JACK KIRBY and PETE VON SHOLLY!

GERRY CONWAY and ROY THOMAS on their ’80s screenplay for “The X-Men Movie That Never Was!”with art by COCKRUM, ADAMS, BUSCEMA, BYRNE, GIL KANE, KIRBY, HECK, and LIEBER, Atlas artist VIC CARRABOTTA interview, ALLEN BELLMAN on 1940s Timely bullpen, FCA, 1966 panel on 1950s EC Comics, and MR. MONSTER! MARK SPARACIO/GIL KANE cover!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: DEC053401

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: JAN063429

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: MAR063545

ALTER EGO #55 JACK and OTTO BINDER, KEN BALD, VIC DOWD, and BOB BOYAJIAN interviewed, FCA with SWAYZE and EMILIO SQUEGLIO, rare art by BECK, WARD, & SCHAFFENBERGER, Christmas Card Art from CRANDALL, SINNOTT, HEATH, MOONEY, and CARDY, 1943 Pin-Up Calendar (with ’40s movie stars as superheroines), ALEX TOTH, and more! ALEX ROSS and ALEX WRIGHT covers!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: OCT053396

ALTER EGO #59 Special issue on Batman and Superman in the Golden and Silver Ages, ARTHUR SUYDAM interview, NEAL ADAMS on 1960s/70s DC, SHELLY MOLDOFF, AL PLASTINO, Golden Age artist FRAN (Doll Man) MATERA and VIC CARRABOTTA interviewed, SIEGEL & SHUSTER, RUSS MANNING, FCA, MR. MONSTER, SUYDAM cover, and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: APR063474

ALTER EGO #60

ALTER EGO #61

ALTER EGO #62

Celebrates 50 years since SHOWCASE #4!

FLASH interviews with SCHWARTZ, KANIGHER, INFANTINO, KUBERT, and BROOME, Golden Age artist TONY DiPRETA, 1966 panel with NORDLING, BINDER, and LARRY IVIE, FCA, MR. MONSTER, never-before-published color Flash cover by CARMINE INFANTINO, and more!

History of the AMERICAN COMICS GROUP (1946 to 1967)—including its roots in the Golden Age SANGOR ART SHOP and STANDARD/NEDOR comics! Art by MESKIN, ROBINSON, WILLIAMSON, FRAZETTA, SCHAFFENBERGER, & BUSCEMA, ACG writer/editor RICHARD HUGHES, plus AL HARTLEY interviewed, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more! GIORDANO cover!

HAPPY HAUNTED HALLOWEEN ISSUE, featuring: MIKE PLOOG and RUDY PALAIS on their horror-comics work! AL WILLIAMSON on his work for the American Comics Group—plus more on ACG horror comics! Rare DICK BRIEFER Frankenstein strips! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY on the 1966 KalerCon, a new PLOOG cover—and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY063496

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ALTER EGO #67

Tribute to ALEX TOTH! Never-before-seen interview with tons of TOTH art, including sketches he sent to friends! Articles about Toth by TERRY AUSTIN, JIM AMASH, SY BARRY, JOE KUBERT, LOU SAYRE SCHWARTZ, IRWIN HASEN, JOHN WORKMAN, and others! Plus illustrated Christmas cards by comics pros, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

Fawcett Favorites! Issue-by-issue analysis of BINDER & BECK’s 1943-45 “The Monster Society of Evil!” serial, double-size FCA section with MARC SWAYZE, EMILIO SQUEGLIO, C.C. BECK, MAC RABOY, and others! Interview with MARTIN FILCHOCK, Golden Age artist for Centaur Comics! Plus MR. MONSTER, DON NEWTON cover, plus a FREE 1943 MARVEL CALENDAR!

NICK CARDY interviewed on his Golden & Silver Age work (with CARDY art), plus art

by WILL EISNER, NEAL ADAMS, CARMINE INFANTINO, JIM APARO, RAMONA FRADON, CURT SWAN, MIKE SEKOWSKY, and others, tributes to ERNIE SCHROEDER and DAVE COCKRUM, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, new CARDY COVER, and more!

Spotlight on BOB POWELL, the artist who drew Daredevil, Sub-Mariner, Sheena, The Avenger, The Hulk, Giant-Man, and others, plus art by WALLY WOOD, HOWARD NOSTRAND, DICK AYERS, SIMON & KIRBY, MARTIN GOODMAN’s Magazine Management, and others! FCA with MARC SWAYZE and C.C. BECK, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, and more!

Interview with BOB OKSNER, artist of Supergirl, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Angel and the Ape, Leave It to Binky, Shazam!, and more, plus art and artifacts by SHELLY MAYER, IRWIN HASEN, LEE ELIAS, C.C. BECK, CARMINE INFANTINO, GIL KANE, JULIE SCHWARTZ, etc., FCA with MARC SWAYZE & C.C. BECK, MICHAEL T. GILBERT on BOB POWELL Part II, and more!

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ALTER EGO #71

ALTER EGO #72

Tribute to JERRY BAILS—Father of Comics Fandom and founder of Alter Ego! Cover by GEORGE PÉREZ, plus art by JOE KUBERT, CARMINE INFANTINO, GIL KANE, DICK DILLIN, MIKE SEKOWSKY, JERRY ORDWAY, JOE STATON, JACK KIRBY, and others! Plus STEVE DITKO’s notes to STAN LEE for a 1965 Dr. Strange story! And ROY reveals secrets behind Marvel’s STAR WARS comic!

PAUL NORRIS drew AQUAMAN first, in 1941—and RAMONA FRADON was the hero’s ultimate Golden Age artist. But both drew other things as well, and both are interviewed in this landmark issue—along with a pocket history of Aquaman! Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and more!

Cover painted by JOHN WATSON, from a breathtaking illo by RAMONA FRADON!

Spotlight on ROY THOMAS’ 1970s stint as Marvel’s editor-in-chief and major writer, plus art and reminiscences of GIL KANE, BOTH BUSCEMAS, ADAMS, ROMITA, CHAYKIN, BRUNNER, PLOOG, EVERETT, WRIGHTSON, PÉREZ, ROBBINS, BARRY SMITH, STAN LEE and others, FCA, MR. MONSTER, a new GENE COLAN cover, plus an homage to artist LILY RENÉE!

Represents THE GREAT CANADIAN COMIC BOOKS, the long out-of-print 1970s book

by MICHAEL HIRSH and PATRICK LOUBERT, with rare art of such heroes as Mr. Monster, Nelvana, Thunderfist, and others, plus new INVADERS art by JOHN BYRNE, MIKE GRELL, RON LIM, and more, plus a new cover by GEORGE FREEMAN, from a layout by JACK KIRBY!

SCOTT SHAW! and ROY THOMAS on the creation of Captain Carrot, art & artifacts

by RICK HOBERG, STAN GOLDBERG, MIKE SEKOWSKY, JOHN COSTANZA, E. NELSON BRIDWELL, CAROL LAY, and others, interview with DICK ROCKWELL, Golden Age artist and 36-year ghost artist on MILTON CANIFF’s Steve Canyon! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

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ALTER EGO #73

ALTER EGO #75

ALTER EGO #76

FRANK BRUNNER on drawing Dr. Strange, interviews with CHARLES BIRO and his daughters, interview with publisher ROBERT GERSON about his 1970s horror comic Reality, art by BERNIE WRIGHTSON, GRAHAM INGELS, HOWARD CHAYKIN, MICHAEL W. KALUTA, JEFF JONES, and others FCA, MR. MONSTER, a FREE DRAW! #15! PREVIEW, and more!

FAWCETT FESTIVAL—with an ALEX ROSS cover! Double-size FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) with P.C. HAMERLINCK on the many “Captains Marvel” over the years, unseen Shazam! proposal by ALEX ROSS, C.C. BECK on “The Death of a Legend!”, MARC SWAYZE, interview with Golden Age artist MARV LEVY, MR. MONSTER, and more!

JOE SIMON SPECIAL! In-depth SIMON interview by JIM AMASH, with neverbefore-revealed secrets behind the creation of Captain America, Fighting American, Stuntman, Adventures of The Fly, Sick magazine and more, art by JACK KIRBY, BOB POWELL, AL WILLIAMSON, JERRY GRANDENETTI, GEORGE TUSKA, and others, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

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ALTER EGO #74 STAN LEE SPECIAL in honor of his 85th birthday, with a cover by JACK KIRBY, classic (and virtually unseen) interviews with Stan, tributes, and tons of rare and unseen art by KIRBY, ROMITA, the brothers BUSCEMA, DITKO, COLAN, HECK, AYERS, MANEELY, SHORES, EVERETT, BURGOS, KANE, the SEVERIN siblings—plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

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ALTER EGO #78 ALTER EGO #77 ST. JOHN ISSUE! Golden Age Tor cover by JOE KUBERT, KEN QUATTRO relates the full legend of St. John Publishing, art by KUBERT, NORMAN MAURER, MATT BAKER, LILY RENEE, BOB LUBBERS, RUBEN MOREIRA, RALPH MAYO, AL FAGO, special reminiscences of ARNOLD DRAKE, Golden Age artist TOM SAWYER interviewed, and more!

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DAVE COCKRUM TRIBUTE! Great rare XMen cover, Cockrum tributes from contemporaries and colleagues, and an interview with PATY COCKRUM on Dave’s life and legacy on The Legion of Super-Heroes, The X-Men, Star-Jammers, & more! Plus an interview with 1950s Timely/Marvel artist MARION SITTON on his own incredible career and his Golden Age contemporaries!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Ships June 2008

ALTER EGO #79

ALTER EGO #80

SUPERMAN & HIS CREATORS! New cover

by MICHAEL GOLDEN, exclusive and revealing interview with JOE SHUSTER’s sister, JEAN SHUSTER PEAVEY—MIKE W. BARR on Superman the detective— DWIGHT DECKER on the Man of Steel & Hitler’s Third Reich—plus the NEMBO KID (Italian for “Superman”), art by BORING, SWAN, ADAMS, KANE, and others!

SWORD-AND-SORCERY COMICS! Learn about Crom the Barbarian, Viking Prince, Nightmaster, Kull, Red Sonja, Solomon Kane, Bran Mak Morn, Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser, Beowulf, Warlord, Dagar the Invincible, and more, with art by FRAZETTA, SMITH, BUSCEMA, KANE, WRIGHTSON, PLOOG, THORNE, BRUNNER, and more!

New cover by RAFAEL KAYANAN!

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12-ISSUE SUBSCRIPTIONS: $78 US Postpaid by Media Mail ($108 First Class, $132 Canada, $180 Surface, $216 Airmail).

For a 6-issue sub, cut the price in half!

THE RETRO COMICS EXPERIENCE!

TM

Edited by MICHAEL EURY, BACK ISSUE magazine celebrates comic books of the 1970s, 1980s, and today through recurring (and rotating) departments such as “Pro2Pro” (a dialogue between two professionals), “Rough Stuff” (pencil art showcases of top artists), “Greatest Stories Never Told” (spotlighting unrealized comics series or stories), and more!

Go online for an ULTIMATE BUNDLE, with all the issues at HALF-PRICE! 6-ISSUE SUBS: $40 US Postpaid by Media Mail ($54 First Class, $66 Canada, $90 Surface, $108 Airmail).

BACK ISSUE #1

BACK ISSUE #2

BACK ISSUE #3

“PRO2PRO” interview between GEORGE PÉREZ & MARV WOLFMAN (with UNSEEN PÉREZ ART), “ROUGH STUFF” featuring JACK KIRBY’s PENCIL ART, “GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD” on the first JLA/AVENGERS, “BEYOND CAPES” on DC and Marvel’s TARZAN (with KUBERT and BUSCEMA ART), “OFF MY CHEST” editorial by INFANTINO, and more! PÉREZ cover!

“PRO2PRO” between ADAM HUGHES and MIKE W. BARR (with UNSEEN HUGHES ART) and MATT WAGNER and DIANA SCHUTZ, “ROUGH STUFF” HUGHES PENCIL ART, STEVE RUDE’s unseen SPACE GHOST/HERCULOIDS team-up, Bruce Jones’ ALIEN WORLDS and TWISTED TALES, “OFF MY CHEST” by MIKE W. BARR on the DC IMPLOSION, and more!

HUGHES cover!

“PRO2PRO” between KEITH GIFFEN, J.M. DeMATTEIS and KEVIN MAGUIRE on their JLA WORK, “ROUGH STUFF” PENCIL ART by ARAGONÉS, HERNANDEZ BROS., MIGNOLA, BYRNE, KIRBY, HUGHES, details on two unknown PLASTIC MAN movies, Joker’s history with O’NEIL, ADAMS, ENGLEHART, ROGERS and BOLLAND, editorial by MARK EVANIER, and more! BOLLAND cover!

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“PRO2PRO” between JOHN BYRNE and CHRIS CLAREMONT on their X-MEN WORK and WALT SIMONSON and JOE CASEY on Walter’s THOR, WOLVERINE PENCIL ART by BUSCEMA, LEE, COCKRUM, BYRNE, and GIL KANE, LEN WEIN’S TEEN WOLVERINE, PUNISHER’S 30TH and SECRET WARS’ 20TH ANNIVERSARIES (with UNSEEN ZECK ART), and more! BYRNE cover!

Wonder Woman TV series in-depth, LYNDA CARTER INTERVIEW, WONDER WOMAN TV ART GALLERY, Marvel’s TV Hulk, SpiderMan, Captain America, and Dr. Strange, LOU FERRIGNO INTERVIEW, super-hero cartoons you didn’t see, pencil gallery by JERRY ORDWAY, STAR TREK in comics, and ROMITA SR. editorial on Marvel’s movies!

Covers by ALEX ROSS and ADAM HUGHES!

TOMB OF DRACULA revealed with GENE COLAN and MARV WOLFMAN, LEN WEIN & BERNIE WRIGHTSON on Swamp Thing’s roots, STEVE BISSETTE & RICK VEITCH on their Swamp work, pencil art by BRUNNER, PLOOG, BISSETTE, COLAN, WRIGHTSON, and SMITH, editorial by ROY THOMAS, PREZ, GODZILLA comics (with TRIMPE art), CHARLTON horror, & more! COLAN cover!

History of BRAVE AND BOLD, JIM APARO interview, tribute to BOB HANEY, FANTASTIC FOUR ROUNDTABLE with STAN LEE, MARK WAID, and others, EVANIER and MEUGNIOT on DNAgents, pencil art by ROSS, TOTH, COCKRUM, HECK, ROBBINS, NEWTON, and BYRNE, DENNY O’NEIL editorial, a tour of METROPOLIS, IL, and more! SWAN/ANDERSON cover!

DENNY O’NEIL and Justice League Unlimited voice actor PHIL LaMARR discuss GL JOHN STEWART, NEW X-MEN pencil art by NEAL ADAMS, ARTHUR ADAMS, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, ALAN DAVIS, JIM LEE, ADAM HUGHES, STORM’s 30-year history, animated TV’s black heroes (with TOTH art), ISABELLA and TREVOR VON EEDEN on BLACK LIGHTNING, and more! KYLE BAKER cover!

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BACK ISSUE #9

BACK ISSUE #10

BACK ISSUE #11

BACK ISSUE #12

BACK ISSUE #13

MIKE BARON and STEVE RUDE on NEXUS past and present, a colossal GIL KANE pencil art gallery, a look at Marvel’s STAR WARS comics, secrets of DC’s unseen CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS SEQUEL, TIM TRUMAN on his GRIMJACK SERIES, MIKE GOLD editorial, THANOS history, TIME WARP revisited, and more! All-new STEVE RUDE COVER!

NEAL ADAMS and DENNY O’NEIL on RA’S AL GHUL’s history (with Adams art), O’Neil and MICHAEL KALUTA on THE SHADOW, MIKE GRELL on JON SABLE FREELANCE, HOWIE CHAYKIN interview, DOC SAVAGE in comics, BATMAN ART GALLERY by PAUL SMITH, SIENKIEWICZ, SIMONSON, BOLLAND, HANNIGAN, MAZZUCCHELLI, and others! New cover by ADAMS!

ROY THOMAS, KURT BUSIEK, and JOE JUSKO on CONAN (with art by JOHN BUSCEMA, BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, NEAL ADAMS, JUSKO, and others), SERGIO ARAGONÉS and MARK EVANIER on GROO, DC’s never-published KING ARTHUR, pencil art gallery by KIRBY, PÉREZ, MOEBIUS, GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, BOLLAND, and others, and a new BUSCEMA/JUSKO Conan cover!

‘70s and ‘80s character revamps with DAVE GIBBONS, ROY THOMAS and KURT BUSIEK, TOM DeFALCO and RON FRENZ on Spider-Man’s 1980s “black” costume change, DENNY O’NEIL on Superman’s 1970 revamp, JOHN BYRNE’s aborted SHAZAM! series detailed, pencil art gallery with FRANK MILLER, LEE WEEKS, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, CHARLES VESS, and more!

CARDY interview, ENGLEHART and MOENCH on kung-fu comics, “Pro2Pro” with STATON and CUTI on Charlton’s E-Man, pencil art gallery featuring MILLER, KUBERT, GIORDANO, SWAN, GIL KANE, COLAN, COCKRUM, and others, EISNER’s A Contract with God; “The Death of Romance (Comics)” (with art by ROMITA, SR. and TOTH), and more!

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BACK ISSUE #14

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DAVE COCKRUM and MIKE GRELL go “Pro2Pro” on the Legion, pencil art gallery

by BUSCEMA, BYRNE, MILLER, STARLIN, McFARLANE, ROMITA JR., SIENKIEWICZ, looks at Hercules Unbound, Hex, Killraven, Kamandi, MARS, Planet of the Apes, art and interviews with GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, KIRBY, WILLIAMSON, and more! New MIKE GRELL/BOB McLEOD cover!

“Weird Heroes” of the 1970s and ‘80s!

MIKE PLOOG discusses Ghost Rider, MATT WAGNER revisits The Demon, JOE KUBERT dusts off Ragman, GENE COLAN “Rough Stuff” pencil gallery, GARCÍALÓPEZ recalls Deadman, DC’s unpublished Gorilla Grodd series, PERLIN, CONWAY, and MOENCH on Werewolf by Night, and more! New ARTHUR ADAMS cover!

“Toy Stories!” Behind the Scenes of Marvel’s G.I. JOE™ and TRANSFORMERS with PAUL LEVITZ and GEORGE TUSKA, “Rough Stuff” MIKE ZECK pencil gallery, ARTHUR ADAMS on Gumby, HE-MAN, ROM, MICRONAUTS, SUPER POWERS, SUPER-HERO CARS, art by HAMA, SAL BUSCEMA, GUICE, GOLDEN, KIRBY, TRIMPE, and new ZECK sketch cover!

“Super Girls!” Supergirl retrospective with art by STELFREEZE, HAMNER, SpiderWoman, Flare, Tigra, DC’s unused Double Comics with unseen BARRETTO and INFANTINO art, WOLFMAN and JIMENEZ on Donna Troy, female comics pros, art by SEKOWSKY, OKSNER, PÉREZ, HUGHES, GIORDANO, plus a COLOR GALLERY and COVER by BRUCE TIMM!

“Big, Green Issue!” Tour of NEAL ADAMS’ studio (with interview and art gallery), DAVE GIBBONS “Rough Stuff” pencil art spotlight, interviews with MIKE GRELL (on Green Arrow), PETER DAVID (on Incredible Hulk), a “Pro2Pro” chat between GERRY CONWAY and JOHN ROMITA, SR. (on the Green Goblin), and more. New cover

by NEAL ADAMS!

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“Unsung Heroes!” DON NEWTON spotlight, STEVE GERBER and GENE COLAN on Howard the Duck, MIKE CARLIN and DANNY FINGEROTH on Marvel’s Assistant Editors’ Month, the unrealized Unlimited Powers TV show, TONY ISABELLA’s aborted plans for The Champions, MARK GRUENWALD tribute, art by SAL BUSCEMA, JOHN BYRNE, and more! NEWTON/ RUBINSTEIN cover!

“Secret Identities!” Histories of characters with unusual alter egos: Firestorm, Moon Knight, the Question, and the “real-life” Human Fly! STEVE ENGLEHART and SAL BUSCEMA on Captain America, JERRY ORDWAY interview and cover, Superman roundtable with SIENKIEWICZ, NOWLAN, MOENCH, COWAN, MAGGIN, O’NEIL, MILGROM, CONWAY, ROBBINS, SWAN, plus FREE ALTER EGO #64 PREVIEW!

“The Devil You Say!” issue! A look at Daredevil in the 1980s and 1990s with interviews and art by KLAUS JANSON, JOHN ROMITA JR., and FRANK MILLER, MIKE MIGNOLA Hellboy interview, DAN MISHKIN and GARY COHN on Blue Devil, COLLEEN DORAN’s unpublished X-Men spin-off “Fallen Angels”, Son of Satan, Stig’s Inferno, DC’s Plop!, JACK KIRBY’s Devil Dinosaur, and cover by MIKE ZECK!

“Dynamic Duos!’ “Pro2Pro” interviews with Batman’s ALAN GRANT and NORM BREYFOGLE and the Legion’s PAUL LEVITZ and KEITH GIFFEN, a “Backstage Pass” to Dark Horse Comics, Robin’s history, EASTMAN and LAIRD’s Ninja Turtles, histories of duos Robin and Batgirl, Captain America and the Falcon, and Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, “Zot!” interview with SCOTT McCLOUD, and a new BREYFOGLE cover!

“Comics Go Hollywood!” Spider-Man roundtable with STAN LEE, JOHN ROMITA, SR., JIM SHOOTER, ERIK LARSEN, and others, STAR TREK comics writers’ roundtable Part 1, Gladstone’s Disney comics line, behindthe-scenes at TV’s ISIS and THE FLASH (plus an interview with Flash’s JOHN WESLEY SHIPP), TV tie-in comics, bonus 8-page color ADAM HUGHES ART GALLERY and cover, plus a FREE WRITE NOW #16 PREVIEW!

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“Magic” issue! MICHAEL GOLDEN interview, GENE COLAN, PAUL SMITH, and FRANK BRUNNER on drawing Dr. Strange, Mystic Art Gallery with CARL POTTS & KEVIN NOWLAN, BILL WILLINGHAM’s Elementals, Zatanna history, Dr. Fate’s revival, a “Greatest Stories Never Told” look at Peter Pan, tribute to the late MARSHALL ROGERS, a new GOLDEN cover, plus a FREE ROUGH STUFF #6 PREVIEW!

“Men of Steel!’ BOB LAYTON and DAVID MICHELINIE on Iron Man, RICH BUCKLER on Deathlok, MIKE GRELL on Warlord, JOHN BYRNE on ROG 2000, Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman, Machine Man, the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes comic strip, DC’s Steel, art by KIRBY, HECK, WINDSOR-SMITH, TUSKA, LAYTON cover, and bonus “Men of Steel” art gallery!

Includes a FREE DRAW! #15 PREVIEW!

“Spies and Tough Guys!’ PAUL GULACY and DOUG MOENCH in an art-packed “Pro2Pro” on Master of Kung Fu and their unrealized Shang-Chi/Nick Fury crossover, Suicide Squad spotlight, Ms. Tree, CHUCK DIXON and TIM TRUMAN’s Airboy, James Bond and Mr. T in comic books, Sgt. Rock’s oddball super-hero team-ups, Nathaniel Dusk, JOE KUBERT’s unpublished The Redeemer, and a new GULACY cover!

“Comic Book Royalty!” The ’70s/’80s careers of Aquaman and the Sub-Mariner explored, BARR and BOLLAND discuss CAMELOT 3000, comics pros tell “Why JACK KIRBY Was King,” “Dr. Doom: Monarch or Menace?” DON McGREGOR’s Black Panther; an exclusive ALAN WEISS art gallery; spotlights on ARION, LORD OF ATLANTIS; NIGHT FORCE; and more! New cover by NICK CARDY!

“Heroes Behaving Badly!” Hulk vs. Thing tirades with RON WILSON, HERB TRIMPE, and JIM SHOOTER; CARY BATES and CARMINE INFANTINO on “Trial of the Flash”; JOHN BYRNE’s heroes who cross the line; Teen Titan Terra, Kid Miracleman, Mark Shaw Manhunter, and others who went bad, featuring LAYTON, MICHELINIE, WOLFMAN, and PÉREZ, and more! New cover by DARWYN COOKE!

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NEW STUFF FROM TWOMORROWS!

ROUGH STUFF #8

BACK ISSUE #28

WRITE NOW! #18

DRAW! #15

BRICKJOURNAL #2

Features an in-depth interview and cover painting by the extraordinary MIKE MAYHEW, preliminary and unpublished art by ALEX HORLEY, TONY DeZUNIGA, NICK CARDY, and RAFAEL KAYANAN (including commentary by each artist), a look at the great Belgian comic book artists, a “Rough Critique” of MIKE MURDOCK’s work, and more!

“Heroes Behaving Badly!” Hulk vs. Thing tirades with RON WILSON, HERB TRIMPE, and JIM SHOOTER; CARY BATES and CARMINE INFANTINO on “Trial of the Flash”; JOHN BYRNE’s heroes who cross the line; Teen Titan Terra, Kid Miracleman, Mark Shaw Manhunter, and others who went bad, featuring LAYTON, MICHELINIE, WOLFMAN, and PÉREZ, and more! New cover by DARWYN COOKE!

Celebration of STAN LEE’s 85th birthday, including rare examples of comics, TV, and movie scripts from the Stan Lee Archives, tributes by JOHN ROMITA, SR., JOE QUESADA, ROY THOMAS, DENNIS O’NEIL, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, JIM SALICRUP, TODD McFARLANE, LOUISE SIMONSON, MARK EVANIER, and others, plus art by KIRBY, DITKO, ROMITA, and more!

BACK TO SCHOOL ISSUE, covering major schools offering comic art as part of their curriculum, featuring faculty, student, and graduate interviews in an ultimate overview of collegiate-level comic art classes! Plus, a “how-to” demo/ interview with artist BILL REINHOLD, MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS’ COMIC ART BOOTCAMP series, a FREE WRITE NOW #17 PREVIEW, and more!

The ultimate resource for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages spotlights blockbuster summer movies, LEGO style! Go behind the scenes for new sets for BATMAN and INDIANA JONES, and see new models, including an SR-71 SPYPLANE and a LEGO CITY, plus MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATIONS, BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS, tour the ONLINE LEGO FACTORY, and more! Edited by JOE MENO.

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SILVER AGE SCI-FI COMPANION

BEST OF WRITE NOW!

BEST OF DRAW! VOL. 3

In the Silver Age of Comics, space was the place, and this book summarizes, critiques and lovingly recalls the classic science-fiction series edited by JULIUS SCHWARTZ and written by GARDNER FOX and JOHN BROOME! The pages of DC’s science-fiction magazines of the 1960s, STRANGE ADVENTURES and MYSTERY IN SPACE, are opened for you, including story-bystory reviews of complete series such as ADAM STRANGE, ATOMIC KNIGHTS, SPACE MUSEUM, STAR ROVERS, STAR HAWKINS and others! Writer/editor MIKE W. BARR tells you which series crossed over with each other, behind-the-scenes secrets, and more, including writer and artist credits for every story! Features rare art by CARMINE INFANTINO, MURPHY ANDERSON, GIL KANE, SID GREENE, MIKE SEKOWSKY, and many others, plus a glorious new cover by ALAN DAVIS and PAUL NEARY!

Features highlights from the acclaimed magazine about writing for comics, including interviews from top talents, like: BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, WILL EISNER, JEPH LOEB, STAN LEE, J. M. STRACZYNSKI, MARK WAID, GEOFF JOHNS, TODD McFARLANE, PAUL LEVITZ, AXEL ALONSO, and others! Plus “NUTS & BOLTS” tutorials feature scripts from landmark comics and the pencil art that was drawn from them, including: CIVIL WAR #1 (MILLAR & McNIVEN), BATMAN: HUSH #1 (LOEB & LEE), ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #47 (BENDIS & BAGLEY), AMAZING SPIDERMAN #539 (STRACZYNSKI & GARNEY), SPAWN #52 (McFARLANE & CAPULO), GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1 (JOHNS & VAN SCRIVER), and more! Also: How-to articles by the best comics writers and editors around, professional secrets of top comics pros, and an introduction by STAN LEE! Edited by DANNY FINGEROTH.

Compiles more of the best tutorials and interviews from DRAW! #5-7, including: Penciling by MIKE WIERINGO! Illustration

by DAN BRERETON! Design by PAUL RIVOCHE! Drawing Hands, Lighting the Figure, and Sketching by BRET BLEVINS! Cartooning by BILL WRAY! Inking by MIKE MANLEY! Comics & Animation by STEPHEN DeSTEFANO! Digital Illustration

by CELIA CALLE and ALBERTO RUIZ! Caricature by ZACH TRENHOLM, and much more! Cover by DAN BRERETON!

MODERN MASTERS VOLUME 16: MIKE ALLRED

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KIRBY FIVE-OH! (JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #50) The regular columnists from THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR magazine celebrate the best of everything from Jack Kirby’s 50-year career, spotlighting: The BEST KIRBY STORIES & COVERS from 19381987! Jack’s 50 BEST UNUSED PIECES OF ART! His 50 BEST CHARACTER DESIGNS! Interviews with the 50 PEOPLE MOST INFLUENCED BY KIRBY’S WORK! A 50PAGE KIRBY PENCIL ART GALLERY and DELUXE COLOR SECTION! Kirby cover inked by DARWYN COOKE, and an introduction by MARK EVANIER, making this the ultimate retrospective on the career of the “King” of comics! Edited by JOHN MORROW. (168-page tabloid-size trade paperback) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905894 Diamond Order Code: JUL078147 Now Shipping

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(256-page trade paperback) $29.95 ISBN: 9781893905917 Diamond Order Code: JAN083936

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ALTER EGO (12 issues) Six-issue subs are half-price!

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BRICKJOURNAL (4 issues)

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Features an extensive, career-spanning interview lavishly illustrated with rare art from Mike’s files, plus huge sketchbook section, including unseen and unused art!

By ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON. (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905863 Diamond Order Code: JAN083937

COMICS GO HOLLYWOOD Unveils secrets behind your FAVORITE ONSCREEN HEROES, and how a character goes from the comics page to the big screen! It includes: Storyboards from DC’s animated hit “THE NEW FRONTIER”, JEPH LOEB on writing for Marvel Comics and the Heroes TV show, details on the UNSEEN X-MEN MOVIE, a history of the JOKER from the 1940s to the upcoming Dark Knight film, and a look at Marvel Universe co-creator JACK KIRBY’s Hollywood career, with extensive Kirby art!

(32-page comic) FREE! at your local comics retailer on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, May 3, 2008!

TwoMorrows. Celebrating The Art & History Of Comics.

TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com