Issuu

Roy Thomas’ Merry Marvel Comics Fanzine

No.50 July 2005

5.95

In the USA

Sub-Mariner, Thing, Thor, & Vision TM & ©2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Conan TM & ©2005 Conan Properties, Inc.; Red Sonja TM & ©2005 Red Sonja Properties, Inc.; Caricature ©2005 Estate of Alfredo Alcala

Vol. 3, No. 50 / July 2005 Editor

™

Roy Thomas Shamelessly Celebrates 50 Issues of A/E, Vol. 3— & 40 Years Since Modeling With Millie #44!

Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout Christopher Day

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor P.C. Hamerlinck

Comic Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert

Editors Emeritus Jerry Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White, Mike Friedrich

Production Assistant Eric Nolen-Weathington

Cover Artists Alfredo Alcala, John Buscema, & Jack Kirby Jerry Ordway

Cover Colorist Alfredo Alcala (portrait), Tom Ziuko

And Special Thanks to: Alfredo Alcala, Jr. Christian Voltan Alcala Estelita Alcala Heidi Amash Heather Antonelli Bob Bailey Jeff Bailey Mark Beazley John Benson Dominic Bongo Bob Brodsky Rich Buckler Mike Burkey William Cain R. Dewey Cassell Ernie Chan Lynda Fox Cohen Teresa R. Davidson Michael Dewally Shel Dorf Michael Dunne Jennie-Lynn Falk Shane Foley Jeff Fox Carl Gafford Janet Gilbert Dick Giordano Glen David Gold Stan Goldberg Bob Greenberger Curt Griff Ian Hamerlinck Jennifer Hamerlinck David G. Hamilton Daniel Herman Richard Howell Karen Hughes Stan Lee Larry Lieber Alan Light

Allen Logan Linda Long Don Mangus Sam Maronie Mike Mikulovsky Al Milgrom Fred Mommsen Brian K. Morris Frank Motler Owen O’Leary Denny O’Neil Dave Newton Jerry Ordway Tom Palmer George Pérez Don Perlin Mike Phoenix John G. Pierce Nick Pope Greg Preston Richard Pryor Ethan Roberts Peter Sanderson Eric Schumacher Carole Seuling Gwen Seuling Marie Severin Rick Shurgin David Siegel Keif Simon Joe & Betty Sinnott Paul Smith Zack Smith Britt Stanton Flo Steinberg Marc Swayze Dann Thomas Maggie Thompson Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Tom Wimbish Michele Wolfman

This issue is dedicated by Roy to his mother–––MRS. LEONA THOMAS

Contents Writer/Editorial: Make Mine Marvel!. . . . . . . . . . . 2 “Roy The Boy” In The Marvel Age Of Comics . . . . 4 Jim Amash interviews Roy Thomas about being Stan Lee’s “left-hand man” in the 1960s & early ’70s.

DC Comics 1965––And The Rest Of Roy’s Color-Splashed Career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Flip Us! About Our Cover: A kaleidoscopically collaborative combination of three great comic artists Roy worked with and admired in the 1960s and ’70s: Alfredo Alcala, John Buscema, and Jack Kirby. The painted caricature by Alfredo was given to him as a birthday gift in 1981 and showed Rascally Roy as Conan, the Marvel-licensed hero on which the two had labored together until 1980, when R.T. ankled Marvel for DC for what turned out to be a six-year semi-exclusive stay. The three Marvel super-heroes drawn by Big John are from 1990s re-creations of his 1960s art—while the Conan/Red Sonja illo was a commission drawing. Jack penciled the Thing figure, complete with A/E-boosting sign, back in 1962, especially for A/E—and it was inked for V1#4 by A/E’s founding editor/publisher Jerry G. Bails. Thanks to Alfredo’s widow Mrs. Estelita Alcala and to his sons Christian Voltan Alcala and Alfredo Alcala, Jr., for permission to use the caricature—to Owen O’Leary for copies of John’s re-creations (sent at the time of our tribute to John in A/E #15-16)—and to the Jack Kirby Estate (and JGB) for their blessings re bashful Ben Grimm. [Art ©2005 Estates of Alfredo Alcala, John Buscema, & Jack Kirby, respectively; Sub-Mariner, Thor, Vision, & Thing TM & ©2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Conan TM & ©2005 Conan Properties, Inc.; Red Sonja TM & ©2005 Red Sonja Properties, Inc.] Above: The indefatigable and talented Shane Foley decided—“on a whim,” he says—to draw, “maybe for a border or something,” these horizontal and vertical groupings of a few of the many heroes Roy has handled over the past four decades… and Ye Ed liked the concept so much that it became our contents page art. Most of these guys Roy merely scripted a fair number of stories about—others he co-created, whether for Marvel, DC, or (in one case) Dennis Mallonee’s Heroic Publishing. Shane even worked in Superman fighting H.G. Wells’ Martians, as delineated on p. 19 on our flip side. Thanks, mate! You did yourself proud yet again! [Art ©2005 Shane Foley; characters TM & ©2005 their respective trademark & copyright holders.] Alter EgoTM is published monthly by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $8 ($10 Canada, $11.00 elsewhere). Twelve-issue subscriptions: $60 US, $120 Canada, $132 elsewhere. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM of P.C. Hamerlinck. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING.

51 LEW SAYER SCHWARTZ & THE MARK OF (BOB) KANE

COMING IN AUGUST

Plus: THE GOLDEN & SILVER AGES OF AUSTRALIA! • Full-color Batman vintage-1950s cover by LEW SAYRE SCHWARTZ! • LEW SAYRE SCHWARTZ—BOB KANE’s “ghost” from 1946-1953—interviewed by JON B. COOKE about his life and work! Plus Batman art by JERRY ROBINSON, DICK SPRANG, SHELDON MOLDOFF, WIN MORTIMER, JIM MOONEY, & others! • “The Life and Death of the Australian Comics Industry – 1940-1962!” Dr. Mensana —Captain Atom (no lie!)—Molo the Mighty—Sir Falcon—The Panther—The Shadow (no, not that one—or that one, either!)—Air Hawk—plus the astonishing “Down Under” career of The Phantom—examined by MICHAEL BAULDERSTONE! With a giant kangaroo’s pouch full of super-hero art rarely seen in the Northern Hemisphere! • DAVE BERG talks to JIM AMASH about Timely/Marvel, Fawcett, & Quality— with art from Uncle Sam, Combat Kelly, etc.—ALEX TOTH on comic art— MICHAEL T. GILBERT on the legacy of WILL EISNER—BILL SCHELLY interviews 1960s fan GLEN JOHNSON—FCA with MARC SWAYZE, OTTO BINDER, & C.C. BECK—& MORE!! Edited by ROY THOMAS

SUBSCRIBE NOW! Twelve Issues in the US: $60 Standard, $96 First Class (Canada: $120, Elsewhere: $132 Surface, $180 Airmail). NOTE: IF YOU PREFER A SIX-ISSUE SUB, JUST CUT THE PRICE IN HALF!

TwoMorrows. Bringing New Life To Comics Fandom. TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com

Submit Something To Alter Ego! Alter Ego is on the lookout for items that can be utilized in upcoming issues: • Convention Sketches and Program Books • 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 32 Bluebird Trail St. Matthews, SC 29135 Fax: (803)826-6501 • E-mail: roydann@ntinet.com

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@ntinet.com 2) An ASCII or “plain text” file, supplied on floppy disk. 3) Typed, xeroxed, or laser printed pages.

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Article Title Topline writer/editorial

Make Mine Marvel!

Roy Celebrates 40 Years Since Modeling With Mille # 44–––And 50 Issues of A/E, Vol. 3!

ike I was saying in my editorial on the flip side—you may find it a wee bit tricky to decide which side of this issue you read first!

That’s partly because my first staff job in New York in late June of 1965, almost exactly forty years ago, was for “Superman” line editor Mort Weisinger at National/DC, which might seem to make that point (plus my two Charlton stories written that spring) the logical place to start. But the Weisinger stint lasted only two truncated weeks—one, if you’re the type of person who counts something as a job only if you actually get paid for it—and by Friday afternoon of Week Two, I was on staff at Marvel Comics, working for Stan Lee, as detailed on the flip side. That gig lasted just over fifteen years before I returned to DC—maybe just to prove I’m not in the habit of changing jobs every fortnight. As per usual, I had far more ambitious aims for this 50th issue than I was fated to realize. You can blame Jim Amash for that (I certainly do): even though we’d decided he’d interview me only about my late-1960s work at Marvel, Jim had so many good questions about that period (admittedly spilling over into the early ’70s now and then) that our talk takes up this entire half of the mag, and even squeezed nearly all our ads onto the other side. Well, since this celebration of my 40th year as a comics writer is a “1965-2005” kind of thing, it seems fitting that, if

something had to get short shrift this ish, it would be the middle and later years—and even they are covered, at least in passing, in the Checklist on the other side. Even though, in the 11th hour, publisher John Morrow and I agreed to bite the bullet and add eight more pages this month (bringing the count to 108 for this doubly special issue), several things had to be jettisoned: the “re:” section (sigh)—my long-delayed final article on All-Star Squadron #1 (as a lead-in to the upcoming All-Star Companion, Vol. 2)—a piece written with Jean-Marc Lofficier on our work together in the late 1980s on several issues of The Young All-Stars—as well as coverage of my 1972-74 stint as Marvel’s editor-in-chief, and my work with Conan and other heroes created by pulp fictioneer Robert E. Howard, with which I’ve become not unhappily identified. Oh, well—gives us something to shoot for in future issues—including A/E #100, right? And now, with no further ado—except for the art and caption below—we’ll let Jim Amash march us through the merry mine-fields of Marvel….

ALTER EGO

CELEBRATES

FABULOUS ISSUES!

Since A/E has two pairs of “maskots,” who generally appear in alternate issues, our agile Australian artistic adaptoid Shane Foley volunteered to assemble this striking collage of all four guys for #50’s “re:” section—but since there isn’t one this month, we’ve printed it here! As Shane informs us, Alter & Captain Ego (at left) were derived from figures of Rick Jones and Adam Warlock drawn by Gil Kane in Captain Marvel #21 (Aug. 1970) and Marvel Premiere #2 (May ’72), respectively—while Alter Ego and Rob Lindsay come from John Buscema-penciled figures for Sub-Mariner #1 (the 1968 one!) and Avengers #97 (March ’72)—with multi-hero sidekick Rick Jones doing double duty as both teenagers. Nice work, Shane! Roy loved seeing what these creations might’ve looked like if drawn by two of his favorite artistic collaborators! [Art ©2005 Shane Foley; Alter & Capt. Ego TM & ©2005 Roy Thomas & Bill Schelly (created by Biljo White); Alter Ego & Rob Lindsay TM & ©2005 Roy & Dann Thomas.]

Bestest,

“Roy The Boy” In The Marvel Age Of Comics Rascally Roy Thomas Talks About Being Stan Lee’s “Left-Hand Man” In The 1960s & Early ’70s Interview Conducted by Jim Amash

Transcribed by Tom Wimbish

NTERVIEWER’S INTRO: Roy WHO?? —Jim.

“My First Official Job Title At Marvel Was ‘Staff Writer’” JIM AMASH: You worked at DC for a week or so before you went to Marvel. Did DC hire you as an assistant editor? ROY THOMAS: I don’t know if that term was ever used, but that’s what it amounted to. I was the assistant to Mort Weisinger, who was the editor of the “Superman” line of comics. JA: Was there an expectation—from you or them—that you would write as well as edit? THOMAS: Well, I’d already written a “Jimmy Olsen” script a few months before, while still living and teaching in the St. Louis area. Mort

“They Call ’Em ‘Associate Editors’ Because They’re The Only Ones Who’ll Associate With The Editor!” Roy Thomas (left) and A/E associate editor/ace interviewer Jim Amash, conspiring about the mag at the 2004 Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. Seen in front of Jim is a Spider-Man Sunday newspaper strip on which he was then assisting regular inker Joe Sinnott. [Photo ©2005 Sam Maronie.]

had me advanced fifty bucks when I sent it in—which helped with my one-way plane fare to New York—and I was to rewrite the story later. I worked at DC for eight days in late June and very early July of 1965. During that time, Mort mentioned that [DC Flash-JLA editor] Julie Schwartz had expressed an interest in me doing some writing for him. He didn’t say if I’d be writing more “Superman,” but I was never told there was a policy against it. [NOTE: See “Two Weeks with Mort Weisinger” on our flip side.] JA: Then you were hired by Marvel. Were you hired as editorial staff, or was there a discussion about writing? THOMAS: I was hired after taking Stan’s “writer’s test,” and my first official job title at Marvel was “staff writer.” I wasn’t hired as an editor or assistant editor. I was supposed to come in 40 hours a week and write scripts on staff. Not exactly the easiest thing in the world. I sat at this corrugated metal desk with a typewriter in a small office with production manager Sol Brodsky and corresponding secretary Flo

The Page That Launched A Thousand Scripts The one page Roy still has of the “writer’s test” Stan gave out to would-be scripters in the mid-’60s. The test consisted of story pages 19-22 of Kirby/Stone art from Fantastic Four Annual #2, with all balloons and captions removed, which the testee was to dialogue “Marvel style.” In July 1965, Roy apparently passed the test and got the job. [©2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Rascally Roy Thomas Talks About The 1960s & Early ’70s

“Millie” titles could be done freelance, but other writing was to be counted as staff. I said I couldn’t write in the office during the day. I’ve never been great at shutting out noise—and besides, they kept asking me to do this or that, or questions like in which issue something happened, or Stan would come in to check something, because I knew a lot about Marvel continuity up to that time. (Of course, there wasn’t nearly as much of it then as there is now, so it wasn’t that hard.)

Steinberg. Everybody who came up to Marvel wound up there, and the phone was constantly ringing, with conversations going on all around me. Stan was in and out, too. Almost at once, even though Stan proofed all the finished stories, he and Sol started having me check the corrections before they went out, and that would break up my concentration still further. I loved the job in general, but I couldn’t get much writing done from 9 to 5, so I started staying late. I sometimes worked alone in the office in the darkened building until 8 or 9, as well as at Dave Kaler’s Lower East Side apartment where I lived for several months. I’d put transparent tracing paper over the original artwork, lay out the balloons, then rough in the dialogue in longhand, all capital letters. Gene Colan’s first “Iron Man” story, in Tales of Suspense #73, was my first stab at writing a Marvel super-hero, after doing one or two “Millies.” When I turned in the “Iron Man,” I was told I wouldn’t get paid extra for writing it, even though I’d done it outside office hours. It was explained that the two

Giving Credits Where Credits Are Due Roy Thomas (left) and Gene Colan (right), as seen in a photographic “rogues’ gallery” in the 1969 Fantastic Four Annual—plus R.T.’s first-ever Marvel super-hero splash, from Tales of Suspense #73 (Jan. 1966), with pencils by Gene (as “Adam Austin”) and inks by Jack Abel (as “Gary Michaels”). Stan Lee, who’d plotted the tale with Gene, rewrote so much of Roy’s script on this, Gene’s first “Iron Man” story—roughly 50%, by Roy’s estimates—that he made it one of the very rare Marvel stories with no itemized credits. FYI: Sol Brodsky was production manager, Flo Steinberg corresponding secretary, and Marie Severin colored the story. To quote Stan: “Whew!” [©2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Three Offices, Five Characters – July 1965 (Left to right:) Stan Lee (the beard is post-’65)—Sol Brodsky—Marie Severin—Roy Thomas & Flo Steinberg at Flo’s desk circa ’65-’66. The photos of Stan, Sol, and Marie are from the 1969 F.F. Annual, while Flo’s personal photo of her and Roy is reproduced from Les Daniels’ 1991 book Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World’s Greatest Comics. [Photos ©2005 the respective copyright holders.]

It quickly became apparent to them, too, that the staff writer thing wasn’t working, and Stan segued me over to being being an editorial assistant, which immediately worked out better for all concerned. I don’t know if I was ever given that official title; they just stopped thinking of me as a staff writer. I don’t recall if I got paid extra for the next super-hero scripting I did—two Ditko “Dr. Strange” stories I dialogued [in Strange Tales #143-144]—but I got paid as freelance for everything I wrote after that. And I never did any of it in the office, not even on my lunch hour.

Two Weeks With Mort Weisinger Or, Four Years With An Angry Mob (Take Your Pick) A Reminiscence by Roy Thomas

his article saw print, in a slightly different form, in Comic Book Marketplace #58 (April 1998), in conjunction with other material about longtime DC editor Mort Weisinger. I was asked to write a few paragraphs for a sidebar on my brief experience with him, and got carried away, as is my wont. Article ©2005 Roy Thomas. Our thanks to Russ Cochran for his blessing to reprint it here, and to Brian K. Morris for a typing assist. Since I was one of Mort Weisinger’s “discoveries”— though maybe “fiascos” is the word he’d have used—I felt it was high time I exorcised a few demons by writing about him. Back in early-’60s comics fandom, Mort’s six “Superman” titles, clearly aimed at a younger audience than fellow DC editor Julius Schwartz’s mags, were pretty much taken for granted and rarely discussed in fanzines. Alter Ego, for instance, devoted a lot of space to the Justice Society and Captain Marvel, but practically none to the super-hero who’d started it all. Because I corresponded from 1960-65 with Julie Schwartz, I knew he and Mort had been friends since even before they’d published one of the very first science-fiction fanzines back in the ’30s, but I knew little else about Mort. Still, when I wrote virtually my only fan letter to a “Superman” mag—one concerning Herko the Monster in a “Lois Lane” tale, because he reminded me of old Captain Marvel creatures (and why not? the artist was Kurt Schaffenberger!)— Weisinger responded with a courteous letter. As I did with every other pro I knew of, I sent him freebie copies of A/E [Vol. 1] #7-8 in ’64 and early ’65.

Time Travellers Two This photo of longtime friends and DC editors Mort Weisinger (seated) and Julius Schwartz—who as teenagers had launched The Time Traveller, one of the first sciencefiction fanzines, and had soon opened an sf literary agency—appeared in The Amazing Worlds of DC Comics #3 (Nov. 1974). But it had probably been taken a few years earlier, since Mort retired in 1970 and passed away in 1978.

Then, in spring of ’65, only days after accepting a graduate fellowship in foreign relations that was to be my ticket out of teaching high school, I received a second letter from Weisinger—offering me a trial position at National/DC as his assistant. My fellow teacher Albert Tindall—the guy who’d wangled the fellowship for me and who’d go on to become a prominent attorney in Missouri—was dumbfounded that, after

Superman’s Pal, Roy Thomas Roy, seen at left circa 1947-48, was clearly already a Superman fan by age 7—nearly two decades away from writing the script that would form the basis of the story “The Dragon Delinquent!” in Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #91 (March 1966). Art by Pete Costanza; script by Leo Dorfman. What? Never heard that R.T. was associated with that particular tale? Read on! The photo, by the way, was the sole visual that appeared with this article when it was originally published in Comic Book Marketplace. With thanks to Mrs. Leona Thomas. [©2005 DC Comics.]

pacing our apartment for half an hour, I accepted Mort’s offer and turned my back on an academic career. But, having sent two sample comics scripts earlier to Julie, and having just sold two scripts to Charlton, I wasn’t about to turn down a chance to work in the comics industry! (Besides, truth to tell, I had till summer’s end to formally reject the fellowship, so I could hedge my bets.) Mort offered me a starting salary of $110 a week (about what I was then making as a teacher) and a two-month trial period. I borrowed and read a box full of “Superman” comics from my friend Biljo White, bought a new suit—and waited eagerly for summer. During that time I spoke only once with Mort on the phone. One day he called me at school, out of the blue, for a reason I can’t recall. All I remember of the brief conversation is his speaking of “the Superman mythology.” By then I’d come to respect, at least to a certain extent, what he was doing with Bizarro, Imaginary Stories, way too many surviving Kryptonians, and all those shades of Kryptonite. At his invitation, I also wrote a “Jimmy Olsen” script in which the young reporter went undercover to join a youthful street gang. I felt it needed more pages than the usual eight, but Mort said that was impossible, so I wrote it in eight and sent it off. Mort soon advised me that he wanted a rewrite, but said that could follow when I got to New York. I was paid a $50 advance (the rate was $10 a page), to help pay for the air flight out. And so, on the last Monday in June, I arrived in Manhattan in the midst of a taxi strike, and carried my one suitcase and portable electric typewriter more than a dozen blocks to the DC offices at 575 Lexington Avenue. I was so excited that I accidentally passed right by the Standard Brands Building wherein DC was located, and had to backtrack a couple of blocks carrying my increasingly heavy load. That day I met Mort Weisinger—and everything started to go wrong.

“The Company He Keeps…” The Comic Buyer’s Guide’s 1999-2000 Poll Of Comic Book “Favorites”

by Peter Sanderson, with Roy Thomas

oy here, relating all art captions and italicized paragraphs that follow—with Peter’s analysis in non-italicized text below: In issues dated January 2000, the popular tabloidformat Comic Buyer’s Guide, under editor Maggie Thompson, conducted a wide-ranging poll of comic book fans and professionals alike concerning their “Favorite” writers, editors, artists, stories, companies, etc., of the 20th century—while emphasizing that “Favorite” is not necessarily the same thing as “Best.”

While naturally no poll of this sort can ever be anything like definitive, the project was intriguing as the major experiment of its kind— and I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t both surprised and gratified, when the results were announced, to find myself ranked #5 among “Favorite Writers” and #4 among “Favorite Editors.” If, as they say, a man is known by the company he keeps, I was pleased to find myself in some very formidable company—and while I wouldn’t argue overmuch with those who’d place me somewhat (or even considerably) lower on those particular totem poles, I decided to use the occasion of this 50th issue of Alter Ego to recapitulate and comment upon the selection, half a decade later. All specific art and photos, incidentally, have been added for this A/E presentation. The CBG poll was conducted and its results announced on three levels, as explained and defined in the magazine itself: the voting of “General Fandom,” of “Comics Professionals,” and “CBG Readers.” The results in the three areas were listed separately, with the top 13 to

15 choices listed in the first two divisions, and The cover of Comic Buyer’s Guide #1365 (Jan. 14, the top 26 to 30 2000), which spotlighted the poll of pros and fans in the “CBG” examined in this article. Art by John Drury. division. The [©2005 Krause Publications, Inc.] results are roughly summarized below after each division. The Comic Buyer’s Guide gave special prominence to the five “Favorite” creators in each category as averaged from the above three divisions; so it’s those choices that are analyzed below, in brief professional biographies written by comics historian and longtime Marvel staffer Peter Sanderson. While this issue covers only the “Writer” and “Editor” choices, it is planned that in a near-future issue Peter will discuss the results of the poll in artistic and other categories. And a special thanks to Maggie Thompson, senior editor of Comic Buyer’s Guide, and to Krause Publications, for permission to utilize this one-of-a-kind poll. And now, with no further ado, I turn you over to the blandishments of Peter Sanderson….

The Favorite Editors of the Century (1) STAN LEE. Starting out as a teenage “go-fer” at Timely Comics in the early 1940s, Stan Lee quickly

The Not-So-Secret Origins Of Marvel Comics Stan Lee in the mid-1970s—plus the splash pages of the two most important stories he ever edited (as well as wrote). Fantastic Four #1 (Oct. 1961) inaugurated a new approach to super-heroes with dynamic penciler/coplotter Jack Kirby and an unidentified inker—while in Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962) Stan as editor replaced the redoubtable Kirby with Steve Ditko as artist of the very first “Spider-Man” tale, thereby mutating that “new approach” yet further, since Ditko would prove to be unsurpassed in his ability to convey everyday emotion and events in a super-hero feature. The instincts shown in both these choices are what make for a great editor, though of course he had the ideal writer working for him, as well—namely, himself. [©2005 Marvel Characters.]

“The Company He Keeps...” rose to become editor-in-chief of the comics company now known as Marvel. At points during the late 1950s, he was the only person on staff, keeping the company functioning during those dark times. Having survived for two decades, in 1961 Stan Lee started the revolution that transformed both Marvel and the American comic book industry. In collaboration with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko and other major talents, he co-created a pantheon of new super-heroes for a new generation: Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, The X-Men, Thor, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, and more. By endowing his characters with multidimensional personalities, Lee opened the way to super-hero comics for older, more sophisticated readers. He encouraged his artists to give him visually dynamic storytelling that altered the look of comics. Through his editorial supervision and vivid dialogue, he placed his personal stamp on all the comics that together comprised the new “Marvel Universe.” Every Marvel writer since has been working within the framework that Stan Lee established back in the 1960s. (2) JULIUS SCHWARTZ. Had he never worked in comics, Julius Schwartz would still be a major figure in the history of American popular culture. He was a cofounder of science-fiction fandom, who went on to become the first literary agent specializing in science-fiction, fostering brilliant new talents such as Ray Bradbury. In the 1940s he began a new career as a comics editor at All-American Comics, an affiliate of National/DC, but it was beginning in the 1950s that he truly made his mark. In Showcase #4 in 1956, he introduced a new version of one of DC’s Golden Age characters, The Flash, thereby inaugurating the great revival of the super-hero genre now known as the Silver Age of Comics. Schwartz also oversaw the creation of the Silver Age Green Lantern, Atom, and Hawkman, a revival of The Spectre, new characters such as Adam Strange, and the Justice League of America. Within a decade he revamped “Batman” not once but twice, first

The Julie Age Of Comics Julius Schwartz (above) in uncharacteristically formal attire—next to the cover of one of at least four comic book issues he edited which must be deemed his most important. Showcase #4 would have to take first prize, of course, for its relaunching of a new “Flash”—followed by Showcase #29 (“Green Lantern”) and The Brave and the Bold #28 (“Justice League of America”)—but probably fourth on the list would be The Flash #123 (Sept. 1961), which, by resuscitating the original Flash and introducing the concept of “Earth-Two,” paved the way for the return of the DC’s 1940s heroes and a widening of the DC Universe that lasted till the 1985-86 Crisis on Infinite Earths. Of those four Julie-edited covers and tales—well, since the CBG poll was one of “favorites,” Roy felt justified in spotlighting Flash #123. The story (and the Earth-Two concept, as well as the 1940s Flash himself) was co-conceived by scripter Gardner Fox—but then, one of an editor’s most essential qualities is the ability to pick good writers. Photo from the Julius Schwartz Collection, with thanks to Robert Greenberger. [Flash cover ©2005 DC Comics.]

through the “New Look” modernization circa 1964, and then, following the “camp” TV show disaster, by returning Batman to his “Dark Knight” roots, a characterization that endures today. In the 1970s he worked the same magic on the moribund “Superman” series, revitalizing it for another decade and a half. At his death in 2004, Schwartz was not only hailed as a giant of the comics medium but as a beloved figure by fans and pros alike. (3) ARCHIE GOODWIN. Universally acknowledged among his fellow professionals as a consummate craftsman in comics writing, Archie Goodwin even had an greater impact on the medium through his long career as an editor. Inspired by the classic EC Comics, he worked as an associate editor and writer on a remarkable assortment of visually dazzling stories in Warren Publishing’s horror and war magazines. He served for two years as Marvel’s editor-in-chief during the 1970s, but was more comfortable in his long reign presiding over Marvel’s Epic division in the 1980s. This line of creatorowned comics not only pushed the envelope of sophistication in mainstream comics but empowered talented comics professionals to try their wings beyond the confines of the work-for-hire system. Goodwin and Epic set a precedent for the alternative comics companies of today. Following one of Marvel’s recurring upheavals, he returned to DC, where he had briefly edited in the 1970s, (Almost) Everything’s and oversaw such Archie! series as “Starman.” We wanted to show Continuing to work something edited by but not despite his long, written by Archie Goodwin debilitating bout during his early years as with cancer, Archie editor of the b&w horror Goodwin passed comic Creepy, but it wasn’t as away in 1998, and is easy as you’d think—because Archie (seen above) wrote much missed by the virtually the entire contents entire comic book of that mag (and of Blazing industry. Combat). So we settled on this tale from Creepy #15 written and drawn by Johnny Craig, who had likewise been a writer/artist (and editor) at EC during the 1950s. [©1991 Harris Publications.]

(4) ROY THOMAS. Like Julius Schwartz, Roy Thomas’ story begins with a fanzine—in his case, as co-editor of the pioneering Alter-Ego, whose latter-day descendant you now hold in your hands. After a very brief and unhappy stint working for DC editor Mort Weisinger, he joined the then-tiny staff at Marvel Comics. When Stan Lee moved up to the post of publisher in 1972, Thomas stepped up as

The Angels of Alter Ego A Too-Brief Intro To Five Who Made A/E What It Is Today—Whatever That Is! by Roy Thomas

ou don’t get to 50 issues of a magazine like Alter Ego—or at least I didn’t—without the enthusiastic help of people who are just as nutty about the subject matter as the editor is.

Actually, in A/E’s case, there are seven people in particular I ought to thank—eight, if I count my old friend Jerry G. Bails, who founded the fanzine in 1961 and has given inestimable help to this volume, as well— because I should definitely include John Morrow, the lesser half of TwoMorrows Publishing, and TwoMorrows staffer Eric NolenWeathington, who’s been aboard for several years himself. But, alas, we’ll have to cover John and Eric another time. (Oh, and thanks to Jon B. Cooke for convincing me to revive A/E in 1998!) But I did whatever squeezing had to be done in order to introduce the four guys who basically edit their own segments of each issue before I get a chance at them, plus one who then assembles the magazine from the marked-up text files and art copies I ship him each month. Bill Schelly has been listed as associate editor since V3#1, and also handles

the vital “Comic Fandom Archive” section—Jim Amash came aboard with #11, at the time of his first A/E interview (with Vince Fago), and even helps with the proofreading of each issue—Michael T. Gilbert has been on hand every single time with his always-intriguing “Comic Crypt”—P.C. Hamerlinck segued his ambitious incarnation of FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) over into A/E with V3#1, and, just the like other three, has never missed a deadline! Neither has Christopher Day, who assumed layout responsibilities on the mag with #8, and over the past few years has bailed me out of innumerable tough spots— including this issue. At the last minute, I asked each of this fabulous fivesome to rush me brief auto-bios. So let’s hear a hearty hand for these tireless “Angels of Alter Ego”! Thanks, guys. I couldn’t do it without you. Fact is, as you well know—I can barely do it with you! But now, I’ll let you speak for yourselves…!

Bill Schelly

Jim Amash

I was born in 1951 in Walla Walla, Washington. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a writer. When I was a kid of 9 or 10, I wrote short stories and even tried to write a novel. With my discovery of comics fandom in 1964, I found my métier: fanzine publishing. I think I’ve had printer’s ink in my blood ever since.

I was always interested in art. I was fascinated by George “Superman” Reeves on television and started drawing him. But being a fickle sort at 5 years old, I diverted my attention to Batman when Adam West turned up in the cape and cowl in January of 1966. So I drew super-heroes and villains fighting on brown paper bags, in textbooks, on the living room walls (behind the couch, of course), on sidewalks, and in tunnels. I thought I had my future well in hand, because I was going to be a comic book artist.

I stayed active in fandom, publishing a slew of marginal-quality zines like Super-Heroes Anonymous, Fantasy Forum, Incognito, and my best-known, Sense of Wonder. But when I was rejected by DC’s “new talent” program in 1973, I drifted away from comics until I got my feet on the ground. My first book was Harry Langdon, a hardcover from Scarecrow Press, which came out in 1982.

I quickly learned there was more to being an artist than drawing heroes and villains knocking each other’s teeth out. My first grade history book was full of exciting stories about the founding of this country. The pages were full of detailed drawings, engravings, and painted scenes of Daniel Boone taming the wilderness, George Washington liberating the American Colonies from British rule, and Abraham Lincoln freeing the slaves and saving the Union. On television, I saw Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, and Roberto Clemente fighting a very different kind of battle. All these influences taught me that heroes come in all shapes, colors, uniforms, eras, and

In 1985, when I took a job in a building that also housed a comics specialty store, my interest in comic books was re-kindled, and it was just a year later than I opened Super Comics and Collectibles, the first comics store in Seattle’s University District. But it wasn’t until I linked up with some old fandom cronies in the pages of CAPA-Alpha that I began researching what became the first book-length history of fandom, The Golden Age of Comic Fandom (1995). In the course of writing and designing that book, I asked Roy Thomas if he would write its introduction. Thus began a sort of fandom partnership with the Rascally One that led to my role as associate editor of the new Alter Ego. In fact, I was the one who introduced John Morrow to Roy (at the 1997 Chicago comicon), which got the ball rolling. The past dozen years since my re-entry into the wonderful and wacky world of Comicdom have been the most creative and prolific times of my life. I love being a small part of the new Alter Ego story, and only wish there were more hours in the day so that I could contribute more. Oh, and one other thing: I haven’t lost my sense of wonder!

The Angels Of Alter Ego

cultures, and the variety of artistic renderings proved that there was more than one way to draw the stories I wanted to tell. Eventually I told my stories in different venues. I made my own comics until I went to college. Once there, I focused my attention on drawing portraits and landscapes, which tell their own kinds of stories. Inspired by fine artists past and present, I used the landscape as a tool to comment on people and the places they lived in. I also illustrated stories for a small local newspaper, did a radio talk show, ran the Acme Comics shop, and put on many well-received conventions, until I became a professional comic book inker. I wasn’t telling enough stories in enough areas to suit me. Even though I appreciated the attention I got at comic conventions for the work I did, I felt a certain frustration whenever I saw older artists and writers being neglected by fans. Fortunately, the opportunity to rectify the situation presented itself when Roy restarted Alter Ego. I’m in my fifth year of interviewing and writing about the people who helped build this vital storytelling medium, and expect to continue for as long as I can. People like Gill Fox, Stan Goldberg, Dave Gantz, Matt Baker, Herb Rogoff, Sam Burlockoff, Ernie Schroeder, and all the rest deserve no less. And in the meantime, I still tell my own stories in my own way, through the other work that I do.

My Life In Two Paragraphs! By Michael T. Gilbert I’m just your average 54-year-old comic book nut. In addition to collecting funny-books, I also create comics from my studio in Eugene, Oregon. My first story appeared in 1973 in New Paltz Comix #1. Since then I’ve been privileged to write and/or draw such diverse characters as Elric, The Wraith, The Spirit, Superman, Dr. Strange, Radioactive Man, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck. My stories have appeared in Batman: Legends Of The Dark Knight, Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories, Disney Adventures, Heavy Metal magazine, Slow Death, American Splendor, Star*Reach, and Quack! Quite an eclectic bunch! However, I’m mainly known for my monster-fighting super-hero, Mr. Monster, which I created in 1984. My Alter Ego career began in 1998 in the first TwoMorrows issue, back when it was still connected to Comic Book Artist. However, in the interests of journalistic accuracy, I actually began working on A/E in 1978, when I colored the cover of the very last issue of the first series! (This was the Bill Everett tribute cover, recently reprinted with new colors.) Since 1998, I’ve somehow produced over 50 installments of “Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt” for Alter Ego magazine. Whew! Thanks go to Roy Thomas, John Morrow, and my fellow A/E contributors for making Alter Ego such a fun magazine! And extra-special thanks to my wife Janet for editing and improving my articles. What a sweetie!

Christopher Day Christopher Day doesn’t know what to write about himself, but Roy has been bugging him for a year to do so. He has been working on Alter Ego since issue #8, and having a ball doing so. He has also done a variety of other work for TwoMorrows, including laying out the first eight issues of Write Now! as well as several book projects, including Fawcett Companion, The Legion Companion, The Life and Times of Murphy Anderson, and The Best of the Legion Outpost. Originally from Maryland, outside of Washington, DC, Chris has lived in Chicago for over ten years now and does many things there, including performing improv, writing sketch comedy, and doing print and web design. He also recently graduated from Dominican University with a Master’s in Library and Information Science, because you can never be too busy and never have too many degrees. His performing career has included five years at Chicago’s famous ImprovOlympic theater, a stunning run as the singing-dancing C3PO in The Fandom Menace (a Star Wars musical parody), and two shows with the science-based sketch comedy group the Galileo Players. Chris has been collecting comics for over twenty years, although before that he did learn to read from Mad magazine, Spidey SuperStories, Howard the Duck, and Star Wars (thanks, Roy) comics back in the ’70s. You can see how obsessive he can be about comics at his web site Sequential Ellison: The Harlan Ellison Comic Book Bibliography (www.sequentialellison.com). He has written so many bios for programs that he can only refer to himself in the third person.

Fawcett Collectors Of America Much can be recalled of that period with Russell Keaton. I’m reminded of one of the visits by Rick Yager of Buck Rogers. In the Keaton studio, at Rick’s insistence to “help out,” he was handed a script including a scene to be penciled … a temporary supporting character kneeling on one knee … on a beach … holding something like maybe a jug with a note in it. It was understood that only the pencil work was needed … that I would be finishing it up with the pen. Further on, a glance over Rick’s shoulder told me the scene was being drawn carefully and well, although the character appeared to have just stepped over from the Buck Rogers page. A little later, at an appropriate moment, Russell whispered to me, “Make it look like our work!” “Our work!” Only two little words, but I can still hear them. “Our work!” Imagine … last year’s milkman included as part of the art of a great, great comic strip creator. Wonderful day! [More Golden Age memories from Marc Swayze next issue.]

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Touting Thomas Roy Thomas Spotlighted By John G. Pierce, P.C. Hamerlinck—And, Er, Roy Thomas

look at R.T.’s own special “Fawcett connection” over the years, as both fan and pro, as examined by regular contributor John G. Pierce and by FCA’s editor—and then, from an earlier issue of FCA, in RT’s own words….

I. A Tribute To A Fannish Influence by John G. Pierce Edited By P.C. Hamerlinck It was not long after I discovered Julius Schwartz’s early Silver Age comics, in the late 1950s, that I also discovered Roy Thomas. He was there, in those entertaining letter columns, and it was he who first referenced an earlier age of comicdom that I’d missed out on. It was Roy who first alluded to the original versions of The Flash, Green Lantern, and other characters. In fact, my own very first published letter, in The Flash, picked up on a point made by Roy in an earlier letter of his own. Not long after all that, in early 1961, Alter-Ego #1 turned up my mailbox. It was the first fanzine I’d ever seen or even heard of. And was I surprised that there his name was as co-editor of this marvelous publication? I no longer recall, but if so, I probably shouldn’t have been. Roy’s articles, not only in A/E but in other fanzines, as well, informed me about the Golden Age. He covered Timely’s All Winners Squad in A/E #2, for example.

Countdown to Xero FCA and Alter Ego have both printed the 1946-47 photo of Roy at age 6, sporting his Captain Marvel sweater—so we’ll lead off with this mid-1940s Fawcett house ad. The cover art from an oversize issue of Gift Comics, spotlighting Captain Marvel, Spy Smasher, Bulletman, Mr. Scarlet, Golden Arrow, and Ibis the Invincible, was adapted by R.T. as the title art for his article “Captain Billy’s Whiz Gang” in the 9th issue of the Lupoffs’ legendary sf/comics fanzine Xero in 1962. [Heroes TM & ©2005 DC Comics.]

In another fanzine named Spotlite, he wrote about Plastic Man. And then there was his entertaining “Captain Billy’s Whiz Gang” in the 9th issue of the Lupoffs’ Xero, which treated the other Fawcett stars such as Bulletman, Spy Smasher, et al. It was this piece, incidentally, which provided the first mention of Fawcett’s one-and-only attempt at a JSA-type group, the Crime Crusaders Club from Master Comics #41. But it wasn’t just articles. For Alter Ego, Roy also

Cap’n Biljo & Corporal Roy In 1964, fan-artist Biljo White let his fellow Missourian Roy research his virtually complete collection of comics featuring Captain Marvel and his offshoots for Roy’s Alley-winning article “One Man’s Family” in Alter Ego [Vol. 1] #7. For the illo at right, which accompanied the piece, Biljo adapted C.C. Beck’s classic cover for Marvel Family #10 (April 1947), on which Cap and kin are beating up Dr. Sivana’s. Wonder how they’d all have fared on Family Feud!? [Characters TM & ©2005 DC Comics.]

Alter Ego #50