Alter Ego #8 by TwoMorrows Publishing

Roy T Thomas homas’ Legendary Legendary Roy Comics F F anzine Comics anzine

Dan Adkins Michael T. Gilbert Roger Hill Bill Pearson & Bill Schelly

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No. 8 SPRING 2001

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(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “AllInterview Issue”! Part 2 of an exclusive STEVE ENGLEHART interview (continued from ALTER EGO #103)! “Pro2Pro” interviews between SIMONSON & LARSEN, MOENCH & WEIN, and comics letterers KLEIN & CHIANG. Plus JOHN OSTRANDER, MICHAEL USLAN, and longtime DC color artist ADRIENNE ROY! Cover by Englehart collaborator MARSHALL ROGERS!

“Gods!” Takes an in-depth look at WALTER SIMONSON’s Thor, the Thunder God in the Bronze Age, “Pro2Pro” interview with TOM DeFALCO and RON FRENZ, Hercules: Prince of Power, Moondragon, Three Ways to End the New Gods Saga, exclusive interview with fantasy writer MICHAEL MOORCOCK, art and commentary by GERRY CONWAY, JACK KIRBY, BOB LAYTON, and more, with a swingin’ Thor cover by SIMONSON!

“Liberated Ladies” eyeing female characters that broke barriers in the Bronze Age: Big Barda, Valkyrie, Ms. Marvel, Phoenix, Savage She-Hulk, and the sword-wielding Starfire. Plus a “Pro2Pro” interview with JILL THOMPSON, GAIL SIMONE, and BARBARA KESEL, art and commentary by JOHN BYRNE, GEORGE PEREZ, JACK KIRBY, MIKE VOSBURG, and more, with a new cover by BRUCE TIMM!

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THE BEST IN COMICS AND LEGO MAGAZINES!

ALTER EGO #105

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See comic art and script BEFORE and AFTER the Comics Code changes, with art by SIMON & KIRBY, DITKO, BUSCEMA, SINNOTT, GOULD, COLE, STERANKO, KRIGSTEIN, O’NEIL, GLANZMAN, ORLANDO, WILLIAMSON, HEATH, and others! Plus: FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, JIM AMASH interviews Timely/Atlas artist CAL MASSEY, and a new cover by JOSH MEDORS!

DICK GIORDANO through the 1960s—from freelance years and Charlton “Action-Heroes” to his first stint at DC! Art by DITKO, APARO, BOYETTE, MORISI, McLAUGHLIN, GIL KANE, and others, Dick’s final convention panel with STEVE SKEATES and ROY THOMAS, JIM AMASH interviews Charlton artist TONY TALLARICO, FCA with MARC SWAYZE and ROY ALD, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, BILL SCHELLY, GIORDANO cover, and more!

Big BATMAN issue, with an unused Golden Age cover by DICK SPRANG! SHEL DORF interviews SPRANG and JIM MOONEY, with rare and unseen Batman art by BOB KANE, JERRY ROBINSON, WIN MORTIMER, SHELLY MOLDOFF, CHARLES PARIS, and others! Part II of the TONY TALLARICO interview by JIM AMASH! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

1970s Bullpenner WARREN REECE talks about Marvel Comics and working with EVERETT, BURGOS, ROMITA, STAN LEE, MARIE SEVERIN, ADAMS, FRIEDRICH, ROY THOMAS, and others, with rare art! DEWEY CASSELL spotlights Golden Age artist MIKE PEPPE, with art by TOTH, ANDRU, TUSKA, CELARDO, & LUBBERS, plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, cover by EVERETT & BURGOS, and more!

Interview with inker SCOTT WILLIAMS from his days at Marvel and Image to his work with JIM LEE, and PATRICK OLIFFE demos how he produces Spider-Girl, Mighty Samson, and digital comics. Also, MIKE MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS’ “Comic Art Bootcamp”, a “Rough Critique” of a newcomer’s work by BOB McLEOD, art supply reviews by “Crusty Critic” JAMAR NICHOLAS, and more!

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LEE & KIRBY: THE WONDER YEARS (KIRBY COLLECTOR #58)

Special double-size book examines the first decade of the FANTASTIC FOUR, and the events that put into motion the Marvel Age of Comics! New interviews with STAN LEE, FLO STEINBERG, MARK EVANIER, JOE SINNOTT, and others, with a wealth of historical information and Kirby artwork!

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“Kirby Vault!” Rarities from the “King” of comics: Personal correspondence, private photos, collages, rare Marvelmania art, bootleg album covers, sketches, transcript of a 1969 VISIT TO THE KIRBY HOME (where Jack answers the questions YOU’D ask in ‘69), MARK EVANIER, pencil art from the FOURTH WORLD, CAPTAIN AMERICA, MACHINE MAN, SILVER SURFER GRAPHIC NOVEL, and more!

LEGO SPACE WAR issue! A STARFIGHTER BUILDING LESSON by Peter Reid, WHY SPACE MARINES ARE SO POPULAR by Mark Stafford, a trip behind the scenes of LEGO’S NEW ALIEN CONQUEST SETS that hit store shelves earlier this year, plus JARED K. BURKS’ column on MINIFIGURE CUSTOMIZATION, building tips, event reports, our step-by-step “YOU CAN BUILD IT” INSTRUCTIONS, and more!

Go to Japan with articles on two JAPANESE LEGO FAN EVENTS, plus take a look at JAPAN’S SACRED LEGO LAND, Nasu Highland Park—the site of the BrickFan events and a pilgrimage site for many Japanese LEGO fans. Also, a feature on JAPAN’S TV CHAMPIONSHIP OF LEGO, a look at the CLICKBRICK LEGO SHOPS in Japan, plus how to get into TECHNIC BUILDING, LEGO EDUCATION, and more!

LEGO EVENTS ISSUE covering our own BRICKMAGIC FESTIVAL, BRICKWORLD, BRICKFAIR, BRICKCON, plus other events outside the US. There’s full event details, plus interviews with the winners of the BRICKMAGIC CHALLENGE competition, complete with instructions to build award winning models. Also JARED K. BURKS’ regular column on minifigure customizing, building tips, and more!

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Vol. 3, No. 8 / Spring 2001

™

Editor Roy Thomas

Associate Editor Bill Schelly

Design & Layout Christopher Day

Consulting Editors John Morrow Jon B. Cooke

Production Assist Eric Nolen-Weathington

FCA Editor P.C. Hamerlinck

Hooray for Wally Wood! Section

Comics Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert

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

Cover Artists Dan Adkins & Wally Wood Joe Kubert

Cover Color Tom Ziuko, with special thanks to Scott Lemien

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

And Special Thanks to: Dan Adkins Jim Amash David L. Applegate John Austin Mike W. Barr Rich Buckler Bill Cain Pete Carlsson James D. Clark Dale Crain Les Daniels Glen Echelberger Chris Foss Jerry de Fuccio Al Dellinges Roger Dicken & Wendy Hunt Jeff Gelb Sam George Janet Gilbert Jennifer T. Go David G. Hamilton Ron Harris John Harrison R.C. Harvey Roger Hill Dave Holman Carmine Infantino Larry Ivie Russ Jones Gary Kato Gene Kehoe

Jon B. Knutson David A. Kraft Peter Krause Joe Kubert Jim Lawless Dan Makara Jean-Francoise Masse Kevin McDonnell Shelly Moldoff Rich Morrissey Kevin O’Neill Jerry Ordway Bill Pearson John G. Pierce Eric Predoehl Virginia Provisiero Richard Pryor Charlie Roberts Gary Robinson Tim Scotty John Severin Marie Severin Robin Snyder J. David Spurlock Flo Steinberg Jim Steranko Marc Swayze Greg Theakston Alan Waite Bill Woolfolk Link Yaco Mike Zeck

Contents Writer/Editorial: Half a Page Is Better Than One!. . . . . . . . . . . 2 Total Control: A Brief Biography of Wally Wood . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Michael T. Gilbert on the life and times of a gifted—and tormented—artist. Avon Calling! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Roger Hill on Wood's early-1950s non-EC science-fiction work from Avon to Ziff-Davis. “A Dream Come True!” A Candid Conversation with Dan Adkins . . 29 Wood's most famous assistant tells Roy Thomas about life with Wally... and afterward. Bill Pearson: The witzend Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Bill Schelly talks with Wood’s friend and executor about the first “pro-zine.” Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Michael T. Gilbert bookends the issue with two of Wally Wood's last public statements. Kubert's Tor, Hamerlinck’s FCA, & Other Good Stuff . . . Flip Us! About Our Cover: Ain’t it a beauty? Dan Adkins has created a lifelike portrait of his mentor Wally Wood, surrounded by a few of his most memorable characters, including Dynamo, two of his major nemeses, and Marvel’s Man Without Fear as redesigned by Wood. [Art ©2001 Dan Adkins; Daredevil ©2001 Marvel Characters, Inc.; Dynamo, Dynavac, and Iron Maiden ©2001 John Carbonaro; New Art ©2001 Dan Adkins] Above: At one point Wally was toying around with a hero called Andor the Humanoid; Bill Pearson tells us “this ‘Andor’ page (the main figure) was made into a Dynamo or T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents cover.” Courtesy of Bill Pearson. [©2001 estate of Wally Wood.] 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: $8 Postpaid ($10 Canada, $11.00 elsewhere). Four-issue subscriptions: $20 US, $40 Canada, $44 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.

writer/editorial

Half A Page Is Better Than One!

ep, that’s right—just a half-page writer/editorial this time. Turns out Michael T. Gilbert, Dan Adkins, Roger Hill, and Bill Pearson (as interviewed by Bill Schelly) had so much to say about the late, great Wally Wood—and what’s more, had lots of rare art to underscore their points—that this issue of Alter Ego is full to the brim! So I’ll make a few comments and get out of the way.

I never got to know Wally well. He was leaving Daredevil around the time I arrived at Marvel in summer of 1965; in fact, I met him and Dan Adkins the same late-June night in Wally’s walk-up, prepping T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2. I remember arguing with him on a late-’60s convention panel about two statements he made: “The editor is best who edits least” (I’m coming around to his way of thinking on that) and “Never draw anything if you can swipe it” (sorry, Wally, we’re still far apart on that one—unless you count adaptations!). And I recall being sorry when, after scripting the “Dr. Doom” stories he drew for Astonishing Tales #1-2 in 1970, I had to turn the dialoguing chores over to other hands. As Marvel’s associate editor, though, I was still the guy who had to talk to him about too much obviously-assisted art turning up in #3-4, which of course just led to his quitting “Doom” entirely. But I did get him to ink Ross Andru on Kull the Conqueror #1, not long afterward. If, as I’ve long assumed, I was always down in Wally’s books as just a flunky for Stan Lee—not one of his favorite people—at least I’m glad to say he and I were always cordial to each other over the years. I liked the guy... and I loved his art.

Tor Archives - Vol. 1, which goes on sale any minute now, had to include much of the art and info I’d intended to feature. However, as a rabid fan of Tor ever since that first issue back in 1953, I want to see as much as possible of it in print between hard covers. I’ve filled in the empty spaces with some other scarce Kubert work... In closing, I’ve gotta say that recent months have been a great era for vintage super-heroines. Les Daniels’ Wonder Woman: The Complete History from Chronicle Books is an achievement beyond even his recent volumes on Superman and Batman. Much as in his first giant coffee-table tome (Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World’s Greatest Comics), Les has been allowed to tell the story of the Amazon and her major creator, Dr. William Moulton Marston, warts and all. None of the prettifying or over-emphasis on non-comics media that got in the way of even Les’ still-fine DC: Sixty Years of the World’s Favorite Comic Book Heroes. Now if only they’ll let him write books about Captain Marvel, Plastic Man, et al. (But not All-Star Comics, Les—somebody did that already.) Also welcome is DC’s Black Canary Archives - Vol. 1, which reprints all the Golden Age “BC” stories by Kanigher and Infantino, and even two leftover stories first published years after Flash Comics folded. It even includes the sole “Johnny Thunder” tale of that period in which, by some fluke, she didn’t appear! Despite a few errors in the always-vexing area of credits, Dale Crain and crew are doing these Archives volumes right—and I don’t just say that because he’s had me write intros to All Star and Tor volumes! But now, you’ve got a big fat fanzine to read, so...

A word about our Kubert section: I’d hoped to present a lot more rare material on Joe’s classic caveman Tor; but, at the last moment, DC’s

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 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.

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BUSCEMA, GIL KANE, JOHN ROMITA JR., HERB TRIMPE, RAFAEL KAYANAN, ADAM HUGHES, DAVE HOOVER, MARK BEACHUM, GENE COLAN, MARIE SEVERIN, RAMONA FRADON, RICK HOBERG, STEVEN BUTLER, and others! • FCA with MARC SWAYZE, C.C. BECK, GEORGE TUSKA, and other Fawcett greats, MICHAEL T. GILBERT on WAYNE BORING, BILL SCHELLY on early fandom, & more!

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THE COLLECTION ALTER EGO READERS! See the material that heralded the return of Roy Thomas’ legendary comics fanzine! • Reprinting the contents of the Roy Thomas-edited ALTER EGO flip-sides from the out-of-print, Eisner Award-winning COMIC BOOK ARTIST #1-5! • Over 30 PAGES of ALL-NEW FEATURES, and a special color cover by JOE KUBERT! • Rare and previously-unpublished art by JACK KIRBY, GIL KANE, JOE KUBERT, WALLY WOOD, FRANK ROBBINS, NEAL ADAMS, and others! • STEVE DITKO on the creation of SPIDER-MAN, plus a rare DITKO INTERVIEW! • ROY THOMAS on the birth of THE INVADERS, his work with NEAL ADAMS on the KREE-SKRULL WAR, and more!

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Total Control

Total Control A Brief Biography of WALLY WOOD by Michael T. Gilbert

Wally Wood—in a photo taken Oct. 21, 1977, by artist Mike Zeck, in Derby, Connecticut—plus two of his best-known super-hero features: his cover rough for Daredevil #7, and the printed cover of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 (both 1965). Thanks to Richard Pryor for the photo, and to David Applegate for the DD sketch. [DD and Sub-Mariner ©2001 Marvel Characters, Inc.; T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents ©2001 John Carbonaro.]

Wally Wood’s entire life was an endless struggle for control. His obsession with mastering every aspect of his chosen profession enabled him to reach heights few in the comics field have ever achieved. But his tragic inability to control his personal demons contributed to his death in 1981 at the age of 54—an age when many cartoonists are just reaching their artistic peak.

I. “Wally Wood Loved To Draw” Wallace Wood was born June 17, 1927, in Menahga, Minnesota. According to comics historian Jim Steranko, Wood and his father Max, a lumberjack, often fought bitterly. In The Wally Wood Sketchbook Steranko notes that “both had strong egos, took criticism poorly, were self-centered and tenaciously stubborn.” The father disapproved of his son’s artistic leanings. Why couldn’t young Wally be more like his older brother Glenn, a strapping man like Max? Wally had other ideas. Wally Wood loved to draw. His art must have been a source of

comfort and stability to the shy and introverted boy during his chaotic childhood. The Wood family continually moved from town to town, always in a state of upheaval. Nonetheless, his mother Alma encouraged the boy, and even sewed together pages of his cartoons into little “comic” books. She was the creative half of the marriage: a teacher who loved to write stories and songs. It was probably inevitable that this oiland-water combination would clash. While Wally was still a teenager, his parents separated. Amid this strife, drawing was the one thing that he could control. He could create order out of the chaos surrounding him. And he could do it with pen and ink. Wood was extremely talented, even as a teenager. Some of his early cartoons show great imagination and power. The raw ability was there, but it wasn’t enough for him. He studied and copied his cartoonist idols—Roy Crane, Hal Foster, Will Eisner, Milton Caniff, and Alex Raymond among them—as he worked tirelessly to learn the craft of cartooning from the bottom up.

A Short Biography of Wally Wood

Comics. With that, Wally Wood was on his way! If he assumed that talent and hard work would automatically be rewarded, he was in for a rude awakening. One of his first employers was Victor Fox, already legendary as a rat’s rat. A loud, obnoxious little man with a big cigar, Fox had a reputation as the quintessential sleazy publisher. Wood felt he and Harrison were cheated out of thousands of dollars by Fox. Wood learned early on not to trust publishers. Fortunately, there were good publishers, too. He enjoyed working for Avon on such titles as Strange Worlds, Space Detective, and The Mask of Fu Manchu with another friend, Joe Orlando. The two met in 1950 and produced hundreds of pages together. Wood and his partners did fine work for Fox and Avon, but it was at EC—Entertaining Comics—that he finally found a company worthy of his talents.

A hot time at the ol’ WW spread! Wood (possibly assisted by Harry Harrison) drew this story for Trojan Magazines’ Western Crime Busters (!!!) #9, Feb. 1952. Harrison and Wood also churned out pages for Fox’s many love titles, including My Confessions, My Desire, My Experience, My Love Affair, My Love Memoirs, My Love Secret, My Past Confessions, My Secret Affair, My Secret Life, My Secret Romance, and My True Love. My, oh, my! [©2001 the respective copyright holder.]

Shortly after his parents’ separation, Wood joined the Merchant Marine and embraced the discipline and order that came with it. Discharged in 1946, he joined the Paratroopers for two years, then returned to Minneapolis to live with his mother and brother. After a short stint at the Minneapolis School of Art and a series of odd jobs, he moved to New York. At last he was free to control his destiny!

II. “On His Way!”

Both publisher Bill Gaines and editor Al Feldstein were fans as well as professionals. They loved Wood’s work and let him know it. EC treated their artists with respect, which was almost unique in the industry. The page rate was among the best in the business, and the editors encouraged artistic individuality.

He soon got work lettering The Spirit for his idol, Will Eisner. The young man performed similar chores for George Wunder’s Terry and the Pirates, a strip created by Milt Caniff, another of his idols. But Wood could never be happy for long as anyone’s assistant. He had to be in control. He quickly graduated from lettering to drawing his own comic book stories. At first he collaborated with another cartoonist, Harry Harrison. Initially, Harrison inked Wood’s pencils, but as Wood grew more confident in his inking skills, they reversed roles. Then, in 1949, his first solo story appeared in True Crime

Wood’s classic cover for Avon’s Eerie #2 on the left (Aug.-Sept. 1951)—and a censored “IW” (Irving Waldman) reprint version a decade later. Note the removal of the skeleton—and Wood’s signature—at the lower left! And see Roger Hill’s article, following, for more on the Avon Age of Wood! [©2001 the respective copyright holder.]

Harrison and Wood were still a matched set during Wood’s earliest EC days, but at his editors urging Wood struck out on his own. Harrison later became a successful science-fiction writer, while Orlando enjoyed a solo career at EC. Surrounded and challenged by the greatest writers and cartoonists in the comics industry, Wood thrived.

III. “In A Class By Itself” Alone now, Wood was finally in total control of his art. And, working alone at EC, the young artist quickly built a reputation for excellence. In the early 1950s he created page after page of exquisite, intricate artwork for Mad, Weird Science, Weird Fantasy, Shock SuspenStories, Frontline Combat, and the like. Wood fearlessly tackled every genre in comics—whether sciencefiction, war, or historical—and mastered them all. In 1950 Wood married Tatjana Weintraub. In love, and fast becoming a superstar at EC, the young artist had never been happier. A drawing from Wood’s early teen years. From Bill Pearson and Bill Crouch’s The Wallace Wood Sketchbook. [©2001 estate of Wally Wood.]

That joy showed in his work. Almost from the start, Wood’s sciencefiction art was in a class by itself. His gleaming rockets, intricate

Avon Calling!

Avon Calling! A Fond Look at

Wally Wood’s 1950s Non-EC Science-fiction Work by Roger Hill

Wood would have if Wood could have—so he did! Two years before drawing himself in “My World” for EC (left), he was already producing dynamic science-fiction art for Avon and other comics publishers—in this case, a preliminary brush-andink wash drawing created as a cover idea for Space Detective! [EC art from Weird Science #22 (Nov.-Dec. 1953) ©2001 EC Publications, Inc.; sketch ©2001 estate of Wally Wood.]

I. The Origins Of Avon Even though Wally Wood’s name is most closely associated with the EC (Entertaining Comics) group, this talented artist—along with several assistants—actually turned out a wide variety of artwork for other comics publishers, as well, between 1949 and 1951. One of these was the Avon Publishing Company, then located at 119 West 57th Street in New York City. Avon was founded by pulp publisher Joseph Meyers in 1941 at the

request of the American News Company, which had lost one of its major paperback accounts to another distributor. Meyers, who had only a fifth-grade education, had an astute understanding of business practices and was the driving force behind the company during the early years. In February of 1945 he decided to enter the lucrative field of comic book publishing with the release of Molly O’Day - Super Sleuth. For whatever reason, this title didn’t fare well on the post-World War II comic racks of America, and no other issues ever appeared. This comic book became the first in a series of many one-shot productions released by Avon over the next fifteen years. Avon published no additional comics during 1946; but in 1947 it returned to the market with several new titles, including a western title called Cow Puncher Comics; a one-shot venture titled Eerie #1 (now recognized as America’s first horror comic book); and Peter Rabbit Comics. The funny-animal title turned out to be Avon’s longest-running comic, lasting from 1947 to 1956, some 34 issues in all.

Molly O’Day is on view in Jerry de Fuccio’s column in our flip section—but the next three comics published by Avon (all in 1947) were Cow Puncher Comics, Peter Rabbit Comics #1, and the original landmark Eerie #1. [©2001 the respective copyright holder.]

Although many of the Avon comics titles were short-lived, the company certainly attracted some of the better artists working in the field at that time, including Tex Blaisdell, Sid Check, Gene

A Fond Look At Wally Wood’s 1950s Non-EC Science-fiction Work Fawcette, Al Feldstein, Al Hollingsworth, Graham Ingels, Jack Karen, H.C. Kiefer, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Joe Kubert, Gerald McCann, Gus Ricca, John Rosenberger, and many others... including Wally Wood.

II. Wood Arrives Wally Wood came to Avon in 1950 after producing a lot of romance art for Fox Publications and not getting paid very much for it—or not getting paid at all. In 1949 he had connected with an art Circa 1950, Harry Harrison was a agent named Renaldo Epworth, comic book artist, but a decade who supplied art to Fox. Epworth later he was writing science-fiction would pay cash money for for Astounding, including his completed pages, but only at about famous “Stainless Steel Rat” series. half the rate Fox paid him. Apparently Epworth, as an agent, had a better chance of getting money out of publisher Victor Fox than did the artists themselves. Since Fox’s rate was only $5 a page, Wood pocketed only $2.50 a page when he sold art to Epworth. Out of that he had to pay anyone who had assisted him. This seems pretty minimal until you realize that, at the time, Wood shared an apartment with another artist for $3 a week. By this stage he had already worked with several other assistants or artists, including Marty Rosenthal, Moe Marcus, Maurice Gutworth, Ernie Bache, Jerry Kolden, and Harry Harrison. As Harrison recalled in a 1973 (#15) issue of Bill Spicer’s Graphic Story Magazine: “We were a complete team; we did everything together. In the beginning I think he penciled and I inked. Then he got very good with inking and did heads and hands. He’d break down the pages very tight with the figures, and we’d pass the pages back and forth, each handling certain kinds of swipes. We were illustrating a lot of romance titles which were big then.”

genre ever since childhood, when he had doodled and created his own science-fiction worlds with a fountain pen. Although Harrison wasn’t destined to work with Wood on Avon sf projects that lay ahead, he and Woody together were instrumental in getting Bill Gaines interested in doing science-fiction comics. Harrison spoke about it briefly in Graphic Story Magazine, saying, “Somewhere along the line we talked Bill into trying to start a science-fiction comic, only instead of doing real sciencefiction, he copped out and called it Weird Science. I gave Gaines a lot of it to read. He was always open to suggestions, so Wally and I kept pushing and pushing. I’m sure Weird Science and Weird Fantasy didn’t do very well.” Harrison may have forgotten that EC actually did present some fairly sophisticated plots in their two science-fiction titles, opting to stay away from the typical shoot-’em-up “raygun”-type stories regularly featured in Buck Rogers and Planet Comics during the 1940s. EC science-fiction stories, for the most part, were intelligent and wellplotted. After all, it was Gaines and EC who first brought the stories of Ray Bradbury to the comics.

III. A Guy Named Joe In late 1949 Wood met another young artist who would become a close friend and major collaborator for the next two years—Joe Orlando. Years later, Orlando described his initial encounter with Wood in an interview in Greg Theakston’s The Wally Wood Treasury (1980): “I met Wally in Epworth’s office one day, and we got to be pals. I didn’t know it, but my work was being sold to Fox Comics. Wally was a step ahead of the game; he knew where our stuff was being sold and suggested we get a studio together. Wally was fascinated with how fast I could pencil something he could ink.” Still in late ’49, Wood leased studio space on the second floor at West 64th Street and Columbus Avenue. Joining Wood there at periodic intervals were Orlando, Harry Harrison, Marty Rosenthal, Sid Check, Roy Krenkel, and a salesman by the name of Ed McLean. It was at this studio that the young artists juggled several accounts, including Avon, EC, Fawcett, Fox, Master, Quality, and Youthful. As Wood and Orlando formed a closer working alliance at

Working together as “Harrison and Wood,” the pair began to establish a track record of sorts, doing mostly romance comics. It was this work, and the frustration of low pay coming from Fox or Epworth, that eventually led the two men to the business offices located at 225 La Fayette Street, the home of good old EC Comics. In mid-1949 they met with publisher Bill Gaines and showed their samples to editor Al Feldstein, who hired them at $26 a page. Their work began to appear during the winter of 1949-50, mostly in EC’s romance titles. As Harrison remembered: “We had a carload of romance credits in those days at Fox. It was about all you could get: some crime, but Feldstein and Craig had the crime sewed up, doing most of it themselves.” Harrison loved science-fiction and had been an active member in the New York Queens Science Fiction League since 1938. Wood had also had a strong interest in the

“A Dream Come True!”

nearly a decade before he really did? ADKINS: Yeah. [laughs] I was guilty as sin. I’m a sick guy! RT: Was it just something you did impishly on the spur of the moment?

got depressed, a guy could drop the ball in the outfield of a baseball game and I’d start crying because I felt sorry for him. That’s how bad you can get when you’re clinically depressed!

ADKINS: I had Anyway, I rheumatic fever must’ve been when I was a kid, going through a and I was bad time, because paralyzed from this Namath thing the waist down depressed me. And I for six months. My mother had Dan and Jeanette in ’94, flanked by a pair of thought, the most depressing thing to me recent Adkins drawings “This is the type of to go off to personally would be that stuff I sell on eBay these days,” says the work and leave Wally Wood had died. artist. [Art ©2001 Dan Adkins; Dynamo me alone for Dynamo ©2001 John Carbonaro; Xena ©2001 So I called up Steranko three hours, and the respective copyright holder.] and told him Wally had my psychiatrist killed himself—just to says this made for make him share my grief, you know? So that feelings of “abandonment” or something. was my motivation, if it makes any sense. Since that happened to me when I was about eleven, I’ll blame it for the Wally Wood lie! RT: Well, you were going through your own Here’s what set it off: problems, obviously. I didn’t mean to pry. Do you remember that big bust, when they found that [New York football star] Joe Namath was linked with gamblers or something? He actually broke down and was crying on TV, and that upset me. When I

ADKINS: Oh, I’m very open about everything. It was actually great working for Wally, and I didn’t have a hard time with him.

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Comic Fandom Archive

Bill Pearson The witzend Interview Conducted by Bill Schelly Transcribed by Jon B. Knutson

“One of Woody’s two-minute doodles, attached by Scotch tape. He often did these while talking on the phone.” This one sports an early, never-used spelling for the magazine that became witzend. [©2001 estate of Wally Wood.]

contact with Dan Adkins in the mid-’50s. What type of material were you reading? BILL PEARSON: Mostly science-fiction. Dan saw a letter of mine that appeared in one of the digests, Fantastic or Amazing, I believe. He noticed that I lived fairly close to Luke Air Force Base, where he was stationed, and thought I might know some girls. That base is outside of Phoenix, where I got a job as a mechanical draftsman immediately upon graduation from high school. I was part of the nation’s work force, making real good money, designing valves and other parts for rockets. Back then, I spent all my spare time writing and drawing—totally obsessed. I wanted to be a black-&-white illustrator like Virgil Finlay and Kelly Freas. I wanted to write science-fiction like the greats.

Bill Pearson says: “One day out of the blue [my commanding officer in the Army, Lt. Godwin] presented me with this caricature. It’s a pretty good likeness of what I looked like then, in 1962. I don’t know what became of Larry Godwin. For all I know, he’s an important gallery artist based in the South.” [©2001 Bill Pearson.]

[As time goes on, the significance of witzend (all-lower-case is correct)—the magazine founded in 1966 by Wally Wood and continued by Bill Pearson—grows ever larger. witzend was the first major publishing bridge between comics fandom and the professional comics industry, and (at least symbolically) began the “creator’s rights movement.” All this should not eclipse the brilliance of its contents, the uniqueness of its editorial policy (that of “no policy”), and its role as the first important “pro-zine.” [Since Wood ended his own life in on November 2, 1981, after a series of eye and kidney problems, it has fallen to his best friend and literary executor Bill Pearson to shepherd his legacy. Bill was enthusiastic when I asked to interview him about witzend, and I discovered that he still has hopes of continuing the magazine in some form. He provided all the art that accompanies this interview. [The roots of witzend reach back to 1956, when Bill and Dan Adkins published a fanzine called Sata...] BILL SCHELLY: In the introduction to Woodwork you describe yourself as a seventeen-year-old bookworm when you first came into

BILL S.: How did you and Dan end up collaborating on a fanzine together? PEARSON: Dan worked in an office on the base involved with communications that had its own printing press. Dan had access, and we were both eager to create. BILL S.: What did the title Sata mean? PEARSON: Nothing. We just thought it looked spiffy as a logo. I don’t think either of us realized it was one letter short of “Satan” until we’d done several issues. Sata consisted of pretty good amateur comic strips and artwork by Dan and

The Tor Gambit

ou know the line I mean. I mean the one about how comic books can’t really be art because so many people are involved in the production of the thing. And how there are different pencilers, and inkers, and colorists, and how most of the stories are written by other people anyhow! Yeah, you know the line! You almost always get it from the ones who like their opinions ready-made and pre-digested—although, at times, I have gotten it from people who should have known better. Whenever I get any of these people, I usually sit them down in a nice comfortable chair, and hit them with something I call...

Article by Mark Hanerfeld

(Edited & Abridged from Alter Ego, Vol. 1, #10, 1969)

Generally, it starts with my quietly explaining to them that just because more than one person is involved in the creation of a work of art doesn’t mean that work (be it literature, painting, or whatever) is any less valid as “art.” After all, didn’t many of the great painters of the Renaissance have their assistants help in finishing up those slightly less important details of a painting? And furthermore, is not the subject matter of many of those great paintings drawn directly from the mythology of the ancient Greek and Roman storytellers?

occasionally employed the writing talents of Bob Bernstein and the inking talents of Bob Bean, the strip still bore the distinctive stamp of a Joe Kubert creation: the product of one man’s thought and imagination.

As old axioms die hard, this bit of analogizing usually leaves the poor victim flustered, especially if he’s never really given those axioms a second, or perhaps even a first, thought. That’s when I hit them with the clincher.

But chances are that, if you’re reading this, you already know all that because you already are a comics fan. However, if you’re a new fan, you may not have heard of, let alone actually seen, Tor. Well, let’s remedy that situation here and now!

I double back to their original qualifications and tell them all about Tor.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: At this point in 1969’s Alter Ego #10 were printed two weeks’ worth of dailies for a sadly unsold Tor newspaper comic strip, circa-1959, which had been written for Kubert by Carmine Infantino, generously supplied by Joe, and harking back to Tor’s boyhood. Although those strips were printed in color, with new art added, to form the basis of the first story in DC’s Tor #1 in 1975, it was our intention to reprint the dozen black-&-white strips as they originally appeared in A/E, where they were re-formatted to fit six magazine pages. However, due to a last-minute change of plans, DC is reprinting them in the first volume of a much-anticipated Tor Archives - Volume 1, only a few weeks from now; so, instead, we are here presenting the strips a bit smaller than in ’69, and using the extra space to toss in a couple of later Kubert Tor illustrations. We strongly urge all aficionados of the comic art form to pick up a copy of the Tor Archives - Vol. 1, which reprints the first three issues of Tor/One Million Years Ago! The following three pages of art are ©2001 Joe Kubert. —R.T.]

It goes something like this: Back around 1953, there was this enterprising comics group called the St. John Publishing Company, whose publisher, Archer St. John, had the foresight and daring to allow an artist to edit, write, pencil, letter, ink, color, and even own the rights to his own character. Why, the artist even got to share in the magazine’s profits! Unheard of! The comic book was called Tor, and the artist was Joe Kubert. Tor was a caveman adventure strip set in the world of one million years ago, and although the ecological balance was a bit jumbled for story’s sake, the strip had an air of reality about it that grew out of the powerfully-drawn characters and settings. Even though later issues

By the time I’ve finished haranguing my poor victim with words (and with illustrations, if I have my copies of the magazines at hand), he is customarily ready to grudgingly admit that, yes, some comic books can be art. No mean accomplishment, I assure you.

The Tor Gambit

Interview With Joe Kubert

Interview With

Joe Kubert by Ronn Foss [EDITOR’S NOTE - 2001: This by-mail interview was the first ever to run in Alter Ego—in Vol. 1, #6, with a cover date of March 1964. It was A sketch of Joe Kubert (probably drawn by Norman Maurer) from the Comic Book Illustrators Instruction Course, 1954. For more on the first (and only) lesson of this ancestor of Joe Kubert’s World of conducted by artist/ Cartooning/Correspondence Course for Comic Books, see the 160-page volume Alter Ego: The Comic Book Artist editor/publisher Ronn Collection, now available. [©2001 Joe Kubert.] Foss, and is presented here for its historical value. It was also reprinted in the out-of-print 1997 $60 per page for artwork only. Story will vary from $8 to $12 per page. Hamster trade paperback, Alter Ego: The Best of the Legendary The “lows” are pretty much set; the “highs” can vary—depending on Comics Fanzine. The only Kubert art that ran in the original publithe demand for the particular work (art, writing, lettering, coloring, cation was the Scandinavian reprint page of Tor re-presented here. what-have-you). When I started out, my rates were $6 per page. We begin with a pair of paragraphs from Joe Kubert which were quoted by Ronn earlier in V1#6, referring back to the previous A/E. RF: Did someone other than you letter “Hawkman”? —R.T.] KUBERT: The latest “Hawkman” scripts I did (circa 1963) were lettered “I was quite impressed by your by Gaspar Saladino. However, when I zine—both in its quality and the did the strip “way back when”—I did amount of work/energy put into it. the lettering, and with a very shaky Incidentally, Ronn—only someone hand, I might add! who has had work reproduced in a RF: How much are letterers paid? mag (or any other form of printed matter) can know the thrill of seeing KUBERT: Rates are $2 to $5 per page. his efforts in published form. It’s a thrill you never lose, no matter how RF: Do you know if all DC artists long you’re in the business. It’s still work “twice-up” (double-size)? true with me, and I’ve been in ‘it’ KUBERT: As far as I know, yes. I going on 25 years. think, generally, it’s found that 1/2 “Unlike many people in the comic reduction tightens, cleans, and clarifies book business, I don’t feel myself original artwork. After a while, you find demeaned by working for comics. The that you work “for reproduction”—that fact is—I’ve always enjoyed this is, the artist will know what the printed medium—and I’ve always given what work will look like (which is most I felt is my best to it. I’m not ‘saving’ important)—rather than gauging full my ‘greatest works’ for painting, or effect from the original drawing alone. advertising art, or even ‘pop’ art! My RF: Who was your personal favorite of best efforts are what you see now!” all the characters you ever drew? —Joe Kubert (1963) KUBERT: Tor was and is my favorite. RF: Do you use a crow-quill pen?

RONN FOSS: What is the pay per page? How much more if you also write the script? JOE KUBERT: I can’t tell page rates specifically, but they vary from $25 to

KUBERT: I use a pen similar to it, but very flexible. Dinosaurs and Hawkman—two of Kubert’s main themes—were combined in this illustration for the 1977 Super Powers book. Thanks to Al Dellinges. [©2001 DC Comics.]

RF: Do you dilute your India (water-

Interview With Joe Kubert

was allowed the run of the place—to look over the artists’ shoulders and watch them work—and to ask their criticisms of my own work. These guys were just wonderful— their patience and their helping hands did much to engender a desire in a very young boy to be a successful cartoonist—just as they were! RF: Doesn’t DC allow the use of Zip-ATone? You used it so advantageously in Tor.

proof) ink? KUBERT: I “water down” my ink with tap water.

RF: What kind of paint is used to white-out a mistake? KUBERT: Some white paint has a plastic base, so that ink will not dilute it. One is called ‘Sno-Pac.’ RF: How long does a brush last you; a pen tip, before it either spreads beyond usefulness or becomes caked up with ink?

RF: Do artists ever get original art back? Would you like any of it returned?

KUBERT: A brush will last through 30-40 pages; pen, only 2-3.

KUBERT: Artists may get their work back, upon request—frankly, I’ve never had any desire for it. The point here being that, once the publisher pays for work, it becomes his property. If the publisher feels he will have no further use for those originals, he disposes of them as he sees fit. At this time, the artist (writer, letterer, etc.) may request the originals.

RF: Do you always use a blue pencil to roughup (lay out) a strip? KUBERT: Yes—a special non-reproducing blue. Sometimes, just for a change of pace, I’ll switch to pencil. But then it’s back to the blue again. RF: The photo of you and Norm Maurer in Tor #1 has you doing the Three Stooges while Norm appears to be working on Tor. Can you explain this?

RF: According to Archer St. John (Tor #1), you started drawing in 1941. Do you remember what character it was? KUBERT: I did a strip called “Volton,” around 1941, when I was in my second year of high school or thereabouts. Prior to “Volton,” I worked for Mr. Harry “A” Chesler; this was in the early 1940s. I worked in his offices 11⁄2 hours a day after school, and he gave me $5 a week for my expenses. This, I believe, was one of my greatest “breaks” I ever had. He had a staff of men, among whom were Charley Sultan, Rube Moreira, Raphael Asterita, and George Tuska. I

KUBERT: We co-edited each other’s work. RF: The comic Meet Miss Pepper—you inked it, penciled it, or what?

One of Joe’s earliest efforts was this “Volton,” published in Catman #11 (June 1942). For his very first “Volton” splash—and indeed, for a lengthy section on the many eras of Joe Kubert art, see Alter Ego: The Comic Book Artist Collection. [©2001 Holyoke Pub.]

KUBERT: I penciled Miss Pepper—a fellow named Bob Bean inked. Bob is now the guiding hand and power behind Wylde Studios here in New York—they produce live and animated ads for TV.