Roy Thomas’ Reflective Comics Fanzine
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No.91 January 2010
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
“WHAT HATH KURTZMAN WROUGHT?” THOSE MID-’50s COLOR MAD WANNABES - Part II starring TM
ROSS ANDRU & MIKE ESPOSITO OTTO BINDER L.B. COLE JACK DAVIS JAY DISBROW HY FLEISCHMAN HARVEY KURTZMAN HOWARD NOSTRAND BOB POWELL WALLY WOOD
Golden Age artist JACK KATZ talks to JIM AMASH MICHAEL T. GILBERT on 1940s-50s comics defender LAURETTA BENDER CENTAUR Gallops Again! BONUS!
The Teenage Creations of STEVE GERBER Godfather of Howard the Duck Shazam! hero TM & ©2009 DC Comics; MAD is a trademark of E.C. Publications, Inc
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TwoMorrows.Celebrating The Art & History Of Comics. TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • Visit us on the Web at www.twomorrows.com
Vol. 3, No. 91 / January 2010 Editor 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
Editorial Honor Roll Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White Mike Friedrich
Cover Artists Jerry Ordway & Emilio Squeglio
Cover Colorist Tom Ziuko
With Special Thanks to: Heidi Amash Henry Andrews Ger Apeldoorn Bob Bailey Matt D. Baker John Benson Jon Berk Bill Black Lee Boyette Chris Brown Aaron Caplan R. Dewey Cassell Michaël Dewally Jay Disbrow Michael Dunne Jerry Edwards Mike Esposito Jon R. Evans Michael Finn Shane Foley Janet Gilbert Mike Gold “Golden Age Comic Book Stories” Michael Grabois Walt Grogan Jennifer Hamerlinck Heritage Comics Archives Roger Holda Jonathan Jensen Jack Katz Denis Kitchen Mark Lewis Jim Ludwig
Bruce Mason Harry Mendryk Peter Meskin Philip Meskin Frank Motler Mark Muller Will Murray Peter Normanton Dorothy Ohlinger Jerry Ordway Nigel Parkinson Vern Patrick Barry Pearl John Pennisi John G. Pierce Ken Quattro Charlie Roberts Fred Robinson Steven Rowe Adrienne Roy Peter Schilder Ed Schumacher Scott Shaw! Joe Simon David Siegel Emilio Squeglio Ken Stringer Marc Swayze Jeff Taylor Dann Thomas Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Hames Ware Robert Wiener “Yesterday’s Papers”
This issue is dedicated to the memory of
Frank Coghlan, Jr.
Contents Writer/Editorial: “Life Is What Happens To You While You’re Busy Making Other Plans”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 “We Considered [Comics] An Art Form” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 First Kingdom writer/artist Jack Katz talks to Jim Amash about his own work—and many others’.
“What Hath Kurtzman Wrought?” – Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Ger Apeldoorn’s look at the mid-1950s Mad wannabes—with a Harvey sidebar by John Benson.
Centaur Spread – Part III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Lee Boyette on that early company’s comics and the people who created them.
Comic Fandom Archive: Headline—The Forgotten Fanzine 58 Bill Schelly & John G. Pierce continue coverage of the early-1960s fanzines of Steve Gerber.
Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt: Dr. Lauretta Bender – Part III . 63 More on comics’ 1940s-50s “anti-Wertham,” by Michael T. Gilbert.
re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 69 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #150 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 P.C. Hamerlinck proudly presents a sesquicentennial celebration of FCA, featuring Jerry Ordway, Emilio Squeglio, Marc Swayze, & the Fawcett’s “dark” heroes. On Our Cover: Captain Marvel artists of two different eras—but both drawing the original Big Red Cheese of their day—are Jerry Ordway, writer and cover artist of DC’s 1990s Power of Shazam! series, and Emilio Squeglio, who drew as a production artist for Fawcett during the late Golden Age. Jerry penciled most of this cover and positioned the mirror-image of Cap, and Emilio took over from there, for a Hands-across-the-Decades delight. For more on their happy connections with the World’s Mightiest Mortal, see this issue’s double-size FCA section. [Shazam! hero TM & ©2010 DC Comics.] Above: To augment our continuing coverage of the colorful early Centaur Comics Group, we present this dynamic splash panel by Human Torch creator Carl Burgos from Amazing-Man Comics #8 (Dec. 1939), featuring his “post-1950” hero “The Iron Skull.” Thanks to Lee Boyette & Jon R. Evans. [©2010 the respective copyright holders.] Alter EgoTM is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Single issues: $9 US ($11.00 Canada, $16 elsewhere). Twelve-issue subscriptions: $88 US, $140 Canada, $210 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. ISSN: 1932-6890 FIRST PRINTING.
writer/editorial
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“Life Is What Happens To You While You’re Busy Making Other Plans” —John Lennon I ’m proud of the contents of this issue, focusing as it does on the work of First Kingdom creator Jack Katz, Howard the Duck cocreator Steve Gerber, Dr. Lauretta Bender of DC’s 1940s advisory board, several of the men behind the original Big Red Cheese, the Centaur comics group, and more of the color Mad imitations of 1954-55.
But it’s about something else that I want to write now. Because the past few days have got me to thinking about… transitions. In the space of a couple of weeks came the news that Golden/Silver Age artist Sheldon “Shelly” Moldoff (of “Hawkman” and “Batman” fame) is in a Florida hospital… that Shel Dorf, co-founder of the San Diego Comic-Con, passed away (and of course tribute will be paid to him in a near-future issue)… that, far more happily, A/E contributor Michaël Dewally and his wife Heidi have become the parents of a baby girl named Alizée… …and that Ger Apeldoorn, author of our study of 1950s Mad wannabes (and, last issue, of Stan Lee’s writings of the 1940s & ’50s), was recently operated on for a tumor which has affected his motor skills, some of which he’ll have to spend the next few months relearning as he recovers. I invited Ger, who writes sitcoms for TV in his native Netherlands, to speak directly to A/E’s readers. Here are excerpts from his most recent e-mail to me, reprinted with his blessing: Because the tumor was on my cerebellum, the higher functions are still operating; and because it was probably a benign tumor, they have kept me waiting for an operation for 2½ weeks. Bored out of my skull, I had time to think about what I really want to with the next fifteen years of my creative life. I used to fixate on my craft and skills and getting better and more knowledgeable. The next fifteen years will be about what I have to say. And I won’t even have to look for that,
because most of these things come to me with an air of inevitability. I am already being offered new projects which I may have to turn down, if I want to keep a clear head.
Fortunately, I have saved enough to give me half a year to get everything sorted in body and mind, and even then I will have enough left for my yearly pension fund (the curse of the freelancer) and that 4week trip through the Rocky Mountains I have been planning for myself, my girlfriend of 30 years, and my 15-year-old son and 12-yearold daughter, a trip to Los Angeles in April to meet some American TV writer friends, a convention trip (either to New York or some other place where I can meet Internet friends like Doc Vassallo and cartoonist friend Mike Lynch, or possibly do some research at Ohio State…) after I have finally married my girlfriend, who said yes to my belated proposal before I went into surgery. It’s the secret symmetrical life of a recovered artist, and you are now officially part of it. No obligation on your part, but for me it would mean a lot to shake your hand at some point.
Ger goes on to say that, if his illness had to come, it “couldn’t have come at a more appropriate moment,” as he had just finished scripting the third season of a successful TV series, and that “the main actress has just gotten pregnant, so we have an eight-month reprieve” before he has to consider whether he wants to get into harness again. Either way, he says that comics and Alter Ego will remain very much a part of his future… and we couldn’t be much happier about that. Live long and prosper, friend! Bestest,
COMING IN MARCH
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92
SWORD-&-SORCERY IN THE COMICS—PART III! • Fantastic painted cover by RAFAEL KAYANAN, artist of Marvel’s 1990s Conan the Adventurer comic! • Sword-and-sorcery spotlight on DC’s Sword of Sorcery (“Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser”) by DENNY O’NEIL, HOWARD CHAYKIN, & WALT SIMONSON and Claw the Unconquered by DAVID MICHELINIE & ERNIE CHAN—Charlton’s Hercules by JOE GILL & SAM GLANZMAN—Gold Key’s Dagar the Invincible by DON GLUT & JESSE SANTOS— plus more s&s art by JOHN BUSCEMA, GIL KANE, BERNIE WRIGHTSON, et al.! • JACK KATZ on SIMON & KIRBY, on his own work for Marvel, DC, Warren, & Skywald—and on his groundbreaking graphic novel The First Kingdom—interviewed by JIM AMASH! • Plus—FCA featuring MARC SWAYZE & the Fawcett comic book readership—MICHAEL T. GILBERT concludes his study of DR. LAURETTA BENDER—still more 1960s fan-creations of STEVE GERBER—& MORE!! Edited by ROY THOMAS
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“We Considered [Comics] An Art Form” Part I Of A Far-Ranging Interview With JACK KATZ, Creator of The First Kingdom Conducted by Jim Amash
J
Transcribed by Brian K. Morris
ack Katz‘s comics career has been a long and winding journey down various and occasionally bumpy roads. At the High School of Industrial Arts, he became buddies with future comic artists Alex Toth, Pete Morisi, and Alfonso Greene, and all four became friends with the legendary newspaper and comic book artist Frank Robbins. Jack got his feet wet in the comic book business working on “Bulletman” and “Jughead,” had very brief stops at the Harry “A” Chesler and the Ben Sangor shops, and worked for a short time in the Jerry Iger shop, before
spending five years in the production department at King Features Syndicate. After stops at Standard Publications, the Joe Simon/Jack Kirby shop, Hillman, Fiction House, Timely, and ghost jobs on Terry and the Pirates and Kerry Drake, Jack left comics for the teaching world. Returning to comic books in the late 1960s, Jack freelanced for Marvel, DC, Warren Publications, and Skywald before leaving the commercial comics world behind him. In 1974, Jack began his seminal work, The First Kingdom, while returning to teaching art. His newest book, Legacy, is now on sale, and Jack’s working on his next two books, which will complete the First Kingdom trilogy. In both halves of this interview, Jack not only discusses the twists and turns of his career, but his relationships and observations of the many people he’s known in the industry. In this part, you’ll meet Alex Toth, Pete Morisi, Alfonso Greene, Frank Robbins, Hal Foster, Alex Raymond, and Mort Meskin through the reflections of a comics rebel who strove to find his artistic voice despite internal struggles and the vicissitudes of the comics medium. —Jim.
“I Can Give You $4 A Page” JIM AMASH: Jack, I’m assuming you were born, so tell me when and where. JACK KATZ: I was born, in Brooklyn, 9-27-27. Then the next day—two days, actually—I went to Canada, and lived there until I was 7½. I might as well tell you my real name, but it’s not “Katz.” What had happened is, my grandfather’s name was Spevack, believe it or not. At Ellis Island, there was this German policeman. My grandfather says, “My name is Katz. It’s short for ‘Polychromekatzenheimer,’” or something like that. [laughter] “From now on, in America, your name is ‘Katz.’” “But the Spevack family is a very big family in Europe.” The policeman said, “It doesn’t matter. You’re a Katz,” and so Grandpa abided by that, said his name was Katz, and they put it on his certificate. JA: What got you interested in being an artist? KATZ: Believe it or not, my other Grandma sent us a package. I
A Kingdom By The Sea (Above:) Jack Katz in 1982, holding the Inkpot Award presented to him by the San Diego Comic-Con—and, at left, a page (p. 421, to be precise) from his 24-book, 800-page The First Kingdom, produced between 1978 and 1986. More images from and discussion of Katz’s magnum opus will be seen next issue, along with more specimens of his Golden and Silver Age work. Thanks to Jack for the photo, and to Mark Muller for the art scan. [TFK ©2010 Jack Katz.]
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Part I Of A Far-Ranging Interview With Jack Katz
Jungle Lords Vs. Ancient Civilizations (Left:) Ape-men and Vikings—the two major artistic themes in the career of Harold R. Foster, the future creator of Prince Valiant—were already intertwined in this 1935 panel from his Tarzan Sunday newspaper comic strip. That feature, written and drawn by Foster (seen in photo), made an indelible impression upon young Jack Katz. [©2010 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc..] (Below:) A white-skinned jungle king encountering time-lost peoples, of course, was a recurrent subject in ERB’s Tarzan novels, and Katz would draw his own hero “Zangar” (apparently co-created by writer Gardner Fox) years later, in Skywald’s Jungle Adventures, which will be covered next issue. Seen here is JK’s cover for JA #3 (June 1971); thanks to Jerry Edwards, who carried on a lively correspondence with Jack from 1979-82. [©2010 the respective copyright holders.]
was six years old and, well, I was always drawing, even then. But this package was wrapped in these Sunday newspaper supplements. I think it was a Hearst paper, and it had Tarzan by Harold Foster. Everything I tried to do, he did perfectly, so he became my hero. He was like a stimulus. He was like music. You interpret the piece subliminally, and it just either enlivens you, or you get turned off by it. None of the other artists did that for me. As a matter of fact, Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon—I wasn’t too excited about it because it was on another page, and it didn’t mean anything to me. I was also heavily influenced by classical music, of which I have a tremendous collection from the 1890s to about 1960; modern American composers and English composers and French composers. I was drawn to music, there was no question about it. I used to watch all Leonard Bernstein rehearsals for Carnegie Hall. JA: When you started seeing the comic books— KATZ: I really detested them, because to me, the art was extraordinarily important. My father would take me to the art museums. I saw Rubens and Rembrandt, extraordinary efforts in art. I never really found comic books to have anything that was going to have anything to do with that. It was going to be a lower form of art. However, when I was about 13, my mother knew somebody who was working with Quality Comics, before they were Quality, and took me up there. I wasn’t trying to get work. I just wanted to see what was happening there. There was Lou Fine, and I saw the way he was working over his pencils. He had about five billion lines before he accepted one line on the page. And there were a couple other artists there. I saw Fred Guardineer, among others. He’d been finishing some inking, and I saw his stuff was very exacting. They were across the street from the Chrysler Building. They called it “the rooftop paradise.” JA: Editor George Brenner used to boot people out of the Quality offices. KATZ: He took a look at my sketches. He said they looked good, but I needed a lot of work and anatomy study. He treated me pretty good, I must admit. JA: How did you meet up with C.C. Beck? KATZ: Because the word was out that he was looking for help. I met this guy who worked for the Beck [and Pete Costanza] shop who said, “Look, I can give you $4 a page.” I don’t remember who he was. JA: The date I have for that is 1943. How did you hear that they had a studio? Did you hear about it in school [The School of Industrial Arts]? KATZ: Yes, and the scuttlebutt was always about how to get into the business. A lot of people were only interested in getting into the
magazines. There was a guy by the name of Ralph Gross, and another by the name of Vito Colavito. Do you know who Vito was? JA: Alex Toth used to talk about him. His brother was Rocky Colavito, who played for the Cleveland Indians. KATZ: Right, and Vito was Dean Cornwell’s assistant. He didn’t do any drawing or anything, but he just was kind of a gofer. Both of those guys were talking, and they had access to addresses and potential stuff. They asked me, “Hey, would you like to do comics?” I said, “Well, that doesn’t
“We Considered [Comics] An Art Form”
5
sound like a good idea.” But Vito gave me the address of the guy who was working for Beck, so I went over there. Beck just looked at me—I was just sort-of a tall, skinny fool—“$4 a page,” ’nuff said. [mutual laughter] I did this for at least eight to ten months. I was very slow because I had to have perfect anatomy in my drawings. I only saw Beck a couple of times. JA: You did “Bulletman” for this artist. What else? KATZ: He handled some “Archie“ stuff, and I did a little “Jughead.” I think I helped on one “Archie,” but I only did about half the story. They loved my drawings, but they hated the time I’d spend on them. [Beck and Costanza, and everybody who worked for them] were packaging for everybody. This is how they saved the day, because a lot of artists were late on jobs. If one part of the package didn’t come through, the other would. Sometimes I was asked to redraw things. Nothing important, but to tell the story better. So if I had a shot from one angle and he wanted it from another, I had to erase, sometimes, a quarter of a page. I did it, cursing under my breath. I did such good drawings, but drawings don’t pay you. You’ve got to be able to tell a story, it’s that simple. I think I was paid in cash. JA: So it was under-the-table payment. Apparently, you were working for someone who was working for the Beck and Costanza studios rather than the studio itself. Do you remember who this man was? [Jim mentions the names of a few possibilities.] KATZ: All I remember is that he was a tall guy with a big, big belly.
“I Worked for Jerry Iger… For About $30 A Week In Cash” JA: So you did that for eight months, which leads you into 1944. KATZ: In 1944, I worked for Jerry Iger, on salary, for about $30 a week in cash. There was a number of stories he was turning out. He took old stories, and some of them were by Reed Crandall, believe it or not, and they needed some details on the uniforms. I would put in the details. I did quite a bit of work there. I did some pencils. That’s when I met Matt Baker, and I really affiliated with him. Matt, I thought, was one of the most wonderful gentlemen—he reminded me of Nat “King“ Cole. His voice was very beautiful, he was a very good-looking man. He had a bad, bad heart. In fact, when we used to walk down the stairs to go to a place to eat, he had a difficult time breathing, and his eyes looked like they were
Giants In The Earth Jack with his oh-so-brief boss C.C. Beck and others at a San Diego Comic-Con, late 1970s or early ’80s. From left to right are: legendary “S.H.I.E.L.D.“ writer/artist Jim Steranko, Jack “King” Kirby (’nuff said), “Captain Marvel“ co-creator/artist C.C. Beck, “Superman“ co-creator/artist Joe Shuster, Jack Katz. Photo courtesy of the latter; sorry the quality isn't better, but Jack tells us this version was already enhanced from a blurry original.
popping out. He’d get tired from walking too much, though it wasn’t that obvious. The reason I got fired from Jerry Iger’s is that I looked at Baker’s stuff and said, “Your stuff is so beautiful. If you can just show your stuff to places like The Saturday Evening Post, and some of these other places, you really should. You’re better than the rest of us.” I figured Matt was afraid that if he were to jump into that, he might not make it, and he knew the tension that was going on with the illustration market. They were bringing more and more photography into the set. Unfortunately, a guy whom we were walking behind overheard me. He told Jerry Iger about it, and Iger asked me, “Did you tell Matt to quit this job?” I said, “No, I said he didn’t have to quit to do illustration.” He said, “Well, you’re fired.” Frankly, I was about to go anyway. I was there six or seven months. JA: How did Iger treat you and the others? KATZ: You know how they used to make up these imitation countries in the movies? Iger was like a sergeant in one of those imitation countries; he was kind of a buffoon, and at the same time you had to take him seriously. He would strut around like he was somebody special. JA: Do you think Matt Baker was accepted there, considering the prejudice of the times?
Iger And—Well, That’s Definitely Not Eisner! Jerry Iger dines out in New York in 1942 with his writer and later studio partner Ruth Roche. This photo first appeared in Jay Disbrow’s important study The Iger Comic Kingdom, which was reprinted in full, with many illustrations, in A/E #21… still available from TwoMorrows. [©2010 the respective copyright holders.]
KATZ: Matt was accepted, at least to his face. I don’t know what all went on there, but really, Matt and I got along beautifully. I used to just praise his stuff to the ceiling. I used to say, “I wish I could draw women like you.” He thanked me and, in fact, Jerry caught me twice just taking a look while Matt was drawing women in the stories, and told me to get back to my desk. Matt was older than me, of course. He won by way of his art, and he won in spades. Really, none of the others could draw half as well as he could. He was treated with respect. He was a very quiet man. He didn’t like to talk about his heart problems. Later on, he said, “Look, Jack, I have a bad heart, and there’s no way I’m going to turn that around.” He was very, very straightforward, didn’t complain. He did his work. He was, in my opinion, one of the top illustrators, and a good storyteller. I admired him as a person, and his skin color was meaningless to me. With me around, no one in the shop ever, in any way, disparaged him. Besides, Jerry Iger would walk around, strutting with his belly out, and he would look at you. Man, he would freeze everyone.
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“What Hath Kurtzman Wrought?” Part II Of Our Issue-By-Issue Look At The Mid-1950s Mad Comics Imitations by Ger Apeldoorn
A/E
EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: Alter Ego #86 cover-featured the first half of Ger’s guided tour of the dozen or so Mad wannabes of 1953-55. Those were the years when Harvey Kurtzman’s inspired brainchild was still a four-color comic, before that alreadybestselling EC title was transmuted into a black-&white 25¢ magazine and swiftly grew under Kurtzman, then particularly under second editor Al Feldstein (and publisher Bill Gaines), into a national phenomenon. Along with delving into the historical background of parodies done in comics style, Part I of this article surveyed St. John Publications’ Whack (plus a left-over tale or two printed in The Three Stooges), Timely/Marvel’s Crazy, Wild, and Riot (including the three 1956 issues of the latter, which was briefly revived after Mad had moved on to its b&w format), and Charlton’s Eh! (whose four final issues were retitled From Here to Insanity). In this segment, with art provided by Ger himself except where otherwise noted, the author covers the remaining color comics whose logos were featured in the classic “Julius Caesar” how-to-parody story in Mad #17 (Nov. 1954)—plus the one or two that weren’t. Once again, because it, like Mad #1-23, has been fully and beautifully reprinted in still-available hardcover volumes by Russ Cochran, EC’s own official Mad imitation, Panic, which was edited by future Kurtzman successor Feldstein, receives no separate detailed listing—but samples from its (and Mad’s) pages will be seen in what follows, for contrast with work in the “unauthorized” Mad competitors, beginning on the facing page with…
When Kurtzman Went Mad An EC house ad for Mad #3 that appeared in Weird Science #18 (March-April 1953)—and, at top of page, a far later self-caricature of Mad creator Harvey Kurtzman, featuring his trademark signature. The Mad cover art is by Kurtzman, who probably also laid out the ad’s framing art, which was finished by Wally Wood. Thanks to John Benson for the portrait by HK. [Kurtzman art ©2010 Harvey Kurtzman Estate, courtesy of Kitchen, Lind & Assoc., LLC; EC house ad ©2010 William M. Gaines, Agent, Inc.]
“What Hath Kurtzman Wrought?”—Part II
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FLIP The Harvey Girls And Guys In the year in which one Mad imitation swiftly followed another, Harvey Publications was not quick to join the parade and was one of the first to drop out of it. The premier issue of Flip didn’t appear until April 1954, the second and final one two months later. Both issues were almost completely illustrated by Bob Powell and Howard Nostrand, under editor Sid Jacobson. Nostrand had started in the business as Powell’s assistant and in 1952 had left that artist’s studio to work on his own. Both did a lot of work for the Harvey war, horror, and romance titles. In an interview with Bhob Stewart for Graphic Story Magazine #16 (June 1974), Nostrand said this about the title: “Bob Powell was not a particularly humorous fellow. He didn’t know how to write humor. He didn’t know the whole premise of humor. The whole thing just eluded him. When we were doing this humor magazine for Harvey, I ended up writing the whole damn thing and drawing half of it, and Powell was doing the other half.” [A/E EDITOR’S NOTE: See an interview with Howard Nostrand, and coverage of Harvey’s 1950s horror mags, in A/E #89. Photos of both Nostrand and Powell can be found there.] Apparently a third issue of Flip was planned, because sketches (with script) by Nostrand for three pages of a satire of “Sheena, Queen of the
He Said, Sheena Said… (Left:) Howard Nostrand’s circa-1954 layouts for the splash page of “Shaända the Jungle Gal,” which, he said in Bill Spicer’s Graphic Story Magazine #16 (Summer ’74), was done for the never-published third issue of Harvey Comics’ Flip. The writer/artist added that such layouts were the form in which he submitted stories he was also going to draw. Thanks to Aaron Caplan for gifting Ye Editor with a copy of GSM #16! (Above:) Still, obviously, some script and art changes were made… for when the tale finally saw print in Harvey Hits #1 (Sept. 1957), it was as “Shirl the Jungle Girl,” with much of the dialogue altered. Even the sequence in which Shaända swings into a tree had become Shirl (with reduced cleavage) carelessly letting a tree branch knock her off an elephant’s back. While the “Shirl” title is clearly cleverer than “Shaända,” the earlier gag sequence was almost undeniably superior. Of course, Nostrand may have decided to do these changes on his own, without prompting by editor Sid Jacobson. John Benson, who sent this scan, tells us: “The faces of the [story’s] villains, which Nostrand had intended to resemble Tim Tyler and Spud [according to GSM #16], have been changed by another artist, though this may have been dictated by the Harveys, not the Code.” Benson reports that Nostrand had also worked on other material for Flip #3 before the title was canceled. Incidentally, the rest of Harvey Hits #1 was composed of reprints of the newspaper comic strip The Phantom. [Art & story ©2010 Harvey Publications or successors in interest.] John informs us that the next issue of his magazine Squa Tront, which is due out sometime this year, will feature more details about “Shirl/Shaända,” including an interview with Howard Nostrand in which he discussed the story.
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Centaur Spread – Part III Continuing Our Look At The Colorful CENTAUR COMICS GROUP & Related Companies by Lee Boyette NOTE FROM LEE BOYETTE: I wish to acknowledge my good friend Hames Ware, without whom this article would have been impossible to write. His information, input, encouragement, and guidance have been a source of inspiration for many years.
A/E
EDITOR’S NOTE: In issues #85 & 87, Lee related the saga of the early but little-known Centaur Comics Group and its even more obscure predecessors and descendants. This time, we continue with his catalog of the various comic book titles, arranged
In the Centaur Ring These two house ads call attention to some of Centaur’s most famous heroes—if that’s not a contradiction in terms for such a little-known line. The ad above is from Amazing Mystery Funnies, Vol. 3, #10 (Oct. 1939)… the Amazing Man Comics ad from AMF #20 (May 1940). Lots of great Jacquet shop/Funnies, Inc. artists show up here. The “Amazing Man” splash is by Bill Everett, “The Shark” by Lew Glanzman, “The Iron Skull” by Carl Burgos, and “Minimidget” by John Kolb (the latter of whom is not on the list of Centaur personnel)… while “Speed Centaur” and “Fantom of the Fair” are probably by Gustavson, and “Masked Marvel” by Ben Thompson. Pics of Everett, Glanzman, Burgos, and Gustavson were seen in A/E #85. And in case you’re wondering—the name “Amazing-Man” was often hyphenated in the various stories, but not always in its cover logo. [©2010 the respective copyright holders.] Incidentally, as a sort of shorthand, the term “Centaur” will generally be used in these captions to refer to the entire group of companies often referred to by that term… but, as the list on the next page or so details, there were actually at least four corporations or partnerships (and some of these had more than one name!).
by company, and a listing of the known personnel of those companies. All art in this chapter was provided by Lee and his colleague Jon R. Evans, unless otherwise noted. And now, let’s saddle up the ol’ Centaur—and cantor along…!
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Comic Fandom Archive
Headline– The Forgotten Fanzine! The Teenage Creations Of STEVE GERBER - Part II by John G. Pierce Introduction: Last issue, John began his coverage of Steve Gerber’s early days in comic fandom with a discussion of Steve’s amateur characters, who appeared in the pages of Gerber’s early fanzine Headline. This time, John goes into more depth about one of the first of the fabulous fanzines of the 1960s. —Bill Schelly.
This approach, too, would become the basis for many a fanzine devoted to new comics about original, fan-developed characters. Perhaps the most notable of these would be the Texas Trio’s Star-Studded Comics… but the first such was Steve Gerber’s Headline.
“Headline’s Got Everything!”
The eventual appearance of Headline #1 probably owes a great deal to Dr. Jerry Bails, the man generally regarded as “the Father of Comics Fandom,” for it was via Jerry that Steve met his earliest contributors. These were fans who had been receiving Alter-Ego and had written to Jerry with some of their own ideas for original characters.
T
he first fanzine devoted exclusively to comic books—most especially, to comic book super-heroes—was Alter-Ego (the name was originally hyphenated), published and edited for March 1961 by Jerry G. Bails, with Roy Thomas listed as co-editor. Following in the wake of its first issue came other fanzines devoted to comics heroes.
Alter-Ego #1 had featured news (in a section called “On the Drawing Board,” which Jerry Bails soon launched as a separate publication of that name; later its title was changed to The Comic Reader), parodies (Roy Thomas’ “Bestest League of America,” showing some of the skills and punniness he would years later apply to Not Brand Echh and Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!), articles, and original fiction. The fiction in Alter-Ego #1 & 2 was by Roy Thomas, as well. Technically, what he wrote therein was labelled a “revival,” since it was a new version of the old DC hero, The Spectre. (Before long, DC decided to put the clamps on allowing fanzines to use their copyrighted characters in this fashion.) However, except for visual aspects, this incarnation retained few of the attributes of the comic book Spectre of the More Fun and AllStar Comics in the early ’40s, and was, in more ways than not, an original character created by a fan.
When Headline #1 appeared around the spring of 1962 (only a year after Alter-Ego #1), the cover—which was depicted last issue—showed three as-yet-unidentified super-heroes stating consecutively, in Huey, Dewey, and Louie fashion: “At last...” “...the long-awaited...” “....first issue of....” as they displayed a banner reading “Headline No. 1.” “Long-awaited” was an understatement of fantastic magnitude, for it had been in the planning and preparation stages for over a year. Following the cover, rendered in dittoed color by Headline’s co-editor and main artist, Paul Seydor, a page called “Policies of the House” welcomed readers to “the first issue of the most unusual fanzine ever. Many of the current fanzines are devoted to movies—they’re good. Some are TV fanzines—also good. Comic fanzines are good, too. Well, Headline is all of these in one. If your special like is comics, we’ve got spectacular stories about all-new original comic heroes and articles about comics— old and new. Is your dish TV? We’ll have articles on current TV programs. From time to time, we’ll run articles on movies and their stars. Headline’s got everything!” With this enthusiastic, if not totally accurate, description, a new fan-editor launched his first publication. (Headline #1’s indicia art and several other fan-drawings by Gerber were seen in A/E’s previous issue.) Strangely, the fanzine’s first feature was not a super-hero, but a tale scripted by Steve and called “When Knighthood was in Flour”—a short comedy story which he had written originally as a
Deadlines And Headline (Above:) Steve Gerber (circa the 1980s?), when he’d become a successful producer and writer of TV animation—and (at left) the initial two Howard the Duck daily newspaper strips, from 1977. Script by SG; art by Gene Colan. [Howard strips ©2009 Marvel Characters, Inc.]
Headline: The Forgotten Fanzine
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creations, so he would enlighten them. “As you may have guessed by now, I’m the humble, modest type. Seriously, this column is not an outlet for my bragging. (I use the whole magazine for that!) It’s a one-page series to introduce you to my various super-hero creations, so that they may be used in later issues without having to explain their origins,” Steve explained. This first installment featured Saturn-Boy, already discussed in Part I of this series. And, having decided that readers might be curious to see his other heroic creations, Steve did a whole page consisting of his Heroes’ Club. (See A/E #90.) The following feature was Headline #1’s only departure from the original fan-fiction format—an article by Doug Marden on the original Flash. Though hardly a comprehensive article by today’s standards, it was fine for younger fans who hungered and thirsted after any bit of information on 1940s stories, in those days before reprints were readily available. Included was a crude tracing of the cover of Flash Comics #1— but remember, Headline’s medium was ditto, so this was probably the best that could have been done. As I said, for the time, it was fine.
Cats! Writer/editor Steve Gerber traced panels from a few of Roy Thomas’ own amateur comics (done at age 11 or so) for the “Original Heroes of Yesteryear” feature in Headline #1. Seen at left are a page that features panels from tales of the masked jungle hero “Cat-Man.” The “Phantom Man” page referred to was repro’d in A/E #50. [Text ©2009 Estate of Steve Gerber; art ©2009 Roy Thomas.]
school assignment. It had nothing to do with super-heroes or comics, though it did contain a masked villain, The Green Knight, who was eventually unmasked by the three bakers, Harry, Nathan, and Stupington. Steve’s teacher had given him the very high grade of A- on the work; Headline’s readers were to rate it considerably lower. Somewhat wearily, perhaps—or maybe warily—the reader must have turned to “Beware the Supernatural,” a series designed to showcase supernatural heroes, its first entry being my own creation, The Black Hand. That first story, a rather undistinguished origin called “The Haunted House of Black Hand,” did at least have the boost of a full-page illustration by Paul Seydor. Now, finally, readers were able to identify one of the figures on the front cover—a purple-garbed, faceless creature, cast rather in the mold of The Spectre, named Black Hand. (I might as well point out here that this is not exactly the way I had originally envisioned the character, who was inspired by Roy Thomas’ Spectre revival in A/E #1-2, and by comments about the original version which had appeared in A/E’s letter column. At first I had made The Black Hand a white-skinned figure in typical ghostly fashion, with only his hands, the source of his great power, being black. But Steve suggested a better idea, from another source of inspiration—a villain called The Invisible Destroyer, an early foe of the Silver Age Green Lantern, from Showcase #23. The idea of a costumed figure, with a mask and cowl but an invisible face, appealed to me, so I restructured the character in accordance with Steve’s suggestion. In a later story, that face would play an important role.) The last page of the “Black Hand” story also contained a list of “Coming Attractions in Headline.” It is significant to note that, of the five listed, only two actually appeared, both in the second issue; the other three never “came.” Next, fans were treated to two pages of pure Steve Gerber—writing and artwork. The latter term is used rather advisedly, for Steve never claimed to be an artist, yet he insisted on decorating Headline with his cartoony drawings. This section was called “What a Bunch of Characters!” and was based on the premise that readers were dying to know about Steve’s
It was back to original fiction for the next piece, “The Good Samaritan,” by Larry Montgomery. Though not badly written, it featured the least-original hero, as Earthman Jim Benson was given, by a spaceman, a ring capable of emitting powerful blue lightning bolts. Along with this, Kalnor (the spaceman) gave Jim a costume not unlike that of the Silver Age Flash, and told him to guard Earth from peril. (So a second figure on the cover was now identified.) As might be expected, readers noticed a resemblance between this character and a certain popular DC hero of the day, so Jim Benson never turned up again, though “more thrilling exploits of The Guard” were promised. (To be fair, it should be noted that The Guard’s ring was not quite as extensive in the scope of its powers as Green Lantern’s was and is. It could restore wounded and damaged people and objects, as well as enable the wearer to see great distances, make his body hard as steel, and become invisible. Nonetheless, what future could there be for a character who was still little more than Green Lantern wearing Flash’s costume?) A half-page ad (done by an eight-year-old boy, readers were informed) for Headline #2 was followed by a couple of pages of advertisements by independent advertisers—and then readers came to the first installment of “Original Heroes of Yesteryear,” a feature devoted to the characters created by prominent fans during their youths. The fan whose work was spotlighted in issue #1’s presentation was none other than the ubiquitous Roy Thomas. The article itself was written by Steve, and augmented by several drawings done by Roy nearly a decade earlier: Cat-Man, Phantom Man, and the cartoony Super-Kat (who changed from Klarence Kat by saying “WOEM”—“Meow” spelled backwards). And finally came what most readers had probably been hoping and waiting for: an original strip, “Little Giant.” The credits read “Story by S.G. Ross – Art by Ronn Foss.” This bears some explaining. Ronn Foss was no stranger to fandom, having already drawn various strips including Parley Holman’s “Dimension Man” in the latter’s fanzine Spotlite. Subsequently he would draw a strip called “The Eclipse” (sort-of an unofficial Dr. Mid-Nite revival) for Alter Ego. Ronn’s artwork was very much a blend of his two greatest influences, Joe Kubert and the Simon & Kirby team of the ’40s. Ronn’s work on “Little Giant” was adequate, though far from the quality he would achieve in photo-offset printing in later fanzines. But what about S.G. Ross? How many people knew his real identity cannot be determined now, but any sharp-eyed reader should have remembered that Little Giant had been listed among the membership of the Heroes’ Club in the “What a Bunch of Characters” column earlier in the fanzine. Insofar as Steve Gerber frequently signed himself “S.R.G.,” it shouldn’t have been difficult to determine that “S.G. Ross” was merely a pseudonym for “Steven Ross Gerber,” if indeed it ever really was a secret, though Steve clearly believed it to be so.
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Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!
Dr. Lauretta Bender: Comics’ Anti-Wertham —Part 3 Introduction by Michael T. Gilbert
E
ver wonder what went on behind the scenes at DC Comics during the Golden Age? For instance, how much did DC pay the psychiatrists and psychologists on their Editorial Advisory Board to make sure their comics were kid-friendly? Did the experts use kids to field-test every single issue of Superman and The Fox and the Crow, or did they just wing it? Well, if you have wondered—do we have a treat for you!
1954 Senate Testimony of Dr. Lauretta Bender, Part One The Chairman: Dr. Bender, will you be sworn, please? Do you solemnly swear that the evidence you will give to this sub-committee of the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate, will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Dr. Bender: I do. TESTIMONY OF DR. LAURETTA BENDER, SENIOR PSYCHIATRIST, BELLEVUE HOSPITAL, NEW YORK, N. Y.
The Chairman: Doctor, will you state your full Lauretta Bender, Feb 1935. [Photo name, address, and association for the record, ©2009 Peter Schilder.] In Alter Ego #87 & #88, we reprinted “The Effect of please? Comic Books on the Ideology of Children” from The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, XI. That 1941 article by Dr. Dr. Bender: My full name is Dr. Lauretta Bender. I am an M.D. My Lauretta Bender and Reginald S. Lourie, M.D., was one of the earliest New York City residential address is 140 West 16th Street. I have quite articles discussing the therapeutic effects of comics on children. It’s a a number of associations. The major ones are that I am a senior fascinating piece, referencing spanking-new DC heroes like Superman, psychiatrist on the psychiatric division of Bellevue Hospital, a civilBatman, Hour-Man, and Hawkman, as well as more obscure features like service position in New York City, a position I have had since 1930, Columbia’s The Face and Fiction House’s Red Comet. and since 1934 I have been in charge of the children’s ward. I am also a professor of clinical psychiatry in New York University Medical At the time, Dr. Bender was working at Bellevue Hospital in New York. School. I am also on the training program of the Veterans’ Ironically, the director of Bellevue’s mental hygiene clinic was Dr. Fredric Administration, which is associated with the New York University Wertham, the very man who in 1954 would demonize comics in his Medical School. I am on the editorial board of the National Comic bestseller Seduction of the Innocent. It’s unknown whether the two ever Companies as an adviser, on the advisory editorial board. This spring I discussed their opposing views on comics, though it’s quite likely. Dr. accepted an Bender’s son, Peter Schilder, doesn’t recall his mother ever specifically appointment as mentioning Dr. Wertham. In fact, when I asked him about it, he wasn’t consultant in child familiar with the name at all. psychiatry in the In any case, shortly after her article appeared, DC comics hired Dr. New Jersey Bender to head their Editorial Advisory Board. Bender’s credentials, Neuropsychiatric described in her testimony, were impressive and gave DC added crediInstitute. I think that bility. From July 1944 until 1954 (when the Comics Code Authority took covers the major over), her name could be seen in virtually every DC comic. But in her ones. testimony she states that she began working for DC as early as 1942, a The Chairman: year after her psychiatric journal article was published. In fact, that article Thank you. Counsel, directly led to her job at DC. you may proceed to Comic books had always been an easy target for critics. Almost from examine the doctor. the start, articles warned anxious parents about their dangers. It all came Mr. Beaser: Doctor, to a head in 1954 when Senate hearings were held to decide whether to we are inquiring ban all crime and horror comics, which Wertham singled out as particuhere into the larly damaging. Though the atmosphere was decidedly anti-comics, child possible effects of experts and comics industry veterans were invited to give testimony. crime and horror Some, including Mad publisher Bill Gaines, testified that comics were a comics on children, harmless outlet for kids. But many others declined to speak up. Dr. both normal and Bender, however, gave a well-reasoned defense of comics. We’re printing some who are her testimony in its entirety. emotionally Comics fans will find her nuts-and-bolts descriptions of DC’s inner disturbed. Could workings fascinating. One juicy tidbit includes the fact that she received you give us your three copies of each comic published during her tenure in the ’40s and ’50s. Talk about a comic fan’s dream come true! Her son Peter recalls that, New York’s Governor even though his mom never prevented them from reading comics, her Nelson Rockefeller and three children had little interest in the leftovers. Dr. Bender at
And now, here’s part one of Dr. Bender’s testimony from April 22, 1954.
Creedmoor Hospital, Christmas 1965. [Photo ©2009 Peter Schilder.]
Dr. Lauretta Bender: Comics’ Anti-Wertham—Part 3
opinion of the possible effects of this kind of reading material, crime and horror comics books, on, say, emotionally disturbed children, or a normal child?
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Charles Biro drew the cover to Crime Does Not Pay #22 (July 1942), which was actually the first issue of the comic. Pretty strong stuff! [©2009 the respective copyright holders.]
Dr. Bender: In the field of the emotionally disturbed child, I have long been considered a professional expert. I consider myself such. My experience you have to realize is with children under the age of 12. However, it is true that I have been working 20 years with these children. Many of them have now reached adolescence and adulthood.
In my early years in working at Bellevue Hospital when we were hard put to find techniques for exploring the child’s emotional life, his mind, his ways of reacting, when the child was separated from the home and brought to us in the wards at Bellevue, I found the comics early on were one of the most valuable means of carrying on such examinations, and that was the beginning of my interest in the comic books. So that my first scientific paper on the comics appeared—I believe I gave it in 1940 before the National American Neuropsychiatric Association and it was published in 1941, before I had any connection whatever with the comic people. Now, when you ask me as broad a question as to what is the possible effect of such horror comic books—and the gesture makes it also broader—upon the emotionally disturbed and the normal child, it is almost overwhelmingly a broad statement. However, I have spent a great deal of time; I have written many articles. I, too, have a book in press which has at least a chapter on this subject, otherwise deals with it, and in general it is my opinion that the comics, [EDITOR’S NOTE: “Comics” is probably a transcribing error; Dr. Bender probably actually said “children.”] as I have known them and worked with them through these years and the kind of emotionally disturbed children that I have known and worked with, and my own three normal children show a remarkable capacity to select from the comics material they need and can use, a capacity which should not be underrated, and it is one of the specific characteristics of the comics that this kind of a selection can be used on the comics where it cannot be used, for example, in a movie. It can be used in television and it can be used in radio, by the television so they can turn it off.
They say, “Mom, don’t you know it is only television, it is not real.” In my opinion it is the same thing about these comics.
Mr. Beaser: What do you mean by “selection”? Selections of comics themselves, or selections out of the comics?
Mr. Beaser: In the final shot they showed the child getting away with the three murders. Do you think that a child would identify himself or herself with the little girl?
Dr. Bender: Both. Children love to collect comics. I will also say that the less intelligent children and those who have the least reading capacity collect the most comics. It is the story that we used to tell in school that if we could sleep on that enormous tome conceivably we could get something out of it and pass our exams the next day.
Dr. Bender: No. The child would only identify itself with such a child who had committed these 3 murders if there had been 3 murders in the child’s family, for which people were looking suspiciously at this child. In that case the child with horror would throw the comics out of the window.
In fact, I have frequently said I can make a diagnosis on a nonreading child who is brought into my presence for the first time with comic books stored away in his blouse—boys don’t like the word “blouse,” excuse me, shirt—like the squirrel has nuts stored away in their cheeks—now, as to these, Mr. Clendenen brought them in to me the other day. I told him I hadn’t seen any of these. The children don’t bring them on the ward at Bellevue. My children don’t bring them at home. And when I tried to look through some of them I thought they were unspeakably silly. The more an artist tries to show horror and the more details he puts into the picture, which most poor artists do, the sillier the thing becomes, and the children laugh at it.
Mr. Beaser: Would the child identify its mother—or its father, with the mother and father in the story comic?
The children also will frequently tell me—for instance, on television, I have to listen to it with my own children occasionally and I am aghast, “My God, how can you stand such things, children?”
Mr. Beaser: A child would not identify himself or herself with any one of the figures in there? For example, we had a picture yesterday and a story about a child who murdered her foster mother. Dr. Bender: Mr. Clendenen told me that story.
Dr. Bender: Not unless their mother and father were like that mother and father. Mr. Beaser: Since delinquency does appear in broken homes as well as others, assuming this is a broken home and they depicted a broken home, would the child identify his own mother and father with the pictures in the comic book? Dr. Bender: If he would so identify himself, then it would be his tendency again to discard the comic book or go into a panic. I have seen children in panics, as I say, not over comics usually because they are easily rejected, but over movies. I have seen children brought to