Issuu

“ A P R I L

April

F O O L S ”

I S S U E !

2010

N$o6..3995

HOGS THE SPOTLIGHT!

AMBUSH BUG • BYRNE’S SHE-HULK • FORBUSH-MAN • MAD in the ’70s • REID FLEMING interviews with FRED HEMBECK & ALAN KUPPERBERG • plus DAVID CHELSEA IN LOVE!

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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

Volume 1, Number 39 April 2010 Celebrating the Best Comics of the '70s, '80s, and Beyond!

The Retro Comics Experience!

EDITOR Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

COVER ARTISTS Mike Wieringo and Karl Kesel COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADERS John Morrow and Eric Nolen-Weathington SPECIAL THANKS Roger Ash Heritage Comics Michael Aushenker Auctions Big Boy Restaurants Adam Hughes Alex Boney Greg Hyland Al Jaffee David Boswell Mike Juette Brett Breeding Arnie Kogen Michael Browning Alan Kupperberg Bob Burden Stan Lee John Byrne Andy Mangels Katherine Carroll Marvel Comics Lex Carson Steve Mellor Dewey Cassell Allen E. Miller David Chelsea Al Nickerson Gene Colan Tom Powers Paris Cullins Jim Salicrup Dick DeBartolo Vanessa Hope Tom DeFalco Schneider Steve Donnelly Irwin Schwab Shelton Drum Richard A. Scott Ruben Espinosa Bart Sears Al Feldstein Larry Siegel Robert Loren Fleming Dave Sim Rich Fowlks Steve Skeates Keith Giffen Anthony Snyder Michael Grabois Roy Thomas Grand Comic-Book Don Vaughan Database Matt Wieringo Larry Hama Marv Wolfman Dustin Harbin Eddy Zeno Fred Hembeck Tom Ziuko

BACK SEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 FLASHBACK: Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Sorry, Homer Simpson! This Porker is the real Spider-Pig! INTERVIEW: Fred Hembeck, Comicdom’s Funny Bone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Pull up a chair and take a load off with one of our favorite cartoonists FLASHBACK: Forbush-Man: The Way-Out Wonder! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 The not-so-secret origin and history of Marvel’s most subpar hero PRO2PRO: The Ambush Bug Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming have a Bug up their—whatever FLASHBACK: Gamma-Irradiated Humor: John Byrne’s Sensational She-Hulk! . . . . . . .34 Jennifer Walters breaks the fourth wall in this look back at a Byrne classic WHAT THE--?!: Manny and the Mascot: Bob’s Big Boy Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 An original T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents artist found work drawing a diner-distributed freebie ROUGH STUFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Pencil art rarities from the personal vault of Tom Ziuko INTERVIEW: The Versatile Alan Kupperberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 A revealing chat with the artist of everything from Captain America to Evil Clown FLASHBACK: MAD in the ’70s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Some of the usual gang of idiots regale us with tales of MAD’s most successful decade FLASHBACK: Marvel Gone MAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 Remembering the House of Ideas’ Bronze Age parody titles Spoof, Crazy!, and Arrgh! FLASHBACK: Flaming Carrot: The Anti-Anti-Hero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 Bob Burden discusses at length his carrot-headed character—with Dave Sim joining in! BEYOND CAPES: Reid Fleming, the World’s Toughest Milkman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 The story of David Boswell’s rogue-to-riches protagonist INTERVIEW: David Boswell: The Man Behind the Milkman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 Answers to your Reid Fleming whys, hows, and whens, from the creator himself INTERVIEW: For The “Love” of David Chelsea! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 The cartoonist behind the cult indie favorite David Chelsea in Love ART GALLERY: The Beasts and the Bold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 Funny-animal heroes meet DC’s finest in sketches by Breeding, Cullins, Hughes, and Sears BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 Reader feedback on “Comics Go to War” issue #37 BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 time per year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor, 118 Edgewood Avenue NE, Concord, NC 28025. E-mail: euryman@gmail.com. Eight-issue subscriptions: $60 Standard US, $80 First Class US, $85 Canada, $107 Surface International, $155 Airmail International. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Mike Wieringo and Karl Kesel. Spider-Ham TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2010 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing. BACK ISSUE is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING.

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Ambush Bug TM & © DC Entertainment.

DESIGNER Rich J. Fowlks

This issue’s theme means a lot to me—no foolin’. Our cover star—Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham—was my first professional comic-book scripting credit. (The story was the backup in Marvel Tales #205, Nov. 1987, featuring the villainous Bookworm— Holy Roddy McDowall!—drawn by Ron Zalme and Pierre Fournier, and edited by a true prince of a fellow, Jim Salicrup.) I’ve had the good fortune to work on two of this issue’s other featured players, Forbush-Man and Ambush Bug, as writer and editor, respectively, and the embarrassment of attempting to write Sensational She-Hulk after John Byrne left the title (those issues are to me what Batman & Robin is to George Clooney). Plus Alan Kupperberg, one of our interview subjects, penciled some of my Spider-Ham backups. So for me this issue is a reunion, of sorts. Credit our designer, Rich Fowlks, with the idea to do an “April Fools” issue. A while back he sent me a cover mock-up, pitching the idea of an issue gathering some of the funny and offbeat characters and comic books of the Bronze and early Modern Ages. On Rich’s mock-up was a black-suited Spider-Ham pencil illo by Mike Wieringo, drawn for the 2007 Heroes Con convention program mere months before Mike’s unexpected death. What an intriguing idea for an issue’s theme—as well as an opportunity to posthumously feature a cover by the wonderful, woefully missed Mr. Wieringo. Shelton Drum and Dustin Harbin of Charlotte, North Carolina’s Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find comics shop (sponsors of Heroes Con) graciously provided a scan of Mike Wieringo’s art (seen in the inset), and the late artist’s brother, Matt, kindly agreed to let us use it for our cover. Then Karl Kesel, Mike Wieringo’s friend and frequent collaborator, signed on to ink it— and, per ye editor’s request, altered Spider-Ham’s costume from the black version to the red-and-blues we know and love! And lo, a cover was born! A BIG thank-you to these gentlemen for making this cover a reality. (This issue marks the latest entry in a long line of Spider-Man family covers for BACK ISSUE: #12 [black-suited Spidey], #23 [Mary Jane], #32 [Spider-Mobile], #35 [Kraven’s Last Hunt], and even #36 [one-time Spider-foe Morbius the Living Vampire vs. Werewolf by Night]. But we’ve yet to produce a “real” Spider-Man cover—but trust me, we will, with issue #44’s “Spider-Man in the Bronze Age” issue, featuring a Spidey painted cover by … oh, I’ll keep that to myself for a while.) Speaking of covers, I’ve added a bonus to this editorial: the unpublished Brian Stelfreeze/Adam Hughes cover for one of the issues of my She-Hulk run, #53 (July 1993).

Michael Eury

Inc.

Now, on to a big announcement (and no, this isn’t some lame April Fool’s joke): Beginning with BACK ISSUE #40, this magazine will be published eight times per year! That’s right, for those of you who just can’t get enough of ’70s and ’80s comics, there’ll be an extra two issues each year for you. Additionally, the 16 pages in the center of the magazine will be published in full-color, on glossy paper! Readers have responded favorably to our almost-all-color digital editions—and admittedly, ye editor, who proofreads BI in color PDFs, has been hankering for color, too—so color is coming! There’s some “bad” news, though, which I hope you’ll take well: As a cost-cutting measure we’re shaving down our page count from 100 to 84 pages (ten of the pages eliminated will be house ads, though), and our cover price will increase by one dollar. We’re all reeling from tough economic times, but we hope that you’ll stick with us, as we pledge that we will maintain the highest standards of quality—and fun—possible.

pssssT!!! what say we skip all this jibberjabber? meet me on page 34!

Michael Browning

There was a creative explosion in the 1980s that brought us The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, Miracleman, Secret Wars, Crisis on Infinite Earths, and … Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham! And no, I didn’t mean The Spectacular Spider-MAN, although that series was pretty good then, too. I actually meant the Spectacular Spider-HAM! Around 1983, when comics were booming and Marvel and DC were rolling out hits like Uncanny X-Men and New Teen Titans, Tom DeFalco, then a writer for Marvel, decided to pitch something totally new—a parody of Marvel Comics characters as funny animals.

THE (PREVIOUSLY UNTOLD) SECRET ORIGIN OF SPIDER-HAM DeFalco and Larry Hama, who had just come off a long stint as editor of Marvel’s MAD magazine knockoff, Crazy, brainstormed and came up with Spider-Ham. DeFalco thought the idea would make a great comic and an even better cartoon. “Larry Hama and I were sitting in his office talking about the standard nonsense that creative people talk about,” DeFalco says. “We were talking about Marvel and licensing and that type of stuff. We said, ‘Marvel can license just about anything, but the one thing they can’t license is plush.’ They had nothing for young kids or plush-kind of toys. So Larry said, ‘You know what we should really be doing? Funny-animal comic books!’ “Now, Larry Hama is so wide in terms of the depth of his creativity,” DeFalco continues. “It depends on what you know him from. I think the vast majority of people know him from G. I. Joe or Conan. Or Crazy magazine, which shows the depth of the man. Larry has always been a fan of funny-animal comic books, like Carl Barks’ stuff, and he said, ‘What we should do

April Fools Issue

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Marvel Zoo-in-One (below) Spider-Ham teams with Captain Americat in Marvel Tails #1 (Nov. 1983). Script by Tom DeFalco, art by Mark Armstrong and Joe Albelo. (below right) Marvel Tails #1’s cover, by Steve Mellor. © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

is a funny-animal comic book.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean, like Peter Porker, Spectacular Spider-Ham?’ And he said, ‘Exactly!’” And so DeFalco and Hama began brainstorming the first Peter Porker story. “We just threw ideas around,” DeFalco says. “In those days, if you wanted to do a one-shot or a title, it was fairly easy. We made up a thing called a new project memo and we called the book ‘Marvel Tails’ and we put it through, mentioning that we were doing it for licensing and stuff, and it was approved pretty quickly. We did the comic book and, as we designed what the character was going to look like, Larry knew this person who made dolls and we commissioned this person to make a Peter Porker doll! We had that doll in the office for years and years and I still don’t know whatever happened to my Peter Porker doll. But Larry and I paid for that doll to be made. We had a wonderful time working on the comic book and it went out and we forgot about it because we went onto the next bunch of projects.”

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Hama pitched an entire line of funny-animal parodies of Marvel characters, including Spider-Ham, Captain Americat, Ducktor Doom, Hulk Bunny, and the Fantastic Fur. “I did drawings of all of them,” Hama says. “I also did designs for little-kid versions of the same heroes.” And history was made with Marvel Tails #1 (Nov. 1983), starring Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham. Peter Porker was a mild-mannered spider who was bitten by a radioactive pig and became Spider-Ham. Aunt May Porker and J. Jonah Jackal first appeared alongside Peter Porker in this issue, which also featured the Goose Rider, Captain Americat, and Hulk Bunny. Mark Armstrong drew the first appearance of Spider-Ham, and DeFalco raves over his artwork for that issue. “Mark Armstrong was fabulous,” DeFalco says. “I had worked with him on a couple of things and he was a natural funny-animal artist. He was such a perfectionist that he could have done anything he set his mind to. He was a very slow and meticulous artist and a great artist. Mark was a freelancer and didn’t work in the office. He had done some work in Bizarre Adventures or something and he had done some work in Crazy magazine.” Also doing the art on that first issue was Steve Mellor and Joe Albelo, who both went on to work on the spin-off Spider-Ham bimonthly series. Mellor drew the cover to Marvel Tails #1. According to DeFalco, the one-shot was created in one afternoon. “Larry and I were sitting around and just started throwing out ideas, and I’m sure we had the basic framework of the story and the characters we were using. I don’t remember if I did that as a plot or as a full script or a storyboard. Too many years have gone by. Years ago, when I

SPIDER-HAM AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS … THE CARTOON? Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham was such a great concept that one might think it would lend itself to a cartoon or plush toys, as was the idea when Tom DeFalco and Larry Hama first came up with the characters for Marvel Tails #1. But neither a cartoon nor a toy was ever in the works for Peter Porker and his alter ego. “I think at one point,” DeFalco says, “someone came in and wanted to talk about it and the first thing they said was, ‘Oh, we love this concept and we think it’s great, but, the lead character can’t be a pig.’ I said, ‘But, the lead character is called Peter Porker, Spider-Ham.’ They said, ‘Oh, we can fix that.’ And I said ‘Okay! I’d be very pleased to hear your ideas.’ And I don’t think we ever heard from them again. I always remember that one discussion. The people who did animation used to feel that they knew better and, maybe, for their market, they did. Maybe pigs hold no appeal to the animation market. I didn’t presume to tell them what would and would not work for their market. I thought, ‘Okay, let me hear what they have to say. If they are going to develop Peter Porker as something other than a pig, let’s see it!’ For all I know, they went back and tried to work on something and realized they couldn’t come up with anything and let it die!”

worked for Archie Comics, I did things in storyboards. I can’t draw, so it’s a bad storyboard. “We did it so we could have the comic book and have the Peter Porker doll. We walked up to licensing and we said, ‘Hey, we did this comic about Peter Porker and we’ve got this plush doll. What do you think?’ And licensing looked at it and said, ‘Nah, it’s not for us.’ And that was the end of the discussion! They had no interest in it at all. We walked away saying, ‘Oh, well, at least we had fun doing the comic book!’ In those days, you’d get your royalty statements like, nine months after the comic book went on sale. I had no idea if it sold. When licensing said they weren’t interested, I thought it was a failure, that it had bombed out.” Regarding the reaction to Marvel Tails #1 among his peers in the Marvel Bullpen, DeFalco says, “We got the usual feedback. There were guys in the office who look at anything and say, ‘Oh, man, this is something cool and different,’ and then there are the guys who look at it and say, ‘This is making fun of the characters! You can’t make fun of the characters!’ And then there are the guys who’d say, ‘What the hell is this?’ And then there are all the other guys who’d say, ‘Oh, here is an opportunity to make fun of Tom and Larry!’” But sales were good for the first and only issue of Marvel Tails. Although Marvel Tails sold well, still, it was only a one-shot and DeFalco moved on to other projects, not giving Spider-Ham too much more thought. That is, until he got a message that he was needed in Marvel president James Galton’s office for a meeting.

Solid Gold(en) Michael Golden provided this gorgeous cover art to Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 (May 1985). In the plane are J. Jonah Jackal and the series’ three junior members. © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Spider-Ham. Oh, and one of the best writers I worked with on Spider-Ham was a fella named Michael Eury. Maybe you should find out whatever happened to that guy!” “It was a drag when the Spider-Ham book was canceled,” Steve Mellor says. “After the series ended, I wrote three more Spider-Ham stories which appeared in serialized form in the back of [Marvel Tales]. I think Larry was gone from editing at Marvel around then and so any work there for me dried up. I did spot illustrations after that for a Sunday newspaper supplement called Family Weekly until they went out of business, then got work illustrating puzzles for Games magazine, then for some of the editors who left there and started a puzzle website. Bob Camp, who I met at Marvel, hired me to work on Ren and Stimpy for a little while. I wrote some plot outlines for them, two of which got produced: ‘Jerry the Belly Button Elf,’ for which I also did some character designs, and ‘Flod,’ which I also storyboarded and did the voiceover for. I haven’t cartooned professionally for awhile. I wouldn’t mind getting back into it somehow.” Spider-Ham backups appeared in Marvel Tales issues #201–212, 214–219, 223–230, 233, 236, 237, 239, 240, and 247.

BUT, THAT’S NOT ALL, FOLKS! Peter Porker has appeared in recent years as a feature in Spider-Man Family, on an Amazing Spider-Man variant cover, and in a Civil War one-shot (which doesn’t fit into Spider-Man continuity) written by J. Michael Straczynski. Tom DeFalco never really considered bringing Spider-Ham back during his tenure as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. “I wasn’t pushing for Spider-Ham to have his own book again or anything,” he laughs. But after he went back to freelance writing, DeFalco did bring back his creation. “In Spider-Man Family, in issues #5 and 6, I created Swiney-Girl. That came about because I spoke to Spider-Man editor Steve Wacker 12 • BACK ISSUE • April Fools Issue

and said, ‘Hey, in Spider-Man Family, have you ever thought of doing a Peter Porker story?’ And he goes, ‘No, not really. But why should we do a Peter Porker story? Why not Peter Porker’s daughter?’ “So I went back and tried to come up with a name, because SpiderHam works for Spider-Man, but it was a pain in the neck trying to come up with a name that would end up with Girl,” DeFalco, the co-creator and longtime writer of The Amazing Spider-Girl, says. “I’m kind of a goofball. As a writer, I like to do a lot of different types of things. I think that’s been lost over the years because I’ve been doing Spider-Girl for so many years that people think that’s all I do. Secretly, I’ve done Shrek, Shark Tales, Madagascar, and Monsters and Aliens for Titan Comics and then I do things for Moonstone, but people tend not to notice that other stuff. I love to do a variety of comics. I like to do funny animals, teenage humor, superheroes, Westerns, sword and sorcery. “I had a lot of fun writing Spider-Ham. We were having fun. Now, to a certain extent, Spider-Ham is still going with ‘Swiney-Girl.’ I think it’s cool when you create a character that sticks around. Like with Spider-Girl, I thought it was just going to be a one-shot thing.” Jim Salicrup says you can’t keep a good character down. “The idea of a funny-animal version of Spider-Man is simply a fun idea,” Salicrup says. “And hard to resist.” Matewan, West Virginia, native MICHAEL BROWNING is an award-winning newspaper editor, writer, and photographer, and is an advisor with The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. He’s contributed to Rolling Stone, BACK ISSUE, Comics Buyer’s Guide, Comic Book Marketplace, Rough Stuff, and Charlton Spotlight.

Fred Hembeck: a man who drives an Omnibus? Or, like Galactus, a galactic menace that tried to destroy the Marvel Universe? I interviewed Fred to find out. So, onward with hysterical Fred Hembeck! – Richard A. Scott

Richard A. Scott conducted on August 6, 2009

RICHARD A. SCOTT: I’d like to ask about your professional associations. You did three pages of assistant work for Bob Layton (Iron Man #117, page 6, and Marvel Premiere #47, pages 11 and 14)… FRED HEMBECK: Bob was the first person that I met, after I started my cartooning. After that I started doing the strips for Buyer’s Guide for Comics Fandom. Back then I was working at a gas station booth. I didn’t pump gas, and I took money from people. I had a lot of time for drawing. I was drawing for [the fanzine] The Comic Reader. This woman came up to the window and said, “Oh, you draw comics? My husband draws comics. You probably know him … Bob Layton?” I said, “Oh, sure, I know Bob Layton.” She said, “Give me your phone number.” So I quickly wrote down my phone number and gave it to her. I didn’t hear from her for weeks. Then, on one hot summer day—I was wearing just Bermuda shorts—there’s a knock at the door. It was Bob Layton, and his wife, and their baby daughter. I grabbed a shirt and invited them in. I was so flabbergasted when I first met Mrs. Layton that I gave her the wrong phone number—we had just moved. Bob said he had seen my work that had been out a few months. He asked if I was interested in becoming an inking assistant. Being a serious-style cartoonist was my original goal. I said, “Sure.” For a few weeks, I did work with Bob. Then Bob left town, so that was the end of my background-inking career. SCOTT: Did you feel at the time that was the end of your fledgling career? HEMBECK: This happened before I had anything published at Marvel or DC, with the exception of a letter in Iron Man. I started doing work in my thencartoony style. There were enough opportunities with that. SCOTT: Who are your favorite artists, and why? HEMBECK: The first people you see when you get into comics tend to make a big impression upon you. For me, that would be Steve Ditko. I idolized his stuff because it was so individualistic. Then Kirby—he was everywhere in the Marvel books. He seemed to have so much energy. I loved Carmine Infantino’s design work—The Flash and “Adam Strange.” I marvel at it and think how clever and sophisticated it is. I like the humor of Little Lulu by John Stanley and Irving Tripp. Bob Bolling on Little Archie, my favorite. I try to emulate Al Wiseman’s work on Dennis the Menace. Curt Swan and Kurt Schaffenberger doing Superman. I wasn’t that fond of Gil Kane in the early ’60s. When he started inking his own material about ‘65–’66, in Green Lantern and in the “Hulk” in Tales to Astonish, I really liked those. Neal Adams and Steranko, two favorites [of mine] growing up. I love the clean style of Johnny Craig and

Mid-Ohio Con ’09 Program Cover Convention booklet cover art reimagining the cover to Secret Wars #1 in the inimitable Fred Hembeck fashion. Art © 2009 Mid-Ohio Con/Fred Hembeck. Characters © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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Watch It, Shellhead! Fred Hembeck, inked by his interviewer Richard A. Scott, kindly produced this ultra-cool illo for this interview. Thanks, gents! Art © 2010 Fred Hembeck and Richard A. Scott. Characters © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

In issue #93 (Oct. 1990), Brother Voodoo becomes an Avenger, and in #125 (June 1993), you have SpiderMan 2099 meeting Spider-Man before that actually happened in print. HEMBECK: I guess I’m Nostradamus with squiggles. SCOTT: In issue #46, you try to meet Steve Ditko. Have you? HEMBECK: Yes and no. No, I haven’t met him, but there is one story: I was visiting DC’s offices, one of the rare times I was there. I went with Joe Staton. Joe had business to discuss with [editor] Jack C. Harris. Jack asked, “Would you mind waiting out in the lobby?” I said, “Sure.” So I’m sitting in the lobby staring into space. A couple people walked [in] and back out. Joe’s meeting lasted maybe 15 minutes and they came out to get me. Jack then said, “Did you see him?” I said, “What do you mean?” “Ditko came in! He came into our office and went back out again. He walked right past you!” Then I go, “Oh, man, I was staring into space, and not paying attention” So yeah, I saw Ditko, but it was a blur. SCOTT: In Marvel Age #15, Jim Starlin has a bag over his head. In the Omnibus, you have cartoon Fred being offered to die in your CBG strip like the phone-in Batman promotion deciding if Robin lived or died [during Starlin’s stint writing Batman, in 1988 and 1989]. Jim Starlin shows up and kills you, bag in tow. HEMBECK: That was Jim’s doing. That Marvel Age strip was about [Marvel’s former imprint] Epic’s Dreadstar, [by Starlin]. There were intros on the inside front cover (Goodwin-esque). He did the bag there, I just carried it over. Years later, the CBG wanted to do this promotion, “should we should kill Fred or should we not kill Fred,” based on the Batman promotion. Waiting for the okay to be shot

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or not, I asked Jim, “Would you be willing to do this part?” He graciously did it when I asked. He put the photo of himself in, with the bag on. I followed Jim’s lead. I thought it would be apropos, since he killed so many other characters. SCOTT: What do you do when you’re not doing comics? HEMBECK: I watch TV. [laughs] I do stuff with my daughter. Lynn, my best friend [and wife], being supportive of my work, helps with my website. I listen to music, go shopping. I’m kind of a dull guy. SCOTT: You’re nothing like cartoon Fred? Your life is pretty much as shown in your strip in Marvel Age #35 (Feb. 1986)? HEMBECK: Not exactly. I’m a wiseguy, making with the jokes, outside of that not so much. SCOTT: You did a Batman “Bat-Bat” Daily Planet strip in 1981 (World’s Finest #274, Dec. 1981). Bat-Bat was a character in 1987s Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures TV cartoon. Does John Kricfalusi owe you royalties? HEMBECK: Call my lawyer! Comic artist and writer RICHARD A. SCOTT has followed Fred Hembeck’s impressive body of work since the fateful Iron Man #112 (the joke is, he didn’t realize it was Fred’s first, at first!). He is currently writing for several of TwoMorrows’ publications and has been an inker for AC Comics’ Femforce since issue #149 (limited signed copies available at his website, http://home.wavecable.com/ ~richardscott/, or get one at www.accomics.com). Richard has several comics projects currently in development. He wishes to thank his longtime friend Andy Mangels for helping with research materials.

Al Nickerson

[Editor’s note: Normally, BACK ISSUE stays put in its Bronze Age backyard, but our “April Fools” issue just begged for the inclusion of one of comics’ most subpar heroes, Forbush-Man! Al Nickerson’s look back at Forbush-Man’s history starts in the late Silver Age, normally the neighborhood of our friend Roy Thomas’ Alter Ego magazine—but quickly brings us home to our BI era. And Roy the one-time “Boy” has his own humor comic issue of AE in the works, with lots of Not Brand Echh material, coming in issue #95 in July 2010!]

THE SUPERHERO SCHLEMIEL What is a “revoltin’ development”? What is “absurd”? What is “insane”? Here’s a hint: He also wears red long underwear, a kitchen pot for a helmet, and galoshes, t’boot. Now, if your answer is “Forbush-Man,” then you wouldn’t be wrong. Don’t believe me? Then check out Jack Kirby’s cover to Not Brand Echh #1 (Aug. 1967). Although Forbush-Man originally appeared on the cover to Not Brand Echh #1, his alter ego, Irving Forbush, was first mentioned in 1955. Stan “the Man” Lee recalls that “years ago, I wrote and edited a magazine called Snafu. For the contents page, I borrowed a line from The Saturday Evening Post which had printed, on its contents page, ‘Founded by Benjamin Franklin.’ Just for fun, I decided to use that on the Snafu contents page, but I’d use a funny name instead of Franklin’s. For some reason, I dreamed up the name ‘Irving Forbush’—and lo, a legend was born!”

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When Ambush Bug debuted in DC Comics Presents #52 (Dec. 1982) like Athena sprung from the head of Zeus (okay, more like a belch from the mouth of a drunk at midnight), his impact was not particularly groundbreaking. The character was basically a villain whose mission was to cause trouble and mischief in a Superman/Doom Patrol team-up. But within two years, Ambush Bug had been transformed into one of the most innovative, hilarious, and irreverent characters in mainstream comics. He frequently broke not only the fourth wall (talking directly to the reader), but nearly every comic-book convention his creators could imagine (or at least get away with). After appearing in several backup stories in Action Comics from 1984 to 1985, Ambush Bug went on to star in two limited series (Ambush Bug and Son of Ambush Bug) and several one-shot specials. After a 16-year hiatus, Ambush Bug returned to his own series in Ambush Bug: Year None (2008). The two men who guided the character through most of these misadventures, Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming, recently talked with BACK ISSUE about the ups and downs of loving the Bug. – Alex Boney ALEX BONEY: Thanks for doing this on Labor Day. I didn’t realize it when I first asked you to do the interview today, but Keith pointed out that it’s a holiday. KEITH GIFFEN: Everyone’s out doing sh*t. It’s not like we have anything better to do. The fact that we’re all at home speaks volumes about our social lives. ROBERT LOREN FLEMING: Hey, it’s 9:00 in the morning here, so I’ve still got the full day ahead of me. GIFFEN: And your great plans are…? [laughter] So, what are we doing here? Are we just going to babble? BONEY: Sort of. I have some questions about Ambush Bug lined up. As befits the character, there aren’t really any parameters for it. It’s just us talking about the Bug. And I guess it’s timely, because we’ve got the sixth issue of Ambush Bug: Year None coming up … at some point, right? FLEMING: Actually, not. GIFFEN: No. FLEMING: The sixth issue will never come out. GIFFEN: The sixth issue won’t come out, but the seventh issue will. BONEY: Well, let’s start back at the beginning before we get to the end. I’m having an issue with continuity. In Ambush Bug: Year None #1, Batgirl says Sue Dibny is her mother. This can’t possibly be true. Would either of you care to clarify? GIFFEN: Why couldn’t it be true? Um … okay, Bob, you’re the one who filled that one in. FLEMING: It is true. If it’s in the comics, then it’s true.

Let’s Get Physical Actually, let’s not. A Jane Fonda fitness spoof from Ambush Bug #1 (June 1985). Art by Keith Giffen and Bob Oksner, with words by Robert Loren Fleming. TM & © DC Entertainment.

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Alex Boney

conducted September 7, 2009

GIFFEN: That’s right. And as for continuity, my stance on continuity is pretty well known. And that is: What is this continuity you speak of? FLEMING: We published an issue of Ambush Bug— issue #3 of the original miniseries—called “The Continuity Game,” and that was our take on continuity: It’s a con. BONEY: No, the question was a joke. You guys are off the hook for continuity. GIFFEN: Ambush Bug is a book that—I guess to put it harshly—sort of spits in the face of continuity. And yet, oddly enough, when we do Ambush Bug, we find ourselves fascinated with DC’s history—especially the history they would like everyone to forget. If we were over at Marvel, we’d be doing rips on Hercules tying a giant chain around Manhattan Island and pulling it back into place. Those are the things that fascinate us about comics, and they tend to worm their way into Ambush Bug. Ambush Bug is the guy who says, “Hey, c’mere, I want to show you something.” And then he lifts up the corner of the rug and shows you all the dirt swept up underneath. BONEY: Seriously, though, what’s the super-secretclassified origin of Ambush Bug? How did you guys come up with the character? FLEMING: We thought him up. GIFFEN: His secret origin is that we thought him up, and then we drew him, and then we wrote the word balloons, and then DC published it. BONEY: All true on a practical level. Let me try again—better this time. In DC Comics Presents #52, Keith, you did the pencils. But did you create and write the character in that issue too? GIFFEN: No, Ambush Bug was created when I was sitting around in [editor] Julie Schwartz’s office. He was gassing on about a DC Comics Presents story he wanted me to do with Superman and the Doom Patrol. This was when Paul Kupperberg was writing Doom Patrol. And I just burped out the name “Ambush Bug,” which had been rattling around in my head. After that, I just sort of made it up as I went along. I put him in the costume and gave him a set of abilities that … well, we ditched pretty fast. Paul Kupperberg provided the writing in that issue. He dialogued my plot and pencils. The second issue with Ambush Bug was another issue of DC Comics Presents [#59], which had the Legion of Substitute Heroes in it. I provided the plot for that one and Paul dropped in the dialogue. FLEMING: That issue is the only Ambush Bug story that I wish I had written. That was pretty damned good. In the first one, he was just a villain. It wasn’t really the character. The one that most had the Ambush Bug spirit before I came along was the issue with the Legion of Substitute Heroes. That one still holds up really well. GIFFEN: When Bob and I pulled the character into the back of Action Comics, what he was going to be about started to crystallize. BONEY: Like Bob said, he started out as a villain. Then he tried his hand at being a hero because he was inspired by Superman, but it never really took. Was he

originally intended to be more than a villain or a prankster figure like Mxyzptlk? GIFFEN: He was a throwaway character. He was meant to be a villain in that one issue, and then I’d move on to something else that would hopefully net me a couple bucks. The fan response was such that Julie said, “Let’s bring him back.” And then, when the issue with the Legion of Substitute Heroes came out, the fan and reader response was such that Julie offered me the back of Action Comics. It was a choice between Ambush Bug and Airwave. I think he made the right choice. [laughter] BONEY: Bob, how did you get pulled into the project? FLEMING: I was the proofreader at DC at the time. During that period, before I left the job to write Thriller, Keith and I became friends. When I first got there, part of my duties was to return the artists’ original artwork. They used to come into my office to collect their artwork, and I wanted to keep them in the office so that I could get to talk to them and make friends with them. I found an ashtray that was in my desk drawer when I got there. It was huge—the size of a hubcap. I stuck that thing way out on the front corner of my desk, as close to the door as I could, right in front of a chair that they could sit in.

April Fools Issue

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Datacards! All you need to know about the boys behind the Bug can be found on this intro page (below) to Ambush Bug Nothing Special #1 (Sept. 1992). TM & © DC Entertainment.

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Tall, strong, sexy, and green are all adjectives commonly associated with the jade superhero giantess originally known as the “Savage She-Hulk,” whose first series lasted a brief 25 issues. After cancellation, the She-Hulk fortunately made her way into the pages The Avengers, under the skillful pen of Roger Stern, which easily lent the terms team player and exciting to her list of attributes. Then along came John Byrne, who took Stern’s cue and brought Jen Walters into the Fantastic Four as the Thing’s replacement, easily adding the words dynamic and scene stealer to her résumé. Let us also not forget the new moniker, sensational, which Byrne gave She-Hulk with her very first graphic novel, setting the eventual stage for her second series. And what, keen readers, was the operative word to describe She-Hulk in this new comic? Funny! Yes, that’s right—She-Hulk, a former second-string character, had cemented her comeback in the Marvel Universe, not because she had a dark edge á là Wolverine or the Punisher, but because she was a strong, articulate woman whose comedic timing and zany misadventures made us laugh out loud in 1989—all thanks to the wit and vision of Mr. Byrne! One can argue that when it comes to The Sensational She-Hulk’s— Excuse me a second, faithful BACK ISSUE readers… there’s someone knocking at my wall. Hold on a second!

To m P o w e r s

She-Hulk! I mean, Ms. Walters! It is quite an honor to be standing in your superheroic presence!

Save the geek-talk for your fanboy readers, Powers. You can do two more things for me right now. Yes, Ms. Walters?

First, stop drooling—it discolors the green ink on my legs. Ink?

Straight from the comic books! All this fourth-wall stuff is complicated, especially when I’m crossing into fan-land with BACK ISSUE! Fan-land? BACK ISSUE is a serious rag—you get exciting interviews with the pros, fascinating comic-book history from the insider perspective, mind-boggling original comic art—

Shut, it Powers! Good boy. Now, for the second thing I want you to do for me... No words—just nod. That’s better— a hack-writer who’s neither seen nor heard. Powers, my friend, it’s time for you to step aside, so I can give the readers a true insider perspective on The Sensational She-Hulk!

Lean, Green Comics Machine

But— How I love a good sound effect! Let’s see now … it’s She-Hulk here, readers, tapping away her beautiful, green fingers on Powers’ keyboard…

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Okay, boys and girls, here’s the article’s new title:

The Byrnester and I go way back, for those of you who didn’t know. Powers already mentioned that Byrne’s buddy Roger Stern had worked wonders with my character once he took over writing The Avengers with issue #227 (Jan. 1983). What Powers didn’t mention was that Byrne couldn’t wait to get his typewriter and pen on me, so he stole me from Roger for his own book, The Fantastic Four, beginning with issue #265 (Apr. 1984), when I returned as the Thing’s replacement after Ben Grimm decided to stay behind adventuring on the Beyonder’s Battleworld. And what a rocking time I had—then Byrne left the book to draw a certain hunky alien boy scout for the Distinguished Competition, and I soon found myself back in the pages of The Avengers. Yes, my friends, if Marvel didn’t put a ban on characters smoking, I may have lit one up right now—for dramatic effect, naturally. Oh, hold on a second, this is a print article, so you can use your imagination to picture me smoking a cigarette—preferably a long, stylish one. Now we’re ready for the dirt! Yes, Byrne sweeping me off my sexy feet and propping me on his drawing table only to repeatedly dump me would prove to be a theme in my life. Thank God, then, that I’ve been in the spotlight in various Marvel titles over the years, which stops me from aging, according to Byrne-boy’s twisted but true way of reasoning. But he couldn’t keep away from me for long after “Byrning-out” on cape-drawing, so he returned to illustrating my voluptuous self with The Sensational She-Hulk #1 (May 1989), once more fueling the fantasies of a sweaty herd of pre-pubescent fanboys— the same ones who are now reluctantly careening into middle age and probably gripping the pages of this magazine in the thin hope I’ll leap out from these typed words and make their naughty fantasies come true—

Jennifer Walters, Esq.

okay, let’s get this over with...

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Some food for thought: Which comic-book creator produced the most widely read comic of the Bronze Age? Would you believe … Manny Stallman? No joke! For 17 years throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Stallman wrote and drew The Adventures of Big Boy, a comic-book series produced for Bob’s Big Boy restaurants as freebies for pint-sized customers at the popular chain. A staggering amount––more than five million copies––was doled out to children each month. In pure Stallman style, the artist––best known for his “Raven” backup feature in Tower’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents in the mid-1960s––mixed humor with messages meant to instruct and inspire youngsters as he chronicled the adventures of the titular oversized, checkered-overalls-wearing restaurant mascot; Big Boy’s girlfriend Dolly; and his doggy Nugget (hot trivia: Nugget was born on Dolly’s birthday, according to issue #311’s “Dear Big Boy” letters column). Entrepreneur Bob Wian began the first Bob’s Big Boy restaurant in Glendale, California, in 1936. It quickly became a nationwide chain, farming out menu and mascot to regional franchise holders operating under different names (Azar’s Big Boy in Framingham, Massachusettes; Shoney’s Big Boy in Battleboro, North Carolina; etc.). (One of the oldest Bob’s still standing is in the Los Angeles suburb of Toluca Lake. The outsized statue of its tubby trademark character remains a magnet for members of the Comic Art Professional Society, which holds monthly meetings in neighboring Burbank.) In 1955, Bob’s restaurants began handing out The Adventures of Big Boy to visiting kiddies. The first issue was written by Stan Lee and drawn by Bill Everett (both of whom Stallman collaborated with as an inker on such issues as Timely’s Strange Tales #57, Apr. 1957). Poster designer Lucian Bernhard, Archie’s Dan DeCarlo (whose Dolly looked Betty-esque), and Amazing Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko were among the notable artists who illustrated issues of the giveaway. After an impressive 35-year run, the comic ceased publication with #466 in 1990. More than 15 years passed before a new cartoonist studio revived the series in 2007, continuing with #467. Surely, most serious comic-book collectors held little interest in such a blatant promotional exercise as Big Boy. Yet under Stallman’s aegis, the series was alive with wonderfully wonky art that often betrayed its own childlike aesthetic for a sketchier, approachingrealistic style reminiscent of “Raven.” “Jewel Thief Mystery” (#243, 1977) is an example of Stallman’s kiddie art losing its cartoon form. In this “whodunit,”

Bronze Age Bestseller Manny Stallman’s cover to Adventures of Big Boy #274 (1980) features Donny and Marie Osmond (also seen in last issue’s Wonder Twins article!). © 2010 Big Boy Restaurants International, LLC.

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Micheal Aushenker

Two Tastes of Big Boy (left) Archie artist Dan DeCarlo moonlights in Big Boy #311 (1983), while (right) Big Boy nearly hurls his burger on a wild helicopter ride in that same issue in a story drawn by Stallman. © 2010 Big Boy Restaurants International, LLC.

Big Boy tracks the “Phantom Spoof,” and we learn that the butler did it. Rendered quasi-realistically, said house servant does not appear to be of the same universe as Big Boy and pals. Neither does the Einstein-ish airport guy in “Let’s Go, Nugget … We’ll Be Late.” “Memory Book of Visits” (#274, 1980) chronicles Big Boy’s flashback of his visit to Los Angeles, where he met Patricia Ann Pats, star of Annie at the Shubert Theater. (Random.) He recalls his encounter with Noah Hathaway from Battlestar Galactica (while Nugget meets Eve, the chimpanzee inside the Daggit costume), and a Utah run-in with red-hot Donny and Marie Osmond. (This was 1980, after all…) Stallman’s stories were as joyfully nonsensical as his art was merrily inconsistent. In Big Boy #311 (1983), Big Boy’s apple picking leads to trouble as he accidentally grabs a rope ladder and gets carried off by a helicopter. Big Boy redeems himself by saving people from a sinking ship. (Supporting characters appear hyper-realistic.) Some of Big Boy’s backup features are mystifying. In “I’ve Decided to Study to Become a Professional,” Big Boy and Dolly career-hunt. Issue #247 features “I Love Chinese Food,” stars Dolly and her AfricanAmerican gal pal, Iris, and ends with a flat-as-a-Lazy Susan fortune-cookie joke. A two-pager (free of Big Boy’s gang) depicts half of its history class drawn photorealistically. In “How to Make a Hit With Your Lady” (#311), Big Boy blows it big time when he reduces his date plans with Dolly to “Why don’t we stay home … and you cook a good dinner…” (With his clout at corporate, couldn’t Big Boy take Dolly to Bob’s for a free meal?) It’s fitting that Stallman should craft Big Boy well into the 1980s. Career-wise, he was malleable and unstoppable at a time when fellow Golden Age artists retired. The Brooklynite had drawn crime comics in

the 1940s (assisting on The Spirit). In the 1950s, Stallman drew crime and horror for Atlas, Avon, and Harvey, and contributed to such titles as Phantom Stranger and Our Army At War at DC. He also created comics starring Basky & Robin (Stallman received the BaskinRobbins and Bob’s accounts while working in advertising). Upon moving to Northern California in the early 1990s, Stallman’s career turned eclectic. He performed stand-up for the senior program at the Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center (ALSJCC) in Palo Alto. When a 1991 stroke robbed his right hand of feeling, he learned to draw with his left hand at age 63 and rendered large, loose figures onto blackboards to teach English and citizenship classes to Russian immigrants at the ALSJCC. Despite setbacks such as diabetes and congestive heart failure, Stallman taught English to Chinese immigrants and used computer-aided drawing to instruct disabled children. Stallman’s lifelong love of drawing began at age five. On his final day, he crafted cartoon cards for friends. On June 7, 1997, Stallman died at the age of 70 at his Sunnyvale, California, home. Sure, a John Stanley could have knocked Big Boy out of the park. But there is something delightful about Stallman’s simple stories, in which narratives meander until they come to inert conclusions as gags run out of gas. Round it out with some games and a rollicking kiddie letters page and you’ve got a funny little guilty pleasure. (Hey, it came free with the meal, so why complain?) Generic and disposable to be sure, Stallman’s Big Boy delivered the comic-book equivalent of the parent company’s specialty: dependable comfort food that’s fun for the whole family and blessed by the toothy smile of Bob’s plus-sized mascot.

Thanks to the Jerry Boyd Lending Library of South Bay, California, for providing me with research materials for this article.

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To m Z i u k o

Happy Halloween, fright-fiends!!! Nah... It’s the “April Fools” issue, cats and kittys— let’s have some fun!

One of the best things about original comic-book art is what you sometimes find on the back of the page. Here are two examples—one by Scott Shaw!, the other by John Byrne. Both date from the 1980s— Scott’s “Starro of David” was found on the back of a Captain Carrot original, while John's was on the back of one of his Superman pages. Scott was just being his usual mirthful self; what John was up to, I have no idea. TM & © DC Entertainment.

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From the debut appearance of Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew, here we have a collaboration between Scott Shaw! and the late, great Ross Andru. I'm assuming you can figure out who drew what. TM & © DC Entertainment.

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Lex Carson

conducted June 8, 2009

He Gets By with a Little Help from His Friends Many of the characters drawn by Alan Kupperberg throughout his career, in a piece kindly produced especially for this edition of BACK ISSUE. Thank you, Alan! Characters © their respective owners.

Alan Kupperberg is one of the more underrated talents in the comics industry. I’ve been a fan of his since my childhood, especially of his run on Marvel Comics’ Invaders. I got the idea for this interview several months back when I was reading the letters page of BACK ISSUE. I saw that Alan had written a quick note to clarify some published art credits. It immediately got me to thinking, “Whatever happened to this guy?” I approached editor Michael Eury about finding out and conducting an interview with Alan. Michael readily agreed and I set out trying to catch up with the New York-based artist. One of the things that always intrigued me about Alan Kupperberg is his range. He can write, pencil, color, and letter. He can also pencil and plot 52 • BACK ISSUE • April Fools Issue

an icon like Captain America and then delve into the depravity of National Lampoon’s Evil Clown. That in itself is a scope of immense proportions! I was intimidated when I spoke with Alan. I mean, this guy has worked with all the legends: Kirby, Romita, Wally Wood. I thought I might find someone quite aloof and difficult to approach. The person I spoke with was neither. While Alan does have a great deal of pride in his work and creations, the person I discovered was a genuine and thoughtful individual, very careful to answer all of my questions while making me laugh out loud at some of the stories he told. I enjoyed our interview and I hope you will as well. – Lex Carson

LEX CARSON: It appears that your first work as an illustrator was at Atlas [Seaboard] Comics and shortly thereafter at Marvel Comics. Is this correct? ALAN KUPPERBERG: At Atlas I was production manager and did lettering and coloring. Finally editor Larry Leiber assigned me the penciling on The Cougar #3. The book was canceled before I went any further than starting the page layouts. That was my first time laying out an entire superhero book. And I was having a very difficult time of it. So it was a blessing that it didn’t proceed. My first pro humor work was for DC Comics in 1972. CARSON: What work was that? KUPPERBERG: My first comic work was in Young Romance #183, I believe. A feature called “Page Peterson’s Do’s & Don’ts of Dating.” Vinnie Colletta inked it and made my work appear professional! DC had acquired the rights to publish some of Larry Harmon’s British-produced version of Laurel and Hardy. DC put together a 100-page digest. The proportions of the British pages were different than the American proportions, so artwork was needed to make the pages taller. I did the “extending” work. I also penciled a Laurel and Hardy page or two, written and edited by John Albano. But the digest never saw print. DC published Laurel and Hardy #1, a 20¢ comic. It had a beautiful cover by Mike Sekowsky, beautifully inked by my pal Frank Giacoia. Inside was a new Albano lead story drawn by Mike Sekowsky and Frank, but mostly it was British reprints. I did a lot of extending work and updating of the fashions and hairstyles for Dorothy Woolfolk’s romance titles at DC when they had the 25¢, 52-page books. CARSON: You worked for Sick Magazine, also, in the ’70s. What was some of your more memorable work there? KUPPERBERG: I contributed to two issues, June 1977 and August 1977. What was memorable about working for Sick was the company I was keeping. Besides the great Jack Sparling, I worked with Joe Gill. A few weeks ago, if you had asked me if I had ever worked from a Joe Gill script, I would have said, “no.” Charlton published that iteration of Sick. I didn’t remember that I had done art for Charlton! The art director was Jack Sparling. I also worked for Martin Goodman’s Parody Magazine under editor Tony Tallarico, around 1977. CARSON: What were some of the things you remember working on in that one? KUPPERBERG: “Parody Magazine Interviews a TV Repair Man,” and I did a King Kong parody. It looks like I really hacked it out. More importantly, I had also worked on Sally Forth for Wally Wood. That was tremendous. CARSON: Was Wood fun to work with? In some of his later interviews, he seemed somewhat disillusioned. KUPPERBERG: Woody was terribly cynical and very depressed. I had been working up at Continuity Associates for Neal Adams. Neal’s phone rang and it was Jack Abel calling from the Wood Studios in Valley Stream, New York, on Long Island. Jack and Syd Shores rented studio space

Beginnings: “The Canarsie Kid” in The Canarsie Courier (July 20, 1967) / “Page Peterson’s Do’s & Don’ts of Dating” in Young Romance #183 (Jan. 1972)

Milestones: The Amazing Spider-Man / The Mighty Thor / The Incredible Hulk (syndicated comic strip) / Howard the Duck (syndicated comic strip) / The Invaders / The Avengers / Justice League of America / The Mighty Crusaders / Flyman / National Lampoon (Evil Clown Comics) / Spy magazine (The Fantastic Foursome) / Cracked / Crazy / Sick / Parody / Obnoxio the Clown and the X-Men

Works in Progress: Evil Clown Comics, The Complete Collection / The History of Comics, The Graphic Novel / a 40-page commission comic

Cyberspace: alankupperberg.com / comicartcommissions.com/Kupperberg.html / www.comicarthouse.com/kupperberg.html

alan kupperberg Photo courtesy of Alan Kupperberg.

Knock-Outs The volatile Mike Tyson/Robin Givens marriage is spoofed in this original cover art by Alan Kupperberg from the Jan.–Feb. 1989 issue of National Lampoon. Courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). © 2010 NL Communications.

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The 1970s wasn’t just the “Me Decade,” it was also the “MAD Decade.” Between 1970 and 1980, the iconic humor magazine enjoyed unprecedented popularity and the highest sales in its history, at one point selling nearly 2,800,000 copies a month. Those were glory days that, sadly, started to decline with the growing popularity of video games and VHS movies in the 1980s and myriad Internet distractions in the 1990s and beyond. But prior to that inevitable slide, observers say, MAD was at its peak, throwing funny yet insightful jabs at everything from race relations to the Nixon White House. MAD has always been a reflection of the times, regardless of decade, say those who pen the words and draw the pictures. But to understand its subtle evolution throughout the 1970s (arguably one of the most surreal decades the world has ever seen), one must know the magazine’s unusual history.

EARLY MAD MAD entered the world in 1952 as a humorous color comic book, priced at 10 cents and written, edited, and generally fussed over by Harvey Kurtzman. Jealous of fellow EC editor Al Feldstein, who was making good money writing, editing, and occasionally illustrating EC’s horror, crime, science-fiction. and suspense comics, Kurtzman approached publisher William Gaines about what he could do to boost his own salary. Aware that Kurtzman, who was writing and editing Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, was really a humorist at heart, Gaines suggested that he create a humor comic. In that moment, MAD was born. The early issues of MAD poked fun at the most popular comic books and comic strips of the day, but once Kurtzman settled in, he broadened his subject matter to include television, motion pictures, and other aspects of popular culture. A gifted graphic designer, Kurtzman had particular fun with MAD’s covers. Issue #19, for example, looked just like a horse-racing form, while the cover for issue #20 was an exact replica of a black composition notebook—ideal for fooling teachers. MAD became a 25-cent black-and-white magazine with issue #24, primarily to avoid censorship from the Comics Code Authority and to keep Kurtzman in the EC fold. Kurtzman had been approached by Pageant magazine, and Gaines, who felt that MAD couldn’t survive without the balding humorist at the helm, offered to turn MAD into a magazine if he agreed to stay. Unfortunately, the Kurtzman era was short-lived. In 1956, he approached Gaines with an outrageous demand—51 percent ownership of MAD, or he’d walk. Gaines was livid and fired Kurtzman on the spot, which was exactly what Kurtzman wanted because it allowed him to accept an offer from Playboy magazine publisher Hugh Hefner to edit a slick, more adult humor magazine

What … Me Worry? Norman Mingo’s cover for MAD #185 (Sept. 1976) was one of many of the magazine’s swipes at politics of the decade. TM & © EC Publications, Inc.

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titled Trump. Adding insult to injury, Kurtzman then turned around and raided MAD’s staff, luring away artists Will Elder and Jack Davis. However, Gaines had the last laugh—Hefner killed Trump after just two money-losing issues. Kurtzman’s departure left MAD without an editor. At the recommendation of family and friends, Gaines offered the position to Feldstein, who had exhibited a flair for humor by writing and editing Panic, EC’s own contribution to the growing glut of MAD imitators. Feldstein, who had been pounding the pavement looking for work following sergio aragones the demise of EC’s comics line, immediately accepted. To say that Feldstein was a lucky man would be an understatement. Though his budget for MAD post–Kurtzman was relatively meager, he managed to rebuild its staff with a remarkable collection of gifted writers and artists, including Frank Jacobs, Arnie Kogen, Larry Siegel, Tom Koch, Dick DeBartolo, Bob Clarke, George Woodbridge, and Don Martin, most of whom would continue to work for MAD for decades to come. (Feldstein also tried to broaden MAD’s appeal by featuring works by the era’s most celebrated humorists, including Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding, Ernie Kovaks, and Stan Freberg, but eventually dropped them in favor of his own stable of writers.) Under Feldstein’s deft stewardship, MAD found its voice, and readers found MAD. Circulation grew steadily throughout the 1960s, which, though relatively staid compared to the decades that followed, still managed to maintain a sharp editorial edge via such features as “Hippie: The Magazine That Turns You On,” “The Ten Commandments—Revisited,” and “East Side Story,” a deft parody of West Side Story featuring the United States and the Soviet Union as rival gangs set against the United Nations. “We improved our product and found a younger, more receptive readership,” observes Al Jaffee, the creator of the wildly popular “MAD Fold-In.” “Originally, under Harvey Kurtzman, MAD’s fans were college kids who liked its rebellious attitude toward establishment bullsh*t. When Al Feldstein succeeded al jaffe Kurtzman as editor, he leaned more toward popular humor and less toward sophisticated satire, which brought in large numbers of younger high schoolers and increased circulation.”

Laugh-In and Fold-In (above) A Sergio Aragonés strip from MAD #193 (Sept. 1977), and (right) an Al Jaffe “MAD Fold-In” from issue #196 (Jan. 1978). TM & © EC Publications, Inc.

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Coming Up Short (right) Many magazine vendors missed the joke of MAD #151’s (June 1972) cover. (below) From Heritage Comics Auctions, Jack Rickard’s original painting for the Rocky spoof in MAD #194 (Oct. 1977). TM & © EC Publications, Inc.

Issue #166 wasn’t the only one to give Gaines and Feldstein fits. The cover for issue #151 (June 1972) was another troublemaker. Ingenious in concept, the cover looked as if the bind line had been printed down the center and bore the words, “MAD salutes American industry in its endless quest for quality, perfection, and high standards of production.” Unfortunately, not everyone got the joke. “I remember Bill saying, ‘They’re sending the issues back! Are they idiots?’” recalls DeBartolo. “We had to put something on each bundle saying, ‘This is a joke! These are not misprinted issues!’ People just didn’t get it, which is sad when you think about it.” MAD also got into trouble, albeit briefly, with attorneys for George Lucas. Shortly after MAD published its de rigueur parody of Star Wars (written by Larry Siegel with Dick DeBartolo), Gaines received a very nice letter from Lucas complimenting all involved. A week later, Gaines received a far more belligerent letter from Lucas’ attorneys, who stupidly believed the parody was an infringement of Lucas’ copyright. According to DeBartolo, the letter demanded that Gaines turn over all of the original artwork plus 15 percent of the issue’s profits, since the piece took up approximately 15 percent of the issue. Gaines’ response? “Bill wrote on the letter, ‘Gee, George liked it. See enclosed letter,’ and enclosed the letter Lucas had sent,” DeBartolo says. “We never heard from the attorneys again.”

POST–’70s MAD Sadly, MAD’s circulation began to slide as the ’70s gave way to the ’80s. Readers, it seemed, were spending their hard-earned money on new, more exciting diversions. “I think as the ’80s started, other people got in on doing satire and MAD was not the bold magazine it used to be when it was alone in pursuing certain topics such as drugs and smoking and taking on the car companies,” observes DeBartolo. MAD soldiered on through the ’80s and ’90s, its once mighty readership inexorably slipping away. In the years that followed Bill Gaines’ passing in 1992, an effort was made to modernize the magazine by adding color and allowing outside advertising, two things Gaines had adamantly opposed. In 2005, MAD introduced a sister magazine titled MAD Kids, which featured the kind of low-brow humor that appeals to youngsters 6 to 11. The thinking was that readers would transition to MAD when they grew older. In 2009, MAD celebrated its 500th issue—a remarkable milestone for a publication Time magazine once dismissed as “a short-lived satirical pulp.” However, the celebration was short-lived because with #500, MAD’s frequency was reduced from monthly to quarterly. In addition, MAD Kids and MAD Classics, a quarterly collection of reprinted material, were canceled. Looking past circulation figures, were the ’70s a significant period in MAD’s history? Surprisingly, many who were there merely shrug at the suggestion. “The ’70s was like the Alex Trebek of decades,” observes Kogen. “It was good. It was solid. It had some decent stuff but it wasn’t outstanding. Frankly, I couldn’t wait for the ’70s to end and the ’80s to begin. Then the ’80s began, with punk rock and Cabbage Patch Kids, and I looked back fondly on the ’70s. It wasn’t a standout decade but it could have been worse.” Larry Siegel, however, has a differing view, noting, “I think the ’70s were a significant decade because MAD was at its peak; everyone was reading it and into it, and there was a lot of excitement. It was also significant in regard to the quality of the magazine. Anybody who analyzes the book will say, ‘This was the peak, this is when MAD was at its best.’ No question about it.” DON VAUGHAN has had a love affair with comic books since he was 11 years old. His writing has appeared in an eclectic array of publications, including Military Officer Magazine, Nursing Spectrum, Filmfax, and The Weekly World News.

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Dewey Cassell

The best place to start, in this case, would be at the end. The end of Not Brand Echh, that is. Not Brand Echh was the irreverent humor comic book published by Marvel Comics in the late 1960s. Lasting only 13 issues, it nonetheless set a new standard for self-deprecating humor in comic books, poking fun at the best of Marvel’s superheroes as well as the Distinguished Competition’s. It was a critical success, but lagging sales led to cancellation of the book in mid-1969.

SPOOF So why then, only a year later, did Marvel launch a new humor title called Spoof? Former Marvel Comics editor and writer Roy Thomas says, “I’ve never known. Stan [Lee] just announced one day he wanted to start a new mag called Spoof, and that it would be more of a general parody mag, not a superhero one. We were trying to branch out in that period.” Adding to the mystery is a two-year gap between the publication of the first and second issues of Spoof, for reasons lost to time. (Marvel would likely not have had the sales figures on the first issue in time to cancel—or postpone— the second.) Spoof was a departure from the format of Not Brand Echh, typically featuring parodies of movies and television shows, along with the occasional satire on popular culture. In that respect, it bore some resemblance to MAD magazine. When asked if the resemblance was

Mirthful Marie (left) Marie Severin’s cover preliminary for Crazy! #3 (June 1973), courtesy of Ruben Espinosa. Note that in the final version (inset) the Human Torch and Invisible Girl figures were dramatically altered. © 2010 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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idea up again more recently to Stan … but Roy first spoke to Tom Sutton about use of his way-out ‘Rat!’ story in such a mag a couple of years ago.” Arrgh! benefited from the artistic talents of the likes of Sutton, Alfredo Alcala, and Mike Sekowsky, all of whom were experienced at rendering horror stories. The Sutton story “Rat!,” which appeared in the debut issue, along with the sequel “Rat Reborn,” which appeared in issue #3, were among the best of the series. Sekowsky’s “Fangs for the Memory” was equally outstanding. The reprints were dated, though, in both appearance and content. The last issue of Arrgh! was comprised entirely of reprints by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito, from their collaborative venture, Up Your Nose (and Out Your Ear) [which BI covered way back in issue #13. Ed.]. Unfortunately, Arrgh! was canceled after five issues. (DC Comics’ PLOP! lasted 24 issues.) A sixth issue of Arrgh! was apparently planned, presumably with reprints like issue #5, since a cover was drawn by Andru and

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Esposito. Thomas cites several contributing factors to the title’s demise. “I was never able to give Arrgh! my full attention … and again, had to use reprints. When I didn’t write the stories myself, I didn’t have anybody much to fall back on. Russ Jones [as Jack Younger, who contributed scripts to the earliest issues] wasn’t primarily a humorist, though we were friends … and I was lucky to get Tom Sutton to do a sequel to his ‘Rat!’ story, at least.” Asked if he enjoyed writing humor stories, Roy Thomas replies, “Very much so, though I lost money doing them because they took twice as long (at least) as the hero stories, and humor didn’t come easily to me … though I was proud of some (not all) of what I did, [like] ‘Darn Shadows’ and ‘Tarz an’ the Apes’ in Spoof.” The departure of Arrgh! left behind a void in parody humor comics that remains largely unfilled to this day. Perhaps the day of such humor comics has passed, along with many of the gifted artists and writers who created them. Even venerable MAD magazine, the lone survivor of a bygone era, has been reduced to four issues a year. It’s sad, but it seems there aren’t many of us left with a sense of humor. It’s enough to make you want to open your mouth and go, “ARRGH!” Sincere thanks to Roy Thomas and Marv Wolfman for their insight into Marvel’s humor comics of the ’70s, as well as Ruben Espinosa and Steve Donnelly for art contributions. The unpublished cover of Arrgh! and color guide are available on Steve’s website at www.coollinesart.com. DEWEY CASSELL is a regular contributor to BACK ISSUE magazine and author of the now sold-out book The Art of George Tuska from TwoMorrows Publishing. He is currently writing a book about Marie Severin.

Roger Ash

Did he really read 5,000 comics in a single sitting to win a bet? Will that many comics really give a person brain damage? Can you actually scale walls using toilet plungers? Would anyone really fight crime wearing swim fins and a large carrot mask with a flame on top? Will they let you gallivant across town on a nuclear-powered pogo stick, throwing stink bombs and blazing away with a brace of automatic pistols? Will the world accept a blue-collar, working-class superhero? With no superpowers? These were the questions in 1979 when comic-book auteur Bob Burden unleashed one of the strangest, most addictive and iconic comics characters of its day. Flaming Carrot fights crime not only for the fun of it but for profit, occasionally keeping the booty he finds on unconscious or riddled criminals. He’s a party animal and a womanizer. When he runs out of death cards to leave on the bodies he sticks baby carrots in the noses and ears of his victims. Sometimes he covers their faces in tin foil for good measure. He sneaks up behind the bad guys and encases them in a giant sock. Recently he became the first comics character to go through a whole adventure in his pajamas. And his #1 issue goes for over $200.

THE CARROT SPROUTS Today, the surreal and picaresque Flaming Carrot is known and loved by comics readers the world over, but it took a while for his legend to take hold. Flaming Carrot first appeared in Visions #1 in 1979. In that first eight-page story, the Carrot battled the Red Dyke. The art was kind of crude and the Flaming Carrot didn’t look as svelte as he does now, with the mask being thicker. Where did the Flaming Carrot come from and how did he end up here? “I started out in comics; in comic fandom, actually,” recalls Bob Burden. “I was a reader and fan first, then a dealer in comics and original art, and eventually a writer. I couldn’t find anyone to draw the stories I was writing—too crazy, maybe—so I wound up drawing them myself.” Burden never went to art school and is totally self-taught: “I was drawing all the time. I had a knack but learned mostly from looking at original art. I’d sit there for ten or 20 minutes and just stare at a page of Kubert art or Kirby or Frazetta. I remember a sheath of loose pencil layouts by Gil Kane that I had. They were amazing. I think I learned more looking at the layouts, studying the construction and composition and all that, than I did from anything else. After Flaming Carrot came out, I got some mentoring from other artists. Jim Steranko was just a wonderful help. He took time out to give me advice and it was really good advice.

The Real Carrot-Top An undated Flaming Carrot sketch by Bob Burden, courtesy of Heritage Comics Auctions (www.ha.com). (inset) Flaming Carrot originally appeared in the hard-to-find title Visions. Flaming Carrot © & TM Bob Burden.

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Alternate Cover Original art (courtesy of Heritage) to an unpublished version of issue #21’s (Spring 1989) cover.

Burden then launched into another feature-length continued story (#19–24) in which alien invaders intend to wipe out part of Earth’s population because there are too many people for the planet to support. Also, Flaming Carrot is behaving even stranger and more violently than usual as he is becoming demented. If this sounds dark, that’s because it is. Was this a reaction to the darker turn comics took in the late ’80s? “I think my life might have turned a little dark at that time,” replies Burden. “I ran into a few major roadblocks and wrong turns in my personal life around then. I think I was getting a little spent and spun out. “About then was the time in my life when I came to grips with my own mortality. I had to sit down with fear and mortal terror and get to know them. We had tea and cookies. I wrestled with the secrets of the universe. I walked down the long hallway into the darkness and the unknown. Later I went on a diet where I only ate food bought with coupons.” Getting serious, Burden says that “the world around me was changing, I saw eras fade, even the comics

marketplace was changing. I became detached. I escaped for a while. I entered my wilderness years.” But the story had plenty of light moments, many provided by Flaming Carrot’s friend from the Mystery Men, Screwball. Screwball is perhaps even stranger than Flaming Carrot. Screwball’s mask makes it look like he has googley eyes, and he has missile-toed boots that allow him to fly. He has a pet shoestring. What about Screwball appeals to Burden? “He was innocent,” Burden replies. “He was a ‘monitor,’ he was half human and half robot. He was kind of like Spock or C3PO, sort of human but not able to fit in always. He was a fish out of water in any situation. The Screwball character was fun. We gave him his own comic book later. He would make a good TV show for kids.” The aliens themselves were plenty strange. There were an alien man and woman—a couple—who were swingers and couldn’t wait to hook up with Earthlings once their mission was complete. The aliens had a gun that could turn people into cartoon characters. And they convinced Star Trek and Dr. Who fans to help them in their schemes by convincing them that they were friends of mankind. Once the fanboys discovered that they were duped, they joined forces with Flaming Carrot to trounce the aliens and their contacts on Earth, Don Wiskerando and his flying dead dog. Flaming Carrot’s adventures didn’t stop there, as they continued into the 1990s and 2000s. His adventures included teaming up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. However, since we’re only looking at his adventures in the ’70s and ’80s, that’s a story for another day.

ROXANNE, THE FLAMING CARROT’S CO-STARR Aside from Burden, another person who has been with Flaming Carrot throughout the years is letterer Roxanne Starr. Burden says, “Roxanne’s been a dear, dear friend all these years and a good member of the Flaming Carrot family and a true character. She’s done a lot of incredible stuff and helped make the book work all these years. Also, when she’d come over, I’d get work done. “Roxanne sort of rode shotgun. When I was off-base, she’d let me know it. She’s a former New Yorker so she tells it like it is. She’s very blunt and when it comes to criticism, there’s no checks between the brain and the mouth. When something’s f****d up, she says so in no uncertain terms. With me, that is. She’s probably more diplomatic with other people but she knows I have a thick hide. Familiarity builds contempt, or so they say.”

WHO IS THAT MASKED MAN? After all this time, there is still one big mystery surrounding the Flaming Carrot—who is he? He is based on a real person, and early issues of the comic included a contest where readers attempted to guess his identity. Will Burden ever reveal Flaming Carrot’s identity or is it destined to remain a mystery? “I always used to say I’d reveal who he was when I got on Johnny Carson’s show. Now it looks like the David Letterman show or Jay Leno or whoever’s out there. I don’t know if I’m going to do it on the Craig Ferguson show.” ROGER ASH lives in Wisconsin, where he works for Westfield Comics. He has never read 5,000 comics in one sitting, but he has been tempted to during the winter.

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Reid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman originated as a full-page strip in the Vancouver, British Columbia, weekly underground newspaper Georgia Straight. The year was 1978 and the Milkman replaced artist/writer David Boswell’s own earlier effort titled Heart Break Comics. Living in Toronto when Heart Break began in 1977, by the time Reid Fleming debuted Boswell had moved to Vancouver, where he resides with his family to this day.

THE MILKMAN COMETH

Eddy Zeno

After the Georgia Straight work ended, Boswell decided to turn Fleming’s exploits into a comic book. By 1980, when Reid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman #1 was released, Boswell was a competent artist with excellent storytelling skills. His style is reminiscent of V. T. Hamlin’s on Alley Oop, with cross-hatching and a certain roughness to the art. And just as Oop will take on all comers, so will Reid Fleming mix it up with a fearlessness that belies his dumpy appearance. Normally one who didn’t purchase a non-superhero book published by the independents, I had to take home this black-and-white comic for the title alone upon seeing a first-issue reprint in the mid-1980s. Turns out that Fleming is a superhero/anti-hero with powers after all! He has inhuman strength and is nearly invulnerable to terrific falls from his sometimesflying milk truck. Heck, he can outrun a motor vehicle when the need arises. There’s even a Batcave sort-of feel to the headquarters of Milk, Inc., the place where Reid works. Like a subterranean lair, trucks drive up steep ramps after unloading dairy products from a train which lumbers directly into the cellar. Emerging from a tunnel, the locomotive transports special milk from a secret pasture that few have ever seen. Originally self-published, Reid Fleming soon moved to Eclipse Comics with a new #1 in 1986. It was the start of a five-part opus titled “Rogue to Riches.” The “rogue” part came from Mr. Fleming’s on-the-job behavior. For instance, his choice of beverage while driving his route was Owl’s Roost Rye Whiskey, 90 proof. He especially hated Mondays and destroyed a store’s worth of alarm clocks by squeezing them until water came out, throwing them against the wall, or tossing them in the toilet. When he finally made it to work, he’d sometimes muscle his way into customers’ homes to pour milk into their fish bowls, toss cartons of eggs on their floors, or confiscate their televisions to watch his favorite program. By midday, Reid would either plant himself on someone’s couch or hide the chocolate milk he was supposed to deliver so he could rush home to watch TV. No matter how much his job threatened to interfere, Fleming never missed a daytime episode of The

Making Mother Proud David Boswell’s World’s Toughest Milkman on the cover to Reid Fleming #3 (Dec. 1988). Reid Fleming © & TM David Boswell.

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Fun At the Park (left) From the third chapter of “Rogue to Riches,” Reid’s Kodak moments. (right) Reid Fleming #2 (Mar. 1987) featured one of the best staring sequences ever in a comic book. Reid Fleming © & TM David Boswell.

A decade before people purposely shaved their heads to hide their baldness, bad combovers abounded in Boswell’s world so they could be drenched with water or tousled by the wind. There were other interesting aspects to Boswell’s storytelling. When Reid was having a nightmare, the layouts became jagged and kaleidoscopic. If Fleming skipped a morning’s work for amusement-park antics, pure joy was expressed as panels tilted and borders perforated, creating the illusion of off-kilter postcards.

ROGUE TO RICHES The customers who enjoyed his goofy practical jokes and seemed to “get” Reid remained a small minority. One time, a petition was signed by 27,935 people who wanted Fleming removed from his delivery duties. That didn’t lead to termination, however. Wrecking his tenth milk truck actually got Reid Fleming fired. Ironically, he transitioned from the anachronistic

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occupation of milkman to the cutting-edge job (for that time) of cable-television installer. Turns out creator Boswell had been a cable installer, too. Though Reid longed to get back to the business of delivering dairy, he became as successfully reckless and annoying in his new line of work. For example, he enjoyed boring a cable hole through an obnoxious client’s wall which penetrated the forehead of her painted portrait on the other side. And, just as he once drove a milk truck into a swimming pool full of endangered people, as a cable guy he later tossed discarded antennas from rooftops like a champion javelin thrower, not caring where they landed. He pierced a few yard gnomes but luckily didn’t kill anybody. Reid Fleming went from being a rogue who lost his dream job to becoming president of the Milk, Inc. by discovering that soon-to-retire Mr. O’Clock was his long-lost father. Though the resolution was convenient, the convolutions required to arrive at that moment were what made the series interesting. Fortunately, back issues, including Fleming’s earliest adventures, are now available under David Boswell’s own Deep-Sea Comics imprint. Even better news is that Mr. Boswell has launched another five-part saga titled “Another Dawn.” To date, the first three installments have been released. His website is www.reidfleming.com and besides comics, T-shirts, coffee mugs, posters, and original-art commissions, interviews can be read and other items can be purchased. Guess the true rogue-to-riches story is Boswell’s own, as he continues to benefit from recording the adventures of his most famous rapscallion. Special thanks to Mike Juette, formerly of Comics and Collectibles in Memphis, Tennessee, for his help in preparing this article. [Editor’s note: Eddy Zeno’s interview with Reid Fleming creator David Boswell begins on the next page!]

Eddy Zeno

conducted by e-mail November 4, 2009

EDDY ZENO: How do you look at Reid Fleming and his supporting cast this many years down the line? DAVID BOSWELL: I see Reid Fleming, Lena Toast, Captain Coffee, Mr. Crabbe, Mr. O’Clock, and all the others as freeloaders and layabouts who ought to be supporting me for a change. ZENO: How have the characters evolved? BOSWELL: I’m not sure that the characters have evolved. Each has a certain archetypal quality that I believe may be the key to their appeal. I sure hope that doesn’t sound pretentious or too thinky. ZENO: Where do you draw the line between reality and fantasy when scripting and illustrating the comic? For example, houses have normal foundations but the set for the Commander Bob and Betty Show consists of a flying studio. BOSWELL: A little fantasy goes a long way, so I’m pretty strict about using too much. The world around Reid Fleming should be ordinary, normal, and plain, the better to set off Reid’s somewhat eccentric behavior. Perhaps you’ve noticed that Algy, the dog who seems to live at Milk, Inc., occasionally speaks English. He doesn’t speak in every issue, and when he does, he’s limited to one word. ZENO: How does your love for old movies influence your storytelling? BOSWELL: I like the speed and concision—and the brevity—of comedies made by [Buster] Keaton, W. C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy, etc., and try to maintain pace and rhythm throughout. The trick is to create the sense of movement in a medium [comics] where there is no movement at all, just static images. I like and admire the lighting and cinematography in many films from the ’20s and ’30s, and use light and shadow as expressive elements. ZENO: What made you choose the occupation of milkman for your anti-hero? Did you grow up on someone’s route for morning dairy? BOSWELL: No conscious choice was made, nor was there any influence. Reid just “happened” while I was sitting in the sun with a sketchbook and a little something to smoke. The date was June 29, 1977. Don’t go looking for “Rosebud.” There isn’t one. The milkmen I saw as a child were all very well-behaved. ZENO: Please talk about what led to the teaming of Reid Fleming and Bob Burden’s Flaming Carrot? BOSWELL: I’d met Bob in Dallas in 1990. We were each nominated for a Harvey Award, and we both lost. Bob’s a fun and gregarious guy. He called me on the phone in 1998 to pitch a crossover with Reid and Flaming Carrot. He’d done a few team-ups with other cartoonists and I guess had done well with them. I must confess to being reluctant about the idea, as it seemed to me that these two comic-book characters inhabit completely different worlds. Finally he talked me into it, although economic necessity was certainly a factor. ZENO: You’ve stated in the past that you don’t read comics. Did that ever change? What comic books plans do you have for the future?

Knockin’ ’Em Dead The cover to Reid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman #5 (Nov. 1990), by David Boswell. Reid Fleming © & TM David Boswell.

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Back Issue #39