Back Issue #93 Preview

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Shazam!/Captain Marvel TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Shazam! in the Bronze Age • Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew Captain Mar-Vell • Captain Storm and the Losers • Captain Universe • Captain Victory featuring Beck, Broderick, Kirby, Shaw!, Starlin, Thomas, & more

Volume 1, Number 93 December 2016 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTIST Dave Cockrum (1970 fan art from the archives of Heritage Comics Auctions.)

COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Rob Smentek

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FLASHBACK: Shazam! in the Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The original Captain Marvel’s ’70s and ’80s comebacks PRINCE STREET NEWS: What’s So Stinky About the Big Red Cheese? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Karl Heitmueller, Jr. looks at the attempts to modernize the World’s Mightiest Mortal FLASHBACK: Who Was Captain Marvel? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Soldier, traitor, cosmic protector—copyright holder? Marvel all-stars discuss Mar-Vell BEYOND CAPES: Captain Storm and the Losers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 The adventures of DC’s rag-tag combat team—with added Kirby crackle!

WHAT THE--?!: Captain D’s Exciting Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Ahoy! A mouthwatering taste of restaurant giveaway comics FLASHBACK: Captain Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 The story behind the hero who could be YOU BACKSTAGE PASS: Captain Avenger, Hero At Large . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 A look back at the John Ritter-starring 1980 nice-guy hero movie FLASHBACK: The Thrill of (Captain) Victory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Jack Kirby’s creator-owned series and its comebacks FLASHBACK: The Zoo Crew Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 The hare-raising history of Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew, with Scott Shaw! and friends PRO2PRO: Captain EO Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Dean Mullaney, Catherine Yronwode, and Thomas Yeates reminisce about Eclipse Comics’ Michael Jackson project BACK TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Reader reactions

BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 118 Edgewood Avenue NE, Concord, NC 28025. Email: euryman@gmail.com.

Eight-issue subscriptions: $73 Economy US, $88 Expedited US, $116 International. Send subscription orders & funds to TwoMorrows, NOT the editorial office. Cover art by Dave Cockrum. Shazam! (The Original Captain Marvel) TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. All characters © their respective companies.

All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2016 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows Publishing except Prince Street News © 2016 Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Views expressed here are those of the contributors, not Back Issue or TwoMorrows Inc. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

All-Captains Issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

Captain Carrot sketch by Scott Shaw! Captain Carrot TM & © DC Comics.

SPECIAL THANKS Jack Abramowitz Carol Lay Todd Latowski Mark Arnold Alan Light Nick Barrucci Andy Mangels Billy Batson Greg McKee Bob Budiansky David Michelinie Kurt Busiek Al Milgrom Captain D’s Doug Moench Dewey Cassell Bill Morrison Gerry Conway Dean Mullaney DC Comics Daniel DeAngelo Michael Netzer Luigi Novi Scott Edelman John G. Pierce Steve Englehart Mike Royer Jay Faerber Alex Saviuk Mike Friedrich Michael Gallagher Bill Schanes Scott Shaw!

Keith Giffen Jim Starlin Grand Comics Joe Staton Database Michael Thibodeaux P.C. Hamerlinck Karl Heitmueller, Jr. Roy Thomas Heritage Comics Karen Walker Thomas Yeates Auctions Craig Yoe Rick Hoberg Christopher Catherine Yronwode Larochelle

TM

“BA-ROOMPF!” … with one symbolic, thunderous strike, Captain Marbles’ lethal, self-inflicted punch to the head (MAD #4) foreshadowed the doomsday destiny awaiting Fawcett Publications’ top-selling “World’s Mightiest Mortal,” Captain Marvel.

The prolonged copyright infringement case initiated

by Superman’s publisher against Fawcett had finally approached its disheartening denouement. Fawcett relinquished its comics line in early 1954 and agreed with DC not to publish—nor allow anyone else to publish— Captain Marvel and Family.

Aside from being battered one last time by the Man of Steel (note Kurt Schaffenberger’s inside-joke splash panel art for “The Monkey’s Paw!” in Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #42/104), the soul of the fallen red-clad hero lay quiescently on Comic-Book-Banishment-Earth, with no likelihood to rise again. Only the seminal works within the unfeigned pages of such labor of loves as Xero and Alter Ego kept lit the flickering candle of Captain Marvel’s prosperous past—as well as cameo-coverage in Jules Feiffer’s renowned book, The Great Comic Book Heroes (although Jules never really “got” what CM was all about, did he?).

By 1967, Marvel Comics had secured trademark ownership on the Captain Marvel name and created their own CM. Five years later, Jim Steranko gave us his illuminating History of Comics—its second volume applauding the original Captain Marvel with its nostalgic narrative detailing CM’s popularity and prominence in the industry during the 1940s and early ’50s. By then, thousands of enlivened comicbook fans were primed for Captain Marvel’s triumphant return. The silencing of Shazam was coming to an end.

Enter DC publisher/editorial director Carmine Infantino: “I was a fan of Captain Marvel,” the DC artist-to-boss said in a 2003 interview with Mark Voger. “That’s why I went after it so vigorously. I went to Fawcett; I wanted that character so badly.” In 1972, DC resuscitated the original Captain Marvel by leasing him from Fawcett, and an exciting new comic book was scheduled to appear on stands and spin-racks.

However, since the Captain Marvel name now belonged to Marvel Comics, DC opted to call their new magazine Shazam! Why the confusion over the name of a comic book? Even as an 11-year-old boy at the time I remember, in essence, thinking to myself, “What a perfectly powerful, stylishly simple, yet well-reasoned title for the book.” Alas, even to this day, when it comes to Captain Marvel, some ignorantly insist that “everybody thinks he’s called Shazam anyway!” (If CM’s British doppelgänger Marvelman/ Miracleman had appeared in a magazine © DC Comics. called Kimota! I’m quite certain I wouldn’t have been baffled into calling the character by that name.)

We welcomed the Captain back with open arms. But something was off. I still remember as a youngster feeling embarrassed for DC because of the very noticeable contrasting caliber between the new stories and the old Fawcett reprints that were used to pad out the book.

Captain Marvel-maestro John G. Pierce will lead you down an abandoned subway station on a Bronze Age journey of highs but largely lows; even Shazam! associate editor/writer E. Nelson Bridwell later admitted to our esteemed author, about Captain Marvel’s Bronze Age launch, that DC “started off on the wrong foot. We didn’t make him heroic enough.”

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by

John G. Pierce

w i t h P. C . H a m e r l i n c k

A Super Introduction The now-iconic cover of DC Comics’ Shazam! #1 (Feb. 1973).

Main figures by C. C. Beck; Superman figure by Nick Cardy (with a Superman head and face by Murphy Anderson).

TM & © DC Comics.

DC’s Christmas Gift to You (top) C. C. Beck’s preliminary art (courtesy of Heritage) for DC Comics’ house ad for Shazam! #1, and the ad itself (bottom).

TM & © DC Comics.

tales. But surely the level of excitement must have risen again when an announcement was made that the art instead would be in the hands of Captain Marvel’s original artist, co-creator, and guiding light, C. C. Beck.

But Denny O’Neil as writer? He seemed an odd choice. As it turned out, however, Denny had actually been a CM fan in his youth. When I, several years later, asked him how he would rank the good Captain amongst other comic-book heroes, he responded, “Very high… right below the Spirit.” Also, DC had supplied both O’Neil and the unannounced backup writer, Elliot S! Maggin, with a large stack of old Fawcett comics to peruse—for Denny to reacquaint himself with the original, and for Elliot to become better acquainted.

Given that the revival of the Marvel Family took place not too long after Jim Steranko’s two volumes of History of Comics, volume 2 of which, in particular, had featured three articles on Fawcett, it seems that what Steranko had conveyed therein may have influenced DC’s thinking in trying to recapture the old style rather than attempt anything new, as they had done with their own characters.

Beck initially expressed enthusiasm over the stories. In a letter dated November 27, 1973, he stated the six stories he had drawn so far were “excellent and quite in the old humorous, light-hearted approach. Elliot S. Maggin is writing them also and he has a great approach. He wrote one about a little boy who is so cute that people keep giving him presents and some bank robbers give him a satchel full of loot. Then it’s up to Billy and the good Captain to foil their attempts to get it back. Everything takes place within just a few blocks with no earth-shaking ‘super’ events at all.” (Beck here was alluding to “The Nicest Guy in the World” – Shazam! #2, Apr. 1973.)

“Both writers keep putting in ‘super’ events—the sort of ridiculous things that Superman does—but between Julius Schwartz (the editor) and myself we manage to throw out most of them and put in something better,” Beck continued. “For example, in a story which will appear in Shazam! #2, Mr. Mind (the worm) was supposed to be shown riding in a giant helicopter and firing a giant gun. With the editor’s consent, I changed this to Mr. Mind’s riding in a Dixie cup suspended beneath a toy balloon and firing a tiny gun made from an old 30-caliber shell casing. It’s very funny.

“DC has given me authority to change scripts as I see fit to keep the stories in the old style. We take sly digs at hippies, rock music, mod clothes by making Billy and Marvel, with their 1940s attitude, just slightly confused and bewildered in the ’70s. In a story by O’Neil… Billy buys a 4 • BACK ISSUE • All-Captains Issue

A New Marvel Family Member (left) Kid Eternity joined the Shazam! cast for a while, marvelously rendered by Don Newton (inked here by Frank Chiaramonte).

From World’s Finest Comics #280. (right) The Shazammers as rendered by José Luis García-López for a 1982 DC Comics Style Guide.

Signed by the artist. Courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © DC Comics.

Voldar, Elbiam, and Lumiun. Make an acronym of their initials and you’ll get the picture!

Busy with his new duties as penciler on The New Adventures of Superboy, Schaffenberger was replaced by a rotating cadre of inkers, including Dave Hunt (coincidentally, Kurt’s main inker on the Boy of Steel’s title), Dan Adkins, Frank Chiaramonte, Joe Giella, and others.

Amazingly, though, in spite of the fact that Newton’s work was the new standard for the feature, the traditional visages held forth elsewhere. The title bar to each strip saw the three Marvels depicted in more traditional style, and when a head view of CM appeared on WFC’s covers (along with those of other backup characters such as Hawkman, Green Arrow, and Red Tornado), it was clearly the long-familiar depiction. All the merchandising continued to feature a more traditional style, too. This seemed a strange bifurcation.

One of Bridwell’s greatest surprises came in #280’s “Secret of the Freeman Brothers,” in which it was revealed that Freddy Freeman had a long-lost brother, Christopher (Kit), a.k.a. Kid Eternity. Perhaps the fact that the former Quality Comics character had also been drawn briefly by CM, Jr.’s first artist, Mac Raboy, inspired ENB to make this connection, but then this was the same fellow who frequently spent his time developing Philip José Farmer-like associations, such as insisting that Jonathan Kent was related to Kent Allard (the Shadow’s true identity), because Pa Kent must have needed “professional help” in guarding his foster son’s secret identity!

Still, it was clever. Kid Eternity and Mr. Keeper would stay around for the remainder of the series,

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as it finished its run in WFC (in #282), with a story drawn by Gil Kane. The feature then relocated over to the newly-transformed-into-digest-sized Adventure Comics, as Newton returned for its final two outings.

Thereafter, the rest of the run would be reprints, mostly Fawcett, some DC.

BIG CHANGES IN THE BIG ’80s

A new and different phase for the Marvel Family began when longtime Fawcett fan Roy Thomas migrated from Marvel to DC. As he explained in a personal letter dated October 10, 1980, he loved the old characters, but thought that it would be better for DC to launch a new, Earth-One-based version of Captain Marvel: “Still, just to be inconsistent, I took opportunity in DC Comics Presents #34 to toss Superman and Captain Marvel (whom I’m trying to forge into fast friends, since they have far more in common than Superman and Batman, say) into a funny-animal dimension, while using Hoppy the Marvel Bunny for the first time in 30 years.”

And thus Roy launched his own contributions to the Marvel Family canon with a two-part Superman/ Shazam! team-up tale in DC Comics Presents #33–34 (May–June 1981). The first entry was entitled “Man and Supermarvel,” followed by the more-unwieldytitled “The Beast-Man that Shouted ‘Hate’ at the Heart of the U.N.” (uncredited regards to George Bernard Shaw and Harlan Ellison, respectively). This rollicking story, with the plot credited to Gerry Conway and art

by Rich Buckler and Dick Giordano, found Jimmy Olsen reading a 1940s issue of Captain Marvel Adventures, Cap and Superman exchanging powers and costumes,

by

Karen Walker

Of all of Marvel Comics’ heroes, Captain Marvel is perhaps the most perplexing. Of course, even that statement needs clarification: Which Captain Marvel are we talking about?

There have been many. The name has stayed in place as a series of characters have rotated through it. But for the purposes of this article, we will discuss the first Marvel character to bear the name, the Kree soldier turned cosmic protector, Captain Mar-Vell. One of the few superheroes to die and remain dead, what is the true significance of the character? Was he nothing more than the embodiment of a middle finger to DC Comics, a way to keep that company and others from using the “Captain Marvel” name, which was up for grabs? While it might have started out that way, an examination of the character, title, and its creators in the Bronze Age shows that it went far beyond that initial intent to make contributions that would have lasting impacts on the Marvel Universe.

THE COMING OF CAPTAIN MARVEL

The Most Cosmic Superhero of All! For those of us plopping down our quarters for comics back during the Bronze Age, Jim Starlin’s Captain Marvel was one of the most exciting books on the stands. Cover to Captain Marvel #33 (July 1974).

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

As chronicled in this issue’s cover-featured article, the first superhero to bear the name of Captain Marvel was the familiar red, gold, and white-clad figure who shouted “Shazam!” He appeared in comics published by Fawcett from late 1939 to 1953. That fellow was so popular he gave Superman a run for his money, literally. DC sued Fawcett, claiming Captain Marvel infringed on Superman’s copyrights, and this legal battle went on for years, with Fawcett finally settling, paying DC $400,000 and ceasing publication of Captain Marvel and related characters in 1953.

For 13 years the name went unused by any comicbook company. In 1966, Myron Fass’ obscure M.F. Enterprises published a Captain Marvel comic book, complete with a bizarre hero who was an android with the power to send his body parts flying by yelling “Split!” This was not a blockbuster by any means, lasting only six issues. But it triggered a reaction in Marvel Comics publisher Martin Goodman.

Goodman decided that if anybody was going to scoop up the vacated Captain Marvel name, it was going to be a company named Marvel! In 1967 he told editor/writer Stan Lee to devise a Captain Marvel they could call their own. Lee was not happy about it. “First of all, as he told me at the time, this was something Goodman wanted him to do, rather than what he wanted to do himself,” explains Roy Thomas, former Marvel writer and editor-in-chief. “But anyway, Stan came up with it, and as soon as he did the one story, he turned it over to me right away, which was not the way he usually did it—he didn’t usually write one story of something, and then quit—especially when he was working with a good artist like Gene Colan.”

But that was just what happened. Lee and Colan produced that first appearance, in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (Dec. 1967), presenting this Captain Marvel as an alien Kree soldier, actually named Captain Mar-Vell.

The Kree race had been introduced a few months before in Fantastic Four #64 (July 1967), giving the new character a connection to the existing Marvel Universe. Mar-Vell is sent to Earth as part of a spy mission, to observe Earth and its people, and provide information that will determine our world’s fate. But during his time on our planet, he has a change of heart and rebels, becoming a traitor to the Kree.

The Captain’s costume was designed by Colan, although Thomas had his input, some of which he regrets: “I suggested several color schemes; the worst one I suggested, which was the white and green one, was the one that Stan chose, which was a very bad idea of All-Captains Issue • BACK ISSUE • 25

A Super Artist

“LET STARLIN BE STARLIN”

“I started off doing an issue of Iron Man, with Mike Friedrich, in which case we introduced Thanos and Drax, and started that whole Captain Marvel storyline, but that wasn’t the intention at that point,” Jim Starlin tells BACK ISSUE. “I thought I was gonna be on Iron Man. So the next issue I did of Iron Man I did with Steve Gerber, and we wrote a very humorous Iron Man. It wasn’t at all like the Drax–Thanos story. And Stan saw it, and hated it. And both Steve TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. and I were fired off Iron Man.” Starlin hadn’t been it I might have stuck around. working for Marvel very long.

But since I didn’t, I decided Only recently honorably I was going to turn it over discharged from the Navy, to somebody new.” he’d briefly done some Thomas was directly work at DC before coming responsible for bringing in over to Marvel. But the Boring on the art. Boring had talented young artist found been the chief Superman himself primarily drawing artist during the 1950s, but cover roughs. He went was let go by DC in 1967, to Thomas and asked for along with a number of more story assignments. other artists who had begun The Iron Man situation, in their careers during comics’ retrospect, turned out to be Golden Age. “Wayne Boring a blessing in disguise. was, for better or ill, my Starlin continues, “So I suggestion,” Thomas says. went home, and later on in “I kind of liked having one of the week Roy called up and the major Superman artists said, ‘Hey, I’m really sorry of all time be the Captain about Iron Man, but I have Marvel artist, since Gil wasn’t this other book we need available. I don’t think it an issue filled in on. It’s worked out all that very probably not gonna last’… well. But I was looking for the book wasn’t selling at all.” a place for Wayne. I felt the Thomas recalls, “Stan liked comic-book industry should his work, too, although he have a place for this major wasn’t paying as much artist who had been very attention to the day-tobadly treated by DC. Not day comics, but he knew DC, so much, but by Mort Starlin was an exciting new Weisinger, but then nobody talent as did I, and so we else gave him any work, were quite happy to put either. They had this artist him, and Mike Friedrich, who had been, like, the on the book.” second Superman artist When Starlin and Friedrich who had been doing all had worked together on this important work for Iron Man #55 (Feb. 1973), them, and just showed him they had planted the first the door. Didn’t try to find seeds of what would anything else for him. And eventually blossom into I thought it was just reprethe vast cosmic wilderness hensible treatment.” of characters and concepts Both Thomas and Kane that are so central to did have roles to play with Marvel to this day. Starlin this new go-around, though: was the chief heir to all Thomas had now become of the grand outer-space editor-in-chief at Marvel, concepts of Lee and Kirby, taking over for Lee, who had but he would also grab become publisher; and Kane onto the strange inner drew the covers for the next three issues, continuing to realms explored by Steve Ditko: “cosmic” was as leave his mark on the character he’d helped to redesign. good a way to describe it as any.

Issues #22–24 had a distinct nostalgic tinge, “Jim Starlin and I were roommates for a few including homages to the Fawcett Captain Marvel months in 1972 when he was first getting started as in the form of characters called Professor Savannah a freelancer for Marvel,” says writer Mike Friedrich. and Dr. Mynde, obvious references to the Big Red “At that time he didn’t have the credentials yet to be Cheese’s Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind. The status quo allowed to write his own material, so Marvel editor of Rick and Mar-Vell’s symbiotic relationship was Roy Thomas asked me to handle that role.” Friedrich re-established quickly, and the Captain was right back continues, “I’ve always been grateful that I was able to fighting mundane Earthborn threats. The book Portrait by Michael Netzer. to be part of the team that presented Thanos, et al., was being published bimonthly, and it looked like it could very well be to the world, but Jim deserves the lion’s share of the credit.” heading for cancellation again.

The Iron Man story introduced the Titans, a race of godlike beings All of this was about to change in ways no one could have imagined. who lived inside the hollowed-out moon Titan, orbiting the planet

A look at former Superman artist Wayne Boring’s take on Captain Marvel, from issue #24 (Jan. 1973), an issue containing villains inspired by the Big Red Cheese’s rogues. Inks by Ernie Chua. Courtesy of Heritage.

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Saturn. They were a benign race, except for one of their citizens: Thanos. Despite being the son of the Titans’ leader, Mentor, Thanos committed the unforgivable sin of creating a weapon, and was exiled. Furious, he returned with an army of aliens and attacked his former home. Mentor and the godlike being Kronos then created an unstoppable foe to face Thanos: Drax the Destroyer, a creature of spirit with a body made from the soil of a planetoid. Iron Man got sucked into this conflict when Thanos brought a defeated Drax to Earth. The two heroes eventually overcame Thanos and went their separate ways. But Starlin had managed to slip his characters into the Marvel Universe, and there was no going back. put Starlin on the book, there’s no None of these characters were sense trying to push him too much created for this issue; they were ones into a path that he doesn’t want to that Starlin had been developing © Pat Loika / Wikimedia Commons. for some time. “I had Thanos created before I started go. You put Starlin on there to let Starlin be Starlin.”

Starlin’s first issue of Captain Marvel was #25 (Mar. working at Marvel,” Starlin clarifies. “He was part of my portfolio that I was taking around to get work. I had 1973), working again with Mike Friedrich. Chic Stone, a him in mind. I didn’t have a complete story, it sort of veteran of many Marvel titles (and ironically, the Fawcett Captain Marvel), would handle the inking chores. got built as it went along.”

Aliens, space travel, telepathic communication, The title would never have a set inker while Starlin omnipotent beings, planetary destruction: this sort of was working on it, and this would become a bone of spectacular storytelling was going to become the norm contention for the artist.

This initial issue begins the transition from the more for Starlin’s work. It might have seemed out of place in a mainstream book like Iron Man, but would work perfectly mundane adventures of previous issues toward what is in Captain Marvel. Says Thomas, “I just felt Starlin was an to come. Mar-Vell is confronted by what appears to be exciting artist and he had these characters and Captain a parade of his old enemies come back to fight him; Marvel was Kree, and after the Kree–Skrull War it made in reality, it is the Super-Skrull using his shape-shifting sense to have all that cosmic stuff in it that Starlin likes powers to attack the hero. But the Super-Skrull is not to do, so why not? It wasn’t like Gil and I had any great working on his own. We get glimpses of someone direction we were going in that just called out to be pursued, else—a “Masterlord”—who is calling the shots.

The reveal of “Masterlord” doesn’t take long—it and neither did anybody else that had handled it since us, so if Starlin had this idea, we may as well give it a try. comes in the next issue. In a typical Marvel “fight first, And it did pretty well, actually.” Thomas adds, “If you team up later” story, Mar-Vell and the Thing from

Defending His Life (left) Behold: The coming of Starlin! And the Hulk and Subby, too! Cover to Captain Marvel #25 (Mar. 1973)

by Jim Starlin and Joe Sinnott. (right) Splash page to Starlin’s debut issue, #25. Story

by Friedrich, inks by Stone. Original art courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

All-Captains Issue • BACK ISSUE • 29

“We all know without havin’ to say it… even when we win, we lose!” –Sarge, Our Fighting Forces #125 Captain Storm was the skipper of a PT boat near Tiberius when he suddenly lost everything that his career had built up to. Torpedoes sank his ship and his boat sank.

Storm lost his entire crew, and he was the only one left—the only loser to move on from this crushing defeat. Soon he found other soldiers who had been kicked and dragged around by the Second World War. These men were a few other losers just like himself. Together, Captain Storm (a character who had held his own ongoing series in the ’60s), Johnny Cloud, Sarge, and Gunner banded together and embraced the title of “the Losers.” Being Losers meant that they could take on the toughest assignments without worrying about the consequences. Knowing that they were already living on borrowed time and following mistakes, the Losers plunged themselves into dangerous mission after dangerous mission, doing whatever it would take to further the Allied cause.

A WINNING COMBINATION OF CHARACTERS

The Losers debuted in the pages of G.I. Combat #138 (Oct. 1969), in an offbeat story establishing the new characters alongside DC’s existing war comic “character,” the Haunted Tank. Russ Heath served as the artist for the Losers’ debut, but did not stay with the characters to work on any other stories. G.I. Combat was not to be the permanent home for the new characters, and the Losers wound up becoming a regular feature in the pages of Our Fighting Forces instead, starring in issues #123 (Jan.–Feb. 1970) through 181 (Oct. 1978).

Like the majority of the Losers’ adventures, this initial tale was written by DC’s go-to author of war comics, Robert Kanigher. Kanigher had already written plenty of Sgt. Rock stories and had been deeply involved with nearly all of DC’s war comics output. Star Spangled War Stories, Our Army At War, the previously mentioned G.I. Combat, and Our Fighting Forces—all of these titles had benefited from the consistent quality of Robert “Bob” Kanigher’s writing and editing expertise.

When it was time to introduce some new characters, Kanigher’s involvement was a given.

Somewhat strange is the fact that there are some issues in which Kanigher had very little involvement with the Losers stories. Issues #151–162 interrupt Kanigher’s serious and often longgestating storylines and clear a path for a very special run by one of the top names in the history of comics: It was none other than Jack Kirby who © DC Comics. took over on these issues as writer, penciler, and editor.

Readers of the Losers’ appearances in Our Fighting Forces

Bad Luck Battle Stars The Losers kicked off their ongoing series in Our Fighting Forces #123 (Jan.–Feb. 1970). Cover by Joe Kubert.

TM & © DC Comics.

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by

Christopher Larochelle

There was a time when every little kid wanted to be Superman. “Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!” Inevitably, age begets acceptance that, no matter how hard you might try, or wish it to be so, you will never be a strange visitor from another planet.

However, if you work hard enough, and train long enough, you just might be Batman. But wouldn’t it be easier if you were just in the right place at the right time…?

SUB-ATOMIC SPACE OPERA

Micronauts #1 (Jan. 1979) introduced a team of rebels on the planet Homeworld opposing the evil empire of the obsidian-armored Baron Karza. Although captured, the rebels escape with the help of a humanoid energy being: “Some call me the Enigma Force… but you shall know me as Time Traveller!” The twist is that Homeworld exists in the Microverse and as the Micronauts escape aboard the starship Endeavor, they crash through the Spacewall to enter our universe.

“I am not responsible for the Micronauts!! My mother is,” confessed Bill Mantlo in the introduction to Micronauts Special Edition #2 (Jan. 1984). An enthusiastic grandma bought some new action figures for Mantlo’s son for Christmas, 1978. Mantlo was enchanted and petitioned Jim Shooter for the opportunity to produce a Marvel comic about the Mego toys.

Editor Al Milgrom explains: “At the time, Marvel was doing quite a bit of licensing work. We had considerable success with Shogun Warriors, Godzilla, Battlestar Galactica, ROM: Spaceknight, and, of course, Star Wars, and we developed a reputation for being a good source of not only extra profits for these different properties but also very useful as a cross-promoting tool.

“Bill Mantlo proposed doing a series about the Micronauts. The interesting thing about it—at least to me— is that Bill utilized a lot of the existing characters but he also invented a lot of the other characters out of whole cloth.

And by sheer stroke of luck we were able to get Michael Golden to pencil it. Michael was a relative newcomer at the time, but he rapidly developed into a huge fan-favorite.”

Micronauts #2 (Feb. 1979) saw the team arriving on Earth as five-inch-high visitors, where they befriend teenager Steve Coffin. Unfortunately, with the Spacewall breached, Baron Karza pursues them to Earth in issue #7. In the following issue, the Enigma Force inhabits the body of Steve’s father, Ray Coffin, transforming Ray into the cosmically powered Captain Universe.

The Enigma Force bestows upon Ray vast powers of flight, strength, energy projection, and matter rearrangement.

Baron Karza retreats to the Microverse and the Enigma Force departs Ray’s body.

“The thing that made Captain Universe unique was not so much his powers, per se, but the idea that the force would inhabit different individuals,” reiterates Milgrom. “And lo and behold, it usually took over people who happened to © Marvel. be in some sort of crisis at that particular moment.”

SPOTLIGHT ON CAPTAIN UNIVERSE

Marvel Spotlight vol. 2 #9 (Nov. 1980) featured Captain Universe’s first solo story. The Enigma Force grants the Uni-Power to Steve Coffin, so as to repel an attempted alien invasion by Mister E from the Shadowverse. This 46 • BACK ISSUE • All-Captains Issue

TM

by

Jarrod Buttery

Who’d’a Thought… …that this character introduced in The Micronauts #8 (Aug. 1979) would become a recurring Marvel superhero—the hero who could be YOU?!

Micronauts TM & © Takara LTD/A.G.E., Inc. Captain Universe TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

was the start of a three-issue collaboration between Bill Mantlo and Steve Ditko.

As explained in BACK ISSUE #71 (Apr. 2014), Ditko was amenable to working for Marvel but didn’t want to return to Spider-Man or Dr. Strange. He and Mantlo produced three issues about ordinary people given extraordinary powers. Spotlight #10 introduced us to private detective Clare Dodgson and her twin sister, homemaker Ann Stanford. When Ann’s district attorney husband is kidnapped, the Uni-Power inhabits both Clare and Ann simultaneously!

“Bill would utilize the different skills each individual had in the way the cosmic powers would be used,” states Milgrom. “The housewife used a mop and a broom to fight off guys. It was cute and it was different, and again, it gave you the opportunity to take the character and play off an infinite number of secret identities.

And Ditko was one of the all-time great talents.”

Cat burglar Monty Walsh picked the wrong mark in Spotlight #11. Attempting to burgle the high-rise apartment of Maggia boss Guido Carboni, Monty is discovered and shot. As he falls to his death, he is enveloped by the Enigma Force. Seeking revenge against Carboni, Monty uses catlike abilities to take down Carboni’s operations.

On the very last page, Monty declares that once Carboni is dead, he’ll use the Uni-Power to set himself up as the new boss in town. In very black-and-white Ditko fashion, the Uni-Power instantly deserts Monty, leaving him in the bullet-ridden state it had found him in. “I’m not sure if Bill planned it that way,” ponders Milgrom.

“Bill was certainly aware of Steve’s predilection for having very clearly defined good characters and bad characters so he may have tailored it that way, but it may have been a happy coincidence.”

RARRRARGHH, NOTHING STOPS THE HULK!

The Micronauts explicitly visited our Earth. In Spotlight #11, an off-panel Daily Bugle publisher tells an off-panel Peter Parker that Captain Universe is a real hero… unlike that public menace Spider-Man! But it wasn’t until Hulk Annual #10 (1981)—drawn by Rick Leonardi—that Cap made a distinct impression upon the Marvel Universe.

“Rick had come in with samples and we liked what we saw,” remembers Milgrom. “I have to give Jim Shooter a nod of credit here. Jim said, ‘This guy’s got potential; don’t let him leave, let’s give him something.’

I went back to Rick and said, ‘Shooter likes your stuff, he wants to give you a trial and give you a script to work on.’ I contacted Bill Mantlo, who was one of my go-to guys, who could always squeeze in something if you needed it in a hurry. We were planning the summer Annuals and I asked him what he had in mind for the Hulk Annual. Bill said, ‘I want to use Captain Universe again because I really like that concept.’ ” Leonardi got his break with a fascinating tale: The Uni-Power separates Bruce Banner from his emerald alter ego. The cosmically

Spotlight on Cap U (left) The first of Captain Universe’s three-issue stint in vol.

2 of Marvel Spotlight.

Cover to issue #9 (Nov. 1980) by Steve Ditko. (right) Mantlo and Ditko’s appeal to readers at the end of Captain U’s last MS issue, #11.

TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.

All-Captains Issue • BACK ISSUE • 47

The superhero genre has become dominant in the movie industry today, but such films were few and far between back in 1980, despite the then-recent success of Superman: The Movie (1978). Perhaps not many will remember a film called Hero At Large, featuring Three’s Company TV star John Ritter (1948–2003) as an unlikely hero called “Captain Avenger.” Yet this underrated gem shows the meaning of being a hero— and the need for a hero—better than most major films from Marvel or DC.

HELP IS ON THE WAY!

Steve Nichols (Ritter) is a young actor in New York City, struggling to find work and impress his new neighbor, Jolene (Anne Archer, who auditioned to play Lois Lane in Superman). Steve calls her “Jay” since he only knows her first initial from the mailbox. Hired by a PR agency to promote the upcoming film Captain Avenger, Steve is one of many actors who dresses in costume and signs autographs at movie theaters for young fans (including an uncredited Kevin Bacon). When one of his fellow performers complains, an enthusiastic Steve tells him, “It’s just like any other part—you’ve gotta really get into it! When I was at that theater, I was Captain Avenger!” Steve “gets into” the role a lot more than expected when he thwarts a robbery at a local grocery store in full costume. The next day, news of his good deed is on TV—only it is “Captain Avenger,” not Steve, who receives the credit. “Who is Captain Avenger, the man behind the mask?” a reporter asks. “Surprisingly … some people have stated flatly they really don’t want to know his true identity.”

Back at the theater, Steve is mobbed by fans and interviewed by Gloria Preston, a cynical TV reporter.

When asked about the phenomenon, Steve says, “I think it’s the idea, what Captain Avenger stands for … Captain Avenger looks out for the little guy and he wins! It makes people feel like they have a chance.” Encouraged by the support, Steve dons the cape again but gets shot by drug smugglers. Returning home, Steve finds himself locked out of his apartment for not paying the rent. A sympathetic Jay takes Steve into her apartment and treats his wound. Back in the headlines, Steve vows never to wear the costume again, and it isn’t long before Steve’s good nature wins Jay over, and things start to look up for our hero.

Walter Reeves (Bert Convy), the sleazy head of the PR firm Steve works for, hits upon the idea of using Captain Avenger’s popularity to help get his other client, the mayor (Leonard Harris), re-elected. Reeves tracks Steve down and offers to pay him to keep playing hero.

Reeves sets up a “robbery” on a train, with Captain Avenger coming to the rescue. More popular than ever, Steve is unhappy about being paid to perform phony

Two’s Company From Heritage’s movie poster archives (www.ha.com), a John Ritter-autographed poster for his 1980 actor-turned-superhero charmer, Hero At Large.

Hero At Large © 1980 MGM.

52 • BACK ISSUE • All-Captains Issue

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Daniel DeAngelo

Captain Victory is an odd creature.

Jack Kirby, as readers of BACK ISSUE are no doubt aware, is one of the most prolific creators (or co-creators) in comic-book history, if not the most prolific. Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, and the New Gods are just a few among his many major (co-)creations.

Atlas, Bombast, Satan’s Six, and the Dingbats of Danger Street are among Kirby’s lesser creations. As such things go, Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers are either the least significant of Kirby’s major creations or the most significant of his lesser creations. For a short-lived series from a short-lived publisher, Captain Victory has shown remarkable staying power, being revived, revised, and revisited numerous times over the decades—though not always particularly successfully.

PACIFIC COMICS

The story of Captain Victory is largely the story of Pacific Comics. Pacific was a comics distributor-cum-publisher whose heyday of 1981–1984 coincides with its publication of this Kirby-created series. Founded by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes, Pacific Comics was an early adapter to the then-new direct market system. (The Schanes brothers also contributed to the formation of the direct market, but such is beyond our scope.)

If starting a new publishing venture, why start small? You might as well start with the best! Accordingly, in 1981, the Schanes brothers approached Jack Kirby, with whom they had already had a relationship.

Bill Schanes explains how this came about: “Most fans do not know this piece; we originally were going to launch our first mainstream title with Gil Kane, focusing on his Blackmark character. This was going to be a black-and-white series, with newsstand distribution. After much discussion with Gil, we mutually decided that it would be best if we didn’t go the newsstand route, and I don’t recall why we didn’t publish Blackmark as a color book for the direct market (the non-returnable piece of the comic-book publishing business).

“We had known Jack Kirby for a number of years, as both Steve (my brother) and myself were both involved in the San Diego ComicCon from the early years (1971+), and we felt at the time (and still do now) that Jack was the single most important creator in the history of the comic-book industry in the US, and if we had an opportunity to work with Jack, we’d jump at that opportunity.

“Jack had left the comic-book industry (was working at HannaBarbara), frustrated over creator rights, ownership of characters artists created, as well as compensation rates at the time.

“Pacific Comics had worked up a very different type of contract in regard to how we wanted to work with creators. We would ‘license’ the works from the creators, pay them competitive rate per page, plus a royalty on top of the page rate. In addition, and most importantly, we licensed the works, so the creators kept 100% ownership. I believe this was common amongst the underground publishers in the ’60s and ’70s, as well as Mike Friedrich’s Star*Reach Productions’ fantastic line of ‘ground level’ comics/comix, but certainly not at all for the ‘New York’ publishers. Jack had already started work on Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers prior to when we formerly approached him about working with us on our new line of full-color, creator-owned comic books. We came to terms with Jack fairly quickly, and Captain Victory was our first official broad-release title. (We had published a little-known comic book called One, a black-and-white comic book, some photo-imaging, some illustration.)”

As Schanes mentioned, Kirby had already been working on Captain Victory prior to bringing the character to Pacific Comics. According to the text piece in the Captain Victory: Graphite Edition published by TwoMorrows in 2003, “Captain Victory” was originally a name conceived

by Kirby for the character that would later be known as Captain Glory.

Kirby then intended to use the character in a series for a proposed line to be known as “Kirby Comics.” When this plan didn’t come to fruition, Kirby and inker Mike Royer planned to use Captain Victory in a graphic novel—the first part in a trilogy. This plan, likewise, was not to be realized.

54 • BACK ISSUE • All-Captains Issue

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Jack Abramowitz

CV for Captain Victory Jack Kirby’s Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #1 (Nov. 1981). Cover by Kirby and Mike Royer.

TM & © the Jack Kirby Estate.

Finally, Kirby and Steve Sherman developed Captain Victory as a movie treatment, which appears in its entirety as an appendix to the Graphite Edition. When this didn’t come to pass, the project was shelved until Kirby was approached

by Pacific Comics, for whom he reworked the material prepared for the graphic novel into the first two issues.

Kirby’s disputes at Marvel and DC, which led to him leaving the comics field in 1978 until his return to Captain Victory in 1981, included a lack of creative control and ownership rights. Pacific only requested publishing rights for the series Kirby would create for them, allowing him to retain full ownership. This had been a sticking point for Kirby at Marvel, where “Work for Hire” policies deprived Kirby of rights to his co-creations. Kirby left Marvel for DC in 1971, but the same policies precluded Kirby retaining control over such creations as Kamandi, Etrigan the Demon, and Mister Miracle.

According to an article in the San Diego Reader (“Two Men and Their Comic Books: The Girth of Pacific Comics” by Jay Allen Sanford, August 19, 2004), Pacific was also the first company to pay Kirby royalties based on sales. The January 1988 Comics Interview further related that sales of the first issue of Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers were anticipated to be under 25,000 but ended up exceeding 110,000. (Schanes puts the number even higher, as we shall soon see.)

FIRST ISSUE SUCCESS

Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #1 (Nov. 1981) starts the series with a bang—and one would expect no less from a Kirby venture! The cover blurb assures us that the comic is “New – Exciting – Original!” The banner above the splash page informs us that “This is how it will happen when the star worlds come to Earth!!! (sic) Don’t look for gods or gurus or benevolent gift givers…

Prepare to meet Captain Victory and his Galactic Rangers!! (sic)” Under that, the good Captain himself orders his first officer, Major Klavus, to scour the local solar system in search of a “serious breach of galactic law!” (How the Captain outranks a major is unclear.) We are shown that Tallant IV, a planet populated by “peaceful, industrious beings,” has been overrun by the Insectons, who turn planets into husks for their hives.

Donning his command-post helmet, Victory heads to the bridge despite warnings from his crew that the enemy will target him there. Sure enough, on page 9 of the story, Captain Victory is killed. The end.

Not really. By page 15, the Captain’s memories have been transferred to a new body. Apparently, he is fairly reckless, gets killed rather often, and regularly has to have his consciousness backed up into a cloned body. (We are informed that this is his tenth such body, and supplies are starting to run low.) Unfortunately, while this was going on, Lightning Lady, leader of the Insectons, has set her sights on Earth. (Why the leader of an insect race is called Lightning Lady is unclear.)

Happily, the Insectons have been traced by another member of Victory’s command crew, a giant floating head that goes by the name Mister Mind. (Why Kirby recycled the name of a classic Captain Marvel villain— you know what? Let’s stop pointing out everything whose rationale is unclear. Let’s just accept that this is a Kirby comic and in Kirby comics, weird things happen.)

By the issue’s end, Captain Victory is on Earth.

Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers was created, written, and drawn by Kirby, lettered and inked by Mike Royer, colored by Steve Oliff, and edited by David

Scroggy. Scroggy also penned a brief text piece that informs us that Captain Victory #1 is the first issue in the first series from the new publisher; it also announces the forthcoming series Starslayer, by Mike Grell.

According to Schanes, “Captain Victory #1 was received far beyond any of our expectations. We knew Jack was ‘The King,’ but fans, comic-book specialty retailers, distributors, and media all jumped on board in record numbers and coverage. Captain Victory #1 sold well over 125,000 copies, which was a very large number at the time, especially when you considered that both DC and Marvel’s standard cover price was 50¢, while Pacific Comics launched all of its new titles initially at $1.00. Captain Victory was Pacific Comics’ flagship title—we couldn’t have been more excited to get Jack back into the comic-book business, under a new type of relationship—creator-owned books.”

Mike Royer, who inked and lettered the first two issues, doesn’t recall much of the experience, but he shares the following:

TM & © the Jack Kirby Estate.

The King Holds Court (top) Jack Kirby at the 1982 San Diego Comic-Con in a photograph by and courtesy of Alan Light.

Note the stacks of Captain Victory #6 copies on the table in front of him. (bottom) Original art to one of Kirby’s supplemental features from Captain Victory #1. Courtesy of Heritage.

TM & © the Jack Kirby Estate.

All-Captains Issue • BACK ISSUE • 55

From Mighty Mouse to Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, animated cartoons and comic books have crossed the funny animal and superhero genres many times, with varying degrees of success. In 1982, DC Comics took things a step further by introducing an entire team of funny-animal superheroes in the short-lived but surprisingly well-remembered series Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! (including the official exclamation mark).

Created by writers Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway with artist Scott Shaw! (also including the official exclamation mark), CCAHAZC! had its origins in a two-part DC Comics Presents team-up between Superman and Captain Marvel (a.k.a. Shazam!), in which Thomas and Conway (along with artist Rich Buckler) reintroduced Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, Fawcett Comics’ own 1940s funny-animal spin-off (in DCCP #33–34, Apr.–May 1981). Just like the rest of the Marvel Family, Hoppy transformed into the superpowered “Captain Marvel Bunny” by saying the word “Shazam!”—except that he lived on a world inhabited by anthropomorphic talking animals (later designated as Earth-C-Plus). Thomas and Conway even considered the idea of putting a funnyanimal version of the Justice League of America into the story, so they created a team based on original JLA members Superman (Super-Squirrel), Batman (Batmouse), Wonder Woman (Wonder Wabbit), Green Lantern (Green Lambkin), Aquaman (Aquaduck), and the Flash (the Crash, a turtle) to be called “Just’a Lotta Animals.” DC publisher Jenette Kahn and editorial director Joe Orlando both liked the idea so much that the one-panel gag became an ongoing series to be titled Super-Squirrel and the Super Animal Squad, with plans to have Superman introduce the team in DCCP. Enter cartoonist Scott Shaw [we’ll forego the “official” exclamation point from here on so as not to drive our proofreader insane—ed.]. Scott had previously done a humorous backup story for Thomas’ What If? #8 (Apr. 1978) at Marvel Comics, titled “What If the Spider Had Been Bitten by a Radioactive Human?” A few years later, “Roy had talked about doing Just’a Lotta Animals,” Shaw says. “I designed the basic team [and] did a sample page.

My concept was, ‘What if Jack Kirby had drawn Mighty Mouse?’ It was fun to at least think in terms of, ‘How would I draw in my style, but using the same kind of tropes and angle shots that Jack did?’ ” Although Shaw was Thomas’ choice to draw the book, DC had other ideas at first. “DC really didn’t know who I was,” Shaw explains. “I had worked on the Hanna-Barbera comics and had done some underground comics. [So] they first went to Joe Staton.”

Creature Feature Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew #1 (Mar. 1982). Cover art by Scott Shaw!, with Ross Andru (Superman figure) and Bob Smith (inks).

TM & © DC Comics.

60 • BACK ISSUE • All-Captains Issue

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Daniel DeAngelo

Staton recalls, “Joe Orlando called me in… Roy had Scott attached to the project, and I think Scott had done development sketches already. Somebody at DC had some doubts about Scott. They wanted a DC regular on the art. I thought about it a bit but decided that I’d feel better if Scott stayed with what he’d developed. And, of course, Scott did an excellent job, just as you’d expect.”

ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES

“DC eventually decided that they didn’t really want to do [Just’a Lotta Animals],” Shaw says, “because it would essentially be duplicating [characters] that already existed in their library. One of the main justifications for bringing me onto the book was that I had worked on a lot of Saturday morning cartoon shows, and they felt that if I could design something that would work for animation, that it would help sell it as a show.”

Thomas had previously pitched to Marvel a revival of the 1940s Timely Comics character Super-Rabbit with artist Sam Grainger (to be titled “Super-Rabbit the Marvel Bunny”), as well as a Thor-like “Thunder Bunny” (no relation to Martin Greim’s character of the same name) to DC with artist Herb Trimpe. Dusting off one of Grainger’s Super-Rabbit designs, Thomas and Shaw set about creating a new team of funny animals—this time without Conway’s involvement. “By the time DC decided they should have an all-new group so they could sell them without restraint from main-hero licenses, Gerry had no more part in it,” Thomas says. “I’ve never really been sure why I’m credited as a co-creator,” Conway comments. “I’m pretty sure all I did was encourage Roy and toss around a few ideas with him. My contribution, if any, was in the capacity of cheerleader for what I thought was a fun project.” However, Thomas explains, “I kept his name on as co-creator because his funnyanimal suggestion led, whether you count it as directly or indirectly, to the Zoo Crew. I don’t think he ever wanted to be involved in the actual writing.” Shaw recalls, “I designed almost everybody initially. The original designs that I did were even cartoonier than what I wound up drawing. Joe Orlando took all my designs and did his version of them… [making] it look more like superhero stuff. Slowly, in my mind, I realized they didn’t want it to look like Jack Kirby was doing it; they wanted it to look like George Pérez was doing it. They wanted a lot of detail, a lot of line work on every page.”

The team was narrowed down to five: Captain Carrot, of course, sorceress Alley-Kat-Abra, stretchable Rubberduck, patriotic Yankee Poodle, and super-fast turtle Fastback (originally called “Blue Streak”). Two more characters that got left out were Whirlibird (a bird with tornado-like powers) and Big Cheese (a size-changing mouse who later became “Little Cheese”). But Shaw felt, “We were missing ‘the big guy.’ I thought that, visually, you needed a variety

Young Turks (left) A puppy, that Scott Shaw! was, back at the 1982 San Diego ComicCon. Photo by and courtesy of Alan Light. (top) Sample panels by Scott for Just’a Lotta Animals, from Amazing Heroes #9. (bottom) The Zoo Crew, as revealed in The Comic Reader #196.

Both scans courtesy of Andy Mangels.

All characters (except Scott Shaw) TM & © DC Comics.

All-Captains Issue • BACK ISSUE • 61

removed his shell when going into battle, making it difficult to determine what sort of animal he was, hence the name “Whatzit”). When the Zoo Crew eventually meets the Just’a Lotta Animals, the Crash tells Fastback that he was inspired to become a hero from reading comics about the Terrific Whatzit, just as Earth-One’s Flash (Barry Allen) was inspired by reading comics about Earth-Two’s Jay Garrick!

Alley-Kat-Abra is spotlighted in another backup story, this time written by Shaw and drawn by Goldberg, in which she battles the demonic painter, Debbil-Dawg.

WUZ THAT A. WOLF?

Goldberg also drew the next two issues in a story written

by Thomas and E. Nelson Bridwell. When the Zoo Crew needs a plumber, they call Peter Porkchops’ old adversary, A. Wolf. “Wolfie” is a bit jealous to learn that Peter is now Pig-Iron. Wolfie has been seeing psychiatrist Dr. Sigmund Frog about his past cravings to eat Peter.

The doctor is reminded of the legend of the Wuz-Wolf, a human being who was once a wolf, but dismisses humans as “fairy tale monsters.” Wolfie leaves, thinking himself cured, and believes his “good luck charm” will protect him… even though it’s a pentagram, the sign of the Wuz-Wolf! So, when the full moon rises, Wolfie becomes a human being and tries to take a bite out of Pig-Iron, changing him back into Peter Porkchops. The Wuz-Wolf clobbers the Zoo Crew and is about to eat Peter, who grabs Wolfie’s pentagram and turns back into Pig-Iron. When Wolfie also returns to normal, Pig-Iron explains that the pentagram must have been made from

the same steel the meteor fragment fell into, causing Wolfie to become a Wuz-Wolf and turning Peter back into Pig-Iron when he touched it. A backup story in #10 (Dec. 1982) by Shaw and Sekowsky pits Fastback against the equally fast Cheshire Cheetah, and #11 (Jan. 1983) includes a Rubberduck backup where he battles a new villain called the Salamandroid, written by Shaw and Bridwell with art by Rick Hoberg, whose work would be seen more in issues to come.

“I had a good relationship with Roy back when he was still with Marvel,” Hoberg explains. “When he moved to DC, he wanted to get me in the door. I was working in animation, and… [Scott and I] got to know each other when we were working in the same layout unit at HannaBarbera. At some point, it was decided that Scott needed some help doing backups and various extra work—and I liked the book a lot, I thought it was a very clever book— so Roy asked me… to help out.” Unfortunately, the “Wuz-Wolf” story would be one of the last by Thomas.

“I stopped writing the book for the most part, due to busy-ness,” Thomas says. In Alter Ego #72, he told Shaw, “I loved writing Captain Carrot, but I knew you could write it. I gradually edged myself off the scripting.”

Shaw did double-duty on #12 (Feb. 1983), in which he introduced Big Cheese as Little Cheese. “I always preferred Big Cheese as a name,” Thomas says, “but Scott wanted to make him an Atom/Doll Man type, hence the name change.” High school basketball player Chester Cheese refuses to throw the playoff game so crimelord Fat Kat can make a fortune betting on the

Editor’s Choice (left) Between its old superhero, baby superheroes, go-go checks (sort of), and art by Scott Shaw!, this is ye ed’s favorite Captain Carrot cover!

CCAHAZC! #8 (Oct. 1982) original cover art courtesy of Heritage. (right) Captain Carrot #9. (right) The Just’a Lotta Animals finally get their day in issue #14.

TM & © DC Comics.

All-Captains Issue • BACK ISSUE • 65

by

No matter what your opinion is of his personal life, Michael Jackson was one of the greatest singers and entertainers of the 20th Century. From his beginnings with his brothers in the Jackson 5 in the 1960s to his solo career that eclipsed virtually every other musical act, Jackson solidified his legendary status by the 1980s. His album Thriller, which came out in late 1982, was a hit album near the top of the charts well into 1984. It ultimately has sold over 32 million copies in the US alone and over 65 million copies worldwide, and is still considered the highest-selling album of all time as of this writing in 2016.

By that point in Jackson’s career, the Thriller days, Michael had the freedom to take his time in making albums. He released another album with the Jacksons (formerly the Jackson 5) in 1984 and wasn’t expected to release his next album until 1987. This was partially due to the ongoing success of Thriller, but also due to touring commitments and with the making of a little film, with the help of George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, called Captain EO.

Mark Arnold

Besides its star-studded pedigree, Captain EO was to be a unique film as it was produced for the Disney theme parks (Disneyland in California, Epcot Center in Florida, and later, for Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris) and also in 3-D. Unofficially, it is considered to be the first in 4-D, as there are special effects in the theater such as smoke, laser lights, and other effects synchronized with the film.

The film first opened at the US parks in 1986 and closed at the various parks between 1994 through 1998.

After Jackson’s death in 2009, the film was re-released to the parks and ran from 2010 to 2015. The film was aired in 1996 by MTV in a 2-D version and has never been released to home video, but can be streamed on YouTube.

The success of the film begat many different film souvenirs including a comic book produced in 3-D and published by Eclipse Comics. I caught up with catherine yronwode [Catherine “Cat” Yronwode has often opted for lower-casing her name—ed.], Dean Mullaney, and Thomas Yeates to discuss the production of this comic book 20 years later.

– Mark Arnold

Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ Courtesy of Thomas Yeates, a two-page spread from the black-and-white version of Eclipse’s Captain EO. Wow! TM & © Disney Enterprises, Inc.

All-Captains Issue • BACK ISSUE • 75

Michael Jackson, Superhero (top) Eclipse’s tabloidsized Captain EO #1.

Cover art by H. R. Russell, from the film’s poster. Logo by Scott Feldman. (bottom) 3-D effects by Ray Zone. (inset) Yeates’ Captain EO cover for Amazing Heroes #117 (May 15, 1987; the preview article was written by ye ed).

Captain EO TM & © Disney Enterprises, Inc. Amazing Heroes © Fantagraphics.

MARK ARNOLD: Tell me about Eclipse Comics and how they operated.

DEAN MULLANEY: I formed it in 1977 and ran it until 1994. There were many people responsible for its success, but the buck stopped at my desk.

I made the decision, month by month, what titles we would publish.

CATHERINE YRONWODE: Eclipse was a fairly large independent comic-book publishing company of its era. When I joined, we had an office staff of three or four, plus freelancers, but by the height of production, we had as many as six editors and an art director in the office, maintained a staffed off-site warehouse for back-issue sales, had a full-time sales representative, and employed up to 250 freelancers (not all at once, of course). There were also distribution deals with smaller companies, like Ed Via’s Claypool Comics, a co-publishing venture with a Japanese firm, Viz Comics, and we oversaw a reprint line of vintage American comic-book titles as well.

As the editor-in-chief, I oversaw assigning titles to editors and I edited some titles myself. I also oversaw an ongoing internship program, training aspiring professionals to edit comics, with the expectation that they would receive published credit for their work, use this as part of a résumé, and go on to permanent jobs elsewhere in the publishing industry. Dean Mullaney and his brother Jan Mullaney managed the financial end of things, dealing with contracts, payroll, printers, and distribution, but Dean was also a good editor and graphic designer and so he had his hand in some of the titles on the editorial side.

Once a series or one-shot was green-lighted and freelancers were assigned, the editors were responsible for the teams that had been assembled—the writers, pencilers, inkers, letterers, and colorists—and they saw to it that deadlines were met. If there were problems, they reported back to me, and together Dean and I would decide what to do in terms of contracts, payments, assigning replacements, dealing with distributors, and so forth. I had a background in printing and graphic design and helped with the aesthetic decisions adherent to publishing. Dean and I both wrote ad copy as well.

THOMAS YEATES: [Eclipse was] a great little comic-book company that really pushed the industry back then. They championed creator rights and better printing, particularly higher quality color in comics. They liked to tackle tricky projects like this. They had guts and I like that. They were the number-three company in the industry for a few years there.

ARNOLD: How did you get the assignment to publish the Captain EO comic-book adaptation?

YRONWODE: Dean, the publisher, negotiated with Disney to get the publishing rights.

IF YOU ENJOYED THISThere PREVIEW, MULLANEY: was a 3-D comics craze at the time and we CLICK THE LINK TO ORDER THIS with 3-D versions of our regular comics, were having great success ISSUE IN PRINT OR DIGITAL plus others, such asFORMAT! 3-D Three Stooges. When I heard about Captain EO, it was a natural, so I approached Disney and made the deal. Captain EO was co-numbered Eclipse 3-D #18.

YEATES: catherine and Dean, I believe, were impressed by my ability to draw Jimi Hendrix in my Timespirits comic and thought I’d be right for Michael Jackson’s Captain EO. I’d also worked on Star Wars with Al Williamson, and EO had a lot in common with Star Wars. Plus, catherine and Dean lived near me and we worked together well.

ARNOLD: Did you see the film before you created the comic?

YRONWODE: A group of us went to Disneyland and sat through multiple screenings of the film before it opened, because the Disney organization would not let us have an advance video copy. Thomas made drawings in the darkened theater and I took notes by hand in the dark, from which we reconstructed the flow of the film and the settings for scenes.

BACK ISSUE MULLANEY: #93 The Disney licensing people in Burbank “All-Captains Issue!” Bronze Age histories of Shazam! (Captain arranged forand us to sit in the front row and watch the film Marvel) and Captain Mar-Vell, Captain Carrot, Captain Storm the Losers, Captain Universe, and Captainas Victory and thetimes Galactic as we needed. I think Thomas’ art in this many Rangers. Featuring C. C. BECK, PAT BRODERICK, JACK KIRBY, ELbook is among LIOT S. MAGGIN, BILL MANTLO, DON NEWTON, BOB OKSNER,the best of his entire career.

SCOTT SHAW!, JIM STARLIN, ROY THOMAS, On and more. theCover video, it’s true that Disney would not let a video painting by DAVE COCKRUM! out of the studio, but we got one nonetheless from an (84 FULL-COLOR pages) $8.95 unnamed source. I know it existed because I watched it.

(Digital Edition) $3.95 ARNOLD: How did the process work in order to make the book into 3-D? http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_54&products_id=1247 YEATES: I penciled and inked very large and detailed pages that emphasized opportunities for 3-D, lots of depth, lots of stuff in the extreme foreground, sometimes jabbing right at the reader. Then the art went to the late, great 3-D genius Ray Zone. Ray turned my regular black-

76 • BACK ISSUE • All-Captains Issue