Comic Book Artist #23 by TwoMorrows Publishing

FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE: THE ART OF MIGNOLA

™

No. 23 Dec. 2002

$6.95

In The US

INSIDE: HARLAN ELLISON • JOSÉ DELBO

CBA’s Jon Cooke is back in April! Make ready for COMIC BOOK CREATOR, the new voice of the comics medium! TwoMorrows is proud to debut our newest magazine, COMIC BOOK CREATOR, devoted to the work and careers of the men and women who draw, write, edit, and publish comics, focusing always on the artists and not the artifacts, the creators and not the characters. Behind an ALEX ROSS cover painting, our frantic FIRST ISSUE features an investigation of the oft despicable treatment JACK KIRBY endured from the very business he helped establish. From being cheated out of royalties in the ’40s and bullied in the ’80s by the publisher he made great, to his estate’s current fight for equitable recognition against an entertainment monolith where his characters have generated billions of dollars, we present Kirby’s cautionary tale in the eternal struggle for creator’s rights. Plus, CBC #1 interviews artist ALEX ROSS and writer KURT BUSIEK, spotlights the last years of writer/artist FRANK ROBBINS, remembers comics historian LES DANIELS, sports a color gallery of WILL EISNER’s Valentines to his beloved, showcases a joint talk between NEAL ADAMS and DENNIS O’NEIL on their unforgettable collaborations, as well as throws a whole kit’n’caboodle of other creator-centric items atcha! Join us for the start of a new era as TwoMorrows welcomes back former Comic Book Artist editor JON B. COOKE, who helms the all-new, allcolor COMIC BOOK CREATOR!

80 pages • $8.95 All-color • Quarterly Digital Edition: $3.95 COMING THIS JULY: COMIC BOOK CREATOR #2 (double-size Summer Special) Former COMIC BOOK ARTIST editor JON B. COOKE returns to TwoMorrows with his new magazine! #1 features: An investigation of the treatment JACK KIRBY endured through FRANK ROBBINS spotlight, rememberreturns to TwoMorrows with his new magazine! #1 features: An investigation of the treatment JACK KIRBY endured through FRANK ROBBINS spotlight, remembertures: An investigation of the treatment JACK KIRBY ing LES DANIELS, WILL EISNER’s Valentines to his beloved, a talk between NEAL ADAMS and DENNIS O’NEIL, new ALEX ROSS cover, and more! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $17.95 (Digital Edition) $6.95 • Ships July 2013

4-issue Subscriptions • PRINT: $36 US with FREE Digital Editions • DIGITAL: $15.80 ($45 First Class US • $50 Canada • $65 First Class International • $95 Priority International) Subscriptions include the double-size Summer Special

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NUMBER 23

CELEBRATING THE LIVES & WORK OF THE GREAT CARTOONISTS, WRITERS & EDITORS

DECEMBER 2002

THE FRONT PAGE: STERANKO, CHABON, AND BURDEN & BOSWELL’S “FLEMING CARROT”! Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon to meet the supreme “escapist” artist, Steranko! ......................1

Editor/Designer JON B. COOKE

KHOURY’S CORNER: LADRONN’S LOST ADVENTURE Our Man George, CBA’s new assistant editor, takes a look at the missing Silver Surfer story ..............................6

Publisher

RIDING SHOTGUN: TOM SUTTON AND “THE FADEAWAY WALK” Don McGregor, comics writer extraordinaire, debuts his new column with a look at the late horror artist..........8

JOHN & PAM MORROW

FRED HEMBECK’S DATELINE @!!?* Hembeck think him funny; put Hulk in strip to talk ’bout Harlan Ellison story. Hulk smash puny artist! ............9 TO HELLBOY AND BACK! THE MIKE MIGNOLA SPECIAL MIKE MIGNOLA INTERVIEW: FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE! IT’S THE MAGIC OF MIGNOLA In-depth, career-spanning interview with the creator of Hellboy and one of the world’s greatest cartoonists ....10 HELLBOUND: THE MIKE MIGNOLA PORTFOLIO Fourteen pages of magnificent Mignola artwork, including unpublished and rarely-seen work ..........................35 DEVIL IN THE DETAILS: THE MIKE MIGNOLA COMIC ART CATALOG Brian T. Rivers shares his exhaustive checklist on the work of the brilliant artist of Hellboy ..............................48 SPECIAL BONUS INTERVIEWS HARLAN ELLISON INTERVIEW: HELL-RAISIN’ HARLAN’S COMIC BOOK WORK The award-winning author on his forays into the four-color world of funny books ............................................63 JOSÉ DELBO INTERVIEW: THE AUTHENTIC ARTISTRY OF JOSÉ DELBO The ubiquitous artist on his illustrative career in comics, from Argentina to Gold Key to DC and beyond..........78

TWOMORROWS Assistant Editor GEORGE KHOURY Associate Editors CHRIS KNOWLES DAVID A. ROACH CHRISTOPHER IRVING Contributing Editors ROY THOMAS JOHN MORROW Cover Art MIKE MIGNOLA Cover Color DAVE STEWART Proofreader ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON

COMIC BOOK ARTIST™ is published 10 times a year by TwoMorrows, 1812 Park Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605, USA. 919-833-8092. Jon B. Cooke, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: P.O. Box 204, West Kingston, RI 02892-0204 USA • 401-783-1669 • Fax: 401-783-1287. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT the editorial office. Single issues: $9 postpaid ($11 Canada, $12 elsewhere). Six-issue subscriptions: $36 US, $66 Canada, $72 elsewhere. All characters © their respective owners. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © their respective authors. ©2002 Jon B. Cooke/TwoMorrows. Cover acknowledgement: Hellboy™ & ©2002 Mike Mignola. First Printing. PRINTED IN CANADA.

CBA Interview

Hellboy on Earth: The For the love of Mike, CBA talks to the ingenious artist-writer Conducted by Jon B. Cooke Transcribed by Steven Tice

As Ye Ed notes in the following interview (which took place on April 23, 2002), Mike Mignola appears to be—stylistically, of course—the ungodly spawn of Jack Kirby and Alex Toth, swiping from neither yet appropriating the best both comic book masters have to offer. Mike’s heavy use of blacks, extraordinary page design, and superb sense of pacing—the Toth approach, if you will—coupled with the sheer exhuberence and manic action found in the King’s work, might be an apt description of the Mignola magic. He is, simply, one of the finest comic book artists—and writers—working today. But no sorcery brought the creator such acclaim; as you will find, it took numerous years of hard labor, combined with a solid, inborn work ethic and sensible practicality. The talk was conducted by phone and was copy edited by Mike.

Comic Book Artist: How do you pronounce your name? Mike Mignola: Minyo-la. CBA: Is that Italian? Mike: Yes. Swiss-Italian. CBA: Where did you grow up? 10

Mike: In Oakland, California. CBA: Did you get an interest in art at a young age? Mike: I drew as far back as I can remember, and it’s pretty much all I ever did. I just drew, and eventually I drew and read, but that was it. No sports, no learning to drive a car, nothing. I just drew. [laughter] CBA: Do you have any brothers and sisters? Mike: I have two younger brothers. CBA: What kind of neighborhood was it? In Oakland, you said? Mike: It was in the Oakland hills. It was very nice, middle class, residential-house kind of neighborhood, which all burned down in the big Oakland fire. CBA: Did you get to San Francisco much? Mike: No. Everything I needed was in Berkeley, so I never had any reason to go to San Francisco. In high school, I spent a lot of time in Berkeley once my brothers and I discovered used bookstores and comic book stores. So our weekends were spent haunting old record stores and bookstores. CBA: How did you get there? Did your parents drop you off? Bus? Mike: We went on the bus. CBA: Were your brothers like-minded? Mike: Yeah, we had a strange relationship with this kind of stuff. I think it started with comics, where we collected everything Marvel put out. I don’t remember how we started, but everything Marvel did, one of us would collect. My youngest brother bought Daredevil, Spider-Man, Marvel Team-Up; the middle brother collected all the monster stuff, Captain America and Iron Man. Then I had the big stuff; you know, Fantastic Four, Thor. The bigger, cosmic kind of stuff. And that’s how we did it. I remember that Marvel would put out some new book and there would just be a discussion among us, like, who was going to collect that? Did it relate to this? Was it in some way related to Spider-Man? Was it a horror kind of thing? [laughter] So I saw everything Marvel did. We didn’t see anything of DC, though my youngest brother did get the Atlas/Seaboard stuff… CBA: Because it looked like Marvel? Mike: I don’t know why, but that was as much branching out as we did. We didn’t stray into DC at all. CBA: Was that you dictating that, or was it a democratic agreement? Mike: I think there was a brief period when we were all really into it, and our decision was all by mutual consent. Nobody was assigned a book they didn’t want. I don’t think it was more than two or three years of pretty intense comic book buying and reading. I remember around that time when we discovered our first comic book store. Somebody told us about this place in downtown Oakland, and we ventured down there. It was a really intense period that went up through… I think I was a senior in high school when I stopped reading the stuff. I was still buying for a while, but… I remember looking in my drawer and there were the last five or six issues of The Avengers, and I hadn’t read them. I thought, “I’m buying out of habit at this point.” I remember Jim Starlin’s Warlock, and I was still buying comics after he’d finished, but that was the last thing that really had me that excited about comics. There was Paul Gulacy’s Master of Kung Fu and Jim’s Warlock. When that was over, I kind of went, “Enhhh, I think I’m done.” CBA: What year were you born? Mike: I was born in 1960. CBA: Do you recall when you first got into comics, and what they were? How young were you? COMIC BOOK ARTIST 23

December 2002

Magic of Mike Mignola on his comics career & current work in Hollywood movies Mike: I remember my cousin having comics. We’d visit him in Modesto, and I remember specific issues of the Fantastic Four. The issue with the cocoon on the cover [#67]. I loved that comic. I remember he had The Doom Patrol. I remember all those old Tales to Astonish with the Hulk and Sub-Mariner, and that stuff being around. And at the time, I don’t think I read any of that stuff, but I looked at and was fascinated by this really great, alien thing— “alien” as in fantastic, as in this wonderful world. I don’t know if I was really allowed to look at them. I remember going with my cousin to a drug store, where he was buying Sgt. Fury or something by Kirby—maybe Fantastic Four—and I was told, “There’s Richie Rich. That’s your stuff.” [laughter] I remember my cousin’s comics always looked more interesting. I don’t remember how things really started except I know when we were on car trips, my dad would stop at some place where my brothers and I could buy comics, and that might be how it started. Again, I don’t know exactly what year that was, but I remember my brother picking up the first issue of [Amazing] Spider-Man that had the Punisher [#129], so whatever year that was [1974]. Around that time, it was car trip stuff. Occasionally, my brothers and I would be sent on a bus up to see my aunt, and I remember devouring an issue of Savage Tales, reading Barry Smith Conan stories, there was a Gil Kane Robert E. Howard thing, and then articles about the old Conan books, and just being fascinated by that whole thing. I remember Conan being a big hook when I first started seriously collecting comics. CBA: It’s almost traditional for comic book artists to have started with the familiar. That is, they usually start out with Mickey Mouse, then go on to Superman, and if they’re of a certain age, they look at the Marvels as—there’s that word again—“alien,” as something that’s strange. But you obviously were introduced to them right off. Mike: Yeah. I knew nothing about Batman and Superman and that kind of stuff. CBA: At all? Mike: Well, I mean, I knew the TV shows. I remember at one point—and I have no idea why, but it must have been because of the artist—I picked up an issue of the Justice League, and immediately I was lost, because there was more than one Batman in it, and there was reference to some Earth-Two thing, and I went, “Nahhh, this is too complicated, I can’t figure this out!” But we knew the Marvel universe, because between my brothers and I, we collected everything! It was familiar and made sense. The DC stuff was so bizarre to us. CBA: That’s the first time I’ve heard that, usually it’s the other way around. So you never got into DC at all? Mike: No. I remember, at the drugstore, seeing the Michael Kaluta Shadows. I remember seeing Bernie Wrightson’s Swamp Thing, and thinking, “That looks really cool, but they’re DCs. CBA: [laughter] They had the wrong emblem on them? Mike: Yeah. CBA: You clued into the art aspect of comics right off? Mike: Yeah, definitely. Again, from the early days, seeing the ones December 2002

COMIC BOOK ARTIST 23

my cousin was reading, it was the art that attracted me. CBA: And was it specifically Kirby that started it for you? Mike: I don’t remember whether it was the way he drew, or what he was drawing. He was long gone from Marvel when I first started really collecting Marvel, but they were publishing all those Fantastic Four reprints [Marvel’s Greatest Comics], so before we discovered comic book stores, I was picking up those. And I loved that stuff. Again, it was the cosmic element of the Fantastic Four, and things like that. CBA: With your brother collecting the b-&-w monster magazines or the Marvel/Atlas reprints? Mike: Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf by Night, and stuff like that. CBA: So you didn’t buy the Kirby non-super-hero reprints? Mike: Somewhere along the way, Marvel reprinted the Kirby monster stuff. I love those comics. CBA: You know, a lot of people look at your work and say it’s the ungodly spawn of Alex Toth and Jack Kirby. Did you have the influence of Toth at a young age? Mike: I have no idea when I ever saw Alex’s stuff, but I certainly never bought it. And I don’t even know if I own a Toth comic now. CBA: [Incredulous] Really? Mike: I never consciously looked at Toth’s work. I think it’s a case of wandering down a similar path. I went through a lot of phases where there were different guys I wanted to be, and Alex was never one of them, because I really didn’t know who he was. I’d probably see something in the Warren magazines, things like that, but I never said, “Wow! This is the guy! I’m into this, I want to learn how to do this!” I never looked at him for that, because I was unfamiliar with him. I remember wanting to be Mike Ploog, and I wanted to be Frank Frazetta in high school, and then, when A Look Back came out about Wrightson, I copied that book from front to back. I desperately wanted to be Bernie Wrightson. But Toth, never.

Below: Mike Mignola, the artist/writer, poses for a rare pic. Courtesy of the artist.

Devil in the Details

Mike Mignola Comic Art Catalog Brian T. River’s exhaustive listing of just about all of the artist’s work

COMICS ABE SAPIEN: DRUMS OF THE DEAD (Dark Horse) (3/98) Book design: MM & Cary Grazzini; This incredible checklist of the art of Mike Mignola is Story: Hellboy - ”Heads” Writer, pencils & inks: MM. the work of Brian T. Rivers, a meticulous and informed 10 pp.; front & back covers: MM researcher (and obvious lover of comics), who came to ACTION COMICS (…WEEKLY #614) (DC) my attention when Ye Ed met the gentleman at this year’s 600 (5/88) Story: “The Dark Where Madness Lies” Writer: John Byrne. Pencils & inks: MM. 8 pp. International Comic-Con: San Diego. What must be the 614 (8/23/88) Cover: MM/Ty Templeton (Green Lantern) most comprehensive listing of Mignola’s incredible body of work is only one of many compiled by Mr. Rivers, and ACTION COMICS ANNUAL (DC) 2 (1989) Story: “Memories of Krypton’s Past” CBA is proud to welcome Brian onboard as our Official Writer: George Pérez. Pencils: MM. Inks: George Pérez. Cataloger/Checklist Dude, whose listings will be regularly 19 pp. (pp. 5, 6, 10, 11 (except panel two—color effect), 17, 18, 24, 25, 27 (except panel three—color effect), 28 featured in this magazine. Ye Ed has slightly modified (right-side panel), 31 (panel 8), 32, 33 (except panel 7), 37, BTR’s original list (eliminating the complete names of 38, 42, 43, 46 (middle tier), 48 (left-side panel)); Article: publishers, for instance—simply listing “Marvel,” rather “How I Spent My Super-Summer Vacation” Writer: George than “Marvel Comics, Inc.”—as well as deleting the Pérez. Two character sketches (The Cleric & Cellkeeper 385): MM month’s names in favor of numerical designations (e.g., 6 (1994) Cover: MM March 1990 becomes 3/90), along with some other THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN ANNUAL (DC) minor alterations). Our thanks to Brian for sharing his incredible work. Catalog ©2002 Brian T. Rivers.—Ye Ed.] 6 (1994) Cover: MM THE ADVENTURES OF THE THING (Marvel) 3 (6/92) Cover: Joe Quesada/MM Abbreviation Key: MM: Mike Mignola ALIENS: SALVATION (Dark Horse) (11/93) Writer: Dave Gibbons. Pencils: MM. */*: Names separated by slash conotes penciler/inker respectively Inks: Kevin Nowlan. 48 pp. (including title pg.); cover: MM Artist: Usually denotes a painted illustration ALIENS: SALVATION AND SACRIFICE (Dark Horse) ibc: Inside back cover (3/01) (trade paperback) Front cover: MM; ifc: Inside front cover R: Aliens: Salvation pg.: Page ALIENS VS. PREDATOR (Dark Horse) pp.: Printed pages 0 (7/90) Inside back cover (alternate cover): MM; R: Reprints cover: MM re: In regards to ALIEN WORLDS (Pacific) 6 (2/84) Story: “Pride of the Fleet” Writer: Bruce Jones. Pencils: Frank Brunner. Inks: MM. 19 pp.

Researched and written by Brian T. Rivers

ALPHA FLIGHT (Marvel) 29 (12/85) Story: “Cut Bait & Run!” Writer: Bill Mantlo. Pencils: MM. Inks: Gerry Talaoc. 22 pp.; cover: MM/ Bob Wiacek 30 (1/86) Story: “Enter… Scramble!” Writer: Bill Mantlo. Pencils: MM. Inks: Gerry Talaoc. 23 pp.; cover: MM 31 (2/86) Story: “The Grateful Dead!” Writer: Bill Mantlo. Pencils: MM. Inks: Gerry Talaoc. 22 pp.; cover: MM 32 (3/86) Cover (including masthead illo of Vindicator): MM 33 (4/86) Cover (including masthead illo of Aurora): MM 34 (5/86) Cover (including masthead illo of Puck): MM 35 (6/86) Cover (masthead illustration of Box only): MM 36 (7/86) Cover: MM/Al Milgrom 39 (10/86) Cover: MM/P. Craig Russell 47 (6/87) Story: “You Can’t Tell the Forest from the Trees!” Writer: Bill Mantlo. Pencils: Craig Brasfield, MM & Steve Purcell. Inks: Whilce Portacio & Terry Austin. 23 pp. (total # of story pp.; exact # of MM pp. unknown) 51 (10/87) Cover (masthead illo of Sasquatch only): MM 52 (11/87) Cover (masthead illo of Box (new costume) only): MM 57 (4/88) Cover (masthead illo of Purple Girl only): MM AMAZING HIGH ADVENTURE (Marvel) 2 (9/85) One-pg. pin-up: The American Civil War (pencils & inks: MM) 3 (10/86) Story: “Monkey See, Monkey Die!” Writer: Steve Englehart. Pencils & inks: MM. 12 pp. THE AMAZING SCREW-ON HEAD (Dark Horse) 1 (5/02) Writer, pencils & inks: MM. 31 pp.; Inside front, front & back covers: MM THE AMERICAN: LOST IN AMERICA (Dark Horse) 3 (9/92) Cover: MM ANGEL (Dark Horse) 12 (10/00) Cover: MM ANGEL: AUTUMNAL (Dark Horse) nn (12/01) (trade paperback) R: Cover of Angel #12 as onepg. pin-up (sans type)

COMIC BOOK ARTIST 23

December 2002

A1 (Atomeka Press) 2 (1989) illustration (pg. 20) (pencils & inks: MM) AQUAMAN (DC) 6 (2/95) Cover: MM THE ART OF ZEN INTERGALACTIC NINJA (Entity) 1 (1994) R: Cover of Zen Intergalactic Ninja Vol. 3, #5 as one-pg. pin-up (sans type) ASH (Event Comics) 2 (1/95) Two-pg. pin-up: Ash & Hellboy (pencils & inks: MM) ATLANTIS, THE LOST EMPIRE (DISNEY’S…) (Dark Horse) nn (6/01) Eight-pg. sketchbook with text commentary: MM; front cover: MM THE AVENGERS ANNUAL (Marvel) 20 (1991) One-pg. pin-up (also appears in Namor, the SubMariner Annual #1) (pencils & inks: MM) BATGIRL SPECIAL (DC) 1 (1988) Cover: MM/Karl Kesel BATMAN (DC) 426 (12/88) Cover: MM 427 (Winter/88) Cover: MM 428 (Holiday/88) Cover: MM 429 (1/89) Cover: MM 452 (Early 8/90) Cover: MM/George Pratt 453 (Late 8/90) Cover: MM/George Pratt 454 (9/90) Cover: MM/George Pratt BATMAN ANNUAL (DC) 18 (1994) Cover: MM BATMAN: A DEATH IN THE FAMILY (DC) nn (1988) (trade paperback) R: Covers of Batman #426-429 THE BATMAN ADVENTURES (DC) 25 (Early 11/94) One-pg. pin-up (pencils & inks: MM) BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE (DC) V2 (2002) (hardcover) Back cover: MM BATMAN: BLIND JUSTICE (DC) nn (1992) (trade paperback) R: One-pg. pin-up from Detective Comics #599 BATMAN: DARK LEGENDS (DC) nn (1996) (trade paperback) R: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #54 (including cover) BATMAN: GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT (see Gotham by Gaslight: An Alternative History of the Batman)

December 2002

BATMAN/HELLBOY/STARMAN (DC) 1 (1/99) Story: “Gotham Grey Evil” Writer: James Robinson. Pencils & inks: MM. Special thanks: Archie Goodwin (reason unknown). 32 pp.; front cover: MM 2 (2/99) Story: “Jungle Green Horror” Writer: James Robinson. Pencils & inks: MM. 32 pp. BATMAN/JUDGE DREDD: VENDETTA IN GOTHAM (DC) nn (1993) Cover: MM BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT (DC) 54 (11/93) Story: “Sanctum” Plot & script: Dan Raspler. Plot, pencils & inks: MM. 25 pp.; cover: MM 62 (7/94) Cover: MM 100 (11/97) One-pg. pin-up: Batman & Ragman (pencils & inks: MM); R: Cover of Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #54. (see also Legends of the Dark Knight) BATMAN: THE DOOM THAT CAME TO GOTHAM (DC) 1 (2000) Plot: Richard Pace. Plot & script: MM. Pencils: Troy Nixey. Inks: Dennis Janke. 48 pp.; front cover: MM 2 (2000) Plot: Richard Pace. Plot & script: MM. Pencils: Troy Nixey. Inks: Dennis Janke. 48 pp.; front cover: MM 3 (2001) Plot: Richard Pace. Plot & script: MM. Pencils: Troy Nixey. Inks: Dennis Janke. 48 pp.; front cover: MM BATMAN 3-D (DC) nn (1990) (softcover graphic novel) One-pg. pin-up: Batman & Man-Bat (pencils & inks: MM) BATMAN VERSUS PREDATOR (DC/Dark Horse) 1 (1991) (Prestige format) bound-in trading card #5 (pencils & inks: MM) 2 (1992) (Prestige format) R: Bound-in trading card #5 from Batman versus Predator #1 as one-pg. pin-up BATMAN VERSUS PREDATOR: THE COLLECTED EDITION (DC) nn (1993) (trade paperback) R: Bound-in trading card #5 from Batman versus Predator #1 as one-pg. pin-up BLUE BEETLE (DC) 19 (12/87) Cover: MM/Dick Giordano THE BOOK OF TWILIGHT BY MARK RICKETTS (Caliber) nn (1994) (trade paperback; black-&-white) Interior illustration(s?) (pencils & inks: MM) BPRD: HOLLOW EARTH (MIKE MIGNOLA’S…) (Dark Horse) 1 (1/02) Writers: MM, Christopher Golden & Tom Sniegoski. Pencils & inks: Ryan Sook. 22 pp.; cover: MM 2 (4/02) Writers: MM, Christopher Golden & Tom Sniegoski. Pencils: Ryan Sook. Inks: Curtis P. Arnold. 22 pp.; cover: MM 3 (6/02) Writers: MM, Christopher Golden & Tom Sniegoski. Pencils: Ryan Sook. Inks: Curtis P. Arnold. 22 pp.; cover: MM

COMIC BOOK ARTIST 23

BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (Topps) 1 (10/92) Writer: Roy Thomas (based on screenplay by James V. Hart). Pencils: MM. Inks: John Nyberg. 28 pp.; Inside front cover (used throughout series), front & back covers: MM; R: Cover of Bram Stoker’s Dracula #2 as trading card #2 2 (11/92) Writer: Roy Thomas (based on screenplay by James V. Hart). Pencils: MM. Inks: John Nyberg. 28 pp.; Two-pg. bound-in poster: MM; front & back covers: MM; R: Cover of Bram Stoker’s Dracula #3 as trading card #6 3 (12/92) Writer: Roy Thomas (based on screenplay by James V. Hart). Pencils: MM. Inks: John Nyberg. 28 pp.; front & back covers: MM; R: Cover of Bram Stoker’s Dracula #4 as trading card #10 4 (1/93) Writer: Roy Thomas (based on screenplay by James V. Hart). Pencils: MM. Inks: John Nyberg. 31 pp.; front & back covers: MM; R: Cover of Bram Stoker’s Dracula #1 as trading card #14 BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA (Topps) nn (3/93) (trade paperback) One-pg. afterword contains MM’s storyboards for proposed ending of film; Wraparound cover: MM; R: Bram Stoker’s Dracula 1-4, including front cover of #2 (sans type, as the inside front cover) CAPTAIN AMERICA ANNUAL (Marvel) 10 (1991) Cover: MM CATWOMAN: SELINA’S BIG SCORE (DC) nn (2002) (hardcover) one-pg. pin-up (pencils & inks: MM) CHEVAL NOIR (Dark Horse) 12 (10/90) Front cover: MM THE CHRONICLES OF CORUM (MICHAEL MOORCOCK’S…) (First) 1 (1/87) Story: “The Knight of the Swords” Part 1. Writer: Mike Baron (adapted from Moorcock story). Pencils: MM. Inks: Rick Burchett. 26 pp.; cover: MM 2 (3/87) Story: “The Knight of the Swords” Part 2: “The Summoning” Writer: Mike Baron (adapted from Moorcock story). Pencils: MM. Inks: Kelley Jones. 26 pp.; cover: MM 3 (5/87) Story: “The Knight of the Swords” Part 3: “The Eye of Rhynn and the Hand of Kwll” Writer: Mike Baron (adapted from Moorcock story). Pencils: MM. Inks: Kelley Jones. 26 pp.; cover: MM 4 (7/87) Story: “The Knight of the Swords” Part 4: “The Heart of Chaos” Writer: Mike Baron (adapted from Moorcock story). Pencils: MM. Inks: Kelley Jones. 26 pp.; cover: MM 5 (9/87) Story: “The Queen of the Swords” Part 1: “The Dog and the Bear” Writer: Mike Baron (adapted from Moorcock story). Pencils: MM. Inks: Kelley Jones. 26 pp.; cover: MM 6 (11/87) Story: “The Queen of the Swords” Part 2:

Edited by ROY THOMAS The greatest ‘zine of the 1960s is back, ALL-NEW, and focusing on GOLDEN AND SILVER AGE comics and creators with ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, UNSEEN ART, P.C. Hamerlinck’s FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America, featuring the archives of C.C. BECK and recollections by Fawcett artist MARCUS SWAYZE), Michael T. Gilbert’s MR. MONSTER, and more!

2012 EISNER AWARD Nominee Best Comics-Related Journalism

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Celebrates the 50th anniversary of FANTASTIC FOUR #1 and the birth of Marvel Comics! New, never-beforepublished STAN LEE interview, art and artifacts by KIRBY, DITKO, SINNOTT, AYERS, THOMAS, and secrets behind the Marvel Mythos! Also: JIM AMASH interviews 1940s Timely editor AL SULMAN, FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and a new cover by FRENZ and SINNOTT!

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

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

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ALTER EGO #110

ALTER EGO #111

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

1970s Bullpenner WARREN REECE talks about Marvel Comics and working with EVERETT, BURGOS, ROMITA, STAN LEE, MARIE SEVERIN, ADAMS, FRIEDRICH, ROY THOMAS, and others, with rare art! DEWEY CASSELL spotlights Golden Age artist MIKE PEPPE, with art by TOTH, TUSKA, SEKOWSKY, TALLARICO Part 3, plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, cover by EVERETT & BURGOS, and more!

Spectre/Hour-Man creator BERNARD BAILY, ‘40s super-groups that might have been, art by ORDWAY, INFANTINO, KUBERT, HASEN, ROBINSON, and BURNLEY, conclusion of the TONY TALLARICO interview by JIM AMASH, MIKE PEPPE interview by DEWEY CASSELL, BILL SCHELLY on “50 Years of Fandom” at San Diego 2011, FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, PÉREZ cover, and more!

SHAZAM!/FAWCETT issue! The 1940s “CAPTAIN MARVEL” RADIO SHOW, interview with radio’s “Billy Batson” BURT BOYAR, P.C. HAMERLINCK and C.C. BECK on the origin of Captain Marvel, ROY THOMAS and JERRY BINGHAM on their Secret Origins “Shazam!”, FCA with MARC SWAYZE, LEONARD STARR interview, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

GOLDEN AGE NEDOR super-heroes are spotlighted, with MIKE NOLAN’s Nedor Index, and art by MORT MESKIN, JERRY ROBINSON, GEORGE TUSKA, RUBEN MOIRERA, ALEX SHOMBURG, and others! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, more 2011 Fandom Celebration, and part II of JIM AMASH’s interview with Golden Age artist LEONARD STARR! Cover by SHANE FOLEY!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

ALTER EGO #112

ALTER EGO #113

ALTER EGO #114

ALTER EGO #115

ALTER EGO #116

SUPERMAN issue! PAUL CASSIDY (early Superman artist), Italian Nembo Kid, and ARLEN SCHUMER’s look at the MORT WEISINGER era, plus an interview with son HANK WEISINGER! Art by SHUSTER, BORING, ANDERSON, PLASTINO, and others! LEONARD STARR interview Part III—FCA—Mr. Monster—more 2011 Fandom Celebration, and a MURPHY ANDERSON/ARLEN SCHUMER cover!

MARV WOLFMAN talks to RICHARD ARNDT about his first decade in comics on Tomb of Dracula, Teen Titans, Captain Marvel, John Carter, Daredevil, Nova, Batman, etc., behind a GENE COLAN cover! Art by COLAN, ANDERSON, CARDY, BORING, MOONEY, and more! Plus: the conclusion of our LEONARD STARR interview by JIM AMASH, FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more!

MARVEL ISSUE on Captain America and Fantastic Four! MARTIN GOODMAN’s Broadway debut, speculations about FF #1, history of the MMMS, interview with Golden Age writer/artist DON RICO, art by KIRBY, AVISON, SHORES, ROMITA, SEVERIN, TUSKA, ALLEN BELLMAN, and others! Plus FCA, MR. MONSTER and BILL SCHELLY! Cover by BELLMAN and MITCH BREITWEISER!

3-D COMICS OF THE 1950S! In-depth feature by RAY (3-D) ZONE, actual red and green 1950s 3-D art (includes free glasses!) by SIMON & KIRBY, KUBERT, MESKIN, POWELL, MAURER, NOSTRAND, SWAN, BORING, SCHWARTZ, MOONEY, SHORES, TUSKA and many others! Plus FCA, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Cover by JOE SIMON and JACK KIRBY!

JOE KUBERT TRIBUTE! Four Kubert interviews, art by RUSS HEATH, NEAL ADAMS, MURPHY ANDERSON, MICHAEL KALUTA, SAM GLANZMAN, and others, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, BILL SCHELLY’s Comic Fandom Archive, FCA’s Captain Video conclusion by GEORGE EVANS that inspired Avengers foe Ultron, cover by KUBERT, with a portrait by DANIEL JAMES COX!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95 • Ships April 2013

CBA Interview

Hell-Raisin’ Harlan Ellison An interview with the award-winning author on his comics work Conducted by Jon B. Cooke Transcribed by Steven Tice Harlan Ellison is one of the most celebrated—and award-winning— authors in contemporary literature, as well as in television and motion pictures (not to mention TV criticism, as The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat essays remain Ye Ed’s favorite non-fiction works by Harlan); and he has been a vocal and enthusiastic advocate for comics as entertainment, and as an art-form, since the 1950s. While still in his teens, the writer had his first comic book story published by the legendary EC Comics, in Weird Science-Fantasy. He loyally continues to make occasional happy forays in the field, having, over the last 30 years, scripted issues of The Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, Twilight Zone, The Avengers and Batman, as well as having originated and co-edited a series of comics anthologies based on his own work, Harlan Ellison’s Dream Corridor, published by Dark Horse. Harlan has also scribed articles on particular favorite comics (in All in Color For a Dime and Playboy, for instance), as well as having contributed innumerable introductions to many comic book collections (The Rocketeer, Anthology of Slow Death, Fish Police, etc.). He counts many professionals in the field as long-time friends. Currently, the writer is developing scripts for Doctor Fate and Tom Strong, and he continues to have passionate opinions regarding the contemporary comics scene. The author was interviewed via telephone on Sept. 24, 2002, and he approved the final transcript. Thanks to Chris Day and Susan Ellison for their assistance. Comic Book Artist: Did you collect comics as a child? Harlan Ellison: Yes, I did. The first comic I ever got was World’s Fair Comics from 1939. (I couldn’t have bought it, as I was only five years old, so it must have been given to me.) I was staying in North Carolina at the time, though I’m from Ohio. My parents had to have time-off from me at least two or three times a year (otherwise they would have gone completely up the chimney), so they fired me off to a relative in Shelby, North Carolina (which is where, in later years, I found myself driving a dynamite truck… but that was when I was 14). I remember that comic very clearly. There were sugar cane fields in Shelby, and there were black men (whom I had never seen in Ohio) cutting the cane with huge machetes. I was fascinated, and used to hang out with them. I liked them a lot. I thought they were just terrific guys. They were always saying something interesting, and were singing and they looked magical to me. One of the gentlemen asked if I had ever sucked on a sugar cane stalk, and I said no, I hadn’t. So he cut me one, and it was just wonderful. I was just sucking on the sugar cane, and remember very distinctly taking my comic, lying down in the tall grass, making a big angel—you know how you flatten the grass by moving your arms up and down like wings—well, there I was lying in the middle of the field, like something out of a Kurosawa film, reading the 1939 World’s Fair Comics while dripping the ambrosia of a sugar cane onto my face. That was my first memoDecember 2002

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ry of comics. Can’t do much better than that; no wonder it’s been a lifelong love affair. CBA: Did you get into comics from then on? Harlan: Oh, absolutely. I’ve still got most of my comics in my collection from when I was a kid. And also, I’ve told this story a number of times: it’s what brought Mart Nodell back into the fold. When I was a kid, as I said, every summer my parents would have to farm me out somewhere just so they could recover from the other eight months of existence with me. My parents loved me, but I was a handful. I was my generation’s Bart Simpson. We lived in Ohio, thirty miles northeast of Cleveland in a little town called Painesville, and my parents somehow got conned into believing that this place called Bellevue was a summer camp; but it was actually a big stone orphanage on the outskirts of Cleveland where, in the summertime, they sent the orphans off to “real” camp, and Bellevue was empty. So they had to bring in kids to keep it going until September, I guess, or the end of summer vacation. Here I was in this gulag, and I remember very distinctly, it’s almost like something out of Little Andy Rooney or Little Orphan Annie, where I actually had to wash down stone steps with lye soap and a horsehair brush. I swear, when I tell people this, they say, “You’re making it up!” And I say, “Nooo, that’s exactly what happened!” CBA: “It’s a hard-knock life… for us!” [laughs] Harlan: That’s exactly what it was! It was a hard-knock life, and yet we were supposed to be Summer campers! I mean, I had an older sister, a mother and a father and a home, but here I was in… how shall I put it delicately… It was Perdition! And I wanted out. I was forever going over the wall. Literally, over the wall. Like Burt Lancaster in Brute Force. They had this huge stone wall, and I would scale it, one way or the other. I would get branches that had fallen and pick out the ones that were hook-like, and I would toss them up, they would stick to the top like a claw, and I would crawl up. Of course, I was a very small kid. I was very, very, very small all my life, so every time I would run away, they would catch me. But one day, it was raining, I went out when everybody else was inside, and somehow I got over. I think I took a bunch of dirty towels I was supposed to be trundling in a tumbrel, a smaller version of

Below: Neal Adams contributed portraits of Frank Frazetta, himself and Harlan Ellison (the latter seen here) for the text piece “The Story Behind the Story of Rock God,” in Creepy #32 (April 1970). ©2002 the respective copyright holder.

CBA Interview

Delbo’s Authentic Artistry The ubiquitous artist discusses his varied, full life in comics Conducted by Jon B. Cooke Transcribed by Steven Tice

Below: Courtesy of Jose Delbo, here’s a caricature of the artist/teacher by onetime student (and current Daredevil artist) Alex Maleev (who will himself be covered in a forthcoming issue of CBA!). ©2002 Alex Maleev.

A native of Argentina, José Delbo has worked for just about every major comic book publisher over the last 35 years. After leaving a successful career as a comic book artist in South America, José arrived in America in 1965, starting out on the “ground floor” of the industry, producing art for Charlton and then Gold Key, where he was a prolific contributor. (This interview was originally intended for last issue’s Gold Key retrospective, but room constraints in that issue forces us to print it here, along with our sincere apologies to the artist.) By the early ’70s, the artist worked for DC Comics and later Marvel, also serving as an instructor at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. Today, Mr. Delbo resides in Florida, actively involved in teaching art to children. He was interviewed via phone on July 15, 2002, and José copy edited the transcript. Comic Book Artist: Where are you originally from, Jose? José Delbo: From Argentina. I was born in 1933. I’m an old man. [laughter] CBA: Not too old. And where in Argentina did you grow up? José: Buenos Aires, and I went to school there. CBA: So you grew up in the city? José: I grew up in the city, yes. CBA: Were you exposed to comics at a young age? José: Well, I remember I always liked to draw. In school, the teacher was chasing me all the time because I was drawing. I’m very bad in mathematics and all that. When I was a little kid, I always liked to draw. One day, I saw an ad in a magazine about a school teaching cartooning. I asked my parents to enroll me there, and that was the beginning. As a kid, I used to read most of the American comics (which had been reprinted in Spanish) in different Argentinian magazines. I was reading Batman, Superman, all those characters, including Tomahawk. Mostly American comics, and also some Argentinian comics. One important Argentinian artist opened a school to teach cartooning. His name was Carlos Clemen. He was one of the pioneers of the comic business in Argentina. He was a very good artist, very fast. It’s funny: Al Williamson was influenced by Clemen. When Al was living in South America, he was buying Argentinian magazines and so he was influenced by Clemen, who was a very popular guy in Argentina and some South American countries. To start with, Clemen taught me

all about comics and I was very influenced by his approach. When I was sixteen, I was published in my first comic book, a short story. The comic book’s name was Suspenso. I did a short science-fiction story. CBA: Now, did you do everything, or just the penciling? José: In those days, I was doing everything. CBA: The lettering, too? José: No. I don’t remember who did the lettering. I penciled and inked. Maybe Clemen did the lettering. I don’t remember very well, it was a long time ago. CBA: What was the subject matter of the Argentinian comics? José: Argentinian comics featured the type of adventure such as Jungle Jim, that kind of thing. Characters going to Africa, fighting lions. There was also science-fiction. I remember Clemen created a character who was affected by an atom bomb explosion and became a super-hero. Also, there were funny characters—not by him—but by some of the other artists would do humorous characters like sailors and gnomes. CBA: Did you do funny material? José: I did humorous stories here in the United States, but not in Argentina. CBA: Did your family support you to go to Clemen’s school? José: When I was a kid, yes. But later, not much. I’ve got an incredible story about that: I was studying to be a lawyer, and I had to go for maybe another half-year or a year. Then I decided I wanted to be a cartoonist. I went to my father and said, “Pa, I want to be a cartoonist.” He almost died of a heart attack. [laughter] CBA: He wanted a lawyer for a son, right? José: I tried to convince him I would be an unhappy lawyer and a very happy cartoonist. Finally, he accepted my decision. Then I spent one year in Army, because, in those days in Argentina, when you were 20 years old, you had to go into military service. There was a conscription. CBA: Was Juan Peron in power at the time? José: You’re right, Peron was President when I was a soldier in the army. I left the service a year before the coup d’etat [that ousted Peron]. CBA: Did you enjoy doing comic book work from the start? José: Oh, yes! I loved it very much. After my first short story was published, I start working in the business. I did all kinds of things: stories about pilots and guys fighting gangs. It’s a funny thing: in those days we did comics in Argentina but the names of the characters were all American. I did a character who was a pilot whose name was Terry Atlas. I did another character who was a detective called Tony Macket. All English or American names. It was funny. CBA: Did you enjoy the work of Milton Caniff, Hal Foster and Alex Raymond? José: Oh yes, of course. In Argentina, we used to say there were two great schools of comic strip art: Realistic and the more cartoony, represented by Raymond on the realistic end and Caniff on the more cartoony side. There were guys following Raymond and guys following Caniff. And after that, I started developing my own style, losing the influence of my teacher. I was a great admirer of Foster. I started following Raymond a little bit. Then I discovered Caniff, with all his black-&-white work, and I liked that very much. I’m pretty sure that it’s true in Europe, that they consider the two best American cartoonists to be Raymond and Caniff. CBA: No doubt. José: Hal Foster, of course, was another great cartoonist who I admire personally. Many of my friends also admire the work of Will COMIC BOOK ARTIST 23

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Eisner as much as I. CBA: Were you able to see The Spirit down in South America? José: Oh, yes! On the wall of my studio, I’m looking at an Eisner piece as I’m talking to you. You know, every cartoonist wants to be a publisher. When I was a young fellow, after I was in the army, I asked my father for money, and I published four small magazines. One of those magazines reprinted pages of The Spirit which I bought from Will’s syndicate representative in Argentina. The word balloons are in Spanish. You know, they translated and lettered it in Spanish, of course. CBA: Now, when did you self-publish? José: During the political upheavals taking place over there at the time, people just didn’t have time to read comics. The printer also started delivering the books late because they had problems and then we decided to stop publishing. I don’t remember exactly when we started, or when we finished, but it was some time in 1956, ’57, ’58, around that time. CBA: What was the name of the magazine? José: Bazooka. It featured war stories. I would draw some of the stories as well as buy syndicated material. CBA: “Bazooka”? That’s an American name. José: Very American. I also liked Westerns, of course. I liked to draw cowboys. That magazine’s name was Far West. CBA: So you did about four issues apiece? José: Yes. And I also did one other title—which I don’t remember the name of—that was all detective stories. CBA: Did you enjoy publishing? José: Oh yes, because I was doing almost everything! From drawing to giving the printer the pages already laid out according to the position it would be in the printing machine to make it easier for them to fold and cut it. CBA: Pagination. What other artists did you work with in Argentina? José: In those days, Carlos Clemen did some of the work, a few covers.... CBA: Were any of your fellow cartoonists able to come to America? José: A friend of mine, Luis Dominguez, came to the States before me. We used to work together in some magazines. After that came José Luis Garcia-Lopez. CBA: Garcia-Lopez is a fantastic artist! José: A great artist. I don’t know why he’s not as famous as some others, but he is a great artist. CBA: Do you know him? José: Yes. Most of the guys who became famous went to Europe. CBA: To Barcelona in Spain? José: Yes, exactly. José Muñoz was one who became very popular in Europe. And in Italy, Ruben Sosa. We used to work together in a magazine that was published by a great writer, probably the best writer in Argentina, Hector Oesterheld. Are you familiar with Hugo Pratt? CBA: Of course! José: They did together several stories in Argentina. They did “Sergeant Kirk.” Pratt was doing the drawing, and Oesterheld was writing, and he did a character called Ernie Pike. The character was based on the famous war correspondent, Ernie Pyle. That title was revolutionary because the stories took different points of view. In one story, the hero would be Italian fighting for the Fascists, and others would star a German or Japanese or American or British or whoever. December 2002

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This approach was different because previously the stories told were always telling the story from the American or English perspective. CBA: Less propaganda, and more realistic? José: That’s right. I drew for Oesterheld. I did The Battle of Coral Sea. Then Hector took some guys in the business and gave a section of the book to each one. The part I did was from the point of view of the Japanese. I was going crazy trying to find reference for Japanese aircraft carriers because Oesterheld was intent on the stories being as authentic as possible. He didn’t want the artists faking anything. CBA: Like Harvey Kurtzman, a pain in the ass. [laughter] Did you always think about coming to America? José: I was always dreaming of coming to America. I always imagined coming to the United States to be a cartoonist. As Frank Sinatra would say, if I could make it in New York, I could make it anywhere! So I was always thinking about the U.S. I finally made it in 1965. CBA: Were you making good money in Argentina? José: I was making a good living, but the political situation made things very difficult. Army revolts, incredible inflation, etc.

Inset left: Could this be yet another exquisite portrait of a comic book artist at work by the talent photographer Greg Preston? José Delbo in his Florida studio. ©2002 the respective copyright holder.

There was a tremendously bad situation in Argentina with no tranquility. You would never know what would happen tomorrow. I had my two kids and said to my wife, “We cannot live like this any more. Even if I can get a good enough work, this is not the place to raise our children.” The comic business started to slow down, because people were worrying about more important things than comics. Besides, the people who were selling the books preferred to sell the more expensive, profitable magazines than the cheap comic books, because the profit margin was so much better. So the retailer would just return the comics unopened. The whole thing started to deteriorate, and was much different than when I started. Magazines started to close down, publishers went away, things like that. I needed to make a big decision, and that’s why we decided to come to the 79

No. 23, Dec. 2002 • $6.95 in the U.S.

COMIC BOOK ARTIST

JILL THOMPSON Under the Spell of

From Sandman to Scary Godmother

J I L L

T H O M P S O N :

F R O M

NUMBER 23

S A N D M A N

T H E

Q U E E N

O F

H A L L O W E ’ E N !

CELEBRATING THE LIVES & WORK OF THE GREAT CARTOONISTS, WRITERS & EDITORS

DECEMBER 2002

CBA COMMUNIQUES: LETTERS, MISSIVES, CORRESPONDENCE, NOTES, CARDS, AND MAIL BOMBS A missive from the late John Buscema’s wife, Toth on his “lost” Enemy Ace story, and more! ........................2-B MICHELLE’S MEANDERINGS: THE ADVENTURES OF G.I. JANE You think Demi Moore was the first female counterpart of that “Real American Hero”? Think again!............4-B CBA’S SPOOKY THOMPSON SPECIAL JILL THOMPSON INTERVIEW: SCARY GODMOTHER AND THE JOY OF COMICS Joe McCabe talks with the artist about her work, from Sandman to the undisputed Queen of Hallowe’en! ....6-B THE MAGIC OF MIKE MIGNOLA: FROM HELLBOY AND BACK AGAIN! For the love of Mike, CBA gives the artist the full treatment: Interview, portfolio and checklist! ................Flip us! COMIC BOOK ARTIST™ is published 10 times a year by TwoMorrows, 1812 Park Drive, Raleigh, NC 27605, USA. 919-833-8092. Jon B. Cooke, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: P.O. Box 204, West Kingston, RI 02892-0204 USA • 401-783-1669 • Fax: 401-783-1287. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT the editorial office. Single issues: $9 postpaid ($11 Canada, $12 elsewhere). Six-issue subscriptions: $36 US, $66 Canada, $72 elsewhere. All characters © their respective owners. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © their respective authors. ©2002 Jon B. Cooke/TwoMorrows. Cover acknowledgement: Photograph of Jill Thompson by Dan (Dano) Martin of Chicago, Illinois. First Printing. PRINTED IN CANADA.

Editor/Designer JON B. COOKE Publisher

TWOMORROWS JOHN & PAM MORROW Assistant Editor GEORGE KHOURY Associate Editors CHRIS KNOWLES DAVID A. ROACH CHRISTOPHER IRVING Contributing Editors ROY THOMAS JOHN MORROW Cover Photography DAN MARTIN, Chicago, IL

CBA Interview

Jill Thompson and From Sandman to Scary Godmother, a conversation with one Conducted and transcribed by Joe McCabe

Below: Before Scary Godmother made it into print, the artist dressed up as her beloved character. Courtesy of Jill Thompson.

Jill Thompson is one of the most vivacious and enthusiastic people in the comics field, both an extraordinary talent and savvy professional. After a stint in the independent funny book world—as penciler on The Elementals and Classics Illustrated, to name two—she rose through the ranks at DC Comics as artist on such disparate titles as Wonder Woman and Sandman. The artist has since branched out into creator-owned territory with her eminently kid-friendly and charming Scary Godmother (the title character based, this editor is convinced, on the writer/artist herself, if at least visually), published by Sirius Entertainment, as well taken a successful foray into children’s book illustration. Always a captivating presence at Wizard World, Comic-Con International: San Diego, as well as the Pittsburgh convention (where this interview took place earlier this year), Jill is a longtime Chicago resident where she lives with husband and celebrated comics writer Brian (100 Bullets) Azzarello. She copy edited the final transcript. Comic Book Artist: Why comics? Jill Thompson: I don’t know. That’s a strange question because I get asked that by people who are not into comics a lot. I started reading comics and I never stopped. It wasn’t something that I decided at 13 years old to pick up, it was something that I had read from the time I could read—comic strips, comic books. They spoke to me immediately as the medium I wanted to tell stories in. I like the mixture of pictures and prose. Though I love to read everything and I was a voracious reader when I was in school, I never said, “Okay, I’m going to sit down and write a novel.” Though I did write a lot of stories, I tended to just do comics stories, about anything and everything, starting out, of course, with my variation on Snoopy, which was just called B Dog. CBA: Was that the first comic you created? Jill: Hmmm, I guess it is. I was always drawing stuff, but that’s probably the first comic strip I wrote and drew and lettered and everything. When I was little I announced to the world (my family ) that I was going draw Snoopy when I grew up. And my mom gently pointed out to me—”Well, you can’t draw Snoopy when you grow up, because you’ve already see him in the newspaper. That means somebody else draws him.” I said, “Okay,” and I drew my own, which was the letter B, with a little dot on the front and an ear on the back and a tail on the back. It was B Dog. He had a spot on his back too, so he looked like the letter B drawn with a Snoopy costume on it. And then I started drawing Archie comic ripoffs. I drew all the kids in the neighborhood as teenagers—I aged them and myself as well. The story was based on my brother Steven and this little girl, Elise, that lived down the street who

6-B

had a crush on him. She’d chase him around the block shouting, “My lovable husband!” and try to tackle him and kiss him. At his age— around six—it was “Eww! Girl germs! Get away from me! Me and Davey Johnson have to go put football helmets on our heads and run into the tree and see who will fall over first!”—that kind of thing. But I figured when Steven and Elise grew up, if we lived on the same block, they would probably go out on dates like Archie and Betty. So I would always draw stories about us grown up, and it was pretty much based on that little girl Elise. It was her comic, and everyone else was the co-star, and she was always trying to “get” my brother with her crazy schemes.

The natural progression of my comics interests goes like this: Peanuts in the newspaper—Peanuts pocket books— Archie comics—Marvel comics—all other comics. With some of my biggest artistic influences being the artists who worked for Archie Comics, like Bob Bolling, who did Little Archie—which now I really see coming out in some of my stuff; but I never did before—and Dan DeCarlo. Those people were big influences on me, especially DeCarlo. His work is so amazing. It looks like it took no effort at all to draw it, like it just flowed out of the ink pen or something. CBA: I guess Little Archie found its way into your Little Endless work. Jill: You know, now that I think about it, the line quality of the brush that I use and the way that they’re kind of cute but kind of regularlooking at the same time… that’s similar to the old Little Archie stories. CBA: You like to draw things that are cute and cuddly? Jill: Not more than any other type of thing. If the cute fits, draw it. They’re adorable in a more comfortable way for me, and I know COMIC BOOK ARTIST 23

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the Joy of Comics of the most talented woman cartoonists in the comic book field some people would never be able to look at them, because they’re not into that cutesy type of thing, but I don’t think they’re cute in the same way the Care Bears are cute—saccharin-cute. And I’m doing more children’s-book type stuff, but because my work is usually covered in monsters, it’s a kind of fineline between cute and scary. CBA: It would seem to reach a wider audience that way?

Jill: Yes. Well, just that kind of sensibility. Cute enough for the moms to like it, but off-kilter enough for me. The kind of monster stuff I like to see. CBA: What kind is that? Jill: While I do like horror movies, I’m not into gore. I know there’s a time and a place for it which is fine, but I like things that are more classic; I like to collect skeleton stuff and skulls [showing skull ring and big skull belt-buckle]. But they have to be—I don’t know, simpler, I guess. Like Day of the Dead and that whole deal. But sometimes peoDecember 2002

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ple think all I like is skulls, so sometimes fans will send me gifts—and I don’t necessarily understand a lot of them—but things such as skulls with snakes coming out of their mouths, or vampirey teeth ones with blood and eyes dripping out of them. It’s very cool, the amazing sculpture and stuff, but that’s not going to go on my mantle, but the Day of the Dead skeletons will, and the cool carved skeleton from Thailand that I’ve got that’s four- or five-feet tall. He’s wonderful, but I don’t need the one that’s got the intestines hanging out of it. I love to go to the Haunted House and see that kind of stuff, but my scary-monster stuff that I draw is iconoclastic, because they’re kind of variations on icons. CBA: The Scary Godmother and her friends are good examples of that. Jill: Yeah, exactly. The spooky feel is there, but Scary Godmother isn’t going to disembowel anyone in an intricate two-page spread. The closest I’ve gotten to gross right now is a children’s book I’m working on called Magic Trixie which is kind of like “the Little Rascals if they were monsters,” this little group of monster kids. And there’s a little Frankensteinish monster kid that’s all stitched together; he carries everything in his belly because he’s got a zipper attached to his belly-button, which has this button on it, because he’s been stitched together by the scientist. And all of the other kids take advantage of him, by shoving things in his stomach. They’re like, “Hold this for me!” And he’s like… [sighs] Or they get mad because they’re running and he can’t keep up because his feet have fallen off and he’s got to lace them up to his ankles, and they’ll say, “Stitch, will you tie those things in a double knot, please!?” CBA: So this is being published ? Jill: If I have anything to say about it. I hope it will. I love all the characters. They’re fun and enjoyable to draw. My agent is shopping it around to book publishers as we speak, so maybe by the time this sees print, we’ll have an interested party. CBA: You went to the American Academy of Art. What was that experience like? Jill: It was a trade school, a commercial art school. The Chicago Art Institute was a fine arts program. We had fine arts at our school, but we were prepared to get a job in advertising or illustration—freelance work—but the Art Institute was more interested in teaching you about art history and fine arts. I think the ratio of people that went to the Art Institute versus the ratio of people that went to my school who are actually working in the field they want to work in—it’s probably a greater ratio at the American Academy of Art then it is at the Art Institute. And if you wanted to draw comics, no one cared about you. They hated you at both schools. [laughs] Chris Ware went to the Art Institute, and he said that when people found out that he liked and wanted to illustrate comics, it was “Pooh, pooh, pooh. What are you doing in this school?” Guess what: Chris is more successful than any of the people that you have going to your school. [laughs] CBA: Chris is winning all these awards, and other folk from his school are probably designing soup labels.

Above: The comic book creator as a tyke. Courtesy of Jill Thompson.