American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1950s by TwoMorrows Publishing

THE

b y B I L L S C H E L LY

1950-1959

Dedication To Alan Hutchinson and Jeff Gelb

Writer: Editor: Logo Design: Layout: Cover Design: Proofreader: Publisher:

Bill Schelly Keith Dallas Bill Walko David Paul Greenawalt Jon B. Cooke Rob Smentek John Morrow

TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, North Carolina 27614 www.twomorrows.com • 919-449-0344 e-mail: store@twomorrows.com Second Printing • December 2020 • Printed in China ISBN 978-1-60549-054-0

American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1950s is © 2020 TwoMorrows Publishing, a division of TwoMorrows Inc. All rights reserved under international and Pan-American copyright conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical. Photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. All reproductions in this historical overview of comic books are copyright by the respective copyright holders, and are used here strictly for historical purposes. Attempts have been made to properly attribute copyrights for use in this book; if you are a valid copyright-holder and have not been properly credited, please contact TwoMorrows so that this can be corrected in any future printings. The viewpoints expressed in the text are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TwoMorrows Publishing. Mutt and Jeff TM and © AEdita S. de Beaumont. Archie, Betty, Little Archie, The Fly, The Shield, Veronica TM and © Archie Comic Publications, Inc. Boys’ Life TM and © Boy Scouts of America. Mighty Mouse TM and © CBS Consumer Products. Baby Huey, Casper, Hot Stuff, Little Lotta, Little Lulu, Lone Ranger, Spooky, Stumbo, Richie Rich, Tubby, Wendy TM and © Classic Media, LLC. Adam Strange, Alfred E. Neuman, Aquaman, Batman, Batwoman, Bat-hound, Bizarro, Blackhawk, Blue Beetle, Brainiac, Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Catwoman, Challengers of the Unknown, Doll Man, The Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Ibis, Jimmy Olsen, Johnny Thunder, The Joker, Justice League of America, Justice Society of America, Kid Flash, Krypto, Legion of Super-Heroes, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, Mad, Martian Manhunter, Phantom Lady, Phantom Stranger, Plastic Man, Robin, Sgt. Rock, Space Ranger, Sugar and Spike, Superboy, Supergirl, Superman, Tomahawk, Tommy Tomorrow, Two Face, Viking Prince, Wonder Girl, Wonder Woman, TM and © DC Comics. Beagle Boys, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Uncle Scrooge, Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories TM © Disney Enterprises, Inc. Classics Illustrated TM and © the Frawley Corporation and its exclusive licensee First Classics, Inc. Tarzan is TM and © ERB, Inc. Green Hornet TM and © The Green Hornet, Inc. Witches Tales, Black Cat, Chamber of Chills, Tomb of Terror TM and © Harvey Comics or successors of interest. G.I. Joe TM and © Hasbro. Black Magic, Bulls Eye, Captain 3-D, Fighting American, Foxhole, Kid Cowboys of Boys’ Ranch, Police Trap TM and © the Estate of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Tor TM and © the Estate of Joe Kubert. Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace, Flash Gordon, The Phantom TM and © King Features Syndicate, Inc. Raiders of the Lost Ark TM and © Lucasfilm Ltd. Black Knight, Captain America, Combat Kelly, Ghost Rider, The Human Torch, Marvel Boy, Millie the Model, Outlaw Kid, Patsy Walker, The Sub-Mariner TM and © Marvel Characters, Inc. Barbie TM Mattel. Blackboard Jungle, The Wizard of Oz TM and © MGM Studios Inc. Pogo TM and © Okefenokee Glee & Perloo Inc. Peanuts is TM and © Peanuts Worldwide LLC. Famous Monsters of Filmland TM and © Philip Kim. Turok TM and © Random House, Inc. The Day the Earth Stood Still TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Nancy and Sluggo TM and © United Features Syndicate, Inc. The Black Shield of Falworth, It Came From Outer Space TM and © Universal International Pictures, Inc. Andy Panda, Woody Woodpecker TM and © Walter Lantz Productions, Inc. The Adventures of Superman, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Rebel Without A Cause, Supermen and the Mole Men, Sylvester, The Thing From Another World, Tweety TM and © Warner Bros. Crime Patrol, Crime SuspenStories, Crypt of Terror, Crypt-Keeper, Extra!, Frontline Combat, Gunfighter, Haunt of Fear, Impact, Incredible Science Fiction, Panic, Shock Illustrated. Shock SuspenStories, Tales from the Crypt, The Old Witch, Two-Fisted Tales, Valor, Vault of Horror, Vault-Keeper, War Against Crime, Weird Fantasy, Weird Science, Weird Science-Fantasy TM and © William M. Gaines Agent, Inc. Zorro TM and © Zorro Productions, Inc. Adventures into the Unknown, Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, The Avenger, Big Town, Black Cat, Blue Bolt, Captain Flash, Catcher in the Rye, Crime Does Not Pay, Eerie, Forbidden Worlds, Katy Keene, Lassie, Mr. Muscles, Nature Boy, Seduction of the Innocent, Sky Masters of the Space Force, Strong Man, Unknown Worlds TM and © respective copyright holders.

Table of Contents Introductory Note about the Chronological Structure of American Comic Book Chronicles.................. 4 Note on Comic Book Sales and Circulation Data.......................................... 5 Introduction & Acknowledgements . ........... 6 Chapter One: 1950 Variety on the Newsstand............................... 10 Chapter Two: 1951 Before the Storm................................................. 36 Chapter Three: 1952 Expansion............................................................. 54 Chapter Four: 1953 EC Soars, Fawcett Crashes................................ 72 Chapter Five: 1954 Comics in Crisis................................................... 90

Chapter Six: 1955 Censored!............................................................ 116 Chapter Seven: 1956 Birth of the Silver Age..................................... 142 Chapter Eight: 1957 Turbulence and Transition........................... 164 Chapter Nine: 1958 National Takes the Lead................................. 180 Chapter Ten: 1959 The Silver Age Gains Traction...................... 198 Appendix........................................................... 226 Works Cited....................................................... 230 Index................................................................... 234

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom,

INTRODUCTION & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,

The ’50s:

it was the season of Light,

Best of Times, the Worst of Times

it was the season of Darkness ....

The

–Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

For some fans of American comic books, the 1950s was the most exciting era in the medium’s history. For others, it was the mediocre, confused period between the comics of the 1940s (the Golden Age) and the second rise of the super heroes in the 1960s. Count me among those who believe comics of the ’50s are among the most exciting ever published. They’re singularly fascinating for they not only encompass a proliferating variety of genres and titles, but showcase work by many writers and artists—the second generation of comic book creators, if you will—whose work was often more sophisticated than that of their predecessors. In addition, it’s the only period when comic books were brought before a U. S. Senate Subcommittee, which led to massive changes in the medium that echoed through the Silver Age and beyond. How can the era that produced the classic comics of EC (Tales from the Crypt, Weird Science, et al.) and the start of the Silver Age of comics with the publication of the new Flash in DC’s Showcase #4 not be considered among the “best of times”? The same would be asserted, I’m certain, by the fans of Carl Barks’ masterful work on Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge, and those of John Stanley’s brilliant stories of Little Lulu and Tubby. Harvey Kurtzman’s Mad can hardly be considered mediocre. Indeed, it’s one of the great publishing success stories of the twentieth century, in both creative and financial terms. Those who are only interested in super hero comics will naturally gravitate toward the 1940s and the 1960s (and beyond), but those who appreciate other kinds of comics find much of what they’re looking for in the 1950s. Beyond the costumed hero fare still being published, there were also horror, crime and detective, Western, science fiction, jungle, teen humor, war, newspaper reprints, romance, funny animal, sports hero, educational, adventure, adaptations from other media (movies, radio, TV) and more. The 1950s was the era when extra-thick 25-cent comics became common, and the innovative 3-D comic books were

TM and © William M. Gaines, Agent, Inc.

invented. The tremendous variety of titles and genres of comics of the 1950s is one of the era’s greatest virtues. On the other hand, it’s important to remember that the colorful costumed heroes didn’t disappear entirely in the 1950s. Indeed, over 60 of them, both old and new, fought crime in the pages of the 52-page and 36-page comics of the era, including Martin Goodman’s first attempt to revive his great triumvirate of Captain America, the Human Torch, and the Sub-Mariner. DC brought new costumed heroes to life in the ’50s, such as the Martian Manhunter, Adam Strange, the Legion of Super-Heroes and Supergirl. Even the Flash and Green Lantern—nominally “revivals”—were new characters only loosely based on their Golden Age counterparts. Others invented new heroes too, characters who continue to fascinate, including Captain 3-D, Fighting American, and the Fly from that amazingly talented creative team, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Comic books in the form we know them had been in existence just sixteen years as the year 1950 arrived. The super hero boom during World War II, which had largely been responsible for establishing the industry, had faded, but comic book sales had stabilized after a post-war lull. New genres came along, several of them catering partially to older readers, both male and female. The industry itself seemed poised for a successful decade. What came in the 1950s, instead, was the most turbulent decade in the history of comics, and, as a result,

TM and © The Estates of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

1950

Variety on the Newsstand

The debut of Siegel and Shuster’s Superman in mid-1938

was the shot in the arm that set the fledgling comic book industry on its feet. The Man of Tomorrow was a distinctly different kind of hero, uniquely suited to the brash fourcolor booklets that had so recently become a recognizable presence on American newsstands. When the word got out that National Allied Publications’ Action Comics was a sales skyrocket, imitators followed, and an industry took hold. In 1950, the types of comic books on the racks demonstrated how far the industry had come from its roots, as it adapted to changing public tastes after the end of World War II. While costumed heroes dominated the field during the war—partly out of a need for optimistic, powerful heroes, and partly because other forms simply hadn’t been developed yet—the post-war era registered a significant drop-off in the public’s interest in such fare. Comic books as a medium lost some overall sales for a while, with demobilization and the reduction of readers in the armed services—virtually a captive audience during the war—but by then, the comic book as a mode of entertainment had gained acceptance. The readers were out there, and it remained for publishers to provide them with the kind of material that they found attractive and interesting. Publishers experimented with other kinds of subject matter, and by the decade’s end, newsstands offered a great diversity of genres: Westerns, romance comics, teenage humor, funny animal antics, crime comics, and newspaper reprints, each type, in turn, having sub-genres.

National Comics in 1950 As 1950 began, National Comics Publications Inc., now DC Comics (called National throughout this book), remained a sales leader for three principal reasons: employment of many of the most talented artists and writers in comics, conservative stewardship, and a program of prudent diversification.

CHAPTER ONE

Unlike many of its competitors, National’s core super heroes hadn’t succumbed. Superman was still going strong in his solo title as well as in Action Comics and World’s Finest Comics. Superboy seemed to be gaining momentum, appearing regularly in Adventure Comics and his own selftitled book. (Lana Lang made her debut in Superboy #10, cover dated Sept.-Oct. 1950.) Batman and Robin, too, held firm in their own title plus Detective Comics and World’s Finest. Robin was still appearing in solo adventures in Star Spangled Comics, though not for much longer. Wonder Woman would soon drop out of Sensation Comics, but the Amazon princess continued to dominate the world of men in her own book. And the Justice Society of America—the only remaining vehicle for the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawk10

man, and the other All-American heroes—hung on in All-Star Comics. Second tier hero Aquaman continued in his slot in Adventure Comics, and Green Arrow was in both World’s Finest and Adventure. All these National heroes would run unabated through the decade except for the JSA, whose All-Star Comics dropped them to usher in a format change to All-Star Western in 1951. The creative direction of National was being steered by the urbane, hard-drinking Whitney Ellsworth, whose career with the firm began as an assistant editor with Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson’s National Allied Publications in 1934. As such, he pre-dated Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz with National, staying aboard when their machinations squeezed Wheeler-Nicholson out in 1938. That same year, Ellsworth rose to Associate Editor, producing cover roughs for several years (he was a cartoonist of some ability), and soon he was promoted to Editorial Director, the position he held in 1950. While Ellsworth provided general guidance, after consulting sales figures produced by the co-owned Independent News distribution company, he delegated most of the creative decisions to a staff of able editors, each handling a slate of titles. As Ellsworth became more involved in the development of the firm’s properties in movies and television in the late 1940s and early 1950s, these nominal “assistant editors” gained considerable autonomy. Mort Weisinger was per-

haps first among equals, entrusted with the stewardship of the flagship Superman titles. Jack Schiff steered the Batman books. Julius Schwartz (known as “Julie” by his friends) handled All-Star and a variety of genres. Robert Kanigher edited Wonder Woman and romance comics. Bernie Breslauer served in an editorial capacity on the humor titles; when he suffered a heart attack, he was replaced by Larry Nadle. George Kashdan was a story editor who rose to edit a number of titles in the new decade. One of the key differences between comic books of the early-to-mid 1940s and those of the 1950s was the page count. The traditional 10-cent book during World War II contained 68 pages including covers, at least until 1943 when paper rationing forced reductions (to counts ranging from 36 to 60 pages). After the war, the maximum page count to be found for 10 cents was, with few exceptions, 52 pages. By 1950, many more had dropped down to 36 pages. National held firm for the time being at 52, though it was clear that they would soon have to slim down. (The dimensions of a typical comic book at this time were 7” wide by 10¼” high.) Most 52-page comics had five or six stories, which was generally reduced to three or four stories in books that fell back to 36 pages. If National’s output of super hero comics filled pages in only 11 titles by 1950, what made up the rest of its lineup?

Lana Lang met the Boy of Steel for the first time in Superboy #10 (September-October 1950). Even though super heroes had lost a great deal of their popular appeal by the beginning of the decade, National’s top heroes remained relatively healthy. Right: Action Comics #141 (February 1950), Wonder Woman #40 (March-April 1950), and Detective Comics #156 (February 1950). Superman, Superboy, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Robin TM and © DC Comics

1951

Before the Storm

In 1951, the new United Nations building in New York City officially opened, even as the testing of nuclear explosions occurred with greater frequency, both in the Nevada desert and on an atoll in the Marshall Islands. J. D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye saw print, and I Love Lucy made its television debut on CBS. Transcontinental television began.

The public’s interest in science fiction was even more pronounced than in 1950, evident in the release of a number of popular films with SF themes, chief among them Man from Planet X, The Thing from Another World, When Worlds Collide, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Flight to Mars. It was only natural that comic books followed suit with science fiction comics. Bill Gaines contributed creatively to EC comics by virtue of plotting many of the stories with his right hand man, Al Feldstein. He also hired the artists and, again in concert with Feldstein, decided who would draw each particular script. Nevertheless, he focused much of his time on business management, such as analyzing sales information as it came in from his distributor, Leader News. “Bill used to have this system for charting sales which I always watched in wonder, but I never quite understood,” Harvey Kurtzman recalled. “He’d keep little piles of thumb-nail papers that would fit into the palm of your hand, and he would sit there with a slide rule and he’d make little marks on the papers, and he’d look at his slide rule and make more little marks on his papers. At any given moment he knew what was selling” (Benson 83). Monitoring sales and keeping on top of popular trends was de rigueur. Three genres had come to the fore as sales softened for romance and crime books: war, science fiction, and horror. As the year began, it seemed clear that of the three, horror comics were selling best, with sales continuing to climb even as the objections to violence and sex in comics grew louder. One could see dark clouds on the horizon, but Bill Gaines wasn’t worried. Complaints from a minority of cranks and do-gooders (as he saw them) weren’t going to stop him from publishing comics that were flying off the newsstands and generating a growing number of fan letters.

CHAPTER TWO

Horror was hot, but EC’s science fiction comics engendered their own special excitement, offering imaginative scripts and art by the best young artists in the business. As Gaines’ comics would soon trumpet, “We’re proudest of our science fiction titles!” SF was busting out on the racks, and EC comics led the pack from a creative and, very likely, sales standpoint. 36

ing when he would receive royalty payments for EC’s adaptations, Gaines quickly sent him a check, and they hammered out an arrangement for further adaptations. Henceforth, these adaptations appeared under Bradbury’s name and original story titles. (Gaines subsequently curtailed unauthorized adaptations of other writers’ works.) Wally Wood was already developing into the star artist of EC’s science fiction titles. Born in Menahga, Minnesota, in 1927, Wood was a slender, diffident young man who came alive at the drawing board. His chief influences were Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon and Roy Crane’s Wash Tubbs. He loved drawing rocket ships and alien planets, and had a style that was highly detailed and attractive. The only thing Wood liked better than drawing rocket ships was drawing sexy women; his were some of the sexiest to appear in any comic book. He produced a story in all twelve of EC’s 1951 SF comics, such as the aforementioned “Deadlock!,” often involving menaces from other planets (“The Aliens!”in Weird Science #7, MayJune 1951). Each was a gem, and each showed incremental improvement. His work kept getting better and better. Wood’s artistic

The Thing from Another World was released on April 29th, 1951. It was loosely adapted from John W. Campbell Jr.’s story “Who Goes There?” The Thing From Another World TM and © Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.

In 1951, EC published six issues each of Weird Science (#5-10) and Weird Fantasy (#17, then #6-10 when the title changed its numbering system). Al Feldstein drew all the Weird Science covers except for the last two of that year’s run, which were handled by Wally Wood. Feldstein scripted the interior stories this year, other than those written and drawn by Kurtzman. (Wally Wood did some plotting and possible scripting on “Deadlock!” in WF #17, JanuaryFebruary 1951.) The artwork was mainly by Feldstein, Wally Wood, Harvey Kurtzman, and Jack Kamen. For script ideas, Gaines and Feldstein looked to previously published prose stories from the SF pulps and magazines, but they never credited their sources. In 1950 and 1951, Weird Science and Weird Fantasy based stories to one degree or another on works by Henry Hasse, Edmond Hamilton, Roald Dahl, Donald Wandrei, Anthony Boucher, Murray Leinster, and Fritz Lieber, among others. The same was true of the horror comics. Because he was trying to lose weight, Bill Gaines was taking Dexedrine, a drug that had an amphetamine-like effect (i.e. “speed”). As a result, he had trouble getting to sleep. So he read SF and horror stories late into the night (and early morning). As he did this, he jotted down ideas for what he and Feldstein called “springboards,” story gimmicks that served as the basis for Feldstein’s finished scripts. A single story often suggested several springboards, and a certain number of the EC science fiction strips came directly from the original prose stories. The first Ray Bradbury tale to be “adapted” in this fashion was “The Handler,” which was re-done in Haunt of Fear #6 (March-April 1951) with the title “A Strange Undertaking…,” drawn by Graham Ingels. The first of these unauthorized Bradbury adaptations to appear in an SF title was “Home to Stay!” in Weird Fantasy #13 (May-June 1952), a combination of the author’s “Kaleidoscope” and “The Rocket Man.” When Gaines received a letter from Bradbury ask-

Weird Science #7 (May-June 1951) with cover by Al Feldstein. Above: images by Wally Wood from the splash panel of “The Maidens Cried” in Weird Science #10. TM and © William M. Gaines, Agent, Inc.

1952

Expansion

If the 1950s was “the best of times, the worst of times” for American comic books, 1952 was a year that exemplified the “best of times.” It was a year of industry expansion, both of the number of high quality titles and the imitative also-rans. New genres established in the prior years proliferated, crowding newsstands with new horror, war, and romance titles. Uncle Scrooge’s star was ascendant, and a sensational new type of comic book from EC came out of left field. A horror comics boom comprised a large part of the expansion. Nearly all of the horror titles published in 1951 by ACG, EC, Atlas, Harvey, and others continued into 1952, having met with robust sales and profits sufficient to warm any publisher’s heart. The word was out, and everyone wanted to grab a piece of the action. Exactly how did others find out what was “hot”? By the time the letter column in Vault of Horror #25 (June-July 1952) revealed that EC’s sales were 1,500,000 copies a month, the cat was out of the bag. Distributors were supposed to keep sales figures confidential, but publishers also had relationships with wholesalers who could—and did—talk freely about what was and wasn’t selling. What’s more, writers and artists usually worked for more than one firm, facilitating a flow of information along the industry grapevine. Besides, when the larger publishers began increasing the number of titles in any given genre, the evidence of a best seller was right there on the stands. A plethora of new horror titles appeared in 1952. As horror comics became a national craze, every publisher jumped on the band wagon:

American Comics Group introduced Out of the Night and Skeleton Hand. Ajax-Farrell published Haunted Thrills, Strange Fantasy, and Voodoo. Atlas added Adventures into Weird Worlds, Amazing Detective Cases (now all-horror), Journey into Mystery, Mystery Tales, Spellbound, and Uncanny Tales. Avon rolled out City of the Living Dead, The Dead Who Walk, Diary of Horror, Phantom Witch Doctor, and Witchcraft. Charlton jumped in with The Thing, and Comic Media introduced Horrific and Weird Terror. Fawcett published Beware Terror Tales, Strange Stories from Another World, Strange Suspense Stories, Unknown Worlds, and Worlds of Fear. Gilmor brought out Weird Mysteries. Harvey introduced Tomb of Terror. Hillman added Monster Crime Comics. Tame National had ended 1951 with the introduction of House of Mystery, and converted Sensation Comics to “horror,” dropping Wonder Woman from its pages. (She still had her solo book.) A few months later, Sensation Comics was renamed Sensation Mystery, and then one month after that, The Phantom Stranger began.

CHAPTER THREE 54

Prize brought back Frankenstein and introduced Simon and Kirby’s Strange World of Your Dreams in 1952. Quality published Web of Evil. Standard contributed Adventures into Darkness, Out of the Shadows and The Unseen. Stanley Morse had Weird Tales of the Future. Star put out Startling Terror Tales. St. John got into the act with Strange Terrors and Weird Horrors. Toby had Tales of Horror and Tales of Terror. Youthful put out Beware and Chilling Tales. Ziff-Davis added Nightmare. As for the horror comics leader, Entertaining Comics, Bill Gaines launched one more book with a connection to the genre: Shock SuspenStories #1 (February-March 1952). The Al Feldstein-drawn cover appropriately featured a shot of a man in an electric chair. It was initially conceived as a “sampler” book of all the genres EC offered: horror, SF, even war. In the first issue, Gaines and Feldstein wrote, We’ve tried to satisfy every one of you readers who have written us insisting that EC increase its output! Many of you wanted another sciencefiction mag... you horror fans wanted another horror book... and you suspense readers wanted a companion mag to Crime SuspenStories! We decided, therefore, to make this new mag an “EC Sampler” ...and to include in it an S-F yarn, a horror tale, a Crime SuspenStory, and... for you readers of Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales... a war story! Although there was a wide variance in the types of mags requested, all of you fans seemed to agree on one thing: all of you wanted the stories to have the usual EC shock endings! So what could be more natural than to call the magazine Shock SuspenStories? The interior stories were illustrated by Jack Kamen, Jack Davis, Joe Orlando and Graham Ingels, and all were scripted by Feldstein. Shock SuspenStories can be considered the last “New Trend” horror book, though it seems clear that Gaines and Feld-

Some of the horror comics that proliferated on newsstands in 1952, including St. John’s Strange Terrors #4 with an odd William Ekgren cover (in the center of row 2). House of Mystery TM and © DC Comics. Tomb of Terror TM and © Harvey Comics or successors of interest. © respective copyright holders.

1953

EC Soars, Fawcett Crashes

1953 was a year of extremes in the American political and social scene. At one end of the spectrum, Dwight David Eisenhower was sworn into office as President of the United States on January 20, his persona emanating a sense of benevolence and security to his electorate. At the other end of the spectrum, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin whipped his anti-communist witch-hunt into a frenzy during the same year that Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sent to the electric chair after being convicted of passing atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union. And with the announcement that the Soviets had an atomic bomb, fear of annihilation ran beneath the “carefree” surface of American life. In 1953, overall comic book sales were flattening out, with some publishers (like Atlas) experiencing declines and others (like Dell) on the upswing. The number of individual titles was up. Over 300 issues appeared on the stands in September, almost three times as many as had appeared in the same month in 1943. For Superman, 1953 was a very good year. The Adventures of Superman television series debuted coast-to-coast on February 9, bringing the Man of Steel’s exploits into millions of homes. The show benefited from the fortuitous casting of George Reeves as Superman and brought a great deal of attention to the Man of Steel’s supporting characters. Lois Lane had been an integral part of Superman’s stories since the super hero’s first appearance in 1938’s Action Comics #1. Editor Perry White and cub reporter Jimmy Olsen, however, had both been introduced later and in a somewhat desultory manner. Now, partly due to the necessity of focusing most of the television show on non-super heroic activity, these secondary characters were elevated and would from this point forward be more important in the Superman comics. For the television show, John Hamilton portrayed Perry White while Jack Larson played Jimmy Olsen. The role of Lois Lane was at first filled by Phyllis Coates, an attractive young actress of serials and low budget features. She took other employment after completing the first Superman season. (The show’s first year was filmed in 1951, but broadcast was delayed.) Subsequently, Noel Neill—the Lois from the Superman serials—was cast as the female reporter. Robert Maxwell, who supervised the Superman radio program, produced the first season, putting all the key elements in place. The stirring Superman theme music, the opening (“Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane!,” carried over from the radio show), and the fa-

CHAPTER FOUR 72

Atomic Fear in Comics Although EC’s product was relatively literate, the atomic-themed comics of its competitors predictably veered into the realm of exploitation. For instance, the cover of Ace Publications’ Atomic War! #1 (November 1952) showed New York City being destroyed by an atomic explosion, and the covers of subsequent issues were equally alarmist. Youthful’s Atomic Attack #5 (January 1953) sported a garish mushroom cloud cover and a World War III story with the unsettling title, “Tomorrow’s War.”

On January 7th, 1953, outgoing President Harry S. Truman announced that the United States had developed a hydrogen bomb. The government was conducting ongoing nuclear tests at a site in southern Nevada. With that, fear of atomic annihilation reached a kind of crescendo and was felt in many aspects of American life. In the film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (released June 13, 1953), an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle thawed out a hibernating dinosaur (animated by Ray Harryhausen). This was one of a number of movies that unleashed giant monsters on mankind, often a result of a nuclear accident or mutation. Atomic fear permeated movies, the news, TV, and, inevitably, comic books.

Amid the blossoming atomic fear came Gilberton’s Picture Parade #1 (September 1953), a title that attempted to explain the positive uses of nuclear energy. Picture Parade was an educational series conceived and written by Eleanor Lidofsky, a college-educated Brooklynite hired by publisher Albert Kanter to work on publicity and press releases, and to write incidental material for Classics Illustrated. “I wrote the things in the inside of the front and back covers,” Lidofsky recalled in an interview for this book. “Then Mr. Kantor asked me to come up with an idea for an educational comic book. All anyone thought about atomic energy was the bombs that had been dropped on Japan. My husband was a professor of nuclear science at Columbia University, and he gave me the information about the good things that nuclear power could bring. I wrote ‘Andy’s Atomic Adventure’ in that first issue, naming Andy after Mr. Kanter’s grandson. Picture Parade sold very well. It was geared to a fourth grade reading level.” Lidofsky wrote more issues of Picture Parade, then left at the end of 1954 to have her first child. Wellintentioned as that “boy and his dog” cover was, to modern eyes there’s something absurd about Andy comforting his canine friend while a nuclear explosion occurs nearby. The cover seemed to suggest that an atomic war wouldn’t disturb life as we know it.

When John W. Campbell became editor of Astounding Science Fiction in 1937, he exhibited a propensity for stories about atomic power and nuclear disasters. Urging Bill Gaines to publish a science f iction comic back in 1949, Wally Wood and Harry Harrison gave him copies of Astounding so the publisher would see the kind of stories they had in mind. Thus, some of the earliest issues of EC’s Weird Science and Weird Fantasy carried atomic-themed stories. There were “Cosmic Ray Bomb Explosion!” in Weird Fantasy #14 (July-August 1950) and “Radioactive Child!” in Weird Science #15 (November-December 1950). The cover of Weird Science #5 blared: “See the Earth 500,000 years after the first Atomic War!” In 1953, EC published two masterful, disturbing stories about atomic warfare and its aftermath. In Weird Fantasy #17, Al Feldstein adapted Ray Bradbury’s poetic story “There Will Come Soft Rains” about a “smart house” whose gadgets keep doing their jobs after its human occupants were decimated by an atomic explosion. And in Two-Fisted Stories #33, Harvey Kurtzman tackled the subject with “Atomic Bomb!,” showing the effects of the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan ,on the city’s denizens. Wally Wood was at his EC peak when he drew both of these classic stories.

Some comics fans and historians have referred to the period from the end of World War II to the start of the Silver Age of comics in 1956 as “the Atom Age of comics.” Despite being used in Bob Overstreet’s influential Comic Book Price Guide, the phrase hasn’t yet gained widespread acceptance.

Youthful’s Atomic Attack #5 (January 1953), Ace Magazines’ Atomic War! #1 (November 1952), and Gilberton’s Picture Parade #1 (1953). Picture Parade - Classics Illustrated TM and © the Frawley Corporation & licensee First Classics, Inc. TM and © respective copyright holders.

1954

Comics in

Crisis

The 3-D comics that offered such promise and excitement in 1953 turned out to be a short-lived fad. The form’s technical limitations and the smaller publishers’ shoddy product hastened the fad’s demise. Joe Kubert suggested another reason for its early death. “The publishers thought the gimmick would last forever so everybody tried to use the gimmick on everything,” he later opined. “When the market was saturated with 3-D, it was so common, readers began to ask, ‘Hey, what about the story? What about the content?’ The lack of content is what I think really caused the death of 3-D” (Groth 83). Also, 3-D was used on too many comics with stories that didn’t lend themselves to the process. Just seeing characters talking in a panel on two or three levels added nothing, even if the story was good. Two books that Kubert’s comments clearly didn’t apply to were Three Dimensional EC Classics #1 and #2, both dated Spring 1954. Each had four new, re-drawn versions of earlier EC stories from the same scripts (with a few minor changes). Most were re-drawn by different artists, allowing readers to experience a different visual interpretation of the (mostly) Gaines/Feldstein stories. “The Monster From the Fourth Dimension!” in Weird Science #7 (May-June 1951) was initially drawn by Al Feldstein. The 3-D version was handled by Bernard Krigstein. “Mr. Biddy ... Killer!” in Crime SuspenStories #5 (June-July 1951) had been illustrated by Jack Davis. Now readers had the chance to savor the same story drawn in the much different style of “Ghastly” Graham Ingels. Even when the same artist drew the new version, changes were made. Harvey Kurtzman and Wally Wood reworked “V-Vampires!” from Mad #3 (February-March 1953), expanding it from six to eight pages. The original splash panel was enlarged to a full page, and the opening sequence of the girl being stalked in the London fog was extended by several panels. Wood had used the CraftTint painted-shading process in the first version, but his use of that subtle shading technique was greatly expanded, perhaps partly to make up for the lack of color in 3-D. This re-worked, extended version of one of the finest Kurtzman-Wood collaborations in Mad is a treasure. EC planned a third issue of Three Dimensional EC Classics using six levels of 3-D depth as opposed to the four levels the first two issues had. When the 3-D bubble burst, however, Bill Gaines had no choice but to cancel its publication. (The four stories prepared for Three Dimensional EC Classics #3 were eventually printed in Wally Wood’s witzend #6 in 1969, in Jerry Weist’s Squa Tront #4 in 1970, and in Jerry Weist’s and John Benson’s Squa Tront #5 in 1974.) EC’s two 3-D comics were among the dozen or so 3-D books published with 1954 cover dates.

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the Dennis the Menace comic book from Pines in 1959), Otto Binder found that he was no longer persona non grata at National. With editors Julie Schwartz and Mort Weisinger beckoning, he began the second major phase of his comic book career.

Superman family of comics to capitalize on increased public awareness of the supporting characters in the Daily Planet newsroom. Mort decided Jimmy Olsen should be the first of them to have his own book. Though others at National were skeptical, Weisinger had confidence the series would succeed as long as its stories were entertaining and Superman appeared on the cover of each issue (and as a regular guest star). Binder turned out to be the perfect choice to write the book. The first issue of Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen was dated September-October 1954. As Weisinger predicted, the series became a solid success, lasting into the 1970s.

Binder’s first story for National in the post-Marvel Family period was “I Delivered Mail from Mars” in Strange Adventures #42 (March 1954), drawn by Mort Drucker and inked by Joe Giella. His debut script for Mystery in Space was According to his personal records, “The Great Space-Train Binder scripted all but two Jimmy Robbery” in issue #19 Olsen stories in the series’ first 30 is(April-May 1954), illustratsues. Then he wrote two of every ised by Gil Kane and Bernard sue’s three stories through 1961’s Sachs. These short science Jimmy Olsen #51. The Flying Newsfiction stories came easily room, Jimmy’s disguise trunk, and to Binder. A lot of the story his Superman souvenir collection all resolutions involved quesappeared in the first issue, providtionable or at least sketchy ing fertile springboards for many scientific principles, but Page 1 of “V-Vampires!” by Kurtzman and Wood, as it appeared in Mad subsequent tales. It was Binder who the gimmicks were fun #3. TM and © DC Comics. and highly Archer St. John had invested heavily visual. Here, the virtue in the special acetate and celluloid of comic books shone, as needed to create and manufacture artists depicted things 3-D comics, since he planned to conthat couldn’t have been vert more of his line to 3-D. He was portrayed in movies. hurt worse than other publishers In all, Otto went on to when the fad came to a screeching write eighty-seven stohalt, but he had also reaped enormous ries for Schwartz over profits when 3-D comics launched. St. the next six years, such John continued a full line of comic as his popular Space books until the end of 1955, averagCabby series in Mystery ing about ten a month. In early 1953, in Space. He returned to he started Manhunt Detective Story the Tommy Tomorrow Monthly, a successful publication feature that he had writthat sold very well all through 1953, ten in the late 1940s, 1954, and 1955, and continued for a and scripted all the rest number of years after that. On Auof the character’s stories gust 13, 1955, on the eve of launching in Action Comics, occaNugget (a men’s magazine), Archer St. sionally recycling ideas John died from an overdose of pills, from his Jon Jarl text probably accidental. stories in Captain Marvel Adventures. The end of 3-D comic books also spelled the end of the Kubert-Maurer Mort Weisinger had partnership. Norman Maurer moved bigger plans for Otto back to the West Coast, and Joe KuBinder. With the popubert found work for other publishers. larity of The Adventures of Superman TV show, Otto Binder Moves to National Weisinger’s stock at National was on the rise. With Fawcett’s exit from the comics He began contemplat- Three-Dimension EC Classics #2 (Spring 1954). TM and © William M. Gaines, Agent, business (though the company would ing an expansion of the Inc. subsequently take over publishing 91

1956

Birth of the

Silver Age

Reverberations from the anti-comics crusades and the adoption of the Comics Code continued to be felt in the industry in 1956. Stanley P. Morse, a publisher who had depended heavily on horror comics, shut down all four of his publishing companies: Aragon, Gilmor, Key Publications and Stanmor Publications. Other publishers who succumbed or dropped their comics lines this year were Ace Publications, Avon Publications, Lev Gleason, Premier Magazines and Superior Comics (a Canadian firm). At the year’s end, Comic Magazines, Inc.—better known as Quality Comics—ceased operations. Perhaps the most telling fact of 1956 was that no new publisher entered the comics field. National’s Next Moves Of course, that didn’t mean that no new comics titles were published. National debuted several of them in the early months of the year, and all of them were successful. House of Mystery, National’s lone “weird” anthology book, was selling well. As that title approached its 50th issue, a companion title called Tales of the Unexpected was added (sporting a February 1956 cover date). Editor Jack Schiff had access to some superb artists, including John Prentice and Leonard Starr (both of whom would go on to careers as syndicated comic strip cartoonists). Sales of Tales were sufficient to spur the launch of a third title in the genre. House of Secrets (#1, October 1956) completed National’s trilogy of comic books with the same type of material. Just after the publication of the first issue of Tales of the Unexpected, National released Showcase #1 (March-April 1956), a vehicle for the company to try out new ideas and see if they generated sufficient sales to earn their own titles. According to Irwin Donenfeld, who originated Showcase’s format, the book’s name was inspired by the Producer’s Showcase TV show (1954-1957) that aired a variety of 90 minute special programs every four weeks. (Peter Pan was one of its offerings; another was a new version of the film The Petrified Forest with Humphrey Bogart reprising the role that made him a star.) Showcase was one of the last titles launched before Whitney Ellsworth relinquished his remaining editorial duties. National had found its greatest success with super heroes, and sales of its Superman family of books were still good. The editors knew that young readers would always be attracted to heroes, which is why knights, Vikings and gladiators were being featured in The Brave and the Bold. The expressed purpose of Showcase was to test other ideas.

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Mort Weisinger was sure he had the answer. According to a story Julie Schwartz would later tell, Weisinger was convinced that all boys admired firemen, so a book about them would be a sure-fire hit. Weisinger claimed he talked to children in his neighborhood who were enthusiastic about reading such a comic book. Thus, Showcase #1 featured Fireman Farrell in “Fourth Alarm!,” “School for Smoke-Eaters!” and “Fire Under the Big Top!” The issue’s first page told “The Story Behind Showcase” in comic strip form, stating that the firefighter idea had been suggested by a reader, and that future issues would also be based on readers’ ideas. It announced: “There’s a big surprise waiting for you in the very next issue of Showcase. It will introduce a brand-new colorful hero suggested by YOU!” As it turned out, Fireman Farrell didn’t generate enough interest (it was a sales flop), nor did Kings of the Wild in Showcase #2 two months later (despite art by Joe Kubert), nor did Frogmen in issue #3 (though the washtone cover was striking, and National later had success with undersea heroes when it unveiled the Sea Devils). Meanwhile, National began licensing titles from popular television shows and performers. It was a logical step, after it had licensed Mr. District Attorney, Gang Busters and Big Town from radio shows, and already had titles such as Adventures of Bob Hope and Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. St. John had published four issues of Jackie Gleason in 1955, and now National stepped in with Jackie Gleason & The Honeymooners #1 (June 1956), a bi-monthly title that lasted two years. The more popular Sgt. Bilko title (based on the CBS TV series) appeared the following year and had a spinoff in 1958, Sgt. Bilko’s Pvt. Doberman. Two more new National titles appeared in 1956, both from the brilliant mind of Sheldon Mayer. Mayer had joined National’s staff in 1945 when All-American Comics—where he worked as editor in chief—was sold to the publisher of Superman and Batman. He continued his editorial duties, but yearned to get back to the drawing board and be a full-time cartoonist. Three years later, he relinquished his editorial role and devoted his time to writing and drawing a 15-issue run of his self-created Scribbly (“the life of a boy cartoonist”) for the publisher. He also worked on such funny animal characters as Doodles Duck, Bo Bunny and Dizzy Dog. Mayer’s creative efforts and acumen were highly regarded by Jack Liebowitz and Harry Donenfeld. He had all the work that he could handle and was a happier man.

In late 1955, Jack Liebowitz asked Sheldon Mayer to originate two new books for National’s younger readers such as those who had been buying the fading Nutsy Squirrel and Raccoon Kids. The first, Mayer later recalled, was a response to Disney’s use of the name “Mouseketeers” in their new Mickey Mouse Club TV series which debuted in October 1955. All-American had published The Three Mouseketeers back in Funny Stuff in the ’40s, and, since All-American had been bought by National, the company had a proprietary interest in the name. Rather than sue Disney, they brought it back in a new incarnation, though Mayer’s The Three Mouseketeers (#1, March-April 1956) had only its name in common with the earlier feature. The new book starred three backyard mice named Fatsy, Patsy and Minus, and did moderately well, lasting into 1960 for 26 issues. 143