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Vol. 3, No. 192/March 2025 Editor
Roy Thomas
Associate Editor Jim Amash
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Shane Foley (after Alex Toth)
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With Special Thanks to:
Shane Foley Heidi Amash Janet Gilbert Pedro Angosto Grand Comics Ger Apeldoorn Database Bob Bailey (website) Mike Bromberg JayJay Jackson Bernie Bubnis Sharon Karibian Susan Burgos Nancy Shores Mark CarlsonKarlebach Ghost Jim Kealy CARTOONIST Steve Leialoha PROfiles Art Lortie (magazine) Nancy Maneely John Cimino Mark Muller Shaun Clancy Martin O’Hearn Comic Book Plus Joe Petrilak (website) Buz Rico Chet Cox John Romita, Jr. Brian Cremins Randy Sargent Wendy Hunt Craig Shutt Dicken Bryan Stroud Mike Dunne Estate of Jack Kirby Dann Thomas Estate of Joe Simon Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Wendy Everett Joe Frank
This issue is dedicated to the memory of
Trina Robbins & Roger Dicken
Contents Writer/Editorial: Give Me That Old-Time Revival . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Mark Carlson-Ghost looks at hero comics from TV’s Superman to the Silver Age Flash.
Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!: We All Have To Start Somewhere! (Part 5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Michael T. Gilbert on the early comics work of Ramona Fradon.
Tribute To Roger Dicken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 69 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #251 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 P.C. Hamerlinck & Brian Cremins (& the ghost of C.C. Beck) salute Trina Robbins.
On Our Cover: The fact that there was an entire (and large) super-hero group’s worth of costumed characters revived or created in the mid-1950s sent Ye Editor searching for an homage cover that would do them justice. And there could have been no better choice than Alex Toth’s powerful symbolic cover for DC’s All-Star Comics #41 (June-July 1948), as rendered with an entirely different set of heroes by the super-capable Shane Foley. As for who those eight guys on our cover are—well, fear not if you don’t recognize one or two (or all eight) of them. Mark Carlson-Ghost will fill you in over the following nigh-60 pages. [Fighting American TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby— used with special permission; other art © Shane Foley.] Above: Two triptychs drawn by John Romita for the “Captain America” story in Young Men #26 (March ’54)—showing the Sub-Mariner, Human Torch, and Captain America about to assemble (on the very next page) for the one and only panel of the mid-1950s that depicted Timely’s revived WWIIera “Big Three” together. Script attributed to Joe Gill. We couldn’t picture Cap, Namor, and the Torch on our cover with heroes published by other companies, but we sure didn’t plan to forget them! Thanks to Bob Bailey & Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] Alter EgoTM issue 192, March 2025 (ISSN 1932-6890) is published bi-monthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage paid at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Alter Ego, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Six-issue subscriptions: $76 US, $117 Elsewhere, $29 Digital Only. All characters are © their respective companies. All material ©their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM of P.C. Hamerlinck. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.
4
From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash
In Like A Wildfire— Out Like A Thunderstorm The mid-1950s “Indian summer” (or was it a “false spring”?) of comicbook super-heroes unofficially began with the autumn publication of Timely/ Atlas’ (future Marvel’s) Young Men #24 (Dec. 1953), behind Carl Burgos’ cover that spotlighted The Human Torch but also featured the Sub-Mariner (minus his hyphen) and Captain America—as colored, reportedly, by early-1960s Marvel colorist Stan Goldberg. That period ended, with a whimper not a bang, behind the Dick Giordano/ Vince Alascia cover of Charlton’s Nature Boy #5 (Feb. 1957)—actually the series’ third issue, which went on sale in late ’56, only a few months after DC’s Showcase #4 had introduced a brand new incarnation of The Flash. Thanks to the Grand Comics Database and Michael T. Gilbert, respectively, for these cover scans. [Young Men cover TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; Nature Boy cover TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
T
Captain Midnight, but kept their other Marvel Family titles (five in all) going. But now heroic casualties were piling up at an alarming rate. Street & Smith, Novelty, and Columbia all shuttered their doors, meaning no more four-color adventures of The Shadow, Doc Savage, The Target and his Targeteers, or Skyman. Fox Publications and Standard soldiered on but ceased publication of Blue Beetle and Phantom Lady and Black Terror and Fighting Yank between them.
And, unless you were a psychic, the heyday of the Silver Age that began haltingly in 1956 and reached its height in the 1960s was still a long way off—and probably unforeseen, even undreamed-of.
Several larger companies kept a few of their super-hero comics but dramatically cut back their line-ups. Over at Quality, Modern Comics, Police Comics, and Feature Comics, anthology titles that had cover-featured Blackhawk, Plastic Man, and Doll Man, were either canceled or radically altered their content in 1950. Doll Man’s solo title was axed three years later. (Plastic Man would stretch things out till autumn of 1956, when Quality sold out to DC, but the final two years’ worth of issues featured mostly reprints.)
he Golden Age of super-heroes was fading fast. In 1949 alone, the Sub-Mariner, Green Lantern, and The Human Torch all saw their solo comicbooks canceled. Former stalwarts like Black Terror, Skyman, and Phantom Lady had all disappeared earlier from newsstands. Nor did they leave the scene unescorted by most of their costumed colleagues.
But, in between these two consequential eras, from 1953 to 1956 (or even, technically, into 1957), there was a resurgence of super-hero titles as exciting as it was short-lived. Captain America, Phantom Lady, and Blue Beetle sprang back into action. So did the Sub-Mariner and Human Torch. New heroes like Captain Flash, The Avenger, and Fighting American made promising beginnings. And then, before you knew it, those colorful heroes disappeared. Again. What happened? What prompted a sudden influx of costumed heroes at a time when readers of comicbooks no longer seemed interested in their adventures? What contributed to their demise? This article attempts a fresh investigation into the 1950s super-hero revival and the cost-saving measures that all too often accompanied it. With the threat of unprecedented censorship lurking in the wings, very little in the industry was on solid footing.
A Bad Time For Super-Heroes As a new decade dawned, readers of super-hero comicbooks had every reason to feel discouraged. 1949 had been a brutal year for costumed adventurers of every stripe. Companies across the industry were abandoning their costumed characters, some of them going out of business entirely. Scattered cancellations had already begun the previous year. Fawcett Publications had dropped Mary Marvel, Wow Comics, and
At DC Comics, the situation was only marginally better. The publication of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman continued uninterrupted, but Flash Comics and Green Lantern were both canceled in 1949. “Justice Society of America” stories in All-Star Comics provided some comfort to longtime fans until the turn of 1951, when they too were put out to pasture. Comic scholars debate just when the Golden Age of comicbooks ended, but one thing is clear: If super-hero adventures weren’t entirely dead, they were in deep decline.
Early Television, Science Heroes, & Costumed Cowboys Though there was no longer a strong market for super-hero comics, other genres like romance, Westerns, crime, and horror flourished. Not only that, with the burgeoning number of households who owned a television, boys and girls were increasingly discovering new heroes to follow, albeit in black&-white. Comicbook publishers were eager to jump on the
The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival
bandwagon. The first comicbook treatments of television space operas appeared in 1950: Space Patrol, Captain Video, and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.
The creators of super-hero comics seemed reluctant to entirely give up on the conventions of their former headliners. Or perhaps their new efforts fell under the maxim of “Old habits die hard.” In addition to the world of science-fiction, comicbook writers attempted to transplant super-hero conventions onto Western and (less often) horror comicbooks.
But even as it provided fodder for comicbook adaptations, television was a genuine threat to the comics industry. Movie-like excitement (however cheesy early television special effects may have been) was now available in homes, and for free! A few sci-fi super-heroes inspired by the likes of these new video spacemen appeared in comicbooks in the very early 1950s, Timely’s Marvel Boy and DC’s “Captain Comet” chief among them. Mister Universe was a short-lived, four-issue title published in 1951 and ’52 by Media Publications, a.k.a. Stanley Morse, and mostly drawn by Ross Andru. The first-issue splash page hinted at Captain Marvel (or even Wonder Woman) territory: “Possessing the speed of a Mercury, the wisdom of a Zeus, the strength of a Hercules, and the looks of an Adonis, put them all together and you have… Mister Universe.” But former Marine Tommy Turner turned out to be just an exceptionally put-together young man who wins a Mister Universe contest held in Greece seeking to find the man who comes closest “to having all the qualities of the gods.” Turner promptly becomes a professional wrestler, sporting his new moniker, dispatching enemy agents and crooks as he encounters them. Text features educate the reader about the history of wrestling. By issue #4 Turner has rejoined the military, but it’s too little, too late, to save the title.
5
The Mystery Of The Vanishing Super-Heroes If 1949 was the year by which the great majority of 1940s-born comicbook super-heroes had ended their four-color careers, 1950 was when the cancellation of the once-popular All-Star Comics, starring the seven-member Justice Society of America, put a line under that trend, discontinuing half of DC Comics’ remaining costumed heroes in one fell swoop after issue #57. Cover-dated Feb.-March 1951, it went on sale in late 1950. Pencils by Arthur Peddy; inks by Bernard Sachs. Courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © DC Comics.]
The Marvel & The Mutant Two outliers, released around the same time most other super-heroes were giving up the ghost, were the costumed star of Timely’s Marvel Boy #1 (Dec. 1950), with Russ Heath art—and “Captain Comet,” who debuted in DC’s Strange Adventures #9 (June ’51). To spotlight the latter character, we’ve depicted the cover of the very next month’s SA #10, by Carmine Infantino & Bernard Sachs, because we reprinted #9’s cover in A/E #188. Neither hero would ever attain true stardom, though Captain Comet—the first avowedly mutant comicbook super-hero ever—stuck around considerably longer. Courtesy of Michael T. Gilbert & the GCD, respectively. [TM & © DC Comics & Marvel Characters, Inc., respectively.]
Toby’s Purple Claw was a rare horror super-hero, and the Hand of Fate and Phantom Stranger comicbooks featured supernatural story hosts who occasionally veered into active engagement. Masked cowboys were far more common. Magazine Enterprises’ Ghost Rider, Red Mask, and Lemonade Kid were among the most conventionally “super-heroic” of the lot, complete with costumes, gimmicks, and colorful villains. Not surprisingly, veteran super-hero writer Gardner Fox penned many of these tales. The Lone Ranger and his horde of comicbook imitators, despite their masked identities, were more clearly traditional Westerns at their core. Publishers were eager to latch on to any new craze that promised to boost sales. Harvey Publications, for one, bankrolled Simon & Kirby’s response to 1953’s 3-D craze. As the wildly creative pair told the story, 50,000 years ago two races vied for control of the Earth: the D people and the evil Cat People. A dying race, the D people instilled all of their hopes and dreams into The Book of D. Millennia later (i.e., in 1953), teenaged Danny Davis opens the mysterious book
6
From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash
and discovers a pair of 3-D-like glasses. When he dons them, Captain 3-D, the heroic last survivor of the D people, leaps from the book. Alas, Captain 3-D was destined to be a one-shot. As it happened, the biggest development in the world of superheroes in the early 1950s didn’t happen in comicbooks but rather on television. Adults of a certain age remember a series called The Adventures of Superman with an unmistakable fondness. The program had a huge impact. But, to better understand all of that, a little background is in order.
Lend A Hand—Or Even A Claw—Said The Stranger (Above & right:) Three mystery/horror titles of the early ’50s that featured continuing heroes: The cover of DC’s The Phantom Stranger #1 (Aug.-Sept. ’52) is by Carmine Infantino & Sy Barry; the mysterious hero took part in all stories. [TM & © DC Comics.] The artist of the cover of Ace’s The Hand of Fate #12 (Aug. ’52) is unknown. This is the first issue on which the spirit of Fate appears as a character, and his intercessions inside were intermittent. While the artist credits of the cover of Toby Press’ Purple Claw #1 (Aug. ’53) are uncertain, the most likely candidates are interior artists Ben Brown & Dave Gantz. All scans courtesy of the GCD. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
Personally, We’d Have Preferred To See Miss Universe (Left:) Mister Universe, penciled by Ross Andru and inked by Mike Espositio for Stanley Morse, wasn’t a true super-hero title but assumed a few of its trappings, though Tommy Turner seldom wore the wrestlers’ togs shown on the cover. The series, whose first issue was dated July 1951, was probably inspired by a movie of the same name (and wrestling/bodybuilder theme) earlier that year and starring TV’s future Ben Casey, Vince Edwards. Andru may have inked the cover of #1. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival
7
Ellsworth helped conceive a clever gambit, producing a B-movie starring Superman and featuring actors who were available to star in a subsequent television series devoted to the hero. In essence, the movie served as a pilot to test the viability of the project. Not only that, but revenue from the movie could help offset the production costs of setting up the series.
Two For The Show...? (Above:) The covers of Simon & Kirby’s (and Harvey Comics’) Captain 3-D #1 (Nov. 1953) and Dell/Western’s stand-alone Green Hornet (a.k.a. Four Color #496. Sept. ‘53), the latter by an unidentified artist. It could be argued that one or both of these de facto one-shots were the start of the “mid-1950s super-hero revival,” since they came out shortly before Timely/Atlas’ Young Men #24. But the former surely owed its existence primarily to the 3-D craze launched by the 1953 film Bwana Devil... and it’s hard to say what Dell/Western had in mind with its Green Hornet singleton—which, incidentally, was drawn within by Frank Thorne and scripted by Paul S. Newman. [Captain 3-D TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby; Green Hornet TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
Superman’s Arrival On The Small Screen As noted, the comics industry was clearly taking notice of television and movie franchises and moved to license kid-friendly properties to be featured in their own comicbooks. DC Comics, along with Dell and Fawcett, was at the forefront in taking advantage of such opportunities on an ongoing basis. In 1950, DC launched The Adventures of Bob Hope and in 1952 followed up with The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. And Dell and Fawcett had over a dozen screen-cowboy titles between them. That said, DC was perhaps the only publisher consistently working to translate their comicbook properties into other media. Indeed, they devoted one of their prime editorial staff to precisely that purpose. Whitney Ellsworth was DC’s liaison with Hollywood and had been for over a decade. He had worked with Fleischer Studios as a consultant in producing the well-regarded Superman animated shorts in the early ’40s. Ellsworth served a similar role with Columbia Studios’ popular serials featuring Superman, Batman, Vigilante, and Congo Bill. But his most successful move was envisioning a television series for the Man of Steel.
Look! Up In The Sky! (Right:) A vintage poster for the 1951 movie Superman and the Mole Men, which introduced George Reeves as the Man of Steel. [TM & © DC Comics.]
Whitney Ellsworth From overall editor of DC Comics for several years—to DC’s Hollywood point man.
Superman and the Mole Men debuted in theatres on November 23, 1951, starring George Reeves as Superman and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. It met with enough success to green-light the TV series, to be distributed through syndication rather than through affiliation with a specific network. While an exact date of the first televised episode is disputed, it aired in September of 1952 with Reeves and Coates reprising their roles. John Hamilton, playing Perry White, and Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen joined the cast.
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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash
A Khakalovitch By Any Other Name… Although there were numerous serious and dramatic elements in the stories in Fighting American, there were also strong indications of at least semiparody in many of the villains, such as Doubleheader in #2 (June-July ’54), Poison Ivan and Hotsky Trotsky in #3 (Aug.-Sept. ’54), and the foul-smelling Russian Super-Khakalovitch in #6 (Feb. ’55). Despite many good moments in various of the 1950s revival series, especially in those of Timely/Atlas, the Simon & Kirby series was probably the best-written and most visually exciting super-hero comic of the period, to be equaled or eclipsed only when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby teamed up to co-create the Marvel Comics Group in the 1960s. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.]
The End Of The Marvel Family Needless to say, the emerging critical zeitgeist was less than ideal for comicbook publishers who dabbled in even somewhat violent content. And one of the largest in the industry was ready to close up shop. Circulations were reportedly down for Fawcett titles. The ongoing lawsuit with DC over claims that Captain Marvel was a plagiarized copy of Superman finally proved too much. The company decided to entirely close their comicbook division in late 1953. The last issue they published of The Marvel Family was coverdated January 1954, with the prophetic cover-featured story title “And Then There Were None.” In an interview with Matt Lage in Fawcett Companion: The Best of FCA, onetime executive editor Will Lieberson spelled out the specifics of the settlement. Fawcett paid DC $400,000 in
The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival
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including Charlton, would try to recapture some of the magic of the Marvel Family with new super-heroes of their own.
The Assault On Comicbooks Reaches Its Peak Meanwhile, the now-famous Senate hearings on comicbooks and juvenile delinquency began on April 21, 1954. They focused on particularly graphic “crime and horror” comicbooks of the day, and their potential impact on impressionable youth. It hardly seems a coincidence that Fredric Wertham’s full-length book, Seduction of the Innocent, had made its way into book stores just two days earlier. It was perfectly timed to capitalize on publicity from the hearings. Nor did it hurt that the May issue of Reader’s Digest, the bestselling periodical in the entire nation, ran an excerpt from the book. To say the hearings didn’t go well for the industry would be an understatement. The dilemma for the purveyors of horror comics was exemplified by EC’s William Gaines’ attempt to describe the tasteful way to portray bloody severed heads on a comics cover.
Or Maybe It’s “Alligator-Infested”? The crocodile-infested cover of Fighting American #5 (Dec. ’55)—from the team of Simon & Kirby, who else? Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert. [TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.]
alleged damages and agreed to never again publish Captain Marvel Adventures, Whiz Comics, Captain Marvel Jr., Master Comics, Mary Marvel, Wow Comics, or Marvel Family. In other words, any title that had regularly featured a Marvel Family character. That still left more than half of their comicbook line available for continued publication. But, rather than continue the rest of their considerable line-up of largely licensed properties, Fawcett sold nearly all of them to Charlton Comics, along with a considerable backlog of unused inventory. It wouldn’t be long before a few remaining publishers,
Otto Binder & Kurt Schaffenberger back in the day.
“And Then There Were None” Kurt Schaffenberger’s lead splash page from The Marvel Family #89 (Jan. 1954)—the final Golden Age Fawcett comic featuring any of the Shazam heroes. This mag was on sale while the Timely/Atlas/Marvel stalwarts were making their own bid for renewed life. Script by Otto Binder. Thanks to P.C. Hamerlinck. The cover of TMF #89 was seen in Alter Ego #191. [Shazam heroes TM & © DC Comics.]
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Dr. Frederic Wertham Author of Seduction of the Innocent (1954), the book that nearly destroyed the comicbook industry.
From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash
However, what is typically left out of accounts of these Congressional hearings is how closely they were followed by ones that focused on the alleged infiltration of communists into the government. Beginning just a day later, on April 22nd, and presided over by Senator Joseph McCarthy, these hearings were characterized by Red-baiting tactics and character assassination. But weeks later, on June 9, when McCarthy attacked the reputation of a young man on the flimsiest of premises, it was finally too much for Army attorney Joseph Welch.
“Have you no decency, sir?” Welch called out McCarthy. “At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”
Atlas Cancels Most Of Its Super-hero Line Welch’s dressing down of the Wisconsin Senator reflected a growing backlash against the hyper-nationalism that accompanied his tirades. John Romita, in an interview with Jim Amash in Alter Ego #35, recalled how the change in the national mood impacted Atlas’ Captain America in particular. “Stan told me Captain America was canceled because of its politics. Timely got a lot of mail complaining about chauvinism. The American flag was a dirty word in those days.” The recent Korean War was seen by some as a costly overreaction driven by rabid anti-communist sentiment. And if there was any doubt of how the character of Captain America was being pushed, the words “Captain America… Commie Smasher” above his title logo erased it.
themselves on fire. The claim is more credible than one might think at first blush, as it appears that similar concerns soon impacted the treatment of another flame-related hero. More on that shortly. However much these factors contributed to cancellation decisions, lower than hoped-for sales were always a consideration. Goodman shuttered the super-hero-heavy Young Men after only five issues, and Human Torch and Captain America after just three. The new format of Men’s Adventures only managed two. These titles ended in issues dated June through September 1954. To replace the four departing super-hero titles, seven new Atlas titles appeared in their place, all in tried-and-true, “safe” genres: two war titles (Marines in Battle and Navy Action), three Westerns (Ringo Kid, Outlaw Kid, and Outlaw Fighters), and two jungle books (Jungle Tales and Jungle Action). It may have provided Simon and Kirby some satisfaction that their patriotic hero, Fighting American, ran for four more issues than Martin Goodman’s. Bill Everett’s Sub-Mariner was the only Atlas super-hero to soldier on. Which begs the question: Given The Human Torch’s seeming greater popularity, why was Namor the lone survivor?
A Sub-Mariner Television Series? Once again, we turn to Roy Thomas for insight, this time in his introduction to the third volume of Marvel’s Atlas Era Heroes. Negotiations had apparently begun between Goodman and television producers for a live-action TV series featuring the Sub-Mariner. Thomas logically concluded that the interest in the
“People were saying that America was putting the American flag over human safety,” Romita continued, “and that they weren’t going to buy Captain America.” (p. 24) Safety concerns may also have contributed to the demise of The Human Torch’s comic book. In that same issue of Alter Ego, Roy Thomas related Dick Ayers’ belief that Human Torch was canceled due to parental fears that kids might imitate the hero and set
Capping It Off! John Romita’s cover for Timely/Atlas’ Captain America #77 (July ’54) was reprinted later that year in Great Britain by the company L. Miller as its own CA #1—while the Electro that JR drew on the cover of CA #78 (Sept. ’54) looked a bit different from the Soviet super-villain inside (as seen, with numerous other specimens of Romita Cap art, in A/E #189). Thanks to the GCD. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
The Great Mid-1950s Super-Hero Revival
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project was once again motivated by a desire to emulate the successful Adventures of Superman. Bill Everett recalled, in a circa-1969 interview with Thomas (printed a decade later in Alter Ego [Vol. 1] #11), how the production company had already purchased equipment to enable underwater filming and had their eye on an actor for the lead role. Said actor, Richard Egan, had recently completed filming RKO’s Underwater. That movie was released in theatres on February 9, 1955, though the public was far more interested in seeing Jane Russell, Egan’s curvaceous co-star, in a swimsuit. Besides having a muscular physique, Egan’s somewhat angular, though still handsome features seemed perfect for playing Namor. That said, accounts vary on how far the would-be producers got in securing Egan’s possible involvement.
Fire Away! Some inventive if deadly action from artist Dick Ayers and attributed writer Hank Chapman in a Korea-set story in Human Torch #38 (Aug. ’54). A truce had been declared in the Korean War the previous year after the election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, but Timely/Atlas writers loved to tell tales that were still set “behind enemy lines.” Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
Hopes for the proposed series likely accounted for Goodman’s decision to keep Sub-Mariner on newsstands longer than the other super-hero titles. Bill Everett’s detailed and nuanced artwork for the title was among his best. But despite engaging stories and a well-developed cast of characters, once the Sub-Mariner television series was clearly dead in the water, Goodman canceled the comicbook as well.
In all of this, Martin Goodman was quicker than many of his fellow publishers in recognizing the wisdom in jettisoning his horror titles and, later, realizing that titles featuring super-heroes weren’t a viable alternative. More than a few publishers would soon learn the same lessons the hard way.
Mandrake The Magician’s Abortive Star Turn It turns out the Sub-Mariner wasn’t the only super-hero being considered for television. In August 1954 a press release from ABC Film Syndication went out announcing a forthcoming Mandrake the Magician TV series. The announcement gave every indication that the series was a done deal, declaring: “Mandrake, to be initially comprised of twenty-six half-hour shows, went into production in Bermuda last week…. It is expected that the first Mandrake film will be delivered on or about August 15, and since the series is being shot in blocks of four, it will be available for late fall programming” (The Newark Advocate, August 7, 1954). Included in the press release were the names of the cast. Coe Norton, a professional magician as well as an actor, was cast as Mandrake. Lisa Howard, playfully called television’s “lady of sin” given a wealth of “other woman” roles, would be Princess Narda. Meanwhile, the African-American press lauded the casting of popular black athlete, professional wrestler, and actor Woody Strode as Prince Lothar. [continued on p. 24]
“And They Wonder Why I’m Bitter!” (Above & right:) When the surface-men that Namor and Namora had rescued from mechanized killer whales misunderstood the situation and fired at them, the Sub-Mariner was quick to vow revenge—and not for the first time. By Bill Everett, from Men’s Adventures #28 (July ’54). Thanks to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash
He Likes Ike! The cover of Wonder Boy #17 (May ’55) depicted the youthful hero in generic action—but at least, in the accompanying splash from #18 (July ’55), he got to meet an unnamed President Eisenhower. Ike was the Prez during the entirety of the 1953-56 revival period. Courtesy of the GCD & CBP. Writers & artists unknown. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
“Samson Told Deliah, Loud And Clear…” With apologies to Elvis Presley’s 1958 hit “HardHeaded Woman” from the film King Creole. (Left:) The uncredited cover of Ajax’s Samson #12 (April 1955, actually the first issue)—formerly Fantastic— which in turn was formerly the horror comic Fantastic Fears. Courtesy of the GCD. (Right:) By coincidence, Victor Fox’s version of Samson had made his debut as the cover star of Fantastic Comics #1 (Dec. 1939), only half a year after Superman had leaped his first tall building. Art by Lou Fine. Courtesy of CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
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all—ended up in Charlton’s grubby paws instead of Farrell’s is the unanswered question we turn to next.
Charlton, Sidewalk Sales, & The Blue Beetle In 1954, as other publishers crumbled around them, Charlton was quick to pick up titles and content at fire-sale prices. Charlton had picked up no fewer than sixteen of Fawcett’s titles, nearly all of the older company’s non-superhero output. Charlton similarly picked up four titles from Simon & Kirby’s failed Mainline list of comicbooks: Bullseye, Foxhole, In Love, and Police Trap. All four titles ran for two or three more issues, until the inventory that Charlton had purchased ran out. The same thing happened when Charlton bought three titles and related inventory from Comic Media when that company went out
Who’s This Guy Superman? The uncredited covers of Samson #13 & 14 (July & Aug. 1955). Courtesy of the GCD & CBP. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
the banner at the top of the cover of Vooda #20 (April ’55, the same month Samson appeared) proudly proclaimed “Introducing the Jungle Princess.” “Introducing,” though, was something of misnomer. Vooda was just a re-purposed version of Alani, the “South Sea Girl,” who was the most appealing feature in Seven Seas Comics. That title had run six issues from 1946 to 1947, once again entirely produced by the Iger-Roche studio. The heroine formerly known as Alani was now a jungle princess named Vooda, with her bare midriff covered and any questionable scenes from her adventures neutered. Vooda was also no longer ruler and defender of the Vanishing Isle in the South Pacific but of an African queendom in the Congo—yet of a Congo jungle that abuts the ocean. Each issue of Vooda featured one new story of the jungle princess and one story from Seven Seas rewritten with new captions and dialogue. Even censored by the Code, the Matt Baker artwork from the original feature remained appealing. Vooda’s second issue also included a reprint of “Zaan,” a jungle hero from three issues of Farrell’s Captain Flight. A somewhat random observation: Remember how the second iterations of Captain America and Human Torch only managed to last three issues each? Vooda also only ran three issues, which was true of all but one of the new Farrell super-hero titles. Only Phantom Lady managed four. It appears that three issues provided enough sales data for most publishers to have at least some sense of a new title’s viability. Which in the case of every one of Robert Farrell’s new super-hero offerings was not good. With the final issues of Samson and Vooda, cover-dated August 1955, all of them were gone. One mystery remains. Farrell published three out of four of Victor Fox’s top sellers over the years: The Flame, Samson, and Phantom Lady. But how Blue Beetle—the biggest name of them
But This Samson Doesn’t Get A Chance To Say “Keep Your Cotton-pickin’ Fingers Off My Curly Hair!” Curiously, many of the mid-’50s Ajax-Farrell stories were extremely heavy on dialogue and captions, as witness this final page of a story from Samson #12. Writer & artist unknown. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
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From TV’s Superman To The Silver Age Flash
word “Shazam!” and Captain Flash seems an awful lot like a science-based Captain Marvel. Captain Flash is accompanied in his adventures by Ricky Davis, the teen-aged son of one of Spencer’s associates. Ricky was in the crowd when Spencer’s demonstration went awry. He accidentally learns Spencer’s secret and joins him, in a yellow, red, and green costume of his own. The creative team behind Captain Flash also seems intent on creating a robust rogue’s gallery for the new hero. In his first issue, readers meet Iron Mask, a mystery man who wears an iron gas mask and seeks to stockpile cobalt for unknown reasons, and The Mirror Man, a black-and-white-spotted, shape-shifting alien who can navigate through space via mirrors. Though rather tame in content, that first issue did not feature the stamp of approval of the Comics Code Authority, although all subsequent issues would. Mirror Man returns in the second issue, along with The Actor,
a master of disguise, and The Black Knight. The Knight, alias Dr. Conrad Krueger, wears black armor, rides a rocket glider instead of a horse, and wields an electrically charged lance. Krueger returns, sans armor, in Captain Flash #4, once again seeking to conquer the world. Mike Sekowsky supplied the artwork (or at least the penciling) for Captain Flash, and Carl Wessler wrote at least two of his stories. The comicbook’s editor, Martin Smith, may have written for the character as well. As it happened, Smith was also a co-owner of Sterling Publications, under his birth name of Martin Winter Grupsmith. The other owners were listed as Eleanor Grupsmith (likely his sister or wife, given similar ages), Sidney Chenkin, and Peter V. D. Vorhees. Chenkin and Vorhees were likely financial backers, as Martin Smith is the only person with a known history of creative credits. According to Jerry Bails’ online Who’s Who resource, as well as a 1946 ownership statement, Martin Grupsmith served as a business manager for the American Comics Group (ACG) from 1945 to 1947. He also wrote for Fiction House, Toby, and Trojan. The suggestion that he also had pulp-era ties to publisher Ned Pines is based on the faulty assumption that Marcus A. Goldsmith (Pines’ business partner) was a pen name. But Grupsmith was born in 1912, while Goldsmith was significantly older.
First Out Of The Gate (Above:) Besides his origin, Captain Flash #1 contained the title hero’s first of two encounters with the other-dimensional Mirror Man. (Coincidentally, only a few years later, DC’s second Flash would duke it out with a super-criminal known as the Mirror-Master.) Pencils by Mike Sekowsky; inker & scripter unknown. (Right:) Along with a trio of “Captain Flash” tales, that first issue introduced “Tomboy”—one of the very few “young girl” costumed heroines. No superpowers, but her origin was drawn by the fabulous Mort Meskin, and that’s gotta count for something! Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert & Mark Muller for these scans. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
Mort Meskin
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Captain Flash #1. The Claw is a maniacal gang leader who sports a mustache, black cape and hat, and gray, animal-like paws complete with claws, hence his name. In her second appearance, Tomboy tangles with Sound Wave, a master of sonic manipulation. Despite a dynamic code name, his attire was nondescript.
The Avenger & Strongman Knight & Daze In his second issue (March ’55), four months after the first, Captain Flash fought another baddie with a name that would resonate in the future—The Black Knight—with the usual exciting Sekowsky cover and interior art— —while yeoman artist Edvard Mortiz took over the “Tomboy” feature for its final three appearances. Scripters unknown. Thanks to Michael T. Gilbert for the scans. [TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]
As for “Tomboy,” Captain Flash’s backup feature, she seems to have been thoughtfully conceived as well. Janie Jackson appears to be a girly girl, so her family never suspects she has adopted the action-oriented, masked persona of Tomboy. For all of her spunk and athletic ability, the heroine has no special powers. Despite the intended contrast between Janie and her Tomboy alter ego, Tomboy’s outfit is still pretty feminine in nature, comprised of a green short-sleeved blouse, black skirt and eye mask, and red boots, gloves, and cape. While Tomboy’s origin is never provided, Janie was presumably inspired by the example of her police lieutenant father. But Janie is also spurred on by her older brother, who mocks Janie for her apparently meek demeanor. A bit of an odd dynamic is created when her brother begins to idolize Tomboy, enough that his blonde girlfriend goes so far as to pose as Tomboy to recapture his interest. Needless to say, this maneuver doesn’t go well and the real Tomboy needs to rescue her when she’s captured by crooks. Tomboy also appears to be collecting a modest rogue’s gallery of her own. The Claw is described as Tomboy’s “most deadly enemy,” even though hero and villain only crossed paths once, in
The Avenger is sometimes described as Magazine Enterprise’s only costumed hero, though Jerry Siegel’s Funnyman (1947), Dick Ayers’ Ghost Rider (1949)—hey, nothing says the Old West can’t have super-heroes—Jet Powers, Captain of Science (1950), and The Lemonade Kid (1950) also seem deserving of the designation. But I digress. As told in The Avenger #1 (cover-dated Feb.-March 1955), when millionaire scientist Roger Wright’s brother and sister-in-law are captured by communists, Roger is inspired by a child’s Ghost Rider mask to adopt the masked identity of The Avenger to rescue them. As The Avenger, Wright wears a red uniform and cowl, with white gloves, belt, and gun holster. He sports a large red “A” enclosed in a white circle on his chest. As the origin story unfolds, it emerges that the communists hoped to use Roger’s relatives as bargaining chips to obtain the secret behind his atomic-powered Starjet. Wright defeats the communists, only then realizing they have already killed his kin. After educating the defeated Russian general that “it is the individual man and not the state that is most important,” The Avenger vows to “prevent future crime and oppression you plan to bring upon the innocent people of the Earth.” Richard Wright proceeds to do just that, devoting his fortune, his scientific expertise, and his physical prowess to defeat communists in their seemingly endless schemes. The creators of The Avenger appear to have been long-time comicbook writer Paul S. Newman and artist Dick Ayers, though Gardner Fox also wrote for the character from the start. Fox was already writing costumed characters in the Western genre for the company, such as Red Mask and the aforementioned Ghost Rider.
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(Above:) An Aquaman and Aqualad commission, date uncertain, but likely drawn when Ramona was in her eighties or later. Outstanding! [Aquaman & Aqualad TM & © DC Comics]
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Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!
We All Have to Start Somewhere (Part 5)
C
by Michael T. Gilbert
omics in the ’50s were generally a “boys only” club, at least as far as creators were concerned. But Ramona Fradon broke in on the strength of sheer talent, beginning her comicbook career in 1950 at the ripe old age of 24. Ramona Dom (later Fradon) was born October 2, 1926, in Chicago. She and her family moved to New York when she was five. Talent ran in her genes. Her father, Peter Dom (born Peter Dombrezian), was a famous commercial artist specializing in lettering. He designed logos for such companies as Elizabeth Arden, Camel, and Lord & Taylor. Additionally, he created the popular typeface, Dom Casual. Ramona’s older brother and an uncle were also in the lettering business.
Ramona’s First Job When interviewed by Jim Amash in Alter Ego #69 (June 2007), Ramona recalled her first comicbook assignment. She had recently graduated from Parsons School of Design, and times were lean for her and her hubby, future New Yorker cartoonist Dana Fradon. A friend told her that comicbook artists could make some real money, and she decided to get some. The only problem was that Ramona, a fan of comic strips, had never read comic books. So… “I bought a whole bunch of comicbooks… and for almost two weeks I immersed myself in all different kinds. I drew a page of Western vignettes and took it to Fox Features first. I didn’t know anything about any of the comicbook companies, but I got
First Offense? Pretty As A Picture! Ramona in 1945, at Parson’s School of Design.
(Above:) Decades after the fact, Ramona couldn’t recall the title of her first story (done for Timely/Marvel, before moving on to DC). Michael T. believes that “Escape to Nowhere” in Man Comics #8 (June 1950) may be the mystery story. If so, it’s her first! However, when shown the story, Ramona didn’t recall it as being her work. What do you think? [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]
A Family Affair (Above:) As practice for her first comics job, Ramona’s then-husband Dana Fradon wrote and lettered a series of comic strips (in syndicated comics format), for her to draw. This is Ramona’s very first comic strip. It was never submitted, and the strips remained unpublished until printed in 2013 in Dynamite’s The Art of Ramona Fradon collection. [© Estate of Ramona Fradon.]
We All Have To Start Somewhere: Ramona Fradon
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addresses out of the comicbooks. Fox Features gave me a 12-page script to draw, and then somebody told me they didn’t pay, so I returned the script undrawn.” Good thing Ramona listened. Fox often stiffed young, hungry newcomers like her. If that had happened at that early stage, Fradon might have quit comics in disgust before she started. Instead… “I was scared to death that I couldn’t do it anyway, because I had no idea what I was doing. So I… went to Timely to see Stan Lee, who gave me a couple of stories. The second one was a war story, which I really hated doing, so that didn’t work out. Any time I’ve ever worked for [Marvel], it never worked out. I didn’t like drawing guns and all that kind of stuff. And then I ended up spilling ink on one of the pages. [chuckles]
On To DC “It was sort of a disaster, and I had a feeling that was it. So then I took my samples up to DC. Murray Boltinoff gave me a four-page story to do, and then kept on giving me work.”
A “Knight” To Remember Ramona drew this “Shining Knight” story, “Gadget Doom in Camelot!,” for Adventure Comics #165 (June 1951). It was her first-ever super-hero—and she did a bang-up job! [TM & © DC Comics.]
The story Ramona references was most likely “The Looting of Number Thirteen!” in Western Comics #23 (May 1951), the only 4-pager she drew that early. However, it was not the first to be printed. That honor appears to be “The Invisible Bank Robbers!” from DCs Gang Busters #21 (April-May 1951). From there, Ramona’s timeline gets a little sticky. She continues: “When I went up there, a white-haired gentleman came out and looked at my stuff. I was in a waiting room and he said, ‘Just a minute,’ and went shuffling inside. Then Murray came out. He looked at my work and said [laughs] something like ‘This isn’t bad for a girl.’ Then he said, ‘Well, let’s give you a try.’ He gave me a ‘Shining Knight’ story, which I did, and it was like all rubber cement and whiteout, and just horrendous. Apparently it was okay, though, so he kept giving me stories after that.”
Lucky “Thirteen”! (Above:) This 4-page story for Western Comics #23 (May 1951) is believed to be Fradon’s first job for DC, though not the first to see print. Bonus points: It’s dated the month and year Michael T. was born. Wow! [TM & © DC Comics.]
This quote (from the same Alter Ego interview) seems to muddy the question of Ramona’s first DC assignment. The two “Shining Knight” stories she illustrated were six pages, not four. And her first “Shining Knight” story, “Gadget Doom in Camelot!” from Adventure Comics #165 (June 1951), came out a month after the 4-pager she did for Western Comics #23. But Jim Amash’s interview came out in 2007 (almost 60 years after the fact!), so if Ramona was fuzzy on some details. it’s not surprising.