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Roy Roy T Thomas homas’ Batty Batty Comics Comics F Fanzine anzine

BODACIOUS BATMAN ARTISTS

DICK SPRANG & JIM MOONEY

8.95

In the USA

No.107 Feb. 2012

82658 27763

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

2011 EISNER AWARD Nominee Best Comics-Related Journalism

Other issues available, & an ULTIMATE BUNDLE with all issues at HALF-PRICE!

ALTER EGO #96

Focus on Archie’s 1960s MIGHTY CRUSADERS, with vintage art and artifacts by JERRY SIEGEL, PAUL REINMAN, SIMON & KIRBY, JOHN ROSENBERGER, tributes to the Crusaders by BOB FUJITANE, GEORGE TUSKA, BOB LAYTON, and others! Plus an interview with MELL LAZARUS, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, and more! Cover by MIKE MACHLAN! (84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

ALTER EGO #101

ALTER EGO #97

DIEDGITIIOTANSL BL AVAILA

ALTER EGO #93

ALTER EGO #94

ALTER EGO #95

(NOW WITH 16 COLOR PAGES!) “EarthTwo—1961 to 1985!” with rare art by INFANTINO, GIL KANE, ANDERSON, DELBO, ANDRU, BUCKLER, APARO, GRANDENETTI, and DILLIN, interview with Golden/Silver Age DC editor GEORGE KASHDAN, plus MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, STEVE GERBER, FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), and a new cover by INFANTINO and AMASH!

“Earth-Two Companion, Part II!” More on the 1963- 1985 series that changed comics forever! The Huntress, Power Girl, Dr. Fate, Freedom Fighters, and more, with art by ADAMS, APARO, AYERS, BUCKLER, GIFFEN, INFANTINO, KANE, NOVICK, SCHAFFENBERGER, SIMONSON, STATON, SWAN, TUSKA, our GEORGE KASHDAN interview Part 2, FCA, and more! STATON & GIORDANO cover!

Marvel’s NOT BRAND ECHH madcap parody mag from 1967-69, examined with rare art & artifacts by ANDRU, COLAN, BUSCEMA, DRAKE, EVERETT, FRIEDRICH, KIRBY, LEE, JOHN and MARIE SEVERIN, SPRINGER, SUTTON, THOMAS, TRIMPE, and more, GEORGE KASHDAN interview conclusion, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, and more! Cover by MARIE SEVERIN!

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

ALTER EGO #99

ALTER EGO: CENTENNIAL (AE #100)

ALTER EGO #98

The non-EC Horror Comics of the 1950s! From Menace and House of Mystery to The Thing!, we present vintage art and artifacts by EVERETT, BRIEFER, DITKO, MANEELY, COLAN , MESKIN, MOLDOFF, HEATH, POWELL, COLE, SIMON & KIRBY, FUJITANI, and others, plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, and more, behind a creepy, eerie cover by BILL EVERETT!

Spotlight on Superman’s first editor WHITNEY ELLSWORTH, longtime Kryptoeditor MORT WEISINGER remembered by his daughter, an interview with Superman writer ALVIN SCHWARTZ, art by JOE SHUSTER, WAYNE BORING, CURT SWAN, AL PLASTINO, and NEAL ADAMS, plus MR. MONSTER, FCA (FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA), and a new cover by JERRY ORDWAY!

GEORGE TUSKA showcase issue on his career at Lev Gleason, Marvel, and in comics strips through the early 1970s—CRIME DOES NOT PAY, BUCK ROGERS, IRON MAN, AVENGERS, TEEN TITANS, HERO FOR HIRE, and more! PLUS: JIM AMASH’s interview with Golden Age Fiction House artist BILL BOSSERT, MICHAEL T. GILBERT in MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), and more!

A/E celebrates 100 issues, and 50 years, of ALTER EGO magazine in a double-size BOOK! ROY THOMAS interviewed by JIM AMASH about ALL-STAR SQUADRON, INFINITY, INC., ARAK, other DC work, and more! Art by PÉREZ, McFARLANE, BUCKLER, ORDWAY, MACHLAN, GIL KANE, COLAN, GIORDANO, and more, plus Mr. Monster, FCA, BUCKLER/ORDWAY cover!

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

(160-page trade paperback with COLOR) $19.95 US • (Digital edition) $5.95

ALTER EGO #102

ALTER EGO #103

ALTER EGO #104

ALTER EGO #105

Fox Comics of the 1940s with art by BAKER, FINE, SIMON, KIRBY, TUSKA, FLETCHER HANKS, ALEX BLUM, and others! “Superman vs. Wonder Man” starring EISNER, IGER, MAYER, SIEGEL, and DONENFELD! Part I of an interview with JACK MENDELSOHN, plus FCA, Comic Fandom Archive, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and new cover by SpiderMan artist DAVE WILLIAMS!

Spotlight on Green Lantern creators MART NODELL and BILL FINGER in the 1940s, and JOHN BROOME, GIL KANE, and JULIUS SCHWARTZ in 1959! Rare GL artwork by INFANTINO, REINMAN, HASEN, NEAL ADAMS, and others! Plus JACK MENDELSOHN Part II, FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and new cover by GIL KANE & TERRY AUSTIN, and MART NODELL!

The early career of comics writer STEVE ENGLEHART: Defenders, Captain America, Master of Kung Fu, The Beast, Mantis, and more, with rare art and artifacts by SAL BUSCEMA, STARLIN, SUTTON, HECK, BROWN, and others. Plus, JIM AMASH interviews early artist GEORGE MANDEL (Captain Midnight, The Woman in Red, Blue Bolt, Black Marvel, etc.), FCA, MR. MONSTER’S COMIC CRYPT, and more!

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

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

(84-page magazine with COLOR) $7.95 (Digital edition) $2.95

Vol. 3, No. 107 / February 2012 Editor Roy Thomas

Associate Editors Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Design & Layout Jon B. Cooke

Consulting Editor John Morrow

FCA Editor P.C. Hamerlinck

Comic Crypt Editor Michael T. Gilbert

Editorial Honor Roll Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White Mike Friedrich

Proofreader Rob Smentek

Cover Artists Dick Sprang & Charles Paris

AT LAST! ALL IN COLOR FOR $8.95!

Cover Colorist Tom Ziuko

With Special Thanks to: Neal Adams Jack Katz Roy Ald Jim Kealy Heidi Amash Kirk Kimball Henry Andrews Thomas Langridge Bob Bailey Dominique Leonard Jean Bails David A. Lofvers Robert Barrett Jim Ludwig Tom Batiuk Ben Markeson Bill Black Bruce Mason Dominic Bongo Kurt Mitchell Chris Boyko Steve Mitchell Al Bradford Sheldon Moldoff Mike Burkey Brian K. Morris Glen Cadigan Cantwell Fred Patten Shaun Clancy Barry Pearl John Cruz John G. Pierce Raymond A. Cuthbert Michael Posner Teresa R. Davidson Gene Reed Dwight Decker Jerry Robinson John De Mocko Buddy Saunders Shel Dorf Anthony Snyder Terry Doyle Robin Snyder Michael Dunne Tom Stein Justin Fairfax Marc Svensson Martin Filchock Marc Swayze Danny Fingeroth Tony Tallarico Shane Foley Jeff Taylor Patrick Ford Dann Thomas Stephan Friedt Maggie Thompson Janet Gilbert Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Golden Age Comic Delmo Walters, Jr. Book Stories (website) Hames Ware Jennifer Hamerlinck Gary Watson Heritage Comics Ralph Lawson Werner Archives Ruthie White Thomas Inge Ike Wilson Alex Jay Marv Wolfman Douglas Jones (Gaff) Bill Wormstedt Elizabeth Kanegson Eddy Zeno

This issue is dedicated to the memory of:

Gene Colan, Dave Hoover, Dick Sprang, & Jim Mooney

Contents Writer/Editorial: “Be Careful What You Wish For!” . . . . . . . . . 2 “A Legend In The Business” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 That’s what interviewer Shel Dorf called Batman artist Dick Sprang—and he was 100% right!

“We Want This To Look Like ‘Batman’” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Jim Mooney delivered, whether for Fox Comics or DC! Interview by Chris Boyko.

“You’re Going Into A Business That Requires People To Be Dressed With Ties”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Artist Tony Tallarico soon found out differently—in part II of Jim Amash’s interview.

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! The Mystery Of The Missing Letterer – Part 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Michael T. Gilbert talks with the widow of legendary The Spirit letterer Abe Kanegson

Happy 100th Birthday, Martin Filchock! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Comic Fandom Archive: Comicdom In Color! . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Bill Schelly annotates a cornucopia of color photos from 1960s fandom.

Tributes To Gene Colan & Dave Hoover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 re: [correspondence, comments, & corrections] . . . . . . . . . 68 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #165 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 Still more Golden Age memories from Marc Swayze & Roy Ald, courtesy of P.C. Hamerlinck. On Our Cover: This isn’t quite a never-published Dick Sprang ‘Batman’ cover. It saw print, in black-&-white, in the DC house-produced fanzine Amazing World of DC Comics (#4, Jan.–Feb. 1975); still, we’re overjoyed that, through the good offices of owner Bill Wormstedt, A/E associate editor Bill Schelly, and Sprang’s longtime agent Ike Wilson— and with DC’s blessing—we’ve been privileged to showcase it at last the way it was meant to be seen. Bill W. told Bill S. that, when he showed Sprang the original art years ago, the artist said the inking looked to him like the work of Charles Paris; Sprang further noted that “the size of the piece… was not as large as the art used back in the ’50s and early ’60s. The art itself is about 12” by 15”, and the image area 7½” by 11”. Based on the size of the art, Dick was guessing it maybe had been created for advertising purposes—but he actually had no memory why.” All we know is—it was designed like a cover—and it makes a great one! [© 2012 DC Comics.] Above: An action panel penciled and inked by Jim Mooney early in his career as a “Batman” illustrator. This panel from the story “Case of the Silent Songbirds” in Detective Comics #126 (Aug. 1947) is reproduced from the hardcover Batman Archives, Vol. 6. Happily, although that book’s cover features only Bob Kane’s byline, Mooney, Sprang, Jack Burnley, Win Mortimer, and Lew Sayre Schwartz, as well as several inkers and writers, are all also duly credited inside. [© 2012 DC Comics.] Alter EgoTM is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. 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. Eight-issue subscriptions: $60 US, $85 Canada, $107 elsewhere. 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 the USA. ISSN: 1932-6890 FIRST PRINTING.

writer/editorial

“Be Careful What You Wish For!”

went instead with another Mooney interview we’d been wanting to print, conducted by Chris Boyko. That’s one problem solved.

verybody knows the above cliché. And it happened to Yours Truly this issue.

Ever since Alter Ego was reborn, well over a decade ago now, I’ve wanted to see it printed in full color. Not only those glorious covers—not just 16 pages, as we’ve been doing for the past year or so—but honest-to-Crom (Chrome?) full color, from cover to cover! So that every piece of art that was meant to be viewed in rainbow hues can be seen in the total spectrum.

Then, just as I was preparing to send the last pieces of this issue off to layout wizard Jon B. Cooke, word came from publisher John Morrow that he’d finally worked out all the kinks in a contract that would allow us to convert all of Alter Ego’s 80 pages (plus covers) to color, just as I’ve been kvetching for him to do for the past couple of years in particular. Only, there was a catch: The color issues had to start right away—with the very issue just being finished…

Likewise, for some time, I’ve been wanting to print an interview with the late and supremely talented “Batman”/“Spider-Man” artist Jim Mooney—and to take off the shelf an interview with classic “Batman” illustrator Dick Sprang, tapes of which TwoMorrows purchased, must be 7 or 8 years ago now, from the late Shel Dorf, as an adjunct to our extended Sprang coverage back in A/E #19.

An issue focusing on Batman, and one of whose most conspicuous features is a treasure trove of Dick Sprang and Jim Mooney “Batman” art—much of it reproduced from black-&-white originals!

Rainbow Coalition

Well, this month, I got both my wishes at the same time—and, as things are wont to do, matters got a bit star-crossed.

We know this Detective Comics #241 (Mar. 1957) cover is by Sheldon Moldoff, not one of the Batman artists covered herein, but we just couldn’t resist the temptation to feature the “Rainbow Batman” in this, our first all-color edition! [©2012 DC Comics.]

First, it became clear to me that the lonnnng interview with Jim Mooney we’d planned to use, done not long before his passing by Dr. Jeff McLaughlin (who’s previously published a book or two of stellar interviews), was simply too long to squeeze into the same issue with the Sprang/Dorf chat. So, after talking it over with Jeff, we decided that, rather than serialize it, we’d wait for a good spot a bit further down the line, when Jim can be the featured cover artist. And we

So, okay—we’ve bitten the multi-colored bullet. And hopefully there’s more than enough color in the following pages to convince you that the change has been worth making—and is worth the extra buck we have to charge for single copies. (Subscription prices, at least for the immediate future, remain as they were—a real bargain!) “Be careful what you wish for!”

But you know what? I’m glad that Alter Ego has gone to full color at last, with slicker paper—and I hope you are, too! Comic books were meant to be in full color— And so is Alter Ego! Bestest,

COMING IN APRIL & ALL IN FULL COLOR! #108 AN OFFBEAT LOOK AT MARVEL COMICS IN THE ’70s—& The ’40s! • Human Torch & Sub-Mariner vintage cover by CARL BURGOS & BILL EVERETT! • WARREN REECE, Golden/Silver Age Marvel fan & 1970s Bullpenner, writes of comics’ human legends and of building an incomparable Timely collection—with bird’s-eye views of EVERETT, BURGOS, ROMITA, LEE, SEVERIN, TRIMPE, FRIEDRICH, ADAMS, KUPPERBERG, THOMAS, et al.! • TONY TALLARICO interview, Part III, conducted by JIM AMASH—& beginning DEWEY CASSELL’s interviews re 1950s Standard/Nedor artist/inker MIKE PEPPE—with art by TOTH, ANDRU, TUSKA, CELARDO, LUBBERS, and others!

• MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s Comic Crypt—BILL SCHELLY on the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con’s celebration of 50 years of fandom—FCA with MARC SWAYZE & ROY ALD —& MORE!

Edited by ROY THOMAS • SUBSCRIBE NOW! Eight issues in the US: $60 Standard, $80 First Class • (Canada: $85, Elsewhere: $107 Surface, $155 Airmail). • NEW LOWER RATES FOR INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS! SAVE $4 PER ISSUE!

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“ A Legend In The Business ” That’s What Interviewer Shel Dorf Said About Golden/Silver Age Artist DICK SPRANG—And He Couldn’t Have Been Righter! Conducted by Shel Dorf • Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

Hope Sprangs Eternal! Dick Sprang signing some “Batman” mags (including one with Go-Go Checks, yet!) at the 1993 San Diego Comic-Con—and the cover he penciled and inked for Detective Comics #106 (Dec. 1945). The latter displays Batman and Robin in perhaps their most iconic Golden Age pose—one that was drawn by various artists at various times. Thanks to Ralph Rawson Werner for the photo; the cover is reproduced from the hardcover Batman Archives, Vol. 5. Fortunately, much of Sprang’s definitive Batman-related artwork is currently available in DC Batman and Dark Knight Archives editions, as is much of his “Superman & Batman” work in World’s Finest Comics Archives. [Cover © 2012 DC Comics.]

A/E

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: The late Shel Dorf, one of the founders of the San Diego Comic-Con, used that gathering of fans and professionals as an excuse—as if any were needed—to conduct a number of informal and casually structured interviews over the years. This one with Dick Sprang, who was a premier “Batman” ghost artist beginning in the mid-1940s and produced many of the best art jobs ever to feature the Dark Knight, was probably conducted in 1993, when Sprang was a guest at that convention… and will serve as a postscript to the coverage given Sprang back in Alter Ego #19 (an issue still available from TwoMorrows Publishing). A photo of Shel Dorf appeared in A/E #102. Our thanks to Ike Wilson, who was Sprang’s agent for the last decade of the artist’s life, for his gracious cooperation with this article.

“I Was Wanting To Write Westerns” SHEL DORF: We’re talking with Dick Sprang at San Diego Comic-Con. We’ve had an expo, a trade show, and all kinds of people. We’ve been going for 23 years now. SPRANG: Well, it's really developed into a major convention. You know, when they gave me the Inkpot Award, I was really surprised.

SD: Well, you’re a legend in the business. I remember, years ago, somebody was talking about you and said that you didn’t want any part of your career as a cartoonist—that you had been in advertising for years and cartooning wasn’t a part of your world any more. When you resurfaced, doing special prints, it was exciting news because you were a favorite of so many. SPRANG: Well, thank you. After I retired, I had this ranch up in southern Utah and I was going all the time. I really loved it. And I was doing a lot of exploring of the country. I was out of comics completely. I didn’t even buy them. And it wasn’t until this print business that my interest picked up. But I didn’t reject comics out of hand or have any criticism of them, anything like that at all. SD: But you had gone into advertising when you left comics? SPRANG: No, I’d been in advertising before that. I worked for Scripps-Howard for two years in Toledo in the art department.

An Interview With Golden/Silver Age Artist Dick Sprang

Everybody Loves Raymond! These two pencil drawings were done by Richard W. Sprang, probably in the late 1930s, in the style of the already-venerated and muchimitated Flash Gordon illustrator Alex Raymond. Thanks to Ike Wilson, who was the artist’s agent in the last decade of his life and supplied most of the photos and much of the other art that accompanies this interview. [© 2012 estate of Dick Sprang.]

SD: That's where I met my first cartoonist, Bill Woggan. SPRANG: I knew Bill very well. He was on The Blade [newspaper]. SD: That’s right. And Allen Saunders. SPRANG: Allen Saunders had the desk across the room from him. I was wanting to write Westerns and I wound up doing so. So few artists wrote, too. But Allen encouraged me. So the first pulp story I sold, I quit the paper and went to New York. SD: Allen was here at one of our cons. So tell me about your early days. Did you have any formal cartooning training?

SD: Yeah, I worked in the art department of the Detroit Free Press when I was nineteen.

SPRANG: No.

SPRANG: Well, then, you know all of what goes on in a newspaper art department. We put those papers on the street every day; we had those deadlines.

SD: Why did you become a cartoonist?

SD: It was a secure place during the Depression, though.

SPRANG: Because the pulps were dying. I’d been a pulp illustrator. From there, I’d left the paper in ’36, gone to New York, quit Al, just quit. Nothing like the spirit of a dumb kid, you know, who couldn’t get a job in the middle of the Depression.

SPRANG: It sure was.

SD: What kind of work were you doing on The Toledo Bee? SPRANG: Art department, and then I had to go out with a photographer if we had some disaster going on and phone in details, and so on. Everybody worked with everybody. SD: Did you do photo retouching, too? SPRANG: Oh yes, quite a bit of that.

“Whit [Ellsworth] Introduced Me To Bob Kane Once” SD: And you left that and went to New York. Why? SPRANG: To see what New York was. New York, in those years, was one of the best cities. Well, anyway, I got on with the pulps, illustrating, and I wanted to do all of them. But about ’40, ’41, I could see that the pulps were dying. So what you do with a trend—you can’t manage a trend but you can try to manage the opportunity of trying to create. I wanted to

“A Legend In The Business”

leave New York and come West. So I went up to DC, with a page I made up and colored, and showed it to [DC editor] Whit Ellsworth. Whit liked it. I could see that this would be a heck of a good berth, and he put me on “Batman,” so, of course, that made it all the more desirable. SD: But you could never sign your own name. Only Bob Kane’s signature was on that? SPRANG: Ellsworth asked me about that, and I said that made no difference to me as long as my name was on that oblong green piece of paper. SD: Do you remember the page rate for penciling and inking? SPRANG: The penciling and inking—I think it was $33 when I first went to work in ’41, ’42. And they took me off inking in ’45 and paid me $35. That’s a raise.

and said, “Here’s one of these long-underwear guys,” and he had a big cigar in his mouth. He said, “Design a costume for him.” SPRANG: Yeah, that’s what he gave you, really. That’s all he did. I wasn’t around the office. I met few comic artists. I met Charlie Paris in New York around ’43, ’44. I think I met Jack Kirby once, just to say hello to. And Whit introduced me to Bob Kane once. SD: Just once?

SPRANG: Oh, my God! [laughs]

SPRANG: And I don’t know any other—I never met Jerry Robinson until two years ago, here. But I didn’t know any of the other boys.

SD: It’s a different world.

SD: Did you know about the adulation for your work?

SPRANG: Do you know what $35 would buy in 1942? It would buy this room easily, at Fourth and Lexington.

SPRANG: No, I had no idea about that until the mid-’80s.

SD: Do you know what the young artists are getting today?

SD: And newspapers were three cents. I remember buying Batman off the newsstand for a dime. Sometimes that was my whole week’s allowance. SPRANG: Well, anyway, the point I made with Whit was that after the war was over—and of course, you all knew it was coming, despite what the politicians kept telling us: “They’ll never send your boy over there.” After the war, I had to prove myself, of course. Whit Ellsworth was a spirited man. I have the greatest respect for Whit Ellsworth of any editor I’ve ever run in to. SD: Whit Ellsworth was also a friend of Paul Norris, who did the first "Aquaman." He said Ellsworth gave him a little sketch on a piece of paper

SD: Isn’t it great that, [for] something you did so long ago, there’s a whole new generation of fans? SPRANG: It’s very gratifying. I appreciate it, but now it’s quite a surprise, too, because I know then, we were just doing our jobs. [laughs] You know, there wasn’t any adulation then.

“Fawcett, DC, And Dell Were About The Only Good [Companies]” SD: Gil Kane once mentioned that, if you couldn’t get work in advertising, you went into comic books, and you usually changed your name or they didn’t put a name on it at all. Because if word got out that you were

“ We Want This To Look Like ‘Batman’” Whether He was Told This By Victor Fox Or By DC Comics—Artist JIM MOONEY Always Delivered! Conducted & Transcribed by Chris Boyko

“Don’t Like Spiders And Snakes”—And Bats Jim Mooney (on right) and interviewer Chris Boyko, in a photo taken several years ago—flanked by Mooney’s first Detective Comics splash page (#126, August 1947) and the first Amazing Spider-Man splash he inked (#65, Oct. 1968). Jim both penciled and inked the “Batman” story, which is reprinted from Batman Archives, Vol. 6 (“by Bob Kane,” it says on the cover). Thanks to Barry Pearl for the AMS scan. [Batman page © 2012 DC Comics; Spider-Man page © 2012 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: The late Jim Mooney (1919-2008) drew for comics for over 60 years, beginning in 1940, and worked for most major companies, including a nearly 20-year stint at DC in the 1950s and ’60s and another nearly 20 years at Marvel after that. He both penciled and inked major characters, including Supergirl, Spider-Man, Batman, Ghost Rider, and many, many more. I spoke with Jim over the phone at his home in Florida in August 2002 to ask him about his long history in the comics and his lucrative business selling his original art and specialty pieces on the Internet. Sadly, Jim passed away in 2008—but he left behind a rich legacy.

“[Henry Kuttner] Said, ‘Why Don’t You Submit Some Of Your Stuff To The Editor?” CHRIS BOYKO: To start at the beginning: in the early 1940s, you did a little bit of work for pulps, right? JIM MOONEY: Very, very little. In fact, that was one of the things that propelled me into comics. I had a very good friend who was a sci-fi writer, Henry Kuttner, and he was working for Weird Tales [pulp magazine] at that time. He knew that I like to draw, and he said, “Why don’t you submit some of your stuff to the editor

“We Want This To Look Like ‘Batman’”

Young Fen In A Hurry (Above:) Julius Schwartz on left and Mort Weisinger on right, bookending then-sf writer Otto Binder at a 1939 gathering in New York City. The entire photo was first printed in Sam Moskowitz’s 1954 book The Immortal Storm: A History of Science Fiction Fandom. Weisinger became a DC editor in 1941, Schwartz in 1944. Alter Ego has printed the whole pic before, but Julie always admonished Ye Editor to run photos of people mentioned in articles and interviews, so consider this yet another attempt to appease his ghost. (Right:) Jim Mooney and Henry Kuttner (the latter’s the one with the mustache) at play during JM’s California days before he turned pro. Jim provided this photo to Chris Boyko. Looks like each of them signed it! Incidentally, “fen,” for those who don’t know, was a coined word used as the plural of “fan” by sf enthusiasts, some years back.

[Farnsworth Wright]? Write and see what he thinks of it and maybe you can illustrate one of my stories.” Well, I did submit some stuff, and they did accept it and, of course, I was 17 years old and I was bursting with pride. I had a greatly inflated idea of my ability, which was pretty limited. About that time, [pulp editor] Mort Weisinger and [science-fiction agent] Julie Schwartz came out to visit California and to visit Henry Kuttner, so I got to know both of those guys pretty well in that time before I went to New York to try to break into comics. CB: I’m not sure how many comic fans understand how big into sciencefiction Julie Schwartz was. MOONEY: Oh yes, both Mort and Julie were into sci-fi quite heavily at that time. I belonged to the Science Fiction League in Los Angeles. We had informal meetings at a place called Clifton’s Cafeteria. About once a month we’d all meet and try to get a guest celebrity to speak to the group. Forry Ackerman was there—I think he was only 19 or 20, and I was about 17. He’s been a sci-fi and fantasy packrat since we were kids. I mean, he was acquiring some of the stuff back when we were in the Science Fiction League. It was remarkable. CB: When you started in comics, did you work for DC or Timely first?

Like Moths To A Flame… As we said back in A/E #101, when we printed the splash panel of this “Moth” story from Mystery Men Comics #9 (April 1940), we fail to see much similarity between this Fox Comics hero and Batman—but National/DC’s lawyers did, or at least alleged they did. But, by then, they’d gotten pretty used to suing every hero who wore a cape, and some that didn’t. Though signed “Norton Kingsley,” the art is apparently by a very young Jim Mooney. Thanks to Chet Cox. [© 2012 the respective copyright holders.]

MOONEY: I worked for Timely first. I worked on the so-called “funny animal” stuff, you know—Terrytoons and that type of thing. That died out pretty fast; it was beginning to fade about 1946. Most of us who were doing that work were scuttling around trying to find some other type of employment. I think if there had been a McDonalds then, we would have applied! It was pretty rough, and I was just very, very fortunate in that I got a tip in ’46 or ’47 that [artist] Dick Sprang had taken off to, evidently, do his own thing out in the Far West, and he wasn’t producing as much and they needed somebody to try out for Batman. I went up to the [DC] offices and submitted my stuff, but there was no great enthusiasm or anything like that. Most of the people

Jim Mooney Talks About 40 Years Of Drawing For Fox, DC, and Marvel

Two Cats And A Bat—Not To Mention Vice Versa Jim Mooney drew this commission illo of Batman, Catman, and an apparently sides-switching Batwoman for collector Michael Dunne. It’s probably a recreation of art he drew years earlier—and we’re sure our readers will tell us precisely where the original appeared. (Or maybe they won’t, just to teach us a lesson!) [Batman, Catman, & Batwoman TM & © 2012 DC Comics.]

“We Want This To Look Like ‘Batman’”

A Helluva Fight! (Above:) A specialty drawing of Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, standing up to his Old Man. Jim Mooney pencils and inks, previously unpublished. Jim mentions this piece at the very end of the interview. Thanks to Chris Boyko. [Son of Satan TM & © 2012 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Man And/Or Boy (Or Girl Or Woman) (Left:) Action Comics #332 (Jan. 1966) spotlighted one of the legendary “Imaginary Tales,” which postulated what might have happened if Supergirl had come to earth before Kal-El— and had grown up to become Superwoman. Art by Jim Mooney; script credited to Leo Dorfman. Repro’d from the original art, courtesy of art dealer Anthony Snyder; see p. 44. [© 2012 DC Comics.] (Right:) Superman looks a bit young—or perhaps Superboy looks a bit old—in this commission drawing by Mooney... though Supergirl looks just right, as always. Maybe this commission drawing illustrates a scene from the aforementioned Imaginary Tale, which was called “How Superwoman Trained Superboy!” Thanks to John G. Pierce. [Superman & Supergirl TM & © 2012 DC Comics.]

“ You’re Going Into A Business That Requires People To Be Dressed With Ties” TONY TALLARICO Soon Found Out Differently— As We Learn In Part II Of Our Career-Spanning Interview Conducted by Jim Amash • Transcribed by Brian K. Morris

Two By Tony Above, Tony Tallarico draws Tony Tallarico—for the 1958 National Cartoonists Society Annual—and at right, the final page of “The Corpse Springs Alive!” from Youthful/Story’s Mysterious Adventures #6 (Feb. 1952). The splash page of this tale was seen last issue. With thanks to Jim Kealy for the horror page—and to TT for the self-portrait. [Tallarico sketch © 2012 Tony Tallarico; other page © 2012 the respective copyright holders.]

NTERVIEWER’S INTRODUCTION: Last time around, we discussed the early days of Tony Tallarico’s work in comics, starting out as an assistant to the likes of Frank Carin, Burne Hogarth, and Al Scaduto, through his journeyman work for Avon, Youthful/Story, et al. This issue, we finally get around to his debut at Charlton, the company with which he is most identified in comics readers’ four-color minds… although we’ve still got a few other bases to touch first. Thanks again to our mutual friend, Stan Goldberg for putting me in touch with Tony. —Jim.

“I Had Space In A Studio In The City” JIM AMASH: Did you see Rocco Mastroserio at Avon [in the late 1940s/early 1950s]? TONY TALLARICO: Yes, and then later on, he worked for Charlton. He was a quiet guy, but Dick Giordano and he became

“You’re Going Into A Business That Requires People To Be Dressed With Ties”

very good friends. He lived in Connecticut. I didn’t get to know him.

TALLARICO: No, far from it. I don’t know if he even drew the stories, or if this other mascot did.

JA: Did you happen to know Al Hollingsworth? TALLARICO: Oh, yes. A.C. Hollingsworth was quite a character; pompous. He was a school teacher. He was a big heavy guy, and he had an assistant who was like a 98-pound weakling—a white guy who carried this huge portfolio for him. [The latter] would go up to Billy Friedman and say, “Boy, this guy is getting back at all the slavery.”

JA: I know he had a studio, and for a while he was putting out a lot of work, so we know he had assistants. He worked mostly for small companies, like Ace, Fox, Superior.... How did Hollingsworth dress? What did he look like?

Avon Calling—Again! (Top left:) Rocco Mastroserio’s splash for Avon’s Eerie #2 (Aug.-Sept. 1951). The full version of this photo of the artist (above left) appeared in A/E #41. Thanks to Jim Ludwig and Bill Schelly.

JA: Was he a talkative person? TALLARICO: Yes, he was a bullfrog. He was beyond talkative; it was always about himself. He was interested in me as far as being a sounding board—to talk about himself to somebody else. Fine! JA: He wasn’t that great an artist, either.

(Top right:) The bylined Alvin/Al/A.C. Hollingsworth splash page from Avon’s Mask of Fu Manchu (Aug. 1951), as reprinted in IW’s Dr. Fu Manchu #1 (1958)—plus a less sartorially-inclined head shot of ACH which Jim Amash found on the Internet. Thanks to Stephan Friedt for the art scan. [Art pieces & photos © 2012 the respective copyright holders.]

TALLARICO: He always wore a tie, suit, rings, a hat—he really looked like he was going to a festive occasion. JA: Not all the guys dressed like that, did they? TALLARICO: No, no way. JA: How did you dress when you went in?

TALLARICO: I always wore a sports jacket and a tie. In high school, I was told, “You must always wear a tie because you’re going into a business that requires people to be dressed with ties.” [laughs] And I always did.

“ Is This What I Want To Do For The Rest Of My Life? ” The ROY ALD Interview, Part 4 by Shaun Clancy Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

oy Ald was an editor and writer for Fawcett Publications’ comic books from 1946 to 1953, applying his talents to such titles as Wow Comics (featuring Mary Marvel, The Phantom Eagle, Commando Yank, Mr. Scarlet, and his comical creation, Ozzie and Babs), Captain Midnight, Don Winslow of the Navy, This Magazine Is Haunted, Captain Video, Life Story, Worlds of Fear, Strange Suspense Stories, Beware! Terror Tales, Gabby Hayes Western, Sweethearts, Suspense Detective, Negro Romance, and others, as well developing Fawcett’s early graphic novel experRoy Ald. iment Mansion of Evil, before editing various Fawcett magazines after the publisher terminated its comics line. Ald later moved on to other noteworthy publishing ventures with various companies and also authored dozens of books—predominately in the heath and fitness fields.

work immensely, but he was in tight with Willie [Lieberson, executive editor]… so Frank was the main artist on Captain Midnight whether I wanted him or not. SC: Leonard Frank also regularly drew Gabby Hayes Western, another comic you edited. ALD: I remember editing one Western script where the first line read: “Burt Masters rode totally raw on the saddle and pulled out his sword.” [both laugh] When I later worked on a coupon magazine for Capital, I dictated to my secretary a letter that was to go out to

Last issue, the 90-year-old Mr. Ald told interviewer Shaun Clancy the procedure he used for writing comic book scripts, meeting pulp cover artist Modest Stein, and—continuing on into this fourth installment—more memories of the many people he worked with at Fawcett Publications. —PCH. SHAUN CLANCY: What do you recall about editing Fawcett’s Captain Midnight comic book? ROY ALD: Leonard Frank worked on it, but he wasn’t a very good artist, and I thought he did an awful job on the book. I disliked his

Being Frank Among the many comic books that Roy Ald edited for Fawcett Publications were the post-War “interplanetary adventures” of Captain Midnight, a licensed radio aviator Fawcett had mutated into a super-hero in the Spy Smasher mold. Ald held great disdain for the work of Midnight’s main artist, Leonard Frank, who also drew for another Ald-edited comic, Gabby Hayes Western. The Frank-rendered panels here come from Captain Midnight #54 (Aug. 1947), featuring his space-raider nemesis Jagga—and Gabby Hayes Western #2 (Jan. 1949). [© 2012 the respective copyright holders.]

The Roy Ald Interview: “Is This What I Want to Do for the Rest of My Life?”—Part 4

every big ad agency in New York City. One of its lines was suppose to read, “... and we’ll give you your ads in all four colors” but instead of the word “ads” she had typed “ass” [both laugh]… and it was sent out that way.

SC: Who did most of the lettering for Fawcett’s comics? ALD: The three main people who handled it were Al Jetter and his wife Charlotte, and Ed Hamilton. SC: I’m going to bring up a few names of people who had worked on Fawcett comic books to see if you have any recollections of them. John Graham?

SC: Irwin Schoffman was one of the writers for Gabby Hayes. ALD: I had first met him when I was a second lieutenant in Intelligence during World War II, and I had visited him at his base. He wrote some scripts and was doing a lot of the fillers in the comics with Lieberson, who he was close friends with, so they had their own arrangement.

ALD: He had worked for The New Yorker and was hired to write fillers for the comics. SC: Dan Barry—he drew some “Captain Midnight” and “Commando Yank” stories for you. ALD: I knew Dan Barry, and he was one of the best artists in the business. Bob Powell and George Evans were my other favorite artists. Barry would come in every so often to get or drop off assignments, but he was mostly all business and didn’t talk too much.

SC: Did Bill Brady work on your books? ALD: No, he just drew humor fillers. He was a little runt… an odd and reclusive man. SC: What do you remember about Fawcett editor Mercedes Shull?

SC: Robert Brice. ALD: We had a thing ALD: Yes, I remember him going on for a while. She very well. He drew crime had already been at stories, but he seemed to Fawcett for a couple of be a little above working years before I arrived in comics. I had written a there and was married. lot of crime, horror, and She was Puerto Rican… romance stories [for him very savvy… a real to draw], and they were a Donned For Danger knockout. My wife was an notch above all the rest. absolutely wonderful During Roy Ald’s post-WWII tenure as editor on Don Winslow of the Navy, the military officer exchanged his Axis adversaries for common criminals—and even a couple of woman, but I wasn’t a SC: Who was the artist rep genuine, recurring super-villains like Singapore Sal (seen on this issue’s FCA cover) and a faithful husband. I was a you mentioned previously wily fellow named The Snake who slithered his way onto the cover of Winslow #50 (Oct. good-looking kid and very that used to come by the 1947). Art on both is by Carl Pfeufer and John Jordan. [© 2102 the respective copyright muscular, and it used to Fawcett office and had holders.] get me into trouble. brought in paintings by Things would happen that Modest Stein? [NOTE: See last issue. —PCH.] I couldn’t pass up. It gave me a taste of action that I wish I had never encountered, because it wasn’t fair to my wonderful wife. ALD: His name was Renaldo Epworth, and he stopped by our office constantly with art samples that weren’t very good, except SC: Was anyone at Fawcett aware of the affair? for Stein’s. He showed the samples to anyone who would look at them. ALD: I don’t think so, but I do know that people around the office used to look at me like I was some kind of threat because of the way I looked and the fact that I wore all custom-made clothing.

SC: Elinor Mendelsohn.

SC: Were you married only once?

ALD: She was my secretary. I had so many romance comics to edit that she helped me out on them.

ALD: Yes. My wife died of breast cancer in 1980. We had three children.

SC: Did you ever receive bonuses at Fawcett? [continued on p. 80]

Alter Ego #107