Alter Ego #110 by TwoMorrows Publishing

Roy Thomas’ Thunderclap of a Comics Fanzine

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FOUR-COLOR FIST-FEST!

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No.110

ALSO:

LEONARD STARR

82658 27763

June 2012

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

2012 EISNER AWARD Nominee Best Comics-Related Journalism

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

ALTER EGO: CENTENNIAL (AE #100)

ALTER EGO #101

DIEDGITIIOTANSL BL AVAILA

ALTER EGO #97

ALTER EGO #98

ALTER EGO #99

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!

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

ALTER EGO #102

ALTER EGO #103

ALTER EGO #104

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!

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!

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

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

ALTER EGO #105

ALTER EGO #106

ALTER EGO #107

ALTER EGO #108

ALTER EGO #109

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vol. 3, No. 110 / June 2012 Roy Thomas

Editor

Bill Schelly Jim Amash

Associate Editors Jon B. Cooke

Design & Layout John Morrow

Consulting Editor P.C. Hamerlinck

FCA Editor

Michael T. Gilbert

Comic Crypt Editor Jerry G. Bails (founder) Ronn Foss, Biljo White Mike Friedrich

Editorial Honor Roll

Rob Smentek

Proofreader

Emilio Squeglio (pencils) & Joe Giella (inks)

Cover Artist Tom Ziuko

Cover Colorist

Jack Adams Heidi Amash Ger Apeldoorn Richard Arndt Jean Bails Mike W. Bar Rod Beck John Benson Jerry Bingham Robert Bloomingdale Jared Bond Burt Boyar Chris Boyko Chris Brown Gary F. Brown Frank Brunner Bernie Bubnis Mike Burkey Aaron Caplan Dewey Cassell Mike Catron Chet Cox Roger Dicken Michael Dunne Don Ensign Shane Foley Doug Fratz Joe Giella Janet Gilbert Chris Green Walt Grogan George Hagenauer Jennifer Hamerlinck Carmine Infantino Jim Kealy Kirk Kimball James King Alan Kupperberg Richard Kyle Mark Lewis

Paul Levitz Barbara Levy Alan Light Jim Ludwig Dick Lupoff Pat Lupoff Will Meugniot Brian K. Morris Will Murray Jake Oster John G. Pierce Bud Plant John Powell Rob Powell Gene Reed Dave Reeder Derek Reinhard Francis A. Rodriguez Herb Rogoff Bob Rozakis Randy Sargent Buddy Saunders Tom Sawyer Jim Simon Tom Smith Emilio Squeglio Leonard Starr Martin Stern Darcy Sullivan Marc Swayze Jeff Taylor Dann Thomas Maggie Thompson Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. Dr. Michael J. Vassallo Delmo Walters, Jr. Hames Ware John Wells Robert Wiener Derek Wilson

With Special Thanks to:

This issue is dedicated to the memory of:

Emilio Squeglio, Lou Cameron, Mick Anglo, Bill Benulis, Marvin Levy, & Joe Simon

Contents Guest Writer/Editorial: Emilio Squeglio (1927-2012) . . . . . . 2 “I Think I Worked For Every [Comics] House In The City”. . . 3 Part I of Jim Amash’s decades-spanning interview with noted comics artist Leonard Starr.

Continued from last issue, here’s the final pair of pages from the unpublished JSA chapter.

“The Will Of William Wilson” Lost Pages—In Color! . . . . . . . 23 Michael T. Gilbert reinterprets Simon & Kirby and Carl Pfeufer (or is it Bill Everett?).

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt! The Covers That Never Were! . . 25 Comic Fandom Archive: The Golden Age of Fanzines Panel – Part I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Bill Schelly presides over a fan-stellar panel at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con.

Tributes to Lou Cameron, Mick Anglo, Bill Benulis, Marv Levy, & Joe Simon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 re: [comments & corrections on 3 issues of A/E] . . . . . . . . 47 FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #169 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 P.C. Hamerlinck presents a double helping of Beck, Thomas, Bingham, Boyar, & Swayze!

On Our Cover: Neither Emilio Squeglio nor Joe Giella is an artist whose name springs to mind when somebody mentions Fawcett Comics—but both did work for the company. As revealed in past issues, Emilio did corrections (which included sometimes drawing Captain Marvel or other Fawcett stars) for quite a few years—and Joe, while more identified with DC Comics in particular, informed Jerry Bails some years back for the online Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999 that in 1946 he had also worked in Fawcett’s production department, and had done some inking and even a spot of penciling on at least one “Captain Marvel” story. So P.C. Hamerlinck (like we ourselves) was happy when they teamed up to draw this iconic Shazamic illustration especially to be this issue’s cover! [Shazam heroes & word “Shazam!” TM & © 2012 DC Comics.]

Above: Before he wrote and drew the comic strips On Stage and Little Orphan Annie—even before his DC artwork for “Ghost-Breaker” and “Pow-Wow Smith”—Leonard Starr inked the pencils of fellow future great Carmine Infantino on several “Heap” stories for Hillman Periodicals. These panels of the stalking swampman-thing are from Airboy Comics, Vol. 3, #5 (June 1946); script quite probably by Carmine. Thanks to Jim Ludwig. [© 2012 the respective copyright holders.]

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 China. ISSN: 1932-6890 FIRST PRINTING.

writer/editorial in memoriam—guest writer/editorial

An All-Star Cast—Of Mind Emilio Squeglio (1927-2012)

it became to publish a follow-up book to the milio hen Squeglio was aunfeasible Fawcett Publications four TwoMorrows volumes Theearly All-Star Companion, which artist in the late 1940s of and production had beenmainly devoted the first Marvel” half-century of the Justice ’50s, working onto“Captain of America anddiscontinued its various offshoots, Society When stories. Fawcett its comicsmost in of that material went on the shelf… for spaced-out in future issues of Alter Ego. he began working forinclusion their magazine 1953, department, particularly on True magazine. Later, Well, why not? After all, much of the very first volume of the leaving Fawcett, he became art director for American Companion, back in 2000, had been composed of items and information Artist magazine and eventually a very sought-atter that had been gathered for publication in A/E, so in truth things have just book designer, working with many top artists and come full circle. This issue’s JSA-themed material is truly an assemblage of celebrities for several decades. He was one of the the ages: most beloved members of The Berndt Toast Gang, the Hurricane Heeranof(and if he has another, “real” first name, he’s Long Island chapter The no, National Cartoonists never told what it is—and we’ve neverEgo bothered Society. Ourusinterview appeared in Alter #41, andto ask) prepared his fantasy study of later the JSA and its an potential imitators P.C. Hamerlinck serialized interview with at least five or six years ago, in and patiently for us to find a chance to get it into print. him thehas FCA sectionwaited of this magazine. The same is true for Al Dellinges’ and Mark Lewis’ intriguing art spots for If Emilio was your friend—and he was friends with darn near same… although Shane Foley drew his own sterling contributions “only” everybody—he was your friend for life. He never forgot a kindness in the past couple of years. bestowed upon him. He was fiercely devoted to those he loved, and Everno since intended to tell Iftheyou detailed story of the Justiceyou wasted time2000, withI’d phonies or users. hurt one of his friends, Society of America: Invasion from Fairyland as his a footnote to the Emilio hurt Emilio. That was the quickest way toproject, fall from good graces. several tried JSA-related diddoubt, come to in the always to giveseries peopleI conceived the benefitthat of the so fruition it was rare for him 1980s… I didn’tYou actually sitwork downtotonot type outfriend, until deadline time for to dislikebut someone. had to beithis or at the very this issue loomed. Michael Bair’s happen exquisitevery art often. for same has least, crossofanA/E uncrossable line. It didn't languished partly unseen for the larger part of three decades… while the Emilio was generous to a fault. He drew many Captain Marvel pieces, unpublished Martin Naydel art from the famous lost issue of All-Star some he sold, many he gave away, as to Roy, Paul, and me, among dozens Comics has waited nearly 70 years to appear in color! of others I can attest to. He lived for his work and family and friends. To As for theof first of Ken Quattro’s ongoingfamily, examination thefelt lifethe Emilio, most hispart friends were really extended and weofall and work artist/entrepreneur Bernard not Baily: firsthim sawonce the you lightknew of day same way of toward him. It was impossible to itlove (or atAnd leastheofmade the computer screen) last year him. it very easy to know him.on his amazing Comics

W E

Detective blog. BecauseAn of Baily’s co-creation of “The Spectre” “Hourinveterate animal lover, Emilio lovedand dogs the Man,” two of the original members of thethe JSA, Ken gave most. eight I can still remember pain hegenerously felt when his us permission to reprint it here—though it really a “reprint” if it’s never beloved Buzzy passedis away a few years ago. Emilio appeared in any kind of hardcopy Now we’llhe allgrieved have toover be content never got over before? his death; in fact, every story his blog; he’srest working to wait to read the rest petofhethe had everonowned for the of his on life.it.A few months after Buzzy's passing, Emilio saw a dog that One piece of this issue’s four-color pie, alas, we decided to leave out at he just had to have. Jack became the apple of Emilio's the last minute. Rebecca Wentworth had spoken with Richard Arndt about eye, and helped fill the void created by dear Buzzy's her father, John B. Wentworth, the writer/co-creator in 1939 of “Johnny death. Jack and Emilio were virtually inseparable, and Thunder” (among other features), and the interview was all set for while Emilio was in the hospital these past few inclusion this time around. Then, however, we learned it would be several months, Jack continually stood guard by the back months before we could get hold of any photographs or other non-DC door, waiting for a master's return that was not to be. artifacts related to Wentworth’s life… so we preferred to save that entry for the next JSA-oriented of people Alter Ego. Ofissue all the I've interviewed, nobody was more grateful to be in Alter Ego than Emilio. He loved Emilio and Jack, And there’ll be one, never fear. The Justice Society, like Superman, Christmas 2009. the magazine and considered himself a part of the A/E Batman, Captain Marvel, and a handful of other concepts of the Golden family. He was thrilled to work on a cover with Jerry Age of Comics, cannot be exhausted by the thousand or so pages devoted Ordway (A/E #91), the only post-Fawcett “Captain directly and indirectly to it in a quartet of Companion volumes and in the Marvel” artist he respected. The very last piece of Captain Marvel art occasional theme issue of A/E. Emilio drew was inked by his close childhood friend Joe Giella, and graces JSA stillvery something Price Guide it the The cover of isthis issue of like Alterwhat Ego.the He Overstreet saw the colored proofcalled shortly years ago: before his passing on March 14, and was extremely pleased by how it was handled. “A breakthrough concept, second in importance only to the super-hero.” We will all miss him greatly. A person like Emilio enters your life like Since the age of four and a half, long before the above words were the kindest elemental force, and extends a loving heart for you to fill. And actually written, I’ve instinctually agreed with those sentiments. at the same time, he fills yours with the greatest gift there is—the gift of love. Some you ahappen piece ofintheir heart, but gavemy And I’vepeople never only seen give anything the comics fieldEmilio to change you every bit of his. Emilio was a mighty lion whose heartbeat, though mind. now stilled, will always be heard by those who knew him. Bestest, —Jim Amash

# ALL IN FULL COLOR!#111 COMING IN JUNE COMING IN& JULY 110

THE NEDOR SECRETSUPER-HEROES ORIGINS OF LI THE LIVE! VE! Black Terror, Fighting Yank, & CAPTAIN MARVEL!

Cornucopia Of Costumed Crusaders! OurA Annual FAWCETT FESTIVAL • Dynamic new cover spotlighting the Nedor/Standard heroes—an artful homage by Returns In A Burst Of Shazamic Lightning! SHANE FOLEY to the work of FRANK ROBBINS & JOHN ROMITA!

• Mike NEDOR COMICAge INDEX of the years 1940-1949—profusely BrandNolan’s new cover by Golden Fawcett artists EMILIO SQUEGLIO & JOEillustrated GIELLA! by MESKIN, ROBINSON, TUSKA, MOREIRA, BATTEFIELD, MAYO, WEXLER, SAAF, • BLUMMER, FCA [Fawcett Collectors of America] Special! Captain Marvel’s OKSNER, KINSTLER, FRAZETTA, SCHOMBURG, et al!classic debut in Whiz Comics #2, retold in prose by artist/co-creator C.C. BECK—ROY THOMAS & JERRY • Special feature on RICHARD HUGHES, co-creator Black Terror, FightingBURT Yank, (“Billy BINGHAM on their controversial retelling in SecretofOrigins (1986)—actor Adventures into the Unknown—& Herbie, showcasing unpublished ACG stories of Batson”) BOYAR on the short-lived 1940s Captain Marvel radio series—plus MARC the Fat Fury! SWAYZE’s very first Phantom Eagle story! •• Super-artist STARRstrip) at DCartist and LEONARD beyond—Part II of talks JIM AMASH’s interview! Golden Age LEONARD (and newspaper STARR to JIM AMASH about • FCA celebrates 70th birthday of St. Mary Marvel, with SWAYZE, BECK, TRINA his career at DC,the Fawcett, Hillman, John, Timely, et al.! ROBBINS—& OTTO BINDER’s stories of the Shazam Girl! Plus—MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s • MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s Comic Crypt-full of new/old Timely covers—BILL SCHELLY Comic Crypt—BILL SCHELLY presents Part II of the Fanzine Panel from ics. y. presents a star panel from San Diego’s 2011 Fandom Celebration—& MORE!! Com Fole DCne 20122Sha Art&©©201 Shazam heroes TM the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con—& 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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“I Think I Worked For Every [Comics] House In The City” Part I Of A Decades-Spanning Interview With Noted Comics Artist LEONARD STARR

A Starr In The Firmament (Above center:) Leonard Starr in a photo taken by Alan Light—surrounded by art from three noted stages of his distinguished career. (Above left:) The Heap goes into his trademark mute action in Airboy Comics, Vol. 5, #8 (Sept. 1948)—scripter unknown. [© 2012 the respective copyright holders]… (Above right:) A modern-Western splash page from Detective Comics #175 (Sept. 1961)—ditto [© 2012 DC Comics]… …and (right) the classic On Stage Sunday strip for April 5, 1959, in which Broadway star Mary Perkins encounters Maximus, Starr’s answer to The Phantom of the Opera. Starr himself wrote that one. [© 2012 Tribune Media Services.] Thanks to Rod Beck for the “Heap” sequence and to Gene Reed for “Pow-Wow Smith.” The Sunday is reproduced from Classic Comics Press’ admirable reprint series Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins On Stage, which we highly recommend to all fans of exquisite comic art.

Interview Conducted by Jim Amash • Transcribed by Brian K. Morris he incomparable Leonard Starr was good from the beginning. He started out as a background artist at Funnies, Inc., quickly becoming an inker and then penciler/inker on several features, including Timely Comics’ “Sub-Mariner.” During the ’40s and ’50s, Leonard’s work appeared at many companies, including McCombs, Orbit, Parents Magazine Press, ACG, Avon, DC, Timely/Marvel, and St. John Publications, among others. He left comic books in 1957 to do the widely

acclaimed On Stage newspaper strip that he had created; later he drew the venerable and eternally young Little Orphan Annie, as Annie. Leonard’s work was stylistic and/or realistic, always adaptable to the subject matter at hand. He was and is a true illustrator who drew really well, never letting overly flashy graphics mute the potency of his storytelling. Special thanks to our mutual friend Tom Sawyer (whom I interviewed in A/E # 77) for giving me Leonard’s contact info. —Jim.

Part I Of A Decades-Spanning Interview With Noted Comics Artist Leonard Starr

was my very first experience with fickleness. I felt guilty because I had lost my love for Flash Gordon and gone on to something else. Terry and the Pirates had terrific drama. Terry was a little older than I was, I guess, when I started reading it. What year was Terry started?

JA: 1935. [ED. NOTE: Actually 1934.]

STARR: I was ten and Terry was about 12, I think, in the early strips. And of course, the adventures were good, I liked the drawing, and I wasn’t alone. [mutual laughter] Terry probably turned more guys on to doing comics than any other strip. Flash Gordon was too well-drawn, for one thing. Milton’s work was very good, but approachable. You could get the feeling of the thing without knowing a hell of a lot. It was simply more approachable.

JA: A lot of artists who gravitated towards adventure like you did. I know you’ve done humor work, but— STARR: Not a hell of a lot.

Flash-y Art A very young Leonard Starr found the art of Milt Caniff’s Terry and the Pirates comic strip “simply more approachable” than that in Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon. Seen aboveare Flash Gordon panels from Dec. 9, 1934 (the strip had debuted early that year)—below, a panel from the very first Terry Sunday, on the selfsame date. [Flash Gordon © 2012 King Features Syndicate, Inc.; Terry © 2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc.]

JA: I was thinking of Little Orphan Annie primarily, in regard to humor.

STARR: The funny thing is, I thought of Annie as a humor strip, but it was really a straight strip. Harold Gray was drawing it as well as he could, and trying to draw straight. Also, there was this whole period where Caniff’s work influenced Gray’s, and he went into heavy chiaroscuro.

JA: I’ve noticed, when I interviewed people who drew humor comics, that their favorite comics were almost always exclusively humor comics. When I interview people like you who did a lot of adventure, more realistic stuff, you were influenced by the more realistic artists.

“I Read The Comics When I Was A Kid”

JIM AMASH: When and where were you born?

LEONARD STARR: New York City in 10-28-1925. I read the comics when I was a kid, and I believe that most of us had reading skills before we entered school because of the comic strips. My favorite strip, early on, was Flash Gordon, and I just barely looked at a lot of the other stuff. And then my loyalties were sort of stolen by Terry and the Pirates, which was a more contemporary feature. It

STARR: Yes. To give you an idea about how humor works: I was working at Johnstone & Cushing [advertising art service] at the time, and a friend of mine, an insurance man, and his brother were moving their office. They asked me if I could do a drawing for a sign, just a mailing piece. It was supposed to be sort of funny, so I asked Dik Browne, who was also at Johnstone & Cushing at the time, if he could do a rough sketch for me. Man, he turned it out in about five minutes, and it was funny as hell. It was easy for Dik to draw. It was his area, cartooning. I really couldn’t go in that direction. [NOTE: Dik Browne later created the newspaper comic strip Hagar the Horrible. —Jim.]

JA: You went to the High School of Music and Art.

“I Think I Worked For Every [Comics] House In The City”

STARR: Yes, after junior high school, when the ninth grade was actually your freshman year of high school. I got in on the third term. I graduated in June ’42, so we go back three years and that makes it ’39 to ’42.

JA: What got you interested in making art your career?

STARR: The need to earn a living. I had a knack for it, and the thought of maybe making a living out of it was very scary, actually. I was very, very good in the sciences. I never did any homework. I did all my notebooks in class, and I never got less than a 98 on something. The Once And Future Princes And so my parents—God knows how, Carl Pfeufer at a 1968 reunion of the Jack because they were Russian Binder early-’40s art shop, and his immigrants—somehow got the money “Sub-Mariner” splash from Sub-Mariner #8 (Winter 1942). It was during this together to send me to medical school period, when Pfeufer was drawing at Cornell. I passed the boards, and Prince Namor’s exploits through the then I had two ways to go about it. A Funnies, Inc., studio after creator Bill friend of my mother’s had a son who Everett had been drafted, that Leonard was a cardiologist, so she says, “Go Starr met Pfeufer. Starr himself would speak to Meyer, and see what he says.” later draw “Sub-Mariner.” Photo He was good enough to see me after his courtesy of Marc Swayze; page from office hours, and he went through what Marvel Masterworks: Sub-Mariner Vol. it would take, how many years of 2. [Page © 2012 Marvel Characters, Inc.] school there was, and internship. It was mainly, and actually, it was astonishing the difference in how well a lifetime of peering into people’s orifices, and it didn’t sound all students drew after a year than when they came in, and that was that great to me, so I decided to take a chance [at art], and let’s say just from practice, just adjusting their light to the model. that my parents didn’t fight it.

I had won prizes in drawing, like the Wannamaker Prize, and there’s some sort of interscholastic school prize for posters and that kind of thing, and so I realized there was a chance for me to make it in that profession. Now don’t forget, we’re talking about the Depression, and the Depression in my memory is that the sun never came out for about ten years. [Jim chuckles] Really! Of course, it must have, but you just sort of went through it. I was a kid, and the other kids were pretty much in the same shape. I’m talking about the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

JA: What were your living circumstances at the time? Obviously, your family didn’t have a lot of money.

STARR: It was pretty much the story of first-generation Americans, and it was astonishing—well, probably not astonishing, because that’s who we were. Very many of the cartoonists of my generation were first-generation.

“Funnies, Incorporated… Needed Some Help”

JA: When you decided to pursue an art career, did you have comic books in your sights or newspaper strips? Or were you just going to take anything you could get?

STARR: Actually, it was kind of accidental. I thought by the time I got to Pratt Institute that the way to go was illustration. My experience at Pratt was not especially fortunate. They were doing all sorts of three-dimensional design, and God, I just wanted to know how to draw, and they didn’t teach that. The teachers who could teach it somehow didn’t, and that wasn’t much better than the High School of Music and Art. There was no foundation stuff in how to set up the figure or anything. It was just studio practice

Anyway, there was a notice at the school from Funnies, Incorporated, saying that they needed some help. The students came in, they would be interviewed, and so forth. Frank Bolle and I went to high school together. We were also both at Pratt, and we both went to Funnies, Inc. We got some work, first penciling backgrounds, and then inking them. And who did I do them for? The first one was for, oddly enough, Bob Oksner, and his work was terrific. Man, he just had this quick, loose, lively style. And Carl Pfeufer was there. He was a fine artist who was drawing “SubMariner” at the time, which I ultimately took over.

JA: What was Frank Bolle like in those days?

STARR: We were two kids interested in drawing; we had the same ambition. We spent a lot of time together, and we were very, very close buddies. We still are. At that point, I was thinking more in terms of illustration, and I think Frank was as well. The reason we went to Pratt is because when we went there, the hallways were full of Norman Rockwell oil sketches. And if that doesn’t discourage you from becoming an illustrator, I don’t know what the hell would.

I studied at Pratt for about a year, if that. I switched to evening school, thinking that maybe I could still learn something. But it was all so desultory that it wasn’t worth my while. They would teach me all sorts of things that had absolutely nothing to do with what I wanted to do. JA: Who hired you at Funnies, Inc.?

STARR: The editor then was a woman named Bobbie Ross, Roberta Ross, and she was terrific. She was very helpful and highly educated, knew her stuff, and I suppose she, too, during the Depression, was getting whatever work she could. I think her

Special A/E Interlude—“The Will of William Wilson”

More “Will of William Wilson” in color one of these fine issues!

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!

That’s it for now, art lovers. We hope you enjoyed these Twice-Told-Timely covers. And don’t be surprised if you see DC spotlighted in a future column—like maybe next issue! Till next time…

The Comic Fandom Archives presents…

Fandom Reunion 2011: The Golden Age of Fanzines Panel Introduction

s photographically demonstrated in Alter Ego #108 & 109, Fandom Reunion 2011 at the Comic-Con International in San Diego was a well-attended, rousing success. Almost 160 fans attended the “Meet and Greet” party for members of the early days of comics fandom, celebrating half a century since the first issues of seminal comics fanzines Alter-Ego and Comic Art, both of which arrived in fans’ mailboxes in spring of 1961. But, though this culminating event was a thrill for all concerned, the special events to commemorate fandom’s 50th birthday leading up to the Saturday night party were special in their own way.

Now Alter Ego returns to the “kick-off” event on that theme, the Friday, July 22nd, panel which put the convention’s special BILL SCHELLY: My name is Bill Schelly and I was a fanzine publisher. However, my fanzine, Sense of Wonder, was not a groundbreaking fanzine. What we have for you today are the editors and publishers of genuinely groundbreaking fanzines. I believe this is a historic aggregation. I don’t think these people have ever been on the same panel together.

ROY THOMAS: I’ve never met any of these people. [audience laughter]

MAGGIE THOMPSON: I don’t think I’ve ever met Richard Kyle.

BS: Really?

THOMPSON: Seriously.

PAT LUPOFF: A senior moment. [audience chuckles]

BS: We’ve got Roy Thomas who, with Jerry Bails, launched the fanzine Alter-Ego in 1961. And with us, representing Jerry, is his wife of 38 years, Jean Bails. [audience applauds] Next, we have the editor of a fanzine called Wonderworld. It started out, actually, as Graphic Story World. Its editor and publisher—who invented the terms “graphic story” and “graphic novel” in 1964—Mr. Richard Kyle. [audience applauds] Then we have a panelist who, though he has had a few accomplishments over the years, will always be remembered for publishing The Comic Reader, Paul Levitz. [audience applauds]

guests of honor on the dais to talk about the fanzine phenomena of fandom’s formative years: Maggie Thompson, Richard Lupoff, Patricia Lupoff, Richard Kyle, Paul Levitz, Roy Thomas, and Jean Bails. All except Jean (who sat in for her late husband, Jerry Bails) had been editors of early, highly influential amateur publications, and this was a unique opportunity to hear from them on the subject.

It was my honor and good fortune to moderate this panel of literary lions and lionesses, and Brian K. Morris provides the transcription of this 90-minute event. I hasten to add that the length of the text and accompanying photographs and illustrations required that we split this feature into two parts. Here’s Part One. —Bill Schelly.

DICK LUPOFF: Never heard of him.

BS: And of course, we have the editors of the fanzine Xero, which first appeared in September of 1960—Richard and Pat Lupoff. [audience applauds] And last, but certainly not least, we have one of the editors of Comic Art, which debuted in spring of 1961, Maggie Thompson. [audience applauds] Any fanzine story should begin just like any good comic book story, with an origin. So I’d like to ask the panelists—let’s start with Maggie on the end—to tell us how your fanzine got started. How did Comic Art come into existence?

THOMPSON: I met my late husband Don at a science-fiction picnic in 1957, and one of the things we talked about all that day was comics. It was sort of, “Well, who does comics and they’re sort of anonymous and what the heck is all that about?” The first

The Bill Comes Due Author and Alter Ego associate editor Bill Schelly doing his best as the panel’s moderator. As most A/E readers surely know by now, fanzines are one of Bill’s favorite aspects of comics fandom, and he says: “I was just as interested as the substantial audience which showed up to hear these Big Name Fans recount their experiences as pioneers in that fannish field of dreams.” Bill is currently working on several new books concerning comics and fandom history. Above is the event’s ID tag, designed by Gary Sassaman. Photos by Aaron Caplan.

NOTE: This is the third installment of our extended, multi-issue coverage of the "50th Anniversary of Comics Fandom" events at Comic-Con International 2011 (San Diego).

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The Storyteller’s Story Official Selection in over 25 film festivals worldwide “A great companion to the book ‘Kavalier and Clay.’” Alison Bailes, NBC’s Reel Talk

“An essential doc for comics fans, ‘Portrait’ will also enlighten the curious.” John DeFore, Austin American-Statesman

“Entertaining and insightful. A great film about a visionary artist!” Jeffrey Katzenberg Arguably the most influential person in American comics, Will Eisner, as artist, entrepreneur, innovator, and visual storyteller, enjoyed a career that encompassed comic books from their early beginnings in the 1930s to their development as graphic novels in the 1990s. During his sixty-year-plus career, Eisner introduced the nowtraditional mode of comic book production; championed mature, sophisticated storytelling; was an early advocate for using the medium as a tool for education; pioneered the now-popular graphic novel, and served as inspiration for generations of artists. Without a doubt, Will Eisner was the godfather of the American comic book. The award-winning full-length feature film documentary includes interviews with Eisner and many of the foremost creative talents in the U.S., including Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Chabon, Jules Feiffer, Jack Kirby, Art Spiegelman, Frank Miller, Stan Lee, Gil Kane, and others.

Available Now on DVD & BLU-RAY • www.twomorrows.com

[FCA EDITORS NOTE: From 1941-53, Marcus D. Swayze was a top artist for Fawcett Publications. The very first Mary Marvel character sketches came from Marc’s drawing table, and he illustrated her earliest adventures, including the classic origin story, “Captain Marvel Introduces Mary Marvel (Captain Marvel Adventures No. 18, Dec. ’42); but he was primarily hired by Fawcett Publications to illustrate Captain Marvel stories and covers for Whiz Comics and Captain Marvel Adventures. He also wrote many Captain Marvel scripts, and continued to do so while in the military. After leaving the service in 1944, he made an arrangement with Fawcett to produce art and stories for them on a freelance basis out of his Louisiana home. There he created both art and stories for The Phantom Eagle in Wow Comics, in addition to drawing the Flyin’ Jenny newspaper strip for Bell Syndicate (created by his friend and mentor Russell Keaton). After the cancellation of Wow, Swayze produced artwork for Fawcett’s top-selling line of romance comics, including Sweethearts and Life Story. After the company ceased publishing comics, Marc moved over to Charlton

Wow, What a Start! Marc Swayze’s debut of drawing the “Phantom Eagle” feature—which he did until the end of the strip’s run in 1948— took place in Wow Comics #30 (Oct. ’44). Jack Binder’s cover depicted second-fiddle heroes Mr. Scarlet, Pinky, Commando Yank, and Phantom Eagle trying to keep up with cover starlet and Shazam girl Mary Marvel. The issue’s “Phantom Eagle” story—reprinted in its entirety herein—costarred the Eagle’s “Phoenix Squadron,” an international support team of six young flyers from Axis-conquered countries that assisted the Eagle during World War II. Swayze later deemed that the extended lineup only weakened its main character, as well as the feature itself, from a narrative standpoint; the Squadron was eventually phased out in the post-War years. [Shazam heroine TM & © 2012 DC Comics; all others TM & © 2012 the respective copyright holders.]

Publications, where he ended his comics career in the mid’50s. Marc’s ongoing professional memoirs have been a vital part of FCA since his first column appeared in FCA #54 (1996). Last time we reprinted, in its entirety, Marc’s one and only story of “Ibis the Invincible” from 1944. This time around, we re-present the very first Swayzedrawn “Phantom Eagle” adventure, from Wow Comics #30, October 1944, entitled “The Phantom Eagle and the Black Mace” (written by Otto Binder and edited by Mercedes Shull) in which Mickey Malone, on his never ending quest for the long-lost “Golden Mace”—a staff formerly in the hands of his ancestors which contains the priceless inscription of Merlin’s magic formula for world peace and prosperity—learns of a far different and ominous scepter during an escapade that takes place in Nazi-occupied Holland. —P.C. Hamerlinck.]

FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America]

More of Marc Swayze in future issues of A/E, too!

Speak My Name! The Origin of Captain Marvel Bill Parker’s Story Adapted by Original Artist C.C. Beck • Afterword by Paul Hamerlinck t was night in the city, almost midnight by the clock high on a dark tower. A cold rain was falling and only a few people were to be seen wearing raincoats or carrying umbrellas as they hastened past a lighted subway entrance where a small boy was selling newspapers.

Editorial Assistance: Jennifer Go

Suddenly a strange subway car, with headlights gleaming like a dragon’s eyes, roared into the station and stopped. No one was driving it.

“Have no fear, everything has been arranged,” the stranger said, ushering the boy through the car’s single entrance. The moment its passengers had been seated the car hurtled through the pitch-black tunnel at tremendous speed, then stopped at the end of the line. The boy and his phantom companion stepped out onto a platform resembling the mouth of a weird, subterranean cavern.

“Paper, sir?” asked the boy as a stranger approached him.

“Why aren’t you home in bed, son?” the stranger asked.

Mustering his courage the boy followed his guide, who led him into an ancient underground hall carved out of solid rock, grotesquely lighted by flaring torches. Ranged along the side of the hall were monstrous statues, each with flames at its feet. In huge letters hewn from the granite wall above the statues were the words THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF MAN.

“I have no home, sir. I sleep in the subway station. It’s warm there,” the boy answered. The stranger, whose face was hidden by the upturned collar of his black coat and by his big hat’s downturned brim, beckoned toward the subway entrance.

“Follow me!” he said in a deep voice.

The boy and the mysterious stranger went down a stairway to a subway platform. “Where are we going?” the boy asked as the two waited on the deserted platform.

“Wait and see,” was all the stranger would say.

Captain Billy’s Big Bang (Left:) The founder of Fawcett Publications, Wilford H. Fawcett, known worldwide as Captain Billy, the man behind the periodical that launched his publishing empire, Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang, is seen here in a 1923 photo—a year before the summer Olympic Games in Paris, where he was “Captain” of the American trapshooting team. The following decade, Fawcett’s youngest son, Roscoe, urged the Captain to enter the world of comic books, not too long before his death in 1940. (Center:) An ultra-rare (if low-resolution) glimpse of Bill Parker, creator of Captain Marvel (in addition to Spy Smasher, Ibis the Invincible, et al). He’s the one on the right of this photo. After writing the earliest “CM” tales, Parker, who was a National Guardsman, left to join the armed forces early in the 1940s. When he returned to Fawcett after WWII, he was made editor of Mechanix Illustrated and unfortunately had nothing further to do with the comics; he passed away in 1964. (Right:) Captain Marvel co-creator and the character’s chief artist C.C. Beck, seen in a 1946 photo, is no stranger to FCA’s pages, including via essays such as the one on these pages—and even serving as FCA's editor for several years. The three photo-images surround a detail from a 1970s cover re-creation by Beck of the comic book wherein the word “Shazam!” was first heard. [Shazam hero TM & © 2012 DC Comics.]

FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America]

numinous subway train with dragon-eyed headlights is an enchanting art-deco delight—something an inquisitive child would enthusiastically hop onto as they would a new ride at an amusement park.

The flame-lit sculptures of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man found in the underground hall are an aptly arcane, atmospheric addition to the surroundings and proceedings. Beck drew the statues suitably ugly, as well as beguilingly peculiar.

ration in the subway had concluded, Beck’s building clock in the background notified us that the duration of the enigmatic event had lasted only 65 minutes.

After the heart of the origin was fulfilled, the remainder of the tale was intrinsically maneuvered into more conventional territory, with Captain Marvel defeating Sivana’s radio scheme. Parker created the moniker of the Captain’s foremost opponent by coalescing the name of the Indian god Siva with nirvana, followed with Beck modeling the scoundrel after a short-tempered, white lab coat-wearing pharmacist he had once encountered.

As Billy stood before the ancient and venerable Shazam, the wizard’s limitless knowledge from “the highest to the lowest” Retrospectively, and dignified Parker never appearance are further endeavored to communicated by manufacture something Beck’s accompanying grandiose with Captain drawings of basic Marvel… instead, he objects with internal resourcefully combined denotations: a marble old familiar practicalthrone for noble rightities in pure and imagieousness… a native ways. The laying luminous, fire-lit down of such sturdy brazier symbolizing groundwork has given eternal wisdom and his efforts amplified understanding… an lasting value from an enormous old tome epoch that produced within whose frayed hundreds of mostlypages are the secrets forgotten characters. behind the superBeck adhered to natural powers and standard illustration the authority which fundamentals when he commands it… the brought the first story huge globe, suggestive and characters to life… of Shazam’s (and soon and—as within the full to be Billy’s) unmitiSpeak My Name repertoire of his work— gated responsibility of Captain Marvel’s origin was also skillfully utilized in later stories, such as Otto Binder’s “The Plot he conveyed the stories bringing an end to “the against the Universe” (Captain Marvel Adventures #100, Sept. 1949). Art by C.C. Beck and Pete clearly and judiciously, Costanza. [Shazam characters TM & © 2012 DC Comics.] forces of evil which never setting out to every day threaten to impress his audience extinguish man from the face of the Earth.” with a modus operandi of arty experimentation. The scope of Shazam’s infinite capabilities were also effectively Captain Marvel’s origin was an intermittent point of reference shown by Beck within a single panel wherein a huge dark cloud throughout the character’s 14-year run, and was periodically used instantly hovered above the wizard and produced a strike of as a plot device during the Wendell Crowley editorial era for such lightning. You can almost feel the force of the hit yourself as the treasured stories as “A Twice Told Tale” (Capt. Marvel Adventures brazier’s flame flickers violently and Shazam’s weary eyes squint #80, Jan. 1948) and Otto Binder’s “The Plot against the Universe” even further from the glare of the deafening bolt. (CMA #100, Sept. 1949). After kids are treated to Billy’s first incredulous transformation Nonetheless, C.C. Beck always believed that the child chosen to into Captain Marvel, they are equally stunned by the consequential speak Shazam’s name and become heir to his power was really the stone-block demise of Shazam… but Beck conscientiously illustrue hero of all the Captain Marvel stories, from the first to the last, trated the occurrence with restraint and as much perspicacity as and that “[W]ithout Billy… Captain Marvel would possible. As to why Shazam affirmed that he “must go” to his have been merely another overdrawn, one-dimensuccessor, no further elucidation was necessary; Parker’s exclusion sional figure in a ridiculous costume …” of this and other unexplained specifics in the origin only added to

the mysteriousness of the fantasy in which, after Billy’s inaugu-

The Secret’s Out! Roy Thomas & Jerry Bingham’s ’86 Shazam! Redux by John G. Pierce Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck

he world of adventure fiction has given us many memorable and classic origin stories for its various and sundry heroes: the English boy who grew up to become “king of the jungle” … the sole Texas Ranger who survived an ambush … the single survivor of an extinct planet who grew up on Earth “with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men”… the boy who witnessed his parents’ brutal murder, and thus dedicated his life to crime-fighting … the Army reject who was turned into a super-soldier … the high school science student bitten by a radioactive spider … and, among so many others, the orphaned newspaper boy who was led into a subway tunnel and an encounter with an ancient wizard who gave him fantastic powers.

In the mid-1980s, DC published a book devoted specifically to retelling the starting-point stories of characters whom it owned from the beginning, or had acquired from other publishers. That book, Secret Origins, actually had a rather intriguing secret origin of its own, as it was conceived in part thanks to the 1984 Summer Olympics. In order to escape the congestion caused by the event, then-Los Angelenos Roy Thomas and his wife Dann took a 6,000-mile drive around the Western United States. During that trip, Roy developed the idea of a new title devoted to origin stories, but with a difference: “Why couldn’t we redraw

and re-dialogue—and even, where necessary, re-think—those fabled stories from the late 1930s and 1940s? That would avoid the stigma associated in some readers’ minds with simply reprinting old stories.”

DC managing editor Dick Giordano and his superiors liked Roy’s ideas, but with one stipulation: that one out of every three issues should spotlight a hero from the Silver Age or later. As Roy reported in The All-Star Companion, Vol. 4: “All I really cared about was to be allowed to follow my original plan for the series—which was to present the 1930s-40s stories in chronological order. This DC generally allowed—though (like me) they felt that we needed to start not with Siegel & Shuster’s Dr. Occult from mid-'30s More Fun Comics, but with Superman. And, after a discussion, Dick and I also agreed that one other early hero origin—that of Fawcett’s original Captain Marvel—would come before that of The Crimson Avenger, who was the second DC costumed hero.” “Captain Marvel was one of the most important characters of the Golden Age, right up there with Superman and Batman,” Roy commented recently. “He was also one of the earliest, coming out in late 1939, and it was my intention to publish the origins primarily in chronological order.”

ReCAP Artist Jerry Bingham (left) and writer Roy Thomas surround the cover to Secret Origins #3 (June 1986), their magical modern-day re-creation of the original Captain Marvel’s starting point. Jerry supplied this fairly recent photo; Dann Thomas took the pic of hubbie Roy in the Irish countryside in 1988, perhaps carousing with an icon of one of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man. [Cover © 2012 DC Comics.]